#was i really too loud or talked too much like elliot says?

[the-woild-is-y-erster]

vent ig

no one in my family will hug me anymore. i dont think i said or did anything, and i take showers consistently every other day, so i know i dont smell bad.

but none of my friends are very tactile, and ive been too busy to see my boss

so i havent had a hug in two months, maybe more (not that ive been counting.)

and i think i'm going insane.

i havent had more than a hand on a shoulder, at most holding someone's hand for theater, and i'm going crazy because i need to be hugged i need to be held i need to be loved but i guess that isn't in the cards right now.

that's ok. i can wait a little longer, i guess.

[unabashedly-so]

😉 SDV Elliot HC 😘

Flirting.

Content warning: does get a little naughty post 10 hearts, still SFW.

everyone's entitled to their opinion, even if they're wrong, and since i can't be wrong in my own hc post

📣 Elliott is the biggest flirt of all the bachelors.

...and bachelorettes, I feel confident in that too.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say in the whole valley maybe.

you don't see it much in his actual in-game dialogue, but tbf you don't see much of it in anyone's dialogue. The game's not really written like that.

BUT IF IT WAS!!!!! ☝️

I'd hang my hat on this. Elliott's flirt game would be 🔥✨🔥😩😩👌👌👌

he's self-assured, he's foppish and aware of it, and heck SOMEBODY's gotta hear all the GREAT one-liners and colloquialisms he's got bouncing around in his head all day from writing.

once he gets to know someone (mainly knows that they're okay with playful, meaningless flirting), he's just shameless.

he's complimentary: "that shirt really brings out your beautiful [color] eyes!"

he's self-aggrandizing: "did you miss me already?" (<--narrator voice: it's been <10 minutes).

he uses pet names and terms of affection so much you almost think he's forgotten your name but it's too late to ask now. "dear," "darling," "love," "light of my life," "sunshine," "lovely," "beautiful," etc.

he's also self-deprecating, or the damsel in distress, "oh, if only there was someone strong and dashing who could save me from my misery!" (author's note: his misery is an unopened wine bottle.)

✨ D R A M A T I C . ✨ calm down, sir. (read: don't.)

then the praise. oh the praise. "bless you, you kind and radiant soul. My world would be so dark but for your captivating light."

he's probably not one to use a lot of physical touch in his flirtations because, y'know, boundaries. But with a receptive 4-7 heart farmer, he might make some exceptions, particularly if it was farmer-led, and so long as it wasn't genuinely romantic or sexual. Like dancing, brief hand-holding, kisses on the hand, hugs of most kinds, etc.

and if there was something he wasn't comfortable with, he'd first deflect playfully. ie, holding hands for too long, "I haven't gotten my cooties booster this year."

he'd only use pick up lines if he came up with them himself. a man has to have standards, y'know.

so, he'd basically be like this with ANYONE with whom he has a decent enough relationship with (and he knows it wouldn't make them uncomfortable)

But. BUT.

Here's where it gets really interesting. Follow me down......

after a farmer gets his 8 heart scene... he shuts it down.

he stops flirting with them. cold turkey.

for those of you who think graphically like i do, see below for a representation:

so what the heck is going on between 8 and 10 hearts???? why does it actually get WORSE than before he barely knew the farmer????????

aliensfeelings.png

he's not thinking much about any kind of relationship beyond friendship (with anyone, really) while he's working on his novel because he's So Close and that's really invigorating and it kind of overshadows all else.

then the book reading happens, and he hears himself say out loud that he dedicated his novel--his ENTIRE BOOK, arguably his LIFE'S WORK up to this point so far--to the farmer that he only just met a few seasons ago

(not to mention he canonically made it at their behest?!??? (2 heart scene picking the genre))

most authors dedicate first books to, like, their spouse or parents, or childhood best friend, sibling--someone MEANINGFUL, who has STAYING POWER, and has impacted the trajectory of their LIFE..........

🎵oh no.

🎵oh no.

🎵oh no no no no no.

talk about a fucking tidal wave of realizations that come crashing down on him. Things that he was too swept up in his own head to really realize or fully acknowledge. Like how, oh no, he's actually been putting some heat (and hope) behind his recent flirty interactions with the farmer. y'know, a more sophisticated of "hahaha... unless.....? 👀" Or how, oh no, did their lips always look so kissable? Or, oh no, was that story arc in his novel just an allegory for his subconscious pining? Oh, you mean the one he just READ OUT LOUD to the entIRE TOWN?????

the man's about to go jump into the sea with cement shoes.

and here's the thing: he's very SELF-assured. His confidence comes from knowing his own worth separate of extrinsic factors. But his confidence when it comes to relationships with other people??? Far less assured. He knows he can be intense in some ways, and not everybody wants that all the time. That stung, having to figure that out the hard way. And now it turns out all the sweet nothings he'd been saying to the farmer are actually emphatically true, but now how's the farmer to know that he's being serious when he says them??? And wouldn't it be so weird to say them with the fervor and hope of it being received genuinely while also having to acknowledge he'd said all those things ingenuously before, but he means them fr now??!?

he's too passionate about his adorée to want them to feel that he was being facetious with them, but was he not???

Oh, Elliott...

Despair(TM)-2

so he stops all flirting with the farmer. He doesn't ice them out, he just... acts a little differently. Where once he might have greeted them with a melodramatic tale of how he missed them so... instead he says, "It's wonderful to see you again."

it's almost like he treats them warmly, but professionally. The friendliness, warmth, sincerity is all still there but the jokes have faded away and he's a little more... stilted. It's about as subtle as he can be (ymmv), but the change is definitely... perceptible.

it's even worse when you take into consideration the bouquet, omfg. it DOES grant him a sense of security, but this is man is a ROMANTIC who is INTENSELY PASSIONATE. He's got a foot in the door, but doesn't want to scare them away by suddenly becoming overbearing. 8-10hearts is a bit of a tightrope walk for him, as he navigates getting closer to the farmer and being aware that not everyone can (or wants to) handle all he has to give (which is fine!).

he tries to give little tastes here and there but..... subtlety is not his strong suit, and he knows it.

and maybe the farmer has to confront him about it at some point, ymmv. it could very much be a "it's not you, it's me" conversation that leads to ???? or in this hc post, it leads to the 10heart event, where Elliott knows he has to let go of his fears and commit.

Despair(TM)-2_final_FINAL

It's just so hard because apparently this farmer really, really means a lot to him.

whoops how'd that happen *sweeps mountain of duck feathers and pomegranates under the rug*

without getting into the 10heart scene too much, I'd just also like to point out how fucking funny it is because you KNOW this romantic ass man has day dreamed so many different scenarios of expressing his love and adoration and when the moment finally arrives he just... totally flops. poetic.

but anyway once that's all established and good, the flirting comes back with a vengeance.

a saucy, naughty, 🌶️spicy🌶️ vengeance.

now that he's figured out where the new boundaries are, he's unafraid to use any opportunity (within reason) to express his adoration for them and reaffirm his commitment to them.

example, farmer teases him over a glass of wine, "wine on your tongue got you slurring, El?" To which he smirks, and lets out a low hum. "It's the wine now and you later, my love."

sometimes it's stupid, like stage whispering to Leah as you join them at the Saloon, "don't look now, but a ten just walked in. Should I talk to them? Do you think I have a chance?" (you're married, btw.) Leah's heard this before and says, "No."

sometimes if you're holding hands, he'll just start spontaneously pull you into a wrap in and dance with you, murmuring some lines of spicy poetry he writes and shares only with you. Sometimes this happens at home or on the farm, but not always.

but one way he NEVER flirts with you again is with anything that would put his adoration of you into question for even a moment. You may as well hang the moon and stars for him, and he'll never once let you forget or doubt that. 💖

sometimes it's just so infuriatingly cocky. "I hope you'll still love me when I'm so old and senile that I forget my own name."

"Of course I will."

"You make me so happy, dear. I just hope I can maintain the stamina needed to properly ravish it out of you."

[izzuku]

Redacted Headcanons 2

(here they come) fluff + suggestive + sad

Don't take them too seriously if you don't like them please.

- Lasko has stretch marks, specially over his stomach and thighs because of anxiety (he gains and loses weight really fast and constantly)

- Gavin has top scars: he could get rid of them but he likes them because it reminds him of who he wants to be.

- David lost once in a game and was dared to put on a maid dress. He never did it again (much to Angel's dismay)

- Gavin will always leave some kind of mark on Freelancer, specially hickeys. At least one and always visible.

- When Tank has a nightmare, they usually mutter things and almost instantly wrap around Sam's arm for comfort.

- Damien and Huxley have a lot of matching things, from necklaces to rings, clothes, hats. They even have matching colored nails.

- Caelum likes to teach Gavin how to play Minecraft and even have a cooperative world with different rooms for the three of them fully decorated.

- Lasko, Guy and Asher secretly love when you push them against a wall to shut them up with a kiss. Doesn't matter your height, if you put enough force to make them stumble back, they're yours fr.

- The morning after, Sam has woken up to several bite marks and scratches from Darlin' all over his body and has he tried to cover them up. It didn't work.

- Aaron had to learn a variety of languages because of work and one of them is Korean, the thing is Smartass doesn't know why it turns them on hearing him.

- If any of the D.A.M.N crew had tattoos, Caelum would definitely use markers to paint on the designs.

- Gavin and Freelancer have had matching hair color at least once.

- Whenever Sweetheart has an anxiety attack/panic attack they unconsciously cloak so they have enough room for their emotions.

- If Cutie feels like they've stepped over boundaries with their partner, Geordie will always find them on the same bench of a park nearby, just looking around trying to make a good apology.

- Elliot likes to take pictures of Sunshine at the 'golden hour' because he says it matches their nickname.

- Avior and Starlight deal with the whole 'Hell' situation by taking care of lots of plants. They sit with a cup of coffee and talk with some soft music in the background, it gives them the sense of normalcy they craved back then.

- Sam has a special plaid shirt that he always gives Darlin' when they need comfort. Then he sees a sleepy wolf hanging around the house with just that shirt and underwear on.

- David, Darlin', Milo and Asher have definitely slept shifted like a pile of wolfs and it was surprisingly comfortable.

- Damien has dreamed several times about getting married.

- Sam and Angel have lots of secretly taken photos of David and Darlin' being cute in their wolf forms that only they can see.

- Guy has definitely tried playing Twister while drunk but constantly fell over Honey who was just trying to pass through the living room.

- Before Lasko having a listener, Freelancer and Gavin would always leave clean clothes for him the next morning, a cup of coffee and a goodbye kiss for the day.

- Deviant is always being showered in praise of their body. Gavin can always tell when they're not feeling themselves and is quick to barge in with the sweetest and most genuine comments.

- Vincent was that one loud ass kid that would always cry if another kid took away the toy he was playing with.

- Babe is always accompanied by Asher whenever they have to use an elevator. Since the first time it eases them to know they're together just like when they first met.

I think that's it for today hope you enjoyed babes

[1moreff-creator]

Happy Birthday Charles Cuevas!

I haven’t talked much about this guy in my short time on Tumblr, but I’ve always loved this dork. Clearly academically gifted, but still a bumbling idiot at heart. He’s always a joy to have on screen!

Anyways, as usual, I’ll make a half hearted analysis on his character, alongside dumping in a bunch of fun facts from any sources I can find (mostly QnAs and the series itself), then mention a few songs that remind me of him!

-Charles originally held a very elitist attitude towards everyone else’s talents, arrogantly dismissing any he didn’t consider useful. 

-However, he’s quickly humbled by quite a few things. He had evidently lived a relatively sheltered life prior to the killing game, as he didn’t know how to perform basic tasks like using a washing machine or cooking, and Whit always poked fun at him for that and other reasons.

-But in particular, it was his debilitating fear of blood, hemophobia, which ended up fully humbling him. After seeing Teruko’s body post Xander-stab, he became unable to speak until after the end of the first trial. 

-In fact, Charles is the only person (aside from Xander for obvious reasons) who didn’t participate in the CH 1 Scrum Debate. He doesn’t even show up in the animation. Also, his sprite has him with his back to the group for the vast majority of the trial.

-After everyone saw him like that, Charles felt they started pitying him, which he absolutely loathed. He’s claimed he likes hanging out with Teruko specifically because she didn’t start treating him any differently after that fiasco.

-And of course, he also started enjoying Whit’s company. The matchmaker helped him during the trial, and then they became close friends. 

-This is despite the fact that Charles got very annoyed by and even genuinely angry at Whit making fun of him in the laundry room scene, as we see in their FTE.

-Veronika believes Charles’ hemophobia comes from repressed childhood memories, which seems likely given his secret: “Your older brother died, but you don’t remember him at all.” Hearing about it for the first time shocked Charles quite badly, but he later composed himself and overall handled his secret well. 

-His older brother’s name was Elliot (nickname Ellie), as revealed in the most recent QnA. He was 11-13 years older than Charles, and apparently looked very similar to how Chares looks now. All we know about Elliot otherwise is that his favorite food is pancakes and his favorite animals are dogs.

-In the same QnA, it was revealed the scar on Charles’ right arm is from a dog bite, but Charles thinks it’s a birthmark; he doesn’t remember getting it. This suggests this is related to his brother’s death, which when combined with the fact that Charles’ profile  states he dislikes dogs… really makes it sound like Elliot was mauled by dogs ngl. His favorite animal too.

-We know Charles usually writes in cursive, and given the fact his custom weapon isn’t listed in the list Whit showed everyone on the first trial, it’s likely it was written by him. 

Note the paper looks similar to the notepad Charles usually carries around. Also, the pen he always has on him and likes to chew on has black ink, if anyone cares. 

-Though the fact his strychnine is omitted from this list sort of means he and Teruko may very well be the only people in the killing game who know he has that weapon…

My guy’s getting poisoned isn’t he.

-Anyways, his profile also states he likes coffee ice cream, and this was reconfirmed in the recent QnA. He can also apparently brew good coffee, but not in the killing game since he doesn’t have the right materials (see: FTE).

-His secret quote is “If you forgot it, then it probably wasn’t important to begin with. None of those memories should ever be kept, anyway.” It’s possible it’s just talking about his brother, but if this follows the same logic as Arei’s and Min’s (as in, a phrase Charles actually says out loud), it will be interesting to see in what context he says it. Has he regained some of the memories of his brother’s death perhaps? He’s speaking of amnesia with quite the authority. But that’s just speculation.

-The quote on the Mai Akasaki profile attached to him is “A girl who loves her family.” Because he doesn’t remember his brother, but Mai loves her family apparently. I find it sorta hilarious that this is one of the only solid pieces of information we have about Mai’s backstory.

-Recap Foil Theory by gleamingtempest assigns Teruko as a narrative foil to Charles, which we’ve already seen come into play. They’ve essentially gone in opposite character arcs so far, with Charles opening up and starting to rely on others just as Teruko begun distrusting everyone and distancing herself from the rest. Other ways they foil include their attitudes towards the past; Charles considers his life very ordinary, all things considered, as he’s completely forgotten the worst part of his past. Meanwhile, Teruko hardly remembers all the things which she’s been through because of the sheer amount of bullshit she’s been through. Her luck has basically made her quite experienced in the situations Charles is most incapable in, anything with corpses and blood being the main thing. Among other thematic and narrative connections.

Charles obviously has very interesting thematic connections to a lot of other characters, but if I get into everything I’ll be here forever.

-He has numeral III in the David MV, a number which doesn’t seem to have any applicable symbolism on its own.

The phrase it’s connected to is “if you doubt brittle things are broken”, which refers to the preconceived notion he’s an only child (and his scar being a birthmark) being destroyed by questioning them, as he expresses in this scene:

Charles: Things you had accepted as truth your whole life begin to reveal themselves as lies. And once all the pieces are in place, you realize you were a fool for never seeing the whole story before.

There’s also background text, a famous passage from “The Little Prince”:

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

“The essential” here is likely meant to be Charles’ memories or relationships.

-Color Theory by accirax assigns him plum, which includes the following words:

*change! X2: He went through a pretty fast character arc, so “change” makes sense.

*like that: This one makes sense with the context of the scene, but that will take too long to explain and it’s not too important.

*the o in original: Not getting into this one either, but in context it probably is just another reference to his change of heart. What? What do you mean that’s not what I’ve ever said in relation to this word? Don’t worry about it.

*a cup of poison: Strychnine stays winning.

Alright, now some more useless fun facts!

-His birthday, September 5th, doesn’t seem to have special meaning to him, but it does land on the International Day of Charity, National Cheese Pizza Day, as well as…

National “Act Dumb” Day, and National Be Late For Something Day.

…

Who the fuck comes up with these?!

-He dismisses the concept of a favorite color pointless, but his favorite color is cerulean (sorta blue like his gloves). His least favorite color is dark red because of blood, so yes, the characters see it as red.

-He likes “nostalgic food” that reminds him of his childhood. Hey, remember how he really wanted to eat pancakes in the FTE? And remember how Elliot liked pancakes? I’m sad now.

-He’s good with computers and technology in general (see: his talk about CDs vs DVDs), and apparently uses machine learning for chemistry purposes.

-He smells like laundry detergent. Presumably because he’s cleanly as a chemist, but I like to think he just spilt a fuckton of it on himself trying to wash his clothes.

-He’s right-handed and American, like practically everyone in the cast. Though he is ethnically hispanic/latino.

-He likes his hair length and doesn’t like the idea of cutting it short. Also, his hair color’s natural.

-He doesn’t need to wear those goggles all the time, but he’s stubborn. And his lab coat is slightly oversized, but he won’t admit it.

-In the FTE, Whit flexes quite a few nicknames for him. Charlie, Ceci, “Cha-ro-shi”… I think this is funny.

And finally, a few songs that I think fit him! Though my music taste doesn’t really align well here, so I had to reach a bit for a few of these. You have to understand, the extent of my research for this part always just extends to me scrolling down my playlists and seeing which songs I think work with the character.

+Toxic by Britney Spears. I am only slightly sorry.

+She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby. You decide what Charles ship this goes with.

+Uncanny by Ghost & Pals. It’s about someone struggling to understand and accept their own feelings and experiences (memories), so it fits.

+Amygdala’s Ragdoll by Ghost & Pals. Amnesia song.

+Aura by Ghost & Pals. A song about confronting past and present horrors.

+Lost One’s Weeping by Neru. “Science, math I like. But I’m terrible at English, so I despise”. He dislikes acknowledging his weaknesses and prefers to focus on the things he’s good at.

+Meltdown by iroha(sasaki). A song about change with a nuclear reactor as a metaphor. Perfect.

+Hyperdontia by Ghost & Pals and CreepP. “Pull them out and wash them off, the memories”.

+Candle Queen by Ghost & Pals. Sorta fits pre-arc Charles.

+Aishite by Kikuo. Trust me bro. He gives me these kind of vibes of a “golden child”, you know what I mean?

+SIU (Suck It Up) by Maretu. If you ignore what the lyrics are actually about, the vibe works quite well.

+Nobody Makes Sense by PinnochioP. I cannot explain to you why I think this fits so well, but in my mind it does.

+In iolite by Ghost & Pals. Hopeful and lowkey. I just really like this song, and I think it sorta fits.

+Those Who Carried On by guess who, Ghost & Pals again. I think the vibe fits decently, and if Charles is one of “those who carried on” I think it kinda works? Idk.

+100 Digits of Pi by AsapSCIENCE. You can’t tell me he can’t sing this front to back and then continue for like fifty more digits.

+The Periodic Table Song by AsapSCIENCE. Obviously.

And finally:

Happy Birthday! Though he’s going to be extremely embarrassed the entire time it plays.

(Also this is apparently my 100th post so pog)

[cringelordofchaos]

My TMF Sadie hcs!!

Serbian + Ashkenazi Jewish

+ slight Saudi Arabic ancestry (I'm pretty sure a mutual posted this hc once so I stole it ... (I think it was you rory?? idkk))

Autistic as fuuuuck. (But not diagnosed)

Used to admire daisy from afar during middle school (GAY-) but was too shy to approach her

Demiromantic asexual lesbian bc i say so

Really close to her grandma

Generally gets along much better with elderly people rather than ppl her own age

Into Slavic paganism

Celebrates traditional eastern Orthodox holidays w her family (like Slava n such)

Genuinely has no friends but Daisy and like she sometimes sort of talks to Elliot (and Elliot n daisy and the teachers r practically the only people outside her family who aren't avoidant of her)

Sortt of tired of people constantly being scared the hell out of her

As opposed to her reserved personality, almost everyone in her family is extra loud and extroverted

Has three younger siblings, was sortt of forced to grow up a bit quicker

Really tries to be polite and well mannered and doesn't understand why people dislike her or fear her

Good grades

Sensory issues for meaty food (yuck)

knows something no one else does

Barely goes outside (implied to be canon in an Instagram post by RosyClozy)

Also believes møther might be real

Agnostic too ?? 😵‍💫😵‍💫

This is getting a bit confusing lmao

Genuinely thought she didn't mind not having a single friend until daisy made her realize that holy shit friends are actually. An important part of her life

She becomes friends w Lia at one point too btw too tired to bother to explain

I'm supposed to be studying right now I hate everything

Ermmm

Cat person

Her parents constantly nag her on to make new friends, and to go outside more often and to get more friends than just daisy (especially since daisy is busy quite often)

Her parents forced her to take folklore lessons when she was younger, fuckijg hated it bc she never liked physical activities in general

Sensory issues to light, genuinely sorta upset by brighter colours, the PE teacher is aware of this so they let her wear a darker shirt (,: (ep5 for reference)

Barely speaks out loud but her mind is full of random shit 24/7 and her literature teacher is horrified by her and her writing

Moved to USA Rosemeadow around 9-11 years old

Visits the graveyard quite often. For reasons.

Anygay

Boye bye

[shion-yu]

Day 21 - Blood Loss

When Elliot goes back to collect his things after the breakup, he doesn't expect to walk into that. Whumptober 2023! I’m using the @ailesswhumptober's prompt list. This story is about my OC Cliff - here’s his profile if you’re so inclined: https://toyhou.se/23741453.cliff. Takes place in Cliff’s junior year of undergraduate degree, the breakup. It's a long one! Also a part 1/companion piece to Day 16 in Elliot's POV.

TWs: Vomit

Why was it so cold? Cliff pulled his duvet closer around his aching body. His fingers were so stiff it was as if they had frozen. Cliff knew something was wrong, but it was as if his mind couldn’t form a thought correctly in order to process what his options were. Elliot was gone. Cliff had messed up, again. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Everything they’d done together, all the progress they made - gone,just because Cliff hadn’t been able to say what Elliot said so easily out loud. He’s my boyfriend. 

Cliff vomited over the side of the bed where the trash can already held evidence of several other times his stomach had betrayed him today. Everything burned. Not only his stomach, but his chest, his eyes and mouth. This was it. It was the ultimate fuck up. Elliot wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t answering Cliff’s phone calls or texts. He didn’t want anything to do with Cliff, ever again. 

A ragged, painful sob crawled up Cliff’s throat between retches. Nothing was coming up anymore except for hot stomach acid. Despite feeling like he was crying, no tears were coming out. Was it really possible to cry so much that you didn’t have any tears left, Cliff wondered? He vaguely knew that he needed to drink something, but the fever made everything so confusing. The ceiling seemed to have turned into water. When had he ended up on the floor?

“If you ever really loved me, you wouldn’t have done this to me,” Cliff thought he heard Elliot’s angry voice in his head. “I don’t ever want to see you again. You won’t ever see me smile again. You won’t ever kiss me again. This is your fault, all your fault. Cliff? What the hell. Are you there?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Cliff was crying again. Ah, so he did have some tears left.

Whatever ghost that seemed to be intent on torturing him scoffed in Elliot’s voice. “Stop apologizing to me. You made your true feelings clear with your actions.”

“I never wanted to hurt you. Not now. Not then. Believe me.”

A frustrated sigh. “It’s too late for that. Look, I need to come get my stuff. Can you please leave for a couple of hours so I don’t have to see you?”

Cliff’s eyes blinked open. His mind slowly struggled to the realization that this request was too reasonable to have come just from a guilty hallucination. Cliff turned his head slightly to the side and realized it hadn’t been in his head - he was holding his phone and Elliot really was there on the phone, although Cliff couldn't remember how they'd started talking in the first place. “You’re coming?” The words spilled from his mouth more pathetically than anything Cliff had ever said. Desperation. Desire.

“Not for you, I said for my things,” Cliff heard Elliot say. He could almost see Elliot’s cross face and felt like laughing. “Cliff, I said for my things. Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” Cliff whispered, falling back onto his back and closing his eyes. The cold dorm room floor seemed to be swallowing him in a way that was both frightening and comforting. Was the last thing he was going to hear before he died Elliot’s voice of contempt? He certainly deserved it.

Elliot’s voice came back over the phone. “So will you leave or not?”

This time Cliff did laugh. Or something that was supposed to be a laugh, but was closer to a hysterical sob. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

The irritation in Elliot’s voice grew. “What? What do you mean you can’t?” 

“I... I can’t,” Cliff mumbled again. He couldn't get up. It was getting harder to follow the conversation. What were they talking about again? Oh, right, Elliot wanted to pick up his things. Because he was going to leave, and this time he wasn’t coming back. There was a pause so long that Cliff thought maybe Elliot’s voice had been a hallucination after all.

“Where are you?” Something had changed in the tone. 

“Just here,” Cliff heard himself say faintly. It was as if someone else had said those words from very far away. The cold in his body was being replaced by a numbness that he had never felt before. 

“Just where?”

Cliff was too tired to answer, or move from his position on the floor. He was tired of dealing with this. It was better to just sleep. He thought he could hear Elliot’s voice saying other things to him, but he wasn’t sure what. The voice alone made Cliff’s lips twitch into a smile, though - the first one in days. But was Elliot’s yelling now? Cliff didn’t understand what there possibly was to yell about anymore. Elliot had been right. Cliff couldn’t handle their relationship. It was too precious and Cliff was too clumsy. It was over. And if it was over, he didn’t know what else was worth fighting for in this world.

Because I love you.

I love you.

“I love you...”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Elliot had thirty missed calls and several pages worth of text messages from Cliff that he had had ignored this week. The absence of Cliff’s attempts to contact him the past two days was more noticeable than when he’d been ignoring Cliff’s telltale text message sound and ringtone. Elliot was truly frustrated. He loved Cliff, but he couldn’t do this anymore. They’d gone so far, and done so much together. He’s been foolish enough to believe that they were past this, but he was wrong. If things hadn’t changed by now, Elliot had to give up hope they ever would. It was too painful to keep waiting. 

Elliot rolled to his side on Kai's roommate’s bed he’d been sleeping on for the past few days. It was lumpy and all wrong - Elliot missed his own bed, his white and floral duvet, and the pillows that Cliff hated for being useless for sleeping on. He missed how his own bed smelled - a mix of his own cologne and Cliff’s own warm scent...

“Oh, stop that,” Elliot scolded himself out loud. It wasn’t good to keep thinking about these things. Although he did need to go back to the dorm room eventually to get his things. He’d brought most of his essentials in his backpack when he’d stormed out, but Elliot was getting tired of wearing Kai's clothes. It wasn’t fair that he had to go without just because Cliff was an idiot, Elliot thought crossly. He should just march in, grab his stuff and leave without a word. But then, he didn’t want Cliff to argue with him. And he didn’t want to see Cliff cry again. He didn’t want to see Cliff at all.

Elliot sighed. It was better to be a big boy and just give Cliff a heads up so he could be out of the room when Elliot came back. He quickly sent Cliff a text before he could change his mind.

[Need clothes. Please be out of room from 3-5]

Waiting for a reply was like twisting a knife in his side slowly, just to torture himself, so Elliot plugged his phone in to charge and went to the kitchen without it. It was a Sunday, so there was no reason for Cliff not to see the text right away, but Elliot figured it wasn’t good for him to wait for a reply so intently. Distraction was needed; dirty dishes were, for once, useful. As Elliot washed the plates in the sink, he told himself that he couldn’t hang on to Cliff’s reply like it mattered to him. And no matter what Cliff said, Elliot told himself, he wouldn’t go back to him. 

But then Elliot finished the dishes, and there was still no text. And then one hour passed. Two hours. Elliot kept becoming more irritated and tense with each minute. Three o’clock came and there was still no reply. Frustrated and sure that Cliff was doing this to him on purpose, Elliot decided it was time to try a phone call. Surely Cliff would answer. After all, it was Cliff who’d been blowing up his phone all these days. He swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and hit the call button.

The phone rang and rang but eventually went to voicemail. Now more pissed than nervous, Elliot hit redial. Again, no answer. “Dammit, Cliff!” Elliot barked angrily at his phone. Once again he considered giving up trying to call and just showing up. But the distaste for seeing Cliff face to face was so strong that Elliot touched the call button to try and get a hold of Cliff one more time. 

One....two... three rings. Elliot sighed. Cliff wasn’t going to pick up, he thought. But then the ringing stopped and the line went silent. For a moment Elliot thought his phone had died, but when he picked it up he realized he could hear someone else breathing on the other line. Oh, Elliot was mad. Why wasn’t Cliff saying anything?!

“Cliff? What the hell. Are you there?” It took a long time for him to get an answer.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He was crying again, Elliot realized with frustration. This was exactly why he didn’t want to meet in person.

“Stop apologizing to me. You made your true feelings clear with your actions.”

“I never wanted to hurt you. Believe me.”

Elliot sighed in frustration. If he didn’t hang up soon, he was worried he might start believing Cliff. He hated hearing Cliff cry. The sound was so wrong that even now it tugged insistently at his heart strings. “It’s too late for that,” Elliot forced himself to say quickly. “Look, I need to come get my stuff. Can you please leave for a couple of hours so I don’t have to see you?”

There was a long pause, so long that Elliot started to wonder if Cliff was still there. Then - “You’re coming?” 

“Not for you, I said for my things,” Elliot corrected him crossly. The nerve of this guy. “Cliff, I said for my things. Are you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“So will you leave or not?” Elliot asked again. He waited for an answer, but wasn’t expecting the sound that came out of Cliff instead. Eli knew Cliff was crying, but it sounded different than anything he’d ever heard come from Cliff before. There was this strangled gasping that scared him. 

The concern that Elliot was trying so hard to keep from forming became too powerful to ignore when he heard Cliff say faintly, “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“What? What do you mean you can’t?” Elliot asked.

“I... I can’t.”

There was something wrong. Cliff had never sounded like this before. He didn’t seem to be making sense. And although Elliot hated himself for it, he couldn’t leave it alone. He cared too much, too naturally. It made him as angry at himself as he was at Cliff. 

“Where are you?” Elliot asked.

“Just here.”

“Just where? Cliff? Answer me. Just where?” 

No answer. Elliot’s concern grew stronger. “Cliff, knock it off. Where are you? Are you drunk?” There were only shuffling noises over the phone, like Cliff was moving around. Suddenly, Eli heard a terrible gagging sound. “Cliff! What’s going on? Cliff, answer me.”

“I love you...”

Elliot froze. What? What did Cliff mean, he loved him? After all the times Elliot had told Cliff that, Cliff wanted to reciprocate it now? As furious as that made him, Elliot knew in his heart that something strange was happening. Cliff didn’t sound drunk. There were more gagging noises.

“Cliff, are you throwing up or something?” Elliot asked, trying to remain calm. His tone was still cross, but worry was clearly starting to seep in. “Cliff, stop it. This isn’t funny.” No answer. “Cliff? Cliff!” The line was still connected. Cliff hadn’t hung up on him. But there were no noises over the phone except for what sounded like occasional gasping. 

No matter how mad Elliot was at Cliff, he couldn’t just hang up and pretend nothing was happening. “Fuck!” Elliot swore, throwing one of Kai's hoodies on and shoving his feet into his Toms. “You better not be messing with me, Cliff,” Elliot said, but his tone no longer matched his venomous words. “I’m coming now.”

The bike ride from Kai's off-campus townhome to the dorms felt much longer than five minutes. Elliot stayed on the phone with Cliff, desperately trying to listen for any signs of life while he pedaled frantically down the road. The only reason Elliot knew Cliff was still there, somewhere, were the uneven gasps that he heard sometimes. It was torture.

Elliot burst through their building’s lobby and ran up the stairs to their second floor room faster than the elevator could have brought him. He banged on the door even as he fumbled with his keys to unlock it. “Cliff, it’s me, answer me,” Elliot shouted. 

The door finally unlocked and Elliot swung it open with a bang. The sound seemed to echo in his ears for a long time. There Cliff was. There was so much blood. Elliot screamed and his mind went blank.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Cliff was asleep for what felt like forever. He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t. They were too heavy. Same for his limbs: it was as if they were replaced with iron pipes. He was so uncomfortable. His mouth was so dry. He could feel himself breathing faster, starting to panic. Something was choking him, which only made him struggle harder.

“It’s okay, Cliff.”

The voice was like a lifeline that he’d been looking for endlessly. He felt a dull sensation and eventually realized that someone was holding his hand. Cliff vaguely felt his own fingers twitch.

“Shh. I’ll be here until you wake up.”

He had no choice but to trust that comforting voice. What else could he do? Cliff relaxed and soon he was asleep again.

[kkarmiic]

# 'Guard up, Guard down - GN!Reader x Elliot 'Mirage' Witt

' CONTENT AND WARNINGS

\\ synopsis: you have autism and have a sensory overload, mirage is there to help, even despite your rivalry.

+* genre: fluff with a bit of angst/comfort.

# 'warnings: sensory overload, self-injury mentions, non-sexual undressing.

// author note: I felt like it was important to mention that I have autism, and although I know sensory overloads aren't the same for everyone, it's based on my experience with them.

Everything had just been too much, way too much. From the loud footsteps and chatter in the drop ship to the fluorescent lights overhead. Everything was too much.

Your clothes were too tight, and your chest burned with... You couldn't quite name it. You wanted to scream, cry, and bash your head against a wall at once.

Both your body and mind ached, and you knew there was nothing you could do. You sucked in a breath of air, trying to tune out the sound of the other legends talking, but you couldn't.

Everything, especially the sounds of their chatter, it was far too loud. And that's how you ended up standing up in silence, gripping at the straps on your clothes and resigning to your room. And while the other legends were confused, stopping speaking to watch you leave, none of them came after you, at least from what you could hear.

As soon as you got into your room, shutting the door behind you, you grappled with your clothing, attempting to pull the clothes restricting you off, not even bothering with the straps.

And because of that, they would not come off, making your condition worse. you couldn't help but scream, falling onto your knees and kicking your shoes off with much resistance.

Letting out a shuddery breath, you couldn't help but notice the tears spilling from your eyes, down past your cheeks, and onto your trousers.

It was too much. You wanted it to go away, you wanted-

You screamed again, tucking your head between your knees and grappling onto your hair, tugging it to the point you began ripping it out.

Then a loud knock at your door came. Once. Twice. And before they could knock a third time, you yelled, snapping your head towards the door.

"GO... GO AWAY!" Your voice came out, a little shaky and croaky from your unrelenting screaming. But the person outside seemed to pay no mind to your yelling, instead beginning to speak.

"Are you okay?" Mirage's voice, unlike yours, came through clearly, with a hint of concern edged in.

Mirage, of course, it was Mirage. You two had an ongoing rivalry, although not completely serious, it was competitive. And you knew, deep down, that Elliot Witt wasn't a bad person, but in the front of your mind all you could be worried about is him making fun of you.

He was a jokester, trying to make light out of any situation, and this is something you couldn't joke about, couldn't make light out of, and you were just scared. Having your guard up for so long does that to you.

But you really needed someone near you right now, and to say that you haven't thought about Mirage comforting you would be a complete and utter lie. Mirage holding you in his arms. Mirage whispering to you that everything would be okay. Or just Mirage sitting there, in complete silence, as long as he was there, it would be okay.

So even despite the burning feeling in your chest, your tense muscles, and your mind racing, you opened the door. And there was Mirage, face filled with worry, fiddling with his fingers, still in his Legend clothing.

You couldn't help how your heart filled with warmth, but even despite Mirage actually being there, it didn't solve all your worries like you hoped.

Nonetheless, you still let him in, silently, no words needed to be exchanged between the two of you. You shut the door behind him and then began to speak. "It's all... too much Mirage." You muttered, letting the tears flow down your cheeks as you slumped against the wall, voice hoarse and head in pain.

He definitely didn't know what was too much, or why, after all, you hadn't told the legends about your autism, not because it was shameful, because it wasn't. Just because it had never come up in conversation, if someone were to ask you, you'd tell them. Mirage takes a moment to think before responding, crouching down in front of you. "What is?" His voice was soft, softer than you had ever heard it before.

"Everything!" You managed to croak out, gesturing wildly towards the lights and then at your clothes.

Even with such little words, Mirage seemed to get the point, now moving from crouching to sitting, hands reaching towards you. "Can I help you r- uh.. rem..." He stammered slightly, taking a breath before continuing. "Take these off?"

You nodded, moving your arms away to allow him access to the straps that constricted your body.

And he did just that, careful not to touch you in any way that would make you feel uncomfortable, just like a true gentleman. Occasionally glancing up at you to watch your facial expressions change, to which every time, you would nod at him to continue.

You could finally take a breath, that was until he walked over to your bag, sifting through it. You didn't have anything absolutely awful in your bag, just things you didn't want him to see and make fun of you for, or use them to fuel your rivalry even more.

But no harsh comments came from him, no jokes, not even little quips bout the items of clothing you had. He soon returned to your side with pyjamas in hand, comfortable and breathable.

"I'll turn away so you can get changed, I won't look. Swear." He spoke, placing them ever so gently on your lap before turning around, honouring his word. You were seeing Elliot Witt in a whole new light, instead of being brash and obnoxious, he was sweet and kind and ever so charming.

You changed, slipping your legend clothes off and the comfort clothes on, and you couldn't help but feel lighter already.

"Done." You spoke again, throat aching from your yelling, but for now, that didn't matter.

Mirage covered his eyes as he turned around, now obviously back to joking, but not in the way he would be making fun of your situation, joking about how much of a gentleman he truly is. "Get into bed? I'll turn your lights off." And then you took a risk, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Can you get into bed with me?" You peered up at him through wet eyelashes, shaking as you asked.

For a split second, he seemed taken aback at your request, before a soft smile curved on his lips. "Can't res-" He didn't finish his sentence, however, due to your glare. And at that, he chuckled, nodding.

"Sure. I'll turn off the lights first though." And he did exactly that, turning off the lights as you climbed into your bed, forgetting just how comfortable it was.

There were light footsteps, and then the mattress dipped to accommodate his body. This time he had a request of his own.

"Can I hold you?" He whispered in your ear, waiting for your answer, which was obviously going to be a yes, how could it not, you had only dreamt of this moment a hundred times over.

So there he was, arm wrapped around your torso, chest pressed against your back, head in the crook of your neck as your eyes began to fight sleep, however, you didn't fight it. Just grateful that it was all over.

POSTED BY: APOLLO

[blazedrawsstuff]

Here comes the sportiest ghoul from Camp Jellyjam! Berry Jellyjam!

(Princess) Berry Jellyjam

Daughter of King Jellyjam

Parent

King Jellyjam

Age

16

Killer Style

Best of both worlds: Pretty and Sporty!

Freaky Flaw

I'm...overly competitive. When I'm playing a game against someone, I feel like absolutely HAVE to win like my unlife depended on it! Which makes me into an absolute...well, monster on the field.

I will admit, I can also be kind of a slob, but if you think I'm messy, you should see my dad!

Pet

Let's just say my dad owns a LOT of snails...so of course I have some too, six of them to be exact! Meet Buddy, Scooter, Holly, Billy, Wendy, and Elliot!

Favorite Activity

Sports! My father owns a sports camp, so I've been into stuff like tennis, basketball, soccer, football, etc ever since I was a little ghoul.

Pet Peeve

Princess stereotypes. "Princesses don't play sports", "Princesses are weak and helpless damsels", "Princesses should always look clean and sophisticated", don't put me in a box just because I just so happen be the daughter of a king!

Also, I really wish dad would start practicing better hygiene habits, I have to give guests gas masks if they want to come over to my place...which isn't often.

Favorite Subject

Physical Deducation! It's just like playing sports back at camp, which for me is always a scream! Gimmie a ball and I'll hit it like there's no tomorrow!

Least Favorite Subject

Monster Anatomy, all the talk and experiments on bodily stuff reminds me of the scent of home, which in my case is NOT a good thing.

Favorite Colors

Purple, pink, and gold!

Favorite Food

There's nothing better than biting into a die-licous PB&J sandwich after hitting the track, especially with grape jelly (My favorite!). Though, I happen to get stains on my clothes or paperwork every time I eat one, my teachers are practically used to stains on my homework when I turn it in. Still, can't beat a sweet sandwich!

Friends

Polly Wog (OC)

Marisol Coxi Lagoona Blue Clawd Wolf

Abilities

Hypnosis

Like her father, Berry has the ability to hypnotize people and thus manipulate their thoughts and actions. She channels this power through the gem on her tiara. However like with Venus's pollen persuasion, it can only work on one person at a time. The effect is also temporary, usually for at most 30 minutes or until someone snaps their fingers at them.

Earthquake Generation

By creating loud vocal sounds (such as screaming), she can create small earthquakes.

Skillset

Athletics

Berry is a sport-loving ghoul, and thus is proficient in a lot of sports including tennis, basketball, soccer, and dodgeball, among others.

Personality

Berry acts like anything but a "standard" princess, definitely not "proper" or "poised". Aside from being bubbly and excitable and having some "girly" interests. She has a tomboyish, spunky, adventurous, and sporty attitude. She is often if not always glad to take any athletic challenge thrown at her and is determined to achieve her goals.

However, Berry has a streak of being overly competitive and is rather obsessed with winning, thus she does not take losing rather well, often exhibiting hotheadness when defeated. There are also times where she ends up becoming bossy to others even if she doesn't mean to be.

And while not as much of a slob as her father, she has a habit of being rather messy, especially when eating or otherwise using substances such as paint.

Trivia/Additional Information

Berry's birthday is July 22nd, the month coming from the book "The Horror at Camp Jellyjam"'s release month while the day comes from the books series number: 33, however since they're no 33rd day of any month, 22nd is the closest thing. This makes her a Cancer.

Her pet, the 6 snails contain a few references to the book her father originated from, such as the snails King Jellyjam sweat out. There are six of them in reference to the 6 king coins required to take "The Winners' Walk". The names of the snails come from the names of the four counselors shown in the book (Buddy, Scooter, Holly, and Billy) and the book's protagonists (Wendy and Elliot).

Berry's design and personality was inspired by several fictional princesses. The design of the ponytail was inspired by Princess Peach's ponytail look while the shoes were based on Peach's tennis outfit. The design for her skirt and some aspects of her personality came from Princess Daisy as well as Princess Cookie from Cookie Run.

Her headcanon voice is Eden Riegel, who did the English voice for the above mentioned Princess Cookie in Cookie Run Kingdom.

[readyandnot]

I posted 88 times in 2022

That's 88 more posts than 2021!

70 posts created (80%)

18 posts reblogged (20%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@morgansplace

@friendlyfaded

@24-years-old-disaster

@kathsuhki

@themonotonysyndrome

I tagged 81 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#redacted asmr - 80 posts

#redacted gavin - 7 posts

#redacted audio - 6 posts

#redacted huxley - 5 posts

#readyrambles - 5 posts

#redacted damien - 5 posts

#redacted david - 5 posts

#redacted milo - 4 posts

#redacted lasko - 4 posts

#redacted asher - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 25 characters

#and i have too much power

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

samuel collins is perfection.

and a cowboy.

AND SEXY CAUSE OMG-

first off- the domestic relationship that has formed between these two is amazing. when you first see these two characters together they are seen as people who are not “fit” for that. because of both of their pasts but god they proved each other wrong and i’m so glad they did

darlin and sam’s relationship has really evolved beautifully, you see the walls coming down between the two and showing their true selves to each other, especially when they aren’t used to it. they make each other better and it’s beautiful to see

how they can go from teasing/giving each other shit to flirting and then being so sweet and sentimental. omg.

sam sounds a lot better, i love hearing about his day to day life and about skyside so that was nice :))

THE MENTIONS OF VINCENT AND LOVELY OMG

they are truly a found family. i always hc that lovely and darlin would become close before inversion and especially after. i LOVE the brotherly relationship between vincent and sam, they balance each other out and OMG THE PARALLELS WOW. “you make me ache” “it’s a gift” bruh. sam and lovely too <33 so sweet i’d love to see more interaction with these two!

sam giving thanks and praise to darlin :,)) omg they’re soulmates your honor. all the i love yous and whispers and sweet talk is so adorable.

there’s no more hbs :(( it’s over… i’m scared for july, lore wise, and i think a lot of people are as well. there’s a lot of possibilities so i guess we’ll have to see. i really wanna see an update on elliot and sunshine, they need to be safe.

NOW SPICY TIME-

literally omg SAM THE FUCKING MOANS

HIS MOANS WERE SO LOUD LIKE WHAT

the whispers literally killed me- i’m in my grave as we speak.

all the sayings he did like “fuck darlin” “oh my god almighty”

please- stop but also dont

THE BODY PRAISE OMG

the dirty talk was *chef’s kiss* hes so good at that omg

the stuff he SAYS like “every touch and curve” fuck.

he’s literally so hot, not fair.

WHILE I AM DISAPPOINTED WITH NO FEEDING HE MADE UP FOR IT FULL TIME

HIS COMPLIMENTS HIS MOANS HIS DIRTY TALK BRUH

his accent makes everything better istg, HIS GRUMBLES TOO WTF

he didn’t growl but he whispered and that ended me.

ugh in conclusion- samuel collins is hot and everyone would like to be fucked by him. that’s not up for discussion or debate.

63 notes - Posted June 29, 2022

#4

this made my night.

ELEMENTALS EARLY ACCESS LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

here’s my readyrambles :))

(spoilers under the cut)

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

I FORGOT ABOUT EA TONIGHT BUT OMG IT WAS A NEEDED SURPRISE

i’ve had two shitty days so this was definitely needed. thank you redacted. NOW- THOUGHT TIME

FIRST OF ALL- NEW ADDITION WITH THE LIGHTS AND WHOSE SPEAKING??? FUCKING BRILLIANT. IT’LL DEF HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE FIRST LISTENING TO THIS SERIES. LOVE IT.

NEXT- THUMBNAIL/TITLE/DESCRIPTION ALL AMAZING. HOIST THE COLORS WOOOO

okay okay- so, DAMS???? AS A NICKNAME??? SO FUCKING CUTE I LOVE IT- HUXLEY YOURE ADORABLE AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PET NAME

oh god he’s nervous- i would be too, it’s totally understandable.

“damien.” “i’m freaking out.” “can i hold your hand?” “yeah.” “talk me through it.” THAT JUST SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. THAT DIALOGUE ALONE.

“they are our friends, i know that. i know that they would just, just want us to be happy. i know they won’t care, i know they won’t judge us i know that. i know, i know all of those things.” DAMN RIGHT

“i don’t know why this is so scary for me, but it is.” that hits different.

DAMIEN HE KNOWS YOUR NOT ASHAMED OF THE RELATIONSHIP. YOURE NOT BROKEN DAMI.

“and anyone who has a problem with it can go fuck themselves for all i care” POP OFF

“i don’t know why it’s making me so nervous to do this.” damien you and i are the exact fucking same. BUT ITS UNDERSTANDABLE TO BE NERVOUS.

“you don’t owe anybody anything. and you don’t need some easy answers for why it makes you nervous to make that nervous feeling be valid, it is. even without an explanation. it’s okay to be scared, even though you don’t know why.” fucking hell i won’t cry i won’t cry i won’t cry-

“i want a reason. i want an explanation that i can give you because i, i don’t want you to think that i’m ashamed of us because i’m not-“ “i know damien. i know that, you don’t need a reason i know.” THERE IT IS- THERE IT FUCKING IS.

“it’s scary to open yourself up, even when you know it’s people you can trust.” TRUTH RIGHT THERE. HUXLEY ILY

IT IS ON YOUR TERMS HUXLEY YES.

“i’m here, no matter what damien. always, i’m right here.” fuck now i’m tearing up-

“i love you.” “i love you too.” AHHHHHHHHHHH GOD DAMMIT I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH

DAMIENS SIGH OF RELIEF AFTER OMFG

“i’m gonna be scared if we wait an hour or a year, it’s just how i am” ME FUCKING TOO.

“i want to do this today. now. i already know the only thing that really matters, how we feel. and everything else is just background noise. so let’s do this.” YES DAMIENNNNN ILY

“you’re sure?” “kiss me?” GOD DAMMIT THIS IS TOO DAMN GOOD-

CUTE KISSES ENSUE- “i’m sure.” YES YES YES.

“i’ve got you.” “i know.” AND THEIR LAUGHS AFTER MY FUCKING GOD- this has already broken me in the best way possible.

THEIR BANTER ABOUT THE DRIVING LMAO I LOVE THEM-THEY FIT EACH OTHER SO WELL AND SO PERFECTLY. THEY COMPLETE EACH OTHER.

See the full post

63 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

#3

holy fuck. here we go.

SAM/DARLIN THOUGHTS:

(spoilers under the cut)

first of all- COLOR CHANGE LOVE IT

second of all- THE TITLE MY FUCKING GOD

“vampire MATE” “MAKES YOU A PROMISE” 🥺

okay lowkey disappointed we didn’t have a call with david but no big deal lmao he’s mentioned anyway

“i already know what you’re thinking darlin” NO YOU DONT…

“like hell i don’t” okay fine maybe you do-

well fuck me sam knows darlin too well, love him for that <3

“hey. look at me, please.” GOD DAMMIT ALREADY???

SAAAAAM YOURE SO SOFT FOR NO REASON

I JUST LISTENED TO HIS BA THIS WEEK AND I KNEW HE WAS SOFT BUT FUCK ITS STILL EFFECTIVE

his breath of relief when darlin looks up at him. THATS GOTTA BE ANOTHER LEVEL OF TRUST. ESPECIALLY WITH THE FACT THAT MOST PEOPLE PROB STRUGGLE WITH FOR FEAR OF TRANCING-

and darlin looks up with no hesitation. i love these two omfg

“i know. and i’m not judging you for it. i get it, i feel it too.” and there’s my first hand up to the face.

“my first thought was to run up there and end this fucker too.” HE UNDERSTANDS. OF COURSE HE DOES HES SAM FOR GODS SAKES

“darlin you know that’s not what i’m saying.” HES SO STEADY AND CALM LIKE FUCK IF HE ISNT PERFECT FOR DARLIN-

“give me a second, please” the trust these two have for one another my fucking god

“they can bring him down now there’s enough heat for them to do something about it”

sam i get it and i want to believe that, but when had the department been quick about something besides the fl and vega situation? and he still isn’t caught after the breakout, neither is regulus. if i’m wrong then i’m wrong but it’s also not where i think the story might be heading so i’m having doubts that it’s just gonna end with quinn in custody. that’s too easy.

“when i had to stand in front of them and explain what he did to my progeny”- FRED AND BRIGHT OMFG

“it’s fucked up.”

what i love more about this is that sam truly understands the frustration first hand. he knows the suffering behind waiting and nothing being done. he can truly understand darlin and help them to the best of his abilities and not bullshit them. he literally tells them his thoughts about when he first heard and what he wants to do, but he knows what’s best and to stay calm.

“for once you don’t have to do it alone. so don’t do it alone” sam, you’re gonna fucking break me.

“i’m asking you to promise me something. promise me you will let the department try to handle all this” darlin better not break this promise istg-

DAVID AND ANSEL MENTION LETS GO

SWEETHEART MENTION LETS FUCKING GO SAM KNOWS THEYRE POWERFUL AF AND GREAT AT THEIR JOB

“hey, i’m not asking for this to be one sided though. if you promise me you’ll let them try without running off on your own, then i promise you, if he keeps at it, if he keeps hurting innocent people and they still haven’t gotten him, then you and i will hunt him down. together. and we’ll take that freak to task. no half measures. no holding back. we do whatever we have to, to bring him down. can you promise me that?”

“i promise” “okay, then that’s what we’ll do”

See the full post

68 notes - Posted August 6, 2022

#2

OMFG I GUESSED IT!!!!! I DIDNT THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN HOLY SHIT LETS GOOOOOOO

OMG ITS CANON TOO HOLY SHIT

i literally said it might be a new type of audio and it is holy shit i’m an actual seer

86 notes - Posted June 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

HEAR YE HEAR YE

I THINK DAVIDS PLAYLIST NAME HAS CHANGED-

LOOK! SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT CRAZY-

it literally says updated today wtf

IT USED TO BE TSUNDERE WEREWOLF RIGHT???

238 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[thesunmeltedthegrayaway]

The Outsider From Opulence Chapter 21: Sodapop Curtis X OC

Warning: This chapter is a bit heavy, read with caution!

Chapter 21: Good Times Wax and Wane

~~~

POV: SODA'S 

As the last few hours of my shift passed by. I noticed I was struggling to find the right words to say. Simple questions or starts of conversations that Elliot would speak felt impossible to react to but he did not seem to care.  

I thought it was strange really, how calm Elliot seemed to be while I felt like I did not have control over my mind or tongue. Usually, it was the other way around. As talkative as Elliot could be, he always thought a bit too hard about what to say next. I could always tell when he began to. He would get this slightly lost look on face. When he did eventually find the right words to say he would let out this small nervous laugh afterward. That look and laugh engraved themselves into my mind.  

I was starting to pick up on his habits. He was all I ever seemed to think about anymore. Parts of him were bound to rub off on me at some point. I just wish this habit did not hit me now. The last thing I needed to be was nervous. I needed confidence, to speak clearly. I did not want to make a complete fool out of myself.  

Steve had left a little while ago just leaving the two of us together. My nerves felt on fire before but they really began to ingulf themselves now. I was starting to second guess my “lax” approach to everything. I should have planned things out a bit more, prepare myself for the different reactions I could get. I hoped for the best, but I knew I wouldn’t always get the best-case scenarios all the time. There was a big chance Elliot could say no. I couldn’t imagine how I would react to that rejection because, I know on the inside my heart would just br- 

An abrupt and loud crash suddenly filled the room. A small gasp him Elliot followed soon after. I looked down to see clear shards of glass and a dark caramel color liquid pooling at my feet.  

I looked over at Elliot, a hand lightly placed on his chest as he glanced over at me. “That scared the fire out of me.” He spoke with a breathless laugh.  

“Sorry.” I muttered staring back down at the mess below me. 

Elliot scoffed before replying. “You don’t have to apologize; it was an accident.” He reassured. 

I knelt down wanting to clean up the glass quickly. 

“Hey, hey! Don’t pick it up with your hands!” Elliot exclaimed. “You’re going to cut yourself.” He scolded.  

He grabbed towel that was hanging haphazardly off of the counter. He then knelt down next to me gingerly picking up the shards of glass the clinked against the cold floor. 

“There, nothing broke.” He muttered with a smile. 

He shook of the towel filled with glass near a small trash can and threw the towel aside. He then looked down at me in confusion. “You doing alright? You’ve seemed a bit lost in thought all day.”  

It’s because I have been... 

“I’m fine.” I reply nonchalantly. 

Elliot didn’t reply at first, he just gave me an almost... longing look. “Well, you know if something’s bothering you, you can always talk to me about it.” He offered, sticking a hand down to help me up.  

I shot him a grateful smile before taking it. “I know, thank you.” 

As our hands disconnected, my eyes were suddenly compelled to stare into his. He followed suite; I could feel my breath stiffen the longer we held each other’s gaze. Before anything else could occur the clock on the one of the many walls chimed. Elliot looked over at it before traveling his eyes back to mine.  

“It’s closing time, isn’t it?” He asked quietly, he sounded different from his tone just a few seconds ago. 

“Yeah,” I replied barely gazing at the clock.  

He gave me a smirk before walking past me. “I’ll wait outside for you to close up, don’t break anything else while I’m out.” He teased. 

I let out a short laugh, rolling my eyes playfully. “No promises,” I reply. 

He gave me one last smiley look before leaving. As I began to do my last few tasks of the night, I started to collect myself as much as I could. I knew I couldn’t go back on the plan that I had somewhat badly formulated. It would slowly wear me down more and more the longer I kept these feelings to myself. I was taking a chance; it was something I had always done. I just had to remember that...I’ve done it before, I can do it again. 

Even if things were slightly different from before. 

When I got outside Elliot was sat on the ground leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed as he felt the cool wind blow on him. He turned his head at the directions of the quiet noises I was making. His eyes opened softly, giving me an equally as soft smile.  

“You didn’t destroy half the store while I was gone did you?” Elliot teased. 

“Shut up.” I replied mockingly, making Elliot laugh.  

I stuck down my hand to him just as he had done before. He grasped it before muttering a quiet “thank you.” My thumb absentmindedly brushed itself back and forth across Elliot’s hand.  

“So,” Elliot spoke making me break my concentration once again. “Where are we going?” He asked. 

I dropped his hand before replying. “Just follow me.” I said simply.  

He didn’t question my request, he just nodded before following me. 

~~~ 

Our walk was mostly silent, Elliot made a few comments here and there. All I could really seem to do was give one or two worded replies. The longer we walked, the more questioning Elliot became of me. I could understand why, I was usually a chatterbox. 

“Ah, now I know where we’re at.” Elliot spoke happily.  

“The long walk up the hill was a dead giveaway huh?” I asked, saying the most words I had spoken in a while. 

“Yeah,” Elliot replied slightly breathlessly. “It’s worth it though, when it has a view like that.” He added once we finally reached the top of the hill.  

We both then sat down, Elliot seemed to be soaking in the view. But I couldn’t seem to focus on anything else but him. He side-eyed me for a few seconds before he broke the mostly quiet air. 

“Alright what’s going on with you? Tell me the truth this time.” He said in an easy-going tone. 

“It’s nothing,” I replied with a nervous smile. 

“Soda, you've hardly talked to me at all tonight.” Elliot spoke with a humorous tone. ”I like it when you talk my head off.” Elliot added with a laugh. 

“Really?” I ask feebly. 

“Yeah, I do.” He said fondly. 

“What if, you found out... something about me that you didn’t... feel the same way on?” I inquired, my heartbeat stopping for a split second as the words left my mouth. 

Elliot furrowed his eyebrows slightly before looking over at me. ‘What do you mean?”  

Just say it... just say it. 

I cleared my throat, it felt constricted with nerves. “I mean... if I felt a certain way that you didn’t feel the same way on. Would you, write me off?” I ask vaguely. 

Elliot contemplated my question for a bit, the few seconds of silence felt painfully slow. “No.”  

I could feel a string of hope wrap itself around me at his answer.  

“Well, I really hope you still feel that way after I uh... tell you this then.” I spoke nervously. 

Elliot turned toward me, his usual light hazel eyes glistening softly in the low light.  

“What is it?” He replied gently. 

It was hard to swallow down the panic the was bursting at the seams. But I finally managed to speak. 

“I’m gay.” I admitted bluntly, I let out a shaky sigh as soon as I spoke.  

I looked away from Elliot, waiting for him to respond to my confession. 

“Soda,” Elliot called out tenderly. “I wouldn’t write you off for something like this. Not ever.” He added. 

 I gazed back up at him, his eyes unwavering in a genuine kindness. 

“Thank you,” I whispered. 

“Of course,” He replied just as quietly. He opened his arms invitingly, accepting his invitation I relaxed completely in his embrace. “No wonder you were so different tonight.” 

“Yeah,” I spoke with a slightly shaky voice. “This was a lot more nerve wracking than I thought.” I add. 

“I’m sure it was, but I promise you that I could never reject you because of this.” Elliot replied kindly. 

I could feel my lip tremble slightly as he spoke. “Even if it’s considered wrong?” My sentence cracking midway through. 

“It’s not wrong to me, not at all.” He spoke quietly in my ear. 

I released a long, wavering breath, my hands gripping him tighter than before.  

“So,” Elliot started pulling back slightly so he could look at me. “Do you have anyone you’re interested in or?” 

I could feel my pulse growing faster with each passing second, I was beginning to wish I had planned things out a bit more. 

“You.” I simply replied quietly. If the cool wind had blown a bit stronger it might’ve gotten lost in the wind. 

I could see Elliot’s throat constrict slightly; his face grew blank. “Wh-what?” 

“It’s you, Elliot, it’s you.” I admitted louder.  

He looked at me, not saying anything for a brief moment. His blank expression then morphed into a trembling smile; I could faintly see the shape of tears welling up in his eyes.  

“Say something.” I whispered, wanting to know if he truly felt the same way I did. 

He sucked in a trembling breath before biting his lip. “This isn’t much of a response huh? I’m sorry.” He finally spoke with in a slightly muddled tone.  

“It’s alright,” I replied, brushing a stray tear off the side of his jaw. 

“I feel... the same way.” He answered as strongly as he could. “Despite the tears, I’m sure those aren’t too comforting.” He added with a weak laugh. 

I responded with a weak laugh of my own, any apprehension I felt melted away. My hands began to shake slightly. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine... I just feel, so much relief.” I admitted breathlessly. 

Elliot let in another stuttering breath before nodding. “I do too.” He spoke meekly.  

I gently leaned my forehead against his, closing my eyes. I took a moment, resting, relaxing, relishing in the feelings I was so fearful that would end up rejected. 

We both trembled slightly in the hold we had with one another. It was hard to tell if it was due to the bitterly cold growing wind or the nerves, we both held just moments ago. I leaned away slightly, opening my eyes again to interlock my gaze into his again. Before I even realized it, I began to tilt my head slightly. My head began to fill dizzy slightly, but it felt enjoyable. It was like I every inch of my body was buzzing with adrenaline.  

I remembered the last time we were here, how we had pulled apart from our hug before. Our faces were just as close and, in that moment, I felt a spark to kiss him then too. But I chickened out. A huge wave of fear and uncertainty locked me in place. The only thing I could think to say was how I felt how rapidly his heart was beating.  

But I wasn’t backing out this time... not worry or fear was going to get in my way this go around.  

Taking in one last small breath, I fully leaned in. Savoring, the slight ghosting of our lips before they interlocked. It wasn’t perfect, his lips were trembling slightly at first. But the burst of relief and content I felt as we kissed was something I had never experience with anyone before. I wouldn’t change any part of this, not at all. We separated softly, my eyes slowly opening to stare right into his.  

Elliot’s lips curved in a smile, a breathy laugh escaping a few seconds later. “This is the most... enthralling night I’ve had in a while.” He admitted making me laugh. 

“Me too.” I replied softly. 

“As much as I don’t want to go home, I better get back soon. I’m sure my curfew is almost up.” He uttered sadly after we had been sitting a comfortable silence for a bit.  

“I’ll walk you back.” I offer, he smiled shyly before nodding in reply. 

“Sure...” 

~~~ 

We couldn’t get the smiles off of our faces if we tried. Our blood seemingly swimming in a giddiness that was hard to ignore. As we approached Elliot’s neighborhood, I noticed a familiar truck. When has Darry ever been down to a place like this. I stopped walking making Elliot look at me curiously. 

“That’s Darry’s truck.” I explain, pointing to the out of place vehicle in the driveway. 

“That’s my driveway.” Elliot replied nervously. 

“Y-you don’t think they-” I started. 

“They might, dad wouldn’t invite anyone to our house without a reason.” Elliot’s voice lost in spark of confidence it had before. “D-do you want to do this now? “’Cause I will completely understand if you just want to-” 

“I’ll go in with you.” I interrupt, giving him a reassuring look. “We can do this.” I add with a confident smile. 

“We can do this.” Elliot repeated, giving me a broken smile. He reached into his pocket almost reluctantly pulling out a key. He sucked in a breath as he unlocked the door, almost immediately a voice called out for him. 

“Elliot, in here, now.” It ordered, it was cold and unemotional. 

I followed behind him as he slowly walked into the living room. His dad sat in an armchair; his mother sat on the arm of it clutching her husband's arm gently. My eyes didn’t focus on them long, they traveled almost immediately toward Darry. He gave me a cold and shocked look; disappointment was written all over his face. 

“Let’s not beat around the bush.” Elliot began, his tone now sour. “Let’s just get it over with and rip my head already.” He spat, his hazel eyes shooting daggers into his father’s figure.  

His father’s jaw clenched, his face turning red the second he began to speak. “Don’t talk to me like I’m in the wrong here, boy.” He sneered; his wife looked sadly down at the ground.  

That’s when I knew, this conversation was going to go anyway but smoothly. 

POV Change: Elliot’s 

Good times always waxed and waned with me. Nearly every dropped of good or fun that came into my life was squandered by my father. While my mother stood idly by and watched him ruin things for me over, and over, and over again. There were many things I regretted letting my father ruin, but this wasn’t going to be one of the.  

I wouldn’t give him the chance. 

“Of course, you never think that anything you do is wrong. Oliver Monroe could do no wrong. It’s his world and everyone else is just living in it.” 

“It is in this house.” He leered at me. “Let me tell you something, I’ve let you pull a lot of crap in your lifetime. But this abomination isn’t going to be one of them.” 

“It’s an abomination to you,” I then pointed to Darry who was sitting tensely on our couch. “And him clearly, nice job for outing your brother by the way. I’m sure you feel no trace of guilt in you.” I add bitterly. 

“I’m doing what’s best for him,” 

“You don’t know what’s best for me.” Soda spoke up making Darry look at him in anger. 

“I have for a while little brother, don’t make him influence your mind with this f- bullshit” He started, the veins in his arms tensing slightly. 

“Don’t even try to call him that call him that, and It’s not bullshit!” Soda argued back. 

“It’s just something you clearly can’t handle.” I add. 

“No, I can’t handle the fact that my son is some fruitcake parading around with-” 

“Don’t even go there.” I interrupted tensely, “don’t you dare try to demean him, not again!” 

“You want me to do it to you then?” Oliver asked sarcastically. 

“Why are you asking, you do you all the time to me!”  

“Because it needed to be done, and if I have to break you down to get away from this sin then I will!” He hissed, raising up from his chair. 

“Nothing you say will get me to stay away from him!” I protest. 

“And the same goes to you Darry.” Soda added. “You’re not going to stop me from seeing Elliot.” 

“That may be true.” Darry spoke casually, getting up from his seat. “But I could... do something else instead.”  

I didn’t have to think long at all to know what he was inferring to.  

“Beating the ever-living hell out of me isn’t going to turn me straight.” I reply bluntly. “You can beat me, or threaten me, or do anything else. It won’t change my mind.” 

“You wanna bet?” Darry asked, getting angrier as the moments passed. 

“Yeah, I do.” I replied strongly. “And I hate to break it to you but it won’t turn Soda straight either.” 

Darry walked closer to me, his glare attempting to intimidate me. He fists were clenched tightly resting at his sides. “Soda, let’s go.” He spoke stoically. 

“You won’t be able to-” Soda started. 

“Let’s go!” He ordered loudly.  

Soda looked at me warily, not wanting to leave me alone with my fuming father. 

“I’ll be fine.” I spoke with an angry smile. “They won’t get to me.” I add. 

“He won’t get to me either.” He replied, not caring that his brother was fuming near the door. “We’ll talk later.” 

“Yeah,” I started, looking over his shoulder to see Darry burning hole into me with his icy eyes. “We will.” As he walked toward our front door, Darry gave him a disapproving shake of his head.  

Soda, didn’t seemed phased by him at all. As they closed the door I was greeted by a painful silence. My dad had sat back down but his anger hadn’t wavered in the slightest. 

“You aren’t talking to that gutter trash ever, again.” He said, he acted as though I would bend to his every whim. 

“Yes, I will.” I reply defiantly. 

“Elliot!” 

“Listen, you can do two things. You can either one, be a man and expect that fact that I am finally doing something that you can’t control. Or two, you can be a complete asshole and try to destroy the first thing that has brought me a lot of happiness these past few months.”  

Dad laughed mockingly before replying. “I will try to get that scumbag out of your life as quickly as I can. My reputation-” 

“IS that all you ever care about anymore? You this, you that, what about me! What about your wife! When will are happiness matter to you!?” I interrupted.  

“Hey! Without my reputation you wouldn’t be standing here in a place like this!” 

“I don’t give a fuck about this place! I hate to break it to you dad, but the money you make doesn’t come with you when you die!”  

My dad faltered for a second, seemingly taken aback by my rant. But he quickly recovered. “That is not the point! The point is, you are not gay, and you are going to drop that gas station attendant the second you get the chance to!” 

“No.” I replied simply.  

“Elliot-” I walked away from him, not wanting to waste my breath on him anymore. 

“Get your ass back here Elliot!” I didn’t respond to him. ”Elliot!” I could hear his footsteps following close behind me. As soon as I was inside my room, I slammed the door behind me.  

“Waste your breath on someone who will listen Oliver, cause I sure as hell ain’t anymore!” I yelled through the door. 

He hit the door as hard as he could, but he didn’t say anything else. I could hear his footsteps slowly travel away from the door. 

“You aren’t ruining this... you won’t.” I muttered to myself before sliding down onto the floor. 

The good times are great, but the bad ones will always try to be the most prominent moments you remember... 

[gradianmax]

I Only Have Eyes For You || Malliot

Tagging: Max, @elliejamesrose

What: The boys have a ‘morning after’ talk that leads to something more.

When:  September 10th, Saturday

Where: Hudson Residence

Warnings: Language, Sexual Activities

Notes: Max is bolded, Elliot is italic

Elliot woke up the next day with minimal recollection of what had happened last night except that he probably had way too much tequila and he felt like shit. He groaned at the throbbing pain in head, rubbing his eyes open and looking over to see Max sleeping comfortably. Normally he always let Max sleep in anytime he woke up before him but today he was annoyed by how comfortable and not hungover his boyfriend seemed. “Max. Max wake up.” He groaned and nudged at the boy.

Max jolted awake at the nudge and quickly turned to his boyfriend in a panic. He relaxed with a sigh when he saw there was nothing wrong. "Morning, baby." He groaned and sat up. "Lay back down, I'll grab you some pain killers. Your head's probably pounding."

Elliot continued to groan through the pain, not responding to Max’s precious ‘Morning, baby’. He could barely even think right now. Normally when he woke up late and hungover his staff already had everything ready by his side alongside an ice pack and breakfast with coffee by his side to replenish his self. He forgot for a moment he wasn’t home and groaned again. “Ice pack. Coffee.” He managed to get out.

"As you command, my love." He rushed to the kitchen to start the coffee and then started digging around the freezer for an ice pack.  He also grabbed some naproxen and a glass of water. He brought that back to Elliot to start with. "Coffee's brewing," he let him know. "Think you could keep down some food if I made you something?"

Elliot hummed as he took the pills and chugged the cup of water, still feeling very thirsty and lightheaded. He felt like he needed to lay back down but didn’t want to do so alone. “Bub.” He pouted and reached out for him as he had the previous night. “Don’t ever make me drink tequila again. He whined.

Max suppressed his laugh to a little chuckle and grabbed Elliot's out stretched hand. He gave it a kiss and then moved in closer to lean down and kiss his head as well. "Just as well, I dont think Tequila James liked me very much anyway."

Elliot pulled Max in closer and laid back down, bringing Max on top of him, the pressure of the others body feeling great on his. Elliot hummed in confusion. “Why do you say that? What happened last night?” He asked, his throat scratchy from the drinking and talking over loud people and music.

Max shifted a bit to make himself comfortable on top of Elliot and relaxed against his boyfriend's body. "Oh just me being a jealous bitch and you not having it." He squeezed Elliot's hand and sighed. "I'll tell you all about it after you have some coffee."

Ellie furrowed his brows in confusion. “What do you mean?” He sighed and agreed on the coffee side of things. He needed it more than anything right now.

Max kissed Elliot's forhead right where his brows were scrunched together. He stood up with a groan. "Coffee, breakfast, then story time." And with that he headed back into the kitchen. He got started with breakfast as the coffee brewed. Once it was done he paused to pour a mug. He brought it as well as the ice pack to his suffering boyfriend. One more kiss to the top of his head, "I'll be back in a bit with food."

Elliot whines as his boyfriend left and he tried to rack his brain on the events of last night. It made his head hurt even more but he was getting back bits and pieces.  He remembered Max getting them their first set of drinks and getting the disgusting pub food they served up and he remembered getting a few more rounds of drinks before thing started getting really fuzzy. Elliot then brought his hand up to his neck. Had Max tried to choke him? No, that couldn’t be it but he remembered a man’s hand at his throat… His thoughts were interrupted by Max as a cup of coffee landed in his hands. “Did you choke me last night?” He asked the man, and it wasn’t accusatory, more just curious.

Max let out something between a laugh and a wince. He shook his head. "No, Ellie. No, you asked Alastair Wilde to choke you. So you could see what it felt like." He smirked, completely teasing his boyfriend. "Now, I honestly had no idea you were into that, but you know you could've asked me at any time."

Ellie chewed on his lip trying to remember who the Alistair guy was. “Alistair?” He questioned “Why would I ask some random guy to…” he stopped himself and put two and two together as to why Max had said he was acting jealous but Ellie understood. “Max, I’m sorry. I don’t even remember, I don’t know why I would do that.” He pouted feeling awful for doing that to Max.

Max grabbed Elliot's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It wasnt just you, I was an ass. We can talk about it later, when you don't feel like complete shit." He didn't want to just say, 'it's fine' when they both knew it wasn't. However, it also wasn't something needed to be hashed out instantly. "Let me go finish the food. Then we can eat and maybe talk some."

Elliot didn’t want to talk about it later, he wanted to get it over with. It must have been worse because Max refused to fully talk about it but he was also being extremely nice to him. It was very confusing to Elliot. He just wanted to go back to sleep and forget yesterday had ever happened, at least what he remembered of it.  “Okay, go get the food then.” He waved him off and took a sip of his coffee.

Max knew Elliot was just frustrated so he didn't take any offense to the send off. Instead he just headed back into the kitchen and finished up their breakfast. He went with his tried and true hangover cure of eggs and bacon with beans on toast.

Elliot huffed and gulped back his hot coffee. He loved the burn of it going down his throat, make him feel alive. By the time Max had come back with breakfast he had finished his cup and was ready for another one. He sat up properly in bed and took the tray from him and make room for the boy to sit with him, leaning on him once he did.

Max took a seat next to his boyfriend and enjoyed the press of their skin together. He kissed the top of his head again and decided that he was most definitely addicted to doing so. Every time he was within a foot of Elliot the urge to start peppering him with little kisses all over grew strong. "Another coffee, love?"

Elliot thought about it for a moment and then shook his head, not wanting the man to leave his side. “After food.” He landed on. He picked up a piece of toast and fed it to Max before taking a bit himself. Even though he was a bit frustrated with not know what had happened, he still felt so lucky just being by Max’s side. “Will you tell me what happened, please?” He begged.

"Mmmkay," he agreed and rested a hand on Elliot's back. They enjoyed the food quietly for a moment before the inevitable. He wasn't going to deny his boyfriend the information again when he clearly didn't want to wait. So he nodded his head and began.

"You were starting to get pretty drunk and you went to the bar to get us more drinks. I stayed at the table for a while but then I noticed you talking to Alastair. You were blushing like he was flirting with you which I'll admit upset me because... well, jealous bitch." He gestured to himself with a frown. "Anyway, I stayed at the table because I didn't want to make a scene but then you called me over."

Elliot shook his head. “Stop calling yourself that.” He frowned, feeling like Max was self deprecating when he called himself that. “It’s okay to be jealous… honestly I don’t really remember what the Alastair guy looked like so he couldn’t have been that attractive.” He tried to joke. “Okay so I invite you over, that’s not bad, right?” He tried to reason.

"None of it was really that bad," he admitted. "I was just drunk and overreacted. So, I went over and you told me he wanted to buy us drinks which is when I realized that he was definitely flirting with you, but you had no idea. I told you that and he pretty much confirmed it." Max sighed. "Then you started feeling up his arms talking about how buff everyone in Gradian is."

Elliot grimaced at his actions and slapped his hand to his face with a groan. “I mean, everyone in Gradian is very buff…” he tried to salvage it. “C’mon you had to know that I didn’t mean anything by it.” He pouted at the man.

Max shook his head with a laugh. "Uh, yeah, sober me knows that. Drunk me did not." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I moved your hand off of him. Told you to keep your hands on me."

Elliot raised a brow. “Oh.” He understood now, that would have triggered Ellie immediately. “I must have hated that… I don’t like being told who I can and cannot touch.” He said firmly.

Max nodded. "Yeah. You definitely did. Pulled away and started talking to Alastair about choking. Then you actually asked him to choke you and I lost it. Stormed out. You ended up following me and throwing up outside. Then we headed home."

Elliot sighed and kissed the side of the man’s head. “I’m sorry. I just need you to know that I didn’t mean anything by it… I was probably just pissed that you had tried to control my actions and also my dumb ass was probably just actually curious and he was there.”  He sighed. “But please never storm out on me again…”

Max squeezed Elliot's hand and leaned into his side. "I know you didn't mean anything by it," he confirmed. "I guess I'm just more insecure once I've got a few drinks in me. Second time I've drunkenly cried like a baby in front of you. Hopefully that's not going to become a thing." He returned the kiss and leaned his head on Elliot's. "I know, I left you there, drunk, with some guy, like a complete ass. It won't happen again, no matter the circumstances. Promise."

Elliot frowned. “I don’t want you to be afraid to cry infront of me, bubs.” He pushed the tray to the side and climbed into his lap like he tended to do lately. “You know, if you ever need to talk about anything… I’m here for you. Always.” He kissed him and pressed his forehead to his.

Max hugged Elliot to him once his boyfriend was sitting comfortably on top of him. "Not afraid to, just..  I dont know. I just feel like both times was just me overreacting." He closed his eyes and enjoyed the other man's presence. "I still have a lot to learn about being in a relationship I think."

“Your emotions are valid, Max.” He spoke softly, caressing his cheek gently. “Everything you feel is valid. It’s how you react to things and your actions towards others… but you and how you feel is okay.” He smiled at the man gently. “I’ll never judge you for how you feel. Ever.” He pressed another kiss to his lips.

Max's eyes welled with unshed tears. He didn't know how to fully process the amount of love and support Elliot was showing him. Despite that, he knew he wouldn't trade it for the world.  "How the hell did I luck into getting you to love me, huh?"

Elliot watched as Max’s eye welled up. He kissed the skin just beneath boy his eyes. “I don’t think you even realize how much I love you.” He chuckled softly. “Thank you for taking care of me last night and this morning. I really appreciate it bubs. Are you feeling okay? Should I run you a bath?”

Max blinked the tears away and smiled softly at his boyfriend. "Don't get ahead of yourself," he teased. "It's still my turn to take care of you. But I'm feeling alright. I was about four drinks behind you all night, so the hangover's barely even there. You, however," he started with a quick kiss to Elliot's cheek. "Need another coffee."

“Mmm, yeah but like that would mean you have to get up, which means I have to get up and I’m so comfy here on top of you… Wish you could hold me like this forever.” He chuckled, his arms wrapping around the man’s neck as he made himself even more comfortable.

Max chuckled along with him and happily continued to hug his boyfriend around his waist. "You make a very good point. He rested his head against Elliot's with a content sigh. "How's your stomach feeling?"

Ellie sighed happily and peppered kisses on the man’s face. “It feels great. Thank you, baby.” He played gently with the man’s hair. “Would you ever cut your hair?” He asked, not because he didn’t like it, quite the opposite actually. He loved Maxs hair and he just didn’t want it to be a surprise when Max did. If he ever did.

Max raised an eyebrow in surprise. He definitely hadn't been expecting the random question. "Uh, wasn't planning on it, no." He shrugged. "If you ever wanted me to I might consider it, but other than that, I like it how it is. And I like when he play with it," he added with a little smile.

Elliot shook his head with a smile. “Nope, I love your beautiful, luscious, gorgeous, golden hair.” He chuckled softly and raked through the curls gently. “And I love you. I however need to get a haircut soon. Or I’ll start to look like my brother.”

Max grinned, happy with the reassurance that Elliot enjoyed his hair. He closed his eyes to fully appreciate the wonderful feeling oh his boyfriend's hands in it. After a moment re reached up similarly and wrapped a finger around a single little wave. "I like it this length," he said with a teasing pout. "And you've got a long way to go before you look like Elton."

“I don’t think I’ve ever had it longer than it is right now.” He informed Max, he had meant to go get it cut but he’d been so distracted with Max lately that he hasn’t made time to go do it. “I guess as long as I don’t dye it or get bangs I’ll be okay. You really think I should keep growing it out? But like not too long like yours. I don’t think I could pull it off as well as you do.”

Max kissed right at Elliot's hair line, then down on his jaw and finally his lips. "First of all," he said with a single raised eyebrow. "You could pull off anything, so don't give me that nonsense. Second, yeah, I think it would look really sexy a little bit longer. Maybe like... an inch, nothing too crazy."

“You’re sexy.” He grinned returning the kiss. God, when had he become such a teenager. He felt giddy in love with the most gorgeous man he’d ever met.

Max's smile took over his face and he peppered teasing little kisses all over his boyfriend. "Dont even get me started on how sexy you are, Ellie baby." He squeezed him tighter and then rolled them over so they were back to laying on the bed, his weight resting against Elliot on the mattress. "How's your head doing?" He wanted to do a quick little check in after having suddenly moved them.

Elliot let the other man lay him down and he exhaled happily on the comfortable bed. He looked up at him and smiled, his head still hurt a bit but he didn’t want Max to worry. “It’s good, Bubs. Thank you… would you maybe want to take a bath together? I could go for a hot bubble bath.” He asked as he traced his arms with his fingers gingerly.

Max stared down at where Elliot's fingers made contact with his arms. He was completely addicted to every little touch he could get from the man. "Baby, if I ever turn down the offer to lay naked with you underwater, please just go ahead and assume I've been replaced by a doppelganger." He pressed a kiss to his cheek and then got up with a groan. "You start the bath, I'll get you more coffee?"

Elliot chuckled at the man. “That’s my Maxxy.” He wrinkled his nose with a smile and nodded. “Okay, yes.” He stole another kiss before the man left for coffee. He also got up with a groan and headed for the bathroom. He walked over to the tub, double checking that it was clean(you can never be too safe), and turned the faucet on, filling the tub with hot water. For Elliot the hotter the better. He then went and brushed his teeth waiting for the tub to fill.

Max appreciated the hot steam filling the room when he arrived in the bathroom with two mugs in hand. He set them both down on the sink so he could pull of his sweats. Once the water was high enough he shut it off and stepped in to lay down first. He hissed at the first touch of the burning water but then sunk down into it. He sighed in relief and the reached his hand up to reach for his boyfriend. "Join me, baby."

Elliot spit out the water used to rinse out his mouth and smiled back at Max. “Alrighty, how’s the water?” He asked as he dropped his briefs and tossed them to the side. He’d pick them up late. He then climbed into the tub, sighing with the relief of the hot water. “Fuck.” He moan as he fully sat in the water and against his boyfriend. “Oh my god, this is the best thing ever.”

"Just shy of boiling," he joked. "So perfect." He wrapped his arms around Elliot as soon as the man settled down against him. "You got that right. Mmm, I could lay here all day." The relaxing heat of the water, the steam in the air, and the comforting weight of his boyfriend on top of him all combined to the perfect experience.

“I could fall asleep here.” He mumbled against the others skin. “I haven’t felt this relaxed in a while. Not since our first shower together.” He curled up against his body, using one of Max’s arms to wrap his arms around. “I love you, like impossibly too much.”

Max pressed a few kisses to the top and side of Elliot's head. "Insanely too much," he agreed. "I dont know how I lived before this. I know I could never go back to not having you."

“Well, you definitely had a lot more sex, so sorry about that.” He joked. “And you weren’t stuck with some neurotic clean freak who barely puts out, but you also didn’t have a rich boyfriend who could give you the world.”he sighed. “Looks like we better never break up then.” Elliot smiled up at him.

Max lightly poked Elliot's side. "Hey, stop it. You know if I had a problem with that we wouldn't be here right now. And as for being a neurotic clean freak, that just means I know everything I interact with now is clean. That's a bonus." He playfully bit down on Elliot's shoulder and then kissed him. "Never breaking up sounds good to me."

Elliot flinched with a giggle when max poked his side. “I love it when your mouth is on me.” He hummed and turned his head back to catch Max’s lips in his. He didn’t know where this came from but he was overwhelmingly filled with love for the Man. This felt genuine. “I’ve never felt like this for anyone before, Max. You should marry me. I want to marry you.”

Max returned the kiss eagerly and then froze underneath Elliot. He shifted so that he could get his boyfriend to face him properly. "Are you being serious?" He asked with a surprised expression. "Are you actually asking me to marry you right now?"

Elliot was never one to be spontaneous, everything he ever did was planned out to the T. That was, until he met Max. Nothing about being with Max was planned and for the first time Elliot didn’t mind it. In fact he loved the rush of adrenaline he got when he was with Max. He felt like he actually had a reason to live. Elliot bit his lip, not sure if Max was excited or scared or both. Surely Elliot sounded crazy but he didn’t care, he was sure about this. Or at least he wanted to be. “Dead serious… I mean I know I don’t have a ring and maybe I’m not thinking this through all the way but I never thought I’d ever want to be married until I met you. You’re the only one that’s ever made that though cross my mind.”  His heart began racing, anxiety starting to trickle in. Maybe he’d made a mistake in asking, maybe Max would hate the idea and run away from it. “You don’t have to answer, I’m sorry… it was a childish idea, god, I’ve ruined it, huh? All this and my stupid brain thinks that this would be a good idea, I mean for Christ sake we’ve only been dating for a month. I’m crazy, aren’t I?” He rambled.

As soon as Elliot took a pause in his ramble Max surged forward to kiss him. He cupped both cheeks in his hands and held his boyfriend's head lovingly. "Yes," he said breathlessly as soon as their lips separated. "The answer is yes. Let's get married. I dont care that we've only been dating a month. I already know I'm never going to feel like this about anyone else. You're the one."

Elliot was dazed as the man pulled him into a kiss, only then coming back to reality when he heard the yes come from the man’s lips. His eyes began to water immediately, happy tears welling in his eyes. “Wait, really?” His voice wavered with a smile. He didn’t know he could be this happy. Now straddling the man he gasped happily and hugged him, burrowing his face in his neck, spilling happy tears. He pulled back sniffling to look back at Max. His soon to be husband? “I love you so much.” He cried.

"Really," Max confirmed with an enormous grin. He once again threw his arms around his now fiancé to return the hug. He stole yet another kiss and then pressed their foreheads together. "I love you too, Ellie. Holy shit, we have to celebrate. Should we tell everyone? They're going to think we're fucking mad."

“We are fucking mad.” He chuckled. He thought about telling everyone but he shook his head at the younger boy. “I just want to keep this to ourselves just for a little, before all the judgment and comments from others. I want to get you a ring.” He grabbed Max’s left hand kissed his ring finger where he would soon wear an engagement ring from Ellie.

Max's heart went into overdrive as he watched Elliot kiss his finger. A ring, he thought. He was going to get a ring, to be married  with. He couldn't help but surge forward again, completely caught up in the passion of the moment, and captured his fiancé's lips in another kiss. He pulled him closer so their torsos rubbed against each other. "I'm going to fucking marry you. Wife you up so no one can take you from me," he teased.

Elliot laughed happily into the kiss as his fiancé pulled them flush together. It cause a soft moan to escape his mouth. Max being so domestic pulled it out of him. God, he was so lucky. “You’re right, we should celebrate.” He smirked at the dirty thoughts that ran through his mind and his lips now attached to the skin on his neck, kissing him and then pressing his tongue up to meet his earlobe. “I want to make love to you, bubs. Make you mine.” He whispered seductively.

They both knew that Max was quick to turn on, so just the statement alone was enough to get him ready to go. The tongue to his ear added the little bonus of a quick inhale and a whimpered moan. "Christ, yes. I am all yours, Ellie." He tilted his head and dug his fingers into his hips. "Does that mean you want to fuck me? Because I'd be more than willing."

Elliot chucked at the man’s excitement. He loved how wanted Max made him feel. “What do you want, baby boy? I think you’ve made me happy enough, taken care of me and been so good to me. I want to take care of you. So whatever you want. It’s yours.” He stared into Max’s eyes, his own brown eyes lust and love blown.

Max stared back at his love with the same intense expression. "Baby, you don't understand," he said with a completely serious tone. "In a perfect world, I could fuck you and be fucked by you at the same time. You can't just make me choose one or the other. It's like asking me if I like your eyes or your ass better. They're both perfect."

Elliot couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped his lips. “Well, you have to chose, mate.” He laughed lovingly. “This isn’t a perfect world but there’s always next time, yeah?” He smiled as he continued kissing his skin. He knew this would be a hard choice for Max so he decided he would make it easier. “Will you make love to me? I want you to make me yours. I want you to fuck me.” He nibbled against his skin.

Max was grateful for Elliot making the decision because, in truth, he desperately wanted both sides of their love making. Tonight, he would open Elliot up for the first time and pour every single ounce of love he could into him. Elliot could do the same for him on another night and he couldn't wait to experience it.

"It'll be an honor," he replied teasingly, but deeply meaning every word. He rolled his hips up in the water to meet Elliot's ass since the man was still straddling him beautifully. "How do you like it, baby? I want to make you feel so good that you forget everything but my name."

Elliot was nervous for sure, it had been a very long time since he’d let someone fuck him, his last relationship being a girl and the previous one to that the guy was strictly a bottom, so this, this was a big deal for Ellie. “I’m going to need you to be gentle with me at first… it’s been a while.” He replied honestly as he met his hips with Max’. He could already feel that they were both hard, the water leaving nothing to the imagination.

"I can be gentle," he confirmed while taking over the kisses. He trailed them up his jaw and then down his neck. "So gentle, I'll treat you like the perfect fucking angel that you are. My gorgeous angel." He licked up his lover's neck and then nipped at his ear. "I love you so much, Ellie. I want you to fall apart under me."

His words felt like honey against his skin, sweet and lingering, sticking to every inch and Ellie loved it. No one had ever made him feel this way. “I love you, Max. I trust you.” He whispered, his eyes shutting with the pleasure of Max all over him.

"Fuck, baby, I need you." With that, Max secured his grip on the older man and slowly, carefully stood, Elliot still wrapped around his waist. He set his love down on his feet on the mat just outside of the tub. He followed him out after grabbing a towel to quickly rub them dry. Then he pulled Elliot flush to his chest and locked him in a kiss, already sick of the distance between them. He moaned against his lips as he felt their aching arousals slide along one another. He reached around to take a handful of Elliot's ass. For a moment he simply enjoyed the squeeze but soon used it to pull the man back up onto his waist. Once he was secured again he walked them out of the bathroom and over to his bed. "You're going to feel so good around me, Ellie. I'm going to make love to you so fucking gently you'll cry." He kissed him again, only separating their lips briefly as the fell onto the mattress.

The one thing Elliot never expected was how strong Max actually was. He picked Elliot up with such ease and it was extremely attractive.  Soon they were back on his bed, breakfast long forgotten. Elliot had never craved someone as much as he craved Max. Elliot moaned into the kiss, his words feeling like light touches against his skin. He was almost certain that what Max said would come true, he was known to be a crier. “I always want to make you feel good, bub. I want to give you everything you deserve.” He rolled his hips up, needing more from the man above him.

Max groaned and reached for the lube he kept in one of the slats on the side of the bed. "Do you want me to wear a condom, baby? I know we're both clean so we could go without, but I don't know if you like the feeling. You might not like the mess of going raw." He continued to pepper kisses along Elliot's neck as he spoke. He also squeezed some of the lube onto his finger and started very gently against the tight ring of muscles. He was going to go as slow as possible for his love and make it nice and smooth for him; one finger at a time stretching him open beautifully.

Elliot shook his head. “No, no. I want to feel all of you, Max.” He moaned and shut his eyes as he felt Max start to open him up. Even though he was going slow, Elliot still felt the sting, feeling like his first time all over again. He accepted it though, knowing it would only feel better with time. Soon enough it became more and more pleasurable, just knowing it was the man he loved made it feel a million times better. “Yes, baby. Feels so good.” He smiled into a moan, his head resting back against a pillow and his hands gripping at the others arms.

Max added more lube before pressing a second finger into Elliot. He bit down gently on his bottom lip and started stroking his cock slowly to distract him. "You're so fucking sexy, Ellie. I want to hear every little noise you make. Okay, baby? Be as loud as you want, I fucking love it. Love you."

Elliot scratched up and down his Fiancé’s arms as he continued to prep him. The hand on his dick making it feel incredibly better but too good. “Baby, baby… baby stop, you’re not going to make me last.” He begged. It felt so good but if he continued on they would be in trouble.

Max immediately eased off, letting go of his dick and making sure his fingers didn't go too deep. He pressed his nose to Elliot's throat and groaned. "I could make you cum right now," he moaned. "Just with my fingers. And then after a little rest I could fuck you for real; make love to you nice and slow so you cum again. Maybe even a third time. Do you think you could give me three, baby?" It was just dirty talk, of course. He didn't really expect Elliot to take it seriously.

As much as the idea sounded incredible to Elliot, he didn’t think he had the stamina to go three times. Sometimes he barely had the stamina to go once. “Max, fuck. I-I don’t know if I could do it.” He whined, wanting to give max more but knowing his limits.

Max smiled and cupped Elliot's jaw with his free hand. He pressed his thumb to the man's lips and rubbed them gently. "It's okay, Ellie baby," he reassured him. "We can explore that some other time. Or you can explore me." He added a third finger while still looking down on Elliot's face. "I bet you could pull three orgasms out of me no problem. Just keep going until I don't know if I want to beg you to stop or to give me one more." He hoped his endless talking would distract his love from any discomfort as he took his time to get him ready.

Elliot wanted to pull Max closer, wanting to  feel his whole body on top of him. He pulled him down from the back of the neck and kissed him deeply. “Oh my god, Baby, just fuck me already.” He moaned into his mouth.

Max let out a matching moan as their lips met. "Love you so much, I'll make it so good for you, baby." He pulled his fingers out slowly and rebalanced himself between Elliot's legs. He ran both hands along his thighs and up to his hips. After a moment of contemplation he gave Elliot another kiss and then shifted so he was laying beside the older man. He tugged his side to get him to shift on top. "Ride me to start, baby. You can ease yourself onto me, nice and gentle."

Elliot shook his head, he didn’t want to have that kind of control. He was afraid he wouldn’t be good enough for Max or he would embarrass himself by not being able to hold himself up properly. “I want you to be in control… I know you won’t hurt me.” He kissed Max lovingly. He couldn’t believe he was actually about to have sex with Max. He felt proud of himself for not freaking out and actually enjoying what they were doing, although nervous.

Max immediately got back up and leaned over Elliot's body. "Okay. Okay, baby. That's fine. Thank you for telling me what you want." He gave him a kiss and then leaned back to kneel between his legs. "Can you plant your feet on the bed? With your knees bent. Spread your legs for me, baby boy."

Elliot did as told and positioned himself for Max. He gazed at Max with loving eyes and a smile on his face. “Holy shit, baby. We’re doing this. Like actually doing this. I love you. I love you so much.” He reassured Max, hoping he was just as excited as Elliot was.

Max smiled down at his fiancé as he got himself in the right position. He grabbed onto his hips and lifted him up while very  slowly sinking into him. "Ellie," he practically cried his name. "You're so beautiful, so perfect for me. I'm so fucking lucky to be here with you, to see you like this."

Elliot groaned as Max entered him, he was much bigger than he expected, forgetting how full he would feel. “Fuck baby.” He moaned as he bottomed out, reaching out for Max, wanting to feel him closer. He grabbed one of his hands and the other bunched up in the sheets beneath him. “Kiss me, bubs. Please.”

Max pressed Elliot's hand down against the mattress above his head, their fingers locked together. He moaned against his lips and kissed him deeply. He stayed still inside of him, just letting him get used to the full stretch. They continued to kiss leisurely, enjoying the feeling of their bodies flush together. "Tell me when you're ready, Ellie Baby."

Elliot accepted the kisses eagerly, the hand tangled in sheets coming up to wrap around the man’s back and reached however he could to his ass, pulling him flush against him. “Oh god, Max. You feel so good. You’re so good for me, love. You can move for me now, baby. I want to feel you, all of you. So good for me.” He rambled with a moan.

As soon as he was given the go ahead Max started moving his hips. He started thrusting slowly at first, pressing deep into Elliot without out pulling out too far. He paid attention to every little sound and expression, every twitch of Elliot's muscles so he could determine exactly what made him light on fire. He tried hard to push his own desire aside for a bit, wanting to focus solely on learning his lover's body. He knew it was only a matter of time before Elliot's words of praise would break his conviction and he'd just start pounding into him like an animal.

Elliot enjoyed the slow deep thrusting from his partner. It was sweet and felt incredible but he knew they boy had to be pulling back. It was adorable. He let out soft moans and let go of Maxs hand so he could meet both hands wrapped behind his neck. He looked into his eyes, not wanting the connection to end, watching how determined the other looked. “You’re so god damn beautiful.” He whispered at the man. “Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you for being so patient with. Fuck” he let out moans in between his words. “You make me feel so good. I don’t want you holding back anymore.” He smiled and kissed him deeply, groaning into his open mouth.

Max let out a deep groan and started thrusting faster. He started to loose his rhythm as he lost himself in the exctasy of feeling Elliot clamping down around him. He used his now free hand to start stroking his dick to add to his fiancé's pleasure. He pressed his face into Elliot's neck and moaned wildly. "Fuck, baby, I love you. So perfect, so beautiful. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-" His voice caught in his throat and he could feel tears start to fall from his eyes as he came closer and closer to the edge. "I love you so much, Ellie."

This is what Elliot was waiting for. Waiting for Max to just fully let go and let his instincts take over. It was incredibly hot. “Yes, baby. That’s it.” He muttered, leaving light scratches on his shoulder as he held onto the man. His eyes shut as he felt Max wrap around him, throwing his head back in immense pleasure. “Hell, bubs. I’m… fuck.” He couldn’t even finish his sentence when he fully let go beneath the man. It was the most euphoric orgasm he’d ever had,  even blacking out for a fraction of a moment.

Hearing Elliot fall apart beneath him was the missing piece. As soon as he felt the mess of liquid on his hand he gave him a few more strokes to help him through it and then he was burying himself into his lover. He had no words, just a gasp and a deep moan as he finished. He let his head continue to rest on Elliot's shoulder as he hovered over the man's body trying to regain his breath.

Ellie didn’t care about the mess as he wrapped his arms around Max and pulled him down flush, skin to skin. He ran his fingers through the man’s hair as he came down from the high, kissing the side of his head. “That was incredible, bubs. You’re amazing.” He spoke quietly as he continued to stroke his hair.

Max let himself collapse down onto his fiancé and moved his head to rest on Elliot's chest. He still had a few lingering tears and he didn't bother trying to hide them. His heart was so full of Elliot he didn't know how to express it other than to let it out. "It's never been like that," he said sounding completely blissed out. "I feel like you're a part of me. Like if I stop touching you I won't be able to breathe." He'd be embarrassed of the rambling when he though back to it the next day, but in the moment it was the only way he could think to describe how incredibly close he felt to Elliot. "Can I stay inside you? Just a little bit longer?"

Elliot glanced down and caught the man’s tears with his fingers. Seeing Max so vulnerable with him brought tears of his own to his eyes. He understood what he was saying, he felt it too. He nodded gently and kissed his head, sniffling slightly. The emotions of of everything that had just happened hitting. Here he was with Max who he had just proposed to and then making love for the first time. He was so full, metaphorically and literally, It was the most amazing feeling. “Of course. I love you.”

Max closed his eyes and breathed deeply, feeling more relaxed and content than he could ever remember being. "I love you too." They laid together peacefully for quite a few minutes. Once he felt that his heart had started beating normally again he lifted himself up with a groan. He gave Elliot a quick peck on the lips and very gently pulled out. "I think we're going to need another bath," he joked with a tired smile.

Elliot groaned at the loss of Max inside him and chased a kiss as he pulled away.  He looked down at himself, feeling wet and sticky from everywhere, sweat and other bodily fluids sticking to him. “Yes, please…” he chuckled. “We should go shop for your ring today.” He grinned.

"My ring," he echoed back with a matching grin. He stole another kiss and then got to his feet. "We can drive over to Newcastle after we get cleaned up." Before Elliot could try to get up on his own Max snuck his arms under him and lifted him up bridal style. He wanted to save his fiancé from the discomfort of standing. He carried him back into the bathroom and paused. "Shower's probably a better idea, right?"

Elliot let out a surprised laugh when the man picked him up carrying him to the bathroom. He wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed his shoulder. “Yes, baby. Shower will be better.”

Max set Elliot down on his feet in the tub and then pulled the drain out to start getting rid of the water they'd left. "How's the soreness, babe? I only went hard for a minute at the end there but you said it's been a while, right?" After letting the water drain for a moment he turned the shower on and joined Elliot in rhe tub.

Elliot leaned against the shower wall as he spoke to the man. “I feel fine right now, bubs. Maybe later I’ll actually feel it  but don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay regardless.” He smiled and stepped under the water, moaning softly once the hot water hit his body. He loved the feeling of being clean. He brought Max under the water with him and closed his eyes as he leaned against the man and continued to let the water hit him.

Max stretched his arms out with a yawn and then wrapped them around Elliot. He rested his forehead on his fiancé's shoulder. "Good," he said contently. "We have the day, right? We should turn ring shopping into a date. Go for lunch or something. First date as fiancés."

Elliot caressed the man’s body as they stood there naked under the water. His hand went up his back then back down over his hips and to his ass, grabbing a handful. He grinned against the others skin and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds pleasant baby.” He kissed the man’s skin from his shoulder down to his arm and then his hand.

Max chuckled when he felt Elliot grab his ass. "If you're trying to turn me on again, it's working," he joked. He enjoyed having the other man's lips over his skin and he watched witha smile. After a moment he let out a small gasp. "Shit, you know what I've just realized? My mum is going to be so upset  with me that I've gotten engaged without even introducing you."

“Maybe I am?“ he smirked. “I want my fiancé to feel good” he hummed and rested his head on the other while his hands continued to roam his body. He lifted his head at the man’s gasp, biting his lip. “Considering, I don’t think my mom even knows I was dating someone, same here. Elton and Marley will probably get mad that I didn’t tell him in advance.”

Max closed his eyes with a pleased sigh. "Well, you know me, baby. Insatiable as always, continue as you like." He hadn't given much thought to anyone else, having been caught up in the moment. "Tash too," he agreed.

Elliot sighed as he rinsed off his body. “It’s okay, bubs.” He pulled Max out of the water slightly so he could look up at him and not completely inhale water. “This isn’t for anyone else but me and you. I’d they can’t accept it then I say screw them. All we can do is hope for the best baby.”

"You're right." He pushed Elliot's hair back and kissed him on the forehead. "Maybe we should tell them all at once. Siblings at least. Dinner with the five of us or something. When we're ready to that is."

“Three against two? That sounds terrifying. But honestly I’m more scared of what Elton is going to say. Marley and mom are easy.” He sighed, a bit of anxiety creeping up as he tried to suppress the thought.

Max could tell by now when Elliot was starting to feel uneasy so he hugged him tight and started dramatically kissing all over his face. "Elton is smart enough to know how happy I make you," he said between his playful kisses. "And whatever any of them say, we'll deal with it together."

Elliot loved how easily Max could ease his mind. He giggled at the kisses as they tickled his skin. He nodded and let out another sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around the others waist. “I just love you so much. I don’t want anything to come between us.”

Max stared lovingly into Elliot's eyes as they embraced one another. He wore a small smile. "Believe me, Ellie, there's nothing on this fucking Earth that could make me let go of you. You're stuck with me now, baby."

Elliot grinned as they locked eyes. He doesn’t remember ever feeling this happy or this in love. “I can’t wait to call you my husband.” He beamed and kisses the man’s lips., gripping at his hips to keep him close.

[avocado-frog]

Forget-me-not. 13

Rating: T Warnings: Gore except not really (nightmare sequence, basically) body horror??? Word count: 3,000 Summary: Logan gets stolen

"You know, if you had called me on like, the thirtieth of October and told me that in two months I'd be in your living room several hours away, living with some childhood friends I can't remember, their siblings, and my brothers who I also can't remember, and that my parents kidnapped me, I honestly probably would have hung up on you."

"Although," Leo continued. She brushed Elliot's hair with her hand, Jaxon flipped through the channels on the TV, not particularly looking for anything. "I might have believed you when you told me that my parents kidnapped me. Fuck them."

"Except they aren't your parents," Jaxon said in a whisper. Logan kept his door open at night. "And also you didn't leave your room for like, two days after we found out, so I don't know what you're talking about."

Leo snickered. Jaxon settled on the food channel. Elliot had fallen asleep a while ago, it would turn out that he was not fit to stay up all night. Despite his truly awful sleeping schedule, he was only a kid who slept with a night light shaped like a rocket because he was afraid of the dark.

"But you're right," Jaxon ended up saying after they watched a British chef scold some poor old woman. "This is not how I thought I'd be spending my night tonight, if you asked me last month. I'll bet it's weird for the kid, too."

He gestured at Elliot, who snored softly next to Leo. Leo hummed.

"I think he's getting better," Leo commented. "He's eating more often, and we don't have to tell him that it's alright for him to leave his room."

"That is, when he isn't sleeping on our kitchen counters."

Out of the triplets, Elliot was having the hardest time adjusting. Sam bounced back quickly, he was excited, and he wanted to experience everything they had in their house, though he was a bit scared to go outside. Ryan was a bit apprehensive, scared to go outside, scared to talk, but he was getting used to a routine now, and he seemed content, at least.

Elliot, on the other hand, was not. They had to take baby steps for him. He didn't leave his room until someone told him to, he got sick if he ate too much, but he got sick if he ate too little, they found out through trial and error that he could handle a jelly sandwich, but he didn't like peanut butter. His sleeping patterns were irregular, he would either sleep all day or not at all, or he would suddenly pass out in the middle of the day, or they'd find him having fallen asleep on high surfaces. He seemed to like height. Out of the three, he was in the worst condition when they found him, he was missing an eye, he had little scars on his arms, and burns on his neck. Jaxon didn't want to think about what could have happened if they left him there.

Elliot never addressed anyone by name and he never looked anyone in the eye, he apologized after every statement he made, if he talked at all, flinched at the slightest movement in his direction, he hated loud sounds, bright colors, any texture that wasn't smooth tiles, yet he hated looking at tiles, preferred bland foods, and he hated his brothers.

But, he was getting better, with small steps. He was the only one to go outside, so they counted that as a win, even if they suspected he only did it because Dylan asked him to. He got used to eating bigger meals without getting sick, he decided that he liked salt in his food, and could handle brighter colors. To him, bright colors were anything that weren't black, white, or gray. He still flinched at loud noises, but it wasn't as frequent. And he still didn't like his brothers.

"Do you think we should try to get the other two outside soon?" Jaxon asked. On the show, one of the chefs made an awful-looking burrito. He made a face at it.

Leo hummed. "Logan says that we have to let them go at their own pace, or whatever. Unfortunately, their own pace is standing completely still and not moving at all."

"Maybe we could just have them go to the backyard?" Jaxon suggested. "We don't have to force them into anything big, like walking around the neighborhood or anything. Not yet."

Baby steps.

"Especially not in this weather," Leo agreed. "Do they have winter clothes?"

They sounded like the kinds of parents who wouldn't stop worrying about their kids. Maybe they should make Logan join them.

"Elliot wears a hoodie all the time- he really is your brother- and I think Ryan has a sweater. I don't know, you're the one who took Sam and Ryan shopping when we found them. Hey, maybe we can take one of them if we go to the store today."

Leo nodded. "Sure. I'll make a list later. Oh fuck, I sound like a responsible adult. What are you guys doing to me?"

Jaxon snickered again. "You're becoming Logan."

"How awful."

Being down here, he was sure Logan could hear them, but he must not be willing to tell them to go back to sleep. Jaxon had come downstairs an hour before, to find Leo sitting on the couch, next to Elliot, who was crying, and Leo was shaking, breathing heavily. Jaxon had gone downstairs to get a drink of water and maybe a snack to ignore the nightmare that kept replaying in the back of his head. They all mutually decided to hang out in the living room until morning.

---

Ryan stepped into a room. A never-ending checkered pattern, black and white tiles on every wall. He looked down at his hands, covered in blood, though he was holding a white tulip in one hand.

There was a boy sitting on the floor, cross-legged, rocking back and forth and ignoring Ryan. The boy's face was blocked out by black scribbles. He was surrounded by red flowers, poppies, if Ryan remembered correctly. Quiet, incoherent mumblings filled the tense silence, as the boy talked to himself in hushed whispers.

The boy stood up, and walked over to Ryan, slow, heavy footsteps echoed through the empty room. He looked at Ryan with his scribbled face, grabbing his shoulders. Ryan couldn't make out the boy's words, but he knew he was angry.

Something happened.

Ryan raised the white tulip in the air, and the boy, who Ryan could now tell was Elliot, flinched back. From behind, a spiky, black stick cut through Elliot's eye, and a red rose bloomed where the empty hole was, and petals fell to the floor.

Elliot fell forward, Ryan tried to catch him, but the boy phased straight through him, and landed on the ground, surrounded by red petals that grew in numbers, consuming the checkered floor in bright red, gripping at Ryan's ankles, his hands, his neck, choking him, but he could see Sam in the corner of his eye, knife pressed to his throat-

He felt himself spasm as the back of his head hit the wall, eyes squeezed shut, gasping for air. He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, shaking. The images in his head played out again, adding scenes that hadn't been in the dream. His hands moved to cover his mouth at the image of the rose stabbing through his brother's eye invaded his mind, this time with crimson blood instead of rose petals.

The door creaked open, Ryan curled in on himself further, afraid to look. He heard quiet footsteps approach his bed, and he tried to make himself invisible. If he opened his eyes, he was sure he would see something from his nightmare. He refused to look.

Although, when a finger poked his shoulder, he couldn't help but be a little curious. If it was something from his dream, he knew that it was impossible, so he would still be dreaming. Technically, it had actually happened before. He tried not to think about it too much, but repressing the memory had been a lot easier when he didn't have to see his brother every day.

He opened his eyes and was met with the gaze of Elliot.

"Hello."

Ryan shrieked and tossed a pillow at his brother, who flinched, tripped on his feet, and fell over. Elliot glared at him, but it melted away as he stood up and brushed himself off. He stared at Ryan, his eye (only one) was blank, studying him, his hands were shoved into the pocket of the hoodie he always wore.

"Leo and Jaxon are going to the store. Sam's going with them, for some reason. They are buying socially acceptable winter clothes-" Elliot put air quotes around the words. "That includes a scarf, hat, gloves, and a coat, according to Leo."

They both stared at each other. Ryan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, I-I don't know what those are either," Elliot admitted. "So, that leaves us, Dylan, Logan, Cass and Lily. If you need anything from the store, they're still here."

Ryan shook his head. Asking someone for anything was almost always a trick. He wouldn't risk it.

Elliot fidgeted nervously with his hands, he didn't make eye contact. "So, uh. I talked to Dylan the other day... I guess it wasn't the other day. Sometime last week? I don't know, I-"

Ryan set his hand on his brother's shoulder, and broke him out of his rambling. Elliot tensed up a little.

"A-anyways. I was thinking about it, and maybe we could do something today. I don't know. Sam's not here and I don't want to talk to Sam yet, so..."

Ryan nodded slowly, and Elliot sighed softly, relaxing. There was an awkward beat of silence, before Elliot suggested going downstairs, and Ryan nodded again.

Ryan made sure to stay a short distance away from his brother, as they walked down the hallway in silence. Too close, he might hurt him again.

Elliot slipped on the staircase.

It wasn't a bad fall; he slipped on the third step down and landed on the fourth, but Ryan's heart stopped dead on the spot, and he had to stop himself from screaming. Elliot sat on the step, leaning against the wall, hands pressed against his eyes.

Ryan's hands shook, staring at his brother as he panicked, unsure of what to do. Sam would probably just ignore him and leave, and he wasn't sure what the others would do. He tapped his hands against the wall, only able to watch.

"Do you recognize this?"

Ryan tilted his head. Elliot stood up, and stared at him, eye wide with something indecipherable to Ryan.

"We have to go talk to Logan." Elliot, without any sort of warning, grabbed Ryan by the hand, dragging him down the rest of the stairs.

Ryan blinked, stopping abruptly when they reached the bottom. Elliot slowed down, turning to look at him.

"Elliot, wait." Ryan stopped abruptly when they reached the bottom. Elliot slowed down, turning to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

Elliot let go of his hand, beginning to pace in a small circle, rambling about something that Ryan didn't really understand.

"T-The crack on the stairs, the broken railing... Leo had glow stars on her ceiling, but she said that she didn't put them there! I recognize it. A-and the other day, Lily told me that there was an accident on the stairs a few years ago."

Ryan blinked, stopping Elliot mid-rant once again. Elliot stopped to look at him again, practically vibrating with tense energy.

Unlike Sam, Ryan hadn't forgotten a single detail from when they were kids. He couldn't seem to forget what happened, no matter what he did. Elliot was acting very similar to when they had been younger kids. He used to ramble a lot.

Elliot grabbed him by the wrist again, running towards the kitchen. They both stopped at the same time, both a bit out of breath from running. Logan was not there like he usually was in the mornings.

"Are you sure he didn't go to the store, too?" Ryan asked, glancing at Elliot, who wandered around the room.

"When they leave, they always leave Leo or Logan at home." Elliot kept pacing. "But Logan isn't in his usual spot. Maybe he's somewhere else."

Ryan nodded, prepared when Elliot grabbed his hand again. "That makes sense. What other rooms does Logan go in? Do you think he died?"

"He's in the living room, guys."

Both of them shrieked at Lily's sudden appearance behind them, sitting on the counter with a bowl of cereal.

Elliot leaned in a bit closer to Ryan's ear. "I think she teleports."

Ryan nodded, and Lily raised an eyebrow at the both of them. "You two are getting along. Everything okay?"

"Come on, we get along all the time! Right, Ryan?" Elliot nudged him with his shoulder. Ryan paused, and shook his head. No, in fact they hadn't spoken to each other in five years.

Lily chuckled, hopped down from the counter and gestured towards the living room. Elliot nodded at her, dragging Ryan behind him.

True to her word, Logan sat on the couch, watching a show and drinking out of a white mug that read eat the rich in red writing on the side. He noticed them as they walked in, pausing whatever he was watching and setting his mug down.

"Good morning!" Logan smiled at them. "Need something?"

Elliot leaned in to whisper into Ryan's ear again. "We're going to have to interrogate him. We'll kidnap him."

Ryan nodded, walking to Logan with his hands behind his back. Elliot gave him a short nod, swiftly grabbing Logan by the sleeve. Ryan did the same, pulling on each of Logan's arms with all the strength they possessed. It was admittedly not a lot.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked, standing up. That made their job a lot easier.

"We're kidnapping you," Elliot replied, a bit strained from the effort.

"Oh, okay." Logan said agreeably, letting them lead him into his bedroom.

The two sat Logan on his bed, and Elliot flicked the lights on. Logan sat there, hands folded, waiting for something to happen. Elliot shut the door, unnecessarily loudly, and pulled the swivel chair away from the desk and in front of Logan.

"Ryan, ask if he has any paper." Elliot started spinning around on the chair once he found out that it could do that.

"Oh, okay." Ryan turned back to Logan, who looked a bit confused. "Hey, do you have any paper?"

Logan hummed. "There's some under the desk, I think. What are you guys playing?"

"We are not playing, Logan. This is an interrogation. You have to take it serious." Elliot glared at him, still spinning in the chair.

Logan nodded. "Right, right. Of course. I'm sorry."

Ryan stood by the desk, giving his brother a thumbs-up. Elliot nodded at him, and finally stopped spinning.

"When did you buy this house?" Elliot practically demanded, poking at Logan's forehead. Ryan prepared to write down the answer with the worst glare he could possibly muster.

"I don't know, four years ago?" Logan tilted his head to glance at Ryan, who wrote it down on the paper. "And I didn't really buy it. It was abandoned, no one claimed it, so I pretended it was mine and Lily's."

Ryan and Elliot nodded at each other. The timelines matched up. Ryan raised his hand, and Logan nodded at him.

"Was anything here when you got it?" Ryan fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, nervous of the answer.

"Some kids stuff, toys, pictures, nothing else you two would be interested in, I'd imagine." Logan shrugged. "It's all up in the attic, if you wanted to see?"

Elliot looked over at Ryan, and Ryan shrugged. Elliot gave Logan a firm nod, pointing at him with a glare.

"We'll be back."

---

They didn't find a lot in the attic. There were somewhere around twenty boxes full of things, and a lot of them had been random household appliances and some photographs.

Searching through the boxes of old toys, they didn't find a lot either. Ten of the boxes contained kid's stuff, but it was clearly made for kids younger than Elliot was.

Though Ryan had a small pile, consisting of a yellow pufferfish and a pink starfish, as well as a handful of plastic animals. Elliot found a set of Legos to build a rocket ship and a plastic dragon.

Ryan had made a small pile of things that he thought Sam would like. Elliot rolled his eyes, mildly annoyed. Sam could pick out his own things. Elliot just needed to collect everything he didn't want Sam to have.

"I can't believe you were right." Ryan pulled out a plastic pirate ship, rolling it around on the floor. "Isn't it weird how Logan found our old house?"

Elliot hummed in agreement. "And so close after we left, too."

He couldn't remember what happened that day, he blocked it from his memory as best as he could, all he knew was that he had been five, his mother was dead, and he did not like Sam.

A nod from Ryan. "Um, speaking of which-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Right, sorry." Ryan turned around again, continuing to sort through the boxes.

A series of loud footsteps caused Elliot to nearly die of a heart attack on the spot, only to sigh in annoyance when it turned out to just be Sam, unreasonably loud and unbearable, like usual.

Ryan lit up, bouncing up to his feet, seconds before Sam crashed into him, pulling him into a tight hug, rambling about whatever store he had gone to with Leo and Jaxon.

Elliot took a step backwards, towards the stairs, shoving his hands deeply into his pockets, listening to the two of them talk to each other. They'd missed each other, they hadn't spent so long without each other in the same building. Elliot scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes, angry and annoyed at the whole thing.

Without a word, he slipped away.

[littlestcr]

what was supposed to be just another regulars hang out between three friends all huddled up in the comfort of elliot’s bed room had turned into something out of a nightmare. she doesn’t know how they got here, but jules starts poking at him again, questioning elliot on his relationship with rue as well as his intentions as if they didn’t have this conversation a million times before. rue really liked elliot, more than most people actually and they’d been spending more and more time together over the period they’ve been friends. she knew the other femme kind of hated it, she knew she was kind of jealous of how much rue spent time just hanging out with the male but she also didn’t exactly want to leave him alone either. she doesn’t know what it is, maybe she’s just happy to have a new friend, someone who actually gets her and gives a shit about the things she has to say. or maybe it’s something deeper, something she rather not talk about especially as she’s sitting in his bed watching her girlfriend not so subtly accuse the boy of not only having a crush on rue but being in love with her. ‘seriously, are you in love with rue?’ she says, soft yet accusatory tone towards an uncomfortable boy. rue half expects him to say no or at least avoid the question being shot at him but he says...well, nothing. in fact he doesn’t even look at jules but he does look at rue, big brown eyes looking at her like that was the answer to the other girls question and it makes her freeze up a little. especially when jules looks between them both searching for a reaction as she says her name. but rue can’t say anything, she can barely breathe in fact. the silence fills the room but it feels so loud that it makes her stomach turn. was he in love with her? this entire time she denied it, there was no way he actually felt that deeply about her, why would he? it’s not like she’s anything special...not like jules or maddy or even cassie...she’s just rue, kinda fine with fading into the background of things where no one can see her, scared they’ll find out too much about her and turn away. jules fluster increases, realizing she’s not going to get a reaction. rue loves the other, she really does but it’s impossible not to feel confused right now especially with elliot’s eyes on her and silence of a thousand words. it’s at that moment her girlfriend kind of storms off, tears in her eyes as she does it and rue can’t help but feel bad. “jules wait...” she should go after her, at least try to find a way to comfort the blonde but she stays put, body stiff in his bed as brown eyes flicker back towards elliot. she needs to know but she doesn’t know how to ask, lump in her throat as heart races. “...are you?” she croaks out. “in love with me i mean.”  @whirlpoolemployee​ sent: [  UNSPOKEN  ]:     after a third party (or the receiver themselves) asks if the sender is in love with the receiver, the sender goes silent, unwittingly admitting that they do love them in the process.

[rosepetalmafioso]

[ 🏆 ] is your muse multitalented? what are their hobbies, and why did they pick up these hobbies? if they don’t have hobbies, why don’t they?

[ 🐱 ] does your muse have pets? did they have pets as a child? how do they feel about animals?

🏆

I don't really know if I would consider Blood talented per se. He's a mischievous brainiac who likes using that knowledge to corner people and make them sweat, and that's kind of his biggest hobby (whether he uses that to make deals or play games like chess) and he's pretty successful in fooling people (I'd say he's a talented actor, if nothing else!). His other hobbies aren't really something to be good at--like reading, shopping, collecting tea, and other quiet pastimes

Oh, and he's a very talented gardener. He's great at reading and observing people and their own personal stylings, so even if he himself looks like a huge eyesore of a dandy he puts together a good outfit ensemble for other people. He's got an eye for artistic flair about him, even if it doesn't necessarily look that way.

🐱

Blood does say in some of his routes/appearances that he always wanted a dog but was never allowed to have one (don't read too much into him wanting an animal known most for their loyalty! it's definitely not his subconscious talking at all! hahaha). Unfortunately he's so piss poor at expressing his appreciation for companionship that he jokes that Elliot, his right hand man, is the dog he always wanted. His reasoning must be that Elliot is affectionate, energetic, loud, and loyal.

My thoughts for why he was never allowed to have one were mostly because his mother probably wouldn't have wanted any animal fur around the house, or risk having to throw away expensive clothes that got ruined from playing around in the mud or just...not wanting the responsibility to house training a dog. A pet was another expense that they couldn't afford when the noble Dupre family was trying to put on airs that their dynasty wasn't falling to pieces and they weren't in debt! Plus, picking up animal droppings is undignified of a noble, dogs were properly used for hunting and not playmates yadda yadda no fun allowed

[aurorawest]

Reading update

Based on the cover, I was originally pretty skeptical of this book, but then I read all of Roan Parrish's other books and now she's one of my favorite authors. This is one of her earlier books (maybe her first? not sure) but it's really good. It's got my favorite things—complicated relationship with father and brothers + traumatized young man who doesn't know how to love himself. Also gay sex. Genuinely though, I really loved Daniel's and Rex's love story.

Now this one surprised me. This was an Illumicrate book which I fully expected to not enjoy, because the summary didn't sound very interesting. But it was GREAT. Listen, my opinion that will get me canceled is that I typically don't read books with female protagonists anymore, because they're so often written horribly. This book has wonderfully written women. The world is really unique and cool, and it was just generally an interesting take on the When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it trope.

I read Young Mungo (Douglas Stuart's second novel) last year and loved it, so I snatched this book up when I found it used in my local bookstore. It was pretty much exactly what I expected: sad but lovely. I enjoyed Young Mungo more, but that's because I enjoy romance more than mother-son relationships. It's not a knock on this book at all, which is a devastating portrayal of a child trying to parent his alcoholic mother. Anyway yeah, read it. And read Young Mungo, too.

This was such a fun read! It doesn't break any new ground and it's completely predictable, but that's fine, it's an adorable YA romcom, and the point is to see the end coming from a mile away. I laughed out loud quite a few times as I was reading, and I was definitely rooting for Micah and Elliot. I also am always a sucker for stories that have an evils-of-fame storyline.

So this is a series that I used to love. It's very All Creatures Great and Small, only it's with human doctors and it takes place in Northern Ireland in the 1960s. I don't know if it's that my tastes have changed or if the series just isn't as good anymore, but I really didn't enjoy this book. At all. Patrick Taylor is...not actually a very good writer? Like he's constantly clumsily info-dumping and it drove me crazy in this book. The others must have been the same way but I probably overlooked it because I enjoyed them more.

The sequel to In the Middle of Somewhere, which follows Daniel's older brother Colin. Which was a brave fucking move on Parrish's part, because in In the Middle of Somewhere, Colin is a horrible asshole to Daniel. He's cruelly picked on Daniel ever since Daniel was a young teen, and without going into a lot of details, it was all pretty homophobic (to the point of a physical altercation). He's just a dick, basically.

Anyway, I guess I can't really talk about this one without spoiling the first one, but as it turns out, Colin is gay, has known it for many years, knew it when Daniel came out to him, and was still a dick for all that time. He is very very closeted and wants to please his father EVEN MORE than Daniel does in the first book. I actually like this one even more than the first book, because Parrish takes this character who is nasty and awful and turns the whole thing around. It's really a master class in unreliable narration (CS Pacat might be the only other author I can think of who pulls it off this well). Colin's and Rafael's love story is really beautiful, too.

Ginn Hale! Gay demons! Fantasy noir! Blood! Hurt/comfort! What's there not to like!

This is actually two novellas in one book. The first novella is from Belimai's (the demon's) POV, and is a mystery. The second is a sequel from Harper's (the detective's) POV and deals with the fallout from the first novella. I absolutely loved both but that's not saying anything because I love everything Ginn Hale writes.

This book was weird as hell but really good. The basic plot is, two young men help a goddess escape captivity, but that just like...does not do it justice. The beauty of this book is in its prose and its weirdness. And its slow burn romance. Highly recommended, but it's not light reading. Also isn't that cover gorgeous? I spent a lot of time just staring at it.

Like the cover says, the prequel to They Both Die at the End. It's not as good. And there was some really forced plot stuff that made me roll my eyes. Still a decent read, especially if you liked the first one.

I'm currently reading this one! I'm already loving how it's building on the events of the second book, and appreciated the wonderfully gory opening, haha.

[queendeeshorrorimagines]

hi! I saw that your matchups are still open. Would you do one for me? If you don't want to do it, feel free to delete it. I didn't saw any info you need to put in the matchup request so I hope this is enough.

I'm a 18 year girl with dark brown eyes and long brown hair too, kinda wavy. I'm Spanish but apart from that I speak English and a little bit of Russian. My skin is very pale and I'm medium height, 5.7ft. My body has a slim complexion, the only exception are my thighs and waist because they're wider and curvier. I must say I'm weak with my arms.

I'm leaning on the introverted side (INFP) because I put effort in getting to know the person until calling them my friend and not someone I get along with, so certain types of people could leave me tired causing a lot of time alone in my house... I really value acts of service and a lot of quality time in a relationship of any short. I don't shy away from telling what I think to people because that makes me a genuine person, but I consider myself to have enough emotional intelligence to not be stupid doing so. That could come from my love of talking about many topics and listening to other people, my voice tends to go VERY loud when I'm invested in it but I don't notice it. They say I'm a caring and generous person who likes to help people. Also, with a great sense of humour, I need to have many inside jokes. On the negative side I'm kinda clumsy and clueless in some things even if I don't mean to. Even If I try to brush them off sometimes, I have some insecurities about my personality because I'm worried of being "too much..." "Very..." or even boring.

Some of my hobbies are: cooking, reading historical and romance books, watching horror movies or old movies and some random series, board games, listening to music, scrolling through social media, meditation, learning languages, walks or picnics, hanging out in the nature, having debates

And some of the topics I love are: history, psychology, spiritualism, horror, astrology, politics, films, philosophy, recipes, literature, memes, documentaries, nature...

I ship you with... Hannibal Lector!

Hannibal is obviously an highly educated man to say the least. Hannibal is more than willing to teach you all about what he knows about psychology. This man knows quite a few languages given his childhood so he understands your love for learning new languages. He can see your genuine compassion and care towards people which tends to be rare to see in todays world.

Although you may think that you might be "too boring" because of your interests and/ or personality, Hannibal finds it refreshing compared to the other personalities that he deals with as an influential psychiatrist. Your clumsiness worries him at times but overall finds it endearing. Given that Hannibal is affluent, there's always some sort of affluent person around him in public. He loves when you debate the politicians on issues you believe in because 1) he loves seeing that spark in your eyes and 2) he loves seeing the said politician look like an blathering idiot because of your wit.

Other possibilities: elliot Spencer, Otis Driftwood, Asa Emory