#instead i spent the whole day trying to avoid That but unfortunately there is no way to avoid a deadline

[crystalkitty1220]

Might have to scrap a fic idea because I thought the panic that came with time moving too slowly or too quickly was a universal thing, but now I'm realizing I probably have chronophobia and the fic might not feel the same to other people. Don't want it to drag on or feel rushed if readers won't get the same kind of anxiety the character's getting.

[yogurtkags]

congrats on 100 followers, you totally deserve it :D ˚✧₊⁎ if it’s still opened.. could i request osamu x reader as culinary school rivals??

❝ COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS ❞ — miya osamu

cw. gn!reader, culinary school!au, rivals to friends, fluff, language (reader has a bit of a potty mouth), onigiri miya is a family business, there’s just a slight tension between them, not beta read. word count. ~ 1.6k

getting locked out of your dorm isn’t the worst thing that can happen, until you have to call in a favour from miya osamu, your literal nightmare— or a blessing in disguise?

event masterlist

this is so stupid and would’ve been completely avoidable if you just slept even a little bit last night instead of staying up experimenting before heading for your morning class.

with a huff of annoyance and bleary bloodshot eyes from sleep deprivation and rubbing them in a desperate hope of waking yourself up from a half-asleep half-dead state, you rummage through your bag for the overloaded carabiner one more time for good measure, you’ll never know if it was just hidden in a pocket that you missed— nope never mind, it’s not there.

“fuck me.” slamming your palm on the door, you rest your forehead on the smooth hardwood doors of your dorm entrance and sigh, just my fucking luck.

you can picture it crystal clear, all the ingredients you’ve neatly laid out on the kitchen counter ready for you to prepare a quick lunch, and that damned mason jar of bottled gold. you spent the whole of last night and the ones before perfecting it and now it sits just outside of your reach, like the gods above playing a sick trick on you— except there’s no trick, just you being stupid and forgetting to bring your keys out that landed yourself in this predicament.

your frustration is immeasurable, you need that for a class later in the afternoon that weighs a hefty amount on your grade and you can’t afford missing out on it, you’ve spent so much time on it after all and refuse to give in. all this is making you want to run your hands through your hair and harshly tug, hoping that the sting would rouse you from this bad dream.

no one’s in the dorms right now, everyone’s either in class or the library, and the sweet old dorm lady’s out and about sourcing for ingredients in town; it’s restock wednesday.

you’re ransacking your brain, mentally going through a list of people you could possibly engage for help, mumbling under your breath so the pathetic silence doesn’t swallow you whole. it’s quiet aside from the birds overhead, their constant chirping grating to your ears, almost like they’re mocking you.

“i don’t have cash on hand to pay a locksmith.”

“i could ask noya to try picking the lock, but knowing him it’s more likely that he’ll break it.”

"could maybe try asking ukai? but that geezer will probably say no just to fuck with me."

there's no one else around or remotely in the area other than— oh hell no. his family restaurant is just off campus and wouldn't take too long for you to get there and back to class later but just the thought of needing help from that guy sickens you to the pits of your stomach. but beggars can't be choosers, and the you of today chooses the only option that will secure you your grade.

your last option is unfortunately, miya osamu — next in line to run onigiri miya, mister “i’m going to be the best in the academy”, always trying to one-up you, stupid grey-haired baseball cap wearing bane of your existence.

the trek there thankfully isn’t too long since your dorm is closer to the edge of campus, and the little diner just a stone’s throw away from the road leading to the academy gates. the small shopping district is pretty quiet at this time of the day, most middle and public high school kids still having classes and the salary men slaving their lives away at their desks in air-conditioned offices.

before long, you’re standing in front of onigiri miya, the warm lights from inside the store seeping out through the whites of the sliding door. taking a deep breath and bracing yourself to face him, you raise your fist and knock to announce your arrival and gently pull it open.

“i have to say, you’re the last person i expected to see walk through those doors willingly. this better be good.”

osamu stands with his arms crossed, clad in his usual black tee and matching hat, waist apron printed with the logo crest of onigiri miya. his eyebrows are raised in faux surprise, almost teasing as he gives your figure an up down with his trademark lazy patronising smile.

you scoff, walking past him and straight to the counter seats, placing your bag on the light wooden surface, “don’t flatter yourself miya, i’m not here to see you.”

shaking his head and turning around, he heads behind the counter and leans forward, resting on his forearms, “yeah? why else would you be here then?”

he’s close, a little too close and you take a step back, placing your hand atop his head and pushing him away, face warming up in embarrassment, “shut up.”

with a sigh, your reluctantly murmur the next four words, “i need your help.”

“i’m sorry, i didn’t quite hear you there, come again?” you desperately want to slap that shit eating grin off his equally handsome and annoying face, he definitely heard you and is messing with you, but what did you expect really?

raising your voice, you snarl, but the impact’s dulled with your inability to meet his eyes, “i said, i need your help, you little bitch.”

osamu chuckles, you’re cute. you must’ve been at your wits end to even bother coming to him for help.

he claps and rubs his hands together, “okay then, how can i be of service?”

you explain the situation at the expense of a few jabs and lighthearted insults from him, how so very childish. the plan is to recreate the concoction of a sauce that you made last night, current sitting in all its glory in the dorm’s kitchen, the same dorm that you’ve conveniently locked yourself out of. he agrees that it’s the most logical solution, seeing that you already know the proportions and just don’t have access to the ingredients, which he can provide his disposal at the restaurant.

he’s surprisingly focused and helpful, even with his provoking comments once in a while, studying your recipe and even making a few samples on the side with additions that he thinks might complement or enhance the flavour palate that you’re going for with your dish. you notice little things that you didn’t before— his tongue pokes out of his mouth when he’s in the zone, he furrows his eyebrows when processing a taste and the way his nose scrunches if it tastes a little odd.

as much as osamu’s existence pisses you off, you can’t deny that he’s good at what he does and completely justified in aiming for the top seat. he’s not arrogant, just extremely sure of himself and his abilities, a quality you wish you had in this competitively and highly individualistic field. what’s the point of someone having your back if you can’t have your own? some days, a little self-assurance goes a long way.

with a few last minute tweaks to your original proportions (courtesy of him), a new bottle of liquid gold sits in the palm of your hand, an even better version of what you had, if it was even possible.

nudging your shoulder with his, he looks over at you with an annoying smirk, “everyone say thank you osamu!”

“tch, shut up.” you roll your eyes, nudging him back with more force, enough to cause him to stumble over his feet as you bite back a laugh.

you eye the clock, there’s still plenty of time before your class begins and as you think about the lunch that you supposed to cook for yourself back at the dorms, your stomach lets out a series of gurgles, your face simultaneously flushing with embarrassment.

wordlessly, osamu begins whipping up something in the kitchen, a fresh fragrance hitting your senses and filling the air. as much as you hate to deny it, your mouth waters in anticipation and you bashfully shuffle behind him to peek at what he’s doing.

he just glances at you over his shoulder and juts his chin out in the direction of the counter seats, “sit down, i’m making you something to eat.”

raising your nose in mock defiance, you scoff, “who said i was staying for lunch?”

he just shoos you away with the wave of his hand and a mischievous glint in his eyes, “just let me make you something that’ll make you say it’s delicious, trust me.”

it’s been a running thing between the two of you since you met in a class and demanded to try his food after his grand declaration of being the top. you’re both prodigies in your own right, and you just wanted to see if the man could deliver as he spoke. don’t get it wrong, his dish was absolutely divine and brought you back to memories of your childhood home and running around in the backyard with dirt covered sandals chasing dragonflies, but you refused to admit that there was someone up to par, barely choking out an unconvincing, “tastes like shit.” before shoving your dish in his face.

it’s no different this time, and you’re unsure if it’s because of the calm and humble atmosphere of onigiri miya, the domesticity of watching him cook in the comfort of his home kitchen, or just how hungry you are, but all it takes is one bite before you start unabashedly scarfing down his delicious creation.

if he’s smug about it he doesn’t show it, choosing to savour the rare peace and quiet of non-bickering, but silently knowing that perhaps he has won this time. wiping the sweat off his brow, he leans against the staff doorway and watches you eat with a soft smile, munching on his own onigiri.

“hey, wanna walk to campus together?”

notes. wyr !! always a pleasure seeing you in my notifs !! ALSO CAN I JUST SAY, THE WAY I INTERNALLY SCREAMED WHEN I SAW YOUR REQUEST !! my mind went straight to food wars and this is heavily inspired by that < 3

© yogurtkags. please do not repost, plagiarise, or translate my work.

[jadeoru]

coffee beans.

synopsis: valentine's day was spent the same way every year: coffee, and studying, all while trying her best to avoid the happy couples in love. unfortunately, her tradition was interrupted by a clumsy pretty barista. or: kiyoko felt like she wasn't capable of feeling love, turns out she's just gay

warnings/tags: reader is a barista! fluff, meet-ugly, afab!reader, reader is referred to as a girl, kiyoko's pov, kiyoko is an anxious shy mess (me too), flirting (pathetic), kiyoko's gay awakening lmfao, kiyoko's a la dispute fan because i said so, poop jokes, i actually hate how this turned out but oh well, wrote this for the 3 kiyoko lovers of the world

wc: 3.5k words

now playing: very cliché but definitely girls - girl in red lmao 🎶

Kiyoko saw love as a waste of time. She lived her whole life in a society held together by the prospect of love. It chased her in many forms: her parents, her friends, music, art, - she knew it well. In her childhood, love was just another friend of hers; a familiar taste on her tongue, similar to her mother’s cooking. It was a feeling of home. But as she grew up, the flavour grew progressively more acrid; bitter. She watched as her friends changed, each of them infatuated by the weird feeling. Everyone around her had a crush on someone. Conversations with her friends quickly became dull. No one was the same as they got older. Everyone around her was falling in love; a victim of cupid's spell. She felt left out; ostracised. In her eyes, love seemed like a trap; a chain, connecting you to someone for the rest of your life. She never understood the appeal, and how everyone saw the cruel, suffocating feeling as a warm embrace - whirling inside of you. She was frustrated. It was stressful not knowing what was wrong with her - why she was so different from her peers. She tried relationships, they always felt wrong. She was asked out by 2 different guys, each time she said yes. She agreed not because the feeling was mutual, but because she hoped she could force herself to feel the same. In the end, she discovered that butterflies are just colourful moths that find home inside of your gut, and mess everything up as they inevitably rot away. Cupid shot Kiyoko with their arrow on multiple occasions; each time left her on the cusp of bleeding out. All everyone cared about was love. As everyone around her found their person, she found herself slowly left behind. Love was in the air, and she was allergic.

In a way, her friends felt bad for her. They didn’t understand, and honestly, neither did she. They frequently tried setting her up on dates. She met all kinds of guys, each one somewhat worse than the last. Every date felt so strange; something wasn’t right. Was that how all dates went? - That’s it? She honestly felt guilty. Her friends put so much effort into those dates, trying to find her soulmate. They genuinely cared about her. They wanted her to experience true love. She felt bad for being so difficult. It got to the point where she’d resort to pretending. She’d choose a random guy in her class, one that was objectively attractive, and led her friend’s to believe her poorly acted out infatuation was true love. A part of her hoped that by lying to her friends, she could lie to herself, and believe it. With fingers crossed, she prayed for her to finally succeed, She hoped that maybe, she’d finally experience the warmth of her heart pounding in her chest. 

Graduation passed her by; it never worked.

To her, it was pointless. She tried it so many times, and in the end, she was always left unsatisfied. She lost faith in her search for love ages ago, and honestly stopped believing in it. Instead of flowers and holding hands with someone, love found her in other strange ways. To her, love was the cat that always met with her on her way to college, or when she found a song that she related to deeply. Love was the face of her mother when she was accepted into college. Love was spending time by herself; writing mediocre poetry, back pressed almost comfortably against a tree. With the exception of her father, love was never the face of a man. That was something she never came to terms with until her early adult years. That was something she thought she'd never understand;

She was wrong.

February was the worst. As if the people around her couldn’t get even more annoying, someone had the bright idea to make a whole day about love. She hated it. The commute to town was even more unbearable than it usually was. Instead of being surrounded by groaning strangers that had too much to drink last night; definitely did not get any sleep, mother’s carrying their screaming babies, the annoying screeching noise that erupted from the train every time it came to a halt, she was surrounded by cheesy lovers that flirted way too loudly. Noise-cancelling headphones were the greatest purchase she ever made.

The train to town was almost worse than the bustling, busy streets. Almost. As if her day couldn’t get any worse, all of her favourite places to spend her lunch were overrun, infected by insufferable couples. She turned her nose up with negativity. She wasn’t mad at them, if anything, she was envious. Why did she have to spend this magical holiday alone? It was unfair. She wanted not just to be loved, but to love. Her head spiralled every time she questioned herself;  she never thought about it too much to prevent her from the gnawing pit that grew within her. It took a few miserable Valentine’s Day’s for her to cultivate a steady ‘celebration’ routine; A survival plan: she would take the train at 8:20, which would be significantly less busy than the one she usually got, put on her headphones, blasted La Dispute for the entire duration of the train ride while staring out the window, and then scurried her way through the hectic crowds to her favorite, quaint, quiet, family-owned coffee shop. There, she would grab the biggest, strongest coffee they had (with a generous amount of caramel syrup, to satiate her sweet tooth), and ploughed through her assignments with peaceful relief etched into every line her pen wrote. 

That was how she spent every Valentine’s Day without fail - Without interruption. She finally had a stable routine that wouldn’t make her feel like a dysfunctional human. A routine that wouldn’t make her feel like there was something wrong with her. A distraction from the onslaught of love that crept up behind her; always facing her back, never once meeting her face to face. Up until now, it almost always went smoothly. It almost worked. She got off the train with high hopes, a subtle smile on her features as she silently appreciated the lyricism of the song she had on shuffle. She had only one notification on her phone: a warning to turn her volume down. All of her friends were busy spending time with their person. Of course they were too busy to text her. With a sigh, she increased the volume to the loudest it could go, and drowned out every thought and jealousy that plagued her mind. She didn’t care about damaging her hearing. At least she wouldn’t have to listen to grown adults talking and cooing to each other like babies. She hated that.

The walk to the coffee shop was fine. She kept to her side of the footpath, and held stern eye contact with the pavement. The cracks in the concrete were way more interesting than the romance that clouded the public anyways. Turning the door-handle, she silently rehearsed her order in her mind, before making her way to the counter. It was relatively quiet; empty. That’s how it normally was. This place was her escape from reality. It was small, quiet, the music they played was nice, and the baristas were always so polite to her. However, as she walked up to the counter, she was unable to recognise the barista behind the register. Was she new? She must’ve been, Kiyoko went there at least three times a week, and never once had she seen her. She wasn’t upset though, not in the slightest. She just hoped she would be as nice as the others. She watched attentively as the girl took the order of the person in front of her. She was smiling widely after each sentence that fled her lips. Not a fake customer-service smile, but a real genuine one. Kiyoko admired that. She continued to watch as she took the money from the customer and quickly placed it into the cash register. In one quick moment, Kiyoko found herself standing speechless directly in front of her. “Hey, what can I get for you?” She asked, giving Kiyoko absolutely zero time to mentally prepare herself to talk to her. She stuttered out her order with a strange feeling in her chest. She cringed at how stupid she sounded. “Of course! Would you like that in a takeaway cup?” She asked, flashing her a smile. It was so strange. Her smile seemed so familiar, so warm. The smile on her face almost made her feel at home; safe. She typed her order into the machine. Kiyoko was relieved - the eye contact was becoming too much for her. “Yes please.” She almost whispered, her voice unusually soft. She only nodded in response, letting out an “mhm!” in acknowledgement. She looked up at Kiyoko again, and she finally understood what it meant to have your heart skip a beat. “That’ll be 5,60! Are you paying with cash or card?”

The moment lasted only 30 seconds at most, and yet Kiyoko felt like she was suffering with a life-long crisis. As she handed her cash to her, she found herself questioning every choice she had ever made that led up to that moment. She couldn’t find the right words to describe how she felt. Conflicted? Confused? She couldn’t think of the right one. She couldn’t think of anything, besides the feeling of her hand touching hers for a split second, as she handed the money to her. She placed the money inside the register just like she did with the last customer. But, unlike she did with them, she leaned over the counter - propping her head up with her hands.

“It’ll be ready in about 5 minutes, pretty.”

With bright red cheeks and wobbly knees, she nodded her head, and almost sprinted to the pick-up counter.

There are a lot of things you could do in 5 minutes. You could listen to a song, count the tiles on the floor, or even count each second down to the last minute. Kiyoko chose neither of those. Instead, she stared at the floor, replaying the interaction in her head over a hundred times. She wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong with her, but one thing she knew for certain was she never felt that way about someone before. Ever. Those five minutes were spent questioning her entire existence. She struggled to come to an obvious conclusion. As it reached the tip of her tongue, her name was called out.

She spoke her name in a way that drove her crazy. The way each syllable rolled off her tongue had her worried she was going to suffer a heart attack. She quickly whipped her head around to face the barista again. She was suddenly very aware of how uncomfortably warm her face was. “You know… your name is almost as pretty as your face.” She almost whispered, a grin widely displayed on her cheeks as her eyes consumed Kiyoko whole. She leaned over the counter again, holding the cup out to Kiyoko. She really liked when she did that - for some strange reason. Her compliment caught Kiyoko completely off guard, hitting her almost like an arrow to the heart. A stupid smile spread out on her face. She wasn’t sure how else to react; It wasn’t socially acceptable to kick your feet and squeal in the middle of a coffee shop. Muttering a shy, “thank you so much!”, she held her hand out to grab the coffee from her. But, before she could get a stable grip on the cup, the barista let go of it too soon, almost out of embarrassment. In doing so, it caused the large, hot coffee to fall directly onto Kiyoko’s hand-made, wool sweater; crashing onto it like a boiling wave, spilling all over her and soaking her in the warm liquid.

There was a moment of mutual shock between them, a brief few seconds spent silently staring at each other. She did a terrible job at hiding the disgusted, uncomfortable look on her face as the coffee seeped through her sweater, ruining the shirt she was wearing under it, and sticking to her bare skin. She looked down to assess the damage done to her clothes. They were ruined. A big, attention-grabbing stain was spread unevenly on her sweater. This was the worst. She looked up at the barista, who looked even more terrified than she was. Her hands flew to cover her mouth, but Kiyoko could see the guilty, fearful look in her eyes. They stayed like that for a few seconds. Uncomfortable silence engulfed the room; like time stopped. Kiyoko didn’t look away from the barista, but she could tell that other people were definitely staring at the two of them. She wanted the ground to swallow her up. The barista was the first one to speak up.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” She could tell by the tone of her voice just how serious she was. Kiyoko opened her mouth to speak, to quickly forgive her. She just wanted to go home. Embarrassment enveloped her entirely, and the strong scent of coffee attacked her nostrils in an almost painful way, but the barista spoke up again. “Wait here, I’ll go get you some tissues!” She pleaded, raising her hands cautiously. She nodded in response, watching in silence as the barista urgently dashed through the door behind her. She silently cursed herself for not staying silent. She wiped her hand on her sweater, before holding it to her face to look at it. Her fingers were stained brown. At least her sweater didn’t absorb it all. She waited at the counter for the barista to return like a deer in headlights. She didn’t close the door to her break-room, so Kiyoko could just barely see her.

She was really pretty. Like, really really pretty. Even in her coffee-stained apron (She’s probably done this before to someone else - Kiyoko almost laughed at the thought), and her hair all messy from a probably stressful day, she was beautiful. Even as she frantically tore apart her break-room, Kiyoko couldn’t help but feel her heart whirling around at her irresistible pulchritude. A dumb smile plastered across Kiyoko's face. Technically, she should feel annoyed. She loved that sweater to death. But, in a weird way, she was glad. She knew that from then on, every time she looked at that stain, she would see a trace of her. Although she wasn’t entirely sure what any of her feelings meant, she didn’t have the time to care. For now, she would just let herself feel whatever feelings she felt, without the need to understand. She would have a crisis later. For now, she needed to befriend the clumsy, pretty barista. 

She speed-walked back to the counter, holding tissues out to her. Realistically, tissues would not reverse any of the damage, but it was the thought that counted. “Here. I’m so sorry about that.” She said, lips curving into an apologetic smile so nice Kiyoko couldn’t help but mirror it. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” She answered, staring at her lips for an embarrassingly long moment, before finally returning to her eyes. She reached out to take the tissues from her hand. Have her fingers always been this shaky? The lack of sleep she got the night before must’ve been affecting her mind, because she could’ve sworn you grazed your hand over hers purposefully. She must’ve imagined it. She awkwardly wiped her sweater with it, staining the tissue in the process. The stain didn’t budge.

The barista cleared her throat. “Would it help if I told you I still think you’re really pretty?” She fidgeted with her hands, an empathetic look in her eyes as she silently hoped to uplift Kiyoko’s spirits. Totally not because she was also insanely into her. Totally. Kiyoko almost dropped the tissue. Hell, she almost dropped her jaw at the sudden flirtatious remark. Her face went hot as the line between a friendly compliment and flirting was incredibly unclear to her. Was she just being nice? “Maybe it would.” She began, raising her hands, leaving the stain on full display. and tilting her head with a smile. “Would it help if I told you I think you’re really cute?” Kiyoko made a mental note to learn how to flirt later. The barista smiled, letting out an airy chuckle. “Well, it wouldn’t help the sweater I ruined, but it would help my ruined confidence.” She joked, looking at the ground. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed, it was my fault.” Kiyoko stated matter-of-factly, the girl looked at her like she had two heads. “Nope. It was my fault, cutie. I won't accept any other opinions.” She said with a wink - a wink that almost made Kiyoko fall over. Her knees were immensely weak, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the nickname, the wink, or both.

She sighed with defeat knowing not to debate with her any further. “Does it look like I just shit myself?” She asked with a laugh. The barista laughed with her, which only sorta, kind of, slightly, made her heart flutter. “Nah, more like someone shit on you.” She responded, scratching her chin in playful thought. “I’m seriously so sorry about that by the way. Let me make you another coffee, free of charge. Is there anything else I can do to help?” She asked, her words laced with genuine interest. She grabbed an empty cup, writing something on it before turning around and beginning to make her drink. Kiyoko waved her hands dismissively. “Don’t be sorry, accidents happen! - At least now I have an excuse to talk to you longer.” If she didn’t stutter her way through that sentence, it probably would’ve sounded way less pathetic. Unfortunately, Kiyoko felt she wasn’t anything but pathetic. She wasn’t aware of how it took everything in the barista not to get on one knee and propose to her at that very second. “You have a point. Maybe it’s a good thing I spilled it on you.” She chuckled, turning back around to face her again, handing her the new drink - carefully this time. 

“Um, this might be incredibly out of line, but could I maybe get your number?” She smiled nervously at Kiyoko. Normally, whenever a guy asked her for her number, it made her scoff and roll her eyes. But she was different, Kiyoko never nodded her head so enthusiastically in her life. “Yeah, of course!” She did little to hide the excitement laced in her words. The barista smiled the widest she’d seen that morning. Whispering a quiet “thank you,” she handed Kiyoko her phone, and she shakily typed in her number.

“Oh uh, I never got your name?” Through a smile, she responded, “it’s Y/n.”

“Y/n..” she repeated, handing her her phone back, “that’s a really pretty name. It suits you.” With every sentence it was as if their smiles grew tenfold; heightened by mutual happiness. “Thanks Kiyoko, your name is lovely too.” “Shimizu.” She corrected abruptly, y/n furrowed her brow in response. “Please, call me Shimizu.” she almost begged, craving to taste her name on her tongue. “Well then, Shimizu. It was lovely meeting you. I’ll stop bothering you and let you enjoy your coffee, for now.” She winked again, doing very little absolutely nothing to help convince Kiyoko she’s still straight. “For now?” She asked, confused. “Well I’ll definitely be texting you after my shift, so, for now, I will grant you peace and quiet.” She laughed her words out, to which Kiyoko reciprocated.

“I definitely won’t enjoy it when I could be talking to you instead.” Kiyoko took a sip from her drink. If she wasn’t sure then, the deliciousness of her coffee definitely confirmed just how in love Kiyoko was with her barista. She laughed, “Call me whenever you want someone to spill coffee on you. I’ve proven myself to be very good at that”

“Oh believe me, I will.”

[yuri-is-online]

I kinda wanna hear more about Azul! Yutu if you are willing

Very. He is long overdue for a proper post. I'm going to skip over some of the stuff that happens while he is in the bad future as I am a big fan of what Archivist has been writing, and would encourage you to look at their posts (here, here, and here) They've been a huge inspiration for this ayuu and finally gave Yutu some friends! I am really really attached to them and their dynamics with the various Yutus and might have written some stuff where they hang out but didn't post it because idk if you folks would be interested...

notes: they/them used for Yuu, for context on the fyuuture kid au can be found here and here. You can find even more stuff for it on my masterlist under the series section.

Yuu started removing mirrors from the house when he was around nine. They did so slowly, and Yutu had been avoiding them for so long he barely notices when their gone. It's not like he was born hating himself, he remembers playing with Yuu in the garden hose or the bath tub and feeling... happy. But that was when he was a little kid, he's almost double digits now he shouldn't be feeling sick to his stomach about this. It feels hard to walk some days, like his balance is wrong and his body is made of the incorrect material. It isn't normal for a kid this young to hate his own bones because it is the bones isn't it? They're hard until their not hard enough and he's stuck in a cast for the summer. Yutu tries to be grateful it's on his arm and not his leg, but it doesn't keep his mind off of things. He feels unwhole every time he tries to walk, and he has no words to express what's missing other than to say he feels unsafe. And it's hard to say that when he knows there's no solution you can give him for what he's feeling. If you could cut off your own limbs to make him whole you would, but then that would leave him just as alone wouldn't it? The last cost Yutu wants to pay to fix himself is the life of parent who loves him.

But that's what the price ends up being. And as he lays there trying to scream only to be rejected by the air he'd spent so much time wasting as his body churns on the floor into the form he'd spent so much time dreaming of he has to wonder why he ever thought the outcome would be different. He should have known that he was never meant to be anything other than alone.

Yutu was a chunky baby, and for the first bit of his life no one minded that at all. He was so cute, Yuu had a bunch of pictures of their precious baby boy and even though there were questions about how he came to be those were sort of shoved to the side in favor of cooing over his cute nose and chubby cheeks. But the cooing turned to concern when he started having some problems reaching his developmental milestones; it took forever for him to learn how to walk, even when Yuu helped guide him through the motions it somehow just didn't seem to stick. Talking was difficult, he'd learned how easily enough but he just preferred not to, wanting to communicate through noises and looks instead. Yuu would try to calm their worries and focus on how he at least slept through the night, but they never did get a solid opinion on why Yutu was so slow to learn from any doctor they saw.

His slow development cause Yuu to really focus on going over his lessons with him at home, it fosters a love of learning in him that evolves as he grows. At first it's very innocent, his eyes are wide with childlike wonder at the world around him and his smile is as bright as his eyes. "Unfortunately" (because it's not truly unfortunate that his parent can still afford to feed him) he's still a chubby little boy, and one who is missing a parent so he's an easy target for his peers to isolate and tear into. He feels like a beached whale, or a dried up octopus, his self esteem is severely hurt as is his outlook on the world. Yuu feels like they are seeing a familiar sight when their child hiccups through recounting his day as they desperately try to hold back their anger and think of a way to deal with this logically.

"Your daddy went through this too." Yutu blows into the tissue you hold for him and tries to hide his surprise. He's always eager to learn about his father, you wish you could think of more to tell him but the words you're saying don't fully feel like you are thinking as you say them. It's like you are briefly being possessed by someone else, just that the "someone else" is... yourself from when you were whole. "He was really hurt by it, and he was one of the strongest people I knew. So it's ok if you need to cry about how you feel."

"I dooon't want to feel." He pushes his face up against your chest like he's a baby again trying to soothe his nightmare against yoru heartbeat and you squeeze him as tight as you can. "I want it to stop, can daddy tell me how to make it stop?" Your mind screams that however daddy handled it must have been bad, it turns to look at someone, you can just see the outline of him. He's handsome, well put together and he's... worried.

"I don't want them to be scared of everything; suspicious,̸̮͉͓͔͎̭̜̦̽̄̆̇̿̈́̍̉̽͌̍̕ͅͅ ̶̰̙͔̝͕̞͍̭͙͕̇͆͌̋̿̌͐̂̿͘̚͝y̷̨̪̳̳͉̮͚̅͗͗̽̔̂͐͌̽͠ę̶̩̣̤͚͎͔̯̖̭͐̃̏̓͐̾͐̓̎̇̅̊͐̕s̸͚̖͙̗̣̩̼͎̼͇̝͂̿̉̌͛̈͜ ̴͔̟̤̩̗̯̦̀͐̄̽̊͛͑͋͊͒̓̕͝b̵̧̧̡̰̪̫̤͔͚͕̝̠̹͈́̀̈́͌̄͋̔̿́̕͘ǘ̵̢̼͖̪̱͖̼̼͎̲͈͙͆̀̎͌̍̎̂͐͗̇͌̎̊̚ț̶̛͖̹͚̾̆̂͑̌̊̕ͅ ̴̢̛͇͙̱͇̝̺͇̗̫̘̥͛̀͊̅n̸̢̥͕͗̓e̴͙̹̹̘̮̫̦͐v̶̡̡̧̡̛͓̮̝̺̮̜̳̠̜̅͊̒̄̔͂̋͋͋̊̔̈́͆͘ë̷̟̳̲̰̗͉̬̘̘̣̳̼͙́̑͜ŗ̸̳̹̺͔̦͔̮̖̔͆̊̈́͆̈̔̊͠ ̶̧̢̩̺̗̗̲̠̬̰͇̣̦̈́͑͜͜p̶̱̗͔͔͌a̴̰͓̎͂̅̓̈̎͝r̶̯̰̪̟̾̾̓̂̈́͆̈̀̒̓̕͠ ̴͇̖͉̯̖̞͍͐́͊͛̐̂̐á̵̢͎̙͎́͝ ̸̨̙̞̙̩̮̺̦̻̗̭̩͉̱̠̐̓̿͘ń̷̡̡̡̧̨̪̜͕̠͐̄̉̐͝͠ő̸̥̹̣̙͛̏̏̃̋̍͝͠ḯ̶̢̛͍͔̯̤͊̈́̉̑̂̈̐͊̚̕ḋ̸̦̘̮͍͙̜͈̙͉͖̭͚̊͌͗̊̊̈̾̄͌ͅ ̵̛̛̠̫͙͎̘̣̘͕͗̒̈͒̓̅͊̔͘͝"

Yutu's silence brings you back to reality, he's mercifully fallen asleep against you and missed the aftershocks of your migraine. It's nothing new, but somehow this little scenario makes you feel that much more tired, and that much more alone.

I've mentioned it before but Yuu decides to enroll Yutu into martial arts classes as a way to help with his self confidence and the bullying. In my mind the end up doing it out of a worry that the bullying could get physical, and in the hopes that maybe Yutu will make friends with the kids in his class. It sort of works, Yuu enrolls them in a parent-child class and they certainly make some connections. Yutu finds some inner peace from the class, but his experiences at school make him very shy and keep him from truly opening up to the people around him. The friend groups he finds his way into never seem to fully accept him, a lot of it comes down to petty rivalries over sport and school. Yutu is smart sure, but he knows that no amount of talent makes up for hard work and he's a very hard worker. He's too proud to do something like throw a match or fail a test just for a little social acceptance, and not afraid to say as much.

That's not to say he doesn't want to be accepted, he does. He really deeply does he just doesn't think he could live if that acceptance was fake. Part of that, not that he ever tells Yuu this, is fueled by their descriptions of his father and of how much they loved him. If his dad was in the same position and found you then one day, he hopes, he'll find someone who accepts him too. And he'll make sure to stay alive and do all the little things with them they have ever wanted to do, no matter how out of his comfort zone or weird he finds them to be. Azul! Yutu is a bit of a hopeless romantic underneath his jock appearance, so he's one of the yutus that assumes his dad died in a tragic accident that left your memories in shambles. He's willing to fight people on that point, but Yuu made him promise not to and while he's fussy about listening to other people, he always listens to Yuu.

Which makes the trip between worlds that much harder on him. He might have been alone, but he wasn't exactly lonely. Not when he had a home to come back to and a parent who loved him, he could handle waiting for people who would accept him when he already had someone who did but now... It doesn't help that from his perspective he immediately does something stupid by getting put in Savanaclaw. Crewel already told him his dad was the dormleader of Octavinelle, that he was an exemplary student but not very... athletic so why would he be any different than anyone else. This isn't helped by the reception he gets from his dormmates. Yutu never starts fights, but he sure as hell finishes them and the amount of people left on the floor by the end of his first week makes everyone aware of that.

It earns him respect, and it would have immediately made him his first friend if he had been willing to take Sav at his word when he asked him to show him how he fought so well. Instead he insists on acting like Saitama and making the guy "prove" himself, something that Crewel watches from the sidelines with a weary expression. So his grandson wasn't lying, he really does take more after his dad than you.

He does not so much make other friends as they do make him theirs... two Heartslabyul students and an overly enthusiastic gamer from Ignihyde who sticks to him like a wet cloth and he hates the realization that he's worried about these guys. Sav, Thrush, Fiore, and... Mori. He loves these people. He hopes they never die, but everywhere he looks he sees omens. It hurts, he never knew he had three hearts or that he could fill them up with so much love that it wants to bleed out of him but he refuses to let it. He's learned that he's stronger than he ever thought possible, he'll squeeze a good outcome out of this, for you and for them it never had to be one or the other.

Traveling back in time and being separated from his friends terrifies him. Sav is always refusing to use his brain, what if he got lost because he decided not to read a sign somewhere? Fiore is a little shit and Thrush can't be assed to keep his brother in line what if they get thrown in jail and Yutu has to actively stop himself from thinking about Mori. The muscles in his chest go taut and he forgets to breathe until little black dots prick at his vision from all the ways things could go wrong for the self proclaimed "white mage of the FC party." The guy is just too much of a flight risk... he needs to fix this fast.

But does he? Having you alive again is like a dream, sure you're younger now and don't know him from a hole in the ground but he gets to see all of the memories he was so curious about. He's especially happy to have met Ace and Deuce, they remind him of his own Heartslabyul friends. His world feels a bit more full when he sits to eat a meal with you, guys who he guesses he'll probably end up calling Uncles at some point, and Grim. He's got mixed feelings about Grim, but the little guy really seems to like him now and it's funny to think about whether or not he's the older or younger brother. He's starting to remember what it's like to have a family again, speaking of which...

"Aww looks like you're a real dorm leader now ain't ya shrimpy?" Floyd's voice sounds fun, and it's all Yutu can do to keep from smiling. He instantly understands why Jade must have missed him so much, they looks alike but the difference in tempo is apparent from their stance and dress, and just looking at the younger version of his Uncle he can see how much more alive he feels.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Yutu was it?" Jade's smile suggests danger, he thinks the name is funny that's his guess. The glint in his eyes suggests he wants to tease, and Yutu prepares to make some comments of his own before he notices that his Uncle's attention is not on him but rather- "Floyd told us about your unexpected arrival," he has been avoiding this for so long he almost didn't see the familiar stranger next to Jade, the rest of his words are heard but not noted as he looks directly at his father for the first time. What a painful realization that is.

"Hey hey grouper, you ok?" Floyd's tone very much does not suggest worry but it brings him back to the present. Or would it be the past?

"Grouper? Might regret calling me that pool noodle. Yeah I'm fine, just surprised you came over here yourselves. I thought I was doing good keeping my nose where it belongs." Yutu swears Azul looks genuinely hurt for a second, but it disappears under his glasses and his patented grin.

"Well you certainty don't pull any punches do you?" If Yutu didn't know any better he'd assume his dad was... excited.

He is, he's very excited. Yuu is a kind hearted person and Azul loves them for it, but Yutu has some of that hater energy he knows he can work with. A second set of eyes on Yuu's world is just what Azul needs to win their ha- expand his business, so he keeps finding ways to talk to Yutu. He ends up learning a decent bit about him despite Yutu's best efforts: he's lying about his unique magic to catch people off guard when he uses it, he's not a muscle head nor does he take particular pride in his physique despite the intense amount of effort he puts into staying strong. It's interesting to watch the sort of things he likes to eat... sure a lot of it is healthy food but none of it is health food. That ends up being the first real conversation they have and it throws Yutu for a bit of a loop. It reminds him of that conversation he had with Yuu all those years ago when he was crying about being bullied. About how his dad gone through the same thing he did and suddenly his dad seems a bit more like a person and less like a shadow that's haunting him.

The way his dad looks at Yuu is breathtakingly soft. Azul is ambitious, talented, hardworking, and oh so desperate to impress that Yutu finds it hard to hear their doubts about the way he feels because he can see all of the signs clear as day about how Azul feels about Yuu. Uncle Jade's stories about how Azul was silly in his affections, the little ways he got excited when Yuu complimented him or how much of a show off he insisted on being around them are happening right in front of him and while he wonders about that little thing he always tried to avoid. The "could have been." Would his dad have agreed with Yuu's decision to enroll him in martial arts? Or would Azul have put him in a different school, would that even have been nessecary or would people be too afraid to make fun of his son? That promise Jade said Azul made to Yuu about never having to go hungry again... would he have kept it? Yutu never starved but he knows his parent did, what would Azul say if he knew? Would it break him? Would he even care?

These thoughts take a toll on Yutu. He can't keep pretending he isn't worried about his friends when he is trying to avoid thinking about his parent's relationship, and vise versa so he puts more effort into finding them. Thrush and Fiore are the easiest, they made their way to Craneport and established a base pretty quickly and are surprisingly not complete shits about him taking his sweet ass time to find them. Sav is though, the Scalding Sands is a long way away and getting him to Sage's Island proves to be tedious and expensive, of course he's going to complain and pick a fight when Yutu shows up again. He hates to admit it but it feels good to have his sparring partner back, it perks up his mood a tiny bit. But time beings to drag on with no signs of Mori, Yutu is getting more restless in his worries and clumsier in hiding where he's going. Sure he knows how to shake off a tailing eel, but an octopus? The only one he's ever known is himself.

Azul learns from his various contacts that Yutu has friends. He keeps his appearance under the hood, but his friend group is close and clearly working towards some sort of goal. None of the names he gets show up in any systems he has access to, Jade does his best to find a shred of evidence that these are people who exist and can't. It worries all three of the octotrio, this is a problem they need to get to the bottom of and fast. But before that can happen another one of those portals opens, this time outside Ramshackle Dorm while Azul is trying to spend some precious alone time with you. And the thing that comes out of it is terrifying.

The blot phantom is unlike anything Azul has ever seen, not in a textbook or in person. It's a misshapen mass of a person, clothing real but foul smelling and stained with ink.

"Use my phone to call the twins and get out of here as fast as you can." Azul doesn't like his chances alone, but he likes yours even less. You don't run, it brings just a bit of a smile to his face, but you still call Jade as Azul weaves ice around it's legs to try and keep it down. The monster howls squirming against the ice and screaming at him like he should understand what it's talking about. Azul tries to stare it down, tries to appear like he's a mage that belongs on the front lines and not a support. The best support but still, he's slow. Too slow to dodge the vine that whips out of the creature's back and speeds towards his heart but fast enough to catch the scream that tears from Yutu's throat.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAD YOU FUCKING PIECE OF TRASH!" Eight cosmic tentacles rip out of the ground and tear into the monster, Yutu's chest is heaving with the strain of bringing his full strength to bear as Azul pauses to collect himself. As Yutu finishes off the monster he goes over what he knows, looks at the boy in front of him and traces parts of himself in him and forgets his previous plans to expose him to Yuu as a fraud. When his child looks back at him, disguise knocked off and fear clear on his face the reason for the previous distance Yutu has been trying to maintain suddenly makes sense. Before Azul overblotted he was quiet. There's a similar quiet over him now, a similar look of tense surprise, but Yutu- no- his child doesn't know that. His child is looking at him in fear, in worry for his reaction or his safety he doesn't know but he knows the way those tears start to form. Azul knows the quiver of the lip and the shriek, of all the things he could have passed on to such a treasure.

"You deserved better from me." Because it's true. He might think of himself as a work in progress but he still thinks he has quality; he would have done research, read every book he could get his hands on, taken classes, anything he would need to do to be a good father, a worthy partner. Anything. "You deserved to have the world within your grasp, not whatever shadow of a future and a father I left you with. I am so sorry." He does not expect Yutu to grab him and hold him like he's still somehow worthy of his love, but Azul can't fight the urge to grab back, to stroke his son's hair and let the tears fall on his suit without any care at all. I'm here. It's ok, daddy's here, daddy's got you, he won't let anything happen to you.

Azul likes to make plans. He planned how he would confess to Yuu (it did not go as planned but he still planned it) and he has clear ideas about the future he wants to have with them. Yutu was already a part of it, he's dreamed of having somewhere safe and full of love to come home to since he realized what his feelings for Yuu were. So to see that dream come to life, to have it crying in his arms about how someone else corrupted it into a nightmare and stole what he'd worked so hard to earn- Oh Azul is a petty and vindictive little bitch once he has gotten his own tears out of his system. He's extremely proud of all the work Yutu has already done towards ending the bad future, and while he is disappointed that he didn't think to ask for his help he is understanding. If he was in Yutu's position he doesn't know how he'd react, but he could see himself making similar choices.

He insists on having a family dinner so he can get to know all of the real things about Yutu from him instead of just observing them. He wants the three (and a half since Grim's there too) of you to cook together and just talk before getting down to the sad business that's brought Yutu here. Some of it's instinct to feed his child, but mostly he wants to prove to his son that he's worthy of being his father. That you chose him out of everyone for a reason, something Yutu sort of knows already but he's wanted to have his father in his life for so long that he plays up his nerves just a little bit so he can be spoiled by him.

Azul's reach is long, and combined with the twins finding where Mori is should be much easier. What worries Azul is the bad future and the little information Yutu tells him about how it started. He's never had any real reason to doubt what he knows about overblots, or to distrust the Headmage, or to think Grim could kill him. But if the world ends the economy does too, and he is not about to die before he's achieved everything he's been dreaming of. His ambition is almost scary, but Yutu can't bring himself to be afraid. This version of his father is the nicest one he's seen yet, and if it means anything to anyone, he'd like to keep him just as much as Azul wants him too.

[notetaeker]

Hello!!! How did you become so dedicated to your studies? Do you have some advice?

I love your blog, btw✨️

Hi hi hi!! Thanks for the sweet message 💞💞

My BIG study tips (after 25 years of studying):

Accept your fate. This goes for anything but I used to procrastinate with studying a LOT and once you start it's actually not that bad. It's guaranteed. Automatically once you start, you have started, so you're already on your way, so it's already automatically not as bad anymore. Whining abt ur studies and avoiding them will not make them go away unfortunately. Just do it.

Make study time sacred. A few minutes of focused study is much more valuable than 5 hours spent at the library "studying" + scrolling + talking to friends + listening to music at the same time. Doing 5 hours like that is literally putting yourself thru hell because 1. you cant fully enjoy any of those non-studying activities and 2. you come out of that being like ugh I studied this page for 5 hours I'm tired of studying I need a break. Pomodoro method really changed my life pls try it out if u haven't already

That one tumblr post that says 'learning is basically being exposed to the same materials many times in multiple ways' is 100% correct. How many different ways can you expose yourself to the material. Memorizing facts- can you draw it? Can you organize the facts into lists? Can you attach a funny story to one of the facts? The more ways you interact with any material, the stronger it's saved in your memory. Find out if you're a visual learner- and then create visual tools, maybe color coding things helps you. Do a little digging and find out what works for you.

Diversify your life. Have some hobbies, spend time with friends/family, take a break. Let the computer of your brain sort out things in the background while you do other things. Once you go back to studying, you will feel refreshed (and not fatigued from 5 hrs in the library doing "studying") This also means that if you fail an exam, you won't be like 'oh no i spent my whole spring break studying for this exam and didn't even enjoy it and now I got a bad grade i must be horrible my life is nothing' and spiral. def not based on a true story :) Instead you'll be like yeah I failed but look at this scarf I crocheted look at mee i have mental health!

Sleep is magic- no matter what anyone else tries to tell you. 1. If you studied something during the day, just review those things right before bed and magically they will get set into your brain. Also 2. sleeping is when our brain sorts info so if you don't get any sleep at all it' the same as taking your study sheets and throwing them into the air, so when you ask your brain for the info during the test it's like lol it's around here somewhere. On the other hand, if you slept and gave ur brain time to sort it, when you ask for that info, it'll just open the right drawer and give u the info!

That's it for the big ones- if you want more specific advice feel free to ask! Also as a disclaimer, these 5 are all big life lessons that I had to learn thru trial and error, so consider these to be the advice I would give myself at a younger age. Pls don't be offended lol whenever I said 'you' I rlly was thinking abt myself.

[sketchy-rosewitch]

Play With Me Like a Child: Carly Jones x Bo Sinclair

Warnings: Carly and Bo are both 18, PinV, fingering, Bo somewhat being Bo, (anything else I missed please tell me)

A/N: Day 3! day 3 day 3 day 3! dayyyy 3! I changed this idk how many times and landed on Carly x Bo so now y’all get this!

Haunted Hoedown Masterlist

Day 3

Previous: Anything for You: Corey Cunningham x afab!gn!reader

Next: ai!android!Captain Denninger x afab!gn!reader

The school bell rings and Carly is quick to get up and make her way to her locker to grab the rest of her things.

Nick told her not to wait up on him, he and Dalton were going to be hanging out tonight. Carly took this chance at lunch to ask Paige is she wanted to hang out. Unfortunately her and Blake were going on a date tonight.

Which means Carly is going to be alone. She hasn’t been alone on a Friday night since her freshman year. But last week changed everything. Her and Wade finally had a serious talk about him coming to New York with her.

Wade didn’t take it well, he spent the whole year trying to avoid this talk knowing sooner or later it’d have to come. Last week was when it came and Wade tried so hard to get Carly to stay and Carly tried so hard to get Wade to go. They couldn’t come to a conclusion and it ended in their break up.

The whole school caught on quickly to it, but that wasn’t saying much as their class alone was only 75 students. Still, it was embarrassing. Everyone and their mother thought Wade and Carly would never break up, that they’d be High School Sweethearts. Now that they weren’t together anymore she could hear whispers of people wondering if true love really did exist.

Did Carly and Wade really set the bar that high?

The dirty blonde girl sighs as she frustratingly opens her locker. She puts the text books she doesn’t need away and pulls out homework she didn’t finish in class that she’d have to do over the weekend. One more month of this shit, then she was free.. until September that is, but even then it’s be a whole new set of work.

“Carly.”

The teen jumps slightly and looks to her right. Her eyes roll to the back of her head and she slams her locker shut.

“What do you want Sinclair?” She looks at him with her brow raised. The brunet has a crooked smile on his face. Carly knows how charming it is, but so does every other girl at this school.

“Just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight.” He replies, shrugging nonchalantly. Carly maneuvers around him and makes her way to the school’s entrance.

“Why would I wanna hang out with you?” She asks, not even trying to hide her annoyance. The oldest Sinclair brother catches up to her and begins to walk at a similar pace as Carly.

“Cause you don’t have anything better to do.” He answers, Carly glares up at him, making Bo snort. “Listen, I don’t have anything better to do either. You’re free, I’m free. I’m single, you’re single. We can go out tonight. Everything is on me.”

“Are you serious? A week after I’ve been broken up with and you wanna ask me out?”

Bo stops in his tracks and laughs stupidly at himself. “Shit, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that.”

Carly is quick to turn around. “What did you mean by it then? Huh? You think this is some joke?” Her face turns red from embarrassment and anger. Instead of Bo getting pissed back at her, he holds his hands up.

“No, hun, I just think you need to have a fun night out is all. Relax a bit.”

The teen takes a deep breath and looks down. “Fine. But none of your, ‘Sinclair funny business’.”

“Anything for you. I’ll pick you up at 6.”

-

A truck horn honks loudly outside of Carly’s house making her cringe. Of course Bo had to let everyone in Ambrose know that Carly Jones was hanging out with him.

She grabs her satchel with money and her phone and walks downstairs. “Who’re you hanging out with?” Her mom asks. It’s not suspicious, yet Carly’s heartbeat picks up pace.

“Just Paige.” She smiles and goes to hug and kiss her mom on the cheek. Her mom would murder her if she found out she was actually hanging out with a Sinclair boy.

“Okay, well. Have fun tonight and be careful!”

The teen nods her head and leaves the house. Bo’s truck blasts heavy metal music and if Carly’s mom had come out here. She would’ve known right away her daughter was lying to her.

Nervously the girl opens the passenger’s door and she gets in. Her classmate turns down the music and starts to back out of the driveway.

“You look good.” He comments as he drives down the small town roads. She looks at Bo who wears a flannel with rolled up sleeves and jeans.

“You too. Your uh-hair is nice.”

God, why is she so nervous. This isn’t a date, she literally grew up with him too.

Bo smirks and combs his fingers through his curls. “Thanks.”

“So, where are we going tonight?” Carly asks, her fingers fumble with a loose string on her shirt.

“There’s a lake a few miles out. Figured we could shoot some cans and talk for a bit. Brought picnic shit too.”

“Mmm, you sure this isn’t a date?” Carly teases. She doesn’t mean to be but she ends up sounding more annoyed than playful when asking the question.

Honestly what he was taking her to do sounded a lot more fun than doing homework. It actually sounded more fun than what Wade usually had planned. A movie of some sort, it was always one in town, one at his house, or one of those drive-ins. Those would get so boring after so long and it wasn’t like they did anything together. Any advances she made would get brushed off.

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”

Bo parks the truck under some trees and gets out, Carly following close behind him. He grabs his shotgun and a bag and the two of them start to walk into a large field.

“Over by the peach tree.” Bo points. “I found this spot years ago, I take my brothers here sometimes. I’m surprised no one else has found it yet.”

“Why bring me here then?” Carly asks.

“You won’t tell anyone. Paige is just as city girl as you are so why would she come out here? Nick hasn’t hung out with you in years and Wade.. well ya know.” Bo explains, he sets down his gun against the tree and drops the bag next to it.

“Well why aren’t your brothers here?” Carly yells, Bo is yards away setting up the cans again, he glares at Carly but she doesn’t back down from her question when he doesn’t answer.

She flops down in a shitty lawn chair as Bo comes back up.

“Nuh-uh-uh. You’re up first.” Bo gestures his hands towards himself, he grabs his shotgun and hands it to Carly.

Carly looks down at it and then over at Bo. “I’ve never-“

“God, you really are a city girl.” Bo teases, his signature crooked smile comes in his face. Carly’s stomach churns and her face gets a bright pink in embarrassment.

“I’m not, I grew up with you Sinclair! I just never learned how to shoot a gun.” Carly grumbles. Her grip tightens defensively on the barrel of the gun.

“Well that’s just bad parenting. Come on. I’ll teach ya.”

Carly and Bo walk so they’re facing towards the old shitty fence with the cans on top of it. He takes the gun from Carly’s hands and sets it down. “Do this.” Bo crosses his arms but holds his elbows up and Carly mimics Bo. She watches closely as Bo takes his hand and pokes next to her shoulder but below her collar bone. “Gonna want the butt of the gun right here. It’s gotta be comfortable.” He says. “Your feet like this.” One toe faces forward and the other is pointed right slightly. Again Carly mimics Bo, not wanting to fuck anything up and get herself or even him killed. “Good.”

The teen’s heart swells but she shuts down the emotion immediately. Bo hands her the gun and puts her hands where they need to be, the emotions she feels for Bo coming right back up as if she didn’t just get out of a relationship just last week.

“Gotta keep both eyes open. Right eye stares right down the barrel.”

Carly nods her head. The brunet goes behind her and looks at her stance. She feels his eyes wandering, making her gulp. “If you think this is some way to check me out you have another thing coming, cause who’s the one with the gun Sinclair.” Carly’s tone is defensive. She’s scared, she can’t fall in love again, not when she’s going to be leaving this small town and especially not when it’s Bo Sinclair, who is far worse than any man out there.

Except if he’s so bad, why’d she go somewhere with him… alone.

“I ain’t gonna do shit, I’m makin’ sure you’re not gonna hurt yourself. Geez.” Bo sighs. She can tell he’s shaking his head at her. “I want you aiming at that rusty can in the middle.”

Carly listens her eye focuses on the can. “Safety off.”

She turns it off and shoots, the bullet hits just below the can. Into the wood of the fence. She aims again, this time higher and shoots. The can knocks down.

“Hell yeah!” Bo whistles with his teeth excitedly. “There we go!” Carly’s adrenaline picks up and she blushes.

The two manage to shoot cans for a couple of hours before they sit down and eat dinner.

“Ain’t much but it’s what I make Vincent and Les when we come out ‘ere.” Bo says biting into the chicken salad sandwich he made. Carly takes a bite too and leans back in the lawn chair.

The sun is starting to set, she looks at it then over at Bo. “Why didn’t they come?” She can’t help but ask about his brothers again, Bo’s quiet. She knows he’s reluctant to answer.

“Vincent’s getting caught up with the Wax Museum and Les made some friends of his own.” Bo replies. Carly nods in acknowledgment. “Is it true why Wade broke up with you?” Bo asks, he finishes up his sandwich and takes a sip of his beer which Carly never commented on.

“You mean him not wanting to go to New York with me? Yeah.” She answers, honestly up until now she forgot about Wade’s existence. She didn’t feel anything towards him anymore. Originally she was sad but now, who cares? He was never going to change his mind and she should’ve known that from the beginning of their relationship Freshmen year.

“He’s fuckin’ dumb.”

Carly furrows her brows and looks at Bo. “How so?”

“Because, he had one chance to get the hell outta here. Honestly if my girlfriend asked me if I wanted to go to college with her, I would’ve! Ambrose doesn’t provide shit. You get a whole new life away from this place and he takes it for granted.” Bo rants, he’s now standing up and pacing, Carly shrugs.

“Yeah, guess he wasn’t feeling it.” Carly mumbles, Bo looks at her.

“He didn’t deserve you. Fuckin’ hope you know that.” He huffs and shakes his head. Carly finishes her sandwich and chugs down her water.

“Yeah and that’s why I broke up with him Sinclair. Let’s just, forget about it, okay?”

The boy nods his head and takes another sip of his beer. Carly looks up at the peach tree and looks to see a single peach hanging from a branch.

“I can get it for you, if you want it.”

Carly feels how close Bo is behind her.

“Oh no! I was just-“

Bo drops his beer bottle on the dirt and climbs into the tree impulsively. Carly gasps.

“Bo! Get down here, I don’t want you hurting yourself!” She squeaks. On the ground she follows Bo as he walks and crawls to the branch where the ripe peach hangs.

“Oh god, please it’s not even that far of a drop!” Bo shakes the branch with his legs making all sorts of reactions come from Carly. Bo chuckles and before she knows it, Carly has to stop because of the water. Bo reaches up to grab the peach and smirks once he does grab it and shows it off to Carly. She nervously plays with her dirty blonde hair.

“See, nothing to be afraid of.”

“Okay, stop showing off and get back down here!” Worry still laces the girl’s voice. It had every right to as she hears the tree branch snap and then a large SPLASH. She gasps and runs towards the water. “BO?!”

Quickly she toes off her boots and jeans and jumps into the water. It’s not to shallow and not to deep, but with the sun setting it was harder to see what was underneath.

Bo come up before Carly can fully give under. He wears a goofy smile and it still holding the peach for Carly. The fort blonde huffs at the brunet. “You’re not funny! I told you to be careful!” She starts to walk out of the water and grabs her clothes and boots. Bo comes out after her.

“I was very careful! And I got your peach. Bo combs his hair back and out of his face and Carly glares at him. He makes it really hard with how he’s looking at her, she really wants to smile but she still is a little pissed.

Bo waves the peach in her face and she takes it, biting into it. The juice falls from her lips, down her chin and onto her chest. She wipes her mouth and raises a brow holding the peach out for him to take a bite from. He eyes her and takes it, biting the same amount she did and feeling as the sticky nectar drips down his chin too. Carly takes another bite, but this time from his hand and he finishes it off.

When Bo done chewing he grabs Carly’s face and kisses her deeply. Her lips and his both tasting like the fruit they just ate. Carly doesn’t even hesitate, she knows what she wants. Her fingers entangle in Bo’s wet hair and she lets out a small moan.

“Let’s-let’s go back to my truck.” Bo mumbles breathlessly. Carly nods and everything is quickly packed up as the last part of the sun sinks under the horizon.

Bo chucks the bag and gun in the bed of the truck before opening the hatch and lifting Carly onto it. Messily he kisses and licks at Carly’s jaw, his wet clothes getting thrown off in the process. He easily unclips Carly’s bra and she slips it off. When Bo’s hands reach her panties though both of them stop, panting and staring into each others eyes.

“Do you-“

“I’m a virgin.”

Bo backs up and looks at her. “You’re tellin’ me Wade had one of the prettiest girls in Ambrose and he didn’t fuck her once?” He growls. Carly nods her head.

“Got on birth control cause he said he wanted to. He never took my advances though so I never asked.”

“Such a goddamn cuck.” Bo rolls his eyes. Cary laughs which makes Bo smile. “Do you want me to?” His face drops into something genuine and it makes Carly happy.

She looks away but then back at Bo. “Yeah. I’m sick of waiting.”

Bo is slow with her. He grabs her hips and pulls down her panties. He stairs at her dark and hairy mound and almost drools, his thick sigh it’s dipping between her legs and pushing into her. She feels her pussy stretch and grabs onto Bo’s arm.

It feels good, so much better than her own fingers.

Bo’s thumb circles her clit lightly causing Carly to squirm and let out a tiny squeal. He leans down and kisses her cheek. “So tight. Gonna take good care of you.” He promises. Carly nods, her mouth wide open yet she’s unable to speak as his fingers curl in her. Wet noises come from her pussy as he pleasures her and she lets out breathy moans.

“God, I wanna fuck this pussy. This is a good pussy. So goddamn tight.” Bo growls into her ear and bites on her jaw lightly.

He pulls his fingers out and sucks on them as he adjusts himself, getting ready to fuck into Carly.

Carly looks at his huge cock then up into Bo’s blue eyes.

“Don’t worry. I don’t wanna hurt ya. I’ll be slow.”

Slowly Bo slides into Carly and she arches her back. Both of them letting out loud moans. She takes his face in her hands and pulls him down, kissing him messily. Without warnings Bo starts to grind into Carly.

The dirty blonde doesn’t care, she rolls her hips into him and lets out soft pants. Bo’s cock stretches her out with every thrust. Bo kisses and licks her neck gripping onto her hips trying to get more leverage. The truck creaks and groans underneath them.

“You feel so good around me. Squeezin’ me just right city girl.”

The nickname causes Carly’s pussy to pulsate around Bo making him groan more and almost fall on top of her. He keeps thrusting, his hand moves up and thumb caresses her nipple before he pinched it lightly. Carly yelps in surprise which signals Bo not to stop.

Carly’s legs start to shake as she feels her stomach tighten and she starts to sweat.

“I’m gonna cum. Please.” He pinches her nipple again.

“Fuck, yeah you are. You gonna cum around my cock? You gonna let me cum in you?”

Bo’s nose nuzzles against Carly’s cheek and he gives her a wet kiss. She nods and Bo smirks.

“Gotta hear you say it.”

Carly moans and Bo slows down slightly.

“Come on. Then you can cum.”

Carly wiggles trying to get more friction but Bo’s hands hold her in place. “Fuck.. fuck Bo just cum in me! Make me yours!” Carly screams, Bo starts up his pace again and it takes Carly right over the edge. Her back arches as her pussy spasms. She lets out high pitched squeals and cries into the night sky.

Bo falls over the edge rig after her. He bucks repeatedly into her pussy, filling her up just right. He grunts and falls onto her.

“Fuck you felt so good.” He sounds out of breath.

Bo looks at Carly and caresses her face, moving her sweaty hair out of it. He slides out of her causing her to whine. “Sorry, I gotta get you cleaned up.” He says, getting up, he grabs his flannel and wipes her pussy clean. He then pulls Carly back on top of him and the two lay there like that. The night air feeling warm against their skin.

“Do you wanna come to New York with me?”

Carly lets out a small gasp, no, she didn’t mean to ask Bo that. Not at all. No, that’s embarrassing, she tries to get up, but neither Bo or her own body let her.

Instead she hears Bo laughing, she can tell his nose is scrunched up.

“Ask me again in August. I think it’s too soon for you to think you’d wanna room with me.”

Carly opens her mouth to speak but shuts it again and nods. Bo plays with her hair and kisses her head a few times. The two lay there almost all night talking about everything and anything which each other. Catching up on all those years they despised each other.

[misspearly1]

When Two Worlds Collide Series

Chp1 || Chp2 || Chp3 || Chp4 || Chp5 || Chp6 || Chp7 || Chp8

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader x Arthur Morgan 

Chapter Five: Our Gal

WC: 7.8k

Warnings: 18+ Content. Minors DNI. Friends to Lovers. Alternative TLOU & RDR2 Universe. Growing M/F/M Relationship and hints of M/M attraction. Smut. Mentions of Sex. Oral Sex (fem receiving). Fingering. Little bit of angst in this one, but it has a fluffy ending.

AN: We're nearly there, my loves! I've been trying really hard to keep this whole story short, but I'm finding it difficult to keep it simple. We need a little more plot before reaching the ending. I can't help it, I love this concept and want to explore every possibly aspect. I will most definitely be writing some singular one-shots for this storyline in the future. I ain't done with this yet hehehe! I hope you enjoy.

It’s been two days cooped up inside this homestead, and it’s been so pleasant living domestically with two men who are head over heels with you that it feels normal. It feels as though you belong here and this is the way things were meant to be… Like you were made for each other. 

Unfortunately, it’s a true saying that ‘all good things must come to an end’ and you’ve been trying to ignore that this good thing you got going between you, Joel and Arthur will eventually come to pass. You’ve been trying to avoid the inevitable because at some point, you will be going home and even though you’re desperate to get back to where you really belong, you don’t like to think about the reality of what that means for the cowboy you’ve grown close with over the last few weeks. 

Arthur will be staying here, and it’s a farewell that you don’t wish to go through.

You don’t want to say goodbye, and neither does Joel for that matter. They’ve grown close too, especially after you all got intimate the other night. It’s been nothing but a pleasure in the last couple of days. The men satisfied you like you’ve never been satisfied before, and they never left you wanting or needy for more either. You’ve been showered in sweet kisses, blanketed by their warm embrace and completely engulfed in their love and attraction. 

Last night however, was a little different. You didn’t roll around the sheets making love to one another until the early hours of the morning like you did the night before. Instead, you initiated a conversation about avoiding that farewell you dread so much.

You spoke to Joel first about it, to which he revealed that he had the same wishes as yourself, and together, you both asked Arthur if he would like to join you when going back home. Neither of you wanted to leave him behind, but neither of you wanted to stay here forever either. This world is different and beautiful, but it’s not where you belong. Austin, Texas is where you belong. It’s where your lives and your families await. 

As expected, Arthur kindly denied your thoughtful offer and explained that he belongs here with his family. You already knew he would say that, but you wanted to ask nonetheless and hoped there was a slim chance that he’d say yes, or he would think about it at the very least.

Needless to say, it was a disappointing, yet understandable answer. You know the man can’t leave his gang behind. He’s so loyal to those he loves and it would be absurd to think he’d abandon them to venture into a new world with you and Joel. So rather than spending the night making love, you spent the night cuddling under the covers, holding each other near and dear like you’d be saying goodbye any day now.

That stranger future guy — Francis Sinclair — hasn’t replied to Arthur’s letter yet, but you have a very strong feeling in your gut that he’ll reach out soon. It’s as if you’ve just found something good here, and just like that common saying, all good things must come to an end. Nothing great lasts forever and you fell asleep last night, wrapped up in the greatness of Joel and Arthur’s presence, savouring every special moment you have with them together. 

Now, as the birds tweet their morning song and the sun peeks through the windows, Arthur is the one who awoke first, and he awoke with a soft grunt of your name slipping past his lips. You were still fast asleep and he could feel your warmth pressing against his chest as you breathe rhythmically. It was so subtle and sweet the way you lightly snored, the sound barely audible.

He opened his eyes and looked for you, but found Joel’s face peacefully resting against the pillow in front of him instead. You were buried beneath the blankets with your head and your body comfortably squished between him and Joel. He could feel how hot you were, although you didn’t seem to care and basked in the sensation of two men crowding you completely. 

While a part of Arthur wishes he could switch places with Joel so he could see your pretty face, another part of him didn’t mind waking up to see the sight of a man laying opposite him. It was rather surprising how much he liked it. He’s never laid in bed with a man like this before, but he wouldn’t oppose doing it again. Joel looked so calm and well rested, the difference in the dark circles under his eyes were most noticeable. They seemingly disappeared overnight and now he sleeps comfortably, as if he, too, didn’t mind laying in bed with another man like this. 

In spite of the fact they weren’t really touching each other intimately since you lay between them, it didn’t take away how deeply romantic they’ve been with each other because of you. Arthur smiles with the remembrance of gripping Joel’s bicep for leverage to piston his hips into you from behind. He feels his cheeks burn with arousal when remembering how Joel spoke to him and praised his actions when fucking you till exhaustion. He closes his eyes briefly and shudders when thinking about how sexy and passionate both of you sounded when climaxing. The sound of your whimpers, so breathy and high pitched, mixed and paired well with Joel’s low guttural groans of pleasure. 

Arthur loved it; loved everything about you and Joel together. The thought of letting another man join in the sexual act of making love to a woman never occurred to him before until these last couple weeks. But there were so many things about the experience he had over the last few days that he enjoyed so much and wants to do again. Maybe even explore a little more, if Joel is comfortable with that of course. 

Surely he would be, Arthur thought to himself as he could feel Joel’s softened cock between your legs. His cock was between your legs too, only it was growing harder and harder by the second with the thoughts of awaking you both with a pleasurable sensation. He spent the night cuddling with you naked instead of satiating that sexual need of his and now he’s woken up today hungry and ravenous to feel your heat wrapped around him, squeezing him of every ounce of desire he could possibly give. The man has never climaxed so much in his life before. It’s as if you hold that special talent to draw all of it out of him. You and Joel. 

However, as much as Arthur would have loved to wake you both up with a blissful orgasm, he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries or wrongfully assume that you like that sort of thing. So instead, he carefully peeled the covers back and climbed out of bed, leaving you both to rest for a little longer while he whips up breakfast.

He got dressed then made his way into the kitchen to look over the food stock. The supply was a little sparse and he’d need to make a visit into town today, but there’s enough to make something to eat for three people. 

After gathering some sausages, eggs and bacon together, he brewed up three extra hot mugs of black coffee first before slowly starting the cooking process. He didn’t want to rush and risk the chance of ruining the food, but the smell of roasted coffee beans reached Joel first and he woke up before you did. It was his favourite beverage after all, and he exited the bedroom in nothing but his pants and looked at Arthur sitting by the fire.

“You want some help?” He offered kindly. 

“Nah. Take a seat and relax.” Arthur denied the helping hand with the same sentiment of kindness in his tone. “Drink ya coffee. I’ll take care of breakfast today.” 

“Well, that’s nice of yer.” Joel moved towards the sofa, chuckling softly with a smile on his face. “Thanks, sunshine.” 

Arthur turned to look at him now, his cheeks rosed with flattery while mirroring Joel’s smile. “Don’t mention it, big boy.” He replied and looked into the man’s eyes with a lot of adoration and respect for the man.

Recently, those pet names have harboured a different meaning for Joel and Arthur. It wasn’t just a joking gesture between friends anymore. It became something meaningful and sincere. Like it held the same expressive value of calling you darling or sweetheart. Each of them felt a little flutter in their stomachs and a warm sensation spreading across their chests to hear those terms of endearments. The pair have undeniably become closer to each other, and it’s because of you that their friendship blossomed into something more.

It’s been adventurous and exciting, and Arthur simply can’t get enough of you or Joel. It’s a strange feeling for the man to be so sexually satisfied, yet always hungry for more. He wants more of everything. Not just the sex. More of the way you smile, and how Joel laughs, or how you giggle and the way Joel smiles. He wants more of your humour and the way you tease each other, and the way you never forget to include him in everything either. It won’t be the same without you or Joel. He’s become so used to having you there with him day and night that it feels like you’ve been a part of his life for years. Not weeks. 

When the smell of the food started invading every corner of the house and the sound of it sizzling in the pan could be heard, you finally woke up and peeped your head out of the bedroom door. Joel and Arthur turned to look at you, both of their eyes darkening with lust at the sight of you looking so sexy. You stood in the doorway, your eyes heavy and hair slightly dishevelled, with a blanket lazily draped over you that did a poor job of covering up the most revealing areas of your body, but neither of them minded the fact they could see the top of your breasts or a glimpse of your pretty cunt. 

“Morning.” You said tiredly, your voice soft and quiet. Moving toward the sofa and taking a seat in the middle, you reached for your coffee then brought your knees up to your chest to get comfortable. Joel laid his arm over your shoulder and squeezed your arm gently. “G’morning, doll.” He murmured into his mug, to which you leaned into his side and looked at Arthur as he smiled at you. “Morning, sweetheart.” He said. 

You took all but a sip of your coffee before leaning over Joel to place it on a little table, then moved back into your prior position to cosy up into his side while the food cooks. It smelled divine and your stomach growled, but you still felt so tired and couldn’t fight the urge to close your eyes just for a few moments.

You felt Joel’s hand slipping down your arm to pull the blanket over your body to wrap you up and gradually, you ended up resting your cheek against his chest. The deep vibrating hum of his voice as he spoke to Arthur lulled you back to sleep in a matter of seconds. Moments later, they alerted you that breakfast was ready and you opened your eyes to find three plates filled with bacon, eggs, sausages and a couple slices of toast on each.

“God.” You sighed. Sitting up straight and rubbing your eyes, it’s as if you fell asleep for longer than a moment and took a little micro nap because the sun was glaring through the windows now. It was blinding your eyes and zapping you with energy. “Can’t believe I fell back to sleep. How long was I actually out for?” You asked before raising your arms to stretch, not caring about how your blanket fell down and revealed the top half of your body. Your breasts were completely exposed now, which Joel and Arthur immediately looked at and blushed.  

“Not even ten minutes... Here, sweetheart.” Arthur presented you a plate of food, the delicious aroma making you salivate as you take it from him. “Thanks, handsome.” You replied, then patted the empty space next to you. “Come sit up here with me and Joel.” 

“I won’t say no to that.” He grinned. Standing up from the floor and moving towards the sofa, he took a seat while you readjusted your blanket to cover yourself up again. Even though he wouldn’t have minded the sight of your beautiful bare chest while he ate, it’s best that you protect your skin in case you drop any food and burn yourself.

After getting comfortable and digging into his breakfast, you all basked in the silence with the occasional short conversation in between bites. You didn’t feel the need to talk. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest. It was just peaceful. 

Surprisingly, you had finished your food first and it was rather out of the ordinary as Joel and Arthur tend to wolf down their meals like it was the last one they should ever have. It’s obvious that you woke up with an impressive appetite today and both of the men were happy that you ate every last bite. You’ve had a few moments here and there over the last few weeks where you skipped meals because of stress and anxiety. So to see you eating like you ought to be was a big relief.

You stood up from the sofa and made your way into the kitchen to wash up, telling them to bring their dishes through once they’re finished. It just felt like the normal daily routine now; wake up, cook and eat breakfast, then clean and do whatever needed to be done that day before relaxing. 

Except, there wasn’t anything on the agenda today. The men had finished the wooden fence yesterday evening and the perimeter is secure now. And enough money has been accumulated over the last couple weeks as well, so there isn’t an urgent need to go out and earn either. Though, you do need to restock the food in the kitchen so maybe a visit into the town of Strawberry would be best.

With the timely fashion of Joel and Arthur entering the kitchen with their dishes, you turned to them and asked: “Should we head out for the day? We need to buy food and I think we’d benefit from getting out of the house for a few hours.” 

They looked at each other first, exchanging a few wordless looks of contemplation and approval before looking back at you. “Yeah. I think that’d be nice.” Arthur said first, then Joel quickly added with an even better idea. “How ‘bout a picnic? Owanjilla is near Strawberry. We can visit the town and get the supplies, then head over to the lake for a while. It’s good weather outside.” 

“I could bring the fishing poles?” Arthur suggested before you could have the chance to reply, expressing his excitement of the idea by how quickly he spoke. “Me and you ain’t ever fished before. We can even teach Y/N if she don’t know how to do it, and whatever we catch, I’ll use to cook us dinner tonight-” 

“No.” Joel interrupted firmly. “I’ll cook dinner. You did breakfast, so it’s only fair you and Y/N take a break. Besides, I got a mean fish pie recipe that you’ll love.” They turned to you now, as if they were looking for confirmation on the plans for the day but you didn’t even have to say anything. The humorous grin on your face said it all, but it made them look at you suspiciously and Arthur pointed it out. “What’s so funny? You got that look in ya eyes.” 

“I don’t have a look.” You defend yourself and shrug innocently, yet you still wore that grin on your face. It was hard not to smile and feel so happy about how they bickered just now. They were arguing with good intentions behind their words and it was so endearing to see them getting along like this. It was so attractive to see with your own eyes how much they care for each other, and how much they care for you too. “Can’t a lady just be happy for no reason at all, Arthur?” You tease before turning around to face the sink, knowing that your words and actions would prompt him to react in the very best way. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He moved closer and reached out for you, his hand landing on your hip felt warm and strong, thus sending a tingling shiver up your spine. “I didn't mean it like that... Won’t ya forgive me?” He asked, his voice seductive and corrupt as he toys with the blanket wrapped around your body like a towel. You bite your lip and stifle a moan when feeling his fingers traveling inside the fabric to touch your skin. It was like white hot electricity once he made contact, the sensation making your legs squeeze together with a palpable pulse in your nether regions.  

“Yes. I suppose I could forgive you, Arthur.” You managed to capture some focus to reply to the man, but feeling him closing in was making your head dizzy with desire. He slowly pulled the blanket off your body and let it drop to the floor, the action making you inhale shakily with the cool air hitting your nipples.

You could hear how they both sighed breathily behind you, as if they were admiring the image of you fully nude from behind. They've seen you naked numerous times now, yet it seems that your appearance never ceases to amaze them. Their eyes were blown wide with lust, their cocks already growing hard and stiff. Arthur pinched your ass cheek and Joel chuckled sadistically at the way you gasped then leaned into him, like you were searching for more. 

“You gonna watch or join, big boy?” Arthur whispered to Joel before he moved to stand behind you, his words making your eyes close with anticipation and intrigue as to what comes next. It could only be something most enjoyable and pleasuring. The men never left you wanting, but in some weird way, you always want more. Hell, you even thought about waking them up during the night with an orgasm, but didn’t want to ruin a good sleep. Joel needed it desperately. You saw the bags under his eyes yesterday and they were heavy, but today they have practically disappeared. 

Now though, you’re all on the same page and you’re mutually feeling insatiable for each other’s touch. Your head lolls back as Arthur brings his arms around your front to palm your breasts, grabbing the plump flesh by the handfuls while rolling the stiffened nipples between his fingers. You would have moaned, but it was snatched by Joel as he tilted your face towards him eagerly, forcefully, and sealed his lips over yours in a heated kiss.

The man wasn't shy with expressing how much he wanted you. Both of them were like that. Joel swallowed all the pretty little noises you made and groped himself to relieve the ache in his cock. The men groaned in unison, feeling your body become soft like putty in their hands was a reward in itself, as if they were so intoxicating and overwhelming in the very best way for you. 

You sampled only a taste of Joel’s tongue in your mouth before he pulled away and looked at Arthur. He made some sort of gesture with his mouth that you didn’t quite catch before they both started smirking at each other, the looks in their eyes can only be described as pure carnal need.

Arthur brought you with him as he took a step back and provided some room for Joel to move in front of you and kneel to the floor, then it suddenly became clear as to what gesture he made with his mouth mere moments ago. The man looked up at you through half-lidded eyes and licked his lips, his face now inches away from your pussy. 

“Open your legs a little more for him, kitten.” Arthur instructed, his voice sweet like honey, yet deeply venereal and desirous. Doing as he so politely asked, you spread your feet apart and looked down at Joel as he leaned in to place a kiss on your mound. Your chest began to rise and fall quickly now with the sensation. It felt so good and you could feel Arthur smirking against your neck as he, too, watched Joel get to work between your legs.

He placed another kiss directly over your clit now, but didn’t pull away this time and slipped his tongue between your folds, making your mouth fall open with a pathetic little whimper leaving your lips. It was so breathy and ragged, the sound fuelling their eagerness to please you. 

“Oh, that’s good. Right there, Joel.” Arthur praised while holding onto your hips to keep you still as you naturally pulled away from the overstimulation of pleasure. It was surprising to feel how sensitive you still were. You thought it would have eased off now after taking a much needed rest last night, but your clit was still swollen and tender despite the fact you yearned for their touch.

The little gasps and mewling whines escaping you were music to the men's ears. It spurred them both on to keep delivering their punishingly satisfying treatment. Joel gripped the back of your thighs to keep you pinned into the position of his liking while rapidly flicking his tongue left and right, the sound of him slurping up your juices was most shocking and exciting all at the same time. He sounded like a man starved, and your cunt was his only source of replenishment.

It was pleasing just to hear him groaning and grunting into your slicked folds, as if he couldn’t ever get enough; as if he wouldn’t ever be replenished and would always need a drink of your desire right from the source. Arthur rested his chin into the nook of your neck and looked down into Joel’s darkened eyes. “Ya hear that, big boy?” He asked proudly. “She’s close… Y/N’s gonna come for us.” He spoke to him like you weren’t even there and rolled his hips forward to ease the ache in his dick.

You could feel how hard he was. It was pressing into your lower back firmly, but the man didn’t take what he so desperately needed. You would eagerly offer Arthur to fuck you from behind, but it’s as if the man was getting off watching you fall apart on Joel’s tongue instead. 

“Oh fuck.”  You whined. Throwing your head back with a sobbing cry of their names, Arthur took advantage of the opening and kissed your neck plenty as the peak of your orgasm neared. You could feel the cramp in your abdomen tensing up. It was powerful and beautiful, ready to unravel at any given second. You started to claw at Arthur’s arms and panted heavily between moans of pleasure, but the moment Joel sunk two fingers into your aching cunt, the tension broke and you saw stars. 

“Joel!” You mewled his name to the heavens above, almost screamed it. He didn’t ease up and prolonged your climax as long as he possibly could, drawing out every ounce of desire you could offer. Your legs buckled beneath you. It felt so good, but it was too much. All of it was too much.

You couldn’t concentrate on how deliciously big and thick Joel’s fingers were as they worked you open and caressed that soft spot deep inside, the action making you drip your essence down his arm. You couldn’t focus on how good Arthur’s lips felt on your neck, or how feral he sounded as he dry humped you from behind. The man was practically fucking you, using the friction inside his jeans to release a creamy white load onto the denim fabric. 

The way they both groaned and grunted was arousing and worthy of another orgasm right there and then. It’s as if they didn’t care how they looked or sounded when making love to you like this in the kitchen. They were ravenous for you to be pleased sexually, starved of those pretty little sounds you make for their ears only and didn’t care about their own pleasure.

You couldn’t concentrate on how filthy and shameless they were right now, but neither of them were done with you yet. It’s Arthur’s turn next; his turn to make you fall apart on his tongue and his fingers as they work you open even more. 

Oh, what a sensational way to start the day, you thought.

Later that day, at around noon, you had finally made it to Owanjilla lake and took it upon yourself to set up a blanket on a little bank beneath a tree. You needed to shade as the sun was high in the sky now and you didn't have any sun cream, only a large sun hat to keep you from burning your face, neck and shoulders.

Joel and Arthur didn’t seem to care all that much though. They removed their shirts and lapped up every minute of the heat. It was nice to look at them half undressed and bathe under the sun, but you kept an eye on the time and watched closely for any signs of sunburn or sunstroke. 

Taking their shirts off only lasted fifteen minutes before they started cooking and you told them to put their clothes back on. After making a broad selection of sandwiches to choose from and setting them aside to eat later, you finally sat down and relaxed. It was heavenly under the shade. There was a cool breeze whispering through the bushy trees and it sounded angelic. 

“My God.” You gasped in awe as you admired the scenic view of everything around you. The lake is magnificent, and the land surrounding it was even more pretty. “Arthur, how can you live here and not spend every day outside? It’s…. It’s just breath-taking.” Kicking your shoes off, you lean against the bark of the tree and unwind to the full extent. 

“I do spend every day outside, sweetheart.” Arthur chuckled. Taking his shoes off as well, he and Joel walked a couple feet into the water and threw out the line of their fishing rods before he tilted his head towards you and continued his conversation. “I’ve spent most of my life outside. Ever since I was a young boy really, and I guess it’s always been in my nature to wander around and explore the land, you know?"

“Yeah.” You agree contently. “You’re an outdoorsy kind of guy… I like that.” It makes you smile to think about how Joel is also an outdoorsy kind of guy. He enjoys hiking back home, but hasn't been able to go out and indulge all that much since he started the renovation. The thought popping into your mind brought a twinge of sadness with it though, so you quickly shrugged it off and tried to ignore how much you miss your home. “What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen out on the road before?” You asked, hoping the topic would distract your mind. 

“Shit. There’s so many, I wouldn’t know which ones are the weirdest.” He replied with another chuckling laugh, the sound making you and Joel smile. Arthur once said that you have a pretty laugh, but his laugh is really infectious and attractive. As a matter of fact, Joel’s laugh is the same. They’re just like each other in so many ways, yet uniquely different in their own beautiful way.

“I think I saw a flying spaceship one-time.” Arthur continued casually, dropping that piece of information like it was normal. “I followed some instructions and saw some circular flying object in the night sky. It had a bright green light shining down from it.” 

“And you expect us to believe that, huh sunshine?” Joel scoffed affectionately. Nudging Arthur’s side while shaking his head in disbelief, you shook your head too, but the man persisted that it was true. “I could show ya’ll where to find it, then you’ll believe me and then we'll see who's laughing.” He joked, then returned a playful nudge to Joel with a smirk on his lips. They continued to push into each other and slowly broke into a fit of laughter once it became too boisterous. Their camaraderie was most enjoyable to watch. It was entertaining and humorous, the sight making you giggle. 

“Anyways, how ‘bout you, sweetheart?” Arthur turned to ask you, then looked at Joel to make him feel included in the conversation. “Ya’ll ever seen something weird like that before? I got stories for days, but all I’ve done is talk about myself since I met you. Tell me what it’s like where you’re from.” 

“Well, I can’t say I’ve seen an flying spaceship before, or anything as weird as that.” You admit, then look to Joel for his input. “What about you, Joel? You got anything?” 

“Yeah actually, I do.” He nods with a soft laugh, as if he were hesitant to say. “I uhh… I think I might have seen a ghost before. It was a long time ago now, but I was around five or six years old when I saw a woman sitting on the foot of my bed. I didn’t recognise her and my mom thought I was lying for the longest time until she saw her one day too.” 

“Oh wow… That’s really spooky.” You shivered with goosebumps when trying to imagine how you’d feel in that situation. It must have been freaky for Joel and his mom to see such an unexplainable phenomenon. You’ve met Joel’s mom once before. Avery is her name and she’s a lovely old woman. Joel clearly got his good looks from her and his old fashioned gentleman attitude from his father, Hudson.

The Miller’s are a welcoming family, and Joel misses them dearly. You’ve noticed that over the weeks you’ve been stuck here, and you can sense that he’s feeling despaired right now from his sudden bout of silence and the way Arthur looked at him with concern in his eyes. The mention of his mother clearly brought all of those emotions to the surface again; the very same emotions you’ve been trying to shove down deep inside and ignore.

It’s been hard trying to remain hopeful that you’ll find your way home again, but it’s been exceptionally harder for Joel to cope considering he actually has a family to go back to. You haven’t seen your family in years. You grew apart after moving across the country as soon as you turned eighteen, and even though you do sort of miss them, you don’t yearn to be reunited with your family like Joel does with his. 

Rising to your feet, you walked towards him and reached out to wrap your arms around his body, using your embrace to comfort him. It’s what he so desperately needed right now — comfort and consolation.

Arthur laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, causing the man to crumple under the gestures. He lowered his head and looked away, as if he were ashamed to show his teary eyes. The mood had changed so quickly and it’s become evidently clear in your mind that he’s been keeping this bottled up inside.

After a few quiet moments, he gathered himself together before placing his hand over yours. “S’okay.” He muttered while shaking his head. “I’m okay.”

You continued to cuddle him from behind and didn’t let go. And neither did Arthur. He stood closer to Joel and wrapped an arm around your back, as if pulling you both into a warm hug. “Whatever it takes.” He said solemnly. “I’m sorry this happened, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get ya’ll back home.” 

Joel turned to look at the man and smiled with respect and gratitude. “Thanks, Arthur. It means a lot and I appreciate everything you’ve been doing for- woah!”  He yelled out when his fishing rod damn near slipped out his hands. You could feel the force of the fish biting on the bait as Joel was yanked forward before planting his feet into the ground. “Christ. What kinda fish ya’ll got here?” He asked, but before Arthur could answer, he was yanked forward again and you quickly darted your hands out to hold the rod with him. 

“Arthur… I can’t hold….” You giggled relentlessly, struggling to form the words and ask for help when suddenly, Joel was yanked for a third time and it caused you both to fall forward and land in the water. You were drenched and the fishing rod was gone in a matter of seconds. It disappeared into the dark abyss of Owanjilla Lake before you could even think about grabbing it. 

“You fucking bastard!” You cursed at the fish between fits of laughter, then quickly got on your feet and moved further into the lake with Joel and Arthur shouting for you to stop. It was an impulse decision to chase it down, even though it was useless. But after catching a glimpse of the fishing rod, you leaped for it and without hesitation, the men rushed in the lake after you. 

Together, you all ran around the shallow waters like headless chickens looking for the fishing rod until it got deeper and deeper. The lake wasn’t a huge body of water, but the depth in the middle was so cavernous that you couldn’t see the bottom. It looked like an endless black void and it was eerily frightening as well. You quickly lost sight of the fishing rod and didn’t want to attempt swimming down to the bottom of the lake looking for it. 

“Seriously, what kind of fish do ya’ll have out here?” You repeat Joel’s question from earlier as you swim back to the shore. “That fucker has to be twenty pounds at least.” 

“I reckon it'll be the legendary smallmouth bass.” Arthur replied. Trudging through the water together, he helped you and Joel to your feet before reeling in his fishing line to take a break. He didn’t want to try his luck again anytime soon and needed to ease the happy cramp in his stomach after laughing so much with you both. It was funny to him watching you chase after a fish, and even more funny to him that he and Joel joined the search.

You walk towards the picnic blanket, feeling defeated and beaten, then sit down to dry off as he explained. “I got a couple maps in my satchel. One is for legendary animals, the other is for legendary fish and the smallmouth bass is here in Lake Owanjilla. They’re rare to find, but worth every penny.” 

“And you didn’t think to tell us that?” You looked at him with a facial expression that spoke of shock and slight annoyance. That small detail about a twenty pound legendary fish would have better prepared you and Joel. It wouldn’t have caught you off guard like it just did and maybe you could have saved the fishing rod.

But looking on the brighter side of the whole situation, it distracted Joel perfectly and now he’s feeling happier. You can see it on the man’s face as he smiles and rubs a hand over his stomach, as if easing the discomfort he feels from laughing so much. 

“I honestly forgot to mention it.” Arthur palmed a hand through his hair, the locks of wet blonde starting to curl at the ends. He grinned and shrugged timidly under your playful glare, the sight making you break into a smile and roll your eyes. “Alright.” You sighed softly. “I suppose we’ll have to try again with your fishing rod later and see if we get lucky. We’re going to need a bigger bait as well. I’m surprised the bastard even took Joel’s bait.” 

“So how do you know that we need a bigger bait if you’ve never fished before?” Arthur questioned, and Joel turned to you with a suspicious look on his face, the stifled smile on his lips making your cheeks burn. They’re onto you. They’re slowly piecing together that you do in fact know how to fish and you lied about it earlier.

You rolled your lips together and waved your hands flippantly, acting like you had no clue what Arthur was talking about when in actuality, you probably know more about fishing than what they both know collectively.  

“Ohhh. You little minx.” Joel laughed deeply with merriment. “You played me and Arthur like a fiddle, didn’t yer? Acting like you don’t know how to fish so we’d teach you how to do it. Tsk-tsk-tsk.” He tuts three times and the sound surprisingly turns you on. It’s as if being called out and playfully scolded by the man was exciting and it never dawned on you before just how much you liked that sort of thing. You wonder what else you could do that results in some form of punishment in the bedroom. 

A pleasurable punishment delivered by Joel and Arthur at the same time… 

Later that evening when the sun was a couple hours away from tucking in the night, you packed everything up from the picnic by the lake and stowed it back on the horses. You’ve had a long and adventurous day, but you’re ready to tuck in for the night too. It’s getting colder and darker by the hour and it’s time to get back to the homestead in Tall Trees. 

Making a quick stop into the local town known as Strawberry, you approach the post office with a great sense of pride sitting on your shoulders. You caught the smallmouth bass. It was a big legendary fish indeed that weighed in at a whopping twenty-two pounds and six ounces. It also took Joel and Arthur to lend a hand for you to reel it in, so it was actually a team effort rather than a solo achievement. You caught some other lake fish as well for Joel to cook up for dinner tonight and just the thought of sampling a taste of his cooking is making you salivate. 

The reason you’re making a quick stop at the post office however, is to mail the prize fish to Jeremy Gill – a famous fisherman and writer who Arthur met a while back. Arthur sure meets some interesting people out on his travels and the fact he might have seen a UFO doesn’t really seem that far-fetched anymore. You and Joel didn’t believe him at first, but considering the circumstances of how you both got here, it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the cowboy. It’s probably just like any ol’ regular Tuesday for him. 

While the man heads inside and conducts his business, you wait outside with Joel. The moon was already starting to make an appearance on the other side of the sky now and the fading transformation of colours was most spectacular to look upon. On one side, it was a deep red and orange, but then on the other side it was a dark purple and blue with a couple sparkling white specks from the stars. It was beautiful, and truth be told, you wouldn’t ever get over how amazingly clear the skies were here. Soon you will be able to see all the stars and constellations again, just like you do every night. 

“Hey.” Joel called out gently, and you snapped out of your idolisation of the sky above to look into his warm hazel brown eyes. “Sorry to disturb yer. I know how much you like looking at the night sky.” He chuckled and the sound made you feel warm and fuzzy. “I just wanted to thank you for everything today, doll.” 

“It’s ok. I think we all needed that breath of fresh air, you know? So really, it’s ok, hon.” You shrugged it off, appreciating but denying his gratitude because it really was no problem at all about proposing the idea to head out for the day instead of staying back at the homestead like you usually do. You all needed to get out of the house and take a much needed break from everything. But to your surprise, the man reached out to take your hand and insisted that you know what he’s thankful for exactly. “I meant thank you for taking care of me when I broke down, darlin’. I… I really needed that.” He explained. 

“Oh.” You sighed quietly. Looking into his eyes with compassion and empathy etched on your face, you can only begin to imagine how much he needed the comfort and reassurance from you and Arthur at that particular moment. He’s been trying so hard to keep himself together for your sake, and it’s only fair he released some of that emotional pain he’s been balling up inside. You’ve never seen Joel cry before, and you don’t ever wish to see it again, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be allowed to nor should he feel ashamed to. He is human after all, and everybody finds some form of cathartic release when shedding a few tears. The guise that everything will be okay could only last so long for the man. It was only a matter of time before he broke down, and you’re most grateful to have been there when he really needed you. 

Leaning into his side, you rest your cheek against his shoulder and place your hand over his chest, feeling the speedy beat of his heart beneath your palm. He’s worried about the worst case scenario. You can tell because whenever you think about the worse case scenario, it makes your heartbeat erratic too. The thought of never returning home makes you hysterical, so you try your very best not to think about it and remain positive instead. You distract yourself and keep busy, and that’s exactly what he needs right now. 

“It’s ok, Joel.” You whispered tenderly then tilted your head upwards to look into his eyes again. “We’ll get through this together. I can’t tell you how exactly, or make everything right again, but you know I’m always going to be here for you.” 

“Of course.” He breathed a sigh of relief, as if hearing those words were working to ease his emotional plight. He already knows you’re with him every step of the way, but hearing you say it is what he needed to hear. “And Arthur too.” He added after a moment's reflection, like he was slowly coming to grips with the worse case scenario and accepting the cold hard truth. “He’s always going to be here for us too.” 

“Of course.” You reiterated his exact words, like you were also coming to grips with the cold hard truth. It hurts to accept that, but they always said the truth hurts. You need to start thinking about long-term living arrangements here and about building a secure future because the chances of going home are so slim that it seems to be nigh impossible. It’s something you and Joel should have figured out sooner rather than later to save yourselves the let down and disappointment. 

But upon looking at the silver lining of things, it couldn’t have been made any more clearer that you and Arthur are Joel’s rock. You’re both someone he can rely on and seek comfort and reassurance from. You and Arthur keep him held together, like you’re the glue mending all of the broken pieces, and they both do the exact same thing for you too. Like they are your rocks, keeping you grounded and mentally sane. 

Without Arthur Morgan's gracious attitude toward strangers and his offer to help – even after getting into a brawl with Joel – you both would have been severely broken and hopeless. He’s been keeping you both held together, and when the man finally exited the post office without a letter from Francis Sinclair, you looked at him and smiled with teary eyes for the debt that could never be repaid. He saved your lives, and you’d forever be filled with gratitude for that.  

“Alright, who’s ass do I gotta kick for making our gal cry?” He asked Joel, and you would have giggled at his question to show that you’re crying happy tears, but the use of ‘our girl’ was making your stomach flutter. It made you feel equally loved by Joel and Arthur. Not more or less, just an equal and powerful amount of love from both of them. But because of the stupefied look on your face and the sound of your silence, Joel replied to the man for you. “Well, that would be your own ass, sunshine.” He chucked before wrapping an arm around your back. “We’re just really happy to have you with us, Arthur. I don’t even know where we’d be right now without yer and I’m glad we’re all together.” 

Taking the words right out of your mouth, the man couldn’t have articulated it better. It was true. You wouldn’t know where you’d be right now and you’re most glad to have each other. Arthur really absorbed Joel’s words and started to blush with flattery. His cheeks were burning redder than a tomato as he perched both hands to his hips and timidly shuffled on his feet. “Oh, you’re too kind.” He said before approaching his horse and mounting the saddle. “A man like me doesn't deserve good people like ya’ll in my life.”

“Why? Because you’re a thief who steals from wealthy people who don’t deserve it?” You chimed in now and leaned over to squeeze his bicep. “Don’t put yourself down like that, Arthur. You’re a good man with a big heart and we’ve been thinking…” Looking into Joel’s eyes, he nods in your direction with approval for what you’re about to say. “...I think it’s time we start looking for long-term living arrangements and we’d like you to stay with us, or if your gang would allow it, maybe we could stay with you.” 

Arthur turned to look at you both now with hope in his eyes. “Really? Y-you and Joel?”  

“Yes.” Joel answered the man, then sighed heavily. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be headin’ home, so whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us.” He chuckles softly and begins to accept the cold hard truth that this is his life now. “We’re with you till the end of the line, Arthur… Me and Y/N, if you’ll have us.” 

“B-Both of you?” He asked timidly, his eyes darting between you both before he looked at Joel’s lips, the action making the man burn up with a blushing smile. It made you smile too because it isn’t just some adventurous no strings-attached kind of sex between three people, two of whom have never explored the act of love with the opposite sex before, but it’s becoming something serious and romantic. It’s quite obvious that Arthur doesn’t just want you both to stick around and become a part of his life, but he wants you both intimately. 

And from the way Joel winked at Arthur, he did too. 

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[theflyingfeeling]

Fifth Day of Gift-Giving: Fights (and Reconciliations)

Prompt(s): It had all just been a big misunderstanding and after finding that out, all they could do was laugh or... something else 😏

Today's piece is a standalone unrelated to the previous parts (because, being a hopeless conflict-avoider myself, I just couldn't make the Olli and Allu in that story have a fight of any sort; all the pining is plenty enough suffering for them, don't you agree? 🤧). Even this one is less about the fight and more about the reconciliation, I hope you enjoy (rated M for you pleasure) 😌💞

~

Olli stared at the empty bag. Where there used to be a perfectly balanced, hand-picked selection of the finest Finnish pick & mix candy that were supposed to last him the whole tour, there was now but a sad pile of sugar left. He closed his eyes and attempted to counted to ten, but reaching eleven, his blood was still boiling, so he decided to keep going until he'd stop clenching his fists and maybe come up with at least some level of adult reaction to this unfortunate event – in the end, it was just candy. It's not like he had suffered great economical loss or profoundly traumatic, unforgivable abuse; that being said, he was still pretty damn bitter about having spent the whole day looking forward to keeping his brain buzzing with some sugar in between the soundcheck and the show, only to peek in his bunk and find his secret stash exceptionally candyless.

He had only one suspect: the only other person in their midst who knew of the secret stash.

Olli supposed he had only himself to blame, however; he was famililar with Aleksi's sweet tooth. Yet, in his moment of weakness (that is, lost in the man's blue eyes and the magic his hand was perfoming on Olli's cock the other night), he had revealed the nook of his bunk bed in which he kept the goodies hidden from sight. Even during their afternoon nap the day before, they had hid the small plastic bag in between them, popping a piece of salmiak or a chocolate button in their (or each other's) mouths every now and then in between cuddles and giggles. Now, Olli realised letting Aleksi that close had been an evident mistake.

"Ale?"

"Hmmmmh?" the man replied from the lounge.

"Come here for a sec."

"What for?"

"Just...," Olli inhaled and exhaled, still trying to find the words that wouldn't completely blow the whole incident out of proportion, "just come here. There's something I want to ask you."

A subtle groan sounded from the lounge (the audacity), and with lazy, dragging steps, hair mishevelled, hands in his pockets, and mouth stretched in a yawn, Aleksi appeared next to him.

"What?" Aleksi mumbled.

You're lucky you're so fucking cute, Olli thought at the sight of him. A bastard, but a cute one.

Olli steered his gaze back to the crime scene, determined to not let Aleksi's endearing appearance distract him.

"It's empty," he growled instead.

"Häh?"

"You ate my fucking candy!" Olli spat out his words.

"The fuck are you on about, dude?"

"The fuck am I–" Olli had to pause to take inhale again, failing at keeping his cool. "The fuck are you about, eating other people's food like an animal?!"

"Someone's eaten your candy?"

"Yes, YOU DID!"

"What? No I fucking didn't! Why do you think it was me?"

"Because no one else knows about the candy but you!"

"Are you sure though? It's not easy to keep secrets around here, you know, all packed up in this bus like herrings in a barrel. Eventually someone else was ought to–"

"Oh my god, Aleksi, why can't you just admit it was you?"

"BECAUSE IT WASN'T!"

"The hell are you two squabbling about down there? I'm trying to have a nap!"

The two of them were startled by Niko's head appearing from a bunk above them. Until then, it didn't occur to Olli that others may have caught up on their argument, let alone that someone may have been trying to sleep through it.

"Oh, fuck, sorry. Olli's just a bit wound up over his–"

"Ooh, yeah, I'm so unreasonably wound up alright, because Aleksi's gobbled down all my fucking–"

"Jesus, Olli, get hold of yourself, it was me!"

Olli was already prepared for another string of accusations against Aleksi when Niko's words hit him and he was left with his mouth gaping open at the unexpected twist.

"Yeah, sorry bro. Saw the bag on your bed, must have fallen there from somewhere. Couldn't really help myself, got a terrible headache and I was desperate for some sugar. I'll make it up to you, so can you please stop shouting now?"

"Uhhhmm," Olli scratced the back of his own ear, suddenly embarrassed for quite a few reasons, "yeah, sorry. It's... it's cool, don't worry about it."

He was too ashamed to look at Aleksi directly, but from the corner of his eye he could see the man raising his eyebrows at him before he stomped away to the lounge area of the bus. Olli took a moment to rub his face and let out a long sigh before walking after him.

Aleksi was already slumped on the couch, his nose as if glued to his phone screen when Olli sat next to him.

"I'm sorry, Aleksi."

Aleksi kept his eyes on his device as he spoke in an icy voice that spooked Olli to the bone.

"Oh yeah? What for? For yelling at me for no reason? For accusing me of something I hadn't even done without letting me explain myself? Or perhaps for being such an uptight control freak about your candy? Because if I had a gigantic bag of sweets on tour, I'd totally let you have–"

"Yes, yes, all of that!" Olli wailed, bonking his forehead on Aleksi's shoulder. "I was just...really looking forward to eating some today."

"Yes, that became very clear."

"Alluuuuuuuuu, I'm sorryyyyyyyy," Olli whined against the man's sweater.

"Don't you 'Allu' me, I'm still upset," Aleksi muttered, although Olli could already feel him soften.

"Is there anything I could do to stop you being upset with me? I really am so sorry." To maximise the effect of his (at least partly innocent) plea, Olli stick out his bottom lip in a pout and put on his best puppy-eyes act. He almost struggled keeping his frown from turning into a victorious grin when Aleksi side-eyed him, lips twitching.

"Guess we can think of... something."

Olli was already loving the sound of that.

~*~*~

Olli wasn't exactly sure how 'trying to keep as quiet as possible while having your dick sucked by your bandmate in a moving tourbus in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep' was an apology rather than a punishment, but he wasn't complaining, quite the contrary; Aleksi's restrained moans were honey to his ears, his soft thighs felt heavenly under his palms, and the twitch of Aleksi's cock between his lips made blood rush to his own hardening member.

"Ahh, fuck, Olli, feels so good," Aleksi whispered breathlessly. Olli could tell he was close to finishing from the way his hips kept jerking, thrusting his erection deeper in Olli's greedy mouth, and the way his hands were grasping the cushions of the lounge sofa. Determined to catch Aleksi at his climax, Olli kept his eyes nailed to Aleksi's fluttering ones as he removed one hand from Aleksi's hip bone and wrapped his fingers around Aleksi's glistening cock, with just the tip remaining in his mouth.

Aleksi's soft whines then turned into surprised gasps when Olli's hand began working on his cock, pumping it while his tongue flicked around the sensitive head over and over until he could feel hot spurts of Aleksi's cum on his tongue and lips. He kept stroking the now pulsating erection, his lips grazing the tip just lightly enough to know it was driving Aleksi insane, not stopping until Aleksi's heavy panting turned into sobs from how sensitive he was becoming.

Having cleaned them both up, Olli sat next to blissful Aleksi and began palming the bulge on the front of his own trousers.

"So. Was that alright for you? Are we even now?"

"Oh, for sure, that was... that was nice. Thanks," Aleksi slurred, still trying to calm down his breathing. "Although... it's... not the whole truth, maybe. What Niko told you."

Olli furrowed his brows.

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

"I mean... yes, Niko ate the candy, but he didn't eat all of it. I had also been to your stash earlier today, but I swear I had put it back where I took it! I guess it really had rolled out, like Niko said, and... well."

Olli weighed Aleksi's words in his mind, still casually massaging his own erection through his pants.

"I see," he nodded.

"Please don't be mad. I promise I'll never eat your candy without asking ever again."

"Oh, you better," Olli snorted, "but, ummmm. Obviously I can't let this go unpunished."

"I'll do anything, as long as you won't start screaming at me like that again."

Honey to his ears.

"You would, huh?" Olli leaned in closer to whisper his command in Aleksi's ear, his nose brushing the soft hair on Aleksi's temple. "Better get on your knees, then."

[thisblogwilleatourselves]

in my experience, faking it until you make it is the trick. there's much talk in manifesting about "living in the dream fulfilled, ignoring the 4D" etc; that's all a lot easier with the structure of your own brain where there's nothing else to dispute it.

operate at all times from the base assumption you're already plural and just figuring things out. pick who's fronting, and devote all your energy to thinking and acting as they would in every situation. even if you need to mask for IRL, think of how they'd go about it and what they'd think while doing it. if you think something unrelated, it's passive influence from another headmate, known or unknown. if you feel like one person, you're just blurry. don't deny your denial, either; even the most cis of plurals doubts themselves. just continue in your affirmation. make the game feel good to play, and you'll never want to stop playing it.

if that's what you want, anyway. desire is the only truth of self.

best wishes. 🪞

surprising lack of typing quirk /light hearted (but for some reason very formal? not sure why that's occuring lol)

(sorry for length if its overwhelming! we get carried away talking about plurality)

Thank you! Faking it till we make it is what we've been trying/doing, unfortunately we struggle with a brain that is as skeptically ingrained as the protagonist of a horror film who moves into a clearly haunted mansion claiming ghosts aren't real, when a ghost is posessing them. We are trying to push past it, but its hard to just let go. It feels like how we still get intrusive thoughts about internalized bigotry despite having spent years knowing that its wrong, but it was and still is taught to us. Wish we could throw out the "logical" bits and start anew but we know that's not how it works. Our main difficulties are knowing how to stop it, we guess we just try to avoid thinking about it.

hope you don't mind the questions, these are asked with not an expectation of an answer ^^.

so we already read this whole message and are responding to the part near the end first, if we follow this, seeing ourselves as already plural, in the example of seeing yourself as blurry instead of one person, do plurals see themselves as not one person? Well we mean we know like they know they are plural and have other members, but does that effect each member to identify as multiple people instead of one identity they see as themself (like for example if we see ourself as Z1M at our core, and currently see the person fronting as Z1M, would we still identify with a lack of singularity? That also leads to a contunie querie of is it better to start with the idea we are not just "Z1M" fronting but our headmates as well? (B1Ll, J3RM & 5p0ng3), we think we have a huge roadblock with like stopping seeing ourself as our core, with being an auditorium where we have non sentient "spectators" that don't interact with us, only eachother and watch us, therefor that and also the default narrative around us is singleness is the norm has us in a position of, "i" am Z1M, and the "host", the "core" the "main fronter", we've had this even throughout our whole time spent in system servers. How do we get rid of the idea that we, z1m are the spotlight, the center? Think our difficulties with having spent most of our life also isolated and struggling with the lack of control, we now have difficulties surrendering the idea with the concept of losing our privacy, or our own autonomy. Mostly privacy is a big issue, hell we even get embarrassed around our *spectators* who literally aren't sentient. (and also we are fine keeping the spectators, not turning them into headmates, as they work differently and also we have a dependency on how we function as an auditorium, never gone a single day without having spectators).

Second, if we are, and always have been plural, do we fully go with erasing our previos lack of identity to ourself and others? like "lie" (which we are fine with doing) to others about being truly plural?

Third, Is it ok if you're energy is very low, due to disability of bodymind? if you're horrible at knowing how to think as others, and are just sorta flailing around for anything? Anyway that's all for the questions! Again no pressure to answer, we'll just leave em' out in the open!

Thanks so much for the advice! (mirror anon?)

[thegreatyin]

💀 for the scoundrel, 🃏 for caeru, 🐀 for both

putting this under a cut bc it got surprisingly long (blame the cardsru question)

💀 What's their relationship with the Boatman like?

Ever since she finished Evolution and picked the Naturalist's fate? Not exactly swell. He's not exactly pleased about her choice, and she hasn't exactly gotten any better at chess. And she has a bad habit of dying. A lot. Usually in really stupid ways (such as trying to fight two dozen tigers, to name a completely absurd and definitely totally absolutely not recent hypothetical)

To keep a long story short: They don't get along. Most of their boat visits these days are spent in silence. Or vague small talk. Or awkwardly trading weasels back and forth. The Scoundrel tries to avoid him... mostly. Emphasis on the "tries" part of that sentence.

-

🃏 What would be/will be their name and domain as a Master?

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED BECAUSE MASTER!CAERU IS SO BASED AND ALSO HAS BEEN HAUNTING ME.

Aaanyway, despite myself, as unequivocally funny as the nickname "Cardsru" might be, I don't think it'd end up being his domain in quite the same way it is for the Scoundrel*.

Instead, I could see him being a way more general hoarder of knowledge, if that makes any sense? Facts, histories, lore both mundane and eldritch in nature, everything he could get his grubby little batty hands on. He'd trade in secrets and clues, acting as an information broker for anyone able to pay the price for his services. The price in question, of course, being a trade in mysteries of equal or greater worth to what he's giving up- street gossip for street gossip, arcane secrets for arcane secrets, maybe even the results of an especially chainbreaking experiment for a few dozen notes on tests of his own making.

He wouldn't be kind. And he wouldn't accept lies or forgery. But he'd always be fair, and he'd always look the other way when it mattered most. And if rumor on the street claims he's the most revolutionary of the Masters, the most destructive of their own ranks and ties, the council's man on the inside, the one who heralds the Liberation and welcomes its embrace with open claws-

Well. You'd need to trade a particularly enticing bit of information to learn the truth, wouldn't you?

His name is trickier to imagine. Mr Arcana sounds cool. Or maybe Mr Memoirs. Mr Enigma? Whatever he is, he'd be Mr Pages' worst nightmare, and he'd absolutely revel in it.

*and the scoundrel would actually have an entirely different spacebat special interest if they Actually Got A Say In Things! unfortunately they very much do not.

-

🐀 Are they friends with any rats?

At this point? Considering how many actions I've spent grinding fourth city echoes at LB Industries? There's no way the Scientist doesn't have a whole rat social network going. He probably gets along great with the little buggers. Inventor for inventor behavior. I haven't played Dream of a Thousand Tails yet, but he'd probably be best friends with the Piebald Dreamer if/when they ever meet.

Overall though, he's just a weird ratty guy! He respects rats!! Even if he tries to eat them sometimes. Unaccountably peckish, and all that. You know how it is.

The Scoundrel, by comparison, tends to see rats as vague annoyances at best. They tolerate their existence, but it's pretty much just that- toleration.

They'll be buddy-buddy with rats for as long as it suits their own interests. And as soon as those interests diverge from the rat's own?

...it's probably best to get the heck out of dodge before they get caught in the inevitable crossfire of whatever hairbrained scheme the Scoundrel happens to be pursuing at that particular moment.

[arthropod-concoctions]

Uprooted: chapter 11

(ch 1 - ch 10 - ch 12)

Scott and Jimmy adapted to life in the desert remarkably fast. They fed the cows in the morning and evening, and mostly spent the afternoons trying to stay cooled. Sometimes Scott would go into the forest to gather flowers and make dye out of them, and very occasionally Jimmy would go out hunting-- for wildlife, never people-- with Joel and his 'family'. It wasn't the same as their old life, not by a long shot, but it was some semblance of peace.

That is, until one day when Scott was approached by Grian in the morning.

“Hey Scott,” Grian said, waving at him. “Do you know where Jimmy is? I need to discuss something with the two of you.”

Scott knew it was serious when he noticed that Grian said Jimmy's name correctly. “I think he was doing something with Joel. They might be by the cows.”

The two of them walked towards the cow enclosure, and sat down in the shade of a nearby dune to wait for Jimmy.

“You've been learning to use a bow, haven't you?” Grian asked Scott, taking off his glasses. He had bags under his eyes.

“I have.” While supplies in the desert were limited, one thing they had plenty of was weapons. By way of passing the time during hot afternoons in the bunkers, Scott had been practicing with bow and arrow, and he was actually a decent shot by now.

Grian nodded. “That's good.”

Scott didn't like the sound of that, but Jimmy arrived before he could question it much further. He had some drops of blood on his shirt.

“Morning. Had a fun time killing stuff today?” Grian asked.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so,” Jimmy stammered. “Joel did most of the work though.” Everyone, Jimmy included, had been surprised at how well he'd been getting along with Joel after their initial hurdles.

“Right. Well, I'll get straight to the point: you and Scott might get a bit more action soon. See, the Desert was approached by none other than prince Cleo and prince Bdubs of Troren yesterday, and with them we made a plan to launch an attack on the king of Sanguacanis by infiltrating their castle.”

“...And you need us for that?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah, I feel like we're the least fit for this job out of everyone in the desert,” Scott added. “I mean, I only started training with a bow like a month ago.”

“True, but more importantly, Scott, you're Green. The way the Red Army works is that a red-lived is always paired with a green-lived, so if we want to convincingly get inside, we're gonna need some Greens on the team. The princes brought some soldiers with them, but more is always nice.”

Scott shook his head. Jimmy said: “The whole reason we went to the Desert was to avoid a war!” Again, his gray skin began to flush red.

Grian grimaced. “Unfortunately, war is coming this way whether we want it or not. By joining the Red Desert you're pretty much automatically declared an enemy of Sanguacanis, and their conquest will eventually reach here if nobody stops them. It's better to fight them now, on our own terms.”

“Well, if you already have some actual soldiers for this mission, surely you'll be fine taking just them?” Scott said. “We'll stay right here, I think.”

“About that...” Grian looked at the ground. “There's two parts to this mission. Everyone not on the infiltration team is going to storm the castle from outside. We've made the agreement already that everyone in the Desert is going to participate in this.”

So that's how our peaceful life ends, Scott thought, suddenly getting angry. “So you were just never going to give us a choice anyways?” he shouted at Grian.

“You have the choice to-” Grian made an annoyed sound, and raised his arms. “Look. I like you two, which is why I'm telling you this now instead of Scar. Because he would've made it into this nice flowery story that you can't refuse, and you would've agreed to a mission without any idea of what has going to actually happen. I'd rather give you the honest story, so yes: your choice is between infiltrating or storming the castle. And if you'll believe me, I think the infiltration is probably the safest choice.”

Scott wanted to argue more, but could think of nothing to say. Grian was right; joining the Desert to avoid the army was only ever delaying the inevitable. He felt his shoulders deflate. “Well, then I guess I'm going with the infiltration.”

To Grian's credit, he didn't seem happy about winning the argument. “Alright. Now, like I said, we need pairs of Greens and Reds. I assumed you two would want to go as a pair, but if you want something else, Jimmy, then-”

“Of course we're going as a pair,” Jimmy cut him off. He sounded angry too.

“Good. We're going to work out the plan further this evening, so if you want more details, talk to me later.” With that, Grian jogged off towards the central fort of the desert.

Scott looked at Jimmy. Then, he pulled him into an embrace.

“This is just not getting any better, is it?” he murmured into Jimmy's shoulder.

Jimmy returned the embrace, holding him tight. “We'll get through it,” he said. “And if we really do kill the king with this mission, it'll all be over. Then we can go back to our own home, like normal.”

Like normal. Things hadn't been normal for a long time, and Scott doubted they ever could.

But it was a nice thing to fight for, so it'd have to do.

[daddysfangirls-dc]

The Making of Three (2/3)

Pairing: Wally West x Dicky Grayson x fem! OC

Warning: angst, badly handled situation 

1 - 2 - 3 

Awkward. Very Awkward. 

It had been two days since the incident, and it had been awkward between Dick and Alice since avoiding each other when they could, one would think it would be hard, being that they lived in the same house and went to the same school but both places were very big, and when they couldn’t, they’d just sit in awkward silence. Bruce and Alfred quickly discovered something was wrong but left it for them to figure out on their own, surely, they’d come to one of them if they needed to.

And While Dick had been in constant contact with Wally throughout the whole thing, Wally had attempted to contact Alice once right after the events, but she didn’t answer him he did not try to contact her again. 

As of now, the boys were staying away from Alice, and she was staying away from them. All was well. Not really. 

Despite trying to keep her distance, Alice couldn’t get what she saw out of her head. Hell, her mind was fucked up it was taking what she saw and creating whole new scenarios. 

Wally is in that position instead of Dick. Did he moan like him? How pretty were his sounds? What face did he make when he came? How long was he? How thick?

Both of them together, them kissing, lips clashing, tongues tangling. Bodies pushing together. No clothes. Cocks pushed together. Their shared moans, shared breaths, Hands stroking bodies. 

What if she was there? Between them? How would they touch her? How would they kiss her? How would they feel? Their hands. Their lips. Their bodies. 

“Oh god,” She groaned as she flopped on her bed. She had been having these thoughts nonstop. Plaguing every part of her mind despite everything she tried. It became worse in the presence of Dick she couldn’t even look into his eyes without remembering. She found herself running away at every opportunity. 

She knew she couldn’t run forever she wasn’t fast enough. (she forgot she had superspeed). But she really wasn’t ready to face anyone. She wanted to first rid her mind of dirty thoughts, but she didn’t see that happening anytime soon either.

-

Dick was mortified. How the fuck did he forget to lock the door?! 

And He was on full display, too, in all his naked glory. She saw everything and probably saw the vibrator in his ass too.

FUCK.

He remembered how still, shocked she was, how she had turned white as a sheet, how quick she turned away, slamming the door behind her. It was quite easy to imagine the disgust she might have felt. After all, she had been avoiding any and every aspect of him since. Vanishing at school and only appearing for breakfast and dinner at home.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was the weekend, and all they had to do was stay in their rooms.

He didn’t know how to approach her or even if he should. Instead, he spent his time confiding in Wally and giving her the space she desired.

“talk to her, try to move past it,” Wally said over the phone. 

“You know what, this is easy for you to say she didn’t see you spread eagle nude across the bed. You didn’t see her face“ Dick was pacing the room as Wally spoke on speakerphone  placed on the desk “Why don’t you talk to her.”

“as you just said, she didn’t see me Spread eagle in the nude.” the tingling of regret came quickly after. “ Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. But I still think you should talk to her. Figure out what she saw, figure out how she feels, I’m sure she’s just as embarrassed as you”

Dick laid on his bed “Why are you the voice of reason in all this? This should not be happening.”

“Hey, I’m a reasonable guy. I’m smart. That and I know Alice she’d never leave us. Just need to talk to her. Things might change, but...” 

Wally has spent most days oblivious, but he still had moments. Reasons to love him. 

“I did not imagine that would be the first time she saw me naked.” Dick signed. 

Dick and Wally both had feelings for Alice and thought of having her in their relationship but knew it wasn’t realistic. Knew the high possibility of her not having mutual feelings and didn’t want to ruin their friendship having her close was enough. She might not have loved them how they wanted, but at least she loved them. 

“I really think you should talk to her, even if it's just to clear the air... Dick... I don’t want to lose Alice”

“I don’t either,” he probably already had.

His mind was made up, asking for luck and saying his goodbyes, he hung up and made his way to Alice’s room. Confidence and determination in each step, although the step were few as she was already in the hall.

“Alice,” her head popped up to see him the book in her hand, which she was using to distract herself, snapping shut. 

“I was heading to the kitchen,” she explained, her being out and about.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

She hesitated but nodded, pointing down the hall to her room, probably for the best, considering what happened in his. They went to her room, and she sat on her bed while he stood. 

“Listen I-”

“I’m Sorry,” Alice interrupts him “You were having an intimate moment and enjoying yourself, and I interrupted and ruined it.”

“Not really,” Dick muttered under his breath, she pretended not to have heard.

“I should have knocked and respected your boundaries when you said you wanted some alone time. It won’t happen again,” She sighed “I was alone and wanted some attention I’m sorry I -”

“Alice, You didn’t do anything wrong. I should have made sure the door was locked. Especially while doing ... that. You didn’t disrespect me or my boundaries. I said my door was always up to you-”

“Probably shouldn’t be”

“Not when I’m doing that.” He agreed. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. He moves to sit in her rolling desk chair“ I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have seen me like that. You’re probably embarrassed and disgusted-”

“NO, I-” How was she supposed to explain that she wasn’t disgusted that the sight of him in such a situation doing such things had her aroused that she thought she looked good. Even going far as to watch him in his moment. Filing it away for her own pleasure. 

He’d probably think she was the disgusting one and the prev. And at this point, she was from her perspective. Being aroused by walking in on your best friend who is in a relationship with your other best friend, yep, she wasn’t going to explain that. She couldn’t explain that. She might have to explain that.

She sighed, looking down at her fidgeting fingers “Embarrassed? Yes. Disgusted? No, I could never be disgusted with you.” His face showed doubt.” I really like you, Dick”

“I like you too”

“No... I really, really like you, Dick” She looked up just as the meaning settled “ I’m sorry, you’re with Wally, and the two of you make a great couple, and I shouldn’t be telling you this I don’t want to interfere or ruin your relationship” she looked down again as her vision blurred, “I know I’ve ruined us, but I don’t want you to think I’m disgusted with you, I’m not. You're perfected. I’m -”

Her sentence was cut short by a kiss. It was quick, just a peak, but it was enough to silence her. 

 “I really like you, too,” He said 

Leaning forward, their eyes closed, and their lips met again, this time slowly as they moved together gently. A moment both had dreamed of since they were 10. Dick moved his hands to cup her face. She felt his thumb stroke her cheek. She quickly pulled back he looked confused and hurt.

“Wally”

Wally. Oh. Dick pulled out his phone and quickly dialed. (Y/n) looked at him, confused and shocked, as she listened to it ring on speakerphone.

“Hey, how-”

“I kissed Alice”

A beat of silence “ DUDE, HOW WAS IT?!”

That is not at all the reaction she was expecting. He sounded Happy? Excited? Not at all how she expected of some who had just heard their boyfriend kissed someone else. Dick seemed to also be shocked by his boyfriend’s reaction but happy as well, smiling at his phone. 

“It was- it was good,” Dick said, looking at her. Alice was just looking at him wide-eyed now. 

“I Just... so what happens now? Are you guys... what are we? What happens now?”

“He’s yours I won't take him from you, I’m sorry,”  Alice quickly said as she snatched the phone out of Dick’s hand “I’m so so sorry I shouldn’t have let this happen. It’s my fault. He’s Yours and -”

“Alice, Alice, Alice, it’s okay, it’s okay” 

“It’s not,” she cried, wiping her spilled tears. She didn’t want to be the reason their relationship ended she didn’t want to hurt Wally she loved him too. She couldn’t bare the thought of hurting him.  “ He’s yours. You love each other”

“I do love him, a lot. But I don’t mind sharing”

“...what?”

“Probably should have done this in person,” Wally sighed over the phone 

“Definitely,” Dick said, passing her a few tissues. “ Are you busy tomorrow?”

“Nope,” Wally said 

“how about we, all three of us, meet up tomorrow and talk about this, yeah?”  Alice nods silently. 

“yeah, sure. And Alice? It’s alright you haven’t taken anything from me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hung up.

The room fell into silence. Dick moved from the chair to sit on the bed next to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said “ I wasn’t thinking really. Probably shouldn’t have called him like that or kissed you like that. I just wanted to show you that lo-like you and that you weren’t in the wrong.”

 Alice didn’t say anything. 

“Talk tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” she said. 

Not knowing what else to do, he gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek and took his leave. Leaving her alone. 

“Fuck”

[quackquackcey]

Ch. 11: Hedgehogs, Honey, & Hazelnut-Covered Strawberries

Written for @hdcandyheartsfest day 11 prompt: come over. 848 words. Many thanks to my beta @wqtson​! 💛

Start from beginning on AO3 here, or click the #fic: HHHS tag.

Summary:

A chance meeting—or is it a setup?—leads to the start of a relationship filled with buttery baked goods, sweet smelling flowers, and hedgehogs.~ 🌹🦔

Draco had a problem.

A new problem.

He’d been avoiding Potter ever since the Amortentia incident with the excuse of being swamped trying to come up with new menu concepts and decorations for Valentine’s Day while lying to Potter about what he’d done under the influence of the love potion.

“You just kept asking for strawberry lemonade,” Draco had told him. “And treacle tart. And honey cake.”

Potter seemed to believe him.

It didn’t stop Potter from inviting him to come over on the weekends or a slow day, though, and each time, guilt pierced Draco’s heart for lying and refusing—Potter hadn’t done anything wrong. It was all Draco’s fault for being unable to see Potter’s smile without wanting to cry, and he hoped he could get his shite together soon, because he missed the casual banter and surprise dinners they’d shared.

However, Draco had failed to account for one thing.

He had failed to account for the possibility that Potter would go visit Luna’s hedgehog café more often for pets with Ormr now that they didn’t meet up much anymore.

If he was a smarter person, he would’ve told Luna to tell Potter an unfortunate accident had befallen Ormr.

But he was not smart, and instead was an idiot hopelessly in love, and so the days he spent lounging as a hedgehog at Luna’s café increased all the more, to the point that one bright afternoon, Potter asked Luna if he could adopt Ormr.

Draco couldn’t help it—he panicked so hard he nearly fell off the table.

And promptly regretted it.

The startled, hurt expression on Potter’s face…. He wished he could take it back.

“Oh, erm, I guess he doesn’t like the idea of living with me,” said Potter with a small smile that couldn’t completely mask the hurt on his face. He hesitated. “…Are you sure he actually likes me?”

Luna glanced at Potter in confusion. “Of course he does, Harry. He wouldn’t let you pet him otherwise.”

“Right, but you bribed him or something with treats to let me pet him, right?” asked Potter like he already knew the answer. “He’s very intelligent, after all.”

“Harry, I didn’t bribe him. He was just startled.”

“Yeah, by what I said.” Potter sighed and rubbed his face. “Literally nothing else happened that could’ve startled him, and I don’t think he would’ve panicked so much if he actually liked me. I mean, he nearly hurt himself, he hated the idea so much!”

“He does like you—”

“It’s fine, Luna,” said Potter. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up. Can you ring me up?” 

Luna gave him a searching gaze for a long moment, then did the same to Draco before finally leaving to get the bill.

Potter bent his head down to table level to look Draco in the eyes. “Did you think I was scary this whole time?” he murmured to Draco with a worried expression. “Animals don’t like me anymore after I died. You all must smell something unnatural about me, hm?” He paused. “Or maybe there is something unnatural about me…. But don’t worry, I’ll leave you be from now on,” he said with what was probably meant to be an assuring smile but just looked sad. “Thanks for hanging out with me.”

And then he stood up, chair legs scraping on the floor, and made for the door after paying Luna.

He paused in front of the door.

Draco wasn’t sure what possessed him, but when he saw the little goodbye wave Potter gave him, his heart tugged as if pulling him forward, but the floor looked so far away—

He leaped off the table.

After all, he wasn’t really a hedgehog, so he’d be fine, wouldn’t he? And he couldn’t just stand around or he’d never be able to catch up to Potter.

But, well, the jump quickly turned into more of a free fall, and then Draco was screaming in terror because Salazar, had this been a horrid idea, only to land in Potter’s hands.

“Merlin, are you okay, Ormr?” asked Potter, panting—he seemed to have forgotten he had a wand and did a running dive to catch Draco in time. “What were you thinking? I didn’t see wrong, did I?” He stood up and turned to Luna. “He jumped right off the table! Why would he do that? Is he alright?”

Luna ran a quick diagnostic spell on Draco that dinged green—good to go. “I told you he likes you, Harry. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly.”

“But…. Really?” Potter set Ormr on the table. “I just don’t want to be a bother, for you or him.”

“For me?” asked Luna. “I love having you around, though.”

“Even when I scare all your hedgehogs?” said Potter dryly. “I figured it might be an extra burden on you to find me a hedgehog that won’t get scared by me, and I don’t want to stress you.”

Luna just smiled that dreamy smile of hers.

“Oh, Harry,” she said with a small sigh. “When will you start thinking about yourself more?”

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Stephanie Brown had no idea how her life got THIS ridiculous. No screw that. She had a very clear idea: as always it's a mix of Gotham being the worst and her dad existing in her general vicinity. A horrible terrible mix. 

Now normally Christmas isn't all that bad. Her useless father likes to spend the holidays plotting and robbing because according to him "no one is expecting crime" or some equally boring clichê (that is increasingly untrue as Batman is chronically incapable of taking a day off) . That means Christmas Eve in the Brown household is usually spent with her and her mom exchanging gifts with their small poor decorated three and watching Die Hard while eating chinese. Two years ago making sure her dad would spend the morning on Blackgate entered as another tradition. Overall great times. 

That was until her dad in all his stupidity decided to invite Riddler to move on with them. How he even met an A lister was beyond Stephanie compreheension (his only call to fame was the fact that even though Spoiler grew to actually fight serius rogues she still always took a time to fuck him over but most heros still dealt with D-Listers, so did it even meant anything?). 

Now the idea of having Nygma for Christmas was terrifying. But he seemed to have already got the memo and stayed the hell out of Stephanie's way unless her dad was forcing them into a family dinner or some other uncomfortable bullshit so she still had hope he would just fuck of for the hollydays and come back never as he never stayed when Arthur was in jail even though (for some unknow reason) her mother actually appeared to want him to. Her hope lasted until her dad loudly announced he would actually stay home for Christmas this year and they would do something special. Now Stephanie wasn't a fool she knew that this sudden change of heart was Arthur Brown trying to impress. She had no idea of why her dad wanted to impress Nygma so much but since Riddler moved he went out of his way to show to him his perfect little family (and to include the other villain in it as well). She was expecting Riddler to answer with the same fake enthusiasm he always did (the one that let very clear to anyone not called Arthur Brown that he really was only there out of necessity and the whole perfect family thing creeped him out, while she was never going to admit it that actually gave Steph some small modicum of respect for him, he really appeared to consider that as much a torture as she did) instead he looked almost relieved before saying:

"I'm so sorry, but I don't really celebrate Christmas." 

Now if Steph was the one controlling the conversation it would have ended there. No point in doing a Christmas anything, he would fuck off, without a Riddler to impress her dad would go fail at being a criminal and her and her mom would have their little tradition. Peace established, everything is fine. Unfortunately she did not control anything that happened in that family because Crystal Brown, her only ally, decided to be a fucking traitor. 

"I do think you should give it a chance, Edward, the food is going to be delicious and we can watch movies afterwards."

"Tempting as it may be." He may fool her parents but Steph could easily read in his tone that it wasn't tempting at all. "I'll have to pass. I have a small tradition of skipping the whole thing altogether and just watching horror movies with the girls and I already confirmed." 

"You can invite the girls as well." Arthur said. Oh hell no, Steph thought, the last time Riddler's infamous henchgirls had been in the same space as Cluemaster it had been a total disaster including her dad's failed attempts at what she could only guess was flirting. Unfortunately she couldn't point it out as it was Spoiler who had to witness that particular brand of torture. "We can even go to church"

The word church gave Riddler an involuntary shudder and Stephanie couldn't avoid the image of him burning the moment his feet touched any form of holy territory. A little bit relatable sadly. 

"I'm jewish, Arthur." Nygma said. Stephanie had no clue if he was lying or not. "Or at least my mother was." 

"Oh stop with the excuses!" Her dad exclaimed impatiently and slightly offended. Riddler looked a mix of uncomfortable and confused. "I know for a fact the old bitch was irish." 

What? 

Steph wanted to laugh but also to scream in exasperation. She had watched the tapes of her dad's old show, heard the stories, he used to be someone, to be smart and now here he was saying one of the dumbest shit she ever heard. Her mother seemed to be dealing with a similar train of thought as she switched between looking sadly at Arthur and apologetic at Nygma. The last seemed to be trying really hard to not snap at Arthur.

"One can be both." He settled for and even with his massive effort it still sounded very snappy. "There are jewish people in Ireland, Arthur."  

Her dad pathetically looked around for back up. Steph answered with a vegentfull smille. He looked back at Nygma being defeated (only her dad to lose at a game where he was the only player, Stephanie concluded bitterly).Then a sudden moment of brilliancy. Or better put he had an idea that would likely be very dumb.

"Weren't you an atheist,  Eddie?"

Riddler gave a deep breath. "Yes. I'm only ethnically jewish, but it's still part of the reason I don't do Christmas and so I found it relevant to point out." He stopped for a second and followed with an almost imperceptible irony "I'm sorry if it didn't sound genuine." 

Her dad looked defeated again and a little confused. But he soon was smiling as another thing crossed his mind."No need to apologize, Eddie boy!" Her dad gave a friendly loud slap into Riddler's back making the ginger yelp and look even more uncomfortable."No church going then, still I must insist for the rest of the celebration after all it's still a time to spend with family, I'm sure the girls will understand."

"I say that with the utmost respect, Arthur." He was sounding so sarcastic how on Earth weren't her parents getting that? At this point Stephanie was sure Nygma was going to kill her dad the moment he didn't need the Browns anymore and a huge part of her could only consider it a good riddance,  even better if it landed the Riddler on Arkham afterwards. "But the girls are my family." The and you isn't was not said but was heavily implied. To the point her dad seemed to get it for once.

"That 's funny. I always thought family helped each other." Since when? Because he sure as hell never helped her or her mother at anything ever. Au contraire he made their life so much worse. "But here you are needing a place and your girls are sure as heck not offering it." 

Great. If there was something that bothered Stephanie more than the fact her mother seemed to genuinely like the presence of one of the major members of Batman's Rogues gallery was that her dad seemed to go over  his way to get it, between the not even a little bit subtle threats, the weird fact he was in charge of Nygma's medication somehow and Stephanie increasing suspicion that he was maintaining Riddler's accounts froze somehow just so he stayed for longer Stephanie almost felt sorry for the guy. Her dad really seemed like a weird blackhole that keeps everyone tied to it. That's to say that Nygma straight up flinched at the comment and Stephanie knew her dad had won. Way to ruin Christmas for everyone. She didn't bother to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead she went to her room, decided that whatever the fuck was stopping Nygma from accessing his accounts she was fixing it before the two of them had to suffer through each other presence in another hellish Christmas Eve.

[quincyhorst]

Queraldo/Querardo: 💤

ANOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!! Idk who you are, but thank you so much! I actually wanted to post about him today, I'm so glad. Happy late World Lion Day! 🦁💕😭

(Also I gotta love how you also added the other written way of his name. Queraldo is eternal to me.... 🫡)

💤 - A headcanon about their sleep

Querardo has always been a boy with quite lots of energy, specially in his younger years. He'd spend more hours outside than on his own bedroom! However while playtime was always fun, it also meant him running out of energy way too fast. So, it was common for him to just lie down and nap on the spot, until he was awoken by someone else or by one of his 5 dogs (?

However there was a slight catch to this, and it's that his home is literally sorrounded by the wilderness, so who-knows whose critters might be roaming around there. As a way to avoid incidents, his mother had to always to look over him wherever he went. It was a win situation for little Que, since for any sudden naptime he'd use his mother as a pillow. With time passing, he still misses those peaceful momments.

Nowadays, Querardo's energy is more balanced, so you won't see him randomly sleeping anywhere (That's Carlos' job). HOWEVER, the recharge is different. Instead of sleeping short moments around the day, he just goes into a deep slumber at night. Typically most outside stimuli won't awoken him, but if somebody manages to... Beware. Chances are you woke him from a dream where he was doing something cool or kissing his crush so you're not going to enjoy seeing him pissed.

...Of course, not always he might be able to sleep. There's some occasions in which unfortunately, no matter how much he tries, he just... Can't. And main reason why has a lot to do with his mental wellbeing. As the final match aganist Brockenborg was approaching, the sleeping hours of the lion started to decrease more and more, to the point, right at the final night, he just spent the whole evening awake. It marked him pretty much forever.

That's all for now, I guess, ignoring that last sad part his sleep schedule is mostly fine. Let me add some little extra however, regarding shipping 👀: If he were to be dating someone, Querardo would 100% try and pretend to be sleepy at random just as an excuse to snuggle with his lover. Let him sleep on your lap, you won't regret it.

------

Note: The idea of child Que taking constant naps is actually inspired from this fanfic by user Belu-Saku, but applied to my own setting. I thought it'd be cute both for him and the bond with his mother 🥺

[trainingdummyrabbit]

homestuck x kny au

idea: John fucks up worse and so they all have to appearify some guys (the hashira + kamaboko squad) from 1915 to correct this. Shenanigans ensue, like, Genya attempting to do some ✨Ectobiology✨ and getting angry at a computer (he doesn’t get how it works) and he somehow causes the thing to EXPLODE. and that causes some more shit to happen.

thoughts?

long sighs. yeah i asked for this i guess. under the cut, its Long.

[deep inhale] so. im assuming youre talking about "fucking up" re: the whole ectobiology deal, in that somehow things didnt go quite right and it went all sideways. im going to have to cheat a little and modify the setup a bit due to the Mortifying Ordeal Of Homestuck Lore and say that rather than ectobiology-ing themselves and their alpha versions, we instead geeetttt.... lets see. we'll just go with tan-nez-zen-ino. because this cast is already so goddamn tangled and i dont want to add 10+ more of them KJFNDK;; do not ask me about the deeper ramifications of ectobiology, i promised myself that i would never do that again about 5 years ago at this point. anyway.

we're going to pretend like this doesnt completely unravel literally everything going on (this is (probably) a doomed timeline just on account of existing btw. nice going hero.) re: time shenanigans and event loops. and then we'll assume pretty much everything goes the same re:cascade and the scratch and sessionhopping. its already a goddamn mess so im going to allow myself to have a little fun.

you are one (1) Tanjiro Kamado, member of the demon slayer corps. your job is the eradication of Demons, entities of various appearances and skillsets that ravage the lives of everyday civilians. while most are weak enough to take care of singlehandedly, some of them cause horrific amounts of collateral damage before being able to get under control-- and your family unfortunately was one of these cases. your little sister Nezuko miraculously survived, but not without injury. you hope that with your efforts you will be able to help provide for her to help her recover, and keep this from happening to anyone else ever again.

thankfully, demons seem to disperse into various materials when slain, but their seemingly endless number seems to be taking a hold on even the most staunchly determined slayer. your companion Zenitsu oftentimes works himself into hysterics over how you all are "going to be stuck here for the rest of your short, miserable lives," but Inosuke, another ally, just seems to be having a great time fighting these things off.

one day, your quartet individually stumbles upon strange devices youve never seen before-- projecting images of light and seemingly directing you to do... something? its not very clear, but between their appearance and the manifestation of strange patterns of light in the sky, you have a feeling it may be A Little Important.

...anyway, you get the gist. its sburb, build and avoid a huge fuckoff meteor, we've all been there, i dont need to explain. ill just bulletpoint out the rest from here.

Tanjiro - Prospit Dreamer, Heir of Time. Nezuko - Derse Dreamer, Maid of Blood. Zenitsu - Derse Dreamer, Page of Doom. Inosuke - Prospit Dreamer, Thief of Breath.

Originally not supposed to be active at all, Nezuko worked in secret to try and help her brother out in the field. Even if he worried about her, this was Her choice and Her decision to make. She didn't want to just sit and watch on the sidelines anymore. Unbeknownst to the rest of the squad until after they entered the medium, she functioned as a mystery fourth player, completing the loop.

and then theres the whole verse-intersection thing and the complications of Time Loops and [waves hands around wildly.] im gonna admit, this is about all i got in me about this, the hs timeline is a poorly wound ball of yarn that i do not want to tug too many strings of, etc etc. definitely went super off-script, its whatever. i spent like an hour looking at classpecting info and detangling the implications of a new cast of players interacting with a shoddily closed timeloop. iam allowed to make it messy.

[long exhale] . never ask me to do this again. bows.