#i always have fun streaming games with my friends bc i like my friends! but even then streaming is a way for us to like

[goldiipond]

let's say, theoretically, i finally got around to watching pmtok... any recommended let's players? :D

OOOUGH YAAAY MEETING MY WONDERFUL FRIEND OLIVIA!! YAY

im gona b honest though i dont actually remember finding many pmtok lets plays? at least that i can remember enough to recommend bc i have tge memory of a little bug of some sort </3

my go-to for most games i like is to recommend holly hollowtones vods bc she's always super fun to watch and i enjoyed her pmtok ones a lot! the only catch is holly's vods tend to also be. incredibly long. but if you're okay with that or even just putting em on in the background then holly is really really good. i know vinny vinesauce also played it and i remembered enjoying those vods a lot as well and theyre definitely on the shorter side compared to holly's bc he's not as big on like the collectables and optional exploration/dialogue and stuff but there's really nothing too major story-wise that you'll miss by watching him

[cats-in-the-clouds]

it’s all been said before but the whole pronouns thing for some people is getting so ridiculous it’s honestly just sad

[lucksea]

if the dmc or whatever wasnt a thing i would stream on twitch every day and just do this. while drawing this example i realized this would be almost exactly like those essay tiktoks where they have subway surfer playing at the bottom of the screen. unmedicated adhd experience

[strwbrryeyes]

𖦹°｡⋆ kenma as a best friend

⟡ cw: fluff, friends to lovers, little video game rage, terrible suggestive pick up line, awkward everything tbh, lmk if i missed anything else.

⟡ a/n: i had to make this slightly awkward and cringe i couldn't help it. also my bf actually said that pickup line one time while playing bedwars. i threw a fireball at him after bc it was bad.

⟡ best friend series: lev, yaku, kuroo || masterlist

best friend kenma who you met when he bumped into you while playing on his portable gaming device.

best friend kenma who felt bad but didn't know how to apologize properly because he was bad with people.

best friend kenma who you just giggled at because it was funny watching him try. you accepted his 'apology'.

best friend kenma who you got closer to when you ran into him again outside the volleyball gym, this time he was in his practice attire and you poked fun at him for actually being athletic.

best friend kenma who glared at you playfully as you teased him when kuroo came out from the gym to tell him to hurry up and get inside.

best friend kenma who hit kuroo when he saw you and immediately started hitting on you. "sorry, didn't know you called dibs" kuroo said and soon got hit again with kenma saying you weren't dating and you just responded with "yeah! we're only besties now!" which kenma cringed to.

best friend kenma who didn't really expect you to actually come up to him and talk but didn't complain because he actually liked having you around. you balanced him out with your outgoing personality.

best friend kenma who let you play on his gaming device whenever you would stop by to watch practice so you wouldn't get too bored while waiting for him.

best friend kenma who was in shock when practice was finished and saw that you had beaten the final boss of the game he's been trying kill for the past week and a half.

best friend kenma who called you a closeted nerd when he tried prying information out of you because there's no way it was just a 'fluke' like you said it was.

best friend kenma who went over to your house when you finally and gave in and admitted that you were a video game fanatic and told him that you had a pretty extensive collection of consoles and video games.

best friend kenma who would now come to your house every day he didn't have practice to play games with you.

best friend kenma who you always fought with over supersmash bros. and mario kart. you guys got really into it one time and didnt talk for a week before kuroo and yaku both lectured you about your rage issues.

best friend kenma who you went to the same college as and got a shared apartment because neither of you wanted to deal with roommates you didn't know.

best friend kenma who started streaming his gameplay since he had more time now since he didn't play volleyball anymore. he became popular relatively quick.

best friend kenma who invited you to play games with him on stream, mostly overwatch and minecraft. you became a fan favorite but you were made a meme when you tried valorant for the first time and failed.

best friend kenma who you made a vlog/irl youtube channel with where you guys would try different challenges.

best friend kenma who actually really disliked doing in person challenges but only did them because it made you happy.

best friend kenma who embarrassed himself during a cooking livestream when you were trying to teach him how to make apple pie from scratch.

best friend kenma who said he'd never do another cooking video with you again because he will never recover from it. he did another cooking livestream two weeks later and redeemed himself when he made a near perfect omurice.

best friend kenma who realized his feelings for you when you ate the omurice and saw your eyes light up and practically inhaled the rest of it. you looked like a goof but he found it adorable.

best friend kenma who while streaming minecraft bedwars came up with a bad pickup line when you said "i'll get bed defense" to which he responded with "you can come defend my bed" which caused you to freeze up, get distracted, and die when someone came up behind you, broke the bed, and killed you.

best friend kenma who actually didn't realize what he said until you died and turned to look at the livestream chat which was going lightning fast.

best friend kenma who ended the stream immediately after he realized what happened and ran to your room to apologize but only saw you curled up in a ball in your chair.

best friend kenma who apologized (terribly, like always) and accidentally blurted out that he loved you so that's why he subconsciously said what he said.

best friend kenma who curled up into a ball as well when he again realized what he said.

best friend kenma who was surprised when you finally broke the silence when you said you loved him back and asked if he wanted to be your boyfriend. he said yes obviously.

best friend kenma who is now boyfriend kenma who started the stream again an hour later like nothing happened but ended the stream by saying "okay gotta go cuddle with yn now".

[hunnylagoon]

Birthday Girl

A/N This is my first tumblr fic. I’m a retired Wattpad warrior, I only wrote this bc the Ellie tag is over diluted by smut, we need some angst and fluff to balance it out. My credentials are that I used to write Game of Thrones fanfic and I was blocked by Noah Beck on Twitter. Apologies in advance for any spelling errors or confusing sentences, bc I was high off my ass when I wrote this.

Summary

Jackson’s resident Baker works herself tirelessly to take care of everyone on their birthday and ensure they get something nice to brighten their special day but who is there to take care of her?

Birthdays are like brilliant gems in the kaleidoscope of time; they are the times when life's symphony crescendos into a celebration of its children. As the sun circles the earth once a year, we are given a day to celebrate our own journey, a day that whispers stories of victories, laughter, and the sweet notes of resiliency. You had always loved birthdays, who didn't? The look of joy on someone's face when they open a  gift you spent weeks looking for, the uncontrollable smile and pure serotonin that took over even the grumpiest of people. Everyone had a special day designated to them, of course, it was a cause to celebrate. 

You worked in the town bakery with very few other people, from five am to twelve pm on Monday to Friday every single week you were hustling around in a humid bakery, hell, you ran it like the navy.  Every morning, walking into the bakery is like stepping into a fragrant paradise where time seems to slow down to the sound of ovens buzzing to life. The first two hours were just for you before you let anyone in, The comforting routine of donning a flour-dusted apron and tying back unruly hair precedes the artistry of crafting pastries and breads. The almost therapeutic rhythm of kneading, rolling, and shaping becomes second nature: the soft crack of eggs, the calculated pour of sugar, and the clouds of flour hovering in midair. 

There wasn't much creative freedom while working in the Jackson bakery, it really just consisted of making dozens of bread loaves daily and then carting them over to the 'Barbecue Place' Which was once a restaurant though it had been refashioned into Jackson's mess hall.  However, you were able to dabble in some fun and were able to make cupcakes daily and a large batch of miscellaneous pastries every Friday. The cupcakes were very dear to you, you had to beg Maria when you were thirteen to approve the idea and eventually, you were green-lit.

As you step into the bakery you are greeted by the creek of wooden planks which are a testament to decades of busy activity; the dance of innumerable bakers has worn away at their shiny surfaces. The aroma of baked goods still hovers in the air from the previous day and all the days that came before, taking you to a more peaceful time. Sunlight streams through old lace curtains, illuminating worn, mismatched tables and chairs that have served eager clients for centuries though they no longer serve guests in the bakery. Deeply patinated wooden shelves support a variety of ceramic jars, each containing a treasure trove of hidden ingredients. Fading photos and yellowed newspaper clippings decorate the walls, telling the story of the bakery's illustrious past. There are copper pots and pans strung like time capsules on strong hooks, and an old-fashioned cash register sits on the end of the counter past the empty glass displays, it no longer serves a purpose but you have fought bravely to keep it around as it makes you think of what life had been like before the world fell apart. 

You look at a beat-up calendar on the walls, sitting in the place of an old picture frame that had been knocked down and shattered by none other than yourself when you were fourteen and had the bright idea of having you and your friend toss a bag of flour at each other to see who was strong enough to last longer in the odd game of catch. Surely, Ellie threw the five-pound bag a little too hard, you ducked to save yourself but it smashed into the framed photo of the family who ran the bakery before the apocalypse. It not only was smashed into little fragments but the bag of flour exploded and covered the dining room of the bakery as well as yourself in white powder, it looked like it had snowed inside. The calendar you were checking held the birthday of every person in Jackson, it was messy and hard to read as you usually had to cram several birthdays into a single day which was only a small square, it was hardly legible, there was almost no one else who could read it. Every day when you walked into the bakery, the first thing you did was check the calendar to find out whose birthday it was, then you began your bread dough or carried on with the sourdough started the day before, while the dough rose, you made cake batter, adjusting the recipe according to how many you had to make. After finishing work for the day or sometimes when you were midway through it, you would give each person a cupcake to celebrate their special day.

Even if no one else remembered their birthday, you were always there to make it a little bit better.

Today there were two birthdays on the calendar, Sean Casey, a man who was turning sixty. The second birthday marked down in the little square was yours. 

That's what made that day so special, you were ecstatic to see what your friends had planned for you later. Last year Ellie promised that she would go above and beyond for your next birthday and you were going to hold her to that. There was already a nice start to your morning by having your dad wake you up with breakfast in bed which you found truly impressive as he usually slept in till at least ten, on top of that he had scavenged a stand mixer for the home. You grabbed your apron off of the hook putting it over your neck and tying it tight around your waist. Everyone had a couple of designated aprons to rotate through throughout the week, yours consisted of two plain white ones, a red gingham pattern, one of forest green, and another made of a fabric covered in hyacinth flowers, their colours diluted like paint. Today you wore the apron your father gave you last year on your birthday, it was your favourite colour and the neckline was embroidered to say '(y/n)s kitchen'. You could tell your dad did the embroidery himself, the stitches were loose and uneven in some areas while being extremely tight in others, that's why you loved it so much, it was the thought and care behind it.

With a gentle hand, you pulled each of your necessary ingredients along with equipment out to begin your day. You preheat the ovens and in the quiet pre-dawn hours, the bakery comes alive with the hushed sounds of industrial mixers. The heady scent of freshly milled flour dances in the air as you measure the precise alchemy of ingredients, your hands moving with practiced grace. Kneading the dough becomes repetitive, muscles working in harmony to transform a mound of humble ingredients into a soft elastic texture. As the dough rests and rises, the anticipation builds—the promise of crusty loaves and soft, pillowy interiors. You slipped the pans of dough into the industrial ovens, the heat attacking you the second you opened the door; making sure to place the pumpernickel, rye, sourdough, brioche and wheat loaves all sorted on different racks in the respective ovens.

By the time you put the loaves in ovens it had been two hours from when you began, even with preparation the day before and dough starters, it was a process. You quickly washed your hands before unlocking the door for Juno as well as anyone who wanted to come in to visit. 

The clock read '7:09', because of the passthrough you were still able to look outside via the glass storefront, you could see people walking along the streets heading to whatever job they worked to contribute to the community, no one got paid, it was a commune after all, you couldn't imagine a world where everyone was so dependent on money and so obsessed with over-consumption. Part of you was waiting for one of those people to come in and wish you a happy birthday, but you shook the thoughts from your head.

You began to make the small portion for two of cupcake batter, remembering distinctly how four years ago you sat next to Sean at the Fourth of July party and he went on and on about how much he hated vanilla, it seemed like one of those crazy old man rants but you found delight in it. Never had you seen a man so passionate about cake flavouring. He said vanilla was nothing special, flavourless; you had come to learn that he was a chocolate man, every holiday event filling his pot belly with chocolate, when you had brought assorted sweets for a Christmas party he dove straight for the brownies. So it was easy for you to make up your mind on what flavour of cupcake to make.

After years of this cupcake tradition you had memorized each ratio to make, a double serving of chocolate batter consisting of 1/4 cup of flour, 2 1/2 tablespoons of white sugar, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 tablespoon of baking soda, a dash of salt, 2 tablespoons milk, two tablespoons canola oil, 1/4 tablespoon vanilla extract. You treated baking like it was a science and recipes were your formulas.

As for the frosting, you had a stockpile of plain buttercream that you took small servings from and flavoured according to said person's preference. All you had to do was whip it up and add some cocoa powder to make it fluffy and creamy again.

The bell above the doorway rang, signalling the arrival of someone, you looked up to see Maria. "Hey, there," You smiled, turning off the stand mixer so you could hear her.

"Hi, (y/n)," She greeted and you quickly wiped whatever was on your hands onto your apron before coming around to the service counter to speak with her. "I have something to ask of you."

"Yes?"

"I know you already do your little cupcake thing but we are throwing a surprise party tonight for Sean and I was hoping you could make a cake for him?"

You nod with a smile "Anything for the town chief."

"Great, then how about a simple vanilla cake?"

"Sean doesn't like vanilla," You answered quickly.

"Okay, well I trust you with it, his party starts at eight tonight in the town square and he's turning sixty so it's a big one, I'll see you there around then?" 

"Definitely," You grinned at Maria, waiting for her to wish you a happy birthday and reveal that she was only pretending to forget but she didn't. She thanked you and walked out, leaving you in a flour-covered apron with a tinge of hurt in your heart. It wasn't like you weren't close with Maria, you had Thanksgiving at her house every year.

Nonetheless, it was only a blip in your soon-to-be perfect day. Just as you had frosted the two cupcakes, putting chocolate chips on Sean's and breaking half of a double fudge cookie and sticking it into the thick icing. Rainbow sprinkles cascade like confetti, adding a whimsical touch to the miniature confection. The bell rang again calling for your attention, this time you didn't leave the kitchen instead just moved to look at whoever it was by the passthrough.

"Hey, kiddo!" Tommy greeted, clad in a red flannel tucked into blue jeans. He walked into the bakery as comfortably as he would his home.

"Howdy, Tommy," You said, moving out of his sight for a quick moment to put the two cupcakes in the fridge to prevent the buttercream from prematurely melting. 

"So, it's Sean's birthday today and I was wondering if you could bake a cake for his party-

"Maria was already in," You answered "Don't worry, I'm on it."

He smiled "Of course, you're always so on top of it," He leaned over the counter slightly, trying to get a look inside the kitchen via the passthrough "Say, have you got anything back there for me?" You opened the box of double fudge cookies you made the day before and scooted around the passthrough to hand him one, boots clattering on the ground. Tommy loved to visit the bakery as you always had a sweet treat for him and he would never get sick of the aromatic embrace of fresh bread. "Thanks, kiddo, I'll see you around." 

This was the moment you were almost convinced that they were planning a surprise party for you, sure Maria could forget about your birthday, she was a busy lady but there was no way Tommy would. He was good buddies with your dad and was over at your place for beers a minimum of once a week. You always baked for him when he came over and he constantly joked about you trying to fatten him up. 

The bell sounded again though you didn't bother to look up, you knew who it was by the time of the clock, Juno was starting her shift. As usual, she tied her mousy brown hair into a sleek ponytail then grabbed her apron and stuck a baseball cap on over her head so there was no chance of her hair coming loose. "Good morning," She walked into the kitchen, heading over to the sink to wash her hands.

"Mornin'," You answer.

She looks you up and down with a slight smile "You're wearing your favourite apron, must be a special day."

“Sure doesn't feel like it."

♡

Your birthday wasn’t panning out great but you didn't want to lose hope.

You had walked over to the greenhouses after your shift to find Sean, he loved the cupcake, he even hugged you which was nice albeit a little odd. You walked through town a bit after you had stopped and talked to everyone on the street for not a single one to say the words you've been pleading to hear all day. Taking it as defeat, you grabbed a sandwich for lunch from the mess hall and began the desolate walk home.

Nestled at the end of a peaceful, tree-lined street, the charming but battered house had a certain charm that cut through its worn yellow exterior. Tentacles of ivy wrapped about the crumbling outside walls, their green tones infusing the dilapidated building with a hint of the natural world's tenacity. The worn-out yet friendly doormat and weathered rocking chair on the porch told of years spent taking in the changing of the seasons. The wooden frames of the windows, adorned with faded drapes that seen innumerable sunsets, spoke tales of laughter and time passed.

The house's coziness unfolded inside like a time capsule, with worn-out rugs covering creaky floorboards and a fireplace in the living room that was adorned with vintage tiles that were mismatched and provided warmth in more ways than one. The rooms had a lived-in comfort despite the peeling wallpaper and chipped paint, and each mismatched piece of furniture seemed to tell a story of its own. Despite being tatty and ragged around the edges, the house exuded a calmness that invited guests to enjoy the beauty concealed in the flaws of a place that had aged gracefully and with character like most homes in Jackson. The living room was always your favourite, there was a spruce bookshelf pushed behind the gray, L-shaped couch, and the rug was once a maroon colour though it's clear that it's been well-loved over the years. Pillows and throw blankets were carelessly scattered over the couch from when you and your dad had watched '21 Jumpstreet' the night before, he kept saying it was a shame the outbreak happened before they got to make a second one, though many of the jokes didn't land with you, you loved to see your dad laugh so hard he snorted. The room was illuminated by a warm glow from the fairy lights overhead that your dad scavenged years prior, a small stack of books piled up on the coffee table which had been hand-crafted by Joel.

You popped 'Mean Girls' into the DVD player, just to have some background noise and went to the kitchen and started on Sean's cake. As much as you loved the bakery, you wanted to be somewhere a little more close to comfort. 

As you measured each ingredient with care, you couldn't shake the bittersweet feeling that lingered in the air. Sifting the ingredients into the bowl, you had wished your father was home from patrol duty, all you really wanted was a hug but instead, you slaved away at a black forest complete with layers of moist sponge, decadent frosting, and a profusion of vibrant decorations.

As you delicately frosted the cake, your mind flitted between thoughts of the celebration and the poignant fact that everyone seemed to have overlooked your own special day. The kitchen, usually a sanctuary for you to escape to, now harboured the weight of unspoken emotions. Your heart, though excited for Sean to get a nice surprise on his Birthday, held an unnoticed longing for acknowledgment.

The aroma of the baking cake filled the kitchen, mingling with the scent of disappointment that you couldn't quite shake.

As the cake took shape, you couldn't help but think back to the calendar at the bakery, where the date circled in red seemed to mock you. Your own birthday, usually a day filled with surprises and the warmth of laughter, had slipped through the cracks of everyone's awareness. Though the night was still young and Ellie had said that she was planning something incredible.

Finally, nine was about to roll around, you changed into some clean clothes that hadn't yet carried the memories of your disappointing day, just a white top and some jeans. The sun had set, and your dad wouldn't be home for a good while so you walked over to the town square alone. 

There was a table full of food and a long banner that read 'Happy Birthday Sean!' strung between two street lamps. There were twinkling fairy lights illuminating what would have otherwise been a dark night. 

"There she is!" Tommy smiled, doing that awkward little dad jog over you. "Wow, that cake looks incredible, mind if I take it off your hands?"

"Go ahead," You held out the cakeboard. Tommy gingerly took it away from your grasp, his forearm underneath to support and his other hand held the side of the board for balance.

"I owe ya' kiddo," He winked before taking the cake away to show a group of adults.

You stood around awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do with yourself.  You turned your attention to the moon, wanting to believe that it shined so very bright just for you, because the moon, unlike everyone else recalled how important this day was to you-

"SURPRISE!" Everyone erupted in cheers as Sean walked up to his party, his daughter had her arm linked with his. He had the biggest smile on his face it almost made you forgive everyone for forgetting because at least Sean got something thoughtful.

"Lord, I was thinking everyone forgot my birthday!" Sean laughed, pulling Tommy in for a hug.

"(y/n)!" Dina yelled, you turned your head to follow her voice. She was sitting at a long picnic table beneath an awning with some friends "Over here," She motioned for you to sit down and you obliged, taking a spot between Ellie and Laila. "What have you been up to? I feel like I haven't seen you all day."

"That's because you haven't," You said with an awkward smile. "I've just been baking, like always."

"You're always working so hard, I swear you live in that bakery and when you aren't in there your busy busting your ass around town to make sure everyone gets something on their birthday," Dina sat across from you and put a hand onto yours "You look out for everyone, but who's looking out for you?"

"My dad?" You glance at Ellie who isn't tuned into the conversation in the slightest, she has her arms crossed in front of her on the table and her head resting on them. 

"Aw, that's sweet-" Kayla moves to look at you but in doing so, she spills a glass of juice onto you. "I'm so sorry," She slaps one hand over her mouth, her eyebrows furrowing. Kayla stood up from the table, her ginger curls rustling with the breeze "I'll get a cloth or something-

"Don't worry about it," I wave her off "It's just clothes, I'll grab some napkins." You push yourself away from the table, walking over to the table adorned with food, you see a small stack of Christmas themed napkins (it must've been hard for them to come by regular ones) and grab a handful, bunching them up in your hand in an attempt to soak up some of the juice that had already indefinitely stained your clothes. 

You feel some eyes on you from the other side of the table, to look up and see Joel, he doesn't say anything though his lips are pressed together tight.

"You're back," You say, a spark of happiness rekindling inside of you "So my dad's back from patrol too?"

Joel nods "Too tuckered to come out, said he was just heading home," He uses tongs to put a couple cuts of chicken onto his plate "Oh and happy birthday, you've probably heard that a whole bunch already, lord, it's all your old man would talk about on our last couple of patrols."

"What did you say?" You look at him with furrowed eyebrows, unsure if he said what you really thought.

"I said happy birthday, shame you've stained your clothes on your birthday," He absentmindedly added some mashed potatoes onto his plate. The words hung in the air, a moment that transcended the boundaries of their usual exchanges. You, momentarily taken aback, met Joel's gaze. It was a simple, earnest wish, uttered with the spontaneity of someone who had remembered a small yet significant detail in the whirlwind of festivity.

"Thank you, Joel," You replied, your voice carrying a mix of surprise and gratitude. In that fleeting instant, the isolation that had surrounded her seemed to dissipate. A connection, however tenuous, had been forged in the acknowledgment of her existence amidst the collective celebration.

"No problem, kid, I'll see you around," He left with his plate leaving you to stand alone at the table. You continued to dab at the juice on your white top, and though you knew it wouldn't come out you proceeded to rub it; the best exchange of your day, no more than eight sentences suddenly turned from joy to frustration. The only two people who remembered your birthday were your dad and a fiftey-eight-year-old man who practically raised the girl you had spent years crushing on, not the girl herself, but her father figure. However, you thought, maybe if Joel remembered, Ellie had aswell and she actually did have something planned.

Amidst the lively chatter and laughter that reverberated through the night, you stood in the midst of flickering candles and colourful decorations, your eyes cast down to the ground. The atmosphere of celebration enveloped her, but a palpable sense of solitude hung in the air like a heavy mist settling upon your shoulders. It was a birthday party, yes, but not your own. Forgotten and overlooked, your heart echoed with a quiet ache, the irony of your situation casting a shadow over the festive scene.

The square was adorned with streamers and balloons, a tapestry of colours that seemed to dance in rhythm with the joyful voices around her. The community gathered, their faces lit by the warm glow of the fairy lights and street lamps, each one caught up in the merriment of the moment. Yet, for you, the celebration felt like a distant spectacle, a scene from which you were detached.

It was your birthday too—a fact that no one cared enough to recall. As Darla (Sean's daughter)  calls guests toward a decadent cake adorned with candles, which you had made, you couldn't escape the bitter irony of the situation. You watched as the room erupted into a chorus of "Happy Birthday," the song meant for another soul, another moment of joy. You joined in, lips forming the familiar words, your voice harmonizing with the collective melody. But within the depths of your being, the celebration rang hollow, a stark contrast to the cheer that echoed around you.

Throughout the evening, you navigated the party with a forced smile, concealing the invisible weight of your emotions. Conversations buzzed like bees in your ears, no- it grated like a fork in a blender, but you found yourself on the outskirts—a silent observer amidst the numerous connections. The laughter that erupted like fireworks, the clinking of glasses, the embraces of old friends—it all seemed distant, an echo from another realm where she once belonged.

The party unfolded as a series of snapshots: a group photo with smiling faces, a toast to Sean, and the opening of gifts that weren't meant for you. Each moment, though vibrant and filled with the warmth of shared camaraderie, magnified the silence that enveloped your own celebration, forgotten and left to dissolve into the shadows.

As the night carried out, seeming like the celebration would never cease, you cut yourself a slice of cake, grabbing one of the half-melted candles that Sean had already blown out, they sat in a frosting-covered pile next to the cake. You took your favourite colour out of the rainbow assortment of candles and stuck it into the piece of black forest cake.

With your cake you sat back down by Ellie at the picnic table where she still returned to after conversing, everyone else had gotten up to dance. You reached for the lighter in your pocket and struck it to ignite, sparks flickered around the end of it, you struck it again and a flame arose, you carefully brought it to the wick of the partially melted candle.

The flickering flame cast a subtle glow as you made a silent wish for understanding, for the beauty found in selflessness, and for the recognition that sometimes the most meaningful celebrations are the ones we craft for others, even in the quiet echoes of our own unacknowledged birthdays. Ellie turned to look at you as the candle's flame danced in the darkness, before you could blow out the candle to solidify your wish a little girl climbed up onto the bench and blew it out, you looked at her and all she did was smile up at you, the gap in her teeth prominent, her deep chocolate hair braided so intricately you had to believe that it must've taken her mother hours.

As much as you wanted to deck that little girl in the face for ruining your moment, you didn't because it would be wildly inappropriate. "Do you want this?" You sighed, holding out the plate to the girl, she smiled and nodded enthusiastically, taking the cake and scattering away "Hey, Ellie," You pushed back tears in your eyes, forcing a smile on your face "Got any plans later?"

“Yeah," She said, short

"Oh, what are they?"

"Not to sound like a cunt but I'm not really in the mood to talk, I had a shit patrol and all I want to do is go home, smoke a joint, watch a movie, maybe read a comic, and pass out on my couch, the only reason I'm here is that Dina dragged me out and Joel said I need to be more involved in the community."

Your smile dropped, you couldn't hold it in anymore, realizing that this wasn't the elaborate setup of a surprise party but Ellie genuinely forgot it was your birthday. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what's happening today?"

"It's Sean's birthday," She gestured to the party around her.

"You're fucking serious," Any amusement that had been in your tone was gone, replaced by a subtle anger boiling up inside of you

"Are you going to cry?" Ellie gave you a weird look "What are you so mad about?"

"I can't believe you," You laugh bitterly "Actually I can, this is so like you, I need to stop building it up in my head that you're going to surprise me with something great. But hey, at least you never fail to let me down."

"Jesus," She scoffed "There's always something going on with you, can you go one day without finding some irrational reason to be upset?"

"Irrational?"

"Yeah, irrational," She reiterated "You always come to me when something sets you off in the slightest then your problem becomes everyone else's. You're so fucking draining and I'm sick of it."

"Fuck you, I hope your comic catches fire from your joint and you burn your place down." You stand up from the bench, wiping tears away from your eyes. Your boots clattered against the cobblestone. You stormed past the dancers, some stopping to look at one another with concern. Dina leaves Jesse to ask Ellie what happened.

The walk home might've been the loneliest you had felt in your life, the harsh wind of the night bit at your nose. The feeling of the sticky juice soaking through your clothing was borderline unbearable, were just about ready to scream. There wasn't a single person out and about as everyone was either at the party or cozied up in their own homes.

Arriving at your doorstep, you fumbled with the handle, the metallic clink resonating in the quietude that enveloped the house. The door swung open, revealing the dimly lit foyer, still no surprise. Why do you still think there is going to be a party? No one is coming.

You wandered into the living room, the TV was lit with the options screen for 'Mean Girls' that you had put on hours earlier.

Sinking into the worn-out couch, You let the weight of the day wash over you. A single tear welled in your eye, and as it escaped, a floodgate of unshed sorrow burst open. The first teardrop traced a silent path down your cheek, leaving a glistening trail of heartache in its wake.

The tears you cried weren't silent and dainty but violent sobs that burned your throat each time you cried out. As you wept, it felt like someone had stabbed your gut with a thousand needles, you cried and cried, to no one in particular, maybe the moon glistening outside the window though the moon seemed to absorb your tears, offering no solace in return.

The soft tick of the clock on the wall echoed in the quiet room, marking the strike of midnight, your birthday had ended. There was no secret party or a prank where everyone was only playing an act, only the emptiness of the house echoed the howls soaked in your tears.

The oak staircase creaked, and your dad turned the corner, peering into the living room. "What's wrong, honey,?" He shook the sleep from his mind, focusing on what was important, he sat next to you on the sofa. "I thought you said you were going to be out all night with your friends?"

You shook your head, breathing shaky breaths alone, hardly able to get a word out "They forgot," You felt the harsh sting of desolation hit you all over again "Everyone forgot," You grabbed his grey t-shirt burying your face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around you, cradling you gently like you were a child who had just scraped her knee not someone who had just turned nineteen, "Except for Joel, so be nice to him, please."

"I'm sorry, baby, it was probably just a mix-up," He rubbed one hand on your back to comfort you. "I should've been there with you, I'm so sorry."

You couldn't get the words out of your mouth, all you could manage was to shake in your father's arms with sobs until you cried yourself to sleep.

♡

"Happy birthday, Jasmine!" You smile brightly, presenting a lemon-raspberry cupcake to the woman. She was serving breakfast in the mess hall, the early morning light streaming through the many windows, blinding those trying to enjoy their meals.

"Aw, thank you, love" She took the cupcake "That's real sweet," She wore a hairnet, despite having short cropped hair. "I just realized I don't even know when your birthday is."

"It was yesterday, actually."

"Aww, how was it?" Jasmine smiled, her white teeth contrasting with her dark skin.

"It was nice, it was quiet too, I just spent it by myself."

A frown replaced Jasmine's smile and she lowered her tone "Did your friends drop the ball?"

You wave off her question "Oh no, loads of people remembered, I just wanted some time to myself, it was nice."

You could tell Jasmine didn't wholeheartedly believe you, she was at Sean's party last night and saw you rush out with tears building in your eyes "If you say so," She shrugged, taking a bite of her cupcake "This is really good."

"Thanks," A small smile plays on your lips.

"God bless you, sweetheart, you deserve the best." She said, every bit of truth behind her words. She took another bite of the cupcake, savouring the sweet and sour taste "And I mean that."

You were too caught up in conversation to notice Jesse ahead of you in the service line right away, he grabbed a glass and filled it with water from the dispenser, trying to play cool and not have your attention drawn to him. With a shaky hand, he put the glass on his tray and hurried over to the table where Ellie was eating with Dina. "Guys, something not that great just happened."

Ellie furrowed her eyebrows looking from Dina to Jesse "What?" She asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, she swallowed them down and spoke back up "Please tell us what terrible thing has happened in the time it took you to walk to the service line, get your food and come back?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"We forgot (y/n)'s birthday," He said quickly, Ellie and Dina looked at each other with wide eyes, thinking back to the night before and the way they had both behaved. Dina was extremely ignorant and Ellie got into an argument with you, though Jesse didn't speak to you at all.

"We're awful friends," Dina says quietly, scraping her mind for any way they could salvage the situation and play it off like they hadn't forgotten. "We could change all of the calendars in town and make it seem like her birthday is actually today."

"Be serious, Dina," Jesse said, though he was considering her idea. "I think the only way we can fix this is by making it up to her."

"How would we do that? We can't make it up to her, she remembers every single person's birthday in this town and gives them a cupcake, even people she doesn't like, do you remember how she planned all of our birthday parties for the last four years and has never let us down?" Dina and Jesse nodded "And how we always scramble something together last minute? Like last year, we only remembered two days before and we threw her a subpar movie night, we watched Star Wars and she doesn't even like Star Wars."

Dina sucked air through her teeth "Yeah, not our best moment."

"You think?" Jesse asked, sarcastically. "And Ellie didn't make it any better by yelling at her yesterday!"

"You yelled at her? You told me you didn't yell at her,"  Dina whipped her head to look at Ellie, the smallest glimpse of judgment in her eyes. "Shh, she's coming!"

You were making your way to the exit lugging the cart that had held loaves of bread on it before you dropped them off to the kitchen, still in your flour-covered apron, hair pinned up messy, baby hairs flying away. Clad in jeans, a green T-shirt and beaten-up boots, clacking against the hardwood floor, you still looked beautiful to Ellie with red eyes and a puffy face from crying all night. "Watch this," Jesse murmured to the group before turning around and flagging you down. "Hey (y/n)!" He smiled brightly, his words catching your attention "Did you enjoy your birthday, yesterday?"

"Jesse, I know you heard me talking to Jasmine." You said and Ellie couldn't bear the disappointed look on your face. At that moment, the guilt hit her all at once. You had been the first kid her age that she warmed up to when she arrived in Jackson, trying your best to include her in everything. You invited her to hang out with your friends even though she didn't particularly get along with them, she went anyway because she just wanted to see you. On her birthday the previous year, you had scoped out an old comic store hours away just to bring her there for one day.

Jesse's smile fell and you had walked out the door before he had the chance to push a lie through his teeth. Last night's conversation echoed through Ellie's head over and over again, she cringed at the memory, god, why did she even say that?

Dina reached over the table and gave Ellie a harsh smack on the arm "Why did you even say that?!" 

"Ow," She flinched, rubbing the spot that had been assaulted by Dina "What are you talking about?"

Dina looked at Ellie like she was just about ready to scream "What you said to her last night, what was going through your head?"

"Not much, apparently," Jesse answered for her, earning a death glare from the Auburn girl.

"I'll just apologize and it'll be water under the bridge," Ellie said, leaning back.

"That's not going to work," Dina replied quickly.

It, in fact, did not work. Ellie had shown up at the bakery where you promptly ignored her. "(y/n), I'm really sorry I forgot your birthday and said those things to you." Nothing Ellie said could get you to even look at her.

She had later stopped by your house, it was your dad who answered the door and Ellie sheepishly asked if you were home. He called for you to come down, the moment you saw Ellie, you shut the door in her face. There was no way she could defend herself, she couldn't say that she said those things because she had a bad day (even though she did), and that would just make her seem pathetic. She really wanted to say that she was scared of how much she liked you, she didn't want to ruin a good thing, you both had spent years playing the role of each other's best friend until Ellie started to distance herself from you and you ended up enwrapping yourself with work to distract yourself from the fact that she was drifting away.

Ellie didn't know what to do, if she didn't act fast, it would be too late and she was going to lose you.

♡

One week later

The sun was just beginning to set as you were already preparing to settle into bed and read a book, just about to change out of your floor-length sundress and into one of your dad's old shirts. However, your plans were interrupted when you heard your dad screaming downstairs, it was blood-curdling. You dropped everything, pulling your bedroom door open and rushing down the stairs, tripping on a step and stumbling before quickly regaining balance and moving with haste "Dad?" You called out, worry running through your head. 

"SURPRISE!" People practically screeched, the volume so loud that you jolted back in fear. The chatter only grew as you looked around you and realized what was happening, this was your belated birthday party. 

You were pulled in suddenly for a hug, squeezing you so tight you thought your eyes would pop out of your skull was Tommy "I'm so sorry, kiddo, I was being a real shithead on your birthday."

"It's okay," You choked out, nearly gasping for air. Much to your relief, he released you and you took a deep breath.

"Happy belated birthday!" Dina sang, placing a fat box in your arms. Many people followed after her, piling gifts on top of the initial one, you were quickly losing balance, so you stumbled into the living room and put the gifts onto the coffee table. There was so much life in the living room it was almost hard to believe that just a week before you had been crying alone, bathed in moonlight. 

There were streamers strung throughout your house and odd dangly decorations that hung from the ceiling. Some balloons were taped to the walls while others bounced around the ground.

The lively hum of conversation, the clinking of glasses, and the melodic strains of birthday wishes filled the room as the party pulsated with energy. Colourful decorations adorned the walls, and the air was charged with the festive spirit.

 You had the biggest smile on your face while everyone joked and jeered. Shoving their gifts into your face, trying to get you to open them first. It had made you forget about how awful your real birthday was, though you did try to dodge awkward apologies of people fumbling over their own words to make up excuses as to why they missed your real birthday.

"Happy birthday to you-" A voice began singing, and soon enough the entire crowd joined in, harmonizing into an off-key rendition of the birthday song. They made way for the person carrying the cake which had been none other than Ellie herself. The song ended off and Ellie placed the cake in front of you on the coffee table. "Make a wish."

You blew out all of the candles, and no punchable little girl around to steal your thunder, the room erupted into applause. The celebration continued with the living room becoming a dance floor, laughter echoing through the corridors, and conversations flowing freely. The cake itself reminded you of the embroidery your dad had done on your apron, it was sloppy and imperfect but you could tell it was made with love, the icing had been put on prematurely and had partially melted off the cake. It read 'Happy birthday' with 'Sorry for being a dick' written smaller beneath the first bit of text.

"Thank you, Ellie," You smiled softly up at her.

No one else was paying attention to you anymore, aside from those who wanted a slice of cake. Ellie nervously fumbled around with her hands "Do you want to dance?"

Ellie invited you to dance as the opening notes of the song floated through the air and she held out her hand. With a gentle smile, you accepted and you moved into the middle of the living room to form a makeshift dance floor. The soft aroma of fresh flowers blended with the scent of vanilla candles created an ambiance that enhanced the moment's sensory magic.

To the gentle beat of the song, your bodies moved in unison. Your hand settled comfortably on Ellie's shoulder, and her hand wrapped around your waist. Your bond transcended the material in the living room dance, an unspoken language of mutual feelings and unknown depths.

You both danced, recklessly, so much so that you were nearly a hazard for the swaying couples drifting around you, moving faster and not hurriedly as the tempo picked up. With each step, the living room's walls became silent witnesses to a romance that was developing on the plush carpet under their feet. The muted rustle of your clothing and the melodic notes of the music were all that could be heard to your ears.

The two of you took great pleasure in the dance's exuberance, laughing at the imperfect nature of it. In the noise of the living room, your eyes, locked in a dance of their own, spoke volumes. You were embraced by the dim lighting's vulnerability, which freed you from the burdens of the outside world to fully enjoy the moment. 

Ellie guided you in a soft spin as the song went on, your moves were not fluid and elegant but Ellie could've sworn that looking into your eyes made it feel like there was liquid sunlight coursing through your veins

You and Ellie drew closer in the song's last moments, your bodies pressed together in an embrace that went beyond the material. As the last notes of the music faded, they held each other for an extra moment, relishing the warmth that they shared and the unspoken promises that danced between them. You wished that you could've stayed in Ellie's strong embrace for centuries.

You let go of Ellie, taking a step back with a smile, "Why didn't you tell me you were such a good dancer?" You tease, almost out of breath.

"I didn't know I was," She grinned, taking the sight of you in. Your cheeks were flushed and your hair had become messy, she thought you to be beautiful all the same, if not more. Her eyes raked over your body, your floor-length sundress and mismatched socks "And here I was thinking it was too late for sundresses."

"It's never too late, Ellie."

[m4sonn]

✧*̥˚ The outsiders Modern AU Headcanons *̥˚✧

- Credits to @stevelovbot on Tumblr for the inspo for this post! And also credits to my friend @peachyponyboyy who I collaborate with for these!! :3

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Ponyboy

• Is a big fan of the Simpsons and can quote almost any episode word by word.

• Says that The Godfather is his favorite movie ever but it’s actually Mamma Mia. He secretly loves musicals.

• Is the only one with a Tumblr account and he’s pretty active in there.

• Definitely writes fan fiction or character studies in AO3.

•The only person that knows about that and gets to read them is Johnny.

• His pfp always matches Johnny’s in any social media platform.

• When he feels annoyed/pissed by his brothers, he likes signing them up for random ass newsletters and whatnot, making sure they get spammed constantly.

• He loves digital books and owns a Kindle but he feels like nothing compares to real books.

• His bi awakening was watching hunger games with dally and seeing peeta, made things worse when he saw the fnaf movie, he’s just a wh0re for josh hutcherson. (He would’ve made the whistle baby edit /j 😣😣🔥🔥)

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Sodapop

• Is the only one who can actually use TikTok and he’s pretty popular. He loves doing trends with the gang, probably forcing them to do the cinnamon challenge. (they agree bc they're all stupid)

• Loves avocados a lot and gets teased for posting pictures of his meals.

• His favorite game is Assassins Creed but isn’t a big fan of the community and fandom around the game. He just wants to play it and have fun.

•Facetimes the rest of the group whenever he wants, specially Ponyboy and Darry.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Darry

•He’s the owner of the only Netflix and/or any other streaming accounts of the group and is the one who pays for it. The rest of the gang add their own profiles and watch everything they want. (Or they share one account, there is no inbetween)

• Likes to keep up with the news and current affairs, so he follows a lot of reporters and activists on Twitter and Facebook. He’s subscribed to lots of newsletters for sure.

• Was the biggest football star of his school and got a scholarship thanks to it. He went to college but had to stop playing football eventually due to a freak accident on the field. However, this didn’t sadden him, since he got his diploma and works in things related to football anyways, he works as a coach for the local youth football team.

• His phone password is Ponyboy and soda’s birthdays mixed together.

• He is a big fan of No Doubt, when he found out that they were performing at Coachella, he absolutely lost it and started saving for a ticket immediately. When he went and saw them in the front row he cried, absolutely WEEPED.

• Constant listener of destiny’s child and connects with survivor on a personal level and he’s not scared to admit, you’ll sometimes hear him singing it while he’s doing stuff around the house while listening to music

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Dally

•Has been blocked by multiple celebrities on Twitter AND instagram, on various occasions.

•Is a very big fan of The Hunger Games and one of his favorite characters is Peeta.

•Makes sure to be the first one to text Johnny on his birthday, even if they’re standing next to each other.

•Loves crime/serial killer podcasts and has good knowledge about these topics.

•Hates going to the dentist. There is a very embarrassing video of him being out of it after getting one of his wisdom teeth removed that Johnny recorded (Dally forced Johnny to take him since he was scared).

•Is always listening to music and doesn’t like sharing his earphones unless it’s Johnny.

•Has practiced a lot of sports during his life and his favorite one so far is boxing.

•Got drunk one New Year’s Eve and confessed that Darry was like the brother he wished he had had, and that his New Years Resolution was to make it up to Darry (He never did, since he had forgotten). and nobody has ever let him live it down.

•Secret fanboy of the neighborhood, one time he thought nobody was home and started singing daddy issues at the top of his lungs, two-bit has it on video and never lets him hear the end of it about it.

• Still enjoys stealing and robbing old ladies and young children and still enjoys annoying random pretty girls on the street (so basically still and ahole)

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Johnny

• Wears denim overalls with cute sweaters and loves jackets with lots of pockets.

• Loves spicy food and is the only one in the group who can actually eat it without any problem.

• Has always wanted a puppy or any kind of pet but his situation at home always made it impossible. Because of this, Pony gifted him a goldfish one Christmas and they set the fish tank at the Curtis’ so Johnny could visit it as much as he wanted without risking getting his parents angry.

• He gets really attached to that fish pretty fast and treasures the gesture behind it. Pony and him name is Frost.

• Pony and him use Twitter DM’s just to send memes to each other and store them.

• He has a private Twitter account that only Pony gets to follow.

• Can speak Spanish and French.

•Owns a leather jacket that had been Dally’s a couple of years ago and takes care of it as if it was made of gold.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Two-Bit

• He’s the reason why Darry had to get a Disney+ account.

• Knows all the songs from Frozen I.

• Wanted to have a mouse as a pet (since…mickey mouse, duh.) for a while but Darry refused.

• He doesn’t admit it, but he loves sweet drinks made of fruits and cocktails more than beer.

• His socks never match and they all have at least one hole in them.

• Is the one that gets the most excited about Christmas. He’s not particularly religious but he loves the decorations, and the lights, and the whole mood in general. He’s the one that always makes sure the rest of the boys have presents, even if it’s something small.

• His first time going to disney world he bawled his eyes out, like full on mental breakdown inside the park, Ponyboy and Sodapop saved up all their birthday money, allowance, and paycheck money for about a year and a half to buy the tickets. (they wanted to get a fast pass and like the entire deluxe trip for him, that's why it took so long.) Ponyboy was SO embarrassed from two-bits crying, “You’re 22, Stop. Crying. Over. Mickey.” but still was happy for him.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Steve

• He tells everyone his top artist is Limp Bizkit but it's actually Queen, his top song was good old fashioned lover boy.

• Wakes up early to watch the F1 races and has never missed a season of Top Gear since he was little. His favorite was Hamilton, but ever since he saw that race with verstappen vs hamilton, his opinions have changed…

• He’s the best at playing video games, and he especially likes horror ones like Resident Evil. (absolute wh0re for Leon Kennedy, i am too tho so no shame)

• Sodapop and him are always playing online together and they sometimes let Ponyboy join them. Him and Sodapop gave ponyboy an unplugged controller once and said it was wireless (for the shitz and giggles and to see how long it took for him to notice), he realized half way through the game and told Darry who then yelled at them for 5 minutes.

• Doesn’t like TikTok and is always going about how Vine was just much better. (He’s stuck in 2014..)

• Gets angry when his texts go unanswered in the group chat (they do it on purpose since they know it pisses him off.)

• He listens to cotton eye joe on repeat, change my mind.

[peacheeeliz]

023. hey pretty (wc: 904)

blue = twitch chat

heartzfrombora: is the smp really coming to an end?

“As much as I'd love to say no, I honestly think it might,” Yuyu admits, frowning. “I think all of us have gotten really good progress on our empires, and with this whole beholder thing going on in the other empires, I think the end is inevitable.”

milfhos: BOOO 🍅🍅

strwchaos: NOOO 😭😭

“But this isn't the last you'll see of all of us together,” you continue for him. “We've talked to Yeonjun, and we all agree that another smp would be a lot of fun!”

You had ended your stream about an hour prior and instantly hopped on call with Yuyu to join him on his stream. It started off with the both of you playing various Roblox games, but now you had his stream pulled up, and you two were answering questions that chat has. They had all these questions about the Minecraft server: is it really ending soon, what's going to happen now that the ‘war’ is over, what the fuck even is a beholder, etc.

“Yeah, and we've still got a handful of sessions left for empires,” Yuyu beams. “So we're not done yet, don't worry.”

faepurity: what is going on between you two btw

Yuyu laughs nervously at that question, leaving a soft smile on your face. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he answers, and you hear the shuffle of him shaking his head. “There's nothing going on.”

“Sure, baby,” you tease, and he chokes on his words. You let out a light laugh, “whatever is going on between us is none of your guys’ business.”

heartzfrombora: borrrrriiiing

faepurity: just say you're dating and move on 😒😒

milfhos: no bcs what if they've been dating this whole time and went to war so we wouldn't know 🫢🫢

“Milf,” you pause, shaking your head. “Go to bed.”

milfhos: WHAT I COULD'VE BEEN RIGHT

Yuyu softly laughs at the interaction, continuing to watch you as you talk to his chat. Since the two of you weren't playing anything, he had just pulled up Discord for you to be on video for his stream. And although he says it's for chat, he knows it's just because he just wants to see you.

Your phone buzzes from its spot on your desk, indicating the food that you had ordered had been delivered. “Oh wait, my food just got here. I'll be right back, alright? Then you guys can get a once in a lifetime special mukbang,” you tease before leaving your chair. As soon as you leave your room, Yuyu’s chat blows up.

milfhos: ok be fr what's going on between you two

heartzfrombora: we won't tell her anything trust

gigigibaby: yea come on friends don't call each other “baby” and “pretty” what's going on

strwchaos: you two would be so cute together

Yuyu rolls his eyes, yet he lets out a soft chuckle. “I'm just going to tell you the same thing as Y/N; it's none of yours guys’ business. Sorry, not sorry.”

milfhos: awww 🥲🥲

“But, she does make me really happy,” he starts, staring at the outline of your door with a bashful smile. “I like talking to her, like a lot. It's crazy what six weeks can bring you, man.”

strwchaos: AWWWW

“Okay, okay, that's all you guys are getting,” he says, shaking his head again. “You guys are gonna clip that, and it'll be everywhere in an hour.”

gigigibaby: omg thanks for the idea 🩷

Before Yuyu can say anything else, your door opens back up. You walk back to your desk, dinner in hand, and a familiar roommate right behind you. Sungchan sends Yuyu a bright smile and an excited wave, pulling up a small chair to sit next to you.

“Sungie wanted to eat dinner with me, I hope that's alright,” you tell the boy behind the screen.

“Yeah, of course, don't worry,” he responds, saying ‘hi’ back to Sungchan. “You're always welcome to join us, so just come in whenever you want, man.”

“This is why I love you,” Sungchan says, hand over his heart. “And why Y/N lov-”

You smack the younger boy's thigh, a strained smile set on your lips. “Keep your mouth shut and you'll be able to stay.”

Yuyu smiles at the blush that rises to your ears, but his phone buzzes before he can tease her. “Great timing, looks like my dinner's here too.”

“Ooh, you go get it, and we can all eat together,” you suggest, stopping Sungchan from digging into his dinner. “We can wait.”

Yuyu smiles at this, “ok, sweet, I'll be right back then.” He stands up from his desk, placing his hand near his keyboard pad as leverage; which somehow turns his camera. Too focused on each other, Sungchan and you don't even notice it before it's too late.

Yuyu backs up from his desk, the movement on their screen catching the roommates’ attention. Unaware of the situation, the man's full body comes into the frame. “Fuck, Yuyu, your camera,” Sungchan exclaims, eyes widening.

Finally, he draws his eyes back to his computer, cursing before he rushes to turn everything off. Before you or Sungchan can say anything else, his stream is shut off, and the call goes dead. You sit there silently with the younger boy, too shocked to say anything.

“Was that fucking Yunho?” Sungchan questions, sending a concerned look your way.

synopsis ⤏ you're trying to peacefully build your starter house on the empires server when your neighbor so rudely (accidentally) kills you, starting the biggest war on the server just one day in.

prev / masterlist / next

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ taglist is closed!

@davinashifts333 @potatos-on-clouds @s0shroe @staytinyluv @teenyfinds @weasleys-wizard-weasleys @borahae-reads @starryunho @dalsuwaha @oddin4ry @aerivrs @rosescarlettx @deptheuphoria

[sn0wp1anets]

observations about joel (mostly speech stuff) and interactions with others bc ive been hyperfixated since the beginning of time (also theres alot of bs commentary im sorry)

general stuff:

very very british like extremely british

'bloody' and 'blooming' ALOT - when he's annoyed or shocked or offended (im gonna call this his pseudo swearing for the rest of this for convenience)

instead of very he says 'well' sometimes (e.g. "this bloody pico park music is well annoying) and "absolutely"

instead of really he says 'proper' sometimes so "stress is proper northern" etc

instead of 'i haven't' he says "i've not"

he gives an explanation for basically everything he does and instead of because he says 'as' alot

'to be honest' "i bloody hate woodwork to be honest" (sometimes he says 'to be honest with you' too)

'innit' occasionally "it's like waterslide innit"

'like so'

'by the look of it'

he gets irritated really easily - "for goodness sake" and he'll start cutting himself off alot "this bloody-" and also his voice gets much more high pitched and his pseudo swearing gets way more frequent. also 'blooming heck'

(and also this isn't super relevant but when he gets mad all his friends start commenting on it and its the funniest thing- in the overcooked stream as soon as he starts getting annoyed everyones like 'oh here he is')

i didn't know if i should put this in a specific section but he says 'babe' alot - not just to lizzie but to jimmy like ALOT and also in general - i'll talk about this a bit more later tho !

pauses alot: in between words/phrases, and also before he answers questions (this is not as often but also if he wants someone to stop him- he was playing scrabble and was basically asking if someone could spell out vagina so he was slowly going 'and a g....and an i...and a n...' etcetc idk this isnt relevant i just thought it was worth mentioning)

he's kinda an oversharer 😭 ? (this is lh hes 31 im sure he shares what he thinks is appropriate) but at any given moment he starts giving details about his life- a kinda memorable example of this is in mcc26(?) when w*lbur made fun of his accent so he started telling a story about his grandfather and giving alot of details about him after he said he couldnt talk too much about it AND grian begged him to stop

repeats things (especially when he's annoyed) : "game's a bloody joke. game's a bloody joke"

he basically never says 'oh my god' its always 'oh my gosh' or 'oh gosh' sometimes its 'oh jesus'

his voice is generally higher pitched and more expressive in videos than in streams but this is more of a general cc thing than a specific joel thing

very confident in his builds (AS HE SHOULD BE !!!) and he'll share his thoughts alot : "i think it's come together really well" "lovely" "i'm really happy with it/with how it's turned out" etcetc

when he narrates he uses a mixture of 'I' and 'We'. what i've noticed is he uses I for his thoughts ("i feel like" "i think") and we for everything else ("we need" "we're quite high in the sky" etc)

'genuinely'

'what (are) you on about'

'what the heck'

he will say very random (kind of odd) things just out of nowhere as if its normal and he'll only realize it's weird when someone questions it? e.g. the mumbo trauma dumping bit in SL, or in one of jimmy's streams he said 'until i get back to the hotel if yk what i mean' and jimmys like 'i dont' and joel just goes 'idk either'

accent stuff:

it's really recognizable idk what to say

very northern: hes from yorkshire - his accent used to be stronger in his old videos but you can definitely still hear it (like its still super different from grian or like mumbo idk)

his 'th' sounds come out as 'f' (idk if this is an accent thing or a joel thing but he's talked about it and said his family members have it too)

again not sure if this is an accent or joel thing but when he says any word with 'con' he says it kinda differently- it's hard to describe but for example when most people say convention the 'on' sound is more like a 'un' sound? whereas with joel its very much an 'o' sound like in 'box' or 'coffee' (genuinely have no idea how else to explain it but in phonetic symbols- joel essentially never says /ʌ/ it's almost always /ɒ/ when its a 'con' word)

jimmy-

NICKNAMES !!! 'jim' is used alot - more than anyone else and one of the only people who calls him this. hes used 'mr neutron' too (idk how many times'

(he also doesnt actually say tim/timmy often and when he does its exclusively when grian is present)

typical british male friendship nicknames: 'lad' 'big man'

when he joins jimmy's stream he always says hi in a very dramatic way?? usually with a pretty deep voice (idk this is just something i noticed)

he calls him a loser alot?

(this might be more of a bad boys point) but joel is generally not that mean to jimmy? definitely he's meaner than he was a few years ago but that makes sense because they weren't as close but. he'll call him a loser and stupid/idiot sometimes but his main 'bullying jimmy' momentsare usually always when he's with someone else (usually grian, sometimes fwhip)

'what are you doing jimmy' or sometimes 'what are you doing with your life'

lizzie:

'babe' like all the time. once lizzie mentioned that they don't even really use each other's names alot because they just say 'babe' all the time

oli:

ok so joel really doesn't use that much like modern internet language but oli does and then joel will pick up on it (its cute but also horrifying sometimes)- he kept saying 'dogs' in reference to feet after oli said it

they flirt alot but differently to how he does with jimmy (hes more passive whereas with jimmy he initiates it more idk how else to describe it)

he calls him 'man' sometimes

he's also really giggly around oli theyre adorable

(tbh theres so much more to say about oli and lizzie but idk if i have the energy and time for like 10+ years of interactions rn - and honestly alot more for everyone else too but like.)

grian:

in general joel picks up on people's energy etc and mimics it alot but it happens so much with grian specifically - this sounds very weird but the more time he spends with grian in one go the more he starts to act like grian (especially with interactions with jimmy)

[lowkeyrobin]

hi hi!! could i get cricket crew (those a-okay with xreaders) with a reader who’s like a pro gamer, maybe reader is also a streamer? somethin along the lines of that pretty please 🦕

ahhh yes of course!! I recognize you mwahahha, lmk if you'd like to be addressed as 🦕 anon btw bc I can't tell if you used it in a silly way like how I use 🛒🛒🛒 somwtimes or as a way to address yourself LMAO no worries tho 🫶🫶🫶

HANDSOME BROS ; pro gamer era

includes ; ranboo, tommyinnit, & badlinu

warnings ; language, mention of Dream

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

he's been your biggest fan since day one, literally

he just so happened to be one of the first couple viewers you pulled while you began speedrunning minecraft

eventually you guys became friends and stuff

he literally watched your speedruns go from an hour and a half to half an hour so quickly

and over that time he's been boosting your stuff and everything

you ofc make other content and collab w other streamers, mostly Tommy and his friends

one time, you get a speedrun down to 25:03, your best so far and he's in a vc w you with your stream pulled up

literally screams when he sees the ender dragon explode into xp

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, YOU GOT DOWN TO 25 MINUTES, THAT WAS SO GOOD, OH MY GOD, Y/N/N!"

you sit there like "omg I just did that that's my best record ever"

afterwards you play roblox for a bit with him (meep city) and throw a party to celebrate

you meet a bunch of viewers/chatters/fans as well bc you publicized yours and Tommy's usernames so they could join your server

"You're a pro now, y/n! even better than Dream!"

if he was right next to you rn, he'd be giving you the biggest kiss in the whole world

you'd been spending so, so long to get below a half hour or so and even just 5 minutes below that made you so ecstatic, same with him lmao

he literally makes 40 tweets about it and posts about it on his Instagram story

he also doordashes you some fast food + like three large waters

he's literally your biggest fan ❤️❤️❤️

when I tell you he's so fucking sweet to you

he's fully aware you're very serious with your video games and you try to be the best you possibly can

like he'll come over while you're training for a valorant competition with foolish & punz and just hang out behind you and watch

he'll go to snapchat and snap aimsey a pic of u grinding on valorant with the caption "look who's grinding valorant again"

star will respond with a "Jesus Christ how many hours do they have on there??"

he'll reply with a video of him asking

"how many hours do you have on valorant? like, all time"

you didnt even hesitate or think before you replied with "253"

"HOLY SHIT DONT YOU THINK YOURE GOOD ENOUGH?"

"amount of hours doesn't equal skill, tommy"

RANBOO

good god they're actually worried something is wrong with you

no way super Mario odyssey can be so fun to you

speedruns went from maybe 2 hours down to 58ish mins or so in just a couple months

you were friends prior, but you got back into smo and got addicted with trying glitches and bugs you knew about

once you reached like 58:05, (about 13th on the leaderboard) you quit

good lord there was no getting better lmao

then came the challenge to get all the moons and speedrunning the dark side & darker side of the moon

they got on a vc with you while you were collecting moons so you could deal w a lot of distraction, and asked you to check the hours time

the way this shit said 834 hours.

the amount of joke-yelling and "I'm not mad just disappointed" convo came out of that

"It's not my fault the game is fun!"

"that's more than a year! that's nearly two straight years!"

"I've been playing it since release in my defense. I probably grinded up half of that within the past year or two though to be honest"

never the less, they always cheer you on and always have to boost your content

for the leaderboards, you're around 70th place on the dark side, about two hours, and for the darker side, around 80th, so about 3 and a half hours

they literallt watched you do 10+ hour streams and got on vc to voice concerns of burnout or scoliosis

"I'm fine! shit! damnit!"

"Chat please tell them to go sleep, this is wild. go play Mario kart with Bill at least"

"Yeah, come play Mario Kart with me!"

"where the fuck did you come from, I didn't even hear you join???"

"I've been here for half an hour!?"

BADLINU

you're freakishly amazing at building in the Sims 4

like dude you're an idol in the Sims community it's so weird

you build like those humongous mansions and find new furniture glitches and new designs and share them and stuff

dude don't even get me started on your sims

most the time you make your friends but they're never inaccurate

you can dedicate a five hour stream just making the fucking characters dude

he'll sit next to you so you can properly make his face and he'll get all tingly in his head as he watches

when you're making a giant new build he'll tweet about it like 4 times and leave a link to your stream LMAO

"guys go watch y/ns stream they have polls set so you guys can actually decide on design choices"

he's actually your biggest fan omg

he'll be in your chat like "omg hi y/n"

"Hey Freddie!"

joins a vc with you and starts absolutely bombarding you with compliments

dude can't go one stream without taking 372882 screenshots of you

"Dude how do you have motivation for this?"

"It's fun! if I can't be a designer in real life then I'll be one in the digital world motherfucker"

[chiekorita]

✨ chiekorita's palletshipping recs ✨

my will always re-read list. not a comprehensive list so i will add on as i go thru the fics again.

ratings listed in front of title. (c) means completed.

the unfinished collection by misswonnykins (ratings varied w each chapter)

as title says, unfinished but they're all *chefs kiss*. fav is the first chapter. ash wooing gary unknowingly pls read

[t] a pokemon trainer's guide to romance using modern technology and terrible pick-up lines by bgtea (c)

ash and gary being menaces w each other thru terrible pick up lines even in diff regions. the puns are amazing ok and v funny and cute.

[t] after all these years by archwriter (c)

the story of how they break and keeps on breaking until they come back together. the emotional rollercoaster this got me thruuuu like destroy me. can be read platonic.

[g] tying loose ends by archwriter

sequel to after all these years. ash's role as the chosen one coming back one by one and his recovering relationship with gary on the side. the way everything in his life is written and having gary mixed in naturally like that. i still reread this since years ago.

[t] my brilliant friend by afoolserrand117

gary a professor and researcher being made to do a friendly battle w ash to raise funds for his research. more gary focused esp w his mewtwo related ptsd (which i don't see much explored so it was niceeee). we get to see a more confident ash as opposed to gary. pls this is so good and cute and fun.

[m] a call to arms by feranelia

pacrim!au. the pokemons are jaegers. ash and gary butting heads thru their first, second, third consequent meetings and ended up being drift compatible. prof oak best shipper btw. arts for this also chefs kiss

[t] and into love go streaming by laniekayaleese (c)

high school!au. more on the coming of age movie feeling. boys discovering feelings. this is very vibes.

[m] find it, fix it by tayeah (c)

gary in saida labs getting a visit from ash. gary running from his feelings only to run back into them basically? angstyyyy and delicious.

[t] romantic by misswonnykins (c)

ash trying to pull off the best proposal ever with the help of his friends. super cute and fluffy.

[t] this dear thing called heart by salvations (c)

music!au. shigeru joins a satoshi's band after prof ookido's death. angsty stuff. mostly friendship focused but a good dose of palletshipping thru out.

[g] the sweetest betrayal by essence_of_silence (c)

little moments of ash's two fav partners being bff with each other more than with him. super cute. very sitcom/romcom vibes. i come back to reread this a lot bc of pikachu picking his pipichu over his pikapi.

[g] honesty by silver_fish (c)

hanahaki!au. gary starts coughing up flowers. more often when he's around a certain trainer. everything i ever wanted in a palletshipping hanahakiiiii my fav tropeeee read this one too pls

[t] [series] operations 101 by estelle4ever

ash's friends trying to set him up gary and made up a whole operation. operationS. funny shenanigans of well meaning friends and just cute stuff. it's a series but the main part of them getting together is done ✅.

[m] intuition by evie warner

prof oak's past coming back for him and gary's the target. ash caught up in it too. going off from the glitch in the games w missingno. this one is abandoned but it's still So Good. got me reading thru this in one sitting.

[revasserium]

CONGRATS RAIN!!!!!!!!!

also heavy breathing bc before i even opened the "keep reading" i was like. i hope pride and prejudice is on the list T______T and there she is ..... #1

i will kindly ask for osamu x pride and prejudice pls & thank u 🤲

pride and prejudice

osamu miya; 2,952 words; fluff, childhood friends to lovers, volleyball player!reader, fem!reader, general cuteness

summary: osamu has known you for longer than he can remember.

a/n: @starrysamu remmyyy thank u!!! and thank u for sending this prompt omfg i actually loved writing it so much u__u i hope u enjoy and yES ofc i couldn't leave miss p&p off this list!!! though the fic has nothing to do with the actual book LOL i hope you like it regardless <3

one.

you have known each other for longer than he can remember.

longer (osamu is convinced) than the summer days. longer (he is still convinced) than the winter nights. longer than the length of a volleyball court, than the glistening white lines that separate the game from everything else beyond it.

you’ve always been small, but you’d never let that stop you. and perhaps it’s this more than anything that grates at osamu’s consciousness — the sheer stubbornness of you. and he knows a thing or two about being stubborn — have you met his twin brother?

but no — you’d insisted, at the tiny, peculiar age of four, that you’d found volleyball first. as if it were something to discovered, like electricity or the new world. even though osamu knows better, knows that volleyball has always been there, just like he knows that atsumu will always try to steal the last popsicle in the freezer and that the sky will always turn blue again after even an entire week’s worth of rain.

“shorty’s can’t play volleyball, y’know,” he drawls, watching you with his head cocked, casually kicking his feet as they dangle from the edge of a low-rise bridge, the summer having reduced the usually hearty waterway to a trickling stream. you stand on the banks, panting, bruises like badges of honor blooming across your knees as you bounce a large ball along your forearms, over and over and over again.

osamu follows the trajectory with half-lidded eyes, his heartbeat ticking inside him like a time-bomb.

“says who?!” you demand, squeaking as the ball bonks off your head, making your eyes water.

osamu hums, caught between morbid amusement and a true, burgeoning curiosity as you dash off after the worn old volleyball.

“says… everyone, duh. tall people play volleyball… shortys…” he trails off, casting his eyes up at the first flickering stars as they wink into existence along the far horizon, “i dunno… shorty’s probably make ramen or riceballs or something like that.”

“samuuuu! it’s dinner time!” the clank of their old bike alerts osamu to his twin’s appearance, even as atsumu screeches to a halt the foot of the bridge, looking between osamu and you, now cradling the ball in your arms, your eyes bright and sharp as — yes, osamu thinks, bright as the evening stars.

“c’mon,” osamu says, hoisting himself up and jerking his head towards his brother.

“don’t wanna,” you say, stomping a foot as you turn resolutely away from him even as he rolls his tiny, four-year old eyes.

“don’t be stupid. kaa-chan made taimeshi —”

“oh! my favorite!”

osamu smirks as you bound up to meet them, his previous slights apparently long forgotten as you race off down the road, shouting over your shoulder that the last person there has to do the dishes. atsumu shrieks and nearly topples the bike chasing after you, leaving osamu to sigh and jog slowly after the two of you.

he wonders how long it’ll take before you outgrow this weird new obsession with volleyball. but then again, watching you play, it did seem like fun.

maybe, he’ll even give it a try one day.

two.

you’ve got a solid 10 centimeters on him by the time he and atsumu make it to the starting lineup in their middle school team. by then, you’d already been the star for an entire season, what with your boundless energy and your painful determination.

he’s seen you at school games, but of course he has — streaking along the sides of the court, jumping high enough to convince half the stadium that gravity does indeed play favorites.

“anddd… inarizaki middle takes another stunning victory over the girls at shukugawa tech! that number 11 is really someone to watch!”

he meets you after the match with a cold pocari sweat and a bag of caramel candies.

“you’re dropping your elbows on your spikes again,” he says, even as atsumu smacks both his palms into yours in celebration.

you pause, wiping at your face with the towel dangling around your neck.

“shaddap! we won, didn’t we?”

osamu sighs, “guess you did.”

“so, when’s your first game?”

osamu sniffs as he tries to keep the blush from crawling too far up his neck as he looks away.

“tomorrow afternoon.”

atsumu jabs a thumb into his chest with a cheeky grin, “you gonna be there to watch us cream the other team?”

“course i will!” you say as you flash them a smile that has osamu wondering if, just like gravity, perhaps the sun plays favorites too.

three.

the twins grow nearly a head and a half over one summer before high school and you’re inconsolable for weeks.

“it’s not fair!”

osamu sighs, fighting the urge to roll his eyes for the twelfth time that night as you smack another ball across the net and toss another for him to set.

ba-bam! thump thump thump.

“guys and girls grow different… it’s not like it’s a secret or anything —”

ba-bam! thump thump thump.

osamu catches the next ball you toss for him, straightening to shake his sweaty bangs from his eyes.

“you’re dropping your elbows again. and you’re pulling back too hard on your swing — you’re gonna throw out your shoulder if —”

“what’s it matter anyway?!”

your voice is loud enough to echo, even in the giant gymnasium, even with all the doors thrown open to let in the autumn breeze. osamu doesn’t miss your fingers curled into fists at your sides, he doesn’t miss the tremor in your voice like the first rumble of thunder before a summer storm.

“it matters cause if you injure yourself, you’re not gonna be able to play —”

“i — i haven’t grown since i was twelve years old! w-what’s it matter if i get hurt o-or if i can’t keep playing? it’s only a matter of time before i’m too short —”

“fine then. quit.”

your head jerks up, your eyes wide and watery as you stare at him. the ball falls out of your grip and bounces, listless, once, twice, three-four-five times against the waxed wooden floor before rolling to a stop against one of the padded net poles.

osamu shrugs, feeling suddenly too cold and too hot all at once as something he thinks might be anger roils in the depths of his stomach, and then all he wants to do is scream and run laps around the building till this inexplicable fire inside him goes out.

instead, he turns away from your piercing, accusatory gaze and starts picking up volleyballs, casually tossing them up and setting them back into the big blue ball bin.

“osamu… you giant fucking asshole!”

bomph-thwack — something smacks against the back of his head so hard his vision goes blurry. but before he has the strength to whip around and look for you, you’d already gone, racing out of the gym, leaving osamu utterly bewildered as he raises a hand to touch the bump already rising at the back of his head.

“ow… what the fuck was that?!”

later that night, when he recounts the tale to atsumu, who’d spent a solid fifteen minutes laughing at the fact that he’d gotten nailed in the head by a girl, atsumu had pinned him with a flatlined look and said —

“well, ya kinda did deserve it.”

to which osamu had responded by promptly shoving atsumu’s face into a pillow and holding it there.

four.

you don’t quit volleyball, because of course you don’t. and osamu knows you well enough by now to know that you run on a combination of energy drinks and spite. but you don’t talk to him for weeks, and that sucks more than he quite has the words to explain.

so he doesn’t. and he doesn’t.

atsumu is the first one to notice, but then when kita-san finds him in the lockers one day to ask him what’s wrong, osamu thinks that it must be more serious than he’d thought.

he finds you practicing by the river, his footsteps slowing as he pauses to watch the shape of you silhouetted against the setting sun, the ball bouncing up in perfect rhythm as you bend at the knees and bop it back up, again and again and again.

he allows himself a smile as he makes his way over and plops down in the grass.

“your shoulders are getting tense again.”

you don’t answer, don’t even show any sign that you’d heard him, expect for the near imperceptible drop in your shoulders as you force them down the second before the ball makes contact with your outstretched arms.

bomph-bomph-bomph

the ball goes up and up and up again.

you don’t turn to look at him so osamu takes a deep breath and casts his eyes up at the darkening sky.

“it was a shit thing to say. i’m s —”

“we’re playing shiratorizawa this weekend.”

you both speak at the same time.

bomph-bomph-bomph

osamu jerks upright to stare at you.

“shiratorizawa? aren’t they in miyagi? what are they doing here?”

you bump the ball way up and fall a few steps back. he watches as you mark the ball with your eyes, the way your whole body goes fluid as you do your run-up, bending down, your entire being held perfectly still for a single second before you leap up into the air.

like this, he thinks, it really does look like you’re flying.

thwack.

the ball comes straight at him, but this time, he’s ready for it. he jerks the side to avoid it and catches it as it threatens to bounce off towards the open road behind him.

“dunno… some kinda training camp or something,” you say, shrugging as you climb up the short incline to join him on the grass. you drop down next to him as he cradles the ball in his lap, eyes trained on his fingers as they dig into the worn grooves around the old ball.

“hm. their boys team is a pain in the ass to play against.”

you laugh, “their girls are just as bad.”

“hm.”

you turn towards him, “not gonna wish me good luck?”

osamu tosses the ball up to balance it on the tip of a single finger.

“why would i? ‘s not like you’re gonna need it anyway.”

you bump him with your shoulder before snatching the ball from his hand and jumping up to race off towards the road.

“mom’s makin’ gyoza tonight! last one there’s gotta do the dishes!”

osamu groans as he pushes himself up, but jogs after you all the same, wondering just how long of a head start he should give you before he races after you.

he shoves your head forward as he catches up to you, chuckling as you yelp.

“how bout if you win this weekend, i’ll come over and do the dishes for you for a whole week!”

you laugh, chasing after him, “and if we lose?”

osamu turns around, grinning as you narrow your eyes at his easy gait, even as he’s running backwards, still noticeably faster than you, “mah… i haven’t thought that far yet. i mean, ‘s not like you’re gonna lose, right?”

five.

when they lose to karasuno, you’re crying way harder than anyone on their team.

atsumu huffs, scowling to keep his own tears at bay as you bawl into his chest, your other arm wrapped around osamu’s waist. osamu sighs, reaching up to pat you placidly on the back, even as something in his own chest coils tight, and then tighter.

“d-damnit — you guys p-played so well, too! th-that little number t-ten was — was such a freak!”

at this, osamu chuckles, pulling back to take you by the shoulders, “says our own tiny volleyball freak.”

you sniffle and wipe at your eyes, glaring defiantly up at him. and as he watches you hiccup, reaching up to wipe at your red, puffy cheeks, something inside him seems to snap all at once.

he tugs you forward and before he knows it, all he can feel are your rapid, uneven breaths — all he can taste is salt and the faint hint of your mint chapstick.

he hears atsumu make a half-disgusted, half-resigned sort of sound next to him but he doesn’t care. he kisses you till your breaths are no longer choppy, till he can feel your fingers digging into the sore tightness in his biceps. till someone clears their throat and he pulls back, breathless, to find aran staring at him with his arms crossed.

“team meeting in five,” aran says as he pointedly turns back around to usher the rest of the stunned team towards where their stuff is. several people from other schools are staring and whispering behind their hands but at a sharp glare from atsumu, they all scatter.

“feeling better?” osamu asks, unable to keep the lilting edge of a tease out of his voice as he pulls you with him into a deserted corner of the stadium. you blink up at him, your eyes a bit unfocused and still red from crying as you reach up to press your fingers to your lips. and then, you jolt back to life all at once and whack him on the arm.

“ow! w-what was that for?!”

“did you do that just to stop me crying?”

“wha — no! i — i did it cause — i — i don’t really know why — ow! stop hitting me!”

osamu grabs your arms and pins them to your side, pressing you up against the large pillar behind you, currently keeping the two of you hidden from view. he stares down at you, at the way your eyes are bright and sharp even in this relative, borrowed darkness, at the way your chest heaves up and down, up and down, stretching at the fabric of your very well-fitted sports top. he stares at the way your lips are still parted, and he hates the fact that he now knows exactly how they taste, knows just how soft they are, after having wondered for years and years and years.

he wonders how long he’s wanted to kiss you.

longer, he thinks, probably, than the summer days.

longer, he knows, than the winter nights.

“s-samu?”

“hm? oh. sorry…” he shakes his head and lets you go slowly, but he should’ve known you’d never let him off that easy. it’s just not who you are.

you narrow your eyes and he feels caught by your gaze.

“if you didn’t do it to stop me crying… then why’d you do it?”

osamu allows himself a deep sigh, taking half a step back, “ah… can’t a guy just kiss the girl he likes without being interrogated about it?”

you blink, and then, you reach out to whack him again.

“dumbass-samu… you’re gonna be late to your team meeting.”

osamu feels a strange mixture of pride and elation ballooning in his chest as he notices the way you’re blushing, the way you refuse to meet his eyes. he reaches down to ruffle your hair even as you yelp and try to swat him away.

“right, right — wait for me, yeah?”

you roll your eyes but you’re smiling as you say, “of course, idiot… where else would i be?”

six.

“so tell me… why’d you really kiss me that time after the karasuno match?”

it’s winter, two years later, and osamu’s arm is slung casually around your shoulders as the rest of the team chatters and drinks and makes a mess in the corner of the bought-out restaurant for their first annual high school reunion.

osamu hums, nursing a half-finished glass of sake.

“mah… i guess i just wanted to make myself feel better after getting my ass whopped, y’know?”

you laugh and try to dig your elbow into his side but he clamps his arm around you and holds you close. outside, the snow is finally starting to slow.

“have you figured it out yet, then? what you’re gonna study in college?”

at this, osamu turns to cast you a sidelong look.

“you’re not mad that i’m quitting volleyball?”

you shrug, “why would i be mad? it’s not like you’re making me quit with you.”

this time, he shrugs, “well, tsumu was mad for like… a week.”

you roll your eyes, “yeah, and i’m so similar to your brother.”

osamu makes a noncommittal noise that once again prompts you to try and elbow him in the side.

“then you tell me… what do you think a former volleyball star should do after quitting, hm?”

you swirl your own drink around your glass, your cheeks dusted in pink as you consider for a moment. then, you smirk as you look back up at him with a wistful gaze.

“make ramen or riceballs or… something like that, right?”

osamu smiles, leaning down to gaze his lips along your cheek before reaching out to tip your head back to press you lips to his.

“y’know, that actually doesn’t sound like such a terrible idea.”

2k celebration reqs still open! :)

[babis-little-corner]

🐾⸝⸝ Welcome!・・🩵

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂ ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

🐾 ・┆Hello and welcome to my sideblog, you can call me Finn! I use they/them pronouns! this sideblog is my little agere blog where i will most likely repost things and make health/regression rambles 🩵 ・┆(when big) I like books, my husband, my best friend, streaming games, cooking, baking, making stuff and researching things that i like! 🦴 ・┆(when big) I dislike Bugs, bugsbugsbugs. Being confronted(confrontation), purposely being misgendered, having my boundaries disrespected, bubby or jay being purposely misgendered, uh-.... I think thats it lol

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂ ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

🐾 ・┆My big age is 20 years old! I am a flip, little lean and regress to about 4 or younger. 🩵 ・┆I have a Husband/Carer! This is his tag > @fdtw1, who also helps run the main blog> @babi-and-bubby-nursery! I do not have a "babysitter", but i do hang out with my best friend person @sleeplessjunkie who plays games with me and stays with me while FD is not home/will be occupied/at work. They're basically like a sitter, except were the same person /lh /j We have a lot of fun together and they're the only person that we both can trust that we don't need to worry about obsessing/getting angry that i am taken bc they're also taken! I love them to death *HUGS* 🦴 ・┆I am a very Quiet little bc i like to chew things as a stim. There is a ton of trauma surrounding my regression and it was very hard to regress. Now, with the help of my husband(CG) There is hope! I can only regress for small periods of time, and it needs to be assisted but its a great start and i hope that when we live together it'll boost my regression more! 📭 ・┆(When little) I like blues clues, coloring and playing small games (minecraft, animal crossing etc) either with jay or bub, Being an eepster, listening to silly or cutesy music, coloring, chewing on things, and doing worksheets with bubby! 🖍️ ・┆(When little) I dislike bugs, being told no chew (or paci), being alone without jay or bub, having to go out alone, more bugs, having to nap without bubby, being yelled at, and bugs :3

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🐾 ・┆If you meet any of the below criteria, please do not interact, or follow this sideblog!

・Are anti-agere/agedre(or petre/petdre), an NSFW blog/"SFW" kink blogs like Dd!g/abd!/md!b and other variants. Are an 18+ only blog, Terf, etc. Anything that you would not show a child does not belong here ・Bigotted individuals or peoples that believe in Anti-LGBTQIA+, Pro-ana, Pro-SH, Anti-recovery, MIKs or MAPs, Extreme left/right views, Pro-life, Pro-war, transmed, Pro-mia, Anti-Neos/Xenos. ・Over the age of 27. While you could be a regression blog, and completely SFW, individuals over the age of 27 can become a trigger due to my PTSD. Minors are always welcome, although I most likely will not follow back ・Are a blank blog. This means no banner, profile pictures, posts or names. Blogs like those tend to become a problem for me and i don't wish to deal with it

[wolfhednn]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: rai

Pronouns: it's complicated so she/he take ur pick

Birthday (no year): may 17

Where are you from? What is your time zone? the states, east coast beast coast. (not rly its swampy here)

How long is your roleplay experience? i regularly lose count. 17 years now i think?

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? neopets, p sure. at least i can't remember rping before that. warrior cats and gifteds rps on neopets were the one-night stands of my heart

How were you introduced to TOA? according to legend, ree was reported famously to have said "we could do it tho" and then i answered "yeah ig we could huh"

Do you have any pets? nah i've come to realize that im not very good at taking care of living things (including myself) and no lifeform should be subjected to that

What is your favorite time of year and why? i'm an autumn girlie, complete with the pumpkin spice. november specifically is my favorite time of year

What is your IRL occupation? i work at a community college writing center ob it's really rewarding to make a direct impact on other people's experiences

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? gacha games, reading, poetry, hearing the dank beat drop in a song and imagining some dramatic rp scene to go along with it

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? honkai: star rail, granblue fantasy, pokemon, jrpgs, otomes, vn's in general, whatever games my friends want to stream for me while i grind granblue fantasy

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: raichu, and flying types

Tell us some fun facts and trivia about yourself! 3 stuffed animals have pride of place on my bed and they are a fennec fox named luhan, a red panda named shizi (persimmon in mandarin), and whale tartaglia

How did you get into Fire Emblem? was browsing the nearby gamestop in college shortly after fates came out, decided to pick it up on a whim because it looked up my alley. got hooked and blasted through the rest of the series in short order afterward

What Fire Emblem games have you played? everything except jugdral, but i've studied jugdral like i did ff7 back in the day in order to rp it

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: fates as mentioned above. favorite depends on the metric jsdjgsk but, simplified, binding blade remains near and dear to my heart

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! i cannot do this i do not hold enough characters in my working memory at a time

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! i think tsubaki. he was pretty and a pegasus knight, and i only liked him more as i actually saw more of his character HAHA

Any Fire Emblem crushes? huh. surprisingly, not really? was definitely expecting to have some for this one

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? 　　Awakening: lucina. and yes. always always 　　Fates: tsubaki, nishiki, and leo. and yes. 　　Three Houses: felix bc i liked his character and i always tend to s-support my faves just to see their lines. ambivalent now tbh im kinda roulette w 3h s-supports 　　Engage: gregory, mostly bc i'm also roulette w engage s-supports rather than any overt favoritism for gregory. maybe fogado?

Favorite Fire Emblem class? nomad ranger / bow knight

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? i've been told i'd be mage into mage knight but wielding dark magic. magic nuke but kind of whatever everything else. lysithea but mounted i guess. if i'm somehow playable the circumstances must be EXTRAORDINARY because good luck peeling me away from my nice quiet life for your continental justice war no thanks

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? black eagles probably and i'd cringe abt it

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? reason and authority boon. gauntlet, heavy armor, flying bane. i don't rly think i'd have a budding talent in any of the rest

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? tbh i'd probably be from elusia

How do you pronounce TOA? individual letters

Current TOA muses: felix, caeldori, rosado

Past TOA muses? too fucking many yall. ugh lemme see. volug, sety, idunn, leif, yuri, kurthnaga, ephraim, lucius, etzel, nel, citrinne, nishiki

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? will smith gestures at the grumpycat

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? reckless boys with hearts of gold (felix, leif, zeiss, ephraim); perfectionistic dreamers (caeldori), charismatic cunning extroverts concealing a boatload of issues, somber cerebral sages (sety, etzel, kurthnaga arguably)

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? there's plenty of archetypes i don't gravitate toward, but i don't really wish i did either. so not really

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? i like dramatic, fast-paced action scenes. i also like anything that explores complex topics and reveals how subjective the world really is, situations that challenge a character's views and beliefs and force them to reflect on what makes right or wrong

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? not really right now. i don't usually have rp wishlists like this because my enjoyment of a scene depends more on how effectively i feel it's being executed rather than just getting to do the specific scene by itself

Favorite TOA-related memories? probably running team mercy in lock&key? that was a really fulfilling experience

Present or past tense? present tense

Normal size text, small text, no preference? small text but idc what my partner uses

Got any potential muse delusions to share? i have muses falling out my pockets. lately i've been fistfighting the ilios in my head constantly. sometimes you just want to play a loser

[thetrashywritingwitch]

Its 11pm I'm eating leftover chips and queso for dinner and imma just... here

There was that adult nerd streamer Katsuki from @willowser who is just chills in Kaminari's streams as a friend when they play but he doesnt stream himself, no social media presence, no name, just makes snarky comments in the group discord and leaves

Well you know how u can have twitch synced with discord so discord shows when you're playing a game etc? And you just stream for fun on the rare occasion you want company but you maybe have like 50 followers and chat is mostly dead and it's always the same like three or four people cycling through your twitch chat as you play

Now, Subnautica isnt really a horror game... but it can be spooky as all fuck and it's got some good jump scares. One of which made me shit my pants when I played bc I'm an oblivious fuck trying to ignore warning signs and just scoot in the water with my little water car thing

And this sneaky fucker Bakugo has seen you reply to his comments on discord, he gets the @ pings. And he sees you're playing a spooky-ish game and on a whim searches up the game on twitch and sorts by lowest viewers.

And of fucking course your discord name is the exact same as your twitch handle. And mr. Smartass just hops into your twitch chat

"Ok sooooo we are just going to ignore the uh, roaring noises... dont like those. Unimportant. We gotta find some gold I think..."

And his twitch handle is known bc tons of people watch Kaminari's stream and see his friends names and they all follow each other on twitch despite Katsuki never streaming himself. And everyone in your chat recognizes him as he just

:find any scary fish yet?

Ofc you're distracted because how the *fuck* did he find your twitch?! The discord connection just doesnt pop into your brain as you flip between the game and not ramming your seatruck into a rock wall and the chat.

And the distraction and his presence in chat is perfectly timed with your seatruck being snatched by some giant nasty mandibles and THISBFUCKER fills your screen

Under the cut for kinda subnautica spoilers

This nasty bitch right here. Hate this fish. Anyway you fucking scream and pause the game and nearly tip over your chair bc this fishy shit shakes your dinky little submarine like a dog ripping the stuffing out of a toy.

And the chat is keysmashing and posting laughing emotes bc you arent even at your desk anymore but the mic still picks up the "jesus FUCKING CHRIST what the FUCK gooood I haaaaaaate it..."

And on Katsuki's end, he's choking on his drink and cant remember the last time he laughed so damn hard and the timing and everything. It was the perfect moment for a twitch clip to immortalize it. He knows Kaminari's humor and his stupid jokes. Knows what to expect, but the genuine jumoscare moment as your mic peaked... honestly a twitch highlight for him.

After that he tunes into your streams when he can, sometimes silently so you never know he's there. Other times he speaks up in chat to link that clip and comment on in-game happenings. But your forever embarrassed bc damn what a first impression... but the stupid fucking fish was about 2% less scary after that so long as you know he's watching

[f1-disaster-bi]

omg wag au is my favorite thing you’ve ever written are you having thoughts about it???!!! it’s genuinely my ideal fic like all the tropes and dynamics that i love r there, and norstappen is my fav it’s my happy place!!!! i love the idea of lando visiting max at a race and engaging in typical wag behavior bc i think he would think it’s fun and he does not hate women and respects WAGS (😠😠) so it wouldn’t be a demeaning vibe but just a very joyful vibe lmao, or max commenting on the quadrant promo posts w/lando being thirsty, or lando having to deal w the bulk of wedding planning bc max is always off working (even tho lando has his own work to do, i can see some possible angst/hurt abt the fact it’s assumed lando will do all the work and lando being stressed about the workload,, but also lando tryna be like it makes sense i have to do all this he’s off jetting about the globe and being super busy, but then also his reality of lando does have to work and wedding planning on top of that he’s stressed and upset but feels like he should be able to manage), i love this au it’s perfect i would love to hear about any thoughts or ideas or future fics or snippets you have for it!!

I absolutely love all these ideas and the love for this au! It's one I have wanted to go back to, along with Accidental Kidnapping, but just haven't had the chance to!

Lando absolutely loves being a WAG when he gets the chance. He loves supporting Max, and aside from that one now ex-wag that told him to get a side-piece for the lonliness, he gets along with a lot of the other partners on the grid. He would do like "day in the life as an F1 wag", and post a reel/tiktok of him getting ready for the track, giving Max good luck kisses or bringing him coffee/red bull, clips of him at the back of the garage watchign nervously during quali and then celebrating. He'd just give it 100% cause he knows Max gives 100% to any events Lando brings him to for Quadrant or gaming tournaments he is in, and he loves him so why wouldn't he be proud to be there?

He'd definitely get some negative comments because "you're shoving your life choices down our throats" or called "a distraction" but Lando ignores it. He just focuses on the friends he's made on the grid and hanging with the other partners like Lily and Alex or messing with Daniel cause Daniel easily became one of his favourite people after he started dating Max.

Max definitely comments quickly whenever Lando posts anything. Normally it's hearts but when Lando posts some more teasing pictures for Quadrant drops or merch, Max might say a little more. Or when Lando feels a little lonely and decides to take one of Max's cars or his boat (again) for a little joy ride, and Max can't help but laught at his antics because he loves Lando and knows this is his way of saying "come home soon dickhead" 😂

As for the wedding planning....Lando would get frustrated by the fact that after the engagement, everyone just assumes it's him doing all the planning because "well, Max has racing, and you're jsut at home most of the time". It's more the fact that people that ask seem to value his career and Quadrant as less than, like it's just a hobby and not something Lando has been tirelessly working on for years, that he doesn't spends hours every day planning content and streams, looking over merch drops and talking to people about profits and subscriber numbers and everything that comes with running a business.

Max does help. He does try pitch in with ideas, or dealing with booking things when he has time between races, because he knows its a lot and he can see Lando stressing, especially when their families seem to be also going with the idea that Lando is planning everything and are constantly messaging Lando about wedding ideas and venues and flowers and party favours or destination.

Seeing how stressed Lando is, Max would absolutely gently tell people to back off and then message Max F to see about Lando's schedule. He sneakily arranges time where he and Lando have a little over a week before they're needed for something, and whisks Lando away somewhere private where they can turn on DND and just relax and destress and where Lando can admitt it's a little overwhelming and that he feels bad bringing it to Max cause Max has a championship to win, but Max would just reassure him that he comes first. Racing is his career, and he loves it, but Lando is going to be his husband and the person he spends his life with and that will always come first to Max

[eerna]

Out of curiousity, what was it about genshin that you hated? I'm not very far through it and now I'm curious what to expect from the story and you have good takes usually (Like aside from the gatcha system, which I stay safe from the clutches of by only engaging with genshin through my friend streaming it sometimes)

Sorry if this is kicking a hornet's nest, in which case no pressure to answer, but I would genuinely like to hear your thoughts on it

Thanks! That's ok, I am always up for some hornet's nest kicking :3 (note: this user never posts any of her opinions in main tags because she wants to avoid kicking hornet's nests as much as possible)

OK I will be a bit short and vague on it bc there's a Lot to cover and idk which parts exactly interest you. In any case it needs a keep reading

Yeah, I never paid a single coin for Genshin, all of my investment was done through time and braincells. The story is the same in every region you go to. You arrive, you wanna talk to the Archon, there is a problem caused by the baddies, you solve the problem, you talk to the Archon, the baddies take the Archon's thingie, you meet your sibling, the sibling goes away. This wouldn't be a bad formula, there's lots of wiggle room for fun yearly adventures, but the dialogue and the characters make it unbearably boring. The dialogue is just everyone talking in circles, repeating the same thing over and over again, broken up by meaningless conversation choices. You can't skip it, which is stupid because the MOMENT the conversation ends PAIMON JUST SUMMARIZES WHAT WAS SAID AND HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT IT. After a while your sanity starts slipping. You can't even hang onto interesting personalities, because everyone in that game is an anime stereotype meant for fanservice depending on your type. My fav is the magical pirate woman with a big sword who has a lawful ruler gf!!! OF COURSE my fav is THE MAGICAL PIRATE WOMAN WITH A BIG SWORD WHO HAS A LAWFUL RULER GF because that's the type of shit I enjoy in better media so I am automatically more willing to like these cardboard cutouts. It's like the game is allergic to stopping and digging deeper into its themes or messages, everything is to be taken at face value, it honestly feels like a preschool TV show with jiggle physics. I know a lot of people say the game lore is super cool, but honestly it just reads like typical anime fantasy without any rhyme or reason behind it to me. What I DO like about the lore is the certain ideas behind the regions and the way nature (and the elements) are interwoven through the map. Exploration is 1000000% the best part of the game, the music accompanying the areas is beautiful and the views are very pretty. Honestly, the best time I've had with the game is when my friends and I would run around the map, talking aimlessly about whatever was happening in our lives, the one veteran showing us newbies cool spots or farming grounds.

All in all, hope you do have fun with it, but I honestly can't say it is a good game.