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#maybe next year y'all
fatal-blow · 2 years
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I posted 75 times in 2022
54 posts created (72%)
21 posts reblogged (28%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@fatal-blow
@fatal-rewrites-warriors
@toastyglow
@kaligulas
I tagged 64 of my posts in 2022
Only 15% of my posts had no tags
#my art - 24 posts
#priscilliam - 14 posts
#fantasy - 9 posts
#art - 9 posts
#dnd - 8 posts
#character design - 7 posts
#dungeons and dragons - 7 posts
#elves - 6 posts
#elf - 6 posts
#fataldrabbles - 6 posts
Longest Tag: 114 characters
#i'm thinking the elf is the aasimar's dad and the reason he left his country and eventually ended up in herrinhoff
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
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possible dragonborn adopt? ���
144 notes - Posted January 15, 2022
#4
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i went?? fucking apeshit doing the riverclan belts kjfdh good i love them so much tho
169 notes - Posted October 17, 2022
#3
yo send me as many songs written by or about queers my friend is building a playlist
Edit: link to the playlist if anyone is interested
191 notes - Posted June 16, 2022
#2
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So I lined and re-coloured that elf design I did! As an NPC, his name is Wihlin and he works at the University, but here are some elf facts:
Like an owl, they cannot move their eyes and must move their entire heads
Very tall. Like, easily 7' tall
They can't fly naturally, but they often float instead of walking to burn away excess mana
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is to the elves as nearsightedness is to humans. Decorative finger braces are just as common as eyeglasses, and can be very fashionable!
Culturally very xenophobic. All elves born in the Shiiv are marked with a rune under their tongue that prevents them from sharing information about the country with outsiders.
553 notes - Posted March 18, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
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orcs and elves babey
y'all know that one post about the two university profs that seem to hate each other, but it turned out they were married? that's these two at Herrinhoff University
1,005 notes - Posted February 4, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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whatapunderfullife · 7 months
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us, for years, headcannoning Riz as a paladin of Cassandra only for Fig to come up with it in a pure adhd way (and absolutly crush it getting her cleric a 6th level spellslot) will never not be hilarious
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gingermintpepper · 2 months
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Happy Thursday! Have a list of some of my favourite underrated Apollo factoids!
Father of the Lapiths (and by extension the Centaurs)! While Chiron wasn't Apollo's by birth, an alternate telling of the genesis of centaurs did place Apollo as their father when his lover Stilbe bore him twin sons - Lapithes and Centaurus. Much like the more popular version of the centaurs' genesis which has them as an analogue for wild and untempered desire, this version also features the centaurs causing chaos - both by choosing to mate with the wild mares of the mountainside which resulted in their half man-half horse appearance and by causing a terrible uproar during a wedding ceremony (which, of course, is an alternate telling of the centauromachy wherein Apollo himself comes to quell the wedding quarrel as opposed to Heracles) There's a whole great deal of psychomachia embedded in the opposing of the centaurs with humanity and I've always loved this version due to the way it highlights that centaurs do have the same capability for good that humans do as they have the parentage, but it's their choices that make them beastly - not the circumstances of their birth.
Eurytus, the original owner of the Apollonian bow Odysseus uses and the one Penelope sets apart for the suitors to string in her challenge, was Apollo's grandson. He was such a skilled archer that Apollo gave him one of his own bows and he was even believed to have taught Heracles archery. Unfortunately, he became rather prideful about the whole thing and declared himself an even better archer than Apollo and proceeded to challenge his grandfather to an archery contest wherein Apollo gave him the honour of shooting first and then promptly shot him dead with his own arrow for his insult. Apollo passed the bow on to his much sweeter great-grandson Iphitus who later gave the bow to his good friend Odysseus.
Despite boars usually being regarded as creatures of wild, raging temperament, there's a particular curiousity about the Erymanthian Boar not being called to be slain by Heracles but instead retrieved alive. According to a couple different versions, the Erymantian Boar was either the boar Artemis summoned to kill Adonis for Aphrodite having killed Hippolytus (and thusly, was named after Erymanthos, the marshy region sacred to the goddess where it wandered) or Apollo himself transformed into a boar to kill Adonis because Aphrodite blinded his son Erymanthus (which, accordingly, would be the reason for the boar's name) who saw the goddess bathing after she'd had sex with Adonis and tattled on her (this, naturally, would've occurred between Persephone and Aphrodite's 'cold war' for Adonis). Either way, the Erymanthian Boar was a sacred animal to the twins and provides a very interesting bit of depth to what is one of the more overlooked labours of Heracles. (There's even a bit about a particular temple of Apollo's claiming that they had the boar's tusks enshrined there)
According to Nonnus' Dionysica, after the whole Hyacinthus affair, Apollo had a bit of a phobia of the wind. In particular, there's a passage that describes "...when Zephyros breathed through the flowery garden, Apollon turned a quick eye upon his young darling, his yearning never satisfied; if he saw the plant beaten by the breezes, he remembered the quoit, and trembled for fear the wind..."
In the early days of the Bohemian Grove (that is, an exclusive American gentleman's club) one of the earliest productions put on at their annual meeting is an original work by early American author Will Irwin. His work, which was played at the 1904 meeting, was called the Hamadryads and features a Greek myth OC called Meladon who kidnapped the titular hamadryads (who were actual spirits in greek myth) and trapped them in trees. The play ends when Apollo descends and slays Meladon with an arrow, freeing the hamadryads. This isn't strictly related to classical greek myth but it is also, by far, one of the wildest things I've ever learned while researching modern theatric adaptations of greek dramas and tragedies because the Bohemian Grove is also the center of many conspiracy theories which involve concepts like the New World Order and other such secret society beliefs. Naturally, I had to share this information.
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tuliptic · 2 years
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How To Overcome Your Fears
Thank you to @bichou-angel​ for suggesting this PAC idea. Know that I love it a lot.
Piles go from left to right, up to down. Memos and notes used here are by me, everything is literally by me. And I do not consent my work being used by third parties in other websites as well.
Now. Breathe in with me, and then breathe out. Picked your pile? Let’s scroll down to see what are the messages for you.
Disclaimer: This is solely for my entertainment purposes. Take only whatever you feel like it. If it doesn’t resonate, it’s okay to just drop it.
Decks used: Linestrider Tarot Deck, Luna Cat Tarot Deck (Major Arcana), Flower Petals Oracle Deck, Sweet Dreams Oracle Deck, Starcodes Astro Oracle Deck, self made lyrics deck.
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Pile 1:
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How to overcome your fears? By letting go of what no longer serves you and by embracing your inner child. See, you’re prolly the type of person who loves to take things up upon yourself because you don’t trust others, or you are not comfortable with letting others to do tasks that will affect you (something like group assignment isn’t your forte cuz you tend to do 90% of the scope). It’s not easy to let go, but you have to accept your own flaws as well as the flaws of others. After that, you’ll need to learn to reconstruct the thoughts in your head where flaws are failures. Cuz you see them as something that doesn’t align with you, but sometimes (or most of the time), others may see your method as authoritarian and whatever you do doesn’t align with them. Acceptance is difficult, but it’s necessary, and that’s one of your biggest challenges to overcome. Be here at the present with willing hands and heart.
You may have a lot of nurturing to do, starting with yourself. However, instead of the feminine energy of nurturing, there's more of a… Divine sense to it. Along with some judgement that you really couldn’t help. Lemme give an example. 
You came across this PAC. Though your heart tells you to believe it, your brain couldn’t help but to be critical and just tries to deny some random people on the internet telling you that these are your fears and how you can overcome them. Someone online who doesn’t know you personally? Telling you your fears? Overcoming it just by “embracing your inner child”? Hello?
Yeah this kind of divine sense and judgement is what I’m talking about. It is not easy to let go of what you’ve been taught, which is good. But sometimes, you’re called to listen to your heart, only then you’ll be able to obtain a different sense of mental clarity, something that will be able to help you in the near future.
That aside, going back to the nurturing part. You’re called to nurture your inner child and to try again the things you’ve used to enjoy. For example, if you’ve used to enjoy drawing and arts, try going back into it again. If you’ve used to playing a musical instrument or composing music, try going back into it again. If you’ve enjoyed doing algebra equations and all, try going back into it again. It never hurts to do things you’ve enjoyed. Reconnect with your inner child through fun and play, nurture them, help them, heal them. Your life has been filled with a lot of confrontations, so try soothing them a little with some fun.
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Pile 2:
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Walking away from the past is what you need to do. There’s still so many fears in you because you’re still staying in the place that caused you the most hurt. You couldn’t control the things that have happened, so the better option towards it is to leave. But of course, to leave requires a lot of strength and courage, and it’s gonna be worse if you don't have proper financial assistance to leave. Either ways, you’ll find the courage and the opportunity to get out. There’s The Sun in this pile, but instead of seeing things will turn bright, I’m seeing it as a chance to get out. Toxic situations won’t turn nice cuz it’s already fermented and bad there for so freaking long. 
I’m also seeing fears of disappointing others in this pile? Which is why y’all tend to take up a lot of responsibilities and burn yourself out in the process. You have this innate uhh… Expression in you. It’s like deep inside you, you want to shine, you want the eyes of people to be on you. That’s why you took up a lot of tasks, even tasks that should be other people’s responsibility. You want to be liked. Thing is, you need to accept that your inner peace is more important than the visibility and fame you want to gain. Some people can have both, but are you one of them? If you’re not, you need to weigh which is more important, or you need to find a point of balance between these two. Sometimes, a quiet time for yourself, with yourself would be good for some introspection, where you welcome some comfort into your life, allow your guides to show up and send you any messages.
Treat yourself with care, give yourself the kindness that you'd want to receive. Letting go of self-criticism is your main task for now and know that your guides have been trying to send you so many powerful messages. Let yourself be free from your past. Know that your past doesn’t define you and you have a whole lot of abundance waiting for you in the future. It’s difficult to see it right now, it’s difficult to believe in it too. But know that it’s real. You’ve gone through so much, and it only makes sense when the Universe wants to reward you for all you’ve been through.
Take a deep breath, and let it all out. Do it a couple of times. Pat yourself on the shoulder for me. You’ve done well and you’ll continue to do your best of the day every single day. Expect a new you coming out bit by bit. Have some tea and welcome them.
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Pile 3:
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To all who picked this pile, I feel you a lot, because this is the pile I’ve picked and if it sounds personal, it’s mainly because I prolly subconsciously wrote it for myself.
There’s a lack of balance here, lack of control in this pile. This pile fears not having things in their control and tends to flail around when things happen because. They are not used to going with the flow. There’s this saying in Chinese that goes 船到桥头自然直 , which means things will naturally resolve itself when it’s here. However, my dear pile 3 are probably over-thinkers who can’t accept things to flow on their own. With this, the fear will make you lose your foothold and you’ll feel a lot of disappointments and upsets and a bunch of other not so nice feelings. I wouldn’t call them negative feelings cuz they’re all here for a reason.
You’re also prolly the type who feels caught up in the past, thinking of what you’ve done or said and how you could have fixed the problem if you said a certain thing. Once again, this is peak overthinking energy. You’re called to let those thoughts go, as they’re holding only you back. They’re not disturbing others but you only. Let the past go as it is over, and let your true self, a more experienced you, to step forward. Life’s a constant learning process, so don’t hold yourself too hard, let yourself learn, allow yourself to learn. Once you’ve accepted the fact that we’re all learning, then maybe your fears can lessen a bit. Remember, tomorrow is always a day of new hope.
There’s a childhood card present and it can talk about reconnecting to your childhood, to your inner child. Your inner child is like a divine whisper in your heart and you’re called to listen to it. I saw the word mirror and I think there’s some mirroring of activities (your inner child is mirroring something you do, or you’re mimicking something your inner child is doing), or there may be some reflection going on. Your dreams may be significant as well so maybe pay certain attention to certain themes that have been going on.
You’re called to take action now. Whatever that you’ve been wanting to do, now is the best time. Remember that you’re the co-creator of your life and destiny. A bunch of messages may come, there may be a bunch of things to do. But ultimately, you’re the one who needs to select which message to listen to, which items you should act on. If something’s too much for you to handle and you’re starting to feel anxious, try asking help and working with someone else to get things done?
Once again, remember, you’re no longer the you from the past days. You’re a new you facing a new challenge. Be kind to yourself. You’re facing so many things and it’s alright to let yourself be swept away at times. Remember to get up at the end of things or whenever you wanna fight it. I have faith in you.
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Pile 4:
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First of all, it’s time to evolve. Know that you may be an ugly duckling for now but it’s time for you to transform into the beautiful swan that you’re meant to be.
Next up. I’m not quite sure what the fears of this pile are, but I see that you tend to distract yourself with new projects so that instead of spending your time worrying about things, you can redirect the energy and focus on something new that you’ve wanted to do. You’re very conscious of your own fears and those who picked this pile have a clear and concise plan on how to manoeuvre around them, letting go of things that should be thrown aside. 
However, being aware of your fears doesn’t guarantee overcoming them. Sometimes you’re just moving away from it, ignoring it until one day it prolly gobbles you up. No fault in it cuz you’ll pick yourself up again and find ways to counter it during then. Still, have you thought of countering it when you’re feeling fine right now? Or you’re just confused and have no idea where to start? We’ll see what insights the cards have to offer you.
You’re called to stop taking up so many things and slowly let go of tasks that are burdening you, that are hurting you. There’s this Ten of Swords in reverse here, which tells me the pain they did is more damaging than wearing you down. You’ll need to utilise your thinking skills and let certain things and thoughts go. 
Another thing the cards are telling you is to make strong emotional connections with the important people in your life. It’s time for you to reconnect with your old friends and to maybe go for a cup of tea? Comfort of good company always helps in easing and healing past hurts that have been there. I have a feeling that these people are also here to help you to bring certain messages that you need to hear, bring forth certain changes so that you can transition into a new you.
There’s some strength in you that you need to unlock, so maybe it’s time for you to explore certain heritages of yours, and maybe you can get certain information or updates from there. You may even unlock a new skill from it, and it may even help you to be more at peace with yourself.
For some reason, reading also is significant. Pay attention to the words that appear around you and digest those messages. Maybe lyrics. Who knows, certain part of the lyrics may awaken something new in you, or allow you to cry out the tears that you’ve been holding in for so long that you never knew of. Letting them go only gives you space to focus on nicer things in life that can help you cope or deal with your fears.
Pile 4, your pile is one of the most difficult piles I’ve felt and I really hope all the best for you. I don’t know if my words are making sense right now cuz there’s clarity and confusion at the same time. Just drop me an ask or rb or comment if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer you.
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Thank you for reading until the end. Working on yourself, especially fears and past are not easy, and I’m proud of you that you’ve decided to work on yourself. Remember, it’s all baby steps.
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lots-o-doodles · 1 month
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✨ Adventures in Gardening Summer 2024 ✨
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Sago-san in his sprouting
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My morning glories are so bright and colorful they bring me a lot of joy
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koishua · 2 months
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will be cutting out all processed sugars. thank you and pls wish me luck
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hirazuki · 11 months
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Eöl & Aredhel (Tolkien) Cosplayer + editing: me Song: Darkness by Blackmore's Night Once upon a dark autumn night I was so very far from sleep I longed to walk beneath the stars Into the woods so dark and deep Neither myth nor fairy tale Could keep me from the path to the maze But eyes upon me I could feel Hidden in the shadows watching always Something in the darkness pulled me deeper Something in the madness eased my mind Was I awake or was I dreaming? Cut the strings that bind me to mankind
When you don't know other local Silm cosplayers or anyone who'd be up for this, so you gotta do it all yourself So, I got this crazy idea in my head several months ago and it wouldn't leave me alone, it's been eating away at my brain; I finally got Eöl together (doing a shoot with him this coming weekend! ^^), so I can now scratch it off of my list and find some peace at long last XD
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****
Motherfucker, y'all got me writing again, what the fuck?
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vintagesimstress · 1 year
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My gaming PC sounds like if it had stones inside one of the ventilators if I keep it turned on for longer than 5 minutes 🙃
No idea what's going on and still moderately hopeful that it's nothing serious, that it might be easily fixable... But until I have enough time to deal with this crap, there's no way I could use that cursed machine.
No finishing & publishing pieces which were almost done, no working on new ones, no playing, "no nothing".
Ef my life 🙃
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daydadahlias · 1 year
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JESS NO FUCKING WAY i started uni today and my wallpaper is a 5sos themed one so this girl was like omg are you a calum girlie? and i was like nope im solidly in ashton lane and she was like OMG I LOVED HIM BEFORE AND DURING YOUNGBLOOD ERA BUT I KINDA STOPPED IDK WHY and i had to excuse myself instantly lest i say kys to a complete stranger that i have to see for another 4 years
no bc who could really blame us if we attacked??? like would we truly be the ones to blame for that?? we were provoked. ash girlies (gn) deserve a pass.
im making all of us permission slips to beat people up <3
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lunasilvis · 2 years
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Thinking about life and the sun
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bylrndgm · 2 years
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i won't let you out of my sight.
byler week mmxxii - day vii (post season five).
picrew here
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gunpowder-gemini · 6 months
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We found a lost kitten and she's incredibly tiny. She has two collars (why?) so we know she's someone's. Unfortunately she's not chipped (vet thinks she's too young) so she's staying with us til we can find her owners.
She's VERY affectionate and keeps trying to suckle on my neck, which is weird but sweet.
Anyway if she looks familiar dm me and I'll give you more details, not gonna dox myself here 😅
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theflyingfeeling · 2 years
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Hi dear, so excited to see you doing Valentines promts again!
How about Olli/Allu having a very moomin date? 👀
Hiiiiii! I'm so excited to be writing these again! <3 Here it comes, my first Valentine's Day prompt fic of the season! ✨
First of all, I'm not sure if this is moominous enough for you, sweet anon, but I hope you like it nevertheless 💖
Second of all, this maaaaaaay have gotten a little out of hand, and not only in terms of the wordcount. You'll see what I'm talking about when you read it 🤭
It's kind of an AU, but nothing too specific, just your regular no-band AU in which Olli and Allu meet each other for the first time (in person). Again, read and find out 🙏
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words: 5708 (see? unnecesarily long 🙄 so you better make yourself a nice cup of something and just sit back for this one!)
rating: something between G and T, I guess 😅
trigger warnings: none, but prepare for a whole lot of pining and a bit of sillyness, as per usual 🥰
edit. now also on AO3 💖
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“Your Tinder date wants to take you where?”
Aleksi sighed as they stopped to wait for the traffic light to turn green.
“First of all, it’s not a date, and certainly not a Tinder one,” Aleksi corrected Niko for about the twelfth time that day. He still regretted telling his friend he was meeting this guy he had been chatting with on a discussion board almost daily for over a year. Too embarrassed to admit it was a platform for fantasy role play, Aleksi had seen it best to simply answer “online” when Niko had asked him how he had met Olli, which naturally had led to Niko promptly deciding “online” equalled a dating app. “Second of all, I don’t think he’s actually taking me to the Moomin Café, we’re only meeting there.”
“Of all the places in the city?” 
“It’s a recognizable landmark!” Aleksi exclaimed and proceeded to picture the two-metre Moomin statue that stood in front of the theme café dedicated to beloved literature characters. With a small smile forming on his lips, he then imagined his internet friend waiting for him beside it, hopefully wearing the cool leather jacket Aleksi had seen in pictures, and was almost left behind when Niko suddenly jaywalked across the street.
“Still,” his friend said when Aleksi strode to catch him up, “the place doesn’t exactly ooze romance.”
“I told you, it’s not–”
“Not a date? Then why on earth did you send me all those selfies of you posing in different outfits, asking for my opinion? I’ve never seen you want to impress anyone that bad without hoping to get in their Moomin sheets.”
“I’m not– wait, what?” Aleksi turned to look at Niko to see the man hardly able to hide his amusement.
“Well, since he’s taking you to a Moomin café I suppose he also has–”
“Just– just shut up, okay? Whatever he has in his bed is irrelevant because we are not–” Aleksi’s heart almost stopped when his eyes spotted the enormous Moomintroll down the boulevard and, indeed, a man he recognized as Olli standing next to it. To Aleksi’s mild disappointment, Olli wasn’t wearing the leather jacket but a simple outfit of black pants, a white t-shirt and what seemed to be a bucket hat on his head. He had a searching look in his eyes, stopping to glance at almost every passerby as his fingers fumbled with the zipper of the waist bag he was wearing across his chest.
“Is that him?” Niko whispered as they approached the front of the café.
“Y-yeah,” Aleksi said and cleared his throat, surprised to hear his own voice come out so hoarse and breathless, just because he caught a glimpse of his long-time internet friend for the first time in person.
All the way walking downtown, Aleksi had been annoyed by Niko’s insinuations about the date (which was not a date) with his online boyfriend (who was not his boyfriend), all the while trying to calm down the strange feeling in his stomach that he tried to explain with having drank too much coffee at breakfast (which he chalked up to barely having slept the previous night (because his head had been full of Olli and his rosy cheeks and gentle eyes until dawn, stuck in his mind after they had said goodnight to each other on Skype at two in the morning)). He had rolled his eyes at Niko’s merciless teasing, because there was no way he was going to admit he had been counting the days until they’d finally see each other face-to-face, sighing longingly or giggling into his pillow whenever he imagined even standing in front of Olli, mere metres away from all that charm and beauty that had Aleksi forget his lines during role play or smile to himself when he saw something that reminded him of Olli.
Maybe he’d even be bold enough to hug him. From Olli’s Instagram Aleksi had gathered Olli didn’t shy away from physical endearments, at least not with that curly-head blond Olli had told him was his best and oldest friend – “like a brother,” Olli had said, and Aleksi tried to ignore why hearing that had been such a relief – but of course Aleksi couldn’t know whether being physically affectionate applied only to Olli’s closest friends. He wouldn’t blame Olli for wanting to just nod at him from a respectful distance on their first meeting; he was still, all things considered, just some random dude he had started speaking with on the internet one blessed day.
They were roughly ten metres away from the entrance of the café when Olli finally noticed him. When their eyes met each other, the curve of Olli’s eyebrows softened and his lips parted, but then he directed his gaze to Niko walking next to Aleksi, and suddenly he looked just as lost and nervous as he had just moments before while he had been waiting for Aleksi to show up.
“Right, I guess this is where I leave you to it. If he turns out to be a serial killer or some other kinda lunatic, just give me a call and I’ll come rescue you, yeah?” Niko tapped Aleksi’s shoulder and skipped to the other side of the street before Aleksi could argue that he was pretty convinced Olli was neither of those things and that he wouldn't need to be rescued, thank you very much.
Aleksi saw Olli’s shoulders relax as he walked closer, then his lips starting to curve upwards. When there were only a few metres separating them, Olli glanced at the ground before looking up at Aleksi again, no longer able to hide his smile. 
“Hi,” Olli said softly and stretched out his arms towards Aleksi.
“Hi,” Aleksi sighed, and when Olli pulled him into a hug he was sure he was going to cry. Olli felt as soft as he looked and smelled even better than what Aleksi had imagined in his head, of honey and perhaps a hint of citrus. 
“So good to see you,” Olli said, much closer to Aleksi’s ear than he had anticipated, so close that it gave him goosebumps, even though in Olli’s embrace he felt warmer than he ever had in his life before.
“Yes, at last,” Aleksi agreed. All the sudden dopamine in his system made him so daring that he nudged the side of Olli’s head with his, causing the man’s hat to fall off. 
“Woops,” Olli laughed as he noticed the impact their embrace had on his headwear and finally let go of Aleksi.
“Sorry,” Aleksi smiled, crouching to pick up the hat. Handing it back to Olli, he noticed the Moomin character embroidered on it.
In his mind, he saw Niko raising his eyebrows knowingly.
“Shall we go in? They have an offer on cinnamon rolls today.”
Did I not tell you so? Aleksi heard Niko’s voice in his head. 
Yeah, and? Aleksi telepathically replied to his friend; with the way Olli was smiling at him, a little shy and his Groke bucket hat somewhat askew as he held the door to the café open for him, Aleksi would’ve walked through the gates of Hell if that’s where Olli wanted to take him.
Aleksi nearly gasped when Olli touched his lower black lightly as they entered the café, gently guiding him forward to the cosy coffee shop that filled Aleksi’s nostrils with the mixed aroma of brewed goods and freshly-baked bun. They didn’t say much as they stood in the queue to the counter, just sort of smiled at each other, and Aleksi wanted so much to pull Olli in for another hug or at least hold his hand a little.
“So, umm, who was that, by the way? The guy you came with,” Olli broke the silence between them. Aleksi was in a hurry to answer when he noticed Olli’s smile had begun to falter.
“Ah, that was just my friend Niko. He insisted on escorting me, like some sort of…chaperone. He once had a Grindr hook-up steal his sunglasses, so he doesn’t trust anyone he meets online anymore.”
(There was no point arguing with Niko that maybe he had just lost them himself, because why would someone run off with children’s heart-shaped sunglasses that were no use for anything, least of all for blocking the sun, as the lenses were glittery and tinted pink.)
“Oh, so he’s like Joonas,” Olli rolled his eyes. “I believe he’s sitting in that Starbucks on the other side of the street spying on us, in case you decide to brutally murder me in broad daylight.”
“I guess that just means they love us?” Aleksi shrugged amusedly. 
“I suppose so, but why they gotta be so weird about it?” Olli laughed and shook his head. His sunkissed curls swayed on his forehead, and Aleksi felt the same urge to sweep them off with his fingers (or with his lips maybe) that he had often felt when they had been laughing together at something silly via Skype. Olli probably noticed his dreamy expression, as he was soon to smile at the floor below their feet, an attractive blush spreading to his cheeks which looked even more velvety in real life.
It seemed they had winded up in the middle of the worst rush hour at the coffee shop, for it took them several minutes to reach the edge of the counter. When they finally did, Olli turned his back to Aleksi to get a tray from under it, revealing the illustration on the back of his shirt. Aleksi remembered having seen that exact t-shirt on Olli before, with the small text on the left side of his chest, so he was taken by surprise staring at the print of a mountain and a rainbow peeking from behind it.
“So, umm, do you come here often?” Aleksi asked, thinking it would be a less awkward conversation starter than “nice shirt”, which would’ve only revealed Aleksi had been checking out his backside (which was quite nice, there was no denying that), but then he realised how tacky the opening line he had gone for must have sounded; he had heard Niko hitting on unsuspecting guys and girls at the bar with that exact question every Friday night.
For that reason, Aleksi sighed in relief when Olli turned back to look at him with a small smile, neither embarrassed nor bothered by his corny (but accidental) pick-up line.
“Every now and then. Their muddler cake is heavenly,” Olli replied, then added in a lower voice: “although it is quite pricey.”
“Their what cake?”
“Muddler cake!” Olli beamed. “It’s like mud cake, but, you know…. Muddler,” Olli then pointed at the stack of Moomin mugs in front of them, his index finger directing Aleksi’s gaze to a purplish mug with a character wearing a saucepan for a hat.
“That’s a… muddler?”
“Yeah.” Olli’s grin was even wider when he picked the mug up and set it down on the tray. “And that’s his sweetheart, Fuzzy.” Olli showed Aleksi a pink mug with a character in a wedding gown decorating its side.
“Should I get that one then?” Aleksi smirked, hoping the flirt (this time intentional) would not go unnoticed by the other man.
“Actually I have something else in mind for you, hold on…”
Aleksi watched as Olli eyed the collection of mugs in different colours until his finger stopped at another one of purple colour. Aleksi couldn’t pride himself on knowing a whole lot about Moomins, but even he could identify the character on this one as Hemulen, the philatelist friend of the Moomin family.
“Hemulen? Care to tell me why?” Aleksi inquired, squinting his eyes at Olli, whose smile went from ear to ear by then.
“Well, you know, ‘cause he’s… bald. Like you.” The restrained laughter was obvious in Olli’s voice.
“You’re comparing my appearance to that of a hemulen?! I could so easily be offended, you know. I thought we had moved on from the bald jokes by now.” Aleksi sniffed dramatically, although he could no longer force back his own smile. He had gotten used to his friends ridiculing his new haircut weeks ago already.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. To be fair, you look nothing alike: at least Hemulen has some hair on his head.”
“You better be paying for those overpriced muddler cakes,” Aleksi muttered, pretending to appear insulted but failing horribly, judging by Olli’s heartfelt giggles. 
“Oh, that goes without saying. You can actually go and find us a table, I’ll order and pay.”
Aleksi left Olli at the counter and hurried to claim the window table for two that had just become vacant. He gently removed the Moominpappa plushie that was sitting on the other seat and put it on the windowsill. While Olli was making their order of muddler cake and possibly some other Moomin-themed treats, Aleksi stared out the window to watch the people passing by, although he hardly registered anything he was seeing.
He had been too nervous to confess his feelings to Olli via web camera, too afraid of rejection, too anxious when thinking about the possibility of Olli laughing it off instead of returning his feelings. Many times he had broken his own heart by imagining how Olli would’ve been outraged by Aleksi claiming to have a crush on him when they had never hung out in person, or how Aleksi would make it awkward by having assumed Olli was into guys when they had never really had that talk. It wasn’t long ago since Aleksi had come out of the closet to his family and closest friends, so he was still a little cautious about who he confided in and was yet to figure out how to bring it up in a casual conversation without being too blunt or clumsy about it, but he had tried dropping subtle hints along the way. While he wasn’t sure of Olli’s orientation yet, he couldn’t help but hope that the lingering looks and the rainbow on his shirt meant something.
Before Aleksi could allow his mind to wander too far from his current reality, Olli appeared opposite him with a soft oof as he set the tray on the table between them. On two plates there were pieces of the alleged muddler cake, and on a third there was a large cinnamon roll for them to share, Aleksi assumed. The Moomin mugs Olli had chosen for them were now filled, with Moomin characters drawn on the creamy topping. Aleksi noticed one of them had a small heart next to Moomintroll’s head, a detail the beverage Olli claimed for himself was missing.
He mentally added it to the list of Possible Signs He Likes Me Too (But Let’s Not Get Our Hopes Up). 
“Mmmmh,” Olli hummed when he sipped his coffee. The cream left a small white line above Olli’s upper lip, on the tufts of facial hair he was sporting there. The sight was too adorable for Aleksi to say anything about it.
“It’s so nice to finally hang out,” he said instead.
“It really is,” Olli agreed. “And to think we live so close to each other, what took us so long?” he chuckled into his cup, making the cream on top of it waver.
“I know, right?” Aleksi chuckled back, albeit knowing exactly why, at least on his part: he had been scared of appearing too eager or too creepy or too anything to suggest they meet face-to-face, until Olli himself had brought it up the other day.
He had to take a sip from his own mug to gain more courage for what he was about to say next.
“You know, I… I’ve been looking forward to this ever since we made the plans. I really enjoy your company.”
Olli stopped forking his chocolate cake to look into Aleksi’s eyes, his features so soft and endearing Aleksi wanted to lean over the table and snog him silly already.
“Me too,” Olli replied, and suddenly it wasn’t only the coffee warming up Aleksi’s insides. “In fact, I…” Olli laughed shortly and turned to admire the pastry on his plate again, “I’ve been so excited I’ve hardly slept lately.”
“Oh,” Aleksi said, because oh. “I mean, you too?”
“Yeah,” Olli laughed bashfully, and there was clearly something extremely interesting in his muddler cake, as his gaze was nailed to the plate. “I can only hope my poor neighbour downstairs hasn’t made a complaint about me for stomping around in the middle of the night.”
The image of Olli pacing back and forth his living room with an expression not unlike the one Aleksi had seen on his face outside the café, just because he was too thrilled about their date-that-was-not-a-date, made Aleksi fall for the man even harder, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. As far as Aleksi knew, no one had ever felt that way about seeing him before, or at least no one had ever confessed it to his face.
“Well. Now we’re here,” Aleksi smiled at the man, almost crossing his fingers under the table in a prayer for Olli to look up at him again and make him feel those sweet little butterflies in his stomach once more.
His wish was granted when Olli did exactly that, his smile cuter than ever, if that was even possible.
“Yes. Here we are.”
After the sort-of confessions and the slight awkwardness was over and done with, their still-not-a-date-but-kinda-starting-to-look-like-one advance more relaxedly as they moved on to talk about the topics they usually discussed, from music to sci-fi movies to their favourite show wrestlers, until both their mugs were empty and there was nothing but crumbs left on their plates. They had spent over an hour just chattering away, but then Olli glanced at his watch and the approach of their inevitable parting began to hollow out Aleksi’s chest.
“I’m sorry, I’ve kept you to myself for too long, you must have other things to do today,” Aleksi said, although he would’ve done anything to keep Olli to himself just a little longer.
“I don’t, actually. Nothing but a pile of laundry waiting for me at home,” Olli answered as they stood up. The black bucket hat Olli put back on his curly head had seemed a little silly to Aleksi at first, but now he wished he wouldn’t have to let it out of his sight. “What about you? Any plans for the evening?”
“No, not really. But I should be going back home soon, or else Rilla will sulk at me for the rest of the day.”
Olli’s eyes brightened at the mention of the dog. “Oh, Rilla! I wish I could meet her too one day, I always love it when you show her on Skype.”
A wild thought popped up in Aleksi’s head; a silly, unimaginable, and completely absurd thought, but he decided to give it a try anyway.
(Niko wouldn’t have to know.)
“Why don’t you come and meet her now? My place is only a short bus drive away. That is, if you think your pile of laundry can wait a little longer still.”
The Groke hat did an excellent job at shading half of Olli’s face when they stepped outside in the sun, but Aleksi could still make out the smile sneaking on Olli’s lips, slowly but surely.
“I suppose the dirty socks won’t miss me too much.”
~
Niko would be disappointed if he knew, Aleksi thought to himself almost the first thing he opened his eyes the next morning.
Almost, because his first thought had been how cute Olli’s little snores sounded next to him.
His second thought had been how soft Olli’s hair looked, dishevelled and covering his eyes, before Aleksi had reached his hand to sink his fingers in it to discover it was exactly as soft as it looked.
And his third thought had been how enticing Olli’s lips were, how heavenly they had felt against his own the night before, how he couldn’t wait until Olli woke up so he could get a taste of them again.
Then, maybe as his fourth thought of the day, he could spare one for his poor friend, who only wanted the best for him. However, considering Olli was yet to show his homicidal tendencies by stabbing him with a kitchen knife, ransacking his entire house and kidnapping Rilla, Aleksi allowed himself to bask in the knowledge that Niko had been wrong, for once in his life.
They had entered the house with Rilla barking at Olli and Olli awwing at Rilla, until they had come to a mutual agreement of liking each other a lot, or so Aleksi gathered by the way they had later that evening snuggled on Aleksi’s sofa, almost making him feel like the third wheel. Aleksi had cooked them pasta for dinner and they had walked Rilla at sunset, admiring the colour of the horizon and finally holding hands when they had turned back home at the end of Aleksi’s street. Glasses of red wine had been poured and long, yearning looks had been exchanged as they had sat around Aleksi’s kitchen table until the wee hours, talking and laughing and simply enjoying each other’s company, after months of wanting to do nothing but that, but somehow both of them being too afraid to make the first move, as Aleksi had figured by then. 
Olli had already been on his way to the front door, out of Aleksi’s desperate reach, but something had stopped him, had made him stay, made him linger in Aleksi’s touch when they had hugged one last time. 
Aleksi’s breath had caught up in his throat and all his thoughts had fallen out of his useless head when Olli had glanced at his lips once, twice, perhaps a third time if Aleksi had given him the chance before bringing his own to Olli’s; he could no longer stand just imagining what kissing Olli would be like.
Now he knew; soft and delicate at first, almost hesitant, until Olli would wrap his arms firmly around Aleksi’s body and devour him, push himself even closer to Aleksi, despite the fact they were already pressed tightly together, skin on skin, mouth to mouth, heart to heart.
The bed had creaked when they had fallen on it, but soon after the room had been filled with entirely different kinds of sounds. If Aleksi wasn’t still flying high on the euphoria he had felt then, he might have been embarrassed about how needy he must have sounded. Instead, he was comforted by finally being sure Olli shared his sentiments, needed him close just as much as he needed Olli. Aleksi almost laughed out loud when he thought back to all that pining and wondering he had gone through over the past months, blind to the fact it had all been mutual; that Olli had felt exactly the same all along. 
Now, with the dawn already greeting them behind the curtains of Aleksi’s bedroom, Aleksi smiled as his unexpected (but oh so desired) overnight guest shifted beside him, nuzzling his cheek against the pillow. 
“Are you awake yet?” Aleksi asked him.
“Mmmmmmmhhhh,” Olli groaned in a way that sure awoke certain places of Aleksi’s body. “Maybe.” Olli’s speech was muffled by the pillow.
“Well, I suppose you’ll let me know when you’re awake enough to continue where we left off last night. I’m kinda missing those lips of yours, you know.”
Said lips then curved into a lazy grin (and almost burst Aleksi’s heart with bliss when doing so).
“C’mere then,” the lips mumbled, and Aleksi didn’t need to be told twice.
His plan of spending the morning in bed uninterrupted was threatened, however, when he heard a quiet ping from his bedside table.
Accompanied by loud objections from Olli below him, Aleksi reached for his phone to find a notification from a new WhatsApp message from Niko.
How did the Tinder date go? Please answer or I’ll assume you’re lying dead in a dumpster.
Aleksi giggled while writing his reply, with Olli peppering his chest with small kisses.
It was… Moominous 😏
Then Aleksi put his phone on silent, leaving Niko to wonder what ever he meant by that, and turned his attention back to something a little more urgent.
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[Meanwhile at the Starbucks across the street:]
The moment he stepped in the coffee shop and saw the man sitting by the window, Niko recognized him immediately; the bright blonde curls, the expressive blue eyes, and the plump red lips that were now pursed around a straw instead of Niko’s dick. The man was even wearing the same DIY style jean jacket he had thrown on the floor of Niko’s bedroom when they had made haste to undress each other on that steamy summer evening some weeks ago. The name scribbled on the plastic cup he was holding also matched the one imprinted on Niko’s memory.
On his forehead, half buried in the fluff of messy curls, Niko spotted a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses.
“You!” Niko gnarled at Joonas, who slowly moved his gaze from the window to Niko’s direction.
“Huh?”
“Thief!” Niko spat once he was standing next to Joonas’ table. It appeared seeing the man again after that night triggered something in him that resulted in only being able to form single-word sentences.
“Excuse me?” The way Joonas squinted his eyes told Niko his face didn’t ring a bell to him.
“Those are mine!” He pointed at the sunglasses resting on Joonas’ locks.
“Ummm, no they’re not? Also, who are you again?”
Niko clenched his fists; the audacity of this man, first for taking possession of his property, and secondly for not even remembering “the best cock he had ever had”.
“Those are my sunglasses that you stole from me after you… you know, after we…” Niko was hesitant to continue, nodding politely at the couple with two young kids in the next table following the scene with disapproval written on their faces.
“...After you ran away from wherever they were keeping you and you mistook me for someone else?” Joonas offered unhelpfully, a mix of confusion and amusement gleaming in his big, annoyingly alluring eyes.
Pure spite had Niko leaning in to whisper in Joonas’ ear.
“Don’t you dare pretend you don’t remember me when I milked you so good you probably couldn’t remember your own mother’s name for days afterwards.”
Niko closed his eyes and bit his lip when he felt Joonas’ hot breath in his ear, memories of their night together coming rushing back and going straight to his groin.
“Bold of you to assume that doesn’t happen to me every Saturday night.”
“You are unbelievable,” Niko growled back before standing up. “I’m afraid that makes little difference though. I’m here to collect back what’s mine, whether you plead guilty or not.” He straightened his hand towards Joonas as a request to be handed back his stolen possessions.
“Wait, are you actually being serious? You really think I’ve taken your sunglasses?”
“I know you’ve taken them!”
“I’ve never met you in my life, you madman!” Joonas insisted with creases on his forehead as he stood up and headed to the door. Niko followed him outside, not wanting to let those sunglasses out of his sight again.
“I don’t know what you were on that night to have been blessed with such a severe amnesia, but we have met before!”
“May I inquire where or when you think that happened?” Joonas’  lopsided grin was just as charming as the first time Niko had seen it. It made him furious.
“A couple of weeks ago. At that new LGBTQ club. After… after you DMed me on Grindr.”
“The Queer Room?” Joonas appeared to be racking his brain for a moment, then he shrugged. “Sorry, honey. I can’t say you’re the first guy with whom I’ve been palling around there.”
Joonas’s face looked genuinely apologetic, which made Niko wonder if he really was as clueless as he seemed, or whether he himself had imagined the whole encounter in his daydreams.
Still, it didn’t solve the mystery of his missing sunglasses, the sunglasses he was sure were the exact same ones the blond guy was now lowering on his nose.
“I guess you’re just gonna have to refresh my memory,” Joonas flashed that awful, sly, stunning smile of his again. 
“You wish.”
“Suit yourself,” Joonas shrugged again. “See you later, strange sunglass gu–”
Niko was livid at himself, for letting himself be bullied to take such desperate measures, but the deeper he stuck his tongue down Joonas’ luscious mouth, the more of it he wanted, had wanted since Joonas had sloppily kissed him goodbye before stumbling out of his bedroom.
They were both a little breathless when they broke the kiss. It took a while for Niko to realise Joonas was still holding Niko’s lower lip in between his teeth, until the man sucked on them one more time before letting Niko go. Niko’s own fists were still gripping the collar of Joonas’ jean jacket tightly.
“Wow. I can’t believe you actually gave in.”
…Wait.
“What?!”
“And I can’t believe you fell for that? Man, the Theatre Academy has no idea what they missed when they rejected me,” Joonas chuckled, wiping his mouth.
“You–” Niko let go of the man to inhale and exhale a few times before continuing, “you do remember me.”
Joonas tilted his head. “Oh, babes, I saw you bounce across the street before you walked in.” Then he lifted his hand to touch Niko’s chin. “I was instantly reminded of the night we shared.”
“Yet you have no memory of committing a theft?” Niko crossed his arms on his chest and lifted his chin to meet Joonas’ stare.
“That I genuinely don’t, because it never happened. Maybe this is just your subconscious telling you you miss me…”
“Oh, fuck off,” Niko snapped, trying to ignore Joonas’ hand sneaking on his hip. “The only thing I’m missing from that night are my fucking sunglasses!”
His outburst made Joonas sigh and roll his eyes. “Clearly you are not ready to consider the possibility we might own identical ones and that yours are just somewhere in your car or apartment.”
“Clearly you’re not ready to admit you mistook those as yours and just took them without asking!”
“Look,” Joonas moved his hand on Niko’s shoulder, “we could do this the whole day. Let’s just go to your apartment and–”
“So that you can steal more of my property?!”
“–AND I will help you find your stupid sunglasses! Since they’re so goddamn important to you.”
The thing was, they weren’t even particularly dear to Niko; in fact, they were more or less a kids’ toy, something he had bought as a joke when tipsy from margaritas, and pretty much useless if you needed something to shade your eyes from the sun. It was more about principle and dignity than anything else. (Tommi had not stopped giving him shit ever since Niko had told him about the incident.)
“And also to prove my innocence,” Joonas added, his lips pouting.
“Something tells me you haven’t been innocent since you came out of your mother’s–”
“You leave my mom out of this!” Joonas yelled at him from behind him when Niko began walking towards the bus stop. He made sure to wipe his smile off by the time Joonas caught him up.
~
“Where have you seen them last?” Joonas asked. They had been rummaging through Niko’s two-room for nearly ten minutes, and still the only pair of heart-shaped sunglasses they had seen were the ones sitting on Joonas’ head.
“On that chair in the hallway. Where you took them from.”
“Oh, just drop it already,” Joonas frowned. “You do realise I have things to do and places to be, yet I’m here helping you put your mind at ease about this puzzle, out of the pure kindness of my heart?”
The remark made Niko’s mouth snap shut. If (if!) Joonas was being truthful and knew nothing about Niko’s glasses, it truly was rather considerate of him to be there with Niko, turning his apartment upside down in search of the cursed piece of accessory, even if he also had his own reputation at stake.
“Well, they’re not under the sofa cushions either,” Joonas sighed and threw them back on the couch before slumping on them himself. “Is there a place we still haven’t looked?”
“I doubt they’re in the oven or in the bathroom sink cabin.”
“Oh, I’d check those too if I were you, just to be sure. You don’t wanna know where my friend Olli once found his phone after an unusually wet night out.”
Joonas’ anecdotes, as intriguing as they were, were of little help in their current task, so Niko decided he’s better off not knowing indeed.
“Did you check all your pockets yet? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve panicked, thinking my wallet’s been stolen when I had just forgotten it in the breast pocket of another jacket.”
“They’re not in my pockets.”
“Did you check though?”
Niko groaned at Joonas’ persistent eyebrow raise, but turned on his heels nevertheless. Once in the doorway, he started groping the jackets and shirts hanging from the coat rack.
“They’re not in my pockets, because I never put them in my–”
His hand touched something hard inside his grey hoodie, making him freeze.
Because he never did put his sunglasses in his pocket, not since his new Ray Bans had dropped on the pavement and broken into pieces. However, there they were, as if by some miracle, even though Niko could’ve sworn over his 00s nü metal CD collection that he had not put them there.
Or… maybe he had? His brain was too confused to make any sense of the situation.
“Oh, hey, you found them!” Joonas rejoiced as he joined Niko in the dim hallway. “Well, looks like you owe me an apology.”
The smile on Joonas’ lips was sweet as ever, and Niko couldn’t wait to wipe it off.
“Oh, I‘ll show you an apology,” he murmured and began pushing Joonas towards the bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s notes:
Aaaaahh it’s been a while since I last wrote an “after-credits” scene 🥰
I wanted to include Aleksi’s Moomin sheets somehow but I couldn’t think of a convenient way to do that (i.e. I didn’t want to make the fic any longer than it already was), so you’re just gonna have to do the job yourself and imagine they woke up in Aleksi’s Moomin sheets 💕
Muddler / Fuzzy / Hemulen (the new Hemulen one looks so nice 😍)
Moomin coffee art
The Moomin Café referenced here is partly a product of my imagination. The only Moomin café in Finland at the moment is at the Helsinki-Vantaa international airport. There used to be one in Helsinki but it was closed during the covid lockdown and from what I've heard/seen, they did have Moomin mugs (duh!), gigantic cinnamon rolls, and Moomin plushies that you could position on the chairs to keep you company (I never had the chance to go there 😔). I assume the Moominworld theme park in Naantali also has some kinda Moomin café (I’ve never been there either :\)
Muddler cake -> not a thing, I completely made that one up 😂 It’s ridiculous, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself with the word play!
...Sooooo, did the incident with the heart-shaped sunglasses go as told here, or did Joonas actually take Niko’s by accident, not realising this until he was at home, and then proceeded to keep them with him at all times in case he’d run into Niko again (let’s assume they hadn’t exchanged numbers and Niko had been so outraged about his stolen sunglasses that he had deleted Grindr) and then just put them in Niko’s pocket when Niko wasn’t looking, because why should he just admit he had taken them, especially with Niko storming in the Starbucks accusing him of theft, when he could play with Niko a little instead? Who knows 😏)
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bloodwards · 8 months
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when you have an incredibly stressful d&d session and come away from it frustrated and dreading the next one and two days later your DM has a Talk with you about you playing or not playing your character a certain way ✌
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no-naem · 2 years
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100 Kayano KaeDays - Day 42
Nakamura: "I bet you can't stuff 4 boxes worth of pocky into your mouth."
Kayano: "Fucking watch me."
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