#if i accidentally write a third about this fest--

[forcebookish]

ForceBook: Love Out Loud pt. 2 (fanfic)

Summary: (Prequel.) Backstage, Force has a hard time meeting Book’s eyes—but that’s not what Book is looking for. (Rated G)

Word count: 778 (chapter two)

Tags: Best friends, I love yous, ambiguous relationship, fluff without plot, comfort, crying

Reblogs, kudos, and comments appreciated 🥰

[sofasoap]

Accidental meet cute

Pairing : Kyle “Gaz” Garrick x F!reader

Summary: What happens when your friend tries to be a cupid behind your back?

Part of Gaz Fest 2023

Warning : M rating. Semi-crack, meet cute. Coarse languages.

A/N: Thank you @glitterypirateduck for organising the writing festival!! * cheering *

Thank you @siilvan and @jynxmirage for listening to my brain storming blabberings :) Based on real life event ( ..80% of it ) see End A/N.

Enjoy!!

Moving away from the crowd as you finish watching one of the bands onstage, in search of some beverages to quench your thirst. 

You were dragged along to the music festival by your friend, which to be honest, you had no interest in attending at all. After being nudged and bribed ( well, thinking back, more like coerced) by your friend and with promises of staying in a caravan instead of roughing it out in a basic tent and possible muddy floor, you gave in.

“Come on! My parents said they can lend us their old caravan, there’s enough space for four of us in there. There's a toilet and a basic shower.” your friend trying hard to sell you the idea. “ Plus, you seriously need to get out and experience the sunlight. You can’t coop up at home all the time, and complain about you never getting a chance to find your ‘soulmate’ “ putting her hands up and doing an air quotation mark, she exasperated. 

Well, that is true. You aren’t the most outgoing person, and it is time to finally do some socialisation, to enjoy life a little bit, and maybe, just that maybe, you can break your record of partnerness life. 

You didn’t quite expect the tricks and plots your friend went to trying to find you a date.

As you were ordering a glass of wine from the mobile bar not far away, your phone started ringing. Frowning as you stare at the unknown number, you hesitated for a few seconds before picking it up. 

“Hello???” 

“Heyyyyy is this uh…what’s her name again??” the speaker on the other side of the phone turned away to call out to someone in the background, and you heard a mumble which sounded like your name as a reply. Is that your friend Emma’s voice???

“OH yes hey hey.” They greeted you again with your name. “I got this number from your friend, and my friend Kyle, who I might add is a very handsome fellow, is quite willing to meet up with you.” A vague muffled protest could be heard in the background, but was quickly shushed by the speaker on the phone. 

You pull your phone away, staring at the screen, utterly confused. What the hell is this about??

“Hey handsome!! Take this!!” 

Kyle looked down at the wrist band a random passerby just threw into his hand, with what seems to be phone numbers written on it.

“If you are interested, ring the number!!”  Ah so he was right. “Wait,” Pulling the girl back, “Interested in what?” 

The girl giggled, “My friend! We are trying to get her out of the dating desert.” Holding up the wristful of bands, “We made a whole lot of these and now giving it out to people, see if we will get some luck. Oh, she doesn’t know about it though.” Kyle cocked an eyebrow, silently questioning the girl’s method without the said person’s consent. 

“OH he is definitely interested, you got a picture of her?” Kyle’s friend perked up beside him,leaning his head onto his shoulder as he wrapped his around around the other. “What a coincidence, we are trying to get our good buddy here,” patting Kyle’s shoulder and in the process nearly spilling the beer in his hand. “Some actions as well. He’s been wayyy too busy with work to brush some rust off his dick.”

Trust his good friend to say something decent. 

The girl just laughed, and took out her phone, scrolling through the photo album and flipped the screen towards Kyle and friend. “There, that’s her, third from the right. What do you think?” 

“Sorry but who the hell is this and how in the hell did you get my number??” You semi yelled into the phone, as the background crowd noise and the band on stage started playing again.

“Your friend Emma! She was giving out numbers to people!” 

OH that bitch… you turned around to look at your two other friends, who are currently holding drinks in their hands, with a stiff smile on their face, looking semi guilty but not sorry at all. 

“Surprise!”  One of your friends laughed nervously as you glared at them, hands up trying to defend themselves. “We just want to help you..”   

“Hello?? Hellooo? You still there?” you turned back to your phone, ignoring your friend’s comment. “ Put Emma on the phone for me, PLEASE.”  You try to sound as polite as possible to the stranger on the phone as you requested for your friend, but a hint of anger still sips through. 

“So, explain yourself.” You growled. 

“Oh, you’ll like him, I promise.” Dodging your anger, Emma quickly put forward her case, “Look, I can see him right in front of me, I chatted to him for a bit, and his friend, who is equally as cute,” she sighed, “ come on, just come over to meet him! He fits all your criteria, plus, he did mention you are his type. So, just pop over to the beer bar on the other side of the main stage, he will meet you there.” 

“I don’t think your friend is that interested in me by the sound of it… ““Relax! She is TOTALLY interested!” Just before you hung up the call you briefly overheard Emma reassuring… Kyle? 

Ah well. Why not? Let’s give it a try. This isn’t much difference to some blind date or meeting up through a dating app right?

And for the second time, you gave in to your friend.

“What did Emma say he looks like??” your friend whispered into your ear, as the three of you looked around the bar area, trying to spot the guy.

 Looking down at her phone, checking the message Emma sent through; “Let see.. Uh, Dark skin, short curly hair..taller than you? Brown eyes.. And.. scar on his cheek on the left? How vague can this woman be…”she mumbled. 

Your eye stopped at this tall dark man standing at the corner of the bar. 

There he is, in a simple white singlet, ¾ blue jeans and matching cream colour shoes and jacket tied around his waist. 

Casual, yet stylish. And wooah boy, the tight fit clothing definitely shows off his lean but well toned muscles beautifully. Is it suddenly getting hotter in here?

“I think that’s him there….” you whispered into your friend’s ear as you pointed to him.”he is the only one that fits all the description…” 

“Let me go scout him out.” Before you can say anything or pull her back, she marched towards the bar, full of purpose. 

She subtly slid into the gap between him and the patron next to him, ordering a drink, while trying to side eye him at same time. 

Her eyes brighten up as she spotted something, and turn towards facing you and your other friend, nodding furiously. 

“OH! Is that the wristband Emma gave you?” you heard your friend speak loudly. Gosh, how much more embarrassment would your friend bring you? You mentally facepalm yourself as your other friend drags you towards the bar. “You must be Kyle! Where is Emma and your friend??”

You can see him getting startled as he jumps slightly, turning around to face her. “Um, they took off about ten minutes ago, saying there was a band that both of them needed to check out…um, who are you?” Waving her hand dismissively, “It doesn’t matter who I am, it matters who SHE is. Come come, come meet my friend, the mysterious lady you are going to try woo tonight.” She stepped forward and half pushed you towards the bar area, “Alright, two of you have fun! We are going to check out the food stalls outside!” 

With that, your friend just left you and Kyle, standing in the middle of the bar, staring at each other awkwardly. Fidgeting with your hand, you decided to break the ice first. “Hey um, So, you are Kyle?”  holding your hand out, you introduced yourself. 

“Kyle, Kyle Garrick, but everyone calls me Gaz,”  you raised your eyebrow, confused. He chuckled, “Inside joke. Don’t worry.” waving towards an empty seat right beside you, “you must be tired walking all the way from the otherside of the festival ground in the mud. Take the seat.” Oh a gentleman, you thought, tick a box. 

“Thanks Ky… Gaz.” After turning around ordering yourself a drink, you start asking him questions. “So.. seen any bands you like?”

Gaz shrugged. “ I’m not familiar with any of them to be honest with you. I got dragged here by my friend because he said I need, ah, more, ahem, companionship.” Gaz quickly took a sip of his beer, hiding his embarrassment of hidden meanings of his words. 

Eyes wide, you perked up, “OH I thought I was the only victim!! My friends, the ones you just met,” waving into the air into nowhere while rolling your eyes. “dragged me here because they said I need to find someone to relieve my sexual frustration.” 

Gaz burst out laughing at your bluntness. “Sounds like we have much in common. Should we form a self-help group to recover from the trauma our friend has bestowed upon us?” Gaz gives you a wink and flashes you a wide smile as he jokingly suggested. 

Very cute smile too. How perfect can this man be? Got humour,physically attractive, a gentleman.. You have to admit, Emma might have helped you to hit a jackpot here. 

“Well, to form a group, we have to start up a member list.” You tilted your head as you whipped out your phone,smirking. “And better set up regular meetings to talk about our problems right?” Using all the flirting energy you haven’t had a chance to use.. At all? You are going all out. 

“So, we should set up a date then?” There’s a mischievous yet excitement in his eyes and bright smile as he takes your phone to enter his own number in there. 

“It’s a date.”  

“You going to shag him tonight?”

“Shut the hell up Emma… and Thanks.” 

Ok. so I said it's based on a true event. and 80% of it's truth. idea came from my receptionist, who excitingly told me about her experience at a country music festival she went to last week. She made up a whole lot of wrist bands with her name and phone number on it, and both her friends and her were handing it out during the festival. she did end up striking a date :) which is happening this week LOL. So.. it works??

tag list :

@deadbranch

@kaplerrr

@homicidal-slvt

@lia0-0

@floral-force

@saltofmercury

@siilvan

@rileyslibrarian

@mistydeyes

@okayyadriana

@a-small-writer-in-a-big-world

@jynxmirage

@nrdmssgs @schr-torta @glitterypirateduck @cumikering

@roosterr

@groguspicklejar

@obsolescent @whydoilikewhump @b1rds3ye @devcica

@caramlizedtomatos

@argella1300 @tiredmetalenthusiast @liyanahelena

[narastories]

Dear Yuletide Writer 2024

Thank you for writing for me! I hope this letter might inspire you, and above all else I hope you have fun writing something because that is the most important. I'm excited to see what you come up with!

My AO3

General likes: fluff, moral ambiguity, crack (treated seriously or not), banter, getting together. Can tolerate decent spice-levels when it comes to smut so don't hold back on my account.

General DNW: major character death, pregnancy, kidfic, amnesia (unless canon), infidelity/divorce (unless canon), RL politics, omegaverse, hopeless endings

色 戒 | Sè Jiè | Lust Caution (2007)

I watched this film for the first time this year and it grabbed me by the throat. If you want to read about me screaming about this movie, here are some posts: 1 | 2

I would love to read a fix-it fic, and I'm open to multiple interpretations of what that means :D Basically, it would be super interesting to read an alternate ending to the film. What if she comes clean sooner? Is there a circumstance in which he would spare her? Or maybe the assassination attempt is successful. How would she feel then?

Alternatively, I would be very happy to read a character study of either of the main characters. Especially Wong Chia Chi. What was going through her head when getting involved in all this? Especially when she agreed to this "role" for the second time since they barely got away with it on the first attempt. She's such a babygirl to me, and I can't tell half the time what is going on in her head and if she's acting or if she's sincere in a scene.

A character study about Yee would be interesting too, because he knew from the beginning how these things went. He walked into it with experience and with his eyes wide open, and yet got himself emotionally involved. Wong Chia Chi is the third woman who tried to seduce and kill him, but let's face it, the moment she wrestled with that umbrella, he was gone. He's both the big bad of the movie but also such a looser tbf.

For this fandom, all my general DNWs go out the window lol Because the canon is such a trigger-fest, I'm genuinely more flexible about it. But please don't write any ship with non-requested characters as the endgame. Obviously, Yee has a wife, it's okay to mention her, or how he feels about her. Just please don't make Wong Chia Chi run away with one of her comrades, that sort of thing.

Runemarks Series - Joanne Harris

A Yuletide favorite <3

This book series is very near and dear to my heart, and I would love to read any and all shenanigans with Maddy and Loki involved. Canon-compliant missing scenes or modern AU, I don't mind it, as long as they get into mischief together. If Thor tries to beat the living daylight out of Loki because of Maddy, that's something I always love reading too xD

I have also read the Loki books related to this series, so if you wanted to play with a spin on The Testament of Loki, where Maddy is the one who gets Loki as a hitchhiker I think that could be really fun too. I think it would be hilarious to see how Maddy would handle that accidental spirit possession lmao

Personally, I don't mind it if their relationship becomes various levels of romantic, but obviously completely platonic, gen fic is perfectly good for me as well. I just mention it as an opt-in.

DNW: major character death, pregnancy, kidfic, amnesia (unless canon), RL politics, omegaverse, hopeless endings

Lord John Series - Diana Gabaldon

An oldie but a goodie. Anyone in the fandom wanting to participate in Yuletide, this is your get-out-of-jail-free card (as long as the fic is about John, Percy, Tom, and/or Stephan) ^^" (So far I have never even tried nominating Jamie just because I think it would overlap too much with the main Outlander fandom that is very much not eligible for Yuletide.)

I would be happy to read any ship combinations! LJG with any of the nominated gentlemen is awesome, LJG/Tom/Percy is a great one too if you like it. I'm also very fond of any interaction between Percy and Tom shippy or not. I enjoy reading Stephan getting some love too.

DNW: major character death, mpreg, pregnancy in general, kidfic, amnesia (unless canon), infidelity/divorce (unless canon), RL politics, omegaverse, hopeless endings

The First Descendant (Video Game)

This is such an underrated fandom. There isn't a lot to read out there and I'm pretty much open to reading anything. A character study about one of the nominated characters (Ajax, Bunny, Enzo, or Yujin) would be interesting. We learn little bits about them in the game, and I would love to read more about them.

If you can pair any of the nominated characters up and ship it? Go wild!

On a side note, if you want to include any worldbuilding elements or expand on the lore, I would be happy with that too. Idk if it's just me, but I think the enemy designs are so good in this game too. Sometimes I just sneak into an outpost with Sharen and instead of hacking I just stand there and observe the little bastards. It's also fun if you hack one device because some of them will go "Where are you human?? How did you do that??" It's so funny.

DNW: major character death, pregnancy, kidfic, amnesia (unless canon), infidelity/divorce (unless canon), RL politics, omegaverse, hopeless endings

If you are wondering about what Yuletide is, you still have time to sign-up. All the information you need is on the official Yuletide Dreamwidth here.

Promo image by crantz.

[hsvh-hp]

10 Lines Tag Game

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway

I hadn't really realized just how many fics I've written in the past few years until I went 'ten?!' and then looked at my library. 😂 Thanks yletylyf for the tag!

10. The first time Delphini noticed the girl, they were being led up to Hogwarts from the boathouse. In the light of Hagrid’s lantern, Delphini spotted a head of pink hair at the front of all the first-years. Pink hair was bold. Delphini was too nervous to want to stand out like that. She’d been pretending ever since Mummy and Daddy took her to King’s Cross that her hair was long, black, and curly. Delphini just wanted the Sorting Hat to tell her to go to Slytherin, then to eat dinner and go to bed. 

My current WIP! I have a lot of feelings about this one, all of them related to excitement. It's a fest fic and therefore not yet published, so I'm not sure that its current title is 100% set in stone. More importantly though, it's the first femslash I've written in nearly seven years. It's the first incest ever. 🌝 So we'll see how that goes over. But it's been a blast to write so far and I cannot wait to publish it!!

9. Although the closet Narcissa and Lucius shared was large, their clothing dampened all sound. It felt like the world ended at the walls, and like every little noise inside was that much louder. 

Another fest fic that I just finished, which should be out (anonymously, at least) in the next month or two! Between this and the current WIP, it's been such fun to write from female perspective again. I've clearly been in A Mood lately and focused on the Black family. Anyway, getting into Narcissa's head was such a joy, especially writing her as a dominant, headstrong figure when she tends to be a favourite for the delicate flower trope.

8. “Leon, no.”

Yet again, Draco set down the clothing he held in order to hoist Leon out of his suitcase. Leon went dead weight. If it wasn’t so cute, Draco would have unceremoniously tossed Leon out of his chamber and shut the door behind him. 

This is technically a WIP as well, since I took a break from it to write the two fest fics above. Spoilers for Draco's fourth year in my Canon in Draconis Major series, since these are the opening lines. I haven't published the chapters from third year yet where he sort-of-accidentally acquires a pet.

7. As soon as Peter heard Sirius’ motorcycle, he knew something was wrong. 

Like I said above about being in A Mood as far as tracking common themes during a period of my writing, this dark!Peter fic Terror By Night came during a period of letting certain Marauders off the leash and reaching for their full potential as villains! Peter's so easy in that regard - so self-serving, ruthless, and clever, if given the chance.

6. The Gryffindor common room was abuzz in its usual fashion as Peter crossed it. Sitting alone in a corner, looking pathetic in his dejection, was Sirius. He looked up from the piece of parchment he idly stabbed with the tip of his quill.  

Oh, poor pathetic and lonely Sirius in Life in the Rift. 🥺 Another Peter POV fic, although not as dark as the previous. I let Peter explore his potential here for friendship and forgiveness, and how that could be corrupted in time.

5. Bellatrix and Rodolphus’ wedding thus far reminded Sirius of every single pureblood one he’d attended in past. It was held at the same venue, with the same people in attendance—as far as the Black family went, anyway. 

This comes from None So Vile, my Dark!Sirius fic. Now he was a fun one to let off the leash. I catch myself daydreaming all the time about its two sequel fics. I won't be free of this little 'verse until they're eventually written.

4. Although the early morning humidity had departed from the manor land, Draco wiped his damp forehead. Standing in shade helped to cool him down, but the thick trousers and wellies he wore worked to the contrary.

It sort of floors me that the longfic I'm in the process of posting is so far down the list! I finished writing it in October, and I guess I've been a busy little bee in the meantime. This is the opening line of Draco Malfoy and the Will to Power, my canon compliant interpretation of Prisoner of Azkaban from Draco's POV.

3. The day started like any other for Draco. He woke up, had tea and toast, and then dressed for work. He threw some Floo powder into his home’s fireplace, which turned the temporary flames a cerulean blue. Draco stepped through into his office in the Department of Mysteries. 

Across the Multiverse, the most popular fic I've ever written. I hope another day comes where I get to write Draco as an Unspeakable! He was so fun, especially since that career track didn't hold him to any sort of morality. I have...feelings...about redemption arcs, so it was fun to write Draco as unconcerned about that personal path post-war. Why should he try to redeem himself when, had he done so, Ron Weasley would be dead? That was something Harry had to answer in this fic.

2. Sunday night family dinner at Malfoy Manor went about how it usually did. Cutlery clinked up and down the formal dining room table, the odd chuckle punctuating murmured conversation. Although Bellatrix sat as closely to Aunt Lucretia to her right as Rodolphus to her left, it felt like a chasm separated her and Rod from the rest of tonight’s company. 

Bella, my beloved, in Almost Human. Writing from her perspective was a joyful exploration of villain protagonists. She gets what she wants more than anything at cost of destroying Andromeda's life, which for her was a happy ending, and...yeah. Love that crazy bitch. lol

1.The Lower City smelled like absolutely nothing Draco had ever experienced before. The streets themselves were dingy with grime. He pitied the state of the bottom of his boots. They might never be clean again. 

This is my 'least popular' Drarry fic (does such a thing honestly exist?) Flesh of the Serpent, but it has a special place in my heart! Well, every fic I write does. This was the first HP fest fic I ever wrote, and I learned early on in that venture that I don't bother signing up for fests unless I'm either completely gripped by an idea or I already had a fic in the idea pile that a fest would give me an excuse to write. This one belonged to the former category.

Which, funnily enough, brings us back full circle to the two fest fics that aren't yet published - both of which the ideas utterly gripped me for and I had to write them right now at all cost of my current projects and social life.

...I can't believe that all of these fics, spare I think about half of Across the Multiverse, were written within the last year. Maybe I need to get a life.

Nah. 😂

[theresthesnitch]

What's your opinion in the rise of Kingsley ships?

Sirius x Kinglsey (StarKing)

Remus x Kingsley

I'm struggling to stray away from my love of Wolfstar.

Ah, I’m a multi-shipper at heart, so I can’t deny that I love tossing Kingsley in the mix. However, I’m wolfstar trash at heart.

Send me an ask about anything or nothing for Anon Ask Day!

Wolfstar and Jily will always have my heart as my OTPs, but they’re my little paper dolls and I love shoving them together and seeing what comes out the other side. The thing about multi shipping is I don’t have to pick just one. It’s not Starking to the exclusion of Wolfstar. It’s a little bit of both. It’s let sixteen year old Sirius fall for the quiet boy with the books and the scars in this fic, then have Azkaban escapee Sirius hide out as a lovable stray dog with the Auror who is in charge of tracking him down and accidentally catching feelings.

(This is not to say that anyone is wrong for OTP shipping everyone. There’s something just as beautiful about having a one true love when no one else matters as there is with playing paper dolls with them all.)

Now, for me, for any of James and Remus and Sirius to be shipped together, the other can’t be sad and pining. I don’t want Moonchaser with Sirius looking on sad and wondering why his friends don’t want him. I don’t want Prongsfoot with Remus thinking they don’t want him because he’s a monster. So if I’m going to ship them, I need the third to either be (a) ace/aro, or (b) happily committed to someone else. Kingsley is great for that.

As far as the specific ships you mentioned, I adore Starking. I’ve written them as a background ship before — Black Ties and White Lies is Moonchaser with background Starking, and while Sirius hasn’t made an on screen appearance yet, Lessons in Defense has background Starking as well. I’ve also got two Starking main pairing fics coming out in @hpknotfest — Knot the Minister and Knot in my Job Description. (Keep an eye out when that starts posting on Feb 1). I also will never be over postcard from Paris by @greyeyedmonster-18, which is a lovely depiction of Starking.

As for Remus/Kingsley…… eh. I think my HC of Kingsley would never put up with Remus. I think they’d hook up and maybe even date, but I don’t see that going anywhere. I also don’t think Remus would particularly enjoy dating Kingsley, and especially not if he’s an Auror. I’ve definitely written them hooking up though. See Watchdog and…. Well, my third knot fest fic, which doesn’t have a title yet. Neither have a primary ship of Remus/Kingsley, but they do have some fun.

Regardless, Anon, I don’t think you have to like Starking just because they’re going through a bit of a popularity sweep right now. Even though I’ve written two and a……sixth Kingsley/some amount of wolfstar recently, doesn’t mean I’m writing any less Wolfstar. Wolfstar is just too delicious to let go of, even if I let them venture out every once in a while. (That two and a sixth figure will make sense later. 😂)

[aces-to-apples]

Your Reputation Precedes You

A response to “On Fandom Racism (and That Conlang People Are Talking About)” because lmao that cowardly bitch just hates getting feedback from people that she can’t then harass into oblivion

i.e. God I Wish I Could Use The Tag Fandom Wank Without The Titty Police Nerfing My Post

-

To be frank, I'm not here because I think you or any of your little cronies are going to change your minds. If the 'name' wasn't a giveaway, your group of ~likeminded individuals~ have quite the reputation for espousing ableist, antisemitic, and, yes, racist views under wafer-thin the veneer of "calling out racism." I think we both know that what you're actually doing is using the relative anonymity of the internet and progressive language to abuse, harass, and bully fans that you personally disagree with. You and your group are toxic, hateful, and utterly pathetic, using many peoples' genuine desire to avoid accidentally causing harm and twisting it into this horrid parade of submissiveness to You, The One And Only Arbiter Of Truth And Justice In Fandom. Never mind that you have derided autistic people as lacking compassion and empathy, that you've used racist colonizer dogwhistles to describe a fictional culture based heavily on real live Maori culture, that you've mocked the idea of characters having PTSD, or that vital mental health services are anything more than "talking about your feelings with friends uwu." Let's just ignore that you have ridiculed the idea of adults in positions of power exerting that power over children in harmful and abusive ways, that creating transformative fan-content that doesn't adhere to the spirit of canon or wishes of the original author garners derision and hatefulness from you, and that you've used classic abuser tactics in order to gaslight people in your orbit into behaving more submissively towards you in order to avoid more verbal abuse.

Let's toss all of that crucial context aside in favor of only what you've written here.

What you've written here is nearly 3,000 entire words based on, at best—though, admittedly, based on your previous behavior, I am actually not willing to extend to you an iota of good faith—fallacious reasoning. You posit that a constructed language, to be used by a fictional religious group located in an entirely different galaxy than our own, is othering, racist in general, and anti-Asian specifically. This appears based in several suppositions, the first being that a language unknown by the reader will, by nature, cause the reader to feel alienated from the characters and therefore less sympathetic, empathetic, and caring towards the characters. That idea is patently ridiculous and, I believe, says far more about your ability to connect to a character speaking an unfamiliar language than any kind of overarching truth about media and the human condition. New things are interesting; new things are fun; the human brain is wired from birth to be fascinated with new things, to want to take them apart, find out how they work, and enjoy both the process and the results.

The second supposition this fallacy is based upon appears to be that to move away from the blatant Orientalism of Star Wars is inherently anti-Asian. While I find it... frankly, a little bit sad that you cling so viciously to the Orientalist, appropriative roots of Star Wars as some form of genuine representation, that's really none of my business. If you feel that a Muslim-coded character bombing a temple and becoming a terrorist and a Sith, a white woman wearing Mongolian wedding garb, a species of decadent slug-like gangsters smoking out of hookahs and keeping attractive young women chained at their feet (as it were), a species of greedy money-grubbers with exaggerated features and offensively stereotypical "Asian" accents, and an indigenous people wearing modesty garb based on the Bedu people and treated by most characters as well as the narrative as mindless animals deserving of murder and genocide are appropriate representation of the many, varied, and beautiful cultures around the world upon which they were "based," then that is very much your business. Until you pull shit like this. Until you accuse other fans, who wish to move away from such offensive coding and stereotypes, of erasing Asian culture from Star Wars. Then it becomes everyone's business, especially when you are targeting a loving and enthusiastic group of fans who are pouring their hearts and souls into creating an inventive and non-appropriative alternative to canon.

Which leads into the third supposition, that a patently racist, misogynistic white man in the 1970s, and then again in the 1990s, intended his universe to be an accurate and respectful portrayal of the various cultures he stole from. I understand that for your group of toxic bullies, the term "Death of the Author" holds no real meaning, but the simple fact of the matter is that George Lucas based his white-centered space adventure on Samurai movies while removing the cultural context that gave them any meaning, because he liked the idea of swords and noble warriors in space. He based the Force and the Jedi Order on belief systems such as Taoism and Buddhism, but only on the surface, without putting any real effort into into portraying them earnestly or accurately. He consistently disrespected both characters of color and characters coded to be a certain race, ethnicity, culture, or religion, and likewise disrespected and stole from the cultures upon which he based them. He was, and continues to be, a racist white man who wrote a racist story. His universe has Orientalism baked into its every facet, and the idea that fans who wish to move away from this and interrogate and transform the text into something better than what it is are racist is not only laughable, but incredibly disingenuous and insidious.

As I said, I am not writing this to change your mind, because I truly believe that you already know that "cOnLaNgS aRe RaCiSt" is a ridiculous statement. The way you've comported yourself in fandom spaces thus far has shown to me that you are nothing more than a bully who knows that the anti-racist movement in fandom can be co-opted for your benefit. If you tout your Asian heritage and use the right language, make the "right" accusations and take advantage of white guilt and white ignorance, you can have dozens of people falling at your feet, begging for forgiveness, for absolution. And I think that gives you a thrill. So, no, none of this will change your mind because none of this is genuinely about racism—it's about power, it's about control, it's about fandom being the only space where you have some.

So I'm writing this for the creators of this wonderful conlang, which has been crafted by multiple people including people of color, who don't deserve this nonsensical vitriol, and for the fans reading this manipulative hate-fest, wondering if they really are Evil Racists because they don't participate in fandom the way you think they should.

Here it is: fandom has a lot of racism, antisemitism, misogyny, queerphobia, ableism, etc. baked into it. Unfortunately, such is the nature of living and growing up in societies and cultures that have the same. The important thing is to independently educate yourself on those issues and think critically about them—not "think critically" as in "to criticize" them, but to analyze, evaluate, pick apart, examine, and reconstruct them again in order to come to a well thought-out conclusion. Read this well-articulated attack on a group of fans who have always welcomed feedback and participation, are open about their backgrounds, their strengths and weaknesses, and wonder who is actually being genuine.

Is it the open and enthusiastic group who ask for the participation of others in this labor of love? Or is it the ringleader of a group of well-known bullies who have manipulated, gaslit, and then subsequently love-bomb people who did not simply roll over at the slightest hint of dominance? The ones who spent hours upon hours tearing apart, mocking, deriding, and falsely accusing authors of fanworks and metatextual works of various bigotries and -isms, knowing that those evaluations were spurious and meant only to cause harm, not genuine examinations of the works themselves or even presumed authorial intent. The ones who made their own, quote-unquote, community so negative and toxic that even after the departure of a large portion of them, including this author in particular, that community still has a reputation for being hateful, toxic, and full of mean-spirited harassers who will never look critically about their own behavior but only ever point fingers at others. The ones who are so very determined to cause misery wherever they go that as soon as their usual victims are no longer immediately available, they will turn on each other at the slightest hint of weakness.

This entire piece of (fan)work is misinformed at the most generous, disingenuous at the most objective, and downright spiteful when we get right into it. The creators of Dai Bendu, along with various other works, series, and fan events that these people personally dislike, have been targeted because it is so much easier to harass, bully, and use progressive language as a weapon against them, than it is to put any effort into making fandom spaces more informed, more positive, more respectful.

As someone rather eloquently put it, community is not a fucking spectator sport. You want a better community, you gotta work at it. And conversely, what you put into your community is what you'll get out of it. This author and their friends have put a lot of hate into their communities, and now they're toxic cesspools that people stay well away from, for fear of contracting some terrible form of harassment poisoning.

Congrats, Ri, you've gotten just what you wanted: adoring crowds listening to you spout your absolutely heinous personal views purely to live out some kind of power fantasy, and the rest of us staying well away, because fuck knows nothing kind, helpful, or in good faith has ever come from Virdant or her echo-chamber of petty, spiteful assholes.

No love, bad night.

P.S. Everyone actually in the Dai Bendu server knows your ass got kicked because you didn’t say shit for a full thirty days and ignored the announcement that inactive members would be culled. You ain’t cute pretending like it’s because you were ~*~Silenced~*~ after ~*~Valiantly~*~ attempting to call out racism. We see you.

[boymeetsweevil]

in your court

Grouping: Reader x B-ball player!Jaehyun (feat. BFF!Hyuck)

Word Count: ~10.8k

Warnings/Themes: Two idiots in love, oc is scary when mad, hyuck is crafty always, jae is a bit intense but he’s just trying his best, gratuitous descriptions of dimples, a kiss!!! sfw!

Prompt: “awkward!oc with his basketball teammate jaehyun. Honestly anything with bff!haechan.”

“Make sure you don’t make it look shaky.”

Donghyuck puts the phone camera close to his face so he can better see your handiwork through the video call. He looks a bit like a fish, but you can’t see him because you’re focused on the mirror in front of you.

“Remind me why I’m being forced to do this?”

“Because I’m your best friend and I deserve a sign just as much as Jisung and Johnny.”

You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes so you don’t mess up the number 14 you’re drawing carefully onto your cheek in eyeliner. Although you hate to see good makeup go to waste, you’re trying to be a better friend while also trying not to accidentally write the number backwards. It’s Donghyuck’s new number this season and he begged you to show some team spirit despite the fact that you normally mix with sports the same way oil mixes with water. The last time you showed up at practice was the first day of the season and you fell from the third courtside bleacher after Donghyuck called you over to introduce you to a cute new walk-on team member. If anything, just being around sports is dangerous for you.

A minute later, you sneeze while holding the pencil and draw a huge line straight through all your hard work. Donghyuck literally screams and you hang up the call to focus. When you finally finish redrawing on the side of your face, there’s half an hour left before the first home game of the spring season starts. You grab the matching construction paper sign you made earlier, complete with a huge gold glitter 14, and head out the door.  Taeyong is supposed to pick you up so you can make it to the gym on time. He’s the only other friend you have who is remotely associated with sports and that’s only because he’s dating one of the players, Doyoung.

The ticket Donghyuck gave you days ago places you near the court’s side with a near-perfect view. You settle in and wait for the game to begin. The team is already out on half of the court, doing some light warmup tosses and making the occasional mean eye at the visiting team practicing on the other half. You catch your best friend’s eye and he lights up when he sees the sign and eyeliner drawing.

“Check me out, Hyuck!” 

You turn to give him a full view of your profile, subtly proud of your skills.

“Look at you,” he drawls as he jogs over to you, “You know, I think this is the best your eyeliner has ever looked.”

“God, you’re so annoying.” 

You try your best to cast an elbow at him without disturbing the still slightly wet glitter on the sign. When you nearly take out the old man sitting directly in front of you, you settle for flipping him off.

“Wait,” Taeyong peers at the sign, “Aren’t you—”

“I think Doyoung said he was looking for you. Something about wanting a good luck kiss.”

Taeyong narrows his eyes but still stands up to go look for said boyfriend. Doyoung’s not the nervous type, but he’s also not the type to say no to some pre-game affection. You watch Taeyong disappear towards the locker room while Donghyuck steps over some of the fans already seated and takes the now open spot next to you.

“Hey,” he says with no trace of humor in his voice any longer. “Promise you’ll still be my friend after this game?”

You place the sign on your lap and turn to look at your friend. Lately the coach has been pushing him harder and you suppose it’s starting to wear down his usual confidence. With the hand that’s not covered in little golden glitter flecks, you reach down to rub his shoulder.

“Of course I will, Hyuck. And even if you guys don’t win tonight, I’m still taking you to get food after. My treat.”

It was supposed to be a rare moment of sincere friendliness. But this seems to distress him further because he looks down at your hand on his arm and then groans before covering his face in his hands. You’re confused but you don’t have any time to ask him what’s up. A few of his teammates walk over then.

“Sorry to break up the love fest, but Coach wants us to do some stretches before the whistle,” team captain Johnny says, gesturing to the other side of the gym where some other players are already contorting themselves. 

Behind Johnny stands that new walk-on. The one you fell on your face in front of. He takes in your temporary face tattoo and overly detailed sign and smirks, allowing a dimple to wink at you. You can only hope to every deity in the universe that he doesn’t remember the way you first met.

“Hey,” he smiles good-naturedly. “Glad to see you made it here in one piece.” 

“Thank you,” you say with way too much sincerity.

It’s enough to knock Donghyuck out of his bad mood and make him snort loudly beside you. The new guy smiles a bit wider, revealing a twin dimple. You look away.

“Don’t get too friendly, Jung,” Donghyuck says with fake menace in his voice. “There’s only room for one Dream Team member in her life, and that’s me.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you guys were—”

“We’re just friends,” you blurt out before looking down at the fascinating liver spots on the old man’s head in front of you.

“Yeah, she wishes.”

“I definitely don’t,” you snap.

He sticks his tongue out at you. “Well, I’m glad you don’t.” 

“Guys, come on!” Johnny calls a moment before the coach’s whistle blows to give a final warning.

As they walk over to the side of the gym you curse yourself for acting so weird in front of that Jung kid. If he didn’t think you were a dope when you tripped over nothing the first time you met, you’re certain he thinks you have the charms of a 13 year-old boy by now. The only thing that snaps you out of it is the fact that Donghyuck is in a time of distress and clearly needs his friend. 

With squared shoulders and a new sense of duty, you try your hardest to be the world’s best cheerleader. You’re not really sure how sports work, basketball included. The game itself turns out to be really fun. Even though you’re not quite sure what’s happening. Taeyong sends you a text with a picture of your own mildly confused face contorted into a pout as you raise your handmade sign a moment too late, after everyone has already sat back down. But eventually you figure it out after enough times of standing when people around you wearing school colors stand up first. You know enough to cheer every time Donghyuck takes the ball to the basket and boo loudly every time he gets knocked down or his shot misses. In fact, you get so into it that you catch yourself cheering for other players. You even make the mistake of cheering once for new kid Jung but immediately stop when he catches a glimpse of you in the stands and shoots you a beaming smile. 

They win by a small margin, thanks to a 3 pointer Johnny shot in the first half of the game. By the time that happens, you feel like you have a good feel for the game. You don’t have to wait for the other fans from your school to stand up when the last buzzer rings, and you instinctively run out onto the court with the rest of them as the final score settles. There’s adrenaline and joy pushing you into Donghyuck’s arms. He’s genuinely surprised but welcomes the greeting, spinning you lightly while he laughs.

“Congrats on the first win of the season,” you shout when you finally pull back. He lets you squish his cheeks in excitement. Doyoung ambles over then, looking for Taeyong. You offer him congratulations as well.

“Thanks,” he smirks a bit as he takes in your large sign and the slightly smudged 14 on your cheek. “Shouldn’t Jaehyun be the first to hear it, though?”

You raise a confused brow.

“Shouldn’t I be the first to hear what?”

You can’t help the way you stumble back against Donghyuck at the deep sound of Jung—no— Jaehyun’s voice. He looks pleased. Probably with the outcome of their first game.

“I was just saying you should get the first ‘congrats’,” Doyoung explains, nodding in your direction. Jaehyun blinks, but takes it in stride.

“I’d be glad to receive it,” he says with a grin. His dimples pop out even more than usual under the sheen of sweat and the glow from the fluorescents. “So, what’d you think? How’d I do?”

You have no idea why but your heart is beating like it’ll fly out of your chest. It takes everything in you to muster up a cool and natural response.

“You throw good.”

Donghyuck, the traitor that he is, gets sent into a cackling fit. If you listen carefully, between the gasps for air and the hyena-pitched giggles you can hear him calling you a dork. You’d turn to yell at him, but he’s right. Doyoung barely covers up his own laughter while leaning on Donghyuck’s shoulder to try to disguise the sound as a series of coughs. But Jaehyun merely smiles down at his shoes as if he’s somehow moved by your clunky words.

“Sorry,” you mumble.

“No, I feel like I did well today thanks to your little sign.”

“The sign? Oh. Actually, this is for—” 

In that moment you realize two things. The first is that Jaehyun’s jersey has a big 14 emblazoned on the front of it. Just like the one you spent 10 whole minutes drawing onto your right cheek. And the one you spent 2 hours glittering the night before. The second is that you aren’t nearly as observant as you thought you were. Then you realize a third thing: Donghyuck is slowly creeping away from you as it all clicks together in your head.

When you turn to face your friend, the color has already drained out of his neck. He can see the wheels turning in your head and he raises his hands in a placating gesture, but you cut him off before he can even start. Grabbing at his jersey you make him turn around until you can see the white number 6 emblazoned on the fabric. It’s the same number he had last season, and the season before that.

“Just to clarify,” you begin with an unsettlingly calm voice, “When you asked me earlier if I would still be your friend after the game, you were talking about this, right?”

Donghyuck’s eyes go wide and dart around anywhere but your face. “You know what? I think you’re thinking of my brother, Hyongduck. We look a lot alike, so it’s an honest mistake.”

The coach calling him over in that moment is the only thing that keeps you from eviscerating him on the court with so many witnesses. You let him go, but not without him having to un-pry your fingers from his jersey. Jaehyun watches on with amusement in his eyes and you remember that he saw you nearly Hulk out on your friend.

“So, you actually didn’t know my number was 14?”

You shake your head, “I thought it was Hyuck’s.”

“I see.”

He tilts his head again, with eyes narrowed he looks you over before looking past you to where Donghyuck has finally made it to locker room safety.

“Well,” he fiddles with the chain around his neck, “I’m kind of sad the sign isn’t actually mine.”

“Oh. I mean, you can keep it if you want.”

Jaehyun’s head ducks down a second time, shaking his head at the ground like he heard something funny that you couldn’t hear. He does take the sign out of your hands though. With slow hands, he wraps the construction paper up until all the remaining glitter is safely tucked away.

“What about that one?”

“What do you mean?”

He points at his own cheek to mirror yours. You had forgotten all about the 14 you drew on your face to go with the sign.

“I don’t—I don’t know if you can wrap this one up, you know” you laugh stiltedly.

“Yeah. But I could always take a bit for the road. May I?”

All you can do is let out an eloquent ‘huh’ before he’s reaching out then and swiping away at some of the eyeliner that had moved around during the game. The drag of the pad of his thumb across your cheek should be completely harmless. Donghyuck has been infinitely rougher with his handling of you; one of the privileges of close friendship. And yet it’s this soft touch that has your breath leaving you like he punched it out of you. You swear the corner of his mouth raises, but it could be a trick of the light.

“What are you doing after—”

“I gotta go, sorry. Good game,” you toss over your shoulder before pulling your phone up to your ear like you’re taking a sudden phone call. 

No one has to know that you spend the next few minutes dunking your head under one of the running faucets in an empty locker room to cool your heated face.

---

Nearly 20 minutes later, Donghyuck is tiptoeing out of the men’s locker room. He doesn’t notice the shadow waiting for him. When he deems the coast all clear, he opens up his messaging app and shoots you a text asking for your whereabouts.

“I’m right here.”

He jumps nearly 3 feet in the air before letting the scream that built in his throat turn into a whine. You’re just barely visible in the dark corner of the gym. If he squints you look a bit like his sleep paralysis demon.

“You scared me,” he says as he takes a step back only to hit a wall.

“Funny how that happens.”

You pull out your phone, stilling standing in the dark, and let the light from your phone cast eerie shadows across your face. Donghyuck gulps audibly as he watches you type slowly in response to his text. The sound of his phone notification moments later sounds deafening in the otherwise silent space.

You (21:39) - Run.

“Look, let’s talk this out like adults.” His hands come up, palms exposed like you’re a feral animal.

“I knew you weren’t number 14,” your voice is steady and devoid of emotion as you take a step towards him.

“Then you shouldn’t have fallen for it—shit. Wait!”

He trips in his haste to get away from you and falls. You foot lands dangerously close to his face as you come to stand in over him and he grimaces.

“Please don’t kill me, I’ll do anything.”

“Why did you tell me your number was Jaehyun’s number? Make it good and maybe I’ll let you live.”

“I just felt like it.”

“What the hell!”

“I’m serious.”

“Wrong answer, Hyuck.”

With that, you wriggle a foot free from one of your sneakers and shove your socked foot over his nose. You’ve been wearing the shoes all day and, because you forgot to do laundry the night before, the socks are recycled. The sound of Donghyuck’s cries for help make you slightly better and you smile softly to yourself.

You would think that Donghyuck would have learned his lesson about not causing chaos in your life after a face-full of foot. But you should know that it’s practically his job description after knowing him for as long as you have. Sometimes you love that about him and sometimes you kind of hate him for it. This time, you hate him for it. 

Donghyuck prefaces the outing as a way of apologizing for tricking you. Normally you would have been slightly more critical. The first thing to tip you off should have been the fact the “apology" in question was coming almost two and a half weeks after the fateful jersey swap accident. The second thing should have been that the “apology” was coming in the form of a trip to a very specific tea house you don’t frequent because you’re not a tea person. And Donghyuck knows this. Because he knows everything else about you. Like which sweatpants you wear when you’re feeling bloated or when you just need a hug. But mainly you should have known something was up because it was Donghyuck. When he feels like he should do something, there’s no stopping him.

“What do you want to order,” he asks while holding the front door open for you to pass through. 

“A smoothie.”

“It’s a damn tea house, order something normal.”

“A smoothie is normal.”

“Do you order hot dogs at seafood restaurants too,” he pins you with a tired glare. You mirror the glare and add crossed arms.

“If they don’t have a smoothie, then I don’t want anything.”

You take a look around at the interior of the shop. It’s the polar opposite of the shops you usually frequent, which are all trendy with their mixes of dark, unfinished woodwork and sleek minimalist furniture. This place is almost cottage-like in the ornateness of the older architecture and the collection of kitschy antique pieces. You’re not surprised to see that a good deal of the patrons are older, some verging on elderly. There’s only a handful of people who look like they could be your peers. One of them looks oddly familiar. You can’t put your finger on it, but there’s something familiar about the way he stands and the delicate gold links laying across the back of his neck.

“Jaehyun,” Donghyuck calls a bit too excitedly, “Hey, man is that you? What are you doing here”

“You told me to meet you—” Donghyuck cuts him off with a dramatic gasp and a glance at his bare wrist.

“Aw, would you look at the time. I actually have somewhere to be right now, so I can’t stick around.”

“But you drove us here,” you whip your head around to look at him, but he coughs suddenly and looks away.

“Yeah, sorry. No time to drop you back off at your place, so I guess you have to figure that out yourself. Jae drives though. Maybe you can figure something out.”

Neither of you really know what to say. You watch silently with your mouth open in disbelief as Donghyuck turns on his heel and struts out of the tea shop exit, whistling contentedly. You suppose that if you’re the god of chaos reincarnated, all of this would feel like a good day’s work. You berate yourself for recently washing your socks.

“Good to see you again,” Jaehyun says after a beat. He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Thought I had scared you off after...yeah.”

“Oh, right. That.”

The air feels both too thick and too thin at the same time. You want to leave, every fiber of your being is screaming at you to leave before you do something weird in front of him again. But you can’t move. So you stand there, 3 feet away and not saying anything as Jaehyun looks over the large chalkboard menu hanging above the head of the older woman who is manning the front counter.

“What are you getting?”

“Me? Uh, I don’t know. I’m not really a tea person.”

“Well, what kind of person are you?”

Given the context, it’s a harmless question. But there’s a sing-songy lilt to the way he asks the question. It’s so blatant that curiosity gets the best of you and you stop purposefully avoiding looking at him. One of his dimples is out and he’s very nearly poking the tip of his tongue out at you, like he knows you’re suffering and he thinks it's funny. Almost like he’s flirting. Almost.

“I’m a smoothie person,” you finally say. “But there’s no smoothies on the menu.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“But doesn’t it say ‘no customizations’?” 

There’s a sign on the edge of the counter that says just that. Despite the fact that it’s written in beautiful, looping cursive, there’s an ominous tone to the message. Like the little old lady behind the counter might actually make you into tea if you asked for a frappe or something. You’re a little worried for Jaehyun’s safety. He must sense some sort of hesitance because he brushes it off and gestures toward the rest of the shop.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it, you can go grab us a table.”

The way he says ‘us’ so casually has you tripping slightly over nothing. He’s somehow there in the nick of time to grab at your elbow in a gentlemanly fashion to help steady you. Perhaps you yank yourself out of his proximity a little too quickly. But it’s only because you really want to find a good table and you can’t do that if Jaehyun is distracting you by grabbing at your limbs. 

In actuality, though, the tea shop is fairly vacant. There are a variety of tables with pressed white tablecloths and dainty tiered tea trays housing pastries. You pick one at random and sit down. Part of you really does wish you’d left when Donghyuck did. But the other part is curious to see what Jaehyun’s like when he’s away from his team and truly outside the context you usually find him in. So you compromise and watch as subtly as you can.

He seems fairly similar—all charming smiles and pretty hair while approaching the counter to talk with the lady you assume is the owner of the shop. She looks stern as she polishes some dainty bone china, but brightens when he comes to the counter. You watch in quiet awe as she reaches a hand up to pat fondly at the side of his face, most likely pinching a cheek from the angle you’re sitting at. You see him run a hand over the back of his neck which grows red after he says something to her that she must not like. Her brow grows heavy and her lips purse but he says something else then that has her directing her sharp gaze at you. You gulp and pretend you were merely admiring the tea sandwich tray on the table as opposed to spying. A wave of sudden embarrassment comes over you and you open up your phone to text Donghyuck

You (15:38) - this is a shit apology just so u know

You (15:38) - come get me plz

Hyuck (15:40) - sorry suddenly cant read dont know what that says :)

You place your phone face down onto the table and cross your arms with a huff. While trying to plan an escape that makes you look the least asshole-y possible, Jaehyun returns with the drinks. More specifically, he returns with a tall water glass in one hand that’s filled with a pale tea with fruit chunks and mint leaves sprinkled throughout. The other hand is encased in a floral appliqué oven mitt that holds the prettiest squat little teapot you’ve ever seen. It’s blue, so it doesn’t match the pastel green teacups organized on the tablecloth, but it’s still a lovely sight.

“What’s this,” you stir at the fruit in the glass with an elegant teaspoon.

“It’s a chilled fruit tea,” he explains while casually pouring himself a steaming cup of black tea. “I tried my hardest with Mrs. Li, but there was no way I was gonna get you a smoothie. This is the closest thing I could get.”

“You really didn’t have to go to all that trouble. I would have been fine with just a water. I don’t want to get you in trouble with the owner.”

“Don’t worry. I think my reputation is fine for now.”

It’s weirdly fascinating to watch him fix up his tea. As a member of a basketball team, you would have never thought he’d be a tea drinker. Let alone a tea drinker who takes heaping spoonfuls of sugar to go with a tiny splash of milk in his tea. He hums a little to himself as he stirs it all with a silver spoon that’s been crafted to look like roses are growing up the stem. When he looks up a moment later, he catches you staring at him. His eyes crinkle and they look like they did when he looked at you after shooting a 3 at the latest home game, full of quiet joy. Both then and now you’re not sure what the smile means or why it seems to be for you. You look down and realize his lips are moving.

“What?”

He chuckles at how far away you sound. “I said ‘how’s the tea?’”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know yet. I got distracted. I was...thinking.”

“Mhm.” There’s smugness practically oozing out of his thoughtful hum.

You take a sip to appease him and frantically search for something to say that won’t make it obvious that you aren’t a fan of tea, but then you stop yourself. It’s no smoothie, but it really is the next best thing. The tea is cold like a smoothie, providing the same reprieve from the sticky heat of Spring. The tea with all its macerated berries and mint leaves is sweet and thick much like a smoothie.

“This is amazing,” you peer down at the cup like you’re not sure where half the glass went.

A light weight lands on your shoulder then. “That’s very kind of you, dear. High praise coming from a non-tea-drinker.”

It takes a lot of effort not to scream and even then your eyes open comically wide and you jump in your seat. Jaehyun has to disguise his laughter at your reaction by turning away in his seat as you turn in yours to face the old lady who was at the counter.

“I’m sorry for any trouble you went to so you could make this, Mrs. Li, Ma’am. I told Jaehyun that I wanted a smoothie and he was just trying to make me feel comfortable.”

“Oh, I know. Jaehyun’s been coming to the shop since I opened it, so he should know all about my ban on requests.” Mrs. Li eyes Jaehyun as he takes an innocent sip of his tea. “He’s always been courteous about it, so I thought he must have a darn good reason for breaking my rule this time.”

Jaehyun’s hand slips while pouring a second cup, but he doesn’t say anything as Mrs. Li continues to expose him. 

“Now, that reminds me. Jaehyun, my boy, I’m sorry to tell you that Kevin won’t be coming to his sessions this week. He has a dentist appointment and it can’t be helped,” she sighs and waves her hands.

“That’s alright. As long as he practices a little every day he should be in good shape and we can pick up right where we stopped.”

She nods and for a moment the serious expression on her face morphs into something softer. Patting the back of his chair, she looks over the table and then at you.

“Alright. I hope everything is to your liking, but if something does come up do feel free to tell Jaehyun. He’s a very capable young man and he knows the shop like the back of his hand. I’d better get back to work now. The silver won’t polish itself.”

You wait a few beats to be respectful, but as soon as Mrs. Li returns to her post behind the counter you gulp down the rest of your tea and lean in. 

“Who’s Kevin?”

“Her 9 year old grandson. I teach him and his younger brother piano on the weekends.”

“Oh, that’s—that’s nice,” you nod coolly. At least, you hope it appears cool. Internally you’re scrambling.

Of course your best friend’s basketball teammate teaches piano to young kids. Of course he helps the elderly tea shop lady with her store. Of course he drinks sweet tea out of blue floral teacups. Of course.

He’s finally ready to go after a third cup. You’re not sure where he’s putting it all, but it seems to be a regular occurrence for him. He takes your glass from you before you can argue about your own ability to do it and walks back over to the counter. Now more than ever you wish you could read lips. He goes around the counter to wash the glass in the farmer’s sink in the back and then stops briefly to say something to Mrs. Li. She says something back with a smile that has his cheeks flaming. He leaves a bill on the counter and comes back mumbling about his tea being too hot when you stare at his face. You’re not sure how true that is given how fast he downed those cups.

When you emerge from the tea shop, the sun is shining from a different angle and the temperature has mellowed out.

“My car is a few blocks that way,” he points in the direction of the parking lot nearby. 

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.” Even with his soft tone, his voice is firm and you don’t try to fight him on it.

But it’s strange walking with Jaehyun silently. It feels entirely too companionable despite the fact that you don’t even know him. 

“Do you...want to play 20 questions?”

He stops in his tracks, clearly not expecting you to talk without him coaxing you out of your shell. But after the initial shock fades, he nods.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“White,” he says immediately. “What’s your major?”

“Studio art. Do you play other sports?”

“Nah. Is Donghyuck your best friend?”

“Yeah, Hyuck’s my best friend.”

“Is he...protective?”

“Protective? Of what?”

“You, I guess.”

“Hyuck?” You let out a snort because the thought is just hilarious. “On the right day I’m pretty sure he’d sell me to Satan for a fresh order of sweet potato fries.”

“I see,” he purses his lips like he’s in deep thought before returning back to the present moments later. “You get two since I asked two.”

“Do you like it here, now that it’s been a while since you transferred?”

“Yeah,” he looks you in the eyes. “I like it here.”

You swallow a bit too audibly but power through and keep asking questions. It takes nearly half an hour to walk the two and a half blocks leading to the parking lot. Even after that, Jaehyun takes a scenic route back to the main campus. When he pulls up outside your dorm, you’re not sure what to say, but it feels like something should be said. The sun is near setting and he’s haloed by the dying rays as he leans on the steering wheel to make sure you make it inside.

After giving a little awkward nod, you drag yourself out of the cabin of his car. There’s only a few steps left until you reach the door when he calls out. You turn.

“So,” he trails off, drumming his hands on the steering wheel before adjusting the mirror even though he’s in park and no one is coming. “Donghyuck has, like, a million fans.”

“What?”

“I just mean that he’s been on the team for years, he has a fan base. But I’m just a transfer student, so I don’t have that. And, you know, it’s really nice to have someone to cheer for you.” He tests the waters and looks at you hesitantly before continuing. “I still have your poster.”

All you can do is blink as you realize what’s going on. Or, you think you know what’s going on. And it makes zero sense to you, but you have a habit of overthinking things anyway. You kick at a pebble near the toe of your shoe, taking some time to muster up the courage to be presumptuous in a way you’re not used to.

“I can...I can make you another sign. If you want. Or like wear your number.” He grins and in that moment it seems to outshine the fading sun. “So you don’t feel left out.”

“I’d like that.” He starts the car up then, still grinning as he looks down to shift gears and adjust all his mirrors yet again. “Tell Hyuck he doesn’t need to set aside tickets anymore.”

“Okay,” is your witty reply before turning once more with a too warm face.

He waves at your retreating back before putting the car into drive.

Everyone on the team knows that every once in a while Donghyuck likes to come to practice a lot earlier than is probably normal. It’s not strange to come in when there’s 30, 40, even 50 minutes before practice starts and find him practicing footwork or doing layups on the court alone. 

Jaehyun hedges a guess that he’ll find Donghyuck in the gym a good hour before practice starts one day and is pleased to find that his intuition was correct. There’s music blasting from a portable speaker and Donghyuck is doing some of the drills the coach likes to run, but done with his non-dominant hand.

When the ball rolls to a stop and Donghyuck moves to get some water, Jaehyun announces himself.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” 

“You quitting already?”

“Not yet,” Donghyuck takes in the serious set of Jaehyun’s jaw and shoulders. “We can do a 1-on-1. If you’re up for it.”

Jaehyun nods and sheds his outer layers on the sidelines. Donghyck wonders if he’s angry about something, perhaps that about practice a few days ago where he went a little too hard on Jaehyun and bashed his cheek with an elbow during a scrimmage. He braces himself for some incoming aggression, knowing he may deserve it a little.

They settle for leaving the ball on the ground in the paint since the equipment cabinet is still locked until the coach arrives. Both of them sprint from the freethrow line, with Jaehyun grabbing the ball first. Donghyuck moves into defense easily, having been in game mode for who knows how long. Jaehyun isn’t nearly as tough in his offense as Donghyck expected. In fact, he’s playing surprisingly light.

“What’s up with you,” Donghyuck says after the first basket.

Jaehyun catches the ball after it falls from the basket, jogging it back to the starting position. Donghyuck waits for him back at the freethrow line, brows raised but otherwise silent.

“Nothing’s up. Nothing big, I mean.”

“You’re a pretty bad liar.”

The words catch Jaehyun by surprise and he stumbles a bit coming off the line. Donghyuck uses the momentary shock to his advantage and steals the ball. The point comes easy as he basically runs a circle around his competitor.

“Since I won that point, why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Donghyuck doesn’t bother going back to the freethrow line and instead goes back to dribbling practice. His rhythm is slow with his off hand, but steady. Better than Jaehyun’s with his off hand.

“Do you believe in bro code?”

Donghyuck snorts. “I guess. You’re not gonna ask me for my mom’s phone number, are you?”

“No. Not your mom’s,” Jaehyun trails off.

Instantly Donghyuck knows what this is about. Or who. Your face flashes in his mind and he has to bite his own cheek to keep from laughing. Being your best friend gives him exclusive access to just how awkward you can be. But the fact that Jaehyun resorted to all this buildup is kind of hilarious.

“Aw, you guys are cute.”

“What?” Jaehyun’s cheeks grow pink. “Why is this cute?” 

“Look, you don’t need to ask me first or do whatever this is. I’m not her keeper. And I’m not gonna sabotage you, either.” Jaehyun’s shoulders lose some of their squared off edge.

“Okay,” he nods. “Thanks, man.”

“I could use a favor, though.”

“Oh. What is it?”

“I have a meeting with Coach after practice today. But I also really need to pick something up at the stationery store before tomorrow. Can you go pick it up for me?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Cool. I’ll text you the details later.”

---

Jaehyun arrives at the stationery store with his phone in hand. The note from Donghyuck mentions some special set of paints with a foreign-sounding name. As he walks through the aisles of the little store, Jaehyun wonders who the paints are for. The note also mentioned that they were a gift for someone, but it doesn’t say who the someone is.

It takes a few laps around the store, and by the time he spots the little nook for the brand, the store owner's voice had already sounded through the overhead speakers to say that the shop would be closing soon. He grabs the last box left and quietly rejoices. Donghyuck had bartered your number for the price of running the errand. If Jaehyun could get the paints, then he could get the number. The odd part was that Donghyuck had mentioned something about Jaehyun possibly not even needing to ask him for the number if he played his cards right. Originally he had shrugged the comment off, but it did raise the hairs on the back of his neck a bit. There’s something about Donghyuck that feels akin to a cartoon villain, but Jaehyun can’t put his finger on it.

“Checking out?”

“Yeah,” he hands the shop attendant the container of paints.

The attendant tries to scan the barcode, but a strange sound comes from the machine.

“I think something’s wrong with the barcode. If you can wait right here, I’ll go get another one to scan and give you that one instead.”

“Oh. That was actually the last one left.”

“I see.” The attendant presses some keys on the computer before nodding. “I think we should have a reference code in that backroom. I can go get that and punch it in manually if that’s okay.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, that would be great.”

The attendant assures him it’ll only be a moment before leaving the counter and disappearing into the back of the store. Jaehyun waits patiently while leaning on the counter when the bell to the front door of the shop rings. Another customer has come in right before closing, and the sound of their labored breathing makes it clear that they know they’re cutting it close. The footsteps fade out and then grow louder once more after a few minutes. He takes a glance over his shoulder to see you standing a little bit behind him.

“Oh. Hi. H-hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Jaehyun turns completely and sets his phone on the counter. “What brings you here?”

“I’m just grabbing some paint. I ran out a few days ago and I have some big projects coming up.”

“That’s funny. I’m doing the same thing.”

“Do you paint,” your eyes grow a little bigger with the prospect. At the sight of your small smile, Jaehyun wishes he could paint for the first time ever.

“No, but I’d like to learn.” And it’s never been true before, but he means it in that moment.

“Well, I could—”

“Sorry for the delay,” the shop attendant comes jogging back from the backroom. “Another employee had the reference book, so I had to spend some time to hunt it down. But you should be all set now.”

Jaehyun sends an apologetic smile your way before turning back to finish checking out. Once he’s done, even though he’s on a tight schedule with this favor, he hangs back.

“—I’m sorry but we sold out of the Neo Color Technology paints. If you’d like, we can give you a call when the next shipment comes in, but there’s a two-week wait.”

“Ah, really? Okay.” 

You gnaw on the inside of your cheek as you think about what you’ll do now. The idea of continuing some of your projects with a new set of paints that could have a completely different set of hues makes you nervous. You just perfected the shade of green you needed at the base for your huge forest study. Now you’d have to start from scratch.

Jaehyun is trying his hardest not to eavesdrop, but the odd paint name catches his attention. It’s the same one he just bought, per Donghyuck’s request.

“You can have mine,” he blurts out. “I’m the one who bought the last ones. But I obviously don’t need them like you do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Please, take them.”

Jaehyun hands you the bag. The smile you offer him in return is brilliant.

“I’ll pay you back.”

“God, no. Don’t worry about it.”

“Then, let me buy you a tea or something at least.” You hand him your phone. “Here, put your number in and you can pick a day. I’ll pay.”

So Jaehyun takes your phone and inputs his number. A moment later he gets a text from you, clarifying that it’s you. He feels victorious for a moment and then confused. Here he is, getting your number without having to ask, just like Donghyuck himself had mentioned. He’s getting this number because he gave you, Donghyuck’s friend, some paints. Paints that Donghyuck asked him to buy, as a gift to a mysterious friend. 

Maybe Donghyuck is less like a villain and more like a twisted fairy godmother.  

This little dance you keep doing with Jaehyun is strange, to say the least. 

It felt odd to copy the number 14 onto your cheek for the first time knowing who it would really be for. And it felt weird to get so used to doing it that you can now copy the stencil in with practiced ease using the face paint you bought specifically for the occasion, no longer worrying about accidentally writing it backwards. All the while, you can barely make eye contact with him after a game, although you can practically feel the weight of his gaze when you make a beeline for Donghyuck after the last buzzer rings. And you can see the way his hand tugs at the gold chain around his neck as he approaches you cautiously. And you can hear the disappointment in his tone when he asks if you’re going to the house parties thrown by one of the players that typically follow the games only to hear you say no each time.

Another few weeks later finds you trying to make it through midterms. Donghyuck being a literature major means his midterms schedule is always different from yours. This time his midterms end much earlier, a few days earlier to be exact. You’re left to suffer through late night crunches to finish up paintings for one of your crits. Photoshopping some pieces for your digital art class leaves you so busy you don’t even register what’s going on around you.

“It’s my turn to host the post-game party,” he says after letting himself into your apartment one day. He drops the spare keyring reserved for him in the dish near the front door.

“Mhm.”

“But I feel like it would be a nice change to have it here.” When he makes a big show of dropping the takeout he brought you, you don’t even flinch at the sound of it hitting the table you’ve taken over.

“Sounds good,” is all you say as you try to find the one layer out of the 25 you had that you were looking for.

“Great, so I’ll probably stop by on Friday with stuff before the game to set up and then the team can just come through afterwards.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t hate me,” he places a kiss on the top of your head before wrinkling his nose when he smells your unwashed hair. “And don’t work yourself too hard, either.”

“Yeah...definitely.”

Friday comes by and you’re still working, so you have to skip the actual game itself. In the brief window of free time you had that morning, you wonder if you should text Jaehyun again so you can tell him you won’t be coming or bringing your little hand stenciled 14. But you decide against it. It’s a big game and he doesn’t need to be bogged down by unnecessary texts.

You’re actually away at your first crit when Donghyuck stops by again, this time with party supplies. When you come back, you barely register the mountain of beers and cheap wines sitting in your kitchen. All you want to do is sleep like the dead for a few hours. As you zombie walk to your room, you swear you hear him call to you to ask if he can store his balloons in the sink. With your last two brain cells you figure he must have said something else and you were just too tired to actually comprehend it.

Hours later, bass blaring through the thin walls of your place wakes you from your slumber. The details of your conversation with Donghyuck a few days prior come flooding back just as you pick up your pepper spray to drive out what you thought were home intruders. You leave your weapon behind and open your door just slightly. The music washes over you, louder now that the seal to your bedroom has been broken. 

There’s plenty of voices coming outside that accompany the music. Even a few errant screams make it inside and to your ears. Courtesy of Chenle, no doubt. A few more brave steps outside your room and a glance out of the hallway window lets you know that you didn’t mishear Donghyuck. You see several of the guys chucking water balloons at one another on the grass outside. The pile of little teardrop-shaped balloons is admirably large and it becomes clear that they’ll be doing this for a while.

You’re not in the mood to get soaked or get mosquito bites just so you can seem friendly. After all, the party is being hosted in your apartment complex. That’s friendly enough, you reason. Once you’ve done a quick sweep through the rest of the apartment to make sure nothing is stolen, stained, or broken, you return to your room to get ready for bed properly. It takes a while because you have to wash your hair on top of everything else after receiving a very strongly worded text from Donghyuck.

While in your bathroom, brushing your teeth and watching a video Taeyong sent you, there’s jumbled knocking on your door. Barely any time passes between the last knock and the creak of someone leaning on your door as they open it. You curse to yourself before spitting in the sink.

“Hey, the bathroom for guests is actually—”

Jaehyun stands in the middle of your room, squinting at the tapestry you have hanging over your bed. The sound of his teeth chattering despite it being the peak of Spring is actually alarming enough to stop you from being mad that Donghuck didn’t think to put a clear sign towards the bathroom for the general public.

“I always thought your room would have candles in it,” Jaehyun drawls. He looks around once more like he’s hoping a candle will jump out of a hiding spot. All his movements are slow and sleepy.

“Are you drunk?”

He grins with eyes that droop closed. “Yep.” 

“Great,” you mumble. When you take a step closer you realize the dark red sleeveless tank he’s wearing is actually dark from being saturated with water. “Why are you wet?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. We played water balloon tag. I lost the last round.”

Jaehyun places a clumsy finger to his lips and stage-whispers a loud “shh”. For some reason you mirror that back to him. He nods, satisfied with your reaction.

“Don’t tell the others, but I...” he hiccups “I got cold, so I came inside.”

“What’s wrong with telling them you’re cold.” He hangs his head in shame then. Clearly you’re missing something important.

“Hyuck says bad bitches never get cold.”

With his shoulders slumped forward in such a pitiful fashion, you actually feel bad for wanting to laugh. It’s surprising. Super surprising actually, considering Jaehyun’s presence in your room means Donghyuck forgot to do the one thing you ask of him when he hosts parties at your place—put clear signs for drunk people to follow to the guest bathroom. You usually don’t want to deal with drunk student athletes, but something about Jaehyun makes him exempt from that.

“You can warm up here.”

As soon as you say the words, you cringe. It sounds like the awful beginnings of a bad porno, but your intentions really are pure. There’s something too sad about watching him nearly doze off while standing up like a newborn colt. So you go and find the best hoodie that you have in your clean laundry and you risk going to the kitchen and getting hit with a runaway water balloon so you can put water on for tea. Hopefully it will warm him up while also sobering him up a little.

“Is this Hyuck’s shirt,” he asks as soon as you return with a steaming mug.

“Uh, I think so.” You take a moment to appraise the hoodie. “Yeah, it’s his. It’s from one of his basketball camps from when we were younger, I think.”

He purses his lips but gratefully takes the mug with swaying hands. After taking a large sip, he hums and lets his head loll back with a smile.

“This is Mrs. Li’s blend.”

“Yeah.” 

It doesn’t seem right to tell him that you’ve been back there a couple times now and have started trying to get into tea. You take the time to put some distance between him and you. You walk to your bed and fluff a pillow that doesn’t need fluffing. The thing is that Jaehyun being in your room feels...weird. He looks all too content and comfortable in the space. That’s not to say he doesn’t suit the environment well. Somehow he looks like he belongs in your room with his soaked tank top and damp hair. You fluff the pillow harder.

“You must be tired,” he says after a long silence. He’s finished his tea but his eyes are still glassy.

“What?”

“Donghyuck told me ‘bout all your projects. Told me you had to draw him for one.”

“Oh, yeah I did. People actually loved that piece the most. But it took me the shortest amount of time.”

“Next time,” he begins ambling across the room, coming to place the empty mug on your bedside table. “Next time, you can ask me to model. If you want.”

“I mean, I only asked Hyuck since he was watching TV and he was there. Plus I know his face so well that it doesn’t even matter if he talks while I paint. The company is kind of nice.”

“Well, you can do it with me next.”

He’s drunk, you remind yourself. He doesn’t realize how strange what he’s saying is. And yet, your face still heats up. The sound of his teeth chattering lightly again reminds you how he got to be in your room in the first place. Jaehyun hugs himself as he continues to check out your room with a small smile on his face. He looks content.

“Do you want to get in,” you offer before your brain can process what your mouth has just done. His eyes go wide.

“Excuse me?” 

“Not—I mean, you just...look really cold and tired. Plus I heard you guys lost the game tonight, so the coach had you hauling ass after.” At the sight of his mildly amused face, tongue nudged between his teeth you add, “I don’t mean you should stay the night. It could just be for a bit and then you could, like, get up and call a cab home. But I get it if you’d rather not. Actually, I can just go see if Hyuck is around. I think he brought his—”

“No, no, stay,” he replies quickly to keep you from jumping out of bed. “I could use the rest.”

He turns around to shrug off the wet tank and pull on the hoodie, mumbling something about ‘not wanting to get your sheets wet’. Internally you wonder if you’re being laughed at by the gods while staring politely at nothing in the other corner of the room. You scoot over from your position in the middle of the bed to the side opposite him. He rewards your kindness with a flash of a bright smile before moving to pull back the covers.

His face lands directly in one of your pillows and you panic when you realize your sheets aren’t fresh out the washer. Jaehyun doesn’t seem to mind and lets out a sigh before shivering a little. With the hood over his hair, you can barely make out his eyes but you can tell they’re trained on you.

“You sure this is okay,” he whispers. 

“Yeah.”

The bed shifts minutely as he turns a little to get more comfortable. It feels hot in the bed all of the sudden. Despite the fact that you have on weather appropriate pajamas and your most lightweight Spring bedding on. Despite the fact that you’re not laying close enough to him to be able to feel any body heat. Maybe it’s warmer outside than you thought. That’s probably it.

---

When you wake up several hours later, it’s to the sound of clanking in your living room. The other side of the bed is empty and you try not to read into it. It wasn’t supposed to be a full night over, after all. You swing your feet over the edge of the bed only to squeal when your foot hits something cold in the little rug you keep there.

“What is it!” Donghyuck crashes into the room while holding the trash bag he was collecting loose beer cans with. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just—oh.”

You look down at the rug and see something shiny and metallic as opposed to something wet and slimy. With your index finger and thumb, you pick up a medium length golden chain. It shines even in the low lighting of your bedroom. You both squint at the jewelry, trying to place it.

Donghyuck’s eye grow wide and he looks around the room in disgust suddenly.

“Was he in here?”

“Uh, yeah,” you grumble as you rub your eyes.

“What for?”

When Donghyuck raises an inquisitive eyebrow, your mouth drops open.

“We just slept—”

“You slept together?”

“Hyuck, not like that! What’s your problem?”

“Still, why is he sleeping in here? You never have guys sleep in here.”

“You sleep in here all the time,” you point a finger at him.

“True,” he cedes immediately, pointing a finger back. “Well, you better return that. I think it’s his lucky charm or something.”

“Can’t you do it?” He laughs before returning to the living room. 

“He didn’t leave it in my bed.” 

“I–fine. I don’t need your help anyway.” 

At that, he snorts.

“You do, but I’ll let you keep thinking that you don’t, because I’m a good friend.”

“You’re annoying, that’s what you are.”

You pull on a sweater before coming out of your room with your phone in hand. There’s a companionable silence that falls over you two as you attempt to draft a text to Jaehyun about his chain while Donghyuck picks up the remaining trash from the party.

“How’d everything go,” you ask once the message is sent.

“It was fine. Jae was so gone that we thought he had flushed himself down the toilet for a while. But I guess that’s not what happened.”

Your face heats up at the teasing tone he uses.

“Hyuck, I have something to tell you.”

“God, what? Are you pregnant?”

“No! What the hell? Are you?” You try to swipe at his butt from the back of the couch.

“No! But...can you just say what you’re gonna say? You’re making me nervous.”

He even goes so far as to put the trash down and come around to sit with you on the sofa. You take a deep breath.

“I have a crush on Jaehyun. I just thought you should know.”

He stares at you, not blinking for a few seconds. He opens his mouth and then shakes his head to himself and closes it again.

“I see,” he finally says.

“It’s been going on a while, and I didn’t want to leave you in the dark.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Nope! I don’t mind being in the shadows. I do some of my best work there.”

“Do you think it could go anywhere?”

“What do you mean,” he throws another can into his bag.

“Like, do you think I have a chance with him?”

Donghyuck turns to stare at you, deadpan. “Do I think you have a chance with Jung Jaehyun? The man who slept in your bed a few hours ago?”

“Yeah.” Your face is completely open and imploring.

He sighs, “I think you might have a shot, sure.”

“Why, though?”

“I don’t know. Just a hunch.”

The next game of the season is a big one. The team coming in to play is an old school rival, so it draws a crowd that contains even the less sport-inclined students. You manage to get a ticket set away, but it’s still tough trying to find a spot to sit. It’s first come first serve with seats since the gym isn’t big enough to have labeled arena seating. 

Initially you had planned to use the extra time you had before the start to return Jaehyun’s chain, but it took you so long to make it from the parking lot to the gym and then to an open seat that there wasn’t any time left. Somewhere in between, you nearly get knocked over by the heavy current of fans from both teams flooding the space. The chain, once clutched in your hand, ends up around your neck out of fear that you lose it permanently.

You end up in the nosebleeds for the rest of the time. The players look like ants and if it weren’t for the large printed numbers on their jerseys, you might not be able to tell all of them apart. You text Donghyuck your location, and you see him looking towards the back rows at the beginning of the game, but he has to stay focused. You try your hardest to focus as well. At this point, you’re just about fluent in the sport that is basketball. But tonight’s game is hard to follow despite this. Jaehyun grabs your attention instead. He plays especially rough tonight, you note. He pushes hard across the court, even gets a couple warnings for defending like he’s on offense. There’s a fair amount of goals with his name on them as well. It’s exciting and you just wish your cheers could reach him.

More annoyance comes when the game finally ends. It’s a last minute shot by one of the other players who walked on this season that tips the game in your school’s favor. The crowd is deafening, even the ending buzzer is muted by their shouts. The bleachers shake under you with the force of fans running to meet their favorite players and generally gloat in front of the other team on the court. The shaking underneath you is terrifying enough to keep you seated until things have died down. There’s still probably a minimum of hundred people gathered on the floor, but you can at least step over empty concession bags as opposed to being stepped on by the supportive members of the hockey team.

It takes forever to find a single person you know. Of course it’s Donghyuck, who is in the middle of talking with some friends from off the team.

“Hyuck,” you begin to run over. When he sees you, you give him a big smile.

“No,” he responds simply as you get closer.

You slow down and let confusion wrinkle your brow. He offers no further verbal explanation but does give you a swift head nod in another direction. You follow the gesture and find Jaehyun at the end of the path. He looks a bit lost despite being with Doyoung and Johnny.

The fact that the others are there makes you freeze up at first, but the feeling of the chain laying delicately on your clavicle reminds you of what you need to do. Luckily, he sees you before the others do and he steps aside under the guise of getting a fresh towel. He waits for you to catch up once he’s out of their line of sight.

His voice is low, like he’s worried being too loud will make you change your mind about talking with him. But there’s an undercurrent of sincere happiness.

“There you are.”

“I was at the top row. I got here too late to sit where I normally do.”

“Ah. I thought maybe you couldn’t make it.”

“There’s no way I would be able to miss this one. Hyuck threatened to shave my head if I did.”

“That...sounds like him.”

“Yeah,” you chuckle. The nerves are getting to you a bit. You’ve never confessed your feelings to anyone before, and you’re not sure if Donghyuck was right about you having a shot.

“So, what are you doing—”

“I’ve been meaning to tell—”

You both start talking at once and then immediately clam up when you interrupt each other. 

He gives the floor to you. “You go first.”

“Okay.” 

You reach for the back of your neck and watch as his gaze follows the movement of your hands only for his eyes to light up in recognition.

“I wondered where that thing went.”

“You left it at my place. I put it on because I was scared I’d lose it for real. Sorry.”

He reaches out casually to thumb at the chain around your neck. “Don’t be. It looks good on you.”

“It looks better on you.”

The chain slides off cool against your skin and your fingers shake as you carry the chain over to him. Wordlessly, you reach up and loop your arms around his neck to reunite the chain with its rightful owner. Sweaty palms make it difficult to redo the clasp without being able to see it. It puts you right in his personal space for an awkwardly long time.

“I’m really sweaty,” he whispers.

“Uh, that’s nice?”

He laughs and it puffs off your temple.

“I don’t want to get you dirty, but I really want to kiss you right now.” The clasp finally snaps into place

“Oh.”

The way he leans in, the way his arms come to cage around your waist, the drip of the sweat from his temple down the hinge of his jaw. All of it is slow. As if to give you the space to withdraw if you wanted. But you surge forward into him. And for once it’s not awkward. You don’t know how long you stand there necking like hormonal high schoolers in a sea of people on the gym floor at a school dance, but—just like at the school dance—someone is bursting the gossamer thin ambiance just when Jaehyun’s fingers graze the back pocket of your jeans.

“If you look to your left, boys and girls, you can see two local horndogs engaged in a seasonal ritual” He karate chops a hand down the space between your faces, cutting the kiss off abruptly and nearly bruising Jaehyun’s nose. Meanwhile Taeyong snickers loudly from behind Doyoung.

“Do you have a death wish,” you turn to him with fire in your eyes. He backs up slightly, but attempts to stand his ground.

“Do you know how hard I’ve been working to set you two up?”

“What are you talking about?”

You turn to Jaehyun, who looks just as confused. The gears turning in your heads are practically visible as you and he put 2 and 2 together slowly. The random lies, the weird errands, the sudden party. The blank stares from Donghyuck every time the two of you were in the same room but refused to talk. It all adds up.

“You owe me sweet potato fries for the rest of your life. Maybe longer, I’m not sure yet.”

Donghyuck puts his arms around you and Jaehyun, pulling you with him as he heads out of the gym and towards the exit that leads toward the cafeteria.

“I can’t believe you...puppet-mastered us,” Jaehyun’s voice is airy with disbelief.

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t realize what was going on,” Taeyong snickers on the walk over. Doyoung snorts while lacing their fingers together.

“Yeah, the whole team was in on it.”

“You guys are one to talk.” Donghyuck turns back to give the two boys a humbling once over. “Don’t get me started on how hard it was to get you two losers together.”

Doyoung stops in his tracks, nearly tripping Taeyong in the process. 

“What?”

[forthemorefortunate]

Live Like Animals

Nessian Modern AU

Merry Chris-  er, happy New Year to my secret snowflake!  @ncssian 💕😅

I hope you like the fic! I’ll be honest, when I filled out the application for the secret snowflake, I said I could make a fic believing that it was very unlikely somebody would ask for one 🥴🤔 But lemme say, I LOVED writing this, which is definitely something I didn’t expect. More than that, I’ve never been much of a Nesta or Nessian fan, but actually thinking through their characters and interactions for this fic gave me a whole new perspective on and appreciation for them (even if I’m not the best at writing their characters, aha), so thank you!

A few quick things about the fic:

(Ik I already told you this, but for anybody else reading this aha) This is my first fic! So please take it easy on me 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Okay so this part is kind of weird, but there’s kind of a corresponding playlist 😅 Each part is named after a song. You can play the songs while reading or not, I know for me personally (*cough* my ADHD ass) it’s hard to listen to music and read at the same time. The title is also the name of a song! Except that one is more random, haha (I couldn’t think of a title, so I shuffled my entire library and chose the first song as the title, and it kinda worked so I went with it)

One more quick thing – thanks to @moussescientist @ko0mbayamylord @blxckbeak @chanberry @mikitheswiftie @potatoburp @dead-on-the-inside666 @queenoffortunes and two anons for answering a question, and a HUGE thanks to Skye, @oneoutofamillionbooklovers for all your help and for roleplaying the parts I got stuck on with me ❤️

Part 1: Distant Early Warning (Rush)

Nesta pulled the dress over her head, letting it slide into place over her body. Screw this, she thought for the millionth time, yet she continued to get herself ready, turning to glance at her reflection when she was finished. She raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly at the woman looking back through the mirror. The woman Nesta spied had on a satin slip dress, darkest blue. She wore no jewelry save for the small silver studs in her ears, and her hair was pulled into a neat-yet-simple updo.

Why Nesta even agreed to go to this party she didn’t know. There was nothing different about it, just another college booze fest. The music would be too loud, the air too heavy, the guys too grabby, and the company too... clubby. Feyre insisted that she would fit right into her friend group – her clique – but Nesta wasn’t sure she wanted that. She padded over to the door of her apartment. No, Nesta was quite certain that “fitting in” with Feyre’s newfound friends was something she didn’t care for at all.

Nesta’s phone buzzed on her kitchen counter as she slipped on a pair of black heels, and she picked up to Feyre’s forcibly perky voice. “Hey! We just pulled up, you coming?”

“No.” Response blunt, tone dry. The line was silent for a long moment, and Nesta held in a sigh. “Did I give you the impression that I was interested in coming?”

“Nesta, I’m not in the mood for fucking around,” Feyre said, perkiness mysteriously faded now. “It’s just one party! I promise you’ll have fun.” Bullshit.

“Since when have I ever-”

“And everyone else really wants you to come, too!” Feyre cut her off, “Rhys is excited to meet you!”

Rhys. Feyre’s boyfriend. Nesta groaned inwardly, truly dreading any interaction with the rugby star. Feyre had immediately caught the eye of the local heartthrob, and the two began a serious relationship shortly after meeting. And with one came the others. In high school they would have been labeled “popular.” They were quite possibly the closest group of friends at the college, almost all of them having known each other since childhood. And Feyre had slipped right in among them. Nesta had warned Feyre against making the tight pack of fourth-years her main group of friends, and she had her own opinions about a freshman dating a senior, but Feyre didn’t make a habit of following Nesta’s advice. Rather, she seemed to think she could give Nesta – a third-year – much more valuable guidance. Domineering bitch.

“I don’t give a shit about your friends, Feyre. I’m only coming because of our deal,” Nesta said. Feyre had been pestering her all semester, spewing crap about how Nesta and Feyre should spend more time together. Nesta should get out more. Nesta should tag along with Feyre’s friend group. Nesta should have some fun. 

More bullshit. 

As second semester began, Feyre had proposed a deal: Nesta would go to one party with Feyre and her buddies, and if she honestly didn’t enjoy it, Feyre would stop asking her to join them. 

“I’m on my way. Let’s just get it over with,” Nesta grumbled, and with that, she hung up the phone and opened the apartment door.

Part 2: Can You Afford to Be An Individual? (Nothing but Thieves

Nesta looked around the group of fourth-years–plus Feyre–arranged in front of her. Introductions were unnecessary; you couldn’t attend this school without knowing who they were. Her eyes fell first upon Rhys, his arm around Feyre’s waist. His chin lifted slightly as she made eye contact. Rhys: double major in history and foreign policy. President of the astrology club. Captain of the rugby team, possibly one of the best players the school had ever seen. He was the group leader, though nobody said it aloud. Nesta knew him well. Perhaps she only knew his type well, or her own perception of his type, but that didn’t keep her from holding his gaze a few moments longer than would be comfortable. Then she turned her scrutiny on his sidekicks, so she called them, Cassian and Azriel. The former wore jeans and a baggy black jacket over his rugby uniform in the school colors: black and red. The latter wore black pants with a dark blue button-down shirt untucked.

Cassian smirked as her eyes met his. “Glad you decided to make an appearance,” he drawled. She narrowed her eyes at him, and his smile widened in response. Cocky bastard. Azriel, double majoring in political science and criminology, simply nodded at her in greeting.

After the sidekicks came Rhys’s cousin Mor, an architecture major with a minor in design. She was entirely too peppy in a way that left Nesta exhausted, but Nesta wouldn’t give her satisfaction by scoffing at her cocked hip and half-grin, ostensibly projecting confidence. She held Mor’s stare, matching her asserted confidence with a cool security in her own assets. The half-smile twisted, just slightly, and Nesta moved on to the short girl farthest to the right: Amren.

Amren scared people. As in, people were genuinely freaked out by her. Aside from a few cultish tendencies, her occasional propensity for violence and/or verbal outbursts, and her sharp expression, though, Nesta couldn’t tell why. Amren majored in gemology and minored in linguistics, and was the only one in the group other than Feyre to have not known the others since they were little. In fact, she was studying here from abroad, though nobody actually knew where she was from. Unlike Mor, Amren presented a confidence that Nesta could believe in and respect. Nesta maintained her chilled posture, but let the bite in her expression retreat.

As for Feyre’s introducing Nesta, that was unnecessary as well. They all knew her; most upperclassmen did. Or rather they knew of her, by the name of heinous bitch. If she were being honest with herself, she didn’t mind the nickname.

“Okay,” Feyre started, her voice expectant as she tilted her chin to look at Rhys’s face, “Let’s head in?” Feyre, Rhys, and Nesta had met up with the rest of the group in the parking lot before they entered the party. Fashionably late, Feyre had told her on the drive in Rhys’s tesla. Rhys taught me that the key to maintaining his public image is in making grand entrances. God, Nesta wanted to laugh at Rhys’s influence over her.

As they entered the building holding the party Nesta immediately stiffened, and had to close her eyes for a moment against the harsh blue and purple lights cast by PAR cans. All senses at once were smacked by the presence of weed. The floor was vibrating, and speakers blasted near-deafening music so that all Nesta could really hear was thunder. Jesus Christ, I hate parties, she thought. A mass of sweaty bodies shifted and bounced through the too-heavy air ahead of her, some only silhouettes in the murky haze, through which Nesta saw red solo cups littering every possible surface. Suddenly she noticed Feyre standing next to her, fidgeting with her clutch and looking over expectantly. Nesta shot her a withering look that said, “This is not what we agreed to.” Feyre had the nerve to look guilty.

“Okay before you say anything,” Feyre began, “I know that look, and... I know this is a bit bigger than we talked about-”

“A bit?! This is a rager, Feyre. Do I look like I rage?”

“Okay no, but I promise Rhys and I have a plan.” Oh my God.

Nesta gave her another glare and plucked a cup off a nearby table. Sniffing it, she sighed and took a big swig. “Please, my dearest sister, do tell.”

“We’re going with a buddy system.”

Nesta coughed. “A buddy system – are you fucking kidding me?” She spied Rhys and his dickhead friends in the corner of her eye. “Wow, are arts and crafts before or after beer pong?”

Feyre rolled her eyes, calling a fresh wave of frustration to roll over Nesta. “Can you shut it with the attitude, Nesta? I already apologized for the crowd of people – it kind of got out of hand. Rhys told me before we left but I didn’t want to scare you out of coming.” She gave Nesta a pleading look.

“Tch, whatever. Who’s my buddy? I assume you’ll be with Rhys?”

Feyre beamed at her. “You’re paired up with Cassian!”

“Cassian.” Great. Alpha dickhead.

“Don’t be like that. He knows his way around these things and he’ll keep you from accidentally overdosing or blacking out.” 

“Who said that wasn’t my intention?” 

Feyre scrunched her face up. “Either way, you can’t deny that he’s bigger and taller than half the creepy guys here. He’ll keep unwanted attention away.” 

Nesta watched as Rhys, lead hulking rugby bro dickhead, caught sight of her sister and eyed her with what might have been lust or love – Nesta couldn’t decide. Cassian, approaching from Rhys’s side, cut Nesta a slow, purposeful look down and back up to her face. She felt an annoying tingle down her spine as the crowds parted for them. This was going to be a long night.

Part 3: Inhaler (Foals)

They had been at the party for less than ten minutes and Nesta already wanted to leave. Drink in hand, she aimlessly wandered around the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to find a place to sit farther from the lights that drowned out any rational thought that flashed through her brain. Cassian trailed a few steps behind.

“So, what do you do for fun?”

She twisted around to glare at him. “Why are you talking to me?”

Cassian puffed out a laugh and spread his arms wide, responding, “If you don’t recall, we’re kind of stuck together, darling.”

Right. Nesta rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?” Cassian left the question hanging, still following her, so she forged on. “I like to read. A concept that’s probably foreign to you.” She dodged a young couple parting from the fray to make out against the wall, and paused to reorient herself.

“You might be surprised.” Nesta groaned inwardly and arched a brow. “Oh I have no doubt.”

“None at all?”

“What. Are you on volume seven of Captain Underpants?”

“Volume eight, actually.”

Nesta stopped. She was pissed. Pissed at this party, pissed at Feyre for lying about how big it was, pissed that she was stuck with rugby bro sidekick, pissed that the purple lights suddenly seemed a lot brighter, the music a lot louder, her thoughts a lot fuzzier. “Look, Cassian. I only came here as a favor to my sister. We’re not friends.” He started to cut her off, but she continued, turning so that they fully faced each other, “You don’t have to stay, I can take care of myself.”

He leaned in close, the laughter in his tone suddenly gone. “Listen, princess. You’ve had two beers and you’re already tipsy. I get it, we’re not friends. But there are at least four guys looking at you like they want to take you against the nearest surface and I’m the only man within a thirty-foot radius that has any self-control. There’s no way I’m leaving.” He held her gaze firmly.

“So that’s it – I’m just supposed to trust you? My knight in shining armor, here to protect my virtue? That ship sailed a long time ago.” Fuck it. “I wouldn’t mind taking you for a ride though,” Nesta said, flashing a smirk at the end.

Cassian’s lips twisted into a half-grin, but she could see annoyance rising up in his eyes. “Nesta, you don’t wanna play with me.”

“Brute.” Nesta turned and started walking away again.

“Bitch.” He followed.

Nesta scoffed. “How original.”

“Not all of us are English Lit majors.” 

Somehow Nesta tripped on her own foot at that moment, staggering sideways into Cassian’s path. He lunged forward, arms going around her waist to hoist her upright. Her lip curled and she spit out, “And not all of us are rugby stars,” and shoved her way out of his arms.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Cassian asked, incredulous.

“Cassian, I’m sure there are plenty of girls here that would love your attention. But I’m not one of them.” She turned around to face him, walking backwards, and almost tripped again. “So go on and play with someone else. I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” With that, Nesta thrust herself into the fray, pushing her way through the mass of shouting people, making the crowd a barrier between herself and Cassian.

Part 4: Emergency (Nothing but Thieves)

After five minutes of random college students bumping into her from every direction, her head pounding and thoughts muddled, Nesta realized she didn’t know which direction the exit was in. Fuck. She was disoriented and exasperated, her frustration now showing in her usually unshakable expression. She couldn’t even tell which direction the light was coming from. How many beers had she drunk? Two? Three? She wasn’t usually a drinker, and it hit her then that she hadn’t eaten for hours before the party started. Stupid, she thought. This was why she didn’t do parties.

She was so distracted trying to figure out where the light source was, trying to get her bearings at least, that she didn’t catch sight of a brooding figure wending its way toward her until the man had a hold of her wrist and was pulling her to the side of the room, wherever that was. 

“Hey! Get the fuck off me!” Nesta shouted over the crowd, but couldn’t get a response from the man until they found one of the cinder block walls.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice cruel as he tried to pull her closer. “We’re just having a bit of fun, that’s all.”

“Excuse me?” Nesta ripped free of his grasp, but he backed her into a corner. He had a drink in one hand. Not good.

“Hey, hey, no need to get worked up,” he drawled, “I saw the way you were looking at me.” Looking at him? Nesta thought. This was the first she’d seen of him.

Nesta tried to step to the side, but the man followed her, his senses keener than hers in her condition. He reached out for her arm again, and Nesta shouted this time. “Don’t touch me!”

He put his hand up as if in innocence. “Come now, I’ll make it fun for you. Just have a drink.” He brought the cup toward her face, his hand now reaching behind her head, which she snatched away.

“I swear to God, can’t you bastards understand that no means no?”

“You-”

“Get the fuck away from me, creep!” She aimed a kick at his groin, but he easily dodged it.

His mouth hardened into a line, and he growled, “Just take the damn drink, bitch!”

The man shoved her into the corner, her head hitting the wall. He brought his hand up to hold her back by her shoulders as he brought the cup up toward her lips and-

“Let me go or I promise you’ll regret it.” Last resort. 

He shot her a crooked grin and began to reply, but whatever response he had in mind was cut short.

A voice from behind him said, “And she never goes back on a promise, asshole.” The man was wrenched off her body by two strong hands, and pulled over to the side to give her an out, which she quickly took advantage of.

And there, dragging the man away from her, was Cassian.

The creep tried to play it cool. “Hey, Cassian, bro, what’s up, man?” he said mock-casually, “I caught your last game! great playing, dude!” His demeanor shifted completely as he turned on his bro mode.

Cassian’s jaw was set. He tightened his grip on the man’s shoulder, his stare withering. “You need to leave. Right now.”

Yet the man kept going with a smirk, “It’s all good bro, we can share.” 

That was a step too far.

Cassian grabbed the man’s shirt, pulling him close. “That’s the thing – I don’t share. I don’t play nice.” Cassian thrust his face forward so they were only a couple inches apart. “You said you caught my last game, right? So you know I don’t go down without a fight. Touch her again and you’ll regret it.” With that, he shoved the guy into a table, and turned to Nesta. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Part 5: Before We Drift Away (Nothing but Thieves)

Dizzy and shaken, Nesta let Cassian guide her through the crowd to the exit. Once they were outside in the cool night air, he pulled her aside, gaze dark.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Did he force you to drink whatever was in that cup?”

“No.”

His eyes closed and relief flooded across his face. “Good. God, some people are fucked up. I don’t know what I would have done if he had drugged you, or taken you away, or...” He trailed off, leaving anything further than that unsaid. 

They were silent for a minute. Nesta looked up at him, a bit of worry still etched across his features. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you care so much?”

He looked over to her, something strange in his expression that Nesta couldn’t place. “I don’t know. You’re a human being, and your safety was left in my hands.” He paused and looked away. “If I’m being honest, when I saw that guy put his hands on you... I don’t know. Something flipped inside me.” At that moment he looked down to her bare shoulders, noticing that she was beginning to shiver. “You’re cold,” he said softly. “Here, take this.” He removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, even when she protested.

Nesta frowned as she gave in and pulled his jacket tightly around her, annoyed at the way her body betrayed her. “I don’t need protection. I’ve lived a long time without people to care about me.” She started walking toward the parking lot, and he followed.

“You shouldn’t have to live like that, Nesta. You’ve been pushing me away all night, but listen to me – don’t you understand? I’m not just talking to you because I’m bored. I don’t smile at you as a game, as if you’re some prize for me to win. Can’t you see by now that I’m doing literally everything I can just to stay by your side? Damn it, I asked Feyre to pair us together at the party.”

Nesta had stopped walking and was speechless for once.

Cassian stepped closer tentatively, as though she’d back away. He ran a finger over Nesta’s wrist and looked up to the sky. “Please, just don’t make me say anything else completely insane. I promise I’m not in the habit of sharing intense moments with perfect strangers.”

A rush of anger coursed through Nesta, and she shoved him back. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t talk to me like that. Despite what you must think, I’m not an idiot. I’m not naive. I am well aware that this is all a favor to my sister. Stay with my lame, antisocial sister. It might be fun, right?” She paused, any restraint she had used earlier having completely abandoned her.

“That’s not what I think at all, Nes-”

“Fuck you, Cassian.” She shoved him again, more aggressively this time.

Cassian caught her wrists and pulled her closer. “Try that again.”

Nesta glared. “Bite me,” she spit out.

“Maybe I will.”

And as though drawn to her by some gravitational force, Cassian’s mouth came crashing down onto hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, seeming to lift her off her feet. Nesta’s bare skin burned where Cassian touched her, and she pushed back against his touch to gain control. Everything, every thought was fading to nothing. Biting down on his lip drew out a low groan from Cassian, and Nesta broke free.

Cassian put his hands up as though to make a barrier between them, as though he wouldn’t be able to control himself without it. 

“So much for being the only man with self-control,” Nesta said. Cassian just shook his head, earning a light snort from Nesta. “I shut everyone out--even pretty jocks like you. Don’t take it personally. It’s just easier.”

Cassian smiled his easy smile, and he reached up to touch his lips with a thumb. “You think I’m pretty?”

Nesta scoffed. “The prettiest.”

He stood there for a moment, just smiling at her, before turning back toward the parking lot. “Okay, princess, allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of after-party activities.”

Nesta raised a brow, and Cassian let out a bark of laughter.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about pancakes.”

She looked skeptical. “Pancakes?”

“Yes. And after the night you had, you deserve an entire plate of them.” Cassian reached out to her with his big, warm hand, and Nesta hesitated.

“Cassian-” She started warily.

“Hey – I’m not asking you to marry me, it’s just pancakes.”

Nesta waited a moment more, then took his hand. “Fine. But I’m not sharing the chocolate sauce.”

“I wouldn’t dare ask you to. Besides, you already know how I feel about sharing.”

Nesta smiled a bit. “Hey Cassian?

“Yes Nesta?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

[badatjokezz]

Haikyuu!! Rare Pair Fic Recs

i’ve been so hype about some Hq rarepairs lately now imma list some of my fav fanfics, mostly OiSuga mwehehe.... 

(probably gonna add some more in the future)

Oisuga (Oikawa x Sugawara)

1. Stuck in the Middle With You by overlymetaromantic

It's not the kind of blossoming relationship either of them would expect, but maybe, just maybe, it could lead to something good.

1. In which Suga and Oikawa run into each other on a late night convenience store run.

2. In which Suga and Oikawa inadvertently switch bags and end up with the other’s uniform.

3. In which Suga gives Oikawa the lecture he doesn't want but probably needs, and Oikawa might accidentally be a little in love.

4. In which Oikawa won't shut up about Suga, and Iwaizumi plays matchmaker just to make him stop.

5. In which there is not a date, and Suga likes spicy things much more than sweet.

6. In which Karasuno and Aobajousai hold training camps in the same neck of the woods, and the trip back proves to be more revealing than it probably should.

7. In which there might just be a future to this after all.

(Dis is so fluffy i might die)

2. moving on (growing up) by _helios (neocitz)

‘I’ll do it,’ Suga says, walking into their prep school and dropping his bag on the floor next to Oikawa. He shoves the melon bun and drink forward into Oikawa’s hands, and stands there looking down at him because he knows that he needs to not chicken out.

‘You’ll do what?’ Oikawa looks up through his glasses, eyes wide and confused as the other students stream in around them.

‘The fake dating thing, I’ll do it.’

‘Fuck. Yes.’ Oikawa says with a fist pump.

(It’s been AGES since i read Fake/Pretend Relationship fic, this one is goood)

3. how strange, to be remembered by venusintwelfthFandoms

"He is not formed of the type of dust that makes up stars. Suga is not the type of person that stays in the mind of one like Oikawa Tooru, ten years later. He is formed of the type of dust you shake off, the type that settles into the ground."

Ten years after Suga last steps off a high-school court, Oikawa recollects a "Mr. Refreshing" in a post-game interview, and Suga is left scrambling.

(Cute one-shot, Oikawa still remember Mr. Refreshing from Karasuno)

4. all the small things by Authoress for lemedy

Sugawara Koushi.

Oikawa’s brain supplies the name of the person standing at the other end of the aisle before Oikawa can even register him, attuned to spitting out facts about other volleyball players on a second’s notice, even after all these years. Karasuno High vice-captain. 174 cm…no, more like 176 now. Skilled at raising morale and bringing an element of surprise to their strategy. Troublesome. Refreshing. Setter.

The enemy.

(Single Dad! Oikawa, cuuutee ugh)

5. Win Some by kingdra (aroceu) for Icie

Tooru does not have a problem, its name is certainly not Sugawara Koushi, and he is not going to the Karasuno practices just to watch him. Regardless of whatever Iwa-chan says.

(High school romane~)

6. Even as bright as you are? by BKAKCANON

That night when he goes to sleep, he includes "the safety of fairies" on his prayers, making a promise to whoever was listening him, that he'd protect all the fairies and keep their secret safe forever.

[Where Oikawa meets Suga when they are kids and Oikawa believes Suga is secretly a fairy and decides he has to protect his secret all costs.]

(This is basically matches my headcanon)

7. getting to know you by oisugasuga

Suga feels like he’s back on the court then, his heart thudding hard in his ears… so hard he almost misses what Oikawa says. Unfortunately, though, he doesn’t.

"My, my. What a surprise," Oikawa Tooru says. And then… "Hello, Mr. Refreshing."

(Haven’t finished yet but DAMN I LOVE OIKAWA AND SUGA IN HERE, single dad! oikawa, and Suga babysitting oikawa’s kid, def slow burn. Imma follow this fic till death)

8. Dear Reader by hyirule

No one seems to read the paper anymore. But Oikawa likes to for the sports section. One day he finds himself reading a section called "Dear Reader" and finds a submission he can relate to.

Basically messages sent through a page on a newspaper brings to unlikely souls together, who maybe have more in common than they first thought.

(Cannon compliant, simple and... refreshing(?))

9. rest by shicchaan

Tooru looks at the sleeping person beside him as he waits for the lights change into green. The growing fringe of his husband started to cover his eyes but he can still see the beautiful birthmark under the silver haired's left eye.

(Established relationship, fluff fluff!!!)

10. long is the road (that leads me home) by ichweissnichtauch

He thinks about himself, deleting contacts from his phone and throwing coffee cups away without even looking at the string of numbers scrawled in Sharpie ink underneath, and he’s tired of hiding, tired of carefully treading the lines he’d drawn for himself all those years ago.

Just this once, Tooru wants— he thinks he wants to be brave.

Oikawa Tooru is not a stranger to wanting.

(like... 20% Oisuga but i like the way this story follows the Cannon till he get to Argentina)

11. It's Always Been About You by mintycarrots

Every time Tooru had envisioned meeting his soulmate, it was a confession of love, filled with tears of happiness and a lot of making out. It would be a faceless petite girl that would support Tooru in whatever he chose to pursue and would understand when Tooru prioritized volleyball over all else.

It was never a boy on the rival team.

(Soulmate AU)

12. a play in three acts by venusintwelfth

"The first time Sugawara Koushi sees Oikawa Tooru play, he thinks that if he wasn’t so set on volleyball, he’d do well in theater."

the first seijoh x karasuno match through the eyes of suga.

(Kinda poetic i guess, well written af)

13. colors by dazeful

Sugawara Koushi's colorful life as an archer.

(this is like the perfect oisuga one shot ive ever read)

___

IwaSuga (Iwaizumi x Sugawara)

1. And so the moon cried by iwriteinpenFandoms:

The hillocks are the domain of unearthly creatures. Creatures of rot and fog, of music and dance. Like ghosts in the night they travel without leaving footprints, they disappear in a flurry of long dresses and pale hair. Those who are fated to see them risk curses far worse than death. You may hear them, a giggle in the wind. You may smell them, the smell of the fog rolling in through the trees. You should pray you never see them. Iwaizumi Hajime is a simple man. He works a simple farm job and enjoys simple things. After one morning where he woke next to a perfect circle of death and only the memory of brown eyes and cold hands, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the forest. Will the tales of his childhood play out with him at the center or will he have to disregard all reason?

(Danish Folklore AU)

2. Cry Just A Little by DreadfulMind

Suga was whistling a tune to himself as he opened the door to the bathroom, so he didn't hear the muffled crying through the door. But he could hear it clearly once he was inside. He heard the sharp sob of someone trying to stop.

"Iwaizumi?" He asked, "are you sure you're alright?"

(Simple but c u t e)

3. Generations by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor), mozaikmage

Professional sports blogger Sugawara Koushi writes an article about a volleyball match that bears special meaning to him and his former kouhai: a showdown between Kitagawa Daiichi and Yukigaoka Middle School, ten years after the teams faced off for the first time. He doesn't plan on capturing the attention of the world of sports journalism, and he certainly doesn't expect himself to end up having a thing for one of the coaches involved, one Iwaizumi Hajime.

(Time-Skip, I loved it)

___

KuroTsuki (Kuroo x Tsukishima)

1. Invictus by Chiru

Kuroo T. » So let me get this straight (gay?) Kuroo T. » You want me to pretend to be your perfect and fabulous boyfriend, so that your little freckled friend will stop trying to set you up with cute little highschool girls? Tsukishima Kei » yes Kuroo T. » Aha. Tsukishima Kei » you'll do it? Kuroo T. » I don't know. I missed the part where I get something out of it. Tsukishima Kei » you get to annoy me. Unfortunately Kuroo T. » Tempting, Tsukki, very tempting indeed.

(Fake/Pretend Relationship, some fluff, some angst, i read this in the middle of the night and cried, fortunately happy ending)

2. hold onto hope if you got it by nekolyssi

"Now, in the beginning of their third year of high school, the obnoxious hollering and incessant spirit of his teammates became normalcy to Kei. And now, normalcy is this. Weekly psych meetings. Pharmacy waiting rooms. Prescriptions. Refusal of prescriptions. More prescriptions."

(Not finished yet but yep prolly gonna put this one to one of those best haikyuu fics ive ever read. I wasnt so interested at first but i really like the idea of mental ilness etc, this is g o o d!!)

3. [KuroTsuki Fest Week 2017] Traces by Heartythrills 

Kuroo’s disappeared for a little over a week now, and suddenly a 4 year old who looks like him appears before Tsukishima’s apartment.

(Age regression, fluff)

4. I swear by xArtemisx

Like the shadow that's by your side I'll be there

"What are you doing here, Tetsu? It's cold." Kei asked softly. Tetsurou smiled. Hearing his name came out of Kei's lips is always music to his ears.

"Nothing. I just came to think that whatever memory we make, may it be happy or sad memories, the bright moon and the starry night sky is always there to be the witness. Did you notice?" The alpha answered and Kei nodded. He also noticed it.

"Yes, I did noticed it."

(I love agony and sad ending....)

5. Honeybee by ClosetGoblin

Tsukishima has trouble sleeping one night during a Third Gym Camping Trip. So, he takes his acoustic guitar and passes the time with some music, and gets a visitor. Maybe he doesn't mind Kuroo's voice as he does the screeching that Lev and Hinata call singing.

(Simple but sweet)

6. Say You Like Me by the_madame21

It's been three months. And Tsukishima Kei is going to see Kuroo Tetsurou.

(light angst and.. s m u t. Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamic)

7. trying to get to you by mytsukkishine

Everything came crashing down on Kuroo when Kei had left him alone with nothing but the moon shining down on him.

Wherein, Kuroo was struggling to move on and decided that he wouldn't mind being with Kei again.

(sad beginning? yes. sad ending? y e s. you’re a masochist? come get your juice)

8. Please Hold by ThemooncatFandoms

Kei was expecting Kuroo to do one of two things; Send a text to the office saying that they will have to call back another time and continue what they started, or excuse himself from Kei to answer the call, which was most likely. He shouldn’t have been surprised when Kuroo does neither of those things.

(short but hot. what’s hotter than quiet sex?)

___

Ushijima x Oikawa

1. This Insignificant Pride and Prejudice by Mysecretfanmoments, Pouler (poulerslashes)

Oikawa Tooru graduated high school with the burning desire to succeed in his college career. He'd hoped that might include taking down his arch-nemesis along the way, but when he finds that his college team hosts an offensively familiar face, he can't help but think that the universe might be conspiring against him. After all, what could be worse than playing on the same team as Ushijima?

(It was funny for me reading oikawa/ushijima fic with that “you should’ve come to Shiratorizawa” joke at first but somehow i found this one... endearing :3, cute poor ushiwaka)

___

Atsumu x Nishinoya

1. All the things I love about Yuu by KilluCoulomb

Atsumu Miya is fixated in Nishinoya. The way the boy acts, talks, plays. He Carefully observes from afar, but he slowly warms up to the Libero. Friendship becomes more and more intimate. Atsumu realizes Nishinoya is not that simple guy he met three years ago. And he loves it.

(pro volleyball players AU)

2. i'll see you then by noyabeans (snowdrops)

Nishinoya Yuu and Miya Atsumu build a rivalry and something more.

“Oh, it's Karasuno’s libero,” he says, mildly surprised to see Nishinoya’s face staring back at him from the brochure, grinning wide with his arms folded over his chest.

Contains spoilers for the current manga arc, up to chapter 380.

[feel-good-scorbus-fest]

⚡Feel Good Scorbus Fest Masterlist & Reveals⚡

The time has finally come. We present to you the full masterlist and reveals of the first edition of Feel Good Scorbus Fest! We can confidentally say that all 19 works created for this fest were absolutely wonderful, and we hope you enjoy them all as much as we did!

Thanks to everybody who participated and followed the fest. It was an absolute blast and we hope to see you again with new amazing content in 2021!

Art

@lolopa1​​ created “And That’s the One You’re Named After?” [G] Summary: One warm, summer night Scorpius and Albus decided to swim out to a floating dock when they realized how clear the sky was. Perfect for looking at constellations. 

@kidovna​ created A Fortuitous Discovery [G | 1 comic page] Summary: In a very Albus way, Albus starts to pay attention to Scorpius’ dimples at the most unlikely moment.

@grayskyluna created At Long Last [G] Summary: A particularly heartfelt evening in the Slytherin dorm room after a long day of classes, Quidditch, and mutual pining.

@caroll-in​ created Can I Kiss You? [G | 4 comic pages] Summary: Sunday dinner with meddling family - a sure recipe for disaster. But maybe just this once something good could come out of it? Albus and Scorpius will find out!

@mad1492 ​created Every night [E | 6 comic pages] Summary: Lately Scorpius has been moaning Albus’ name while sleeping and Albus, well, he would like to participate in those moans.

@eleonorapoe​ created Flower-crown King [G] Summary: Albus and Scorpius are enjoying a lazy summer day at grandma Molly’s garden. Scorpius is the one who is having way too much fun for Albus’ taste.

@gaeilgelupin created Glad You Feel the Same [M | 5 comic pages] Summay: It was all Rose’s idea, really. “Try a different style, to get his attention. You never know, something might happen.”, also suggesting it as a way to finally find his aesthetic. She was both right and wrong. Month one and two consisted of goth and hippie, but they were only able to get Scorpius flustered, sporting a very impressive blush. Nothing more happened. “Third time’s the charm”, or so they say. Albus would have to think of something that made him resemble a sex god if he wanted Scorpius to notice him as something more than a friend.

@garmrr created More than Friends? [G | 3 page comic] Summary: Albus going through the years trying to hide his growing feelings for his best friend. Until he confesses how he really feels about these confusing emotions he’s been harbouring for so long.

@miakagrewup​ created Waddle I Do Without You? [G] Summary:  Scorpius and Albus have more in common than they thought.

Fics

@clemandben wrote Albus Wins The Toss [E | 7.3k] Summary: Albus Potter is the star Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Scorpius Malfoy is star Keeper. When Albus gets into the habit of enjoying a crafty wank in the changing room showers, Scorpius gets into the habit of catching him in the act.

@freddie-fox-baxter wrote I knew we were in trouble (when he walked in) [M | 3.9k] Summary: Draco tries his best to be a cool dad™, much to Scorpius dismay, but there’s cake in the end so it’s all good.

@motherofmercury wrote It Was An Accident [E | 1.6k] Summary: Scorpius lands himself in St. Mungo’s when he falls down the stairs of Malfoy Manor and is greeted by the glorious sight of the gorgeous new Healer. It’s hardly his fault if he ‘accidentally’ ends up back in the new Healer’s hands. How could a hopeless gay resist such a treat?

@coriesocks wrote Just one look [E | 6.9k] Summary: It’s the summer before their seventh year and Albus has plans. So does Scorpius, apparently.

@remywrites5​ wrote Let’s Be More Than This Fic [E | 4k] Summary: It’s the usual Sunday brunch at the Burrow before returning to Hogwarts. As Albus’ best friend, Scorpius gets to attend and be a part of a big family for one afternoon. But Scorpius is in for a surprise when he learns the family believes there’s a bit more to his relationship with Albus.

@veelawings​ wrote Never Play A Safe Card [E | 1.7k] Summary: Dating a Malfoy is easy for Albus. Finding out that his dad is also dating a Malfoy is less easy. Sitting down for their first double date dinner™️ as a family is awkward. Sitting down for their first double date dinner™️ while Scorpius has a magical sex toy up his arse is both terrible and amazing.

@aneiria-writes​ wrote Take Me Away [E | 3.9k | Warning: A/B/O] Summary: Ever since he came of age and his omega designation became known, Scorpius Malfoy has ridden out his heats miserable and alone, not wanting to trap the only person he’s ever wanted to help him through them. Albus Potter is never too far away, however, and has his own thoughts on the matter…

@freddie-fox-baxter​ wrote Tinkle, tinkle, little star [E | 4.8k | Warning: watersports] Summary: Scorpius might have been the dreamer, but Albus was the artist that brought those dreams to life. 

@mapyourstars wrote wait for the sun  [E | 4k] Summary: Albus and Scorpius attend Avalon University after Hogwarts and move into student accommodation together. Scorpius gets frustrated while studying and walks into Albus’s room to take a break, only to discover Albus may not be as straight as Scorpius thought.

@lordofthegoods​ wrote Your sweet, sweet, loving [E | 11k] Summary: Too busy picturing Albus in all kinds of naughty scenarios, Scorpius loses sight of what’s really going on with his best friend. And then there is that itch that’s driving Scorpius absolutely insane. But surely these things are totally unrelated, right? 

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 43

Ok. That's Puppeteer done. I hope you guys like this :D It came out pretty good but man I hate that episode. I re-watched it to work out how to adapt it to my AU but it such a cringe fest. Anyway, I'm glad it's over now. As you probably guessed, Alya is gonna be on the receiving end of an Anatis lecture soon. Honestly, that's going to be so fun to write. Anyway, Duck out :D

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Chapter Forty-Three: The Puppeteer Strikes Again

"Thanks for coming by so quickly, Lu," Marinette sighed as they headed up to her room. She looked pretty tired and she had asked him to help babysit Manon. She had a piece to finish but Manon was a full time job so she called him. "I really have to get this piece done,"

 "No worries, Melody," He smiled as they walked into her room. Manon was sat playing with the handmade dolls of Anatis and Lady Noir as well as a number of their villains. Luka couldn't help the soft smile that came onto his face as he glanced at them. Marinette walked over to her and gently knelt down.

 "Manon, this is Luka. He's gonna sit in and help look after you today as I have to do some sewing," She explained, making Manon look up at Luka with big eyes. "You've met him before at the zoo. He helped us find Elle and Ella but once I'm done with the sewing, we can play together and get some ice cream. Sound good?"

 "Yay! Ice cream!" Manon grinned before grabbing Luka's hand, making him sit down as Marinette smiled. She got her sewing machine set up and began work as Luka and Manon played with the dolls and began to work on the commission she had. It was a time sensitive one and she only had two days to complete it so she was planning to power through it today. Of course, she had forgotten that she had to babysit Manon that day but that's why she called in Luka. She knew he would help keep Manon happy while she worked. She laughed a little as she heard Luka do an over dramatic impression of Hawkmoth, complete with a typical evil laugh. She glanced over and noticed they were reenacting Heroes day. Luka had held of the Hawkmoth doll she had made.

 "Give me your miraculous," He stated, moving the doll's arms as Manon played with the Anatis doll. "or feel my rage!!"

 "Never!" Manon stated, making the Anatis doll stand up to the Hawkmoth doll. "You will give me your miraculous instead! Take that!"

 "Ahhh noooo!!" Luka gasped as she hit the Hawkmoth doll with the Anatis doll. "Curse you, Anatis! You have stole my cane!!!"

 "Ha ha! I win!!" Manon laughed as Luka made the Hawkmoth doll shake his little fist. She giggled at his action before jumping up. "I wanna be a superhero!! I would totally fly!! Hey, Marinette!!! I want to be a superhero!"

 "Really?" Marinette asked before accidentally pricking her finger. "Ouch,"

 "Hey, Manon, why don't we play superheroes?" Luka suggested, getting her attention. He shot Marinette an apologetic look but she gave him a sweet smile. She told him that she had some spare fabric in the cupboard before focusing on the task at hand. He took it out and made a makeshift cape from Manon, who proceed to climb onto her chaise lounge. 

 "Lulu! I wanna fly!!" She shouted, making him chuckle at the nickname. He moved over and let her climb on his back before carefully moving around the room as she giggled and held out her arms. "Look! Mari!! I'm flying!!"

 Marinette looked up and smiled as Luka spun around a little, making Manon giggle. He continued to play games with Manon as she worked on her project, teaching her songs and pretending to be a pirate, calling himself One eyed Lu. Manon got the nickname Mad Manny and was his second mate, which she loved. The 'treasure' they were looking for turned out to be a number of cookies, which he gave some to Marinette before putting on a movie. Sometime after their treasure hunt, she was nearly done but before she could join them, her phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw Alya was ringing. She pressed answer.

 "Hey girl," She smiled. Though happy to hear from Alya, she was sure she was spending the day with Nino so she was wondering why she was calling. "Everything ok?"

 "You're coming with me and Nino to the Grévin Wax Museum!" She gasped, making Marinette frown a little. She didn't want to be a third wheel. "Adrien invited us!"

 "Uh?! What?!" She gasped, surprised before glancing at Luka and Manon. "But I hav-"

 "There's no saying no," Alya declared, waggling her finger. "We're coming to get you now! You don't have a choice, girl,"

 "But I'm finishing my commission and I have Manon here," She gasped, glancing over at her. She was giving Luka a new hairstyle, not that he minded the pigtails. "And Luka's here too. He's helping me with babysitting duties so I can finish this piece,"

 "Hang on," Alya stated before asking Nino something. She waited a few minutes before facing the phone again. "Adrien says it's ok for Manon and Luka to come by as well,"

 "I don't know..." Marinette muttered, knowing why they were doing this. They were still trying to set her up with Adrien and she really didn't want to be set up with him. Not after her revelation. She had been trying to move on with her crush and sure, she wanted to get to know him as a person but on her terms, not them. "I shouldn't,"

 "It will be fine," Alya grinned, making her frown a little. "Manon will love the museum and Luka can keep an eye on her. Anyway, we're here!!"

 "What?!" She gasped, calling both Luka and Manon to look up at her as Alya hung up. Literally, a few seconds later, they came up into her room, grinning. "No, no... seriously?! I can't-"

"Can't what?" Manon asked, confused as Alya turned off the machine and dragged Marinette up. 

"We're going to the Grévin Wax Museum and Adrien invited us," Alya explained, making Luka look confused. He was on friendly terms with Adrien but not enough to get an invite to hang out with them. However, Manon cheered and jumped up, abandoning the hair styling. Luka took out the bands and stood up as Alya literally dragged Marinette out of the house. He followed and waved to Sabine, who waved back before getting in the car with the rest. It was a bit of a squeeze but they managed to fit in. Though it meant he was pressed against Marinette, who was trying her best not to freak out. The car started and soon they were off to the museum. Adrien was staring up ahead and Alya was whispering to Nino. 

 "Then I'll leave Marinette alone-" She whispered but Manon heard her.

 "Hey! Why are you gonna leave Marinette all alone!?" She gasped, upset at the idea. "Don't you like her?!"

 "What you guys talking about?" Marinette asked, jumping a little. She accidentally elbowed Luka. "Sorry, Lu,"

 "It's fine," He smiled softly as Manon leaned over and tugged his jacket.

 "Don't let them leave Mari alone, Lulu!"

 "I won't," He smiled reassuringly. "But what are you guys talking about?"

 "Oh nothing!!" Nino gasped, holding up his hands. "It's got nothing to do with Marinette and Adrien together... uh... to look at the statues as just friends! Yeah, totally just friends! Nothing more!"

 Marinette gasped, clearly looking embarrassed. Sure, it was one thing for Luka to know about her kind of crush on Adrien but she could knew Luka wouldn't judge her for it or try to make her look like an idiot in front of him. There's also the fact that Adrien isn't available but he still hasn't told anyone about it. She got why but that meant Alya would be pulling stunts like this.

 "Don't worry, Manon," Adrien stated, making her look at him. "It's Nino and Alya are boyfriend and girlfriend. They probably just want to spend sometime together without us. Though Luka, you should hang out with me, Marinette and Manon too. There's a whole music section that you would love,"

 "Thanks, Adrien," He smiled before gently leaning closer to Marinette. "You ok?"

 "She told Nino," She muttered, looking at Alya before she looked back at Luka. "I told her not to tell him but she did anyway,"

 He frowned as he looked over at Alya and Nino who had gone back to whispering. It was pretty obvious what they were planning and why. They were intending to force Adrien and Marinette alone together. Probably so Marinette can confess her feelings for him but he could sense that the idea was trouble. One Adrien had a relationship with Kagami and two it would be embarrassing for both parties involved. He sighed and glanced over at Adrien, who seemed completely unaware of the whole thing. He frowned a little. It must be nice not been aware like the way he was. It wasn't that he thought Adrien was ignorant but Luka wished he had a similar mind set. He knew his own faults and one of them was that he was over thinker and saw far too much. His mother always told him that the way he saw the world was different to other people. It was one of the things that made him a good match with Tikki. Even Master Fu had said so but sometimes he wished he could just be normal like Adrien. 

 "You ok?" Marinette asked, making him look at her and nod before the car pulled up and they got out. Adrien greeted a woman waiting for them. She mentioned something about how a piece of his statue as they walked inside. Manon was holding Marinette's hand as they walked.

 "Look, Marinette! We get to go in when it's closed!" She grinned, clearly excited. "It's like we're princesses! Hey, Lulu, are you a prince?!"

 "I'm the prince of pirates," He grinned, making her gasp in surprise and excitement before she ran off. Marinette smiled as she glanced over at him.

 "Prince of pirates?" She asked, making him grin. "You're really good with kids, you know?"

 "Kind of had to be," He muttered as they walked an entrance. "Ma was always busy with work and well... you know what my stepfather was like..."

 "So you had to look after Juleka," Marinette mumbled with Luka nodding as they came over to Manon, who was stood near a Jagged Stone Statue. The woman, Veronique, was explaining to Manon that it wasn't the real Jagged Stone. Manon proceed to pull funny faces at him, making Luka laugh before she ran over to him and gently pulled his hoodie. He looked at her as she grinned up at him.

 "Can I ride on your shoulders, Lulu?" She asked.

 "Sure," He replied, kneeling down and helping her onto his shoulders before standing up. The group walked through the museum as Veronique told them it's history. However, Nino was talking to Adrien and Alya was talking to Marinette. Adrien looked really puzzled by Nino but Marinette looked annoyed at Alya as she crossed her arms.

 "Why did you tell Nino everything?" She asked, looking betrayed. "You promised you wouldn't,"

 "I didn't I swear," Alya replied as they walked through the museum. "Besides even if I had to him everything, he would still be clueless. Urg! Who cares anyway!"

 "I care," Marinette gasped but Alya choose to ignore that.

 "I've set everything up with Nino, who doesn't know a thing, so you can finally pour your heart out to Adrien, girl!" She grinned, clearly excited.

 "Wait... what?!" She gasped, looking at her.

 "We'll take off and leave you alone with him!" Alya grinned, placing her hand on Marinette' shoulder. "Then you can still your beans to him! It will be perfect!"

 "No! I can't!" She gasped, turning red but she couldn't exactly say why to Alya. No one had any idea that he was with Kagami and revealing she knew could in fact reveal her identity as Lady Noir. However, Alya was giving her a questioning look. "Uh... what about Luka?"

 "What about him?" Alya asked, confused. 

 "Well... I like him too..." She gasped, hoping he didn't hear her but he seemed more busy playing with Manon. She couldn't help the soft expression she shot towards him. "I can't tell Adrien I like him when I like Luka too. It's not fair on either of them,"

 "Girl, this is your one chance!" She gasped before sighing. "Look, I can't make you do it but I'm telling you today is the day!"

 She gasped and rushed over to Luka and Manon when Adrien looked over at her, causing him to frown. Manon was showing Luka a statue of her mother before rushing over to Marinette.

 "Look, my mummy is famous!" She grinned, making her smile before the three of them returned to the lift and got in with the others. The silence in the lift was awkward but they soon forgot about it when they went inside the art studio. 

 "Welcome to the workshop," Veronique stated, gesturing to it. There were spare parts and tools around. They looked around in amazement. "This is where all of our artists create and repair our statues,"

 "Cool," Nino gasped as they walked through the work shop. Veronique pushed open some double doors and walked through them, revealing the wax vat. There were pipes everywhere and stairs that lead to a walk way in the room. It was also hotter and darker then the work shop as the wax had to be kept in liquid form.

 "And this is where we store our wax," She explained, gesturing towards the large vat. "It comes straight from our very own beehives, up on the roofs of the museum,"

 "Wow," Marinette muttered as she glanced around. Luka grinned as he stood next to her before they followed Adrien back into the workshop. Veronique's assistant, whom Marinette and Luka recognized as Theo Barbot aka Actis, was setting up the wax which they would be using to make a cast of Adrien's arm. He gestured to the seat, which Adrien sat on as the others examined the different parts. Nino was looking at a head and complimented the detail of the beard. Theo explained that they used real yak hair as he prepped Adrien's arm. He secured it in the box and poured in warmed wax, that was warm enough to take form but not to burn Adrien. He secured it and set a timer before leaving with Veronique, explaining they needed to check on something and that they would be back as soon as they could. Manon wondered over to the heads of some of the unmade statues and examined them. Nino decided to pretend to be one and jumped out of her, making her laugh.

 "My turn! My turn!" She called out, grinning. "I want to play statues!" 

 She ran over to Marinette and grabbed her hand. 

 "Marinette! Come on!" She gasped, pointing towards the door. "Let's go play hide and seek and statues!"

 "Su-"

 "Marinette can't, Manon," Alya stated, cutting off Marinette and winking at Nino, who grinned back. Manon frowned a little. "But we'll play with you. Marinette, you take good care of Adrien! He must not get bored for a single second,"

 "What?!" She gasped as Nino pushed Luka out of the door as well, causing him to give her a confused look before he was ushered outside of the door. She gasped and rushed over. "Wait!"

 However, the door closed, making her groan in annoyance.

 "Um... are you ok?" Adrien asked, making her look at him in surprise.

 "Oh yeah! I'm fine and dandy!" She grinned, moving her arm to the side. "Are you ok?"

 "I guess but I'm confused about something," He admitted, causing her to frown. "Do you hate me?"

 "What? No!" She gasped, holding up her hands. "Why would you think that?"

 "Because Nino said you didn't want to be here," He replied, making her sigh and pull a seat next to him. He glanced at her with an insure look before looking aside. "And you've seemed quite distance recently... it's like you're trying to avoid me..."

 "Adrien, it's not that I don't want to be here and I'm trying to avoid you..." She stated, making him frown. She would admit to herself that she had kind of been avoiding him since the anniversary of his mother's disappearance but it wasn't exactly intentional. She had been busy with her new project and her hero work as dealing with Lila and her crap... plus she was still dealing with her realization of her behavior towards him. It wasn't easy though. Her crush on Adrien was deeply intertwined with who she is that she was finding it hard removing it from her but it was something that had to be done. The talk with Luka had really helped though so she wanted to start anew and actually get to know the real Adrien, even if it doesn't go into a romantic thing. For one, he's in a relationship with Kagami and she wants to get to know him. "It's just... I'm meant to be babysitting today but I also have a project to finish. I asked Luka to help keep Manon entertained so I could finish it. I was close to been done when Alya called. I tried to explain to her that I didn't have time but she just wouldn't listen and wouldn't take no for an answer. She also knows I can't say no to helping a friend so here I am,"

 "I see," He muttered, frowning. "But I'm glad you don't hate me,"

 "Of course, I don't," She muttered in return. "But now Luka will probably hate me,"

 "Why would he hate you?" He asked, confused.

 "Because Alya and Nino just dragged him off and I've basically been ignoring him and Manon since they turned up," She gasped, covering her face. "I don't want him to hate me,"

 "Hey, I don't think he will," He gasped, making her look up at him. "Luka's super cool like that and he's your friend,"

 She nodded, making him smile.

 "You like him, don't you?" He asked, making her look at him in surprise before panicking.

 "What?! No!!" She gasped, jumping. "I mean we're friends but just friends! Great friends, ha ha.... besides..."

 She looks down at her hands.

 "He probably only likes me as a friend," She sighed, holding her face in her hands before she realized what she said. "I mean... uh... Toilet! I need to use the rest room... excuse me,"

 She jumped up and rushed out of there before Adrien could say anything. He shook his head and waited for the timer to go off before going after her. He should make sure she's ok.

 ~Meanwhile~

 Manon giggled as she ran off into the heroes area of the hotel. The four of them had split into two teams to play hide and seek. Luka and Manon were the first team to hide while Alya and Nino were trying to find them. Luka had hidden nearby in the music area while Manon headed to the heroes area to hide. She giggled again as she heard Alya and Nino coming to look at her. She climbed up on the stage next to the Anatis and Lady Noir statues. She giggled again and pulled a pose, just as Nino and Alya entered, looking around as they did. Alya walked over to the statue of Lady Wifi and stopped, frowning as she looked up at her. Nino noticed and walked over as she sighed and looked sad. He cleared his throat and lifted his hat.

 "Excuse me, Lady, but what exactly is your super power?" He asked, glancing at her. "Make me fall super in love?"

 "I don't need a super power for that," Alya smiled, placing her hand on her heart as she looked at him before she looked back at that statue with a sad expression. She still felt guilty about all of the times she had become her, especially the most recent time. That was part of the reason why she demanded to bring Marinette to the museum. Not only could she get the Adrienette ship sailing but in her own way, she wanted to make up for been Lady Wifi and trying to target Adrien. Since her bestie is in love with him and he needs a better love interest then Kagami, it was perfect. However, she frowned as she looked up at her akuma self again and she felt bad again. "I know it's not really ourselves when we're akumatized but it's weird to ourselves like that, as super villains,"

 "It's because you don't look at them properly," Nino expected, placing his arm around her shoulder before gesturing towards the statues. "These aren't super villains. These are all the people who Anatis and Lady Noir have saved,"

 "You're right," Alya smiled, leaning against him before he began to tickle her, making her laugh and push him back a little. "Hey, what are you doing?"

 "Ooh, I've been akumatized and now I'm Tickleman!" He declared, wiggling his fingers and making her laugh.

 "Noo! Not the tickles!" She gasped, pushing him away a little as she got into the game before she ran off with him chasing her. "Help! Anatis! Lady Noir!"

 They ran out of the room, completely ignoring Manon. She frowned to herself and climbed down from her hiding place as her lip trembled. Since coming to the museum, hardly anyone was paying her attention. Back at Marinette's home, she had explained that she had to finish a project and she understood that she needed to finish it that but Marinette had promised to play with her when she was done. Plus she had brought around Luka to play with her until she was done but since coming to the museum, only Luka had paid her attention. Everyone else had ignored her. Tears began to roll down her face as she didn't understand why they had been ignoring her. What did she do wrong?

 "Why doesn't anyone want to play with me?" She frowned, walking away from the statues as she tried to wipe her eyes but it didn't help. She was still crying. She stopped in front of some of the villains before looking up and coming face to face with the Puppeteer. She didn't remember been her but her mum had explained to her what happened and how she was freed from Hawkmoth's grips. Anatis had ended up playing a game with her and putting on a puppet show. She grabbed the wand from the statue and grinned as she imagined what it would be like to be the Puppeteer again. She could make everyone play with her forever that way and she would be able to play with Anatis and Lady Noir again. No one would ignore her then and she would get to play with superheroes. She looked down as she thought about been ignored, causing more tears to spill. It just wasn't fair. Why did they get to run off and play while she was treated like she was invisible? She failed to notice a little black butterfly fluttering towards her.

 "Puppeteer," Hawkmoth's voice echoed in her mind as the akuma entered the wand. "Glad to see you again... so no one wants to play with you, huh? I'm given you the power to play with them,"

 "We'll have lots of fun," Manon replied, holding up the wand before moving her hand to the side, allowing herself to be engulfed in purple smog as she turned into the Puppeteer. She flew up and laughed happily before frowning as she heard Alya's laughter. She pouted before eyeing up Bubbler and Lady Wifi. She flew over to them and tapped them, bringing them both to life. "Capture Alya and Nino,"

 "Ready or not!" Nino called out, getting closer. The two statues stood still while Puppeteer hid. "Here I come!"

 He rushed in and looked around for Alya, grinning to himself but he threw a glance at the Bubbler and moved over, looking at it. Only it blinked, causing him to almost scream but the Lady Wifi statue threw a pause on him, trapping him there. A few minutes later, Alya came through to look for him. She thought she could catch him off guard and tried to tickle him but realized with horror, that he was paused. She saw Lady Wifi and tried to run off, causing Bubbler to jump in front of her and take out his sword. Lady Wifi paused her and he trapped her in a bubble as Puppeteer flew out laughing. 

 "This is so much fun!" She declared as Hawkmoth opened a connection with her.

 "Puppeteer, don't forget to bring me back my little toys," He ordered, making her nod. "Anatis' and Lady Noir's miraculous,"

 He dropped the connection and she flew over to the other villains, bringing them to life with a tap.

 "I'm gonna play with you and you," She stated, bringing Gamer and Evillustrator to life before flying over to the statues of Anatis and Lady Noir. She tapped them and brought them to life as well. "And you and you!"

 She laughed as she flew up and continued to bring them to life. Meanwhile, Luka had decided to come out of his hiding spot as Alya and Nino hadn't come to find him. He figured that they didn't really care about finding him since the game was for Manon but he was also concerned that they decided to run off to have time with each other. He got it because they were a couple but they had also agreed to play with Manon so if they had decided to run off, he was concerned that she might get upset. He walked past the wax statues and headed into the heroes section before gasping as he saw Nino and Alya paused and trapped in bubbles. A bubble and pause icon were thrown towards him but he managed to jump out of the way and dodge them, looking up at Lady Wifi and Bubbler but Alya and Nino weren't akumatized.

 "What the?" He asked as they got prepared to attack him again. However before they could, Puppeteer flew into the room, making his eyes widen in surprise. She must have been akumatized.

 "Manon?" He asked, making her look at him. "What happened?"

 "No! I'm Puppeteer now!" She corrected before he was suddenly grabbed by a mummy and the mime as she flew in front of him. "And no one wanted to play with me so now I'm making them play with me!"

 "I was playing with you..." He pointed out, making her look at him. "We were playing Pirates... I'm One eyed Lu and you're Mad Manny.. and we played Hide and Seek... we were playing Superheroes while Marinette finished up her project then the three of us were gonna get ice cream after remember?"

 She made a thoughtful face as he mentally cursed Alya for interrupting their day. Marinette was more then happy to go and play with Manon while Adrien before turning to her wax minions.

 "Take him to the workshop!" She ordered, causing them to march him out before she made Hawkmoth come to life. Luka struggled as best as he could but the wax models had a strong grip on him and dragged him off. "Find Marinette and Adrien! I want to play with them too!"

 ~Meanwhile~

 "Uh! Plagg!! How did he work out I like Luka?!" Marinette gasped, holding face in shame as Plagg floated near by.

 "Because it's obvious," Plagg cackled, making Marinette groan. "Cheer up, Dollface, Blondie doesn't seem to care and it's not like you confessed to the blueberry. Besides, it's so obvious that Blueberry likes you back. He probably dropped whatever he was doing to help you with Manon,"

 That didn't seem to help as it caused Marinette to groan.

 "Besides, who cares about friendship?" Plagg asked, making Marinette look at him. "What? I'm just saying,"

 "I care about friendships, Plagg," She declared, standing up. "Luka and Adrien are very important to me and I want to get to know both of them better but I wanted to do it on my terms. That's part of the reason I asked Luka to help me today. I know I can always rely on him and I wanted to ask him to go out for ice cream with me... but I was scared he would say no... so I used the fact that I had to look after Manon today... I mean I did need help and I didn't lie but I figured that it would be nice to see him as well... uh! I'm a terrible human being and baby sitter!"

 "Dollface, you're not terrible," 

 "But I let Alya and Nino steal Luka and Manon away..." She groaned, holding her face in her hand before looking up. "Why didn't Alya notice that I was uncomfortable around Adrien? It's hard to remove the crush I have on him when I'm pushed into a situation to 'confess' to him. I don't want to confess to him anymore. My crush on him is unhealthy ad so is Alya's actions with it. I need to talk to her about it..."

 She got up and made her way out of the bathroom as Plagg flew into her purse. She walked outside and gasped as she saw Adrien sat down, looking at his phone. She frowned a little before walking over to him, causing him to glance up.

 "Hey," She muttered, playing with her hands. "Mind if I join you?"

 "Be my guest," He smiled, gesturing to the seat next to him. "Are you ok?"

 "Yeah... I'm fine..." She muttered, nodding. "Sorry for running off like that..."

 "It's fine," He smiled before glancing at his phone again and sighing.

 "Are you ok?" She asked, making him look at her before he sighed and looked down. He looked almost guilty. "Adrien?"

 "I guess I'm not really ok," He muttered, sighing. "It's sound stupid and selfish but I just wanted it to be me and Nino today. It's been so long since we've actually hung out on our own since he got with Alya. I mean don't get me wrong I'm happy that the two of them are together but I really just wanted to hang out with my best friend and Alya ended up inviting herself and you guys along. Not that I don't want to hang out with you either..."

 "Alya told me you had invited us and she didn't give me much of a choice," Marinette stated, feeling bad. Adrien looked at her in surprise. "I'm so sorry, Adrien if I had know I would have made it clearer that I was busy."

 "It's not your fault, Marinette," He sighed, frowning. "I'm the one been selfish,"

 "What? No!" She gasped, making him look at her. "Adrien, wanting to spend time with your friend isn't selfish. Inviting yourself along is and I'm so sorry because it's my fault she decided to do that,"

 "How is it your fault?" He asked, confused. "You didn't make her..."

 "No... but she did it on my behalf..." She sighed, making him frown. "I didn't ask her but she was trying to set it up so I could confess to you,"

 "Confess?" He asked, making her nod. "I don't understand,"

 "I..." She took a deep breathe. "I had a crush on you for a while and Alya has taken it upon herself to help me confess. This is just the latest of her schemes and it's ended up getting you hurt,"

 "You have a crush on me?"

 "Kind of... but the thing is it wasn't healthy at all," She admitted, looking down. "So I've been trying to let it go. I guess that's why I've kind of been avoiding you but I want to be your friend so I'm sorry,"

 "No... it's fine," He smiled, nodding. "I'm glad you told me but I-"

 The sound of someone running towards them interrupted him as they looked over and saw Hawkmoth standing.

 "Hawkmoth?!" The two of them gasped, causing Hawkmoth to spin his cane and rush over to them. He dived at them but Adrien grabbed the umbrella off the Aurora statue and used it to block the attack.

 "Marinette!" He gasped, pushing him back. "Go and get some help!"

 "Oh no!" Manon's voice echoed, making them both gasp. "You're gonna stay and play with me this time!"

 "Manon?!" Marinette gasped, shocked.

 "Nope! I am the Puppeteer!" She declared as Hawkmoth pulled away and began to fight Adrien. Marinette moved out of the way. "I want to play with you and my statues!"

 "Be careful!" She yelled out as he held off Hawkmoth and ran off. She escaped into the lift, causing Plagg to fly out. "Looks the Puppeteer is back, Plagg,"

 "Aren't your friends somewhere in the museum too?" Plagg asked, a little worried. Hopefully, Luka and Tikki got somewhere to transform. Marinette gasped as she realized.

 "Alya, Nino and Luka are all somewhere in the museum and if Puppeteer wants to play, she might go after them!" She gasped before holding out her hand. "We have no time to waste... Plagg! Claws out!"

 She transformed and exited the lift, running back to Adrien. Hawkmoth had just knocked him down and was able to stab him but she jumped and kicked him, sending him flying. Adrien blinked as she held him up. Hawkmoth got back up as well and charged at her. She blocked Hawkmoth's cane with her baton before knocking him back and slicing him up with her claws. He fell to pieces, causing Adrien to look back at them in surprise.

 "Ooh! A wax statue!" Adrien gasped before turning to Lady Noir. "Is Marinette safe?"

 "Yeah, she is," She nodded, placing her baton on her belt. "But I need to find your other friends. You need-"

 "I'm coming with you," He declared, making her frown. "Look, I won't get in your way but I know how to fight and I think sticking with you in the safest thing for me to do,"

 "Fine," She sighed, shaking her head. "We should check the Heroes room first. That's where she found Hawkmoth's statues,"

 "To the heroes room then," He grinned, causing the two of them to run off. They ran down into the room but Lady Noir grabbed him around the waist and jumped, causing Lady Wifi and Bubbler to trap each other. "How did-"

 "Cat senses," She grinned before noticing the statue of Puppeteer. She threw her baton at her but she didn't react. Lady Noir walked over and picked up her baton as Adrien moved over to her. She stopped in front of the statue and frowned as she looked at it. "The real Puppeteer had a wand but this one doesn't..."

 "Maybe because the real one has it?" Adrien asked, glancing around. "By the way, where is Anatis?"

 "I'm not sure," She frowned, glancing around. "But I'm sure he'll get here soon. Anyway, let's go check the work shop? It seems like no one is in this area,"

 "Right," He nodded, backing away from the wax dolls. He couldn't help but find them creepy. He turned and saw Lady Noir had disappeared upstairs. He rushed out and followed her as they ran upstairs. They opened the door to the workshop and rushed inside, finding their three friends. Nino and Alya were trapped in pauses but Luka wasn't. He was sat on a chair but wax hands were keeping him pinned to it while one covered his mouth. His eyes widen in relief when he saw Lady Noir and Adrien. She moved over to him and torn off the hands, destroying them in the process.

 "Is Marinette safe?" He asked, as soon as she freed him. His voice and expression was laced with worry. 

 "She's safe," Lady Noir nodded. "She's hi-"

 "Don't tell me where she's hiding," He gasped, getting up. "Manon is looking for her and Adrien. We should get out of here before she realizes he's here,"

 "Uh ok," Lady Noir nodded, moving out of the room with the two boys as quickly as they could. Lady Noir's ears twitched and she pulled both boys behind a wall. Seconds later, Puppeteer flew by with a number of Wax models following her. It appeared she was heading back to the hero area. They waited a few minutes before Lady Noir let out a sigh. "We need to get you two hidden,"

 The two boys nodded and followed her as they ran away from the area they were in.

 "Why did she have you, Alya and Nino in the workshop?" Lady Noir asked as they came into an area without wax statues.

 "She wants to play with us," Luka muttered, frowning. "We were playing Hide and Seek before she was akumatized but something must have gone wrong,"

 "What do you play with you? Like a game?" She asked but he shook his head, making her frown a bit. "Then what was her plan?"

 "To turn us all into wax statues," He admitted, frowning. "That's why she wants to capture Adrien and Marinette. She intended to drop us all in the wax vat and make us into statues so she could 'play' with us forever. She intends to do the same to Anatis and you as well,"

 "That's mildly disturbing," Lady Noir admitted, looking a little pale. "I'm glad we got you out of there but isn't she going to do the same to Nino and Alya,"

 "She's a child. While she is smart, she lacks the same attention span or logic that an adult has," Luka muttered, making Lady Noir raise an eyebrow. "Instead of 'turning' us one by one, she wants to find all her 'toys' and change them at the same time. That's why she was holding me, Nino and Alya there. She didn't need to worry about those two escape but that's why I was held down by those wax hands,"

 "Hmm... makes sense," She muttered, frowning but Adrien seemed really quiet. "Adrien, are you ok?"

 "I just.... do you think it's because me and Marinette weren't paying her enough attention?" Adrien gasped, making Luka and Lady Noir frown a little. "I feel like it's my fault... I should have just come here alone..."

 "Adrien, we don't know that," Lady Noir argued, glancing around the corner. "We don't even know how she was akumatized. Luka, you said you were playing Hide and Seek with her?"

 "Alya and Nino were with us too but I don't know how she got akumatized... but this place has CCTV right?" He suggested, making both of them look at him. "Maybe we can see what happened from there?"

 "That's a good suggestion, Luka," She nodded. However, she couldn't afford to disappear, especially when Anatis wasn't here yet. "You two should go and look at it. Maybe even lock yourselves in the office while I keep Manon and her statues busy,"

 "Alright, Lady Noir," Luka replied, getting a nod of Adrien. "Hopefully, Anatis will be here soon. If I see him before you do, I'll pass on the information we get,"

 "Ok," She nodded before giving them a salute and running off. Luka turned to Adrien.

 "Do you know where the security office is?" He asked, getting a nod of him. The two boys ran off and made their way to the security office but there was no one in the office. Luka tried the door and frowned when he discovered it was locked. Adrien, however, was looking away from him with a worried expression. With Adrien distracted, he got Tikki to open the door. "Adrien, come on,"

 "Huh?" He mumbled as Luka pulled him inside. "Sorry,"

 "It's fine," Luka replied, grabbing a seat and going over the footage as Adrien watched. 

 "How do you know what to do?" Adrien asked as Luka re-winded the footage and typed, getting it to play.

 "My ma taught me," He replied, making Adrien raise an eyebrow. "Trust me when I say you don't want to know how she knows. Ah... here we go..."

 Adrien moved over and frowned as he watched the footage. It showed Manon running into the heroes room and pretend to be a statue next to the Anatis and Lady Noir statues. A few seconds later, Nino and Alya came in but instead of looking for the little girl like they expected, Alya walked over to the statue of Lady Noir with a look of sadness. Luka could understand. It must be hard to see yourself like that but then she and Nino talked before the two of them began their own game, running out of there and completely ignoring Manon. The little girl then moved and walked away as she cried. She wiped away her tears as she came face to face with herself but her tears kept coming as she took the wand. A few minutes later, an akuma flew into her wand. Luka paused the video and looked at Adrien. 

 "Alya and Nino... just abandoned her?" He asked, frowning before looking at Luka. "How do we get this information to Lady Noir?"

 "One of us should go..." Luka muttered before clicking his fingers. "You go. If Puppeteer comes across you, you can just-"

 "Pretend to be a statue," He grinned, making Luka nod. "Alright, I'll go but close the door behind me,"

 "Right," Luka nodded, shutting the door as Adrien rushed out. Once Adrien was gone, Luka transformed into Anatis and rushed out. He ran as fast as he could to the Heroes room, clearing a pathway as he did. He ran in as Lady Noir and Adrien were trying to fight off a bunch of wax akumas. Adrien had taken the sword off Captain Hardrock and was slicing through them as Lady Noir was kicking some of them but one of them was about to grab her from behind. Anatis threw his yoyo and destroyed it before kicking one of that was about to take out Adrien. The three of them proceed to take them out as best as they could before the two of them turned to Anatis. "Adrien, thank you for your help but go find somewhere safe to hide. Me and Lady Noir will take it from here,"

 "But the statues..."

 "I've cleared a path for now but I suggest you get going before more come back," He ordered, getting a nod of Adrien who ran off. Once he was gone, Anatis turned to Lady Noir. "Sorry, I'm late. I had a bit of trouble getting in. Most points of entry were barricaded by wax models,"

 "No worries, you're here now," She grinned, spinning her baton. "Adrien informed me of where the akuma is and what caused her to become an akuma. She was abandoned by Nino and Alya when they were playing a game,"

 "I see," Anatis frowned even though he already knew this. "And the akuma?"

 "It's in her wand so we just need to get that," Lady Noir explained, causing him to nod. "But she flew off while we were fighting her minions. I think she's returned to the work shop,"

 "Alright, let's head there and save her," He nodded as a head and several eyeballs bounced down the stairs. Lady Noir nodded and ran with him. The head charged at him but he jumped and stepped on it before running upstairs. However, Mime came to life and threw an invisible lasso around Lady Noir, capturing her before she could follow him. The dismembered head attempted to take her ring off with it's mouth as she was pinned down by other statues but she extended her baton and freed herself before destroying the statues. Once that was done, she turned to run upstairs but found herself face to face with Anatis. She frowned as she was sure he went upstairs.

 "Uh... Annie... should't we go save Manon?" She asked as he walked over. She frowned deeply when Anatis didn't react but instead stepped forward again. She instinctively took a step back until she was leaning against the wall as Anatis stood in front of her and took her hands in his. A blush covered her face as she looked up at him However, his eyes were as alive as normal and his skin was a little bit too shiny. Realizing he wasn't the real one, she gasped as he leaned in as if to kiss her. She could feel him trying to slide the ring off her finger. "Anatis... I have one word for you..."

 She narrowed her eyes.

 "Cataclysm," She declared, causing him to turn to dust before she rushed off to find the real one. She burst into the workshop and stopped the hand that was about to steal his earrings before knocking the statues that were pinning him down off him. "Get off Annie, you pale imitation!"

 She knocked the head of her wax self before helping him up.

 "Thanks for the rescue, kitty," He grinned before looking over at the door to the wax area. "She went in there and it looks like she might have Nino and Alya there,"

 "She must be enacting her plan then," She frowned before noticing his lucky charm. "Any idea what to do with the lucky charm?"

 "Uh... not yet," He replied as the wax models got back up. Lady Noir gave him a wink before she tackled them so he could look around. He frowned as he glanced around before several craft items lit up, along with a star. Smiling to himself, he got to work and transformed his lucky charm into a replica of Puppeteer's wand as Lady Noir defeated the last wax model. "Lady Noir, I've got a plan,"

 He held up the wand to her, making her grin before explaining the plan. The two of them pushed their way into the wax room as Anatis pretended to struggle against Lady Noir. She was holding his arms as if she had captured him. He even called her a fake to add to the act. Puppeteer laughed as they came to a stop, allowing Anatis to glance around. Nino and Alya were still paused and placed in the corner next to a table. Adrien wasn't in the room, meaning he had found a safe place but there was a sheet with string hanging above the wax vat, making him frown. She had hostages but the plan would still work. Maybe even better then he originally intended.

 "I've almost beaten you, Anatis!" She declared, laughing before she pointed her wand at them. "Lady Noir, give me his earrings then we can make him and the others into our toys forever!"

 He struggled and tried to move away from her as she reached for them but she paused, making him look at her with surprise. Puppeteer and Hawkmoth fell for it as she talked to him, confused as to why her wand wasn't working. Anatis smirked and took out the replica, making her gasp.

 "It's not working because I swapped them earlier," He stated, grinning. "You lost, Puppeteer,"

 "I don't care!" She declared, pulling down the sheet. Theo and Veronique were tied above the wax vat, making him gasp. "If you snap my wand, I'll just turn them into real statues!"

 "No!" He gasped before frowning. "Don't do that... I'll give your wand back, Puppeteer... you win..."

 He held out the wand, causing her to fly over to him and take it but Lady Noir's ring beeped, confusing her. Anatis took the chance to jump at her and grab the real wand, snapping it in half and releasing the akuma. He took out his yoyo and captured it before taking the other wand and throwing it up into the air, declaring the magic words. The swarm appeared and fixed everything before Puppeteer turned back into Manon. She gasped as she saw Anatis and ran over to him.

 "Annie!!" She gasped, hugging his leg as he knelt down.

 "Hey, kiddo, you alright?" He asked, making her nod as he ruffed her hair, causing her to giggle. "Why don't we go find your babysitter?"

 "Annie, I better scramble before I transform back," Lady Noir declared before rushing out. Anatis smiled and stood up, offering Manon his hand. She grinned and took it as they walked out of the wax room, just as the group ran in. Marinette rushed over to Manon and hugged her. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to-"

 "I don't think you should be the one to apology, Marinette," Adrien stated, glaring at Nino and Alya as Anatis frowned. Alya glared back as Nino rubbed the back of his neck. "Not only did you invite yourself along but you also lied to Marinette and then completely abandoned Manon which directly lead to her akumatization,"

 "I didn-" Alya tried to argue but Adrien held up his hand.

 "I saw the footage on the CCTV, Alya, along with Luka," He stated, causing Marinette to look around for him. Adrien turned to Anatis and smiled. "Thank you for saving us, Anatis,"

 "No problem, Adrien," He replied, shaking his hand as his earrings beeped. Alya was crossing her arms while Nino was looking down. "I have to go but Alya, I think you should listen to Adrien. It's not cool to invite yourself to anything or leave a little kid. I suspect that Manon felt like she was been ignored and was hurt by that,"

 "You should also not force people into uncomfortable situations," Marinette added, crossing her arms. Anatis was about to leave but decided to stay. He had a few minutes before he transformed back. "I told you I was babysitting. I tried to tell you we couldn't go but you didn't even listen to me or give me a chance to explain. You just turned up at mine, despite that I had already told you I was busy,"

 "Why is everyone ganging up on me?!" Alya gasped, storming out. "Come on, Nino!"

 "Actually... I'm gonna stay with my bro," Nino stated, causing Alya to stare at him like he's grown two heads. "Look, I love you and all but Adrien wanted to hang out with me and it's been ages since we've gotten to. I'm with you all the time and you know how his dad is,"

 "I... um.... urg!" She gasped before storming out. Nino turned to Adrien and apologized to him before doing the same to Manon. Marinette turned to Anatis and smiled a little.

 "Shouldn't you get going?" She asked, making him look at her. "Not that I... I mean... you don't have time to hang about right?"

 "I thought I better stay in case of another akuma," He muttered, making her nod as his earrings beeped. "But I really should go. It was good seeing you again, Marinette. I'm glad everyone is safe,"

 "Thanks to you and Lady Noir," She smiled, shyly as he walked over to the table. He climbed on it and opened a window. "Not going to use the door?"

 "Doors are for people with no imagination," He joked, making her laugh before he disappeared out of the window. He slipped back into the museum and dropped his transformation, heading back to the gang. However, he ran into Alya before he did. She completely blanked him, causing him to shrug before he ran to the workshop. However, he stopped at the heroes room and smiled at the statues of him and Lady Noir. Shaking his head, he ran upstairs and into the work museum. "Sorry guys. I got locked in the security-"

 "Lulu!" Manon declared, running and diving at him. He caught and smiled as Marinette walked over as Nino and Adrien chatted, causing Adrien to take out his phone.

 "So... I just saw Alya storm off?" He asked, making Marinette sigh.

 "She didn't like that we called her out on her behavior..." Marinette admitted before looking to the side. "I'm sorry for ignoring you all day... I just was trying to get Alya to understand something..."

 "It's ok, Melody," He smiled, making her give him a look of relief. "Now why do we all go look at the statues since we came here to do that?"

 "That's a great idea, Luka," Adrien grinned as he looked up from his phone. "Nathalie and Father are ok with you coming over for a couple of hours after we're done here, Nino... though it will just me and Nino if you guys are ok with that,"

 "Oh that's fine by me," Luka grinned before noticing the looks between Marinette and Adrien. "But I think me and Nino owe Manon here a real game of hide and seek before we go,"

 "Yeah, we do," Nino agreed. "Catch up with us... now... shall we go hide and get Luka to find us?"

 "Yeah!!!" Manon declared, running off and causing the two boys to follow her as Marinette let out a sigh.

 "He's really good at reading emotions, isn't he?" Adrien smiled, causing Marinette to nod before he faced her. "Um... about our talk earlier... I'm glad you were able to open up to me but you should know I'm dating Kagami... um... we've been keeping it secret because of the whole been famous thing but I think it's time we told our friends. Hopefully, this will help Alya not doing something like this again so I'm gonna talk to Kagami tonight,"

 "Thank you," Marinette nodded, smiling a little. "I'll talk to Alya to when she calms down. She needs to know that I'm letting go of my crush on you but I want to be your friend... if that's ok? I know I hurt-"

 "Marinette, you are my friend but I would love to get to know you better and be a better friend to you," He gasped, making her look at him. "And it wasn't you who hurt me. It was Alya. She hurt both of us by been pushy and she hurt Manon too but we can move on and learn from this..."

 "Thank you, Adrien," She smiled, generally touched by his words but her heart didn't flutter in the same way it use to. He grinned before grabbing her hand.

 "Let's go find the others,"

 ~Later that Afternoon~

 "Thank you so much for looking after her on such short notice, Marinette," Nadja smiled as she reached into her purse. She took out a number of bills and gave them to both Marinette and Luka. "And you too, young man. Though I don't think I caught your name?"

 "Luka, ma'am," He smiled before glancing at Marinette before looking back at her. "And it was no trouble,"

 "Did she behave?" She asked, getting a nod of Marinette but she also informed her that she got reakumatized. Nadja frowned but listened as she explained. "I see. I'm glad you told me Marinette. I appreciate your honest but a word of advice. Your friend sounds very pushy so you need to be firmer with her,"

 "I will," She nodded before waving to Manon, who had run to her mom's side. "Bye, Manon!"

 "Bye, Marinette!" She grinned before turning to Luka with an impish expression. "Bye, Marinette's boyfriend!"

 Marinette gasped and blushed madly before trying to say that he wasn't her boyfriend as Manon giggled and ran inside, causing her mother to apologize and run after her. Marinette turned to Luka with her nervous grin.

 "K-Kids eh?" She asked before noticing his cheeks were just as red as hers. "Wait... are you blushing?"

 "U-Um... No?" He replied, going even more red before grinning nervously as she gasped. 

“Oh my god, you are!”

"Please don't tell Juleka or Rose. I'll never heard the end of it,"

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

Next Chapter: https://sassyduckqueen.tumblr.com/post/640089186164162560/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-44

[remuslupinfest]

Remus Lupin Fest 2020 Master List (Anon)

We're pleased to release this years Master List of fics, sorted by ship and alphabetically! There's 38 incredible works! Author and artist reveals are next week.

GEN

TITLE: First Year SUMMARY: I hope whoever prompted this in the first place is happy with the result. I know it's super messy but I was experimenting a bit with my style!

TITLE: On Talking SUMMARY: Five conversations Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall have during Prisoner of Azkaban and one they do not.

TITLE: One of Many Happy Moments SUMMARY: Remus has only come back home from one of particularly typical days of teaching in Hogwarts, but he couldn’t refuse Teddy to read the book together

TITLE: Remus Lupin Sleeping Peacefully SUMMARY: Prompt: Remus sleeping peacefully.

TITLE: Tousled SUMMARY: Prompt: Remus wrapped in a sheet/duvet going to the bathroom or kitchen after having had sex with someone. Maybe someone knocks on the door and he can’t find his trousers. He’s flushed, tousled and possibly has a hickey or two.

REMUS/MISC

TITLE: A Heart Grows Warm SUMMARY: After the war, Remus is a single father and desperate for a job. Snape hires him to work in his potions shop, but Remus can't ignore the building sexual tension between them.

TITLE: Bad Moon Rising SUMMARY: James, Lily and Voldemort all died on Halloween night. Years later, Remus is working in the Auror Department on a confusing case of a transformed werewolf stalking a family outside of a full moon and is assigned a brilliant new Auror, Nymphadora Tonks, to work with him.

TITLE: Briseé SUMMARY: Death eater!Remus struggles to face his past after the death of his lover and the end of his freedom.

TITLE: Care to Share? SUMMARY: Remus had every intention of enjoying solidarity over the holidays. That may change now that he's not the only Slytherin staying behind.

TITLE: His Luck SUMMARY: Modern setting, model/photographer AU for Remus Lupin and Narcissa Black. Written for the Remus Lupin fest 2020.

TITLE: Hold Me While You Wait SUMMARY: Remus Lupin just needs someone to hug him.

TITLE: One Night In Barcelona SUMMARY: The chemistry was too much to resist.

TITLE: Readjusting SUMMARY: When Voldemort murders Frank and Alice Longbottom, their baby survives. Meanwhile, Lily moves into a flat in Muggle London. Alone. With baby Harry and the cat. Remus helps.

TITLE: The Paths We Take SUMMARY: Lily Evans Lupin is a detective, though her husband Remus' name is on all the paperwork. He writes incredible tales while she solves mysteries. All seems normal as the Second World War ends, and Lily is hoping for peace and eventual renown for her talents legally attributed to Remus. Her and Remus' entire world comes crashing down once more as Sirius O. Black, Remus' first love, enters their agency, with one request: to find his missing brother Regulus, who joined the Nazis and hasn't come home. Can Lily find the missing Regulus? Can Remus face his heartbreak?

TITLE: You keep messing with my brain SUMMARY: The awful truth was that when he had noticed Regulus Black he couldn’t exactly look away anymore.

WOLFSTAR

TITLE: AMOR VINCIT OMNIA (love conquers all) SUMMARY: Remus, a servant boy to the cruel Emperor Voldemort, meets Sirius, a charming nobleman. Together they fight for freedom and love in Ancient Rome.

TITLE: An Endearing Portrait SUMMARY: At the beginning of their seventh year at Hogwarts, Sirius fears that Remus’s mother and perhaps Remus himself, too, prefers someone else.

TITLE: Falling Into Place SUMMARY: There's always been something special about Remus Lupin, even if it's taken Sirius Black until his seventh year to realize it. Too bad he spends so much time agonizing over his changing feelings that he loses his chance. In which Remus acts like an idiot, Marlene is the snarky voice of reason, James is a mother hen, Peter is confused, and Sirius is seriously jealous.

TITLE: Fate and Other Ambiguous Notions SUMMARY: Truth be told, Sirius has never really paid much attention to Remus before... (Slytherin!Remus, Gryffindor!Sirius)

TITLE: Hold Me While You Wait SUMMARY: Remus Lupin just needs someone to hug him.

TITLE: If You’ll Be Waiting SUMMARY: Remus gets the Information that Sirius is probably still alive. He goes on a road trip to Germany with Harry to find him.

TITLE: In the Throws of You SUMMARY: Prompt 178: Sirius has a track record for picking bad BDSM doms, but luckily Remus is always there to provide the proper aftercare he needs.

TITLE: Ivory and Gold SUMMARY: Sirius Black is all Remus has been looking for and more. A muse, an inspiration, a theme he never wishes to let go. He’s magnetic. And Remus lets himself be pulled in.

TITLE: Let the Awful Song Be Heard, Bluebird SUMMARY: Prompt: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way. I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal. So this letter is really just a squeal of pain. – Vita Sackville West In some ways, they are still Padfoot and Moony.

TITLE: making a fool out of myself (for you) SUMMARY: Sirius and Remus have been friends for years. However, unbeknownst to the other, both of them have a secret life working as a clown. Over the years, Remus and Sirius have competed against each other in the clown/birthday party circuit, becoming actual clown enemies of each other without knowing their true identities... until now, that is.

TITLE: Meet the Moonies SUMMARY: Remus introduces Sirius to his parents for the first time.

TITLE: Renewal SUMMARY: Remus and Sirius return to Remus's cabin together after the events of Harry's third school year come to a close. Remus decides that Sirius would be much better off with a haircut and some TLC.

TITLE: Sanctify My Body (With Pain) SUMMARY: When Remus leaves for what is essentially a suicide mission, Sirius finds himself grappling with the realities of a life where he doesn't know if the love of his life is dead or alive.

Perhaps the most confusing question in these situations is: which is worse?

TITLE: Siren songs SUMMARY: Sirius had heard of mermaids before, of course. They were all over the songs bards performed at his parents' table and the tall tales sailors traded in every port. He had never given much thought to whether or not the stories were true, though. Imagine his surprise when he and his best mates found themselves shipwrecked on an unfamiliar shore, with a breathtaking and mysterious merman for their only ally.

TITLE: Sweet Nuthin’ SUMMARY: When the summer between third and fourth year begins, Sirius expects it to be nothing but lazy days, harmless pranks with James, and the occasional meet-up with the rest of his friends from Hogwarts. Those plans go out the window rather quickly when he gets a sudden glimpse of Remus Lupin, a mysterious boy who changes everything about Sirius Black's life and shows him that love will always win in the end.

TITLE: Teddy’s Wedding SUMMARY: Teddy's wedding brings about memories of the past and hopes for the future.

TITLE: That Iron Taste SUMMARY: In the middle of a particularly bitter winter, a new attendee starts showing up in Father Black’s congregation. He is entirely unfamiliar and wholly arresting. In his wake there will be confusion, horror, heat, bliss, blood, and perhaps the end of reality itself.

TITLE: The Great Gay Pornstar Twitter Feud of 2020 SUMMARY: “So what I’m hearing is that you’ve got a date with your hot, clever, fellow porn-star twitter nemesis, of whom you once said ‘I’d rather die than let that pretentious knobcloud touch my dick’... is that about right?”

“... Yes.”

Or; Remus Lupin forgets to turn the fucking camera on.

TITLE: The King I Could Become SUMMARY: Prince Sirius of Nox has one thing he cannot stand. Or rather it should be said, one person. Prince Remus of Lupos. They had never gotten along well, though their kingdoms are close allies, but a disturbance in the lands has brought them together on a quest. They'll be able to take down this threat...if they can survive each other's presence first.

TITLE: The New Sailing Master SUMMARY: Sirius is a pirate, Remus is a fugitive, Remus manages to get a lift aboard the Blithering Idiot and it's love at first sight…

TITLE: Things We Can’t Say SUMMARY: Prompt 18: Angst during the first war, based on being on opposite sides. Trying to convince them to join the light side maybe, or accidentally injuring each other or close friends of each other.

TITLE: Thoroughly Debauched SUMMARY: Prompt: Remus riding Sirius in a chair

TITLE: To Admit What Is Not More Illegal SUMMARY: On Valentine’s Day in their seventh year at Hogwarts, Sirius tries to offer what Remus needs, and starts figuring out if he's ashamed of something, and if he is, what it is.

TITLE: You Would Be Calling Me Moony SUMMARY: A month after Sirius falls through the Veil, Remus starts seeing Sirius in his dreams. But they're only dreams...right?

[lots-o-stuff]

hi! i really like your head cannons and fics, i read them all! excited for more :3. was wondering if maybe you could do kageyama with a very affectionate s/o. (ex: kissing, hand holding and etc) 🥺

hi! i was really interested with how this would work out because i found it hard to write for kageyama! so sorry if it took a while but i wanted to get it as accurate as possible for you! Also please don't be afraid to request! i get so happy when i see them it’s like instant squeal fest on my behalf! ahahah

Ok so this boy is definitely dense as shit but he is also blushy boi?

So before you were even together you were friends, well you were Hinata’s friend so you two were always around each other

You eventually become really close friends and share everything with each other hinata likes to complain that Kageyama stole his bestie

The team knew that the three of you were close but also noticed that you were… ’touchy’

Honestly they thought you had a massive crush on the two

ok so you have a slight crush on one but that’s not the point

You were affectionate to everyone you were close with, you greeted you best friends with a hug and a warm smile daily without fail but you also knew when someone would need space

It was one of the things that made Kageyama like you so much, you were kind to him without overstepping any boundaries

The third years (aka suga and Daichi, Asahi didn’t want to get involved) thought it would be a good idea to confront you and then kageyama and Hinata

After about a week of watching their three kouhai, Suga and Daichi’s plan was ready for action

Suga would talk to you, it would be before practice starts when Hinata and Kags were warming up, suga was to come in late accidentally, and then just talk to you and ask

Daichi was to simultaneously talk to both Hinata and Kageyama without letting the rest of the team know because then there would be a pandemonium

Their plan failed, well not failed but, Suga couldn’t see you, he could not for the life of him spot you

This was because you weren’t at school, you were on a two week holiday with your parents for their anniversary, and you had left, That. day.

Daichi’s side of the plan worked, they were both thinking over all the interactions they had ever had with you, all the hugs you give them when you greet them, all the soft touches on the shoulder to see of their ok, all the high fives-

They wer overthinking everything honestly and considering you weren’t going to be their for two weeks they had plenty of time to think

NOW whilst you were on a beach relaxing and making international friends….Kageyama realised he has a crush on you, a BIG one

so when you come back to school after being away for so long, he confessed, clumsily and awkward af

It turned out ok though because, well you like him back a lot as well

There was definitely an awkward couple of days because neither of you said anything or asked about what you guys were

but one day before afternoon practice when hinata had already run inside and Kageyama’s was walking away you grabbed his hand turned him around and

You kissed him

Holy crap he was actually kissing you?

When you two pulled away he has the biggest, most genuine smile on his face

he’s just looking down at you smiling when you shyly look up at him and ask him to date you, to be you know

together, together?

In response all you got was a small nod before he ran off to practice

The third years saw what happened… THE THIRD YEARS SAW WHAT HAPPENED!

*Cue the interrogation on Kageyama*

You definetely waited for him after practice

You were walking home hand in hand all the way up until the spot where you would have to split ways

where you grabbed him and kissed him again, he was just as shocked as before

after that you two were much closer, you were always touching in one way or another

whether it be holding hands or just brushing elbows whilst standing next to each other

He doesn't usually show physical affection in public, its honestly really rare that he does

AND Kageyama DEFINITELY tried to hide it from the team

but you are a force to be reckoned with

ESPECIALLY when you want attention

so the team undoubtedly sees

The team thought it was really sweet to see

especially since Kageyama didn’t look so serious and scary for once

Hinata definitely complains about how he is always the third wheel

You and Kags usually just tell him to find someone else to hang out with

Overall Kags may not be the most affectionate physically but he appreciates yours

Omg this was so much fun! Please send in requests and Have a nice day!

[cross-d-a]

I want to know ALL about Wu Xie embarrassing time traveler!Li Cu!!! ✨✨ I'm also v intrigued by Nie Huisang death death death

(Also, Cross you have so many wips; I read in awe. And to think I thought I had a lot of star wars fix-it ideas! I only have anything at all written down for two of them!)

(this refers to the WIP tag game I completed a few days ago!)

Wu Xie being EMBARRASSING & Li Cu Time Travel: 

I’ve got a series of interconnected oneshots planned where Li Cu just- accidentally hops back in time to every drama/book and helps out the Iron Triangle. and it’s more like LI CU embarrassing WU XIE haha

I thought it’d be HILARIOUS if Li Cu got to see how Wu Xie (UR MY DAD BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE) is so YOUNG and STUPID and EMBARRASSING when he’s young!! Wu Xie making (ACTUALLY) innocent doe eyes at an emo Xiao Ge?? GROSS. Wu Xie accidentally (DELIBERATELY?) setting off multiple traps in a tomb?? Li Cu is 10000/10 going to RECORD THIS on his phone and bring it BACK to the future and make fun of Wu Xie FOREVER. Also!!! There are SO MANY SNAKES in Ultimate Note!! And?? Conveniently?? Li Cu has a lil’ snake buddy?? MAYBE HE COULD HELP??? 

I basically want Li Cu being the Actual Competent One and the baby Iron Triangle floundering. Mostly Wu Xie. I want Wu Xie floundering. I also want Wu Xie SO EMBARRASSED when Li Cu hops back to his own time. 

li cu: DAD UR AN IDIOT 

wu xie: i DONT WANT TO RELIVE IT PLS AND THANK 

li cu: nO!! U ARE GOING TO SUFFER!! UR SO STUPID u set off FIVE TRAPS

wu xie: i hate you 

li cu: no u don’t u just told me u loved and appreciated me for saving ur life like ten minutes ago. there were tears in your eyes. actually they were streaming down ur face. u might have been hugging my leg and sobbing

wu xie: tHAT WAS SIXTEEN YEARS AGO FOR ME OK i am an OLD MAN

Nie Huaisang death death death:

I think it’s hilarious that you picked out one of the resurrective immortality fics considering we were JUST talking about the old guard hahaha. This one I actually have a good chunk written so far, so here is a long snippet near the beginning. Context is that Nie Huaisang’s mother is VERY pregnant and she’s riding through the mountains to visit her family before she gives birth. WARNINGS for gore (kinda??) and child death and just- DEATH in general:

There are beasts in the mountains. Ravenous, born of fury and blood, more ragged spirit than flesh. Their claws are jagged and broken and their maws drip with sizzling saliva. They have roamed the mountains for years and years, and have only grown more enraged, voracious.

The Nie Clan have always harnessed the butchery of their past. Binding rage and ruin to themselves, channeling it through their hearts and into their swords until they are one and the same. Until it feeds upon their flesh and their spirit, gnawing on their bones, carving out a little space for itself between brittle ribs. Until, one bloody piece at a time, it consumes them whole.

The Nie Clan’s power is also the source of their doom, and these beasts who roam and know only hate hate hate are Nie-furen’s doom, as well.

They descend upon the Nie in the dead of night, a roiling mass of snapping teeth and furious howls. There is blood, screaming, desperate flashes of Dao magic and heavy blades. But there are too many and it is not enough.

But the mighty Phoenix of the West has always been filled with unmatched fury and she is full of new life and about to burst. She will not let her child die here today. Not before he can breathe sweet fresh air and keen that first high cry. Not before his father can cradle him in his arms and his older brother can plant a kiss on his forehead.

That rage within her swells. It devours her spirit and bleeds out her eyes as she screams screams screams- a raging beacon of power and brutality and every ancestor’s grief.

She slaughters everything in her path.

When she comes to, she is soaked in blood and there is pain in her belly and an ache behind her eyes and in every breath- but she is alive. She lies amidst the ruins of her people and the lingering darkness of vanquished spirits and Shan Xifeng—

She goes into labour.

It is long and hard, lasting through the night into the bloody dawn and beyond. She manages to crawl to the edge of their encampment but no further. She twists into a curl of agony and cries into the clouded sky.

Her son is born on the cusp of evening, just as the sun slides behind dark, ragged peaks. He is born soft and warm and silent.

Shan Xifeng cradles him in quaking hands. Cups his cheek to her breast. His tiny head is blood-streaked like his mother. Blood-streaked like her friends and family around her.

It is an irony that on one of the most important days of her life, she is surrounded by her loved ones and yet they are all dead.

“Little one,” she murmurs, and tilts his limp head. “Little one, please.”

But he is silent as the dead around her and that grief swells again in her breast. It gnaws on her ribs and scrabbles at her throat and she is shaking shaking shaking.

“No,” she spits. “No! He has done nothing wrong! Nothing! Does he not deserve his first breath? His first cry? Does he not deserve the family that awaits him?!”

She screams into the sky and tastes blood between her teeth. “Take me instead! I beg of you! Please let him live! I would give my life! Every single one of them, so that he may live!”

Her sword quakes along with that dark raging thing within her and she clutches her dead son close.

Then—

The faint, elegant curve of a fan in the corner of her eye. The shift of cloth, the echo of a breath. The glimmering of ethereal gold and silver, like someone has spun the stars and sun above into delicate thread.

Summoned, like a beast to blood.

“All of them?”

Shan Xifeng knows better than to face an unknowable thing and so she bows as low as her broken body will allow. She stares into the bloodied dirt and breathes in dust and rasps, “Yes.”

“Hm.” A flicker of a stretching smile, coy, with a hint of sharp teeth. She does not see the fathomless dark behind those stark white teeth, a gaping void of ravenous benevolence. It is hidden behind the flare of the fan. “Do you understand what you ask for?”

“I do,” she says without hesitation.

The grin widens, lips scarlet and dark against bone-white skin. “Then I shall grant your wish.”

A shift of cloth, then a cool hand cups Nie-furen’s cheek, guiding her up. Her eyes flicker open and she sees what no mortal has ever seen, and then that fan whispers against her cheek and blood-red lips press against hers and the last thing she feels is her golden core trembling spasming dying as life is pulled from her breath- all the lives she has ever lived, the one she lives now, and every life she could have ever lived.

Shan Xifeng falls into the bloodied dirt beneath, still clutching her dead son to her breast. And then there is no one left living in that small clearing.

Pale, bony fingers trace a delicate line through the blood that lingers upon her cheek. It is still wet and useful. Stained fingers press against scarlet lips and the life held between stark white teeth is breathed anew into that blood.

Carefully, bone-thin fingers trace a deliberate character upon the newborn child’s left cheek. The blood shines, brilliant and devastating, before fading back into a gruesome name across pale skin. Slowly, the child begins to twitch, brows wrinkling in displeasure, before a high keening wail escapes tiny lips as the child take its first breath.

“Your mother does not know what she’s doomed you to.”

A day later, travelers upon the road hear a faint keening noise not far from their wagon. When they find the clearing, they gag and retch. When they find the weak, whining child clutched in his dead mother’s arms, they shake their heads and then stare at the crest emblazoned upon the woman’s clothes.

Two days after that, the child is delivered to Nie-zongzhu’s disbelieving arms.

“No,” he says, violent spirit quaking deep within him. “No. It- it is not true.”

The traveler ducks his head and clasps his hands in a bow. “I’m sorry, Zongzhu. We were not able to take the bodies with us. You’ll have to send someone to check, but…it was the crest of your house. And…” he hesitates, then nods to his companion who stumbles up and offers a sword.

Not just any sword. A dao.

Shan Xifeng’s dao.

Feng.

“No,” Nie-zongzhu cries, falling to his knees.

“I-I’m so sorry,” the traveler stutters. “I am so, so sorry, Nie-zongzhu.”

Nie-zongzhu sobs, clutching his newborn child to his chest. “Little one,” he weeps. “Oh, little one. At least life is kind enough to have spared you.”

“Yong,” the traveler blurts.

Nie-zongzhu stares uncomprehendingly, tears running hot down his cheeks.

“It- it was written upon his cheek in- in blood. I- I think that is what his mother named him. She must have done it with her dying breath. She must have wanted you to know. He did not enter this world nameless.”

“Yong,” Nie-zongzhu echoes, trembling. “It- it is a good name, for my brave little boy.” He cups his son’s cheek and sobs. “Brave like- like his mother,” he murmurs, voice thin and quaking. “She named you well.”

And perhaps it is bravery that made Shan Xifeng give up the chance to ever be reborn. Perhaps it is bravery that saved her son’s life.

But it was all a mother’s wretched love, and Shan Xifeng did not write the character for brave upon her son’s cheek.

No, it was not Yong for bravery, but Yong for eternal.

And it is not his mother who wrote it.

Perhaps it is bravery that saved her son, but is the curse of eternity really a kindness?

No, no Shan Xifeng did not truly understand what she asked for.

But Nie Yong soon would.

The next section starts with:

The second time Nie Yong dies, he doesn’t even realize it.

He is four years old.

and the third section starts with:

The third time Nie Yong dies, his Adie kills him.

He is nine years old.

It’s basically an Angst Fest with a happy ending bc...I just need a happy ending Always. I just REALLY love resurrective immortality and I love making my favourite characters Suffer :)

I hope these were fun and satisfying to read!! 

♪(ﾟ▽^*)ﾉ⌒☆

(also omg NO it’s a CURSE!!! I WISH I could just finish SOMETHING!! ANYTHING!! OMG!!! I am so envious you’ve managed to restrain yourself to a few!! Also!! I am SUPER excited to find out more about your fix-its!!! :D)

[snarkwrites]

Title: gray wool socks

Theme: fireplace/stockings

Fandom / Character(s):Ray Palmer x OFC! Avaleigh Benson, second part. Legends of Tomorrow.

Warnings: uhhh. unabashed fluff fest here +... Maaaybe a little bit teasing/innuendo and making out.

I made the moodboard thing. Don’t steal or repost/claim as your own.

Word Count: uhh.. 300 to 700+, roughly.

So this is the SECOND part to Ray and Avaleigh’s story. The first part, Heat [m], was the first night of 12 days. The third part is coming up soon and I did another moodboard/blurb for that, cookies/baking and gingerbread... and now, in this part, Ray and Avaleigh are STILL stuck in the 1950′s, working on their first/second year. And neither of them really want to go back.. They’re settling into a slow and lazy and comfortable routine for themselves. This is just.. the two of them... being cute/flirtatious as they decorate the house for the holidays and celebrate their anniversary...This is my entry for the day for @12daysofchristmas 12 Days of Christmas challenge that is being hosted by bae @chambucks, btw.

Also, again.. I made the banner for this. Don’t steal or repost.

TAGGING:

@chasingeverybreakingwave and @helluvawriter are the only people I know that would be into reading this. If you’re not on the taglist for Legends, either shoot me a dm/ask on the man or here, or click the doc linked below and add yourself pls.

[ about my writing | masterlist | multifandom tag doc ]

He was sitting by the fireplace, the warm glow lighting his face as brown eyes moved over the stack of papers in front of him. I leaned in the doorway of the study, watching him with a goofy smile on my face and my fingers toying with the beautiful silver locket he’d gotten me for our first anniversary.

This time last year if anyone even hinted that I’d enjoy being stuck in the past… Or that I’d fall head over heels with Ray Palmer, who is my opposite in pretty much every way imaginable, I probably would’ve laughed and told you that you were insane or something.

But I was and I had.

I stepped into the study and slid the pocket doors shut behind me softly, slinking towards the spot Ray sat in at his desk. I straddled his lap and reached for his hand, gently prying the papers and the pen loose. His hands moved over my sides and he blinked, trying to rid his eyes of strain. His eyes roamed over my body and he swallowed hard. A hand stopped on my bare thigh, squeezing a little as he chuckled quietly and pressed his forehead right against mine.

“Someone looks warm and cozy.” his mouth brushed against mine with every word and I mumbled back with a soft laugh and shrug, “I am, actually. I’d apologize for stealing your shirt but honestly, it’s so soft and it smells just like you so I’m not sorry.”

“I’d complain but honestly, I’m enjoying the view far too much.” he chuckled quietly, clearing his throat. “Did you get the decorations ready?”

“I did. They’re all out in the living room.” I nipped at his bottom lip, every intention of distracting him from both the tasks he currently had at hand. “You need a break, baby. All work and no play makes Ray a dull boy.”

His hand skimmed my thigh and he groaned when I scooted just a little closer, giving a teasing little wiggle as I settled myself into place, pressing against him lightly. Fingertips dug into my thigh and he nipped right back at my lip, musing quietly, “Are those my socks too, princess?”

“Mhm. They’re knee socks on me, you’re an actual giant.” I teased gently and Ray shifted around in his chair, causing me to rub right up against him. His fingertips dug into my thigh just a little more and he chuckled quietly against the deepening kiss. “If you keep teasing me, sweetheart.. The house isn’t going to get decorated. And that means that we’ll have to do it tomorrow… Instead of spending all day in bed together like you specifically said you wanted to do. Or going out to play in the snow.”

I sighed, fluttering my eyes open and closed, cozing myself against him just a little bit more, putting my arms around his neck. Nodding, I gave a soft laugh as I leaned in and outright stole another kiss, “You’re gonna love the stockings I managed to get, I think.”

He smiled, giving a soft groan when I rubbed against him again, accidentally on purpose. “I am, huh?” he asked in a quiet and soft husk, “Do you think maybe I can unwrap something tonight? Because I very much want to.”

“Oh, I think that can be arranged, baby. Because I very much want you to.” I mumbled back against his mouth, teeth tugging at his bottom lip as I deepened the kiss.

I know exactly what I came in here to do. Distract him. Love on him a little, because I just can’t stop myself from doing so.

Guess that just shows how content I truly am at last. And hopefully, just how much I love Ray and the life we’re building while trapped here in 1950…. I still can’t believe that it’s been an entire year...

[gameofdrarry]

Wizards Hearts Recs: Quidditch Player!Harry

Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here.

Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!

📜 Where The Falcons Fly by MyNameIsThunder Rated:  Mature Words:  283177 Tags: Healer Draco Malfoy, Seeker Harry Potter, Quidditch, accidental magic, Blood and Injury, Not Epilogue Compliant, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Post-Hogwarts, Scars, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Whump, POV Third Person Limited, Mutual Pining, Power Couple, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Eventual Fluff Summary:  Where the Falcons fly, there’s blood. Where Draco goes, there usually is too. That’s his job, after all – heal morons and the people who get in their way. He could deal with that, he thinks, if only there wasn’t Harry fucking Potter, Seeker, who gets injured a lot even by the Falcons’ standards and seems to have made a habit of inserting himself in Draco’s private life. Draco just wants to heal people – normal people, that is – and do his research in peace. Well, when does he ever get what he wants? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Petrichor by lazywonderland Rated:  Explicit Words:  12368 Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Getting Back Together, Top Harry, Bottom Draco, Smut, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, what's new tho lmao, Potion-Maker Draco, Draco Malfoy POV, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Riding, Bisexual Harry, there's a little little bit of toxic vibes going on here, but like......it be that way sometimes Summary:  Breakups hurt, especially when you're still in love. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Seeker, Chaser, Keeper by VivacissimoVoce Rated:  Mature Words:  59181 Tags: Quidditch, Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Falling In Love, Competition, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Post-Hogwarts, Snark Summary:  Rumor has it that a wealthy investor is starting up a brand new professional Quidditch team and he’s looking for players. Harry and Draco both want to make the team, but there can be only one Seeker. Will competing for the position bring them closer or drive them further apart? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 in excess by M0stlyVoid Rated:  Explicit Words:  3729 Tags: Gangbang, Multiple Penetration, Spitroasting, Come Marking, Rough Sex, Rough Oral Sex, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Quidditch Player Draco Malfoy, Quidditch, Secret Relationship Summary:  Harry’s so distracted by Draco during a match that he almost costs his team the win. Draco decides he should make it up to them. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 It's So Hard by unadulteratedstorycollector Rated:  Explicit Words:  9170 Tags: Anal Sex, Erections, Inappropriate Erections, Masturbation, Nude Photos, Fluff and Humor, Falling In Love, Harry Potter is Obsessed with Draco Malfoy, Pining Harry Potter, Model Draco Malfoy, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, H/D Sex Fair 2020, Getting Together Summary:  Draco has posed for some interesting photos, and it is currently making things very... hard for Harry. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Match Fit by ravenclawsquill Rated:  Explicit Words:  25233 Tags: Quidditch World Cup, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Quidditch Injuries, Magi-Physiotherapy, Gay Draco Malfoy, Bisexual Harry Potter, Snitch Joggers, Inappropriate Erections, Massage, Shower Sex, Extremely Tight Leggings, Masturbation, Blow Jobs, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Pelvic Thrusts, Rimming, Germany, Berlin (City), Shampooing, Bickering, Head Massage, Injured Harry Potter, Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley Friendship, H/D Fan Fair 2019, Secondary Theme: Travel Fair Summary:  After picking up a groin injury just two weeks before the Quidditch World Cup Final, star Seeker Harry Potter reluctantly agrees to seek help from world-renowned Magi-Physiotherapist, Draco Malfoy. Cue sexual tension, naked sports massages, inappropriate erections and a healthy dose of acid-green lycra. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 History of Magic | In Darkness, in Light by EvAEleanor Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  14536 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, History of Magic, Hogwarts, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Arguing, Family Drama, Contemporary Witness Interviews, POV Teddy Lupin, Community: Seven Shades of Drarry, Don't copy to another site, Jealous Draco Malfoy Summary:  In theory, it sounds simple enough: interview your family and write a paper about it instead of writing the History of Magic O.W.L. exam. Theory and reality are two vastly different things, though, especially when you’re Teddy Lupin. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Against All Odds by momatu Rated:  Explict Words:  53815 Tags: Romance, Beauxbatons, Paris (City), Professor Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy Speaks French, France (Country), Post-Hogwarts, Summer School, Harry Potter is Teddy Lupin's Godfather, Seeker Harry Potter, Sightseeing, Flying Instructor Draco Malfoy, H/D Pottermore Fair 2015 Summary:  Beauxbatons is hosting the first ever Quidditch Summer School for children from all over Europe, and Harry has promised to enroll Teddy as his birthday present. Meanwhile, Draco is stuck in his office, putting together the first ever Quidditch Summer School for children from all over Europe during, when he should be enjoying summer holidays. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 To Do No Harm by Lokifan Rated:  Explciit Words:  58114 Tags: Post-Hogwarts, HP: EWE, Quidditch, Getting Together, Getting Back Together, Hurt/Comfort, Recovering From The War And Becoming Better People, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, Community: hd_erised, Break Up Summary:  Draco hadn’t planned to end up as team Healer for the Chudley Cannons, but it’s a Healer job, so he’ll take it - and then Potter shows up, the glorious centre-of-attention Seeker, as ever. And someone with a grudge is sabotaging Quidditch teams, and it’s only a matter of time before the Aurors’ eyes turn to Draco. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 A Better Kind of Love by MalenkayaCherepakha Rated:  Explicit Words:  25768 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Healer Draco Malfoy, St Mungo's Hospital, Hospitals, discussion of injuries, Broken Bones, Injury Recovery, Skele-Gro, Physical Therapy, Nightmares, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Quidditch, Masturbation, Rimming, Shower Sex, Locker Room Sex, Semi-Public Sex, H/D Erised 2020 Summary:  Harry, along with the rest of the Puddlemere United team, is determined that this year will be the year they finally win the Quidditch League Cup. But when a Bludger-induced fall leads to a missed Snitch, broken bones, and an extended stay in St Mungo's, that conviction is put to the test. If Harry wants to have any chance of returning to the pitch this season he has to put all of his faith in his assigned Healer. Which is no easy task when that Healer is Draco Malfoy. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Scared, Malfoy? by Ship_Addict378 Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  1336 Tags: Gay, Winter, Quidditch, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, Soft Draco Malfoy, Cocky Harry Potter, Secret Relationship, Boyfriends, Coming Out, Top Draco Malfoy, Bottom Harry Potter, Fluff, Relationship Reveal, Harry Potter & Ron Weasley Friendship, POV Draco Malfoy, POV First Person, Adorable, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping Summary:  Draco and Harry have been dating for a while and decide it's finally time to let people know in a rather... creative way. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 EXCLUSIVE!!! by ddelusionall Rated:  General Words:  3302 Tags: Humor, One Shot, Spoilers, Not Epilogue Compliant, No Smut, sad i know but it was just a silly thing, Draco is a reporter, Quidditch Player Harry Potter, written as an article in the daily prophet, always imagined harry and draco shagging after the interview because drarry is life Summary:  Daily Prophet reporter Draco Malfoy (through a bit of Slytherin manipulation) has landed an interview with Harry Potter. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Seeker’s Game by Annakristen15 Rated:  General Words:  1218 Tags: Quiditch!au, seeker!Harry, Seekers, seeker!draco, Alternate Universe, Quidditch World Cup, hella gay, Drabble, Drarry, Boys Kissing, Kiss cam Summary:  What use could a kiss camera possibly have at a quidditch match? ❤️ Read on AO3