#it's not cold weather anymore. it's quite warm actually

[arttitude130]

drew with those palettes again, but this time in MSPaint!!

why do i keep drawing sweaters...

[fatuismooches]

Your fluff writing is soo good! Thank you so much for making this blog.

Can I request headcanons for Dotorre, Pantalone, and Capitano with a reader who's not used to the cold? I just moved from my extremely warm country to a really cold place, and am sniffling, shivering, and miserable 🥲🥲 If only there's someone to cover me in a boyfriend jacket and hold hands with something to keep me warm 😔😔

Dottore once went through the same thing, moving from Sumeru to Snezhnaya definitely affected him in the beginning. His younger self grumbled throughout his experiments as he was bogged down with the heavy winter coat (that Pierro so generously provided) while the native Snezhnayans felt pity for him, but dared not to look at him with that feeling. It was really a hindrance in the beginning, not even gloves could keep his fingers from stiffening. A big disappointment since he needed steady hands. However, a couple of centuries and body modifications later, make it so the cold is nothing special to him or his segments. It really doesn’t affect them much anymore.

So for once, Dottore can actually understand what you’re feeling. And even more surprisingly he can handle the situation in a relatively normal way! You look kind of ridiculous with the amount of layers he's made you wear, but he insists that this method will work. You'll build up resistance eventually! But you're probably not satisfied with this turn of events (you wanted cuddles, didn't you?) so just head on over to his segments. As long as they're not busy, feel free to take their artificially heated-up hands and move them around your body. It will feel very nice. Lucky you, who needs expensive heaters when you have the segments! But honestly, no matter how cold you are, don't give too much attention to them and neglect the original Dottore! Would he turn off the lab's heating and assign tasks to the segments to make you crawl back to him begging for warmth? Well, that's up to you.

Pantalone will not hear of your shivering and sniffling, no, not on his watch. What did you expect, that he'd let his beloved suffer like this when he has all the remedies at his fingertips? There's not much to say really. Thick, cozy blankets. A delicious hot beverage of your choice and hearty soup by the fireplace. Only the finest heaters in Teyvat. Warm, comfortable clothing. A seat on his lap if you prefer rather than the bed. The amount of things he does for you may have you feeling a little too hot, not just from the number of heat sources but his willingness to do all these things for you. (But please don't overheat.) He won't stop until your hands stop being two blocks of ice. And yes, you can steal his coat if you so desire. He has a lot more, don't worry about it. Hell, steal two or three if you like... one to wear, one to place over you, and one to... hold? Doesn't matter, Pantalone encourages it. And although he doesn't like seeing you cold, of course, he thinks you're just far too cute when you give him the puppy eyes for much-needed warmth and attention.

A part of it also stems from how many days and nights he spent cold and alone as a child, with nothing and no one to keep him warm. Often becoming sick from the conditions. So he knows exactly how it feels to be trembling and miserable. Which is why he will never let you suffer similarly, Pantalone cares for you far too much for you to ever endure anything related to that. He will make sure to keep your hands warm, as long as you keep his heart warm too.

Capitano feels quite glum, even though you can't exactly see that from his expression, you manage to read his general body language quite well, not to mention the stare you get when you sniffle for even a second. He himself doesn't feel the cold much either, being the very strong man he is. But Capitano wants to help you, he really does - he has led troops through all kinds of weather, including the biting cold - so he is aware of methods used to retain as much warmth as possible. So yes, he will make sure your closet has much warm clothing, although he has to awkwardly clear his throat when asking for your sizes. He will get confused as to why you steal his massively oversized clothing instead. He will make sure that soup is nutritious enough to keep your strength up (even though you're not a soldier...) Of course, the bed will be your cozy warm haven, the blankets are very nice and big considering how tall Capitano is.

Considering how Capitano isn't all that versed in things like this or taking care of people, you would thank him for all he's done for you. Except that he's forgotten one thing, you'd tease. Externally he looks the same as always. Internally he wonders if he's messed up and if he's upset you. Was he wrong to apply the logic of being a captain to his relationship with you? No, it's merely the fact that he has yet to cuddle you. Oh. That's all? But wouldn't all these blankets and sheets be better at warming you, your husband questions? Nope, you'd shush him before making yourself right at home and his lap. You are very strange, Capitano thinks.

Also just imagine them with their Harbinger coats, and you're inside of it! Stealing the warmth! Your head popping out as they give you kisses! <3

[sandyca5tle]

Slimeshifter HRT Story - Enquiries

I poured out of bed, forming myself into a humanoid form and walking over to my wardrobe. Today was the day I'd arranged to go and talk to Dr. Othek about the weirdness in my transition, as well as ask for any more information he had, so I'd want to get dressed. I hadn't actually told him anything about why I wanted to see him, just that I wanted to talk to him, in person, about some parts of my transition I had questions about.

I finished getting dressed and prepared to head out, quickly extending a few tendrils to grab my phone, purse, and keys from their places as I headed to the door, also using my tendrils to lock the door behind me while beginning to walk down the stairs of the apartment complex. Since starting shapeshifter HRT I'd actually found using my tendrils to do stuff without actually having to move close enough to use my hands incredibly useful. I'd practiced/tried this before of course, but it'd never quite worked before, like it did now, which I suspected was due to the fact that since starting shapeshifter HRT I've had that improved bodily connection, I kinda know what every part of me is doing - its shape and form clear in my mind - add in the ability to see from any part of my body from being a slime, and it's really easy to manipulate and do things with my tendrils now.

I stepped out into the cold morning air, instinctively shrinking a little to help keep myself warm - it was a less fun effect of my transition, not having an internal source of heat meant that the cold hit me a lot more - granted, I didn't need 37 degrees to keep functioning, but as the weather got close to freezing I'd found I had more and more problems, given I was a large percentage water. Despite retreating into my clothes somewhat, it actually wasn't cold enough to pose any risk, but nonetheless I quickly made my way to the clinic.

It really didn't take me long anymore to get to the clinic, perks of living within the city rather than having to travel to it, and I was glad to get out of the cold, quickly talking to the receptionist to confirm my appointment before being directed to the waiting room. As before, I was glad to make use of the tail hole the chairs have, something that I had come to realise was better in Hyper City than back home, but was still very much appreciated as so many places weren't great at accommodating us. On the note of 'us', as I looked around, I once again spied a few people also on various forms of AHRT, a couple I recognised from my previous visits, smiling to myself at seeing the progress they had had. I also noted that generally the creatures here were generally further along, although there were a few who were clearly just starting, which made sense I supposed, it had been at least 2 years since this had become majorly available, so there's plenty of folks who were a good ways into their transition.

It wasn't much longer quietly musing to myself before I was called up, and pointed to the doctor's office - even if I already knew where it was.

"Ah, Miss Sandy, good to see you again," Dr. Othek announced with a wave

"Nice to see you again too!" I replied, smiling

"So, I understand you arranged this appointment to talk about some questions and queries you had about your transition," As he stated this he had a somewhat odd look on his face that I couldn't quite decipher, but it almost seemed like he was trying to say more than he was "I hope everything is going fine with your new medication?" He asked, now changing to a more genuine expression, one of concern

"Oh, yeah, no problems with the shapeshifter meds, been great so far, you should see what I'm doing with my tendrils," I told him. He raised an eyebrow, a smirk appearing on his face before I quickly realised what I'd said "Just for like grabbing items and- it's like having a bunch of extra arms that can just grab things for me," I quickly explained with a slight blush "I mean, they literally are as far as I'm concerned, just thinner and without fingers," I added thoughtfully

He chuckled "I'm glad you're not having any issues with your treatment," He said professionally "But if you're not here about that then what are you here about?"

"Well, we kinda talked about it last time," I tapped the middle of my torso, indicating my core "But I'd love to know where all my slime is stored," I told him "I mean, I seem to just be able to store endless amounts of matter within myself, which I'm fairly certain is impossible, unless I've got a TARDIS inside me now, which is equally impossible," I explained

"Maybe you just have a large internal capacity," The doctor posited

"Even then I've got more mass than could reasonably fit within something the size of my core, at least not without causing some kind of issue. I mean, you've seen my dragon form, and I can go a lot bigger than that, with that kind of mass condensed into such a small space you'd think something would happen? Instead I'm completely fine, no collapsing in on myself,"

The doctor's eye's widened "Even bigger?" He muttered "I suppose you're right though, that much mass inside such a concentrated area would have some kind of effect," He agreed

"Do you have any idea how it works? I mean, you prescribe the stuff, I hoped you'd know about it," I asked

Dr. Othek looked down, ashamed "I must confess - no, I do not know - or at least not specifics" He told me, much to my surprise and horror. He looked up at my face, seeing my reaction "Before you worry, I know the procedure is safe - or as safe as this kind of thing can be - but I cannot honestly say I fully understand it." He said "I know what is healthy in a human, and I know what is healthy in most animals, so for many patients I have been able to approximate what a healthy midpoint is - of course there has been issues, but in a multidimensional nexus filled with magic, there is always something I can do to help remedy those problems," He paused to breathe "Even the dragons, the sirens, the lamias, there is enough information on each of them that I can guess what works for them, and they're close enough to some terrestrial animals that I have those as references." He let out a sigh "But, for people like you, those whose species are so far divorced from 'normal', I have no reference," He explained "I mean, of course I've tried my best, and as I told you, I believe that it's as safe as it can be, but my information is sorely lacking…" He trailed off

"If you didn't know what you were doing, why did you do this?" I asked, a little anger bubbling through my curiosity

"Because I wanted to help!" He said back to me "And I heard that the only supplier for you all wasn't exactly helpful. So I looked into it and found this company was looking for doctors to partner with to help with distributing the meds to those in need as well as making sure they were healthy, so I starting working for them," He took a pause "At first it was fine - they only had a small selection, and most to all of the effects were documented. But then, as they developed more and more treatments, the documentation on effects and standards became less and less reliable, with patients reporting more and more effects that I was unaware of, and it's honestly felt more and more experimental… And I mean that, I've done a little bit of poking around, and the medicines they're prescribing I can't find any record of them being tested properly,"

My eyes widened a bit at that, and I could tell he seemed distressed about all this, so I bit back the irritation that had been growing at having all of this hidden from me and others like me "So why continue? Why not leave and say something?"

He smiled sadly "Because I want to help. If I leave and say something, then best case the company gets shut down, but that leaves so many folk like you without your medicine," That hit home for me - I hardly wanted to give up this miracle, even if the people behind it seemed questionable in their methods. "Worst case nothing comes of it, I get fired, and they get a less scrupulous doctor who'll just go along with their experiment to God knows what end," He took a breath "So I stay, find out what I can without arousing suspicion and help my patients navigate whatever happens so they can get the body they want,"

I looked at him as he finished talking, the cheerful demeanour he'd always presented with had all but vanished, instead replaced by a man who was tired and stressed "Thank you," I said "I mean, obviously, not a fan of being given experimental meds without my consent, but thank you for trying to keep us all safe and help us,"

"I don't do it for the thanks…. but it is nice to hear it," He replied, rubbing an eye under his glasses "As I've said I can't look much more into whatever is going on, in case they decide to fire me for looking into whatever they're doing, but if you want to look into it yourself, I can point you in the direction of some information sources I've found, may as well have someone look into it, see if it's really as bad as I think," I blink a little in surprise at him "You don't have to of course, it's up to you,"

"Uh, no, it'd probably be goo-d for someone to look into it - I can certainly try, but I'm not sure if I'll find anything," I told him

"An attempt is better than nothing,"

I nodded "I'll try,"

He took a breath, pulling his cheery demeanour back together "Well! It's nice to have that off my chest - nice to have someone to talk to about it," He said "I wish I could have given you better answers miss Sandy, but I hope this conversation has at least been helpful,"

I smiled and nodded "Not quite what I expected, but it's certainly given me some things to think about, thanks doctor,"

We both stood up, giving a handshake, before I headed back out of the office, waving goodbye to the receptionist as I did so.

The walk back consisted of me mostly being lost in thought, mulling over everything the doctor had said - that, while safe, my and others' medication were unknowns, and potentially experimental, which added the extra questions of whether or not we had all been incorporated into one big experiment without even knowing. These thoughts churned away in my mind even as I reached my flat, opening the door, with my claws rather than a tendril this time, and entered, quickly deserting my clothes near the door and leaping onto the sofa, pooling a little as I let my body relax in a way I wasn't sure my mind would for a while.

I had some shit to work out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sorry it's been a while since the last part of this, got distracted by another project, but dw still continuing this story, and honestly I think the break did me some good. But yeah, hope y'all enjoy the first bit of this where I'm starting to set up some of what is gonna run alongside the normal transition entries of this second part of the series! First - Prev - Next Writing Masterlist Tags under the cut (Let me know if you want to be added)

@calliecwrites, @friedsputnik, @now-entering-the-goop-zone, @scrubbinn, @lilacinthefog,

@mint-and-authoress, @losttodreams, @redroversendjayover, @ariathelamia, @kanithecatdemon

[imtrashraccoon]

Nightmare Cuddles 2: Electric Boogaloo... Side note, 'member when Axe gave Reader the soul talk? I 'member...

@owl-bones

First Day, Previous Day, & Next Day.

Bad Sansuary: Nightmare - Frozen

Word Count: 1,512

You were in another dream, or at least, you thought you were. This time, you were in the middle of the woods with no indication of where you were. To top it all off, you were also stranded in a fierce blizzard. You weren't dressed for the weather at all, but even if the wind wasn't blowing snow all over the place, you'd still be freezing cold. Even just standing here for a few minutes and your exposed skin was already starting to feel tingly and painful.

"Hello? Anyone?" you called out. The whistling of the wind seemed to steal your words away as soon as they'd left your lips.

But nobody came...

You started to walk, although your feet sank halfway into the snow and halfway up your calves with each step. You were shivering by now and your teeth were badly chattering as well. You had to find shelter and you had to find it now.

Just when you were beginning to lose hope, the thick trees seemed to part and you spotted a small log cabin up ahead. The roof was covered in a thick layer of snow and the wind had blown massive drifts against the walls, but there was light shining from within and smoke lazily drifting out of the chimney. The mere thought of being warm again was enough to spur you onwards and the forest almost melted away as you zeroed in on your goal.

You managed to reach the door and to your immense relief, it was actually unlocked. You practically stumbled over your feet in your haste to get inside. It didn't help that you couldn't feel your toes anymore.

The temperature change was instantaneous. While you were still shivering, your body was already feeling the benefits of the warm air and shelter from the wind.

The cabin was very simply furnished with rough hewn furniture and the whole room seemed to have been built around a large, stone fireplace. There were thick quilts on the bed and furs nailed to the walls, possibly for insulation or decor? The only thing that seemed slightly out of place though, was the plush couch that had been seemingly dropped in front of the roaring fireplace.

It was also where Nightmare was currently lounging. He lazily looked over when you approached and a smile stretched across his skull, the warmth of which, seemed to rival the warmth in the air.

"Ah, there you are. I'm glad you made it," he said softly.

"I nearly didn't..." You shuddered and wrapped your arms around yourself in an attempt to get some feeling back into your muscles.

"I had faith that you would." There was a slightly mischievous glint in his cyan eyelight that seemed to suggest ulterior motives but you couldn't be sure what those were. Well, until he motioned for you to come closer that is.

"Would you care to sit with me, dear?" he nearly purred in that velvety tone of voice that never failed to make your heart do a flip. It should be illegal to sound half as enchanting as he did...

You weren't complaining though. He could read the phone book out loud and you would still swoon over him. With a weak nod, you approached the couch but it felt like you were in a haze as you did so. It was probably just the effects of early hypothermia though...

You felt him drape a very soft quilt over your shoulders and another one over your legs when you sank into the couch cushions. The heat from the fire felt heavenly to your chilled body and you stretched out your hands to warm them up again. There was nothing quite like sitting in front of a warm fire to make you feel better after being out in the cold like that.

You were momentarily shocked out of the clouds your mind had taken up residence in when two of Nightmare's tentacles snaked behind your back. He not so subtly pulled you even closer until he could rest his skull on the top of your head if he wanted to.

The interesting part was that his tentacles were rather warm to the touch instead of cool like they naturally were. You suspected it was because of the black ooze coating them that naturally absorbed the heat from the roaring fire. The rest of him also felt quite warm to the touch and it was effectively chasing the chill away from your bones.

This was nice. It almost felt domestic in a way...if you ignored the sheer power imbalance and the fact that this was only a dream. Still, it was turning out to be another nice one.

Neither of you said anything for several minutes and just enjoyed the warmth of the fire as well as each other's company. Eventually though, you broke the silence first.

"I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but you've been far kinder than I initially expected. In fact, compared to my first few interactions with Dust and Killer, you've been downright nice."

Nightmare let out a low chuckle at that. "I'm not a nice person," he responded quietly. "I merely treat people how they deserve to be treated. Since you've been respectful and have managed to get along with all of my henchmen, I have deemed you worthy of kindness, even if it's only what little I'm capable of giving."

You turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "If you consider our previous interactions as you only showing a little bit of kindness, than you're already better than most people I've met."

He seemed a little taken aback by your words and his normally passive expression faltered into something more of a concerned one. His cyan eyelight scanned your face for several long seconds before he slowly shook his skull.

"Either you've only met people that are truly despicable or you don't know what true kindness is," he murmured.

"Maybe a bit of both?"

He started to nod but paused and gave you a bit of a weird look. "I thought your soul trait was Kindness...?"

You shrugged, "I have no idea honestly. Axe once told me I might be a variation of Kindness but I have no idea if that's true or not."

"Axe has good intuition. I am surprised neither of the other two ever drew you into an Encounter though. They aren't usually the types to hold back..." He trailed off and got a bit of a thoughtful expression now.

"Huh, I guess it never really came up? Although I don't even think they really saw me as much of a threat in the first place."

"Perhaps," Nightmare mused. "However they are smart enough to know that looks can be deceiving."

"I am really curious what my soul trait actually is though..."

He chuckled and lightly patted you on the head. "I'm afraid I can't actually draw you into an Encounter in this place, but I do not mind showing you some other time."

He fixed you with a more serious look and added, "Showing one's own soul to another is generally a very personal and sometimes intimate affair. So please consider it carefully, as by letting me see your soul, I'll be able to see even your deepest secrets. I should also mention that once secrets are revealed, they can never be truly hidden again..."

You nodded solemnly and stared into the dancing flames. You knew very well how serious it was. While you didn't know a lot about magic or souls, you'd seen how excited human-monster couples got at the prospect of sharing their souls with each other. It was never something you'd imagined to experience for yourself though.

You weren't special. You weren't rich, or very attractive, or particularly skilled. There was no reason for a monster to give you a second glance...

Nightmare had a good point though. You had known him for barely four days and you weren't exactly sure if you wanted him to know everything about you. Frankly, you didn't know if you wanted any of the boys to know about some of your deepest secrets. You were still curious though...

"Hey Nightmare?" you asked.

He hummed and tilted his skull in a questioning way.

"This dream seems reminiscent of you."

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

You couldn't help but smile at what you were about to tell him. "Well, outside it's absolutely frigid, but there's a small kernel of warmth on the inside. You seem much the same in my opinion."

His permanent smile widened considerably in clear amusement. "That's an...interesting way of putting it, dear..." He used his tentacles to lightly squeeze you and his gaze seemed almost affectionate for a brief moment.

After that, you eventually fell asleep next to him and the dream ended pleasantly. Despite everything, you felt content knowing that he seemingly cared about you, even if he hadn't acknowledged it out loud. Why else would he even be bothering to spend his time with you lately?

[nyxxxx-onepieces-dragun]

can i PLZ rq mikey with a (gender neutral please) reader who's like...a sunshine type but they're actually pretty depressed and just trying to make him happy? FRIENDS TO LOVERS PERHAPS?? WHERE HE TAKES THEM OUT ON A DATE TO MAKE THEM ACTUALLY HAPPY AND HE CONFESSES AND SHIT PLZZ

sorry if this is too much, have a nice day and don't forget to drink water!

Omg I actually love this Bc this is a reader I can relate with! ty for being my first request and you too drinks lot of wata!

A/N: this is quite long because I could not stop writing hehe also I was listening to "heaven and back" By chase atlantic and MWAH that song is what helped write this fic but enjoy all my lovelies! ;3

Characters: Mikey x gender neuteral! reader, mentions of other characters (maybe) angst with comfort (I'm rlly bad at giving warnings lol bc I like surprising yall heh)

Hold my hand~

you were sat in your small apartment seated by the window that was littered with falling raindrops, soft thunder ran throughout the skies as you silently drank the warm cup of tea infront of you, the weather matched your mood, you've always felt like this since before you could remember, you don't remember what triggered it but you started falling into this deep abyss of foreign emotions, lost in the darkness you found comfort in until you finally hit rock bottom. That is, until you saw him, walking through the halls of your school with a tall intimidating guy that had a black dragon tattooed on the side of his head, you initially thought he was bad news and no good due to people whispering about how the bleach blonde boy was "the invincible Mikey" and how he ran "..The most dangerous gang in Tokyo" you kept your distance for as long as you could until he one day approached you with a confused look on his puppy face. "Excuse me do you know where Takemitch Hanagaki is?" he asked his head tilted to the side "oh- uhm I don't think anyone by that name goes here- but I can help you look if you'd like" you offered with a smile, something about this boy made you feel something, his aura was inviting and welcoming, and it made you feel something you haven't felt in a long time but you couldn't pin-point what it was "Oh really? that would be nice thank you lady!" he said with a small laugh that made you smile even more, it was child-like and rang through your ears like a soothing melody. Eventually you found this Takemitchi hanagaki with a sweet looking pink haired girl, you were about to take your leave when Mikey grabbed your shoulder to stop you. "Hey don't leave yet! your my friend now and we have to hang out!" he said with a boyish smile and you turned to him with a confused expression, "you want to be my friend?" you asked with a doubtful tone, "Of course! you helped me so now I wanna be friends!" your heart fluttered at his words and you quickly smiled and nodded "Alright then we'll be friends then!" you say and before you knew it he was hugging you in a tight embrace that sent waves of emotion through you. From that point on you've been the best of friends with Mikey, you did everything together from going on rides with him on his motorcycle or going to the convenience store to get him more dorayaki. He was the light in your darkness and you wanted to make him the happiest he could be since he was practically saving you from yourself, you both laughed and smiled whenever you were with each other, but when those days were over and you were left alone in your cold bed staring up at the dark ceiling those wretched thoughts and horrible sadness filled your veins again and you began to overthink 'What if he's just trying to make a fool out of me?' 'If he knows about my real emotions he'll for sure not want to be friends with me anymore' and you swore to yourself to never let Mikey see that dark ugly side of you, even when he was sad or talked about him brother, you always were right there to comfort him, to make him smile as long as he was happy you were happy...right? "Y/N why are you sad?" Mikey asked one day as you both were walking alongside each other the sun was setting painting a beautiful array of pastel colors, you turn to Mikey with a confused expression "..huh?" "you just seem so..sad today" he says looking up at the sky, your heart rate increased you felt your mind racing with thoughts of how this could all go wrong, you started hyperventilating your smile faltering and before you could even say one word he turned to you with a deadpan expression. "Let's go on a date."

OKAY OKAY LISTEN, I have Part 2 coming up and I'll post it bc I MADE THIS TOO DAMN LONG KJSDSKDJNFJSJDK but reposts/reblogs are welcome js credit me!^^ Tags: @nakukuu @z3r0aqxa

[fallingdownhell]

Hello! Could I request Vanitas and Noe coming home to a massive feast made by their s/o on their birthday?

Spoiling your significant other...always very cute!

Characters Included: Vanitas; Noé

Content: gender neutral reader; overall just fluff

Word count: 920 words

Have fun!

Vanitas

Having a birthday this early on in the new year meant that there weren't really all that many fun things to do

the weather was still cold most of the time, so not many people were and and about, prefering to stay in the comfort of a warm home

Vanitas was one of those people to get bored rather quickly when there was nothing exciting happening. Sitting around and doing nothing wasn't really something he enjoys. He's always out looking for some fun

his own birthday is no exception to that rule. Sure, he likes to spend that day with you, his most favourite and most important person in the world, but he still wants to do something

he's just a tad bit dissapointed when you tell him that you don't have the time to entertain him today

but he doesn't have much time to complain because a knock on the door sounds

Noé is here, dragging Vanitas out the door as soon as he lays eyes on the black haired male

they are out the entire day, doing whatever within the city (maybe causing some chaos here and there) but overall kept quite tame

he had a fun day, though it would have been better had you joined them on their endeavours

but as soon as he enters the house again, he is suddenly hit with the smell of freshly cooked food, which is suspicious to him

didn't you tell him that you didn't have time today?

he walks into the kitchen where he's greeted with an entire menu. It was like a four or five course meal

astounded, he just stood there, surprised by it, until you got him out of his trance again

apparently, you saying that you didn't have time was just a farce so that you could prepare all the food in peace. Noé just made sure that he was occupied the entire time

Vanitas wanted to be mad at you and say something, but seeing as all the food consisted of all his favourite dished, he bit his tongue and kept his mouth shut, thanking you with a kiss instead

you both enjoyed the food you made, talking and laughing while eating. He really liked your cooking, it tasted so good to him, better than anything else he had ever eaten

after you were both done, you took care of the dishes and all the cleaning up, telling him to just relax

later, you joined him in the living room where the two of you cuddled a bit more before you both decided to just take things up into the bedroom, where Vanitas thanked you properly for all the hard work you put in for him...

Noé

such a sweet man, and boyfriend!

honestly, there is not much decieving or anything else to be done with him

just straight up tell him that you have something planned for his birthday, but that you need time to prepare it

he will happily give you enough time, actually all the time you could possibly need

just say the word and he is out the house. No need to worry about him, he can find a way to pass the time

though he keeps telling you that you don't have to do anything for his birthday, but you keep insisting, so he just lets go of the topic, letting you do what makes you happy

so excited to find out what you have in mind for him. Can't help himself but trying to figure out what it could possibly be while being all hyped and giddy

once it's time for him to come back, he almost can't contain his excitement anymore. Like, literally, if he had some sort of tail, it would be wagging like crazy the entire time

immediately upon entering, he is hit with the smell of your cooking

excited, he throws his shoes off and runs into the kitchen, where you're currently in, adding the last finishing touches to the last dish

Noé takes a second to look over all the food, recognising all his favourite meals, divided into an entire five course meal

happy to receive such a thoughtful gift from you, he hugs you close to him, showering you in kisses, thanking you over and over again

you smile and giggle at his affection, but soon swatting him off of you, telling him that the food will if you don't start eating soon

you best believe he's enjoying every single bite he takes like it's the last in his life

he always tells you how divine he thinks your cooking is, but seeing him enjoy it so much is an entirely different feeling. One that fills you with pride that you're able to get that reaction out of him

after you're done, he stands up to take care of the dishes, but you shush him away, almost ordering him to leave the kitchen to let you take care of the mess

you need a bit more convincing but in the end, he relents, letting you handle it while he relaxes in the living room, though he keeps an eye on you from there

as soon as you're done, he pulls you onto the couch with him, where he cuddles you close, arms tightly closed around you

this time, no complaining or anything else is enough to make him stop showering you with praises, kisses and thank you's

after all, he has to show his appreciation for you in some way, right?

[ohbo-ohno]

Ghoap au where lumberjack Simon lives a reclusive life deep in the woods, becoming the local cryptid. Johnny, a traveller, gets lost in the midst of a storm.

Simon finds the man shivering and cold on his doorstep, begging for some kind of help. Please, sir, I promise I'll leave when the weather warms again! I'll help you with whatever you need, anything!

And Simon takes one look at this beautiful in such a pitiful state and thinks Oh Yes. This one will do nicely.

Because Simon isn't human, and he's been looking to turn someone into his familiar for quite a while. And he thinks he just found the right one, though it'll take some training, good things this storm isn't stopping anytime soon, is Simon wills it so.

And what's this about leaving? Nonsense. He can chain the man down to his bed if it comes to that.🗑️

oh my god i love this tysm

i read this fic foreverrrr ago that i will never ever be able to find again with a young man who gets in a crash and stumbles, lost and bleeding, through a forest until he comes across a cabin. inside that cabin is a nice middle-aged man who offers to let him stay the night, to help him

of course it turns out that the old man is a vampire and he compels the younger man into some cockwarming and mirror sex, and it's all very delicious. i mourn that goddamn fic

i also read a (platonic) fic with a witch who had like necromancy related magic that depleted/killed pretty much every familiar he ever found, until he stumbled across a very very vulnerable familiar and went (like you said) "oh this will do nicely" except, plot twist, the familiar is completely and totally unwilling to work with him. kidnapping ensues

anyways! ghoap! (also hannigram but we're not here for that)

i will alwayssss love ghost who sets eyes on soap for the first time and thinks "Mine". doesn't need to hear his voice, doesn't need to even talk to him really, there's just a bone deep knowing that that man is meant to be his. and of course the more he sees of Johnny's personality, the more he wants to claim the man as totally and completely his. by my favorite brand of ghoap has that insta-love trope baked in <3

and i love love love the idea of simon seeing vulnerable johnny and being like "oh i can take advantage of this"

and this idea you've presented is ripe for some serious abuse and manipulation

maybe johnny gets a little sick in the morning :( it's no shock, wandering around in the cold and pouring rain, of course he's caught a cold! and simon offers medicine (medicine that johnny is just oh so thankful for) and it turns out that it doesn't actually help that much, and while soap isn't really sick anymore he is exhausted all the fucking time, can hardly get out of bed (and oh he begs so prettily for ghost's forgiveness, poor thing doesn't even realize ghost has been sapping his energy to fuel his magic)

the thing that finally clues johnny in is the way simon constantly seems ready for him to be aggressive. im talking never leaving anything even verging on sharp within his reach (including forks), always staying a little stiff around johnny. eventually it occurs to him that maybe he's waiting for johnny to become aggressive, and there's only a few reasons that would happen after weeks of docility

anyways i love you for sending this in

[fireopal-tash]

Blue Diamond Steven AU 💙

Kind and shy. Steven loves music above anything else, even more than the original. However, when something goes wrong or when he feels overwhelmed, he turns pessimistic and completely shuts down. It's hard for anyone to cheer him up, only Blue Pearl's singing voice able to do that

He enjoys listening to music constantly, to the point he has his phone with him at all times for when anxiety strikes. His favourite singer? Greg Universe! Which is the reason they meet in the end

This Steven feels cold, even in the hottest weather, so it's not a surprise to see him using a hoodie or a jumper during summers

His Pearl, Blue Pearl, was the one to raise him and teach him anything he needed in life. Unfortunately, that means he was quite sheltered and he's socially awkward. He still likes to make friends and company, he just prefers to stay in silence or listening to music. Art is another hobby he learned to love because of his Pearl

Greg didn't find out about him until Steven was 16, meaning he wasn't there for him. Despite that, they actually have a good and close relationship. Steven doesn't resent him, understanding Greg didn't even know about his existence

Steven has a good relationship with Rose and the rest of the Crystal Gems when they meet. A bit awkward at times, but good for Greg's sake. Later on they warmed up to him as a person (Rose being the hardest one as she constantly saw Blue on him)

Steven's name was chosen by Blue Pearl, while she was learning about humans during her time with Blue Diamond

Yellow Diamond Steven AU 💛

Steven was sent to an orphanage when he was found. Yellow Pearl was unable to find him until he was 6 or so years old. Her Diamond never mentioned about wanting to create a life, although she did mention she was experimenting about something. The sad thing is that, she only found out when Yellow disappeared, having to use any and all information she could gather to search for her, to later connect the dots to Steven

Steven's name was chosen randomly by the people in the orphanage. His time there was not the best, as anyone can imagine. He had to fight to defend himself, fight to get food or clothes. Just to survive. Despite all that, he is has a heart of gold (or, rather, Diamond heart haha)

Some probably would believe his temper would be short, but they would be wrong. He's actually very patient, using strategy to get what he wants. Smart, capable, with a strong personality, he loves to gang out with anyone. Loves to socialise and hates being alone because of his trauma during his time in the orphanage where he was isolated by his peers and locked by the matron (it was quite a religious orphanage so he also grew up with that)

Something he hates, apart from his gem getting covered, is when his loves ones are hurt in any way. He's very protective of them

Yellow Pearl was, initially, clinically cold towards him as she didn't even know anything about humans although she understood he wasn't her Diamond anymore. She did warm up to him eventually because of Steven's stubbornness, there to teach him anything he asked to learn about and more! She's very proud of him and let's him know at all times

Their relationship with Rose and the rest of the Crystal Gems is... neutral at best. They constantly argue but help each other whatever the need arises as Steven feels responsible for what his Mother did

His temperature has always been higher than it should, able to withstand most heat related attacks. But his best ability resides more on the use of strategy

Now, Greg was aware of his existence, to a certain point, as he received a letter detailing Steven's existence. But he always believed he lost him so when he found out about him, safe and sound when he was thirteen, he was thrilled and did all the could to spend as much time with him as he could, at times even too overbearing. Steven is okay with that and he understands why his Father is reacting in such a way. He's glad his Father loves him and didn't actually abandoned him

White Diamond Steven AU 🖤

Steven was taken by Greg far from Beach City, ashamed of himself at being a single dad when he has no job nor anyone to share his burdens with. They lived in different cities, moving from one place to another, poor but together. They relationship is strained sometime because of the circumstances. It didn't help that Greg was alone, having never met Rose just yet and not trusting many people because of... history

When Greg met White Diamond, he never thought their time together would result on Steven, at times wondering if he made a mistake. Mistakes because he could see how much it was affecting his son, who sometimes cried, was alone, bullied. You name it. Stress and loneliness weren't helping either. He loves Steven though, there's no doubt about that. And he wants to best for him, even if that means he has to sacrifice himself. Steven hates when Greg does that, it hurts him to see his father in such a state

Since they never met Rose and the Crystal Gems, they were unaware there were people who could have helped them, or at least given them some answers about White Diamond and Homeworld, as Steven was constantly dreaming of that place. But they did manage to meet after Greg decided to return to Beach City, they got the help the needed. In a strange way, Rose turned the mother Steven never had, and Greg fell in love with Rose (although they never had any kids biologically speaking)

Volleyball/Pink Pearl was left alone after Steven's birth and she found her way to Rose, explaining what she could recall happened to White Diamond, something that shocked the crystal gems. It was later when they meet them in person after their return to Beach City (confirming what Volleyball told them)

Blue and Yellow Diamond remained unaware as they believed White was simply hiding herself as she's been doing many times before, although worried about "her" Pearl as she wasn't seen for quite some time, prompting them to investigate and found out about Rose/Pink and Steven

Steven needs calm and constant reassurance. He's constantly stressed, exhausted, and sleeps a lot. But even in his dreams he's still tired, unable to rest. What helps him to get his mind off of everything is reading (or someone else reading to him), diving into different worlds

Steven HATES his gem exposed to everyone as he had been made fun of it. Greg tried to assure him it wasn't ugly or bad, it was simply part of him, but his distate didn't change so Steven sometimes has his gem hidden in some way or another

His name was chosen by his father

💙💛🖤

In case anyone was wondering... Yes, their gems are actually huge! But, hey I have to make it work xD So, imagine their anatomy and how most part of their respective gems are practically hidden inside their bodies

[anrisimps]

LeeRok Rofan Au

Krs was reborn as Cale Henituse's twin brother. He regained his memories when he was 12 yrs old and realized that he was in a novel. His brother was supposed to marry the commoner Alpha at the behest of the king. Cale obviously hated the idea and ran away from home. It then fell onto the Duke to send someone else from their household to marry lsh

Krs was glad that he regained his memories years before the canon events began. His brother didn't need to run away from home now for krs would gladly take his place. Lsh was his ideal man after all

Krs held the letter with trembling fingers. To think lsh had finally replied. His brother had made so much fun of him because of this. Cale thought it was very weird and out of character for Roksu to  fall in love with a man he had never met before, and write letters to said man without expecting anything back. Cale truly did not know what went around in his brother's head anymore. 

Roksu henituse was one of the most popular omega in the entire kingdom- other kingdoms even- and turned heads wherever he went. He hated socializing but had everyone eating out of his hands in mere minutes of meeting them. That was why it was extremely weird for this cold omega, the icy beauty of their kingdom, to approach an alpha first- a commoner to boot. Even the crown prince was pushed aside in favor of that man. Cale was extremely curious to meet this alpha who had stolen his brother's heart without meeting him even once.  

Krs felt like his heart would jump out of his throat as he opened the letter. Lsh had replied, his alpha had replied. The man had responded after one year of constantly sending letters, each one ending with the same thing over and over again-You don't have to reply- because it was krs who suddenly approached the man. The alpha had all the reasons to ignore him, even if his current pen pal was the son of the Duke Henituse, quite possibly the richest family in the continent. 

Krs knew the type of man lsh was. He had read so much about him after all. He was going to approach the man at the new year's ball if he hadn't replied but to think he actually did?!

"Dear Roksu Henituse,

Young master-nim, unlike the weather at the capital you spoke of, it's snowing here-

.

.

.

-Commander Lee Soo Hyuk"

Krs read the letter at least a hundred times after that, as if he wanted to burn each and every word into his memory pretending like he hadn't memorized the letter the first time he read it. There wasn't anything special, the alpha spoke of inane things like he had. He told him about his day, what he ate for lunch, what monsters he fought and how he loved the pens that Rok Soo gifted him. The omega felt something pleasant unfurling inside him at the remark.

 If Cale saw him at the moment he would've screeched that someone had possessed his brother because the omega never blushed. Well, he wasn't blushing right now either but the warm, fond look in his eyes and the barely hidden joy, which was miles away from his usual expressionless face- was as good as flushing and skipping about with barely restrained joy. 

Rok Soo read the letter once again and decided that he needed to snag his alpha soon. His one year worth of efforts bore fruit and he was ready to proceed to the next step- seduce his alpha. 

He wasn't narcissistic like his brother but it was hard to deny his beauty when he stood in front of the mirror. This body was  much more beautiful than his previous scar ridden body. His alpha didn't stand a chance. He looked forward to seeing the man at the new year's ball. 

Soon you shall be mine, alpha

Omake-

Og!Cale : You don't need to marry him.

Krs : But I will.

Og!Cale : No one is forcing you-

Krs: He is my husband. Mind your own business.

Og!Cale : .......

[theflyingfeeling]

Fourth Day of Gift-Giving: Four Flour Fails

Prompt: Their baking attempt ended up in a flour fight and with a small innocent puppy who now looked like a ghost dog

There is only one main character in this chapter and you all know who she is 🐶 Thanks for everyone who's read this story so far, I hope you've enjoyed it 🥺 The previous part can be found here 💕

~

Olli’s hair smelled of forest. Aleksi wasn’t sure how that was possible, but it did. He guessed it must have been because of the shampoo bottle Aleksi had seen in Olli’s bathroom, with a stylized drawing of pine twigs on the label, but part of him also wanted to believe it was some kind of magic, or that Olli was secretly a forest deity of some sort. Either way, Aleksi could not get enough of it, burying his nose in Olli’s curls over and over again, taking deep breaths to relish the sweet scent, all the while trying to resist the temptation of planting small kisses on the crown of Olli’s head. He thought they perhaps weren’t quite there yet, despite having gone way past innocent smooches weeks ago already.

For now, just lying in bed with Olli in his arms was more than enough. Aleksi still couldn’t make sense of what exactly had possessed him for him to be so bold at bedtime the night before, which, at last, had lead them to where they were now, but with Olli’s peaceful breaths tickling the sensitive skin on Aleksi’s neck, he was glad it had happened. It had been a shot in the dark, more or less, but it was the only chance he had had, since he had been foolish enough to ask Olli to share his bed with him; no doubt, Aleksi would have lost his mind for good if they had then just lied in the dark side by side, frozen in place, too anxious to hold each other close like they were supposed to, at least in Aleksi’s daydreams.

Indeed, Aleksi felt as if he was living one right now. Olli was like a daydream: soft and warm and incredible, and maybe just a little unreal.

“Mmmmmmmmhhh,” Olli hummed next to him and turned to lie on his back, forcing Aleksi to scoot closer if he wished to keep enjoying the foresty smell of Olli’s locks.

(He did.)

“Whatcha wanna do today?” Olli asked him, a hint of a smile in his tone. 

Aleksi had to mentally browse through a collection of answers that were either too much and too sudden, all things considered, (‘could we just lie here like this the whole day, warm and comfortable and happy?’) or too vulgar (‘you’) before he decided on something he could actually say out loud.

“Just something simple I guess. We could cook together or–”

“What, do you not trust me to cook for you anymore?”

Aleksi muffled his giggles in Olli’s hair.

“Just an idea.”

They lazed around in Olli’s bed for a little longer, not really doing much but enjoying each other’s presence, which was a welcome change to the tension that had threatened to overtake Aleksi’s visit in the north. When they could no longer procrastinate starting off their day – preparing breakfast and taking Rilla out for her morning walkies – they got up and did exactly that, still not talking a whole lot, but at least Aleksi felt way more content with the silence between them this time around. He wondered if Olli felt the same, and perhaps he did, if Aleksi was to judge by the small smiles Olli kept giving him over the breakfast table or while they walked at a leisurely pace in the crisp morning weather that suddenly didn’t feel half as cold as it had the day before. Such was the power of Olli’s smile, Aleksi reckoned.

The noon was spent mostly entertaining Rilla, although Aleksi for one was also hugely entertained by watching Olli laugh at Rilla’s antics and blush just a little when he finally noticed Aleksi looking at him (Aleksi, on the other hand? why, Aleksi Kaunisvesi was beyond such things, and even if his cheeks did warm up when he was caught staring, it was solely because the frost outside had bitten his cheeks particularly severely). When Rilla grew tired of playing, she promptly made herself comfortable on Olli’s lap again, shamelessly taking advantage of this new-found source of attention, and Aleksi too couldn’t help but rest his head on Olli’s shoulder, now that he knew he wouldn’t flinch away.

“She’s the cutest,” Olli said quietly, looking down at Rilla, gently petting her fur.

“I know.” Aleksi scratched her behind her ear, earning a long, happy sigh as his reward, which filled his whole chest with bubbling love. 

“I’d hate to disturb her though, but we need to go to the grocery store soon if we’re actually gonna cook something today. There’s nothing but the light in my fridge.”

Although it pained him to do so, Aleksi lifted his head from the crook of Olli’s neck where it fitted so well and sat up straight, taking out his phone.

“Could we just order some groceries in instead? It’s cold as fuck out there anyway, and sorry but I’m not sitting in that freezer of yours you call ‘a car’ until you have the A/C fixed.”

It wasn’t even the wittiest sample of Aleksi’s dry humour, but Olli giggled at it anyway, almost in stiches. As for Aleksi, he was hooked on the sound of Olli’s laughter, so he made a mental note of trying to crack as many stupid jokes as he could during his visit to hear it over and over and over again; often enough so that he could replay it in his head like his favourite record whenever he missed Olli too much.

~*~

There were certain pros and cons to online grocery shopping: on one hand, you never had to leave the comfort of your house if you were out of milk or happened to be craving some sweets but couldn’t for the life of you be bothered to stick your nose outside (especially if the temperature was roughly twenty degrees below zero). On one hand, it was very easy to order two whole cartons of eggs instead of one with just one slip of your finger.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with two dozen eggs, Aleksi?!”

Aleksi pursed his lips, feeling sorry for having accidentally caused a minor egg crisis in the Matela household by not having bothered to double-check their groceries order.

“We could bake a cake?”

“We did order a carton of whipping cream.” The look in Olli’s eyes told Aleksi he was already buying into his suggestion.

“Two cartons, actually."

(Yeah, maybe Aleksi could try being a little careful with the numbers next time.)

“And there are some berries in the freezer. A blueberry cake!”

And so the Great Egg Crisis was resolved and laughed about – at least until Aleksi saw the mess Olli was making as he measured the ingredients for the layer cake, brows furrowed as he studied the recipe they had found online. Aleksi would’ve helped, but he feared they would never eat dinner that night if he left Olli in charge of cooking the steaks. That was why he kept a subtle eye on Olli while seasoning the cutlets and another one on Rilla who kept scurrying by their feet begging for attention, but the second it was time for him to prepare the sauce – that is, the second he wasn’t looking – a hand appeared to wipe a white stripe on the side of his black t-shirt as if out of nowhere. However, judging by the colour of Olli’s hand and the menace in his eyes, it didn’t take long for Aleksi to figure out what he was about.

“The fuck?!”

Olli giggled and slapped his hand on Aleksi again, this time on his chest, leaving a white hand-shaped flour imprint on it. Seeing the evident surprise on Aleksi’s face had Olli almost bend over in chuckles at his masterful gag. 

“You’re such a child,” Aleksi muttered, hardly convincingly, his own hand already in the flour bag. His revenge was successful, as in the next moment, the front of Olli’s sweater was all but covered in white.

“Hey!” Olli objected, as if he was the victim, but Aleksi was already preparing his next blow with a fist full of flour.

Breathless laughter and a whirling cloud of white filled Olli’s small kitchen. In the midst of it all, Aleksi couldn’t exactly tell when the flourfight turned into a match of standing wrestling, with Olli shrieking every time Aleksi tickled his sides, nor was he any longer aware of the state of the sauce he was supposed to be stirring, not to mention the steaks that should've been flipped minutes ago. After all, there were much pressuring tasks for him to tend to, such as smothering Olli’s perfect hair with potato flour and smudging some cocoa powder on his annoyingly pretty face. They paused their childish shenanigans only when Rilla’s surprised little squeak snapped them out of it.

“Ohhhh no, Rilla!” Aleksi was too full of endorphins to hide his amusement as he saw the state of poor Rilla, with half of the contents of a flour bowl tipped all over her. The rest were on the floor by their feet, staining their socks and pant legs. 

“Poor little one,” he kept giggling, trying to shrug Rilla’s fur clean. “Olli, look what you did!”

“Me?! Sorry but I think it was your elbow that knocked that bowl down. I did nothing but defend myself!” Olli argued, a playful smile still on his lips, although his eyes were already growing a little worried as they took in the chaos they had created together.

“In any case, she’s gonna need a bath now. Come on girl, nawww, I’m so sorry!” Aleksi spoke to the the flour-covered dog, who still seemed a little clueless as to how she had ended up in the middle of a kitchen civil war. Then Aleksi picked her up in his arms and headed towards the bathroom; unlike Olli, he didn’t even dare inspect the state of the kitchen in too much detail yet. Instead, he nudged Olli to join them. “I’m gonna need your help with this one, she hates baths.”

~*~

If Aleksi wasn’t already completely taken by Olli, seeing how good he was with Rilla – who wasn’t the most easily befriendable of dogs, being a dachshund and all – made Aleksi swoon for the man. He already knew he was going to miss Olli terribly once they’d be apart again, just in general of course, but especially the next time he needed to give Rilla a sponging; to have an extra pair of hands distracting the dog from the bath crimes being committed against her sure made rinsing her fur a whole lot easier. In fact, it was all going so well that Aleksi may have showered her neck a little longer than necessary, just so he could listen to Olli’s babytalk at Rilla just a little longer and see how smitten Rilla was for him, wagging her little tail the entire time (which also never happened when Aleksi washed her).

“You’re such a good girl!” Aleksi praised her when giving her the final rubs from what Aleksi believed to be Olli’s softest towel. Then he sent her off to defiantly sulk in her dog bed, as she’d soon remember she was supposed to be cross with Aleksi for putting her through such devious torture.

“Oof,” Aleksi sighed as he stood up from the tiled floor of Olli’s bathroom, straightening his shirt that was still covered in flour, despite his efforts at swiping most of it off while giving Rilla a bath.

He had a strange feeling Olli was staring at him, so he looked up at his friend. Aleksi assumed they were mirror images of each other, with their stained clothes, dishevelled hair and blushed cheeks, but beside all that, he saw something different in Olli’s eyes; something that made Aleksi’s breath grow shallow with all the memories it stirred in him.

“You… you got a little something there,” Olli said, pointing at Aleksi’s cheek. 

Aleksi had no means – nor intentions for that matter – to resist an old-time trick like that.

“Where?” he played along, urging Olli to go on.

And Olli did, closing the short distance between them, his eyes fixed on a spot near Aleksi’s lips. 

Aleksi held his breath, afraid that any wrong action might result in them taking two steps back again instead of one forward.

“Right there,” Olli whispered and lifted his hand to Aleksi’s chin, swiping away an invisible spot off the corner of his lips before bringing them to his own.

[slickshoesareyoucrazy]

Reality

Hey, A.

I brought you some Christmas bells. Your cup is getting full, but I can't imagine coming here too often empty handed. Maybe I'll bring another cup next time. I came today because it's the one day in a 3 week stretch of predicted weather that's not freezing and/or wet.

I cried at work today. Hard. You know why. Talking to M and L about it I know is good for me but it honestly makes me cry harder. Like gross, snotty crying. The kind I did a year ago. Actually not quite a year ago, because I didn't know you died until the 12th. When R called me. Because I'm not on Facebook and your partner didn't tell anyone. She didn't even tell your dad. I know you hadn't gotten along with your folks for a long time, but damn man. She had the local sheriff's office notify him. Which just has always seemed excessively cold and not like something you wanted. Had to wait for your dad to tell someone with Facebook before anyone knew. Me. D. J&R. GR still wouldn't know. That sucks.

So I wasn't sobbing a year ago today, because I was still under the impression you were going to text me back once you were done cleaning up the mess the dogs made jumping in your pool in December and walking through the house or whatever other reason that wasn't You Died that you weren't texting me back right away. I should have known better, man. You never waited that long to text me back. Never. Shit it was never more than the length of a movie in the theater. I didn't know though. You and J are the only people I've ever trusted like that. He WILL get back to me. I don't have to roll over every word I said wondering where the mistake was that made him never talk to me again. But you died.

I cried so hard for like a month after finding out. I remember almost not being able to stand up at your funeral. I'd have hit the deck if D wasn't there. R offered to go with me and I said no in favor of a different friend and I think I freaked her out pretty bad with how emotional I got. I used to never get emotional in front of people about anything. Not anymore. Definitely not then. I couldn't come here the day they put you in the ground. It was the right call to make when D said, "I don't think you should go. It's too much. It's too hard." People talked to me at the service almost like I was your widow. D was right of course. I didn't want to go to the cemetery with her and your dad and your son and your family, all of whom I know you had really complicated relationships with. Our friendship was (is) insular and singular and maybe kind of possessive. I can't share you with other people. It's still fucking hard to, in grief, to let all of it or even enough of it out. But I remember sobbing, "But I have to know where he is." D said the cemetery would tell me when I was ready to go. I knew this, of course. I thought I'd need J with me, but I have to be here alone. That's reality.

Speaking of reality...your dad was here today when I got here. I drove around and didn't park because I could tell he was leaving. I waited for him to go to come over. That's your gift to me today, when it's been a year. Reality. Someone else was finally here. At least he left the things I've left for you, even though he didn't bring anything himself. For you or your mom. A part of me has wanted this for 9 months, since the first time I came here. Someone else is acknowledging that you're gone. So that I can feel like it's real and not just some nightmare my social anxiety invented. Thank you. For that. And for everything else. Thank you for being the best friend I ever had. For so long. Through so much. I know it's selfish as fuck for me to wish you were still here to walk me through all the shit I'm a big baby about doing alone. I miss you terribly. I love you so much. You fucker. God. 😭💔

I'll be back on the next warm day that isn't actually Christmas Eve or Christmas. Rest in peace, my dear friend. I know what reality is, but I'll never let you go. ❤️❤️❤️

[the-crow-caws-witch]

Even Rats: Part 2 to Snow (Hey Oh)

The sequel/ follow up/ part 2 to Snow (Hey Oh).

For those of you who may not know, Snow (Hey Oh) is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it inspired part 1. The song that inspired part 2 is Even Rats by The Slip, since it has a different energy.

Link to the original:

But yeah, without further ado, please enjoy the fic :)

Rate T for innuendos and romance, and swearing.

Even Rats

Plumeria might have loved the serene beauty of what winter's first snow looked like, but it became quite evident to Piers that's about where the liking for it stopped- she detested the cold.  It made sense though, he thought to himself, with her having known only the warm tropical weather of Alola.  The coldest temperature she probably ever experienced was low 70s.  But he couldn’t deny how adorable she looked all bundled up, with a large knit scarf and matching hat, and the puffer jacket layered over the hoodie she tended to steal from him.  She, however, grumbled about the amount of layers needed to just walk to the cafe.

“I have zero idea how Melony works with this shit.” Plumeria huffed, taking careful steps.  By the time they had reawakened it was late morning, and all in all a good four inches of snow had piled upon the Spikemuth pavements and buildings.  Piers shook his head with a grin.

“Honesty, luv, this aint even that bad.”  And unfortunately for her, he was right.  The temperature had warmed up from the initial snowfall to about 35 degrees. Maybe it wasn't much, but it wasn't technically freezing anymore.  “Gonna be in the high 20s tomorrow.” He reminded her, almost laughing at her paled expression. 

“Fuck that!” She exclaimed, muffled somewhat by the scarf. “I'm staying inside tomorrow.”

“Don’ worry luv, I'll keep ya nice an’ warm.” Piers winked.  

“Perv.” She replied, though he knew damn well she thought the opposite, smacking his ass playfully as she walked past him.  His face flushed with the impact, but he still grinned.

“Ya best watch how ya act in these streets, darlin’.” He purred out, trying to sound intimidating.  

Even in all her layers Plumeria’s sass and attitude shone through as she halted, looking at him with one brow raised.  “Pfft! What're you gonna do about it?”

It took all of five seconds at best for his reply to hit her.  

As in literally. 

She stood frozen in place, eyes wide, absolutely shocked at what just happened, the snowball slowly, comically sliding off the side of her face.  Piers, on the other hand, was nearly pissing himself, doubled over in laughter.

That laughter was cut short when a very similar impact of cold smashed against the top of his head. He looked up at Plumeria, a smirk matching her own.  “Oh it's on.” He instigated, readying another snowball.  His girlfriend stared right back, eyes narrowed.

“Bring it.”

And thats how the Annual Spikemuth Snowfight started.  They got about four or five balls thrown at each other before the other grunts and city’s inhabitants chimed in, making quick work of the snow that had fallen earlier, damn near clearing the street and sidewalk in the city center.  It lasted over an hour, with Piers and Plumeria starting on opposite teams, then teaming together once Marnie and Bede entered the scene.  Only when both were absolutely pummeled into the ground with loud, boisterous laughter did they concede, deciding to finish their original outing, and get that damned caffeine. 

By the time the couple actually made it to the coffee shop it was more or less lunch time, and both were soaked and freezing.  They got their cups to go, noting to take the back alleys back to avoid whatever shenanigans were still going on the main road.  He kept her close to him, making sure best as he could that she wouldn’t catch a cold.  Luckily their flat was only about a block or so away now.

“I gotta admit,” Plumeria smiled, “this was more fun than I thought it would be.”  She pecked him on the lips, then flicked his nose.  “But do that again and you’re fuckin’ dead to me baby.”

Piers laughed, knowing that it was an empty threat.  “We’re almost home luv.  I’ll make us some chowder for lunch, and get nice an’ warm again.”  

“You better keep me warm baby.  You did promise after all.” She wiggled her brows, and smacked his ass again.  “Race ya!” she teased, then bolted up to the main entrance.  Piers blinked, before gathering himself and sprinting after her, a wide smile on his face.

[slightlyconceited]

@pandaameii (continued from here):

With it being the changing of the seasons and the weather trying to fluctuate between still being warm to finally being chilly, there were days where it was still hard to tell when going out in just a t-shirt was enough or if a sweater was needed. Today was one of those days where a sweater was definitely needed, as a big gust of wind blew past the pair, causing Mei to shiver in return. But in her defense, it wasn’t all that chilly earlier in the day and it had in fact been sunny and warm! But then clouds started to overtake the sky during the last hour to the point where even the sun was barely visible now even with it still being the early afternoon. Despite that, the redhead thought she would be fine, not one who’s usually bothered by the cold and in fact preferred it. But maybe because of the sudden switch from sunny to chill, that gust of wind must’ve caught her off-guard, thus causing the redhead to wrap her hands around her arms and rub them in order to gain some fraction of heat. And just as she was doing that, Slightly asked if she wanted his jacket. “If I take it, then what about you? You’ll be cold instead then!”

The jacket was already coming off by the time Mei could speak up to protest. Slightly wouldn’t entertain any arguments about it as he draped the garment over her shoulders. “I never get cold,” he boasted, steadfastly ignoring the sudden sensation of icy air that raised goosebumps on his bare arms and refusing to flinch. As long as he told himself he was warm, he was warm; there was no way he was letting his friend go cold when he had something for her to wear. “Besides, it looks better on you anyway,” he added. The jacket was already oversized on Slightly—Mei was swimming in it. But it did match her hair…He wanted to see her blush the same color.

He wasn’t sure at what point things had started to change, only that looking back it all felt different now than how it used to be. When he and Mei had started hanging out she had been so shy around him, but the more time they spent together the more comfortable she got, and Slightly was quite sure she didn’t just see him as a celebrity anymore. But he didn’t know whether her mannerisms were only ever a simple matter of being starstruck, or if she’d actually fancied him at some point. Back then, he’d still been so caught up in all his failed romances and vowed to take a healthy break from dating, so he hadn’t paid much thought or attention to the potential crush Mei had on him, but these days it was like something had flipped. The more interested he grew in her, the more eager he was in trying to get reactions out of her to test whether she might still be interested in him. Maybe he should just be direct and ask her out, but he’d been burned one too many times at this point. He was tired of starting things that went nowhere, getting his heart invested just to get broken, so he wasn’t even going to start unless he was sure his feelings were reciprocated.

[niemernuet]

Shameless crack for the tenth prompt of the off-season winter sports challenge. The subject is "apologies" and the inspiration comes from that one picture in Gino's photo dump.

You know which one.

Exactly.

Rating: M pairing: Ginodi, Justiel, Loïc/Zoé (all background) characters: Marco Odermatt, Gino Caviezel, Thomas Tumler, Loïc Meillard, Zoé Chastan, Justin Murisier, Daniel Yule length: 1'700 words

On one end of the call, the camera panned over sharp, snow-capped peaks rising behind a small lake high above the tree line, the water looking as cold as it probably was. The other end showed a small beach; the ground was coarse sand mingled with pebbles whetted into round spheres by the tides. High cliffs overgrown with weather-beaten bushes and shrubs protected the bay from the Mediterranean wind on both sides.

"Not bad," Loïc conceded from atop his mountain, and switched to the front camera again. He paused when Gino did the same. "Is it a good time?"

Gino's grin did not waver. His free hand lazily wandered up, and began to stroke Marco's hair who was sleeping with his head resting on Gino's bare chest. A soft breeze made their sunshade flutter, and shadows danced over their faces "No problem. He shouldn't be sleeping anyway, otherwise I won't get him out of the bar tonight."

Marco hummed in protest and without moving one muscle.

Loïc nodded knowingly. "See, that's where an older partner comes in handy. Mine never wants to stay out past ten."

"I can hear you!" Zoé yelled from somewhere out of frame, and a grin washed over Loïc's face.

"You're living dangerously," Gino laughed.

Loïc winked. "It's going to pay off later."

Amiable silence settled between the mountains and the sea.

"Come on, think!" Gino urged after a while.

Loïc pensively shook his head. "I am and I can't find anything," he said with a shrug.

"Don't lie! You always find something to nag about."

"I'm not lying!" Loïc exclaimed. "You are having a perfectly nice holiday."

"Not even our clothes?"

"Quite to the contrary, actually," Loïc said. "That picture of you three in shorts and linen shirts from last night? You looked downright sophisticated and tasteful. I wouldn't mind going out to dinner with you dressed like that."

"Oh god," Gino groaned, and Loïc burst out laughing.

"Accept it, you're getting old and boring."

"Never!"

Loïc rolled his eyes, and took a gulp from his water bottle. "I don't know why you're so upset. It's good to evolve, you know? Otherwise you'd still run around in your terrible Hilfiger-jackets."

"I love that one!" Gino threw in.

Loïc pretended to shudder. "Whatever. At least you're not showing it off anymore. That proves you've grown."

"I found another!" Zoé's voice suddenly piped up in the background, and Loïc's gaze drifted off.

Somewhere beyond the phone's field of vision, something heavy plopped into the lake. Or rather, over it.

"Three, four, five, six!" Zoé counted, and cheered. "Six times! I told you I could do it!"

"I only counted five," Loïc protested. "And that last one was a bit meagre."

"There were six rings!" Zoé objected, her voice suddenly very close to the phone. "But that's not what's important right now. I have a bone to pick with you, Mister! Are you still on the phone with Gino?"

"He is!" Gino said, and watched as Loïc's phone suddenly moved, and showed the blue sky.

"Sorry, Gino," Zoé's voice said. "Loïc will have to call you back."

"No problem," Gino laughed, even though nobody on the other side was still listening to him.

"You said I’m old!"

"But in a totally loving way!"

"Sure! And do you call that old too?"

"Put that back on, we're on a public hiking trail!" Loïc hissed as the camera suddenly juddered, and turned black.

Gino chuckled, and threw the phone on top of his beach bag. With a contended sigh, he settled back into the deck chair, and started to stroke circles in Marco's sun-warmed skin.

"That is the most insulting thing Loïc has ever said to us," Marco muttered against Gino's chest, his eyes still closed.

"Agree," Gino smiled.

"Tasteful? We cannot let him get away with that."

"No way no how!" With one swift movement, Gino's hand shot across, and swatted Thomi sleeping on the other deck chair. With a snort, he jolted awake.

"What?" he asked drowsily.

"We have to go shopping!" Gino said.

-----

The salesman, upon realising that his new customers might occupy his shop for quite some time, had retreated back to his chair next to the till, and was scrolling through his phone. Marco, meanwhile, examined the display with a look of pure focus.

"I'm not sure," Thomi threw in when Gino picked up a pair of swim shorts with tiny palm trees printed on. "I thought for sure he'd object to my pink shorts. Now that we know that he actually likes them, he might also like those."

Gino sighed, and put the shorts back. "You're right. This is so difficult."

"We need help!" Marco piped up, and turned away from the swim outfits. Quickly he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialled a number. They did not have to wait long until a familiar voice shouted out of the loudspeakers.

“What?”

“Hey, Justin,” Marco said. “Could you switch the camera on for a second? We need your help.”

They received a string of French swearwords first but after a few moments, Justin’s dirtied, sweaty face greeted them out of a bulky helmet.

“I hope there’s a reason why you’re making me take off my glove,” he said. “Shouldn’t you be at the beach?”

“We’re on our way,” Gino answered. “But we wanted some new swim shorts first and we can’t decide.”

“You’re our deciding vote,” Thomi added.

Justin frowned. In the background, loud engine noises roared past. Next to the big helmet they only saw a glimpse of a muddy race track somewhere deep in a forest.

“You’re three people,” Justin said. “You don’t need a deciding vote…”

“Please?” Marco asked, and smiled.

Justin rolled his eyes, and a soft grin appeared on his face. “Okay, okay. Show me what you got.”

“Thank you!” Marco said, and pressed a button on the phone. He slowly waved it over the display, taking in every corner of the shop.

“That’s a big selection…” Justin mused.

“We know,” Gino said. “But we trust that you will find the right one for us!”

Justin remained silent for a moment. “Maybe you should ask Loïc. He knows more about this kind of stuff.”

“No!” Marco exclaimed. “We can’t ask him!”

Justin frowned. “Why?”

“Because we don’t want something Loïc would choose,” Thomi explained. “We want the opposite, you know?”

“Something truly hideous,” Gino added.

Justin could not see their faces as the camera was still panned on the clothes but the three of them could see him, and his sudden frown.

“Excuse me?” he asked. “You called me because you think I’m going to choose the…ugliest thing?”

The expression on his face was difficult to read, and the others held their breath.

“You think my taste is shit?” Justin asked softly.

Gino, Marco and Thomi exchanged sheepish looks.

“Okay, maybe that was a bit…insensitive,” Thomi whispered.

“We’re sorry, Justin,” Marco said. “We didn’t mean to…”

He could not finish his sentence because Justin doubled over the handlebar of his bike with laughter, and needed a few moments before he could hold his phone straight again.

“This is the best thing ever!” he hiccupped. “I can’t wait to tell Daniel about this.”

Gino cringed. “Maybe don’t?” he asked. “I don’t think he’d take it well, and we don’t need his…”

“No, I’m absolutely going to tell him,” Justin chuckled, and waved his free hand, still sticking in a glove, in front of the camera. “Okay, show me those swim trunks again!”

With a sigh, Marco turned back to the display.

“No, not those!” Justin snapped impatiently. “The other corner of the shop.”

“But there are no swim shorts there,” Marco said. “We need….”

“I’m going to tell you what you need!” Justin interrupted him. “That’s why you called me. Now walk over there, chop chop!”

-----

“Man, those things really wander in there when you take big steps,” Thomi griped, and shook his legs while pulling on his new swim suit.

The sun was setting spectacularly behind the harbour, sending golden rays over the shore, but neither Gino nor Marco had eyes for the beauty that unfolded all around their rental boat.

“Did he write back already?” Gino asked.

Marco shook his head. “He read it but he’s not typing,” he said with disappointment.

“Probably still looking for words,” Gino grinned, and sank down on the deck chair next to him. He propped his chin on his hand, and bent one leg but before he could attract Marco’s attention on his new outfit, his phone beeped.

“An answer?” he asked excitedly.

Marco frowned. “No, a message from Zoé…” He opened the message, and burst out laughing. Before Gino or Thomi could ask, he turned his phone around, and eagerly they read Zoé’s words and marvelled at the photo she had sent.

I hope you’re proud of yourself. He’s been peppering his hamburger for five minutes with the same thousand-yard-stare. I think this time you really broke him.

Thomi laughed. “Success!” he cheered.

Marco smiled at Gino, and leant over for a kiss. “All thanks to Justin.”

“And your genius,” Gino added.

Before Marco could answer, his phone lit up again. His smile fell like a stone when he saw what it was.

“A voice message from Daniel,” he hissed, and held his phone as if it could explode any second.

Thomi winced, and took a step back until he was leaning against the railing of the boat.

For a moment, they all stared at the gadget in Marco’s hand.

“How bad can it be?” Gino eventually asked. “We’re at least a thousand kilometres away from him, so…”

With an unsure look, Marco tentatively pushed the button, and they all listened as Daniel’s enraged voice boomed over the deck.

“Congratulations, idiots! You better hope I don’t see your perky asses anywhere when you come to Zermatt, unless of course you want a bunch of slalom skis up them! I only just managed to convince Justin to wear those nice slacks and the shirt I bought him, and you morons ruined everything! I hope a pack of seagulls attacks you!”

With bated breath they stared at the phone a while longer until they were sure that Daniel was finished.

“That could have been worse,” Marco said, and they all nodded.

[definitely-not-iorveth]

I kneeeww you’d reblog them x3 gimme all

OKAY FINALLY THE TIME HAS COME

*rolls sleeves up*

who is/are your comfort character(s)? is anyone going to be surprised if i say iorveth

lighter or matches? matches. it is so fascinating to watch the flame slowly crawl up the stick ☺️🥰

do you leave the window open at night? i tend to, except during winter and mosquito season

which cryptyd being do you believe in? none sadly

what color are your eyes? brown

why did you do that? why did i do what

hair-ties or scrunchies? i think i'm partial to scrunchies

how many water bottles are in your room right now? probably zero? not sure tho. i'm not in my room right now. i'm not even in the country.

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee? BOTH ARE EQUALLY GROSS

would you slaughter the rich? with pleasure

favorite extracurricular activity? writing

what kind of day is it? rainy

when was the last time you ate? for actual food, about 7-8 hours ago. for a snack, like an hour

do you love the smell of earth after it rains? hmm... i'm going to say yes

are you a parent? (all answers qualify) yes i am the deadbeat father to a longcat plushie. his name is marian.

can you drive? kind of but not really

are you farsighted or nearsighted? painfully nearsighted

what hair products do you use? shampoo. that's it.

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails? hell yeah.

do you say soda or pop? soda

something you’ve kept since childhood? i don't think i have a thing like that

what type of person are you? what does that even mean. what are my options.

how do you feel about chilly weather? strong dislike

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing? i mean that depends on the rooftop??? there are so many rooftops out there.

perfume/body spray or lotion? ew, neither

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times? idk how to answer this question. scenario for what?

about how many hours of sleep did you get? 7-8

do you wear a mask? sometimes

how do you like your shower water? warm to boiling, depending on the time of year

is there dishes in your room? see the answer to bottles of water

what type of music keeps you grounded? various kinds

do you have a favorite towel? no

the last adventure you’ve been on? exploring the Court Gardens

is there a song you know every word to by heart? hmm, not anymore, i think

what’s your timezone? utc+2

how many times have you changed your url? on this blog or in general? on this blog, 4 times i think?

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years? no

a soap bar that smells good? i don't use soap bars

do you use lip balm? yes my lips and the area around them cracks something awful

did you have any snacks today? yes

how do you take your coffee? i don't

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site? spotify

what’s your take on spicy foods? good for the soul, bad for the stomach

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it? there are SO many people. SO MANY PEOPLE. but i'd start with jarosław kaczyński.

can you remember what happened yesterday? yes

favorite holiday film? no

what was the last message you sent? iorveth fire emoji

when did you first try an alcohol beverage? at like 9? not quite sure

can you skip rocks? eh, not that well

can i tag you in random stuff? ALWAYS

whew

this was hard

BUT I FUCKING GOT THROUGH IT

thank you for the ask! 😘💚

[sarcasticleashy]

Random prompt

Vera hated and loved Valentine's day.

It reminded her how lonely she was but a stubborn part of her still carried on believing in the transformative power of love. A type of love which left you breathless and craving for more...It was an endless circle she couldn't escape from...

It was a cloudy misty day.

Despite that, Vera never failed to see the beauty in the gloomy weather, which was a daily for the concrete jungle she called home.

In her mind, nature was the best artist, and her surroundings were its canvas. The greyness wrapped itself around the city like a gentle drape, bringing her calmness and comfort.

The greyness (which one would oftentimes find dull) brought her joy.

After all, grey was her favourite colour - not too warm but not too cold, simply in-between just like her.

She was a woman of many contrasts - her colourless clothes were a stark contradiction to her jolly character, something people failed to discover because nobody made the effort to know her. Was she that tedious, she found herself asking sometimes?

Besides that, she was never quite enough... Not pretty enough, not smart enough. In her mind, she always lacked something.

Her most fascinating feature, though, were her glassy grey eyes which looked like bottomless pits, but full with warmth, nobody seemed to notice because they never got too close.

She carried on walking to her office, some small details not escaping her attention.

A young couple exchanging flowers...

Another having a moment of affection in the middle of the street...

Third having a date in the nearby cafe...

Oh, how she craved all of that... The small gestures of affection, patience, understanding and, most importantly, love.

Unfortunately, the few dates she had been on labelled her as incompatible.

It's not you, it's me was always their go-to excuse, accompanied by semi-guilty expression to show her how sorry they actually were...

She couldn't cope with constant rejection, so she stopped trying. Was it worth it? How much could her fragile heart take...

To bring herself somewhat of a comfort when she was feeling down, Vera lived vicariously through other people's experiences.

She daydreamt that she was on the receiving end of someone's adoration.

Was it too much that she asked for, she thought. The woman considered her wish to be simple but her disappointments further discouraged her from seeking that kind of love...

Was she unworthy of being loved?

Despite that, she never stopped believing. There was someone for her, anyone. Someone who would heal all her wounds. Someone who would hold her when she needed it. Someone who would cherish her and her quirkiness. Someone who would show her the world.

Someone's first choice...

She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the upcoming tears...She couldn't fight her feelings anymore.

Vera cried in desperation.