#it's that chapter 6 is going to be almost SICKENINGLY cute

[singsweetmelodies]

@ people who follow me for the fake dating au...

[princessasmosprincess]

Charmed, I'm Sure

Chapter 6 First Chapter|Previous Chapter|Next Chapter

***

Summary: No human has ever avoided Asmodeus's charm. Except for you.

Pairing: Asmodeus x GN Reader/MC

Genre: Drama, angst

Warnings: Blood and canon-typical violence, alcohol use, suggestive content, innuendo

***

Asmo was surrounded by his fans, dancing his heart out, drinking just enough demonus to get tipsy. Everything was right in his world.

That was, until the crowd parted.

There you were, gaping stupidly at the flashing lights and the dancers working the poles. Mammon was talking but you weren’t listening. Many of the demons in the crowd stopped and stared at you. They could smell a pure human soul as soon as you walked in the door. Mammon put his arm around you, showing everyone in the club that you were his. No one would defy one of the seven rulers of the Devildom, not if they valued their life.

Asmo was seething. How dare you take attention away from him in his own domain. But as Mammon guided you to the dancefloor, Asmo pasted on a smile. The two of you were coming right for him.

“MC, Mammon,” he said, taking your hands in his as if the two of you were old friends. “What brings you here tonight?”

“I wanted to get out of the house and Mammon was kind enough to accompany me,” your smile was almost sickeningly sweet. So different from how you looked when he’d first met you. Asmo preferred the fear in your eyes from before to whatever this was.

“Mammon? Kind?” Asmo scoffed.

“Hey, I can be kind if I wanna be,” Mammon responded.

You laughed at the little moment of banter between the brothers, Asmo caught you covering your mouth with your hand.

Cute.

Asmo shook his head as if to erase the thought from his mind.

Instinctively, you started moving, swaying to the music. You could feel the bass through the floor, it was comforting in a way. You still held onto Mammon's hand, not wanting to lose him in the crowd.

You were a good dancer, Asmo had to admit. Not that he had made an effort to notice. He was just keeping an eye on you like Lucifer had instructed, nothing more.

“I’ve been to nightclubs in the… human world,” it felt weird to call it that. “But none of them were anything like this.”

At that moment Asmo itched to put his hand on your waist as the two of you moved to the music. He’d pull you in closer, your bodies flush against each other and then— but he was still mad at you for somehow avoiding his charm. It didn't matter how the light from the disco ball glittered in your eyes or how good you looked in your casual clothes.

Should he try to charm you once more? No, he didn't want to be disappointed again.

“Your D.D.D. is positively blowing up, Mammon,” said Asmo, changing the subject.

You had noticed Mammon checking his D.D.D. throughout the night but you’d assumed the messages had been from his brothers the way Mammon disregarded them.

“I know! It's those damned witches I have pacts with.” He said.

“Uh-oh, trouble in the polycule?” Asmo laughed.

“Very funny, Asmo,” Mammon said, scrolling through his text messages. “You know it ain’t nothin’ like that. If it was, it would be infinitely more fun.” He frowned, “Uh oh.”

“What is it,” you asked.

“Well they’re probably gonna summon me to the human world in a–” his body seized for a moment. “Yup, right now.”

You tugged on Mammon’s hand, concern lighting your eyes, “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I just hafta go and hope whatever they want doesn't take too long. Asmo,” he turned to his younger brother who had already begun pouting. “Watch MC for me. If I’m not back in an hour, walk ‘em back to the House of Lamentation. See ya’s later.” With that, Mammon dematerialized in the middle of the dance floor.

***

It didn't take long for you to get separated from Asmo. He was extremely popular. His fans were constantly shoving you aside to get to him. He was sandwiched in between two demons and a witch, in a circle several people deep. By the end of the song you couldn't see him anymore.

You looked for him in the hundreds of intoxicated faces in the crowd but you couldn't find him. There was no reason to panic yet. You needed a break from the dance floor anyway. You’d get a drink and then follow the crowd to wherever Asmo was bound to be.

“Oops, sorry,” you narrowly missed bumping into a demon on your way back to the dance floor.

“No harm done,” he said. He was tall and of a similar build to Diavolo, but his expression was not genial like the demon prince’s, and his face not quite as handsome. You recognized him as a RAD student but you didn't know his name.

You stepped to the right, but he moved in front of you, blocking your way to the dance floor.

“You’re the human exchange student, right?”

“Um, yes,” you said, trying to move past him again, and again he stepped in front of you. “I would like to pass, please.”

He didn't listen, taking a step towards you. “So soon?” Another step towards you, you backed away. “Now that I’ve got you here, why don’t we have a little cultural exchange right now? Dance with me.” He smiled, baring his sharp teeth.

“I really need to be getting back to–” You felt your back touch the wall behind you. It was a dark corner under the stairs in the otherwise bright room.

“Lucifer and his brothers get you all to themselves at the House of Lamentation. It’s not fair.” He frowned.

You weren't sure how you knew, but something told you the demon was trying to use some sort of charm or power to try and manipulate you. It wasn't working. “We can hang out in class sometime.” You promised. You would say anything to get him to let you go.

“That’s not good enough,” He was angry now, you could tell by the way his eyes blazed in the low light, glowing like Lucifer’s had the other day. The demon slammed his hand on the wall next to your head, causing you to jump. With his other hand he gripped your shoulder tightly.

“This will only take a minute,” he bared perfectly white, razor sharp teeth, inhaling your scent as he did. You thought you were going to be sick.

“What’s going on over here?”

The demon spun around, coming face to face with Asmo.

“Asmodeus,” said the demon, quickly putting on a semblance of a casual smile. “It’s so great to see you. This human and I–”

“They have a name,” said Asmo, looking over his nails as if they were the most pressing matter at the moment. “The least you could do is call them by it.”

“Yes of course. Well, we were just…trying to get to know each other a little more... intimately. You understand.” His grip on your shoulder remained firm, you could feel his nails digging into your skin.

“Mhmm, and is that something MC wants?” Asmo fixed his stare on you, a quizzical eyebrow raised. Your body language towards the demon looked less than enthusiastic.

“No!” you said.

The demon growled low. You shivered.

“MC, come here,” Asmo commanded. “Didn’t you remember you’re my date for tonight? I wasn't planning on sharing you with anyone else.”

“Oh, yeah,” You said, grateful for Asmo’s intervention. You slipped out of the demon's grasp. A crowd was already starting to form behind Asmo, watching the drama unfold.

Asmo slowly approached the demon, his hips swaying seductively. “Now, tell me what you were really doing,” He gave an alluring smile, tracing a line from the demon’s collar bone down his chest, pausing there.

The demon’s eyes flashed pink. Charming a lower level demon was child’s play for Asmo. He was entranced. “I, uh, wanted to eat the human’s soul,”

You dropped your drink, shattering the glass and splashing you with the sticky liquid. You knew that was what he wanted, it was just shocking to hear him say it out loud.

“Is that so?” Asmo edged even closer, his lips nearly touching the demon’s. “Well, I can give you something better,” he whispered. “Something you deserve.”

“Something I deserve,” the demon breathed. “I’d like that.”

Asmo smiled. “You would, wouldn't you?”

It happened so quickly. Asmo slammed the demon against the wall by the throat.

“Mmm, doesn't that feel good?” He tightened his grip, drawing blood. “What do you say, big boy, do you want some more?”

The demon nodded, his eyes transfixed on Asmo’s, a drunken smile on his lips.

“You’ve got a nice body,” Asmo touched the demon’s pectoral with his free hand. “I like it when my men show a little skin.”

Asmo slashed the demon’s chest with his nails in five deep gashes. Blood splattered everywhere. There was a collective gasp from the crowd. A witch nearby screamed.

“You are never to touch or look at MC again.” He said. “The next time it happens, you’ll have to answer to Lord Diavolo.” The demon slid to the floor, trailing blood down the wall as Asmo released him. He moaned out of pain now, rather than pleasure.

“Come on, MC. We’re leaving,” Asmo grabbed your wrist with a firm hold, leading you out into the street.

***

Cross-posted on AO3

[nriacc]

This one’s for team Alex

1. i’m sorry this is going to hurt ?????? UMMMM

2. matty being happy <3333 wheels and Al cuddling at night <3333

3. GEORGE MY LOVE YOURE HERE OMG WE MISSED YOU / CHOCOLATES OMG YES PLEASE MARRY HIM IM BEGGING

4. even if i wife you up IM SCREAMING

5. yeah this dinamic is everything to me. george wheels and alex thresome when

6. “I’m really glad that this between us will never come above my love for George.” SAME!!!

7. god they are so sickeningly cute and adorable and they’re everything to me / valentines date 😭😭😭 she’s so enamored by him 😭😭😭 / she really doesn’t want to lose this 😭😭😭 she really doesn’t want to lose him 😭😭😭😭 / he adores her and get all gooey when she texts i’m gonna jump out of the window 😭😭😭

8. SHES LETTING HERSELF FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM OH MY GOD TEAM AEX GET UP THIS IS OUT TIME / two month break is here which means it’s time to fuck!!! let’s go / WHEELS PLEASE JUST FUCK HIM I NEED THIS / OH MY GOD OKAY FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS PEOPLE / YUP. THANK YOU JESUS.

9. MOVING IN TOGETHER HELLO IS THIS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF?? / YES, and when is this ‘being official’ situation going to take place ???

10. ‘it’s always been us’ 😭😭😭😭😭😭

11. matty and wheels bffs era ! we love to see it / GEORGE OMG HI I MISSED YOU / yes YES she’s cuter with him

12. IS TODAY THE DAY????

13. i’m sorry WHAT IS HAPPENING?

14. oh no oh no oh no oh no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

15. no 😭 no no no no

16. i will be throwing myself onto traffic. WHY. WHY. why can’t we ever have nice things 😭😭😭 team alex we were so close

where’s the method to your madness 😭 i will be taking legal repercussions against what you just did to me today, you’ll hear from my lawyers. Today was a dark day for team alex but at least team george still stands strong. We almost made it, we should’ve know better than to expect happiness. Why do bad things (the last parts of this chapter) happen to good people (me, who was expecting happy days and a bunch of sex for wheels and al). I love you but you are evil 💔

The method to the madness comes very very soon I promise😂 You’ll be forgiving me by the end of the next part I have no doubt about it. Team george does stand very strong, maybe the strongest. I love you, the evil won’t last too much longer (ish)😂😂💜💜

1. I’m sorry 😂 I had to warn you

2. They are so adorable I am so happy for them

3. I WANT HER TO MARRY HIM TOO!!!!!

4. How sweet it would have been 🥺🥺😭😭😭

5. Don’t even tempt me because I will write that threesome

6. No one beats the love for George. No one.

7. THEY WERE SO CUTE IMMA GO CRY AGAIN

8. HAHAHAHAHA GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!!!!

9. Oop

10. Sobbing. ✨emotional damage✨

11. Yesss we love the bff era and he’ll yes we team george.

12. It was certainly meant to be😭

13. I felt sick writing that bit

14. Oh no indeed 😭😭😭😭😭

15. Sobbing again😭

16. So so so close but yet so far 😭😭😭😭😭

[luci-cunt]

An incomprehensive guide to why you should read T.J Klune’s book Wolfsong

Mostly for my very best friend in the whole wide world: @moonsandstarsaregay <33 and with 100% too many AFtG references i’m sorry

*AHEM*

A plot summary: Ox has been told his whole life he’s slow and gonna get shit for it. He lives in a sleepy little nowhere town in Oregon and is perfectly content never leaving and working in the garage for the rest of his life. His dad sucks, his mom’s a gem, and one day the house that’s (almost) always been empty at the end of the street gets filled by a family that’s just a little on the wrong side of weird–the Bennetts. They all immediately fall in love with Ox because he’s literally the most perfect mc you’ll ever meet, and he learns that not everyone actually sucks he’s just been looking at the wrong people. 

And so what if they’re also a very powerful and well known werewolf pack–I mean WHATTTTTT

There’s monster fighting, drama, adventure, romance(*), adventure, angst (Oh GOD is there angst), badassary, and just so much good shit.

The Main Character:

I could talk just about how Ox is portrayed until the day I DIE. He doesn’t have an arc where he magically becomes ‘normal’ or anything, instead he just surrounds himself with people that treat him better and finds that he doesn’t need to change. He has a heart of gold and does kind things just because he is kind. He’s the definition of a soft giant, and again, the book starts and he’s roughly 10ish (with flashbacks to younger) and it ends with him in his late 20s early 30s so he definitely grows and matures but he doesn’t change because he doesn’t NEED to. 

[More reasons to read + warnings/ disclaimers + a snippet below cut so I don’t bother y’all with a hella long post XD

You should probs read the warnings before you read the book just FYI]

Writing Style: If the style of the Knife of Never Letting Go intrigued you but you couldn’t get past the first chapter then this is the book for you. Ox is a bit simple–In the best way possible–and the book is from his perspective. His thoughts are stated outright and he takes most things people say very literally. This doesn’t change and that’s the best part. I LOVE this about it and I was TERRIFIED that Klune was going to write Ox in this style for only the first couple chapters and then suddenly switch to him being some snarky genius, but he doesn’t!!! Honestly idk how to describe it, you’ve just got to read it. 

If that doesn’t convince you: 

- First of all, werewolves, who doesn’t love em?

- Second of all gays, like, everyone, no one is straight. That one side character who shows up once? Yeah, no, she shows up twice and the second time she has a girlfriend. The main characters? All gay, and if they aren’t gay in this book they will be in the next one. 

- FOUND FAMILY

- It’s basically AFtG but gayer and softer? but not?? 

- Very realistic characters, they make stupid mistakes and people react accordingly

- Kelly and Carter and literally the best things in the world I would fucking murder for both of them and I’m pretty sure Kelly is confirmed by the author to be ace (btw they aren’t twins so you can’t even accuse me of being in love with every blond and kinda tragic set of twins I come across fuck off XD)

- OX STATES VERY BLATANTLY THAT HE IS BISEXUAL

- Very endearing coming out scenes

- Gordo Livingstone is perfect in just about every way and he’s also like if Neil and Seth were combined and grew up to be Wymack. ajsdf;lk just a dumbass gay trying really hard to be a good dad while also vehemently denying it. (Oh and yeah he literally had a boyfriend who he’s currently pissed at so)

- MC is not a genius and that’s not treated like a bad thing

- Please just read it I need more people to scream about it with me

Some warnings:

- it’s werewolves, there’s gore, obsessive use of the word “alpha” and lots of wolf-ish tendencies. Most of it comes across as fucking adorable, but ngl, sometimes it’s just a tad weird. 

- people have v tragic backstories. None of it is worse than AFtG but it’s still very intense, more on the side of gore/ violence/ some torture than heavy non/con but there’s some mentions of that. (More vague allusions/ threats rather than graphic scenes don’t worry)

- *the only thing that really wigged me out about these books is the fact that the main couple have a 6 year age difference. Any way you spin that it’s weird, but I think it was handled as well as you can??? (idk man I’m still wigged out about that even tho they don’t actually DO anything until both of them are in their twenties but STILL)

- it is VERY angsty. I mean, the soft moments are SICKENINGLY soft and there’s some of the best comedy/ cute shit I’ve ever seen but–god the ouch stuff HURTS. If you don’t want to cry over a book I wouldn’t recommend reading this.

In conclusion:

If you wanted LGBT adventure content here it is!!! I mean, if it’s the sex scenes you’re about (or against XD) there’s only really two, one is the epilogue and one is about 2/3rds through the book but from what other people who actually understand sex say it’s NICE XDD also just a very nice character moment? I didn’t read all of it but from what I read it was v nice, they’re wholesome and stupid, I love them. 

I actually really liked the romance? It’s v realistic and got the vibe of “neither of us have good self-confidence but I will DIE proving to you that you’re worth the entire world.” There’s very, very sappy and drawn out declarations of love, it’s adorable, sometimes a little weird (looking at you Joe), but altogether wholesome. There’s also a wee bit of possessiveness but it’s mostly(?) treated as the “uuuuhhhh, that’s not gonna go over well you need to chill” trait it should be.

It’s intense, and the last time I physically could not stop reading and stayed up all night just to finish a book was AFtG so... 

It is quite a bit longer than AFtG tho, like, it took me the same amount of time to read just Wolfsong that I read all three of the AFtG books in. Sometimes it drags a little, especially in the middle, but it’s all worth it. Also if you don’t like drawn out “you will apologize on my terms because you fucked up on yours” kinda things I don’t think this is for you. 

I loved it, the characters are to die for and the villains make my blood boil. I cried, and laughed and sobbed and screamed. 12/10

Here’s a lil bit to give you a taste:

Here’s a link to the Goodreads page if you want more details 

And here’s a link to where you can buy the book ;) 

[cpd5021]

Unexpected Chapter 6

So this chapter is kinda short and (mostly) sweet. I can’t say the same for the next few, so enjoy the fluff while it lasts!  

   Hailey hated hospitals and doctors almost as much as Jay, but to his credit, he appeared to be handling this much better than her. She sat on the edge of the exam table wearing a gown three times her size, constantly pulling the fabric back up her shoulders. Jay sat in the corner, watching her with an amused grin on his face. 

“Something funny Halstead?” She felt mildly annoyed, her nerves on edge.

“Just that you’re cute.” He smirked, standing up and moving to stand in front of her. His arms reached up and he quickly tied a loose knot in the strings on her gown, effectively solving her problem and earning himself a small smile from her. 

“How are you so calm? You hate hospitals!” She exclaimed while keeping her voice low. 

“Hey,” He shrugged at her, turning to go sit back down. “One of us has to keep it together.” If he had stayed in front of her she would have kicked him. 

    The doctor knocked on the door then, breezing into the room and shaking Jay’s hand before turning to face Hailey. The huge smile splayed across the woman’s face told Hailey that she was going to have a bubbly personality big enough to push Hailey over the edge. She was not in the mood to deal with ‘sunshine and rainbows’ type of people today.

“Hello and congratulations!” The doctor shrugged her shoulders excitedly and Hailey fought the urge to grimace. “I’m Doctor Baniff, but you can just call me Julie.” She stretched her hand out to Hailey, who begrudgingly shook it. The older woman buzzed around the room, pulling a cart with a laptop on top over to her stool and scooting until she was in the middle of Jay and Hailey, sending each of them another smile. “Are we excited daddy?” Julie asked Jay, voice going up a few more octaves for the added cringe benefit. Jay looked like he was ready to melt into the ground and Hailey found herself fighting the urge to laugh, his face was priceless and he definitely wasn’t going to live this down.

“Uhh....yea.” Jay tried to give her a smile in return but his face looked more embarrassed than anything.  

“And mama.” Hailey’s smile instantly faltered as the doctor turned to face her, swallowing hard as the words hit her. “How are we feeling?”

“I..um..good?” Hailey stammered.

“Any morning sickness?” Julie had powered the computer on, typing away rapidly as she asked her questions, but glancing their way every now and then.

“Yes.” Hailey grimaced at the thought. 

“That usually lasts the first few months, all part of the experience!” Julie sent her another sickeningly sweet smile. 

“Is there anything she can do to help it?” Jay asked from his spot in the corner, voice quiet but grasping for anything he could do to help Hailey through this. 

“Crackers sometimes help, moving slow in the mornings and giving yourself time to adjust between moving. There is a medication I can prescribe if it’s really bad.” The doctor nodded, approving of Jay’s question. Jay gave Hailey a sheepish look, hoping he hadn’t crossed a line by talking. 

“Yes please.” Hailey’s voice was low, almost embarrassed at having to ask for help. Julie typed away on her laptop and Hailey returned Jay’s sheepish look. 

    Hailey continued to answer the line of questions being sent her way, Jay jumping in when needed and Hailey was starting to feel herself relax. This wasn’t nearly as bad as she had anticipated and she was more than grateful Jay had come along. Julie finished with her laptop and apparently her interrogation, standing and gliding across the room towards the sink. 

“We’re almost done, just a quick exam and you’ll be free to go.” Julie turned to wash her hands and gather her equipment and Hailey felt herself become drenched in sweat. She hadn’t even considered this part of the visit, it made sense, giving the circumstances, but it wasn’t something she had prepared herself for. Hailey tried to slow her breathing, blocking out the last time she had had to have an exam of this sort. She was hoping her outward self was appearing calm and collected despite the fact her inner self was crumbling, but Jay knew better than that.

“Hails?” He shifted in his seat, looking as if he might stand up. Julie turned her attention to Hailey, quickly assessing the look on her face and the sweat gleaning over her body. 

“Oh honey,” The doctor came to stand beside Hailey, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her. It didn’t work and instead the touch from the other woman felt burning hot. “It’s okay, just a quick vaginal exam. Nothing major!” Julie smiled but it faltered when she saw Hailey was shutting down. Jay gripped the edge of his seat, wanting to scoop Hailey up and carry her away to safety, even though she was perfectly safe here he could tell she didn’t feel it. 

“Do you have too?” Hailey’s words were barely above a whisper.

“It’s part of the new patient intake unfortunately. It’s a must.” Julie’s voice was soft and gentle. 

“Okay..” Hailey blinked furiously at the tears forming in her eyes. 

“Would you like him to step out?” Julie nodded towards Jay and Hailey realized she was misreading the situation.  

“No!” Hailey responded quickly. “He stays.” She paused briefly before her eyes slowly met his. “If you don’t mind?”

“Absolutely.” Jay stood then, coming to stand beside the exam table. He stared down at Hailey, who’s face was unreadable. He didn’t understand the response she had just had to being told about this exam. This was new territory for him but he was pretty sure this was standard when it came to female doctor visits, so her panic had him on edge. He took her hand, firmly squeezing it to let her know he was right here with her and decided he would try to broach the topic later. 

     Hailey laid back on the table and adjusted her body per the doctors request. Jay’s hand held hers, his eyes never leaving her face. His heart broke as he watched her close her eyes, tears running down either temple and he wiped them away gently. There was a million things he wanted to ask her right now but they would have to wait, he just needed to help her get through this. Hailey gripped his hand tightly, the other one forming a fist beside her, and she inhaled loudly at the pressure happening between her legs. She let out a shaky breathe when it finally released and fought back a sob when she saw the doctor move away from her. It was done. Hailey swallowed hard, embarrassed at her show of emotions but glad that Jay was there to support her, even though he was totally clueless to her response. She made to sit up but Julie motioned for her to remain laying. Hailey sighed, wondering what else was coming her way. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Julie grabbed a small piece of equipment from a cupboard before turning to come back over to them. 

“So, we might not get lucky today...” Julie started, shaking a small bottle of gel as she spoke. “But you might be far enough along to hear a heart beat, usually we can pick it up around 9 or 10 weeks.” 

   Hailey felt her breath catch at the thought of possibly hearing a heart beat. She glanced up at Jay and saw the same perplexed look on his face. Julie came to the edge of the table, gently tugging Hailey’s gown out of the way and squeezing some cold gel onto Hailey’s stomach. Hailey stared as the doctor pressed a wand into her abdomen, moving it around in circles, expertly looking for something. She found it. Hailey let out a breath that was more like a sob as suddenly a steady and fast beat filled the room. She held on to Jay’s hand impossibly tighter as they listened to their babies beating heart. 

“Strong and steady!” Julie announced, after letting them listen for a moment. 

   Hailey laughed, choking back tears that were mostly happy ones. She looked up at Jay then and her chin quivered when she saw a hint of tears in his eyes too. With her free hand, she wiped away the wetness from her face before reaching up to place her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down into a wet kiss. Julie feigned being busy putting the equipment away, allowing them a moment to compose themselves before turning back around.  

“You’re all set. Everything looks, and sounds, great! I’ll want to see you back in a few weeks.” She smiled at the both of them before dipping out of the room. 

“Jay...” Hailey sat up on the table now, her body trembling with emotions. 

“That was..amazing” Jay chuckled and pulled her into a hug. She sat there, her arms clinging around his torso and her ear pressed against his chest, listening to the heartbeat that was half of the one they had just heard. 

****** 

    After the appointment, Jay had taken her out for lunch. They had both managed to secure the day off of work without looking too suspicious so they had the rest of the day to spend together. They drove around for a while, seeing the parts of the city they didn’t normally get to explore and eventually landed in the mall parking lot. Hailey had asked to stop here, figuring it might be nice to walk around for a bit as it was something they normally wouldn’t do. But Hailey wasn’t feeling like her normal self right now, there was something different about her and it brought a slight spring into her step as they walked. They didn’t hold hands as they looped around the stores, still nervous someone might spot them, but every now and then their hands would brush and it brought a smile to Hailey’s face every time. Jay was processing his own emotions as they walked in a comfortable silence. He was happy, beyond happy, and ready to tell the world. But he knew Hailey would need some more time and he was okay with that. He was glad that she finally seemed to be feeling positive about this, her constant grinning and light step not going unnoticed by him. But he also had her response to the exam still firmly lodged at the front of his mind and it was something he wanted to ask her about. He knew it wasn’t something that should be done in public though, so he pushed it away momentarily and just enjoyed her company. 

“You’re amazing!” Hailey told him through a mouthful of the cookie sundae he had bought her at the food court. “And this is amazing too!” Her eyes bulged as she took another bite. Jay laughed at her, heart soaring as he watched her devour the dessert in front of her. She was halfway through it before she paused to sheepishly offer him a bite. 

   After they finished eating they only had a few more stores to walk through. The one at the end of the mall held a mixture of clothes and household decor. Jay had been here maybe once but it definitely wasn’t his pace. He hated shopping in fact and did most of his buying online. Hailey walked in front of him through the tightly packed racks of clothing, her eyes scanning pieces every now and then, but moving at a steady pace as if she had somewhere specific she was headed. Jay was so lost in thought watching her walk around that he didn’t pay attention to where they had wound up until she stopped abruptly in front of him. 

“I know it’s way to early, but I thought it might be kinda fun to look...” She trailed off, her enthusiasm quickly loosing steam and morphing into mild embarrassment. Jay’s eyes moved away from hers to take in the tiny clothing hanging all around him, in various forms of light pinks and blues. He smiled when he realized this was her way of being excited and he turned back to meet her eyes. 

“So...pink? Or blue?” He asked, his light tone bringing her some relief. 

“Well, I don’t think we really get to pick.” She bantered back, grinning as she started trailing through the racks. He followed her, unable to wipe the smile from his face. 

“But what if you had too? What would you pick?” Jay pushed around some of the tiny hangers, holding up impossibly tiny articles of clothing.

“Well, the men on my side of the family don’t have the greatest track record.” A sadness flashed across her face briefly before she recovered. “But those Halstead guys are pretty amazing.” She smiled at him then, her eyes warm and happy. 

“I’d pick a girl. So I could have another beautiful little lady running around, driving me crazy.” Jay stepped closer, placing his hands on her hips and quickly planting a kiss on her lips before she could protest that they were in public. 

   They wandered around the store for a little while longer before Hailey started yawning, the exhaustion from her emotional roller coaster of a day finally hitting her. Jay gave her another kiss once they were in his truck and drove them back to his place. Hailey was asleep, leaning against her arm propped on the window, before they even made it out of the parking lot. He sat at the stop sign longer than was necessary, just so he could take in her peaceful form. The memory of her breakdown at the doctor flashing through his mind again and the burning question on the tip of his tongue, there was a story behind her reaction, he knew it without a doubt, but for now she was resting and at peace and he once again pushed the thoughts away.   

[anywhozits]

All I Really Want

Rating: M

Pairing: Kristanna (eventually hah)

Verse: 90s High School AU

Notes: chapter one of my first frozen multichap! yayyy but warning it’s an emotional roller coaster (naturally, because teen angst and all)

Read on Ao3, too!  

Champagne popped, fireworks cracked, loud screams of excitement echoed throughout the large Mediterranean style-mansion in Newport Coast, California. Everyone in the house counted down the seconds until 1997 and celebrated the victory—the host’s software company had ended the year with the most fiscal prowess of any software company in the country.

Ten.

Right—The Company that Agnarr Larsen had founded and owned had hit a milestone. 10 billion dollars in sales worldwide in 1996.

Nine.

They’d opened some international subsidiaries. Most recently one in Oslo, Norway.

Eight.

Within the last month it was finally acknowledged that The Company had the first fully developed Internet Strategy of all the tech companies.

Seven.

Whatever “Internet Strategy” meant.

Six.

Agnarr Larsen had thus gone all out. He and his wife, Iduna, spent a sickeningly large sum of money on this party.

Five.

The theme—70s Disco / Studio 54 because 1997 had one number in common with that decade.

Four.

At least 35 Cirque-employed go-go dancers served drinks, danced on tables, and strutted their stuff throughout the house.

Three.

They had exactly five separate disco balls, an indoor and an outdoor dance floor, properly themed food, and an incredibly well-stocked open bar that left the guests in awe.

Two.

And in the corner sat a girl with striking red hair, alone, again… as always, sipping on some champagne she thought her parents would care she swiped from the open bar.

They didn’t.

One.

More fireworks went off, bursting into sparks of gold, blue, red, and white right on top of the hill behind the house.

The girl—Anna—didn’t look up. She remained seated on the couch, crossing and uncrossing her legs, taking sip after sip of champagne. It was damn good champagne. Despite having no actual knowledge about the quality of sparkling wine after only 14 years on this earth, she could tell this was some quality shit. Cristal. It even sounded fancy.  

God was she bored.

Her blue eyes scanned the crowds. Everyone was yelling, throwing their hands in the air, hugging and kissing each other.

She had no idea where her parents were. Agnarr and Iduna Larsen. The very hosts of this party. This was their house. This was her house, too, then, she supposed. The cold walls, the empty halls, the wide-open spaces that most of the time housed one or two or three people only. It was a nice house, though.

And all of that—well, everything in her life—was owed to the success of her father’s company. The Company. She knew nothing of the specifics other than it being some kind of tech software situation that clearly allowed them such a large sum of money that they were comfortable at the very least. Comfortable was Agnarr’s favorite word to describe their unnatural and disgustingly wealthy lifestyle.

Looking around again, Anna saw no trace of them anywhere.

Well—classically her mother was nowhere to be found, blessed with the uncanny ability to seamlessly blend in with the furniture at these types of parties. Well. Actually… with Iduna, it always went one of two ways. Either 1) she hid out somewhere using her stealthy camouflage skills as the night progressed or 2) she took on the role of belle of the ball, effortlessly engaged in radiant conversations with every partygoer. The difference between those two perfectly outlined by one simple distinction—whether it was a Bad Day or a Good Day.

Today was a Bad Day. Anna could feel it. Her mother’s absence more-than confirmed that blatant fact.

But still no sign of her father.

Anna rolled her eyes and gulped down more champagne. Her stomach dropped. Worst New Year’s ever. She was always required to attend these stupid Company parties because it looked good for her dad to have such a supportive youngest daughter.

And she loved parties. But.

But she wished she had somebody, anybody even remotely close to her age to share this with.

Because even though their house was filled with people, filled with people having the time of their life, she still felt so... lonely. Maybe even the loneliest she had felt in a long time.

She knew she’d feel this way. Anna had really tried her best to preemptively remedy the situation, asking her dad if she could invite her best friend, Kristoff, to the party. But of course, Agnarr had grumbled something under his breath about how that would be a bad look.

Shaking off all of that frustration, Anna slowly rose from the couch, making her way past a few scantily clad go-go dancers, trying her best to push away the cocktail meatballs and the fondue skewers they kept trying to shove into her face.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of her father, finally, standing next to a couple of his business school buddies, all of them wearing custom tailored suits with bowties and sunglasses even though they were indoors. They carelessly swung their glasses of Cristal and laughed hearty belly laughs.

Anna thought maybe she could join this conversation. Seemed fun enough.

But when she made it close enough to hear their conversation, she stopped in her tracks. They hadn’t noticed her approaching, of course. They never did. Being invisible to her father and his cronies was one of her biggest talents.

Even still, she backtracked a bit, allowing herself to hide behind the series of potted plants that lined their living room.

“I kept telling her we already had the perfect kid—why would we risk the second one? But she didn’t buy it. She wanted Elsa to have a sibling. And look where we are now.” A series of masculine laughter—guffaws more than anything else—broke out.

Anna gulped. This wasn’t new. She’d even heard it all before. Her father’s go-to party story.

But then he said it. The punchline. Stated in such a light-hearted manner with a characteristic shake of his head. “We should’ve stopped after one.”

Anna stumbled backward. It always hit her. It always hurt her. Her fourth time hearing this dumb story and it still felt like being punched in the gut.

And yet… here she was at this party alone and bored and miserable trying to please him. Hoping maybe one day he would change this story. Maybe one day he would stop telling it altogether. Because she was here. She tried. She made the effort.

It didn’t seem like it was too much to ask. Things used to be good. They used to spend time together as a family.

Tears stung her eyes. She totally should’ve just said fuck you to her dad and gone to Kristoff’s house like she wanted.

Whatever. Right now, all she needed was an escape. Anna desperately wanted to get the hell away from him.

Thus, she took off in a jog toward the kitchen, the echoes of her father’s continued laughter taunting her remorselessly.

On the way, she caught her reflection in a golden floor length mirror. Her jog slowed to a halt.

She sighed, staring deeply at her reflection. Poofy but also flawlessly curled, her usually chest-length red hair now only fell to her shoulders. Anna gave it a quick toss, adding even more body to the curls.

She stared harder, looked closer.

Both frosted pink lips and electric blue eyeshadow brought out every single feature of her face—her piercing blue eyes, her soft yet diffuse freckles, and the eternal flush of her cheeks no doubt heightened by the Cristal. She sighed, carefully biting her lip so as to not mess up her lipstick and touched the thin silver choker around her neck. One of her Christmas gifts from Santa. From her parents, duh. She knew that. But… it still felt like it came from Santa.

Anna sighed again.

She thought she looked okay. Just okay.

Now she wished she’d worn something different. Sure, the aqua sequined dress framed her body well. The straight neckline and spaghetti straps were cute. And naturally she did love that the dress fell to her upper thighs, something she figured her parents would take issue with. But again, that was exactly the reason why she’d chosen the dress in the first place.

She wanted a response. She craved a response…

But she only looked okay.

One more sigh and she decided it was time to move on.

Thankfully it didn’t really matter how she looked while she did the thing she really wanted to do next.

Anna took one last moment to look at herself. To psych herself up for what was to come.

You got this, Anna. You’ve done this loads of times before. Tonight is no different.

Because.

There was somebody she wanted to talk to. Somebody she needed to talk to. It was a new year now. 1997. Maybe 1997 was their year, maybe in 1997 they’d be close again.

Her heart beat heavily and quickly within her chest. Faster yet when she reached the kitchen… when she picked up the clunky gray cordless phone.

She had the number memorized. Duh. Anna called her sister, Elsa, at the minimum once a day.

Elsa very rarely picked up. Elsa very rarely called her back. But every so often, like a glimmer of hope, she did.

It was like 3:06am for Elsa and Anna knew that she was probably asleep. She knew, logically, that the chances Elsa would actually answer the phone were about 0.2 out of 10, but… there was that glimmer. Because Anna needed it. Because it was a new year and…

Anna couldn’t help it as the thought crossed her mind again. It now played on repeat almost like a chant. Or… a cheer.

No.

A prayer, honestly. It was a desperate prayer.

Maybe 1997 was their year. Maybe 1997 was their year. Maybemaybemaybe.

God did she hope 1997 would be their year.

After Elsa got shipped off to boarding school in the 6th grade because of her super human intelligence level that apparently could only be properly nourished by snooty institutions on the East Coast, the two sisters had largely lost touch. Elsa was busy with academics and the consistent string of pressure her parents put on her as their successful and perfect first-born daughter.

But lucky for Anna, Elsa had a shiny new Nokia phone that she got for her 18th birthday.

Anna dialed the number and held her breath. The sounds of more fireworks and more chatter and more people being beyond obnoxious filled the background and Anna decided it best to lock herself in their massive pantry. It was quieter there. She could drown out the sounds of everybody to the point that she only heard the phone ringing, her heartbeat, and that same nervous and hopeful mantra.

Maybe 1997 was their year.

The ringing stopped cold. And then one aggressive beep later and Anna thought she might start sobbing.

She couldn’t hide the quivering in her voice. “Um, Elsa. Hi. Happy New Year!” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Um. It’s dad’s dumb disco party right now and everybody’s being so loud and boring, and I have nobody to hang out with, so I thought maybe…” Her voice cracked. “I thought maybe you’d be free, but. I guess you’re not. You’re probably, like, sleeping or something. Which makes sense, um, because. Time difference or whatever. But. I thought, maybe, since it’s New Year’s and all that you’d be free or still awake or something. Um.” Maybe 1997 was their year. A sob caught in her throat. “I miss you, Els. I really miss you. I know we don’t talk that much, and I know you have so much going on and school is stressful and I’m just your annoying little sister. But. I love you. I feel…” Anna took a deep breath in. Tears rolled at a steady pace down her cheeks. “Um. Never mind. Can you just—can you give me a call when you get this? I’d love to talk to you.” She couldn’t hold in the sobs anymore. Instead of a singular crack she broke down fully, her voice quaking with frantic cries. “I miss you, Elsa. I love you.” She had to take a minute to catch her breath. “Um—bye.”

The second Anna pressed end on the phone she collapsed onto the floor. She hadn’t bothered turning the light on in the pantry and now she was thankful for the darkness. It somehow comforted her. Like she was in an entirely different dimension. She needed that escape. Shit did she need that escape.

She didn’t know what to feel. She didn’t know how to feel. Her entire body was numb.

Why did she ever let herself get her hopes up again? It always ended the same way.

Disappointment.

This wasn’t their year. It was never going to be their year.

She was stuck in this endless cycle of loneliness and rejection and abandonment and she would never break free. Never.

[thewritewolf]

Nino’s Quest Chapter 9: At the Gates

The party finds the lair of the Necromancer and struggle to find a way in. Their righteous quest quickly devolves into a cuddly sleepover.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3. My ko-fi.

The wind was howling as Nino and Alya approached the bakery. Winter was well and truly here, but that wasn’t too surprising. It was the last week of November, after all. Nino looked up at the grey skies and frowned as a few stray snowflakes danced to the ground. They had gotten lucky so far with very little snow, but something in his gut was telling him that wasn’t going to last much longer. Just in case, Nino had brought a change of clothes. Who knows if they were going to get snowed in? Especially given how long this session was going to last.

It wasn’t every day they marched into the halls of the Necromancer, after all.

For now, though, they marched into the bakery.

“So… how’d it work out yesterday? I didn’t see much of them after we let ‘em out,” Nino whispered to Alya as they waved at the Dupain-Cheng parents.

She poked her head into the living room and turned to look at him with a wide grin. “See for yourself, babe.”

The two of them were sitting on the couch playing Ultimate Mecha Strike. Despite the fact that the entire couch was open to them, Marinette was practically sitting in Adrien’s lap. His arms were wrapped around her and his chin rested on her head. For a few solid moments Nino was left stunned at the threshold of the room, staring in awe. At least until Alya jabbed him in the back with her elbow.

His startled yelp caught Adrien’s attention. A bright smile lit up his face. “Awesome timing, guys! We were just about to decide who was the absolute master of Mecha Strike.”

“It was me,” came Marinette’s reply as the victory screen played.

“As if there was any doubt,” Adrien murmured. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled his nose into the crown of her head.

“Hey! That tickles.”

“Too bad.”

“Well,” Alya cut in, “if you two are done being sickeningly cute, we’ve got a Necromancer to stop. In case you forgot?”

“I know, I know. Fighting evil, saving lives - the usual.” Adrien didn’t open his eyes or loosen his hold on Marinette, but Nino could see the knowing smirk on his face.

“Speaking of the usual…” Marinette said as she extracted herself from Adrien. “How does croissants for everyone sound?”

Alya followed after Marinette, leaving Nino to start getting set up. It wasn’t hard to miss the dopey smile that his best bud wore, or how he was almost melted into the couch. Even though that had been the plan all along, Nino was still surprised it actually worked.

“So… you and M, huh?”

“Mhm…” The smile grew wider.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad. I’m just glad you guys finally figured it all out.”

“Yeah…”

“Mind telling me what happened?”

Adrien shrugged. “We just needed to talk things through. That’s all.”

“Sure, dude.” Nino softly punched Adrien on the arm. “Just took a locked door and a bunch of time to make you do that.”

A blush spread across Adrien’s face. “We got there eventually..”

As much as Nino wanted to pry or tease a little more, he was just glad to see his friend so happy. Those two definitely deserved each other.

Just as he finished setting up, the girls returned with a plate of fresh croissants. The perfect food for planning an invasion.

“Alright, my dudes. You’ve discovered the great entrance to the ruined dwarven city. The gates are big and strong. You can hear something moving, can catch glimpses of something marching back there. But whatever it is, it’s not alive.” Nino tugged on his cap. “Well, uh, not in the usual sense, anyway.”

“We can probably take them,” Alya said as she cracked her knuckles. “We’ve trounced worse baddies.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Skeletons gave us a lot of problems back in the mines.” Marinette was tapping a finger to her cheek.

“I know that look, Mari.” Adrien grinned. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, what if we don’t use the main entrance? If it really is a city under there, then there’s no way the Necromancer can have the entire place guarded.”

Alya crossed her arms. “That sounds great and all, M, but do we know of any other entrances?”

“I don’t know.” Marinette locked eyes with Adrien. “Do we?”

Adrien seemed to catch on quickly and scrambled through his notes. “Oh! There’s got to be some legends or stories about this place, right?”

“Hm…” Nino made a quick roll and nodded. “Yeah, you’ve heard a few tales. And between the four of you and all those years of neglect, you could prolly find it. But what are you gonna do once you’re there?”

“That’s where I come in,” Marinette wore a serious expression, her eyes distant as she imagined their mission. “With my super high stealth, I can steer us clear of patrols. And if I find a good place to stash the rest of you, I could even do some scouting on my own.”

Alya narrowed her eyes and cupped her chin. “If we pull this off, then we might just avoid the Necromancer’s entire army…”

“...AND we’ll have the element of surprise.” A vicious grin split Marinette’s face. “He won’t have a clue that we’re coming.”

“Right, okay.” Nino took a deep breath. This… wasn’t exactly what he expected them to do, but being DM meant being able to improvise. Nino rolled a perception check for the four of them, more for show than anything. They’d have to roll pretty high to spot a secret passage. “After a few hours of following your half-remembered story, you don’t find anything. Do you want to keep looking?”

They all nodded resolutely.

“Right.” Nino rolled another round of perception checks. Nothing. “More hours pass. The sun is starting to set. Do you still want to keep looking?

Alya was looking a bit less certain, but Marinette remained confident and that was enough for Adrien. With majority in favor, they kept searching.

“So the moon is out now. It’s full and half of us are some kinda elf, so we could keep searching, but-”

“We keep going.”

“M, what if we can’t find anything? Maybe we should make camp, figure out a new plan.”

“Alya, trust me. I’ve got this.”

“But M-”

“If this plan doesn’t work, then we just aren’t equipped to open the gates and fight the baddies. We’d have to go back anyway. Besides - I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

Alya sighed. “Alright… We stay at it.”

Nodding, Nino rolled a perception check for them. His character failed, as did Alya and Marinette’s. All that was left was Adrien’s character.

Who, naturally, rolled a twenty. His first of the entire campaign. Shocked, it took a minute for Nino to recover. “So, um… With the moonlight coming down, Adrien spots some glowing runes on a rock. He plays the song that he has been following and sure enough, the stone totally vanishes, revealing a stairwell that leads deep underground.”

“Sweet.” Alya says as they all tear into celebratory croissants. “What do we see down there, babe?”

“You’re walking for a while, but eventually the tunnel opens up into a dusty, abandoned quarter of the city. You pass through long abandoned checkpoints and guard posts. When you step into the main cavern, you realize why the city went quiet.” Nino paused to down his pop, leaving the party enraptured. “The ceiling had collapsed, tons of mountain stone crushing the city. Even now, a massive ramp of rock squats in the middle of the city.”

Adrien, his hands folded in front of his face, narrowed his eyes. He spoke in his bard’s voice. “Who knows what lies beneath?”

“Soon enough, the Necromancer.” At their confused looks, Nino added, “Even though you feel death all around you, the air is filled with the sounds of picks hitting stone… And the rattle of bones.”

“Is there somewhere nearby that I can hide these guys?” Marinette jerked a thumb towards the other two.

“Sure. There are plenty of abandoned buildings around here. Most of ‘em prolly won’t collapse ontop of them.”

“Yeah, well, thankfully I have all that training in engineering, remember? I pick the most structurally sound one and try to sneak over to the cave in.”

“Oh, dang. Forgot about that.” Nino cleared his throat. “With the other dudes safely tucked away, you can sneak over to the landslide. Roll for stealth.”

“What am I hiding from?” She asked as she searched for her d20.

“Human zombies in rusty metal armor.”

“Huh. Rusty because of being really old or because zombies don’t take gear of their stuff?”

Nino thought about it for a moment. “The second one.” He glanced at the die roll. “Okay, that’ll be good enough. You get a clear view of the rocks and, well… there are tons of short, stocky skeletons in tattered rags. Probably dwarven, most of them are only armed with picks, but there are a few dozen of ‘em crawling over it. As you watch, one tumbles off and shatters as it falls down the cliff… and right into a huge hole. Whatever they’re digging for, you get the feeling they’re close.”

Marinette tapped at her chin. “Alright, I get a good look around to see if I can guess where the Necromancer might be.”

“There’s a battered but sturdy guard tower that sometimes flashes a sickly green light. Other than that, its shambling undead everywhere.”

“Can I get there easily?”

“Uhh… maybe. There are guards out front, but the tower is kinda out of the way, away from the throng of undead.”

Adrien make a confused face. “Why would he set up there…?”

“Not a lot of intact buildings, I bet.” Marinette nodded. “And he wants some quiet too. Maybe we can use that in our favor?”

The session devolved into making plots and figuring out how best to ambush the dark wizard. They were so engaged in their conversation that they didn’t notice Sabine’s arrival until she put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders.

“Gah!” Marinette started and tilted her head straight up. “Oh, hi maman. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you kids know that Tom and I are going to bed. The snow is coming down pretty hard now, so we’d rather you all stay the night.”

While Marinette tried to gently brush off her mom’s hands as they messed with her hair, Nino got up to look out the window. Sure enough, a layer of snow blanketed Paris with no signs of stopping. The darkening skies also reminded him of how early he’d had to wake up the last couple days.

Fighting down a yawn, he turned back towards his party. “What do you say we call it here and pick it up in the morning? Maybe we can watch a movie or something.”

Marinette tilted her head up to look at her mother. “Can my friends spend the night in my room? Then we can be out of the way when you guys wake up in the morning.”

Sabine seemed to consider this for a few moments before replying, “Of course dear, but remember our talk…”

A fierce blush spread across Marinette’s face. “Maman!”

“I’m just saying!” Laughing, Sabine left the room.

An awkward silence stretched before Adrien naively asked, “What talk?”

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

After a few movies, they were exhausted. Nino was looking down from Marinette’s bed at the unfolding drama of who would get the chaise.

“Adrien please - I’m fine sleeping on the floor. I’ve got plenty of pillows and blankets. It isn’t that bad.”

“If it isn’t that bad then I can be on the floor. You already gave up your bed to Alya and Nino. At least take the chaise.”

“I’m the host!” She hissed in irritation. “I have to make sure all my guests are comfortable!”

“And I will only be comfortable once I know you’re sleeping on something nice and soft!”

In a huff, Marinette threw her pillows and blankets on the floor of her room. For a hot second Nino was worried that she was about to jump him, but no, she was just angrily building a nest on the floor. Adrien gaped at her for a moment before dropping his stuff on the ground and doing the same.

“I mean it, hot stuff,” Marinette growled through a faint blush. “I’m sleeping on the floor no matter what you do. You may as well just take the chaise.”

Adrien took a deep breath as if winding up for a long spiel. “No.”

Both of them stubbornly get into their blanket nests and glared at each other, but from his spot from above, Nino could see them slowly inching together. He shook his head and ducked under the covers, where Alya had already tucked herself in. Her eyes were closed as she nuzzled against the pillows.

As he was taking off his glasses, she mumbled, “The babies still being ridiculous?”

“You know it.”

“Good. Can’t have everything change all at once.”

“Right as usual, babe.” Nino leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Night.”

A serene smile graced her face as she whispered back, “Night.”

[natashaashleymarvelromanoff]

I’m so glad you’re back - Epilogue

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8  chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 15 

So! here we are, at the end of this fanfic. its been a pleasure to finally write this fanfic and write out my ideas for an alternate timeline to infinity war and endgame. But this isn't the end of this universe!! I'm going to be creating a brand new story, including one-shots and drabbles, thats set around the 5 years in between the snaps and also after they bring everyone back! so you'll still be getting more of Natasha James and steve. I look forward to writing a few one-shots and posting them soon, so keep a lookout for when its posted. I'm also very grateful to everyone who had read my story and gave it a kudos and also commented!! it was lovely to hear about your thoughts and advice. love you guys! ❤❤❤❤❤

Its been a year since the Avengers brought back half of the universe. And what a year its been. Celebrations had started almost instantly around the world on the same day, states across America and countries across the world were setting off fireworks and throwing parties in their town squares and they were still going on a year later, and they probably will until the end of time. The time people had lost with their loved ones will never be fixed but everyone was back, and that's all that mattered. Not to mention the Avengers were practically legends now, they were even knighted by the Queen of England after she came back. Tony had loved that way too much.

And yes, Everyone was fine, they had rebuilt the compound in New York and restored it to be better and bigger, Bruce had actually rejoined the new avengers team and was now working as part of the team and the science division, Thor left New Asgard in the hands of his trusted friend Valkyrie whilst he travelled with the guardians. Getting everyone back had made him immensely better and his depression wasn't as crushing anymore, the guilt no longer weighing him down. Valkyrie had been more than supportive and told him she would look after their people whilst he got back to his old self. And if that meant getting back to his old ways of doing missions and helping people out in the universe then so be it. Doctor strange was also a bigger part of the team too, he and wanda worked together great, their powers were incredible when put together. 

Carol had gone back off to help people around the universe too, she even clocked in with the guardians sometimes to help them out and carol also checked back in with her earth team often, not forgetting to visit for important occasions either.

Tony had been recovering and getting used to his new arm, which he has to admit, it better than his all flesh one, no wonder Bucky liked his so much. Speaking of which, tony and bucky had become civil with each other and are still trying to move on and become somewhat acquaintances. He retired from the avengers for good too, just spending his days now with pepper and their daughter Morgan. Morgan was a big fan of his arm too and often stuck magnets to his metal replacements when he was asleep or without him realising. Don't tell pepper but he still sneakily made suits for the guys at HQ and upgraded them with new weapons or new tech. He did say he wouldn't but he couldn't resist and besides Shuri, who else was gonna make their suits even better. 

Scott and Hope had returned back home with her parents and were just living each day as it came, Scott had been saddened by missing out on another 5 years of his daughter's life and just wanted to make up for that time, whilst also spending as much time with hope as he could too. The 5 of them also came up too when there was an occasion, always keeping in touch, or even teaming back up with the Avengers when they needed help.

Clint and Laura were great too, they had gone back to their home after reuniting and fixed up the house in the areas they needed too, it was a bit run down considering no one lived in it for 5 years. But they managed to get back to life as normal, Clint still couldn't believe it sometimes but he never took another day for granted, he spent every day treating Laura like he did when they first met, like a queen basically, he was like a lovesick teenager all over again. Clint also tried to make sure he spent all his time with his kids too, not wanting to miss another moment.

Natasha and steve moved into their own home. Since they couldn't return to the compound as it was destroyed, they stayed at Tony and Peppers for a few days until pepper could find them a house. It was quite perfect actually, Natasha had never taken herself for a white picket fence kind of girl, but the house pepper had found was perfect. It was on its own with a huge garden, like tony and peppers, a good 30 minutes drive from anyone or the city, but it was still close buy that they could get James to school and could visit Tony, Pepper and Morgan as much as they wanted.

During the year, they made sure to visit most of their friends, of course, they couldn't exactly see the guardians or carol since they were away in the universe somewhere but their space friends always came back whenever they wanted too or when it was a birthday or a special time. The family of three visited clint and laura a lot too, to be honest, clint and laura were like a couple of teenagers again, sometimes Natasha would catch clint looking at laura and he would just be smiling whilst staring at his wife, like the rest of the world didn't exist but her, it was sickeningly cute. Lila had been practising her archery even more, she told steve she wanted to be just like her dad. A hero, whereas cooper was going back to school to finish his last few years before leaving for college. If Natasha remembered correctly, he had said he wanted to get into social work and help kids that were displaced by 'The Blip' and Nate was just happy like always, not a care in the world. All he wanted to do was play with his brother and sister and run around 24/7.

Natasha and steve had officially retired too, thankfully their home was close enough to the compound that they could still help out the team, paperwork mostly and they trained some new recruits sometimes when they were craving a bit of action or when the new Avenger's team desperately needed their expertise. They did have their own gym room in the house so they could keep on top of their health and fitness but they didn't do any missions, that was the only condition. No missions for either of them. Neither wanted to risk themselves or each other and definitely didn't want to risk their lives and leave James without a parent or two. And too Natasha's happiness, Steve had kept the beard and longer hair after hearing that both James and his mother liked it better, and even Natasha had kept the blonde at the end of her hair. Almost a reminder of the last 8 years. She knew one day her hair would get too long she would have to cut it off but for now, the blonde was a part of her and she wasn't getting rid of it. Besides, she liked her hair longer anyway.

Its a Saturday on the anniversary of ‘The Blip’ aka when everyone came back, and Tony and Pepper had offered to have James over for a sleepover again, leaving the evening free for Natasha and steve to spend together, it was after all a special anniversary, not only because of their victory for bringing everyone back but because its the day Steve came back and also met his son.

So the two retired Avengers decided to spend the night at home. Just the two of them.

Right now, the soldier and the spy were swaying in the front room of their house, Natasha's head was lay on its side against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck. Steve had rested his chin on the top of her head and had his hands placed on her waist, slowly caressing them up and down her back. They'd been dancing to some old music that steve has put on for about 20 minutes. The lights were dimmed down, the windows letting in a soft breeze and James' toys, crayons and drawings were only slightly littering the floor.

Shifting her head, Natasha moved to place her ear over Steves' heart, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat. Just revelling in the warmth he was radiating. Could you blame a girl? She had spent 5 years without him, Natasha was gonna spend the rest of her life soaking up as much of him as she could. But after a few minutes, she pulled her head back and looked into the blue eyes above her. The same blue eyes that lovingly stared back. Natasha pushed on her feet bringing her to her tiptoes, giving her just enough heigh to reach his lips and bring him down into a kiss. One that he gladly return with just as much enthusiasm.

After pulling away Natasha kept their foreheads together and stopped on her feet, halting their dancing and she held onto him. Then take a deep breath, Natasha opened her mouth to speak.

“You know, 6 years ago, after you were gone, it was the worst time of my life, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't sleep or eat, it sounds pathetic but I just couldn't believe you weren't in my life anymore. And then I found out about James. And it was like I was given this gift as if the universe was trying to apologise to me for taking you. And I was so scared at the thought of having this child by myself without you there. I always knew you wanted a child so much, anyone could tell you did even if you denied it or never talked about it. So when I remembered that, I wasn't so scared, because I knew you were always with me and if you could want this life and this child, I knew I could do it too.” Steve almost grimaced, he hated that he wasn't there for her, that he wasn't there for James for those 5 years. But all that mattered was that he was here now.

“I'm sorry I left you alone Tasha. I never wanted to do that.” He was too sweet, he was trying to apologise for something that was beyond his control. Natasha just smiled up at him as his eyebrows furrowed in regret.

“I know you didn't but you don't have to apologise.” Then his eyes lit up.

“You did such an amazing job raising James, he's amazing. The best kid I ever met and I'm not being unfair I promise.” She laughs at that. In the past year, James had become smitten with his dad, both spending all their time with each other trying to make up for lost time. It was cute to see steve experience so many firsts. And for the two of them to experience some together. after their emotional meeting, the two mostly bonded over drawing, James had insisted on making a picture for his dad and steve had joined him and they hit it off from there.

“Seriously though, you and James are the best part of my life, I'm so proud of everything we've built this last year, the HQ, becoming trainers for the new recruits and making this house our home. I'm so glad I have you and that your both okay. You're my family, I love you so much.” Hearing his confession made her heart warm in her chest, she still hadn't got used to it, to be fair, they had only said ‘i love you’ for a short while when they had been on the run but in the past year he had said it too her every day. It was still foreign almost but every time he muttered those words, it sent shivers down her spine and he never let her forget it.

“That's good because I was thinking about what you would say about expanding”  Steve's brows knitted together at her question, not really understanding it, but as she stared at his confused face the redhead just grinned.

“Expanding? what? the house? Isn't it big enough?” Finishing his sentence steve let out a huff of a laugh. He really did think she meant the house. For a super-smart super-soldier, he could be quite clueless sometimes.

Natasha just rolled her eyes with her grin still on her face. He really had no idea.

“No, you dork. I meant our family.” That's when the soldier's eyes light up, but not for the reason she was trying to explain. 

“What do you mean, like a dog? Because I think James would love that, and me but mostly James, yeah Jamie would definitely love a dog.” Sometimes he was painfully too obvious and oblivious, Natasha just smiled and quirked an eyebrow, knowing full well that it was steve who wanted a dog more, but he was trying to play it off as if it was James that wanted it.

“No, I didn’t mean a dog.”

“Then what do-” His breath nearly caught in his throat, he pauses and it finally clicks. 

“You want another kid?” His blue eyes start to sparkle as he speaks. She could practically feel his excitement and nervousness when his hands tightened their grip on her waist.

tilting her head to the side, Natasha smirked at him. He'd finally figured it out, but she still had one more surprise.

“What if I told you I’m already about a month of that plan in front of you.“

Once again, the soldier's eyes are confused as he looks at his love. A few strands of his long hair falling into his eyes. But then his face falls, finally realising what she means. Natasha just waits, watching the different thoughts colour his face. Then she sees it. That look of realisation in his eyes. 

“You’re pregnant? You're really pregnant?”

Biting her lip, Natasha nods in confirmation.

Steve breathes out a laugh, practically in shock he picks her up at her sides and swings her around in a circle, hugging her close. The redhead laughs at the sudden movement and when he finally puts her down, he kneels on both knees and pulls her closer at her hips, instantly reaching for her shirt to pull it up slightly so he can see her bare stomach. There wasn't anything there and he knew there wouldn't be a bump for a couple more months but just knowing that right now, a baby was growing inside there made him almost pass out.

As he holds her in his hands, steve leans in to kiss her bare skin, just below her belly button. He can feel her fingers start to run through his hair as he does. Once he pulls back he tilts his head back to look up the love of his life. His partner, his spy, the woman who one day would be his wife and all he could do was marvel at her. 

Steve was literally consumed in awe at the woman before him, he always had been. Ever since the moment he had boosted her of his shield to catch a ride on one of the chitauri's ships all those years ago.

She was amazing. And had given him everything he thought he never even wanted or could even have.

Looking back at her stomach he gave it another quick kiss before he whispered into her skin.

"I love you so much already.” 

Before Natasha can react, her soldier is already back on his feet and grabbing her by the arms to pull her closer to him so he can wrap his arms around her and leave no space between them.

Seeing him up close she can see the slight traces of tears that had run down his face from the pure emotion he had been feeling. 

“Natasha Romanoff, you are the love of my life and I love you so much. You have given me everything I never thought I could have or even wanted. You are my world, you, James and this baby. You are my everything and I feel like I'm falling in love with you all over again every single day.”

The redhead sniffles a little at his small speech, she knew he would be over the moon, and she was so happy she was able to finally tell him this time. This is what it should have been like for James. But even though those 5 years without him were tough, she finally had him back now and they were moving forward with their lives. With James and the baby for them to raise.

Pulling him down by his shirt Natasha embraces his lips with hers again. Their lips moulding together perfectly. God, she would never get enough of this man. She thought didn't deserve him at all, but after everything they have been through, she couldn't care less if she deserved him or not. She loved him and he more than loved her. They had James and they were going to have another baby. And that's all that mattered.

Pulling away breathlessly the two stay close with their noses touching, Steve's has a sudden wash of confusion and worry over his face.

“Does James know?” 

Natasha lets out a sigh, looking down as she plays with her fingers. Her worry also covered her face as she really thought about James's reaction

“No, not yet, I didn't want to tell him yet just in case he gets a little upset, it's been a crazy year and we've only just got you back too. So much has changed. I don't want him to think that now you're here and there's a baby that he's being left out.”

“Hey don't worry, everything will be fine, James will never be left out and he is gonna be a great big brother." Steve reached down to capture her hands in his to stop her from picking at her fingernails and then used his other hand to touch her chin, making her head tilt upwards to look at him once again. Suddenly her worry clears away, he was right. She was worrying over nothing.

Then a cheeky smile makes its way onto steves face. 

“So, what do you think? A boy or girl.” Natasha instantly rolls her eyes playfully at him and pulls away to go turn the music off.

“Oh god, your gonna start this now? I’m not fighting with you over who’s guessing right.”

“Hey, come on, just because you know I’ll be right isn’t it? “ he followed her after she turned the music off, both making their way towards the stairs to head to their bedroom, but it didn't stop him from joking with her.

“Oh you really wanna go there” She challenged back.

“Oh yeah, you know I do. And by the way, since we brought it up, I think we should definitely get a dog.” If Natasha eyes could have rolled any further back, she would have. Steve knew she only meant it playfully but he was not gonna stop trying.

“We are not getting a dog.”

“Please? You know James would love it, and me, and the baby. “

“Steve please“

“Pleeease, just 1, like a labrador or golden retriever.”

“You're obsessed.”

And that's how they spent the rest of night, spending it together in their home, talking about the baby and James and even the possibility of getting a dog. 

Years ago Natasha could never have dreamed this would have been her life, she was raised to be a killer, to not embrace her emotions and believe love was for children. Back then she didn't even think she could have children. but now she had everything she dreamed about. She deserved this.  Natasha wouldn't have changed it for the world.

And Steve was the same. If you would have told him back when he was still a skinny kid in the 40s that he would have been a hero and finally have his own family in the 21st century with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and had a child with one on the way, he probably would have died from a coughing fit and asthma attack after laughing too hard. 

Fate had brought them together and also tore them apart, but nothing could stop them from finding each other again. 

And neither could imagine their life any different.

[ginnyq]

Five Questions and Six Sentences

I’ve been tagged in a few of these by both @bitchesofostwick​ and @melaena​, and since I really need to get back to work on my current WIP, Of Love and Duty, I’ll answer five questions about and post six sentences from that one.

1) What was the idea that started the story? Hahahahaha! Weeeeelllll, see, it’s a fic of a fic. I got real deep into Cullistair (Cullen/Alistair) as a pairing because their personalities fit so well together? They’ve both been through some shit, and while Alistair lightens Cullen up, Cullen helps ground Alistair, and I can see them supporting each other through anything. I was reading literally any fic I could find, and I stumbled upon the fic Thicker Than Blood by manchanification on AO3 (@cinnamonsweetrolls​ on Tumblr). It’s almost sickeningly sweet fluff about Alistair saving an orphaned infant girl (named Elodie) from darkspawn, and

[SPOILER ALERT!!!] After a bunch of angst and sweetness, they end up adopting her. [END SPOILER ALERT]

And my mind couldn’t shake the idea of Alistair and Cullen dealing with Elodie as she got older, specifically during a toddler tantrum. And when would she be a toddler? During Trespasser. The entire first chapter is the scene that spawned it all. I’m pretty proud of its accuracy, tbh.

2) Did you make an outline? Did you stick to it? Weeelll, “outline” is a strong word. I usually know exactly where my stories will go when I start them (and certainly when I start posting them!), but I started this one with more of a general aesthetic of Alistair and Cullen trying to balance parenthood and their very important and dangerous jobs. Scenes kind of sprouted from there, and it wasn’t until I brainstormed with a friend that I developed an actual plot, per se. Now I have a rough outline, even if it’s not all written down.

3) What’s your favorite part of your story? I have a couple of different favorite parts, but I really love seeing Alistair and Cullen be dads. They’re super adorable, especially Cullen. He’s such a sucker for his sweet girl -- as Leliana says in one chapter, “I’m half afraid if she batted those big blue eyes and said, ‘I yuv you, Munda,’ he’d invade Ferelden if she asked.” (She calls Alistair “Papa” and Cullen “Munda” for reasons that are cute and spoiler-y.) I also really enjoy seeing Alistair and Cullen’s relationship as it developed after they adopt her. It’s incredibly healthy, which was important for me to show. And the interactions between Alistair, Cullen, Elodie and the Inner Circle are fun, too.

4) Who is your favorite character and why? I love Alistair and Cullen, of course, but I think I might have to say Elodie here. First, although she’s technically not my OC, manchanification told me that they hadn’t really imagined her personality (just her as an infant), so everything Elodie is and does is me. She’s based on my experiences with my little brother (who was born when I was 15) and my niece (who is just now older than Elodie), particularly how insanity-inducing young children can be when they’re at their worst. But also how adorable and sweet they can be at their best. Thinking about her relationships with Cullen and Alistair, as well as with companions like Leliana, Josie, the Inquisitor, and Dorian, was also fun because I got to imagine how each companion would act around a child.

5) Did anything happen that surprised you as you were writing? You mean aside from length? I suppose the rather elaborate plot at the Exalted Council and the way I’ve made it fit with the theme of love vs. duty (hence the name) surprised me a bit. It’s gonsta get super angsty before it gets better, although I’d say chapters 4-8 contain some wonderful bits of fluff. I’ve also had fun with my sort of cutesy, punny chapter titles.

On a less positive note, the fact that I haven’t posted since July (~5 mos) and that it’s been a year since I started has also been a surprise, since I figured I’d have finished by now.

6) Sentences? I’m going to post a snippet from the current WIP chapter 10. Mostly because I need a kick in the butt to keep plugging on it. It’s been difficult because it’s more politic-y and consists almost entirely of an interrogation (of Cullen), so I’ve been struggling and allowing myself to be easily distracted. I’m hoping this post can kick my ass into gear. (Also I’m breaking my own rules and writing a little more than six sentences. It’s really more of a snippet.)

From the upcoming chapter 10:

A pregnant silence filled the hall at the end of Cullen’s answer. Then whispers erupted everywhere as Cullen calmly took a drink from the tankard of water in front of him. Alistair could see, even from this far away, the subtle shaking of his hand.

Leliana spoke before any more questions could be asked. “Commander, would you like to take a short break now?”

“Thank you, Your Holiness,” Cullen said, “but I am fine to continue.”

“Well, I would like to take a break,” said Leliana, picking up her gavel, and Alistair had never loved her more.

“Your Holiness.” The room seemed to fell into a deeper silence now. Up until now, Cullen hadn’t spoken unless spoken to. “If I may request …”

Leliana nodded, while Alistair’s heart nearly beat itself out of his chest.

“I should … prefer to continue,” Cullen finished. “Without a break. But of course I defer to your judgment.”

Leliana eyed him for what felt like Ages, but in all likelihood was two or three seconds at most. She was looking for the truth behind Cullen’s request, and though most would miss it, Alistair saw that truth in his eyes, begging her to let him hurry and get this over with.

Eventually, Leliana nodded once, slowly, almost in deference. “Very well, Commander. I admire your commitment to this Council and its mission.”

As Alistair’s shoulders slumped on Cullen’s behalf, he watched Cullen’s square up, his spine straightening, in preparation for the continued onslaught.

[daysswithyou]

Fallen Chapter 6: Showtime

previous / next

Characters: DAY6 Young K x OC (Rachel)

Genre: angst, fake dating, high school romance, fluff, romance

-----

You and Brian keep to the deal....fairly...well. You let out a deep sigh once you finish typing your comment on his latest Instagram post, one that was filled with sickeningly sweet hearts and terms of endearment. You dropped your phone on the table with a thud, burying your head in your hands as your fingers and toes curled in disgust at the ridiculous thing that you were doing. You hated having to play pretend, but this was the best plan so far.

Things were still awkward between the both of you; after all, you two were still strangers. Hence, the first part of his brilliant plan that did not involve much skinship as you both tried to ease into one another was to take proof shots of your “relationship”. Selfies together, pictures of both of you holding hands. Shots like these soon went up all over both your social media feeds, and the growing number of likes with each successive post gave both of you some reassurance that people were buying into your love story. To further convince them, Brian insisted that both of you left comments on each other’s posts which thus led you to this sorry state.

All of this might be enough for a short while, but you knew that onlookers would be disillusioned by the posts, and that soon, you would have to do more to convince people of the authenticity of your relationship.

---

Heading into the washroom to freshen up, you entered only to have three pairs of eyes focused on you, their eyes never leaving your figure until you’re behind the safety of the stall walls. You wait in bated breath for the unnecessary comments that were sure to come – and as usual, you were not surprised by what you heard.

“Rachel Hwang and Brian Kang… do you think they’re real?”

“Well… the photos on their social media are kind of cute, but I haven’t seen them in public yet so I’m not totally convinced.”

“Come on, the both of you. Their whole relationship is obviously a lie. Anyone can fake a photo; but I’ll give them credit for impressive Photoshop skills. It almost looks real. Besides… this is all happening after both of them got dumped by their exes. All too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

You bunch up the ends of your school skirt in frustration, knowing that the effectiveness of the initial plan has worn off. Everything was happening as you knew it would and Brian and you would have to come up with a new plan to be more convincing to the general public. Keeping up with this act will only make both of you seem silly – you needed something more.

Stepping out of the cubicle, you kept your face straight, showing that you were clearly unfazed by their comments. The conversation went hush in your presence, the three girls leaving silently after sending one last glance in your direction. Wringing your hands dry from the water, you quickly formulated a plan in your head, and you could only hope that Brian would know how to play along with you.

Exiting the washroom, you turned to head back to class, only to come face to face with Brian Kang. Or to be more exact, his chest. You instinctively took a step back due to the close proximity. Despite the time spent with one another, you were still not used to being around him. His eyes were also blown wide at the sudden encounter, a sure sign that he too, was still uncomfortable around you.

“Oh…Rachel…you’re here.”

His voice was small, and the tone was clipped.

Aish Brian Kang… what kind of reaction is this?

Glancing over his shoulder, you could see the three girls from before turning over to look at the both of you as they sniggered under their breath. Their eyes scanned you from top to bottom, seeming to laugh at your “boyfriend’s” lacklustre response towards you.

I can’t let them have the last laugh. I have to be convincing.

“Brian, let’s go have lunch together later ok? What are you craving?”

Stepping forward, you quickly laced your fingers with his. Using your interlocked fingers as leverage, you raised on your tiptoes to reach his cheek, placing a quick peck on his cheek bone. Brian eyes grow two times wider at your sudden action, his eyes looking straight at yours seeming to ask the question: What was that for?

You give his hand a light squeeze, code for: We need to be more convincing in public, play along. You smiled sweetly at the end to prove your point, desperately hoping that he’ll get the hint. You knew that Brian Kang got the hint when he smiles sweetly at you; the one where his lips pull back completely to show his teeth and his eyes turn into crescents. Bringing your intertwined hands to his lips, Brian made sure that the sound of him kissing your hand was extra loud. Another quick glance over his shoulder; and you were certain that that both of you now had the attention of the three girls from before. Their eyes kept shifting over to you, trying to be subtle but not quite working out.

Great. We got them. Let’s keep up the show Brian Kang, don’t mess up.

On cue, Brian spins you around so that the two of you are now facing the girls, hooking an arm around your shoulders around you naturally. Pulling you closer by your shoulder, he presses a long kiss to your cheek before connecting his forehead to your temple.

“Aigoo~ is my baby worrying about my meals? I eat my meals on time, and I eat anything. You know that.”

“Ok, then I’ll decide your lunch menu for you later.”

“Sure~”

As you turn the corner to head to the canteen, you hear the girls scoffing behind you – and you know that you have succeeded.

“I did well, didn’t I?”

“Well done Brian Kang, let’s keep this up. Show isn’t over.”

---

That was how you found yourself sharing a table during lunch breaks with Brian Kang and his friends from that day onwards. It was tough trying to get Esther to agree initially but having Jae there made things much easier. He’s easy to talk to, and they share common interests, which earned Jae bonus points for Jae in Esther’s handbook of friends. Today too, they’re having a heated debate on who’s a better player in League of Legends – you guess that’s just how the both of them make friends.

“Come on, I’m older. I’m definitely the better player with more experience.”

Esther snorts, one that sounds like a pig’s before retorting,

“Yea right. Being older also means you’re weaker Jae. Be careful when you play, the brittle bones in your fingers might break.”

“You did not!”

You shake my head as you turn your attention away from the both of them, you can’t stand watching the two of them argue for the next 20 minutes. Scanning the table, you quietly observe the mix of mismatched people at the table.

Jae and Esther were bickering at a corner – that’s a given. Sungjin has his eyes glued to his phone screen, observing the team’s last friendly match against the neighbouring Yongsan High School. He’s meticulously taking down notes on each member’s performance, having a list of merits, demerits and training methods for them to work on their weaker techniques. Meticulous, hardworking and dedicated Sungjin, there’s a reason why he’s the captain and you can see why. Over on the other side, Wonpil is enthusiastically explaining the rules of the basketball game to Dowoon, his hand gestures wide as his facial expression tell another story on their own. Wonpil is always so bright and ready to lend a helping hand, you’re sure Dowoon will be in good hands under his guidance. Your gaze lingers on Dowoon a little longer, observing the way the young freshmen has his head bowed in concentration, nodding along to every point that Wonpil makes. He looks up for a millisecond and catches your eye. You give him a reassuring smile, encouraging him as he tries to keep up with Wonpil’s pace. He gives you a small smile in return, the corners of his lips lifting up just slightly.

Ah sweet Dowoon – you have a soft spot for him. He’s in your Biology class, which makes him the person you see the most amongst all of them and consequently the one you’re most comfortable with as well. Sometimes you chance upon him feeding the strays that come through the broken fence on the north side of the school and you find yourself touched by his kind gestures towards those furry friends. There’s definitely something special about Dowoon… maybe you two could even become friends one day. (But you’ll have to break through his shy exterior first)

Brian is…

You didn’t have time to contemplate on Brian when you hear the unmistakable raucous laughter reach your ears. It has to be Im Jaebum – no doubt. Brian stiffens beside you, casually placing a hand on the back of your seat. He’s silently staking his claim on you, and that gives you enough affirmation that Ayeon is also in tow. They take a seat at the table right in front of yours, their eyes never leaving the two of you even after they sat down. It was a clear provocation, and Brian immediately began his counterattack.

Shifting the hand behind you to your waist, he pulls you closer to him, your thighs now touching one another’s. He dips his head again to give you a kiss on the cheek, and perhaps Jaebum’s eyes grow a shade darker.

“Play along Rachel, now’s the time to show off.”

“I don’t need to be told twice Brian Kang.”

As his lips leaves your cheek, he smiles at you, signalling the start of your little show.

“Babe, I’m still hungry!”

“You big baby, here, have my kimbap.”

You pinch his nose bridge lightly to make the act more believable, and he responds by giving you a cute nose scrunch.

“Thank you~”

Picking up two rolls at once, he slides them into his mouth easily but as he chews, he frowns.

“This doesn’t taste nice… maybe if you fed me it’ll be better.”

Your insides curl at the thought of feeding a fully-grown man food, but you hide your grimace behind a laugh. Taking the chopsticks from his hand, you took the last roll from the box and held it in front of his mouth, hoping he would quickly eat the roll so this could end. Yet, Brian Kang always seems to have other plans.

Wrapping his hand around yours, he guides your hand to place the roll inside his mouth, staring at you with love the entire while as he chewed. From your peripheral vision, you see Jaebum stabbing his food, his mouth no longer moving. He’s lost his appetite, and you bask in the glory of this small victory. You eventually want to completely crush him, but for now, ruining his day in any small manner would suffice too. Ayeon doesn’t look too good either, the colour has drained from her face.

“Indeed, it’s way better when you feed me Rachel. This tastes the best.”

“Glad you’re eating well Brian.”

You caress the side of his face, and Brian catches on immediately. Leaning forward to give you a quick peck, you meet him halfway, hoping that you taking the initiative might be the first step to ensuring that people accept your relationship to be true and most importantly, piss off Im Jaebum. Sure enough, they stand from their seats almost immediately, storming their way out of the canteen.

You’re still thrown off sometimes by Brian Kang’s bold public display of affections, but if tolerating it means that you get to see Im Jaebum all riled up, it’s worth the risk.

[hereticpriest]

Suit and Tie Chapter 2

Warnings: NSFW, consensual somnophilia, daddy kink, facefucking

Natalia woke to kisses being pressed upon her shoulder, and the feeling of something pushing insistently into her. She blinked blearily, letting out a soft groan that morphed into a yawn as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. She was laying on her stomach, a pillow resting under her hips and a hand clasped with hers. Her thighs were spread wide to accommodate the body of her boyfriend, and the cause of the ache between her legs quickly became obvious. John was balls deep inside of her, working his hips in little circles to wake her up in his second favourite way.

“Mmm, John, we have to leave before 6 to get to the cottage on time.” Nat whined softly, though the complaint fell flat when she pushed her ass back insistently into his thrusts. He smirked against her shoulder, adjusting his grip on her so that he could pull her back in time with his thrusts.

“That’s why I’m waking you up at 5:30. Everything is packed, we just need to shower and get dressed. We’ll get breakfast on the way.” John hummed, wrapping his hands around her biceps and yanking her back, sighing as he felt her clench around him.

“Fuuuuh-fuck, John, that’s not a lot of time.” Natalia let him pull her around, enjoying the way he manhandled her almost as much as she enjoyed the results. She’d been on the cusp of an orgasm when he woke her up, and with how deep he was reaching inside of her now, she was sure it wouldn’t be long.

“Couldn’t resist. I want to fill you up before we go.” John groaned softly, sliding one hand up from her bicep to wrap around her neck, holding her more than anything. Using his grip, he was able to pull her into a heated kiss, his other hand trailing down to rub circles around her clit.

Her orgasm hit her hard and fast, and the clenching of her inner muscles around John had him following her over the edge soon enough. He gave a few more shallow thrusts, angling her hips up before he pulled out. He curled around her on the bed for a moment, just to relax for a moment before getting up to shower. He gently swept his fingers through the mess between her thighs, pressing his spend back into her when it leaked out.

Their shower was quick, though John helped her in ensuring that the slowly healing cuts on her skin wouldn’t get infected. Once they were both dried off, he applied liquid bandage to the cuts, peppering the surrounding skin with kisses. Natalia detangled his hair while he cared for her, gentle fingers smoothing out the knots. He stole a final kiss when he was done, then tapped her on the ass.

“Go get dressed.” John murmured, watching her leave, and smiling as she arched her back and stretched as best as she could without hurting her knee.

“Says the guy who doesn’t even have his outfit set out yet.” Natalia retorted, laughing as a wet towel whipped across her ass, sending her scurrying away out of reach.

“My outfit is in the closet, thank you very much.” John retorted, “You said we had to dress up to meet your parents, so we don’t get ‘shown up by your brother and his cute fiancée’ right?”

“Hey, don’t say it like that. I have a completely normal sibling rivalry with my brother. I just have to absolutely crush him. He’s getting married first, John. This is a blow to my ego.” Natalia called while slipping into a white eyelet dress that flowed around her thighs, cinching at the waist. It was clearly tailored, and he knew that if he checked the tag on the neckline, he’d see Courtney’s initials. Most of Natalia’s tailoring was done by Courtney. The woman had phenomenal skills.

“That dress is dangerous, kitten.” John hummed, watching her in the mirror. Natalia laughed, brushing her hair out, then braiding it still wet, tying the end with a thick bow. John trimmed his beard before getting dressed in a pretty standard suit. Black with a white button up and black tie. Wearing suits sometimes made him feel a little odd, but it didn’t have the weight of a tactical suit, so he was able to separate the two. He left the jacket off for now, since they had a fairly long drive to get to Natalia’s family home. Natalia left the bathroom after putting on her makeup and had to pause lest she smear the red lipstick she’d only just applied. She cleared her throat, stepping closer to John and sliding her arms around him from behind.

“So, how about we skip this whole wedding week hell and just stay home? I can tie you to the bed and bounce on your cock instead, hmm?” Natalia offered, sliding her hand down to cup his dick through his pants.

“Love to, but you promised your parents we were coming.” John hummed, taking her hand and lifting it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

“I’m not above disappointing my parents.” Natalia informed him softly, relishing in his deep laugh.

“Not this time, kitten.”

“Oh fine. We’ll be responsible adults.” Natalia pouted, giving him a final squeeze before heading over to grab her suitcase and roll it down the hall. John soon joined her with his own suitcase, helping her get hers down the stairs while carrying his own as well. They let the dog into the back seat, shoved the bags into the trunk, and settled in for a long drive.

John was a bit set in his ways sometimes. He liked listening to his music, and only let Natalia put on stuff she liked when he was in a particularly good mood. The other way she got what she wanted was by waiting until they were on a backroad, then jerking John off while he drove. They took a quick break in the middle of nowhere an hour in after Nat decided to tease him into letting her put her feet up on the dash (shoes off, of course). After a bit of bribery, she was able to put her feet up, lean her seat back and take a nap. This also served as a pit stop for the dog to run around sniffing flowers and do his business.

Half an hour later, they pulled up at a diner in a small town for brunch and curled up in a c-shaped booth together. They had left the dog in the car, but he was within sight of the diner, the windows were fully rolled down, he had a water dish with him, and he was in the shade with a good breeze. John put an arm around her, smiling fondly while she babbled about her home town.  The hostess brought their menus and got their drink order – two black coffees – then headed off to serve a small group on the other end of the diner. Their waitress joined them soon after, a middle-aged woman with a big smile that introduced herself as Mary.

“Oh, now aren’t you guys sweet? I always like seeing young women who still spend time with their fathers.” Mary chimed, and Natalia felt John tense against her. His grip on his coffee tightened, and she could hear his sharp intake of breath. He’d always been sensitive about their age difference, so this certainly didn’t help. Natalia breathed in, sliding her hand over to squeeze John’s dick through his pants.

“Yeah, I love my daddy.” Natalia practically purred, giving John a seductive look, then turning a bit of a smug smirk on Mary, “Isn’t he something?”

John was biting back a laugh as best as he could, but he couldn’t hide his body’s reaction from Natalia. She felt him getting an erection, felt the twitch of his cock and the clench in his thighs to avoid any further reaction. Mary gasped audibly, her eyes wide and clearly unsure how to react. Natalia smiled sickeningly sweet, leaning over the table to snatch the pad from her hand and write down their order, then handing it back.

“Thank you, doll.” Natalia hummed, sitting back down delicately. The moment Mary had awkwardly shuffled off, John tugged Nat into a heated kiss.

“Kitten, you are seriously testing my willpower.” John growled into the kiss, moving to bite her ear, “I’m gonna fuck that filthy mouth of yours.”

Natalia gasped, letting out a little whimper that had John sliding a hand under her dress to slap her pussy.

“Be good. After brunch, I’ll give you your dessert.” John slid her dress up a bit to see the bruises on her thighs, stroking her skin delicately while they waited for food. The hostess brought them their food, which had Natalia smirking. The couple ended up sharing most of their meals, feeding eachother and more than once stealing a maple syrup or powdered sugar kiss. They left a nice tip despite the earlier unintended insult and headed off once more. The dog got some table scraps and another bowl of water, followed by another pitstop to do his business. John let Natalia drive for the last hour, mostly so he could enjoy watching her, but also so that he could take a short nap before they arrived. Brunch had made him a bit sleepy.

They arrived at about noon after a long drive through what felt like the middle of nowhere. They hadn’t passed a house in almost an hour, and the lake seemed like exactly the kind of place someone would want to have a ton of vacation homes built up. Natalia explained that her family owned most of the land around the lake and had for years, though the lots were split up between her parents, aunts, and uncles. There were four full sized houses around the lake, though each house had around a substantial amount of space between them. The largest, the original home her grandparents owned was right off the gravel road and only about twenty feet from the lake. Her aunt’s house was on the other side of the lake, across from the original house. Her uncle’s house was near the road but farther down from her grandparents’ house. Lastly, the summer house, which was effectively the guest house. Natalia had laid claim to it, informing her brother that he could have the main house (which belonged to their parents now) if she could have the summer house. It was the furthest from the road on the opposite end of the lake, and had good tree cover providing privacy, while also having places to sunbathe. It didn’t have a dock like the other houses, but there was a rock beach where it was easy to walk into the water for swimming.

Natalia pulled up at the guest house first so that they could unload the car and drop the dog off in the house. He seemed to love having a new space to run around in, and as soon as she showed him the dog door (and unlocked it, since when the house wasn’t in use it remained sealed), he was wiggling his little butt off. They dropped the suitcases off in the bedroom, made the bed with fresh sheets, and uncovered the furniture. It wasn’t very dirty or anything, as the house would have been cleaned when the family first came down a couple of months ago. They only had to do little things like opening the windows to air out the house and clasping the shutters open.

John helped her get the house set up, leaving her briefly to walk the dog around and show him the boundaries so he knew he wasn’t allowed to go too far from the house. He was well-trained, and as long as they were around, John felt comfortable with him wandering off leash. Natalia promised that her family was aware of the dog being around and would be good to him even if he did wander off.

Once they were finally settled in, John pulled Natalia into the bedroom and shoved her down onto her knees. Nat looked up at him with wide eyes, then smirked when she saw the look on John’s face.

“Do you want something, daddy?” Natalia asked, pouting just a little and looking up at him through her lashes. John groaned softly, cupping her cheek and opening her mouth with his thumb.

“Didn’t I promise you something earlier?”

“Yes, you did. Are you going to give it to me, daddy?” Natalia nipped his thumb.

In response, John undid his belt and his pants, shoving them down a little so that he could free himself from his boxers. He was already hard, his dick curving up towards his stomach, and Natalia licked her lips obscenely. That seemed to do it, because she could barely take a breath before John was grasping her hair and yanking her forwards. Nat opened her mouth obediently, taking his cock as far in as she could. John let her adjust for a few seconds, getting used to the weight of him on her tongue before he began to thrust into her mouth. He was moving slowly, but he pushed her down further and further on his dick with every thrust.

Natalia whined softly when he pushed her all the way down until her nose was resting in his thick, nearly black pubic hair. She gagged, but breathed through it, eyes watering. She used her hands to push his pants further down so she wouldn’t get saliva all over him, knowing she was drooling already. Each thrust pushed her further and further past her limits, and John only let her breathe properly when he felt like he was going to cum too fast. He groaned at the obscene sounds coming from his girlfriend, watching her even when it was hard to keep his eyes open because he was sure he’d never seen anything sexier than that. She trusted him. She would let him do whatever he wanted to her.

“Fuck, you’re so fucking gorgeous kitten. Look at you, gagging on my cock. You’re so fucking filthy. Such a dirty little girl. I can feel your throat moving. Nat, baby, I’m gonna cum. I’m going to cum and you’re going to swallow every single drop, alright?” John growled, tightening his grip on her hair, letting her move back to breathe with the head of his dick resting against her lips. She opened her mouth again a moment later when she felt ready, and he began to fuck her face again with abandon. Each thrust made Natalia’s throat constrict, and John couldn’t take it much longer, giving a couple more thrusts before holding her in place so that he could cum down her throat.

Natalia swallowed it all down, cleaning John’s dick with her tongue, then leaning back on her heels. She looked a mess, she knew, and John couldn’t deny it, but it was the most beautiful mess he had ever seen. Which was why he took a photo of her on his phone before putting himself away. John helped Nat wipe her tears away, kissing her swollen lips and pulling her into his arms.

“Fuck, kitten, you’re so perfect. You were made for me, you know that?” John praised her, lifting her up and laying her down on the bed, then crawling in to cuddle her.

“Gotta meet my parents.” Natalia murmured hoarsely, and John snorted.

“Not yet, sweetheart. You look like you just got face fucked.”

“Yeah, I wonder why.” Natalia giggled, snuggling closer to him and burying her face in his chest.

“Give it an hour, Nat. They’ll survive.”

[princessasmosprincess]

Charmed, I'm Sure

Chapter 6

Summary: No human has ever avoided Asmodeus's charm. Except for you.

Pairing: Asmodeus x GN Reader/MC

Genre: Drama, angst

Warnings: Blood and canon-typical violence, alcohol use, suggestive content, innuendo

***

Asmo was surrounded by his fans, dancing his heart out, drinking just enough demonus to get tipsy. Everything was right in his world.

That was, until the crowd parted.

There you were, gaping stupidly at the flashing lights and the dancers working the poles. Mammon was talking but you weren’t listening. Many of the demons in the crowd stopped and stared at you. They could smell a pure human soul as soon as you walked in the door. Mammon put his arm around you, showing everyone in the club that you were his. No one would defy one of the seven rulers of the Devildom, not if they valued their life.

Asmo was seething. How dare you take attention away from him in his own domain. But as Mammon guided you to the dancefloor, Asmo pasted on a smile. The two of you were coming right for him.

“MC, Mammon,” he said, taking your hands in his as if the two of you were old friends. “What brings you here tonight?”

“I wanted to get out of the house and Mammon was kind enough to accompany me,” your smile was almost sickeningly sweet. So different from how you looked when he’d first met you. Asmo preferred the fear in your eyes from before to whatever this was.

“Mammon? Kind?” Asmo scoffed.

“Hey, I can be kind if I wanna be,” Mammon responded.

You laughed at the little moment of banter between the brothers, Asmo caught you covering your mouth with your hand.

Cute.

Asmo shook his head as if to erase the thought from his mind.

Instinctively, you started moving, swaying to the music. You could feel the bass through the floor, it was comforting in a way. You still held onto Mammon's hand, not wanting to lose him in the crowd.

You were a good dancer, Asmo had to admit. Not that he had made an effort to notice. He was just keeping an eye on you like Lucifer had instructed, nothing more.

“I’ve been to nightclubs in the… human world,” it felt weird to call it that. “But none of them were anything like this.”

At that moment Asmo itched to put his hand on your waist as the two of you moved to the music. He’d pull you in closer, your bodies flush against each other and then— but he was still mad at you for somehow avoiding his charm. It didn't matter how the light from the disco ball glittered in your eyes or how good you looked in your casual clothes.

Should he try to charm you once more? No, he didn't want to be disappointed again.

“Your D.D.D. is positively blowing up, Mammon,” said Asmo, changing the subject.

You had noticed Mammon checking his D.D.D. throughout the night but you’d assumed the messages had been from his brothers the way Mammon disregarded them.

“I know! It's those damned witches I have pacts with.” He said.

“Uh-oh, trouble in the polycule?” Asmo laughed.

“Very funny, Asmo,” Mammon said, scrolling through his text messages. “You know it ain’t nothin’ like that. If it was, it would be infinitely more fun.” He frowned, “Uh oh.”

“What is it,” you asked.

“Well they’re probably gonna summon me to the human world in a–” his body seized for a moment. “Yup, right now.”

You tugged on Mammon’s hand, concern lighting your eyes, “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I just hafta go and hope whatever they want doesn't take too long. Asmo,” he turned to his younger brother who had already begun pouting. “Watch MC for me. If I’m not back in an hour, walk ‘em back to the House of Lamentation. See ya’s later.” With that, Mammon dematerialized in the middle of the dance floor.

***

It didn't take long for you to get separated from Asmo. He was extremely popular. His fans were constantly shoving you aside to get to him. He was sandwiched in between two demons and a witch, in a circle several people deep. By the end of the song you couldn't see him anymore.

You looked for him in the hundreds of intoxicated faces in the crowd but you couldn't find him. There was no reason to panic yet. You needed a break from the dance floor anyway. You’d get a drink and then follow the crowd to wherever Asmo was bound to be.

“Oops, sorry,” you narrowly missed bumping into a demon on your way back to the dance floor.

“No harm done,” he said. He was tall and of a similar build to Diavolo, but his expression was not genial like the demon prince’s, and his face not quite as handsome. You recognized him as a RAD student but you didn't know his name.

You stepped to the right, but he moved in front of you, blocking your way to the dance floor.

“You’re the human exchange student, right?”

“Um, yes,” you said, trying to move past him again, and again he stepped in front of you. “I would like to pass, please.”

He didn't listen, taking a step towards you. “So soon?” Another step towards you, you backed away. “Now that I’ve got you here, why don’t we have a little cultural exchange right now? Dance with me.” He smiled, baring his sharp teeth.

“I really need to be getting back to–” You felt your back touch the wall behind you. It was a dark corner under the stairs in the otherwise bright room.

“Lucifer and his brothers get you all to themselves at the House of Lamentation. It’s not fair.” He frowned.

You weren't sure how you knew, but something told you the demon was trying to use some sort of charm or power to try and manipulate you. It wasn't working. “We can hang out in class sometime.” You promised. You would say anything to get him to let you go.

“That’s not good enough,” He was angry now, you could tell by the way his eyes blazed in the low light, glowing like Lucifer’s had the other day. The demon slammed his hand on the wall next to your head, causing you to jump. With his other hand he gripped your shoulder tightly.

“This will only take a minute,” he bared perfectly white, razor sharp teeth, inhaling your scent as he did. You thought you were going to be sick.

“What’s going on over here?”

The demon spun around, coming face to face with Asmo.

“Asmodeus,” said the demon, quickly putting on a semblance of a casual smile. “It’s so great to see you. This human and I–”

“They have a name,” said Asmo, looking over his nails as if they were the most pressing matter at the moment. “The least you could do is call them by it.”

“Yes of course. Well, we were just…trying to get to know each other a little more... intimately. You understand.” His grip on your shoulder remained firm, you could feel his nails digging into your skin.

“Mhmm, and is that something MC wants?” Asmo fixed his stare on you, a quizzical eyebrow raised. Your body language towards the demon looked less than enthusiastic.

“No!” you said.

The demon growled low. You shivered.

“MC, come here,” Asmo commanded. “Didn’t you remember you’re my date for tonight? I wasn't planning on sharing you with anyone else.”

“Oh, yeah,” You said, grateful for Asmo’s intervention. You slipped out of the demon's grasp. A crowd was already starting to form behind Asmo, watching the drama unfold.

Asmo slowly approached the demon, his hips swaying seductively. “Now, tell me what you were really doing,” He gave an alluring smile, tracing a line from the demon’s collar bone down his chest, pausing there.

The demon’s eyes flashed pink. Charming a lower level demon was child’s play for Asmo. He was entranced. “I, uh, wanted to eat the human’s soul,”

You dropped your drink, shattering the glass and splashing you with the sticky liquid. You knew that was what he wanted, it was just shocking to hear him say it out loud.

“Is that so?” Asmo edged even closer, his lips nearly touching the demon’s. “Well, I can give you something better,” he whispered. “Something you deserve.”

“Something I deserve,” the demon breathed. “I’d like that.”

Asmo smiled. “You would, wouldn't you?”

It happened so quickly. Asmo slammed the demon against the wall by the throat.

“Mmm, doesn't that feel good?” He tightened his grip, drawing blood. “What do you say, big boy, do you want some more?”

The demon nodded, his eyes transfixed on Asmo’s, a drunken smile on his lips.

“You’ve got a nice body,” Asmo touched the demon’s pectoral with his free hand. “I like it when my men show a little skin.”

Asmo slashed the demon’s chest with his nails in five deep gashes. Blood splattered everywhere. There was a collective gasp from the crowd. A witch nearby screamed.

“You are never to touch or look at MC again.” He said. “The next time it happens, you’ll have to answer to Lord Diavolo.” The demon slid to the floor, trailing blood down the wall as Asmo released him. He moaned out of pain now, rather than pleasure.

“Come on, MC. We’re leaving,” Asmo grabbed your wrist with a firm hold, leading you out into the street.

***

Cross-posted on AO3

[the-sound-and-the-fury]

August Book Round Up!

Honestly, I had like 2 weeks without classes so I decided to abandon everything else and just read books (aka my room is a mess and I haven’t been grocery shopping in ages, but I’ve almost reached my reading goal for the year). So, sorry not sorry for how long this is.

1. Counting Fence Posts (Counting #1) - Kelly Jensen

Apparently this is written as some kind of continuing serial, but it happened at such a fast pace that I’m not sure if I liked this or if I’m going to finish.

2. Lumber Jacked (Rainbow Cove #3) - Annabeth Albert

A quick story set in the town from the Rainbow Cove series, but it was a very short and didn’t involve the characters I was interested in.

3. You Must Not Miss - Katrina Leno

This was absolutely bizarre, and took several wild turns away from what I was expecting. I love magical realism and I did like this, and I think there was some level of catharsis in watching Magpie explore Near, but I was honestly unprepared for whatever was going on here. And I feel like I've read a few books recently in which there are characters who are unlikable and frustrating in a way that they only deserve to be with each other because they wouldn't be good for anyone else, and that's kind of how this one ended? So I kind of wanted to see more consequences to their actions, but it kind of wasn't worth that effort, and I don't know how I feel about that kind of resolution. It was just major WTF vibes, although I love her writing.

4. Reverb (Twisted Wishes #3) - Anna Zabo

Kinda don’t want the series to end, but there aren’t any more members of the band (and things got a little sickeningly sweet)

5. The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date #3) - Jasmine Guillory

I do love secret relationships, but I wanted to see more of the tension between them before it started.

6. This Adventure Ends - Emma Mills

This made me cry, so I loved it, but it did take me a little longer to get into the story and figure out what was going on and what I cared about. Some of the characters didn't completely win me over (like Gabe and Vera, oops), but I would give anything to go to a Frank Sanger Presents party. Also, I fully recognized the descent into fandom madness that Sloane's dad takes, and I appreciated it. Would have liked a little better resolution about the parents and fighting in the new friend group.

7-8. Game Changers series (Game Changer #1 and Heated Rivalry #2) - Rachel Reid

Much better than the last gay hockey series I tried to read.

9-10. Him series (Him #1 and Us #2) - Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

More hockey, not that I watch the actual sport, though.

11. Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet - Jennifer L Armentrout (and others)

Overall, this anthology was pretty great! I'd only read a couple of the authors before, but I was familiar with most of them, so this was a nice surprise. I've listed the stories in order of my favorite to least favorite, and most of them were really solid. Only a couple of them genuinely let me down, but mostly I just wanted more to enjoy.

12. The Bone Houses - Emily Lloyd-Jones

SO GOOD AND UNEXPECTED. I acquired an ARC at some point and I loved it! I gave it 5 stars, although it was more of a 4.5 because of all the Welsh words (I think) that I couldn't pronounce, and I was a little confused about some timelines, but that didn't get in the way of the story which was an excellent mix of fantasy, horror, and myth. Plus, Ryn and Ellis (and the goat) were perfect.

13. Good Boy (WAGS #1) - Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Picking up with characters from the Him series

14. Fence, Vol 3 - CS Pacat

I guess I just don’t care for the competition? It doesn’t feel worth it to me, and all the characters are so up and down in how they react to each other. It was kind of a bummer because I liked the second volume, but now I’m back to being annoyed by the pace and waiting to see where it goes.

15. Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) - Elizabeth Lim

This was a good OwlCrate choice! I was a little worried about the Project Runway comparison because I don't watch that show, but I liked Maia and her creativity, and I honestly wish I could see the dresses she made. I do think some parts of the story unraveled a little too easily, but I'm definitely excited for the next book and hopeful that it gives more answers about the magic world it's set in.

16. Reticence (Custard Protocol #4) - Gail Carriger

This was an excellent end to a fun series! I didn't expect it, but Percy and Arsenic had some excellent POV chapters. There's definitely a lot of absurdity that goes on in Carriger's books (sometimes at the expense of character development or cohesive plot), but it's enjoyable, and I liked seeing how nicely things were wrapped up this time. The only drawback is that a lot of this series is reliant on characters from the previous series (Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School), which I can appreciate but did require some character research on the wiki for clarification because it's been so long since I started in this book world.

17. The Lost and Found - Katrina Leno

This pretty much gripped my emotions from the very beginning and did not let go. I loved the mostly contemporary but a little magical realism mixed in, plus the internet friend aspect of the story in which they started finding each other's lost things. It was a very sweet and sad story, but it felt very hopeful by the end. I also liked the dual narration. Frannie's POV is what really moved the story along and had a little bit more weight, although I think I liked Louis a little bit more. They both held their own, though, and there was a good bit of room for diversity among the characters, particularly with disability and mental illness representation.

18. Twice in a Blue Moon - Christina Lauren

I got an ARC of this, and it was interesting reading because the last Christina Lauren book I read was Love and Other Words, which is also split between the past/present and involved characters separating from betrayal and reconnecting. But in this case, I liked Tate and Sam a bit more, and the situation was a little more fantastical and easier to suspend any disbelief.

[themurphyzone]

Secret Santa Ch 6

Sorry about the wait! I went home for Thanksgiving and we just got the Internet back!

So yeah tons of cuteness in the last chapter. Headcanon that Bradley is totally a cat lover! Also Pepper’s original name was Ashley but then I thought Bradley already had a name that ends with -ley and it looked too similar. Besides, salt and pepper go together!

Ch 6- Bradley

“You’re picky, aren’t you?” Bradley asked. Pepper mewed and turned her nose up at the white cat bed Bradley pointed out. “Do you want a darker color?”

Pepper batted at the air in front of her.

“This one’s too big,” Bradley said, kneeling to look at the items on the bottom row. “And this one’s expensive.”

He set Pepper down so he could look at the price tag of a brown, circular bed. The fleece was soft and fluffy, and had room to spare as Pepper grew up.

“What about this one?” he asked, his heart sinking when he realized Pepper hadn’t answered like she normally did. “Pepper?”

It hadn’t been a week and he’d already lost track of his kitten. She couldn’t possibly get into trouble. No, there was no way she could waltz out the door and get chased by stray dogs or hit by a car or be buried in a landslide-

Bradley inhaled deeply, though it didn’t help calm his heart at all. He walked through the aisle twice, but there was no sign of a dark gray kitten anywhere.

“Bradley!” An all-too familiar voice shouted. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

The last thing he needed with this disaster of epic proportions was the epitome of catastrophe himself.

“Milo,” Bradley said flatly. “Go away. Weekends are my breaks.”

“Well, I can’t leave Diogee behind!” Milo cheerfully waved to Diogee, who was behind a large enclosure with a group of five other dogs. Diogee barked at the acknowledgement. “Also, Melissa’s the assistant teacher!”

“Assistant teacher for what?” Bradley asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Milo asked. “Diogee teaches ACL. American Canine Language for short. This pet store lets them use the space on Saturdays at noon. It’s really nice of them to do that.”

Melissa put a fluffy Pomeranian down, opening the door a crack so she could join the conversation but not let the dogs out. “Between you and me, I have no idea what they’re saying. I’m just here to pet some pooches,” she whispered to Bradley.

Bradley pulled away, quickly turning his back on Milo so he didn’t see his cheeks heat up. Of course he’d been thinking about Melissa’s gift, but he only thought about it during school since Pepper wasn’t distracting him. Not that all distractions were bad of course. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go find Pepper.”

“Did you lose her?” Milo asked. “I can help you look. It’s no trouble. Maybe I can get Diogee to sniff her out for you.”

“Yes, I lost her,” Bradley snapped. “And keep your mutt away.”

No amount of telling Milo to keep out of his business was working, so Bradley had no choice but to let Milo follow behind him. In that timespan, three shopping carts overturned and a large bag of dog food split open, the entire back half of the store now filled with the sounds of crunching kibble and barking dogs.

They checked the bird aisle, the toy section, the aquarium decorations, and the grooming services, but they still couldn’t spot Pepper anywhere.

“It’s hopeless,” Bradley muttered. “We’ll never find her.”

“Don’t give up!” Milo said. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

Bradley scoffed, folding his arms. “And how do you know?”

“Because she’s right next to your head,” Milo replied. “Hi, Pepper! You had us all worried!”

Bradley whipped around, but before he could scoop Pepper up, she turned tail and settled into a black cat bed, curling in on herself and yawning.

“I can’t believe she was napping the entire time,” Bradley said, taking the cat bed off the shelf. “I’m not hanging around longer than I need to. I only came in here to buy her bed.”

Milo nodded. “See you on Monday then! Bye, Pepper!”

“Keep your voice down! She’s asleep!”

Pepper adjusted to his house quickly, so he was able to focus his attention on his gift to Melissa.

She was intelligent, but often forgetful. Bradley had seen her weak throwing arm, so sports equipment was ruled out.

Safety equipment? She was almost always in the splatter zone.

But Melissa never hesitated in telling people off when she thought they were being too paranoid around Milo. In Bradley’s opinion, there was little paranoia in fearing for his life when ‘anything that can go wrong’ did not exclude dying.

He liked to think he had good self-preservation instincts, a skill which many kids at Jefferson County Middle School sorely lacked.

Maybe a second opinion wouldn’t hurt. Girls were complicated after all.

Bradley deliberately hung back while the other kids crossed the street to get to the bus stop. Since there were currently only four functioning buses due to circus elephants stampeding through the parking lot at the main district office, the buses wouldn’t come around for another fifteen minutes.

That was plenty of time to chat.

“Elliot, I have a question for you,” Bradley said.

Elliot was still shaking his fist at Milo. “And if I even see you trying to cover your arm with any bracelet that’s on my prohibited list, you’ll be sorry!”

Bradley rolled his eyes. “Do I want to know why you have a prohibited list for bracelets?”

“Not just for bracelets. Also includes any other pieces of jewelry that can potentially get caught on water heaters, streetlamps, or luggage carts,” Elliot replied. “Always good to help educate a student on safety protocol.”

“No, that was a question formulated out of disbelief,” Bradley sighed. “Say, hypothetically, there was a pretty girl at school and a Secret Santa exchange is coming up in less than a month. What would you get her?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Elliot said. “Matching safety vests! That way you can walk home at night and the color is bright enough so people can see you! Except make sure the girl in question isn’t also a regionally acclaimed skateboarder. Wendy didn’t like it that much when I gave tickets to all the other skateboarders at the state competition for violating basic safety principles. It totally wasn’t my fault. They deserved those citations for not completely wearing a protective bubble wrap layer while skateboarding along the half-pipe like any sane person would.”

Bradley wouldn’t be caught dead in one of Elliot’s overly saturated safety vests.

He walked to the bus stop with nine minutes to spare. “Thanks for nothing. I have no idea what I was thinking asking him for help,” he muttered.

“Why don’t you ask Milo?” Mort suggested. “He hangs out with Melissa all the time. He’ll probably know a lot of things that she likes.”

Bradley tapped his pencil in irritation and tried to focus on the assignment in front of him. “I am not asking the Boy Blunder for help. I’m not that desperate.”

Mort raised an eyebrow. “You say you aren’t desperate. But your aura is a deep purple like you’re afraid of what will happen in the near future should you fail to procure a suitable present.”

“Don’t try to read my thoughts,” Bradley snapped. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“And there’s a hint of green mixed in there too. Usually it stands for disgust,” Mort said.

Bradley shrugged. “In my defense, they were serving meatloaf for lunch.”

He was not going to regret this. He was not going to watch what little dreams he had crash and burn before they even got off the ground.

“I need help,” he said.

He fought the urge to scream, run, and live like a hermit for the rest of his life. Getting Melissa a present took precedence over his disdain for Milo. It was a constant internal struggle.

Milo gasped, a sickeningly bright smile taking over his face. “Sure! I’d love to help! I don’t know what you might need it for, but consider it accepted anyway!”

As he stood up in excitement, the open water bottle on his desk tipped over, spilling liquid all over the nearby electrical cords. The cords sparked and they quickly moved away from the small fire that sprung up.

He was definitely starting to regret this decision.

Looking around to make sure Melissa wasn’t in the vicinity, Bradley beckoned Milo closer, though he made sure there was an arm’s length between them. “What does Melissa like?”

“Lots of things!” Milo exclaimed. Apparently he never learned volume control, Bradley thought. “Good grades, friends, Diogee, music, risk-taking, bets, and puppies. I’m guessing puppies are kinda out of your budget though.”  

As much as he wanted to disregard Milo, he had good ideas sometimes.

Only sometimes.

“Maybe not every kind of puppy,” Bradley said. “Does she like stuffed animals?”

Milo nodded. “She doesn’t really buy them herself. They’re usually gifts. And you can tell which ones were from me, because there’s always a leg or eye lost between the time I buy them and when she receives them. One time I knocked over the shelf where she displays them and now she has caution tape around the perimeter.”

“That’s all I need to know,” Bradley said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be.”

“Where?” Milo asked.

A perfume cloud suddenly enveloped the classroom from a girl’s spilled bottle, causing the people in the back to cough as their senses were overwhelmed.

“Anywhere that doesn’t have an ocean mist scented perfume cloud,” Bradley replied, gathering his things and leaving the class so he didn’t get stuck with the scent all over his clothes. “And don’t think for one minute that asking for your help is going to be a regular occurrence.”

He found himself in the stuffed animal section of a toy store, looking through all the plush dogs on the shelves. They had just about every breed of canine imaginable, and Bradley belatedly realized he didn’t ask Milo about the breeds Melissa liked.

He tried to picture Diogee in his mind, though he had no idea what kind of dog he was. He appeared to be a corgi or dachshund though. It was probably the stubby legs.

After some debate, he picked a small Shiba Inu plushie complete with Santa hat. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but he hoped Melissa would find it cute anyway.

He was sure the plushie could never be as adorable as Pepper though.

[fanfics-bts]

You're Annoying ( and Kinda Hot But I'd Never Dare Say It Aloud ) // Chapter 1

Chapter 2 , Chapter 3, Chapter 4

💙 Prompt : Jungkook didn’t expect for Jimin to tag along for their summer camp. And he most definitely did not expect for the smol squishy fluffball of sunshine to have that kind of breath taking,heart throbbing, god-like body.

Or, Jungkook “hates” Jimin but his charms are kind of seeping through to him and Jungkook’s not sure if he wants it to stop.

💎 Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Summer Camp au!

Fic :

As summer came along, the 6 boys, Jungkook, Yoongi, Jin, Namjoon, Taehyung and Hoseok had finally decided to go for the camp that was planned since ages ago. Jungkook was excited to say the least, he could already picture going to the beach and swimming in the hot, yet a sort of calming weather. You could say it was like a bonding time for the boys, being friends for 3 years that is.

Although, he was a bit disappointed to hear that Hoseok’s girlfriend, Jisoo, was coming as well, he eventually got along with her. She was as bubbly as Hoseok was, he could see why they liked each other. And if he wasn’t so grossed out by their cheesiness, he’d almost ship it.

He arrived at the campsite a little bit later than the rest, he had a band performance at the end of this month and had to plan and set up the line-ups and instruments. The place was calming, the sky was clear and he could almost hear the waves crashing on the white sand. Their cabins were in a small resort near the beach, and he couldn’t be happier being near the sea. He loved summer alright.

He called Yoongi, asking him where they were. Cabin 131. He walked towards the wooden cabin at his left and knocked on the door. “Hyung, its me.”, he said.

He could hear the bickering of his hyungs as soon as the door creaked open. “Oh! Jungkookie’s here! ”, Hoseok cheered, making the rest of them look towards the door.

“Ah, you’re here! Why are you so late? Aish, we were all waiting for hours”, Jisoo whined from behind Hoseok.

“He’s only half an hour late, noona. “, a voice said and giggled slightly. Jungkook turned to the source of the sound… Park Jimin…..?

His eyes widened, Park effing Jimin was in their cabin, with his friends, in their summer camp. He glared at his friends accusingly, “Why the hell is he here?! “, he says, pointing at the smiling boy on the couch.

“yah! Don’t be so mean! I invited him anyways. ”, Yoongi spoke out. His jaws dropped, why the f*ck​ would he do that?! “W-why didn’t I know about this?!”, he spoke in anger.

He knew he was being a bit childish but what’s he to do if the one person whom he wholeheartedly despises is just sitting there to ruin his picture-perfect summer?!

“Because we know you wouldn’t come if we did tell you”, Namjoon said. Well, at least that was true, he wouldn’t come if he knew that jimin had tagged along for the summer camp.

He rolled his eyes at Namjoon. “This was supposed to be our thing, with no outsiders.” He said pointedly as he looked at the boy who had a frown etched on his chubby face.

“Kookie! No! Bad kookie that’s mean!” , Taehyung tsked at Jungkook and playfully smacked him.

“He was all alone at home! What, you expect me to go have a blast while chimchim here is stuck with his nana?”, Yoongi rebutted. Jungkook cringed at that, chimchim, such an annoying nickname eek.

“Okay okay we’re done with this!” Jin stepped in. “Yoongi, stop and Jungkook. Grow up, and face it, you’re the only one here who hates Jimin and frankly we don’t even know why?!” Jin flew his arms around, exasperated.

Jungkook’s eye twitched at that, he didn’t need a reason as to hate that annoying,hyper,short and clingy boy! He had so many things to say and scream but this was jin hyung we’re talking about. And no one talks back at Jin hyung.

Jungkook speaks again, but this time a little less harshly, “You’re acting like I’m the only one to blame. I’m sure jimin hates me too! Right Jimin?”, he purposely left out the ‘hyung’ as he spoke.

But jimin only smiled that 1000 watt smile at him and did nothing else.

And God did that frustrate Jungkook. Why is he acting like such a goody two shoes?!

Jin spoke again after giving jimin a look of… sympathy? “Now, just go to your rooms and get settled in and then we’ll go to the beach or something” Jin sighs and walks off.

“ I’m pairing up with Namjoon”, Jin said . Turns out two people were to sleep on the same bed.

“ I’ll go with Jisoo, obviously”, Hoseok says and hugs her again. Them and their over-active-vitamin-c-selves. They were too cute for their own good, jungkook thinks.

“I’ll be with Jungkookie”, Taehyung bounces on his seat. Such a kid, Jungkook smiles.

“I’ll be with jimin!”, Yoongi says, smiling at the shorter boy. Pft, of course the two love birds gonna be together. Jungkook inwardly rolls his eyes.

“Get ready in 15!” Jin yells from the room at the corner.

And Jungkook could only groan at the incident that just happened.

He had imagined a picture perfect summer camp, but now he’s not so sure . 

~*~

We all got ready to hit the beach, with Jin wearing a simple pink shirt and yellow shorts, Namjoon with his Hawaiian trunks, Yoongi and Taehyung wearing striped boxers with shirts (yes, it’s stupid of them to forget their swimsuits for their summer camp but what can ya do bout it). Hoseok wore matching light green swimsuits with Jisoo while Jungkook wore a light blue tank top with swimming trunks.

Jimin was (fortunately) nowhere near sight. Probably taking his ample time getting himself ready, he's such a fuss, Jungkook thinks.

“Sorry I’m late!” Jimin finally came out of the cabin..and Jungkook’s jaws dropped (figuratively only, he wouldn’t show any expressions towards jimin for the life of him).

Jimin was wearing Hawaiian orange and white swimming trunks with no shirt on, leaving nothing to the imagination, his six-pack on show.

And Jungkook was shook to say the least cos how the hell can someone as squishy as him be so goddamningly, heart throbbingly, sickeningly hot?!

Jungkook coughs on his own spit at that. Did he just call jimin hot?! 

He tries to ignore that thought, noticing how jimin was smirking at him.  He quickly looked somewhere else, anywhere​ else than the sight in front of him, because he damn well knows that you don’t think like this bout someone you hate and utterly despise goddamnit.

“Let’s go.” Jungkook says and walks off quickly. He is not going to let that manggae ruin his summer camp with his stupid smirk and stupid chocolate abs.

Jungkook sweared on his grave to never mention what just went through his mind cos a) it’s jimin, the guy he despises, b) ew that’s so gay, c) it’s jimin.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••♥•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••♥••••••••••••••••••••••Well, that’s all for chapter 1! I’m writing this for the Jikook summer fest and I’m really enjoying writing this!! What do you think about it? 🙈 Is it alright? 😊 I hope it is! Next chapter will be up soon! 

[daily-yoificrec]

May 2017 rec roundup

As people wished, here is a top ten list for fics that were updated/posted in  the month of May that I recommended! (Under read more. All fics have additional comments/thoughts on them)

1. no chandelier or spotlight (see you better lit) by drowsycyborg || Rated M, 7k (WIP)

“This is Katsuki Yuuri!” Viktor exclaims. “He’s a writer. The one who wrote the screenplay for the Best Picture, David, I know you were asking. Anyway, he’s Yuuri, and also my—”

“—boyfriend,” Yuuri finishes with a smile. “I’m Vitya’s boyfriend.”

Or, the one in Viktor is an actor and Yuuri is his no-name writer friend and they pretend to date.

Comment: GOLD. SUDDEN GOD HOLY SHIT THIS WAS GREAT AND AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT TO FIND. ACTORS AU AND FAKE DATING AU, BUT NOT IN THE USUAL FAKE DATING SENSE THAT YOU EXPECT FROM ACTOR AUS. 10/10 RECOMMEND IT’S OFF TO A GREAT START I HAVE BEEN EXCITED TO REC THIS ONE EVER SINCE I READ IT TWO DAYS AGO

щ(゜ロ゜щ) I LOVE IT

Addition: okay so, I love actor aus and I love fake dating aus, and while together they’re somewhat common, this one has a different take that’s incredibly refreshing and just overall great. The existing relationship between Victor and Yuuri is fabulous, and just — I wholly endorse this. Even though it’s only in its beginning I have really high expectations for it. 

2. The nostalgic feeling of the familiar by myoue || Rated G, 19k (WIP)

Yuuri’s the one who suggested being fake engaged in the first place, tugging Victor along on such a convoluted plan at the start of cherry blossom season.

“So, I brought him as promised. My boyfriend.”

Victor’s hand jerks. “What?”

“My fiancé, actually,” Yuuri talks swiftly over him.

Victor’s hand jerks again, nearly spilling tea over the sides of his cup.

Comment: This??? This fic is like??? Finding a sudden treasure in the middle of the fucking desert??? It’s so good??? I did not expect to suddenly find such a good fake relationship fic in the middle of Hell Month??? It’s contemplative and touching and quiet, and it looks fantastic so far.

HIGHLY recommend, like goddamn.

Addition: contemplative and touching and quiet indeed, this fic has a certain tone that takes your breath away. Victor’s perspective in this, being unable to entirely understand Yuuri, is such a great thing in how he’s confused but also surprised but also delighted. This too, is off a good beginning. Also, fake engagement trope? hell yeah. 

3. Yuuri Enchanted by the__magpie || Rated T, 57.8k

At birth, Yuuri Katsuki was given the gift of obedience, although he quickly learns as he grows up that it is a curse. He has to obey any command given to him, even if it puts him or others in danger. Too afraid to face the terrifying outside world, Yuuri stays in his home town of Hasetsu, until a chance encounter with Prince Victor urges him to venture outside of his safe bubble. Determined to break his curse, Yuuri begins on an adventure involving fairies, ogres, true love, and courage he never knew he had.

Comment: I’ve recced this before, but it’s finally completed, so it earns another rec! It was an enjoyable read all the way through, and while I did scream in frustration a little at Yuuri, I really do love this fic and the way it ended. A really good read for anyone that likes fairytale-esque fics.

Addition: While I wasn’t familiar with the souce material, and waas taken off-guard at times, this fic was a fun ride all the way. Victor and Yuuri are terribly cute in this, and Yuuri’s determination is a wonderful thing, even if he does some stupid things occasionally. But overall it’s just... a really solid fic, and I’m very happy to have read it to the end. 

4. The Ties That Bind by QueBae   |   Rated T, 31.8k (WIP)

Summary: The first time Viktor saw Yuri Plisetsky was by pure chance at a private rink in Moscow, skating for his dedushka. He thought they would never meet again but it seemed he was lucky in life.

“Papochka!” Yuri called out and Viktor swore his heart stopped beating. Yuri hadn’t addressed him as atsets, heck, he didn’t even call him papa! Yuri said papochka. Papochka! It was a more affectionate, almost cutesy way of calling your papa and it was quickly turning to be Viktor’s favourite word. Did Yuri know that Viktor was somehow his father?

Then Yuri started dashing towards Viktor and all his earlier doubts regarding Yuri had been wiped clean from his mind. Viktor immediately darted off and all that was running through his mind at the time was Yuri, Yuri, my son, Yuri! Viktor had waited to hold this boy in his arms, wanting to tell him how proud he was and how much he had grown. Viktor decided he didn’t want to waste any more time being separated from his Yuri.

His little boy, Yuri.

Or the single dad feat. ballet AU I’ve always wanted to write that no one asked for.

Comment: I fuckin love this fic. The summary is deceiving, but in the best way possible. Victor is so very over his head that it’s obvious, and little child Yuri is a great mix of spitfire and cute that other fics don’t balance out well. Yuuri as a character interests me as well, and the latest update was just so sickeningly cute ugh *clutches chest*

Addition: I live for fics that have a parental relationship, not just focusing on the vicyuu. Victor in this is wonderfully lovestruck, Yuuri is a wonderful parent, and Yuri is portrayed in a way that fits with the behavior of a child but still, at the essence, has the characteristics of the canon Yuri we know and love. I tremendously recommend this. （。＞ω＜）。

5. Once You Go Greek by Defiant-Dreams (baterina_1234) || Rated M, 39.3k 

Even when Viktor was still rushing, he already knew that one day, he was going to be the president of Mu Sigma Delta. Here are three things Viktor’s learned from Mu:

1) Go for what you want.

2) Make use of what you have.

3) Everyone in Alpha Kappa Omega is an asshole.

But then Viktor meets Yuuri Katsuki and he finds that he’s no longer sure what he wants anymore.

Or:

a fraternity fic where Yuuri and Viktor are in rival frats, but they fall in love anyway.

Comment: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

that is all

Addition: now a complete fic, it was very very cute, with appropriate amounts of drama and a dynamic that worked out wonderfully. My emotions ranged from ??? to ?!?!?! to !!! and there are really no words to describe this accurate. But it was fun, and has a lot of value as something to reread because of the sheer amount of amusement you get from this. The author also does really well with portraying sexual tension between Victor and Yuuri (lol) and tied together with the fraternity setting, it’s delicious. 

6. next to you, i still dream by shamusiel || Rated E, 51.2k (WIP)

They had said that, like humans, the eyes of a dragon could be a window into the soul. Every emotion laid bare to the world. It was just rare that any man lived long enough to properly look.

After dragons were slaughtered and driven out by humanity, the ones that remain were scarcely seen again.

Yuuri is a dragon, Viktor is a human prince.

Comment: I’ve been following this since chapter one, and I really like it! their relationship in the beginning is really nice/pretty organic, and I look forward to how the story continues on. Worldbuilding is also quite nice.

Addition: The dynamic between Victor and Yuuri is something wonderful. I want them to live long and happily together, despite their differences. This story has a wonderful fairytale-esque mood to it. The execution to this classic conceit is a delight, and every update has me smiling and excited for more. 

7. Beautiful by ipona || Rated E, 11.5k

Yuuri Katsuki lives in the same apartment building as The Most Beautiful Man in the World, but somehow he only manages to run into him when he’s a complete mess.

AU where they’re not ice skaters, basically just a story of Yuuri and Viktor falling in love.

Comment: afjdsa;alkjfsadljfdksal; CUTE. SO CUTE. SUPER CUTE. A DELIGHT TO READ.

o(≧∇≦o) SUCH A GOOD CUTE READ AAA

CUTE

Addition: honestly, there’s not much to say about this other than it’s just so goddamn cute. There are like, three versions of this AU for yoi already, and I love all of them, and they’re all cute, but each of them are unique to the author and I think that ipona has just. Ipona’s take on it is tremendously cute.

8. Nocturne by Nostalgia-in-Starlight (UniverseEndingParadox) || Rated M, 11.2k

It’s a charmed life, rife with luxury and glamour and a doting husband who gives him the world on a silver platter. But it’s also a peculiarly lonely life, being married to the underboss of one of the biggest ‘yakuza’ in operation. Victor wouldn’t trade it - or his husband - for any other world.

Or.

A day in the life of Mafia Wife!Victor.

Comment: Oh heck yes. This is just *clenches fist* this has so many little things that I enjoy the heck out of. It’s short but I really really look forward to the next chapter. The obvious affection they have for each other is like, everything I love in Mafia AUs.

Addition: it is now a completed fic! The relationship between Yuuri and Victor is just delicious. You can tell how much they love each other, despite their unusual circumstances. I would love to read more of this verse, but the moment that the author has chosen to write about their relationship has gotten my heart wishing for their happiness.

9. tu oublieras mon nom by aquamarine_nebula || Rated M, 3.4k (WIP)

tu oublieras mon nom - you will forget my name

Viktor gave him a megawatt smile. “You look lovely today, Yuuri,” he said, his voice lowering, head cocking a bit to one side. “What brings you here?”

He could have taken his every movement from a point-to-point guide on flirting, let alone the actual words, and Yuuri knew this because of the intense training he’d had to carry out on understanding body language. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been trained on how to deal with Viktor Nikiforov flirting with him.

“I hired him,” Mr Giacometti said.

Viktor blinked.

“As my bodyguard,” Mr Giacometti continued.

Yuuri gets a job done, fulfils a long-time dream, and probably begins falling in love in the process.

Comment: Oh. My. God. This is the unexpected gold I found today, super duper recommend. It’s off of a really curious beginning and I’m just??? I’m bouncing with excitement at how it can possibly continue. If you read one of the fics on this list tonight, make it this one.

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Addition: goddd it’s such a great beginning. I want more of this as a series. 

10. Bottle Me Your Smile by Ncj700   |   Unrated, 17k (WIP)

In a tiny village on the edge of the kingdom, Yuuri Katsuki – common as mud Apothecary owner – embarks on a goal to achieve a childhood goal. With the help of the world’s greatest magical, he will achieve it. Apothecary AU for @banacotta.

Comment: *YELLS FROM THE TOP OF A SKYSCRAPER* I love fantasy and worldbuilding and this fic starts off with great worldbuilding. The first chapter begins with Yuuri’s beginnings, and introduces us to the setting, and the narration does wonderfully in giving information in a way that it’s never infodump. We’re also given glimpses at other characters too, and Yuuri’s personality is distinctly shaped during the childhood that the first chapter tells. Plus there’s already foreshadowing of future events/goals/dreams of Yuuri, and basically if you like fantasy/magic aus with solid worldbuilding, read iiiiiit.

Addition: honestly, I think this is still one of the best fantasy fics with worldbuilding I’ve read. Even though it’s only one chapter so far, it’s an amazing first chapter, and I have really high expectations of it.