Voidshrub - AD NAUSEUM - Tumblr Blog

Ok but hear me out if I took no fall damage or explosion damage. I would 100% want to rocket jump. Like just blasting into the air must be SO fun. And then the adrenaline of falling back to the ground? TERRIFYING SIGN ME IN DUDE

"Follow me!"

Tf2 fandom hello hi could you recommend me some good ao3 fics to read pleaseeee 👉👈

(Preferably with little/no smut and strictly no mediscout, anything else go wild thank youuuuu) (OH AND NO SPYSCOUT I THINK IT'S OBVIOUS BUT YEH)

I'm gonna think about these tags all day I'm climbing up the amateur artist ranks

What’d he tell ye?

Went looking for gun references and ended up skimming comics to look at medic's dumb stupid gorgeous rectangle of a face. Oops-

AHHHHHH AHHH MY SILLY GIRL MY GIRL!!!!! HER EYES HER EARS HER FEETS HER TAIL SHE'S SO FLUFFY I WANNA HUG HERRRRR

I looove her ear fluffs... and the little tufts at the back ;-;-;-;- she looks so tired- I wouldn't have it any other way... Her clothes are Perfect and the fact you added her pant colors as part of the fur on her feet... they're like little bootsies AWEEEE

Thank you so much for drawing the Girl... I am eternally grateful and am going to stare at this for a while... YAYYAYAYYYY

Hey Emi :) Submitting my gal for the animal crossingfication…… Some really fast doodles cause I didn’t have much time oop-

Additional info about her! Tried to make it as short as possible ^^’

She used to be very peppy and excitable but due to Lore and Traumas (losing her pink and being Alone) she moved to work at this big corporation that focuses on making video-based ads, and buried herself in every kind of work imaginable to cope. She gets better and becomes herself again eventually! But mainly she is always Working and Tired. She's still a goof but mostly in like... 'how many keep-awake drinks can I mix together without them killing me' kind of goof. She may collapse of exhaustion any moment, silly Mo. Also she's the kind to write down when people go "man I owe you one" so she can cash in on favors later :)

As stated above she prefers masc clothing, in professional settings outside of work clothes she likes suits, and in casual settings more like, flannels and hawaiian shirt kind of stuff. She doesn't get to listen to music as often as she used to (gotta keep coming up with jingles and generic royalty-free music) but she seems to me like she'd enjoy rock and nighrcore. I also like to imagine that she likes to target ads to certain lightners to annoy when she's bored, like Berdly :3 I hope that's enough characterization-

I don't know what animal she'd be in AC, you can go wild with it if ya want. The only vague idea I had was she could be a wolf just cause the tufts at the sides of her face could probably work to do the fast-forward button shape of her hair, but also I barely remember how the AC models look so I dunno ahshsfjdk

MOBIII! THE MOBI LOREEE!! I am so sorry this took so long to get to!!

Aaand here's Mobi L.! Hope that I did her justice, she was super fun to draw!! (Ik I've said this about all of the reqs so far but they srsly are all just so fun to draw rahhhh :DD)

Oiled up Addison

Listen this was probably /j but. But I stumbled upon this tutorial a couple of days ago and I just. Um (CW SUGGESTIVE UNDER CUT IT REALLY ISNT MUCH BUT JUST IN CASE)

You asked for this-

God is testing my unwillingness to learn and practice drawing anatomy (I am losing)

GRAAAAAAAAH LOOK AT HERRR THE GIRL MY GIRL MY SLEEP-DEPRIVED STUPID GIRL I LOVE HOW YOU DID HER HAIR

And yelow... stubby baby. Little baby boy. A moment of normal happy moment for him :)

OI GRUBS COME GET YOUR ADDISON ART

*DING DING DING DING*

Turnon (right) and mobi (left)

Mobi belongs to @voidshrub

Eat up

Anyways. Where are all the Solly WWII/PTSD fics. Yes I know he canonically did not go through WWII. No I do not care. Where are they

What’d he tell ye?

Hey buddy maybe you should take those valium pills they gave you- oh god

Tried something different this time :)

I wish public transportation services were real

Hello please reblog this if you’re okay with people sending you random asks to get to know you better

The multifandom in me is acting up oh shit

Hello, 👋

I wish you and your families safety and happiness from the bottom of my heart. ❤️

Please help us save my family from these difficult circumstances. 🙏

Please Donate now if you able and reblog this appeal with your friends. 🌹

Thank you all for your support and kind hearts. 🌹❤

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Mohammed and his family get through this war in Gaza, organized by Mohammed Ismaeel

The Story of Mohammed Hussein Ismaeel and His Family: A Journ… Mohammed Ismaeel needs your support for Help Mohammed and his family get thro

I deeply apologize that I can't donate at the moment, but I will spread the word so hopefully others that see this can lend some money.

This gfm is vetted and confirmed not a scam as seen in this list here, so if you can, please help this man and his family by donating and/or spreading the word with a reblog! Every little bit helps. Tumblr mods aren't doing any favors for him and other palestinian accounts. I understand this is his new blog, the previous was terminated by staff. But this one is legit!

I hope you and your family are okay, and that you can all get out of this without further incident. I know this may not mean much, but you'll hold a special place in my prayers. If in the future my family gets out of this rut or I am able to to find a job, I won't hesitate to donate something.

YES. YEAS.

YEAAAASSSSSS

Make a tierlist of Epithet Erased

https://tiermaker.com/create/epithet-erased-prison-of-plastic-1494482

Hi anon I did it

Added a few modifications here and there, mainly I think Gio's boys deserve their own tier and it's high up because I love them all :3

I feel like rambling a little bit so notes under the cut cause why not (And spoilers also)

Ok first of all. I was gonna give Lori S tier but also she makes me too angry sometimes. I love you Lori but girl. Girlie-

I was considering Feenie to have her own tier because she is like Jello's daughter and she is also very wonderful. But I was too lazy so she goes in A tier, only because I don't feel as strongly about her as I feel for the characters I put in S tier (same for Trixie)

Now that I think about it Naven should be in S tier he is so badass and awesome and I love him. But I am too sleepy to go back and fix the list so uhm pretend he is in the Correct tier :)

I forgot half of the season 1 cast existed I am so sorry I was simply sobbing uncontrollably over Giovanni being the absolute best dad ever to be conceived

The barcode dude is up there cause I really really like his design it's so rad

I don't like Zora that much that's why she's where she is I'm sorry. She has great motives for what she does very cool very interesting but I simply do not Vibe with her. Also she spit in Ramsey's mouth -points for that, big red buzzer noise

I actually didn't recognize Yoomtah until I read she was Naven's chauffer! She screams a lot and I don't have many Opinions on her existence yet but she seems relevant I think

Stink is where he is because he is Stink. End of discussion (and the minibosses are also there like that cause I don't have much of an opinion about them except that the dragon looks pretty neat)

The sheriff is down there cause he reminds me of Martin and I hate Martin. Sorry sheriff you did nothing wrong really (except misfire a gun I think)

Is that the uhhh. The mundie that threatens the Neo Trio at the start of PoP? Why is she here did I miss something. Or maybe she's different and I'm a little dumb (it's the sleep I will sleep I promise)

I think it is the Right Opinion to hate Martin. You should all hate Martin. My Various Hammers and White Hot Rage would like to have a few choice words with him. Violence is never the answer except when it is, which is now. Towards Martin. Fuck that guy

I just finished listening to the entirety of Prison of Plastic in one sitting and oh my god I've been punched in the gut several times over holy shit

Highly recommend 10/10 watch Epithet Erased on yt right now and then buy and listen to Prison of Plastic right after this INSTANT

[[ALL OF THIS PINK MAKES ME TO REMINISCE OF THE FAIRE'S COTTON CANDY -- BUY ME SOME !! ]]

((he said that not me 😅 I'm happy to have found another Spanish Addison in town 👀 parece que el Tumblr es un pañuelo 😁))

I got this totally legitimately for you from a guy that may or may not look very suspiciously like my pfp, hope you like it mister :3

((WEPAAA OTRO HISPANOABLANTE Q LE GUSTA SPAM Y LOS ADDIS 🫵🏽 QUE BIENNN :D))

EVERYONE GO CHECK OUT SOL'S FIC RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT!!!!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! AND FOLLOW THEM AND COMMENT ON THEIR WORK(S) AND GIVE THEM LIKES AND REBLOGS THEY'RE SO AWESOME!!!!!!!

Unconventional Chemistry

@voidshrub, this one's for you. Thank you for giving me the inspiration to write this, and for being so kind about it during its beta stages. You're fantastic :D

Summary: Cinnemon R. Addison has the best coworker-slash-friend ever. She and Macaron get along really well, make each other's lives better, and just all-around enjoy spending time together. Surely this platonic relationship will have exactly zero changes over the course of this story! (very much /sarcastic and /light-hearted)

(Disclaimer: all characters belong to @/brightgoat. I'm just having fun with them over here in my little corner. (Double disclaimer: their art can be rather more graphic at times than what I tend to write. Please be aware of this before looking them up.))

Cinnemon’s work shoes clicked cheerfully on the sidewalk as she walked down the streets of Cyber City, up early for work as usual. She smiled brightly at everyone she passed, and even when she was ignored, it couldn’t dampen her mood in the slightest. Her new assignment for the next few days had left her so excited, it felt like she’d already made this place a success before she’d even stepped through the door.

After all, how could it be anything else when she was working with Macaron?

Cinna pushed open the front door of the cute little cafe where she’d be working for the week, perking up even more when a bell jingled to announce her entry. “Hellooo?” she called. “You here yet, Maca?”

A shout came from the back room. “Ah! Sorry! I’m just getting some stuff set up, I’ll be right there!”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be back in a sec!” Cinna called, already setting down her bag (minus a couple of items) on the nearest chair and heading for the door to the prep area. Upon opening it, she was met with the sight of Maca herself, long hair done up in a ponytail and tucked into a black lacy hairnet. 

“You’re always so professional—you’re not even baking yet and you’ve already got the uniform on!” the yellow Addison cheered. It was true, too. Maca was wearing a white short-sleeve blouse and calf-length lavender skirt, complete with a pretty grey apron. 

She giggled, blushing a slightly deeper shade of blue. “It’s too early for compliments, Cinna! I’ve barely even gotten started!”

Cinna raised her eyebrows, gesturing to herself. She was notably lacking the lavender waistcoat and bow tie or the half apron, only wearing the black pants and white button-down so far. “You’ve barely even gotten started? Says the one who’s all dressed and already warming up the kitchen!”

“Well then, get yourself ready and get in here! I need somebody to take over baking while I start the drink menu!” Maca insisted. “We need the cold drinks and food ready ahead of time so I can work the warm stuff while you wait tables—unless you wanted the back today?”

Cinna sighed, buttoning up her waistcoat and straightening the ends of her tie. “I know people say I have a friendlier customer service attitude, but you’re so much more calm when you’re working the front! How do you do it?”

The blue Addison sighed. “You just have to not care what they think of you, then it’s easy. But I know you’re not the type to do that—you always want everybody to have a good time. It’s too kind of you, but I suppose I’d never want you to stop being kind anyway.”

“Aw, Maca! Now who’s giving too many compliments?” In spite of her protests, Cinna was beaming. With a quick movement, she slipped on her apron, and then took over the stovetop from her coworker with ease.

“Oof, thanks!” she said, sighing with relief. “I need to mix up a couple batches of the lavender lemonade and the berry soda so we have plenty in reserve—I might be kind of quiet for a sec while I measure all that out.”

“Works for me! I’ve got some cupcakes to bake and sandwiches to build. You want some music while we work?”

Maca smiled. “Of course I do.”

The two moved through the kitchen with practiced ease, handing off tools and ingredients with quick exchanges. This wasn’t the first time they’d worked together; the two of them had been proven to earn well when they ran any kind of specialty eating establishment as a duo, so they were paired up quite often. Scrollon might’ve made plenty of money with his long-time bakery, but Cinna and Maca were flexible enough to work at a variety of places, and were often in hot demand at larger restaurants. If anything, this kind of setup qualified as a break to them, since they got to work with someone they knew well in a smaller space instead of making food to a random person’s specifications.

In under two hours, they had a full menu prepared and ready, all of the places were set, and the doors were opened to customers for the day. As Cinna hovered in the doorway, waiting for the first people to trickle in and kickstart the morning rush, she turned back to Maca and shot her a nervous grin. “We all ready? Any last-minute prep I gotta do?”

Maca sighed fondly, stepping forward to briefly squeeze the yellow Addison’s shoulder. “Cinna, we’re going to be fine. Just breathe, smile, and do your best, that’s all we need.”

Cinna, meanwhile, was currently bright red and only half listening. “Huh? Oh, yeah, right, sure! I can do that!”

“I know you can.” Maca said, with so much confidence in her voice that Cinna thought she might combust if she blushed any harder. Thankfully, she was saved from any potential arson charges by their first customer, who cleared their throat politely from the doorway.

“Ah! Hi, welcome! Come right this way and I’ll find you a seat,” Cinna began, already slipping into customer-service mode with a cheery wave.

Maca tapped her once on the arm. “If you have any trouble, just let me know, okay?”

Cinna beamed back at her, before going to begin the simultaneously rewarding and utterly exhausting task of tackling the morning rush. Thankfully, the small size of the cafe naturally meant that she couldn’t have too many customers at once, even if there was also a line out the door more often than not.

Still, she handled the crowd with all the expertise of someone who had done so plenty of times before. Even though she wasn’t exactly what one would call “graceful under fire”, her good humor and honest charm were more than enough to carry her through easily.

Cinna couldn’t help but find herself grateful, however, once the breakfast rush was done. The rest of the day proved to be much more manageable, as both she and Maca had predicted in advance. Light food and varying drinks definitely remained popular throughout their open hours, but it was a much more tolerable flow than the flood of people they’d had at first.

(Partly as a joke and partly to make a point, Maca had set up a “number of times Cinna apologized for something that wasn’t her fault” counter in the back room. By the end of the day, it was well over twenty, and that was just the times Maca had noticed. Cinna was rather embarrassed to see just how high the numbers had gotten, but remained unrepentant, insisting that one of the keys to making customers happy was keeping them from feeling guilty.)

(Maca disagreed.)

At the end of the day, as Cinna was washing up the dishes and Maca was packing away the ingredients, a comfortable silence rested in the café. Occasionally, Maca would hand over a newly liberated dirty dish, briefly pressing a hand against Cinna’s upper arm in apology for the extra work. 

Between the two of them, cleanup didn’t take very long at all, but they still lingered past when they should, carefully tidying the place until it was impeccable just to spend a few more minutes together.

“I’m glad the berry blend sparkling water was a hit,” Cinna said warmly, as she finished stacking all the glasses just so. “You had a smart idea there, and if anybody doesn’t notice that then they’re missing out.”

It was dark in the café by now, so she could have been excused for missing the otherwise bright blush on Maca’s face. “It’s only a drink, really. I know it sounds too cliché, but your cinnamon doughnut holes were perfect—just small enough so people feel comfortable asking for a bag to-go.”

“Hah, I would say we should create a ‘staff recommendations’ section, but we’d have to make a disclaimer that mayyybe they shouldn’t be paired.” Cinna’s smile turned wry.

Maca let out a sharp breath, almost a laugh. “No, not at all—the drink’s far too sharp to complement the cinnamon sugar well. We’d need something more neutral, like a nice tea.”

Unfortunately, at that moment, Cinna let out a massive yawn. “Sorry,” she sighed. “We might have to leave that for tomorrow…I’m beat.”

“Fair enough,” Maca said. If the yellow Addison had been looking, she would’ve been astonished by how soft her expression was. “I’ll see you early tomorrow morning, then?”

“I already can’t wait!” Cinna cheered quietly, finally picking up her bag and heading for the door. “See you soon!”

Maca stood there for quite some time after the door swung shut, looking off into the distance with a smile.

~~~

A couple of weeks later, and Cinna was back to the special place she worked in-between jobs, baking on the opposite side of town from Scrollon. She’d chosen this spot for her personal bakery on purpose, because even though she made plenty of bread and savory sandwiches in addition to the ever-classic pastries, she did not want to get on his bad side. His behavior was so sweet it set her on edge, like honey so warm and sticky it could trap and drown anything that dared try to eat it.

While her business was definitely a bit slower because of him, the upside was that she had a great lunch crowd and a much politer set of patrons. As a matter of fact, her area was so nice that she could often close for just half an hour after the lunch rush, enough time to snatch up something and eat it herself.

Today, though, she was taking her weekly risk and not eating something out of her own stock. That was the explanation for why she was currently sprinting downtown, racing for one shop in particular—a coffee place called Love Latte, one of the best in the city.

Thankfully, the store operated on a very similar schedule to hers (this was, of course, because the owner had heard her talking about it and opted to give it a go), so she was able to burst in just as the staff were about to lock up.

“Uh-um, excuse me, we’re closing for lunch right now—!” Caphion (an orange Addison and the shop’s barista) yelped, fumbling their keys as Cinna skidded to a stop. 

“Fifi, don’t worry. She’s a special guest.” 

Maca smiled at her main employee from behind the counter, giving Cinna a wink. “You can take your break now, don’t worry. Cinna doesn’t normally order coffee…she tried it once, and that was enough.”

“For you, or for me?” the yellow Addison laughed. “I remember liking it a lot!”

“Well, I’m sure you did, but I had to replace a display case because you got ‘too excitable’ with your gesturing, do you remember that?”

Cinna grinned sheepishly. “I remember somebody telling me how lucky I was that I got off without a scratch.”

Maca sighed fondly. “All that is to say, go take your break. I’ll be with you in a second, let me just get Cinna served. Will you be wanting the usual?”

“You know me! One of the weekly special and two of your best cookies, to go, please!”

The blue Addison pulled a slice of quiche out of the case, along with one iced sugar cookie and one chocolate chip cookie. “You want the quiche and the chocolate chip warm?” she asked, smiling an incredibly genuine, non-customer service smile.

“I think I can make it back to the store in time, so yeah! It’s not a proper chocolate chip cookie if I don’t burn my mouth at least once on the melted chocolate, right?”

Maca’s expression abruptly turned deadpan. “…I’m pretty sure that’s just you.”

The two of them burst into a round of snickering, before looking up and catching each other’s eyes. Cinna blushed nervously—how did Maca manage to look even prettier while she was laughing? How was that possible when she already looked so good all the time?!

Thankfully for Cinna’s ability to form coherent thought, Maca soon turned away to put her things in the oven. The two chatted about their week while they waited, but it still felt like far too little time when the oven made a noise to indicate that the food was ready.

“I’ll…see you around, okay?” the yellow Addison said, hesitantly stepping towards the door. She didn’t like to think that she might have to go a whole week without seeing Maca again. Sure, they both had weekends of their own, but when they worked separate stores, they only shared one day off, and even then sometimes one or the other got called in to work another shift.

“W-wait!” Maca exclaimed. “I know you have to go now, but…there’s a new dance club that opened up about a block away from here. They put up some posters on our bulletin board, and they seem pretty decent. Do you—maybe want to go? Tomorrow night?”

Cinna couldn’t see herself, but if she had, she would’ve been torn between cringing and blushing at the way her expression opened up. It was just like a glow had lit up inside her, and all that energy honestly beamed out into the world nearby. 

“I’d love to.”

For some reason, Maca seemed even more flustered, despite the fact that she’d just agreed. “Um, whh, great! I’ll—I’ll meet up with you, here? Unless there’s somewhere else you’d rather go, of course?”

Cinna was still beaming. “Here sounds great! I’ll see you tomorrow night!”

And if she fist-pumped once she was out of sight and practically skipped back to her own store, well, she had every right to do that if she so chose.

~~~

The next night, for once in her life, Cinna wasn’t running late. As a matter of fact, she was early to Maca’s store, now closed down and locked for the evening. She’d dressed up, too, and was now wearing olive green cargo pants with a variety of neon and black-light patches, a fitted white shirt, a black bomber jacket, and combat boots. 

Thankfully, though, Cinna didn’t have to spend too long fussing over her outfit, as Maca showed up soon afterwards. She looked gorgeous, because of course she did. She always was.

Tonight, she was wearing a knee-length black dress covered in lace, with long, puffy sleeves made of the same material, showing the natural sky tone of her arms. She also wore knee-high white socks with little yellow ribbons at the cuffs, black Mary Janes, and had her hair pulled back into a half ponytail with a black ribbon tied in a bow.

She looked Cinna over from head to toe slowly. “Wow…I just realized I’ve never seen you out of formal clothes before. I didn’t know you liked the rugged look…”

The yellow Addison blushed bright red. “It makes me feel cool! Besides, my friend Vid convinced me to get this jacket ages ago and I’ve never had a reason to wear it before.”

Maca smiled. “Well, it looks great on you—wait. Wait. Cinnemon R. Addison, are you wearing the same colors as your uniform to the club?”

Cinna froze. “Wait, am I?!” She checked herself over. Black jacket, green pants… “It looks different enough!” she protested. “I didn’t even realize!”

“I’m sure nobody will care.” Maca shook her head in disbelief, but she still looked cheerful. “Let’s go, alright?”

“After you!” Cinna chirped, winking and gesturing ahead with a flourish.

Oddly, Maca turned dark blue and simply stood there for a moment, before blinking rapidly and pivoting to face the other direction. “Yes! Right! We’re walking! This way.”

Cinna didn’t wonder what that was all about for long, instead opting to chat with her friend about their various customers and work stories from the week. It didn’t take them much time at all to reach the club—it really was just a block away.

Maca nodded at the person watching the door. “I’m the owner of Love Latte, the place where a few of your flyers went up? I was told something about entry for two?”

The guard’s face brightened with recognition. “Oh yeah! Thanks for giving us the space, it’s so hard to find a place to advertise these days.”

“Oh, believe me, Cinna knows all about that,” Maca said, gesturing towards her companion. “You spent literal months fighting Scroll’s contacts just to get the right to advertise in your own area of town, yeah?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me! Wasn’t this supposed to be a fun outing?” Cinna groaned dramatically, playing it up a little for laughs.

It worked, too, because the security guard chuckled. “I feel that. Have fun, you two.” And with that, they unclipped the rope blocking entry and ushered both of them inside.

Once they were through the doors, Cinna couldn’t help but stare in awe. There was a large dance floor in the back of the room, with a DJ presiding over their equipment and pumping out music. To her left was a bar—while she didn’t like to drink much herself, she understood the necessity of selling what people wanted to buy. Over to the right was an area where various glowsticks and light-up items were being sold (wait, were the first two glowsticks free?!). And decorating the walls and ceiling were LED strips that pulsed to the music alongside static neon signs, giving the place an eclectic mashup of designs that somehow fit just right.

Cinna beamed. “Hey Maca, come on, let’s get some gear and go dance!”

Maca didn’t say anything, just looked up with a smile on her face and put her hand in Cinna’s. The yellow Addison felt her heart fizz with excitement, and laughed in delight as she pulled her dear friend along towards the light-up stand through the crowds.

Soon enough, the two had each grabbed a glowstick necklace and bracelet (in each other’s color, because of course they did), and were making their way onto the dance floor. Maca was a little more reserved, simply stepping lightly to the beat and only throwing in the occasional twirl. Cinna, in spite of her normal clumsy nature, was doing very well, pulling off the kind of dance moves that suggested both natural talent and at least a little bit of practice.

The music was a tiny bit fast for proper partner dancing, but that didn’t stop the two Addisons; whenever they felt like it, they would simply grab each other’s hands and do everything from bouncing in place to full-on partnered spins.

Occasionally, a line dance would come on, and if they knew the dance, they’d both join in. (Cinna would join even if she didn’t know the dance, certain she could pick it up quickly—Maca, however, elected not to learn on the fly, instead watching from the sidelines.)

Unfortunately, however, there was a simple fact about any outing with Maca, and it was that the blue Addison didn’t have anywhere near the same amount of energy that Cinna did. She worked so hard to keep up, and Cinna was eternally grateful—even a little amazed—at the effort that Maca put in for her…but there was only so much that anybody could do before they were well and truly exhausted. After nearly two hours nonstop on their feet, her friend was beginning to show all the usual signs: she was growing quiet, staring off into the middle distance more and more, and struggling to work up the energy to get back out onto the dance floor.

Strangely enough, however, Maca seemed oddly reluctant to go when Cinna brought it up. It was doubly weird given that she was usually the one to make the most sensible suggestions, but once Cinna pointed out that she was struggling to even think of a proper argument for why they should stay, Maca reluctantly allowed herself to be steered out the door.

“I just…” She sighed. “I just wanted to hang out more…we hardly ever get time together outside of work.” Maca looked genuinely distraught saying this—she must have been more tired than Cinna realized if she was getting that emotional.

Cinna bit her lip lightly in thought (and didn’t notice the way Maca immediately looked over at her). “How about I walk you home? That way we get to spend a little more time together.”

“That sounds nice…” Maca agreed, smiling shyly and looking away.

Cinna took her hand, figuring that’d be best so she’d know if Maca was about to fall asleep on her feet. Her friend seemed perfectly fine with this, and it wasn’t super intrusive or anything, so she thought it was fine.

The two walked back to her house, which was on the sixth floor of an apartment building relatively close to both the club and Love Latte. Maca was oddly silent the entire time, with a pensive look on her face, but Cinna just chalked it up to her being worn out. She even went so far as to take Maca all the way up the elevator to her own front door, since she hadn’t brought her all this way just to have her fall asleep in the lobby.

But as she turned to head off, she felt a tug on her hand—Maca hadn’t let go.

“It’s really dark out by now…you sure it’s safe for you to be going back by yourself?” she asked, looking up at Cinna with wide, worried eyes.

“I mean, I can handle myself!” the yellow Addison replied. “Besides, where else would I go?”

Maca gave her a surprisingly disapproving look—maybe the walk had woken her up a little? “Cinna. You are standing directly in front of my apartment. Under what possible circumstances would I ever not invite you in?”

“…oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Now come on in, I have a backup toothbrush and you can borrow some of my clothes or something.” Maca insisted. “…unless you really don’t want to?”

“N-no, I definitely do! I just didn’t want to, y’know, make things awkward or whatever.” Cinna stammered, already stepping through the doorway.

Maca seemed determined. “It’s not awkward unless we say it is, right?”

“That’s a really cool thing to say,” Cinna commented, barely realizing what the words were until she’d already spoken them.

Both Addisons blushed slightly. 

“I can take the couch,” Maca said. “Since you went out of your way for me and all.”

Cinna smiled sheepishly. “No, I’ll take it! I’m the one imposing on your house!”

Maca folded her arms. “You’re not imposing, I invited you!”

“Well, we can’t both sleep on the couch…” 

The blue Addison thought for a moment, and then seemed to jolt as she thought of something. “I mean,” she began, her voice sounding strangely tight, “this apartment came with a queen-size bed. Theoretically…there’s room. For both of us. On the bed.”

Cinna blushed harder than she had all night.

“Wouldn’t that be awk—”

Maca’s expression was flatter than a crepe. 

“Right.” Cinna giggled. “Sorry!”

“You’re worrying too much about inconveniencing other people!” Maca insisted, but she was smiling. “I know you do that for your job, but you’re not on your job right now, are you?”

“Yeah, it’s just hard to turn that part of me off, you know?” 

Maca sighed. “Yeah, I get that. I’ll keep reminding you if I have to, though!” She grinned at Cinna, who beamed right back—and then yawned rather loudly.

“…I should probably get to bed.” the yellow Addison admitted.

“Yeah, me too.” Maca agreed. The two went to get ready for sleep (with a bit of delay while Maca helped Cinna find the spare toothbrush), and soon enough, they were on opposite sides of the bed, curled up under the covers.

“Thanks for inviting me out…I had a lot of fun.” Cinna said, into the darkness.

“Thank you for coming. It was way better with you there,” Maca whispered.

(They fell asleep easily after that.

And yes, they absolutely did wake up in each other’s arms the next morning. Lots of flustered explanations ensued.)

~~~

Cinna paced back and forth nervously inside her house. Ever since the night she’d spent over at Maca’s place, her feelings had begun to shift (only a little, of course!) from “I have a mild crush on an obviously pretty girl” to “oh I actually might be in love with her”. 

And what was she supposed to do about that?! 

She really wanted to just take some time to sit with this feeling—for once, she was actually fighting her eager nature. Cinna wasn’t about to rush into anything, especially since she would feel downright awful if she accidentally hurt Maca in any way by being too overzealous.

She needed to make sure she didn’t lose the best friendship she’d ever had just because she wanted to kiss Maca’s beautiful face now on top of everything else.

Of course, the blue Addison in question wasn’t helping at all, given that she was continuing to be her charming self and inadvertently flustering Cinna at every turn. As a perfect example, Cinna was invited to a picnic with Maca today, and they each had agreed to bring half the food.

Cinna had nearly cut her miniature sandwiches into heart shapes just on the basis of cuteness, before realizing how obvious that was and opting against it. She had, however, allowed herself to indulge in bringing blueberry muffins…just as a little homage to her dearest friend-slash-love interest.

“But what do I wear?!” she exclaimed, before clapping a hand over her mouth and hoping that none of her neighbors had heard her outburst.

She couldn’t wear a white button-down to a picnic, it’d get ruined in two seconds flat. The yellow Addison had really wanted to wear her nice jeans today, though (yes, they were blue and ripped with white lace patches, and yes, she knew where she’d gotten the color scheme from).

After nearly a minute more of frantic rummaging through her closet, Cinna settled on a soft pale green flannel with darker green criss-cross, and sighed nervously as she straightened her shirt. “Alright, Cinna, you got this,” she muttered to herself. “Just be normal.”

Once she arrived at the park, she immediately did not feel normal.

Maca had already set up a checkered blanket—what kind of adorable thing was that—and she had an entire cooler full of goodies set out on it. The lady herself was wearing a soft silvery dress with a full skirt, plus a quarter-buttoned bodice and a Peter Pan collar.

Cinna felt vaguely as though she should have brought her things in a wicker basket instead of Tupperware, and because she had absolutely zero filter, she immediately proceeded to say this directly to Maca’s face.

Maca blinked, and then blushed—albeit this time with a distinctly embarrassed look on her face. “Sorry, is it too much? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…” she murmured, gripping the blanket tightly.

“No! No, it’s perfect, that’s what I was trying to say!” Cinna yelped. “It just—it all looks so nice, I don’t know if I’m doing enough!” she explained hurriedly. Anything to keep Maca from looking that particular flavor of devastated ever again.

The blue Addison smiled gently up at her. “You being here is already enough.” She reached up, taking Cinna by the arm and gently guiding her down to take a seat. 

Now it was her turn to redden at Maca’s kind words. “Um, I brought sandwiches.” she managed to say, setting the case down on the blanket. “And blueberry muffins. ‘Cause, you know, you’re blue, and I thought it might be a nice thing to do…I’m gonna shut up now.”

Maca stared at the muffins for a long moment. “…you made a themed food for me.”

“Uh. Yeah. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want—”

“I do want!” Maca interrupted. “I mean, I want to eat them. Sorry, I just thought it was funny, because I made something for you too.” She reached into the cooler and pulled out a beautifully iced lemon cake. “It’s lemon. For the color theming.”

Cinna beamed. “I’m going to need multiple slices of that.”

(Neither of them noticed a hint of pink behind one of the trees in the park. Nor did they hear the shutter of a muted camera. Their time together, and their lives, remained peaceful…

…for now.)

~~~

Honestly, Cinna kind of knew that things weren’t going to last as they were. As much as she’d wanted to try and stay platonic friends for a little while longer, there was one major thing standing in the way of that.

Herself. 

She kept almost slipping up, wanting to tell Maca just how wonderful she really was. Already, she’d called her crush “gorgeous” in a voice that was decidedly not giving off enough “just-gal-pals” energy to hide her true thoughts. And if she was being honest, she didn’t feel right keeping this a secret. At first, she’d thought it would be okay, that she was doing the right thing for both of them by taking some time and making sure she was serious about this.

But as time had gone on, it started to feel less like caution and more like an excuse. Cinna loved Maca, and that meant she trusted her. But if she couldn’t trust Maca with this…then would they ever even have a chance?

She did have to admit, though, it was a lot easier to consider confessing in her own home than it was here. Here, of course, being under a blanket with Maca less than an inch away, watching as the credits rolled after a fun action movie and a sampling session of various local takeout options.

Cinna swallowed thickly. Maybe she shouldn’t have had quite so many dumplings…even though they had tasted great…

“So, what did you think?” Maca asked, turning to her and smiling.

“Uh, about the movie or the food?” Cinna chuckled weakly, trying her best to meet Maca’s brightness with at least a little of her own.

“Both, I guess.” She shrugged, seeming genuinely curious. She had always listened happily when Cinna talked, even when the yellow Addison got overexcited. 

She was…everything Cinna could have dreamed of and more.

Cinna had to take her chance. No more waiting.

“I liked them both.” she began. “But the part I liked best was being with you. That’s always my favorite part.”

Maca turned such a deep navy she could see it even in the light of the television.

“Aww, Cinna!”

“No, I—I mean it, I love spending time with you so much. I hate it when I have to say no to doing anything together, because—because I’m happier than I’ve ever been when you’re with me.

“Honestly…I’d spend the rest of my life with you, if I could.”

Maca, who had slowly begun hiding behind her hair as Cinna continued, suddenly froze. She peered back out from behind her makeshift curtain. “Cinna? Why does this sound like…”

The yellow Addison grinned shakily. “Like a confession? Maybe even a…a love confession?”

“Well, is it a love confession?” Maca rose to the challenge, meeting Cinna where she was at just like she always did, with a wry smile of her own.

“It…it is. I love you, Maca. I have for a while now.”

She practically squealed, throwing herself into Cinna’s arms. “I love you too! How could I not?”

“Wait, really?!” Her face turned orange-red at such a bold statement.

“You’re fun, and funny, and cute, and nice…it was practically inevitable!”

Cinna squeezed Maca a little tighter, making her squeak slightly before giggling. “Speak for yourself! I don’t know how you stay so cool all the time, let alone how you manage to keep your oven at the right temperature when you’re like that.”

Suddenly, Maca froze, before pulling back slightly. “Did…you just make a pun while complimenting me?”

“Was that not okay?” Cinna shifted nervously. “Sorry, I’m not exactly the smoothest under pressure, in case you hadn’t noticed…”

“You are so cute, please be my girlfriend.”

“What.”

“I’ve been waiting to say that for ages,” Maca explained. “Was it too fast?”

“No, but—hang on, how long is ‘ages’, exactly?” Cinna asked.

“Well, I’m pretty sure it’s since the time we closed up our first joint shop.” Maca shrugged nonchalantly, as if she confessed to loving someone for the better part of a year every day.

“That long?!” Her eyes nearly bugged out. “I’ve only known for a month or so!”

“Does that mean you’ve liked me for longer and didn’t know?” Maca joked.

“…yeah, probably.”

The blue Addison stared at her for a long moment. “How do you not know when you have a crush on someone?”

Cinna blushed an even deeper red. “Because…you’re my first. Crush, that is.”

“Cinna, that is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.” Maca stared at her seriously, taking both of her hands in her own.

“Really? Then whoever you liked before clearly didn’t see just how lucky they were.” she said, meaning every word.

Maca blinked once, twice, then spoke. “Cinna, I need you to tell me right now if you’re okay with me kissing you or not, because I really, really want to.”

Cinna beamed.

Seconds later, Maca’s lips were pressed against hers. 

The blue Addison was perhaps slightly overenthusiastic, but Cinna didn’t mind in the slightest. If anything, she felt that it didn’t last nearly long enough. Thankfully, Maca seemed to agree, and soon enough, the two settled into a series of light, gentle butterfly kisses, harmonizing together just as well as they ever had while baking in the kitchen—and creating something just as sweet.

They eventually had to pull apart, however, when the reality of the situation hit Cinna. Abruptly, she began to giggle, before nearly squealing as she squeezed Maca tightly in her arms.

“Cinna, are you alright?!”

She beamed up at her girlfriend (wow). “I’m just so happy!”

Maca’s eyes widened, and she smiled in a way that showed she was just as overwhelmed with emotion. “So am I.”

~~~

The very next morning, Cinna found a meeting with Ramon on her calendar.

She hadn’t particularly wanted to go, but you just didn’t say no to a Pink. Especially not when they wanted you specifically. 

When she met him—on a random street corner, of all the places, he really was secretive—he looked serious. And Ram never looked serious.

“Listen, you know how I am,” he said, not even bothering to greet her or say her name. “You know who I am. I deal in information, right? So if anything happens to that information…like, say, someone in my neighborhood gives it to someone outside, that’s not good for me, yeah?”

“Um. Yeah.” Cinna agreed. All of her instincts were telling her to leave right now, but she knew that if she did that, she’d be in even more trouble. 

“So then. What, exactly, have you been talking with that little blue eye candy of yours about?” 

Cinna felt her insides freeze. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You know who I mean. The girl who works in Curs’s area and bakes a lot. What kind of secrets have you been leaking to her?” Ramon frowned at her. “You should know by now that I can’t afford to lose out to him. Joy already has the top spot and Scroll and Click keep to themselves, so it’s him I have to watch out for. Did you seriously think I wouldn’t notice that you two have been getting all cutesy lately?”

“I—I haven’t told her anything serious! We don’t talk about work aside from baking together at all!” Cinna gasped.

Ram folded his arms, clearly not believing a word she said. “Sure. Even if you were telling the truth, I’m sure you’ll understand when I tell you it needs to stay that way. So, I pulled some strings—and of course this is the one damn thing Curs agrees with me on, ‘cause apparently he pulled some too—to make sure you and your gal pal are gonna work separately from now on, okay? And if you decide to meet her off hours…well, I know a thing or two about the guy you’re leasing your building from.”

Cinna couldn’t help but ask. “Which one?”

Ramon smiled then, and even though he wasn’t a Yellow, didn’t have fangs, his teeth somehow seemed even more vicious than hers. “Both.”

Cinna stumbled home not long after that, shaking. She collapsed onto her couch, and checked her phone instinctively to see if Maca had said anything…and as it turned out, there was one message from her.

Ugh, Curson wants to see me about something too. Hopefully it’ll just be him whining again and I can get out fast.

The message had been sent an hour ago.

Cinna almost cried. Almost. But as she began to think back over the conversation, as she felt the tightness building in her throat, she remembered one specific theme amongst all that Ramon had said.

“Little blue eye candy…”

“The girl…”

“Your gal pal…”

He hadn’t even had the dignity to say her name. He was so scared of something that hadn’t even happened yet that he’d turned Maca—clever, steadfast, wonderful Maca—into a thing. Some pawn he thought he could control.

Cinna swallowed the heat in her throat, and let it boil down into her stomach. She bent over backwards to please customers on the clock. She did everything she could to be kind, and cheerful, and forgiving. She gave so much and only asked for people to treat her decently in return.

But the moment she finally did something for herself, found someone who gave as much as she took, she was reprimanded? Was this the reward for selflessness in Ramon’s area? 

Well then, just this once…Cinnemon R. Addison would be selfish.

~~~

That evening, a yellow figure climbed the fire escape outside one of the apartments in Curson’s area. She stood outside one specific window for a long moment, hesitating.

(Inside, Maca was crying. She’d tried for so long to believe that she could have something beautiful with Cinna, had finally seen that becoming reality, and then had all her bright hopes sliced by a pair of brutally sharp scissors.)

Cinna knocked on the outside of Maca’s window.

From the inside, Maca stared out at Cinna.

Seconds later, the window was open. “What are you doing here?” the blue Addison breathed, fresh tears welling up. “Didn’t you hear—we’ll both be ruined if we’re seen together again!”

Cinna sighed. “I know. And I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore. But I…I still want to be with you. I don’t care what Ramon or Curson or anybody else thinks! They don’t deserve to decide what we do!”

“It doesn’t matter what they deserve, it matters that they can,” Maca insisted. “I can’t just let your life get ruined for my sake!”

“Hey, it’d be my sake too.” Cinna shrugged. “And I say let them. They can take my house, my business, my reputation—but they aren’t everywhere.” Her hands curled into fists, determined. “I can always go to another city, and you could come with, or we could try and do long-distance. I’d come back on weekends to see you, I’ll take the fall, because they don’t get to choose what I do with my life when I’m not working. And I want to be with you forever, like I said. But if you don’t want that…I’ll go.”

“Don’t go!”

Maca seemed almost as surprised as anyone by the words as they left her mouth.

“I love you, Cinna, so much. But I don’t—I don’t want to provoke them unless I have to. I don’t want to find out the limits of what they can do to us.”

“So then we find somewhere safe and make sure we’re not seen. We’ll have to be more careful, for sure, but we just got together, and there’s no way I’m giving up on us now.”

“Where can we even go where they can’t find us?” Maca asked. She still looked distraught, but at least now there was something like life in her eyes.

Cinna smiled the same bright, giddy smile she’d had the night before. “I spent some time looking, and I think I’ve found a place.”

Maca hesitated, then nodded, determined. “I’ll come with you. But first—” she added, glancing at Cinna’s outfit (which happened to be the same one she’d worn to the club that fateful night)— “let me get changed.”

Ten minutes later, the two were climbing the fire escape, Maca now dressed in the same dress and accessories from the club as well. Together, they moved across the rooftops of Cyber City, Maca using her advertisements as stepping stones and Cinna helping them both avoid the cameras located around the buildings.

(At one point, they’d needed to walk along the narrow ledge of a building. At first, they were both hesitant, but then one of them took the other’s hand—neither was sure who’d reached first—and they moved together. 

They could do so much together that they never could alone.)

Eventually, they made it to the top of a nondescript cement building somewhere in Clickon’s territory. He was still…intense…to say the least, but he had slightly fewer reports of physical violence than some of the other Pinks. Besides, he notoriously disliked everyone else, so Cinna had thought this would be a moderately safe bet, if nothing else because he’d be likely to spite Ram and Curs by not telling them.

“So, why here?” Maca asked.

Cinna beamed. “Look up.”

Neon light filled the air.

Signs of every shape, size, and color were glowing from the buildings around them, lighting up the sky in a rainbow of hues that softened the acid-green grid. It reflected in both their eyes, casting them in a thousand colors at once and glowing on their faces. Almost without realizing it, Maca tucked herself under Cinna’s arm, resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“I just figure…if the world can be this big and beautiful even with people like those two in it…” Cinna said, “there’s gotta be room for us somewhere, right?”

Maca looked up at her, and the yellow Addison was overjoyed to see the bravery finally returning to her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, moving in closer. “I needed this.”

Cinna held her even tighter, practically melting against her. “You’ve been telling me to stick up for myself for ages. I just finally took your advice.”

“You’re incredibl…y silly.” Maca giggled, turning and leaning forward to rest her forehead against Cinna’s.

“In a good way, right?”

“Of course it’s in a good way, I love you.” she said.

Cinna beamed unrepentantly. “So…does that mean I get to kiss you again?”

It did.

I just had the nicest beach day and they were playing Juan Luis Guerra for background music and I started thinking about Browser History dancing to romantic bachatas alone in the beach ohhmygod browse...............

hello shrub! sorry to hear you had a bad day yesterday. i hate when tough days carry their worries over into to the next

i hope you have a better day today!

Awe thank you sm anon, I appreciate it a lot :'D

Some of the anxiety has settled down... I'm sure things will be calmer today ^.^