#and this cactus is a bit too big for me to eat

[oxygenbefore1775]

*on the verge of falling off of rjw train*

[amelee23]

My hero | Bang Chan

Pairing: Bang Chan x female reader

Genre: Married fluff, (a tiny bit of angst)

Word count: 2.400

Requested: yes

Warnings: mention of a stomach bug (very briefly) insecurities (both), self-depricating jokes (both), some marriage difficulties, caring for a child, they're EXTREMELY in love, tooth-rotting fluff

Both you and Chan loved to have your crazy fun, but to a certain limit. A limit you both understood so well, as if it was truly a shared items between your minds. Therefore, after your long awaited wedding ceremony, where tears were shed, dances were danced, cake ended up on the floor and someone's shirt, the bouquet throwing almost knocked someone out, and fortunately no relative started a fight - you both drove peacefully, home. No long flights to Honolulu, no rushing for any 5 star hotel reservation. Just a long, deep sleep.

You awake and instantly chuckle. You barely remember that you basically threw your wedding dress on top of the bedroom door last night instead of finding a hanger. Slept with the door open and all, but you were so exhausted you don't remember even washing your teeth. You turn around gingerly and find your newlywed husband, Chris, to be slightly salivating on the pillow. Nose half shoved inside the fluff, hair every which way and his cute ears poking through, his silver earrings still on. He was a sight to behold, and this sight was truly now yours.

You brush a few strands of hair away from his eyes, and as you accidently touch his ear he shudders. You procrastinate for a good five minutes, in which you gently pet his hair, and then lean to kiss him on the forehead before you get out of bed.

"No, don't leave." He calls out to you, his voice raspy and his accent thick. You give into the temptation and lay back down next to him.

"Good morning, my husband." You say, and it's so cheesy it makes you giggle.

"Good morning, my wife." He says with a toothy grin. You just married him, and you have a lifetime ahead of you to admire him and love him, and yet you're impatiently urging to jump on him and smother him in kisses for how adorable he looks. Cuteness agression and all.

You decide you won't be eating Chris alive one kiss at the time, and instead you lay your head on his outstretched arm and allow him to wrap the other one around your back, bringing you one breath away from his chocolate eyes admiring you sleepily.

"So, what will be our first important decision taken as husband and wife?" Chris asks you, and you furrow your brows. Does he mean something like deciding to paint the room green or getting a cactus?

"Deciding what to eat for breakfast?" He chuckles at your answer.

"The most important meal of the day! Yeah I think that's a very big decision to make. And as your husband, to showcase my deep trust in you, I allow you to have complete power over this first decision." He speaks so eloquently, you slap him on the arm and he begins to giggle.

"You're just too lazy to help me think!"

"What? Me? Neveeeerr."

"And I'm guessing you also want me to go get said breakfast if you're letting me decide what we eat." Chris pretends to gasp.

"How did you know? See, we're perfect for each other! You can read my mind." He makes that usual tutting noise as he winks at you and you go from adoring him to wanting to shove a pillow in his face. But most marriages are like this, you imagine.

"Fine, I'll do it. Under one condition."

"Anything my wife desires."

"You have to answer why you chose me. Like, as your wife. Why me and not anyone else?"

"Why not?" Chris answers with a laugh and you're reaching for the pillow and he doesn't even try to dodge.

"No but really, why did you?" You try your hardest to not show that this is a real question for you. Not just a joke to put your husband in a tough spot for fun, but an actual curiosity that makes you insecure. And Chan hates it when you're insecure.

"I chose you as my wife." You squint at him in a feeble attempt to understand his words.

"Yeah .... you did, since we just got.... married... But why me?" Chan laughs and flails his arms, probably realizing his words didn't come out very coherently.

"No, I chose you as my wife the entire time. It just took me a very long time to realize it.

When I needed an opinion on a song, for some reason I chose you instead of, y'know, the people who produce music with me. When Seungmin caught that stomach bug and I needed to get him to the hospital, I chose to call you to come with us. When I needed to have a serious conversation with someone, I'd call you up even if I'd be surrounded by 15 close friends in physical range of me. I used to choose you even if it was irrational, even if I was a burden to you-"

"You were never a burden to me, Chris."

"I hope I wasn't." He laughs awkwardly, almost as if embarrassed. "But anyways... Yeah. In the beginning I thought I was just being silly, but then I started to notice what I was doing. When my parents asked me if I've met anyone new, I chose you to talk about. Literally yapped for hours - you should have seen their faces! They knew I was in love way before I did. And when I was tasked with writing a love song...I chose you to write about. And then the next morning I chose to start sending you good morning messages every day. Then when I pictured Valentine's day... There was no other option other than spending it with you. So I chose to ask you out before Valentine's so when the holiday comes I could spoil you. And then I just... Continued to choose you. Over and over again." He finishes with a smile, in contrast to you who started crying many sentences ago. You thought you were done crying after yesterday's ceremony, but Chris is a man full of surprises.

"You even chose me over your career a few times..." You say as more tears escape you, a feeling of guilt washing over you. Although the fact that he sacrificed the thing he cares the most about in this world for your sake should prove his dedication, it also still makes you feel guilty to think about.

"And I'd do it again." He leans closer, wiping the tears off of your face, then taking your hand in his to lay tiny kisses on it. "So you see how I just... Chose you? From the get go? It's like I knew I could rely on you, trust you, love you eternally. From the day we met. So it's not... Anything you said or something specific. I just chose you. All of you. To be mine. All mine." He pulls you into a tight embrace and you feel the way your body wraps around his by instinct. Like you were molded to blend together. "You're mine." He kisses the side of your forehead and butterflies wreck your tummy. "My wife."

"But you could have chosen anyone else..." You still mutter unsurely, but Chris shushes you and pats your head.

"But I didn't. And I won't." He reassures you, rocking you left and right in a calming motion. He truly wishes he would be better at showing you and telling you just how much he loves you, how much he wants you in his life. He could never blame you for having insecurities about yourself, but at the same time he feels although he's failing as a lover if he lets those those thoughts invade your mind. He truly wishes his love could seep into your bones.

"So you don't just want me for my spicy chicken recipe?" You try to joke, to ease the atmosphere, bringing Chan out of his thoughts.

"I mean ... The spicy chicken is included in the package, right?" He continued the joke, but underneath that pearly smile he gave you, Chan was set on making you the happiest wife on earth. Whatever it took.

Even if that meant some arguments, some bumps down the road, and making you uncomfortable with affection and attention until you allowed him to love you well. That was a part of marriage no one warned you about, something you had to figure out along the way - that sometimes you have to make each other uncomfortable in order to grow. Sometimes you have to push some limits to become happier.

And so many years into the future, after the birth of you first son, you pushed a limit that wouldn't even seem humanly possible to Chris. You somehow convinced him to go on tour and leave you alone to care for your son. He was two seconds away from quitting his job and becoming a convenience store worker upon hearing just how many months he'd have to away from you and your four year old son, who needed very much to be around his dad at that age. But you convinced him, reassured him everything was going to be okay in his absence.

"Dada's out there spreading happiness into the world." You whispered to your son, who was sleeping in the same bed as you ever since Chris left on tour.

"Like a superhero?"

"Exactly like a superhero, baby. To every single city he goes, he makes people so happy he saves their lives."

"Dada's so cool." Instead of being able to calm him down to get him to sleep, it seems your son gained energy from the conversation instead. He was now flailing his tiny limbs around.

"Do you wanna watch Dada perform?" There is a video of Chris you have saved up on your phone, from a solo stage he had during a concert where he sang a lullaby. It was the most children friendly performance you had, plus it matched the melodicity of the songs Chris used to sing to you at night to soothe your pregnancy pains.

Your son always falls asleep listening to his father's voice, almost through magic.

When his breathing evened out, you thought it was finally time you kick back and relax with an episode of your favorite show while enjoying some not-so-recommended late night chocolate. As you headed into the hallway, you spotted Chan leaning on the wall and had to glue a hand over your mouth to not scream and wake up your son.

"Chris, you scared the shi- .... heck outta me! What are you doing here?"

"We have a few days off in between stops and I couldn't just sit in a hotel for three days while I was dying to see you two."

"So you're telling me you spent 10 hours on flight, to stay here for one day and then fly back to god knows where?"

"Exactly." He says, face full of dimples and his eyes sparkle in the dark shadows of the hallway.

"You're insane." You laugh quitely.

"No, I'm... a superhero...? That saves lives...? You gotta let me know what you've been telling him, or else he might be disappointed in me when he finds out I can't fly."

"You don't need to fly to be a superhero."

"Oh yeah? Then care to tell me what makes me a superhero?" He flirts with you, gently pushing your hips into the wall behind you as he leans over you. You keep an eye on the door to make sure your son doesn't wake up and walk in to see how big of a flirt his father is. He'll have decades to cringe over it later.

"Remember when I used to feel bad for all the nice things you used to do for me? All the help and the gifts?"

"Mhm." The limits Chris used to push and how they bothered you - they resulted in a lot of friction early on in the marriage.

"And you told me that I need to allow you to make me happy. And since then... I chose to. Just how you chose me to be your wife... I chose to let you make me happy. I chose to allow you to be my hero. It's tricky, because heroes need sleep too ..." You softly caress his cheeks, and even under the dim atmosphere of the hallway you can see the dark bags under his eyes. "and they can't always save the day... but I swear to God you make the world a better place. You make my world a better place. You're my hero."

Chris leans in to kiss you in the same way he did when you were young and unmarried. It's a kiss that burns you, a kiss that makes you feel like a woman. A kiss that made you want to be married. A kiss that teaches you to breathe underwater.

"You call me a superhero when you're literally managing a house, a job, a kid, a long distance relationship, a social life and yourself all at once. And somehow nothing is on fire and you're not losing you mind even when your good for nothing husband doesn't call or text for days."

"Don't talk about yourself like that!" You slap him on the chest, but unfortunately he's not in a joking mood.

"You're the superhero between the two of us, honey. If there's one thing I've learnt along the years it's... That the reason why I chose you as my wife.. the one you were asking me about all those years ago? Maybe there was actually a reason. That you were always stronger than me."

"Me? You're joking, right?"

"Not at all. You're the hero, I'm just trying to be the wind behind your wings. I'm sorry for missing your calls and not video-calling more often, and just.. being gone in general. I've missed you." You decided to drop the subject since Chris seemed too emotional to be coherent. You weren't mad at him for anything, and he surely was undermining himself by calling you the strong one.

Unfortunately, it's not like you would accept the title of hero and he wouldn't accept it either.

The one thing you didn't realize is that you were both superheroes. But it's okay, since your son was onto you a long time ago. He'll protect your secret, and hopefully, also grow into a superhero himself.

©amelee23 do not copy, translate or repost

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I'm back bby

Please comment and reblog, a feedback a day keeps a writer's dread at bay!

Soft hours open! Send me your fluff fantasies so we can go delulu together!

[lotstradamus]

inspired by the manchester anon haha but do you have any tips and suggestions for visiting leeds? 🩷

I've lived here for 2 years now (!!!) but somehow I still don't really know my way around and just go to the same 5 places and use google maps to get anywhere else. it's sad. but here's some shit I love:

Grindhouse - cheap drinks, loads and loads of seats, never too full, music a reasonable volume, and they project 80s movies on the back wall. we once sat in here for 2 hours cos Stand By Me was on. one time we watched the bar staff earnestly tell a group of women on a hen do that the bar was closed and they weren't serving any more drinks, at 7:45pm. 10/10.

Rudy's - only 9 cities* in this fair nation have a Rudy's, so I'm going to keep reccing it for everyone else. perfect Neapolitan pizza. *Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, Durham, London, York, Liverpool - if you live in one of these places and haven't been to Rudy's yet, sort it out.

Neon Cactus - go here on a Wednesday and order wings, and you'll get half price margs. lots of great Mexican scran. don't take anyone too picky or over 50, because the price for the great food and vibes is that at least one thing you order will be incorrect. but roll with it. half price margs, man.

Empire Cafe - book in advance if you want to sample the delights of Empire Cafe, cos there's like 6 tables max. everything is seasonal, changes on the daily, and is insanely delicious. if you want to experience heaven, order the steak and chips with salsa verde. there is NOTHING like it.

Stuzzi - another seasonal, small plate sort of place, but Italian. amazing food and a gorgeous restaurant. go with a big group and order one of everything.

Eat Your Greens - ANOTHER seasonal restaurant! this one is farm-to-fork and organic. I can’t speak to the quality as I haven’t actually been, but I am a frequenter of their GREENGROCER, which is MEGA. last time I think I left with natty wine, pâté, some insane tinned fish, a jar of harissa and a bag of sunset potatoes. if you like food, go here.

SARTO - fresh, handmade pasta and picky bits. another great place to go with a group and order all the starters. I had a celeriac pasta there last year that I think about on a fairly regular basis; I picked it cos it was the weirdest sounding thing on the menu and it was fucking mouthwatering. good quality and good people! and it's next door to The Wardrobe, so perfect for a pre-gig tea.

Santiago Bar - like Grindhouse (alternative, casual) but the music is louder and you'll find yourself doing tequila shots at 1am and screaming along to, like, Don Broco. it's the best.

Blue Collar Boys - as a rule I hate 'vintage' clothes shops (overpriced, ugly, everything is XXS), but this place seems to specialise solely in American t-shirts and sweatshirts from the 90s in exactly my size, and everything is £10. this is amazing and a huge bargain if you find something like vintage Wranglers and a Playboy bomber jacket (£20, my wife) but not so amazing or a bargain if you find 3 t-shirts with holes in (£30, me). we've never been without finding shit we love. they only open on random weekends, and they always seem to have more stuff than they could possibly ever sell. it's a freaky vintage alternate universe.

The Corn Exchange - a big gorgeous ol' building full of little businesses. vintage, handmade, tattoos, coffee, jewellery, independent brands, yarn, shoes, a barbers, a bookshop, they've got it all. very easy to spend £100 and 6 hours. every so often they have a market on the bottom floor. perfect tiny representation of Leeds: quirky, independent, delicious, cool.

Silver's Deli - this is a 9-minute train ride away in Bramley (my ends!) but has become THEE buzzy foodie spot recently. go on a sunny saturday morning (cos you will probably have to sit outside) and order the everything sandwich. thank me later. if they have scotch eggs or sausage rolls on, I beseech you, order both. and if you want the sunday special prepare to get there at 11 and fight.

Against the Grain - if you've come to Bramley for Silver's, you may as well trundle 10 minutes up the road and visit the best bar in Leeds. cosy, casual, full of locals, hidden in Swinnow Mills. it's a sit-around-and-chat-to-people sort of place, with bonus charcuterie boards AND a pizza van on weekends. we are here A LOT, because Gray's Salon and Rose and Thorn Tattoo are both in the Mill, and we give them all our money. oh! and dog friendly. sooo many dogs.

Project House/Galleria - if you've gotten the train out to Bramley for Silver's and ATG, jump on the 72 back to town and get off at Project House to eat MORE food. Galleria is a great place to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Project House has EVERYTHING (depending on the day). yoga! gigs! vintage fairs! a bi-annual tattoo convention meets makers market with food vendors called Hand of Glory! check what's on and head on down to support local!

Kirkstall Bridge Inn - another one local(ish) to me, but worth travelling out of town for; a PROPER pub (i.e. no tv, no sports, no shite) that does roasts upstairs and lets dogs in downstairs. outdoor seating right by the canal, and every so often they put something on and the car park turns into a tiny festival. Kirkstallpalooza is a highlight. great place to finish a nice canal walk (who am I?!).

tl;dr sorry that this is obnoxiously long, I love Leeds

[salternateunreality2]

Angeal’s Anxiety (AGSZC First Dinners)

From the @strayheartless archives <3

-----

Genesis is there preparing with Angeal the first time Angeal and Genesis invite Sephiroth over, and Angeal genuinely has a panic attack. Genesis freaks out a bit and casts Slow on him to help his breathing and Sephiroth shows up early in the middle of this, and doesn't know what to do.

Once Angeal calms down a bit with the two of them holding his hands, he catches the giggles because Sephiroth is wearing some formal wear he picked up at a thrift shop that came from the 70s. It was the only thing that fit that he could find on short notice and has HUGE lapels, wild colors, and a funky cravat, and he brought a bouquet of parsley because he knew he was supposed to bring a bouquet and that Angeal liked food.

Angeal kisses him long and slow and tells him sincerely how perfect it is.

They have a nice dinner after that, and it helps Angeal that Sephiroth looks and acts just as awkward as he feels, and soon enough they all relax into it.

—-

When Zack joins, Seph and Gen are helping Angeal while he freaks out and Genesis winds up grabbing Angeal by the shoulders. 

Genesis: ANGEAL. This is Zack "That mushroom is red, like a cherry, I'll try it!" Fair. He DOES NOT CARE HOW PERFECT THE QUICHE IS.

Zack: *bounces in without knocking*

Zack: Hey guys, thanks for having me over! Not gonna lie, I'm kinda nervous, lol, IS THAT MASHED POTATOES?! *eats a bite* OW! HOT HOT HOT! ANGEAL I'M SORRY IS IT OK THAT I'M HERE EARLY?! I BROUGHT JELLO BUT IT HASN'T SET CAN I PUT IT IN YOUR FRIDGE?!

Angeal’s fond chuckle settles both of them a bit, and Zack’s big hug helps even more.

—-

Angeal trying to impress Zack and Cloud is cute.

He works so hard on the fanciest dishes, with Genesis encouraging it because HE wants to try, but then Zack or Cloud shows up and doesn't even know what the dish is.

They love his shepherd's pie as much as his fancy duck.

—-

When it’s Cloud’s first dinner with the group, he’s late. Angeal was already nervous, but now he’s worried. The others try to convince him that Cloud probably just got stuck with his infantry duties and will be up soon, but Angeal can’t contain his pacing, and ultimately decides to go look for him.

He opens the door to find Cloud “Can’t Knock on the Door” Strife. Red face, moist eyes, one hand raised to knock, the other hand clutching a potted cactus so hard the pot is about to shatter, and wearing his dress uniform because it’s the only fancy clothing he owns.

Angeal: Oh! Cloud! Did you just get here?

Cloud: *shakes head*

Angeal: Honey, are you ok?

Cloud: *shrugs*

Angeal: Nervous?

Cloud: *nods*

Angeal: Me too. *puts Cloud’s hand on his heart* See, my heart is racing! I want things to be perfect for you and I’m afraid you won’t like it.

Cloud: *tilts his head in surprise* No, ‘Geal, it’s just me…

Angeal: And it’s just me. Come on in, ‘bo. Is that cactus for me?

Cloud: *nods and thrusts it out, almost stabbing his boyfriend*

Angeal: I love it, it’s perfect. *hugs*

[juuheizou]

Omg now i'm dying to know what are suzuya's trigger textures, and his triggers in general too since I also hc him as autistic<3 also a guide on how to touch him right pleaaase???tyyy

Of course, friend! I'm always down to talk about autistic Suzuya!

Do be warned, in my personal opinion it's no worse than anything in the series, but if you're squeamish about unsanitary things, you might want to skip a couple of paragraphs pertaining to some unsanitary textures and stimming behaviors that I marked with a ** at the beginning of each one.

what are suzuya's trigger textures

He really doesn't like rough, scratchy textures. Tall grass or institutional carpet on bare skin, bristly animals, clothing tags, scratchy fabrics from wool to lace, suits. Anyone would learn to hide their distress at the horrible feeling of a lacy dress if the alternative was Big Madam's wrath, not worth dying over even if it's a close decision, but I think I have a little to back this up when it comes to his canon rebellion against coming to work in a proper suit.

I like to think of his canon dress code violations being a little bit of “stop telling me what to do” but also a whole lot of sensory issues with the material suits tend to be made of. If he could get away with wearing his pyjamas to work every day, he would, and I feel like he would have tried at some point. Unfortunately, what he does actually wear in canon was the best he could pull off and just be lectured by Amon as opposed to more serious disciplinary action even he can't ignore. Some of how he dresses is to have some control and fun with it in a conservative office environment when it comes to how people dress, like his patterned suspenders, but the actual fit and cuts of his outfits, ie too big for him and mostly shorter than they should be, is to minimize how much of it is touching him. His undershirts we see him wear once are probably something he wears all the time and pretty soft, another way to insulate him from that suit material texture.

Also, as an animal lover, this can prove a little problematic. My first thought is of the sheer disappointment of him petting a stray dog and ending up with like, bully breed bristles or something lodged in his shirt. Or going to a petting zoo or something with the squad and he's had a wonderful time nuzzling alpacas, sheep, rabbits, ducklings, and he's too excited to even think through it before he tries to do the same with something like a potbellied pig. Sad times. Very sad times. It's not fair that some animals can look fuzzy but actually feel like a cactus. He's safest sticking with fluffy spitzy dogs and cats haha.

**Messy textures are variable. He's not your (on Tumblr, at least) stereotypical squeamish autistic. Actually, I think he's the opposite and self-soothes by squishing and smearing gross things until Shinohara finally gets him a jar of play-dough or something to stop him from playing with dead stuff he finds on the schoolyard-- maybe being given art supplies to play with instead is what got him doing other art forms as an adult. Before it was stray animal entrails and stuff he found at the Academy, it was human organs, blood, etc. and Madam probably saw it as him learning to be a good scrapper, doing things like fingerpainting with blood or squishing a handful of organs in his hands.

**That being said, as much as he likes these textures in his hands, he has learned the hard way that most of them will make him sick if he were to put them in his mouth. Someone who didn't eat a lot of innards and similar scraps of meat over the years probably wouldn't even think to be so picky, but liver, brain, stuff like that? Good! Intestines, eyeballs, parts that are more slimy and slippery in the form they'd be thrown to him in... he would sooner go hungry, even living with Madam and not being given much else to eat. He might have liked to crush bugs as a cadet, but he probably tried and learned to draw the line at eating them. In the human world, though, he might like some of those things with the sliminess deep-fried out of them, perhaps.

Speaking of, food texture is also a type of texture, and in addition to slimy and slippery, he can't do stringy, fibrous stuff in food, especially if it is both slippery and stringy like some veggies. We know he likes sweets and snack foods, and I do think those are things he truly likes, but things like sweets are also a lot safer for someone who can be hypersensitive to the point of some mouth feels making him physically sick. Some may perceive this as childish, but to him it's just survival when the wrong bite can make him feel so awful. Some foods he just can't tolerate at all, but I can see Hanbee teaching him how to prepare fruits and vegetables in ways that don't trigger his sensory issues, as he would never be able to say “do this, do that” to Suzuya but would want him to get his vitamins and minerals. I could write a whole post about the adventurous, slightly strange eater that would be unlocked once he got a good introduction to preparing food in different ways that truly change the texture of the ingredients.

Not exactly a texture but still relating to his sense of touch, he really can't do light touch, as hyposensitive as he is to pain and deep pressure. To him, light touch is much, much more noxious than pain and he can really lash out against something brushing up against him. Often he grabs or strikes an offending hand or body part to get it away before his mind can even catch up to him, not hard, but how hard he does it doesn't always matter when people around him already perceive him as violent.

and his triggers in general too

As far as his other (sensory, which I hope is what you were wanting to know) triggers and hypersensitivities, he struggles with loud noises although his threshold for them is somewhat bigger than textures-- ie he can handle weapons clashing in battle, loud music when he's out somewhere fun, stuff with an end in sight that either can or does last short enough that it won't become too much before it's over. If it lasts too long, is too loud and piercing, he's having a sensitive day, or any combination of the above, though, it can very much push him to the meltdown point. Piercing, high-frequency sounds or too many sounds going on are also hard for him and will make him clap his hands over his ears SO FAST.

Same with bright lights. There's a threshold, he can handle them to some degree especially if there's a good (to him) reason for him to, but he's still hypersensitive to them. Fluorescent lights at the field office, for example, are another thing he's willing to get on his superiors' bad side for when he doesn't have an office and will just turn off half the lights in the bullpen (I would think they have one of those?) and when people just get annoyed and turn them back on, he would learn to mess with the breakers to where it's not easily undone and looks like an electrical problem. Amon would HATE the sight of him wearing sunglasses indoors and that would make him want to utilize this coping mechanism more. When he is a senior investigator and squad leader who does get a little office of his own, it's just barely light enough for him to read and do paperwork by.

Smells, though, I actually see him being hyposensitive to for the most part. I can see him going into a candle shop, bakery, buffet, anything with lots of options displayed in an easily accessible way and just wanting to pick up everything to sniff it, though he can't always do that because with food that is unsanitary and will get him kicked out. He also has a high tolerance that he hasn't actually found the limit to thus far for filthy crime scenes and rotting gore that even seasoned investigators have to go and vomit at the stench of.

As far as taste, though mouth feel is a different story, I see it also being a more hyposensitive sense for him. He loves to experiment with different flavors of things and is that person who seeks out foods that are really sour, really spicy, really minty, stuff like that that makes his whole face feel the taste of it. Again, would just pick things up and sample them as a stim if it wouldn't get him banned from places with delicious food, and I see him as one of those autistics to whom eating food is a stim. I can also see him liking the taste of alcoholic things for this reason, although on an unrelated note I don't see him as a drinker because he is an angry not-fun-to-be-around drunk; booze is best left as something to soak confections in or savor one single serving of, but he does like the burn.

also a guide on how to touch him right pleaaase???tyyy

As mentioned, he is a mixed bag of hyper and hyposensitivies, and deep pressure is something he seeks out just as hard has he avoids light touch. We see him do a lot of the classic signs of this kind of sensory seeking in canon, such as physically risky behaviors, indifference to pain, and constant movement. As far as sharing physical touch with another person, though, which he don't really see in canon, he has a need to be squeezed.

Starting with stuff that can be read as conventionally casual and platonic, I have mentioned he likes Akira and only Akira messing with his hair. That's for the same reason anyone else would run away screaming from having their hair done by her: the result might look amazing, unlike Touka's home hair attempts, but we know she's not the warmest character and can be just as insensitive as Suzuya in her own way as a person. As a hairstylist she really gets in there with combs and brushes and will pull to get a lock perfectly detangled or a braid tight enough to stay intact even while fighting for life and limb against an SS-rank ghoul, all while too absorbed in the task at hand to notice her victim is crying. Honestly, someone might see her updos around the office and convince themselves they can sit through it, but it's too much suffering, even for the most beautiful hair of their lives. For him, though, it's akin to a nice spa day, pleasant and relaxing. Horseplay and sparring also count as touch to him, and are pretty hard to go wrong with since that is always going to be heavy, hard bodily contact. Same with those hearty, macho claps on the shoulder I've mentioned before.

Going a little ways up the conventional ladder of intimacy, giving his hands or his shoulder a squeeze is nice and always advisable, especially when he's fidgety and stressed. Giving him a tight bear hug is the nicest, but you can't be scared to break him, or chances are you're not going to hug hard enough. He also loves to cuddle, but someone has to be laying a lot of body weight on the other. Once that is happening, though, it's even better than a weighted blanket or throwing someone to a mat. He could have a rib broken and still just be disappointed that it means he can't be physically crushed that hard again. Just like he relishes one of his cats or a stray animal laying in his lap, he likes to lean against people he knows won't shoo him away, and would also enjoy having his partner fall asleep against his shoulder or in his lap. Kisses are also fun and exciting for him, but he can't do the light pecks on the cheek and brushes of lips; gotta put some pressure and confidence into it, even if it doesn't get deeper in any other way.

Touching the rest of his body is where I see things getting emotionally fraught for him in addition to having the potential to be real overstimulating real fast. These are the areas of his body that are easily hidden by a nightshirt, a scrapper's costume, or a pretty dress without marring the beautiful doll he was supposed to be, so that's where only Madam ever touched him, and all she gave him were scars. This is where his control over the situation is just as important to him as the physical sensation being pleasant. I know my word choices sound sexual, but this doesn't even mean sex.

We know he is into underground body modification for example, but I see him being strictly DIY if he wants to feel the sensation of needles through his skin, which is the real reason he has his own stitches while not having any conventional piercings or tattoos; office rules wouldn't stop him lmao, he just can't do those himself with as much room for error. Sharing a shower or bath would be all fun and games, and he would like to wash someone's hair and body as a gesture of affection, and the hot water would be nice for him, but don't try to return the favor after he's had his fun. He would enjoy kissing someone all over in a merciless flurry, but honestly, the best way to approach something like that is to let him take what he wants and leave what he doesn't. He's direct enough that if he does want something different, he will get it. This is another small reason I think he pairs well with someone as shy to even try returning the favor as Mutsuki tbh

Hopefully it's not information you were hoping for, because I'm going to stop there as far as stages of intimacy that I googled for the purpose of this ask go. I have headcanons and things to say and would be totally cool answering more r-rated and up questions if one were to ask them directly. I just would rather disappoint someone who didn't ask for explicit content but would have liked reading it than blindside someone who didn't want to read it, you know?

[dennydraws]

AAAA got to join after seeing the fave animal ask!! For some reason when I saw you mention you like/liked parrots I wanted to share that I have 2 cockatiels here at home haha (my irl friends don't really like them because they are loud but that's okay, the birdies massively have helped on my mental health:D) Also uhhhh idk what to ask, quick, think... well, not really original I guess, but, does Aryllin have some more things you could share about her maybe? Like little habits she has or how they met with Claude?

THAT'S SO COOL! What's their names? I hope they keep sparking joy for many years ahead! :D I remember a neighbour who had some colorful birds as pets but I was also like 4 and my memories aren't super clear ... I'm not sure what type they were but I super loved going there and staring at them as a kid!

Hmm! Ary asks! Let me think... XD It's a little funny I made her on spot and not really thinking how and what she is like when I started playing and then, lore happened! But that's also the best way to shape an OC into these kinda games, I think!

The Aryllin Lore Bits!! I made her before reading any lore on the angel race but now that I had... I think she is Miracle Bringer who just enjoys seeing things grow and flourish! I would think she has some kind of plant affinity given her leafy halo! She is quite oblivious but also curious about everything around her. I don't know how lore breaking it is but I kinda see her as angel who directly came to the terrestrial plane rather than being born there.

Because she was advised to eat at least once from everything (given how that rises status in the game!) she probably bit on Claude's key due to it's weird shape and being unsure what it was before he said it's a key ... and yes it's real. Quite the embarrassing moment :D;;

A friend suggested she should be able to sing to go along with Claude writing music and I'm totally going with it now! She makes up lyrics to his music and idly sings them while working on the farm, completely unaware how he finds this so charming. (His angel of music? Am I going to descend into Phantom of the Opera aesthetics now??)

She is fascinated with things that grow and bloom. A little seed that can become a big tree? Amazing!

She appears graceful and meek but she would rush and attack in a heart beat if something endangers her precious sprouts and sometimes those sprouts are precious people. I think she sees herself as a guardian angel ! :D Because she can heal herself with the miracle spell, she doesn't really have good perception of danger. She heals fast so who cares if you get a little broken on the way?

How did she meet Claude? I think she spot him first when he was in town staring at the water. And his dismissive attitude made her go "Hmmm something is off here." I think she saw him as this wilted plant that turned into a cactus in order to survive and now no one dares get near to water him a bit! She made it part of her routine to get to know him - one small step at a time!

I don't think she fell for him until she started to notice him smiling more. She caught herself thinking about him more than anyone else and being in love is quite a new emotion to her. She too is a little embarrassed about how to handle it! :D;;

She thinks he is a beautiful little plant with many bulbs he is afraid to let bloom because he thinks the world only wants one specific flower of him and nothing else.

[feverinfeveroutfic]

love is not enough | chapter ten

Kansas City welcomed the three of them with a murky tapestry overhead painted all manner of gray and black courtesy of the incoming storm clouds on the horizon, but neither of them showed any ounce of fear in the face of it all: the supercell was forecasted to head off in the opposite direction and their flight for New York City was leaving in a little more than an hour as well: he knew that they would be up in the air and far away from there by the time those sirens would wake up from their slumber. Jay stood by one of the big windows which peered out to the black tarmac; he stood right next to her with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets and his hair tousled over his shoulder. The tarmac had a bit of a sheen to it, as if they had just missed the downpour from before.

She turned her attention to him and showed him a smile.

“I always love the smell of rain,” she told him.

“I do, too,” he added. “Especially when it’s right by the beach.”

“Oh, yes. Have you experienced it out in the desert?”

“I don’t think I have, no.”

“Some day, we should go out to the deserts in either Nevada, Arizona, or New Mexico during monsoon season,” she suggested. “These big thunderheads that come in from over the Baja peninsula and northern Mexico and the rain comes down onto the Joshua trees and the all the cacti.”

“Sounds very dreamlike,” he noted.

“It actually kind of is!” she proclaimed. “It gets so hot and humid that when the rain hits, it’s like the flood hits and you can’t help but actually hallucinate a bit.”

“I also imagine it being ungodly hot,” he added with a little smirk.

“Yeah, that’s kind of the one drawback,” she said with a shrug. “Especially Arizona. My dad used to live in Yuma and one time he called me during monsoon season, and he told me it was a hundred and ten degrees and ready to rain like any second.”

“Oh, my god!” He laughed at that, a nervous bout of laughter.

Q emerged from right behind him with her bag slung over her shoulder and a quaint smile on her face.

“Look at you two waiting for me,” she declared.

“But of course,” he said with a big cordial smile on his handsome face and an arm around Jay. “Shall we get some coffee?”

“Oh, yes please!” Jay exclaimed.

“Coffee and something to eat, too,” Q added with a quick flash of her eyebrows.

The three of them stepped away from the window and made their way over to the small coffeehouse tucked in between a pizza place and one of the many airport gift shops. He took the table closest to the door first, to which he hunkered down on the spindly chair and let his long slender legs dangle down to the floor. Jay huddled close to him to which he kept his arm around her shoulders: the taro root broach on her hat remained right in his face like the first fresh blooming cactus flower in the very heart of the Great Basin Desert.

He thought about what she had told him back on the plane, and something told him that they were going to have to disappear quite a bit once the tour over in Europe was finished. They would have to make the flight out from the mainland and over to Hawai’i when no one was looking.

“You got the money, Jay?” Q asked as she sidled up next to them with a piece of paper in hand; Jay reached into her purse for her wallet, and she took out her wallet for a few crisp dollars for their coffees.

“I’ll have an espresso,” he said in a low voice. “With some cream.”

“And I’ll have a latte,” Jay added. Q twitched her nose like that of a young rabbit, and she sauntered back to the cash register to take care of things. He gave his hair a little flip with the flick of his head, and then he looked over at Jay and her hand rested upon the table next to him. She puckered her lips at him as if she beckoned a kiss from him right then and there.

“Not in public,” he playfully scolded her.

“Temptation can be your friend, you know,” she retorted in a singsong voice.

He ran his tongue along his bottom lip which made the skin seem a touch redder than usual, and he hooded his deep eyes at her. She cocked her head to the side and locked eyes with him.

“You should let your hair down,” he suggested in a low, husky voice.

Jay cracked him a smile and reached behind her head for her scrunchie, but she never took it out of her hair.

“You think so?” she asked him.

“Please do so. It’ll fit your broach.”

She tugged on the scrunchie and her long dark hair drifted down in all of its soft coarseness, down over her shoulders: a few tendrils rested on her chest, and he showed her a sweet little smile.

“There’s our Aloha’Oe,” he remarked right as Q sidled back up to the table with that piece of paper still in hand as well as a handful of napkins.

“Doesn’t she look Hawaiian?” he asked her with a gesture over to Jay.

“She does!” Q declared as she took her seat to the left of him. She set down the napkins and unfurled the paper.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Let’s play a little game,” Q suggested.

“What shall we play, my dear?”

“I brought with me three little clues—you have to piece them together to create the grand prize.”

He raised his eyebrows at her.

“You put them around the airport?” he asked her, taken aback.

“Oh, no, no—I don’t move that fast, baby.”

“You’re going to make me do a treasure hunt in a little coffeehouse in the Kansas City airport,” he corrected himself. Q and Jay glanced at one another and then they burst out laughing at that. The former reached into her purse for something slender and pale white, to which she unfurled it for him.

“‘The maker doesn’t use it,’” she read aloud, “‘the buyer doesn’t need it, and the user doesn’t see it.’”

“Maker doesn’t use it, buyer doesn’t need it—” he followed along to which he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“And the user doesn’t see it,” Q finished it, and then she folded it back up and tucked it into the interior pocket of her jacket, right next to her left breast no less. “What do you think it could be, big boy?”

He leaned back in the chair with his hands rested on the table top as if he was expecting their cups of coffee to come out of the kitchen on a silver platter.

“When I was a little boy in Berkeley,” he began, “my brother used to have this big red bass guitar—I mean, this thing was red. It was like the color of red wine. Sometimes I would play it whenever he wasn’t home, just because I wanted to hear how it sounded when I plucked at the strings with my fingers. I don’t know why I just thought of that, but I—”

“It ain’t it,” Q interrupted with a shake of her head.

“Damn.”

“You should play a little bass during the first show,” Jay suggested.

“Hmm… pick up the bass when no one is looking,” he muttered as he rubbed his chin. Q turned her attention to the counter behind them, where the baristas had already made them their cups, and she made her way back over there for them.

He then turned back to Jay, puzzled.

“What do you reckon it is?” he asked her.

“I’ll never tell,” she quipped.

“Dammit, you girls!”

She laughed at that, and her face seemed a touch rounder than before, much to his pleasure.

“Hard to believe you struggled with anorexia,” he told her, and she gave her hair a toss back.

“I really did, though,” she said with a thoughtful look on her face. “I ain’t going back to that, though. The whole world can keep its obsessions to itself as far as you and I are both concerned.” She adjusted the bill of her hat and leaned in closer to him. “I do think of going to a place like Hawai’i or Fiji or even just a city like New York and disappearing sometimes, though. I know for a fact Q wants to do that, just go to an island or a metropolitan area and disappear into the background. Society seems to forget you exist in a vast context like that.”

“Especially if you go to a city like New York where you’re blending in with several million people,” he added.

“She and I are tickled by the idea of going to an island somewhere because it’s out in the middle of nowhere,” Jay explained. “Especially Iceland or Fiji because it’s literally thousands of miles from civilization…” Her voice trailed off as Q strode back up to them with three cups of coffee cradled in her arms: he reached out to help her.

“The one in middle is for you, dear Tevye,” she explained as she handed Jay her cup.

“You may as well just cockblock me while we’re here,” he groaned.

“Good idea,” Q said with a straight face as she stood right by the chair next to him.

“No!”

They both laughed at that.

“The Devil in blue jeans himself,” Jay declared as she sipped on her latte.

“Shall we walk around?” Q suggested. “I don’t really want to sit in here for an hour.”

“Good idea,” he said.

“Oh, yeah—besides, we’re in Kansas City,” Jay added as she slid off the chair onto the floor first. “It’s not like we’re going to be caught by a crazy bastard at any given point in the future.”

He climbed down and helped Jay put her purse back on over her shoulder before they stepped back out to the airport.

He had had no idea if it was from the feeling of the rich, full flavor of the espresso, or the fact that the supercell seemed to change direction and head on closer to the airport, but something stimulated him from within. These two girls, who were already very attractive to him, seemed even more attractive than ever with each and every sip of coffee and each and every step along the clean white linoleum of the airport.

The two of them strode ahead of him as they reached the intersection of terminals: they both swayed their hips as they walked side by side together, and he ran his fingers through his lush black hair.

He sipped on his coffee one last time before he finished it out.

He then reached out for Q and tugged her off to the side, into a little alcove near customs and away from any prying eyes. Shadows caressed over their heads as she leaned in closer to his face for a big hearty kiss on those cherry lips. He rested his hands on either side of her head while she put her arms around his slender waist: she hadn’t finished her latte yet, and thus, she held the cup right over the seat of his pants. He hoped that she wouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary as she ran her finger along his bottom lip.

“Mmm, you taste good,” she whispered to him: her voice spread over him in spite of the noise of the airport, and he hoped that Jay would find them and join in on the fun and games soon enough. “Like the finest beans with the smoothest milk on the sexiest little matzo ball.”

“You girls have woken me up inside,” he whispered right into her ear.

“I want your sex—” she breathed into his lips, and then she gasped as his fingers caressed over her left breast.

“I want your scars,” he breathed back to her.

With one hand, she opened his blue jeans and put her hand down the front for a little fondling with two fingers. The feeling tickled him, perhaps more than the fact that they were about to get busy in a little nook in the Kansas City airport when a supercell was about to head in at some point. He pressed his back to the wall: Q kept her cup next to his hip as she put all five fingers into it. He closed his eyes and parted his lips as she moved in deeper.

“Need some help?” Jay sweetly asked as she skirted into that little nook next to her: Q never took her hand out from his jeans all the while.

“I was just telling Q right here that you girls woke me up within,” he groaned out: he was about ready for the two of them. Thunder rolled through the ceiling overhead: the flight was about to be delayed for a little while longer. Jay, who smelled of coffee and hibiscus, moved into the side of his neck for a soft kiss right under his smooth jawline. She then moved up onto his lips, and she stood up on her toes all the while as well.

“Excellent, baby,” Jay whispered into his lips. “Let’s dive deep.”

She put her arms around his waist and leaned into his body from the side as she gave him the deepest kiss of the trip so far. A soft tender feeling welled up inside his stomach at the feeling of her skin on his own.

“God, you’re really sexy right now,” she told him. Q continued to fondle him as she pushed her chest up against his own to round out the threesome. More thunder ensued.

The lights overhead flickered but the backup generators would keep everything on until the storm passed over them. It didn’t sound as though the wind had picked up, however. It could be a mere thunderstorm minus the odds of tornadoes.

“Give me your hunger,” he breathed.

“Give me your temptation,” she breathed back to him.

Darkness surrounded them, and Jay and Q finally stripped off his jeans to take turns blowing him. He held still with his back to the wall as he rose higher and higher with the influx of the storm outside. Everything would have to wait as his heart pounded in his chest.

He let out a low, guttural, shuddered moan from under a loud crack of thunder as they got him off, both of their mouths on his taut blood-rushed skin at the same time. He relaxed and sank down against the wall as they both stood right before his face: through the dim light of the backup lights overhead, he could see them licking up the cum from their lips, as if he had just given them a dose of milk to keep up their strength while they were in the midst of a storm.

“I just thought of the answer to that riddle,” he said.

They both looked over at him with quizzical looks on their faces despite the darkness.

“A birdhouse,” he replied.

They looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

“Close but no dice,” Q replied.

“Damn! And I think we should go somewhere safe. You know, tornadoes and everything.”

[garbagefarm]

Mutucule Farm #18

2023-06-12, session #18 of Mutucule Farm! Year 2, Summer 22 through Fall 1!

Cast:

me (@mothmute​)

Belle (@snacco​)

Cam (@amanitaspore​)

Erin (@salamand3rin​)

Highlights include, but are not limited to:

Pre-game:

getting stardewblasted, it’s been a while!

Belle emerging from her well to shame mankind

Summer 22:

Belle discusses “my husband”, or “musband”

Pompkin is in the field so he’s getting watered today

I will tell Belle why I wanted all that milk ... when we’re old and gray and I’m on grandpa’s shitty deathbed

I’m excited for Robin to show me her carpentry secrets, until she reveals it’s the drum and flute blocks; those things should stay secret

Cutscene where I’m given the (bad) choice to invite Linus to live on the farm; instead, I’m just pleased he’s doing well

TURBOCOWS

getting a big coop!

cleaned up my house a little bit so Penny can redecorate

Belle is out late talking to Clint, but I don’t know where Erin is— she “didn’t know there was a curfew” (there is no curfew)

Summer 23:

Belle gets mail calamari from Linus, and threatens to eat it in front of Pierre

Turbocows just needed more enrichment in their enclosure

Erin gets hat-surprised by my awful hat*, the worst kind of surprise (* - legally not a hat)

All of my pigs are grown! The reactor is online!

Pompkin sleeping in the kitchen? He do that sometimes.

Somebody sold a cherry bomb?? (how dare they)

Summer 24:

I wake up to a pirate themed house! (Penny takes her roleplaying too seriously)

She broke the sign with the prismatic jelly, though :(

Big coop! Increased bird capacity!

Pompkin likes the peppers

funny how the young pigs are sleek handsome lads, and then the adult pigs look like old mobsters

(Don’t investigate the pigs, you don’t wanna hurt their feelings)

Belle fills the extra hay capacity in the coop; Erin suggests it’s in case they get peckish

Cool hat party! I’m not invited :(

Slumber party! We gossip and do each other’s hair

Summer 25:

Lil Phil makes Cam crack a smile

Cam and Emily are engaged! There will be no wedding.

I really need to upgrade my axe, this one ... just isn’t cutting it.

awww yeah, three copper ore, my not-hat is paying off!

“Why grow trees in the desert instead of the quarry?” Well, where are we gonna grow our rocks?

So many truffles... I did brought this upon myself

Erin asked for a cactus and I delivered, I am so good at foraging

Erin didn’t make it to bed, RIP

(somewhere in here: comparing Sam to Bart Simpson)

Summer 26:

last night was a blur, apparently!

everybody gets oil, don’t ask what it’s for!

Birds get bird names, dinos get dino names! I don’t see what’s so hard to understand!

(somewhere in here: welcome, Utahraptor!)

Upgrading my axe...

Lewis comments on how slick the oil is......

oh hey, here’s the potato juice from when we failed to make enough for Pam!

I walk in on Dwarf and Krobus having a spat

I get an Iridium Sprinkler as a surprise for Erin but she ruins it by asking for one

(Belle can’t commit crimes if Cam is sitting down)

Summer 27:

house big!! I can have the babies!

truffle hidden behind the corn...

commissioned a fish pond; or “comfissioned", if you will

Abigail plays flute in the rain, Belle photobombs

little green guy is there in spirit; this is, actually, little green guy erasure

Emily and Haley threw out a perfectly good pufferfish

hey, five iron ore! suffering my not-a-hat is totally worth it!

Summer 28:

Five megabombs in a crate!

duck threw everything out of quack

axe is back!!

hogs are getting out of their jurisdiction

rest assured that they will be put on paid administrative leave

trash has already done been gone through!

Jelly night!! (see gallery)

Fall 1?:

There will be no wedding. (see gallery)

TO-DO:

??? idk farm stuff?

upgrade coop again?

upgrade tools?

upgrade houses?

other construction? (still need a slutch!)

full farm redesign waits ‘til winter

still gotta do bundles

Stardrops??

Gallery (courtesy of Erin):

Jelly night!!

This is a hallucination, there will be no wedding for Cam and Emily.

[thegracelessfaceless]

30 Day Drawing Challenge Update:

Cw: death mention, family death

I got news that my favorite aunt passed away today. Well, actually let me be more concise...

Context time: my mother was an only child, I have no true aunts or uncles on her side, only great aunts and a great uncle. However, due to a lot of time spent around cousins during my speech formative years, I learned to call my mom's cousins "aunt" and "uncle" due to being taught to speak around my cousins. Therefore, my mother's cousin Bub, became Uncle Bubba/Uncle Bub. Uncle Bub never married. He had one girlfriend whom he had the potential of marrying, but his mother didn't like her, so he broke up with her. Then he met Charlotte, who no one in the family really liked because she was older and my family can be kind of judgmental sometimes. Nonetheless, they stayed together. I was born years into their relationship, and when I was 3, I fell into my great grandmother's cactus garden and loaded myself with spines of all sizes from the big black spines to the tiny little sharp glochids. I was suffering so much I wouldn't even let my own mother help me. But Charlotte came to the rescue. I remember I let her help me because she smelled like pickles (she had a horrible sunburn and had used vinegar on her skin to "take the burn out"). Charlotte painstakingly removed every spine and glochidia from me and from that day, I was the only child in the family to call Charlotte Aunt Charlotte.

Aunt Charlotte and I remained very close, however she and Uncle Bub live a few states away. She got sick a few years ago, years of smoking and drinking caught up with her. She entered a nursing home, and I made sure she knew her resident rights. Perhaps a bit too well because she talked the doctor into releasing her.

Two days ago, she aspirated on a sip of water. Uncle Bub called to tell me of her passing this afternoon. She didn't want a funeral, just a quiet cremation, and since she wasn't immediate family (common law marriage is weird), work will not let me off to go help Uncle Bub. My next vacation is in November/December. I know flowers will not travel well, even by delivery. Plus Uncle Bub is not a flower man. He will forget to water them, and then feel bad because they died and I spent money on them. Or his cat Tweety Bird will eat them and possibly get sick, which will also make him (and me) feel bad.

So, I have decided to draw Aunt Charlotte's flower arrangement instead, then have it professionally printed and framed to take with me this winter.

This way, I can put all of my love into it. I have an extreme interest in floriography, the language of flowers. It spurred from my love of the Victorian era. So I have already selected the flowers for her, and for Uncle Bub.

However, I haven't spent a ton of time learning flowers and am learning how to shade and shadow my art, painstakingly slowly. This one may take a while, but it's very important to me.

Flowers featured will be:

Purple hyacinth: sorrow

Lilac: memories

Purple and yellow pansies: remembrance

Multicolored iris: messages of sorrow,familial love, sympathy, peace, and friendship

Red poppy: consolation and restful sleep

Dark crimson rose: mourning

Tulip: eternal love

Pink carnation: "I'll never forget you"

Bleeding heart: sorrow and loss

Pink petunia: do not despair

Pink yarrow: healing

White zinnia: thinking of you

Blue salvia: thinking of a grieving party

Forget Me Not: remembrance/ thinking of you

Rosemary: remembrance

Yellow marigold: grief

Yellow snapdragon: strength

[dru-reblogs-stuff]

Updates from the Balcony

I've been a bit bad at updating this over the winter period, partly because there was not much to see and partly I was away in Denmark over Xmas, then had some health issues which drained me of life 😅️ I'm half-plant myself I think; definitely takes some prolonged sunshine to get me alive again. Anyway. Plants.

So the big thing that happen in late Nov, early Dec is that my Bird of Paradise flowered! She's somewhere around 17 years old -- I thought she'd matured around 10, so I had practically given up on her ever flowering, but she did and I was so happy 😊️

And and and! I think there might be another one coming? I noticed this today:

Or it may just be another leaf, we'll see. My main issue is when I bought this beastie, I did not know they were supposed to grow outside and turn into a monster bush. So she really needs a bigger pot, but I have neither the space nor muscles to transfer her. It was hard enough last time, and she was much smaller then. But I figure if she's flowering, she's happy enough?

The other indoors critters:

The dendrobium is slowly growing, it has little roots reaching out of the bark now. The spiky thing has some new leaves and the cactus is a cactus. The amaryllis has once again not flowered and just put out those big-ass leaves, but I think I know what's wrong now - I'm not feeding it enough during it's growing spurt and it's pot is too small. I looked at my Mum's which are flowering beautifully and they're all in ones twice the size. But like, I only have so much desk space 😮‍💨️

I tidied up the Aloe because there was lots of dead underbrush and a couple of leaves that weren't very healthy. I lifted it up and, shit that thing has grown a lot while I wasn't paying attention to it. But it's super leggy so IDK quite what it needs now 😅️

And now the Balcony:

Left is what the spring box was doing back at the start of Feb, and right is what it's doing now. I'm told that eventually the leaves will die back and then I can just plant some summer plugs on top of the bulbs. So that's just a waiting game IG? Also it's funny - I bought a mixed bag of crocuses, they were supposed to be all different colours, but nearly all of them were yellow 😅️ I'm a bit disappointed that only one snowdrop flowered, but Mum said they sometimes need some time to get established, so next year should be better.

The flowers are looking at bit scraggy because the cyclamen has ended and the dianthus and sea thrift haven't flowered yet. But they're getting there! There's two buds on the thrift and I spotted one on the dianthus.

Strawberries! Back in October(?) I was bitching to my Uncle about the £1 strawb plant I bought from Wiko and the fact that it really hadn't done very well or given nice fruit, so he said he'd give me some of his. They went to my Mum over winter, and I had every intention of potting them out myself but the day I meant to do it, I was distracted by my nephew so I left it with Mum and she did garden magic. The two £1 Wilko strawbs are in there, but she said they might not do anything. I'm not too upset - I got joy from them with their flowers and they were only £1. But I am looking forward to having nice strawbs to eat.

And finally the blueberry bush. It is also a bit leggy... I was supposed to prune it this year before it started budding and I. Did not. But I'm sure it'll be fine. Mum gave me some ericaceous food pellets (that look exactly like raspberry Millions so, that was interesting) for Xmas and today I mixed them into the soil (of which I need some more TBH), so hopefully that will help it keep fruiting well this year. And then I must prune the damned thing after the season is over because, again, there is only so much space 😅️

Oh, one final final bit of news -- I might be adopting some Jasmine from my Mum's neighbour (neighbour does not know this - Mum's going to propagate it from where it keeps sneaking over her fence). So we'll see what happens about that 😊️ And I'm sure by the time summer's over I'll have ended up with another tomato plant and other things. Gardeners do like to share the bounty 😅️ 🧡️

[darkdreamtheorist]

Lady in Whiskers & Slippers (Updated 11-19-23)

(Sling Set, 19. October) Back in Cinci-Oh, I struggled to earn small wages doing odd jobs in my awkward teen years. At Human age 13, my limbs shot up like bamboo n my paws were whopee cusions, yet Im still kitten sized compared to Big Rhonda n Aunt Jane (Circene screwd my mom's genetics more than dad screwed her in the motel 6 pool that birthed me! srry TMI). Two of my best gigs boiled to babysitting and the Cactus Joan Revue at Cincinnati Zoo. Sure I liked pouncing thru loops made by my preternatural tail Slink n wranglin livestock by the petting zone in Aunt Jane's Cowgirl dress from her Paris,Texas Runway last spring when she toured w/Coco Banana, the sitting jobs fared better cuz I met some critters as odd as I am, like that pygmy hippo boss baby Benny and his growth formula down by Wall Street, or that shadeling Taz Devil Vincent from Brisbane, Australia. But my recent sitting gig had some skeletons I hadnt noticed til then, n it all came to my sitee Last July.

I took care of a literal cat lady and her litter of 35 for 3 wks in her rustic Rhode Island shack. Her name was Julie Phyllis. 30yrs ago, she was a former resi of Spooner Street with a handful of cats, plus a large tabby w/black stripes she calls Mistress Bengal acting as security for the few dogs that dare cross her sidewalk n lawn. Lately some rowdy kids spouted off tall tales of her becoming a cat herself or that Bengal would take her place if she wasn't fed well enough. Wutever the case, she had gradually gone from Crazy Ol Cat Lady to Crazy Ol Cat IRL 'round Halloween time. They hadnt figured what caused her transfur, say for some strange glowing plants by her yard. Her cats musta rubbed on the leaves which carried bits of Circene spores in'em, then she rubbed her face n hands on their fur, turning her to this light orange Tabby I saw my first week of Nana-sitting, or maybe Ms. Bengal had been Mobilized n took Phyllis' place. Like any bothersome pets in the suburbs, her neighbors had shooed them far out of town, living their next nine lives in that shack. Few things to know bout my time w/Ms. Phyllis 2/3 weeks in: 1-Her signature clothes were a periwinkle bathrobe,small round glasses, n peach slippers in stockings. But as a Barban spinster housecat who could shift from anthro to feral at random, she rips her pantyhose clawing n stretching her toes apart when going full cat. Otherwise she's naked in both her Mobile and Wild stance sans a grey-blue collar on her neck with a tag reading "Bagel" whn goin out,wearin it as if she was that same cat that passed not too long ago. And I no shame luv it! 2-Her cats see her as Queen of the Litterbox given her girth from eating too much Meow Mix n cream, but I see a deluded fat-ass pussy, which is no different than other cats, playin round the scratch post, lappin that saucer of cream n tuna. 3-Litterbox stank n dander everywhere was unbearable 4-A pantry stocked full'o'tuna cans, milk & cream yet she forgets to feed them while gourging on the rations herself, chowing so much Meow mix like Trail Mix n guzzling gallons upon gallons of milk!

All that said, she wasnt a bad client, forgetful n piggy yes, but not awful, n still tho...I cudnt help but shake that we were kindred in some way, dark stripes n glasses aside. Few times we went Out to walk, Julie hung with her Golden Girls by a small pet friendly café, sharing gossip from the pets on Spooner street n out of state, comparing pills n claw lengths, wooing would-be mates at the Petsmart n VFW home. She was almost like family to me, rekindling our bonds after we havnt seen one another for a long time.

Near the end of week 2, I saw some frames of Phyllis with her 'tiger cat' Ms. Bengal almost one n the same at this point, even wearin the confounded collar with the wrong name Bagel. Another frame of that cat corners my eye, with a Persian and Siamese by her side, but she wore an enchanting Viper Green collar. Funny how they look a bit like my aunt n uncle on my mom's side, Muffin & Finch. Dad told me they had another tabby as a friend by name of Bagel, looking way too same-ish as Julie on that big orange Snick couch there by the TV set with all the other cats huddled over for daytime soaps or Price is Right like my inlaws did at the adoption center– ⚡️👓⚡️😳 Oh my...I blocked that thought out as a cub some point, not giving 2¢ about it, but it factors into my lineage with Ma when she left our lives. I was too bashful to blurt out my discovery in front of her cats lest they attack their False Queen in shock. Tho given her short-term memory loss, she wudnt hav known herself much post-TF. Was she Ms. Bengal or Julie Phyllis? TBC

[winged-unicorn-trash-can]

[Audio Script] Sundown [M4A] [One Shot] [Harpy Boy x Human Listener] [Wild West] [Personal Attention]

Storyline: Welcome to the Wild West; we have dirt, sand, tumbleweeds…..cactus…more dirt…Oh! And you- Bleeding out! The west isn’t the kindest of places, and you just fell in with the wrong crowd and wound up getting shot in the back for your troubles. As you lay there, fading fast, you start to see some familiar big blackbirds and remember stories of vultures eating people alive. You begin to hope you bleed out more quickly. A shadow passes over you, and things go dark. However, not for good as you wake up in a nest, and before you is a Harpy…a Vulture Harpy. Let's hope he didn’t think you were take out.

Rules:

[ Not a rule, but I apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes you may find ]  

-Give credit to me, please, and thank you (Mystic Grove Audio)

-This script is free to use for monetization

-You can improvise and add things if you wish, like if you like a script but it seems to be tailored to a certain gender: change it so it fits what you like! But please, still give credit

-You can share the script outside of Archive, but again, please give credit

-If you make an audio/video, send me a link! I would love to see your work!

-Have fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ There is a screech of a hawk as the desert winds blow hot and harshly, then there is a gunshot and a body falling to the ground before horses and their riders run off. There’s a pause before small flapping wings, and croaking of vultures can be heard, before a giant pair of wings flap, scaring the smaller birds off. A bag is dropped with what sounds like tools and wood inside ]

Mortem: [ To the smaller vultures ] I’m sorry boys; I know y'all are hungry, but I have a job to do. I’m sure there's poor cattle somewhere for ya.

Mortem: [ To the passed out Listener taking in the sight ] Got yourself in a bad box, haven’t you…sorry to see that partner, but at least ya don’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’ll get you dressed in your fancy wooden suit and send you off to your maker, good and proper. Pine might be good for you, but I do got some cherry, and the red is a real lovely color…. [Realizing that he is talking to a dead body ] Pull your horns, Mortem! you are talking to a corpse…and now I’m talking to myself…. I….I need a vacation…

[ There’s a sound of Mortem moving the body, and he begins to measure the Listener, stopping when he noticed something, a soft heartbeat. ]

Mortem: Wait…wait now! You ain't dead, not yet at least. [ Mortem begins to rummage through his bag ] Ah! Here we are, this should halt the bleeding for a while, or until I get you back to my nest…

[ Mortem begins to rip and wrap cloth to stop the Listener's bleeding ]

Mortem: This might be a little bit of a rough flight, but just hold on, partner, things are gonna be alright…I think…

[ Mortem picks Listener up and flies back to his nest. A fire begins to crackle to life, and Mortem is either humming or singing the song “Goodbye old Paint” ]

Mortem: [ Notices the Listener is awake and is trying to sit up ] Whoa, whoa there, partner, I just pulled out a good chunk of lead and- [ Listener starts to freak out ] Ah! Hey! Calm down, calm down I ain't gonna hurt you…Eat you? Nah, humans don’t taste very well you know, very stringy… Er, sorry, that was a rotten joke.

Mortem: I know folks like you don’t take too kindly to vulture harpies like me, but I’m not gonna hurt ya, I promise. The names Mortem, the Desert Undertaker but you can call my Morty if you like, my friends do…I mean if I had friends I'd let them call me that hahaha-Ineedtostoptalking.

[ Awkward silence, maybe some crickets ]

Mortem: Oh, yeah I’m an undertaker, like my pa! Well, human pa, that is. My folks died when I was still a fledgling and he found me in the…[ trying not to remember ] aftermath of it all…he wanted to bury them and I didn’t really understand why; gave him a good bite on his leg for his trouble.

Mortem: But he didn’t seem to mind all that much and picked me up and took me home. Taught me everything I needed to know, coffin wise that is. Oh! and how to present oneself! [ Trying to make his voice sound older ] “It’s always important, dear boy, that in our profession we must dress in a good fashion. Puts the living at ease and gives the dead some great needed respect”. [ Normal voice ] He wasn't much of a flier though, bless his soul, had to learn that myself.

Mortem: [ Listener asks if he works in a town ] No, I don’t work in town…folks, they don’t quite like harpies at the best of time…and vultures? We just make them too uneasy for anyone’s liking. No, I prefer to work in the desert; there are a lot of weary travelers that meet their ends out here…doesn't seem quite right to leave them rotting in the sun.

Mortem: And you…you are the first one I managed to save, sorry for almost burying you alive by the way. Not sure how strong those stitches are though, so I wouldn't move around too much. I know digging through your guts probably wasn't the most pleasant feeling but I managed to pull that bullet out; Ya wanna see?... Ha! Here you go, nasty little thing.

Mortem: I won't ask how you got yourself in that mess, but I think it's best you stay low for a while, especially since you've lost quite a bit of blood. [ Listener mentions they are hungry ] Ah! I never asked how you are feeling! Hungry ya say? You are probably parched and cracked tongue too! [ Listener points out that the stew is bubbling over ] Hmmm? AH SHOOT! Stews bubbling!

[ Mortem begins to stir the pot, then fills a bowl up ]

Mortem: Here we go, careful, it’s a little hot… What’s in it? A little bit of prickly pear, some sand root, and the meat is an armadillo that I found a few days ago! Go ahead, the armadillo is my favorite. Go on! It’s gonna get cold~ [ Listener, takes a spoon of stew, and there is something crunchy in their mouth ] Bones? They're the best part, filled with a lot of calcium…I heard humans need that...I’m glad you like it!

Mortem: Now, the fire should keep you warm until I come back, the nights get downright chilly…Ah, right, ya see, to get you back to my nest I needed to leave my coffin supplies behind aaaaaand I kinda need those back.

Mortem: But I promise, I’ll be back soon, you just stay here and rest, Okay? Good! [ Mortem gets ready to leave but Listener says something ] Uh? Oh, that’s your name, then it’s good to know it! … uhm? Oh, please it’s no sweat off my back, I’m just glad I found you in time.

[ Mortem takes off, leaving the Listener in the nest, fire crackling and the night wind blowing gently ]

[coridallasmultipass]

Peruvian Apple Cactus seedlings sprouted up in just over a week! Wow! 🌵🌵🌵🌵 Okay so, "someone I might know" took a small over-ripe fruit (it was already popped open for days) off a neighbor's streetside cactus before the animals got to it. The fruit was way too old to eat, but the seeds were still worth taking a chance on, and omG THEY POPPED UP SO FAST I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH EM!! 🌵 Apparently, the longer I can keep them covered with humidity and warmth, the better they'll grow. But I'm so excited, I didn't expect this to go anywhere because the fruit was so old, and I've never grown cactus from seed. 🍑 Speaking of, just to rant a bit, I HATE that my neighbors let the fruit in their yard go bad and fall off and rot. ESPECIALLY since this summer, our apricot tree got raided and cleaned off for the first time, and I'm still so fucking mad about it. (I'm certain it's our most recent neighbors that did it since their yard faces ours.) I only got one apricot off the tree because it was ripe but too hard and needed another week to grow, but someone cleaned off the entire tree and ground of every single apricot before I had a chance to harvest. (We don't have a door cam, unfortunately.) Drives me fucking mad. If you're gonna take fruit off someone's tree, especially when it's not even streetside, it's well into our property, only take what you can eat right there. You don't fucking take everything. 😠 Anyway. This neighbor has some really amazing different cactuses on the streetside. They're humongous and grow these 2 story high flower spikes and have tons of fruit. (Again, why don't these people eat the fruit???? I pay good money for cactus fruit in the store!!) So, hopefully these seedlings will grow into big cacti and make some Peruvian Apples for me. I'll definitely plant them outside when they're bigger, so they'll still be a part of the community/help with pollination. 🌼 I s2g I'm gonna take a walk with some bags and tongs and go knock doors and see which neighbors will let me just take it all. I'd be swimming in fruit. (Maybe not swimming with the prickly pears tho.) 🌵 #cactus #cacti #sprouts #seedlings #gardening #zone9b #zone9 #zone9garden https://www.instagram.com/p/ClK2TSvLcuX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[golden-barnes]

Plum tarts and red carnations

Pairing: Florist! Bucky Barnes x F! Reader

Summary: Bucky is enamored with one of the employees of the bakery in front of his store.

Category: Fluff

Warning:s some self-doubting thoughts and cursing .

Word count: 2.5k

Author’s note: I have been thinking about this since that one anon and thank you @buckycuddlebuddy because you helped to inspire me further with this. Also think of Bucky as Beefy because I'm a softy for a gentle giant. Comment and reblog pls and thank you!

“Damn Jerry. You’ve been growing nicely. A little bit more, and you will be ready to find a new home, bud.” Bucky whispered to the little sprout he was watering. Bucky loved his morning routine.

Before opening up his shop, he would check on his nursery. Water the plants in his greenhouse, checking them to see how they have grown. He liked talking to them; they never judged him or ignored him. He even named them. Sam would help, too, though he treated it more as a joke.

After checking on the nursery, he would focus on making bouquets and arrangements for the store. Nobody knew he was the one who made those beautiful arrangements, and he liked it.

It was like therapy for him. Matching the flowers and creating bouquets with meaning was a talent Bucky didn’t know he had. By this point, the shop was opened and ready for business.

While preparing a rose bouquet, he saw a woman in an apron running out of the new coffee shop from the table next to the cash register. Oh shit, she’s pretty. He thought. He kept staring at her and forgot the fresh roses next to him, grabbed one carelessly.

“Fuck.” He accidentally pricked his finger with a thorn. He applied pressure to his wounded finger.

“Oh, are you okay, sir?” The pretty woman from the bakery asked. Bucky didn’t notice her entering the shop, and now she was here. Looking disheveled but incredibly beautiful.

“Yeah, happens all the time. What can I help you with?” He said, trying to sound as composed as possible. He could hear Sam’s voice in his head. “Play it cool, Buck.”The woman let out a sigh.

“I’m co-owner of the coffee shop, and it’s our opening day. I was encharged of the decorations, and I ordered some flowers from this other place, but when they got here, they were horrible. Like really bad. And oh god, I’m rambling, but I need a brand new arrangement.” She said all in one breath. Bucky had to fight a smile from appearing. Adorable.

“It’s okay. What colors did you want?” Bucky asked. The woman smiled at him.

“We wanted white and purples. Something simple. But honestly, I know nothing of flowers. I don’t understand why Wanda put me up with this? Now we are late, and I still have to finish decorating the cupcakes.” She explained while Bucky started to search for the flowers in his shop.

“Lilacs, with white peonies and lavender roses, would make a nice bouquet. How does that sound?” Bucky showed her the flowers he was referring to. The woman gasped.

“Oh, they are so pretty! You, sir, are a genius.” She gushed, still looking at the flowers. Bucky felt his cheeks getting red from receiving praise.

“I can bring it to you,” Buckywhispered, afraid that she might not like that idea. “You know, because you still have some stuff to finish, so you can do it, and I’ll bring it to you in less than 10 minutes.” She looked at him and went to hug him. Bucky tensed, not expecting the hug, but soon relaxed.

“You are literally my hero. Just ask for Y/N,” She said, walking towards the exit. “Wait, what’s your name?” She added, opening the door to leave.

“Bucky.” Y/N smiled at him. “See you later, Bucky.”

Bucky has never worked on an arrangement as hard as this one. He was already meticulous, but he really wanted to impress Y/N. Can you blame him? The pretty girl needed his help, and he wanted her to be happy. He even added some baby’s breath and this new white ribbon that had come in for weddings. He was very proud of it but also very nervous.

With a deep breath, Bucky entered the coffee shop. A brunette was at the door, cleaning the tables.

“Sorry, Sir. We are still aren’t open.” She said. Bucky gulped.

“Uhm. I’m looking for Y/N.” He told her; she looked at the flowers in his hands and understood. She yelled for Y/N, who came out of the kitchen with icing on her check, giving him the brightest smile.

“Hey, Bucky! That’s beautiful! How did you make such a pretty arrangement in less than 20 minutes?” She grabbed the vase out of his hands and set it on the counter. Bucky blushed and scratched his neck, shying away.

“It’s nothing.. I’m just happy you liked it.”

“How much do I owe you?” She asked. Bucky put his hands up.

“Oh, it’s on the house. Don’t worry. Call it a welcome gift.” He explained; Y/N jumped and gave him another hug. This time Bucky wrapped his arms around her.

“You are the nicest person on this fucking planet. I have to make it up to you. What’s your favorite fruit?” She pulled away from him and looked at Bucky in the eye. Bucky felt his breath hitch, and his palms get sweaty.

“I-I like plums.” He stuttered. She gave him a big smile and handed him a cookie.

“Hmm, I can make something with that.” She winked at him.

-

“I still haven’t named you, but honestly, I don’t know. You look like a Janelle, but also, I feel like that doesn’t fit.” Bucky said to the new cactus that arrived yesterday, in the afternoon.

“I think she looks like a Lucille.” Bucky turned around and saw Y/N with a box in hand.

“Oh, hi.” He felt embarrassed. She had heard him talk to his plants. Not even Steve had seen that. It was his private thing.

“She’s cute. What type of cactus is it?” She looked at it, not looking weirded out or anything.

“It’s called a Bishop’s cap. They grow to be very pretty and sprout a yellow flower. Not very popular in the shop, but there’s this new cactus crazy going on, and I thought to stock up.” Bucky explained, putting the cactus down next to the others.

“Do you name all your plants?” Bucky gulped and turned around to face her.

“Yeah, and talk to them too.” Bucky fought the urge to punch himself. Why would he say that? Fuck, now she is gonna think he is a fucking weirdo.

Much to his surprise, she smiled at him. She suddenly remembered the box she brought and opened it.

“For saving me yesterday, I made you a plum tart.” She opened it and pulled out the tart. Bucky felt his heart beating faster, and his hands get clammy.

“You didn’t have to.” “Ah! I beg to differ. Everyone that walked into our shop loved the flowers. They were really something. Like I couldn’t stop looking at them. So I had to show you my gratitude the only way I know how. With treats.”

“I couldn’t possibly eat that all alone. Want to share?” Bucky asked, giving her puppy eyes so she wouldn’t say no.

“You drive a hard bargain, Bucky. Has anyone ever told you can get away with murder with those eyes?” Y/N joked.

“I think my grandma’ probably said it. I have some silverware in the shop’s kitchen. When you have to be at your shop?” Bucky said, signaling her to follow him.

“I’m on break—perks of being the boss.” She explained while Bucky grabbed a few paper plates, forks, and a knife. She grabbed the knife and cut a big piece, and gave it to Bucky. Then she cut a piece for herself.

Bucky took a bite and accidentally let out a moan.

“I take it; you like it.” She winked at Bucky. He diverted his gaze from her. Why the fuck did I do that? Bucky screamed internally.

“It’s delicious. I can see why your shop has been packed since yesterday. Reminds me of my ma’s.” Bucky admitted.

“I’m glad, but I can’t take all the credit. You should see the coffee mixes Wanda came up with. They are the real star.” Bucky smiled at her. Nice and pretty… She let out a cough.

“How did you get really good with plants? Like sorry for the personal question, but you have a talent.” She inquired.

“Well, uhm. After getting discharged, my friend Sam suggested that I take classes to handle stress and PTSD. One of the classes was gardening, and I just found it so calming. So I started taking more courses and learning ‘till I decided to start my own business. I don’t think I could ever work anywhere else.” Bucky noticed her staring at him. “What?” He said, smiling awkwardly at her.

“Nothing. Just thinking about how you are the nicest man I’ve ever meet.” She said nonchalantly. Bucky chuckled.

“It’s nothing major. I just found my calling.” Bucky stated.

“I feel the same. I baked a lot in college, and then suddenly I was like fuck, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” She recalled. Her eyes glowed under the light of the kitchen.

“I felt the same way when I started this shop.” Bucky admitted, she bit back a smile.

“By the way, I like the name—Howling’s flowers. Oh, and how pretty this store is, it looks like I walked in a magical forest.” She complimented.

“I- thanks. I named my store after my squad and the decor well; that’s kind of an embarrassing story.” Bucky chuckled nervously. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please. I own a coffee shop named Magic café, and all of our items are named after magical things. I am the last person to judge.” Bucky bit his lip nervously while listening to her.

“I based it on The Hobbit. It was my favorite book when I was younger, and I just couldn’t imagine decoring this store anyway else.” Y/N looked at him with an open mouth.

“Okay, are you government android? Because you are friendly, great with plants and well-read. You are too good to be true.” She laughed. Bucky needs to find a way to blush less in her presence because this is like the fourth or fifth time it has happened.

They finished eating their pieces of tart and talking for a while. Y/N decided to go back to the shop, not realizing how much time she spent there. Before leaving, Bucky gave her some more lavender roses.

“Oh, Bucky, you don’t have to.” She protested.

“It’s just to add to the arrangement. I feel like it was missing a few more roses. You’ll be doing me a favor.” He assured. She grabbed the flowers and smelt them before smiling and giving him a small thanks.

Little did she know that lavender Roses mean love at first sight.

They played that little game for weeks, almost 2 months. Y/N would take her lunch break at Bucky’s shop. Feed him some food and pastries that she was experimenting with, and he would give her flowers.

“To put on the counter. Your store deserves fresh flowers every day.” Bucky claimed. But in actuality, all the flowers meant something. The white camellias? He was telling her that he admired her. The amaryllis? That he found you beautiful. The white and purple stocks? A silent plea for bonds of affection from your part. But he couldn’t bring himself to say these things out loud.

Speaking to Y/N in flowers was much easier. Maybe because she didn’t know and couldn’t reject him.

“Bucky, you gotta tell her, man.” Steve would try to reason with him. “She likes you; you like her. Just tell her that you like her or ask her out on a date.”

“You don’t get it, Steve.” Bucky would argue, which led to an entire discussion on how Bucky is being a coward that ended with him telling Steve and Sam to fuck off.

But they were right; it was simple. She has been an absolute doll with him. She doesn’t mind hearing his rants about the new book he read and helped him water his plants. She even bought waterproof labels to put their names on their planters. She even asked (more like demanded) Bucky to send her the pictures of every bouquet and arrangement he made. She loved seen his creations.

And he loved being her test subject. She would bring him new pastries to try. He was her official taste tester. Anything new in the store, Bucky had already tried it in every one of its variations. Y/N would speak to him of all of her special interests and all of her new hobbies. He had even met all her friends, and they loved him.

So why was this so difficult? Bucky groaned while arranging the flowers at the front of the shop.

“What’s got you all groaning and gloomy, Bucky-bear?” Y/N asked him. She looked radiant in her work clothes. Ugh, Bucky had it bad.

“Nothing, j-just thinking.” He nervously replied.

“Don’t overthink. You might over-heat your brain, bubs.” She joked, entering Bucky’s shop. And like the hopeless romantic he is, he followed.

“Soooooooo I have been trying out this new pasta recipe, and you are the only one I trust to give me the truth.” She said, opening the Tupperware she brought. Bucky’s heart fluttered at her words. He felt light-headed; maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop himself from opening his mouth.

“I like you.” He blurted out. He slapped his hand over his mouth. Y/N turned to him, widen eyes, and mouth gaped.

“Bucky, do you mean that? Because if you are playing with me, I will fight you with this.” She warned Bucky, threatening with a spoon.

“I like you a lot. Actually love you. I- that’s what those flowers meant.” Bucky explained. Y/N put down the spoon.

“What flowers?” She asked, in the softest tone he has ever heard her speak in. Bucky turned his gaze to the floor, embarrassed that this was his confession.

“All of them. They all meant love in one form or the other.” He admitted. Y/N stood in front of him and put her hand on his cheek. He felt his heart do backflips.

“What flower means I’m in love with you, Bucky?” She asked, caressing his cheek.

“Maybe red carnations.” He joked, leaning into her touch.

“I’ll ask this handsome florist with a heart of gold to make me a bouquet to give you.” Bucky chuckled while she let out a little giggle.

“I would love a bouquet, but I would much rather have a plum tart from the sexy baker on the store out front.” Y/N hummed.

“I think I can make that happen.” She said, pulling him closer. “Can I kiss you, Bucky?” She asked; Bucky could only nod.

She grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his. Bucky wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, molding her body against him. Their lips gliding over each other smoothly, as if they were made for each other.

They pulled away to take a breath, and they both had the same dopey smile. Tarts and carnations. Who knew they mixed so well?

[salemwritesxx]

𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾. | 𝙸𝙸

𝕋 𝕒 𝕜 𝕒 𝕞 𝕚  𝕂 𝕖 𝕚 𝕘 𝕠  |  ℍ 𝕒 𝕨 𝕜 𝕤

     ⇴ male reader [22, chubby, 194cm]      ⇴ all characters are depicted as [18]+

↣ rating: 18+ ↣ warnings: smut; height difference/size difference; facesitting; ass eating; modern AU; chubby, tall reader; reader’s “friends” fatshaming reader and just being absolute assholes before it gets to the spicy good stuff

part 1.

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Chuckling, his hand reached out to your cheek when you leaned in; immediately returning the sweet kisses. Kei’s golden eyes fluttered open once you pulled back again, only to giggle a “What?” when you turned your head to kiss his little hand.

“Your hands are so cute… and tiny.”, you snickered yourself.

Hawks couldn’t say anything back. After all, it was true. His hands were so small compared to your own – and he adored that. Biting his lip, he tried to suppress his wide smile as best as he could when you pressed another kiss onto the back of his hand and fingers which were adorned with rings. They made his hands even more pretty.

You and Hawks had been dating exactly six months. Hence why you decided to go to the bar where it all started. This time, you didn’t mind sitting at one of the tables, because all you could focus on was this beautiful man besides you. And Keigo definitely made you feel much more comfortable and confident. Love was amazing.

Both of you were so into the moment of sharing little kisses and just having a conversation about different things in life, that you didn’t even realize a few familiar faces entering the bar. And you wished it had stayed that way the moment you heard their calling.

“Yo! It’s [Your.name]!”

“And Takami-san!”

All you could do was fake smile and greet them as well. You had heard from Keigo what one of your supposed ‘friends’ had said. The car accident remark hurt – a lot. So, in the last few months you had tried to distance yourself from your friend group. Not only because you wanted to spend as much time with your boyfriend as possible, but also because they weren’t good for you. You had known that for quite some time, however that one thing certainly was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Hawks besides you was immediately uncomfortable, but he smiled politely as well. However, when he started playing with the many rings on his fingers, you knew you had to do something. Especially when they sat down and started chatting.

“Uh, I’ll buy us something to drink, yeah?”, you tried to flee the awkward situation.

“Ah, then I’ll definitely need to make some room for more.”, was Keigo’s excuse as he hastily stood up to walk towards the bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned in front of the sink, his ring’s clacking as he washed his hands.

“Fuck. How are we gonna get rid of them? This should have been our date… Kh!”, he thought and clicked his tongue in the end.

You, who stood in front of the bar, also were thinking rapidly what you could do. If you could just tell them it was your date with Hawks.

“Argh! You are so fucking big and yet you can’t grow any balls! Idiot!”, you insulted yourself, “If I could just tell them to kindly fuck off… Damn it.”

How often had your friends stood you up? Left you alone during parties? Talked shit about you? And yet you weren’t able to tell them to go away for once.

Hawks was the first to return, however as he walked up your friends were sitting with the back facing towards him, hence they didn’t see him. Thus, they also didn’t see that he stood behind them when they talked shit again.

“I mean… model? Have you seen him? He’s fucking tiny and fragile. As if someone like him would be a model. I haven’t even seen him on any magazine anyways.”, one cackled.

“Right? And he ain’t even THAT hot. But of course stupid [Your.name] is gonna buy it, I mean, his head is as big as a melon but his brain? Nut sized!”, another laughed.

“Their height difference is fucking laughable!”

“Only their height? Fuck, you can make three little Takamis out of [Your.name]. That’s fucking hilarious. Just watching them side by side is so ridiculous. They probably don’t even fuck.”

“Ew, can you imagine [Your.name]? Ugh!”, he loudly gagged, “I’d rather shove a cactus up my ass than do-”

Just listening to that made Keigo furious. Someone who was supposed to be your friend group talking so much shit was disgusting. Hence he stepped forward and banged his hand onto the table, making them stop their cackling. If looks could have killed, all your friends would have dropped dead.

“You’re like fucking little High School girls cackling and talking shit. No wonder none of you is in a relationship, you fucking assholes.”, Hawks growled.

Before he could say any more though, you came back with a Red Bull for you and a drink for Hawks. Though, immediately, you realized something was off.

“Kei? Everything okay?”, you carefully asked once you put down the Red Bull and glass.

He wanted to just grab you and walk out. They ruined your six month anniversary date. Yes, it might be something overly cheesy and stupid, but it was important to you and him. And those fucktards ruined it all. But, he just shook his head and sat down, you had bought the beverage after all, so he was going to drink it.

“No, Baby, everything’s okay. Thanks for the drink.”

So, you sat down as well, wondering why your friends looked so bashful and uncomfortable. It only took a few minutes of you and him awkwardly sitting, no one really talking and just nipping on your drinks. Hawks had been playing with his rings absentmindedly again when he couldn’t take it anymore. Fuck the drinks, this was too much.

“[Your.name], it’s getting late. I need to go to work tomorrow, do you mind if we cut it short today and go home?”, he asked with his fake smile.

For a moment, you didn’t know if he just wanted to escape the situation or if he really wanted to go home. But, as far as you knew, he was free tomorrow and you had plans to stay over-

You needed to stop overthinking everything, thus, you just nodded.

“Of course. I’ll drive you home.”

“Thanks. Oh wait.”, he suddenly said when you had already stood up.

“Hm?”

Then, he grabbed a tissue from the table, your friends just watching, still feeling bad that they got caught talking shit. But no one could have known what was about to happen next.

Reaching out his hand, he softly wiped your face, leaving you a bit confused.

“Oh, thank you?”

Keigo just chuckled though and smiled, “No problem. Just wanted to make sure my seat’s clean for later.”

Then, he threw the tissue onto the table, flashed your friends a “fuck you” smile and glare, before grabbing your hand and walking outside. You just completely flabbergasted and a stuttering mess as you helplessly followed your small boyfriend outside.

“K-Keigo…”, you were visibly embarrassed.

Hawks know he may have gotten a little too far. Flaunting your relationship was one thing but saying that thing in public might be too much for your shy heart. So, the ride home was unusually quiet, which weighed down his heart even more. Your date was totally ruined now. He wanted to say sorry, but the silence was just… too much. Thus, he kept his mouth shut as well.

When you finally reached your apartment, you just quietly walked upstairs. You were so deep into your own thoughts you even ran against your doorframe, since you were so tall.

“Ow!”, you immediately grabbed your head. That hadn’t happened in quite some time.

It only showed how distracted you were from the scenario in the bar.

“[Your.name]? Are you okay?”, he immediately turned around and looked up.

“Ah? Yeah. No, it’s… it’s okay. Guess I was just really absentminded. Don’t mind me.”, you smiled at him, though Hawks still felt bad.

He should have just left after he caught them and not do this stupid joke in front of them.

“Okay… I’m gonna take a shower, okay?”

“Yeah.”, was all you answered and then it was an awkward quietness again.

Ah, you wondered what had happened between Hawks and your friends and what had led him to do something like that. Now, as you thought back, it was quite funny. Their faces were priceless, too. And it wasn’t even the case that you couldn’t take a joke. It was just the fact that your friends had to hear it that it was… embarrassing? Why though? Because they found out you had sex? You didn’t really know. All you knew was that, you had to cut them off as soon as possible.

After what felt like half an hour, Hawks came out of the bathroom and thus, it was your turn to shower. Once again, there weren’t any words exchanged. Until you finally joined him in bed after your own shower. Keigo had been waiting for you and the moment you laid down beside him, he turned around to face you.

“I’m sorry, [Your.name]. I know I shouldn’t have lied and done THAT an-“

“Ah no, no.”, you interrupted him and gestured a little, “It’s fine. It was a good excuse and… thinking about it now THAT was kinda funny.”, you finally snickered.

Which certainly made Kei’s heart laugh again as well.

“It was, wasn’t it?!”, he chuckled, then smiled – genuinely.

“Yes, it was a good one. Their faces were great. Sorry, too. I … get so easily flustered still. It’s still kinda new and all.”, you then admitted.

“It’s okay, I know that and still went with it. Next time I’ll only do that when we’re alone.”

“Hahaha, okay. I can live with that.”, you laughed and then finally kissed him softly.

Looking at you for a moment, he didn’t know if he should even say something, but then again…

“You know, I caught them talking shit again.”, resting his head on your shoulder, he slung his arm around your broad chest. His cold little feet touching your shin as he had wrapped his leg around your own. He was so tiny.

“Ah, I thought so…”, you sighed deeply, “I’ll definitely cut them off soon. It’s not like they will miss me anyways, well… maybe because then they don’t have someone who’s their idiot for everything.”

“I’m sorry they ruined our date, Babe.”, you then whispered and kissed his forehead.

“It’s okay. At least we have the rest of the evening just for us.”

“Yeah.”

Like that, you cuddled together. You didn’t mind it anymore when he grabbed onto your chub. People had done that to mock you before, but Keigo would have never done it with that intent. He just liked grabbing onto you since you were so much bigger than him, which meant he fit just perfectly tucked right under your arm. Just where he belonged.

For a while, you laid there. The quietness surrounding you wasn’t awkward anymore as you softly played with his hair and he played with your hand. It was just relaxed and soothing.

Meanwhile, it looked differently inside your mind.

“Okay, just say it.”, you kept on cheering you on.

Ever since he said THAT, you couldn’t stop thinking about it, which, inevitably, led to you thinking about actually doing what he had said. Which then meant you slowly became horny.

Your heart was hammering against your chest way too wildly when you leaned in. You felt out of breath just by thinking what you wanted to say. It was fine. You were dating. This wasn’t inappropriate and Kei had started it so…

“So…what do you think? Is your seat clean now?”

It only took a second for Hawks to realize it. Redness spreading all over his face in an instance. He always tried to be so confident and cocky, so it caught him off-guard hearing you so straight-forward for once. However, with redness also came a big smirk and his golden eyes gleaming when he looked up to meet your own [eye.color] ones.

“Looks pretty good to me.”, Kei barely whispered back while scooching closer and connecting your lips eventually.

A sweet kiss quickly becoming heated and sloppy as you grabbed his ass and pulled him on top of you. Hawks immediately moaning into your mouth as he grabbed onto the pillow. He loved getting thrown around a little, especially when you were so nice and strong and big.

Even though his cheeks were still pretty warm from blushing, it didn’t take long for him to wiggle himself out of his briefs. It certainly also helped that you hooked your fingers in and pulled them down at last.

“Hmnhh”, he mewled once you pushed him up higher, your big hand clawing at his ass and leaving marks behind.

“Turn around, Baby?”, you asked in between passionate kisses.

And his answer came promptly when he rose and bit his lip for a second.

“It’s a little embarrassing…”, yet he completely sat back up and turned around, which made you chuckle.

“Hmmm, but you did it anways.”, being the one to tease him for once was nice.

“Hahaha I sure di-ahn!”, he laughed only to interrupt himself with a soft whine when you grabbed his ass and pushed him closer against your face.

You didn’t even waste another second as you let your tongue flick against his hole. Lapping around for a moment before teasing him with the tip. Earning his cute moan immediately. Biting his own finger, he tried not to become too loud. Though as you licked over his ass with your broad tongue, a shivery moan escaped his throat just like that.

After using some spit for lubrication your tongue was back instantly to lick and flick. Your fingers holding his ass tightly left red marks behind that made Hawks moan in delight. Pushing himself even further down onto your face without really realizing it. Though you didn’t mind at all, rather you used it to push your tongue inside.

“Ngh! Ahh-“, arching his back, Keigo reached back to try and grab the headboard for support.

Your own deep moans sent vibrations through his body, making it even harder to resist the urge to just ride your face. However, with how eagerly you ate his ass, your tongue relentlessly wiggling and thrusting, it was pretty hard to move himself, thus being completely at your mercy.

“Ohh fuck- Ah! B-Baby…”, he choked out and moaned.

Pulling back a little, you went back to flicking the top of your tongue, tickling his soft hole and listening to his grumbling as he tried to sway his hips to spur you on. But, you loved to tease him. Hearing his quickened breathing and the impatient whines made your cock twitch and leak.

Though, in order to make him feel good, you soon pushed your broad tongue back against his twitching ass to lick almost slowly over his soft hole, before pushing your wet muscle back inside. His delightful hiss and the shivering of his body told you everything you needed to know.

His golden eyes were closed and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth. Another suppressed moan finding its way out of his mouth. Messy blonde strands of hair fell into his face, before he threw his head back when you, unexpectedly, reached around his thigh and touched his leaking cock. Your big hand wrapping around it was almost too much as he tried to thrust into it, simultaneously also rubbing his ass against your face more, thus feeling your tongue even more intensely.

“Ahn Ah! [Your.name] agh-“

However, when he softly pushed your hand away, you were a little surprised. Though not for long when he also raised his ass and turned around a bit, his golden eyes gleaming with lust.

“I want to… cum with your cock inside.”, was all he choked out under heavy breathing.

Hence you just gulped and sheepishly grinned. Reaching for the nightstand, you grabbed the lube, Keigo’s hands already busy pulling down your pants and kissing down your cock. Only to moan loudly when your thick fingers pushed inside his soft hole. The lube making such noisy squish sounds when you thrusted inside. Your big hand groped his small ass to spread his cheeks while you kept fingering him.

Your own deep groans and moans as he licked over your shaft and sucked on your cockhead got him even more excited. Thus, after a few moments of being stretched, he sat back up again so you pulled your fingers out. Simply watching as he moved and hovered over your cock.

“Kei-“, you choked out his name and instinctively grabbed his hips, once again realizing just how small he was. Your fingertips almost touched, he was such a fragile thing compared to you.

Though, despite being so small, Hawks grabbed your fat cock and slowly pushed down. The tip alone made him hiss, before a breathy moan followed. Once he sat in your lap, your dick buried snug in his ass, he leaned back, your hands giving him support and he held himself up as well.

“AHhh!”, one thrust was enough to make him moan in delight, hence with a quickened heartbeat, you started moving.

Easily holding him in place as you started shoving your cock inside his tight ass. Kei’s arms visibly shaking and his head thrown back.

“Ahh- [Your.name]- Mhn! Ah!”, though it didn’t take long for you to push him up completely, his hole gaping and twitching, before throwing him onto his belly.

“AHnn, so rough.”, he purred as he presented his ass instantly. Once again - he just loved getting thrown around a little.

But not being able to think about it much longer, you had already pushed your cock back inside, making him moan in bliss and his hands instantly clawing at the sheets. Your own hands had grabbed his hips again, thus being able to thrust in as deeply as possible.

If it were possible, you might have thought you could see little hearts floating around Keigo’s head with how much he enjoyed himself. His moaning loud and not holding back as you drilled your cock into his tight hole.

Burying his red face into the pillow, he didn’t even try to hold back his moans. Just loving the way you blew his back out, making him so soar that he couldn’t even sit tomorrow morning. His delicate body shaking so much as waves of pure lust swept through him. His small cock bouncing with every thrust, the sheets dirtied with precum and sweat.

“[Your.name]!”, he moaned out your name.

Twisting his body lightly, he looked back and reached out his hand, instantly meeting your own as you grabbed and squeezed it.

“C-Come here…”, Keigo stuttered under heavy breathing.

“B-But… I’m gonna squish you.”, you groaned back, not wanting to lay on top of him with your heavy, chubby body. He was so tiny…

“Don’t ca-Ah! [Your.name]… please…”, was the last thing he whined and how could you say no?

“Fine…”, you let go of his hand and hovered over him before lowering your body onto his, “But tell me when it’s too uncomfortable.”

Though Keigo didn’t care anymore as your heavy body pushed him more into the mattress, a mere moaned “Uhgn!” all he could do. And then, you started thrusting again. He simply loved having your body on top of his, feeling your weight push him down.

Since you were already in the perfect spot, you just lowered your head to kiss along the nape of his neck. His soft little mewls as you nibbled on his skin spurring you on more. Your skin slapping against his as your hips moved as much as they could.

“Ah ahh B-Baby, I’m… Nghh!”, he tried to warn you as you kept fucking him mercilessly.

Your hips only stopping for a few seconds here and there, before you were back to shoving your cock inside, earning Keigo’s loud moan. His ass was tightening around your dick more and more as he approached his orgasm. Hawks’ insides were fluttering as you didn’t stop thrusting into his hole.

“Oh fuck- Kei-go…”, you choked out his name as your arms wrapped around his small body. Your hips moving on their own as you vigorously moved. Hips smacking against his ass uncontrollably.

Both of you moaning as you approached your orgasms. Hawks the first who surrendered to the pleasure. A loud, blissful moan escaping his throat and his body shaking underneath you. Cumming onto the sheets while he pulled you with him. Your own body shivering as you hugged him tightly and drilled your cock into his ass one last time before cumming. Filling his sloppy hole with your cum as he just happily mewled and moaned.

For a moment, you stayed like that; gasping for breath and shaking. Hawks groaning, a crooked happy smile on his lips and looking like he was on cloud nine, babbling nonsense. After a while, you slowly sat back up and pulled out. The soft squish sound and the cum flowing out immediately was sending another blissful jolt down south to your cock.

“Hmm, you look even more pretty like that, Baby.”, you chuckled and softly smacked his ass.

Hawks just giggled as well and pulled you down and besides him.

“I love you.”, he whispered before kissing you.

Happily returning the sweet gesture, you buried your hand in his hair, listening to his soft happy hums as you massaged his scalp. Your heart was thumping so much in your chest, wondering how you seriously deserved someone like him.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”, he chuckled as his head fell back into the pillow, his beautiful eyes filled with so much love as he looked at you.

“Just… for not giving up six months ago. I was really- just an asshole to you because of my own insecurities and… when I think about what might have happened if you didn’t try again, I would still be miserable right now. So just.. thank you. I love you.”

Biting his lip to try and hide his stupid happy smile, it, however, didn’t really help much. Hence he leaned in to kiss you once more. Which then ended in your mouths being tangled yet again as you pushed him more into the mattress.

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@salemwritesxx || do not repost, edit, modify or translate my works

⇻ salem.talks: here’s part two! it took almost a month wtf well here it is!

[soulmate-game]

Well, here is the stupid thing I was alluding to. It’s mostly a filler chapter, but yeah.

Harley’s Plea for Help, Chapter 3

“Well, that took a while,” a relatively deep female voice smoothly drawled. The plants placed right next to the window pulled away, no longer blocking the pathway inside. The two figures who were perched right outside the windowsill took the invitation and climbed inside, the shorter of the two looking at the woman who had spoken and smiling widely.

“Auntie Ivy!” Marinette happily exclaimed, making the redhead across from her grin back.

“That’s me. It sure is nice to actually see you in person, little Marigold,” she held out her arms for a hug, which Marinette instantly ran in to accept. “Video calls are never quite enough, are they? You’re so tiny! Are you sure you eat alright?”

“Auntie Ivyyyyyy,” Marinette whined, knowing full well that Ivy was just teasing her.

“So, what took you all so long?” Ivy asked Red Hood, even as she kept her arms wrapped around her soon-to-be daughter in law. “Usually you bats are all about getting back on the streets to punch people, we didn’t think you’d be bringing her in at almost one in the morning.”

Hood shrugged, thumbs hooked in his pockets. “Your little garden fairy nearly gave us the slip. Went straight out the back exit instead of doin’ anything showy like we half expected and we almost missed her.”

“I stopped as soon as I noticed who they were, I swear!” Marinette pulled away from Ivy, holding her hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t expect Momma to send them to babysit me before our first full day being in Gotham. In hindsight, though, I really should have.”

“Yeah, you should’ve,” Ivy agreed with a smirk, ruffling Marinette’s hair and making her pigtails go a little crooked. “And I know for a fact that you’ve done some stunts off your balcony back in Paris, so at least I know you can be responsible and hold yourself back from doing the same here. Must get that from me, because we both know it doesn’t come from Harley.”

Marinette and Hood both had to laugh at that. Being responsible was definitely not a trait that Marinette could have inherited from anybody in her family tree, that was for sure.

“Are ya makin’ fun of me in front of my daughter?” the comically scandalized voice announced the arrival of one Harley Quinn, who walked into the room in white onesie pajamas with a poker print on them. All of the “joker” cards were crossed out heavily with red sharpie, and a few of them had black-sharpie devil horns and handlebar mustaches vandalizing them. Marinette even caught one such card with a googly eye on it, the matching eye having fallen off and leaving only a small circle of since-dried hot glue where it used to be. “If you guys are gonna be that way, fine! Ivy dyes her hair!”

“No she doesn’t,” Marinette deadpanned, clearly fighting against a giant grin. The corners of her lips gave her away, they never stopped twitching with repressed mirth. “But you do. I got the pictures to prove—- aah!” Harley tackled her daughter to the ground, attacking her with tickles immediately.

“Take it back! My hair is naturally blond!”

“Yeah, naturally— hahahahaha! Sandy blonde! You— hahaha! Have just as much brown— stop I can’t breathe! hahahaha!— as yellow!”

“Hmph,” Harley finally backed off, crossing her eyes and looking away from Marinette with an exaggerated pout. “How dare you reveal my darkest secret?”

“I was a natural redhead even before I got my powers,” was all Ivy had to say, looking all too amused at this turn of events. “Your original costume completely covered your hair.”

“Don’t worry, Harley,” Red Hood butted in, reminding the three girls that he was still here. His tone suggested that he was definitely smiling under his helmet. “We found out about your hair dye years ago.”

“I just cover up the brown parts! It’s not like I’m changin’ much,” she argued before standing up again. “Thanks for gettin’ my cupcake back safely, little birdie. Oh, that's right! I made cupcakes! Hang on, lemme grab one for your trip back!” with that, she span on her heels and ran back further into the apartment. Marinette dashed over to Hood, immediately shoving him to the window.

“Quick, save yourself! Momma can’t bake for her life!” she whispered urgently. “I’ll say you were called away for an emergency, just hurry!”

“It’s not even a lie, getting away from Harley’s baking is an emergency,” Ivy agreed, waving as the vigilante took their advice and fled. It was only three seconds later that Harley slid back into the room, nearly falling due to the feet of her onesie having pretty much zero friction. Her face immediately fell when she saw that her victim was gone, leaving her standing there with a cupcake that was about twice as much frosting as actual cake, covered in sprinkles like a kid’s craft project that was smothered in glitter. The frosting was also shapeless, just heaped on the cake like a half-melted scoop of ice cream. She sighed in despair.

“There goes my chance of giving a bat diabetes. You guys warned him, didn’t ya?”

They both nodded shamelessly. “We’re not that cruel, Harley,” Ivy defended, getting up from her spot on her cushioned armchair and wrapping an arm around her fiance’s waist before she kissed the top of her head gently. “Hood got our little Marigold back safe and sound, and he’s even started a garden at his apartment. He doesn’t deserve to be poisoned by you.”

“I thought you said he got a single cactus at the flea market last month,” Harley deadpanned, making Ivy shrug.

“Might as well be a garden for him, and it’s something he’s not likely to kill so that’s a plus to me. He’s actually taking really good care of the little baby.”

“Speaking of garden!” Marinette gently took the sad excuse of a pastry away from her mom and sat it down on a side table before ushering both of them over to the living room and onto the sofa. “My garden back home is growing so big, I don’t think I can keep everything much longer. I barely have room to walk on the terrace, with all the vines and leaves and branches. Got any ideas of what I can do?”

“Of course! Do you have pictures, Marigold?”

—*—*—*—*—*

Slipping back through her hotel window at six in the morning was risky, since it involved climbing the wall and hoping nobody saw, but her classmates were so unpredictable that it was the only way she could be sure nobody would find out that she had violated curfew and snuck out. Of course, having Red Robin waiting outside her mom’s apartment’s terrace to escort her back helped. At least she knew that no street cams would record her comings or goings, and his grappling hook made the whole scale-the-hotel-wall business much more efficient.

Once she was inside, she sighed happily. “Thanks, now—“ her apology was cut off as Red Robin held up a finger to tell her to wait.

“Hold that thought, be right back. Don’t move.”

Thinking, rightfully, that something was wrong, Marinette obeyed. She watched Red Robin leap off of her hotel balcony and disappear into the streets. Immediately, she began a search to make sure her room had been left untampered— everything important had been packed in the backpack that she had taken to her mom’s place, but still. Could never be too careful. By the time she finished checking for bugs or any signs of snooping, Red Robin landed back on her balcony.

“Here we go.”

Turning to face him, Marinette opened her mouth to ask what the problem had been— only to tear up a little and walk over to the vigilante.

“Oh, my hero. Truly, my one and only savior. Knight in shining red Kevlar. I’m running on two hours of sleep and you have read my mind!” The pigtailed drama queen eagerly took the coffee that he offered her, and he sipped from a larger cup that looked like he had grabbed it from the same place. Marinette almost instantly sighed in gratitude when the hot drink lightly scalded her tongue. This. This was the elixir of life.

To his credit, Red Robin was able to restrain himself to merely an amused smirk. Probably because he was running on just as little sleep as she was. “Sorry it’s only a small, I figured it was best to have something you could finish quickly and easily hide the evidence for. If you need more caffeine, I happen to know that Wayne Enterprises has a very good coffee shop in their main hall. You’ll be touring there today, right?” He asked, taking another sip as he waited for the answer that he already knew.

Marinette nodded absently, drinking in the euphoria of her coffee as she tried to both savor it yet finish it as quickly as safely possible. When she came up for air, she said; “Yeah, that’s right. We’re touring Wayne Enterprises for most of the day, having lunch there, and leaving for dinner after the tour. Then we have a visit to the Gotham Museum of Fine Art, and we’ll stay there until about eight-thirty before heading back to the hotel.”

Red Robin nodded, then turned and looked out the window at the slowly rising sun. Sunrise was always a bit later in Gotham, partly because of the abundance of high-rises and partly because of the thick cloud cover and ever-present fog on the edges of the city making everything seem darker than it should have been. He had to be at work soon himself, which is why he had been chosen to escort her to the hotel in the first place, but that meant that he had to be heading off.

“Alright. We arranged for a bodyguard we trust to keep an eye on your class during the WE tour, but he doesn't know who you are or that we’re the ones who asked. We’re still in the process of arranging someone to shadow you after the tour, but we’ll tell you about that once it’s solidified. Until then, follow the usual self-defense procedures if you suspect anyone of following you. You have the panic button we gave you?”

Marinette nodded, gulping down the last of her coffee and carefully putting it in her room’s tiny trash can. “Got it. Thanks, again. Seriously,” she met his eyes— or, probably did since they were hidden behind that weird white film that the whole Batfam had covering the eyeholes of their masks. “I mean it. For listening to me, for listening to Mom. It means a lot. I’ll keep the panic button on me, and I’ll use it if I think I can’t handle a situation on my own. I’ll cooperate with the people you get to watch over the class, and I’ll do my best to not get into any trouble. No promises, but I’ll do my best,” she maintained eye contact until Red Robin nodded, hiding his expression behind his coffee cup. After a second, he cleared his throat.

“Well then. We’ll contact you once we have anything to say about your intel. Until then, I gotta go. And by the way?”

Marinette tilted her head curiously as Red Robin paused for just a moment on her balcony railing, aiming a smirk back at her. “Yeah?”

“Welcome to Gotham.”

And if she couldn’t help but smile widely as he grappled off into the fog-veiled sunrise? Well, only she had to know. She wasted no time closing and locking the glass balcony door, and pulling the curtains over it completely. Once that was done, she couldn’t help but do a little shimmy of Joy. She was caffeinated, she met Auntie Ivy in person for the first time, she got to sleep next to her momma— and she was in Gotham! Technically her hometown— or town she was conceived in? Didn’t matter. Point was, even with the chaos and dark energy clouding the very air, she couldn’t help but feel like she belonged in that city. Like that was where she was always meant to end up, where she could thrive and the environment that she was made to thrive in. The environment that she was born to start fixing.

She beamed at herself in her bathroom mirror as she gave herself one more once-over. Yeah, so far her visit to Gotham was going much better than she could have hoped. Now, she just had to make sure it stayed that way.

Three businesslike raps sounded against the door to her room, just in time for Marinette to feed Tikki one more cookie and straighten her purse on her shoulder. Madame Mendelieve’s voice called out from the other side of the door in her usual no-nonsense bark;

“Dupain-Cheng! Room check! It’s time to get up, we’re meeting down in the lobby in ten minutes.”

Marinette ran up to the door, not quite able to contain her energy, and swung it open with her trademark large, beaming smile.

“Way ahead of you, Madame Mendelieve!”

Her science teacher blinked, adjusting her glasses on her nose as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.

“Ah. You’re already awake and ready?”

Marinette giggled and nodded. “Yup! I was so excited for the tour that I could barely sleep! Does the hotel breakfast include free coffee?”

—*—*—*—*—*

The hotel breakfast did, in fact, include coffee. What it did not include, however, was free coffee that Marinette could reasonably stomach. Especially after the heaven in a cup that Red Robin had gotten for her earlier, the watered down motor oil in the hotel lobby had been unbearable. She had barely managed two sips before regretfully throwing the rest away. Which is what brought her to stand in line at the very same coffee shop that Red Robin had mentioned was in the main hall of Wayne Enterprises, as the rest of her class mingled and waited for their teachers to check their tour group in and their tour guide to arrive.

“Hmm. Sorry, this is my first time ordering here,” she apologized when she reached the counter, gaining a slight lopsided grin from the barista at the register. “Um, I usually like strong coffee, with a lot of caffeine, but I also like something sweet. I don’t need anything too complicated though, do you have any recommendations?”

The barista gave her a customer service smile that seemed just a tad softer at the edges than usual. “Sure! So, we can add an extra shot or two of espresso to any of our drinks, to make it stronger and give it an extra kick. If you’re looking for good sweet flavors, the classics are our white chocolate or caramel. But we also have a seasonal syrup right now that I personally love, which is our cinnamon butterscotch. Did you wanna try that?”

Marinette smiled widely. “That sounds delicious! Then, if I could have your largest size café latte, hot, with… two extra shots and that syrup? Does that sound good?”

The barista actually let loose a soft laugh, already keying in the order. “If you’re a coffee lover and a sweet tooth at the same time, then you’ll love it. If not, come back during your tour’s lunch break and I’ll make you something else.”

Marinette made a little more small talk as she handed over the proper cash for the order, and grabbed her drink after just another minute’s wait. She turned around, taking a sip of the unsurprisingly heavenly coffee and started off to join her class.

Only to realize none of them were where she had left them. She sighed, starting to reach into her purse to see if anyone had texted her about where they were going, but a heavy presence stopped her. She could feel him approaching from in front of her, slightly to her right, but she couldn’t hear him at all. On guard, she straightened up and turned to observe the potential threat.

A security guard. Marinette blinked, running over what she had been told earlier that morning. Was he..?

He seemed to notice her instinctually defensive posture because he raised his hands to show he meant no harm. “Sorry, didn’t mean to catch you off guard,” he apologized. “I’m the guard that was assigned to your tour group. I offered to stay behind until you got your coffee while the rest of your group went ahead and got the run-down on all the boring rules and whatnot of the tour. Figured you’d already know everything they had to say anyway, you’re the class president right?”

Marinette relaxed her posture, nodding and sending the man a relieved smile. “Yeah, that’s right. Well, that explains why they left without me then. Usually Madame Mendelieve is strict about following rules though, how’d you convince her to go on without me?”

The man chuckled, jerking his head to show that she should follow him as he began to lead the way to a side door. Marinette kept her guard up just in case, but wasn’t too worried. If nothing else, she was still in the middle of a super crowded building and the other security guards around didn’t seem concerned. She could easily yell for help if she needed to.

“Well, can’t you tell it was my devilish charm?” He teased, grinning. He waited until she rolled her eyes to continue; “but really, I’m like a second tour guide. She made me show a lotta proof that I’m actually assigned to you guys and not just faking it, not that I can blame her. Eventually she saw the logic in my suggestion and agreed. See, there they are,” he pointed casually ahead of them in the large side hallway they had entered. Sure enough, near the end of the hallway was her class at what looked to be the tail-end of a standard rules-and-guidelines speech from the tour guide. “By the way,” the guard spoke up again, holding his hand out. “My name’s Jason. You’ll be seeing me more often, since I’m supposed to guard you guys for all of your visits to the Tower. Call me if you need help with anything, ‘kay kid?”

Marinette grinned, now positive that this guy really was the guard that Red Robin had said was assigned to her class. She switched the hand she was holding her coffee in so that she could properly grab Jason’s hand for a shake.

“Got it, Monsieur Jason. Let’s both hope I don’t end up needing your help though, I think that would be easier on both of us,” she joked, earning a chuckle from the large man. And— yeah, now that she was relaxed, he really was big, wasn’t he? Then again, Marinette didn’t always realize when people were a bit larger or more buff than they should be. Living with her dad had seriously skewed her perception of the normal size of an adult male (which, she learned when she was seven, most definitely was not almost seven feet tall and muscled enough to make a pro wrestler jealous). But she would like to think she had gotten better in that aspect, and Jason was definitely a big guy. A little over six feet tall, she thought, and though the guard outfit hid a good portion of his physique, she could tell he carried enough muscle to do serious damage if he wanted to.

With a wave, she left him to join her class and sipped at her latte. She had figured that the Bat Clan’s criteria for civilians that they would put to guard her class had to be high, but now she had to wonder just how high. Most police officers or security guards were fit, sure, but not like Jason. Casting a quick glance back at him, she confirmed that he had quite a few faded but visible scars. Again, more than your average officer even for Gotham. Who had they tasked with her class’ safety, exactly?

An elbow in her side distracted her from her thoughts, forcing her to blink and stop her cup from going back to her lips. The grin of none other than Adrien Agreste greeted her when she snapped out of her own head long enough to pay attention to her surroundings. He jerked his head to indicate that the class was already starting to move off.

“Come on, Mari or you’ll get left behind again,” he teased. She grinned back at him, rolling her eyes but falling into step beside him as they followed at the back of their class. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were gonna marry that coffee. You haven’t zoned out that badly in years,” his tone was light and cheery, but Marinette didn’t miss the concern in his emerald eyes. She sighed, gently bumping her shoulders against his in silent reassurance.

“I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep last night, that’s all. But this really is good coffee. Elixir of the gods,” then, just to provoke him, she took a giant gulp of the still steaming hot drink. Adrien grimaced in pained sympathy even though Marinette didn’t seem affected at all.

“Oww, Marineeeeeeeeeette,” he whined. “Don’t do that, my throat hurts just watching you guzzle hot coffee like that,” he complained, rubbing at his neck to make his point clear.

“Wimp,” she teased, unrepentant. Adrien just groaned dramatically.

“I’m not a wimp, you’re just concerningly used to burning your throat from the inside out,” he accused. “Anyway, how’d it go?” He was being deliberately vague, but it was obvious to her what he meant. He was only one she had told about visiting her mom, after all, just in case she needed a quick getaway.

In fact, he was the only one of her friends that she had even told about her biological parents. Alix knew too, but only because of time shenanigans. Marinette was fine with it now, but still.

“It went great,” she smiled widely at him, keeping her voice low but casual. “If I have a chance, I’ll introduce you sometime during the trip. I have a feeling you’ll love Auntie Selina, but I have to meet her first. All I have so far are stories.”

“Fair enough,” Adrien agreed easily. “But you don’t have to, you know that right? I’d love to meet your family, but I’m also fine just being your pseudo-brother like I have been up until now. I know it might be a bit… uncomfortable, for you.”

“Nah,” Marinette shrugged. “Nerve wracking, maybe. But that’s also about half the things that I do in my life period, anxiety is no joke. I’ll catastrophize for a while, but I know you’ll love them and they’ll love you.”

“Sounds like they have paw-some taste,” he didn’t even miss a beat with his puns, earning a playful glare for his efforts.

“Never mind. You’re a heathen. Disowned. Who are you?”

“Mariiiiii,” he whined, causing them both to laugh for a while before focusing on the tour.

So far, so good, Marinette thought.

—*—*—*—*—*

Part 1 Part 2

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