#i'm still not really up for actively talking so forgive me if i'm not super talkative or not commenting on posts

[tvrningout-a]

a wee update since last night! i feel better but really exhausted from stressing so badly all day. i actually called out of my job bc i just knew i wouldn't be in the state of mind to be at work, even if it would've been a good distraction ;; but i'm okay, things are alright for now, so i'll likely be around tomorrow/sunday and hopefully back to normal!

thank you for the kind comments and interactions with my post last night <3 little things like that really do mean a lot to me, so pls know i'm smooching each of your foreheads rn ❤ (ɔˆз(ˆ⌣ˆc)

#i'm still not really up for actively talking so forgive me if i'm not super talkative or not commenting on posts #the anxiety i felt today just really took it out of me and ngl?? kinda felt disconnected from my body last night and sometimes still feel #that #been feeling a lil like i'm walking a dream vs my actual life -- like thinking of my memories it doesn't feel exactly real #anyway though!!! sorry i feel like that might be a lot to just say in the tags so i'll put a lil tw #i just hopped on to maybe work on ko's bio bc i have the urge but i'm also tired so i might knock out early-ish tonight #regardless though i hope the day was kind to you and that you enjoyed your friday <3 #please take care of yourselves u3u #tw vent #tw disassociation #i'm not sure if that's what i was experiencing exactly??? i don't know much about it but i'm tagging just in case #get ready to ramble | ooc

[veronicaphoenix]

Title: Into the Abyss of Bad Habits — Epilogue | Words: 16.4k

Author's note: Get yourselves a few cups of coffee ready (or tea, for those who are more into it or have an addiction like myself) because this is super long and it's full of sweetness, fluff, and horny men utterly in love with their girl.

This takes place a year and a half after part 3.

Tags & trigger warnings: polyamorous relationship, three people totally in love with each other that go on a very-much-deserved vacation, a bit of implied angst at the beginning, but mostly kinky men, men tied-up, sexual content including p in v (unprotected), oral (both m. and f. receiving), face-sitting, accidental biting, light choking, implied anal sex, dirty talk, praise kink, (a lot of kinks actually, if you start squinting), and probably another bunch of things that I'm forgetting because this epilogue is really long, so forgive me.

This is dedicated to @blessedwithabadomen because without her, half of this fic would probably not exist. Thank you for your constant support and love on this work, and for helping me sort out the writing for the last parts of this story, and for your reassurance whenever I was drowning in self-doubt 🥹 Also, please, if you haven't, go check out her story: In love with the mess. You will truly not be disappointed, and it's just about to get so so so good! Couldn't feel more blessed and thankful for the effort and dedication she's putting into that work ✨ Thank you, L. 🤍

A year and a half later 

London, United Kingdom

Heathrow Airport was buzzing with activity when our plane touched down from LAX in the late afternoon. 

            Noah and I had purposely booked a night flight to ease our jetlag once we hit the UK. It was one of those rare times we were traveling purely for some well-deserved vacation, a break from the hectic schedules of work and touring with Bad Omens. But despite spending the night in the plane, Noah was desperate to unclip his seat belt, get out of the airport with a strong coffee in hand, get to the hotel, and throw himself on the bed. Trying to catch some sleep on the flight was always a struggle for him with his long frame squished into those tiny seats. And I wasn't exactly well-rested either; but I was too excited to see Oliver.

            Our last time together —the three of us— had been nearly two months back in the US at a festival where Bring Me The Horizon and Bad Omens were playing. Even though we were all committed to the relationship and always managed to make time for each other —traveling back and forth whenever possible—, those chance encounters were always a bonus and we enjoyed them all the same. 

            We were still figuring out how to deal with the distance. BMTH had been around for a while, so Oliver had more freedom to move from one place to another, hence why we had been talking about him moving over to the States. We had, in fact, checked some houses in different neighborhoods a while ago, but we hadn’t decided anything yet, beginning with the fact that we had a budget and the houses we saw exceeded it, especially the one I fell in love with. Moving to the UK ourselves wasn't really on the cards, not with Bad Omens still climbing their way to the top and Noah’s and I’s residence being in the America.

            For the past couple of months, we'd been counting down the days until we could see Oliver again. Noah wasn’t very vocal about it, but he was just as eager as I was. Right now, however, he was probably just thinking about grabbing the hotel room key and crashing out in bed for a solid night's sleep. The streets of London could wait for us until next morning. 

            Despite how good things were now, there had been tough days, of course.

            When the UK NextGen tour ended, Oliver wasted no time in buying a plane ticket to join us for the last week of Bad Omens' tour across Europe. However, once the end approached, the farewell was imminent. Noah and I were eager to return home. He was obviously more exhausted than the rest of us. He lacked hours of sleep, and his body was beginning to feel the strain.

            The farewell was bittersweet. There were tears and hugs that lingered too long. What hurt the most was witnessing the final embrace between Noah and Oliver.

            During the time we spent together in Europe, their relationship had grown significantly. The fact that the three of us were in a polyamorous relationship played a big part, but it also seemed like they had found each other after a long time as friends. On one occasion, during one of Bad Omens' day off in Europe, I found the two of them napping in the hotel room when I had slipped away to the nearest Starbucks for a Caramel Macchiato. The sight of them lost in their dreams, cuddled up next to each other in bed, was so tender that it felt like my heart would burst. I kept a picture of that moment stored safely on my phone. 

            Nevertheless, however peaceful that moment was, there were hard moments that had to happen for us to be where we stood right now. There was jealousy, of course. While I never stopped feeling loved by both of them, even when they had their moments and spent hours away from me, focused on their work and making music together, the feeling wasn't the same for Oliver and Noah. It was inevitable because an ocean separated us, and at some point they started feeling that I spent more time with the other. Their heated argument in Oliver’s house the previous summer had thankfully resolved this issue, regardless of both ending up sleeping on the sofa. The good thing about that week in Sheffield was that the drop that spilled the cup killed two birds in one go, resolving the tension that had been building between Noah and Oliver because they refused to acknowledge that they wanted each other the same way they wanted me. 

The image of both of them angry was not a pretty one. Seeing them unleash those demons on stage could be very fun and exciting, but when it was at home, it wasn't pleasant at all. Luckily, we were in a much better place right now and that was part of the past. After that heated fight that nearly got physical, things got so much better. During that trip, we canceled the plans we had for the few days we had left in Sheffield, and decided to spend them holed up at Oliver's house, focusing on resolving our issues, insecurities, and fears, and making up for the lack of affection from the previous days. The reconciliation was so effusive that every time after discussing doubts and possible conflicts that might arise and the solution to these, we ended up having wild sex, and by the time our time together came to an end, we had blessed every corner and nook of Oliver's house, we had used up three boxes of condoms, and we had left the marks of our hands and knees on glass, furniture, and windows.

            This time, a year later, the plan was to  embark on a road trip to the Lake District, where Oliver had booked a chalet. Sheffield was on the way, so we would make a quick stop to pick up Luna. But first, we were to stay in London for three days. I had booked tickets to the Jack the Ripper Museum and to the Harry Potter studios, and I wanted to get to know the city a bit better, so I had planned a route along the Thames and through Camden Town.  

            The moment I spotted Oliver standing right outside the arrival gates at the airport, his smile widened, mirroring mine. Leaving Noah with the luggage, I hurried over to him, and he caught me in his arms. I wrapped my limbs around him, inhaling his scent, feeling his warmth and every other thing offered by his sole being. 

            “Hi, love,” he greeted. 

            “Hi,” I responded, giving him a gentle kiss. “I missed you.”

            “So have I,” Noah chimed in from behind, his voice sounding a tad annoyed as he maneuvered the trolley laden with our suitcases. “I’m the one that needs to be held, by the way.”

            With a laugh, I disentangled myself from Oliver and watched as he closed the distance to Noah. Their embrace was tight, their kiss passionate, and I couldn’t help but grin at the sight. 

            “Long flight?” Oliver inquired. 

            “Just like every other time, but it’s not the flight that’s the issue,” Noah replied. 

            “It’s the long legs,” I interjected.

            “We’ll book you a masseur once we’re at the hotel,” Oliver suggested, wrapping his arm around Noah’s shoulders. 

            I furrowed my brow at the suggestion.

            “Noah doesn’t need a masseur,” I stated, feeling offended. Stepping back slowly as we started to move towards the exit, I kept my eyes on them. They both seemed to find my reaction amusing, their grins widening. I couldn’t help but soften, a smile betraying my feigned offense. 

            Oliver reached out and tousled my hair, which I didn’t mind. After the long flight, I was already a mess. I sidled up next to him, tilting my head to kiss his jaw as the three of us made our way out of the airport. 

As soon as we stepped into the hotel room in London, Noah dropped his bags and collapsed face-first onto the extra-large bed. Following suit, Oliver removed Noah’s shoes from his feet, which dangled over the edge of the bed. It always struck me how Noah managed to make everything seem small in comparison. 

            Oliver removed Noah’s socks and began massaging his tired feet, paying no mind to the fact that both Noah and I desperately needed a shower. Despite offering to make him coffee or order food, Noah declined, already on the brink of sleep. Before drifting off, however, he mentioned that I must be hungry and suggested Oliver and I go out to eat while he took a nap. 

            With that, Oliver and I left Noah to rest (ensuring to hang the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door) and set out to find a nearby spot for a quick meal. Despite the weariness of our journey, the stroll was a welcome relief for my legs. As we walked, Oliver would occasionally reach out to take my hand, his touch sending a warm flutter through me. He would also point out little details of the cityscape that he knew I would appreciate while filling me up with updates from work and about his family.

            Eventually, we settled for a vegan cheese roll with falafels from a quaint street vendor. As we sat on a bench, heleaned in close, brushing a strand of hair away from my face with gentle fingers. The simple act sent a shiver down my spine, and I couldn't help but lean into his touch, feeling the weight of the journey melt away in his presence.

            By the time we finished eating, my head was resting on Oliver's shoulder, and I could feel myself drifting off, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. We felt like carefree teenagers who had just escaped from class but weren’t quite ready to head home yet. Despite the usual surge of excitement that swept over me whenever the three of us were reunited in the same city, my body felt drained. No matter how hard I tried to summon energy from within, each bite of food seemed to weigh me down further, and Oliver’s constant attentiveness, his arms wrapping around me at every opportunity, only intensified the sensation. 

            “How is he doing?” He asked suddenly, his fingers trailing gently along the curve of my skull. He was referring to Noah. 

            In an instant, memories flooded back, a torrent of emotions crashing against the walls of my mind. Bad Omens was on a deadline to get their new record ready before summer’s end, and the pressure had ensnared Noah in a relentless grasp. Consumed by his passion, as typical of him, he had neglected his mental health, and us. Noah had moved into my apartment during the summer before, but the moment he started working intensively in new music, he had practically moved back to the confines of the house he shared with Jolly, Jesse, and Orie. What began as weekday absences soon stretched into weekends lost, then an entire month slipped through and we hadn’t spent not even one night in each other’s arms. He was going to the gym and keeping track of his diet, but the problem was that he was not taking a break. Of course, we were having sex, but sometimes it felt devoid of passion, as if it was a job that had to be done and left me adrift in a sea of longing. He had also started to miss Oliver’s calls, especially the ones after I had talked to Oliver myself and I had cried over the phone, asking him to please come to Los Angeles or get me on a flight to England.  

            “Much better,” I murmured, drawing in a breath heavy with the weight of the obstacles we’d had to overcome the previous months. 

            Memories of the night in which I couldn’t hold it any longer flooded my senses. I had been in Noah’s house, waiting for an hour for a date that he had obviously forgotten about. When tears started cascading down my cheeks, Jolly and Jesse intervened and got his ass out of the studio. Noah’s eyes were red and his hair greasy. 

            “I guess seeing me having a breakdown did something to him. He looked shaken. Scared, even. And after that…” I sighed, relieved. “He's trying harder now, focusing on everything else that also matters.” Us. “He talked to his therapist and he’s managing things in a different way. He’s going to be okay. And we’ll be ok, too.”

            Looking into Oliver’s earthy eyes, I could see his relief. He had been absent most of those difficult times, and he’d been worried about Noah and about me, his concern also getting the worst of him at times. At some point he’d been this close to dropping his own job stuff and getting on a plane to come be with me and give Noah a good spanking. Thankfully, it never came to that. Things got better. Now, we were reunited again, the three of us. We were better, trying every day, and supporting each other through our imperfections.  

            As we made our way back to the hotel room an hour later, I stopped at a Starbucks to get a cup of Noah’s favorite coffee. I hadn’t been able to resist a few sips, the familiar taste being a comforting distraction from my fatigue. 

            Noah was awake and fresh from a shower when we entered the room, emerging from the bathroom wrapped in a towel that barely covered him from the waist down, his damp hair clinging to his temples and forehead. Even though I had witnessed this sight countless times before and could conjure it up in my mind whenever I pleased, it never failed to stir something primal within me. 

            “I brought you coffee,” I managed to say, my throat feeling suddenly dry as I handed him the cup. 

            “My angel,” he replied, his lips curling into a grateful smile as he took the Starbucks cup from my hand and brought it to his lips. 

            His gaze shifted to Oliver as he sipped the coffee. Oliver approached him, passing by me with a mischievous half-smile, and ran a finger down Noah’s chest, trailing down to his navel. Before he could say anything, Noah’s free hand shot out, gripping Oliver’s wrist, preventing him from venturing any further. 

            “Let me finish my coffee first,” Noah murmured, his voice low and husky. 

            Oliver responded with a throaty laugh, the sound sending a jolt of anticipation coursing through the room. 

            I couldn’t find rest until nightfall came. Despite my insistence that Noah and Oliver let me catch some much-needed sleep in bed while they entertained themselves on the sofa in the room, they conspired together to convince me otherwise. They argued that it would be better for me to expend the last of my energy and then enjoy a more restful deeper sleep. 

            As if our first night together each time we reunited was ever a night of rest, of course. 

            How naïve I was to entertain such notion, considering that I always allowed them to have their way with me both before and after dinner. 

The first day in London was a whirlwind, leaving Noah and me feeling drained and struggling to regain our footing. The subsequent days, thankfully, unfolded at a gentler pace. We indulged in the luxury of sleeping in and enjoying breakfast in our room, accompanied by tender moments of cuddling, sweet kisses, and the occasional lustful touch. 

            While I briefly talked to my brother on the phone the second morning, Noah took out his MacBook from his bag and started working, which caused Oliver to scold him because we had all agreed that this vacation would be work-free. I couldn't help but shoot Noah a disapproving look, too, which quickly transformed into a gentle shoulder rub and a heartfelt conversation. I couldn’t stay mad at him for too long. I reminded him that he didn't need to be so hard on himself and that it was perfectly acceptable to disconnect from work for a while. Nothing would happen. 

            I understood, though, that part of Noah’s reluctance to let go stemmed from his deep-seated fear of everything that he had built crashing down the moment he stepped away from his responsibilities. For months —even years— I’d been trying to help him to get rid of this fear, but Noah’s stubbornness matched his dedication to his work. Bad Omens was everything to him. When he had nothing, he had the band. I knew I wasn’t the perfect role model in this regard, but I was making an effort to help him let go, offering some reassurance that morning in London as I massaged his tense shoulders and tempted him with the multitude of activities we could do during our time in the city. 

I’d been to Camden Town before, but spending the day with Oliver and Noah proved to me much more fun and memorable. We lost ourselves in the maze of market stalls, where eccentric vendors tried to sell their stuff with infectious enthusiasm, and stumbled upon a booth selling quirky hats and accessories, where we tried on an assortment of those, collapsing into fits of laughter as we admired ourselves in the mirrors. 

            But the highlight of that day came when we stumbled upon a street performer—a magician with gloved hands and a twinkle in his eyes. He made us stop by pointing towards me insistently with a finger. I would have ignored it weren’t it for Oliver, who pulled me, and per consequent, Noah, who has holding onto my other hand, to stand in front of the man. He took out a deck of cards from his pocket, and without uttering a word, he made me choose one of them. I couldn’t see them for they were facing down. I didn’t take long to choose one and flip it around to be met with a card called the Ace of Pentacles. I raised an eyebrow, for I had no clue what it meant, and by the look on Oliver and Noah’s faces, they didn’t know, either. 

            For the first time, the magician spoke with a grin on his face. 

            “Something new will be offered to you, young lady.” 

            “Something new?” I repeated automatically. 

            Noah let go of my hand. When I turned to him, he was glaring at the man with a mix of suspicion and disbelief. The man moved his eyebrows up and down as he stared at Oliver and Noah. I followed the movement of his eyes, expecting either one of the boys to say something to me. 

            But they said nothing. Oliver handed the man a few coins and pulled me away from him.       “What was that about?” I asked as he hurried me through the people crowding the alleyways. 

            “Just some street magic,” Oliver replied, his tone casual, but his eyes betraying a hint of unease. 

            Noah, still struggling to keep pace with Oliver’s determined strides, wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Yeah, just a gimmick,” he chimed in, his voice a soft murmur against my hair. 

            “He was definitely trying to tell me something.”

            Oliver glanced at me, his brow furrowing slightly. “It’s just a street performer, love. They say things to entertain.” 

            “He was probably just trying to keep the act interesting,” Noah added. 

            “That’s why you’re both trying so hard to dismiss his words?” 

            “That’s what you think we’re doing?” Noah replied.

            “You’re being blatantly obvious.” 

            Oliver shared a look with Noah and then shook his head. I slapped his chest, demanding his attention. He replied by wrapping his arms around me and muttering his next words between gritted teeth. 

            “Just let it go, babydoll. Don’t be so stubborn and let things be.” They were definitely hiding something, but it was also obvious that they were not going to say anything. “How about we grab something to eat? I’m starving.”

            The idea of food was a welcome distraction, and I nodded eagerly in agreement. 

            Together, we weaved our way through the maze of food stalls, the tantalizing aroma of various cuisines wafting through the air. We settled in when we found a free spot, and the tension seemed to dissipate. 

            But try as I might, I couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that the cryptic words from that man had a meaning, maybe something that somehow involved Oliver and Noah, and perhaps even me. I had more reason to believe that when I caught them talking about it again after they thought I had wandered to a vintage toys stall in the underground area of Camden Town. 

            “That was some creepy shit back there, man,” Noah said to him. “How the hell did he know?”

            “He didn’t know anything,” Oliver retorted, trying to sound confident in his words, but he failed miserably, and he knew it. 

            “Dude,” Noah replied, insistent. “I saw the look on your face.”

            “Well, I prefer to ignore it, or better: let’s get her s—…”

            I couldn’t grasp the rest of the conversation because a group of teenagers accidentally pushed me and pulled me further from Noah and Oliver, dragging me to the opposite side of the shop with useless apologies and giggles. I sent them a sullen look and made my way out, looking for my boys. 

            I found them after a few minutes, coming out from a packed shop in a corner that was surrounded from every corner, top, bottom, and sides, by merchandising from different movies, series, and bands.          

            Noah was putting his wallet  back in the front pocket of his jeans while Oliver carried a quite big box. I raised an eyebrow. 

            “What did you buy?” I asked when I was in front of them. The three of us moved slightly to the side to let the tourists move through the narrow alleys. 

            “Something for you,” Oliver said. “Noah told me you’ve spent the last couple of weeks watching Chucky so…”

            “We got you a Tiffany,” Noah finished as Oliver faced the front of the box to me. 

            I blinked as the replica of Tiffany Valentine stared back at me with her singular smile. She was dressed in her wedding gown and a biker’s jacket, and she looked just as malicious as she was in the movies.

            “Oh, my God, guys,” I held the box, keeping it at a fair distance to examine the details of the doll. “This must have costed a fortune. What were you thinking?!”

            “That crazy guy back there said that something would be offered to you so… I guess he was right, after all,” Noah replied.

            I licked my lips and looked at them with a face that said, “seriously?”. But how could I neglect the joy at the fact that they had thought about gifting me a collectible of this magnitude?

            “Where are we going to keep her? In the room? You’ll both get freaked out in the middle of the night if you get up to go to the bathroom.” 

            “We’ll go together, holding hands,” Oliver joked. 

            And with our laughs mixing with the sounds of the market, we moved forward. 

            Come evening, we made our way back to the city center and enjoyed a warm copious meal in a restaurant in Covent Garden. 

            The next day, walking along the banks of the Thames, hand in hand with my boys, the whispering breeze brushing against our skin, we sipped hot chocolates. I was holding Oliver’s hand while relishing in the drink when I noticed Noah walking angrily at a certain distance. I let go of Oliver’s hand, earning a shocked look from him. 

            “You can’t both hold one of my hands and still expect me to hold a cup of hot chocolate. Don’t be so dramatic.” 

            With our voices mingling with the voices of other tourists and pedestrians, we walked the long way from Westminster to the Tower Bridge, sharing stolen kisses. While in London, we also hopped on the Jack the Ripper tour,shivering with excitement and clinging to each other as we delved into the city's darker past. Then, to lighten the mood, we ventured to the Harry Potter Studios, where Oliver couldn't resist teasing Noah relentlessly, suggesting how good he would look with Harry Potter’s glasses and a tunic, with nothing underneath. Noah's flushed cheeks and playful slaps on Oliver's chest only fueled the laughter that echoed through the magical halls.

The day we left London in Oliver’s Range Rover had me feeling a bit jittery, especially after we made our pit stop in Sheffield for lunch and to pick up Luna before heading to Cumbria. 

            While I busied myself with packing groceries that Oliver had in the fridge and that would expire soon, I overheard the boys chatting upstairs. Being the naturally curious (and maybe slightly nosy person that I was when it came to those two), I had the intuition that they were discussing something they didn’t want me to hear. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d done that, after all. Plus, I still remembered that one time they argued and roared like lions to each other in this very room, accusing each other of hogging all my time. 

            I climbed the stairs, Luna trotting faithfully behind me with her tail wagging happily. When I peeked into Oliver’s study —a spot where he and Noah often locked themselves to work together—, I found them both bent over the computer screen, looking all serious. But as they noticed me, Oliver quickly closed his laptop. 

            “Is something wrong?” I inquired casually.

            “Nothing,” they replied simultaneously, their responses lacking conviction.  

            Noah brushed past me, planting a quick kiss on the crown of my head before smoothly transitioning to ask about our trip preparations. It was clear that he was attempting to steer the conversation away. 

            “What were you talking about?” I pressed. 

            “Work,” Oliver replied tersely, his tone final. “I’m sorry. That was the last of it. We’ll stay away from all of it during the trip.” 

            You better, I wanted to reply. 

            However, I wasn’t entirely convinced, and not in regards to this last statement. Perhaps they were simply hashing out some night scenario that involved sex toys and all those things they liked to use when the three of us were in bed. The thought momentarily eased my apprehension, though a part of me couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something.  

The trip to Cumbria took about two hours from Sheffield. We made a brief stop in a rural village to allow Luna a chance to stretch her legs while we refueled the car and enjoyed a cup of coffee and a snack. 

            Arriving at the chalet by Ullswater Lake just after five in the afternoon, the warm glow of the summer sun still lingered, promising us a few more hours of daylight to enjoy. After receiving the keys from the chalet host and familiarizing ourselves with the property, we decided to take a walk by the lakeside and play with Luna, who seemed even more static than the three of us at the prospect of spending a few days away from home.

            The serenity of the countryside quickly enveloped us, offering a respite from the hustle and bustle of our lives in the city. While Oliver and Noah unloaded the luggage, I decided to stay on the porch, basking in the new surroundings and peaceful ambiance. All I could hear was the birdsong, the rustle of leaves, and the gentle lapping of water against the shore. 

            “Doll, you comin’ in?” Oliver’s voice broke through my moment of enchantment as he enveloped me in his arms.

            “Yeah,” I replied with contentment, leaning into his touch. 

            “We’re going to have a good time here,” he mused. 

            I hummed in agreement, savoring the intimacy of the moment and wrapping my arms around my middle, where his kept me securely pressed against his chest. 

            “Especially our pretty boy back there,” he teased, casting a playful glance over his shoulder towards the inside of the house, where Noah was. 

            “Thank you for doing this for him,” I acknowledged.

            “I know he needs it the most, but this is for all of us,” he explained, a hint of exhaustion creeping into his voice as he recalled the challenging months leading up to this moment. “We haven’t had proper holidays the three of us together since… forever.”

            “We’ve been dating for a year and a half,” I reminded him, unable to suppress a smile at his melodramatic flair.  

            He responded with a mock growl, his actions sparking laughter between us. 

            “Come on, let’s go in. You’re going to love the bedroom.”

            He led the way inside. 

            The interior of the house had a rustic charm, with wooden planks adorning the walls and ceiling. The sofa faced the towering windows that stretched from floor to ceiling, offering an uninterrupted vista of the swaying trees and the tranquil expanse of the lake, its surface shimmering in the dappled sunlight. There was also a stone fireplace (not that we would use it, but it added to the coziness of the house). Adjacent to the living room, the kitchen lay open and inviting. Noah had left the food bag on the countertop, next to a water-filled vase that held a bouquet of white flowers that the host had placed right that morning, as a welcoming sign.  

            There was one guest bathroom and, inside the suite, a main one with a bathtub. The suite had a grandiose plush bed dominating the space. Either Oliver or Noah had placed the Tiffany doll box in the middle of it, propped against the bunch of pillows that were calling to me.

            Noah was crouched by the tall windows on the far end, taking out some stuff and clothes from his bag when Oliver and me made our way in. 

            “It’s practically begging you to dive in, isn’t it?” Noah chimed in from the floor, gesturing towards the bed. Opposite the bed, a large mirror hung on the wall, the reflective surface capturing the play of light and shadow that danced through the room.

            Beside Noah, there was a cozy long divan. For an innocent instant, I conceived the idea of laying there with a book in my hands and a steamy cup of tea next to it, totally unaware that I would be propped there in all fours with no book nearby in less than twenty-four hours. 

After the evening walk, we entertained ourselves preparing a light dinner meal that would suit everyone’s tastes. Balancing Oliver's vegan diet and Noah's muscle-building goals wasn't always easy, but we managed. I wasn’t too picky myself, so I was happy with whatever was on the menu.

            With dinner done, we headed out to the porch overlooking the lake. Feeling witchy, I prepared a pot of lavender tea and served us a cup each. By eleven o’clock we were comfortably settled, wrapped in hoodies and blankets in the chairs provided. Noah was snug in one of his hoodies, but Oliver was barefoot, though. We talked for a while, going over through the activities that we would do while in Cumbria. The moment I noticed that the talk was steering back towards work-related topics, I brought back the talk about the house. We’d been thinking about moving in together and find a place in Los Angeles, and even though we had gone house hunting a few times, we couldn’t seem to agree on one house, and I had the nagging feeling inside of me that maybe Oliver and Noah were still not ready to take that step, even if we would spend half of the time away from each other with their tours and Oliver having his family and most of his life in England.  

            As the night deepened, our chatter gradually subsided, giving way to a peaceful silence that allowed me to take in the things I should be grateful for. 

            With a contented smile on my face, I looked at my boys one last time before allowing sleep to take over me. One of them lifted me into their arms and guided me into the house and to the bed. It didn’t matter which one it was. They both felt like home whenever I was tucked against their bodies. 

            They were home. 

It was ten thirty in the morning when I came out from the bedroom, where I had been rummaging through my clothes looking for the swimming piece I had recently bought. My heart swelled with a mixture of tenderness and concern as I found Noah seated on the sofa, his brow furrowed in a deep frown as he stared intently at his MacBook screen. I told him so many times to leave the laptop back at Oli’s house, but to hell if he would ever listen when it came to these things…            Without a word, I approached him, my fingers finding his back and gently starting to massage his tense shoulders. A soft sight of contentment escaped his lips at the touch, but it was clear that the burdens weighing on his mind ran deeper than simple muscle tension. 

            Outside, the joyful sound of Oliver’s voice drifted in through the open door, accompanied by Luna’s excited barks as they played fetch by the water. Through the windows, I watched as Oliver, shirtless and with his hair all over the place, tossed the ball into the water, Luna running after it without hesitation and jumping into the lake. 

            A minute later, Oliver was in the water, too. 

            “Let’s go,” I said to Noah with encouragement, releasing his shoulders. 

            He turned his head to me with a dramatic pout. I just gave him a look and proceeded to lift his MacBook from his lap, placing it on the coffee table before taking Noah’s hand and guiding him towards the door. 

            Finally outside, Luna’s eager bark greeted us from the water. She emerged from the shore and trotted to us, her wet white fur glistening in the sunlight as droplets flew through the air. I reached out to pet her head, feeling the cool moisture against my skin, while Noah crouched down to squash her cheeks and shower her with affectionate whispers. 

            I shed the thin beach robe I wore and left it draped over the armrest of one of the wooden chairs that Oliver had moved to the deck earlier that morning. With my hair cascading down my back, I made my way to the edge, oblivious to the lingering stares of the two men, one behind me, the other one already in the water. I dipped my hand into the water before diving in headfirst. 

            As I submerged beneath the surface, the weight of the world seemed to lift from my shoulders, replaced by a sense of weightlessness and freedom. I swam further from the deck, distancing myself from Oliver. My limbs moved in harmony with the rhythm of the water. In the distance, the silhouette of another house peeked through the trees, a solitary boat resting on its landing. The only sounds were the distant barking of a dog that wasn’t Luna and the gentle rustle of leaves. 

            Just as I was about to start swimming back to where I had last seen Oliver, I found him and Noah already in the water, their smiles radiant in the sunlight as they swam towards me. 

            Noah dipped his head, and as he came back to the surface he shook his head, causing water from his hair to splash in my face. I shielded my face with my hands, laughing. In no time, he had me wrapped in his embrace, peppering my neck with kisses. I hugged him tightly with my arms and legs around him. Moments later, Noah gently nudged me towards Oliver, who pulled me close with a perfect smile.  

            With his hair being longer, Oliver's locks cascaded around his face. I lovingly pushed them back, tucking them behind his ears, and I couldn't help but laugh at how different he looked with his wet hair slicked back. He said something as he raised an eyebrow, but his words were drowned out by Luna's leap from the dock. With a tennis ball clutched in her mouth, she swam over to us. Noah grabbed the ball and threw it far, prompting Luna to paddle after it will all her might. For the next hour, we played with her, reveling in the simple joy of the morning. After the tumultuous year we had endured, both personally and professionally, this vacation felt like a much-needed oasis in the desert.

            I felt a swell of pride, not just in myself, but in the two incredible men I was sharing my life with. 

            After a while, I found myself in Noah's arms again, letting him rock me side to side in the water, my head resting against his shoulder, my skin wrinkling from all the time we'd spent in the lake. Noah and Oliver were talking about a festival anecdote from the previous year in Milan, while Oliver absentmindedly toyed with Luna’s worn tennis ball. She was lounging lazily in the sun on the deck. But the boy’s conversation eventually dwindled into silence, a quietness that I only noticed when I felt Oliver’s chest against my back, his lips pressing a tender kiss to my shoulder. I smiled, nestled against Noah’s body.

            Suddenly, Oliver’s hand, which had previously been resting on my waist, slid down to the seam of my bikini bottom, making me gasp. Noah was observing my reaction with a mischievous grin. Two seconds later, he deftly located the strings of my bikini top and skillfully untied the knot.  

            My questions about what they were doing went unanswered. 

            A wave of panic surged within me when the two pieces of clothing were removed from my body and I was suddenly naked in the water. I looked over my shoulder to Oliver only to find him swimming back towards the deck. Panicking, I looked at Noah. I was about to tighten my grip on him when he disentangled my limbs from his body, kissed me on the lips quickly, and also started swimming away from me.

            “Guys?”

            No reply.

            “Guys!” I screamed, my voice barely above a whisper, my eyes scanning the surroundings to make sure we were alone.

            With no preamble, they got out of the water, meeting on the deck with my bikini pieces in hand, exchanging amused glances before turning their attention towards me, floating in the lake with wide eyes, trying to understand what the purpose of this was. Laughing, they headed towards the chairs, Oliver pausing at the outdoor shower to cleanse himself. Before turning on the water, he tossed my bikini bottom to Noah, who caught it in a swift movement of his arm.  

            “Are you kidding me?” I muttered to myself as I watched Oliver enjoy his shower and Noah have fun examining my bikini with an interested look on his face, as if it was something he had never seen before. 

            Nervously, I kept glancing around me, aware that if someone decided to come out from those houses in the distance or some people in a boat drove past this place they would see me, for the water was clear enough to reveal my nudity. 

            This wasn’t fun. Or at least not until I realized they had no intention of returning my swimming suit. The spectacle was too engaging for them to give it up so soon.  

            I licked my lips in a nervous attempt at sorting out my options. As much as I enjoyed letting them do these things, they were pulling on my strings, and you know that saying ‘two can play at a game’? Well, three can play, too. 

            So, I swam my way back to the shore and climbed the ladder, letting the water cascade off my body, down my breasts and my legs. I stood at the edge for a moment to sweep my hair back, relishing in the stunned expressions on their faces as their eyes scanned my bare body on display.  

            Yes, they had expected me to stay in the water and beg for my bikini. 

            Without sparing them a glance, I walked confidently back to the house, grabbing my towel on the way and wrapping it around me. As I entered the house, I looked back one last time to see their mouths agape.  

            I stuck my tongue out at them and headed towards the shower in the bedroom’s bathroom. 

It had not even been twenty minutes since I stepped into the bathroom to wash myself. While drying my hair, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror, sporting a naughty smile. The dirty girl in me was just waiting for the provocation to pay off. 

            What took me by surprise was how quickly the anticipated scenario unfolded the moment I opened the bathroom door.  

            I wasn't even given time to look forward to the night. 

            Oliver and Noah were standing in the doorway leading to the bedroom, each casually leaning against one side, still wearing their trunks and their hair still slightly damp. They looked at me expectantly, wicked smiles playing on their lips.  

            It looked like a scene straight out of a movie, really. These things rarely happened in real life. 

            Knowing that minutes of pleasure awaited us –or perhaps hours (I was allowed to be optimistic)–, I provocatively slipped a finger into my mouth, teasingly nibbling on the tip while fluttering my eyelashes a couple of times. 

            Oliver's eyes traced a path up and down my figure, lingering on the expanse of my legs where the hem of Noah’s white t-shirt I had borrowed ended. Little did he know, I wasn’t wearing any panties, just like the time we attended my brother’s Jack engagement party. My mind had truly turned into a perverted thing. Just thinking about what we had done during that evening made me shiver with anticipation, imagining what could unfold today. 

            “Get on the bed.”

            The command didn’t come from Oliver or Noah, bur from my own lips. The startled expressions on their faces made the courage it took me to assert myself like that in their presence totally worth it. 

            Noah arched an eyebrow. 

            “What did you say?” 

            “You heard me,” I replied, unable to suppress the smile that crept onto my face despite the efforts to maintain an air of determination and dominance. The situation was electrifying, fueling an adrenaline rush that promised to leave me grasping for air.

            Oliver was the first to comply, albeit with a hint of reluctance, his gaze trailing me from the doorway to the expansive bed. He settled against the headboard, but I shook my head, silently motioning for him to lie down. Then, my attention turned to Noah. 

            “Noah?” My eyes met with a look that suggested he had a different idea of how things should unfold. I nearly rolled my eyes. 

            “Noah, could you please get on the bed?” I emphasized the ‘please’, hoping to appeal to his cooperation. 

            “Now that’s more like it,” he responded, finally acquiescing. 

            As I turned to retrieve something from the dresser where we had kept some of our stuff, I did roll my eyes. You might not be able to take the Dom out of Noah, but I was more than ready to keep trying, if only for the fun of it. 

            In the back of the top drawer, I found what I was looking for: two pairs of handcuffs. A smile played on my lips as I examined them before turning to face the guys. 

            They were both lying on the bed side by side, their heads slightly raised to watch me. Confusion tinged their expressions as they observed me standing there, the pair of handcuffs dangling from my fingers.           

            “What do you think you’re going to do with those?” Noah questioned as I approached him, taking his left hand and guiding it towards the bars of the bed’s headboard. 

            “It’s about time we turned the tables, don’t you think?” I replied, securing the first cuff, noticing how Noah’s expression was becoming strained. 

            “Baby, you don’t want to do this,” he protested. 

            “But you’re letting me, aren’t you?” I softened my voice, sweetening my tone. 

            Noah pursued his lips, a nervous twitch appearing in his jaw. 

            “I’d let you do anything. That doesn’t mean you have to take advantage of having me at your feet,” he argued. 

            “Don’t you think I deserve a little payback for you leaving me naked in the lake?”

            “You didn’t seem too upset when you came out of the water, doll,” Oliver interjected, lounging back to enjoy the interaction between me and Noah.  

            “A woman has to learn to govern herself, especially is she’s with two perverts like you two.”

            “I’m not a pervert,” Noah protested again. 

            Click. With both wrists now secured to the bed, from my position at the foot of the bed, the image looked tantalizing. But it was evident that Noah wasn’t comfortable not being the one in control. While my initial intent was merely revenge, I began to consider that perhaps this could end up helping Noah relax and let go. He was a control freak and a perfectionist, qualities I benefited from, but which could also burden him. 

            Noah tested the strength of the restraints, growing more frustrated as he realized his attempts were futile. The handcuffs were sturdy; they weren’t freaking toys.  

            I wasn’t too sure that Noah would withstand what I wanted to do to him without starting to plead for release, but it was worth a try. 

            “Dude, you are a perv,” Oliver said. 

            “Just because I enjoy sex and having fun during it doesn’t make me a perv,” Noah defended. 

            “Are you sure about that?” The other man challenged him.

            “Absolutely. Call me whatever you want, just not a pervert.”

            “Kinky lover?” I suggested. 

            “Hm. Yeah, that works for me,” He finally agreed. 

            Oliver’s laughter at the interaction ceased abruptly when I seized his wrist, securing his left hand alongside Noah’s right. 

            “What?” I spoke. “Did you think I was only going to tie up Noah? You took off my bikini bottoms,” I pointed out. 

            “Who’s laughing now, bastard?” Noah grunted. 

            Unlike Noah, Oliver submitted to being tied more readily, without making grumpy faces and pulling at the handcuffs. He simple observed with particular attention as I bound him.

            To secure his left wrist, I had to climb onto the bed and pass one leg over his lap, kneeling over his shorts. 

            “Are you not wearing any underwear?” He suddenly exclaimed. 

            Immediately, Noah’s eyes also dropped to the space between my legs. 

            I hurried to fasten the handcuffs, then stepped off the bed, pulling the shirt down to cover myself. 

            “Are your trunks still wet? I better take them off,” I suggested.

            “Yeah,” Oliver whispered, impatient and wide-eyed. “Take them off,” his words were accompanied by the not-so-subtle movement of his hips. 

            Noah, at his side, was growing increasingly hot and tense. He remained silent, only lifting his hips slightly when I indicated for him to do, allowing me to drop both their trunks to the floor. 

            To tease them a bit more, I stayed still for a moment, admiring their bodies, relishing in the sight of what they had between their legs. 

            Yeah, those were mine. 

            I licked my lips, alternating my gaze between the two. With the intensity of my stare, Oliver’s cock twitched slightly. 

            “Don’t move,” I instructed as I walked backwards towards the luggage. 

            “Is that some kind of joke?” Noah questioned, irritated.

            I retrieved a tiny light blue lingerie set from my suitcase. I hadn’t planned on wearing it until the last night, but it seemed like debuting it now could be fun. I rushed to the bathroom and locked myself in to change. 

            I didn’t spend more than five minutes there, but Oliver and Noah were growing so impatient. 

            When I opened the door, I was nervous, but at least, seeing them both securely tied to the bed alleviated some of it. 

            Their complaints dissipated the moment they saw me. As much as I would have loved to revel in a delicious torture and watch them fight against the restraints, watch their cocks grow harder and harder just by watching me, and thinking of what they might do to me and what I was going to do to them, impatience was already taking its toll on me, and the butterflies in my stomach were dancing anxiously.  

            I climbed onto the bed and positioned myself between the two bodies, placing my hands on their thighs. I caressed them, warming the skin of their legs as well as the skin of my own hands.

            I initiated the warm-up by kissing Oliver, a little reward for behaving. He responded hungrily, his roar muffled by the intensity of our kiss. Tracing my lips along his jaw and down his neck, I savored the sensation, eliciting withheld moans that mingled with the sounds of Noah’s struggles against his handcuffs.  

            I may have had only one mouth, but I had two hands.

            I slid over to Noah, offering him a smile before pressing my lips to his. As I kissed and nibbled, my right hand trailed down Oliver’s chest, tracing the patterns etched into his skin from memory, reveling in the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. When I placed my palm face down, I could feel his heart racing. 

            Noah’s contentment, however, surprised me.  

            I had expected him to beg in a hoarse, choked voice to let him go, unable to bear being at my mercy, so mine was the surprise when instead, he asked me to touch him.

            I repositioned myself, glancing at Oliver before complying with Noah’s request. 

            “Touch him, doll,” Oli said. 

            My left hand moved down Noah's chest, past his navel and through the dark pubic hair before reaching his throbbing member and encircling it with my fingers. Noah let out a sigh that held all the air he had been holding inside. I tugged at him at the same time that my mouth descended through his neck until my lips landed on one of his nipples. He sucked in a breath. His back arched a little, and I took that as a notice to use my tongue to toy with his nipple, nibble at it and suck on it, just the way he loved doing with mine. 

            “Fuck…” 

            That was a glorious sound.

            I settled at the foot of the bed, and leaned down to caress the tip of Noah’s cock with my tongue. He tilted his head back, eyes closed. He was hard as a rock. 

            Beside him, Oliver wasn’t in much different condition, but his eyes were open, and he watched with lust and a fierce hunger the movements of my tongue, lips, and fingers on Noah's cock. 

            “Watch,” I told him, “because everything I'm doing to Noah I’ll do to you next.”

            I loved Noah’s taste. It was a potent blend of masculine essence with a tinge of salty and earthly kick. A surge of pride swelled withing me each time I witnessed how deeply I aroused him. That look of total pleasure on his face? I did that.

            With my mouth on his cock, Noah’s moans filled the room, resonating through the walls. The art of sucking him off was a dance I had mastered long ago, a rhythmic symphony orchestrated by the movements of my lips and tongue, the occasionally scrap of my teeth and a tortuous suction, guided by the music of Noah’s vocalizations. 

            However, I could sense he was holding back. A furrow appeared between his brows; his struggle evident as he strained against the handcuffs. After a few minutes, a vein in his neck began to swell. Next to him, Oliver muttered a curse, his own erection hurting for being neglected while his eyes couldn’t wander away from my ministrations on our pretty boy. 

            Soon, when I felt Noah tense in my mouth, on the brink of release, I withdrew. 

            “No!” He shouted, lifting his head in a rush. “Babe, what are you doing?” His tone was desperate, evident in the rapid rise and fall of his breath. 

            Running a finger across my lips, I moistened them before shifting my focus to Oliver.           “It’s Oliver’s turn.”

            “But— I didn’t come.”

            “And you won’t. Not in my mouth. Not now.”

            His brown eyes widened further as he watched me descend, mouth open and tongue out, towards Oliver’s cock, which was already glistening with precum. 

            “Goddammit, yes…” Oliver mumbled, smiling as he finally rested his head on the pillow, more than ready to succumb to the pleasure I was going to give him. 

            But as much as I wanted to recreate myself on him, and given that I’d assured him that I would repeat the same steps as I did on Noah, it was impossible. The spectacle I had put on with Noah’s cock had already pushed Oliver to the edge. If I were to repeat the same seductive dance with him, he would come in my mouth in less than a minute. 

            And I didn’t want that. 

            Oliver was more vocal than Noah, less inhibited in his desires. Louder. He welcomed me with complete abandonment.

            He hadn’t yet fully engaged with the suction of my mouth when he strained against the handcuffs. As I lifted my head, I noticed that both he and Noah had their eyes closed and they were holding onto each other with their hands clasped together on the headboard.

            How sweet. 

            When I pulled away from Oliver, I remained kneeled between them at the foot of the bed. They were covered in a layer of sweat, their flushed cheeks and erratic breaths emphasizing their captivity—they were tied to the bed, and they were mine.  

            I felt stupidly happy. 

            “That’s it? You’re not going to let us come?” Noah queried. 

            I shrugged, my hands on my knees. 

            “Maybe if you play your cards right…”

            “You know we always do,” Oliver declared with a certain roughness in his voice, now tugging at the restraints. 

            “I’m going to release you,” I said to Noah, positioning myself over him and stretching my body so that my still covered chest hovered above his face. “But only if you promise not to pounce on me like a lion as soon as you’re free.”

            In response to my warning, he playfully pretended to want to bite me, lifting his head and opening his mouth before closing his jaw. The gesture made the three of us laugh. 

            Releasing him, Noah’ didn’t lunge at me; instead, he grabbed my head to bring our lips together. 

            “One of us is still tied. This isn’t fair,” Oliver complained, tugging on the handcuffs for emphasis. 

            Raising an eyebrow with one of Noah’s hands still on my cheek, I retorted, “Don’t talk to me about what’s not fair when I spend half of the time tied to the bed and at your mercy.” 

            “Maybe that’s exactly what we should do now,” Noah interjected. “What do you plan to do about this, huh?” He asked, gesturing towards his reddened erection. 

            “I’ll take care of that,” Oliver declared, “if this feisty kitten decides to let me go.”

            I muttered a playful ‘whiner’ as I moved to Oliver’s lap, unfastening the handcuffs, and letting them fall onto the bedside table next to the keys. In a swift movement, Oliver pushed me onto the bed, eliciting a small yelp from me. His hands swiftly went to my underwear, starting to pull them down. 

            “Are these new?” He noticed. 

            I nodded. 

            “This is fucking sexy. This color looks so good on you,” he complimented as he ironically slid down my panties, tossing them onto the floor. “I’m sure Noah is having the time of his life, aren’t you?” 

            Indeed, Noah’s eyes were roaming over my chest. Being a man who had a particular interest in the underwear I wore, he admired the details on the design of the lacy bra before leaning in to pull the fabric covering my left breast down. Then, he placed his mouth atop of the peak of my breast and licked. 

            A moan escaped my lips. 

            “Always so sweet…” he murmured against my skin, “and so responsive. It only adds to the pleasure.” 

            Yeah…

            Just as with any of their touches, the sensation was intoxicating, and I didn’t want Noah to stop, but Oliver interrupted to insist my bra was unnecessary and I should be naked, always naked. Noah readily agreed, wasting no time in attaching his lips to my breasts again as soon as I was as naked as they were.   

            “I know she’s delicious, but I told you I’d take care of you,” Oliver reminded Noah, “so get on your back.”

            With a pleased smile, Noah complied, kissing my lips one last time before laying down next to me. 

            “He doesn’t have to say please?” I teased, raising an eyebrow at Noah. 

            “Don’t be so jealous,” he said to me, extending an arm to grab my forearm. “Come here.”

            I thought he wanted me to kiss him while Oli sucked him off, maybe cuddle him, and perhaps watch him as he came undone, but then he said, “Sit on my face.” 

            Even though it wouldn’t be the first time, the proposal always made me flush. Nonetheless, I couldn’t hide my excitement, a fact that Noah was quick to notice, a big grin spreading across his face as I shifted on the mattress. 

            “You love sitting on my face, don’t you, baby?” 

            I straddled Noah’s inked chest and leaned forward, feeling his hands grip my buttocks as he helped guide me. 

            “Wait a sec,” Oliver stopped us, causing Noah to glance from the side and above my thigh and prompting me to turn my head. 

            Oliver trotted towards the door, where Luna stood, undoubtedly confused by the scene before her. 

            “You shouldn’t see this, pretty girl,” Oliver said to her. “This one here is already corrupted, but you’re still a pure soul, so I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to close the door.”

            Like the good girl she was, she didn’t say anything. 

            Oliver closed the door and took a moment to open one of the windows on the right side of the bedroom, given that the temperature was quickly escalating indoors. 

            Noah’s laughter rumbled against my thigh as he placed a kiss before refocusing his attention on me. 

            “Hold onto the headboard if you need to. Or pull at my hair, I don’t mind.”

            I took a deep breath and gripped the headboard. I felt his breath between my legs. I closed my eyes momentarily to savor the sensation of his hands enveloping my thighs, pressing me down on him, and the anticipation of what was to come. 

            When I glanced down for a moment, I caught him softly murmuring a tender ‘I love you’ before his mouth found my center.  

            And I melted. 

            Already floating on cloud nine, Oliver kneeled at the edge of the bed and grabbed Noah’s ankles, pulling him towards him. In response, Noah tugged at my legs, prompting me to extend my arms so I could still brace myself against the headboard. 

            “What a fucking glorious view,” Oliver muttered, and I could only imagine. But my thoughts were quickly replaced when Noah’s lips and tongue worked fervently on my clit. By the way his fingers dug into my skin, I knew that Oliver finally had his mouth on him. 

            Even with a window open, the temperature in the room was rosing up steadily, matching the pace of my increasing heartbeat. Noah’s tongue moved with precision, expertly teasing and tantalizing me. He knew exactly how to play with me, using the tip of his nose to rub against my clit before letting his tongue snake out and wander between my folds. 

            As our moans intertwined, Noah’s movements intensified. His focus on me unwavering even as Oliver perpetuated a delicious torture on his cock, which caused a symphony of pleasure and curses to fill the air. The momentum kept building up, with Oli taking him deeper and deeper with every bobbing of his head and scrap of his teeth. Noah pressed me down harder to his face, and the pressure and suction on the spot between my legs was growing increasingly maddening. 

            It never led to madness because at some point Noah’s teeth trapped my clit in between and a sharp cry of pain escaped from my lips, breaking the haze of our pleasure.

            The reason: Oliver had sucked his tip in a way that nearly made him lose his sanity. In response, Noah accidentally bit my clit. 

            “Baby. Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” 

            His hands gripped my waist and pulled me down onto his chest, his eyes searching my face for signs of distress as I kept a hand between my legs, my eyes closed shut and my teeth scrapping my lower lip. 

            “What happened?” Oliver asked. 

            When Noah explained, Oliver burst into laughter, causing Noah to scold him before he shifted a bit to check my face again.

            “Baby?”

            “That was… not nice,” I managed to say, though my gaze softened as I opened my eyes and looked at Noah, his face adorned with pink swollen lips and traces of my arousal. 

            “I know, baby. I’m so sorry, it wasn’t on purpose,” he apologized, his hands stroking my arms.  

            “It’s ok. I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. 

            I reached out to touch his cheek and wipe away some of my arousal from his chin. He looked so beautiful like this, though. But I was suddenly lifted from atop Noah’s body by Oliver’s strong hands. 

            “Let’s see what all this pretty boy’s fuss is about.” He laid me down on the divan by the large windows overlooking the lake. His chest was glistened with sweat, and his scent mingled with mine, surrounding me in an heady embrace. 

            I took a deep breath as Oliver spread my legs open and inspected me closely. 

            “She looks pretty fine to me,” he said. 

            “I’m okay,” I muttered, feeling a twinge of shyness at the way he was observing me. 

            Noah came to stand on my side. In all honesty, they were a bit terrifying hovering over me while I was laying down. They would have made me tremble if it wasn’t for Noah’s concerned face. 

            “She’s wet and… very hard,” Oliver noticed, running his thumb up my clit, causing me to bite my lip and inhale sharply. 

            Noah bent down, running a soft hand through my hair and kissing my forehead. 

            “Doll, tell Noah you’re okay, otherwise his erection is going to turn into a withered flower.” Oliver’s joke made Noah roll his eyes as he stood up. 

            Instead of reassuring him verbally, I lifted myself on my elbows and directed my attention to his still-hard cock. With my eyes locked on his, I Indulged in tasting the tip once again, teasing him with my tongue. 

            “You sure you’re okay?” He struggled to say, losing focus. 

            “I’ll be better when I have you in my mouth and Olive between my legs.” 

            His expression shifted from concern to disbelief and then amusement. Yeah, he still hadn’t wrapped his head around the fact that he had me. He had me in every possible way. And he had Oliver, too. They both had me and I had them. 

            With one hand, I took Noah’s length into my mouth, pumping him until he groaned, his head falling back in a mix of pleasure and vulnerability. His hands remained clasped together behind his back, emphasizing his muscular form. 

            Meanwhile, Oliver’s lips trailed a path of kisses up my thigh. Usually he was one to nibble, but it quickly dawned on me that maybe he was concerned, too, about Noah accidentally biting me, and he opted for keeping his touch soft and gentle. 

            “Do you have any idea how fucking good you look when she’s blowing you?” Oliver’s words to Noah were a seductive whisper, who made the young one struggle to swallow under his intense gaze. “Next time we’ll get her on her knees, and you will stand before her, with a full-length mirror in front of you. You will see your reflection while she tortures you with that sweet hot mouth, and there I’ll be, right behind you,” Oliver murmured, planting kisses on my legs, his green eyes fixed on Noah as I continued to suck him off. His words weaved a spell around him, Noah’s throat tightening, leaving him momentarily breathless as a drop of sweat slid down his temple. “I’ll get my hands on that fucking tight ass of yours and give you whatever you ask for. How does that sound?”

            A heavy breath suffocated Noah. His reaction prompted Oliver to laugh at how easily he got both of us in this state. 

            “Hold her head,” Oliver instructed Noah, displaying again that face that said ‘let’s get to work’.

            Not that Noah wouldn’t have done it. They were so considerate that they even worried about my hair breaking if it got stuck under our mess of limbs or pillows or whatever that was around. 

            Noah’s hands found the back of my head. He moved my hair to the said and positioned himself closer to me so that my head was nearly resting atop his thigh. I lifted a hand to reach for his cock and stroke it as Oliver kissed my chest and dipped lower until he reached my navel. He stopped. He used his thumb to trace a circle around it, and reverently, he kissed it and licked it, fondling that area of skin and cherishing it as if it was his favorite part of my body. 

            I found myself gradually descending into the depths of subspace, utterly captivated by Oliver’s every move, unable to tear my gaze away from the ministrations he was performing on the skin of my stomach.  

            One of Noah’s hands found the side of my face and gently caressed my cheek. 

            “Do you like it when he does that?” His deep voice was soft, tender.

            “Yes,” I managed to breathe out, my heart racing, my mind filled with cotton. 

            I couldn’t really describe the feeling. Noah was keeping me secured and comfortable against him while Oli pressed kisses on my lower tummy, which felt another level of intimate when they were placed on my navel. 

            “You love it when we’re all sweet and nice with you, don’t you?” Noah continued, trailing strands of hair behind my ear. 

            Oliver answered for me.

            “She loves it.” 

            I mirrored Oliver’s grin of satisfaction. 

            My boys. 

            “But you like us feral when we’re inside of you,” Noah’s voice dropped, and it didn’t matter that we were already naked and touching each other: a shiver ran down my spine. 

            “She’s so receptive to everything we do or say,” Oliver remarked, some sort of amazement in his voice. “She’s fucking perfect for us, man.” 

            And they were perfect for me.

            Oliver stepped back, standing up. He lifted my legs, while Noah extended his arms to reach for my ankles, spreading me open for Oliver. As Oli positioned himself at my entrance, he rubbed his cock between my folds, teasing me. Meanwhile, Noah was about to stretch back to retrieve a condom from the nightstand and pass it to Oliver when I shook my head. 

            “No,” I said. “I want to feel you. No barriers. Just your skin on mine.” 

            Oliver’s eyes turned a shade darker.

            “What did a motherfucker like me ever did to deserve you?” 

            “If you have to ask that question maybe I’m not doing a good job at showing you how thankful I am for your love and affection…” I teased. 

            Oliver clicked his tongue and bent down to kiss me hard and passionate.

            “Look at her,” he said then, directing his words to Noah. His voice tinged with desire. “So needy.”

            The observation wasn’t a tease; it was a simple acknowledgment of the truth. I was indeed needy, overwhelmed with ecstasy at the realization that this was my life, my men, and that we were all totally happy and satisfied with each other, in every aspect possible. 

            Noah took hold of one of my wrists, securing my arm against his thigh, allowing me to use the other to his pleasure.

            “She’s soaked, isn’t she?” 

            “A complete mess,” Oliver concluded, “which only makes… this… smoother,” he finished huskily as he slid his cock inside of me, one inch at a time. 

            The delicious stretch made me let out a moan from deep withing me and dig my nails into Noah’s thigh, seeking to anchor myself. I wriggled, trying to adjust to Oliver, yearning to feel him as deep as possible, to claim him as mine one more time. With a lift of my hips, I impaled myself on the last of his rigid length, gasping as he seared me with his heat. 

            Oliver eased back, teasing me with the almost withdrawal, each movement causing a fresh gasp to escape my lips, my moans growing louder with every thrust. Every nerve in my body tingled with awareness, every cell attuned to the rhythm of his movements as he pushed in and out. 

            “Faster, please.”

            “Yeah,” Oliver roared in response, his hands firm on my hips as he guided me to his desired pace. 

            My entire body responded to him, just as it did to Noah’s whenever he was inside of me, performing the same intimate dance.  

            “Your mouths are wonderful and all that, but man,” Oliver’s voice was strained, “there’s nothing like being inside of her.” 

            “I know. I know…” Noah moaned as I stroked his cock and attempted another long lick the best I could, given my strenuous position. 

            It took him less than a few moments to gather himself and tell me not to stress my neck, but Oliver’s intensified thrusts stole my breath, making me scream in ecstasy.  

            “That’s it, doll,” he encouraged, his hands urging my thighs open as they trembled under the force of his movements and the intensity of the sensations cursing through my entire being. “Get all tight on me.”

            Oliver looked breathtaking as he pounded into me, driving me closer to the edge. The colors of his tattoos appeared more vibrant, accentuated by the sweat covering his body. When I glanced up, I found Noah smiling at the sight, as if he cherished every moment of Oliver taking me to the brink. 

            His hand found my left breasts and squeezed. 

            “You’re so fucking beautiful when you’re about to come,” his voice trailed off as his lips found my ear. “I never thought I would enjoy the sight of another man burying his dick deep inside of you, but seeing Oli fuck you does things to me.”

            “Noah,” I whimpered in response. 

            “Yeah, princess. I know exactly what you need.” His hand traveled up to my neck. When his fingers tightened around it just the right amount to give me a new type of high, I thought I could die right there right then. “Is he fucking you good, kitten? Talk to me, come on.” His grip eased just a bit, enough to allow me to answer. 

            “Yes. God, yes. It’s so good. Please, more. I want more. Everything.”

            “You’re like a fucking renaissance painting,” Oliver said amid his struggle to form words, his breath heavy with desire, his body covered glistening. “Both of you naked, disheveled, you in Noah’s arms, holding onto him, his hand around your neck… He’s fucking thrilled to see you coming undone while you’re drowning in the pleasure I give you.” 

            When Oliver slowed his movements to get one knee on the divan and leaned forward, —to pull Noah into a kiss— I whined for not being able to move and share that kiss with them. I was trapped underneath the cage of their bodies, but oh if this wasn’t a sight to behold. I felt blessed and completed. We were a mess of love and lust and passion, and we couldn’t get enough of each other. 

            “Take her for a ride,” Oliver offered Noah, pulling away from me. “I can’t stop looking at that pretty mouth and those swollen pink lips and I’m going to die if I don’t get my cock in her mouth in the next ten seconds.”

            In less than ten seconds indeed, Oliver maneuvered me onto my hands and knees on the divan. I wasn’t sure if my limbs would hold me, but I had no other choice. Noah stood behind me, bending to shower kisses on my shoulders, back, and butt, while Oliver circled to stand in front of me, his gaze just as hungry. As he indicated for me to open my mouth, I complied because I was, after all, a good girl. But first I had to trace his stomach with my tongue, licking every tattooed inch of his torso and savoring the electricity of his body. Only when I reached the beginning of his happy trail, I put him in my mouth. 

            The intensity in his eyes mirrored that of a predator, hungry and primal. 

            His weight on my tongue was deliciously overwhelming. 

            “The sight of you taking me like this always drives me insane,” Oliver confessed, his hands tangling in my hair. “But you know what tops it? Seeing Noah take you from behind.” 

            As if his words worked magic, Noah slid inside of me, his hands gripping my hips as he pressed against me. “Kitten…” he murmured, holding himself back. “Fuck. You’re damn sure you don’t want a condom on?” 

            I shook my head as best I could, for Oliver was occupying every corner of my mouth and cancelling my ability to speak. 

            “Look at him, baby,” Oliver took his cock out of my mouth so that I could look back over my shoulder. I couldn’t really maneuver as much as I would have liked to, but it was enough to see Noah’s contorted face of pleasure, his struggling smile filled with adoration and desire. 

            His thrusting started a second after, his movements becoming more fervent with very passing minute, each thrust pushing me closer to the edge of bliss.            

            “You should see his face, baby,” Oliver said to me, holding my chin, “the way he’s pulling his hair back because you’re taking him to the edge. I’m not sure what to do, man,” his last words were directed to Noah. “I’m torn between taking your place and finish her off, and taking you and making you scream until you can’t sing until your next life.”

            “Fuck, man. Shut up. I won’t last long,” was Noah’s reply. 

            As Oliver’s hoarse laughter reverberated in my ears and Noah’s powerful thrusts shook my entire body, I summoned the last reserves of my strength to reach out and grasp Oliver’s cock. With trembling fingers, I guided it back into my eager mouth. I sucked him off for a long minute, tracing with the tip of my tongue the thick veins protruding from his length, licking the top as if it was candy. 

            Noah��s next thrust was hard and bordering on pain, but pleasurable all the same. I let go of Oliver to scream, the sound ripping through my vocal cords. Noah’s hands found my hair and he gathered all the messy strands to pull me towards him, tilting my head back until I was left with no choice but to stare at Oliver with watery eyes, my chin up and my lips parted, the saliva dripping from the corner quickly wiped away by Oliver’s thumb. In that moment, I felt completely exposed, vulnerable yet exhilarated by the raw intensity of the experience.  

            “Fuck,” Noah groaned.

            “Yes,” Oliver roared in return, grabbing my face with a hand and pressing his fingers into my cheeks. “You look so beautiful on all fours, letting Noah fuck you hard and deep. You’re so, so good for us, doll. And we love you so fucking much, you know that, right? We fucking adore the good girl that you are.” 

            I was a wreck. There was nothing I could do. I was done for. My heart was going to explode and so was the rest of my body. 

            Despite my helplessness, a prideful smile played on my lips, and Oliver kissed me through it, his touch a blend of amusement, desire, and profound love. 

            “Noah, you should definitely see her like this. She can’t stop smiling while you fuck her. It doesn’t get any better than this. We’re some lucky bastards.”

            Noah’s response came amidst his relentless thrusts, his words spoken with conviction and tenderness. Leaning over me, he enveloped me in a hug, his warm breath against my ear, one of his hands sliding down to my clit. “You’re perfect for us, kitten, so take what we give you, yeah? We’re all yours. Everything we have to offer is for you.”

            I was surrounded by their love and desire. I felt truly cherished and consumed by ecstasy. I wasn’t going to last much longer, and my orgasm was going to swallow me whole. 

            The air was thick with the scent of our worked-out bodies. Our desperate and raw moans filling the room, echoing off the walls as every nerve in my body ignited, higher, harder. Each touch, each thrust, pushed me to the brink. Every tingling sensation escalating, every sensation in every inch of my body was constantly awakened and pushed to the edge of feeling. My entire body tingled, the electrifying sensation turning into ache that crazily enough kept me thrusting back against Noah in pleas for more as I welcomed Oliver’s hot and frenzied release inside of my mouth, driving me to arch my back and press into Noah’s body, yearning for his release, too. 

            I wanted it all. 

            In the end, I didn’t even need much more than Noah’s movements and Oliver’s words. Their tempo had been a tortuous dance that had promised to send me over the edge, and I was just

about

to

fall

right 

over

it.

            “Eyes on me,” Oliver commanded, grabbing my jaw again. “I want you looking at me when Noah makes you come.”

            “Come on, baby,” Noah urged. “It’s right there. Just right,” one more thrust, “there.”

            It was there, and I took it with screams and trembles until my head fell on the divan, my body unable to hold itself, my legs spasming as Noah’s growls filled my ears and his cum spilled over my buttcheeks and lower back.              

A day later — Early morning

Noah's laughter shook his body, causing a ripple effect that had me giggling and squirming against his chest, where I was lying diagonally with my hand extended towards Oliver.  

            Oliver was sleeping face down. He had drifted off after a morning session of lovemaking in which Noah had taken me while I slept in his arms and Oliver had taken him—a chain reaction that had us falling one after another like a line of dominoes.

            Noah and I hadn't been able to fall back asleep, and now we laid intertwined in each other’s nakedness while Oliver’s breathing drifted intermittently above our hushed voices. 

            Being in a playful mood, Noah and I decided to tease Oliver, making comments about how much he snored. Oliver responded with a muffled grunt into his pillow. 

            Later, I found myself idly toying with Oliver’s curls until he grunted again and shifted away from us, turning his head in the opposite direction. That’s when my eyes fell on his nipples, and that’s where I teased him next. 

            Oliver swatted my hand and opened one eye. “Stop,” he ordered. “Why don’t you annoy your other boyfriend? That’s why there’s two of us.”

            I hummed in disappointment and then sighed as I rested my head on Noah’s chest, still looking at Oliver’s sleeping face for a few moments. The softness of his features eased my spontaneous frustration, the comforting touch of Noah’s hand running through my hair also helping. 

            “Did you sleep well?” Noah asked with a soft voice, careful not to disturb Oliver too much. 

            “Hmm,” I murmured, nodding as I rubbed my head against his chest. Shifting, I turned to lift my head and look at him. “You?”

            “Yeah,” he replied, “except for the time I had to get up to pee and the damn doll kept staring at me until I disappeared into the bathroom.” His finger pointed towards the boxed Tiffany on top of one of the drawers in the room, likely placed there by Oliver on purpose. 

            “So, Oli didn’t get up to walk hand in hand with you, huh?” I teased. 

            “Does he really look like he would get up in the middle of the night to ease my fears? He’s totally passed out,” he remarked. 

            “Not really,” Oliver chimed in from his pillow. “Not anymore, anyway, but I’m knackered.” 

            “Knackered,” Noah repeated, a hint of confusion in his tone. My fingers played with his brown strands of hair. The haircut he wore these days was my favorite. “What the hell does that even mean, dude?”

            I giggled softly.

            “You should know by now, love,” Oliver added, still speaking with closed eyes, one hand resting beneath the pillow. 

            “Worn out, tired,” I whispered to Noah. Then, I leaned in to straddle him and planted a kiss on his jaw, feeling the stubble under my lips. He’d probably decide to shave today, and I couldn’t wait to watch him, maybe even Oliver, too, standing together in front of the bathroom mirror with blades in hand. There was something incredibly attractive about watching not just one, but two men shaving. 

            I sighed loudly, feeling like I was still in a dream. 

            My lips traced the curve of Noah’s jaw until I playfully nibbled on his earlobe. Sensing my playful vibes, he turned my face towards him and planted a gentle kiss on my lips, his eyes locking onto mine with intensity. 

            “You were fantastic yesterday morning.”

            His words made my cheeks flush. 

            “Thank you,” I replied, feeling a warm glow spread through me. 

            “You know…” he began, “I didn’t want to fall in love with you,” his tone turned somber as his fingers tucked strands of hair behind my ear. “During those months when we were just having fun and having sex every so often… I was terrified of what I was feeling every time I had you in my bed, in my arms, and I told myself I couldn’t afford to fall in love with you; that I was not good for you. By the time I decided I had to stop fucking you, I realized I had fallen in hard long ago,” he took a deep breath, his index finger tracing the line of my nose. “Now, I don’t regret a single minute I’ve spent with you, any of the steps that have brought us here. And I wouldn’t want things to be any other way. You, me, Oliver. Sex, love, arguments; the sun, and the rain. Everything. I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in the world.”

            His words melted my heart, and tears welled up in my eyes. 

            Before they could spill over, Oliver’s voice cut through our moment of tender honesty. 

            “You two are really cute, seriously.”  

            Noah relaxed with resignation, rolling his eyes. I slapped Oliver’s bare shoulder, but my body sought his with desperation when I saw his beautiful eyes shine under the morning light streaming in through the windows, accompanied by his radiant smile. 

            I had everything anyone could ever ask for. 

We left the warmth of the bed nearly an hour later, after a tickling match and some cuddling. 

            I took longer in the shower that morning, thoughts of the day ahead and memories of the previous day’s activities mingled with the steam around me. I pulled my hair up in a bun in front of the dresser, and with my bikini on and a well-worn t-shirt that I had long since taken ownership of (and could no longer remember if it had belonged to Oliver or Noah), I walked into the bright openness of the kitchen and went straight to make myself a cup of iced green tea. 

            Through one of the windows, I spotted Oliver and Noah playing outside with Luna. 

             After pulling a few ice cubes out of the freezer, Noah's loud laughter drifted into the house through the door and open windows. I caught sight of him doubled over with mirth, hands on his knees while Oliver, not far off, lay sprawled on the grass, laughing as Luna affectionately licked his face. 

            Witnessing their happiness never failed to reassure me that all was right in the world, in our world. The nights when Noah’s health was a concern seemed distant now, replaced by a sense of well-being and contentment. Any lingering doubts Oliver may have harbored about this relationship or his place within it had melted away. We were a team. We were bound to each other. They loved me, they loved each other, and I loved them. 

            An incoming call on Oliver's iPhone snapped me out of my trance, forcing me to draw my attention away from the window as I reached for the phone resting on the kitchen island. 

            Seeing Amelia’s name flashing on Oliver’s phone screen, the same real estate agent that had guided us through potential homes for our future together as a trio a few months ago, caught me off guard. Memories of our discussions about the charming two-story house in a serene Los Angeles neighborhood, close to the house Jack and his wife Sylvie had recently purchased after getting married, flooded back. Noah hadn't been very decisive about it; He had a preference for other neighborhoods. But the main problem was that the house I fell in love with was way out of our budget, so we had ruled it out. Then we decided to leave house hunting activities for another time, maybe after summer and after their crazy schedules turned less chaotic. 

            That’s why I didn't understand why Amelia was calling Oliver. 

            Nevertheless, I answered the call. Amelia’s warm greeting reminded me of our prior interactions. When I told her that Oliver couldn’t be put on at that time, she seemed pleased to speak with me instead. 

            She started talking about paperwork and payments, which left me baffled. 

            “As I indicated to Noah and Oliver, after receiving the missing paperwork and the main payment, we would have the keys available in a matter of a couple of weeks. So, I was calling to let you know that you can come by the office to pick up the keys to your new home at a time that works best for you.”

            What paperwork? What payment? 

            The keys to my new home?

            I had no clue what she was talking about. 

            “Our new home?”

            “Sure,” she didn’t catch my astonishment, how lost I was in this conversation. “The one with the spacious living room and with the garden in the back, in the cul-de-sac. I still remember your excitement when you saw that room upstairs and shared your plans of turning it into a library. That was a fantastic idea!”

            I blinked, frowning even harder, and looked through the window for Oliver and Noah.

            “The house Noah and Oliver revisited when you were working,” Amelia added.

            It couldn't be. 

            Amelia repeated my name a couple of times when I didn't say anything. 

            I shook my head. 

            “Yes, yes, I'm here. Sure,” I forced myself to say, because I didn't know what else to say. “Um, we're on vacation right now. I guess when we get back next week we can stop by and pick up the keys.” 

            “Perfect. We've sent a copy of the signed papers to both Oliver's and Noah's email. If you have any questions or need anything else, please don't hesitate to give us a call.”

            “No, of course. We will. Thank you.”

            My hand was trembling as I placed the phone back on the counter. My mind was racing with thoughts, grappling with the implications of Amelia’s words—the sudden reality of a house, our house, in Los Angeles, already paid for. 

            In that moment of disorientation, a fresh morning breeze made its way into the house, followed by Oliver’s radiant presence and the sound of his laugh. Noah wasn’t far behind. They were dressed in their swimming trunks and simple white t-shirts, exuding a carefree energy and carrying with themselves the scent of nature, their hair moving swiftly with the wind. 

            They appeared almost ethereal, like angels descending into the room.  

            The morning light filtered through the windows as Oliver stretched his arms towards me in greeting, his graceful features illuminated momentarily before dropping at the sight of my expression.

            “Hey. What’s with that face?”

            “Did something happen?” Noah asked, sensing something amiss, too. 

            “I’m not sure,” I replied. “I just got off the phone with… Amelia,” my gaze flicked towards Oliver’s iPhone resting on the counter. “She said that we can drop by her office anytime to pick up the keys of the house.”

            After a moment of silence, Noah cursed under his breath.

            “Shit.” 

            Oliver took another moment to reply, his shoulders sagging as he licked his lips and placed a hand on his hip while sharing a quick concerned, disappointed look with Noah. 

            “You were not supposed to find out about the house until we were all in Los Angeles,” he admitted. 

            I frowned because there were no plans of being the three of together in los Angeles any time soon. That’s why we had planned this trip to Cumbria as soon as our days off coincided. 

            “We don’t even know when that’s going to be,” I said.  

            Considering their packed schedules, this short vacation was the only opportunity for the three of us to be together before our commitments to work pulled us apart again and Noah and Oliver drowned themselves in work. I also had to return to my job. I wished I could be on holiday for longer, but unfortunately, the demands of everyday life kept me tied to my mundane job in L.A.

            “Yes, we do,” Oliver corrected. “I’m flying with you and Noah back to L.A. next week.” He allowed me a moment to take it all in. His words carried a mixture of excitement and anticipation that was contagious, but my confusion and disbelief at the recent revelation were bigger. “I have a month off, and I planned on spending it with you two so that we could go through the moving-in process together and get everything sorted before I have to come back here for work. We thought that a month would be time enough to work on whatever needs fixing in the house and maybe make some changes. Painting the walls, work on the garden, converting that room with the garden-facing windows into the studio you mentioned wanting, and…”

            “Wait. Wait, slow down,” I interjected, raising a hand and feeling a whirlwind of emotions stirring inside me. “This is… I don’t understand.”

            “Why don’t we sit down?” Noah suggested. 

            Taking his cue, I sank into the soft cushions of the sofa, folding my legs beneath me. Oliver settled beside me while Noah remained standing, always unaware of the effect his long frame had on everybody else, especially on those who were sitting. But I could feel his nervous energy as he paced a little. However, despite both their worries, there was an undeniable spark of mischief crossing their expressions every other second. 

            “I thought you had work to do because you’re already over a year delayed on the release of Bring Me’s new album, and you,” I turned to Noah,” your schedule for next month is packed with photoshoots, interviews, and other meetings and stuff.”

            “Well, yeah,” Noah acknowledged, “but one more month isn’t going to hurt anybody, is it?”

            “I’m sure your fans will have something to say about it,” I chided them lightly. 

            “We all have personal matters to attend, so if things have to get postponed, they get postponed. Period,” he concluded. “This is more important.”

            This. Oliver, me, him. 

            “And it’ll be just a month, so that we can finally settle down,” Oliver added, his voice filled with determination and hope. 

            The phrase ‘settle down’ echoed in my mind, confirming that this was not a joke. I blinked repeatedly. 

            “So… Did you really— You bought a house?”

            “We bought you a house, yeah,” Noah confirmed with a smile, his brown beautiful eyes reflecting the depth of his affection. 

            A sarcastic laugh escaped my lips, disbelief mingling with gratitude. 

            “You don’t just buy a house like that. Especially not that house. It was way out of our budget and…”

            “We made some adjustment to the budget,” Oliver clarified, his tone firm yet gentle. He draped an arm on the back of the sofa, his fingers finding a lose lock of my hair. “You really loved that house when we visited it a few months ago, and we thought… after everything you’ve done for us…” 

            “What have I done for you?” I asked, feeling so utterly overwhelmed and undeserving of this. 

            “Doll, are you kidding?” Oliver said, a hint of offense creeping into his voice. “You have to start giving more credit to yourself or we’re going to have a problem here.”

            Ignoring his scold, and unable to shake off the sensations flooding me, I repeated, “You didn’t buy me a house.”

            “Okay, put it as you wish because technically, it’s our house now,” Noah said. “It’s for the three of us, so, if it sounds better to you, we bought us a house.”

            I had a knot in my throat and butterflies in my stomach. 

            “But I didn’t… I couldn’t… I can’t afford it,” I finally protested, my voice trailing off.

            “Who said you have to pay anything? This is a gift from us to you, because we love you and we want to have a place to call our own,” Oliver silenced my objections with a finger. “You threw a huge birthday party for me last November, Jurassic Park-themed,” he continued, a soft smile tugging at his lips at the memory. It had, in fact, required weeks of work to set everything up as I wished. Oliver was a fanatic of the Jurassic Park movies, and I thought it a great idea to celebrate his 38th birthday with dinosaur animatronics and a whole venue decorated as if it was a jungle. “And you were the one who managed to convince Nicholas and Jolly not to prepare anything for Noah’s birthday because he hates celebrating it. Instead, you took him to an escape room, then out for Mexican food, and finally to see the stars from Hollywood Hills because sometimes he’s soppy like that.” 

            Noah giggled at his comment, his eyes sparkling. The honesty and warmth of their words enveloped me, dispelling any doubts. 

            “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be going to bed alone,” Oliver continued, “thinking that I’m too much of a weirdo for someone to love me. And Noah would probably be locked in the studio, ignoring the growing headache in that big head of his.” 

            Noah responded to his comment by punching him in the shoulder, but Oliver’s response was to grab him by the back of his neck and pull him in for a kiss, then gazing deeply into his eyes before turning his attention back to me. 

            “You love me despite all my bullshit,” Oliver said. “You’ve given me a reason to find the purpose that was missing in my life. You brought Noah into my life.”

            “You brought the three of us together, baby,” Noah added with a soft smile. 

            “We would be a train wreck without you, so the least we could do was to get you the house of your dreams,” Oliver concluded. 

            At this point, tears streamed down my face, my whimpers mixing with laughter of joy. The overwhelming love and appreciation that filled the room leaving me breathless with emotion. 

            “You also bought me that really expensive replica of Tiffany Valentine” I commented. “How much more money are you planning of spending on me?”

            “Our entire bank accounts if that’d make you happy,” Oliver answered, pursing his lips to show that that was the least of his concerns.

            “You know money is not what makes me happy,” I answered, shaking my head. “I just care about being with you, building a life out of moments like the ones we’re spending here.” 

            “Then, there’s no point for this talk,” he added. “We got a house. We’re moving into our new place next week.”

            “We’ll sleep in mattresses on the floor until you select the furniture you want for the bedroom. We’ll let you choose,” Noah announced.

            “Oh, my God.” Reality sank in. Noah crouched down in front of me to wipe the tears for my face. “Okay,” I whispered to myself. “You bought a house. We have a house. This is nuts. It’ll take me a while to process it. I have to tell Jack; he’s going to be strangely happy about this. He’s going to give you both a pat on the back and finally be totally convinced that you love me for something more than just my pussy,” I joked 

            “Already did,” Oliver said. 

            I frowned, realization dawning on me. 

            “Don’t tell me Jack already knew about this.”  

            Both nodded, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to just wrap them both in my arms or throw a pillow to wipe the grins on their faces. They had this planned all along… 

            “You have to promise me something,” I said, turning serious.

            “You name it,” Noah said.       

            “What is it?” Oliver asked. 

            “You’re going to quit this bad habit of making decisions without me.”

            Even if I always benefit from those.

            “Oh, baby, but you love our bad habits.”

            And it had been far too long since I had willingly fallen down the abyss of those. 

Well, this is the end, but not the last time you'll be reading about them. I have a second bonus scene pending to post which I haven't finished yet. It takes place between BONUS SCENE I and THE EPILOGUE, and it focuses on the reader's brother's engagement party. There are some hints at what transpired during that evening in this epilogue, did you catch them? 🤭

And again, thank you so much to every single one of you that took the time to read this, reblog, and comment. It's been a wild ride.

Taglist: @girlfromrussia-universe | @oro-e-diamanti | @lma1986 | @missduffsblog | @bngurngheart | @winterwinchester | @jilliemiw86 | @sorrowsofsilence | @th4t-em0-k1d | @to-be-written | @thescarlettvvitch | @nonamessblog | @somebodyels3 | @starsomens | @ditto66 | @dominuslunae | @cookiesupplier | @midnight-eternals | @pennysky | @iknownothingpeople | @cncohshit | @ladyveronikawrites | @blackveilomens | @robabankfuckmickeymouse | @kageyasma | @concretedaddy2018 | @silentglassbreak | @thescarlettvvitch | @sammyjoeee | @pathion

#noah sebastian #oliver sykes #noah sebastian x oliver sykes #bad omens #bmth #bring me the horizon #oli sykes #noah sebastian fic #oliver sykes fic #noah sebastian fanfic #oliver sykes fanfic #bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #bmth fanfiction #oliver sykes x reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian x you #oliver sykes x you

[starheavenly]

(this was about a million more questions than I meant to send sorry! I got ahead of myself, answer what you’d like, no pressure.)

You mentioned Pharma’s codependency with Ratchet and how some deceptions would fake injuries (or actually get injured) to see Ratchet. How do you think he reacted to that? / Was he allowed to help medical visits at all (not saying they allowed him to surgery of course, but more like a basic check up and etc) or was that only after the whole redemption/recovery happened?

Speaking of Pharma’s codependency; how did that work out when Deadlock started to warm up to Rachet? Had he gotten enough work and healing in that it wasn’t an issue or was it a mess? XD (Would be wild of Pharma and Deadlock got along before they added Ratchet)

I'm glad people are invested in these three; they're obviously my favorites! Okay, just had my morning coffee, so it's time for a wall of text.

I still think my idea that half the Decepticons have a tiny crush on Ratchet is pretty funny. It was a little joke on the fandom since so many simp for Ratchet (me, it's me). I don't think Pharma ever noticed the correlation, though. Like I've said, I've moved on from the yandere idea, so Pharma isn't actively threatening people; he's just clingy. Maybe the cons stopped getting injured because they were wary of Pharma being around.

Honestly, I don't think Pharma is ever getting his medical license back. But at the same time, I think part of healing is accepting that you can't be the same person you were or do the same things you used to do. He probably just helps with tools and getting supplies. After a bit of recovery, he would get some of his snarkier personality back and be a bit of a backseat medic to Ratchet. He's healthier but still a control freak, that's for sure.

And Pharma obviously has a resentment to Decepticons in general, so he did not like Deadlock at first; but Deadlock didn't really care about Pharma nor Ratchet either.

This is a super silly detail, but Deadlock writes/talks to Cyclonus on Cybertron since they're all supposed to write to someone. Cyclonus is the one who convinces Deadlock to make more of an effort to get to know people (like how she got to know a little sanitation bot) Once Deadlock actually begins to try, he finds out a bit more about Pharma's whole deal. Deadlock discovers that Ratchet still cares about and helps Pharma even after what he did. Seeing how different Pharma was (a bit of a parallel to Drift/Deadlock), he begins to warm up to both of them.

(Pharma 100% cheats at their games of Go, by the way.)

And I know you didn't ask, but I didn't explain how/why Deadlock leaves Earth. He noticed how fond he was of Ratchet, and that scared him. He really didn't think he deserved any sort of redemption after all he'd done. Windblade and Chromia visit, and he steals their ship. Yes, there is Zenith!Wing. I have to design him, but he's a silly hermit who teaches Deadlock that there will be people willing to forgive him and care about him (also swords; he shows him how cool swords are). So Deadlock goes back to Earth as Drift! And my dratchma bias continues.

#okay that was long sorry i have so many zenith brain worms #tf zenith au #transformers zenith

[kaylawritesfics]

Hi love! I'm not sure if your requests are open, forgive me if they aren't. But can you do something for eddie x harrington!reader? I just think it'd be fun to read something like that. Maybe even being Steve's twin idk. If you're up to writing it, it can be a blurb, headcanon or whatever works best for you <3 thank you for your time and have a great day

+ hi! could you do eddie with steve’s younger twin sister who’s really shy and into pink and pastel things? thanks!

Dating Eddie Munson and Being a Harrington

headcanons

summary: what it’s like to date eddie munson while being steve’s twin sister

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader (harrington!reader)

warning: swearing, mentions of canon typical violence

note: i’m so nervous for volume 2 on friday

You and Eddie met in high school, however you ran in totally different crowds. You may as well have went to completely different high schools.

Being a Harrington sibling, you were pretty popular. Not as popular as your twin brother, Steve, but definitely well-known throughout Hawkins High.

You were most likely on the cheer team or played some kind of sport.

Eddie definitely hated you. Truthfully, he didn’t know you but he knew your brother well enough to assume you weren’t much better than him.

Steve was an asshole in high school and while he never actively participated in making Eddie’s life a living hell, he also never stopped Tommy H. from dumping a plate of school cafeteria spaghetti all down Eddie’s prized Hellfire Club shirt (on numerous occasions).

While he absolutely despised you and your brother, Eddie couldn’t help but stare at you in wonder as you twirled your hair and doodled in your obnoxiously pink notebook during third period biology.

There was something about you that fascinated him. You were more quiet and timid, only speaking in class when you were spoken to. He almost didn’t believe you were Steve Harrington’s twin sister.

He spent an entire year building up the confidence to approach you. While Eddie usually had no problem striking up a conversation, you scared the shit out of him. He was positive that you would laugh in his face the moment you looked up from that ridiculous pink notebook.

You and Steve would get out of practice around the same time he was leaving Hellfire. Everyday, he would watch as your brother flung a playful arm around your shoulder, laughing when you harshly shoved his arm off, complaining of the odor.

Eddie would beg himself to just walk up to you and say something like “Hey, my name is Eddie and I think you’re really, super pretty and like, totally out of my league but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime?” Then, he would talk himself out of it, deciding that that’s super lame and it’s probably not the best decision to ask you out in front of your douchebag of a brother.

Just when he had finally build up enough nerve, you graduated. He, however, did not and he was forced to spend yet another year at Hawkins High.

It was almost miserable for him to walk into yet another year of third period biology without the sight of you in your pretty pink skirt that rode up just a little too high when you sat down, making little notes and doodles all throughout class.

That sight was most definitely the reason he failed biology for the second time in a row.

He would see you around town or in Family Video, where you apparently worked with your brother and Robin Buckley, but he never approached you.

He totally gave up, choosing to focus more on DnD and actually graduating this year.

Then, things went to hell for Eddie and he found himself in your company more than he ever expected to be in his life.

Eddie was completely shocked that you and your brother weren’t the complete and utter assholes he sorta expected you to be.

He actually liked the Harringtons. Not just some lame crush, he actually found himself hoping that you, Steve, Robin, and Nancy Wheeler, of all people, would still want to hang out with him once this was all said and done. If all of you actually made it out of this, of course.

While in the Upside Down, the two of you actually get pretty close. Eddie makes it his mission to stay near you, just in case any of those creepy ass bats came back looking for trouble.

He really tries his best to strike up a conversation with you, but he’s still wildly awkward considering his feelings for you have come back ten fold.

He makes a comment about how the skirt you’re wearing is totally impractical for fighting interdimensional monsters, hoping to hear the giggles that he fell in love with the moment Robin made some stupid remark that you found funny.

However, given the current situation, you can’t bring yourself to laugh, responding with a “Well, I didn’t really have time to change before we got viciously attacked by demon bats.”

It’s not funny, but Eddie laughs anyway. His boisterous and unrestrained laughter is contagious and soon enough, both of you are fighting tears, bending over to catch your breath as Steve, Robin, and Nancy send you incredulous glances.

The ice is most definitely broken after that and you both find yourselves falling into easy conversation.

Neither of you notice, but from behind you, Nancy has to physically restrain Steve from interrupting your conversation and pulling you away.

After a few hours of mindlessly wondering about the Upside Down, desperately searching for a way out, the five of you finally come across the gate in Eddie’s trailer.

You can’t help but recognize the stark contrast between his house and your own. His bedroom door is open and, even through all the modifications of the Upside Down, you can see how different his room is. While yours is filled with pastels and pinks, his is darker and the walls are covered exclusively with posters for various rock bands that you had never heard of.

Eddie, who often chooses the worst possible timing ever, watches as Robin tumbles from a makeshift rope into his real trailer and before you can make your way up the rope, casually mentions “You know, once this is all over, I know a really good place we can get a cheeseburger. Maybe we could see a movie or something, too?”

He doesn’t meet your eyes, choosing instead to focus on the weird interdimensional portal above his head. Steve furrows his eyebrows in confusion as you smile at Eddie, giggling when you realize his nervousness.

As you climb the makeshift rope, you grin down at Eddie, “I’d really like that, Munson.”

He grins back up at you, filled with a sudden motivation to get the hell out of there.

#stranger things #eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x harrington!reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things eddie #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson headcanon #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #stranger things imagine #stranger things 4 #steve harrington x reader #stranger things headcanons #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington x sister!reader #steve harrington platonic imagine #steve and eddie #steddie #st4 #joe keery #joseph quinn #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington x y/n #billy hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #harrington!reader

[wintergrew]

Kydi is pretty ded at the moment so here are some of my HCs

I'm not "Kyle forgives Heidi for the Cartman shit and redpill/antisemitism right away and they get together immediately." At all. I view them as not really being around each other at all for the rest of Elementary School and all of Middle School.

I like to think they get together for real in high school. They are both incredibly smart and in all the honors classes together.

They get paired up on an assignment and it's really fucking awkward, given their history. Kyle knows that Heidi has been unassuming and presumably kind enough outside of those few weeks with Cartman, but like...he doesn't know what she really thinks nowadays. Heidi also (deservedly) assumes Kyle probably still hates her for what went down.

They get along, but things are still extremely awkward as both have their guards up and are unwilling to address the elephant in the room. As it becomes increasingly clear they're both attracted to one another, it gets increasingly awkward.

Eventually as the mutual pining bubbles and bubbles, one day Kyle just sorta straight up asks her about all of it. Like "Hey remember all that shit with Cartman and you calling me a filthy Jew? I think we need to talk about that before anything else."

Heidi is genuinely remorseful for all that shit. She's been trying to make amends in terms of putting her efforts to positive charities, activism, etc. But the biggest problem is that instead of addressing what she did, she tried to pretend it never happened. And well...she was literally only ten years old, but Kyle and her actually discuss things like the more mature teens that they have become.

Only after they air out all that baggage and work through it, does Kyle finally formally ask her out.

Once they're together, however, they become absolutely insufferable to everyone else. Over night they become that obnoxiously perfect nerd couple that are obsessed with each other, finish each other's sentences, and seem to always be on the same wavelength. Stan is happy for Kyle, but he gets super annoyed in the beginning.

(Note: i do like style, but in universes i think of where Kydi is a thing Stan and Kyle only have platonic feelings for each other.)

Kyle and Heidi stay together the whole time. Even Creek break up temporarily (Creek is my OTP and isn't a slight against them, I love them getting into petty fights and saying they're done for good when it's clear to everyone that's bullshit) but Kyle and Heidi just... don't. Which doesn't mean they don't have arguments like any couple, they're just that annoying couple that never breaks up.

At the same time, it's not like they're hated or anything (except by a seething Cartman). It's mostly light-hearted eye rolling. I see them both as decently popular in high school.

As an adult, Heidi converts formally to Judaism. Kyle isn't extremely religious (and it wouldn't be an Orthodox conversion) and he'd marry her even if she didn't (so it's not just a "marriage conversion") but she genuinely wants to. Plus, she knows it means a lot as it's matrilineal and means their kids will be Jewish.

They have a nice Jewish wedding shortly after they get their bachelor's degrees and have kids after they get their graduate degrees. I like to think that the kids in post covid are theirs.

They both have decent yet not-flashy jobs, and are both very family-oriented and a very cute and happy family💕

#sp kydi #kydi #south park #heidi turner #kyle brovlofski

[chibivesicle]

Asks that I will never really answer. My apologies; life gets busy and I get distracted.

I'm dropping these here today, so I can clear out some of the asks from my inbox. Apologies for some of these going back to when Trigun Stampede was still airing. >_< If I don't have a clear and concise answer, I'll let things sit in the inbox but they occasionally do fall off my radar.

Uuummm sorry Anon, I meant to give this more of a response but as I got angrier at Stampede, I just couldn't bring myself to give you a well thought out reply. My overall vibes for the Christian themes that were missing in Stampede had to do how they kept a lot of the surface content, images/style/design from the original but with the sci-fi emphasis removed the weird esoteric Christian stuff and made it look that way. Vash was more willing to engage with others in the original manga/'98 anime based on what Rem taught him. Yet, we never get why he does what he does in Stampede. By changing Wolfwood from being a traveling preacher where Vash lambasts him with 'thou shall not kill' the nuance of his character's moral conflict is lost. He's a trained killer for a quasi-religious organization that might be using a Zia in a really not cool way. We also do not see him act in a self-sacrificing way, which he does from the get go in the original. The angelic body horror was gone, replaced by a sci-fi reading of plants and the concept of plant worship was missing in there as well. There is a lot of internal dialogue that many of the characters pose through the anime and manga and its just gone from Stampede and it revolves around forgiveness, violence, and justice.

For me, the complete re-interpretation of the world and loss of the moral conflict that all characters show hurt the Christian (and Buddhist) themes that underpinned the original. It really came down to how the characters acted and talked. There is no point to a gunslinger who is almost completely passive when one who is active but uses a non-lethal method based on principle. There is a chapter where Vash gets taunted by some enemy for how bad his target practice is until they determine he was that accurate at shooting someone but not killing them. The best way to summarize is that they took some of the aesthetics of the original and didn't follow through on how the characters acted. There is so much contemplation in the original and that is missing in the remake.

Let's just make this a list: 1.) Leo would actually have a real girlfriend. I already have issues with White, I think adding her in as a quasi-girlfriend was a disservice to Leo's character. 2.) Zapp would be white. Less of a manwhore perhaps? 3.) Chain would be cute as opposed to cold and distant. No drinking assholes under the table and vomiting in her bathroom later. See Meryl Stryfe.

4.) K.K. would have boobs, and somehow be more sexy than an awkward and doting mother. See Rem and Luida. 5.) Steven's scar would be smaller or missing to make him a real lady killer. Either they'd lean way too far into Steven's shady side or they'd clean it up completely. Like he'd wink at women as opposed to sleeping with them to get intel. Be Klaus #1 fan! But like all the time, making himself to work too much. His hangry side would either be missing or played up for laughs. 6.) Zed would be dropped because he's the non-human team member. What's the point of having him? 7.) Luciana Estevez would only appear in her super sexy doctor form not her silly clone or normal form.

8.) They would try to create lore and filler to explain things that you have to assume are just how things work. Or they would info dump as opposed to leaving it up to you to worry about things and figure it out from the context. 9.) The entire cast gets aged down, because having a bunch of 30+ cast members who don't have all their shit together is too embarrassing aka very realistic. e.g. K.K. has a house husband (not a good mother like Rem and Luida in Stampede), Steven will die single and alone, Daniel will die single and alone, Patrick carries a torch for Guinness but is single, Abrams is a walking disaster.

10.) Character designs which are super unique and fun, especially in the manga all get 'isekai treatment' were they look homogeneous. The whole point of the diversity of the cast is lost. Women are short and cute, men are tall and slender or tall and buff. No other options.

11.) They attempt to rationalize the 13 Kings and give deep meaning behind their behaviors. Which maybe we will get that someday, but part of the fun is how fucking chaotic they are.

12.) Hellsalem's Lot is an empty city. Somehow, the city lacks people on the streets and we don't get the rooftop betting scene between the giant stomping creature and super-sized Riel. Sex, drugs, gambling are minimized in their version.

13.) The entire Prosfair story line is cut because it is so fucking bizarre and awesome; they wouldn't understand the point of the entire game.

14.) The OST is bad.

#kekkai sensen #trigun anime #answered ask

[creatoriginsane]

the bnha season 7 "thread"

decided to put it here instead of twitter bc i don't want the people who know me in real life that i'm a bigger weeb than i appear to be. i'll be updating this post as i watch, so keeping everything under the cut!

(memories ep1)

goooosh i remember when shonen openings were hype??? also, looking back, so much heroing has happened and not much academia. i wish mha took a page from world trigger, at least.

kouki uchiyama is def one of my favorite VAs now

shigaraki was a LOT more terrifying in the earlier seasons, like, the stalker/yandere "appeal" he had was so much fun

the Stain arc was definitely a highlight, and i wished they had more "ideological" arcs and conflicts like it

I WISH THEY TALKED MORE ABOUT THE STAKES AND SACRIFICES HEROES MADE/MAKE

(memories ep2)

WAIT EACH EPISODE USES AN OPENING FROM THAT SEASON??? god i almost teared up on this one??

lol, the league of villains now feel like actual losers (and i mean that as an endearment) they don't really plan ahead, huh? but i guess that's some change of pace compared to the smartass villains from before? but god, i wish we had smarter villains than this (i guess i'll just make one or some)

the AFO VS ALL MIGHT FIGHT!!! god the soundtrack too :( i nearly cried???

come to think of it, MHA will definitely be lotsa times greater (for me) if they had elements of Tiger & Bunny, World Trigger, and Samurai Flamenco

UNITED STATES OF SMASH!!! *literal sobbing*

You're next. *literal bawling my eyes out*

(memories ep3)

NOBUHIKO OKAMOTO, ladies and gents, a really, really, REALLY great VA

god, the deku vs bakugo fight here was real good for a honen like this (bot it won't be anything comapred to the run vs yukio fight in a future season of ao no exorcist)

as much as i love MAN ON A MISSION and how theirs songs are really hype, i just find this OP… a little… unfitting? idk, i think it fits more with the start of the war arc??? eh that's just me

also ARE WE NOT DOING THE OVERHAUL ARC??? that was one (if not my) favorite arc :(

TOUYAAAAAA goddamn

Also, I'm not too big a fan of the "endeavor forgiveness" thing, because i yearn for the day abusers are just cut off from their families completely. what endeavor did was an active choice that continues for YEARS, but i don't full dislike it. it's still better than other people (because at least endeavor acknowledges what he did and didn't run away from it)

if i think about it down, touya's backstory is real SAD but that doesn't excuse that he's a MURDERER with NO REASON

HIRO SHIMONO another reaaaaally great VA

NOBUHIKO OKAMOTO, ladies and gents, a really, really, REALLY great VA

god, the deku vs bakugo fight here was real good for a honen like this (bot it won't be anything comapred to the run vs yukio fight in a future season of ao no exorcist)

as much as i love MAN ON A MISSION and how theirs songs are really hype, i just find this OP… a little… unfitting? idk, i think it fits more with the start of the war arc??? eh that's just me

also ARE WE NOT DOING THE OVERHAUL ARC??? that was one (if not my) favorite arc :(

TOUYAAAAAA goddamn

Also, I'm not too big a fan of the "endeavor forgiveness" thing, because i yearn for the day abusers are just cut off from their families completely. what endeavor did was an active choice that continues for YEARS, but i don't full dislike it. it's still better than other people (because at least endeavor acknowledges what he did and didn't run away from it)

if i think about it down, touya's backstory is real SAD but that doesn't excuse that he's a MURDERER with NO REASON

HIRO SHIMONO another reaaaaally great VA

(memories ep4)

lol, baby wants to destroy the world

LOL HE REALLY DOES

Honestly, the S6 OP song is SO GOOD and the visuals are STRONG, def my fave so far (but like, Super Beaver's songs are all great)

Shigaraki's backstory is just so real and i wished this kind of situation was touched on more by the series, because the literal power dynamics between heroes-civilians-villains and powered vs unpowered is something i really like when it comes to the superpower/superhero genre

god i am not really excited for the full blast of the war arc because it's just fight after fight after fight :( and it's not like they're changing up their strategy from "physically beat them into submission"

#creatoriginsane talks #creatoriginsane watches #bnha #bnha season 7 #bnha s7 #mha #mha season 7 #mha s7 #my hero academia #boku no hero academia

[an-unraveling-unknown]

It's been a bit, and I think I've forgotten some. Can you give me a brief rundown of your little guys?

Hiya Bones, I WOULD LOVE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF RUNDOWN ON MY LITTLE GUYS!!! (thank you thank you thank you!!) (its not as brief as it should be I'm so sorry)

I still have yet to name this project: My first original project! I have no ideas for the plot LMAO /crying a little

Locke: Ancient android cursed to carry the physical fear of an entire very dead race of beings that they have identified as 'human,' the same thing they classify the people they see today. Travels a lot, he generally likes to keep moving - has taken up the mantel of unofficial psychopomp. Likes people (from a distance,) dressing up, engaging in human activism in whatever way they can, and Deimos. Dislikes having a lack of bodily autonomy. Was called 'Rue' once (Agender, but he has a fondness for He/They)

Deimos: Your local embodiment of human fear, and human fear specifically. Laughs in the face of gender on a daily basis, mostly due to the fact that he's a shapeshifter (generally shifting into the specifically held fear of whatever society he happens to be around) Drama queen, constantly makes either slightly too old or slightly too new pop culture references that Locke could never hope to understand, but he found a good audience with The Children. Deeply just wants social connection, a bit of a hard feat when you're immortal, and unfortunately something he couldn't find in Locke due to their own circumstances. For a while, at least. (Genderfluid, but currently favors he/him)

The Children: Collective term for all the people and non-people Deimos has unofficially adopted - still workin on them, but I CAN tell you that Charlotte (third youngest) has ties to 'Charlotte's Web' and the 1829 poem 'The Spider and the Fly' and also happens to be an anthropomorphic spider, while Marley is (probably) from Boston (youngest). Not all technically children by human standards, but pretty much everyone is a kid when you're Deimos's age

(other little guys below. forgive me for the massive text blocks)

Undertale AU: Some context, this revolves around two of my ocs in an au that is basically be adding non-canon context with plot; Sunny and Z!* Sunny ran away from home after extenuating circumstances and an argument with her parents, kind of as a 'last hurrah' of sorts, and Z tagged along because of his own reasons. Both of them found themselves in the underground and are now constantly wondering if they went and died about it because Undertale is actually a thing that exists in their universe

Sunny: He is a trainwreck, and is also probably the closest I'll ever get to a self-insert (but it's moreso me when I was 12-ish inserted into a 17 y/o's body). Compassionate at heart, she likes the sciences and being outdoors and philosophical things; math is latin to her (dead,) and she knows a fair amount of sign language. Utterly thrilled to be in the underground for the most part, something he and Z have conflict about - doesn't like talking about his childhood. Yellow coded as in warning (She/Him, Aroace)

Z: Also a huge freakin clusterfuck and Sunny's best friend, but Z is more contained than not. The funny one of the two, Super tech efficient, the fella loves cryptography and all things coding, made a rick-roll virus once on the family computer and now that very same computer exists half-alive in the garage - he'd like to be a game dev someday. Used to get hurt and sick a lot when he was younger. Z refuses to be alone with his thoughts, so he practically throws himself at anything declared constructive at a contstant rate, very much unlike his friend. Knows Sunny has a lot going on with the imminent move to Europe and all, but they shouldn't, cannot stay here damnit (He/Him, Straight)

*not their actual names, but they can't really say their actual names due to extenuating plot reasons and 'Sunny' n 'Z' is what Flowey called them upon first encounter.

BG3: The Baldur's Gate 3 duders!! neither Aeonian nor Monad really fit into forgotten realms lore, considering I picked them up from a separate Stardew Valley AU project and threw them at my current hyperfixation without a lick of research cos I figured it would be no problem. I was sadly mistaken, but we're making it work (even amidst the greek myth n gaelic folklore parallels which are now just outside-of-story meta)

Aeonian: My Tav!! Best put (in your words exactly) as a sad little tissue paper man. Unofficial bard and humanoid-shaped creature (Physical Embodiment of Death at Sea, to be precise) who is not normally humanoid-shaped, but is doing it anyway because their sister is missing and they have a guard dog complex to uphold. Looks like a very tall and very blue twig that could snap in the wind, but what they lack in intimidation they receive in cleverness and wit with a little bit of added bardic charmisa. They did not at all wish to claw themselves out of the sea with gritted teeth and sheer drive alone, and while they aren't necessarily cold, they also aren't here to make friends. This is currently being conflicted by the fact that they give a shit. Character development follows the rock cycle (They/Them, Demirose)

Monad: Aeonian's older sister and Embodiment of Life at Sea - the braver of the two, having ventured up to the surface first and kept going despite being kidnapped by pirates more times than ve can count on both hands - ve is here to have a good time and a good time only. Lively and charismatic, he loves the pleasures of life, people, life in general, and Aeonian. Took up the druid class, as she told her sibling, and was in the midst of learning how to wild shape before she went up on a surface outing one day and didn't come back. Ve's more secretive than Aeon knows (Ve/Her/Himself and very much a lesbian)

#oc #ocs #my oc stuff #i'd like to mention that I only included the Little Guys™ that i have sufficiently fleshed out - this post was long enough lol #THANK YOU AGAIN BY THE WAY I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THEM!!

[mikuni14]

I don't really know where Jin's recent "popularity" came from, he suddenly became the most talked about character 😄 Despite everything (I'll write later what "everything" is), I still like Jin and PheeJin is my ship. I decided to join the discussion by showing the life cycle of a PheeJin fan using my example: liking PheeJin at the beginning, because they are an interesting couple -> flashback and first surprise: Jin liked Non and was a member of the group that bullied him, although he was not involved in it -> Phee appears as NON'S BOYFRIEND -> this makes me like PheeJin even more, as an interesting and compelling couple -> A BIG HORRIBLE SCENE WITH NON that Phee and Jin couldn't handle -> this makes me even more interested in PheeJin because omg -> AN EVEN BIGGER HORRIBLE SCENE WITH NON WHO IS HAVING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, Jin is lying to the police, I'm shocked, I'm apalled, I'm heartbroken-> it makes PheeJin is even more interesting to me because jfc omfg-> I'm writing a post referring to this episode, in which I clearly point out that all the shades and nuances are no longer interesting to me because I can't force myself to forgive them that they are all safe and sound with their families and successful AND NON IS NOT HERE -> this makes me even more interested in PheeJin because how will the series get around this???

That's how it is 😁😘

Out of the group, I like Jin the most, because he was the only one who actively chose good, actively tried, actively did something kind for Non. I know that we are talking about Top, Tee, Por and Fluke, that they are nuanced, that e.g. Tee has a sick father, that Por has demanding parents, that they are kids, but we must remember one thing, all four of them ALWAYS choose evil when it comes to o Non. ALWAYS. And this isn't some stupid little evil, some stupid joke. Everything they do to Non is super serious and criminal, it's about money, it's the mafia, it's accusing of destroying expensive property, big lies, it's a serious sex scandal, it's police interrogations, it's also a never ending verbal and physical abuse. And ultimately - it is Non's disappearance. Jin had been trying really hard up to this point, although he failed several times. But I admit that mentally I can't get around how easily he lied to the police, how he then stands with all of them accepting praises for a work that wasn't his own, how he keeps in contact with all of them. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that they are all safe and happy and yes, Jin is there too, although he lets everyone know that he is unhappy, but he is still there. While Non is gone and his family doesn't know what happened to him and maybe they are still looking for him and these boys are the only ones with the clues. Maybe one day it won't bother me anymore 🙂 Maybe the next episodes will explain it more, or maybe I'll just get over it. But at this point, this is something I just can't forgive them for.

I admit that I chose the method of denial and waiting it out lmao. I still like Jin, or rather, I want to like him and I need to understand why he lied. I'm waiting to see why they all agreed to lie about Non. I miss the scene of reconciling the testimonies, because I don't believe that they, each of them, individually decided to lie. And out of morbid curiosity, I'm waiting for the episode with them after Non's disappearance, as they convince themselves that he really ran away with Keng... The power of delulu must be strong with them..

DFF is a truly brilliant series so far because it's able to create characters such as Jin that can make the fandom red hot.

#dead friend forever #thai bl #bl drama

[sparxaf]

S6: A Rant

Man, this season started off so promising. I was actually excited for episodes again. Now I'm just back to being exhausted with it. The branching is not well executed at all. The Grace situation is BAFFLING and there's no option to be a decent person and at least flat out tell her you want to pursue Ozzy.

And now, for something completely expected! Enjoy an impassioned, profanity-laced rant about Amelia!

Thar be spoilers ahead.

Fuuuuuuuck this ho sideways with no lube. All her sister talk is bullshit. I really don't care if she and Ryan cracked on, because fine. But the way she went about it, the way she neglected to tell me, and then blew off my feelings about it? Oh no. Bitch, you know better. We're Scorpio risings. Which means we never forgive and we never forget.

It's especially weird considering how vehement she was about not liking Jamal because he said he had feelings for Ivy and then got over her immediately... um. What does she think just happened with Ryan?

She had the audacity to act like it hardly mattered, since I didn't pick him anyway. Yeah, I didn't. But here's the thing. I could have. He was still pursuing me. It's weird and gross that this guy was actively trying to get with me and he's telling me he has all these super deep feelings, but he's been cracking on with my sister secretly? What's that about? Like they could have told me and that would have made my decision for me and they could have just been getting to know each other without being snakey. If she "knew" I wasn't going to choose him, what possible reason could she have to keep it from me?

Perhaps she simply has a ravenous appetite for my scraps.

This is the second time she's kept something from me when it comes to guys (that I know of). And acted like she did it for my benefit and like it didn't matter at all. My only angry option here was, "I'm annoyed with you." And her response was to act all giddy for me and my new partner as though it's all forgiven. She's so dismissive that they wrote actual dialogue for MC to say, "I said I'm still annoyed," and Amelia was like, "Oh well. Doesn't mean anything. Still sisters! Byyyyye!"

I have played nice with her so far. No more nice. I don't give a shit about Ryan. Other than feeling even more ick than I already did, nothing's changed there. But she seems to have a chronic issue with honesty and a lack of consideration for my feelings, and I have a big problem with that.

Honestly, there's a part of me that wants to pursue Ryan just out of spite. Then I throw up in my mouth a little, and I change my mind. Neither of them are worth that.

#litg s6 #litg spoilers #litg amelia #litg rant #litg double trouble

[sackfoo]

Stampy's lovely world ending

Spoiker warning of course!

No idea how I'm formatting this but here we go i guess.

I wanted to start off discussing the ending, which people seem split on. I personally kind of found it weird that we didn't get Stampy and HTT calling a permanent truce consideribg fight to forgive made it seem like Stampy was on the slow path to making peace with HTT. I was kind of waiting for it, some reveal that HTT didn't design the trap in the nether since it was kind of Stampy who made the decision to go to the nether, that HTT was working for a higher power against his will or something, that Stampy would find something at HTT's castle that put everything into context, i was REALLY expecting some sort of fake-out ending where things ended on a definitive note but where HTT realized he didn't want the lovely world without Stampy and would invite him to stay or chase after him like Veeva did, but that didn't quite happen. HTT doesn't get any sort of closure one way or the other, it's just implied he owns lovely world now and it's all super lonely and a hallow victory but we don't see that confirmed.

That isn't to take away from the episode though. If that's how Stampy wanted to end it who am i to tell him otherwise? I can see the intent behind it and respect it even if it's gonna leave a hallow hole in my heart that i am forever scared to fill again due to fear of whatever i fill that void with ending too, or worse, the people behind it turn out to be huge jerks and the community doesn't feel very safe. Wait what was i talking about again? Oh yeah, Stampy cat. I won't knock it for the ending being a little too heavy on the bitter rather than the sweet, it's a good episode and i can always just download the world when the download is released and all that, and assuming Youtube doesn't go bankrupt and all of Stampy's older vids don't become lost media, i can at least go back and rewatch all those old series whenever.

On the subject of people making content to fill the void and hopefully fostering a safe and inclusive community though, as i said in the past, I hope the ending of Lovely world pushes people to make more fun long term family friendly but also genuine content like lovely world. Stampy made these minecraft videos for so long and it always felt fun to watch him, it felt like he was being genuine the whole way through, there weren't a bunch of fast pased annoying edits and Stampy didn't feel like he was putting on this loud in your face persona to keep our attention, and most importantly, he was super kind and inclusive and respectful on top of being so imaginative and creative. I really wish there were more content creators like that on the platform. LGBTQ+ kids don't really have a lot of spaces to go where they can feel so safe and i think it's important that they have those spaces where they feel welcome.

Not saying those spaces don't exist but even when Stampy was still actively making videos, those spaces were fairly few and far between. I just hope that more people who grew up on Stampy take this opportunity and we get a renaissance of people making videos like Stampy and fostering communities like Stampy's while also bringing their own things to the table. SMPs maybe kind of fill that void but they're not for everybody (me included) and not what I'm talking about. The only other person i can think of that is closer to what i mean is Sqaishey, who is also amazing and feather adventures is still going for the foreseeable future, i just think it'd be nice if there were more people like Stampy and Sqaishey for kids to look up to and feel welconed by, as i have reiterated like 9 times in the last minute because I'm not good at making my point or ending a post like this.

#stampylonghead #stampy's lovely world #Lovely world finale

[transhet-lionblaze]

What’s up with fireheart in this au (please tell me he doesn’t die)

So far in my writing he's not dead LoL, he still becomes leader and everything. Most of the early game stuff is the same, he's a kittypet who was invited into the clans and joins it. He's mocked for being a kittypet, and is seen as weak. He's never been a good fighter, something he's mocked for, but makes up for it with wit along with good instincts and agility, but ThunderClan cats prioritize strength over all of that.

He's given Spark Blue as a mentor after being temporarily mentored by Tigerclaw, but most of the early stuff is focused on Firepaw and Spark Blue building up a relationship and having Spark Blue divulge secrets, such as Mistyfoot/Stonefur being her's and killing Thistleclaw and whatnot (since I think it's means more to hear it from herself then just. Finding it out later somehow LMAO)

Then the BIG change, Tigerclaw takes over, killing Spark Blue (still on the fence on whether he kills Lionfang or not but I'm leaning towards no) and gives Firepaw the most insulting name he could think of, Fireheart, which signifies weakness in Tigerclaw's mind. Fireheart is then exiled, and leaves.

He then decided he'd leave clan territory to find the rumored "BloodClan", and he does! Originally, Scourge plans on killing him, until he learns of Spark Tiger and becomes intruiged. Scourge thinks he's super smart, planning to use Fireheart to get revenge on the cat who almost killed him, but instead they form a brotherly bond together.

Scourge thinks he hates all his siblings due to Ruby and Socks, but grows to care for Fireheart.

Later, Fireheart is able to get other cats to join his resistance, these include:

-Sandstorm (works as a spy inside the clan) -Graystripe (also a spy and does more gruntwork, but later betrays the rebellion to save his kits) -Stonefur/Mistyfoot (Were exiled, still lives around clan territory and are the ones Sandstorm reports to since it'd be weird as hell for Sandstorm to leave the clan and come back smelling like twolegs LMAO) -Yellowfang (Was exiled before TigerClan, works as a medic for the resistance) -Also like. All of WindClan, who Fireheart found

And there's more I just need to like. Think up roles for them within the resistance. Basically, he and Scourge become leaders and are trying to take down Spark Tiger. They succeed, Fireheart doesn't have the final blow, actually a bunch of cats dogpile Spark Tiger while Fireheart watches. Fireheart is then proclaimed leader, decided since he was the leader of the rebellion, and Scourge became the leader of ShadowClan, and given the true name Scourgeheart to match with his brother.

Heart's now seen as a hero's suffix and is only used to honor those who are seen as worthy, this is due to Spark Fire/Shade Scourge

After Into the Wild, he still has kits with Sandstorm and forgives Graystripe, but they don't really talk much LoL. The kits have the same name as canon but they don't show up at all in the first arc so I don't have much written about them yet LMAO

Personality wise, he's much more somber in this one. He's caring and kind, but doesn't go out of his way to break the rules like his canon self does. Actively, he tries to impress his leader and is subservient to Spark Blue for the most part. He has a lot of the same flaws as Spark Tiger, such as overseeking of justice (the entire reason he led the rebellion) and this bites him in the ass as he sees things in a very black and white issue. This'll be talked more about in the second arc, when he's leader and trying to clean up the mess Spark Tiger made.

Random Other Stuff:

He/They Pronouns but I'll probs only use He/Him for consistencies sake in story LMAO

Bi

ENFJ - 3w2 - 317

Mate: Sandstorm

Past Mate: Graystripe (#divorce)

#warriors rewrite #Warrior Cats #Warriors Erin Hunter

[eliasdrid]

Three thoughts: since everyone and their mother calls build the best rider and I had a relatively mid experience with it and I see you had an awful experience with it…

number three but I put it first bc it’s the most important: why didn’t you like it? Sorry if you’ve made posts abt that—

number one, what do you consider the best rider show?

number two, have you seen kamen rider geats?

3 - Oh that wretched show (Kamen Rider Build)........................ I'll leave my full answer for last so I can just do a "read more" and spare people of spoilers for the show. The TL;DR is that I have a love/hate relationship with it, it starts really well but then it uh, it's like the show just forgets itself? does that make sense? I don't know, it disappointed me... My message to the world is: if you want to watch it (in my opinion) up to episode 33 it's pretty good, it gets worse later.

[note: edited this to be less harsh bc I liked a lot of the show in the end despite my issues with some choices and some people might think I didn't like anything at all]

1 - This kinda spoils the options for the poll a little but whatever. I got into toku this year with sentai so I've only watched Shin Kamen Rider (the 2023 movie) and then Kamen Rider Den-O (2007), Kamen Rider W (2009) and Kamen Rider Build (2017).

I don't think any of the shows are perfect but I think the most satisfying experience overall from start to finish was Den-O because it's a bit silly but consistent with it? So it's pretty enjoyable.

2 - Funny story... I started Geats but I couldn't click with it. I do think a lot of the suit designs are SUPER pretty though. Kamen Rider Geats, Cross Geats and Na-Go are my faves for sure (from the images and material I've seen).

3 - OK So let's do this. I have actually not done a list of all my issues with this show here in my blog but I have complained a lil to people I know and who have watched it (and shared my opinions). This is my personal opinion and I want to preface this by saying I'm a sci-fi nerd and I might have set the bar too high because it looked really promising to me.

SPOILERS FOR BASICALLY EVERYTHING IN THE SHOW

I'll get to issues related to characters first, I think that's easier:

Vernage could have been really interesting but she is equally under and overutilized when convenient to the point she's always doing everything with her last breath (until she does actually die... ) and shows up so sporadically you almost forgot she was still alive when she shows up again. It's wild because when she's introduced you're like? Oh? Will she give us lore and then die? Perhaps a clue to a secret weapon? Some secret power up? no!

Misora is never developed to her full potential despite going through a lot of stuff during the entire show. She could have had a more active relationship with Vernage and tap into some martian knowledge or be able to channel Vernage's power willingly but :/ Her dad literally ends in a coma and she is like... mostly unaffected? Doesn't talk about him? Idk, I'm not saying she should henshin because that's unrealistic with this show but she could have worked with Vernage to take revenge on Evolt for that (via helping the team). I WILL say, she does have her sad moments and her actress does a really good job, it broke my heart when she had her final conversation with Evolt!Soichi. But off that? She's an internet idol ^w^ and the glue that has to hold the team together even though she's like LITERALLY 18-19 and everyone else in their mid 20s and up???

Insanely enough Sawa's friend to spy to friend to spy to friend thing is decently executed so I can't complain much here.

Y'know what I can complain about though? Kazumi! Kazumi is such a character that I wanted to root for because he is so much about community once you get to know him and he has this good caring leadership vibe to him. This guy commits and this guy finds middle points and he can't forgive Gentoku but he asks anyway that he joins them and he even encourages him later to try and follow his father's footsteps. HOWEVER. HE IS A FUCKING CREEP OVER AN IDOL AND THAT UNFORTUNATELY IS MISORA. Bro is 29 years old demanding respect from Banjo and fangirling over a girl that is like... a real human being... who he actually gets to know. I thought their relationship would be... realizing she's a Real Human Being With Thoughts And Feelings but he never stops being a weirdo and it was uncomfortable... ☠

Isurugi Soichi... (not Evolt) underutilized as hell... we get this reveal that he can talk to Evolt near 33 and I thought "OH! Maybe he can influence him? Maybe this is what has been stopping Evolt from wrecking absolute havoc?" but as you might know/guess, this was not the case. There was a LOT of potential for a parallel with Him being posessed by Evolt and Misora being possessed by Vernage and Misora coming to terms with the fact that her dad got the worst alien buddy out of the situation but... they don't do this.

Evolt (Evolt)... my major problem with him is that the show literally tries to sell this "monster that didn't have feelings before" story on the last arc and it just... doesn't work? Because yeah, he's an asshole but like he clearly gets frustrated and excited and he clearly had a lot of feelings driving him around otherwise he'd not have gotten attached to the same human body for 10 YEARS and only hopped out of it when his "vessel" was complete.

Banjo, I got here finally, I deserve a medal. Not my kind of character but overall he's fine? The whole alien thing is done in the most boring way possible imo, idk how they did that but hey! The show is in such a hurry to go through as many small plots as possible near the end that it went super fast?

Sento! I can't talk about one and not the other! Overall Sento is a well done amnesiac protagonist until they make him go back to his old self to undo character development near the end for what feels like ages (I think it was just two episodes though?) and then he remembers and io and behold! he's Sento again but can remember some things from before. I have no words, it felt like he was going to stay like that for a second and all his character development would be undone. I think he could have remembered without having to go through that, I think he could have had conversations with himself without them just making him forget his friends so Katsuragi could have ONE chat with Gentoku. I think he was prone enough to monologue that he could have started remembering after Evolt by just. Literally talking to himself and finding his old self within him... like we could have had the same thing without the weird moment. I also think the whole arc with his dad suddenly coming back was poorly written... because? Suddenly he's not THE Genius and also Build wasn't "originally" meant for him even though it's hinted MANY times that it was Katsuragi who developed the Kamen Rider System entirely/mostly on his own. I think I could be ages here so I'm gonna move on by saying: it was bad.

Gentoku... my meow meow... I'm biased, overall I liked his character development and the Rogue drama was interesting? (it has a couple problems and more torture/blood than necessary maybe tho). His whole deal felt more straightforward than the rest and before he becomes a bit of a "joke" (with the identity fashion crisis and then the awkward moments) he has some really good moments of redemption. I really liked his speech in 39 when he feels bad about fucking up with Utsumi and is too injured to fight. ("Im not writing at 2 am edit": He has good character moments after 39 too! I understand they needed to kill the tension a little by making some fun of him and I liked some of it; the nepotism bit was really good! and his sacrifice was meaningful)

Honorable Utsumi mention because: what do you mean he was a cyborg??? That was so out of the blue and meant absolutely nothing because it's not... anything. For a show that did decent hints about things Utsumi suddenly being a cyborg because "haha his nickname was cyborg" and they maybe did one joke on an episode intro... it's really lame. Off this (which I needed out of my chest) he has a lot of missed potential and could (and should) have replaced Sento's dad as Evolt's "main" scientist because uhh he literally did the Sclash Driver and was very talented? Did the writer just... forget that? I guess so! It'd have been more interesting for sure if he had been working all along against Evolt fearing he'd betray Nanba but no.

I'm gonna go over plot things as quick as possible because I got too wordy with the character stuff:

The Pandora Box. I get it, it's a very convenient excuse but for a thing that Evolt seems to have created himself... they sure throw a last minute "but he doesn't know about this secret panel" I think... I think Evolt knows his funny little box for destroying planets and consuming their energy better than anyone on Earth...

The Sky Wall and the Pandora Tower. It'd have been SO much fun if, as I had hoped, the Pandora Tower was a massive labyrinth they had to figure out to get to the top and stop Evolt or some sort of ritual over a period of time...

The Show is called Kamen Rider Build! They do not build shit during the final episodes. I guess the Grease power up but he dies as soon as he uses it so that doesn't count. They literally got most of everything "solved" around the time Katsuragi made the Genius bottle so! They decide to reuse the Hazard Trigger to do something that is never hinted at (or makes sense if you ask me)... they don't even modify it 😭😭😭😭 They could have done something like before the proxy battle when Sawa and Sento do the modifications for Tank/Tank and Rabbit/Rabbit and have the team help Sento assemble a new device before fighting Evolt but no...

"Let's make a new world instead of properly defeating the bad guy" coward move! It also conveniently erases everyone's character development even if Sento and Banjo are "the same" in the new world it's just, a weird choice (I've been told they get their memories back in the specials or something but still ????)

Evolt destroying the world at random suddenly for his own amusement was really just an excuse to do the New World thing sellable and was really weird specially after the Be The One Movie in which he CLEARLY doesn't want Earth destroyed. He Loved Earth. He spent 10 slutty slutty years posing as a DILF and 3+ of them causing problems on purpose. BE REAL.

Also having Gentoku and Kazumi die was another way to make the "new world" thing more easy to digest because "see :( our friends died we need to bring them back :(" (idk man they were pretty decent at fighting, they could have not died!)

FINALLY. On the New World thing: A Post War scenario with the Kamen Riders helping rebuild the country and Kazumi and Gentoku in leadership positions, Misora reconnecting with her Dad and Sento trying to figure out how to use the bottles for good and more practical uses than fighting would have been much better...

anyway this got super long, I'm so sorry. Thank you for coming to my KRB talk. Kudos to you if you made it to the end, I probably have even more thoughts on this but we'd both be here forever. I'm locking this because people are weird about shows sometimes and I have seen people insist that Build is Really Really good when it's like. mid at best if you have to judge it from start to end.

additionally: I refuse to watch the specials <3 the movie (Be the One) was fine though, tbh it felt more on sync with the show than the finale. Even if they introduce the Blood Tribe guys only to kill them off. The Buid/Cross Z fusion bit was fun too!

#freezing-kaiju #ask #reply #elias toku tag #build spoilers #edited my wording a bit after a good night sleep in case anyone finds this and wants to read it - sorry if I was too intense...

[nellie-elizabeth]

Roswell, New Mexico: Missing My Baby (4x08)

I am so predictably easy lol. Literally you give me angsty Michael freaking out about Alex, and I'll forgive you anything.

Cons:

I really enjoyed this episode, but I'll of course try and step back and be objective about it! I think my main overarching complaint is that certain things in this episode would have been fine normally, but I feel a little weird about the pacing. I know that's a common refrain from me, but there are only five episodes left of this whole show, and it's a little concerning how we're still sort of lining up key pieces. Mostly, I'm talking about the Tezca stuff. It feels so late in the game to only now be clarifying the basic motivations and positions of our new characters. Clyde was my least favorite part of this episode, because the sinister reveal that he's the bad guy doesn't really hold weight when we saw him toss Dallas and Bonnie into quicksand last week. And what about the fact that Tezca is the one who quicksanded Alex? I just feel like the season spent quite a long time meandering before leading to this nexus point, and that does make me worried about what we'll be able to fit into the final episodes.

The big character thing that I need to mention this week... it's our girl Liz. I love Liz, I like having a female protagonist who is allowed to be messy and make these big mistakes and all that jazz, but this week she really, really rubbed me the wrong way. She's going around acting like she's the one who has the right to make big decisions on other people's behalves. She's the one who decides to keep Alex's disappearance a secret from Michael, and her reasons of "Michael might react poorly" and "I wanted to spare him from pain" are just... not good enough excuses! She also feels like she has a right to what Max chooses to do with his body and his powers, which is not a good look. And finally, after all the lessons she's supposed to have learned about the ethics of her alien scientific exploration, she goes ahead and takes Shivani to the pods, without running it by Max, Michael, and Isobel, and then Shivani finds out Max is an alien because of it! That's a huge secret to let slip, Liz. This is a big deal and it's super annoying that she's behaving in such an irresponsible and self-righteous way.

And then on the Echo front... you know how we're all pretty sure there's a wedding at the end of this season, because of the behind the scenes pictures? And how this season has the whole Echo proposal thing, and it keeps getting talked about? I am in the position right now of actively hoping these two are not going to get married at the end of this season. Unless the finale has like... a significant time jump and they've really worked on their bullshit together. Because right now? They are not in a marriage place, they're in a "we barely seem to know each other or how to interact with each other" place, and it's super bizarre to see them behaving like this so close to the finale.

It bothers me that we had to spend time in this episode with Liz getting sage relationship advice from Shivani and Michael, with Max angsting about Liz to Michael as well, when I'm sitting here thinking that the two of them are such awful communicators, it's frankly stretching credulity that they're even managing to stay together at all. This isn't how I want to feel! Unlike with Michael's character, who I feel has really grown and matured over the years, Liz and Max seem to be falling back into the same patterns we've seen a thousand times, with no sense of them understanding that their behavior is toxic. I want to root for these two, I've always thought Echo was a really good ship with a lot of angst and complexity, but I am just really struggling to connect to them right now.

As a last note and in the interests of thoroughness, while I am overall very pleased with how the Alex stuff was handled, I do think there were some awkward momentum killing moments that seemed odd to me. People were acting all urgent about Alex one minute, and then Rosa is talking about stopping to have pancakes with her dad first, and Michael is giving Liz relationship advice, and Liz has time to work on the cure for Michael and Max instead of focusing on her missing friend... it seemed like once they knew he was in trouble and actively reaching out for help, there should have been less time to sit around and have idle brooding conversations about other topics.

Pros:

So, let's start with the other plots before I dive into the Michael and Malex stuff, because you know that's the main thing I want to squeal about.

As I said, I wish the Tezca revelation had happened a bit sooner in the season, for pacing reasons, but I honestly really liked the material with Isobel and Tezca! The reveal that she was in fact an unwitting tool, a victim, of Jones, instead of an ally, was one that worked really well for me and that I never would have seen coming! I loved the tension between the two of them, and Isobel's determination to find answers. She really carried the main plot forward in a way that I found satisfying. Isobel's romance entanglements in the first half of the season left me feeling a little cold, so I'm just having fun seeing her back in the thick of things, fighting for answers.

And honestly, despite everything I said above about Liz, I thought the final scene of this episode with Shivani dropping the canister, was one of the best Liz scenes of the whole show. Great performance from Jeanine Mason, as we watch Liz grapple with the horror of Shivani's loss, and the lengths she's willing to go to save her dead daughter, coupled with the fact that she, Liz, is a hypocrite and she knows it: she got Rosa back, and she saved Max, and Shivani is right to point out the inherent unfairness of that. Why is Liz the only one who gets to bend the rules to be happy? Why can't she use use the incredible scientific miracles at her disposal, to save other innocent lives? You can see the pain on Liz's face as she tries to get through to an increasingly rattled Shivani, all leading to that moment when the canister drops and doses them both with the alien mist. I was honestly on the edge of my seat for that whole scene!

And now, for the whole point of this episode... the Michael and Alex stuff.

I want to start by saying that sometimes, honestly, being in this fandom can be kind of a bummer for me. When I was looking in the tags and seeing people's reactions, I saw a lot of anger and disappointment over this episode. I can only assume people's expectations were too high, that they'd talked themselves into hoping Tyler would be in the episode, or that they just wanted an even more extreme reaction from Michael, more anger, more urgency. I... get that, I get being disappointed that we've seen so little of Alex this season. But the part that makes me feel kind of bad whenever I check the tags is that everyone seems to take this lack of Alex as a deliberate choice on the part of the writers to undermine him, as opposed to them writing around a medically necessary absence of the actor.

Malex is my favorite part of the show! Truly, I get wishing things were different. But to pretend that anything not spent on Alex is a waste, that the show is pointless without him and that dragging out his absence is making the show terrible, is just not a justifiable position as far as I'm concerned. This has never been a show about Michael and Alex. If it's a show about any two people, it's a show about Max and Liz! I wish people could temper their reactions and appreciate that given the actor availability issue, they did what they could to build up the suspense about Alex's absence, and then to unleash a hell of a reaction from Michael on us when the time was right. Personally speaking, I was quite thrilled with what we were given.

To start with, I like that we get Maria, and Liz, and Rosa, all giving a shit about Alex. I wish this was something the show would do more often, I definitely think that Alex's friendships and connections with characters outside of Malex have been pushed aside a lot, especially in seasons three and four. But when they do give it focus and attention, I'm not going to complain, I'm just happy to see it! Rosa showing up to help Maria channel her potential new abilities was really satisfying to watch. Just everything about Rosa, the way she's come into her own, settled in her skin, makes me so happy. This is exactly what I would have wanted for her, and it's a lovely way for her to pay it forward, after Isobel helped her with her powers back in season three.

Then there's Michael's emotional journey through hearing the news. At first he's skeptical, and he actually stays pretty calm until it dawns on him that everyone, including Liz, Max, and Kyle, were all in on the fact that Alex might be in trouble, and that he was kept in the dark. At this point he rightfully freaks out, but what I love about the way that this was written and performed is that clearly, so much of his anger is actually aimed at himself. His guilt is clear the whole way through: Rosa points out that maybe Maria was the only one listening to Alex, and Michael pushes back, saying that he was thinking of Alex every second he was risking his life with the dark triad. And maybe that's true, in a sense, but I think it's pretty clear that Michael knows his focus wasn't on Alex. Then again with Max: he punches him, he says some awful things to him, and I don't really blame him for being pissed at Max, but he also says "I could have been looking for him," which feels like a condemnation of his own distraction as much as it does a condemnation of Max keeping the secret. Michael is realizing that Alex has been in trouble for days now, and that he hasn't even noticed. His friends were wrong for keeping it from him, and his anger is therefore justified. But the guilt is real too, even if he's perhaps being a little hard on himself.

And I love this. I love that even though it's not Michael's fault, that he had a lot of other things on his mind, and perfectly good reasons to think Alex was fine, that of course he'd go to this place of guilt. It's tied up so much in everything he's been learning about Oasis, this life-long yearning for his original home coming back to him in such a big way. Alex is away for one week, and he's busy fantasizing about leaving the planet? Of course he's a mess when he realizes Alex has been in trouble and trying to ask for help! He tells Liz that he lost sight of the home he was trying to build here with Alex, and I think we'll see his focus stay on that from this point forward. God, honestly, for all the issues this season has had up to this point, Michael's stuff has been my favorite all the way through. Such a delicious way to deepen his character.

Speaking of his character development, we then see that Michael's initial burst of rage cools off, and he makes amends to those he's wronged. I saw some people annoyed that Michael offered apologies to Max and Maria, when in fact they were in the wrong, but honestly I love that this happens. First of all, Maria and Max also express remorse, as does Liz. It's not like the show isn't acknowledging that they were in the wrong to keep the truth from Michael. But let's put this in perspective: Rosa and Liz found out last night. Max finds out maybe like... two hours ahead of Michael, at the most? It would be a different story if they'd been lying to him for days, but as much as I think Liz was wrong for doing what she did, I also think it makes a bit of sense to want some more definitive information. It's a misguided decision, but it's not totally monstrous.

Same with Michael's response: totally reasonable to lash out in that moment of fear! But it's a great sign of his character growth that he's then able to pause and reflect, and work together with his support system to find Alex, instead of tearing off on a rampage with single-minded focus on Alex and nothing else. Sure, it was fun to watch him lose his shit in season two, tying people up, building bombs, all to get Alex back, but Michael has grown as a character since then. He's learned to lean on other people. That's a good thing.

So many great lines from Michael this week that I want to call out. I really liked the way he talked to both Liz and Maria about Alex. He has that line to Liz about how you can't hold onto sand because it will just slip through your fingers. That's basically his way of saying that a relationship won't work if both people don't want it to. Such an important lesson that Malex had to learn together, as they took it in turns to be ready for one another, but had to wait until they were on the same page for things to finally click! And then one of my favorite lines of the episode, said to Maria: "I know you love Alex too. And that means we are always on the same side." Like!! Amazing. Perfect. No notes. I know most of the fandom vehemently disagrees with this viewpoint, but I wish more of the show was about Michael, Alex, and Maria, and the entanglement of their relationships and feelings over time. Obviously Malex is my OTP, but I love Maria's friendships with each of the guys and I loved this moment where the two of them were united in focusing on their love for Alex.

Alex playing "Would You Come Home" on the piano? Michael joining him on the guitar? The pendant glowing on Michael's chest? The lights leading them to a map? All of this shit was the CHEESIEST thing in the world, and I mean that absolutely as a compliment. Give me all the over the top sappy romance stuff, give me Michael looking like his heart is cracking open as he hears the song start, a single tear slipping down his cheek as he plays along... I was absolutely eating all that shit up, and I think it followed so beautifully from his initial anger reaction.

Another favorite moment of mine is Vlamis's performance on "I HAVE TO HELP HIM", as he's about to jump into quicksand after his boyfriend, with absolutely no plan. "I wasn't listening to him, I wasn't paying attention." Like, fuck me up, that's so powerful. His sheer desperation, and then the way he breaks down as Max pulls him into a hug... wow. I got a little choked up.

Speaking of Max! I loved all the brother stuff this week, I was hoping that the secret Max kept from Michael would be about Alex (since we knew about that from the episode description), and honestly the way this all played out was exactly what I would have wanted it to be! The initial anger, the punching, Michael absolutely ripping Max to shreds for putting his relationship issues above Michael knowing the truth about "the man he loves"... The line "I hope the wedding's worth losing a brother" is absolutely incredible, that went so hard.

Then we get Max showing up just in time to save Maria from the quicksand, and he also stops Michael from diving into the sand after Alex. I love that he was the one to talk him off the literal ledge. Max has always understood that Alex means everything to Michael. He compared Michael's feelings for Alex to his own feelings for Liz, back in season one, and he has been the one character on the show to consistently and repeatedly make such comparisons, actively paralleling their relationships with their respective significant others at key moments. So I loved that as a continuation point, and also just as a big ol' fan of all the sibling feels, watching Michael bury his face in Max's shoulder and cry was... very good. And it just gets better, with Michael apologizing for hitting Max, Max apologizing for hiding the truth from Michael, Michael talking obliquely about his own guilty feelings, and then affirming that all that matters to him is getting Alex back. Max calling Alex the love of Michael's life was also... very nice.

Wow, I really talked on about this one, huh? Could have guessed that would happen. If I had to say it succinctly, it would be this: sure, there are things I wish could have been different in this episode, even including the Michael stuff. Yes, absolutely I wish that we had more time with Alex in our final season. I'm guessing we see him again in episode ten, but who knows how active a role he'll play in the endgame? It's a bummer, and I do get that. But this was a PRIME episode for all my Malex feels, and I bet when the show is actually over and people can re-watch over the season without the suspense and uncertainty coloring their opinions, they'll have to agree that watching Michael break down and scream and punch his brother and play the guitar with the ghost of his missing lover, is all pretty dang satisfying to see.

8/10

#review #roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico review #malex #rnm

[zet-sway]

I'm zoning out for a little while, probably. Here's what's going on.

Content warning: serious health conditions, anxiety, panic attacks, antidepressants, hypochondria

My mom has a brain aneurysm. Aneurysms are often called "silent killers" because they pretty much don't have symptoms. She heard a noise in her ear and started seeking doctors who eventually located it. This was 10+ years ago, mom is fine after surgical intervention.

So aneurysms can be genetic. I was screened pretty much immediately after her surgery, and cleared.

But.... I'm hearing my pulse in my ear. The intensity of the sound changes depending on how I turn my head. And maybe I'm just being a damn hypochondriac but it feels like this ear is itchy more than usual.

I'm petrified. I've actually had this noise in my ear for like five years, even mentioned it to a doctor who told me "if you were screened, you're fine." But I also have pre-hypertension which is not ideal if you're worried about aneurysms. And at the end of 2022 it just kind of fucking hit me, and I started having these totally excellent "blood-runs-cold" panic attacks that are just fucking ruining me. The fucked up thing is it might be not even be an aneurysm, it could be a fucking brain tumor or some shit I haven't considered. It could be nothing. I really hope it's nothing.

Anyway, I'm barely handling reality right now. I've said before I'm having issues with Lexapro, and I hate the person it makes me into, but this medication is really helping me keep the panic in check. So, please forgive me if I'm going dark, I'm going through a terrifying mental state.

I have an appointment with my primary care doctor tomorrow. They're likely not going to be able to answer any questions but I'm betting I'm going to have to appeal to my insurance for another MRI/MRA. And then hopefully they call me and tell me it's nothing. Or they call me and tell me I'm fucked. I have no idea. I'm scared.

I know I haven't been super active on Tumblr but a bunch of my friends are here, and I wanted to let them know.

I still want to interact, but I'm probably going to be even more flighty than usual.

Much love to y'all.

I don't want to talk about this. Please don't share any personal anecdotes or whatever with me unless you're confident it will inspire hope. I don't want more worry than I already have.

#cw health conditions #cw health anxiety #cw anxiety #zet things

[itsohh]

I'm going to chop of Ubisoft's dick I swear to god.

You know what? This isn't a terrible change. With the addition of Thorn, Lesion did feel a little meh. So it's nice to have another mechanical trap operator. These changes does kinda bring him back to more OG style but at the same time: lol echo treatment invisible get fucked.

I do love the super shorty as a secondary.

I mean this will make my friend really happy, she's always complaining about the inconsistencies of shotguns. Idk how I feel about the ads improvement. I feel like this is something I'm gonna have to experience in game to decide as it could make or break shotguns. (Ubisoft if you ever even THINK about touching the BOSG I will hurt you.)

Now for the shit I hate. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIIISSS CUNNNTTT??? Like bro if I'm the only one setting up then there's no way imma have time to do it??? Also revealing to the attackers??? Talk about a fucking nerf to mute and Solis. Like your better off leaving your drone at spawn now and picking it up to drone later on when u get close. Unlike your rushing there's no point. Being on to it and killing all drones in prep phase then having the object hidden used to be a strategic reward. I've had matches win because attacks didn't actually know where the objective was and vice versa.

Like I get this is a solution to a problem that they have created but FUCK OFF literally quick match was completely FINE. It's quick because it didn't go a maximum of NINE ROUNDS. This is such some BS babying level stuff. Like sure spawn peaks and run outs can be annoying but that's part of the game. You can counter them, like YES you should be checking every window! Your in fucking training for combat! If your invun for the beginning of the round what if your Kali and just long range snipe??? Like I can see this going wrong for plane.

I mean... Now that comp rank doesn't mean anything I can understand the changes with unranked cause no one plays it but also??? I want to play like quickplay the way it is now, if 'standard' is still the same length as comp then idk man that's gonna suck.

If standards legit just current quickplay then they really should have just been like 'unranks removed we now have baby mode'

Idk what maps have been removed but I swear to god if they touch my boys Tower and Plane I'm gonna cry. I know it's a controversial take by I love both of those two map as is. (And plane got a rework not too long ago) They can take stadium tho. Take it out back and put it down because it's the worst map in the game.

I'm just confused by those 'base changes' what does this apply to? Everything? Are they removing bans from the game???? Same with the overtime thing is this for all game modes, like comp and unranked or????

Idk what clearance level is?

I feel like Ubisoft is reworking the game so much like at this point.... Just make another game lmao. I guess then there's always the fear of the ow2 syndom so I understand but then r6s is a really old game. This sucks cause like I love the game I do (I know it's a bad game) but a the same time this doesn't make me excited to play the game. It feel like it's audience is being reduced, like I love hehe funny skin pizza mozzie gaming but those premap set up cookie cutter shit? I fucking hate that. I bet the roations aren't gonna be where I like it either.

Ive been playing a little bit of comp recently but I've always been a quick play player. I could forgive the recent operators being so...eh.

Like don't get me strong Solis is really strong pick but I hated the addition of her and Brava SO much. Solis isn't to bad but Brava? I hate her addition. On both attack and defence, like why would you ever pick twitch anymore? Twitch doesn't even have any like really good guns either. She has the marksman I guess but all her guns are meh.

Fenrir I feel like is just a glorified proximity mine 80% of the time. He's just kinda eh and meh. His ability doesn't activate fast enough to normally be a big threat and then the fact you don't get his codes back is lame.

Grim is a niche, he's not bad. I just feel like he isn't that fun to play? I think him getting stickies is cool but I still feel like people won't play him.

Sens is powerful AF in a 5 stack with good coms. But without coms? I feel like their good for like a couple of strats but they aren't very versatile and are a very situation operator.

Like these operators aren't bad but I feel like they don't really add to the game in a positive way. Perhaps it's just a personal preference but idk I don't find any of them fun. I'm not running to try play them. I don't feel like the game has gotten better with their additions. Just worse.

(I hate Brava (gameplay wise) so much. On both attacking and defending)

First thoughts on Ram was 'oh an operator that focus's on playing vertical that's good we don't have- wait yes we do, there's sledge'

After this shocking revelation she's a weird automated version of sledge idk how to feel about it. I don't think she's gonna be picked much after initial release. I think she's going on the bench with Senz.

I'm still gonna play the game but like R6S vs CoD on a fight to see who can kill their game the fastest.

I hate being that guy but I do miss the way the game used to be when I started, I miss the UI. I miss being able to pick your fire mode, I miss old house I miss old consulate. I miss not having to worry if my own claymores gonna kill me, I miss the sense of accomplishment in the game.

Like I started playing just before Oyrx was released (hate Oryx players btw because they always break above hatch and then attackers get the advantage when they take it) and the games lost so much charm? Im glad they are tying to get out that entire 'stadium eSports incorporated into lore' phase but I feel like Ubisoft has an idea for the games future and it's just not a place I like.

I mean sure the games dying and I think addressing the RNG with shotguns is a nice step (that being said I like the risk vs rewards with them tbh) but at the same time if they addressed the true biggest problem things could change

That right

TICK RATE BABY

UBISOFT INCREASE YOUR TICK RATE FOR THE GAME. FIX YOUR DOG SERVERS TOO.

If they just went and fixed all their shitty bugs, if they didn't make the game feel like it was on early access it would be sooo much nicer. Like ngl? CoD? Feels like it registers properly, it's poorly optimised and horribly unbalanced ptw ect ect but the fact it feels like I registers my shit? Breath of fresh air sometimes. R6S could have been soooo good if they just hardcore fixed all their bugs glitches, server issues and tick rate. Like I shouldn't be able to look do and slightly to the left and then melee through a shield.

Old man yells at a cloud but come on man, don't fuck with my quick play.

#r6s #itsohh rambles #AND BOY HOWDY DO I RAMBLE #tldr: ubisoft bad #of course my opinions may change when i play But I Am Not Hopeful