#It's been a weird ride to getting to being able to write FF like this on Tumblr

[jtl-fics]

Me: I should actually proof-read before I post this.

Also me: NAH I’M POSTING IT ALL AS THE FIRST DRAFT BAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

Parker

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Genre: AU 

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: There’s a new Spider person in town and it’s not Parker.

A/N: This is a continuation of the Parker story that I posted last year. I’m sorry to everyone who reads and likes my ff, I’m very slow when it comes to writing. I’ve been feeling down for a while and now I’ve decided to try and work on stories that I was already in the process of writing. So hopeful I’ll do better in time. Also I don’t live in NY so streets and stuff might not always be correct. Also I can’t spell half the time and spell check doesn’t always catch things and sometimes I miss words for a sentence to make sense, I never reread my writing I just didn’t in school and so I don’t really do it now, SORRY!!

You’ve reached the phone number of (Y/n) (L/n) please leave a message at the tone of the beep...

Peter groaned as he tried to reach you for the third time wondering when you will be home since you had to work on a chemistry project with him. Even though you weren’t the best in the science area you said you didn’t want Peter to do all the work on his own. You told him to come to your house around 4, but it was now 6:30 and he didn’t know when you would be home. Your aunt allowed him to stay in your room until you came back, he thought it was a little weird she didn’t really seem that worried about where you were.

As Peter looked around your room, he realized that he didn’t know that much about you. All he knows is that you transferred from a different state to New York to live with some distant relative in 8th grade. The both of you would have small encounters with just a small smile here or a quiet ‘hi’ there if you were sitting next to each other.

Then out of the blue one day during sophomore year, you just sat down at the same table as him during study hall. 

---

Peter was working on his calculus homework having not finished the night before, having to focus on his chemistry homework and then having a tiny project for World History, which he had to do all by himself because no one else chose to help him out. He didn’t stress himself too much about the homework, his brain worked fast enough to understand the problems plus his class was after lunch and if he didn’t finish now he’ll just finish then. He was brought out of his thoughts of fast working math problems and numbers, when a loud thud sounded through the library and even louder when it was placed in front of him at his table. He heard the librarian shush the person from her desk.

“Sorry” the person responsible replied back loud enough for only Peter to hear.

Peter looked up to come face to face with the culprit. They looked disheveled, their hair a bit of a mess, their shirt had a couple of stains in different colors on the front. They just had a simple jean jacket covering them from the slight autumn breeze of Queens, New York. You seemed to have noticed Peter’s gaze on your face having turned towards him with a bashful expression on your face.

“Sorry, sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” you said quietly.

“No problem” Peter said with a light smile on his lips.

“I’m (Y/n)” you outstretched your hand for a shake.

“Peter” he said, grabbing your outstretched hand.

---

7:13pm

‘There seems to be no more crime happening at the moment’

“Okay, well I guess it’s time for me to head home then. At least I have far less bruises than normal so it’s not gonna be a big deal when I get home, I don’t want to have to sit through another lecture.” you rolled your eyes behind the mask on your face covering your features. 

‘You seem to have missed a phone call, you have one voicemail from a Peter Parker’

“Hey (Y/n)...um I’m at your house right now waiting for you so we can work on our project. I’ve been here for about two hours now and it's getting late so I’m probably gonna end up leaving since my aunt is probably waiting for me to get home. I guess I’ll just see you tomorrow at school. Okay, bye (Y/n).”

“Crap! I forgot about the project, Peter’s probably upset with me.” you sighed and decided to call Peter.

Nothing. You called again. Nothing. Again and again. Nothing. You tried five times and he never answered, a part of you thinks he’s probably just ignoring you for standing him up. The other part worries that he could be in trouble right now. It is Queens.

“Hey Karen can you do another sweep of the city? Any type of crimes or assaults happening at the moment?” worry lacing your voice hoping nothing is or happened to Peter, sweet Peter.

‘There is no crime at the moment (Y/n)’

“Can you search for Peter Parker? Can you give me his current location?” you ask with a slight shake to your questions.

‘Peter Parker is currently on the streets of 7th and Jefferson ave’

He’s not that far away from me you thought to yourself with a sigh.

You were only a few buildings away from Peter so you lept from rooftop to rooftop, sitting nicely on top of an apartment building's roof looking down onto the passerbyers, everyone in their own world and minding their business. As you were watching everyone walk by you kept your eyes open for Peter, even though he did look like every normal teenage boy with brown curly hair from atop, he did have little charms on his backpack; for one being a Ironman POP! Figure keychain for the opening of the big pocket.

---

You were walking down the halls of Midtown trying to find your locker on the first day of sophomore year. It was kinda difficult with everyone walking to and fro not minding you any time or stepping out of the way just a little.

‘Rude’

Just as you found your locker someone ran into you causing you to drop the notebooks and textbooks out of your arms, dropping to the floor with a loud thud. You just scuffed yourself and chose to open your locker first so you don’t have to deal with the weight in your arms. After trying your combination for a third time and nothing happening, you just leaned your head against the metal doors and just sighed out through your nose to try and keep yourself calm and not cause tears or your fist to hit the metal. 

“Um...sorry to bother you, but do you need help?” Someone beside you asked timidly and quietly.

You looked up from the floor being face to face with someone who was kneeling beside you on the ground stacking some of your textbooks onto each other. He was a boy around your age with a delicate sprinkle of freckles dotting his face. He had glasses on the bridge of his nose and eyes that looked to be brown colored, but it wasn’t his eye color it was the way his eyes looked at you that drew you in a bit. He looked a bit like a deer in headlights mixed with puppy dog eyes that were just looking into yours with some concern and maybe embarrassment coming in since you were taking a long time to answer him and was just staring at a stranger.

You blinked out of your stupor and smiled at him and asked if he could try and place your locker combination for you. Because if you tried one more time and it didn’t work you might actually punch it. The boy smiled at you and was able to open your locker for you and helped hold half the textbooks.

“Thank you for helping me, since everyone else chooses to be rude.” You grumbled out the last bit.

The boy just smiled at you and said it was no problem and then he walked away probably to meet up with his friend.

---

7:35pm

 You still haven’t seen Peter walking anywhere and you were just about to give up and head home when Karen alerted you to a crime in progress.

‘There is a mugging in progress two blocks from here in an alley behind a deli’

You rushed over to the position that Karen sent you and hoped that it wasn’t Peter. Well, it was Peter sadly who was on the ground and shaking with his backpack ripped open and the contents spilling out. The thug was pointing a knife at Peter and yelling at him for money.

Deciding that now was the time to intervene you shot a web to the thugs knife and yanked it out of his grasp.

“You know you shouldn’t be pointing sharp objects at people, what would your grandma have to say?”

Honestly you had to roll your eyes a bit, really (y/n)? His grandma?

You jumped down from the balcony of an apartment and landed in front of Peter blocking him from view. You rose to your full height and placed your hands on your hips, cocking to the right a bit. You turned your head to look at Peter making sure he was okay and safe for the moment, he wasn’t shaking anymore which was good, but he now was just staring wide eyed at you.

“Are you okay?” You asked him

He just nodded his head then looked to your left and pointed a finger, presumably at the thug. When your spider senses went off you just lifted both hands and grasped the thug's arm and flipped him over onto his back making him gasp for air. You then webbed him up to the balcony and had Karen call the cops.

When you were done you walked back over to Peter and knelt down to help grab his stuff off the ground and place them back into his backpack. You then held out your hand to help lift Peter off the ground. When Peter placed his hand in your grasp you might have pulled a little more than you meant causing Peter to collide with your chest and moving your arm to his waist making sure he was stable.

You both stood still in the position for a few seconds before breaking apart chuckling awkwardly. Peter rubbed his neck and you just held your hands behind your back. The silence was starting to become suffocating, so you were about to ask Peter if he wanted a ride home, but he broke the silence first.

“Thank you for what you did earlier.” Peter said quietly

“Eh, it’s no problem.” You shrugged off

You both still stood there not knowing what else to say at the moment. So Peter just took that as a cue to leave since he started to walk out the alley. That prompted you to remember what you were thinking earlier.

“Hey!” You called out to Peter

He stopped in his spot and turned around facing you.

“Would you like a ride? Or even a walking companion?”

Peter just smiled at you showing that the requests weren’t weird to him so you started to walk towards him.

“I could use a walking companion. I would take the ride suggestion, but I’m pretty sure you mean swinging on webs about 15ft or more in the sky away from the ground and I already have a bad fear of heights.” Peter rambled out

You just chuckled to yourself and walked next to him prompting the both of you to walk in silence for a while.

“So what were you doing walking by yourself? It’s never a good idea to be by yourself, especially if you don’t have some type of weapon.” You questioned

Peter didn’t answer right away so you turned to look at him and he was looking at the ground with a slight pout to his mouth. You already know he’s gonna say it was because you never showed up at your own house.

“Well I was supposed to work on a school project with a classmate at her house, but she never showed up for some reason and I was there for about three hours and I told my aunt and uncle I would be home around 8 so I just decided to leave hoping to make it home before it was really dark out. Then I was cleaning my glasses and they dropped, so I had to pull a Velma from Scooby-Doo and look for my glasses. I think the thug was hiding behind the trash or something.” Peter spoke while still looking towards the ground.

You could tell that you not showing up really hurt him, he probably thought you were just using him for a good grade and lied or something.

“Looks like I’ll be doing the project by myself like usual. I just thought that I made a friend, especially for that class since my friend Ned doesn’t share it with me.”

“Well I’m sure she didn’t bail on purpose. Maybe something she accidentally forgot.” You tried to save yourself from looking bad in Peter’s eyes.

Peter just shrugged his shoulders and the conversation ended since apparently you ended up outside of Peter’s apartment. You both turned to each, having yet another awkward silence between the both of you. You took the silence to look at Peter’s features which looked softened in the moonlight, but also harsh with the fluorescent lighting of street lamps. As you were getting lost in Peter’s details Karen rang in your ears telling you that your aunt wants you home in the next 20 minutes or you’re grounded.

“Um well Peter I got to leave, but I hope you have a good evening.” and then you salute in a flirty way at least you hope it came off like that.

As you swung off into the night, heading home to finally relax; Peter was eating dinner with his family and as he was slowly chewing his chow mein he realized what was bugging him for the past 15 minutes, he never gave you his name. He was both curious and a bit worried, worried that you might have been following for a while before tonight and curious because if you weren’t a stalker which he decided to rule out since you have to protect Queens; that means you probably know him from somewhere else. And Peter was going to find out where.

[thegracelessfaceless]

Rival matchup time:

"So, I’m Elsie, she/her/hers, and bi (but I lean heavily towards men rn). I’m a Virgo sun, Scorpio rising and Aquarius moon. I’m also an introvert, but I love being around other people! I just get,,,,, tired easily.

I’m East Asian + Southeast Asian (Chinese and Vietnamese). I’m barely 5’0 tall! Long, black hair that reached my upper thighs and dark brown eyes that you can’t even see the pupil lmfao. I always have painted nails, usually red. I’m pretty athletic and I also like to think I have nice thighs—most of my workouts include building up my legs lol. I wear big gold hoop earrings. I also wear round Harry Potter glasses. My body isn’t very curvy, in fact I’m pretty flat but I am COVERED in stretch marks. I also have acne flare ups from time to time but it’s usually nothing noticeable anymore.

I’d like to think I’m a pretty chill person, likes to go with the flow and stuff like that. My friends say I’m often their therapist or their mom, which is kinda funny because that’s what I’m in uni for, to be a therapist. I’m a pretty determined and motivated person? I like to push myself pretty hard ngl but I also like to just hang out and take it slow. I also like to do stupid things like exploring abandoned buildings at 2am. I’m also big into intersectional feminism. I’ve also been told I’m really approachable and friendly, but bro I am so shy and quiet in public unless I get to know you.

I can get pretty stubborn tbh, it depends once again on what the topic is but once I’ve set my mind to it, that’s how it’s going to be. I also have low self esteem and my depression sometimes makes it hard for me to even get out of bed at times. I usually don’t know when to stop giving myself to other people, which means I get pretty exhausted and fast. I’m also prone to overthinking which stresses me out. And when I’m stressed, I can honestly get a little bitey.

I apologize to inanimate objects if I’ve bumped into them, and I also have a tendency to talk to myself? I also am a witch! I’m currently elbows deep in some deity work and ngl my energy is all over the place. I also have a weird habit of waving to security cameras I see in public because I like to think the people watching those cameras get a kick out of it lol.

I really like coffee, tea, singing with my ukulele, playing piano, drawing and art in general. I haven’t been able to draw as much as I’d like recently but I do have some animatics in my head. I also really like Victoria’s Secret perfumes, specifically strawberry pound cake—it’s what I always smell like lol. Crystals are super fun imo. I live next to a huge lake and it’s honestly one of my favorite places to be. Ocean animals are my favorite! I also really like car rides with like, one other person and just exploring the world and talking. The music I listen to is a lot of classic rap, lofi-hip hop, modern rap, some pop artists and Ella Fitzgerald, Gloria Gaynor, HaroinFather, KYLE, and ofc Hollywood Undead.

I cannot stand centipedes those things horrify me. I also don’t like rude people, bigots, people who purposely start drama or hypocrites. People who put other people down aren’t cool either. I don’t really like parties or being around lots of people, they make me anxious and kinda suffocated. People who try to force me to do stuff aren’t cool in my books either. I also think red meat is kinda gross, but that’s just because it makes me exhausted."

Your rival is:

ŇƗŇΔ ŦĦ€ ҜƗŁŁ€Ř

So I've done a ton of reflecting and have finally arrived at this rivalry.

I feel like you would end up defending yourself after Nina attacks you while you're trying to talk some sense into her about her obsession with Jeff.

I mean, really. This girl carved herself up to look more like him.

She even uses a version of his catchphrase, ffs!

While its fun to write about, Nina's level of obsession with Jeff is pretty harmful to not only others, but herself.

So you try to do what you would do with any rational adult. You take her out to lunch and try to talk with her about it.

You take her to a local pizza buffet and the two of you talk over every kind of pizza toy could imagine.

It was all great... Right up until it wasn't anymore.

You'd overlooked a major flaw in your master plan. You treated Nina like a normal, rational, adult. Nina was none of the above.

Sure, she may be an adult physically.

But it's like her obsession had stunted her emotional growth.

So, naturally, Nina thinks you're trying to talk her into forgetting about Jeff so you could have him all to yourself 🙄

She grabs you by the back of the shirt and pulls you through the restaurant and out into the parking lot.

"Nina, are we really doing this?" you ask her. She sneers at you and lets go of your shirt with a shove.

"You thought I was that dumb, didn't you?" Nina began slowly pacing back and forth, within the confines of the lines of the parking space.

You'd seen a panther at the zoo pace like that at the front of his habitat. He walked back and forth in front of his home, but his eyes, fierce and cunning, stayed on the people gathered to look at him. He didn't look at them as if they were a threat. He looked at them like prospective meals. Dinner. Midnight snack. Breakfast. Supper. Dinner again. Nina looked at you like that now.

"You thought you could just take me out, tell me I'm crazy and obsessed with the love of my life, and what? That I'd just back off? Say, 'You're right, Elsie, what was I thinking?!' and we'd laugh and go to your house and watch chick flicks and laugh into the wee hours of the morning?"

Nina huffed and rolled her eyes, "Spare me, bitch." Nina started closing in, flicking her knife open. It had little charms hanging from it like a heart, a grumpy storm cloud, an excited yam, and a beaming milkshake cup. They were the cutest, most impractical thing you'd ever seen.

You weren't surprised when Nina rushed you and you stepped to the side at the last moment, catching the wrist of her knife hand in your hand and shoving the heel of you hand into the back of her hand painfully, forcing her to drop the knife.

It fell to the pavement with a clatter and you used your foot to kick it away from the two of you.

Nina looks shocked and sad as she watches it spin away from her, and then it disappeared under a parked car.

Enraged by the loss of her knife, Nina rushed you again and screams in your face.

She grabbed your arm tightly and watched as you looked at your arm where her hand gripped. Something about your expression made her let go. But...

"I won't let you have him" she snarled and she lunged again, this time knocking you off your feet. Nina rode your body to the ground, sitting on your chest and upper stomach to pin you.

"I don't want him, Nina" you spat at her, the first stirrings of anger coiling up inside of you, "What will make you see?"

"Leave us alone" she said and as she reached down and fisted a handful of your hair and used it to knock your head into the ground a couple of times, "Leave us alone so I can show my sweet prince how happy we could be."

"What do you mean 'we'?" you ask Nina, "the only reason Jeff knows you exist is because everyone started warning him about this crazy fan girl. If we're truthful, he's stated that you kind of scare him."

"You expect me to believe that he's afraid? Afraid of anything? Especially afraid of a girl much smaller than him who would give him anything he asked for. Anything.'

She punctuated that last word with another attempt to thump your skull into the ground, but you tightened your muscles and wouldn't allow the movement.

Nina let go to slap you and you threw your body upwards, throwing Nina off of you, and you sat up and crawled over to pin Nina down.

"Just give up," you hiss at her, "I don't want him, I swear it. But don't lie to yourself anymore. Jeff will never love you, not the way you want him to. He may fear you, Nina, but he'll never love you."

You watched as a myriad of emotions cross over her face. Rage. Uncertainty. Denial. Stubbornness. Pleading. Her face collapsed into despair, which slowly faded to reluctant acceptance.

You move back slightly to let Nina up, rubbing the back of your head where it was starting to ache. When she doesn't make any aggressive movements, you let her up completely, offering her a hand to help her to her feet.

"So... You're gonna be alright?"

Nina shrugged slightly, looking drained and disenchanted, her arms crossing under her breasts to hold her.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this, Nina.."

"Go."

"I understand you probably hate me right now. You're hurt, but maybe in time we could make a friends-"

"Get out of my sight. Now" Nina growled, "I'll hurt you the next time I see you. Now go."

You turn away from Nina and start walking away. You get at least 500 feet away from her and stop, looking at her over your shoulder.

She looked so small, now, uncertain, folded in on herself as she hugged herself tightly, staring at nothing in particular in the middle distance between us.

"Nina" you call, "It's fine to hate me right now. But when you're not so raw about it, maybe we could hang out. Watch chick flicks, do each others nails and eat ice cream?"

The corner of Nina's mouth pulled up in a wry smile, "I'll think about it when I don't want to kill you."

You smile, "It's a start. Take care of yourself, Nina.

Ahh I hope you like it! I really tried to branch out from typical answers, too. I like to think that a rivalry with you wouldn't be like a lasting thing. You'd just do what you could to a) get them to listen, and b) keep yourself as safe as possible, and set them straight with no hard feelings afterwards.

[simpsiren]

dong sicheng x reader, ft, taeyong

“Your brain works like a computer, like clockwork. Yet you just can’t think straight because you’re thinking of her, right?”

description. I watched in pain as my best friend whom I liked for ages become delusional of my feelings and fall in love with another girl. I never told my feelings for him, and I never will. Little did I know that he felt the same as well. The feelings that took him so long to realise, now with hope that it wouldn’t be too late.

genre. aNgsT, fluff, friends au, unrequited love au

warnings. sad but also not a sad ending. depends how you look at it cudndjdn

word count. 9.2k~

a/n. do yall ever feel emo and suddenly want to write a sad ff? yes this is one of those times. i actually never wrote a ff where it was eXtrEmElY sad but oh wells let’s put you on an emotional roller coaster ride while you read this HAHA enjoy!

Dong Sicheng. Winwin as his nickname and what everyone, teachers and students, call him by. He’s smart, kind, sweet, and appearance wise you can never say no to that beautiful face. He’s an all rounder perfect student that everyone adores and admires. He’s extremely friendly, being able to socialise with everyone in the hallways right off the bat. I can confirm in my three years of high school that no one has never disliked him before.

The only thing that everyone dislike though is the fact that I’m his best friend. The only one that calls him by his real name, the one that can get close to him in terms of physical touch, and just have him by my side almost all the time. I received hate for being his best friend since they think he deserves better. But at this point, I really couldn’t care less, opting to stay quiet and accept the harsh words thrown at me with zero care for the world.

Since those insults are given to me when I’m away from Winwin, I never told him about what happens outside of his sight since I didn’t want him to be concerned for me and have him worry over a small matter. Things like this in high school are what I consider childish, which is why I try my best to ignore it as much as possible.

“Here. Another box of cookies and perfume. Also, a ton of love letters.” I said lazily, tossing the bag of gifts to Winwin’s lap and taking the seat beside him with a groan. I hated it when girls asked me to pass their gifts to Winwin because they’re too shy to do it themselves. It’s not like I’m some delivery girl in charge of taking care of their gifts. But I got used to it. Not sure if that’s exactly a good thing or not.

“You can have the cookies.” Winwin took out the box of cookies and handed it over to me. I took it and scoffed in amusement. “The price for the ingredients to make regular cookies is way more cheaper than buying it from wherever she got this.” I inspected the box and the cookies inside, noticing how expensive it looked with the decorations.

Regardless, I opened the box and picked up a cookie to take a bite. “Okay well it tastes good.” I said in defeat. Winwin wasted no time to grab a cookie and try it, instantly humming dreamily. “Oh wow it’s actual good.” Winwin moaned out as he finishes the cookie in his mouth.

“Being the school’s most adored student couldn’t get any more better, huh?” I reached into the bag of gifts and took out a random letter, twirling it around in my hand as I observed the aesthetics of it.

Winwin huffed, leaning back into the seat. “It’s tiring. I’m only down for the free food. And perfumes.” Winwin takes out the perfume, which I could already tell from its packaging that it was an expensive one. He unboxes it and squirts once to smell the fragrance in the air. He shrugged and shook his head. “Expected better. I’ll just sell this.”

I chuckled at his reaction, sniffing the scent that was in the air and nodding in agreement. “By the way...” Winwin suddenly started. I noticed his change in behaviour. He’s acting all shy and somewhat embarrassed, looking down and fidgeting with his fingers and feet. I raised at eyebrow at his unexpected mood change.

“You know the new student that got transferred four months ago?” I clicked my tongue and nodded. “Haeun, right? What about her?” I asked, though I wasn’t fully concentrated on the conversation because I couldn’t stop shoving the cookies into my mouth and admiring it’s savoury taste.

“Would it be weird to say I like her?”

I froze in my spot, a cookie halfway into my mouth as I tilted my head up from the cookies to look at Winwin. Though he was looking down to his feet, I could tell he was smiling to himself like an idiot and blushing intensively.

I knew where this was going. And I didn’t like it. It hurts my heart, like a needle constantly jabbing into my heart as the question that Winwin asked resonates in my head. Not receiving a reply, Winwin called out to me, making me shake my head and blinking my eyes rapidly to snap myself out of my thoughts.

“Um well, how’s she like?” I asked hesitantly. Why was I dumb enough to ask this? I’ll only be hurting myself more with the answer Winwin was about to give.

“She’s a badass. She’s strong, and she knows how to stand up to the students that bully her. I admire her a lot because she’s fearless. The way she can even fight back to the teacher and actually having valid arguments. She’s not like anyone else here.”

Of course she isn’t. She not at all like me either. I took a deep breath, knowing I’ve done a great job at stabbing myself in the back as I lump filled my throat, once again unable to give a single reaction of sentence. “You okay? You seem worked up suddenly.” Winwin suddenly got closer and I quickly inched back.

I felt my body getting tensed up as my face gave a blank expression. I wasn’t sure what to feel. Anger, sadness, heart fluttering due to Winwin’s small action of getting close to my face. Maybe all three.

“You do remember what happened the other times you have liked a girl, right? You know they didn’t end well. I don’t see why you’re still trying.”

That, was the only excuse I could come up with to have Winwin not having any interest in other girls. Before high school, he’s liked plenty of girls. But they’ve all rejected him, causing him to come to me for comfort. It hurt my heart, seeing that I’m the one that has to watch him go through a heartbreak and being the hopeless romantic he was. It also pained me in a way that I couldn’t describe.

If only you were mine, you wouldn’t have gone through any of that.

“What if someone else liked you? What would you do?” Winwin tilted his head upwards with a finger on his chin for a moment as he stopped to think. He had an unreadable expression on his face, only making me wonder what he would reply.

“Depends on who.” Winwin simply replied.

“What if that someone is really close to you?” His forehead creased with raised brows, probably either curious as to why I’m asking such questions or trying to figure out where this conversation is heading.

“The only ones I’m close to are you and Yuta.” A few seconds later, Winwin gaped his mouth open and covered it with the palm of his hand, letting out a shocking gasp. “Is Yuta gay?!” Winwin burst out laughing crazily, smacking his thigh as he had a hand on his stomach.

I could only sit there with an unamused face. I glanced sideways and forced a smile. A simpered smile that would best hide what I truly felt. I rose from my seat with the box of cookies in hand. “I meant the other person, Dong Sicheng.” I looked straight into his eyes with a face of seriousness. Though I doubt Winwin understood what I meant by that.

Not being able to handle this any longer, I walked away, despite Winwin calling out my name multiple times. I walked till I hid behind a wall where it was out of Winwim’s sight, beginning to slide my back down the wall till I hit the ground, my eyes starting to get flooded with tears till they finally stream down my face. I brought my knees close to my chest with the box of cookis in between and hiding my face with my arms.

How long do I have to keep this up? How long do I have to wait till Winwin realises my feelings for him? All this time while he went through constant heartbreaks, I was the only one there for him. Me. I had to watch him cry days on end all because of a girl who doesn’t even mean much.

And now I have to watch him go through it again. But I can’t stop him. It’s his feelings. Despite my constant share of concerns for him, he never seemed to stop being the stupid one in love. Dong Sicheng was, and always will be, a hopeless romantic.

But in a way, I was as well. Not being able to let go of my feelings for him that has kept me tied down for so long. I liked him for years and I knew my love was more than what the girls he liked before could offer. If only he could just see that. But waiting for that moment slowly began to get tiring.

I wondered where Winwin has gone to as I laid on the living room couch with my phone held in the air showing Winwin’s contact on the screen. I contemplated on whether I should call him or not.

There have been days where Winwin would come back to our apartment late, but it’s either because he had family events (which happens quite often in Winwin’s case) or just an outing with Yuta. But I would have known the reason either way since he’d always update me whenever he went. It felt out of place to not know where he was and it made me a little worried.

As I was about to press on the call button, I heard the front door open. Lifting my head from the couch, I turned around and saw Winwin taking off his shoes and walking in. “Where the heck have you been, you dork?!” I shouted, throwing a pillow from under my head.

He got hit by it, resulting him to frown and let out a wince due to his overreacting nature. “Chill I just went out of Haeun, alright?” Winwin picked up the pillow from the ground and tossed it back to me.

I didn’t even bother asking why he went out with her. I didn’t want to hear about it either, knowing that my emotional feelings for him that I’ve tried to hide for so long will start to flare up. Regardless, Winwin ran over to me and pushed my legs off fhe couch to give him space to sit. I groaned at his act and sat up straight.

“Today was so fun! I went to the amusement park with Haeun and holy shit was she good at winning games but I wasn’t able to win any for her and I felt bad so we...”

As Winwin rambled on about his amazingly perfect night out with Haeun, I spaced out and could only think about what I have to deal with once Haeun leaves Winwin again. Though now I’m starting to doubt that because well, who wouldn’t want Winwin? He had a major glow up from elementary school to high school anyways.

But now my mind has wondered off to the possibility that I might actually lose Winwin once he gets together with her. And how the feelings that I’ve kept solely for him would go to waste and my times of waiting on him would mean nothing.

“Good that you had fun. I’ll go to bed now.” I said in monotoned manner when Winwin finally stopped talking.

“Oh um okay... goodnight. Sleep tight. Dream of me, alright?” He probably noticed my sudden change in attitude but didn’t bother asking, and instead tried to lighten the mood with a little joke.

“I always dream of you.” I mumbled under my breath as I walked away and entered my room.

Little did I know, my soft mumble wasn’t as soft as it seemed.

“Why did she sound serious when she said that?” Winwin asked himself as he sat there in silence. He started to think about her weird behaviour these days. Especially whenever he brought up about Haeun. Was there something wrong with talking about Haeun? Why did she look like all the energy was drained out of her whenever he spoke Haeun’s name?

Winwin’s deep thoughts got cut off when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out to see a notification from Haeun asking if they should go out more often. He didn’t bother to reply as his mind was only filled with his best friend, deeply concerned but also anxious.

“What am I feeling right now?”

Yuta and I decided to eat lunch together since Winwin’s chemistry teacher held his class back for a reason that he never specified.

Our conversation was going well till somehow our topic swerved into talking about Winwin.

“I heard Winwin’s going out with Haeun more often, and ditching you too.” Yuta suddenly mentioned, taking a sip of his lemon tea.

I suspired and nodded my head. “Yeah well, I’m not too happy about that.” I swirled my straw in my drink, getting mesmerised at the sight. “Of course you don’t. You like him.”

My eyes immediately shot up to Yuta’s, narrowing my eyes in an intimidating manner as I whispered, “Don’t mention it, please. It already hurts enough that it’s a fact.” I said, my eyes softening right after as I frowned. 

“You still aren’t giving me a proper answer as to why you can’t tell him.” Yuta bobbed his shoulders, adjusting his blazer. “I told you time and time again.”

I groaned, covering my eyes with a hand. “He’s my best friend. You know how weird it’ll be if we have feelings for each other. Secondly, even if he does like me back, how will things turn out between us if we argue or something? It’s worse for you because you’re friends with the both of us.” I explained, making random hand gestures like you would do in a presentation. 

“But still. It’s important to be friends before lovers. Better yet best friends to lovers. You’re basically saying that a male and female can’t be friends without one of them falling in love. Well. I mean you fell in love but-”

“But what, huh?” 

Yuta let out a deep sigh before leaning in, resting his chin on his hands with his fingers interlocked together. “But that doesn’t explain you and me. We’re friends but we’ve never fell in love.” Yuta gave a cheeky smile. I growled and smacked his forehead, hard. “What it’s the truth! Anyways, if you aren’t going to anything about Sicheng, I will.”

As soon as he said those words, I wasted no time to loom over the table to grab him by the collar. “Do anything, and you’ll get brutally killed.”

Yuta simpered, knowing he fucked up as he laughed in fear. “W-with what?” Yuta asked hesitantly. I slowly picked up the fork from my tray and raising it beside my head. 

“This fork.” This time, Yuta laughed hysterically, removing my hand away from his collar and throwing me back down to me seat. I let out a huff, slamming the fork back on the plate. “Which body part do you want to hit with a fork, sweetie?” Yuta teased.

I threw him a sharp glare with a line appearing between my brows. “I’ll carve out your eyeballs first so you’ll never see the light of day.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head, finding Yuta shaking in fear as he waved his hands in the air in defense. “Okay, okay. I’ll shut up. Jeez...”

“I just want him to realise my feelings himself. Have you seen what he’s gone through? I have to deal with his stupid feelings while I have to bear the fact that he won’t see me as anything more than a best friend. His delusional ass that I can’t stop falling for...” I continued.

“I’m more stupid in this situation than him if we’re going to be honest.”

Later that day, Yuta and I invited Winwin to go out and have dinner. We were waiting in front of the restaurant only to be greeted with Winwin and a somewhat unwanted guest.

“Oh! Haha it’s Haeun...” Yuta waved a hand to her. She greeted him back with a gentle smile that could possibly mesmerised anyone if she wanted to. Yuta took a quick glance at me. I was pretty sure we were both thinking the same thing. About how I’m not liking the fact that she’s here with Winwin. He brought his hand to my back and rubbed it gently as a sign of comfort.

Don’t get me wrong. I hold no hatred or grudge towards her. It’s just that I didn’t want to see Winwin with another girl. Clearly, I was jealous. I was just too weary of Winwin’s feelings and mine to own up to it.

“Let’s go in then?” She asked excitedly, looking up to Winwin as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. Winwin smiled back and patted her on the head. I was already not liking how physically close they were.

Little actions like patting the head, hugging, ruffling the hair. Those were all actions that only Winwin has ever done to me. He wouldn’t even be this close to the girls that he used to like. Seeing that he’s now becoming more open, it made me disappointed a lot more than it should due to the deep stupid meaning I hold of the little things he does.

Our conversations while we were eating were quite general. Most questions were about Haeun and getting to know her better. Well, more specifically it was Yuta since I’m pretty sure Winwin already knew a lot about her. As for me, I didn’t bother.

“You should try this. It’s delicious.” Haeun suddenly said, picking up a drumstick of the chicken that was just served to us and bringing it to Winwin’s mouth. Haeun placed a finger in Winwin’s chin to bring his head closer. With Winwin opening his mouth widely, Haeun feeds him with the most brightest smile.

“You’re so cute.” I heard Winwin whisper as he leaned down to Haeun’s ear. She giggled with glee and nudged him in the shoulder. It was obvious that she was liking it. Her blushing couldn’t get any more serious.

He hummed in satisfaction as he chewed on the chicken. “You should try it, too.” Winwin said, passing me a drumstick and putting it on my plate. I forced a smile, which turned out to me only giving a half-smile due to my effort of trying to hide my feelings slowly becoming drained.

Seeing how Yuta kept stealing glances at me, I could only assume that he knew what I was feeling when he suddenly said, “Actually it seems like she’s getting tired. I’ll see her off. You guys have fun.” Yuta swung an arm around my shoulder as the two of us stood up and grabbed our belongings before heading out and leaving the two to hang out by themselves.

“You didn’t have to do that...” I whispered, looking into my bag and checking if I left anything behind. Yuta shook his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I had to. It was hard to watch you die inside while they were being all lovey-dovey.” Yuta replied.

“Anyways, can you go home yourself?” I gaped my mouth and scoffed, glancing sideway before looking up to him with a raised brow. “You brought me out here but you can’t be a gentleman and send me home!?” I hissed.

“The food inside was actually good and I’m willing to finish whatever’s on my plate!” Yuta retorted with a cute pout as a way to persuade me to follow his way. With the unamused face I gave him, he huffed and ran a hand through his hair.

As though a lightbulb was suddenly lif above his head, he snapped his fingers and shouted, “Ahah!” making me flinch back at the sudden noise. “I’ll text Taeyong to drive you home on his motorbike.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, but shrugged in the end as I admitted it was a good idea. “Yeah sure. I find him cute.” I said plainly, which somehow earned me a weird look from Yuta.

“You called him cute?” Yuta asked in a way that told me that he was surprised. I nodded my head slowly, not sure about why he reacted that way but I was quick to figure it out. “Don’t be an idiot and assume I like him. Everyone finds him cute, okay? It’s like how fangirls call their idols cute all the time. It means nothing.” I said with a sigh.

Yuta’s surprised face slowly turned into a sinister one as his mouth formed a wide smirk. “Hey. Honestly speaking, if you can’t have Winwin, You should try Taeyong. He’s a good catch.” Yuta winked at me before looking down to this phone and texting Taeyong.

I smacked him in the arm, making him wince in pain but recovered in no time due to his endurace of me beating him up almost all the time. “You think my three years of affection for Winwin will just magically go away if I liked him? Don’t be ridiculous, will you?” I let out a ‘tsk’ as I threw him a death glare.

“You never know, sweetie.” Yuta breathed out, putting his phone away and getting close to me. “He’s coming in ten minutes so I’ll go now, okay? Text me when you get home.” Yuta gave a heartwarming smile as he reached both his hands out to rub my shoulders before bidding his last goodbye and going back in.

I scratched my head as I sat down at one of the benches near the entrance while I waited for Taeyong. I soon saw the motorbike that looked familiar since it was always parked at the parking lot at school, knowing it was him.

Taeyong stopped in front of me and lifted the shield of his helmet, revealing his face. He stepped down from his bike and headed to the trunk to take out a spare helmet. I walked up to him with a soft smile.

“Thanks for wanting to send me home. I would’ve gone myself.” I said as I took the helmet that Taeyong handed out to me. “It’s fine. I was pretty free and wanted to go out for a bit.” Taeyong smiled back with a light shrug.

“By the way...” I let out while adjusting my helmet. “Hm?” Taeyong asked.

“Can you take me to an ice cream shop? Any will do. I just need to eat something sweet right now.”

Taeyong got on his back and tapped the seat behind him to signal me to get on as he started up his motorbike. “Sure. I have a place in mind.”

I hopped on as I thought we were about to head off, Taeyong turned his head back to look at me. “You should place your hands on my shoulder. If it’s uncomfortable for you, just hold onto the handles beside you. Just... make sure you have something to grip on.”

I looked down to one of my sides to find the handle that Taeyong mentioned but there’s wasn’t any. I didn’t bother asking and made the quick decision if placing my hands on his shoulders to not keep him waiting. He finally puts down the shield of his helmet as we drove off.

Taeyong ended up taking me to an ice cream shop that was opened for twenty four hours. Which I was thankful for since it meant that there’s an ice cream shop I could go to at four in the morning in case I was in my feels one night.

I ordered two scoops of cookie dough while Taeyong ordered three scoops of cookies and cream. We had to sit at the roadside since the shop didn’t provide anywhere to sit. But I was fully fine with it since I wanted to feel the night air as well as look at the night sky.

We both ate in silence till I fed myself a bite and stuck my spoon into the ice cream, looking up to the sky and closing my eyes for moment.

“Are you on your period, perhaps?” Taeyong suddenly asked. I opened my eyes and tilted my head back down to look at him, shaking my head. “Why’d you think that?”

“I know that most girls have cravings that kick in at random times of the day during their periods. I also know girls crave sweet things too.” I chuckled at his response, nodding my head in agreement. “You’re right about the craving thing. But I’m not on my period.”

I paused for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. “It’s more of eating something sweet to wash down all the bitter feelings that build up in my throat.” I whispered, grabbing my spoon to take another bite.

Taeyong clicked his tongue and nodded his head slowly. “Do you mind me asking why? I-If it’s too personal you don’t have to-“

“What would you do if you liked a girl who’s your best friend for three years but she ended up liking someone else?” I cut him off, tilting my head to the side.

Taeyong looked up to stop and think. “I’ll probably do something to lose my feelings for her. I wouldn’t want to make myself suffer by keeping my feelings depite me knowing she won’t except it.”

“You know like move on. If I liked a girl for three years, I’ll probably take a long time to let go but maybe with the help of meeting new people and distancing myself away from her, I’ll eventually forget about her.” Taeyong added.

As I listened to his advice, I understood what he meant. Why do I burden myself with such feelings? It’s like I’ve been trapped in a cage due to the unrequited love I have for Winwin. Why make myself suffer any longer?

“That’s true... I probably should- I-I mean a friend asked me- Oh who am I kidding I’m asking you this for my sake.” I let out a sigh in defeat, stabbing my spoon into the ice cream before aggressively taking another bite.

“Let’s play some music. It’ll lighten the mood up a little.” Taeyong said with a warm smile, noticing my somber aura and wanting to do something about it.

He opened his phone as he scrolled through his playlist to find a song. “I really like this song so if I suddenly burst out dancing stupidly, don’t make fun of me.” I chuckled before nodding my head, eagerly as I was curious about the song he wanted to play. “I’m not judgy I promise.”

While the spoon that was filled with ice cream was being brough up to my lips, the song started playing and I quickly took a bite before swallong and gaping my mouth open as I instantly recognised the intro.

“Roses by Finn Askew?!” I asked with excitement. Taeyong nodded his head happily as he began to sing the lyrics, bringing his hands up and vibing to the music.

I laughed as I watched him sing and have fun. I decided to let go and sing as well, grooving my body as I finished my last spoon of ice cream.

Throughout the whole song, the two of us didn’t stop dancing in our seats. I constantly laughed at the weird movements and actions he did while we nodded our heads to the soothing music that we both loved.

Taeyong’s singing talent also shined through as he sang the song. I was definitely impressed by how much of a good singer he was. “I didn’t know you could sing like that, Taeyong.” I complimented as another song began to play in the background.

“It’s just a hidden talent most people don’t know. But I’m more to rapping.” Taeyong said with a shrug, placing his now empty cup beside him.

“Actually you’re one of the few people that know I rap.” Taeyong added.

I giggled in response. “I’m honoured to be one of the lucky few. Send me an audio of you rapping sometime. I’d love to hear it.” Taeyong chuckled lowly.

I quicly glance at my phone to check the time. I realised it was getting late and that I shouldn’t be out any longer. I looked at Taeyong, wanting to ask if he could take me home.

He turned to me and gave me a smile. A smile that I was suddenly to drawn into. The way his eyes formed a thin line as his lips curled up. He looked perfect and could make anyone swoon. He was cute.

“I know it’s getting late but can we just stay here a little while longer? I’m trying to savour this atmosphere.” I whispered.

Taeyong nodded and handed me his phone out of the blue. I raised an eyebrow at his sudden action. “Play any song you want. We can stay here as long as you want to.” Taeyong said in a gentle voice.

With that, I spent at least a few hours just sitting at the roadside with Taeyong as I swayed my head to peaceful songs that fit the mood. Taeyong was kind enough to let me play whatever song I liked even though I know there’s a few he wouldn’t know. Surprisingly, Taeyong and I had the same taste in music, which made us talk sbout our favourite artists etc.

I realised how quickly I got to know Taeyong. In a matter of a few hours, it felt like I instantly clicksd with him and I somehow felt as though I’ve known him for a long time. This feeling with Taeyong was refreshing and new. I liked it without a doubt.

Once we decided it was actually getting late, we called it a nighy and have Taeyong drive me home. When we arrived at my apartment, I got off and took off the helmet, passing it to Taeyong as he got off his motorbike as well to put the helmet back in the trunk.

“It was nice hanging out with you. I actually had fun for the first time in a long time.” I said after Taeyong closed the lid of the trunk and turned to me.

“Just call me if you need more ice cream.” Taeyong winked playfully. I took my phone out for him to put his number in. Once that was done, I stood in front of Taeyong, wanting to wait for him to drive off but he didn’t seem to move, leaning back against the motorbike.

“Aren’t you going to go?” I asked.

“I’m waiting for you to head inside so I know you got home safely.” Taeyong mentioned casually.

I chuckled and shook my head, nodding before making my way to the entrance. I turned around and flashed him one last smile and a small wave before heading in.

“Oi! Why the fuck are you home so late?! Did you know how worried I was?! Yuta told me Taeyong was going to send you home!” Damn, I just had to come home with Winwin shouting at me.

“I went out with him for a bit! And can you shut up it’s late at night and you’ll wake up the neighbours.”

I made my way to my room only to have Winwin following behind me and entering as well. “You shouldn’t be staying out late with a guy you barely know. Who knows what could happen to you?”

I took out my belongings from my sling bag and hung it behind my door, scoffing loudly.

“Oh so now you’re worrying? I bet you were out with Haeun and came home late as well.” I fought back.

“I came home earlier than you.”

“Taeyong is Yuta’s friend. And I do know him. So shut it and get out of my face. I’m tired.” I lashed out, pushing Winwin out of my room and slamming the door shut.

I plopped myself onto my bed as I took in the comfort of laying down on the most comfortable space I’ll ever know.

As I played with my phone, I suddenly got a text from an unknown number.

Unknown number: hey it’s Taeyong. you dont have to reply since i bet you’ll be sleeping by now but hope you made it home safely.

I let out an “Ah...” now knowing this was Taeyong’s number and saving it into my contacts.

Y/n: oMg chIlL i got home just fine thanks to you. hope you made it home safe as well

the ice cream man: i did, dont worry. i hope i got to get rid of any bitter feelings you had. goodnight :)

I left him on seen as I placed my phone screen down beside me and looked up the ceiling.

The night I spent with Taeyong somehow felt, magical. Like Cinderella at the ball. I had a lot of fun with him and I was able to let myself be free. Surprisingly, Winwin wasn’t on my mind for a second while I was with Taeyong. I only wished to continue being Cinderella for more than one night as I craved to hang out with Taeyong.

But also, the advice that Taeyong gave me continuously resonated in my head.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to let go after all.

On the very same night, Winwin had to face his feelings as well.

“What’s your real reason for going out with Haeun?” Yuta asked as he walked to the living room where Winwin was at and taking a seat beside him. Winwin took a sip of water from the cups that Yuta brought from the kitchen. “Because I like her.”

“Now’s not the time to fuck with me, Winwin. I know it’s something else.” 

Winwin exhaled sharply and fighting back with a, “What else is there? I like Haeun, so I asked her out.” Yuta scoffed and slammed his cup down on the table, his eyes narrowed down to Winwin.

“How long are you going to keep this up? What are you trying to do? Hide your feelings? Use Haeun to distract yourself from her? How low can you get?”

Winwin took in a deep breath and rubbed one hand down his face in frustration. “I told you. I like her as a friend.”

“No.” Yuta replied instantly with a stern tone. “You think I don’t know you? You don’t think I see you staring at her during class? Or that one time where you ranted to me about how she went out with a group of guys from our class.” Yuta got closer to Winwin and he wasn’t fazed at all, determined to maintain this eyecontact that was filled to the brim with tension.

“So? It’s because I care for her. Are friends not suppose to do that?” Winwin retorted back, leaning in as he bored his eyes into Yuta’s. 

 “She’s right. You really are delusional. I don’t know why I bothered trying.” Yuta downed the rest of his drink and stood up, placing the cup on the table. “Well, she told me I should just make you realise it yourself.” Yuta bent down to meet Winwin’s eye level.

“And you better pray that by the time you do, it won’t be too late.”

With that, Yuta grabbed his belongings and headed to the door, exiting and slamming the door shut. Winwin blinked his eyes a few times and stared at the door.

To be honest, Winwin didn’t understand what just happened. A lot of questions popped up in his mind after Yuta left. What did he meant by delusional? What was he delusional about? What did he have to realise for himself? And what did she have to do with all this? 

The longer he sat there in deep thought with analysing everything that Yuta said, Yuta was right in some way. The fact that he gets concerned for her with whatever action she did, but ended up not doing anything about it. He stared at her in class to make sure she wouldn’t fall asleep. He was overprotective about her being around guys because he didn’t want guy to be with her but himself and Yuta. The problem is, why did Yuta talked to him about it as if it was something else? Isn’t this what you do with your friends?

Winwin’s eyes immediately darted back to the front door where he heard the shuffling of footsteps coming. He knew it was her. The moment she opened the door, one last questioned surfaced in his mind.

“What’s too late?”

Little by little, one ice cream date at a time, I began to get a lot more closer to Taeyong. He never lets down an ice cream date and everytime I was with him, he gave me a place where I could go away from my sufferings of my complex love situation. It was as if he gave me a way to escape. Just by being with him, I felt that I didn’t need to suffer.

Our ice cream dates evolved into doing other things like exploring the city, or trying out restaurants we’ve never been to before. To be honest, I would do anything if it meant being with Taeyong. He really was like my very own escape world, where I could run away from the only problem I’m currently facing. Which was Winwin.

Since our exams were coming up, our dates naturally became centered around studying. Today was no different, going to the study cafe that we’ve been to a couple of times.

We decided to sit at the corner of the cafe so that we’ll be able to concentrate better. Me being the relatively smarter one, I had to tutor Taeyong. It was a good thing that he wasn’t one to slack on his studies. He’s avarage in terms of academics but he was willing to try and get better. It made it easy for me to tutor him since he would try his best to understand and stay attentive.

Though, I couldn’t help but notice him stealing quick glances of me whenever I wasn’t looking at him. Does he perhaps like me or something?

“I want coffee.” Taeyong groaned out, pouting cutely in front of me as he desperately asked for a break. I chuckled at his adorable nature and ruffled his hair. “A fifteen minute break, alright? I’ll buy you coffee.”

I was about to stand up from my seat when Taeyong gripped onto my wrist and sat me back down. “I’ll do it myself. Do you want your favourite drink?” I smiled and nodded my head eagerly.

Taeyong rose from his seat. Before he walked off, he bent down and placed a quick peck on my cheek and ran off in a matter of seconds. Taeyong turned around and flashed his cheeky playful smile with mouthing, “That was intentional.”

I giggled and waved a hand in the air, signalling him to turn to the cashier who was waiting for him to order. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel something after that small kiss.

Over time as our friendship grew, Taeyong became more affectionate towards me. He was a natural at it. Without me knowing, he ended up holding hands and giving each other kisses on the cheek of forehead. It made my heart race every time and he would tease me whenever I blushed. Of course I did the same to him.

A little while later he came back with the drinks, placing them on the table before taking his seat next to me.

We resumed studying till I heard the bell above the door rang, signalling that someone has came in. I didn’t really care about it as the music from Taeyong’s phone played on one side of the earpiece that I wore was loud. I then however heard a very familiar voice.

Looking up, I saw Winwin and Haeun standing by the counter to order. With creases formed on my forehead with eyes that were glued to the two of them, Taeyong noticed my expression and looked at where my gaze was at. “I’m assuming that’s the guy you like for three years?” I nodded with a defeated sigh.

“We can go if you want. I’m afraid it’ll distract you.” Taeyong whispered. Right as I was about to reply, Winwin and Haeun turned around with their drinks as they tried finding a seat. While Winwin’s eyes scanned through the area, he made eye contact with me, causing him to give a confused look until Haeun went up to kiss his cheek and urging him to sit at the spot she found for them.

I bowed my head to greet him while Winwin did the same. I turned back to Taeyong after that awkward encounter. “It’s fine. It’ll be a hassle for us to waste time to go somewhere else.” Taeyong shrugged and nodded his head, resuming to look at the question in front of him.

We were studying for quite some time and I started to feel my adrenaline to continue studying slowly disappearing. With my chin on the palm of my hand, I tried to close my eyes to let them rest for a moment while letting out a tired sigh. Suddenly, I felt Taeyong’s hand guiding my head to rest on his shoulder.

I moved my head around to try and find a comfortable position, which ended up with my head being buried in the crook of Taeyong’s neck. I sniffed the strong scent of his perfume that I oh so adore. “You always smell good.” I complimented.

Taeyong chuckled in response. “I’ll continue to smell good if it means that you’ll rest your head on me more.” I tilted my head up with my chin still resting on his shoulder as I looked up. Taeyong brought his head down to make eye contact with me, leaning in slowly and kissing my forehead ever so gently.

“Go sleep. You need some rest.” With a hand slowly snaking around my waist, I got comfortable with Taeyong’s embrace. Before I closed my eyes, I absentmindedly looked towards where Winwin was sitting. For some reason, he gave me a look of anger, with a tensed body and clenched fist on the table and eyes lit with fire. It disappeared almost instantly when Haeun called out to him, forcing him to look back at her with a wide grin.

What the fuck was she doing with Taeyong? When has she gotten so clingy with him? How are they that close in the span of a few months? Questions like these circled Winwin’s mind throughout the time he was at the study cafe with Haeun.

Oddly, he couldn’t get his eyes and mind off her and Taeyong. He observed their very move closely. He felt like raging every time Taeyong even placed a finger on her. You could imagine how Winwin felt when Taeyong had his arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder.

She said they were just friends. But Winwin couldn’t believe that claim at all. Friends are not so touchy like this, right? As much as he wanted to agree to that question, he couldn’t. Because that’s what he’s been doing with her as well. Being physically close while still being friends. He just never imagined she’d do it with someone else.

Winwin knew for a fact that what he was feeling was pure jealousy. It shocked him due to how mad he could get at this.

After his study session with Haeun, he went straight back home. Realising you weren’t there, he assumed you went out with Taeyong again. He rushed into his room and threw himself onto his bed, placing a pillow over his face and screaming into it.

Winwin threw the pillow beside him and huffed, looking up at the ceiling. Once again he was deep in thought as he stared at the ceiling. This time, he was fighting a war in his head as he tried his best not to admit his feelings. The pride he held to deny it. But he couldn’t hold on anymore. Allowing his wall to crumble down as he came face to face with his true feelings. He decided to call Yuta to ask for help.

The moment Yuta picked up the phone, Winwin said, “Okay you’re right. I can’t beat around the fucking bush anymore. I like her. I like her a lot. I denied my feelings for her because I didn’t want our friendship to be at risk. I only used Haeun to get over her but I can’t. She’s on my mind even though I’m with Haeun.”

It took awhile for him to hear an answer from the other end of the line, only silence and breathing could be heard till Yuta responded with a, “Tell her that once you get into college. Right now, she’s probably studying hard for the high school leaving examinations. It would be best to stay out of her way and focus on your studies.” With that, Yuta hung up.

Winwin was left with his thoughts, unable to sleep till three in the morning because all he could think about was her. Whatever Yuta said the other day now made sense. She’s liked him for so long but she never confessed. He realised how dumb and delusional he was to not see that someone liked him right under his nose but he didn’t know it, brushing it off like it meant nothing because he didn’t want to admit his feelings for her. Fuck his pride and delusional ass.

As the days of the exams are coming closer than ever, Winwin tried his best to stay focus and study to the best of his abilities. Though he still couldn’t get her off his mind. It wasn’t the main thing he thought about but it was always hidden in the folds of his thoughts. It sometimes made him malfunction a little as well.

“Sicheng are you serious?! This is basic shit I thought you know about this!” Yuta scolded as he tapped in pen on the table and pointed to the question that Winwin answered incorrectly. Yuta sighed and covered his eyes with a hand for a moment before turning to Winwin.

“You aren’t working right today. You good, bro?” Yuta asked with concern. Winwin frowned and ran a hand down his face. “Is it that bad?”

Yuta clicked his tongue and places his pen down, leaning against the table.

“You’re one of the smartest students. Your brain works like a computer, like clockwork. Yet you just can’t seem to think straight because you’re thinking of her, right?”

It took awhile for Winwin to answer before he nodded slowly and gulping. “I can’t do anytning about it now. I don’t want to disrupt her studies. It’s fucking killing me...” Winwin laid his head on the table and covered himself with his arms, earning a big smack in the back by Yuta that made him jolted back up.

“Let’s forget it for awhile. Stay focus. We need to get into college, alright? Come on, let’s get something to drink before continuing.”

A year later.

I finally made it through your high school leaving examination and got accepted into the college I signed up for. Surpringly, Taeyong made it as well. Despite us having different majors, we did share a common elective for History.

“Today’s class was fun.” I said sarcastically, waving my hands in the air lazily. Taeyong laughed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Very.” He commented.

Today we decided to stay back and hang out in the music studio where the music majors use to record their singing etc. Taeyong promised me to play me one of the new songs he wrote.

The studio was located on the first floor of the campus and it was near the entrance as well. Basically the window of the studio showed fhe streets and people could walk by and see whoever’s inside. Well, only if they bent because the window is half the size of a regular one due to the studio being a little lower than ground floor.

We chilled in there for awhile. With me laying on Taeyong’s lap while the two of us were on our phones. I got bored of reading the news on twitter so I turned off my put and looked out at Taeyong. “Play your song now!” I whined. He immediately placed his phone away and looked down on me.

“Okay, okay chill!” Taeyong shouted out, leaning in to kiss my forehead. I got off his lap and allowed him to set up to play his new song.

He got inside the recording booth and told me to sit down and wear the headphones. I followed his instructions, though I was confused when he told me to press a button that would play the song but I got around that.

“Can you hear me?” Taeyong asked, placing his mouth near the microphone in front of him. I nodded and gave him a thumbs up, proceeding to press the button that would start the song.

The first few beats of the song already got my hyped up as I began to nod my head to the music while looking at Taeyong while a bright smile. He smiled back before starting to rap. I was intrigued instantly and started vibing to his voice.

As the continued on with the song, I couldn’t help myself but stand up to dance. He saw me dancing and looked to me while he sang into the microphone, starting to move to the beat as well.

I laughed happily as I started to make weird movements which triggered Taeyong to fall off his rhythm a little and laugh, picking up right where he left off soon after.

Absentmindedly, I glanced sideways to the window and saw a pair of legs facing towards the window. Like I said, since the studio was a little lower than ground floor, the window only showed a small portion of the streets.

To see a pair of legs there was weird. Whoever it was, they stayed there for quite some time since I didn’t see them leave until Taeyong finished the song.

Taeyong took off the headphones he had on and got out of the recording booth. “So how was that?”

I immediately ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close and placing a warm peck on his lips. “Perfect as usual, Mister Lee Taeyong.” I ran a hand through his hair and giggled with glee.

Winwin’s POV.

I stood there as I heard her laugh. The unique signature laugh that I once used to hear everyday. The one that never failed to brighten my day no matter the situation. The familiarity of it brought me home, but at the same time it brought a different feeling. A hurtful one that made my heart ache. To know that the one that made her laugh wasn’t me.

I couldn’t stop regretting not telling her how I feel. I planned to tell her after the exams, but life moved too quickly for the two of us and we eventually went our separate ways. A year now has passed as I still held my feelings for her close to my heart. I understood how she felt now. Not being able to tell her how I feel for a whole year. How did she survive liking me with an additional two years.

I know I can’t have her back. She was able to let go of me and be together with someone that made her happy instead of the burden I made her go through. But at the very least, I hope to make her happy one last time before I disappear from her sight forever.

One night, I received a text from Winwin. Of course I still had his number because I didn’t see a reason to delete it. We naturally went our separate ways due to college and all. The text said to meet him at the big tree beside our high school. I found it odd. Considering how it was ten in the night. I figured maybe he needed someone to talk to in person.

“Sicheng!” I called out to him, waving my hand up in the air slightly. Winwin waved back as I took a seat next to him. “What’d you call me out here for? It’s pretty late as well.” I glanced at the time on my phone before looking to Winwin.

“I asked you to come because I have something to tell you.” Winwin said, looking down and fidgeting with his thumbs. I grew nervous as I didn’t know what to expect.

“Um... What is it?” I asked hesitantly, tilting my head slightly to look at his face that he hid by looking down.

After a moment of silence, he finally cleared his throat as looked up, staring deep into my eyes.

“I liked you.” He whispered.

Did I hear that correctly? I couldn’t have, right?

“I really did. I liked you.” Winwin repeated himself when he realised he didn’t get a reponse.

I gulped as I could only stare back in disbelief. The words I wanted to hear for years. Why did I feel different from the way I expected to react from it.

I sighed, licking my bottom lip. “It’s been so long, Sicheng. Saying it now... I don’t feel anything from it anymore.” I replied reluctantly.

“I know. I just felt the need to tell you. You’re happy with Taeyong. I understand that.”

Another moment of silence (longer silence this time) filled the air. The two of us looked up into the sky, getting lost in its darkness.

“Just wanted you to know that I did like you back in high school. I was just dumb to realise it myself.” Winwin added on with a soft laugh. The hurtful kind of laugh.

I punched him lightly in the arm, making him look at me with a surprised face. “You really were.” I whispered.

“I actually got a dance gig at America.”

I widened my eyes as my mouth gaped open slightly. “Really?!” I gasped. He nodded.

“It also meant that I’m moving to America in a few days.” Winwin glanced sideway before sighing.

I placed a hand on his back, rubbing it up and down slowly. “You’ll do great there. I’ll keep in contact.”

“I’m happy I get to tell you about my feelings and talk to you before I go.”

I reached my arms out and pulled him into a hug. I suddenly hear him sobbing into my shirt, damping it a little as his sobs were muffled. I brought my hand up to his hair, caressing it gently.

“I’m happy I got to love you for once in my life. Despite it being tiring, it did make me who I am today.”

[skamamoroma]

“I Told Sunset About You” - How did this show make COCONUTS emotional?!

I know some people have already written about this and it has been talked about a lot but I promised @londongirl2001​ that I’d write a ‘little’ post on it - this one is for you, love!

I feel like this is a good place to start where coconuts are concerned because not only are they a metaphorical representation of Teh’s developing feelings but also as a characterisation of Oh-aew and a representation of something ‘good’ and full of fortune and luck. When all considered, it’s such a damn clever way to connect all of the above ideas and also to send Teh into such a significant tail spin over a scent, dude ends up almost smothering himself more than once!

Two facts relating to coconuts are established pretty clearly from the outset:

Oh finds the smell of coconuts calming/soothing as his signature scent 

Teh hates them, finds the smell gross 

The fact they established this ‘conflict’ so early made the progress all the more delightful and painful to watch.

Coconuts representing Oh-aew was a genius move. Many things are used to symbolise Oh in this show but coconuts being his chosen scent, something is decided for himself and is kinda proud of is just so lovely, right? It’s another Oh thing to have a signature scent and to own it so hard. He’s like, yeah, this is my ‘thing’, it’s calming and soothing and I have adopted it as part of who I am. It’s so perfectly HIM and so like him to be so bold in terms of who he is. It’s sweet too because I don’t know about anyone else but throughout the whole show, I felt like Oh would smell lovely… like, it affected me knowing he always smelled of coconuts and now adorable and endearing that must be to people around him. He’s a Phuket boy, always at the beach and the idea he smells of something so connected to that environment made him even more magical to me.

So you have Oh characterised by this soothing, sweet, natural scent and Teh being entirely not into it. Hoon offers him a coconut as a sign of fortune and luck and Teh’s like, nah, GROSS, DISGUSTING, NEVER WOULD I EVER. He physically recoils when he smells Oh’s scented pen and it’s this clear sense of boundary. It’s clever because it’s that boundary that exists in terms of Teh’s head and how he views their connection… he doesn’t really have a sense of romance or ‘feels’ at this point but he still NOTICES. The moment in the evening when he drops Oh off at the pier and Oh teases him with his ‘smell my hair’, it’s this lovely extended metaphor for Oh’s presence being so full on for Teh. We know he feels SOMETHING. He paced the entire restaurant with jitters until Oh arrived and then offered himself and all of his tutoring tools especially for Oh, feeling oh so happy he could be someone special to him… and Oh’s there at the end of the night like ‘remember I smell like coconuts, Teh?”

And I feel we need to take a moment to just bask in the sweetness of Oh’s coconut pen. It’s kind of iconic at this point, right? (Apparently they made it especially for the show and it wasn’t bought so they really did go all out to make Oh the loveliest, didn’t they?)

I love that their tutoring sessions must have been coconut scented with Oh always using his pen and I kinda love that Teh must have got used to it over time as they spent more and more time together… but we get this huge shift in feelings where Teh’s all over the place trying to work out why he wants to be something other than ‘just another friend’ and then once he’s got to grips with that and tried to play matchmaker for Oh and Bas, why he goes a little insane at the idea that Bas is taking away ‘their thing’ and ‘their time’... his poor jumbled up brain can’t work stuff out and then we get the boat scene.

I’ve written about it before but this is my favourite scene in the entire show. I love it SO much for so so many reasons but I, personally, think this is the moment Teh fell in love. It’s the moment when Oh says everything above… and if Teh isn’t able to opem up then Oh reassures him that’s ok too and he’ll try to work him out. For someone like Teh who is just so very internal and confused and scared and knotted up, having someone say that is so precious, so special and you can see how much it affects Teh (his eyes in that gif above break me). I think quite a few things slotted into place in that moment as to why he was going out of his tiny mind a little… and IMMEDIATELY after that, when they’re playfighting we get the “why do you smell so good?” moment with Oh confirming it’s the same smell as always and Teh’s ‘oh shit’ moment right at the end of the episode because the thing that characterises Oh and the thing Teh really DOES NOT like have become something he finds yummy (I love that he uses that word!), stays up late to eat and smother himself with in the dark restaurant… hahahaha. I mean, it’s a sorry sight on one hand but, on the other, it’s so completely sweet. He’s really just smitten and still trying to sort his head out but if it reminds him of Oh, he wants all of it, right now, in any way he can get it. I laugh and smile and want to cuddle him at the end of that scene when you think he’s going to get up after he’s eaten the coconut and he just face plants back into it again. I LOVE HIM. The metaphor is so solidly established as… the distance has gone, Teh is fully in his feelings and poor guy is a mess because of it. It’s why all of his encounters with coconuts when Oh isn’t around are kinda weird and I love him for it…!

So thus begins Teh’s habit of smothering himself in coconut smelling items and after the hammock, after knowing Oh has feelings for him and kinda admitting his own, he’s doing his whole “I don’t know where to put myself or what is happening so I’m going to roll around on my beautiful rug and pace around my room and rub Oh’s Chinese notes all over my face because they smell like him and I want to see him and I’m going insane, help” thing. Which is totally another favourite scene for me…! BK kills those physical moments. Seeing Teh sit there with green ink all over his face like ‘FFS, I’m going mad’ before standing up and walking out of his room with the sole intention of having it in person rather than rubbing stuff all over himself as a replacement, hahahaha.

I love that when Teh has Oh close and don’t need to inhale actual coconut or smother himself with tutoring notes, they SHARE actual coconut juice. That shot of them riding the scooter with them both sharing the coconut juice, this two and fro. To me, it’s like this sense of when they come together, the confusion seems to always stop. By the end of moments where either one is confused or isn’t saying everything… they always manage to get to some conclusion by the end and so there’s no uncertainty, there’s this symbiotic sense of sharing and being together and kinda being a unit. So Teh happily drinking coconut juice and sharing it with Oh is so full of acceptance and closeness, it’s very lovely.

I ADORED that we got to see Oh washing his hair, clearly inhaling the shampoo smell and we got to see that he genuinely DOES find it calming. He clearly has this really soothing bath time and it’s this reminder that he’s actively sure of himself, kind of in control of who he is and how he conducts his life (which is why the red bra scene breaks my heart into pieces every time but that’s for another time)...

The final few moments for the delightful coconut metaphor are, for me, so emotionally laden with the themes of the show, it makes me a little misty eyed but DOESN’T MOST OF THIS SHOW. When we see Teh drive up to Oh as he’s starting his vow, Teh’s sidecar being loaded with a shit ton of coconuts is both beautiful and so symbolic of how he has genuinely changed. He’s no longer hating the smell, he’s not rubbing is all over his face to try to work out his feelings… he’s bringing the coconuts to Oh and doesn’t care at this point. Aside from the fact Teh fills Oh’s rucksack with coconuts - dude has to run far, Teh, what are you doing - there’s thing lovely sense of Teh knowing what they mean to Oh and how soothing and calming they are AND how Hoon told him they represent good fortune and luck. It’s so sweet of Teh, means a lot in the context of their story and is this emotive way for Teh to show how he understands himself so much more and how he can be so much more calm and focused on WHY he’s doing things. He seems so much more confident and in tune in those moments, almost CARING for Oh actively rather than in a chaotic OTT way or accidentally. It’s like he can work himself out now and is able to say ‘this is for you, I know what it means, I think you’ll need it”. AND THEN THEY DRINK IT TOGETHER, in sync and Teh of all people manages to almost flirt!! I know the in sync drinking was intentional from the documentary but I’d LOVE to know why P’Boss did that. For me, it’s this sense of them both being on the same page now… this sense of the fortune and health that the coconut symbolises being present for both of them in their personal growth to have them both together and both embodying this feeling of peace for a while.

And this is where I realise I’ve written an essay about coconuts… but ONCE AGAIN, this show makes everything meaningful and I love it so! 

[fluffymcu]

The Date (Bucky x reader x Steve)

@il0veyoujk requested: Heyyyy, can you write a ff where Buck (your older bro) and Steve are back from a mission but you're not home and they somehow discover you're on a date and when you get back home they tickle you with tickles (mouth tickles mostly) to make you admit it and give them more details?? (If you don't want to it's okayyyy) Also your ACC is A-MA-ZING!! Keep going!!

Sure! This idea is cute! Ill try my best. This is ModernAU! Bucky and Steve. But they still kinda have the same 40’s past, but Bucky has short hair here and two fresh arms. Don’t get me wrong I love Bucky just the way he is but I felt like modernAU Bucky fit this fic better.

If you haven’t already, the second part to my Letting Loose series is out, but didn’t show up on tags and it’s not getting much love :( if you haven’t read it you might wanna check it out :)

——

Your boys were out on a mission for quite a few days now, and you...were on a date!

No you had not told them about it. Why? Because the were EXTREMELY overprotective! Especially your older brother, Bucky. He denied the accusation that he hated when you went on dates, but you knew deep down he would always not like it when you'd go out with someone. Steve was overp too, but it was really Bucky that would start the fire and Steve would ride along with just as much passion. So when a cute guy you'd met at a coffee shop yesterday asked you out, you said yes, deciding not to tell the boys. Besides, you didn't know how it would go; maybe it would just be a one time thing. They didn't need to know. And you definitely didn't need them bugging you the whole day, bombar you with questions about the guy and how he treated you and what kind of guy he was and so on.

So you just decided to leave it at that and keep it a subtle secret. You went to your room to go get ready in your shared apartment with Bucky and Steve, and put on some light makeup and picked your outfit. Once you were satis with your look, you grabbed your wallet, keys, and phone and drove out to meet Jackson at the new pizza joint a few blocks away.

Unbeknownst to you, Bucky and Steve has come home from the mission early. Just your luck. They came home to an empty apartment and to be honest they were a bit confused.

"Y/n actually left the bed? Why would she be out, it's not like she has a life," Bucky said carelessly, looking around the apartment for you. Steve chortled and shrigge, partly agreeing with him. You hardly ever went out. You loved staying inside your room and the boys would often tease you about it. But you didn't know why they were complaining, they dont even like it that much when you go out. It makes them ""nervous"".

You were having a lot of fun on your date. Jackson was a pretty nice guy and definitely surprised you with his kind personality. You had expected him to be... well, you didn't know. But he really did surprise you. Back at home, Bucky thought to look on the Life360 app to see if he could know where you're at. His jaw dropped and He looked at Steve incredulously.

"This girl really just turned off her location!" Steve's brows furrowed as he stepped closer to him to grab the phone from him.

"What? Why would she do that?" Steve hummed. Bucky presses his lips in a fine line while looking at Steve with an unamused smirk, taking the phone back in his hands.

"Cause she's bein' sneaky, that's why. We're gonna find out what she's been doin when she gets home." Bucky sighs, taking a seat on the couch to wait for you. He sighs deeper and pulls out his phone again to text you.

Your laughing at one of Jackson's jokes when your phone buzzes. "Oh, excuse me this'll just take a second." You smile, taking out your phone. Your shocked at the text you receive.

Where are you?? And why is your location off?

You don't even realize you let out a loud breath until your date calls your attention. "Is everything alright?" You look up at him before softening your features and giving him a smile.

"Of course! Just my brother being annoying." You chuckled, texting back a quick reply before shoving your phone back in your pocket.

None of your business :))

Bucky gasped offended, growing more and more suspicious of what you were up to. For the next 20 minutes of your date, your phone was buzzing every 3 seconds, getting on your nerves. You inhale deeply, feeling bad that you had to cut Jackson off in the middle of his story. "I'm so sorry, I have to sort some things out in the bathroom. That sounded weird. No, I just have to take care of somethi- I have to use the bathroom!" You sighed, shaking your head and getting up. "I'll be right back." You leave after Jackson nods and smiles.

When you're in a bathroom stall, you get out your phone and roll your eyes and groan in annoy at all the texts your brother has been spamming you with.

None of my business?

It is my business

Answer me

I know you know I'm texting you. Answer the phone dummy 👁👅👁

Answer the phooone 🤪

I'm not gonna stop until you answerrrrrr

Helloooooo

Knock knock :)

Helloooo darling sister???

Where are youuuu?

“Ughhh.” You groan, texting him back before heading back out to your date.

Stop being annoying!! It’s not healthy ;)

———

The date went well, until your brother decide to annoy the crap out of you, but overall, you really liked Jackson. You thanked him for the date and made your way home. You really didn’t want the date to end, because you were now dreading coming home, knowing you were going to be interrogated to death.

You prayed to god as you got closer to your floor that the boys were in their room so the you could slip in and sneak into your room with out being seen. But as fate would have it, they were waiting for you right in the open living room. You rolled your eyes and stepped into the apartment, setting your bag on the floor. Bucky and Steve immediately stood from the couch and put their hands on their hips in synch. “Where were you?” Bucky asked with a brow raised, looking you up and down noting you were pretty dressed up. The date had been pretty casual, but it was obvious that you put a little more effort than you usually put for doing random errands. You stayed there for a moment, standing there and feigning innocence before booking it to your bedroom. “Hey!” Bucky yelled, quickly running after you and catching you before you got to your bedroom.

He scooped you up quickly and dropped you on the couch, ignoring your weak threats and protests. He quickly straddled your waist to prevent you from escaping and Steve stepped closer to tower over the both of you. “Get off me!!” You spat, pushing at Bucky’s chest and punching his knees to get him off you.

“Tell us where you were.” Bucky said, brushing off your punches.

“Get OFF!!! I’m not telling you, it’s none. Of. Your. Business!” You growled, grabbing at Steve’s jeans to use him to crawl out from underneath your brother. Steve pulled away briefly to stop you and looked at you expectantly.

“Tell us where you’ve been, y/n.” Steve hummed. You pursed your lips and shook your head stubbornly. You were and adult and you could do your own things without them knowing about every little aspect in your life.

“I don’t need to tell you anything!” You yelled, pushing harshly at Bucky’s chest again. Bucky smirked and tased your side to warn you about what was about to go down. You flinched harshly and slapped at his shoulder, eliciting another squeeze at your side. You snorted, not wanting to give him the satisfaction but not being able to contain your laughter either. Bucky’s smirk grew as he began to pinch at your sides and ribs sporadically, making your laughter bubble up. “Quihihit it you jeheheherk!” You whined, failing at protecting yourself.

“Tell us where you went then, y/n!” He chuckled, keeping up his antics, using a hand to scribble into your belly. You couldn’t help the squeal that left your mouth as you turned side to side to try to distract yourself from the torturous feeling. Steve smirked and sat in the couch, next to your head and looked at you mischievously. “Still not gonna break?” He asked, grabbing your wrists in one hand and scratching lightly into your armpits. You shrieked at the feeling, pulling desperately at your arms and letting out loud belly laughter.

“STOHOHOHOP IHIHIT! IHIHIM NOT TELLING!” You yelled, cackling when Steve started moving his fingers faster.

“So stubborn. And ticklish.” Bucky hummed, lifting up your shirt and blowing a long raspberry on your belly, making sure to rub his stubble in it. You shriek, kicking your legs out, your stomach cramping a bit from all the laughter. Steve chuckled at your reaction and started fluttering his fingers under your chin and around your neck. It was hard to protect your neck because your arms were held above your head, so you had to just lay there and laugh it out. “She can never stand raspberries.” Steve chuckled fondly, laughing when you try to crane your neck down to bite him.

“She really can’t!” Bucky laughed, blowing another one right above your belly button to prove their point. “Now, think you’re ready to tell us where you went y/n? Or you wanna take some more?” He chuckled, giving you a break to breathe. Steve let your arms go for the moment and you panted, letting out residual giggles.

“Nohoho! I don’t have to tell you every little thing about my lihihife!” You whined, grabbing his hands to keep them at bay. Bucky tsk’ed and and shook his head at you before suddenly gasping.

“Did you go on a date?!” He asked, looking at Steve, his expression changing as well when he began to think about it.

You hesitated a bit before replying, giving it away instantly. “Nooo!”

“You did! You so did!” Bucky sang, starting you tickle you again, shaking into your ribs. You fell back in a fit of loud laughter and you shook your head side to side. Steve scoffed, still surprised at the discovery and stood up to sit at the opposite side, near your feet. “Tell us who he was! Where did you go!!” Bucky yelled, rubbing his beard up your side, all the way up to your ribs before nibbling on the skin. You let out an inhuman scream and began to push at his shoulders, but he wouldn’t move much. You went limp when you felt someone grab your feet in a headlock and start scribbling their fingers on your soles. Steve turned to look at you with a smirk and continued to torture you.

“It’s not hard, y/n, all you have to do is tell us where you’ve been and who’d you go with.” Steve sang, scribbling is fingers under your toes. It was no use trying to kick your feet out, you knew you weren’t getting out. Bucky decided to blow several tiny raspberries along your ribs and sides, switching over to the other side and doing the same.

“I HAHAHAHATE YOHOHOU!” You cackled, pulling at his hair. Bucky laughed and growled loudly before nestling his stubble in the crook of your neck and making nomming noises, just like he always used to do when you were younger. You let out a bunch of squeaky laughter, making Bucky chuckle.

“But you loved when I would tickle you!” He teased, mumbling into your neck. Your laughter was getting hoarse and with Steve spidering his fingers up to the spot behind you knees, and pinching your lower thighs, you knew you’d go insane if they didn’t stop soon.

“GUHUHUHUYS! STOHOHOP IT I MEHEHEAN IT!!” You squealed, kicking your legs out as much as you could. Steve chortled and stood up, motioning for Bucky to scoot over. Bucky stood up and you made your way to roll off the couch but Steve only took Bucky’s spot, straddling you and digging his fingers into your hips. You arched your back and let out a long squeal before bursting into hysterics, pushing at his hands. You were so desperate, that you actually looked to your brother for help, as if he was gonna help you. “BUHUHUHUCKY MAKE HIM STOHOHOHOP!”

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and laughed, Bucky shaking his head. “Geez, you’re tough to crack today! This must be some pretty interesting stuff that you wanna keep hidden from us... don’t worry though, we’ll get it outta ya eventually. We can stay here all night if we have to.” He sang, smirking when you shook your head at him.

“NOHOHO PLEHEHEASE! ILL TELL YOHOHOU!” You cried, knowing that they really weren’t going to stop until you told them. Also it was to the point where you couldn’t stand another second of this. You had to give in at some point. The boys cheered and got off of you, waiting patiently for you to catch your breath. “Gohohod. You guys ahahalmost killed me!” You yelled exhaustedly, sitting up a bit and holding your stomach. The boys looked at you with smirks and only shrugged.

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, tell us about the date. Was it a date?” Bucky asked. You sighed, rolling your eyes before telling them about Jackson and the date, and where you’d met him.

——

“He’s not good enough for you.” Bucky grounded. You sucked your teeth and groaned.

“You say that about every guy! No one is gonna be good enough for you. You’d be happy with me just being single my whole life!”

“Exactly! No one deserves you!”

“Ughhh!”

“Bucky’s right! I mean, he didn’t even walk you home or anything. Did he buy you flowers? Did he come to pick you up? He’s not a true gentleman!” Steve exclaimed, Bucky nodding and agreeing with him.

“Guys! This isn’t the 40’s anymore! You know things are different. Even dates. I have my own car now. We just meet at the place and have our date. It’s not as... I don’t know it’s just not the same as the 40’s.” You sighed.

“Yeah, because romance and chivalry has been dying recently. Dates used to be so special and meaningful. Now it’s all just casual and no one even appreciates the quality of a good date anymore.” Bucky says, putting his hands in his hips. You sigh, looking away. Yes, that was true, but there was nothing you could do about it. Things change, sometimes even the best things. But the key was to adapt. And it was always easier for you to adapt to the modern world than it was for the boys. They had made many improvements, but they still had a few habits that stick with them to this day.

You just had to accept the fact that Bucky and Steve would always be protective of you no matter what, especially if it included dating. “Okay, you guys are right. Whatever. Can we just call it a night?” You asked, raising your eyebrows. Bucky rolled his eyes before nodding, offering a hand to help you off the couch. When you stood up, he pulled you into a hug and kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight dummyhead.” He smiled. You clenched you’re jaw and punched him lightly on the arm.

“Night, jerk.” You spat, giving Steve a hug and kiss as well before crashing on your bed and knocking out.

[quilloftheclouds]

Writeblr Positivity Week!

(Ignore my heckin’ weird handwriting.)

I knooowwww this is super late but Quill got real busy this week with working on schoolwork and Nano so I didn’t have time to finish this up until now but!! Have this!!!

As a part of Writeblr Positivity Week, a lovely event hosted by the wondrous @pens-swords-stuff​, I have put together:

A Selection of Quill’s Favourite WIPs and Writeblrs

(Because there is absolutely No Way I could show all of them, and this is already super long so under the cut we go~)

@lady-redshield-writes​: Not only a wonderfully supportive icon of the writeblr community, who always leaves marvelously inspiring and insightful comments on original content that gives me and undeniably many others so much more motivation to write, but Lady Red is also such a heckin’ inspirationally SKILLED WRITER. IT’S HECKIN’ AMAZING. Her characters! Her description! The amount of personality in her dialogue and just how engaging her worldbuilding and created atmospheres are, but the EMOTION. THE EMOTION. GOOOO read something of hers and you’ll instantly know what I mean---good luck getting through not completely overwhelmed with feeling!

And Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Humans are the size of insects, warriors ride dragonflies into battle, and an eldritch god-ant rules with absolute power. 

Symphony Number Five: Evka Sekerak, composer and musician, directs the Teplirov Symphony, and is commissioned to write her fifth symphony by the military officials who keep her city captive.

@waterfallwritings​: HECK MATE. JASON. DUDE. WHERE DO I START? YOU’VE BEEN TOSSING COMPLIMENTS MY WAY ALL DAY WHAT. But seriously though, this kid is best. Best Friendo of the Quill. Jason is hugely supportive throughout my writing and throughout my real life since I met him, and his own writing is basically the main inspiration behind why OSS even exists in the first place. We’ve had absolutely so much fun reading through each others’ works and joking around, and talking with him has helped me to discover and develop so many things about my own wip. Not only that but!! His writing is marvelous. His characters are all so fun in their own ways, and I’ve loved watching as they’ve developed to such three dimensional personalities in a story full of epic adventure and intrigue!

A Selkie’s Home: After a storm and a shipwreck, a selkie missing her skin, a triton disguised as a human, a morally questionable sea witch, and a hapless lover of the ocean end up on the same island. When the selkie is kidnapped, the remaining three have to form an unlikely alliance to get her back.

@bookenders​: ENDERS IS A REAL DARN NEAT PERSON OKAY. She is the cool 🌵 friend!! She’s a wondrously creative and kind person, and so much fun to talk to! Her STS asks are always so interesting to answer and I just. And I! Just! Love! Her writing oh my stars it’s the best thing ever. Her characters are always so relatable and lovable, with such wonderful personalities and are always so detailed that they feel like real people. She’s also the creator of several of my favourite characters (see: Fred from H2H and Ryan from FF). Her description is astounding, and the way she experiments with different formats and styles is so, SO inspiring, and she always does it in such a skillful way, that reads so nicely!

Heart to Heart: After a series of half-drownings in the lake near the small town of Lindsay, a strange woman appears on the shore, refusing to speak. The local apothecary is sent in to try and help, and now... they’re roommates?

Fish Food: Now assigned to facing the villains of the lowest threat levels after suffering severe losses from his fight against the supervillain Nightmare, Iron Will has to team up with the worst villain he’s ever seen to fend off the threat of a conspiracy that could destroy their world as they know it.

@abalonetea​: OKAY FIRST. Amazingly supportive. Amazingly friendly and creative and an absolute delight to talk to! Katie is marvelous. Her art and her moodboards are so cool and so wonderfully fitting to her characters and stories. And her writing? Oh. Ohhh. Her writing is to die for. Her unique skill of manipulating different text formatting to match the emotion and thoughts of her narrative is just. Stellar, and sets her writing apart from anything I’ve read before. It’s so full of emotion, the way she writes dynamics is INSPIRATIONAL, and her worldbuilding is so wonderfully detailed and engaging. I just. I just LOVE. OKAY. I don’t normally ship characters but Red and Bolte will always be my favourite. And Katie’s message of hope being able to stick it through the worst of it is such a wonderfully motivational theme!

Groundhog Day: Two versions of the same classic rpg video game, one the gritty reboot of the other, glitch together, switching the games of one of the characters with his counterpart—Red and Blue. Now they have to try and find their ways back amidst the formation of friendship and family and the threat of a new war.

As Time Passes On: Two classic pirates form a precarious alliance to set out to find the Eighth Sea, and a device that can turn back time.

@livvywrites​: I’ve only more recently been getting into Livvy’s works but. Wooooooow. WOW. Her writing is fantabulous. Her graphics are gorgeous. I LOVE her characters, so so much. They’re all so distinct in personality and backstory and situation, and the way they’re all involved in the story is marvelously fascinating. SPEAKING OF THE STORY THO. Livvy’s worldbuilding is???? SO IN DEPTH. It is the most deep worldbuilding for a magic type world I think I’ve yet to see on writeblr? I am sooo very excited to see how she integrates it into the plot! But also Livvy is an absolutely magnificent person all around and so supportive and creative and sooo fun to talk to. Love ya, darling~

The Martyr Queen: Alinora Mynerva is visited by one of Death's Reapers, and told she was never meant to exist. She is asked to become his Champion, to stop Fate from destroying the world. Alinora isn't sure she's willing to fight a god... but she is willing to fight the man who took her homeland from her 10 years ago.

Pirate’s Bane: [Quill legitimately can’t summarize this one in so short a space because it’s so delightfully complex, but it’s a brilliant continuation of the previous book above! Go click the link to read the synopsis on the intro post~]

@mvcreates​: I’M SORRY FOR ALL THESE TAGS DEAR MINA BUT YOU DESERVE THEM. Probably just the most interactive person in the writeblr community, Mina’s events and ask games and onwards all are so wonderful, and her engagement with reblogging and commenting on people’s original content is inspirational. AND I’M SAYING IT FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME BUT THAT DOESN’T DECREASE IT’S MEANING: heckin’ poetic like prose with how much symbolism she fits in there and how lovely it sounds to read aloud, wonderfully clever dialogue and banter and characterization, and characters you love to root for. And her ART. OH MY STARS HER ART. *swoons at majestic colours and shading and textures*

Retrocognition: An investigative journalist with a paranormal gift joins forces with a cantankerous federal agent to expose a Reno-based politician’s (murderous) corruption.

The Vizier’s Apprentice: An alternate universe retelling of a classic Persian love story: One Thousand and One Nights.

@dogwrites​: Venturing into the world of Crime of Mind has only been a very recent endeavour of mine, and I’m only two episodes in at the moment, but gosh golly yarn darn it this story is MARVELOUS. Dog’s ability to write memorable characters with such distinct and identifiable personalities is lovely, their dialogue is wonderful and the body language and description is so heckin’ engaging, and puts you right in the scene with them. And Dog’s also a marvelous artist holy wow. NOT TO MENTION just how awesome Dog is as a person?? Heckin’ ridiculously nice, leaves such insightful and appreciated comments that charge me on. AH. JUST A LOVELY LOVELY THAT I HAD SUCH AN HONOUR OF MEETING. YES.

Crime of Mind:  Dr. Benji Russells, an autistic federal agent, is the youngest member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, whose knack at viewing individuals and their behavioral chemtrails turned her into a viable asset---but delving into the minds of the country's most insidious leaves none unscathed in the end.

@ardawyn​: OH. MASTER OF DESCRIPTION, HERE. All of Sophie’s writing feels like it could have been written in the world of the story itself despite being very clear and lovely to read, with a vaguely medieval vibe to it all that adds so much to the reading experience. The way she describes environments just puts you right into the scene with the characters, characters that are all written marvelously with beautifully lovable personalities and dialogue and dynamics. And her graphics? Oh, ohhhh. Sophie is probably my greatest inspiration for making graphics and aesthetics for writeblr. Every single one of hers are instantly eye-catching and fit the mood and theme sooo well. Plus, the comments she leaves on my content are just the sweetest thing, and always warm my heart when I read them. <3

The Dawnbringer: A niece of Issarien’s king, Tilda fights against the constricting expectations of her role, making it her mission to find her brother after his disappearance. Rajani is given rooms in the castle of the Prince of Hallrein after being caught stealing, offered a perilous deal she has no choice but to accept. But these two women are connected in an unknown way...

Night Crystals: Amaria was raised an assassin at the orphanage The Obsidian to serve the king of Calastari. But after discovering a secret, she must make the choice whether to stay and swallow lies, or seal her death sentence trying to leave.

@radley-writes​: Although I haven’t interacted much yet with Radley, I’ve fallen completely in love with their writing and ideas. Their art is so lovely and professional and clean, and the body language and personality it portrays is marvelous. But their writing? Outrageously good, and brilliantly hilarious. I’ve mainly only been following His Majesty’s Starship so far, but the way that Radley is able to match the vocabulary and narrative to the time period of the story is so skillful and inspiring, and is absolutely wonderfully engaging by placing you right into the setting like it’s real. The integration of worldbuilding is done extraordinarily well and I am in love with all of the distinct personalities and dialogue of their wondrous cast of idiots.

His Majesty’s Starship: The Eurasian powers expand their empires to the furthest-flung reaches of the solar system – as well as their endless wars. As nations and companies vie for control of the Off-World Colonies , a trio of utter imbeciles come into possession of a secret that many would kill for. A secret that changes everything…

Anywayssss there are sooo, so many more wips that I consider favourites of mine, and so many more writeblrs that I think are the absolute bomb, but Quill’s energy isn’t limitless! 

That said, maybe I’ll make up a simpler post of a bunch of recommendations later... hm..........

ANYWAYS YEAH GO CHECK THESE LOVELIES OUT

[dietraumerei]

Weekly Writing and Reading Update

Welp I went on a bike ride, sticking to city streets, and may I say that I should have listened to my instincts and definitely skipped it. The streets downtown are not empty, I have no idea how we’re getting our R(t) below 1, and also good gravy I do not like downtown Seattle. (Also all the homeless encampments are still there because fuck Jenny Durkan. I’m not moving until I get a chance to vote her out of office.) Anyway, it was kind of nice to be proved right, and it will be extra fun the next time Mom calls and obliquely asks about my exercise regime/if I’m getting fat. (Literally the worst possible thing I could do, and never mind that I’m already quite Aziraphale-shaped AND VERY CUTE ABOUT IT TOO. Our relationship is....strained.) But I also kind of feel relieved -- I thought it would be awful, it was, so now I’ll stick to long walks and maybe some very early-morning rides guilt-free.

ANYWAY. A good lot of writing this week. I think I’m going to try to take it easier this coming week -- my hands are starting to hurt a bit, and typing in the wrist brace sucks. But plenty on the boil:

Writing

loveprompt#1: This was from a list of 100 ways to say I Love You that was going around ages ago -- I kind of stopped for awhile, but I should finish it up this week. Just a nice bit of canon get-together/love declaration, good for the soul and all that.

LondonInterlude: A sequel to The Lady’s Companion, because ffs there’s a pandemic on and I haven’t touched another human being since like February, so it’s 100% gratuitous indulgences up in here. They are in London for a change, Aziraphale is even more a pillow princess, and Crowley has already threatened to yeet her out a window, in those exact words. It’s gonna be great, you guys.

A Little Place in the Country: updated yesterday! I have gotten really amazing feedback on this chapter -- I’ll reply on AO3, but I want you all to know I love you.

The Lady and the Knight: a little Arthurian tale, posted earlier this week.

Reading

I finished Lois Keith’s Take Up Thy Bed and Walk: Death, Disability and Cure in Classic Fiction for Girls. I’d been wanting to read it for a long while, but kind of moved it up in the queue when I really started writing Crowley as visibly physically disabled in A Little Place in the Country and desired to, you know, not fuck it up. (It gets weird because Crowley has a lot more choice than humans do, especially around pain management, and it feels like I’m walking a fine line. Also I want them learning to get around with crutches to be part of the story, but not the whole story, and not wholly define who they are so more lines to walk carefully...)

Anyway, spoiler: historic depictions of disabled people were terrible, and your choices were miraculous cure or death, and usually becoming the Angel in the House before the miraculous cure. (Boys are exempted from the Angel in the House requirement.) Keith (who has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair) points out interesting connections, though: legs and backs and spines are kind of continual themes that return again and again, with walking vs not-walking being the delimiter between a character’s disabled vs abled existence. So it’s ‘here’s how depictions of disability were utter shite’, but it also looks at what’s even considered a disability, and what, historically, writing about disability and disabled characters reveals about the zeitgeist of the writer.

(I mean, I say historically, but I am pretty sure it’s not exactly awesome currently. She does review some books written post-1950, and it’s...better?ish? Damn with faint praise, and all.)

[aikainkauna]

Fic mehm

This was shortish, so might as well post it here. Snurched from the lovely @trelobita .

-What is your total word count on AO3?

-1 421 808. That little?!? I thought I would've gone past the 2 million mark a long time ago. What with Connie whipping me on the way he does.

-How often do you write?

-When the right mood/inspiration comes, and when I'm healthy enough (both mentally and physically) to be in writing condition. Which is not often enough; I hate it when I do want to write, but brain fog and/or physical fatigue mean I can't keep my brain going or my body upright. That's mostly for fiction, though. I can type bloggity waffle like this, and could just about proofread a sex toy review today despite it being a brainfog/tireded day. The deadline for the review was today, so I did it under duress and must've left something out or fucked up some grammar as consequence. Finnish conjugations are hell when your memory is shot to pieces; English is much easier to write because you don't have to remember how to conjugate a word to denote it's in the past tense for a plural with a conditional towards place A, signifying inclusion. No, I'm not joking. Sauvallanikinkos? ("Also with my wand, too, maybe?")

-Do you have a routine for writing?

-My body isn't good with routines and schedules, so no. The only pattern I have is to try and get 1000 words done at least and then to email myself the latest draft after I've finished writing.

-What are your favourite tropes?

-Have you got a month? (This question foolishly asked about your favourite kinks and tropes and pairing types all in the same question, BTW, so I split it up into three questions, because... c'mon.)

Tropes:

-Flawed characters who are still somehow understandable and appealing; not the typical Asshole Protagonist or antihero thing so much but more of an... well, I guess it's just good characterisation I prefer, in the end. Not that kind of squickily obvious macho power fantasy sold as "grittiness" just for the sake of being an asshole (funnily enough, that kind of crap usually comes from the kinds of people who have too much privilege in the first place). So, yeah, good characterisation that's still got some shreds of humanity left is my jam.

-Telepathic lovers. Exactly because it hurts so much when the person who's supposed to love you the most and to understand you the best doesn't, and vice versa. So that's a big RL trauma and squick I prefer to fix, because in fic, I CAN.

-That's a major one, actually. Fix-its not so much on a plot level but on a human level. Especially sexism/gender bullshit-breaking fixes. Fix-its get a bad rap, but that kind of thing, just like the bashing of romance and fanfic, sets off my "ah, this wouldn't be the devaluing of something considered empathic and female/feminine again, now would it?" alarms.

-This overlaps with the pairing thingy, but the Depraved Bisexual is my favourite character type to write. All the Connies, Tennant!Peter Vincent, Captain Renault, Zainab, Laura, etc... YES.

-Male character gives up some masculine privilege he doesn't fancy anyway for the sake of love and empathy/female character gives up stereotypical female things she doesn't fancy anyway in order to be herself and free herself as much as she can from society's chains. Give Torsten all the pwetty dwezzez he wants and for Falcon!Yassamin to remain childfree, dammit!

-Man cuddles and medicates woman during her period and actually empathises/feels how awful it is. As I was saying about the fix-its...

-Funny banter, even if I can't write it as hilariously as I'd want to.

Favourite kinks?

-Poetic prose and Romanticism. It's word porn or nothing, baby.

-Historical detail, accuracy preferred but depends on how the story wants to go (the Barmakids DON'T get butchered horribly by Harun al-Rashid in 803, TYVM).

-Anal! That's almost too obvious to mention.

-Androgynous, genderbending, sex-bending, femme men. Why do you think Connie is the love of my life?

-Lots of arousal-drippage.

-Some way for the bottom to see themselves being banged. Mirrors or telepathy or magic or video camera projecting it before their eyes or whatever. Unfff.

-Orgasms. Always orgasms to complete satisfaction. Orgasm denying or writing it badly or so vaguely that characters/readers can't get any catharsis/release for the arousal is a huge squick. That's a hard limit. Fuck characters who tease and don't let someone get off.

-Psychological/emotional depth. That's such a no-brainer it shouldn't even be necessary to mention (although in these days, it seems to be, because apparently wanting that is now a repressed sexual minority instead of normal human, especially female, sexuality. Oh, fuck off). Yeah, these memes do bring out the pet peeves about internalised misogyny, don't they? Especially the sort that manifests itself in sputter-inducing ignorance. Even my medieval characters and their somewhat dated and essentialist ideas of sex and gender are ahead of Tumblr in the very basics, FFS.

-BDSM that's based very much on extreme care and healing, the sort that uses the intense sexual activities/sensory overload as a kind of way to heal the sub's anxieties and to help the sub let go, achieve catharsis and release. And for the top's love to be the guiding, ravishing, then healing and comforting force that contains the sub and the sub's anxieties in a fiercely loving and protective way and absolutely, so that not a drop spills over. So, yep, BDSM as therapy is my kink in both RL and in fic. Not so much a desire to humiliate or to be humiliated, but on the contrary, to value and to honour the other half. The top finds strength and validation through being the healer, through their power being able to do something good (instead of tearing someone down and having power over them through that). Yes, I know that's not everyone's idea of BDSM, but it's mine and that's what you'll get if it's a healthy relationship I'm trying to portray. (The Barrings and Zainab and Fadl don't have the healthiest ideas of sex, anyhow; Jaffar/Pwinzezz usually do.)

And I'm leaving out so many. You only have to look at my Ao3 pages to see the recurring themes:p

Favourite pairing types?

-Experienced Depraved Bisexual Character/Less Experienced and/or Repressed Character, GIMMIE. Fucking love that shit.

-Similar: Older, More Experienced Man/Younger, Horny Woman.

-Horny couple, usually M/F, seduce someone into a threesome. The Rosesverse and Devilry are full of this, so might as well admit it.

-Do you have a favourite fic of yours?

-I do have a soft spot for the first two fics in the Falconverse. As if you didn't all know that already! They do have some noticeable flaws here and there, especially the first one (I still insist that weird lube choice was HIS and not mine; I do know better and yelled at him at the time), but they still contain my deepest and most profound writing both erotically (and I mean that in the widest sense of the word, encompassing all things Love) and spiritually and character-wise. Defy Not The Stars also turned out better than I expected, considering I had never attempted so much plot and a traditional historical romance novel before. But I guess that Roses, what with its length, has allowed me to explore more aspects of the characters and their lives than anything else I've written. And of course, considering Devilry is my most-read saga ever, I do have a soft spot for that pile-up of a car crash. If only for the sheer intensity of the ride; I was just thinking yesterday how it really was aghori sadhana done through writing. Meditating in a graveyard is for wimps; try spending months in Torsten Barring's fragrant boypussy.

-Your fic with the most kudos?

To no one's surprise, Because The World Belongs To The Devil, at 234 kudos.

-Anything you don’t like about your writing?

-I suck at pacing sometimes. The sex scenes tend to run overlong if I write them in several sessions instead of just one go. It's not that the characters want to try different sex acts and shag more than once during a night, but more that the tension is spread out unevenly ("JFC, why did they change position again? I want them to just fucking come already, damnit!") This is obviously a result of how many things *I* see in my mind's eye during a wank; it's always more of a clipshow of different sex acts and pairings and orientations than one straightforward scenario. I'll be more mindful of that in the future and have been watching out for it in the past few fics already; I don't think the shags in The Guardians of Samarkand overran, for example.

-And sometimes my kinks get too obvious and repetitive for me, too, the way any porn gets tedious and repetitive. But on the other hand, I know very well that fanfic *is* about us imposing our kinks on our darlings, no matter how much we may go on about our dedication to characterisation and such. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: what's key is to get away with your kinks *but* in such a way that they can also engage the reader and that they become interesting and enjoyable not just for you, but for the readers, too. And you need good characterisation for that, and it's a really delicate balance to juggle your kinks and believable characterisation.

-Something you *do* like about your writing?

-I can write immersively and deeply and engage all the senses (sight, touch, scent...) in rich detail, as well as go deeply and profoundly into the emotions. And write some fucking hot porn ;) Those are the things I've had praise for, at least. Maybe my spiritual bits aren't as relatable or something, because people hardly ever remark on those (interestingly, my mum is the only one to have taken up those bits! But I skim over the sex scenes when I read the fics to her, so she only gets the gen). Or then it's the fact that most of the time it's Thief of Bagdad fic, and thus in an Islamic context, and most readers aren't familiar enough with, say, Sufism, to feel like they're qualified to comment without making arses out of themselves. But of course I like my spiritual bits; I'm an ex-religions major!

This had a taggity thing at the end, but I hate doing those because it always puts pressure on them even if you say they don't have to (come, now. The pressure is there, the moment you mention someone by name). I don't own the meme or you, so, as always: do what thou wilt.

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

Hey, can you do 9. ‘We might die tomorrow’ kiss and 10. ‘You nearly died’ kiss for Luke/Tori please? (when you have time)

sorry this took so long fam. i actually had an idea a week ago, but i also had to go back to grad school. so i mean good news: i’ve been able to really think abt these prompts. bad news: it took a bit to get to them. but here they are! (i may post them later to ao3 and ff, so look out for this updated post with links!)

for those of you just tuning in :D tori is my oc, and i’ve written two stories abt her so far in the pjo-verse: it’s the perfect story & i need another story, just for some context

9 and 10 are both under the cut. it just looks like 9 rn bc of organizational stuff

ps: to the anon who sent in #20 for this meme with tori, i will get to that prompt next (but it may be another week before i post it, for that i apologize). also i got your other ask abt tori and the canon other universe and will also get to that soon

Kiss Meme Prompt #9: “We might die tomorrow” kiss

Luke and I kept each other’s gaze once Percy had given our cabins their assignment, only breaking away from each other once when Thalia and the Hunters of Artemis came and offered to hold the Lincoln Tunnel. Obviously, he’d want to greet his old friend. I wouldn’t say I was friends with Thalia, but we exchanged a brief glance, nod of the head, and a small smile. Which was fine by me.

Luke and I stayed quiet when Percy raised his sword and shouted, “FOR OLYMPUS!” which the kids around us echoed. Everyone started off in the direction on the place they’d been assigned to, but as I turned to follow my siblings, I felt a calloused hand grab my arm and pull me back.

“You’re not actually leaving without saying goodbye, are you?” Luke murmured in my ear. I rolled my eyes but smiled and turned to face him, Luke’s hand resting on my waist. Around us, the patter of footsteps leaving died down and I could feel eyes on my back. We were in the middle of the war, and they still found room for gossip. How human of us.

“Of course not,” I replied, resting the palms of my hands on his chest. Luke waited, when I didn’t move or say anything else he glared at me ruefully, a smile playing at his lips.

“Do I get a kiss? I could die you know,” he said.

“No, but I’ll do you one better,” I told him. Luke raised an eyebrow. “Don’t die. That’s not a request, it’s an order.”

“Is it now?” Luke asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me flush against him. His eyes glinted with mischief and a challenge.

“Yeah, and you’d better follow that order,” I responded, wrapping my arms around his neck, pressing myself even closer to him. “Soldier.” I closed the distance between us, not caring that basically the entire camp, minus the Ares cabin, were watching our public display of affection.

The kiss started gentle and playful, but the joking soon evaporated, replaced by a desperation and overwhelming anxiety. Luke’s fingertips dug into the small of my back, riding my shirt up slightly. My arms tightened around his neck like a vice and I stood up on the tips of my toes—I couldn’t press myself close enough to him even though I could feel his heartbeat against mine.

When we pulled away, I was so breathless I couldn’t speak for at least 30 seconds. Luke looked like he didn’t want to let go of me. Even so, I stepped away, my eyes burning with a flood of tears.

“That’s an order, remember,” I managed, despite my closing throat, my unshed tears. I pressed hand against his chest, as if to punctuate my point. Luke smiled tenderly and took my hand on his chest, bringing it up to his lips and kissing my palm before resting it against his cheek.

“I love you,” he said, meeting my eyes with such a gentle look, my heart did a summersault, reminding me why I fell in love with him in the first place.

“I love you, too,” I managed, more tears flooding my eyes.

A second passed before I began to pull my hand away, but Luke kept his hand in mine until both our arms were completely outstretched, until just our fingers were touching, then our fingertips, and then—

I spun around, taking a deep breath, trying to blink away my tears as I passed my waiting siblings. I could feel Luke’s eyes on my back, but I knew if I turned around, I wouldn’t want to go to the Williamsburg Bridge.

what

a happy au, in my writing?

the idea of luke being part of the percy’s regime is based off of a fanfic of my fanfic called djinn dreams by lucifersfavoritechild over on ao3.

summary without spoiler: it’s kinda an au where tori convinces luke to go back to camp, but someone else becomes kronos’s host so things play out p similarly as they did in the pjo books, just with luke and tori on percy’s side

Kiss Meme Prompt #10: “You nearly died” kiss

so this is almost a direct continuation from the last ask

Travis met me at the elevator to the top floors of the Plaza.

“Where is he?” I asked stepping out of the elevator, my voice hoarse from crying and terse from worry.

“This way.” Travis’ voice was quiet. He turned without another word and started making his way through the floor. I started to follow, but paused and looked back at the rest of my siblings (Will and Kayla gone—called ahead to the Plaza), all eyes rimmed with red from crying.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Austin tried for a small smile. “We’ll be okay. We’ve got work to do.” His voice broke and he looked away.

“We’ll be fine,” Cressida reaffirmed.

I nodded, not believing it, but promising to check up on them as soon as I was able. I turned and followed Travis, who’d waited for me. We weaved through the other campers and Hunters grabbing something eat or drink, resting, or bandaging wounds.

I smelled it before I got there—the smell of blood and something…rancid. I tried not to gag, but my eyes watered and I couldn’t help the involuntary cough that welled up in my chest and forced its way out of my throat. The rest of the Hermes cabin was there, but parted when Travis and I came into view. My heart dropped and I felt all the air expel from my lungs. My feet froze.

Kayla was kneeling next to—what were they called?—a fainting couch, where Luke lay. Both of them looked sickly, but Luke looked worse. Kayla was pale from healing, her forehead sweaty. Luke looked…ashen grey. His eyes were closed, and from where I stood, I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.

If he was even breathing…

“Is he—” I gasped, my body finally unfreezing and went forward to the edge of the couch. My nose had gone numb from the smell that was coming from a trash can filled with a mix of blood and some weird, dark green slimy substance. Tears filled my eyes and it wasn’t from the stench. “Kayla,” I whimpered, my knees buckling.

“He’s still alive,” she whispered. “He needs more healing, but I’ve stabilized him for right now.” She paused. “Though it may not look it.”

I was about to ask her what’d happened, but my sister’s eyes fluttered and I just barely managed to catch her. I looked up to the Hermes cabin. “Can someone help her to a bed?”

Travis came forward and I helped stand her up so Travis could sling one of her arms over his shoulders.

“Thank you,” I told him. Travis nodded and started off, his siblings parting to make a path for him. I turned back to Luke, kneeling next to the couch again, taking Kayla’s place. More tears flooded my eyes and I reached up with a shaking hand to gently brush the bangs from his forehead. Now that I was closer, I could see he was still breathing, but it was shallow and thready.

I took one of his hands in mine, holding it to my forehead as some tears slipped from my eyes.

You can’t leave me, I thought. You promised.

“He took a poisoned arrow for me.” Travis’ voice startled me from my thoughts and I pulled back. Travis was the only one here now, standing on my left. He’d pulled up a chair. I looked up at him through watery eyes. His eyes flickered to his brother. “I don’t know how, but it found a chink in his armor, I guess.” Travis shook his head, frowning. “I should’ve been paying more attention.”

I stood up, letting go of Luke’s hand and pulled Travis into a hug. It was a bit awkward because there was a chair between us, but I guess I was feeling particularly sentimental.

“This is not your fault,” I told him firmly. I pulled away and, of all things, smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Besides, he’ll be fine. He’s on strict orders not to die, remember?”

Travis rolled his tear-filled eyes, but smiled. “Thanks.”

I squeezed his shoulder and pulled away. “You should get some rest.”

Travis nodded, his shoulders slumping. “Oh, and I brought this chair over for you, by the way. And, one more thing, he might need to throw-up more of that…stuff, so just grab the trashcan if he lurches or jerks awake. His body is still purging the poison.”

I nodded, every word like daggers flung into my body. I may have joked about it just now, but I was deathly afraid of losing him, worried he might not last the next few hours. Just the very thought of life without made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest.

Travis shuffled off and I moved to the chair as close as possible to the edge of the couch before sitting down and taking Luke’s hand back into mine. I was exhausted, and as soon as I sat down, it hit me like a freight train. But I didn’t want to go to sleep, or close my eyes. I wanted to keep them on Luke, make sure he was still breathing.

None of the color had returned to his skin, and his breathing was still shallow and irregular. To be fair, it’s only been like 20 minutes, but I thought if Kayla had stabilized him, it’d show. Even a little bit.

Just as I was about to doze off into sleep, Luke’s jerked and coughed. My heart shot into my throat and I had to let go of his hand to grab the trashcan and hold it up to him just in time for Luke to roll onto his side and retch more of the poison. The stench hit my nose again, fresh and strong, but I swallowed hard, forcing back my gag reflex. I was slightly relieved to see that he was no longer vomiting blood with the poison, however.

Once he was done retching, Luke fell back against the couch, his breathing labored. His eyes fluttered closed and he was out again, his breathing slowing to its shallow and ragged pace again.

More tears flooded my eyes. My hands were shaking again as I took one of his hands into both of mine and kissed his knuckles.

That’s an order, remember, I thought, closing my eyes.

I don’t know when or how it happened, but at some point, I ended falling asleep half on Luke, and half in the chair. My head rested on his chest, while from my waist down rested in the seat of the chair. (I would be told this by my siblings later.)

A soothing sensation, like something was massaging my scalp, roused me from sleep. At first, I was confused because I was having trouble orienting myself because of where I was laying. When I realized where I was and remembered what’d happened, I shot up with a gasp. But because of the position I was in, I ended up sliding out of the chair and taking a tumble to the floor with a squeak.

I pushed myself into a sitting position just in time to see Luke start to sit up, what color had returned to his face, draining from the effort.

I glared at him. “Don’t you dare.” Swallowing hard, Luke laid back down. I was close enough to tell even that little movement had caused him to start wheezing. Worry shot through me like an arrow.

I carefully picked myself up off the floor and pushed the chair away so I could sit on the edge of the couch, facing Luke. I moved my hair from my face and over one shoulder.

“You undid my braid,” I complained. Luke smiled—and, oh, was it so good to see those blue eyes twinkle again—and reached up to run his fingers through my hair.

“Your hair is soft,” he murmured. “I like running my fingers through it.”

I frowned. “How long have you been awake?”

Luke shrugged, pulling his hand away from my hair, but cupping my cheek. “Just a few minutes.” I leaned into his caress, and closed my eyes for a moment. I brought my hand up to cover his and opened my eyes again, smiling. My heart did a little gymnastics routine at his returning smile.

Slowly, I leaned forward, bracing my left lower forearm against the couch, next to Luke’s head. I hovered over him for a long moment, allowing myself to get lost in his eyes, allowing myself a moment to breathe, to feel cautious relief that he was going to survive.

Then Luke cupped my face and brought my lips down to his. I giggled and returned his affections.

Impatient as ever.

I don’t know what happened. One moment it was a sweet, but still swallow-you-whole kind of kiss, the next I felt hot tears streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks. I could taste the salt on my tongue when they hit my lips.

Luke pulled away. “Tori.” He started to shift, to sit up most likely, but I stayed where I was.

“Don’t.” I kept close, close enough our lips brushed. I could feel sobs building in my chest, and my breathing started to stutter as more tears flooded my eyes and reality settled in. I could sense Luke’s restlessness, but there was no amount of comfort he could offer me right now that would make me feel any better.

Finally, when I felt I’d gotten my breathing and tears a little under control, I pulled back so I could look at him. His blue eyes glittered with worry, and he instantly reached up to wipe away the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.

“I almost lost you,” I sobbed quietly, looking down at him, still pretty pale. But not ashen anymore.

“I’m right here,” Luke assured, trailing his fingertips down my left arm before taking my hand into his. His other hand stayed, caressing my face. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” His lips pulled into a crooked smile. “I’m under strict orders, remember.”

I snorted weakly, a small smile pulling at my lips, regardless.

“I love you.” Luke’s expression morphed into something I couldn’t quite read, but it was almost like…he was afraid I wouldn’t say it back. I wasn’t sure what had brought that on, but I quickly remedied it.

“I love you, too,” I replied, reaching up with my free hand to cover his that was still caressing my cheek before lacing my fingers through his.

Luke smiled, his blue eyes lighting up. I had to bit my lip on a silly, school-girl grin that was currently threatening to stretch across my face. My heart thumped strangely in my chest, blood flooding my cheeks, making me feel like a teen who’d just fallen in love all over again.

if you’ve read the books (i mean by this point, i hope you have…) this is right after the first night, and michael dying so that’s why all the red-rimmed eyes and somber mood. and i mean, luke was wounded p badly too so. also they are kinda in the middle of a war, so i mean there’s that too

this was so fun to write! thanks for sending them in ^_^ i know the second one is p long, but i wanted these to be as emotionally charged as they could be (bc i mean the prompts are p charged) but also subtle

i hope i accomplished that!

send me kisses

[jejublr]

#fanfiction writers’ day appreciation post

ok confession time: It is currently the 22nd where I’m at now and I literally just got home for school and I’m so late to this party so I’M SORRY. I HOPE ALL MY LOVE AND APPRECIATION TOWARDS THE WONDERFUL FANFICTION WRITERS OUT THERE CAN PAY OFF FOR MY TARDY. I LOVE YOU GUYS <3<3 

Here is a list of some of my favorite authors out there. I hope you all know that we love your work and you are always appreciated ^^

@mansaeboysbe ok can I just say that I was so honored that you hit me up first??? I’M SUCH A FAN OF YOUR WORK AND YOU CAME AND SUPPORT ME?? I’VE NEVER FELT SO- #starstrucked. I just wanna say that your work has been some that I always look forward to and thank you for always being able to bring a smile to my face whenever I read your works. I personally am unaware of which admin has been answering to all the chats but you’re all such lovely people and I only wish you the best! Thank you so much for all the lovely writings and support!!!

@sunnysidewrites HEY MOM! WHAT YOU SAID ON YOUR APPRECIATION POST JUST WARMS MY HEART??? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN I NOTICED YOU FIRST?? YOUR WORKS ARE AMAZING!! (Y’all should check her out, yo, her writing’s bomb). Thank you so much for being such a great person and for bringing a smile on this wary face lol. I hope you’ll keep writing because that hybrid!Jihoon fic was just so!! CUTE!! Lots of love!!

@choco-seventeen chocooooo!!! Wow I can’t believe we bonded over motion sickness??? WEIRD. But I don’t get motion sickness riding rollercoasters lol but you’re missing out, dude. Thank you for being so sweet and nice and not weirded out?? Bc literally I was holding it in but you’re so chill about it HAHAHA. I really hope you’ll keep writing! Pls make me cry next time. I hope we can be better friends, too!! Take care!!

@soon-shine HEYYY!!! I LOVE YOU!! Thank you sooooooo mUCH for being the first real blog that followed me??? (u can hear me crying in the background). I AM SUPER HONORED to know you. Thank you so much for the beautiful fanfics you’ve written. I gotta say that Prince Hoshi is my absolute favorite out of all of them. Thank you so much for liking my works and all the smiles you gave me ^^ I hope we can be friends!!

@honeyjihoons AAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!!! I’M SO TOUCHED!!! YOU’RE THE SWEETEST! Thank you so much for all the support up to this point T^T It means sooooo much to me. Thank you for liking my works! It always makes my day reading your kind words in the tag!

@95boysbe HI!! I know you’re on semi-hiatus but I want you to know that I LOVE YOUR WORK SO MUCH. Your Blue Moon series my absolute favorite (ok, all of your Coups works actually) and you need to know usually my pillows don’t get wet like it did reading them. Thank you for bringing so much happiness to me!! 

@scenarioswithsvt HIII! Thank you so much for your cute writings! You work never fails to bring a smile to my face so thank you so much!! I hope you guys keep writing those really cute reaction posts because I really do enjoy them! ^^

@kwoncity Ok so you don’t really post fan fictions BUT YOUR TEXTPOSTS AND DUBS ARE SO FUNNY?? Also: the Members Heights Measured in ___ series are so funny and I didn’t know I even need it. I just get so entertained and grin-y whenever I go through your post so thank you for bringing a little bit of sunshine in my life.

@ieechans despite you being inactive now, here is a little shoutout to you! Thank you for the time spent writing about seventeen!! Your blog had been one of my faves and I was pretty bummed when I found out you decided to leave. That’s okay though! You and your writings will forever be appreciated and they definitely did left an impression on my heart so thank you so much!!

@oppafeels Hey guys!! Happy FF Writer’s Day!! Thank you so much for the smiles that you guys have brought to my face!! Your Vernon Downpour fic was really cute! I hope you guys will keep writing!! I’m looking forward to your works!!^^

@ikyulkyung I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST FOLLOWED YOU TODAY??? I’M SO SO SORRY T_T ALSO: SUPERPOWER!SEVENTEEN WAS REALLY GREAT!! I LOVE IT. Thank you for your lovely writings! All your hard work definitely did not go to waste bc I LOVE THEM!! I hope you’ll keep writing bc I really do enjoy reading your works!

@shuakkinda YOUR. SCENARIOS. ARE. SO. CUTE. Thank you for the fluffs that you’ve been giving me since day one!! That Wonwoo confession fic is still one of my favs (AAAAA SO CUTE!!!) Thank you so much for bringing much happiness to my days! I wish to see more of your works! JIAYOU!!!

I’m really sorry if I left anybody out but I really do appreciate every one of you!! Thank you for all your love and support!! I love you guys! Take care and please stay hydrated!!! Lot of hugs!! - Nat

[zaggitz]

My Games of the Year 2019

2019! Pretty dang good year personally, pretty dang garbage globally. Semi decent in terms of games? I feel like there were some hot bangers but they were all pretty spread out and far between. It probably doesn’t help that I worked a LOT this year, which means I ended up playing I think the least amount of new games in this year since I started making these lists. 2020 looks to have an even slower start but I know there’s new consoles on the way, E3 is gonna be a wild ride y’all.

As previously stated, I did not play a lot of games this year, but the ones I did I think were pretty good.

First off, I figured I’d list my games of the year for the past decade(links to the respective lists provided onnce I started doing them.): 2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2 2011: Dark Souls 2012: La-Mulana 2013: Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 2014: Bayonetta 2 2015: Trails in the Sky SC 2016: Trails of Cold Steel 2 2017: Trails in the Sky The 3rd 2018: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age And now 2019:

10. Pokemon Sword It's that classic Pokemon formula only streamlined to take merely half the time(and half the Pokemon oops!!) In all honesty I really enjoyed my time with this game and the fact that it tried to be as tight as possible and didn’t waste your time felt really refreshing. I just wish it had a meatier postgame. I don’t mind the reduced dex but the lack of legendaries to hunt really sucked any wanting to play more out of me after seeing the credits.

9. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening It's that classic weird Zelda game, only prettier and with even better music. The touched and fixes to the gameplay alongside the amazing atmosphere provided by the new graphics and revamped sound track make this the definitive version of a true classic.

8. Resident Evil 2

Mr X is literally the scariest thing I've had to deal with in a game in years and I twitch uncontrollably whenever i hear loud footsteps heading my way in real life now. I still need to sneak back in and do a second playthrough before RE3make hits next year(????fuck yes????)

7. Devil May Cry 5

It only took like 15 years but we finally got a new genuine Devil May Cry game and its the best one yet??? It capped off a lot of the plot threads from 4 and felt like a complete game with tons of love put into it and I'm so glad Capcom is having this renaissance the past couple of years if this kind of stuff is what we have to look forward to.

6. Judgement Fantastic spinoff to the Yakuza games, same great setting, amazing new cast of characters. Probably would have been higher on the list if it didn't give me cat noise ptsd from having to find all the hidden cats during investigations.

5. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Score another win for people getting to revive genres/series they used to be huge players in. Playing this game feels like being pulled right back into the mid 00s and I mean that in the best way possible. 

It oozes so much mechanical personality out of every poor, the soundtrack rules and it scratches that 100% completionist itch the way only a true IGAvania can.

4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses I only played Blue Lions but this is already my favorite fire emblem I've ever played. There's basically not a single character I didn't like and I found the Blue Lions plot to be extremely emotionally gripping and satisfying overall. 

The exploration of its themes of ptsd, growing up in war times, racism, classism and all the social struggles that come with these things is second to none when it comes to this series, and I can’t wait to dive back in for another playthrough soon.

3. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice This game fucking rules as hard as it is hard. I love From Soft's version of feudal Japan and I really hope they get some dlc or a sequel to flesh some of their ideas out because they are super fascinating.

I try to be very thoughtful about why I like the games I like but man this game is just plain old rad and fun and hard and some guy cuts a portal to hell out of his neck and you fight his super powered grandpa after he climbs out of the portal. It’s a good video game.

2. Trails of Cold Steel 3 Basically any other year this would have been my go to number one contender. I love this game and this series to bits but i think it spends a little too much time backpedaling on its payoffs in order to keep all the reveals for the final act which, while incredible, is pretty exhausting by the time you get there. 

New Class VII are some of my fave characters in the series, Ash and Altina especially. I really loved them pulling back plot threads like Hamel that have been simmering in the background for almost two decades now. The music as always is fucking incredible. By the end of the game it truly feels like the beginning of a culmination for so many years of built up plotlines and then oops it cuts to black.

Well, I guess I’m really looking forward to CS4 then!!

1. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers I always enjoyed this game in the past mostly as a side game to kill time but the beauty of having a game run this long means that it has just as much time to get you invested in its world and its characters. The fact that this expansion starts by taking all of that away and throwing you and your band of misfit allies into completely uncharted territory, devoid of all resources and external allies, is just the faintest tease at how spectacularly bold this expansion is.

Despite the fact that this game takes place in a whole new world mostly divorced from the main political arcs established so far, it goes maybe the furthest in terms of huge metaplot shattering and affecting reveals. By the end of this game I sympathized and understood the villains of this game in a way I never imagine I would be able to.

The character writing is superb, the menagerie of side characters you’ve come to know over the past three games finally get a chance to shine as they are stranded in the strange alternate universe mirror of the main game. Before this game I liked one or two of the Scions quite a bit but found the rest of the team to be pretty forgettable. By the end of Shadowbringers each and everyone one of them stand as some of my favorites in any jrpg I’ve ever played.

The villain of this expansion is just straight up the best most well written, sympathetic and relate-able foe from any FF game so far. Hell, even outside of Final Fantasy I have trouble thinking of another villain who I shed legit tears for when they finally passed on.

The game’s music is incredible and otherwordly, the changes they made to the classes (that I play) were all rad and Ardbert is my Husband of the Year all Years.

I’ve always played this game pretty casually without massive investment but I'm here for the long haul after this expansion.

[captain-swan-coffee]

The List

When Killian comes across a list that Emma made when she was a teenager things get awkward but then soon take a sexy turn!

Read more of my work on ao3 and FF!

Sorry that it took me so long to write this! I’ve had the craziest past two weeks. I struggle with chronic pain and it’s been on bitch of a week so focusing enough to write has been a struggle. I hope to have another story or update done this week! Let me know if you want me to continue with this story. I think it could be kind of fun to write another chapter! There sure is a lot of possibilities! This idea just kind of came to me. And I mean we all have a list… No? Just me? Okay… heheheh I hope you enjoy!

Chapter two and three!

Rated M

“I think this is the last of it. Is this really all you own?” Killian questioned with a rather large box in hand, kicking the door shut with his foot before swaggering back to Emma. He set it down on the dining room table amongst the other boxes while she smiled endearingly up at him from the floor where she was sorting some old childhood photos and knick knacks.

“Yup, this is it. Seven boxes is the rest of my life. It’s mostly clothes anyways,” The blonde explained, ripping the tape off another package. Emma had just gotten the rest of her belongings out of storage from when she lived in New York from the missing year. She had meant to do it a lot sooner, but between her family, being sheriff again, and the newest threat the Snow Queen, getting her old sweaters and silverware were the least of her worries. She thought she would have to drive back into the city to get her possessions but she was able to get her old neighbor to mail them to her instead, making her life a lot easier. Killian had generously offered to help her unpack and sort her things allowing them to spend some much needed quality time together.

They had been officially dating for just a few weeks and things were surprisingly going very well. He had broken down her walls and proved to her and her family that he was worthy of their trust. Even her father had taken a shine to her new boyfriend. Emma was pulled from her train of thought when her phone rang. She quickly reached for it on the kitchen table before picking it up.

“Sheriff Swan,” She answered officially. “Oh, that was fast. Thanks, I’ll be there in two minutes,” Emma responded with a delighted smile upon her face.

“Who was that, love?” Killian asked as he tore open another box with his hook. He really did look for any excuse to use that thing.

“It was Granny. Our food is ready to be picked up. I’ll be right back,” She told slinging her purse over her shoulder before heading for the door.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” He replied walking towards her.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just be gone a second,” Emma smiled with a sarcastic twinkle in her eye. Leaning in she placed a chaste kiss to his lips before making her way back to the door.

“I’ll miss you,” Killian voiced, calling to his Swan. She flashed him a saucy grin, rolling her eyes at him.

“I’ll miss you, too,” Emma laughed, closing the loft door with a soft thud. Once his girlfriend had left he went back to his task of opening boxes and sorting their contents. He lifted a particularly heavy one onto the table, tearing the flaps open. The package was filled with a variety of books and what appeared to be journals.

Killian started to unpack them one by one, admiring her taste in novels when a folded piece of paper fell out of one of the book jackets and onto the ground. At first, he thought it was a page from the book, but it looked much older and wrinkled than the paperback in his hand. He bent down to retrieve it, studying it carefully while unfolding the seemingly old note. Hook examined what appeared to be a number list with some things crossed off. It read as the following:

Skinny dipping

Threesome

Mirror sex

Handcuffs

Role play

Watch porn together

Make a sex tape

Anal

Sex on the beach

Sex in the woods

Sex with someone older than me

Elevator sex

Strip tease

Use a sex toy on your partner

Ride someone’s face

Have sex with an uncut man

Have sex in a twin bed

Kitchen sex

Create my own sex position

Third base at the movies

Masturbate together

Have sex more than 10 times in one day

Have a g spot only orgasm

Have sex in someone else’s bed

Phone sex

There were some numbers that Killian didn’t quite understand, but he could make a pretty good educated guess based on the rest of the list. He wondered when his Swan made this fantastic piece of art. He read the list over and over, attempting to make some sort of sense to it when in walked Emma.  

“Sorry, that took a little longer than expected. I had to wait for your curly fries, they weren’t quite done yet. I hope you didn’t get too lonely,” She teased walking through the entryway with two togo bags in hand. Swinging back around to close the door, her long golden tresses cascading down her leather cover shoulders.

“Not a problem, love. By the way, what does uncut man mean?” Killian casually asked, papers still in hand. Emma looked slightly stunned and confused. He was known for his curious tendencies, always trying to learn more about her world but it was kind of a weird question even for Killian to ask out of the blue.

“That was random,” She laughed at him, setting the food down on the counter.

“Well, it’s number 16. Have sex with an uncut man,” Killian read aloud, his loud booming voice echoing throughout the apartment. He watched Emma’s face go from her usual pale glow to a deep red that spread down to her neck. She instantly made the connection, running over to him as fast as she could.

“Oh my God, where did you get that?!” She fretted, attempting to grab the list from her boyfriend’s hand. He could tell that she was completely mortified, but there was still a shimmer a humor that he could see in her eyes. Killian chuckled as he watched Emma jump to reach the paper that he was currently waving high in the air above his head. When she finally caught it, he could see relief spread across her face.

“Oh don’t worry, love. I have a photogenic memory. That list in all up here forever,” He teased pointing to his head. Emma let out a childish whine before hiding her face in her hands. “Spill, Emma,” Killian smiled teasing her while rubbing large circles into her back.

“What do you want to know?” She sighed, staring down at the page that she now definitely regretted making.

“Everything,” Hook laughed, encouraging her to share.

“Well, I made this list back when I was just barely sixteen. Back when Lily and I were best friends. We were hormonal and obviously sex crazed teenagers and we read in a magazine that every girl should make a list of their most desired sexual fantasies. So we both made one. And until now I totally forgot it even existed. There. Happy? But now I wish I never would have made that stupid list cause now you’re never going to let this go for all of eternity,” Emma groaned, letting out a sarcastic cry into his chest.

“So you’re saying that if there crossed off it means what? You’ve done it?” Killian questioned lifting a single eyebrow to her.

“Yeah,” She confessed, still buried into the crook of this arm. He could tell that Emma was pretty mortified by the whole ordeal but for him, it was kind of exciting and arousing. Granted they had only been intimate for a week or so now, but he couldn’t wait to cross off a few more items for her list. He was intrigued but also feeling fairly jealous. What other man received the pleasure of completing these activities with his Emma?

“You mean to tell me that Emma Swan has had a threesome?” Killian hysterically began to chuckle. So much that his abs started to hurt! “With who? Do I know him?” He questioned, on the verge of tears from laughter. Emma pressed her lips together and avoided eye contact at all cost. Crossing her arms she stared at the ceiling and sighed. Her silence gave her answer away and confirmed his suspicion. “Neal?! You had a threesome with Neal? When? And with who?” Killian’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“Yes with Neal it was his idea and I was young. So young, it was with some random girl that we picked up in a bar. It was his fantasy not mine. I didn’t even really want to do it,” Emma reassured her boyfriend who was still smiling and laugh at her expense. “Wait so you’re not mad?” She asked while her pirate still was giggling like a schoolgirl.

“Mad? Of course not! Emma you should never be ashamed of what you want or desire. And if I can help give you that it would be my pleasure. It would be my honor to help you cross every item off this list. In fact I think we could even extend this little list of yours. If you want of course. I think a woman who takes what she wants is incredibly sexy,” Killian admitted, slowly making his way behind her while he pressed sensual kisses to her neck. She felt his hook and hand slowly slid around her waist, pulling her in tightly against him.

“And you don’t think these ideas are too scandalous?” She smirked, already feeling the answer to her question against the crease of her ass. The whole ordeal obviously was a huge turn on for him to respond this quickly.

“I’m a pirate, love. Your wildest fantasies are my Saturday night,” Killian teased while nibbling the soft skin of her ear lobe. “So what do you want to cross off first?” He wondered giving her a sexy smirk paired with an eyebrow wiggle. The question going straight to Emma’s core. Killian could feel the intense heat radiating off her body.

“Well, I’ve kind of wanted to tackle number 23 but no man before has been quite up to the task, but I think you may be able to,” She challenged him, flashing him a saucy smirk. Emma knew that her leggings were probably borderline soaked by now.

“And what’s number 23, love?” Killian quipped playing with the seam of her top as his calloused hand teased her soft skin. Emma’s abs hardened when she felt his fingertips nudge further up her torso.

“Having a G spot only orgasm. Oh that means…” She began, thinking that there was no way her 17th century boyfriend had any idea what a G spot was. Hell, it was just recently that she figured out what it was!

“I know what it means love,” Killian cut her off before Emma made any botched attempt at explaining it to him.

“You don’t know what uncut means but you know what the G spot is?” Emma lifted an eyebrow giggling in disbelief. A smile plastered on both of their faces as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet subtle scent of her perfume.

“Priorities, love. And not only do I know what it is, but more importantly I know where it is…” And with that Emma felt a bolt of pleasure shoot right to her clit. Even though she was a grown and very sexually mature woman, Emma was always a one night stand kind of girl. Which usually never resulted in much satisfaction on her end. It was just enough to scratch an itch. Nothing less and nothing more.

The longer relationships that she did have with Neal and Walsh never really yielded much enjoyment. Neither one of them really clicked with her sexually. There always seemed to be a lot of fumbling and Emma learned that it was easier to fake an orgsam then to lay there for hours while watching them try. But Killian in their short time being intimate had gotten her close a number of time. He always put her pleasure over his, making sure that she came one way or another, but Emma wanted to know what it felt like to be pushed off the edge without touching her clit. It was a completely foreign concept to her. She couldn’t even do it herself. At one point she even thought there may be something wrong with her until she read in a magazine that it wasn’t all that uncommon. That’s what landed it on her list to begin with. There were a lot of adventurous things on Emma’s list but this wasn’t really one of them. And she hoped that Killian was able to deliver.

Without any warning Killian spun Emma around and his lips were on hers in a second. Tugging on her bottom lip, Killian demanded entrance which Emma was happy to give. Her body felt like it was on fire. Every molecule of her being was on edge and completely aroused. She felt his hard aching member press against her stomach. A wonderful reminder of that satisfying stretch that ripples through her whenever he’s inside her. Soon Emma’s red leather jacket and white tank top were thrown to the ground and all she was left in was her lace bra and jeans. His thumb hooked itself around one of her straps, easing it down her shoulders. He softly brushed the pad of her fingers over her hardening nipple, creating puckered peaks through the fabric. She wanted desperately to tell him to get on with it and end this torture for both their sakes, but Emma was unable to form a coherent sentence. Killian was still mostly dressed, too clothed for her liking. But before she could move to remove any of his garments, Emma was being lifted onto the kitchen counter, knocking random utensils that were previously lying on there. This position allowed them both to be more face to face, almost feeling a higher level of closeness or intimacy.

He kissed his way down her neck, stopping just below her collarbone. It was a place that Killian knew made her fall to pieces in just the short time they were together. Emma groaned as she felt his hand and hook make its way behind her back. She knew his intentions when he started to fumble around trying to unhook her bra. Wanting to speed up the process, she too reached behind herself, aiding with the garment before tossing it to the floor with the rest of her clothes. A rush a nervousness flooded through her. What if she can’t come? She’s never done it before. At least not like this. Not even when she tries it herself. Is it her? Is there something wrong with her? If he doesn’t succeed will it be awkward between them? After all they hadn’t been together for very long.

“Emma, darling, I can hear you thinking. There are no villains, no nagging parents, and no responsibilities here. It’s just you and me,” Killian smiled, staring into his Swans eyes.

“Sorry,” Emma mumbled, leaning her forehand against his.

“Don’t apologize, love. Just let me make you feel good,” He vowed as she hooked her legs back around his trim waist. Emma felt herself being lifted once again while getting lost in yet another soul shatter kiss. Hook carried her across the apartment and up the stairs to her room.

Playfully, he threw her on the bed with a light bounce. She let out a carefree giggle which seemed so out of character for her. Emma watched him slowly remove his newly bought wardrobe piece by piece. She had the perfect view to admire how every muscle in his body rippled as he took off each article. God, she would pay money to just watch this man undress. Soon all he was left in were his boxer briefs that he still wasn’t quite used to wearing yet. Emma was still breathing pretty hard, her cheeks all the way down to her breasts were flushed a light tinted red from her arousal. Her golden curls cascaded down the tops of her shoulders.

Killian leaned down, slanting his lips over hers once again. She let the sensation take her, already feeling an ocean between her legs. Emma dragged him closer, pulling him on top of her, running her fingers through his dark locks, both dueling one another for dominance. Hook kissed down her neck all the way to her perfect breasts. He took his time sucking, biting, and licking each one. Paying extra attention to her pink nipples. Blowing cool air on each of them until they were hard over sensitive points and Emma was gasping for air. Killian made his way down further until he reached the seam of her jeans. Carefully he single handedly popped the button to her pants, pulling them down with his hand and hook until only a thin blue strip of fabric covered her center.

“I’ll never grow tired your silky skin, or your gorgeous legs, or the way you smile with your eyes when you walk into a room,” Killian growled, ghosting down her body. “You Emma Swan are what men refer to as timeless,” He moaned from between her legs.

“You don’t have to flatter me you already got in my pants,” She smiled, biting her bottom lip while glancing down admiring her lover’s ministrations. Hook continued to nibble the insides of her thighs, working her up, pushing her higher and higher until she felt as if she might implode from all the built up sexual tension.

“I want you to tell me everything you feel. Don’t be afraid to tell me what you like and what you don’t,” He ordered while pulling her lace panties down using his hand and teeth. Killian could already see her arousal glistening down her folds. A soft moan slipped out of her lips as Emma felt his teeth graze her perked nipples. He took a supple breast into his mouth, sucking it lightly while he used his hand to massage its twin. Her hands instantly flew to his hair once again. Emma’s back arched attempting to get as close as she could to Killian wicked mouth. Suddenly his lips were being pulled back to hers. It was a messy and needy kiss, but neither of them could bring themselves to care. Emma could feel his clothed member that was still confined in his boxers against her stomach, which only increased the burn and desire for him. She was desperate to feel him inside her but she could tell that she was gonna have to wait a while for that.

Killian made his way back down her body, stopping briefly to pay extra attention to each breast before stopping between her legs once again. He slid a single finger through her slick folds, parting them slightly. Slowly and with great care he then inserted one digit into her aching center. Emma whimpered at the intrusion. Gradually Killian massaged her inner walls, experimenting and listening intently to what felt good. It didn’t take long for him to soon figure out exactly what she liked. Hook added another finger into her slippery sex adding more constant yet satisfying pressure.

“Fuck,” Emma whined, loving the stretch of the second digit. At a leisurely pass Killian continued to pump in and out of his Swan while he kissed the insides of her arousal coated thighs. The heavy breathing and high pitched moans were music to this pirates ears. Emma was worked up almost to her breaking point. Everything that Killian was doing was magic, but it wasn’t quite enough. She felt as if a any second she could fall off the edge, but something was holding her back. Emma was teetering, so close to finally letting go when Killian pushed his two fingers up quickly over and over again. It was almost as if he was tapping the tops of her walls, massaging the aroused muscles. After mere moments Emma fell off the cliff. An intense wave of pleasure continued to wash over her, shaking her entire body. She had never felt anything quite like it before. Her whole body felt as if she was flying. Emma’s breathing was still erratic and she could almost swear she could hear her own heart beating.

“Get inside me right now, pirate,” She growled, dragging him up from between her legs. She ripped off the last piece of fabric that separated them and in a matter of seconds, Killian was sliding into her aching center with ease. She revealed in the satisfying stretch that only he could provide. His fingers were heaven, but his cock was paradise. After only mere moments of mingled moans and the squeaking of the floorboards, Killian lifted her up slightly encouraging her legs to lean flat against his chest and her feet propped over his shoulders.

The position change deepened the angle, intensifying both their pleasure. It was a sensation Emma had never quite felt before and she was so glad that it was Killian that was the first to give it to her. Hook could feel that she was close. Every thrust created a rippled effect. Her inner walls fluttered around his member, testing his stamina. He so desperately wanted her to fall one more time before joining her on the other side. Killian increased his speed, pounding into her at a punishing pace.

Emma fisted the sheets in her hands as she came once again. Her eyes flew shut. She could have sworn she saw a bright white light followed by stars that flashed before her eyes. Her walls clamped down on him as she came, pulling him down with her. Killian came with a shout, filling her up with his seed. They both slowly came down from their highs as Killian fell down next to his Swan, doing his best not to crush her.

“You found it,” She smiled staring up at the ceiling, the euphoria still coursing through her veins.

“Did you ever doubt I would. After all, I am a pirate. Finding buried treasure is kind of what I do,” He chuckled into the crook of her neck, kissing the skin still exposed. “And hey you never told me what uncut means,” He wondered as Emma snuggled in close between the sheets. She instantly giggled remembering their previous conversation.

“It’s another word for uncircumcised, or in other words what you are,” She explained pointing downward. It took him a moment to make the connection but finally, Emma saw everything click in his expression. Killian reached over to her night side table picking up her list along with a pen in her draw. She watched him cross off two items with a smile.

“I’d say it was a pretty successful night. We killed two birds with one stone,” Hook noted while continuing to admire the rest of the unchecked items.

“I would have to agree. I even think you earned the right to pick the next number off the list,” She suggested, giving him the bedroom eyes once again.

“I would be beyond honored,” Killian grinned, looking as if he just won the lottery. Emma would never say this out loud or even admit it to herself but what she felt in this moment was love. It was a feeling in her heart that she hadn’t felt in nearly a decade but she wanted to hold on to it as long as she could.

“What about you? Do you have a list?” Emma flirted wanting to lighten the mood as she played with the coarse hair on his chest.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Killian replied.

“Maybe I would.”

If I write a part two what should they cross off next? ;)

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the future!

@teamhook @deathbycaptainswan @galadriel26 @captainswanbookclub @hook-n-emma @kmomof4 @krystalsficpage @onceuponacaptainswans @asyouwissh @jennjenn615 @captainswansource @captainstudmuffin @sunshine2632 @blowmiakisscolin @dmarien @midnightswans @yourekillianmesoftly @villains-happy-ending @jackieorioncat @lollypopjones @thesschesthair @captainswanluver @buritobaby @golfgirld @saviorpirate26 @hookedmom @mcakers @noseringsandshoerings @m98h @laughswaytoomuch @flslp87 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells

Thanks for reading!

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1186

Monday, October 23, 2017

 The back door lock on my X-Trail wasn't working so I had to drop it off this morning at Japan Auto to see if they can fix it. Then it was off to Costco to stock up an a few necessities. It's so nice and warm here in Ottawa that I will be able to read Charles de Lint's new book The Wind in His Heart outside.

 Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan #1 - Declan Shalvey (writer) Mike Henderson (art) Lee Loughridge (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This 5-issue mini has the two stabby heroes with healing factors teaming up to keep a new mutant from being captured by bad guys. Sure, it's a story that's already been told many times but Declan does a good job of keeping the fun factor up so I will keep reading.

 Batman: The Drowned #1 - Dan Abnett (writer) Philip Tan & Tyler Kirkman (art) Dean White & Arif Prianto (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). There's a gender swap in this Dark Nights Metal tie-in where a woman named Bryce Wayne transforms herself into an evil version of Aquaman's wife Mera. That was unexpected. I like how this issue clarifies why the bad Batpersons are doing what they're doing. It's a basic motivation and not anything new so there's still a chance that I might stop caring about this story and stop reading.

 Kid Lobotomy #1 - Peter Milligan (writer) Tess Fowler (art) Lee Loughridge (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). If I had looked at the credits before picking this book off the racks to read I should have expected the extreme weirdness in this comic book written by Peter Milligan. I remember his stint on Shade the Changing Man and what a psychedelic ride that was. This book is loopy too and it was the art that helped me power through to the last page. If you enjoy exploring odd mindscapes you'll like this.

 Thor #700 - Jason Aaron (writer) Walt Simonson & Matthew Wilson, Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson, Daniel Acuna, James Harren & Dave Stewart, Becky Cloonan & Dave Stewart, Das Pastoras, Chris Burnham & Ive Svorcina, Andrew MacLean & Dave Stewart, Jill Thompson, Mike del Mundo, and Olivier Coipel & Dave Stewart (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This 50-page epic features Part 1 of "The Death of Thor", but which Thor? There's a lot of them. If you've never read a Thor comic book this is a great place to start. You can tell that Jason Aaron is having so much fun writing these adventures and I am one very appreciative fan. Buy this book.

 Aquaman #29 - Dan Abnett (writer) Stjepan Sejic (art & colours) Steve Wands (letters). Okay, things are starting to go the good guys' way. Evil King Rath is going to get what fer.

 Maestros #1 - Steve Skroce (writer & art) Dave Stewart (colours) Fonografiks (letters). Yay, Steve Skroce is back on the racks and this time he's writing his own book. I loved "We Stand On Guard" and was hoping we'd see Steve's art again soon. This fantasy book is about a young wizard who inherits the title of big kahuna wizard after his Dad is killed. I thought that Geof Darrow did the art for this after turning the first page, but nope, it's Steve just painstakingly drawing up a storm. This new comic book gets added to my "must read" list.

 Champions #13 - Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Part 2 of "Worlds Collide" has the Champions teaming up with the Avengers to stop the High Evolutionary from destroying the planet. Four groups scatter around the world to save lives but even though they keep the world's tallest buildings from disaster there's still plenty of danger ahead. The story continues in Avengers #673 which hits the racks on November 1.

 Batman #33 - Tom King (writer) Joelle Jones (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). You gotta read this. Do you guys have a good chuckle when you get to the last page of a really good comic book because you feel happily amused and think, man I can't wait to read the rest of this story? I do. Few writers can make me do that and Tom King just got added to the list of writers that do. Some fans might not like what's going on with Batman's love life but I think it's great. Part 1 of "Rules of Engagement" has the Bat visiting an old flame and boy, is he going to get burned. Joelle "Lady Killer" Jones did a wonderful job showing the men folk back at the mansion and made my heart swoon with her rendition of Selina. I wish the word balloon person hadn't screwed up on the last page, otherwise this issue was a perfect read.

 Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) David Rubin (art, colours & letters). This spin-ff of Black Hammer is worth checking out if you like that mystery about a team of old super heroes. This story focuses on their super villain enemies and follows Black Hammer's daughter as she goes searching for her father. Jeff Lemire is every bit as clever as Alan Moore at creating neat super characters when Alan was doing America's Best Comics.

 Ms. Marvel #23 - G. Willow Wilson (writer) Diego Olortegui (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Remember the time when Kamala went to Karachi and had a team up with a hero there? Guess who's in Jersey City and attending her high school now? I'm glad Willow did the conversion to metric on the runaway train's speed. I didn't have a sense of what 25 miles per hour feels like. 40 kilometres per hour I get. This was a great way to have the two heroes commiserate while the train rolls along.

 Wonder Woman #32 - James Robinson (writer) Sergio Davila (pencils) Scott Hanna & Mark Morales (inks) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). I found the writing in this issue was as stilted as a bad soap opera script. I don't like how the relationship between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor is portrayed. I hate that he calls her "angel". I will read the next issue to find out more about Diana's "brother" Jason and to see Emanuela Lupacchino drawing her first issue of this series.

 Groo: Play of the Gods #4 - Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier (writers) Sergio Aragones (art) John Ercek & Tom Luth (colours) Stan Sakai (letters). And so another great Groo mini ends. This time the last laugh was on the gods.

 Superman #33 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writer) Doug Mahnke (pencils) Jaime Mendoza (inks) Wil Quintana (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). "Imperius Lex" starts here. With baby Darkseid missing, Apokalips needs a new ruler and it has chosen Lex Luthor. But Lex is a good guy now, right? Maybe he'll find a way to change the Parademons into minions. I like that Lois and Jon are in this story too.

 Incredible Hulk #709 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). "Return To Planet Hulk" starts here. Not to worry, they haven't resurrected Bruce Banner (yet). This time it's Amadeus "The Totally Awesome Hulk" Cho crash landing on the planet. There's no holding back when the kid unleashes the junk in the trunk as he battles a tribe of bad guys. All hail the Green Scar. This is a refreshing change of pace.

 Super Sons #9 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Jorge Jimenez & Carmine Di Giandomenico (art) Alejandro Sanchez & Ivan Plascencia (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). "Planet of the Capes" ends here. I much preferred the art of Jorge Jimenez over that of Carmine Di Giandomenico. Carmine's kids don't look like kids.

 Wonder Woman Conan #2 - Gail Simone (writer) Aaron Lopresti (pencils) Matt Ryan (inks) Wendy Broome (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). There's a #MeToo moment in this issue that I found was unnecessary that made me feel disappointed because this is written by a woman. The crew threatening Diana that way wasn't needed for Conan to be any more protective than he already was. I wondered if it was put in just to titillate male readers or to point out that most men are scum. I did like how the crow girls dealt with the wine besotted pervert in the stands though.

 Invincible Iron Man #593 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Stefano Caselli & Alex Maleev (art) Marte Gracia &  Alex Maleev (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). "The Search for Tony Stark" starts here. Get everything you need to know to start reading this series. It's the rebirth of one of Marvel's iconic super heroes so join us long time shellhead fans and buckle up for a wild ride.

[purpleswans1]

Encounters of a Personal Nature

*Shows up at the last minute with Gieve headcanons* Here’s my submission for Arsan Senki Fandom Week.

Read also on FF, AO3 and Amino for detailed Author’s notes

Narsus looked down at a map, rubbing his chin in thought. “Your Highness, I’m afraid the only logical route we can take is through the country of Creta.”

Gieve froze at the sound of the country’s name. Luckily, nobody in Arslan’s camp noticed him since they were all listening to the master tactician.

“That is the small country just to the north of Pars, is it not?” Arslan asked. “If I recall correctly, they are on good terms with Pars, though I’ll admit I don’t know much about the country.”

“Nor does anyone else, your Highness,” Narsus assured the prince. “Creta has adopted a policy of isolation in order to avoid confrontations with other countries. The few merchants who trade with them are forbidden from discussing their experiences there. All we really know about them is that they have a surplus in mineral resources they are willing to sell.”

“I see,” Arslan nodded. “But Narsus, if the country is so opposed to foreign contact, how will we be able to pass through it?”

“To be perfectly honest Highness, I’m not sure,” Narsus admitted. “I just know that this is the only path that isn’t blocked by Lusitanians or any of their allies.”

“Why don’t we just sneak in through the mountains?” Alfreed suggested.

“Unfortunately, that’s not feasible with the Calvary at our back.” Narsus explained. “If it were just the 8 of us it would be possible, but not with the army behind us.”

“Well, I doubt it would be wise to march though a another country with an army without permission from the king of that country.” Arslan said.

“Yes, which puts us in a difficult situation.” Narsus admitted. “If we knew more about the country, such as the location of defense outposts, we could send a message to negotiate with the King of Creta. Unfortunately, I do not know of anyone with this knowledge.”

The other participants of the meeting grumbled in dejection. To have Lord Narsus admit to being at a loss was a terrible sign for the company.

“Your Highness,” Gieve began, getting everyone’s attention. “As you are well aware, my occupation was that of a traveling musician before I came to be in your service. I am extremely well-traveled, and have even wandered into these parts in the past. I may be able to point out some outposts nearby, so that you may do as Lord Narsus suggests.”

The prince’s face brightened at the bard’s words. “That is wonderful! Thank you Gieve.”

Gieve became nervous when he saw how much stock the Prince probably put in his information. “I should warn you though, your Highness, I haven’t been here for over five years. This information may be out of date.”

“Nonetheless, out of date information is better than no information in this case.” Narsus said. “We should tread cautiously, but this is better than going in blindly. If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you pointed out as many major landmarks along the border as you can, so that we may formulate a strategy for negotiating with the Cretans.”

Gieve nodded, though deep down he regretted his decision to speak.

“Big brother! Please, sing me a song!” A little girl whined in the back of a cart.

“O-ho! Well, if you insist dear Lira.” A boy only a couple of years older than his sister picked up a oud and strummed the string. “Tell me, what kind of song shall I sing? The kind drunk men sing at taverns?”

“Noooo! I want a story song!” The girl objected.

“A ballad then.” The boy concluded. “Well then, what kind of ballad would you like to hear? An epic about a great warrior-king and his magnificent deeds? Or a love story about a beautiful woman and her star-crossed lover?”

The little girl pursed her lips, thinking hard. “Do you know any about a girl that marries a righteous king? Or maybe about a really important official, like Father!”

“Hmmm, I don’t think they write any songs about politicians,” the boy said, “but I’m sure we could make one up!”

“Yay! I’ll come up with the words, you come up with the tune!” the girl cheered.

“Children, put the instrument away. We’re almost at the palace.” The children’s father, a nobleman riding his horse beside the cart, insisted.

“Yes father,” both children obediently chanted dishearteningly. The boy set his oud down gently, making sure it wouldn’t be jostled too much with the bumps along the road.

“I hope you two remember to remain on your best behavior. You’re going to be living in the same house as the king. This is a very important position I’ve been given, and a lot of people will expect great things from us. I hope you will rise to the occasion,” the father explained.

“We shall, father,” the little girl said.

The family soon passed through a large gate. On the other side, several men and one young boy were waiting for them on horseback.

“Ah, my old friend,” the rider in front greeted the father. “I trust your journey was pleasant?”

“It was, your Majesty,” the father replied. “I am honored by your concern.”

The boy in the cart perked up. From the way his father was speaking, the man in front must be the king. But, he didn’t look majestic or extraordinary or at all like the songs described a king to be.

The boy was baffled by this.

The king eyed the children in the cart. “I assume these are your heirs?”

The father nodded. “Yes sire, these are my children. Gieve is my heir, and his sister is called Lira.”

The king gestured to the young boy behind him. “This is my son and the future king, Prince Omar. He is about the same age as your boy, so perhaps it would be wise to have them play together. Especially if you intend to have your son succeed you in every way.”

The father nodded again. “That does sound like a good idea, your Majesty.”

Gieve, the boy in the cart, looked at the person who’d just been identified as the prince. He looked rather ordinary, not particularly handsome or athletic or anything else the songs said a prince should be.

Gieve was baffled by this.

“Your Highness! A message has come from Creta!”

Arslan and his army were camped just outside the Cretan border, where they had been for the past three days. Elam had approached a military outpost just inside the borders waving a white flag, and had asked for a letter written by Prince Arslan to be delivered to the King of Creta. When the message was sent, the soldiers had allowed Elam to return to the camp on the condition that he told his company to remain outside the borders of Creta until further notice.

Arslan greeted the messenger. “Please, let me see what they have to say.”

Arslan unrolled the scroll and read quickly. In only a few seconds he was smiling. “The King has allowed us to pass through his country!” As he read further though, his eyes started to narrow in worry. “He has also invited me and my retainers to dine with him in his castle. I feel like… that is likely a trap of some sort.”

Narsus smirked proudly at his prince’s intuition. “Your thoughts are the same as mine, your Highness. Though, I don’t think we could afford to refuse, as that would be an insult to his Majesty the King of Creta. We should accept this invitation, but make plans in case a trap is sprung. Gieve,” Narsus turned to the musician, “you are the only one among us with any knowledge of this country. What do you make of this?”

Gieve frowned, unwilling to involve himself in this matter. “Your Highness, may I see the letter?”

Arslan handed the scroll to him.

Gieve read the letter.

 To Prince Arslan, Son of Andragoras and Tahamine, Crown Prince of Pars,

 I have received your request for permission to march across my territory, and I am inclined to grant it under a few conditions. First, you must promise not to disrupt my people’s lives as you pass through. I am instructing a guide to lead your company along our roads so that you may avoid this. Second, if you have need of food or lodgings, you must pay for them as any other traveler would. If you have need of it, I would be willing to loan you money. Third, neither you nor your men must commit any violent crimes as they cross my territory. If you cannot abide by these stipulations, then I will not be able to allow you within these borders again.

 I rarely get the opportunity to meet anyone outside my country, so I would like to invite you and your retainers to dine with me in my castle. My hope is that we may be able to develop a relationship that will benefit both our countries.

 Sincerely,

Omar, King of Creta.

Gieve looked up from the letter and thought carefully. Both the handwriting and the phrasing are Omar’s, so it’s unlikely that he is simply doing as an advisor of his commands. Still, he isn’t the man I once knew…

“His interest in meeting you seems genuine, your Highness,” Gieve said. “Still, I share Lord Narsus’s concerns. We can’t be sure that the King and his advisors aren’t planning something for us.”

“We should send someone to scout the area and keep a watch for assassins and other traps, your Highness.” Elam recommended. “I could go.”

“I should be the one to go,” Gieve suggested.

Everyone looked at him like he’d grown a second head.

“I’m surprised you’d willingly give up the chance to socialize with palace girls,” Alfreed noted.

“Eh…” Gieve moved his hands behind his head. “I’m afraid my presence in this diplomatic meeting would do more harm than good.”

“You fraternized with the wrong woman and got yourself kicked out, didn’t you?” Daryun guessed.

“Well, although it is true that I have a connection to a certain beautiful woman there,” Gieve admitted, “I am afraid that the full situation is more complicated than that, and I’d rather just avoid the subject entirely.”

“Come on Omar! This way!” A teenaged Gieve climbed over a castle wall and encouraged his friend to do the same.

The prince of Creta pushes himself up. “It’s weird, hearing someone other than my mother and father refer to me by my name.”

Gieve laughed. “Well, I can’t exactly call you ‘your Highness’ when we’re sneaking out, can I?”

“Why are we sneaking out anyway?” Omar asked. “It would be a lot easier to go out with escorts and probably a lot safer!”

“Did you not ask me just yesterday to help you become a great king?” Gieve asked, helping his friend over the wall and jumping down. “The best way you can figure out what you need to do is by learning about the great kings of the past. To do that, it is best to hear the legends and songs about them. As for why we are going in secret, common people treat you differently when they know you are royalty or even nobility. If you want to learn the true knowledge these people have, it is best to act like you are the same as them.”

“But why can you not just tell me the stories and sing me the songs?” Omar asked.

“Believe me, I would like to be able to sing you every song in existence, but I don’t know them all,” Gieve explained. “That being said, we can’t go back until I’ve learned a new song. I promised Lira as much.”

Omar turned to his friend in surprise. “Lira enjoys songs?”

Gieve smiled, understanding the young, love-stuck prince’s interest. “Indeed, she does.”

Omar nodded and looked forward with a determined look. “In that case, I better learn several songs tonight.”

When Arslan and his companions passed through the city gates, they were greeted by a young man, woman, and child wearing crowns.

“Are you Prince Arslan of Pars?” The man asked.

“I am,” Arslan replied. “Am I addressing his Majesty King Omar of Creta?”

“You are,” King Omar nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine as well.” Arslan said graciously.

King Omar gestured to the woman beside him. “Allow me to introduce my wife, Queen Lira of Creta.”

Arslan nodded at the woman. “It is an honor, Queen Lira.”

The Queen gave a short curtsy to the prince.

“And this is my son, Prince Hondal,” Kind Omar said, indicating the child.

Arslan gave the young prince a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Prince.”

The boy gave a small bow, then ran off back to the palace.

“ You’ll have to excuse my son, he’s very young and hasn’t met strangers before. Please, Prince Arslan, would you come join me inside?” King Omar asked.

Arslan dismounted and handed the reigns of his horse to a nearby servant before following the King through the palace doors. He could hear his companions doing the same behind him.

The Royal Palace of Ceta was magnificent. The entry hallway had a high dome ceiling with intricate designs carved into the framework. The magnificent decorations that lined the walls gave it a sense of complexity, and likely hid many secret holes for people to hide in.

Arslan suspected that Gieve was hiding in one of these holes.

A middle-aged man in simple yet impractical robes came out of a nearby hallway and bowed to King Omar “Your Majesty.”

The King pushed his shoulders back, giving a stance of someone who had to put on airs. “Grand Visir Sergence. Have you finished making arrangements for our Parsian guests?”

The Grand Visir straightened and cast a wary glance at Arslan and his company. “I have sir, though I wish that you had consulted me before extending the invitation. I would have been able to…”

“Advise me against it, I’m sure.” Omar interrupted his advisor. “Is there a reason why you’re here? I’m entertaining guests.”

Grand Visir Sergence pulled out a scroll and handed it to his king. “It is a small matter, and I would be happy to deal with it myself if you would give me leave…”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” King Omar took the scroll and scanned it quickly. “I wouldn’t call this a small matter. Lira, would you mind showing our guests their rooms, then come join me in the throne room?”

The Queen nodded.

“In that case, you have my apologies Prince Arslan, but there is something I must attend to.” Omar explained.

“Oh, there is no problem.” Arslan graciously replied. “I certainly wouldn’t want you to neglect your people on my account.”

“I see. I shall see you for dinner tonight then.” With that, King Omar quickly left, his Grand Visir following behind.

“Please follow me, Prince Arslan.” Queen Lira led the guests down a grand hallway to the right. Although they all followed obediently, Narsus and Daryun fell back and out of earshot of the Queen.

“What do you make of this King Omar?” Daryun asked.

Narsus sighed. “It’s too soon to tell his true nature, but it is blatantly obvious he does not trust his own Grand Visir. Whether this is the mark of a tyrant, or someone who is attempting to walk his own path remains to be seen.”

Daryun nodded. “I see.”

Narsus frowned. “Tell me, old friend, if our Prince had never met the two of us, do you think that he would have ended up in a position where he couldn’t trust those around him?”

“I’m not sure,” Daryun said. “But I suspect not. His Highness has a charisma that inspires loyalty, and his personality brings out the best in people. Still, power-hungry men would certainly wish to take advantage of him, so it’s likely that without the confidence he’s learned since I met him he would become a puppet to others.”

Narsus closed his eyes. “In any case, I’m glad we’ll never know what would have actually happened and we serve the prince we do.”

A newly crowned King Omar buried his face in his hands and wept. “I can’t do this. There’s no way I can follow in father’s footsteps.”

Gieve placed a hand on the new King’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do this alone, your Majesty. My Father is still Grand Visir, and I’ll follow in his footsteps. You know you can trust us, you always have.”

King Omar lifted his face. “It sounds weird now, hearing that title from you.”

The barest hint of a smirk appeared on Gieve’s face. “Well, it is only proper. I would be happy to call you simply ‘my friend Omar’ while we are in private, though.”

“I would appreciate that.” King Omar looked out the window, not so subtly avoiding Gieve’s eyes. “Gieve, I think that the people need something to restore their confidence in their King.”

Gieve frowned. “Because of the conditions of your father’s death?”

“He showed no signs of illness, yet suddenly passed in the night. I had barely begun to learn from him what would be expected of me as a king.” Omar reminded Gieve.

“True, it does have the signs of foul play.” Gieve mused.

“That’s why I want to go through with something that my father had whole-heartedly supported. I intend to make Lira my queen.”

Gieve smirked at that. “Well, I certainly have no objections. You have been betrothed to my sister for many months now, and she has been smitten with you since we were children. By all means, go forward with the wedding, and let the dreams of the future wash away the uncertainties of the past.”

“It means a great deal to me that I’ll be ruling with both of my best friends by my side: Lira as my Queen, and you as my advisor and someday Grand Visir,” Omar said.

Gieve laughed. “Well, I’m certainly a long way away from becoming Grand Visir. Right now, I’ll remain satisfied in my father’s shadow, using my skill with weapons to protect you and my talent for music to ease your burdens.”

“That may be, but someday they shall sing songs of Gieve the great hero of Creta and his many accomplishments,” Omar said.

“Only in reference to the Great King Omar and the Magnificent Queen Lira, I’m sure.” Gieve picked up an oud and strummed the strings. “That is surely a song I would enjoy learning.”

“Speaking of songs, would you mind playing one for me?” Omar asked. “Something about a king similar to what I aim to be.”

Gieve strummed the strings again. “I have just the song, old friend.”

The next time Arslan was able to meet with his host , it was during dinner. While Arslan enjoyed the company of all his companions, the only people  present from Creta were the royal family. Arslan found this concerning.

“The food here is excellent, King Omar,” Arslan complimented.

The King looked genuinely relieved. “I’m glad you think that. I’ll pass on the compliment to the cook.”

Prince Hondal picked at his food a little but soon put it down. “Mama? May I be excused?”

“Yes dear.” The Queen seemed to be more at ease than Arslan or anyone in his company. She probably knew whatever was going on, and either didn’t expect anything to go wrong or had no concerns with what it would mean to her.

As Hondal left, his father turned to Arslan. “You’ll have to excuse him, he’s rather young and not yet used to the formality of court.”

“There is nothing to excuse,” Arslan said. “Like you said, he is young, and isn’t childhood a time to enjoy?”

“You’re right,” King Omar said.

Arslan cast his host a sideways glance. He’d like to think that his host was a good man, but considering the fact that he had his hands full with the war with Lusitania and his experiences in Sindhura, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Also, there was the matter of Gieve’s recent behavior….

Arslan put down the utensils he’d been eating with. “King Omar, I do not wish to be rude, but would you mind if I asked you a difficult question?”

“I do not mind,” King Omar said.

“Was there a reason why you wished to meet with me?” Arslan asked.

All of Arslan’s companions pretended to continue eating, but watched the King’s answer carefully, trying to gage the man. Queen Lira simply chuckled in light amusement.

King Omar took another bite of food and chewed it before answering. “To be perfectly honest, I wanted to find out what kind of man you are and whether or not you’d be a suitable ally.”

Arslan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Are you looking for an alliance?”

“Tentatively.” King Omar turned to speak to Arslan directly. “My country has been isolated for a rather long time, but I fear that it will be detrimental to remain so for much longer. I want to open our borders to travelers, information, and more trade soon, but I need to be sure that my people will be protected. I need someone I can trust to make sure our neighbors don’t take advantage.”

“I see,” Arslan said. “Have you considered asking some of your subordinates that you trust to travel to your neighbors and communicate with them officially?”

King Omar frowned. “I would, except there’s nobody I trust enough besides my wife. Everyone in the palace is in Sergence’s pocket somehow, and he supports our isolation.”

Arslan nodded. “I think I understand. I know what it’s like to want a controversial change in one’s own kingdom. Luckily, I have been blessed with many valuable companions who share my ideals.” Arslan gestured to his company farther down the table.

“Indeed, I wish I had half your luck in loyal companions,” King Omar said.

Narsus looked up and addressed the King. “Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, why have you not replaced Grand Visir Sergence if you disagree on policy so much?”

King Omar looked deeply troubled by this question. “Believe me, I would if I had the chance. But too many powerful people are in league with him, and there’s nobody I could give the position to that isn’t essentially his puppet. Besides, there’s only one man who I would like to have at my side, and, well…”

King Omar looked at his wife nervously.

Queen Lira had some kind of fury in her eyes, though nobody could tell who that fury was directed at. “Prince Arslan, allow me to share some history concerning the position of Grand Visir. My father had inhabited the post during the reign of the previous king, as well as during the first few years of my husband’s. It was believed for a long time that my older brother would be the one to succeed him. But, he did not have much political power outside my father’s legacy and a friendship with my husband. Sergence, on the other hand…”

Arslan nodded, understanding. From what little he’d heard about the man from King Omar and his wife, Sergence must have a talent for politics.

King Omar cleared his throat. “Yes, well, after the death of my father-in-law, Gieve and I had a kind of falling out.”

Everyone at the table froze at that name.

“Gieve?” Arslan asked, though he was already aware of who that was referring to.

“My older brother,” Queen Lira confirmed.

“Yes, he and I ended up having a fight that escalated badly. In hindsight, we were both just hurting over his father’s death, but I suspect that Sergence may have been pulling the strings behind that matter as well. After that, Sergence took the position of Grand Visir. It took a couple of months before Lira was able to convince me that I was acting like Sergence’s puppet,” King Omar explained.

Arslan took a deep breath. “I see. I can’t promise much until I defeat Lusitania, but I would like to see your country’s isolation end, King Omar.”

The King looked truly overjoyed. “Thank you, Prince Arslan. That means a great deal to me.”

Everyone at the table returned to eating. Although nobody actually said as much, everybody in Arslan’s company was thinking about their missing friend.

Gieve stormed into the King’s room without bothering to announce himself. “Why aren’t you investigating my father’s murder?”

King Omar didn’t even look up from his paperwork. “The doctor said that he came down with a sudden mysterious illness and passed away during the night. There’s nothing to investigate.”

“And you actually believe them?” Gieve asked. “My father has never been sick a day in his life, but you expect me to believe that he died mysteriously without even a cough?”

King Omar looked up. “What do you think happened?”

“Obviously, someone poisoned him.” Gieve growled.

“Well, if that’s the case, then who?” The king asked.

“That’s what I need to find out!” Gieve started pacing. “Some kind of political rival or someone who desired his position…”

“You do realize that the person most likely to take his position in the event of his death is you, right?” Omar pointed out.

Gieve froze. “You don’t seriously think that I had anything to do with…”

“Of course not,” Omar said. “But someone else might. So it would be smart of you to keep your head down and focus on helping the country in other matters, such as managing the tax collection.”

“Speaking of that, would you mind telling me what you were thinking increasing the taxes on the western farmers? Surely you know that a disease took the majority of their crop?” Gieve asked.

“We need the funds,” Omar explained, “and Lord Sergence told me that the crop failure was just a rumor started by the farmers to avoid paying their due.”

Gieve stopped pacing. “Lord Sergence, you say?”

“Yes, Lord Sergence. He has a lot of knowledge about how to best run the country.” Omar returned to his work.

“I see,” Gieve turned to leave the room. “In that case, I’ll have to go check the validity of Lord Sergence’s information.”

Gieve settled himself into a secret room just beside the dining hall. It was close enough that he could hear what was going on in there, and out of the way enough that nobody should come and find him. That would be exceptionally bad, since he wasn’t supposed to be in the country and Arslan could potentially be in diplomatic relations with Omar.

It felt weird, being back in the castle of his childhood and yet being a total stranger. Using the secret passages so people wouldn’t kill him, rather than to sneak out without an escort. There weren’t as many familiar faces as he’d have hoped, which probably indicated how much Sergence’s influence had grown.

Gieve pressed his ear against the wall. Was Omar actually asking Prince Arslan for an alliance? Why? Oh, it had to do with ending the country’s isolation. That always had been a dream of Omar’s, ever since they were kids. It was good to learn that at least some things about his old friend hadn’t changed.

Suddenly, the door opened and a child wandered in.

Gieve mentally cursed, and hoped that the boy would leave without looking up where he was.

No such luck.

“Who are you?” the boy asked. “What are you doing in my secret place?”

“Ah, my apologies, I didn’t realizes this was yours.” Gieve babbled, praying that his silver tongue would find a way out of this.

The boy’s eyes had fallen on the instrument at Gieve’s side. “You play the oud? Can you play a song for me?”

That sudden interest in songs… it reminded Gieve so much of a little girl begging big brother to play her another song….

Ah, I see, Gieve realized. Well, they are married.

“I’d love to little one, but if I did then the sound would carry and people would discover your secret place.”

“Oh,” the boy looked crestfallen, but didn’t argue the reasoning.

“Would you settle for a story?” Gieve asked.

The boy’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

Gieve lifted the boy up into his lap and strained his ears to hear some more of the conversation. Were they talking about… him? Well, he hadn’t expected Lord Narsus to enter this place without discovering something about his past. He hoped that this didn’t affect Lady Farangis’s opinion of him. But Omar sounded… almost remorseful. Maybe there was still hope for him.

The boy on his lap poked at Gieve’s arm. “What’s the story?”

That shook Gieve out of his stupor. “Ah, sorry little one.” He quickly racked his brain for a story. “What kind of story would you like to hear?”

“A story about a prince!” the boy eagerly requested.

 Definitely my sister’s child.

There were probably other stories that would be appropriate, but for some reason Gieve found himself telling a tale he hadn’t learned from any bard. “There once was a prince named Arslan in a country not very far from here. He was a kind boy, who valued the least of his subjects just as much as his lords and knights.”

The boy was already engrossed in the story.

“This prince lived for many years in the safety of his father’s castle,” Gieve continued, “but one day, a terrible army invaded Prince Arslan’s country. Since he was of age and had yet to fight his maiden battle, the prince joined his father on campaign to drive the invaders out. Unfortunately, this battle ended in defeat for the Prince’s army, with his father in chains and the invaders about to take his capital.”

The boy gasped. “Oh no!”

“Oh no indeed.” Gieve couldn’t hide his amusement. “However, the prince did have one advantage: a knight with no equal, whose loyalty lay with Prince Arslan and nobody else. This knight, known as Daryun, was able to save his prince from certain death and lead him safely to a recluse friend of his.”

Gieve continued like that, telling the story of Prince Arslan’s journey like it was a tale of an ancient king. The boy – Lira and Omar’s child, he was sure of it now – listened attentively. He tried to keep one ear open for anything nefarious in the next room, but nothing happened until they all left for bed. At that point, Gieve admitted that he wouldn’t do them any more good staying here and not attempting to find any of Sergence’s plots before they came to fruition.

“… And as such, the prince and his companions determined that they would have to pass through the neighboring kingdom,” Gieve finished abruptly.

“Well? What happened next?” the boy asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” Gieve admitted.

The boy frowned. “What do you mean you don’t know? Aren’t you the one telling the story?”

“Yes, but the story is unfinished,” Gieve explained.

The boy crossed his arms and pouted. “Unfinished stories are stupid.”

Gieve chuckled. “Actually, I quite like unfinished stories, because we can decide for ourselves how they end.”

“Oh,” the boy seemed interested in that.

Gieve smiled. “Remember this, little prince, we are all characters in the great unfinished story called ‘life’ and we are the ones who determine what happens next.”

The boy looked up. “How did you know I was the prince?”

Gieve jumped down from his perch and set his nephew on the ground. “Because you look a great deal like your mother when she was young.”

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!????”

King Omar stormed out into the courtyard where his oldest friend was currently holding a sword at one of his advisor’s throats.

Lord Sergence was quivering under Gieve’s sword. “I do not understand, I can’t imagine what could possess you to attack me, lord Gieve…”

“You know exactly what you did!” Gieve shouted. “You are the one behind it all!”

“Gieve! Enough!” Omar barked the order.

Gieve didn’t put away his sword, though he did lower it a few inches.

“My King, if you knew half the things this man has done…” Gieve started to explain.

“What? Where is your proof of this imagined wrongdoing?” Sergence asked.

“There is none, but you made sure that, did you not?” Gieve spat.

“My King, I know this man is your brother-in-law, but he attacked me unprovoked.” Sergence insisted.

The other people in the courtyard murmured among themselves in agreement.

“I am telling you, he’s the one behind everything!” Gieve insisted. “Who do you believe more, him or me?”

Omar narrowed his eyes. “Lord Gieve, you are my oldest friend and my brother, but I cannot stand for this.”

The whole world waited with bated breath.

“Lord Gieve, you are banished from the county of Creta. Be grateful that I do not order your execution.”

Gieve’s lips became thin lines. “I see. So this is the kind of King you really are.” He slid his sword into his sheath.

Suddenly, he started laughing like a madman.

“You know, King Omar, you are in fact doing me a favor. If this is your true nature, then I would never wish to serve a king like you. They will never sing songs about your deeds.”

And with that, Gieve turned and disappeared into the night.

Gieve didn’t catch up with Arslan and his company for several miles outside the capital gates.“Your Highness! I have returned!” He cried out.

Arslan turned on his horse and greeted the musician. “Gieve! I am glad that you are unharmed.”

Gieve caught up with the rest of the company with a smile on his face and immediately turned to lady Farangis. “Ah, my love, I am sure that you were worried day and night for my safety, but there was no reason—”

“Not really.” Farangis abruptly cut him off.

Gieve’s face fell. He also couldn’t shake the sensation of several stares from his comrades. The most notable among which included Alfreed and Jaswant.

“Gieve, could I ask for your advice on something?” Arslan asked.

“Of course, your Highness.” Gieve said.

“While we were visiting with King Omar, he suggested that we form an alliance between Pars and Creta. What do you think of this?” Arslan asked.

Gieve waited a few moments before answering, giving the question careful thought. “Well, first of all, I don’t see many immediate benefits with Pars. It’s Creta that will benefit the most from that arrangement. However, as Creta begins to flourish, having a good relationship with them may pay off eventually.”

Arslan nodded understanding.

“On a personal level though,” Gieve admitted, “I do believe that King Omar would become a much better King if he has you as a friend, your Highness.”

“I’ll take your words to heart then, Gieve.” Arslan said.

[ladypjmoon]

BTS FF Reads for August

Greetings Readers!!!

Here’s my BTS FanFiction Recommendations for August!!!  

This is the last long-ish reading list for the summer as university terms begin later this month for the majority of the US.  I hope you all had a fantastic summer and were able to create happy memories with family, friends and maybe even a love interest!!!  

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01)   Title: Blow Me Like Your French Horn

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by ohdizzy

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5742976 

Summary: In which Jimin undergoes a transformation from Cinnamon Roll to Sinnamon Roll and Jeongguk is a little too ompetitive, a little too tsundere, and a little bit too moony-eyed for his own good.  (A tale of red converses, sandpit wrestling, shitty best friends a little too obsessed with playing Cupid, emotional constipation, existential crises, and that one body roll Jimin does that makes Jeongguk re-evaluate his life)

“i see that you adore playing your loud ass trumpet at random moments in the middle of the night, well fyi i happen to be a master at the French horn so fuck u i challenge you to a brass off” AU

My Review: Wow, I adored this story—it’s packed with fun, mischief and mayhem...but the ‘feels’ are definitely here too!  Jungkook is emotionally constipated and entirely to competitive with his new neighbor and we follow their relationship from age 7 into college.  This has fantastic dialog and a healthy side of Taegi so enjoy!

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 02)   Title: don't be like a prey (smooth like a like a snake)

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by sugacravings

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/10749690

Summary:  “what do you mean, me?” jimin asks dubiously, blinking up at the village leaders. he sees taemin scrunch his eyebrows in worry, and minho grimaces.  “out of all the qualifying youths, hoseok is immediately a no,” kibum pipes up. “he’s scared of garden snakes. and tae...well, tae would just get lost.”  jimin tries to think of a way to defend his friends’ honour but comes up empty.  

(a red riding hood au except not the original plot and gay)

My Review: Here’s another Jikook story with a very loosely related Red Riding Hood, fairytale theme.  All the BTS members are in this one and it’s a solid plot, well written and quite funny in places.  There is implied smutt but it’s not graphic or pwp by any means.  

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 03)   Title: In The Same Boat

Ship:  Vmin

Author:  by pornographicpenguin

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11221653

Summary:  "You want to what?"

"Dock," Jimin says.

Taehyung blinks. "You mean like...with a boat?"

My Review: Holy fuck this is some fabulous shit!!! There’s a fuckton of sexual tension packed into these 9 pages and it’s not all smut—there’re some serious sparks and feels between these two...you literally taste it, lol!!!  You will fall in love with this story!!!          

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 04)   Title: just stay here (forever, if you want)

Ship:  Taegi

Author:  by Indigofingers

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/8257759

Summary:  "My roommate is drunk and won't open the door, can I sleep here tonight?"  Or, Yoongi doesn't let people sleep in his room but can't turn Taehyung away. Invites him to stay, even.

My Review:  This Taegi story is your basic feel-good plot on crack.  I’m a sucker for anything Yoongi—but a soft, grumpy hyung is my personal favorite...and this story oozes Yoongi fluff so check it out!  

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 05)   Title:  Love Me Across The Universes

Ship:  Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by Kavbj

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/7784662

Summary:  It starts and ends with Jungkook chasing after the boy he sees in glass windows and passing reflections.  It starts and ends with Taehyung.

My Review: This is a very powerful plot that will sneak up on you.  I found it enthralling—but I will warn you up front, the author did not wrap the ending up with a nice, neat little bow on top—so if you don’t like teary goodbyes, you’re having an emotional week or just a little short on sunshine...then you might want to pass on this one.  

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 06)   Title: Of Spiced Honey and Apples

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by tinycloverspot

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/7252357

Summary:  One month of separation across a seemingly infinite sea and Jimin was finally back in Yoongi's arms.  Jimin was finally back home.  Or: Jimin comes home and they have filthy sex yeah that's a better summary XD

My Review: And here’s a short Yoonmin story—straight up ABO smut.  Jimin is great as a sexy, possessive alpha—so grab some ice for your drink...it’s about to get a little hot!  

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 07)   Title: One Minute English

Ship:  Vmon

Author:  by rosiex

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/9622331

Summary:  Sometimes you don't need words to understand each other.  Or: Namjoon goes to Seoul and meets a handsome stranger.  Just a very short fluffy piece inspired by the Rapmon 1 minute English lesson on the latest Vapp broadcast.

 My Review: Here’s a sweet little 5-pager that will absolutely melt your heart—this is full of fluff and feels with a picture-perfect ending too.  You will want to download this one and read it over and over again!!!

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 08)   Title: Boys who Talk Shit

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by internetpistol

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/6535498

Summary:  When Yoongi enrolled in BTS (aka Boys who Talk Shit) Boarding School, he wasn't really expecting to be the only 'straight' (to be read sarcastically) guy in a room of seven geniuses (aka children aged five to ten, honestly). Plus four pet spiders. Yes, plural.  Chaotic episodes in A Place of Love and War, where Yoongi learns all about True Love via Park Jimin, Music and Marriage. Sort of. Brain bleach and ear plugs are strongly recommended.

My Review:  An amazing story, well written and fantastic characters!  This story has humor, great dialog and plenty of action to keep you entertained—you’re gonna wish there was a sequel to this one, ngl!!!

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 09)   Title: Can't keep my hands to myself (no matter how hard I'm

trying to)

Ship: Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by sunshineandpixiedust

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/6020827

Summary:  

6:00 | tae hyung

What are you wearing?

or: Taehyung and Jeongguk starts to sext as a game. Jeongguk will not lose.

My Review: Here’s a cute Taekook story that starts off with some sexting—but don’t worry, there’s huge helping of Taekook smut! Spoiler alert...this is a bottom Jungkook (yassss!)

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 10)   Title: Resonance

Ship:  Taekook | Vkook

Author:  by rix

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/9538235

Summary:  Jungkook wonders if the fact that soul-focused battle techniques make people horny as hell is just something the professors politely ignore. Or maybe he's just weird.

My Review: This is a soul eater au so make sure you read the author’s notes if you’re not familiar with the au.  This story is lit—it’s got action, drama, romance and humor so enjoy it!

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 11)   Title: You're My Angel

Ship:  Sugakookie

Author:  by katesicle

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11426052

Summary:  Jungkook's tattoos don't mean anything in particular, except how Yoongi gets when he's frustrated, and needs to do something with his hands, or when Yoongi wants to practice a new design style, or how Jungkook keeps Yoongi with him during long months apart from each other. Okay, so the tattoos mean something. Jungkook's just not sure what.

My Review: Three pages of feels!  This is quick read and it’s seriously an awesome little story.

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 12)   Title: all of your sides are good

Ship:  Vmin

Author:  by knth

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5040898

Summary:  “I’m serious,” he whispers before slipping into slumber. “You have to do whatever I want. No ifs or buts about it.”  

It's Jimin's birthday and Taehyung has to do whatever he wants. (Or where Jimin doesn'tknow what he wants, is what Taehyung wants too.)

My Review:   Here’s a fantastic Vmin story for this month! This one has it all—heart and with the added benefit of smut between friends so it’s a definite winner for your summer love enjoyment!

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 13)   Title: kiss and cry

Ship:  Sugakookie | Yoonkook

Author:  by darling

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/8632942

Summary:   it makes sense, perhaps, that yoongi's music only sounds right in the hands of someone

who loves it just as much as he does.

My Review: Thanks to darling I fell in love with Sugakookie and I don’t think anyone writes this ship more justice! This is a Yuri On Ice-themed story with a f*ckton of feels and mental imagery from one of the best writers out there...in my opinion—so give it a go and see what you think!

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 14)   Title: Soulmate? No, Thanks.

Ship:  Yoonmin

Author:  by Bookworming

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/5891656

Summary:  

Min Yoongi has been waiting to have his first colour dream since he was 17 because a dream in colour is the dream of your soulmate, whoever they are. In a world where all humans have only black and white dreams the only colour dreams one gets are those of their soulmate, if they have one. Soulmates get each other's dreams in colour and can speak to them through those dreams, a privilege Yoongi has coveted for a long time.  Yoongi has also coveted his best friend Kim Seokjin for a long time but unfortunately for

Yoongi, Seokjin's soulmate loves sleeping and occupies his mind in a way Yoongi never does.  

Park Jimin made the worst mistake of his life by getting drunk and driving himself home one day before his 17th birthday. When he wakes up, things have changed drastically, the biggest change being the sexy voice that interrupted his first pleasant dream in a LONG time.

My Review: This is a beautiful story that starts out sad but don’t worry, there’s a happy ending!!!  It’s a soulmate au where both Jimin and Yoongi are in love with their best friend—both of whom find love (and soulmate) in other people over the course of the story.  The plot will make you cry, roll your eyes and cringe from second-hand embarrassment (mostly Yoongi) but it’ll leave you smiling in the end...I promise!!!        

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 15)   Title: The Angel In You

Ship:  Jikook

Author:  by bangtansunyeondan

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/10476954

Summary:  “I’m his ex boyfriend who knows that you’re a piece of shit. If you ever speak to him like that again, i’ll fucking kill you.” The guy with chocolate brown hair spoke in a voice so low and threatening.  Jimin swallowed the lump in his throat. “We’re done, don’t try and contact me. I can’t stand your insults any longer. Goodbye.” Jimin walked off, feeling his face burn at all the

stares he was getting. ***

Jimin turned around, not realizing he was crying until the guy’s look softened and tried to wipe his tears away but Jimin pushed his hand away and sniffled. “Listen, thanks for defending me and all, but I don’t know who you are.”  The guy looked at him with a small frown. “I’m Jeon Jungkook, now you know me.”

or

very loosely based on ‘my current partner is a huge asshole and i need a reason to break up with them so will you pretend to be my possessive and violent ex’ au

My Review: Honestly, this story will leave you breathless from the feels!  Jungkook comes to Jimin’s rescue and he can’t help but fall in love with the younger boy. They decide to take things slow since Jimin just got out of an abusive relationship...but the chemistry between them makes this difficult.  There’s no smut but the makeout sessions are well written and get quite heated leaving the reader wanting more and although sexually frustrating...it’s a great read!!!

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 16)   Title: Hai Shi Shan Meng

Ship:  Taegi

Author:  by handintheshot

Link:  http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/11079393

Summary:  Yoongi soon realizes that what people love the most about witch burnings is the noise. There’s something about the wails of terror and pain that really rile the crowd up, because yes they deserve to die so painfully and slowly. They deserve their own slice of Hell on this earth. Yoongi deserves this piece of Hell.  As roars of pain rip from Taehyung’s throat, something animal laces with his guttural noises. Everyone can hear it, Yoongi is sure. It’s neither demonic nor angelic, just primal, and it strikes as much fear in the crowd as it does anger. All it strikes in Yoongi is ache.  And soon he cannot see the charring skin of his love, cannot hear the cries that sound like they belong in the heart of the jungle.  As the fire grows with blinding light, he hears those words whispered and flooded into his brain.  We’ll meet again, my love.

-OR Three instances in where Yoongi holds Taehyung's life in his hand, and the only thing Taehyung can tell Yoongi is "We'll meet again, my love."

My Review: This Taegi story is an incredibly interesting love story.  We follow the couple’s love story through two historical episodes which they’re both forced to remember in their present day lives.  This is a very unique and intriguing concept with a touch of smut that gives it some grit.  I really enjoyed this story so I’ll be checking out the author’s other fics as well.    

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As always, let me know if you’ve read any great stories or have a favorite author—I’m more than willing to read (most) BTS suggestions...so, send me the link and I’ll check it out!!!

See you all next month and you can reach me at any of the following sites!  

AO3:  http://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPJMoon#posting

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WP:  https://www.wattpad.com/user/LadyPJMoon

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TWT:  https://twitter.com/ladypjmoon

 ^___^  PJ