#don’t mind me. I’m just rambling about asters

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (September 21st, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. 

PC: 1.80.69.1030 / Mac: 1.80.69.1230

Console: Version 1.48

Hello Simmers!

We hope this Game Update finds you well!

As Summer has ended and the Pumpkin Spice season starts (you all know I’m ready for my pumpkin spiced coffee!), our Art Team has a treat for Simmers that love to build. If you are not an expert builder that is quite alright, I’m not either, but I do enjoy trying a few styles and choices so no worries in that regard.

Thanks again for your continued support, we truly appreciate it!

Chaus!

-SimGuruRusskii

Over 1000 new swatches for over 100 base game items!! https://t.co/7yjIIBvwLQ pic.twitter.com/KNqpViEfSd

— LlamaGuruFrost (@SimGuruFrost) September 21, 2021

What’s New? 149 assets – 1,200 vaaariants

149 assets – 1,200 variants to enjoy so dear

149 assets – 1,200 vaaariants

How do we tell you about these… easily?

In pictures, in writing, in cups of coffee.

In gameplay, in video, in pictures, in laughter.

In 149 items – 1,200 variants – how do you measure this new thing we did with this in hand?

How about you just show? Yes, how about you just show?

Don’t measure at all, just show.

Our art team took over this Game Update and they have added about 1,200 new variants (yes, you read me correctly, about 1,200 variants) to 149 Base Game items in Build Mode. The Art Team’s vision was to complement and enhance these assets so Simmers have more choices and have more use out of them. Also, why not?

I will list the names of the assets, with images, that we have added variants to. Huge props to SimGuruBeth for providing these fabulous screenshots! In these screenshots you will notice some arrows and green dots, those represent the new additions.

Ok – enough of me rambling about, are you all ready? <takes deep breath>

Illusion Shades

Flaunting Flounces Panels

Minimalist Drapes

Sooner or Ladder Contemporary Dining Chair

Tabula Rasa Coffee Table

Tabula Rasa End Table

Tabula Rasa Console Table

Grand Hall Dining Table

Grand Designs Dining Table

Simplicity Dining Table

Square Meals Dining Table

Floored by Symmetry Standing Mirror

Carina Dining Hutch

Simple Symmetry Bookcase

Intellectual Illusion Wall-Mounted Bookshelves

Great Wall Mirror

Capped Wall Plank

Dodecagon Contemporary Clock

Honeycomb Bottle Holder

On Phantom Wing Framed Art

Apple of Your Eye Framed Watercolor

Pear Essentials Framed Watercolor

Terminus Reclaimed Pipe Towel Rack

RAW Bookshelf

Reclaimed Plank Shelf

Wainscott Gardens Dining Cabinet

Form & Function Industrial Coffee Table

The Barnish Bed

Boardwalk Trashcan

CONCEPT Coffee Mug Rack

Cluttered Mind Box Set

GrammyFone Old-Fashioned Music Player

In Session Novelty Chalkboard

Three Framed Skeleton Keys

Ordinary Things Shadowbox Display

Cooking-U Pro

Crisponix Ultragreat w/ Deluxe Crisper

The Omniwaver

Café Immodéré

London’s Choice

The YumCooker

The Schmapple Oven

The Schmapple Coffee

Garbelle Wastebasket

Popped Color Curtains – Left

Popped Color Curtains – Right

Sunny Shades – Left

Sunny Shades – Right

Junior Wizard Starter Set

Mega Couple Of Books

The Purple Protector Action Figure

The Purple Pursuer Action Figure

The Chessmaster

Chess under the Stars Patio Table

Grand Plans Chess Table

Cabin Slats

Simplicity Shade

Limber Lumber Traditional Hardwoods

Rustic Subfloor Slats

Eco-Craft Hardwood Flooring

ForestFine Wood Flooring

Old World Wide Plank Flooring

Herringbone Hardwood Flooring

VAULT Modular Counter

VAULT Modular Island

VAULT Wall Cabinets

VAULT Pro-Level Bar

BlandCo Contemporary Counter

BlandCo Contemporary Counter Island

BlandCo Contemporary Cabinet

Country Fieldstone

Mega Stacked Stone

Windowbox of Superiority

Neighborly Windowbox

Garden Planter Box

Garden Pot

Bonsai Tree

Oopsa Daisies

Red, Red Shrub

Pink Aster Nots

Purple Perennial Flowers

Shaggi-luscious

Passion’s Kiss

Baby’s Bottom Rose Bush

Red, Red Rose Bush

And all 64 windows present in Base Game!

Whew, that was quite the list! And now to our bug fix of this Update.

Bug Fixes The Sims 4

Sims living that career lifestyle but their outfits were… not up to par? Were your Sims’ career wardrobe a bit stale as you moved up that career ladder? Not exactly dressing for success, right? No worries, we have fixed that issue and now all career levels should have appropriate outfits. Go you, good luck!

#news #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 game patch

[nolawritesfanfics-deactive]

hello!! can i request a fluff fic with bennet on a picnic/cafe date with his s/o in a modern setting, tysm!!

Hello!!! I love this idea sm, it’s so flipping adorable!! Bennett just existing gives me a serotonin boost but this is just too cute ahdghagshshegsh—

Bennett may be a bit OOC since I haven’t written anything for him yet, so lmk if there are any mistakes!! (^///^)

Genre: Fluff

Summary: When Bennett’s picnic date with you gets ruined, the cafe serves as a form of comfort to both of you.

Warnings: None

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡

Modern!Bennett taking his Gn!(s/o) on a picnic/cafe date

Bennett loves exploring, so picnics are his cup of tea. And when you’re there, his favorite things become ten times better!!

Every week, you decide to go far away from the city, to an empty, open field. No bad luck can find either of you there, since nothing resides there. Or at least, that’s what you usually think.

You would make food together before you leave, hoping that it doesn’t rain on your way over. Even if it does rain and get the food wet, Bennett is happy wherever you are, no matter what! And if everything does get ruined, cafe dates are always a thing too!

Bennett would be so nervous about it too because of his luck, the last thing he want to do is get you hurt. But it happens anyway, which lowers his self esteem by a lot. Please tell him you don’t mind. This poor boy needs lots of hugs and reassurance. (ToT)💖

You loved Bennett, but it was no secret that his luck effected everything he touched. Quite literally. For example, he tried petting a stray cat one time, (which was a bad idea in the first place) and not even a minute later, it scratched both of you and ran off.

At times, it would get a bit frustrating, but you knew that it wasn’t his fault. Whenever you were just hanging out after school, you both would get turned down by nearby stores due to his past incidents with his luck, leaving you to wander aimlessly around the city until you got bored and went home.

So, earlier today, Bennett got fed up with his situation and met you at the front gates. He suggested going on a picnic for a change of scenery. He had already planned everything out, rambling excitedly about all the things you could do there. You reluctantly agreed, silently hoping that nothing would go wrong. It was better than another long walk, at least.

It’s wasn’t a surprise that your boyfriend wanted to go elsewhere for your date, but you weren’t sure if it was safe.

If Bennett couldn’t survive in the comfort of his own home, then how would his luck effect nature? It could rain, getting all of your food wet- but that was only the best case scenario. For all you knew, there could be a sudden tornado or hurricane that hits just as you finish unpacking everything.

Going on a picnic seemed like a death wish, and both of you knew that. So why did Bennett want take that risk?

He said that it was an empty field, so there wouldn’t be any chance of dangerous entities. And, he said that things would be alright as long as you were with him. He thought you were his lucky charm. And in truth, you were.

When he met you, he felt like the luckiest boy in the world. You gravitated towards each other, quickly becoming friends, then working your way up to something more. You were precious to him, and he was precious to you.

So, you and Bennett set a date for your picnic. Thank the archons that today was that day. Today was Saturday, the only day that contained endless free time.

You had been so excited that you could hardly sleep on the nights before your meet up. To make things worse, you woke up way too early out of excitement. But, on the bright side, this meant that you could prepare more.

You grabbed a package of cookies and sandwiches, along with your phone in case of any emergencies. After throwing all of these into your backpack, you left your apartment and headed off to Bennett’s house.

The walk there wasn’t too long, especially since you were familiar with a few of the shortcuts lying within the city. A while ago, Fischl had introduced you to them, all while reciting a monologue about her “secret base”. (Which really just ended up being her room.)

You dashed down the empty sidewalk as soon as Bennett’s door came into view. A rush of adrenaline hit you as you climbed up the cement stairs. You knocked on the door, which flung open almost immediately, revealing Bennett.

A blush washed over Bennett’s cheeks as he looked at you. “(Y/n), Hey! P-please, come inside!”

You nodded and happily followed him inside. His Dads were scattered all over the living room, making breakfast and going about their day as usual. As you entered, all of them greeted you. They added in a few comments about how Bennett never stops talking about you, much to his embarrassment.

It wasn’t the first time you had visited Bennett’s home. In fact, you were practically family to everyone related to him. Sometimes, if you two got bored, (which was quite often) you would sleep over at his house, or he would sleep over at yours. It was safe inside, which was a harsh contrast to what the outside world was like.

Whenever you wanted to go on dates together, both of your families would help set them up for you. They knew Bennett would need the help, especially with his terrible luck and romantic obliviousness. However, it turned out that he was pretty much fine on his own. But, if either of you needed help with anything in general, you knew you had support.

You chuckled and took his hand. “You ready?”

Bennett nodded, grabbing his bag. Soon enough, you were being pulled out of the room and onto the streets. The sun had fully risen, indicating that today’s weather would be optimal for a picnic. You had no idea where he was taking you, but you trusted him enough for your anxiety to subside.

There were a few close calls with wild animals and speeding drivers, but overall, Bennett’s luck seemed to be doing alright today. All you needed to do was get to your meeting spot without getting hurt, and everything would be fine.

Or so it seemed.

The houses and tall buildings started to fade as you ventured far outside the city. In front of you was a massive open field, Cecilias and Windwheel Asters scattered all over the grass. Your heart swelled at the beautiful view before you, grasping your beloved’s hand even tighter than before.

“Benny… this is amazing- how did you find this place?” You breathed.

“Ehe! Well, one day I was trying to walk school, but I got lost and ended up here. Looks like I got pretty lucky after all!” Bennett said, sheepishly tubbing the back of his head. “Come on, let’s go set up.”

You set down your bag and started unwrapping the food you brought. Bennett laid out a blanket beside you, and started unpacking food of his own. When you both were finished, you sat next to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

Heat radiated off of Bennett’s skin as he wrapped an arm around you. He was internally sent into a flustered panic whenever you made contact with him, which wasn’t a surprise. Right now, hugging you was the only way to hide the fact that he was blushing furiously. Besides, the feeling of your arms around his waist made him feel safe.

The only thing you could hear was the steady, fast-paced beating of Bennett’s heart, and the rusting of flowers and grass. Almost ten minutes passed before you pulled away, looking at his face. You smiled as you observed every detail of his eyes.

Suddenly, an ear shattering clap of thunder echoed throughout the valley. Not even a second later, heavy rain was pouring on both of you, completely destroying your food. The two of just sat there in both despair and surprise, watching as your picnic got ruined.

Why did this happen? The weather was perfectly fine this morning- what changed? Bennett silently cursed his luck for ruining his date with you, his demeanor shriveling as the rain continued to pour. Normally, He wouldn’t let something like this get him down, but today it was harder.

“I-I’m really sorry, (Y/n)…. I swear, it wasn’t meant to turn out like this- ah!”

Noticing the change in his mood, you pulled Bennett up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry! I don’t mind the rain, but we should leave so that we don’t get colds. If you want, I know a nice cafe we can go to instead!”

Bennett blinked a few times, obviously surprised by your cheery attitude. Most people would’ve given up on him at this point. However, you stayed with him, which is one of the many reasons why he loved you. You never gave up on him, no matter how many times your plans were ruined.

Bennett nodded his head with a determined grin before scurrying to help you pack up. The thunder you had hear a few minutes ago had started up again, making both of you nervous. So, as soon as you were done, you led him to the cafe, holding his hand.

At this point, both of your clothes were completely soaked and water was dripping from your hair. But neither of you minded, you were just happy that you got to go on an adventure together. You and Bennett bolted towards the cafe as soon as you saw it. Warm, pastry scented air hit you two, beckoning you inside.

The cafe was busy, many people coming here to take shelter from the rain. But, there were a few tables left so you told Bennett to grab one while you got some coffee and cookies for you both. Luckily, the cafe was swift in their preparations, causing you to return to Bennett before anything went wrong.

You sat across from your boyfriend, smiling as his eyes lit up at your presence. He opened his mouth to apologize, but opted to bite into a cookie you bought him instead. Anxiety was radiating off of him. So much so that it physically hurt to watch.

So, you held out your hand for him to take. You knew that he didn’t have anyone else to come to for comfort, and that he would get chewed out for the smallest mistakes. You wanted to help him, and teach him that it’s okay to be loved, even if it’s a foreign experience for him.

Bennett was finally starting to realize that. He was finally staring to realize why you stayed with him. It wasn’t out of pity or spite, no, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It was because you genuinely loved who he was as a person, despite his bad luck.

And that meant more to him than anything in the world.

So, he took your hand, and silently made a promise to you.

{🔥..^v~} “(Y/n), for all of the times you’ve helped me… I promise to stay by your side whenever things get rough.”

#self insert #genshin x reader #genshinimpact #x reader #reader insert #bennett x reader #bennett x you #bennett x y/n #genshin impact bennett #genshin bennett #genshin fluff #bennett fluff #genshin impact x reader

[milfgritty]

constellation of asters | m. frost & j. farabee

❀ ⇢ requested: yes | no ❀ ⇢ genre: poly!au | soulmate!au | gender neutral reader ❀ ⇢ word count: 12.9k ❀ ⇢ a/n: yea i have no excuses for this. enjoy.

everyone has a soulmate, it’s just a simple known fact. a red string, a soulmark, first words tattooed on the inside of your wrist, there’s something to help every person find theirs. except, well, you never had any of those. growing up, you (kinda) came to terms with the fact that you might just not have a soulmate at all. it’s not until you meet morgan and joel that you begin to reconsider the possibility that you actually have not one, but two.

⇢ posted: 02.07.21 . | . masterlist

There are the lucky ones in the world who are born with an identifying soulmark. Something that leads them straight to their soulmate, whether it be a red string of fate, or the date of their other half’s birth, or even a tattoo shared only by the two of them. 

You, though?

You wish you were one of them. But alas, no string, no tattoo, no drawings, not even a damn clock. Nothing to ever even allude to the existence of your supposed other half. When you were younger it terrified you, made you think that something went wrong wherever soulmates were paired. Left you alone, destined to never be the perfect match for anyone. You used to watch in envy of all the kids in the schoolyard proudly displaying their tattoos, showing off whatever new their soulmate drew on their skin that morning. Knowing that they would remember that you were one of the unlucky ones soon enough, the ones people whispered about under their breath, never loudly as though terrified if someone heard them their own soulmate would vanish.

Not having a soulmate was kind of a big deal, if you couldn’t tell. 

And still years went by and you grew up with half-assed reassurances of ‘don’t worry, I’m sure your soulmate is out there somewhere, you’ll see’ and ‘maybe you just have an invisible soulmark, didn’t you know those are a thing?’. Years went by, and you grew up, and you rationalized. 

You didn’t need a soulmate. People without them got along just fine, and sometimes people lost theirs without ever meeting them in the first place. Hell, you were actually luckier than everyone else because you had the free will, the agency, to pick who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. So what if they weren’t handpicked and perfect for you, you would be happy, dammit.

That’s what you told yourself, at least. 

~

Done with a particularly rough day of classes, you figured it was only fair to reward yourself with your favorite drink from your favorite cafe near campus. It was a special treat that you rarely afforded yourself, what with you fitting the stereotypical broke college image to an almost painful extent. Dodging other people on the sidewalk, you clutched your jacket closer around your body to protect from the harsh wind. The bag on your back straining under the combined weight of your single (five subject) notebook, textbooks, and laptop, you cursed yourself under your breath for not at the very least putting it in your car before making the five minute trek. 

Slipping into the tiny cafe nestled on the corner, you allowed yourself a sigh of relief. You took the moment to drop your stuff at a vacant table before making your way to the counter. Waiting in line, your eyes scanned the menu despite knowing exactly what you would get, as you did every time you let yourself come here. Back aching and your hand attempting to massage it from the worst possible angle, the line continued to shorten until you could order and retreat back to your table. 

You were tempted to stay, even after getting your coffee. Free wifi, decent music, and minimal noise? Easily get through at least homework for one class. But a larger part of you yearned for your warm bed and cozy blankets, preferably with pajamas. And so, it was with maximum effort that you picked back up your bag and coffee and slipped out the door and into the windy outdoors once more. 

The walk back to your car was more bearable with the addition of a hand warmer, so much so that you took the longer way through the small park you had walked past on your way there. With the trees above and around you and the dancing leaves raining down, their colors slowly changing from their normal shade to the yellows and oranges of autumn, a smile slipped onto your lips. Your eyes lingered on the flowers lining the pathway, your mind trying futilely to identify which ones they wer—

A body slammed into yours, shoulders knocking violently as you were shoved off balance. Your still mostly full coffee fell from your hand, lid flying off and spilling onto the ground. You landed miraculously not in the growing puddle of hot coffee, but still flat on your ass as you stared up in shock at the man who had somehow remained standing. 

Seconds ticked by as you stared at each other, uncomprehending. The tall and outrageously sturdy stranger broke through his shock first.

“I’m so sorry, holy shit,” he rushed out, hand reaching down to help you up. Gazing unblinking at the outstretched limb, you allowed him to pull you up. Bare skin touching yours, you only allowed a split second of disappointment when there was no discernable reaction before smothering it back down.

Really, you thought, what did I expect? A mark to show up on our hands linking us together? How naive. You really thought you had gotten passed doing that.

“It—it’s fine,” you mumbled, sparing a despaired glance down at your spilled coffee, “don’t worry about it.” How neither you nor your bag didn’t end up in the puddle was beyond you, but you’ll take it. 

His gaze followed yours, landing on the pitiful cup. “Fuck, your drink, I’m so sorry.”

“Seriously, it’s fine. Stop apologizing,” you told him, adjusting your bag and turning to leave. There was no way you were going back to the cafe and getting another drink, this one was already indulging yourself. 

“No, hey,” he lightly grabbed your jacket, stopping you. “Let me buy you a new one, make it up to you for spilling that one.” 

Suddenly much closer to his tall frame, your eyes caught on his brown ones. There was just something about him that you could already feel your resolve chipping away. 

“I was on my way to Starbucks anyway, it’s no problem,” he continued, as though sensing he was breaking you down. At the mention of Starbucks, though, your nose involuntarily scrunched. Something he definitely caught. “Or wherever it was you got that,” he laughed, his smile making your heart catch a beat. 

You shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t. Not when he’s oddly pretty and he could have a soulmate who’s not you and—

“Yea, sure.” You smiled, “Luckily for you, it’s pretty close to here.”

His smile widened, eyes crinkling at the corner, and his hand dropped from your sleeve. It was strange how much you felt its absence, but you pushed the thought away. “After you then,” he stepped aside, gesturing you forward. 

Moving around him, you fell in step together, going back the way you came. 

“I’m Morgan, by the way,” he—Morgan—introduced himself after a beat. Studying him for a split second, you thought the name suited him. 

“Y/N,” you said in response, ignoring the way his smile made you want to smile, too.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.” And the two of you kept walking. 

~

Two months. It had been two months of hearing Morgan talk about Y/N this, Y/N that, and Joel still wasn’t quite sure if he liked or hated you. 

Depends on the day, really.

It wasn’t anything against you as a person; it was just, well. He wasn’t sure what it was if he was being completely honest. Maybe it was the way Morgan brightened at the mention of your name, maybe it was how he always brought you up in conversation, maybe it was how obvious it was that he liked you.

But he definitely wasn’t jealous. Of course not. How ridiculous.

He watched Morgan move around in their shared kitchen, rambling on and on. Something about how you joked earlier when you were hanging out that you would wear his jersey if he bought it for you. At that moment, he couldn’t hold the thing he couldn’t quite identify in anymore. “So have you brought up how you feel, yet?” 

Morgan stopped and closed the fridge door that he had half his body shoved inside and digging around in as he turned to face him. Brows furrowed, he shook his head with a look of poorly feigned confusion. “I—what? No, it’s not like that. Why would you even ask that?” he questioned, staring him down.

Joel shrugged, fidgeting on the stool he had perched himself on when Morgan went into the kitchen. He really wasn’t sure why he had asked. He just had. A part of him didn’t want to know why.

“Just feels like the two of you have been hanging out as much as you can. The way you talk, it’s pretty obvious how you, at least, feel,” he replied. He picked at his sweats, avoiding his roommate's gaze.

Morgan cleared his throat, turning back to the fridge. “I don’t—not like that, man,” he told him over his shoulder. He gave the fridge a second glance before closing the door, walking past Joel and out of the kitchen. 

“It’s not a big deal if you do,” Joel said as he followed him back into the living room. “You haven’t found your soulmate yet, plenty of people date before they do.”

“Why are you so concerned about it, Beezer?” Morgan pivoted on his heel to face him, forcing Joel to stop in his tracks unless he wanted to run him down. 

“I—I don’t, I’m not,” he answered, mind racing, “I just think you’ve been practically obsessed with them for months and I haven’t even met them—”

Morgan laughed sharply, cutting him off, “Is that what this is about? Seriously?”

“I mean, kinda? It’d be nice, at least.”

“Fine, then I’ll ask if we can all do something together this weekend. Is that good for you, Joel?”

Ignoring the sarcasm in his last sentence, he maneuvered around his body and flopped down onto the couch. “It is actually, thanks.” In his head, however, he was less certain. How was he gonna be able to interact with you? Would his jealousy—no, not jealousy—be obvious to Morgan, to you?

Aside from the noise coming from the TV, the next few minutes passed in relative silence after Morgan crashed down next to him. Their previous conversation already partially forgotten, Joel became focused on the shitty reality show that had started to play without them noticing earlier. 

“Look, it’s not like I’m an idiot,” Morgan started suddenly, scaring him slightly. Joel’s head turned toward him, brow lifting in question. Morgan glanced at him before returning his gaze to the TV and continuing. “It’s just, yea. Maybe you’re right.”

He trailed off, leaving him to wait. “And?”

Morgan rolled his eyes and shuffled further into the couch. “And, I don’t know if I even have a soulmate,” he steamrolled on, “Just because I might not doesn’t mean—doesn’t mean no one does, you know? I don’t want to be the selfish asshole who gets into a relationship with someone who might have a perfect match waiting for them, someone that isn’t me.” 

“You don’t know if you have a soulmate?” The piece of information stuck out to him. Hit him in the gut and made his heart jump into his throat.

His roommate shrugged, continued to steadfastly ignore him. “Never had a mark or any of the other shit people had. It’s not—not that big of a deal. But I don’t want to be with someone and always be afraid that they’re going to find what I can’t and leave me behind.” 

Joel swallowed roughly, his heart racing. “Oh,” he mumbled, voice as quiet as Morgan’s had become by the time he had gotten done speaking.

“Yea,” Morgan huffed a bitter sounding laugh, “Oh.”

“You know,” Joel spoke lightly, softly, as though worried that talking too loud would ruin everything, “People always say that things work out in the end, even if it’s shit getting there.”

This time the laugh that escaped Morgan was more real, less cold. “Is that your way of making me feel better, Beezer?”

“Depends,” he smiled, bright at the sound of his laugh, “is it working?”

Morgan threw a pillow at him, it bouncing lightly off his head. “Dude, shut up,” he told him, the smile on his face softening his words. Following his advice, Joel adjusted himself on the couch, heart feeling just a bit lighter than it had previously.

~

“So I was thinking,” Morgan started as you walked down the street together.

“Absolutely shocking, continue,” you cut in, rewarded with a shove as you laughed.

“As I was saying,” he stressed, “You should come over for a game night or something this weekend.”

“Uh,” you stuttered out. “Yea, sure. Sounds fun. Will Joel be there?” You hadn’t meant to sound so shocked, but as it was, you most definitely were. In the what, two, three? Months since you had known Morgan, you never went to his place. Never met his elusive roommate. Sure, you had heard about Joel. It was hard not to when Morgan could—and had—talk for hours about his teammate. 

But you had never met him. And to be honest, at this point you were kinda scared to. 

Sure, he seemed like a nice enough guy. Except he clearly meant the world to Morgan, and well, Morgan meant the world to you. And yea, you weren’t sure when he began to mean so much, but he does. And you want Joel to like you. What if he doesn’t?

“Yea, Beezer’ll be there. Finally get to meet him.” He nudged you lightly, shooting you a smile. Smiling nervously back, you ducked under his arm and into the cafe as he held the door open for you. 

Coming to the little cafe on the corner had become tradition, Morgan falling in love with the shop just as much as you had. It didn’t bother you in the slightest since he pays for you whenever you two come. Which is, to say, far too often.

Placing both of your orders and finding a table, you turned to your friend. “Do you think,” you began nervously, picking at the edge of the table, “do you think he’ll like me? Joel?”

Morgan looked up from his phone and tilted his head. “Of course he will. Why?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, lying through your teeth. “It’s just, he’s your roommate—and your teammate—and wouldn’t it be, like, a little awkward if he actually hates me?”

Your question seemed to stump Morgan for a minute, his mouth opening and closing, eyebrows scrunched up as he looked at you from across the tiny table. You sat quietly, watching him think over his answer. Eyes wandering his face, your lips quirked as you just managed to pick out the way his lashes curled at the ends. So unfair, you thought, why does he get the long eyelashes? Finally, he seemed to get his words in order.

“Even if he doesn’t like you, which he definitely won’t,” he rushed out the last half, “But if he didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. It’s not like we would stop hanging out or anything. We would just, just keep hanging out the way we have been.”

Watching him, you chewed on the inside of your lip. “Promise?” you asked, voice coming out quieter than you had wanted. You hated the way you feared losing Morgan, scared that he had wormed his way into your life so quickly. 

His foot nudged yours under the table, breaking you out of your thoughts. Eyes meeting yours, your heart gave a tug at the sweet smile dancing across his lips. “Yea,” he told you, “I promise.”

Breath catching, you smiled back. “Then this weekend it is.”

~

The weekend came far sooner than you expected. 

“But you’re on your way, right?” Morgan questioned you over the phone. Figured you were running late today of all days. It was Saturday, dammit, you slept in late. That wasn’t a crime.

“Yes, Morg, I’m on my way. Leaving right now,” you reassured him, grabbing your keys off the counter and making your way to your door.

You heard his—frankly, exaggerated—breath of relief even on your end, gaining a fond eye roll out of you. “Okay, good,” he replied, “See you in like, twenty?”

“Uh-huh,” you muttered halfheartedly in response, more focused on locking up behind you. “I’ll see you in twenty.”

The only downside, of course, is that twenty minutes was definitely not enough time to settle your anxiety. And so soon enough, you were at Morgan’s shared apartment, and walking up to Morgan’s shared apartment, and oh god you were in front of his door, oh no—

This is fine. This is fine. Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself that no matter what, even if Joel didn’t like you, Morgan wouldn’t drop you. He promised. 

Christ, that sounded lame even in your head. 

Psyching yourself up, you raised your hand to their door and knocked. Ignoring the way your hand trembled lightly, you almost jumped when the door swung open faster than you expected.

“Hey,” Morgan appeared in the doorway, beaming down at you, “You made it.”

A snort left you without your permission. “Yea, you dork, I made it.” 

Catching his eye roll, you grinned as he stepped aside and swept his hand out. “Welcome to our apartment.” Your grin widened at how dumb he was and moved past him, brushing lightly against him as you entered. 

Walking in, your eyes caught on the form draped against the couch. Heart stuttering, all the anxiety that had briefly left you came flooding back. Morgan stepped around you, guiding you over to the living room. 

“Hey, asshole, you gonna say hi or what?” he asked, picking up a pillow and throwing it at Joel. It thumped softly onto his chest and rolled off the couch, causing him to glare up at Morgan. 

You stared wide eyed as Joel huffed and slung his legs over the side of the couch, standing up and unfolding to a height similar to Morgan. Giants, you scoffed lightly under your breath, they’re literally giants. Casually, you maneuvered until your body was just barely behind Morgan.

“Sup,” he did a weird head nod thing, his eyes roaming up and down your body. “I’m Joel, it’s uh—it’s nice to finally meet you.”

You smiled weakly up at him. “Y/—” you tried, cutting yourself off and clearing your throat, “Y/N. Nice to finally meet you, too.”

The two of you stared the other down, silence filling the room as Morgan watched the two of you watching each other. Rocking on your heels, you alternated between looking at him and around the room. 

“You know, uh,” Joel started abruptly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweats, “Frosty talks a lot about you. Can’t shut up, I don’t think.”

“Dude,” Morgan hissed at him as a laugh slipped past your lips. You felt your cheeks warm, your smile finally feeling less forced and more genuine.

“It’s funny,” you told him, ignoring Morgan, “he talks a lot about you, too. Once he gets started, it seems like he can’t stop.”

“I hate both of you. Why did I think this was a good idea,” Morgan said, throwing his hands up and slipping in between the two of you into what you assumed was the kitchen. The sound of yours and Joel’s laughter followed him, the pair of you sharing a conspirator’s smile. 

Joel was the first to break, his smile lingering as he spared you a glance and followed Morgan. “Don’t be like that, Morg. We’re getting along already. Isn’t that what you wanted?” 

Giggling, you walked in after them. “I don’t know what I was worried about,” you teased, sidling up to the counter, “Joel is great.” 

“Oh, you would think so,” Morgan rolled his eyes, pulling a sweet tea out of the fridge and handing it to you. Smiling in thanks, you opened it and took a sip.

“Wait,” Joel stopped and shook his head, “were you actually worried about meeting me?”

Eyes widening and head shooting up, you were positive panic flitted across your face. “Uhhh,” you started, shifting from foot to foot and shrugging, “A little? I mean, you’re his roommate and teammate and he talks about you all the time—”

“—I do not—”

“Yea, you do, Morg,” you laughed, glancing over at him before returning your attention to Joel. “But, yea. After so long without meeting, I guess I kinda built you up in my head and I got worried you wouldn’t like me and things would, I don’t know, be awkward for Morgan. It’s dumb.”

It was dumb, you realized, standing there. Joel was...you didn’t even know how to describe it. He was soothing. Calming in the same way Morgan was to you, like a balm to your anxiety. Easy to talk to, joke with. It had barely been ten minutes and already you could tell that. It was the same feeling that made you let Morgan buy you another drink when you first met.

“It’s not dumb,” he told you, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug, “I guess I felt the same way.”

“Really?” you asked, surprised. For some reason, you didn’t really expect him to feel much of, well, anything when it came to meeting you.

Grinning, he nudged your foot. “Don’t look so shocked. Even NHLers have feelings, you know.”

“Shut up,” both you and Morgan chorused, glancing at each other before laughing. It was then you realized how close the three of you were, the kitchen not exactly the largest room. If you moved one way, you’d bump into Morgan. If you moved the other, it would be Joel. 

“Wanna play fortnite or something?” Morgan asked, clearing your thoughts. He knew you well enough to figure out what the scrunch of your nose after his suggestion meant. “Or not fortnite, you have a better idea?”

“What else do you guys have?” You asked, hoping against odds they would have something that wasn’t completely awful. 

Joel and Morgan shared a look, communicating silently. 

“Uhh,” Joel started, “I think we have like, Skyrim? Never got around to playing it, though.”

Eyes immediately brightening, you straightened. You almost didn’t notice how the move brought you that much closer to him. “Dude, Skyrim came out like ten years ago. How have you never played?”

“Looks like Skyrim, it is,” Morgan muttered, squeezing past you to the living room. 

“I don’t know,” Joel tried to defend himself, “It’s not what I usually play.”

“Well, that changes today, buddy.” 

“Did you just call him buddy, oh my god,” you heard Morgan’s voice distantly, covered mostly by Joel’s shocked snort. 

Thirty minutes later found the three of you sprawled across the couch, limbs just barely intertwining as Joel tried still to make his way through the character creation screen. 

“Is that a cat? Do they have fucking furries in this game?”

“I swear, I’m gonna throw my sweet tea at you,” you threatened while swallowing down laughter at Joel’s commentary.

“Do it, I’m not getting you another one,” Morgan told you, his hand lying lightly on the bottom of your calf. 

“Yea, you would,” you smiled over at him. 

A snort came from Joel’s direction, followed by, “Dude, you would.”

“Shut the fuck up, Beezer, I didn’t ask you.”

Mock gasping, you reached over and hit Morgan’s shoulder, eliciting a sharp ‘hey’ from him. “No being mean to each other,” you laughed, settling back down, shoulder brushing against Joel’s side.

“You heard the lady, Frosty,” Joel smirked, sticking his tongue out at him. 

“I’m never letting the two of you hang out again,” Morgan groaned, throwing his head back. His thumb had paused in the motion of rubbing circles into your leg. 

Exchanging a glance with the boys, you smiled. “I think it might be a bit too late for that.”

~

“You know,” you had innocently told Morgan and Joel a few days ago, “it’s kinda funny that two of my closest friends are professional ice hockey players and I’ve never even gone skating before.”

He was shocked at the revelation. Horrified, even. And definitely planning on rectifying that minor fact, something Joel fully supported and helped plan. Sadly, it took a few days before he and Joel were both home and didn’t have practice or a game and you didn’t have classes or homework, leaving the three of you able to hang out. 

He always counted it as a minor miracle when all of your schedules lined up. In the months he and Joel had known you, it happened far less than he would’ve liked. But as much as it felt better, more…more right, for it to be the three of you—which was normal, you were best friends; he didn’t like one of you more than the other—he took what he could get and didn’t complain. 

Much.

That’s how Morgan found himself at an ice rink with his two closest friends on his day off, watching one of them tie the other’s skate.

“You could’ve done this yourself,” Joel told you, fingers making quick work of your laces.

You beamed down at him, a satisfied little smile on your face, “But you do it so much better than me.”

Morgan laughed to himself, bending down to finish lacing up his own skates. Joel had gotten his done first and found himself helping you, not that he exactly put up a fight. Finishing up, he stood and leaned against the boards, peering down as Joel worked. 

“You waiting for us? That’s so sweet,” you smiled up at him, resting your weight on your hands behind you. 

Joel huffed a laugh and half turned to look over his shoulder at him, flashing him a smirk, the asshole. “Our Morgan? He’s just a sweetheart, isn’t he?”

Morgan reached out and kicked him, mindful of the blade of his skate. Rolling his eyes, he maneuvered around both of you and stepped out onto the ice. 

“Just for that, I’m going without the both of you.”

Hearing the teasing calls of his name accompanied by laughter, he smiled and went to do laps around the rink. Slowly he went through the motions, glancing behind him now and then to see if Joel had finished yet. 

When he finally did, Morgan made his way back to the two of you. “You ready to see what you’ve been missing out on?” He teased, eyes catching on the way you wobbled unsteadily and clutched tightly to Joel’s arm next to you. 

“Quick question,” your laugh came out high pitched and as unsteady as your walk, “just how hard is skating?”

“Please, don’t worry,” Joel scoffed, shortening his steps to help you. Morgan watched his teammate stabilize you, the steady rock to your choppy sea. “Skating is one of the easiest things in the world.”

“Okay, let me rephrase,” a cheeky smile flitted across your lips, “how hard is skating for us normal people?”

He shared a fond look with Joel, laughing quietly. “Trust us, you’ll be fine.” 

“I do,” you responded without a moment’s hesitation, pausing in your baby steps before continuing. “Trust you, I mean.”

The breath left his lungs in a quick rush, not expecting that, not expecting how sincere and matter of fact you had said it or how it affected him. It wasn’t fair, how quickly you could throw him off balance with what seemed like barely a thought. 

Joel cleared his throat, his hand tightening around yours. “Good,” he told you, voice remarkably soft and low before returning to normal. “I guess it’s time to get you on the ice, then?”

Morgan had to laugh a little at the fear that filled your face at Joel’s words, the way you immediately clung somehow even tighter to him. Smiling, he reached out to you, offering you his hand.

“You said you trusted us,” he told you, “So trust us. We’re not gonna let you get hurt.”

He watched your eyes meet his and fly down to his outstretched hand, back and forth between the two. One of your hands slowly let go of their iron grip on Joel and settled into his.

“Promise?” You looked from him to Joel, eyes painfully doelike. 

Once again, he shared a soft glance with his teammate before looking back at you. 

“We promise.”

You nodded, taking a deep breath and appearing to steel yourself. “Okay, alright, I’m good. Let’s fucking do this.”

Laughter peeled out of him and Joel. “There’s our Y/N,” his teammate grinned, helping you out onto the ice. The two of them kept their grips on you tight as you shakily stepped onto the ice, making sure you didn’t immediately fall.

Your first steps were wobbly, with the only thing keeping you from eating ice being him and Joel. Slowly, the three of you made your way across the ice. “There you go,” he encouraged you, “just like that. Slow and steady for right now—”

“Head up, try not to look down so much, alright? We’ve got you,” Joel reassured, the two of them going back and forth, offering advice and making sure nothing happened.

It took a bit, but soon you were giggling and flashing them pretty smiles, your grip on them loosening slowly but surely. It was enough for Morgan to speed up and swing around to skate backward in front of you.

Catching your worried glance, he smiled. “Still here, just letting you skate more on your own,” he squeezed your hand, now being held more for assurance than to help keep you up.

And so the three of you kept skating around the rink with you getting more and more confident until you were on your own and no longer needed them to hold on to. Morgan watched proudly as you went from wobbly steps to actual skating, though your arms still stayed out by your sides for balance. 

“Show off,” you yelled and laughed, attempting to shove Joel when he went to skate in wide circles around both of you. 

“What?” Joel threw his hands up, laughing loudly and dodging you. “I’m just skating circles around you.” 

“Ha ha,” Morgan grinned when you sarcastically laughed at Joel’s antics. “You’re simply hilarious, you dork.”

“I know,” Joel smiled happily, swooping in to smack a loud kiss to your cheek before speeding away. The kiss nearly knocked you over, leaving you gawking after him.

Morgan observed the two of you as he glided in front of you, a wide smile stretching across his lips. Small huffs of laughter left you as you skated—still not great, but definitely better—over to him, grabbing his hand and trying to tug him. 

“Morgan, come on,” you giggled, “help me avenge my honor.” 

“Oh, of course,” he replied, nodding his head in mock seriousness. He pulled you along in chase of Joel, the three of you laughing as you went around and around the rink. 

It wasn’t until you two caught him—Morgan suspected Joel had let them catch him, like they wouldn’t have been able to eventually—and Joel decided to try to teach you how to skate backward as Morgan followed that he realized something. 

He realized as he watched the two of you smiling and laughing, as he skated behind while Joel held your hands, as both of you made corny jokes and looked back at him to make sure he was still with you, he realized that—fuck.

He was fucked. 

Because he looked at you and heard your laughter and felt his heart tighten. Because he looked at Joel and the way he looked back at him with a fond look and toothy grin, and his heart stopped.

Because he looked at both of you and felt the same exact thing. And he realized it didn’t feel right when all three of you were together because you were just his closest friends. 

It was because when he was with the two of you, his heart skipped beats and all of these feelings weighed him down and lifted him up and—and—

Fuck. He was well and truly fucked, that’s what he realized.

~

Humming quietly under your breath, you picked up the plates from the table and made your way back to the kitchen. Stepping around Morgan, you reached down to put the dishes into the sink for him to wash. After you let them sit, you hoisted yourself up and onto the counter next to him and watched as he grabbed for one of the dirty plates.

“You think Joel will be back soon?” You asked him, tilting your head and pursing your lips. 

Morgan met your gaze and held it as he washed the plate. “Hopefully, we can’t start the movie without him.”

Dinner and a movie at their place. It was almost like a date if you let yourself think about it. But you didn’t, because they’re just your friends.

Your tall, attractive friends that you had completely platonic feelings for. Okay, mostly platonic feelings for. Fine, not at all platonic and actually very romantic feelings, but you refused to think about it. There were two of them and one of you and that, that was weird. Right? 

Right?

Kicking yourself mentally, you shot him a tiny smile. “Do we even want to know what he chose this time?” Every movie night, a different one of you had complete control over the movie. Tonight was, regretfully, Joel’s night to choose and he refused to tell either of you what you were watching. 

It went without saying that you were a bit scared. 

“I don’t think so,” Morgan made a face, putting another plate in the dish rack. You laughed lowly to yourself, watching a smile creep over his face as he glanced back at you.

“Either way,” you told him, “he needs to get back soon, I’m starting to miss the weirdo.” Shimmying down from the countertop, you walked over to the fridge to get a drink. 

Morgan made a noise of agreement, finishing up and turning off the sink. He turned to face you, grabbing a hand towel from next to him and leaning against the counter. He stared down at you without responding; the action causing you to grin slightly in confusion. 

“What’s up?” You questioned him, stretching your foot out to lightly tap his.

Head shaking slowly, his mouth opened a bit. Closing it, his eyebrows squished together in what seemed like deep thought. 

“Do you ever think about your soulmate?”

The question caught you off guard, making your body physically recoil just a touch. You shook your head, mouth hanging open. “Uhhh,” you stuttered, a startled laugh making its way past your lips. “Not if I can help it, why?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, brows still furrowed and an intent look painted across his face.

Shrugging, your eyes flitted around the room. At your side, your fingers twitched against the counter, creating a muted tapping noise. “Nothing, just...I don’t know. It’s not my favorite subject. You?”

“Yea,” he said with a forced smile, “Same thing, I guess. Not if I can help it.” 

You hummed softly, trying to figure out his expression and the change in subject. You couldn’t recall ever, ever, talking about soulmates with either Morgan or Joel. Not in the entire time you had known them. It was like some sort of weird unspoken taboo topic, never brought up, never talked about despite how popular it was for everyone else. Never asking what your soulmark was, or what date was splayed across your skin. Like there was a sense of fear lingering around it, which made sense for you but never for your boys. 

The boys. Not—not your boys, you scolded yourself.

“It’s just, you and Joel,” Morgan started, scaring you a little. “The two of you get along really well.”

Was he? Was he implying that you and Joel? Soulmates?

For a split second, your mind ran wild with the thought. To be soulmates with Joel, with his smiles for just you and Morgan, and his wild hair and dumb hats, and horrible facial hair and horrible jokes and—

How nice it would be. How irrevocably nice it would be. 

But even as you let yourself think about it for that split second, you knew it wasn’t what you wanted. Not entirely. Because it wasn’t just Joel in your daydream, but Morgan, too. With his pretty eyes and the look of exasperation he always had when he was with the two of you. The three of you. 

Always the three of you.

Shaking your head before you knew what you were doing, you replied, “Me and Joel? No, no, I mean—”

“You’re always happy and smiling around him,” Morgan cut you off, not making eye contact, “maybe the two of you—”

“I’m always happy and smiling because I’m with the two of you, you idiot,” you rolled your eyes as you cut him off in return, ignoring the way your heart pounded in your chest. 

He pursed his lips, about to retort when the sound of the door opening caught your attention. 

“Alright, assholes. I’ve got the goods,” Joel’s voice called out, the door closing behind him and keys clattering loudly into the horrible gritty tray you had gotten them. You and Morgan remained quiet as Joel made his way into the kitchen, digging around in the bag he was holding. 

He paused upon entering, eyes lifting to look from you to Morgan and back. His arms slowly fell, his face screwing up in cautious confusion. “So, uh, what did I...miss?” he asked, stepping inside apprehensively. 

“Soulmates, apparently,” you told him sarcastically when Morgan kept silent. You made grabby hands for the bag, reaching in to grab your bag of peach rings. 

Joel winced, a just barely audible ‘oh boy’ falling from his lips. “What got you on that god awful subject?”

You snorted, already shoving a peach ring into your mouth, “So you agree? It’s an awful subject?”

“Oh yea,” he nodded, reaching over and tugging at the peach ring balancing between your teeth before it tore in half, shoving his stolen half into his mouth and chewing obnoxiously. 

Pulling back, you batted at his outstretched hands, “you should’ve gotten your own. Stop stealing, thief.”

“I prefer the term rogue,” he replied, shooting you a cheeky grin. A soft ‘oh my god’ left you with a groan as you rolled your eyes and set the bag down.

Morgan’s continued silence worried you, and you could tell it unnerved Joel just as much. You stole glances at him, his posture tense and face troubled. The whole soulmates thing wasn’t your favorite, but what was going on inside of his head that had him like this? Was he still thinking about you and Joel—which was a ridiculous idea. But maybe that’s just because you knew the truth you resolved yourself to. That you just didn’t, for some unknown reason, have a soulmate to begin with. 

“What’s going on in your big boy brain,” Joel nodded at Morgan, eyebrow quirking as he watched him.

Morgan startled almost imperceptibly, his attention shooting to his teammate. He shook his head, “Nothing, just the whole soulmates thing.” 

“Still?” You frowned as you crossed your arms, puzzled. 

“Dude, just move on already,” Joel told him.

Morgan rolled his eyes, shifting his weight from foot to foot. You saw his grip on the countertop behind him tighten for a second before relaxing again.

“What’s going on?” You asked him, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm.

He flinched back, a tiny movement that you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t already watching. Swallowing roughly, you stopped and let your hand fall, hurt coating your insides. Morgan licked his lips and rubbed at his chin, face screwing up. 

“Don’t either of you ever think about the people you have feelings for being a perfect match for someone else? That it doesn’t matter what you feel in the end?”

Taken aback, you share a look with Joel as you grasped for words. Because you do think about that, about how Joel and Morgan have someone waiting for them that isn’t you and you don’t know when it’ll happen, only that it will and you’ll end up left behind like you always are. Alone. It wasn’t often, but late at night, the knowledge crept over you like thick sludge, refusing to move or leave.

“All the time,” Joel spoke before you could string together a sentence, his voice weak and a frown marring his features. “But it does matter, doesn’t it? Because you still have time with them now, and you can’t waste it for something that might happen.” 

“But it will,” Morgan stressed, the hand that had rubbed his chin flying out to his side with a look of helplessness. “It will happen.” 

“But you don’t know that,” you countered, fighting to get the words out. Your throat was tightening up, your heart pounding away. “No one really does. You don’t even have to end up with your soulmate.”

“Why wouldn’t you,” Morgan laughed without humor, “why wouldn’t you leave to be with the person hand picked for you?”

“Because I don’t have one,” slipped past your lips without your permission, the truth behind your words hitting you like a brick. Tears pricked behind your eyes as you swallowed harshly, stepping into yourself. 

Morgan moved back and hit the counter behind him with a dull thud, staring at you with an unreadable expression. To your other side, Joel looked down at his feet, hands shoved into his pants. 

“I never had one,” you continued, softer, quieter. Weaker. “I’ve always been the person without someone made just for me, but I’ve moved on. Because it doesn’t matter. It’s what I make of it, and it’s the scariest fucking thing, but it is what it is.”

“What if I can’t move on?” Morgan whispered, unable to meet your eyes. 

“Then the people you were scared of leaving weren’t worth it to begin with,” Joel told him, gazing at him sadly. 

Morgan’s face dropped forward into his hands, rubbing harshly. The three of you were silent, the tension nearly suffocating. Waiting, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“I can’t just get over it,” Morgan said, shaking his head. 

“Why not,” Joel questioned just as quietly, running a hand through his hair. 

“Because I just can’t,” Morgan threw his hands up, voice raised as he stepped forward. “I can’t stop thinking that my feelings are a waste. That all of this is just a waste.”

“All of this?” You asked, uncomprehending.

“Yes, all of this,” he told you, gesturing wildly between the three of you. “Us. This. It’s a waste.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Morgan,” Joel was the one to ask this time, his voice low and daring. Daring Morgan to say it, to tell you exactly what he means.

“That I look at both of you and see two people who are going to leave me. Two people that I care about, that I want to be with, and know that it won’t last.”

The shock that came from him admitting his feelings and finally giving you the knowledge that you weren’t alone in your pining all these months still wasn’t enough to overwhelm the rest of his confession. The part that said that we were a waste, that cut a part of you that you kept hidden.

“Did you ever stop and think about how we felt?” The words left you as you stepped away, needing to get away. “That we might, for just a second, feel the same?” 

“But it doesn’t matter,” Morgan nearly cried, voice shaking. “It never did.” 

Nodding, you swallowed down tears. “Okay,” you whispered, maneuvering around Joel, who had remained quiet. “Okay.” 

“Where are you going?” Morgan asked, reaching toward you.

Nearly laughing, you told him, “Away. I’m sorry, Joel, but I can’t be near someone who thinks everything about us, our friendship, our relationship, our feelings, are a waste. Not right now.”

Joel nodded, glancing back at you and offering a weak smile. “Don’t worry, I get it.” 

Returning it, you turned and went to grab your things. 

“Wait,” you heard Morgan before you saw him try to follow you, looking between you and Joel. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It doesn’t matter, Morg,” you whispered, shrugging lightly. “I’m gonna go for awhile. I need to go.”

“No, please—”

Dodging him, you left the apartment. Vaguely, you heard Joel tell Morgan to stop, to let you go. Silently, you thanked him. You just couldn’t be near them right now, constantly reminded of your feelings and knowing at least one of them thought it was all useless.

All of this is just a waste. Us. This.

You nearly ran out of the building and to your car, just barely making it in before a yell forced its way out.

“Fuck,” you hit the steering wheel, letting your head droop forward to rest on it. You gave yourself a minute to pull yourself together and turn your car on, starting your journey back to the apartment you had slowly considered home less and less. 

And so you drove away from the one you had begun to consider home, and from the boys that made it feel like that, and to the place you could finally let yourself break down.

~

Day after day became a week and then two. There was now this tension between him and Morgan, you weren’t replying to his texts the same way, and he wasn’t even sure if you and Morgan had talked at all since that night. He hated it.

Joel hated this. 

It didn’t help that everything was bleeding over onto the ice and he couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop making rookie mistakes, couldn’t do anything when Morgan got yelled at for fucking up on a play. Couldn’t do anything.

The two of them were this close to getting benched, they both knew it. He knew this couldn’t keep happening, but he didn’t know how to stop it. 

He saw his phone light up on his nightstand out of the corner of his eye. Mentally, he debated leaving it and continuing his inner dilemma, but a glance at it convinced him otherwise.

Sitting up in bed, he struggled against the blankets tangled around his legs to reach over and grab it. He crashed back down, lifting his phone above him and pulling up the text.

[10:38pm] armrest ; coffee tomorrow? 

Seeing the name he had you under brought out a grin. You hated it the moment you saw it and argued that everyone was short next to a group of hockey players, which is exactly why both he and Morgan had you listed as it. In a sense, it was a reminder of better times.

[10:40pm] bumblebee ; yea ofc

[10:40pm] bumblebee ; the two of us?

He didn’t miss the fact that you texted just him and not the groupchat—the one aptly named the 3 stoiges, because Morgan made it with a typo and you and Joel kept it there to bully him. Time after time, Morgan tried to change it, and yet every time he went back, there it was once again in all of its dumbass glory. 

[10:43pm] armrest ; yea i wanted to talk about everything. just the two of us for now

[10:44pm] bumblebee ; im there just lmk when

You texted him back the time, and that was that. The entire exchange left him feeling underwhelmed and anxious. It felt wrong. Stilted. He missed the jokes and subtle digs at each other. The goodnight texts that just kept on going. 

He had a hard time going to sleep after that, not that he was doing a good job of it before. Tossing and turning, knowing that his teammate was his roommate and just a door over and that it didn’t matter because they hadn’t actually talked since the fight. And probably wouldn’t, since that was how things seemed to be going.

But tomorrow, maybe tomorrow would change things.

~

Morning came and went and he woke up to his alarm, feeling the opposite of well rested. He had slept like shit, just like he had been for the past two weeks. Getting out of bed, he got ready to go meet up with you, ignoring the absence of Morgan in the kitchen or on the couch. The lack of a good morning and a smile from his arguably favorite teammate. 

He left the apartment in a rush, something he had found himself doing a lot of lately. Not on purpose, he didn’t think. It was just like a lot of other things in his life now; it felt different. Less warm, duller. Void of life, of everything that made it home to him. 

An open bag of peach rings still abandoned on the kitchen counter, never moved. A little shittily made origami crane knocked over on the coffee table, never fixed. Hoodies missing, never returned. Reminders.

He made it to the little rinky dink cafe on the corner soon enough, refusing to admit he hesitated a bit before he went in. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen you at all since that night, but he would be lying if he said it was the same as before. 

You were at their usual table, wearing a recognizable sweatshirt—one of theirs, but at this point he wasn’t really sure if it his or Morgan’s—and clutching a cup in your hands with a cup sitting across from you. Hearing the bell ring, you looked up and spotted him, giving him a tiny smile.

He didn’t want to think about the way the sight made the tension bleed from his body, the familiarity filling him with a rush of warmth. He made the short walk to you, slipping into one of the open seats.

Both of you ignored the still empty third seat.

“You’re late,” you told him, with just enough of a smile to take the edge off. 

He grinned back. “You telling me you weren’t, too?”

Your laughter rang softly through the mostly empty cafe. “No.”

“Thought so,” he replied, taking a sip of the coffee in front of him. His go to order, just the way he always got it. 

God, he missed you. 

A few beats of silence passed with the two of you just soaking up the other’s presence. 

Clearing your throat, you looked down at your hands and picked at your nail. “I think it’s probably time we talk about…”

“That night?” he finished for you. “Yea. I think so, too.”

Another pained smile passed between both of you. Another beat of silence. 

“You know—I mean—” you tried to say, taking a moment to close your eyes and take a deep breath. “I care about you and Morgan. About both of you. Not—not platonically either.” 

He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading, the heat creeping into his cheeks. “Yea, I figured.” You deadpanned at him and he had to resist the laugh bubbling up inside of him. He nudged your foot under the table. “Me, too. Non-platonically care about both of you.” 

“Yea,” you rolled your eyes, grinning, “I figured.”

Letting the laugh out, he shook his head. “Ass.”

You shrugged, taking a sip of your drink, “You started it.”

“I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too,” you whispered back, smile gaining a sorrowful edge.

Staring at you, he felt so many emotions. So many things, and yet something was still missing. 

Licking his lips, he risked a glance to his right, at the empty seat next to him. “It doesn’t—things don’t really feel the same without him, though.” 

“Yea,” you looked at the chair for a second, pain flashing across your face so fast he almost didn’t catch it. “They don’t.”

Hearing you agree, he let the breath he had been holding go. He picked at his cup, resisting the urge to down it. Dimly, he realized you had gotten his coffee before he got there. Which meant you bought it for him. The broke college student who rarely gets anything from here got him coffee without thinking twice. That feeling in his chest grew, fondness for you radiating throughout him. It was a small gesture, one you probably barely thought about, but it made him fall even harder.

“You know, I keep,” you stopped, tilting your head with a jaded smile before steamrolling on, “I keep hearing him say it in my head. ‘Everything’s a waste.’ And I know he didn’t—didn’t mean it like that, but…”

“But it still hurts,” he finished for you quietly, watching you and the way your shoulders hunched forward. 

“Yea, it still hurts.”

“We’re all just miserable anymore, aren’t we?” he asked, knowing the answer and asking anyway.

You laughed softly, glancing up at him. “That we are.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“No,” you held eye contact, steady and intent, “It wasn’t.”

The bell above the door jingled, your conversation dying down. The two of you nursed your drinks, avoiding the painful subject. Pushing it off and dragging it out just a little more.

“I don’t want us to end here, Joel,” you told him, voice barely a whisper. “Not like this. I don’t think I could handle it.”

“I don’t think I could either,” he replied. He could handle not being everything he wanted with the two of you. He resigned himself to that a long time ago. Could handle not being in a relationship, unable to hold or kiss either of you, to look at you and know both of you were his.

He could handle that. What he couldn’t handle? 

This. 

These past two weeks, the three of you barely talking. The tension, the awkwardness, the lack of everything that made you work. Not having either of you really, truly, in his life anymore. 

“I’m gonna talk to him,” he told you, not letting himself think too hard about it. He nodded, ignoring your unreadable expression, and kept talking. “I’m gonna talk to him and then we’re gonna—we’re gonna—”

“We’re gonna fix things?” You croaked out, gnawing at the inside of your bottom lip.

“Yea,” his throat tightened, making him force out the words, “Yea, we’re gonna fix things.”

~

He cornered Morgan later that night in the kitchen when he finally came out of his room to get something to eat. 

“We need to talk.”

Morgan jumped, keeping his back turned to Joel as he dug through the fridge. “About what?” He asked, the forced casualness of it shining clear.

“I think you know what.”

He slowly drew himself up and closed the fridge. “I don’t think—”

“Yea, we do,” he cut his roommate off, his arms folded across his chest. “We both know we do.”

Morgan turned around, facing him with his eyes closed and shaking his head. “Please—”

“We can’t keep going on like this, none of us can,” Joel forcibly told him, refusing to back down. He was doing this for them, for you and for Morgan and for him. “I was with Y/N earlier.”

Morgan flinched back, ducking his head. “Yea? How—how is—”

“Good,” he softened his voice, uncrossing his arms and taking a step toward him. “Come on, let's go sit down.”

“Okay,” Morgan whispered, nodding and following him slowly to the couch. They sat further away than they usually would, a space left open for the one not there with them. 

Joel opened his mouth to start, but Morgan cut him off before he could.

“I’m so sorry,” he told him, avoiding eye contact. Clenching his hands tightly on his lap, he squeezed them periodically. “I didn’t—didn’t mean anything I said that night. Not really. Not like that.”

“I know.” 

“I was just scared,” he kept going, still not looking at him, “I still am. Fuck, I wish I could go back and just—”

“Morgan,” Joel stopped him, getting up and moving to sit down on the table in front of him. “Look at me.”

It took a second, took him reaching out and nudging his face toward him. 

“We know. We’re all scared. And we can’t take back what was said, but we can move forward. Together. The three of us.” 

Morgan shook his head, tears lining his eyes as he leaned imperceptibly into his hand. “How?” 

He almost laughed, but stopped himself in time. “I don’t know,” he shrugged helplessly, smiling at him. “But we will. Because we care about each other. That’s all that matters.”

“Yea?” 

“Yea,” he laughed this time, his hand pressing further into Morgan’s face, the other coming up to rest on his knee. 

Morgan’s hand found his, and they stayed like that for a while, taking comfort in finally being near each other again. Mentally, physically. 

“I missed this,” Morgan told him, blinking softly up at him. 

Joel grinned back, “Well, I don’t know if we’ve ever done anything like this before, but—”

Morgan scoffed, rolling his eyes and pushing him away. One of his hands came up to subtly wipe at his eyes and Joel pretended not to notice as he reached out and pulled him back to him. 

Hand threaded in his hair, he tugged him in to rest his head against his neck. “Kidding,” he laughed, turning to nuzzle into Morgan’s hair. “But seriously, I did, too.”

Morgan’s hand squeezed his side, the two of them lapsing back into silence. At least, until he broke it.

“So, which one of us is gonna text our better part?” 

~

[8:17pm] frostbite ; come over?

The text from Morgan lit your phone screen and sent your heart into a steady gallop. You knew Joel was going to talk to him, but for some reason, you hadn’t thought it would be so soon. 

Was it bad that you didn’t feel ready?

Honestly, if you thought about it, you didn’t think you would ever feel ready. In a way, this was the buildup of months of dancing around each other. It was terrifying, that tonight everything would be out in the open.

You would be lying if you said a part of you couldn’t wait.

[8:19pm] armrest ; omw over

Rushing around, you put on shoes and threw back on the hoodie you were wearing earlier when you saw Joel. You grabbed your keys and locked the door behind you, making your way to your car. 

The drive to their apartment was short, though it still took everything in you to obey the traffic laws on the way there. The walk up filled you with even more anxiety, your hands shaking despite your best attempts to settle your nerves.

You knocked lightly on their door, unable to manage more than a mediocre tap. Luckily, it was Joel that opened the door, beckoning you inside with a hand on your waist. He pressed a kiss to the side of your head, sending heat into your cheeks.

“He’s in the kitchen making tea,” Joel told you, closing the door behind you. 

You nodded, dropping your keys onto the Gritty tray. Together, you made your way to the kitchen. 

Seeing Morgan for the first time in two weeks, after not having spoken at all was...was strange. It hit you like a fist to the gut. 

You saw how exhausted Joel looked earlier, disheveled and messy. But compared to Morgan, he looked only a bit different from usual. Morgan, though—

He looked rough. 

Heavy bags under his eyes, hair wild, clothes wrinkled. Even his shoulders were hunched in more than usual. Your heartstrings tugged just looking at him. 

“Hey,” he mumbled when he looked up and saw you, mustering up a weak smile. 

Slowly, you made your way to where he stood. He set down the cup of tea he was reaching out to offer you, worry plastered on his face.

He took a deep breath and started to talk, “Look, I’m so sor—”

You caused him to stop mid-sentence, throwing your arms around him and gripping tight. “You’re such an asshole,” you told him, voice muffled in his shirt. Burying your face deeper, his arms came up and wrapped tightly around you.

“I know,” he said, laying his head on yours, “I’m so sorry.” 

You didn’t respond, taking the moment to really let everything sink in. Giving him one last squeeze, you let go and stepped back, picking up the mug that you claimed as yours on one of your first visits.

“Living room?” you asked, smiling at the two of your boys—because you finally let yourself give in and call them that, because they were yours and you didn’t plan on letting go so easily. 

“Living room, it is,” Joel answered, reaching around to grab his mug and guide you over. Morgan followed behind, staying close. 

Like none of you could bear to be more than a few feet anymore. It was just a tad ironic at this point. 

The three of you settled down in your usual seats, with you in the middle, Joel to your right, and Morgan on the left. You put your tea down after taking a sip, smiling when it tasted exactly how Morgan always makes it for you. 

“So, I guess this is where we talk about everything,” Morgan said, putting his cup down next to yours and turning to face the two of you. 

Joel followed suit, nodding. “That it is.”

For a second, the three of you sat there in silence, looking around at each other. 

“Any volunteers to go first?” You ventured finally, raising your eyebrows. Your question earned you a pair of laughs. 

“I’m the one that started this mess, so I’ll go, I guess.” Morgan darted his tongue out to lick his lips, glancing between the two of you. 

“That night, I let my fear take over. And I know I’ve already told both of you, but I’m sorry.”

“Morgan,” you tried, but he stopped you. 

“Let me talk,” he smiled, so you let him. “At that point, I just really let myself consider that I had feelings for the two people I thought of as my closest friends. And it made me scared, because there are soulmates out there and I know—I think—I don’t have one. But as far as I knew, both of you did. The thought of losing you to someone I had no chance against, it made me lash out. 

That was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. We’re adults, mostly, and I should’ve handled it better. I’m sorry.”

You were aware you were gaping a little, but you were unsure on how to stop. Joel got his bearings back before you.

“Yea, you definitely handled it like shit,” he said, shrugging and getting a snort out of you and a ‘fucking hell’ from Morgan. “But it is what it is. It got the ball rolling and we can’t go back. We can only go on.”

“When the fuck did you get good at talking about your feelings?” You turned to him, an incredulous look on your face. “Seriously, you were like the last person I expected to be spouting off relationship wisdom.”

“What can I say,” he grinned, “I’m a man of wisdom. Isn’t that why you care about me non-platonically?”

“Why do I like you,” Morgan muttered to himself, covering his eyes, “Literally why.”

“Moving on,” you announced, choking back a laugh, “On the subject of soulmates, as far as I’m aware, I don’t have one either, so there’s that. And right now, I don’t know if me having one would even stop me from wanting to at least see if this is something worth having. Which I think it is.”

“Yea, I remember you mentioning the soulmate lack,” Joel nodded, “And I agree, with the second part.”

Bumping his shoulder, you went to pick up your tea. 

“So that’s two out of three?” Morgan asked, looking at both of you.

“Make that three out of three,” Joel butted in, raising his hand. “Like 99% sure I don’t either.”

“So none of us have soulmates?” You looked between Morgan and Joel. “Really?”

“Lucky?” Morgan hazarded a guess. 

“I’ll take it.” Joel grinned.

“And to clarify, there are mutual feelings here? Threeway feelings?” 

“Don’t—don’t call it that,” you replied to Morgan, wincing. “That’s just bad.”

“I don’t know,” Joel told you, grinning, “I like it. Threeway Feelings. New groupchat name?”

“Yes.”

“No.” 

You glared at Morgan, repeating, “No, motion overruled.”

“You’re two to one,” Joel teased.

Smiling sweetly back, you told him, “Cute that you think this is a democracy.”

Laughter rang through the apartment. It was almost like the past two weeks had never happened at all. 

“But let me clarify,” Joel started, sitting up straighter and holding up a hand, fingers up, “All of us think we’re soulmate-less, and even if we’re not, it’s something we’ll deal with when we get there,” one finger down, “All of us have feelings for the other two people in this room,” another finger, “and we’re not dating yet?”

“Correct,” you confirmed.

“Sounds about right so far,” Morgan nodded.

“But we should, though,” Joel said, glancing at you, “Date, I mean. It’s the next logical step, right?”

“Kinda worrying when he uses logic,” you leaned over to stage whisper to Morgan. 

He nodded, leaning close, “I agree.”

“I’m right here, jackasses,” Joel threw a throw pillow at Morgan, apparently taking the name literally. 

“Were you? I couldn’t tell,” Morgan replied sarcastically, throwing it back. 

Closing your eyes, you sucked in a deep breath and tried not to laugh. 

“I agree with Joel, though,” you told them, stopping them in their tracks. “About dating.”

“You wanna date us?” Morgan asked you, Joel pointing at him to back up his question. 

Rolling your eyes, you smiled, “Yes, I wanna date you. Do you wanna date me?”

You felt ridiculous for asking, like a flashback to kindergarten with a note saying ‘do you like me? yes or no’.

“I don’t know, what are the options?” Joel asked, pretending to think about it.

“Yes or yes,” you deadpanned.

“I think I’m gonna have to go with yes on that one,” Morgan told you, leaning in to press a kiss to your cheek. 

“I’m gonna have to go with yes, as well,” Joel nodded, kissing your other cheek. 

“Okay,” you tried to ignore the pulsating heat in your cheeks. 

“Wait,” Morgan stopped, clearing his throat and looking over at Joel, “Are we? I mean—”

“Dating?” Joel asked, lips quirking into a soft smile. 

Morgan nodded, staying quiet. 

Joel shook his head and laughed, “Yea, I think I could manage dating both of you.”

“Yea?” Morgan smiled. 

“Yea.” Joel returned it.

“Cool,” Morgan said, running a hand through his hand before stopping and frowning. “I know that all of that shitshow was my fault, but we’re never doing that again, right?”

“Oh, seconded,” you immediately replied, “Never again.”

“Thirded,” Joel agreed, nodding wholeheartedly.

You looked at your boys—now officially yours—and smiled. 

~

Their first date, it was decided, would be dinner at Morgan and Joel’s apartment, just the three of them. Private, no pressure. 

You showed up, dressed up but not too much, as per Joel’s vague instructions, at 8pm on the dot, making it the only time you were ever on time for something. You liked to think that if it wasn’t at your boys’ apartment, they’d be late, too.

“Well, don’t you look lovely,” Morgan let you in, bending to kiss your hairline. 

“I could say the same for you,” you replied, taking him in, pressing a kiss to his chin.

Not the usual pre-game suit, you noticed, unable to decide if it was disappointment or relief in your stomach. He was clad in a nice pair of pants, his dark blue button up undone at the top and the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Sans shoes, because of course.

On the whole, a very nice look, in your humble opinion.

He noticed your glance down at his lack of footwear and grinned, “Footwear optional.”

“You should’ve mentioned that sooner,” you groaned, bending down to remove your own shoes that had already begun to pinch at your toes. 

He laughed, waiting for you to finish and take his hand, leading you to the kitchen. 

Joel waited for you there, bent over a pot on the stove. Shirt completely unbuttoned, tie hanging around his neck. Shaking your head, you stepped up behind him to wrap your arms around his back, kissing his shoulder blade. 

“Who let you be in charge of dinner?” You teased, catching his eye as he turned around in your embrace to return it. 

“Say the word and we’ll order pizza,” he whispered back into your ear, lips lightly brushing it.

A tingle ran down your spine as you withdrew, sharing a secret smile and ignoring Morgan’s snort. 

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” you told him, leaning against a counter. 

A laugh bubbled up and out of you at Morgan’s subtle wince. “Dinner’s just about done, anyway. Guess we’ll find out,” he said, getting out a few plates. 

“So, what exactly is on the menu?” You questioned, unable to quite tell. 

Joel looked up at you, opening his mouth and closing it quickly. “You know,” he answered, hand bracing on the countertop, “I’m not sure if I can pronounce it right.”

Giggles flew out of you even as you felt a sense of apprehension take over. “This is gonna be good.”

Sharing a laugh, you got to work setting the table and bringing over the food, which you cautiously noted smelled somewhat decent. Not—not really entirely good, but decent.

“Not gonna lie,” Joel told both of you once everyone was seated with a plate, “Kinda scared to eat this.”

“You’re really not filling me with confidence here, babe,” you replied, getting a tiny forkful of food. 

“On three?” Morgan proposed. 

“On three,” you and Joel agreed. 

“One,” you started.

“Two,” Joel continued.

“Three.”

You shoved the food into your mouth, barely giving yourself a moment to reconsider. Slowly, you chewed, watching your boyfriends’ faces.

It seemed the general consensus was…not good. 

“I think we fucked up somewhere,” Joel swallowed loudly, grimacing.

“Oh, we definitely did,” Morgan agreed, pushing back his chair and standing. “I’ll get my phone.”

“Pizza?”

“Pizza.”

~

“We’re only here to get essentials,” Morgan reminded the two of you, grabbing a cart. 

You and Joel followed behind, hands swinging between your bodies. “Yea, totally,” you smiled, “Essentials.”

“Of course,” Joel nodded gravely, before turning to you and whispering, “We’re definitely getting the stuff for ice cream sundaes, right?”

Giggling, you nudged into him. “He said essentials, Joel. Obviously, we’re getting the stuff for ice cream sundaes.”

“I can hear both of you, you know,” Morgan called back, looking over his shoulder at the pair of you. 

You shot him a smile and blew him a kiss, knowing Joel was beside you doing something just as cheesy.

The next thing you knew, Joel was speeding up and dragging you along to catch up to your other boyfriend. “I’m getting in,” he dropped your hand, lifting a leg over the side of the cart. 

“No—Joel—oh my god,” Morgan tried to jerk the cart away, laughter spilling out of him.

“Joel, you’re not getting in the cart,” you shoved him, blissfully ignoring the stares coming from the old lady down the aisle. 

Joel pouted exaggeratedly, turning to face you. “Why not?”

In a quick motion, you propelled yourself into the cart. “Because I am!” Your giggles came out maniacal, joined with Joel’s bark of laughter and Morgan’s groan of disappointment. 

“Where’s the food gonna go?” Morgan asked, continuing to push the cart with you in it. 

“In the cart with Y/N,” Joel told him, bumping lightly into his shoulder with a grin. 

You pointed at Joel, agreeing. 

Morgan shook his head, that exasperated fondness prevalent on his face as he sighed and tried not to smile. “Fine,” he relented. 

~

“You know, that monkey kinda looks like you,” Morgan overheard you tell Joel as he paid for the cotton candy. 

“You’re such an ass,” Joel pushed you, laughing. 

“Speaking of asses,” Morgan said, coming up behind you and handing over the cotton candy, “Do you think they have donkeys here?”

You threw your head back with a loud laugh. 

“This is the zoo,” Joel replied, grabbing his hand, “...I actually don’t know. We should check.”

“In the whole zoo, you want to see donkeys?” You asked in bemusement, leaning into him. 

He shrugged, wrapping his unoccupied arm around you. “What can I say, I’m a man with taste.”

“Oh, for sure,” Joel retorted, snorting and squeezing his hand in his own.

~

Limbs tangled, you relaxed on the couch with your boys.

A book in one hand, you carded your fingers through Joel’s hair with the other. Sprawled across your lap as you rested against Morgan, he was the perfect image of relaxation. Rain pattered against the windows as a romcom played in the background, the volume just low enough to zone out. Morgan and Joel—okay, just Morgan, because you were pretty sure Joel was half asleep at this point—were watching, attention set on the tv.

All in all, an excellent night. 

~

Seeing your boys over the summer was difficult, but you made it work. You always did.

It was one of those incredibly rare days where you lounged about in the midsummer heat with them, Morgan and Joel taking a slight break from offseason training to just be together. It was nice, and it was quiet and exactly what you needed. 

You had made the mistake of putting on one of their thinner, more threadbare hoodies last night and the decision was catching up to you. You untangled yourself from the pile of limbs on the bed belonging to your two boyfriends, ignoring their cries of protest, and just barely managed to get up. 

First, you were gonna turn up the air conditioning, and then you were gonna take off this damn hoodie. 

Meandering over to the A/C, you accomplished one mission and moved on to the next one. Pulling the hoodie over your head, you felt your shirt slide up and refuse to separate from it. 

“Hey,” you heard Joel call from behind you, “Did you get a tattoo without telling us?”

Confused, you yanked the hoodie the rest of the way off and turned back to them. “No?” You answered, but it came out less sure than you would’ve liked. 

“I definitely saw something on your back,” Joel insisted, reaching over and swatting at Morgan to get his attention. 

“Hmm?” Morgan grumbled, switching sides to look at you. 

“Come here,” Joel beckoned, an action you reluctantly obeyed. His hand on your hip turned you to face away from him, your back in his line of sight.

You shivered, feeling his fingers glide across your skin as he lifted your shirt. In an instant, you felt his grasp waver, a choked gasp slamming out of him.

“Holy shit,” Morgan breathed, the bed creaking as he shot up. 

Spinning, you turned to face them, grabbing at your back. “What?” You demanded, terrified of their answer, “What it is?”

Adrenaline poured through your veins as Joel lifted his gaze, now wet with tears, to meet yours with a wide smile.

“It’s a soulmate tattoo,” he told you, standing up and cupping your face. His lips came down fast and hard to yours, the emotion behind the kiss slamming into you. 

You felt Morgan come to stand behind you, lifting your shirt to look. His fingers traced down your spine, almost reverently, sending shiver after shiver through your body. 

“Liar,” you croaked when you and Joel split, refusing to believe it. 

Joel shook his head with a disbelieving laugh, “I’m not. Go look in the mirror.”

You pulled away, making your way slowly to the mirror by the door, your boys close behind. You twisted around, craning your head as you pulled up your shirt. Your breath stilled to a halt when scrawled writing along your spine become visible out of the corner of your eye with every inch of skin shown. 

And there, once your shirt was all the way up, was an indisputable soulmate tattoo curving down your spine.

morgan frost ~ joel farabee

The names of your boys—your boys, you nearly cried—written in calligraphy on your body, separated only by three flowers. 

“Soulmates,” Morgan whispered, finger stilling on the flowers. 

Recognition sparked deep in your mind, a memory surfacing behind your eyes.

Your eyes lingered on the flowers lining the pathway, your mind trying futilely to identify which ones they wer—

“I know those flowers,” you mumbled, lips parting as you stared uncomprehendingly. 

Joel laughed a little, fingers running up and down your side. “I didn’t think you were into flowers.”

You shook your head, fixated and unable to look away. “No, I know those flowers. Asters. They were—”

“In the park by the cafe,” Morgan finished for you, catching on, “The day I bumped into you.”

“The day we met,” you said, smiling. “I was trying to figure out what kind they were, it’s why I was distracted. Why we—”

“Met,” Morgan gaped, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. 

You nodded, unable to talk just yet. The sight of those flowers, ones that you hadn’t really given any thought to after you had googled them one day after being curious. Flowers that were now imprinted on your body, a permanent reminder of everything you gained in such a relatively short amount of time.

To your side, you watched Joel take off his shirt and turn around, revealing flowing names down his spine separated by three dainty flowers. 

y/n ~ morgan frost

Morgan mirrored him on your other side and sure enough, there were your names in identical print and the same tiny three flowers. 

joel farabee ~ y/n

A perfect set.

~ fin ~

#morgan frost #joel farabee #morgan frost imagine #joel farabee imagine #joel farabee x reader #morgan frost x reader #my own #mine #writing #renwrites #philadelphia flyers #imagines #soulmate au #poly relationship #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl writing #morgan frost fic #joel farabee fic #nhl fic #hockey writing #hockey imagines #hockey fanfiction #hockey fic #beezer #frosty #flyers

[keyboard-made-of-glass]

casually posts multiple times in a row

actually the main reason i’m posting this is so y’all can find all the chapters of this cuz this part is oooold (like… 2 years old)

anyways!! this is a little project called Forget-Me-Not!! be warned!! its dreammare!! please don’t leave any hate if you don’t ship it just scroll away

anyways, heres chapter one of Forget-Me-Not

Dream subconsciously fiddles with the ring on his left hand, twisting it on his finger. He’s kind of spaced off, listening to Ink ramble about some new AU he’s recently discovered. It’s not that he doesn’t care. No, far from that. He just has a lot on his mind on this particular day.

“-and then- Dream? Hey, Dream!” Ink waves his hand in front of Dream’s face, causing Dream to jump and blink a few times. He looks over at Ink, who snorts. “Have you landed back on Earth?”

“Yeah… Sorry, Ink. Today’s just a kind of difficult day for me. I promise I was trying to listen.” Dream explains, still twisting the ring. Ink looks down at it, tilting his head.

“What’s so special about today?” He grabs his scarf, scanning through the notes and grumbling in frustration when he can’t find what he’s looking for.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told you… So it’s probably not written on your scarf.” With that, Ink drops his scarf in relief.

“Good, I was worried I forgot something really important.” He laughs, and Dream smiles a bit. He can’t bring himself to laugh.

“So… What’s today?”

“Well… Today would be our anniversary…” he sighs softly, looking down. “I think I’m gonna go take a walk. See you later.” He waves, and with a pop he’s gone.

“Wait-!” Ink sighs “Anniversary of what… and who?”

~

As Dream walks through the destroyed and empty town, he looks around. It wouldn’t be like this if he’d figured it out sooner. If he’d bothered to pay attention and notice the glares, or the whispering, or how Nightmare would come home beat up and bruised. He shouldn’t have let him brush it off the way he did, telling him that it was a slip of foot and he fell down some stairs, or got attacked by a rabid dog. Of course, Dream knew those were all lies. He just hates himself for never acknowledging it.

Dream was lost in thought, not even realizing he reached his destination until he trips over the dead roots. He stumbles, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and looking over at the dead and destroyed tree. He takes a deep breath, walking up to it and sitting down in front of it. The wood is old and broken, splintered at the ends. But, there’s just enough of it left that Dream can see the carving he and Nightmare made so long ago. He runs his hand along it, smiling fondly. The memory brings him back to a simpler time where he didn’t have to be at war with his own lover.

All too soon the sun is going down, reminding Dream that he’s been here for far too long. That’s how it is every year. He gets caught up in the memories and sits for hours, lost in thought. Sighing, he shakes his head and gently places down the flowers he almost forgot about. He stares at them for a moment. It’s a beautiful bouquet of purple asters, Nightmare’s favorite flower. He sighs, grabbing one from the bouquet and looking down at it, before tucking it through his circlet.

The silence is suddenly broken by another pair of footsteps, and Dream gasps, quickly hiding behind the tree. His knees are tucked against his chest and he presses his back against the trunk, praying it’s big enough to cover him. The footsteps grow closer, stopping right in front of the tree.

“I guess Dream beat me here…” Dream’s breath catches in his throat when he hears the all too familiar voice. Slowly, he peeks around the trunk to see Nightmare, holding a small bundle of pink carnations.

“...asters…” He lets out a soft laugh, crouching down and picking the bouquet up. “I can’t believe after all these years…” He shakes his head, replacing the flowers with the ones he brought.

“Hopefully these won’t be dead by the time he gets here again… Like every year…” Nightmare sighs softly, standing once again.

“Happy anniversary, Starlight…” He whispers, turning and walking away and teleporting after a few steps.

As soon as he’s gone Dream lets out a choked sob, covering his mouth. His eyes are wide and tears are freely pouring down his face. Every year… Every year his Nightlight came and left him flowers, taking the ones he brought. Every year Dream never thought to come and look, having lost all hope in his lover. Every year those flowers died without Dream ever knowing they existed. He sobs harder, curling up and pulling the hood of his cloak down.

Dream isn’t quite sure how long he sits there, his sobs being the only sound heard. All he knows is that once he stands again, it’s well past midnight. He takes a shaky breath, walking over to the carnations and taking them, delicately touching the petals. Giving one last glance to the dead tree, he sighs and takes his leave.

#dreammare #dream sans #nightmare sans #nightmare/dream #rarepair #forget me not

[rawbins-undertale-blog]

How do monsters age? Also how old are the brothers?

~ Sincerely, a very Library Anon ~

Hello! Thanks for the ask, and also sorry for you, my friend, who’s about to have pages of me rambling about my thoughts and headcanons that may or may not be entirely supported by the game for a socially unacceptable amount of time <3

HOW MONSTERS AGE

I’ve actually had multiple different headcanons when it comes to monster age! They all go into three different categories: “all monsters age slower”, “they age the same way (unless they’re a boss monster without a kid)” and “some monsters age like humans, some slower and some quicker depending on species”. But, I now have one that goes into a slightly different category.

Now, I think, “what if their aging is a bit of everything?”

Allow me to explain what I mean.

My first headcanon was that monsters age 10x slower than a human does. Just choose a human age for a character and then tack on a 0 to the end of the number and you’ve got the right age. A part of me still wants to go that route, simply because it’s easier…

… but then, a monster would be a literal child while being 100 years old. It would make it a bit awkward to write about human kids being friends with monster kids lol, ngl. (Also I don’t want to write Sans and Papyrus as being like 250 years old.) Not to mention, it’s a bit boring. So I decided to spice it up a bit, if you will.

Let’s start explaining this by taking a monster with an average mental state who is the most average of species. They’re not suffering from any mental disorders, illnesses, have no trauma or physical ailments and are overall just what you’d call an averagely happy person. There’s nothing special about this monster. They’re literally the most average of average monsters, maybe so average they don’t even actually exist - they are made up by the statistics.

At first, they age quicker than a human does. While they’re what would translate to 5 human years (AKA when they’re 5 monster years), they are actually only 2 human years. At age 10 in monster years, they are 5 in human years. Their aging starts to slow down at 16 monster years, and by the time they’re 25 in monster years, they are also 25 in human years. Then it slows down even more quickly and on a huge scale, so that when they are 50 in monster years, they are about 500 in human years. On average, a normal monster becomes 2000 human years old. (Keep in mind, that this monster is so average they don’t exist - this aging varies a lot between species.)

Now, let’s take another monster of this same statistics-made species who is more happy than the average monster. They’ve experienced many good things, and bad things happening to them are unusual, but not unusual enough to make the happy moments meaningless. They make sure to care of themself and take their own feelings into consideration, they know their own worth. A monster like this may become up to a staggering 4000 human years old with some luck.

Finally, here’s a monster who suffers and just… isn’t happy. They suffer from trauma, have gone through horrible things, overall just not a very good time. They’re very likely to only get to 800 human years or less, if things don’t start looking up for them.

However, these aging mechanics also get more complicated when we get into species of monsters and monsters having children. Gerson, who is a turtle-species, ages about 5x slower than the average monster, which is why he was alive during wartime (though he is near the end of the line now, he’s only maybe 20 years from dying by the end of the game). A whimsun definitely won’t live past 1000 years, even if they’re the happiest whimsun on the planet, because their magic isn’t strong enough to last.

A boss monster (Toriel, Asgore, Asriel) doesn’t age past 30 until they have a child. When/if they have that child, they age at the same speed as the kid does. If the child dies, however, they stop aging again.

Speaking of not aging when their kids die, the same kinda goes for every other monster to a much smaller extent.

A non-boss monster will slow their aging after their kid dies. If they survive losing their kid (because a lot of monsters would dust from the hopelessness they feel after losing somebody so important), their aging slows by about 150%, again depending on the species of the monster.

However, despite their slow aging, monsters are weaker than humans. Too unstable emotions or living in conditions that make the monster feel unsafe may fuck up thair aging, as mentioned previously. To go into more detail about this: the aging process is not messed up by the situation the monster is in - the monster could be in the most horrible position without their aging being affected at all - but it has to do with how their hope is affected.

If a monster loses hope, their aging is affected so it speeds up. If they gain hope, it slows down.

Taking this in mind, let’s talk about the skeleton brothers’ ages!

Let’s start with the Undertale brothers, since they’re the “base” for the ages.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I think their ages are, but I would say that:

At the time the game takes place, Sans is about 24-28 years old in monster years and Papyrus is about 19-23 in monster years. In human years, Sans is about 23 and Papyrus has recently turned 18. This has to do with their experiences in life.

Sans only has 1 HP. Skeleton monsters are among the groups that age more slowly, which ends up with him aging a tiny bit quicker than the ‘average monster’. This HP is mostly brought on by his clinical depression (which is actually very rare to have for a monster).

Papyrus ages slower than the ‘average monster’. He’s full of HoPe and is one of the most compassionate monsters, which says a lot by the way lol. But, we can’t forget that he literally didn’t have any friends, which did deal a huge blow to his self-confidence even if he won’t admit it. He aged just a little quicker than a skeleton monster should, at the time the game takes place (though this does change in my fics and headcanons right away, all he needs is one (1) friend to age as slowly as he should, or well. Slower, actually).

So, now that I’ve put down the base for what the two brothers are, let’s just straight up say: all the AU brothers are the same age in human years and there’s only small differences for the monster ages. Except for in Horrortale, which takes place later than the base game does.

I can’t say how old they are here, though, not exactly, because it would obviously vary depending on how long we wait to see them after the starvation starts, as horrible as that sounds. All my headcanons are off the basis that they were left in the Underground for about five human years after Frisk left, so let’s just go with that. After five years in the Underground, Dusk (Horrortale Sans) is about 38 in monster years and Aster (Horrortale Papyrus) is about 37 (he caught up quickly to his brother, as the things that happened took a bigger toll on him).

I want to mention, however, that all my headcanons for ages are very loose and not entirely my “final decision” on how I think monsters age lol, and they may change in the future. Anyways, this is what I’m going for as of right now! If you want any clarification feel free to ask :-)

#imagines tag #undertale imagines #undertale headcanons #undertale #sans #papyrus #lore #lore related

[wayhavenots]

Flower Language

Inspired by @adam-du-mortains‘s Daisies  and the implication by Jo that Gray is well-versed in flower symbolism. (I’m, uh, not.)

Synopsis: Daphne gets Gray some flowers. (Button x Gray)

Rating: G

Taglist: @homeformyheart @crackerdumortain

~

Nick knocks on Gray’s office door, pops his head in, and says, “Lunch?” He’s been dying to check out the new Chinese place down the street (and to trade recipes with the chef).

But before Gray can respond, Nick sees the arrangement of white and yellow flowers on the corner of his desk. He clicks his tongue. "My fan club didn't get me flowers.”

He flashes a grin so that Gray knows he's not as bitter as he sounds, while Gray tries and fails to smile back. 

“What’s wrong?” asks Nick. 

"They're not from a fan,” he admits, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

Nick strides inside and picks up the basket, where a card is attached by a pink ribbon. "Button sent these?" he exclaims with a grin as he reads the card, a simple To: Grayson Wacker Black, From: Daphne Wiseman. "Aww, they’re from your number one fan.”

"She's just being polite," says Gray, rubbing the back of his neck as the tips of his ears turn red. "I brought her flowers to welcome her to her new office, so this is her...returning the favor.”

Nick has to cover his mouth to keep from squealing. Finally. It's been four years since Operation Hemera, and while Button and his best friend have made some strides towards each other, there's still roughly nine inches of distance between them on average. 

What if the Zero thing is too much for him? he hears at least once every two weeks. What if that's why he hasn't made a move?

(The truth is that they’ve both made moves---usually two steps forward and three steps back.)

But this? Flowers to welcome her to the office? That's a move forward. And undeniable, unlike the time Gray offered Button a hand to hold and she misinterpreted it as a high-five (setting them back at least a year in terms of progress).

"And she sent you flowers back?" asks Nick, trying to keep his voice level. It's not hard to do when he looks at the disappointment on the other man’s face, though. "Wait, why aren't you excited about this?"

Gray sighs. "She sent me candytufts and yellow carnations, Nick."

"They're beautiful," he defends, though that might be a stretch. It’s certainly not a dozen red roses, but if he knows his sister, she gave this a lot of thought (and quite deliberately out of his brainrange). “What’s wrong with them?”

"Candytufts, symbolizing indifference,” says Gray, pointing to the white flowers, “and yellow carnations, symbolizing rejection." He points dejectedly to the yellow flowers. “It’s a clear message. Daphne doesn’t...” He seems to remember who he’s talking to and clears his throat, as if Nick hasn’t given him his blessing a dozen times. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll respect her wishes. Lunch?”

“Gray, I’m sure that’s not what she meant.”

Gray shakes his head. "It’s flower language. Subtle communication. I got her red camellias, and she...basically told me to back off, in a nice way, because she’s a nice person. I was obviously being too pushy. I should have expected this. We're better as friends. I value being her friend. I shouldn't have..."

He's spiralling, and he's spiralling because Button sent him a middle finger of a flower arrangement without realizing.

Nick sends a telepathic message to Button, and six minutes later (Gray just wrapping up his rambling about how expected this is and how it really doesn’t hurt), she's walking through the door with a Tupperware tucked under her arm, dressed in her MIV uniform. 

(Side note: Baby Button, an official MIV. His heart swells with pride.)

"I was told there was a Gray emergency," she says, looking between the two of them with a bright smile. “I brought...drumroll please...”

Nick obliges, tapping out a drumroll against Gray’s desk, and even Gray’s forced smile softens into something real as she displays the container like Vanna White.

“Mind. Over. Batters,” she finishes dramatically. 

Nick didn't even tell her to bring cookies. She apparently has emergency cookies stored somewhere in her office, and she grabbed them for Gray. 

"Really, Daphne,” says Gray, “you don't need to---"

"You're rejecting cookies?" she exclaims. "This is an emergency indeed."

She walks the container to Gray's desk, and her grin widens when she sees the flowers. "You got them! You got the flowers. I didn’t know if you’d get the flowers. The place said they could be delivered tom-yarrow.”

It’s one of thirty rapid-fire flower puns she is tossing back and forth in her mind. (I was going to poppy my head in and see if they a-rose, they came aster than I expected, I hope you lilac them as much as I lilac you...) And when she runs out of puns, she is thinking what if he hates them what if he hates them what if iris(ked) too much.

Before Gray can stumble through an obvious lie about how much he loves them, shatter poor Button’s heart, and set them back even further, Nick asks aloud, "Button, do you know the names of these flowers?"

She looks like she almost forgot that Nick was there, but he can hear her thinking the answer. "Candytufts and carnations," she answers aloud, to Gray, pointing them out.

Gray’s forced smile falters---and Nick doesn’t have to be a mind reader to know that he had hoped, as Nick did, that she just thought they looked pretty together---and Button looks at him with wide eyes. Oh no, he hates them. Or he hates me. 

"And why did you get Gray candytufts and carnations?" he prods.

Nick hears her answer and has to cover his mouth to hide his smile.

"Candytufts,” she says, cheeks turning pink, “because he's, um, his sweet tooth. And carnations because they were on the van when he drove me home from the hospital. What in carnation.” She turns to address Gray. “Remember?” Her cheeks turn pinker. “They're not that pretty together, are they? I just looked at the names on the order form. And they reminded me of you."

She’s fudging the truth, a little: The candytufts were because Gray is sweet, according to her thoughts.

But Gray is smiling anyway, a real smile. "No, they're lovely, Daphne. I appreciate them. Truly.”

"I appreciate you," she blurts. "Your flowers, I mean!” And then, a little bolder, she corrects, “And you. So..." She gives a nervous laugh as she wiggles her fingers---jazz hands. (Jasmine hands.) “Flowers! I hope you like them.”

Gray chuckles. “I really do.”

"But the camellias are prettier," she admits softly. “Maybe I’ll stick to cookies.”

“These may be my favorite flowers,” says Gray firmly, and his words don’t fall over each other the way they do when he lies. He means it. “Especially to know that they reminded you of me. And when delivered with cookies.”

Daphne grins and opens the Tupperware container to offer him one. “Are you feeling better, then?”

“Much better. Did you bake these?”

As they continue talking---he doesn’t think either of them remembers that he is there---Nick does a quick search on his phone to see what camellias are supposed to mean in this flower language that Gray is apparently fluent in.

He again has to stifle a squeal: love, devotion, you are the flame in my heart.

He leaves the oblivious lovebirds to go get lunch, and when he returns, they are still talking and munching on cookies.

#mind blind #grayson black #gray black #gray x button #daphne wiseman

[hanahaki-neko]

Across Millenia | Venti x Reader

He never once forget about her. Even after so long. But Venti never expected to meet her again,after all this time

note : reincarnation AU. again this is a work from wattpad but i hope y’all enjoy it. this is from my early days so excuse me if the fic is bad lmao

Windwheel aster. That was her favourite flower. Even as a little wind spirit he'd keep a breeze blowing through the field to ensure that they don't wilt. Sure he was just a tiny insignificant being in the world with little to no power over the whirlwind surrounding the city,but at least he made sure the flowers where she would often go was always there to greet her.

Y/N and the bard would make their way through the city. She would smile in delight whenever she sees the little windwheel asters. True that they only grow in places that has gentle breeze. One without or one with too much fierce would kill them. The girl and a few others that had one of these flora on their windows or balcony never really did realize that the tiny spirit was the one who made sure they're still alive.

He cared about both of them so much. They had grown so close and even spend almost every hour together. Talking about the most trivial of things and doing everything together

"You two are just like twins." She laughed when he tried to shift and look like the bard.

"Well maybe he can sing with me by the tavern sometime in the future."

He loved her. He loved her so much. He didn't care if a little wind spirit and a human can't be together,or did he know if this was okay. But he never really had the guts to tell her properly. The bard knew of his feelings and was completely on board. He'd go to where she'd usually be and spend time together,sometime leaving him be with her while he went to get some drinks. He loved the bard for his supportive nature and he loved Y/N for her kind and gentle soul.

Watching the windwheel aster spins gently,and watch the dandelions scatter around when blown. "They're just like you when you float around." Said the girl,and he giggles in response. He loved the look of peace and serenity in the comfort of those flowers,despite the tyrant's rule.

Whatever would made her happy,he would do. Bringing cookies when she's feeling peckish,to visiting her during sleepless nights and keep her company. Comforting her when she feels sad. He would make sure that she keeps smiling everyday.

He would watch over both the bard and Y/N to ensure their safety. He would also support their decision and wishes. So when the bard voiced his objection against the tyrant's control over the city and seeing the girl also agreed,this little wind spirit too decided to join the rebellion. Rallying up the citizens to overthrow the tyrant,the chaos that came over,it was pretty overwhelming.

He did his best with his powers to assist them. Many bloods were drawn,many lives lost. They were separated as he went with the bard. Swords clashed and screams of pain an agony echoed throughout. But for freedom, nothing is too much of a price.

Is it?

He watched in horror,as the arrow pierced his chest. The bard fell to the ground with a thud as others rushed to his aid. The tower crumbled down as the tyrant is no more,but in the fight to obtain freedom, the bard had lost his life. Just as he thought this couldn't get any worse,the little spirit noticed that the girl was nowhere to be seen. He flutter around in panic,already crying his tiny heart out. And it just shatter into a million pieces when he saw her underneath the rubbles of the building. He cried and pleaded for others to save her. But no one could as the damage had been done. Cuts from swords and a stab wound by the spear was the end of her.

"No,no,no,this can't be happening!' He knew he should've told her to stay out of the fight. She shouldn't have grabbed that sword and fight alongside the others. She smiled weakly with grief hidden underneath upon knowing the fate of her friend the bard. She tried to reach out a hand to the spirit,which he could only held a finger with his tiny body.

"Make sure the freedom stays with them,okay?"

He did his best to keep that promise. He knew that both the girl and the bard would be glad to know that their effort weren't in vain. Their funeral was held and weep he did for a period of time unknown to anyone. How long had it been. Almost over three millenia by this point? It's been so,so long and yet it's one of the memories that stuck with him.

Fly fly away

Like the birds in the sky

See the world on my behalf

To the heavens you may fly

The song never once left his memory. The ones sung by the bard and the girl. Whenever he walks the land of Mondstadt and hear the people drink and party,Venti couldn't help but feel just a bit nostalgic. He toured the city and the land that he should've been govern, simply singing and telling tales to those who would listen. Just doing anything other than reigning over the city.

He was taken back to reality when Aether called him. Venti stood beneath the tree in windrise as he looked to the windborne traveller.

"Shouldn't you be on your way to Liyue by now? You're going to miss the rite of descension if you don't hurry." He said.

"Well we should make if it we use the teleport points. It might take only a few days and the rite is probably still a week away." Paimon replied.

"And i kinda want to spend just a bit more time with you before we depart,if you don't mind? And you know maybe take a commission or two." Aether asked.

Venti smiled,"Might as well visit Mondstadt and pick up a few audiences." They all walk back to the city where once again he sings and tells many tales. The tale of how Mondstadt becomes the city of freedom it's known right now. How the people of old times fought the tyrant. The memory of his past clouded his thoughts,and he almost cried during his performance.

Aether treated him to lunch at good hunter afterwards and they had quite the uneventful day,really. The traveller was talking to Katheryne about some commissions when Venti felt someone approaching them. He glanced over to see who it was and he was,how to put it- surprised? Dumbfounded?

The same silhouette and appearance, the h/c hair might have been a different length in the eyes,but everything else was exactly the same. Venti kept starring at her,lost in time gazing into her e/c eyes. She looked back at him and smiled a little greeting them.

"Hi. I'm Y/N,the one who commissioned for the whopperflower hunt?"

"Oh,yeah. What's up with that?" Paimon asked.

Vent completely tuned out the entire conversation. Was it possible? Is it the same person he knew back in old Mondstadt? Just being able to see her brought back the abundance of memory he had. 'Get it together,Venti. At least say something to them.' he thought to himself. He jumped a bit when Aether tapped his shoulder,asking him something he didn't quite catch.

"H-huh? What?" He looked at the traveller.

"I said can you accompany Y/N while me and Paimon check out the horde of whopperflowers and get some nectar?"

"Oh! Oh,yeah,sure."

"Geez,he's been spacing out a lot today. What's wrong with that tone-deaf bard." Paimon sighed before the two of the left the city.

Venti is now left alone with Y/N,with both of them not really knowing what to do or say to each other. "I don't think we've officially been introduced. I'm Y/N,an alchemist." The girl said trying to break the silence.

"I'm Venti. Though you might know me if you've come and listen to my performance before this encounter." He replied to which she smiled and nodded a little.

"Say,you..want to take a walk around Windrise? The weather's nice today." He offered.

"Well,i can't progress my research until i get the materials needed."

She accepted the offer and he took her hand and led her to one if his favourite spot. Holding her hand felt exactly the same as it did all those years back. Her hands felt small against his, though it would've been the opposite in the past. The two sat down under the tree and exchanged stories. Time flies when you're having fun.

"You like flowers?" He spoke after noticing her holding a certain set of them.

"I guess? I like windwheel asters most, though." She smiled in reply.

He couldn't help but think 'just like her' as she went on to tell about how she grew some of these at her house. How they only grow in places with gentle winds blowing through. He of course knew of this fact,but he didn't mind listening to her rambling about them. He'd listen with a small smile plastered to his face the entire time.

"So, you're an alchemist..but what's with all those bandages?" He asked this time after seeing her wrist wrapped in one.

"Oh, it's just some accidents on the lab and some scars i got from foraging for materials." She said,a nervous laugh followed after.

He felt a slight pain in his chest at the thought of her getting hurt. Even back then she would sometimes ger her knee scratched or fell down and trip every now and then. 'Still as fragile as ever', He said to himself. He told her more about what he saw during his travel across the land,but sometimes he noticed that she's blankly starring at him,

"Hey,Y/N. What's wrong?" He asked.

No response.

"Hello? Teyvat to Y/N?" He called again.

That seems to get her out of her little world,she shook her head a bit, regaining focus,"o-oh,what is it?"

"You've starring at me for quite a while now. Were you charmed by my good looks,perhaps?" He said teasingly.

"Wha- no! That's not it." She stuttered back,her hands up in denial and face blushing a deep shade of red.

"It's just...i feel like i know you well before meeting you here."

"I feel like i've known you for a long time."

This time Venti was the one not responding to her words. If he wasn't sure,he sure as heck is now believing she was the same Y/N he knew and loved. Perhaps she didn't have the memory her past self had,but that didn't matter to him,he was overjoyed at this point.

"Well, maybe you've seen me perform before and just didn't remember." He said, looking away and hiding a soft smile.

"Or maybe you've known me from way before." He whispered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"No,i was just thinking about putting on a show tomorrow in front of the statue for others to hear yet another heroic tale." He smiled at her.

"I hope you would come and watch me sing,dear Y/N."

"I won't miss it for the world." She smiled back,chuckling.

His eyes soften as he grabbed her hand which surprised her at first. He leaned in and kissed her lips,earning a gasp in response and a blush as well. He stood up as his smile curved into a grin.

"Then i shall look forward to tomorrow." He said putting the windwheel aster over her ear.

Venti bid farewell and without waiting for a response took his leave while she was still shocked,trying his best not to blush in front of Y/N. When he got far enough he just crouch down and mumbled something incomprehensible to himself. It was bold of him to do something like that in the first place, especially when they just met earlier today. Sure he knew her from like 2600 years ago but she had no recollection of him.

Still,somehow she was once again here before him. He'll protect her and made sure she's safe. He will never let anything bad happen to her. It will take some time for them to get to know each other all over again,but he didn't really mind.

He's really looking forward to her coming to see him perform tomorrow.

Y/N on the other hand was still recovering from the entire information overload. Face still a bit red from the entire oreal. From afar she could hear Aether and Paimon calling out to her. "Heeeyy! We got that nectar you waanted!" "Oh,t-thanks." She pulled herself out of her own little world to take the materials she asked for and paid them for their works. But just as soon as they left looking for the bard,she once again was lost in her own thoughts.

They just met today,but it felt like she had known him forever. Some of his 'old' tales felt all to familiar. And she was beyon surprised when he suddenly kissed her.

But somehow she didn't mind.

The sense of familiarity she had when talking to him put her at ease,and she felt like there's nothing to worry about. She felt safe when she's with him. And a part of her couldn't help but want to know him better.

She put a finger over her lips, still not reall over the fact that he kissed her so suddenly,then to brushing against the flower he put on her. But she smiled, thinking that he's way bolder than he looks.

She can't wait to come and watch him sing tomorrow.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fics #venti x reader #venti #the drunk bard #neko writes #hey may be a god #but he's not used to romantic relationship #i know ironic considering he sings songs about love a lot #probably

[pridewhatpride]

ok so I read your view on GX rivalshipping and how things would get messy when johan shows up because I was curious about another GX rivalshippers opinion, and holy you and I have the EXACT same thoughts.

Ive went on and on about how manjoume as a rival (and as someone who could have had the ability to support judai) was tossed aside as soon as johan shows up + turned into the comedic relief chara and nobody ever really knows what the hell im talking about LOL. a big thing for me is just how DIFFERENT that would be for manjoume as well? in the seasons before johan shows up judai is so clingy towards him, always busting into his room and being in his personal space...

then mr. buff arms big smile shows up with his frilly lilac blouse and homo dragon and suddenly judai is like. smitten. which like youve pointed- out who could blame judai? johan is hard to hate and hes kind of perfect in every way. I always imagine what that would do to manjoumes self esteem in particular, because as we all know it IS a bit fragile at times, especially when it comes to being the best he can be.

I think having johan around would make him feel absolutely insignificant not only as someone who LIKES judai, but even just as judais friend. is he really so horrible at being a support that judai needs a stranger to lean on? even though he never asked for judais help much, is he really such a burden when he needs to be saved? why is judai acting like hes never been able to connect with manjoume, who can also see duel spirits, before? whoever said opposites attract obviously havent seen judai and johan! thoughts like that.

I could go on and on but I dont want you to have to read my 2746373 word long ask about them. id love to hear any thought or analysis you have on GX rivalshipping because its my favourite and the shippers are so rare, so I encourage you to post them whenever you feel like it!

Dear anon.

You can't ever know just how happy receiving this in my inbox made me. I can't fully express how grateful I am at the simple fact that you read my long rambles and reached out to me. I respect your anonimity if you want to keep it, but honestly, DM me whenever, if you want to. I think I'd like to talk to you if you're comfortable with it? I really do want to read your "2746373 word" essay on them. For the rest of my life.

I might get a little personal in terms of my view on this, so just... be aware.

The thing is that the way Manjoume is cast aside is just... a big fear of mine. "Sure, we might be friends now, but I'm not all that good and you know it. You won't mean any harm by it, but you'll find someone you like better and I'll be alone again." That kind of line of thought is probably something that goes through Manjoume's mind? He doesn't really... have friends outside of Judai. Maybe Fubuki. And Daichi? Except he disappears into nothingness very quickly. But that's it. And he certainly had none before that: just lackeys who pretended to like him because he was rich and perceived as promising. He lost that and suddenly found himself isolated.

It's nice to think that he bonded with the other members of the gang, but... he didn't. Shou certainly never really stops disliking/making fun of him. You could say it's meant as like... friendly teasing. But it doesn't read that way because there is nothing to indicate actual affection. Kenzan, Aster and the transfer students just... barely interact with him? Like have they actually ever spoken to eachother? I doubt it. Ryo is just the admirable upperclassman. Again, barely any interaction. Asuka is... a mess I don't want to get into, but again, she would probably file a restraining order if she could.

So yeah. Manjoume has one friend and the taller and cooler guy just kind of takes that away. Of course Johan is not aware of this! He wouldn't have been able to do much to change it, either way. It was Judai's own choice and that's what hurts the most, to me.

If shifting the focus and making minor changes to canon is something you like to do, here's a thing I think about a lot. "Teardrop", the Season 3 opening, except it's what Manjoume feels when seeing Judai's suffering and desperation. You know.

As you hang your head and smile, a single tear lands on your cheeks

You pretend to be strong, but underneath You’re hiding sighs; your smile is cloudy It sticks into me Like shattered glass

It’s OK to talk about the pain in your heart

Your smile Has always saved me You can cry now I’ll stay here with you

I can't bring myself to blame Judai or Johan for it, but I think Manjoume- if he'd been written like an actual character past a certain point- would have been quite devastated by this.

As you said, it's not just being abandoned, it's also being indirectly told that he was never truly someone worthwhile, that he is little more than extra weight. What of his supposed status of equal rival and all that? Nothing. Judai is just... on a different level than him. So Manjoume is simply left to stagger behind in a desperate attempt to chase after greatness. He wasn't good enough for his brothers and Judai stood up for him. But in the end he wasn't good enough for Judai either.

I like to think that Manjoume made an effort to get along with the others. He just didn't quite know how and couldn't just... switch off his more prideful persona. And he ended up paying quite the steep price.

I know I'm extra melodramatic when it comes to my favourites, but it's something that bugs me. I understand why the manga decided to approach Manjoume's character in a completely different way and it's the reason why I like to read Manjoume's personality as a mix of manga and anime canon. I really have to mention this- how can one even pretend that the writers gave a shit about Manjoume when they joked about how stinky he was in a scene that could have been... emotional in some way. Judai frees Manjoume from the influence of the Society of Light by reminding him who he really is (I don't want to talk about Kenzan being too strong to be manipulated because that is fucking stupid and besically the equivalent of saying "ahah, the light got you because you're not strong willed enough @ Asuka @ Manjoume. Get rekt"). And like... great! They are actually showing off how much they care for eachother as friends despite the rivalry! But no. Judai ends up basically saying: "You smell and your coat has stains on it!" and Manjoume's just: "Oh yeah, I'm goth I hate wearing white, nvm."

... I swear someone on the writing team looked at Manjoume and went: "Let's bully him!" Ugh ;; Can you tell I'm hyper biased towards Manjoume yet?

This was hilarious to read, by the way: "mr. buff arms big smile shows up with his frilly lilac blouse and homo dragon"

But yes, this mess is now officially over. I will be spouting gx rivalshipping nonsense left and right because we were robbed of their dynamic and I'll never get over that. Also I really want to draw them, so that helps.

Ending this post by saying that this ask made me feel like I didn't waste time writing all that, that someone can get something out of it. I'm really glad.

#ygo #yugioh #ygo gx #yugioh gx #manjoume jun #jun manjoume #chazz princeton #judai yuki #yuki judai #jaden yuki #gx rivalshipping #marry me platonically anon #i will kill for your happiness

[libralita]

Fate: The Winx Saga Unedited Ramble

Alright so I finished the first season of Fate: The Winx Saga and it was pretty fucking dreadful if I’m being honest. Let’s get into it.

First, let’s talk about the production quality because it was lacking in some weird areas. The audio mixing was surprisingly bad in a few places. Most notability when characters were talking over the phone. Every time Bloom speaks to her parents over the phone the voices on the other end are so loud. And most of the time when a character is talking to someone over the phone, their voice over comes in a bit softer with a filter to make it sound poorer quality. The audio was crisp and loud. There was one funny scene where Bloom is on the phone with her parents and she’s outside and there’s a bunch of background noise and her parents are in a quiet house. When it cuts to Bloom’s parents with Bloom on the phone you can’t hear the background noise but when you cut to her you can hear the general outdoor sounds in everything. Also whenever pop songs could come they were so loud. I would always have to turn down my volume because they would be louder than the normal speaking voice. Now for the sets. They were fine? I guess. Generic castle. Generic house. Generic forest. Fine. The costumes were uh…really awful. Mostly because you have the cartoon to compare it to where you had fashion designers design the outfits and you could tell, all the girls were so fashionable. A lot of the outfits were crimes. Terra’s and Stella’s were especially god awful.

And now, I guess I’ll go through the episodes and point out the problems as I see them. Episode one, I have a lot to say because the problems of the show become evident very quickly. So, first the dialogue. The original show had lame slang, especially with Musa, but my god some of this shit was painful. The first instance is when Bloom accuses Sky of mansplaining, so first of all it’s really great to see my childhood icon being sexist. Great. I love it. Second, she isn’t even using the term correct because by definition it is a man must explain to a woman a concept that she already knows in a rude way. Bloom states before this that she doesn’t know what a Specialist is so it’s not something she already knows. The only line that got a snort out of me is when Bloom says “Gryffindor. Explains the judgement.” Now the roommate situation. They totally moved Terra and Aisha because they wanted more drama. Terra is a ball of anxiety and wants to be friends with Musa, Musa’s an empath and can’t deal. Bloom is naturally gifted and a bit of an…well the show wants us to think she’s a free spirt and a rebel but she’s an idiot. Aisha is smart but has to work for ever bit of magic she gets. (despite that one line where she saws she flooded her school because of a math test but whatever) Another thing is that they say guns don’t work on the Burned Ones but if swords do then guns do. It’s stupid.

A great theme of this show is that everyone needs to calm down. As someone who’s lived in a suite like with this with four/five other girls, you’re not going to be best friends with your roommates the first day. Calm down Terra. Back to bad lines. Speaking of calming down, Bloom’s mom takes away her door (Sidenote: Whoever wrote “Don’t you feminist with me. This basic bitch’ll break out her bullhorn and her dissertation and take your ass to school.” Needs a good slap) and so Bloom is so enraged by this that she…nearly kills her parents by burning the house down. Fucking brilliant. That is the thing that enrages her. That. Fucking moronic. Also Bloom’s parents are on the floor but there’s a clear pathway that they can just walk through that Bloom walks through. This could have been solved if you had Bloom walk through the flames because fire fairy Speaking of people needing to calm down Terra is just absolutely insufferable. Riven calls her fat and she her response is to choke him and when he calls her out on this she smiles at him saying “nice to see you again” or something. Fuck off Terra. Attempted murder not acceptable when someone insults you.

Alright, now to talk about Stella (and yes, we’re still on Episode 1) while I think Bloom and Flora were done the dirtiest, they massacred my girl. While I don’t think Stella is the most complex character, I discovered while watching this that I really like her in the original. I especially love the episode she gets her Enchantix and the episode she saves her father from Valtore’s spell. Both episodes are so beautiful and her character shines. She’s a bitch in this show. It explains why and I actually do feel bad for this Stella but my god, my Stella would never. Which might as well be the title of this show, Fate: The Winx Would Never Saga.

Few final problems for the first episode: First they call Bloom a changeling and that’s not what changeling’s are and it’s very distracting. Find a different word. Second, Bloom’s house does not look Californian and probably isn’t. Also if Bloom didn’t want to lose Stella’s ring, then she should have worn it on her fucking finger. Now onto episode 2.

So, another problem with this show is Beatrix, while she’s one of the most interesting characters on the show, the fact she barely interacts with the girls is stupid. They should have just put her and Bloom in the same room together. Then Beatrix could interact with all the girls. Problem solved. But no. However, I actually kind of dig Beatrix’s relationship with Riven, I remember liking it in the original as well when it was with Darcy. Maybe I just like evil couples. Oh and magic has changed. So now there’s five elements Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Mind. And you use emotions. And seeing Stella tell Bloom to think of negative emotions hurts my soul because I remember the episode where the girls go to Cloud Tower in season 2 and STELLA WOULD NEVER. Onto episode 3 and 4.

Okay so it’s revealed that Bloom was born in 2004 so that means these girls are 16, 17 in Stella’s case. To which I say bullshit. Now, onto Queen Luna. I don’t think she had any lines in the original series, however I will say QUEEN LUNA WOULD NEVER. I hate that Stella has a shit relationship with her mom. I hate that Queen Luna is queen of Solaria. I hate that she’s the Queen of Light despite her name being Luna because she should the Queen of the Moon because that’s how it worked in the original but no. It’s dumb and I hate it. Though, I will say that her treatment of Stella did make my heart hurt. New appreciation for this imposter Stella. One other thing is that Beatrix’s story is the most interesting. Aster Del was cool.

Episode 5 is when I realized that there were only 6 episodes of this series instead of 8 so…this is the penultimate episode and where shit gets real bad. I don’t like seeing Musa having sex, I think I was on my phone when Stella was having sex but seeing Musa with her bra just made my childhood weep a little. Also, how the fuck did Musa not know Stella was there? Also, I kind of like the scene were Stella opens up to Musa but I would have liked to see Musa say “I’m an empath, dummy, I know these girls aren’t judging you.” Speaking of stupid, Bloom. While Farah not telling you the truth about stuff was dumb, you breaking Beatrix out is massively moronic. And then the show decides to make my childhood weep again by having Bloom drug Sky. Thanks sho w, seeing this happen to my childhood OTPs is fucking great. And you know what? I try to hate this show but then it has a soldier facetiming Marco saying that the Batallion is dead and that she has a broken leg. Then she starts running away from the Burned Ones while hobbling with her “broken” leg and the camera stays on her. It’s…it’s a special show.

The show briefly mentions magical convergence and don’t fucking dare. And then…the characters brains magically go bye-bye. First Bloom is a ding dong for leaving the drugged Sky face down. Then Terra, Musa, and Stella are absolute ding dongs for giving Bloom back the key to break Beatrix out. At first I thought they were fine with allowing Beatrix to murder Dane and then Stella just fucking pushes her into the trap and it made it worse. You don’t fucking know that won’t kill her, you ding dongs.

Onto the finale. Aisha gets shit for being the only one who isn’t a ding dong. “Hope the brownie points will keep you company when you have no friends.” My soul. Bloom becomes really fucking confusing because she doesn’t trust Farah or the other staff but then she just randomly trusts Rosalind. And then she points this out that it’s weird that Rosalind wants her to trust her. And then Bloom goes to save her friends. Funny moment: Stella loses signal, she clearly needs to switch over to the plan that one soldier had where she could face time in the middle of a fucking forest with perfect quality. Then back to Bloom where she confronts Farah and says “What if Rosalind isn’t crazy? What if she had a reason to lie?” And she’s just…an idiot because she doesn’t see how that logic can be thrown right back at her with Farah.

Terra continues to be an ass to Musa. Like she just demands that Musa take away his pain and I understand the Musa needs to open up and get past her baggage. However, Terra does it in such a bitchy way that I would have probably slapped her. Also the show pretends that Terra was helping Sam when she did nothing but hold his hand while he writhed in pain. Also, also you clearly have sedatives in this world, fucking use them.

So Saul “killed” Andreas which is stupid on two fronts. Number one, Saul says to at least Sky that he died in a battle but no one ever questions which one. You’d think they’d find his body on the battle field. Number two where the fuck did Andreas’ body go? Did Saul not care? Fucking stupid. Also Andreas raised Beatrix. Interesting. A little…Mortal Instruments but I’ll allow it. Cool reveal.

Then…the things. Uh, while I’m glad that this show about fairies actually has fucking wings for one scene and they’re pretty cool looking with the fire and almost scale like. However…there’s no magical costume which is bullshit.

Finally, Farah’s neck is snapped and that just kind of the final blow to my childhood. So…overall. This was pretty shit as both an adaptation and just as a story. There were a lot of plotholes and stupid things.

#Fate: The Winx Saga #Winx Club #Netflix #bitter

[puredivinity]

tags i use

below a list of tags i use.

#unpure musings - my nsfw tag. <3 sometimes i talk about dick and balls here. beware. (minors blacklist this tag)

#aot/snk spoilers - spoiler tags! i use them for new chapters of the (nearly concluded) manga and for when new episodes release.

#jjk spoilers - same as above, but for the jjk anime as i currently do not read the manga.

#don’t mind me rambling - me just talking. basically a shitpost, but like, without a meme involved. usually anyway.

mara’s writing - i preview my writing here bc why not

mara watches [show] - i’m watching something and i’d like to talk about it.. beware of spoilers if you haven’t seen!

mara watches jjk

mara watches bnha

#i’m being perceived - i’ve been added to a list of recs, and i’ve been perceived..... i’m very thankful but shocked!

#[insert fic] chatter - me talking about one of the fics i’ve posted. currently, the tags like this are:

#a moonlit confession chatter / #amc chatter

#asks - i answer asks here.

#writing tips - also self-explanatory.

#inspo: [insert name]

inspo: zombie au

inspo: royal au

inspo: eren

inspo: levi

#monkey man chatter / zeke talk - i talk about the forbidden man.....

#anon - anonymous!

eyebrows anon

pickup line anon

eren / zeke anon

🐈‍⬛ anon

⛄️ anon

brazilian anon

kiku anon

#[insert friend’s name here] + [emoji] - my lovely friends! you can be added here anytime, just ask me lmfao.

naya😌

mika 🥀

ryn cute😌

val🌹

promise🐣

maisy daisy

fern 🌿

aly🖤

⭐️

aster🌻

sierra ⚾️

#organization #tags in use

[tomboyneedshercoffee]

Sticky Situation Pt3 || Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter and Y/N just want to be normal teenagers. 

Word Count: 1.3k

Author’s note: I know I’ve been gone for a while but I’ve just been busy with school! Thanks to everyone who enjoyed this little mini-series, it was super fun and cute to write! 

Warning: tiny angst with fluff 

Part one || Part Two || Part Three

“ He tried to what!” Cindy shrieked as you slammed her locker shut, quickly shifting her loud voice into a soft whisper,” and you didn’t kiss him back? Are you stupid?”

The halls of Midtown felt as though everyone was staring at you but in reality, time still went on. As usual, kids were bustling down to their classes rambling in their nerd language. You were sometimes envious of them, their biggest problems were midterms and science projects while you juggled being a superhero with a 4.0 GPA. Even last night, you were working on your history paper that was due today while surveying for crime.

You grabbed Cindy’s arm and pulled her outside into a private study courtyard, giving the two of you more privacy.

“ Well, we were interrupted. I haven’t heard back from him in two days and he hasn’t been in,” You stopped yourself for a moment and shook your head,” maybe I scared him off. I’ve never been so hung up on a guy before...am I weak?”

“ Y/N, come on. You’re a literal badass who has saved the world way more times with your own fists than billionaires with their ‘thoughts and prayers’. No offense but Peter fought an army of scary aliens in space so he can definitely deal with you,” Cindy smiled teasingly as you slapped her shoulder with your notebook.

“ I’m serious. I’ve had crushes here and there but Peter feels different. I have no idea what I am going to do or what is going on through his mind. I don’t even know what we are.”

Cindy bit her bottom lip and shrugged, pointing past your shoulder with her pencil,” Ask him yourself.”

You whipped around and almost collided with Peter, who was holding a bouquet of flowers. Cindy winked at you as she walked away, letting you and Peter have some privacy.

“ Hey Y/N, long time no see,” Peter said softly as his face started to grow redder. He watched your shocked expression turn into a soft one as you looked down at the flowers,” I was going to get you Nightshade’s but apparently they’re poisonous so I thought a safer option was some other type of purple flowers. They’re called China Aster and I thought it would be way less cheesy than red roses. You’ve never mentioned if you liked flowers or not but I thought it was better than-”

“ Peter, what is this for?” You interrupted as his face fell slightly,” I mean, it’s such a sweet gesture thank you but I’m just kinda confused. I haven’t heard from you in days and then you just show up with flowers?”

Peter nodded sadly,” I know and I’m really sorry about that. I was in the Avengers compound up North hiding out-not that I didn’t want to see you but I just needed time to think. I know I should’ve texted you but I was scared to.”

“ Because of how we left things?” You asked almost hesitantly.

Peter swallowed hard as he walked past you and sat down on a bench, signaling for you to sit down next to him. You rubbed your sweaty palms on the sides of your jeans and sat down beside him.

“ I’m scared of us. We’ve been friends for years and when we hung out, it wasn’t complicated. Things are different now though. I know about Nightshade and you know about Spiderman which feels great to finally not live a lie but now I know that just puts us in more danger. And then when we almost kissed...that just made things more complicated,” Peter sighed as you shook your head.

He was right. Things were different, you guys weren’t just friends anymore. If what he was saying was true, then the two of you both knew that you shared feelings for each other. If you two were normal teenagers, then this would be a good thing. But you two weren’t normal because whatever could happen between the two of you would just be considered more baggage and could get you two killed.

You could feel yourself about to cry out of frustration but you held it in,” Peter, I like you a lot and I would give anything to try this out, but I don’t know if I can handle dating Spiderman. I worried about you before but that was cause you missed a lot of school for the internship and I thought you would fail your classes. Now, I would be worrying about if you’re dead in space. If something happens to you Peter, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Peter wanted to scream. Every time he liked a girl, bad things would happen around him and he didn’t want that to happen to you. Everything you said resonated with him, he knew that if you two dated, it would just put your lives at risk. He thought back to when he first discovered that you were Nightshade; he was surprised of course but he was even more worried when he saw how badly you were beaten that night. He imagined you fighting crime even at the cost of your own life.

But then he thought of something that felt selfishly worse. He imagined the two of you going on with your lives as if you two didn’t love each other. Even though Peter had just recently caught feelings for you, he had always loved you. Love for Peter was in the way he stayed up all night trying to teach you Calculus while you cried. Love for Peter was in the way he always brought a jacket for you because he knew that you never brought a coat since it would ruin your outfit. Love for Peter was being there for you when your dad had died even when he was dealing with his own grief after Uncle Ben.

Peter looked down at your hand and held it gently, his soft brown eyes staring at you unapologetically, thinking of the right words to say,” I don’t know what to say to make you feel better. We will never be normal teenagers or normal people but that shouldn’t stop us from doing normal things like...like falling in love with your best friend.”

You knew it could never be that simple. You knew that your movie dates would turn into stopping a bank robbery or that monthly anniversary would be overshadowed by another attack on New York but you just wanted to be normal with him, even if it was just for a split second.

“ Are you saying that you love me? Or are you confessing your love for Ned?” You asked as Peter looked down at your lips and back to your eyes.

“ Can you please stop talking?”

“ Peter! That’s so rude-”

“ Can you please stop talking so I can kiss you?” Peter said in one breath as he moved closer to you.

You didn’t respond but instead, closed the space between you and kissed Peter softly as his hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer. Peter wanted to kiss you forever but it was shortlived when he felt his spidey senses go off.

He pulled away from you and before he could say anything, you both turned your head to a loud boom. Instantaneously, you heard people scream in response.

“ That was from the subway station,” Peter said as you both quickly stood up, almost knocking your heads together,” we need to go.”

You nodded and looked down to the flowers that were crushed when you and Peter kissed,” I’ll just come back for those later.”

“ That’s a smart idea,” Peter said as he gave you a quick peck on the lips before leaping over the gates of the courtyard,” last one there owes the other person a kiss!”

You scrambled for your backpack and ran after him, almost tripping over your shoelaces. As you exited the courtyard, you groaned,” Shit! My history paper!”

 @averyfosterthoughts​ @technolilly​ @spideyyeet​ @theolwebshooter​ @eridanuswave​ @golden-guide​ @farfromjustordinary​ @ramblingsnfandom​

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #spiderman #spiderman x reader #spiderman imagine #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #avenger #avenger x reader #avenger imagine #avengers #avengers x reader #avengers imagine

[concealeddarkness13]

Even More Info on Bring Me That Horizon!

I finally decided to compile all of the ideas I have had for this story that I haven’t posted yet into one post. This one’s going to be a long one and a lot of rambling. Trigger warning for torture. Tagging: @ratracechronicler, @merigreenleaf, and @maple-writes! Here, here, and here are posts with info about this story. 

I figured out more about the POVs in this story. The main POVs will be Lynne, Lira, and Nesri. I think these three will be the best POVs for the story. I also figured out that after a while, Aster decides to go back to his parents and try to convince them to not work with the Shades anymore, and while he’s there, he starts working with Cahira and Lira to change how his parents control the people with magic. So, when Aster is captured to try to control Lynne, Lira’s thief group also gets involved because they like him too, which means that the pirates and thieves will team up at some point!

I figured out about the bottom layer of this world. No one goes down there because the waterfall connecting it to the other layers was completely crystallized when the Shades wreaked havoc with the magic. So, no one has the technology to be able to go down there. Somehow, the pirates figure it out (Shine’s awesome), and they go down there. There, they meet people who had the magic the whole time since the Shades came (hundreds of years), and the magic has evolved for them. The crystal they can manipulate and use has a light within and is known as living crystal. The living has become its own thinking being, and it has a hive-mind between individual crystals. 

The humans down there have evolved to have a living crystal as a heart, and they can only use their magic on living crystals. There are different types of living crystals. The living crystals can heal. They fuse into the skin and heal whatever wounds the person has at the time. They can also be poison. If used as a weapon, they cut through pretty much anything, but they have a cauterizing kind of reaction, where the wounds are simultaneously inflicted and the edges of the wound are slightly healed there is no bleeding. A person can only control the crystals they create.

The most powerful use of living crystals is the ability to create a living crystal that can drain the life out of other living crystals. Once a living crystal’s life is drained, it just becomes a normal crystal. This can happen to the living crystals that work as hearts for the people on the bottom layer. The only way to kill people from the bottom layer is to either drain the life from their living crystal heart or completely shatter their living crystal heart. 

The people on the bottom layer hate the Shades because they are descendants of people the Shades tortured to make the rest of the world fear the crystal magic and because the Shades hunt their kind to use as food sources and as communication devices (to learn more about that, read this post). So, in order to preserve themselves, the living crystals came up with a fake prophecy to dissuade the people from going to war with the Shades. The prophecy says that only one person can defeat the Shades and has some really specific criteria for that person. One of the main characters the pirates will meet is one of those people who was believed to be the chosen one but failed. 

I realized that Shine is actually nonbinary, preferring they/them or he/him pronouns. I also figured out about an antagonist who isn’t an awful piece of crap like the Shades. I was going to call him Liam, but I forgot that I already had a character named Liam, so his name is going to be Gideon. He is the information specialist in Lira’s group. While the navy is already looking for Lynne, her adoptive parents personally hire him to get her back. And he’s very good at what he does. He’ll be following them almost the whole story, and he’s friendly and jovial and fun. He actually meets Shine at some point, and he knows Shine’s sign language, so they hold a trash talk conversation in sign language. This is the start of a rivals-to-friends-to-lovers arc!

I’ll talk about the navy now! I don’t know the name of the captain that they’re going to encounter a lot, but she is serious and sticks to orders and is badass. Kiryth, Nesri’s ex-boyfriend, will be working on that ship, and they’ll have some fun fight scenes! Also, one of Iri’s adopted children (Iri is the person who unofficially adopted Lynne and everyone else on the streets) is part of the navy, so Iri asks to be a part of finding Lynne because he’s worried about her. 

I have figured out two animals in this setting. The first one is a type of dragon that is about the size of a large dog. They have light blue scales, can fly, and can shoot lightning. They are basically a requirement for any vessel on the sea because they keep the vessel safe from predators in the ocean and the sky. They are awesome. Triel has one that I don’t know much about. But Shine has a baby one named Mina. She has been trained to listen to commands given in sign language, and she follows their commands exactly. She helps out with the machinery in the engines mostly. The color of the scales on their head indicate how powerful their lightning is.

I also know a land animal. They resemble fennec foxes: they have big ears, big eyes, are fuzzy, and small. They are predator animals. They can shapeshift to look like their prey and give the prey a false sense of security before they pounce. They also have retractable claws, and they are intelligent and can mimic sounds.

Triel’s mother actually has the glowy magic. Because of this, Triel has a diluted form of the glowy magic (smaller radius around her for water and she does not float but she glows). Despite laws that forbid the people with glowy magic to have children, Triel’s mother hid that she was pregnant and had Triel. But the government found out after that and ordered the baby to be killed. Because the soldiers who were to perform the deed didn’t want to feel that in their consciences, they put her in a small boat and set it out to sea. Instead of her dying, she was found by a pirate called Captain Reeves and taken in.

Captain Reeves is no-nonsense, blunt, more willing to punch you than manipulate you, and a very good strategist. She has a parrot who she named Mini Reeves. She realizes when something is beyond her capabilities, so she surrounds herself with crewmates who can cover her weaknesses, and she can cover theirs. She is a fighter, who likes to rush in and destroy her enemies when the moment calls for it. I don’t know her first mate’s name, but he looks like one punch from him can break you in half, but he’s a manipulator. He works with deception and manipulation, and he taught Triel all he knows. She also learned fighting from him and Captain Reeves. 

I’ve decided to get rid of two of my stories, but I’m going to put a few characters from them into this story! The first one is the Immortals Story. So, Kallias will be in this story! His father has the glowy magic, and his mother does not. When she had him, she put him up for adoption to protect him and his father. He was adopted by good people, but when he started showing his diluted magic, his adopted parents let the Shades know (most every normal person thinks the Shades are awesome), and the Shades took him up to the top layer. They tried to control him with their powers, but he’s resistant to their control like Nesri. They called him monster to begin with (because they’re furious that the magic was passed down to someone else without their say). 

He kept being rebellious (because they were torturing him), so a few years later, they decided to severely weaken him. So, they pushed stacks of the magic in him, controlled him enough to make him crystallize the blood and liquid in his arms. They then took the magic back and cut off his real arms, so that his only arms and hands are crystal. This forces him to activate his diluted magic whenever he has to use his hands, which uses up his strength, so he has to sleep a lot. After all that, years later, one of the Shades decided to name him Kallias (meaning beautiful), and all these years, he’s been tortured and exhausted, and he’s desperate for escape. He’s blunt and he’s a survivor. He will do anything to survive.

Also, I’m getting rid of the Cyborg Story, but I’m going to keep Vani, Halia, and Lev. Lev is a researcher for the government. They are trying to figure out more about the magic, and they’re using her and her unethical approaches to figure out more about it. The leaders don’t want to be controlled by the Shades, but they want access to the magic still. Lev had a son, Vani, and she just viewed him as another tool. She somehow got the Shades to take him and give him the magic, and when he came back down, she contracted him to be part of her experiments. He escapes from her with one of the other people with the glowy magic (Halia), and he wants to destroy his mother for what she has done to him and everyone else. Halia is lighthearted and loves joking. Vani is an antihero who doesn’t mind killing, but he does care in his own way. Halia helps him seem less intimidating, since he works with her even after their escape.

But, while he’s wandering, he finds that there is another species of dragon that no one knows about. It’s an endangered species that has been hunted by the Shades. They are called mosquagons because they are mosquito-sized dragons. They feed on the crystals that the people with the glowy magic make, and if they bite a person with the glowy magic, they give them extra powers: elemental magic that depends on the color of the mosquagon. This elemental magic shows itself when activated by giving the user dragon wings made of the element, and they’re able to breathe the element (like a dragon breathes fire) and control the element with their hands. A mosquagon bit him, and he’s become very protective of his mosquagon. I’m thinking Triel will get her own mosquagon, with ice elemental magic

Thank you so much if you got all the way to the end! I hope you enjoy this information!

#writeblr #bring me that horizon #tw: torture

[alice-blue-skies]

ello lads

 so I wrote a thing for this post by @suddenly-im-respecsable and I added a few of my own ( I really hope you don’t mind Saphie, if you do i’m so sorry) so I thought I would give you my added ones (Again I’m so sorry if this isn’t ok if you want I can get rid of them and change the one shot, just let me know) and the story.

I would like to say that the oneshot. has nothing to do with Saphie’s spies series (Though I do highly recommend reading that series because its amazing. She has a master list on her account) Anyway...

Elmer has a peppa pig on his left thigh. Spot did it while they were practicing tattooing, and they though it would be funny. It’s secretly one of Elmer’s favorites because it so stupid

He has the phrase “wszystko będzie dobrze” on his left ankle. It means “Everything will be ok.” In Polish.

He has the world "Andy" tattooed on the bottom of his foot like toy story because its his little sisters favorite movie and it makes him think of her and it never fails to put a smile on his face

He has a little button on his left ring finger because he loves his boyfriend (Its a belmer fic because I have no self control)

And heres the fic. Which you can get on Wattpad here

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Ship: Elmer x Buttons (Belmerttons)

Type: Romantic

Warnings: pure fluff, Buttons and Elmer being couple goals, my midnight ramblings, a cheesy proposal

Word count: 767

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"Elm?" Buttons hummed as he looked up at his boyfriend of three years. He, as usual, was laid in between Elmer's legs with his back against Elmer's stomach while his head rested against Elmer's chest. "Can you tell me about your tattoos?" He asked, sheepishly.

Admittedly, Buttons could tell you the story behind every one of Elmer's tattoos. But he like to listen to Elmer talk, particularly about the colorful designs that were scattered about his skin.

"Sure." Elmer chuckled, placing a soft kiss to the top of Buttons head. "Where do you want to start?" Buttons tapped his right hand. "Thats the tattoo that Spot and I got together, one foot in front of the other. It means a lot to the both of us. Then I have the garden, which I think I'm going to add some more daisies to." Buttons flushed red at the mention of his favorite flower, that already dominated Elmer's right arm.

"What flowers belong to who?" Buttons asked, knowing the answer.

"The yucca flowers are for Jack, the irises are for Specs." He paused, waiting for Buttons to giggle, which he did. "Asters for Racer, poppies for Albo, roses for Rome, blanket flowers for Finch, venus fly traps for Spot, and the daisies for my lovely boyfriend." Elmer explained.

"Your boyfriend has good taste in flowers." Buttons giggled.

"I know, right?" Elmer joked. "He's the best."

"You never actually told me why the blanket flowers and asters were chosen." Buttons prompted.

"Racer had a cat named Aster when he was a kid and Finch is always cold. I don't know. I thought it was clever." Elmer sighed. "I got bored and did the stars that I would show you again but our apartment is cold and I really don't want to take off my shirt. I mean you can kind of see some of them." Elmer looked down at his color bone to see how many of the simplistic five point stars he had covering most of his right shoulder and upper chest.

"I'll see them later anyways. You refuse to sleep with a shirt on for some reason." Buttons mumbled.

"I didn't get these abs to not show them off, even if I'm only showing them off to my boyfriend." Elmer defended.

"Yeah, yeah, you have lots of muscles that are very impressive. Let's move on." Buttons said.

"Fine, staying on the right side, I have peppa pig. I really can't explain why I got that. Spot and I were practicing and I thought it would be funny I guess." Elmer shrugged. Buttons tapped Elmer's left arm.

"I have the zoo. I just like animals so I got a bunch of them." Elmer said, simply. "The kids that I end up dealing with like them too. Speaking of work, I have 'in and out' on the back of my hand. Like breathing? I don't know, it's stupid, but it helps keep me grounded."

Buttons frowned slightly. He didn't like thinking about Elmer's work. He loved Elmer, and he knew that Elmer loved being an EMT. Elmer was an angel, and he's got the wings to prove it. Which is exactly why Buttons hated talking about Elmer's job. It made him think of all the times Elmer was broken for weeks because they lost someone that was too far gone for even an angel to fix.

"You have wings." Buttons reminded, yawning.

"That I do. Spot thought it was stupid and over done, but I didn't really care." Elmer laughed lightly. "I've got wszystko będzie dobrze (Everything will be ok) on my ankle." Elmer said. Buttons smiled at the sound of Polish tumbling from Elmer's lips. Buttons loved that Elmer was bilingual. He thought it was cute. "And I have Andy on the bottom of my foot, for my little sister."

Buttons nodded and shut his eyes, drinking in the sound of the street far below their apartment, the steady beating of Elmer's heart, and the words.

"And my favorite tattoo is my button on my ring finger. It makes me sad that I'll have to cover it with a wedding band some day, but I guess it won't be to bad to replace one reminder of you with another." Elmer said sweetly. Buttons eyes shot open.

"Did you just propose to me?" He asked, almost laughing.

"Yeah." Elmer said. "So what do you say? Wanna get married?"

"Yes, you weirdo." Buttons replied smiling before kissing Elmer lightly. Elmer grabbed a box out of a drawer in the coffee table. He carefully slipped his great grandmothers ring onto Buttons hand.

#belmer #belmerttons #newsies #modern newsies au #I'm so sorry that this is terrible #comet screams

[highwaytosickfics]

Chazz sickfic

(Realized I posted it on AO3 and Fanfiction.net, but forgot to put it here. Here’s a lovely sickfic I made. Note that this fic takes place after events of Yugioh GX, so the characters are about in their 20s at this point. Might make a part 2 if i get the urge)

A roar of cheers erupted from the audience of a colorful stage, lights flashing and circling round as the last duel of the national tournament had finally come to a close. When the duel stands lowered to the ground, Chazz walked off stage, hiding a slight stumble in his steps. It wasn’t a walk of shame, he’d won afterall, but it was a close match and his head was still reeling from it all. The hallway to his dressing room was thankfully empty, as fans were just barely getting out of their seats, though it still took some time to get there as the walls kept spinning around him. He should’ve still been in the arena area, participating in PR activities like sitting for the post-victory interview and signing autographs. But Chazz needed a huge dose of caffeine in the next few minutes if he wanted to stay upright.

The smell and warmth of something brewing greeted him when he entered the room, and Aster stood against a wall, sipping from a steaming mug. Chazz let the door shut on its own, wincing at the noise from the excess force as he went to the makeup table and grabbed a remover cloth. Aster turned eyes his shambling protege with a cautious yet neutral expression. “Didn’t want to stay for the after-party?”

“Figured I’d let the losers get some screen time” Chazz replied absentmindedly, more focused on throwing away the dirty wipe and stumbling towards the coffee maker. “Makes me seem more valuable.”

“Right…” He could feel his manager sizing him up, noting all the little flaws that were just starting to show. From the sickly paleness of his skin to the bags under his eyes that were almost as dark as the eyeshadow he’d put on earlier. Even just trying to get something to drink was proving to be a challenge, as the room around him was swaying slightly and he couldn’t get his hands to stop shaking long enough to grip one of the complimentary mugs.

Chazz knew he didn’t look or feel as great as he should’ve, but he was a pretty busy guy these days and he couldn’t afford to slack off. It’d been a constant stream of back-to-back duels and PR events, combined with paperwork he’d work on late into the night. He barely had time to grab a bite to eat, much less to sleep more than a couple hours at a time. Chazz loved it though, it kept his wallet full and his mind distracted from some of the more stressful things in his life, namely his brothers or a certain energetic brunette that kept dropping off the face of the earth for months on end...because not knowing where his danger-prone rival was didn’t spike up his anxiety levels at all...

“So, what’s our next move? Another tournament, maybe?”

“Chazz, the season’s over! We’ve got a while before we need to start prepping for your next official match!” Chazz felt a hand rest on his shoulder, attempting to steady his jittering frame. “I think it might be time you started using your vacation days, you’ve got a few months piled up now after all.”

“I-I can’t just quit now! What if someone like Mr. Kaiba decides to throw an off-season tournament or something?”

“Well, Kaiba’s off on his honeymoon right now so we don’t need to worry about him at least. But if someone else tries something, we’ll figure it out…” Aster lead Chazz to the small couch in the dressing room, pressing him to sit. “But to be honest, right now you look…”

“Like crap?”

“Pretty much, yeah. You’re also way too hot.”

“Thanks, I was born beautiful.”

“I meant temperature-wise, smartass. I think you might have a fever.” Aster walked away for a moment and returned with a forehead thermometer. Chazz looked back to his manager in confusion.

“Where did you even...?”

“You’ve kinda been looking worn out for a while, so I decided to be prepared.” Aster moved the thermometer onto Chazz’s forehead, sighing at the numbers on the screen. “39 degrees celsius, you’ve definitely got a fever. I’ll drive you back to your apartment, and I should get someone to look after you.”

“Hey, I can take care of myself!”

“Can you though? Can you guarantee that you won’t just go back to work and not take care of yourself?”

“...um…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll see who's available, though your friend pool is pretty small. Maybe I should call your family-”

“NO!” Chazz winced at the sound of his own retalization, it made his head hurt and his vision spun faster. “Y-you don’t need to call them, I can take care of myself if you don’t find anyone, I promise I…I…”

“Chazz?”

He couldn’t find the energy to respond, couldn’t even think. Black spots were appearing in his vision and his head was throbbing harder. He blinked, and when his eyes opened again Chazz could feel himself being moved. Shivers racked through him at the change in environment, and he suddenly felt cold and weak.

“I’m gonna help you into the car, alright? You’ll be home soon. I’ve already got-” Chazz couldn’t hear the rest of Aster’s fast ramblings as he was too distracted with sitting down again. The car’s seats were leather, and his manager had seemingly turned the heaters and seat warmers on already as Chazz felt his shaking ease off a bit. Aster got into the driver’s side, though now he seemed to be talking with someone on the phone. Their voice went through the car’s bluetooth speakers, and while he couldn’t really understand what they were talking about, the warm tone sounded familiar. Chazz closed his eyes, feeling his consciousness slip under the heat from the car.

#sickfic #yugioh gx #yugioh chazz #sick chazz #chazz princeton #yugioh aster #aster phoenix #manager phoenix #my post

[ask-gilbert-and-ludwig]

Ending of the Halloween Event

He took the boy’s hand and let him help him get back up. After releasing the boy’s hand, he reached down to grab his dog ears and brushed them off.

He just hoped his tail hadn’t gotten flattened in the fall.

“I’m so sorry!” the boy exclaimed. “I just really want to get to as many houses as possible before my brother takes me home.”

While Ludwig thought this kid should have been looking where he was going, he himself hadn’t been paying much attention to his surroundings either. “It’s okay.”

“So, who are you? I think I recognize you from school.”

Ludwig studied the boy’s face. He might not have been very well acquainted with his classmates, but he still knew what they looked like, and this boy was not one of them. Maybe he was in one of the other classrooms nearby?

“I’m Ludwig. Sorry, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

The boy tilted his head to the side. Despite the cat costume, the action made Ludwig think of a dog. “What grade are you in?”

“Grade 2.”

“Oh, that’s why I’ve only seen you at recess! I‘m Feliciano, and I’m in grade 3.” The boy held out his hand for Ludwig to shake. Just before he could grab it however, another voice was heard from behind Feliciano.

“Hey, what did I tell you about running? I don’t want to find out you were hit by a car or some shit.”

Ludwig looked up and saw someone who looked very much like Feliciano, but much older and grumpier. He was wearing a Roman Emperors costume, with an off-white toga and purple sash. Ludwig also noticed he was wearing sandals and wondered how his feet hadn’t frozen yet.

“Who’s this?” the teenager asked. The way the boy said it, like he was judging whether he should be hostile or not, made Ludwig stiffen.

Thankfully, Gilbert chose then to intervene.

“Lovino?” he asked.

Ludwig looked back and forth between the two. So, this was Lovino? When Gilbert talked of him, he had described him as an angry kitten: small and full of rage, but not very threatening. Ludwig didn’t agree. Lovino looked mean, and angry, and scary. More like a wild cat that had found you trespassing in it’s home.

But then again Ludwig didn’t trust most teenagers because they were bigger and scarier than him; Gilbert was one.

The teenager, Lovino, scowled. “What the hell are you doing trick or treating?”

Ludwig could see Gilbert spreading his arms wide around him as if to emphasize his existence.

Lovino’s lip curled in disgust. “You’re telling me you spawned?!”

Gilbert took a step away from him and made his own face of anger and repulsion. “Ew no that’s disgusting! He’s my little brother!”

Lovino turned his gaze from Gilbert to him, and Ludwig wished Gilbert hadn’t opened his big mouth. “Not much better.”

“Hi Lovi!” Antonio greeted happily. Ludwig assumed the rest had come to get them when it became apparent they weren’t coming back.

Lovino rolled his eyes. “Ah great, it’s all of you. Well, I would say that it was nice seeing you, but you and I both know that’s bullshit. So, we’re gonna go.”

Lovino turned around and was about to head out when Feliciano grabbed his sash.

“Wait but I want to trick or treat with Ludwig!”

Why? We just met?

Lovino looked over his shoulder. “Why is he a friend? Why would you want to be friends with a potato?”

Ludwig bowed his had and frowned. What did he do to deserve being insulted?

He felt Gilbert step closer and could hear the subtle anger in his voice. Not the one he had when Ludwig accidentally spilt juice on his homework, or when Aster wouldn’t stop barking, but the one where he was really angry and got serious scary if the other didn’t apologize or back-down.

“He’s not like me, if that’s what you’re implying.”

Lovino looked from Gilbert to him and back again. “I seriously doubt that.”

Feliciano tugged on the sash and Ludwig wondered how he could be so calm in the face of Lovino’s anger. “Please! It’ll only be for a little bit! We have to go back soon anyways, and he might not even live near us!”

Lovino didn’t budge.

Feliciano then gave him puppy dog eyes, not letting down.

Lovino sighed in frustration. “Fine.”

Feliciano let go of the sash and came over to Ludwig. He grabbed his hand and locked their fingers together.

“Yay!” he cried in joy.

Lovino scoffed and started heading forwards.

They all went to follow him.

From his place behind them he could see Gilbert talking to Lovino, still looking ticked off but seemingly restraining himself, probably telling him which house they had left off at.

Feliciano was still holding his hand, even though he no longer needed to in order to convince his brother.

Ludwig turned to face Feliciano. “Can you let go of my hand now?” he asked.

The older boy turned to face him, smiling. “Sure!” he replied cheerfully and let go of his hand, albeit at the end of a swing, forcing his hand up in the air as if they had been cheering or something.

Apparently, Feliciano thought this was an invitation to start a conversation. “So, I know you’re dressed up as a dog, but what kind of dog?”

Ludwig didn’t mind as much as he thought he would. “German Shepard.”

“Cute!” Feliciano’s expression turned confused. “But I thought German Shepard’s has pointy ears?” he asked gesturing to his own pointy cat ears.

“I’m a puppy, their ears are floppy.” Originally, he had wanted to go as a full-grown German Shepard, pointy ears and all, but after Gilbert suggested he go as a puppy, he had changed his mind. Puppies were cuter anyways.

“Aww! That’s cute!” Feliciano cooed, looking up at the night sky. “I didn’t really have a certain kind of cat in mind when I made my costume! I just wanted to be cute!”

Ludwig nodded. Looking over Feliciano’s costume he could tell it wasn’t based off of any specific breed, or at least none that he knew of.

Feliciano suddenly turned back to look at him. “Do you think it worked? Do I look cute?”

Ludwig felt his face get warm all of a sudden. “Um-”

Gilbert’s voice cut through before he could think of a reply however. “Hey guys!”

Both turned to look at him and the rest of the teenagers who were standing at the end of someone’s driveway.

“We’re at the next house, you going up or what?”

Feliciano ran past him and towards the house. Ludwig slowly followed behind.

****

Gilbert opened the door. “We’re home and it’s two minutes before 10:30 so we technically aren’t late!” He shouted down the hall.

“Okay can you turn the front lights off than?” he heard his dad reply from the living room.

“Okay!” Gilbert shouted back and did as told.

“You didn’t have to shout you know,” Ludwig pointed out. “Dad’s just in the other room he can hear still hear you when you talk normally.”

Gilbert shrugged. “Hey look we still have candy left! Score!”

“Do we get any?” Antonio asked.

Gilbert and Ludwig glared at one another.

“Yes.” Ludwig said.

“Ugh!” Gilbert pretended to be disappointed, “Do we have to!”

“They’re your friends!”

Gilbert looked between the two. “Debatable.”

Antonio poked him in the side with his cane. “Be careful what you say Skeleton Boy.”

Gilbert stuck out his tongue before breaking the facade and laughing.

“Come on let’s go to my room and see what we wanna trade.”

All three teenagers went running up the stairs, Ludwig following as fast as he could, into Gilbert’s room. As soon as the door closed behind him they descended on him.

“Is Feliciano your friend now?”

“You finally have a friend this is great!”

“When are you hanging out again?”

Ludwig tried shooing them away. “I thought we were trading candy?”

“In a minute,” Gilbert said, “right now I want details. Are you going to hang out at his house or here?”

“I don’t know! We didn’t talk about that!”

“What did you talk about?” Francis asked.

“He told me he really likes art.”

“Like you!″ Antonio pointed out cheerfully.

“He says he’s been told he’s really good at art and wants to become an artist someday. So, he takes it more seriously than I do.”

Gilbert suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy you finally have a friend! This is great! You’re-”

Ludwig tuned out his happy rambling as he thought, I’m happy too.

#hetaween event 2019 #writing #sorry not a drawing #aph germany #aph prussia #aph north italy #aph south italy #aph spain #aph france #gilbert beilschmidt #ludwig beilschmidt #feliciano vargas #lovino vargas #antonio fernandez carriedo #francis bonnefoy #plot #okay context because lovino is mean but hes usually not mean to kids #he thinks ludwig is like gilbert and that he will badly influence feliciano so he wants nothing to do with him #also ending is lazy because i am lazy #ask-gilbert-and-ludwig

[bookishnerdhero]

ROTBTD - OUAT AU Episode 2 (Part 3)

If you came here not having read the first Episode then you might want to check that one out first. Here's the LINK to the very first post for this Fic. Otherwise this part is pretty confusing.

ROTBTD - The Big Four – OUAT AU

Present

“Hey Jack! Cool! I ran into you!”

Jamie approached Jack in the town’s small public library, Sandy’s library. The one time in that week Jack had decided to loiter in the library, the one kid whose principal father practically threatened Jack not to hang out with decided to find him. Again. This wasn’t the first time he ‘ran into’ Jack this week.

“Yeah, real cool. Keep it down, we’re in a library,” Jack said, even though there was nobody else around and he wasn’t actually reading anything. He was actually just scrolling absently through his phone, liking memes and videos about people doing elaborate backflips. Sandy’s library’s got really good Wi-Fi.

Right on cue, Sandy smiled from behind the counter and tapped at an embroidered sign that said ‘Reading Time is Quiet Time’ which he bought from Etsy. The lettering was in gold, just like most of Sandy’s decorations and furniture in the library.

“Oh. Sorry,” Jamie said sheepishly.

“For real, are you following me?”

“No. I came here to return these.” He’d placed three hardcover books onto the counter and bunched his cheeks up as he smiled, a look of total innocence. There was a book about Vikings, another about Scottish highlands and clans, and the final was about dragons. Jack couldn’t help remembering the conversation with Hugo about his dragon sketch as he picked up the book. They didn’t seem to be interrelated topics.

“Dragons?”

“I’m doing research.”

“I see.”

This probably also had something to do with comparing Hugo with the Viking in his fairytale book the other day; Jack was sure but somehow knew better than to point it out. Every now and then he’d mention something about Jack Frost, in Jack’s case, and the Viking in the story…what did he call it? Hector, was it? He didn’t really understand Jamie’s game and his interests, maybe it was his version of Dungeons and Dragons or maybe Pitchener wouldn’t allow internet privileges. It didn’t matter. In all fairness, he didn’t really know the kid so he shouldn’t be quick to judge nor should he feel obligated to stick around and be buddy-buddy with him. Jack St. North doesn’t really hang out too much with anyone to begin with. He was invisible but was used to it. The last thing he needed was for people like Pitchener calling him a bad influence when he was, really, just minding his own business. Still, that was rude and Jack hated being made to feel like he was nothing directly.

Sandy took in the books, touching his lips and pointing his hand in a sign of thanks before gesturing at the rest of the library.

“That’s alright. I have a big test tomorrow and my dad doesn’t want me to do any recreational reading until it’s done,” Jamie said, unshouldering his backpack and already walking over to where Jack was near the counter.

Jack was seated in his favorite spot. There were two comfy armchairs beneath the window and a small coffee table where Jack wasn’t supposed to place his feet on. Sometimes Jack liked to sit around and chat with Sandy in the library during afternoons since he wasn’t interested in extra-curricular activities, and occasionally if he happened to skip a class he couldn’t stand. Sandy didn’t really give him too hard a time about it, though he’d eventually have to think up a better explanation to Nicholas. There would always be tea with a little honey for Sandy and some hot cocoa for him, and sugar cookies from a small pantry out back. In a way, the library was a like a sanctuary where Jack could go whenever he gets tired of wandering—since he liked to wander around town and into the woods surrounding it.

When Jamie sat himself down in the chair opposite him Jack considered whether it was a good idea to lightly suggest that maybe he could look for friends his own age who could also be interested in fairytales. Maybe all he needed was a pep talk that they’re out there and he’d have more in common with them, because Jack didn’t really expect that when Jamie said they were ‘friends’ he really meant ‘friends’ as if he expected they would spend more time together. He promised no such thing. Yet somehow Jamie had already sent him a friend request in all his social media platforms and asked him about it, so he couldn’t exactly ignore them, and already made a group chat with Hugo in it. He named the group ‘Operation Nightfury’, which Hugo seemed to understand the context of from reading the book.  He already didn’t have friends of his own judging by the sad amount of memes he’d kept tagging only to Jack and Hugo. He wondered if Pitchener was seeing them because he really didn’t start this.

“So where’s Hiccup?”

“Who?”

“You know, your Viking friend?”

“Oh, the game again. And you mean Hugo. I have no idea where he is, we don’t exactly keep tabs.”

“Really? Jack Frost and Hiccup were really close, though,” Jamie rambled, “Sometimes Jack Frost appears, just when Hiccup needs him the most, and would give him advice. They’d just run into each other. See, Hiccup sometimes forgets to find the fun in things when he gets caught up in the responsibilities of being the next Viking chief.”

“Okay, you lost me. I don’t really know how to follow, I’ve never read the book.”

Jamie legitimately looked sad for a second that Jack wondered if he felt insulted or made fun of. Maybe it was his tone which tended to sound like he didn’t take anything seriously. But the little boy suddenly shifted into a cheery disposition once again, voice all pitchy.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be weird—“

“No, no, you’re not weird,” Jack said quickly, because he didn’t actually want Jamie to feel bad, there’s really nothing wrong with having an imagination. “It’s me. I just don’t get it. I’m a slow learner.”

“I know I shouldn’t bother people with these fairytales. It’s just that after my real dad would tell me these stories, I would tell it to my little sister and we’d…make a game out of it. Yeah. W-we would imagine people we knew playing the characters in the book…so she would think the world was a little more magical.”

“Wait, sister? You have a sister.”

Now Jamie allowed himself to appear a little sadder about this. “We er...got seperated.”

“Oh.” Jack didn’t ask more. “I'm...sorry to hear that.”

“I don't even know where she is anymore. But, I think...if I could find my dad, he'd be able to find her.”

Jack wasn't so sure a father who abandoned his kids to the foster system in the first place should be allowed to locate the other kid, but he figured he needed to give Jamie some hope. Since his first meeting with Jamie he managed to ask Hugo a bit more about what he knew about his situation. Rumor has it that he was just around six or seven when Pitchener adopted him. No one said anything about a sister and maybe for good reason. He nodded along, genuinely sympathetic.

“She was my responsibility,” Jamie continued, “It feels like I abandoned her.”

“Trust me, kid. It's probably not your fault.” He almost couldn’t look at Jamie. At that instant, he saw too much of himself in the brown haired boy. Jack couldn’t even remember his own childhood memories, but the absence was heavy on him. It was as if he was always searching for something or someone, never really knowing if he’d ever find them. “What was her name?”

“Sophie.”

He remembered one of the voices in his dream last night, before the moon woke him up.

The sky is awake. So I'm awake.

Please tell me a bedtime story, Daddy.

Something in Jack's heart tugged when he heard the name. He thought maybe because all this talk about family and loss reminded him of his own family. Maybe he knew someone named Sophie in his old memories.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked. It must’ve shown in Jack’s face that he was bothered by something.

"What? It's nothing."

"Do you think maybe I could see her again someday?"

"Hey, now, of course. It's a small world," Jack said. "You never really know who you'll run into."

The library door flew open, as if on cue, and three girls from Disney High clustered in. The uniforms, with the school logo of a castle and an arch over it, were a giveaway. They weren’t noisy, since this was a library, but their presence in the once quiet library made it a little less. Sandy made a welcoming gesture as the girls greeted him.

“Hey, Sandy! Have you got anything new?” a girl with a ponytail secured by a blue bow said while returning an armful of books. Sandy responded with warmth as if this girl was a regular in the library. He proceeded to show her to the Fiction section, while the two other girls seemed deep in animated conversation by the counter. One girl had her dark curly hair up in a sensible bun and was surveying a magazine rack, picking up one about baking. The other girl, Jack was too busy staring at. He couldn’t really pay attention to what they were talking about. It was her. It was the girl from the café. Her hair was styled up a little differently and she looked different in her school uniform. More regal somehow. She actually tilted her head at Jack and he tried to act like he wasn’t just staring.

She probably saw. Jack pretended to be more interested in his phone.

“Why don’t you talk to her?”

“What?” Jack said, flustered and too obvious because he didn’t expect even the kid would notice him.

“That girl?”

He checked to see if the girl heard Jamie.

“I don’t know are you talking about and even if I did it would probably be a better idea to keep our voice down in a library.”

"Because you were looking at her like this.” Jamie made a goofy expression that could not have been his, he must be exaggerating.

“Now why would I do that?”

"Don't you feel the connection?"

"Next you're gonna’ tell me that in that book she's supposed to be, what? Mother Nature? The Easter Bunny?"

"The Easter Bunny's a man...well, bunny, but he's Mr. E. Aster."

"E. Aster? My dad’s friend, also known as my World History teacher who may or may not hate me? You've got to be kidding me."

"It makes sense! Who else would know so much about the world but the Easter Bunny? He's got portals he could hop to at any minute--"

"Okay, okay. I get it.”

Jack stopped, quirked an eyebrow, because the girl was giggling to herself as she watched them, albeit also responding to what the other girl was saying. She was just looking at him.

"Now come on! You clearly have a crush on her, so you might as well talk!"

"You have a no sense of personal boundaries!" Jack replied, but he could already feel himself getting convinced. She was looking at him! She was looking at him!

"I'll be your wing man!"

"Where are you getting all this? You're ten!"

"Come on, Jack! What fun comes out of doing nothing?"

Jack was taken aback from that. It sounded like something he would tell himself before doing something stupid. "Alright. Alright. I'm talking. Not like anything bad is going to happen, so fine."

Jack approached her as casually as he could, walking into an aisle in front of the one she had just ducked into. What was he thinking saying that? Of course this was dumb. He turned around to go back but Jamie was giving him a thumbs up and he couldn’t make things worse by suddenly fleeing so he fumbled through the shelves.

“Uhm, you go on ahead.” He heard the girl say.

He glanced at the book he’d randomly picked, Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata and proceeded to pretend to be flipping intently through it. But he can only scan a book’s pages so much without really looking at the text, especially when he was actually stalking someone. Where was he going with —?

He looked up and they were seeing each other through the book shelves.

“Hi.” He found himself saying. His voice was, thankfully, normal but he felt a little self-conscious with how deep his normal was. Also, had it always been this quiet?

“Hi,” she said.

“I’ve seen you before,” he said around the same time she mumbled something along the lines of “Have I seen you before?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“The, er, Cass’ Café, just up the street from here.”

She nodded as he spoke. “Lucky Cat Café, yes, I ran into you.”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.”

“You, er, often go to Lucky Cat Café?”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

There was a moment of painful silence where he had no idea what to say next and whether or not he could just nod and retreat. He’d caught her attention, it was too late, and all he kept saying was ‘yeah’.

He looked back at where he wanted to retreat to and caught sight of Jamie watching him, mouthing “Say something!” with apparent exasperation. He made his eyes go wide and tried to tell him to ‘chill’ without exactly saying it. Unfortunately, the kid and his movements were grandiose enough that the girl saw it as well.

"Kids.” He tried to shrug it off but it doesn’t seem like an explanation but a dead give-away of what this was, so he might as well roll with it. Accept that it was an attempt at flirting.

"I understand. I have a younger sister. You two are lucky to be close."

"Oh, he's not my brother. Just a friend. New kid in town, decided to show him around."

"I see.” She held her chin with her thumb and forefinger in a gesture of thoughtfulness. “I never pegged you for the warm and hospitable type."

"Pegged me? Wait, you've seen me before? I mean, before-before?"

It took her a minute to reply because she realized she said something to make herself obvious now too. "Around. Yes. I notice a lot of people."

Jack smirked, he couldn’t help it. "And here I thought people barely acknowledge that I exist."

"I find that hard to believe," she said under her breath.

"What?"

"I mean, people. Unbelievable sometimes."

"Eva? I found what I was looking for, you coming?" the girl with the blue bow in her hair said. The two other girls were now waiting for her by the counter and were raising their eyebrows at Jack.

"Oh, er, yes."

“Eva?” he tried out her name. “So I guess I’ll just wait and see if you’ll be around at the café again sometime. Assuming you don’t see me first.”

She made an awkward laugh and covered her mouth as she backed away from the aisle. The three girls walked to the door and he saw the other two taking glances back at him, each playfully elbowing Eva now and then.

“Okay now, who was that?” the girl with a bun and, now, a cookbook in her arms asked.

“I don’t know. I—“ she was trying hard not to smile. Trying.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ve never seen him before,” the other girl with a blue bow and, now, a larger stack of books said.

“I’m so stupid. I forgot to ask his name.”

Jack acted like he wasn’t really listening all the while, sauntering back into his seat with the copy of Snow Country still in his hands. It was only after he heard her say it that he realized he’d forgotten to tell her his name, but hopefully it means he’ll still see her again. He’ll definitely keep an eye out for her.

"You're blushing."

"No I'm not."

"You do like her."

 It was only a little later that they left the library, right after Sandy gave them snacks and started teasing Jack about the girl too. Jamie insisted on following Jack, since he was going to wait at the café again and wanted to tell him about the story of the friendship between the queens of the Enchanted Forest. It was in the middle of telling him a particularly different version of Princess and the Frog than he remembered that they bumped into Audrey.

"Hey, er...what's your name again?" Audrey, who normally couldn’t be bothered to even talk to Jack, asked.

"Jack. It's a very common name.” And his situation in town should’ve made it very hard to miss. “How come people forget?"

"Oh, yeah, right,” she continued dismissively, “I was looking for Hugo. Have you seen him? He was supposed to be at Hockey practice today but he bailed out. Again."

"I didn't think he got to play Hockey. Or liked to."

"Yeah, but you know his dad."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind. You wouldn't understand. I've been trying to help him but if he doesn't show up there's nothing I can do.” She had a hand on her hip and a particular expression of disappointment that suggested this wouldn’t be the first time. “Anyway, if you see him, tell him I was looking for him."

She didn’t have to wait for Jack to respond before going ahead.

 ***

Past

Merida had her bow drawn. Her heart was beating madly and it occurred to her how stupid it was for her to have wandered off alone. Especially now with sinister things at large in these parts of the woods. It was too late, of course, and she was now face to face with—

“Pitch Black.”

“The one and only,” the man replied with a silvery voice. He had such a presence about him that suggested fear—cold, endless, fear. His face was corpse-like, sunken eyes staring back at her like an almost empty skull. Most of the first few seconds with this monster was spent with him circling her; whether studying or taunting her, she wasn’t sure. The words he’d bought up again were about her and Hiccup, stitching together whatever doubts she’d had in the cave to what he’d warned her earlier in the woods.

"You know what they say, that's just how the story goes."

"What are you going on about?" she tried to tamp down whatever bad feeling she had while in his presence, suppressing all of her doubts about what just happened. The Dark One can sense desperation, she remembered from Maudie’s tales to the triplets. You best wish you’d never see him in the wood. To see him is a bad omen.

"Did you think you were meant to be? If anything I'd say you were nothing but star-crossed.” He obviously talking about her and Hiccup, trying to get to her. She backed away slowly in an attempt to run off, but he reappeared at her side.

“I know how these stories go--the hero goes off to do the right thing," he continued with a thin smile. He gestured with his arms, making shadows materialize in thin air, showing her a dream vision or a nightmare vision. Dark magic. "The story should go that he defeats great threats against his people, marries Astrid and leads the Vikings with their Dragons, forging a new path and name his once small village.” Small shadow versions of the Vikings and their dragons appeared in the space between her and Pitch, the village of Berk rising and improving before her eyes.

“He will be the greatest chieftain the the Hairy Hooligan Tribe and the isle of Berk has ever seen and finally bring honor to his father’s reputation. A true happy ever after.” He paused to see her reaction before saying, with such relish, “You're just getting in the way."

"I didn't...I didn't ask for us to meet,” Merida said after the shadows faded.

"The only reason why the two of you met is because you tried to change your fate and now everyone else's fates would suffer for it. Including..." he takes her by the chin and makes her look at another vision where Hiccup is surrounded by the highlanders in the ring of stones, "his."

"No!” She threw her arm over the shadow and then faced the Dark One with as much fierceness as she could muster. “Why are you showing me this? What do you want?"

"Let's just say I have a general concern about all things happening in this land. I keep tabs, you see. Your kind of love would bring nothing but conflict to either one of you or both your people. Though I couldn't care less how that turns out, details, details, I'm what you would call...an opportunist. I see a person in desperate need of an answer, I go and give them another option."

His smile was anything but trustworthy.

"And what is that?"

"Ready to make a deal, are we?"

"I don't even know what you're trying to propose. I've dealt with complicated bargains in the past, I'm not about to make another mistake. I won't go through with this." She tried to leave again and this time it almost seemed like he would let her go. There was nothing in her way but a part of her stayed to listen.

"But what if I tell you there was a way for you to have both? Be in the arms of your lover,” he said, forming new shadows, “and ensure the safety of your kingdom?"

It was as if the whole wood went silent.

"State your terms."

"Have you ever heard of a forgetting spell?"

(End of Part 3)

Episode 1

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Episode 2

Part 1

Part 2

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