#because when I *am* knowledgeable about stuff I pay attention to it when I read/watch stuff

[theamazingannie]

Is there like somewhere online that can connect writers to professionals cuz sometimes in my writing I need very specific information that just isn’t available online and I need to discuss it with someone more knowledgeable in the particular field than I am and also don’t want to concern someone by asking out of context/be put on a watchlist

[writeshite]

would you write more of the smart cookie fic? im just very very into it and would love a part 2 🫶🏻

Love You To The Moon & Back

Summary:

“Good morning to you, too,” you kiss his forehead, and he mumbles something else, snuggling deeper into your arms. “What happened to the early bird catches the worm, hmm?” “....not a bird…no worms please….” he mumbles. “Hmm,” you respond, rubbing circles along his back, “How about pancakes? I think I might have some blueberries or chocolate chips,” you muse; Spencer peeks up at you. “Ah, I see I’ve piqued your interest.”

Pairings:

Spencer Reid x Male Reader

Tags:

Tattooed Reader (Because I Don’t See Enough Of That) | Fluff | A Wee Bit Of Angst | Developing Relationship | I Shook Spencer & Insecurities Fell Out | Inaccurate Laws & Profiling Probably (Take What I Write With A Grain Of Salt :)

Words: 4690

Author's Note:

Yes, you may 😌. I've been thinking of doing some more stuff for the AUs I make, cause it's fun, and I think male & gender-neutral readers need more AUs. Sorry for making this long 💀.

Previous

I found the experience of falling in love or being in love was a death: a death of everything. You kind of watch yourself die in a wonderful way, and you experience for the briefest moment - if you see yourself for a moment through their eyes - everything you believed about yourself gone. In a death-and-rebirth sense.

- Hozier

Around Spencer, the kitchen felt like a world away as he took in the feeling he was experiencing; with light, frivolous laughter, he hid his face in your chest to stop himself from falling into giddy hysterics. You were equally as giddy, chuckling when Spencer met your eye, “So…what now?” he asked.

“Well, we’ve got a few more hours of work,” you respond, chuckling when his face scrunched up in mock irritation, “but after, we could go on a date,” you suggest.

“Date?”

“Hmm, you know,” you respond, “that thing people do when they want to pursue a romantic relationship.” He smiles; admittedly, he hadn’t thought past the kiss, now surprised to find you wanted to cultivate something along the lines of an actual romantic relationship with him. 

“Yeah, I know,” he responds, “what do you have in mind?”

“Well, the museum has a new Classics exhibit,” you reply, and Spencer is amazed that you’d genuinely been paying attention when he’d dumped his knowledge of 15th Century literature on you. “What do you say?”

“Yes,” he nods enthusiastically, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet. The hours left at work breeze through fast, and Spencer spends most of it with dancing hands, a wide smile on his face - your date is set to 9:30 AM, Saturday morning. He goes home with a prep in his step, and when the weekend comes around, his enthusiasm soars; Saturday morning sees few clouds in the sky and the promise of sun. Spencer kept to his usual attire of casualness; the streets were averagely busy, and he twists the strap of his satchel on his way there, quelling any anxieties that manage to break past the excitement. Said anxieties are set aside when he notes how well your leather jacket hugs your arms. 

“Hey, cookie,” you greet, hand reaching out to hold his.

“Hey,” he threads his fingers with yours, thumb rubbing circles on your skin as you make your way through the museum. The Classics exhibit displayed several kraters from c. 520-500 BCE, Etruscan figurines, Greek and Roman sculptures, and various other artifacts. Classics isn’t as interesting a topic it seems, as the crowd is relatively small, but Spencer is thankful for that - the overcrowded dinosaur exhibit you’d passed came to mind, and he shuddered at the thought of being caught up in that. 

“Etruscan tomb painting….” You read off one of the displays before turning to him with a knowing smile.

“Oh, the Etruscans were a civilization that flourished in Central Italy between the 8th and 3rd Century BCE, renowned in antiquity for their rich mineral resources and as a major Mediterranean trading power,” he speaks easily, basking in the fondness you directed towards his rambling. “Much of their history and culture was either destroyed or assimilated into the conquering Roman Empire. Tomb painting is considered one of the Etruscans' greatest legacies, with beautifully painted tombs in Tarquinia, Cerveteri, Chiusi, and Vulci.”

The exhibit didn’t have the actual paintings, instead displaying photographic copies with annotations and interactive maps; the sculptures are set up to mimic the inside of a temple, leading to the back where the kraters are set. The other sculptures are scattered about the room, and Spencer beams when you turn to him for information, having spoken more today than he has in a long time. He coughs in the middle of his tangent about pediments; he rubs the back of his neck and apologizes for the scratchy throat.

You chuckle, “Come on, let’s get something for that cough, eh?” The museum’s cafe is surprisingly empty, with a few people milling about here and there and the majority off at the shops. You both get iced teas and take a table away near one of the window walls. Spencer keeps hold of your hand and drums his fingers mindlessly. He is saddened when the date comes to an end. “C —can we do this again?”

You nod enthusiastically in response, and still riding on the coattails of joy, he asks, “Can I kiss you again?”

“As many times as you like, love.” 

He beams, leaning into your space to do just that, his thumb rubs across your skin, and even after you part for the day, Spencer is ecstatic - the joy persisting into tomorrow as he skips with every step. “Well, well, well, someone’s happy,” Derek remarks. “I hope this means you finally said something to loverboy.”

“Yup,” Spencer responds, “we, uh, had a date yesterday.”

Derek pats Spencer’s back with a proud smile, “You know what this means? I, Derek Morgan, was right.” Spencer shakes his head; any attempts to clarify to Derek that this wasn’t exactly an I told you so moment fell on deaf ears as the man smugly waltzed from the elevator with a cheer. Spencer follows after; when you arrive some moments later, it’s with two coffees as usual, and the day begins as the first of many days chasing an unsub through the Appalachian Mountains. 

“It’s almost like some twisted sightseeing event,” Derek mumbles. “The unsub’s earliest activities can be traced in Alabama; they kidnap two people, and from what the surviving witnesses have said, make both victims fight to the death, the winner gets to live.”

“Ties get both killed, and refusal to fight does the same,” you add. “They’re patient, willing to wait for months if need be to strike again. The murders between Kentucky and West Virginia had two years between them; if they are following the mountains, then there’s a chance they’ll cross over into Canada and most likely out of our hands.”

“Alright, then, let’s make sure that doesn’t happen,” Gideon says, “What else do we know?”

“They’re also meticulous, the locations, the methods, the choosing of victims. It’s all so careful, like some form of entertainment,” Spencer responds.

The facts are as follows:

The unsub has little regard for other people, seeing them as pawns for their own amusement.

The victims appear randomly selected, but on closer inspection, all seem to play into their disturbing amusement. Features vary, but all work in the retail industry - the unsub walks through retail stores for hours before picking. They’d do the same company for two states before switching to another, then another, and another.

Victims had a week; after that, survivors were left tied, with a sack over their heads at their place of work, and corpses were left in the same place as well.

The unsub didn’t care for publicity and seemed to want to keep it as something private. 

Pennsylvania is the next destination; the first victim is already chosen by the time of landing, which leaves one of hundreds if not thousands of other potential candidates. Spencer and Gideon stay with the local police department, you split off with Ellle, and Hotch goes off with Derek. Spencer bounces off theories and facts with Gideon; the profile becomes clearer but comes with a few more holes. The unsub seems well-red, familiar with police procedures, not intimately, more so like someone who’s read and heard extensively enough to understand.

“The space between murders suggests they must have traveling involved in their day-to-day life to be able to do so with such ease. Said life must offer them some satisfaction if they’re able to handle their urges so well.“ Gideon pointed to the mapped-out route of the unsub, “They could be in the tourism field, a flight attendant or a business consultant, something that lets them go from state to state easily enough.”

“Business consultants are sought after for their professional advice and services; they locate challenges in businesses and strategize plans to find solutions; they essentially come in and take over control, in the same way the unsub takes power over one’s life from their victims.” Spencer rambles, “but why target retails workers?”

Gideon sighs, “The higher up the chain you go, the less regard you have for your fellow man,” he states, “83% of retail workers report harassment from customers, the higher the social class, the worse the abuse can be. Our unsub’s disregard for human life may also be intrinsically linked to their social class as well as their occupation.”

“So everyone below a certain point is no better than cattle to them?” Gideon nods in response to Spencer’s question. 

“Can I help you folks out?”

The Goodwill of the first victim’s kidnapping was small, residential houses all around; the community around it wasn’t small per se, but close enough to take note when outsiders came about. The manager, Naomi Hughes, is a kind middle-aged woman of relative height, hair in a neat row of braids along her head.

You and Elle introduce yourselves and draw out your badges, “We’re here about Hayden Mullins.”

She nods, “Oh yes…uh…come with me.” She leads you to the back and into her office, “Hayden was working the closing shift when he was abducted, I told him not to work it alone, but he was determined. Home isn’t the happiest place for him,” she explains, “I’d let him sleep here when his dad was making a ruckus, get some food in him. He’s a good kid; I don’t know why anyone would go after him.”

“Did he have any hostile interactions with customers in the days before he was taken?” you ask.

“Who doesn’t? Folks get real snappy when you can’t get them what they want.” She rubs her temple, “I had a customer scream at me 'cause we didn’t carry non-salted water,” she exclaims with quotation marks, “what the hell is non-salted water?”

Elle huffs and shakes her head, “What about friendly customers? Did you notice anyone who didn’t act the way you’d expect? Anyone who stood out for a different reason?”

Naomi purses her lips, “Now that you mention it,” she opens her desk and pulls out a file, “There was this one woman; she was nice, like really nice. She said she’d just come off a four-hour road trip, so we was ready for all sorts of tantrums, but….”

“But what?” Elle asks.

“She was sweet. Smiled at me and said it was alright when we couldn’t get her what she needed,” Naomi’s face scrunched up a little, “I was a little spooked if I’m being honest; I mean, I’ve had nice customers, but she was something else.” She shuddered, passing over the file to you, “I was gonna forget all about her, but….when she looked at Hayden,” she shook her head, “I got a bad feeling.”

Inside the file was a woman’s side profile - hair clipped back into a bun, light makeup from what you can note in the black and white frame, a neatly kept suit - for all intents and purposes, a regular businesswoman. 

“Hayden was stocking the shelves, I think, and she got mad when he couldn’t man a checkout. Had to have her escorted from the premises, but she came back again —oh my god, do you think she—”

“We don’t know that yet, ma’am,” you interject, “this is still an ongoing investigation; we’re just looking into all the facts as of now.”

“Don’t blame yourself for anything that happened,” Elle tells her.

Naomi nods, “Promise me something, if…if anything happens, you’ll tell me before you tell the news, understand?” You both nod to her request and leave with the security footage and any receipts linked back to the woman.

“If this, April Walsh is our unsub,” Elle points to the picture, “it sounds like she doesn’t like to lose control, the ties, the refusal to fight, it was in the hands of the victims, it was anarchy….” 

“....she can’t let it thrive,” you finish. “The store is already out of her comfort zone and control; what if she assigns roles to the people around her, say Naomi? Managers are notorious for allowing bad behavior, but when Naomi didn’t….” You get behind the wheel and drive while throwing around more theories.

“....she got angry. April told Naomi she came off a four-hour drive; how far is the last crime scene?” She pulls out her phone, and minutes later, she cheers, “Four hours, and eighteen minutes, it’s not much, but….”

“It’s something; let’s get back to Spencer and Gideon with the info.” 

“Speaking of Spencer,” Elle chuckles, “a little birdy told me the two of you went out on a date.”

You groan and roll your eyes, “Seriously?”

“Come on, I mean, Derek’s been bragging that he got Mr. Lovebird and the Resident Genius together,” she quips, “plus, you two make a cute couple.”

You smile, “Thanks. At the very least, I know there’s another date somewhere in the future, so good things to come, I hope.”

“Oh, they’re definitely coming,” Elle remarks. You lightly smack her arm and laugh as you pull up to the local precinct. She raises her eyebrows when Spencer greets you laughing when you stick your tongue out at her.

“Hey, cookie.”

“Hey,” he responds, grinning at you, “did you bring me anything?” he quips.

“How does a potential name for our unsub sound?” You give him the file, “and also, a few more details to add to the profile?”

“I’d say it sounds good,” Gideon responds with a small smile. You and Spencer huff, amused and bashful - Elle relays the theories you’d bounced off each other in the car as Spencer pins April’s image on the board, while Gideon does the same to catch you up on what he and Spencer discussed while you were away. “We can brief the officers when Hotch and Derek get back.”

“It’s about two things,” Gideon begins, facing the  “control and entertainment. The unsub does not care for anyone but herself; at best, anyone outside of that is a form of entertainment and, at worst, an annoyance.” He points to April’s security image, “April Kennedy Walsh is a business consultant, highly sought after from what we’ve gathered, and meticulous with just about everything, from her schedule to her wardrobe.”

“Her method of murder calls back to the gladiatorial fights in the Colosseum; the emperor and the people of Rome would watch as gladiators fought with each other or animals,” Spencer adds, “she feels no remorse for her victims and rewards winners with their life. Refusing to fight for her amusement might insult her in some way, as though she were an actual Roman emperor.”

“She fits in easily with the crowd from a distance, but up close, her disregard peeks through during moments of loss of control. She’s not shown any violent behaviors during those times, but it can’t be ruled out,” Derek passes copies of April’s photos, “and judging by how she took little time to disguise herself in any way, she’s not afraid of being caught. In fact, this whole chase could be another form of entertainment for her, the same way you or I sit back and watch TV.”

“The potential want to be caught doesn’t mean she isn’t using an alias and could be a way to challenge us, so be on the lookout,” Gideon finished.

The officers split off after the debrief, and you gather back as a group, “There’s a few other Goodwills from the first and a bunch more in Pennsylvania; we can’t search them all,” Elle points out, “and even if we did, she’s patient, she could just as easily wait until the smoke blows over before coming back.”

“We don’t have much of a choice; handing out her photo to the media could cause her to abandon the hunt too, and then we’d have no easy way of finding Hayden,” you say, “there has to be some kind of pattern between the stores she chooses.”

“She chooses the same two stores for each pair of victims, always employees, never managers; after two pairs, she changes stores,” JJ reiterates, “what if she’s following the road? Picking whatever store she sees on her way?” She looks at the map, hand trailing over the red pins set on the previous stores, “The first incident was in Huntsville, Alabama, from there, and according to her schedule, she had been on a back-to-back business expose.”

You pick up blue pins and place them outside the border of the Appalachian Mountains, “In that two-year break period, she was in Lancaster, Ohio.” You put a pin there, “then Richmond, Virginia. Maybe, the two-year gap wasn’t by choice or lack of available victims.”

“Personal tragedy? But we couldn’t find anything like that,” JJ sighed, “then again, we could barely find anything about her personal life. Her parents are divorced, and when I called and asked about April, they hung up on me really quick.”

“What are you thinking?” You ask.

“Well, what if this disregard for people started early? Her mother was a judge, her father a surgeon; I’d say that’s enough money to cover up any accidents,” JJ theorizes, “both high-pressure jobs might have caused the divorce. But why not speak about their daughter?”

“One or both parents could have felt guilty, argued with the other about covering it up, then,” you shrug, “divorce?”

You dial Garcia’s number and wait as the tone rings, “Mistress of all knowledge, how may I enlighten you today?”

“Hey, gorgeous,” you greet, she scoffs on the other end, and you can imagine she’s rolling her eyes.

“Ah, my favorite work of art,” she greets back.

“We need to know if April has any juvenile records, sealed records, anything like that, and if her mother was involved in having them buried.”

“Okie dokie.” She types fast a few clicks later and, “Wow. I’ve found a couple of things, most of them cited as isolated incidents and common behavior among children, but one sticks out, November 23rd, 1999, the same year Judge Walsh resigned from her post.”

“She give any reason why?” You inquire.

“Nope.”

“Alright, thanks, Garcia.”

“Anytime.”

You relay the information, “The divorce happened the next year,” JJ mumbles, “let’s see if we can get those records open.”

November 23rd, 1999. April K. Walsh attended a camping trip near Lake Michigan; during a scavenger hunt, one of April’s buddies - Sam Goodwin - was found face down in the waters; the leading theory was Sam had gotten distracted and veered off the trail, with little experience swimming, Sam may have slipped into the water, panicked then subsequently drowned. The children had been paired into groups of three; the third child, Emma Chavez, had insisted that April had done it, and one detective had shot in the dark - months of investigation, and it looked like April would be facing time in a juvenile detention facility.

“What juvenile detention facility did she get sent to?” Gideon asks.

“None; close to the trial, the whole case fell apart; the next year, Judge Walsh resigned from her post and got a divorce.”

“Phone calls won’t cut it,” Hotch states, “we need her parents down here now.”

Joshua Walsh - now a retired surgeon- stayed close to Lake Michigan after the divorce and never remarried. Sofia Phillips - previously Sofia Walsh, post-divorce, she moved to Vermont, remarried, and had two more children before returning to work as a judge in a more minor position. Both refused to look each other in the eye; Joshua appeared more saddened, while Sofia was irritated. 

“I’m sure you have a good reason for dragging me all the way here,” Sofia grumbled.

You knew very little of Sofia Phillips, but from what you could gauge, she held herself higher than others and regarded the investigation with about as much regard as buying the wrong flavor of juice.

“Yes, ma’am, we wanted to ask about your daughter, April,” Hotch replied.

“April? Please, I don’t have a daughter called April anymore.”

Joshua scoffed, “Yes, you do, April Kennedy Walsh,” he turned to her, pulling out his wallet with shaky hands; he riffled through it before holding a picture in her face. “She had your eyes, remember?”

“Yes, I also remember her being dead to me, Joshua,” Sofia responds, glancing away. “She was always troubled. I tried to be a good mother, but sometimes you just can’t beat that attitude out of them.” She crosses one leg over the other, “I thank god I was blessed with two wonderful children after her, kind, obedient, nothing like April.”

“Hypocrite much? Where do you think she got it from, huh?”

Sofia rolls her eyes and glances at Hotch, “Are we finished now? My son has a recital in a few hours.” Hotch nods, and she leaves without a second glance; Joshua stays seated, shaking his head with a sigh.

“April…she’s not a bad kid…just lost. Sofia and I didn’t expect to have kids that early…I mean, we coped, but our jobs….” He looks at the photo again, “I tried as best as I could to be there, but Sofia…I wish I did better."

Joshua reluctantly recounts the event of November 23rd, 1999, alongside his divorce and any other moments before and after that point. The Appalachian Mountains had been Joshua’s dream destination, Sofia, to no surprise, had constantly been vocal about instilling the appropriate life goals in April - high grades, top careers, appropriate connections. The stores chosen all had qualities Sofia had cited as detestable, with Pennsylvania’s first Goodwill reminding her too much of her least favorite architecture - brutalist architecture. So going off that, the next Goodwill would have to be similar in style as well. This new detail leads to a few counties over.

April Walsh doesn’t fight when caught; appearing exhausted, the only other emotion she shows is a mix of relief and joy when she sees Mr. Walsh again, but it’s brief. She sits without prompting, crosses a leg over the other, and makes her only demand, “I’d like to speak to my father—”

“Give us Hayden,” Hotch counters.

“Who? Oh, the retail worker,” she scoffs, “he’s perfectly safe, tied and unconscious in room 345, Liberty Hotel. Now, can I please talk to my father?” Hotch nods, leaving for Hayden with everyone but Gideon and Reid. Hayden is unharmed, drowsy, and confused when he awakes.

You slump into your seat on the airplane, Spencer sits by you, and you lean your head against his shoulder. “No one wake me up for anything,” Derek mumbles across from you, lying across two seats to nap. 

“You look bored, cookie.” Spencer glances over at you; the others on the plane have either gone to sleep or relaxed in their seats.

“Maybe, but I’m not sure there’s much to do in an airplane.”

“We could play a game —not that kind,” you remark; he’d raised his eyebrows, and a light blush had dusted his cheeks, “we can do that at a later date, Dr. Reid. Right now, I was thinking of something like the ABC game.”

“ABC game?”

You sit up, “On long car rides, my grandma loved to play it; we choose a topic or theme and go through the alphabet. Say the theme was food, I’d say apricot; then you’d say bread; we can narrow down themes like food to fruits or vegetables.” 

“Ooh, that sounds interesting; ok, what’s the theme?” he asks, turning towards you.

“We can stick with food; it’s pretty easy and fun for a first-timer,” you reply, “We’ve got apricot and bread down, so, C, carrot cake.”

“Ok, donut.”

“Éclair.”

“French onion soup.”

You breeze through the first round, and Spencer picks the next theme - countries - which you manage through a quarter of before landing; you carry on while on the tarmac and finish just before leaving for home. It’s late afternoon in Quantico; Spencer bumps his hand against yours as you walk, smiling when you hold his hand in response. Paperwork is easy enough, and once done, you collectively sigh in relief when no other case comes up. It’s not night yet, and hearing everyone else make plans or detail what they have in mind when they leave has Spencer debating on whether to have that second date now.

“Thinking hard?” You ask, laughing when he comes out of his thoughts to find you standing close to him.

“Uh, yeah,” he says, “do you…uh…can we have that second date now? I know this great Indian restaurant, it’s a bit out of the way, but it has very good chicken tandoori.”

“Sure, lead the way.”

The restaurant is nice, getting there just half an hour after it opens at 5:00 PM; there’s plenty of space to choose from; Spencer leads you to his favorite seat by the fish tank. It’s a nice date; Spencer finds his legs close to yours after you split the bill, leaving just after seven. “Did you like it?”

“Loved it,” you respond. “You sure know how to treat a man, sweetheart.”

Spencer tugs at your arm, smiling into the kiss you give him. “Goodnight, love.”

Spencer is soft.

It’s what you repeatedly note - when he smiles, leans into your space for a kiss, or drums your fingers along your hands. When he snuffles in his sleep, a moment before waking up, “Morning….” he’d mumble before dozing off for a few odd minutes. 

“Good morning to you, too,” you kiss his forehead, and he mumbles something else, snuggling deeper into your arms. “What happened to the early bird catches the worm, hmm?”

“....not a bird…no worms please….” he mumbles.

“Hmm,” you respond, rubbing circles along his back, “How about pancakes? I think I might have some blueberries or chocolate chips,” you muse; Spencer peeks up at you. “Ah, I see I’ve piqued your interest.” You laugh as Spencer ponders between the comfort of the bed and the prospect of pancakes. You leave him to his decision-making; by the time you’ve made the batter, Spencer shuffles from the bedroom - donning one of your hoodies and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Spencer hugs you from the back and pecks the space between your shoulder blades, “Süss,” he says. 

You purse your lips and glance over your shoulder at him, “Süss? Come on; I thought you liked a challenge?” You switch off the stove and turn to face him, “German. Sweet.”

“I wasn’t looking for a challenge today,” he clarifies, “I was stating a fact.” He points at you as he repeats the word. “Mein süss.” 

You grin, “I’d say you’re the sweet one, cookie.” He scrunches his nose, “Mein süßer Keks.” You wink when he stares at you, “You’re not the only one with a knack for languages.” He sticks out his tongue, leaving the kitchen with the pancakes; you join him at the dining table - he sits with his back to the window, soaking in the sun like a cat.

“Fun fact, chocolate chips melt best at temperatures between 104 °F and 113 °F; the melting process starts at 90 °F when the chips’ cocoa butter starts to heat. For milk and white chocolate chips, the temperature shouldn’t exceed 115 °F; for dark chocolate, it’s 120 °F; otherwise, the chocolate will burn.”

You nod, “Which flavor’s your favorite?”

“The classic chips, made from small chunks of sweetened chocolate, I like to eat them in winter when there’s less chance for them to melt in the bag,” he answers. “What about you?”

“I don’t mind, but I suppose I prefer the classic ones too.” The pancakes were long gone by now, and coffees almost finished; Spencer had come previously to visit but never slept over before, “How’d you sleep?” You ask, placing your arm around his shoulders.

“Good,” he yawns, “you’re really comfortable.” You chuckle as Spencer snuggles closer, “Can we go back to bed?” He asks with another yawn.

“Hmm,” you stand, “you head on in; I’ll take care of the dishes.” He nods, shuffling back to the bedroom; you gather the dishes, rinse off the food, place them in the dishwasher, and leave them to clean. You find Spencer nestled comfortably under the blankets; when you slide in alongside him, he latches onto you, not fully asleep and not fully lucid. You comb your fingers through his hair, and when his breath evens out, you close your own eyes and doze off.

End Note:

This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would, and also, not that I think it needs mentioning, but this and the previous fic takes place somewhere in season one. Stay Hydrated.

[thesummerstorms]

I can’t believe no one asked u but if you are still doing the ask game, maybe Kory and Jason?

❤️🥰❤️🥰

Kory:

(with extra emojis for emphasis!)

God I love Kory. I was not expecting to come out of New Teen Titans loving her quite as much as I do.

Like. When I watched TT03 as a kid, Starfire was my favorite, which made me inclined to look her up as an adult, but I feel like that's basically an entirely separate character. And I like NTT Kory so much more? (I also liked her in the DCAMU and that's closer to be fair.)

I wish both the general DC fandom and the DC writers showed her more respect. There are so many fascinating angles you could explore with her character, but I feel like she gets reduced to "cheerful sexy support/back up character".

Where is my exploration of what life is like for her after so many years on Earth? Of her complicated relationship with not just her sister but her parents and how that's overshadowed by the heavy weight of the throne? Of the effects of knowing her people and her father ended up choosing her sister despite everything that was done to her before that point? Of how her sense of duty is just as strong as any of the heroes she fights with ... It just looks different because of what she was raised to be dutiful to. Of how the Titans disbanding over and over and her being left on a planet where her only family is whatever team she's fighting beside affects her as a person??

Like, let her be emotional and loving and even generally optimistic... But also let her be a person who is affected by things and affects those around her in more than a romantic sense or as a babysitter for other heroes! She could be so fascinating!

Okay....sorry, that turned into a rant. But I stand by it.

Jason:

Okay, I need to clarify here. I am working my way into BatFam stuff as someone who grew up more on the Titans/Justice League stuff (and the animated stuff at that.) All I have read for myself about Jason so far is RHATO (I was new to comics, wanted Starfire, and didn't know. I was mostly confused about Kory while reading that tbh; I didn't pay much attention to Jason.) and what I am currently reading about Robin!Jason.

And with that being the extent of my knowledge so far? I feel like with every meta post or mini fic I read about Jason I actually know less about him. No one seems to actually agree on anything, which is why I'm currently (slowly) going through the material because I have no idea who this guy actually is as an adult.

That said Robin!Jason is nice. Like, I'm not super attached, but he's enjoyable enough. I don't understand why he was so hated. And I absolutely can appreciate the potential narratives he embodies for both himself and the family post resurrection.

I just have to figure out (as much as is possible with the inconsistency of comics) what actually is true about him, what's technically possible using text evidence but not a take I agree with, and what's a weird ass game of telephone.

Thank you for the ask!!! Sorry for the word vomit.

[learningsanctum]

May 8th, 2024

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to offend anyone, this is only my complex and conflicting journey to connect myself to my culture.

Why am I ashamed?

What am I ashamed of?

Growing up my parents ultimate goal was to move to the USA, they told me "the green card makes your life easier". All they wanted was to make more money so they could afford a better education for me.

I went to private schools for as long as they could pay it for me and they still couldn't put Brazilian private schools on the same level of USA public schools.

They had me having English lessons for years. "English is the most spoken language in the world" my father said "you have to know English to be successful". And I was an impressionable child with corporate dreams to pursue, so I committed to the bit.

Soon enough I started writing in English.

Then, one of our acquaintances made it to the USA. He made the dream real, solid, reachable. We had hopes for a better life.

In one of our Skype calls he told me the weirdest - and most wonderful - part was the "dreaming in English", as he put it, when after a long day speaking the language you couldn't help but dream on it too.

In my mind, then, it clicked: the more English I consume the more native I become.

A though.

Everything always starts with a thought.

One damn thought.

It was what it took to put me on the road to self-hatred and to make me detach myself from my culture. All it took for me to segregate all the culture available to me- to categorize and "villainize" my culture as a whole. Music, poetry, movies, soap operas, everything was inferior if compared to the big nation.

My cellphone settings were changed to English and I proudly carried around the fact I spoke the language as a badge. I was over the moon when I first read USA texts and could understand them.

For long - too long in my opinion - I was the "English girl" I knew about stuff kids from my country around my age didn't because I would spend a lot of time on forums and alike consuming media like I was about to move to there any moment. I molded my personality to fit their standards so I wouldn't be a fish out of water once I got there.

I found friends who spoke English and taught the ones who didn't so we would speak it in school. A way to talk bad about someone in front of them. A way to mock teachers at the same time they would compliment us for being - god help me, this one will always haunt me - "way ahead of the other children our age". If I could go back and make they take it back...

American high school was the dream to be achieved.

So long being superior, knowing more, quoting Edgar Alan Poe.

"The higher you step, the bigger is the fall".

I didn't go to the USA.

Never even traveled by plane 'till this day.

And in no time, the lack of knowledge of my culture started to catch up with me.

High school took a tool on me. Of all the problems I had probably the frustration of being in Brazil was the biggest of them. Classes weren't interesting because they weren't in English. I didn't have to change classrooms every period and I wouldn't get my driver's license by sixteen. I didn't have a locker. There are no lockers on Brazilian high school.

I was devastated and fought furiously with my - this guy is a saint, I swear, watch it - Portuguese teacher. Professor, actually, he had a doctorate if I remember correctly. Me, a fifteen years or something old fighting a doctor on how Joaquim Machado de Assis is not "good literature". In my head, back then, it wasn't even literature worthy.

God, if I knew back then.

I wasn't "the prodigy" anymore. I was just rebellious. At everything. Closed in the trap I designed to myself and unable to connect with other teenager.

It wasn't until lockdown that I started to feel a certain need to be a proud Brazilian citizen. Not for politics, economy or raising poverty rates. Those are always present and I was never aware to them. There wasn't time to pay attention to my country's situation if my dream was a white picket fence house instead of a big terrain with a gate or bars and electronic security system.

With TikTok came the trends, and even in my self spite I couldn't help but keep my social medias American.

Call it irony if you will but it was an USA trend with a Russian song that brought me back to my roots. Or at least helped me question my actions towards my country.

"I'm just a simple Russian girl, I've got vodka in my veins, so I dance with brown bears and my soul is torn apart."

I stopped and then thought "after everything I have done and I am still not American enough. I will never be a USA citizen" and then "but I am American" and I was in shock. Because I always have been American. Not USA but Brazilian. Sharing the same America with them. Living on the same America they do.

Such a line of thought, however controversial, made me think that if I were to make an edit to this trend what could I use to refer to Brazil?

Making me follow all the way to the question I dreaded the most: "what do I love about Brazil? what is it that even makes me Brazilian after so long hiding from my nationality?"

To be completely honest I was stupefied by how quick the culture flowed in my blood and I realized:

I don't need Little Red Riding Hood. I have the Saci.

We don't have the big white house but we have a fucking palace in our capital.

I want to play games with Narizinho, Pedrinho and Emília at the Yellow Woodpecker farm.

I want to draw in any sheet a yellow sun burning bright.

I can read Capitães de Areia instead of Lord of Flies.

And I should study more about the anti-asylum movement and read about Barbacena's tragedy documented by Daniela Arbex in her GENIUS book Brazilian Holocaust instead of hearing more and more about the USA "gun problem" or "cameras on police officers' clothes".

I don't mean it as disrespectful or unimportant but I had spent so many time trying to reach the outside, the exterior, that I never once looked around to see the wonderful culture surrounding me.

The soccer, the music, the dance- God, I want to try capoeira before I die, I want to travel to see the Cataratas do Iguaçu and I want to truly understand my ancestors and the explosion of ethnics and cultures my country has to share.

And as the thoughts came and went I realized that I love being Brazilian.

"Festa de Ipanema, meu amor" - Movie: Rio, 2011.

Carnival, axé, samba, pagode, I want to dance.

Mônica, Cebolinha, Cascão, Magali, Chico Bento, I want to live at Limoeiro street.

O Auto da Compadecida (A Dog's Will), - and even Minha mãe é uma peça - it's a comedy I can laugh to with no effort, I can understand the accent and from which region of my country it comes from and I can relate to the joke.

Carolina Maria de Jesus is my Anne Frank.

Coconut, avocado, passion fruit, lime, mango, melon, cashew are not "exotic" foods, those are natural fruits I find with "seu" João at the small vending at the end of the block.

My fruits, my music, my tragedies, my country.

I still accepting this reality. But I don't want to be ashamed to put, even if under a username, in my bio, description or whatever that I am Brazilian.

It's part of who I am.

It's reality is not perfect but it's mine.

I'm not ever giving it up again without a fight.

[ezdotjpg]

Hello!! I've been reading through Bonus Links and having the time of my life, BOTW was my first Zelda game so I'm particularly delighted at your portrayal of BOTW Link. Here's my question- I really love when artists portray Link as primarily using sign language, and would love to do it in my own stuff, but I struggle to find appropriate references or even figure out where to start looking. I worry about drawing it in a way that looks confusing or lacking in personality, particularly to an audience that actually does know ASL (which is what I'd most likely use, but obviously that's flexible). Do you have a specific set of references that you use or have any recommendations on where to start learning?

i'd like to preface this by saying I am not at all a good authority on ASL or how to portray it in comics, nor is bonus links skjsg i am an ASL novice, so i'd say please look into resources from Deaf people and ppl who communicate in ASL!!

for example, most of what I use in the comic is referenced from Lifeprint . Bill Vicars, who runs that site, also has a youtube channel here. there was an ask a while back where ppl left some other resources in the replies that I can't find for the life of me so,,,,for those of u that know ASL if u know of any other reliable ones feel free to drop them in the replies! I like Dr. Bills' site because the page for each sign usually comes with extra info about the context of the sign, what signs might make a good substitute if you mean something slightly different, etc. Sometimes I will go looking for a certain word and find out it doesn't really have an equivalent or should be signed differently than I thought, so it's extremely helpful.

I also spend a lot of time just like, watching videos of ppl signing, not just in educational context but also in casual ones. I don't have any particular videos to link for this, I started getting a lot of youtube shorts of ppl signing when I started researching (thank u google for spying on me) so i watched lots of those. I try to pay attention to where the hands are placed, what the hand that isn't signing is doing when the other one is busy, what upper body movements are also happening, etc. I try out the signs myself to get a feel for them. Comics are static, and many signs are dependent on movement to be legible, so I try to imply that movement where I can. I also looked at other comics that have incorporated sign- in particular there's an issue of Hawkeye (#19 I think) that to my knowledge handles it pretty well. I'm honestly not sure If I'm handling it perfectly outside of some positive feedback i've gotten, but I'm doing my best to portray it accurately! So again pls take everything from me with a huge grain of salt.

[corvidcall]

Fascinated by your sarah z hate- would love to hear more about this if you’d like to share. My experience of her is just that mediocre Homestuck vid or something she made.

lmao yeah sure i guess i can expound on it

i should preface this by saying that i dont think shes like. a bad person. and i dont have some secret knowledge of problematique things shes done that we should all Cancel her for.

tl;dr i just think her videos are really bad. she keeps making videos about stuff that i was there for and then being wrong about them, and it drives me crazy. on top of that, it just rubs me the wrong way to make your whole brand "the lady who talks about tumblr"

like, i think her homestuck video sucks (and i think its very funny that she admitted that she only spent a week making it, but ALSO got really defensive when people said she was wrong about stuff. like, i think the way whatpumpkin and andrew hussie responded to her video was Bad but also that doesnt retroactively defend the original video from being poorly researched and, in my opinion, in bad taste. it was weird to make a video where you talk about all the controversy about hs^2 not that long after the whole project got cancelled because too many of the trans women working on it were receiving daily death threats)

and i think the mcelroys video sucks (that was the last one i watched before i gave up entirely. its really long and very boring, and basically is just her listing a bunch of stuff they did that people had problems with, which essentially puts "travis was annoying on twitch" on the same level of seriousness as "taz: graduation used a lot of harmful native american stereotypes". i genuinely am not sure what the point of this video was supposed to be, because it feels like its her reading a tumblr callout post. also she was wrong about taz: amnesty. the ending WAS foreshadowed, it did NOT come out of nowhere, she just wasnt paying attention.)

but the onceler fandom video is honestly the absolute pits. i am still friends with a lot of the people that i was in the onceler fandom with, and i genuinely havent met a single former onceslut who thought her video was good, or the least bit accurate. her thesis basically boils down to that the onceler fandom was just a bunch of young teen girls projecting fantasies onto a nonthreating decently attractive fictional guy, which isnt that weird and people are only making a big thing about it because they hate teenage girls. and her conclusions arent WRONG, per say, since people DO hate teen girls and this is a thing theyre known to do... its just. thats literally not what the onceler fandom was at all?? first off, when i got into it i was 17 and i was the youngest person i knew by far. almost everyone i saw in the fandom were in their 20s, and a lot of them were not girls at all. and as far as any of US remember, the thing sustained the fandom wasnt 13 year old girls exploring their nascent sexualities, it was people using the barest pretense to make OCs, and then craft stories with and about their friends OCs. it was a really cool unique experience because it was a fandom for the things the fandom built. a lot of the people i knew had never watched the movie The Lorax at all, or didnt really care about it one way or another, but DID get really invested in the dynamic between Swag and One, or got really invested in the two big AUs the fandom had. By the time i got there, most people had kinda moved away from the canon onceler anyway, and were focused almost exclusively on the AUs (there was a high school AU and a zombie apocalypse AU, and then during the summer the high school AU blogs would do a child summer camp AU. i liked the zombie one best because i love melodrama, but the high school one was most popular). i know she was IN the onceler fandom (allegedly...) but as far as i can tell, she was just there at the very start, because it changed WILDLY even just a few months after its inception. and there's no way anyone who saw the fandom that I was actually in would make the sweeping statements about it that she did.

broadly, her videos are too unfocused and not really well-written. her one on Oppa Homeless Style was a genuinely good video!! I know she CAN do good videos!! But so many of her more fandom-focused videos dont really seem to have a thesis beyond "this happened" or maybe even "this was kinda weird right?". like what is the viewer supposed to take away from the video about the mcleroys? that they made a podcast that was really popular and then got less popular? why did that take you TWO HOURS to say? and even when she does have a strong thesis, its always muddied by the fact that she feels compelled to add in really long, boring digressions. I think the video about All or Nothing was good, and made an interesting point about how pan and ace people are really starved for meaningful rep, but i dont understand why she felt compelled to recount the entire plot of the webseries someone made? what did that contribute to the thesis? its like shes reading a wikipedia page, and not like. an actual ESSAY. that someone structured to convey a POINT.

but overall i just take umbrage with her whole "tumblr historian" shtick. i think its kind of gross to put really niche (generally woman-dominated) subcultures on display so people can come gawk at the freaks. ive heard the defense that "she IS a fandom person!! these videos are FOR fandom people!!" but 1. if its supposedly supposed to be for me and NOT an audience of people unfamiliar with the thing shes talking about, then there would be no need to spend so long explaining what everything is, and 2. i can at least say, in my own subjective experience, that i said basically all this to my sister, who told me that thats why she likes sarah z at all, because the videos let her come gawk at all the fandom freaks on tumblr. so its cool that sarah z is giving the person who bullied me my whole life (specifically because the way i engaged with media was too cringe) more reasons to bully me for being cringe. big preesh sarah. glad youre making money off of the free content all of us put out, and even more glad that youre profiting by taking all that free content and presenting it to a largely hostile and judgemental audience who already thinks im a fucking idiot. why dont you make a video about my popular hamlet post next, since you seem to make videos exclusively about things i did.

anyway if i want to watch video essays about fandom, i'll watch princess weekes, whose videos are substantive and not... idk very juvenile. not that i think there cant be more than one youtuber talking about fandom!!! its just that sarah z's videos are mid at best and actively bad at worst, so im not gonna bother.

(all that being said, i occasionally look at her blog and reblog stuff. while shes working down in the tumblr mines looking for content to steal, she does frequently find some decent posts to reblog)

[moonsunlovers]

Hi ! I read your blog and really admire your observation skills. I want to bring your attention to some things I personally observed

1) During JK's live where he listened to letter. So he was playing songs from YT, right? And he searched up "지민"(Jimin) in the searchbar and scrolled down on recommended searches ("Jimin- jaman- jimin") till he found " 지민 pyeonji" or " 지민 편지" which weverse translated to dear.ARMY. Now if you search "지민 편지" on YT, the 3rd video that pops up is the FMV made by elisssa which is a beautiful Jikook compilation with thumbnail of Jimin piggybacking on Jungkook after a show. When he scrolled down, he saw the thumbnail and smiled at 0:10. (https://youtu.be/OM2EH_VKxW4?si=_mbBZqLzVxdztL7Z). I am absolutely sure this was the reason for his smile. Finally, the video he ended up playing was the lyric video that shows up 2nd for the search. He didn't play the Dear.army live clip as many claim. I know this because I pay attention to music and the one he listened to didn't have acoustic instrumentals like in the live clip. He reacted to the original song.

So my conclusions are:

Jungkook now knows that there are jikook FMV/compilations to letter with above 500k views. And his reaction was just a cute smile. Infact i have never seen jm and jk mind their ship or mentions of the ship.

He didn't play the live clip for whatever reason but maybe because it was too much for him to watch the live version? especially after crying about army's songs? He was in an emotional state after all.

Phew..

2) The JK bday post made by JM on Instagram. I'll just say it- Jimin's pants are sketched. Badly. With a phone editor. While JK's pants/trousers are clearly visible with cloth texture and everything, Jimin's are just plain dark , 2D, with a wobbly waistband. Lol. Even if you change image settings, nothing changes. As someone with decent amount of photo editing knowledge, i am 100% sure of this. Reminds me of the jkk selfie from that exhibition where Jimin's black shirt was clearly sketched. So what do we do with this info? Lol. Maybe jm was in underwear. Yes.

I will never say with 100% confidence that jikook are absolutely dating but their bond is definitely for the history books. Have a good day/night.

Hello dear. Thank you for passing by my blog leaving such an interesting ask and also the little compliment you made me, I appreciate it so much. I have been looking in detail at the things you’ve pointed out and my observations about them are the following:

1) The video search. I have to say that I’ve search “지민 편지” from different accounts and the video edit you said doesn’t appeared in the first ones. Maybe it’s because now there’re trendier ones but you have to scroll down to see that specific video. It’s possible that Jungkook saw it that day or maybe he saw something else that made him smile like that. Maybe he was just smiling at Jimin in the thumbnails of almost all of the videos or he was remembering a fond moment. Whatever it was I’m sure it was Jimin related and was a really sweet gesture. You can see the man melting looking at him in the screen.

About Jungkook having knowledge of this kind of content I think we can be sure that he knows about it pretty well. I mean he watched a video of bts teasing Jimin, is obvious that he has been watching compilations in YouTube and is almost impossible to not cross by to one of this type. The same goes in twitter, Instagram and tiktok. The boys must know everything we’re into as a fandom so I wouldn’t be surprise if they had searched for fanarts and other stuff before. Jimin and Jungkook don’t seem bothered by fans shipping them together in general, at least they haven’t expressed themselves like Tae has done with taekookers so probably they are okey with it. Although I have to say that I feel like Jimin is trying to keep it low this year and doesn’t want to talk about Jk that much and the things that they have going on for some reason. Maybe it’s because the military service is approaching, maybe is because of the breaking into his apartment and his private life… I can not tell the motives behind this decision but I think is pretty obvious that he has been protecting his private life with more tenacity than before, and that includes Jungkook, and that decision alone speaks volumes.

2) The birthday photo. I have to say that I didn’t notice this and is pretty interesting!! You have an amazing eye for the detail anon!!! I’m not sure if only the top part of the pants are drawn or the whole thing. Maybe he was trying to hide his underwear showing or he was plainly in something more compromising. Maybe we’ll see the behind the scenes of this photo in the program that Jikook has recorded, who knows. Whatever it is I’m sure Jimin is comfortable enough to be just in underwear in front of Jungkook, I mean, we know that he usually goes naked at home and this guys have been living together for half their lives. And if we want to be more delusional, we know that in their Tokio trip the bathroom of their room had a huge window. So, yeah, no privacy whatsoever for Jikook.

On the other hand, being more objective, what makes me think that maybe he was just on his swimming trunks and there’s no reason to panic is because obviously there was other people with them, somebody else took the photo for them so probably the staff was there too, I don’t think they would be in underwear or something “compromising” if other people were around.

Although my answer wasn’t maybe what you were waiting for Anon I hope you continue to send me this type of asks because I enjoy them so much. I love to look into the details and try to put everything coherently together. Jimin and Jungkook have an unique and wonderful bond in which we don’t need to exaggerate or create things in order to find something extraordinary between them.

See you next time!

[longeyelashedtragedy]

tag ppl you want to know better game - tagged by @heffer-wen many many days ago! (i had so much fun reading your answers!)

last song: "shrike" by hozier. i liked this song fine when the album first came out, but 5 years later all of a sudden it's everything my brain needs to hear. something about how his voice sounds when it gets Loud--it's just filling all the spaces that are empty and expanding my lungs and i can breathe. yknow?

currently watching: nothing, sincerely. i've got a pandemic era frank interview queued up, but that requires actually staring at a video and paying attention, and i'm not very good at that. i mean i guess i've poked around a couple old youtube videos that are too incriminating to discuss. but!

in seriousness...i'm trash at watching anything most of the time. tv/movies were on a near-total ban in my house as a kid and i think i'm a product of this parenting choice (recommend!)

three ships: frank x mason, big gabi x willo, XHAKARTETA. hard to pick a favorite frank ship though...that could go in a lot of directions.

favorite color: Heff did i see hot pink and black? YES! my favorite colors are pink and black. runners-up: red and purple, though some reds and purples are better than others.

first ship: gosh...honestly, i think it was McLennon, hahah. that was the first ship i realized was a ship, though, because my friend introduced me to ff.n via that ship the summer after 8th grade. before that, i was informally shipping katarina witt with a whole bunch of people myself included. but yes, John & Paul. i didn't really have headcanons or anything though, i just read some stuff. the first ship where i was like I SHIP IT and went to read fanfic on LJ for it was *sigh* bellatrix/narcissa from harry potter. say what we will about JKR now, and i'm sure we all have, but some of the fanfic on livejournal went HARD. as a mere teenager, i was in awe of the adults writing all this stuff, and felt so privileged to lurk amongst them and occasionally comment. Would that fandoms were still like this!!!

place of birth: new york, ny in a hospital that's about to close. i was six days late because i was destined to be a sag and not a scorpio. i knew even then!

current location: just across the river and a little bit southeast.

relationship status: hardcore in my aromantic era. i used to be obsessed with love and having a special person and all that, but i don't know...the idea of having to have someone up in my business, entitled to knowledge about me, sharing a space with me all the time...it all just feels like a big NO these days. it actively makes my skin feel crawly. of course, life is designed for you to have a partner which is pretty frustrating. sincerely i'd rather just have a bunch of loving and interesting friends who all live near me. now, am i down for a hookup? sure, but the only part of me worth seeing is my head, so we move!

last movie: "encounter in the air," it's a movie directed by this albanian director whose stuff i love. he doesn't use music in his films, and films on location in/near his hometown in northern albania, and the...soundscape? is so rich and bountiful and gorgeous. you don't realize how noisy movies are till you watch one of these. (this was one of the very rare times when i watch something)

currently working on: reading my way through my library book pile, decluttering my leggings shelf, thinking of how i want to structure a potential fic about a ~75 year-old man having a drunk fuck with his son's wife (with motivations currently unknown to me--and what tone it should have? not my usual pedestrian tone, but how to do it differently? i do have some interesting sentences written down in the draft. i like the sight and then the memory of wet footprints on the hallway floor & mud from the football pitch and carelessly worn boots tracked through the house). also how i'd write some frank/anthony gordon england NT callup dubcon phone sex. now that was a whole serving of word salad. shit, imagine if i was writing TAA/szoboszlai or pedri/gavi.

tagging: @thatbrightblueshine @kvaradonaa @protect-daniel-james @medicalwastebouquet @thundercrack (answer on whichever of your blogs hahaha) and i KNOW i'm leaving people out so...YOU. if you want!!!! no pressure at all.

[lilareviewsbooks]

May Reading Wrap Up :)

Okay, listen… It's my first month of summer vacation and I have absolutely nothing to do, so don't judge me here, but this month I read 13 books. I know, I know… I promise I've been exercising and getting out and stuff, it just happened. Having a lot of free time means a lot of reading time for me, especially since I discovered the power of audiobooks. So let's take a look at what I read and what I thought of each book!

The Shadow of Kiyoshi, by F.C. Yee

4 stars

341 pages

Contains: sapphic girlies; elemental magic (duh!!) and a sympathetic bad guy :( 

I read this so early in the month, and when I was still at college, packing, so it feels like ages ago. I mostly listened to The Shadow of Kiyoshi, and, like I've mentioned before on here, listening to fiction has been a challenge. I'm not very used to it, yet, and I need to continue to acclimate to it. This book was the unfortunate victim of my poor ears – I work with audio, what am I talking about – and understanding what was going on was difficult for me. But I benefited from this being the second book in the Kiyoshi Novels series, which are companion novels to the show Avatar: The Last Airbender – and if you haven't watched that, and you're a fantasy fan, do so right now.

This one is complicated to talk about because of its relationship to the ATLA canon. However, I can say that the characters are incredibly compelling, just like they were in the first book of the series. The main romantic relationship, between Rangi and Avatar Kiyoshi, just draws you in, and their dynamic is the best! I loved it especially when Mr. Yee pulls some humor out of it. 

In general, I think this lives up to the series, and does it justice. It keeps the good humor and nature of the show, without losing its attention to darker themes. Here, I think it was best represented by our "bad guy" (and I can't tell you who they are!), who I felt so much sympathy for, and who had a complicated relationship with our lead.

Highly recommend this series, especially for fans of ATLA – though I'm pretty sure you could theoretically read this without watching the show!

The Dawn of Yangchen, by F.C. Yee

4 stars

336 pages

Contains: politics (but softcore, esp. if you're a fan of those cerebral thriller types of books); a mc plagued by her past lives; romantic tension

I also listened to this, but on the plane home lmao I'm terrified of planes, so I wasn't paying that much attention as I was trying not to throw up every time it wiggled a little bit! But I enjoyed The Dawn of Yangchen. It was a calming read lmao

This one is surprisingly political, which I wasn't expecting. This is also a part of the ATLA universe, and is following a different Avatar from Kiyoshi, and it's the first in a series. So, I was expecting this one to be more or less the same as The Rise of Kiyoshi and its successor. 

But I was surprised. Mr. Yee really focuses, here, on the politics of some specific towns, previously unknown in this universe, at least to my knowledge, which was such an interesting expansion. It also went into some other Avatars' lives, Yangchen's previous lives. That was super cool for me to read, because I'm literally so into ATLA, you guys have no idea. 

I saw some GoodReads reviews complain that this feels more like an introduction to a bigger plot than anything else, but I honestly didn't feel like that. I think it was a pretty satisfactory story, even though the resolution didn't hit as strong for me. But I agree that it sets up the second book quite pointedly. It only made me more excited to read this next one, though! Can't wait for Mr. Yee to put it out into the world!

Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse

454 pages

3 stars

Contains: sea-related magic; a chosen one, but he's the villain? Or is he? What's going on?; discussions of religion

I've been waiting to pick up Black Sun for ages! This is the first book in the Between Earth and Sky series, which currently has two books released. We follow Serapio, a blinded devotee of an ancient crow god, who is trying to get to the holy city of Tova in time for the winter solstice – but why? On the ship carrying him is Xiala, a Teek with water magic who is curious about her mysterious passenger. In Tova itself, Naranpa serves as the Sun Priestess, a piece in the complex political-religious chess of the city. 

Unfortunately, Black Sun didn't do everything I wanted it to do for me. The characters lacked something, and I wasn't drawn to them as I thought they were missing a layer of realism. I found their actions – and, consequently, the plot – very predictable. The romance, in particular, suffered from this, as I thought it wasn't well-developed and I had a tough time rooting for the will-they-won't-they to actually happen. 

But the world-building blew me away! This is inspired by Pre-Invasion American cultures, and the real historical details blend seamlessly with the magic, creating a world that feels alive. The city of Tova itself is made up of multiple centers on mountains that can only be reached by bridges that travers the chasm between them. That is such a cool idea, and reminds me of the ancient cultures in my neighboring Andes! I've always wondered what it would be like to live so, so high up. 

Black Sun also has one of the most fantastic first chapters I've read in fantasy. It drew me in immediately. I highly recommend just reading it by itself, even if you don't feel like reading the whole book. What a stunning beginning! The ending is also a banger – it just lost me in the middle.

I don't know yet if I'll continue with this series, but we'll see, come next month!

Into The Riverlands, by Nghi Vo

100 pages

5 stars

Contains: a non-binary cleric; a talking bird; an old woman who bosses everyone around

For this one, I wrote a standalone review! Suffice it to say, as with any of the books in this series by Ms. Vo, I loved it! The Singing Hills Cycle follows cleric Chih as they travel around their China-inspired kingdom, recording its history and stories with the help of their talking bird, who has an eidetic memory, Almost Brilliant. 

The audiobook for this one is 2 hours long and it felt like watching a movie. Honestly, I'm so happy I've turned to audiobooks more, this month. This one in particular filled me with such joy – it's so nice to see a story come to life, like that, especially when it's an installment in a series all about the power of stories themselves!

I highly, highly recommend this series! Check out my short SFF books list if you'd like more info on it, or the standalone review I mentioned previously!

The Traitor Baru Cormorant & The Monster Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson

399 and 464 pages

Both 5 stars

Contains: crazy gay people; politics like you wouldn't believe; lyrical writing

And now, for the most defining books of my month, I give you, The Masquerade Series, by Mr. Dickinson, starting with The Traitor Baru Cormorant and moving on to The Monster Baru Cormorant. At the time of writing, I'm currently reading the third and last book in the series, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, at least until Mr. Dickinson graces us with the next installment. 

This series follows – you guessed it – Baru Cormorant, a young girl from the island nation of Taranoke, who watches her country be colonized by the hugely powerful Masquerade Empire. After one of her fathers is killed for being queer, Baru decides to join a Masquerade school and destroy the Empire from the inside out. Soon, she is being sent to unruleable Aurdwynn, where she is to be the Imperial Accountant. And things get very, very complicated from there.

The Masquerade is not the easiest series to consume. Between the political intrigue, the complexities and interests of each character and the purple prose, it can sometimes be hard to follow. But, oh my God, if it isn't worth it! The pay-off is unbelievable, especially in the first book. I predicted what was going to happen, because it was well set-up, but it didn't matter – it crushed me into a million pieces anyway.

This is absolutely perfect for fans of The Locked Tomb and The Texicalaan Series. It's gay, it's confusing and it's political as fuck, diving deep into themes of colonization and empire. And it starts getting pretty crazy after the second book! I highly, highly recommend!

The Tea Master And The Detective, by Aliette de Bodard

93 pages

4 stars

Contains: a Sherlock Holmes retelling; sentient spaceships; tea!

Another one I listened to! This was actually my first Aliette de Bodard that I didn't DNF, which is quite a feat for someone who's into SFF novellas, as Ms. Bodard has quite a few under her belt. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The Tea Master and The Detective is part of the Universe of Xuya, a collection of works that imagines a future of sentient spaceships ("mindships") and a timeline in which Asia became dominant. The result is a brilliant silkpunk future full of interesting tidbits to unpack!

Here, we take a look at an investigation, as we follow consulting detective Long Chau on a case. She soon recruits the mindship The Shadow's Child into her world, and their story goes from there. It's a charming story, with interesting characters and solid dialogue. Not to mention, of course, the main event: the worldbuilding, which sucks you in and leaves you wanting more!

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls, by Aliette de Bodard

164 pages

4 stars

Contains: family drama; court intrigue; complicated mother-daughter relationships

So, naturally, I went after more in the Universe of Xuya, and ended up reading The Citadel of Weeping Pearls. This one revolves around the mysterious – let's say it together – Citadel of Weeping Pearls, a habitat of multiple ships founded in rebellion by a rogue princess, but that vanished, thirty years ago, with all on board. This novella follows several people who are connected to the Citadel in various ways as their lives collide on the search for it.

I actually liked this one better than I did The Tea Master and the Detective. The characters are very compelling, as this focuses very much on the relationships between these people, especially their connections to this rebellious princess. The premise is awesome, as well, and it reaches a satisfying conclusion by the end, which is impressive for a novella, I think. So many of them end up half-baked. I highly recommend this one, and the audiobook is quite nice, as it has different narrators for each POV!

The Salt Grows Heavy, by Cassandra Khaw

106 pages

5 stars

Contains: vibes. Just the creepiest vibes.; science-horror? Body-horror?; a mermaid!!

This is another novella! I've written about it before, in my gay mermaids post, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce my points. 

I don't even know how to explain this one – it has a plot, and it's great, but the important part of this novella is definitely its pure, creepy-as-fuck vibes. It’s a twist on The Little Mermaid that follows a siren and a plague doctor, the only survivors of a destroyed kingdom, as they go on the run, and the creepy things they find along the way.

The prose, here, is very much purple, but, honestly, it creates this incredible atmosphere that draws you in and does not let you go. I was originally going to only read a couple of pages to see what this was about, but I was absolutely blown away by The Salt Grows Heavy and couldn't put it down! If you're a fan of vibes-only books (such as Erin Morgestein's Starless Sea and The Night Circus), this is definitely for you!

Clementine, by Tillie Walden

259 pages

3 stars

Contains: an apocalyptic setting; disability rep!!; a real nice Amish guy with a horse

My next read was Clementine, Volume 1 by Tillie Walden, a graphic-novelist whom I adore! You probably know her from her (rightfully so) popular book On A Sunbeam. This one takes place in the world of The Walking Dead (but I read it very well without knowing anything about this universe), and follows young Clementine and the people she meets on the road. 

Ms. Walden manages to build very nice characters here. They're all very compelling and I appreciated spending time with them. But their arcs and the plot itself felt rushed. I feel like the graphic novel could've used a couple more pages to really flesh those things out. In direct contrast, I thought the world building was well-done and Ms. Walden managed to communicate a lot about this universe in just a couple of panels. In conclusion, this isn't the best Tillie Walden – that would be The End of Summer – but I'd recommend it, especially if you're needing some post-apocalyptic flavor in your life after finishing The Last of Us.

Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft

3 stars

448 pages 

Contains: a shy nerd; a tower full of crazy things; steampunk! Let’s go steampunk!

I feel like I've talked everyone's ear off about this one – I was too disappointed not to. Senlin Ascends follows the introverted Thomas Senlin as he takes his new wife Marya to see the Tower of Babel, a big-ass tower that he considers to be humanity's big feat. Not long after arriving though, Thomas and Marya lose each other in the crowd, and the book follows Thomas' attempts to reunite himself with her.

What disappointed me very much about this was the decisions Mr. Bancroft made on the subject of the romance – Marya was Thomas' student when she was a child, and their first kiss and beginning of their "courtship" took place when Thomas dropped her off at college. I thought that was wildly unnecessary and inappropriate, and wrote about it (at length) here. 

Apart from that, Senlin Ascends is a fun read, with memorable, quirky characters and interesting world building. But it's hard to ignore a romance like that, especially considering that it's what the entire story hinges on. 

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, by Amanda Montell

309 pages

5 stars

And, for the first time in ages, I read something not-SFF! That's right – I listened to this non-fiction read on the bus and at home while I made origami (I'm obsessed with making origami) and ended up finishing it quite fast! Here, Ms. Montell explores different facets of human life that can be "cultish", with a particular focus on language. 

I thought this read was super interesting, especially because I love learning about languages! The section on glossolalia (speaking in tongues, more popularly) was particularly interesting! I did find it a bit repetitive at its points, sometimes, and I wish it could have trusted the reader to remember the main argument, instead of reiterating it. 

The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Older

169 pages

5 stars

Contains: a second-chance sapphic romance; a mystery; humans living on Jupiter

Another sci-fi mystery, but this one was a bit cozier – and a new release, it just came out in March! I had a lot of fun with The Mimicking of Known Successes. It follows Pleiti, a scholar at Valdegeld University, and Mossa, her detective ex-girlfriend who needs help with a case she's on. Pleiti and Mossa are sucked into this mystery and work together to solve it, but this story's main take-away definitely relates to the relationship between the two, as it begins to evolve during their time together.

I listened to the audiobook for this and had such a delightful time. The language is very vivid and definitely brings the environment to life, which only made it cozier, for me. It can be quite funny at times, and I found myself laughing aloud to the quips. I also very much enjoyed the main relationship. It definitely reminded me of my days in the trenches in the BBC Sherlock fandom, as the characters have a similar dynamic, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this for fans of the show.  The mystery itself wasn't a stunner or my main focus at all, but it surprised me in the end, when it ended up leading to some pretty cool reflections about humanity's relationship to Earth.

That's all I read in the month of May! I'm excited for next month and also to keep posting on here whenever inspiration strikes and I have something to recommend :) Please don't hesistate to drop me an ask if you'd like a recommendation, in case you've noticed our tastes align!

[elfstuck]

Gettin the Band Back Together

Finally watching the Homestuck Recap and trying to catch up. (It is 8pm on Apr 13 for me, as I write this. I want to post something for Homestuck Day that's not just 'hey I am aware it's Homestuck Day.') I have not given up on this blog, but as you can see, it is not at the top of my "do this now" priority lists.

(Since I last did serious blogging here, I have created two (tiny) solo TTRPGs, watched BNHA and Untamed and read ridiculous amounts of fic for both, and gotten a Real Job. With. Like. Union benefits. Also my father died in the early Covid era (not of Covid) and this made the whole lockdown thing much easier to handle because I had no interest in being social for at least six months after that.) (And every week, my Google calender says "Reminder: Homestuck liveblogging!" which has served as a weird touchstone for normality throughout the hellscape years.)

GENERAL NOTES: I want ZERO SPOILERS. NONE. I have a friend (@chibipaw) to help me by reading my inbox, but that just means "she will delete stuff that has spoilers" and I won't see it. I have a broad definition of spoilers. Like. I do not want to hear "oh you'll see that one again" or "wait'll you see what happens when they meet." I was not happy to be told that the people chatting with Our Protagonists were the trolls I'd heard so much about. Don't assume "everyone knows that"; I have managed to block out an incredible amount of knowledge about this fandom.

I am here for the tentabulges. Eventually. I will be reading all the depraved fic. Eventually. I ship them all. Eventually.

…I may ship them all before eventually.

Lemme see if I got this:

It's John's 13th birthday. It has been John's 13th birthday for longer than John has been alive.

His neighborhood got blown up. But he's safe (…for some values of "safe") in the Medium, where things are weird.

Kernelsprites. More than one of them.

Rose is playing with the server version of Sburb

Dave is arguing with trolls

Jade is doing something with a dreamscape something or other

Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey

Wayward Vagabond yay

Midnight crew. Midnight crew song. (Not actually part of the story.) (I want Midnight Crew song fanfic.)

Prospit. Derse. Multiple peoples with the same initials in different settings.

Chess war something (I have kinda stopped paying attention to the recap.)

Multiple strange worlds: Land of Wind and Shade; Land of Light and Rain; Land of Heat & Clockwork, all of which I want custom dragons for. This is complexified by the fact that Flight Rising expanded its color scheme while I was reading Homestuck, and also there are now swarms of new dragon types so I will have to rethink my plans for LOWAS and LOHAC dragons. I don't think I've seen Jade's realm yet.

Trolls with initials that are all "lower case letter followed by capital letter," with meanings that maybe attach to zodiac signs. (PLZ NO SPOILERS I already know too much.)

Flash has died but I have the Unofficial Homestuck Collection and also there's something kinda-sorta like Flash support in Firefox now although I may not have all the features I used in the past.

I have lost both my place in the story and my awareness of context so WHO CARES HERE WE GO.

…Is this too long? Should I bump the actual liveblogging to next post? Should I put it under a read-more tag? I have lost all sense of how I normally pace these things.

gC gives John (eB) a map. An FL4 map. Because that was a thing when Homestuck was written. FL4 files are no longer viable ways to give information. However, given what I know of HS trolls, that would not prevent them from using it.

(Huh my HSLB folder already has a "Google LOWAS.png" file which means this is probably ground I have already covered. Oh well.)

GOOGLE LOWAS

John goes to gate on top of mountain, sees pretty swirly colors that are LOLAR, and crashes into Rose's room. Talks to Dave on Rose's computer.

…Yeah, this looks familiar. Huh.

Look this is the last pic from my regular liveblogging days:

if someone could give me a link for that page, I'd be grateful. In the meantime, I'll go through from where I am and try to catch up. I probably backed up some deliberately but I am now entirely lost.

John is chatting with two Daves. One in orange. One in red. There are timeline issues. I think.

John goes poking through Rose's room. (The wone with MEOWMEOWMEOW all over the walls. Rose: Not the sane one.) He grabs some books with his captchalogue. Or into his sylladex. Dammit, I have forgotten the terminology attached to my favorite feature of this game. Story. Webcomic. Whateverthefuck this is.

Gets the codes from the books.

…and then we're back to… Dave in Derse? Dave and Rose in Derse? Back to John, getting his birthday gift from Rose: some kind of purple-black stuffed rabbit. More bunnies in boxes for John. John is happy with all the bunnies in boxes.

(Huh I already had a 'Chaos Dunk' image too, but not the animated gif. Apparently years of ignoring this have not changed my ideas about which images are interesting & worth sharing.)

This section has NEW RELEVANCE since I am now into Untamed fandom and gifts of rabbits are emotionally meaningful in ways that they were not when I started reading Homestuck. If John loves receiving bunnies, does that make him a Hanguang-Jun analogue? I will have to explore this idea.

John leaves a salamander for Rose in thanks.

There are pesterlog conversations of which I understand almost nothing. Timey-wimey shenanigans. Gonna hope I can pick up the gist of it later because I am not rereading the whole damn thing up to now to get context for these, which I kind of had before but have long lost.

There is a jam session with Dave and Rose in Derse, with 5 musical options. These are selectable by having Dave press buttons. Or by clicking on them directly in the new app.

These open in separate tabs in the Homestuck Collection. Right. The other reason to work my way through Homestuck: The music is awesome.

Of these, I like Derse Dreamers best.

Huh. the Collection and the website have DIFFERENT CONTENT wtf. Website: Page 1720. Altered from the original - the sound button is at the top because Flash support is now all wonky. Fine. But the second picture here isn't in the collection. (I am fine with this. I don't like the second picture. But it means, sigh, I really will be needing to go back and forth between the Collection app & the website. Ghah.)

Plz throw thoughts at me so I will be inspired to keep doing this.

Only. Not spoilery thoughts. Please.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

hello, sorry to bother! I was just wondering what is your field of studies? sorry if you've talked about it before but I missed it 😭 you seem to have a good knowledge of the classics, did you study that?

Hello! You are not bothering me, that's why my ask box is open!

I am not in the classics field. The Iliad, the Odyssey, some ancient plays, and our myths, we analyze them thoroughly (and properly) in elementary, middle, and high school in Greece. (In our mandatory for all History or Ancient Greek lessons). If someone is interested and pays attention, and also continues reading and watching documentaries outside of school, they can get pretty decent. Most importantly, Greek students are taught in a way that conveys the context of the era the texts come from. It's not an exotic/foreign concept to us.

My knowledge is not perfect, I don't remember everything and there are times I need to do additional research. I listen to Greek and xenoi friends if they have found something I don't know. But the foundations have been laid for an interest that it's ongoing for me. So I understand the conventions, and why statements like "Zeus is an asshole" and oversimplifications like "the gods are psychopaths" (hello Madeline Miller) are incorrect. (jokes about Zeus are not bad per se, it's when people actually, seriously mean them then it's weird).

Comment on the Greek education system:

I don't imply that only school education makes you an expert but imo the material is pretty good and if one pays attention can get pretty good knowledge. Plus, our middle and high school teachers have a 4year old diploma in their field + Master's degree most of the time. Things changed a bit three years ago but before that, half or more of the students went attend (plus from the above I mentioned) "theoretical"/"humanitarian" mandatory orientation classes.

A large amount of Greek high school students are able to translate and analyze known and unknown (seeing them for the first time out of the blue in the Panhellenic Exams) ancient texts (Greek and Latin) of all subjects. Most Greek students take intensive classes outside of school, and the "humanities" students see hundreds of ancient Greek texts before reaching 18. Ten years ago you needed to do all that to go to a nursing school.

In the last three years, the Humanities field has been narrowed down and fewer kids take these mandatory classes. Of course, students don't remember everything after they leave school but the exposure to so many texts instills in them an understanding of the ancient Greek society and folklore. (my mum can still recite Aristotle's "Definition of Tragedy" she learned in middle school but that's because it gave her ptsd 😂)

For Greeks who may think I overhype the knowledge the system gives us (ειναι γιατι εχουμε συνηθισει το αγγουρι και μας φαινονται ευκολα), you can go ask all the online experts on mythology discourse (who are usually USAmericans) what they knew on ancient greek societies and what analysis they did on the myths when they were 16.

From the discussions with USians I've done over the years, someone in the US needs to attend University in order to start analyzing such texts to the degree we did in middle school. There are always exceptions, but what exposure and context we get in Greece at a young age cannot be underestimated. Trust me, it can be much, much worse outside of Greece 😂

That's been my experience, at least. You can, naturally, add stuff if you've been through the Greek ed. system and saw something different!

[fategoflatass]

how satisfying is to find your way in life, to find what you truly want your future to be shaped as.

i was lucky enough to discover what i want to do with my life. it may have taken me some time to figure it out but, once i did, life just felt... easier? it felt like it finally made sense. the pieces that were scattered on the table, they were finally showing a picture.

it wasn't long ago that i found my truth, what i aspire to be: a translator. it may be boring for some but, for me, it's one of my biggest hobbies and passions.

i've been translating songs since i could kind of manage myself in english in a decent way. i would read the original lyrics, translate them to spanish, and save my work on a folder that i had for this purpose only. i would check on them from time to time, maybe changing some wording, maybe realizing that i could've done better. then, i would proceed to delete the entire thing and start over.

it wasn't annoying to me, it was so much fun. and it still is, i still do it.

when i watch shows that are originally in english, i turn subtitles off. then, i proceed to translate everything in my head. whenever i read something in english —books, novels, even fanfiction— i either read it as it is, or translate it in my head.

languages are one of the most interesting things in the entire world. each language has a story, and every story is worth telling and paying attention to. the way a chair is a silla, but also a sedia. the way the word "homesick" exists in english, but not in spanish. the way you can connect with so many people through foreign words.

but, what happens when you actually can't? what happens when you can't access certain pieces of media just because you don't understand the language? that's one of the most frustrating things in life, that's for sure.

that's the translator's job; to make sure everyone's able to read, to watch, to enjoy the same stuff without having a language barrier. to allow us to share knowledge, laughs and memories with people all around the planet, allowing us to bond.

translation is a love language, and i have much love to share.

and how happy it makes me to know the most important person in my life supports me no matter what, knowing that she's also excited about this path i chose to follow.

i know this shit's messy as hell, it may be kind of difficult to follow but, how do i make my elated mind make sense? i'm not writing, i'm just placing my fingers on the keyboard and they're doing all the job here. and i read what they've done, and it does make sense to me. i may be the only one who understands this text but, who's going to read all this if not me? i'm just writing for my future self, and i know she'll understand because she has been there.

and because i have nothing else to say and i know nothing about how one finishes a text like this, i'll just say thank you. thank you to all the people who worked hard on translating all the books on my bookshelf, even the ones i didn't like and the ones i got rid off. thank you to those who translated the mangas i have, being able to having my favorite series in my hands, in big part, is because of you. thank you to all those people who work in the shadows, without a wage, only with passion, who translate mangas and anime that aren't available in our countries. thanks to all of you, who have helped me find out who i am and who i aspire to be.

[hornime]

watch and learn | iwaizumi hajime x f!reader x team japan

there were two things they all had in common: the growing bulges in their pants that they were urgently trying to distract themselves from, and the fact that their full attention was on you.

warnings: 18+, timeskip!everyone, BIG MANGA SPOILERS BASICALLY, exhibitionism, voyeurism, orgasm denial

w/c: 3.1k

a/n: now i don’t know if iwaizumi hajime (27) athletic trainer learned about female orgasms when he was studying sports science at irvine BUT he def knows how to show a girl a good time which is reason enough for me to write this. also, i read this article to prep for this piece and it was super enlightening, so i do recommend giving it a read if you’re interested!

in the middle of his morning run, iwaizumi slowed momentarily to check the repetitive buzzing of this phone, curious as to who was messaging him this early. when he’d left the apartment, you were sleeping, and you had the tendency to still be sleeping by the time he returned, so who else could it be?

he unlocked his phone, quickly finding the source of the notifications: the team japan group chat.

[06:43 AM] miya: hey @iwaizumi—you know stuff abt the human body right?

[06:43 AM] miya: cus like you studied it in college and shit??

iwaizumi rolled his eyes. i spent four years in america to earn my degree, came back home to support my country’s olympic team, and dealt with the biggest idiots of volleyball, only to get treated like this?

[06:44 AM] iwaizumi: yes, miya. i took many courses on the human body. in fact that’s the purpose of my job. to know the human body. because i am a fucking athletic trainer.

[06:44 AM] miya: okay okay i get it. dumb question

[06:44 AM] iwaizumi: why? is something up? you need help or anything?

[06:44 AM] miya: uhhh kinda

[06:44 AM] miya: @hinata i’m not fucking asking this

[06:44 AM] bokuto: bro just do it

[06:44 AM] miya: @hinata @hinata @hinata 

iwaizumi cocked an eyebrow. what the hell are they going on about?

[06:45 AM] iwaizumi: so am i needed or...

[06:45 AM] hinata: YES

[06:45 AM] hinata: we had a question

[06:46 AM] sakusa: by “we” he means him, miya, and bokuto

[06:46 AM] suna: yeah don’t bring us into this

[06:46 AM] hinata: don’t listen to them! both suna and sakusa wanna know too

[06:46 AM] iwaizumi: okay. what’s up

[06:47 AM] hinata: we wanted to know how to make a girl cum

he chuckled in disbelief.

[06:47 AM] iwaizumi: you’re telling me that you guys are in your mid-20s, literal olympic athletes, and you don’t know how to make a girl cum

[06:47 AM] iwaizumi: have you never done it before??

[06:47 AM] miya: NO

[06:47 AM] miya: FOR THE RECORD IVE MADE MANY GIRLS CUM

[06:48 AM] bokuto: ME TOO

[06:48 AM] bokuto: i think

he laughed out loud, briefly startling another runner on the sidewalk.

[06:48 AM] iwaizumi: you guys are unbelievable

[06:48 AM] hinata: i mean she says she finished but idk what i did to make that happen

[06:48 AM] bokuto: ^^

[06:48 AM] hinata: so like i wanna know how to actually do it

[06:48 AM] suna: actually im kinda interested in this too

[06:48 AM] aran: i pray for your future girlfriends. this is painful to see. im out

[06:48 AM] kageyama: i’m with aran on this one. you guys are dumb

[06:48 AM] hinata: shut up. you suck.

[06:48 AM] miya: cmon iwaizumi, help a guy out

[06:48 AM] sakusa: it wouldnt hurt for you to give us some pointers at least

iwaizumi sighed.

[06:49 AM] iwaizumi: @miya @hinata @bokuto @suna @sakusa meet in the locker room after practice. ill give you guys a lesson in the art of pleasing a woman

to teach effectively, he needed a volunteer, though he was sure you wouldn’t need much convincing. you’d always loved the attention, and the biceps, of the pro athletes. he spun on his heel and jogged home.

you woke up to the sound of your apartment door opening, your boyfriend creeping inside, forehead damp with sweat.

“hey,” you said quietly, making your way towards him.

“hey, baby. sorry for waking you up, i was trying to be quiet.”

you giggled sleepily. “s’okay, haji. you spoil me too much anyway, always letting me sleep in for hours while you’re off doing god knows what.”

at that, his eyes crinkled in amusement, and as you tried to step into a hug, he shuffled back. “woah there, baby. i gotta shower, ‘m all gross from my run. and then,” he gave you a peculiar look that you couldn’t quite place, “i got a proposition for you.”

after his shower, he waltzed out of the bathroom, steam wafting out from behind the door. his tanned body made you feel things you definitely shouldn’t be barely an hour after the sun’s risen, and you reached out to massage the tension in his shoulders. “so, what’s your proposition?”

“well,” he hesitated. “it’s a bit... unconventional. the team asked me to show them how to make a girl cum,” he took in your intrigued expression. “and it’d be a lot easier to explain if i had someone to do a live demonstration with. so,” his eyes flicked up to you. “that’s where you’d come in.”

“a... live demonstration? like you’re gonna make me cum in front of them?”

“yeah, essentially.” he gave you a devilish grin. “you want that, baby? wanna show those boys how a real man treats a gorgeous woman like you?”

you rubbed your thighs at his words. “yeah,” you purred. “i do. wanna show them how good you are to me.”

and that’s how you found yourself nestled between iwaizumi’s muscled thighs, back pressed against his chest, completely naked, with five of japan’s best volleyball players staring at your body in awe.

practically an expert in his field, iwaizumi knew the human body inside and out. this had many benefits; of course it allowed him to catapult up the ranks and work with the country’s best athletes to keep them at the top of their game, but it also had a unique side effect: an overwhelming vault of knowledge on how to make a woman feel good anywhere. 

you’d seen the proof firsthand; he knew exactly where to push, prod, stroke, and tease to have you cumming in seconds, over and over, as many times as you wanted. he was amazing, and you were well-aware just how lucky you were to have such a talented man in the sheets.

“oi,” iwaizumi snapped his fingers, drawing each of the players’ eyes away from your glistening cunt. “pay attention. i know more than anybody that she’s hot as fuck, but you gotta listen to what i’m saying or else there’s no point to this.”

he lightly pressed his lips against your collarbone, slowly tracing them against your jaw, the contact making you squirm. “if you wanna make a girl cum, first thing you gotta do is make her comfortable. if she’s worried about how she looks or sounds or smells she’s gonna be too stressed to let go.” he moved his hands to grope your tits, his calloused fingers brushing over your hardening nipples. “so reassure her, tell her how irresistible she is, how pretty her moans are, how tasty her pussy is. shit like that. the sexier she feels the better it’ll be.”

he leaned into you, whispering into your ear. “feeling good, baby? we can stop whenever.”

you nodded weakly, afraid to open your mouth, barely holding in your whines as his palms worked wonders on your chest and stomach, sending shocks of heat wherever they touched. 

you craned your neck up to observe the men before you. atsumu was flushed red, wringing his hands as if he was worried they’d do something embarrassing if he didn’t keep them occupied. hinata was bouncing his leg up and down, wiping his palms on his shorts as he took in the plushness of your thighs. bokuto was basically drooling, greedily tracing your soft curves with his eyes. suna maintained his indifferent expression, but the reddening tips of his ears showed that he was a lot more hot and bothered than he let on. sakusa stood quietly to the side, leaning against the wall, mask tucked under his chin as if he’d just realized how much the temperature had gone up in the room.

there were two things they all had in common: the growing bulges in their pants that they were urgently trying to distract themselves from, and the fact that their full attention was on you.

"make sure to try different things; there’s multiple ways to make a woman cum. only like a quarter of women experience orgasms just from penetration,” someone made a sound of shock. “yes, the number is that small, bokuto.” 

his fingertip slowly trailed past your belly button, dipping into the mess between your thighs, causing you to slightly arch your back into the solid chest supporting you. “foreplay with the clit is your best bet; even stupid fucks like you probably wouldn’t screw it up too bad.”

hinata opened his mouth to speak, but iwaizumi anticipated his question and continued.

“i know you’re wondering where the clit is. it’s around here, under this hood of skin,” he slid his digit between your labia. “s’not gonna come with a label so you gotta explore a little bit. i know where hers is like the back of my hand, but for you guys, with your girls, you’re gonna have to move your fingers around. slowly. and pay attention to her expressions.” he began to rub in a circular motion around your clit, causing you to make small whimpers of pleasure and shift your hips to meet his movements. 

“if she clenches up or twitches when you feel a certain spot, like this,” your legs flexed as he increased the pressure, “that’s the clit. be kind, it’s not a volleyball. be gentle n’ make small circles, whether it’s with your fingers or your tongue.” 

he thought for a second. “speaking of which, oral’s important. very important. most women cum when they’ve been eaten out, so use your mouths for something more useful than just dirty talk. suck on the clit, maybe tongue-fuck her a ‘lil, but your main focus should always be the clit.”

he removed his hands from your sopping pussy, and you made a pathetic noise of frustration. “’m sorry, baby,” he muttered seductively in your ear. “don’t wanna have you finishing too early. lesson’s barely started.”

he turned his attention back to your audience, his lustful tone being replaced by a more instructional one. “there’s other places that’ll help a woman orgasm, too: her nipples, her neck, her ears—”

“her ears?” sakusa questioned. he blushed profusely as everyone turned to look at him, surprised that he’d opened his mouth. “what? we were all thinking it.”

“s’a valid question,” iwaizumi said. “yeah, you can lick ‘em if they’re sensitive. hers are.” as if to prove his statement, he licked a stripe on the shell of you ear, making you wiggle helplessly at the stimulation. “‘n leave kisses everywhere else. feels good for them just like it does for us.” he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him and forcing your movements to stop as he traced patterns with his tongue all around your neck.

“something you should know about an orgasm is that it’s something called a positive feedback loop.” he looked up and was met with five blank stares. shouldn’t have expected anything from these dumb jocks, he lamented. “basically that means that, once you start releasing sexual tension, things will feel better and better until you climax.”

“oh!” atsumu chirped. “like how my sets get better and better throughout a game.”

“no, not really,” he quipped. “your sets suck throughout.” atsumu frowned at that.

iwaizumi exhaled exasperatedly. “the general idea is that the body gets more and more sensitive, muscle contractions become more and more frequent, and touches feel more and more stimulating until you cum. all right?”

they all made noises of understanding except for bokuto and hinata, whose eyes had glazed over at the first mention of an academic term. whatever, iwaizumi thought. they’ll get it through example.

"don’t worry about it too much if you don’t get it, that’s just an orgasm on paper. in practice, though, this is the crucial step: listen to her. she knows what feels good. never forget that you’re just an idiot with a cock.” he took a breath, gathering his thoughts before proceeding with his lecture.

“if she tells you to slow down, you slow down. if she tells you to go harder, you go harder. if she tells you to keep doing what you’re doing, you...”

“keep doing what you’re doing”, they all chimed in at staggered times.

“that’s right. don’t go faster or else you’ll mess up the rhythm and she won’t cum. and you wanna make her cum, don’t you?”

they nodded simultaneously.

“so if you keep up the tempo and force that feels good to her, you’ll be fine. questions?”

suna spoke up. “what about,” he choked on the word. “penetration?”

hinata hummed in agreement and bokuto jumped in. “yeah, what if i wanna make her cum on my cock?”

iwaizumi made a weird face. “that’s some pretty advanced stuff, but i guess i can go over it. when you try it, though, you have to be patient. with both of your bodies. s’not rocket science but s’not always easy. also it depends on the woman but sometimes she physically won’t be able to finish from penetration alone. just make sure you’re communicating.”

his swirled two fingers over your hole before shoving them in, your wetness making it easy for him to thrust in and out as your entrance stretched to accommodate him. “f—fuck!” your eyes flew open at the intrusion and you body lurched forward, but you were held back by his strong forearm. “ohmygod, oh my g—ah! feels s’good haji, s’good!”

“i know, baby, i know. you’re taking it so well.” he turned his attention back to the men, each of who were gulping heavily. if that didn’t signal to you that they were evidently affected by your moans, the way they shifted in their workout shorts did.

“boys, focus.” he curled his fingertips, brushing at the spongy spot at the top of your walls, ripping a pleasured wail from your throat and causing tears to prick at your eyelashes. “when you’re fingering her, you’ll feel an area inside that’s a bit soft and squishy. that’s the g-spot.”

you trembled in his arms as he mercilessly struck the same place over and over again with his fingers. “when you’re fucking her, try to keep the pressure building there, but it’ll be harder to make her finish since you can’t see what you’re doing.”

your breath hitched as iwaizumi’s incessant movements brought your body tantalizingly close to your release. he suddenly stopped and you almost sobbed in disappointment, until he plunged his fingers impossibly deeper.

a guttural scream of ecstasy came from within you, and your eyes rolled back as he began playing with another part of you, your body putty in his hands. “hngh, haji, ah! so good, s’good...” you threw your hands back around his neck, nails digging into the skin as you desperately tried to keep yourself grounded. your soft moans filled the air.

“stop clenching,” he hissed. “can barely move my hand.” you tried to relax but failed miserably as the tips of his fingers grazed your cervix. 

“holy fuck,” suna muttered. “you’re a god.”

“she sounds so pretty,” atsumu said in amazement.

“i wanna make a girl feel good like that, too!” bokuto sulked.

“you can do it, bokuto!” hinata hit him on the arm. “just listen to iwaizumi. clearly he knows what he’s talking about.” 

their eyes refocused on your figure, writhing in pleasure, prompting white hot waves of arousal to pool in their stomachs. 

“yeah,” sakusa said. “clearly.”

“stop talking,” iwaizumi ordered. “and listen. beyond the g-spot is the cervix, which is basically the end of the vagina. if you’re long enough,” he briefly scanned each of their faces, “which i’m sure you are, you’ll be able to reach it if you bottom out.”

“haji—hajime, please.” the stimulation was coming absolutely unbearable, and you could tell he was sadistically holding you at the edge, refusing to give you the satisfaction of finishing. “lemme cum, please. please lemme cum, please, please, i can’t—i can’t take it ‘nymore!”

“what was that? you can’t take it anymore? gonna cum?” you helplessly bobbed your head up and down, hoping that he’d give you permission. “well,” he growled, “we can’t have that happening, can we?”

he abruptly halted his thrusts, pulling his fingers out of you with an embarrassing squelch and popping them into his mouth. pearly tears rolled down your cheeks as you grieved the loss of contact and relief.

your viewers looked on in horror, feeling immense sympathy for you; you just looked so dejected from being denied yet another orgasm.

“why didn’t you—why didn’t you let her cum?” bokuto asked.

“why do you think?” iwaizumi snapped. “don’t want you guys to see her when she does. that’s for me, and only me.”

“oh, okay,” he responded, disgruntlement clear in his voice.

iwaizumi’s glare could cut glass, it was so sharp. the possessiveness that had enveloped his mind made him hyperfocus on just one thought: being alone with you. “so, any other questions? if not, we’re done here.”

you pouted at that, not wanting the demonstration to be over. “but haji,” you mumbled into his collarbone. “i di’nt get to cum. and i wanna.” you looked up at him, eyes wide with want. “please make me cum.”

iwaizumi sent a harsh glance to the players that nonverbally communicated his message loud and clear: get out. they shuffled awkwardly out of the locker room due to the hardness between their legs that they would most definitely need to deal with soon.

your boyfriend turned his attention back to you. “’m sorry, i know i had to deny you a bunch of times. i just really hated the idea of anyone but me seeing the cute way you look when you cum.”

you made a small noise of acknowledgement and a little whisper of it’s okay, haji. he looked down, sensing the way your poor, desperate cunt was pulsing around nothing, the erotic sight injecting him with the pure need to ravage you.

he shifted his head to kiss you passionately. “why don’t i make it up to you?” he breathed between your parted lips before picking you up by the backs of your thighs, forcing you to lock your ankles around his waist. 

he delicately situated you onto one of the recovery beds at the back of the room, before murmuring something that made your pussy throb in anticipation: “i’ll make you cum whichever way you want, however many times you want, all right? all you gotta do is lay back and take it.”

© property of hornime 2021. do not plagiarize any of my writing and do not repost/copy my writing onto any other sites.

[minzart]

At first I was uninterested towards BB AU because I don't like evil or angst cruel stuff but the more I read it. I'd like to see how it goes but man it do be painful.

So how does Chapter 5 work here? I doubt the VDC Group would stay in the Ramshackle Dorm because Crowley ain't fixing it, unless someone decided to pay for it to be furnished without Yuu's knowledge or as a gift for Yuu. Does Yuu not enter the audition room to watch or they watch from the otherside of the window while cleaning Pomefiore Dorm? Would the beach scene with Epel not occur? It does but Yuu takes Deuce stead causing Epel also start having a Yandere obsession as well? Does Yuu also become manager as well? Even I don't know if the part where Malleus fix the stage occurs. Unless Yuu was given an extra VDC ticket to invite others but knows no one to give it to then Lilia barges in and recommends a friend of his that never gets invited a lot (not mentioning Malleus). Yuu feels skeptical and could guess it's Malleus but decides to give them an invitation even knowing the consequences. They're done with this, they're ready for what's coming

That's so many questions and thoughts

First things first I want you to know how touched I am, bc you specifically said you didn't like cruel aus and even tho you read, probably by curiosity, and then you got invensted and for some reason that made em feel like I'm doing a good job so thank you so much??? I don't even know how to explain it??? Just ( ;°;)

And second: I am VERY SORRY for the LONG WAIT IN THIS ONE

So, remember how chapter 4 is before 5 and Kalim goes Yandere for Yuu there? Yup, Kalim offers to pay for a reform in Ramshackle, wich Yuu partially agrees, just the most serious things got fixed like the roof, Yuu would be happy with only their room being in good condition but Kalim insisted in reforming some more bc sleepover he's dieing to suggest

Early mornings were always a blessing in NRC, when the students were too groggy to care about their surroundings, when the headmaster was mostly found in his office, when teachers were only preparing their classrooms, when the sound of birds were Yuu's only companions

Today Pomefiore was the dorm assigned to Yuu's care, it's one of the friendlier dorms, for what Yuu most got from the students was a snobbish look and nothing more, but it's always a breathtaking to see it's walls and garden shine in the early morning sun

They swept and cleaned until the floor shined, finally taking a break as the first busy hour of the day started, as they rested a boy with lavender hair passed running by, he looked extremely tired and angry, but that's noone of their business is it? No. It isn't.

They lie to the hunter anyway...

Rook: pardon me but, have you seen a boy passing by in a hurry?

He approached from behind, quietly as a cat and Yuu is sure his intention was to scare them, poor guy should have tried that before Azul's overblot, Jade made sure Yuu knew how to perceive someone's presences now, by... prolongued experiencing it

Yuu: wich one? Many students seemed to wake late today y'know

The boy's eyes narrow, a glint of something more, something dangerous lured behind his smile, and Yuu knew they attracted the attention of someone they shouldn't, he already knew the truth didn't he?

Rook: is that so? A purple haired one perhaps?

He leaned in closer, watching and memorizing every inch of Yuu's presence

Yuu: yeah,but I don't know where he went tho, didn't pay attention

Yuu holds his gaze, instinct screaming to look away, hide, run, get away from the hunter

Rook: AH! That's why you look so familiar! You are the magicless janitor aren't you? The one who lives at the Ramshackle dorm?

Yuu: what about it?

Rook: you see, there's an event, VDC, that's going to happen in the school, a talent show if you will, and our dorm leader, you might have heard of him, Vil Schoenheit, is in desperate need of a place for our team to train, would you be so kind to let us stay at you dorm? Just dor a couple of weeks! Promise we are very well behaved!

Yuu: look dude, even if I could let you, the dorm is called Ramshackle for a reason, trust me it's easier to gain an injury there than to bound with your friends

Rook: but we could help you! We could do an easy fix in the basic needs and stay, please, just dor some days!

Yuu is tired, they have more tasks to do than to refuse this guy's request to sleep in a old dorm

Yuu: look... I-

The playful nature that surrounded the Hunter minutes before vanished in a blink of an eye, he leans closer and whispers

Rook: I suggest you accept my offer so you can get on Vil's good side before even meeting him trickster, I ask, not demand, a no is welcomed anytime, but for him... trust me, you do not say no to the queen... I could very well say you recovering for our precious Jewell to escape his morning practice so easily, and you don't wanna see him mad do you?

Yuu shuts their mouth, no is not an answer... then again... when do they choices even mattered in this school to beggin with? They smile bitterly looking at their feet hanging by the bench

Yuu: ... alright

Rook: wonderful! Thank you for your support Yuu! See you next week!

.... when had they given their name?

Epel couldn't belive his ears, they were hiding him

The magicless human of NRC was sticking their neck out for him and they didn't even talked

He... couldn't help but fell guilty when using that to his advantage, leaving Yuu behind alone with Rook

He would come back he just... needed a break... they would understand it right? Surely

As for Vil well... he watched it all happen form his windown, Yuu's quietly working, Rook's treat and Epel's retreat, he would be lieing if Yuu didn't intrigued him

Their resilience of the rumours and bulling is something he admired if we're being honest, being an actor came with a price and Vil could recognize a diamond in the rogue like them

He did planed to introduce himself... eventually... if his schedule permitted, there's just something about the magicles handyman that just... calls to him

And when Rook said they accepted their stay at their dorm? well... his genuine smile did put off some students during his classes

---------------------------

No, the beach scene doesn't happen, Epel just gets away and Vil's performance can't occur bc Epel is extremely late, blame RSA studnets

Yuu had to deal with Kalim, Jamil, Rook and now Vil's yandere asses while they stayed and... let's just say... things turned a little bit diferent

Yuu wasn't a manager, nor a member of the dance team,but they did always watched them train, the janitor of NRC saw how strict their routine was and how hard all member were dedicating themselves

So when Epel snapped and ran, they decided to help, as a stand in

And when Vil got away in the middle of Neige's performance? A chill ran down their spine... Kalim's behavior didn't help, him and Jamil tried to get out with Yuu before Vil's overblot ... but Yuu...

Blinding rage boiled in Vil's veins as Rook took the poisoned apple juice, he vold strangle him right now and watch as the life faded from his eyes even before the curse took effect in the hunter... if it wasn't for Neige's presence he wouldn't be conflicted on wich end first

Liquid poured from his eyes, what he could only think be tears... fainted in black and then- a slap in Rook's hand

Yuu: YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!

The human's eyes burned intensely at the Hunter's, fury, exhaustion, fear and... hurt, all danced in their face, their attention shifting from him and Vil and then Neige, who was still standing there

Yuu pushes Rook aside and goes to Vil but... it has already started

"DON'T LOOK AT ME"

As Kalim entered the scene Yuu pushed Neige to his direction screaming for them to get out

Rook drags Yuu along as Vil overblots

____________

The smoke cleared as the consequences of the fight appeared before their eyes... the headmaster wouldn't be happy... not at all...

Yuu wasn't a manger nor a student, Vil gave them his plus one ticked for them to watch the performance

Malleus wasn't invited

Crowley had to plea so the fairy prince could help

ATENTION EVERYONE!

Asks for the AUs are still closed

This is a very old ask that I was working since my block for the AUs beggin since last 2 years I think

If you send me an ask for any of the AUs I will throw it in the trash

So yeah, if you sent me an ask before I closed them, before the big fucking READ ME in my pined post, so there's a big probability that I will answer them

But if you send the ask recently about the AUs? Sorry, it's going out of the window

[krappykawa]

fake dating headcanons with atsumu, oikawa, and kuroo

ANON ASKED: “hi i really like your writing 🥺🥺 could i request fake dating with atsumu, oikawa, and kuroo? like they told their teams that they have a girlfriend but they dont lmao so they ask one of their classmates to pretend to be their gf so the team can meet her? and they end up falling for her along the way :)) i look forward to reading more of ur works!! 💖”

atsumu x f!reader, oikawa x f!reader, kuroo x f!reader

genre. fluff

warnings. language

word count. 6.3k

note. DAMN this one got away from me ... 6.3k words for a headcanon post ...... sorry anon i’m not sure if you wanted a long post but i mean, here we are lol 

note 2. had to repost because something was up with the tags lol i hope it works fine this time

ATSUMU.

- the team has a favorite twin and it’s osamu, we all know it

- one day after practice, the team finds out that one of the first-years managed to get a girlfriend

- most of the inarizaki vb team is single at that point in time so it starts a conversation about relationships

- somewhere in the conversation, aran says, “osamu, man. I can’t believe ya haven’t gotten a girlfriend yet. yer easily one of the best-looking people in the school.”

- osamu just shrugs, but atsumu’s like “huh??”

- “hey ‘samu and i have the same face. don’t cha mean that we’re some of the best-looking people in the school??”

- the guys in the locker room exchange glances

- aran‘s like “look, atsumu. don’t blow up on me or anything, but most girls don’t really want to date you.” (keep in mind that aran’s strictly speaking about the girls that aren’t a part of the miya twins fan club)

- “and why the hell not?”

- at this point, aran’s looking at literally everyone in the room and pleading with his eyes for help because he doesn’t want to start a fight with atsumu

- suna takes pity on aran and says, “hate to break it you, miya, but girls don’t want to date a guy who’s a massive asshole”

- now, atsumu could care less if the entire goddamn world thinks he’s an asshole, but it rubs him the wrong way that his teammates think that osamu’s a better catch than he is

- sibling rivalry pride or whatever

- so atsumu goes “i think my girlfriend would disagree because oh will ya look at that, she’s dating me!”

- he was most definitely not dating anyone

- osamu raises an eyebrow at him because to his knowledge, atsumu didn’t have a girlfriend

- “since when did you have a girlfriend?”

- osamu looks at atsumu with knowing eyes and smirks. “yeah sumu, who’s this girlfriend of yours? I don’t think i’ve met her yet.”

- atsumu knows he’s gotten himself in some deep shit

- but still he’s still full of pride, so he says, “i’ll bring her by to practice tomorrow.”

- now miya atsumu has a dilemma because there are some things he just shouldn’t lie about (because now he’ll never live it down if he can’t figure out a way to get himself out of this one)

- atsumu knows that he’s got that fanclub that would probably be more than willing to date him, but the thought of being in their presence for longer than two seconds makes his skin crawl because he doesn’t think he could handle the excessive screaming

- so that night he decides to go to the bakery down the street that he frequents because they have some of the best macarons in town

- you’re one of the bakers at that bakery that works the shift when he usually comes in for his weekly macarons so you two are acquainted

- you also go to inarizaki, so you hear the rumors that circulate around atsumu, but you don’t really pay much attention to them because he’s not that bad whenever he comes into the bakery

- like sometimes if he tries to only order 2 macarons but notices that there are only 5 macarons left, he’ll buy them all just to make your life easier

- when he comes in that day, he has this troubled look on his face. “hey y/n. can i just have my usual? oh and an iced matcha.”

- you like to keep tabs on your regulars and what they order, so when he orders an iced matcha, you know that something’s probably up (he never orders drinks from there because he said that his brother would kill him if he didn’t bring him home a drink too and having to carry the two drinks up to their apartment is hassle enough)

- you’re in the middle of making his drink when you decide to ask him what’s up “everything alright?”

- it’s almost time to close up and you two are the only two left so you figured you had time for small talk

- “i may have outright lied to my team about havin’ a girlfriend.”

- “you don’t?” that surprises you because so many girls at your school have a crush on the miya twins (you would know because your best friend is practically in love with osamu)

- when atsumu shakes his head dejectedly, you don’t quite understand what he’s so down for

- “you do know that there are like 50 girls that are practically lining up to date you right?”

- “yeah, but they’d expect a real relationship and i’m no good at those.”

- “why not?”

- “i’m too argumentative, let's just say, plus i’ve been told that i kinda come off as an asshole.”

- “and volleyball right?” you would know since he always comes into the bakery after a practice and he looks like he’s both dead and alive

- when you hand him his matcha and packet of macarons, he pauses

- “listen, don’t take this the wrong way but yer single right?”

- you almost smile to yourself because wow for a guy so attractive, his way with words isn’t great

- “i am.”

- he stands there for a good 20 seconds just looking at you with that look in his eyes that tells you that he’s trying to ask you something but he doesn’t know how to do it

- “you want me to act as your fake girlfriend don’t you?”

- cue atsumu chuckle @%EUTYDJBCJWER)*&# hhhhfs

- “ya know, i’m kinda seein’ why i get called an asshole all the time. it doesn’t sound as great when ya’ say it like that.”

- you agree to pretend to be his girlfriend, but on the condition that your best friend will be able to tag along if osamu’s gonna be there

- and that’s the start of it

- you visit his practice the next day before work and his team looks at you in surprise because they were 100% sure that having a girlfriend was just another one of atsumu’s lies

- they all kinda stare at you a little extra too because you’re really pretty

- “aye, get yer asses back to volleyball and stop starin’ at my girl like that.”

- you know it’s all fake, but him saying that kinda makes you blush anyways

- when you first agreed to fake dating him, you weren’t expecting that you’d have to spend too much time with him (he did tell you that he wasn’t looking for a real relationship) but that changes because osamu’s insistent that atsumu should at least try to be a good boyfriend and eat lunch with you and stuff

- you’re both aware that osamu doesn’t buy your little arrangement one bit

- atsumu’s got this raging pride when it comes to his twin brother, so he actually listens because now he’s made it his personal mission to convince osamu that you and him are actually dating

- it takes a while for you two to get into the hang of it, but once you do, it’s like a regular routine

- you and your best friend eat lunch with the twins (you and atsumu both watch as your best friend fumbles her way into talking with osamu), you drop by before work to give atsumu a kiss on the cheek before practice, he drops by the bakery after practice nearly everyday, and you come to his games while wearing a jersey that he lent you

- his teammates like you a lot and tease atsumu all the time because they claim that you’re way too good for him

- surprisingly, he always gets a little protective when they say things like that and always slips an arm around your waist

- one day when you’re over at his apartment, you help atsumu learn how to make macarons (with some help from osamu)

- it takes a while because he would get mad at the macarons when they would come out in weird shapes

- “stupid macarons! they got it out for me i’m tellin’ ya! they’re being like that on purpose!”

- LITERALLY A CHILD

- you learn to like that about him though

- dates with him are usually on the weekends (you both drag osamu and your best friend out with you) and it’s always something fun that osamu suggests because atsumu wasn’t joking when he said he sucks at real relationships

- most of these dates consist of holding hands as you walk around the streets until osamu sees a restaurant he wants to try out

- he always insists on feeding you at least once in your meal

- he also loves doing the walrus-chopsticks face?? (he only started doing it because he liked hearing you laugh)

- as time passes, you two start going on dates without osamu and your best friend (atsumu always claims that it’s because he wants to show osamu up, but you start to notice that osamu doesn’t even find out about these dates most of the time)

- you secretly like these dates better than those with osamu and your best friend because atsumu feels more at ease and will develop a softer tone around you during these dates

- eventually, he starts to always greet you with a forehead kiss whenever you’re in public (you’re not sure if he does it just because his brother is watching, or if maybe he might be starting to like you)

- you try to make your brain forget that most of the time, he kisses your forehead before osamu even walks in

- one day after practice, you’re waiting for him because you didn’t have a shift at the bakery that day

- he walks out of the club room looking mildly pissed and you’re a little wary

- but then he gets to where you’re standing and just pulls your waist towards him and full on kisses you

- mind you, this is your first kiss on the lips with him

- it’s not a quick peck either, like you can hear the wolf whistles from his teammates in the back and you’re left breathing hard and flushed pink afterwards

- damn if that’s what his kisses are like, you suddenly wish he’d do it more often

- “what was that for?”

- “nothin’”

- sometime in the future you find out that he did that because his teammates were once again talking about your relationship and one of them joked that atsumu paid you to pretend to be his girlfriend

- he knew that what you had wasn’t necessarily real, but he just had the urge to kiss you then (he swears to you that he doesn’t know why)

- he does know why. it was because it was starting to slip his mind that your relationship was fake and the reminder made him a little mad at himself

- he realizes that maybe he’s fallen in love with you when osamu brings it up

- atsumu had asked for osamu’s help because he wanted to surprise you by making you mochis for your upcoming four month anniversary of being his fake girlfriend (typing this out was so funny, this man is so whipped he doesn’t know it)

- “ya know, when i first met y/n, i was sure that it was all fake and that you’d slip up about it one day. i guess i was wrong.”

- atsumu doesn’t say anything to that because in his head he’s trying to convince himself that “no. this is all still fake.” but it’s hard to convince himself of that when his hands are covered in the rice flower that he’s using to make your favorite dessert for your four months of faking being together

- he tries not to think about what osamu said when he gives you the gifts later that night

- he tries not to think about it when he gets that funny feeling that he’s been feeling for a while now when he sees the way you light up upon opening the box of mochis

- he most definitely tries not to think about it when you accidentally give him your second kiss of the relationship because you were caught up in the spur of the moment

- it’s on the way home back to his apartment that night that he realizes he’s fucked

- because good god he’s fallen for you

- he tries to break it off after that

- you’re confused at how sudden it is, but you let him break it off because at that point you’re already in love with him and are still too scared to say it because you keep remembering how he always said that he didn’t want a real relationship

- IDIOTS IN LOVE YOU'RE BOTH SO .

- he tries to go back to normal after that

- but for the love of everything he just . can’t

- his eyes always linger a little too long on the door right before practice because you would always come see him before going to work

- his feet would instinctively move in the direction of the bakery after practices until he realizes what he’s doing and forces himself to go home

- his eyes would scan for your figure wearing his jersey during games until he remembers that you probably weren’t there and that you most definitely wouldn’t be wearing his jersey

- he wants to kick himself because the reason he asked you to be his fake girlfriend in the first place was because he didn’t want a real relationship

- yet here he was. wallowing because if there’s anything more he wants, it’s a real relationship with you

- osamu gets fed up with him eventually

- “take yer ass to the bakery right after practice. i’m not letting you into the apartment until you see her.”

- and surprisingly, he actually listens to his twin brother

- he walks into the bakery for the first time in a while and says “hey y/n. can i just have my usual? oh and an iced matcha.”

- you look up at him then because you vividly remember that night. how could you not?

- you’re in the middle of making his drink when you decide to ask him what’s up “everything alright?”

- “i may have outright lied to myself about loving you.”

- you nearly drop the drink in your hands

- “‘tsumu? what are you on about?”

- “i know i said that i’m no good at real relationships. but i’ve found that i want to learn to be good.”

- a pause

- “i want to learn with ya.”

OIKAWA.

- this poor boy is always the butt of the jokes that come from his team

- seriously though. it’s always “tease oikawa day” (he teases them back so it’s all good)

- but one day, they’re all in the locker room when hanamaki brings up this girl that he’s planning on asking out because he’s not sure how to do it

- oikawa, being the little shit that he is, goes “step one, makki. have my face. step two, have my amazing personality. step three, ask her out.”

- he barely ducks in time to miss the shoe that comes flying towards his head

- “makki! such unbecoming behavior! my advice is perfect!”

- matsukawa snorts and says “perfect advice my ass. you can’t even get anyone to like you. let alone go out with you, crappykawa.”

- “don’t spread lies, mattsun.” oikawa clicks his tongue like a mother scolding his child. “or do you seem to forget the dozens of confessions i get on the daily along with the girls that you three complain about all the time because ugh shittykawa’s gonna make us late if he keeps talking to them” (he’s so dramatic lol he says that last part in this weird, whiny voice)

- iwaizumi scoffs. “doesn’t count when you reject every single one.”

- “i do not!”

- “right. right. as if you don’t make them cry because you’re so nice about rejecting them too.” (oikawa frowns at that one because he doesn’t mean to make them cry)

- “yeah, shittykawa, you’re pretty bad at love in general. i’d die before listening to your advice.” (this one is from matsukawa)

- “there’s also the fact that the girlfriend’s you did have all broke up with you because you would rather cuddle with a volleyball than cuddle with them.” (this one is from hanamaki)

- oikawa scowls at them “i don’t cuddle my volleyball.”

- “sure you don’t. just like you most definitely don’t have a name for it either.”

- “leave iwa-chan the second out of this!” (he drew an angry face on his volleyball too because he claims it looks like iwaizumi)

- iwaizumi groans. “i hate you. so so much.”

- at this point, oikawa knows they’re right, but he’s also really prideful. “and besides. i would suggest taking my advice because i got a girlfriend just today!”

- he most definitely did not

- “sure you did. hey mattsun, i bet a week tops until she breaks up with him.”

- “nah i’ll bet five days.”

- after practice, oikawa came up with a plan for the next day to get himself out of the hole he dug for himself

- he usually got confessions before school, so he told iwaizumi that he was going to school early to practice and instead waited for a girl to confess to him

- but the moment he saw this second-year walk up to him with a little box, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it

- he couldn’t do that to this innocent girl

- and he tries to say yes to her. he really does.

- but he can practically hear his older sister’s voice yelling at him about how “even when you get popular and get confessions from people left and right, i don’t want you leading anyone on. you only accept a confession if you actually like them.”

- he’s probably more scared of his sister than he is of his own mother, so he says no to that second-year, even when she starts to frown and walk away

- he’s leaning against the gym and rubbing the bridge of his nose when he hears you

- “everything alright?”

- you two were pretty close because he found out that you had a crush on iwaizumi in your second year and tried to set you two up (it didn’t work because he’s pretty bad at being a wingman)

- even when iwaizumi rejected you, oikawa had already grown to like your presence, so you two stayed friends despite how his best friend broke your heart

- “y/n-chan! what are you doing here so early?”

- “just returning a book to the library before the librarian knocks down my door and kicks my ass for having an overdue library book. what are you doing here so early?”

- “would you believe me if i said that i was practicing volleyball?”

- you look him up and down, and the smell of fresh cologne reaches your nostrils. his uniform is neatly put together.

- “looking like that? no, no i would not.”

- “well, what would you believe?”

- “i don’t know .. the truth maybe?”

- “the truth is embarrassing and is defamation to my good name.” that makes you raise your brow at him.

- “okay now i only want to hear the truth. i will not accept anything but the truth. now tell me, what kind of embarrassment have you proved yourself to be this morning?”

- “so mean, y/n-chan! now i see why you so very adored our precious iwa-chan.”

- you groan because you don’t want to remember that rejection. “oh just hurry up and embarrass yourself instead of embarrassing me.”

- “but it’s quite embarrassing.”

- “come on, spit it out.”

- “i may or may not have told iwa-chan, makki, and mattsun that i have a girlfriend when i don’t have one.”

- you look at him like he’s the dumbest person you’ve ever met, because at that moment, you really believed that he was. “couldn’t you just … i don’t know … accept one of your many, many confessions?”

- oikawa tells you about his fear of his sister and the second-year that just confessed to him

- you find yourself admiring his sister because she’s probably the one person on this planet that can humble oikawa tooru (the next person to be able to do so will be you, but you don’t know that yet)

- after hearing his explanation you get an idea. “can’t you ask someone to fake being in a relationship with you? you know, so you don’t get the angry sister devil/angel thing on your shoulder?” (LOL if you don’t get what the angel/devil thing that i’m talking about is, it’s like when you have an imaginary angel and a devil that sits on your shoulders and criticizes every choice you make)

- “are you offering, y/n?” he has that shit-eating grin on his face again, so you know he’s mostly joking

- “hmm, i don’t know. i think you’ll have to formally ask me to be your fake girlfriend. it’s only polite after all.”

- oikawa blinks for a second because he didn’t actually think you were serious. “what?”

- “are you going to ask me to be your fake girlfriend or not? maybe throw in a flower and i’ll say yes.”

- oh. oh.

- well, he wasn’t going to let what might be his only opportunity to get someone to fake date him pass by

- he looks around and sees a small flower on the ground and picks it

- he takes both your hands and puts the flower in one of them before saying, “y/n-chan will you, take me, oikawa tooru, as your loving pretend boyfriend, and save me from irrevocable embarrassment?”

- you laugh in his face because he’s trying so hard not to laugh through his “proposal.”

- “minus points for not getting on one knee but i guess i do.”

- you mainly did it because you may have already gotten rejected by iwaizumi, but you did like the possibility of being friends with him, and fake dating oikawa would probably let you do that

- you also kind of felt bad for oikawa, knowing that he wasn’t exaggerating how embarrassing it would be if his teammates found out he was lying

- when you and oikawa walk up to the seijoh third-years while holding hands, makki and mattsun are jostling each other while iwaizumi looks mildly surprised

- “see matsun! pay up!”

- oikawa and you both look in surprise as mattsun reluctantly shoves a few bills into makki’s awaiting hand

- oikawa’s looking between them both. “what bet did you use me for this time?”

- “i bet mattsun that you and y/n secretly liked each other.”

- blink blink

- iwaizumi sees the mildly awkward situation brewing so he says, “anyways, y/n if you ever get tired of this dumbass, you’re more than welcome into our group. we’ll just kick oikawa out.”

- after that, you and oikawa fall into a dating routine easily (you have a pretty busy schedule too so both you and oikawa understand each other schedules well)

- usually this is where oikawa’s relationships fail. he spends so much time with volleyball and the team that he doesn’t really spend time with his significant others

- it’s different with you though. maybe it’s the fact that the stakes aren’t so high because it’s only a fake relationship after all, or maybe it’s because unlike his past significant others, you don’t mind spending most of your time and “dates” with the other seijoh third-years, or maybe it’s because he remembers that locker room conversation and he wants to prove to makki, mattsun, and iwaizumi that he can be a good boyfriend (even if it’s a good fake boyfriend)

- dates with oikawa are usually laid-back because he’s tired from practice (so like walks in the park, getting ice cream, or study dates where you don’t get much done because you spend most of it just laughing and cooking in his kitchen)

- you find that he’s secretly a decent cook (the only thing keeping from saying that he’s a good cook is because he can’t cut vegetables for his life, and he also managed to accidently burn the onions you were trying to caramelize).

- neither of you acknowledge the fact that since nobody’s there to see those dates, you two technically don’t have to go on them since it’s only a fake relationship

- oh and takeru LOVES you

- seriously. he thinks you’re probably the coolest person ever (he tells you one day that he thinks you’re even cooler than oikawa and oikawa is a pouting mess the rest of your day. you can only pull him out of his slump when you jump on his back and force him to run to the bakery and buy milk bread)

- sometimes you’ll come with oikawa when he needs to watch takeru

- as takeru teaches you how to receive a volleyball, oikawa will watch you two with a little smile on his face (this loser is so whipped like man people passing by reminisce on how they were young and in love once because oikawa looks at you like that. oikawa doesn’t notice that he’s doing it though.)

- you sometimes spend time at his house with iwaizumi or on select days just by yourself (mostly for study dates or for watching weird sci-fi movies that oikawa seems to love)

- since you’re at his house so often, oikawa’s mother takes a liking to you because “you finally got her boy to care about something that isn’t volleyball.”

- it’s when oikawa groans a “moooom” in response that you start to feel those pesky butterflies

- oikawa will run up to you after games and just hold you tightly (he tells himself that it’s because his fan club and the team are watching, but really it’s because he can’t thank you enough for being there because he just plays better when you’re watching)

- my god, dUDE . he has no idea that he loves you like . MAN .

- mattsun, makki, and iwaizumi always tease oikawa about how you’re so much cooler than him

- oikawa whines to you and says, “y/n-channn they’re being mean again!”

- “what do you want me to do about it?”

- oikawa pouts like the baby he is and says, “kiss,” while pointing to his cheek. you give in and a round of groans comes from mattsun and makki. oikawa looks so smug and those pesky stomach feelings come back. iwaizumi is smiling to himself.

- speaking of iwaizumi

- you two become best friends after he finds you looking dejected as you wait for oikawa to get out of practice. you confided with him about how your relationship was all pretend. you might have also told him that you may be teensy bit in love with his captain

- iwaizumi tells you that, “there are some things you just ... can’t fake. the way that shithead looks at you is one of them. trust me.”

- he also tells you that his suspicion that you and oikawa had this weird spark was what kept him from ever reciprocating your feelings and why he rejected you (oikawa literally tried being your wingman before by texting iwaizumi things like “did you see how pretty y/n was today? don’t you think she was pretty?” and “iwa-chan! y/n is so funny and that’s coming from me, so she really is funny! i think maybe you should talk to her to see what i’m talking about (≧◡≦)”)

- at this point everyone knows that you’re in love with oikawa for real (except for oikawa himself)

- everyone also knows that oikawa’s fallen for you (except for oikawa himself, and you because you refuse to believe it)

- the moment he realizes he’s in love with you is on another one of those dates that you both know you don’t have to have but still choose to have anyway

- you’re making milk bread and he’s helping to measure the ingredients when he turns around to see you covered in flour and he just kinda stops

- and he realizes

- like yeah he’s been getting that small tugging feeling with you a lot over these past few months

- but now he finally realizes it’s because he’s in love with you

- he’s staring for a long time and for a second you think he’s going to make fun of your flour-coated self, but he’s staring at you with that look and you’re confused

- “everything okay? is there something wrong? did you mess up the measurements?”

- then an idea hits him

- “something’s wrong. it’s kind of embarassing though.”

- “what is it?”

- “no but it’s really embarrassing.”

- “what .. what is it?”

- cue cheeky little grin. “i think i might’ve fallen in love with my fake girlfriend. i don’t have another flower to ask her out though. i hope she doesn’t say no.”

- you kiss him for the first time then and take pride in the fact that you get him covered in flour in the process

KUROO.

- it happened the second day that you were at the tokyo training camp

- kuroo was with bokuto and a few of the karasuno first-years when bokuto started telling the first-years that kuroo had a girlfriend because he saw kuroo helping you carry your bags the day before (listen . this man is like . clueless when it comes to emotions sometimes i’msosorry)

- kuroo got this confused look on his face because he thought he would remember getting a girlfriend. “i do?”

- “don’t you? remember the girl you were holding hands with yesterday?”

- this was all some big misunderstanding

- so basically what happened was this: you’re shinzen’s team manager and you were tasked with carrying bags of equipment to the training center. kuroo was waiting for kenma to finish talking with lev (more like trying to avoid though lmao) and noticed that you were struggling so he came over to help

- kuroo figured that bokuto must’ve seen him holding the bags for you and assumed that something must’ve been going on (or maybe he looked over for the split second when kuroo held your hand in order to transfer the bags to his hand)

- he was about to clear things up when lo and behold, you walked into the gym

- “kuroo look! it’s your girlfriend! hey, come join us!”

- bless bokuto’s soul. bless that poor, oblivious soul.

- you walked up to them and looked at kuroo like “what??”

- you remembered him from the day before, but you didn’t remember ever agreeing to being his girlfriend of any sort

- he smiled apologetically at you and asked to talk to you on the side

- “what’s going on? why did he call me your .. girlfriend?”

- “look i’m sorry, bo’s a little … i don’t know. he saw me carrying your bags yesterday and assumed. i’ll clear things up, don’t worry.”

- when you two headed back to where bokuto is standing, it was obvious that kuroo’s smooth-sailing explanation wasn’t happening anytime soon

- because lev was there, and so was yaku

- “KUROO-SENPAI? THIS IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND? SHE’S VERY PRETTY SENPAI!” (bless lev’s soul too. another part of the extremely oblivious club.)

- yaku took no hesitation in teasing kuroo. “since when does kuroo ever get any girl to like him? this is new. no offense, of course.”

- kuroo tried clearing up the air by saying, “guys- listen this has all been som-“

- hinata doesn’t let him finish either lmao “YOU’RE THE TEAM MANAGER FOR SHINZEN!” (extremely oblivious club member number 3 here)

- “a team manager, kuroo? what’d you do to get her to say yes? is she a chemistry nerd too?”

- “bo-“

- they kinda just went like that back and forth, and kuroo kept getting interrupted

- you were just laughing to the side because it was kind of funny

- you also kinda felt bad for kuroo because damn his friends had like no faith in his romantic skills at all??

- maybe that was what made you say it, but after his friends were done teasing him you said, “he’s kind of a catch though, don’t you think? nerdy and funny is a girl’s dream isn’t that what they say?”

- kuroo blinked at you because what??

- once kuroo got you alone by asking you to take a walk outside of the gym, he asked, “so … what does this make us?” (surprise, surprise, he never got the chance to tell them about the misunderstanding)

- you just shrugged because really how bad could this be? “i felt bad at how much they were teasing you, so we could keep up the fake boyfriend/girlfriend thing for the week. it shouldn’t be too bad. plus it’ll save you the embarrassment of having to tell your friends that you didn’t actually get a girlfriend.”

- you guys did pretty good for the week of the training camp

- you’d cheer him on in secret if he got a spike or a block during a practice game while simultaneously still watching shinzen’s game

- you two walked around the halls when bokuto was watching just to keep up pretenses

- you learned that he’s a major nerd during these walks, which you found really endearing

- on the last day of camp, he tried to throw pieces of broccoli in your mouth (he didn’t stop until he finally got it in after his 9th try)

- you guys initially planned to “break up” after the camp was over

- but here comes bokuto again

- “hey y/n! kuroo, akaashi, and i were gonna go out for karaoke tomorrow if you wanna join.”

- you grew to like bokuto too so you said you’d come

- it was actually a really fun night

- you and kuroo sang a duet together

- he also stole some of your ramen

- you took a video of bokuto as he serenaded akaashi

- when you guys are leaving to go home, bokuto goes “you two are so cute. y/n do me a favor and don’t break up with kuroo until after the qualifiers would you? i wanna play him at his full game.” (again. seriously, he basically is the greatest accidental wingman ever)

- “we can’t break his heart, can we?”

- “no, we can’t.”

- and so your fake relationship starts

- you don’t get to visit each other often because you don’t live in the same vicinity, but you guys text often (it’s a friend thing, you both swear to yourselves)

- on weekends when kuroo’s not spending time with kenma, he’ll ask you to meet him at a park or a cafe (you two always send selfies to bokuto during every date)

- dates with him are always really fun because he’s spontaneous and also very active so sometimes he’ll take you by the hand and just drag you places

- he is not afraid to smear different colors of ice cream on your nose and call you some obscure name from some really old movie that he may have watched that week

- he also makes you push him on the swings

- the little kids get mad because what is this rooster man doing taking up a swing when he’s so old

- you laugh at him when the kids eventually come up to him and ask if they can use the swing

- dates will usually last the whole day because you’re both fine with just walking around and randomly finding stuff to do

- with all that time spent talking, you two also get to know each other really well

- like basically your life stories

- it took him a while to open up and at first he insists that you tell your story first, but after a while you notice how he starts letting little things about his life slip here and there until he starts telling you bigger portions

- you also get really close with kenma

- not close close the way him and kuroo are, but kenma would probably see you as his second closest friend

- that’s why sometimes kenma tags along with you guys (it doesn’t feel like third wheeling or anything because both you and kuroo enjoy kenma’s presence as much as each other’s)

- eventually, once you two got the hang of it, you’re like the couple that everyone likes

- because you’re both pretty funny and overall just have nice vibes

- his team starts to call you mom and dad as a joke because sometimes when shinzen doesn’t have practice, you’ll stop by at nekoma at the end of practice just to say hi

- they’re not wrong about the mom and dad thing though (it’s a really cute dynamic though i swear)

- your team used to not like him at first because they were protective of you, but eventually they reluctantly warmed up to him

- they threatened to demolish him if he hurt you though

- LMAO ANYWAYS .. MOVING ON

- you guys have lots of study dates too!!

- since you’re both busy because of volleyball related things, a lot of your schedule lines up with each other (this also means that kuroo knows when you haven’t had time to study)

- you’ll be sitting on his bed on your stomach with your legs draped across his thighs as you read your textbook and he’ll be sitting against his bed frame reading one of his assigned readings (i also like to think that kuroo has glasses for these readings that only you and kenma have seen)

- sometimes, when you finish studying before he finishes, you’ll come up behind him and just start to play with his hair

- his hair is actually really soft despite looking like a bird built its nest in it

- you also have two of his jackets that are just lying around your house

- he likes when you wear them because he thinks you look so cute (he doesn’t tell you that though)

- after a while, it’s like both of you have forgotten that this was all a ruse just so bokuto wouldn’t get heartbroken after you two break up

- at this point, kuroo has learned all your quirks, habits, and has also memorized your schedule

- like … he doesn’t realize that he’s fallen for you until someone points it out

- he realizes he’s fallen for you on the day that shinzen loses in the tournament (this would be your last match)

- now nekoma just played a game, but kuroo’s first instinct is to check whether or not shinzen won (he’s been doing this for every game in the tournament)

- when he sees that you lost, he knows that you’ll be sad and in need of a pick me up

- as kenma and him are packing up, he says, “shinzen lost today. i probably can’t make it to your house tonight. y/n will probably want to go out with her team for a bit, but she’ll probably crash at my place. do you think i should make her a strawberry cake? or maybe she’ll want onigiri? no, she’ll probably want the cake. she always gets the little smile with her one dimple whenever she eats my strawberry cake. makes me proud.”

- kenma’s just looking at kuroo with arched eyebrows because HIS BEST FRIEND IS WHIPPED

- kuroo doesn’t get why kenma’s looking at him like that because he thinks about things like that all the time. “what??”

- oh kenma knows your relationship is fake

- so he just looks at kuroo and says, “try to refrain getting down on one knee today. i doubt you have a ring, and i’ll bet that y/n will want a confession of you being hopelessly, madly in love with her before you propose by the way.”

- kuroo kind of freezes and blinks at him.

- “wh … what?”

- “kuro, do i really need to spell out for you that you’re totally smitten with her? you have been for a while now.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- at this point, kuroo knows that kenma’s onto something, but kuroo doesn’t wanna jump to conclusions until he sees you again

- when you knock on his door and run straight into his arms that night, he knows kenma’s right

- like you’re balling into his chest and he gets that feeling that he wants to hold you forever and never let go

- and he knows. he knows.

- after you start to calm down, he offers you the cake that he made just for you

- he swears that he feels ten times lighter after he sees that exact smile with the exact dimple on your face

- now kuroo may be loud, and rambunctious at times, but when he loves, it’s quiet, simple, but not any less there

- as you finish eating the cake, kuroo notices that there’s a few pink crumbs on your lips

- and he kisses you

- like a “slow, hand on the cheek, nose touching after he pulls away” kind of kiss

- “i made a realization today. kenma told me to hold back on proposing, so i’ll go with confessing instead.”

- you’re looking up at him with your heart beating hard in your chest

- “i think you might’ve made me fall in love with you.”

sorry if there are any mistakes lmao i tried catching all of them but ... 6k words ...... yanno. .....

[captnjacksparrow]

Dear Sparrow, You have really amazing analytical skills and your detailed knowledge about the Naturoverse is just as impressive! It's always so interesting to read your posts and I value your opinion a lot. Now to my question... How would a realistic romantic relationship between Naruto and Sasuke look like in our eyes?

I'm not really interested in knowing who is seme and who is uke, but what their couple dynamic would look like? What would be their struggles? What would they talk about?

For example, what if Naruto wanted a family and Sasuke didn't. Would Naruto -as a Hokage- be hesitating on sending Sasuke on dangerous missions? What are their plans for the future?

Or how would they search for/react to/display/intimacy? Would they stay closeted (like they kinda are in Boruto XD)? Or would they be openly gay and live with each other? How would each of them react to homophobia towards them? I'm curious about your head canon! ♥️

Thank you so much for your compliments @itsmischiefsblog 😍😍😍

But you asked the wrong person!!!! LOLOL.... I’ve never read any SNS fanfiction so far  to even base my headcanon upon (except for 1 which had just 3 chapters and I just started 1 very recently)

But,

I can say you one thing. 

As you know very well that I treasure SNS ship a lot, A LOTTTTTT..... So I won’t just compare this ship with anything so easily. And if I do, which means it’s really worthy. I came to ship SNS only because Naruto and Sasuke’s interaction always reminded me of this other Ship I loved a lot before watching Naruto. 

And after finishing Naruto, I came to this conclusion that If Naruto and Sasuke were allowed to be together, then probably they will display their love very similar to the other Couple I loved. Because culturally they share the same value and the world is Ancient. Just like Naruto series has Chakra, they also have Spiritual Energy in their abdomen. 

And also, the Couple shares the same dynamics with SNS... That is, One is a  Bright, Cheerful, Messy, Prank loving Bubble and the Other is an Unexpressive, Stern, Elegant, Intense loving Heart-throb.... 

Oh by the way, in this Dynamics everything is similar to SNS except for One.... What happens if Sasuke stayed in the Light Path and Naruto went to the Dark Path??? What will Sasuke do for Naruto?? 

If that interest you, then this series will be for you.

I suggested this series to another SNS Blogger Friend of mine @seraphina-herondale ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Now she is Brainrotting and Gushing over this couple so badly.... Because they are very similar to SNS and has more Fluffs, many subtle Intimate moments and extremely good chemistry....

If you want to know my Head Canon.... You have to watch this series and I am sure you will never regret it!!!

Not to mention, Just like SNS has SNS toys, pens, mugs, perfumes and many other merchandise.... That couple also has a lot of merchandise and is extremely popular. It was based on a BL Novel and got adapted into Anime as well as Live Action Series... Live Action is what I am talking about.... It also has a Chibi Version of Anime as well....  

Novel has all the ‘Hot’ contents towards the very end.... But Live Action has passed that couple off as Soulmates because of Censorship... But still the Show Creators had found a round-about way to make the couples Marry on-screen indirectly in our plain-sight.... LOLOLOL...  Just like how Rikkudou Sennin made an unofficial Marriage for SNS.... 

If you ever decided to give this amazing series a try.... I suggest you to start with the Live Action, then Novel, Anime, Chibi-Anime.... In this particular order... Because Live Action has no Adult Contents and so Pure just like in Naruto Manga.... It will really make you gush over them a lot and then if you want to really know how they ‘Get together’, you can read the Novel linked here..[Link]

That series Name is The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling),based on the Novel named Mo Dao Zu Shi, available in Netflix, Viki Rakuten or in WeTV app. Please don’t google or Youtube to spoil yourself.... Just Go straight to Netflix and Watch it.... 

Anyways, I would like to provide you some Teaser in order to show you the similarities they share with SNS .... Just only few.... there are a lot actually...

BONDED UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

Both couples Bonded under the Moonlight... Actually The Untamed Showrunners mentioned in their interview that they decided to capture that scene under moonlight to provide a ‘Romantic Effect’..... LOL... Am sure Kishi must have thought that way way back in 1999..... 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

GOOD MATCH

Both the characters are so happy over the fact that they found their ‘Match’.... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

WHO AM I TO YOU?

The situation is mindbogglingly similar... Naruto asked that Question when Sasuke is trying to avoid him and going towards that dark path.... This person also asks this same question when the other person was avoiding him and going towards Darkness....😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

OUTSIDERS

Both the respective characters, after getting into the Darkness, actively trying to push their Light.... By using the same term.... ‘Outsiders’..... Ooooof!!!!! 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

I AM TAKING YOU BACK TO...

Both these characters represents Light... They want to take their Bae into the place where they live.... In Naruto, it’s Konoha (Leaf Village).... In The Untamed, it’s Gusu (Cloud Recesses)

CRADLING MY BAE

Aren’t they adorable, warm and tender????? 

YIN AND YANG

Just like how Sasuke represents Yin in Naruto.... The Person who is very similar to Naruto represents Yin in The Untamed.

Aren't they all similar????

So, Please don't google about this and try to watch it without any spoilers because the plot is equally captivating as our Main Characters’ chemistry.... Lots of Angst, Tears, Brotherly sentiment, Brother-Sister Bond, no annoying Female Characters.... And Don't just watch it for the fluff stuffs because the story and romance is like Yin and Yang... You really have to pay attention to the story to understand their Bond. 

First 2 episodes might be hazy... because the story is Non-Linear... But don’t drop it.. Starting from Episode 3 you will really get into the Flashback and then later you will understand what First 2 episodes are all about... 

So, Yeah!!!! The Tagline itself touts them as Soul Mates... 

This is my Head Canon about the Adult version of SNS... And the Actors are really handsome and talented enough to portray our Naruto and Sasuke in a Soulful Manner with such Tenderness. 

After watching this series, even if you have a shred of doubt that Naruto and Sasuke may be Brothers.... it will all fly off to the trash Can because, the show clearly distinguished how Brothers would Act around each other and how Soulmates act in a subtly Romantic Way. I wish those Antis watch this series and understand the meaning of Soulmates & SNS... That’s only my wishful thinking...

[[I am not saying one ship is better than the other ship.... All I am saying is One Couple resembles the Other and I love them in my own way, equally]]

The Main Couple in The Untamed are Officially Gay (in Novel) and Soulmates (in The Live Action Series). If they are Gay and Soulmates, then so is SNS.