#ah yes. bisexual town

[ministarfruit]

stardew valley marriage candidates

[cwritesforfun]

Regina George x Fem!Reader: Girl Crush

Regina George thinks a lot about Y/N. Like a lot and she talks about her a lot. After a talk with her new friends and her former girl squad, she realizes she is bisexual and that she likes Y/N!

I'm loosely incorporating lyrics from Girl Crush by Little Big Town and they will be in italics! Also - I know the song is about wanting another girl's man, but I used it differently.

** I don't own any of the characters, except for Y/N and Regina's jock friend, Sally** this is from my Wattpad but I added more here!!!!

Y/N = Your Name **

Regina's POV- Saturday Afternoon

I'm on my way to see Y/N. She invited me for a sleepover. We only see each other on weekends because she goes to a different school and it's at least a 30 minute drive away. My mom and her mom don't want either of us driving on week nights. If she ever needed me on a week night though, I would go in a heartbeat.

Recently I found out I was bisexual. I used Aaron back in junior year for power and because I was a b****!!!! I can admit that to myself now. I say now as if it has been so long since it happened. It's only spring of my senior year, so like half a year.

I arrive and knock on the door. Y/N’s mom opens the door and exclaims, "Ah Regina! Good to see you, sweetheart. Y/N is in the backyard already. I can bring your bag to her room if you want to go straight out there." I reply, "Thank you. That's perfect! I'll go out back! Thanks for having me." She replies, "No problem sweetie. You girls have fun." I nod and smile.

I walk through the house, go outside to the chairs next to the pool, and sit next to Y/N, who is lost reading. She's beautiful.

I ask, "Aren't you gonna say hi to your guest?" Y/N looks up, smiles, jumps up, and hugs me. I hug her back and smile. Wow, can we hug forever? Maybe? Pls. She says, "Omg Regina! I'm so sorry! I was just so lost in my book and I lost track of time." Old me would have made fun of her for being such a nerd. New me doesn't do that. That is personal growth.

After we release from the hug, I smile at her. She smiles back and asks, "Sooo... did you wear your swimsuit and want to swim?" I answer, "Yes, and yes!" She then takes off her sundress and she's left in her bikini. My jaw drops. She's wow. Stunning, beautiful, pretty, and perfect. Y/N laughs and replies, "Regina, are you okay over there? Did my bikini leave you speechless?" Oh, she has no idea. I reply, "I ... It is actually very flattering. You look really good." Was it too obvious that I like her? She answers, "Thank you so much." I take off my dress and she says "I love your bathing suit too. Everything is better in pink." She's so sweet! Wow:) I reply, "True."

We both swim and eventually she brings two floats over, so we can both lay on them. We float around the pool and we talk about our life recently.

I get out the pool to grab some water and Y/N swims a little more.

I lie back on the pool chair and Y/N pulls herself out of the pool. Ahhh you know how people do! She places her hands on the side of the pool and pulls herself up and out of the pool letting the water fall down her body. If I didn't already have a crush on her, I would now. That song by Little Big Town goes through my head ... I got a girl crush Hate to admit it but I got a heart rush It ain't slowing down...

She walks over to the chair area and smirks at me. I want to taste her lips ...

I ask, "So what's for lunch?" ... You? She answers, "My mom's making lunch. We found this yummy summer salad recipe and we decided to have smoothies since we will need something to cool us down. Tonight's dinner is going to be so good though because it is pasta and I made dessert." I smile and reply, "Good! I look forward to it!"

Her younger brother walks outside and hands Y/N a tray of two salads + two smoothies. We thank him and he walks off.

She hands me my food and we eat together.

I ask, "Can I ask you something kind of personal?" She answers, "Go ahead." I ask, "This is just something I've been thinking about recently. How do you feel about having friends that are LGBTQ? And what is your sexual orientation?" Yeah I didn't go the subtle route. She answers, "I think everyone deserves to be with whoever they love, so I'm cool with having friends who have different preferences than me. I think it's great to surround yourself with all kinds of different people. I am bisexual actually. What about you?" I answer, "I'm bisexual or I think I am. I only just kind of discovered it, but my friends at my new school said it was obvious. I didn't know it was obvious, but I guess it was." She laughs and smiles.

We continue talking outside until we decide to shower. I take a shower in her bathroom first and when I walk in, I see her perfume. I take off the lid off, smell it, and I smile. This smell is Y/N and it's wonderful. I want to drown myself... In a bottle of her perfume...

After my shower, I throw on my matching pink pajama set and I take a teeny bit of her perfume and put it on me. I then leave the bathroom.

Y/N goes in and showers.

As she's in the bathroom, I call my friend from lacrosse named Sally.

((Start of conversation)) R- Regina S- Sally S - Hey Regina. I thought you were with you know who. What happened with that? Is it not going well? R - Hi Sally. She's in the shower right now. I don't know what to do. S - Join her. R - I already took a shower and no I'm not doing that just yet. I haven't even told her that I like her. S - OK fine. What has happened so far?" R - We hugged, swam, sunbathed, ate lunch, and each took showers. I ... I also dropped my jaw seeing her bikini and just complimented her. It was a close call. Then I asked her what her sexual orientation is and she told me that she is bisexual. I told her I was too. She smiled about it. I just don't know if I want to tell her now or later or ever. S - I ship you two. You're so into her that I'm surprised it took you forever to realize it. What else is planned for the day? R - Dinner with the family and usually we watch a movie plus Y/N made a dessert for tonight, why? S- Wow, you're already meeting the family. I'm so proud of you. R - Omg geez Sally! Not like that! Haha! S - Fine fine whatever you say. Just tell her you like her. She knows you're bi and you know she's bi. That means you have a sliver of a chance. Take that leap. R - A sliver of a chance means I could still get rejected. Okay, I'm gonna go. Thanks, Sally. S - No problem Regina. Go get your girl. ((End of conversation))

I hang up laughing.

Y/N walked back into the room near the end. I notice her outfit and it's identical pajamas to mine just in a different color. I exclaim, "Omg I love your outfit. Wow, I always forget we have matching ones and then this happens." She replies, "Goals right?!" I laugh and nod. Y/N asks, "So, who were you talking to?" I answer, "My friend, Sally." Y/N asks, "Isn't Sally your lacrosse friend?" I answer, "Yeah, she's really cool and friendly. You'd like her." She replies, "I'll have to go to one of your games this semester to meet her and of course, to support you." I ask, "Wait you'll come to my soccer games to support me?" She answers, "Of course Regina. I'm so proud of how far you've come in both soccer and personal growth this year. I have to support you! And, at least this isn't the dance you did for the talent show." I laugh and ask, "Wait you didn't like it?" She laughs, smirks, and answers, "I liked it when you were dancing and center stage, you were really good." Did she just say I was a good dancer?! I was dating Aaron Samuels at the time, but I really wanted Y/N's opinion. So she liked my dance?! She might actually like me.

Her brother knocks and lets us know dinner is ready.

We go downstairs and eat dinner with her family. It's so good!!

After dinner, we eat dessert and Y/N asks, "How do you like the dessert?" I answer, "It's literally so delicious." She replies, "Thanks. I'm glad you liked it."

After dessert, we go to Y/N's bathroom to brush our teeth. I glance over at Y/N brushing her teeth and smirk causing toothpaste to slip out of my mouth. It's like we're an old married couple in a movie. Imagine me living with Y/N forever and always being her person. That would be the life. I really like her.

We both spit our toothpaste out and Y/N asks, "What made you laugh?" I answer, "Oh nothing. It's a silly idea." I then walk out and to my bag.

When I'm done, I get on her bed and she sits down next to me. She faces me and rests her hand on my hand. Y/N exclaims, "Regina, whatever you have to say, just say it. It made you smile. I want to know what made you smile. I care. I won't call it silly. I promise." I nod and say, "As we brushed our teeth, it just reminded me of old romantic movies where married couples brush their teeth together. That's all." I glance over at her and she replies, "I think that's a cute idea, Regina." Awww. Well, do I take that sliver of a chance? I think I will.

I exclaim, "Y/N, I like you. I've liked you for a while and I just didn't realize that I liked girls until recently. And when I realized it, it all clicked and I've just had a crush on you forever. I know that makes us hanging out awkward depending on what you say back, but I really like you. I just think you're perfect and I'd love to take you out on a date." She smiles and says, "I would love to go on that date with you. I like you too." I smile and ask, "May I kiss you?" She nods and we kiss.

THANKS FOR READING!!! I LOVE YOU ALL :)

[gordonsicedcoffee]

the idea of adam having a car is so funny to me. bc he's SO inherently a public transportation king. but........logically......he must, if he's tailing lawrence across town.

so. in my head, it's 100% some rinky dink gray '96 mazda that he bought for like. five hundred dollars and half a klondike bar off of craigslist. he's probably only had it for three weeks TOPS.

shortly after purchasing this lemon of a vehicle, adam discovers a crumpled pack of newport 100s under the passenger seat. he doesn't even smoke those. but he goes "ah ha ha, don't mind if I do" and pockets them anyway.

also. the most valuable thing in this vehicle is $3.57 in loose change dumped haphazardly in the center console. and all the coins are sticky and gross bc he spilled an energy drink all over the fuckin thing 0.2 seconds ago. his glove compartment is stuffed w/band fliers. if he's ever pulled over by a cop, he's definitely handing one over accidentally in place of his registration.

had he not been tossed into that bisexual bathroom; he would've woken up to a very different kind of disaster. sticking the key in the ignition only results in the car giving a defeated wheeze.

it's so over. no matter the colorful insults he hurls at it, the car simply refuses to start. woe, back to the bus stop w/ye gay boi...................

[odetodilfs]

Meant to be (Multi part series) Part 1

This is a story from you and Hopper's first meeting all the way up to your other life, reader is a photographer than got sent to photograph Hawkins' nature, but you might end up meeting a sexy Chief of Police...

Pairings: Jim Hopper x male reader (background Murray x Alexei) Warnings (growing list but here's what's definitely coming): Scent kink, sex pollen, slight degrading, praising, mention of drugs, homophobic slurs, homophobia in general and violence. This is a love story with some smut, not just something quick to get off to. A Modern day AU where Hawkins is just a normal small town that's pretty conservative, El has no powers, no nothing.

You had accepted to go and live in Hawkins temporarily because the company you photographed for had said that they wanted pictures of scenery from there from all 4 seasons of the year, you knew that a small town wasn’t the best place to be a queer man in even if it was 2023, but still, it was good money.

One thing you weren’t expecting from Hawkins was how handsome the Chief of Police was, that beard, his blue eyes and his arms, legs and ass made you tingly, god, you ached to have him, but guys like this were always straight, plus, you were gonna stay here for over a year, not forever… 

A week into your new life in Hawkins you were walking down the street, coffee in your hand listening to music with your camera in your hand, heading to the forest so you could do what you were sent there to do, take pictures, not thirst over Chief Jim Hopper, taking pictures. You must not have been paying attention to the sidewalk and you tripped over, your coffee spilling but a strong pair of arms caught you before you could fall, “oh god..” you said as you distinguished that familiar greenish color of the Chief’s uniform… “Careful there” he said, smirking, was the world trying to make you go into overdrive?? “Oh- hey Chief… sorry about that…” you looked at the spilled cup of coffee, “No issue, everyone screws up,” he said, he noticed the headphones in your ears, “What you listening to?” he said, trying to break that uncomfortable silence, you handed him the earphones as he smiled, the song Every breath you take sounding, “I love this song, you have good taste” he said as patted your shoulder, how could a man be so fine?

“Where are you heading anyways? This is close to the forest” he said, “Oh, I’m a photographer, they want me to catch scenes from the nature here in Hawkins,” you said, “Ah, I was just heading for my car over there to go back to my cabin,” he said, pointing at his blazer, “I can give you a ride if you want…” your mind immediately thinking about the other dirty things he could mean with that, but you accepted despite your hardening cock.

In the car, he lit a cigarette, “Want one?” he asked, “No thanks, I don’t like them” you said, as you drove into the forest, you told him to stop close to a rock, “There!” you pointed at a rock at the edge of the river, you ran out of the car and photographed there for about half an hour in the area, he even stepped out of the car and smiled as you looked happy photographing this place, he was mesmerized, you were so pretty.

Jim Hopper was a bisexual man, he had shoved down his feelings for men all his life, occasionally crushing on a guy, especially considering how he grew up in a small town in the 90s it was only natural to be scared, but something about you made him feel safe, while at the same time he found you attractive, very attractive in fact, Hopper was taken out of his flashbacks as he heard something falling, it was you, he ran towards you as you hissed in pain at your scraped knee, “Are you okay?” he asked, “Yes- I’m fine.. let’s go now..” “No no no, you’re coming to my cabin and I’ll clean that wound, it’s covered in soil” he said, firmly, that dominant manner made something in your pants begin to grow… “NOT the time” you said to yourself as you walked and got in the Blazer. “I know it hurts, but it’s better in the long run” he said as you gave a small shout in pain from the alcohol he was putting on your wound. “Thank you, chief” you said, “Oh please, call me Jim” he said, you smiled, you somehow felt safe with this man even if you’d known him for an hour and a half, “You comin’ to the bar tonight? We can hang out” he said as you left, “Sure, I’ll try to be there” you smiled at him then left… You actually did go to the bar that night and you ended up becoming good friends after that, best friends even, you learnt he had recently adopted a girl called El that he kept in his cabin and that he had been divorced for 10 years after his daughter Sarah died. You also told him you were gay around a month into the friendship, he said that it was okay and that it didn’t matter, but then a few weeks later Hopper told you about how he was bi, maybe you did have a chance after all? 

[deke-rivers-1957]

ECU High - Vince's Attitude

A Lincoln Town Car drives up to ECU High's front door.

"Jeeves stop here. I wanna get out now." Vince orders.

"Yes, Master Everett," his chauffeur says as he stops.

Vince gets out of the car with his Ralph Lauren backpack wearing high end clothes.

"You better be back at 3:15 or else." he says as he closes the door.

Jeeves drives away as Vince walks into the school.

"What's up poors!" Vince yells as a flex.

"Ah shut up, Vince!" some of the boys yell as he walks by.

"And a good morning to you too Charlie, Steve and Walter. I know you're all so jealous but oh well. We can't all appear on MTV and land a huge recording contract." Vince starts to laugh and walks away.

Walter has to hold Charlie and Steve back. "He ain't worth it. If there's any justice in this world, he'll get his one day."

Vince keeps laughing as he walks to his locker.

"Vince you really need to end this state of hubris and narcissism."

Vince rolls his eyes as he opens his locker. "Ah what do you know Scotty boy. You ain't got much room to talk with that silver spoon shoved in your mouth. Beat it."

Scott just sighs and walks away. Vince turns to his left.

"What ya got something to say to me Chad?"

Chad just chuckles. "You know, Vince. I never thought you'd be the kinda kid who becomes a complete ass just because he made a million bucks. Didn't anybody tell ya to be nice to the people on the way up? If they did then you'd know that you're only gonna run into them on the way down. Keep it up and -"

"Ah shut up!" Vince interrupts.

Chad just shrugs as if to say "Can't say I didn't warn you." and walks away.

Vince groans in annoyance as he grabs his books to put away. He looks at his schedule and finds that he has American Literature as his first class. When he walks into the classroom he immediately gets annoyed.

A teacher is talking with her student about a project. "What did you want me to help you with, Johnny?"

"Ms. Xana, Ah'm tryna write a story about a man who performs on riverboats in the 1860s. Where should Ah look?" he asks sitting at a desk.

She thinks as she goes through some books at her desk. "I think I have just the book for you, Johnny."

She pulls out "Life on the Mississippi" and hands it to him. "This is a memoir by Mark Twain. He used to work as a steamboat pilot before the Civil War. This should help you get started with your research."

Johnny takes the book smiling as Vince rolls his eyes. "Are ya done with the theatrics Johnny? Nobody reads your damn plays."

Ms. Xana gasps. "Vince watch your language. I won't have that type of talk in my classroom."

Vince scoffs as he sits down and waits for the bell to ring so class can start. His mind starts to wander and thoughts become sour.

"Why'd my stupid parents decide to keep me enrolled at this stupid school with these stupid kids and naggy ass teachers? I'd rather go to a private school or drop out all together."

Tag list: @vintagepresley, @jaqueline19997, @presley72elvis, @vintagegirl50s60s70s80s, @j-v-9-2, @lawdymissclawdy68, @almightybigbrain, @arrolyn1114, @tupelomiss, @thetaoofzoe, @mydarlingelvis, @phil2135561 @just-another-boring-bisexual, @leopardandstuds, @ellie-24, @heart-of-ep, @thatbanditqueen, @gayforelvis, @be-my-ally, @alienelvisobsession, @mercsandmonsters, @ashtag6887, @whitepontiac, @richardslady121, @aliengoth3, @ash-omalley, @eptodaytommorwforever, @kendralavon7, @thehillbillycat, @melaninpvssypoppin, @wildhorseinkansas, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @comebackep, and @miniaturerunawaykid,.

AN: Also shoutout to @xanatenshi as the literature teacher. I hope I did you well.

[l4m3nt]

Mischa 'IN MY COUNTRY IT IS-' Bachinski

Noel had always wanted tragedy. 

He didn’t know why. He had just always found it beautiful. This was punctuated by his fantasies of being Monique Gibeau, a hooker who in every situation Noel came up with, suffered some terrible event. It felt nice to escape into a fantasy that was more exciting than his real life.

But those fantasies didn’t matter much when he was dead. 

Stuck in limbo with his fellow choir members, Noel often tried to fall back into his fantasies. It didn't work though. He was always distracted.

When he imagined Monique taking a lover who would then leave her for dead in the middle of the night, the man always had the deepest brown eyes.

When he imagined Monique being approached by a man at the bar, he was always tall and strong.

When he imagined Monique being on the other end a man trying to convince her to come home with him, the man always had a deep voice and a foreign accent.

Whenever he imagined anything it was always Mischa, Mischa, Mischa.

And the thing is, he had had a crush on the ukrainian boy back when they were alive. So this was nothing new, but it was infinitely more frustrating when Mischa was one of the only people he could talk with. 

“Noel Gruber!”

Noel was snapped out of his musing, turning to see Mischa jogging towards him. ‘Fuck’ he thought. There was no way he was going to survive with how much he and Mischa were talking. 

Mischa sat down next to him on the couch, looking so excited he could be compared to a golden retriever. “Noel! Can you do something for me?”

Noel smiled, “Sure, Misch. What is it?”

"Can you kiss me?”

Noel froze. “What?”

Mischa didn’t seemed to be disencouraged. “I am 99% sure of something, I want to make sure I am 100%. Ricky refuses to help me.” He moved so that he had a knee on the couch and was leaning over Noel.

“You’re being even more vague now. Just explain it to me.” Noel adjusted so that both his legs were on the couch, making it easier to back away. 

Mischa sat down on legs, which Noel doubted was comfortable. “I think I am thing where you like girls and boys. Want to test it with someone, and Ricky said no. You are only other boy.”

Noel immediately felt a wave of something wash over him. Anger, maybe. Probably remorse as well. “Mischa, I know you’re probably heartbroken about Talia, but that doesn’t mean you have to find a distraction.”

Mischa shook his head, a new, determined look on his face. “No, not it. Have accepted I can no longer have Talia. I just want to test this.”

Now Noel was just pissed. “Even so, you can’t just use me to settle your sexuality crisis. What happens if you turn out to not be queer? That 99% could all be theoretical.”

“No it is not. I am almost sure because normal things with certain boys make me, ah, fuzzy. Like how brushing hands with girl makes some boys excited. I just have never actually done anything with a boy.” Mischa seemed to be sweating, because he was wiping his palms on his pants.

“I don’t want to just be your confirmation that you're bisexual or whatever.” Noel looked over to the side. Ocean and Constance were a little farther away, and probably trying to listen. Ricky was with them but he looked more focused on Mischa, an almost worried look on his face.

Mischa huffed out and Noel could see out of the corner of his eye that he looked almost frustrated. “I promise, you will not be. You trust me, yes?”

“Fine, sure.” Noel fully faced him again and crossed his arms over his chest. Was he making this difficult? Yes. Did he care? No.

The Ukrainian’s eyes widened, like he was surprised Noel accepted. “Oh, okay.”

They sat like that for a beat, neither of them moving. Noel rolled his eyes, “Are you gonna do anything? I told you you could kiss me.”

“Yes. Just… nervous. I think.” Mischa sat down on his legs. He wasn’t looking at Noel anymore.

“Oh my fucking…” Noel grabbed Mischa's face and kissed him. The double-edged sword of being the only gay guy in a small town is that while you may get shunned, you may also get a lot of practice from closeted guys who want to fuck around with someone they know isn’t likely to turn them down

The kiss didn’t last too long. Noel just wanted to get it over with. He was ready for Mischa to throw himself back and realize that he was not, in fact, attracted to men. 

When the kiss was over, Mischa sat completely still. Noel’s hands were still on his face, making it so Noel could feel the way the other boy’s face heated up.  He could see it, too, with the way Mischa’s cheeks started to turn slightly pink.

“Well? You alright, Mischa?” Noel asked. Mischa blinked but still didn’t say anything. Noel lightly smacked him which seemed to wake him up a bit.

“A-ah. I am fine. Can you kiss me again?” Mischa licked his lips. Noel was starting to wonder if he had really fallen for this same joke again. You’d think he would have known better by now.

But Noel was nothing if not a bit weak once something started. He kissed Mischa again, and this time the other boy kissed back. Noel felt Mischa move his hands to his hips. Noel moved his own hands to Mischa’s shoulders.

They didn’t realize they were getting a bit heated until they were separated by someone. They both looked over and surely enough, Ocean was there with the most appalled look on her face. “You both need to chill! There are other people here, oh my god!”

Noel started laughing and apparently it was contagious, since Mischa started giggling. Ocean groaned and walked back to where she had been sitting with Constance. Mischa spoke in between his giggles, “I’m surprised she didn’t try to stop it earlier.”

“Me too. Maybe she was stuck in shock.” Noel smiled. He would never admit that hearing Mischa giggle made him feel like he had butterflies in his stomach. “Well, did that answer your question?”

Mischa looked him in the eyes. Noel thought his heart skipped a beat. “Yeah. I liked the kiss during your song, but I thought maybe that was just in my head from Karnak. If it was, I still like boys either way.’”

“Oh, really? Did you like the slap too?” Noel asked, a grin on his face. He expected Mischa to laugh or roll his eyes. Instead, he looked as if he had been caught. His eyes were wide and he didn’t have a smile any more.

Noel started laughing again, “Oh my god, you did!” Mischa put his head in the crook of Noel’s neck and said “Shut up.” though it came out very muffled. 

Over with the others, Ricky had a self satisfied look on his face, Ocean had puffed up cheeks and Constance had an amused smile on her face.

“Told you. Mischa may be the lover boy, but Noel has experience.” Ricky said. Ocean groaned.

“I know! I just thought that if Mischa was going to beeline his way over there he would at least be able to follow through if Noel accepted.” Ocean crossed her arms and scrunched up her nose.

Constance giggled, “Well, he never has thought things through, has he?”

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

In which Gwen doing blacksmithing nearly ends Arthur through sheer bisexual disasterness

I was inspired by this art 🤩😍😳

Arthur couldn’t find Guinevere. It had been two weeks since she had been crowned queen, and there had been an awful lot for her to learn and adjust to. And while she was handling it admirably as he’d known she would, he knew how oppressive it could all feel at times. So though he hadn’t seen her since lunchtime, he hadn’t gone looking for her, recognising that she probably needed a break. But it was getting late into the night now, and he was starting to feel a little worried.

He'd already done a cursory search of the castle, and come up empty. She was nowhere the queen should be, but he had an inkling where Guinevere would be. And so, he’d donned the blue cloak Merlin had given him long ago, and headed out to the lower town. Sure enough, when he nudged open the door of the forge he was greeted with warmth and light and noise.

“Gwen?” he called round the corner, not wanting to startle her by suddenly appearing. Then, louder, “Guinevere?”

The hammering stopped. “Arthur?”

He took that as his cue to step around the corner.

And stopped dead.

His wife was standing at the workbench, hammer in hand, working on… something. Arthur couldn’t tell what. Because his brain seemed to have ceased functioning.

Guinevere was wearing boots and a pair of loose trousers, tied at the waist with a leather string. She was shirtless, wide strips of white cloth binding her chest. The toned muscles of her stomach and arms were on full display, glistening with sweat in the warm, dim glow of the fire.

“Arthur?”

He realised his mouth was hanging open like a fish and shut it quickly. “Uhmm.” He desperately tried to gather his scattered brain. “I couldn’t find you,“ he managed.

She smiled. “Well now you have.” She held up what she had been working on. “I’m making a dagger for Merlin. He seems kind of down lately. And… it gets a bit much sometimes. It’s nice to be back here.”

He nodded, forcing himself not not get distracted. “Of course. I understand. I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have come. I don’t want you to feel like you’re trapped, or tied to me, or something.”

She shook her head earnestly. “I promise you I don’t. I’d’ve probably lost track of time and worked half the night!”

He nodded dazedly. “Right.” His brain had stopped working again.

Gwen frowned. “Arthur? Are you all right?” Then she looked down at herself .“Oh. Right. This. No sense in getting a dress dirty.” She looked back at him and a mischievous, knowing smile appeared on her face. “Everything all right Arthur?” she asked innocently.

He shifted slightly. “Great,” he managed in a strangled voice.

Still grinning, she set the hammer down and moved swiftly over to him, cupping the back of his neck and kissing him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her bare waist and kissed back eagerly. When she finally broke away she trailed her lips over his jaw and up under his ear, and he gave in and kissed down her neck, tasting the sweat and smoke on her warm skin. She sighed blissfully.

“I suppose it’s not very queenly though,” she murmured.

“How could it be unqueenly when you’re the queen?” he countered.

“A very good point.”

She leaned in again, her warm hands finding the hem of his shirt and slipping under it. He hummed, wrapping her tighter in his arms and burying his face in her neck, breathing her in. “Home?” she asked breathlessly in his ear.

“Home,” he agreed dazedly, then lifted his head and shook it vigorously to clear it. “Sorry. I know how boring it can get.”

“Ah, it’s all part of it. And it’s worth it, to finally be together isn’t it?”

“Definitely,” he murmured, joy filling in his heart.

She ran a hand down his chest. “Anyway, there’s plenty of fun to be had at the castle.”

A delicious shiver went through him. “It’s true.” He shifted awkwardly. “Um, Guinevere?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Yes Arthur?”

“Could I- umm. Next time you come down here could I, uh- come and watch?”

Her eyes widened and her already flushed cheeks bloomed brighter. “Oh! Of course! Yes, you can.” Her voice lowered, trying to sound coy. “I’d like that.” It failed though when she laughed. “You’re hopeless.”

“I know,” he agreed, grinning dopily, too far gone to try and act indignant.

With a bright beaming smile, she stepped away from him and back to the workbench. She cleared away the dagger and her tools, and tugged her purple poncho over her head.

“How did you get past the guards unnoticed?” he wondered aloud as he donned his cloak again.

“Same as you did,” she replied, pulling her hood over her head as she walked back to him. “People only see a queen when they expect to.”

“Ah.” He swung her up into his arms, making her giggle. “Home then, my wife?”

“Home, my husband,” she replied, leaning up to kiss his lips, biting down lightly. “And bed?”

He absolutely did not moan. “And bed,” he agreed.

She moved to kiss the end of his nose where it protruded from the hood. “It’s amazing that we can pass the guards unnoticed looking like a pair of marquees.”

“Ah, but people only see a marquee when they expect to,” he intoned, and she smacked his shoulder playfully. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about, my men are superiorly trained.”

Gwen snickered. “Of course your Majesty.”

“I bet you half of tomorrow’s breakfast that we don’t get past them unnoticed,” Arthur challenged.

Gwen levelled her gaze at him. “Deal.”

………………

They got past them unnoticed.

[karnakthegreat]

Right. Here’s your karnak lore

Before we get into it this is me and my kids

And this is my petition to be the tumblr sexyman of 2023

We also have a company (not real) called RTC RP CO™️. @brunos-rat is second in command, @anony-knifey is head of fanfics and @justexistinghere122 is the lore master and Foreigner relationships Minister. I am the Bossnak. If you want a position send in what you want to be in the asks and we can go from there

I have two mothers. They both raised me in England in the north. I lived in a small cottage in the middle of no where with a farm behind it. It was about a 30 minute walk from the closest village. There was also a forest close to my back yard

Threw out my childhood I was homeschooled by my mothers (one of which was very into the occult while the other was very ‘cottagecore’)

I joined mainstream schooling when I was 11. By the time I was 13 I realised I wasn’t straight OR cis by any means. So I went from cis straight female to genderfluid polyamorous bisexual in a matter of a few months. I was also in a band for a short period of time but that was very short lived

On my first day of school I became good friends with a girl called Elizabeth. She collected haunted dolls and we bonded over my doodles werewolf and vampire erotica

In my teen years I began to enjoy the occult so I began doing tarot card reading with my friends. That was when I also found myself enjoying metal and ‘emo’ music

I then became friends with a student from Ukraine who moved to the UK for a bit called Tamara. She later moved to Canada and then back to Ukraine

Towards the end of my schooling my friends and I decided to play a prank on some of my teachers. We got puppy’s,kittens and bunny’s and let them out in the middle of lessons to distract everyone

After this I moved back in with my two mothers

I then began dating Elizabeth (we broke up later on because she shipped me and Virgil and called us Kargil)

Then came the first whipped cream incident. This was when myself, Elizabeth and Tamara tried to fill a swimming pool with it when we were 16. We were unsuccessful

We soon went on a family trip to Canada to a small town called Uranium to meet up with some family friends. We went to the Blackwood Cafe and there I met Virgil

I was sitting alone while my parents were shopping. I eventually got hungry so I went to buy myself some cake. He offered to buy it and I denied however they insisted that they buy me it.

Shortly after I got back to my original seat and he joined me with a shortbread cookie that they had bought for me. He then began asking me about the book I was reading (Pride and Prejudice) and we had a very good conversation over it

We saw each other again at the ‘fall fair’ and he suggested we ride the cyclone. I said no because it gave a bad vibe so instead we went on the Ferris Wheel and then played some games. Virgil won me a teddie bear

Eventually I had to leave so he gave me his email and address so I could contact them either way

We would email every day and they told me how they were very impulsive and had a very big family. I told him that I always wanted to go to Ukrainian, Amsterdam or France.

After a while we met up again in Canada. We planned it in advance and when we met we realised we were in love. I spent the entirety of my visit with him. He showed me his home, his family and even his bass guitar.

On our 4th date he played the bass and sang some songs to me. They were country songs. That was when my mild country faze started. I learned some songs and sang him Dolly Parton to try impress him

When I went back to England they planned on coming back over to see me very soon. He took a liking to England and asked if he could move in with me. Of course I said yes and soon we both lived together in our own English farm

Then there was ‘The Great Ah Fuck’. This was when Elizabeth accidentally let slip that Virgil wanted to propose. Tamara then made the first ever version of my emergency knockout drink, gave me it and then I forgot the past 24 hours so the proposal would be a surprise. It was called ‘The Great Ah Fuck’ because when Elizabeth let it slip both her and Tamara said ‘Ah fuck’.

Virgil proposed to me on Halloween.

The night before my wedding was the second whipped cream incident. This was when they covered me in whipped cream and rolled me down a hill. Virgil had to catch me at the bottom to stop me from getting concussed

Then got married. It was a quiet wedding on our farm with our close friends and family.

At our wedding I walked down the isle to La Vie en Rose and Uranium suite was our first dance song (there was a version we made that was mainly the melody and riding the rollercoaster was a metaphor for our love)

Quite a bit of our time was spent with my telling them about my hyperfixations. They were Rammstein, the occult, Romeo and Juliet, A midsummers nights dream, Ukrainian history and culture, German history and culture, knitting and Phantom of the Opera

Yes I had a musical faze Phantom of the opera will never die fight me my favourite songs were masquerade and think of me they are beautiful

A few years later we had our first child Ophelia. Soon after came sister Nancy and then their brother Jacob. Ophelia was very kind and always wished the best for people, Nancy always wanted to stand up for what she thought was right and Jacob always wanted to be involved in everything I did. Their birthdays (in name order) were October 25th, January 15th and February the 26th. And between you and me Ocean is also one of my biological kids. She was about 1 when I got turned into a machine so I had to adopt her to re-get her as a child now.

They all loved me and their father very much and life was perfect.

I regained my interest with the occult and began doing research. I learnt lots but I wanted to know more and more

To feed my hunger for knowledge I summoned a demon to teach me the secrets of the world. The demon taught me THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANCIENTS

The demon then thought I was getting too power hungry so as punishment it wanted to turn me into a machine. The commotion caused Virgil to hear as he ran upstairs and got caught in the crossfire and became a rat. I never learnt what happened to my children…

I lost all of my memories and eventually found myself meeting Virgil for what I thought was the first time but was actually the second behind a Tesco express. Eventually we began to fall in love again. And so we traveled to Uranium with a circus

We stuck threw it all together and after the Cyclone Accident we got transported to limbo. There we regained our memories of our past life.

While in limbo we adopted Noel Jane and Ocean (and recently Ava) as they reminded us of our children.

When Mischa first came to Canada I payed for all of his medical bills and tied a welcome home balloon to his bed. This is because when I was close with his mother her and I promised that should anything happen to us the other would look after our children.

Noel taught me more about French culture (something that I wasn’t that fond of as I found it too complicated) however afterwards I soon began to love it.

I’ve adopted Mischa. He’s my son and I love him

I found out Ophelia is alive and well…very happy

At 00:21 on the 31st of October 2022 UK time I became human once again

Turning me human wiped ocean of any memories of me. Oh and just found Nancy she doesn’t trust me or believe that I’m her dad. Working on that

I agreed to turn back into a robot to save Nancy and oceans memory’s

Then I became a robot again. Stefan was being a total bitch until one of my kiddos made him change me back

And now I’m human…again

Then I had an uwu faze yeah that was weird

And now I’m going full dilf mode

Ștefan is now in love with me and profusely flirting

I have also met the cyclone they’re very nice and part of the family now

We found Jacob and now I’m so happy

Oh and the demon is moving in

And now I’m here. Adopting more and more children. I will pin this post and add things as and when (I’ll let you all know when I add things) Any questions?

[sonodaten]

I’ve finally been able to sit down and played about 6 hours of the new Saints Row so far. Thoughts (and spoilers) under cut:

Cool Fallout: New Vegas referen—*gunshot noise*

The Marshall sequences feel like parodies of every war game ever

I love these four idiots fr

Ah, yes the underpinnings of every criminal empire: Name, logo, and hideout

KEVIN BISEXUAL HE IS JUST LIKE ME FR

I lost a very close family friend who was basically an Aunt to me to COVID last year and she used to call me swearing in Spanish about football or other people’s driving all the time so ty SR for making it feel like for a second she was with me again 🥲

I thought I failed that mission but no they really said no saving Neenah’s car :/ damn

LARPing? In my open-world sandbox GTA parody? BOY I HOPE SO!

LARPING FULL OF DOUBLE ENTENDRE IN MY GTA PARODY? BOY I HOPE SO!

I’m glad they kept the marker for the cars you need to steal for JimRobs bc I…do not know what cars look like.

I like the inclusion of little pop-up shops alongside the more established brand stores to buy clothes from. It adds a little more character to the city.

Speaking of the city, I recently went on a trip to Las Vegas for my grandfather’s funeral and idk if that’s the exact place they were going for but they really got the vibe right, especially for the vistas and outlying towns. Like the strip is cool—everyone likes the strip!—but outside the strip there is so much more to see.

I like that they’ve clearly updated the engine a little bit, but it’s still v much the same one used for SR III/IV. Personally I think it wouldn’t really mesh well to have hyper-realistic graphics with the over-the-top antics and stunts the game likes to get into. I don’t mind them cleaning up, and I don’t mind them improving on it, but personally I think it’s better to it’s more distinctive style than risk delving into some real uncanny valley shit.

THE RED FACTION CALLOUT ARE THEY INSANE

In conclusion: I am having a lot fun so far and looking forward to more 👍🏼

[hdawg1995]

Hey!

Kinda out of the blue, but I am super curious about your necromancer. Also - the OCs you've posted here are super cool, and I want to know if it's cool for me to draw them 'u'

*breaks down a door and grabs you*

OKAY SO BANE!

(i can't add a read more, i'm so sorry) Austin "Bane" Wyvernjack is one of my D&D characters that i probably will never play again (sadness). He's a death&magic domain cleric/bard (3.5 is awesome you get TWO domains!) and his whole neutral/evil shtick is that the living don't take care of the dead and the dead deserve better than what they get.

he was raised by two very kind retired adventurers after his mother left him on their door step (i always left the why up to my dungeon master but the campaigns never lasted long enough for Bane's past to get a spot light). the town he was raised it wasn't great- there was this priest who did the stereotypical fantasy priest thing and was controlling the whole town with religion and got everyone to turn on Bane.

"But why?" you may ask, and its because this little kid could see and hear ghosts! more importantly- he could see and hear the ghosts in the graveyard behind the church who couldn't move on because the priest fumbled their burial rights.

So Bane, being a good natured kiddo who didn't know why no one else could see the floating people did the burial rights. which pissed off the priest. so obviously the child who can see ghosts was a devil and they should get rid of him. and also tell him that the god he was raised to follow hated him for bonus points.

BUT UH OH! NOW THAT BANE HAD TURNED FROM THE GOD OF THE SUN, LIGHT, LIFE, GUESS HE'LL GO TO THE GODDESS OF DEATH, MAGIC, AND KNOWLEGE!

*insert "KNOWLEGE" meme*

BAne went from good boy to a pain in the Priest's ass as a form of teenage rebellion. this is how he got the nickname "Bane". he prefers that name (and "No one" because of spy antics in another campaign i tried to play him in) because when you follow a goddess of death, magic, and knowledge you KNOW you're gonna do necromancy and thats not liked in most parts of the world. since he adopted his adopted parent's last name he doesn't want anyone or anything going after them because they want to get at the necromancer, you know?

so off Bane goes to be a adventurer. he died *a lot*. in the first campaign i had with him at one point he died 3 times in combat due to the DM getting nothing but 20s against him. when she got the 4th 20 she didn't even say anything she just got up, went next door, bought some cookies and handed them to me. was not fun but it birthed the "Banes dead again" inside joke.

since i figured i would never play him again i started crafting a backstory for him where he gets a girlfriend and they're cute together but jokes on everyone Bane is one of those Bisexuals who thought they were gay and then realized "huh girls are nice too".

He plays the violin and has a ghost that haunts it named Daruk. Daruk was a man who wanted to be a adventurer but died before he could, so now he travels with Bane experiencing the adventure second hand- he also helps Bane some times. when he plays the violin Daruk is in Daruk can cast spells though the music. it has a fire motif and because Bane is a necromancer is GREEN FIRE!

Something Bane says that i always think about and chew on cause every time i do i pull more and more "ah HA!" moments from it is "the living are sheep who will follow any shepherd to the slaughter" because thats how he views the world- a town was easily convinced that a child was evil because they listened to a man who didn't like said child doing a better job than him.

BUT HE IS ALSO LIVING! HE IS VERY MUCH ALIVE! HE IS ALSO A SHEEP FOLLOWING A SHEPHERD TO THE SLAUGHTER!

everyone dies eventually, the sheep eventually are slaughtered. its the shepherd who decides the why and the how- is the shepherd in his phrasing life? death? the gods? YES! ALL THREE! your life choices, your timely or untimely demise, the things you believe in all shepherd you to your end and if that end is pretty or not really ain't up to you. at one point in time Bane felt he was the black sheep of the herd since he... well, was. normally the lone sheep that gets rejected or forgotten by the shepherd is left to the wolves so during that time Bane felt less like a sheep and more like a wolf in sheep's clothing. rather then trying to get in and harm the herd, it was just a huge sense of lack of belonging.

at one point i made Bane a NPC in a game i ran and gave him the ability to enter dreams and cause nightmares legit just ripping off from persona 5 (i even gave him a mask and drew it once.) and now he has this nightmare/pumpkin jack motif and i like to think he thinks its just neat.

None of my bards can sing to save their life. Bane is no different. he can play the violin, dance, and tell a story but sing? the number of times he has screamed in fear or pain (because he died a lot i can not stress that enough that is why i'm never gonna play him again the dice hate him) have ruined whatever vocal cords he has.

i joke that hes my "blue eyed pink haired emo boy" because he is but i never actually make his eyes blue. his eyes are this sickly pale green that glow when he is angry or doing magic (or if it would be spooky because he is dramatic like that and so am i). when he was a NPC i made it lore that the color eyes he has are known as "death's witness" and they're a magic genetic thing. if you see enough death in very specific ways your eyes change to that color and the gene for that color gets passed down to your immediate kin. your kids will have the gene but your grand kids won't (unless your kids happen to have kids with someone else with the gene). Bane has it because blue is a recessive gene and Death's Witness is also recessive, so it overrides the blue.

Bane doesn't have "minions" or "servants", he has friends/companions. i mentioned Daruk but he also has Cuddles the War Pony. CUDDLES' BACKSTORY IS REALLY SAD TW FOR ANIMAL DEATH BUT I LOVE CUDDLES SO GOD DAMN MUCH!

so war ponies are used by smaller races in war. Cuddles loved battle, she was a really good war pony. she got the name because she would cuddle and roll around with her rider(s) after battle to get all that energy out. one day her rider was killed in combat so she stood her ground to defend him. it was a losing fight, but she eventually won. unfortunately *she* was the only one who "one" that battle, so there wasn't anyone to arrive in time to treat her wounds and the enemy wasn't about to get anywhere near a war pony that just killed three men. she cuddled up to her rider and passed away to her injuries on the battle field. in the after life she was very restless- there wasn't a war to fight in the after life, there wasn't a battle or combat to participate in. all she did was run, she couldn't' settle down. Then one day a young necromancer found her bones, still on the battle field, alone. someone had come for her rider but not her. the necromancer felt sorry for the war pony and asked if she wanted to adventure with him. Cuddles was animated almost instantly and promptly tackled the young man, earning her name once more. TW OVER

and then during a campaign Bane got possessed by a demon who turned her into a skeletal nightmare pony. she can talk now! AND CAN FLY!

Right now i'm writing a story where Bane and my other table top characters who will never see the light of day again are living under one roof and there is a surprisingly lack of antics but one of the things about Bane in that story is that he is really happy he isn't constantly dying and has more time for his hobbies like playing the violin and wood carving.

WOW THAT WAS A LOT! Bane is my boi and i love him lots.

also YES! OMG DRAW MY OCS! I HAVE SO MUCH AFFECTION TOWARDS THAT IDEA! THANK YOU! IM GONNA STOP SCREAMING NOW!

[lonespektr]

OCTOBER 8TH HORROR WATCH

My animal (2023)

Full moon

Sis already bleeding

Old ass tv. I know it's not the past

Old film beauty n the beast shot

Heather has bounced

Into the snow. Into the night

The love of a woman

I for one think all credits should be red

Go into the house

Oh it is the past 🤷🏿‍♀️

Muscle woman

Them weights old as shit my dad used to have a set like that 🤣🤣

Man into wolf

The set design is legit lots of info in the room here

Oh mom isn't dead just maimed?? Now permeantly ill?

Trans or just trying to get on the hockey team? The eternal question

We had them fire pokers too

These set designers in my old house n shit

Shes out of high school, lives at home

Now amandla looks exceptionally modern in dress n hair style

Was that supposed to be canine like?

She does have s job

She's a professional skater?

Dude ditched in the snow WILD ain't no taxis there

Not hiding it

Hiding what?

Another nose bleed

Good big sis

Amandala invites her out

The mom is lamenting she isn't a girly girl so she is stuck in a house of boys

Midnight timeline for full moon?? Seems arbitrary i don't think moons have a 12 hour timeline

Out in the car no control over when to come back

Doing drugs

Super safe

11:30 casio alarm

Weird non casino visit just like hanging out while one person gambles

No smoke anywhere so not realistic

Lots of face bleeding

Horror movie woman screeching over growling over howling

Off into the woods

Now she is wolf

Lots of red being utilized

Lol they both came early to train and both got kicked out by the boys

Only thing in town is an ice rink

Always intrigued by the forward but closeted individual

They own a diner?

They use they chained up method

Lol weird sex dreams

Mandala nekkid but not her?

The twins have perfect hair

Amandala clocked the scratches every where

The locks are on the outside huh

Seems like mom didn't know about him before they got married

Then got bitter-er after the incident

But also she seems sick sick not just booze sick

One of the boys have an attitude problem but also it appears they are starving themselves possibly

A bit

There's a bunch of eggs all the time. It's standard American breakfast but it's also it's a large amount of eggs instead of traditional American tv breakfast which has too much of everything

Like 87% egg meal

Ok correct says she can try out

She drives mandala to her ice skating

🤣 dam yo mama suck here 's a free nacho sorry about your shiity life

Dad is sick too he's old

She crying

Oh mandala isn't a muscle lady which is her type lol

Try outs

Mandala boyfriend is uh like 30

She lets the girl distract her from her tryout

Can i say i fucking hate this trope?

I prefer when it's family drama, cumalative of course but it's just better to have an unforeseeable family situation arise than this shit

I just hate it , as a compartmentalizer it seems so unrealistic to have something screw up everything you been working for just because you didn't focus for an hour and process it later

Like GROW UP

Yes very depressing nothing to do town

Not these child twins with a fake ID

They're not only literally in middle school, they look younger than they are

I guess it's not full moon so they're at hers

Artsy 80's synth sex scene with not exactly bisexual lighting because of the use of reds and black

More growling

Pep talk

Moon anger

I tried to be alone

Rick's friend is rich

Ironically her mom is the only one in the family who is not a dog

Getting the cold shoulder gay panic

To go back to the boys who idea of fun is to speculate on milfs in front of their girlfriend

Classy

Breakup! 💔

Screaming crying and suddenly mom is of use! Mom can talk you through a breakup

That's a fancy vest my dude

Leather like panels?? On the puffer vest

Where can i cop old man?

Down he goes

Whole house is crying

Separately

Burn, no hospital

Ah he reverted to wolff form in death

Big ass wolf for little man

Usually you don't see a whole family

I guess you still don't because the kids are in the prehiphery

I get most of the stories are always about navigating and if you have a whole family then it's not a struggle you have infurstructure

But you literally don't have to always make it a coming of age alagory

Family fight

Boy who knows blames her lesbianism as the cause of fathers death

She runs off

Blood moon

Changing at midnight is convenient tbh

Lol now she bought to start a fight

Lol thought they were going to have her eat all of them like lol how could she come back from that

What does that mean in this context?

Petty argument here

Party city makeup but it's 80's aesthetic

Mom sobers up enough to handle her emotional break downs and wash away the tears

Nice nuance frankly

To have an all wrecked parent or a only fun/ good when manic or high parent

Instead of a relapse/ recovery parent who is inconsistent

Which is the more common. More interesting. More nuanced situation, more interesting and more realistic

Oh no first heart break looks the guy and books, lol

[vaspider]

Hey Vas, I've been following you for ages now and I have a question. I didn't see anything against it in your faq and I'm honestly unsure if it's rude to ask, so please DM me if this is totally off base! If it is, then I apologize in advance because I don't mean to be rude, discriminatory or come of as a TERF(blegh)!

So I'm a cis bisexual woman and I've noticed more recently that people (including yourself) identifying as she/her gay, or he/him lesbian or all sorts of other combos that don't seem intuitive (to me). I'm wondering about the logistics of identifying as he/him and being a lesbian? I'm from a small town and I don't have a ton of experience with different types of identifiers and as I understood it if you are sexually attracted to the same gender, that makes you gay/lesbian. And I'm kind of struggling to understand people (like youself) who identify as he/him lesbian and how that works?

I have no idea how to phrase this question, and this isn't about not accepting sexualities and genders that people tell me they are! That's not something I have an issue with, it's just that I feel like I'm drowning in misunderstanding and maybe disinformation on sexuality and gender and how the two mesh?

Again, if this is too personal or if it's rude or TERFY, I am so sorry and its not my intention, I'm just really confused and bad at phrasing!

I love your tiktoks and I love how you present info and queer history and I love that you take so much time to explain to those of us who don't know as much as you!

Okay, I was going to write a whole long thing about history and how Leslie Feinberg (z''l) used he/him pronouns decades ago and there's a whole long documentable history of he/him lesbians going back at least a hundred years but really it comes down to this:

It's not your business.

It's not your business whether someone's pronouns "match" your expectation for their stated sexual orientation. It's their business, and the faster people get through their heads that auditing people's orientations (as opposed to their behavior) with regards to community is wrong and fucked up, the faster we can actually get back to establishing some sort of meaningful solidarity in this community rather than squabbling amongst ourselves over shit like this which is -- frankly -- fucking meaningless while our ability to be ourselves, our rights, and our literal lives are constantly screwed over by TERFs and right-wingers (but I repeat myself).

This may sound blunt and rude, but this is just factual: whether someone's pronouns "match" what you think they should be for their stated sexual orientation just isn't your business, and you don't need to understand it.

You just need to respect it.

But that said:

If we understand that pronouns don't equal gender, understanding that he/they or he/she/they or he/him lesbians exist is easy, because that may be a cis woman using those pronouns, or it may be a genderfluid person or a non-binary person.

If we understand that labels are mostly about community, in the end, and markers of what community we belong to, we'll stop nitpicking everyone's identities.

But most of all, if we understand that queer community is about how someone behaves, maybe we'll stop accepting shitty behavior and saying 'ah yes, I have to accept that this person is in community with me' from TERFs, and stop fretting so much about whether a he/him lesbian might be 'harming us' somehow by merely existing. If someone's behavior is predatory or creepy, or they associate with TERFs or are a TERF themselves, if they sell out their identity to right-wingers like, say, Bl*ir Wh*te, we can then say 'you may be X, but you are not in community with me, and I don't owe you solidarity.'

The idea that we traded one set of shitty allocisheteroperimonogamous rules for another set of shitty, constricting rules is just exhausting and wrong. Like, the older generations of queers did not spend years and years trying to break down barriers just so another stifling set of rules could be put back up -- and lest you think that this is like, new to the queer community, this frustration, it absolutely isn't; this song came out in 1992. This one came out in 1998.

So yeah.

It's not your business. What's your business is if those people are TERFs or predators and should be ejected from your community based on those facts; what you get to decide is if you want to be in community with those people or associate with them, and what you need to understand is that nothing that queer people do is why the allocishets "don't respect us," or whatever. We won't ever be respected as long as we're queer, only potentially used as tokens to prove that people aren't really homophobic or transphobic because they like that one, so they must be okay.

We don't need to not be confusing, even to each other. We don't owe each other explanations for our identities. For that matter, we don't even owe ourselves explanations for who and what we are, and it isn't necessary that those things remain stable or unchanging. It's okay if we're confused about who we are for our entire lives. What we owe to each other is respect for each other and for the process of living that we're going through. To paraphrase a late friend of mine, I don't need you to understand me, I just need you to get that I'm having a very human experience in trying to figure myself out, and I'm doing the best that I can with it, and I need you to respect that. And I need to respect that you're having a very human experience trying to figure out who you are and how you're learning to respect other people's identities, and set boundaries for myself while you're going through that.

[sevsnapeposts]

Snapetober Day 11: Old friends.

finally one on time after two days lmao. cheers everyone, for the longest chapter so far. as a side note, i HC that Lucius is bisexual, whilst Severus is demisexual. ah yes, warning: explicit content. it's not /that/ bad but it's still for +18. up in ao3. please enjoy.

Day 11 - Old friends.

--

There are all kinds of friends, so different and varied that it’s a difficult task to classify them, but Severus could try: There were the ‘friends’, with many quotes, that he had made among the Death Eaters, those who only sought him out for favours and errands; also the colleagues who eventually became some sort of friends, like the ones he had at Hogwarts, with whom he could chat about superficial and scholarly matters, gossip and so on; another thing was friends who became somewhat of a parental figure, like Minerva, who cared about him and didn’t hesitate to pester him about any of his bad habits.

And after all those major categories, occupying a unique and special place, was Lucius Malfoy.

He wasn't too sure about what to call Lucius’ category, though. What do you call someone who is your friend, but was also your protector, your tutor, in a way your superior, and also your lover?

Severus remembered each instance perfectly. He often wondered why the handsome and wealthy prefect that Lucius was when he arrived at Hogwarts had decided to take him under his wing when he was nothing more than a filthy mudblood —words from his peers, carefully spoken outside of Lucius' hearing range, of course. He once asked him, but Lucius only gave vague answers, from ‘cause I wanted to’ to ‘you were less bad’. The most realistic thing he could ever get out of him was that Lucius saw potential in him.

During the three years that Lucius studied with him, he showed him many things besides what it was like to be the protégé of a rich boy. He confessed secrets to him and taught him forbidden things, from Dark Arts books to what it was like to smoke a cigarette. Lucius always carried with him the best brands, which left a minty or sometimes fruity flavour. Severus always smiled a little when he thought of the first time he inhaled the cigarette smoke and nearly choked, Lucius' laugh natural and free from malice, genuinely amused by his inexperience.

"Try inhaling less, see if it's easier to hold it in”, he had said, showing him how to do it, his thin lips forming a fox smile when, on the second try, Severus was able to expel the smoke through his nose instead of suffocating.

Of course, offering cigarettes to a 13-year-old was reprehensible, but Severus didn't care. At least it was a vice that would only hurt him, compared to the one his father had, for example. The habit had stuck with him for the rest of his life, and while he couldn't get hold of those expensive cigarettes, he had learned to appreciate the simplicity of those that had no flavours.

When Lucius graduated, Severus felt awful. One would believe that it was because he would no longer have someone to defend him from everyone, which was a true point, but not the main one. Severus truly liked Lucius, and he was going to miss him oh so much, more than he would like to admit. Basically every afternoon was spent together, unless Lucius had too much homework or was out there to hook up with someone.

And speaking of hooking up, Severus would never forget the intimate moments he shared with the blond.

The first time they had kissed, for example. Severus was 15, Lucius 21, and they had run into Hogsmeade ‘by chance’. It happens that Lucius knew when the excursions would take place and in almost all of them he went through the trouble to go to the town to see him, spend the day together, many times lying in some remote corner of the world, doped to infinity and beyond. It was in one of those times when, without quite knowing why, he and Lucius exchanged glances and a second later, out of nowhere, they were kissing. Severus had never kissed anyone before, but Lucius of course had, so he was the one who showed him how to do it, how to move his lips with his, how to tangle their tongues perfectly. Lucius would confess to him a few days later, in a letter, that he might have not been as drugged as he had led him to believe, but that he simply couldn't think of another way to show his… interest in him.

Severus would have been angry had it not been for the ghost of his lips, thin and firm, pressing against his, biting gently, still felt on his.

It would take almost a year for them to take a significant step in their private relationships. After things went to hell with Lily, Severus became too depressed, resorting more intensely to his bad habits but too terrified to be intimate with Lucius. By then he didn’t hide his intentions, which had gone from simply kissing him to caressing him, to putting his hands under his robes, to marking his neck with his fangs. He hadn't touched him directly yet, as he wanted his explicit permission first, but he had pressed their bodies tight together, imprisoning him against a tree trunk, allowing him to feel what he caused in him, the kind of intense desire that he aroused within him.

His sexual tension only increased until, on Christmas’ Holidays in his sixth grade, Severus went to the Manor. Lucius had invited him, since he would stay home alone after his parents left on a trip to France.

"The Manor is rather big, and I feel terrified to be here all day alone, but I don't think I can survive the night without someone by my side. You will come with me, right?".

Severus had felt nervous to the point of wanting to puke. He thought that, as soon as he appeared at the Manor, Lucius was going to undress him and do all kinds of things to him in any part of the house; but it wasn’t like that. He was forgetting that Lucius, dying of desire as he was, was still a gentleman, and a patient one. So, he spent the first day showing Severus around the Manor, helping him arrange his things in an adjoining room, offering him the best food (and making sure he ate everything, knowing well how poorly he fed), letting him explore the vast library... Point is, he had let him do what he wanted, explore at ease, enjoy his home. Severus had been relieved at first, but by the end of the day the nervousness had returned stronger.

Lucius had teased him a bit when he saw his hands were shaking, the smile growing when he asked if he was ready, if he was sure, and the ash cheeks turned deep red. Severus nodded, refusing to speak for fear of stuttering and causing the blond to laugh more.

Taking his hand, the young Malfoy guided him to his own room, leaving him standing there as he closed the door, seconds later standing behind him, his mouth rushing to kiss and lick his neck, one arm wrapping around his waist and pressing him against his body, the other groping over his intimacy, waking him up as much as he was. Severus had exhaled a shaky sigh as they walked to the bed of silk sheets, where Lucius undressed him and dedicated himself to giving him all the pleasure in the world, to making him reach places that even with the use of drugs had never reached before.

And all this without the blond taking off a single garment.

When he did, showing his slim figure to the black-haired man, nestled between his legs, skin to skin, Severus could swear that he had touched the sky. Feeling Lucius' hips move against him, his hands holding his, his mouth going from his lips to his neck to his ear, where he moaned his name with passion and adoration... It was something unbelievable, something out-worldly.

He couldn’t determine, when they finished a long time later and Lucius got into the shower (“separated", he had said, "because otherwise it will do me no good to bathe"), if he enjoyed more of his lips travelling all over his body, every inch of it; or if instead he enjoyed more of every inch of him entering his body. Even when they did it again the next night, he couldn't know. He also didn’t know when they did it in the morning, nor on that day that they even forgot to eat, too entangled in pleasing and filling another type of hunger.

It was the best Christmas of his life.

He and Lucius continued their adventures until the blond got engaged, at which point he reluctantly stopped all kinds of sexual encounters with Severus out of respect for his future wife. Severus didn't mind as much as Lucius, being that his sexual drive and need were much lower than the older's, but it did leave him several restless nights, unable to sleep, having to settle for finding a way to give himself all that pleasure, alone.

The good thing was that they continued to frequent each other. Maybe there was no more sex involved, but their friendship was still strong, as was their interest in the Dark Arts and cigarettes and experimental drugs. They began to see each other much more after Severus' graduation and his official union with the Death Eaters, where Lucius was basically in command of him, giving him a little more freedom and confidence than the rest of the Dark Lord's followers.

It was only shortly after Halloween Eve of that fateful year that the two friends had another of those encounters. Severus desperately needed something to hold onto, someone to hold together all his broken bits, and Lucius was there for him, drunk enough to forget about his wife and sober enough to make sure that he wanted it, that Severus wanted it, and that it would only happen that time.

In the end, it happened more than ‘just that time’, but it also ended sooner than their libido would have liked.

Over the next several years, their contact became a little less frequent, a little more distant. Lucius had all the time in the world if he wanted it that way, having his life settled, but Severus carried too many things, and now he also had the responsibility of taking care of a lot of brats. Making sure they understood their classes, passed their exams, and didn't question his authority just because he was much younger than the other professors was something that took too much energy and time. By the time his godson entered Hogwarts, he and Lucius communicated mainly by letters, the constant visits being a thing of the past.

After the arrival of Draco and Potter, however, the blond's presence echoed once again in his life. It was still less constant than before, but every few months Lucius went to Hogwarts to see what his son was doing and to stick his nose in things that shouldn't matter to him, and of course, to hang out with the Potions professor. Usually they were content to drink tea in the younger's office, talking about how their lives were going and complaining about everything like two old ladies. Severus' mood improved significantly after his visits, and stayed that way for at least a couple of days, a record time for his standards.

Sometimes during those moments, he felt like hooking up with him again. The years suited him well, but Severus wasn't sure if it was an innate desire or if it was the blond's fault, who was still watching him with nothing short of lust.

By 1995, Severus and Lucius once again gave free rein to their wishes.

"I must admit, I'm surprised you're here, Sev", Lucuis commented, ushering Severus into his office at the Manor. “You usually spend summer vacations at Hogwarts, right?”.

"Yes, for it's too annoying to be among Muggles again", said the black-haired man, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk where Lucius was sitting. He looked around the room, a place he had never entered. It was quite simple, with a bookcase to his right and floor-to-ceiling windows in each corner, highly polished black wood furniture, a few plants to give it some life, and a fireplace to his left that lit up the room and kept the cold at bay. .

"I totally understand you in that sense", Lucius said. Severus let him finish counting his money instead of saying something, and the blond ended the work shortly after, closing the notebook he was writing in and stuffing all the galleons into a bag with a wave of his wand. “It's a total hassle, but I like to make sure everything is complete. Anyway, what brings you here, Sev? It's not that you're not welcome whenever you want, but I'd like to—”.

"Draco and Narcissa?", Severus interrupted. He didn't want to sound too eager, but the bothering he was carrying on his body was making him uneasy.

Lucius seemed to ignore his tone of voice, leaning back in his chair. He waved his hand.

"They went to the beach or something. You see, Draco loves hot weather and Narcissa had wanted to go swimming since Merlin knows when”, he explained. His grey eyes slid to black eyes, a kind of question in them. Slowly, almost cautiously, Lucius added: "They're not expecting me for three days, you know".

He didn't have to say more. In a second, Severus had risen from his seat, Lucius copying his action, and soon they were stumbling backward until they hit a wall, the black-haired man's hands gripping Lucius' hips as his tongue tangled with his, the blond’s hands unbuttoning Severus's clothes.

Without second thoughts, without asking a thing, Lucius soon pulled down his lover's trousers and knelt in front of him, his mouth moving to run his tongue the entire length of his. Severus closed his eyes and shoved his long fingers into Lucius' silky hair, letting him play and explore his body. He wanted to focus on pleasure, wanted to focus on forgetting about his doubts and problems. It felt kind of wrong (it would feel bad, if he weren't stuck in the other man's mouth and throat) to use Lucius as an escape, but there was no one to turn to, and God knew Lucius had no problem if he sought him out for those things.

Sooner rather than later, Severus could relax, let go of the weight that was always on his shoulders. His ragged gasps filled the silence of the office along with the wet and exciting noises Lucius made down there as he devoured him, hips moving to meet the slow rhythm that marked the blond's head.

He didn't let him finish, however, in typical Malfoy fashion. He rose instead, one hand going to tend to the erection, the other stroking his cheek before kissing him. Lucius always did everything dirty and kinky, ​​and Severus loved to taste himself on his lips and his tongue.

"Let's go upstairs", the owner of the house declared, a rough nod from Severus the only response from him. With a wave of his wand, he pulled his pants up so that he could walk, although he left the important part in the air, so he could continue stroking him all the way to the room that was permanently reserved for Severus.

The door closed and robes flew through the air, mouths meeting in no time once again, bodies clenching and erections brushing against each other. They lay down on the bed, Lucius on top as usual, pushing his hips against Severus' body, increasing the friction of their intimacies.

"Oh, I’d give everything to fuck you in my own bed”, he gasped, licking and sucking and marking his jaw and his neck and his shoulders, hands intertwined, skins gradually covering in a light layer beaded with sweat.

Severus didn't reply, letting himself be carried away by pleasure. Oh yes, that was just what he needed to appease his thoughts, to clear his mind. It was a temporary relief, he knew it well, but better than nothing. Of course, Lucius was not a ‘better than nothing’, he was something better than many things, much better in fact, and breaking the rule that he had settled himself about not to fuck with him any more because he was a married man was something that he was willing to do, at least for this one time.

He didn't know when Lucius flipped their bodies, letting him sit on top of him. Severus took the cue and guided his bodies into the immoral union, a shaky gasp escaping his lips and a deep groan rumbling in the blond's chest. It was as if their bodies recognized each other, adjusting to each other immediately, allowing them to quickly find a rhythm instead of wasting time settling. Severus felt the depth that Lucius reached, delighted in that sensation and in the one that the blond provided with his hands, tending to his erection.

Beneath him, trying eagerly to suppress his sounds, Lucius watched him adoringly, dedicating all kinds of lewd words and commands, ranging from ‘as tight as ever’ to ‘I want you to cum on my chest’. Severus wanted to fulfil his whims, each and every one of them. Sometimes he wished Lucius were single. Sometimes he would like to belong to each other, for at least that way things would be easier and more bearable.

Desperation and the reckless pursuit of pleasure soon brought them both to an end, with Lucius finishing still inside him and Severus, indeed, on his chest. In the ecstasy of their encounter they closed their eyes in pure pleasure, Severus' name entangled in Lucius' moans, Lucius' one spilling like honey from Severus' mouth.

The young professor got up once he was completely finished, laying down next to the blond, breathing in forcefully to steady his agitated heart. He knew Lucius and knew that he would soon ask him if he was ready for another round, and he would be. They had three days to have fun, to forget their lives, to feel that they were each other’s and delude themselves in that illusion.

"Let me tell you", Lucius muttered hoarsely, gasping between breaths, "it's still as good as the first time”.

Severus nodded heavily, in complete agreement with his friend.

His old friend. That was all that Lucius could be, all that he could be to Lucius. It didn't matter how much Severus sometimes wished they were together, that they were more than just friends and occasional lovers. They would always rush to a bed and go no further, for Lucius's heart was light and volatile, and Severus' was too heavy and rested in pale hands with long fingers and reddened knuckles, hidden under a curtain of blond hair that did not belong in the absolute to the man lying next to him.

"How much do you fancy having something to cover your eyes?", the aforementioned asked a while later, when their pulse had returned to normal and their bodies were beginning to cool.

"As much as you do", Severus replied, willing to continue fooling himself for as long as he could by Lucius' side.

[mushroomminded]

Ah yes, one of the town of Grant's Sexy Dads; Jacob "Jake" Pierly, bisexual disaster, perpetually anxious, and winner of the Best Ankles in Town award five times running. I love this man also 😍😍😍

hes silly

[holycatsandrabbits]

Tollense, an original serial romance by Dannye Chase, Chapter 4

A history professor falls in love with his best friend, a 3000-year-old vampire.

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Chapter 4

1997 (One year later)

The convention center had been beautiful under the blue Minnesota sky when Liam had arrived, and it was still beautiful now with its windows backed by heavy showers of falling snow that threw diffuse, moving light onto the walls inside the conference room. Beautiful and alarming.

Liam’s university was located in Florida. Florida was quite nice in January, and besides, there were theme parks. Didn’t people always like theme parks? But instead, the conference was being held in Minnesota, and this was the final day. In an hour, Liam and his colleagues, other faculty of the history department, were supposed to start the twenty-some-hour drive home.

“Could have been at Disney World,” Kurt remarked, startling Liam. Liam had been too busy watching the storm to realize Kurt had come up beside him.

“What on earth?” Liam asked, quite rightfully surprised, not by Kurt’s sudden unexpected presence, as he was used to that by now, but because Kurt was not a history professor, and therefore didn’t have a reason to be at the conference.

“Thought I’d drop in,” Kurt said. “See how things were going. Anyone interested in your research on Tollense?”

“Everyone. It’s very exciting.” Liam kept his voice low. “Am I talking to myself, or can everyone else see you?”

Kurt smiled at him. “I wouldn’t give you that kind of reputation. I’m visible.” Liam could see it was true, as Kurt’s good looks were attracting a few appreciative glances. “Are you ready to come home?” Kurt asked.

“Yes, we’re due to head out soon. Not that we’re really looking forward to it.”

“Well, your co-workers can head out whenever they like. I’m taking you home.”

“What?”

Kurt looked surprised by Liam’s surprise. “You’re from Florida. You have no idea what to do with snow. They’re pulling locals off the roads, Liam. I'm not letting you drive in this weather.”

“But you don’t even know how to dr— wait.” Liam felt a bit of a shiver crawl up his spine. “Oh, no. I’m not teleporting home.”

“I’ve been doing it for thousands of years. With humans. You know that. It’s perfectly safe.”

“No.”

Now a bit of hurt flashed over Kurt’s features, and like all his dark expressions, it was vaguely unsettling. “You don’t trust me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I just don’t want to teleport.”

“Why on earth not?”

Liam hated to lie to Kurt. Partly, it was because Liam was not entirely sure that Kurt couldn’t somehow tell that he was lying. Kurt claimed that he couldn’t read minds, but he was a vampire who could teleport himself from Florida to Minnesota, and Liam would not have been at all surprised to find that Kurt was aware of the snowstorm confronting Liam without having checked the weather.

But it was also true that Kurt was Liam’s best friend and it seemed wrong to lie to him. Except Liam couldn’t tell him the truth about this, because that wasn’t going to help anyone. It was better if Kurt didn’t know that Liam was in love with him, that for over a year now, Liam had been obsessed with the memory of Kurt kissing him, slow and sweet, and that the last thing Liam needed now was for Kurt to pull him close and show off his impressive supernatural abilities in a rescue. Kurt had made it clear that he never allowed himself to fall in love with humans that he met, and Liam had to be protective of his heart, already cracked and in danger of breaking.

“Look, if you are so dead-set on it, you can use your mind-control powers to convince me,” Liam joked, and immediately realized that was worse than lying, because Kurt flinched.

“If I do that,” Kurt said, in what sounded like a carefully controlled voice, “I will lose you anyway.”

“Wh— you’re not going to lose me. I’ll get a hotel, then. Drive home later.”

“I don’t want you driving to a hotel!” Kurt looked exasperated. “Liam, you are the most adventurous person I know. Why not this?”

“Oh, I’m hardly—”

“Yes, you are. You’re like an explorer, always hungry for something new and unusual. You’re brave, and not terribly cautious, which is bad for your driving habits, but it’s perfectly safe when it comes to me, because I am never going to let anything happen to you.”

Kurt had stepped close, and Liam could tell how upset Kurt was because Kurt was losing his grip on the human appearance and mannerisms he tried to put on. Right now he looked sleek and strong and shadowy. He didn’t reach for Liam with his hands, but Liam could feel something surrounding him, like a faint cool mist. It felt oddly familiar, and Liam got the impression that the mist might actually always be there, a piece of Kurt holding onto him, and Liam had just never been consciously aware of it before.

And then everything suddenly snapped back into place: Kurt looked ordinary again, and Liam realized with a shock that a couple of his colleagues had approached them.

“What do you think?” asked one of them. “We’re talking about getting a hotel.”

“I have a ride home,” Liam said faintly. Everyone looked at him in surprise, including Kurt. Few of Liam’s fellow faculty had met Kurt, partly by Kurt’s design, because he wasn’t terribly social, and partly by Liam’s. Liam was aware that his very close friendship with a very handsome man was likely to give him a certain other reputation, one that was quite deserved (though sadly not much practiced), but not very wise in the current political climate.

Nothing for it now. “Chris Mullens, Doris Sullivan, this is my friend Kurt, ah, Smith. He was in town for something else and is heading back to Florida today. He offered me a ride.”

“Is it safe?” Doris asked, looking concerned.

“Kurt’s a very good driver. Got a— a car like a tank.”

Doris laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder, and to Liam’s surprise, Kurt seemed to bristle at that, almost literally, and the whole room seemed to go with him, the air around them feeling oddly sharp. Liam understood that Kurt was concerned that he’d change his mind and be convinced to travel with his colleagues, but it undoubtedly looked like something else from the outside— a sort of possessiveness.

“What a nice friend,” Chris said lightly, looking at Kurt in a way that Liam did not like at all, as if Kurt was not a person but a problem, not a good-looking man but a tempting trap. Liam’s personal belief was that men who were so vehemently opposed to homosexuality were probably terrified that they themselves might be vulnerable to such a “trap,” but it was better if that went unsaid.

Kurt rescued him, of course. “Yes, Liam and I have been friends for a while. I used to date one of his students, Martina.”

Chris’s face cleared a bit, losing some of its distaste. He had apparently not heard of bisexuality, or whatever word might describe Kurt. “Oh. Sure.”

“Ready to go?” Kurt asked Liam. He barely waited for an answer before steering Liam out of the room. They walked down an empty hallway where the storm winds were pushing hard enough to make the windows shift in their frames. Kurt spoke in a gentle voice. “Give it a few years. The world is becoming more tolerant again. Humans keep discovering their natures over and over.”

“This must all be very trite to you.”

“Not in the least.” Kurt’s eyes were sharp on him. “Do you think Chris is the one sending you those threatening letters?”

Liam scoffed. “He barely knows how to tie his shoes. Worse than even the typical history professor.”

Kurt looked unconvinced. “I’ll keep an eye on him all the same.” He held out a hand to Liam. “Let’s go home.”

Liam looked down at Kurt’s hand. A pale blue vein ran delicately along his wrist, and Liam wondered what flowed there, if anything. “What about my luggage?”

“I already picked it up from Dr. Sullivan’s car. It’s at your place.”

“You’re awfully confident that I’d say yes to this.”

Kurt sighed, exasperated. “I can’t believe you haven’t asked me sooner. I thought I’d be taking you to the Louvre every weekend. Or Rome. At least Antietam.”

Liam laughed. “I should have.”

Kurt smiled, looking at ease for the first time since he’d arrived. “You should.”

“Next weekend then.” Liam finally took Kurt’s hand, and their fingers fit together easily. As always, Kurt was slightly cool to the touch.

The convention center faded away into a sort of bland white light. Liam felt like he was floating, but still with his feet planted on the ground. He looked down and found his own office floor beneath his shoes.

“Stay still a moment,” Kurt warned. “People can get dizzy when they’re not used to it.” He dropped Liam’s grasp and put a steadying hand on his arm instead. And now was the moment Liam had dreaded: Kurt was so close, so strong, and so hauntingly strange.

“We must seem so very fragile to you,” Liam said.

“You are fragile.” There was a harsh coldness in Kurt’s voice.

“So how did you learn to do that? To teleport?”

Kurt shrugged. “Just always could.”

“Always?” Liam frowned. “I thought a vampire’s abilities were based on age.”

“They are.”

“But if you’ve been doing it as long as you can remember— since at least Tollense— doesn’t it follow then that your origins would have to be a great deal older than that?”

Kurt narrowed his eyes, considering.

“Or else,” Liam said, “maybe you’re not a vampire.”

“I drink blood.”

“A lot of creatures— uh, beings— are said to drink blood. I’m sorry, it must be so frustrating not to be able to remember.”

Kurt looked at him with a sort of gratitude, but then he turned away, toward the door. A second later, there was a knock, and Kurt finally let go of Liam’s arm.

It was one of Liam’s graduate students at the door, Jonah. “Hey,” he said. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything. Just have a couple of questions. I thought I heard you talking. Do you have company?”

Most of the students never met Kurt either, despite the fact that he was around quite a bit. Liam had learned by now that Kurt only appeared to those students he thought he might start a relationship with. Kurt had been alone since Martina had graduated, and Liam assumed it would only be a matter of time before he picked another student, someone to provide him with blood and share his bed. In between lovers, Kurt drank blood from animals, but he had told Liam that it was much better to have a human source. Kurt chose those people whom he thought would be open to the idea of a finite relationship with a vampire, those who wouldn’t be afraid of him but also wouldn’t want to stay with him indefinitely. Because Kurt never got attached.

“Let’s find out,” Liam said, and opened the door wider. His heart sank immediately when he saw that Jonah could see Kurt standing by the desk. Liam thought back for a moment to Kurt’s reaction when Doris put her hand on Liam’s arm. But Kurt wouldn’t get jealous, of course.

Liam definitely was.

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My previous serials are for Good Omens: Mr. Fell's Bookshop and Love's Endless Light

My Carrd

[lovelyirony]

@rhodee for you

When Tony had gotten back from Siberia, he hadn’t been able to see anyone for a long time. 

But people had been to see him. 

He wasn’t expecting Rhodey to come and see him for a variety of medically-related reasons, but he was hoping for an email or a phone call, at least a message about Tony being a “dumbass.” 

And then he asked Pepper how Rhodey was doing, and she tenses up. 

Pepper has never been a good liar to Tony, not since they got drunk together for the first time and she told him every single tell she had for lying. They could never hide from each other after that. 

“He’s...knocked out, still.” 

Tony raises his eyebrows. 

“So, he’s not knocked out, something happened to him.” 

“Tony, he...he doesn’t remember.” 

“What, the fall? I wish I couldn’t remember that either, but I’m betting that that’s not what you’re talking about.” 

“He doesn’t remember any of us. He doesn’t remember anything except for his freshman year of college. All of this information is...overwhelming for him.” 

Tony freezes. 

He and Rhodey didn’t live together freshman year. Hell, they didn’t even know each other freshman year. They became sort-of-friends near the beginning of sophomore year, and that meant... 

Oh god.

Rhodey wouldn’t remember three important things: 

1.) He’s bisexual.

2.) He’s an accomplished man who has achieved much in his lifetime and has grown comfortable with himself with years of help.

3.) He married Tony. They’re married. 

For a long time, Rhodey didn’t really want to admit that he liked guys. It wasn’t something he ever talked about, nothing he ever wanted to discuss. He didn’t mind that Tony had an attraction to men, but he always seemed to put himself at a distance when Tony brought someone over for dinner or a study session. 

Rhodey didn’t want to come to terms with it at first. He was very adamant that he would marry a nice girl and settle down, and Tony hadn’t contested it, hadn’t challenged him on it. That could have very well been the situation. 

It wasn’t until the end of sophomore year--into the summer, actually--that Rhodey even wanted to tempt to talk about what attraction would even mean for him. 

They had gotten together senior year, and Tony has a picture framed in their bedroom of Tony dipping Rhodey into a kiss (and dropping him after the picture was taken) after graduation. 

“They had to take off his wedding ring for the surgery, but I wasn’t sure what to tell him. The doctors said to avoid bringing up any information that would surprise them, and I remember that you talked about it once...” 

“Yeah,” Tony says thickly, his chest hurting from more than just a frisbee-toss gone wrong. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s, uh...let’s just transfer him over to the headquarters. I’ll just...I’ll figure something out.” 

He can’t tell Rhodey he has a husband. He can’t. The reaction alone would be terrible, if he’s knowing what he knows. 

-

So he doesn’t. 

Tony welcomes Rhodey into the compound after taking down every single romantic photo, briefing everyone who still lived there that Rhodey had lost his memory, and praying to whoever would listen that Rhodey didn’t find out until he was comfortable with it. 

“I don’t go by Rhodey,” was the first thing off of his lips. Not a hello, not a smile. “I go by Jim.” 

“Right,” Tony says, smiling in that flashy way that Rhodey usually told him to stop, because it creeped him out because he knew what that smile was actually all about. “Jim. Nice to see you back.” 

“I wish I could say the same, but I’m not exactly sure I remember you. Your face looks really familiar, though.” 

“Well, that’s what nearly twenty-five years of knowledge can do to somebody,” Tony says quickly. “Let me show you to your room. Sorry about the lack of decorations, we didn’t really want to overwhelm you with anything.” 

“I’m fine,” Rhodey says, clearly annoyed. “It’s just weird knowing that I’m way fucking older and apparently I graduated college and managed to make something of myself and I can’t remember any of it.” 

“I can’t say I understand, but I can say that it sucks,” Tony says. “But, lucky for you, I kept some of your stuff.” 

“A friend kept my stuff?” Rhodey asks. “Why?” 

“Because I’m annoying and you pretend like you hate me, when I am the best thing that happened to you,” Tony says, smiling. 

He then turns when he can see Rhodey’s--Jim’s--expression turn sour. 

“Ah, anyway,” Tony says hurriedly. “You just...keep stuff sometimes.” 

(He’s not going to mention that it’s because they shared an apartment. Or a house. Or a room. Or, on occasion, a bank account.) 

“Dinner is gonna be at seven, feel free to come down,” Tony says, smile wearing thin. 

- 

Jim doesn’t come down. 

Or he did, but he came down early. 

Because he doesn’t want anything to do with Tony. 

“It’ll just take time,” Pepper tells Tony over the phone. “Give him some space.” 

So Tony does. 

But it’s hard giving your amnesiac husband space when you’ve never done it before, not really. 

Tony has always been around Rhodey, always been invading and crawling into his space, and Rhodey really only complained when Tony’s hands would sneak around his chest when the nights were dark and cold. 

Now they’re at a distance, and Tony doesn’t know how to bring up any facts about their life. 

So far, all Jim’s been doing is catching up on history. 

“We fought Captain America?” he asks, gaping at the article about finding Captain Rogers in an iceberg. “Why?” 

“He likes putting his foot in his mouth a lot.” Tony says. “And both sides have been notoriously bad at keeping their cool.” 

“Oh. So we just...I  fought him? Because I’m just friends with you?” 

“Yeah,” Tony says, quite uncomfortable with the insertion of the word “just” in that sentence. 

“...weird.” 

“The future’s crazy, honey-bear.” 

Jim looks up. 

“Why do you call me that?” 

“Call you what?” 

“Honey-bear. It’s weird.” 

“Inside joke we have,” Tony says, chest tightening. “We thought those couples that have the lovey-dovey nicknames were ridiculous.” 

“Oh. Gross.” 

“Yeah, it is,” Tony says. “But kinda funny. One time you called me ‘sugar-tits’.” 

Jim laughs at that one. 

“Oh god, that’s...rough. What else did I call you?” 

Baby. Honey. Love of my life. Darling. 

“Uh...” Tony says, pretending to think. “I think love-muffin was also an option.” 

Jim throws back his head and laughs. 

“How did we...how did we become friends?” 

“Well, it all started with a dining hall and you trying to steal an entire painting without getting caught, and my valiant rescue...” 

“Why do I get the feeling that that’s not true?” 

“Because it isn’t,” Tony grins. “Just making sure your bullshit-detector is working again. It is. We met because we weren’t supposed to be roommates but they fucked up and the rooms filled up, so you dealt with me as best you could.” 

“Oh,” Jim says. “What do we do for fun?”

Go on date nights. Talk about how stupid we were as kids. Debate who asked out who. Cook together. 

“Uh, we used to...shoot hoops.” 

“You don’t seem like a basketball kinda guy,” Jim says. 

“Oh believe me, I wasn’t,” Tony responds with a laugh, “but you were, and you always liked kicking my ass on the court.” 

“Good to know that I can still probably do that,” Jim says, smug and self-satisfied. “Hey, where did Pepper go?” 

“Oh, she’s busy with a contract this week, what do you need?” 

Jim puts his hand on the back of his neck in that nervous habit he always got (that Tony only knew about because every single time he would walk into the room after he realized he liked him in that way, Rhodey would do that). 

“Um, just want to ask her something. About my life.” 

And Tony can’t breathe. 

He doesn’t know and that’s...that’s everything. 

“She’ll be back for dinner,” Tony says. “In the mean time, I’ll be in the lab working on some stuff, feel free to do whatever.” 

“Thanks, man.” 

- 

Pepper stares at Jim, who for so long has been one of her best friends and is now asking if he had anyone who he was involved with romantically. 

“You...what?” 

“Did I have a girlfriend or anything?” Jim asks. “Because, um, it’s going to kind of suck if I didn’t.” 

“You had a girlfriend sophomore year,” she answers carefully. “That lasted for about three months or something. You’d have to ask Tony more about it, he knows more about you than I do.” 

“And you said we’re...friends? We didn’t date?”

“Yeah, we are friends, no we didn’t date,” Pepper says. “We get lunch on Thursdays if you’re in town.” 

“I’m in the army, right?” 

“About to retire, too,” Pepper says with a grin. “You were really happy, you were planning on taking Tony on a trip.” 

“I was?” Jim asks, frowning. “We’re...that close?” 

“Well yeah, you’re-” Pepper pauses for a moment. “You’re best friends. You always like spending time with Tony.” 

“Oh,” Jim says. “Okay.” 

He knows that they’re lying to him. He gets why: if he learns too much, it could cause some sort of damage. And according to Friday, “Colonel Platypus” (whatever the fuck that means) keeps his personal life intensely private. 

He doesn’t know why he’s done that. Why he’s kept everything so private. It’s not because of his military status, he thinks. Unless, of course, they put him on all sorts of secret projects. That could definitely be a thing. 

Tony keeps almost calling him Rhodey. It’s a weird nickname. He doesn’t know why he apparently loves it. It sounds...stupid. Weird. Jim works just fine. 

Pepper also said they were just friends. And she sounds like she means it. And Tony says they’re just friends, but he doesn’t sound like he means it. 

But that doesn’t mean...? 

No. Of course not. There would be pictures and rings and all of that sappy, gross shit that comes with weddings. 

...would there be? 

“Hey Friday?” he asks. 

“Yes, Colonel Rhodes?” 

“Um. Is gay marriage legal?” 

“Yes, Colonel Rhodes, it is. Would you like further articles about the decision?” 

“Uh...sure. I guess.” 

He keeps reading articles (with reading glasses) and learns a lot about what’s been going on. 

He’s just interested, obviously. In current events. 

- 

It’s a week later when he asks Tony about it. 

“So...did you remember the whole legalization of gay marriage thing?” he asks Tony, who pauses at his coffee. “I, um. Read an article where they said you were bi, so I wasn’t sure if you-” 

“No, I am,” Tony says. “I remember it really well. I celebrated well that day.” 

he grinned as he looked at Rhodey, and swore to rent out the entire metropolitan museum of art, just for him. he would do anything for him, anything at all-

Jim looks at him. 

“What did you do to celebrate?” 

“Well, there were quite a lot of people at gay bars. We danced. I drank a glass of champagne. And then we danced again.” 

“Someone was with me?” 

“You were,” Tony says. “You were here when it happened, and it was...it was a good day for us.” 

“I’m not gay though,” Jim says with a frown. 

“Doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate,” Tony says, eyes holding something in them that makes him look like he might cry. “Some people’s triumph can be a momentous occasion.” 

It can the occasion where your marriage is finally recognized everywhere. It’s where you get the iconic photo of mashing cake in your partner’s face, and all of the guests are grinning and you’re happy, and--

Tony shakes himself out of that train of thought. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Jim says. “Just...please tell me that you didn’t get any embarrassing pictures.” 

“Oh I did,” Tony replies, grinning maniacally. “Would you like to see yourself in a feather boa or a flamingo floatie?” 

“Oh my god,” Jim moans, throwing his hands to the dinner table. “No...” 

“You looked a dream, gorgeous,” Tony teases. “And I have the pictures to prove it. I’ll get them out another time, I promised Dum-E that I’d help him pick up his mess.” 

“Who is he?” 

Tony grins. 

“He’s our baby, metaphorically speaking. We built him on a half-drunk, half-dare kind of situation,” Tony says. “He’s a disaster.” 

Jim thinks about it for a moment. “Can I...can I meet him?” 

-

Dum-E hasn’t seen his dad in forever. He’s wheeling around Rhodey, beeping and nearly running over his feet. 

“Great, your return has pushed back any build-up coordination training we did,” Tony scolds, although his tone doesn’t sound serious at all. “Dum-E, your father and I agreed to help clean, although methinks that Jim will be a great surveyor for us.” 

“What’d you spill?” Jim asks. 

“Couple of glass stuff,” Tony says. “He’s been really into stained glass recently, I think he was trying to make his own.” 

“He can think?” 

“Yeah,” Tony says. “His coding, by the way, was like sixty percent you. That’s why he’s so damned stubborn and also why he puts motor oil into smoothies, genius.” 

“Hey, that most definitely was you,” Jim says. “You didn’t grocery shop that day, so I was weak and malnourished.” 

Tony stills. 

“You...remember that?” 

Jim pauses for a moment. 

“You...you were supposed to go grocery shopping and I made a list,” he says, smiling fondly. “And you didn’t take the list because you said you had an eidetic memory, but you still forgot the lemons, so I don’t believe you.” 

Tony throws back his head and laughs. 

“Glad to have a memory for you, Rho-Jim. You want a glass of water or anything?” 

“Water sounds fine.” 

Jim watches as Tony works around Dum-E, obviously used to his quirks and mannerisms as he banters and threatens with nothing backing up that threat. 

He smiles as he wheels himself over, grabbing a dust pan on his way over. 

“Figured we’ll need this,” he offers. Tony accepts it with a smile. 

“Thanks Jim.” 

“You can-you can call me Rhodey. If you want.” 

Tony looks at him for a moment. 

“But is that what you want?” 

Jim pauses. 

“Yes. For now.” 

“Okay,” Tony says, smiling. He’s not showing how fucking happy he is, how ready he is to leap for the moon and bring stardust down on his way home. “Thank you.” 

Jim nods. 

“I think I’m gonna turn in for the night.” 

“Have a goodnight, Jim. Let me know if you need anything.” 

-

He lies awake in bed that night. 

“Hey, Friday?” 

“Yes, Boss?” 

“I...I’m not being told everything, am I?” 

“Information can potentially be triggering to the current state you are in, Colonel Rhodes.” 

“Are you being paid to say that?” 

“I don’t get paid,” Friday says. “Although if I did, I would not want to take the money.” 

“So I am missing something,” Rhodey says. “I just...I don’t know what.” 

“It will come with time, Colonel Rhodes.” 

“And if it doesn’t? If I have to relive life all over again?” He asks, growing agitated. “If my memory doesn’t come back, Friday...I’m not sure they’ll ever tell me anything.” 

“It is already a good sign that you remembered Dum-E. He was missing you quite terribly.” 

“Can I...can you show me a picture of me with him?” 

“Sure thing, Boss.” 

- 

Rhodey has a sharp intake of breath. 

Right there. 

Right on his left hand. 

A wedding ring. 

And then he looks at Tony, Tony who is looking fondly as Rhodey and Dum-E are reenacting some stupid thing, and there’s a-

A ring. 

On the left hand. 

That wasn’t there before. 

Shit.