#rest of the tags r the same as from draft:

[xx0yeet-everything0xx]

please please say things about “speaking of courage”. it was my favorite chapter in the novel, and

hi anon ABSOLUTELY this was my favourite too. we singled out this short story for my lit class, actually, and it's the reason i ended up reading tttc by myself. (which also means might've taken this ask as a reason to, like, almost analyse it... i'm so sorry.) i had that entire chapter annotated it but lost the print-out :/ BUT i still remember everything i need to. lol.

keeping this under the cut because it got too long lmao:

so. speaking of courage is objectively a fucking masterpiece. to me, it's about exactly what the real norman bowker expressed in his letter for o'brien: that sense of sudden lack of purpose. like, okay. the war's over. we survived. what's next? this? where do we go now? where do we go?

so, norman bowker goes in circles. the circle thing is pretty fantastically done. the story, the structure—it brings you back, and then away, and then all of that just to bring you back again. and then it happens, again, slightly different but it's really just the same.

it's a pleasant day. the lake is in the center of everything. there's nowhere to go and norman bowker is driving. in another world he would've been able to say this or that or would've had someone listen to this or understand that. norman bowker rolls the windows down or turns up his music and takes a turn of his dad's chevy. the world is moving around him and he keeps driving. locked away in this metal box with windows. driving.

on a broad level, that same structure just goes on the entire story. it's so beautifully done. and i believe it's literally the language lending to that too? the lake and town and weather is "smooth" and "flat" and the houses are "handsome" and these descriptors remain the same throughout.

there's this line i really like, about a sprinkler scattering water on a garden. and it's described to be doing it, like: hopelessly. round and round. it's a brief on-the-nose symbolism and i love it.

and there's another layer beneath that all, obviously. with kiowa & the silver star, and really it's the war. and just... peeling away any analysis or whatever right now, the story itself is disgusting if you imagine yourself in there. it's shit. the way it's written just. you think you're brave? could you jump in front of a bullet? could you take this? could you sit and wait? if you've had courage in the hardest of times could you have the type of courage you don't get a say in, at all? could you just be?

that line. "he knew shit. It was his specialty. the smell, in particular, but also the numerous varieties of texture and taste." maybe i'm thinking about this too vividly—but that's objectively horrifying to me. sinking in shit. objectively, you could say that "oh, it's better than facing the threat of being gunned down to death," but... let's be so fucking real. think about it: imagine yourself there.

from an analysis perspective, the ending is what gets me, most of the time. it's such a traditionally happy ending, has all the good symbolism points. gets out of the car, dips his head in the river—which, you know, cleansing, rebirth, all that bullshit (ha)—he watches the fire works for the 4th of july and yeah, it's a nice scene.

and then he says it's a pretty good show. that word pretty changes the entire fucking thing! and he's been doing this throughout, hasn't he? objective comments about the weather -- it's nice -- the town -- it's clean, sanitary -- and that's all he does. he's very carefully detached from the meaning of july 4th, too. the colours of the fireworks are pretty much identical to the colours of the flares from the night kiowa died in that shit field.

in a way, norman sort of died then too. with kiowa. the stupid analysis stuff, cleansing, rebirth, whatever—all of it, but inversed. it wasn't the water, it was the goddamn waste. instead of clean it makes you feel dirty—and norman's feeling of "dirty" means so many things. the guilt of kiowa. the distance from the town, the handsome, neat town who doesn't want the dirty war stories. the general view of the vietnam war. how he's completely clung onto all that this "dirty" means because he's still stuck in the war. my favourite description(s): the place looked as if it had been hit by nerve gas.

i have so much to say about that lake too. there's a really fucking oomph factor about the lake, you know? it's the lake where his old friend died. i wish i could explain this bit properly but god, i dunno, i just feel like there's some sort of parallel between the lake and the shit field. he tastes the water too. they're both described as flat bodies of water. there's something about that scene.

the ending isn't depressing, just because that word's too harsh, but it's... not happy. the way i see it, norman's attempting to achieve what the water is meant to symbolise. cleansing, just trying to wash it off of him again. all that shit. the waste of the war, of his guilt, of—and it leaves him disconnected, because that's a part of him and the only way to get rid of it is cutting it off. he doesn't talk about it, doesn't have anyone to talk to. it's not that he doesn't want to talk about it—he desperately wants to, so much that it genuinely breaks my heart. "want to hear about the silver star i almost won?" he whispers it at one point: the more times i read that, the more i feel his quiet anguish. he shouldn't have to be so disconnected, but he is because they don't want to listen. the place could only blink and shrug.

anyway i just think there's so much to take away from this story in particular. yeah, if you analyse it in that classroom style there's the repetition, that lost quality, the idea of being unable to speak. but more importantly there's the gross reality of it -- it was a shit field and he lost his friend and no one wants to hear about it. because it's shit and that's not what we want to hear of war. because norman wasn't able to save him and where's the good ending to that? we want to hear nothing about war that is war, really.

my thoughts on this will never end btw. there is so much more i have that is unsaid. there's just so many angles to this story -- on a literal sense, as a standalone, connected to the rest of the novel,

and it isn't norman's fault he can't speak. because since this isn't a pretty story, since there isn't a moral or point to it, there's just no one who'll fucking listen.

[tiny-pretty-sana]

be as one | twice

pairings: nayeon x jeongyeon, momo x mina, sana x jihyo genre: christmas fluff warnings/tags: au, unnie line as mothers, school meal club as kids, twice reunion, stablished relationships, domestic fluff, christmas day, subtle past angst, now proofreaded and edited w/c: 11.3 K a/n: i wanted to post this for christmas but it's too cute to stay in my drafts, so take it as a belated christmas gift from me 🧸🤎

"Aren't you excited to meet the dogs?" Sana asks the little girl in the back seat as Jihyo watches her from the rearview mirror. 

Tzuyu looks at her with her eyes wide open and nods her head sheepishly, being so shy you wouldn’t tell she has been waiting a whole week to meet not one but three doggies as promised by her new moms, Sana and Jihyo. They also told her she will meet two girls like her and their mothers, but this part of the deal is not as thrilling for her. 

She is a really shy kid. She gets nervous in crowded places and it takes her a while to feel comfortable around new people. It took her around five visits to start talking back to Jihyo and Sana and she finally told them she wanted to go home with them after six months of almost weekly visits. So the idea of meeting six new people at the same time is not very appealing, that is why their moms have made sure their friends bring their dogs too. 

Tzuyu loves dogs and Sana and Jihyo love Tzuyu. They are both willing to do whatever it takes to make her feel comfortable, safe, protected, cared for and heard. 

A month ago she arrived home, since then the three of them are adjusting to their new life together. It is still an ongoing process, but with these small steps they hope that little by little this will become their new normal as a family.   Soon she will have to start school, so when Jeongyeon told them that her sister had rented a hanok for her to spend Christmas with her family and invited them to join them with Momo and Mina as well, they did not hesitate to accept the offer. It would be the perfect opportunity to introduce them to Tzuyu and besides, their daughter could start socializing with children her age and it might go better than their attempts to get her to interact with other kids at the park.

A little farther away, in Jeongyeon and Nayeon's car, Chaeyoung asks her moms in concern "Does Tzuyu like strawberries?" while absent-mindedly caressing Kookeu that sleeps resting his head on the girl’s lap.

Jeongyeon sighs after losing count of how many questions her daughter has asked them about the new member of their unique family. After finding out she is not a baby but a six-year-old girl like her, her interest increased and she has been asking nonstop about her. Things like her favorite color, if she likes painting or drawing, what food she likes and a dozen other things that Nayeon and Jeongyeon can only answer by saying she can ask them herself when they arrive.

Something similar happens with Dahyun, although her questions are undoubtedly much more complicated,probably due to the one-year difference between the two. It all started because she doesn't understand how her aunts have had a daughter of Chaeyoung's age instead of a baby. “I don't get it,” she says, crossing her arms slightly frustrated and looking at her mother with distrust. "It doesn't make sense, mommy" she says fussing and raising her voice slightly "How can auntie Sana have a 6 year old girl in her belly? She can't fit in! And auntie Jihyo is even smaller!" she whines.

In the driver's seat, Momo tries to contain her laughter, but can't help letting out a chuckle at her last statement. Next to her, Mina just giggles as she realizes the reason behind her daughter’s worry, maybe they should have had a conversation about this whole thing earlier and not on the way to meet Tzuyu. However, with everything that Mina has had on her mind these past few weeks she has been letting the now inevitable conversation slide.

"Honey, Tzuyu doesn't come from Sana's or Jihyo's belly. Remember when we talked about the different types of families there are?" Mina begins to explain.

"Yes" Dahyun nods energetically. "Some people have a daddy and a mommy, other people have two daddies or two mommies and sometimes they have just a mommy like me, but there are as many types of families as there are colors" she quotes the explanation her mother has given her so many times.

Mina can't help but smile as she hears her daughter repeat word for word the phrase she has told her every time she leaves the father's information blank on school trip authorizations, when other children ask her where her dad is, or that time she had to make a family tree as homework. Her daughter knows these words by heart and she can only hope that Dahyun truly feels this way. 

"That’s right love” she asserts. “There are also children who don't have parents and there are families who don't have children, so they adopt those children and become a family. Tzuyu used to have no mommy and daddy, but now she lives with Sana and Jihyo who are her mommies".

She speaks slowly taking into consideration every word that comes out of her mouth, trying to simplify it as best as she can, so that the information can be processed by the child's brain. Mina knows she has to make it easy and clear while discussing it with the importance that such a topic requires. 

During the explanation Dahyun listens attentively and her mother can see her opening her mouth slightly showing the gap left by her baby teeth that are no longer there. Mina immediately recognizes that look, her daughter is considering all this new information and she gives her some time. 

"What does it mean to adopt?" she asks, frowning at the new word. 

This time it is Momo who gives an answer "It means they take her home to live with them and now they take care of her, give her hugs, help her get dressed, feed her...just like I did with Boo and-".

But before Momo can illustrate the definition, she is cut off by a slap from Mina on her thigh. 

"Oh my god you're not comparing the dogs to Sana and Jihyo's daughter" Mina scolds her in a hushed tone so Dahyun can't hear her. 

"Sorry" Momo mutters as she turns her attention back to the road.

The conversation is interrupted by Boo’s bark after hearing his name, still this distraction is not enough to stop the gears in the kid's mind. Both adults are willing to indulge her curiosity whether she is aware of the weight of the matter they are talking about or if this is just part of her ‘why?’ phase.  

"But if she wasn’t in no one's belly, why is she their daughter?". 

"She doesn't need to be in any of your aunt's belly" Mina smiles softly "Don't you love Momo?" she tries.

"I love Momo" she says, nodding quickly. 

"And I love you, Dubu" Momo speaks again with a big smile. 

"And she's your family, right?" Mina already knows the answer. It is something that has been confirmed by all the drawings pinned on the fridge door with three stick figures surrounded by hearts and joined by two circles with ears that are supposed to be Boo and Dobby. 

"Yes!".

"But you weren't in her belly and Momo takes care of you just like I do. She makes you breakfast, walks you to school, takes care of you when you are sick, dances with you and lets you sit on the counter while she cooks. She loves you just like I do" she says, watching Momo's cheeks blush.

"MOMO IS ALSO MY MOTHER?!” she screams shocked by this newly found fact. Still surprised, she adds a second question  “CAN I CALL HER MOM?" Dahyun screams again, causing Momo to almost swerve the car.

This time there is only one person who can answer the question, so Mina just looks at her partner with the most loving gaze while Momo is short-circuiting. It's not as if the conversation has never come up before, the two have talked about it many times and she knows that, to Momo, Dahyun is her daughter and that she loves her as such. Even if she hasn't vocalized it yet at least consciously. On some occasions the little girl has called her “mom” or “mommy”, but she always assumed she did it accidentally, so to hear from her own mouth that she wants to call her the same way she does with Mina is a big deal.

“S-sure” Momo stutters after a few seconds and just smiles widely.

Beside her, Mina feels like her chest is going to burst as she grabs Momo's hand and looks at her smiling with eyes sparkling with love. The truth is that for some time now when she thinks of family she no longer thinks only of Dahyun and her older brother but also of Momo, Boo and Dobby. When she thinks of family she thinks of her friends whom she sees as sisters and her daughters whom she sees as nieces. It's just a word, but it makes it all more real. They are a family. 

In the front seats both women do their best to hold their tears back, behind them Dahyun starts rambling about how she will tell Chaeyoung that now she has two mothers too and that her mom can cook just like Jeongyeon, so she has a mom and a mommy who can cook yummy things as if it's some kind of competition. They know that at some point they will have to tell her that she should not brag about these things to other children, but for now they let her enjoy the moment.

The way is long, but they all think it is worth it when they see the stunning place that Jeongyeon's rich and famous sister has rented as a belated birthday present and an early Christmas present so that they can enjoy this holiday with their other family, the one that her sister and sister-in-law have built and chosen. The gift was well received and greatly appreciated by all, except for Mr. and Mrs. Yoo. Jeongyeon's parents did not like the idea of not spending Christmas spoiling their only granddaughter, but when her daughter told them that it would be a good opportunity to meet the newly adopted daughter of Jihyo and her wife, they were quick to ask her and Nayeon to organize a lunch at their house with all the kids. It took them only a few hours to buy matching pajamas for Chaeyoung and the other girls.

Now they are all in the large traditional style house surrounded by nature, away from the city, but close enough to a village not to be too isolated. The air is fresh, there is no pollution and the only thing that can be heard is the one or two birds, since at this time of the year most of them have flown to other places in search of higher temperatures. Without a doubt, it is the perfect place to celebrate Christmas and take a well-deserved rest that will last until the last days of the year. The truth is that there is still no agreement on whether they will celebrate the New Year here as well, but at least they will stay long enough to celebrate Sana's birthday together.

They all arrive around the same time and as soon as the cars stop two little girls who are a bundle of nerves  jump out of Jeongyeon and Jihyo's cars.

"BROOOOOOO!" they both scream at the same time as they do their – not so secret – handshake before melting into an embrace as if they hadn't seen each other a few days ago at school. 

Mina sighs and covers her face with her hand "I need to have a word with my brother" she says aloud as a reminder to herself. 

"I think she's so funny and adorable" Momo replies. 

"Momoring, you are the least objective person in the world when it comes to these two" she smiles at her girlfriend. "They can literally do anything and you'd say they're adorable." 

Between all the fuss caused by the two children, who are slightly over a meter tall, Tzuyu goes almost unnoticed for a few seconds as she clings to Sana's leg and grabs Jihyo's hand with her other hand.

"These are Chaeyoung and Dahyun, I promise you they are usually quieter" Jihyo informs Tzuyu as Sana laughs at the sight of the two's handshake and greeting. 

At the sound of their names the two immediately turn their heads to their Aunt Jihyo and then to the girl holding her hand. Their eyes widen and point at her, then they look at their aunt again and it is Dahyun who speaks first.

"Is she Tzuyu?" she asks in excitement.

Jihyo and Sana nod at the same time while Tzuyu shyly waves her hand without saying a word. 

They again turn their gaze to Tzuyu and then look at each other. 

"You are very pretty" Chayeoung says, looking at her again. 

"You are very tall" Dahyun says.

“Thank you” Tzuyu says almost in a whisper while she tries to hide even more behind Sana’s legs.

The rest of the women, noticing how scared their new niece looks, decide to give her some space before starting the introductions. For now she has enough with their enthusiastic daughters. 

"Why don't we start taking things inside?" Jeongyeon asks, drawing the attention away from the timid girl. "You girls can give the dogs a walk so they can pee, since there are three I think we're going to need Tzuyu's help, don't you think?".

The children nod their heads and Tzuyu’s eyes light up at the suggestion, because since she got out of the car she hasn't taken her eyes off the three doggies still waiting in the cars for their seat belts to be unbuckled. 

"Tzuyu would love that, right?" Sana states as she crouches down to Tzuyu's height to explain that she is her friend Jeongyeon, the mom of Chaeyoung and a pomeranian named Kookeu.

She just nods and stays silent but lets herself be guided by Sana, who walks with her to Momo's car, where Dahyun starts with the introductions. She introduces herself first, then her mommy Mina, her mom Momo. The latter who introduces her to Boo and Dobby while she puts the leashes on them and hands Boo's to Dahyun and Dobby's to Tzuyu who, despite her shyness, is clearly filled with joy. 

At all times Sana stays by her side and gives her comforting glances every time she looks up and gently squeezes her hand reminding her that she is by her side. The gesture reassures Tzuyu who dares to thank Dahyun, Momo and Mina and then says in a whisper "I am Tzuyu, nice to meet you", just as her moms have taught her.

Dahyun smiles as she grabs the leash and seconds later Chaeyoung and Kookeu join in. This time, the oldest girl introduces Chaeyoung and Tzuyu formally, explaining that they are both the same age even though Chaeyoung is shorter and Tzuyu is even taller than Dahyun herself. Sana watches the interaction closely and can't help but laugh, her heart melts every time she sees Dahyun taking on the role of unnie as she usually does with Chae, and now doing it with her own daughter. She walks and watches over the three of them as they explore the surroundings of the house with the dogs before going inside while the rest of the mothers are taking bags and backpacks full of clothes, food, supplies and - of course - gifts out of the cars while the girls are distracted and out of sight.

"No, no, no, no" they hear Nayeon say as she takes some bags from her wife's hands. 

"Oh come on honey, are you serious?" grumbles Jeongyeon. 

"I'm dead serious, join Sana and the girls. I'm not going to let you carry anything."

"Nayeon... Even if I was you-know-what, I could carry this. I'm already following all the precautions and recommendations as well as having a bunch of vitamins, but I'm not going to be getting the pregnant woman treatment as if I can't do anything. I refuse to do that" she argues and in response receives a negative head shake. 

"Look, I have a good feeling so I'm not going to let you carry anything. And the only reason I'm letting you drive, for now, is because we both know that between you and me only one of us is capable of driving us safely to a house in the middle of the mountains. And obviously the one who owns a car with scratches in the three colors of the parking column is not the one".

"Don't tell me you scratched the car again" sighs Jeongyeon tiredly. 

"Don't change the subject and go inside the house now or go stretch your legs a bit with your daughter before we lose her among these plants that I'm sure are taller than her."

After hearing her reasoning, Jeongyeon has no choice but to accept his wife's suggestion and joins Sana, the three girls and the three dogs. 

Once inside the house, Nayeon, Momo, Jihyo and Mina put everything in order and catch up with each other. Since the friend group was formed they try to see each other regularly and in the case of Momo, Mina and Nayeon - along with Jeongyeon - they often see each other at school and occasionally on play dates in the park. However, with the hectic pace of work, raising their daughters and taking care of the house, sometimes it is almost impossible to meet all of them together. Besides the fact that Jihyo and Sana have been practically absent these last few months, since they spent some time preparing everything for Tzuyu's arrival at home, and that this last month has been entirely dedicated to adapting to this new situation. This is the main topic of conversation among the women who ask Jihyo how she is handling it, if it is difficult, assure her that the best is yet to come, ask her how Sana has been doing and give her some parenting tips.

Jihyo is euphoric, she and Sana are the extroverts of the group and in general she is a very vocal person, but it is more than obvious to everyone that she is more talkative than usual. It is not the first time they see her like this, she was the same way when she met Tzuyu for the first time and when they started the adoption procedure. They love to see their friends like this and Mina and Nayeon remember that feeling of being new moms and how their friends were there to share the joy, fears and doubts. For a moment they are both brought back to the times when they listened to them talk for hours about names, diapers, cribs, milk, clothes, ultrasounds and a thousand other things. 

In fact, it was Jihyo and Sana who were present during their pregnancies, respectively. Jihyo was the one who took Nayeon, who was suffering from contractions, to the hospital while Jeongyeon at her side told her how to breathe, even though she was the one who needed the breathing exercises the most at that moment. And well, Sana was even present when Mina gave birth to Dahyun taking the place of the biological father - or the sperm donor as Sana calls him -.

Momo, despite being the most recent addition to the group, almost three years ago, shares the excitement equally as the three of them listen to the first anecdotes that Sana and Jihyo have already experienced with Tzuyu at home. The truth is that they have all been hearing about her for more than half a year and although today they have finally met her, they already feel that they have known her for a long time and that she is part of their family. 

"And it looks like Jihyo and Sana aren't the only new moms in the group, right Momo?" asks Nayeon arching her eyebrows looking at her "new" best friend. 

Mina hearing it can't help but smile and Jihyo makes a surprised face, they both look at Momo who smiles shyly.

"That’s right" she says while still smiling "Dubu has officially given me the title".

"I was honestly surprised she hadn't called her mom by now. There are times she looks more like your daughter than mine" she says to Momo as she holds out her hand and strokes it with her thumb. 

Mina takes advantage of Nayeon bringing up the topic of conversation and explains that it all came up in the car talking about Tzuyu and the adoption thing. Nayeon almost gets tears of laughter listening to Dahyun's confusion with the logistics, and like Momo she can't help but let out a laugh when she hears that one of the things she was really worried about is that Jihyo would have had someone so big in her belly when she was so small. Nayeon, for her part thanks aloud that Chae's questions were not so complicated, although they all agree that she and Jeongyeon have admirable patience after hearing that the questions didn't stop during the three-hour drive. 

Jihyo's heart warms, despite her height being a joke even to her seven-year-old niece, listening to how the little ones have taken the news. It was a fact for her that both her friends and their daughters would welcome Tzuyu with open arms, but hearing the girls' doubts and their mothers' responses gives her peace of mind knowing that her daughter is surrounded by such wonderful people. For a while she felt guilty for not being able to give Tzuyu some grandparents to spoil her since the relationship with her own parents is non-existent and given that Sana's parents live in another country, but that thought disappears from her head when she listens to her friends. This is her family.

Not only is she comforted by listening to the three women but she takes note of their experiences and especially Mina's explanation to her daughter about the different types of families in case she ever has to use it with her daughter. 

"Wow that's great" says Jihyo excitedly "Tzuyu still calls us by our name from time to time, but at least she has stopped calling us Mrs. Jihyo and Mrs. Sana" she laughs.

Once everything is in place, Mina starts preparing tea for the adults and milkshakes for the girls. Chocolate for Dahyun, strawberry for Chaeyoun and for Tzuyu... When she is about to look for Jihyo to ask her about it, the three dogs run in followed by the two children, Jeongyeon and finally Tzuyu who hasn't left Sana's side the whole time. Seeing the cute scene makes Mina smile tenderly, it reminds her a bit of herself when she was a child, so she can't help but laugh a little as she imagines how such a shy girl will handle having the most outgoing people she knows as mothers, for now they seem to be handling it quite well. She doesn't remember seeing Sana this calm in her life. 

"Tzuyu, which milkshake do you prefer? We have chocolate, strawberry and vanilla" she asks her.

The girl looks first at her mother who gives her a little squeeze on the shoulder encouraging her to answer herself, even though she already knows the answer.

"Vanilla, please. Thank you" she replies immediately.

"Good choice. Dahyun is going to be delighted but you might break Chaeyoung's heart". 

"Don't worry about that part, Mitang. We brought that ice cream that has all three flavors and I think everyone will be happy" says Sana looking at her daughter. 

"Is Jihyo still competing with Nayeon for the favorite aunt spot?" Mina asks while Sana nods, rolling her eyes. "I think Nayeon brought the ingredients to make hot chocolate, I just hope Dahyun doesn't try to eat it all." 

Sana laughs and replies "If it happens let's hope then she won't get a stomach ache like that time. I just can't stop Jihyo, you know how she is. She is very sexy when she gets into competitive mode." 

"Have some decorum" she says laughing, covering half of her face with her hand and looking towards the little girl. "I can imagine, it's going to be fun when school starts. Remember when Nayeon almost got into a fight with a parent on sports day."

The two laugh while Tzuyu plays distractedly with her mom’s fingers and rings. The conversation does not last much longer because when the girl sees the dogs, she asks her mother to come with her to play with them.

As soon as Sana disappears from the kitchen Jeongyeon shows up, offering to help Mina, but they both know it's just an excuse. Like Momo and Nayeon, they haven't known each other practically all their lives - as is Jeongyeon's case with Nayeon and Jihyo - but from the beginning they connected very well and are now quite close probably because of how similar their personalities are. As people who sometimes deal with a bit of anxiety and have a tendency to overthink, they have found someone to lean on who understands them.

"You haven't done it yet, have you? "Jeongyeon asks Mina first. 

She shakes her head "I've tried, I promise. But the truth is I'm glad I waited, if you give me a hand tonight I think I will do it" she says, unable to hide her gummy smile as she thinks about it.

"Yeah sure, just tell me what you have in mind and we'll find time to set it up."

"Same goes for you, I overheard your conversation with Nayeon earlier. So if there's anything I can help with, let me know" she offers.

"Don't worry about me, I've got it all planned out, Mitang" she tells her as she starts placing the cups of tea and milkshakes on a tray. "Or should I say bro" she teases her. 

"Oh shut up Jeong, I'm regretting letting my brother babysit. The other day she called me 'bro'!" she says, making her friend laugh.

When Mina and Jeongyeon appear in the living room, they all sit around a table and start drinking tea while the girls drink their milkshakes, obviously Tzuyu's choice of flavor doesn't go unnoticed by the other two. Just as Mina predicted, Dahyun couldn't be happier to keep all the chocolate for herself while Chaeyoung is a little put off that her new friend doesn't share her passion for strawberries, although she is more reassured when she tells her that her favorite is vanilla but she also really likes strawberries. Chae and Dahyun soon get up to start exploring the house and play hide and seek while Tzuyu, still overwhelmed by all these new people, stays by herself playing with the dogs.

She talks to them, throws the ball and tries to teach them tricks although the only one who responds to her commands is Kookeu.  They all look at Tzuyu with adoring eyes as they see how tender she is with the animals while Nayeon's look of pride is directed at her beloved dog. Still she can't resist how adorable her new niece is so she takes the moment to introduce herself while showing her the tricks she has taught the pomeranian, making Tzuyu feel more comfortable. She is a shy and quiet girl and it is normal that the situation is too much for her, but as soon as they start talking about dogs, Nayeon gets to see the Tzuyu that Jihyo and Sana have already known within the walls of their home. She is lively, smiling, intelligent and can become talkative when the topic of conversation interests her, at least if it's about dogs.

After a while, Chayeoung goes to look for Tzuyu who is still playing with Kookeu and her mom while Dahyun makes a loud announcement for the adults. It seems that they have found a Christmas tree so big that it almost touches the ceiling with some boxes around it with all kinds of decorations in one of the rooms of the house, some of them similar to the ones they have at home and the ones they themselves have made at school. For the girls it is something magical and the adults let them believe it. 

The next few hours they are all together decorating the tree, both kids and adults, while talking, laughing and singing. The end result is... colorful and eclectic. The tree has lights, ornaments of different colors and shapes that they had at home, the girls have collaborated with diy decorations full of glitter and doodles and some stuffed animals and superhero toys and even Mina and Jeongyeon have made their contribution with ornaments made of LEGO. All that's left is to put the star on the top of the tree.

Deciding who puts the star turns into a rock-paper-scissors competition between Chaeyoung and Dahyun, but also between Nayeon and Jihyo who want their daughters to place the star. After three rounds, Sana encourages her wife who has already rolled up her shirt sleeves showing her shoulders and is wearing her cap backwards. It is not until Jeongyeon sees the same competitive expression on her wife and daughter's face that she decides to put an end to it. Fortunately, they make the wise decision to have the three girls together put on the star with the help of their mothers. Jeongyeon, being the tallest of them all, has no problem holding Chaeyoung in her arms. Mina is a little taller than Momo, but her daughter has grown up and she finds it harder to carry her in her arms as she did before, so the girl ends up in the arms of Momo. The same happens with Sana and Jihyo, however, Jihyo's strength does not make up for her height even though Tzuyu is quite tall so she reluctantly lets Sana hold Tzuyu while Nayeon looks at her amused.

Each one of their little hands holds a part of the star with the help of their mothers and it is Nayeon who captures the moment first with her film camera and then with her phone, sending the photos to the group chat instantly. As soon as she receives the photo, Mina smiles when she sees one of them with only Momo and her daughter in it and quickly makes it her new lockscreen. The camera stays in Nayeon's hands for the rest of the day. 

Decorating the tree together gets the youngest out of her shell, still she continues to play with the dogs, but she also starts playing with Dahyun and Chaeyoung. They run around the house for a while until Chaeyoung takes out her notebook, coloring books and crayons. In the kitchen Jeongyeon, Momo and Mina prepare lunch and in the dining room Sana, Jihyo and Nayeon set the table. The house is full of voices, laughter, jokes, curious questions from the girls and some barking from the dogs and also the children. When the food is ready all nine manage to adjust to the small table eating with their arms glued to the one next to them. They wouldn't change it for the world, but they comment that they should come back during the spring or summer so they might be able to eat at the large outdoor table under the sakura tree to enjoy the beautiful place where they are. From that moment some of them take out their phones and start looking at dates on the calendar, but Mina's mind travels to other places when she hears that the big tree outside the house is a sakura.

After eating and cleaning up together with the help of their daughters, they go around the house. Surprisingly, they get the girls to agree to take a nap, probably tired from being up early and having been awake throughout the long car ride. Jihyo joins them, as do Boo and Dobby who find a gap between Dahyun and Tzuyu, the younger one snuggles up to Jihyo's chest who even in her sleep puts her arms around her protectively, something that has come naturally to her.

In another room the rest have some Japanese sweets made by Mina and Momo with a game of cards between them, without Jihyo and Chaeyoung, there is no one to fuel Nayeon's competitiveness, leading to the most peaceful card game they have had in their life. It's certainly something that tends to happen when Nayeon is around Mina as long as Jihyo and some kind of game, competition or betting isn't also present and it seems that Tzuyu has that same effect on her mothers. But like all good things, the quiet is short lived and in less than an hour the girls wake up and show up with Jihyo, she could still take another hour of rest. She instead sits behind Sana resting her chin on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her until she realizes that her wife has some cards in her hands and after giving Nayeon a defiant look she starts whispering strategies in her partner's ear.

Dahyun realizes that they are playing cards and runs to her backpack and takes out her UNO junior and they start a more serious and less noisy game than their mothers. If it wasn't for the colors and the printed animals on the cards, anyone would think that they are the ones who are betting money and not Jihyo and Nayeon who keep shouting while Sana only laughs. This time it is Momo who captures the moment on film after being the first to lose in the game. She sits next to Dobby and Boo and caresses them while watching and listening to them. She can't help but smile as she listens to the questions they ask Tzuyu trying to get to know her. When the game ends in a draw by Dahyun's decision and without any protest from Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, even though Momo doubts they have understood the game well, she finally asks.

"Who wants to make cookies?". 

The question revolts the three little girls who immediately get up and squeal an enthusiastic "YES YES YES!" in unison joined by an excited Sana. 

Momo takes them to the kitchen where there are two bags with everything they need. From the first bag she takes out three aprons like the one she wears in her restaurant, but these are a smaller version with each one's name embroidered on them. This small detail touches them so much that for a moment they forget the reason why they have put them on and Sana, despite not having an apron for herself, gives Momo a huge smile and says "thank you", touched by her friend's gesture.

In the end the little cooking class that Momo had prepared attracts the attention of the older ones as well and they all end up in the kitchen among flour, eggs, dough, icing and all kinds of toppings with all kinds of colors. Of course, they replace the Christmas gingerbread cookies with chocolate cookies, vanilla flavored cookies and cookies with strawberry icing to please everyone's tastes. Some mix, some knead, some shape the cookies and then bake them, and each one ends up with a pile of cookies to decorate according to her taste and decorating skills. When they are done with the cookies, they all dare to make a big cookie house, all nine of them.

To say that when they finished the kitchen was the usual mess you would expect after cooking would be an understatement, as it took almost as long to clean up as it did to make dozens of cookies and the eccentric cookie house. When everything is finally cooled down, they make some hot chocolate and coffee with whipped cream, marshmallow, caramel... Then again they gather around the table with a cup in their hands.

It's not very late, but it's been dark for a few hours now and the only light outside is from the lamps hanging from the ceilings of the house, some small bulbs decorating the garden of the house and the lights of some houses in the distance. They all take it as their cue to shower and get ready for bed, at least for the kids who instead of getting more and more tired are more and more animated as the evening comes and the time when Santa Claus will bring them their presents is closer. 

There are only three girls, each under the care of two adults, but it takes them more than an hour to get them showered and dressed in their matching pajamas in the bed they have prepared for them. At first Tzuyu does not seem very sure about the idea, not that she is not used to it, in fact she used to sleep in a room with about ten or fifteen other girls, but this month she has spent it in the bed between Sana and Jihyo because she is still not able to sleep alone and now the idea of sleeping without them does not convince her.

"Come on, Tzuyu, sleep with us!" asks Chaeyoung, who can't stay away from her new friend. 

"Sleep with us Tzuyu, you can sleep in the middle, since you are the little one we can take care of you just like when I let Chae the side of the wall so she won't fall" Dahyun tries to convince her.

That last statement just melts the heart of all the women who are watching their little negotiation, but especially Sana and Jihyo. They are no strangers to these special moments between girls but now, witnessing it as mothers, hits different.

"I have an idea" interjects Sana. "I will read a bedtime story to the three of you so Tzu can test if she likes this bed and if she likes it you can leave her one of the sides so she can come to our room if she needs it" she says while looking at her daughter who nods in agreement with the solution offered by her mommy. 

"Yes, read it, auntie Sana!" exclaims Chae excitedly as Dahyun nods.

They love listening to Sana’s bedtime stories and the funny voices she does and Sana loves to read them bedtime stories. It has always been her favorite part of babysitting either of them and on occasion when she and Jihyo would invite them to have a sleepover at home giving their moms a break while at the same time she could enjoy something she thought she would never have until Tzuyu came into their lives. Sana has always had a very strong maternal instinct and with these things it shows even more. Her storytelling, answering the strangest questions and convincing three kids excited for Christmas to be in bed even before their usual bedtime are things that come naturally to her. Jihyo feels like her heart is about to explode when she sees these kinds of scenes and her friends couldn't be happier for her, to see that finally something she once saw as an impossible dream is now a reality.

Normally the only one who usually stays awake until the end of the tale is Chae because she gets absorbed with each story and can't sleep unless she hears the end, but this time Sana has to read them up to three stories until they all finally fall asleep.

Eventually it's time for the adults to relax, drink some wine, beer or soju and be able to talk and gossip without having to keep an eye on their surroundings to make sure that there is not a half-meter girl that they can badly influence if they hear them say a swear word or talk about some inappropriate topic. From time to time one of them goes to the room to check that everything is alright and that they are still asleep.

Once again, Mina somewhat nervously finds an excuse to drag Jeongyeon into the kitchen where she finally tells her about her plan and asks her to keep an eye out in case Dahyun wakes up or needs her while asking for some discretion. As she leaves the kitchen she heads to her room and returns with two coats, giving one to Momo to go with her to get some air. The others either don't notice or for Mina's sake pretend not to notice except for Jeongyeon who gives her a subtle thumbs up.

Her obvious nervousness and shaking hands suddenly catches Momo's attention causing her cheerful and slightly drunk expression to change to a worried face holding Mina's hands immediately.

"Babe, has anything happened, has your family called?" asks Momo worriedly knowing it's one of the things that triggers Mina's anxiety around this time of the year. 

"No, no. Everything is fine" Mina assures her with a nervous smile and unable to hold her gaze. 

"We've already talked about this, your hands are shaking. You can tell me anything, Mina. I got you" says Momo wrapping her arms around her and Mina can only feel lucky to have someone like that by her side.

She lets herself be taken in by the embrace and breathes in Momo's perfume, something that always soothes her, before pulling away and starting to talk. 

"Baby, I'm okay. I promise" she says, grabbing her hands to stop the shaking of her own hands. "But if I'm going to need you to listen to me".

Momo nods and looks at her expectantly.

"I'm going to need us to move to that tree" she says pointing to the huge tree that by this time has not a single leaf or flower. 

Once they are under the tree sitting on a small wooden bench while holding hands looking into each other's eyes, the youngest takes a breath and begins her speech.

"This isn't as cute as I had originally envisioned in my mind, but this is a sakura tree" she says gesturing awkwardly as if she is introducing the tree as the other looks at her in confusion. "I don't know if you remember" she takes a deep breath trying to calm her nerves so her voice doesn't sound so shaky. "But when things started to get serious between us, when I was afraid to let you into my life and Dahyun's, you told me that when you looked at the two of us you felt the same as when you saw the sakura blooming in the spring when you had only been here in Korea for a short time because they made you feel at home. I feel something like that too. When I think of you I think of family and when I think of family Dahyun's face is not the only one I see, I see you too." She thinks about her words for a bit and adds "It's not like I didn't see you as part of my family before, but today when Dahyun started calling you 'mom' I felt like everything was finally in place.... W-what I want to say is that I want you to be our Dubu's mom, I want to say that you are my daughter's mom when people ask me and I also want to say that you are my wife" she finishes saying with bright eyes full of tears while looking at Momo in expectation.

Momo also has some tears in the corners of her eyes and can barely articulate any words for a moment until she finally says "Minari, are you asking me to marry you?" she asks with a smile from ear to ear.

"Yes, s-sorry I forgot the most important thing" she stutters nervously searching for the ring in the pockets of the huge jacket until she finally pulls out a small velvet box and opens it before her eyes "I wanted to wait for the sakuras bloom season, but I couldn't wait any longer and when she asked if she could call you mom-" she starts to ramble as she does when she gets nervous.

They have been together for two years and ten months. It still happens to her at times like this. It still happens to her just like it did during the dozens of encounters they had until Momo understood that her best customer might be interested in more than just the Japanese food she missed so much and finally asked her if she would like to meet outside her restaurant. Mina hates that she still makes her stutter sometimes and for Momo it is one of her favorite things in the world to know that despite the time they’ve been together she still has the same effect on Mina. 

Suddenly she feels Momo's lips crashing against hers in an clumsy and rushed kiss, but full of emotions. Their arms are wrapped around each other's body and they can feel their cheeks wet with tears as the older one pulls away and softly says "Yes!".

"Let me ask you the question!" she whines. "Hirai Momo, will you marry me?" she finally asks, resting one knee to the ground and all. 

"Yes. I will marry you, Myoui Mina" she says laughing at the use of her full name.

Momo smiles as she sees her with one knee on the ground giving her the ring, a scene she thought she would never experience like so many other things when she discovered she liked girls in her last year of high school. Now she has the most beautiful woman in the world saying she wants her to be a mother and a wife, asking her once again to make a family together. They are already family and they both know that the ring doesn't change anything because they have been a family since the moment Mina decided to introduce Momo as her girlfriend in front of her friends and then her daughter, when Dahyun started treating Dobby and Boo like her own dogs, when Momo offered to pick up her daughter from school when Mina couldn't, when Mina asked her if she would like to live with her and Dahyun, when Momo started calling the little girl Dubu and started reading her bedtime stories or just a few hours ago when Dahyun asked her if she could call her mom.

"I'm sorry but Nayeon and Sana's rings are going to have to go to the other hand", Mina teases her being now more relaxed, taking her out of her thoughts while she takes her hand and starts to put the ring on it. 

It is a thin, simple, white gold ring decorated with three diamonds, while she puts the engagement ring on her finger she explains that since she prefers simple rings she thought it would probably be better to have a few small diamonds than one big one and that she liked the idea of three diamonds because they are three. This time she explains it more calmly, as if she isn't feeling her heart pounding in her chest and ears at full speed.

"I love you" says Momo, this time in her mother tongue. 

"I love you, Momoring".

It's been spontaneous, no picnic in the spring watching the sakuras bloom and no dinner at the nice restaurant she saw when they passed through the nearby village and the speech she's been preparing for a month was forgotten as soon as she saw how Momo cared about her when she thought something bad had happened, but Mina couldn't care less. Momo has said yes to continue having a life together now with the promise of forever and that's all she needs. 

It's cold and the first snowflakes are starting to fall from what looks like it will be the first snow of the year. Neither of them move, enjoying a little alone time before going back inside the house. The two cuddle and kiss, some of those kisses are short pecks on the lips and some turn into heated kisses that leave them breathless. When Mina's freezing hands sneak under several layers of clothing to caress the skin of Momo's stomach under her shirt sending a shiver throughout her body they go back inside.

When they come back they all know, even though all she asked Jeongyeon to do was to keep an eye on Dahyun and keep her mouth shut. You can't really blame her, the time they were there for them felt like an instant but it was really over forty five minutes of listening to Nayeon and Jihyo listing every moment they had told her some secret or gossip since they have known each other while Sana was about to have a breakdown thinking they were arguing and thinking about what she would do if they made her pick a side. All this while her social battery was at a minimum, so she ended up confessing everything and even shared some parts of the speech Mina had texted her asking if it was too cheesy.

As soon as she enters the door all eyes turn to Momo's hand and before Nayeon, Sana and Jihyo start to scream, Jihyo shuts Sana's mouth with her hand and Jeongyeon covers Nayeon and Jihyo's mouths. Mina and Momo are a blushing mess trying to hide in each other's neck while Jeongyeon apologizes for announcing it before them, knowing that they would have preferred to say it one by one to avoid this.

The three of them start asking them a million questions and start planning their wedding. Then Sana whines about not being the first to know but it doesn't last long because they all agree that she would have been so happy that she would have told the others and maybe even Momo herself if Mina had told her about her plans. After a while Jihyo shows up with more soju and even a bottle of champagne she had prepared in case they stayed to celebrate New Year's Eve, but the occasion is worth it. And if there's one thing Jihyo doesn't mess around with, it's alcohol, so you can trust that it's some good, expensive champagne.

They all toast to Momo and Mina's engagement with champagne except for Jeongyeon who raises her cup of tea, no one is shocked because since she started the artificial insemination treatments she has not been drinking for months, but they all need to know as soon as possible if she is finally pregnant because they really need to get used to the idea that Nayeon is going to keep drinking for the two of them at every celebration. Nayeon is not a bad drinker, but when she is drunk she can’t stay still for a second, she even becomes more giggly and hits the arm of anyone next to her. Jihyo and Jeongyeon tell that sometimes during their college outings they would wake up with bruises on their arms.

When they decide it's way too late and they have to place all the presents under the tree, the only one who is drunk – thankfully – is Nayeon. Momo and Sana have a slight blush on their cheeks while Jihyo has drunk twice as much as Nayeon and is doing better than Mina who has only had a glass of champagne because it is her own engagement, but is still a bit dizzy from today's emotions. 

It doesn't take them long to place the gifts despite Nayeon's interruptions and her and Sana's giggles threatening to wake up the girls. Luckily, Jeongyeon and Momo go a couple of times to check that they are sound asleep when they hear a soft snore from one of them.

They all say their good nights among smiles and laughter, feeling as excited as their daughters to open the presents as a family. Each couple disappears into their respective rooms and the moment they lay their heads on the pillow, they all fall asleep instantly. It has been an intense day and the best is yet to come. 

The next morning they are all woken up at 7 am one by one by the three girls who only scream "CHRISTMAS", "SANTA" and "PRESENTS". The strategy they follow is the same, Dahyun and Chaeyoung come in screaming and jumping on top of the adults shaking them followed by Tzuyu who is less shy around them but not enough to assault the adults like her friends do, so she just carefully tugs at their pajama sleeves while the others do the rest of the work. When they arrive at Nayeon and Jeongyeon's room things are different and Chaeyoung instructs the attack to be directed only at Nayeon because she has told her that she has to be careful with her mama.

The older ones have only had a couple of hours of sleep and some have a slight headache, but they make their way to the tree at about the same speed as their daughters until all nine are seated around the tree. Nayeon takes pictures with her camera while Momo has her cell phone in one hand and a video camera in the other with the intention of recording at least the highlights. Each time she checks that the camera settings are correct she can't help but smile at the sight of the new ring that now decorates her hand. 

Finally it's time to open the presents.

Dahyun receives a small digital piano that is halfway between a toy and a real one for starters with a microphone, lately she is in her singer and rapper phase. Momo and Mina know that in a few days they might regret giving her not one but two things that make noise. They also know that they will end up dancing and singing with her or that they will enjoy the small recitals that their little Dubu organizes at home. Another surprise they have prepared is for her to start piano lessons, but first they have to make sure that she knows they would be real piano lessons and that it is not like when she plays her toy piano keyboard at home. They also give her some books from her favorite collection and of course, chocolate.

Chaeyoung, like every Christmas, birthday or any other special occasion, receives paints, sketch pads, watercolors, pencils and other art supplies that are of better quality as she gets older. The little girl always gets excited as if it were the first time she gets them as a gift because in a month half of the things are already used up and her mothers no longer knows where to keep so many drawings. The last gift she opens, however, is something that makes her even more excited and that is a toy set to make temporary tattoos with markers. Since she was a toddler, she has had the habit of painting all over her arms and legs even before she could speak, and now there is not a day that goes by that she doesn't come home with a drawing in one hand and a note from her teacher in the other. When Nayeon saw the advertisement for the toy while she was on her phone, she ordered it online and it has been hidden in a corner of her house since summer.

Both Chaeyoung and Dahyun have among their gifts a package of a different color than the rest, Dahyun insists that Santa Claus knows they are bros and that's why he always gives them something that matches. The truth is that it's Jihyo and Sana who always get their nieces something special, since they didn't have a child to buy presents for until now. The fact that this year Tzuyu has come into their lives is not going to change this little tradition. This time Dahyun receives a stuffed eagle and Chaeyoung a tiger, their favorite animals. The choice of the oldest is surprising and even more surprising is that the couple found a cute stuffed animal of an eagle.

As for the new member of the family, she has been receiving gifts from her mothers ever since she arrived at her new home. Most of them such as clothes, school supplies, books and toys were just things that a 7-year-old girl needs at home, but Sana and Jihyo are still in the excitement of being new mothers so it is likely that she has been spoiled a little too much. After asking their friends for advice, they decided it was best to give her a few meaningful gifts rather than showering her with presents as they originally planned.

They didn't count on the fact that Tzuyu, given where she came from and with her background, is not the type of kid who asks for things, instead if she likes something you can see it on her face and maybe she mentions it because it has genuinely caught her attention and not because she is asking for it in a subtle way. They are both very happy to have such a good little girl and know that anything will be welcomed with sincere joy as they have seen so far, however it has made the job of being Santa difficult for them. Luckily, since they discovered Tzuyu's passion for dogs, it was clear to them what the perfect gift would be. A dog, this was the perfect gift, except that they had their doubts about it. After much discussion and thinking about it, Jihyo and Sana agreed that they didn't want to be the kind of mothers who give a dog as it was a toy for Christmas, especially after listening to Jeongyeon talking about how many dogs arrive at the shelter a few months after Christmas when they are no longer adorable puppies.

Tzuyu for the first time receives presents that are actually for her and not generic toys donated to the orphanage. On her first Christmas with her new family Tzuyu opens a package bigger than her and almost the size of Jihyo, it is a life-size golden retriever stuffed dog that makes Tzuyu cry instantly. As soon as the stuffed dog is free from the wrapping paper the little girl hugs it tightly and goes to her mothers and hugs both of them. 

"Thank you mommy Sana, thank you mommy Ji" she says sobbing making her mothers also cry with her. 

"You don't have to thank us Tzu" says Sana as Jihyo picks up her and the huge stuffed dog in her arms. "Santa got it for you because you've been such a good girl". 

"All we did was tell Santa that you changed your address" Jihyo adds and kisses her on the head.

There are still two gifts to be opened, one of them an illustrated book about dogs and then a letter that her mommy Ji has to read to her. It is an invitation to visit the shelter and help the dogs living there. At the bottom of the invitation are a pair of paw prints of different dogs for which Sana and Jihyo are very grateful to Jeongyeon who has also offered to be the one to accompany them to the shelter where she started volunteering and where she now works as a veterinarian. 

The other two children don't quite know what is going on, so they clap their hands when their mothers assure them that they are crying from happiness and not sadness. They themselves try to hold back their tears and in Nayeon's case hide them by covering themselves with the camera as she captures the emotional moment.

The next picture they take is one of the girls holding their stuffed animals. Dahyun poses like a rapper, Chaeyoun still doesn't know how to smile in photos and next to her Tzuyu stares at the camera with her eyes a little too wide. They take a total of thirty photos of them and they all agree that it's best to save those photos for posterity and not for social media. Luckily, the girls come out much better when they get their pictures taken while playing and Nayeon keeps saying that she can wait to develop the two rolls of film she has already spent since they arrived the day before. 

After the photos it's time for the older ones to open the gifts and as with the card game the task of telling who is more mature is difficult. Of course, Nayeon turns it into another rock-paper-scissors competition to choose the order and Jihyo accepts so the others are dragged into the game. The oldest loses and in addition to enduring her wounded pride, Nayeon will have to wait until the end to receive the gift. 

Contrary to other years when they have played secret friend, they have preferred to take the easy way and the gifts are only between the couples with the only condition that they are not allowed to give each other inappropriate gifts in front of the children. A rule especially addressed to Sana who on all Jihyo's birthdays gives her a lingerie set which is actually for herself and which Jihyo accepts with too much enthusiasm in front of all of them.

Sana gives Jihyo a designer leather jacket, a bottle of a really expensive soju that Jihyo loves with some glasses with a nice and elegant design to match the bottle. "I'll give you your other gift later in the room" Sana whispers in her ear before giving her a kiss. 

Nayeon gifts Jeongyeon a fancy watch and a letter which she asks her to read another time and is quite insistent that she doesn't read it in front of the others.

Mina tells Momo that her gift was given to her in the evening, but she has a small present. In the package there is a t-shirt with a drawing of the family done by Dahyun, there are a total of five t-shirts and Momo for a moment freaks out at the sight of two small t-shirts until Mina tells her that they are for Boo and Dobby making everyone laugh at Momo's momentary panic.

In between laughter, there is a loud sob and suddenly they all realize that Jeongyeon is crying her eyes out as she reads the letter. "Jeong! I told you not to read it!" says Nayeon in between laughing and crying as he wraps her arms around her wife and whispers "Well it's already in the letter, I love you baby." At another time her friends would have teased them, but Jeongyeon seems to be truly touched so they leave the couple a moment and continue. 

Mina is next and receives a LEGO set that Momo has caught her looking up more than once when they go to the mall and a Nintendo Switch game, as well as a simple necklace adorned with three hearts. Mina loves it all and Momo is still surprised that jewelry always ends up being the gift that costs her the least money and effort.

Sana is confused when she receives an envelope from Jihyo because she has always been very thoughtful with gifts and usually gets her a seasonal branded bag among other things. What she sees in the envelope, however, makes her scream in excitement more than any bag when she sees the tickets to go to Japan with theirs and Tzuyu's names on it. "Let's go see your parents next week, so they can finally meet their granddaughter," Jihyo says before she has to look up the details on the tickets herself.

Last of all is Nayeon. Finally her turn comes and she can't stop jumping up and down with excitement when she sees the box that Jeongyeon hands her. She tears the wrapping paper excitedly and when she opens the box and sees what's inside, her smile disappears. 

"Seriously Yoo Jeongyeon" she sighs, looking at her seriously.

The others just stay quiet not sure how to react because Nayeon seems really annoyed so they just watch the exchange between the couple. Then she takes out what's in the box and they all burst out laughing when they see a t-shirt that reads 'World's #1 Dad' on it.

It's a good joke and it's nothing that's unusual for the couple. They love bickering and teasing each other as much as they love giving each other kisses and whispering sweet nothings. This time it looks like Nayeon is not having it.

"I hope you have something better hidden, I spent days looking for the perfect watch" she whines and at that moment everyone sees the usual Nayeon again and the mood of the room instantly lightens up.

Jeongyeon also looks serious but it is obvious that she is holding in laughter when she says "I think I should have gotten you new glasses, haven't you seen what else is in the box?".

Her wife rolls her eyes and looks in the box again, not very convinced that there is anything in there, thinking it is still just part of Jeong's joke. You never know with these two. Once Nayeon gave her fifteen boxes tucked inside each other for their anniversary in college, though then he gave her something that kept them busy for several days locked in the room. One of the best gifts she ever gave her, unless you ask Jihyo who at the time was sleeping in the room next door. To this day, the youngest of the three has not wanted to know what that gift was, but today she is dying of curiosity, just like the others.

"OH MY GOD JEONGYEON!" She screams at the top of her lungs, making her friends jump in their seats and catching the attention of the girls who have been busy with their new gifts for a while now. "If this is a joke I swear-" she says trying to sound tough as she starts bawling her eyes out.

"I'm serious," Jeongyeon says in a whisper, taking the paper Nayeon is holding in her hands and showing her friends the ultrasound.  "We're going to be mommies again" she says with a huge smile.

It takes a few seconds for everyone to react and all of a sudden everyone starts to congratulate them while the oldest one complains to her wife that she didn't tell her, even more so when she finds out that she is almost three months pregnant and that they are expecting twins. Neither of them can believe that Jeongyeon made it on the first try and they couldn't be happier, especially with Chaeyoung's reaction. The little girl stares at them with wide eyes and when they confirm that she will be the big sister to two babies, her eyes glaze over and she climbs onto her mom's lap to hug them and caress her mama's belly. 

"This is a better gift than the tattoo machine" she says, still pouting.

All these emotions seem to have made them hungry and they soon gather at the small table, which is now more crowded with the girls' stuffed animals. In the middle of the table they have a mountain of cookies that they didn't finish yesterday and there is also hot chocolate, tea, coffee and milkshakes. The Myoui-Hirai family is wearing their t-shirts. Sana and Jihyo tell Tzuyu about Japan, tell her about the food and let her know that she will meet more new people, this time it will be her grandparents. Jeongyeon is still forced to listen to her wife scolding her for not telling her earlier that she is pregnant and lists one by one the things that could have happened until Jeong admits that she was afraid something would go wrong and Nayeon's gaze softens.  After that she promises her that now that they're both in it, everything will be okay because they have each other and because they have this wonderful family they've chosen.

[lazerswordweilder]

What, those aren’t in the same universe- yes they are. <<<the thoughts running through my head when I made a crossover of Marvel, Star Wars, Danny Phantom (Dannys stays in Amity and never leaves though, he literally just happens to become a halfa) and DC.

(Its important to note this was written in 2024)

A fact known to Anakin and Anakin alone is that Obi-Wan was reincarnated to take part in Star Wars. He was born in the year 1849 on earth, it was the earth we exist on today, only the future differs. His name was John Kyle, an archeologist who is a retired medic from a long forgotten war but also had unofficial diplomatic and fighting training from various tight spots. Years ago John found a child lying in the desert.

Anakin however has simple been alive all those years. He was born in a desert to a human mother captured by scientists ahead of their times, the experimented on her, and he was born from it. He lay on the desert dying for years, his unwelcome powers keeping him alive and suffering, this sparked his hatred, of the desert, of the sand, of the scientists. The only thing he remembered were his mother’s dying words “Anakin, you’ll- you’ll be so great, you’ll walk the skies.” as she succumbed to her wounds after giving birth, at least he remembers his name Anakin.

Anakin grew up under John, John becoming the father he never had. By the time he was 20 the war had ended but it scarred him, he never forgot the screams. By the time he was 25 he had stopped aging, blaming the scientists and not explaining his past to John out of fear of rejection. By the time he was 34 and John was 52 John thought he had connected the dots, his apprentice had stolen an artifact they’d both been hunting for and it had carried an ancient plage or power that slowed him down from aging! One day while exploring a volcano it turned active, John saw his chance and pushed the boy in and ran.

Anakin burnt alive, his anger roaring up inside of him the same time a natural portal to the ghost zone opened up in the volcano. Anakins eyes turned fire red, the blood in his veins turned to lava, his rage burnt hotter than the lava ever could. Anakin becomes an oxymoron, even beyond the fact he’s half alive half dead, he died in lava yet his weakness is water (guy never learnt how to swim, after being held underwater and nearly drowned he never really got over it), all ghosts hate what killed them and have weaknesses to it, Anakins death is his power. He takes on an apparence which is basically what he looks like normally but with fangs, sometimes his eyes reflect light or glow though, and when he gets mad his skin heats up, turning charred and what should be exposed flesh turns into lava below the charred skin, also his hair starts to turn to flame. Anakins obsession is revenge and his core is permanently stained with rage.

By the time Anakin gets out a grip on his powers World War 1 starts drafting with the year being 1914, Anakin (despite technically being dead) immediately decides that’s a good idea for blowing off steam and also a way to get actually military experience to murder John with. He hacks a comuptor and signs himself up, putting in his photo, his medical stuff, experience, and everything else on the form, then as he stares at the name box he remembers he’s meant to be dead, he choses a fitting name, Achilles. Achilles wrath matched Anakins rage, Achilles heel matched Anakins weakness to water, and hopefully Anakin will be able to bring the name Achilles some more modern glory.

He gets his dog tag and as sits in a cart heading to war with the rest of his team, Anakin runs his finger over the ingraving in it, careful not to melt it, Achilles. As bordom sets in he remembered other stories of ancient greek, more specifically Aphrodite Areia, Areia was an epithet meaning war like and it seperated Aphrodite Areia from her more commenly known version Aphrodite. He supposes he needs one to if there are to be two great Achilles, in his head he starts referring to himself as Anakin Achilles.

After 4 years at war and another year spent wandering the contry Anakin comes back to where he knows John is just to find out he died of old age around the time the war ended at 68, despite this being quite impressive despite modern medican Anakin promptly decides to go jump into another volcano. It is like a warm bath. But it cheered Anakin up- seriously, who knew volcanos were so nice when you weren’t burning alive?

After this he grabs the blackest clothes he can find and knows will be easy to move in, some fabric which he wraps around his face from nose to chin, tucks his dog tag safely into his clothes, and walked into the nearest bar he knew had shady dealing going on. He promptly intoduced himself as an assasin looking for training and gets pointed to a table full of tough looking people.

Two years later he’s been an assasin apprentice for years, under someone he thinks is called Ra Ah Ghoul. Anakin serves the guy for another 4 years despite thinking he’s kind of an asshole, then runs away. He’s learnt enough to avoid most of Ghouls traps and makes it out with a minor stab wound, he doesn’t really have organs anymore so he’s not worried.

He does take a moment to sit on someones roof top and stare at the stars, he thinks back to his first memories and remembers with a small laugh, the one you give when you’re shocked and in awe and a little breathless but happy, he knows his full name now, his birth name, Anakin Skywalker. He thinks fondly about it and feels like a child for the first time in years, staring up the the stars with the last thing his mother gave him, his name, just for a moment Anakins rage is fully forgotten.

Suddenly he feels to small, he looks down a sees the chubby hands of a baby, he actually physically blinks at that. He can work with this, his life is over due for a bit of normal anyways, he stores his dog tag (the only thing he has attachment to) inside his rib cage using a helpful bit of intangibility and floats down to the door step. He can hear a young, kind, childless couple inside.

Anakin- now named William, danced with his wife, Julia Lotis. He was so truely smitten with her and for the first time in so long he loved the domestic life style, Julia had finally quited the rage always simmering in his core, she was his Angel. He brought Julia in for a kiss and admired her, her long chocolate hair, her warm brown eyes that seemed like cozy fires during the winter rather then his uncontrolled rage. He swung her around in a circle and reached out to catch her when her eyes went wide, he caught her lifeless- pulseless- breathless- body and stared.

He stared at her for a long time, trying to hold back the cracks in his core, but it was like reading a book when the ending was so obvious. He conculded he was going to kill everyone within the city once he got out of shock, Anakin dropped his Angel to the floor, moving to the cupboard on autopilot, he grabbed his darkest clothes and put them on, the knifes he had hidden away just in case were quickly hidden in the folds of his outfit, he pulled out his dog tag, letting it’s reasuring weight lay heavy on his chest.

He walked all the way to Gotham, he didn’t even move as it hailed and stormed, as the ground shook and trees collapses. He walked to Metropolis, it was 1975, anyone who knew anything knew the Justice League was looking for new hires, he wasn’t looking for a job but if he could get to one of the interviews then he’d be immediately be recognised as a threat and subdued.

He stormed into the daily planet building where he knew at least Superman was holding interviews, he scared everyone out of the elevator with a death glare and walked straight into the room he could hear Superman talking in, he pushed open the door “Uh, interviews are over.” Superman abruptly paused, probably taking in Anakins disheveled and disassociating self, Anakin ignored the knife that dropped to the ground “Are you- here for an interview?” Superman asked. Anakin glared at him and jumped Superman as red over took his vision.

Anakin woke up in a cell, a wary Superman stood in front of him dripping his lava “If- you could’ve just said you had fire powers.” Superman said, Anakin sagged down into the chains and Superman looked at him for a second before realisation hit him “You weren’t here to show us your powers, you’re here so we could stop you.” Superman was suddenly no longer hesitant “Sounds like a hero to me, I think we’ve got your powers down, but if you want a spot in the League I only need your name.” It doesn’t take him a second to answer “Achilles.”

By 2002 it was doomsday, for the third time this month. The hero thing certainly wasn’t boring, and various other heros had helped Anakin gain an appreciation for technology, he was a technopath. Any

This is getting way too long, also I accidentally queued it so I’ll just reblog with more.

[edmcmayonnaise]

WIP/word game

Tagged by @deadtwinksdetectiveagency, a true legend among legends and wonderful writer and artist!

Rules: you will be given a word. share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word. my word is HERO!

H - Very, very rough draft from part of my Simon Redemption AU, in which Simon meets the Cat King for the first time.

“H-hello, your… your majesty.” Simon lowered his gaze in deference, unsure what level of respect to give a member of self-proclaimed feline royalty but not daring to offend. It was the right course of action, because the Cat King's teeth glinted into a wide smile, “Ooh, enchanté!” He offered the back of his hand, willing Simon to kiss his ring. “Behave yourself, if you please.” Edwin warned. “Now don’t be jealous,” the Cat King soothed, before whispering loud enough for all to hear, “Nothing to worry about. You’re still my favourite.”

E - From another part of my Simon Redemption Arc AU, in which Charles has just recently learned exactly what part Simon played in Edwin's death.

Edwin, fingers aligned into a thoughtful triangle resting against his chest, hummed and headed towards the cupboard, leaving Charles and Simon alone.  “Just because he forgives you doesn’t mean I gotta, does it?” “Charles,  I… I. I-I.” Simon, stuttering through his response, paused long enough to steady his voice. “There is no excuse for it. For what I did.” “You’re right,” Charles’ eyes were flat with anger. “There’s not. So I’ve got my eye on you, yeah?”   “I promise, I–” “Save it. Don’t wanna hear it.” It was then that Edwin exited the cupboard, small stack of blue books in his hands. “Here we are, Simon–” Immediately, he stopped, “Charles? Is everything quite alright?” “Aces, right, Simon?” Charles’ tone dared Simon to say otherwise.

R - From an untitled Simon story set in 1916.

Really, they’d learned alongside each other in the same classrooms and slept in the same dormitory row for the past three years. But there was something about how this particular afternoon’s light illuminated the boy as he smiled just ever-so into the pages of his book.  Edwin Payne always had a book. Always. Never looked up from it. It made Simon weak to think of being read so intimately by this boy. To have his full attention.

O - Yet another rough scene from the Simon Redemption Arc AU. Despite the story focusing on Simon, endgame here is Charles/Edwin, because, of course it is and will always be, for me.

“Oi, look at me, will you?” Charles held Edwin’s shoulder, tightening his grip, grounding them both into the moment. “You don’t owe me anything… it’s just…” Edwin, resolve crumbling under the quiver in Charles’ voice, looked to meet his best friend’s eyes. The night lights of Oxford Street reflected true concern. He had so often been lost in the depths of those eyes, and Edwin felt their gravitational force once again pulling him in. “Edwin,” Charles bent in slightly, making sure there was no where else for Edwin to focus his attention, “you mentioned something earlier and I, well, it’s been bothering me all day. You asked Simon a question about his brother’s book. What did you mean by that?” There was no avoiding the subject now.  “Ah,” Edwin sucked his breath, lips twitching as he drew them into a straight line. He tilted his head as if considering something before continuing. “Yes. It was Simon’s brother’s book which contained the ritual which summoned the demon that took me to Hell.”

The word I choose is: DEAR.

I tag: @petesdragon, @asnottoldbyginger, @painehell and @bbcphile!

[anakinniesluv]

Awake.

Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan × fem!Omaticaya!bestfriend!reader

Warnings/tags: fluffy, neteyam getting exposed, mentions of pain/bruises, Neteyam is aged up for the purpose of veing able to choose a mate, laughing n kicking my feet rn bye

Summary: you are much more conscious than Neteyam thinks.

Context: reader got hurt the night before, neteyam layer with her as she fell asleep. Set on awa’atlu.

Notes: I FINALLY got this posted. I had this almost done and then tumblr did that annoying thingy where it deletes ur draft for no reason like r u tryna catch these hands rn. After that I just didn't have much motivation to write it and I had classes n shi. Also so so sorry to @summeroxx for this taking so long!! <33

(Also creds to random notion makers for the divider lol)

You dont know when exactly you fell asleep. You remember laying in his arms and feeling his warmth, sculpting out every detail on his face as if you were about to make a painting. Then the next thing you can think of was darkness.

Your peace is disrupted by the not-so-quiet footsteps and whispering that sounds more like an everlasting voice crack on a normal volume voice.

"Are you sure she's okay?shouldn't she be up right now?" An all too familiar voice asks.

"Leave her alone, Neteyam. Her sleeping is not in any way bad. Back off before you wake her up and she plucks your eyeballs from your head herself," the all so wonderful kiri tells him off.

Neteyam scoffs, and silence follows after. You rest in quiet for a minute, only hearing the light scrapes of Kiri grinding an herb and the pleasant clicking of animals outside. It must be early, you think.

Neteyam must have been staring, because you hear what sounds to be a light tap on skin followed by Kiri's voice. "You practically have txe'lans (hearts) bulging from your eyes, Neteyam. Spare the girl from your pining for the short while she sleeps." Kiri says, teasing Neteyam and triggering him to send a playful smack to her arm.

"Seriously bro. Either ask her out or stop grossing us out with your little romance in denial." Another voice speaks from the entry. Lo'ak.

"Shut up, skxawng! What if she's awake!?" Neteyam has a strong reaction, and it takes everything in you to not burst out laughing at the irony, which doesn't go unnoticed by Kiri.

You hear Kiri grab something, before feeling the presence of her beside you as she lifts up your bandages to check your wounds. She leans over your head, asking it appear to the others that she is simply getting a better angle to check you over.

To your surprise, she leans close to your ear and whispers, "I know you're awake. This is enough proof that your love is requited, yes?"

You nearly start choking. We're you being that obvious?

Before you even fully process her words, she gets up. "She is healing very well. She should be fully recovered in a couple days." She says. Just then, you pretend to just be waking.

"Oh! You're awake, finally." Neteyam says once he notices you supposed recent consciousness. "Wow, 'tey. Thanks for being so happy to see me." You joke.

You sit up with your legs on the ground, stretching your arms before standing up and stretching your legs. You cannot manage to pull your eyes away from Neteyam. You had really been pining over him only to find out so far in that he feels the same?

Kiri walks towards the exit, stopping to whisper to Lo'ak, before taking the shocked looking boy outside. You are now alone with Neteyam.

What are you supposed to say? Do you tell him? Do you ignore it? Your mind is filled with thousands of panicked thoughts before your trance is broken by the one that causes them.

"How do you feel?" He asks. It's a simple question, but it still has you worrying about what to answer. "I feel fine." Is all you manage to stutter out.

He looks as if he is about to speak, but you cut him off. "Neteyam, can you meet me at our tree at eclipse tonight? It's important." He looks confused, maybe even dreadful at what is to come judging by your expression.

You speed-walk out of there as soon as he nods, trying to hide your blushing face.

Exiting the marui, you find Lo'ak and Kiri guiltily staring at you, obviously spying.

"EwwwWWWwww, my brother and best friend are going to get it on tonight; in a tree! Blegh!" "Shut up Lo'ak."

-

It's been hours since then, and eclipse is very soon to come. You check on your appearance, feeling very paranoid about meeting neteyam. He had been out for most of the day, and when he wasn't you were avoiding him and the marui you share with him.

You begin to head to the tree you had found and marked as yours and met at many times weeks before, making sure to not catch neteyam on your way out. You sneakily make your way to the tree, being slowed down by your injuries but managing anyways.

You make it up onto the largest branch of the tree, finding Neteyam already awaiting your arrival. His head snaps in your direction and he stands up as soon as he recognizes you.

"Is everything okay? I haven't seen you all day." He asks, stepping close to you. "Yeah- everything's fine just.." you trail off, not knowing what words to say.

"Just what? What was so important that you must bring me here to tell me?" He is urging you to tell him now, he is becoming anxious.

Before he can push you any further, you say it straight up. "I wasn't sleeping in the healing marui this morning." You say. His expression almost makes you want to clamp your hands over your mouth, his shocked and embarrassed face giving you guilt.

"I.. uh." He chokes on his words, taking a step back and looking everywhere but your face. His ears fold back and he almost has the expression that he might cry, but we all know he has mastered hiding his tears.

"I'm sorry. That probably makes you so uncomfortable, that's why you were avoiding me. I don't want you to hate me-" "No, 'Tey. You don't get it. I've been waiting to hear that since I was 10 years old." You interrupt his rambling.

"You.. what?" He finally looks you in the face, confusion and slight relief displayed on his features. "You skxawng, I've been yearning for those words since I was a child! Do you not get it? I wasn't exactly disc-" before you can finish your sentence, he cut you off by kissing you.

The kiss is passionate and beautiful. It shares all of the feelings you cannot express in words. It tells the stories of how you've longed for eachother as long as you can remember. It gives the message of how entirely you have eachothers hearts, minds and souls right in grasp.

Unfortunately, you are living and have to breath. You both pull back, catching your breath and sharing lovesick smiles.

"I want you to be my mate." He utters. "I would want nobody else, Neteyam."

This time you are the one to kiss him, but this time it's different. This kiss is more needy, less cautious.

Now you are both sitting on your knees facing eachother, not breaking the kiss as you kneel. You reach your hand around his neck and lightly grasp the base of the braid that covers his tswin (braid/queue).

He breaks the kiss before reaching behind his head, grabbing the large braid and looking at you for approval. You nod and smile like a fool before grabbing your own.

You carefully inch the tendrils towards eachother before making tsaheylu, and sealing the bond. You feel every bit of love he has, not to mention other emotions. You are overwhelmed with a feeling of closeness to eachother, and it is the most extraordinary, unexplainable feeling youve ever felt.

He is your mate for life now. He is yours, you are his. 'awsiteng nìt'iluke (together forever).

Hii! I'm so happy I finished this, the ending was a bit rushed but I'm happy it's done. This was made fem!reader out of habit because it wasn't requested a certain gender, but I could for sure make it GN! if you would rather that!! Ilysm, ty for reading. Also sorry that this was short, I didn't really know how to finish it since it was a mating thing, and smut wasn't requested so like yk

(Also PLEASEEEEEEEEEE send requests I'm begging)

[wortsandall]

random scenes that might show up in "the lies we tell ourselves"

(no guarantee) tw: mentions of abuse

basically just ideas that i got while i was writing that i knew wouldn't fit in currently and/or things that i want to work up to and will be in future installments. (i have more but they're a little too spoiler-ly for my tastes so those will stay in the drafts for now, wink) information on the specifics of the au and those mentioned/relevant to it are in my tag #tlwto + the masterlist

where steven is talking abt how he doesnt understand marc and leos beef and how he thinks rose knows but rose is hard to talk to (not her fault) and jake is elusive and if steven tries to ask and find out jake hijacks the body from him so hes frustrated 

marc and jake arguing bc marc still doesnt trust jake, sees him as someone dangerous, a threat to steven and their mundane lives while not understanding jake at all. and jake being jake is not very open to actually letting him understand. basically two control freaks with the same goals but they go about it differently (tho similarly) but cant reconcile 

another argument but between steven and jake vs marc basically saying that marc needs to pull his head out of his ass and realize that its not marc vs the rest of them. marc may be the host and share the legal name and connection to the body but that doesnt mean he can make decisions for all of them hes not their keeper which marc throws back at jake the gatekeeper position and how jake makes decisions for them all the damn time but they say thats not what they meant we arent talking abt within the disorder but in actual life. marc is all "i cant trust any of u citing jake hiding himself and others + the unpredictable violent behavior and for steven he brings up that he's in love with layla. his point basically being "if you guys are out then who knows what you could do and also what's the point of me? steven u already got my wife to love you, i need this to be mine so i actually have something bc u guys r better than me and could live my life better"

convo between spiderman and leo where they talk about mentors and people they look up to where leo thinks they experienced the same shit when he hears about stark and how he helped spiderman before dying with his gear and shit and asks something that makes spiderman go wait what-something like “oh i know what that’s like when they give you things you need/want and tell you it costs nothing but it actually costs everything” and spiderman is all confused like it did cost nothing and they have a miscommunication where leo then gets embarrassed and tries to leave while spiderman is like um im sorry but tony wasnt like that im sorry that it was anything like that while leo tries to downplay what he meant and that its not that serious

Talking abt their parents where jake + marc agree their dad is a coward even if jake is more mean about it then marc and steven has to reconcile with the versions of their parents being lies which he actively tries not to think about

[r-2-peepoo]

A pretty good list of the best Codywan fics you will ever read:

I recently noticed I had a very sweet ask about Codywan fics recs but I didn’t realise saving drafts of ask replies wasn’t an option so I accidentally deleted it. If you are the lovely anon who sent that message on (I believe) the 29th of October, I’m sorry for not seeing it sooner, and here is a list for you!! A definitely-not-comprehensive guide to Codywan fics because I'm actually only a few months into shipping them myself. These are just some of my favourites.

I mainly read modern AUs but I’ll try and come up with a good variety so hopefully, there’s something for everyone. Also I’ll @ the writers who have accs on here because they deserve all the praise and credit in the world (but do let me know if you’d prefer to be untagged!!)

Modern AUs

An incredibly sweet oneshot featuring Teacher!Cody hosting a parent-teacher conference and a very overwhelmed Obi Wan trying his best to raise Anakin. The characterisation of Obi Wan in particular just makes my brain go brrrrrrrrrrrr because it reminds me of how he's written in the canon novels, as in you get to see a side of him that isn’t so polished and held together. The most unconventional yet adorable meet-cute ever. I have read it many many times.

THIS FIC. Oh my gosh. I've read it three times so far and I just adore it. It's an AU based on the movie Happiest Season (although I personally think this fic is far better than the movie). I'm always here for Christmas fics and they're always quite hard to find in my experience and yet here is this absolute gem, heavy with plot and drama and the most wonderful use of canon characters and dynamics.

I've spoken about this fic by @kckenobi before and I will do it over and over until everyone on earth has had the privilege of reading it. This is, without a doubt, the best fanfiction I've ever read. I can say that definitively. My recommendation for this would be to download the playlist that goes along with it. There's a link in the notes of the final chapter. Ngl I have Apple Music so I had to individually search for each song and add it to a playlist but it is beyond worth it. Aside from the writing being phenomenal, listening to the songs while reading is honestly life-changing. I have such a soft spot for classical and orchestral music and when I tell you you won't be able to look at any other fic without thinking about what a magical experience this one was, I'm not lying. The Codywan is quite minor compared to the rest of the plot but it is incredibly sweet and feels very natural. This is great if you like Obi Wan-centric fics.

This one is very special to me because it was one of the first fics I ever read in the fandom. This author (I don’t think I can tag them but their user on here is the same as their ao3) in general has been integral to my Codywan journey and there's so many of their works I've had the pleasure of following the publication of in such a short amount of time. Another unconventional meet-cute, which just seems to be a trope that suits this ship down to the ground.

But my personal favourite fic of theirs is Natural Wonders, a Photographer!Cody and Park Ranger!Obi Wan au, because I followed the publication of it from start to end and it was an absolute blast. This author's work ethic is unparalleled. Just take a look at the range of fics they've written. It's seriously impressive. Truly one of the best writers to begin with if you're new to the ship because they've done so much. You’ll be able to find basically any genre you like the most and every single one is insanely well written.

This fic is so sweet that reading it will rot the teeth right out of your head. This is by the wonderful @legobenkenobi who is not only the loveliest person ever, he is also a remarkable writer. Cody and Obi Wan work in a library together, Obi Wan comes in with a cat, which belongs to neither of them, out of absolutely nowhere one day (which is the most in-character thing I’ve ever heard) and the fluff ensues from there. While you’re there, read everything else he’s written because every single fic should be put in a museum.

Canon Compliant/Divergent

Cody and Obi Wan get married by accident. It sounds lighthearted and funny, which it is a little, but it also feels like hugging a thousand knives at once. This author manages to capture the painful longing between the two men that would be present in the canon-verse. It's under 1k words and yet they manages to inflict so much pain so quickly. There's something so delicate about the way they write and it's such a poignant, heartwrenching take on what is usually used as a solely comedic trope. I don’t read angst that often but every word of this was beautiful.

This fic is just... I can't even describe it. It's so in-depth. I feel like you really get to experience the Star Wars universe here. There's so many characters that are usually underutilized in fics, but not here. It features blind Obi Wan and how this affects his experience as a Jedi and as a General. It’s tactful and magnificently written. You really get to go on an adventure with the characters and it's so rich in plot and follows the actual plot of parts of Clone Wars but with such a unique perspective added. The story just slots so nicely into canon. I don't want to spoil too much but it's such a fascinating take on Obi Wan's character. Also!!! It explores so many relationships that canon itself neglects to. My personal favorite other than Codywan is Obi Wan's interactions with Ahsoka. This is still an ongoing fic so get in while you still can. You won't regret it, I promise.

This is also one of quite a few times where I've been a fan of someone's work before joining Tumblr, only to realise after following them that I've been reading their work for ages. @foreverchangingfandomsao3 you are immensely talented. Thank you for writing such an immersive story. I am in love with your take on Obi Wan.

This is another ongoing fic by the lovely @farores-oak-tree. It's a post-order 66 fic and it's so so so good so far. Other than Codywan's inevitable reunion, what I love the most about this is how it uses its other characters. Sabé features heavily and I always wanted to see her again so this was a delightful discovery. Again' I don't to spoil too much because its still being posted but there is such an interesting use of canon events. It's been so much fun so far so please give it a read if you like post-order 66 Codywan. This could be the plot of Kenobi S2 and I would completely believe you. It's so good.

This is another fic I read and absolutely loved and then started following the person who wrote it on here without realising. @frostbitebakery is behind this particular work of art. This is a Sith!Obi Wan AU and honestly it’s the only one you’ll need. I really love the way it’s structured and I don’t know if this makes sense, but this author has something about their writing style that is so careful and distinctive and you can see that same style coming through in their art style too (seriously, have a look at their art, it’s absolutely insane). It’s so detailed and you can feel how much time was spent on it. Such a delight to read.

Another recommendation of a work I’d been subscribed to who I think is actually written by a mutual of mine. I’m not certain about that but regardless, I can’t begin to express how much I love it so far. It’s another ongoing fic. I have a thing for fics that detail how Cody and Obi Wan first meet because canon does nothing to show this. If it turns out this is actually how they met and how things unfolded for them, I would completely buy it. It just suits them so much. It feels so true to their characters. It’s so natural and it flows so well. I could read a thousand chapters of this.

I could recommend so many others but these are the ones I always think of when people ask for recommendations. I think I put the usernames of everyone who has an account on here but I’ll keep looking in case I missed anyone. I’ve been in a lot of fandoms but I genuinely mean it when I say Codywan authors (and artists) are the most accomplished I’ve ever seen.

[honey-milk-depresso]

Vice Dorm Leaders: S/o who is insecure about their vitiligo (1)

HAHA- SO UM- I found this in my drafts and completely forgot about it ;-;;;; BUT HERE I AM- Yeah I just added this part- :///// I was too lazy to tag and eventually forgot about it- until now-

According to google, vitiligo is a skin condition in which the melanocytes, the pigment cells of the skin, are destroyed causing affected areas to turn pale. I just want you to know that you are beautiful no matter what! Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise! Hope you enjoy! ^^

(Trey, Ruggie, Jade)

Trey Clover

Trey always wondered why you want to wear a mask and long sleeved clothing. Basically clothes that cover your entire body. Don’t you feel stuffy wearing them? Do you feel comfortable???

You always told him you’re okay, and he didn’t question afterwards. Maybe it’s just fashion choice, and he doesn’t judge. He just wanted to make sure you don’t feel itchy.

But the first time he made for you something (the marron tart event before Riddle’s overblot), you told him that you rather eat in private. He didn’t suspect anything at first, merely letting you do so, 

but then he notices how frequently you missed or forgotten to take your meals when you’re alone, and that you just refuse to take down your mask to eat in front of others.

Now he was starting to get worried.

Trey would then resort in giving a gentle approach, he doesn’t want to be bold and just force an answer out of you, he would never do that.

During one break time, he’ll pull you aside. “S/o, can we talk? Someone more private maybe?”

Trey brought to a secluded area, he still spoke in a soft tone as if there were still people around just to make sure it really is private between you two. He looked at you with soft, amber gold eyes, “Is... everything okay? You keep forgetting to eat. Why don’t you like eating in front of others?”

You were taken aback, and Trey could tell you were hesitant about giving him an answer. He rubbed your back in soothing circles, calming you and telling you to take your time.

You eventually took of your mouth, showing him the pale patches on your skin, explaining how you don’t like anyone seeing your vitiligo, in fear of them judging your appearance. He frowned upon seeing how ashamed you look. He took a hold of your hand, now seeing the very faint mark of a pale patch. He rubs them gently in circular motion, looking at you with a soft gaze as he placed a tender kiss on one of the pale patches that etched on your cheek, the warmth of his hand spreading across your cheek. “S/o... please don’t think your condition makes you look weird that you don’t eat in public and then you forget to eat on your own. I think you look fine the way you are, honestly.”

Nowadays, Trey follows you every break time, as he’s there to encourage you to take off your mask and eat in public, and soon to take off your mask wherever you go in general.

Anyone who snickers about how weird you look would be met by his golden, sharp glare, enough to warn those who are smart enough. If not, he’ll tell Riddle and it’s off with their head. He just wants you to know you’re beautiful the way you are <3

Ruggie Bucchi

At first, he didn’t really thought about much. He just thought that man, don’t you feel stuffy wearing masks and covered clothing wherever you go?? Even during PE and in Savanaclaw? Well, if you said you’re fine, Ruggie wouldn’t think much of it, thinking you just have your own taste in fashion. He doesn’t judge.

But then, when he cooked for you for the first time, you told him that you rather eat it in private, and your excuse being that you savor food better on your own. Ruggie frowned. You tell that to your peers whenever they offer you food. He didn’t expect you to give him the same treatment.

Again, Ruggie decides to dismiss it and respect your choice, letting you do what your comfortable with. But he starts to notice your habit of forgetting to eat afterwards when your alone, and that you sweat profusely under the hot sun of his own dorm and you refuse to take of your mask and sweater.

He’s gotten worried, and he was sick and tired watching your health deteriorate. Ruggie gotten impatient on what he suspects your hiding something, and he wants to know so he can help. The boy legit climbed up the tree of Ramshackle, which a strong and thick branch spread out to your room’s window, opting to bust through the open window. “Yo, s/o.” “R-Ruggie?! W-what are you doing here?!” You were startled, and Ruggie looked at you with serious eyes. He notices your mask was lying on the coffee table, and he finds you scrambling to get the nearest pillow to cover your face. He frowns, walking up to you.

“S/oooo, what are you hiding?” Being the Savanaclaw student he is, he was much stronger than you, taking away the pillow. You immediately set up a last resort defence, putting your hands up to cover your face. He got frustrated, trying to rip your hands apart, resting his forehead on yours.

You gasped, shocked and flustered by the sudden contact and he took advantage of it and uncovered your hands, revealing the pale patches that spread across your face. He was shocked, as were you.

“D-does it hurt?” he questioned, now grazing his hand carefully on the skin without pale patches. You meekly shook your head, “No, but... I just look weird, don’t I?” you whispered, looking as if you were about to cry, leading Ruggie to frantically comfort you. “H-hey... I didn’t mean to. I was... just worried, and also I just thought those hurt, not that you look weird. And you don’t at all!”

Ruggie thinks you’re just fine the way you are. Anyone during recess when he accompanies you, if he hears a snicker or whisper about how weird your vitiligo makes you look, he will really hiss and eye at them with a threatening glare. He’ll make sure you’ll be confident, and he would be there for you every step of the way. <3

Jade Leech

He always wondered why you wear baggy, long sleeved clothes and pants and masks all the time. You don’t feel uncomfortable or sweaty wearing such? If you said you were comfortable, he would doubt a little, but will dismiss it and allow you to do as you please, the thought would still linger in his head, however.

Jade’s scepticism would rise further when he cooked for you a special meal the first time he brought you to Monstro Lounge alone. he usually leaves food for you at Ramshackle, knowing you and him would be really busy. 

You told him you rather eat alone, and he wasn’t convince about the excuses you gave, but nonetheless, gave you a kind smile and heeding you words, but decided to observe you.

He notices how you frequently forget to eat by yourself when you return to Ramshackle, and how exhausted you look when your under the hot sun during PE, and yet refusing to take of your mask and jacket. He was worried, and highly suspicious. Your his s/o after all; your health and wellbeing is most important to him.

Jade decided to approach you like how Trey would; gently and less direct and bold unlike Ruggie. “My dear? May I speak to you in private about something? It’s something rather important that I wanted to share with you,” he says, flashing his charming and soft smile. 

Bring you to a quiet and secluded area, he finally spoke. “S/o... why is it that you refused to take off your mask even when you feel so uncomfortable? Are you.. hiding something perhaps?” As much as you love Jade, you can’t help but feel nervous when he asked you that all of a sudden, and he feels your uneasiness as you timidly shuffled your feet.

He coos, gently soothing you with a gloved hand on his shoulder as he gently coaxed you, telling you to take your time and tell him what’s going on.

You murmured, “I.. I look ugly..” He raised an eyebrow, quite shocked and confused about what you mean. “Darling, how could you say that about yourself? I think you look fine, my dear?” You looked at him hesitantly, before you peeled off your mask, revealing the pale patches of skin that flowered all over the bottom part of your face.

“I... yeah. I know I.. I look so bad...” he immediately takes one of your hand, holding it. The other hand held you cheek and wiped a tear that had threatened to fall from the corner of your eye, warmly rubbing a pale patch.

“Oh darling... you’re not ugly at all. You look wonderful, and you should care more about your wellbeing rather than your appearance, although I think you look splendid,” he whispered, using a gloved finger to gently caress the pale patch on your cheek with a loving gaze.

Oh, and if anyone dares to just make fun of how “weird” you look during lunch time in front of him, or when he makes you feel more confident to take off your mask, will receive a “personal chat” from Jade, maybe tossing Azul and Floyd into the fun, and they won’t ever think of uttering a single thing about how weird your vitiligo make you look. <3

[lovenhlboys]

From a Distance (E.Pettersson X Reader)

Chapter 1

Masterlist

Tag list form

A/n: hello peoples!! I’m so excited to FINALLY post the first chapter of this fic!!! I’ve been working on it for a long time, and after a few unpleasant delays, it’s finally happening 😁. While this isn’t my first fic, this is my first NHL fic, and the first fic I’m posting on Tumblr, so I’m a little nervous. This first chapter is mostly the set up to the main story, this is reader’s side of things with a flashback story. Chapter two will be mostly from Elias’s point of view. The rest of the chapters will switch back and fourth between the two.

CREDIT: Finally, before we get started I have to shout out my proofreaders. Y’all put up with me and my insanity: @siriushxney @iateyourdonuts @petey-patty @hufflepuff-girlx @cherrylita @immmbabyyygraceee @💕💕And specifically @imagines-r-s ASH!!! Babes, you have been the best and most supportive friend I could’ve asked for during this. You boosted my confidence about this fic and I have no idea what I’d do without you 😁😁

Without further ado, let’s get started shall we!! (Sorry for the long A/N, it’ll only be for this first chapter)

Paring: Elias Pettersson X Fem!Reader

Warnings: lots of cursing, friends with benefits but like...just cuddling???, references to iCarly, mentions of One Tree Hill.

Genere: enemies-ish —>friends —> lovers

Legend: (i suggest having these ready before you read)

Y/C/N/N= your cute nick name, only Markstrom calls you it (you’ll see why) this can be either a pet name you like, or a nick name you already have.

Y/N/N= your nick name, Brock, Quinn, and a few others call you this, it’s more of a playful name. Again, this can be a nickname you already have (if you don’t have one I suggest something stupid (sounds like something Stech or Brock would come up with)

Y/N= this is your first name, only Elias calls you this unless it’s a serious situation, or you’re in trouble, or Brock is being an ass. (If it wasn’t clear before...your last name is Boeser)

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: you have a hardcore crush on your brothers best friend, who also happens to barely speak to you...it’s a slight predicament.

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

(This is set in the 2021 season, however, because of my denial, Marky and Stech are still in Vancouver and were never traded... also no Covid. however the season was still delayed just to make it easier to follow.)

Present (Feb. 2021)

You’ve always been best friends with your older brother, you never had any real issues when you were younger and you were inseparable. So much so in fact, that once you graduated early a little less than two years ago (June 2019), he asked you to move to Vancouver and live with him. He was always so protective of you and you appreciated everything he has done in your life. One of the best parts about Brock being your older brother was the people he introduced to you. You aren’t very social and god knows how much of a people person your brother is. Once you had moved in, Brock quickly introduced you to the team. And with your double major in Statistics: Data Sciences and Sports Management, you were able to secure a job with the team. Quickly, you found yourself with a second family, one with many members.

Quinn Hughes is your best friend. when you met him about a year and a half ago, you hit it off immediately. With both of you being the same age and not very social, there was an obvious connection there. When Brock and The boys  go out, it is you and Quinn who stay in and watch shows on the couch (your favorite being New Girl). Huggy Bear is so sweet and you tell him EVERYTHING, even things you’d never tell your brother. You are still thanking the draft lottery every day that the Canucks received the 7th overall pick that gave you your bestie.

Thatcher Demko AKA Dems AKA Thatch AKA baby goalie is the sweetest and most hilarious guy you know. He is always looking after you just like Brock, but he is also one of the most annoying guys you know. When you’d first met you had the biggest crush on him. You told Quinn as much and he gave you so much shit for it. That crush was short-lived though, once you found out how obnoxious he could be. You still love him, just as a friend. Though Quinn never forgets to remind you of the crush that once was.

Bo Horvat is like another big brother to you. Sure you have Brock, but he’s your best friend. Bo, however, is the person you go to when you needed advice. Holly is one of the only WAGs you’ve become close with. She and you consistently have wine and gossip nights, of which Quinn is sometimes in attendance. Plus, you and Quinn are an amazing babysitting team for Gunnar if you have anything to say about it. 

Troy Stecher is the annoying older brother you never had. He always makes fun of you, calls you names, and bullies you in the loving way brothers do. And he never hesitates to come to you if he ever needs girl advice, which seems to happen a lot.

JT was just like Bo, except he is waaay more protective of you, maybe even a bit more than brock. He doesn’t have a sister and when you met, he made it his job to never see you get hurt. Seriously, one day a guy was bugging you at the bar, and both Brock and Bo were struggling to hold him back when he saw him slap you on the ass as you walked away. 

Jacob Markstrom, AKA Marky, AKA Giraffe (pronounced like it is in one of your favorite vines), AKA your cuddle buddy for the past few seasons. Both being single, you felt lonely sometimes and Quinn wasn’t much of a hugger (despite what the nickname might have you believe). Thatcher had offered but Marky, though just as social, is much more laid back. It also helps that he is 6’6 putting him over a foot taller than you. So during movie nights, or late nights at the bar, he is the side you lean on. Of course, you made it abundantly clear to most of the boys and yourselves that you were just friends. As sweet as he was and as great of a boyfriend as he would’ve been, he wasn’t quite your type and your personalities clashed.

Then there was Elias Pettersson, the tall, skinny, Swedish guy you knew as Petey. The guy who looked at you often and barely spoke a word directed towards you. He was Brock's best friend and he came over all the time, you didn’t have an issue with him, and you couldn’t deny he was funny, and from what you’ve heard he is a very kind person. So naturally, he was exactly your type. You’ve had a massive crush on him for a while now, somehow despite the lack of conversation. And the few times he has talked to you, he’s seemed so perfect, but there are only a few times you can remember. 

Right now, as you're on your way to the Canuck’s break room your brother texted you to meet him in, you try to recall those few times, specifically the one where your crush on him truly developed.

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

FLASHBACK (some time in January, 2020)

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

You, Quinn, and Jacob were laying on the L-shaped couch in ‘The Boeser apartment’, you were cuddled under the blanket with Jacob, laying on the section perpendicular to the TV, your heads at the corner. Quinn was on the other side of the couch, his head right next to yours. it was about 7 o’clock and the episode of One Tree Hill you were watching had just ended and you three had not eaten dinner yet. As the countdown for the next episode started, your stomach growled and you got a look from Quinn and a giggle from Jacob. 

“You hungry Y/C/N/N?” Jacob asked.

You looked up at him and giggled, “maybe just a little bit.”

“Y/N/N, you know what sounds amazing?” Quinn asked, you could hear the smirk in his voice.

You turned to each other and you both smirked knowing you were thinking the same thing.

“Spaghetti tacos!!” You both said. 

Ever since you were about 10 and you watched iCarly on TV, you had always wanted to try them. It had become an inside joke between you and Quinn for quite some time as he had the same desire as you to see how good they actually were.

“We should totally try them tonight!!” Quinn was quite excited.

“I’m so confused right now,” Jacob chimed in.

“They’re from a show! They take spaghetti and put it in taco shells,” you explained.

“Ahh, hence the name.” he nodded.

“Exactly,” Quinn said.

You jumped up from the couch excitedly and ran straight to your kitchen.

“Ok, we have spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, taco shells, aaaand..... by chance do either of you know how to make good meatballs?”

“You’re asking the Swedish guy if he knows how to make meatballs?” Jacob replied.

“Not Swedish meatballs, Italian, stupid Giraffe,” you retorted. 

“Gross,” he said with a disgusted look.

“Ooo my mom made the best Italian meatballs, let me call her to see if she can send me the recipe!” Quinn said with a big smile.

Quinn exited the kitchen and ran to your room to call his mom. 

“You know, I’ve never seen him so excited about anything,” Marky said with a laugh. 

“Quinn loves his food,” you replied.

“Are Brock and Thatch having dinner with us ?”

“I’ll ask.”

You started boiling the water for the pasta, and you cooked part of the ground beef for the meat sauce. Then you texted Brock:

Y/N/N: hey, you want me to make you dinner

Brock: Yeah, who all is there?

Y/N/N: the usual

Brock: Huggy and Marky?

Y/N/N: yep, so do you want some?

Brock: Yeah, and make enough for another person too

Y/N/N: ok

You figured it was Dems since that’s who he went to hang out with when he left 5 hours ago. 

You continued to cook when Quinn came in and grabbed a bunch of stuff from the pantry and cabinets. “Did your mom tell you how to make them?” you questioned your frantic best friend.

“Yes she did and she sent me the recipe too.”

“Coolio,” you reply.

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

You were almost done cooking, the pasta was done, Quinn had put his meatballs in the oven and there were only 5 minutes left on the timer. And the sauce had about 2 minutes to simmer.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot what to do when they're almost done, she does this thing, I have to call her,” Quinn said with a panicked look on his face. He ran back to your room.

The front door to your apartment opened quickly, both boys laughing, “ahh, shit,  my brother’s calling me,” Brock said as he ran back to his room.

“Why does everyone feel the need to exit the room for phone calls?” you asked Jacob.

He shrugged with a giggle, “I don't know, maybe they don’t trust us,” he said in a sarcastically dramatic tone grasping his chest.

The door closed slowly and you glanced at the doorway where you thought you’d see the ever adorable goalie, Thatcher Demko, instead, you saw the adorable, slender, tall blonde you’d seen all the time, but never had a one on one interaction with... except the first time you met, when he told you that you looked pretty.

“Hi, Petey!” Jacob said as he slipped behind you to watch you mix the sauce, he stood over you looking at the sauce and put his hand on your waist.

“Hi,” he replied, his smile from before had faded.

“Looks so good Y/C/N/N,” Jacob said with a kiss on your cheek, a regular action. 

“Thanks, Giraffe, can you grab the taco shells?”

He grabbed them easily from the top shelf (tall ass bitch -_-), and moved behind you, placing his hands on your waist yet again, to move you to the side. “I've gotta run to the bathroom, but I’ll be right back”

“Ok, you have fun with that,” you said with a wink.

Suddenly, was only you and Elias in the room, and the silence was deafening.

“So what are we eating?” he said, pulling your attention to his bright blue eyes.

“Um, spaghetti tacos, they're from a tv sho-”

“Like from iCarly?” he interrupted.

“...Uh yeah? How'd you know?” you couldnt pull your attention away from his eyes, ‘they are just so beautiful,’ you thought somehow you hadnt noticed this within the on and a half years you’d known him.

“We also get Nickelodeon, you know,” he said while throwing you a smirk that made your stomach flip. 

“Oh, I didn't know that,” you replied, feeling just a little embarrassed. 

“iCarly was my favorite, actually.” 

“Yeah, it was mine too,” you said, smiling back, looking at the way he just lit up your kitchen with his presence.

You both stood there for a second just looking at the other, “So how long have-,” he started.

“OKAY,” Quinn unknowingly interrupted, “so she told me what to do, turns out I have to put sauce over them for the last 2 minutes, so Y/N/N can you just put a tablespoon of sauce on each ball then put them back in for two minutes?” 

“Yeah of course. Elias, you were saying?” you looked back at the Swede.

“Oh it's nothing,” he looked down at his shoes. 

“Ok, Y/N/N you need to call mom and tell her we’re fine and that she doesn't need to worry about us please, Paul says she’s stressing,” Brock said as he entered the room.

“When is she not stressing about us? I’ll call her after dinner, how's dad?”

“Doin’ good, nothing has changed or progressed or whatever since we were home last,” Brock moved and sat on the couch letting out a big sigh.

“That’s good,” you let out a sigh.

“Petey, come here, we’re watching Gossip Girl” Brock shouted at the Swede.

“Ooo what episode are you guys on?” you asked. Brock had mentioned how he was making him watch the show you two had watched about 5 times together. 

“Just after Chuck gets Dan kidnapped at Yale.” 

“Oh so you still hate Chuck?” you asked Elias.

“Ew, yeah...wait is that gonna change?” Petey said with a scoff.

“Uh....,” you stalled.

“Y/N shut up, don't spoil it,” Brock interrupted before you could make it worse.

“Ok well, dinner is ready so just start the show after and we can all watch it together.”

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

“Oh my god, these are actually amazing,” Quinn said with his mouth full.

“I know, I did not think this was gonna taste good,” Jacob added.

“Hey!” you said, offended.

“Y/C/N/N, you know I love your cooking, it was the idea of the meal that I doubted,” Jacob said leaning into your side and putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Mmmhmm, suuure,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Hallå Marky, ni två är söta (hey Marky, you two are cute),” Petey said, confusing you, Quinn and Brock with the sudden change in language.

Jacob, being oblivious to what Petey was implying, just said, “tack broder (thanks, bro).”

Little did you know what was going on in Elias’s head.

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

PRESENT

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

Before that night, you never really thought of Elias in a romantic way. You'd been around him quite a lot, seeing as how, seemingly, is in your apartment more than his own. Sure, you knew he was cute and very sweet from what you'd seen, but up until that point, you'd never had a one-on-one interaction with him. That interaction, however small, was the beginning of an obsessive crush. Quinn was the first to point it out, you started listening closely any time he talked, attempting to converse with him, and thinking about him on a daily basis even when you didn't see him. And due to your stubbornness, no matter how unrequited your crush seemed, it never faltered. You had always thought he hated you, or maybe he just tolerated you because you were Brock’s sister, and you were always around. 

However, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

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

Tag list: @calgarycanuck @suffering-canucks-fan

[jemej3m]

Yo. Yo. Yoo. A Highschool musical au. Yeah you heard me.

bruh cross clique relationships are my jam

pt. 1? maybe

*

When they’d first met, Neil had been hiding from everyone else on the roof of the ski lodge. Wymack had brought him on holiday and encouraged him to join in with the teen party going on in the karaoke lounge with Dan and Kevin, but he’d taken one look and noped the hell out. 

Curled into a ball, he had never expected his angsty teenage silence to be broken by another short, bad-mannered boy, equally as distasteful of loud gatherings and soda-stupid teenage shenanigans. 

There had been something very familiar about him, like Neil had seen him before.

He also had a pack of cigarettes. 

Neil had yearned for one, like he yearned for his mom, and Andrew had asked for his name in exchange for the lighter. They’d sat in silence, letting the dulled sounds of music and cheers wash over them like a particularly persistent draft.

When Neil flinched away at the first pop of the fireworks, Andrew had frowned. And when Neil had explained they sounded too much like gunshots, Andrew gave him his number, scoffing at Neil’s old flip phone. 

Then he’d proceeded to bitch about his cousin, the one who had dragged him and his twin brother on a ‘bonding’ trip, and was then forcing him to move across the country so they could all live together. it distracted Neil from the gunfire overhead: whether or not that had been Andrew’s intention, Neil thought he’d never know. 

He assumed he’d never see Andrew again. 

But then school started up again.

Guess who was the new kid?

*

Andrew didn’t think that high school movies were actually grounded in reality till he moved to Palmetto State high. But the minute that he walked in through Palmetto State High’s front doors, he was instantly proven wrong. 

Aaron, who had already done his freshman year and half his sophomore year here, seemed unfazed. He was a generally unfazed person, expect when Andrew purposefully ignored him and then smashed his ass at Mariokart. Then he’d lose his temper but ultimately be angrier at himself, because he didn’t want to be anything like his mom had been. 

Andrew never had the chance to meet Tilda. She’d died just before they met: her will was the only reason that Aaron had found out about Andrew in the first place.

Aaron shoved his glasses up his nose and neatly ducked past a set of boisterous jocks who were bouncing a basketball to one another. 

“I already hate it here,” Andrew muttered, following after his brother. 

“It gets worse,” Aaron sighed. “Wait till you see the Exy jocks. The cheerleaders are - ” his face screwed up for a second. “Not all bad.” 

“What are you?” 

“We,” Aaron insisted. “Are nerds. Did you think you’d be able to escape the fact that we’re identical?” 

“I’m not a nerd,” Andrew muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide the bracelet he wore. Bee had given it to him as a parting gift: it was the solar system, to scale, with the space between the planets made out of carbon fibre. 

“Are you kidding? The only thing you moved in with was a box of books.” 

“Whatever.” 

They brushed by the office, Aaron ignoring the freshman’s offer to take Andrew on a tour of the school. Her name-tag read Robin and she was clearly unfazed by their complete disregard of her presence. 

“History first,” Aaron huffed, squinting at Andrew’s timetable. “Good, we’re together. History sucks: we have Mr Moriyama, and his shitty nephew Riko is in that class too.”

“What’s so shitty about him?” 

“You’ll see.” 

Fantastic, Andrew thought. The day was shaping up to be an absolute nightmare. 

“Mr Minyard,” drawled a nasally man who lingered by the door. When he saw Andrew, his eye twitched. “And Mr Minyard. So the attendance sheet wasn’t an error.”

Aaron just muttered something under his breath and dragged Andrew by the sleeve. The tables were set up in spaced-apart rows, but the back was already claimed by a group of delinquent-looking attention vacuums. The others were all crowded around one boy, who had his feet kicked up on the table in front of him and an uncanny resemblance to the history teacher. 

He looked between Andrew and Aaron and sneered. Before he could open his mouth to say something, his uncle clapped his hands and called the class to attention. 

Just as Mr Moriyama was about to start the lesson, what could only be described as the human embodiment of disaster. 

When Andrew recognised him, his cheeks went red. 

“Mr Josten,” Mr Moriyama said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How is it that you are always late to my class, when your brother’s already here?” 

The brother in question looked nothing like Neil. He was taller, paler, with black hair and green eyes. He was also glaring at Neil, like that was going to make a difference. 

“My bad,” the red-head shrugged. 

“Detention,” Mr Moriyama said. 

“I have practise,” Neil retorted. And - oh, god, he was a jock. A smart-mouthed sporty boy. Fuck. Andrew thought he’d never see the boy from the rooftop again, but here they were, sitting in the same history class. 

“Should have thought about that before you were late,” the greasy man sneered, sending Neil on his way. Neil slumped his way past the desks till he saw Andrew sitting behind his brother, eyes widened with shock. 

Andrew, involuntarily, found himself giving Neil a small salute. Neil’s lips quirked up as he slid into his chair, letting the first lesson of the day finally begin. 

*

Neil jogged into practise late. This wasn’t surprising to anyone, least of all Wymack, who was leaning against the plexiglass with a knowing frown. 

“Could you stop antagonising Mr Moriyama’s own nephew in his class?” 

“In my defence,” Neil admitted. “Today’s detention was because I was late, not because I accidentally spoke my thought about Riko out loud instead of reciting them in my head.”

“Get on the court, you little shit,” he said, though not without fondness. Neil had been adopted by the Exy coach at the end of his freshman year, when he’d figured out why Neil was breaking into the changerooms to sleep. 

He jogged up to Kevin, who was less than impressed as he stood by the goal. 

“What the hell, Neil?” 

“The only reason I was so late was because Gordon still hasn’t forgiven you for getting him kicked off the team and he likes to hang around my locker to take it out on me!” 

Dan, Wymack’s other adopted child and team captain, was standing nearby and laughing. “Don’t try and flip this on Kevin: you just like picking fights with Seth.” 

Neil grinned at her. “It’s so easy.” 

“Oi!” Wymack called out. “We running drills or not?”

When he saw the blonde head of hair bobbing up and down, Neil’s grin faltered slightly. He was still in shock that Aaron had a twin, that the twin had moved here, and that twin had been the exact person Neil had met on the roof of the ski resort a few weeks ago. 

No wonder he’d found Andrew’s face so familiar. He was truly an idiot for not picking up on it.

Andrew sat down, high in the bleachers. Neil felt a strange prickle at the back of his neck, like he had when they’d talked for hours up on the roof. 

Practise went too fast after that. Neil stayed behind to help his coach pack up, Kevin and Dan bickering about plays as they went off to the showers. 

Coach went off with the equipment, giving Andrew a cursory glance. Perhaps he recognised Aaron’s face: the boy had nearly done tryouts for the team at the start of freshman year but chickened out. 

Neil skipped the steps, leaping up three at a time. Andrew was lounging on the bleachers, head cocked to the side. 

“So,” Neil said. “You never mentioned that you were moving to Palmetto.”

“We were in a random Colorado ski lodge,” Andrew rolled his eyes. “What were the chances?” 

“Clearly high enough.” Neil perched on the seat beside him. “So, Aaron’s brother, huh?” 

“Obviously.” 

Neil grinned. “Give me some slack: it was dark. I suppose you’ll be following him around, at first?” 

Andrew just shrugged. “I don’t have anything better to do.” 

“Do you like Exy?” 

His eye twitched. “I’ve played before. Why?” 

Neil felt his grin widen. “You should try out.” 

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest. “Aaron says I’m doomed to be stuck with the nerds, so long as I look like him. Apparently that’s a big deal here.” 

Neil faltered slightly. “Well, yeah. Everyone kinda sticks to their own. I’ve always wanted to join the Olympiads, but they’d never let me on the team. I’m good at math and physics, but I’m on the Exy team. They don’t associate with jocks.”

“Olympiads,” Andrew mumbled. “Jesus Christ.” 

“Hey!” 

“This entire school is a disaster,” Andrew said, notching a cigarette between his lips and spun the lighter between his fingers. “I don’t give a shit about their stupid cliques.” 

Neil felt something warm in his chest. He’d always felt the same. “Careful. If Riko thinks you’re kicking up dust, he’ll retaliate. He likes to think he owns the place and prefers that everyone just sticks to their own.” 

Andrew trotted down a few steps before looking back over his shoulder at Neil. “Well, he can just get in line.” 

Huh, Neil thought, when he couldn’t get Andrew’s smirk out of his mind for the rest of the day. This is new.

*

gosh, teenagers r so melodramatic 

@filteredred don’t call me out on hypocrisy 

[nagdabbit]

so as someone who has never watched GCW or CZW or seen Nick Gage wrestle, but wants to be prepared for what mayhem may come on Dynamite, would I regret buying the Homecoming Day 1?

maybe. if you're not into deathmatch/hardcore wrestling, it might be A Bit Much to start with. also, gcw shows cost cash monies, as you said. for me? absolutely worth it, the card is absolutely stacked. hell, 2 cold scorpio whoopin ass at 55 years old was worth the price of admission. but if you don't know what you're getting yourself into, it might put you off.

i'd suggest starting easy (and free) with some beyond matches on youtube. beyond wrestling is a great promotion, gage's second home after gcw, they always put on fuckin bangers of shows. and they put out a shitton of free matches on youtube!

gage vs g-raver, 50,000 thumbtacks match.

a nice, easy appetizer. a good place to dip your toe into the hardcore shit. (i'd also suggest looking into an iwtv sub and finding the 100,000 thumbtack match from halloween 2019 [? i think? i dont have it open in front of me]. nick gage vs mance warner. heckuva time.)

gage vs addy starr, no dq. we love and support intergender wrestling in this house. if you arent a fan, for personal reasons, skip this one. i get it. if you think it shouldnt exist at all, then we will have words.

anyway, great match. made me fall a little in love with addy, good show all around. (pretty sure that was the same show with chris dickinson vs effy, which isn't related, but i sincerely loved it and recommend that match to anyone who will listen. or, this was the double header with gcw, and that match was on the the show.)

i cant think the gage match will go harder than dr. britt baker d.m.d. vs thunder rosa, or the bunkhouse match, or the first mox vs omega match with the barbed wire web. there *is* a limit to what you can show on cable tv, after all. but if you enjoyed those, there's a good chance you'll end up enjoying homecoming. but, as evidenced above, gage clearly knows what he's doing, too. he can hit whatever level they need him to. hell, go look up ndk (nerder death kill, his tag team with thomas santell--ask me about ndk, i love ndk) matches. he can actually wrestle, too. hell, i like his one winged angel better than kenny's. yeah. i fuckin said it. come at me.

anyway, my point was, its probably not going to end up as violent as we want it to. he can work well within set parameters, ie: tv ratings. he's coming off the b r u t a l match last night. hes been teased for homecoming part 2 tonight. mans gotta be hurting.

but, just in case they let him do his thing, here's a little taste of the true god of this shit.

gage vs shlak. this is, i think, what we're all wanting, expecting, and hoping for for wednesday night. absolute fucking mayhem. blood. lighttubes. pizza cutters to the face. total fucking destruction.

this isn't a full match, but i will always put pro wrestling cinema over. they do good work. but DO search this full match out if you wanna spend money (rspring break from gcw' the collective event over wrestlemania weekend. delightful show). highly recommend. but even just in highlight form, set to dmx songs, this fucks. it remains one of the hardest, bloodiest, most painful--even for me--gage matches i've seen in recent memory, outstanding work. may dmx rest in peace, one of the best there ever was or will be.

if you're enjoying yourself, and you find that you dont mind spending money on the king, i would highly suggest: gage vs effy from the gcw/black lable pro double feature, 2 cups stuffed. im pretty sure the whole show is on iwtv, but it might be a buy from fite (which, if theyre still doing the "download the app and get like 10 bucks of credits," do it. this isn't an ad, but thats basically a free ppv). one of my favorite matches. effy brought it. absolutely insane. a+ would recommend.

also, the gage vs allie kat texas deathmatch which gave the world the best wrestling promo to exist ever.

and also gage vs aj gray from gcw draft day in may. it has everything. mayhem. gage retaining the title (😭 fuck you cardona). aj gray being a baddass. a jon moxley run in. ron funches on comentary. great time all around.

i may have gotten distracted a lot because i havent had coffee yet, but i just love nick gage, y'all.

[musinglymuse]

This recommendation list focuses on the main pairing, the hottest couple in Check Please: Eric “Bitty” Bittle and Jack Zimmerman or more affectionately known as Zimbits. They’ve come a long way since the beginning of Check Please!

I’ve compiled some of what I consider excellent fanfics that feature this couple although it does not contain all of my recommendations. They are in no particular order. I plan on creating more recommendation lists down the line, especially for other pairings in this fandom.

As a reminder, please make sure to check the tags and any warnings before reading. Take care of yourself!

Hold It All At Bay by psocoptera Psychic Bond AU // ~50k // R

The theory of extrapolative synchronization of the mirror neurons was debunked back when he was still in his teens, so Jack is reluctant to mention that he can smell Bitty's pies baking from across campus.

Easy P-Z by ebjameston HGTV AU // ~21k // PG-13

Jack and Kent are the ridiculously handsome house-renovating married retired hockey players that’ve been making HGTV an absolutely stupid amount of money with their new show.

And Eric Bittle just got hired to be their show’s caterer.

Eric Bittle, NBC 10 by foryouandbits Journalist AU // ~82k // NC-17

In 2009, Jack Zimmermann was drafted 2nd overall to the Providence Falconers. After a tumultuous first season in the minors, Jack returns to the NHL and is named captain within a year. Known to the media as the "hockey robot," no one seems to be able to break through the polite barrier that Jack has built — no one until Eric Bittle, newest intern at NBC 10. Bitty, interning as a requirement for his journalism degree at nearby Samwell University, forms an instant connection with Jack. Throughout the rest of the season, and the rest of Bitty's junior year at Samwell, the two grow closer while learning how to both trust each other and succeed in their respective careers.

What I want to feel, I want to feel it now by RabbitRunnah Bakery AU // ~28k // PG-13

Eric Bittle knows the way his life is supposed to go: According to an old family curse, the love of his life will take one bite of his famous apple pie and fall madly in love with him. And they'll live happily ever after.

There's only one problem: Jack Zimmermann doesn't like pie.

Back to You by PorcupineGirl Canon Divergence // ~15k // PG-13

When Jack kissed him at graduation over a year and a half ago, Eric had been too shocked to really think about what it might mean, long-term. They'd talked constantly over the next six weeks, enough for him to feel confident that Jack felt the same way he did, and to start to imagine what those far-off futures might look like together.

And then Jack came to Madison for the Fourth of July, and Eric made the stupidest mistake of his life: He let himself and Jack talk themselves out of it.

he will take you by hockeydyke Camp Counselor AU // ~55k // PG-13

Jack Zimmermann has been a part of Camp Samwell for the majority of his life-- first as a camper when his parents spent summers in nearby at a lake house in scenic upstate New York, then as a counselor, and now as the program director of the entire camp. The problem now is that the camp is attracting bad luck left and right, and they’re losing campers and staff at an alarming rate. Enter Eric Bittle, Jack’s new co-director. He’s young, enthusiastic, and maybe he’ll have what it takes to get the situation turned around.

Unfortunately, something powerful is in control of Camp Samwell, and it wants Bitty to get out.

<lj-cut text="you see who I am and what I did"> by tomato_greens Rock Band AU // ~11k // PG-13

Rolling Stone

No Jack Zimmermann Is An Island by Jennifer S. Harada

After avoiding me for a week, Jack Zimmermann calls to ask me to meet him at a bakery. Or maybe a diner; he’s not sure what to call it. A brunch place, although they make great pies, too.

“Sure,” I say, “whatever you want, Mr. Zimmermann.”

“Jack,” says Zimmermann. His voice is higher than I expect it to be, and his Québécois accent more pronounced. “I’ll see you there.”

someone to count on (and other cheesy idioms about finding your soulmate) by heyfightme & omgpieplease Soulmate AU // ~9k // PG-13

Eric’s counter reads 1. That’s all. Just 1. He’s eighteen years old, has not left the state of Georgia in his entire life, and his counter reads 1.

He has spent many mindless afternoons and worn out many pens in tracing it over into a 0. If the counter did read 0, the morning wouldn’t be looming like the black rainclouds that Mama used to call “omens.”

Eric is leaving for college in the morning. When he passes the state line from Georgia to North Carolina in the passenger seat of his Mama’s sedan, he’ll also be passing the last chance he has for the counter to make it to 2.

Calendar Boy by darter_blue Canon Divergence // ~15k // R

It was supposed to be totally innocent. A friend of Lardo’s was putting together a little project, compiling a calendar of some of the openly gay athletes on campus, fundraising for the LGBTQ+ community outreach programs at Samwell.

Bitty hadn't really even been reluctant. Excited about the prospect of a fun photo shoot and a chance to dress up a bit, do something glamorous.

And he thinks it's a great photo (if not a bit more revealing than what he was expecting…). And when the calendar comes out it’s nerve racking but exciting. Until one by one the team finds a copy (Jack may be hiding one under his mattress), and then it's pandemonium.

is it too late now to say sorry by magneticwave AU // ~5K // PG-13

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS, Eric types furiously into Twitter. THIS IS LIKE RENAMING LAKE WOEBEGONE “LAKE SCOTT WALKER.” // Or, the only person in the entirety of Canada who is upset about Jack Zimmermann’s first Stanley Cup is Eric Bittle, and by God is every single one of Eric’s 160,000 Twitter followers going to hear about it.

I Can Feel the Storm Inside You by Effyeahzimbits AU // ~15k // NC-17

Life is going good for Eric Bittle. It's summer, he has an exciting new job with the Providence Falconers, he's in a club celebrating with his friends, and he currently has a Canadian Adonis grinding up against his ass. Life is good.

Until said Canadian Adonis flees the morning after some mind-blowing sex, leaving behind a rubbish note. Bitty tries hard to forget about him and his huge, pert ass and focus on his new job, but then Canadian Adonis and the Falc's grumpy, anti-social captain turn out to be one and the same. And Bitty really couldn't forget about that huge, pert ass.

three words that became hard to say by the_one_that_fell Canon Divergence // Series // ~35k // R

Ten years after Samwell, Eric Bittle and Jack Zimmermann find each other again.

Flight Check by edgarallanrose Flight Attendant AU // ~15k // NC-17

Flight attendant Eric “Bitty” Bittle has been working his way up at Samwell Airlines for the past four years, and his new promotion has provided him the opportunity to work with a brand-new crew. Unfortunately for Bitty, that crew includes an incredibly handsome but equally grumpy pilot, Captain Jack Zimmermann, who seems to want nothing to do with Bitty. Even worse, Jack refuses to eat any of Bitty's baked goods. Will Bitty be able to win the captain over? Or is there another reason Jack has been avoiding Bitty?

Bits of Heaven by WrathoftheStag Older / Bakery AU // ~22k // R

At age 44, NHL legend, Jack Zimmermann, knows three things for sure: retirement is boring, love is probably not in the cards for him, and his aging father makes a pretty good roommate. When the bakery "Bits of Heaven" opens up down the street, Jack finds that a happily ever after is possible—even late in the game.

A Tolerance for Pain by uniqueinalltheworld Soulmate AU // ~3k // R

It makes sense, his mother tells him when he's nine: Jack's such a physical person, of course his indicator would be his soulmate's pain. Jack doesn't have anything to say about it, really, he just scowls and winces as his soulmate falls down again. Alicia Zimmermann, whose heterochromia reversed itself upon laying eyes on Bob for the first time, because she’s more passionate about visual media, pats him on the shoulder with a completely insufficient amount of sympathy. Jack's backside is sore for months as the falls keep happening, and he can only think that somewhere, his soulmate must be learning how to skate.

[mistymark]

nct dream as college kids

RENJUN

works on campus til late

always asleep

likes to study in the library because its the only place he can get some bloody peace

texts jaemin to bring him food

went to the on-campus gym once and never went back

complains about parking on campus

complains about his friends on campus

but he loves them and always organises activities and catch ups

the glue that keeps everyone in touch despite their different degrees and campuses

laughs too loud and always gets stared at for doing it in class

once got kicked out of the library for his loudness

to be fair, he did accidentally fall out of his chair... and pull the table down with him

his id actually looks good

does half the pre-reading then just listens to lectures to understand the rest

o ve. r whe l me d

still maintains a brilliant GPA

his project group members always love him

JENO

wears hoodies and sweats to every class

still looks really good though

and distracts everyone in his classes

lives off free food at parties and tight-ass tuesdays specials

is in advanced classes bc he had the grades for them but doesnt understand shit

still manages to look bored in class even when hes confused and/or focused

sits in the back and then squints at the board bc mans cant see

carries like three things with him to every class

owns one (1) pen

he doesnt even write anything with it he just chews on it during class

everyone thinks its hot but the guy sitting beside him (jaemin) looks disgusted the entire time

has received many anonymous love letters on facebook but hasn't read any of them

not to be mean - he just doesnt find it interesting

drafted a love letter to someone in one of his lectures and then deleted it

hasn't looked at the page since

actually does the pre-reading

then gets bored in lectures when they just go over what he read about

JAEMIN

smiles 24/7 even when hes stressed

supportive af tho

always sporting the Cozy aesthetic

wears sweaters and vests in temperatures you'd think wouldnt be suitable but the boy doesnt appear to sweat???

wears rly cute glasses sometimes and !!!!!!!!

waves at people he knows

does not hesitate to run up to people and start conversations with them out of nowhere

attends Donghyuck’s parties to SpEnD TimE WiTh HiS fRieNdS

has never lost a game of beer pong

girls say he gets 10x hotter when hes drunk because hes way more flirtatious and fun

but he probably just flirts w Jeno the whole time

walks into lectures with sunglasses on and everyone knows what happened the night before

never leaves the house without food

his backpack is 30% necessities like laptop, books, phone, keys etc.

and 70% granola bars and fruit

doesnt want to spend money on food on campus

drinks way too much boba tho

is in Disney society and probably becomes co-president after a year

DONGHYUCK

throws parties for every no reason

wears the same outfit every day bc he knows he looks good

youngest kid in his frat

talks a lot of shit about how hes a player and can get any girl he wants but the second a girl looks at him hes a blubbering mess

in fact, hes probably got a huge crush on someone in his lecture that hes never talked to

attends online lectures so he can play video games at the same time

has to be told to turn his mic off during group discussions because hes eating really loudly

isn't afraid to talk in class

sometimes rocks up wearing something outside of his normal dress code because hes still discovering his style

but everything he tries suits him

basically started the bucket hat trend - he claims so anyway

won't let anybody touch his student id

no one has seen the photo but many speculations have been made over how bad it is

the only person who has seen it is one of the librarians

Chenle and Jisung made it their mission to see it but to this day they havent been able to get it

its a series on Chenle’s tiktok bET

CHENLE

became famous on tiktok over the summer so now everyone knows who he is ??

does wild shit bro

does vlogs with his friends

‘I joined the kpop dance club at my college and it went like this”

lots of videos of him and his friends going batshit crazy at night

wears expensive yet extremely tasteful clothing

catch him walking around campus in pressed shirts

never looks tired ??????? how does he cope ??????

tags jisung in love letters that are definitely not for him

tags jisung in love letters that are definitely for him

probably wants to start a youtube channel when he graduates

girls want to date him but more often guys want to be him

is super nice but

glares at anyone who says he doesnt need a degree to take over daddy’s business

did a kiss or slap challenge once and everyone kissed him and its very pure

maintains solid grades

everyone knows who he is whether they know him from tiktok or not

probably on really good terms with his professors

loves to send emails ?

JISUNG

that one kid in high school that became super hot over the summer

people from his school dont even recognise him

makes the older kids feel gross when they realise hes younger than they are and they've been thirsting over him for ages

people who wouldnt even glance in his direction in high school now want to be his friend

mostly keeps to himself and his studies

joins a few clubs and societies

got roped into Disney society by jaemin

had to attend the ball and wanted to die when he got crowned as the official prince

I dont think he did Disney society the year after

though he did think the dancing at the ball was fun and joined a dance troupe

gives his number to people in his project group then forgets to respond when they text him

does his work tho so who can complain

dies of embarrassment whenever he sees chenle has tagged him in love letters on facebook

at some point chenle has downloaded tinder onto his phone and tried to match him with people

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

What We Did, pt. 26

Summary:  After finding out you were pregnant, Bucky agrees to help you leave the hero life. The two of you go to Seattle, and hamper down for six months until you start dreaming of a certain someone. Convinced the dreams are a sign, you and Bucky go back to New York. Will everyone be happy to see the pair of you? What questions will they have? And will the lie Bucky and you made up finally resurface?  

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my main bitch @childishhoebinoo again. THIS IS A BIT SHORT, SORRY!

Warnings: //cheating//pregnancy//ADULT STUFF//

masterlist

Chapter Twenty-Six: Cutthroat 

The driveway was empty; you feel cold and guilty and everything in between.  You had seen it in Clint’s eye – your words had gotten to him and you were afraid you had made things even worse. There was nothing left to do but go inside and wait for Bucky to get home. You walked inside and felt an odd urge to pick up the phone and call Natasha. But it seems like forever since the last time you had seen her and told her not to come around – another regretful notch for your bed post.

You walked into the living room and sat down, fidgeting with the remote and pretending everything was okay until your cell rang. The caller ID flashed Tony’s name, grateful for the distraction, you picked it up and greeted the man with a false uplifting tone. Of course, he saw right through that and called you out on it.

“Did you install cameras in my house?”

“No.”  He laughed but it faded as soon as it arrived. You asked what was going on and he cleared his throat. “I got some bad news, kid. Clint’s lawyers called mine.”

“He was literally just here….”

“He showed up announced.” Tony repeated but it wasn’t directed to you – someone else was with him. “I’m going to put Pepper on the call, okay?”

Agreeing, you greeted her when she said hello. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” you answered. “I’m due in less than 10 days, so all this drama is doing wonders for my stress level.”

Pepper sighed. “That’s exactly what we don’t want to happen, so the lawyers and I came up with a solution, but I have to tell you – it’s a difficult one.”

What could be more difficult than being confronted by the wife of your unborn child’s father? Or losing your best friend because of your adultery? Or having a screaming match with Clint in front of the whole neighborhood? Knowing you could not do anything to change any of it and all at once, not wanting to change it.

“I’m a big girl,” you finally said, feeling prepared for whatever the options the lawyers and Pepper had come up with. “I’ll do anything to have some quiet for as long as I can get it.”

“Shit,” Tony groaned. “Rhodey is hounding my cell; I’ll leave you two to it.”

He hung up his end and Pepper exhaled. “He won’t tell you this but this whole situation has gotten to him. He loves you and wants the best, and he will fight on your side but….”

“…. this situation has already divided the team.”

She paused before saying yes but quickly adding that it was not your concern. “That can all be dealt with eventually, right now we want to make sure you’ll have some peace when the baby arrives.”

Willing away tears, you asked what needed to be done and she explained it all; you were going to contest the paternity of the baby. Maybe you slept with someone else around the same time as the affair with Clint, you will tell the court you are not sure and that you would like a paternity test to make sure. Since your due date is around the corner, the lawyers will petition for a DNA a week after the baby is born.

“It will allow the lawyers time to draft up a solid custody agreement and build a case if Clint wants to take things to court.”

“A custody fight?” The words came out of your mouth in a jumbled whisper and Pepper assured you that everything would be fine, especially in your case.

“Courts tend to favor the mother and your situation is ideal.” You asked what she meant by that and she explained that Bucky and you had created a stable home for your child. “Clint is still an Avenger, you two hung up the capes months ago to raise the baby. He will not be granted full custody if he can’t stay home for more than a few weeks at a time.”

It was true; Clint had more reason than the rest of the team to retire and he had not. He kept his family secret for a long time and even after everyone found out, he still was out avenging with the rest of us. You felt like you were betraying him, but you need for security was hungrier than the need to do the right thing. A maternal feeling had rushed over you and you would do anything to make sure your son would be in your arms and home with you. Clint had his family; you were fighting for yours. Speaking of, you resisted mentioning that Bucky and you had eloped. With everything that was going on, you weren’t sure adding that information right now would be best. It wasn’t like you were hiding it but the thought of hurting Pepper and Tony, especially Steve, with the news was too much for you. You knew those three specifically would have wanted to come – even Natasha, but you couldn’t think of that or her right now.  

“I’ll do it,” you breathed out, desperate to make it all go away. “I’ll do it, do I need to go out there to sign papers?”

“Not necessary; I’ll fly out an assistant with all the paperwork tomorrow. They will come by and everything will be done in minutes. The lawyers will submit it to the courts and have it expedited – courtesy of one Tony Stark.”

“It pays to know the guy, doesn’t it?”

Pepper laughed, it was sharp but light and it lifted the tension from the air. “Try being married to him.”

“I’ll pray for you,” you joked.

“Please,” she plead. “Oh, also, you can’t have connected with Clint. We are adding a no contact order, he cannot be showing up at the house like he did today. You are nine months pregnant; it is dangerous to have you so stressed out. The lawyers can use that against him – if he truly is the father, why would he risk putting you into early labor like that? I can have them document that if you want?”

It was terrifying to hear Pepper so direct and cutthroat, but you suppose that was why she was the CEO of Stark Industries and not Tony. You were glad to have her on your team and you were starting to think the two Starks were in first place for god parenthood.

“No, don’t, it’s fine.” It felt like the least you could do, considering Clint was going to be taking another blow to the groin. “Thank you, Pepper, sincerely.”

“Anything for you, kid.”

“Tony tell you to say that?”

She groaned. “He did.”

Sharing a laugh, the two of you said goodbye and hung up. Tossing the cell down onto the sofa cushion, you leaned back and rubbed a hand over your stomach. It was going to be tough to ignore Clint’s calls, which most likely would be coming soon. It was a bit nerve wrecking knowing he was still in the city unbeknownst to what had just occurred but then you glanced down at the ring on your finger and thought of Bucky. With that, it was all gone; the guilt and worry, because in the end, even if everything went up in flames, you’d still have him.

....

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@theflowerswillbloom​ @geeksareunique​  @crist1216 @gruffle1​

[bangtan-sonyeonddaeng]

Part 3

Summary: Soulmates have different ways of being connected to one another. Sometimes it’s through being able to write on their arms and having it show up on their soulmates. For others it was having their first words spoken to one another permanently tattooed into their skin. You had a unique connection with yours, one that you really hadn’t ever heard of happening before. Whatever song was stuck in your soulmate’s head was also stuck in yours and the same was for them. When Yoongi realizes one of his songs is playing on repeat in your head, he immediately takes to writing songs to communicate with you in hopes it will finally bring you two together.

Genre: Fluff. Just pure tooth rotting, sweet fluff.

Part 1       Part 2     Part 4

Yoongi sat at the computer, mind blank as he stared at a rough draft of a song he had been writing for his mix tape. However he soon realized that he was going to have to completely scrap everything and start all over. The lyrics he had written to go with this melody didn’t suit the words he wanted to say to you at all. He’s been at the studio for well over an hour now, pen and notebook laying next to him as he tried to think of lyrics to write for you. 

“God this sucks. I can’t think of anything!” He sighs in frustration and brings his hands up to his face to rub his tired eyes. He’s about to give up and start fresh tomorrow when he hears another song begin to enter his mind.

Alright banbokdwen shisogeim

He smiles to himself as he realizes another one of his songs is stuck in your head. And begins to chuckle when he realizes you must not know too much Korean as most of the words are just jumbled while the melody plays in your head. Are his songs really that catchy? Or did you possibly feel a connection to him through his music? He pulls out his phone to call Hoseok for help.

“Yoongi! How’s the song writing going?”

“It’s absolute shit. I haven’t wrote anything yet. I was wondering if you could help me? Or at least help me sort through the rough drafts of these tracks I’ve already produced to help me find one that is catchy and will get stuck in their head so I know they heard me.” 

“Of course! I’d be happy to help.” 

They spend a good half hour in the studio going over the different beats and songs Yoongi had saved before Hoseok shouts excitedly. 

“That’s it! That’s the one. This is perfect. It’s catchy, but it’s also soft and I think will really show the emotions you’ve been feeling towards your soulmate. There’s a bit here where the melody turns a little more harsh and that’s where you could speak your feelings honestly, your fears about never getting to meet. But then maybe at the end make it clear that this song is for them as a way to communicate. I don’t know just some ideas-”

“Hoseok that’s brilliant. Thank you. I think I finally know where to go with this.” 

“You’re welcome! Don’t spend too much time here, make sure to rest!” 

“I’ll rest when the song is finished. You know me.” 

“Alright. But just take breaks every once in a while, yeah?”

“Sure Hobi, thank you.” 

Yoongi sits down with his notebook and begins scrawling lyrics on the page. He works through the night and by the time he’s finished he is beginning to see the sun rise over the horizon. He smiles and decides he’s going to post it now, not wanting to wait any longer and hoping you’re awake. He opens up their twitter and posts a link to his song on soundcloud. Immediately people are liking, retweeting, basically going nuts over Yoongi having released another solo song. He smiles to himself and continues scrolling through the replies, until he comes across one particular one that makes him stop. 

I don’t know if you’ll see this but I hear you. I’m listening to every word. 

It’s about 5:00 pm when a notification on your phone goes off that BTS has tweeted something new. You open it immediately, and see a link to a song. You are seriously excited when you see it’s a new song for Yoongi’s mixtape. You click on it, anxiously waiting for the page to load as a slew of army also try to access the song. After the website crashes a few more times it finally opens for you and you listen to a sweet, beautiful piano melody playing. When he starts singing, even though you aren’t fluent in his language you can feel his emotions and what he is saying through his words. The song sounds... hopeful. But then towards the middle begins to sound more dark, as if he’s doubting something. As if he has all of this uncertainty and is rapping out his frustrations. The song ends on a more upbeat note, and the very last line is in English and it sends sparks up your spine. 

 I don’t know if you’re listening, but this was for you. 

You freeze, hand hovering over your phone before it drops to the floor. He wrote this song for you. Tears well up in your eyes as you realize he has been just as frustrated not being able to see or talk to you too. You stand there for a few moments processing everything when your phone starts ringing. You realize it’s your friend. You answer it, still feeling dazed.

“HE WROTE A SONG FOR YOU!”

“I am aware of that.”

“So you finally have come to terms with the fact that Yoongi is your soulmate huh?”

“I mean it’s pretty hard to deny it at this point. It feels like something is tugging on my heart every time I listen to his music.” 

“This must be his way of trying to find you and talk to you. He’s going to write a whole mixtape dedicated to you just watch.” You scoff into the phone.

“I don’t know about all that...” 

“it’s true! He will! Yoongi has always been very open and honest with his feelings. If this is at the forefront of his mind, then he’s going to write about it.” You sigh and flop onto your bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Maybe he’ll start including times and places he wants to meet you or something.” 

“That would just be stupid do you know how many fans would go there if he did that?”

“He’ll probably do it cryptically then. Listen to what he’s saying y/n, like really listen.”

“That’s gonna be kind of hard when I don’t know Korean...” 

“He posted a translation with the song!” 

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes! Go read it!” You immediately switch back over to their twitter and see that he did post screen shots of his notes with an English translation. You read the lyrics and it doesn’t stop you from tearing up even more. To read all of the frustrations he’s had with thinking he was never going to meet you, to now having hope that he’s heard you listening to his music that one day you will find each other. You don’t hesitate to grab your phone and tweet a reply. 

I don’t know if you’ll see this but I hear you. I am listening to every word. 

Yoongi doesn’t quite understand why reading that comment sent such intense butterflies into his stomach. Could it be you? Is it possible that he happened to find his soulmate in a sea of countless other replies? He tells himself no. That there’s no way that is even possible. But there is a small nagging in the back of his mind that keeps reminding him of what Namjoon had said to him, what all the guys have said to him. 

The universe has a way of making sure you two will be brought together. 

He taps on your page and sees that you just recently made it if the fact that one of only things on your page was the reply to him and another one stating that you were a new army. He smiles at that. And now he’s internally debating with himself if he should talk to you and try to get to know you, or if he was just being crazy. He’s leaning more towards being crazy. Maybe the lack of contact with his soulmate for this long is just making him see you in every body. He sets his phone down and sighs, but before long he begins to feel a pulling urge in his chest. Like someone is tugging him back over to his phone. Before he can stop himself he makes himself a fake suga stan twitter account and responds to you. 

I’m sure he will see this. He’s on social media much more than you think he just doesn’t always respond unless he has something really thoughtful to say.

Ah, thank you. I probably sound like some crazy fan don’t I?

Not at all.. I think... I think he would be happy to know that someone is listening to him. Like really hearing his words.

I hope so. I just feel bad you know? Like I wish I could just pop over to Korea be like here is your soulmate! So he doesn’t have to be sad anymore.

Are you his soulmate?

He has to wait a while before you respond. 

I believe so. I sincerely hope so. Anyone would be lucky to be his. He’s a wonderful person and cares about others so much. Even just in my short time being an army I can see that. 

Yoongi stops responding after that, not trusting himself to reveal who he is and fly you out on a plane to Seoul just to see for himself if you are his soulmate. He is frustrated, wondering how exactly he was going to get to meet you. He could set it through his song, but he needs to be careful about it. He can’t reveal too much or the entire fandom will be wherever the place is he is talking about. He’s about to start working on the next song when a text comes through. 

HYUNG GO TO BED! I know you’re still awake so sleep! Work on another song tomorrow night! Goodnight! 

Yoongi laughs as he reads the message from Taehyung. He texts him goodnight and lays down on the couch in his studio, drifting off to sleep with his song playing on repeat in his head and a wide smile on his face.

Tag list: @anoesjkaax​​​ ( didn’t forget you this time heheh) @just-call-me-trash-can​ @thestral-balerion​ @xcastielbabyangelface​ @rukinamukami​ @r-e-d-i-s-h​ @heartblackerthancoffee​ @rosita7703​

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag LXXXI

“not yet been subjected to the stickiness” see if I ever make pancakes for you again @akindofmagictoo (unless I haven’t, in which case you can have some. one time.)

sober (wait I just checked in that other tag and I didn’t have it so I guess I’ll write it into my story for you, happy?)

“Which of you are sober right now?” Nyks asked crossly, focusing on Irina’s hair in his hands. “And which of you should I tie together the shoelaces of so you don’t wander off?”

R ran a finger through Nyks’ hair just because he could. It was soft, same as it always was. “Not me, I don’t think. But really I’m only tipsy. I could probably drive a car if I had to.”

“No, you couldn’t,” Evie said with her cheek smashed up against Mark’s back. “You can’t drive.”

suit (Anxiety story draft 1)

“I was starting my teenage years and while I still considered Adelaide to be a pretty name, it was too grown up and sophisticated for me at that age. I refused to be Addie and I couldn’t be Adelaide, so that left Rhiannon. My mom was okay with going by my middle name. Lots of people have dropped their first name and gone by their second because it just suited them better and my mom agreed that Rhiannon did indeed suit me.” Ree paused to tilt her head back and look pensively at the ceiling.

sizzle (Rain story)

Jaino sucked in a breath, willing his suddenly racing heart to calm down. He started rubbing at his arms, a habit, trying to push the heat out of himself through his limbs. "T-there are people I can trust. I'll show- introduce you to them. We'll work it out. We-" Jaino bit his lip, springing up from the bed before it started to sizzle. The marble floor underneath him was only cool for a second before it was uncomfortably warm.

In a flash, Darsh went from mocking to concerned, or what Jaino hoped was concern, as he knelt next to Jaino and put his hands on Jaino's shoulders. "Does it still work?"

"It does," Jaino panted, leaning into the touch. "I don't usually flare so much. I guess you just bring out strong emotions." His half-hearted laugh became a grimace.

shoot (Shots)

Antonio sighed, looking away. Even with only his profile to go on, Lexi knew what he was thinking. When Antonio was in the company of people he trusted, he let his emotions hang in the air and wasn’t ashamed of them. Lexi could feel his disappointment in her reluctance to share more with him. Still, when he turned back, his expression showed understanding and patience and was absent of pity. That was something Lexi appreciated more than intrusive questions. Pity was like a knife; it broke any trust that had developed. Antonio had never pitied her.

“One more question.”

“Shoot.”

They shared a short, silent exchange about word choice before Antonio asked, “Will Jared turn on Murtagh?”

so I wrote a whole little scene to incorporate “sober” and this also happens: Mark was holding himself incredibly still inside the circle of Evie’s arms, his expression terribly soft and vulnerable. R watched him gently detach and then pull Evie around so she could rest her head on his shoulder in a less awkward position. It was both calculated and wonderfully plain. R could’ve smiled fondly if he had any ability to feel regular, affectionate feelings toward Isanz.

you are hereby requested to find three or four instances of a single word on this list, I want cuddles: soft, touch, hug, holding (specifically the hand variety) @akindofmagictoo @vellichor-virgo @ashen-crest @chayscribbles @iparisaltanwing OR ANYBODY