#anyway i can't wait for summer so i can hang out with my best friend <3 <3 <3

[whispering-kavka]

sitting by the lake for hours would fix me

[raquellemonsta]

Heyy! Since you’re taking requests, can I request a tsukishima who gets baby fever after seeing reader take care/baby sit Yamaguchi’s child, idk it sounds so sweeeeet in my head😭😭🩷 no rush though, take care!

okay, this ask is like a year old. i'm SO sorry about that. i hope you enjoy, regardless. soft kei is best kei. thank you for the wonderful request <3

wc: 1365

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

opening your eyes, you see that your car has finally made it to your destination. you and your husband of about a year are visiting a good friend of both of you, yamaguchi tadashi, at his home. speaking of your husband, you turn to see him looking at you expectantly, waiting to open his door until you're fully awake.

tsukishima kei, the man of your dreams and the love of your life. the two of you had met in university and hit it off relatively quickly. he was studying history and archaeology because he had a thing for dinosaurs (he very much still has a thing for dinosaurs), and you thought he was adorable despite his initial demeanor. the serious, jerkish persona was the most evident part of him, though after you got to know him you discovered many other facets to his personality that had you falling in love. you dated for a few years, and finally married last summer at a destination wedding attended by just your parents and chosen friends.

since then, you guys have been extremely busy finalizing information with your marriage, house, and your job. kei already had his job at the sekai city museum lined up directly out of college, but you weren't as lucky. after months of job searching and apartment hunting, everything has worked out. now you have the time to see your friends on a more regular basis again.

"ready?" he asks you. you only smile and nod at him before you open your door. walking up the steps to tadashi's front door, you aren't surprised when you knock and find the door is unlocked.

"come in guys!" you hear his friendly voice from another room, further in the house.

unfortunately, yachi is working. otherwise, your close friend would have without a doubt been waiting at the door for the two of you. she had already apologized profusely to you, via both texts and calls. you promised her you understood, not that you would ever be upset with her anyways.

kicking your outdoor shoes off and replacing them with slippers, kei takes your light jacket off of your shoulders and hangs it for you. your eyes are drawn to your beautiful husband (he 'hates' when you call him that), his face solemn though you know he's excited to see his best friend again. finally, the two of you make your way towards the direction of tadashi's voice.

"long time no see!" tadashi jokes, and you smile brightly.

"it's so nice to see you tadashi" you kindly smile. in his arms sits a little baby. "who's this little angel?" you ask. you've seen pictures of the little boy, both on social media and from tadashi and hitoka themselves. he's only a few months old, but he's grown very fast. you want to scream from how cute he looks when he randomly pops up on your feed.

"this is my son, haru", he replies. at the sound of his own name, haru opens his eyes to gaze up at his dad.

"he's so cute!" you compliment, "can i hold him?". your arms already extended before he answers, and you don't miss kei's playful scoff at your eagerness.

"excited much?" he snarks. you jokingly roll your eyes at him before you again gesture to yamaguchi.

"of course! and again, hitoka's really upset she couldn't be here. yajakudo always needs her at the most random times" he apologized. he carefully hands the baby over to you, and you make sure his head is supported. he's looking up at you with the most incredulous, wide eyes that remind you of his mother.

"it's no problem at all, that girl worries too much. now go away! have some well-deserved catchup time. haru's safe with me."

again, hearing his name makes haru look up at you and smile, two little teeth poking out already. you can't stop yourself from the audible 'aww' that comes out, coaxing him to smile even bigger.

you sit yourself down with the child on the sofa and leave the guys to talk in the attached kitchen. it's close enough for them to still see you (not that tadashi doesn't trust you, it's just his dad instincts. and kei just likes looking at you), but far enough where you can't hear them in case they discuss something more private.

your heart swells at the adorable baby's sweet (mostly) gummy smile. you can't keep the grin off your face, babbling incoherent nonsense that makes haru laugh. it's the perfect positive feedback loop of happiness. you and kei haven't really talked much about children yet, since the two of you had really only just gotten settled into your lives together. you knew you wanted them eventually, though. haru seemed to be trying to push that to sooner rather than later.

from the other room, kei is trying his best to keep himself composed. he can barely focus on whatever tadashi is telling him about, eyes instead trained on you. his beautiful wife (you love when he calls you that), looking like a natural is almost too much. he hadn't considered the two of you having children just yet, (you'd only just found an apartment after all), though seeing you right now had him rethinking everything.

"you want one?" tadashi chuckles. he'd been caught.

kei lets out a signature, unconscious 'tch', but his best friend can see right through him. finally, he tears his eyes away from you to look at his friend. he certainly doesn't catch himself looking over at you every once in a while after that.

you only get up once haru has been asleep in your arms for a few minutes. carefully handing him back to tadashi, you quietly thank him and promise to visit again soon. he bids the both of you goodbye, offering kei a wink and goofy gesture. your husband rolls his eyes at this, heading over to the car where you're already waiting.

once you're both in, he doesn't start the car. very unusual for him, since tsukishima kei typically loves getting away from social events as quickly as possible. you turn to face him, trying to gauge if something's wrong. you're sure he can feel your eyes on him, even if he's blind as a bat.

he doesn't look at you, and doesn't even break from his usual monotone:

"let's have a baby"

"WHAT?"

you're suddenly woken up in the middle of the night to loud wails coming from another room.

somewhat reluctantly, you push up onto your elbows before stepping out of bed and onto the cold hardwood floor. a chill goes up your spine from the contact, but you can still hear the shrill noise from across the hall, so you put your slippers on and make your way towards the source of the noise (neglecting to notice the other half of your bed is already empty).

the light yellow room would be almost entirely dark, if not for the bright full moon shining through the window (and the moon nightlight, too). it is now peacefully quiet, with the noise of a small fan in the corner being the only sound you can register at first.

unsurprisingly, your husband is already there, holding your baby girl close to him. kei always seems to beat you to your daughter's room. he's whispering something you can't quite hear to her. even though she's mere months old and doesn't understand the meaning behind his words, she always loves to hear his voice (something the two of you have in common). her eyes beginning to close again, your heart melts at this little life the two of you have created.

looking up to kei's face, his eyes are bright despite being woken up at 2am. your husband has never been one to broadcast his positive emotions, but you know inside he's happy. your arm finds its way around his back, and his eyes switch down to you.

"was it worth it?" you ask him lightheartedly, whispering.

kei looks out the window, at the endless expanse of sky. he's held down by the warmth of his daughter and wife, his two favorite girls in the entire world. he doesn't know how he got so lucky, but in this moment there's nowhere and no one else he'd rather be.

his mouth turns upward, genuine and true.

[tihgnari]

✮ 03. not my favorite (ღ)

tw: none / wc: 1k

"mom, no way," you beg, looking at her exasperated across the kitchen as she takes out the leftover containers. "you can't do this to me on my first day back. you will not subject me to this torture."

your mother is in her sleepwear, hair already in rollers with the korean face mask you gave her earlier already stuck on her face. she laughs at you, taking out all the leftovers from earlier's late dinner. "oh, stop being dramatic. you act as if you didn't grow up with those boys."

"but it's —"

"no buts," she cuts you off. "besides, just welcome them over. let them eat the remaining stuff, i'm sure they'll finish everything. i also heard kazuha's coming over, which is rare because it's usually always just the three boys swinging by here after their gigs to put back their stuff in the garage… so…" she drags out the last vowel of her sentence, looking at you suggestively. "maybe he's here to see you! not every day his childhood best friend comes back to town."

"mom, please —"

"they have a new guy in the band, too, by the way — well, second new guy after the other one left. his name's kuni, the poor guy moved here with his uncle when his father, his last parent, passed away two years ago and he had to stop college, can you imagine how hard that is? i wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"who even is the source of that gossip —"

"you go get ei and miko over there and just, hang out, you know? buy some drinks for all i care, i trust you. make friends, make memories, make the summer count, okay?"

at this point, she's done putting everything out of the fridge. she crams most of them in your tiny microwave, unintentionally doing what she initially asked you to do and why she pulled you out of watching a netflix movie with the gays in the living room. after you sense she's done with her little speech, you approach her, putting the remaining containers into the tiny device. your mother offers you a tight hug and a kiss goodnight, and you let her because you know she hasn't done that in a while.

your mother scurries back to her bedroom after muttering a quick "so glad my baby's back," and you finish putting the containers in rows of three on the kitchen island.

how do you say 'no' to that?

—

"YN!"

"AETHER!"

"YN!"

ALBEDO!"

you let out a delighted shriek as they tackle you in a hug, genuinely happy to see them after a few years. the van with their belongings is pulled up at the back of the house, for easy access to the garage — which, you learned from your mom, is where they've been practicing since last year after she offered it to the boys — "well, it was empty and no one was using it anyway, so why not?"

albedo and aether practically jumped out of their respective seats at the front of the van in their excitement. with their blonde locks flailing about, you're awfully reminded of golden retrievers that are happy to see their favorite person back after a long day. "so nice to see you guys again! how have you guys been? you both have gotten so handsome i can't believe you guys actually had it in you!"

"and you're still shabby yourself!" the three of you laugh as aether retaliates immediately, ever quick-witted and sharp-tongued.

"ah, well," albedo starts. "same old kids in the past, just playing smaller instruments. we finally became regulars at nowhere, so you should definitely come to our gigs sometime!"

you gasp. "no way, that's great! you guys have been waiting for a consistent gig for so long! how did you guys do it?"

"well —"

"i convinced them," a fourth voice says, butting into the conversation as you hear his boots hit the gravel and a car door shutting. "the owner adores his only daughter, and his daughter unfortunately adores me… so, it wasn't that hard to convince her, really."

you catch his innuendo and it makes you roll your eyes. "not even five seconds after seeing you again and i already remember why i hate you."

you turn around from the two boys and there he is in all his glory. kazuha laughs, pulling you in for a hug that you do not return. you keep your arms strictly across your chest as you turn your head away from him in disgust.

"oh, don't be like that to your favorite."

flabbergasted by what you hear, you look at him challengingly, the close proximity nearly catching you off guard. "you're not my favorite."

kazuha smiles.

"say that without blushing, and maybe i'll believe you."

a silence entails you both, neither one backing away from the intense eye contact until — "oh! yn, meet our new drummer, kuni!"

thank you, albedo.

you pull away from kazuha like he's a walking plague, straightening yourself to meet the guy your mother was talking about. his name sounds familiar as she often mentions him fleetingly when you text, only earlier at the kitchen did she actually take the time to introduce him and give him a proper introduction.

"hello, nice to meet you," he says. kuni's handsome, that was your first impression. from the way he carries himself, you know he's the calmer one in the band. from texts exchanged with your mom alone, you inferred he's helping your mom run the flower shop.

"i heard about you," you offer a handshake. "you help my mom run the shop, correct?"

"yeah," he takes your hand. "why, is there a problem?"

you shook your head, a small smile playing on your lips. "well, if that's the case i owe you! thanks for helping out my mom, especially when i'm not always here."

kuni slowly smiles, "it's a pleasure, really."

you usher the misguided boys back to the house to offer them something to eat after helping them put their stuff in the garage, and through all that, a certain someone's ruby red eyes can't put a finger on how his bandmate looked at you — like a spark of interest broke through that usual air of nonchalance to him.

well, that's something you don't see everyday.

BAD BLOOD » previous : masterlist : next

a genshin impact band au w select characters

summary — you thought you'd be spending summer break helping at your mom's flower shop or attending kazuha's gigs, but the last thing you expect is to be caught in the crossfire of two band vocalists who hate each other's guts with a burning passion.

note — kazuha and yn's dynamics are so fun to write lmao

🏷️ OPEN! @raidenshogunmommy @arealistonao3 @kazumiku @kur0kki @quacking-simp @rifran @deffenferofjustice @keiiqq @solelial @rvoulte @monikidk @animeobsessed56 @siluc @miy-svz @aries-afk @potteraep @cindywasneverhere @moonjellyfishie @cridtiins @yoruunight @kunihaver @meigalaxy @vyvixen @riabriyn @v4mpess @kamisstufff @pluviwinkle @sp1ng @smhpunkacademic

[rogueddie]

Fake Dating Steddie Fic Rec

Important: READ THE TAGS! Leave a comment and kudos! If I was only allowed read fake dating fics like these, I would die happy 🤞

I Like to See You in the Morning Light

BonitaBreezy

"Wait,” Eddie said, his drug-addled brain catching up suddenly. “Wait! My alibi is that I was having sex with Steve Harrington?”

After it all, Eddie Munson is left to pick up the cracked pieces of his life. Luckily, he has new friends to fall back on.

Words : 27,362 Chapters : 1/1 Rating : Teen And Up Audiences

AO3 : x

you want it straight from the heart (why can't this be love?)

emryses

Steve let out a long sigh. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your fake boyfriend, okay?”

“You could at least sound happier about it,” Robin muttered.

Words : 12,417 Chapters : 1/1 Rating : Teen And Up Audiences

AO3 : x

i’ve got you under my skin

strawberryspence

Steve Harrington has to marry Eddie Munson (also know as the Devil Incarnate), so Eddie won’t get deported back to Canada and for Steve to finally achieve his dream to be a producer.

Or: The Proposal AU Steddie Edition

Words : 49,923 Chapters : 6/6 Rating : Teen And Up Audiences

AO3 : x

Saying I love you to your best friend, and to the friend that could perhaps be something more

songsformonkeys

Ever since he discovered that he liked girls - and that, generally, girls liked him too - Steve Harrington has not spent a single Valentine's Day alone. 1987 is shaping up to be the first and that really sucks.

Eddie, fed up with listening to Steve's complaining, agrees to be his date for the day.

Words : 5,901 Chapters : 1/1 Rating : General Audiences

AO3 : x

Invitations

nbfutureboy

Steve’s being harassed about his love life, and enlists Eddie’s help over Christmas break to get Dustin off his back. All he has to do is pretend to be Steve’s boyfriend in front of all of his loved ones!

Words : 6,902 Chapters : 1/1 Rating : Teen And Up Audiences

AO3 : x

Let's Be More Than Strangers

DrowningByDegrees

It’s meant to be a one-off favor to Robin, Eddie passing himself off as her boyfriend. Robin gets to hang onto the secret of why she never so much as bats an eyelash at the guys who come into Scoops Ahoy. Eddie gets more ice cream than he knows what to do with and the opportunity to pull one over on the former King of Hawkins High. Unfortunately, it all works just a little too well, and Eddie finds himself continuing to come back.

Words : 19,592 Chapters : 2/2 Rating : Teen And Up Audiences

AO3 : x

Can we always be friends? (We've got too much love)

sparrow_in_hawkins

Steve offers to be Robin's pretend boyfriend to get the guys at school to leave her alone. She's reluctant at first, until Steve admits that he's not interested in dating girls anymore anyway.

Meanwhile, Eddie's encounters with Steve Harrington had always been brief, but he could never help being captivated by him. Naturally, he doesn't know how to react as Steve starts popping into his life more than ever--probably should do nothing, because Steve has a girlfriend. Right?

Words : 42,525 Chapters : 6/6 Rating : Mature

AO3 : x

i know what you want from me

hyxzw

After two years of getting rejected from college, and totaling nineteen of disappointing his father, Steve Harrington decides to finally reclaim his life by spending the summer kissing Eddie Munson.

Words : 86,788 Chapters : 6/6 Rating : Mature

AO3 : x

A Coat of Paint

songbvrd

Steve agrees to help Eddie paint his trailer, but isn't prepared for the bisexual crisis it sends him spiralling into.

Words : 56,334 Chapters : 13/13 Rating : Explicit

AO3 : x

Two Truths and a Lie About Steve Harrington

endzela

Steve is desperate to find a date for his high school reunion, and his best friend Eddie volunteers to pretend to be his boyfriend. What Eddie doesn't know, however, is that Steve has had a crush on him ever since they became friends in college, and although Steve is not planning on letting him find out about it now, spending a week together in the same room might make things difficult. Especially since Eddie keeps flirting with him at every chance he gets.

Words : 20,057 Chapters : 2/2 Rating : Mature

AO3 : x

[undergaunts]

Call Me Baby (Chapter 1)

Sebastian Sallow x Ominis Gaunt (Modern!AU)

Summary: The text chat logs between Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt during their 6th and 7th year at Hogwarts. (or Sebastian and Ominis can't bear to be apart for longer than 5 minutes, so spend their entire summer, winter and spring breaks texting and calling each other)

Rating: Teen & Up (this will go up in the next chapters!)

Word count: 4.1k

Recommended to read on AO3 as the layout is better but it’s also below the cut <3

SUMMER

July 2nd, 2:08pm

SBSTN hey

Ominis Good morning.

SBSTN morning ?! it’s like 2pm

Ominis I’m aware. I was joking.

SBSTN OH

LMAO

sorry im half awake

Ominis At 2 in the afternoon? What a shock!

SBSTN alright grumpy

just because u already miss me doesn’t mean u can be mean

Ominis I don’t miss you. I’m enjoying the peace and quiet.

SBSTN oh im sure

brb breakfast

2:42pm

SBSTN k back

Ominis Did you enjoy your ‘breakfast’?

SBSTN ya it was basically just toast lol

Ominis You’ll spoil your appetite for supper if you eat so late.

SBSTN I could eat more AND still eat dinner

im a growing boy!

Ominis Horizontally or vertically?

SBSTN >:(

gonna ignore that

Anne says hello

Ominis Hello Anne, how are you?

SBSTN she says shes good

she asks how u r

Ominis Well, for where I am, thank you. Missing you already! 

SBSTN HEY >:(

u just said u don’t miss me

Ominis Indeed, but I miss Anne.

SBSTN piss off

she’s laughing at me

ur both bullies

Ominis :)

SBSTN >>>:((((

ok she’s dragging me out, imma leave my phone here cos solomon said he wont buy me a new one if i lose it again lol

speak later ?

Ominis Have a nice time. Speak later.

SBSTN phone?

Ominis If you’d like.

SBSTN kewl

BYE

Ominis Goodbye.

July 6th, 10:19am

SBSTN *image*

LOOK

wait

LOL

sorry

basically we saw this like albino cat and it reminded me and anne of u

it had little beauty marks and stuff as well

u sure ur not in feldcroft?

r u an animagus and u didn’t tell me ?!

Ominis Good morning.

SBSTN MORNING

prev mssgs plz

Ominis I’m most certainly not an animagus Sebastian.

SBSTN no i was joking

ik u wld tell me :P

not the point

CAT!OMINIS

Ominis Yes, very sweet.

SBSTN u ok?

Ominis Never been better.

SBSTN :/

sure ?

Ominis Yes, thank you.

SBSTN ok

sure ur sure

Ominis Yes, Sebastian. I’m perfectly well.

SBSTN Alright

July 9th, 12:30pm

SBSTN any plans the next couple weeks then ?

Ominis Much the same. Sit in my bedroom. Ponder life. I may even dare to eat some food.

SBSTN please eat lol

i can come to little hangleton and hang out if u want me to

@ GAUNT MANOR

lol mad ur family is so rich

Ominis I couldn’t think of anything worse.

SBSTN oi

being srs, floo straight in thru ur fireplace

bam, sebby and omi party time

if i was there u might venture further than ur kitchen lol

Ominis Absolutely not. I would send you straight back.

SBSTN :(

u wound me ominis

Ominis It’s not that I don’t want to see you. I’ve heard word is to.

SBSTN huh

Ominis Apologies. Damned speech to text. I was whispering. Some of these House Elves will report anything. Oh who cares. My mother and father are returning soon. Probably within the next week.

SBSTN oh

sorry :(

Ominis No need. I will do my very best to avoid them.

SBSTN i could still come for a day

b4 they get there

might make the next 2 months a bit bearable if u c me again

well not see me but u know what i mean

1:12pm

SBSTN hello?

Ominis Apologies.

I’d like to see you, but coming here is not a good idea.

SBSTN y?

Ominis You know why.

SBSTN ya but

surely having a friend over is fine right

i am also pureblood btw

Ominis Sebastian.

SBSTN well i am lmao

ik im not rich and there is probably some muggle blood in me from like … 5 centuries ago but

im all wizard, all man B)

anyway surely they aren’t even gonna be there for a few days yet

and even if they turn up i can just

bam floo straight back home

Ominis No.

SBSTN Ominis.

Ominis Sebastian.

I’ve said no. My decision is final.

SBSTN ok :(

Ominis but thank you for caring

July 11th, 6:00pm

Ominis Bye

SBSTN WHAT

WHERE U GOING

dude what

Ominis Sorry. Speech to text is truly not understanding what I’m saying when I whisper. I’m trying to find my laptop, hold on.

SBSTN bruh u scared me

♫i wish u would step back from that ledge my friend♫

that’s probably not funny but i laughed

comedy with sebastian sallow

one night only

Ominis ok on laptop now. sorry if typing is bad

SBSTN terrible :’(

Ominis what wrong?

SBSTN LOL

when you do speech 2 text i can hear u speaking in my head but when ur typing u just sound like me

Ominis easier to tyoe this way

SBSTN hell yeah brother

Ominis don’t call me tht

SBSTN what brother?

Ominis yes

SBSTN HAHAHA

XD

would u rather sister?

Ominis …possibly

SBSTN LOOOOOL

u weird

ANYWAY

what were u trying to say to me?

Ominis o, my mothr and father have come home

SBSTN ah

my condolences

how r they?

Ominis fine

SBSTN good

and how r u ?

Ominis fine

SBSTN :/

sure?

Ominis not entirly

SBSTN do tell

Ominis don’t want to burdem you

SBSTN rolling my eyes here

theyve popped out my head

bye eyes

enjoy ur life as free balls

lol

dude tell me

Ominis apprently they had beenin paris tofind suitable pureblood fsmilies or somthing

SBSTN what does that mean?

Ominis i think they trying to marry marvlo off

SBSTN OH

Ominis yes

SBSTN i mean it’ll get him out of ur hair right?

bye bitch

Ominis hopefully. think im jus nervous that once theyr done with him theyl look to me

SBSTN oh

Ominis yes

SBSTN ok well they cant do that until ur 18 and we r 16 so i think so we got time to think of a plan

if it comes to it ill kidnap u and we’ll go live in America or something

dw about it ok?

i got u

ok?

Ominis ok

thank you seb

SBSTN np

:)

July 15th, 1:18am

Ominis Are you awake?

1:26am

Ominis Sebastian?

1:31am

Ominis Hello?

8:42am

SBSTN soz i was asleep what’s up

9:32am

Ominis Nothing, don’t worry.

July 18th, 5:51pm

SBSTN sorry for such a late message 

how’s it hanging

Ominis Have you been busy?

SBSTN we went to London with Solomon

he left us at diagon alley for hours lmao

he said he had ‘ministry matters’ but i swear he just went and got drunk lol

he STUNK of firewhiskey 

i can still smell it and hes not even in the house

Ominis Perhaps it’s his cologne? They usually have alcohol in them, I believe.

SBSTN nah

Ominis Perhaps he had drinks with someone from the ministry?

SBSTN oh good theory

maybe

it’s fine

Ominis I can’t see him taking you and Anne all the way to London just for him to drink. 

SBSTN yeh ur right

Ominis As always.

SBSTN now now dear don’t go stroking ur own ego

Ominis Don’t call me dear, Sebastian. It makes me feel like an old woman. 

SBSTN sorry

sister :)

Ominis I’d like to wring your neck.

SBSTN dont tease ;)

July 21st, 2:13am

Ominis Are you awake?

2:17am

Ominis Sebastian?

SBSTN yep yep here

Ominis Sorry.

SBSTN what’s up ?

Ominis Nothing. I apologise. Go back to sleep. 

SBSTN wanna call?

Ominis I don’t want to bother you. 

SBSTN ur not

promise

calling

SBSTN is calling Ominis

Call accepted

Call ended, 1hr 6min

3:25am

SBSTN ill ask him in the morning ok?

but i don’t see why not

Anne will be happy :)

so will I

in a macho way.

Ominis Of course. Thank you.

SBSTN :)

go sleep

Ominis I will try. 

SBSTN sweet dreams baby boy

Ominis You too.

11:12am

SBSTN HELLO

HE SAID YES

U CAN COME WHENEVER U WANT BASICALLY! 

U COULD COME TODAY

YAY

11:17am

SBSTN haha solomon said he’ll take my bed so u can bunk in with me

ik u would probably rather share with anne

but i think solomon would kill u before he let that happen lol

and she’s a kicker anyway

11:25am

SBSTN me and anne r gonna go hogsmeade and get some stuff :)

u want anything?

i will make sure to put a little chocolate frog on top of ur pillow :)

hehe

1:09pm

SBSTN ok at HM now 

got a butterbeer sirona says hi

omgs if ernie lark doesn’t shut up imma make him

lmao

1:29pm

SBSTN Ominis?

Missed call from SBSTN

2:11pm

SBSTN yo can u just send me a message to lmk ur ok?

3:03pm

SBSTN Ominis

Missed call from SBSTN

3:48pm

SBSTN om

4:19pm

SBSTN OMINIS

ITS ANNE

WHY U NO RESPOND

Missed call from SBSTN

Missed call from SBSTN

SBSTN hey we are leaving hogsmeade, i got u some stuff anyway but just worried.

6:05pm

SBSTN made an extra dinner portion in case ur coming. 

call me when ur around ok?

7:41pm

Missed call from SBSTN

SBSTN ok, im hoping ur parents just dragged u somewhere today. hope ur ok. 

10:34pm

SBSTN im gonna try to sleep. really hope you’re ok.

July 22nd, 12:06am

SBSTN ok can’t sleep. 

here if u need me

2:38am

Ominis Sorry.

Ominis is calling SBSTN

Call accepted

Call ended, 28min

3:07am

Ominis I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. 

SBSTN ITS OK

dude i only worry cos i care about u

stupid they took ur phone and laptop

ik it’s muggle technology or whatever but everyone uses them nowadays

but yeah I’d wait a couple days to ask them

don’t worry if u cant talk for a bit, but u know where to find me if u need me

alright go get ur beauty sleep

Ominis Thank you, again. I really hope to see you soon. 

SBSTN u will :)

promise :)

Ominis Goodnight Sebastian. 

SBSTN goodnight baby boy

Ominis I think I don’t mind that name

July 29th, 7:14am

Ominis Good morning :)

9:22am

SBSTN HI GORGEOUS

ur back :)

missed u

no homo

lol

Ominis I am indeed back.

SBSTN r u ok?

Ominis I am. Are you?

SBSTN now that ur back !! 

again, no homo LMAO

no but srsly r u ok? been a bit worried, ik u were gonna lay low a bit but still

Ominis I’m fine. Good, even. My father has agreed for me to come and stay in Feldcroft. However, only for the last two weeks of the Summer. 

SBSTN OKAY!

THAT STILL GOOD

:DDDDD

Anne’s gonna be so excited

Ominis It’s a shame I can’t come sooner. I think these two weeks might be the longest of my life. 

SBSTN we’ve gone longer before my dude

we’ve just gone like 4 weeks so what’s like 3 more

Ominis Very true. You are wise sometimes, Sebastian. 

SBSTN flatterer

August 3rd, 10:14am

SBSTN ur right it’s dragging

anne is making me go to gladrags with her 

i want u here so we can do manly things

like skipping rocks on the water

long walks along the beach at sunset <3

LMAO jk but srsly haha I’m bored

August 5th, 12:36pm

SBSTN 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ominis Could you not have sent more exclamation points?

SBSTN srry

Ominis It’s almost like you aren’t excited. 

SBSTN ill do better next time

Ominis I’m rather offended, actually. 

SBSTN :(

Ominis :)

SBSTN :D

August 12th, 2:47pm

Ominis One week, I believe. 

SBSTN UR RIGHT 

I’m dancing

u can’t see me rn but i am

Ominis I can’t see at all. 

SBSTN dude.

Ominis I saw the opportunity and I took it. 

SBSTN u didn’t see anything

cos ur blind

Ominis Haha. Very funny. 

SBSTN :D

1 WEEk!

August 18th, 6:04pm

SBSTN SO WHAT TIME U COMING

ill walk over and meet u

r ur house elves gonna bring ur school stuff later?

cos there’s not a lot of room here haha

but it’s cool if u need 2 :)

come at like just after midnight haha technically counts

ill wait up

Ominis I’ll probably come around midday, if that’s acceptable. I will have to speak to my father before leaving, I suppose. I am looking forward to seeing you. Very much.

SBSTN me too :)

we’ll have lunch and then maybe we can go exploring or something

there’s an empty cave down by the water that has all these old stones and bricks with weird patterns on them i think you’ll like

like they feel all weird 

good hand feel

oh and the Ominis cat is back so you two will have to meet !

Ominis I cant wait. 

SBSTN me neither

August 19th, 12:05pm

Ominis I’ll be on my way soon. 

SBSTN just helping Anne finish the pie then ill head over :)

Ominis Are you covered in flour by any chance?

SBSTN u kno it baby

im a messy boy ;)

Ominis Looking forward to seeing you like that oh that doesn't make sense

At least look presentable for your guest.

SBSTN but u can’t see me?

lol

will do, dw

12:21pm

SBSTN ok heading over now

Ominis And I am just leaving.

SBSTN c u soon <3

Ominis

<3

WINTER

December 20th, 9:24am

SBSTN changed their display name to xmaSeb

xmaSeb i have ur tie

found it in my bag

idk why i bought it home lol

gonna wear it like a bandana

Ominis How do you know it’s mine?

xmaSeb its got a little og on the inside

Ominis What is an og?

Oh. My initials.

xmaSeb i wrote it in all ur ties so they don’t get lost or someone else steals then

Ominis How sweet

Why didn’t you tell me this before?

Would it matter, as long as I had enough ties?

xmaSeb no

i guess not

i just like the house elves to know whose is whose

Ominis Well, thank you. I’ll collect it in a few days. 

xmaSeb :)

how r the gaunts

Ominis I don’t think you want to know.

xmaSeb probably not

tell me anyway

Ominis Cruel, vicious, muggle-hating? I think about that covers it. 

xmaSeb ah

so not much has changed

Ominis Of course not. 

xmaSeb at least it’s only like what a week?

Ominis 4 days, 5 if you count the day it took to travel.

xmaSeb remind me why they wanted you to come back so bad ? 

Ominis The family of the witch that Marvolo is supposed to be marrying are visiting tomorrow. 

xmaSeb right

Ominis So I had to be in attendance to prove we are a worthy family, stronger together. Always in Power and whatnot. 

xmaSeb right

Ominis So now I’m stuck here listening to my father rant about blood purity when all I want to do is to be with you. 

And Anne.

Even Solomon. 

xmaSeb lol

sure he’d be chuffed

Ominis I’d take 100 Solomon’s over one of my fathers. 

xmaSeb how many mes would u take

Ominis 0

xmaSeb oh

</3

xmaSeb devastated :(

Ominis You know I jest. 

xmaSeb :D

Ominis Excuse me. Apparently after breakfast I’m being taken for a suit fitting. I seem to have outgrown last years’ already. I’ll speak to you later. 

xmaSeb nice

send pics

xmaSeb ;)

Ominis You know I won't do that. 

xmaSeb :(

no fair 

speak later?

Ominis Call?

xmaSeb anything 4 u baby boy

5:36pm

Ominis *image*

I’m not sure if I even got a picture. But I’m sending this anyway. 

xmaSeb damn

u so fine

lol wear that at school and the girls will be all over u trust me

:)))

Ominis I don’t want

Do you really think

Thank you.

December 22nd, 12:32am

Ominis Thnk Merlin thts over

dmn key stuck

does  work?

        .

a a a 

xmaSeb mine a works a just a fine a

Ominis on my laptop stupid

xmaSeb phone?

Ominis dead

xmaSeb charge

electric spell mate tht wht i do

Ominis fool

guests

loud

xmaSeb O YE

im 2 pretty 2 think

anyway how was it

Ominis horrid

apprently marv was makin bedrom eyes at her

thts wat my sister said

xmaSeb LMAO

was she pretty

do you kno

Ominis sis said she looked a bit like a horse

xmaSeb HORSE?

like NEIGH?

Ominis quote ‘very long face with very long nose, lovely mane thoug’

xmaSeb why does he want to screw her then

Ominis pureblood

xmaSeb don’t need to say anymore lol

how was it tho

Ominis painful

spent the whole night trying to remmber french 

which i def butchered

and they kept grabbjng my chin to look at me and commenting about my eyes

but I coulndt hear them coming

xmaSeb LOL

so when u gonna speak to me in French?

ik some french 

bonjour mon petit croissant

but yeh that sounds sucky dude

why r they all so weird

its a wonder u turned out so perfect ;)

Ominis not

xmaSeb yes

perfect baby boy :)

Ominis no

xmaSeb yes :)

Ominis no

xmaSeb YES

stop arguing

Ominis fine

xmaSeb i win!

only 2 days now 

Ominis indeed

xmaSeb then u get to see ur bestest friend in the whole world!

Ominis anne

xmaSeb me!

oh

Ominis joke

xmaSeb im gonna sleep now v tired

Ominis talk tomorrw?

xmaSeb don’t even need to ask <3

December 24th, 10:43am

xmaSeb good morrow sire 

ur carriage awaits

(me, waiting for u to carry ur bag back home)

Ominis I shan’t be long. See you shortly.

December 25th, 4:52am

xmaSeb meryy chrismtas omii i lvoeu 

oh ur ruyght there

I stikl lovu

even if i dnttell u

SPRING

March 25th, 10:14am

xmaSeb changed their display name to seabass

seabass haha just seen those last messages

Ominis You love me?

Were you drunk? 

seabass noooooooo

tht just shows how drunk u were if u dont remember me being drunk

Ominis I was drunk too?

seabass we were all drunk baby

Ominis Merlin. 

How do I not remember this?

seabass dont tell me u don’t remember our passionate night together as well?!

Ominis What

What

Sorry, what?

What?

seabass wow

broken hearted

was this why we never discussed it?

Ominis I’m sorry, I really don’t remember, Sebastian. Why didn’t you mention this sooner?

seabass sigh

it was so amazing, so passionate

don’t think i could get u to stop talking about potions for a good hour

how much u HATE it

so much passion in ur heart!!!

Ominis I thought you meant

Oh, haha, very funny Sebastian. I was scared for a moment there. 

seabass what of lol

trust if we ever were passionate we would both remember VERY clearly ;)

Ominis Enough joking around. 

seabass never

but fine i’ll stop FOR NOW

how’s oui oui paris

(read tht with the french accent on paris so it rhymes plz)

Ominis Horrid. For the most part, I’ve managed to keep to myself, but this damned family might end up killing me. 

seabass which one lol

gaunts or delacar

or however u spell it

Ominis Delacroix. I just had to spell that out, this phone is really poor at spelling. 

Truthfully, it’s going to be one or the other. Marvolo is all over this Rosalié like a ravenous mongrel. Eleven year age gap, mind you. Their only topic of conversation seems to be about hating muggles in broken French and English. 

seabass the horse girl

oh so she’s like only a bit older than us?

Ominis Precisely. Only just finished Beauxbatons last year, apparently. She also has a younger sister, who is very timid, unlike the rest of her family, but I’m certain my mother and father are already hatching the egregious plan to marry us when she comes of age. 

seabass shit

i had to look up egregious lol

how old?

Ominis Eleven, I believe. Starting Beauxbatons in the Autumn if I understood her mother correctly. 

seabass oh gross

yuck

but that does give us time to hatch a plan and run away

Ominis I could very well be wrong, but I have sat next to her at every dinner we’ve had together so far. It would certainly not surprise me. 

seabass im so sorry baby

Ominis I’m here for another few days, then back home. I think I may not survive these two weeks. 

seabass plz survive

i wouldn’t be able to go on

itll all be ok, dw :)

Ominis Do you promise?

seabass on my life

March 30th, 8:27pm

Ominis Home now. 

seabass welcome back to to the British Isles

enjoy your tea and scones

me ol mucker

Ominis What on Earth are you on about now?

seabass haha

there’s this american muggle show thing and one of them is trying to do an English accent and its soooo bad

me and anne were watching it and couldn’t stop laughing

ill send a video hold on

u don’t have to see it just listen hold on

*video*

8:35pm

Ominis What did I just hear?

seabass HAHAHAH

absolute shambles

Ominis I think my ears may be bleeding.

seabass nooo don’t lose your hearing ur so sexy aha

Ominis Excuse me?

seabass meme

Ominis Clearly. If I did lose my hearing at least I wouldn’t have to hear you speak again. 

seabass if u lost ur ears how would i even communicate with u? 

:(

Ominis No communication with you? Sounds like a dream come true. 

seabass yeah but if we couldn’t talk at all i wouldn’t be able to do this

seabass is calling Ominis

Call accepted

Call ended, 2hr 3min

10:51pm

seabass <3333

Ominis Goodnight Sebastian.

seabass sleep well lovely <3

Ominis And you. 

<3

April 3rd, 11:36am

seabass good morning angelface 

Ominis Angel face. That’s a new one. 

seabass do u like

Ominis It’s not something I’ve heard before. 

seabass so u DO like it

Ominis Hang on, I never said that.

seabass what do u prefer, sister or angelface

remember that hahaha

Ominis I do remember. It was only a joke. 

seabass ikkkkk

k of all the names I call u what do u prefer

angelface

baby

baby boy

gorgeous

lovely

perfect

or dumbass motherfucker

Ominis You’ve never called me that last one. I dare not repeat it. 

seabass not to your face >:)

Ominis Really? Then to who?

seabass just in my head

to myself

whenever i look @ u

Ominis You are an idiot, Sebastian Sallow.

seabass i think my fave ones r baby boy and perfect because that’s what u r :)

Ominis I honestly can’t tell if you’re flirting

I’m really getting mixed signals

I think you’re more perfect

Such a charmer. 

I think I just prefer my name. 

seabass ahhh no fun :(

i only give u these pet names because ily :(

Ominis What?

Sorry

In what way

I love you too, I have for

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck oh stupid phone stop listening to me I’m not trying to

11:52am

seabass sorry was that weird haha

ur just my best friend and stuff

sorry

Ominis Oh, of course

Oh

I thought you meant

Idiot

Don’t

Don’t apologise, if I’m honest I don’t mind the names. It’s certainly better than some of the things I’ve been called. Haha. 

Ominis And I L Y too. 

So much

seabass :D

<3

i shall continue to give you cute little names then

Ominis Alright. Don’t expect any from me though. 

Sweetheart. 

seabass YES

hahaha

seabass changed their display name to sweetheart

sweetheart look

i changed mine

mine display name 

change urs baby boy

Ominis What?

Oh, I’ve just heard it. Really?

sweetheart CHANGE UR NAME SO WE MATCH!!!!!

Ominis changed their display name to Baby Boy

Baby Boy Did that work?

sweetheart YEA

haha

this is dumb

still love it tho

NEW MESSAGE

From Natty<3 to sweetheart

April 3rd, 11:55am

Natty<3 It's happened! Congratulations guys <3

NEW MESSAGE

From QUIDDITCHQUEEN to sweetheart

April 3rd, 11:56am

QUIDDITCHQUEEN So you finally got your shit together then?

NEW MESSAGE

From pops to sweetheart

April 3rd, 11:56am

pops just saw yours and Ominis’ names! :)

very sweet :)

happy for you both :)

NEW MESSAGE

From Gazza to sweetheart

April 3rd, 11:57am

Gazza always knew you two would get it on haha

NEW MESSAGE

From LEANDER1 to sweetheart

April 3rd, 11:57am

LEANDER1 r u an gaunt gay or smth wots wiv the names

not judging idc

April 3rd, 11:58am

sweetheart we can change it back lol

Baby Boy Why?

I thought you loved it

sweetheart idk

im gonna

sweetheart changed their display name to sebastian

sebastian leave urs then

Baby Boy OK.

sebastian k

gtg c u friday 

Baby Boy  Is everything ok?

Baby Boy changed their display name to Ominis

Ominis Ok, goodbye then.

Love you.

April 4th, 12:07am

Ominis Sebastian?

12:19am

Ominis Are you there?

12:28 am

Missed call from Ominis

12:32am

Missed call from Ominis

12:40am

Ominis is calling sebastian

Call declined

[calmasyoghurt]

Back for day 2 of joker out pride project. Before this chapter begins I want to do an extra disclaimer. I’m writing Kris as trans (ftm) in this fic. But Kris doesn’t know that yet. Kris won’t know until day 7 or something. I’m not ftm, so if I write something that would not happen, then please let me know how I can change it.

Anyways, chapter 2 below and on my ao3.

June 2nd, promt 4. Queer people exist?

Kris is not like the other girls in her class. Kris wears shorts instead of skirts in the summer. She plays football and tag instead of family and restaurant during recess. She plays guitar instead of clarinet, flute, or piano. Kris doesn't want to be like the other girls. One time she asked her mum if she could cut her hair short like a boy. When she arrived at school the next day, the other girls started calling her a boy, and secretly it made her happy. She's always liked being called a boy. Not that she is one, of course she isn't.

But one of those people that thinks she's a boy stands out. Kris is 13, and is doing everything to hide the fact that her breasts started growing last year. When she enters her guitar teachers classroom, there's a boy sitting in one of the chairs with a guitar in his lap. Kris looks at the clock on the wall. She is five minutes early, but the class before hers should have ended ten minutes ago. So who is this boy, and what is he doing here? As if on queue, the boy starts speaking.

“Hey, I'm Jan. Apparently I'm here because we would sound good playing together or something”.

The teacher enters the room just as this Jan guy finishes his sentence. He, their teacher, says he would like to hear them play together just this once. When they do, it sounds amazing, and it's decided they'll have joint lessons from now on.

When the lesson is done Jan tries to start a conversation.

“Kris, huh? Is that short for anything? Let me guess, Kristoffer?”

Kris is sure he's joking because sure, she hasn't said that much during the lesson, but he must have heard she doesn't have a guy's voice.

“Uhm, no. It’s short for, well, Kristina” Kris answers.

“Huh. You sure?” Jan says and the confusion must be visible on Kris' face because then he says “Never mind. My bus doesn't leave for another hour, I'll buy you tea at the café”.

When, 15 minutes later, they're sitting at a café table with a mug each, Kris can't help to wonder if Jan has thought this as some kind of date. She hopes he hasn’t. But, once again, it's as if Jan can read Kris' mind, because not even a minute later, he starts speaking again.

“This isn't a date or anything, right? Like, we're just hanging out? As friends?” and Kris can see a bit of relief in Jan's face when she agrees with him. ”Good. To be honest, I did think you were a bit cute, but then you said you're a girl, and well… I'm gay, so that wouldn't have worked”. It takes Kris a moment to really hear what he's said. But then she starts blurting things out.

“Wait, you're gay? Wow, I would have never guessed. I mean, it's not really something you can tell, is it? But like… Okay, yeah, cool”. Kris can feel her cheeks heating up but luckily Jan only chuckles a bit.

“How… how did you know?” Kris then asks nervously.

“I don't know. Had a crush on my best friend. Did not have a crush on the prettiest girl in the school. Stuff like that”, Jan answers. Kris needs wants to know one more thing.

“But like, what if I had a crush on my friend, who's a guy, and then a while later, I maybe have a crush on the prettiest girl too? What does that mean?”. It's the first time Kris admits that her feelings towards Anja last year were anything but friendly.

“Maybe you're bi, dude. It means you like both”, Jan answers.

When Kris gets home a while later, there is so much to think about. That casual ‘dude’ that Jan had used, bisexuality, and the existence of young gay people. It's going to take a while to get used to things.

[tarotoftheendless]

Forever Waiting: Waiting for Forever 0.5 - Chapter Three

Forever Waiting

Summary:

Willie can't sleep. Sneaks out, goes to town to go to the gig Jules invited him to. What he sees, hears and feels is not something he was prepared for, or even fully understands. Warnings/Tags:

Overall horniness, N S F W. Minors scram. Alcohol consumption. Kink. Fem Domming. Thirsty thoughts. Angst.

Thank you once again to @thoughtsfromlayla for beta-ing, editing and helping with the format. And thank you to @dragon-kazansky for beta-ing and making the Chapter Cards. I love you both so much!

MASTER LIST/FIRST/PREVIOUS/NEXT

Chapter Three: Bitter Sweet Symphony

October 3rd, 2008

Taft, Pennsylvania

10:07pm

Willie’s POV

Sleep is eluding me as I shift onto my side for the fourth time in a row. Joey and Dee had suggested I go to bed early to try to relax, but I am too wired to do so. Today did not go as planned.

Turning on my other side again, my eyes catch sight of the digital clock on the bedside table. Groaning, I throw off my covers. It's still too warm in the evenings for covers anyway.

Playing with the silver chain around my neck nervously, my mind races over what my brother told me. He has never understood me and that has always been a source of disconnect between us. Joey and Jules felt more like siblings to me than Jimbo. At least what I thought siblings should be like.

Watching Jules today with Joey and their playful banter made me both envious for that kind of connection but also a pang of guilt. I had been the one to never reach back out to Jules directly. 

After what she said about Emma back on that fateful summer, it felt like my throat had closed up and a wall went up when it came to her. Jules was always so hesitant to share her feelings on things after her and Joey’s mother died, before that she had been so passionate. I almost thought a piece of her died that day, and it was a feeling I could relate to.

Deciding that sleep was not going to come any time soon, I sit up in the bed, running my hand through my hair. Fidgeting for a moment with my leather bracelets around my wrists, my mind is made up. I will go to Jules’ gig. A distraction from my brother’s cruel words and my terror from earlier outside of Emma’s is much needed right now.

Getting out of bed, I try not to hit my head on the very low glass antique flower hanging light. I grab my red and black plaid hoodie out of my duffle and slip on my high-tops, and quickly tie them.

I make sure I have my essentials on me, and then quietly open my door that leads into the hall. Not wanting to disturb the rest of the house, I make the decision to go down to the basement. 

It has been years since I have been in Jules’ room. My heart-rate picks up as I turn the doorknob to her room. Maybe she wouldn’t want me in her space when she is not around. Then I think about how she did invite me to her gig, about how I am already late and that I really don’t want to wake the house by going out the front door.

Warm light glows as I open the door. Her room was always so cozy and inviting and that hasn’t changed. The sweet smell of incense fills my nose and with it flooding memories. Immediately my gaze goes to the column of wall that has polaroids all over it. 

Stepping towards it, I squat down to see if she kept that picture of us. My breath hitches as I find it and underneath it reads: WD + JS = BFF. We were so young, our smiles goofy. We had been cuddling on a beanbag on the floor, just talking when she had wanted to take a picture of us. 

“Would you look at that, she kept it. Even after everything, she kept it. Can you believe that?” I breathe out, knowing they are watching me.

I can’t help but smile at the memory. Joey is my best friend, but Jules always seemed to get me. I always felt seen and heard when it came to Jules. Until that day at the creek. When she hadn’t wanted to talk about Emma anymore that day I had felt a piece of my heart break. Jules had never spoken to me like that before.

Sighing, I stand up fully again and make my way to the side door that leads outside. Briefly my eyes catch that she has the beanbags still, right behind her drum set. That brings a smile back to my face as I open the door, the cool October air gently brushing against my face.

As I begin my walk downtown, my thoughts are filled with a growing panic on how I am going to finally approach Emma. 

Will she remember me? Will she return my affections? Even when I had seen Emma in L.A. when I was performing in the park, I had to keep my breathing under control. Fear gripped me today and I worry that Emma will think the same things about me like my brother does. 

Am I crazy? Maybe something is wrong with me. I feel normal, though. People like me when they met me, I always am able to make kids smile and laugh. And then there was Joey, Dee and Jules. I know they love me and support me, they always have. They are safe. I feel safe with them.

My mouth turns downward as I remember the summer of 1999, the summer their mother passed. Jules was different, Joey was trying not to be, I could tell. I once caught him crying in his room, and without a word I walked in and pulled him into a hug. Having lost both my parents, there was a deep understanding I had for how Joey felt. He was quieter about it, but Jules had been angry. Her dad and her fought a lot that summer. They tried not to do it in front of me, but I heard some of what was said. One fight ended right after her dad called her by her mom’s name. It had confused me and yet also made tears threaten to fall from my eyes. I didn’t understand what had happened or why Jules had stormed off after that, but I knew something was not right about that.

I pull the hood of my jacket up to cover my ears from the gentle breeze that began to tickle at my ears. It is entirely possible that I should have thought about getting some earplugs as I am realizing that as quiet of a nice night it is outside in my little hometown, going to a bar with loud music might be a bit jarring. Grimacing at the thought of sticking my fingers in my ears once I get in the venue, it begins to register in my brain that might appear to be rude to not only the other pub patrons but also Jules and her band. Insulting her and her music is not something I want to do right after we have seemingly patched things up.

Passing by the bank my brother works at, I see my reflection in the dark front window, the light of a streetlamp illuminating behind me. Trying to fix my seemingly both stunned and blank expression on my face, I pull my hood down and tousle my hair a bit. 

Not that I am looking to be noticed by anyone, the one person I would want to notice me isn’t going to be here, but I do at least want to appear to be desirable. Then again, no one has ever told me they have found me attractive, so what do I know? My hope is that once I reconnect with Emma that she will like what she sees. Then I can finally have the happily ever after I have always wanted to have with her.

Working up the courage to leave the very quiet downtown main street, I move forward once again towards the muffled sounds of music and talking. My fingers grasp the pub’s steel door handle, slowly, I open the door and I am met with the sounds of loud music and many people conversing over various kinds of alcoholic beverages.

The pub isn’t very big, the lighting is low and moody, and tonight it is packed and it isn’t hard to see why. On the back wall of this establishment is a stage with lights above it flashing between many colors, and there she is. 

Jules is on that stage, electric guitar in hand, singing, almost growling into the mic. She is mesmerizing, almost to the point where I don’t hear the bouncer in front of me asking to see my ID. 

Heat rises to my cheeks in embarrassment as I fish my ID out of the pocket of my hoodie. The bouncer takes it from me, looks at it and then back at me, cocks an eyebrow at me that makes me nervous for some reason, but then hands it back.

“She said you might be here, Mr. Donner, please enjoy the show,” says the bouncer as he gestures towards the rest of the space behind him.

Dipping my head down in a small nod, I stride past him, fumbling to put my ID back into my hoodie pocket. There are people everywhere, and my chest starts to tighten, like it had earlier outside of Emma’s house. I want to watch Jules and her melodic singing is like a siren's call, but I need to find a spot that is easier to breathe. 

Luckily, I spot an empty stool at the bar when a very ruggedly handsome bartender is mixing drinks. Scooting onto the stool, I shift the seat around so I can watch Jules fully. As my eyes adjust to the lighting and focus past the sea of people, what I see takes my breath away.

Never have I ever seen Jules be the way she is right now on that stage. She is playing her guitar, owning the stage, singing with her bassist while her keyboardist and drummer accompany them in the symphony of sound. The music is harder and more intense than I usually listen to myself, but I like it. It has a nice beat, making my foot bounce in time with the rhythm.

Jules is almost dancing on stage as she sings, her lace-up boots on her fish-netted legs catching in the flashing green, blue then red lights. My eyes travel up and I see the tattoo she alluded to; a worm in black ink with bat-like wings and a bulbous head. Her skirt is short and slitted in a way that has me feeling that maybe I shouldn’t be staring. Moving on from that, my breath catches when I notice the tattoo on her chest; a black inked sun with a face right above her heart. 

Confusion settles in me, so much so that I know I can’t hide it from my face. Why would she get a sun tattoo above her heart? Hadn’t Joey always said that I was… and then she was…? Not being able to keep up with her movements on the stage, my eyes then focus on what seems to be dark bruises on her chest, disappearing into her top. A wave of concern for her hits me. Something about that does not feel right. I have no idea what it means, but I feel an emotion bubble in me that doesn’t usually surface; anger. Not at her, but at whoever caused those bruises.

“This cover is so good!” I hear a girl standing off to my left shouts to her friend over the sound of the music. Her friend nods in agreement, bouncing in place on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Smiling, I can’t help but agree. Jules’ very metal synthy cover of ‘You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record)’ is exceptional. She amazes me, going from singing with her shorter bandmate with the eyebrow piercing and long black hair, to going into a guitar solo to round out the song. It’s no wonder people are dancing. The way her music makes me feel, I want to dance too, but I stay seated on my stool, bouncing my leg to the beat.

She is gorgeous, her teased purple hair flowing around her with each movement she makes. Sweat is clearly beading down her forehead, down her neck and back on to her chest. Despite the confusion of her tattoo and the anger of her bruises, I can’t help but feel a pull of desire when gazing at her. Which brings with it a whole other confusion; Emma.

I love Emma. She has been the girl I have loved since that fateful day, even before that. She had reminded me that my parents would always be there, that they would always love me. Emma had touched my heart when I needed it most. Wasn’t that enough?

Watching Jules finish out the song with a certain flare, it’s almost as if time stopped. Though I was in the back of the bar, her eyes somehow found mine. Surprise paints her facial features, but she swiftly recovers. Winking at me, which makes me blush, her attention quickly moves to the audience.

Letting her guitar hang low from the strap on her shoulder, she grabs the standing mic, bringing her lips to it.

“I hear there’s a 21st birthday going on tonight! Where’s the birthday girl?!” Jules says into the mic, a certain husky sound to her voice that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. 

There was a squeal in the crowd near the front by the stage of a girl, who is bouncing up and down, making her way up to the stage in front of Jules. The crowd is cheering on the girl.

The girl is pretty, blonde and in a pink short dress and silver heels that looked painful to wear. “Me! Me! Me! That’d be me!” She shouts with her hands in the air and a spotlight is aimed at her from above as she gets right in front of the stage.

Jules lifts the strap of her guitar over her head, handing it to her bassist, who takes it with an almost knowing smirk on her face. Grabbing the mic out of its stand, Jules kneels down on the stage to get closer to this girl, an almost very flirtatious smile on her face. I blush as I realize that I have seen that smile before and it stuns me.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” Jules says into the mic before holding it out for the girl.

“Victoria! My name is Victoria! O! M! G! You are so hot!” The girl, Victoria, expresses with an emotion I can’t place in her voice.

A very low laugh leaves Jules’ lips that makes a strange heat start in my cheeks, it goes down through my chest and settles between my legs. As I feel a dull throb and twitch, I shift uncomfortably on the stool. What is happening right now? This is Jules. Joey’s twin, my best friend. Guilt starts to set in as my mouth begins to salivate in a way I can’t control.

Watching Jules lean down closer towards this Victoria has me on the edge of my seat.

Speaking into the mic, Jules says, “Well, Victoria, we have a bit of a birthday tradition we would love to do with you if you are willing.”

Victoria nods eagerly, her fingers gripping the edge of the stage. 

The next couple minutes happen both in slow motion and so quickly. Jules has Victoria brought on stage with her and the band. Someone, one of the bartenders I presume, brings up a can of beer, handing it to Jules. Victoria is a giddy ball of energy on stage standing next to Jules to the point where I am almost jealous. I wish I was closer.

The crowd is watching intently, chattering among themselves as they are eager to see the tradition Jules mentioned earlier. Bringing the mic to her lips again, Jules speaks in a low voice that has me feeling goosebumps forming on my arms under my jacket.

“Well, Victoria, baby girl, I need you on your knees,” Jules croons as she makes eye contact with Victoria. The crowd all seems to hold its breath as they watch Victoria do just that. I also feel as though I can’t breathe, and I have to put my hands over my lap so as to not appear indecent in public. Not being able to control my body is not something I enjoy. First over at Emma’s earlier and now this, but a very different lack of control, has me feeling very confused and uncomfortable.

Jules skillfully opens the can of beer with one hand as she holds the mic with the other. “Now, princess, I need you to open wide, and not spill a drop, can you do that for me?” Jules' voice holds promises of sin and chaos, a seductive combination.

Nodding, Victoria opens her mouth wide and lets her tongue hang out of her mouth. My eyes go wide as that is the longest tongue I have ever seen anyone have. Chuckling, Jules decides to comment on it, “Fuck, baby girl, your girlfriend is one lucky girl indeed!” 

Somewhere in the crowd a feminine voice shouts back, “Damn right I am!”

Victoria keeps doing what she is doing, but the stage lights pick up on the pink shade that her cheeks. Jules laughing at the woman’s comment finally makes something click in my head and now I am blushing. My hands push down more firmly down on my pajamas clad lap, both feeling that pleasure shooting through my body and just utter embarrassment. This kind of thing never is on my mind, not even with Emma, so why is Jules making me feel like this? She’s my friend. Just my friend.

Addressing the audience, Jules starts to tip the beer towards Victoria but doesn’t quite tip it fully to start dripping into her waiting mouth. “Should I give it to her? Has she been a good girl?”

The whole crowd, and I as well, shout in response, “Yes!” My voice felt rough as I said it though, almost as if I had swallowed pins and needles.

Turning her full attention towards Victoria, Jules finally tips the beer so a small trickle starts to drip onto her tongue. Victoria eagerly takes it, her hands reaching up to grab onto Jules thighs. Stopping the stream of beer, Jules tisks her. “Now, now, now, hands down princess, I want you to take it all hands free. Can you do that for me?”

Victoria nods again, opening her mouth wider. I feel my own mouth fall open as if mimicking what I am seeing, almost wishing it was me up there instead. Jules tips the can even further this time causing a fuller stream to begin to pour onto Victoria tongue.

“That’s right princess, take it all, drink down real good for me! Oh yeah! That’s right, you’re such a good girl, aren’t you? You are taking it so good for me, oh baby!” Jules praises Victoria as she brings the beer closer to her lips. 

I am so glad no one is paying attention to me right now as I am having a hard time hiding how this is all affecting me. The crowd is cheering them on, in awe of the pure sexual energy that is happening before their eyes.

Tilting the beer up further, she is now making Victoria gulp it down hungrily. “Oh yeah, princess, you’re almost done! That’s right, take it all for me. Oh yeah, be mommy’s little slut, every last drop! Good girl!”

With that Victoria finishes the drink with Jules moaning praise and encouragement. I have to bite my own lip to stop my body reacting more than it already has. I feel out of breath and my hands are struggling to hide what would be very tented pajamas.

Jules looks down at Victoria with an expression of endearment that makes me feel like melting. “Happy birthday, princess. You did such a good job for me.” Jules hands the empty can to her bassist and the crowd is in an uproar, toasting to the stage and taking drinks of their own alcoholic beverages.

In a giddy mess, Victoria gets up from her kneeling position with help from Jules as she takes her hand. Jules whispers something to Victoria which makes her giggle, kiss her cheek. She then skips towards the steps to get down off the stage, and is in the arms of what I would assume is her girlfriend. They kiss passionately and I blush.

Bringing the mic back to her lips, Jules says, “You all enjoying the show?”

The crowd responds with clapping and whistles. I tried to vocally join the revelry but all that came out was a whimper. Heat rises to my cheeks again, though I am not sure it ever left, making me so glad that it is so loud in here that no one hears me.

“We’re gonna take five, get all lubricated for you again, so don’t y’all go anywhere!” Jules announces as she puts the mic back on the mic stand, and begins to walk to get off the stage. Her bandmates all make sure their instruments are secured before following after her.

My chest tightens as I realize she is headed this way, to get drinks from one of the bartenders. My situation hasn’t changed either. Keeping one hand covering my lap, I swivel on my stool, getting the attention of the male bartender.

“Can I get some water please?” I ask, still with an airy sound to my voice. The bartender nods, and grabs a glass, filling it with ice. He grasps a nozzle and pushes a button on it, filling it with water. Sliding it to me, I take it and drink it down quickly, some water dribbling out of the corner of my mouth onto my stubbled chin.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, buddy. Jules really is something, isn’t she, eh?” The bartender says to me with a smirk on his face.

Rapidly I nod my head as I finish the water and hand the glass back to him, which he fills again. He chuckles when he hands me it filled again, watching me start to drink that too. I feel my current situation start to go away as the cold water calms me down.

The moment I feel myself start to relax, I hear her voice almost directly next to me, and my back tenses.

“Yo, Dean, babes, shots of Tequila!” Jules says as she slaps the bar counter, The bartender that had spoken to me looked in Jules direction, his smirk widening. Dean turns around to grab a bottle from the medium shelf of the liquor shelf, getting her order taken care of.

She hasn’t noticed me yet, and I dare to look at her. She is barely covered, and yet she is sweating. The very sight of drops of moisture dripping down her forehead makes me feel that very confusing feeling again. 

She is playing with her purple hair absentmindedly as she waits for the shots, still not seeing me, humming to the music the DJ decided to put on during her bands’ break. 

I take a sip of my water again, hoping the cool water will help dampen whatever feeling is coursing through me. Trying to think of Emma instead, I close my eyes, and my breathing evens out, my heartbeat slowing to normal. 

My hope is that when she does notice me that I won’t embarrass myself in front of her. Not only is she making me feel things that are confusing, but she is so much cooler than I ever knew. 

Talented, that’s what she is.

I knew she was cool before and I knew she had talent, but like this? Insecurity in my own abilities started to sink in. She was the one that taught me to juggle the summer before 5th grade, I owe everything to Jules with how I make a living. Do I even measure up to her in our friendship?

MASTER LIST/FIRST/PREVIOUS/NEXT

[qprsmackdown]

IRL/OC Bracket FINAL: C & G vs Michael and Mantis!

C & G propaganda:

Ok so these next few paragraphs are copy pasted from what I wrote on queering the map. Hope it makes you cry :) (Entries were written around mid-2020, with the last being written in 2023)

My school had a field trip to this park, my best friend and I found a quiet spot under some trees. I set up the blanket/mat I had brought, she propped up an umbrella. We laid down beside each other face-to-face. That was the first time I ever felt tempted to kiss someone. To this day I consider it as one of my gayest moments (right next to asking her out and later on asking her to be my qpp on a ferris wheel XD)

November(?) 2017 - We were talking about your maybe-crush on a friend when you mentioned that you used to have a crush on me. I confessed about my past crush on you too and started flirting with you. "Have you moved on from her? Will you be my girlfriend? We don't have to put a label on it or anything yet we can just-" "Yes" We dated for a month (full of silly puns and cheek kisses and gifts from Japan) before we broke up (can you blame us? we were twelve and our dads found out) but you're still my very best friend. I love you G - C

February 2020 - Day of the school fair, I had everything planned for a perfect day for you and me... until you brought along a classmate who had no one to hang out with and you were too kind to say no. We went on all of the rides, the three of us, and you mentioned how you have always wanted someone to dedicate a song to you at the song booth. I went out to reserve one, and then I stayed with you until both of you had to leave for your shifts. That's when I put my plan into action. I reserved a sunflower at the Lovebooth (I knew you liked sunflowers because of a certain character (the roses were way too romantic anyways)) and when you came back we got into line at the Ferris wheel with our other friends. While waiting my dedicated song finally played, and you turned to me with nearly the happiest smile I've ever saw on you. When we were getting closer I went to get my reserved sunflower, but the line was slow so I ended up asking my aunt to hold it for me. When the line was nearly there I got it back from her and our other friends helped me to hide it (Your sister wanted to ride with us but I told her my plan and she changed her mind). You got on and as you turned to face me I held out your sunflower. When we got to the top of the Ferris Wheel I asked what I had been planning to ask you for a week. "I don't know much about it yet, I still have to research more but... G, would you be my queer platonic partner?" You smiled the happiest smile I've ever seen on you that day. G, we haven't talked much since quarantine started, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm not sure what kind (romantic or platonic) but I know that you have a special place in my heart. I can't wait for this to be all over and for us to be by each other's side, drawing and reading and just talking about the things we never share with anybody else. I love you - C

July 2023 - The school fair was over 3 years ago, can you believe? So much has changed since then, quarantine happened, we were reduced to online classes, and I ended up moving to the States for a chance of a better life. We kept in touch, of course, through messages screaming over fandoms and platonic marriages on minecraft servers (how dare you for suggesting that before i knew abt cbeeduo >:( ) and like 5 meet ups over the summers. But it wasn't enough, and timezones and a desire for a more physical (in a actually there beside you sort of way) relationship eventually culminated in you asking to break it off two weeks before I met up with you in the Philippines. God damn it G, why didn't you wait? I had it all planned in my head. The night of my debut, as all my guests were leaving, I would take you to a private corner where we would talk, and I admit to you that yes, maybe my feelings for you turned out more romantic than I initially thought, but with the physical distance it wasn't right for us to pursue something of that nature, especially as I had wanted to try dating in college and didn't want to end up hurting you. I would say I love you and maybe leave you with a kiss, and that was how we'd gain closure. Well the kiss didn't happen and you laughed when I scolded you for not waiting before you admitted that yeah, you felt the same way but also agreed that our level of commitment wasn't right for us, not anymore. You promised me that if by the time we were done with college we were both single we could try again, but I won't hold you to that. G, thank you for being my bestest friend and first love, and I'm sorry that life didn't work out the way we had planned. I love you though, whether romantically or platonically, and I hope you're happy with where you end up in life - Yours always, C

anddddd that's it! veered a little romantic at times, but whats more queerplatonic than a relationship that blurs the lines of platonic and romantic eh? at the end of the day, we're still best friends and we care for each other deeply, even if we no longer officially label it as a qpr. hope our story made you cry >:D

More C & G Propaganda!

Michael and Mantis propaganda:

we're both boygirls and girlfaggots and boydykes, you literally cannot get queerer than this. gay in every direction

we're also both autistic and have adhd. leads to some fun conversations where one of us listens intently while the other is going off about whatever interest they've got the brainworms for at the moment and it's the most fun i will ever have (common topics are: good movies, tragedies and shipwrecks, cannibalism, the absurdly powerful dnd podcast just roll with it, and many more)

we're long distance and we really need this win bc the earth is literally homophobic and keeping us apart and making us sad :(

michael has this whole mushroom/lichen/microorganisms/rot thing going and i have the space thing going and they're essentially the same things but on different scales (life and death and life in death etc etc), so we're thematically compatible. we were made for each other frfr

uuhhhh mental health improvement i guess

we tricked at least three people into thinking we were dating before we actually started dating. not on purpose

we started dating on april fools! that's fun!

same trauma and same issues. we get a lot of mileage out of relating to each other

i keep breaking my sleep schedule for him

uhm. also. we're really niceys and cool and stuff :3

More Michael and Mantis Propaganda!

[s-che]

for the tarot rpg ask game! The Fool, The Empress, The Hierophant, The Chariot, The Hanged Man, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Sun

This is so many questions!! I am gonna have to go a little shorter for each of them, but thank you for your interests lmao.

from the RPG Designer tarot ask game

The Fool – What do the earliest stages of work on a game look like for you? OR How did you get into game design?

Games start one of two ways for me: either I think "there should be a game that feels like X" or I think "I want to write about Y and I think for one reason or another a game is a place to do it." That second option is usually just the first option wearing sunglasses, anyway — since the main reason I might write something as a game (rather than a poem, short story, etc) is to try and get that experiential edge, where I'm not just conveying what I'm thinking to you but you the reader/player can dig around in it (and see why I feel a way about something). Then I start writing. Usually pretty freeform. Lots of lists of things. Lots of stream of consciousness "I want it to do this so therefore it must include that" until I start to get a better picture of what the game is going to be.

The Empress — Where do your ideas come from? OR Do you seek out or avoid inspiration while working on an idea?

I love nothing more than to dig into an inspiration while I'm working on a project. I like to surround myself with as much aligned stimuli as I can — recently I've been reading Piranesi and Doug Cowan's Cyberhenge and Drawing Down the Moon and listening to a lot of wizard themed hyperpop, for example. You can guess where I might be going with that. Let me drown in the thing I am thinking about, please.

And then credit my inspirations, of course.

The Hierophant — Who is a fellow game designer you’ve learned a lot from? OR What is a piece of popular wisdom about games you think is nonsense?

This is straying a little bit from the prompt, but: I fucking hate it when people try to frame the TTRPG design world as a family / community / whatever. Shut the fuck up. At TTRPGs best they're a scene and at the worst they're an (unregulated and monopolized) industry. I have communities and families within that, but they're not people I'm going to reach with a tag.

The Chariot — What is the next project you’re planning to start OR What is the next project you’re excited to finish?

I mentioned this in another response, but. I've been thinking a lot about wizards lately. Alchemists. Notetaking. Esoterica. A lot of this is: it's summer and I'm not getting my grad school itch scratched, but I've got something new that I just need to polish up a bit... A game I think y'all sickos would enjoy.

Also a Lemony Snicket thing, but that's another story.

The Hanged Man — What other creative pursuits do you have? OR What current trends in game design are you most interested in?

I think we're due for another hackable and misunderstandable system pretty soon, a la PBTA or BITD or NDNM or whatever. Feels like the cutting edge of design has moved on from those things — while still keeping their lessons in mind — and we just need something to blow up in the right way that we end up coining a new term for it. I can feel it coming, I'm just not sure where.

Oh, and One D&D launch is gonna be a mess. The post-CR D&D boom hasn't had to live through an edition change yet. No idea what that's gonna look like, but I can't wait.

The Devil — What motifs or mechanics do you just keep coming back to? OR What is a game you’ve enjoyed playing in the last year?

I played some Wizard's Grimoire (issue 1, but all of them look cool as shit) with a friend recently. Good game for laying on a couch and daydreaming magic boys.

The Tower — Talk about about a game you tried to make that crashed and burned.

When I was maybe a freshman in college — in fact I can remember working on it in 2017 — I wanted to write a PBTA game about paladins of different creeds slamming into each other. It sucked. I didn't know how to write games yet and it came out looking like worse Dungeon World. I'm glad it doesn't exist anywhere.

Don't write worse Dungeon World, folks.

The Star — Talk about a game you’re working on and what excites you about it.

I've been tinkering with some ideas for a multiple-player one-character Disco Elysium-ish game about plurality and inner dialogues. It's fun to roll around in my head! Not sure if I'll ever end up making it, but thinking about ways to mechanize squabbling for authorial control — i.e. to let you play as several people fighting to front — has been a lot of fun.

The Sun — Talk about a game you’ve made that you’re proud of.

Book of 13 Hours. I did some spells with a friend recently and love them. And I talked to the lake I've been stay next to for the last week or so. Good game. Good magic.

[beck-hartman]

TASK #13: SHORT & SWEET

 ♥ What is your favorite book from childhood?:

Ah, shit. Can I ask Shosh? Is that allowed? Oh wait, The Princess Bride. It's based on a novel, which Shosh and I read--or she read it to me. She'd come over, we'd sit on my bed, and she'd read aloud for a bit until we finished it.

ღ Do you own an item that comforts you when you’re sad?:

I'm not really comforted by things, but I've found a lot of healing in surfing. So probably my surfboard then.

✿ What makes you happy?:

Making Shosh laugh, hanging with my friends and family, and of course, they call them "moments of perfect happiness" for a reason, iykyk

♛ What are three things you like about yourself?:

My optimism, my loyalty to my friends, and okay, hear me out, this will sound vain, but how good a boyfriend I am. Shosh deserves the best, and I've worked a really long time to be what she deserves and I think I do a pretty damn good job. So I think I'm allowed to be a little proud of that.

☾ Which season is your favorite?:

Summer. Does this shock anybody? If it does, we haven't spoken, and I just need five minutes of your time.

† Do you believe in the supernatural?:

Yes is the short answer. Do I believe everything that people say is supernatural really is? No. Do I understand it all? No. Could I be wrong about what I do and don't believe in? Yes. But overall supernatural category, yes, I believe there are forces beyond the natural at play in a realm or space we can't see.

♪ Name a song that has a deeper meaning to you.:

New York by Snow Patrol. No, I won't elaborate.

Ⓒ What do you think about social media?:

I have it, I occassionally post on it, but I can really take or leave it. I'm much more interested in experiencing what's in front of me and being present in the moment. But Shosh sends me some really great videos from it, so I can't complain.

ꕤ What would be your dream job?:

Independently wealthy. No, I know, I want to be the Benefactor! Is that a job title? Dude, when you're ready to retire, hit me up.

Or a surf instructor, that'd be the dream. Working at the Lighthouse, kinda wish being a full-time keeper was still a thing, but anyway, doing that then teaching surf lessons. While being independently wealthy.

☼ Name three things you don’t leave the house without.:

My clothes, thank God! My phone...and my wallet. Those coffees for Shosh don't buy themselves unfortunately.

❧ What is your favorite comfort food?:

Pie, which is really funny since my eldest sister doesn't keep any on hand after 26 years with me.

⤷ Are you an active person? / What do you do to stay active?:

Ha! Have you met me? Yes, very much so. I surf, hike, play soccer sometimes. Once the snow hits, I snowboard. And other...cardio based activity 😏

★ Name your three biggest inspirations (people-wise).:

Shosh, obviously. My family which I know is already over three people but what are you gonna do about it? Shit, I have a lot of inspirations. Hell, everyone I grew up with had an impact on who I've become. I'm surrounded by pretty inspirational people which is a huge cop-out, but I'm over three anyway.

✘ What is currently your favorite airing show?:

I need to phone a friend again. I don't watch a lot of TV, and if I do, it's usually old stuff that I can leave in the background or something Shosh is watching, which more often than not, I'm just watching what she's watching. Oh The Fall of the House of Usher. Enjoyed that for the Halloween season.

✈ If you had to go anywhere right now, where would you go?:

I'd take Shosh to Château de Versailles.

[dumb-hat]

Tagged!

@thefreelanceangel smacked me with this thing, and I happen to be sitting here, looking at it, right at the moment when I'm both restless and bored and can't think of anything to read or do, so... yeah, okay, why not? Been a bit since I've done one of these things.

1. Are you named after anyone?

 Kinda.

So, the original plan was to name me after my father, but it turns out there was another guy in town with his name, and Dad, like... he hated that guy, and the thought that people might meet little baby me and think that I was that guy's kid just grated on him, so they named me after his best friend, but gave me Dad's middle name.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I don't remember the last time I did a whole-ass, full-on cry, but I probably furrowed my brow and tried to stoically choke down a swell of tearful emotion while watching fucking Ted Lasso yesterday.

Same thing with Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 the other day.

It used to be that like, I'd get fairly emotional about real life stuff, but not so much with media. Sure, it would have an effect on me, but that effect just didn't, like... go anywhere, if that makes sense. These days though, if I'm being honest? I will almost cry at the drop of a hat.

3. Do you have kids?

Nah. The cats are enough.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I think I use, like, a normal amount of sarcasm, whatever that is.

I really appreciate sarcasm, especially well-crafted sarcasm. It doesn't take much to just, I dunno, meanly say the opposite of how you actually feel about something, but good sarcasm can be an absolute delight.

When I was younger, I did an awful lot of the former, all the while confusing it for the latter. I won't say I always get it right now, but I try to do it less as a knee-jerk reaction, especially around people who might not know me as well... But I can't help it, and sometimes I show my ass.

If anything, I'm more likely to lapse into bathos than sarcasm.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Tee ball and coach pitch when I was a little, tiny kid. I was really bad at it, but Dad wanted me to do it, and it meant I got to hang out with him, even if I was terrified the entire time I was out there.

That's it, unless you want to count a few summers during/right after high school where my friends and I got really into Ultimate frisbee and started a league with teams and shirts and everything.

I, uh... I for one would rather not count that, if that's alright.

6. What is the first thing you notice about other people?

Honestly, it really just depends on how I meet them, you know? Is it an online thing? An in-person thing? A party? A concert? A convention? Work?

I guess I could say that I get a pretty strong gut reaction to people right off the bat, no matter the context. I'm pretty good about giving myself room to adjust how I feel, but there's definitely a quiet, ongoing vibe check that I notice first thing, if that counts.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

This feels like a false dichotomy.

For years, I thought I didn't like horror, but then I realized that I had just been convinced that I didn't like horror. Turns out, I really like it, I'm just kind of specific about it.

I like happy endings, but sometimes I'm put off when things are just a little too pat, you know?

So, uh, yeah. I like both. This doesn't feel like an either/or for me.

8. Any special talents?

I kinda wanna say 'no,' but that's not really a fun answer, is it?

So, okay. Here's a fun one: One day when I was like, 17 or 18, I was sitting at my grandparents' computer, waiting on something to download for a class project, I saw one of those... Oh, I don't know what they're called, like... one those, uh, letter spikes? You know, it's a spike that sits upright on a desk and you impale letters on it?

Yeah. One of those.

Anyway, I saw it there, and I still don't know why I did this—chalk it up to that ADHD impulsiveness, I suppose—but I took the thing and just, like, slid it into my nostril. I expected resistance, but didn't really find any, so I just kinda, you know, kept going.

I slid the thing in—straight back, mind you! Not up!—until I felt it touch the back of my sinus cavity. It wasn't long before I was showing this off to anyone I could, using progressively more impressive-looking nails. I started keeping a nose nail handy just so I could do the impromptu human blockhead thing on demand at parties and stuff.

Uh, does that count?

9. Where were you born?

Nowhere good, I tell you what.

10. Do you have any hobbies?

I do a lot of tabletop RPG stuff. I'm coming up on session 8 of an Exalted game, which is a lot of fun. I ran tons of it back in the day, but I haven't touched it since like, '11, but it feels good to be running it again. Feels kinda like home.

I play some video games, too. I find that the interest is always there, but the actual doing of it waxes and wanes, and boy, is there a lot of waxing right now. Just... a lot of fun stuff coming out. Lots I want to play.

I, uh... should probably log into FFXIV sometime soon. Get caught up. Take screenshots. Roleplay. Sort inventory. Manage retainers. Anything, really.

Honestly though, I really love making terrariums. I always thought it was kind of neat, but I started watching terrarium videos on YouTube as kind of a Bob-Ross-Moment-of-Zen-Unwind-and-Destress kind of thing while I was working a super-stressful job, and then it just kind of turned into my pandemic hobby. I love it, but I haven't made anything in a while, since I'm low on a few supplies. This is a good reminder to change that, though!

11. Do you have any pets?

I do! Two cats and a leopard gecko. The cats are 17 and 11. The leopard gecko is... at least 16, but could be years older than that, as he was kind of a rescue situation. He's slowing down a lot and getting really fussy, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit worried about him, but I reckon he's had a good run.

12. How tall are you?

5'10? 5'11? Depends on my posture, I guess.

13. Favorite Subject in School:

Depends on what kind of school we're talking about.

In grade school, it was usually science, sometimes social studies.

In high school, I took whatever *-as-literature classes I could, but my favorite classes were probably actually World Cultures and Sociology.

In college, I double majored in Anthropology and Linguistics. My favorite class was probably Sociolinguistics, but I was pretty good at Phonetics and the Anthropology of Science Fiction course I took as an undergrad was a ton of fun.

Okay, I guess it doesn't actually depend. Most of that can be boiled down to "I like people, and I like words, and I like what people do with words."

14. Dream job?

As much as I'd love to be pithy and say something like "I don't dream of labor," Baldwin said it better than I could ever hope to.

I don't think I have a dream job. I just kinda wanna do stuff and then have time to, like, not do stuff, you know?

That said, as I get older, I do find myself daydreaming about all kinds of things that feel like they'd be fulfilling now, but didn't even cross my mind when I was in a better position to do something about it more easily.

For all the time I spent staring at the architectural mock-ups in the halls at college, I could have at least taken an intro class, right?

I spent a large chunk of my life thinking I had no interest in making things or putting things together before realizing how much I loved the thin line between frustration and cursing, and elation and satisfaction that comes with repairing something, just because I was told that wasn't the kind of thing guys like me did. Also, uh... Having a half—or even quarter!—decent set of tools (rather than whatever you can find around the house) really, really helps.

So, yeah. I dunno. I'm getting older and still figuring out what I want to do, which is kind of a pain in the ass for an old guy that's long past all the college and "What do you wanna do when you grow up?" part, but I guess that's alright.

Wait. No. I wanna be a garden hermit. Surely, that's still a thing somewhere, right?

15. Eye Color?

Blue.

I'm not tagging anyone because... I dunno, I don't wanna. But hey, feel free to steal this and do it and tag me back so I can see it. That sounds like fun.

I've got an OOC blog over at @justlikethefish. In theory, that's where I talk about stuff like this. In practice, it's mostly like, cats and memes, and the occasional two-sentence post about whatever tabletop game I'm running, or whatever. Oh, and just about every Calvin & Hobbes post I come across.

[gretavanfunk]

Fighting Fire (Series)

Chapter Nine

Word Count: 7,121

Summary: Stevie and Sam never seemed to be what people refer to as "two peas in a pod" growing up. He got under her skin more times than she could count and Sam was desperate to be on a level playing field as his older brother and Stevie's best friend, Jake. One summer, Sam is forced to face his demons and in turn, Stevie is too.

Warnings: alcohol use, smoking, fist fighting, arguing, themes of grief

This story is written and edited by me and it is my baby so I hope some people out there can enjoy it as much as I enjoy creating it! If there are typos, bear with me lol

Chapter Nine Playlist for the vibes!

Jake decided he wouldn't bring anything up to Stevie or anyone about the conspiracies swirling in his head. At least not right now anyway. He wanted to wait and see if any one of the three of them would say something to him first, but as the day passed, the more discouraged he felt about that possibility.

On the other hand, Sam decided that after the threat to throw Stevie in the pool, he would finally back off for a bit and let her actually spend time with Jake how she saw fit. He found it to be difficult since he could flirt with her all day, but he knew that if he didn't stop making passes at her, he was going to make everything worse and Sam would be damned if this whole thing blew up because of him.

During their pool day, Sam latched onto Josh quickly, talking to each other about his experience with therapy and playing silly games together like they were children again. He also spent a lot of time hanging out with Rosie, racing her as they paddled around the pool.

Stevie had stuck by Jake's side while he grilled and they hung out in the shallow end of the pool together, talking and making jokes to one another the rest of the time they were out there. Stevie had of course been reflecting on her time with Sam earlier, but she was tunnel vision on Jake until late that evening.

Sam groaned loudly at Jake and Stevie who were on the couch, chatting about new music they enjoy and he threw a pillow at Jake.

"Hate to ruin the party," Sam said, "but how am I supposed to get some sleep if you guys won't get off my bed?"

Jake grabbed the pillow and threw it on the floor, rolling his eyes and standing up, "Come on Stevie, the princess demands."

Stevie laughed and stood up too, "Oh! We can go through that stuff I have for you if you want! Meet me in my dad's room and I'll grab it."

Jake smiled and nodded but turned to Sam and glared before he turned around and headed up the stairs. Stevie listened for the door upstairs to close before she turned to Sam.

"Are you going to be okay down here?" she asked and Sam grunted, settling on the couch and Rosie resting in her bed on the floor beside him, "No, but you already knew that."

She sighed and walked to him, stooping down to kiss him, "I'm sorry, but thank you for taking one for the team. You honestly really impressed me today."

"Mhmm," Sam rolled his eyes, "The team against me, but sure."

Stevie narrowed her eyes, "Stop. Nobody is against you."

"Yeah," Sam rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say."

"Sam," Stevie pestered, "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," he assured, reaching his hands to her hips and pulling her on top of him, "Not really."

She yelped but she stayed for a moment, "You know I can't stay."

"I know," Sam kissed her temple and he groaned, "Jake's waiting for you."

Stevie laid her head on his chest and sighed, savoring it for a moment before reaching up to kiss him again, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sam smiled, "See you soon."

She stood up and shook her head, "In your dreams!"

Stevie walked away and looked back at him with a smile as she watched him call Rosie up onto the couch with him before she rounded her way up the stairs. She headed to the study first, grabbing the box that was labeled with Jake's stuff and met him in her room.

"Hey," she said as she found him sitting on the bed, looking at the stuff that she still hadn't cleared away.

"This is so weird," Jake admitted, "It looks so different in here."

She sighed, walking to the bed and sitting beside him, setting the box down, "I know. It was really hard to do this room. That's why we did it first."

"How are you dealing with all of this?" Jake asked, adjusting himself and getting more comfortable.

Stevie sighed again and shrugged, "I mean, I don't really know. Once we got started, it got easier. It helps that all of the sentimental stuff is going to people who would appreciate it more."

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Jake sighed, "I didn't ever think about all of the stuff you would have to deal with after the funeral was over."

She chuckled lightly and nodded, "Well, that's the thing about someone dying, though. It never truly ends."

Jake leaned against her shoulder, wrapping his arm around her, "I should've been here. I knew it too. I knew I should've come home."

"Except that I told you not to," Stevie laughed, "You can't blame yourself for that."

"I do regret it though," Jake muttered, "For your sake and for mine. That's something I can't get back."

"Jake," Stevie felt her heart rattle, "My dad knew he was important to you. Whether or not you go to his funeral doesn't change that."

Jake sighed, "I love what I do, don't get me wrong. Playing guitar is all I've ever wanted to do, but it takes a lot from you too."

"Only if you let it," Stevie leaned on him too and she smiled, "What you can do is focus on right now! The past will always stay the past, Jake."

Jake chuckled lightly and leaned back to look at her, "How profound of you, Steve."

"It's just something I've been thinking about recently," Stevie laughed too, "Now, let's look at this cool stuff I'm giving you!"

Stevie pulled the box closer to them and picked up the Elton album first, immediately rousing a reaction from Jake.

"Ah, man," Jake smiled and took the album in his hands, "Are you sure you don't to keep this one, Stevie?"

She shook her head, "You should definitely keep that!"

Jake gawked at all of the memorabilia Stevie presented to him and each time he tried to fight with her on whether or not she should keep it, she protested, ensuring that he would take all of it. And there was a lot of it: posters, guitar picks, magazine, signed photographs, etc.

"There's tons of instruments you can take too," Stevie said, "Guitars, banjos, mandolins, you name it."

"I'll take any that you have," Jake sighed, smiling to himself.

"The only ones that aren't up for grabs are the bass guitars that Sam is taking," Stevie mentioned, "Oh and Rosetta, of course."

"Oh, of course! Rosetta is rightfully yours," Jake chuckled.

Rosetta was Stevie's dad's oldest acoustic guitar. He used to play it for her all the time in her childhood; camping trips, small sets he'd do, around the house, always. She was named after Sister Rosetta Tharpe, another singer/songwriter and female guitarist that he played a lot on vinyl when she was growing up.

"She's an artifact," Stevie smiled and Jake scoffed, "All of this is. His collection is truly amazing."

"A lot of it thanks to you guys," Stevie laughed, setting the box off the bed, "Don't forget to take this stuff home."

Jake shook his head, "I would never."

They sat together in silence for a moment, enjoying the memories that they had unlocked. Jake cleared his throat after a moment.

"Hey," Jake's voice was quiet and Stevie could sense the nervousness in it, "Is there something going on with you?"

"What do you mean," Stevie asked, adjusting her position on the bed to turn to him, giving him more attention.

"I just have this weird feeling," Jake sighed, "I wanted to ask."

"I mean," Stevie laughed, "That's kind of a loaded question given the circumstances."

"What are the circumstances exactly?"

She furrowed her eyes, feeling uneasy about his words, "What are you even asking me right now, Jake?"

She laughed, "There are tons of things going on with me, my grief, missing you, Ryan..."

"And Sam?" Jake questioned quickly, causing Stevie's heart to jump to her throat.

"What?" Stevie asked, "What are you talking about?"

Jake rubbed his jaw with his hand, "You know I don't question you often. I'm just hoping you don't think I'm stupid, Steve."

"Jake," Stevie sighed, "I do not think you're stupid."

"I'm just catching a vibe," Jake said, "That's all. Wanted to bring it up."

Stevie looked at him and she sighed, running a hand through her hair, "There are things I had made my mind up about regarding Sam. Some of those things are changing, I will admit. Actually spending time with him and getting to know him has been good."

"Okay," Jake said, "I just wanted to check in."

Stevie smiled a small smile and nodded, "There is nothing you need to worry about, Jake."

Jake smiled sheepishly and he nodded, "Okay, okay! I'll stop pestering you! We should really get some sleep so we're ready for your big day tomorrow!"

Jake stretched and stood up, Stevie following after him.

"Goodnight," Stevie said, "Sweetest of dreams, my Jacob!"

"Sweetest of dreams, my Stevie," Jake smiled and they hugged before he left her room.

Stevie let out a deep breath after he was gone, stressed beyond belief. She walked over to the window, peering out over the dark pool outside. However, she did a double take when she saw Sam outside, sitting at a chair alone, smoking a cigarette. She grabbed a sweater, wrapping it around her before sneaking out of her room quietly and creeping down the stairs slowly.

Stevie walked outside and Sam looked up, smiling as soon as he saw her.

"I was wondering when that sleep walking was going to happen," he said and she laughed, stopping at his feet, reaching out and taking his cigarette from him, taking a drag.

He looked up at her, watching her dreamily and he sighed, "You're so beautiful."

Stevie scoffed, letting the smoke escape her lung, "Please."

"I'm serious!" Sam protested, reaching out and grabbing her legs, smoothing his hands across her skin lightly.

Stevie thought about telling Sam what Jake asked her, but she decided against it, not wanting to open that can of worms right now. Now, she just wanted to look at him and enjoy this secret meeting they were having.

Stevie leaned into him, sitting on his lap and wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. He adjusted accordingly and gave her a kiss, "You doing okay?"

She sighed and nodded, "I'm much better now."

"Cheeseball," Sam snorted and she rolled her eyes, "Okay, says you."

"You're so beautiful," Stevie mocked him and he smiled, "I said what I said."

She held his face in her hand and kissed him softly. Sam kissed her back, holding her closely.

When they pulled away, Sam was searching her face, trying to decipher what exactly it was that she wanted from coming to seek him out and she sighed, almost as if she read his mind, "I just want to be out here with you, if that's okay."

"More than okay," Sam said, "Come here."

He held onto her waist, leading her to lay back on the sunbathing chair with him, although the two of them barely fit. She was practically on top of him but she wrapped her arms and legs around him, resting her head on his shoulder. Sam kissed her temple and lazily played with her hair and they spent a few hours late in the night looking up at the stars and trying to see what constellations they could see.

Around three o'clock in the morning, Stevie was fighting falling asleep on him and Sam wanted her to, but he knew she would be mad about it tomorrow so he lightly shook her.

"Baby," Sam whispered, "You're falling asleep. You should probably get back up to bed."

She groaned, snuggling into him and he laughed, "Stevie, you're gonna be so pissed if you fall asleep out here with me."

She groaned again and Sam nodded, realizing she wasn't going to make this decision for herself so, he held onto her tightly again, struggling to get up from they chair while carrying her, but eventually he got there.

"Sam," Stevie croaked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you to bed like the little baby you are," Sam laughed and she scoffed, "You're a baby!"

"Okay, so you want to walk up to your bed all on your own?"

"Nuh uh," Stevie grunted and Sam chuckled, "That's what I thought."

He headed inside with her, Stevie holding onto his neck and occasionally peeking one eye open to get a glimpse of him. Sam was moving very slowly as he went up the stairs, trying to be very quiet and when they got to the room, he laid her down gently, pulling the covers back and setting them back on top of her.

"Goodnight, Sammy," Stevie said with a smile on her face and her eyes closed, settling into the pillow.

Sam took a deep breath, stooping down to kiss her on the forehead, "Goodnight, Stevie. Happy birthday, honey."

Sam looked at her for a moment as she fell into her dreamland and he snuck out of the room, heading back downstairs and letting sleep wash over himself as he laid back down on the couch.

The next morning, Stevie woke up to the place decked out in streamers and balloons. All three of them came into her room singing Happy Birthday quite obnoxiously and she was immediately filled with joy, forgetting when the last time they spent one of her birthdays all together like this.

Sam had made everyone breakfast that morning. Her favorite: French toast and mimosas, sticking to orange juice for himself. However, it had that little extra Sam flare with a plethora of fruit and topping for the french toast slices too. Stevie made a mental note of giving him a kiss later.

That afternoon, all of the hiked up to the cliff to do some cliff diving like they used to when they were teenagers. Sam left Rosie at home due to the fact that they typically would cliff dive and race each other back to the dock.

At the top of the cliff, Stevie got there first and Jake walked up next to her reaching his hand out to her, "Just like old times?"

Stevie smiled widely and grabbed his hand, "Just like old times!"

"Happy birthday," Jake said with wide eyes as they backed up and ran together, screaming on their way down into the water.

The cold water engulfed them but they didn't lose contact of their hands until their heads came up for air and the swam further waiting for Josh and Sam to join them. Josh was next, doing a dramatic performance of a couple of flips as he fell through the sky. Sam was last and it took him forever to finally jump.

"Come on Sam," Jake shouted, "Stop being a chicken!"

"You can do it, Sam," Stevie shouted, trying to encourage him.

She found it kind of funny that he was taking so long. Sam was pretty fearless, doing any dare that the twins could conjure when they were younger and he ran towards the end of the cliff, deciding on flipping everyone off on his way down.

Stevie cackled at his display and as he was catching up to where they were in the water, Stevie stuck her tongue out at him.

"Last one to the dock is a big fat weenie!" she shouted and Sam gasped, "Going last always makes the race harder!"

"More bragging rights if you win then," she winked at him and Jake and her took off, really only competing with each other. One of them were always the two outcomes of the winners. Jake was leading for most of the swim but when they got about ten feet from the dock, he slacked off, letting Stevie win.

"Haha! Eat my dust bitches," Stevie did a little dance and once Sam got there after everyone else, he gasped to try and regain his breath, "He let you win cause it's your fucking birthday!"

"A win is a win!" Stevie giggled and they walked up to the house together, dripping in lake water and sweat.

Stevie was already wiped when they got back to the house, but Josh was not having any of it.

"Get your ass upstairs and hit the showers, bitch," Josh jested, "The night is oh so young!"

Stevie looked at him with raised eyebrows, "What do you have up your sleeve, Josh?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he giggled, "Just take a shower and put on something fun! We're going out!"

Once they were all ready, Josh fastened a blind fold over her eyes and led her to the car, giggling the whole time. Josh put on Chappell Roan, just for Stevie and even though she couldn't see, she put on quite the performance as they drove. It only took one song to get where they were going and Josh hopped out of the car, opening her door for her and taking her hand.

"Keep the blindfold on, Stevie," Josh instructed, "No peeking! I mean it!"

"Josh," Stevie laughed, holding onto his arm as he led her, "I know where we are. Where else would only be a couple minutes from the lake house?"

"Dammit," Josh muttered, "I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"She's not an idiot, Josh," Sam chimed in and Stevie laughed, coming to an abrupt stop. Josh took the blindfold off of her eyes and sure enough, they were at the lakeside bar and she smiled.

"I love this place!" Stevie exclaimed, "Plus, they have karaoke tonight!"

"That's what I hear," Josh smiled and glanced at Sam. Jake jutted the party stuff into Sam's hands and Sam grimaced, falling behind the group, just like he always had. Jake approached Stevie and replaced Josh's spot beside her as Josh walked ahead of them, opening the door for the four of them to walk through.

The group settled at a table in the back corner and Jake drummed his hands against the table while Sam struggled to not drop anything. Josh grabbed the cake, helping him to put things down.

"Shall I get us some drinks?" Jake asked and Stevie smiled, "I'll take a rum and coke, please."

Jake chuckled, "I know what you want, silly."

"I'll come with you," Josh said and Jake's eyes fell on Sam who looked at Stevie, nervously, "Strawberry lemonade for me."

Jake wore a small smile and nodded, walking with Josh to the bar. Sam let out a deep breath and sat next to Stevie, immediately holding onto her thigh, "Jeez. I feel like I'm in a pressure cooker, Stevie."

She looked at him and smiled softly, "I know, I know. I do too. I'm sorry to keep you in this position."

Sam smiled at her too, "It's okay, I just hate having to only touch you in secret."

He squeezed her thigh then and Stevie chuckled, glancing at Jake and Josh whose backs were still turned to them.

"I'll tell Jake about it soon," Stevie looked back at him, "I promise."

"What is soon though?" Sam questioned, leaning his face closer to hers by a small amount and Stevie bit the inside of her cheek, trying to fight the urge to close the gap, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow, for sure."

"Okay," Sam nodded, "That's good enough for me. It is your birthday, I guess. You get a pass."

Stevie licked her lips, subconsciously leaning closer to him too and Sam continued, "We will have to find some time alone tonight though, so I can give you your gift."

Stevie rolled her eyes, "It is sexual?"

"No," Sam gasped, "Just personal! But, I bet you were hoping it was, weren't you?"

Stevie smiled and she grasped the inside of his thigh making him jump, "Woah! You can't do that, Stevie!"

She snickered and rubbed his leg a bit, "Come on, it's a little fun making you fidget."

"You're evil," Sam glared at her and let go of her knee, swatting her hand away.

Just then, Jake and Josh made their way back to the table, walking extra carefully not to spill anything. Jake sat on the other side of the table across from Stevie and pushed her glass to her, "Rum and coke for the birthday girl!"

"Thank you!" Stevie smiled, taking a small sip.

Josh sat next to Jake and set Sam's lemonade in front of him, "Does this make you the DD?"

Sam frowned and sighed, "I guess it does."

Stevie laughed and rubbed his back quickly, realizing a little too late that she shouldn't be touching him, "It's the least ya could do after all of those times we've had to carry you inside, Sam."

Sam shook her off of him and mocked her, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"How's it feel being twenty-seven?" Josh chimed in, smiling excitedly at Stevie, "Weird! I feel so old."

"'Cause you are, grandma," Sam elbowed her and smiled when she glared at him.

"Eh, twenty-seven ain't bad," Jake said, "At least you're not twenty-eight!"

"I know!" Stevie laughed, "You two are practically six feet under."

Josh scoffed, "Time is a construct, Stevie! You're young at heart, you will be fine!"

She took another sip, giving Josh a wink and Jake leaned forward, "So, what should we do first? Your gifts or sign up for some karaoke?"

"Karaoke!" Stevie exclaimed, "But I request that you sing first!"

Jake narrowed his eyes at her but he smiled, "You sneak!"

"Come on, Jake!" Stevie smiled, "It's my birthday!"

"Oh yeah," Jake rolled his eyes, "I must have forgotten."

"Come on, brother," Josh pinched his shoulders, "I know just the song we can sing for her!"

The twins walked up the karaoke stand and they got on stage, earning a round of cheers. When the music for "Edge of Seventeen" came on, Stevie burst out laughing. Josh was owning it, as he always does and after the first chorus, Jake settled into the assignment dancing around the stage with his brother and trying to do Stevie Nicks some justice.

She had to give it to him too, he was really delivering quite the performance and she laughed the whole time while Sam recorded it on his phone, poking fun at them with her.

During the last chorus, Josh took it upon himself to sing "the edge twenty-seven" instead and Stevie hollered at them. When they got back to the table, Jake wore a nervous look.

"Hope you enjoyed that 'cause I'm not getting back up there," Jake said and she got up and hugged them both, "I absolutely loved it!"

She turned to Sam who was still laughing and them and hit his shoulder, "You're turn, Sammy boy!"

Sam made a face, "Oh, absolutely not! I don't care whose birthday it is!"

Stevie poured, "Sam! Come on! It would be so hilarious to make fun of you up there!"

He didn't look at her as he flipped her off, "I'll save a dance for you, Stephanie. How about that?"

Stevie groaned, "Fine!"

Jake excused himself to wait in line for the bathroom and Sam refilled everyone's drinks as they continued to watch the bar customers butcher rock classics.

When one of the older locals got up to sing "St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Stevie shook Sam's arm, "Sam! Come on, let's go dance!"

Sam look at her strangely, "Are you out of your mind?"

"It's St. Peppers! You love this song," Stevie stood up and pulled on him, "Come on! You said you'd dance! It is my birthday after all!"

"You seem to keep reminding me," Sam laughed, "But, whatever. Let's go, your highness."

"Be careful, you two," Josh muttered, "You're walking on eggshells right now."

"Relax," Stevie giggled, feeling the effects of the rum, "It's completely innocent, Josh!"

Stevie took Sam's hand, dragging him to the dance floor and when they found a spot, Sam looked at her sheepishly, standing there awkwardly. Stevie took both of his hands and led him in a bit of a small swing dance.

"It's hilarious," Sam spoke, looking at her quickly and focusing again on his feet.

"What is?" Stevie asked, smiling from the simple joy she felt to be here with him.

"The way you are completely unaware of the way you control an entire room of people," Sam scoffed, looking at her again, "It's laughable, really."

"What are you talking about, Sam?"

"You don't see the way everyone is captivated by you," Sam said, "The power that you hold over people."

"Are you sure your lemonade isn't spiked?" Stevie laughed but Sam looked at her softly, not a trace of joking on his face, "I'm serious. The twins, they would do anything for you. I would do anything for you. You've got this thing where you're simply just hard to resist."

Stevie bit her lip, twirling around with him, but her cheeks flared. She didn't have anything to say so she just kept leading them in their dance.

"Now that I know what it feels like to be with you rather than just imagine it," Sam sighed, "I'm sorry, but I can't ignore how much I want to be with you, Stevie. Like, actually be with you."

"Sam," Stevie sighed and he shook his head, "I'm trying to be patient, I really am. I know you're risking things to be with me, but I just needed to say it. I just want you to consider what it means to me."

She watched him closely, falling into his words and focusing on nothing else.

"I'm risking a lot too," Sam explained, "But I don't want to do anything else other than love you."

Stevie suddenly stopped dancing, staring up at him in awe, "Sam, do you-"

He stopped her, holding his hand up and shaking his head, "We don't have to talk about this now. This isn't the place for it. I just needed to be honest before you talk to Jake about all of this."

She kept staring at him, mind whirling at his words. He had essentially just told her he loved her and she was supposed to not be thinking about any of this right now. She was supposed to be pretending that there wasn't anything going on between them. But, she had to admit that it was getting harder and harder to resist him too. Stevie stepped closer to him, pressing her body against his and Sam smiled, filled with nervous energy.

"Stevie," Sam whispered, "Don't do it."

She shushed him, "Don't ruin this."

"If you don't back up, I'm going to kiss you," Sam admitted, "And we don't know who could be watching."

"Kiss me," Stevie whispered, "Please."

"Steve," Sam taunted, "I'm in between a rock and a hard place right now."

"Please," Stevie pleaded, "Kiss me."

Sam's hand shook as it came up to her cheek, holding her gently and slowly closing the gap of space between them, barely touching his lips to his. Stevie met him the rest of the way, pressing her lips to his and shutting her eyes slowly. Everything was spinning around her as she stood there in the middle of the floor with him. For a split moment she didn't care if anyone saw them. She didn't care about upholding her secret. For a split moment, it was just Stevie and Sam and the rest of the world was quiet.

That is, until Sam was ripped away from her quickly. Her eyes opened to find Jake pulling Sam away from her and winding his arm back, his fist making swift contact with Sam's face.

"Jake!" she lunged at her best friend, latching onto him and trying to pull him off of his brother, "Stop it!"

Josh hurried to the group, pushing Jake away from Sam and leading Sam away to check out his face.

"He fucking kissed you, Stevie!" Jake shouted, "I knew something was going on with him! I fucking knew it! I knew he was going to try and manipulate you and I was right! I should've never let him come here with you!"

Jake was angry. There was no doubt about that and he was rambling, causing the people in the bar to stare at them. He was pacing, not sure of where to place this unused energy.

"Jake! Stop," Stevie pleaded, "Just stop yelling, please!"

"What the fuck is going on, Stevie?" Jake questioned, hurt in his eyes, "You've never tolerated Sam's bullshit before!"

"I kissed him first, Jake!" Stevie shouted back and Jake stilled his pacing, looking at her in shock, "What?"

"Can we just talk about this outside? Please?" Stevie lowered her voice, looking around at the people around them, "This really doesn't need to be a public scene."

Jake grabbed Stevie's hand aggressively, dragging her through the bar and out of the door. Once they got far enough into the parking lot, he dropped her hand, basically throwing it out of his hand. He turned around to face her, jaw clenched. Stevie has seen Jake angry before, but never directed at her.

"You fucking lied to me!" Jake shouted and Stevie couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes, "Jake."

"I asked you last night and you lied right to my fucking face," Jake snarled, "How could you do that to me, Stevie? How?"

"Jake, I-"

"I was so worried that he was manipulating you," Jake started pacing again, anxiously fidgeting, "Using your vulnerability against you to use you like he does everyone else and you're the one who started it? Since fucking when, Steve? When have you ever even thought about him? Are you okay? Are you trying to get back at Ryan or something?"

Stevie wiped her eyes, anger filling her body now, "Jake! I would never fucking do something like that!"

"Really?" Jake yelled, "Cause I also believed you'd never lie right to my fucking face!"

"Jake, please," Stevie cried, "I didn't want to lie to you."

"I literally gave you a moment to be honest with me," Jake sighed, "And you still decided against it. Are you sure you're not just doing this to run away from what you're actually dealing with?"

"I think I love him, Jake," Stevie snapped and Jake's eyes widened and he laughed loudly, "Oh! You think you love him!"

He laughed some more, holding his stomach for the dramatics, "My bad! That completely excuses everything you did then!"

"Jake, I didn't want to tell you until I was completely sure," Stevie explained and Jake shook his head.

"Stevie," Jake looked at her quickly before looking up fighting his own tears, "You don't tell me anything anymore. It feels like I don't even know who you are."

Stevie felt her heart shatter at this statement. She felt dizzy from this exchange, never thinking she'd ever be having a conversation this heated with him. She had been so hung up on the way things used to be with them, maybe she forgot that as much as her life changed without him there, his life was changing too.

"What are you talking about?" Stevie gasped, stepping toward him and reaching out to grab him.

Jake dodged her touch, taking a deep breath.

"You're my best friend, Jake," Stevie sobbed, "You always have been."

Jake looked at her, eyes filled with tears and he bit the inside of his cheek, "If that were true Stevie, I wouldn't have found out about Ryan months after you broke up. I wouldn't have found out about your lake house inheritance months after your dad died. I wouldn't have found out about your sudden feelings for Sam after everyone else! And don't even try to tell me that Josh doesn't know, 'cause I know that he does."

Stevie didn't have words as she choked on her sobs and Jake continued, "If I was really your best friend, I would be the first person you go to about these things. I know you say you don't want to bother me, but being there for you is literally what I am here for, Stevie! I don't know anything that's going on with you! For fuck's sake! Why do you keep shutting me out?"

"I didn't want to upset you," Stevie groaned in frustration and Jake's hands flew up in the air, "Well, look where we are right now!"

Stevie held her head in her hands, crying hard and Jake let a deep breath escape his nose, trying to calm down. Once the rage had subsided, he walked closer to her, wrapping his arms around her lightly.

"I love you, Stevie," Jake said, "I don't want to fight with you but how do you expect me to feel?"

Stevie cried some more, trying to steady her breathing and Jake rubbed her back and she sobbed, "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry."

"Steve," Jake sighed, "Just talk to me! I just want you to trust me enough to fucking talk to me."

Stevie took a deep breath, wiping her face aggressively, "I'm sorry! This all just happened so quickly and I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to tell you unless I was sure."

"So," Jake muttered, "Are you sure?"

Stevie bit her lip, still hesitating and Jake sighed, taking a step away from her and grabbing her shoulders.

"Stevie, I am standing here in front of you right now," Jake said, "Tell me. Stop holding onto to everything yourself and just fucking let me in."

"Whew," Stevie sighed, looking up and trying not to break down again, "We're gonna need some cigarettes for this."

Jake finally smiled a small tight-lipped smile and patted the pocket on his shirt, "I've got you, okay?"

Inside of the bar, Sam sat at the table while Josh tended to the wound on his face. Jake had busted his lip and he was more annoyed than anything else. As Josh dotted the wound lightly with some gauze he chuckled.

"What is so fucking funny?" Sam spat and Josh laughed more, "It's just kind of ironic that Jake punched you in the lip. The very culprit of the crime."

Sam sighed, rolling his eyes, "There isn't a crime here, Josh."

"There isn't?" Josh pursed his lips together sassily and he chuckled, "You take a step in Jake's shoes and you tell me if there's a crime."

"Not a crime I committed," Sam frowned, "I am just an accessory, here."

"You could've been honest with Jake too," Josh explained and Sam scoffed, "Says you! Isn't honesty like twin law or something?"

"Please," Josh scoffed, plopping Neosporin on Sam's lip, "You think me ratting you guys out to Jake would make any of this better?"

"Well if I told Jake the truth," Sam said, "He wouldn't have even believed me, anyway. He never does."

"That's not true, Sam," Josh sighed, "Jake has been wracking his brain about what he did to you to make you so angry."

"If I told him I was in love with Stevie, Jake would fucking laugh in my face," Sam sighed.

"Can ya blame him?" Josh asked, "You don't have a very good track record and Stevie is like another sister to him. I wouldn't trust you either."

"It's complicated, Josh," Sam glared and Josh smiled, "How complicated can it really be, Sam? You never talk about any of it."

"Please," Sam smiled, "What would you think if I told you that all of those girls, all of that alcohol and all of those drugs were just ways for me to escape the fact that I can't have her?"

Josh rolled his eyes, "Jesus Christ, Samuel. You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

Sam made a face at him and shook his head, "See? You don't get it."

"Oh, I get it perfectly clear," Josh explained, "I just can't believe you'd treat people the way you had instead of trying to change your situation."

"What was I supposed to do, Josh?" Sam's voice cracked a bit and Josh sat beside him taking a deep breath, "Not love bomb women and use them over and over again, that's for sure! For starters, who told you you couldn't have Stevie?"

Sam didn't have an answer and Josh nodded, "That's right. Literally only you. And what steps did you take to actually try to be with her?"

Sam, again, didn't answer and Josh nodded again, "That's right, you didn't take any steps at all! So, who's fault is it really? You blame everyone else for what you're going through and you're simply the only thing standing in your way."

Sam took a sharp breath in, already over this conversation, but that didn't stop Josh.

"You can be as jealous of Jake as you want to for whatever the fuck you think it is that he has that you don't," Josh said, "But Jake isn't a fucking mind reader, Sam. And taking out your regrets, unsatisfaction and misery out on him is just not the way to do it."

"I can't just talk to him about this!" Sam protested and Josh shook his head, "You can, you just choose not to. The common denominator in all of this is that you both love Stevie. Jake would be the first person to understand where your feelings for her are coming from, Sam. You might think we're annoying for being so hard on you, but we care. Doesn't matter what it is that is running through your tiny little brain. You are our brother and we care."

Sam studied Josh's face and the hint of annoyance on it, as well as relief. He could tell that Josh had been holding back on him for a while.

Stevie and Jake sat with their backs against the wall of the bar outside, sharing cigarettes while she confided in him. She started at the beginning, with Ryan.

"I found out because he had Tinder downloaded on his phone and on this particular day, he wasn't careful enough to hide that from me."

She explained that her break up wasn't really anything she had been hung up on. Sure, it was brutal to move out of their shared apartment admis all of the legal stuff she was dealing with regarding her dad, but missing him was never really something that occurred to her. The hardest part of all of the drama with Ryan was to be left completely alone at the end of the day: no dad, no Jake, no boyfriend anymore.

She went into the lake house trip and how weird everything had been with Sam. She confessed that her feelings for him really began that night they went to Electrik and about the internal battle she had for weeks, trying to still make Sam out to be some annoying brat villain that she couldn't stand to be around.

She confessed that all of that convincing was short lived when she realized that she didn't want to be without him. She told him about their first kiss, the phone call with Josh, the fight in the rain, the sex, even what Sam had said to her on the dance floor moments before their own fight.

"See what can happened if you just communicate with me," Jake sighed in relief, "So many things make so much more sense now!"

Stevie looked at him for the first time in all of her spiel, "You're not mad?"

Jake sighed, "Stevie, I was only pissed because you lied to me. I'm not pissed about you having feelings for Sam."

Jake took a drag of his cigarette, "Am I a huge supporter of you pursuing him? No, I'll admit that."

He continued, "I've seen the way he can treat people and I would absolutely hate to see that happen to you. But, am I gonna stop you? Well, no. Because at the end of the day, who's to say you won't just lie to me about it anyway?"

Stevie sighed, "I never want to lie to you again."

"You said you didn't want to be without him," Jake pointed, "So, does that mean you're finally sure?"

Stevie bit her lip, cheeks flaring and she hesitated before she nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay," Jake nervously grunted and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Than I trust you! Hesitantly, but still."

Stevie laughed, pushing into him, "Ya know, you should really sit down with him and just have a conversation. I think that would really help both of you."

"Oh God," Jake chuckled, shaking his head, "You guys slept together one time and alas, the brother relationship meddling begins."

"Well," Stevie laughed, "I don't know if I'd say one time. One and a half?"

Jake made a face, "Okay! Too much!"

Stevie laughed loudly and she rested her head on his shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you too," Jake said, "But don't ever even think about keeping shit from me again."

She nodded, "Heard."

Jake stretched and he stood up, stubbing his cigarette out under his shoe, "You ready to go back in?"

"I think I'm gonna have another," Stevie stole another cigarette from Jake's pack before handing it back, "Need to have some cool down time before I go back in there with both of you."

Jake nodded, "I'll apologize for hitting him, I swear. We'll be talking, for sure."

She looked up at him and smiled, laughing lightly, "It's a little weird to you, isn't it?"

Jake scoffed, "Yeah, very weird. But, I'll try if it's really want you want."

She faced forward again, smiling widely, "Thanks, Jake. It is."

Jake patted her head and he walked pass her back into the bar. He saw both of his brothers sitting at the table, anxiously and he approached them sheepishly and cleared his throat.

"Uh," Jake began, "I'm sorry I punched you. I was just reacting."

Sam looked at him with a devilish smirk but he dropped it after a moment and sighed, "Nah, I deserved it."

Jake patted Sam on the back, "You and I are gonna have to talk about this, Sam. But, not tonight. It's still Stevie's birthday so I think we can all do our best to take some more wins to outweigh our losses."

Sam looked up at him and he nodded, smiling slightly, "Fair enough."

Josh let out a deep breath that apparently, he was holding, "Oh, thank God! We haven't even had her blow out the candles yet!"

Stevie entered the bar then and she saw the three of them sitting together, rather civilly and she sighed in relief. She took a deep breath and smiled as she approached them, "What is a birthday party without a little hiccup, right?"

Josh cackled at her and he stood up, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and rustling her hair with his free hand, "You truly amaze me, Stevie Wonder. Now sit down so we can sing you happy birthday and you can make your wish!"

Stevie sat beside Jake, giving his arm a squeeze as she did so and Josh presented the cake to her. It was a simple, elegant looking store bought cake that they had written on.

Happy 27th Gold Dust Woman!

Stevie smiled at it and laughed, "You guys, it's perfect! Thank you, all of you, seriously! You're my three favorite people on the planet!"

Sam smiled at her sweetly and Jake bumped her elbow with his, "Aw, ya little sap."

"I'm serious!" Stevie exclaimed.

"I know," Josh winked and stuck a birthday candle into it, taking out his lighter and lighting it.

The three of them started to sing happy birthday to her, earning a smaller chorus of some locals nearby as well. She looked at the flame and then she looked up at Sam who had his film camera out, positioned and ready as he sang.

He snapped a photo quickly and she blew him a kiss as the song ended. She thought to herself for a moment, closing her eyes tightly.

I wish I never lose any of this.

[macawritesupdates]

Ahh loved the new Yuuji files chapter so so much it was the best one yet! Opening up with summer camp and gojo immediately falling prey to his own hubris was great I was super concerned about that mascot for a moment I was worried it would end up being the death god. Poor Yuuji he's got so much experience he's in his element but no one wants to listen to his advice. I'm not very outdoorsy myself but a good half of my family is and I know from them how easy it is to get hurt if you fuck around. There are multiple eagle scouts in my family who'd have some things to say to all the kids about how foolish they were on the river. Thank goodness Yuuji was a good person and willing to literally jump in to help cuz that could've been a disaster I'm not convinced the Kyoto kids would have survived on their own. Especially since if they had gone without Yuuji they might have ended up in the death gods territory without any way out just like all those other people. Damn Sukuna should realize Yuuji is entirely incapable of sitting by while others meet their doom by now. The death god was so creepy and cool I feel bad for him but also scared coz he wants to do good things and is currently a victim but he's also crazy powerful and beings like can so easily destroy little fragile humans or even just ruin our lives without thinking. Going together into the afterlife to fight God together is incredible good for them. The true forms were excellent Yuuji getting to appreciate his boyfriends true form was lovely and everyone seemed so cool. I'm so glad Yuuji got to kill a god that was awesome. I wonder how Susumu will feel about that. Little sun god Yuuji I love it. I had a headcannon that Yuuji was descended from Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto the goddess who lured Amaterasu from a cave by dancing. In my head cannon the two goddess had a kid who could have been a god himself but he fell for a mortal woman and became human to be with her. The families pink hair comes from the dawn goddess and their gold eyes from Amaterasu. This was just me making fun little theories based on the hints you'd sprinkled in. Anyways love Yuuji being a little sun demigod good for him. Anyways I love Yuuji just casually being himself immediately forgiving rude behavior and making friends with a god as though it were no big deal. The death God's regret that he didn't take more time to get to know Yuuji was cute actually I don't think he's got much to worry about on that end though because he's going to be so busy that one human lifetime will pass in a flash and then he'll have plenty of time to hang with his new friend. Mai and Muta staying behind oh it hurts but it's also so so good! Mai will probably have a great time once she gets used to things she'll be honored as a hero in a God's court and she's so powerful now it's the complete opposite of her life with her old clan. I hope she becomes his right hand woman and achieves great things living a legendary life. Yuuji saying he's not trying to redeem Sukuna but he wants to be in the same purgatory one day damn. I could wax poetic about that forever actually. It's the love and acceptance ok. It's saying I can't save you from the consequences of your own actions but I still won't leave you alone. I will sit with you in hell. Sukuna's well hidden fear of hell too that was great. Ugh it was just a perfect chapter and you brought Toji back I can't wait to see where that goes. I still have more to say lol there's so much good stuff in this one but this comment is already getting long so I'll probably be back in your inbox later with another one haha. Until then thank you so much for writing and sharing with us!!

Thank you ; w ; I was nervous about this one as it has a lot of weird worldbuilding, much like the last fic, and always hit or miss if people enjoy that or not...I just like writing more epic action stories sometimes with more of the world/action ; w ; The death god has been planned for a LONG time, since dropping hints as the ending of this series of fic, the second to last curse, is so contingent on Yuuji having done something BIG that is shaking things up.

Mai and Muta had such sad deaths in the manga, like just always felt they had so much awfulness happen and never got anything to show for it. I like my angst, but I feel if there isn't hope, if there isn't any good payoff, then that death wasn't just, as Yuuji would say. Here, they choose to stay, but it is for reasons of seeking out a better path, not "dead" as much as "Living it up in the god court" ...so they can come back for plot reasons later *coughs* *coughs*

Sukuna making himself into twenty finger cursed objects to maybe be reincarnating instead of dying speaks to me that he does NOT want to die and may have a fear of what comes next, but that's just my headcanon I'm putting in here hehe.... as for the cave incident with a certain sun goddess...mmm....there is a connection there hehe!

I feel it is important for Sukita that Yuuji does NOT just handwave Sukuna being awful, but has an acceptance of it but full send, knows karma has to make this bastard boy pay for it all c: He might become better, do better, but it doesn't erase the past. There is a price to pay, one way or another.

Also Toji coming back was literally the whole reason this chapter exists. I wanted to bring him back. I stared to build the idea they somehow get him back from the afterlife. This chapter was always about bringing Toji back as the funny surprised twist from the day I started writing this fic XD Goes to show you how an idea can really morph over the course of a story!

Thank you as always for the wonderful comment!

[coralsgrimes]

I will never understand what Ben sees in JH, but after a few years of silently watching the train wreck that is twin flames... I'm equally confused as to what JH sees in Ben. It's been years and he's still hiding and untagging any mention of the two of them together. A couple more posts popped up about him being at her Memorial Day pool party (one an obvious troll posts) and they all quickly disappeared from his tags.

For someone who loves to rinse and repeat terms like "authentic self" and "healing journey", she needs to add "self-respect" to her limited vocabulary because gurllllll...

They've known each other for years, they're apparently close enough that she leaned on him during her divorce, he wrote a whole EP for her, he seems to be integrating into her friend group and yet he still refuses to be publicly seen with her even though we all know they still hang out. Like girl that's gotta sting. Why keep someone around who is clearly embarrassed/scared to be seen with you? The dick can not be that good.

He doesn't even have a job. The highlights of his year have been one failed show for an album he hasn't mentioned in months, a convention for a canceled tv show and apparently going on a book tour for a book he didn't even write. JH is annoying and a shitty person, but at least she's trying to have a career.

At this point he can't even blame the hiding on the fan girlies bc what fans? He drove off the last of them after following and liking shit from that zionist account. Next to no one cared about the Memorial Day thing, the only person who talks about him on Twitter is that Ben Barnes Property account and there's only a handful of insta accounts that still regularly talk about him. Even the DL can't be bothered to discuss him anymore. You know your boring ass fucked up when even your haters have moved on. Pretty sure the only reason he still has that 2.1 million insta following is bc the majority of us are waiting to see what dumb shit he's going to do next.

I have no idea if they're just friends, dating, a situationship - at this point who cares? We're probably never going to know. But my god, these two are toxic and confusing.

(This got long and ranting fast, so sorry about that but this has been on my mind for awhile and I'd rather step on a rusty nail then admit to people in my life about how invested I am in the life of a D-list celebrity.)

All I can say here is AGREED

And just two follow ups;

1. He got a job now (sorry this an old ask) but like I wouldn't expect anything good from it, it's literally a cable TV one, and a limited series sooooo

2. His insta following is still dropping, he's losing about 10-15k per month now, probably bots not fans but ye can see how fucking desperate he got at one point to get a bigger following. Ma bet is that he's going to get down to 2M by the end of summer and if it keeps up (I don't think he's gonna gain any new followers organically anytime soon), he's gonna get below 2M mid autumn at the very best lol

There's a lesson here obviously - don't kill off your fan base and buy bot followers when instagram is clearing them up anyway...

[qprsmackdown]

IRL/OC Bracket: C & G vs Alic and Gray!

C & G propaganda:

Ok so these next few paragraphs are copy pasted from what I wrote on queering the map. Hope it makes you cry :) (Entries were written around mid-2020, with the last being written in 2023)

My school had a field trip to this park, my best friend and I found a quiet spot under some trees. I set up the blanket/mat I had brought, she propped up an umbrella. We laid down beside each other face-to-face. That was the first time I ever felt tempted to kiss someone. To this day I consider it as one of my gayest moments (right next to asking her out and later on asking her to be my qpp on a ferris wheel XD)

November(?) 2017 - We were talking about your maybe-crush on a friend when you mentioned that you used to have a crush on me. I confessed about my past crush on you too and started flirting with you. "Have you moved on from her? Will you be my girlfriend? We don't have to put a label on it or anything yet we can just-" "Yes" We dated for a month (full of silly puns and cheek kisses and gifts from Japan) before we broke up (can you blame us? we were twelve and our dads found out) but you're still my very best friend. I love you G - C

February 2020 - Day of the school fair, I had everything planned for a perfect day for you and me... until you brought along a classmate who had no one to hang out with and you were too kind to say no. We went on all of the rides, the three of us, and you mentioned how you have always wanted someone to dedicate a song to you at the song booth. I went out to reserve one, and then I stayed with you until both of you had to leave for your shifts. That's when I put my plan into action. I reserved a sunflower at the Lovebooth (I knew you liked sunflowers because of a certain character (the roses were way too romantic anyways)) and when you came back we got into line at the Ferris wheel with our other friends. While waiting my dedicated song finally played, and you turned to me with nearly the happiest smile I've ever saw on you. When we were getting closer I went to get my reserved sunflower, but the line was slow so I ended up asking my aunt to hold it for me. When the line was nearly there I got it back from her and our other friends helped me to hide it (Your sister wanted to ride with us but I told her my plan and she changed her mind). You got on and as you turned to face me I held out your sunflower. When we got to the top of the Ferris Wheel I asked what I had been planning to ask you for a week. "I don't know much about it yet, I still have to research more but... G, would you be my queer platonic partner?" You smiled the happiest smile I've ever seen on you that day. G, we haven't talked much since quarantine started, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm not sure what kind (romantic or platonic) but I know that you have a special place in my heart. I can't wait for this to be all over and for us to be by each other's side, drawing and reading and just talking about the things we never share with anybody else. I love you - C

July 2023 - The school fair was over 3 years ago, can you believe? So much has changed since then, quarantine happened, we were reduced to online classes, and I ended up moving to the States for a chance of a better life. We kept in touch, of course, through messages screaming over fandoms and platonic marriages on minecraft servers (how dare you for suggesting that before i knew abt cbeeduo >:( ) and like 5 meet ups over the summers. But it wasn't enough, and timezones and a desire for a more physical (in a actually there beside you sort of way) relationship eventually culminated in you asking to break it off two weeks before I met up with you in the Philippines. God damn it G, why didn't you wait? I had it all planned in my head. The night of my debut, as all my guests were leaving, I would take you to a private corner where we would talk, and I admit to you that yes, maybe my feelings for you turned out more romantic than I initially thought, but with the physical distance it wasn't right for us to pursue something of that nature, especially as I had wanted to try dating in college and didn't want to end up hurting you. I would say I love you and maybe leave you with a kiss, and that was how we'd gain closure. Well the kiss didn't happen and you laughed when I scolded you for not waiting before you admitted that yeah, you felt the same way but also agreed that our level of commitment wasn't right for us, not anymore. You promised me that if by the time we were done with college we were both single we could try again, but I won't hold you to that. G, thank you for being my bestest friend and first love, and I'm sorry that life didn't work out the way we had planned. I love you though, whether romantically or platonically, and I hope you're happy with where you end up in life - Yours always, C

anddddd that's it! veered a little romantic at times, but whats more queerplatonic than a relationship that blurs the lines of platonic and romantic eh? at the end of the day, we're still best friends and we care for each other deeply, even if we no longer officially label it as a qpr. hope our story made you cry >:D

Alic and Gray propaganda: Babes are fuckin THE qpr power couple for idiots. gray is the prince of the local country and his bestie/qpr partner alic is a local fantasy jock celebrity and they've been close since they were kids. their love language is taking "would you jump off a cliff if they told you to" from metaphorical to literal to hardcore metaphorical as in following each other into death in order to bring them back to life kicking and screaming even if that means not knowing if they themselves are going to be able to follow them back to life. anyway i wuv them and i think that should be enough More Alic and Gray propaganda!

[celestialevie]

Birthday surprise // Niall Horan x singer! Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: none

A/N: Since it's officially my birthday week and Niall's has just passed, I decided to write this very self-indulgent fic (even though I can't sing, but a girl can dream </3). I mostly wrote this for myself because I adore this human with my whole heart. Anyways hope someone will enjoy this fic just as much as I did writing it.

Finishing the first two songs, you chat a little with your fans. Noticing some of the signs they brought with them to get you to notice them, some of them making you laugh, while some of them made your heart clench with love. Sitting down at the piano, starting to play 'champagne problems'. While you were in the happiest relationship to date now, you still had some issues with your past relationships, where you were made the villain and them a victim when in reality it was the literal opposite. Niall was the blessing you were praying for. So what if you were fucked in the head? Niall loved you just the way you were.

Your birthday was coming up, and you were going to spend it while being in one of the cities you absolutely love touring in – Dublin. Although you were heartbroken because this will be the first birthday you were going to celebrate without your boyfriend, Niall. Ever since you've known him, you celebrated both of your birthdays with one another. His tour lead him to being in America during your birthday, which really sucked. You were both bummed out about it, he even offered to reschedule that concert, so he can be with you in Dublin, maybe even visit his family whilst already being in Ireland, you told him no. You didn't want to be selfish just because it's your birthday. Talking on the phone with him right from the moment he was awake (which was already in the afternoon for you). '' It feels weird to not be with you on your birthday, how will I survive without my birthday kisses and hugs from you? '' you ask while pouting. Niall chuckled and mimicked your put. '' I will give you your birthday kisses and hugs as soon as I see you. With extra ones for each day between your birthday and the day we see each other again. I promise. '' he gives you a smile. And you just pout harder. '' I really miss you. I can't wait to see you soon. '' checking the time, you realize it's almost time for you to start getting ready. '' Hey baby, I have to go start getting ready soon. I'll make sure Jenna calls you to FaceTime and shows you at least some concert if you're not busy. I love you and I miss you. '' as you say that, you hang up and quickly text your makeup artist, she can come over. Two minutes later, her and Jenna (your assistant and close friend) are in your dressing room, and you're getting ready. An hour later, you were done with your makeup and hair and all that was left was to put on your outfit. Ten minutes later, you were slowly making your way towards stage. Quickly texting Niall another I love you, and wishing him good luck on his own show later, you were off on the stage, the intro of your song' dress' starting to play as you were brought onto the stage. Let the fun begin.

After champagne problems, one of your favourite songs you wrote was next.

''... Don Perignon you brought it, no crowd of friends applauded

your hometown sceptics called it, champagne problems.''

'' A lot of you might not know, but this next song was inspired after I was done watching the amazing spider-man 2 for the millionth time. My love for Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield is unmatchable. Just ask my boyfriend, who's been hanging out with Tom Holland, how both of them are feeling betrayed by my love for both Amazing Spider-man's movies. This is How you get the girl. '' The intro of the song started playing and so were the screams of people.

Singing two more songs, you go get changed into a different outfit. Going back onto the stage, you're surprised that your manager Anna is standing there with a grin on her face.

'' Stand there like a ghost

Shaking from the rain

She'll open up the door and say 'are you insane?'

Say it's been long six months

And you were too afraid to tell her what you want, want...''

'' Uh-oh, manager is grinning, prepare yourselves guys, it's not going to be good. '' The crowd laughs while Anna rolls her eyes and smiles at you. '' We have a small surprise for you. '' as she says that, she points on the big screen behind you, when you turn around you are surprised to see a familiar face of one of your closest friends, Lewis Capaldi, wishing you a happy birthday and saying you guys need to go clubbing again soon. Laughing as his face fades away and the next one shows up, your very close friend and sometimes co-writer Taylor Swift, again wishing you the happiest birthday and saying how much she adores working with you and that she loves you very much. It went on for a while, all your friends and even your parents were there. Tears were falling down, and you didn't care it ruined your makeup. And then at the end there he was. My favourite face to see. Niall. '' Happiest birthday to you angel. I wish I could be there with you, just like we are always for our birthdays, but unfortunately I am not there to give you all the birthday hugs and wishes. I love you so much angel, keep rocking the world, and I will see you as soon as we can. '' At the end you were full on sobbing happy tears, hugging your manager and your band. The best surprise ever. '' I am very sorry for being a mess so publicly '' wiping your tears and thanking to whoever invented waterproof mascara for being the reason your makeup is not that ruined. '' Anyway, the show must go on, so let's go. '' picking up your acoustic guitar, adjusting it, you announce the song. ''You are in love. Let's go.''

''(...)

As the show is slowly coming to an end, and you're about to play a song that is about your boyfriend, that he inspired you to write. And Taylor helped you co-write it.

Morning, his place

Burnt toast, Sunday

You keep his shirt

He keeps his word

And for once, you let go

Of your fears and your ghosts

One step, not much

But it said enough

You kiss on side walks

You fight and you talk

One night he wakes

Strange look on his face

Pauses, then says

You're my best friend

And you knew what it was

He is in love. ''

'' Sadly, the show is slowly coming to an end. You guys were the absolute best and I adore spending my birthday with you all. This next song is literally one of the most accurate songs I've written about any of my relationship. When I got inspired by my loveliest boyfriend, I had to invite Taylor to help me write it, as we all know she is the lyrics master. Lover is one of my many nicknames I use for Niall, and I know that he's probably watching this or will watch it later, so hi Niall. '' you wave to one of the camera's while the crowd laughs. Gently, you start playing the guitar.

What you didn't know is that your boyfriend is a liar and is actually hiding with your assistant Jenna, waiting to come on the stage to surprise you. Of course, he wouldn't miss your birthday, even if he has to reschedule the concerts. You were absolutely worth it. As he waits for the part of the song he's gonna crash in, Jenna and Anna are making sure you don't accidentally notice Niall before time. The plan is for Anna to quickly distract you on one side while Niall comes out on the other side of the stage.

'' (...)

We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Lover '' as you sing that part, you notice Anna waving at you like a maniac, distracting you and mouthing something to you. As you're trying to figure out what is she saying, the crowd starts screaming, and you freeze as the familiar voice starts to sing the next part of the song

''Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand...''

The song soon comes to an end, and you're bringing Niall into another hug. He just smiles and wraps his arms around your waist. '' Happy birthday, angel. I hope you don't mind me crashing. '' You just shake your head while holding him as close as you can. '' You are always welcome to crash my show. The next song is your song anyway, so you might as well stay and sing with me. '' he pulls away and looks at you. '' Let's go finish this show, so I can give you all the birthday kisses and hugs you want. ''

You turn around with your hand on your mouth, as the man himself makes his way towards you. You're in absolute shock because this man is supposed to be in America. He only laughs at your reaction as he pulls you towards him in a tight hug while still singing. Hugging him back, not wanting to let go of him. Slightly pulling away, looking him directly in his beautiful blue eyes while singing.

'' I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover ''