effortaverse: facialsoap (174)
Leona Kingscholar ([personal profile] effortaverse) wrote2026-01-15 08:34 pm

clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

it's a shame you'll forget me
you'll be written on my memory
gl00my: f_iso on twitt (p)

[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-18 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Idia doesn't even have time to be spiteful about being told to lighten up (absolutely impossible advice for a Shroud to take, common sense I fear) before Cater cuts that off at the pass.

Honestly, being told that Cater wasted no time in telling Idia about this feels like being vagueposted about IRL but he's not gonna go down that road. They already veered off of it and he's not going back. Besides, he's got bigger things to be worried about, like--]


... Wait, like-- [hurriedly glancing between the both of them] Like right now?

[Are they.... are they gonna make him confess in front of them and each other???]
caycay: (264)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-18 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
You--yOWCH!

[Fuck! That thing hurt when it really nailed you! Cater jolts from the force of Leona's tail, and it absolutely cracks what was remaining of his composure.]

Just think about it! IDK! What would even the point be if we got this far just to waste the rest of the time we have before we graduate, huh? Unless you're totally cool with this just being mental fodder for future fanfic material, later, don't keep us waiting too long.
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-18 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
No! [Shit-- what an embarrassingly swift reply. He visibly cringes before moving on, retreating his hands further into his sleeves. Fussing with the hem is very interesting all of a sudden.] Quit making assumptions! It's just... just...

[He stares at the ground for a minute before whipping out his tablet. Before anyone thinks that he's avoiding the situation entirely by playing the mobage of the week, Idia turns the screen to face the two of them.]

you two literally Know me! i get stage fright in a room with one of you in the dark, how am i supposed to get through something that personal when you're both here? believe it or not, i find the confession scene to be sacred!

i'm not like you guys! i'm not a flirt and i can't just be cool about saying things like that with a straight face! if i was even a little bit like either of you this would be way easier!
caycay: (151)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-18 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
[And it's complicated, really, Cater's reaction. The spot on his leg that Leona's tail hit him still throbbed, but it was grounding, in a way. Something to keep him from spiraling too poorly as he felt himself beginning to overthink the situation more and more. The way it wraps around him now soothes over the worst of the sting, and Cater's lips pinch together as he reads Idia's text twice over.

Stupid, how big of a mess this all was. How tangled up and knotted all his feelings were. It felt like he was being pulled in too many directions at once--he had been expecting messy, but not at all like this. The kind of messy where they got weird and sexy was in the ballpark he was expecting.

Well, maybe that had been just wishful thinking. That was what was easy. Easy to get into it, easy to break back off again. You put the word confession into the mix, though, and suddenly everything feels a lot more important.]


Yeah, Idia, we know you.

[He could go on about how they know him well enough that this felt like the way it had to go. That it was like pulling teeth to get Idia to confront scary social situations like this so might as well force the issue in the most efficient way possible. That they all deserved to have this conversation together and not separately in three different configurations.

But...for some reason, that's not the part that needles him. And he'll probably walk this back, regret saying anything to express that he was this uncomfortable, himself.]


Do you know us at all? Have you even really tried to?
gl00my: (Default)

[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-18 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh. So that's what that was all about before.

Something Idia has gotten accustomed to in the time he's spent with them both is learning to look back at different moments and realize what information he had been missing. After Cater had kissed him that first time, he looked at Idia with this same sort of uncertainty. Is this alright? Like Idia was some delicate thing that would break apart in his hands if he didn't hold it properly, gently.

A handful of little fleeting moments line themselves up in Idia's mind, the kinds that you'd miss if you blinked. Cater glancing away, changing a topic, talking about himself like he was testing the water. Moving on, moving on, moving on.

Now Idia's wondering if that fleeting look wasn't about him after all. This certainly feels like a delicate thing now.

... Would it be better if he just quit? Took Cater's joke to heart and contented himself on fanfic? Really, he has to be hand-held all the way through these conversations and probably always will. Burdensome is a kind word for what that is.

But, well... Maybe he really has become greedy.]


...

[He huffs a sigh, exhaling that terrible mess of nerves and exhaustion. Idia runs a hand through his hair as he turns his tablet to face Cater.]

what makes you think i don't?

[Geez, now he's not even sure. He's been a failure at this, honestly. Mind too wrapped up in where his hands should be and if he's doing things right. Idia never stopped to consider everything else around it.

Ah... should he say this part? He'll probably regret it. He purses his lips before slowly turning his tablet back again, angling it a bit more toward Cater out of some misguided shyness.]


i know that you try really hard. i've never seen someone try as hard as you just. all the time. with everybody.

...

i liked it when you stayed over and it felt like you weren't trying.


[He covers his face with his hand. Literal instant regret.]

Sorry...
caycay: (90)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-18 09:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Cater can't be called shy by any stretch of the word--regardless of what his personality looks like beneath all the forced extroversion and people-pleasing and attention-seeking, he doesn't typically get nervous just at the idea of talking to someone.

But he hadn't at all been prepared for what Idia ends up responding with. He blinks, and his face starts turning a very cute shade of red.

Okay, so maybe Idia was really paying attention. Or started to, at some point. A part of him feels exposed in a way that makes him want to throw up walls, but another part, the better part of him, is less upset than he had been.]


No, you don't need to apologize.

[That didn't feel like enough, though. He hesitates.]

I liked that, too.
Edited 2026-01-18 09:23 (UTC)
gl00my: (19)

[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-19 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
Oh... Yeah...

[Cater's face blooms red and Idia's follows closely behind. In part because it's embarrassing to express this sort of thing but mostly because it's absolutely unfair how cute he looks. He's cute and Idia's kissed him (with mouth) and that's crazy-making in itself. Has he ever really seen him like this?

In spite of wanting to stare, Cater is a human person who registers and responds when you do so; Idia tugs his gaze away accordingly. Leona cutting in makes that act a lot easier. Being patronized brings his voice back online.]


Cool? [Rolls his eyes.] Yeah, sure, I get it. Now's the time to put me in my place, right? I'm too self-aware to fall for that.

[Cinema Sins Ding.]

A-and what are you doing peeking over at my PMs, huh?? Now that we're all making out, a well-angled tablet means nothing? [SMH] Geez, personal space really is dead...
Edited 2026-01-19 00:47 (UTC)
caycay: (290)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-19 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Cater gives Leona a slight, playful ribbing with an elbow as he tries to recover from how totally off-kilter Idia's little aside made him.]

Yeesh...you two keep having a back-and-forth like this one and I'm gonna start wondering if this yaoi's toxic.

[He is kidding, and his tone is playful--but really, he was shocked at the mashup. The current dynamic isn't exactly giving him any hints at how all of this might've gone down for them.]
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-19 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
[He was, in fact, on the verge of going off about seme/uke dynamics before Leona cuts in.

Idia shifts in his seat. It's not that he doesn't want to acknowledge Leona. If he didn't like him, he wouldn't be in this situation. Really, he's surprised at how comfortable he's felt around him these past weeks, lounging peacefully side-by-side. Existing in the same space is easier than he thought. No, it's the whole idea of being put on the spot to dredge up that part of himself he has yet to accept on his own. It feels like a nightmare where you're being shoved on stage when you dont know the lines yet.

He's not ready to talk about this. But what else is he supposed to do?]


... Okay, fine. We're talking. I just... don't know what to say.
caycay: (187)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-20 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
[This was good! This was progress! Cater was going to make a little quip about how maybe he kind of wanted to let Idia start on a full monologue about the omegaverse--but now really wasn't the time. His body's losing some of that guarded tension, and he gives a thoughtful hum.]

Well...you don't have to lay out all of your thoughts and feelings right now, or anything. But, maybe just, like, are you cool with seeing both of us? I think a "yes" or "no" for that one is kind of the main thing we're looking for, with all this.

[He glances at Leona, then back to Idia again.]

Probably goes without saying, but it's a "yes" from me, fam.
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-23 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a palpable relief hearing that from Cater. The thought of laying out his feelings was the real difficult the part of this ambush, and knowing that he doesn't have to struggle his way through a sappy confession... Huge if true.

But... what is he supposed to say? Idia can't take his eyes off of them, the way their bodies seem to naturally angle toward each other in that way only people who have been well and truly tangled in each other can be. Real couple stuff. He feels a little stupid, a jealous and anxious mess. They must know that, too.

And they're just cool with him slotting into their puzzle? Encouraging, even?]


Doesn't that seem... too easy?

[He hates that he's the squeaky wheel, but they have to see how this is unrealistic, right? Like, they clearly haven't thought about this. They're perfect and beautiful and have a good thing going already. All well and good for them and bound to be the subject of several late-night fantasies, but Idia can't help but feel like he's spawned in to a high-level server-- completely out of his depth and all too aware of that.]

Maybe I'm just lagging, but I haven't even seen you-- [oh god. he stops talking. he jerks his head downward, ears burning red and staring at a stray thread on his pants.] I mean, it's a lot for a guy like me to wrap his head around!! Like, yeah, in theory, but--

[Oooooh he is theorizing something fierce right now.]
caycay: (108)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-23 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
[It's not that Cater finds it funny, necessarily, but a somewhat disbelieving chuckle leaves him at that first question. Almost to himself, he asks:]

Affectionately, is anything that has to do with NRC ever easy?

[But--forget about all that. Because what Idia says next has the biggest, shittiest smile creeping across his face. Okay, now you're speaking his language.]

Is that the problem? You wanna see? Bruh, say less.

[His eyes slide over to Leona again, that familiar sort of eager mischief in his eyes. He tugs at the prince's sleeve, pulling him toward him just a bit more.]

Let's turn theory into reality.
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-23 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Leona tips Cater's chin closer and Idia's whole body jerks. Like the pale column of Cater's neck is gonna yank his soul out of his body if he looks right at it. But he can't look away. Holy shit. Fight, flight or fudanshi out?]

(Nowaynowaynoway--)
It's-- I mean, that's!--

[buddy he is barely surviving the tease.]
caycay: (196)

[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-23 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
I'm a perfectly reasonable amount of into the idea.

[Because it would be one thing if Idia was just watching. But the whole point is using this as an introduction for more than that. Maybe he did want to see Idia's hair light up pinker and pinker. Maybe he wanted to see him completely unable to look away from them. What was a bit of being Totally Cooked between lovers?

He slides a hand up behind Leona's neck, fingers threading with the hair that rests across it. Cater glances over at Idia, too, taking in the way that he was stuck in his seat as if frozen solid. That impish, flirtatious look is full of promise--of plenty of his own fantasies that he's likely played out between the three of them. And then his attention is back on Leona as he leans in the rest of the way to bring their lips together.]
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-01-26 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[Idia can't fathom how he'll react, so it's a good thing that they give him very little time to imagine it. There it is: Leona sealing his mouth over Cater's, curling a protective arm around him, playful and eager. They fit together easily, in a way that he's achingly, personally, familiar with. It's surreal being able to see it from the outside and yet know precisely what it feels like to be within.

He expects to find the real thing brilliant to the point of painful, something he'll have to tear his eyes away from. Sunstruck. In spite of himself (and he knows it's stupid) Idia's gotten attached to them both. Attached to sex, the regular warmth of sharing a bed with someone(s) way out of his league, and that pesky feeling he doesn't want to name but will miss nonetheless. Still, the end has always been in sight. The sacrifice is inevitable but it's not one he's eager to make. So Idia anticipated this feeling every bit like the front row seat to his relationship's finale that it surely will be. Cater and Leona are just deluding themselves.

But... it doesn't feel that way.

Even separate, like this, he somehow feels nestled within this scene. Leona and Cater are hot, they're so hot, it's not fair how sexy they are thinking about him, specifically about how he's thinking of them. It's a fantasy within a fantasy, all playing out in real time. That sparks something in Idia's chest, something new and exhilarating and terrible.

It's-- Idia doesn't know.

First he has to remember to breathe. He's white-knuckling the chair and completely unaware of this.]
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[personal profile] caycay 2026-01-30 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
[It was different, having this whole new element involved. Putting on a performance was easy for Cater--but it usually came with a sort of side-effect of his own loss of sincerity. Like snapping on a mask, fulfilling an expected duty. This time, somewhat unexpectedly, Idia's unwavering gaze upon the two of them only made his heart beat faster.

He wanted this kiss, wanted Leona. Wanted to kiss Idia. Wanted to kiss Idia with Leona. Wanted Idia to kiss them. Wanted those wide, golden eyes to be full of so many emotions that weren't miserable. And Leona's energy feeds into it all--like this is more than just a demonstration but an opening act.

Cater's kiss is perhaps a little hungrier than he intends for it to be, one hand clawing around him as he swoons into that strong hold. But he can't get too lost in it, not when he's so aware of the setting they're in. There's something almost painful in the way he breaks the kiss to look at Idia again, still hovering close to that beautiful mouth as he bites his own lip in a smile.

What he sees, though Cater can't quite identify the emotions, tells him enough: that this isn't exactly torture for their audience.]


If you just keep sitting there, I'm not above crawling over the desk.
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[personal profile] gl00my 2026-02-16 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
[They're both looking at him, pupils blown wide and something sharing a wall with hunger in the angle of their smiles. Idia flinches. Man, fourth wall breaks are always so jarring... <-- guy who hasn't accepted that he's a part of this, too.]

I-I'm right where I should be! Right? This is a demo!!

[Is the cutscene over?? Did he set the controller down too early???]

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