#it doesn't bother me because I actually agree it's not a great fic

[saintofdaggers]

bringing this back from an older post, but I think some of y'all are seriously starting to hold fanfiction to the same standards as professional publishing. I keep seeing things like people leaving star ratings on public bookmarks of fics they've read, asking authors when they're planning to update or finish a fic, giving criticism without being asked (and not only on minor things like pointing out typos, from what I've heard), saying they don't read fics below a certain word count or amount of kudos, etc. I feel that a lot of newer readers don't seem to have a grasp on the fact that fic writing is a hobby that people do for fun, and maybe to share that fun with others if they feel like it. there are different rules for interacting with hobby projects than there are for professional work in literally any medium! the star ratings especially bother me because AO3 isn't Goodreads. I understand that some of y'all like to have a searchable log of things you've read even if you didn't enjoy them that much, so you bookmark even fics you consider mediocre, but I think it's common courtesy not to badmouth people's fic writing where they can actually see it. I've seen readers argue that bookmarks aren't for the author to browse anyway, but if that's the case, why make them public? it's just going to discourage newer and less self-confident authors to see bad feedback on something they might have worked very hard on. sure, a lot of fics are sloppily written, inaccurate, cringy or OOC, but "don't like, don't read" used to be the accepted fanfic etiquette. whatever happened to that?

don't forget that people write fics for free, for enjoyment, and for love of the source material. please don't treat fic authors like they're creating professional-quality works specifically to cater to your needs and to meet your personal standards. if they don't meet those... you can just move on. it's more polite.

[jiminrings]

pink sapphire

pairing: jungkook x reader

wordcount: 11k

glimpse: having jungkook for a husband is great as far as arranged marriages could go; he's easy to love. your relationship's perhaps become so easy that jungkook doesn't think sometimes — and that's what makes it the easiest for you to hate him.

alternatively, you and jungkook married each other for business, but the both of you stay for love.

[ angst, arranged marriage au, fluff n really wholesome scenes (it cancels out the angst i swear), Jungkook Tries Hard (affectionate), miscommunication, jealousy, self-deprecation, sexual innuendos (no actual smut here!!), did i already say that jungkook tries rlly hard and is remorseful the whole time ]

notes: my year-ender fic for 2022 :) thank u for being here — i'm grateful for all ur love n support!! i'll see u in the next one <3

as always, lmk what you think <3 send in feedback n love to my askbox anytime!!

Jungkook’s a vocal person.

Your husband does not leave a single thought unspoken, sometimes his thinkpieces too impulsive that when he says them in public, you try to play it off by either distancing yourself with him or from him.

“I think the world would be just fine even if all the bees disappear,” Jungkook once said to you with conviction, midway into chewing his cheeseburger. “There’s articles about it proving otherwise but they’re too long for my attention span, but yeah, I don’t think it would be that bad, y’know?” he giggles, looking up at the ceiling in serious thought. “If anything, the Bee Movie taught us that-…” 

Jungkook yelps automatically when you pinch his thigh, your hand sternly gripping his knee like both your reputations depended on it (they really did). “Jungkook, we’re literally in a climate change gala right now.”

“I don’t think coffee’s ever that serious. Seriously, world barista championships? New techniques in supposedly making the best cup of coffee when you’re all just gonna shit it ten minutes later? It’s not that deep,” Jungkook once whispered to you in urgency, his annoyance through the roof. He’s glued to your side, intent on whispering all about his irritation.

“Jungkook, I’m begging you,” you wince, screwing your eyes shut and slowly moving the two of you to the far end of the room. “We were literally right next to your uncle whose new wife is the organizer for that very championship you’re shitting on.”

“We need to talk about the tote bag epidemic,” Jungkook once whisper-yelled to you in a rush, holding you by the arm because he just can’t contain his inner thoughts any longer. You’re thankful, sure, that you’re your husband’s go-to person for all of his random thoughts; it’s just that he picks the worst settings to tell them to you.

“They look kinda tacky, everybody deludes themselves that they’re functional even if they have zero pockets, and-…”

“And you just offended atleast three different age groups and all of them are in this café. We need to leave.”

Jungkook’s endearing this way, raw and a tad bit annoying. He’s expressive as much as he’s vocal, his hand slotted on your waist like second nature to him. Being married to him isn’t bad. Sure, the circumstances of your union in the first place were for business anyway, but the both of you understood and agreed at the end of the day. By all means, he’s ideal — ideal until he opens his mouth when he’s sleeping.

If there’s anything that your two years of marriage (and counting) to Jungkook makes you realize, it’s that you should value your peace and sanity more than anything.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

Jungkook groggily asks you with one eye open, conveniently seeing you in the act of hovering around him with an ominous object in your hand. Maybe it’s the sleep in his eyes or the fog in his brain, but when you look at him like this– bothered and passionately frustrated, it makes him love you even more.

“No,” you mutter, the snoring mouth strip in your hands just begging to be put on already. “I’m trying to make you quiet.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Perhaps it’s the sleep in your eyes or the fog in your brain, but you swear you just saw your husband crack a smirk despite keeping you up multiple nights a week, especially for the past month. He’s not endearing tonight, not at all.

“Isn’t marriage all about accepting each other’s flaws?” Jungkook frowns, about to turn on his side when you put your knee to block him.

“We’re arranged,” you deadpan. “I can’t accept you snoring with bass and reverb every night, Jungkook. I can barely sleep.”

“But didn’t you tell me you like it when I make noises?” Jungkook glares playfully. Bringing up your sex life with him out of the blue almost always does the trick, but it probably won’t work tonight now that you’re only awake and breathing heavily from sheer annoyance. “That you adore me whenever I tell you how much I love it?”

“Jungkook,” you hiss, tempted to flick him on the forehead in his sleep repeatedly so he’ll wake up with a mark. “Will you let me put the snoring strip on you or do we divorce?”

“Divorce,” he sighs out, a pinch instantly placed on his thigh that makes him jolt and squeak anyway. Jungkook whines, correcting himself when your hand hovers his chest this time. “Divorcing is bad!”

“Mhmm. Good night, Kook.”

You vibrate just by the prospect of sleeping peacefully tonight without the walls in the house being shaken up by your husband’s snores, tucking yourself in with an exhale that could last for minutes.

“Mmh-hmm!”

Jungkook could only pathetically whine through the mouth strip, resigning to his fate as he just spoons you from behind and huffs.

“What’s that? You want to wear snoring strips every night?” you chuckle, going to sleep with a smile. “What a nice husband.”

( ♡ )

Every now and then, you and Jungkook have to take a refresher course on each other’s businesses. The both of you know a lot already, constant conversations about which meetings happened where and reminders for events that the other will clear up their schedule for.

There’s already the concern and the general knowledge — it’s just all in the technicalities (even the simplest ones) that the two of you are lacking on.

“Is this a mock neck or a crewneck?” Jungkook holds up a shirt that’s yet to be released, eyebrows raised as if waiting for you to mess up. Come to think of it, you have to know now because his family’s holding company had acquired yet another brand and there’ll be a televised event for it — and some reporters ask the stupidest questions to date. You can’t be the weakest link.

“I wanna say neither,” you clear your throat, biting your bottom lip in confusion. It’s a shirt with a collar and that’s the only thing that matters. You know there’s a name for it and there’s a possibility that the choices Jungkook gave you were all bluffs.

Your answer definitely seems to pique both Jungkook’s interest and amusement, resisting the urge to laugh.

“Elaborate.”

“It’s neither of the two. It’s uhm, in the middle?” you tilt your head, only praying that you could bullshit your explanation to your husband, the very person that created the garment. “It’s an all-new neckline created by Jeon Jungkook because that’s what his label is all about.”

Flattering, but really wrong.

“Cool,” he snickers, nodding to himself before he tosses it for you to catch. “It’s a crewneck though.”

“What? Then why did you make me elaborate?” you complain, scoffing to yourself because you know you should’ve went with that answer. Crewnecks should be easy enough to answer but for some reason (read: you stayed up last night watching new-money elitist reality shows instead of studying), you couldn’t answer.

“To see how good you can run away with your answer, duh.”

“And did I run away with it?”

“You ran away with it for like, four meters,” Jungkook commends you, the distance not all that bad in hindsight, atleast until he opens his mouth again. “There’s a hundred meters in total.”

Trivial things like quiz night on each other’s professions remind you that Jungkook’s nice to be with. Banter flows easily and he’s just so charming that so far, you haven’t deeply regretted a single day out of the two years you’ve been married.

You may not be able to name all the different fabrics, silhouettes, and techniques behind Jungkook’s very own streetwear brand, but you know that he likes being held when he’s asleep; that when he taps your thigh groggily after waking up in the middle of the night, it’s him very kindly asking you to rub circles on his back until he falls asleep.

“Okay, my turn!”

Your glass table almost shakes in excitement when you retrieve your sketches, making your husband all the more nervous because you look genuinely excited and he doesn’t want to disappoint you. He doesn’t have the room for error — your family’s jewelry brand turns 100 years old since the opening of its first shop and the event will be widely attended by everyone from all industries. Who’s to say that your eccentric grandfather won’t suddenly host a quizbee all about their craft?

You flash the paper quickly and your husband sighs in relief, grinning in confidence.

“Emerald cut, easy!” 

The confidence is quickly washed out from Jungkook because you snort, putting the paper down.

“It’s an octagon cut.”

“No it’s not,” he immediately retorts in disbelief, squinting at the sketch you’ve set down already.

“I sketched these,” you narrow your eyes. You forgot just how quick Jungkook can keep himself in denial. “Emerald cuts have more depth to them."

He succumbs just as quickly as he turned stubborn though, rolling his eyes with the internal reminder to touch up on his jewelry knowledge because your event comes before his.

“Fine, sue me for thinking your drawings have depth and dynamic to them.”

“You’re buttering me up.”

“Is it working?” Jungkook blinks owlishly, proud of himself when he sees the corner of your lips twitching. He holds his arm out to sling across your waist out of instinct, pleased in pink when you lean into him.

“Barely.”

Jungkook frowns, nosing into your hair with a huff. “Look who’s talking. You made up an all-new neckline by yourself.”

“Shh,” you hum. “Let me get away with it.”

These moments of domesticity are what remind you that Jungkook’s never been less than ideal for you. That despite being in the same social circle as kids and only starting off as friends, you weren’t hesitant when both your grandparents suggested the idea of getting the two of you married.

In trivial and domestic moments like these, you think that you would’ve wanted to marry Jungkook even if you weren’t arranged.

“I let you get away with a lot of things,” he playfully huffs, resting his chin on your shoulder intentionally heavy to get you to cave deeper into his embrace.

“Because I barely wrong you!” you reason, rolling your eyes because you know for a fact that although you’re not a perfect wife, you’re beyond ideal.

“I know,” Jungkook rolls his eyes this time, the truth undeniable. You’re right; you’re so perfect for him that sometimes, he thinks he doesn’t deserve you.  “How about me? Will you let me get away with a lot of things?”

“I already have,” you sing-song, narrowing your eyes playfully as if in deep warning. “But I won’t always do.”

( ♡ )

Jungkook first realized that you loved him when he missed a single step on the staircase and tumbled a whole flight.

It was 3 AM then, the reason behind his sudden trip downstairs being the fever you developed overnight when you had just gotten home from a ski trip. He had put a wet towel in the freezer in the afternoon and he was supposed to put it on you before you went to sleep. Jungkook must’ve beat himself up for forgetting because he wakes up with a cold sweat, determined to put that frozen towel on you like his life depended on it.

Jungkook thought he was doing well by the way he could navigate clearly even with the sleep in his system, eyes still half-lidded and brain still half-working that he decides to rip out the largest yawn to man mid-step on the staircase — before he knows it, he’s woken up immediately to the bottom of it.

“Jungkook!” you yelled to him then in a panic, eyes wide and frantic to see him at the bottom of the stairs with a sheepish smile. Jungkook knew then that seeing you with a head-splitting migraine visible on your pale lips and fatigued eyes, scooping him up on your arms with nothing but scolding and fussing on rotation — he knew that you loved him more than you let on.

You know Jungkook loves you. So when the bed dips and your arms grow cold despite swearing up and down that the both of you have a free day today, you doubt for a second.

“What are you doing up so early?” you mutter, stifling a yawn to see Jungkook up without a complaint.

“Breakfast with my parents. My crazy aunt suddenly came over and they need backup,” Jungkook answers with a pained laugh, cussing himself for being such a filial son. “Don’t worry, I know you hate her plus you were up all night yesterday so I just told them you can’t come because you’re under the weather.”

You’re put at ease to hear him, sighing a breath of relief — good, Jungkook still loves you and doesn’t plan to leave you. It’s just an inkling you’ve had the last few weeks, the daunting realization that in a couple months’ time, it’ll be three years of marriage with him.

It’s the impulsive, less rational part of your brain that thinks Jungkook’s growing bored of you, confused of how he’s been perfectly content being your husband for almost three whole years. 

You go with Jungkook all the way through downstairs, your playful teasing towards him about never yawning again on the steps giving him more amusement (and embarrassment) than necessary.

“Kook?” you question with a furrow in your brow, pointing at the dish that’s occupied still. “You forgot the car keys.”

“Oh. I’m not taking the car,” he smiles, shrugging to emphasize the jacket that he intentionally wore. You missed the detail somehow, the surprise in your voice more evident.

“You’re taking your motorbike?”

“Mhmm!” Jungkook hums pleasantly, the background music in his brain going from calm elevator music to rising bass rift. He’s just about to bid you goodbye with a kiss after he wears his gloves but he’s stopped even before he could come near. You’ve already read his mind.

Your husband knows it when you put your arms across your chest, nodding towards the cabinet with a tone that leaves no room for counterarguments.

“Go wear your full gear.”

“But the breakfast place isn’t even that far,” Jungkook whines, head tilting back. His gear was literally hot, protecting him from sunlight yet physically making him boil inside. 

“I want you in one piece.”

“You want me?” Jungkook cheekily grins, eyebrows wagging incessantly with his arms outstretched. That’s it! If he could just act cuter and be a little more-

“Go wear your gear.”

“I look goofy,” he mutters, eyes downcast. The longer he goes without blinking, the faster he knows that he’s going to stick to your words.

“You look safe,” you smile in success when you put his helmet on, securing it extra tightly that draws a whine from him.

Jungkook frowns but he knows that you’re right as always, a relieved sigh coursing throughout his whole body because who knew where he’d end up without you.

“Ride safe, Jungkook. I mean it. Don’t pull any tricks,” you glare pointedly at him, recounting all of the near misses he had from wanting to be adventurous, be it a trip downstairs to the refrigerator or in the middle of a main thoroughfare.

“I promise not to pull a wheelie on the highway, yes,” Jungkook mockingly salutes you, drawing out a faux disappointed sigh from you.

“You’re forgetting something.”

Was he really? Jungkook furrows his brows in confusion, smacking his lips when he seems to get the gist of it. He walks towards you, puckering his lips to the max because he doesn’t want to headbutt you with a solid helmet for just a smooch, landing a gentle kiss on your cheek. 

You appreciate it, but Jungkook’s not quite right.

“No, not that.”

“What?” he seems taken aback, suddenly realizing. “Oh!” he giggles, raising up his right hand in a pledge. “I promise to text you when I get there.”

“Good.”

You have to put more strength to drag Jungkook by the helmet, angling your head to the side to kiss so he doesn’t knock you in the forehead with the extremely safe (and extremely bulky) helmet you got him.

Jungkook smiles in contentment, clearing his throat as he revs his engine. It’s all good then. He had become worried in silence because your three years of marriage were approaching and got scared because what if you grew bored of him already?

Jungkook worries that he’ll mess things up with you one day, but with the way he can see you waving at him frantically on his side mirror when he just left, it’s okay. 

He knows you still love him.

( ♡ )

Hoseok’s your most talented and trusted metalsmith.

His work ethic’s unparalleled, your vision only coming into fruition through his support and skill. He’s indispensable to you, your place in the direction of your family’s business cemented by Hoseok’s aid.

Hoseok as both an artist and your employee is different from Hoseok as your friend. Both are cunning but the latter is more ruthless, the lines being blurred every now and then. He loves his job, don’t get him twisted at all — in fact, he trusts you as a boss and the company beyond comprehension that he doesn’t bear any tact for anyone who threatens either.

Not even for Jungkook.

“A collab, huh?” Hoseok squints, looking through the portfolio you’ve handed him. There’s already projected numbers that your analysts have predicted for you but he pays the papers no mind. He clicks his tongue, looking up at you with an unreadable expression. “A streetwear brand wants a limited-edition collection with us?”

Jungkook clears his throat, timidly raising his hand. He’s always known that Hoseok’s standoffish to literally everyone except you, but what he can’t take is being talked about like he isn’t in the same room.

“Uhm, I’m Y/N’s husband.”

“Well you’re the owner of that streetwear brand, aren’t you?” Hoseok raises a brow at him, tilting his head. He looks drastically bored, his tongue poking his cheek.

Jungkook blinks, not exactly knowing where this was going but he doesn’t like it one bit. “Yes, but I’m also her husband.”

“Okay?” Hoseok tilts his head, eyes already exhausted from the conversation. You know that look on him, the one that tells you he’s bored to death and is itching to shut up the nearest person to him. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Jungkook rarely gets flustered by anyone else besides you and this time, it’s the bad kind. The embarrassment he gets from just conversing with Hoseok makes him feel like he’s an inconvenience, unease settling into his stomach. Jungkook wishes he couldn’t be so perceptive to know that despite Hoseok’s eyes normally being unreadable, his gaze now on his sketches can be read as underwhelmed.

“Well I-I mean, I’m hearing a lot of us and it sounds like you and Y/N, not me and Y/N,” he licks his lips, recognizing the insecurity that sticks to his tone like honey. Not only does he feel insulted as an artist, he also feels insufficient as a husband.

“That is what I’m saying though,” Hoseok trails off, hand vaguely gesturing for Jungkook to fill in the rest of the blanks. When he doesn’t, Hoseok does it for him. “It’s me and Y/N seeing this brand through. Not you and her.”

Jungkook blinks once, twice.

Hoseok isn’t wrong. No matter how much pain it brings Jungkook to admit it, Hoseok isn’t wrong. Your marriage may be for you and him alone, but your company– your artistry is only yours as much as it’s Hoseok’s. He has no place here and he feels it, his initial confidence that the collaboration he proposed was going to pass already dwindling by the millisecond.

“Hoseok’s right,” you cough, breaking their conversation. The tension was already too thick and you’ve barely made it halfway to looking at the entirety of the portfolio. “Reel it in, Jungkook.”

He’s jealous. He’s jealous and he forgot just how pathetic and insufficient one could feel when the green monster of heartburn decides to make an appearance. Jungkook just about doubts everything, from thinking of how your admiration for Hoseok is probably much higher than the admiration you have for him, to thinking if you even benefit from being arranged to him.

Hoseok looks over the designs, noting all the details silently.

“Huh. I see,” he hums, clearing his throat to try and keep all the crass words he has in mind to himself because you’re looking at him intently. “Skulls. Haven’t seen this one before.”

“You sketched this?” Hoseok nods every now and then, holding up the paper that had deep indents of the pencil on the paper to the point that it defeats the concept of a sketch. Your husband nods, and he wishes he hadn’t because Hoseok comments not a second later. “Figures.”

He hums, silently approving here and there of some concepts he could totally get behind. It’s not all rubbish content, but he can’t say that salvageable automatically equates to commendable.

“So? What do you think, Hobi?” you ask when the silence has gone long enough, having noticed that Jungkook already grew too quiet in your corner.

Hoseok calculates in his brain, looking from the portfolio and back to you. He tries not to clench his jaw for the sake of you silently pleading him to mince his words and actions, clasping his hands together.

“Yeah, it’s doable,” he nods, making Jungkook smile despite his ego being a little wounded. He’s bounced back miraculously, profusely thanking Hoseok with an unexplained eagerness to him. Before Jungkook could launch himself to further possibilities though, Hoseok calls for you.

“Y/N? A word, please?”

Jungkook looks back from the door, hesitant doe eyes flitting between the two of you. You don’t know exactly what’s going through his mind but you know better than to project, bidding him goodbye for the timebeing. “It’ll be quick.”

The most commendable trait you can attribute to Hoseok besides being your friend is his passion for your craft. He’s vision-oriented in the sense that he cuts straight to the chase before he could even lose the trail that the sudden burst of fervor leaves him.

“Meridian’s your baby. It’s your grandmother’s grandmother’s baby. It’s coveted. It has meaning,” Hoseok rambles, the sigh leaving him more concerned than it was relieved at being let out. He can’t mince his words now — he can’t put it in any other way besides the truth. “Collaborating with Jungkook cheapens it.”

“Hoseok.”

Your tone edges on a bite, clenching your jaw as you try to take everything in. Hoseok’s been your voice of reason for so long but you don’t know how to accept that voice now, the tinge of guilt slowly staining you because the back of your mind tells you that he isn’t wrong.

Jungkook’s streetwear brand is huge; whether or not you chalk it up to his name being linked to his family’s holding company that’s responsible for other designer brands, your husband’s brand specifically remains larger than life. It’s not a flawless brand, that much you’re sure of, but it’s still of great value.

Just perhaps not of the same degree that Hoseok holds your company to.

“It’s not all bad, but most of his work is dispassionate. It’s typical. Meridian would look cheap if you commit to this fever dream collaboration.”

There’s a rash on your neck, one that’s warm and speaks to your ear of how shitty it must feel to even agree partially to what Hoseok’s saying. Your duties as an artist in the business rarely clash with your courtesies as Jungkook’s wife — today just happens to be one of those days.

“It’s Jungkook’s idea, okay?” you relent, voice low as if in defeat of admission. You don’t mean to belittle him, you just happen to know and listen to reason. “It’s not the best, I know, but it’s honest work. Let’s give him a chance.”

“You’re giving him a chance because he’s your husband, not because you see any potential.”

Hoseok says it without uttering nor a single sense of doubt. He sounds so definite that you don’t even know if he’s still insulting Jungkook or if he’s insulting you at this point, swallowing your words.

There’s truth to your craft but you know there’s an even bigger truth to the unspoken protectiveness you have over Jungkook, the answer sounding seemingly shallow but that’s what it really is — love makes you shallow as much as it makes you deep.

“You’ll know when you’re married.”

“Arranged would be the term for you and Jungkook. Not married,” Hoseok quips. “You’re only holding back your critique. We both know it’s a dead end when it comes to creative direction.”

The both of you leave it at that, the decision being unanimous to collaborate with Jungkook despite your metalsmith’s hesitance. What you say goes, that’s just how hierarchy works. 

Unbeknownst to you and Hoseok though, Jungkook’s been listening the whole time — that’s just how love operates sometimes; hidden and relinquished.

( ♡ )

Jungkook’s hurt.

How crude of Hoseok to think of him that way. How worse of you to agree even.

Jungkook’s irrational when he’s hurt, refusing to see reason. He knows at the back of his head that he’s hit a rut and pitching in a collaboration with your brand is his last-ditch attempt in sparking something. Cheap was a word for tackiness and to have your friend use it on him brings him to a new low.

It’s just jewelry. What you make is just jewelry. Just pieces of metal bended and soldered together with shiny gems that don’t possess any real meaning to them besides superficial.

It’s not that deep.

Not that deep to the point that when Hyejoo, his childhood friend turned actress turned fleeting appearance in his life every now and then (whom you hate for some reason), asks him for a favor — Jungkook barely hesitates.

Hyejoo stands before him in a shirt from his brand’s limited collection, one out of the only hundred ever made. If Jungkook recalls correctly, he didn’t even send any items from the limited collection to any of his friends; he left everyone besides you to go fend for themselves.

Perhaps his childhood friend’s truly a fan of his craft, knowing her for her utmost support towards all his releases. To be honest, the two of them aren’t even that close anymore to the point that they’re each other’s first friend to think of in dire circumstances, except now — now when she needs him for a favor.

“But I need a pink ring for the event, Jungkook!” Hyejoo whines, throwing her head back for dramatic effect. Truth be told, she knew no brand that had pink jewelry that was elegant enough for her taste except yours. She’s turned down sponsorships all for a ring you probably keep in your sock drawer. “Yes I can buy from other brands but you’re there, Kook. You’re available and I can borrow from you because your wife has a shit ton.”

Jungkook knows what Hyejoo’s talking about. It’s the one pink ring that you wore on your engagement party with him and it’s become the talk of everyone from how ethereal you looked, the one tiny piece of jewelry tying it all together.

He knows it’s pink and he knows it’s just hidden away in its jewelry box, one that you keep right next to his collection of watches. There was no fancy vault for it either, just tucked next to his timepieces as if they were of the same value.

“Come on, she won’t even notice,” Hyejoo urges him, making him inwardly cringe. She turned up on his front door unannounced asking for a favor and he feels indebted her for the last time she granted him one, the apartment complex that Hyejoo owned becoming the perfect backdrop to his collection that’s still renowned to this day.

Jungkook’s loyal, he knows he is. His loyalties lie with you and he still honors his debt — whether or not you’re caught in the middle. It’s true that you won’t even notice, you don’t even peek at it anyway! For someone who’s a part of a family of jewelers, you rarely accessorize yourself gaudily.

“Fine. I’ll let you borrow,” Jungkook mutters, finally relenting to Hyejoo’s requests. He opens the door wider, on the way to your shared bedroom but looks back hastily at Hyejoo to point a stern finger. “But give it back, okay?”

It takes a great amount of strength for Jungkook to even hand the ring to Hyejoo, not even including the box with her because a) you would know that it was missing, and b) he wants her to wear it at all times until she gives it back the next day. Jungkook takes it personally to flick her wrist to serve as a reminder that he had given it to her already, even going so far to take a picture of the two of them and make her sign on his notes app.

He’s not necessarily betraying you — or so he thinks. It was just jewelry that you wouldn’t miss, same as the shirts that he gives away to his friends. Their retail prices may be lightyears away but you would understand; you always do.

Jungkook gaslights himself into thinking that he did no wrong but the guilt is what slowly gnaws on him, the tips of his fingers going numb every time he looks at you. 

Come to think of it, his decision to lend your ring to Hyejoo was out of sheer pettiness even without the assurance that you’ll take notice of it. His hurt over Hoseok’s comment disappeared the moment he handed her your ring, but to his surprise, it’s anxiousness that replaces his irritation.

He kisses you good night still as if today didn’t happen; how his irrationality had gotten the best of him when he got hurt by Hoseok’s remarks over his passion and creativity, and just a few hours later, it’s his impulsiveness and misplaced urge for vindication that lent your unsuspecting ring to his childhood friend.

“Jungkook!” you yell out in panic, urging him awake instantly that his heart beats incessantly despite being pulled out of sleep. You look frantic, the rawness in your eyes not from your lack of sleep, but instead from tears. “Call 911. The Interpol! The CIA! The fucking Blue House!”

“What?! What happened?!”

He’s panicked just as you are, hands shakily clutching his phone. He looks you up and down and inspects you for injuries to which there are none, nothing but overwhelm making your body shake.

Jungkook can’t bear to see you so glum and helpless, your bottom lip trembling as you look at him feeling nothing but pathetic.

“My ring,” you whisper brokenly, the phantom feeling of wearing it making you sob even more. “My ring is gone.”

Jungkook’s mouth dries, the panic in his own body turning against himself, his remorse growing into something larger than life. He could physically see the confusion on your face on the way he paled, his phone dropping out of his hold.

Your husband’s hands reach for you but you don’t take them, recoiling even before he could open his mouth. Jungkook was readable — too readable to the point that you wish he had lied to your face instead.

“I-I can explain.”

Jungkook weakens by the knees when the words drape from the tip of his tongue, your chest sucking in an inhale so sharp that he gets weakened by the force of it. “I lent it to Hyejoo.”

You’re quiet, the type of rage in you simmering ever so slowly that it builds to an immense heat. You don’t know if you can ever muster to look at Jungkook in the eye, your middle finger that knows the grooves of your ring twitching in muscle memory.

“You what?” you croak, tilting your head. You know what you’ve heard but you just wish you’re mistaken this time, cursing your own accuracy. “Who told you that you could do that?” 

Jungkook’s cornered in his mind and he spews the first thing in his mind, no matter how stupid it sounded.

“Yours is mine and mine is-…”

“That doesn’t apply here! You’re so fucking-…” you just about burst in the seams, clenching your jaw so hard to the point that you give yourself a headache. You’re resolute this way, the pitiful look on your husband’s face not getting a single drop of remorse from you. “Get it back.”

You wouldn’t have lent it to anyone regardless if Jungkook asked you, but you would have considered at the very least. For him to take something so special to you and loan it to someone you’re not even fond of ticks a wire in your brain, your anger coming before the sadness fully hits.

“Y/N!” he hisses, angry at both the situation and himself but he now thinks of the courtesy that he didn’t possess when Hyejoo borrowed your ring. “I can’t turn back on my word.”

“What? Your word that favors Hyejoo and shits on mine?” you scoff in disbelief, laughing at the mockery Jungkook makes of you. It’s insulting and saddening and you can’t even begin to think of the extensive cleaning and safekeeping you’ll have to do once you get your ring back. “I said, get it back. You’re my husband and you’re just her friend, you have all the means to take my ring back.”

Jungkook turns somber, a stark contrast to your anger. He pleads with you, finally closing the gap between you to which you roll your eyes.

“The event is tonight. She’ll return it tomorrow. Please, it’ll be embarrassing.”

“For you or for her?” you ask but the rage in your voice is already simmering, the daunting thoughts of how Jungkook thinks of his friend’s sake and himself first than his wife making you clench your fists around nothing.

“Y/N, please.”

His incessant begging does little to influence your decision because you’ve already changed your mind, the rage that dipped in you and the fact that your heart’s already aching despite having just woken up converting you instead.

“Tomorrow morning. I want it back in the case before I wake up.”

The two of you sleep apart for the night and Jungkook can’t even bring himself to contest it knowing that he doesn’t deserve to hold you. He simmers in self-loathing, unable to sleep the night when his phone dings from the notifications it has of your name.

Hyejoo’s look on the carpet trends the whole night, the main focus of everyone being the pink ring that adorns her ring finger. There’s threads of speculations how you and her are either best friends or how she must’ve bought it from you. If only he could, Jungkook would reply to each comment saying that Hyejoo doesn’t hold a candle to your elegance and how the ring has always been yours — that it’s his fault that his friend’s even wearing the same piece.

He’s restless and he can’t even begin to think how much more tired you feel. Of your name being brought up and of him royally fucking up. 

When Jungkook thinks it couldn’t be worse, karma one-ups him from the very mistake he committed when he entertained Hyejoo’s favor in his mind.

“You’re stupid,” you spit to Hyejoo who stands on your porch, head downturned in shame. She had half the decency to face you personally but lacks the rest to honor her end of the bargain; she lacks the intellect to respect you.

She lost the ring. She lost the pink ring you’ve treasured and cared for since you were a teenager, losing it after a careless and drunk decision of skinny dipping. You feel like you’ve been made a fool not only by your husband, but also by his friend that you don’t care for at all.

The tears fall out of your eyes in anger, each one being in a rush to exit because you’re full of resentment at this point.

“You’re a brainless, stupid, careless fucking idiot. I don’t want to see you in my household again,” you point at her, making her step back.

“This is Jungkook’s-…” she squeaks, just about to correct you when you point at her even more menacingly. You’re not even joking around as it seems like, eyes angry to the point that they lack of love, even for Jungkook who tries to hold you back.

“I’ll get a restraining order on you.”

Hyejoo scurries out all with the promise to reimburse you (as if she has the money to do so) that falls on deaf ears, your hand slamming the door too hard that your husband swears the walls shook with your force.

You look unrecognizable with the sheer disappointment you have for him, your anger dripping off of you thickly that he’s rendered speechless.

“You,” you seethe. “I fucking hate you.”

You never told him that before.

You’ve gotten mad at him on several occasions but never to this degree where you tell him that you loathe him. This is the furthest that you’ve took it, the honesty behind your words making his bottom lip tremble.

Jungkook’s eyes have been perpetually moist since last night but it’s only now that his eyes sting with white hot sadness. You’re only reacting out of your state of overwhelm; you must be, right?

“I hate you so, so much, Jungkook.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“No, I really mean that,” you scoff to his face, shaking your head in absoluteness. “What would you do if I sold your car, huh?”

Jungkook wants to apologize to you so bad but he doesn’t have the right words to give you the proper one that you deserve. He gives you an answer off the top of his head, the disappointment for himself growing if he does otherwise.

“It’s just a car.”

“Well this is just not a fucking ring to me! It’s not simple like that!” you burst, your movements jerky.

“I’ll buy you a new ring,” he whispers, wanting to tug at his hair for being so stupid. He should’ve considered the possibility that Hyejoo has a knack for being careless; he failed to account that he went behind your back to lend your ring to someone else in the first place.

“I can buy my own rings!” you exclaim. “What you don’t get is that this means the world to me! If your uncle gave you a car, and I gave it to someone else and now it’s on the bottom of the ocean, what would you feel?”

“It’s just a car from my uncle. I can replace it. I can buy a better one.”

Jungkook knows he’s just making excuses. He’s just being defensive now that he’s cornered and has no excuse for behaving so poorly. He can’t escape the anger and the disappoint he’s flooded with, not when you cry out of sheer distress.

“Not if my aunt isn’t here! Not if this ring is one of the only things I have of her!”

Sure, your aunt was dodgy. She’s the black sheep of your family and had done more than a lot of questionable things, but she cared for you. She had given you her own ring when you were twelve and whilst it was too big for you to wear, she gave you a chain for you to wear it around your neck.

The ring is something you can easily replicate but the thought behind it is what you can’t take back. It’s not the only piece of her that you have but it’s one of the earliest things you obtained; one of the most notable pieces out of the bunch.

“You don’t think. You don’t care. You don’t love.” 

For Jungkook to carelessly seize it from you and loan it to someone else grips your heart like a vice. You’re gonna dwell on it for more than a couple of days and realize that you have more sentimental and elegant things you have of your aunt eventually — but what matters to you is how you feel now. How Jungkook had disappointed you so bad, you feel like throwing up.

“I want to divorce you,” you seethe, meaning your words at the heat of the moment. Jungkook stands frozen, hearing his own heartbeat thrum in his ears. “I can find a new husband. What I can’t find — what neither you nor Hyejoo can’t find is my ring.”

( ♡ )

You do it while he’s sleeping.

You take advantage of Jungkook’s fatigue and disorientation from crying his eyes out, passed out in the couch while he hugs himself with his arms to try and replicate your embrace. It’s already morning and it only looks like he slept just minutes ago, positively dozed off.

You take much care in slipping of the platinum wedding ring from his finger, joining your discarded one in your palm. There’s only carelessness when you scoop them into a tiny drawstring bag, taking it to Hoseok and doing a regular work day as if your head hadn’t pounded with hurt just last night.

It’s only convenient for the both of you; Jungkook’s decision slingshots back to him, and your client would be happy. Hoseok texted you last night asking if he should grant the request of a high-profile client with a titanium pendant, and it just so happens that you have two chunks of it that you no longer need. It could be melted and repurposed — after all, it’s just jewelry according to Jungkook.

The guilt of your impulsiveness doesn’t hit you instantly, it only comes with confusion when you see your husband in shambles.

When you come home, the whole house is upturned. Jungkook’s frantic, waking up to a hand that bears no wedding ring; no proof of you. His eyes glaze with relief briefly when he sees you, urging you to take in the situation fully.

“The police. The CIA! Interpol! MI6 — or is it MI7? Fuck, Mr. Bean’s movie was too good! Get the Blue House on the line!” he blubbers, looking back and forth the cushions of the couch and his hand. “My wedding ring!”

It’s perhaps a ballsy move made on your part, but you can’t guilt yourself into bearing the blame. You made your wedding rings and it only makes sense for you to get rid of them. The bands are symbolic, made and upheld with love for the last two years but in your haste of upset, you’ve given them away.

You perhaps regret it slightly, the fog in your brain lifting but only faintly. You’re still mad and disappointed at Jungkook, and perhaps you don’t mean the bit of divorcing him, but you do mean wholeheartedly the sentimentality you have behind all your jewelry.

The platinum in your ring finger just felt too heavy last night that you grew weary of it, not thinking twice when you removed yours and Jungkook’s. Even if the two of you make up and you don’t end up divorcing Jungkook, you wouldn’t want to wear the same ring that brought you the same pain during its stint.

“I sold them,” you answer, turning your back on him before you could see the anguish in his face. “We have no need for them.”

( ♡ )

Jungkook’s making you a rice bowl as an apology.

Buttered fried rice, egg, bacon, and all with a generous amount of cheese. It’s his hangover food when he needs something greasy and filling but the only difference from his past hangovers and your anger at him is the latter barely feels like it could be rectified.

He says his apologies again through the door and he’ll happily repeat it to your face if you stand longer in front of him for more than a minute, his panic even larger than the oil splashes he’s gotten from making your bacon eagerly.

“I’m so sorry, baby. It was stupid of me to lend your ring to Hyejoo behind your back and I swear I won’t do it again. I know that ring meant a lot to you and I-I was so pathetic by invalidating that,” he mutters through the door, looking at the frying pan every now and then to make sure he wasn’t burning anything. “I have every intention of finding your ring and making it up to you, cross my heart!”

It feels insulting, even. For him to think that he could change the ache of your heart with a simple hot meal. Jungkook realizes that he really is dense when you don’t answer the door for the twenty minutes that he knocks. When you do open up, he feels even more dumb.

Just twenty minutes ago, he wired you twice the amount of the worth you estimated your aunt’s ring to be. Combined with the pitiful amount Hyejoo wires you, it’s then do you realize that you’re not fazed by money. The initiative is there, sure, but the ache in your heart hasn’t subsided completely.

You do miss Jungkook. It does tug at your heartstrings to see and hear him beat himself up over and over again the more you realize that you’re attached to your aunt’s memories rather than the ring itself, but just two nights away from each other won’t absolve everything he’s done and failed to do.

When you open the door, you’re greeted by the sight of your husband who tries far too hard for his own good. Melancholy isn’t a good look on him because he looks the most unkempt he’s ever appeared in two days than the two years you’ve been living with him under the same roof.

Jungkook waits for you to register his attempt, holding up a hot bowl with his bare hands that you resist the urge to take it from him for a second. His ring finger’s occupied by a cheap mood ring, rapidly turning red at the moment from the heat of the bowl.

You look down fully expecting to be swayed even just a little bit, but when you do, you feel the kick to just slam the door right back.

“I hate runny eggs,” you scowl. “Two years married and you don’t even know how I like my eggs cooked.”

Jungkook wants the ground to swallow him whole. 

He wishes that if it was true that chickens are the last true descendants of dinosaurs, there’d be a chicken the same size as them that pecks him into oblivion.

He hurriedly turns on the stove and scoops up the egg back into it, careful not to have any of the runny folk get on your meal. He itches in frustration, his ring finger that’s temporarily adorned with a cheap and clunky mood ring being accurate by turning blue in sadness.

Jungkook’s so out of it, so disappointed in himself that he doesn’t notice he cooks the egg until it’s burnt, the char of it reflecting how poorly he thinks of himself now.

It’s like when you were disappointed in him that time when his outlandish aunt made a rude comment about you and you were speechless the whole night that he stayed silent. He remedied it by later groveling at your feet and marching to his aunt and laying out all of his intentions for her to grow up and apologize to you, the same aunt that’s now blacklisted from all the gatherings.

It’s like when you were upset at him when he left abruptly in the morning and didn’t tell you where he was going because he didn’t know if you would care, partying it up in a different country for his friend’s bachelor’s party and coming home a day later with you hot on his heels. Jungkook made it up to you by once again apologizing profusely and updating you on his whereabouts since then (sometimes he gives too much information), always making it a point to bring two powerbanks with him so he can text you when he’s left and arrived.

This time though, he doesn’t know how exactly to make it up to you. He’s been in contact with professional divers to try and look for the ring for you, but he can’t be of much help until he comes along to know for sure. He’s thinking of all these different ways and approaches but he’s unsure if any of them are sufficient enough to rectify his mistake.

Jungkook feels pathetic because he swears he loves you and knows everything about you, but here he is — crying about how he doesn’t even know how you like your eggs cooked.

You’re upset at him, and he can’t do anything right for you.

( ♡ )

Jungkook tries again at dinner.

It’s the day of Meridian’s 100th anniversary and the two of you play it up for the cameras, your husband’s attention on you so keen and affectionate that you almost forget you were supposed to be mad at him.

He takes advantage of the cameras during the carpet session, tugging you close with his hand on your waist as he seizes the chance to hug you tightly at the end when you enter the hall with no cameras in place. He breathes you in as he always does, hesitant to let you go and exhale because you’re the very scent and existence of love.

Jungkook studied, of course he did. He’s touched up on his jewelry knowledge because he’s more than desperate now to seek your validation, nervously smiling all around as he waits for people to stop approaching you in your table.

His attention’s fixed on your necklace, the stone on it similar to the very ring he lent and lost. He’s brought it up about five times already, animatedly reciting trivia about it as if you’re not the literal face of the jewelry industry. He clears his throat, leaning in for you to whisper intimately, but just loud enough for the other people to hear a tad. 

“Ah, that pink sapphire looks so good on you, babe.”

“Shut up,” you mutter sharply, making Jungkook’s heart skip a beat. You melted against him when he was hugging you, that much he was sure of. He doesn’t know why you’ve become harsh again all of a sudden, forgetting that his lapse this time was opening his mouth. “Stop saying that.”

“Saying what?” his brows furrow, swallowing the lump on his throat. “Pink?” he guesses, eyes wavering as he tests the waters. “Pink sapphire?”

It takes a lot in you not to make an outburst. Truth be told, you’ve started easing up on Jungkook but his attempts at trying hard is just too much and in the wrong direction, hearing pink sapphire over and over again reminding you of the ring you lost.

“Yes, that! Stop talking.”

“But I did my homework! Of course I’m not gonna stop talking,” he defends himself, the nervousness rising to his throat like bile. God, what if he did the wrong homework? What if he’s missed the assignment all along?

“Clearly you didn’t try hard enough because you’re wrong, Jungkook. This isn’t a pink sapphire — this is a pink diamond.”

Jungkook’s brain stops functioning for a solid five seconds, his mouth drying. The only proof that he was still breathing is his big eyes threatening to water.

“And so is my ring that you gave to your friend without asking me,” you add.

“What?!” he sputters in disbelief, recounting to all the other times he named the gem in multiple occasions even before today. “B-but I said it so many times before! You didn’t even correct me!”

“I didn’t correct you because you looked so proud of yourself!” you exclaim, surrendering with a sigh. Pink sapphire was the first gem that Jungkook had managed to name in your trivia night on the first month of your marriage, his avidness on getting it “right” so contagious that you didn’t have the heart to correct him.

“Pink sapphire is dirt cheap compared to pink diamonds, Jungkook! You just keep saying sapphire over and over again because it’s your birthstone,” you mumble, looking around to see if there were any people growing nosy at your conversation. “I let you say it over and over again to the point that I wore them instead of diamonds because you just can’t shut up about them,” you grit. 

This is the only time you reference your sentiment with the jewelry itself in words, your last profession of your disappointment in him being the removal of your wedding bands.

 “That’s the thing with you — you can’t tell. This isn’t just about emerald o-or octagon cuts, Jungkook. This is our marriage and you gave a girl that I don’t like my ring that meant so much to me! Now you can’t get it back.”

Jungkook’s speechless, holding back tears. You fear you’ll cry yourself when you look at his round, pleading eyes so you don’t, squeezing in the last word even if he always lets you have it.

“And now I’m correcting you because you’re embarrassing me. Now please, lay off with the gem terms.”

( ♡ )

Things have been tame between you and Jungkook.

You’ve aired out your grievances and Jungkook’s still trying hard as always, perplexing you because he hasn’t gone restless. It’s progressively warmer between the two of you but it’s nowhere near to what the two of you used to be, the air between the two of you going static that you’ve utilized it for your own.

It’s just a quick getaway for the day, hopping aboard a yacht with the intention of giving yourself a break. You’ve reflected enough but not alone with yourself, the period of space with Jungkook being much-needed.

Until you’re mistaken of course.

You think your mind’s playing tricks on you when the boat rocks more than it would with waves, but the all too familiar figure coming into your vision turns out to be real. It’s Jungkook in the flesh, wearing his scuba suit and gear.

It’s a pure coincidence that is. All Jungkook knew was that you were going on a yacht today and you didn’t specify where; meanwhile, all you knew was that he was going to be scuba diving, but he didn’t specify where either.

It’s purely kismet but your bodyguard Taehyung doesn’t seem to think so, legitimately thinking it was a pirate instead of your husband so he repeatedly smacks him with an oar until you stop him.

“Jungkook!” you call out, getting your bodyguard to stop. Atleast he has the decency to look sheepish, but he was genuinely concerned! He thought you were being hijacked by someone dressed in the most unassuming scuba suit, holding a plastic bag in his hands.

Your husband barely winces from the pain because he’s high from all the adrenaline, chest rising rapidly in succession. “Y/N, baby, I — hold on, I’m gonna, wait-…”

He looks tired still but there’s a light to him, either his radiance has come back or it was just the sun behind him but either way, it was nice to look at Jungkook who isn’t groveling at your feet for once.

He finally catches his breath, standing up to his full height as he tries not to ramble his words.

“I bought all the fish.”

“You did what?” your eyes widen, pathetically looking at the vast ocean around you. Perhaps you’re so startled (and amused) by Jungkook’s sudden and silly appearance that you forgot to apply common sense, just as breathless as he is.

“Okay maybe not all, but I did buy a lot of fish,” he concedes, nodding incessantly. He’s too excited that he can’t contain himself, even more-so when you finally look at him without disdain staining your features.

“For what?” you ask, genuinely curious.

Jungkook smiles, never having been more proud retelling you his previous failure.

“Your favorite seafood restaurant? I bought them their stock, provided that they’ll open up every last fish in there to see if they had your ring,” he shrugs as if it’s a common thought process to abide by, later shaking his head. “They don’t.”

If there’s just one trait that Jungkook had to be known with by everyone, it would be his persistence.

Jeon Jungkook is endearingly, cloyingly, and annoyingly persistent with the things he desires and the things he’s passionate about. You’re his wife — you’re his every last desire and passion. He had wronged you fresh from a week and some days ago but that timeframe has already given him ample time to fully redeem himself.

He can’t undo what he did. He can’t reverse the time he lent his wife’s ring to his friend who loses it not a full day later. Jungkook can’t take back any of the things he did but what he can do is be dedicatedly persistent in correcting himself.

He’s tanner, his muscles are bulged and straining, and his skin’s itchy with all the salt but he takes all of these things in stride — he’s become a better person through persistence.

“I also tried snorkeling for a week and I still couldn’t find it,” he trails, biting his bottom lip while he clasps his hands behind his back. “But I tried again today.”

It’s either relief or endearment that fills your face full, but nonetheless, the light that Jungkook sees from you lulls him to the comfort and warmth he’s been yearning from you for the past week. His eyes are strained and his body feels itself moving in waves as if he was still underwater, but he just closes his eyes to savor the moment.

You bound to him to put him in an embrace, your husband instantly melting in your hold. It’s either all the salt in his eyes or it’s just the realization that you’ve finally forgiven him and it’s all the love he feels for you, but either way, you hold Jungkook tighter.

“I found your ring.”

( ♡ )

You don’t know when Jungkook first loved you.

You can’t pinpoint an exact moment when Jungkook started acting differently towards you because he’s always been the same way from day one, the same qualities that make him both annoying and endearing having been there from the start.

You could always ask but you can’t bring yourself to. It shouldn’t bother you at the end of the day because the important thing is that Jungkook loves you. He loves without reservations, the pinnacle of his love language being his patheticness in trying hard.

Jeon Jungkook may try hard for everyone, but he tries the most for you.

He wakes up early and you only realize his absence when you turn to pat the warm space he’s supposedly left behind, making you rub the sleep out of your eyes. 

You wonder for a second that if Jungkook left the bed early and is quiet at the moment, he’s probably at the bottom of the staircase again because he yawned while going down. There’s no schedule today for either of you and you aren’t sick for him to make any sudden trips downstairs, his absence making you wonder this time.

There’s clanging coming from the garage, piquing your interest largely. There sits Jungkook wearing less safety gear that you’d like, blocks and blocks of wood surrounding him.

Your husband looks up, unassuming as usual while he breaks out into a grin.

“I’m making furniture for you.”

“That’s not necessary,” you snort, recounting all of the pieces you’ve acquired from your friend who’s an expert on woodcarving. Jungkook seems to know this too but he’s insistent, shaking his head eagerly.

His eyeglasses (his prescription ones instead of the actual safety ones) fog up from both his sweat and the few tears he’s shed out of frustration, taking them out so you could see the passion in his eyes. The passion’s definitely there, dampening his eyelashes and even tinting his eyelids pink.

“No, I’ll paint it up real good and it’ll blend it to your aesthetic.”

“Besides that, Jungkook,” you warn, coming down to squat on the space beside him. “You’re not good with tools.”

“Not good at them like Hoseok?” he questions, raising his brow. He’s frustrated and cranky and he just compared his (eager yet improper) use of large power tools compared to Hoseok’s expertise in using much, much smaller tools. Jungkook’s sweaty from all the effort, vaguely gesturing to the item in front of him. “Please, can Hoseok do it like me?” 

Your husband points to the lopsided bench (?) slash coffee table (?) slash abstract piece (?)  in front of you whose message is that they’re tired, only the scoopers for faux blood missing. It’s quite the spectacle. Not necessarily a statement piece because it raises more questions than any resolute takeaways at all.

“No, not really,” you joke around, winking to get the joke across your husband’s skull who sometimes reads between the lines too literally. “He can do it much, much better than you.”

“I’m trying to be romantic!” Jungkook whines with no real harm. “Go ahead, why don’t you divorce me and marry him because he’s so good with using a hammer?” 

The two of you were back; the same playfulness and warmth rekindling, if not stronger. Some things were just too strong to grow out of, such as Jungkook’s double takes when it comes to another name being linked to you.

He’s just making sure, still as desperate to gain your validation even before the ring incident took place.

“That was… a joke if you couldn’t tell,” Jungkook laughs robotically, eyes narrowing and widening at you every two seconds. “I’m just kidding. You knew that. You wouldn’t do that… right?”

You wouldn’t.

He knows that you love him. He had known it during his state of vulnerability and he knows it now even in a state of security. He knows it even without a wedding ring, your promise of making new ones for the both of you remaining in his mind.

The downfall of Jeon Jungkook wouldn’t be his persistence that also bears the ability to be his uprising, it was never that. Jungkook’s downfall would only be the loss of you and it’s the only absence that he can’t risk.

Your husband tries so hard that it brings you secondhand embarrassment at times, his mishap with the pink sapphire cementing in your mind just how much of himself he dedicates to you, even with lapses along the way.

Jungkook tries so hard that he ends the day with splinters on his hand and his sinuses clogged with far too much dust. His effort doesn’t always equate to the best but he gives what he always has when you’re in the equation.

It’s a wooden box for your rings, a shallow heart with your initials carved on the inside. It’s smooth even without the varnish, a stark contrast to his hands that are all rough from doing all the labor.

“I can’t give you jewelry that you already have.”

Jungkook admits to you whole-heartedly, sitting at the end of the bed while he watches you admire the box in your vanity.

“But I can make shirts for you. Stitch up your name real nicely on my chest pocket,” he offers, the smile on his lips growing. “I can make furniture for you,” he shrugs, chuckling at himself. “I can’t guarantee that it’s usable but I can make furniture a little.”

You smile so warmly that Jungkook forgets all of the little pains, melting away his fatigue. If you could put all the love you have for Jungkook in a single space, even the mansion the two of you reside in won’t be enough.

“Cooking too. I can also cook a-and make perfect rice and I promise to remember how you like your eggs in the morning.”

Jungkook knows it to heart by now, even without the reminder he’s written himself pasted on the counter. Your eyes were just so glossy and moist that Jungkook can’t help but to spring to your side, patting them dry with his shirt.

Your husband wipes away your tears even before they could form and it pushes them out further, the voice in your throat dwindling. It’s the cheap and rusting mood ring on his ring finger that gets you to sob, seeing the faint green outline that it leaves.

He takes notice of your observation, understanding that jewelry means much  more to you that he could comprehend which is why he’s quick to remedy your thoughts.

“I can always get tattoos of you if that’s what you want,” he continues, smiling sheepishly. “Actually, that’s what I want.”

Jungkook takes off his ring and it forces you to blink away your tears, lips parting open when it clicks.

It’s your initials on Jungkook’s ring finger, recognizing it as your own handwriting. 

You’re filled with a great amount of gratitude that runs even deeper than the ink on Jungkook’s skin, making you sniffle and it gets him to bury your face against his chest while he shushes you.

“Why would you get that?”

It belatedly hits you that since you took your wedding bands, your husband’s left ring finger had not been vacant since. 

“Because you sold our rings,” Jungkook shrugs, the look of ease on his face evident. “You sold them but we’re still married to each other,” he gently kisses your temple, letting you hold his hand to look at the tattoo closer. “We’re married. I still want people to know that I’m married to you.”

“Well,” you clear your throat, distraught with your emotions. “Your mood ring says you’re sad.”

“Passionate would be the term,” he sniffles, transferring the cheap ring to your finger. He giggles when it changes colors immediately, the timing of the situation being impeccable. “Okay now my ring says you’re happy.”

“Are you?” he asks whilst laughing but the both of you know it bears a weight.

“I am,” you answer just as seriously. “We’re okay, Jungkook. I forgive you.”

If you ask Jungkook what would his greatest joy and his greatest pain be, both answers would be you.

“Is your tattoo artist still around?” you ask while he puts you close to his chest, snapping him out of his trance.

“What for?”

“I think I want to match your permanent ring.”

“Are you real?” he mutters to himself, questioning your existence that he still isn’t sure if he deserves to have and love for the rest of his life. “Are you really real? You exist?”

“Yeah, he’s still around but I’d rather do it on you myself,” Jungkook answers eventually, returning the question. “Is that okay? Let me learn for a few months and I’ll tattoo my initials on you myself?”

You furrow your brows, not a single doubt placed on you if your husband was the one to tattoo you. “Yeah, but is that okay with you? You’re the only one who’s gonna have me on you for a couple more months. I can’t reciprocate because you want to ink me yourself.”

Jungkook only smiles, the warmth enough to outshine the sun.

“That’s not new to me,” he reassures you. “I loved you even before I married you.”

[dixons-sunshine]

espinosa!reader established relationship with daryl and carol treats her like a sister she always protects

Something To Prove | Daryl Dixon x Fem!Espinosa!Reader

Summary: Ever since meeting you, Carol has felt an overwhelming urge to protect you at all costs. You were like a sister to her and she would go to great lengths to ensure your safety and your happiness. Now, after you went to her after an argument you had with Daryl, she made good on her promise and decided to give her best friend a piece of her mind.

Additional pairings: Carol Peletier x Fem!Espinosa!Reader (platonic)

Genre: Fluff, some angst

Era: Alexandria/Sanctuary, post Saviour war, pre the building of the bridge

Warnings: Swearing, arguing

Word count: 1.9k

A/n: Thank you so much for the request! I didn't know exactly what to write but I hope you like where I went with this. There's not a lot of Daryl x Reader in this, but it was so fun to write about Carol and reader's platonic relationship. I love Carol with my whole heart.

As always, my requests are open for any TWD requests. AND NOW THEY'RE ALSO OPEN FOR ANY SCUD FROHMEYER REQUESTS! It's actually criminal how little fics about him there are, so send in any thoughts, headcannons or requests about him, along with some about our wonderful Daryl Dixon.

—

“Woah, woah, woah. Wait a second. He said that?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, wiping a stray tear from your eye. “I understand he doesn't want me to be in danger, but I can tell how much he hates it here. I don't want him to be alone, but he keeps pushing me away. I don't know what to do, Carol. He won't even talk to me about it without starting up an argument.”

Carol pulled you into her embrace, gently rubbing your back as you quietly cried into her shoulder. She slightly rocked you side to side, whispering reassuring things into your ear as she tried to calm you down. She held you tightly, refusing to let up until you felt better.

After a couple of minutes of just being held, you pulled back and wiped the remaining tears from your eyes. You gave her a weak smile and stood up, wiping your hands on your jeans.

“Sorry about all that,” you apologized sheepishly. “I don't know why I broke down like that.”

“Don't apologize,” she reassured you, waving you off. “It's good to let your emotions out every once in a while. Bottling them up doesn't help, believe me.”

“Maybe you should try telling that to Daryl,” you scoffed, folding your arms over your chest. “He's done nothing but bottle up his feelings lately. I understand that he's not the most open person when it comes to things like feelings, but he always talked to me whenever something was bothering him. Now he's becoming more like the Daryl I knew when we first met back at Terminus. Reserved and closed off.”

Carol nodded, intently listening to you. “Do you want me to talk to him?”

You shook your head. “No,” you began, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don't want him to get pissed at you either. I'll be fine.”

Carol pursed her lips and hesitantly agreed. “Okay, if you're sure.”

“I am,” you nodded, before hearing the walkie-talkie go off in your pocket, your sister on the other line.

“There's a problem. One of these pendejos caused a fight to break out and I can't find Daryl anywhere.”

“Mierda,” you cursed under your breath. You looked at Carol apologetically. “Sorry, I have to go.”

“It's okay,” she reassured you, getting up to give you a quick hug. “Be safe out there, alright?”

“Always am,” you quipped before rushing out of the room, talking to Rosita on the walkie-talkie. “I'm on my way. Keep them from killing each other.”

With that, you were gone. Carol looked at where you disappeared into and sighed, a million thoughts plaguing her mind, but she was sure about one thing—she had to confront Daryl about the way he was treating you. Carol was the one who had encouraged Daryl to pursue a romantic relationship with you in the first place, and she'd be damned if he threw it all away because of his stubborn nature.

With determination, she got up and walked out of the door, one destination clear in her mind. She knew exactly where Daryl would be at that moment, and it was as good a time as any to try and knock some sense into the archer.

—

“Figured I'd find you here.”

Daryl looked up at the approaching woman, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He grunted in acknowledgement at Carol, turning his gaze away from her and back to the ground.

Carol sat down next to the archer. She stared ahead and sighed, catching Daryl's attention. “I know I've said this a lot, but I really think Y/n is the one for you, you know?”

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, not sure why the Peletier would bring you up as the topic of conversation. “Yeah,” he started, nodding slightly. “I think so too.”

“Really?” Carol asked. When Daryl nodded, she continued. “Then why the hell are you pushing her away? Do you have something you wanna prove?”

“I ain't pushin' her away,” he replied, more confused now. He took a final drag from his cigarette before putting it out, flicking it away from him.

“Then why the hell would she feel the need to come to me for advice on what to do? In tears, might I add.”

Daryl's frown deepened. “Wha'?” he asked, suddenly feeling small under Carol's scrutinizing stare. “She came to ya cryin'?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, pursing her lips. “She came to me about the argument you had with her this morning. From what she told me, you said some pretty nasty stuff. What's that all about?”

Daryl sighed, realisation dawning on him. Memories of the argument he had with you flashed through his mind and he grimaced. He immensely regretted everything he had said to you in that argument, but he didn't know how to fix it. You and Daryl had been arguing a lot more since he started supervising over the Sanctuary. He didn't trust any of the former Saviours and he knew some of them had it out for him, so having you there with him made him scared. Scared that the Saviours would take their anger out on you. Scared that he couldn't protect you against all of them. He felt so scared for you.

Admittedly, having you there did make him feel better. To have your presence beside him and to be able to hold you at night while you talked about your day made this hellhole a lot better for him, but it also made him anxious. He didn't want any of the backlash meant for him to get you hurt. He couldn't watch get hurt. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

“Daryl?” Carol voiced, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked over at her and frowned.

“She tell ya everythin'?” he asked, continuing when she nodded. “Then I dun' have anythin' to say.”

“You do!” she exclaimed in frustration. “Why are you treating her like that? She's your partner, Daryl! That woman would do anything for you!”

“Tha's wha' scares me!” he bit back loudly. When he saw Carol go quiet, he lowered his voice. “She has proven tha' she would do anythin' fer me by bein' here at this shit hole. I can see tha' bein' here is takin' a toll on her. And these assholes ain't makin' her life any easier. I jus' want her to be safe.”

“Daryl,” Carol started, putting a comforting hand on the archer's shoulder. “You know she can handle herself. And even if she couldn't, no place would ever be really safe. There are Saviours everywhere now. At Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom. It doesn't matter whether she's here or there. If she's here, at least you'll be able to keep her safe.”

Daryl pondered over Carol's words. After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke up. “I messed up, didn't I?”

“Big time,” Carol nodded, chuckling softly. “But it's okay. Just go talk to her, and I mean really talk to her. No arguments.”

Daryl nodded and got up, turning and heading back into the Sanctuary. He only had one goal in mind; find you and beg for your forgiveness if he had to.

“Go get her, tiger!” Carol laughed from behind him, pleased that she was able to get through to him. She just hoped that his stubbornness wouldn't mess it up.

—

“Hey. Ya got a moment to talk?”

You looked up from the papers you were reading, locking eyes with Daryl. You could see him fidgeting with his hands, his body language radiating nervousness.

You nodded at him. “Yeah.”

Daryl inhaled sharply and stepped forward. You watched him anxiously, not knowing what to expect. The longer he took to speak, the more your mind started to wander—did he do something wrong? Was he bit? Was he leaving you for someone else?

“'M sorry 'bout this mornin',” he finally said, taking you by surprise. “I shouldn't have said wha' I said. I know yer jus' tryin' to look out fer me and I appreciate it. I jus' got scared tha' somethin' would happen to ya if ya stayed here with me. Most of these assholes dun' exactly like me and will do anythin' to hurt me. I jus' dun' want them to hurt ya to get back at me.”

You stepped forward and embraced Daryl in a tight hug, catching him off guard. However, he hugged you back tightly in a couple of seconds, burying his face into your shoulder. He breathed in your clean scent and instantly relaxed, his body sagging slightly.

“You should've told me how you felt, Dar. It would've saved us so many arguments,” you whispered, sighing in relief.

Daryl scoffed lightheartedly. “I doubt tha'. We woulda jus' argued 'bout whether ya should stay here or not.”

“I'm not leaving,” you said with a sense of finality in your voice. “I know how much you hate it here, Daryl. That's why I decided to stay. I stayed so that you didn't have to feel alone in this place.”

Daryl pulled back from the hug to look at you, keeping you in his arms. His heart fluttered at your revelation, and he gave you a small smile. “Ya stayed fer me?”

You nodded. “Of course I did. I love you, Daryl. I'd do anything for you.”

Daryl ducked his head down to press his lips against yours, catching them in a sweet kiss. The kiss lasted for a couple of seconds before he pulled back, resting his forehead against yours. “I love ya more.”

“I love you the most,” you retorted playfully, giving him a teasing smile.

“Ain't possible,” he replied, scoffing lightly.

“Agree to disagree,” you said playfully.

Daryl rolled his eyes affectionately before kissing you again, this time more feverishly than before. It didn't take long for Daryl to push you back against the table, hoisting you up by your thighs to sit on it.

You giggled against his lips. “Eager much?”

“Shut up,” he mumbled before attacking your neck with kisses, nibbling on your sweet spot beneath your ear. You moaned quietly and leaned your head back, giving him more access to your neck.

However, the moment was short-lived. The crackling of static from the radio startled the two of you, Eugene's voice coming through.

“Daryl, Y/n, we need you down by the trucks pronto, ASAP.”

Daryl groaned and lowered his head to rest on your shoulder, eliciting a laugh from you. You gently pushed him away from you and jumped off the table, grabbing his hand and interlocking your fingers.

“Come on, they need us. We can finish this later.”

“Gonna hold ya to tha',” he responded, giving you a heated stare.

You smiled at him. “C'mon, pretty boy. Let's go.”

[thebreakfastgenie]

this is one (1) redeemable voucher to complain about AO3's tagging system (if you like)

Thanks for the voucher!

I probably should have phrased that post differently because upon reflection what I hate is more downstream of AO3's tagging system. The system itself does what it's supposed to do: it organizes the archive. Of course, users get cutesy with it (and I'm guilty of this myself) and other users will use inaccurate tags on purpose to get more attention (this is not acceptable behavior), but neither of those things are the system's fault.

But because the tagging system is so robust and fics are tagged based on tropes, this culture has developed of hyper-curated, trope-based reading habits. This didn't exist before AO3 because it just wasn't possible to filter fics to that extent. Some of my favorite fic reading experiences have been fics that I stumbled across by mistake because I didn't know what they were or because I had to comb through broader categories.

And this is where I start sounding like Ted Gup. Ted Gup wrote this essay in the late 90s called The End of Serendipity about how computers being so efficient at retrieving information was going to bring about the end of people stumbling upon topics they wouldn't have otherwise explored. I had to read and respond to this essay in English class in middle school and I raked Ted Gup over the coals, because I was writing on my laptop with dozens of open tabs. I still think I was right to point out Ted Gup's failure to foresee the wiki walk, but now that I'm older and technology has developed more over the last fifteen years, I'm starting to think he had something of a point.

I was thinking about this in a fanfiction and fandom context because I recalled a post I reblogged recently saying (paraphrased) "I have nothing against shipping but some of you are too focused on shipping to the exclusion of everything else." I agree with that post, but for me part of the problem isn't even the focus on shipping, it's that the shipping content is often so formulaic. Fandom talks a big game about diversity and creativity in fanworks, but a lot of the actual output I see is incredibly formulaic. In my opinion that's related to the extreme focus on tropes. Tropes are great, but if you're only looking at fic as a list of tropes you're taking a very narrow view. I don't know what the direction of causality is here, if there even is one, but I think the tagging system and the way the tagging system is used facilitate this reductive trope-based outlook.

I'm from the fanfiction.net era and I find the character and relationship tagging on AO3 useful, but I don't really care for the additional tags. I had to train myself to even read them. I prefer to select fics based on titles and summaries, because those are created by the author. Obviously writing a summary is very different than writing a story (and in fact it's a different skill and it's hard!) but a summary is still written by the author, so it gives me some sense of their writing style. When authors actually include an excerpt in the summary it does that even more. Tags can be useful in conjunction with a summary, because well-selected tags make me curious how all the elements listed in the tags fit together. But I don't want to sort by Enemies to Lovers or whatever.

I don't expect everyone to read like I do, this is nothing more than one crank's ramblings about my personal dissatisfaction with the current state of fandom. Maybe it resonates with someone, and if it does they're welcome to reblog it, but I'm not trying to do social commentary here. Maybe it doesn't, and that's okay too.

I also don't know if the trope focus on booktok and in the traditional publishing world comes out of fanfiction or not but it's even more distressing to me there and I think it bothers me in the fanfiction sphere because of the possibility that fanfiction is contributing to that trend.

[robertdowneyjjr]

hey, so. funny thing.

@whinysteve and i have been going insane for like two days because we couldn't find this one fic we really liked, and we both remembered reading it not so long ago but somehow neither of us could recall how it ended? and we kept saying that it's so GOOD and how the heck did it just disappear? well, after hours of losing my mind going through my ao3 history, the steve/tony tag with various keywords, the findingstony blog... it. it hit me that i can't find it because it doesn't exist. because it was the soulmates au idea you posted like two weeks ago where their words only show up after they've met their soulmate.

i thought you might find this amusing. 😩 (i do, but i also need to lie down for a bit because i will never know how steve fixed that mess)

hahahaha omg liv if this is your way of peer pressuring me into writing the whole fic i might actually do it??? because your ask has got me thinking about what would happen next.

that said, steve still hasn't figured out how to fix this mess. i'm very sorry about this.

(stonyclunks soulmates au part one here)

---

having been rescued by SHIELD, news of steve's recovery was immediately delivered to howard stark who, while not as involved with SHIELD as he used to be, still receives weekly reports as one of its co-founders.

he'd gone home that night and brought it up in the middle of cutting his steak. coincidentally, tony had been visiting that day and stayed for dinner, so he found out about captain america's miraculous resurrection before the general public did, and honestly, he had enough of hearing about how great this guy was growing up. he really didn't need to keep hearing about it as an adult after he'd finally worked through his issues with his dad and his obsession with a (not quite) dead war hero.

so after howard's announcement, tony politely requested howard refrain from talking about this guy with him.

"i know he's your friend, and you'll probably be spending a bit of time with him now that he's been found, and i'm really happy for you, but i think it would be better for our relationship if we could talk about literally anything but him," he'd said.

and, well. howard was trying. he knew he wasn't the best dad and he also wanted to do right by maria, who spent so many years torn between her son and her husband while trying to mend their relationship. they were finally in a relatively good place with each other which made maria happy. and to be frank, howard had actually come to really enjoy tony's company whenever he was home. he was quite happy too. so he agreed. they don't talk about steve and howard doesn't ask tony to meet steve.

that very night, tony made sure 'captain america' and 'steve rogers' were muted in all his news feeds and social channels.

he literally doesn't know a single thing about the man besides what he learned in his childhood, which he's blocked out. it's a peaceful two years of blissful ignorance.

fast forward to now, tony's packing up his suitcase and getting ready to check out of his hotel when he sees a text from his mom in their family group chat.

seems he's not quite the perfect role model you always made him out to be, howard 🤡, her message reads.

what follows is a link to an instagram post, and from the message preview he can see that it's steve rogers' profile, and under normal circumstances he wouldn't even bother clicking the link.

but 1) maria usually never brings up the man in tony's presence either, and 2) her comment made him laugh. so color tony intrigued.

he taps the link and sees the post. it's a picture of a coffee cup from the place he was at a week ago. the one where he got body slammed by his mysterious dick of a soulmate and unfairly yelled at for it.

he reads the caption and his legs give out under him.

i don't even know if you'll see this, but all i can do is hope. i'm sorry for the words that have made their mark on you. i know i don't deserve it, but i'm hoping you could give me a second chance. i won't yell at you this time, i promise. yours, a fucking asshole

one week ago, captain america was barely even a blip on tony's radar and that's how he preferred it. now, steve rogers is tony's mysterious dick of a soulmate.

what the fuck even is his life.

[tame-a-messenger]

you know what stings me the most about sword af if they are doing this audio only thing because they don't get that much revenue back? (which I and lot of other people are assuming, and that's another thing that bothers me about smosh and how they handle things: they don't tell us the reason why, they just do things and don't explain the reasoning behind and then never talk about it again but that's for another day) they may not get an equal amount of views as others games videos (and I think a lot of that came from instead of taking the excitement fans had when it started and releasing the episodes faster they went in the opposite route: making it be biweekly. that time without new content made some of the excitement died down) but they had a very passionate loyal fanbase. like how many fan works have we see about these characters? fanarts and edits and fics and cosplays. and yeah it may be a smaller amount than they are used to but the fans that enjoyed the series were so loud in their love. it's a shame that if this is the reasoning behind they are telling these fans that the love and passion doesn't matter. that at the end of the day loving what you are doing (like the cast does with these characters) or what you are watching don't make a difference If it's not going to get you enough money.

and I also totally agree with you about having the fans help and such. any time they do a charity live stream they raised so much money, which for me says that the people that watch their content would love to help them make the stuff that they love. like i'm sure some would love to have merch of their favorite characters in sword af. some would love to help get them the tools needed to make the best out of their beloved series.

with audio only we lose so much of the reaction and emotions that these talent actors can bring to the table. without even mentioning people that are hard of hearing or have auditory processing disorders. like me for once, english is not my first language and I learn all by myself meaning that sometimes I need help of the body language and expressions as well as captions to help me truly get what they are saying. you can't do that with a podcast. at least not one without visuals.

I totally agree with them making it bi-weekly killing a lot of the hype around it.

So many missteps with it and it still has such a great fan-base. (I'm seeing red again)

The money excuse is something that I don't even want to entertain. They KNOW that the fan-base is willing and able to fund most anything they want to do (if they ever decide to crowd fund that is..) so that's why I'm so confused about why they went this route?

It just feels like they don't care enough to put in that much effort, which hurts me. I can only give them so much leeway for fumbling Sword AF...

(the biggest problem is how they are going about it, if they had explained why they couldn't do it for whatever reason I could at least respect the fact they explained it, like they actually cared. But they obviously don't)

There's so many reasons why having visuals helped tell the story, it's so maddening even thinking about how disparaging it is they got rid of it.

[dootznbootz]

Hiiiiiii I just saw the character ask thing :))))

Can you tell me about your NOTP, random headcanon and unpopular opinion about Helen of Sparta?

Thank you so much!!!

I'll save the one that'll get me crucified last! 👍

Random headcanon: Both Odysseus and Penelope were given a "photographic memory" by Athena. When Athena had "forsaken" Odysseus it was taken away. Makes it nice because a lot of the more fucked up parts of the Odyssey are a bit more "fuzzy" for him. And he hates feeling "so out of sorts". He gets it back though.

Also Athena technically took Penelope under her "wing" like, one month before Odysseus.

Unpopular Helen Opinion: In MY FICS, (It's okay if you don't agree!) She is built like Rose Quartz from Steven Universe. She doesn't have a perfect "hourglass figure". She's got some pudge on her tummy. Girl is TALL (Demigod) and CHUBBY. One of the important components of Helen and Menelaus' relationship is that they are both strong enough to lift each other. Also she's the most beautiful woman in the world and chubby women are hot af lskdjf She also SUCKS at singing. She's good at wrestling and spear work. (Sparta. I also love athletic women. Plenty of chubby women are also athletic af. If you think otherwise, literally look up women's Olympic sports participants.)

Homies, know that my NOTP can be YOUR OTP and that's okay! We can still love each other and be friends! Ignore the rest if you just don't want to see that, but know that while it kind of will be in my fics, it's probably not in the way you want it to be.

Please don't hate me and know I don't hate you or think I'm "correct"!

It's OdyDio.

These are the reasons why so avoid them if you don't want to read that! :'D This is the only time I will ever be on the "Odysseus hate train" because he's such an asshole to Diomedes.

I feel so bad about it. 😭 I'm a freak who likes Odysseus/Menelaus (Big BROTP) I think it's because Odysseus is just... SO MEAN to Diomedes. And when he's not mean, he's just neutral. There is not really any "Diomedes, you're the best guy!". Especially when have Sthenelus and Diomedes saying I love you to each other To ME, they are like co-workers who work GREAT together on the battlefield and on missions, but never do anything outside of that.

When Diomedes asks for help, Odysseus sprints away from battle. When Diomedes compliments him before the night raid, Odysseus literally is like "Dude, you're not the only person who knows I'm good at stealing. Let's go."

Odysseus, that long-suffering, godlike man, replied: “Son of Tydeus, don’t over-praise me, or censure me. You’re speaking to the Argives,                           who know everything about me. Let’s go. Night is passing quickly. Dawn approaches. The stars have shifted forward. Most of the night                   has passed, two thirds of it, with one third left.”

(Ian Johnston, Book 10)

Odysseus is an asshole but he's still so mean to Diomedes! 😭 ESPECIALLY WHEN DIOMEDES IS SO FUCKING NICE TO ODYSSEUS!!! I know that's what probably makes them so compelling to so many lovely folks but I love fluff BECAUSE I'm so tired of toxic relationships irl. I don't...I don't see how I can make OdyDio fluffy 😥 With OdyDio, I feel like I'm watching my bestie (Diomedes) get back with their toxic ex who mistreats them (Odysseus). Diomedes is actually quite polite to the others. Even when Agamemnon scolds him, he tells Sthenelus to think nothing of it. He compliments Odysseus! He listens to the gods when they tell him "Hey stop fighting!" and listens to Athena! Like he's violent and a killing machine but he's respectful! He's a traumatized, respectful, killing machine! He bitches at Paris but everyone has done that! That's something everyone partakes in /j

It bothers me even more because when Odysseus is with Penelope, he's so wonderful and loving? And that the Odyssey, literally Odysseus' story/Epic, doesn't even really mention Diomedes? That goes to show how little Diomedes means to Odysseus.

And since Odysseus runs away from Diomedes when he asks for help, it boggles my mind that books earlier, he goes into a rage when his friend gets killed!

[...]but hit Leucus, a brave companion of Odysseus, in the groin,                                           as he was dragging Simoeisius away. His hands let go. He fell down on the corpse. Enraged at Leucus’ slaughter, Odysseus strode up, through the front ranks, armed in gleaming bronze. Going in close, he took his stand. Looking round, he hurled his glittering spear. As he threw, Trojans moved back, but the spear found a mark. It hit Democoön, Priam’s bastard son, who had come from Abydos, where he bred horses for their speed.                                    Angry for his friend, Odysseus speared him in the temple.

(Ian Johnston, Book 4)

Odysseus, you prick!!! You go on a rampage when your buddy gets killed but sprint away when your STILL ALIVE BUDDY asks you for help?! ASSHOLE

They ARE kind of friends/frenemies during the end of the war but it's a weird thing where Diomedes cares about Odysseus but Odysseus tolerates him. Like he left him to die. I love Odysseus. He's my special little guy but he treats Diomedes, another special little guy, like shit 😞

They also have a fairly large agegap, (Odysseus being one of the older kings while Diomedes is the youngest. If you bring up pederasty, you will be smited.) and have very little in common other than them both being Athena's pets. Odysseus is a fucked up lil warrior trickster who loves his wife and child more than life itself while Diomedes is a young child soldier boy who is incredibly duty bound and war is where he feels most comfortable.

Also just...Most of anything about OdyDio (fanart/fanfic/etc.) it's of them fighting or bickering or betraying each other or being very sexual. Even OdyPenDio STILL feels very "OdyDio... + Penelope in the footnotes". I already plan to write Odysseus (and Penelope) as Aspec CODED and so I...just really don't care for that??? There's barely ANYTHING of them being soft. BECAUSE THEM TWO TOGETHER just aren't soft... I personally don't like couples that are mean to each other 😭 (I'm not even including the whole "betrayal with the Pallidium" because it makes me sad to think about. I don't consider it canon.)

Menelaus though?

I have plans 😌 These two bring me comfort and are a special brotp

[mayalaen]

as a person who wants to write spanking stories but is afraid to get it wrong... please infodump all you like 💖

I have some great advice for you:

do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do it - do eeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeet!! 🥳

No seriously! Ask any spanko writer and they'll probably give you the same answer! Well okay maybe not the exact same, but they're definitely gonna excitedly encourage you to join in!

That's where all of us started - worried we'd get it wrong or readers wouldn't like it.

Even those among us in the BDSM lifestyle who actually do the things we write about struggle with it because it's not fanfic mainstream and when posting writing like that it doesn't feel like you're just dipping your toe into the water. It feels like you're jumping in, and it can be hard to just do it!

My biggest sources of encouragement and validation have come from communities and friends even before Discord and AO3 were a thing.

If you can, I'd really recommend joining the Discord servers I linked the other day. They're safe spaces to talk about discipline fic, bounce ideas, ask questions, post your own snippets (and get enthusiastic support for those snippets), read other writer's snippets, and make friends who have a common interest.

There used to be a lot more spanko fics and writers on Tumblr, but the p0rn purge a few years back ran a bunch of them off, and it seems that they've resettled on Discord.

I don't recommend going to Twitter with spanko fic, and if there's a dfic community on Bluesky or Pillowfort I haven't found them.

Posting snippets of your own in a dfic community can really get you over that hump of being afraid about your own fic.

They're super supportive, awesome cheerleaders, and there's experience levels of all kinds there so don't worry that you'll be the least experienced one there!

My last bit of advice on this is to read dfic even in fandoms you're not a part of. As you're reading, you'll figure out what you like and don't like and you'll get ideas.

But you'll also see that what writers are doing is just writing what they want to! It's kinda hard to get something "wrong" that's so personal and varied.

Even in the BDSM community, there's styles, practices, and plenty of other things that mean one spanko doesn't vibe with plenty of other spankos. That's why talking about things and getting to know people is so important before play.

There's no one right way to do it no matter what anybody tells you.

I've read dfics over the years where I flat out said NOPE I would never do this and I don't agree with it, but it doesn't matter! We're all just having a good time and writing is all fiction anyway!

Also as a quick warning, be ready for people to have a problem with dfic. Writers who have been doing this for years are used to it and we all have our own ways of dealing with the trolls, but people can be nasty.

My response is none at all. Nasty asks and comments get deleted immediately, nasty DMs get blocked, because we're all here for fun and fiction and those people can just go fuck themselves.

The most common troll comment I get is "those characters wouldn't do that" followed by all the reasons why and how awful I am for writing such disgusting things.

Those always make me chuckle because it's just a toddler mad that someone is playing with the toys in a way they don't like.

The second most common comments I get are from people who just search for spanking keywords, don't bother reading the fic, and spew hate. As soon as I see the first few words on those, I delete. If possible, I block as well.

There's no need for that behavior.

And there's no need for your regular readers (if you already have them in non-spanko fic) to give you nasty shit either just because you're exploring something you're interested in.

I mean seriously - look at it for what it is! It's bratty toddler behavior! And an adult behaving like a toddler to a spanko is a really bad decision because it only makes me wanna spank brats more 😈

[peach-fiz]

I actually didn't even bother watching the second season of Loki because of the cheap marketing and inconsistent storytelling.

It just felt like the plot was lifted off somewhere it would have made sense, and a character with a similar ego was replaced with Loki and goes through an arc that might have made sense for a blank slate character, but not someone who already has a backstory.

Loki doesn't even feel like Loki after three episodes in S1. The whole point of having a show like that just seems to be about the TVA and Sylvie.

Also the whole genderfluid thing. They 'confirmed' it in the promo and had a line in the script that went completely against anything they just said.

I knew at once that the writers, directors and other parts of production were really just pulling it in different directions and it would probably sound like a jazz trumpeter and a metal guitarist trying to improvise after knowing each other for 15 minutes.

I've been meaning to watch it just so I can have educated opinions on all of it but it's just,, so hard to get into. I definitely agree the marketing was cheap, they did with the 80s McDonald's like they did DB Cooper!Loki and made it centric to the advertising because McDonalds was also getting something out of it which is kinda ass seeing as realistically Loki Laufeyson would burn 6 of them down before he ate in one 😭

I personally don't like either of the major ships in the show but the forced Sylki shit in season 1 really got to me. Like not only did she completely replace him as the main character in HIS show, she's also a variant of him who he wants to make out with and overall it just reads as lazy writing and it's extremely disappointing that Mike Waldron has been put in charge of Multiverse of Madness and The Kang Dynasty since, due to the popularity of the Loki TV show. I was talking to my boyfriend about this last night but it kinda reminds me of the complaints people had ab the last Indiana Jones movie but opposite? Like everyone complained his best friend's daughter was gonna replace him bc she's a Mary Sue and she rlly isnt, she's more reminiscent of Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark she just doesn't wanna fuck him. But the difference is Indy is a character who's majorly blank for little boys to project themselves onto. Which is great!! It works for those kind of movies, but they're not character development centric like the individual mcu movies tend to be. Loki is characterized in a way that he's drowning in identity issues and family problems and he experiences growth in every installment whether it be positive or negative. It doesn't make sense to take the formula of an Indidna Jones movie where he meets up with a woman who's typically a love interest and has her own issues that are only slightly touched on because that's not the focus, and they go do the plot.

Sylvie is not an Indy Girl, they straight up are trying to replace Loki with Sylvie. And you can tell the character wasn't supposed to have as much importance as she does in the show bc the character was worked on more after the actress they chose was buddies with a producer ( and this is no hate to the actress I'm sure she's delightful everything I've seen her in in terms of interviews has been lovely ).

I also absolutely agree they should've just made a tva mini series to introduce the tva rather than bringing back a dead character who soon will not make much sense anyway because Tom Hiddleston is getting older (and also he deserves to branch out in his career).

The genderfluid thing was a cash grab and it sucks ass, they just want money for acknowledging things already canon in the comics, same with confirming him as bisexual.

My boyfriend is actually writing a fic on ao3 called Find Me that's rlly good if you want Loki content that isn't related to the show.

(YES this is shameless promotion sshhhhshshsh) but fr the loki TV show makes me more confident in my screenwriting bc t h a t got put on disney plus. I'm also working on a Loki show rewrite in my spare time!!

[moonypears-blog]

DUUUDE I LLOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR BLOG !!! FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO LOVES FATHER CEDRIC AND DAUGHTER SOFIA AS MUCH AS I DO, AND ISNT' A NASTY C.EDFI.A SHIPPER!!!!!!!! YAHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! honestly your hcs are inspiring me to revive a fic idea I had for these two and their dynamic developing!!! roland is not a great father to sofia at all, btw. it sucks how much he prioritizes amber and james but often leaves sofia out, and we only ever see him interact with her maybe TWICE like a real father should. and what was with him not even bothering to teach her all the things she needed to know for that first daddy daughter ep?! it was so fucked up that she was just left to flounder like that!!!! my personal hc is that she tried to call him dad at first to get used to it / feel like she actually WAS bonding with him, but it simply didn't turn out, and it felt forced. a more slightly distant term i could see her using would be "father", picking up on it from cedric when he talks about his dad, and how he talks to him. then, one day, sofia accidentally slips and calls cedric dad without realizing it, when she's studying in his castle tower with him for sorcery purposes. and that's the day using the word "dad" finally felt natural for him. and also if cedric felt E M O T I O N A L about it, then that's nobody's business but his own. ( he was so touched and happy he was over the MOON!! )

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!

I completely agree with Roland and Cedric. I think at some point after the show Sofia asked Cedric to be her dad on Father's Day by giving him a handmade card that says "Will you be my dad?" with a little drawing of them. He completely sobbed, because he'd already recognized his feelings for her as being paternal, but didn't want to say anything in case he ruined what he had with her or made it awkward. Then after that Sofia called him dad whenever they were alone, and Cedric treated her even more as a daughter and essentially took on the role as her main parental figure. He started to finally express his parental instincts, asking Sofia if she'd eaten breakfast and asking more about her well-being. I think it would stay their little secret for awhile, but eventually it might be exposed.

I also could see Sofia starting to call Roland something other than Dad, especially if she starts calling Cedric Dad too, it would hold a special place in her heart that Roland just isn't worthy of. I feel like the moments that Sofia does have with Roland he doesn't feel very fatherly at all, more like her mom's boyfriend or something. It just doesn't feel like a dad talking to his child.

Seriously, thank you so much! Words can't describe how much I love getting asks like this and knowing there's other people who share my feelings/opinions so strongly!

[kalinara]

I was skimming through my dashboard and I saw a post that I thought was really interesting.

In the post, the person stated that they missed when fandom was more interactive, when it came to fanfic writers and fan artists, rather than today, where it was like the content creators were machines that didn't need positive feedback, but were just there to create product.

I'm paraphrasing, because I can't find it again. It stuck with me for a bit though.

See, I think this is the natural effect of discouraging constructive criticism.

I can appreciate that very few people enjoy logging into their email or messages and seeing a comment regarding a project that they've spent so much time and effort on and seeing "Well, this is what I think you did wrong."

I can appreciate that for most folk, fanfic is a labor of love, something that they're sharing with the community. They're not craftsmen honing a craft, per se. They're not looking for advice on how to improve.

That's understandable. But I think it misses something really important: that constructive criticism, heck, even a polite yet negative review is still ENGAGEMENT.

It's a conversation in a way that kudos aren't. It's a conversation in a way that gushing praise really isn't.

I'm not saying a writer has to agree with the criticism. People are people and sometimes people are full of crap. But the fact that someone took the time out of their busy day to actually engage with a writer about something they created, and to talk about it, and think about it, and examine what worked for them and what didn't...

That does mean something, in my opinion. I've been a fanfic reader, primarily a lurker, since I first took baby steps onto the web in 1996. Back before AO3. Back before fanfiction.net. I remember webrings, and mailing lists, and geocities. I even, vaguely, remember bulletin boards.

As I said, I was a lurker primarily. I didn't talk much. I followed the discussions. Sometimes I'd agree with it. Sometimes I'd disagree (quite strongly). I very rarely commented or reviewed.

But when I did review, that was because I really wanted to. And when I did review, I put a LOT of effort into it. I'd talk about what I thought the author did really really well (which was a lot! Or I wouldn't have bothered.) I'd mention what didn't work so much for me, and what I thought might have worked better. It'd take hours, sometimes, to figure out exactly what I wanted to say - what I would want to HEAR if I'd written the story. I always tried to leave the kind of reviews that I wanted to receive on my own work.

I'd never write a review like that now. The etiquette's changed. I recognize that the kind of review I wrote back in 1998 would be incredibly rude now. But when I look at the comments I've left nowadays - they're quick. They're meaningless. Even on fics I've truly loved. Sometimes I don't even comment. Just a kudo. Sometimes I forget to do that. It's not personal, but I've got things on my mind.

It occurs to me that even the word is different. "comment" vs. "review". There are very different expectations.

I see people sometimes talking about how what they really want is comments, though. And interaction. And I get that, but when you limit the type of interaction that you're looking for, then I think that you're going to get less of it.

I'm sorry. But sometimes I'll read a fic that's okay, but not great. It's got wonderful ideas, but they could be developed better. It's got good character voice, but some of the word choice is a little off. It doesn't sing.

At least, to me. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste. Maybe it's a craft issue. The author didn't ask for my opinion, and that's fair enough. But am I going to leave lukewarm praise and nothing else? Maybe. I have before. But more likely, I'm just going to hit the back button and look for something else.

It's easier to give feedback now than it was in 1997 in a lot of ways. Kudos buttons are lovely. Instant review buttons/forms that don't require a perpetually shy anxious person to send an email to a stranger are wonderful things. I probably do leave more comments now than I did back in 1997.

But when it comes to actual substance and engagement...I'm not sure there's even a comparison. Why bother? If I feel really strongly about something in the fic, well, I can write a blog post about it instead.

It is kind of funny that this means that I get the engagement out of it, rather than the author, but that's how it goes sometimes.

[einloukrativesangebot]

January 2024 Destiel Fic Recs

Here are some of my favourite Destiel fics posted in January 2024. The point of this rec list is to shine light on some new fics that otherwise might go drowing in the ocean of Destiel fics on ao3.

cure of all, this fruit divine by hurtygurdyman

Father, I am sorry my nature does not come easily to me. I know neither how I was made nor why I feel so alone.Cas draws a line in the soil that will one day become the Mississippi River. He looks up at God with a feeling in his gut he doesn’t want to name. spnflash day 4: envy.

This one is very short and poetic. (868 words)

i'm half-doomed, and you're semi-sweet by 13zepptraxx

“Thanks,” he whispers still, allowing Castiel’s hand to reside on the side of his face. He could shrug it away, and he knows he probably should, because right now he and Cas are tiptoeing along a line set a long time ago, one that they both silently agreed they should never cross. Across this line is uncharted waters, unknown consequences, no semblance of what will become; but it’s important to note that Dean wants to cross that line, all the time, every single day. He yearns so badly for it; so he’s taking this moment, this blurring of the line. Tomorrow they can go back to only looking at one another when the other is looking elsewhere, and stealing touches in the form of healing or in a quick pat on the shoulder that turns into a balled fist as they walk away. Tonight, Dean will allow himself to be weak.

Everything about this fic is just perfect. The fucking hours I spend going through every fic posted in january were worth it just for this one, honestly. (1,642 words)

What a Brave Little Ant You Are by withthekeyisking

The first time man-in-charge Cas shows up at Bobby's place, Dean promptly flips the fuck out and shoots him.By the fourth time, Dean doesn't bother reaching for his gun.

Season 7 godstiel, very interesting dynamic. (2,320 words)

Baker Company Pie by S1nging_Y0u_S0ftly

Castiel remembers a recipe from the Great Depression, and decides to bake it for Dean. It's a water pie, something he'd had a few times as a child and remembers it being edible. It will have to do.

This is a coda fic for Ninety One Whiskey, and if I loved 91w as much as I did, you'll love this one as well. (2,570 words)

Nobody Here But Us Chickens by ImYourHoneyBee

Dean has been trying out endearments inside his head for years. He can’t help it. Some sentences feel wrong on his tongue without one, the unsaid words jumping over themselves to leap out of his mouth like living things. It took him a long time to label it love, but what else could the urge be when Cas makes him feel so much? When Cas is hurt, Dean's gruff, “You good?” needs a comma and a ‘sweetheart’ at the end. Calling out in a dank, dusty storage room for a hand with hauling boxes or needing a clarifying eye on an obscure, potentially magical trinket wants to start with a questioning, “Hey, honey?” He can almost taste it, dripping off his tongue sweet and wanting, casual in its intimacy. Sometimes, Dean slips up. “Good morning, sunshine,” while passing Cas a doctored-up cup of coffee in his favourite mug has become a morning ritual. It’s innocuous enough to get away with if he doesn’t think about it too hard. Sometimes, he tries his best to make it sarcastic, but it inevitably comes out too sincere. Cas hasn't caught on yet, though, and Sam has stopped shooting him questioning side-eyes, so Dean's pretty sure he's pulling it off. The problem is that it’s not enough. It’s never enough. 

Very fluffy, they are soo soft in this, I love it. (4022 words)

45 by soft_pine

Dean's 4th, 5th, and 45th birthdays.

The contrast between those birthdays just chef's kiss! (1,158 words)

found it here in your love by nevernevergirl

Dean's birthday doesn't go as planned. Cas is definitely not throwing a tantrum about it. (In which learning to live your life after nearly two decades of saving the actual world is a process. They're doing it together, though.)

Another Dean's birthday fic, I actually read this one his birthday :). (2,779 words)

Don’t Let the Sound (of Your Own Wheels) Drive You Crazy by Eightbitpale

Like a crazy person, like this is new information, Dean thinks: there’s an angel of the lord in my passenger seat. One day I brought him home with me and he hasn’t left since. Cas sighs loudly, and turns a little in his seat to look at Dean head on.

“You’re thinking very loudly.”

“Don’t read my thoughts, Cas”, Dean replies on autopilot, knowing even as he says it that that’s not what the angel meant. There’s a beat of silence between them where Cas just lets the tension hang, knowing all too well that the steely look he’s currently beaming into the side of Dean’s head is enough to make him crack eventually. Dean cracks. “I guess I was just thinking that some shit never changes, y’know?”Its been a long drive. Dean is thinking loudly.

I love the way this one was written, the atmosphere was really special.(3,917 words)

I (22m) am concerned about a coworker (30sm) but am wary of getting too involved in his life by bitterred

A coworker at the Gas-N-Sip that Castiel works at has noticed some weird things about him and decided to write into /r/relationships for advice. "I (22M) have a coworker (mid-30s, I think, M) and this dude (I guess I’ll call him Steve, it's anonymous enough) is more than a little weird. We work at a convenience store/gas station. It’s like he doesn’t understand any pop culture reference, at all, but talks about stuff from ancient history (like, literally, stuff that is in the bible) like he knows it happened for sure."

Short reddit fic about a one of Cas' coworkers perspective on Dean. (492 words)

but honey, most of them are true by Owco

Sam overhears some gossip between two hunters at a bar. He is surprised to learn that it’s all true. Set sometime after Exodus, around Let the Good Times Roll.

A very funny and unique take on the "Sam finds out about Dean and Cas"- trope. (2,996 words)

If you read and enjoy these fics make sure that you leave kudos and/or write a comment! Some of these stories are first fic the author posted on ao3 and they deserve all the love and motivation.

(And please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have made with the links and stuff... hope you enjoy! See you next month for the february recs.)

[nedjsmlfavs]

So my suggestion on Derision? Ignore it. Declare it bullshit in author notes. Openly mock it and declare it non-canon. It conflicts with or ruins so many episodes (rewatch animaestro) it is the obvious weak link. It was written from a place of hate and anger at some members of the audience, not one of love for the characters and the show. And so: excise it and retain your love.

It trashes so many more prople than just marinette too.

Like her parents for ignoring multiple years of bullying so bad she made up fake excuses to avoid school? This is the same Tom who went akuma because a boy broke her heart. This is the same caring and wonderful Sabine saying 'its only three more weeks then *maybe* it will be okay*

The hand of the author is just so blatant too. Your example with Mylene is one I hate on a different level, because this *is* a kids show and Mylene just told kids 'every situation is the same. Its your fault if you react differently. André the power-abusing, neglectful, pushover is *exactly* the same as Mylene's supportive, involved, father. If you as a child end up differently in these environments, you are the problem.

Ugh, yeah. So just nuke Derision and don't apologize. It doesn't respect canon, so why should your canon respect it?

Oh, yeah, Derision ruins pretty much every character who has lines in it. It's also hardly the first episode to introduce a poorly thought-out plot point or characterization. I'm normally very happy to take the Nick Fury approach to canon where I recognize the show's decision and then elect to ignore it.

The reason I'm able to do that so easily is that the writing choices I don't agree with usually just disappoint me. They don't bother me on an emotional level. And, sure, I could do deep explanations of why certain plot/character choices are terrible and should never have been made, but I prefer to express my disappointment by just writing fanfiction that does the thing that I wish that the show would've done. It's actually part of why I have so many fics featuring Nino and Alya being great friends to Adrien and Marinette. Because I don't like how the show has treated those relationship so I just say "Fine, I'll write the version that I want." The opposite of a salt fic, if you will? A writing salt, character sugar fic?

Derision hit different. It upset me on an emotional level, which is why I actually wrote up an analysis of what was bad with just one element the episode and tossed it into the ether. Doing that actually did help as have all of the responses to that post. Knowing that I'm not alone in finding this episode upsetting and poorly thought out is helping me move past it. So thank you for this message and for all the replies to that post. I'm starting to turn my emotions from sadness to drive to get back to my reverse crush canon rewrite, which was the whole reason I made the post in the first place! I want to finish that and give the characters the arcs I wish that we'd gotten in the show.

As for posts that go over why certain episodes or characterizations are bad, well, you're always welcome to ask me for my thoughts on stuff and I'll write it up, but unless something about canon deeply bothers me, I'll mostly keep my thoughts to myself and continue to channel them into fanfiction fuel.

[edvinroyals]

Which is your favourite young royal fanfiction?

Mine is Honey and Lemon by Skamownsme4ever

Others are - bet you you'll go far, like he hung the moon and the stars, not it it's you, there all along, call me up late

Pretty much fics which make me smile non-stop cause they are so fluffy!!

Hey! I'm so happy to get another Fanfic ask!!!

I also really love Honey and Lemon, Bet You You'll Go Far, Not If It's You, There All Along and Call Me Up Late I haven't read Like He Hung The Moon and The Stars but I have added it to my list!

I am currently putting together a post of my favourite fic's from 2022 so thought I would offer you some of my favourites that fit the fluffy vibe you love here!

Bloom Where You Are Planted - By cloudymilk

Don't want to talk about how many times ao3 tells me I have read this one.

Hi Wille, I hope you’re doing well!

I hope you don’t mind but I saw sometimes you give plant advice and I think I might have killed mine

- OR -

Wille is a plant boy, Simon has a black thumb. They both run semi-popular Instas.

The Boy and the Bartender - By Spidaya

Simon is a bartender at a local bar with a sunny smile and confident attitude that hide the darker side of his life he wishes to keep hidden. Wilhelm, the prince of Sweden, is a lonely boy with too much love to give and not getting much love in return. 

After they meet at a bar in not the most Prince-Charming way, their hearts are forever intertwined with each other, but not before going through the hurt, trials, and love that come with both of their lives.

Play My Song - By Elin98

It is 12.15 am and you’re listening to Late night Vibes with Simon on The Vibe FM, 104.6. I’m your host Simon Eriksson and I will be here with you all night. So for all you night owls, insomniacs, night shift workers, let me keep you company. I promise to only play good music and that we’ll have a good time.

Wille wishes he could sleep, would give just about anything to end the sleepless nights, escape the racing thoughts that have taken over his tired mind. By accident he stumbles upon a late night radio show one night and suddenly finds himself longing for the company of a boy he's never met.

On-Campus - By spa_ghetto

At the beginning of the spring term Simon and Sara receive a letter from Hillerska, offering a room and board scholarship. Sara is ecstatic. Simon can't help feeling like he's being led straight to his death. Now they're here, non-residents upgraded to residents. When his mom asks how things are going, he lies and says they're great, and no, he's definitely not bothered by the Crown Prince of Sweden living three doors down. He's over it. All of it. Really.

It's not that Wilhelm doesn't want Simon on campus, but—well, okay, it is exactly that, actually. Despite wherever their relationship is now, he's sure they can agree on one thing: Simon shouldn't be on campus, for one reason or another. So, why is he? What happened between last semester and this one? Wilhelm is a full-time student, part-time crown prince. He barely has time to sleep, let alone figure out the new Simon Situation (though, let's be real. It's all the same Situation), but between Simon nearly getting suspended and August having secret conversations in the hall, he can't help but get involved.

He can surely get to the bottom of this; he knows Simon like the back of his hand.

At least… he thinks he does.

Can I Take Your Order? - By littlefandom

“Okay,” the boy retorts, still eyeing him a bit curiously “can I take your order then, Wille?”

Wilhelm feels the blush on his cheeks deepen upon hearing his name on the boy’s lips. He can’t seem to find his voice again, his mind going blank. Felice did him what she wanted to order, right?

The waiter must have noticed he’s struggling but he only smiles a little, almost like he’s holding back a chuckle. Which does not help Wilhelm, because if his neutral, slightly tired expression was attractive before, now he’s just… wow, Wille’s brain shuts down again."

Wilhelm and Simon meet at the pizzeria in Bjärstad.

Arrhythmia - By pysanky

“Do you have the patient file for 223?” 

Simon rifled through his papers and found it, extending the file out toward Wilhelm, who took it but remained there, lingering. Madison and Simon both looked at him, waiting. 

Wilhelm cleared his throat again, opening his mouth and closing it before opening it again, but then someone was calling for him and he was gone, shoes squeaking against the linoleum. Simon sighed when he looked around the edge of the station and realized that the other was wearing Crocs. 

(or: in which Simon and Wilhelm work together as medical residents at the same hospital)

That's What I Really Want - By yr_bb

“How do you want to do this?” Simon asked. “I know you need someone to go to this fundraiser... I need someone to come with me to my parents’ anniversary party... I’d like to propose that we pretend that this—” Wilhelm gestured between them, “is a thing until at least then.” They sipped their coffees in silence for a moment. Simon hoped he was imagining the tension.

Inspired by 'Boyfriend Material' by Alexis Hall, with characters from Young Royals. A classic slow burn fake boyfriends story with plenty of soft boys, angst and fluff. 

I Never Knew Myself WIP - By demeterfics

Alex meets Wilhelm at a coffee shop in London, Alex inserts himself into Wille's life. Three years later, they're best friends living in a shared flat. Alex goes through some shit, Wille goes through some shit. Alex meets Henry when the weather causes him to find refuge.

Simon and his family moved to London and he doesn't exactly like it, but he finds himself a little corner of the city where he can be a barista and his sister, Sara works at a flower shop owned by Henry.

Rush Hour - By yr_bb

“This is going to sound so weird, and I swear I’m not stalking you or anything, but could I get your number?”  Simon typed, then smirked, passing him back the phone.  Wille’s face lit up. “Train Boy and a purple heart?”  “Text me when we have signal, OK?”

What happens when you bump into a cute stranger on a busy train? Pure unadulterated fluff, that's what!

You're The Cats Meow - By melsj98

Meet Simon. Simon, who is an animal-lover. Simon who works at his local shelter with his best friends Ayub and Rosh. Simon who loves what he does and takes pride in making the shelter a safe space. Simon, who wants to take care of his family while also juggling college classes, his job at the shelter, and his tentative music career. Simon who can’t afford any distractions right now and definitely is not looking for a relationship after his last few disastrous attempts. 

Enter Wille. Wille who just wants to get through college without too many problems, Wille who only really has three true friends in his life, Erik, Felice and Maddie, anyone else who says otherwise is lying. Wille who got into a minor fight, the details of why aren’t important. Wille who has a semi famous family and whose face is now plastered across magazines labeling him as “jealous” and “violent” and “attention-seeking” and all these other labels that don’t represent him at all. Wille whose mother sends him to work at an animal shelter to “clean up his image”. Wille whose life begins to change the second his eyes fall on Simon.

I'm Carrying Your Love With Me. - By Edvinroyals

This is mine so I feel like I should't add it but I am going to anyway.

Simon and Wilhelm coming back together, both knowing what they deserve. 

aka : me unable to get that photo of Omar and Edvin in the jumpers out of my head because the Simon and Wilhelm engagement photo vibes were just 10/10 and my brain had to write it down.

[passthroughtime]

decided to write down several LJ/kuwana/kwgm(-related) things that i’ve been mulling over recently. though i wanted to explore this all in my fics, but it isn't happening any time soon, with how i am discouraged by my own wip's posted chapters... (it's hard to see good things there for now, i just hope that it gets better on its own... magically changing my tired author's perspective to "wow there is actually great things about it" myself... copium.) so. just making a post. for now. or ever. idk.

1) kuwana is lonely, and he is trying to find someone who will understand his pain

that's an obvious one, of course. the way he talks about sawa and finds similarities in his and yagami's experiences; this all is him trying to find someone who'd share his pain.

seeking out kusumoto with a revenge plot as a resolution for the root of their traumas has the same motivation underneath it. kitakata was shunned from society, his career is tarnished. the only thing he has is lots of time to reflect on his mistakes, without means to remedy them: he can't be a teacher again, so he could stop any bullying in the moment. i believe that an attempted suicide of his student reflected bad on any type of a child-assossiated work he could focus on to make a difference. he has no direct opportunity to prevent the same situation from happening again.

so, he goes to kusumoto, thinking she despises kawai just as much. she does, and even if it takes some convincing (because, unlike kitakata, she has a life/something to focus on beside the loss of mitsuru), she agrees to avenge her son. but when everything is done, kitakata is left alone yet again, with his guilt, and anger, and absolutely nothing to live for.

he drinks a lot. his appartment is a mess. he lives under a false name for a decade, so there isn't much people left in his life who knows of his past. he is alone, but that doesn't matter because he's already arranged a future for himself. he has a purpose, as he sees it, though. by avenging others, he remedies himself in the only way he sees available. it doesn't make it easier, because the bullying problem still exists, but he at least does something, right? gives a closure to families who lost a child. it's something.

so, yeah, it's a pretty obvious idea, but seeing that all of this is just circumstantial evidence bothered me. what if i'm just a kuwana apologist and it's not that deep?

but...

it is. it is that deep. kuwana doesn't argue with that, he is silent for a moment after yagami says this line, we can't see his face/what he feels at the moment, and after starts talking about a whole other topic. as far as i can see, yagami hit the nail on the head. (and i'm not that delusional about kuwana. yay.)

2) trust falls & the "you are not a piece of shit" journey

i've been talking about it before, but this is still a big one for me, because the whole final section of the game happens only because kuwana's life relies on yagami's decision to help him, by kuwana's own volition.

he doesn't know for certain if yagami's view of him changes after the boat scene, and i imagine he has a pretty clear idea of who yagami is and where his priorities lie at this point. he won't be helping some murderer to survive; but that's the only info yagami has to make a decision on.

yes, kuwana asks of yagami and his friends' safety when he makes a contact with bando: that's him building trust and making sure yagami knows he doesn't throw them to the wolves. but it still is a gamble, so he has a plan B. (which is to blow up soma, kawai's body and presumably himself — presumably, because the game doesn't say it outright, but kuwana has to be certain that soma is right next to the body and has no means to escape, right? so he has to see it with his own eyes. with the blast from the explosion and rk being around, the chance to make it out exists, but imo is rather flimsy.)

yagami shows up, and kuwana's chance to survive goes up.

now, there lies another problem. yagami's been thinking that kuwana is just another piece of shit murderer for the whole game. this is why that's a gamble for kuwana, BUT it is also for yagami when he says that kuwana isn't that bad to blow them all up. and it happens because kuwana tries to take advantage of yagami's prejudice.

i'd want to believe that atp yagami knows for certain that he really isn't and that's him calling out kuwana's bs... but that gives too much credit to yagami LOL sorry. that's hard for me because he spends an entire game ignoring who kuwana is as a person because of his own trauma/experience (meaning, the conclusion he comes to in the end of the first game. which is the main source of yagami's bias towards kuwana for the entirety of LJ, with its conclusion being that it's not that simple actually). at least, kuwana says it directly to him once (as far as i remember), so there's that.

i won't recount every instance of yagami projecting his own trauma on kuwana and consequently being so wrong about his character (i can do that, i don't see the point), because we all know that yagami is a major bitch, right?

why he bitches towards kuwana so consistently is... a question for sure, and i believe it loosely ties to fandom's interpretation of kuwana's character as well. (no shade intended lol, i've been changing my opinion on this several times already.)

but it's important to point out that i've noticed that, mostly, eastern's and western's interpretation of dynamic in kuwagami differs: western fandom considers kuwana as the annoying one while eastern fandom sees that yagami pisses kuwana off. i agree with both, to an extent. they have a very delicate balance of mutual annoyance, i think, and it presents itself differently throughout the whole game.

the first two scenes with kuwana (meeting at plage, and attack on yokohama 99) have kuwana purposely being a nuisance. in the first scene, he needs yagami's name, so he doesn't intend on letting him go until yagami tells him. in the second, he makes sure to be in y99 until his plan takes place, so he stays there in the pretence of wanting to join yagami's investigation (and butters up kaito while he's at it).

the important nuance: the first scene has yagami being a complete asshole almost unwarranted because he has always been a bitch, it's literally his default state (re: JE. every scene in JE.), and it indeed pisses kuwana off. the second scene has kuwana making great points as to why he can be of value to yagami, while he just. keeps being a bitch. again. there is no real/valid reason for him to decline kuwana's help. he just doesn't like him.

the rest of the game... well tbh, i was surprised to see how uncharacteristically chill kuwana is when we/yagami meets him the next time at sawa's apartment. because, you know. kuwana goes there suspecting that sawa has very complicated questions to ask him, and he plans to answer them with honesty. all that, and he sees the detective who's been unknowningly investigating him all this time. i won't be surprised if he presumes sawa called yagami here. that's just an example.

well, i'm not saying that kuwana is completely innocent and doesn't make his remarks out of nowhere, he just matches yagami's freak his shit-talking, for me, is more reactionary than that of yagami. yagami is pissed at him 24/7, literally every time when they meet, and says shit to him constantly. in his defence, there are moments here and then when we can hear compassion in his voice and he's almost chill. but there is less of them than the moments with yagami being his usual self.

yeah, kuwana is a murderer and all, but i still believe that yagami is very biased because sometimes it seems like he doesn't even hear what kuwana is saying. but i've kinda said it all before, so i won't repeat myself.

...uhh, what was i talking about? kuwana is not an asshole. his bitchiness is mostly reactionary, with yagami being a usual instigator of bickering. he isn't genuinely angry at yagami (re: eastern fandom's hc). he cares for lots of people (the gang, children suffering from bullying, kusumoto, sawa), he was a teacher after all, and he took his student's attempted suicide so bad that he's given away all his life in his name — he has to feel guilty and responsible for that, and he doesn't place all responsibility on his bullying students.

as we see with kawai, his students and even mikoshiba, he gives bullies a chance to redeem themselves, and acts, if he sees that their apologies weren't genuine and they learnt nothing from this tragedy. well, maybe i am a kuwana apologist, ANYWAY...

the problem with his characterisation is, we don't see him interacting with other people much. the rest of the gang? only if he can forget that yagami's in the room (yeah, even going out for beers with kaito was, in a way, to piss yagami off), which is for some reason is incredibly hard for him. only thing that i can recall is him being condescending towards sugiura's remarks during their whole talk at tesso's, but sugiura does draw away his attention from yagami so it's sugiura's fault LMAO

oh, and him talking with his students. which is still about yagami, because he tries to turn them against him, while kuwana himself escapes.

but i love this line anyway, such a disappointed teacher moment lol:

mostly, we only have yagami's pov to judge kuwana's character from with our own eyes. other people's accounts...

well, i don't really want to delve into it.

tl;dr: i should play around with their dynamic more, and question my vision TM more. seems to be fun to do so. (and maybe try finding instances of kuwana not being that nice, because i fear me writing him gentle and such is totally biased.)

3) when kuwana is actually an asshole

yeah, we need to acknowledge the fact that kuwana orchestrated the attack on yokohama 99, even if the game doesn't do that lmfao. i don't want to surmise much, because, yeah, i believe we don't see tsukumo and sugiura's reaction upon realising it was kuwana's plan. but i need to revisit the canon just to say it for certain

we can see sugiura being angry at kuwana's students. and while meeting kuwana for the first time after the reveal at tesso's— well, he doesn't seem really glad to see him too.

but the most infuriating thing is that kuwana still has yagami in his mind while doing it. he tries to drive away yagami when he meets yagami at plage with a threat on his life; he orchestrates the attack on y99 with a treath on his friends' life.

he achieves nothing of course, because yagami is yagami, he has no sense of self-preservation lol, that's his whole deal.

so afterwards kuwana goes, fuck it, i have no time for this, — and disappears from yagami's sight until the unfortunate (or fortunate, if you look at it the other way) meeting at sawa's.

the thing is, sugiura and tsukumo were re-classified in his mind from "collegues" to "yagami's friends", and that's tragic for their relationship, honestly. they were the real collateral damage kuwana is at fault for.

because sawa is, well... if kuwana knew he had to be careful not to create a connecting thread between his murders, he would't go through with mikoshiba's murder. he cares for sawa, and he can't forgive himself as it is. this is the same as with mitsuru, he doesn't ignore the threat, he doesn't even know it exists.

while the attack on yokohama 99 is 100% his fault. what exact orders about what his students can and can't do to tsukumo and sugiura were, we will never know. sadly. but he is to blame anyway.

on the topic of kuwana endangering other people's safety — now ignoring possible consequences, though...

yeah. this scene.

to be fair to him, there is no prior evidence of yagami not being able to stand his ground. idk if (how much of) yagami's involvement in the mole/AD-9 case is known to general public, especially the fact that yagami survives the fall, the following concussion, and a fight with a serial killer cop. there is enough evidence though to not doubt yagami's abilities even in LJ up to this point. yagami fights off liumang's attack twice. kuwana knows how good yagami is in a fight firsthand. they were doing well against akutsu and rk up until this point. yagami should be fiiiine.

but then he isn't. he is almost killed. kuwana doesn't mention if he knows of that, and they don't talk about it. sawa being murdered is more of a concern to both of them. we don't know how kuwana feels about leaving yagami in grave danger. even though it hardly was his intention, i don't think at least; several minutes earlier yagami says kuwana to run, to which he hesitates, until yagami assures him that he really should leave him behind. and, saying it again. there is no real reason to believe that this situation will turn out to be THAT bad.

i don't know for certain of course, and i'm, saying it again, biased. though, nonetheless, i think there is some reason to think kuwana knows about yagami barely surviving the last time they were against rk.

this scene literally parallels with kuwana leaving him in chapter 7. rk with their leader present, a very real threat to yagami's life (with akutsu and soma saying to rk what to do with them even, lmao) and there's only two of them against a big group of enemies. yeah. i feel so stupid for not realising this earlier.

as kuwana catboy-assigned yagami said himself:

yagami's luck is bound to run out someday. kuwana doesn't risk it happening this day, not if he can help it; he doesn't intend to make the same mistake.

[and-stir-the-stars]

William lines that I like from my fic Collection:

Father nodded wordlessly, but Evan didn’t need words to know what would happen next. The couch cushions dipped under his weight as the nine-year-old shuffled closer to the couch’s edge, closer to Father.

William needs. so much control. I think the Afton kids' lives are filled with a lot of moments like this; William doesn't have to tell them what he expects of them-- on a lot of levels, William enjoys that his will (pun intended) has been so thoroughly projected and enforced that he doesn't have to always verbally order his kids around for them to do what he wants. A lot of the relative few interactions William has with his kids is based on Routine. Doing the same things over and over, always in William's way. Not that this Routine means the kids are always safe around him, of course. William's known to change the rules at a drop of a hat; something that William wants of the kids one day will set him off the next should they try to repeat it. And the moments where the kids struggle to understand and fulfil William's Unvoiced Commands when they don't actually know what William wants of them are Awful.

Father hadn’t given him any water for his pills the first times when he had given Evan his medicine. Those times had been filled with crying and choking on pills lodged half-swallowed in the back of his throat as Father’s jaw tensed in annoyance.

It had been a great relief when Father finally started bringing a glass of water with him. 

Though, Father still didn’t like it when he asked for a glass without trying to swallow the pills on his own first. 

William probably tells himself and his kids that he does stuff like this because he wants to toughen them up but honestly he's just being Petty.

Evan’s breath caught in his throat. He tried not to stare– staring was rude; people who stared were doing nothing but asking for trouble– but the nine-year-old couldn’t help himself. Father never sat beside him when he was dealing with Evan’s wounds, only knelt or stood nearby. 

Smth smth William has Issues With Touch and is only okay with it when he's using touch to manipulate others to his advantage. I dunno if touch makes him Uncomfortable exactly, but at least he definitely just like. doesn't see the point of it or why it's necessary, which makes his kids' need for touch both annoying and hard to deal with outside of manipulation scenarios. but it might make him Uncomfortable too.

…What if Father didn’t like Snowball? 

Evan’s Fredbear plushie had been a gift directly from Father, after all. The only gift Evan had ever gotten from Father that wasn’t given because it was his birthday or Christmas, but because Father had wanted to.

And Evan had replaced it. 

Evan's almost right! Snowball DOES bother William-- but not because Fredbear was some grand show of fatherly love and William feels rejected by Evan replacing the golden bear plushie. Rather, it bothers William that Before, the only plushies Evan had were Fredbear Entertainment plushes, and now, Evan threw every last Fredbear Entertainment toy he had away and replaced it with something that has nothing to do with William's Great Accomplishment. Evan's actions here really wound William's arrogant pride.

“I did notice that,” William said. “I told you you were fragile, didn’t I, Evan?"

Evan didn’t meet his Father’s eye as shame burned in his cheeks. "Yes sir."

Reference all the way back to MBMW chapter one! >>“Evan!” Father snapped in a way that sent chills up Michael’s spine. “You know what I said about bringing friends over, and you know how I feel about that boy. You were fragile enough before your incident; do you honestly think I trust you, let alone around him, any more now than I did before?”<< No specific thoughts from me on this one but like. william. you rat bastard. Actually, now that I'm looking at it, I do wish I had phrased this differently, though... it would hit so much worse if William hadn't forced Evan to agree that William had said he was fragile, but if William had said smth like "see? you ARE fragile, aren't you" and Evan was forced to say "yes sir, I am"

Father used to get upset about how scared Evan was of Fredbear's; recently, Father didn't seem to think much of it at all. 

Just like Evan throwing away his plushies, the time in between Charlie's death and William starting his illusion disc experiments when Evan was terrified of animatronics was a wound on William's pride. His son acting like this was not only embarrassing when in public but was a personal insult as well. Even when William starts twisting Evan's fears and using them for his own gain with the illusion disc experiments, Evan's fear of William's creations is still a sore point on his pride, but it also becomes something of a necessary evil to William.

"Most nightmares have monsters,” William chided. “What made this one so special?"

I don't even know what it is about this line but it. it. hnnnnnnnnnnng.

Evan didn’t want to talk about this, any of this, but… it was a good thing that Father wanted to talk about it, right? It meant he cared enough to listen. It was like when Mr. Fre–

…Like when Mr. Fazbear would encourage him to talk about anything that bothered him. 

It was just like that.

So… why didn’t this feel anything like when Mr. Fazbear would talk with him and calm him down? 

Oh, poor Evan. He just wants his father to love him so, so much. This is actually one of the reasons I posted "Live and Let Die" in the middle of the funtimes arc rather than putting it off until after; once I knew I was going to be writing funtimes 1.5, I wanted to have that moment at the very end of Live and Let Die where Freddy is encouraging Evan to talk about this very stressful and traumatic thing that happened to him. a little bit of contrast with how William is in his chapter. Freddy is gentle. He assures Evan to take his time, not to rush himself, he doesn't make Evan feel like he is forced to talk. He makes sure Evan knows he is safe. William does none of these things.

Evan tried to stifle his gasp as Father’s fingertips dug into the bruises he had found on his wrist when he woke up that morning. 

William knew exactly what he was doing here.

William cleared his throat. “If you hurt yourself, then I won’t clean the wounds for you, Evan. An accident is one thing, but otherwise, you’ll have to do that yourself.” 

Oof. Michael especially probably has trauma from this little rule of William's. I can see Mike putting his fist through the wall and the like and William refusing to help him with the injury. His time is precious, after all, and his kids need to learn not to waste it.

William stared down at his son, disappointed. He hadn’t even managed to ask about the most important thing he genuinely, truly, desperately needed to know. 

How did it feel to know you were about to die? 

He couldn’t ask it, though. 

He didn’t think he’d ever be able to ask it, no matter how much he wanted to. Because part of him would always be too terrified of what the answer would be.

Unrelated to the story, but this makes me think of crumble's headcanon about Will's Uncle Jay; maybe his Uncle Jay's death (or the death of anyone he was close to, really) when Will was younger is what sparks William's intense fear of but also fascination with death and the moments right before you die and what comes after. It would have been a very traumatic event for an already unstable young William, after all. Or it could have been sparked by Mrs. Afton's death, but I generally think of William as having been a killer even before she died.

“That’s enough.” 

Father pulled away, and despite how his father’s grip had hurt, a pang shot through Evan’s core as his father’s touch left him. 

That's enough crying. That's enough physical touch and affection. That's enough being weak. That's enough being close. That's enough; that's all that I can take; you've done enough.

“You can have it back.” William’s pale eyes met Evan’s gaze. “But not now. You know the rule about napping all day, Evan. If you wanted to sleep…”

You should have done it at night when you were meant to instead of wasting the day away.

Once again... he knew exactly what he was doing here.