#vanilla frosting strain

[aesthetic-bbyg]

A LITTLE TREAT ~ Sanji

LA!Sanji x fem baker!reader

warnings: fluff, smut, oral (f!receiving)

Nattie speaks: Smash

THE TWO OF YOU CROWDED THE small kitchen with both yourselves and the large amount of utensil splayed out on the counter. You crouched under his arm as he sizzled a dish on the stove, hurryingly whisking together the mix within your bowl. You’re apron was stained with flower, egg yolk, and god knows what.

“I can tell from here that the only pretty thing is definitely you and not whatever you have going on there.” Sanji teased, eyes staring at the mixture while you rolled your eyes. Sprinkling a a generous amount of cinnamon before reaching for the molding pan.

“And I can smell that only good thing is neither you nor that food, if that’s what you dare to call it.” You replied as your lips quirked up in a smirk, pouring the contents of the bowl into the metal pan.

“My, that hurt, love.” The blonde replied, watching you concentrate your eyes on pouring the perfect amount into each paper-covered cup.

“Good.” You mumbled back, ushering him away from the stove to delicately place the pan into the preheated oven. “Maybe you’ll learn to keep that beautiful mouth shut, and find better uses for it.” You gave him a sly winked, moving past him swiftly to start up a fresh batch of frosting.

“Wouldn’t you like to know what I could do this mouth.” Sanji replied nonchalantly, acting as if his dick totally didn’t strain against his pants and a faint tint of red appeared on his face.

You threw him a sweet smile, showcasing the pearly canines while you poured milk into the bowl. You paused, looking around in a slight panic. Where the hell was the vanilla extract? You pinched yourself for forgetting it, you could’ve sworn that you had everything you need already prepped for you to use. Without a second to waste you bent down, opening the cupboard to find a mess of seasonings and ingredients mixed together. You sighed, digging through till your hands caught the dark bottle with a vanilla orchid stuck onto the label. You stood up, catching the eye of Sanji who’d gone unusually quiet, not snarky remark about you being unprepared.

That was because he’d gotten a full view of your eyes the second you bent over before him, revealing what was under that skirt of yours. He nearly burned his food if you hadn’t thrown him a look over your shoulder. After a few more flirty insults thrown at eachother, the food was done. You called Nami into the kitchen as the two of you slid the your creations in front of her. Sanji went on a rant about the meal and how the ingredients in it were like no other, compared to you cinnamon and vanilla cupcake.

The orange haired girl stared at the two plates, unimpressed, and that’s what made the competition so fun. Nami was the only person on the crew who would give a straight answer without a bias. Luffy and Usopp were far too kind to ever admit which one they liked more, constantly reassuring that both were just as delicious.

Zoro had a something against Sanji, their bickering aggressive and annoying whenever they were within the same proximity as each other. You both knew that the moss-head, as Sanji liked to say, was against anything he ever did. If there was a delicious, four course meal offered to him by Sanji, and you presented him with a burnt cheesecake, he’d chose your pastry just to spite the French man.

“Go ahead, take the first bite.” Sanji offered a fork to the girl as she took it and stabbed it into the food, swiping up into her mouth and chewing it with a straight face. She hummed softly, nodding in approval as she set the fork down, swallowing and savory the taste. Then, she picked up the warm cupcake, decorated beautifully with soft and puffy frosting with gold accents. It was fluffy, it golden brown color inviting, and the taste was just as satisfying as it’s looks. Nami licked the frosting that smudged on her lip, let out another hum with a slight smile.

“Well?” You were the first to speak up, leaning on the counter slightly with awaiting eyes. “Who’s did you like?”

“Well, for starters, Sanji’s plate was a meal, something to satisfy a hungry stomach.” Nami commented, making the blonde on your left smirk proudly. “Yours was a nice balance of sweetness and warmth, something to cure a sweet temptation.” The girl placed her hands on her lap, “I liked yours better.”

You smiled widely, bouncing up with a shout as the man next to you sighed, turning away before you could shove it in his face. Nami left the kitchen, cupcake in hand and chuckling at your childish antics. The afternoon ended in torturous teasing from your end while Sanji was left to clean up the whole kitchen, leaving you to relax, watching as he washed the variety of pans.

“Don’t use so much force, it scratches the metal.” You spoke, watching the slightly irritated man scrub away at the grease.

“I’ve work as a chore boy in one of the finest restaurants in the east blue, I know what I’m doing.” Sanji quipped back, making you roll your eyes and stand from the small stool.

“Still bitter, Sanji?” You giggled, bumping your hip into his lightly, “Don’t be such a sore loser.”

“I should’ve won.” He muttered, placing a freshly washed plate atop of the growing pile with a clank. He shut off the running water, drying his hands on a nearby rag, “You got lucky.”

“Admit it, hon, my sweet treats are the greatest things you’ve ever tasted.” You leaned against the counter, one hand firmly planted on your hip. “Or you won’t hear the end of it from me.”

Sanji glanced over his shoulder, walking over to slowly, a smirk slowly lifting onto his lips. “I’ve never even tasted you so called sweet treats, love, why would I spit out lies?” He face so close to your that his breath fanned over your features.

You hummed, feigning a sad frown. “Such a shame, don’t you wanna have a taste of what I got to offer?”

In a dizzying, swift motion, he gripped your waste, harshly planting your ass onto the wooden countertop. He sank down to his knees, creasing the fancy shoes he trudge around the kitchen in, hands teasingly rubbing up and down your thighs. He planted soft pecks from you knee, slowly rising till his lips met the bottom of your skirt. He looked up at you, you’d gone completely silent, just watching with wide eyes and heavy breaths. Without even speaking you lifted your hips, bunching up the skirt to your stomach so it revealed everything.

He squeezed the flesh on your thighs, feeling his mouth water as you leaned back, shaky hands keeping up your body up while you legs spread themselves open. Fuzzy thoughts taking over you. Sanji wanted to move slowly, he was a man of romance after all, he wanted every touch to be meaningful, but fuck, with the way your pussy was displayed, dripping in your arousal and practically inviting him in. He couldn’t hold back, his hands tightly gripped your thighs, assuring that you’d have no way to escape him, even if you were crying from the pleasure.

His tongue expertly lapped up your juices while he nose simultaneously nudge your clit, creating a pleasurable combination. Your back fell done to lay against the wood, free hands now flying to twist themselves into his blonde locks. Your hips jerked and squirmed with each flick against the sensitive pearl, legs going a bit numb from how tight he held them. There would definitely be noticeable marks after he was done, but your mind focused more on what occurred in that moment. How he tongued your cunt repeatedly, moaning softly with each tug of his hair.

Your back arch off the counter, mouth opening widely as you whimpered out, “Don’t stop, please, please.” Your eyes squeezed shut, body stilling for a moment before your hips twitched, an overwhelming feeling washing over you. The tightly wound coil snapped as soon as he began to suck on your clit. “Fuck, Sanji.” You moaned out, subconsciously pressing his face closer then it already was, riding out your high on his nose.

It was such a gut felt orgasm that tears pricked the corner of your eyes, choking back a yelp when he continued his expert tongue work. You’d felt the overstimulation kick in, hands pushing his head away as pathetic squeaks escaped your mouth. He left two more kisses right on your clit, lifting his head to reveal the absolute mess you’d made on the freshly wiped down counter and on his face. A mixture of your slick wetness and cum dripped down his chin, a cunning smirk on his lips.

He lifted you off your back by your hand, making your floppy body meet his hard chest. He lifted your head, forcing you to meet his intoxicating gaze. “I admit it.” He planted a sweet kiss on your lips, “Your sweet treat is the best I’ve ever had, love.”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

This man is every possible green flag imaginable. I must have him.

Literally me and Sanji (real, not clickbait, not edited)

[surielstea]

Devotion | Drabble

Based on this request.

Pairing: Rhysand x Fem!Reader

Summary: Rhys can’t help but admire his mate.

Warnings: none, just fluff!

1.2k words

"You've got it on your nose," I wipe the frosting from my son's face as he stares blankly up at me.

I was in the middle of icing the cake for Asteria's birthday party, the four-year-old girl seated atop the counter as she watched me and her brother decorate the vanilla cake a lavender color.

"Mama, I want some on my nose too." The youngest whines and I smile at her. "This is for the cake my sweet, perhaps if there are leftovers we can." I hum, brushing her hair from her cheek. She nods, black hair bobbing with the movement.

I look down at the six-year-old boy who is about to dig his hands right into the bowl full of frosting. "Orion." I reprimand as I look down at him, his gaze snaps up to me with his brows at his hairline and a wide cheeky grin that was inherently his father's, knowing he's been caught in the act. "What'd I just say?" I look pointedly at him and he quickly clasps his hands behind his back, looking up at me innocently with all too good of posture.

I smile, grabbing the boy by his middle and hoisting him up onto the counter next to his sister.

“Mama, I want this one.” My youngest child held up a star-shaped piping tip, the metal held up to her eye as she squinted through it. I shake my head with a breathless laugh, taking the object and placing it into a long triangular bag.

"Okay, this is called a piping bag," I hand my son the item. "Can you hold it open while Asteria and I scoop the frosting in?" I ask and he nods dutifully, making it his mission to hold the bag as still as possible.

Asteria grabs a miniature spatula to match mine, helping me shovel the frosting down into the bag. I'd get most of the substance into the bag but she'd push it down, Orion straining as the bag grew heavier. "Good, you did perfect, both of you." I smile at them and they both look up at me with bright grins. I hand Orion the bag we just made after snipping off the corner, telling him how to hold it.

I give Asteria her own bag too, hers filled with a baby blue frosting. "Okay," I set the white cake in the middle of them with a delicate touch. "So it’ll go like this," I pick up my bag and begin to pipe a design around the bottom of the cake. "Don't squeeze too hard, and don't stay in one spot for too long, it’s simple." I pull away, showing both of the kids. They nod excitedly, tightly holding onto their bags. "Alright, go ahead," I say and their smiles widen.

Asteria takes her time, twisting her lips to the side as she does precisely what I showed her with a focus I admire, the four-year-old is already doing better than some of my culinary students on her first try. Orion, however, was just having fun, making big draping curtains down his side of the cake as well as stripes and polka dots everywhere.

I feel a familiar pair of eyes on me and my spine locks, head whipping over to the archway where my mate leans, staring at me.

The kids didn't notice him, I barely noticed him as he stood there and just admired me from a distance. A smile curled his lips as he watched our children be so excited to learn one of my passions, with utter devotion in his violet eyes while looking at me.

I smile and walk towards him, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you," He hums, his hand coming to my waist as he looks down at me. I tilt my head at him, confused as to what prompted such words. He didn't offer an explanation, didn't have one. Just continued analyzing my every feature. I got nervous under his stare, even though we’d been together for decades now he still had butterflies soaring in my stomach, so I avoided his gaze and looked back to the kids.

“They’re getting so old.” I sigh, leaning my head on his chest. He presses a kiss to the crown of my head, both of us watching in silence as our children sneakily pipe a dollop of frosting onto their fingers before licking it clean off as if we weren’t watching. This cake definitely wouldn’t be served at Asteria’s party, now that I’ve seen just how unsanitary they were being— though I didn’t care about that, I’d happily make another cake if it meant they were enjoying themselves.

I look back to Rhys, his eyes coming down onto me with the utmost focus. Without saying a word, he leans down and presses a kiss to my lips, his other hand coming to my face as he pulls me closer. I rise onto my toes to lean into it, my chest pressing against his as he conveys every inch of his love into that kiss.

A smile spreads over my lips as I fall flat onto my feet and disconnect our lips, he backs away with one last peck. "You taste like sugar, sugar." He hums and I scrunch my nose at the cheesiness of his words. "Eww!" Orion boos at us and we both look at our children who have disgusted expressions. "I know, that pun wasn't my best work." Rhys sighs and I roll my eyes.

"I'm done," Our daughter holds out her messy piping bag, frosting running down the sides of her hands. I smile and rush towards her, grabbing the bag before it can drip onto the ground.

"Does mom really taste like sugar?” Orion asks his father, catching my attention. “I don’t know, I suppose I’ll have to find out.” My husband hums, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, barring me as he presses a kiss to my shoulder.

“What if I told you I’m made of sugar.” I let on, Asteria staring up at me like I just turned her world upside down. “Then I’d say you need to run because I’m the sugar monster.” Rhys’ hands tickle up my sides and I squeal as he tosses me over his shoulder with an ease I marveled at, running me into the living room as I hit my fists against his back. “Rhys!” I shout, the kids chasing after us.

“We have to save Mama!” Asteria rushed up to me, grabbing my hand as Orion took his father on, jumping onto him like a spider monkey, attempting to tackle him to the floor.

“Put me down!” I shout at my mate, he carries me over to the couch before flipping me down onto the sofa’s cushions. The children come to my side, asking if I’m okay, guarding me from Rhys.

The High Lord easily sweeps both the children up into his arms, their bodies hanging halfway down his shoulders, causing them to yell and kick their feet in protest. Rhys leans down and pecks me on the lips with a wide smile. “I love you too, by the way,” I confess as he pulls back, the children still on his shoulders attempting to take down their father but to no avail. “I know.” He winks.

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[cokoweee]

This is a thing

Still can’t write action so this is a lil clunky

~

Kendra hummed as she stirred her mixture over the stove. Music in the background filtered through his ears, unheard. He watched her face pinch in concentration as she whisked the mixture constantly, keeping her hand above the knob to adjust the heat as needed.

His lips tipped up in a small smile. She looked beautiful in the lighting of the kitchen, cloaked in one of his shirts, hair tied in a simple braid.

He needed to learn how to do that. She always did his hair, but he never did hers. He’d need to work on his finger prosthetic first though. He silently added it to his mental list of things to fix up around the house as he watched her.

He tore his gaze from her back to stare at the bowl again. He’d assumed it was frosting, but she was cooking it over the stove so he really doesn't know anymore. But then again, if he asked she’d probably say something along the lines of, “It’s an Ermine buttercream!” and roll her eyes at him as if she expected him to know what that was. So he just watched.

She plopped the mixture from the stove into the mixer, setting it on the counter to cool. She reached up on her tiptoes to grab the vanilla. She unscrewed the top before frowning.

“Where do you keep the knives?” She asked over her shoulder.

“I don’t have any.” He responded easily. His eyes flicked to the drawer they had been in.

Mikey's prized collection of knives was currently with Draxum. Would he ever get those back? Surely at some point they would be returned right? He silently hoped she didn’t press any further as he focused quietly on keeping his posture loose.

She shrugged and grabbed a fork, stabbing it repeatedly into the cap liner to open it. She laughed in triumph as vanilla squirted from the top and added a small amount to her concoction.

His tail twitched slightly from his perch on the counter. He wanted to take a cupcake. But the last time he’d tried to take something before she was done, she’d slapped his hand away. So he sat and waited patiently on the counter, drumming his fingers in time with the music.

He didn’t mind of course. She was perfectly content and so was he. A low churr rumbled through his chest as he watched her. She stopped filling her piping bag suddenly, her shoulders rising as she turned to face him.

“What was that?” She asked, her face strained as she craned her head to listen.

“What was what?”

“It was- it,” She frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together as she recreated the low trilling noise. It was broken and really didn’t sound anything like the noise he had made, but was clearly an imitation of his churr.

“A churr?” He responded, his cheeks growing hot as she watched him. She knew that was him right? “Have you not heard me make that sound before?”

“No!”

“I’ve made that noise a lot around you.” He countered, twisting his hands together.

“Oh my go- Is that what that sound has been?” She laughed. “I thought it was just a weird sound your rusty old subway house made. No offense by the way.”

“None taken.” He shrugged.

She laughed again before whipping her phone out and typing something in. Her face twisted into an odd look before she went back to her cupcakes. He ignored the face entirely and pressed himself flat against the counter. He closed his eyes, focusing only on hearing her work. It was easy to pretend it was someone else.

He listened to her move, chest filling with an aching comfort. He had loved watching Mikey cook. It was different now. No bubbling brother in his kitchen.

It was nice though, to have her here. A new normal. He liked it like this. The familiarity of it all.

He flicked his tail lazily and made another low churr. She didn’t turn around this time, instead smiling to herself as she finished her piping.

She turned around slowly, a cake in her palm.

“Ta-da” she said with a flourish of her hand. “One cupcake for Othello.”

He shot up to snatch it from her hand. The frosting was purple, naturally, and piped delicately into a swirl. He stared for a moment longer, admiring the beauty of it all before stuffing the entire thing in his mouth and swallowing it whole.

“Did you even taste it?” She asked, her eyebrow raised, apparently unfazed that he hasn’t even chewed.

“Mhm” He managed over the frosting coating his throat. “Can I have another one?”

“You’re such a needy little turtle Othello.” She said rolling her eyes. But she turned around to get him another anyway.

She placed the cake in his hand and he grinned. It was nearly to his mouth when he reminded himself to slow down and took a small bite, like a normal person.

He continued to take small bites, savoring each part of the cupcake. The soft and springy chocolate cake, the rich Caramel filling, the light frosting.

He pressed all the air from his lungs, allowing a quiet squeak to fall from his lips before taking the last bite.

She was staring at him, that odd expression still on her face. He frowned. Did she not understand? He let a sliver of air into his lungs and churred again. His face immediately grew hot.

Of course she didn’t know what he was trying to say.

He was so used to April just knowing because she’d been around him for so long, that he’d just assumed because Kendra had spent so much time with him that she would understand as well. She probably didn’t even know he was making different noises, or that they meant different things.

His scrambled to come up with an explanation as she pulled her phone out and started typing furiously. What on earth was she typing?

Her face softened after a second and she walked over to the counter. He moved his leg so she could stand in front of him, his tail curling around her thigh.

“You are very welcome.” She said confidently, wiping frosting from his face.

He grinned and hoisted her onto the counter next to him. He’d tell her about all the little turtle quirks later. She made a small squeal, her legs flailing beneath her as he lifted her up. He grinned wider as she glared at him.

“Warn a girl before you do that, yeah?” She gritted out. But her voice held no real malice as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

He shrugged and pressed his shell against the countertop again. She stayed sitting, her hands flying across her phone screen trying something in. He watched contently, his tail still twittering occasionally against her thigh.

The music she had been playing suddenly shifted from retired theater kid to a much slower and gentle pace.

“Nat King Cole?” He mused.

She nodded silently, holding out her hand in offering. He sat up slowly and placed his palm in hers. She hopped off the counter and motioned with her other hand for him to follow.

He did, letting his tail unravel from her leg as she grabbed his hand to put around her waist for him.

She swayed in time with the music stepping carefully to avoid his tail. He moved with her, humming along to the song. She moved closer to him, pressing their bodies close together. He gripped her waist a little tighter and spun her in a tight circle. As the climax of the song began to crescendo he moved his hand up to the middle of her back and dipped her low to the ground.

His chest fluttered as he looked down at her, her chest heaving just barely. They’d been “officially together” as Cass would say, for a while now, but it just felt so real when he held her close. He wasn’t sure what he did to deserve her.

No, that wasn’t quite it. He wasn’t sure why she wanted him.

The song ended and he pulled her back up. She rested her head against his chest, still swaying softly against him as the next song played. He held her for what felt like an eternity, rocking tenderly before moving to let her take the lead as the song faded away. She moved her hand to his waist and he to her shoulder.

She looped her finger through his belt hooks and practically dragged him to the living room. The song started and she stuck her leg out, forcing him to move his as well. She moved backwards and forward, taking him with her as she twirled around the room in tight circles. He was pliant against her touch, drifting wherever she took him.

The song reached its finale and she climbed up the couch ledge to spin him. He spun on his heels, a bit clumsy, unused to being the one led. He stopped in front of her, and without missing a beat, lifted her into the air.

He held her there for a second, letting her hang in the air, his forehead resting against hers before he lowered her slightly.

He spun her around as she wrapped her legs around his torso. She pressed her face into his shoulder as he held her there, still swaying back and forth with the music. She smelled like a bakery. Vanilla and Carmel, with a hint of lavender.

His chest fluttered again as he felt her smile against him. The song ended abruptly and he set her back down on the couch.

He waited for the next song to start when she jumped up, stepping closer to him. She moved before another song could play, looping her finger through his belt hook again and leading him to the couch. He followed mindlessly, letting her take him wherever she wanted. She plopped down on her side of the couch and he followed suite.

She moved as soon as he sat down, pressing her head against his side and grabbing his arm to wrap it around herself. She grabbed the remote and turned the tv on, flicking through a few shows before landing on one she wanted.

“This good?” She asked, leaning further against him.

“Yup.”

He didn’t care what they watched as long as he watched it with her. He ran his fingers through her hair, making sure to copy the motions she usually made when she did his own hair. She leaned her head further into his side and sighed, threading her fingers through his.

His eyes grew heavy as the episode began. He let them slip closed, a low chur escaping his chest again. He felt her laugh against him and huffed. She loosened her grip against his hand slightly to trace the stripes on his fingers with her thumb.

“Goodnight Othello.” She mumbled quietly, her gaze still focused on the screen.

He made another chur, letting it fall into a coo as his consciousness drifted, her fingers still intertwined in his.

~

I really like that couch huh?

Those cupcakes are real btw and they are the literally the best things ever. (I work in a bakery)

-writing anon

WRITING ANON STRIKES AGAIN

I got to read this before leaving for work🥸🥸🥸

A bigger couch gon be required heheegwydhe. I gotta try those cupcakes tho if ur sayin they’re so good. I’m a sucker for sweets

[pixiemage]

There’s Not a Word Yet - Pt. 4

“And I Should Have Said It Before You Were Gone”

[ Previous | Next? ]

Inspired by this post by @raviodoesstuff {This work can also be found on Archive of our Own}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“It’s just a server glitch,” Jimmy said, swirling his bottle of melon juice where he and Tango were standing off to the side, away from the rest of the group. He made a face, his frown illuminated by the light of the campfire most of their Double Life servermates were gathered around. “Fwhip says it’ll be patched up soon…but ‘soon’ could be anywhere between two days and two months, knowing him.”

It was said with a half-humorous chuckle, one that made Tango grin slightly from where he was leaning against the trunk of the nearest tree. He stabbed at his slice of cake with a fork. The vanilla sponge gave way easily, smearing a bit of frosting along his plate. He took a bite, chewed, swallowed.

“…what kind of glitch?” Tango asked curiously, his head tilting at his avian partner. (Some of the buttercream stuck to the roof of his mouth and he poked at it with his tongue, trying to clear some of the stickiness from his palate before he spoke again.) “I mean - is it dangerous? If you guys are gonna be in trouble by heading back to Empires, I can talk to Xisuma about–”

“No, no!” Jimmy quickly shook his head, the feathers around his ears fluffing up in alarm. He waved his hands in front of him, wide-eyed, his juice bottle sloshing slightly. “Nonono, nothing like that! It’s just - connection issues, he says. Unstable connection. The server’s having a bit of trouble stayin’ hooked up to the main hub, is all. Which is annoying, sure, but there’s plenty o’ servers and worlds that run offline.”

Jimmy wasn’t wrong, Tango supposed. While less common, it wasn’t exactly unheard of for people to create group servers with the explicit purpose of disconnecting them from the hub. Tango couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on one himself - Hermitcraft, though private, was always connected so members could come and go as they pleased - but a handful of his friends used them often enough. Impulse and Skizz usually disconnected their Naked and Scared worlds to keep themselves dedicated to their survival challenge, and Grian had opted to temporarily disconnect his last hardcore server after finding out that repurposing the previous Life server for hardcore use had left it open to anyone who had been on the 3rd Life server prior.

And if Tango remembered correctly, hadn’t Grian’s old server - the one he’d been on before joining Hermitcraft - also been disconnected from the hub? The one he and Jimmy had been on together, right? Ego or Emo or…something. Evo? Yeah, that sounded right…

“Well that’s not so bad then,” Tango smiled, shrugging off his worry. “Your admin…uh…”

“Fwhip.”

“Fwhip, yeah,” he nodded, prodding at his cake again. “He’ll be able to keep the connection steady long enough for all of you to hop servers?”

“Yeah, of course!” Jimmy brightened slightly, a small smile coming to life on his face. “We’ll be fine. It’s only Joel, Scott, an’ me who’ve not joined yet. They’re waiting to start the season until we all get there. It’s just–” His smile faltered and he fiddled with the bottle in his hands, his wings twitching behind him. “...well like I said, there’s been…connection issues. And, er…it–” He fumbled the bottle, nearly dropped it, caught it at the last second, and clutched it to his chest with a strained look on his face. “...well it’s the comms too.”

The - what? Tango paused with a forkful of cake halfway to his mouth, eyeing Jimmy curiously. The server itself having connection issues was one thing. That wasn’t too uncommon, even if it didn’t happen frequently. But communicators were directly connected to players themselves. They didn’t require a server connection to function. So…

“That sounds like a localized jammer virus,” Tango muttered, his eyes narrowed. “That’s - yikes. They’re fixable, but your admin’s gonna have a heck of a time chasing it down. Those things are wriggly little pests.”

Jimmy’s eyes took on a slightly clueless crinkle, his brows half-furrowing in the shadows of the treeline where they had sequestered themselves. In the low light from the distant fire and from Tango’s barely-glowing hair, Tango watched Jimmy blink blankly at him with an adorable little tilt of his head. The corner of Tango’s mouth tugged upward in amusement and he shook his head, waving away his own thoughtlessness.

“Uh - sorry,” he murmured. “Forgot you haven’t been an admin for many servers.” He shoved his fork into his mouth and finished the bite of cake before he carried on. “Jammer viruses don’t pop up often, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of ‘em. They’re almost bots, the way they’re coded. They block signals and they know how to hide. They’re programmed to cause problems in a way that stops any server admins from bein’ able to message out for help.”

“Are they dangerous?” Jimmy asked. His fingers were drumming against his bottle of melon juice rapidly, nervously, and once he realized what he was doing he banished it to his inventory and plucked at his shirt buttons instead. Tango’s eyes followed the movement of Jimmy’s fingers for a tick or two.

Then he shook his head.

“Nah,” he shrugged. “They’re friggin’ troublemakers, and they’re a menace to get rid of, but unless Fwhip mentioned having any other major bugs to deal with, my best bet is that it just hopped servers to Empires when he booted up your new world. New coding linked up straight to the hub, and–” He made a popping sound with his mouth and jabbed at the air with his fork. “–it probably just latched onto the weak spot of a fresh, unprotected server.”

Jimmy eyed Tango’s fork curiously, thoughtfully, and Tango could see the way the concept was cementing behind his soulmate’s eyes.

“...and they’re hard to get rid of?”

“If that’s what you guys are dealing with, then - yeah. Unfortunately.”

Jimmy’s face fell and he frowned.

“So…I might not be able to message you for a little while,” he concluded woefully, his wings pulled tight against his back and his ear feathers pinned back against his head. “Not until Fwhip fixes it.”

He looked so sad, so apologetic, and Tango couldn’t help but tug him closer by the arm. The half-finished plate of cake quickly vanished into his inventory. He brought up a warm hand to cup his soulmate’s cheek, absolutely melting at the way Jimmy leaned into his touch with a warbled chirp.

“Hey, it’s okay!” Tango murmured softly, flashing his soulmate a bright smile. “It’s only a few weeks at most, right? And besides…” He tilted his head to the side, grinning a sharp-toothed grin and winking. “...if you can’t stand being away that long, you can always sneak off to the hub the next time Empires has a stable connection. I’m sure I could…ya know…abuse my admin status a bit to sneakificate you onto the Hermitcraft whitelist–”

Jimmy let out a startled little laugh and he gave Tango a scolding knock upside the shoulder, but in Tango’s opinion, it was worth it to see the way Jimmy’s downtrodden expression gave way to exasperated amusement.

“Tango!” Jimmy hissed, his wings fluffing up while he cast a glance over his shoulder, as though he was worried someone might overhear. “You can’t do that! If I end up on Hermitcraft, I wanna make a good first impression, alright? Don’t - don’t sneak me in like some stowaway!”

“A stowaway, huh?” Tango smirked, taking advantage of Jimmy’s distracted gaze to slowly reach toward him with both hands. “...I mean…you wouldn’t be a stowaway if I…just…kidnapped you!”

Jimmy turned back one tick too late, his eyes flying wide when he found himself ambushed by a pouncing netherborn. Tango had a hold around Jimmy’s waist in an instant, hoisting him off his feet and spinning him around with a strength that seemed to surprise Jimmy if his flailing wings and gaping expression were anything to go by. He let out a startled chirp and clung to Tango’s shoulders, his cheeks going slightly pink and drawing a cheeky and adoring grin to Tango’s face.

“T-Tango!” Jimmy gasped, tucking his wings in tightly to avoid sending them both toppling off-balance. “What’re you doing??”

“Well I’m kidnapping you, of course,” Tango declared. His eyes crinkled at the corners from the humor in his smile. “I’m bringing you back to Hermitcraft. I bet X won’t even notice–”

“Tangs, come onnn.” Jimmy pressed his face into Tango’s hair, grumbling into the fiery strands. “That’s too tempting. If you keep offering, I’ll never make it to Empires.”

Well that was kind of the point, wasn’t it? To never have to say goodbye?

But at the same time, Tango knew it was unrealistic and a little bit selfish to even wish for. He and Jimmy were close now, extraordinarily so thanks to Double Life, but Tango wasn’t the only person in Jimmy’s life. And Tango wasn’t foolish enough to assume that, just because they were soulmates here and just because they had a newly-flourishing relationship on this server, Tango held priority over anything else Jimmy cared for outside of Double Life. It would be selfish to try and keep him away from the life and friends and family and home he had back on Empires.

Or…the home he would have. New season, new server. New adventure.

Tango slowly settled Jimmy back on the ground, his hands resting on his soulmate’s hips and a melancholy smile tugging at his lips.

“...is it so bad for me to want you to stay?” he asked, only half-joking, and Jimmy smiled sadly.

“A part of me wants to,” he admitted. He leaned back, his back now pressed to the tree that Tango had been leaning against before, and he sighed. His hands lingered on Tango’s shoulders and his fingers toyed with the collar of the vest his partner wore. “...I’ll miss you.”

Tango stepped closer, moving into Jimmy’s space, close enough that he could feel the warmth of Jimmy’s breath tickle his nose. There was nowhere for Jimmy to go, not with the tree trunk at his back…but it didn’t seem like he wanted to be anywhere else anyway. Their faces were mere inches apart. At this distance, in the low glow coming off of Tango from his blazeborn traits, Tango could see the different shades of brown in Jimmy’s eyes. (Brown. Not yellow, not red.) He could make out the coffee shades and milk chocolate hues and occasional flecks of caramel, and he longed to have enough time to memorize them all. So little of the time he’d spent with Jimmy had been while his eyes were their natural color…and it wouldn’t last for much longer, at least until the next time.

“Mind if I give you something to remember me by?” Tango asked, teased, pleaded. “Just until we can see each other again.”

Jimmy’s smile turned flustered and playful.

“D’you have something in mind?” he asked. He seemed to already know where this was going, his eyes darting down to Tango’s smile and his tongue darting out to lick his lips, and Tango couldn’t help but chuckle breathlessly.

“Eh, I’ve got a few ideas…”

All it took was leaning a little bit closer for Tango to close the gap, for their smiles to meet in the middle and for his heart to leap ever-so-slightly while he let himself savor the kiss. He had Jimmy half-pinned against the tree, the slight breeze rustling the leaves above their heads and distant voices carrying over to their little hiding place from by the fire…but he paid it all no mind. He simply let himself be enveloped in the feeling of his soulmate held close, of slightly sun-chapped lips and tentative fingers coming up to comb through the flames dancing through his hair, and he let himself fall. Jimmy melted against the tree and his wings came up to cocoon them in a soft wall of blaze-lit golden-yellow, and for a few long, wonderful moments it was as if they were the only two people in the entire world.

It wasn’t a rushed kiss, nor was it desperate. It was soft and slow and measured, each movement heartfelt and gentle and sure. It was as though they were trying to commit the feeling to memory, trying to make these last moments count so they would both have something to hold onto until they could see each other again.

“Hey, Tango? Are you over - oh! Sorry!”

Jimmy jolted, an alarmed squeak leaving him and his wings jerking at the surprised approach of another player. Tango pulled away with a huff, but only barely, and he turned to shoot Impulse an exasperated look over one of Jimmy’s half-lowered wings.

“C’mon, man, you couldn’t have waited - like - two more minutes?” he grumbled. Impulse’s expression turned rightfully sheepish and a bit apologetic.

“Sorry man,” he said, wincing and scratching at the back of his head. “Joel was looking for Jimmy, and I thought I saw you come this way, so I figured - yeah.” He chuckled weakly. “The Empires portal is gonna be up soon.”

Jimmy groaned and let his forehead fall against Tango’s shoulder, tucking himself close to his soulmate and half-hiding from both Impulse and - Tango assumed - the idea of having to leave Double Life behind.

“Thanks Impy,” Tango muttered. Impulse let his eyes dart to Jimmy for a moment, pointed and knowing, and Tango forced a pained smile. Impulse returned it. He nodded back the way he had come and jerked his thumb in that direction.

“I’ll stall,” he mouthed, and he backed away to leave the ranchers alone for a little longer.

Tango trailed a hand up Jimmy’s back, letting his palm rest between his soulmate’s wings while Jimmy buried his face into the crook of Tango’s neck. It was quiet for a long moment. Tango could hear the chattering of their servermates not too far off, Martyn and Ren’s playful banter and Joel’s cackling laughter and Grian’s half-joking scolding of his soulmate. Tango’s own soulmate was far quieter right now, Jimmy’s grip tight on the back of Tango’s vest and his face hidden from view, but Tango could hear the quiet and saddened little avian vocalizations that Jimmy was trying his best to hide.

“...Jim?” Tango murmured. Jimmy pressed himself closer, a tiny whine escaping him. Tango chuckled weakly. “C’mon Feathers, you can’t hide in my vest forever.”

“I can try,” came Jimmy’s grumbled reply. Despite his reluctance to move, he did inevitably pull away, avoiding Tango’s gaze for a second or two before he gave in and dragged his eyes up to meet his soulmate’s. The moment Tango caught sight of the warm brown of Jimmy’s eyes he flashed a vibrant grin.

“Well hey there handsome,” he teased lightly. “Come here often?”

Jimmy flushed and scoffed, thumping a weak fist against the back of Tango’s shoulderblade where he was still clinging to his partner’s vest…but any false annoyance he held was hard to maintain with the affectionate smile Tango could see tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re the worst,” he grumbled, half-amused, and Tango stifled his usual barking laugh so he wouldn’t draw outside attention.

“Eh, I’ve heard that before,” he shrugged, snickering. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Jimmy thought for a moment. Then he smiled faintly.

“...a part of me wants to tell Scott and Joel to just leave without me?”

Tango’s cheeky grin softened to a melancholy smile. He sighed and his tail came up to curl around one of Jimmy’s legs.

“I know that too, buddy,” he murmured. “You say that like I’m not tempted to break into Empires the next time your server’s connection stabilizes.”

Jimmy huffed out a half-laugh, though it lacked much of the bright joy it usually held. He let out a breath and let one of his wings fall away, glancing backward around the tree trunk to seek out his servermates. Tango followed his gaze. Grian was in the process of summoning the usual inter-server portals that allowed Life players to return directly to their home servers once the games were over, and Scott and Joel were chatting with Etho, Cleo, and Pearl a few feet away. Both Scar and - surprisingly - Bdubs were doing a wonderful job of being a horrible distraction…which accounted for the scolding tone Tango had been hearing from Grian, he supposed. (Though maybe, judging by Impulse’s half-hidden smirk and casual glances toward Tango and Jimmy’s tree, Bdubs’ involvement in the chaos wasn’t too surprising after all. Tango would have to thank them both later for the gift of a little extra time.)

Jimmy let out a twittering sigh and slouched against the tree trunk.

“I should go,” he muttered, regret lacing in every syllable. “Before they come looking.”

And as much as he hated it, Tango had to agree.

“Yeah…yeah. Probably.”

Jimmy detangled himself from Tango’s hold, tucking his wings against his back and running a hand through his hair to fix it, but he barely made it a step before Tango was reeling him back in, both by a hand on his wrist and the tail still wound around one of Jimmy’s legs.

“Tang-mmph!”

The kiss Tango drew him into was quicker and more heated than the last, short and half-desperate and full of what few things Tango hadn’t managed to say just yet. Unspoken promises, doting devotion…silent sweet nothings. Jimmy had only half melted by the time Tango broke away again, his expression slightly dazed and his cheeks slightly flushed. His wings were fluffed and he was half-clinging to Tango’s vest again from how off-kilter the sudden show of affection had sent him.

“...o-oh. Yeah. Okay. That’s–” Jimmy chuckled breathlessly, that sparkle finally returning to his eyes, and Tango smiled brilliantly. He gently knocked their foreheads together.

“That’s more like it,” he murmured, sly and a bit giddy. “That’s a better goodbye, huh?”

Jimmy fell into giggles, brushing their noses and letting his eyes flutter shut for one second, then another. He sighed, and it was full of fondness and amusement rather than the melancholy ache that had been weighing him down before.

“It’s a better see-you-later,” he corrected. “You silly, silly man.”

“Oh, of course,” Tango drawled, “my mistake.”

“JIM!” Joel’s voice carried to the trees and Jimmy jolted, turning his head slightly and flaring the feathers around his ears to better hear his brother-in-law. “Oh, for goodness sake, where is he - JIM, THE PORTAL’S OPEN!”

Jimmy chewed his lip for a moment. (The fact that Tango could no longer feel it through the now-untethered soulbond was surreal and left him feeling a bit hollow, if Tango let himself dwell on it. He opted to save the dwelling for later.)

“D’you think Grian would notice if I just never left this server?”

Jimmy’s innocent comment drew a bright laugh from Tango, who poked at Jimmy’s side where he knew his soulmate was ticklish, causing the startled avian to dance out of reach with a flurry of feathers and a surprised little squawk.

“Tangooo!”

“Jimmyyy!” Tango sing-songed right back at him. He snorted and trailed after his partner, both of them no longer hidden by the trees and finally catching the attention of the rest of their servermates. Joel shouted something across the clearing to them, and Scott waved when he caught sight of them, and Jimmy only managed a half-raised hand in return.

Tango sidled up beside him with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, lest he became tempted to “kidnap” his soulmate all over again.

“C’mon, Feathers,” he murmured. “You can’t stay. This place is gonna go offline in about an hour anyway.”

“I know,” Jimmy grumbled. “I’m still gonna miss it.”

Tango leaned sideways to bump shoulders with him, an affectionate little nudge, and Jimmy habitually extended a wing to tuck Tango close to his side.

“I know, buddy. Me too.”

And maybe they lingered a bit longer than they should have, and maybe their walk from the treeline to the portals was slower than was probably polite. Tango knew it, and he was sure Jimmy knew it. But if this was the last time they’d see each other for a while, then - voiddammit - Tango was going to make the most of every last second they got.

“Oh, hurry it up, will you?” Joel rolled his eyes good-naturedly once they were close enough to the portal to hear him clearly. “Some of us ‘ave got places to be you know!”

“Says the man who just spent the last ten minutes so engrossed in goodbyes with his soulmate that I had to drag him away just to get him to the portal,” Scott drawled, sly and amused, and Joel’s beetroot expression was enough to send Jimmy and Tango into shared stifled laughter.

“Oi!” Joel huffed. “Me an’ Etho are from different servers! We don’t usually get to talk this much! Excuse me for takin’ advantage of what time we’ve got.”

“Cleo and Pearl and I are from different servers too.” Scott quirked an eyebrow at him. “And so are Tango and Jimmy, in case that escaped your notice.”

Joel, who had taken a defensive stance with his arms folded over his chest, opened and closed his mouth a few times before he seemed to deflate. He cast a look past Scott to Jimmy, who was still half-amused but had taken on a slightly pink-tinged complexion.

“...well I’m not sayin’ you can’t say goodbye,” Joel shrugged. (Tango was half convinced he could see a friendly smile in Joel’s eyes, a fraction of proof that he and Jimmy acted more like brothers when they weren’t in the midst of a murder game.) “If you two need a second, Jim, then take it. But I dunno how long Fwhip’ll manage to keep up the connection, is all.”

Right. The server connection. Tango winced.

“No, it’s fine,” Jimmy was saying now, tossing Tango a melancholy smile. “We said goodbye. I’m all good.”

It was a half-lie, Tango knew, but he wasn’t about to point that out. For a moment - a brief breath of a moment - Jimmy reached sideways to catch Tango’s hand. Their fingers interlocked, and they exchanged a gentle squeeze, and then they were separating and Jimmy was stepping toward the portal.

He was going to leave.

He had to leave.

(You should’ve said something. You should’ve said something sooner.)

Grian finally shook free from Scar with a grin and a laugh, batting him away and stepping up near the Empires portal. He had his admin panel out and he was double-checking his work, putting a palm to the portal frame and ensuring the connection.

(You should’ve told him.)

Grian said something, made a gesture, and Joel stepped up, tossing one last wave to Etho and grinning as he vanished from sight, and–

(Say something.)

–Scott was quick to follow him. He said something to Cleo, something to Pearl, exchanged a word of thanks with Grian and tossed a wink in Martyn’s direction. There was a spattering of laughter and a grin or two. Then he stepped through the portal, and Jimmy–

(Tell him.)

–was next. His wings were twitching, antsy and nervous, and when he cast a look in Grian’s direction, Grian’s cocky grin became warmer, gentler. He tugged Jimmy into a hug, said something only Jimmy could hear, then nudged him toward the portal. Whatever it was must have helped because Jimmy’s shoulders weren’t as hunched as before. He shot one last longing smile back toward Tango, then–

“Wait, Jimmy–”

Jimmy paused, turning more fully to face his soulmate, curiosity lighting up his expression. The glow of the portal illuminated him from behind, haloing him, making his wings look ethereal.

“Yeah?”

“I…I, uh…” Tango swallowed, nerves making his throat feel tight. Just say it. Say something. Anything. “Jimmy, I–”

But…the timing felt wrong. It felt cruel. Jimmy was about to leave, and there wasn’t enough time to do it properly, and leaving Jimmy on a note like that when neither of them would be able to see each other again for a few weeks at least…? No. No, he couldn’t do that to his soulmate.

He couldn’t do that to himself.

So instead, Tango summoned something from his inventory, the red and white fabric feeling soft and plush in his hands. He felt eyes boring into the back of his head, the knowing look from Impulse all but tangible, but he ignored it. He just focussed on Jimmy, and the bright recognition in his expression when he realized what it was Tango was holding. His eyes widened and his breath caught.

“Tango…?”

“Here.” Tango held the folded sweatshirt aloft, the bright TNT colors vibrant even in the fading sunlight. “I want you to hold onto this for me.”

Jimmy's head snapped up and he gaped at his partner, his ear feathers flaring.

“You - really?” he breathed. He reached out a hand, hesitant and uncertain, to let his fingertips brush against the familiar material. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Tango tugged on a grin and pushed the bundled hoodie into Jimmy’s arms. “It’s lucky, remember? It kinda sounds like you need that a bit more than me right now. You can give it back the next time you see my ugly mug.”

Jimmy flashed him a watery sort of smile and held the sweatshirt close, hugging it for as long as it took to banish it into his inventory.

“Thank you.”

Tango shrugged.

“Now get outta here, Rancher,” he waved Jimmy away, reveling in his soulmate’s laugh, “before you miss your exit.” He rocked back on his heels, taking a few slow steps backward while Jimmy finished his path up to the portal. “And - hey.”

Jimmy paused again, one hand on the portal frame, one foot at the threshold. Tango flashed him a brilliant grin, one that refused to betray the ache in his chest that Jimmy could no longer feel through their nonexistent bond.

“Don’t forget to message me when you can, alright?” he demanded, only half-joking. “Don’t be a stranger.”

And Jimmy beamed, bright as the sun, as he said:

“I promise!”

Then he was gone.

When Martyn and Ren and BigB swept in, the next cluster of players in need of a portal, and when Tango’s grin slid off his face, the remaining babbling crowd wasn’t paying enough attention to see the way Tango deflated, the way he drifted away from the portal, the way he shoved his hands in his pockets just a little too hard.

Nobody but Impulse, of course, who appeared at Tango’s side as a familiar and solid presence that he was grateful for.

“Your lucky hoodie, huh?” Impulse asked, warm and knowing, and Tango snorted as he lightly elbowed his best friend in the ribs.

“You can’t talk, man, you and Bdubs are just as bad.”

Impulse laughed, not denying the accusation.

“Maybe. I’m just surprised. I know how important that sweatshirt is to you. Zed stole it one time, and you nearly pushed him off the top of Toon Towers.”

Tango just shrugged. He didn’t feel like explaining. He didn’t feel like putting into words how it wasn’t the sweatshirt that he had really wanted to give Jimmy, how he wanted to do more, how he wanted to say more. How he should have done something before their game was even over, or in the time they spent together after they’d lost their final life, but he’d waited too long, and now the timing was all wrong, and now -

Well.

He’d just have to hope Jimmy’s admin didn’t take too long on those server repairs.

“Hey.” Impulse stilled Tango with a hand on his shoulder, and it was only now that Tango realized they’d managed to walk all the way back to the shadows of the tree line. Tango blinked up at him, suddenly very aware of the warmth dancing across his scalp and against his palms and down the length of his tail. “You two have the most solid relationship out of anyone in this game,” Impulse pointed out. “A little bit of long-distance can’t do a thing to damage that.”

It was a simple thing, so few words, but somehow it helped uncoil some of the tension beneath Tango’s ribcage. He took in a slow breath and let out a lungful of hot air, cooling his core and nodding. Yeah. Yeah, Impulse was right.

Tango’s communicator beeped and he reached for it almost as an afterthought, expecting something from Zed or maybe Xisuma, checking in on the status of the Life players, but–

<SolidarityGaming> hi rancher! we made it back safe and sound! <SolidarityGaming> keeping my promise and messaging before the signal dies again <SolidarityGaming> I cant wait to send you pictures once I start building my empire :D

–and Tango grinned, something soft and warm curling up in his chest alongside his heart.

Impulse was more than right, and it was a thought that became more concrete as he sent back a cheerful ‘Can’t wait to see it!’ and it registered as received. It wouldn’t be forever. A few weeks, right? Or two months, at most. Tango had gone longer without talking to Skizz or, heck, even Impulse before. He’d get through to Jimmy when he could, and when he couldn’t, he’d just have to save up pictures and messages to send when they connected again.

Martyn and BigB were gone soon enough, and while the remaining players gathered to leave - only the Hermits left now - Tango traded messages with his soulmate for as long as he was allowed. When the connection stuttered and failed, and when it was his turn to step through the portal, the bubble of warmth didn’t pop or fade. It lingered in his chest, a small spark of hope, and he smiled. He let the effects of the portal whisk him away, pixels and particles blurring his vision, and he let the code carry him home.

Yeah. He and Jimmy would be fine…and they’d see each other again soon enough.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tango was almost proud of the fact that his grin remained intact until he was fully through Tumble Town’s nether portal. His expression only dropped once he stepped off the obsidian frame and onto unforgiving bedrock, the atmosphere of the nether much muggier though not much hotter than the mesa Tango had just left. For a moment, he barely moved. His knees felt unsteady and he reached out a fumbling hand to grip the wood-and-terracotta structure decorating the Sheriff’s portal, but he didn’t move from his spot. He didn’t have the willpower to try.

Jimmy was building the ranch.

Jimmy was building the ranch.

Something sizzled nearby but Tango didn’t pay it any mind, too fixated on that single revelation that was spiraling in his thoughts.

If Jimmy was building the ranch - their ranch - then…then a part of him had to remember. Right? He had to. Tango had been so hesitant to hope, but he couldn’t deny that he had been hopeful, that he had wistfully wondered if the Jimmy he had built a ranch with was still somewhere beneath the Sheriff’s welcoming grin. He had already seen traces of the Jimmy he remembered in the man that he had just bid farewell, tiny reflections of familiar gesticulations and intonations that made Tango’s heart ache just by being near him. (So close, yet so far.) Jimmy’s smile was the same, and his bright laughter, and his bombastic energy. The movements of his wings and the way he turned sheepish when receiving a genuine compliment…still so very him.

And he was building the ranch.

It was the same Jimmy, just as Grian had said back by the rift…and that was proof. The Sheriff of Tumble Town was his Jimmy. Tango’s Jimmy. He remembered. Somewhere in there, somewhere under the cowboy hat and the boots and the badge, Tango’s soulmate was lying dormant just waiting to be brought back to the surface. Tango’s partner, Grian’s brother, their friend. Something had made him forget, but that part of him wasn’t gone. Tango just needed to find it.

The sizzling sound from before caught his ear again and Tango dragged himself from his racing, blurring thoughts. It took him longer than he would’ve liked to realize the sound was coming from him. Namely, from the hand still clinging to the top of the nearest block, one of the terracotta pillars that made up Tumble Town’s portal decor.

One of the terracotta pillars topped with wood.

Tango snatched his hand away quickly, shaking it out to dispel the heat and grimacing at the clear imprint of his palm and fingers charred into the decorative slab. He hadn’t meant to do that. His flames had been hotter than usual as of late, he knew that, and he’d gotten into the habit of taking care not to let it get the best of him back on Hermitcraft, but - well. Today was a day of heightened emotions, wasn’t it? He could be forgiven for a momentary lapse in control. He would just have to remember to replace the damaged block when he returned to Tumble Town later.

Because he would be returning. He would be.

“Don’t be a stranger!”

Tango gritted his teeth and forced himself away from the portal. The rockets Jimmy had gifted him fell into his hand.

He’d keep his promise. Jimmy might not be able to do the same right now, not when he didn’t even remember such a promise existed, but Tango would be damned if he didn’t try to make up for it on his end. He wouldn’t fail his Rancher.

    With the coordinates Jimmy had given Tango on their way back through the train tunnel, finding the Gobland portal wasn’t too difficult of a feat.

(There was one rather embarrassing moment where he had somehow gone through Joel’s portal instead of Fwhip’s. It was obvious whose it was based on the Greek architecture, gold detailing, and obnoxiously ostentatious builds literally floating in the sky. Tango just about patted himself on the back for opting not to burn the banners he could see hanging about ten blocks out from the portal.)

After finding his way to the right portal, ducking through and finding himself face-to-face with some cactus was a little startling, and the climb up out of the small stone cave area he spawned in was a bit precarious…but to be fair, Tango had seen stranger portal locations on Hermitcraft. And really, stumbling out of a hole in the wall and finding himself in the belly of an absolutely jaw-dropping cavern carved through with an expansive web of colorful and sprawling structures and pathways? It made the short climb worth the effort. The sight he had come upon was absolutely breathtaking.

Where Jimmy’s empire had been warm and welcoming and sang of friendly neighbors and home cooking, and where Sanctuary from that morning’s journey had been lush and vibrant and - pardon the term - mythical in its aura, Gobland felt ancient. Organic. It felt like a civilization that had grown with the earth around it, one that was just chaotic and disorganized enough to almost feel overwhelming, but in a way that seemed to flow naturally with the space it had settled into.

It was an odd juxtaposition and an impressive level of building prowess that left Tango a bit wide-eyed on his first step into the empire.

(In truth, he had been just as impressed by Sausage’s creations, and just as much so by the smaller area of swampland the witch Shelby had chosen to inhabit. Perhaps - much like the Hermits - the Empires members were just like that when it came to building their bases, and the unfamiliarity of their build styles was what really made Tango take notice. It was impressive.)

“Tango! - sorry, excuse me - TANGO!”

Impulse’s familiar voice rose above the general hubbub of the cavern and Tango’s attention whipped around to his friend, who was ducking around a group of short, green-skinned miners that Tango belatedly realized must be actual goblins. They were shorter and more gremlin-looking than Fwhip…though Tango supposed Fwhip was a player hybrid, so he would look different. (Not that Tango knew goblins were even real before coming to Empires. He was learning a lot of new things today.)

Tango descended the mossy cobble pathway that led up to the portal, passing by a lava farm and a quaint-looking house on his way down. He had to duck around a handbuilt fence made of mangrove roots to reach the street - or what he assumed was the street - and the moment he was past it, Impulse managed to free himself from the small crowd of workers.

“Tango, hey!” he grinned, straightening his vest. “I lost you after we met up with everyone on the nether roof. Where’d you go?”

“Uh - yeah, I…” Tango jerked a thumb back over his shoulder toward the portal, his words trailing off. I asked Shelby where Jimmy lived, he could have said, or I found Tumble Town. But he must have hesitated a moment too long because Impulse’s grin faded to a knowing and sympathetic smile in the tick or two Tango remained silent.

“You went to find Jimmy, didn’t you?” he asked, understanding in his voice.

Tango huffed out a weary chuckle and ducked his head, the brim of Shelby’s gifted hat half-hiding his face.

“Am I that easy to read?”

“No, I just know you.” Impulse’s boot steps were heavy and recognizable against the stone path. Tango heard him come closer, and he saw Impulse’s arm move into his line of sight only moments before the oversized hat brim was tugged upward so Impulse could catch his eyes. “And if it were Bdubs, I know I’d look for him first thing too.”

Tango smiled, sheepish.

“Soulmates, huh?” he quipped commiseratingly, and Impulse laughed, a grin alighting beneath his beard again.

“Soulmates,” he agreed. He tugged at Tango’s hat, dislodging it from its perch and causing Tango to make an inhuman sound of protest as he swiped it back from Impulse’s grip.

“This was a gift!” Tango spouted, darting back from him on nimble feet. “No touchy!”

As an afterthought, he turned the hat over in his hands, checking to make sure none of the fabric had been singed by his overheated core in the time he’d been wearing it. (He probably should have thought to check back in the nether, when he’d managed to burn that slab. But it seemed entirely untouched. Perhaps Shelby’s claim of her hat being magical wasn’t unfounded.)

“...so, uh…speaking of soulmates,” Tango murmured, plopping his gifted hat back on his head where it belonged, “didja manage to find Bdubs?”

“I did, yeah.” Impulse nodded in the corner of Tango’s vision. “He’s sticking pretty close to Etho right now. I think Etho’s more worried about Joel than he’s letting on, so Bdubs being there for him is probably a good idea.”

Tango tilted his head curiously, a revelation dawning behind his eyes. Bdubs was keeping an eye on Etho? And here Tango was, showing up in Gobland for the admin meeting, with Impulse practically waiting at the gate.

“Ohhh,” he drawled. “Oh, so you two are on Babysitting Duty for the Lonely Soulmates Club, is that it?”

Impulse went a little too quiet, casting a sideways look at Tango, and Tango’s grin widened into a knowing smirk.

“Uh-huh. Thought so. Divide and conquer, right? He’s watching Etho, you’re watching me–”

“Tango–”

“–making sure neither of us sad sacks is left alone to cry into our breakfast cereal–”

“Tango, come on!” Impulse laughed, turning to face Tango more fully. “You know it’s not like that. I know this whole thing has gotta be tough on you, so…I just wanna be here for you. You’re family, man.” He stepped closer and patted Tango’s shoulder with one large hand, squeezing it gently. “Let your pyre brother take care of you for once.”

Tango huffed out a half-scoff, half-chuckle, not even fighting the appreciative little smile that lingered on his face. His tail waved lazily back and forth near his ankles for a moment, stirring up some of the dust lingering in the cavern air, and he let out a slow breath.

Impulse was a part of his pyre, that was true. His blazeborn family. Impulse was about as close to a brother as Tango had ever had…so if Tango couldn’t trust him to be a solid rock to lean on when he needed it, then who could he trust?

He reached up to drop his hand on top of Impulse’s on his shoulder, squeezing once to show his thanks.

“Yeah, man,” he muttered, nodding once. “I appreciate it.”

Impulse nodded back. After a moment he let his hand fall and glanced off to the side, staring down the path Tango had arrived from. The nether portal, Tango realized.

“So…how’d it go with Jimmy?”

Tango snorted.

“Subtle.”

“I try.” A beat, a breath, and Impulse fixed his focus back on Tango properly. “But really, how did it go?”

And, void, wasn’t that a hell of a question?

Tango sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes, shrugging and feeling his hood's fur lining tickle his ears.

“Well Joel is still an ass,” he said first, starting off easy. “He was being a total jerk to Jimmy again right about the time I found everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“Uh - oh, right–” Tango blinked up at Impulse. He hadn’t even said– “By the time I made it to Tumble Town, Jimmy had a whole entourage with him. Grian and Scar were there, which was good, because I probably wouldn’t have known about the admin meeting otherwise. And Fwhip too. And Joel.”

He grimaced, making a face. The Joel he remembered from the Life games could be a bit pushy and teasing at times, but he always had his limits and he’d never upset someone intentionally. But this Joel was–

Anyway.

“I think even Grian was getting fed up with him too because he came up with this whole excuse of needing to find Pixl before the meeting just to get Joel to leave Tumble Town with him.”

“Pixl?” Impulse spoke up, intrigued. “As in Pixlriffs? From the Recap team?”

Tango grinned lopsidedly, his eyes crinkling.

“Yeah, that Pixl,” he said. “I knew that guy in the blue shirt looked familiar. I saw him by the rift before everyone got all scatter-fied. I can’t believe I forgot he was an Empires member.”

“No wonder Grian wanted to go find him.” Impulse scratched at his jawline below his ear, thoughtful. “He’s a Hermitcraft historian. And he knows us. If anyone has a chance of remembering us, it’s him.”

“Or the Life members,” Tango tacked on, and Impulse nodded.

“Or the Life members.”

Silence fell for a moment as they both pondered that.

If anyone has a chance of remembering.

“...Jimmy’s building the ranch.”

“Wait - what?” Impulse jolted at Tango’s murmured words, snapping to attention and staring at him, gobsmacked. “He’s–”

“Yeah.” Tango managed a watery smile, his hands curling into fists in his pockets. He could feel warmth crackling along his scalp and in his palms, flames he couldn’t quite tamp down attempting to make themselves known. But he held them back as best he could. “I saw it, by his house. It’s only half-built and he said he knows what it’s meant to look like, it’s just - ah - ‘fuzzy’.” He made air quotes with one hand.

Impulse was listening intently, eyes wide and hopeful.

“Does he remember–”

“I don’t think he remembers much,” Tango cut him off quickly. He sniffed and shrugged and kicked at a stone on the path, feeling antsy and unsettled. He gave in to his need to fidget by starting off down the pathway, not going far but unable to stay put any longer. His free hand fiddled with the clasps on his robe and his tail whipped sharply from beneath its hem, casting dashes of blue light out behind him. “He doesn’t remember me. But - I dunno. Maybe something’s still in there? He invited me to stay in Tumble Town…he asked me if I wanted to help him finish the ranch.”

“He did?” Impulse prodded, and Tango could hear the smile in his words without even looking his way. His heavy footfalls trailed behind Tango, keeping up with his meandering. “Tango, that’s - that’s a good sign, isn’t it? It means there’s hope! Those memories aren’t gone.”

“Yeah…” Tango smiled weakly. “Yeah, I know.”

His Jimmy was in there somewhere. He knew that. But he couldn’t help that lingering doubt in the back of his mind, the little voice whispering what if, that made Tango’s chest feel tight any time he let himself listen to it. His smile faded as he pictured Jimmy - this Jimmy - smiling cordially at him by the rift, in the train tunnel, in the shadow of the half-built ranch. Polite and friendly and kind, but a stranger. No familiarity in his eyes and no recognition when Tango hugged him ‘hello’.

And ‘Don’t be a stranger!’ without even knowing how impactful that little phrase really was.

(Tango should have given him more than just a sweatshirt back when Jimmy still remembered how much they meant to each other. He should have said something more before the chance was taken from him. He should have.)

(He didn’t.)

Tango drifted off to the left of the rough stone brick path, trailing a hand along the wooden fencing lining a little watery farm plot full of sea pickles. What was the likelihood of Jimmy ever remembering him at all? His blaze core flared and he sucked down a breath, shakily taking the gifted witch hat from his head and shoving it unceremoniously into his inventory. He raked shaking fingers through his hair in an attempt to alleviate any flames that were spiking there, though he knew it would do little good. He swallowed thickly and turned his back on Impulse, gripping the fence with both hands and leaning on it slightly for some sort of stability.

“...it’s just weird being near him when he doesn’t know me,” he breathed, his head bowed and his heart aching. “I’d make a joke or - or smile, or something, and he’d–” He shivered. “It’s almost the same. But something’s missing. It’s - void, Impy, it’s - he’s almost, almost the same person. I don’t know if that’s better or worse.”

“Well…it means he’s still him,” Impulse spoke up, gentle and thoughtful and even. “Even if he’s - you know - missing some parts. He’s still your soulmate.”

‘He’s not’, Tango almost snipped, but ‘He is’ was fighting just as hard to be said. He was his Jimmy, but he wasn’t. He was both. He was neither. He was - he was–

“It’s Jimmy,” Impulse said, coming up beside Tango and leaning back against the fence. “Your Jimmy. And maybe - well, maybe Jimmy doesn’t remember that right now, but he will. You said he’d been building the ranch. That’s - Tango, that means it’s in there somewhere. He’ll remember. If he loved you half as much as you love him–”

“He didn’t know.”

The confession left Tango on a wavering whisper, his grip tightening on the fence where he’d been clutching the worn wood. His chest was tight and hot and he could taste sulfur on his tongue.

“...what?” The fence creaked slightly as Impulse turned, leaning further so he could try to catch Tango’s eye. “What was that?”

“I–” Tango swallowed thickly and shook his head. “Yeah, I love him, you know I love him, but…Jimmy never knew that.”

Impulse frowned, confused, his brow furrowing. Tango’s jaw went tense under his scrutinizing stare.

“What are you talking about?” Impulse murmured, shaking his head slowly. “Tango - I saw how you two were back in Double Life. You told me when he kissed you for the first time. You two were joined at the hip. I’d never seen you happier. I saw how hard it was for you two to say goodbye after the game. Why wouldn’t he - Tango, of course Jimmy knew–”

Impulse’s warm and familiar hand fell on Tango’s shoulder and he shook him off, rounding on him with smoke slipping past his teeth and a self-deprecating scowl on his lips.

“I never told him!” he snapped.

Impulse flinched and went wide-eyed, his confusion palpable, and Tango felt flames flare to life through his hair. He snarled, running a hand through them, trying to tame them and failing miserably.

“Yes, I’ve been in love with him since Double Life, but Jimmy never knew that because I never told him!” His tail lashed at the air behind him and he was only partially aware of the rapid rise and fall of his chest with each quickened breath he took. “I realized it after Jimmy fell from the Velvet Keep. We both woke up on red, and he was right there, and he was so broken up about it - and - he was just–” Tango shook his head, not really seeing what was in front of him, too focussed on the memory. “...he was more worried about me than about himself, even though he was the one who’d died. He kept apologizing and he–”

Jimmy had looked so distraught. He didn’t care that he’d died, not really…or if he did, it paled in comparison to how sorry he was to have taken Tango down with him. But Tango didn’t blame him at all. Not one bit. And yet Jimmy had apologized anyway, and they’d been sitting close on the bed, face to face, Jimmy cocooning them both in his wings, and he’d looked up with big, sad, shining eyes, and - and they’d been red. So, so red. And for a moment Tango had been sure he’d never seen anything more endearing in his life. And–

“–and I should’ve - I should’ve said something, I–”

Tango’s breath hitched and he sucked down a few deep, desperate breaths, the crackling sounds of an aggravated blaze coming through in his heightened state. He staggered back a step.

“I - void, I almost told him. More than once.” There were hands on his shoulders, grounding him, trying to center him, but he was already spiraling. “I got so close, so many times. I did. I did. I was gonna - before he left, but I couldn’t, and then–”

He couldn’t breathe.

“Tango, buddy, hey. Hey.”

Tango reached out with floundering hands, scrabbling fingers seeking purchase against the rough material of Impulse’s sleeves and arm bracers. He hiccupped, his chest heaving and his vision blurred with what he now realized were tears. When had he even started crying…?

“C’mon man, I’ve got you. Alright? C’mere.”

Impulse reeled him in gently, all but smothering him in a warm bear hug, not even bothered by the hot blue flames licking across Tango’s hair. Not for the first time, Tango was grateful to have a demon for a best friend. He clung to Impulse’s vest and forced himself to breathe, harsh blazeborn wheezes escaping him as he struggled.

Gods, he was a mess. But he had been holding up a front all day. After everything that had happened in the last fourteen hours, maybe he deserved a bit of a breakdown.

“We’re gonna fix this,” Impulse told him, and Tango could feel the rumble of his voice in his chest where Tango was still hiding his face. It was soothing, in a way. Familiar. “Grian and Xisuma are on it, and they’ve even got Fwhip and Pixl on board. And Joe too…and you. There’s a whole team of admins working together to fix this. We’ll figure it out.”

Yeah. Yeah.

He just had to remind himself of that the next time he let that little voice get the best of him.

“...I still wish I’d said something,” Tango said hoarsely. He half-crumpled in Impulse’s arms. He let out a wet, self-deprecating chuckle, his words unsteady. “Void…for a guy who can talk a mile a minute about redstone, somehow three little words feel so much harder to say.”

“They’re important words,” Impulse told him. They were. Impulse let his arms loosen after a long moment, stepping back so he could get a good look at his pyre brother. “...are you gonna be okay?” A beat, a blink. “Or, uh…okay enough? Stable?”

Tango snorted humorlessly, exhaustion settling into his bones as his core finally began to return to a semi-normal temperature.

“I’m in love with a guy who doesn’t even know who I am anymore,” he said flatly, achingly. “I’m as okay as I can be, given the circumstances.”

“Oh, Tango…

Impulse’s head shot up and Tango jolted, Grian’s voice startling him more than it had any right to. He hadn’t even heard anyone else approach. When he turned to glance back over his shoulder, he spotted an entire group lingering near the little house by the nether portal, the collection of admins and players that Tango had come here to meet in the first place. Xisuma and Joe were there, and so was Scar, along with both Fwhip and Pixl…just like Tango had been expecting. They seemed to be blessedly out of hearing range, so even if they had seen Tango’s breakdown, it was unlikely they’d heard much - if any - of the content of it.

Minor miracles.

Grian, though, had separated himself from the rest and was a few paces away…and judging by the pained expression on his face he had been there for longer than Tango probably would have liked.

Tango cleared his throat.

“How, uh…how much did you hear?”

Grian’s wings drooped against his back and he tugged at the cuff of his sweater sleeve.

“Enough.” The feathers around his ears were pinned back against his head, a mannerism Tango was more than familiar with thanks to living with an avian for the entirety of Double Life. “I didn’t - I never knew–” He cut himself off, his lips twitching into a frown. “Were you and Jimmy…”

“Together? Dating?” Tango mumbled, still not sure what word to put to it even after the literal months since he and Jimmy had become an item. He nodded jerkily, and Grian let out a quiet, saddened little chirp.

“I didn’t know,” he breathed. “I’m - I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Of course they were,” Scar chimed in, suddenly appearing at Grian’s side. He was leaning heavily on his cane, one he hadn’t had out the last time Tango saw him. “They were like two little lovebirds, being all twitterpated on the ranch while the rest of us were waging war on each other.”

Grian swallowed and crossed the small gap still dividing him from Tango. He looked as though he wanted to reach out, but he hesitated at the last second, instead returning to fiddling with his cuffs.

“We’ll get him back, I promise you,” he said, and his words held a weight to them that made Tango want to believe him. “I’m not losing my brother, and I’m not letting you lose your soulmate.”

There was an ache there, a mutual sadness and a heartfelt understanding. He understood.

“I guess we’d better get to that meeting then,” Tango told him, tugging on a smile that was only sixty percent genuine. But, hels, sixty percent was better than nothing at all.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The tavern Fwhip led them to was in an area of Gobland that was busier than the rest. It felt more like a city, like a central district, with shops and businesses and homes mingled together in a vibrant pallet of colors and life. The Drip - that’s what the sign said it was called - was a cool-looking bar that Tango probably would have appreciated the style of more if he wasn’t so focused on the problem at hand. A few lingering goblins had been inhabiting the space when they had arrived, but with only a few murmured words from Fwhip, the entire place had cleared out rather quickly.

Now the group had settled themselves around a table and the bartender - the sole goblin still lingering in the building - was making short order of what few drinks people had asked for. While Tango had been tempted to get something to take the edge off, he also knew he wouldn’t be much use to Jimmy if he wasn’t able to contribute to the conversation. So…sober it was. That wasn’t to say he was doing a very good job of paying attention. Grian had explained some of the situation to Fwhip and Pixl already–

“...I know it sounds unbelievable, but I’m very serious. We know many of you from outside of Empires. Scott, Joel, and Jimmy have participated in a game of mine before, multiple times. Scott’s the organizer for the Minecraft Championship, and Gem - you know Gem, right? - she’s also a member of Hermitcraft…”

–but really, when most of it was a repeat of what he already knew, and with worry for his soulmate still lingering on his mind, it was hard to keep himself focussed. His knee bounced impatiently under the table and his boot heel caught the footrest of his chair every so often, and he’d caught himself flicking his tail impatiently on more than one occasion.

Impulse could clearly tell he was getting antsy because every so often a heavy shoulder would lean against Tango’s, a gentle physical distraction, and he’d remind himself to settle down.

But then–

“I don’t know how much any of you might remember,” Grian said, a quiet barely-restrained desperation leaking into his words, “but I know Jimmy remembers a little bit. He remembered my name, and he remembered that my wings were a different color once. He…” Grian took a breath. “...he’s my brother, and we’ve been through a lot together, so maybe that’s why he remembers even a scrap about me. But that’s something.”

“He remembers the ranch,” Tango spoke up, his words hoarse and quiet.

Grian dragged his attention to Tango, as did everyone else at the table.

“Does he?” Grian asked, hopeful, and Tango nodded.

“Sort of. He’s building it in Tumble Town. Next to his house.”

Fwhip’s ears flicked forward and his eyebrows rose.

“That framework by the cliffside?” he asked. “The one that’s just an outline?”

“Yeah.” Tango summoned his communicator, ignoring the flashing CONNECTION ERROR warning that it had been giving him since arriving through the rift. He tabbed over to his photos and flicked back a few months, back before his recent work on Decked Out to the small collection he was far too familiar with by now. Among them was a photo of himself and Jimmy in front of the newly-finished ranch, Tango having been strong-armed into taking it by his all-too-proud soulmate. Jimmy had an arm slung around Tango’s shoulders and his grin was blinding, bright and warm beside Tango’s sheepish and flush-faced little smile.

It was one of Tango’s favorite pictures.

Tango set his comm on the table and slid it past Impulse to Fwhip, who stared at the photo on its screen with widening eyes.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “That’s what he’s been building. I’ve seen his build so many times…”

Fwhip trailed off, his gaze lingering on the image. Tango wasn’t sure what he was seeing there, but something must have caught his attention. The goblin’s expression softened and became melancholy all at once, something unreadable lingering behind his eyes. It lasted for only a moment or two before he sighed and pushed Tango’s communicator back across the table.

“So - you mean all of us have forgotten things? All of us have some kind of - what - amnesia?”

“Basically,” Grian told him.

“What about Gem?” Impulse spoke up, and when Tango looked over there was a frown creasing his brow and pulling down the corners of his mouth between his beard. Grian mimicked his expression, his wings fluttering behind him.

“What about her?”

“She’s acting really odd.”

More of the table gave him their attention, Fwhip more than the rest.

“Whaddaya mean by ‘odd’?” Xisuma asked, leaning forward and steepling his fingers in front of him. “I didn’t see her much today.”

“Well, she was kind of all over the place,” Scar said, and Impulse nodded with an affirming hum.

“Yeah, that,” he agreed. “And every time I saw her, she seemed to flip between tagging along with me and Pearl, and pretending she had no idea who we were.”

“And the random costume changes,” Tango muttered, which Impulse nodded along with.

“That too.”

“How do you know Gem again?” Fwhip asked, squinting at them with a strange look on his face.

“She’s a member of our server,” Xisuma told him. “She’s been with us for a season and a half by now, and she’s a wonderful builder and a wonderful friend.”

“She’s been with you?” Fwhip pressed, confusion in his expression. “Except for recently, you mean.”

Now it was Impulse’s turn to look confused, and Tango was right there with him.

“Nooo…?” Impulse said slowly. “She’s…my neighbor? I see her every other day. She was with us when we came through the rift.”

“That’s not possible.” Pixl’s voice drew their attention, his brow furrowed. “She lives here, in Dawn. She’s the princess of that kingdom. And we already established that nobody is capable of leaving the server.”

Impulse chuckled weakly, confused, shaking his head.

“That’s–”

“How long do you remember her being here?” Grian asked pointedly. “Specifically.”

“As long as any of us,” Pixl told him. “Since the founding of our empires.”

Impulse shot Tango a look, perplexed and tight around the eyes.

“But…she’s been on Hermitcraft,” he said. “Regularly. I’d even say she’s been on more than usual the last few weeks.”

Grian took a breath and a beat of silence passed with him staring off across the table, not looking at anything in particular. Just…thinking. He was tugging at his sweater cuffs again, his brow pinched. Without any preamble or a single spoken word, Scar shifted closer, resting his hand against Grian’s back just below his wing joints. He leaned in to press a quick kiss into his soulmate’s hair and Grian softened, much of the tension draining from his shoulders and too-stiff wings.

“...I need more information,” he muttered finally, and Xisuma nodded beside him. “We should talk to Gem tomorrow.”

“What about False?” This time, the question arose from Joe Hills, who had been sitting in relative silence through most of the conversation. “Isn’t she also a member of both servers?”

“Void, she is,” Xisuma muttered. “And she came through the rift with us as well…has anyone seen much of her today?”

“A little,” said Grian lowly. “At Sanctuary.”

“She was at Shelby’s place not long after we first got separated,” Tango added, followed by Impulse saying,

“And at Dawn.” He winced. “I was a bit too focused on how weird Gem was acting though, so I don’t really remember what False was getting up to.”

Grian chewed his lip thoughtfully, squinting at nothing.

“We’ll need to talk to them both then,” he mused. He nodded, slowly at first, then a little more decisively. “Right…right. Okay. Fwhip.”

One of Fwhip’s ears twitched and he tilted his head at Grian, who finally refocused his eyes back on the goblin. Grian looked dreadfully serious, something behind his eyes making him appear older and more burdened than he had any right to.

(Though Tango knew there was good reason for that. He may not have known all the details, but he knew enough of Grian’s history to know he had been through a lot. He had seen more than most Hermits probably had in their entire lifetime.)

“Fwhip, I’d like to ask permission for us to have access to your server code. OP status at least, if nothing else.”

“The server code?” Fwhip repeated, even as he pulled out his communicator. “You think it’s a server issue?”

“I’m sure of it,” Grian told him, the same time that Tango muttered, “We know it is.”

Pixl and Fwhip cast Tango a glance, and under their curious stares, he shrugged lopsidedly.

“The last time I saw Jimmy, he told me you guys were having connection and communications issues with the server. We had to time the portal just right to get him and Scott and Joel back to Empires after Double Life ended.” He folded his arms over his chest and sank back in his seat, his knee bouncing beneath the table again. “Back then I’d guessed it might’ve been a jammer, but this is way more than that. The connection just kept getting worse and worse until nobody could get through anymore, and now with the memory loss…”

Grian nodded with a wince.

“It was about that time I reached out to the Recap team and Noxcrew to see if they’d had better luck, but–” He shook his head, his wings fidgeting tensely against his back despite Scar's comforting presence at his side. “I dove into my rift experiments more steadily after that. If the hub couldn’t get through, then I’d hoped a bit of void magic would have a better chance.”

Xisuma landed a hand on Grian’s shoulder, his eyes crinkling into a smile behind the visor of his helmet.

“And you were right, my friend,” he said. “We got through.”

Grian huffed out a soft breath and flashed the other admin an appreciative look.

The chair between Tango and Xisuma creaked and Joe leaned forward, straightening his glasses slightly.

“Pixlriffs, you’re a man of record keeping and historical documentation,” he spoke up, drawing the man’s attention. “Would you say you also keep records of the daily goings on of the server?”

“I, er…” Pixl blinked at him, as though the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “Yes, actually. My focus is on ancient history more than anything else, but today’s events will one day be tomorrow’s history. I like to help future historians’ endeavors in any way I can.”

“Wiser words were never spoken,” Joe smiled. “Well if that’s the case, have you read back through any of your old journals from the start of the server?”

Understanding dawned behind Pixl’s eyes.

“Not recently, no. I don’t often go back once I've filled a book. I keep them all organized on a shelf back at my base and only ever keep the current copy on me.”

“Well perhaps that’s where we ought to start tomorrow mornin’,” Joe decided. “You an’ I can head over and check your old records, some other folks can find Gem and False, and anyone else around can get started on examining the server code to look for categorical anomalies.”

Grian, for one, looked more than a little relieved that they had a plan of action laid out before them. Tango imagined that was where a great deal of his current stress had been spawning from - having no starting point to tackle the much too daunting task that lay ahead of them. For not the first time, Tango was grateful to have Joe Hills as a member of their Hermit family.

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Xisuma said. “Thank you, Joe.”

“Here–” Fwhip summoned an admin screen to life before him, tabbing open a secondary window and an equally holographic keyboard. “Let’s see if I can get all your comms linked up to Empires so we can keep in touch. I might not have to add anyone to the whitelist if I do this right.”

“Wouldn’t having them on the whitelist be easier?” Pixl asked. He leaned sideways to peer at the screens. “It seems like the quicker option.”

“Unless being on the whitelist makes it easier for our memories to be affected the way yours have been,” Grian pointed out, and Fwhip nodded his agreement. “It would be nice if our rescue mission didn’t end in the loss of another dozen or so players to the effects of this glitch.”

Pixl blanched at the thought.

“...ah.”

The chatter of voices rose quietly around the table, Grian attempting to help Fwhip connect the Hermits to Empires through a sort of digital backdoor method while Pixl watched on with bright curiosity. Xisuma and Joe had their heads leaned together and were talking in low tones, and Scar was making a quiet request to the bartender for another drink while he drummed his fingers idly against the backrest of Grian’s chair.

Tango let out a low breath and sank further in his chair, dragging his hands over his face and letting his head fall backward against the wooden backrest.

“...are you going back to Tumble Town tomorrow?”

Impulse’s voice was a soft undertone, murmured in Tango’s direction in a way that wouldn’t draw outward attention. For that, Tango was grateful. At the mere mention of his soulmate’s empire his chest grew tight and he ground the heels of his palms against his eyes hard enough to see stars pop up in his vision. In lieu of an answer, he let out a grumbled blazeborn wheeze and a small puff of hot air, his hair flaring a briefly brighter blue. Beside him, Impulse huffed out a quiet chuckle.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

“I told him I’d come back,” Tango managed. He let his hands fall away from his face and let his head loll sideways to look up at Impulse. His best friend was watching him, his beard crinkled into a knowing little smile. “Am I stupid for wanting to, even when it kind of hurts?”

Impulse hummed thoughtfully and shook his head.

“Nah, not stupid. A bit self-destructive, maybe, but you’re not doing it because you want it to hurt. You just miss him.”

“Yeah…” Tango went quiet for a long moment, doing his best to ignore the ache behind his eyes. “I think the alternative is worse.”

“What, not seeing him at all?”

Tango nodded jerkily, the fur of his hood tickling his cheek slightly. He ducked down against it, half-hiding in the material, just…thinking. Then he groaned and slumped forward onto the table, tugging his hood up over his head and dropping his forehead onto folded arms. The glow of his hair shone through his eyelids slightly in the new darkness. For a few blissful moments he was left in a dome of semi-quiet, the outside world muffled by the thick material of his robes and the protective barrier of his arms. For a few blissful moments he could pretend he’d just fallen asleep at his workstation in Decked Out and this entire day had been nothing but a horrible dream brought about by his lack of a regular sleep schedule. Or any sleep at all, really.

Then someone rapped gently on the table beside his folded arms and Tango lifted his head just enough to peer out from under the fur trim of his hood. Scar’s smiling face was ducked down to his level and Tango frowned, wondering what in the world Scar could want from him.

“Mind taking a walk with me, Mr. Tango of the Lovesick variety?”

Tango didn’t deign to comment on the awful nickname, scrunching up his nose in distaste…even as he (begrudgingly) admitted that it was a horribly accurate descriptor. Accuracy notwithstanding, he leveled Scar with a squinting halfhearted glare and eyed him with suspicion.

“Where?”

“Oh, just outside!” Scar’s face vanished from the small crack between the table and Tango’s hood. “I think we could both do with some air. Waddaya say?”

Tango’s first instinct was to assume Scar’s request wasn’t quite as innocent as it seemed on the surface. After all, the man was a grifter, and everyone knew it. No comment he made with that tone of voice could be taken at face value.

But…on the other hand, getting out of the tavern and away from the chatter of the group sounded like a wonderful offer.

Tango dragged himself upright and scrubbed a hand over his face. He didn’t bother knocking back his hood as he stood up, opting instead to shove his fists in his pockets and flash Scar a weary smile. Scar, on the other hand, looked chipper as ever as he grinned brilliantly at his much more melancholy friend.

“Come, come!” he urged, hooking an arm through Tango’s and leading him away toward the door. “I want to take a look at the architecture before we all turn in for the night.”

The architecture. Right. It was a very Scar thing to say, to be sure, but Tango could sense an ulterior motive from a chunk away.

Tango allowed himself one last glance over his shoulder as they left. Nobody but Impulse seemed to have noticed his and Scar’s departure. Grian was still as fixated as ever on the wall of server code Fwhip had pulled up for him, and Joe had taken out a book and quill and was scribbling rapidly in its pages. In Tango’s absence, Impulse had shifted closer to Fwhip to try and get another set of eyes on the coding the others were examining…though he must have felt Tango’s eyes on him because he turned around at the last second to offer his pyre brother a small supportive smile. Tango barely managed a forced one of his own before Scar was dragging him out into the street.

    The damp chill of the cavern air was more refreshing than Tango had expected it to be once he and Scar set foot outside. He could taste a burnt metallic tang in the air that he could only assume was coming from the armory next door, and there was a layer of mustiness that wasn’t out of place in a city built so far underground.

Scar tugged him along, away from the tavern, his eyes dancing from building to building with an air of knowledgeable curiosity that had Tango wondering if the man was already collecting pieces of decor in the back of his mind for a future construction project. Goodness knows Tango often did the same when mentally dissecting other players’ redstone contraptions. They didn’t walk very far, merely taking a short stroll around their little corner of the city block, and then Scar finally broke the simple silence that had taken over the air around them.

“You know Tango,” he said, and Tango could already hear that familiar sly cordiality that often accompanied a Scar-certified scheme, “I was talkin’ to Fwhip for a while on our way over here. I heard some interesting things about this empire of his.”

“Is that right?” Tango asked, wondering where this was going.

“Yes, yes!” Scar grinned. “It’s actually built on the edge of an ancient city, if you’d believe it. I don’t know if that’s a brave idea or a very silly one, but I sure wouldn’t try it myself. Those wardens scare me too much.”

Tango snorted, a small smile cracking on his face.

“Naaah,” he drawled. “Wardens aren’t so bad, you’ve just gotta be nice to ‘em. They’re like ravagers. A bit murdery when you first meet ‘em, but once they get used to you they’re super friendly. They’re big ol’ teddy bears, really.”

Scar pretended to be stunned, affronted, his jaw dropping and a shocked sound leaving him.

“Not all of us are monster wranglers!” he protested. “I’ll have you know, I died about a hundred times trying to get that ravager into Locked Out.”

Tango snickered.

“Aww, come on! Ravagers are just big dumb chompy cows. They’re friendly! Just - get on their good side first.”

“Well, I don’t believe ravagers even have a good side,” Scar grumbled, “but the next time one tries to kill me, I’ll let you know if I can find it.”

At that, Tango cackled, letting out a barking laugh and allowing his tail to loosen from where it had become tightly coiled around his leg. It flicked out lazily from beneath the hem of his coat, shifting the heavy fabric. Tango patted Scar’s arm lightly where it was still looped through his.

“I’m guessing you won’t be staying in Gobland while we’re here?” he asked, teasing. “If you’re not a fan of wardens, then…I meeeaaan…”

“Noooo, no, no! Absolutely not,” Scar confirmed immediately. “Most people won’t be, as far as I heard. I think Grian even has plans to build a Hermit base near the rift.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “But I, on the other hand, have my sights set on Trouble Town.”

…what?

“...Tumble Town?” Tango corrected slowly, curiosity getting the best of him as he swallowed back the lump in his throat that arose upon hearing the empire’s name. “Really?”

“Oh, sure, sure!” He led Tango out of the street and up onto the pathway on the other side, leaning on him for a moment so he could crane his neck up to examine the trim on a building they passed. “Well the Sheriff offered me the chance to become his Deputy! I’m not about to turn that down.” He shot Tango a brilliant grin. “And it’s a wild west empire. What’s not to love?”

Scar was watching him expectantly, so Tango pulled on a smile, huffing out a breath.

“Yeah…” he murmured. “It’s pretty amazing. Jimmy built almost all of it himself.”

It was amazing, he couldn’t lie. For someone who had claimed to “not be a builder” during Double Life, Jimmy had proven his own claim wrong a hundred times over with the existence of his empire alone. He had created an entire community there, buildings that looked natural in their environment and helped to bring the western town and the surrounding mesa to life. It wasn’t as colorful as Sanctuary or as grand as what little of Joel’s empire Tango’d been able to see during the few seconds he’d let himself linger there, but it was homely. It was welcoming and warm and had that flair of homespun comfort that was often associated with handmade blankets and home-cooked meals.

Tango was proud of his soulmate, and he was only a little upset he hadn’t been able to say it properly earlier for fear of coming across as more friendly than a stranger should. But that was alright. He’d just have to save it for when Jimmy finally got his memories back, wouldn’t he?

There was a moment of quiet, then Scar let Tango’s arm go in favor of sinking carefully onto a low stone wall built along the front of an unmarked building. He took a breath, his fingers drumming idly along the handle of his cane.

“You know, Fwhip also mentioned that he’s looking for a redstoner.”

…and there it was. The other shoe.

Tango cast Scar a sideways glance from beneath his hood, but the man wasn’t looking in Tango’s direction. He was still admiring the trim and rooflines of a building across the street, paying little mind to the few goblins still loitering around the square. With a resigned huff, Tango dropped onto the wall beside Scar.

“A redstoner, huh?” he asked flatly, only barely playing along with Scar’s game. “You should tell Bdubs. He’d be thrilled to help.”

He didn’t have to look Scar’s way to feel the other Hermit’s eyes on him.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll already have his hands full with Etho,” Scar said. He laughed quietly to himself. “Nooo, no, I was actually going to suggest you should take the job.”

Despite having been expecting it, Tango grimaced at the suggestion.

“I can’t,” he muttered. “I already promised Jimmy I’d help him with building the ranch, and I’d rather spend any free time trying to help fix this glitch–”

“Tango, Tango, Tango,” Scar cut him off. “If you force yourself to stay this close to the issue twenty-four-seven, you’re gonna go insane! Trust me, you should let yourself take a break sometimes. Heck, when I get too stuck in my own head, I like to do some building or start sketching up a new design, and it works wonders.” He leaned sideways to bump shoulders with Tango, a grin on his face. “You’re a redstone guy, right? So take the job! Do some redstone! Take your mind off of things once in a while! It’ll be good for you!”

Tango chewed his lip and stared out across the uneven stone street, a faint blue glow emanating from beneath his hood. He folded his arms over his chest and his tail wound its way around his waist, and he found himself tempted to let his blaze rods free from the confines of code he often kept them hidden away in.

Maybe Scar had a point. Tango had known, in accepting Jimmy’s invitation to stay in Tumble Town, that he was setting himself up for heartache. He already knew how hard it was going to be to stick around his soulmate under the current circumstances. He had all but resigned himself to his fate up until now, willing to endure anything if it meant spending even a second more time with Jimmy, but…well. His knee began bouncing again and he dug his fingers into the sleeves of his robes.

It was unrealistic. Unsustainable. Nobody knew how long it would take to undo the damage of whatever bug had gotten into the code of Empires, and for all that Tango wanted to keep a close eye on his amnesiac partner, he also knew he’d be of little use to his fellow admins if he was mentally and emotionally compromised on a daily basis.

A hand came to rest on his upper arm, drawing Tango’s attention back to Scar, whose bombastic grin had lessened into something soft and understanding.

“You don’t have to avoid him completely,” he reminded Tango, his voice low and even and almost comforting. “He’s your soulmate. I know how that goes. I’m just sayin’ you should give yourself a breather sometimes. We all need one, once in a while.”

Scar drummed his fingers against the handle of his cane pointedly and Tango gave him a wry smile.

“From the mouth of an expert,” he quipped, and Scar grinned.

“Ohhh, I wouldn’t say expert,” he teased right back. “Just someone with experience.”

Scar pulled away and got to his feet with some effort, leaning more heavily on his cane than he had been before and sighing.

“Welp, I’d love to keep chit-chattin’, but I think Grian’s looking for me.”

Tango glanced around with a frown. The streets were almost completely empty by now aside from himself, Scar, and a few lingering goblins. The familiar ambiance of an expansive cavern lingered in the air - quiet echoed bat squeaks and the resonating drip of stalactites and the sound of distant clattering pebbles - and it had been the same for as long as he and Scar had been out here. Even his finer blazeborn hearing wasn’t picking up anything different, no change in the environment around them, and yet–

The Tavern door swung open across the street, familiar macaw-colored feathers catching Tango’s eye, and he raised an eyebrow. Speak of the devil…maybe Scar could sense him coming. Maybe it was a vex thing.

“Tango?” Scar said with a smile, “Just think about it.”

Then he left Tango to his thoughts, carefully making his way across the cobbled street and being met halfway by a much more energetic Grian. The avian was flitting about his soulmate, his wings shifting constantly, and he made a sweeping gesture back toward the tavern, toward Scar, then back the way they had come on their trip down here in the first place. Then Scar laughed and grinned and said something that Tango could only assume was charming, as Grian instantly softened and rolled his eyes.

Tango snorted to himself, a tiny wry smile easing its way onto his face. For all the chaos Scar and Grian wrought upon each other on a near-daily basis, it never seemed to change how much they cared for one another. It was like a constant of the universe. Doc would always find a way to break the laws of physics. Bdubs would always gravitate toward Etho. Mumbo’s redstone would always cause lag. Grian and Scar would always be soulmates, no matter the server.

Jimmy would always be his soulmate, no matter the server.

Tango’s smile faded slightly as he watched them leave, Scar settling an arm over Grian’s shoulders and Grian chattering endlessly to him while he gestured toward a building not too far from the tavern. Tango could only assume it was an inn of some kind, based on the signage and architecture.

He sighed. He could still feel a crackle of flames at his scalp.

“Just think about it.”

Scar wasn’t wrong, Tango couldn’t deny it. Getting away from all the mental stress and distracting himself with redstone once in a while wasn’t the worst idea in the world. And seeing as the job itself was posted for by Fwhip, the admin of the server, at the very least Tango knew he’d be nearby if something important happened with the server code.

Maybe he’d take the job. Maybe.

A few more people spilled out of the tavern, Xisuma and Joe lingering outside the door with Impulse to chat. Pixl and Fwhip were still talking amongst themselves as well, their heads close and their voices low…though rather than moving toward the inn like Grian and Scar had, their path was bringing them closer to Tango and in the general direction of the route they had taken from the nether portal.

Perhaps Pixl planned on returning home for the night.

Their footsteps carried them past Tango’s seat on the wall, and it was only then that he began to overhear what was being said.

“...should bring Scott in on this,” Fwhip was saying. “Grian said he’s got a lot of admin experience–”

“Except he doesn’t remember it,” Pixl said. He shook his head, his brow furrowed. “If this amnesia issue is server-wide then he only remembers living here with you as the sole admin, just as I do.”

Fwhip swore softly and frowned.

“Right. Dammit–”

He stopped in his tracks to glance backward toward the tavern. One of his massive, batlike ears twitched, his tail flicked irritably, and then he sighed.

“Dammit. Okay. The less people the better, then…” Fwhip turned back around, glanced in the other direction, and his large eyes fell on Tango. “Oh - hey, I was wondering where you’d gone.”

Tango forced a smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to just poof out on ya.” He chuckled weakly and jerked a thumb at the surrounding streets and buildings. “Scar dragged me out for a self-tour. You’ve got a nice empire here, man.”

Fwhip lit up.

“Thanks!” He grinned, sharp goblin teeth on full display. Then he eyed Tango curiously, his ears perking up and his head cocking to the side. “Wait - aren’t you the one Scar said was into redstone?”

Tango’s smile went tight and he withheld a groan. Of course. Of course Scar would’ve had a backup plan for this scheming. Tango should have expected something like this.

(He had to remind himself that, for all of Scar’s trickery, it was coming from a place of care and compassion. Scar was only trying to be a good friend.)

“Yeah, that’s me.” Tango got to his feet and finally flicked his hood backward off his head, the heat that had been captured under it escaping into the damp subterranean air. “...he was telling me something about a redstone job you had for me…?”

“For anyone who wants it, really,” Fwhip shrugged. “I just need someone who can handle doing some wonky redstone for me.”

At that, Tango’s expression lit up. Ohhhh…oh, he could see why Scar had thought of him.

“Oh, I can do wonky,” he said, a genuine smile coming to life on his face, one that quickly shifted into a smirk at Fwhip’s excited expression. “Whatcha got in mind?”

    By the time Impulse found him, Fwhip and Pixl had long since left, and Tango was staring up at the cavern ceiling with about half a dozen different ideas bouncing around in his head. He wasn’t planning on doing anything tonight - or even for the next few days, really - but he found himself silently thanking Scar for knowing him so well. Even if he came by once a week to help Fwhip with his minecart idea, those brief moments of respite amidst the chaos and stress would help him reset when he needed it most.

“Hey,” Impulse said, strolling up to him. He followed Tango’s gaze toward the ceiling and squinted. “Whatcha lookin’ it?”

“Mmm…nothing yet,” Tango mused. He shook half-formed redstone plans from his mind and turned to offer Impulse a tired grin. “Scar hornswoggled me. He got me good.”

A knowing smile slowly spread across Impulse’s face, accompanied by a curious furrow of his brows.

“Oh?” he asked, chuckling. “What’d he do?”

“He got me to accept a job from Fwhip to keep my mind off of things.”

“Did he?” Impulse asked, brightening. “What kind of job?”

Tango snorted.

“What else?” His grin turned lopsided. “He got me in on some redstone action.”

Impulse let out a laugh.

“Oh, of course!” He elbowed Tango lightly, and Tango shoved him back. “It’s your kryptonite. Of course you said yes.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Tango drawled, stepping off the curb into the street and traipsing his way toward the inn he’d seen Xisuma and Joe vanish into not too long ago. “Like you wouldn’t be saying yes just as quickly.”

Of course, he didn’t say that it had taken some serious consideration and some meddling from Scar to get him to even say yes in the first place, but…details.

“Oh, I would!” Impulse admitted, and Tango could hear the hurried sound of his heavy boots on cobble as he worked to catch up with Tango. He was quick to fall into step beside him the moment he’d reached Tango’s side. “Hey…I’m proud of you for saying yes.”

Tango’s steps stuttered and he glanced sideways at Impulse, who wasn’t even looking his way.

“...why?”

Impulse shrugged, his broad shoulders shifting upward and the belt beneath his vest chinking slightly.

“‘Cause you’d probably rather be with Jimmy right now,” he said, like the plainest thing in the world. “Heck, you’d probably rather be with Jimmy most days we’ll be here. But - I mean I told you not to torture yourself. I told you to be careful. And you are.”

Tango blinked a few times, his pace slowing ever so slightly and his jaw tensing.

“...not that careful,” he admitted bitterly, the memory of Jimmy looking concerned while Tango stared wistfully up at his unfinished build coming to the forefront. “I still said I’d help him build the ranch. I said I’d live there. The ranch, Impy-”

“You did,” Impulse admitted, and his expression turned a little pained. “And that probably wasn’t the smartest. But you also committed to something that’ll give you space when you need it. Right?” He stopped just before the door to the inn, his smile strained but still genuine beneath it all. “I’m proud of you for that.”

Tango swallowed and hunched his shoulders, his hands finding their way back to his pockets and the fur of his hood tickling his ears. He found a bit of lint with his fingertips and toyed with it while he fidgeted on the stoop.

“...it’s not much.”

“It’s something though.”

And…yeah. Yeah, he supposed it was.

“Fwhip said we can take any empty rooms for the night,” Impulse said after a moment, shouldering open the door and bypassing the empty front room to stare up the stairs. “Come talk to me before you go to Tumble Town tomorrow, okay?”

Tango gave a sharp, jerky sort of nod, and his smile didn’t feel quite as reassuring as he was trying to make it out to be. All the same, Impulse took it at face value, and he gave Tango one last one-armed hug before making his way upstairs.

Later, when Tango had found an empty room and removed his coat, when he stood in his tunic and trousers and bootless socks, when he stood at the open window and shivered in the chilly cavern air, he reminded himself that even accepting the help Scar had forcibly offered was a step in the right direction. It was good. It was no small feat to admit when he needed help at all, and saying yes to Fwhip’s job offer was as close as he was probably gonna come to admitting it in the first place. (To anyone besides Impulse, at least.)

The air was too still and too damp and too cold to be comfortable, even compared to the freezing environment of Decked Out that Tango had become so accustomed to. It was just too different. Too different from the dry, crisp, frigid atmosphere of the dungeons…too different from the warm, sweet air Tango remembered from Double Life.

More surprisingly, he found himself longing for the hot dry sun and sand-filled boots and sharp winds, a place he had no reason to call familiar…but somehow it still called to him. He was sure it had more to do with the person who lived there than the place itself. He was the home Tango was missing, even if the mesa surely wasn’t.

But he’d see Jimmy tomorrow, he reminded himself. His next visit was only one night’s sleep away.

(He knew he wouldn’t see his soulmate for a very, very long time.)

Tango took a slow, measured breath and ignored the crackling warmth in his chest. The air on his tongue tasted like sulfur.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[A/N: So um. I'm sorry…? ^^;;; Good news: This is most likely the worst it'll ever get in this story. This is the low point. It's only uphill from here (mostly) and since the next chapter will most likely be from Jimmy's POV, it'll be MUCH fluffier! :3

…also this chapter ended up at 15.5k words, which DOUBLED THE LENGTH OF THE ENTIRE FIC. AGAIN. How?!? HOW do I keep doing this to myself??? I just - slams head on desk - I need a more sane brain. Honestly.

BUT in all seriousness, for as long as it took to write this, I am INSANELY proud of the outcome! Thank you to multiple members of the Hermitshipping Big Bang server for helping me with beta reading, and thank YOU for your patience! I hope it was worth the wait! We got to see Impulse being a GREAT friend, and Scar being a good one as well in his own way. And Grian too…I mean, a friend of mine said they were surprised he didn't know Tango and Jimmy were an item during Double Life, but Grian didn't really interact with the ranchers as much as he did with others, and I like to imagine that Tango and Jimmy didn't exactly indulge in much PDA when they were actively roleplaying for the game lol. That was kept (mostly) behind the doors of the ranch. 😋 Grian somehow COMPLETELY missed his little brother getting a boyfriend in the midst of his death game lol. (I suppose the Flower Husbands had a much more noticeable relationship though, so maybe he just never assumed anything was happening since the Ranchers were more low-key with their affections.)

ALSO I HOPE I PORTRAYED FWHIP AND PIXL WELL ENOUGH. I've seen SOME Empires stuff, but my knowledge is a bit lacking so I just - well, fingers crossed, basically lol. Hopefully what I have seen has helped me do them both justice to some degree!

And if you'd like me to go back and add other inspiration songs to earlier chapters, let me know. I have a MASSIVE chronological playlist for this story, and the main reason I won't be sharing it in full is because some future songs may be a bit spoilery hah. Sooo revealing them as we go seemed like a fun idea! I hope y'all find some good music to add to your own playlist in here!]

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[lemony-snickers]

@nightingaleflow - ficti-gram for you!

to: @nightingaleflow from: @silvermadara message: I hope you like that little treat with your husbands ♥️ characters/pairing: gaara/rock lee word count: 2,068 prompt: vanilla bean

Gaara would never be used to the humidity of Konoha.  The dry heat of Sunagakure was familiar, bearable.  But the way his skin slicked with sweat just standing still in the summer forests around Konoha made him long for the Land of Frost, which was normally a place he avoided whenever possible.

“Only a little further, Gaara!  We are almost there!”

It was good, at least, that the rosiness of his cheeks could be easily dismissed as a product of overheating rather than what it was—the embarrassment of such proximity to Rock Lee.  The careful hope Gaara only allowed his heart to nurture in secret that Lee enjoyed his company at least half as much had been bolstered when he invited Gaara on what he exuberantly called, “A youthful excursion to natural wonders!”

Gaara could think of no other person capable of convincing him to undertake such a hike in the Land of Fire’s sweltering humidity.  But Lee’s perpetually upbeat attitude and beaming smile were almost worth the stickiness and sweat.

Almost.

“How much longer?” Gaara wheezed, swatting a buzzing insect away from his eyes and then pushing his hair—so soaked with sweat he must look as if he’d just left the onsen—of his forehead.

“Only a few more kilometers!” Lee promised, smile bright and wide in a way that made Gaara think for a moment that a few kilometers, even in this oppressive jungle, would be easy.

Of course, but a few, Lee meant ten, and the pair finally crested the top of their steep climb, breaking through the dense foliage into a clearing as they argued over whether a few could mean anything reaching double digits.

“I apologize for my mischaracterization and will be more careful with my word choice in future!” Lee promised, bending at the waist in a bow that made Gaara’s cheeks somehow manage to heat themselves well beyond the temperature of the scalding air.

“It’s fine,” Gaara assured him, “no apology required.”

Lee straightened with a gleaming smile and Gaara marveled at the fact that, even drenched in sweat, he still managed to look effortlessly comfortable.  A thing which Gaara, a man who had rarely—if ever—felt at ease in his own skin, found both utterly baffling and absolutely intriguing all at once.

“Lee-san!”

Gaara watched as a man dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt waved to Lee.  He wore a wide-brimmed straw haw to keep the scorching sun off his face, something which Gaara found himself immediately jealous of.

“Ah!” Lee bowed to Gaara—a thing he seemed incapable of not doing no matter how often the Kazekage asked him not to—“I’ll be back in a few moments!”

Lee took off to greet the other man, and Gaara took advantage of his newfound solitude to survey the place they’d hiked so long and so stickily to get to.

It was a farm of some kind, though the tall, twining stems and leaves of the plants arranged in neat rows were unfamiliar to him.  He stepped closer to the nearest one, peering into the thick, waxy-looking leaves until he discovered several small, pale yellow flowers peeking out from gaps in the stems.

He reached up, careful not to actually touch the petals in case the flowers were what they harvested here.  It was obviously an orchid of some kind, judging from the intricate arrangement of the flower’s parts, but not one with which Gaara was himself familiar.  His mind strained, casting back through all the botany books he’d ever read as he cultivated his own drought-resistant gardens in Sunagakure, but before he could put a name to the plants scattered around him, an arm reached past his face, so close it nearly brushed his cheek, and plucked the nearest bloom from its stem.

Gaara gasped, turning to find the culprit only to meet the dark, sparkling eyes of Rock Lee as he handed the poached flower to him.

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Lee asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft as he held the flower out.  Gaara took it carefully between his fingers, spinning it one way and then the other as he admired its structure.

“Indeed they are,” he said, “is this what they harvest here?”

Lee shook his head and twirled a large storage scroll in answer.  “You like the flowers, though?”  He seemed almost bashful as he asked and Gaara allowed a slight flicker of hope to kindle in his chest that it was because Lee wanted his approval the same way Gaara had courted Lee’s by agreeing to accompany him on his mission.

Gaara nodded, fixing his gaze again on the yellow bloom in his hand.  “They’re exquisite.”

Lee beamed—which suited him far better, Gaara thought, than the bashfulness and quiet whispering—his smile so wide Gaara thought for one horrific moment it might actually split his face in two.  “Wonderful!  I only asked you to accompany because I know you have a love for plants and flowers and I wanted you to see them because I was told the vanilla orchids do not grow easily in your home!”

The flicker of hope burst into a raucous flame and Gaara felt the tingling heat in his cheeks he so adamantly disliked.  He turned his face away from Lee’s earnest smile and willed his heart to slow its rhythm, his blush to fade.

He remained so focused on his own body’s response to Lee’s admission that he did not hear the other man step close, hardly noticed as he leaned close to Gaara’s ear and whispered, “I’m so glad you like them.”

The return trip was easier, though just as hot.  And Gaara’s mind remained a thickly tangled mess of unidentified meaning.  He continued to twirl the vanilla orchid between his fingers, glancing in turn at the flower in his grasp and Lee’s back as he cut his way through the thick forest growth back toward Konoha.

Gaara did not know if he was simply reading too much into Lee’s words.  He was, after all, the friendliest person Gaara had ever met.  And well-known for both his kindness and forthcoming nature.  And while it was nice to think that perhaps Lee had asked Gaara to accompany him because he felt the same strange pull between them, it was just as likely—perhaps more so—that Lee simply thought of Gaara as a friend, invited him to the orchid field as a friend because that was the sort of person Lee was.

By the time they reached the village gates, Gaara had a headache which rivaled any he’d ever experienced.  The base of the flower had relented between his fierce grip, squashing down to nothing even as the petals remained unaffected.

Lee waved at everyone they passed, and again Gaara wondered how a person could be so genuinely happy all the time.  It seemed such an unattainable thing, such radiating positivity, and yet here he was, basking in the glow of it.  Reluctant to step beyond the radiant warmth Lee exuded, even in the sweltering heat.

It turned out they were meant to deliver the scroll to a bakery, of all places, and Gaara wondered what else the farm might be cultivating.  Gaara lingered near the front door as Lee spoke with the woman who owned the business.  They laughed and smiled with one another as Lee released the storage scroll.  Several large crates appeared on the counter and Gaara watched with interest as Lee pried one open with his hands, which earned him a delighted clap from the baker.

Lee blushed, scratching the back of his head bashfully as he assured her it was nothing special.  Gaara chuckled softly.

As if the sound reminded Lee he had an audience, he glanced over his shoulder and gave Gaara a thumbs up.  Gaara smiled and then watched, curiosity blooming, as Lee’s already wide eyes widened comically further, and he snapped his head back toward the baker as he leaned close to whisper something to her.

The woman’s gaze drifted over to Gaara, who squirmed uncomfortably beneath it, and then she smiled kindly and nodded to Lee, who punched the air in an exaggerated show of his gratitude before he reached into the opened crate and plucked something from within.

Gaara expected Lee to immediately tell him what the exchange was about, but when he inquired, all he received in return was a mischievous grin as Lee darted past him out of the bakery.

They had departed Konoha early in the morning and spent most of their day on the journey.  Now, the sun had set and the lamps around Konoha twinkled to life as they stepped back onto the street.  Even at night, the heat was almost suffocating.

Gaara turned toward Lee and found him looking pointedly ahead as he walked, whatever thing he had taken from the baker’s crate carefully tucked between both hands, which he held clasped before him.  Gaara wanted to ask again, but instead he said, “Thank you for asking me to accompany you today.  It was an enlightening experience.”

Lee smiled, finally turning to match Gaara’s gaze, but said nothing. Instead, he unexpectedly turned off the main roadway onto a narrow path.  Gaara hesitated a moment, then followed, finding himself increasingly confused—though also undeniably intrigued—by Lee’s unusual behavior.

The path wound a little while toward the river where it eventually disappeared into the brush.  Lee stepped over the undergrowth and Gaara joined him on the riverbank.

“I’m very glad you came with me today,” Lee said.  He turned, his cupped hands extended out toward Gaara.  “I thought you might like to see what we went all that way to retrieve.”

Lee unclasped his hands and Gaara’s brow furrowed as he found a shriveled, black bean pod in his hands.  Lee laughed and the sound made Gaara’s chest tighten.

“Doesn’t look like much, does it?”  Lee asked as he pulled a kunai from the pouch at his hip.  “I thought the same thing when I made my first trek.  But now…”  He sliced the bean pod carefully lengthwise and peeled it open.  Its insides were just as dark, and Lee scooped some of the crumbly contents from the center and held it out to Gaara.  “Taste it,” he said.

Gaara stepped back, horrified.  “Excuse me?”

Lee blushed, but rather than back down, he stepped closer, holding his finger closer to Gaara’s mouth and repeating his instruction.  “I promise it’s worth it.”

Lee’s strange softness should have put Gaara on edge.  Instead, it fanned the promising flame in his chest.  Gaara pushed away his embarrassment as he simultaneously attempted to quell that hopeful flicker as it sparked to new life.  He leaned forward and tentatively licked the crumbly black stuff from the pad of Lee’s finger.  The sweet flavor of vanilla burst across Gaara’s tongue, and despite his incredible mortification at having just licked the substance from Lee’s outstretched finger, he hummed in delight and snapped his head up to stare at Lee.

He’d had vanilla before, of course, but never in such a potent form.  Gaara tried to think of something to say, but before he could, he felt Lee’s hand brush against his too-warm cheek.  The surprise of Lee’s bold gesture was swiftly replaced by excited confusion as he brushed his lips over Gaara’s forehead.

When he pulled away, Lee’s face was as red as Gaara’s hair and Gaara couldn’t help but let a very Lee-like smile spread its way across his face.  Because even for him, Lee’s actions now had a completely obvious origin.

Lee sputtered something totally unintelligible and Gaara felt a pang of empathy for him as he clearly attempted to backpedal his actions.  But Gaara wouldn’t let him.  Sweating all day in the awful humidity would only be worth it if he came away with Lee’s hand in his, and he refused to waste this opportunity.

Gaara reached out, plucked the vanilla pod from Lee’s fingers, and scooped a bit of the sweet insides onto his own finger.  Lee’s stuttering turned to stunned silence as he stared at Gaara’s outstretched finger.

Gaara himself had to avert his eyes as he muttered, “I promise it’s worth it.”

The reward of Lee’s beautiful laugh, followed swiftly by the wetness of his tongue as he licked the vanilla bean from Gaara’s finger, almost made the humidity bearable.

Almost.

[sweethoneyrose83]

Heavenly Pistachio Raspberry Dream Cake

Ingredients:

For the Pistachio Sponge Cake:

1 cup shelled pistachios, finely ground

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Raspberry Gelée:

2 cups fresh raspberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp gelatin powder

For the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 lb cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Mirror Glaze:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp gelatin powder

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 cup white chocolate chips

Green food coloring

Garnishes:

Fresh raspberries

Shelled pistachios

Edible gold leaf (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottoms of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.

For the sponge cake, combine ground pistachios, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale and doubled in size. Gently fold in dry ingredients and melted butter. Divide batter between pans and bake for 25 minutes.

For the gelée, purée raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Strain and heat with gelatin until dissolved. Cool until slightly set, then spread over one cake layer.

For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over the set gelée.

For the glaze, mix sugar, water, and gelatin. Add condensed milk, then pour over white chocolate; mix until smooth. Add green coloring, let cool slightly, then pour over frosting.

Garnish with fresh raspberries, pistachios, and gold leaf. Chill until set.

Prep Time: 1 hour | Cooking Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes | Kcal: 640 kcal | Servings: 12 servings.

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

3, 6, 7, 11!

✧ ── 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐒

3. whose writing has impacted your writing style the most? (you can choose anyone! famous writer or not.)

── I would say that my style and my themes come from two totally different places in the spectrum of my life; I've always been interested in darker stories but my very first introductions into serious literature were J. R. R. Tolkien and Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. I would later begin to consume media from Osamu Dazai, C.S. Lewis, and Victor Hugo - and while I think all of these influenced what I write about I don't think their styles influenced mine very much (besides maybe Tolkien).

Something I've actually been doing recently is allowing myself to slip back into my days of reading Reddit Horror Stories, I especially love listening to them during my workday and I do feel as though they are beginning to curve the direction of my work. A few of my favorites are Jared Roberts' My Dad Finally Told Me What Happened That Day, Dathan Auerbach's Penpal (a classic) - but my ABSOLUTE favorite thus far is Maliagirl1314's My wife has been peeking at me from around corners and behind furniture. This last one is probably one of the most unsettling things I've ever heard and I would be blessed if I could extract some of the same horror this story gave me:

Lynn was peeking from behind the shower curtain, her entire head stretched into the shower, leaving just her body outside. Her long dark hair hung against the curtain, the ends dripping with water. Her mouth hung open in a terrible grin, eyes wide and red, as if she hadn't blinked in a while. I screamed and jumped back against the wall. She didn't move nor did her smile waver. Her makeup ran down her cheeks in two black streaks. She looked giddy and completely deranged. I was fucking terrified. 

6. is roleplaying the only writing-based hobby you have, or are there other things you like to write?

── Oh you're really making me talk about this on my roleplaying blog huh - Yes! I actually write quite a bit outside of rp; I use roleplay as a way to keep my skills sharp while I work on a much bigger project. I've been sculpting a high fantasy world for the past 7 years that has a complete plot, setting, societal system etc ; the story follows my usual topics of grief, loss, and what length people are willing to go in order to feel human again ... And how little that humanity means in comparison to cosmic entities that do not feel the same way as you and I. I won't get into too much of it because I will not shut up and this is not the blog for that but here's a little quip:

Everything in between his earliest memories and this last horrid visage flashed within his mind, burning the back of his skull with desperation and misery while two glassy, blank spheres gazed back to him. There was no solace that could be found in the marbled mask of Death his brother wore; no benevolence sparked behind his eyes and his plush lips had fallen agape ... Yoriichi could still smell hints of vanilla and garlic on his tongue. He could not call him a corpse, not when his brother's body still felt warm to the touch, not when his ears still strained to hear any flicker of life echoing in that still and silent ribcage. The blood lining across Yorii's brain boiled in rippling self loathing; his very body began to resent him for such a thought - no. No no. Even now with the hot sin laid before him he knew the blood was not on his hands, he did not pull the lever for the gallows. His brother would never have wanted him to fall into that sort of pit .. Yet, another awaited: this was the man who he had done everything with ... how was he supposed to toss all of that away? The mud was cold beneath him, touched by the first frosts of winter only that evening as all the beauty in the world felt as though it had died - how fitting, he thought, for the world to be plummeted into this dark chasm along with him. Soil clung to his clothing and stained his skin while he sat within the ringing quiet between the two of them, soon enough he couldn't stand to bear and look at his brother's face. It held too much horror - a perfect snapshot of when he realized the end had finally come and that nothing could prepare him for what was to happen next if anything at all. Yorii instead decided to wander back into the flashing memories while his fingers clenched the body beside him so tightly he was sure he would crack bone; and that was when the startling revelation crushed his soul and ripped his heart in two by the sinews. A singular bout of lucidity kindled to clear the fog and his eyes tightly opened to stare at him once more; the small detail he hadn't noticed before felt like an icepick through his skull - His brother had been smiling.

Still a WIP but ! Ya know

7. describe your favorite relationship dynamic. (can be any kind, platonic, romantic, familial, antagonistic, etc.)

── I'm a huge sucker for found family; there's something so comforting within those dynamics and I crave it all of the time - I just really like exploring all of the different ways love can manifest. Antagonistic relationships can get a bit iffy for me, most of my characters fall into the "ok we just wont converse with the person we dislike" box, so not a lot of interaction would happen there unless its forced - but enemies to friends to whatever else is a really big hit for me I don't care how cliche it is.

11. describe your ideal outcome/endgame for the muse you are currently writing. if you are a multimuse blog: do this for your current favorite muse, or the muse of the last reply you posted.

── Doing this one for Robin because Haru's endgame is legit just "be happy and healed" I do not want anymore horror in his life and he deserves none of it for being such a sweetie. Now Robin? Ohoho that little shit - so I have two vastly different ends I'd like for him to end up in and it is somewhat based around different verses as his lives are so wildly juxtaposed in each one. For his main league verse @hemoplagued and I have actually spoken about a whole timeline that takes place in the not-so-distant future where Robin eventually returns to Noxus with Vladimir to help organize a coup alongside the Crimson Court and Black Rose. This results in the execution of Swain and a deconstruction of Noxus' ideals over the next coming centuries (as Vladimir and Robin are both technically immortal). Robin's whole purpose in life in his early life in League verse is to want to help others and solve the humanitarian crisis of his own home; this is an extension of that that feels very bittersweet.

On the other hand I really just want Robin to lose his shit. This is actually something I plan to explore more with you specifically within the Dead by Daylight threads we have going on - as Robin's specific backstory for this verse (shhhh I know I know, I'm writing his doc as we speak for it) really would allow him to fall into vile acts he might not be willing to in his other verses. This is also being explored, granted on a much more subtle level, in his modern verse, and I'm excited to expand more to see where this will lead to since he's not usually the type to bloody his own hands.

[notjordie-gvf]

sugar cookie martini

yes, i am not legally able to drink, and i know that

ingredients

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup irish cream

2 oz vanilla vodka

1 oz white chocolate liquer

1 oz amaretto

vanilla frosting

holiday sprinkles

rim glass with frosting and sprinkles

in a shaker. combine milk, irish cream, vodka, chocolate liquer, and amaretto along with some ice and shake until cold. strain into glasses

[topbudstore]

Discovering the Essence of Premium Cannabis Strains: A Journey Through Slurricane, Tom Ford Pink Kush, Frosted Fruit Cake, and Watermelon

In the ever-evolving world of cannabis, enthusiasts and connoisseurs are constantly seeking the perfect strain to suit their needs and preferences. Today, we embark on a journey through four distinctive strains that have captured the attention of many for their unique profiles and effects: Slurricane, Tom Ford Pink Kush, Frosted Fruit Cake, and Watermelon.

Slurricane: The Calm After the Storm

Slurricane is an indica-dominant hybrid that has gained a loyal following for its potent effects and delectable flavor profile. A cross between Do-Si-Dos and Purple Punch, this strain is known for its ability to wash over users like a calming storm, leaving them relaxed and content.

The aroma of Slurricane is a delightful blend of sweet berries and creamy notes, reminiscent of a tropical smoothie. As you inhale, the flavor mirrors the aroma with an added hint of earthiness, creating a well-rounded and satisfying experience.

Slurricane is often celebrated for its powerful relaxation effects, making it an ideal choice for unwinding after a long day or for those seeking relief from stress, anxiety, or insomnia. Its effects are slow to build, gradually enveloping the body in a soothing embrace that can lead to a deep, restful sleep.

Tom Ford Pink Kush: Luxury in Every Puff

Tom Ford Pink Kush is a name that resonates with luxury and exclusivity in the cannabis world. This rare and potent indica strain is renowned for its stunning appearance and complex flavor profile, making it a top-shelf choice for those who appreciate the finer things in life.

The buds of Tom Ford Pink Kush are dense and coated in a thick layer of trichomes, giving them a frosty, almost crystalline appearance. The strain's aroma is a captivating mix of floral and earthy notes, with a sweet, almost candy-like undertone that lingers in the air.

When smoked or vaporized, Tom Ford Pink Kush offers a rich and flavorful experience, with notes of sweet vanilla, musk, and pine. The effects are deeply relaxing, providing a full-body high that can ease tension and melt away stress. It's a strain that encourages tranquility and can be a perfect companion for a quiet evening at home or for those seeking a luxurious way to unwind.

Frosted Fruit Cake: A Celebration of Flavor and Euphoria

For those with a sweet tooth, Frosted Fruit Cake is a strain that delivers both in flavor and effects. This balanced hybrid combines the best of both worlds, offering a harmonious blend of euphoria and relaxation that appeals to a wide range of cannabis users.

The strain's name is a nod to its sweet and fruity flavor profile, which is reminiscent of a fresh-baked fruitcake dusted with sugar. The aroma is equally enticing, with hints of berries, citrus, and a subtle earthiness that rounds out the experience.

Frosted Fruit Cake is known for its uplifting effects, making it an excellent choice for social gatherings or creative endeavors. The initial euphoria is often accompanied by a burst of energy and creativity, followed by a gentle relaxation that can help ease the mind and body. It's a strain that brings joy and celebration to any occasion, much like its namesake dessert.

Watermelon: Refreshingly Sweet and Uplifting

As the name suggests, Watermelon is a strain that offers a refreshingly sweet experience, perfect for those seeking a burst of flavor and an uplifting high. This sativa-dominant strain is celebrated for its fruity, watermelon-like aroma and flavor, making it a popular choice for daytime use.

Watermelon's buds are typically bright green with vibrant orange hairs, and the aroma is an enticing mix of fresh fruit and floral notes. The flavor is equally delightful, with a sweet and juicy profile that lingers on the palate.

The effects of Watermelon are uplifting and energizing, making it an ideal strain for those looking to boost their mood or enhance their creativity. It provides a clear-headed high that can help with focus and productivity, without the heavy sedation associated with indica strains. Whether you're looking to tackle a project, enjoy the outdoors, or simply elevate your spirits, Watermelon is a strain that brings a refreshing perspective to your day.

Conclusion: Exploring the Diversity of Cannabis

Each of these strains—Slurricane, Tom Ford Pink Kush, Frosted Fruit Cake, and Watermelon—offers a unique experience, catering to different moods and needs. Whether you seek deep relaxation, a burst of euphoria, or a refreshing uplift, there's a strain here that aligns with your desires.

As the cannabis landscape continues to grow and evolve, these strains represent the diversity and richness of what the plant has to offer. From the calming embrace of Slurricane to the luxurious experience of Tom Ford Pink Kush, the celebratory effects of Frosted Fruit Cake, and the refreshing uplift of Watermelon, there's a world of flavors and effects waiting to be discovered.

Explore these strains, and let them guide you on your next cannabis journey, whether you're seeking relaxation, creativity, or simply a moment of joy in your day.

[bengeskosmokes]

Vanilla Taffiez

Definitely not the first strain I've tried, but it is the most recent, and what I've recently used, so first review it is!

(Disclaimer: Vanilla Taffiez is a rather new strain, so not much is known. I will update with relevant info/links as I get them)

Vanilla Taffiez is grown by SOL, and processed by Entourage Cannabis. (I reached out to them to inquire about the strain's genetics.)

Indica Dominant Hybrid, genetics (currently) unknown.

THC: 69.90% (nice)

CBD: 0.13%

Terps: 12.78%

beta Myrcene: 3.369%

beta Caryophyllene: 2.555%

Limonene: 1.923%

Total Cannabinoids:

THC: 69.90%

CBG: 1.56%

THCV: 0.32%

Smell: I use a smoke buddy, so the smell is minimal, I only exhaled a little to get the smell without irritating the neighbors.

The smell is less skunky/piney, and actually smells like hay when it's almost dry and has that grassy, sweet musky smell. It's actually quite pleasant.

Taste: On the inhale, it tastes like it smells, and on the exhale there is hints of something sweet like frosting, and little bits of citrus. It's not bad but it is odd because the aftertaste is a mix of both inhale/exhale so there's a juxtaposition of WET HAY and limonene frosting.

The High:

The high starts in the head and radiates out and down, and leaves a pleasant buzz in its wake. Limbs feel floaty, head feels blissfully empty, and after an hour, if a task is picked up, focus is very intense, and there are no errant or random thoughts.

Multitasked by drawing and watching a show- and did not bounce around to other things, like switching to a new tab, or scrolling media. Just drew, and half watched the show, and retained it/was able to follow the plot, because I could actively focus on two things at once. Only get that with Vyvanse, so I definitely enjoy this high.

Was also very calm, content, and VERY easily amused to the point of wheezing from laughter. Good mood booster.

Also made Gino like 30000000000000% times cuter, idk how that's possible, or maybe the weed lets me glimpse the true reality of how cute he really is.

9/10 for the high- knocked one off because it did chair lock me, and I forgot to pee for like 5 hours.

The physical:

Was very surprised by this one. Almost every strain I've tried end up giving me a stuffy nose, which results in dry mouth. This one did that around the time I took the hit, but quickly faded after 20 minutes or so.

Eyes were a bit itchy, a bit dry, but I'm experienced enough (especially with hEDS) to put in a drop of artificial tears in each eye before taking the hit, so the itchy/dryness was minimal.

(Also, will sound weird, but rubbing a very thin layer of cocoa butter on your eyelids beforehand helps, too.)

Did not give me the munchies, but it DID make my cheap ass mac and cheese taste like heaven.

7/10 for the physical.

Pain:

Brings my pain to a level where I can easily ignore it in favor of the focus it gives me on whatever task I'm doing.

Migraine remains to be seen, but it DID chase off the lingering tension headache that followed a five day migraine I recently got over, so I already am loading it into my arsenal of migraine remedies.

Despite being an Indica dominant, it didn't make me drowsy, just chair locked, which I didn't mind, except for the fact that I didn't notice I needed to pee for five hours.

6/10 for pain.

Overall rating: 7/10!

[sweethoneyrose83]

Bloody Blackberry Jam Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes: - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened - 3/4 cup granulated sugar - 2 large eggs - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1/2 cup milk

For the blackberry jam filling: - 1 cup fresh blackberries - 1/4 cup granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the frosting: - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened - 2 cups powdered sugar - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 2-3 tablespoons milk - Red food coloring

 Instructions:

Cupcakes: 1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.

5. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, until everything is well combined and smooth.

6. Fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds full with the batter.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

8. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Blackberry Jam Filling: 1. In a small saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the blackberries break down and the mixture thickens, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let the jam cool slightly. If desired, you can strain the jam to remove the seeds.

Frosting: 1. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy.

2. Gradually add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk, mixing until smooth and creamy.

3. Add a few drops of red food coloring to achieve the desired bloody effect, mixing until well incorporated.

Assembly: 1. Using a cupcake corer or a small knife, carefully core out the center of each cupcake.

2. Fill each cavity with a spoonful of the blackberry jam filling.

3. Frost the cupcakes with the bloody frosting, using a piping bag or offset spatula to create swirls or peaks.

4. Optionally, drizzle a little extra blackberry jam on top of the frosting for added effect.

5. Serve and enjoy your spooky bloody blackberry jam cupcakes!

[psychedelicstrains]

THE EXQUISITE WORLD OF EXOTIC CANNABIS STRAINS

We're diving deep into the verdant valleys of exotic cannabis strains, the hidden gems of the marijuana world that are taking the cannabis industry by storm. Get ready to elevate your high with the most sought-after, rare, and absolutely fabulous exotic strains out there.

Cannabis Strains THC and CBD Dispensary Deals Vape Your Heart Out Edibles Extravaganza Cannabis Concentrate Cannabis Cultivation Medical Marijuana CBD Benefits 420 Friendly Dabbing Delights Terpene Profiles Cannabis Legalization Hemp Products

**The Allure of Exotic Cannabis Strains** When it comes to cannabis cultivation, exotic cannabis strains are like the haute couture of high fashion. These strains are treasured for their unique terpene profiles, stunning visuals, and unparalleled potency, offering an experience that transcends the ordinary. As cannabis connoisseurs seek out new and exciting experiences, the demand for exotic weed strains has skyrocketed, making them a must-have for any discerning dispensary or cannabis shop. **Why Choose Exotic Cannabis?**

Cannabis Reviews Marijuana Accessories Cannabis Culture Cannabis Science Cannabis News Weed Delivery Exotic cannabis Disposable vape pen Jeeter juice carts Berner cookies Jungle boys Doja exclusive Live rosin Cannabis Events

1. **Flavor and Aroma**: With exotic cannabis, the flavor profiles are as diverse as they are delightful. From the fruity zest of "Mango Kush" to the dessert-like decadence of "Vanilla Frosting," these strains tantalize your palate and seduce your senses.

2. **Visual Appeal**: Exotic strains often feature a kaleidoscope of colors, from deep purples to fiery oranges, making them a treat for the eyes as well as the senses.

3. **Potency**: Known for their robust cannabinoid content, exotic strains can offer higher levels of THC or CBD, perfect for both recreational users looking for a strong high and medical marijuana patients seeking relief.

4. **Rare Genetics**: Exotic cannabis often comes from unique genetic lineages, giving you a taste of ancient and pure strains or cutting-edge hybrids.

5. **The Entourage Effect**: The complex interplay of cannabinoids and terpenes in exotic strains can enhance the therapeutic effects, providing a more holistic cannabis experience. **Cannabis

**How to Enjoy Exotic Cannabis Strains** Whether you're a veteran smoker or new to the scene, enjoying exotic cannabis is all about savoring the experience. Use a high-quality vaporizer to really taste the nuanced flavors, or roll it up in a hemp paper for a pure and potent session. Remember, with higher potency comes greater responsibility—start low and go slow.

**Where to Find Exotic Cannabis** Ready to add some exuberance to your stash? Exotic cannabis can be found at well-stocked dispensaries, cannabis festivals, and from reputable cannabis seed banks. Always ensure you're purchasing from a legitimate source to guarantee the quality and authenticity of the exotic strains.

**Final Thoughts** Exotic cannabis strains are more than just a trend; they're a luxury experience that's reshaping the landscape of cannabis culture. With their extraordinary qualities and unforgettable characteristics, these strains are a testament to the beauty and diversity of the marijuana world. Stay fabulous, my friends, and let the exotic allure of these magnificent marijuana marvels transform your next cannabis adventure. Until next time, keep those joints jumping and your taste buds thrilled!

ExoticCannabisStrains

CannabisCulture

HighFashionMarijuana

LuxuryCannabisExperience

ElevateYourHigh

[gabbygabbypoetry]

Carrot Bars Recipe Instead of using freshly grated carrots, this moist oil-based cake uses strained carrots from baby food jars, which gives the cake a more uniform texture and lessened carrot flavor. These bars go perfectly with the easy-to-make cream cheese frosting. 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 jars carrot baby food, 2 cups white sugar, 1.5 cups vegetable oil, 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/4 pound butter softened, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 eggs beaten, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1 package cream cheese

[nbula-rising]

COCONUT CAKE WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM FILLING

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake: 1 large egg plus 5 large egg whites 3/4 cup coconut cream 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon coconut extract 2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted 1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 12 pieces

For the raspberry buttercream filling: 6 ounces fresh raspberries 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar Pinch of kosher salt

For the marshmallow coconut frosting: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted One (7-ounce) jar Marshmallow Creme 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon coconut extract 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 2 cups shredded coconut, lightly toasted 6 ounces fresh raspberries, for topping or serving

DIRECTIONS:

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cut out two 8-inch or 9-inch round pieces of parchment paper and place them in the bottom of two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans. Butter the sides of the pans and dust with flour, shaking out the excess.

In a glass measuring cup, add the eggs, coconut cream, milk, vanilla and coconut extract. Whisk until combined.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed to combine. Add butter, one piece at a time, and beat until butter pieces are no larger than small peas, about 2 minutes. Slowly add half of the liquid mixture, increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Slowly add remaining liquid. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cake layers for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through to ensure even baking. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans at least 30 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.

To make the raspberry buttercream filling: Puree the raspberries in a food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve placed over a bowl to remove the seeds. Add butter to the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar and salt and mix until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add raspberry puree, a tablespoon at a time, until desired color and flavor is reached. Beat on high for about 30 seconds to lighten the filling.

To make the coconut marshmallow buttercream frosting: Add the butter to the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add marshmallow creme, heavy cream, coconut extract and salt; beat for an additional minute. To assemble the cake: Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter. Spread the raspberry buttercream filling over the top of the cake. Place the final cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Coat the frosting with the toasted coconut flakes. Top the cake or serve with fresh raspberries.

[powereddonut]

"Kujaku" 八

[Disclaimer:] I am not well-versed in certain musical instruments. I am also very bad at puns. If you figure them out, good for you. And hell, if team CFVY can do it, SO CAN I!!!

While the Death Stalker is in shock, Suzume turns to the strangers, including her friends. She wipes the drained look from her face in favor of waving wholeheartedly at the group.

Nora squishes her cheeks together and lets out a dramatic gasp, "Ana!" She bursts. The ginger grins mischievously and staggers her left foot back, planting her right flat on the ground. She narrows her eyes before surging forward toward Suzume.

Suzume holds her position by bending her knees and spreading her arms out. She welcomes Nora as the other slams into her body. They tumble to the ground, giggling uncontrollably. 

The reunion is sweet and emotional, especially for Suzume. All the conflictions she once felt disappeared from her mind as she enjoyed the moment. The scent of lemon zest wafts into her face and mixes with Suzume's jasmine and vanilla -- and it feels natural. Nora squeezes Suzume harder and rubs her cheek against the mantis-eyed girl's face.

"Mata aitai ne," Suzume mutters into the ginger's hair after they settle together.

Nora kicks her legs up and down from elation, "Me too," she gushes before pulling back to stare directly at Suzume. Suzume lays in the grass, her hair a slight mess from being tackled and her clothes becoming grimy from the dirt. Nora casually keeps Suzume pinned to the ground by straddling her waist and planting both of her hands on either side of Suzume's head. The latter doesn't realize their compromising position, instead, too happy about meeting with her best friend.

Nora's cheeks flush a dark pink as she jumps up and strains a laugh, "I mean-- you're here! That's so great because we're friends, and friends are usually this happy to see other friends after not seeing that friend for a while! Yeah..." she trails off after her rant and rubs the back of her head timidly.

The Death Stalker screams at the group of teenagers, causing them to become alert after the surprising interruption. Suzume gets on her feet as the scorpion skitters toward them. The ground shakes from its angry stomps, its target being the same person who gave it a handicap.

Nora stands in front of Suzume as the Grimm gets closer. She leaps forward to spin on her foot and slam the side of her hammer into one of its pincers. At the same time, Ren and a girl in black clothing dash past each other, slicing at the scorpion's bone armor with their weapons. A white circle appears under Suzume, and she marvels at the sharp snowflake that twirls in the middle. Another girl in frost clothing yanks on Suzume's arm and pulls her back by using the circle to accelerate their movement.

As they land a few feet away from the commotion, the blue-haired girl turns to the other teen and stares into her cold, pale blue eyes. They contrast greatly compared to the delicate, sea-green appearance of Suzume's irises.

"Be more careful next time," the frost girl scolds with her hands firmly on her hips. She looks a bit prissy in that position, but Suzume doesn't judge.

Instead, she gives a two-fingered salute, a habitual grin spreading across her face, "Got it. Thank you, Snow White," she says, and without gauging the other's reaction, she turns to begin running in the direction of the other students. 

The frost queen splutters as she stares disbelievingly at Suzume, "Wh-Don't call me that!"

They run to another abandoned structure in the middle of a canyon. Suzume sees a wide array of stone towers, each connected by a series of stone bridges. A lone bridge leads to a central tower, and smaller towers with long, stone walkways lead to the main one. Behind the ruins is a large cliff, and it takes Suzume a moment to rethink her decision about aweing at the historical piece.

A girl with bright, red hair skirts to a stop. She takes out a golden rifle and aims at the Death Stalker, "Go! Go! Go!" she insists before shooting at the creature, gaining its attention so Ren and the monochromatic girl could get on the bridge. Ren rolls to a stop near the girl as well, shooting at the Grimm with his fully automatic pistols.

When the Death Stalker swings at the three with its pincers, they get up to back away. The chase begins, once more, across the main bridge. Suzume feels the wind kick up and she looks toward the sky. The Nevermore has fully circled and is headed their way. The bird Grimm roars as it tucks in its wings and rams into the bridge, sending most of the group to one side and the other to the location of the Death Stalker.

Ren, the redhead, and the monochromatic girl don't have time to rest as they begin battling the large scorpion. Suzume and Nora had dove forward to avoid the gap in the bridge. The blue-haired girl rubs her head as she looks around. A girl with a red cape shoots at the Nevermore with a sniper rifle, and Suzume follows her line of sight, watching as the Grimm goes towards the cliffs.

She looks at the array of towers next -- the long line of walkways that connect them intriguing her. 

"Hey, Little Red," she calls to the girl with the cape. The girl stops shooting to stare questioningly at Suzume, "I'll boost your team, so be ready," she says with a sure salute before looking towards Nora.

She begins stretching her legs out, bending one foot behind her and then doing the same to the other, "Nora!" the said girl perks up immediately. Suzume gives her a thumbs up with a bright grin, "Beam me up, Shawty!" She plants one foot behind her before running at the orange-haired girl.

Nora extends her hammer and smirks slyly, "Got it." Laying her hammer flat, she allows Suzume to jump on the headpiece. The blue-haired girl crouches in her spot, getting into a mock-running stance. Nora giggles as she twirls around, swinging her hammer in a circle. Suzume holds on tight until Nora stops, and with one powerful turn, she's thrown in the air, high above the fog-infested canyon. 

Suzume enjoys the breeze with jovial laughter, "Weeeeeee!"

Without missing a beat, the Nevermore catches up with Suzume, its jaw hung open, ready to devour the human. Suzume snickers as she opens her sensu's. Activating the frostweed, she feels a chill crawl up her fingertips. Taking that as an indication, Suzume slashes at the air, sending waves of ice at the Nevermore. The blades connect with its open mouth, and it's sealed shut by jagged, frozen water.

The Nevermore's high-pitched whines echo throughout the canyon as it begins to fly away. Its back becomes revealed, and Suzume uses it as a platform to land on. She tucks her legs in, shielding her head before unraveling as she collides with the Grimm. Not wanting to waste any time, she runs down its back until she makes it to the tail. The stone walkway she had been aiming for comes into view, and she leaps off the Nevermore, seeking to land on the path.

Suzume hadn't accounted for the ice breaking. The cracks were loud in her ears, a warning of certain doom if she hadn't made it in time. She then smelt the stench of rotten meat, and an uncomfortably warm breath tickled the left side of her body. She doesn't look over to the Nevermore, instead, waiting with bated breath as it gets closer.

Gunshots ring in her ears as swirls of bright, colorful lights fills her vision. Suzume takes the moment of distraction to straighten her body like a toothpick and dive through the Nevermore's open mouth.

She lands on the walkway ungracefully with a few scrapes to her knees. Pouting, she wipes the dirt from her stockings, "Gosh, that didn't go as planned."

"Wow, ya think?" Michael wonders sarcastically, and Suzume sticks her tongue out at his remark, "What is your plan anyway? Surely, not to get us killed."

"No," she huffs, "We need to get to higher ground if we want everyone to hear our music," she crosses her arms as she watches the four maidens who saved her. They continue sending volleys of bullets at the bird Grimm. The creature uses one of its wings to knock over the central tower, causing the girls to stop shooting and climb their way to another platform.

Suzume watches with interest as they propel themselves up with either their semblance or through the recoil of their guns. An explosion could be heard coming from Nora's grenade launcher. Each group seems to be fighting its own battle, and it feels like the perfect opportunity for Suzume.

Nodding firmly, she looks straight ahead to another tower, "Switch."

Michael strains their body to jump high in the air, and he latches onto the corner of the small tower with a sensu. Pushing themself up, Michael lands on the rim of the outlook before hopping down to be in the circle.

"Alright, let's do this," Michael sighs as he splays out their hands in front of him. They glow a green light, and slowly, a set of musical instruments manifest before them. The drums appear transparent, the bass being the largest of the pieces, and Michael uses it as a seat. Circular disks float through the air, each disk being different sizes to represent a drum's anatomy. They carry their own sound, and Michael tests out the high tom to make sure it works. He grins with new vigor as the familiar beat comes into play.

The tower is half broken at the top giving a good view of what's happening below. It also allows the sound waves Michael produces to be heard nearly everywhere. He cracks their knuckles before taking out their fans and using them as drumsticks to switch between the hi-hats and snare drum. He keeps their arms crossed, using their right hand to also hit the crash cymbal at certain beats. With their hands preoccupied, Michael uses the heel of their geta as a bass pedal to hit the bass drum.

The rhythm stays like this until Michael takes a deep breath, and closes their eyes.

"Repeat after me," Suzume instructs, and Michael wordlessly nods. He clears their throat until Suzume's feminine voice could be heard.

(Red Like Roses Part II [by Jeff Williams]) (Time Stamp: 0:00-1:21)

There's a dramatic pause as the Death Stalker falls into the void of the canyon.  

🎶

I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute Couldn't bear another day without you in it All of the joy that I had known for all my life Was stripped away from me the minute that you died

🎶

Their voice rings throughout the canyon, sending a wave of electricity through everyone's mind. It left the blonde firecracker feeling empowered as her semblance came to life. Red eyes bore into the Nevermore as she shot at the creature. 

🎶

To have you in my life was all I ever wanted But now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this

🎶

The group consisting of Ren, Nora, a boy with blonde hair, and the bright redhead, look up to the tower where Suzume sits. They see the ripple of the bass drum every time she hits it, and they marvel at the fluent motion of her hands. Her voice is booming as the neon glow from her body shines high in the sky.

🎶

I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay? Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day

🎶

The Nevermore crashes into the cliff and roars with fury. The snow princess zips past the blonde firecracker, switching places with her to attack the Grimm. There's a sense of duty in her eyes as without a beat missed, she sinks her rapier into the stone steps and ice crystals climb up the Nevermore's tail to keep it in place.

🎶

It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending Every scene fades black, and there's no pretending This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well There's no knight in shining armor who will wake me from the spell

🎶

The monochromatic girl hangs onto a pillar as she shoots her gun at the blonde firecracker, who instantly catches it. The girls grip the string tightly as the caped female uses the recoil of her gun to land on the ribbon with her scythe. The snow princess keeps little red in place by using a black glyph.

🎶

I know you didn't plan this You tried to do what's right But in the middle of this madness I'm the one (I'm the one, I'm the one) You left to win this fight

🎶

Michael's voice crackles with a second input being added. The caped girl reloads her sniper rifle as the snow princess gets ready to propel her forward. The glyph changes from black to red, indicating the switch of its original components. Blue crystals follow the blade of her weapon when she sends little red into the sky.

🎶

Red like roses Fills my head with dreams and finds me

🎶

The caped girl shoots forward to hook her scythe on the neck of the Nevermore. She uses the momentum to plant her feet on the wall of the cliff and begins running up its surface with the help of pale blue glyphs.

🎶

Always closer To the emptiness and sadness That has come to take the place of you

🎶

Little Red drags the Nevermore up the wall, and as her feet touch the sky, she pulls the trigger on her sniper, decapitating the bird Grimm. All is quiet, the rhythm of Suzume's semblance having settled and Michael wipes a drop of sweat from their brow. He looks up towards the edge of the cliff and they watch as the Nevermore's body falls to the ground, black ash emitting from its body.

"Wow..." Suzume gasps at the display, watching in envy at the performance of the young girl. Speaking of her, she stands proudly above the canyon, staring at the group triumphantly.

"Alright, sorry kid," Michael says before switching their bodies abruptly. Suzume nearly falls forward, but she quickly catches herself, "Aura's depleted."

She feels how much energy it took to perform that long, and she shakes her head thoughtfully, "You did great, Michael. Thank you," Suzume insists as she begins climbing down from the tower. The god groans in response making Suzume giggle.

She makes it back to the central tower by running across a walkway. Once regrouped with the three remaining girls, Suzume gets to work checking them out.

She enthusiastically hops over to the blonde firecracker, "Wow! I've never seen yellow hair before! Blonde, sure, but yellow is just so bright! And your heartbeat -- I can practically feel the passion!" she hyperactively bounces to the monochromatic girl next, "I love your bow, and your vest looks super cute -- like a butterfly! Your heartbeat is so quiet too, how do you do that?" she doesn't wait for an answer as she finally zips to the snow princess, "I think you're the prettiest person I've ever met! Your eyes are so cold, and your attire is white like snow. Are you actually a Snow Princess, or just Snow White? Either way, your heartbeat is so tense, like you're reaching for something so close, but so far." She ends her ranting by leaning against the white-haired girl with her right hand held out to the horizon. 

No one talks, too stunned by Suzume's energetic actions. The snow princess gets out of the bluenette's hold, taking refuge near the golden firecracker and the monochromatic girl.

"Who are you?" the black-haired girl asks with an accusing finger.

Suzume catches herself from falling, but plants her fists on her hips after, "Well, it's rude to point, but I'm Suzume Ana--uh, wait- Ana Suzume!" she replies with a sure nod of her head. The three girls blink, dumbfounded but the golden firecracker speaks next.

She sheepishly rubs the back of her head as she steps forward. Confidently holding out her hand, a small smile forms on her lips, "I'm Yang, it's ice to meet."

Suzume tilts her head at the joke before a small 'o' is created from her lips, "And I am de-lighted to meet you as well," she ends with a small giggle and grabs Yang's hand. She 'ooh's once more at the blonde's strong grip and glances at her gauntlets, "Ooo, what are those?"

Yang pulls away from their handshake to pump her fists and activate her weapons, "Ember Celica. Dual ranged shot gauntlets," she presents the yellow arm guards, readily showing them off. Suzume observes them when they deactivate, becoming a pair of bracelets.

"So personable," she regards, and her attention gets turned to the girl with a cold exterior.

"My name is Weiss Schnee. It's nice to meet you," she says with a formal posture and firm, blue eyes.

Suzume tilts her head curiously, "Ano, are you a princess?" She wonders.

Weiss appears surprised by the question but smirks brazenly, "Why yes, I guess you could consider me one," she plants her hands on her hips, exemplifying her status.

Suzume's eyes widen, and she quickly stiffens her body into a perfect 90-degree angle. The contents in her backpack clink together from her quick movement, "Gomennasai, Schnee-sama! I didn't know," she frets with a conflicted expression.

Weiss blinks confusedly before huffing haughtily, "I don't know what that means, but at least someone recognizes my superior status."

Yang scoffs, shaking her head at the other's statement, "Don't let it get to your head, Ice Queen."

The white-haired girl stares exasperatedly at the blonde, "What!?"

Suzume ignores any more banter in favor of introducing herself to the girl with a big, black bow. The blue-haired girl leans on the back of her geta, easily balancing herself and holding her hand out expectantly.

The monochromatic female takes Suzume's hand, her movements remaining calm but skeptical, "Blake," she states and swiftly pulls back. 

It doesn't agitate Suzume; instead, she feels encouraged to speak further, "I really like your bow. I was going to wear a light blue one, but it didn't match any of my outfits, so I gave it to Nora. It fits her better and pairs with her eyes!" She emphasizes her point by gesturing to her best friend still on the other side of the canyon.

"Right..." Blake flatly says and trails her eyes away disinterestedly.

Suzume bites her bottom lip and grips the edge of her kimono. She only frowns slightly when their interaction grows awkward.

"Well, that was rude." Michael pipes up, making Suzume shrug.

She rolls her shoulders back with a sigh, "We only just met. It's to be expected."

Blake notices the odd conversation Suzume has with herself and gives her a once over. The two surprising things about her is the huge bag on her shoulders and her previous entrance. 

"What did you do?" Blake inquires, and her vague question flys straight over Suzume's head, "Your semblance. I felt... different when battling the Nevermore." Her elaboration is instantly recognized by the shorter girl who snaps her fingers.

"Oh! I manipulated your brain waves!"

It takes a moment for Blake to comprehend what Suzume said, and Yang and Weiss stop to process it as well, "'Scuse me?" The amethyst-eyed girl wonders with a puzzled expression.

Suzume simply waves off their concerned looks, "Don't worry! It's not like I was going to shut them down. That'd be pretty bad, now that I think about it." She taps her chin lightly at the notion.

"Why are you so nonchalant about that!? You could've killed us!" Weiss exclaims, glaring heatedly at the blue-haired female.

Again, Suzume waves off her worries, "Michael would never do that. He only manipulated your Beta brainwaves. Those deal with your outward concentration, basically your awareness. So he really only helped with your cooperation, and that's why no one had to speak when defeating the Nevermore. You already knew what to do by basic observation." She takes a deep breath after her splurge of dialect and then gives a thumbs up to the group, "So no worries!"

The three ladies appear further lost with the situation, and they gawk at the fact their lives were put in a random person's hands, "What!?"

"Who's Michael?"

"Why would you do that without our permission!?"

"Is it permanent!?"

Suzume covers her ears from all the shouting and numerous questions. She holds her hands out in surrender, hoping the three would calm down, "Please calm down! I can't answer all those questions at once!"

She sputters as she tries to appease them, and when she plants her right foot on the stone ground, she slips. An invisible rock stood in her path, and her bag dragged her down so she couldn't catch herself. Although, something peculiar happens. Suzume doesn't taste aged dust or feel the impending headache colliding with a hard surface would cause. She instead floats above the bridge, her left leg being held tightly by a purple light.

Suzume hears an unfamiliar heartbeat, and it elevates to show the tension that person feels. In the next instant, she's pulled higher into the sky. The straps of her bag slink up her shoulders, and she struggles to keep anything from falling out. With one hand on her bag, she uses the other to hold down the skirt of her kimono -- keeping her dignity. Next, she's spun around to face an older lady with platinum blonde hair and piercing, light green eyes. 

"Uh, oh..."

"Uh, oh..."

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" It was a rhetorical question, but Suzume couldn't stop herself from answering it.

"Well, funny story--" She begins but is interrupted by the crack of the lady's crop against the open air. Suzume squeaks as she's brought closer to the woman. She hangs above the foggy canyon, and she flicks her eyes between her demise, and her captor. 

"That wasn't to be answered. You snuck your way into Beacon and disrupted the Initiation for what? All students were to arrive on time yesterday, so you had your chance. That being said, I will personally escort you back to the dropships and send you to wherever you came from." She leaves no room for arguments as she drags Suzume precariously to the other side of the broken bridge, "The rest of you, return to Beacon Cliffs."

Suzume passes Ren and Nora, and she gives them a sheepish wave. Ren has an amused-disbelieving look, while Nora is concerned but still happy. The blue-haired girl silently promises to be back as she disappears into the forestry.

[qualitycrownturtle]

10 Tips for Making a Good ice cream strains of weed Even Better

Indicators on Ice Cream Cake X Runtz - Strain Review You Should Know

Table of ContentsThe Basic Principles Of Ice Cream Runtz - Grizzly Peak The Facts About Ice Cream Runtz RevealedNot known Incorrect Statements About New High End Flower – Ice Cream Runtz – Indica 3.5g What Does Ice Cream Runtz Marijuana Strain Information Do?

This details is actually sourced from our readers and also is actually not a substitute for specialist medical suggestions. Find the advice of a health and wellness expert just before utilizing cannabis for a health care ailment.

It includes an above average yield both inside and also out (frosty runtz). Additional relevant information concerning expanding this pressure may be found at Master Eco-friendly Buds.

It additionally boasts a great tasting as well as velvety vanilla preference as well as traces of natural and also sugary details. This tension creates a talk that begins with your crown and relocates to the remainder of the body. The high is sturdy as a result of its strength. Frozen yogurt additionally has body-numbing results that clear your mind as well as final for a long period of time.

While our company may not consistently have the Frozen yogurt Strain in stock, look at our checklist of identical strains through clicking on below, or keep reading to get more information concerning this popular marijuana strain - guava runtz strain leafly. Permit's obtain a taste of the Ice Cream Pie strain. The genetics of Frozen yogurt Cake are actually greatly for its Indica top qualities.

The Pinene terpene additionally offers it a light, woodsy smell. vanilla ice cream strain. When it pertains to encounter, the Ice Lotion Birthday cake tension is among the best outstanding - runtz auto review. It has a flavor that is sugary like biscuit dough along with a hint of vanilla frozen yogurt. The genetic makeups of the Frozen yogurt Covered pressure create its sensational look.

Similar to any sort of really good frozen yogurt, this strain is totally frosted. cream weed strain. The Gelato Pie stress possesses a combination of terpenes that create its wonderful and creamy flavor. These terpenes are also accountable for the lightweight scent of this particular strain. Terpenes are accountable for much even more than the flavor of your beloved strains.

The Ultimate Guide To Ice Cream Runtz For Sale Online From Our Store

Listed below's the failure: Around 23% THC 0. 6 to 1% CBG CBD of over 1% The effects of the Gelato Birthday cake pressure are relaxed leisure along with a simple emotion. ice cream sandwich strain. This is actually an Indica leading stress which indicates that you're mosting likely to experience a great deal of physical leisure.

The Ice Lotion Covered stress is actually additionally taken note for its medical effects consisting of assisting relaxation as well as even stress and anxiety alleviation. marijuana ice cream. Gelato Covered is generally made use of by those that are actually trying to marijuana for sleeping. Growing the Ice Cream Pie stress can easily be performed both inside your home and also outdoors. This stress is actually ideal delegated to growers along with additional adventure since Frozen yogurt Birthday cake is actually known for being a challenge due to its asking for increasing problems.

This tension grows high and also wide which implies it needs more space than your ordinary stress. It additionally requires greater temperature levels which suggests exterior increasing functions could need warm lamps if the evenings obtain to cool down. ice cream cake america. The Ice Cream Cake tension possesses a wonderful smell with an also sweeter taste.

Beware, though! Like with any kind of edibles, it might be tempting to possess a little bit way too much without realising it, as well as prior to you recognize it, it is actually all gone as well as you're incredibly high! Nevertheless, you can easily regularly want to hold your ice cream in different, smaller sized compartments as a technique of portion command.

The initial procedure makes use of a standard stove. Pre-heat your stove to 105110C. Grind up your grass in to small items, but not a powder. Put it on parchment paper on a flat pan, as well as area all of it in the stove for 3045 mins (ice cream indica or sativa). As soon as your grass has actually transformed a light-toned golden brown, you need to be actually good to go.

Once it is actually done, allow it to cool down a little bit so you can easily handle it, then you may proceed and start infusing! An additional decarboxylation approach is actually to place your cannabis in vacuum-sealed plastic bags as well as just steam them in a marijuana or even pressure cooker for about an hour. After that, you properly clear away the bag with the buds, and voilyou now have decarboxylated pot, without any of the lightly browning (icee runtz strain).

The 9-Minute Rule for Ice Cream Cake X Runtz - Strain Review

In a second pan, area your butter, sugar, and sodium on tool warm and stir as they begin to liquefy - ice runtz leafly. Take your ground, decarboxylated weed and stir it into the pan with the butter, sweets, as well as sodium, ensuring to evenly circulate the weed. Blend the warm cream right into the butter combination.

The moment mashed into a paste, include the cream mixture, rum, honey, and any other substance you desire into the bowl. Mix every thing together up until the entire combination possesses a paste-like uniformity. Place the combination in the fridge freezer for a handful of hours, until it starts to possess a mushy consistency. Take the bowl and pour the blend into a suited fridge freezer compartment.

Location a top on the container and always keep in the freezer till it insists. As well as that is actually all there is to the development of cannabis ice cream. Sound quick and easy? That's due to the fact that it is! However if you're thrust thinking about which strain to infuse right into your gelato, have no fear! Our experts've obtained a few recommendations up our sleeves.

If you have actually a decided on strain in mind to utilize along with your frozen yogurt, that is completely fine! If, nevertheless, you are actually seeking recommendations to receive one of the most flavour and the most significant news from your gelato, keep these strains in mind! There should be incredibly little confusion regarding why we selected this stress (runts weed strain).

Clearly, as this is actually frozen yogurt, the only alternative is actually to place it right in the fridge (runtz weed strain). As a great policy to go through with any kind of homemade edibles, write the time you created them on the compartment. As the ice lotion consists of dairy, it is going to eventually go poor or end up being very icy after sufficient opportunity.

Much of those that acquire help are people that have lately been actually launched coming from imprisonment as well as are offered with crucial aid post-release. Ujamaa Spot has actually successfully improved over 5,000 men and also has sustained a 4% regression fee, contrasted to 68% nationally, depending on to the National Principle of Compensation. A portion of sales apiece Blueberry Express pint will be given to Ujamaa Area.

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You need to be actually 21+ to purchase a pint, as well as you will be actually carded. This is actually the initial THC increased ice lotion from Bebe Zito, yet it likely will not be actually the last. Meals and Dining publisher Stephanie March composes and also revises Mpls. St. Paul Journal's Consume + Consume part. ice cream strain info. She can easily additionally be listened to Saturdays on her my, Talk107. d8 icy relief roll on.

Most definitely some of the finest I have actually tasted and experienced in a number of years. The Euphoria was fantastic, and can't don't forget the last time I obtained the giggles such as this. Effects lasted very long, slept well, lacking of pain, and also have roused fairly calm. Posted April 18, 2021, 6:36 a. m (gelato runtz indica or sativa).

The aroma stands out yet certainly not overly extreme, perfect if you favor mild-smelling tensions. Liked by clinical people, Gelato Covered possesses a comforting impact that may assist with discomfort. All, Buds mentions, "Ice Lotion Pie is actually said to be actually ideal for dealing with those struggling with anxiety, severe ache, sleeping disorders, as well as nausea or vomiting or hunger reduction (ice cubes strain)." Because ICC is actually practically a crossbreed, several records that the experience starts in their head and promptly makes its own technique into their physical body for much more sedating feelings.