#lil leaf island

[mayor-brandy]

Checking on the berries… they’re doing good!

[mishapen-dear]

look at them having a completely normal non-manipulative friendship what good friends they all are. look at those happy smiles and ignore the red lines im sure the red has no symbolism at all hahaha

[treefish]

Pepperfig’s a tourist destination

[prof-peach]

What would you do if a naked Sewaddle found its way to you? And by naked, I mean a sewaddle that lacks a leaf cloak? What would you do? Would you make a replacement one, like you did for the pantsless scraggy (who's name escapes me atm)?

Lil thing may have never got a leafy jacket from its elders for whatever reason, or it was in an area that was experiencing food shortages, so it ate its jacket to survive. This is a fairly common thing to happen, and not to be overly worried about.

Sewaddle make their own little leafy coats given enough materials to do so, once they see they’re not in need of that material for food, often however they’re fussy, and require greenery found in their original home location, or a suitable alternative. We would offer up a multitude of plant materials to see if it’ll make one itself. Due to the islands abundance of Pokemon who can help us communicate, we can even ask if they’d prefer a resident Leavanny makes it a garment, as some are not very well practiced at this yet, especially if young.

Some will search for more unusual materials, we’ve had sewaddle make their coats from petals, tissue paper, mud, bark, and even seaweed, so if all else fails, perhaps an alternative angle is required. We would try to encourage it to make one itself to practice but some youngsters struggle with the skill, so having a Pokemon show it some techniques to learn more helps a lot. Hard to do things without seeing how first.

Least that’s what we do here.

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: still kinda blown away by the response to my svech fics! thank you!! 🥹 like i said before, gonna keep riding this writing wave as far as it’ll take me. i’ve got at least two other lil fics up my sleeve after this one! also it’s been a month and a half since the asg weekend so don’t blame me if some of the timing on stuff is weird. i tried to hit all the major cute svech moments! this got obscenely long, my apologies and i kind of hate it but nothing to do about that 😂 i’m off to the isles/leafs game, so enjoy and i’ll be reading your tags while i eat a pretzel and cheer on my island boys!

word count: 7.6k (weird, felt longer while i was writing it 😵‍💫)

tw: yeah this one’s smutty. it’s drei in miami, so what do you expect? plus google-translated russian, so ya know, reader beware.

summary: all-star weekend and bye-week with andrei

The fact that this year’s All-Star Game is taking place - in Florida! - during your “spring” break is a blessing from God. The semester is barely started, but you’re already over it, senioritis hitting like a freight train. The entire week before you leave for Florida, Andrei is bouncing around the apartment like a sugar-high child. His grin is infectious and you can’t help but smile every time you look at him.

“Solnyshka,” he says over dinner on the Monday night the week of the All-Star break, “I’m an All-Star. The league picked me.”

It’s been weeks since the initial announcement and he’s still just as excited and disbelieving. You lean over and kiss him, “of course they did! Drei, you’re literally the best player I know.”

He laces your fingers together. “I’m glad you’re coming. And my parents and Geno. It will be the best weekend.”

“And the best part is that you’re on bye week after that,” you sigh, thinking happily of all the time you’re going to get to spend in the Miami sun with a shirtless, beachy Andrei. Yeah, you’re definitely excited for this year’s All-Star Game.

Andrei nods, looking you over with soft eyes. He grins, but it’s really more of a smirk, “what are you packing?”

When you raise an eyebrow, he continues, “I just want to make sure we are not going to accidentally bring the same things.” His face falls into a mask of pure innocence and you laugh out loud.

“Unless you,” pointing your fork at him, you start, “plan on bringing half a dozen bikinis in neon colors, then I think we’re fine.”

“Oh,” Andrei shakes his head, “I think I’m going to have to repack my bag then.”

Another laugh startles from your chest and you picture Andrei in all of his 6’2”, muscled glory wearing one of your bikinis and start giggling hysterically. “I’m sorry,” you gasp out between laughs. You’re always laughing with him and Andrei looks so proud of himself for making you laugh and smile all the time. He really is one of the happiest people you’ve ever met.

“I am thinking hot pink,” he grins, continuing the joke further. He leans back in his chair, kicking out his feet to nudge them against yours, always looking for a point of physical contact.

Still giggling, you manage, “that’s going to look really good with the inevitable sunburn that you get.”

He can’t even dispute that since he regularly burns any time Raleigh sees more than two or three days of sun. With a shrug, Andrei replies, “good thing I have you to put sunscreen on my back.”

After dinner, you decamp to the bedroom so Andrei can finish packing and so you can start packing. They’re playing at home tomorrow, but are off to Buffalo for the next night and then the All-Star weekend starts on Friday. Andrei’s planning on flying straight from Buffalo to Florida and you’ll meet him there on Friday after classes. He’s a surprisingly chaotic packer and you watch him toss items into his suitcase, knowing you’re going to tidy it up for him. You set your own suitcase next to his on the bed and start pulling clothes out of your drawers and fold them methodically.

While you’re digging through one drawer, Andrei comes up behind you, crowding your space and snaking his arms around your body to pluck a handful of lacy underwear out of the drawer. “Here, all packed,” he teases, pressing a kiss to the side of your neck. The lacy scraps of fabric look even more insubstantial in his hand, thick fingers wrapped in the fabric.

You lean back against his chest and angle your neck so you can look up at him. “You know I’ll be spending quite a bit of time with your parents, right?” You reach for a few pairs of more modest cotton panties and wave them in the air. “I need my clothing to be opaque at least.”

“Only when you’re with my parents,” Andrei says, trying to be serious and lasting for approximately ten seconds before his dimple pops out. “It’s Florida, you’ll be hot otherwise.”

“Thanks for caring about my temperature regulation,” you deadpan, turning in his arms and leaning up to kiss the edge of his jaw. A few days worth of stubble scrape against your lips and you loop your arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I know I’ve said it, but, I’m just really proud of you, Drei. This is so exciting.”

He smiles a little sheepishly, the tips of his ears going pink, and drops his head to rest his forehead against yours. “I’m glad to share this with you and my family,” he says quietly, shrugging a little. “They deserve as much as I do.”

That had been something that had surprised you when you first starting dating Andrei - how much he loved and respected his family. Your initial impression of him - tall, gorgeous, accented professional hockey player - had not included a thought or inkling that he was the sweetest, most respectful, mama’s boy in the greater Raleigh area. But as you’d learned more about his childhood and upbringing, his personality makes so much sense. Getting to see his relationship with his parents and Geno is one of your favorite things. Especially his relationship with his brother. Geno’s two and a half years older than Andrei and practically a superhero to your boyfriend. They text constantly and FaceTime at least once a week, usually more, and if you were less secure in your relationship you might have been annoyed that Geno was Andrei’s first call about being chosen as the Canes’ All Star. You’re mostly just used to waving at Geno when Andrei wanders past the couch while he’s talking to his brother. It’s sweet.

“Let’s make it a weekend to remember, huh?” you ask, leaning up into another kiss. Andrei gathers you into his arms and backs you up to the bed, pulling down your sweatpants with one hand and holding your wrists above your head in the other. You shimmy a little, helping him get your sweats off and surrender to his lead - definitely starting the weekend right, even if it is only Monday.

Andrei’s up early the next morning, getting in a quick workout while you get ready for class. You’re prepping a smoothie for yourself and a protein shake for him when he comes back to the apartment, red-faced and sweaty. “Spasibo,” he takes the offered shake with a kiss to your temple. It’s gone in three large gulps and you watch Andrei’s throat move as he swallows, feeling a little dry-mouthed from the sight. You shift, pressing your thighs together, and lean against the counter, dipping at your smoothie.

“Pozhaluysta,” you reply, practicing your extremely basic Russian. You’re not even sure if you’re saying it right, but Andrei’s face splits into a proud grin and you figure you must be close enough.

“I love when you try the Russian,” he says, stepping into your personal space and nuzzling his nose into your hair. “It’s hot as hell.”

“Right back atcha,” you tease, pushing away from him a bit. “You’re all sweaty. I have to go to class.”

Andrei laughs and wraps his arms around you, making you shriek and protest. “I won’t see you until Friday! You’ll miss me,” he argues, holding you tight.

Wiggling away from him, you shoot back, “you, maybe. Not your gross, sweaty shirt!” But you’re not really mad at him, not when he’s so cute and smiley and you really will miss him until you see him on Friday. “You’re all packed right?” You ask, back against the counter.

Andrei nods, “all ready to go. I even have extra space, if you want to shop with my mom in Miami.”

Your heart melts at how thoughtful he is and you clap a hand over your heart. “My hero,” you tease. “You really know me so well.”

“You should have plenty of room,” he teases, eyes crinkling at the corners, “since your bathing suits are so small.”

“I’m leaving,” you laugh, leaning up to kiss him again. “I’ll see you on Friday.”

Andrei catches your wrist in his hand, tugging you back a few steps and kisses your shoulder. “Fly safe, solnyshka,” he says and you melt again. Twisting your fingers in the hem of his shirt - God, it really is so sweaty - you nod up at him.

“I’ll do my very best, Drei.” A slow smirk and a wrinkle of your nose. “My pilot’s license is a little outdated, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

It takes a second for your joke to land, Andrei’s face morphing from confusion to amusement, and he swats gently at your ass. He flounders for a word before settling on “derzkiy,” which you make a note to Google Translate later. “Off to class then,” he shakes his head, nudging you to the door. You let him push you along, gathering up your phone and backpack as you go.

Once you’re at the door, you push back against the hand in between your shoulder blades and look up at him with wide eyes. “A kiss for the road?” you pout gently, pulling one of his favorite moves.

Andrei sighs, pretending to be exasperated, and kisses you once, quickly. It’s barely a brush of his lips and your mouth falls open. “That’s it?” You complain. “I won’t see you for three days and that’s the only kiss I have to keep me warm during the cold, lonely February nights?”

“If I kissed you the way I want to kiss you,” Andrei replies, voice lowering a bit as he leans in, his forearm resting on the doorframe, “then you will miss class and I will miss the games. We will both miss the All-Star Weekend too.”

“Oh,” you blink at the intensity of his tone. “Well,” you pat his chest, “keep that energy ready for Friday then.”

He swats at your ass again, sending you out into the hallway with a loud giggle.

The rest of the day slips away into a blur of classes, school work, and meetings with advisors. Before your night class, you text Andrei in your usual pre-game ritual - a string of emojis (red heart, white heart, black heart, and the tornado). He replies a few minutes later with his usual string of incomprehensible emojis, this time they have an abundance of suns and palm trees in the middle of the string. You smile at the message, hearting it and setting your phone back in your bag.

The game is a win and you talk to Andrei on the phone briefly before he gets on the plane. He’s still buzzing from the adrenaline of the game and you can barely hear him over the sound of the boys celebrating.

“I love you,” you grin down the line, burrowing under the covers. “Break a skate tomorrow.”

“I love you,” he replies. There’s a beat and then, “what are you wearing?”

You laugh loudly and answer honestly. “Old sweatpants, thick socks, and one of your sweatshirts. I’m fucking freezing.”

“At least you aren’t going to Buffalo,” Andrei shoots back on a laugh. “Who will keep me warm there?”

“Your boyfriend, Pyotr, of course,” you reply, blasé.

“His hands are not as soft as yours,” Andrei shoots back, laughing.

Someone on the plane calls for him and you blow kisses down the line, letting him go.

Wednesday is much of the same, except your excitement for Florida is building and making it hard to focus. You get in some more studying before the game, text Andrei, and finish a paper while you watch the boys beat the Sabres. After the game, he texts a little more, getting ready to head down to Florida. You make sure the remind him about sunscreen before you get down there.

On Thursday, he sends a series of selfies from the beach while you sit in class, wrapped in a down coat and scarf.

You: I hate you

Andrei: No you don’t.

Andrei: I miss you

Andrei: I need someone to rub sunscreen on me

Andrei: 🤩🥰😌🤤🩳🌞☀️☀️☀️🍆🍆🍆

He’s insane and you love him.

Once class ends, you still have the rest of the afternoon and you head back to the apartment to clean up. The idea of coming back to a freshly cleaned apartment after a week’s vacation is definitely a motivating factor. While the sheets are in the wash, you empty out the fridge and make a dinner from the salvageable leftovers. The bathroom gets scrubbed and all the dishes are washed and put away. Once you’re done, you light a candle and settle into do a little self-care. If you’re spending a week in Miami, you don’t want to have dry skin and messy cuticles. You’re not even sure you’ll be able to sleep, despite your early flight, you’re just really excited to see Andrei again.

Airports are probably your favorite place. They’re lawless and chaotic and literally anything goes. Your best friend is a saint and drives you to Raleigh-Durham at 4 a.m. so you have plenty of time before your 7:30 a.m. flight.

“I don’t understand why you insist on being a suburban dad about air travel,” Kate sighs, then yawns.

“Because I have anxiety?” you counter, deadpan. Sue you for wanting to make sure you’re on time for the flight. So many things can go wrong with flying. Why not cut some of those problems off by being early and adaptable.

“You’re insane,” she says, pulling up the the curb at departures. “Have a safe flight, immediately bang that fine specimen of a man when you get to Florida. Love you!” She blows a kiss at you after giving you a one-armed hug over the console.

“Hah, thanks. Love you too!” you shout over your shoulder, pulling your suitcase and duffel bag out of the backseat. You wave once more before heading into the airport.

It is predictably chaotic, even so early in the morning, but you get through security smoothly and find your gate before going off for a coffee and breakfast. You explore the shops, picking up three cartoon-covered romance novels and a more serious looking contemporary fiction. The books fit easily into your duffel and from there it’s just a matter of waiting to get on the plane.

The flight to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport is smooth and before you know it, it’s 10 in the morning and you’re exiting the plane and traipsing through the airport in search of the taxi stand. While you walk through the airport, you look around, people watching, and your gaze lands on a familiar figure holding up a sign that says “SOLNYSHKA” in chicken-scratch handwriting.

Andrei’s face is split into a wide grin and he gives you a little wave when he sees that you’ve spotted him.

“Oh my god!” You yelp, running for him. “Drei!” Your suitcase and duffel bag fall to the floor as you take a running leap and jump into Andrei’s arms. He drops the sign and catches you, arms wrapping around your waist as your legs lock around his. “I wasn’t expecting you!”

You cradle his face in your hands and kiss him deeply, ignoring the sounds of the people around you. His tongue slides over your lower lip and you open your mouth for him, angling your head and deepening the kiss. His hands shift and grip at your ass and you press closer to him. He pulls back a little and then kisses you again, softer. Still holding you in his arms, Andrei says, “I wanted to surprise you. I couldn’t wait another minute to see you.”

“God, I missed you,” you nuzzle your nose against his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin. Andrei sets you back down on your feet and picks up your bags.

You learned early on not to argue with him about carrying luggage. If he has the hands free, Andrei’s always going to carry your bags. So, you fall into step next to him, practically skipping with excitement. “So what did you do yesterday? Have you relaxed a bit?” You ask as you head for the parking lot.

He shrugs, “I spent time on the beach. Mama and Papa got to Miami last night and will be here around lunch, so I was talking to them. Mostly, I missed you.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “The bed is very big and lonely without you.”

“You really miss me hogging blankets and clinging to you like a koala?” You grin. “Wow, you must really love me.”

Andrei holds your hand for the entire thirty minute drive from the airport to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, where the players are staying in a hotel and the league has set up a beach festival for fans and the players’ families. The hotel is gorgeous and Andrei’s room looks right out onto the beach.

“Oh, this is nice,” you look around the room, making a beeline for the balcony. “A girl could get used to this.”

Andrei’s right behind you, holding you close, face buried in your hair. “Better that you’re here now.” He kisses down the column of your neck, stubble scraping at your skin. You lean back against him, feeling the hard ridge of his cock against your ass. You wiggle a little, deliberately teasing him.

“How long did you say until your parents get here?” you ask on a breathy gasp. Andrei’s sucking a bruise behind your ear.

“Plenty of time,” he replies, sliding a hand into the front of your leggings and grunting when there’s not that much space to work with. You wiggle again, pulling at the stretchy fabric with both hands to get the waistband down around your thighs. Andrei’s fingers flex against you and you arch you back into his touch.

“Good,” you sigh. “We have three days worth of time to make up for!”

Forty-five minutes later, you’re both sweaty and tangled in the extremely comfortable bed sheets. Your legs feel like jelly and you’re sore in all the best possible places. Andrei rolls onto his side, already half-hard - again! for the third time, Jesus Christ - and kisses your shoulder. “Shower?” He asks, with a curve to his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that you know means he plans on making sure you have at least one more orgasm before you head out to the beach festival to meet his parents.

“Shower,” you agree, shriek-laughing when Andrei gathers you in his arms and makes for the bathroom. You laugh and soap each other up, kissing and touching and making the shower twice as long as it has to be.

Finally clean, you slip into a pair of cut-off shorts and a nicer top, ready to head out. Andrei texts his parents as you make your way out of the hotel and makes plans to meet them at the main entrance to the park. Once he’s done texting, he slips his hand into yours and you enjoy the stroll from the hotel. “Have you seen any of the other guys?” you ask.

“Not yet,” Andrei shakes his head. “Everyone is getting in at different times. It was quiet, some of the guys from the west coast came in yesterday, but,” he shrugs, “I don’t know them. Kirill and I had dinner.”

“Andreyusha!” A familiar accent calls Andrei’s nickname and you grin when he entire face lights up. His mom and dad are suddenly in front of you, both pulling their son into a tight embrace.

You hang back just a bit, not wanting to interrupt the reunion since he hasn’t seen his parents since Christmas. But after she’s done with Andrei, Elena turns to you and pulls you into an equally tight hug. “Ah, nevestka, we’re so happy to see you!” She presses kisses to both of your cheeks and you love how much she care about you too.

“I’m so excited you guys could come,” you reply, getting a nod from Igor. He’s much less effusive and demonstrative with his affection, but you don’t mind. He’s warm enough when you talk and Elena gives enough hugs for the both of them.

Andrei has his arm draped over his dad’s shoulder and he looks so happy to be with his parents. “You’ll see the fun, silly hockey tonight,” he says, starting to explain the Skills Competition.

Elena loops her arm into yours and you all begin to walk around the park. “We will look for Andreyusha’s puck,” she decides, gesturing to the giant decorative pucks that dot the park with each player’s picture on them. “By then, we will have to send Andrei back to get ready for the show, yes?”

“The red carpet arrivals, right,” you agree, smiling to yourself at the idea of your boyfriend on a little red carpet. “He’ll have to get even prettier than he already is.”

Andrei shoots you a playful glare and you stick your tongue out at him, laughing. He and his dad fall into step behind you and Elena, talking in rapid-fire Russian. Elena starts telling you about all the fun shops she and Igor had seen in Miami, “- I think we will go shopping next week, yes? That will be fun, but of course you and Andrei will have time alone. Don’t worry that Igor and I will be around all the time.” She laughs knowingly. “Kids do not want mama and papa around all the time.”

Your cheeks heat up with Elena’s implication, but she doesn’t seem to notice, having spotted Andrei’s puck off in the distance. She pulls you and Andrei in that direction and takes multiple pictures, handing her phone off to you so you can take a picture of her and Igor in front of the puck.

While you snap pictures, Andrei looks down at his phone. He frowns a little, “I have to go get ready.” He presses a kiss to the top of your head. “Have fun with Mama and Papa and I will see you later.”

“Okay, have fun. Make good choices,” you tease, ducking away from his groping hands knowing he’s going to try and tickle you.

He calls out to his parents that he’s leaving and Elena gives him another hug, patting his cheek when she pulls away. “Comb your hair, yes?” She nudges him and Andrei nods.

“Yes, Mama.” He gives you a soft smile, not embarrassed in the least about his relationship with his parents. And then he’s gone, walking back towards the hotel, leaving you alone with his parents for the first time essentially ever. Sure you’ve spent time with them over the year you’ve been dating Andrei, but never alone and never for such a long period of time.

Luckily, Elena is a warm force of nature, so she steers the afternoon perfectly, guiding you and Igor to the beach festival proper for cocktails and to people watch a little. She asks about your classes and your family and takes an interest in your thesis project. It’s actually really nice being the center of her attention. She and Igor treat you to dinner and before you know it, you’re in FLA Live Arena, finding your seats to watch the Skills Competition. The arena is crowded, but not packed and you love looking around and seeing the mix of jerseys in the stands.

The players are getting announced and you and Elena stand and cheer wildly when Andrei skates out, both of you taking plenty of pictures. You honestly can’t believe that you’re here watching him. The custom jerseys for the game are amazing - black with pink and mint green accents - and seeing Andrei in the non-typical colors makes your stomach flip a little. He looks unfairly good in the jersey. You’re glad that jersey is coming home with him.

It’s fun to watch the guys mingle on the ice and you spot Andrei standing with some of the guys from the Metro and Atlantic. From your spot in the stands you see the group - Andrei, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, and Alex Ovechkin - that you’ve been mentally referring to, with affection of course, as the Borscht Belt. Andrei’s always said how nice it was to have so many Russian players in the league to chat with, so you’re glad he has this little group to enjoy the games with.

Soon enough, it’s time for the Fastest Skater competition and Elena chuckles when Andrei is announced. You look over at her and she explains, “Andrei, so fast on the ice, but that is nothing compared to when he was a child. Running from vegetables, from baths with his golaya zadnitsa out, Geno chasing him and encouraging the bad behavior.”

You giggle at the mental image of naked toddler Andrei running rampant, trying to ignore the fact that more often than not he’s wandering your apartment naked too. You’re sitting with his parents, you force your thoughts to be less dirty.

“Was he always a handful?” You ask, watching Cale Makar blow a tire and wipe out on the ice. You wince a little - that can’t have been fun, but at least it gives Andrei a better chance of winning.

“Always,” Elena confirms. Igor cuts in, “but with a smile, so can’t be mad at him.”

On the ice, Andrei gets started and all three of your turn you attention to him. He’s got a big old smile on his face, pumping his fist when he stops with a time that’s faster than you thought it would be. You’re on your feet, stamping them and cheering for him. He waves to the crowd and you feel a rush of love for him. He looks like a little kid living a dream.

Hours later, Andrei has the title of 2023 Fastest Skater and he’s bouncing with excitement when you meet him outside of the arena. Fans swarm him and he signs everything with a huge smile. You hang back with his parents, watching. Once the fans disperse and he sees you, Andrei makes a beeline and gathers you in his arms, spinning you around. “The fastest man in the NHL,” you laugh in his arms.

He kisses you and sets you back on your feet, clearly still buzzing with adrenaline. His parents get hugs too and they congratulate him before saying good-night so they can take an Uber back to their hotel in Miami proper. It’s already nearly midnight - you hadn’t realized how long you were waiting for Andrei to shower and sign autographs. He kisses his mother’s cheek and hugs his father again, before they get in the car. His arm is wrapped around your shoulder, fingers playing with the ends of your hair, and you lean into his side, shivering a little now that it’s cooled off.

“I don’t think I can sleep,” he admits once his parents are gone.

“How about we take a walk before getting a car back to the hotel?” You suggest. “It’s a nice enough night.”

“Or a walk on the beach? I’ll call an Uber,” he already has his phone out and there’s a car in front of you within five minutes. You slide into the backseat and buckle up, tangling your fingers with Andrei’s.

You’re both quiet on the ride to the hotel, even though Andrei is clearly vibrating with energy. You nudge his ankle with your foot and he looks over at you. “Proud of you, Drei,” you say, feeling like a broken record.

He beams at you. “Being with all the guys, is a different experience. I’ll have to rub it in Geno’s face, now that I am officially fastest. He always thought he was faster, growing up.”

“Save it for dinner when he joins us next week,” you snort.

“Eh, I already FaceTimed him,” Andrei smirks, looking like such a cheeky little shit. “He challenged me to a race.”

“Brothers,” you roll your eyes affectionately.

Turns out, Andrei’s proclamation that he wasn’t tired was dead wrong and he passes out the second he climbs into bed, wrapping his body around yours. You snuggle into his warmth and have the best night’s sleep. You both sleep in late the next morning since the only mandatory event is the actual All-Star Game and Andrei doesn’t have to be at the arena until 1:00 for that. He’ll end up getting there early, since Rod is the coach and he doesn’t want to look bad in front of him. But the morning is yours to enjoy.

Andrei rolls onto his side, burying his face into your shoulder. His body is flush against your side, his erection hot and hard against your thigh. You happily slide your hand over his side, down his hip and around his front. He jerks in your hand when you wrap your fingers around him. His skin is velvety soft and you run your hand over his length a few times without any real intention.

“Solnyshka,” Andrei’s voice is a sleepy rumble at the back of his throat, “you’re teasing me.”

“Mhm,” you confirm happily. “Do you want me to stop?” You move your wrist a little faster.

“No,” Andrei groans, one arm slipping under your back and the other bracing at your hip so you come with him when he rolls onto his back. You land on his thighs with a little exhale and look down.

“Hello,” you grin, resting your palms flat on his lower stomach. His hands are tight on your hips. “Do I get to take control this morning? Are you feeling a little tired after yesterday?”

“Not tired,” Andrei grins up at you. “I just like this view best.” His hands skate up your sides and under the oversized shirt you’re wearing, coming up so he can cup your breasts in his hands, thumbs flicking at your nipples.

“Ohh, okay,” you sigh, sliding forward and leaning up on your knees so you can position yourself over him. You both let out matching groans of pleasure as you sink down on him, inch by inch. Once he’s completely inside of you, you rotate your hips, Andrei joining you and meeting you thrust for thrust. You brace your hands on his chest and bend a little at the waist, changing the angle. Andrei keeps a steady hold on you, murmuring in Russian and English.

Heat coils low in your stomach and Andrei’s hand finds where you’re joined, pressing his thumb against your clit. You moan, arching into his touch, curling your toes. “Fuck, Andrei, more please,” you babble, falling apart. He lifts his hips into yours again and again, grunting when you finally fall over the edge with a shout. He continues fucking into your for a few more thrusts even as you’re boneless, draped over his sweaty chest.

He comes in you, hot and hard, and you’re extremely grateful for birth control. His arms are strong around your back, hugging you close and burying his face in your hair. “What do you want for breakfast?” He mumbles the question into your skin and you giggle. Always eating, always hungry, your Andrei.

The rest of the day is a blur of laughter and tanning on the beach before you make your way to the arena to watch the actual hockey games. The Central-Pacific match is a little boring, and really only confirms your biased belief that the really impressive hockey is being played on the East Coast. Metro-Atlantic is much more entertaining, but you’re left a little bummed for Andrei that the Atlantic takes the win. You don’t really care that much about the final Central-Atlantic match-up and use the time to get a snack and wander the arena.

Andrei doesn’t seem that upset by the loss, when you see him after the game. He’s upbeat, full of just-happy-to-be-here energy. “That was fun!” He says immediately.

“You were so good, Andreyusha,” Elena smiles, patting his cheek, eyes sparkling with pride. “Now you get to rest. Papa and I will take you to dinner and then go back to Miami.”

“Thanks, Mama,” he says, holding your hand when you fall into step behind his parents. He nudges your hip with his and leans down a little to whisper, “there’s going to be a little party in the hotel later. Will you be my date?”

A surprised and delighted little gasp leaves your mouth. It’s not like Andrei has to ask you to be his date, but it’s a surprisingly sweet gesture and you nod happily. “Yes, of course I’ll be your date,” you giggle and there’s an extra spring in your step.

The party - all of the young players and their girlfriends and wives crowded into the suite that the Tkachuk brothers rented explicitly for this purpose - goes until the early hours of Sunday morning. You barely remember anything other than winning several rounds of beer pong with Andrei, a round of spirited karaoke doing a duet with Jack Hughes, and spending at least forty-five minutes with Andrei’s tongue down your throat in a corner of the room. In short, you have a raging hangover when you wake up on Sunday morning and Andrei has to peel you out of bed and into the shower.

“How are you alive?” You mumble, pressing your lips together to fight a wave of nausea.

He shrugs, “I’m Russian. Alcohol doesn’t bother me.”

You hold your face under the lukewarm shower spray and mutter, “damn giant man tolerance.”

Showered and marginally more alive, you and Andrei check out of the hotel and get into Andrei’s rental car so you can drive down to Miami for your week of actual vacation. The sun and salt air help your mood immediately, as does the giant iced coffee and breakfast sandwich Andrei places in your lap. He keeps one hand on your upper thigh as he drives and you can’t help but heat up at his touch. God, you’re excited to get on the beach and get your hands on him.

The new hotel is on Ocean Drive, with the beach just a few feet from the entrance. You do a little dance next to Andrei when he checks in, excited to lay out in the sun. He laughs at your excitement, crowding you as soon as you get in the elevator. “What are you so excited about, solnyshka?” His eyes dance with mirth.

“Oh, seeing you in those five-inch inseam bathing suits, of course,” you shoot back.

And boy, he doesn’t disappoint. The five-inch inseam seems even shorter on his muscular legs and your mouth waters when he changes. “Oh, yep, now it’s vacation time,” you grin, rubbing sunscreen on your legs.

Andrei takes the tube from you and starts rubbing the cream into his arms. “I could use a nap,” he admits.

“It’s vacation, baby,” you throw your arms out to the side. “Nap as much as you want!”

“I think I need to work up an exhaustion first,” he says, looking you over from head to toe. The bikini you’re wearing just barely covers the important parts and you feel warm despite the air conditioning in the room.

You snort a laugh through your nose. “How about we wait until the room stops spinning for me before you start tossing me around the bed, huh?” You smile wryly. “Plenty of time for the fun acrobatics when I’m not violently hungover.”

The first two days of vacation are spent on the beach, tanning and reading the books you bought at the airport. Andrei insists on rubbing sunscreen on your ass every hour, making the argument that he doesn’t want you to burn, but his fingers slide under the fabric too often and with too much deliberation for that excuse to be valid. You order drinks and lunch, sitting together on a towel, knees touching, while you eat. Andrei forgets to reapply and his nose and cheeks turn pink, matching his pink-polarized lens Ray-Bans.

He fingers you in one of the hammocks, the fabric swaying between two palm trees. You bury your face in his chest, his hand hidden in between your bodies. A third finger slides into you, his other hand palming your ass, and you bite at his shoulder to muffle your shouts. You’re not even sure how the hammock is holding both of your combined weight, but you’re not arguing and you can barely think coherently. Andrei whispers dirty words in your ear, “come on, baby, come on my hand. Make a mess of my fingers. Want to see you lose control,” and smiles smugly when you yelp his name, breaking off into a groan. His hand is a mess and he sucks his fingers into his mouth, cleaning them off.

“Fuck,” you mutter, red-faced and sweaty. His answering chuckle vibrates his chest under you and sends another spike of arousal down your spine.

If you could spend every day in the sunshine, tangled up in Andrei’s arms, you think you could die a happy woman.

Of course, it’s not just a couple’s vacation, and you’re happy about that too. Mid-week, Geno gets into town and as soon as Andrei sees his big brother in the hotel lobby, he runs from your side to wrap his brother in a bear hug. They haven’t seen each other since Christmas and you know that Andrei’s missed his brother, even though they talk nearly every day.

They do the bro-hug, smacking each other’s shoulders, talking in rapid-fire Russian. When they’re done hugging, Geno turns to you and wraps you in a big hug too. “Beautiful as ever,” he greets you with his signature missing-toothed smile.

“Charming as ever,” you grin back, loving that Drei is going to have his brother around for a few days. Having Geno around actually feels a bit like having a big brother too, so you’re always happy to spend time with him.

“So, what have I missed?” He asks while he gathers his bags and the three of you head up to his room. “Mama and Papa say you lied and stunk up the ice during Skills.”

Andrei shoved his brother playfully. “Liar. You would’ve been slower, old man.”

They bicker playfully, essentially unaware of your presence, but you don’t mind. You sit on Geno’s bed, crossing your legs, while they catch each other up on the last few days. Geno’s thinking about proposing to his girlfriend and asks both of your opinions, but emphasises, “don’t tell Mama. She’ll ruin the surprise.”

Andrei laughs and agrees easily. “Mama,” he explains to you, “cannot keep a secret for her life. Papa is like a vault. You could not torture information out of him.”

“Oh yeah,” you smirk, “your mom was really a wealth of information about your childhood.”

Andrei raises an eyebrow at you. “What did she say?” He sounds curious and a little nervous.

“I’m keeping some of those stories to myself,” you grin and Geno points at you.

“Did she tell you when Drei was little, he collected bugs? She found his collection in a drawer and screamed so loudly he cried and said she was scaring the bugs!”

“Oh, that’s sweet!” You squint at the brothers. Andrei is shaking his head, laughing.

“Then I made her have a funeral for the bugs,” he admits. “With prayers and everything.”

The mental image of tiny Andrei having a full church service of a funeral for some dead bugs is really just the cutest thing you can imagine. “I think it’s adorable and kind,” you reach out to squeeze Andrei’s fingers. “But if you ever bring a bug into our apartment, I’ll kill you myself.”

Geno laughs loudly and Andrei nods, agreeing that your apartment will remain bug free. You have plans to meet Elena and Igor for dinner, but the afternoon is time to relax on the beach. Geno falls asleep almost immediately and you scoot your towel out from under the umbrella so you can angle it over his body. You’re reclining on your stomach, flipping through a book, when Andrei starts rummaging through your beach bag. He pulls the tube of sunscreen out and you think he’s going to start reapplying, but instead he draws a smiley face on Geno’s bare chest, grinning like a Cheshire Cat the entire time. You watch him, shaking your head a little.

“You’re going to get yourself into trouble, Mister Svechnikov,” you murmur, smothering a little laugh with the back of your hand.

“He won’t sleep that long,” Andrei waves a hand i. the air. “It won’t be that bad.”

Geno sleeps for an hour and is definitely not pleased to find the smiley face on his chest. He grumbles playfully and chases his little brother right into the ocean. You watch them wrestle in the water, taking a few pictures and video for posterity. Eventually, they mellow out and start floating, which is your cue to join them. Now that you know you’re not going to get accidentally drowned, you make your way to the water, diving under quickly to get used to the temperature and float lazily next to Andrei. “I wish we were at the beach all the time,” you mumble, tipping your face back to soak up the sun. “I’m going to need a tropical vacation during the off-season.”

“Hear that, Drei,” Geno teases. “Start saving up.”

The lazy afternoon fades into evening and the three of you trudge back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It’s sushi at some fun, fancy restaurant Elena found. It’s walking distance, so you head over a little bit before the reservation, listening quietly while the brothers talk. It’s been a long couple of days and the time spent in the sun and sand is starting to get to you a little. Andrei keeps a protective arm around you as you walk, in tune with your surroundings even as he discusses hockey with his brother.

When you get to the restaurant, Elena lavishes the boys with more hugs, Geno especially since she’s already seen Andrei this week. “Come, come,” she says, ushering you all to the table. “I am so happy to have the whole family together and to celebrate Andrei.”

She’s sitting with Andrei on one side of her and Geno on the other, but you know from past experience that the seating arrangements with shift around as dinner goes on, and you’re right. By the time you’re two hours deep into dinner, Geno and Andrei are talking with their dad and you have Elena’s undivided attention again.

“My girl, you are going to come with Andrei back home this summer, yes?” She pats your hand and takes a sip of her cocktail.

You hadn’t discussed summer plans with Andrei, not really. In the abstract, you don’t want to plan further than June, superstitious about the playoffs. And you’ll be starting a Masters program in late August, so you definitely want to be back in Raleigh before then. Of course there’s training camp to think about. So that really leaves July and part of August. You’d love to see Andrei’s home country, but he hasn’t said anything about it. Something must show on your face, because Elena laughs lightly and continues, “he is focused on hockey right now. But he will suggest it, I know. You should say yes and come. It will be a good visit.”

“I…yes, okay. If Andrei asks,” you smile carefully. “I’d love to come visit you.”

Hearing his name, Andrei looks over and smiles, dimple popping. He can’t have heard what you said, but he winks at you and you flush. There’s so much affection in his eyes. Elena nods knowingly at your side. “He will ask, and you will say yes,” her voice is firm, tone final. Case closed, you think, amused.

Food and drinks flow during dinner and you take photos of Elena with her sons and Andrei next to the inexplicable Daniel Craig wax figure by the door, laughing when he strikes a series of cheesy poses before grabbing you and dipping you into a femme fatale pose. By the time you leave to go back to the hotel, your face hurts from smiling so much and you’ve bullied Andrei into giving you a piggyback ride. He has his hands hooked under your thighs and you rest your cheek against the back of his head, bouncing pleasantly in his arms. The movement must cause you to doze off, because the next thing you know, you’re being gently set on your feet, Andrei’s arms holding your back to his chest.

“I love you,” you murmur sleepily, head lolling to the side.

“I love you, too,” he replies softly.

“This has been the best week,” you sigh. “Can we move to Miami and just be beach bums forever and have sex in hammocks?”

Andrei hums above you, apparently giving your tried, tispy thoughts some consideration. His hands splay over your stomach and he rests his chin on top of your head, “how about after I retire we become snowbirds? Six months in Miami, six months in Raleigh.”

You giggle a little. “I don’t think we could be considered snowbirds going from a warm climate to an even warmer one, but I am definitely on board with that.” Something about the vague planning for the future, even if it’s a fiction, makes your heart flutter in your chest.

“It’s settled, another twenty years in Raleigh and then Miami, here we come,” his laugh vibrates your whole body and that future doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.

[urfavnegronerd]

a cute lil poem i wrote cus a bitch is lowkey struggling

nothing tastes as good as skinny feels 

except for the pegao at the bottom of the pot, a mixture of char, chicken stock, salt and bay leaf 

nothing tastes as good as skinny feels 

except for lukewarm soda on the beach, syrup dribbling down my chin and sticking my chain to my chest 

and the pineapple upside down cake my grandmother used to make, the kind with canned pineapple circles and syrupy cherries in the center of each pineapple slice 

and coming back from the beach, sun soaked and tired, passing a mango in between lips as we laugh about the juice that drags from our lips 

the last drop of caribbean beer —red stripe— in a can a quick sting, a drop of the islands somewhere we can never return 

nothing tastes as good as skinny feels 

except strawberries late at night, fresh from the carton and sweeter than life itself 

and the mints from the bottom of your grandmothers purse 

and chicken pad thai with extra peanuts 

and laughing over sushi 

and mangonada with a little extra chamoy and guava nectar

and sprite mixed with passionfruit juice on christmas eve in between stolen sips of crémas 

the bites of fried food the salon ladies give you during the five hours in the chair getting your hair braided 

the secret bits of marinade doused in pikliz the aunties slip you before anyone else, their finger pressed against their lips, smiling 

the cookies that come in the circular tin, the same tin that will later be filled with buttons or napkins 

coffee after a sleepless night, eyes hazy with sleep 

the extra diri tante slips you after a poor attempt at speaking kréyol back to her, sealed with a smile and discreet nod that says 'keep practicing and you'll remind me of your cousin'

the bundt cake my aunt makes that i’m positive is laced with something, because when was bundt cake ever this good 

the lemonade the same auntie makes, out of country crock powder and probably too much domino sugar  

sucking the meat off the pit of a mango, gently nibbling, trying to get the last dregs of juice before throwing it away 

welches passionfruit juice paired with stories of a home in the mountains in haiti, the home my father was born into, the home they left behind 

cold cola lacaye and stories about my late grandfather, while my uncles slam dominoes at the table, bald heads bobbing and yelling 

fresh wings off the grill, that my uncles swear arent burned just charred

they taste good anyway, sweet spicy and tangy all at once

the only thing that tastes as good as skinny feels 

is not wasting away in a shell of a body

🩷 reblogs are always appreciated for reach <3

[elendsessor]

on the 8th of this month, wii u and 3ds servers are shutting down, and i really cannot stress enough how horrible that is not just on a preservation point but how it affects the future of gaming and i think the monster hunter games on both consoles put that into perspective.

ignoring the overall boom in at least 3ds online play because of how easy it is to hack it, i noticed a lot of games are focused more on matchmaking than anything and it’s depressing. while i haven’t done any of 3u’s hub stuff yet, 4u is a perfect example of why we need online hubs.

i mean aside from how wrong val habar’s hub’s gonna look without players in it especially when an entire lively cutscene shows it off, there is nothing like how hubs worked in old school. 3u and 4/4u’s hubs aren’t locked behind capcom servers and frankly it was all the more welcoming. you’re given so much incentive to interact with players. speaking from my own experiences since i still play online from time to time, the amount of people i met through and talked with in the span of 3-4 hour sessions did help me get used to actually talking and coordinating with others. learned a lot of useful tips, too.

idk there’s something about being forced into a lil hunter family for awhile that is completely unmatched. just being put into online matchups doesn’t. i feel like there’s a lot more toxicity when playing with randos period since you aren’t forced to get along. you don’t even need voice chat for it yet unless you do enable vc or you’re playing with friends, it does make it harder to connect with others.

gu’s switch servers are still up but the problem there comes from how the nintendo switch does online. first ok switch’s online servers suck ass. i’ve had more problems with it than i did with the 3ds and the 3ds is significantly older and is on weaker hardware that shouldn’t be acceptable. but also you have to pay for the online stuff in a subscription format which automatically alienates a good chunk of players. why pay for a crappy online service anyways especially when it’s a lot to begin with and people do not have that kind of money to waste anymore. unless you consistently play on a switch there is no reason to get it. i noticed back in the animal crossing new horizons days how quickly the online dies off mainly because there’s not much to do. new leaf had a hub of its own in a sense (aka the entire town), especially with tortimer island having mini games. after the acnh boom there was nothing, and really the only people who had their islands open were ones for turnip prices and if they had someone like celeste. you’d go in, do whatever, then leave.

old school monster hunter has what i believe to be the most ideal online play and the fact that it’s being taken away is genuinely depressing. there are currently work in progress 3ds servers being made, namely pretendo, but as wonderful as they are, i don’t think it’s fair to anyone that the only way you can see your online friends is through fan servers you’ll have to go through a process to even try and play online.

[gaymaramada]

Now I’m Hopeless

Summary: Sonic tapped his foot incessantly, wracking his brain for any logical reasoning behind what had just happened that morning. It wasn’t his fault, right? No, it couldn’t have been. He was in the right. He had to be.

(Or: Sonic and Knuckles make it official - Knuckles is ecstatic and isn't afraid to show it, but Sonic begins to feel like he's biting off more than he can chew.)

Pairing: Boom! Sonic X Knuckles

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Language and a lil snippet of spiciness

Word Count: 5,481

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43370349

Sonic tapped his foot incessantly, wracking his brain for any logical reasoning behind what had just happened that morning. It wasn’t his fault, right? No, it couldn’t have been. He was in the right. He had to be.

A couple of weeks ago, he and Knuckles had been playing video games together, when out of nowhere, the echidna had paused the game and asked, “Hey, you wanna be my boyfriend?”

Sonic’s reaction was extremely graceful if he did say so himself, and he certainly hadn’t sputtered around his straw and snorted soda through his nose, leaving him coughing violently for the next three minutes. A very awkward conversation followed, consisting of Knuckles listing off every single moment where they’ve behaved like more than just casual bros, Sonic’s face burning hotter and hotter (and not from the soda in his sinuses), and an uncharacteristically sincere confession from the both of them, eventually leading to the two of them tying the knot.

Knuckles was absolutely delighted, immediately wanting to climb to the tallest mountain on the island and scream out into the horizon that he had a boyfriend, but Sonic was quick to stop him.

“We’ll just…take baby steps, okay?” He’d told him, “Y’know, keep things subtle before telling everybody that we’re dating.”

Knuckles had been a bit pouty about it but ultimately agreed, stating that he was down with “whatever makes my boyfriend more comfortable”, sending more blood to Sonic’s cheeks.

Several days had passed, and Sonic felt content. No, really, he did. By day, he was still smashing robots, enjoying lunch with his team, and playing soccer at the rec center. By evening, he and Knuckles would spend time together; hanging out at the beach, challenging each other to see who could throw the rock the farthest, and relaxing at his shack as the sun set. Things were good.

But then Knuckles had handed him a little blue flower he’d picked from the edge of the forest, his grin ecstatic as he told him “It looks like you!” before placing it behind the hedgehog’s ear without a care in the world.

And Sonic felt…weird. He’d felt something in his chest lurch, and his stomach was getting all tingly. His face was getting hot again, and he wanted to splash some ice water on it. He’d never felt like this before, and all the echidna had done was give him a flower. A flower! Who freaks out over a flower?!

Things got stranger as the days went on, and Knuckles was getting more and more comfortable with showing his affection: he often gave Sonic little trinkets — a random stone he’d found, a colorful leaf he’d picked up, even a scrap of metal from one of Eggman’s destroyed robots that kind of looked like a face — and had been getting very comfortable with running his mouth. Every other sentence he’d said to him was so insanely sincere : “Your laugh is really cute,” or “You okay? I can carry you if you want,” or “You’re super cool to be with, you know that?”

Contact had also been a growing habit. Every second he could, Knuckles had a hand on his back, his shoulder, his waist, even his face if he was able. It all seemed to be effortless, almost automatic to the echidna, as he didn’t seem to give it a second thought. Sonic, meanwhile, felt overloaded with the fluttering in his stomach starting to make him nauseous and his heart beating way too fast — which shouldn’t even be possible for him! Worst of all, he was beginning to feel eyes on him as people began to notice their intimate behavior. Whispers met the hedgehog’s ears, giggles echoed from across the block, and Sonic felt himself growing more and more anxious with every passing second.

So he confronted Knuckles, bringing him aside so they could discuss their agreement to be more discreet about their relationship. He told the other teen that he’d been getting a bit too handsy, and was starting to break his boundaries. Knuckles had given him a sheepish look, awkwardly apologizing for getting carried away but promising to tone it down a bit while in public, but Sonic wasn’t done. He didn’t want it to stop while in public, he wanted it to stop entirely.

That had made Knuckles’ face drop, and the tone of the conversation took a sudden turn, “Wait, what?”

“It’s just…too much, okay?” Sonic reasoned, “All the…the touching and the compliments and the gifts…it’s not necessary.”

“But…” Knuckles visibly deflated, “but I’m your boyfriend…right?”

Sonic’s stomach turned but he did his best to ignore it, “You are, but that doesn’t mean you need to be all lovey-dovey about it! We can just act the same way we always have, it’s just now we’re dating, you know? Keep it casual.”

“But I don’t want it to be the way it was!” Knuckles exclaimed, his shoulders rising again, now from frustration, “If I wanted that, I wouldn’t have asked you out! What’s the point of dating if we’re not gonna act like it?”

“Knux, I’m not a romantic person, okay?” Sonic pinched the bridge of his nose, trying desperately to ignore the heaviness in his chest, “We can still be together, I just don’t want it to be this obvious thing. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

Knuckles scoffed, actually scoffed like Sonic had said something blasphemous, “Your reputation? Dude, no one’s gonna care that you have a boyfriend! If anything, it makes you look cooler! Why wouldn’t you want to—”

And then he’d stopped, and Sonic felt something in his chest halt, too. The echidna’s brows furrowed, and his lips curled down into a frown, his jaw dropping just a bit lower. He huffed, blinking at the hedgehog as he stood up straight, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

“You don’t want to be seen with me.”

It wasn’t a question. Knuckles’ voice had dropped significantly, his tone uncharacteristically flat. Sonic thought his heart would explode out of his chest, “…What?”

“You’re ashamed of me,” Knuckles reiterated, his face curling into a sneer, “That’s why you’ve been so weird about this. I mean, Gods forbid the whole town found out that you were in a relationship with the biggest meathead on the island, huh?”

Sonic’s heart dropped into his stomach, “H-hey, Knux, come on—”

“No! That’s it, isn’t it?” He raised his voice despite the waver that was forming within it, “You think I’m just some dumb trophy boy that you can brag about when people try to ask you out like ‘Oh, sorry, I have a boyfriend!’ but you won’t bother to tell them that it’s me, right?!”

Sonic felt guilt begin to pile up in his core. He panicked, “Knuckles, you’re blowing this way out of proportion—”

“Aha! Now you’re trying to gaslight me!” The echidna pointed, “You really do think I’m clueless!”

“Dude, I never said that—!”

“Yes, you have!” His voice cracked as his eyes went glassy, “Every time I make a mistake or do something stupid, you give me that look! That look like I don’t know anything! Like I’m only good for punching stuff! I may not be the sharpest hammer in the box, but I do have feelings, you know!”

Sonic felt cornered, both by Knuckles and the overwhelming emotions that were flooding his chest. Knuckles’ words felt like a stab to the heart, but he didn’t want to go into the complications of why. He was in a fight, and he had to win. The familiar taste of spite washed over his tongue, and he spoke without thinking, “Okay, well maybe you are an idiot! No one with more than two brain cells would ever jump to conclusions the way you’re doing! And by the way, it’s ‘sharpest knife in the drawer’! If you’re gonna argue with me, at least get your idioms right!”

Knuckles gasped dramatically, his hand going to his chest, and Sonic braced himself for a pair of fists — if this was how things were gonna go down, he would be ready for it. But that wasn’t what he got.

No, what he got was much worse.

A tear. Then two, then several more dripped down the other’s cheeks as his lip quivered. Violet eyes darted away from him as the echidna shrunk into himself, suddenly looking very, very small. When he spoke again, his voice was shaky and watery.

“I really thought you liked me.”

Sonic wanted to sink into the floor and rot.

Knuckles had run off after that, his face in his hands as crocodile tears fell off his chin. Sonic just stood there, not even watching him go, but just staring ahead toward nothing in particular.

What…what just happened?

And now, here he was, sitting on his porch bouncing his leg and working at his bottom lip. He’d calm down eventually, right? He’d understand what Sonic meant, and they could go back to normal, right?

Normal. What did that entail exactly? Was it limited to sideways glances and friendly pats on the back? Or did it include those softer moments, where he’d sink under the weight of a larger hand over his shoulder, his eyes fluttering as a thumb gently pressed against that one tender spot by his neck, or that giddy feeling he’d get upon hearing him laugh, knowing he’d been the one to bring him that joy, or those gentle smiles directed his way, followed by sweet words in a tone that could only be described as pure adoration?

Sonic’s ears caught the sound of a soft whimper, and it took him a second to realize that he was the one that made it. He swallowed, crossing and uncrossing his ankles as he fought with his pride, desperate for something to solidify his reasoning, to prove himself right.

There was nothing. All he discovered were three very real truths:

One: He had real, genuine feelings for Knuckles.

Two: He liked those feelings, and he craved them more.

Three: He’d just ruined his chances of ever feeling them again.

Sonic fell onto his back and shoved his hands in his face, kicking his legs furiously as he all but screamed into his palms.

                                                             ~

Knuckles was nowhere to be found. Sonic asked all his friends, but apparently, none of them had seen him all day. He searched all around town, asking every person he saw if they’d passed by the red echidna. He zipped over to the nearby village and asked Earl if he’d seen him (he was also quick to shove him out of the way of an incoming horseshoe), but with no luck. He went to Gogoba village, hoping that maybe they’d seen him pass by (they hadn’t, but they said they’d be happy to help him look, it’s not like they had anything better to do like feed themselves or tend to the elderly or anything). Sonic even went so far as to bang on Eggman’s door to question the other’s whereabouts (Eggman had simply raised a brow and asked “Who the heck is Knuckles?”).

Hours later, the sun was beginning to set, and Sonic had no lead as to where the echidna could have gone. All his messages went unanswered. His nerves were shot, and it felt like there was a huge hole in the middle of his chest. He’d never messed up this bad before. He tried to wrack his brain for any other possible places Knuckles could be, but the nausea he was feeling was making it hard to think.

The hedgehog heaved a sigh. At this point, he may as well cut his losses and head back home. Maybe Knuckles would show back up in the morning. But then what? Would he still come by Meh Burger with the gang? Would he still fight alongside Sonic? Ugh, he could feel himself getting a headache.

Sonic turned back and prepared to dash back to his shack, his heart a heavy weight in his chest, when he heard something amongst the rustling leaves. A voice, gruff and grunting. A blue ear flicked curiously, and Sonic quietly made his way toward the source of the sound.

Not too far away, he found himself in a small clearing, one that he was sure he’d passed by on one of his runs before but had never given any second thought. Large boulders were scattered around the clearing in random places, and in the middle of them was none other than Knuckles, lifting each one and placing them back down again with a grunt.

On any other day, Sonic would have blinked in confusion, wondering just what the heck the echidna was up to. But right now, all judgment flew out the window as he ran up to the other excitedly, “Knux! There you are!”

The older boy turned at the voice, his expression curious, but it quickly dropped into a cold stare upon realizing who it belonged to before he turned back to the rocks. Sonic stopped in his tracks immediately, Knuckles’ expression feeling like a physical brunt against him. In all the time he’d spent searching for him, he’d almost forgotten why he’d run away in the first place. The young hero shifted on his feet, suddenly feeling alone in the clearing despite Knuckles’ presence.

He swallowed, then clicked his tongue, then buzzed his lips, then cleared his throat before eventually mustering the courage to speak, “So, uh…what’re you doing?”

For a long couple of seconds, the echidna didn’t answer him, and Sonic was ready to accept his fate of suffering the silent treatment. But then, the other finally responded in a low voice, “What’s it look like?”

“Uh,” Sonic scratched his cheek, “like you’re moving rocks around, I guess?”

Knuckles dropped another boulder, “Hmph. Congrats. You don’t need glasses.”

His voice was too low, Sonic noted. Too dry, almost monotone. Heck, Knuckles was giving Shadow a run for his money with how he was talking to him, and that was saying something. And the way he still refused to look over at him, to speak to him at all unless he’d been spoken to first?

Yeah. Sonic didn’t like this one bit.

He sucked in through his teeth, “So, hey, uh…you, um…y’know that feeling you get when you’re playing soccer, and you aim for the goal but then you miss it completely?”

No response. Roll with it, Sonic, roll with it, “And then, uh, like everyone on the team gets mad at you, and you try to tell them that you didn’t mean to miss, but it just kind of happened—”

“Sonic, if this is about this morning, I’d rather you didn’t try to talk about it through soccer metaphors,” Knuckles chided, lifting another boulder and tossing it over to his left. It was far away from where Sonic was standing, but he felt as if he’d just been violently crushed by it.

“Ah- yeah, uh,” The hedgehog felt stuck. He’d never seen Knuckles like this before; he’d seen him angry, sure, so angry that he’d considered working with Eggman a few times if it meant getting back at the person who’d wronged him. But this? This silent, cold apathy? He didn’t even know Knuckles was capable of that kind of anger.

“Knuckles, I…” He faltered, “Ugh, just…can you at least look at me?”

Knuckles tensed — and for a moment Sonic almost thought he saw guilt in his posture — before he sighed deeply and turned to face the other. He hardly looked any better than Sonic did, his eyes slightly pink and visibly exhausted. His expression was unreadable as he studied the hedgehog, looking him up and down a bit before meeting his eyes, “You, uh…been running?”

Sonic huffed out what was supposed to be a chuckle, but came out as more of an uncomfortable cough, “I mean…’s not much else I usually do.”

“Yeah,” Knuckles crossed his arms, his eyes darting elsewhere, “I guess.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Sonic shifted from one foot to the other, silently hoping — begging — for Knuckles to say something else. He didn’t want to be the one to break the silence. He didn’t want to mess up again.

“You know,” Knuckles started, and Sonic tried not to sigh with relief, “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About keeping things casual. And…I think I figured out the problem.”

Sonic swallowed, “…Really?”

“Maybe you were right: maybe I’ve been too overbearing,” He continued, “Too forward. I mean, I asked you out completely out of the blue. That had to have been awkward.”

Sonic’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t like where this was going.

“And since then, I’ve been so focused on my feelings that I didn’t even consider yours,” Knuckles said, his posture slouching just a bit, revealing the hurt he was feeling despite his cold tone, “I should have known that you wouldn’t want to be all…’lovey-dovey’ about us being together.”

He looked back up at Sonic, his expression somber yet definite, “But I do; sometimes, I want things to be stupid and cheesy and over-the-top because…because those feelings are good! I like them! I mean, yeah, it felt kind of silly to give you flowers or whatever, but it was worth it to see the look on your face! I…I want to be proud of us being together!”

His shoulders slumped, his frown deepening, “But you don’t. And I was dumb to have not noticed until now.”

Every word out of the echidna’s mouth was driving Sonic up the wall. He felt like screaming, like ripping his quills out of his head and going on a long, violent tangent to the other about how none of this was his fault. This was all Sonic: Sonic and his weird, stupid, aggravating need to not show anything to the world other than confidence and dry wit. Sonic didn’t do relationships, he didn’t do dating, he didn’t do anything that could risk his walls coming down even the slightest bit. It scared him. Loving scared him.

(Gods, and he thought Shadow was emo.)

Sonic’s mouth opened and closed like he was a fish, wanting desperately to say something but not being able to use his voice. Seeing his struggle made Knuckles sigh, “It’s okay, man, you don’t have to say anything. You weren’t wrong; I’m not that smart. So, you don’t have to feel bad about anything.”

“…’m not…” Sonic mumbled, feeling like absolute slime right now.

The moment was being drawn out into the awkward stage, and Knuckles awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “Look, uh…let’s just go home, okay? We can just put this behind us. No need to make things all weird or anything—”

“I’m a fucking asshole.”

That stopped him in his tracks, his eyes widening at the blunt comment from Sonic. Sonic hadn’t meant for it to come out that way, but now that he’d started, his lips moved faster than his head could keep up, “I’m…I’m not good at this, I-I never have been. I act like I’m a huge flirt with people but it’s always over the most shallow things. I’ve never actually had real feelings for anyone. I mean, yeah, there’s been the occasional crush, but it’s never been more than that. I’ve never felt as… weird as I do with you, like- like I’m about to throw up but in a good way? Or like I’ve been spindashing for way too long and suddenly I can’t stand up straight. I’m not used to it, and it freaked me out so I tried to fix it but I just made things worse and I panicked, I took it out on you, and then you ran away, and my chest really hurts now and it’s been hurting since this morning and I hate it and now I can’t stop talking tell me to stop—”

“Whoa whoa whoa, take it easy, dude,” Suddenly Knuckles was right in front of him, his hands (big, strong, grounding, safe) resting on his shoulders, “Take a breath. You’re good.”

Sonic breathed shakily, unable to look the other in the eyes and instead staring down at their feet. Already, he felt his nerves begin to calm down, just from having Knuckles there and holding him. He shut his eyes, his mind telling him to back away while his body was tempted to just fall into the other and let those safe arms cradle him as if he were a small child.

“Look,” Knuckles said, his voice careful and steady, “I…I’m not really good at this, either, so…if we’re gonna do this, you’re gonna have to give me a clear answer. No stalling, no dodging the question, just…be honest.”

Sonic sighed softly through his nose, finally mustering the courage to lift his head and look the other in the eye. Knuckles’ expression was neutral, his mouth pressed into a straight line, but there was something behind his eyes that seemed to be itching to come forward. He asked slowly, “Do…do you want me to be your boyfriend?”

There it was again: that same lurch in his chest. But this time, Sonic breathed with it, waiting it out, and soon he found that the feeling wasn’t as unpleasant as he’d made it out to be. It was still weird, but…it was good. Great, actually. He felt a smile tug at his lips that he hadn’t expected, and he immediately felt the urge to hide his face and brush it off. He chuckled awkwardly, averting his eyes, “I, …” Spit it out, hedgehog, “Yeah…I do.”

He looked up again, absolutely hating how awkward he knew his dopey grin probably looked right now. He couldn’t bring himself to care too much though as Knuckles’ face began to light up, “A lot, actually. I wanna be with you.”

Knuckles bit his lip, his face scrunching up a bit ( Cute, Sonic thought suddenly) as he tried to avoid breaking into the obvious grin he was holding back, “For real? Like, you really do? You’re not just messing with me?”

Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes, even if it would have been out of fondness, and sighed, “Dude, I— ugh, I just told you yes twice, what more do you need?”

Knuckles brow creased a bit, and he lifted his hands from Sonic’s shoulders (Sonic already missed their warmth) to poke his index fingers together timidly, the gesture looking so foreign on the buffed-out echidna, “Well…maybe we could…kiss?”

Oh.

Oh, okay.

Honestly, Sonic should have expected that. Knuckles literally just poured his heart out to him about his desire for affection. Still, the offer had caught him off guard and he swallowed, “Uh,”

“We don’t have to!” The taller boy assured him hastily, waving his hands back and forth, “I mean, if you don’t want, that’s totally fine! I’d like to. At some point. Not now, though. If you don’t want. But maybe soon. Or later. Or never, but I don’t really wanna wait that long, so—”

He yelped as Sonic pulled him down by his dreads. Knuckles couldn’t blame him, Sonic reasoned with himself, it wasn’t his fault the echidna was so damn tall. But even with him being forcefully bent down, the hedgehog still had to stand on the tips of his toes to reach the other’s face. The kiss was quick, just a brief peck, and Sonic wasn’t even sure if he’d actually kissed his lips or just the corner of his chin, but he wasn’t about to try again; not until this weird dizziness passed, at least.

Knuckles stood, still slightly bent over, his eyes wide and mouth open in a small ‘O’ shape as he blinked down at the hedgehog. Sonic bit the inside of his cheek and shrugged, “There. How’s that?”

There was a brief moment of stillness — one that Sonic heavily disliked despite its short stay — before he suddenly felt himself being crushed to the echidna’s chest and lifted off the ground, the vibrations of Knuckles’ laughter thrumming against his ear as he was spun around, “Wha- WHOA KNUX! ”

“Yes! I have a boyfriend!” Knuckles whooped, “I have a boyfriend!”

He lifted him to pepper his face with kisses, each one accompanied by an obnoxiously loud ‘mwah!’ Sonic protested just as loudly, going on about how he was getting his quills all messed up, but his chastising was drowned out by his own laughter. He didn’t realize he’d wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders until Knuckles finally pulled back. His expression was bright and excited, and it made the shorter boy’s heart flutter.

He must have been making a face, because Knuckles’ expression turned sheepish, “Ah, sorry. Got excited. Baby steps, right?”

Sonic just blinked back at him, his brow furrowing in slight incredulity before he tsked and rolled his eyes, taking the other’s face into his hands and pulling him in for a real, genuine kiss. The tenderness took Knuckles off guard, but he eventually let himself relax into the gesture, humming happily. He couldn’t stop the way his lips curved up into a smile, making it a little difficult to return the kiss, but Sonic didn’t seem to mind, more than happy to take the lead.

The hedgehog was surprisingly gentle, maybe even a little apologetic in how he kissed him, and Sonic realized he’d never actually kissed anyone like this before — hell, he’d never even touched anyone like this before. He’d had his fair share of kisses, whether it be from fleeting past partners or overexcited civilians he’d managed to rescue from one of Eggman’s attacks, but none were quite as tender as this; none made him feel like he was lighter than air (though, that was probably because Knuckles was still holding him up).

Suddenly, the echidna shifted his hold so that one hand supported him from below while the other took hold of his lower back as he pulled Sonic impossibly closer. Sonic’s legs dangled awkwardly for a moment before he settled for wrapping them around the other’s waist. Knuckles chuckled against him, and Sonic wanted to retort how smug he was acting, but the deep rumble within the other’s chest mixed with the way his hand was gripping his thigh sent something electric up his spine. He shuddered.

It was then that the kiss began to transition from sweet to passionate as Sonic suddenly felt his back hit a nearby tree. Knuckles’ hand had shifted from his back to cup his jaw, idly running down his neck before tracing back up to pull him in deeper. Sonic whimpered — fucking whimpered — as his hands went up to curl into long red dreads. He pulled slightly, drawing out a low groan that teetered on the edge of a growl from the other, and holy shit did that do something to him. His stomach fluttered in that wild way that he was not only getting used to but perhaps becoming addicted to. His heart stuttered in his chest, his head getting light and making him dizzy-

Oh, shit, wait, he needed to breathe.

Sonic pulled away — reluctantly, as oxygen wasn’t as high on his list of priorities as it should have been — and took a moment to gather air into his lungs; yet as he opened his eyes, he felt the same air he’d just reclaimed get stolen away again. Knuckles looked back at him with nothing short of pure desire: His eyes were lidded and unfocused, his heavy breaths growing softer as they passed through his kiss-swollen parted lips. His face was nearly as red as the rest of him, and his dread-like quills were sticking out in random directions thanks to Sonic’s fervent hands.

He looked irrefutably lovestruck, and Sonic wondered if he looked any different.

After a few moments, Sonic slowly began his descent from cloud nine, and he became more aware of the uncomfortable scratching of the tree bark behind him. His ear twitched awkwardly as he spoke, his voice uncharacteristically breathless, “Hey, uh…as nice as this is, I’d kinda prefer to have my feet on the ground.”

Knuckles blinked back at him slowly, eyes still dreamy and distracted, “…Hmm? Oh! Yeah, yeah, ‘course, my bad!”

With the utmost care, Knuckles set Sonic down, brushing off his back from where his quills had caught hold of a few pieces of bark. The gesture that Sonic would have shied away from earlier was now welcomed with open arms, that same warmth blooming in his chest as the echidna carefully picked his quills clean before brushing his fingers through them in an attempt to smooth them out. It wasn’t anything special — just a simple act of sincerity and kindness — but it brought a smile to Sonic’s face all the same.

“Ah, there we go,” Knuckles announced, plucking one final chip of bark from behind the hedgehog’s ear, “Sorry about that, dude. Guess I got a bit carried away.”

“Knux, I don’t ever want you to stop getting carried away,” Sonic chuckled, the honesty of his statement making him feel all giddy inside. Huh, maybe Amy was onto something about the whole ‘talk-about-your-feelings’ thing.

Knuckles blinked down at him, then his face split into a grin as he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “Heh, if you say so…”

“Would you two get OFF MY LAWN?!”

The sharp voice snapped the boys’ eyes away from each other as their heads jerked over to meet its owner. Sonic blinked several times in stunned confusion before a spark of recognition lit in his head, “…guacamole guy?”

The ‘guacamole guy’ in question — a short black monkey holding a hamper of laundry — just scowled at the two, “It’s Monkey-Boy! Yeesh, ya think you’d remember the guy who saved your sorry butts from a curse that one time.”

“Wait, the moose one?” Knuckles chimed in, “Wasn’t that, like…seven years ago?”

“No, it was seven weeks ago,” Monkey-Boy corrected, “Time doesn’t pass in canon like it does in real life. Anyways, like I was sayin’: GET OFF MY PROPERTY! How’s a guy supposed to do his laundry while two hormonal teenagers are making out on his front lawn?!”

“Wuh- we weren’t making out!” Sonic sputtered, “We were having a very emotionally mature and enlightening moment!”

“Yeah! And then we made out!” Knuckles concurred, paying no mind to Sonic’s hushed “No no, Knux-”.

The monkey rolled his eyes, “I don’t care if you guys were rehearsing your wedding vows. If you’re gonna be shoving ya tongues down each other’s throats, do it somewhere else!”

Suddenly, the monkey’s eyes widened with horror, “And what have you done to my great-grandmama’s cemetery?!”

“Your what now?” Sonic glanced behind him at the boulders Knuckles had been messing with earlier, and his stomach dropped as he whipped his head to face the other, “ Knux! I thought you said they were just rocks!”

“Aren’t they? I mean, look at them,” Knuckles shrugged — completely unbothered — before turning back to the now-fuming monkey, “Hey, why’s your name Monkey-Boy? Aren’t you, like, thirty?”

Sonic was quick to grab Knuckles’ hand and speed off toward home before they were left to the mercy of a hamper of dirty laundry.

                                                            ~

To an outside viewer, things didn’t change that much: Team Sonic was as tight as ever, often seen hanging out at Meh Burger, goofing off on the beach, or swooping in to save the day from one of Eggman’s painfully predictable schemes. However, if one were to look closer, they might notice the way Sonic and Knuckles would glance at one another, how they casually held hands whenever they could, or see how easily the hedgehog’s face would flush at the smallest little things the echidna did.

Of course, Knuckles did stand on the edge of the well in the square with a megaphone to loudly announce “CITIZENS OF HEDGEHOG VILLAGE! I AM OFFICIALLY DATING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG! HE IS MY BOYFRIEND AND I LOVE HIM VERY MUCH!” before he was hastily ushered off by a thoroughly embarrassed Sonic, so it wasn’t like their relationship was a secret.

Sonic still struggled with the whole “feelings” thing, but Knuckles was patient. He often asked him before doing certain things like hugging or kissing, but sometimes Sonic wondered if he’d preferred the surprise with the way his chest swelled every time Knuckles would do so, eyes bright and tail wagging back and forth behind him as he desperately tried to hold back.

He’d be lying, though, if he said he didn’t like the way Knuckles would shower him when he said yes, squeezing him just tight enough to not hurt and peppering his face and neck with kisses, relishing in the way Sonic would giggle uncontrollably.

But you didn’t hear that from him.

[storiesofsvu]

Sweet As Pie

Addison Montgomery x reader Warnings: minor language, minor mentions of alcohol, just all fluff. A wee lil drabble folks, covering the "autumn festival" square for @adarafaelbarba 's bingo!

Despite thoroughly enjoying her stint out in Los Angeles, Addison had to admit, she was glad to be back in Seattle. Sure, it rained a hell of a lot more, but honestly it rained in California too, and at least here she got to actually experience proper seasons. Her favourite of which was autumn, made even the more better by the fact that it also happened to be your favourite. It was an easy discovery, the two of you had gotten together during the winter, spending the spring falling in love and the summer on a lavish vacation split between New York and the Hamptons. It was on a walk late one night that you stepped on a crunchy orange leaf and let out a probably over dramatic gasp, thrilled at the first leaf of autumn. Once the two of you were back in Seattle you were all the rage in planning weekly date nights of every single autumn themed thing you could think of.

Addi spent weekends in the kitchen with you, peeling apples to make cider, pies and jams. You eagerly decorated the house for Halloween, mainly on the outside with a few things right in the entry way for the trick or treaters to see on Halloween night. You curled up on the couch every Friday with a new fall themed movie, cozy sweaters, warm blankets and mugs of spiked warm apple cider. You went through your yearly pumpkin phase, smiling warmly and filled with so much love when Addison would bring home every and each pumpkin flavoured treat she found.

One of your favourite things to do together each fall was the Harvest Festival at Pike Place Market.

You strolled through the market hand in hand, stopping in at nearly all the stalls, either picking things up or making a mental note to buy the bigger, heavier things on the way out. You sampled more than your fair share of treats and drinks, indulging in as many of the boozy options as you could, knowing you had the next day off. One of your personal favourite parts of the festival was the professional pumpkin carving contest, and they weren’t your run of the mill pumpkins, they were all giant, very oversized ones leading into a very dramatic contest. One that Addison couldn’t help but beam down at you at just how excited it made you and how into it you got, yelling and cheering the contestants on, taking bets on who was going to end up winning.

You enjoyed the live music, live art demos and even more before winding your way back through the marketplace. You’d barter with each other on what things you wanted to buy on the way out, Addison usually presenting the argument that two of the things you wanted were basically the exact same and you’d simply giggle, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before explaining how you thought they were different. Naturally, you’d always win, leaving the market with full bags and even fuller, happier hearts. On the walk home you’d pick up a few leaves here and there, only the prettiest ones that you deemed worthy of saving, pressing them between sheets of wax paper in the biggest books in the house later on.

Once home, Addison would press a gentle kiss to the side of your head, placing the bags down onto the kitchen island before darting away to change, bringing you back the coziest of sweaters. In the meantime you’d put away everything you’d bought, turning the stove on to heat up some beef and stout stew you’d picked up at the market. There were autumn apple bourbon fizz premade cocktails to pour out into your favourite glasses and freshly homemade pumpkin pie for dessert too. Addi surprised you with crispy yet still fluffy sourdough bread to server the stew in and she couldn’t help but chuckle at the sudden sparkle in your eye at the thought.

After you’d served everything up she’d wrap a steady arm around your waist, kissing your cheek softly as the two of you wandered back into the living room and settled on the couch. The television was turned on to Practical Magic and a small smile would break out on both of your cheeks as the rain began to patter against the windows. The day of the festival was always the most magical, somehow one of the most romantic days of your year together, and it always ended just as wonderful, with the two of you curled up on the couch with some incredible food, drinks, entertainment and most importantly, the person you fancied the most in the entire world.

You let out a happy hum, nuzzling into Addison’s shoulder and she smiled, leaving a kiss on the top of your head.

“You have a good day?”

“How could I not?” You turned your head to look up at her, “I mean, every day with you is already the perfect day. This one just had the added bonus of autumn stuff.” She couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“You’re sweeter than pumpkin pie, you know that?”

“Only for you baby. Only for you.”

Yes, there truly was something incredibly tender about autumn in the Montgomery household, and you would forever and always be thankful that you got to spend the season and holidays together, because there was no place either of you would ever be.

________________ @svulife-rl @temilyrights @summergeezburr@anya-casablanca @ssa-sapphic @ms-calhoun @clarawatson @hbkpop @itisdoctortoyousir @emilyprentiss4life @andreasvu @softgamerking @somethingimaginative17 @borg-queer @swimmingstudentchaos891 @newyorker14 @red1culous @thatesqcrush @imlike-so-gaydude @disneyfan624 @oliviaswifey @littlegaybabe @mysticfalls01 @bumblebear30 @molllss @solemnnova @mmmmokdok @imaginaryoperagloves @samwithnoplan @multifandomlesbianic @muscatmusic18 @ladysc @drduckthief @narvaldetierra @dxtery @kellykidd @poisonedcrowns

[sophsicle]

I can't for the life of me remember who you cheer for, but are you excited for playoffs?

I'm a hurricanes gal myself and we're playing islanders which is father in laws team so can't wait for trash talk but hopefully we win (hubby will be against us too since devils are out) 🏒

I am both excited and terrified for the playoffs!!!

I am rooting for the leafs (which is likely going to be soul crushing but here we are, i love a good tragedy)

I'm also rooting for the Canucks! I really hope they get it this year, Quinn Hughes is such a lil guy

[mayor-brandy]

The Post Office 📮 (version 2!)

[jmdbjk]

Happy Tumblr Anniversary to me

Exactly 1 year ago I started blabbing on this hellsite. A lot happened in one year...

• Oct. 2021: In the Soop 2: people were analyzing the clues Bam was throwing down to prove if Jimin and Jungkook lived together. And then we get this followed by an invitation to partake in ramen:

• Also Oct. 2021: Jimin’s birthday VLive when he made a phone call to JK (suspiciously staged?) and Jungkook immediately (less than 1 minute) zips up or down the elevator to join him briefly. 

• Nov. 2021: BTS historically wins the AMAs Artist of the Year Award and during that acceptance speech, JK had us hanging because “in 2022 we’re gonna focus on....” feeding jk some pizza…

• Also Nov. 2021: The PTD LA VMinKook VLive when Jimin and Jungkook officially name their (fake) YouTube channel “Mingoogie.”

• Dec. 2021: Jin unleashes Super Tuna on an unsuspecting world and surprised himself with an instant hit.

• Also Dec. 2021: the creation of individual Instagram accounts and we are blessed with a series of photos from Santa Monica Beach including this one... 

• Jan. 2022: The Hunger Games of Artist Made Merch began. 

• Also Jan. 2022: the world stopped for a week from Jan. 31-Feb. 5 when Jimin was admitted to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy and treatment for COVID simultaneously.

• Feb. 2022: Jimin finally is discharged from the hospital and goes home to recuperate and shares with us on Weverse that he’s watching “The Notebook” for the nth time. 

February was a particularly meager month for us as we did not get as much content as we had been. 

• March 2022: We discover Jimin’s new moon tattoo and his “Youth” tattoo behind his ear and we collectively freak out. And JK seems to have covered some of his tattoos…and we start seeing more nipples... the normalizing of naked Bangtan has begun...

• Also March 2022: Jimin blesses us with the “air ass slap” video. 

• April 2022 (the month that kept on giving): Jimin April Fools us by changing the Twitter handle of the BTS official account to Jimin Park and every post appears like this:

Also April 2022: The Grammy Awards... and Rolling Stone inadvertently reveal they are Jikookers:

Also April 2022: PTD Las Vegas...

May 2022: The Perilla Leaf Debate raged on... and proved they can’t be a couple because those darn leaves get stuck together. Ok whatever you say...

Also in May 2022: BTS is invited by the White House and President Biden to speak during our National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And they did amazing...(this photo is surreal)...(and we see you Jimin and JK)...

Also May 2022: Jikook just Jikooking in Washington DC at Dave and Busters? (courtesy of @uarmyhope). 

June 2022: The bombshell heard ‘round the world. BTS going on hiatus/not a hiatus, BTS embarks on Chapter 2... and oh look, Namjoon already said they would perform Run BTS (actually practically spoiled that choreography was being created for it) and right before this he sort of said old songs like Mic Drop and Fake Love might be popular with fans but they are ready to move on from them... go watch it again. Calm down people. 

July 2022: Hobi killed it with Jack in the Box and Hobipalooza.

Also in July 2022: They are THAT couple at a party...

Aug. 2022: VampKoo drops and Armys (who were in the midst of some sort of Werewolf fantasy) were in shambles...

Sept. 2022: Jungkook’s birthday WeLive (with his lil hairclips) and Jin’s interrogation of who came to wish JK happy birthday in person...

Also in Sept. 2022: All we needed was a leather-gloved hand to cause a massive orgasm within the fandom...

Oct. 2022: Jimin’s birthday... the thirst trap birthday wish/invitation/horn-fest...

And here we are, full circle. So much more happened other than what I mentioned here! But I hope everyone can see what has remained consistent: Jimin and Jungkook being together. Now we are waiting for the big event of the year, Yet to Come in Busan. We’ve seen the sneak peeks of them rehearsing and we know Jimin and Jungkook are STILL happily being in each other’s space. 

Also, the constant downplaying of what they are and have. So. much. energy. wasted. on that. Just accept it my friends. It is what it is. 

And these words I’ve seen more times in the last year than in my entire lifetime before BTS: hypocrisy and heteronormativity. And the big “H” word... homophobia. Attitudes and views that are sadly still prevalent. I will admit, I have LEARNED A LOT being here. If only everyone else were capable of opening their minds to ideas that might be different than what they think they know.

On a much brighter note, I’ve encountered many of you who follow my crazy ramblings and you have enlightened me, made me feel like I belong here, bring me joy and make me smile every day. I will keep saying it, I love you all. We are in this Bangtan shit together and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Looking forward to what’s to come. 

[lulucutie2nitexd]

I'll love You until the end of Our timesੈ✩‧₊˚

Kaedehara Kazuha x Reader

{Revamp because it was a lil weird ngl}

Type: Angst

Tw: substance abuse, depression, self harm, pregnancy mention

Context: Kazuha fled inazuma in a rush, leaving behind his fiancé and unborn child. The last thing You saw of him was him gifting You a beautiful poem written on only the finest paper with the most beautifully neat ink. All is well until he meets the traveler.

Feminine/afab reader

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

"In haste he takes flight,

Leaves behind love and unborn,

Heart heavy with woe."

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Those where Kazuha's last words upon leaving the series of islands that make up the electro nation. The man leaves with haste, paddle of boat in hand thrusting against the waves of the deep blue void. Previously that morning, cuddling with his beloved fiancé and their unborn child, is the only thing on his mine.

It shatters Kazuha's heart to leave his family, to leave his clans pride. Even if there wasn't much to the name anymore. All on his mind was his spouse's soft eyes gleaming at him, drawing him in. He knows his child will have that feature. He can't bear to think about it, he is abandoning his own child.

His life was peaceful, calm, splendid, up until the moment his friend had challenged the shogun. Rid inazuma of that cruel puppet that now taunts him in his dreams. The cruel puppet that has taken his life away, his family, his love, his passionate friendship.

He knows it's not healthy, but sometimes he just can't help but take a hit of the weed. It's what truly numbs his mind enough to stop the pain. Enough to numb his mind looking at every scar he's ever gained in his previous life, he begins to wish those scars where open again, he begins to wish that he could relive those moments as if he was existent in those times. With you.

He is loyal, no other women has satisfied him. He hopes that deep down you have not remarried or forgotten about him. He hopes that the child is healthy and beautiful, he hopes that you can provide for your child and yourself comfortably. Nothing hits harder than the dose of love he received with You. No amount of weed will compare to the ecstasy he felt.

Kazuha lacks motivation to do basic every day activities. He doesn't enjoy waking up, he doesn't enjoy eating, he doesn't enjoy poetry, he doesn't enjoy doing anything anymore. His mind constantly on the issue that he is bombarded with daily. He constant fights his mind, he constantly looks for a spark that went out when he left.

He's this way until he meets a certain traveler, the motivation, the soft expression, their beautiful features, their gloriously unique personality. The traveler illuminates his world. Slowly forgetting about you as he spends time with the traveler, slowly forgetting about his child, and Tomo.

It's not until the hunt decree ends that You see him again. Giggling and reminiscing with the traveler. It was all fun and games until he calls them a very specific nickname that he once called You. "My golden maple leaf". your heart shattering, falling into the void. You where vulnerable to him, you where loyal all those years he was away. Refusing to rewed and find another partner. Even Lord Ayato offered to take care of you.

You heard his soft voice calling out that name, turning around upon the realization that he was giggling, laughing with another women than in the sweet romantic way you once did together. Your heart crumbled to see this unfold. He movers her loose hair blond behind her ears, smiling at her with passion on his facial features.

She places her lips on his cheek. Although stunned for a moment he does not resist this affection, but rather smiles and blushes. Taking her hands in his own he stares at her with admiration. Although there was something wrong. Something in his heart twisted in pain. Something bothering him immensely.

Kazuha's face dropped as he tried to think of anything it could possibly be. He pulls away from the blond traveler who gives him a confused glance. He speaks slowly and softly "I cannot be with You, for I do not remember why though." He internally panics at this, remaining physically calm.

At the corner of his eye, the samurai noticed something.. familiar. Your kid, playing with the other kids from inazuma city. His beautiful silky white hair paired with your illuminating, attracting eyes. That's when he remembers everything. Running to the young one he stares it down and frantically whispers to it, "where is your mother?" The kid pointing at where it's mother was occupied.

Kazuha looking over hopefully, seeing what he wished for, His beautiful fiancé. Cautiously approaching the feminine figure. He says shyly "Miss, May I know your name?" He looks hopeful. You speak your name, and look behind you to the figure with the voice of your fiancé.

The samurai grabs your hands gently, noticing the beautiful band gifted to you when he proposed. He meets your gaze, falling in love again. "Did You remarry..?" He says softly, teare building up at the thought. You shake your head in response, 'No.'

To his satisfaction he smiles and gently kisses the back of your hand, but you pull away. Kazuha looking scared and worried questions what's wrong. You mention the traveler he was laughing with, whom he called the special nickname only you where called. Kazuha's chest aching with a burning desire for you, and a anxious need to explain himself. Retuning to his child, he embraces them warmly, tears slipping. "I have loved and missed You dearly my young one, I will be back and we'll be a family once more."

He may have not cheated, but he will need to win You back for now.

ੈ✩‧₊

Making 2 different outcomes soon!!

[lovely-english-rose]

Omg who's your Animal Crossing fave I want to know

Ours is the pretty popular Wolfgang but I love seeing weird favorites

ooooh I had him on my island for a while!! he's great!

my fave is frobert! hes a cute lil froggy 🥺 alot of people think hes ugly and they are wrong 😤 hes just a little guy!!! friend shaped!

he was one of the original villagers to my wild world town and ive adored him since! and he stayed with me for two whole years which is pretty remarkable for the previous titles! i never got him in city folk or new leaf, but i have his amiibo card so i was able to reunite with him in new horizons very quickly ;w;

[ghostlywhiskey]

ohhh islanders fans usually don’t like us leafs because jt came to us but y’all are lucky to have barzal he’s good. but i grew up in Pittsburgh during golden era of the penguins so they will always have my heart first, but you’re so real for that auston comment why is he so fine???? (as long as the hat stays on)

pls i had a JT jersey & my ass was heartbroken and i may have duct tape on his name but its FINE HAHA cause like how can you blame someone for going home to the organization they grew up being a fan of as a kid & everything idk i can totally get it i feel people get so riled up and are like traiTOR but at the end of the day these are still people and its also a business but ppl forget that

the real anger i had was when matt martin went to the leafs for 2 seasons thats when i didnt like y’all i was BITTER but he came back and thats all i could ask for

AND AS LONG AS THE HAT STAYS ON FR I LOVE HIM BUT THAT HAIRLINE LIKE BABY. I WEAR EXTENSIONS AND I JUST WANNA BE LIKE LETS GET YOU A LIL SOMETHING. but like his beanie & snapbacks are such a savior he looks so fuckin fine fr

[bitchinbarzal]

Hey! Saw ur post about toronto. I just moved to Toronto so I'm still new but looking for things to do and places to eat too! I heard the Kensington market is a pretty cool place for thrift stores (lots of college and sports clothes hehe) vintage shops, and cafes. There's also a bunch of food places down yonge street including a cool Lil food truck section with food from various countries which I def recommend :) and ofc there's your classics like the cn tower, ripleys aquarium, Eaton center (shopping mall), and so many museums to visit! Not to mention going to a leafs/marlies/raptors game ;) if you're into drake or ovo he did a collab with the University of Toronto but I'm not sure if there will be anything left in stock but you can check that out if you want. That's all I can think if for now, have fun bestie!!

Thank you thank you 🤍

I’m going to the Islanders v Leafs game the day after I arrive and I extended my trip to see the Sharks game too.

I think I’m going to a raptors game we’re just undecided.

I feel like the cn tower is a must do as a tourist lol.

but thank you for your suggestions love I’ll update if/when I do them lol 🤍🤍🤍