#i really want to continue with sweet tooth but i feel like the writers completely forgot that the main character is a fucking child and ???

[psalmsofpsychosis]

get to know you tag meme

one McMortifying Ordeal Of Being Known and a diet coke coming right up. @alienfuckeronmain made me do this, she's bullying me into existing in the online sphere 😔✌🏻

Three ships: huh, simply one of the questions ever. Currently i'm sailing with a dinluke mega-yacht. I also have a comfort obikin metal boat, and by comfort i mean i leave it out in hot sun all day and then go sit in it ass naked and scream and cry boating around until, i dont know. Why do i do this even.

And THEN there's my organic pure darth vader/boba fett ship imported straight from turbohell. Anakin is a ripe and fucking stupid coconut falling from the sky right in front of my feet and by gods i will see this fruit cracked from 99 angles.

First ever ship: bill and tom kaulitz from tokio hotel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Last song: Mehro's "like you're god". which is skinning me alive by the way!

Last movie: rewatched Rons Gone Wrong with bro, i just. i just think that movie is really neat

Currently reading: Emma Mieko Candon's "Star Wars Visions: Ronin". I'm massively homesick for sw visions in ways i can't even describe and this book is really helping me curb some of that homesickness. bastard babyman dude for the win.

Currently watching: i simultaneously started Santa Clarita Diet and Sweet Tooth at the same time and so far i'm in absolute love with SCD, like i hold so much affection for its trope breaking storylines that i put on one episode, i scream from start to finish, i put on the next episode, rinse and repeat.

Sweet Tooth i find unbelievably endearing with very intriguing plot points and fuckloads of potential, but it's got that fundemental jaded and bitter millenial worldview that is so rampant in the american superhero stories, so i'm thinking of giving it a rest.

Currently consuming: eucalyptus cold candies. And dried&salted orange slices. to my throat i'd like to say i'm sorry

currently craving: release from the containment of this mortal coil. also chocolate donuts with cream filling.

weee this was fun! ❤ tagging of the no-pressure variabt goes to @isitandwonder @wizardpink @brightmouth @darkisrising @grimfey @lantaniel

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

Don’t Go Baking My Heart || Seokjin

Pairing: Seokjin x reader

Summary: You fall in love with Kim Seokjin’s bakery after wandering into it to take advantage of the post-Valentine’s Day discount on the chocolates. Maybe it’s the owner’s bad jokes, maybe it’s the other regulars, maybe it’s the delicious pastries. Or maybe there’s something more that keeps you coming back to that shop.

Also available on Ao3.

Word count: 14.7k

Genre: Strangers (to Friends) to Lovers, Bakery AU, tooth-rotting Fluff, some smut

Warnings & Tags: mentions of insecurities and of former relationships, smut (vaginal sex, oral [male receiving], fingering), Jin makes Bad Jokes, Valentine’s Day themed

A/N: Soooo this was supposed to come out for Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t ready then, so you guys get it now instead! I’m bad with puns so I definitely had to look online for those used in this oops. Finally, I’d like to give a big thank you to the amazing @elidebrey​ who actually worked in a bakery shop and told me all about (I’m sorry you guys ran out of milk all the time). She’s an amazing writer and you should check her out if you like the Batfam! Hope you’ll enjoy this one-shot!

February 15th

You first walk into Kim Seokjin’s bakery the day after Valentine’s Day. Your eye was caught by the chocolates and cakes you noticed on sale from the outside, and also the name of the place, The Rolling Scones, which is either genius or terrible, you can’t pick. The door bell chimes happily, first when you push the door open and then when it closes behind you.

The place is empty. There’s no one behind the counter, and you find yourself hesitating there for a second, both arms behind your back like a shy schoolgirl — which you once were, but that was a while ago now. Natural light, the cold sun of February, is falling through the bay windows, and the place is cute, clearly decorated with love and care. It makes you feel just a little warmer inside.

Since no one seems to be showing up, you take your time to look at the display. You’ve spent the past week crying over the end of your two year relationship, and you’re desperately craving something sweet and sugary to fill the hole in your heart and in your life. Post Valentine’s Day discount is definitely the best way to do that.

If you’re being completely honest with yourself, you knew this relationship was never going to be your forever. It was just a nice and comfortable situation to be in, and you expected you and him to part ways at some point.

You just didn’t particularly expect it to be now.

“Jungkook!” a strong voice shouts from the back of the shop, startling you. It’s quickly followed by a curse, and then a man walks in, glancing back with a worried expression, tying an apron around his waist and adjusting a small black hat on his head. You notice the ‘Jungkook’ tag on his apron, and it makes you soften in sympathy. The second his eyes fall on you, he recomposes himself, and shoots you a smile that’s professional, though the nervousness doesn’t quite disappear. “What can I do for you?”

“I was just looking,” you say, and he leans forward, probably straining to hear. Your voice has always had that weird tendency to become inaudible when you’re talking to strangers. “You don’t have anything with strawberries, do you?”

“I’m afraid everything we had went yesterday,” he says with a sympathetic frown.

“Oh, right,” you mumble. You’re disappointed to a stupid degree, and you know it’s because your emotions have been running wild recently, to the point where any small contrariety threatens to make you cry. Fortunately, you don’t, right now. That would be horribly embarrassing. “Um, I guess I’ll take that box and, uh, the éclair, please, then.”

“Of course!”

His movements are quick and precise as he takes it out, and you could be mistaken, but you think he’s deliberately not looking at you. You’re not particularly blaming him for it, though, because you’re doing the exact same thing.

“Anything else?” he asks once he’s done, and you shake your head, avoiding eye contact. “For here or to go? We’re also a café,” he elaborates when you give him a surprised — and slightly panicked — glance.

“Oh. To go, please,” you say, not so much because you actually want to, and much more because you’re bad at changing your plans when you had already made your decision.

Except… You eye the bakery. It’s not like you have anyone to come back to, and you don’t particularly want to be back at your apartment to wallow alone. You might even get some things done while you’re here.

“Um, actually, would you mind if I…?” The question dies on your lips. You’re already feeling too embarrassed to continue, but he looks up, eyes wide, and nods.

“No, no, please take a seat! Do you want something to drink as well?”

“That— That would be nice, actually.”

“Alright, just give me a second and I’ll bring you our, er, menu.”

It’s not a menu, it’s a list of drinks the owner printed and coated with plastic, and insists on calling a menu, but he isn’t going to tell you that.

You pick a table that faces the door, and after choosing and ordering your tea, pull out your computer. It’s not that the things you have to do can’t wait, but you don’t like sitting alone doing nothing. The shop is desperately empty, and part of you is terrified by the idea that Jungkook could come over to talk to you. That would probably end up not being completely unpleasant, but you’re not sure you can handle that much interaction with other human beings right now.

While scrolling through the text you are currently working on editing, you pick a chocolate out of the box to eat it and hold back a satisfied moan at the taste. The fact that it’s so good makes you feel a little more upset that you’ve never been in a relationship for Valentine’s Day and therefore have never been given anything like that.

It’s always been bad luck really, because you’ve been in a few relationships, but even with your last boyfriend, the two of you were on a break in February. The others never made it longer than a few months, and never fell at the right time. It’s not even like you want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you do think it’s mostly a commercial holiday, and you definitely don’t want any expensive gift, but you’d be happy to have someone by your side to make fun of other couples with. Someone to love you, and someone to love.

God, you want to be in love so bad. For a few months, you thought you had it with your ex, and maybe you did, for a moment, but it had slipped from your fingers without you managing to do anything about it, leaving you sad and empty. You want to feel everything the movies and books promised, the butterflies in the stomach, the rush in the beat of your heart. You want to feel like someone holds your world in their hands. You want them to love you back — really love you, so much that you’ll catch them looking at you and see it in their eyes immediately, so much that they’ll remember how you like your tea in the morning.

You don’t think your ex ever loved you, and you don’t really blame him for that. He liked you, certainly, and for a long time that was enough for you. But now, with it being over and him telling you he’d ‘met someone’, you want more out of your next relationship.

Then again, you’d thought that last time as well.

You’re grateful when Jungkook brings you your tea, tearing you away from thoughts you really don’t want to be having right now. He gives you a smile, then is quick to retreat back behind the counter, and something tells you that he has the same difficulties talking to people as you do.

That can’t make his job fun.

You’re soon able to immerse yourself in your work, much to your surprise. Usually, you’re hyper aware of your surroundings, and it’s hard to get work done unless you’re in a place that’s both quiet and familiar, but the atmosphere in here is so warm and pleasant that you’re able to relax and focus, all while drinking your tea and eating your sweets. It’s quite close to perfect, actually.

Which is why you jump violently when someone’s voice booms into the shop.

“Jeon Jungkook!”

You look up, panicked, and Jungkook turns around with the exact same look on his face. You don’t remember the doorbell ringing, so it has to be someone from the shop, and indeed, a tall man with short black hair walks in from the same place Jungkook entered. And your brain short-circuits.

It doesn’t happen all that often, for you to simply find yourself frozen because of how good-looking someone is, but in that case, you just can’t help it. The man who just walked in is tall, with very nice, broad shoulders, and the apron he is wearing underlines the muscles of his chest in ways you didn’t think were possible, but more than that, he’s also, quite possibly, the most handsome man you’ve ever laid eyes on. When you glance at his plump, full lips, you find yourself having a hard time to tear yourself away. You’re relieved that you didn't have to order from him, because you’re sure it would have made you blush and stutter.

“Jungkook, there’s a mess in the back! What are you waiting fo—” Jungkook gives panicked glances in your direction, and the man catches your presence from the corner of his eyes, turning his sentence around as smoothly as is humanly possible, all while his lips curve up into a professional smile. “Ooh, hello, dear customer! I don’t think we’ve seen you here before, have we?”

A smile spills on your mouth, much to your surprise.

“No, it’s my first time here,” you answer. Your voice isn’t as strong as you’d like for it to be, but at least you didn’t choke. You suppose still being heartbroken serves as a shield against the man’s handsomeness. “I figured there’d be some discount after Valentine’s Day, and I was hungry, so…”

“You figured you’d kill two birds with one scone?” the man asks while Jungkook, behind him, silently smacks his forehead. You figure he’s heard it a million time before, but you haven’t, and you can’t help but laugh. That makes the man’s smile widen genuinely and his eyes crease.

“I guess you came up with the bakery name,” you chuckle.

“Absolutely. Isn’t it a great name?”

Jungkook shakes his head in disgust.

“It’s genius,” you say, and the man slams his hand on the table.

“See? I told you! Jungkook keeps saying that I have a terrible sense of humor—”

“I’ll be in the back if you need me,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Hey, what do we say to customers?”

“Ah— It was nice to meet you!” he says, turning around to look at you and he seems somewhat sincere. “I hope we’ll be seeing you again.”

Then he bows his head politely and disappears in the back of the shop. The other man — who you suppose is the owner of the place — watches, laughing fondly, but goes quiet after that, so you go back to your work.

You don’t stay around too long, not wanting to overstay your welcome, but you’re still the only one in the shop by the time you decide to walk out.

“Was the tea any good?” the man asks as you walk by him.

You nod and smile.

“And the chocolates were delicious,” you add. “I’ll make sure to come back.”

“That’s music to my ears,” he says, dramatically putting a hand on his chest. That’s when you notice the ‘Seokjin’ tag on his apron. You don’t know what to do with that information, though. You don’t call strangers by their first name and you also don’t stalk people on line.

Especially not when you don’t have their last name.

You say a quick ‘goodbye’, then walk out. Jin’s eyes follow you for a few seconds, before he sighs and turns around, already taking off his apron.

“Jungkook!”

The boy is quick to appear again, scanning the shop for your presence.

“She’s gone?” he asks, and Jin gives a slap at the back of his employee's head with a groan. There’s no strength in it, though, and Jungkook barely reacts to it.

“How could you run away like that, you little—”

Jungkook easily avoids him when Jin tries to him it again, laughing at his outrage.

“We’re not going to be getting a lot more clients today, are we?” he asks, looking outside at the passers-by that don’t even spare a glance at the little shop.

“No,” Jin groans, letting himself fall on a chair.

The depressing calm that follows what is possibly the busiest day of the year for him is just one of the reasons why he absolutely despises Valentine’s Day.

February 22nd

When you show up at the bakery again, about a week later, you’re feeling surprisingly good about it. Last time went well, you decided, and the people were nice, so you’re not afraid to throw a quiet but polite “Hello!” when you walk in. It’s kind of funny — or is it sad — how it always surprises you when people are nice to you, much more used to passive disinterest at best.

There’s another man in the shop this time, with a laptop and a coffee in front of him, but he doesn’t look up at you. A head lifts up from behind the counter though. You feel vaguely embarrassed that you remember this one is Seokjin, and you only feel more awkward when he gives you a dazzling smile.

A glance at the display tells you that they have restocked on their strawberry-based pastries, and you happily pick a slice of cake for yourself.

“For here or to go?”

“I’ll have it here,” you say with a smile. You feel strangely proud of yourself for being able to say it spontaneously. He has no way of knowing it, but it’s quite the victory for you. Usually, you try to run from the presence of others as fast as you can, and it’s even worse those days. “And I’ll also have Darjeeling tea with it, please.”

“Coming right up, just take a seat and I’ll bring it to you,” he says, and then he winks. He doesn’t stick around to see the surprised look on your face, so you just do as he told you, wondering if he was flirting with you or if he’s just Like That. You think that second explanation might be the answer.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he says when he arrives with the cake and the tea. You’re pretty sure he can’t place you exactly, just thinks your face is familiar, but it still makes you happy.

He tells you he hopes you’ll come back when you leave, and you decide you want to believe it.

June 1st

You’re not sure when you become an official ‘regular’ at the bakery. Maybe it’s when you ask Jin if they even do scones, and he leans over the counter to tell you conspiratorially that he actually wanted to call the shop ‘bake it ’til you make it’, but was told it was too long. That elicits a brief burst of laughter from you, and Jungkook tells you to stop encouraging him, but Seokjin looks so happy with himself when you laugh that you decide not to listen to him. Jin has that way of breaking past your shyness that fascinates you. It might be what keeps you coming back, more than the delicious sweets and how beautiful the two workers look.

Or maybe it’s when Jin tells you that it’s not fair you know their names but they don’t know yours, and that he’d ask you for your ID before selling you stuff if you don't tell him. When you tell him, he repeats it a couple of times, like he’s tasting it, before nodding with satisfaction. After that, him and Jungkook start greeting you with it, and insist you do the same with them. You’re reluctant at first, feeling somewhat confused about the whole thing, but it turns out to feel… nice, to have people to greet, and who also know your name.

Maybe it’s when Jin tells you that you’re late when you come in, or complains when you don’t show up on one of your usual days because you had a meeting with your boss. He doesn’t say anything on the day where you take your pastries to go because you’re visiting a friend at the hospital, though, and you wonder if he can just tell. Regardless, you appreciate it.

You find out about other people who come here frequently, too, and especially the ones who are friends with Jin and Jungkook. Namjoon, who sits with his laptop at the opposite end of the café from you. Yoongi, who usually sits in the same spot as you, and eyes you threateningly when he comes in and you’re there the first time, until Seokjin tells him to knock it off. Taehyung and Jimin, who always come in together, and who Jungkook usually joins to bicker and laugh with them. Hoseok, who likes to waltz in at random times, and whose smile actually rivals Jin’s.

You yourself come in twice a week, getting to your usual place to work — except on the couple of occasions where Yoongi gets there before you and gives you a triumphant smile when he sees you. You enjoy the way you’re always greeted by Jungkook or Seokjin, like they’re genuinely happy to see you. You discover that the old ladies who come here to gossip love to flirt with Jin and that, even though he flirts back outrageously, much to their delight, his ears tend to turn a bright red when he does.

You even bring your friends on a couple of occasion, and Seokjin jokes that you’re responsible for half of his turnover at this point. Your friends enjoy the food, and the drinks, but they enjoy the handsome employees and customers a lot more.

“So this is where all the hot men were,” Hana marvels when you walk out, and you burst out laughing. You like that you’ve shared this place with her, because it’s something that makes you really happy these days, motivates you to come out of your bed, and even to talk to people, something you’ve never been good at.

When you walk into the shop and make small talk with the people you’ve come to know, something you used to consider yourself terrible at, it might be silly, but it kind of feels like home.

June 21st

You are pretty sure you know when you go from regular to friend, though. It’s a day like any other and you hum on your way to the shop. Instead of the joyful “Welcome back, (Y/N)!” that you’ve gotten used to hearing these past few weeks, however, you’re greeted with Seokjin shouting “(Y/N), my savior!”.

You freeze on the spot and give him a worried look. From his table, Namjoon looks up, just as puzzled.

“Is everything okay, Jin?” he asks.

“Jungkook isn’t there today,” Jin tells you. His voice doesn’t sound different from usual, but there is a glint of panic in his eyes.  “I need your help.”

Namjoon stands up.

“Why didn’t you ask me? I could—”

“Stay where you are and don’t even think of approaching my kitchen,” Jin says threateningly. “(Y/N)? Please?”

Well. You suppose your work can get done later. You’re more productive when you come here, so you have some advance on your usual deadlines these days. But you don’t know what Jin wants from you and you’ve never worked in a bakery.

“What do you want me to do?” you ask cautiously.

He grabs your shoulders and your eyes widen at the contact. Not that it’s unpleasant, just unexpected.

“I knew when you first walked in here that you were a godsend,” he tells you seriously, looking right into your eyes, and you tell yourself that if he’s that good of an actor, you should probably watch out. “We’re out of milk.”

You blink.

“Okay. Is there a specific type of milk you want?”

“Just, milk. Get me milk and I’ll worship the ground you walk on until the end of days.”

You roll your eyes at his dramatics, and take your bag off your shoulder, handing it to him.

“Look after that, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll protect it with my life,” he says solemnly. “Also paper napkins please!” he shouts as you’re already walking out.

“Will do!”

“Bake a leg!”

You want to protest the joke that even you find to be quite bad, but the door has already closed behind you, so you just shake your head at him, only to see him laughing with satisfaction through the glass, and head to the nearest supermarket.

You come back with two big packs of milk and a lot of paper napkins, just as two men are exiting. You’ve seen them before, but they never stay to chat. Inside, Jin is juggling three women, and he looks more relieved than you’ve ever seen him when you walk in.

“I’ll help you with that,” Namjoon says immediately, bumping in the table as he gets up.

“If you break anything, I’ll kill you,” Jin warns him. He’s smiling like he’s joking, and his tone is light, like he doesn’t want to scare off his customers, but his eyes say he’s sincere.

You’re quick in the back, and Namjoon does drop the packs once, but nothing bad happens. He presses a finger against his lips to tell you to keep it a secret, and you grin without a word. Part of you is kind of wondering what you’re doing there, why Jin feels comfortable letting you in the back and why he asked you to do that, but you don’t have an issue with it, not by a long shot. This is… kind of fun, actually.

“Anything else you want me to do?” you ask Jin when you come out, and he looks at you in a pleading way.

“You don’t mind?”

Something tells you you shouldn’t accept too quickly, that you could end up in way over your head faster than you know. But his brown eyes are wide and desperate and you just can’t say no. So you smile and shake your head.

“Of course not. You look like you really need a hand here.”

“I do.”

That’s how you find yourself in an apron, with the cute, black hat Jin and Jungkook always wear on your head. Jin mostly sends you in the back to pick up things he needs, or makes you bring the beverages to the customers, which you’re thankful for, because that way you don’t have to greet anyone. Time flies quickly, and you can barely find a second to breathe for the first few hours.

“Sorry, it’s lunch time,” Jin grimaces as he passes you by, and you think to yourself that at least, it will get better, but it takes a while even after that, and when it’s done, Jin sends you to buy some more stuff from the supermarket, because as it turns out, things go fast.

Before you know it, it’s closing time, and you look outside in disbelief. The sky is starting to turn a nice pink, and other shops are putting up their shutters.

“You can go, if you want,” Jin tells you. He sounds terribly sorry, and that makes you feel bad. It’s such an unusual tone for him to have.

His offer is tempting, of course. Your feet hurt, your head aches a little from all the noise that never bothered you before but turns out to be a lot when you’re there all day, you’ve burned your hand against an oven, and you’ve found out that carrying things ends up really hurting your back. But you know that he’s experiencing the same thing you do, and you just don’t have the heart to abandon him here. Also, you’ve already lost your day, so you might as well help him out now.

“It’s fine,” you sigh. “Do you want me to help with anything?”

Cleaning up goes quietly in the main shop, and that soothes you a little. You don’t mind the silence, even enjoy it, and find yourself relaxing for the first time today. Surprisingly, you’re feeling… satisfied. It’s not something you would particularly look forward to doing again, but you’re happy you did it, happy you helped Jin, and you feel like you’ve accomplished something today, which is always a good thing.

“You have flour everywhere,” he tells you bluntly when you walk in the back of the shop, and you laugh.

“Well, it got everywhere,” you reply, trying to rub some off your face, and it’s Jin’s turn to laugh when you fail miserably.

You know you shouldn’t do it, but you gather a small handful of flour from the table, and throw it at him. A good chunk hangs in the air and makes you cough, but the rest does land on his apron. His mouth falls open into an ‘o’ shape and you know you’ve messed up.

“Listen, I am so sorry—”

“No you’re not,” he says, taking a step towards you. His hand is on the table, which is covered with flour, and you swallow.

“Sure I am, Jin, please—”

But your pleas fall in deaf ears, and flour is soon flying your way. It’s your turn to stare at Jin in disbelief, and then you’re laughing, loud and clear.

Maybe that’s the exact moment when the two of you become friends — really friends.

Or maybe it’s seconds later, when the room you’re in turns into the scene for an all-out flour battle. Regardless, you’re laughing the whole way through, when you’re not choking on the flour hanging in the air. Jin’s laughter is quieter than yours, miles away from the booming and somewhat fake laugh you’re used to hearing from him.

The fight only escalates when Jin picks up an egg. You shake your head, mouth ‘no’, but he doesn’t listen, and after that, things get a lot messier. By the time the two of you, exhausted and bent in half because of how much you’ve been laughing, finally stop, you can feel yoke trickling down your back, and you know the sight can’t be pretty. Jin reaches out to you in a useless attempt to wipe some flour from your face, only to laugh more when it, of course, fails once more.

You try not to think about the jolt of electricity that ran through you when his fingers came in contact with your cheek.

“I’ll clean up in here,” he tells you, “but you should go take a shower upstairs.”

“Are you sure?” you ask, surprised. Suddenly, you’re very conscious of the fact that you don’t know him that well. In recent months, you’ve talked to him more than you do with your close friends, and you did just throw several eggs at him, but you don’t know him. You’re aware of the fact that he lives above the shop, but you’ve never been there. The two of you have never even exchanged numbers.

He makes dramatic hand gestures to signal you to get away, like you’re bothering him, and you leave with a last laugh. You don’t notice the way he looks up when you do, or the way it makes him smile. He can’t help it, he just loves that he makes you laugh.

You’re relieved to step into the shower, both because you’re happy to clean up and because there was something really awkward about being in Seokjin’s apartment for the first time, alone. The place was not quite as decorated as the bakery was, with paler colors. Walking through it, you had noticed big speakers, some books in a shelf, and a couple of cute plushes that you had had to resist not to fawn over. The place worked for him, you had decided. It was more understated than you would have expected when you had just started to know him, but it doesn’t surprise you anymore. Jin tends to be quiet when he doesn’t have to be ‘on’, and it’s something he doesn’t seem to feel he has to do around you anymore.

You sigh in pleasure when the hot water hits you, close your eyes. You’ve been craving it for hours now — long before the food battle with Jin. It helps relax your aching muscles, washes away all the sweat from the day, and you have to resist not to just let yourself fall down onto the floor. Your back hurts, but the worst part has to be your feet. You feel yourself gaining a lot more appreciation for Jin and Jungkook, who are always kind, smiling and polite despite all of this. The only thing that kept you from biting someone’s head off tonight was your crippling anxiety when it comes to interacting with strangers.

It’s almost funny now to think you used to feel that way around Jin.

You look around for some soap you could use, and in your search, you’re surprised to find shampoo that was definitely intended for a woman. You don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s no wonder that Jin would have a girlfriend, really, it’s the opposite that should shock you, but you still didn’t expect it. You force away the pinch in your chest. Jin is a new friend, you can’t have your heart fluttering like that.

You consider using it for half a second, before deciding that it would be very awkward if you came out smelling like his girlfriend. Instead, you do your best to get rid of any egg, and tell yourself you’ll wash your hair at home. You barely hear the sound of the door opening and closing over the water, and you’re startled by Jin’s voice outside the bathroom.

“You can take a towel from the chest of drawers,” he tells you, “and I’ll leave a shirt outside, if you want it.”

“Thank you!” you shout back.

Seokjin stands there a few seconds, before quickly shaking his head and walking away. He knows his ears are turning red, and he hates himself for it, but is it his fault, really? Is he supposed not to think about you, right now, in his shower, water running down your body? He never even thought to pretend he was that innocent.

He occupies himself by preparing a drink for the two of you, and then by cleaning around. He’s not particularly messy, though, and there isn’t much to do, so he ends up sitting on his couch, feeling awkward in his own house, and scrolling aimlessly through his phone. He freezes again when he hears the bathroom door open and close, guessing you’re picking up his shirt. Which means you’re— God what is wrong with him tonight? When did he regress to the state of a hormonal teenager?

He hopes he looks natural when you come out, because he’s doing his best for that. The nervous way he’s running his hands over his thighs would probably give him out, though, if you weren’t feeling just as stressed as him.

“I’m done,” you mumble, your shyness coming back, which you decide is to be expected in that situation.

It vanishes the second Jin looks you over and snorts.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, glancing down, and immediately you know that you’re probably ridiculous in his black shirt. It looks like it’s swallowing you whole. “It’s not my fault if your shoulders are that broad,” you pout.

“You look so small,” Jin chuckles. He sounds endeared, and if you noticed that sort of things, you would absolutely realize that his eyes linger on you in his clothes fondly — and a little longer than necessary.

“Want something to drink?” he asks, gesturing at the stuff he got out of the fridge when he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Sure,” you smile, letting yourself fall down on the couch next to him and pouring yourself a glass. The brief awkwardness that washed over you when you came in vanishes already, because of how comfortable you feel around Jin. He’s always been good at making you feel that way, and now he doesn’t even have to try.

“So, how did you find your day?” he asks you, and you look at him, surprised by his tone. He sounds quiet, cautious almost, like he’s worried about what your reaction might be, or that he could be bothering you.

“Fine,” you say with a shrug. “I can’t say I’d want to do it again— When is Jungkook coming back?”

Jin chuckles, and again, it takes you by surprise. It’s so… quiet. So discreet, compared to his usual attitude.

“He should be there tomorrow, don’t worry about it.” Then, he grimaces. “But seriously, thank you for helping out today. I owe you.”

“Yes you do,” you say with a grin, bumping your shoulder against his, trying to lift the mood a little, because he sounds genuinely worried. “Just offer me the tea next time, and I’ll consider us even.”

Finally, a smile forms on his lips, and he shakes his head dramatically, putting his hand over his heart.

“No, I don't think I could ever repay you,” he says, and you laugh at his antics, like you always do. He looks a little appeased by that, and that’s a relief. “Your back must hurt,” he says. “Turn around.”

You raise an eyebrow, but do as he says, startling when his hands fall on your shoulders. They’re large, engulfing you easily, but they also move gently as he slowly massages you.

“Oh,” you gasp, leaning back into him. This is— good. This is very very good. For a few minutes — or maybe much longer, you couldn’t tell — you just stay there, eyes closed, lips parted, focused on the delicious feelings of his hands gently rubbing all the pain and soreness of the day away. When he stops, it takes you a few seconds to come back down to reality, and maybe, just maybe you miss the feeling of his hands. “Oh,” you repeat, rolling your shoulders slowly. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Jin says. “It’s kind of my fault.”

You turn around, shaking your head.

“Seokjin,” you say. “It’s fine. I didn’t mind helping.”

“You’re too kind,” he frowns. “You shouldn’t let people take advantage of that.”

“I’m not!”

Then Jin smiles, in a way that only lifts one corner of his lips, and suddenly you feel— you’re not too sure. Something seems to melt inside you, something moves in your stomach like you’re free falling. You probably should recognize the feeling. It’s not like it’s anything new to you, and yet you miss it. You do something you almost never do in that situation, and you take a step back. You glance up from his lips, shoot him a smile, and get up from the couch.

“It’s getting late,” you comment. “I really need to go home.”

Jin is on his feet immediately.

“I’ll walk you back,” he says, concern flashing in his eyes.

“I’m good. It’s not that far and I need to clear my head after, you know, everything today.” You’re not sure you know, but Jin nods, though a little reluctantly.

“You’re sure?”

“Very.”

He sighs. He doesn’t seem too pleased about it, but you guess he doesn’t want to insist too much, either.

“Give me your phone,” he says, and when you hand it to him, he types his number in, pouting as he explains himself to you. “Text me when you get home, alright? Otherwise I’ll just worry all night, because everyone is so unreasonable, and just wants me to lose sleep, and—”

You take your phone back from him with a laugh.

“I’ll text you,” you promise, briefly putting your hand over his. That feels— normal, you decide. It’s not like your hands have never brushed in the months since you’ve started frequenting the bakery. It just feels fine, and whatever there was before could just be a false alert. But then Jin looks into your eyes, and the feeling comes back.

“You better.”

You practically flee the bakery. You’re trying to make sense of the whole thing in your head, and it doesn’t go over great. You let Jin know you got home safe, and then do your best to push the whole thing out of your mind when you go to bed. You refuse to think about it too much. Not because you don’t understand what’s going on, but because somewhere, deep down, you do. This isn’t— this isn’t something you do. You fall hard and fast, that’s— that’s your thing.

Sometimes it’s nice, others it’s disappointing, but most importantly, it means that when the relationship is over, your life just goes back to what it was before. It you ever had feelings for a friend, someone you’re so used to having around… You’re sure it would truly break your heart.

July 15th

Summer is horribly hot this year. Fortunately for you, your favorite bakery has started serving ice cream. There is air conditioning in the store, but with the door constantly opening and closing, gusts of hot air regularly reach even you. No one seems too happy with the situation, with Jungkook seeming to slowly come apart under the temperature. Even Namjoon has abandoned ship, leaving much earlier than usual today. He waved at you when he got out, and you waved back.

Who knew, maybe the two of you would actually talk next time.

Jin uses a lull in the otherwise busy afternoon to drop at your table, and you smile to him. You haven’t really gone through anything like that night ever since, and you decided it was just a one time thing. You were tired from the work, and you were touch-starved, and, surely, there was nothing there, other than you gaining a new friend.

Yup. Nothing to see at all. Even when he’s sitting next to you, trying to fan himself with one of the bakery’s menus, head thrown back in a way that makes his Adam’s apple even more prominent.

You never thought yourself as someone who particularly enjoyed necks, but it seems you were wrong.

Not that that has anything to do with feelings, of course. Jin’s just hot. You already knew that.

“Hey, (Y/N), what’s your favorite cake?” he asks you.

It takes you just a second too long to answer.

“Uh. Anything that has strawberries in it, I guess,” you say, and he nods, but he’s also frowning. “Are my tastes not up to par?” you grin, raising an eyebrow.

“Clearly, your tastes are great, since you keep coming back,” Jin answers immediately, with the confidence that you now know to be mostly facade, but that you’ve still come to love. “No, strawberries are good. I can work with strawberries.”

“I actually wanted strawberries the first time I came here,” you reminisce. “But there weren’t any left because that was after Valentine’s Day.”

Jin clicks his tongue in disgust.

“Worst day of the year,” he says, “though February is a bad month for strawberries in general.”

“You don’t like Valentine’s Day?” you ask, and if you were a dog, your ears would be perking up with interest. You’ve always loved to hear people’s opinion on the holiday, because it’s so divisive. “You guys must make quite a lot of money…”

“I’m wounded that you’d think money is all I care about,” Jin sighs dramatically, though the glint in his eyes lets you know that he’s only joking. “It’s just very busy,” he admits. “It’s a lot of work to prepare, people place a lot of orders, and we basically don’t get a minute to ourselves. Not to mention— do you know what it does to a person to know that the food he lovingly prepared is probably going to be eaten off someone’s body?”

You can’t help it. You burst out laughing. When you do, you’re completely unaware of the fond way Jin looks at you. He’s always liked that he made you laugh, from the very first day you came into the store.

“No,” you admit, “no, I haven’t thought about it.”

“Well I have to.”

“I’m so sorry for you.”

“I’m sorry for me too.”

Then Jimin practically waltzes in and energetically greets everyone in the room, including you, and Jin gets up to serve him and Taehyung because Jungkook looks like he’s about to collapse, and you don’t give much more thought to the conversation.

But Jin remembers that strawberry cake is your favorite.

September 18th

Somehow, you get roped into helping Jin with his grocery shopping. He sat at your table and complained about how Jungkook wouldn’t be able to help him that week, and you voiced your sympathy, and next thing you knew, you were in the supermarket with him.

Well, maybe you’d offered your help. Maybe you just didn’t want to admit it because of that time he’d told you you were too kind.

“You know, I thought I’d be helping you for the bakery,” you comment, “but this mostly looks like it’s for you.”

“I am the bakery,” Jin replies, and you grin.

You watch him as he carefully crosses item after item of his detailed list. You expected him to be messy, to grab whatever he wanted, but he is as meticulous with this as he is with the baking he does for his customers. Which is— strangely endearing to you.

“Most of what we get comes in bigger orders,” he explains to you once he’s done with that aisle. “Sometimes, we find ourselves missing some things…”

“Like milk.”

“It’s always the milk,” he sighs, shaking his head it brings back bad memories. “But that’s not an issue for a lot of thing, unless something very specific comes up. Like a customer wanting  a pineapple pie.”

You tilt your head as he cautiously picks pineapples. You’re not even sure how you can tell if a pineapple is ripe, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.

“That sounds… interesting?”

“It’s going to sound very interesting when I’ll make you carry half the bags,” Jin says, and you roll your eyes. Does he think you’re going to bail on him? You would never do that.

Well. Until your eyes fall on Minho, standing there, like he hasn’t simply vanished from your life six months ago. There’s a woman with him, and she’s laughing at something he said. You suppose she was the one he met — or maybe another one, there’s no way of knowing, really. But they look like they’re getting along well, and it— it makes you happy. You think.

“Huh,” you mumble. “That’s my ex over there.”

Jin looks up so fast you worry he might hurt his neck.

“What? Where? Do you need me to insult him?”

You’re about to say no when Minho turns around, and his eyes meet yours. He gives you a hesitant nod, and you think that’s going to be it, but then, after a few seconds of obvious inner debate, he makes his way towards you.

Great.

“(Y/N),” he says, a bit awkwardly. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” you reply softly and, much to your surprise, you mean it. You did your best not to let yourself miss him, but you suppose you did. It’s been a long time since you last saw him.

“This is, erm, this is Lisa,” he says, gesturing at the woman, who gives you a polite smile. It looks like she knows exactly who you are, and you suppose it must be uncomfortable for her as well. “My girlfriend.”

Yeah. You’d pieced that together. But then, Minho’s eyes move to Jin, and he raises an eyebrow, and you realize what he’s thinking about.

“Oh, this is—”

“Seokjin,” Jin says, extending his hand. “I’m her boyfriend.”

You’re sure that anyone looking at you can tell from your expression, from the way your mouth falls open and from the incredulous way you shake your head that that’s not true, but both Minho and Lisa are looking at him, and miss it completely. When Jin looks at you, he gives an imperceptible nod and puts an arm around your shoulders.

The warmth is— kind of nice. Maybe it even sends a shiver down your back, but you’re sure it’s because you’re still quite touch-starved those days.

Nothing else here.

“That’s great,” Minho says, and he looks relieved. “It’s great that you’re with someone.”

“Isn’t it?” Jin says before you can think of anything to answer to that. “She walked into my bakery and I just knew she would become my favorite client. Basically love at first sight.”

“Love at first sale, maybe,” you can’t help but answer, even if you know, reasonably, that you shouldn’t entertain him. You’re pretty sure he’s trying to show off in front of the two, which is really unnecessary, but you appreciate the gesture. “Jin makes the best cakes you can find in the whole town,” you tell them. Not to show off, but because it’s true. There are a lot of good things you could tell them about Jin, come to think of it. A lot.

“Maybe we should try it then,” Lisa says, smiling. She looks more relaxed than earlier, though you suppose she could also just be trying to get out of this conversation.

“Oh, it’s a must,” you reply sincerely, and Jin laughs, pulling you against his chest a little.

“She’s too nice,” he says, and you immediately protest that no, definitely not, he does, and you’re sure you look like a very annoying couple, because it doesn’t take long for Minho to clear his throat.

“Well, we have to go but it was— it was nice catching up with you.”

“Same,” you nod, and when he leaves, you can’t help but watch him. You don’t really feel anything right now. You were sincerely happy to see him, but it felt like running into a childhood friend you haven’t seen in a long, long time, and now have nothing in common with outside of those memories. Except it hasn’t been a life time since you last met him. Just a little over six months. Soon, he’ll just be someone you used to know.

You wish you were more upset by this. You wish there was anything that told you that what you had with him actually mattered. Instead, this vague indifference lets you know that your paths had probably diverged before the two of you even broke up. And that makes you kind of sad.

“Are you okay?” Jin asks. He has that quiet voice you’ve heard a few times now.

“I’m fine,” you nod, “but you really didn’t have to do that. I wasn’t— Minho and I aren’t— there really was no need.”

“I was happy to do it,” Jin says, and you notice how petty he sounds. “It’s always a joy to let an ex see how much better than them you’re doing.”

You laugh. You probably agree with him on that, but you’re not going to help feed his ego even more. Jungkook would probably never forgive you for it.

“I don’t think your girlfriend would like you doing that,” you observe, and Jin answers that remark with a blank stare.

“When have I ever said anything about a girlfriend?”

“Well, there was a bottle of shampoo at your place that—”

“So a guy can’t like having his hair smell like fruit, huh?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Wow, way to reinforce stereotypes, (Y/N). I expected more of you.”

He ignores your attempts at protesting and strides away from you. It takes you a few moments to catch up, because of his stupid long legs of his.

“If I had a girlfriend, I would never stop talking about her,” he lets you know while you’re catching your breath. “So don’t worry. You’ll know about it.”

“Duly noted,” you say. You maybe feel a little too happy about that new information so, to distract yourself from it, you change the subject. “So I’m your favorite customer?”

He scoffs and glances away from you, refusing to meet your eyes. He thought you hadn’t picked up on that.

“You’re a strong contestant, I guess,” he says reluctantly, and you laugh, not pushing it further.

“Anyway— Minho broke up with me a week Valentine’s Day,” you say. You’re not sure why. Maybe to let Jin that you’ve been over it for a long time.

“That’s rude,” Jin comments with a disapproving click of his tongue.

“He probably wanted to spend it with her,” you shrug. “When we got together, he told me he didn’t cheat. He left. So— I guess that was it.” Then there’s a laugh, and you can’t tell if it sounds bitter. You hope not. “I’ve actually never had a boyfriend for Valentine’s Day,” you confess.

The silence that follows is unusual for Jin. When you glance up at him, he’s just looking at you, and for a second, you think it’s pity you find in his eyes. But, from the way he frowns, you realize it could just be genuine sympathy.

“Would it make you feel better if I tell you it’s a terrible holiday that’s just there to sell things?”

“I already know that,” you chuckle, even if it does make you feel a little better. “I just want someone to buy me roses once, you know?”

Jin doesn’t answer, just looks at you, and something about the intensity of his stare makes you feel— feel things you told yourself you weren’t feeling for him. But then, you just ran into Minho, didn’t you? It makes sense that you would be all over the place emotionally.

“Anything more on your list?” you ask, and Jin blinks.

“Yeah, that way,” he says, sounding a bit off, but then he adds “More things for you to carry,” and you decide to brush it off.

But he stores the information in his mind. Strawberry cake and roses. Duly noted.

October 31st

“So do you actually like Halloween, or is this just another shameless cash grab for you?” you ask Jin when he brings you your tea.

You have to admit, him and Jungkook truly went all out for this. They’ve decorated the shop with pumpkins, and there are fake bats hanging from the ceiling. There are also themed cakes and chocolates shaped like spiders. It’s spooky, and it delights the kids that come in and ask the parents about it. You definitely appreciate the atmosphere it creates — and you also appreciate the way Hoseok jumped when he walked in front of the witch that lets out an evil laugh when someone passes the movement detector.

“Halloween is not terrible, I guess,” Jin says, like him and Jungkook don’t take a full day out of their schedules and bring in some friends just to decorate the shop. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” you answer sincerely, and Jin’s expression softens.

“Hey, we’re having a small get-together after closing tonight,” he tells you spontaneously. “Wanna join us?”

You take a second to answer. It’s not like you don’t want to — far from that — but there’s that voice inside of you that tells you that you’ve been weird around Jin, and you don’t want to be weird around him. You want to keep things as they are, because he’s such a wonderful friend to have around. You’d hate yourself if you changed that.

But if the point is to have him around, then surely, telling him no right now would be counter-productive, right?

“Absolutely,” you say with a smile, and Jin beams, and you feel all warmed-up inside.

You already know that you’ll have fun, and you’ll laugh, and he’ll insist on walking you him and you’ll tell him no. And it sounds exactly like how you want to spend your evening.

January 10th

You first meet Sungho on New Year’s Eve, at Hana’s party. The two of you click immediately, and you enjoy the familiar rush of feelings, the waiting for a text after you’ve given him your number, the anticipation of knowing where this is all leading, if everything goes right. After a week, you run into him at the bakery, or, well, you’re sitting in your usual corner when he comes in. He doesn’t see you immediately, but when he looks in your direction after a little while, you happily wave him over.

“You don’t usually come here, do you?” you ask him. “I would have seen you by now if you were a regular.”

He chuckles, flashes you a bright smile, and you smile in return. Sungho has a nice smile. He doesn’t laugh easily, though, from what you saw when you met him, which is a shame, but definitely not a dealbreaker, even if you love to hear people laugh.

“No, I saw you were talking about this place a lot online, and I figured I would come and check it out. Of course, seeing you here is the best part,” he adds with a wink, and he leans towards you a little. The obvious flirtation sends a wave of heat through your chest, and you don’t hesitate to lean forward as well, resting your elbow on the table and putting your chin on your hand. You enjoy the closeness, the proximity, the chase.

You pull away when Jin arrives with Sungho’s order.

“This looks great,” Sungho comments. “I’m glad (Y/N) advertised you so much.”

“Well, there’s a reason she’s our favorite customer,” Jin replies, smiling, and when you meet his eyes, they’re fond and— and something else that makes it hard to breathe for a second.

But the smile fades when Sungho takes a portion of his cake with the spoon and offers it to you.

“Wanna try it?” he asks, and you do, because you know everything Jin makes will be amazing. You’re not sure you love the gesture itself — it’s kind of cute, but you’ve also just met him and it feels a bit strange — but you still giggle and take the bite.

And all Jin can do is stand there, looking at the two of you. He feels something he has felt before, and it’s that he let something he wanted pass him by. He waited too long to make a move, once again, and once again, it’s cost him something he doesn’t know how he’ll live without, and now he’ll have no choice but to figure it out.

You glance up, and he catches himself, plastering a smile on his lips.

“Enjoy yourselves!” he says, a little too loudly, and he knows, from the way you blink and the puzzled look you give him, that you’ve noticed and it’s— it’s horrible. It’s horrible that you know him that well and that you’ve seen so many facets of him and you’ve chosen someone else. You don’t ask anything, though, and he’s quick to leave.

He’s also quick to ask Jungkook to replace him in the shop, and he, very deliberately, doesn’t ask anything about how things went. Doesn’t want to know if you kissed, or worse, if you left together.

He’ll be fine. It’s not like it’s anything he hasn’t been through before.

February 5th

You feel impossibly excited when Sungho asks you out for Valentine’s Day. You gush about it to your friends, a lot, and Hana is delighted for you — and very pleased that her circles of friends are meeting like that. Jungkook sounds happy, too, though slightly more reserved, but you get the type of enthusiasm you wanted from Jimin and Taehyung.

Jin gets quiet when you let him know, though. It’s not something you haven’t seen before, but it does take you off guard, because you’ve never seen it happen while in the shop, where he’s usually on top of his game.

“Are you okay?” you ask, worried, leaning over the counter to put a hand on his arm. “You look a little under the weather these days.”

He smiles, but it lacks his usual flamboyance.

“Valentine’s Day is coming,” he tells you. “The worst day of the year.”

You laugh at that, relax, and take your hand off. You miss the way his eyes fall on the place you were just touching.

“Well, not this year, hopefully. Not this year.”

Yeah. He’s not so sure about that.

February 14th

It’s your first time, ever, having a date on Valentine’s Day, and you’re determined to do everything right. Sungho is taking you to a fancy restaurant, so you decide there is no issue in going all out. You take the day to prepare yourself, enlist Hana to do your make-up and hair, and you use the opportunity to wear a lovely bright red dress that you had been saving for a special occasion.

Hana whistles when you come out of your room after you’ve also put on half-transparent black tights.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” she says with an appreciative nod.

You glance down at your body self-consciously and try to smooth the fabric of the dress. You do think it looks pretty good, but you could be wrong. Does it show too much of your legs? Does it hug your curves too tightly?

“You think he’s going to like it?” you ask, somewhat shyly.

“He should if he knows what’s good for him,” she replies, expression turning murderous, before softening. “Just… Are you sure you want to be doing that?”

You give her a confused look.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, going out with Sungho,” she says with a vague hand gesture. “I just— I don’t know. Do you like him that much?”

It’s funny. You haven’t really asked yourself that question. You’ve just been going through all the usual motions — the flirting, the dates, and, inevitably, the start of the relationship, which is probably for tonight.

“We— we get along fine,” you answer. “I like him.”

You leave the words ‘well enough’ out of that sentence. You like Sungho well enough. But then, that’s always been good enough for you, so why should it change now?

Hana seems to think about it for a little while, then shrugs.

“Okay then. Do you need my help to walk to the cab? I would not trust these things.”

She’s pointing at your heels, and it makes you laugh. These aren’t even that high, and they’re pretty stable. You don’t think you’ll have any trouble walking in them. Hana wouldn’t abandon her flat shoes to save her life, though, so you suppose the question was to be expected.

“You can just tell me if you want to hold my arm,” you tease, and it seems to take her by surprise, before she chuckles.

“You’ve gotten a little too good at that. I don’t know if I like it.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid Jin has infected me.”

That gives her pause, and she shoots you a weird look, but you miss it. She opens her mouth to say something, then gives up. She could be wrong, after all.

She kind of hopes she’s wrong, or that if she’s right, you’ll realize it soon enough.

The dinner is perfect. You’re dressed perfectly for the occasion, fitting right in the restaurant’s decor, Sungho complimented you when you walked in and you told him he looked great, which is true, the food is delicious, the conversation flows easily, and there are roses on the table. They’re not for you, part of the decoration, and it doesn’t look like Sungho’s gotten you any, which gives you just a little pinch of disappointment in your chest, but it’s also not a big deal. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

And you’re not happy with it.

You can’t place it, and it slowly drives you insane, as you and Sungho make your way through the meal. You try your best not to let it show, but you think he notices your increasing restlessness. You feel bad about it, because really, he hasn’t done anything wrong. You just— something’s not right.

Dammit. It’s your first time having a date on Valentine’s Day, and you can’t make it work.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Sungho says while the two of you are waiting for your desert, and you do your best to snap out of whatever is going on in your head to focus on him.

“Tell me,” you smile, though the smile is polite, rather than genuine.

He takes a deep breath and reaches over the table to take your hand. It’s far from the first time the two of you make physical contact, you’ve even kissed a few times, and it was nice, but something makes you want to recoil, in that moment. You don’t, though. Why would you? It doesn’t make sense. Nothing about you makes sense right now.

“I like you,” he says, and you find the breath knocked out of you. It’s not unpleasant, though, it’s very nice in fact, and it almost completely dissipates your previous discomfort. “And I think— you know. We haven’t said anything about being exclusive yet, so I figured I’d— ask.”

He looks pretty confident, which you thought would put you off, but it doesn’t. The answer seems obvious to you. It’s been just a little over a year since you broke up with Minho, which is a reasonable time, so your lips part to let him know that you’d be happy to—

It’s then that you remember. You remember what you told yourself after that break-up, and what you thought after the break-up before that, and the time before as well. You remember you told yourself you wouldn’t settle for less than what you really wanted. You told yourself you wanted to love and be loved. You told yourself you wanted someone who’d remember how you liked your tea.

And, just like in a movie, Jin’s face appears in your mind. You almost dismiss it, tell yourself it’s just because of the tea, until you realize it’s not. It just isn’t. You should have noticed earlier, you know that, but you’ve never been friends with someone before developing feelings for them. You’ve always told yourself you were an ‘all or nothing’ kind of person, that you were the type to know immediately if things could happen. Maybe you didn’t quite believe in love at first sight, but you’d always thought that love didn’t wait.

Apparently you were wrong.

Jin’s the one who inadvertently makes you pulse rush, when his hand brushes against you. Jin’s the one who lifts your spirits, no matter what. Jin makes you happy, makes you want to get up in the morning, has done that for months now. Jin actually knows you. Jin looks at you like you’re precious to him. Maybe that doesn’t mean love, maybe to him, it’s all just friendship, but to you, it’s much more than that. And the feeling you get is so strong, so powerful, that you understand that you need to tell him. Need to tell him now.

“I’m sorry,” you say to Sungho, who’s been waiting for an answer all this time. “I’m really sorry, I don’t think that can work out.”

His face falls, but he looks far from heartbroken.

“Oh,” he says. “Um. That’s—”

“I’m sorry,” you repeat, already getting up from your chair. You’re buzzing with excitement, with feelings. “I have to go. I’ll pay for the meal, okay?”

“No, don’t—”

“Sorry!”

You stop at the counter briefly before rushing out into the night. You feel that you know exactly where you need to be.

You get to the bakery minutes before closing time, which is exceptionally at 9 p.m. for the day. A couple is just coming out, and that leaves only Jungkook inside. There’s nothing left on display, and you know it’s been impossibly busy, which means Jin is probably in a bad mood, but you can’t wait until tomorrow. When you walk in, Jungkook looks up from behind the counter, clearly surprised by the sound of someone coming in that late, and a puzzled look settles on his face when he notices that you’re out of breath, your previously perfect make-up now looking a little worse for wear.

“Is everything alright?” he asks. He sounds worried, and any other day you would take the time to reassure him, but in that moment you’re pushed by an energy that can’t be stopped, so you just nod quickly as an answer.

“Is Jin here?”

“In the back,” he says, tilting his head in that direction, and you’re pretty sure a glint of understanding lights up in his eyes.

“Can I….?”

He nods, a grin on his lips, and now you’re sure he knows why you’re here. You don’t wait for him to tease you about it, quick to make your way past him.

You freeze the second you walk into the backroom, though. It’s not just because of Jin’s back, though that definitely has more of an effect on you than you’d like to admit — the broad shoulders, the muscular back, and inexplicably, the nape of his neck. It’s also because of the large bouquet of red roses, standing in a vase on the table next to him. Your breath catches in your throat as you look at them. They look beautiful, vibrant, their fragrance floating through the room, all the way to you.

“Who are the roses for?” you ask, making Jin jump.

Any other time, you would have been pleased to take him by surprise for once, but right now you’re hanging on his words, waiting for an answer. The air feels heavy between you, and it doesn’t help that he doesn’t answer immediately, swallowing silently as his eyes travel over your body. You had almost forgotten about the dress you were wearing, and, instead of making you feel comfortable and confident, like it had earlier, you feel naked and vulnerable under his gaze.

Finally, his eyes meet yours, mouth slightly open, and by that point your heart is hammering in your chest. You wonder if he has any idea of how you’re feeling right now. Had he noticed your feelings when even you weren’t aware of them?

“What?” he croaks, voice dry, like he’s forgotten what you said.

“The roses,” you repeat. “Who are they for?”

You need an answer. Desperately.

Jin’s eyes move to the roses, and his face falls. He turns his back to you again as he goes back to whatever he’s cleaning.

“Didn’t you have a date tonight?”

You shrug, though he can’t see it.

“I broke things off with him,” you say lightly, and you don’t miss the way his movements pause, or the way his shoulders tighten, for half a second, before he keeps moving. “Are you— are you meeting someone?”

“No,” he protests immediately. “You know I don’t believe in Valentine’s day.”

You do. You remember that. So you wait for an explanation. It takes a while, and you just wait silently behind him, suspecting that he’s waiting for you to go away. After a few minutes, though, he slams his hand on the table, still not looking at you.

“They’re for you, okay? You said you’d always wanted roses for Valentine’s Day, and I figured, maybe your stupid boyfriend didn’t know that yet, and that I could maybe just drop them off at your place, and—”

“You didn’t ask me why I broke up with him,” you interrupt him, cutting his rambling short, and he falls silent. You catch his eyes from over his shoulder. Finally, you’re feeling yourself calm down, and at the same time you’re practically shaking with anticipation. “I realized I had feelings for someone else,” you say when he still doesn’t ask, just watching you, lips tight.

“…You do?” he simply says in reply. He’s tense, guarded, and you take a careful step towards him.

“Yeah,” you nod. Your eyes aren’t leaving his, not even for a second. “He’s smart, and kind, and handsome.” You take a step for each description you give, and you can’t help but smile on the last word. But your smile doesn’t reach Jin’s lips, and he’s just looking at you like he’s expecting you to tell him someone else’s name, or to make fun of him. “And he makes me laugh,” you add quietly, as you get to him, leaning against the table. “A lot. Some have even said it was a little too much.”

“So who is he?” he asks, and you smile. It’s wild to you that you haven’t understood earlier how absolutely head over heels in love with him you are, especially right now, when you’re standing so close to him. It’s also wild that he can’t see it, because you feel as though you’re radiating with that emotion, feel that anyone should be able to tell.

“It’s you,” you breathe out. “It’s obviously you.”

Then you’re pushing yourself up against his mouth, soft and slow. One of his hands closes around your waist as he leans forward, towering over you. His eyes are shut, and you close your own, reveling in the feeling of his warm body pressed against your own. You feel his tongue darting out to brush against your lips, and they part to grant him access, eager to taste all of him and—

“Couldn’t you tell me that earlier?” Jin protests loudly, tearing himself away from you, and your eyes snap open. “I would have planned the best Valentine’s Day you’ve ever—”

You groan and cut him off with another kiss, faster and harder this time, grabbing his wrists to guide his hands to your hips. You moan in contentment into his mouth when he kisses you back and he swallows it eagerly, pressing you into the table, bodies meeting like they’ve been waiting for it for forever and you—

“I wanted to make you an amazing strawberry cake! Now I don’t have any strawberries left!”

“Jin, please,” you sigh, unable to tolerate any other interruption, “would you just shut up and kiss me?”

And, finally, he does. Holds you like he never wants to let you go, kisses you like there’s no tomorrow, and when the two of you part, he rests his forehead against yours like he can’t bear the thought of being away from you even for a second. The silent stretches, comfortable, only filled with your respirations, until someone clears their throat, and the two of you jump away from each other.

“Sorry,”Jungkook says with a shit-eating grin that tells you he’s not sorry at all, “but I was about to leave. Will the two of you be okay?”

“I’m sure we can work things out without you,” Jin says. “Goodbye!”

But Jungkook doesn’t leave right away, turning his smile to you. You would hide into Jin’s shoulder, but you feel so good you can’t be bothered right now.

“Goodbye (Y/N)!”

“Bye, Jungkook!”

“That kid, I swear,” Jin says, shaking his head, as Jungkook leaves, his laugh hanging in the air behind him for a few seconds.

“I quite like him,” you comment, fingers dancing down Jin’s neck to come trace the border of his shirt.

“Oh, you do?” There is a dangerous edge to his tone and you glance up, surprised.

“Are you jealous?” you ask. “I didn’t know you were the jealous type.”

“I’m not.”

“Because it’s not Jungkook I abandoned my date for.”

“Good that you did. I never liked him.”

“So you are jealous.”

Seokjin mumbles something incomprehensible and you laugh and hug him tighter. And when he asks you if you want to come upstairs, even if he doesn’t have the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner planned, even if really, all he has to offer is himself, you tell him yes, of course.

Because he’s all you want right now.

It turns out, you wouldn’t have eaten the dinner anyway. The second the door closes behind you, you’re pulling him down against you for a kiss, and he doesn’t oppose any resistance, doesn’t protest like he did before, just lets out a moan into your mouth. He’s just as eager as you are to get rid of that tight dress.

“Careful with the tights,” you warn when his hands start roaming your thighs.

“Take them off then,” he groans.

You press a few kisses against his mouth, feeling delighted with the way he restrains himself, hands turning into fists against your hips as he stops himself from tearing off your closes. Finally, you pull away with a giggle. His eyes are wide and dark with desire, and they only get wider when you playfully slide off your dress’ strap.

“Don’t tease,” he says, practically growls, but you decide that you will. You guide him to his couch, push him down onto it, and evade him when he tries to pull you down with him, slipping out of his grasp. You stand just out of his reach, but more than close enough to be tantalizing, and you see in his eyes that it’s working just fine.

You take the time of making a show out of sliding down your dress down your body, letting it pool down at your feet before stepping out of it. The heels are the next thing to go, and then, finally, the offending tights. The second you’re out of those, Seokjin pounces, grabbing your hips and pulling you onto the couch.

“If you want us to move this to the bedroom, now would be a good time to say it,” he says as he kisses your neck, hands traveling up and down your body, large and calloused, but kind and gentle.

“I’m good here,” you say, arching your back to grant him better access — and to roll your hips against him. “Are you good here?”

You feel his breath catching in his throat when you move, as well as something hard pressing against you in his pants, and his voice is slightly choked when he answers.

“Yeah. This would happen at some point anyway.”

You laugh. You can’t wait to try this in all the places the two of you can think of in his apartment.

“Then let’s get to it, shall we?”

Jin doesn’t seem to have anything to answer to that, especially not when you hook your leg around his, using your heel to push him down on top of you. He’s still dressed, but you plan on rectifying that. You stop kissing him to work on the buttons of his shirt, and he lets you, breathing heavily. Your fingers explore the skin you reveal in the process, and you’re delighted when he shivers as you find out where his sensitive spots are — right under his collarbone, his nipples, his ribs.

Finally, the shirt joins your dress on the floor. You take a second to marvel at his body. His shoulders are even nicer to look at like that, you decide. You capture Jin’s mouth again, this time with your hands fisting his hair. You’re feeling yourself growing more impatient, wetter, and while your panties are the only thing still covering your body, he’s still wearing pants — which is far too much clothing.

“I want you so bad,” you whisper to him, and his breath catches in his throat.

“Fuck. You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

That makes you grin, and you arch your back into him again, pressing yourself against his now rock hard crotch.

“Oh, I think I do,” you reply devilishly, and all Jin does is to bury his head into your neck. His fast breathing tickles your skin, and you love it. You love discovering that you have that effect on him, love how you can make him come undone. Another night, you might really, really enjoy teasing him about it, but you have something else on your mind tonight.

Your hand travels down his body to palm him through his pants, and he groans, bucking his hips against it involuntarily.

“Let me take care of that?” you offer, and he pulls away to raise an eyebrow at you.

Wordlessly, you guide him so he’s sitting on the couch, and then, without breaking eye contact, you drop to your knees. You watch as his eyes go wide and he swallows loudly. You don’t give him time to regain his composure, gently nudging his legs apart so you can place yourself there comfortably.

“Fuck,” he repeats as your hands travel over his thighs before unbuckling his belt.

He lifts himself off the couch so you can slide down his pants and underwear, and that leaves him in his naked glory. And boy, is he glorious, dick standing erect and proud, precum already dripping from the tip. You suppose it’s been a while since the last time he had any sort of intercourse, and so you decide that you will do everything that’s in your power to make it worth his while.

You do your best to maintain eye contact with him while you lean forward to gently take in the head of his cock, wrapping your red lips around it as your hand grips the base.

“Ah,” he gasps, and you wonder if he gets loud during sex.

You hope he does.

You mostly tease him at first, running your tongue over the tip, and you feel his hand grabbing the back of your head gently. He doesn’t try to control your pace or to push you down. He seems to just be anchoring himself as he lets you do whatever you want. Glancing up, you see that he’s thrown his head back and his mouth is hanging open, letting out quiet moans that sometimes get high-pitched.

For some reason, the sight of his exposed throat turns you on impossibly. You slide a hand down your body to try to get some relief as well, and you moan loudly when your fingers finally find your clit. The vibrations have Jin push his hips up as his hands tighten on you. A second later, his eyes snap open.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s fine,” you reassure him, “I don’t mind but— Do you have a condom somewhere?”

He hesitates, then reaches for the coffee table. He opens the drawer, rummages through it quickly, and finds what he’s looking for.

“Taehyung said it was good to have them all over the house, just in case,” he feels obligated to explain to you, even while he struggles to open it and to put it on.

Well, you owe Taehyung one, you decide, but now really is not the time to discuss that, so you pull him down for quick kiss before he can lose himself in his ramble.

“Want you now,” you tell him, and it sounds like an order.

“Yes ma’am,” he mumbles, pulling you back up onto the couch.

Your panties are soon gone, and he spreads your legs open with utmost care. Even if you’re pretty sure he could just slide right in, with how wet you are, he pushes a long finger inside you, then another.

“You’re so wet for me,” he marvels. “So wet, and I haven’t even touched you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself too much yet,” you moan. “There’s still work to be done here.”

His eyes are full of love when he looks at you, taking in your body, now completely naked and offered. Just for him.

“Oh, I’ll do it. Don’t you worry about that.”

You’re about to call him out for his cockiness when he lines his cock with your entrance, tip rubbing against your folds, and you close your mouth instead, wisely choosing not to provoke him when he could so easily make you pay for it by making you wait. Except it seems he’s just as impatient as you, because he pushes himself inside you without pause.

You moan and shift to accommodate the stretch, and Seokjin goes still on top of you.

“Are you okay?” he asks. You’re satisfied with the strain in his voice, like knowing you’re not the only one to be so affected here.

“Hmm,” you hum. “Can you— move? A little?”

He pulls out a little, experimentally, and you moan louder than before. It takes you a few minutes to figure out the pace, as your hips keep moving, desperately searching for more friction, but they’re not unpleasant, filled with kisses, sweet nothings and the feeling of his warm skin against yours. In those moments, you feel like you’re discovering him all over again, and you find yourself enjoying that more than you can say.

Finally, you find yourselves, and the sound of skin against skin fills the room, along with your loud, high-pitches moans, and Seokjin’s — softer, quieter, but definitely there. You meet each of his thrusts, with one hand between the two of you to rub against your clit. When you first clench around him, he finally lets out a moan that’s as loud as yours.

“Fuck, fuck, fffuck,” he says, head falling against you, cheek pressed against your collarbone. “If you— If you do that again I’ll— Wait, please, wait, wanna— wanna cum with you—”

You arch your back, your nipples grazing against his chest, and force up the pace of your hips. Jin is moving incoherently, begging into your neck, and you want to give him exactly what he’s asking for. When you clench around him again, it’s with your orgasm. It’s all it takes to push him over the edge as well, but you barely feel his hips stutter into you, completely taken over by your own pleasure.

It takes you a little while to come back down from your high, and when you do, you meet his eyes. They’re soft and gentle, and, more than anything that’s happened until then, they make you melt.

“Hey,” he whispers, “you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, more than okay, in fact. You?”

“More than okay, too,” he says as a lazy smile spreads across his features.

“Good. That’s good.”

Pillow talk is not your forte.

“Hey,” Jin says, coming to rest his forehead against your shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

You chuckle.

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

“That’s good,” Jin says, but his voice sounds choked up, raspy, and you know he’s probably blushing. So you don’t add anything, just run your fingers over his scalp, the nape of his neck, down his back. Let him know you’re here, that you’ve got him, that you’re not going anywhere.

“Are you— are you staying the night?” he asks.

“Sure, unless you’re kicking me out.”

His arms tighten around you possessively.

“I would never.”

It takes a little longer before Jin manages to get the two of you off the couch to go get cleaned up, and then into bed, but of that night, there is not a second that you would call unnecessary or superfluous. Not one.

Every single one of them, every moment you spend with Jin on that first night, are essential, and you could not pick one of them to take back.

March 14th

The bell chimes happily when you walk into the shop, and even though Jin is busy with another customer, his eyes immediately find you. It’s something simple, yet it’s something you love about him. The way he always seems to find you, and the pleasant warmth that fills you without fail when you see him. You’ve been told that it was just the high of the first months of a relationship, not to get too used to it but you hope that, even if it dims, it won’t go away completely.

“Hey, Jin, your ears are turning really red. Why are your ears turning red?”

You laugh while your boyfriend turns to shoot a furious look at Yoongi. He’s sitting in your spot, in the back of the shop, and he’s looking smug. That comment of his has become a pretty common thing to hear whenever you walk in, or just when Jin and you are speaking. To be completely honest, you’re not too mad about it. Jin is good at acting like you have no effect on him, but the blush betrays him, and it’s been both cute and useful to see what actually gets to him, or bothers him sometimes.

“I’ll kick you out of my shop if you keep that up!” Jin shouts at him. “Don’t think I won’t!”

But Yoongi just chuckles into his mug, clearly not taking him seriously — and he’s probably right for that.

“So, do you know what today is?” Jin asks nonchalantly after he’s turned back to face you, gesturing for Jungkook take over with the other customer.

Your eyes widen in horror.

“Please don’t tell me you want us to celebrate our one month anniversary. I haven’t planned anything for that.”

Jin rolls his eyes.

“I would argue that our one-month anniversary is tomorrow, if we’re being precise, because that’s when we, um, really talked about it.”

He’s not wrong. It had been a pleasant thing, to wake up in his arms the morning after, to the sensation of his lips gently kissing your neck, and an even nicer thing to take your breakfast with him. You couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. It had just been what had absolutely and irrevocably sealed the  deal for you. You knew it hadn’t been a mistake. You wanted to be with him.

“Hmm, but there is still some sort of anniversary to be celebrated tonight then,” you say, leaning over the counter. “I’m sure I could prepare something for that.”

His ears and neck flush, and Yoongi has the delicacy of not pointing it out this time.

“That’s not— That’s not what I’m talking about! Today is the white day.”

You raise an eyebrow.

“That’s when boys are supposed to give chocolates back to the girls they like,” Jin elaborates.

“But I didn’t give you chocolates,” you say.

“No, but you’re still the one who— Yoongi, I swear to God— You know. You’re the one who took the first step.”

Despite his recent outburst, it’s obvious that he feels embarrassed and vulnerable in that moment. You’d kind of gathered that he really regretted not asking you out before Sungho had, but you had never thought that it was actually an issue.

“I’m really happy I did,” you tell him quietly. He’s not fond of PDA, but you still allow your fingers to brush against his. That feels discreet enough.

“I know,” he says, and there’s so much love in his eyes when he looks at you that it’s a real miracle that you don’t melt into a puddle right then and there. “But I still—” He sighs. “You’re really ruining my plans. This was meant to go over smoothly.”

“Sorry,” you apologize with a wide grin while he picks something up from behind the counter.

“There,” he mumbles, handing you the box.

You open it, genuinely curious. You feel the eyes of everyone else in the shop — Yoongi, Namjoon, Jungkook and, of course, Jin — on you, and you want to tell most of them off, but you suppose that since this is where most of your relationship development happened, they’re kind of part of the story too.

The box is filled with chocolates shaped like roses.

“I know it’s not much,” Jin is quick to say, “but I just wanted to—”

“Jin?” you interrupt him.

“Y-yeah?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

His eyes go wide, and then he sighs, but he can’t force away the smile that’s forcefully making its way on his lips.

“Well, if you absolutely have to—”

But he doesn’t protest when you pull him over the counter to kiss him, hands gently closing over your shoulders. He even brings you back for a second, even briefer kiss, and there’s something fierce in his eyes then. He superbly ignores the cheers that come from your friends in the room.

“I have to warn you, you’re never getting rid of me now,” he says, and it’s light-hearted, but you know there’s a lot of truth behind those words.

“Good,” you simply reply. “I wouldn’t want that for the world.”

He looks like he wants to add something to that, but he chokes on the words, and he falls quiet instead. It’s just as good, really.

There are some things you don’t need words for.

Some things that can be expressed just as easily with a box full of rose-shaped chocolates.

[valenhell]

From the studio that brought you “I can’t find good Byler fics in the ao3 tag”, comes:

"The Definitive Byler fic rec list"

Literally no one asked for this but because I spent the majority of last year (...and 2019, and 2018...) reading byler fics and coping with life, I thought I’d make a list of some of my absolute favorites. 

The other day I was basically starving for some byler fics and the angel @magicalfairy provided me with some of her faves so I thought I’d do the same, because I love reading, and I love all of these fics and I appreciate their writers💗 And fic writers in general, come on!

- This is a mix of long works and one-shots/short stories. - Everything is mostly fluff with a tad of angst and a lot of internalized homophobia conflict.  - Every fic is completed, except for the ones I mention that they are not. - I try my best to lay out the stories in a way that I won’t spoil you the plot but also warning you of some stuff you might don’t like. Either way, all of these fics are correctly tagged by their respective authors/owners, so read at your own risk. For better understanding, in between brackets I denote Rating, Words and quantity of Chapters. - I feel like I should clarify, none of these are narrated in the singular first person. None of that “And I told him...”, no. 

Long fics

a dream always the same (T, 99k, 35 chapters) What happened in those few weeks between the Battle of Starcourt and the Byers leaving Hawkins. Literally a satisfying and very needed fill in of season three, with a good dose of Mike’s thoughts and conflict. Mike’s characterization is specially amazing in this one. The writing style is amazing and I know the author put everything into making it historically accurate, and it was really sweet. You probably read it, it’s by the amazing sevensided here on Tumblr🧡

Spring Break (T, 120k, 14/15 chapters) The slowburn of my dreams. Lots of internalized conflict and conflict with each other. Conflict within the Party (uhh kind of), conflict with Mike and Will. Byers family has moved and the kids are visiting! Chaos. Characterization is on point. Yeah, I know it’s unfinished, but the fourteenth chapter actually serves as a pretty nice ending. 

This is where it starts (M, 148.8k, 24 chapters) Aged up characters. The Party is in college and Will disappears again, but now it’s different. Mike knows he didn’t vanish from thin air, and the discovery he and the Party end up making is pretty insane. Mystery solving/fantasy/third dimension, throw in a bit of D&D and Mike realizing some shit, and you get this marvelous fic. It’s a breath of fresh air. The world building is definitely one of the elements that stands out the most, because it’s very nicely described, it sounds like a dream and it’s completely immersive. Absolute gem of a fic. 

there’s a Starman waiting in the sky (M, 30.6k, 8 chapters) Do I need to say anything? Will is out there living his best life and Mike realizes that wow, umm, maybe his best friend looks a bit too nice with that costume... and wait, is he getting horny? It’s actually really fun and sexy.

The Evening Speaks (T, 23k, 7 chapters) In where Mike is a late-night college radio host and Will is the art student that stays up till late to catch up with Wheeler on the Mic. They flirt through songs y’all, this one is really sweet. 

heads or tails? (E, 24k, 3 chapters) Aged up characters. I know most people don’t enjoy sex in fics and with specific characters but this one is insanely well written. It’s a slowburn that commits to the tension and with every word you are grasping and anticipating their next move. I think you can find the author here on Tumblr as yousaidyes🧡

The Man of Average (M, 56.7k, 5/? chapters) Aged up characters. No but you don’t understand, the writing here is absolute gourmet. The story is exciting as well, it’s super interesting. Weirdly enough, for being very aged up characters, they are well characterized but they don’t feel like teenagers. They are naturally Mike and Will. The author really captured Mike and Will’s essence. I know, it’s unfinished and it’s updated very rarely, but this is the typical fic you can’t believe someone just posted on the internet for free. I will say though, I think it’s definitely not for everyone. Read at your own risk.

Heartstrings (E, 82.8k, 24/? chapters) Aged up characters. By the same author of The Man of Average. A collection of memories, the road to Mike and Will’s happy ever after. And fucking hell!!!!! You’ll cry and get angry, you’ll cheer for them, then you’ll want to crash their faces together because god dammit you love each other!!! But yeah, same thing here. The writing and the way the story is laid out as a nonlinear narrative is brilliant. And I also think this is one of the best Will versions I’ve read. The author might as well be the og creator of this two characters tbh. You can find the author here as mylesimeblr🧡

Sinners behind the walls (T, 1.5k, 1/1) And because I can’t stop recommending this author, a little thing of Mike tormenting himself but also being too deeply committed to Will. 

The Red Envelope series (T/E, 167K, two completed works) Something happens that Will thought was impossible and from there, pure drama and romance. Anything by this author has the potential to become your absolute favorite fic, but this series in particular is amazing. I doubt that any of you haven’t read this, but it doesn’t hurt to put it in this list. I’m pretty sure the author is serendipitous-magic on Tumblr🧡

A New Fight series (T, 91k, two completed works, one WIP) And finally the Star Wars AU that we all needed. But this isn’t your typical “Mike is Han”, “Will is Leia” and “El is Luke”, it’s way more interesting than that, and the author has appropriated the Star Wars world like no other. I’ll admit I’m not a 100% fluent in SW lore but this is amazing to me either way. This author is also on Tumblr, tea-for-one-please🧡

- Yes, most of these are (if not all), in a way, canon compliant/canonverse/canon continuation into fanon. (In a way)

One-shots and short stories

Sundae for Two, Please (G, 4.8k) Steve being the supportive friend and older brother these kids collectively need. (not Jonathan erasure, we love him). Steve is very sweet himself, and this little cute thing through his POV is gorgeous. Yes, it’s byler.

Backstage (T, 10k, 2/2) Jonathan, you forgot to mention to Will how hot your new band’s guitarist is, dude. Now he’s hyperventilating and weirdly flirting with him in the corner. Background Stonathan because why not.

102 Peach Street (G, 3.8k) Established relationship, but not only that, they are married :’’))) PURE fluff. Extreme fluffiness. Diabetes. 

sweatshirts and bottled up feelings (T, 3.2k) Or, Mike thinks that the sweatshirt Will wears looks insanely good on him. And kitchens are for lovers. 

kiss it better (T, 16.3k) Basically one of the best character studies of a few precise moments of Mike and Will’s relationship and feelings. 

will wonders ever cease (T, 11.3k) #i ship will and happiness. Omfg what a beautiful piece of fanfic. Will centric, this kid really deserves all the good in the world.

The Calm After the Storm (T, 1.6k) Tooth rotting fluff, boyfriends in love. Boyfriends being lazy, cuddling, love words, kisses. Boys loving each other’s company... Basically, Mike and Will in their element. What more can you ask for?

neither of us ready to let go (T, 4.8k) That scene from season three, but a bit of a fix it. 

Still in love (G, 1k) Domestic, married life au fluff. Y’all, I’m a sucker for established Byler, even if I can’t find many fics with it. But this is very sweet. It takes place in 2020, but I don’t think there are any mentions of the COVID-19 crisis that I remember.

I Nver Find Out ‘Til I’m Head Over Heels (G, 12.5K) Classic 5+1 fic. If you haven’t read it, where have you been? This is your moment. In where Mike keeps inviting Will to the school dances and Will thinks it’s just a joke until he realizes it’s not. 

Before You’re Gone (T, 5.9k) Will is leaving Hawkins and Mike thinks this is a great moment for a confession. This one I discovered last friday, thank you friend @magicalfairy 💗

You’re weird Wheeler (M, 4.5k) Mike unintentionally starts a tradition of going to each other to talk about their sexual encounters just after they finish. Will keeps getting more explicit with the details he shares, and he makes his best friend interested. This one is really fun y’all.

Out-Of-Town Friends (N/R, 4.6K) It’s not rated. I haven’t re- read it but I’d say it would probably fall in a T rating. So cute!! Will has new friends and sneaks off every friday and the Party doesn’t know where he is going, so Mike decides to follow him and is surprised. 

Snowed Under (G, 1.3k) By the same author of The New Fight series. Mike is spending christmas by himself in college because a snowstorm hits Chicago and Nancy can’t drive to see him, but then he has a surprise visitor. Ahhh just a lil sweet holiday fic. Super cute. 

you love me anyway series (T, 7.1k, three completed works) Literally just the cutest thing ever. Established Byler. Will loves to take pictures and he loves taking pictures of Mike. It’s adorable. 

you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better) (T, 9k) This one is so amazing. So. Amazing. From Will’s POV, my kid deserves the world and he gets it. 

okay not to be okay (T, 4.9k) Mike is a bit sad but then everything is okay. 

can’t hold out forever (G, 18.4k) Y’all!!!!! 5+1 sweetness. Mike has been falling in love since kindergarten. And it’s long af, you’ll enjoy it. 

even if it takes forever (G, 1.3k) College short AU, they miss each other, they love each other, they promise all to each other. It is sappy y’all.

clear as day (N/R, 18.4K, 4 chapters) It’s not rated, but I’d say it falls in the T category. Strangers to friends to lovers. And also, everyone is pretty gay; we have our dynamic trio Mike, Max and El as disaster lesbians (and gay). Will works at the library and he is also gay. Lucas and Dustin and Will are the best friends we needed. It’s very sweet and the Party is kind of formed here!

I went overboard with the one-shots, so you must have realized how much I love long one-shots and I favor them over long works lmao but they are all amazing!!! If it’s on this list, I probably read it at 2 am, sobbing in my bed. So. Hope you enjoy it☺️🧡

[bukojuiice]

— their wedding day with you.

ೃ pairings: (izuku midoriya, katsuki bakugo, shoto todoroki, x fem! reader)

ೃ  tags: headcanons, tooth rotting fluff

ೃ warnings:  none

ೃ  my nav  →  my mha writing masterlist  → my katsuki bakugo x reader smau

ೃ if you want to be a part of my mha taglist. send me an ask!  ♡

ೃ  please do reblog if you enjoyed!! it really helps writers and content creators on tumblr! (feel free to add tags too because i love reading them and my heart swells with happiness when people love my work!)

ೃ after a million wedding videos and pinterest boards later, i’m excited to share with all of you my wedding hcs! these are short and a quick read so i hope you enjoy!  ♡

-  you and your fiancé, katsuki, were arguing over the venue and the theme of the wedding. he wanted it to be a simple ceremony. perhaps taking place at just a regular event place- whilst you wanted the venue to be at a beach. 

- it was a dream you had always wanted while innocently planning your wedding as a kid. so why not make it a reality?

-        The two of you peacefully decided on it over rock paper scissors. You won so… the beach wedding it is.

-        (Katsuki actually loved the idea of the beach wedding as much as you did. He just didn’t want to admit it.)

-        coral blue and oceana palettes, luscious palm trees swaying with the wind coming from the sea, the calming sound and view of the ocean, coral and shell designs hung everywhere, tables and chairs with little boho and aquatic inspired designs.

-        mitsuki bakugo insisted on making your wedding dress. you were overjoyed and deeply touched by her sweet gesture. As she wants the best for her beautiful and loving daughter in law after all.

-        The dress was one of the most angelic and heavenly gowns you have ever seen in your entire life. a long graphic lace gown with an open back and the edges of your white dress had frills like that of a mermaid tail. you wore a shell bracelet, to match with katsuki’s.

-        kirishima and kaminari jokingly dared bakugo to wear a tuxedo heavily inspired by the dc superhero, aquaman to keep the beach theme going. of course, katsuki ignored their suggestions and little jokes, opting for something of his usual style. his suit partially unbuttoned, tan rolled up-pants and matching shell bracelets with you.

- as you walk down the aisle, katsuki could not think of anything but the bursting feeling inside of him saying that this was it. this serendipitous event was going to signify the start of his life... his life with you.  

- your beauty and radiance was like that of a mermaid, your (h/c) hair flowing with the wind and the ocean was there as if practically glowing for you. whereas he felt like a mere pirate who could do nothing but watch you from afar as he sailed the shores.

- yet here you are, about to approach him, to finally begin this momentous event.

- the gentle mermaid fell in love with the aggressive pirate. how sweet.

- you insisted on playing songs from the little mermaid during your walk down the aisle and during the reception, sadly, katsuki disapproved of both. with a little convincing and a dozen of cute pouty faces later, he agreed to have someone play a romantic song. just one.

- the two of you decided on someone performing a beautiful rendition of “can’t take my eyes off of you” 

-        bakugo was about to cry while reciting his vows. Almost. He was totally going to shed some tears after the wedding ceremony, for only you to see, and before the two of you make your appearance at the reception.

- the wedding and the reception ends wonderfully as fireworks began to pop in the sky, colorful swirls as if they were coloring the sky, with one of the firecrackers even shaped as a heart. the reception continues with people dancing, and while your husband wasn’t one for festivities and dancing, he would give this day a pass as you bring him to the middle of the dance floor as the two of you dance the night away.

- “you’re just too good to be true...  Can't take my eyes off of you~ you'd be like Heaven to touch, i wanna hold you so much~”

-        shoto wants the most important day of his life to be reminiscent of a fairy tale as he wasn’t able to experience the wonder and the beauty of it as a child.

-        to keep the theme consistent, he rents out a quaint recreational woodland not far from the city.

-        he wants it to be perfect just for you especially since you’ve been dreaming of living a fairy tale for such a long time… and here you are now about to fulfill that dream.

-        the wedding starting at dusk, twinkling lights and garlands hanging around the trees, fairy lights sprawled about, blooming archways, lilac ash and sandstone pallets, long romantic banquet, and guests composed of his closest friends and family.

-        you’re dressed in a beautiful white (with pastel blue accents) floofy dress reminiscent of a fairy. embroidered with vines, satin flowers, and butterfly accents. instead of a veil, you’re wearing a flower crown decorated with pretty white daisies and leaves.

-        whilst shoto was wearing a suit reminiscent of peter pan. an exquisite blue suit with a peter pan lily as his boutonnière.

-        As soon as he sees you walking down the aisle, tears were about to stream down from his cheeks.

- the whole todoroki fam are at the brink of tears too, as these were one of the very rare times they see the youngest todoroki with the biggest smile and most blissful look on his face. 

-        All of the guests stand up, each seat has one thin branch with attached handcrafted butterflies and fireflies for them to hold up and to illuminate your way to Shoto.

-        A musician strums their guitar and begins to sing “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley.

-        He’s just beyond delighted to see you. As if flowers were blooming with every step you take, approaching closer and closer to him.

- “wise men say... only fools rush in... but I can’t help falling in love with you...”

-        You looked ethereal. Like a dawning light.

-        You continue to walk down the aisle, looking back at him. All the pure love and adoration you have visible in your eyes.

- midway through your vows, shoto couldn’t take it anymore and the tears just flowed down his face. you giggle lightly, the other guests were snickering along.  you bring him into a hug, kissing his tear-imprinted face as the two of you continue with the ceremony.

- It felt like an absolute dream. This was the best day of both of your lives after all.

-        “And they lived happily ever after.”

- you and izuku  just wanted a simple yet still fancy backyard wedding. 

- as the two of you wanted to spend most of your budget on traveling the world for your honeymoon trip instead.

- you could still make things absolutely beautiful and pleasing to look at after all. with your amazing teamwork and working on the planning together, you could manifest a delightful wedding. 

- there wasn’t a particular theme per se. both you and izu weren’t really ones to go into specifics anyway. you just wanted to replicate a very light and airy feeling that can be seen in most dreamy weddings.

-  string lights hung everywhere, a huge whimsical canopy was built up on the yard with two iridescent chandeliers hanging on the inside, draped fabrics and lush, interwoven greenery, mint and powdered colored accents, and a mini bar at the entrance.

- all of the heroes that izuku had known all his life were invited to the wedding. and of course, they wouldn’t miss it for the world. with practically everyone attending the #1 hero’s big day.

- with the help of the girls from class 1-a and after several hours of trying on the most beautiful dresses, your heart was set on an embroidered tulle and crepe white gown. instead of a veil, you opted for a  white crown headpiece, resembling that of a halo. 

- izuku on the other hand, at the behest of the boys of class 1-a, wanted him to wear something extravagant that could woo you. izuku disliked all the suits that they made him try out and instead went for a black suit jacket, dark blue dress shirt, and to complete the look, a cute little bow tie. 

- you walk down the aisle, holding a bouquet of flowers, your calming and ever so beaming presence felt like the light that he had been looking for all his life.

-  izuku could just stare at you lovingly like this if he could. he fights the tears welling up in his eyes, but he knows he’s going to break soon.

- and he does. as soon as he starts reciting his vows, izuku begins to weep. the genuineness and the love that you could hear from his voice and from the emotions he was showing right now made you feel so warm inside. 

- you hug him and squeeze both of his hands tight as he calmly yet emotionally goes through the entirety of his vow. 

- at the reception, inko and all might offer a special toast to you and izuku. their speech composed mostly of doting words and a lot of light-hearted “parent” jokes. 

- dekusquad + bakugo came up to the stage too to give their chaotic toast to the groom and bride, and the atmosphere and the mood became even more fun and lighthearted.

- as a surprise, you and izuku prepared a short musical number. the two of you were going to duet stand by me by ben e. king.

-  “when the night has come... and the land is dark... and the moon is the only light we'll see~ no I won't be afraid... oh, I won't be afraid. just as long as you stand, stand by me~”

ೃ taglist: @chibishae34​​ @sparkykatsuki​​ @ramunegoddess​, @serossimpy

[bellisperennis0]

| sugar high |

Word Count: 874

Warning(s): Tooth rotting fluff.

Notes: I feel like this request could have gone either way - sweet or naughty - so I went for the sweeter side of EZ. Thank you for reading, besties! 🖤

appropriate-writers-name asked: Oooh, I saw your requests are open! Can I request 5- “I think the edible glitter, might be a bit much.” with Ez? Thank you 💕

[[Masterlist]]

It was a terrible time for the oven in your bakery to decide to take a crap. It decided to go out a few days before you had to deliver 400 cupcakes to a huge convention in the town over. 

You were thankful for Angel, EZ and Felipe coming to your rescue and attempting to fix the oven the second you called and told them it stopped working. Since they were unsuccessful, you had no choice but to call someone to come fix it for you, but only for them to tell you it will take a few days to receive the part you needed. 

This is why EZ came home from a short run over the border, to find a kitchen filled to the brim with colorful cupcakes. The second he pulled into the driveway he could smell the aroma of your wonderful baking. Following the smell led him to you in the kitchen, hips softly swaying back-and-forth to the music playing as you delicately piped icing on each cupcake. 

You sensed him staring and looked over your shoulder to give him a genuine smile. "Hi my love!" 

"Hay baby. Looks like you've been busy." He makes his way to you. Leaning to give you a kiss on your cheek, careful to not bump into anything and completely destroying your hard work.

"Once you left this morning, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to get a head start on finishing up these cupcakes." You continued as EZ looked on. "These are the last of them, and then I'm done." 

"You've been at it since 4 am?" EZ asked, not at all surprised that you've been working all day.

"I took a little break when you sent Letty over with some lunch. Thank you." 

"Knew you'd be busy and wouldn't stop working unless you were really distracted. Knew Letty could keep you distracted for a couple hours." He gives you a wink. 

"Anything I can help with?" EZ asks as he grabs an extra apron and puts it on. 

You chuckle, "I would love your help." 

"I'm all yours. What can I do?" He asks.

You stop what you were doing to take a look around the kitchen at all the cupcakes and other pastries you made throughout the day. "If you can box all those cupcakes on the table, that would be wonderful. Pop will be by later to take them to the bakery."

"You got it." He begins working on boxing up the rest of the cupcakes. 

The two of you work in silence as the soft music plays in the background. 

"Alright, what next?" EZ's voice brings you out of your zone. 

Surprised, "Done already?" You turn around to now find the dining room table filled with boxes of perfectly placed cupcakes.

"Thank you baby!" You place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Of course." He gives you a smile.

Going back to the last batch of cupcakes you grab one and hold it out to EZ. With a huge smile on his face, he happily takes the plain cupcake from you, and immediately gets to work on decorating. You softly chuckle as you peek over and find EZ diligently working away, doing his best to replicate the cupcakes to the best of his ability. 

"All done." You wipe your hands on your apron. Moving your neck back and forth to work out the tension. 

"Me to!" EZ happily tells you as he sticks his hand out to you, his cupcake sitting in the palms of his hands. It was rare when you baked at home, let alone when EZ would ask to join you. Knowing it was your happy place he never wanted to impose. But your heart fluttered at how excited and proud he was about his little cupcake. 

"It's not bad. I think the edible glitter might be a little much." 

"What? No such thing." He tries to argue.

"We'll save this one for later." You tell him.

"Ahh, I see. You're scared that my little cupcake will outshine all the others?" He teased 

"Exactly!" You both laugh as you begin cleaning up the mess you had made of your kitchen.

You were getting all the cupcakes ready when you gasped in surprise at a hand sliding across your chest. Turning around to find EZ standing there with a mischievous smile.

"Glitter? Really Ezekiel." You go to wipe off the trail of glitter but EZ stops you. His arms on either side of you, pinning you between him and the kitchen counter, the lust in his eyes giving away his plan. 

His lips capture yours into a passionate kiss, slowly trailing down your jaw and your neck. 

"Ezekiel." You whisper, your fingers softly trailing down his head to the back of his neck. He hums against the skin of your neck as he licks the edible glitter from your collarbone. A moan escaping your lips. 

"Use your words, querida." EZ whispers into your ear, before pulling away to look at you. 

"Bedroom. Now." You tell him

"Yes ma'am." He throws you over his shoulder and quickly makes his way towards the bedroom. Both of your laughs fill the small home.

--xx

TAGLIST 🖤: (Feel free to let me know if you would like to be added/removed)

@alienstardust

@mijop

@yourwonkywriter

@sesamepancakes

@encounterthepast

@queenbeered

@chibsytelford

@mayans-fics227

@jeremyrennerfanxxxx123

[cutegirlmayra]

I know you did a prompt a while ago about Amy having a fan and Sonic told him to basically get lost. So could you do something like that but make the guy feel more entitled to Amy and she owes him her love. And when she rejects him he gets really aggressive so it justifies Sonic being more aggressive in turn? I love how your depict protective Sonic soooo cute!

So, I have MANY jealous and protective Sonamy stories XD Shifting through them, I think you meant this one? (x) For future reference, if any of you lovely Anons want to maybe just... link?... the actual prompt I would be very much appreciative since I have over 900+ lol

(Preview prompt image provided by ArtsyAnnieRose (x) Please support the artist :)b)

As I mentioned when reviewing this Prompt on my youtube --> Pajama Blogs Ep. 1 Prompt Requests (x) Timecode: - 54:21 - I try and not do the same prompt twice, which means I like to rewrite things so that I don’t just keep making the same stories for different requests. So with this one, I’ve thought a lot about how to present it, and I think this will be fun! (Also, side note: I’m not making this cute and parody-like, I’ve changed my mind XD I have the right to do that! lol)

***TRIGGER WARNING***: (now you know it’s gonna get good.) I have subtly littered red flags throughout this story, if you have experienced stalking or manipulation strategies in your life please be aware they will be showing up in this fic. Due to the subtle nature of these traits, please be informed that I am in no way trying to downplay the danger of these situations, but showing that to the main character currently in these situations, her view of them is naïve and she sees no danger. Therefore, the gravity of the situation seems friendly and kind, but in no form am I saying these techniques are alright or acceptable. The ‘stranger’ character in this story is a creep, no matter how ‘charming’ or ‘sweet’ he may be portrayed in the innocent main character’s view. (If I write this correctly, hopefully, that message will be more clearer towards the end of the story.) I encourage any who recognize these toxic behaviors to please question your relationship with that individual and find safe, healthy relationships to pursue/keep instead. Whether your relationship with these kinds of people are platonic, friendship, or romantic in nature--please keep yourselves, families, friends, and other such loved ones safe. I will not be listing or detailing all occurrences of these moments within the story; however, with some psychology basics or google searching, you can find these common red flags or complexed manipulation strategies and how to better identify them.

Prompts are on shutdown! Do not send in any prompt requests at this time. Thank you!

Okay... let’s dive right in.

                                                 DIVE, DIVE, DIVE.

Note: This is another unconventional, more mature-themed story that I- well...

But my hope is that it’s still a story worth telling, so if you choose to, please enjoy.

Prompt:

Upon a rather dark and greying sky, as though the mentions of brief rainfall and storm weren’t apparent, many citizens in this bustling city were making their usual rounds around the mall. Carrying a thin jacket with an umbrella’s strap swinging at her side, Amy light-heartedly mused over a recent magazine’s article on the most eligible men, and read the chatty writer’s remarks on how Sonic The Hedgehog seemed to be away when the interviews for them were called.

She thought that so like Sonic, always away, but secretly just close enough to still keep tabs on what’s going on with the many locations in the world.

Eggman seemed to have a base everywhere, and while things had been pretty quiet as of late, she looked up from her magazine and once again wondered where in the wide, blue world he could be.

Was he bored? Off on another adventure? ... Napping? Eating? Was he eating enough?

She sighed with a dreamy look on her face, lost in her thoughts before a stranger flicked his wrist as he approached her, and a charging wind blasted in her direction. Blowing her back, it swiftly hit against her loosely closed umbrella, since Amy wanted to be prepared for any sudden downpour, and triggered it’s spring to further yank her back.

“Ah!” Amy tried to turn around to catch herself, the strap around her wrist forcing the sudden about-face as she grabbed her umbrella’s long steel pole to try and counter the pull.

“Woah!” the stranger that was passing her from the front suddenly stumbled at the sight and quickly rushed behind her, leaning over and grabbing where her hand was on the open umbrella as the wind suddenly stopped. His hand lingered by her side as though to brace with her and help, before noticing the wind stop and looking dumbfounded at the umbrella.

There was a silence as Amy felt the stranger was almost holding her, and turned to him with blinks, “Heh-heh... umm... Thank you.” her body was bent as she tried to use her heels against the pavement to counter-force the sudden rush of heavy wind, but with it’s immediate halt, she stepped forward and away from the strange, intimate moment to close her umbrella.

He stood more straighter, fixing himself up too before smiling kindly to her, “Does this happen to you often? Sudden, emmmm...” He swirled his palm-facing upwards hands around as he held the long, hummed note. “Bursts of photo-aesthetic air through your hair?”

Amy chuckled lightly, briefly looking back at him before continuing to fix her umbrella, worried it may be broken as the spring wasn’t going down well enough. Realizing it was probably jammed, she blew up some air to her bangs, figuring the worst, “Yeah, real convenient for a photoshoot. Maybe the photographer will settle for a water effect?” she gestured humorously up to the clouds, “All I need is a chair,” she teased, “Thanks again for the help. Really! You came out of nowhere!”

“Much like wind.” He joked back, putting his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to her. “You... wouldn’t mind if I take in the view of that shot, would you?”

“Huh?” she didn’t quite understand what he was making reference to.

He smiled as if realizing she didn’t get it and shook his head, “Nothing, nevermind. I’m clearly wasting your time,” he took out his own umbrella, looked at her a moment, then back to it. His long, brown and heavy jacket then flopped back to his side as he offered her it, “No offense, but I did just meet you. I would offer you my umbrella, but I’m worried I may never see it again. However, I have a solution,” He opened the umbrella and then gestured his hand to a restaurant near him. “So that we’re not strangers anymore, and I can trust you with something so dearly precious to me as an old, fifty cent umbrella I literally picked up from a second-hand store... might I entreat you to a meal?”

Amy smiled, relieved he was being so gentlemanly. “I wouldn’t mind at all!” she cheerily perked up, looking at her umbrella and tossing it in a garbage can. “I’m Amy,” She took his hand, curtseying. “Amy Rose.”

She did notice he was probably older than her, but he did a little bow and she realized she hadn’t notice his real height until his eyes matched her level. He held his eyes with her sights... and she wondered why he was pausing so long, “I know...” He finally whispered out, tilting his umbrella over her head, “You’re pretty famous, you know. Anyone would be lucky to help you out in a pinch. I’m Oscar, I work around here.”

Guiding her into the outdoor restaurant, he sat her at one of the white tables with it’s own umbrella on it and closed his, settling down on the opposite side of her. “Well, then! Do you mind this spot?”

“Oh, it’s my favorite, actually!” Amy chimed, knowing the location very well.

“Really?” He seemed a little less intrigued at that than Amy would have normally supposed someone would, but then after putting his umbrella away, leaned forward as though very attentive and putting his fingers together, his elbows on the wooden round table of white and letting his nose press down against his hands. He had gotten comfortable, and Amy, thinking this was his way of showing interest in what she meant, continued to sweetly respond.

“This is so funny, but I come here almost every Thursday and Friday for the new deals at my favorite store! I usually order the same thing too,... I really love ice cream.” Amy felt a strange new energy at meeting someone for the first time, and continued to feel refresh at this new-found friendship.

“Ice cream? No way! That’s my favorite too!” Oscar parted his fingers as though excited to hear this. “I have a sweet tooth. I know, I know, so silly of a man like me.”

“Oh, no! Not at all!” Amy waved her hands out, “What’s your favorite kind?”

“Well,...” He thought a moment, before smiling back to her and holding a wink, “I have an idea, you tell me yours first. I bet it’s probably very different.”

“I’m a simple girl, Vanilla is mostly my cup of tea. But... whenever I’m feeling adventurous, I go for it! Scoops of Vanilla and Chocolate with some random new flavor of mint or cookie flavored and then I top it with all sorts of stuff!”

He coughed as though shocked, “...That’s literally my favorite too!”

“What!?” Amy was excited to hear this, “I thought I was the only one that eccentric!”

“I know! That’s why I thought your answer would be completely different!” As Oscar continued to review Amy’s interests, he kept nodding along and reaffirming that they shared many similar interest and hobbies before the waiter appeared. “I love to chase certain thrills and excitements. I’m sure, being an adventurer, I figured that may be the reason why you place yourself in such perilous circumstances as well.”

“Your orders, lady? Sir?” The waiter asked, trying to kindly cut in as Oscar pulled out his wallet.

“Strawberry sunday with a hint of vanilla, you?” he looked back to her.

“Ha! That’s my Thursday order!” she giggled into her hand, “Same here, please!”

He shook his head, a little theatrically, “It’s almost like... where have you been all my life?”

“I mean, I know, right!? And you work around here! That’s so weird that I’ve never seen you before... where-”

“Ah, there’s really nothing interesting about me. I’m much more fascinated in the adventures you take. What with your friends always weighing you down and everything.” He basically ignored the waiter as he tried to ask any follow-up questions, and Amy just looked between the two and then smiled politely to the waiter, showing that that was all they were going to have.

“Weighing me down..? Oh no, without Sonic and the others, I couldn’t do anything as big as saving the world! We all need each other, you know?” She happily confirmed before he spoke again, sighing.

“I guess they would have you think that way, huh?” a offhanded comment that made Amy’s eyebrows furrow, but she just continued to speak about the wonderful traits and abilities of her friends, in which case, he kept shaking his head as though she was wrong.

“What?” She finally asked, “You don’t seem to like Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles...”

“I just think you could do with some different friends.” He shrugged, “Some that wouldn’t constantly leave you behind or undergrade your merit.” In that moment, the waiter came back to place down their orders.

“U-undergrade..?” She looked down a moment, “N-no, no one’s holding me back or anything. I choose how I help out, I can’t always keep up with Sonic and the others so-” she stopped a second and shook her head, getting frustrated, “I-I mean, I can go with them whenever I want!” she retorted, and noticing her shift in demeanor, he took some ice cream and then held out his hand.

“Oh no, no, no. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t keep up. I meant that you’re invaluable and they don’t treat you as such. But don’t worry, I’m here now, and I’ll show you how a true heroine should be treated. This meal is on me.” he gestured to her ice cream, “After this, I’ll show you some places that you probably haven’t been to before.”

“O-oh... T-That does sounds exciting!”

For a few weeks after that, Amy began to hang out with Oscar frequently. They would text back and forth, and she couldn’t help but smile when he always called her beautiful and made her feel so special. However, although the places they first went to weren’t so bad... he started showing her back alleyways with clubs and other ‘themed’ places that made her slightly uneasy.

She knew he was older than her, but would decline any invitation if he stated, “But I know a guy, he’ll let you in.” and continued to protest and remind him of her age.

That being said, the parks were lovely though!

He would often bring her little gifts and flowers too, stating that the next time she came with him, he’d bring some home-made food and had a habit of patting her head or brushing something off her hair if it landed on her. Though, Amy never noticed the ‘leaf’ that had fallen on her shoulder, or the ‘bug’ that was buzzing around her headband.

He also would usually lead her when they walked and talked, if they came to a corner, he would lightly put his hand to her back, until one time she mentioned his hand went just slightly lower than normal and he apologized profusely.

All was going very well, he even carried her bags and offered to take them home with her, but she insisted she would take the train and that he needn’t worry.

Finally, on a Friday when she was heading down for her sale, texting Oscar, a familiar wind picked up and almost brought up her dress.

“Oh, look out!” Oscar appeared and grabbed her dress, pushing it down. “Phew! Close one, aye?”

“W-where did you come from?” Amy adjusted her dress as he held his hands to the rim of her dress still, but when she looked up at him, he immediately released them.

“I suppose I just naturally come when you need me.” he scratched the back of his head, looking away as though shy. “I don’t know... sometimes, I can’t sit still, I get this feeling like you need me, and lo and behold!” He gestured to her, “You really do need someone looking after you twenty-four seven, huh?” he squatted down to look up at her, then his face turned to concern. “It’s a shame you don’t have anyone to look after you... especially in moments like this.”

“W-what are you talking about? I have Sonic!” Amy placed her Miles-Electric away and gestured for him to stand upright, but instead, he took her hands and placed them on his cheeks, acting cute but a lot younger than he actually was.

“But he didn’t save you, I did~” he whined, squishing her hands to his cheeks and rotating them around as she thought him slightly weird and took them away, pushing him back as he stumbled. “H-hey!”

“Oh, you! Sonic is just the same way! He can’t sit still when he senses someone needs him... hey, that reminds me of my article...” Amy remembered the magazine she was subscribed too, and looked over to see that within his usual trench coat, was a page of that article sticking out. “Ah!” She pointed to it, amazed, “You read ‘Famous Quips’ too!?!”

“Doesn’t everyone?” he seemed to speak quickly, before shoving the magazine back in deeper. “Ehem, kinda a girlie magazine... promise not to tell anyone? I don’t wanna lose my street-cred!”

She laughed, “You are like Sonic! Always acting so cool...” she shook her head and took his arm, what she had started doing since he offered it so many times, and they walked down the street.

He bought anything her eye rested on, which made her beg him to at least let her pay for food, as he mentioned a concert happening at the club he kept trying to get her to go to.

“Come on, you’ll love this band! We adore the same music too! I know a perfect spot in the back where no one will see us and the bouncer is my friend!” his voice was enthusiastic, nudging her every now and then with his elbow as she looked away and rolled her eyes. “You’re not a babe anymore, Amy! You’re gonna end up going to clubs eventually, might as well be with someone you know, right?”

“I don’t know...” Amy looked down,... and he gently stopped walking to look away from her.

“...Do you not trust me?”

“W-what?” Amy let go of his arm, “What do you mean? Of course I do!” she was very hurt by his accusation, “I mean, we’ve hung out so much, I just don’t really think clubbing is my thing...”

“You never want to do what I suggest.” He looked down, “I go to your favorite store with you and help you bargain hunt, I take you around the park... I’m just saying, the one time I want to go and do something, you keep saying no.” he folded his arms, and Amy began to panic that he was really offended by her.

“T-that’s not true, Oscar! I...” she looked away a moment, and he looked back at her.

“...Ah, I can’t stay mad at you.” He pulled her into a hug, holding her there. He took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, hey, let’s go get ice cream and talk about it later, okay? I’ll pay again.”

Her eyes shifted about, not sure what that was all about. “N-no, I’ll pay.” she tried to move away but kept an arm around her and led her on.

“I wouldn’t be considered a man if I let the woman pay!” he insisted, and ended up paying for the meal.

As it got late, he offered to carry her bags home again, and whined in a goofy way when she kept saying it was too late to have guests over, but maybe sometime.

“If you won’t see the concert with me, at least take me to your place sometime. It’s the least you could do for me.” He gave her the bags, then stroked her hair again, “You really shouldn’t be taking the train at night, you never know what sicko might be on it. You’re tough, Amy dear, but you’re still a girl and you know how you’re prone to cause problems.” he laughed, but that stung Amy’s pride a bit.

She held her bags and looked away a moment, “...Is that... how I come off to people?”

“Oh sure!” he then continued to stroke her head, “...You ... didn’t notice?”

“...That I look weak?” Amy shook her head and he instinctively removed his hand.

He held it in the air a moment, before letting it rest on Amy’s head again, as though realizing she wasn’t doing that to make him stop.

“No... the part where I... gave you a new nickname.” He smiled, tenderly and squatted down to her level again, keeping his hand on her head. “Amy dear. I think it’s cute!”

“...O-oh, I mean, I don’t really like how it could appear though.” Amy had a bead of sweat form and he abruptly got up, looking upset.

“Don’t like how it could appear!? What does that mean!?” He snapped.

She flinched at his sudden uproar, as he grabbed a bag from her, “I’ve been wanting to introduce the nickname to you all day! And that’s how you think about it!?” he looked as though he was going to either smash or rip the bag, but just looked furiously away from her, “I thought about it a lot, you know! It was suppose to mean something!”

Amy grew slightly afraid, but not taking this sudden mood-swing again, she opened her mouth to say something.

He interjected and looked dead in her face, “You really don’t trust me, do you, Amy?”

Thinking she didn’t want to hurt him, she shook her head, “I-I never said that!”

“Don’t yell at me,” he looked downhearted suddenly, even though she wasn’t raising her voice that much, not like he was.

“I’m not-”

“You are, and it’s really making me feel like you’re just... you don’t consider me a friend. I told you people usually reject me,... I was vulnerable to you!”

“Oscar, calm down a moment and-”

“You’re the one who’s not ‘calming down’ you can’t do a single thing I want to do! You’re being... selfish!” he flopped the bag down in front of her, startling her as he took off stomps and a hissy-fit.

Not able to process that sudden shift in behavior, Amy was lost to her thoughts and... slowly... proceeded to get the bag and head to the train station.

Numerous texts came flooding in that week as she hadn’t gone back to the plaza and mall, and she kept wondering how he knew she wasn’t there. They had hung out multiple times, maybe he was just expecting another hang out without actually asking this time...

Still, she felt somewhat obliged to text back: Sorry, I’ll see you Friday. This Thursday, I just felt sick.

Oscar: Do you need anything? Send me your address, I’ll bring you medicine and make you some food! I really am sorry if I scared you, I shouldn’t have done that. You’re beautiful and I’m just insecure. You know how I can be, just like you, I get really attached to people and just want to be accepted. I’m really sorry, please don’t not see me again! I promise I’ll get myself under control, we’ll do whatever you want to do this time! Honest!

Amy didn’t text back...

Oscar: The concert is next Friday, I won’t mention it again but... it would be really awesome if we could see Pop Pinkies together... I know it’s my favorite band and our favorite music is what they play so... just think about it at least, alright?

That Friday, Amy was wearing something that made her almost blend in with the crowd. Unlike her usual bubbly skip in the streets, she was hiding beneath her umbrella and coat, as though not wanting to be spotted.

A sudden burst of wind and she panicked, darting behind a corner and putting her umbrella away. “Dumb wind.” she mumbled, looking around to make sure Oscar wasn’t there...

The wind suddenly shifted as she poked her head out, “That’s odd, wind doesn’t usually change direction unless...” she turned and gasped as she saw Sonic, leaning his head towards her and looking confused.

“...Since when did you start taking the back-alley ways? Don’t you know that’s dangerous, Amy?” He blinked, furrowing his brow as he straightened up and folded his arms, “Heh, long time no-”

Amy’s mind was suddenly triggered by something Oscar had said, and she tuned out Sonic completely, her world going dark...

“I just think you could do with some different friends. Some that wouldn’t constantly leave you behind or undergrade your merit.”

“You’re tough, Amy dear, but you’re still a girl and you know how you’re prone to cause problems.“

“Is that... really how I appear to you?” Amy’s voice quaked as she spoke it, “Do I really look weak... even to you?”

Sonic was taken aback by the tears forming in her eyes, and immediately dropped the friendly banter, “Amy? What’s wrong? Weak?” he didn’t know where she got that notion from. “N-no, I-... Amy, is something wrong?” he moved forward to reach for her but pulled away, something Amy wasn’t used to as she really did--for a brief moment--think he was going to place his hand on her head.

Almost as if expecting that, she leaned her head in a strange way and then back, not sure why she did that.

He didn’t notice the action though, but she hugged herself, also remembering that after the light head pats was usually a strong and forceful embrace...

“...Amy?” she hadn’t responded to him, and now, Sonic was noticing a very clear change in Amy.

“N-no, of course you wouldn’t think that... I’m sorry, I really don’t... I don’t want to be around people right now.” she looked away, “I... I made someone feel really bad and I don’t know what to do.”

“Really? What did you do?” Sonic lifted his hand and she immediately looked at it, which made him pause. “...Umm... I was just gesturing... Amy...” His ears bent back, not sure why she looked so squarely at his hand. “Is everything okay?”

She really thought he was offering her hand, but she didn’t want to take it... not this time.

“I made a new friend, and he’s mad at me. I’m worried... if I hurt him again, he’ll really be in a bad emotional state, and it’ll be all my fault.” Amy put her umbrella up and started to walk away from Sonic, “I want to take a new route, I didn’t even want to come out today...”

“...Amy, you don’t control this new friend’s behavior, they do.” Sonic corrected her and walked beside her, focusing heavily on the signs of uncomfortability Amy was showing. “...What happened with this ‘new friend’ of yours?” He directly asked, and Amy relayed to him how she met him, then how he liked all the things she liked and agreed with everything in the beginning, how charming he was before the more time she spent with him, he seemed to change and start acting funny... but not in the good way.

“...He likes everything you like?” Sonic lowered his head a little, honing in on some things Amy briefly mentioned.

“Yeah, isn’t that crazy? He’s a guy but he totally loves sweet things and a popular girl’s magazine I enjoy.” Amy smiled, closing her eyes as though cheering up when thinking about it.

“...And he knew your order before you even made it?” Sonic folded his arms, putting two and two together.

“Yeah...” Amy suddenly slowed down in her steps, her eyes widening.

Sonic closed his eyes, matching her speed as he began to help her focus on the more important parts of her story, “And this... strange wind that passes by here... only comes at you and blows your dress up or opens your umbrella?”

She stopped.

He continued to walk, “And you say he works around here... which means he may have seen you come and go multiple times... and probably watched you ordered and heard what you liked, and saw what you read, and knew about you from the news and press... he disliked your friends and took you places and then entitled himself to being in charge over your Thursday and Friday venues... then, to really top it all off with the icing on the cake and all that jazz... he’s been insisting you go to a adult-themed club with him and throws a tissy-fit when you say no?”

Sonic stopped, his fists had already tightened into such hard balls of fury that he had to take silent deep breaths just to contain himself.

“And worst of all... he’s tried to copy me and put it in your mind that your friends don’t respect you the way we should... isolating you,” He put out a finger, “Grooming and manipulating you... Amy, you should have written this guy the moment he snapped at you... and probably sooner, but I’ll take that as you were just seeing the best sides of him... and not the dirty kind.” he didn’t turn around, but he felt Amy lingering behind him and knew if he said anymore, she may just start crying. “...Where do you think this creep is now?”

“He... He’s not a creep.” Amy lied, feeling in her heart that she just did lie, for Oscar’s sake...

Sonic tsk’ed and turned around, “How can you stand there and defend him!? Do you even know what Grooming is!?”

“...I... I don’t.” she wiped her eyes, “I don’t think I know anything...”

The manipulation had really set in on Amy, she was denying something she knew was true and didn’t know why. She was defending a man who clearly was up to no good, and yet... she cared about him still.

“Sonic... I think... I think I’m sick.” she held her stomach, the realization setting in. “You don’t think... he wanted me to take him to my house to..?”

“He wanted to what!?” Sonic lunged forward, holding his fists back and to his sides as he tried to remain level-headed, pulling away from her. “Amy, you know the truth now, it’s time to end this... ‘friendship’ you two have.”

Amy fell to her knees, “That’ll kill him!”

Sonic immediately looked behind him, Amy almost begging him not to make her do it as Sonic couldn’t stand to see her this broken and twisted up from Oscar’s scheming.

“Amy...” he wanted to say so many things..! But instead, just turned around and held a strong look, “You have to face this... but you won’t be alone.” He offered her his hand, “I won’t leave your side, and I’ll be there the whole way through. You deserve to go out and have fun without someone telling you that it can only be ‘their’ way of fun.” He looked so serious... but she felt a peace wash over her at how she knew his words were never lies or deceits for something devious. His words were for her and her well-being... not once did Sonic ever yell or enforce his way about things at all. He listened to her, even though she knew he must be raging inside at his friend’s predicament... it’s not like she purposefully got herself into this mess.

“You know how you’re prone to cause problems.“

She placed her hands up against her eyes, crying. “Am I... being a burden to my friends, Sonic?”

He immediately scooped her up into a bridal-style hold, “Which store did you want to visit today, Amy? Or do you want to just go home?”

“Please, I want to go home.” Amy held onto him as without a second word, he zoomed off.

The next few days, Sonic instructed that Amy block the number, but text messages seemed to not be the only thing Oscar knew... He called her home number, which surprised both of them, and the phone never stopped ringing.

That next Thursday, Sonic accompanied Amy everywhere she went, and they didn’t spot Oscar anywhere. But come that Friday...

Sonic was carrying some of Amy’s bags, she didn’t look fully recovered from anything, but at least she was wearing brighter colors in her coat she wore that day, and a nice sun hat as Sonic held the umbrella up for her.

He looked a little bored, but kept his eyes peeled when a sudden wind shoved him to the pavement.

“Ah! Sonic!” Amy turned around but was immediately grabbed around the waist, pulled back. “Gah!”

“I can’t believe you let him back into your life!!!”

Amy’s ears rang with Oscar’s voice, before shoving him back and falling down beside Sonic, who quickly shook off the wind blast and spun around to pick up Amy’s things, placing the bags by the store’s window.

“So, this is the wind-manipulator, eh?” Sonic rotated his shoulder out, having landed on it pretty roughly, “Look, I don’t know anything about you, and neither does Amy, really! So either get the hint and quit bothering Amy, or I’ll have to take matters into my own hands!” he hunkered down, getting ready for a fight, but... he also seemed not to be putting on airs or a show.

Sonic... although smiling a bit as he spoke to him, suddenly took a darker and more focused attention on how Oscar was holding himself.

Oscar looked to Amy, not even talking to Sonic, “I told you everything about me... What does that lying Sonic know about you!? I’m the one that’s been with you this whole time while he’s been off, probably with some other girl!”

Amy thought that ridiculous, and seeing him in a new light, she was able to at last come to fact with this pervert in front of her. “You... you were never my friend... were you, Oscar?”

He bit his teeth down, “Is that what he made you think?!”

“No, that’s what he made he realize!” She threw up her hammer and blasted wind at her.

She was forced to slide against the concrete, “I don’t mean to hurt you, Amy dear!” he cried out, “We’ll settle this when he isn’t around!”

“I think you’ve got it backwards, Oz!” Sonic, seeing that his hands controlled the wind, kicked it away from Amy’s direction and then spun in a rotation within the air to punch him down.

He stumbled, as though not used to physical fighting and tumbled all the way over into the street.

“I’ve known Amy much longer and deeper than you have! You’re just some creep who takes advantage of little girls!” Sonic’s fists was shaking, clearly, he didn’t want to just leave it at one blow. “Amy, get behind me!” He gestured out his hand and Amy immediately got up and moved behind him.

“I can... I think I can fight him!” She tried to state, but Sonic looked behind his shoulder and she put her head down. “I... I want to but...”

“...You still care about me, don’t you, Amy dear?”

“Quit calling me that!” Amy threw her arms down, “You used me! You weren’t my friend! I can’t believe I trusted you!”

Sonic turned to the man, “Why are you even answering him, Amy? He’s not talking to you, he’s talking to some Amy Dear girl he’s been building in his mind. You were never anything to him... it was the girl he was crafting that he was interested in.” Sonic slowly walked towards him as the man started to scoot back, clearly not able to fight Sonic The Hedgehog.

“Let’s play a new game...” Sonic suddenly lifted up a device, “Is your real name Warner Windstrom? You’ve got a bounty on your head that the cops are just dying to claim...” he pressed the button as suddenly an alarm went out, and from around the corners, police vehicles blocked his way of escape. “Oh, and that club? A typical place where your old ‘hostages’ claimed they were drugged. Trust me, pal, I’ll personally make sure you don’t get out of jail again.” Sonic let the police start moving in but Warner immediately shoved air beneath him and flew into the sky, shocking everyone as Sonic held up a arm over his eyes and moved back to Amy, shielding her as well.

She was in shock, that kind man she knew was suddenly a criminal and had previously hurt and abused other women... She didn’t know Sonic set this all up, but she probably wouldn’t have let him if she had known.

“I thought we were just gonna talk to him!” she cried out, putting her hand on his shoulder before shaking her head, “I’m defending him again... aren’t I?”

“Amy shouldn’t be with a loser like you, Sonic!” Warner cried out, “You can’t always save her! You can’t always be around to-!”

Before he could finish, a hammer slammed into his gut.

“Nice one, Amy.” Sonic complimented, as Amy stood up beside him.

She didn’t say anything, but judging from the neutral expression... and tears streaming down her eyes...

He just looked back at Warner, “I know this is a lot to take in... but trust me on this one... You’ll be alright.”

Amy summoned another hammer, “Want to give me a lift?”

“Certainly.” Sonic spun into a ball that lifted him up into the wind, then uncurled to reach out for Amy as she jumped, “Hit him hard!” he encouraged as he threw her up the rest of the length.

She pushed her dress down as he extended his arms to her, “Amy, please! You know me! I love-!”

She just growled and let out a piercing war-cry, slamming her hammer down on his face, “I’m not your friend, I’m not your anything, buzz off!!!!”

He slammed to the ground, and as the wind ceased, Sonic landed and caught her immediately, and the two watched as the police immediately took him.

He kept trying to call out to Amy but she didn’t say anything back, just ducking her head into Sonic’s shoulder.

Sonic’s eyes never left Warner’s face... but leaving the scattered bags around, he took her to the park near by and sat her down.

He waited there... as Amy was just frozen in her thoughts... unable to speak.

After some time, she got up and walked to stand beside him, “What about the bags?”

“Not concerned.” Sonic stated, then looked back to her, “You okay?��

“No,” Amy admitted, “You were right. It’s gonna take time... but I wish it would all just go away now.” she placed her hands on the side of her arms, “How... how did you know? When I was telling you about him... how did you know he was no good?”

Sonic tilted his head back and forth, then tapped his head. “When you’ve been around the block a few times... helping justice here and there... you learn a thing or two about red flags, Amy... you don’t have a lot of dating experience--or just knowing bad dudes are like that--in general! I don’t blame you... but I do think that you should be careful who your friends are.”

She scooted closer to him... then tilted her head to his shoulder.

“..Can you help me get better?”

“No,” he lightly tilted his head to hers, “But I can be with you while you figure it out.”

There was a long moment of silence as they held that comforting moment...

“Will I ever be me again?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

“...No,” He responded, tenderly, as though a whisper as he looked up at the rain being to slowly drop all around them. “But I can be with you as you learn to accept her.”

Amy closed her eyes, feeling the small drops of rain before it all at once, speedily came down on them.

“...Will you still love me? At the end of it all?”

Silence...

“I already do.”

Rain scattered as Sonic held his eyes straight up into the clouds... the storm in his heart subsiding as Amy cried and her shoulder’s bounced beside him.

[movedto-erodasghosts]

cardigan | harry styles

moved blogs - @erodasghosts

Description: somewhat poorly written fic where they missed out on their opportunity when y/n returned Harry’s cardigan

Warnings: none?

Word count: ~3.6k

a/n: this was written for @harrysleftchelseaboot’s writer appreciation prompt list using the prompts “I never meant for it to happen like this.” And “I love you. I’ll love you for the rest of my life. Even if you don’t love me back, and even if we both move on, there will always be a part of me that will always love you no matter what.”

masterlist

————

“You can’t just keep stealing all of them,” Harry laughed, searching through your closet and finding many of his missing cardigans.

You were grinning as you watched him from your bed, currently wearing the cardigan he wore to your house that day over your shoulders, preparing to take it too. He really didn’t mind but his closet was lacking too many now.

“You’re the one that leaves them here all the time.” You sat up, “Besides, you get them back.”

“I leave them because you are wearing them every time I get ready to go,” he defended himself. “And I get them back in piles like this. It’s not ideal.”

You shrugged and teased, “They look better on me anyway, you should just leave them.”

He chuckled and shook his head, turning around to put his gatherings on your bed. He agreed with what you said, he also just thought you looked better in everything of his in general, even if the clothing was stolen. You were so often wearing his stuff it was like you hardly owned your own wardrobe.

“You’re taking my shirts now too, don’t think I haven’t noticed,” he held up a shirt he found within the mess.

He had no idea that that was where his shirt ended up, he should’ve guessed it though.

“I’ve had that one for months and you didn’t even notice!” You took it from him. “C’mon, just leave this one?”

“That one?” His gaze followed you, “There are more shirts?!”

You bit your lip and stood to put the shirt away. “I mean, maybe a few? They’re being cleaned though so you’ll have to get them next time.”

So you actually wore them around? And you had recently, most likely while he was just gone on tour. He would have guessed you did wear his stuff from time to time, considering you took and kept so much of it, but having it confirmed was different. The thought made him happy, though he couldn’t say why.

“At least you’re getting use out of them,” he sighed and sat at the end of your bed.

Harry smiled to himself, seeing you had on his cardigan despite the conversation. He knew he’d leave it there again, just to have this conversation another time. You wondered to yourself what he’d think when he found out you had stolen a pair of his gloves too, among who knows what else.

You were known for borrowing his clothes, seeing as it started when you were teenagers. There came a point where he wasn’t really sure how or when you started to steal his clothes, it was going on for so many years at this point that he lost track. The first time you ever borrowed something of his it was just his jacket. It was a very movie cliché moment where he gave it to you because you were cold. And, yes, it made your heart skip a beat, you were young. While you did tend to be colder than him, you didn’t always take his stuff for that reason.

One reason you took his stuff was because he did have a good taste, you loved most stuff he owned. You had even gone on shopping trips with him so he could help you pick out some new favorites. Another reason you would wear it was to get that feeling of closeness when he was gone, or even while he was there. Wearing his stuff, and him occasionally wearing yours, was another way you would try to express your feelings to one another in hopes that the other might notice.

A lot of your friends would call you out on it, along with all of the other things you and Harry did that was more than just friendly behavior. Yet, you continued to deny it.

Maybe you denied it out of fear, fear of confronting your feelings after dancing around them for so many years. You were never really sure how Harry felt for you and you didn’t want to risk the close knit relationship you had already built with him, the same reason he never said anything to you either.

But small moments like this made Harry regret never telling you. It was simple and not really special since you had a very similar conversation at least once a month, but that was just why he found some joy in it.

“They do look better on you, y’know.” He sighed, “Which makes me hate to have to put it on myself after seeing you in it.”

You laughed and turned to face him, “Liar. You’re so cocky when you wear these.”

“Maybe it’s because I know you’ve worn them. That would be reason enough,” He grinned.

“Uh huh,” you scoffed. “Or maybe because you know how good you look in them.”

“But I know I’ll never look as good as you.”

You rolled your eyes, gently pushing on his shoulder as he laughed. He wasn’t joking, though he was trying to be a bit dramatic. Of course he knew he looked good in them, he was too full of himself not to, but that wasn’t his biggest motivation.

Wearing your things, or his own clothes that you had worn before, brought him a form of comfort. It allowed him to think of all the memories of the times you had worn them.

Moments where being around each other could be so comfortable and casual. Where you wanted to be closer but were too afraid to actually do it. And, of course, times when you stole them too, he mostly laughed at those memories. He found himself thinking about it a lot, especially when he was gone on tour for longer periods.

Did it hold the same meaning to you? He figured you just did it out of convenience or because you were friends and had become so comfortable with one another. Both of you chalked it up to nothing more than the result of a long term friendship.

One day, after years of confliction, you told yourself that it was time to let your crush on him go. Your lives were heading in completely different directions. He was way more busy, gone from home often, and was just getting an entirely different lifestyle. It was time to face reality, no matter how hard it was.

Harry was tooth rottenly sweet. And having known each other for so long you were more comfortable around him than anyone else. You still made time for him, sometimes before anyone else out of eagerness. And he made sure to make time for you when he was home, often putting you on the top of his priorities. It wasn’t like you were just drifting apart, both of you worked to maintain your friendship.

That made it harder to move on, but you tried your best to work at it still. It seemed like the best thing for both of you. You were both doing things that held you back in your lives, only because you refused to talk about it with each other.

It seemed like as you were trying to distance yourself further he only did something to pull you closer, which made you question if he knew what he was doing. At first he didn’t see it, it started out small. You were trying to become more mindful of your behavior around him, stopping yourself from doing things that people who are just friends wouldn’t do.

No longer would you be found with an arm wrapped around him at most times, the closeness only made butterflies fill your stomach. You stopped running your fingers through his hair as much, it was too blissful to keep going. He especially noticed that you stopped resting a sweet kiss on his cheek at random yet perfectly timed moments, which was the first to go.

Though he immediately noticed these changes he tried to shrug it off. Without realizing he started doing those things to you in greater numbers, in an attempt to make up for what your relationship was now lacking. It confused him, he wondered if you were upset with him but he didn’t know what he might’ve done wrong. He tried to ask in various ways and did eventually decide to ask straightforward.

When confronted you just simply said you weren’t upset, but you didn’t go on to explain what was going on either. You couldn’t, that would mean you would have to tell him about why you were trying to become more distant in the first place. This left him in a helpless position. It was clear that something wasn’t right.

“You’ve got sticky hands,” he pointed to his cardigan you were wearing. “But you aren’t very sly.”

You smiled, “Apparently I am though, I trick you every time.”

He ducked his head and laughed. “You don’t trick me every time.”

“No?” You challenged him. “Then how do you always end up leaving without your cardigan?”

“Because, you said it yourself.” He gently tugged on the hem of the cardigan, “It looks better on you.”

Mindlessly your hand was drifting to rest on his arm, you quickly caught yourself and froze your actions. Instead, you brushed your hair behind your ear and crossed your arms. This wasn’t getting any easier.

“It’s getting late,” you cleared your throat. “I know you have early plans tomorrow, so you should probably go to get some rest.”

Harry frowned as you took a step back. You were doing it again, deflecting and pushing him away. He couldn’t figure it out.

“I could stay a little while longer. It’s not even ten yet.” He pointed to the time.

He was right, and normally he would stay well past that and often he would actually end up spending the night. You decided that was fine from time to time. Friends stay at each other’s houses, just not three nights in a row.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” You shrugged the cardigan off your shoulders. “By the time you make it home and get your cardigans put away it’ll be later.”

You placed the cardigan on the pile with the others, then picking them up to hand them to Harry. He smiled weakly in response, he got the message. You never just handed his cardigans over, he always had to come collect them just to lose another.

“Aren’t you going to keep this one a while?” He picked the top cardigan up and held it out to you.

Did you want to keep it? Absolutely. But you knew that doing that less was a part of letting go.

“I’ve still got a few of your things, it’s fine.” You opened your bedroom door for him, “And like you said, I’ve got to stop stealing them so much.”

He nodded sadly, placing it back down. You quietly exchanged good nights and he made his way home. It was odd to leave like that, so melancholy. There was definitely something going on, he needed to figure out what it was.

You noticed his reaction, it was obvious that he knew something was up. You knew that you wouldn’t get away with it for long but part of you wished that you would. A problem was, you never planned what you would do if he started to figure it out. You didn’t want to think about any situation where you might have to expose yourself further.

No one could understand why you were doing what you were doing. They didn’t understand because they were seeing a bigger picture than you. They saw Harry’s feelings for you, they knew that there was more to it than just a friendship. And no matter how hard everyone around the two of you tried to make you see it, you remained oblivious.

Over the next few weeks Harry found himself in similar situations, where you would push him further and further away. He couldn’t understand it. One minute things were normal, you were talking and laughing with one another like there was nothing wrong. The next minute you were suddenly cold, coming up with any excuse to put some space between him and you.

Honestly, he was beginning to miss you. He missed your grazing hands, your entangled legs, your head on his shoulder. Spending time with you became so ordinary, and not in a blissful sense. Where did he go wrong?

It made him feel selfish. He wanted all of these things from you, expected them even. He returned them, but that didn’t feel like enough. How could he ask for all of those things, things one only tends to find in a relationship, yet hide his true feelings about it?

It was becoming more and more clear how much you meant to him. How reliant did he become? Just a few weeks without as much affection and he felt so uneasy. He tried to fill in the lack of affection but was slowly giving up on that as you pushed further and further away. Maybe it was time to confront it all.

“Are you sure everything is fine?” He broke the silence. “I didn’t do something to upset you?”

You froze, really hoping you would’ve never had to hear him ask that again. The first time he asked you could easily get him to brush it off, but now? Had you really been so obvious about it?

“Harry,” you began.

“Y/n, come on.” He was hesitant, “Something is off, you’ve been… different around me. I just don’t know why, so did I do something?”

“No, you haven’t done anything.” You had to be careful with your words. “We’re fine, really.”

Your answer wasn’t satisfying, it was far from believable too. He could tell you didn’t want to talk about it, and normally he wouldn’t press but it was necessary this time.

“If we’re fine why are you becoming so distant?”

You stood up, going to your kitchen. “We have been hanging out like normal.”

“Normal amount of time maybe,” he followed. “But it’s not the same.”

You weren’t going to be able to avoid it any longer, that didn’t mean you wouldn’t try to though.

“What do you mean?” You avoided eye contact, reaching for a cup.

“You know what I mean,” he stood beside you. “I mean that you’ve stopped. You stopped messing up my hair just to fix it, you’ve stopped with the constant hugs and pecks on the cheek. You haven’t stayed later than eight at my place, you didn’t keep my cardigan the other day or even try to keep multiple.”

“You’re reading too much into nothing,” you mumbled.

Harry felt his heart fall a bit. He had been telling himself that for weeks, it was becoming more evident that it wasn’t true though. You were still being avoidant though, he had to remind himself of that.

“Am I? I’m just worried, okay?” He licked his lips, “I don’t want us to drift away.”

He had every right to be asking these questions and pointing those things out to you, you knew that. But still, you wished he wouldn’t.

You didn’t think he would’ve noticed certain things he had pointed out, how much more had he noticed? It even seemed like he was missing them, maybe he was. You didn’t want to let yourself too much of it though.

“It’s not you,” your focus was on the cup.

He leaned closer to you, “So what is it?”

“I just—“ you weren’t ready. “I never meant for this to happen.”

Harry was confused by everything. What did you mean by that? You still refused to look at him, afraid you might spill if you did. It only made him more concerned, it seemed bigger than what he thought.

“Meant for what to happen?” He rest his hand on your shoulder, trying to comfort you.

It felt like a weight on you, rather than doing any help. You were used to his touch taking weight off of you and reassuring you that everything would be okay, but for the first time it was the opposite.

“Nothing,” you faked a smile. “Sorry I’ve been weird.”

You took his hand off, going to fill your cup with water. You needed to get away again. It was too soon to talk about something that you weren’t even completely over yet. He did deserve an explanation and you knew that, you just weren’t capable of giving one.

“Can we talk about this? Please?” He ran a hand through his hair, “I just want to know why things are changing so suddenly. Why are you so dead set on distancing yourself now? What did I do?”

“Nothing,” you repeated.

He knew you were stubborn, he also knew you were hiding something. It was eating him alive. There were so many possibilities as to what the issue was. He didn’t know if it was him, if something was going on in your life to change things, if you were just growing tired of all the pining.

“Clearly something happened, you can’t deny that.” He chuckled nervously, “At least tell me some bit of truth. I just… I don’t want to lose you and it really feels like I am.”

You were blinking rapidly, trying to hold back your tears. You were thankful that your back happened to be toward him so he couldn’t see you cry. If you said anything he would surely hear a crack in your voice though. Staying silent was no good either though, you would have to say something eventually.

“Maybe it’s good we put some distance between us,” you turned around. “We acted like… like we were more than we were—are. It was… messing with me. I just need some distance.”

You noticed it too? But you didn’t seem to feel the same. You wanted distance, you wanted to stay just friends. It hurt, to say the least, but he was doing his best to just be relieved that he finally sort of knew what was going on.

“Look, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” He fiddled with his rings.

“No, you…” you squeezed your eyes shut, “you didn’t. It was me. I got ahead of myself, I shouldn’t have done those things in the first place an—“

“I did them too,” he interrupted. “I guess it was both of us.”

Letting out a sigh you paused. At least you didn’t have to directly say it.

“I can’t do that anymore,” you explained. “I can’t pretend that it didn’t have an effect on me. We— I have to move on.”

Harry could believe what he was hearing. After all of those years of telling himself you’d never see him as more than a friend you were saying, what? That you did have feelings for him, at least at some point? And he completely messed it up.

He hoped it wasn’t too late to fix it.

“Can I just say something?” He continued when you gave a nod in response, “I know that you don’t want to talk about it really, and I don’t want to assume anything you may or may not be saying but… I love you, I have loved you for some years now an—

“Harry, don’t.” You sat your cup down, shaking your head. “Please don’t do this.”

“Just hear me out?” He gently held your hands in his own.

It felt warm again, comforting. You hesitantly agreed, knowing whatever was about to be said would likely hurt.

“I love you,” he continued. “I don’t think anyone knows me the way you do, and I don’t think anyone else ever could. And I know that our relationship has been… weird, and I know that you have things you need to work through.”

This is the conversation you wished you had with him years ago, you were waiting for it for so long. Now it was happening and you felt conflicted. It wasn’t as simple as it could’ve been, you were supposed to be moving on.

“Harry, I—“ you pulled your hands away, “I can’t do this now. I’ve been waiting for so long to hear you say that, I had to stop waiting at some point.”

He knew, deep down, that it was too late. He saw the signs months ago, when you had begun to push him away. It still felt like he had to tell you this. It made him feel selfish again though.

“I understand,” he smiled weakly. “Just know that… I’ll love you for the rest of my life. Even if you don’t love me back, and even if we both move on, which I hope you’re able to better after this. There will always be a part of me that will always love you, no matter what.”

There was nothing to say, nothing to do. It was too late in a way, but at the same time this was the moment you were waiting for for all of those years. You weren’t sure what to say, and he didn’t expect you to say anything. A part of you wanted to tell him you felt the same, because a part of you did. But another part of you was saying you needed to keep moving on.

Maybe you both had missed your chance when you returned the first cardigan.

[write-haikyuu]

Soft, sweet, and light (ft. Aone Takanobu) | scenario

I finally broke out of my writer’s block! I think. But really took forever with this one because I wanted the plot to flow. tbqh im not sure if it does ;-;. But please enjoy!

word count: 1400 summary(?): Aone Takanobu loves dessert. But he loves you more. 

Aone Takanobu hated pain. Not because he was weak or because he had low-pain tolerance. It was simply because he was capable of enduring so much pain that when he did feel pain, it hurt. A lot. That’s why, after an excruciating visit from the dentist, this gentle giant trickled into your shared apartment with cotton balls stuffed against his left cheek. His lifeless form plopped onto the couch. Though he didn’t say much, the scowl on his face today indicated that the painkillers had finally worn off. As he attempted to cup his face, you immediately slapped his hands away. You both glared at each other. Before leaving the office, the dentist had warned you multiple times to make sure he wouldn’t touch his face after the wisdom tooth extraction. Crossing his arms, he huffed with his bloated face. Aone simply felt defeated. 

You walked over and sat on the edge of the couch. Reaching over to smooth out his hair and you softly spoke up, “I’ll go prepare you some food for dinner ’kay?” Placing a gentle kiss on his forehead, you made your way towards the door and headed out to the supermarket. Having dated Aone for this long, you were already aware of the unspoken, telepathic communication that the two of you shared. Though you did have to admit, when you first transferred to Date Tech you definitely thought that locked stare he exchanged with you meant that he was going to devour you or something like that. To think about it now is only a laughing matter considering how much of a softie he truly is.

Making your way to the supermarket, you already listed out the things to make for dinner. Feeling a little more spontaneous than usual, you figured it would be nice to make a soft dessert for Aone tonight as well. Still, you just couldn’t place a finger on what he would want. Though most people would think he would prefer spice, protein, or something that would immaculate his athletic build, Aone actually preferred soft, sweet, and light foods. 

Trailing off those own thoughts, you passed by notable landmarks shared between you and Aone. A wave of nostalgia rushes over you as you walk past your high school Date Tech, followed by the crepe shop next to it, and a shaved iced cafe down the street. Each pertaining its own milestone to your relationship with Aone. Thinking back towards your high school days was already cheesy enough, you couldn’t help but come to a smile as you thought about all those times Aone truly had been there for you. 

On the week Date Tech’s annual cultural festival, you and Aone were assigned to make mochi together to sell for a booth. With all the ingredients gathered, you were dead set on taking the lead on this one. “Don’t worry Aone! My grandma taught me how to do this!” You puffed your chest proudly and began to search up Youtube tutorials anyways. Eventually, after multiple failed attempts, you stooped to the floor of the classroom and sighed in defeat. The sticky rice paste has essentially become a liquid to drink, and you ironically happened to be drenched in sweat as well. Aone chuckled as he grabbed the pestle in your hands and began pounding the mochi on his own. Before you knew it, Aone handed a piece of the rice cake over to you. Your eyes gleamed as you took a bite, impressed at how tender and sweet the mochi was. When it was his turn to take a bite, he couldn’t help but notice that you had a piece of powder stuck to your cheeks. Without a warning, Aone reached over to you and gently grazed his fingers across your cheeks to remove the powder off of you, his touch feeling your soft and squishy cheeks. 

When you completely bombed your midterms the constant sulk and pout of disappointment it was a recipe called for crepes. Though you were adamant about just going home to study even harder that day, Aone persisted with his efforts to treat you out to make you feel better. Refusing to turn towards the direction of your house, his robust posture made its way in the opposite direction. Aone walked towards the crepe shop quietly anticipating that you’d crave in and follow him too (to which you always did). When the two of you stepped into the shop, it wasn’t the aroma of freshly made crepes and diverse palette of toppings that overwhelmed Aone, rather it was the sweet and light scent of your shampoo that he whiffed at as you ran past him to look at the menu. While you spent eating away the feelings of disappointment and despair, Aone was silently disciplining himself as he tried to resist from taking another sniff every time you complained and pulled your hair. It was like the room was perfumed with your sweet scent as you impatiently waited for the crepes to come out. The look on your face once you finished your plate was pure satisfaction and absolute contentment. Aone then realized that he wanted to be the one who could always help you make that face. But with his painfully shy personality and your utmost oblivious ignorance, he just didn’t have it in him to confess that to you at the time. At least not yet. 

At last, on the night of the first date, you and Aone had gone out for the movies and had dinner together. Since he was still mostly shy, it was quite apparent that you did most of the talking (not that you minded). Though it did take you by surprise to realize how much he had been listening to you when the two of you came across a shaved ice cafe. Aone tugged you back as you continued walking. He pointed out the plastic display of flavored shaved ice. He could have sworn drool was escaping from your lips as your eyes widened with excitement. “Aone, that’s a great idea! Let’s grab dessert before we go home!” In the spur of that moment, you gleefully held his hands and dragged him into the cafe. As he sat there waiting for you to take the first bite, his cheeks flushed colors of the red bean toppings. Before he could even take his bite into the dessert, your hand abruptly knocked over the entire bowl. As if it was in a slow-motion, the ice splattered onto his pants as the red beans toppled over his head. The syrup dripped along his hairline. Complete utter shock and silence on your end, and nothing but disbelief and astonishment on his. 

“AONE I AM SO SO SO SORRY!” You patted his shirt down and apologized for the millionth time that night. But Aone wasn’t angry. In fact, the whole incident only proved to him how much more he had fallen for you. Because no matter how clumsy, wild, and silly you could be, Aone would always be there with you. He grabbed your hands to halt you from trying to make up for the mess and without missing a beat he softly pressed his lips against yours to tell you that all was forgiven. And indeed, all was forgiven that night. 

Now back to the present moment, you and Aone were sitting across the dinner table together. Your dinner plates were scraped empty and the meal came to end as you placed your spoon down, calling it quits. Aone huffed in contentment. He slouched back happily and patted his tummy as he watched you finish off your meal. As he stood up to begin cleaning up the dishes, you stopped him and stood up almost instantly. “Wait! I have a surprise for you!” You ran to the fridge and told him to sit back and close his eyes. Though you knew his wisdom tooth extraction prevented him from going out for dessert like your usual dinner routine together, you also wanted to do something to help relieve his pain and make him feel better too.

“Tada!~” You handed him a small plate of Kuri Kinton, a traditional Japanese dish made up of mashed sweet potatoes and candied chestnuts. Aone excitedly sat back down on the dinner table, anticipating to take his first bite. But before he could even, you swiftly grabbed the only chestnut on the plate and scarfed it down, nearly choking yourself to death. “No. Hard. Foods!” you laughed as you chewed it all up, a piece of syrup stuck to your cheek. Aone stared at you in disbelief before breaking out with you in laughter. His cheeks were puffy as ever as he watched you stuff your face up as well. Aone loved soft, sweet, and light foods. But he loved you more.

[davidkarofskyindie]

sunsetredroses (Eddie/Derek)

@sunsetredroses​ continued from (x)

sunsetredroses​:

Derek’s hand traced his partner’s cheek with as he looked in the latter’s eyes with a wide smile. Considering their jobs and separate lifestyles, Eddie had to keep up an online presence while the writer always found himself buried in his own work. Times like the one, he and his lover were having right now meant the world to the older man.

Taking the playful movement as a cue, Derek responded. “Hmm… I did have a desert planned for you as well as a surprise but I guess it could wait if you want to take this date elsewhere…” His other hand went to meet Eddie’s hand on his thigh. “Your choice, stud. Either you can have your desert now and the surprise afterwards or we can take it to a different room…”

Eddie just felt his heart hammering in his chest as he enjoyed the tender way Derek touched him. Moments like this where he could just relax and be with his obscenely perfect partner was what he looked forward to more than anything. He leaned into the gentle touch, just completely melting as he enjoyed the feeling of those fingers over his jaw “Oh god, making me think when you’re... unfair” he said with a playful chuckle, biting his bottom lip as he felt his thigh twitch from the tender touch.

“You really are devilish Derek” he teased, his hand slipping down and rested his hand on top of his partners “As much as my sweet tooth is making be beg to pick the desert... I can’t resist you” he leaned over and gently kissed his partner “Another room... before I just climb on you” he whispered, slowly moving over and letting his arms slip around Derek as he kissed the man again and again as tenderly as he could.

[dtfrogertaylor]

2019 Queen/Bohrap Fanfic Awards

Tumblr Fanfics, NOT 18+ rated (if any of these are 18+ please tell me so I can move them to the correct list)

‘A Simple Favor’ by @redspecialty nominated by 3 anons

“it is the best” - @dingdongdeaky​

“It’s was simply incredible! A beautiful read by an inspiring and imaginative writer! A supreme pleasure to read!” - @littlehopelessdreamer47​

“Its written so so so well and its so real and honest and the ups and downs suck you right in. This series absolutely built me up and crushed my heart and made me cry with happiness and sadness and if you love Gwil there's no way you can't love this series. It really has everything, from fluff to angst to smut, friends to lovers, a pregnancy AU, comfort... Its just an amazing series, really my review doesn't do it justice.” - @lovehelpmewrite​

“So well-written, beautiful descriptions, and such a unique storyline!” - anon

‘Virtues Uncounted’ by @a-night-at-the-0pera 

“it’s so creative and i love how all the characters fit into the plot!” - anon

“Virtues Uncounted is so different than all other fics, and so incredibly well done. It reads like a novel, and the work put into it is so obvious. It kept me guessing until the last chapter, and I eagerly awaited each installment.” - anon

“aside from the writing and the wonderful person Tori is, I really just want to point out the sheer effort that had to go into this. the hours of research and outlining and plotting that had to go into this - that’s dedication. and it totally pays off! she built such a believable and complex world, it reads like a real novel.” - @littlespoiltthing

‘Headlong’ by @bensrhapsody (O/C)

“It’s fun and fluffy and with time travel involved it has a dash of drama” - anon

“Lena has somehow managed to capture their personalities perfectly!” - anon

“Cara is such a relatable and lovely character - especially in such a surreal situation as she finds herself” - anon

‘Meet the Family’ by @blamerogertaylor

“Frankly it made me feral for a 70 year old and I absolutely loved it!” - anon

‘Memory Lane’ by @39taylor nominated by @blamesachadhawan

‘I’m Happy At Home’ by @brianmay-be

“It’s one of the cutest fics I’ve ever read!!” - anon

‘Responsibilities’ by @daemyiel

“Because it's a really good Roger fic that I didn't expect to go the way it did.”    - anon

‘Doing All Right’ by @strangeandwonderfulconcepts nominated by anon

‘Simple Sentence’ by @cobaincreates nominated by anon

‘The Great Pretender’ by @likethewingsof-butterflies

“It deserves way more appreciation than it got. It is written absolutely amazingly with the detail and the depth of how they both react.” - anon

‘I Do Love You’ by @megalony

“Her stories have vivid descriptions which make it enjoyable and captivating for the reader, also her stories are creative!” - @bluutac

‘About Last Night’ by @mothermercuryy nominated by anon

‘Ten Things Series’ by @taylorroger-s

“it is so immersive and you get very attached to the characters. i love how they portray the band and readers relationship with them :))) this author in general is excellent and i always look forward to her projects, even if they are not terribly often” - anon

‘Soft Disco’ by @laedymoon

“where do i even begin? this fic is so gorgeously written and has ripped my heart out on more than one occasion.” - @illfoandillfie

‘Funny How Love Is’ by @funkytalia

“It’s just so fuckin’ good. Usually I can’t stand slowburns, but this one is just *chef’s kiss*.” by @benders-diamond-earring 

‘It's A Hard Life’ by @brian-maybe-not

“heartbreaking and never fails to get the waterworks going but also its *chefs kiss* delicious” - @illfoandillfie 

‘A Night At The Library’ by @veriloquently

“the absolute loveliest fandom exchange gift i could ever have hoped to receive. made me smile for like a week straight and still makes me go all soft and giggly when i think about it.” - @illfoandillfie

‘Killer Queen’ by @softlyhardy

“Beautiful story, well written, and I'm looking forward to more chapters!!” - anon

‘j.d. | b.m.’ by @daddydeakydeacon (ship)

“I like it because it's a cute little piece about two people who love each other very much, and I like how the author (Kevin?) didn't feel the need to add smut into it so that he could feel that other people would accept it.” - anon

‘Detox’ by @megalony

“So sad and heartbreaking but so so good” - @jennygggrrr

‘That Silly Wig’ by @queensdivas

“The way she captured the whole scene was absolutely gorgeous! Completely underrated” - anon

‘Save Me’ by @deakyspuff nominated by anon

‘Angels’ by @bohemian-napsodyy

“It’s a work of art and made me cry so hard, but they put so much effort into it and it shows” - anon

‘Funny How Love Is’ by @funkytalia 

“such a lovely story; friends to lovers is <333″ - anon

‘An Average Friday Night’ by @acdeaky

“It’s very sad and angst and I love it!” - @leatherjacketmazzello 

‘Just Go With It’ by @sohoneyspreadyourwings

“The writing was just super great! I loved the whole story idea, and it made me fall even more in love with Joe.” - anon

‘Just Say It’ by @briansclogss

“I actually cried reading it and felt my heart rip out of my chest :((” - anon

‘Love, Miss Nurse’ + ‘Love, Genie’ by @acdeaky

“The description is absolutely incredible and the letter plot is amazing. The mere word auburn for Joe/Genie's hair gave me sparkles in the eyes I can't even explain why. I love it !!” - @warriorteam1924

‘Lazing on a Sunday Morning’ by @painandpleasure86

“This is Lily's very first fic and also continuing one of my story. It is just beautiful, I love it !!!” - @warriorteam1924

‘See What a Fool I’ve Been’ by @doubledeaky

“Even if it is with Brian May and I'm more into John Deacon, the plot is very good, the protagonists are very well described. A kind of mini series, with four parts, simply elegant and beautiful.” - @warriorteam1924

‘Wipe My Nightmares Away’ by @eileen-crys

“The idea of nightmare is just so great. The husband/wife plot works perfectly. The writing is excellent.” - @warriorteam1924

‘Weep Not For The Memories’ by @thosequeenboys (platonic)

“It made me cry, but because it was absolutely and amazingly beautiful. The description is perfect, the feelings expressed are so real, the protagonists perfectly fit. The writing is just superbe. An amazing author, really. Brilliant.” - @warriorteam1924

‘Not Just You and I’ by @rhapso-kei

“a very soft, very hilarious pregnancy reveal/announcement fic. legitimately, I laughed almost the entire time I read it. everyone, from reader to john, are Top Tier Dumbasses and I love them for it.” - @littlespoiltthing

‘Morning Glow’ by @ohmyrog

“a short but tooth-achingly sweet thing. it's like a little morning pick-me-up! you're almost immediately immersed in this soft little world. and i believe it was written on the fly, which is pretty awesome!” - @littlespoiltthing

‘Present!Roger Universe’ by @blamerogertaylor 

“The best present!Roger fic series I've read, the others are almost always smutty, this one is 100% fluff/angst and I love it!” - anon

‘Pillow Talk’ by @bensmazzello nominated by anon

‘Right in the Middle’ by @brianmay-be

“I love all their fics but this one is so fluffy and pure, it warms me” - @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl

[chiefhiccstrid]

Beach Days

Writers Note: Would you look at this...A NEW HADDOCK FAMILY DRABBLE by yours truly. ;) Dedicating this to @winxrus because I never got to post a drabble for your bday like I really wanted to (which is the REAL reason I asked for a haddock family fic you’d like to read hehehe). HERE YA GO, sorry it’s a tad late. 

Also, shoutout to @drchee5e for helping me with the ending when I found myself stuck. <3333 *hugs*  you da best. thanks for always supporting my writing. 

Zephyr didn’t fully appreciate the beauty of the secluded beach on the west side of New Berk until she was about three years old.

The first thing she noticed - after bouncing atop Hiccup’s shoulders on the walk down - was the way the light would glisten off the top of the water and move with the slow waves.

The way the fish would jump out and leave beautiful ripples in the water behind them.

The soothing feeling of her tiny toes in between the soft and warm grains of sand as she wiggled them around in it for five straight minutes before finding something else that was more intriguing.

Hiccup didn’t tell her the story and the reason this particular beach meant so much to him until later in the afternoon when the sun wasn’t as high in the bright blue sky.

Until after they’d all spent time splashing around in the water that made its way to the shore, cooling off from the summer heat.

Until after father and daughter walked along the shoreline searching for the brightest and most colorful shells they could find.

Astrid sat on the blanket - her hand resting against the small bump that was new…exciting…and so very loved already - as she watched the way her young daughter’s small arms would shoot up in the air out of pure joy when she found a new shell.

She smiled warmly as she watched her husband squat down and hand Zephyr a bright blue shell. The way their bright and happy daughters small arms wrapped around Hiccup’s neck made a satisfying warmth seep into the pit of her belly.

Zephyr soon grew bored of the shells, however, and became more interested in building mountains out of the sand with her hands.

It wasn’t until Hiccup picked up a fallen stick and began drawing different lines and shapes in the sand in front of him that he told her the story of the beach.

“That’s a dragon!” Zephyr called out once she saw all the lines come together in the shape of the creatures she’s heard so much about.

“That’s right.” Hiccup told her as he continued drawing. “You know, I once knew two dragons that fell in love on this beach.” He spoke as he drew the shape of the other dragon that went along with the memory.

“Really?” Zephyr asked, the small sand mountain she’d worked so hard on now completely forgotten.

Astrid already knew the story, but she listened to it again anyway - always loving a reason to relive the times when she could look up and see many different colorful dragons flying above her. A time when things were so different.

And, so, Hiccup told his wide-eyed daughter the story of Toothless and the Light Fury - the one that happened on this exact same spot of sand.

How they came to this beach together and how Hiccup followed them, curious as to where his dragon had disappeared to before the sun came up.

How Toothless danced around in the sand, trying his very best to win over the light fury. And Hiccup’s imitations of the silly moments made his daughter roar with her high-pitched laughter that made him smile even on the worst of days.

How in the end, the one thing that impressed the light fury more than anything was when he drew in the sand.

The way Hiccup retold it so softly and so fondly made Astrid grab the hand that rested on the blanket between them.

“Then what happened, daddy?” Zephyr asked, curiously.

Hiccup thought for a moment, realizing that all the events that occurred afterward were stories for another time. “They fell in love.” He told her, remembering the smiles and the closeness and the tender moment the two dragons shared.

Astrid gave the hand she was holding onto a gentle squeeze when she watched him glance over at her.

“Like how you love momma?” Zephyr asked, watching the interaction between her parents.

Hiccup nodded, never looking away from the soft blue eyes of his wife. “That’s right.” He smiled that wide gap-toothed grin, the same one Astrid fell in love with all those years ago.

The same one that made her smile back and lean over to press her lips softly against his, her way of telling him that she loved him too.

But taking your eyes off a curious and intrigued three year old who had moved past the sweet story and back to the fun sand was never a good idea because as soon as Astrid pulled away, opened her eyes, and glanced back over at her daughter, she saw a small fist full of sand enter the young girls mouth.

“Zephyr, no, no!” Astrid yelled, but it was too late.

And Zephyr began to cry, not because the grainy texture was uncomfortable, but because she was upset that the small white grains did not taste as good as they felt.

And it wasn’t long after that the small sobs turned into tiny snores, Zephyr’s head tucked in the crook of her mother’s neck as she napped away the exhaustion from her exciting day.

Hiccup and Astrid continued to sit there on the beach, listening to the soothing sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, while thinking about the past.

How that one moment on this beach really did change things forever.

How the only memories that Hiccup had of this beach before today were of a time when things were so different. Of a time when he imagined his future, he always imagined his best friend there alongside him.

How even though the future was never what he imagined it being, he wouldn’t trade it for the world because the two - almost three - people sitting next to him on the blanket made him happier than he ever thought he could be.

How this beach meant even more to him now because not only did he get to share it and make memories with Toothless - his past - but now he got to share it and create even more unforgettable moments with his present…and his whole future.

[jimlingss]

pt.2 of yesterday

I don’t want to flood people’s dashes, so hopefully answering your messages here will suffice!

anonymous asked: Hi! I wanted to tell you how much I love your work and how you make me enjoy every Monday thanks to your regular updates ! I saw a previous anon telling you how your writings lacks of emotion and I totally disagree with them... obviously everybody won’t like it but your stories just DON’T lack of love or emotion this is madness I want to thank you for publishing your amazing stories freely here for everyone to read. (Sorry if my English is weird I’m french ejfjekfjd)

“this is madness” LOL

You’re hilarious, anon. And your english is perfectly fine!!!

anonymous asked: Hello! Im the culinary student anon who sent you an ask a while ago and i saw you received an ask about the lack of emotion from your stories. I read kitchen romance and i actually really really like it and don’t quite understand how it lacks in emotions as I interpreted the stories more like the beginning of the oc and jin’s love story and they are only starting to open up to each other so i guess thats why anon might feel like it lacks romantic vibe from both of the characters. (1)

Anonymous said: Just want to tell you that you’re one of the best writer and ive been following you for 2/3 years now, you never failed to amaze me with your writings!! All your stories are so well written that i sometimes wonder how do you come up with such an amazing plot every single time and your stories are always nice to re-read and the effort you pour into creating your stories is also admirable (2)

while i was reading kitchen romance and ive only started s&c (currently on chapter 4) i can say that its pretty similar with how it is irl (and the part where we find out jk is an iu fans reminded me of my ex-crush whose also a culinary student, i would like to tell you a story about it but ill just waste your time lol) , just want to send you a few encouragement and love for you and your writings *sending virtual hugs* (3) -👩🏻‍🍳anon

You’re too kind, thank you (and also, welcome back!). I’ll be frank, there was a hot second I was considering taking down Kitchen Romance but I didn’t cause I don’t want my efforts of editing it to go to waste asdfghjkl. I can’t believe you’ve been sticking around me for so long :’) it’s always nice to know some folks stay. Anyway, I’m glad that Sugar and Coffee is pretty similar to how it works irl since I tried my best to do research. I definitely love a good storytime as well so don’t worry about wasting my time :>

Anonymous said: a good majority of your fics display an unfathomable amount of DEPTH. regarding character development. plot. even the shortest lines of dialogue reveal so much more to the character and unveil their true emotions. i personally think the more REALISTIC side of love may be perceived as 'bland.' ‘emotionless.’ whatever you want to call it. nothing’s wrong with portraying a relationship that isn’t overboard with a whole lot of tooth aching fluff or lowkey annoying pda. +1

Anonymous said: there’s nothing wrong with taking out a bit of emotion to fit the PERSONALITIES of the characters. some people out there don’t necessarily feel a lot of emotions. so it’s honestly not really a mistake if a story lacks it (unless it was unintentional). subtlety is an art that is hard to master, but you’ve done it! and to respond to the anon, sometimes, if you skim through a fic without reading every word the author intended for you to read, +2

Anonymous said: then it’s quite common to not feel the full extent of the emotions you were supposed to feel. just a thought but no hate. we’re all entitled to our opinions. but besides that, kina, you write on a vast scale ranging from hardcore angst to diabetes-inducing fluff. and you do it beautifully. sure there are some stories that are better than others, but i believe a LOT of it comes down to personal preference and taste. +3

Anonymous said: even if you are feeling creatively limited, you work hard to continue writing for your readers, and your determination and diligence wILL NOT GO UNNOTICED. i just want you to know that you write amazingly. your syntax is practically immaculate, your characters feel real… the endings of your stories always wrap something up and the strings are tied—even if it isn’t necessarily a happy ending. you can convey hundreds of different characters through WORDS. +4

Anonymous said: i’ll have you know that it’s hard to write. it’s even harder to write about people who aren’t YOU. so as someone who looks up to you a lot, i want to commend you for your writing. some of your fics that i read on a monthly basis: tears of a villain, a piece of the moonlight, head over heels to hell, ghost in the machine, a mark of betrayal, a kiss of poison, until yesterday, the truth between us and arcadia. +5

Anonymous said: to be fair, there were way more fics but i didn’t want to make this message any longer than it already is LOL. i find these pieces wonderful. heart wrenching. and SO DAMN EMOTIONAL IT PLAGUES MY MIND FOR DAYS. also you’re literally one of the few fucking people who can use the em dash correctly. thank you so much for sharing your talent with us! +6

Oh my goodness. I don’t even know what to say, anon. This is a whole damn thesis and it’s about my fics :’> You know, it’s easy to brush off fanfiction as a ‘whatever’ thing and indeed, it isn’t that big of a deal compared to some things in the world. But I really do take all my stories seriously and put forth a lot of effort - so to see it recognized and appreciated it makes me beyond happy. It’s good to know that my efforts haven’t gone to waste at all and that there are people out there who will support me no matter the endeavours I take. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.

((Also, honestly I picked up the em dash usage after I wrote The Truth Between Us with gukyi who used it. I’m pretty sure I’m not using it right but to hear that I am, god damn that’s a breath of relief right there))

backtobleuside submitted: Are you kidding me!? Your stories don’t lack love at all. They’re the kind of fics that you read, soak it all in and then come back for more. I’ve cried so much when I read Beyond reach, Boo-lieve in me, A piece of the moonlight, His name, Tell me lies etc. etc, and also laughed and felt the emotions of not just the OC, but also the other characters. Kitchen Romance was also so fluffy and sweet and personally, I don’t think that anything needs to be added to it. Anyway, your fics do not lack emotion—you’re probably the first author I send a message to because your stories impacted me a lot and left a strong impression on me. I even imagine your characters as real people who have real lives that continue on even after the story is done.

asdfghjkl thank you :’) I see you every week and sometimes several times at that. I really appreciate your consistent feedback and following. You never fail to send me a message too which I appreciate a lot. I’m glad you’re enjoying everything I’m producing!!

youngfleurever said: Would just like to say that your fics do in fact make me violently sob to the boy where my eyes are so swollen I have trouble opening them the next day and I wake up feeling like there’s sawdust in my mouth because I’m dehydrated.

oh my god. please keep yourself hydrated hahahahhaha more importantly, how do you know what sawdust in your mouth is like. WHAT have you been doing LOL

Anonymous said: I’ve felt emotions that I’ve never felt before when I read your fics.... so as a person that has read your entire masterlist, I DO NOT think that your fics lack emotion.... I hope you don’t feel disheartened because you’re one of my favourite writers, not just on tumblr but like, evER 💓💓💓💓💓💓

Please, even if I was disheartened, the overwhelming amount of feedback and praise has completely overridden it :’)

joonie-mono said: when tumblr deletes the first part of your ask 🙄😌✌️

LOOOOOOOL

haylo4ever said: Sorry had to add my 10 cents. You're such a talented writer,,, I WISH I could write a smol smol 1/1000000000 that you write,,, like I remember when I followed you bc I was in awe of your writing.... I mean?? Sure maybe not every fic hits it with someone but it's just ridic to name drop (a friend nonetheless) when you're all extremely talented writers.

Trust me, writing comes with practice!! I should honestly just tattoo that on me. God knows my first fanfic was absolutely GARBAGE. I didn’t know pacing, didn’t know that I should separate chunks of paragraphs, how to write dialogue or describe scenes properly. I went in blind. Even my second, third and fourth fanfic was garbage. You could definitely get to “my level” or even far surpass it with enough dedication and practice. I mean I’ve been writing for four years, so thank GOD there’s been improvement. I wouldn’t be natural if there wasn’t. But clearly the more you practice, the better you improve! That applies to anything.

The me in ten years will certainly be better now.

Anonymous said: Hi kina! I’m here in support of kitchen romance! I actually didn’t feel like it was missing a ton of fluffy moments (and I say that as a huGE LOVER OF FLUFF) but the story was just as entertaining in the whole chase of them getting closer to each other! It’s honestly one of my favorite one shots I’ve read lately and I’m not saying that lightly! Also, that anon that said your work lacks emotion has probably not read like half of your masterlist bc oO MAN QUEEN OF MAKING ME CRY- black heart anon🖤

Thank you :’]

Anonymous said: Ok I’m very offended wow the audacity!Specially coming for my baby kitchen romance like that story made me feel so much and it’s only one of the many fics you have written kina like I’m literally baffled like dynasty has made me cry scream happy and hot all at the same time and I was literally just thinking about it that whole weekend and this anon has the nerve to say your stories lack emotions?When you are literally the queen of show casing all types of emotions in your stories!You did it all

Anonymous said: Also 😭😭😭😂😂😩hoooooooow and whereeee did they see any lack of love and emotions like have you read jungle park???? Inside my mind??? FREAKING SUGAR AND COFFEE (like this fic is made with love and I- ) Actually you know what , just read the whole masterlist😩😩💗💗💗

LOL tbh I didn’t expect Dynasty to receive the love it has. I was actually kind of wary when posting it cause it’s kind of Wild. 

bangtans-peaceful-piegon said: just gotta say u handled that whole anon thing so well which not only makes me admire u as a writer but even more as a person :] (i mean i knew u were gr8 before the whole deal but yeah love ya 💛)

tbh, I’m not sure how well I handled it cause I was flooded with over 30 messages afterwards (evidently) ;_; which I love and appreciate but I’m not really as hurt as some people think hahaha criticism should be received well but it’s still hard not to take personally tbh. It’s gonna have to be something I work on or perhaps it’ll be one of those things that I’ll take better with age.

[amydancepants-peralta]

Hi there, @callginalinetti!  I’m your sub-in writer for the @b99fandomevents challenge 😃 👋🏼  You gave some very tempting prompts, but I went with the subway meet-cute ... hope you enjoy! 

i'll put it all on the line

It was 10pm on a Tuesday, and Jake Peralta was officially experiencing the Longest Day in the History of Days.  

He had been up since the early hours, chasing a lead on a case that had nearly driven himself and his partner Charles to the point of insanity.  Their perp kept leaving obscure clues around the city, sending the two of them on a wild goose chase.  They had travelled uptown, downtown, midtown, even underground before finally catching him in the act in a bodega three blocks from where it all began.  The subsequent interrogation had been long but fruitful, and the sky had been just as dark when he finally left as it had been when he’d arrived this morning.

Waiting for the subway and choosing a quieter, less populated carriage, Jake drops into the first seat he saw, muscles beginning to throb as he finally gives in to the cries for rest they had been making all day.  It was a twelve minute ride to his stop, but he has a feeling it was going to feel much longer.

Eager to switch his brain off for a moment, he pulls out his phone, opening up Kwazy Kupcakes and getting to work.  He was one level from beating Gina, and he would be damned if he was going to let the opportunity to beat her slip.

His ride home can’t have been going for more than five minutes before it all appears to fall apart - train shaking as it struggles to push itself along the tracks before screeching out in protest and stopping suddenly.  The inertia of it all pushes Jake’s body forward, gravity forcing him back against the plastic seats with a slap.  He looks up from his phone, throwing his head back and groaning in frustration as the familiar half-lights of a broken subway flicker on.  A garbled message that only native New Yorkers could possibly understand cuts through the carriage, confirming his worst fears.  The train had broken down, and would be underway again ‘soon’ (which Jake already knew to mean an hour, minimum).  It was official.  He was going nowhere, fast.

“Looks like we’re stuck.”  An unfamiliar voice breaks through his self-pity party and Jake drops his head, actually paying attention to his surroundings for the first time since entering the carriage.

And oh, how he wishes he’d looked up earlier.

Across from him, in a red dress, sat truly one of the most stunning women he had ever seen.  Her hair was dark; her eyes sparkled, and in her lap she held a book - one finger tucked between the spine and the page she had obviously looked up from.  She had a smile on her face that felt incredibly inviting, and when she raised her eyebrows slightly, he realised that he had been staring for probably a beat too long.  Taking a nervous swallow, he nods.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

She looks around the carriage, glancing over at the teenager sitting at the other end of the carriage, staring blankly ahead with headphones covering their ears.  Her eyes return back to him and shrugs.  “At least they said it would be underway soon?”

Jake grimaces, leaning forward until his elbows are resting against his knees.  “I’ve been stuck on these things more time than I care to count.  I hate to tell you, but it’s going to be at least an hour.”

“ …. oh.”

Way to be a killjoy, Peralta.  “Sorry.  Hopefully I’m wrong.”

She shakes her head, soft curls shifting against her shoulders as she moves.  “No, it’s okay.  I was being foolishly optimistic, anyway.”

He blinks.  “There’s nothing foolish about optimism.”

Watching him for a beat, a small smile crosses her face.  “Maybe you’re right.”

Jake rubs one hand along the back of his neck as he feels his skin begin to flush.  He really shouldn’t be feeling as skittish as he is right now, but ever since this woman had broken the silence, his heart rate has been on a steady increase.  There was something about her that was incredibly intriguing, and it had made him completely tongue tied.  

The lights dim further, and without a subway station outside the window to provide extra illumination, a chill begins to run through the carriage.  He catches the other woman shiver slightly, pulling on the sleeves of the cardigan she was wearing until they cover her hands.  Without hesitation he stands, shoes scuffing against the linoleum as he shrugs off his jacket, offering it to her with a smile.

Her dark hair swishes against the shoulder of her dress as she shakes her head politely.  “Oh, no.  I couldn’t possibly.”

He gestures at the hoodie he was still wearing and shrugs.  “It’s fine, really.”

“Honestly, I’m not even that cold” she protests, right as a visible shiver runs across her skin.  Her fingers tighten their grip on the cardigan, and she looks up at him with a rueful smile. 

He extends his arm further, a silent encouragement to take his jacket.  “Please, take it.”  

She pauses for only a moment before nodding gratefully, wrapping the leather around her shoulders and letting out a quiet sigh of relief as the thicker material shields her from the cold.  

Looking upwards and noticing that Jake is still standing, she gestures to the empty bench seat next to her, inviting him to sit.  He hesitates for about 3.87 seconds before settling in, still leaving enough distance between them that he doesn’t automatically put himself in the category of Creepy Subway Guy.  Pretending not to notice as she pulls a bookmark out from the back of her book before closing and setting it to the side, he drops his head back onto the window behind them and covers his eyes with one hand, letting out another heavy sigh.

She’s watching him when he opens his eyes again, and he sits a little straighter.

“Sorry.  It’s … it’s been a long day.”

“I hear ya.  I’ve just been through one of the worst dates I’ve had in a long time.”

His mouth twists.  “I bet you I could beat your story.”

“Is there anything worse than being pushed into a date with your family dentist, who then speaks in great depth about your mother’s dental history for the majority of the evening - hello, denture talk - only to use the very utensils you were about to crack into your delicious creme brulée with to give you a dental exam, at the table, and then proceed to tell you that under no circumstances should you be having any dessert?”

“Okay, yeah.  That is pretty bad.”

“Yep.  So not only did I waste several hours of my life at a mediocre restaurant with a man I hope never to see again, I went without dessert.  Which, to be honest, was the only thing I was looking forward to the entire time he was talking.  Not a great sign for a date.”

Jake smiles, pointing to the jacket still wrapped around her shoulders.  “I’ll let you in on a secret.  If you look in the left inner pocket, you might find something that could help you.”

She cocks an eyebrow, eyeing him curiously before moving one hand in trepidation.  Laughing, she pulls out a packet of sour straws, crying out incredulously - “Wait, do you always have sour straws in your pocket?”

“No, of course not, I was .. going to see a movie later.” Jake lies, face turning red because she had, in fact, hit the nail totally on the head.  He was never far away from a packet of sour straws, or gummies, or candy of some sort.  So he had a sweet tooth.  What of it?  It still made him an adult.  A slightly less responsible one, but an adult all the same.

Her laugh grows quieter, lips turning into a soft smile as she takes in his reaction.  “It’s no big deal, really.  Kinda endearing, if you think about it.”

His blush takes on a new lease of life, and she rips open the package with her teeth, taking out a straw before offering him the packet.  He takes one readily, eager for a distraction (and also, let’s face it - if he’s chewing on something, he’s less likely to embarrass himself). 

“So, I’m curious.” She looks over at him, eyes narrowing slightly as her hair falls in front of them.  “What was the ‘worst date’ story that you were going to bring to the table?”

Chewing on the candy as he thinks it over, Jake grabs for another from the packet he’d placed on the seat between them but doesn’t devour it straight away.  “Well, it’d be like a fifty-way tie, I think.  I could start with the girl who burst into tears when I told her my star sign.”

Her eyebrows raise.  “Which is?”

“Uhh, Gemini?”

“Ah.”  She nods quickly.  “I get it.  Okay, continue.”

He gives her a slightly affronted look before continuing.  “Oh!  I’ve got a good one.  Last week.  I went on a date with this girl I knew through mutual friends.  We went to this great little restaurant, and things were going .. okay.  But then about ten minutes in, she takes a phone call, which lasts about twenty minutes - during which she never leaves the table, mind you - and proceeds to tell her friend all about this guy she’d met two nights ago that she’d ‘totally banged’ and how she’s hoping they’ll meet up again”

“Not at all rude.” She answers with a roll of her eyes.

“Right?  And then, to add insult to injury, starts to describe me to her friend over the phone.  She wasn’t even subtle about it.  Like, I know I have a big nose - I see it literally every day.  I don’t need to hear somebody using it as my leading feature.”

Her eyes widen, mouth dropping open.  “Oh my god.  Please tell me you left after that.”

“Totally.  I mean, sort of.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t realise you were insane.”

“I think by insane, you mean ‘gentleman’.  New York is a nightmare.  I wanted to make sure she at least got a cab home, so I escorted her to the door.  And you’ll never guess who was waiting outside.”

“The guy from the phone call?”

“The guy from the phone call! Who, after having to sit through a one-sided conversation, I knew to be named Brett.  And, not gonna lie, it kinda felt like I already knew him.  In a biblical sense.”

Throwing her head back she laughs, the sound of her joy bouncing off the carriage walls and uplifting Jake’s mood considerably.  

“This is playing out like some kind of bad soap opera.”

He laughs along with her, running one hand through his hair as he shakes his head at the memory.  “So anyway, as you can imagine, the two of them took off and I took a cab home on my own.  And that was the end of that.”

Her laughter has died down to a soft giggle by now, and as she catches her breath she reaches for another straw, studying it carefully as she wraps the candy around her finger.  “I really hate to admit this, but I think maybe you win the ‘who had the worst date’ award.”

Jake looks up in surprise, hand frozen in shock halfway into its journey back towards the candy.  “No way.  I hate the dentist.  The very fact that you went on a DATE with one instantly put it into the Worst Date Ever category, regardless of whatever happened next.”

She laughs again, this time softer as she watches him shove another straw into his mouth.  “And there’s no correlation to your secret stash of candies, and your hatred of dentists?”

“Total coincidence.”

“Of course.  My mistake.”  She unwraps the sweet from her finger, keeping it in a curl and shoving it into her mouth, dusting off the excess sugar as she smiles over at Jake.  And he doesn’t mean to stare, but he kind of can’t help how captivating he was finding everything about her.

Desperate to break the silence that had fallen over them, he clears his throat and points toward the book on her side.  “So, ahh … is it good, so far?”

She blinks in confusion, twisting slightly as she looks down at the item next to her.  “Oh!  Yes, actually.  I mean, it’s okay.  I just needed a bit of a distraction, and its doing that well enough.”

“A distraction?”

Nodding, she takes another look around the carriage before turning back to him, chewing on the edge of her lip slightly before confessing.  “Yeah, I get a little claustrophobic sometimes.”

Jake nods, keeping his expression carefully blank.  His aunt Linda had a similar problem, and he knew that panic often fed off of other people’s reactions.  “And .. how are you feeling right now?”

She looks at him for a moment, tucking her hair behind both of her ears.  “I’m doing good.”  Ducking her head down, she mumbles,  “Really good, actually.”

Another nod, lips clamping down as the word noice bubbles up inside his chest.  And he doesn’t know why, but before he knows it he’s just talking.  About nothing and everything - from the result of last night’s Mets game (he was devastated, she indifferent) to the age-old debate over whether pineapple had any place being on pizza (him an emphatic no, she impartial to the occasional slice, but refusing to call it her favourite).

The conversation is easy with her, the gap between them lessening as topics bounced between them.  She laughs as though it has been too long since she’s had the chance to do so, her smile drawing him closer every time - and his jacket looks so perfect on her shoulders that he’s almost certain he’s never going to be able to wear it again without thinking it’s actually hers.

Jake’s halfway through telling her a story about the time he skinned his knees in the seventh grade when the lights in the carriage switch back on, the surprisingly loud sound of the engine whirring to life giving them both pause as the familiar rocking sensation of a moving train commences.  And then she asks a follow up question, and the story continues, until suddenly he can see his stop coming up.  

He wants to stay forever on this carriage, talking to this beautiful woman he still doesn’t know the name of, but its also been an incredibly long day and another early morning wake-up is looming.  Reluctantly he stands, mouth dropping in surprise - and, dare we say, a little joy - when she stands as well, and in unison they realise that they must share the same stop.  His head drops to the side a little, and he wonders how many times he must have walked past her and never even realised it.  (Perhaps his mother was right, every time she scolded him for not looking up from his phone.  Maybe, this whole time he had been missing out on something amazing.) 

They’re still talking, walking against the crowd pushing to board the Very Late train when her phone begins to ring.  She looks at him apologetically, mouthing a quick sorry before picking up the call.

“Kylie, hey - can I call you ba-”  her brow creases, and she stops in her tracks.  Jake, by default, stops as well - ignoring the muttered expletive of a disgruntled local as they bump into his shoulder.  Her eyes turn towards his, wide and alarmed as she listens to the person on the other end of the line.  

“Wait, where are you right now?”  She drops the phone to her chest briefly, taking a few steps away from Jake as she shakes her head.  “I’ve gotta go - I’m so sorry!  It was really nice to meet you, uh - ” the last few words are softer to his ears as she’s already turning, moving further away, phone glued to an ear as she pays more attention to her friend’s obvious disaster.

“Jake!” He calls out across the station, already knowing that she’s too far gone to hear him.  “My name is Jake.”

* * *

An apparent solution arrives the following morning.

“I think it’s pretty obvious what we need to do here.”

Jake gestured around the crime scene they were currently standing in.  “Test for prints and start interviewing witnesses?”

“No! We have to find her, Jake!”

He looks up from an evidence marker, furrowing his brow.  “I’m sorry … her?”

“Your mystery woman!  The beautiful woman you were stuck on the subway with.  She’s obviously your soulmate.”

“Charles.  You’re insane.  There’s no way any of that is true.”  Jake hoped he sounded convincing, because if he was being really honest with himself, he’d have to admit that a certain someone’s dark hair and incredible mind had yet to disappear from his thoughts, since finally getting home and collapsing into bed last night.

“Even if you can’t hear the wedding bells, I can.  We cannot let her slip away.”

Jake sighs.�� There was a part of him that knew this morning, when he began to describe his encounter with the mysterious woman to Charles, that it was going to end in some hare-brained scheme.  “And how do you suggest we do that?”

“I mean, we’ve got a very comprehensive database at our hands that could definitely narrow our search down.”

Jake takes a step closer to his friend, lowering his voice.  “Good idea, except for the fact that it’s highly illegal and a complete invasion of her privacy.”

“Right, right, good point, right.  We could get Terry to do up a facial composite?”  

He raises an eyebrow.  “Charles.”

His partner falls silent for a moment, before giving Jake that smug smile that is almost definitely going to lead to a debacle.   “Leave it with me, Jakey.  I’ve got a brilliant idea, that absolutely cannot go wrong.”

“I’m almost scared to ask what it is.”

“No no, it’s fine … totally fine.  Say, why don’t you finish up interviewing these witnesses, and I’ll meet you back at the precinct?  Some … thing has just come up, and I’m going to need to take care of it real quick.”

“Flawless alibi, Boyle.”  Jake rolls his eyes good-naturedly.  “But yes, I will meet you back at the precinct.  Just … nothing crazy, okay?”

“Jake.  I am the King of romance.  Trust me on this.”

* * *

“Oh my god, Charles, what have you done?!”

“Well I mean, you kinda tied my hands a little when you told me that the database was off limits, Jake.”

Lifting up the phone still in his hand as he approaches Boyle’s desk, Jake shakes his head in frustration.  “That’s not what I talking about.  I’ve seen the Facebook post.  You put hearts where my eyes were.  You’ve literally given me heart eyes.  I am officially an emoji.”

“An emoji who is looking for his dream girl!”

“Charles!”

From her desk in the corner, Gina calls out.  “Hey Jake, why oh why are you trending on twitter?  When did your handle become @waiting4u?  And who on earth is Mystery Subway Girl?”

“Mystery Sub - Charles!  Come on, man!”

His partner shrugs, not even bothering to look contrite.  “You’ve got to put all of this stuff on the line if you really want to meet her, Jake.  The universe has already given you the first shot.  We cannot afford to lose the next chance.”

“For the billionth time, I did not ‘lose’ my first shot.  Her phone rang, and her friend was having an emergency.  She had to leave.  What did you expect me to do, chase after her?”

Rosa diverts from her path to the break room, empty coffee mug still in her hand.  “Hold up.  You were talking to a woman last night, and her phone rang with a friend having an emergency on the other end, interrupting your conversation?"

Jake frowns, staring at her with a puzzled look.  “Yeah.  Why?”

She snorts.  “Dude.  That’s the oldest trick in the book.  Classic diversion tactic.  Hate to tell you this, but she was obviously trying to get away from you.”

He shakes his head at her obvious error.  “No way, Rosa.”  And then his mind begins to replay the events.  “Wait.  No.  I mean …” his head drops. “Oh my god.”

“You’re totally right, boo!” Gina calls out from the corner, throwing Rosa a wink when she turns.  

“I don’t understand,” Jake mumbles, head still shaking in distraction.  “We were totally hitting it off.  The whole time we were talking, neither of us used our phones once.  It couldn’t have been a set up.”

“Girls plan, Jake.  She would have set it up for her ‘friend’ to call with an ‘emergency’ at a certain time.  Her picking up was a signal that she needed rescuing.”  Rosa shrugs, moving to refill her coffee.  “Don’t take it personal.  It happens.”

“I got played.”  He says dejectedly, shoulders slumping in defeat.  “I totally got played.  Oh no.  Charles.  You need to take this stuff down, right now.”

From his position at his desk, Boyle leans forward, shaking his head vehemently.  “No way, Jake!  This is all crazy talk.  There’s no way that she was using some tactic to get away from you.”

“Charles, it’s embarrassingly obvious.  Please take it all down, before more people see it.”

“Trust me Jake, there is no way that you could flash your baby browns at someone and not have them fall in love with you.  You’re a total catch!  Not to mention that she’s obviously your perfect match.  Who wouldn’t want to fall in love with the handsome, funny cop you got stuck with on the subway?”

Jake shakes his head.  “She doesn’t know I’m a cop.  And she’s not my perfect match.  She literally ran away from me.  Take it down, Boyle.”

His partner gasps.  “She doesn’t know your a cop?  But Jake, that’s your signature move!”

He shrugs in response.  “It just never came I up, I guess.”  Lifting his phone, he checks the time and sighs.  “Look, I’ve got a couple of witness interviews to get through.  Will you just promise me that you’ll take all of this down, and give it up, Charles?  Please?”

Charles fiddles with the mustard coloured tie that rested against his chest, looking over at his computer monitor before sighing.  “Fine.”  Satisfied, Jake walks quickly towards the interview rooms, already eager to keep his mind off the morning’s events.

* * *

It’s several hours later before Jake resurfaces from the room, rubbing his tired eyes as he makes his way back to his desk, almost running into Captain Holt on the way.

“Detective Peralta.”

“Sir?”

“While you have been conducting interviews, I have fielded phone calls from NINE different television broadcasting companies, all of whom are inexplicably eager to take time out of their days to drive out to the precinct and take video footage of you speaking to them.  I am presently unaware of any high profile case that would warrant such a desire.  Do you care to explain the situation to your superior officer?”

Instantly alert, Jake shakes his head in anger.  “Charles was supposed to have taken care of this.”

Holt nods.  “Ah.  I had an instinct that Detective Boyle would have had some sort of role in this fiasco.  As such, I have thwarted his last three attempts to leave the precinct before your interviews were over.  He is presently in the bullpen.  I suggest that you go speak to him, and sort this matter out before I receive yet another phone call.”

Jake’s already taken four steps in that direction before his captain can finish.  “Already on it, sir.”

The other man at least has the decency to look remorseful as Jake storms up to his desk, momentarily lost for words as the anger supersedes him.  “I know, I know.  But I believe in love, Jake.  And I really thought - ”

“Charles!  Come on, man!”

His partner stands, raising his hands in surrender as he tries to calm Jake down.  “If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.  I’ll be man enough to admit it.  But, I’m not wrong on this.  We were just working too small at the beginning.  I had to bring in the big guns to really get the message out.  We’ll find her, Jakey.  I just know we will.”

“P.S. Jakester, you’re now officially number two on the trending list on Twitter.  You’ve made it.”  Gina butts in, patting him on the shoulder as she moves towards the copy room.

“There was a man with a camera outside who stopped me when I went to get a hot dog!”  Scully calls out, eyes wide with excitement.  “He wanted to know my name and asked if I knew who you were.  Don’t worry Jake, I totally told him how cool you are.”

“Our lovelorn detective!” Hitchcock cried out in agreement.

Jake throws his hands up in confusion.  “I’m sorry, does nobody see how straight-up INSANE all of this is?”

From behind them a new voice interjects, clearing their throat softly before speaking.  “Um, pardon me?  I don’t mean to interrupt, but ..”

Jake pauses, tirade dying in his throat.  He knows that voice. 

His heart bouncing up and down like it’s found a jumping castle inside his abdomen, Jake holds his hand up to Charles in a silent warning.  Slowly he turns, scarcely believing that perhaps one of his partners crazy ideas actually worked.

But it was true.  As impossible as it may have seemed, one of Boyle’s plans had worked.  And the beautiful woman from the night before, that his mind has refused to let go of once, is now standing in front of him.

She smiles, raising her hand in a tiny wave.  “Hi.”

She’s here.  From behind Jake, Charles clears his throat, and it’s enough to pull him from his stupor, smiling back at the woman so wide that his cheeks started to hurt.  “Hi!”

Shoulders raising in a tiny shrug, she lifts up her left hand and for the first time Jake notices that she’s holding his jacket on her arm.  “I’m sorry if I’m pulling you away from something important.  I just wanted to return your jacket before the day turned cold again.”

She’s just a beautiful as he remembers - perhaps even more so, in a floral patterned blouse and perfectly fitting jeans.  And then she gives him another smile, reaching out to hand him his jacket, and Jake knows he’s falling in deep.

“Thank you - you really didn’t have to go out of your way to bring this back to me.  But … thank you.”  He hears a tiny squeal escape Charles, and resists the urge to swing back around a clamp a hand around his mouth.

“Please.  It was the least I could do.” Her voice is so soft, he could listen to it forever.

You can do this, Peralta.  Just ask the beautiful girl out for coffee.  “Hey listen … oh god, I just realised that I still don’t know your name.”

The beautiful woman smiles at him again, reaching out her right hand.  “Amy.  My name is Amy.”

Amy.  “Well, it’s really nice to meet you, Amy.  I’m Jake.”

His hand grips hers as they shake, and he has this overwhelming urge to never let go.

And then, there is Charles.  

“So tell us, Amy - which one of my incredible plans drew you here?   Was it my tweet?  My post on Facebook?  Or Instagram?  The article I paid for in the evening edition?  Or was it the billboard on -”

“Billboard? Charles, please tell me there isn’t a BILLBOARD out there with my face on it.”

“Uhhh … Maybe just avoid 83rd street for a little while?”

“Um, it was none of those things, actually.” Amy’s voice broke through the noise, saving Charles from what was about to be a Very Serious Discussion from Jake.  

Charles blinks.  “Wait … you didn’t see any of it?”  She shakes her head.  “So … how did you know to come here?  Ohmygod you followed your heart!  Jakey!  I knew it!  I knew you two were-”   

“Hold it!” Jake raises his voice slightly, noticing the bewildered look that had taken over Amy’s feature, desperate to stop his best friend before he said anything too terrifying.  “Charles, let her speak.”

Amy gives him a grateful smile, glancing over at his partner warily before speaking.  “I’ve been at work, at Brooklyn Library, all day.  Deep in the periodical section, which was in serious need of updating.  So I haven’t really looked at any social media all day.”  She shrugs.  “It was kinda nice, actually.”

Jake nods, and she continues, gesturing to the jacket he still gripped in his left hand.  “Your business card.  It was in one of the pockets.  Along with a receipt for five packets of sour gummies, might I add."     

“Huh.  I have no idea how that got in there.”

She shakes her head, eyes crinkling as she smiles at him, and Jake could swear he could almost hear the angels sing.

“Anyway.  Last night when I got home and realised I was still wearing your jacket, I figured - worst case scenario, I’d just catch the subway again tonight and maybe run into you.  Which, in hindsight, could have been a really long night.  Safe to say I’m glad some part of me decided to go digging a little.  Because there you were - Jake Peralta, Detective for the 99th Precinct.”

“AKA, the love of your life” Charles mutters behind Jake, thankfully low enough that nobody else hears him.

Okay.  Time for a distraction.  Grabbing a nearby pen and post-it from Charles’ desk, Jake quickly scribbles down a series of random numbers and letters before handing in quickly to his partner.  “Charles, before I forget - could you please do me a favour and retrieve this file from the evidence locker?  I really think it could help us with this case.”

The older man judges Jake with careful eyes, eventually nodding and pocketing the paper square.  He turns to Amy, giving her an overly excited smile before spinning on his heel, taking his tan pants to a room far away from the bullpen, for the moment unaware that such a case file does not exist.

Jake turns back to Amy, catching her as she exhales a calming breath.  “Sorry about that.” He begins, gesturing behind him.  “It’s been an interesting day, to say the least.”  She nods, and he can feel the cogs in his head begin to turn, trying to figure out the best way to ask this beautiful woman out before she walks out of his life forever.  The stakes were sky high for many reasons, and he knew he couldn’t afford to mess it up.

Thankfully, she speaks before he can.  “Hey … listen.  I know that I said that I came by to drop your jacket off, but I have to confess something.”

“Oh, no.  Don’t tell me you’ve committed some obscure crime and you need my help to make it ‘go away’?” He asks, lifting his hands up to make quotation marks at the end of the sentence.  

“What?  No!  I wanted to tell you - wait.  Has that actually happened to you before?”

“I told you, I’ve had some truly terrible dates.”

Her eyebrows lift in surprise as she blinks.  “Wow.  Anyway, I kind of wanted to tell you that I had a really great time last night.  Which is something I never thought I would say about a ride on broken down subway.  But I really hadn’t been enjoying my night, and then you came along, and you completely distracted me from everything, and … well, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  Thinking about you, actually.”

Jake smiles, trying not to be too obvious about the pounding rhythm his heart has since taken up.  “I’ve been thinking about you, too.  Although I feel as though I need to warn you about going on any sort of social media for the rest of the day.  Charles kind of went a little overboard in his obsession to reunite us.”

“Oh, yes.  I heard him, but honestly I was terrified to ask what he meant.”

“It’s probably going to look a little insane.  But in all honesty, he has the purest of intentions.  And he is, like, certain that we are meant to be together.  And …” he pauses, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, “I don’t want to come across as a weirdo, but I’m beginning to think that maybe he’s onto something.”  

Amy nods, teeth clamping down on her lower lip gently as her face turns a soft pink.  Taking the chance while it’s in front of him, Jake takes a deep breath, summoning up all of his courage.  “So, with that in mind … Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?”

Her smile is wide and bright, and with her enthusiastic nod Jake can feel his heart rate return back  to its normal speed, relief coursing through his veins at the realisation that she wants to date me.

(It is also very possible that he just heard Charles squeal from the hallway.)

It only takes another evening before Jake takes Amy on what turns out to be a Very Good Date - perhaps even the greatest date ever.  And when he kisses her goodnight at the front steps of her apartment, he knows that he’s not ever going to want to let her go.

Thankfully, she never asks him to.  

[glknight]

HOROSHIBA HORRIFICA: A Horror themed Magical Girl property

Synopsis: Nera Valakuzo is not the most skilled of the Witch Apprentices in the city of Horoshiba. She’s barely able to ride her broom, she gets easily confused when trying to remember the right incantations and her natural clumsiness makes her potion making skills something to be desired. But her eagerness to learn and Can Do spirit more than makes up for that.

But it isn’t until she accidentally finds the most forbidden tome in Witch Society’s library that she learns that she’ll need more than just motivation. Because when an ancient prophecy is fulfilled, she will need the power of the Horrifica Magnificarum and some new friends to stop the powerful evil that she accidentally released before it takes over the world!

Background: Growing up, I had a lot of things I was really into. Horror is easily my most obvious fandom, as I still try to create things in that genre to this day. But when it came to anime, I was actually a fan of a genre that most boys (particularly straight boys like myself) were always told by others our own age that we’re not supposed to like: Magical Girls. Magic Knight Rayearth needs to be treated with more fondness, Creamy Mami was a bittersweet show, and Sailor Moon was always awesome, To this day, I still say that both Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter are Best Senshi. And I still say that if you want to know about what modern anime’s like, you have to watch certain shows: K-On! for Moe for example, Evangelion for melodrama, and most importantly for this project, PRETTY CURE for how modern shows handle character empowerment.

Pretty Cure is easily one of the best Anime franchises NO ONE here in the United States cares to think or really even talk about. Cute girls in costumes kicking bad guy butt? Come on! That’s like saying “here’s a great pizza from your favorite pizza place, and I’ve got your favorite ice cream for dessert”. It’s just something that most Anime fans would not turn down in a heartbeat. And then on top of that, you add “Oh yeah, and they’re played like actual superheroes and not just poseable dolls, with super strength, martial arts skills and the same level of high intensity fight scenes as some of the best Shounen series”?

JESUS CHRIST, WAS THE ONLY THING GETTING IN THE WAY OF THIS SHOW BEING BROUGHT OVER WAS BECAUSE THE HEROES ARE ALL GIRLS?!

Yes, and that’s an absolute shame.

So, after about 30 years of denying my interest in the genre, my heart started telling me “You know, since you’re trying to be honest about things you actually like, maybe you should, you know, be honest about your taste in Anime by working on something you actually love”. And that’s what Horoshiba Horrifica is. My love of two genres: Magical Girls and Horror (because let’s face it, I have to stay on brand for Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi Weirdness).

So, mixing Pretty Cure with the iconic manga/anime horror property GeGeGe no Kitaro, I reached the blend I wanted that eventually became known as Horoshiba Horrifica.

But enough of me talking about WHY I’m creating H2. What is this series about?

SETTING: Horoshiba Horrifica’s about a Witch Apprentice named Nera Valakuzo that lives in the city of Horoshiba, home to Witches, Demons, Werewolves, Vampires, Phantoms and Humans who, after a millennia of co-habitation, look almost identical to humans except for maybe one or two details. Nera is, for all intents and purposes, a klutzy girl with a thirst for knowledge and more than a little energy. With her Frankenyan familiar, Francesca Nyancy Porohezora (or Poro for short) by her side trying to convince her to stay out of trouble, Nera is unable to turn a good tome down. And after finding out there’s a SECRET book she had never heard about, she goes and gets her hands on it.

It’s not her fault that her finding the tome is part of an Ancient Prophecy. And that said prophecy would unleash the exact Evil Queen that the Unity of Six Dominions has been trying to erase from History for the past 1000 years.

After unleashing the Dark Queen Zarafine back into the world, Nera must now use the power of the Horrifica Magnificarum to find the other descendants of the Heroes of the Unity that trapped Zarafine in the pages of the tome before darkness and ruin falls upon the world again.

THE CHARACTERS: 

-Nera: Klutzy bookworm that is always trying to improve herself. With a bit of a sweet tooth, and more than a little gumption, Nera is always working every day to do better than the day before. As the descendant of the Witch that captured Zarafine, she is the Magical Girl of Light, Horrifica Magi.

-Poro: When every Witch becomes an Apprentice, they receive a familiar. Some receive dogs, others receive regular cats. When it came to Nera, she bungled the procedure so much, she received a Frankenstein amalgamation she gave a really long name to, so everyone calls her Poro. Like all familiars, Poro is able to talk. Unlike most other familiars, Poro can fly and has unusual strength for something her size, being able to carry a full sized adult. Being Nera’s familiar, she is naturally trying to keep her out of trouble, and is more than a little high strung for her efforts.

-Ulya: Calm and collected, the school beauty Ulya is the envy of every other student. Naturally graceful, with some of the highest marks in the school and a legion of fans, Ulya is always the center of attention. Which usually gets in the way of her time with her girlfriend. As the descendant of the Vampire that captured Zarafine, she is the Magical Girl of Night, Horrifica Bram.

-Yagi: Formerly the quiet type, Yagi was the kind of girl who would start off the journey for self improvement in certain anime titles. With an overbearing mother, an overly dramatic sister, and a part-time job at a pet store, Yagi’s schedule is usually filled to the brim on a day to day basis. Imagine her surprise when she’s pulled into the battle against Evil... As the descendant of the Werewolf that captured Zarafine, she is the ferocious Magical Girl of the Wild, Horrifica Howl.

-Vevi: Due to a life of illness, Vevi is not the most athletic of girls, instead choosing a life of books. With dreams of being a writer one day, Vevi voraciously reads any and every book she can get her hands on. Despite seeming dispassionate, the eternally sleepy bookworm can and WILL talk your ear off about any topic (and we do mean ANY topic). As the descendant of the Phantom that captured Zarafine, she is the Magical Girl of Gates, Horrifica Geist.

-Rona: Ever the troublemaker, Rona is the oldest of her siblings but never able to stand out from them. Mischievous and a little antagonistic, the diminutive devil may have a tendency to think or speak before she acts, but never means to actually cause any real harm. As the descendant of the Demon that captured Zarafine, she is the Magical Girl of Fire, Horrifica Inferno.

-Sen: In the same grade as Nera, Sen is the boy that everyone just seems to like. Good grades, good at sports, good at pretty much *EVERYTHING* he sets his mind to, Sen is just competent in every category all around. It’s no wonder that Nera has fallen kinda hard for him. But the eternal thorn in her side in this matter is Sen’s twin sister...

-Yun: Considered the monster of the School, Yun watches over her brother like a hawk in a bid to protect him. If you ask her why, she’ll tell you she doesn’t really know. But no matter what she says, the sadistic smile on her face when she scares people away from him tells you all need to know. But there’s a really good reason why the pair are like this...

-Zarafine: The Dark Queen that was sealed away before. After discovering a means to conquer several realms, she was *THIS CLOSE* to becoming the Lady of Darkness when the Heroes of the Unity put a stop to her plans. Now free once again, she is gathering her power and forces to start a new campaign of terror.

And with that, the initial setup for Horoshiba Horrifica is complete. If you enjoyed it and would like to see me continue working on it, please feel free to let me know your thoughts. I just really want to make this the best I can.

[artificialqueens]

Elastic Heart - Part 7/10 (Branjie) - Mia Ugly

A/N: I told you I was going to post the rest quickly before the show changed it up too much, so here we are. Thanks again to this amazing group, with its brilliant mods and incomparable writers.  And as an aside: I may have some feelings about Dr. Ganache, but she is NOT a villain here.  She is a problematic and protective friend.  No tea. No shade.

Brock drives to Orlando. 

He stops at West Palm Beach, digs his toes into the white sand and then dips them in the ocean.   The beach is crowded with tourists (Brock knows that he’s one of them) and he wishes briefly for a wide brimmed hat. He leaves before he can burn too badly, though he takes a couple selfies at the shoreline.  Give his manager something to work with at least.

He drives slow along the coast.  Around noon he stops at a fresh fruit stand and buys starfruit (for some reason, even though he’s never tasted it, it just seems like the thing to do.) He buys some peaches and a bag of pecans too because the lady at the stand is sweet and nosy and reminds him of his grandmother. Later on, when he finds a pretty place to pull over, he sits on the hood of the rental car and eats the peach, skin and all. It tastes like summer, tastes like being young. Brock took family trips through the Okanagan as a child, can remember the fresh fruit that fell apart in your hands, turned to syrup on your tongue.

In Orlando, he finds a cheap hotel and he naps for a few hours (sleep is precious and rare, a religious icon) before he showers. Dresses in the butchest, most invisible clothing he brought with him (he’s got a lot of options and that’s a bit distressing.) If Jose’s not there, Brock doesn’t really want to be recognized, doesn’t want it to turn into a thing. And if Jose is there, well, he’s seen Brock in a lot worse.

Brock eats the pecans he bought (he needs to google ‘How to eat starfruit’ and decides it’s too much work for the situation) and the other peach.  He finds a bar nearby and drinks one drink (just one, he’s got to stay focused) slowly, and alone. No one looks at him.  No one recognizes him. The worn grey sweatshirt is apparently doing the fucking trick.

He takes an Uber to Vanjie’s club, because he doesn’t want to worry about driving. There’s a poster of her in the window, dressed in some sort of bejeweled body-suit, and it makes Brock smile. Build your brand, girl (the smile feels unfamiliar on his mouth.)

The bar is crowded.  Loud.  There’s a DJ playing and crowds of tanned men in tanktops grinding on the dance floor. It makes Brock feel older than he is, and he slinks through the knots of people to get to the bar, squeeze into the inch of available space and order a vodka soda.

He stirs the ice in his drink, and tries to come up with a plan.  Jose’s here. He’s here, or he will be here, and Brock can see him. Hear his voice. Just for tonight, and then he’ll leave it all behind him like exhaust fumes.

The drink disappears too quickly, and Brock orders another. He keeps his head down, tries to be inconspicuous. He must give off some kind of heartbroken vibe because no one has the time or energy for him tonight.

He’s glancing around anxiously - wondering when the show will start and whether Jose will make an appearance before then - when someone clears their throat loudly. Leaning up against the bar, only a few handsy drunk guys between them, is Silky fucking Ganache.

Great.

“Miss Brooke Lynn Hytes.” Silky’s in full face, sickening hair, and a purple-sequined mermaid gown. She comes toward Brock, pushing the people between them out of the way as if they were dandelion fluff. “Now what might you be doin’ here?”

Brock should be surprised to see her, but he isn’t. Silky and Jose seem connected at the hip lately, and that’s good. He’s glad Jose has someone he loves close by, someone so clearly protective of him. 

Brock air-kisses Silky on each cheek, unenthusiastically.

“Just in the neighbourhood.”

“What neighbourhood is that? Last I heard you were up in Canada, couldn’t cross the border.”

Brock rolls his eyes. “I had a show yesterday.  Thought I’d come say hi.”

“Ain’t you sweet. And lookin’ so fine too.” She gives his sweatshirt an understandably critical eye. “The good stuff ain’t started yet, honey, but that’s what it is. Suppose you’re lookin’ for Miss Vanjie.”

Brock doesn’t flinch.  He doesn’t.

“Don’t know if she’ll want to see your ass,” Silky continues. “She still tryin’ to get her head right after everything.”

“Yeah. Things got messed up.” Brock stirs at the ice in his drink, wanting to keep his hands busy.  “I messed them up.”

“You don’t got to tell me that.” The expression on her face leaves Brock with no question as to what Silky thinks of him, and that’s fine.  Or  - understandable anyway.

 “Is she backstage?”

“Nah, baby, she left already. Canceled her appearance, went off with some fine piece of ass. She probably off sucking his dick in a car somewhere.”

Brock almost drops his drink.  A part of him wishes he had; the sound of breaking glass could’ve drowned out all the other things that are breaking.

But then he hears a laugh across the crowded bar, a laugh that he would recognize anywhere - ninety years old and deaf and blind, he would still know Vanjie’s laugh by the way it raised goosebumps on his skin.

“Or did she?” Silky frowns. “Oops, my bad.”

Brock looks in the direction of the laugh, a group of people that have just emerged from the green room. For a moment he can’t see anyone clearly - and then Vanjie’s blonde bombshell wig catches the lights, and he can see her face. Clearly, for the first time in months. She’s smiling and has some kind of silvery lipstick on, and to cross the floor to get to her would probably take him thirty seconds.

But.

But she’s leaning into someone, a muscular dark-haired guy with tattoos winding up his arms. She’s smiling as she looks at him, as she moves closer, as her lips find the corner of his mouth. 

(He knew, of course. Yvie told him. He’d heard rumours online. He thought that forewarning would take some of the bite out of seeing it in person, but he was wrong. There are teeth at his throat, all of them filed into points.)

“You think she wants any of your sad-boy bullshit right now?” Silky snorts. “I dunno. Seems to be having herself a good time.”

Brock holds his breath. Plays out all the ways this could go. Vanjie hasn’t seen him yet, and her smile is wide and white-toothed. If he crosses the floor right now, he knows that smile will drop, that her eyes will go hard, that her back will stiffen.  He could go over there, cross the floor and have her within hands reach. He could touch her shoulder (Brock’s heart might live behind walls, but his body does not) and completely ruin her night.

But she looks beautiful. She looks happy.

“She ain’t even spotted your ass yet.  You ain’t got to cause no drama.” Silky looks between Brock and Vanjie, eyes narrowed. “Tell you what, why don’t you run along, Miss Brooke Lynn? She don’t even got to know you were here.”

Brock gives Silky a flat look.  The two of them aren’t friends, won’t ever be friends, but they have one thing desperately in common.  That one thing cuts through all the bullshit, right through to the bone.  

“How’s she doing?” Brock asks, and Silky shrugs.

“She fine as hell, what you want me to say? She getting on with it.  She got her girls looking out for her.”

“How are you doing?”

Silky laughs. “Just waitin’ around to collect my prize money.  Baby, you should see me in a crown.”

Silky might be convinced of her certain victory, but she’s as in the dark as everyone else. Brock didn’t know until he got to Drag Race that production films multiple endings for the series, that the top queens don’t find out who wins until the last episode airs. 

Of course, it could never be said that Silky lacks in confidence.

“Will you - tell her I was here? That I didn’t want to interrupt her.”

“Nah, bitch. You in her head too much already, and I ain’t your messenger.”

Across the bar, Vanjie laughs - loud and gravelly and gorgeous. Brock wishes he could capture that laugh like a jar full of fireflies and keep it. Visit it whenever he got tired, whenever he forgot that there were good things in the world, and once he had been part of one.

There’s maybe forty feet between Brock and Vanjie.  It feels like an ocean (but she looks happy. What more can he ask for?)

“Take care of yourself,” Brock says to Silky. “See you on tour.”

“How will I ever survive the wait?” Silky waves him away. “Yeah, go on home, Brooke. We good here.”

And it’s only because Brock can’t bear to see the smile fall from Vanjie’s face. It’s only because he didn’t let her know he was coming, and doesn’t want to surprise her and throw off her act. It’s only because she’s running her hands over another man’s shoulders with those dark, smoky eyes she gets sometimes - that’s the only reason Brock leaves. 

He isn’t afraid. 

He calls himself the worst sorts of names as he gets a ride back to his hotel. Then he raids the minibar and tells himself it’s all for the best.  

He got to see her. She looked beautiful (but she always looks beautiful) and happy. That’s all he can ask for.

Nina has texted him twice since that morning.

“Brock?”

And then: “BROCK???”

Brock wants to drink some more vodka and then blissfully pass out. 

Instead. 

He phones a friend.

* * *

So.  

There’s a music video challenge, and Brooke Lynn bombs it.  It’s not as bad as Snatch Game, but she’s nowhere close to the talent of A’Keria and Silky, and Yvie’s not as strong but she’s better than Brooke. Brooke’s gotten in her head again, hearing that voice on repeat telling her she’s not funny, she’s awkward, she’s letting people down (this is for the Top Five WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING -)

So.  She’s prepared to lip sync. It’s not like the last time, the time against Yvie.  Today she knows with one hundred percent certainty that it’s coming.

And she knows she’s going to be up against Vanjie. The great moment of television that Yvie predicted is finally here.  Give us all a fucking Emmy.

Vanjie is struggling with even the mini-challenges lately, and Brooke is trying to convince herself that it’s not her fault. They haven’t spoken privately since that night in Vanjie’s room (and that was a fucking mistake but Brooke still is having trouble regretting it. She wanted her.  She still wants her. And fuck, it wasn’t the right time but Brooke would get on her knees for Vanjie in the middle of the werkroom if the other queen asked.  Which she won’t, but. 

Brooke would do it.)

There’s defeat in Vanjie’s eyes now, like she’s waiting to get called out by the judges, like it’s inevitable that she’ll be the next one sent home. Even though she’s survived two lip syncs already, even though she’s changed up her silhouette so Michelle can’t keep reading her - Vanjie’s not having fun anymore. From the outside looking in at least (and Brooke is certainly on the outside now) it seems like she isn’t.

Did Brooke do that? Or was it just the show? As the production keeps going, Brooke feels her own spark dimming as well.  She wants to celebrate each elimination that she survives, but she’s also really fucking tired and - she’s in it until the end, of course, but she’s glad that the end is in sight.

So.

Top Five.

They leave the runway while the judges deliberate. Vanjie doesn’t say a word, just walks off on her own with her earbuds in. A’Keria gives Brooke an anxious look before she follows her.

Brooke gets a cocktail, drinks it too fast.

She knows tonight’s song by heart, has danced to it before. She waits until A’Keria comes back to the couch, whispers something in Silky’s ear before raising an eyebrow at Brooke.

“You better have a word with your girl,” A’Keria says.  “She ain’t right.”

She’s not my girl, Brooke wants to say, but she also wishes that it were true. She wishes Vanjie was hers, that they’d met somewhere normal and boring and didn’t have all this extra shit in between them.  It would have been different then. Brooke would have been different, not so in her head, not so reserved. They would have been able to touch and fuck and spend time alone like normal people.  

They might have made it.  Could have made it.

Brooke resists the urge to build a pillow fort when all she wants to do is bury herself, so deep she disappears. Instead, she gets off the couch and goes after Vanjie.

The impossible object of Brooke’s affections is sitting at the mirrors, eyes closed and earbuds in. She looks like a scene from a painting, a still from a classic black-and-white movie. Brooke puts a hand on her shoulder to get her attention (and they both pretend they don’t notice her flinch.) 

When Vanessa opens her eyes, they’ve got that dark, glassy look that Brooke recognizes. It’s the same look she had when Yvie suddenly turned on her in the backstage lounge, all those nights ago. It’s the look she had after the Snatch Game, when Ru told Brooke she was up for elimination. It’s pain and surprise, swirled together like ink.

“You doing okay?” Brooke asks.

Vanessa takes out one of her earbuds and nods, tightly. She doesn’t look at Brooke.

“And you’re ready?”

The other queen takes a deep breath before she answers. “I ain’t gonna let you off easy just cuz you’re pretty.”

Brooke laughs, startled, and the corner of Vanjie’s mouth curls.  It’s like they’re okay for a minute, like they’re back on the beach, that sunny afternoon when Brooke first realized that her heart was not her own anymore.  That it had somehow stretched itself into Vanjie’s hands, wound around her fingers.

For a minute, it’s like that. 

“I wish I’d met you earlier,” Brooke says because she has to, because the words are burning through her throat.  “At a club or something. Not here.” 

She won’t cry, she tells herself.  She can’t cry.

“Well.  What you gonna do?” Vanjie still has her eyes fixed on the mirror, fussing with her wig (her hands are shaking). “Gotta go out there and do what you do best, bitch. It’s what you came here for.”

“That was before-“

“Before what? Before you met me? Don’t expect me to believe that Miss Brooke Lynn.” Vanjie finally looks at her, a hint of her old self bleeding through the armour she’s put on. “You’re here for a crown. So go and get it.” She gives Brooke a stare that’s part challenge, part longing, and all heartache. “If you think you can.”

Brooke swallows around the tightness in her throat.  Then she nods (when what she really wants to do is take Vanjie’s hand and pull her out of her chair, kick down the door and get out of this studio. Fight off the P.A.s, find a cab, go to LAX, run the fuck away. Together. Leave this all behind and start over.)

“Kill it,” she says instead. “Show ‘em why they brought you back.” 

“You know I fucking will.” Vanjie puts her earbud back in, goes back to her own world. 

Brooke doesn’t dare touch her again, and walks away to a separate corner of the lounge. She realizes suddenly that the other girls are quiet.  Even Silky. There’s none of the shouting and laughing that usually fills the air backstage. When they talk, it’s almost in whispers. It feels more like a funeral than a reality show. 

Brooke puts her earbuds in, turns up the volume. She can taste her heart thumping in her throat. She told herself she wouldn’t get distracted. This thing with Vanjie wouldn’t become a problem.

And now the moment has come.  And it’s so much more than just a problem. 

In her ear Sia sings: “And another one bites the dust. Oh why can I not conquer love?”

Brooke loves this fucking song. She doesn’t need to practice; she knows exactly what she’s going to do.

Go out there on that stage and slay.  

Go out there and break her own heart.

(If she had met Vanjie in a club, she would have heard her before she saw her. 

She would have clocked that laugh immediately and thought up a million reasons to go talk to her. If she had met her at a club, Brooke would have bought her a drink and asked if she wanted to get out of there ten minutes later. She would have taken her to the beach, to a bookstore, to the park, to a thrift shop.  She would have wanted to hear her voice and ask her questions - how did you start doing drag? What’s your favourite song? What were your grandparents like? Who was the first person that broke your heart?

What keeps you up at night? Who are you when your paint is off and the lights go down and you’re alone at home and tired? Who do you think about? What were your pets named?  How do you feel about cats?

If she had met Vanjie in a club, they would have talked about Monique Heart in AllStars, and the  miracle of seeing Latrice live, and how Drag Race could be problematic AF but make a queen’s career. Change their life. How they’d give anything to get on it.

If she had met Vanjie anywhere else, Brooke would have still wanted her.)

It hits her like a punch, driving the wind from her lungs.  Vanessa had told her to figure out what she wanted. And at last - Brooke has. 

Just when everything’s about to fall apart, Brooke has.

“I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart

but your blade it might be too sharp.”

“Five minutes,” a P.A. calls, and the other queens start to get their heels back on, finish the last sips of their cocktails.  

Yvie pats her on the shoulder as she walks by. “It’s you and me in the Top Two, girl. Deal with it.” 

Even Yvie’s encouragement comes off as a bit threatening, but the consistency is enough to make Brooke smile. 

This is it. 

She intercepts Vanessa before she goes back onstage. They stand inches apart, breathing in each other’s air. They do not touch.

(“Hi Papi.”)

(“Shoulda known you’d be a Pisces.”)

(“Y’had something on your face, Hytes.”)

(“I like the way you are.”)

“Hello, hello, hello Miss Brooke Lynn,” Vanessa says finally and Brooke swallows a laugh that might be a sob.

“Miss Vaaaanjie.”

“I’ma hold you to that Oliver Garden dinner,” Vanessa smiles wide but her eyes are shining. “You  made a promise, ho, you ain’t done with me.”

Brooke shakes her head ‘no’ (will she ever be done with Vanessa? She can’t imagine a world where that would be possible, where she could look at Vanjie and not fall utterly to pieces.)

Brooke holds out her hand. Vanjie looks at it a bit dubiously before she takes it. Their fingers lace as if they never were apart.

They’re still holding hands when they go back to the mainstage.

After it’s announced that they’re both up for elimination, Ross Matthews starts covertly wiping away tears. It’ll make for a great episode, Brooke thinks, and wishes that the voice in her head didn’t sound so bitter.

“Brooke Lynn Hytes.  Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.  The time has come for you to lip-synch for. Your. Life.”  

Brooke can feel Vanessa’s pulse fluttering like a bird against her fingertips. She’s terrified, Brooke realizes. 

Brooke is too.

(“You be careful girl.” A’Keria’s voice rings from somewhere in the background of her memories.

“You know what you’re doing?” Yvie is scowling at her on the beach, and Brooke swallows down  every instinct she has that’s screaming “NO.”)

“Good luck.  And don’t fuck it up.”

Brooke lets Vanjie’s hand slide from her grasp.  It feels like saying goodbye. 

And the music plays.

[ghostmartyr]

Avengers: Endgame Thoughts

SPOILERS, obviously.

So I figure I’ll babble enough to keep all the genuinely spoilery content under an appropriately timed cut. Even though everything after this statement is full of expectation spoilers. The few key things that I can think about to mention are that I really appreciated the movie and enjoyed the highs and teared up aplenty.

Also that I think this is going to be a primarily negative post. Whoops.

Not because I think it’s awful. I want to emphasize that I don’t think it is awful, because I am very worried that I’m going to forget to say that.

There’s a base level of quality you can sort of expect from MCU movies, so I don’t generally feel the need to move beyond the role of passive audience member for them. Then Infinity War really impressed me, and I couldn’t wait to see how everything was going to wrap up when they really left the movie there, so my investment level piqued.

As a result, there are more thoughts than usual. About a movie I really did find to be of high quality, and probably would see again happily if planning to sit still for another three hours didn’t make me twitchy.

I liked the movie.

There are just some character decisions and plot mechanics and overall writing decisions that... really?

First thing that I don’t have much to say about but can’t rationalize having a complaint post with no mention of: Thor and Hulk.

People in charge of the movie, you had no problem including Captain Marvel when you had no earthly clue what to actually do with her. Her smile warmed my heart in every scene she graced, and while I was criminally disappointed she was not more involved, none of the material she was given made me feel like the people writing her didn’t care about her.

...

Actually, now that I think about it, this should not have just a Thor and Hulk complaint section. Like that was the idea, because I didn’t have much, because I don’t care (slightly different than the writers’ level of don’t care), but the whole...

...

Oy.

Here, once for flavor, with the knowledge that I’ll get back to it and repeatedly whine about it this whole post.

I find the fucking time skip wanting in too many ways for me to really forgive the film for.

Anyway, Thor and Hulk.

In short, no.

In less short, what are you doing.

Hulk I don’t have a serious gripe with, except my main complaint about Infinity War was how Banner (I should probably change how I name him based on which character I’m talking about, but I really just mean the entity represented by a particular actor so I can’t care that much) got used up as comedy relief. You can have comedic moments and characters. If you have transformed your character into a comedic moment, you’ve fucked up.

(See Thor in too much of this movie.)

But one of the interesting parts of Hulk’s general arc in the MCU was how Banner and Hulk were starting to negotiate for their place in their body.

Cue Endgame, cue time skip, cue completely glossing over how they make their peace with each other.

Avengers franchise, why?

I am not attached to Hulk or Banner or any of that section of the plot, honestly, but the potential of that entire element is shot and left for dead in the water. Then the floating corpse gets up and starts walking around as part of a cog of the story.

Hulk’s most interesting plot point basically happened in another movie that doesn’t now, and probably won’t ever, exist, and considering what Infinity War put the guy through as a character, my writing senses are hurt and sad all over.

Then there’s Thor.

I think he might fit into the whole thing I will soon get into about character resolutions that hit the right emotional keys solidly enough that you forget they’re playing the wrong song.

Mostly he picks up the “hole” (wrongly perceived as something that needs to be filled) left by Hulk leaving the walking gag scene party. Drinking himself into oblivion and disregarding self-care in the aftermath of an immense trauma is one of the film’s chosen humor mainstays.

My impression is that I’m the only person in my tight corner of the internet who doesn’t really like Ragnarok because its silliness felt like it was trying too hard. It’s my favorite of the Thor movies, but a bunch of the humor didn’t feel natural to me. Better than Infinity War’s handling of Hulk, and better than Endgame’s handling of Thor, just not my favorite tone.

Endgame sort of takes that element, jacks it away from its surrounding strengths, and rolls out a keg for it to drown in.

When the movie remembers to empathize with Thor instead of mocking him, there are some great moments. But he draws one of the shortest straws of the movie.

And the character resolution is...

Good fuck this is why I had to say I liked the movie. Because when I actually sit down and think about my problems with it, the rest of my brain just lounges to the side in horror, wondering what could possibly have been entertaining if such elements were included.

The very beginnings of my problems with the movie is that they kill Thanos.

I think he’s dead ten minutes in.

Then they skip five years.

Five years.

Ooooh my everything.

Okay so like, you know how you start reading something, or watching something, and your head immediately takes note that oh, this must be a dream sequence. The couple in a romance is suddenly way too hot and steamy for where the story has them in their development, a random bomb goes off, the guy who destroyed half of all life in the universe because no one can stop him in the last movie is killed in the first ten minutes of the next--

There’s like.

A rhythm. There’s a rhythm to how stories work.

When that rhythm is disrupted, the audience is left with a tangible feeling of wtf. Either that feeling enhances the other quality stuff going on, or it enhances the other Quality stuff going on, if you catch my drift.

You step into a vacuum.

It’s great for recreating that sense of absence. The world is irrevocably changed. It’s emptier. The heroes are broken. Their revenge doesn’t fix anything. They just. continue to exist, with losses they aren’t equipped to handle.

FIVE YEARS OF IT.

I have probably a longer list of things I want stories involving time travel not to do than is perhaps healthy. But maybe stories involving time travel should keep their act together better or I don’t know.

Bad Future ends are not something I appreciate, because often, they go grimdark just because they can, because they know it’s not the final future, so anything goes. You don’t have to treat it like any reality that matters, because it isn’t permanent.

This story... I would say it toes the line there, but in ways that grate on me thoroughly enough that it presses all the same buttons.

Thanos can die in the first ten minutes, and it doesn’t matter. We know it doesn’t matter, because it happens in the first ten minutes. ...Maybe twenty, to be safe. It’s early. But you have this villain who’s built up to a ridiculous degree, bizarrely succeeds in living up to his own hype, then you kill him off so that a younger version of himself gets top billing in the final battle.

Why?

I get why as far as the story is designed, but at some point in the process, this story is designed by humans. Humans who could have stopped and asked themselves if they were really telling the best version of this story they possibly could.

Thanos is defeated while his blight remains. I love saying that. I love that I can describe a story with those words.

But the initial defeat is so unsatisfying and bereft of life. All the energy of him as an external force for our heroes to unite against is bled out early, and to get it back, they really do just ship in a younger model.

Which does make sense. Younger Thanos’ motives are fine and reasonable. Just, as far as the plot design, the whole presentation of the movie’s setting feels like a dream sequence. It feels, very early on, like this will never be allowed to be forever.

Then that feeling lasts for five years.

Getting into the time travel thing.

Time travel is really hard to get right in stories. You want to change something, but the people doing the changing are products of what they’ve lived through. How do you honor that while still fixing the unspeakable evil that happened? How do you change the world while keeping the threads that made us care alive and relevant?

One thing I very much like is that Tony fights to keep what he’s gained alive. Good. The volcanic soil grew him something irreplaceable, and it’s perfectly reasonable for him to want to hold on to that, and I’m glad he does.

But then you have the other half of the story, where no one is able to move on.

My preference for time travel correcting things is for characters to either be trying to change their own future that they have yet to live through, or for them to trying to fix something that is so recent the characters are still wrangling with it as a piece of their present. I have more than a touch of “humans should not mess with these things they don’t know what they’re doing,” past a certain point.

In case it weren’t obvious, five years is pretty far past that point for me. It hits this awful uncanny valley sweet spot of people wanting to change a reality that never should have been vs. people who are willing to fuck up the world because they can’t let go.

I like superheros. I like correcting injustices. Save all the people. I like people fighting tooth and nail to fix things set in stone because these are their people, dammit.

I also hate seeing people so stuck in the past they refuse to make a future.

This movie screams both of those elements so loudly that it’s hard for me to really piece out how I feel about the story in its entirety.

I like that they don’t simply hit an undo button, and do bring everyone back in a way that lets the future that has already happened continue.

But then there’s Steve and Nat and just... fuck, dude.

Gun to my head, I’m a happy person. If everyone could be alive at the end, that would be my preference, I don’t care if it’s cheesy. But you have the choice between Hawkeye and Black Widow. The man who’s lost his family, and the woman who’s lost purpose.

Or something. I don’t do MCU meta.

The sense I get from watching is that Natasha feels like her life works better as a sacrifice. If they succeed, she doesn’t have children and a wife waiting at home. So clearly it makes sense for her to be the one to die. Her road ends to bring back the happiness of others.

Which...

I don’t know how to articulate my problem with this without moving on to Steve first.

So let’s do that.

Steve.

Steve, whose story ends with him going back in time and staying there.

Forget about how the story criticizes every movie that does time travel better than it. Forget about all the levels of not caring went into designing the time travel elements. If possible.

I do not like how Steve’s story is essentially about how there’s only one time and place for him to experience a fulfilling life.

It is the nature of writing stories that we want to encapsulate things. The perfect moment. The perfect set of emotions. The perfect time. Everything falls into place, and that’s how we want it. We’ll never get it better than that. Keep retreading that dead horse, because it was so good.

Steve and Peggy are beautiful together.

What I hate about them ending up together is that... there’s this obvious, painful belief that the world of the future doesn’t have anything left for Steve. Bucky’s there. Sam’s there. Billions of people have just found there way back. Steve’s lived in this century for years.

Reclaiming the past is more important than building a future.

Even though the story’s driving plot is about keeping their past maintained so they can have this future. Or something.

Steve doesn’t have a future. Natasha doesn’t have a future. So the story removes them from it, and calls that a clean, happy (if bittersweet) ending. They’re pieces that don’t work in this world. Their chances are gone. They can live in the past or die.

I hate that. I’m a sap who will read a million stories about someone having a single true love they can’t be without and no one else could ever compare and blah and blah and blah, but that somehow feels different from watching a character’s life play out for years, and seeing them come to the conclusion that they can never belong in this place.

Building a new home never compared to the old one.

That’s depressing as fuck.

Thor gets a piece of this as well, becoming more of a knight errant than a king. After going to so much trouble to become his people’s king and just. Geez.

I don’t think that this is a thing the movie as a whole is really trying to encourage. I think the people working on it just had different visions for what would be cool as a sendoff and so on. Tony’s insistence that they don’t undo the five years they’ve had, and Nebula’s... everything--those aren’t elements of a story that says you can’t grow and find a new place. You don’t have to keep on repeating what you know and nothing else. You really don’t.

But that feels very twisted around for some of these characters’ personal journeys, and as happy as I am for Steve getting his dance with Peggy, the idea that this is a person whose true happiness could never be in the future...

That lingers in a way that I can’t like, and colors a lot of the other resolutions.

.

.

I really enjoyed the movie?

Yay?

Even though no one cared even a little at all even once except to attempt to drag other movies about time travel.

This movie’s time travel mechanics are terrible.

They’re just bad.

When you drop the titles of that many other things that have time travel.

And say this isn’t like that.

You should. you should hope. that your thing could at least make a convincing case for making more sense.

This does not succeed in that.

How could you watch enough of those movies to know they had time travel, yet fail to learn anything about how to write time travel. How. Why did you. why. Dragon Ball Z has more internally consistent time travel.

Three hours well spent. The hours on this, maybe less well.