#the whole. we've been aiming for the same goal these two years just from different directions. yeah. is the thing. and also ur drawn so

[joelletwo]

[youcouldmakealife]

Ok so we will be having a COTT March (I love those guys) and then some April Fools in late April....can I dare hope that we will be seeing some Georgie and/or Robbie too in the near future? (Forever and Always in Tandem (FAIT) maybe?) I'm honestly dying to hear about the modernists Taylor!!

You're pretty dead on. With the biggest of caveats one must give, especially when they're me, here's what the rest of the year is looking like.

It's the Official Schedule as of very recently, since I had to re-jig the whole thing to cram in 16 physio sessions, and I want to be transparent with you guys because it is different from what I initially planned, particularly that I lowered my minimum writing goal to 200k, about an 10% decrease, with all other writing goals reflecting that, and changed some timelines as well.

So, here's what's happening in 2025:

Previously, in 2025:

Jan - Wrapping SAIT, Big Annual Planning that lasts One Month.

Feb - Was supposed to be a get ahead month, but I dealt with a lot of healthcare stuff in Jan and Feb, including some time consuming testing. Add in the whole 'my country's sovereignty is apparently now in question' (I cannot overstate, to those who aren't in Canada, that everything I have seen and heard in recent weeks has strongly indicated that the relationship America has had with Canada is now over. We did our mourning and lamenting over the last few months, mostly amongst ourselves -- though great fucking timing with that international tourney, NHL -- and now it's the clear-eyed stone-faced acceptance of reality, unhinged as it is. Glad to see Europe seems to be doing the same.)

Ahem, sorry, there's been some processing going on for me this year, but processing is hard given that we're living in the stupidest fucking dystopia (Red-White-and-Blueland. I can't. This motherfucker. I can't.) and any attempts to get ahead have just lead to treading water. Thus the big re-jig that follows below.

What's still yet to come, 2025:

Mar - That's now! More healthcare stuff this month (fuck long COVID, seriously), including physio, but also trying to ACTUALLY get ahead now that I've lowered some of my expectations for this year (aiming for around 40-ish rather than 50-ish AO3 updates in 2025 is massive, workload wise) and doing a lot of the groundwork for Kickstarter, ie: setting up the campaign, financial work, etc.

April - I hopefully graduate from physio plus the real run up to my April Fools, which will be in late April and carry through to late May. We've got ourselves a Taurus. (Two, actually!)

May - main Kickstarter month! That will be like 75% of my job, the other 25% making sure everything else comes out on time.

June-July: These are head down writing months. With little to no hockey (early June has the SCF, and if my team's in them this is all null and void but that is...exceedingly unlikely this year), my schedule's wide open and I'm going to be working to get ahead on, well -- everything.

This is also when I plan on beginning to post the third part of the Tandem (which does have a title, though I figure I'll give it a better announcement than in the middle of an impromptu calendar).

Aug - I'm taking a week off at the start to do absolutely nothing, and then I'm making sure I've sorted out all my bits and bobs before I fly to England for my cousin's wedding (to a Brit, thus the locale). I've never been, so I've turned it into a proper little sightseeing trip as well.

September - I'm still in England (there 2 weeks total), as I'm spending a week by the sea for an Official Writing Trip. There will be scribbling in notebooks in cafes and drizzly walks along the shore and it won't be the right ocean but I don't think Gabe and Stephen would mind me starting it there.

Then I come home and do more writing, but the kind that doesn't look as cool in a montage.

This is when the Kickstarter extras will begin to go out, along with the beginning of the progress updates.

Oct-Dec: My season status quo, with the usual half work in December, while I make time for family and attempt to wrap as many in progress things as possible.

Basically, on AO3:

Jan - SAIT

Feb, Mar, Apr, May - COTT

June-Dec: COTT and ( )AIT, generally alternating 1-2-1-2, with the usual exceptions.

Kickstarter specific:

Now to Late April - prep, setup, promo, etc

Apr-May: Kickstarter Campaign

June/July: get started on admin, logistics, and begin work on the extras

Aug: Extras begin

Sep: Heads down work on the Kickstarter project (currently titled AF), continuing through remainder of 2025 and into 2026

[star-anise]

This is what the fight is like

Sooo, apparently the extremely tenuous and recent nature of the LGBTQ+ community's legal right to exist was not actually super widely known to a lot of people on Tumblr?

Which clarifies some stuff in retrospect. I have so often wanted to grab people by their lapels and shout, "Stop picking on someone for not meeting your entry requirements! We need everyone we can get, you asshole! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY HATE US OUT THERE?"

Aaaapparently... no, they did not know. Or they knew and were a conservative psyop preparing the ground for our loss of legal rights. Fun times!

So: Look, it is bad. Shit is scary. They really do hate us out there. You're not wrong.

But: This is what we've always fought. This boat we're in with its antique fittings and strange markings on the floor is a battleship. Work has always been going on in the basements, and when shit gets tough, we clear away clutter and roll out the cannons.

I found this chart a couple weeks ago and hung onto it because it felt like the map to my first 25 years on this earth:

[Image description: A graph titled "Same Sex Marriage: Public Polls since 1988." It is from FiveThirtyEight's NYT column. It records the percentage of US Americans polled who would say yes or no to legalizing same-sex marriage, from 1988 to 2011.

The two lines begin with roughly 10% saying yes in 1988, and 70% saying no; the two lines gradually draw closer over the years, until by 2011, the percent saying finally dips under 50%, and the group saying yes makes a tentative reach for the majority. End of image description.]

After some great social change has happened, when everyone has admitted that gay marriage is very cute and Pride is a colourful parade, hooray, people like to pretend that it was just natural and inevitable and happened on its own. People just became less prejudiced! Courts just decided on a case! Governments just passed a law!

In reality, it was a vicious fucking fight, every fucking time. Every fucking where. There are a lot of people who deeply, sincerely believe that a hundred years ago, society had good rules about sex and gender and intercourse and marriage, and that changing those rules has made the world worse. They don't always agree on the specifics, but they can work together far enough to fight anyone with new ideas.

This is why we are a community. Even when we don't have the same experiences of attraction or identity, even when we don't do the same things, even when we have wildly different ideas of a good time. Because when these groups take aim, we're all under fire, and none of us is responsible for why they hate us.

In some ways I think it's a miracle that there seems to be a generation that did not grow up, as I grew up, constantly glued to news reports about What Percentage of Society Hates Us this month. I can't imagine who I'd be if my brain and heart and soul hadn't been tied up, that whole time, in the political question of whether I'd get to dream of a decent future.

I think that it will give us strength to have people who can imagine a world where no one hates us. Who believe in it so strongly they can taste it. That's my prediction: If you didn't know this was coming, you'll be a boon to us, because we have always needed joy so fiercely, in this fight, to keep us going on. We have needed drag queens and punk bands and "her wife" and safe space stickers. Parade floats and wedding days and little dogs with rainbow collars, badges and banners and meetups, because more than anything else we need to fight our own despair, and our fear that the world will never get any better than this.

It will. We know it will. We can taste it.

Look up to the history, organizations, and people who've got us this far for information on what forms of activism will actually advance our political goals. Look to the side to make sure the comrades within reach are keeping their heads above water, and that you're keeping enough joy going to stay alive. Look back to see who's more vulnerable than you are that you might have forgotten or been tempted to leave behind. Look after each other. Look after yourself.

We can do this.

To your battle stations.

[mothdruid]

A Snowed In Baby Bird

pairing: robert ‘bob’ floyd x afab!reader

summary: you and bob are childhood best friends, your families being friends before you both were born. a storm rolls in at your families shared cabin, that the two of you volunteered to lock up. now the two of you are stuck, but is that really a bad thing?

wc: 4.4k

warnings: 18+, smut, mdni, fluff at the end, alcohol use, oral sex (male receiving), vaginal fingering, blow job, pet names (baby bird), penetrative sex, unprotected sex, bob fucks.

a/n: we've gotten two out of three winter storms in michigan so far this week! we currently have six inches of snow and are supposed to get six more this friday! so i was inspired to write a snowed in fic! this was also lightly based on a twitter porn video.

“Well, fuck.” 

The weather outside was getting progressively worse. The wind was picking up, whipping around the thick white flakes of snow outside. It was practically a blizzard. Something that you would have seen in a movie and definitely didn’t feel confident driving back in. And you didn’t want to pressure Bob into driving back in this weather. 

“What’s up?” Bob asked, walking over and stopping behind you. 

“The storm showed up early.” 

Yeah, the two of you knew about the storm. But it wasn’t supposed to show up for another three hours. Or at least the last you checked it wasn’t supposed to. 

“That doesn’t look good.” 

You nodded in agreement. 

“Might as well get a hold of our parents.” Bob said, turning to go search for his phone. 

Both of your families had left earlier that day, leaving the two of you alone. You two had volunteered to lock up, not wanting the rest of the family to be held up. After spending the whole weekend with each other's families, you two really wanted to take this time to catch up. You two had hoped to get alone time this weekend, but your families made it borderline impossible.

Your family and Bob’s had been close for years. Neither of you knew how or when your parents became best friends, but you both remembered each other from day one. Bob was only a few months older than you, something he always boasted about when you two were kids. You were a little surprised when he came home this time. 

He was a little different, not the shy Bobby you grew up with. He was more confident and composed now, college having changed him. He had goals he was aiming for now, flight school being his driving force. A part of you was beyond proud of him, but it was still worrying watching the person you had loved for years take off without you. 

You had never confessed that you loved him to anyone. You had always assumed it was some type of childhood crush, affection towards the first person who was kind to you. But then it never went away. Even when you both left for college, your heart ached at the loss of contact. The texts never stopped, the occasional video call every now and then, but it was just never the same. 

“Yeah, ma. We know, we know. Yeah. Love you, too.” 

You watched Bob pace back and forth around the living room, texting your own parents that you two were stuck at the cabin due to the storm. You bounced your leg lightly, a little anxious about the new predicament. There was barely enough wood for the wood stove to keep the cabin warm through the night. You leaned back into the couch, watching Bob hang up and walk over to you.

“You good?” Bob nudged your leg with his.

“I mean, kind of?” 

Bob plopped down next to you, setting his phone on the coffee table. You mimicked the action, placing your phone on the coffee table. 

“Getting snowed in wasn’t on my trip checklist.” You joked. 

“Mine either.” Bob said, smiling at you. He wrapped an arm behind you on the couch, adjusting his glasses as he looked at you. 

The two of you sat there for a moment, contemplating what to do next. The two of you decided that you would stay downstairs, not wanting to burn through all the wood trying to heat the entire place up. Bob offered to sleep on the couch, letting you take the only downstairs bedroom. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get too cold.” You said. The urge to say you would just share with him was strong, but you decided to tuck that away.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll just sleep in a sweater or something.” Bob chuckled. He stood up, moving to the wood pile near the wood stove. 

You watched as he opened the front of the stove, taking a log and placing it inside the stove. A part of you wondered about how his arms looked under his sweater. The knit material hid the way his biceps flexed when he picked up each log. Bob had always been lean and fit, but you knew that since he was headed to flight school he might have started working out. 

A heat started to bubble inside of you, still watching him. You could see a small rosy tint on his cheeks when he looked back at you. You gave him a small smile, getting up and heading to the open kitchen. You sought out two shot glasses and a bottle of fireball. If the fire wasn’t going to warm you up quickly, this definitely would. 

Bob had moved to the fireplace when you returned to the living room. You watched as Bob got the fireplace lit, cracking open the bottle of fireball. He looked back as you filled one of the glasses with amber liquid, setting the bottle down before throwing back the shot. The liquid seared your throat as you felt it travel down, settling in your stomach. 

“Fireball?” Bob asked, watching you pour another shot. “Are we in high school?” 

“Says the one who didn’t drink til he turned twenty-one.” You threw back the second shot quickly, grimacing lightly. 

“Sorry I was following the law.” Bob joked, tossing his hands up in a defensive way. You watched him grab the bottle and pour his own shot. 

“Always being a good boy, aren’t you Bobby?” You teased. 

Bob rolled his eyes, throwing back his own shot. The bob of his adams apple caught your attention. Your tongue ran over your lips, watching his lips detach from the shot glass. The shots in your stomach were starting to warm your body, adding a light haze to your brain. You weren’t sure when he had started watching you, but when your eyes caught his he blushed, looking away swiftly. 

After the both of you downed a few more shots, you had finally started to catch up. You learned that Bob had got a close knit friend group at college. The group helped him push himself, going out of his comfort zone and learning more about what he was comfortable with. Bob had learned that you were still sporting a high GPA, even with graduation right around the corner. 

“So, you heard about flight school?” You asked, pulling a blanket you had found further up your body. 

“Yep, got accepted.” Bob nodded, holding another shot up to you as a toast before throwing it back. The bottle of fireball was almost empty now, maybe only a handful of shots left in the bottle. 

“Congrats! Baby bird got his wings!” You squealed. Excitement with a tinge of sadness flowed through you, knowing that naval flight school would be hard. It would put him further away from you, making your heart ache. But you knew the two of you would make it through, just like you did with college.

“I haven't got 'em yet.” Bob said, looking at you with a bit of a sad look. 

“What’s that look for?” You questioned, afraid you might have said something wrong. 

Bob shrugged as he crossed his legs, grabbing at his pants leg now. He looked so small now, like that kid you grew up with. The kid that was always making sure that he had enough to share with the class. The one who always made sure that nobody was left behind in the line or fell behind in class. You thought about the one time he found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest, which really upset him when he found out it couldn’t be put back. The incident that earned him the nickname ‘baby bird’ from you. 

“It.. it’s nothing.” Bob whispered, trying to give you a small reassuring smile. 

“That’s a lie.” You stood up, pointing down at him. “You have to tell me.” 

Bob stared at your finger, leaning back a little bit. He was a bit perturbed at your action. His face scrunched up, eyes squinting to look at you. You watched him adjust his glasses, a part of your throat went dry as you watched him. Eventually, he swatted your finger away, pulling one knee up to his chest. 

“Why do you want to know?” Bob questioned. 

You made your way around the coffee table, moving to your knees in front of him. His cerulean eyes were deep pools of emotion, hiding something you couldn’t see on the surface. 

“Because you’re my friend.” You reached out for his hand, feeling his soft skin against your own. “If something is bothering you, I’m here for you. You can talk to me.” Emotion had started to take over your face. 

Bob could feel everything bubbling inside of him. It was all settling in his throat, threatening to break out. He had thought about his fears for a while. Being shipped off to the other side of the US, away from everyone he knew and loved. Away from you. The two of you weren’t together now, but a three hour drive was much more bearable than an almost day long drive. 

“I’m scared about leaving. Being away from everyone.” Bob figured now was better than never. “Not having anyone I really know around. Not having anyone to lean on. Not having you.” Bob’s hand tightened around yours, the alcohol giving him confidence. “I don’t wanna lose you.” 

Your heart ached at his words. All the shots of fireball were making his words confusing. It felt like a confession, but you weren’t sure of what. Without thinking you leaned forward, pressing your forehead to his. 

“I’m not leaving you though. I’ll always be here.” 

Bob brought his free hand up to your face, caressing your cheek. You watched his eyes flick down to your lips, tongue moving to wet his lips. You scanned his face, taking in his now bright red cheeks and ocean like eyes. 

His lips were soft when they pressed against yours, softer than you ever imagined. You tightened your hand in his. The movement was gentle, his lips softly moving on yours. It wasn’t pushy or desperate, more refreshing than any other kiss you had experienced. The hand on your cheek moved a little bit, sliding to cradle the spot right below your ear. Bob pulled back from you, pressing his nose into your cheek. 

“Is this okay?” Bob whispered. 

“More than okay.” You nodded, feeling his glasses move with your motions. 

The two you reconnected, a little bit more passion behind the kiss now. You let your years of emotions start to pour into it, giving him everything you had to offer. Bob doing a similar thing, letting all of his hidden emotions come to the surface. He let go of your hand bringing it up to the other side of your jaw, keeping you in place as he kissed you. The small wire frames of his glasses could be felt against the plush of your cheeks. 

“Let’s move to the couch.” You whispered, kissing him lightly before standing up. 

Bob moved over to the couch, sitting on it as he watched you saunter over. You placed a knee on each side of Bob, settling in his lap. Bob’s hands moved to your waist, lightly settling but not grabbing or applying pressure. You rolled your hips down onto his, feeling his semi-hard cock in his jeans. Bob leaned his head back into the couch, reveling in the feeling of you grinding against him. His eyes were focused on you, watching your hips roll against him. His chest was already moving heavily, each breath filling his lungs to the brink. 

You gripped the back of the couch, rolling your hips as you felt his hard-on grow against your ass. He closed his eyes and parted his lips, breath passing quickly as you rocked against him. You felt your sweater tighten around your waist. You looked to see Bob’s hand tight on the material of your sweater. 

Heat was starting to pool in your abdomen as you rocked against him. You pressed your chest against his, latching your lips onto his neck. A gasp left Bob, his blue eyes opening wide. His hips rocked up into your grinding motions, pulling a whimper from him. Soft noises started to pour from him when you sucked the spot below his ear. 

“Can I ride you?” You asked. 

You could feel how hot and wet your panties were as you rocked against him. It was barely anything, but god was it getting you ready for him. You felt like a teenager in high school during your first make out session. But the one thing you couldn’t get past was Bob not touching you. Did he actually want this? He was the one that asked you if it was okay? Maybe he changed his mind? 

“Please.” Bob said, leaning up and trying to capture your lips again. 

You gave him a small peck before climbing off of him. He watched you unbutton your jeans, sliding them down and kicking them to the side. Bob clenched the cushion of the couch, his other hand moving to lightly rub over the bulge of his jeans. He was watching you with such devotion and innocence, making you wonder if he had ever even lost his virginity. 

“I’ve got a question for you, baby bird.” You asked, slipping your hands up the back of your sweater. You unhooked the clasp of your bra, bringing your arms in to take your bra off. “Have you ever,” you let your bra drop from under your sweater, “thought about this?” 

Bob swallowed as he watched you. You stood before him in just your underwear and knit sweater. It was driving him crazy, thinking about your nude form underneath the sweater. The way your nipples must have perked up when the material of your sweater brushed them. He almost forgot about the question you asked him. He nodded eagerly once he remembered your words.

“Another question.” You settled on the floor in front of him, hands moving to his belt. “Have you ever, ya know?” Your fingers unlooped his belt, pulling it out from his pants. Your fingers swiftly undid the button to his pants. 

“Yeah, it’s just been a while.” Bob quietly said, lifting his hips as you started pulling his pants down his legs. 

“That’s okay, I promise to take it easy.” Your fingers hooked into the waistband of his boxers, easing them down his thighs. 

Bob sighed when his cock was freed, the cooler air covering his cock. He spread his legs a little bit, watching you look at his cock. A small bit of embarrassment was starting to flood inside of him, not sure what you were thinking. It was all drained from him once your fingers wrapped around him, stroking lightly. 

“Oh god.” Bob let out, letting his head drop back. He closed his eyes, breathing almost hitching with each stroke. 

A warmth bloomed inside your chest as you watched his reaction. His cock felt like silk against your skin, a pearl of pre-come catching on your thumb. You spread pre-come along his cock, reveling in the sounds he had started to make. You grabbed the inside of his thigh with your left hand, keeping your right one stroking him. 

The groan was ripped from Bob when your tongue licked at his tip. You kitten licked the head of his cock, earning soft whimpers from Bob. You took him into your mouth, easing him further into your mouth. Bob’s hand clenched near his sides, bringing himself to look at you. He moaned when he looked down at you, lips wrapped around his cock. It was something he had dreamed about for years. 

You bobbed against him, taking him further and further into your mouth. You brought a hand to his balls, massaging lightly. Bob’s hips bucked a little, pushing the head of his cock into your throat. A gagging noise came from you, but you didn’t pull off of him. You wanted to give him everything you could. Take care of him the best you could. 

Bob could barely handle it. The sounds of his cock slipping in and out of your mouth were pushing him to the edge. His abdomen was tight, a heat boiling in the base of his spine. He knew that if you kept this up he would come soon. Without a warning, you pulled off of him. He leaned up a little, getting ready to speak. You smashed your lips against his, earning a moan from Bob. 

“I need you in me.” You said, slipping your underwear off as you started to stand up. 

Bob nodded, watching you place a knee on each side of him. You hovered above him, staring at him as you grabbed his cock. You rubbed the head of his cock through your folds, catching on your entrance every now and then. A whine fell from you when it rubbed against your clit, a wave of pleasure rippling through you. 

You positioned him at your entrance, preparing yourself to take him. You slowly started to sink down on his cock. A moan fell from you as he stretched you open. Bob’s hands shot to your waist, still hesitating to grab you. His breathing picked up, chest heaving as you fully seated yourself in his lap. Soft sounds continued to come from him. 

“You’re not going to come, are you?” You asked softly. 

“No.” 

Bob’s fingers started to skate under your sweater. Without warning, you grabbed your sweater and took it off. Bob’s fingers grazed over your midsection, not knowing exactly where to touch. Bob’s eyes eventually found yours, not leaving your gaze as you took his glasses off of him. His cheeks were bright red, causing a warmth to blossom in your heart. 

Your hips started to roll against him, his cock sliding in and out of you. Your fingers moved to the back of the couch, grabbing it for more leverage. Bob’s hands felt like they were hovering over your body. You started to lightly bounce on him, his cock stretching you with each downward motion. 

His hands moved to the couch cushions, gripping them with each motion you made. A part of you was confused, wishing he would just touch you. Your hands found his, placing them over your breasts. Bob licked his lips when he felt your breasts in his hands. He kept his hands there, too nervous to grab or knead them. 

You kept working your hips, thighs starting to slowly burn. A steady heat had formed in the pit of your belly. You placed your hands back on Bob’s thighs, rolling your hips and slightly presenting yourself to him. Bob just sat there watching, whines and moans falling from his lips. His hands stayed barely touching your breasts. His tongue ran over his lips, wetting them while teasing you. 

You leaned over him, placing your hands on his jaw. You licked his lips, silently asking for him to open his mouth. His hands drifted to your waist, sitting there as your tongue moved against his. You ran a hand through his hair, pressing your forehead to his as you broke the kiss. 

“You don’t have to be afraid to touch me.” You said, rolling your hips. 

“I’m nervous.” Bob whimpered. 

“You don’t have to be nervous. It’s just me.” 

Bob kissed you gingerly. 

“But what if this is the only time.” He let his head fall back. 

You started to kiss his neck, marking it lightly. It was cute, the concern and nervousness he was showing. You were also worried about this being the only time, but if he wanted to do this again, you definitely weren’t going to say no. 

“We can do this however many times you want.” You whispered in his ear. 

Bob pulled back to look at you. He leaned against you nodding before smashing his lips against yours. His hands tightened on your waist, pulling you down tightly against him. A moan escaped you, his cock pushing deeper inside of you. His hips started to roll up into yours, meeting your own movements. 

Bob leaned up, taking a nipple into his mouth as you rode him. His tongue swirled around the bud, pulling a moan from you. You threaded your fingers into his hair, keeping him pressed tightly on your chest. Moans started to pour from you as Bob started to take control. His hands gripped your hips and rolled them against him. 

One of his hands disappeared from your hips, slipping between the two of you. Bob’s fingers slid between your legs, finding your clit. Your body shivered when he started rubbing circles on the bundle of nerves. You were so used to him not touching you that it was a little shocking. It hadn’t occurred to you just how close you were to your climax. 

“Jus-just like that.” You whimpered as your hips rocked heavily against his. 

The head of his cock was pressed tightly against that sensitive spot inside of you. The combination of his fingers on your clit and his cock pressed against your g-spot had you tumbling over the edge. Your walls clenched around his cock impossibly tight. Whimpers fell from your lips, his hips not stopping. 

“B-Bob!” Your hands gripped the shoulders of his sweater tightly as you came around his cock. 

“I’m not gonna last.” Bob whimpered, feeling you clenched around him. 

“Inside of me, please.” You whimpered. 

Bob groaned at your request, thrusts started to become uneven. His whimpers started to grow louder, hands tight on your sides. With only a few more thrusts and whines, Bob was coming inside of you. You moaned when you felt his come fill you, coating your walls and spreading warmth inside of you. You pulled Bob in for a heated kiss, tongue and teeth clashing. 

Eventually you two pulled a part, Bob guiding you to rest your head on his shoulder. He started tracing small patterns on the skin of your back, taking a moment to appreciate what just happened. The material of his sweater pressed against your cheek as you started to drift. You shifted in his lap, his softened cock falling out of you. The both of you moaned when he fell out of you, his cum starting to fall out of you. 

“Hey, let me go get something to clean you up.” Bob whispered, shifting you off of him and onto the couch. 

A thumbs up was all you gave him as he got up and trotted off to the downstairs bathroom. You looked around for your sweater, locating it on the floor near the couch. By the time you slipped your sweater on, Bob was returning with a wet washcloth. You accepted it from him, whipping away the mess between your legs. He tracked down his underwear to put on, finding yours too. He held your panties out to you, trading you for the washcloth. 

Bob left after the trade, heading back to toss the washcloth into the dirty clothes basket in the bathroom. You slipped your panties on before he came back, finding the blanket you were curled up in earlier. Bob picked his glasses up from the arm of the couch, placing them back on his face. He sat down near your feet, placing a hand on your now blanketed calf. You kicked your legs up, making sure the blanket covered his legs and yours. 

The cabin was darker now, the fireplace barely had a flame to it and the night had consumed the weather outside. Silence settled between the two of you. It felt comfortable yet awkward. 

“I was serious.” You said, staring at the dimly lit fireplace. 

“Hmm?” Bob looked over at you, confused by your words. 

“About it happening as many times as you want.” You looked at him, watching a shy look take over his face. 

“Oh, I.. Okay.” Bob adjusted his glasses as he looked back at the fire. 

You sat up, moving closer to him. You took one of his hands in yours, squeezing it. 

“Are you okay?” 

Bob smiled and turned to look at you. The shadows of his glasses casted over his face. 

“I’m better than okay.” He squeezed your hand back. He leaned towards you, kissing you softly.

Warmth flooded you as he kissed you, spreading through your body. You brought a hand up to his face, caressing his cheek. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to yours. You heard him take a deep breath. 

“I like you.” Bob whispered. 

“I like you, too. Always have.” You whispered back. 

Bob pulled back from you, a small look of surprise on his face. You smiled at him, repositioning the blanket on your laps then resting your head against his shoulder. 

“I’ve always liked you.” Bob said, staring at the fireplace. He was contemplating getting up to add more wood to it. He didn’t want to give this up, having you cuddled against him. 

“I think I’ve always liked you too. Liked you ever since we were little.” You said, thumb rubbing along the back of his hand. 

Bob kissed the top of your head, then removed himself from you. He made his way to get a piece of wood to put in the fireplace, checking the wood stove in the process. He made his way back over to you, letting you rest your head on him again when he sat next to you. 

“What’s gonna happen when I leave?” Bob asked. It was quiet, something you barely picked up. 

“I didn’t leave you when we left for college, I’m not going to leave you when you go to flight school.”

“But it’s a lot farther away.” 

You sat up, pulling your knees up and sitting on them. Bob watched you move quickly, facing him completely now. You grabbed both sides of his face, keeping him from looking away from you. 

“Bob, what about ‘I’ve liked you since we were little’ do you not understand? I’m not going anywhere. I love you and I’ll be with you till the end.” 

Bob scanned your face, taking in your features. Sincerity was all he could find. Your words were honest, full to the brim with truth. You had never lied to him before, why would you be lying now. 

“You love me?” Bob asked. 

“Yes, baby bird.” You pressed a kiss to him. 

“I love you, too.” He whispered back.

[nerves-nebula]

no worries about rambling! There was a time period where I had a few more voices and (not saying it's the same) I miss mine too. I'm pretty sure we got like this out of loneliness too, we never really fit in growing up (to a more extreme way.

We spent majority of our time alone and it was common for us to spend days to weeks at school without saying more than a word or two. At one of the schools I was at after a year of bullying the next grade thought I was mute :/)

Goals idk they are hard to set? For me at least anyways. The other guy really wants us to go into animation or psychology, and like I know I'd enjoy that, but I also know we don't have the money. We weren't exactly helped into any post secondary and it would take a long time to get the money for it so it remains more a "what if" than a "one day" sort of thing.

I admittedly aim low and just want to survive, I don't really have goals beyond that (idk why). That stance will probably and maybe has left us with less opportunities though so ?? If we lived where we used to there was a really epic and not horribly expensive animation program we could have done but where we are now it's all either super expensive or not worth the money.

hmm other life goals is hard because we were forced to rely on ourselves a lot, including like for friends, family, parents, teachers, etc? We never found a group of people we fit into and we have trust issues so it's a challenge there lol (at best we were tolerated, but pretty much got bullied in the different schools and our home life was questionable). So like we've never thought too much about goals past "what will the next day bring and will we survive it".

Plus it is so much easier being friends with your head partner than it is to try and make friends IRL when it's practically impossible LMAO

However..

we both agree that it would be nice to move out from where we are now (ran away to some random place lol) but I take more of a stance of "it would be nice but idk" while my head partner is more like "I am filled with a deep and unending desire to reshape reality to get the hell out of here" so that might answer your question in a way??

(to add, we aren't in a terrible situation. Just renting a room from some creepy guy plus whatever the hell the local parts of the ""family"" has going on).

IDK if I have DID specifically but we're making it work. We do need to get more food soon though so if you have recs for easy things to make feel free to share haha (half joking, you don't have to!!)

THAT is actually completely fair. FUNFACT about me: I'm dead set on graphic design now, but before my mom forced me to apply to colleges, I desperately wanted to learn how to wrap cars. I had a graphic design internship and at one point they brought us to this local design company and they talked about all these specific niche jobs and ONE of these jobs was wrapping cars.

as in, like, applying decals and full body car wraps and shit. I really like the idea of learning a trade/skill like that and just doing THAT as a job instead of. this whole big conceptual graphic design stuff. Plus the course cost a couple thousand and compared to college that's. WELL. That's a fantastic price to be fully certified in a job!

downside would be working with Car People which isn't great cuz I'm trans and I PLAN to be visibly transgender for a long time so. that prolly wouldn't have been great.

but i didn't have a choice so im in DEBT now instead :) but its not really that bad. I like my college, it's a really good school and i love the professors. I just also like to COMPLAIN.

nobody thought I was mute when I joined high school but I would often go entire days without speaking hah. I also got bullied but didn't realize it was bullying until later hah.

and because I couldn't just make up friends in my mind, I instead focused on my characters becoming friends with each other. escapism and all that.

man idk about food. I just raided my college's food pantry for mac & cheese on the way out though so maybe that? Mac & cheese, various noodles are also pretty cheap, and so is soup. idk I kind of dont like food though (I have avoidant restrictive food intake disorder lol) so I mostly eat heavily processed or very bland food.

oh, another question! Which one of y'all is in charge most of the time? Is it a voice in your head situation, or can y'all actually switch who controls your body?