#this is probably based in a happiness!au fyi

[roosterbox]

Fic Rec Friday 12/8/23

Title: Little Birds

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom

Relationship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier

Characters: Erik Lehnsherr, Charles Xavier, Raven Darkholme, Hank McCoy, Alex Summers, Sean Cassidy, Angel Salvadore, Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel (X-Men), Armando Muñoz, Blackbird

Additional Tags: AU, Birds, Angst, Fluff, Romance, Pigeons

Summary: Bird AU. Erik is a lone kestrel on a mission to destroy the great golden eagle who killed his mother. Charles is an abandoned pet dove with no fear and a dream of making a place where the little birds can fly free. They don’t quite want the same thing, but together they’ll change the world.

———

Oh man. Oh maaaaaaan. I am so happy to be recommending this fic to y’all. I know a lot of my Cherik followers have probably been in this fandom at least as long as me, and as such have probably read this one at least once. Multiple times, in my case. But any of you recent converts might have missed it, on account of it being *checks publishing date* 12 YEARS OLD next January. Damn. Also, if you’re a real OG like me, you remember reading it In its original form… on the kinkmeme. Boy, the ‘gee Rooster, you’re getting old’ hits just keep building, don’t they? BACK TO THE FIC.

The fact that all these characters we know and love can be transposed into literal birds, and still retain just about everything we love about them? Amazing. And the plot, though obviously way different than the source, also retains enough of itself to still be believably based on the X-Men movies (First Class specifically, this was still 2011/2012), but with a fresh flair befitting this particular AU. The relationship between Charles and Erik is gradual, every new step feels earned and special, and sometimes - dare I say - you can almost find yourself forgetting that they’re, y’know, BIRDS.

All of the characters are so good. Weirdly enough, I’m especially kind of fond of Charles’ old owner. Such a sweet, kindly guy, who definitely immediately knows what’s up between his dove and the weird kestrel hanging around him, lol. Also, never thought I’d read a fic with bird sex in it, but here we are. The kinkmemes were very strange places; I miss them.

All in all, this one is always gonna be one of my favorite Cherik fics of all time. If it’s your first time hearing about it or reading it, awesome! Enjoy! And if you’ve read it before, remember: it’s always a good time to reread a great fic!

Important Note: This fic is locked, unfortunately, so you have to be logged in on AO3 to read it. No shade to the author, of course - do what you feel you must - but just FYI.

———

Next Week: Steddie time again! Shout out to all y’all who followed me for those Steddie thoughts/minifics, lol.

This one is really great. I initially wanted to drop it in the discord for recs on my birthday, but forgot. Also it’ll be 11 days after my cake day when this next rec will go up, but just go with it.

To summarize: Steve has a terrible birthday… until the Munsons get involved.

See you next Friday!

[zylian]

Au where everytime Subz returns to his base (any base since he has multiple) from either building/mining/exploring there is always someone in there, never 2 ppl only ever 1 person. Fyi Subz lives alone and doesn’t tell ppl where he lives

——

Most frequent is Planet, always makes himself a cup of hot chocolate chilling somewhere in the base. When Subz returns as if he’s a record tape he asks why Subz took so long. Subz never understands how Planet never fails to ask that question but Subz had come to learn out of all his “visitors” Planet is probably the most tame one

Less frequent is Zam surprisingly and whenever Subz comes back to find him, Zam has already made himself comfortable. He’s super warm welcoming to Subz or ominously asks a vague question that Subz knows that he has to answer right or Zam will go off to start some war without giving him the full context.

Occasionally is Speptical, he is rarely awake to greet Subz, he has usually crashed on the couch but when he is awake he has an extremely interesting story to tell.

——

Subz has gotten used to these visitors but when it’s not any of these 3 he has no idea what to expect.

When Spoke is there, Subz immediately knows he needs to move soon, like a crow warning bad things are a foot. He usually is here to eat all of Subz’s snacks.

When Mapiccs there he either straight up doesn’t talk to him or needs his attention the entire time. Mapicc will absolutely tell the current drama he’s in to Subz for validation. Mapicc sleeps over every time, he even makes a little fort in Subz’s living room.

When Parrot shows up, Subz immediately tries to leave. He rather wait for him to leave because If Parrots in his home he either is extremely tired and just wants to crash or will drag Subz into some sketchy ethical stuff.

When Roshambo arrives, Subz is worried. This man does not say a word, usually just sitting on his couch mindlessly watching TV. Subz offers him snacks and water cause he can’t imagine what could of happened for Ro to show up in his base.

When Pangi shows up, Subz knows Pangi got mixed into something and usually waits for Pangi to open up. Pangi usually makes a garden somewhere in Subz’s base that Subz has to take care or else Pangk would get sad.

When Red arrives, Red is concerned. Telling Subz to take a break for his health right before asking to go on some wild idea he has. Red rarely comes by but is the most welcomed.

When Leo shows up, Subz knows something is wrong. Someone has crossed Leo’s path and from the story Leo is about to tell him, Subz has to hope it only involves losing a few items to aid him.

More ppl but summed up——

Clutch is polite, but eats his food.

Vortex somehow always has nothing when he’s there, he always needs an enderchest

Vitalasy forgets where Subz lives so he can never surprise him, he always has to ask

Terrain NEVER comes inside uninvited, he waits outside and is possibly the most polite guest ever

Bacon usually needs to trade information

Jaron just wants to look at the base

Poafa gets kicked out

Ashswag accidentally stumbles upon it always

Clown looks around and has a normal chat with him

Mid has TEA to spill from ppl who’ve annoyed her, a life update usually

Cube is very appreciative and helps around to unattended plants and such

Woogie cleans up immediately and makes Subz a proper meal, while asking about his life

Rekrap stumbles upon it but never overstays

Branzy is usually looking for something that Subz somehow never has

Minute is just shocked, he can’t help it and Subz asks him how long he’s been like this

Jumper runs away the second she sees that Subz is back. All Subz knows is she was watching TV

4C is very happy to be there, usually needs a place to crash and is happy to tell his side of the story.

[kanerallels]

Obitine - I'll Be Home for Christmas <3

Featuring one of my sister's OCs, and my personal Obitine child OC:

He promised he’d be home.

She held onto that thought, trying not to pace. In the next room over, she heard Colette laughing as one of the Protectors, Aren, entertained her.

“I'll be home in time for Life Day,” he'd promised, pressing a kiss against Satine's forehead. “I just have to finish up a few things at the Temple first.”

She hadn't argued or pointed out the times he hadn't been able to make it. Satine didn't hold any bitterness against her husband and his work-- she just wanted him to be here. He'd told her and their daughter that he would make it, after all.

So where is he?

Her worries flooded over her, until she couldn't think of anything else. This distracted her so much that she didn't hear someone entering the room until an arm slipped around her waist, and a familiar voice murmured against her ear, “Worrying about me again, Duchess of mine?”

“Obi-Wan,” Satine gasped, and spun around to fling her arms around her husband, who pulled her willingly into his embrace. “You're home.”

Christmas drabble ask game!

[meltwonu]

4. “Don’t give me that look.”

18. “You’re in trouble now.”

19. “Take off your clothes.”

notes; dom!mingyu, dom!wonwoo, hybrid!reader, threesome, daddy!kink, sir!kink, degradation/name calling/dumbification, blowjobs, sprinkled in subspace, and a small side of hair pulling and size!kink ☠️🥴, also just as an fyi i’m not answering all of these in succession even tho i allowed anon to submit 3 asks with the same ceo!meanie au!! I’m just a wh0re for meanie so it is what it is dfhskd these are very self indulgent bc i would let them do their worst to me if they wanted kfjdhkd ☠️☠️☠️ HAPPY MONDAY! THIS IS PURE FILTH!!💕 Thank you for requesting! Enjoy!! 💕

“You’re in trouble now~”

Mingyu grins down at you from behind, watching as your fluffy ears twitch atop your head.

“But--but Jun s-said--”

“Ah, is that a disobedient little cumslut I hear talking?” Wonwoo drawls. “I could’ve sworn I said I didn’t want to hear a word from you ‘til I gave you permission to speak.”

You bite your bottom lip as you stand in between Mingyu and Wonwoo; both of them watching as your body already trembles just from standing in between their dominating forms. Mingyu’s fingers ghost across the small of your back, pushing you forward into Wonwoo who smirks at the way your pupils are already blown wide when your chest meets his.

“Now, if I’m not mistaken, Jun told you specifically that you were allowed into my office, correct?” Wonwoo uses his fingertips to tilt your head up even more; licking his lips when Mingyu cages you in from behind to keep you pinned in between them. “Speak.”

“Yes.”

This time it’s Mingyu, fingertips threading through your hair before slightly tugging on it until you whimper.  

“So, pray tell us, why exactly you were touching yourself in Wonwoo’s office when we never gave you permission for that, hmm?”

Your bottom lip quivers, brows furrowed when you stare right back into Wonwoo’s lust filled eyes.

“I--It smelled like you, d-daddy… ‘m so--sorry...”

Mingyu and Wonwoo share a look before their hands are sliding away from your body; confusion on your features when Wonwoo starts tinkering with the cuff links of his suit jacket.

“I want you to take off your clothes. And I want you on my bed, waiting for me and Mingyu in 5 minutes. Go.”

Neither of them ask, but considering how upset they both were with your actions, you take it upon yourself to get in position before they get into the room; knees digging into the bed with your arms crossed behind your back and your ass in the air.

Your face is planted into the sheets, thighs trembling as you inhale Wonwoo’s scent that floods your system.

They’d both been too busy to properly take care of you lately and you’d spent more time sitting in an empty office while they were at work than at home. They’d even put you on heat suppressants because of how little time they had and you were finding out just how much you really missed their touch.

“My, my, my what an obedient little cockwhore.” 

Mingyu’s voice has you jolting; soft whines spilling from your lips when you feel his warmth behind you on the bed. “Your dumb ‘lil pussy is already soaking, baby. I bet I can slide my cock right into your tight hole right now, huh?”

“S-sir, p-please… I--I need you and d-daddy so b-bad…” Your voice is muffled against the sheets; drool soaking into the fabric as you whine and moan.

“I know we haven’t had the time lately, sweetheart, but you know better than to touch yourself without our permission. And in my office, no less.” Wonwoo joins you and Mingyu on the bed, kneeling in front of you as you try your best to lift your head up.

Wonwoo threads a hand through your hair; fingertips massaging the base of your ears before you feel him tugging on your hair until you wince and plant your hands onto the sheets.

“Don’t give me that look. You probably knew what you were getting into, huh? Little cumslut. You knew we were finishing up our meeting and you knew I’d walk in on you with your fingers in that tight ‘lil cunt of yours. Crying out my name like a pathetic cock hungry slut. What if someone else walked in, hmm?”

You bite your lip, knowing that Wonwoo was 100% right.

“I’m s-sorry, d-daddy…”

Mingyu’s hand wraps around your tail, caressing it softly before he tugs on it harshly.

“Oh, baby, you’re gonna be.”

Your body rocks back and forth between Mingyu and Wonwoo; eyelashes wet with tears.

“This position suits you so well, baby. On your hands and knees for us like the obedient ‘lil slut you are.” Mingyu groans, watching as his cock only gets wetter and wetter with each snap of his hips.

“She’s not satisfied unless she’s stuffed full of cock. She needs both of us fucking her pussy and her mouth to get off.” Wonwoo smirks; fingertips massaging your scalp and ears as you choke and sputter around his cock. He shallowly thrusts his hips, watching as a tear slips down your cheek when you start to deepthroat him.

“Fuck, your mouth is so fuckin’ small but look at you taking all of my cock, sweetheart. Just how your little cunt is taking all of Mingyu too.”

The two males share a laugh; alternating their thrusts as you moan around Wonwoo’s cock and clench around Mingyu’s.

Your body fills with warmth as they both fuck you and despite knowing it would be a long night ahead, you were glad they had time for you today. Even if it was for misbehaving.

Mingyu angles his thrusts to graze against your g-spot and you quickly find yourself whining and shaking your hips as he growls and doubles his pace.

“Such a cock hungry slut. Your pussy is so tight around my fuckin’ cock.” He pauses, licking his lips. “Gonna fill you up with my cum so you can smell it on yourself for days ‘n know who fuckin’ owns your dumb pussy.” With each of his powerful thrusts, you feel yourself being nudged forward, taking more and more of Wonwoo’s cock down your throat until you’re gagging around him.

“Once Mingyu cums inside your pretty pussy, I’m gonna cum inside you too. Fill you to the brim with my cum and you best not let any of it spill. You wouldn’t want daddy to get mad again, would you?”

Wonwoo’s voice is soft yet dominating and has you whimpering around his cock as you feel your mind start to get hazy from the lack of oxygen and the harshness of Mingyu’s thrusts.

“Fuck, ‘m gonna c-cum…” Groaning, Mingyu wraps a hand around your fluffy tail again, this time using it as leverage as his thrusts start to lose their rhythm. Moaning around Wonwoo’s cock, your teary, hazy eyes look up at him to the best of your ability.

The said male tugs you by the hair, pulling you off of his cock as you sputter and catch your breath. He grins down at you, seeing your unfocused eyes blinking back the tears. “Is our cute ‘lil pup tired? You haven’t even cum yet. Not that you deserve it.”

Mingyu chuckles under his breath, “Will she even be able to cum tonight, hyung?”

“We’ll see. Depends on if she can behave or not.”

You let out a small whine when you feel Mingyu’s cock throbbing inside of your pussy and you’re quick to start fucking yourself on his cock as you meet his movements. “P--please cum inside, ah, of m-me, sir… I wa--want it, ngh, all…”

Wonwoo lets go of your hair and your head immediately rolls forward the second he pulls away. Your arms give out underneath you as well; face planting into the bed sheets as Mingyu chases his orgasm.

“F--fuck, take a-all of it!”

Your eyes roll to the back of your head when Mingyu cums and you can feel the warmth pooling in your lower abdomen as he grinds against you, riding out his high. His grip on your tail tightens as you mewl and clench around his cock.

“Fuckin’ made to take cock, baby. You take me so well…” Mingyu groans, thrusting into you a few more times before you start to feel him pulling out of you.

“I can feel how tight your ‘lil cunt was around my cock, baby. I know you wanna cum so bad. You know we’ll let you if you just asked~” There’s a teasing lilt to Mingyu’s voice that has you whimpering in return, already too far gone and full of cum to even form proper sentences anymore.

He lets go of your tail and pushes you over until you’re on your back, head lolling to the side as he pries your legs apart. “I can already see my cum about to drip out of your pussy. But you heard Wonwoo, didn’t you?”

You nod, panting when you feel him being replaced between your legs with Wonwoo who wastes no time and positions the head of his cock at your entrance.

He bottoms out in a single thrust, using Mingyu’s cum and your wetness as lubrication as he starts a quick pace from the start.

“Dumb ‘lil pup can’t stand it when your holes aren’t filled with cock, huh? Can’t even leave you alone for a couple hours without you needing to have something inside of your pussy.” Wonwoo scoffs, eyes trained on your lips that part in soft breaths and moans and your eyes that can barely stay open as he fucks Mingyu’s cum deeper into your pussy.

“Did it feel good? Hmm? But I bet it wasn’t enough for you, huh? Your small fingers probably weren’t even enough to satisfy you, right? Only our fingers and cocks are enough to satisfy your fuckin’ holes.”

Mingyu laughs under his breath from the side, licking his lips when he notices the way your body tenses and the way you let out garbled noises.

“Fuck, hyung, I think you fucked her stupid. She can’t even talk properly ‘cause she’s so drunk off of your cock.”

Wonwoo grins, doubling his pace as he feels himself close to cumming. “I’m gonna cum, sweetheart. Gonna get you nice ‘n full of my cum just how you like it.”

Your pussy clenches around his cock and despite wanting to cum too, you do your best to try and stave it off for now. “Ah… p-please…” Wonwoo’s thrusts become erratic and you can feel his cock throbbing inside of you as he, too, unloads all of his cum inside of your tight, warm walls.

The two of you share a moan; thighs trembling around his waist.

“Hmm~ She really loves it when we cum inside her tight ‘lil cunt. Bet she’s been desperate for us to fill her up since we’ve been so busy.” Mingyu pouts down at you, fingertips already massaging your ears.

“N-no, sir, d--don’t! I’m sen--sensitive!” You cry, tears spilling down the side of your face as the combination of Mingyu’s soft touches mix in with Wonwoo still cumming inside of you. 

You let out a loud cry as your orgasm hits you hard; choked breaths and stuttered cries all you can manage as your walls flutter around Wonwoo’s cock and your back bows off of the bed. Your body buzzes with electricity and the lightheadedness makes you feel weightless as Wonwoo fucks you through your orgasm and you can’t stop the tears that freely fall when you realize just how much trouble you were in now.

“I don’t think we gave you permission to cum, sweetheart.”

Wonwoo’s voice is firm yet soft; threatening in a way you know he’s nowhere near finished with you.

Through the haze, you hear the ‘tsk’ that falls from Mingyu’s lips and it takes you a minute to even realize he wasn’t even on the bed anymore. “H--huh?”

The two share a look as Wonwoo stays between your legs; cock still inside of you as his blunt nails dig into the skin of your thighs.

“I just texted Jun and told him to cancel our 10AM tomorrow, hyung.” Mingyu rejoins you and Wonwoo on the bed, except this time his face is only centimetres from your own when he leans down.

“We have a disobedient ‘lil cumslut who just doubled her own punishment for tonight, right, Wonwoo-hyung?”

Wonwoo smirks, noting the way your body is still twitching and trembling underneath them when the remnants of your orgasm start to ebb away. He draws his hips back, eyes flitting down to watch his cock slide out from your spent pussy before thrusting all the way back in as you cry out loudly.

“He’s right, sweetheart. We haven’t even started your punishment and you already made it worse. Mingyu, can you please get the restraints and the blindfold from the closet, please.”

“Already on it, hyung~”

[yami-kada]

Mission 2

Recently I read a fanfic on AO3 called Interlude - Class 1-A by @itslivybear and was inspired a bit to write a fic based on that! Well really I got inspiration for a single line (you'll know it when you see it) and then had to write a whole thing to be able to share that one line, but oh well. This is my first time writing a chatfic or even any BNHA content at all, so I hope it doesn't suck! Thanks to @shadesofflame for being an awesome beta!

(Quick FYI in this AU M*neta and Bakugou are replaced with Shinsou and Monoma, sorry for any confusion. Also a name guide can be found at the bottom.)

RockSolid: Um, so.

RockSolid: Remember the missions during the Sports Festival?

PurpleGrape: Oh hell yeah.

PurpleGrape: Still cherish the look on that bastard's face.

Spoderman: jehxgjc Kiri I got it on video!!!

JazzHands: You've had video of the capture of the bounty this whole time and never showed us???

LSD: I thought we were friends Sero!

Spoderman: omg no not that I totally would have shared earlier if i did

Spoderman: im talking about That.

RockSolid: no Sero don't tell them!

RockSolid: it's embarrassing!

PikaCHU: Tell us, tell us!

NYOOM: Kaminari-kun! If Kirishima-kun wishes to keep his privacy, then it is our duty as his classmates to respect that!

Spoderman: ok but consider: he already gave them a major hint and they are about to POUNCE

BreadIsPain: As a witness as well, I must say that Kirishima was si attirant que j'ai failli m'évanouir~*

RockSolid: thanks, I think?

MOMo: To paraphrase Aoyama, he is essentially saying you were very manly, Kirishima!

RockSolid: aw thanks bro!! Don't believe you but thanks!

Spoderman: you take that lack of confidence back I have evidence right here that says you are super fucking manly!

LSD: ok please now we have to know so that we can show Kiri how great he is!!!

MOMo: I must admit that the commentary seen thus far has me rather curious as well.

RockSolid: You guys…

RockSolid: alright then, I'll tell you!

Spoderman: sweet ill pull it up!

RockSolid: bro don't you dare! my story, I get to tell it!

Spoderman: oh yeah of course bro!!

Spoderman: but if after you wanna show it then i am READY.

JazzHands: This is very sweet and all but I am very thirsty for this TEA.

RockSolid: on it!

Kirby: Kiri you've been typing for so long that I'm getting Izuku vibes here.

GreenGrape: Hey!

RockSolid: sorry! this is harder than I thought!

Spoderman: want me to start it off?

RockSolid: you know what, sure.

Spoderman: aight so,

Spoderman: Council, what qualifies as capturing the bounty?

GreenGrape: Guys no the bounty is over please no more bounty-hunting Kacchan.

MOMo: Your objection is noted and overruled, Izuku.

MOMo: For your question, Sero, I do not believe we ever set specific limitations on what qualified, but I was under the impression that it was limited to the Sports Festival. Why do you ask?

Spoderman: just double checking

Spoderman: because my bro here just totally shot both missions out of the park!!!

LSD: gaSP!!!

JazzHands: bOTH?!

RockSolid: no not both!! we have no confirmation for either, technically!

Kirby: Technically? What do you mean by that?

RockSolid: ahhhh ok so Sero and I were eating lunch in the courtyard because it was nice out, right?!

RockSolid: and we were chillin, being bros, birds were singing, all was good.

RockSolid: and then we heard a small explosion before the bounty walked in at the other end of the courtyard and started kicking at the wall.

PikaCHU: omg so angy.

RockSolid: and like fine, we can tune him out, just try to act like he's not there, you know?

RockSolid: But then he started yelling at random people in the courtyard, just acting pissed as hell.

PikaCHU: oMG so ANGY.

RockSolid: and that's just not manly at all, you know? going off on people like that just because you're in a bad mood.

GreenGrape: Yeah… that's Kacchan for you.

RockSolid: so he's making his way around the courtyard now, like everyone needs their daily dose of asshole for him to be happy, and the closer he got the more annoyed I got.

Spoderman: here it comes!

RockSolid: and eventually I get up, because I have had just about enough, and walk right up to him.

RockSolid: he doesn't see me coming, because he was too busy yelling at some girl, and I get right up behind him.

RockSolid: and then I just called out to get his attention, and spun him to face me while making sure I end up between him and the girl.

RockSolid: and well I told him off a little bit and got him to back off then left in a hurry.

RockSolid: and that's it!

Spoderman: oh no you don't

BreadIsPain: Oui! Monsieur Kirishima, you must tell the climax with just as much zest as the build-up!

Spoderman: what he said! no skipping out on the best part!

RockSolid: but!!!

Jacked: No buts, mister. We're all way too invested now for you to back down.

RockSolid: :(

RockSolid: fine! you win!

RockSolid: so uh when I got his attention, I also got my hand onto his shoulder, and used his surprise to knock his feet a bit off balance and pulled him back, but then I ended up with him in my arms and could tell he was about to start yelling so I just…

RockSolid: you know…

RockSolid: flirted?

LSD: oh my GoD this is great!!!

PikaCHU: Hell yeah Kiri! Go get yourself a manz!

RockSolid: I'm not getting a man! He's probably going to kill me the next time he sees me!

Spoderman: i dunno, it took him a good long while to reboot after what you said there

Spoderman: you might have a shot

PurpleGrape: Well if you're not going to get a man out of this, mind telling us what you said so I can bait him next time he tries to be an ass?

RockSolid: uhhh…

RockSolid: I'm nervous.

BreadIsPain: If you will allow me, I shall finish your tale off dazzlingly!

RockSolid: Thanks Aoyama.

BreadIsPain: Bien entendu!

BreadIsPain: While holding him in his arms tightly in a dip, faces inches apart, Monsieur Kirishima leaned impossibly closer to emphasize his point.

RockSolid: oh god I regret everything.

LSD: Hush, it's getting good!

BreadIsPain: With a growl to his voice and his eyes burning above a smirk, he said "You know, you're damn cute when you're angry, but you'd be downright sexy if you shut the fuck up." Then he straightened up to fling the lost soul to the side, and saunter off like the devil was guarding his back, leaving the bounty terribly confused in his wake.

PurpleGrape: Whoa.

PikaCHU: Holy shit?!

RockSolid: what is that description?!?!?!

JazzHands: Kiri that was PERFECT oh my god?!

LSD: It's ART is what it is!

Spoderman: don't forget how red the guy was! Kiri was cool as a cucumber but the other guy couldn't stop blushing after seeing his face!!!

MOMo pinned a message

RockSolid: Yaomomo!!!

MOMo: My apologies, Kirishima, but I felt it only right to ensure easy access to your most manly moment.

LSD: Yeah Kiri! Then one day we can all look back on this and celebrate how everything started!!

RockSolid: How what started???

LSD: E v e r y t h i n g

RockSolid: @Spoderman bro hide me I’m scared.

Spoderman: hey guys, wanna see a GREAT video?

Spoderman: the stars are our main man, Kiri, and the bounty!

PikaCHU: hell yeah!!!

Jacked: Lay it on me.

PurpleGrape: Sure.

JazzHands: Do you really have to ask????

RockSolid: but I already told you what happened!

RockSolid: why do you want to see me being so embarrassing?

PikaCHU: bro we all appreciate you so much of course we want to see you being manly!

LSD: Just from what you all said there is no way you don’t look great in that vid, Kiri!

PikaCHU: gotta give support where support is due!!

PurpleGrape: They’ll all bully Sero into showing them one way or another anyways, might as well give in now.

RockSolid: but...

BreadIsPain: Nous devons vous montrer à quel point vous brillez et dissiper ces pensées douteuses!**

MOMo: I could not have said it better myself, Aoyama!

RockSolid: I don’t even know what he said though?!?!?!?!?!?!

Spoderman: Kiri.

Spoderman: Bro.

Jacked: Well shoot he’s using proper grammar and everything.

Spoderman: Rude.

Spoderman: Anyways Bro.

RockSolid: yeah?

Spoderman: You are epic. This video shows you being epic. And putting an asshole in their place.

Spoderman: You have nothing to be ashamed of, and every reason to be proud. So please let me show the video so that everyone can appreciate you like you deserve bro.

RockSolid: bro…

Spoderman: Bro.

RockSolid: bro -

Spoderman: Bro?

RockSolid: bro!

Spoderman: aight everyone down to the common room its up on the big screen

Spoderman: i have popcorn too

Jacked: Not even gonna question that.

LSD: Finally!!!

JazzHands: Yuss!!!

BreadIsPain: Je vais regarder avec enthousiasme!***

MOMo: As will all of us I’m sure, Aoyama!

RockSolid: Thanks guys!

RockSolid: Now get down here and watch me maybe get a man!

Translations:

*so attractive that I almost swooned.

**We must show you how much you shine, and dispel those self-doubting thoughts!

***I shall excitedly watch!

Guide to names:

GreenGrape - Izuku

PurpleGrape - Hitoshi

CopyCat - Monoma Neito

MOMo - Yaoyorozu Momo

datBoi - Asui Tsuyu

JazzHands - Hagakure Toru

NYOOM - Iida Tenya

SnowWhite - Kouda Kouji

LifeIsPain - Tokoyami Fumikage

BreadIsPain - Aoyama Yuga

Kirby - Uraraka Ochaco

LSD - Ashido Mina

PikaCHU - Kaminari Denki

RockSolid - Kirishima Eijiro

RipHarambe - Ojiro Mashirao

IcyHot - Todoroki Shoto

MuffinMan - Sato Rikido

Octodad - Shouji Mezou

Jacked - Jirou Kyoka

Spoderman - Sero Hanta

[ofstarsandvibranium]

He Said

Fandom: Marvel (High School AU)

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x F!Reader

Summary: Bucky has a big crush on you, but he's too shy and insecure to tell you. Based off the song "If I Could Tell Her" from Dear Evan Hansen.

Bucky stood on the ladder, hammering away at a nail to secure that the poster for this year’s Valentine’s Day dance was secure. 

BAM! BAM! BAM! BA-

He stopped mid-hammering when he heard your melodious laugh above the noise. He looked over his shoulder and looked across the cafeteria to see you talking and laughing with Steve and Nat as you two worked on putting up the banner for the dance. 

He took this moment to just look at you, watch you. A small smile appeared on his face as he watched your eyes crinkle when you laughed. 

When he felt the ladder shift, his heart stopped and, in that moment, he thought he was going to die. 

“BUCKY!” he looked down to see Sam staring up at him from the ground, “Come on, man! You’re taking forever! Stop staring at Y/N and hurry up! We got five more posters to put up!”

Bucky hissed at his friend, “Would you quiet down?! She’ll hear you! And I wasn’t staring!” he quickly finished up nailing the poster up and rushed down the ladder.

“Sorry, but we gotta get the ball rolling. Mrs. Stark is starting to stress and I don’t wanna end up getting lectured by her. You know she gets scary when she’s stressed.”

Bucky nodded with a sigh, folding up the ladder. He pulled down the tshirt that started to ride up as he was hammering away at the poster, hiding away his soft, squishy belly. He proceeded to follow Sam to another part of the cafeteria, his glances back at you over his shoulder, a sense of longing filling within him. 

When Sam stops, Bucky sets up the ladder, letting his friend pin up the poster this time, “You know, why don’t you just tell Y/N how you feel?”

“You know I can’t do that. It’s not that simple.”

“Why not? It seems pretty simple to me. You go up to her and say, ��Hey, Y/N, I’m in love with you.”

Bucky sputtered, “I-I’m not in love with her!”

Sam scoffed, “Keep tellin’ yourself that. Anyway, you should confess yoru feelings to her at the dance. It’ll be romantic with all the hearts and roses and shit decorating the gym. It’ll be perfect!”

“Again, I don’t have feelings for her! Even if I did, I-I wouldn’t even know what to say!”

“Well think of something and then do it, ‘cause I’m tired of seeing you pine for her and follow her around like a sad puppy!”

“I don’t look like a sad puppy!”

_____________________

You and Nat both carry boxes of supplies from Mrs. Stark’s classroom to the cafeteria where you’re putting up posters and banners for the Valentine’s Day dance. 

“So, you and Steve are going to the dance together, right?”

Your best friend nods, “Yup, although, I still want him to ask me. I’m pretty sure he’ll do it when it gets closer to the day. What about you? Has anyone asked you to go with them?”

You dejectedly sighed, “No. Sam keeps saying someone will, but I highly doubt that. I’m nothing special.”

Nat shakes her head, “You’re plenty special, Y/N. You just don’t know it.”

“Y/N!” You glance over your shoulder to see Bucky lightly jogging after you. 

“Hey, Bu-oh!” you gasp when he swoops in, taking the box you were holding from your arms and continues to walk alongside you. You snort, “I could carry it myself, Buck.”

He shrugged, a cute dopey smile on his face, “Doesn’t mean you have to. Anyway, you goin’ to the dance?” 

Your heart immediately started palpitating, hope surgining within you as you nodded, “Yeah. Are you?”

He shrugged and that hope started to fade away, “Don’t know. Dances aren’t really my thing, plus I don’t have a date, and if I go without a date, people will just make fun of me or have pity on me.”

“Y/N doesn’t have a date!” Nat butted in excitedly. 

You whip your head towards her and shoot her a glare, “While that may be so, I don’t mind not having a date.”

You turn back to Bucky and give him a sweet smile, that turns him into a stuttering mess, “W-Well, I-I’ll think about it. I-I don’t know if I’m free that night.”

“It’s okay! Whether you go or not, I’ll understand.” you then turn to Nat, taking the box from her arms and rushing away, glancing over your shoulder at Bucky, “Told you I could carry it myself!” your giggle echoes off the walls of the hallway as you disappear into the cafeteria. 

Once you’re out of sight, Nat slaps Bucky’s head and he yelps, “What the hell, Nat?!”

“I practically fed you the opportunity to ask Y/N to the dance and you didn’t take it! You idiot!”

He groaned, “Not you too! I already got lectured about confessing my feelings to her by Sam. And, fyi, I don’t have feelings for Y/N!”

Nat scoffed, “Right and I’m not a natural redhead.”

_______________

Your pink chiffon dress with red hearts embellishments flowed around your legs as you walked about the gym, making sure the area that you and your group decorated was completely finished. Sure, decorating finished during last period, but Mrs. Stark wanted to make sure nothing fell or needed to be put up last minute. It was fine, perfect, actually. 

People were starting to file in, thus commencing the beginning of the dance.

As you greeted students and classmates that passed you, you felt a tap on your shoulder and someone speaking up, “He-Hey,” you hear behind you and you spun around to face the person. 

Bucky stood behind you wearing a red dress shirt that hugged his body nicely, black suit jacket, and black slacks. His shoes, however, were his ratted adidas, making you giggle. 

Bucky blushed as he eyed his own shoes, “I couldn’t find any dress shoes last minute.”

You shake your head, “It’s fine, probably more comfortable anyway. But I’m happy you decided to come!”

He cleared his throat, “Y-Yeah, me too.” he cleared his throat again, his nerves getting the better of him, “So, uh, I need-”

“Y/N!” you both look towards the other side of the gym where Steve and Nat are. Nat waves her hand, gesturing you to come over to them. 

You sigh and give Bucky an apologetic look, “Sorry. Lemme see what they need and I’ll be right back!” you rush over to them, leaving Bucky alone.

Bucky felt a hand clap onto a shoulder and a tsk, “Strikeout.” he shrugged the hand off to see Sam standing there dressed in a white suit that was covered in hearts. 

“You look stupid,” he murmured.

Sam snorted, “Not as stupid as you did just now., especially since you were so adamant about not having feelings for her.”

“Okay. Okay. I lied.”

“No shit!” he exclaimed with a cackle, “Now get your ass over there and try again!” he pushed his friend in the direction where you were and his heart started pounding in his ears. 

_______________

Every time Bucky tried to talk to you during the night, tried to confess his feelings, something always got in his way! Whether it was a decoration falling off the wall, or Mrs. Stark needing you for assistance, or a friend pulling you onto the dancefloor for a dance! Bucky just couldn’t get the words out and it was really starting to bum him out. Maybe the world was telling him not to confess. And he guesses that’s okay. Saves him from the embarrassment and rejection he’d experience. 

Somber and dejected, Bucky decides to step out for some fresh air. He walks towards the parking lot when he hears clacking against the pavement behind him. He turns around and sees you heading towards his way.

“Y/N? What’re you doing out here?”

Slightly out of breath, you reply, “I should be asking you that. Are you alright?”

He shrugged, “Just needed some fresh air. Anyway, you should head back inside.”

You shook your head, “I’m not leaving you out here by yourself, Buck.” you take his hand and lead him towards the bench where the bus stop is. You drag him to sit next to you, and he does, creating some distance between the two, which makes you a bit confused, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

He nervously rubs the back of his neck and sighs, “Well, uh, no. You see I’ve-I got this friend and he wanted me to tell you some stuff.”

Your head tilted slightly in curiosity, “Oh? What did he wanna tell me?”

He cleared his throat and maneuvered his body so he could face you better, “So, uh, he said there’s nothing like your smile. It’s sort of subtle and perfect and real. He also said he never knew how wonderful a smile could make him feel.”

You let out a breath of disbelief, “He-He really said that?”

He nods and continues, “He also said that he knows that when you get bored in class, you like to doodle on the cuff of your jeans and that you like to fill out the quizzes in magazines or buzzfeed.”

“If this person knew all this and felt this way, why didn’t he tell me?”

He gulps and replies, “Well he kept it all inside of his head, despite wanting to tell you. But he just couldn’t seem to talk to you or figure out what to say. H-He always thought about what he would say if he could tell you, but he always felt like you two were a million worlds apart.”

“Wow. Was there anything else he said? Or, wait, maybe-”

“No, no! He-He also, um, said that he really liked how you put purple highlights in your hair in freshman year.”

You snorted, “Oh gosh, really? I honestly think that was a bad decision for me.”

Bucky shook his head with a soft smile, “No. He loved it. Thought you looked cool and you stood out from everyone else. He....He just seemed like he was always so far away from you. You’re so pretty and likeable and I-he thinks he’s not very great or worthy of you.”

“Bucky?”

“Hm?”

You scoot closer to him, you nibble on your red painted lip for a moment before you speak, “This..friend of yours. He isn’t you, is he?” you ask hesitantly.

Cue panicking, “I-No! No! It’s not me! He’s not me! That-That’d be weird! We’re best friends! We’re-We’re practically brother and sister!” he looks down at his lap in shame and complete embarrassment.

You slowly nodded and scoot back, “O-Oh, well, uh, maybe you could tell your friend that I have a friend who may like them too?” Bucky’s head shoots up, but he doesn’t meet your eyes, for yours are staring down into your lap.

“She said that she likes the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh. She also said that she likes how you like to draw stars and planets in the margins of your notes and homework. She also wanted me to tell you that she really likes your new haircut and finds it cute that you’re starting to grow facial hair. 

“She, uh, She especially likes how good you look when you wear that black leather jacket that’s tight around your arms and that your butt looks good in skinny jeans.” you feel your cheeks heating up and you begin to fiddle with the fabric of your dress, “Sh-She also wanted me to say that you don’t have to feel insecure about the way you look, because she likes you just the way you are. And,” you take a deep, shaky breath, “And that she loves you. A lot.”

Bucky suddenly feels like all the oxygen has been vacuumed out of his body and he can’t breathe. Did he hear this all right? Is it true? Do you love him?

“I-My friend, would probably say that he loves you too and that he has since you were kids, but he was just afraid to scare you away and lose you, especially since you’re his best friend and he can’t think of living without you, because living without you is like living without breathing.”

You chuckle nervously, and proceed to scoot closer to Bucky, who, in return, scoots closer to you too, “If your friend told my friend this, I think they should kiss.”

A grin appears on Bucky’s face as he whispers, “I agree.”

You both start to lean in towards each other and right as your lips are about to touch, Sam appears yelling, “Buck! Steve nee-oh! Sorry!” he realizes what was happening and his eyes widen, and he looks like he won the jackpot, “DID YOU TELL HER?!”

Bucky groans, “Yes and I was about to kiss her until you interrupted, asshole!”

“Right! Sorry! Steve just wanted to see you! But you can see him after! Okay! I’m leaving! Go ahead and kiss now!” he runs away waving behind him, making you giggle.

“Sam’s so stupid,” you snorted.

And Bucky agreed, “Yeah, he is. But, uh, where were we?” as you both start to lean in again, Nat comes out.

“Hey, guys we-oh! OH! YOU WERE GONNA KISS! SORRY! Don’t let my presence stop you!”

Bucky groaned again, “Oh my fucking-mmf!” he’s immediately shut up when your lips pressed against his with a kiss. 

When you pull away, some of your lipstick transferred onto him and you giggle, wiping it away as Bucky stared at you in awe. You then stand up, brushing out the folds and wrinkles on your dress, “Well, we should probably go back inside before anyone else comes out.” you offer your hand to him and Bucky takes it with a smile. 

Both of you walked into the gym hand in hand and that’s when you hear Sam on the mic announce, “Ladies and gentlemen and nonbinary friends, Y/N L/N and Bucky Barnes have officially confessed their feelings for each other!” people around you erupt into applause and hollers making you and Bucky wanting to 1) curl up in a ball and let the ground swallow you both up, and 2) beat the ever living shit out of Sam Wilson.

[i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend]

Carnival of Hearts (Part 2/6) ~ Bucky x Reader College!AU

A/N: Hi lovelies! Hope you’re all doing well! So good news! I’m pretty sure I’m going to be able to do regular updates for this fic. The plan is for weekly updates on Fridays at 12 PM EST. I will let you know if I can’t do it though. For now enjoy! 

This is my entry for @buckysknifecollection​ ‘s 3k Follower Challenge. Congrats on the milestone lovely! Go check out the blog. Personal fave is Hush (a must read if you’re into soft!Biker!Bucky)

Prompt: Our friends set us up on this carnival date but we’re both pining after someone else and this a bit awkward

Summary: When you’re set up on a carnival date with Bucky Barnes NOTHING turns out the way you expected.

Rating: T

Warnings: Language

Word count: 1916

Story Masterlist | Main Masterlist 

After six outfit changes, you were finally satisfied with your appearance. The red wrap shirt was your favorite, your jeans hugged just right, and you were rocking your favorite white converse. The last touch was to clip in a white hair flower just behind your ear before declaring yourself ready.

Steve was on set up duty so he had already been at the fair grounds for hours and Natasha was meant to meet you there after her shift at the coffee shop, so you grabbed your backpack purse and headed out, cautiously optimistic for the day ahead. You paced back and forth a little ways away from the ticket booth as you waited for your friends and your date.

Your phone buzzed in your hand as you checked the time again.

Nat: Coffee shop got slammed last minute. Going to be a while. Sorry. Just go meet Bucky and Wanda.

“Wonderful,” you muttered.  

You could go meet Bucky and Wanda if you had either of their numbers. You were about to text Nat and ask her to pass the info along when your phone buzzed twice. One from Steve and one from an unknown number. You opened the latter.

Unknown Number:Hi this is Bucky. Wanda is running late so she said for me to just meet you and Natasha.

You rolled your eyes, but snapped a quick selfie and responded.

Y/n: I'm by the ticket booth. Red shirt and a white flower in my hair. Just me though. Nat’s late too.  

Bucky: Be right there!

He responded with a selfie of his own.

"Y/n?"

You turned at the shout of your name. Bucky shot you a shy smile and a small wave, wading through the crowd of people.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out.

“Nice to meet you too, Bucky.”

“Sorry, I’m late. I was technically on time, but I was waiting for Wanda.”

“No problem at all.”

He had a kind smile and it eased the knot of tension in your stomach, though an awkward silence stretched between you. It broke when you both laughed.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never been on a blind date before,” you admitted, worrying your bottom lip with your teeth.

“That makes two of us. But,” he continued before the conversation could lapse again. “I have been to a lot of carnivals with friends in my time.”

You clung to the lifeline.

“Well that we have in common. Although-” You crossed your arms over your chest. “I did just meet you so I’m not sure we can be called friends yet.”

Bucky put both hands up to concede the point.  

“Well let’s start with the carnival part and we’ll see the friendship comes naturally.”

“I can work with that.”  

Bucky bought an armload of tickets and the two of you entered the fairgrounds. Happy screams from the roller coaster mixed with ride music, and you were practically vibrating with excitement.

You grabbed a map from the information booth, smiling at Hope who was manning it.

“Enjoy the carnival!”

“Thank you!”

You huddled out of the way of the hoards of people, carefully surveying the map.

“Now, what I have learned over the years, is that there are two types of people. Ones who plan their carnival route. And chaos entities who cause their friends to miss their favorite rides.”

You raised an eyebrow at him.

“I sense some bitterness there.”

Bucky chuckled and shrugged but didn’t elaborate.  

“Well, I’m certainly not a chaos entity.”

“Excellent. So where should we start?”

“R.C.F.A.”

“Excuse me.”

“Roller coasters first always.”

“A girl after my own heart. Any rides that are a hard no?”

“Not a one,” you announced proudly. “But don’t let me eat before any spinny ones.”

“Noted. Okay, then.”

Bucky scanned the fairgrounds trying to track the flow of the crowd.

“It looks like the tilt-a-whirl has the shortest line.”

“Ooh and it’s right next to the two best coasters,” you pointed to the cluster of rides on the map.

“Then we’ll start there. And then we can follow the circuit back to the food area for lunch.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go!”

Unable to contain your excitement any longer you grabbed his hand and dragged a laughing Bucky through the crowds.  

“So what happened to Nat?” he asked as you waited behind a group of middle schoolers.

"Stuck at work. Cafe got slammed last minute. Wanda?"

"She was getting a haircut and they were running an hour late.”

You poked your tongue into your cheek. Bucky voiced what you had been thinking.

“Do you smell a setup?"

You let out the laugh you’d been holding back. "Oh yeah. I mean technically both of those are real things that could happen, but…”

“Yeah, it seems a bit suspicious.”

“I should have known Nat would weasel out of her end of the bargain."

"Bargain?" Bucky asked.

You inhaled through your teeth and offered him an apologetic smile.

"It may have taken a bit of convincing to get me to go on this date."

“What were the terms of this deal?”

You counted them on your fingers.

“We would meet as a group. I had a guaranteed out at lunch time. And she wouldn’t set me up for the rest of the semester. It wasn’t anything against you. I promise,” you explained.

He waved off your concern.  

“Trust me I took a similar deal. But you were smarter than I am. I should have gotten the no meddling clause in there.”

You exhaled a laugh, relieved you hadn’t offended him.

“Well now you know for next time.”

“True. Though based on how Wanda talked about you there won’t be a next time because you’re supposedly exactly what I need.”

"Nat gave me the same speech. Think they practiced?”

“Probably,” he snorted. “She says you're perfect for me. So my expectations are high just FYI.”  

"That’s fair. Personally, mine are astronomical,” you replied in a haughty tone.  

“I guess we’re both in for disappointment then.”

“Not so far at least,” you admitted with a sly smile that he returned as you were strapped into the tilt-a-whirl.

The line for your first roller coaster was longer than you anticipated, but Bucky kept you entertained. He questioned you on your taste in movies and TV shows which led to an in depth debate of the character arcs in Supernatural. In the next line you discussed Bucky’s favorite book which happened to hold a special place in your heart.  

 When you stopped for snacks -cotton candy for him and watermelon slush for you - you were comfortable enough to tease him.

“So, did you find Insta-stalking me last night helpful in preparing for this date?”

Bucky’s cheeks went red despite his best efforts to appear nonchalant.

“Pfft. I didn’t Insta-stalk you.”

“Oh, so it was a different JBBarnes317 who liked the picture of me moving into my dorm Freshman year.”

“I…” he hung his head, peeking at you through his long hair. “Okay so maybe I did. I tried really hard not to, but I was really nervous and I thought maybe if I knew something about you we could avoid a lot of awkward pauses. Sorry.”

You shook your head and patted his knee.  

“Don’t be. I had been arguing with myself all night. And when I saw that you liked my photo I totally caved. It was honestly a relief. Though I’ve got to say that your profile picture on Facebook does not do you justice.”

“Well I only change my profile picture if it’s a leap year.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but nothing came out. You tilted your head with an incredulous laugh.

“I have nothing to say to that. Are you serious? If so, why?”

He snorted at your expression.

“No. I just haven’t spent more than like ten minutes on Facebook since I was seventeen. I don’t even know why I have it any more.”

“That’s fair.”

“Well, since I’ve been exposed. I’ve got to ask. How far did you row yourself in the moving cart?”

“About 500 feet before I hit a bump and nearly pole vaulted myself out of said cart.”

“That was the funniest video I have ever seen. And I’m kind of mad I never thought of it.”

“There’s always move out.”

“I don’t live on campus. So no yellow carts for me when I move out. Just lots and lots of boxes.”

“Bummer. You can always help me move out!” you concluded triumphantly.

“Let’s see how the rest of the date goes before I agree to that,” he laughed. “But maybe.”

You smiled at the implication before returning the conversation at hand.

“Are you in an apartment then?”

“Yeah. It’s a really nice two bedroom about ten minutes from campus.”

“I assume two bedroom means roommate?”  

“Yes. Sam. He and I got randomly roomed together sophomore year, but it actually ended up being the best thing to ever happen. He’s my best friend. I can’t imagine living with anyone else. We thought we were going to have to get a third roommate, which would have been a bummer, but luckily we were able to find a place for just us.”

“That sounds ideal. I’m lucky because my scholarship pays for housing, but honestly I would kill to have a full kitchen again.”

“Or you could just ask nicely.” He smirked. “Do you like cooking?”

“No, I am a mediocre cook at best. But I love baking.”  

Bucky’s eye glittered.

“Well then you’re definitely invited to use my kitchen.”

“Let me guess. Payment in baked goods?”

“It seems fair.”

“It does. Do you cook a lot.”

“I can manage. But Sam’s an amazing cook. I keep telling him he’s in the wrong career path.”

There was a hint of frustration in his tone.

“What’s he studying?”

“Business. He plans to open and manage restaurants. Says it’s the smarter path. Which like I get it. But man, the look he gets in his eye when he makes a good dish. He just lights up the whole room. I mean he usually does just by being there, but this. It’s pure joy. It makes you excited to try his food. Even if you hate the ingredients. I just don’t want him to lose that. It makes him special.”

“He sounds pretty amazing.”

“He definitely is,” Bucky sighed, before shaking himself slightly. “But he has his flaws. Like, he likes to run. Every morning.”

“I’ve got one like that too. Steve gets up at the crack of dawn every morning. He’s even in the running club.”

“Sam is too.”

“Really? Huh. I wonder if they know each other.”

“They must. There can’t be that many people who willing give up sleep to run.”

“I swear it’s an illness.”

“Agreed. But I do get fresh muffins out of the deal. Steve always brings me my favorite. This summer, we lived together and he’d wake me up after his shower and we’d eat on our little balcony before work and it was perfect.”

“Sam and I eat on the roof sometimes and he always brews the best cup of coffee. He even manages to time it so it’s at the perfect temperature when I get to the kitchen. He may have magic powers.”

“We’re really spoiled aren’t we?”

“I think we are the appropriate amount of spoiled.”  

You both laughed as you tossed your trash and continued on your way.  

A/n: I hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you next week (hopefully)

Tag lists are open (Please send an ask) I am removing all tags that don’t work after three failed attempts. 

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[mysterylover123]

School Briefs Vol 3 Light novel Review: The Best So Far

So I’ve finished the 3rd Light Novel, “Dorm Days”, and I’m pleased to say that it’s the best one yet! Seriously, this one is great. You should definitely check it out, if you’re looking for some fun and fluffy BNHA content during these dark times. It’s set between the hideout Raid and the Internships and deals with the cast moving into dorms.

It’s excellent so let’s get to why.

Story 1: The UA Staff get Drunk

The first story tells us what happened when Aizawa bought All Might that drink All Might said he owed him after the dorm visits. It’s probably the silliest outta the bunch, but it’s pretty hilarious seeing all the UA teachers getting drunk beyond drunk (cept All Might since he can’t drink) and acting goofy.

Story 2: Moving into Dorms

This one is absolutely excellent. It follows the various 1A students moving into dorms. It continues Momo’s mother’s character from Volume 2, and follows Momo as she has to choose what to bring to her dorm (remember that crazy crowded dorm room? Lol). But it’s mainly about Todoroki, and the whacky tale of how he manages to remodel his room. By running into Mei Hatsume, saving Recovery girl from her rogue inventions, and being inspired by Everyone on Rescue Squad Junior individually, meaning that the chapter has TodoIida, TodoKiri, Todomomo and Tododeku feels all in one! 

Story 3: 1B show up

I get the feeling the author of the Light novels really likes 1B, or at least Monoma, Tetsu and Kendo. They show up at the dorms with Pony and play some kinda game with Class A involving one of Mei’s inventions. It seems to be based on a Japanese game I am not familiar with as a dumb American, but a few highlights are: MomoKendo getting teased again, Deku seeing that Pony has some rare all Might collectible and freaking out, and Hatsume’s invention mangling poor Kaminari.

Story 4: Spooky Stories

I read this one on Halloween actually, and that was perfect. A few classmates tell spooky stories in Tokoyami’s room and get seriously spooked. The whole class gets paranoid when Mineta hears a voice calling his name in the night like in the story and freak out; the power goes out, Aizawa gets KO’d, etc. It’s spooky but it turns out it’s an invention of Mei’s (again) made to keep Mineta from being pervy. And Aizawa reprimands them for being so irrational. I’d recently read a really disturbing scary story on the net that was freaking me out, so Aizawa really helped calm me down. This was great.

Story 5: Happy Birthday Iida 

This one is just plain heartwarming and excellently told. Iida wonders why his classmates are acting weird around him, and starts assuming he Class-Repp’d them into disliking him. But it turns out they were planning his surprise party and it’s so cute. There’s teasing of all Iida ships here (Todo, Deku, Baku, Ocha, Momo) and I almost jumped outta my seat at first when the story went:

Iida (to Momo and Jiro): Did something disturb your sleep?

“Nuh uh. But last night, we...” said Jiro.

“Last Night? What happened last night?”

This was before I realized the story was about Iida’s surprise party FYI. I was for like 3 seconds going “OMG momojirou what did you DO?” (they were planning the party, obviously, but damn). On the subject of ships...

Story 6: Koda’s Bunny Ships BKDK

I swear I didn’t like this volume so much just because BKDK was in it, for the first time in any of the light novels. Totally not the reason. Anyway, this one is about Koda’s bunny escaping during the Post DVK2 house arrest, and Deku and Kacchan trying to catch it and adorably bickering with each other about how to do it. They’re still a little out of character, but the Bunny clearly approves of their relationship getting better, so it is clearly a bunny of taste and culture. (it also facilitated a cute KiriMina moment in Chapter 163, so I’m all for it.)

And Story 7, which made me drop my jaw:

Story 7: THE FANTASY AU GETS A SHORT STORY!!!!

OFFICIALLY LICENSED FANTASY AU FANFIC!!! It’s pretty basic, and of course we have lots of Fantasy AU fic already, but still, it was a serious highlight. OMG guys. 

So that’s Volume 3. It’s a serious step up from Volumes 1 and 2, which are both good but very light, and a little overburdened with Mineta nonsense. All the stories worked, the characters felt more in-character, and the relationship stuff they focused on is actually exciting. + fantasy AU. All good

[inspired-by-the-music]

Lost In Your Eyes: Heechul x Reader

Genre: high school au;  i’m a believer in fluffy endings, but there are some kind of deep issues explored in this work. namely, beauty standards. 

Word Count: 10k (this is actually my longest drabble!)

Tracklist: “Lost In Your Eyes” by Debbie Gibson & “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany (bc your girl is 80s pop trash)

Note: y’all why do I have no self control when it comes to Heechul? this was literally just supposed to be a short piece based on a dream I had & it became a novella lol. honestly, I could have kept writing this forever & I could definitely be convinced to revisit this story’s universe!

fyi: to explore the themes of this story, the reader character is of Korean and Hispanic heritage. 

You almost made it through high school without attracting a single boy. While you didn’t rejoice in that fact, you certainly weren’t losing sleep because the high school boys didn’t fawn over your naturally curly hair and eternally bronzed skin. Long ago, you had accepted that you did not fit their standard of beauty; you never would. 

“There are far more important things than boys,” your father said often— whenever he found time to look up from the books that detailed the financial records of the Korean-Mexican restaurant he operated with your mother. 

You believed him just as much as you believed your mother when she patted your shoulder and pressed a kiss to your cheek, saying, “You’re beautiful, baby.” 

And yet, when your father hired him to work as a host and server so you could focus on studying for the upcoming graduation exams, you wondered if he would look at you if you resembled the girl on the cover of the magazine you read while stuffing your mouth full of rice. 

His name was Heechul— or so you gathered from your father’s praises of his salesmanship and the excited chatter of girls who visited the restaurant, clad in tiny shorts and bikini tops, just to get a look at him. 

“Come on now, ladies.” He would wink at the girls when they delayed in placing an order as long as possible in an effort to admire him for as long as possible without having to pay for food they didn’t care to eat. “You’ll order something, won’t you? Every penny you spend here goes toward my dream of buying a new motorcycle. Maybe if you help me enough, I’ll take you for a ride.” 

Heechul’s dream changed every day. Sometimes, he dreamed of buying a new motorcycle, sometimes a new car, sometimes a new guitar or a new drum set (that he would use to write a song especially for whoever bought the most food). The girls never noticed that he never held a dream for long; they were all too happy to be a part of his fantasy of the day. 

You couldn’t blame them for leaning into his every word. Aside from the fact that he was beautiful— his sleek shoulder-length black hair often falling from its ponytail to frame his face— Heechul crafted his sentences carefully. They probably didn’t recognize his wit. How could they even notice it when they were lost in his eyes or enchanted by his smile? 

You could appreciate Heechul’s cleverness at first, though, because you only heard his punchlines while reviewing a practice test or while penning your answers to a magazine quiz to learn which K-Pop idol would totally fall for you. Heechul didn’t look at you, so you couldn’t get lost in his eyes. He didn’t smile at you, and yet you were very much enchanted by him long before he sat in the seat across from you in the corner booth. 

“Hey.” His eyes met yours over the top of the magazine. Tapping his index finger against the cover, he asked, “Is this nonsense really more important than your studies, Y/N?”

Burning with the question, “How does he know my name?” you dropped the magazine onto the table and closed it over your open textbooks. Heechul pointed again to the neon decal advertising, “Want porcelain skin like your crush’s ideal type? Try these 5 tricks!”

“No.” You shook your head. “That’s not important to me at all. I was reading about this.” With your pink highlighter, you circled the text: “How to tell him you’re not interested.” 

Heechul’s face flushed pink when he met your gaze, and once he recognized the teasing smile spreading across your face, he laughed. That high pitched scream of a laugh didn’t seem like it should have come from such a delicately pretty face, but it did; it turned heads, and the stares deepened your own laughter. 

“Careful there,” he warned, expression suddenly grave. “You almost had me convinced that you weren’t interested in my attention.” 

When you shrugged, feigning disinterest, and dropped your gaze back to the magazine as you flipped through its pages, Heechul yelped, “Hey! If you’re going to neglect your studies, at least pay attention to me!”

He snatched your magazine and fanned himself with it so the hair that escaped his ponytail blew in the breeze. He smirked at your glare— apparently of the belief that all attention is good attention— and you realized that Heechul wasn’t talking to you because of any genuine interest. He just couldn’t live knowing that he hadn’t stared into the eyes of every girl who entered the restaurant. 

You had been content with being just another girl who admired Heechul, but you didn’t want to be another girl who inflated his ego. You didn’t want to be another girl who felt special just because he glanced your way. 

Frowning at the realization that you couldn’t like him anymore— and you really enjoyed having such a harmless crush before he ruined it— you asked, “Shouldn’t you be working?”

Heechul retorted, “Shouldn’t you be studying?”

Hoping to drive him away by refusing him any attention you agreed, “You’re right,” before grabbing a pencil and reading through the instructions of the next practice test. 

Heechul groaned at the lack of admiration and jumped out of the booth. “Right. So you don’t get distracted again, young lady—” he couldn’t have been more than a year or two older, so you rolled your eyes at his condescending language— “I’ll be confiscating this.” He flashed his glittering teeth when you watched him tauntingly lift the magazine higher and higher out of your reach. 

“Give that back, Heechul!” You hissed as you stood in your seat to reach for the magazine. It hadn’t cost much, and you weren’t all that interested in it, but that wasn’t the point. 

Who was he to make you feel small— first figuratively with his games and then literally by holding your property over your head? He couldn’t get away with being annoying just because he was gorgeous. 

Except he could. His behavior had probably been excused every day of his life on account of his appearance. And he probably never paused to consider how his actions— how flaunting his good looks— impacted others. 

“Oh, so you do know my name!” Heechul jumped as you tried to grab at the magazine. “It actually sounds better than usual when you say it. Do it again!”

Your fingers caught the cover, but Heechul wouldn’t loosen his grip around the pages, so when you pulled, the staples binding the magazine together snapped. Brightly colored pages depicting celebrities’s faces, detailing fashion advice, and instructing teen girls in the art of appealing to boys scattered across the recently mopped floor. They were ruined. 

Heechul’s wide, guilty eyes met yours briefly before he set to gathering each page while muttering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” 

You would have accepted his apology if you weren’t crumbling under the stares of the customers, many of whom were young women who hated you for holding Heechul’s attention for a moment when you were clearly so unworthy— so unappreciative. Too embarrassed to speak, you slumped into your seat, crossed your arms over the table, and buried your face in the bend of your elbow. 

“I’m sorry,” Heechul repeated. Had you looked up, you would have seen how delicately he placed the poorly stacked pages on the table’s corner. You would have seen how he leaned forward, his face almost level with yours, to implore you to look at him so all could be forgiven. 

You didn’t look, though, because you didn’t want him to see your face scorched by a crimson blush. “Just throw the pages away, please.” 

“Are you sure?” 

You doubted whether he could see that you nodded into your elbow, but when you looked up minutes later (after the waves of embarrassment subsided) the remnants of the magazine were gone along with every trace of Heechul. 

Of course, you hadn’t been foolish enough to think that you wouldn’t see Heechul again just because he had taken care to avoid your table for the rest of his shift. You knew that it was likely just a matter of time until he spoke to you again, but you hadn’t expected his next correspondence to come so soon through a note that you found on your table. 

After tossing your backpack into the booth, you read what he scrawled onto a sticky note likely grabbed from the host’s booth: “Sorry I ripped your magazine. Here’s a new one. And here’s my number if you want to call/text to cuss me out.” Carefully, you peeled the note off of the magazine and saw that Heechul used a red marker to circle a featured article titled “Five Ways To Say Sorry.”

It was silly: the fact that he had gone so far to apologize for ruining a cheap magazine filled with superficial thoughts you were supposed to hate and the fact that your heart raced just from reading his handwriting.

Unsure of how to reply to your cousin, you tossed your phone down on the table, rubbed the fatigue out of our eyes, and resumed your work. Sometimes, you thought, studying was less stressful than talking to AJ. 

You didn’t think anything about leaving your phone unlocked, screen facing upward, until Heechul settled into the seat across from you and declared, “I see my name!”

Your eyes flicked up to find him scrolling through the texts. When you reached for the phone, knots tying in your stomach as you wondered how much of your cousin’s insanity he had read and taken as truth, he held the phone out of your reach. 

“Apparently—” your face burned as you dared to look into his eyes— “you don’t learn from your mistakes. Does this scene look familiar to you at all?”

“I apologized!” Heechul reminded, and he probably would have clung to your phone longer if your father hadn’t appeared at your side. 

Clearing his throat, your father asked, “What is going on here?” His stern gaze wandered between you and Heechul. 

While you sank because disappointing your father was your deepest fear, Heechul responded promptly. Setting the phone down on the table, Heechul said, “I just came to check on Y/N’s progress. You know, I thought I could offer her some tips because I took the graduation exams just a couple of years ago, but I was never half as smart as she is.”

When Heechul glanced into your eyes, which were narrowed, confused by the sudden flattery, he smiled. “I guess I’m not much of a tutor, then.”

Mouth pressed into a thin line as a wrinkle darkened between his eyebrows, your father suggested, “I suppose that means you should get back to work, then.” It wasn’t a suggestion so much as an order. 

Heechul’s smile faltered. Your heart sank at the thought, and you realized that your heart had been swelling with the growth of his smile. You had been leaning across the table, subconsciously willing yourself closer to him. You were just like everybody else: enchanted by Heechul’s smile. 

Chewing on his lips as if embarrassed by your father’s reprimand, Heechul nodded. He tucked stray strands of hair behind his ears. “Yes, sir.” He dropped your phone— now locked, as evidenced by the darkened screen— atop your book and encouraged, “Keep up the good work,” before setting off to help your mother carry a tray piled high with enchiladas.

Your father then patted your shoulder and, after praising your hard work, reminded, “There are more important things than boys.” The twitch that moved his eyebrow when his icy eyes fell on Heechul from across the room was in stark contrast with his past boasts about the young college student who nearly doubled profits with his charisma. 

Had your father mistaken Heechul’s interest in you too? 

He wouldn’t walk away until you promised, “I know,” and proved your belief by fixing your stare on the math practice sheet when you really just wanted to watch Heechul laugh with your mother. 

Once satisfied that your father wasn’t watching— he was too busy talking to a longtime customer— you unlocked your phone to see that Heechul had sent a text.

Despite your cousin’s professed interest in visiting, you didn’t expect to look up from your studies to find her sitting across from you, smiling broadly as she twisted one of her long blonde curls. 

“AJ!” You would have smiled if your jaw hadn’t gone slack from the surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Okay, so here’s the official answer.” She tapped her French manicured nails on the shine black tabletop as her peach colored lips pulled more tightly into a bright grin. “It’s my spring break, and your mom paid for me to fly out here as a part of your birthday present!”

Your birthday? Surely you hadn’t forgotten.

When you scrambled through strewn papers to find your phone, you blinked at the date. It was your birthday— the one day of the year that was yours— and you hadn’t even realized until after wasting half of it studying in the corner booth of your parents’ restaurant.

“But unofficially,” AJ divulged, “I’m here on my quest for a baby daddy.” 

At that moment, Heechul decided to appear at the table. Wearing his apron and name tag, hair tied back as he held the pen in one hand and notepad in the other, he looked like a model employee except for the devilish smirk twisting the corner of his mouth when he asked, “Who needs a baby daddy?”

Your face flushed crimson, and he laughed when you mumbled, “Damn it, Heechul, why did you have to show up right this second?” Since he called you beautiful, you hadn’t been able to look at him without blushing; this topic deepened your embarrassment. 

Placing both hands on his hips and tilting his head at AJ, he asked, “How much will you pay me— to be your baby daddy?” 

Anyone else in the world would have melted at his wink, but AJ didn’t crack the smallest smile. She didn’t flatter him with the faintest blush. She only shook her head. “Sorry, sir—”

Heechul glared when you giggled at the word ‘sir,’ but he ultimately broke into his own laughter until AJ concluded, “But you don’t have the assets I’m looking for in a baby daddy.” 

As if you had been the one to offend him, Heechul gasped and looked to you for an explanation as he clutched his notepad over his chest. Rolling your eyes at his theatrics and AJ’s ideal type, you started, “She’s into buff—”

“I’ve heard enough!” Heechul decided, waving his hand dismissively as it fell from its place over his heart. “I didn’t come here to get insulted! I came to look at a beautiful girl—” He blew a kiss at you and delighted when you fixed your flustered gaze away from him— “and to take your drink order,” he said to AJ. 

“That won’t be necessary.” AJ laughed at your embarrassment with Heechul. “I was just about to drag Y/N off to the beach if you wanna tag along. Maybe we can talk her into wearing a bikini!”

Heechul’s eyes widened at AJ’s proposition, and you wondered, glaring at her, “How are you going to talk me into wearing something I don’t own?”

“We can go shopping!” AJ suggested enthusiastically. “I saw a cute little boutique on my walk over here! Let’s just swing by on our way to the beach!” Then, as if a lack of funds was the cause of your reluctance, she offered, “I’ll buy the bikini— just consider it a birthday gift from me to you!”

Heechul asked, “It’s your birthday?” and he frowned when you nodded. “Damn! Now I feel really terrible about turning you ladies down. I’m on the clock, ya know?” He gestured sadly to his work attire. 

Noting how your shoulders slumped, weighted by disappointment, AJ tried to make you laugh by joking, “Damn! Now how are we gonna assess your tiddie situation, Heechul?”

Again, as if you had spoken, Heechul scoffed at you. “Wow! I didn’t know you could be so bold!” He caught his tongue with his teeth as he smirked, his dimples deepening. “If you wanted me to take my shirt off, all you had to do was ask.”

Winking, Heechul set his pen and notepad on the table, reached around his back to untie his apron, and he might have reached for the hem of his shirt (as AJ slapped her hands on the table, roaring with laughter, while you concealed your burning face with your hands, peeking at him through your fingers) had your mother not approached the table. 

“Oh, hi, ma’am.” Heechul bowed and donned a smile so sweet it made your teeth hurt. He waved both hands, and your mom mirrored the gesture. 

“Hi, Heechul! And hey, AJ— I’m glad to see you made it here safely!” Your mom’s forever smiling eyes landed on you as she asked AJ, “You’re still walking down to the beach with Y/N, right?”

“Yeah, if I can convince her to walk away from her work for just a few hours!” AJ huffed in exaggerated frustration because she knew that would appeal to your mom, who feared that you didn’t spend enough time doing ‘normal teenager things.’

You mom told you, “You can take a break at least for today.” 

Before you could argue that you weren’t reluctant to leave your work— you were just uncomfortable about having to wear a bikini— your mother set to closing your books and stacking your papers. “You can take the day off too, Heechul, so you can look after these girls. Make sure to have them back at the restaurant by 7 to have cake; you can stay for that, if you want.” 

The beach was less than a mile away from the restaurant, and you had never been in trouble a day in your life, so there was no rational reason for mom to send Heechul to escort you and AJ. Still, you didn’t point that out when Heechul nodded, promising, “I’ll keep them out of trouble, ma’am!”

Nobody could have kept AJ out of trouble, though. As soon as the three of you entered the boutique across the street from the restaurant, she abandoned you and Heechul to strike up a conversation with the boy running the cash register. 

While you rolled your eyes at her nerve, Heechul grabbed you by the hand and pulled you to the rack of bathing suits. “Guess that leaves us to shop alone.” He didn’t seem at all affected by AJ’s misplaced priorities. 

Heechul usually laughed at your blush, but his gaze softened when he noticed that you were staring down at your sandals. “Hey.” He nudged you until you looked up at him, and he smiled— a small closed mouth grin that wasn’t supposed to make your heart thunder— as he released your hand. 

“You don’t have to wear anything you don’t want to wear. See— here’s a modest one.” He plucked from the rack a striped black long sleeved bathing suit top matched with black shorts and held it out for your approval. 

You shook your head, and when Heechul looked at you with gathered eyebrows, you explained, “Horizontal stripes aren’t flattering on me.”

“What—” His tone was harsh until he remembered that he was trying to make your birthday happy. Swallowing his annoyance, Heechul forced a grin, returned the striped bathing suit, and reached for another. This one was a ruffled cotton-candy-pink one piece. 

“Ruffles exaggerate my curves.” You frowned as you picked at your nail beds. 

Heechul groaned, “Y/N, curves are good—” and he bit his tongue only when you cut your eyes at him, cheeks reddening. “Fine.” He slammed the hanger back on the rack and asked, “Where do you get all this stuff, anyway? Is it from those magazines—”

“It’s fashion advice,” you maintained, but Heechul continued to argue. 

“I don’t think it’s good for you to read things that tell you ‘You look bad in this, this, and that.’” 

Had the shop been busier, you might have been embarrassed by his volume. Maybe then, you still would have been too flattered by his rage on your behalf to care who overheard. 

Calmly, you explained, “They don’t just tell me what I look bad in. They also say what’s flattering for my body type.” 

Heechul rolled his eyes as he humored you by asking, “Well, what do the magazines say flatters you?”

You pointed to the polka dotted red one piece. Heechul grabbed it and ushered you into the dressing room in the back of the store. In another attempt to make you laugh, the tried to walk into the dressing room with you. 

He laughed— that high pitched cackle that drew everyone’s attention— as you snatched the bathing suit from his hands and pushed him out of the room, chuckling, “Nice try, Heechul.” 

Even after all his skepticism toward magazine advice, Heechul frowned when you walked out of the dressing room without modeling the bathing suit. 

“Patience, Heechul,” you urged as you rose to your tiptoes to pull the elastic that held his hair back. You had never seen him with his hair down before; he looked more beautiful this way. “You’ll see it at the beach.” 

He grumbled, “Whatever,” while raking his fingers through his hair. He smiled only when you absentmindedly slid his hair tie onto your wrist before skipping to meet AJ at the register. 

“Cute,” AJ cooed when you dropped the bathing suit onto the counter. “Very 1950s chic! Your almost-boyfriend has great taste!” You shoved her as she turned to wiggle her eyebrows and wave at Heechul. 

Heechul’s frown returned when AJ whipped her wallet out to purchase your bathing suit. 

“Hey!” His eyes spat fire. “I wanted to buy that!” Stepping by your side, he had also pulled his wallet from his work pants’ front pocket. He wore an indignant expression that clearly meant, “And I have every right to buy it! I helped her pick it out while you were sidetracked by your baby daddy quest!”

AJ mimicked his face, going so far as to stick her tongue out at him while adopting his whining tone. “Too bad! This was my idea first, so you’ll have to think of some other present for Y/N!”

While the cashier watched their exchange with raised eyebrows, you offered him an apologetic smile and tugged anxiously at one of your twin braids. “Guys, I’ll just buy it myself—”

“No!” Heechul and AJ shouted in unison, causing you and the cashier to jump and raise your hands in surrender. 

Shoving his wallet back into his pocket, Heechul grumbled, “It was AJ’s idea first, so whatever.” 

AJ stood triumphantly, beaming as she counted the money likely given to her by your Mom, and Heechul stood over by the door. He crossed his arms over his chest, lips pressed out into a pout. 

You couldn’t explain that his presence alone was a gift without sounding like a lovesick fool, so you smiled as you walked to his side and said, “We’ll need towels and sunscreen and stuff, right?”

Heechul blinked until he understood that you were offering him another way to financially contribute to the beach trip since, obviously, that was so important to him. He grabbed you around the shoulders and grinned as he instructed, “Wait here.” 

. . .  

“What was the point of buying a bathing suit,” AJ asked as she plopped onto the checkered blanket with you and Heechul, “if you’re just gonna sit here the whole time?”

You tossed a towel at her, kicking with your bare feet to drive her off of the corner of the blanket she was soaking with ocean water. “Why did you drag me to the beach for my birthday if you’re just gonna flirt with every guy on the beach?”

The red patches that rose over AJ’s cheeks were either the beginning stages of a sunburn or her first blush. “Well, forgive me for not wanting to interrupt you and Heechul.” 

At his name, Heechul propped himself up on his elbows and lowered his sunglasses to cock an eyebrow at AJ. “Excuse me? We aren’t doing anything. I am being a remarkably well behaved boy.”

“Right,” AJ said skeptically before rising to her feet and dropping the towel onto the blanket. “Well, I’m gonna go get ice cream. Might swim some more. I’m not sure yet. But you won’t see me again ’til it’s time to walk back to the restaurant.” 

You thought AJ was mad at you until she winked before prancing away. 

So that’s why she had been elusive all day: she didn’t want to be the third wheel. In her mind, this was a date that she had coordinated with your mom’s help. 

Heechul rolled onto his side. “You can go swimming if you want.” Lying like that, with one hand supporting his head and the other resting on his hip, clad only in his black slacks, you couldn’t bear to look at him. You fixed your gaze on the not-too-distant shoreline as he said, “I wouldn’t mind. It’s your birthday, and your cousin is visiting from across the world, so do what’s fun to you.”

It occurred to you that there was an imbalance between you and Heechul. While you had vaguely admitted your attraction to him as some kind of crush similar to one every girl developed when looking at him, he had been open about liking you. Liking someone is different from having a crush. Liking someone is different from thinking they’re pretty. 

The thing was, you did like Heechul. You couldn’t exactly explain why or when it started, but you figured you must have tripped some time during your first conversation. You must have fallen without realizing it until you looked up at him from your place on the ground. 

You hadn’t ever liked somebody before, so you didn’t know how these things worked. You didn’t know what marked the distinction between crush and love, but you knew that you liked Heechul, and you didn’t want to swim because he couldn't walk into the water wearing his work uniform. 

You knew, “I am having fun,” so you told him. 

Heechul didn’t tease you. He simply lowered his sunglasses again to look at you without the barrier— to check your expression for any signs of uncertainty or deceit. He handed the glasses to you, explaining, “You’re squinting. Here.” 

As you slid them onto your face, he crawled in front of you, sat with his back to you, and asked, “Do you know how to braid hair?”

“Yeah,” you answered, “but I don’t have a hair tie.” 

He advised, “Check your wrist,” and you saw that you were wearing one. 

Unable to remember where it came from or how Heechul noticed it, you set to combing through his hair with your fingers. “Do you want, like, a French braid, or—” 

“I don’t care.” Always a little too honest to believe, Heechul explained, “I just want you to touch me, okay? And not in, like, a pervy way, so stop blushing.”

It wasn’t so impressive that Heechul knew that you were blushing without watching your face burn; you were almost always turning red while talking to him. 

“Okay,” you agreed, playing with his hair without pausing for even a moment. Your movements didn’t falter until Heechul leaned back so that his back was flush with your chest. 

“What are you doing?” He whirled around when you pushed him away. His voice had been grating— irritated— until he noticed that the color had drained from your face. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you or—”

Shaking your head, you explained, “My heart is racing. I didn’t want you to feel—”

Heechul gently grabbed your wrist and held your palm flat over his chest— bare and warm from the sun’s rays— so that you could feel it too: the rapid booming of his heart. Somehow, that made it okay. Somehow that made it right: the fact that he felt this way too. 

Once you nodded, Heechul returned to his position with his back against your chest. When you said, “I can’t braid your hair when you’re this close,” he repeated, “I don’t care,” and he reached for his phone. 

So he really did just want to be close to you. 

You sat there for a few minutes, gaze shifting from the clouds overhead to the shoreline to the children building sandcastles to the couples sitting on blankets in positions to yours and Heechul’s. You sat there for a few minutes, stiff and unsure of what you should do, unsure of what you were expected to do, uncomfortably aware of what you wanted to do. 

Finally, you gave in to your desires. You wrapped your arms around Heechul’s waist and hid your burning face in the scalding crook of his neck as you awaited his reaction. 

He gasped at the unexpected affection and dropped his phone. His hair tickled your nose and lips while he asked, “What are you doing?” For once, he was the surprised one. He was the breathless one. 

You replied, “I just want to touch you, okay? And not in a pervy way, so stop blushing.”

“Me?” His voice cracked as his arms grazed over yours. “I don’t blush.”

Hoping to call his bluff, you tried to raise your head, but he held you where you were, saying, “Don’t move. I want to stay like this for a while.”

“But Heechul,” you whined against his skin, “how am I supposed to kiss you from here?”

“Yah!” Heechul jumped out of your embrace and rounded on you again. He leaned forward on his knees, hands pressed down on the blanket on either side of your body, face just inches from yours. He couldn’t truthfully deny that his face was scarlet when he asked, “What’s gotten into you? Your cousin shows up, and suddenly you’re a shameless flirt?”

“Don’t blame AJ.” Somehow emboldened by Heechul’s blush, you accused, “It’s your fault that I’m acting like this.” 

“My fault?” His jaw dropped, and he shook his head. 

You nodded. “Yeah! You’re a terrible influence!”

“I resent that.” His growing smile suggested otherwise. His blush faded as he adapted to the situation; if you wanted to remain dominant, you would have to take action quickly. 

“Besides, Heechul—” you teasingly lowered the sunglasses he gave you so he could see your wink— “hasn’t anybody ever told you that you’re irresistible?”

It was quick— almost too quick for you to appreciate the cherry flavor of his barely chapped lips against yours— over in the blink of an eye, but you would never forget that first dizzying kiss. 

“Ah, damn it.” Heechul huffed when he backed away from you. His hair fell over his face, and he didn’t bother to move it (probably) because it acted as a curtain between his blush and your wide, curious eyes. “I’m supposed to prove myself worthy by waiting for you, and then I got all impatient like an idiot.”

At first, you thought that he was throwing a theatrical fit to lighten the mood— maybe he thought you were overwhelmed by the kiss— but then his shoulders slumped. He didn’t meet your eyes because he was focused on his balled fists. 

You tried to comfort him by acknowledging, “I went out of my way to tempt you,” but that only seemed to make matters worse.

“That’s no excuse. You clearly said that you don’t want to date, and—”

“I’m sorry,” you interrupted, annoyed by his efforts to dampen the moment, “but I didn’t know that sharing one sweet kiss means we have to get married next week.”

Heechul blinked and opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, but then he broke into a bashful grin. “Oh. Yeah, maybe I’m overthinking things.” When he moved to sit by your side, he was careful not to brush his hand against yours; evidently, he wasn’t done overthinking. 

A part of you— the part that forced your lips into a heavy frown— wondered how long things would be like this. How long would he, who never hesitated before, fear crossing the boundary you had drawn before trust was (somehow) established?

A part of you— the part that compelled you to toss the sunglasses into the beach tote so you could look at him without the slightest obstruction to your vision— said, “You’re a really nice person.” Then, that part of you said, “You’re a beautiful person, Heechul.”

“Why are you saying that?” He looked at you with an apprehension you recognize from the times you caught your reflection at school. He didn’t believe you. “You can’t say something like that just because I kissed you—”

“I’m not,” you argued, voice sharp as a blade although your heart was flooded with burning compassion. “I’m not trying to— I’m saying that you’re beautiful because you’re not going to kiss me again.” 

Heechul sighed. “I don’t understand. I don’t know why you’re confusing me like this, but—” 

“It’s beautiful that you care so much about waiting for me. It’s beautiful that you’re not pressuring me to just hurry up and date you just because the feelings are there.”

“That’s not beautiful,” Heechul murmured, smoothing the patch of blanket before him. “That’s called not being a total jerk.”

“Well,” you breathed, “I think it’s beautiful that you’re not a total jerk.”

When Heechul swallowed, his eyes still clinging to his mistrust, he seemed to realize that he couldn’t change your mind. Maybe he didn’t want to change your mind. “Okay. I believe that you think I’m beautiful, so I think you should try to believe that I think you’re beautiful.” 

You gasped. When would you get used to the fluttering in your chest those words caused? Did you want it to end so that you could breathe more comfortably? Or did you want the feeling to last forever? 

“What? What’s wrong?” Heechul finally pushed his hair aside so you could watch his face contort as he complained, “Y/N, you make me a little bit crazy. I know there’s a lot going on in your head, and maybe I wouldn’t get it all, but I— try to trust me a little. Please?”

“It’s not an issue of trust,” you claimed, but maybe it was. “It’s just—” adjusting your denim shorts, you worried aloud, “what if you think I’m weird?”

“Who gives a shit what I think?” Heechul apologized when you winced at his tone. “Well, obviously, you care what I think, huh?” He clicked his tongue. “Don’t worry then. I don’t think being weird is bad. I don’t think anything about you is bad.”

“I was just thinking,” you confessed when he linked his pinky with yours, “that I can’t breathe when you call me beautiful. And then I wondered how long I will feel this way. And then I wondered what’s wrong with me.” 

“First of all, there’s nothing wrong with you,” Heechul said matter-of-factly. “It’s okay to be happy when somebody calls you beautiful—”

At the risk of sounding like a fool, you elaborated, “It’s not about being called beautiful. It’s about you calling me beautiful. I don’t want to be one of those girls who only feels special because a boy— even a boy like you— compliments her.” 

Heechul frowned and scratched at the back of his neck. “See, I don’t know what to say about that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you feeling special because— get this— you are. And if I help you realize it, then, well, I don’t see any harm in that.” As if wounded, he asked, “Why can’t I be one of the things that make you happy? I get why I can’t be everything— I don’t want to be everything— but why can’t I be something?”

You shrugged, unsure of how to process his question (much less answer it), and Heechul started guessing, “Because I’m a boy? Because I like you? Because I’ll kiss you every chance I get? That’s not very fair, if you ask me.” 

“It’s not because you’re a boy or because you like me or because you want to kiss me,” you admitted in a small voice, gathering your legs so you could rest your chin atop your knees. “It’s because— what do I do when you change your mind?”

Your question knocked the breath out of Heechul. He tried to mask his wheeze with a laugh. “Change my mind about what? Liking you? Falling in love with you? Thinking you’re beautiful?” He looked to you, again, for answers. Again, you shrugged, so he reasoned, “Well, Y/N, I’m not gonna lie or sugar coat things. People change, people grow, and sometimes people leave. I’m not going to promise you forever, and you shouldn’t trust anybody who does.” 

Everything he said— you already knew it. Those truths were among the many fears that prevented you from leaping into the unknown with him despite your repressed desires. Hearing them spoken aloud should have stunned you, maybe terrified you, but the words were a comfort. 

Heechul understood; Heechul wouldn’t pretend to hold the authority to silence your concerns forever. Perhaps above all, you appreciated his honesty. 

“I like you now. I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you now,” he confessed. You knew he wasn’t speaking for a reaction, as he often did, because he wasn’t even looking at you. “Now is all I can give you.”

“Now,” you wanted to say, “is beautiful,” but you couldn’t find your voice, or you couldn’t find the words. 

“But—” he looked at you briefly, stuttered when he found that you had been admiring him, and fixed his gaze up on the sky— “I will always think you’re beautiful. Even if you cut my heart out and stop on it— and I know you would never intentionally hurt me, but come on, that’s one of those things people do— you won’t stop being beautiful. Maybe you don’t know it yet, maybe you never will, but your beauty is one of those few forever things.” 

You said, “I don’t believe in forever,” and Heechul breathed an airy sort of laugh that wasn’t born from amusement. 

“Well, I guess we have more in common than we thought.” He looked at you, took your hand, and said, “I guess when it ends—” he gasped and amended— “ah, I don’t want to think about that, so let’s say if— if it ends, I’ll be able to look back and know that I loved someone truly beautiful.” 

Heechul’s face burned when you said, “I don’t think that’s so important.” Lacing your fingers through his when he tried to pull away, you supposed, “That’s not as important as knowing that you were loved by someone who knows you are truly beautiful.”

Moments passed in silence, with the two of you looking at each other. 

“You need to let go,” Heechul whispered, “because if you don’t, I’m going to kiss you again.” 

“I’m not going to let you go.” 

This time, you crossed the distance and caught his lips with yours. This time, the kiss lasted long enough for you to memorize the feeling of Heechul’s cool breath against your skin, the feeling of his one hand squeezing yours while the other moved to cup your cheek. This time, you knew that you would never catch your breath again, and you didn’t mind.

. . . 

“Nice lipstick, Heechul.” AJ smirked on the walk back to the restaurant. “I’m sure Y/N’s parents are really gonna love how it compliments your complexion.” 

Heechul smiled even as he reached up to wipe at his lips and cheeks. You blushed, realizing that he hadn’t stopped smiling like that since your second kiss. 

AJ squealed, “Ah! He’s so damn happy he got kissed on the beach, he doesn’t care if he gets scolded by the ’rents!”

“The ’rents?” You rolled your eyes at AJ’s vocabulary while straining to remove the red stains from Heechul’s face. “What kind of— Heechul, stop pushing me away!”

“I like my kiss marks!” He shrieked before lifting you off the ground, arms secured around your waist, and peppering your face with light kisses. 

“Children!” AJ playfully scolded, cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. “Behave!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as a sharp breeze blew Heechul’s hair against your face. Cursing, he set you back onto your feet and set to combing through his hair. He was too focused on making his hair presentable to distract you from wiping at his face with a towel from the beach bag. 

“My dad won’t like them,” you reasoned to his childish pout. “You don’t want him to make us break up so soon, do you?”

“Obviously not,” Heechul grumbled as you fished his red button-down shirt out of the bag. 

Tossing the short at him, you ordered, “Put this on, then—”

Smirking, he jested, “That’s not usually how these things go. You’re asking me to put my clothes on?”

“— Nobody is gonna react well if you walk into the restaurant shirtless,” you concluded, gaze stern in response to his perversion. 

AJ observed, wiggling her eyebrows at you, “You don’t seem to mind the sight so much,” and Heechul joined her in laughing at your spreading blush. 

Their laughter didn’t die until the three of you walked into the restaurant and met with your father’s disappointed scowl behind the host’s podium. “Where have you been?”

Although his gaze was fixed solely on you— your breath gasped past your lips and, in your shame, you dropped the bag onto the floor— AJ answered your father as Heechul knelt to stuff the escaped towels back into the bag. “Auntie said that as long as we were back by 7—” 

AJ fell silent as your father eyed her sharply. He turned his attention to Heechul, who stood up straight while holding the bag’s strap. Fearing that your father could somehow see the lipstick stains you had meticulously scrubbed, you shrank. 

“Where have you been, Heechul?” Your father asked. “Weren’t you scheduled to work until closing?”

Shifting from one foot to another, Heechul started, “I—”

You would never hear his response. Your mom walked out of the kitchen carrying a birthday cake and smiled as she asked, “So, kids, how was the beach? Heechul, AJ didn’t act up too badly, did she?” 

Apparently, it didn’t matter much (or at all) to your father that your mom had given the three of you permission— encouragement— to go to the beach. Pinching at the bridge of his nose, he said flatly, “AJ, I’m used to you being a bad influence—” 

Rather than listening to your father’s scolding and crumbling under the weight of his disappointment, AJ rolled her eyes and stormed past you and Heechul, who were frozen stiff, to help your mom set the table. 

“— but Heechul, I expect better from you considering your circumstances. You have a lot to prove.” 

Heechul’s circumstances? 

You glanced at Heechul for some kind of explanation, knowing well that this wasn’t any time to talk, but he had fixed his gaze down at his dull black shoes. The circumstances— whatever they were— must have been dire, judging by the dark maroon that colored Heechul’s entire face. 

“And Y/N—” your father’s stern tone faltered when you looked away from Heechul to meet his stare with tear-filled eyes. Quietly, he asked as if he truly couldn’t understand why you would want to do something fun for your birthday, “You were supposed to be studying— don’t you care about your future at all?”

“Alright!” Your mom slammed the plates down on the table, stormed toward the conflict, and you were thankful that the restaurant closed early; at least nobody else would have to witness your humiliation. “Don’t start saying things like that! Your daughter slaves away in that corner booth every day of every week, and I don’t want her to become one of those zombie kids who don’t know how to crack a smile, so I sent her to the beach with AJ and Heechul because she likes them. She deserves to spend time with people she likes—”

It wasn’t often that your mother lost her temper, but it was never a pretty sight. She was so loud, and your father was so distracted by her wagging finger, that they didn’t notice you slip out the door. 

Nobody would have seen you lower your head as your threw your back against the building’s rough brick exterior had Heechul not followed you outside wearing an expression of genuine concern. 

“Are you okay?” He leaned against the wall too, and reached for your hand that was much colder in the moonlight outside your parents’ restaurant than it had been under the beach’s sun. 

You nodded and wiped at your tears with your available hand. “Yeah. Dad will apologize for being so strict after you and AJ go home. He’ll be proud of me for studying in that corner booth hours before the restaurant opens, and— and—”

“It’s okay to be upset.” Heechul offered, “If it means he’ll apologize sooner, I’ll go home—”

“I don’t want you to go home,” you blurted. Thinking that Heechul would tease you, a hand automatically clamped over your mouth. 

He didn’t laugh at you, though. A kind, gentle sort of smile curved his lips as he agreed, “Okay. I won’t go home then.” You nodded gratefully, and he promised, “I’ll wait out here with you until you’re ready to go back inside.” 

And he waited patiently. 

It turned out that Heechul really did have a motorcycle. On days when the sun shone brightly through the morning clouds, he used it to drive you to school and to pick you up during his break or on his way to start his shift at the restaurant. A far sweeter boyfriend than you dreamed was possible, he always pressed a soft kiss to your forehead and fastened your helmet before every ride. 

On overcast days when rain threatened to fall from gray morning clouds, Heechul drove you to and from school in his car. Although meticulously cleaned and well functioning, the car wasn’t exactly new. 

Upon entering it for the first time, you joked, “So your little sales pitch to the ladies at the restaurant— ya know, ‘buy today’s special, help me earn money, and I’ll drive you around town in a new convertible—’”

Heechul, who had been resisting laughter since you started to mimic his voice, interrupted with a wink. “Those were empty promises, baby. I only ever had eyes for you.” 

“Right. Of course.”

You couldn’t quite understand how Heechul could be so indifferent to all of the girls, many of whom were devastatingly gorgeous, but you believed him when he called those interactions mindless flirting. After all, that was all it had been to those girls— non-committal conversations with one of the prettiest boys they had ever seen. 

Moments passed in relative silence. The only noise was the drumming of Heechul’s fingers against the steering wheel until you asked, “What time do you have to work today?” 

That was how your conversations went when you weren’t busy making fun of each other. Although it didn’t affect him, Heechul would ask about the tests you had scheduled for the day. Although it didn’t affect you, you would ask about his work schedule. It was just nice to express an interest in each other’s day, even if you wouldn’t be there for most of the moments. 

“I’m off today.” 

You gawked at him. “You don’t have to go in at all?” You couldn’t remember the last time Heechul hadn’t worked at the restaurant for at least a few hours. 

“Baby,” Heechul laughed, bringing his eyes away from the road for a split second to look at you. “That’s what it means to be off.”

As always, you rolled your eyes in instances like these when Heechul pretended to be much smarter than you. “Don’t be a butt.” He chuckled at your weak insult. “I’m just surprised that you woke up early to drive me to school when you could have slept in. I can take the bus when you’re unavailable, you know. That’s what I’ve done for years.”

Granted, you embraced Heechul’s role in your morning routine, and your day wouldn’t start nearly as happily without him, but you didn’t want to be selfish with his time. 

“But I’m not unavailable,” Heechul argued, shutting the radio off when a song he didn’t like played through the speakers. “I enjoy our morning chats, so you’ll just have to get used to the passenger seat, alright?”

You adopted the tired tone he usually used when groaning, “Whatever,” before offering your sincere thanks. 

Instantly, he replied, “You’re welcome,” and you smiled because he no longer squirmed when you spoke to him in genuine admiration. 

As he pulled into the parking lot of your school, bringing the car close to the building so you wouldn’t have to walk far in the rain, you looked at him with a pout. 

“Ah damn,” Heechul sighed, working a hand through his hair as he took in your expression. “What do you want?”

“Let’s play hooky!” You suggested just to see how he might react. 

Heechul snorted. “I’m out of school for the summer, so I’m not pulling some delinquent stunt by driving out of this parking lot. He raised an eyebrow at you. “You, however—”

“Come on, Heechul, pretty please?” Bringing your hands together, you poked your bottom lip out. “I’m just a few weeks away from graduating, and I’ve never skipped a single day.” 

“Your father is never going to approve of me if I aid and abet in your first act of truancy, Y/N,” Heechul deadpanned, shaking his head. “I’ve made a lot of progress during the family dinners, and I’m not about to see all my hard work and good manners go to waste just because you look at me like that with your pretty eyes.” 

Your effort to skip school had been half-hearted at best, so you forfeited the fight almost as soon as it started. Zipping your backpack, you huffed, “Fine, fine,” biting back your amusement that, for once, he was being the responsible one. “I’ll see you later.”

“So you’re going to leave without giving me a kiss just because I’m not giving you your way?” 

That hadn’t been your reasoning at all, but when you turned to face him, hand on the door handle, and saw that Heechul’s lips were puckered disappointedly, you shrugged. Your only motive to play along with his narrative was your amusement with Heechul’s frustration. 

“That’s really childish.” Very rich coming from the king of childish behavior.

You shrugged again, and Heechul asked, “Where would we even go if you didn’t go to class?” He carefully phrased the question as a hypothetical, but you understood that he was giving in. 

Settling back into your seat, you chewed on your cheek. Because the rain was falling in full force now— pounding against the roof of Heechul’s car and sliding down the windows— the park, beach, and nearby outdoor shopping center wouldn’t be too fun. What was even open at that hour? 

Remembering that on an earlier car ride, Heechul mentioned that he was renting an apartment just a few miles from your school, you suggested, “Your place?”

“Wow.” Heechul chuckled at your nerve. “There you go again, being all bold like I can resist you.” 

“There you go, being a pervert again,” you squirmed when he smirked at your suggestion. He probably wouldn’t notice the blush rising beneath your makeup, but you turned to face out the window anyway. “It’s not dirty unless you make it dirty, Heechul.” 

“Do you want me to?” He reached across the center console to poke at your ribs like an annoying child. As you reached again for the door handle, he blurted, “Sorry, sorry! I won’t make it dirty if you really want to visit my place.” 

You skeptically narrowed your eyes at him, reluctantly leaning back in your seat. “Promise?” 

Heechul promised, and once you buckled your seatbelt, he drove away. His only condition for allowing you to skip school was that you text your mother to tell her where you were, preparing for the likelihood that the school may call home to report your absence— he didn’t want to worry her. 

“Call me crazy,” he said, “but I feel like your mom will be overjoyed that you’re doing a normal teenager thing for once.” 

“You are crazy,” you teased, giggling when he rolled his eyes, “but not because of that. While Dad has always been worried about me growing into a successful adult, I think Mom has been worried that I was never really a happy kid.” 

Casually, as if the question weren’t deeply personal, he asked, “Were you? Were you a happy kid?”

Why couldn’t you answer straight away?

In all honesty, you couldn’t remember laughing as much in your entire life as you had in the last month with Heechul. You couldn’t remember the last time you looked up from your textbooks before that day he sat across from you and ripped your magazine. 

Maybe it wasn’t so much that you were unhappy before Heechul’s smile became the highlight of your day. Maybe you just hadn’t known before that happiness could be a priority. 

Heechul pulled you out of your thoughts by calling your name as he opened your door. Offering his hand, he wondered, “What are you thinking?”

All you could think was, “I love you, I love you, I love you,” the feeling magnified by his touch, but that hardly seemed like the right thing to say when Heechul led you into his spotless all-white apartment, out of the rain. 

“Doesn’t it stress you out?” You asked as you anxiously eased onto the red couch at his urging. “Living in a place like this, I mean. I would be afraid I would spill something or somehow ruin the pretty white paint.”  

After kicking your shoes off, you pulled your socked feet onto the couch, afraid of soiling the shiny white floor that appeared untrodden. 

Heechul said, laughing at your behavior, “You can’t be afraid of making your mark on the world.”

Taking that as encouragement to follow him into some other room, you leaped off the couch. Heechul almost collided with you when he turned out of the room, clutching a guitar in hand. 

“Wow,” he grinned despite his promise not to make things weird. “If you’re so eager to come into my room, come on ahead.” He pushed the door open, probably expecting you to run, blushing, back into the living room. 

Driven by curiosity and a desire to surprise Heechul, you walked past him into a white bedroom covered with posters, housing guitars— electric and acoustic— and lined with bookshelves. Upon closer inspection, however, you realized that the shelves weren’t filled with books; they were overflowing with alphabetized CDs ranging from all languages, all genres, all decades.

Apparently unable to stand the silence, Heechul remarked, “I just re-organized those. I change it up a lot. This time it’s alphabetical order, but I’ve tried organizing them by genre, release date, language— oh—” 

When you turned to face him, he was sitting with his back against the headboard and blushing. Sometimes, like when he chewed his lips to cope with mild embarrassment, Heechul was adorable. 

“Oops.” He mirrored your smile when you sat on the foot of his bed. ���I’m rambling.”

“Did you write me a song?” You folded your hands in your lap as you teased, “You know, like how you used to promise those girls—”

Throwing his head back, Heechul groaned, “This again!” He couldn’t dampen the bright smile that illuminated his face when you giggled at his reaction. “I don’t write songs about other girls! Only about you!”

Assuming that he was joking as usual, you disregarded that remark until he started strumming on the strings and filled the air with his gentle hum. Heechul sang often in the car, and you often complimented his talent, but there was a softer quality in his voice now. 

Why was his voice so different? Was it because you were in his room, whose atmosphere was somehow different— almost forbidden— from his car’s atmosphere? Was it because his voice was accompanied by a dulcet acoustic guitar rather than the full hard rock ensemble he sang along to in the car? 

Maybe Heechul sensed your questions, and maybe he wanted to give you some answers. “I haven’t written the lyrics yet. Or maybe I have, and I’m just too embarrassed to sing them while you’re looking at me like that—” 

Like what? Like there had never been anybody so beautiful in the history of mankind? Like he held your heart in the palm of his hand (and probably didn’t even realize it)? Like you wanted to admire him for the rest of time? 

“— but I kind of thought it would be nice— like something romantic from one of your magazines— to tell you that I love you with a song, but—”

Heechul paused again as if you weren’t leaning in to his every word. His strumming ceased as he looked up from the guitar to gauge your reaction. Once satisfied by your sharp gasp, he continued, “But you know I can’t ever really stick with a plan. I see you, and I get so excited that I can’t just think to myself that I love you. I have to tell you.” 

He set the guitar down on the floor, crawled to your side of the bed. Balancing on his knees and maintaining a small distance between your faces that instantly flooded your senses with memories of your first cherry flavored kiss on the beach, he breathed, “I love you.” 

Then, as if to spare you the burden of having to return the three simple words, Heechul brushed his lips against yours. 

Not too long ago, Heechul would have tried to debate when you breathlessly responded, “I love you too.” He would have said something like “Why are you saying that? You can’t just say that you love me because I said it first.” 

Your feelings must have been obvious from the expression he admired on your face when he broke the kiss; Heechul’s only response was a smile as he pulled your body against his.

. . . 

“He really likes you,” AJ said over the phone when she called to congratulate you on graduating. 

Applying the last touches of your makeup, you agreed. “I know.” 

Your father decided that the best way to celebrate your graduation and acceptance into an online summer college program was to host a small party. Beaming too radiantly at your achievements to cling to his disapproval of your boyfriend, he had said, “You can even invite Heechul!” as if Heechul didn’t work at the restaurant where the party would be hosted. Still, you smiled at your father’s effort to encourage your happiness.

Maybe it was silly to put so much effort into your appearance when Heechul considered you beautiful during all those days when you didn’t bother wearing makeup, but maybe you weren’t dressing up to impress him. Maybe you were trying to demonstrate with your appearance some transformation that occurred over the past few months; after all, your magazines called fashion a form of self-expression. 

AJ teased, her smirk almost audible, “I bet you’re doing that adorable thing where you smile down at the ground, just lost in the thought of him.” 

AJ was right about one thing: you were smiling, but not at the ground. You smiled as you met your bright eyes in the mirror. 

“Of course, I don’t blame you or anything. He really likes you,” she repeated, and you almost wanted to brag that he loves you, but that seemed too special to share over a phone call. That detail needed to be reserved for an in-person conversation (or at least a FaceTime chat).

She continued, “You barged into his bedroom, and nothing scandalous happened? That’s true love.” 

Or maybe, you thought, smile fading, Heechul just didn’t think about you like that. 

It was ironic. AJ (the self-proclaimed wild child always searching for a fling) admired the lack of physical intimacy in your relationship while you (the lifelong good girl who found love without looking)  frowned. 

Why were you upset, though? Did you genuinely crave that kind of connection with Heechul? Wasn’t it enough— more than enough— beautiful— that he loved you? Was this knotting in your stomach just the latest manifestation of your fear that, maybe, his attraction to you was limited? 

You couldn’t understand, and that confusion about your own feelings deepened the frown lines around your cherry red lips. 

Calling your name, AJ asked, “Are you still there?”

“Sorry.” Although nobody was there to see it, you forced a smile as you swept your makeup into a drawer. “I have to go, AJ. All this talking about Heechul has made me lose track of time.” You hoped that by distracting her with a joke at your own expense, she wouldn’t be able to imagine your sudden discomfort. 

Too consumed by your spiraling thoughts on the short walk from your family’s home into the restaurant, you didn’t see him coming until he had you pinned against the cold, hard floor. Before you ever looked at him, you felt Heechul’s heart thundering against your chest. 

He grinned, reaching up to pick pieces of crushed taco shell out of your hair. Apparently in no rush to stand despite the stares and laughter of party guests— comprised mostly of family members and your parents’ friends— Heechul traced the outline of your lips with his thumb. “Hey.” 

“Hey.” You were just about to hiss for him to get off, heat rising to your cheeks at his close proximity, when you made the mistake of looking into his eyes. 

On the bright side, looking at him— loving him— distracted you from the burning embarrassment of having fallen in a restaurant full of people. You probably would have laid there, heart racing, staring at Heechul for hours if he hadn’t suddenly jumped up. 

As if realizing at once that the people closest to you (and your family) were watching, Heechul dropped the tray he had been carrying onto an empty table and offered both hands to help you off of the ground. 

The restaurant wasn’t entirely closed to the public— your father probably determined that he couldn’t afford to miss a day of profit. A table full of girls clad in brightly colored bikini tops giggled when Heechul pulled you past them to the back of the restaurant. 

Stupidly, as if you couldn’t read the sign that marked the ladies’ restroom, you whispered, “Where are we going?”

“You have lettuce and tomato and beef all in your hair,” Heechul explained as he led you into the restroom. He ushered for you to sit atop the bathroom counter. “And that’s my fault, so—”

“You can’t be in here!” As if transforming into your mother, you wagged your finger as you scolded him. “What if somebody—”

“Look at us. Anyone who walks in here and thinks it’s a little suspicious that the waiter and the owners’ daughter are alone in the women’s restroom, they’ll quickly realize that this is some kind of emergency.” Heechul spun you around to face your reflection. Both of you were covered head to toe, as he said, in lettuce, tomato, beef, and whatever else Chef Leeteuk piled onto the tray.

Having only soiled his apron— which, technically, was made to be dirtied— Heechul frowned only when he noticed your frown in the mirror. 

“Hey.” Heechul turned you to face him before he lifted you onto the counter. “I’m sorry.” He ripped a paper towel from its dispenser, ran it under the water faucet, and wiped at some sauce staining your cheek. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” 

Stirred by the guilt flooding his eyes, you didn’t hesitate to explain, “I’m not hurt. I’m just— I know you probably think this kind of thing is stupid— but I spent a long time getting dressed, and—”

Heechul followed your gaze down to your white dress that had been stained by the food. “Shit. I’m sorry—” He moved to wipe at the stain, but faltered once he realized that it covered the majority of your chest. Tossing the paper towel onto the counter, he repeated, “I’m really sorry. It’s not stupid that you dressed up for your graduation party; it’s stupid that I ran into you with a tray full of tacos. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” you responded to each of Heechul’s apologies, but he didn’t seem to hear you. 

“I know this won’t be nearly as pretty as your dress—” Heechul looked you over again and cast his eyes up to the ceiling as he hissed, “Damn it, you really dressed nice. You still look pretty post-incident, so I know you looked drop dead gorgeous when you walked in. And I barely even got to see it before I tackled you.” 

“Heechul.” To make him hear, you had to hold his face in your hands. His cheeks scalded your palms. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Yeah, this dress is probably ruined—” he groaned— “but it’s not the end of the world. This is one of those one time dresses, anyway. It’s fine. Really,” you said to his skeptical expression, “it’s fine.”

Unconvinced, Heechul shook his head before catching your lips with his. Maybe he thought the sweet act of affection would lessen his guilt. Maybe he wanted to gauge whether you were truly upset by your response to his kiss. 

Maybe he was satisfied by the urgency with which you drew him closer, forgetting (or not caring) that the food still sticking to his apron would further taint your dress. Maybe he was smiling into the kiss until, without warning, your hands gathered the fabric over his chest and shoved him away. 

“What’s wrong?” Heechul asked so often that the words rolled off his tongue without much thought. He gave you that look— brows furrowing and eyes twinkling with curiosity— that always preceded his request for you to trust him with your deepest thoughts. 

“We can’t do this here.” 

“What?” Heechul quirked his head at you, hair falling from his ponytail holder to fall into his eyes. “Kiss?”

You nodded, and he kissed— the frustrating tight-lipped pecks that were ending and beginning again before you could react— your lips again and again until you gathered the strength to push him away. 

“We are in a public restroom, Heechul,” you reminded him between pants, “and we are in my parents’ restaurant, and—” 

“I promise I’m not just being an insatiable pervert.” Heechul retied his ponytail before saying, “I know when you’re embarrassed. You’ve been blushing since those stupid girls laughed at us—”

Us, Heechul said, but they had been laughing at you. Knowing that Heechul wouldn’t want to hear that— explaining that would send him out to their table to harshly deliver a piece of his mind— you bit your tongue. 

“— and I would just rather think that you’re blushing because I kissed you over and over again— not because I ran into you with a tray of tacos like an idiot.” 

Again, like every other day of knowing him, you were struck by the realization, “You’re nice, Heechul.” Sometimes, because he teased you so much, that fact was easy to forget; rediscovering it every day was a joy, though. 

“Only to you,” he conditioned before kissing you. “Oh— like I was trying to say earlier before I got distracted— I know that this isn’t anywhere near being as pretty as your dress—” He frowned, tracing his fingers along the ruined fabric— “but I brought clothes to change into after my shift, before I joined your party. They probably won’t fit you right, but—”

“Heechul,” you wiggled your eyebrows teasingly, “was this all an elaborate scheme to get me out of my clothes?”

Because he was honestly trying to atone for his actions, Heechul wasn’t prepared for your playfulness to strike at that exact moment. His face turned beet red, and he stuttered, “No— I— no—” 

“If you wanted me to take my dress off,” you jumped off of the counter and reached for the zipper, biting back laughter, “all you had to do was ask.” 

Heechul kept his eyes fixed on yours, either trying to call your bluff or daring you to follow through. When you started to tug on the zipper, however, he clapped a hand over his eyes and whined, “We can’t do this here! We’re in a public restroom, and we’re in your parents’ restaurant!”

Once you doubled over laughing, he dropped his hand, wheezing, “Aish, everything’s a joke with you, huh?” 

Thoroughly unashamed— proud, even— you nodded your head. “A funny joke!”

“You win this round, baby,” Heechul warned, “but watch out.” He brushed his lips against your forehead before walking out of the restroom, you assumed, to retrieve the clothes he offered. 

Leaning against a stall door, you passed the time as you always did when Heechul wasn’t by your side: by imagining the next time you would get lost in his eyes.

[fuhrmana]

An Incomplete List of Fics I’m Not Writing (Pt 2/?)

I would come up with a title based on Texas and LA (Slight AU, set around the time of the Halloween episode in s3)

Probably when Captain Strand was recruiting, Buck got an offer (c’mon, you know that Owen would have a soft spot for a man fighting to not let an illness keep him from firefighting)

Buck probably turned it down initially, because he was convinced that the lawsuit was going to work, and his family would accept him back with open arms

Then Buck gets back, and it’s off. Eddie’s closed off and mean, Bobby keeps punishing him, and Hen and Chimney keep making jokes that Buck doesn’t get, and that, that’s even worse than them being mad at him. He missed so much, and he feels so left out, and it’s hard to jump in and stay positive when the two feelings he gets from work are “begrudging hostility” and “you’re third wheeling on the greatest friendship in the house”

Buck starts worrying that the lawyer was right, and maybe he should have taken the money

That’s when Buck reaches out to Captain Strand and asks if he can come and formally interview

Buck usually thinks things through, but this time he’s pretty impulsive and he requests a week off 

(note, I don’t know how firefighter interviews go, but in this case he’s doing a few shifts with the team to see how they fit)

Bobby signs off on it

There would be panic from the 118 except they think he’s doing Spring Break in Texas and there is some good natured teasing going on in one of the group chats, not one Buck is a part of

(Well this got aggressively long)

Buck fits in even better than he thought he would

TK and Captain Strand’s respectful and loving Father/Son relationship is #goals af, and Buck basks in the reflected light of it

Marjan Marwani (who Buck has 10000% watched youtube videos of) is possibly the coolest firefighter Buck has ever met. They bond over videos of them doing amazing rescues, and no one at the 126 treats her like she’s an idiot for jumping into danger to save people

Meanwhile, Mateo is hanging with them, watching all of these videos, and Thriving. Buck is so happy to have someone who looks up to him? It’s what he thought he was going to get when Eddie joined as a probie

Paul looks at Buck for three minutes on the first day, and says seven insightful things about Buck

Buck frantically googles “are psychics real” on his phone 

Judd doesn’t know how he feels about Buck, but hell, he’s always liked dogs, and Buttercup and Buck are pretty similar 

Buck loves being liked, so he considers them fast friends by the end of the first shift 

TK and Buck bond over shared hospital trauma, and TK ends up taking Buck to the gay bar with Carlos and Paul

Paul looks at Buck while they’re in the car and says “I guess I’m the token straight again”

Buck blushes but does not deny it

Buck watches TK and Carlos a lot

It makes him. Think about. Things.

There is an ambiguous scene where Buck maybe goes home with someone

Buck goes on two more shifts

There are some funny calls

Some serious calls

And one call that makes local news 

And picked up by national news

Buck gets a pinged in the group chat about how funny it is that he has a lookalike in Texas

Austin Texas

Where he’s on vacation

Wait a minute that’s not a look alike

Buck why are you riding with the 126?

Buck leaves them on read 

Halfway through his final trial shift, Buck is drinking a coffee out of a truly magical device, when Marjan, Mateo and Paul drag him over to some couches, and shove him up next to Buttercup

Judd spots them across the firehouse and walks in another direction 

Owen and TK are at the chemo place

It’s kind of an intervention 

Buck has been pretty chatty about his current team, and they’re all confused as to why he’s thinking about leaving 

Marjan makes at least one joke about not wanting to share the spotlight with him

Buck tries to explain, but he’s stumbling over his words and he ends it with 

“You’ve known me for five days, but you asked me to explain myself. My team’s known me for years, and they would have told me what I was thinking. I’m worried I can’t. Grow with them. And that’s why I left Pennsylvania”. 

Buck looks stricken after he says this and gets up walks away

Paul sighs

“He’d be a good fit here, but I don’t think he’s going to accept the offer. 

At the end of the shift, Captain Strand says “we can make it work for you to join us, but I need an answer within a week.” 

Buck shakes his hand, tells Captain Strand that he’ll be letting him know as soon as he’d had a chance to talk to his family

This is mostly referring to Maddie, but...

Buck gets back to LA, and finally responds to all of the messages he’s gotten since the lookalike kerfuffle 

“Haha, yeah that was me. It’s kind of a funny story, I’ll tell you all tomorrow during the shift.”

He shoots a different text off to Maddie

Hey, can I see you? Just got back from the airport

He ends up at Maddie’s place, explaining how the whole week has been, and how he doesn’t want to abandon her in LA after she moved there for him, and that he feels stupid because he sued to get his job back and now he’s thinking about leaving, and probably both of them cry

Buck probably sleeps there (for old times sake)

In the morning, before he heads off to work, she stops him and says “Don’t stay for me. But see if you want to stay for yourself”

Buck goes into the firehouse, and Bobby does the breakdown of the day, and then looks at Buck and says “we’re all waiting to hear how you ended up helping the 126 during your vacation”

And Buck laughs nervously and says “Well, so I was actually doing a trial week with them” and there is a Ruckus 

Chim is upset because of Maddie, but also Buck

Eddie is furious because of Eddie reasons 

Bobby had kind of assumed it had to be something like that, but it Hurts to have it confirmed

Hen looks conflicted. She’s thought about leaving this job before, but never to transfer somewhere else, and she needs a minute to think it through 

Buck frowns and says “I really liked working with the 118, but they aren’t my family. I don’t want to leave another family, but I need to know that you all want me here too”

Bobby is starting to wonder if he should call out his whole team and do emergency therapy 

Buck is kind of hoping the bell will go off so it can end here

The bell does not go off

Bobby starts talking, but trails off before he finishes the sentence and restarts

“Athena told me I either had to let you do the job or go somewhere where you could. Buck, I want you here, and I’m sorry I haven’t shown it. I don’t think this can be fixed overnight, so maybe we should talk about your timeline

the bell rings right after this

Bobby gets dramatic timing better than Buck does

When they get back from the call, Buck and Bobby and the spirit of every sponsor and therapist the two of them have ever had have a conversation about what Buck needs at his job

And the fact that Bobby is willing to make a few concessions and admit that he was in the wrong about a few things

Buck leaves the office to find that the rest of the team has divvied up his time to talk through why exactly he was leaving and why he shouldn’t

Chim is blunt, Hen is supportive of whatever decision Buck needs to make and Eddie glares at Buck and tells him that they’re meeting at Eddie’s house after the shift

Buck wants to see Christopher, but he’s hoping that Eddie isn’t going to use Chris as the reason that Buck should stay 

Buck gets to Eddie’s house after shift, only to find out that Christopher isn’t... home that night

Buck is uneasy

Eddie sticks Buck on the couch, shoves a beer into Buck’s hand and starts pacing 

Eddie and Buck both aren’t great at words

Eddie starts and stops for an eternity (three minutes)

Finally Eddie sits on the couch, takes the beer he gave Buck, takes a swig and hands it back 

I have to stress, there is only one beer

Eddie got Buck one, but not himself

Eddie finally settles on a sentence 

“I finally started seeing a therapist”

Buck doesn’t say anything and neither does Buck

Eddie continues

“He thinks I’m projecting. Like I’m mad at you for what I was doing, and I think he’s right.”

Buck opens his mouth, but Eddie holds his hand up. 

“I want you to know that I don’t want you to leave, but I won’t be angry at you if you leave, and I’ll make sure we stay in contact.”

Eddie won’t be mad at Buck, he’ll finally get mad at the person who deserves it

(that’s himself, just fyi)

Buck very carefully takes a sip of the beer.

It doesn’t seem like Eddie has anything else to say, so Buck finally speaks

“I don’t think I’m leaving. I fought to come back to you for a reason. If we’re all ready to work towards each other, I’m not going to bail. 

There’s silence for a little longer. Buck hands the beer over to Eddie and continues. 

“I think it was good that I tried it though. I think I needed to see how other houses work to see what I should be asking for.”

Buck wants to talk about some of the other things he’s seen but it feels like too much

Instead they play video games

Buck calls up Captain Strand and volunteers for any temporary help they may need, but nothing permanent. Bobby and Buck continue working on their relationship. Slowly Buck becomes a part of the inside jokes of Chim and Hen again. Eddie and Buck continue to spend time together, and Buck continues talking to the 126 for a while. 

This is probably where this particular story ends

[master-sass-blast]

Aaaaand one more Q for the evening because I need to retire - if there are any thoughts or tidbits about Hyde/Katuna or Hannah/Luis or Dakota/Frank or Hadassah/Frank or Piotr/Reader that are currently floating your boat, I would love to hear them, if you’re so inclined!! Pls and thank you muchly!

I HAVE SOMETHING FOR ALL OF THEM, OML.

Going under a cut again bc I’m expecting this to get long. Trigger warning for discussion about suicide/self harm.

Hannah/Luis: (This is the one with the trigger warning, FYI.) Okay, so I’ve been thinking about the first time they get into bed together, and I think the set up will look something like this:

They go out to dinner together (on a date, because they’re already romantically involved at this point), and Luis picks up on that Hannah’s not herself; she admits that she’s been in a depressive episode as of late, but says she’s fine with staying out when he offers to take her back to her apartment because: A.) her therapist says she needs to not work on isolating herself, B.) if she’s going to be out, she’d rather be with Luis because he makes her happy, C.) she genuinely enjoys listening to him tell stories.

When they’re back at the car (post-dinner), Luis asks if Hannah’s depression ever makes her feel like hurting or killing herself (bc he’s worried about her, not bc he’s nosy). She says yes, admits that why she wears long sleeves all the time, then starts to roll up her sleeves to show him her scars. He stops her and says she doesn’t have to; she smiles and says she’s okay with it.

Luis kisses her scars. Just saying.

Luis drops her off at her apartment building, and is about to head back to his place when he spies a flower shop.

He gets her some daffodils, then asks to be buzzed in and tells her he “has something for her.” Hannah buzzes him in, he heads up, and gives her the daffodils when she opens the door, citing “yellow is a happy color and might help perk you up” (along with an entire ramble about how it’s okay if she doesn’t perk up, because different things work for different people, and everyone’s brains are different which is so cool, but that he thought of her when he saw the flowers and thought she might like them).

Hannah cuts him off with a kiss on the cheek, says he’s sweet, and invites him in for a cup of tea. They drink tea and talk, then Hannah winds up kissing him while crawling into his lap, and then I think you can see where it goes from there.

Hadassah/Frank: Okay, these two are my angsty couple. They’ve both gone through a ton of shit, they’re both kind of broken inside, and UNGH the angst comes so easily with them. Case in point:

I was working on developing the growth of their relationship, trying to figure out how they wind up having feelings for each other, and it occurred to me that they’d probably fight a lot.

Aside from being stubborn jackasses, Hadassah and Frank both have very different points of view on life, despite being very similar in a lot of ways.

Case in point: Frank burned down his family’s home and everything left in it at the end of DD S2. Hadassah basically sees this as insanity and an act of cowardice, partially because she thinks Frank is running from his own self-perceived failures, and also because having grown up Jewish, she knows all too well that you don’t just destroy things that belonged to people and constitute part of their memories, no matter how painful it is to look at any of it.

They wind up having an ugly fight about it because neither of them can see eye to eye --and also because Hadassah is very willing to get downright nasty about things when she thinks she’s right.

They also fight about when it’s acceptable to kill people. They both think that some people have to be taken out, but Hadassah’s also willing to put down arguable innocents to “keep their six clear” or women and children (think the “Black Sky” and Hand fighters from Daredevil) because an enemy is an enemy is an enemy.

She also thinks that Frank’s “metric” is just his way of trying to absolve himself from his own past with his unit, because black and white seldom truly exists with villains. There’s always family, or a kid that joined a gang to try and make ends meet, and at the end of it, Frank’s probably killing as many “innocents” as she does.

That’s another nasty fight where they wind up not speaking to each other for a bit (which is awkward, considering they’re both staying in the same place).

They do learn how handle each other, eventually. Frank concedes that Hadassah’s tactics keep them safer than his do, and Hadassah acknowledges that you can’t keep an entire trove of stuff when you’re on the run, especially since it makes you easier to identify if someone breaks into your place.

Dakota/Frank: Okay, fun fact: the sex-related dreams Frank has about Dakota act as the story’s tell for how he views her, and how those views are changing. Let me explain:

This idea came from the fact that I have lots of weird (sometimes sexual) dreams because of my meds. I figured since Frank’s been shot in the head and knocked around a bit, he’d be a good candidate for weird dreams, too.

Case in point, the first sex dream he has of her is after watching a match and interview with the rest of Curtis’s group. She plays the cocky brat for TV, and his dream about her is him basically fucking her into the mat and dominating her because her arrogance/behavior annoys him.

As he gets to know her better and realizes that her tics are for the cameras and act as armor, the sex dreams he (rarely) has about her morph away from hardcore, domination focused stuff and towards more equal, love making stuff.

I don’t know how to end this, bc that’s basically the whole thought.

LLAMAS.

Katuna and Hyde: Ah, my sweet babies. My sweet, sweet dorks.

Katuna and Hyde get married at the end of their story. It’s a small ceremony, just with friends and family, but they’re okay with that.

Katuna’s daughter (who is a master seamstress) makes her wedding dress.

Not wedding related, but Katuna and Hyde snuggle a lot. Katuna’s favorite move is to lay her head in Hyde’s lap and have him play with her hair.

They also do a lot of napping together. It starts with them just sleeping on their sides of the bed (before they’re an extremely close couple), but eventually Katuna just takes to nestling right up next to Hyde.

Piotr/Reader: Okay, not exactly what you asked for, but I wanna talk about some things I have planned for the CHC:

Four AU specials for when we hit the end of the series! There’ll be a Zombie Apocalypse one, a loosely based on Beauty and Beast one, a 3+1 (or however many I decide on) Soulmate one, and a Coffee Shop one!

We’re gonna do an Infinity War fic that’s basically gonna be nothing but highlighting powerful woman, and I for one am Pumped about it.

Children of the Gods. OKAY, this miniseries is my BABY for the CHC. I have been working on and perfecting this arc for almost a year. It’ll be a four parter, brings in Karen Page and Frank Castle, Greek mythology, Alexandra’s assassin past and Mafia connections, and UGH. It’s gonna be so good, guys, you have NO idea.

Two kidnapping fics that directly impact the Reader, one of which will be the closest I’ll get to writing horror.

The Wedding/Engagement minseries, which we are V Close to.

At least two more smut fics.

Yeah, lots of exciting stuff! Obvs, I didn’t go into too much detail because this post would literally be a mile long, and also because I do want there to be some surprises, but if you want to know more feel free to ask!

[obsessivepropulsive]

just fyi, @reylolujah is not only one of my favorite people in the world, as well as an amazing writer, but she also had a birthday a few weeks ago! and, in the spirit of giving everyone their gifts late, here is my crappy little doo dad for her! 

it is a panel based off a series of my favorite scenes from her reylo au Fire Away. if you have the misfortune of never having read it, well you should! HERE! NOW! it is a modern au where ben and rey obsess over each other via laser tag and it is sweet and angsty and now it is smuttttttty! 

@reylolujah - even though you are the baby of our tribe, you are probably the most mature, tbh. i am so glad i have you to lg with! you are an amazing writer, funny as shit, and always there to listen. happy birthday love! 

[katurrade]

Come Back to Me - The Jig is Up (16/?)

The Jig is Up is part 16 of “Come Back to Me” an AU series. This takes place right at the end of Book 3 Chapter 10, following the bombing of the palace. In this story Chapters 11+ never happen. This is going to be a slightly angsty, slightly fluffy story and is following the story line that is Riley and Liam are engaged and are supposed to be getting married. This was written on my iphone and fyi each chapter will be pretty long! Tagged long post! Hope you enjoy. Posting today, instead of tomorrow, as I feel bad for this not going up Thursday as was the plan. So, i’m sorry about that!! Hopefully this makes up for it!!

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, PB does. I’m just borrowing them.

Pairing: Liam x MC

Rating: PG. Just to be safe!

Summary: Liam just had another flashback, but who was at his door? What will they have to say? Elsewhere in the palace, Riley starts to pack so she can leave for Valtoria, but gets a visit from a true friend. However, both are interrupted by an urgent matter. Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 3,050 ish.

Tagged List: @blackcatkita @captain-kingliamsqueen @mrsdrakewalkerblog @umccall71 @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @liam-rhys @melodiouskeys @theroyalweisme @alicars @bobasheebaby @annekebbphotography @writtenbycandy @queencatherynerhys @ranishajay @blznbaby @jared2612 @bella-ca @mitalijoshi @lodberg @scarlettedragon @romanticatheart-posts @queenof1000days @lostinthe-pines @kennaxval @leelee10898 @jayjay879 @lizk77 @nazariobae @sstee1

Side Notes: If you would like to be added to the tagged list for this, I can make that happen ;)

Liams POV - Day 6 (Morning)

His eyes landed on Bastien standing on the other side of his door. “Your Majesty” he said with a bow, then eyed him up and down before smirking, slightly “Late night?”

Liam ran a hand through his hair as he stepped back from the door to invite him in “Yeah, I don’t understand how Leo can do this regularly..” he said as Bastien entered his room “One night was more then enough for me” he shook his head as he closed the door.

Bastien chuckled “Trust me, last night was probably nothing compared to some of the things I have witnessed Leo accomplish in a night” he shivered.

“I don’t even want to know” Liam waved his hand dismissively as he laughed “but I just need to shower quickly, then we can start this briefing” he said as he headed towards his bathroom “Make yourself comfortable” he added over his shoulder as he closed the door.

Once alone in the bathroom his mind drifted back to his dream. Before he realized it, he had started to hum ‘I love Paris by Frank Sinatra’. There was his little quirk again, humming when he was happy. He looked in the mirror and watched as a giant smile took over his face.

He embraced this strange habit, continuing to hum as he walked over to the shower to start the water. All he could think about was his dream. Or Riley, to be exact. He stripped down and stepped into the shower as his thoughts of her consumed his mind...

Once his shower was done, he climbed out, dried off and headed to his closet to get dressed. He then made his way back through the bathroom to his bedroom where Bastien was sitting in a chair. He quickly stood as Liam entered the room, turning to face him with that all knowing look that Liam had seen many times in his life.

Making him instantly aware that Bastien had, in fact, heard him humming, and clearly knew exactly what it meant. Most likely having witnessed his mothers version of the ‘happy hum’ first hand, all those years ago.

Liam smiled and shook his head as he walked over to his bed to grab Rileys phone “I believe it would be best to conduct this briefing in my office, if that works for you?” He asked.

Bastien nodded “That would probably be best”

He went silent for a moment as he walked to his dresser to grab Rileys ring and put it safely back into his pocket. “Have you, by chance, seen Lady Riley this morning?” He said as he turned to face him.

“I haven’t” Bastien responded “Though I believe she will be holding a press conference this morning in the front lawn” a slight smirk on his lips, again.

“Ah yes, to inform the people I am awake..” he matched Bastiens face as he headed towards the door “I guess I should ensure i’m not seen”

They made it out into the hall and started to head towards his office. As they rounded the corner to the main stairway Liam paused upon seeing who was standing near the open front doors.

Riley. He took a few steps back so no one would catch a glimpse of him through the open doors. He couldn’t go down the stairs without the crowd outside getting a perfect view of him.

So instead he watched as she clearly tried to calm her nerves. Bastien just stood silently beside him, for that he was thankful. He just wanted a moment to watch her. She had not noticed he was there and he wanted to keep it that way.

Worried that another run in would only fluster her, once again. And right now she needed to find whatever calm she could. She needed to prepare herself for her speech. To face the press. To face his people.

Plus, if he was being 100% honest with himself, he was nervous about how their next conversation would go. His palms were now starting to sweat, slightly, as his heart rate began to rise, just at the thought of it.

Just seeing her made him nervous. He felt like a school aged boy again, lurking behind corners to look at the girl he liked. Not having enough courage to approach her. Let alone speak to her. What is she doing to me?

He saw her bounce in place a few times, shaking her arms out before she took a deep breath and headed out the doors. Once she walked up to the podium, a staff member shut the large doors behind her and Liam found his chance to finally descend the grand staircase.

He quickly made his way to his office, entering the room and heading to the TV in the corner. He clicked it on, changing the channels till he saw her face. He turned the volume up then stood silently watching the press release as it happened.

Bastien stood beside him, again, silently. All he could do was pray it went smoothly. Pray she could get through it without to much upset. He put his hands in his pockets, feeling the ring hidden inside.

His eyes widened as he stepped closer to the screen, searching. Looking for any glimpse of her now ringless finger. So far she had kept both hands hidden atop the podium. He couldn’t even see them.

He sighed. Thankful for that, but also nervous that she may lift her hand, unknowingly showing the press the truth behind her calm facade. Showing them the hidden turmoil within his palace walls.

He looked back at her face now, he could see how on edge she was, how guarded she looked. This woman he barely knew, yet he could read her like an open book.

Though, he was sure no one would notice the pain in her eyes like he did. He had years of training under his belt to decipher these very queues. To see when someone was uncomfortable and make changes in his approach to calm them. To ease them.

They reached the question portion, still no hands. But he felt knots form in his stomach. Hoping the questions would be easy. Hoping they would stick to the topic at hand.

Luckily for both Riley and himself, they did. He stood in awe now at how well she responded. How well she handled each question as if she was raised in this life. Raised with the same formal training he had received. But she wasn’t, she hadn’t. No. She was just a natural.

She took every question seriously, and responded honestly and promptly. Giving his people both the answers they sought, but at the same time, not giving them more then necessary.

She finished off with a thank you and a wave before turning to reenter the palace. He stood there lost in thought as the reporters face now took over the screen, about to inform the people of their take on the press release. He reached out to turn off the tv, as his mind drifted back to his dream.

How she had always stood by him through everything. Even an engagement tour with another woman. How she had clearly been his light at the end of the tunnel. The driving force behind his every move and decision.

To the world, it may have seemed like he was this strong, stoic leader. One who made every proper choice for his people based solely off this beliefs and knowledge. But the truth was, at least from what he could imagine, that Riley was probably the real reason behind most his choices. Behind most his decisions.

She clearly played a massive hand in the man he had become. The man he had always wanted to be but just didn’t have the strength to. She gave him that strength. That push in the right directions. He needed her bac—

Just then, Bastien cleared his throat, still standing behind him “Shall we begin, Sir?” He asked courtly.

Liam shook his head, as he came completely out of his reverie. He turned to face his head of security “Yes, of course” he walked over to his deck and took a seat. Bastien made his way to the opposite side of the desk, sitting in an armchair before they began their lengthy discussion...

————————————

Rileys POV - Day 6 (Mid Day)

She arrived back at her quarters, and headed straight for her closet to began packing, once again. She had just pulled out all her bags and started to cram clothes in when there is a knock on her door.

She freezes, shoulders going tense as she quietly stands and moves to the doorway of the closet, to stare at the bedroom door. Wondering who it is, and if she should answer it. Then there is another knock, accompanied this time by a voice “Laurence, you in there?”

She lets out a heavy breath “Yep” she yells as she moves towards the door, opening it to reveal Drake on the other side.

“Hi..” he says softly. “Hey..” she responds. After a moment she gestures for him to enter “Please, come in” she says, assuming that was what he was here for. And not just to stand awkwardly in the hallway outside her room.

She closes the door behind him as he stands in the center of the room. He looks towards her closet, most likely having a clear view of what she was doing in there, just a moment ago. He frowns and looks back to her. “You’re actually planning to leave..?” He questions. “Laurence, you can’t”

Here we go. She instantly shifts to defence mod, not interested in fighting with him about this. Not today. Not now.

“Yes, Drake. I am actually leaving” she declares firmly as she heads back to continue packing “And if that is all you came here to discuss, then don’t waste your breath”

He shakes his head and follows her “It isn’t what I came here for, but it seems to be the most important matter at the moment..”

She crouches down and continues cramming clothes into her bags. Refusing to travel down memory lane this time. She didn’t have the time or effort to think back on the reasons why she bought every dang dress. She had to get out of here, and fast.

“Save it. My mind is set. You heard what I said last night, you witnessed what happened..” she pauses to look at him before she quietly adds “..you know exactly why I have to leave”

“Riley...” he says slowly, almost in a groan “Running away won’t fix this...” he bluntly adds “..it won’t take the pain away”

“You think I don’t know that, Drake? You think I believe leaving will magically mend my broken heart, and make everything better?!” She chuckles bitterly “I know it wont. But being here....around him....waiting for him to...” she trails off and shakes her head “I just can’t take it. It’s too much”

“Just let me talk to him. Let me try to convince hi—“

She cuts him off with a scoffed “No.” as she forces more clothes in the bag “If he needs to be ‘convinced’ to continue this relationship, then I’m not interested”

She goes to zip up the bag, but the zipper becomes stuck on the fabric of a dress inside. She begins to fight with it for a moment, trying to get it loose, but to no avail. “Gaaaah!” she frustratingly cries out as she stands up to move towards her vanity. Effectively distancing herself from the unruly bag, and the persistent fight it had just started.

She sits in a huff on the vanity chair. Drake remaining silent, just staring at her in the mirror. She glares at him for a moment then begins looking around at all her belongings strewn across the vanities top “Are you just going to stand there and watch as I pa...” she pauses mid word when her eyes land on a pearl bracelet. The pearl bracelet.

Her mind begins to drift unwillingly back to that night. She shakes her head again, forcefully and grasps the bracelet. She stands abruptly and stomps over to Drake, to deposit it into his hand “I actually have a job for you..” she says as she grips his shoulders to turn him around “You can return this to it’s rightful owner” she then begins to push him by his back towards the door.

“Hey!” He dizzily scolds “What are you doing!?”

She stops pushing him and removes her hands from his back, they were now standing in front of her door. She reachs out to grab the handle and opens the door, ignoring his question “Thanks for the visit, Drake” she says exasperatedly as she shoves him into the hall, and swings the door shut as she turns away.

Pausing to wait for the beautiful sound of it slamming shut, but the sound never came. She furrows her brows as she turns back around, confused.

His hand had landed on it at the last second, preventing the slam she had so wanted to hear. “Seriously..” he pushs it back open “What the hell, Riley!?”

She clenches her eyes shut and puts her fingers to the bridge of her nose “Drake, I just need to be alone right now. Please“ she begs.

“This is ridiculous, Laurence..” he steps back into her room and closes the door “We need to talk about this. You can’t just run from it”

She sighs as her defensive walls start to crumble “I don’t have the strength to talk about all of this..” she gestures around the room “..Not yet, at least..” she whispers.

He steps towards her and wraps her in a hug “I know it hurts, but you can’t bottle it up....why do you think you had a panic attack..?” He pauses to release her from the embrace, and she steps back, staring down at her hands. Yes, he had asked a question, but she knew better then to answer, as it wasn’t that kind of question. More a statement of the obvious. Then he continued “because you held everything in till you reached a boiling point. You can’t keep doing that. It’s not healthy.....and watching you go through that, Laurence...” he took a deep breath then added quietly “....it really scared all of us...”

She nods, agreeingly. Still not meeting his gaze. She knew he was right. She shouldn’t have bottled her emotions up, but it was how she had always been. She always tried to hide her pain, and act as if nothing was wrong. Act like she was perfectly fine. She had done this exact same thing when her father died. She shut it all off and stepped up to take care of her mother, brother and all the arrangements. Only allowing herself to grieve in silence, when she found herself completely alone. This always worked for her....or at least it used to....

“I know, I just don’t know any other way to dea—“ Her words are cut short by a series of dings and buzzes coming from Drakes pocket. He grimaces but ignores them. She looks up at where the noises were coming from. Then there are a few more dings. “Are you going to get that or...?”

He sighes as he reaches to grab his phone from his front jeans pocket, pulling it out to look at it. His eyes widen instantly.

“What is it, Drake...?” She hesitantly asks as she steps towards him “What’s going on..?”

He takes a deep breath “Well...it looks like the jig is up..”

——————————-

Liams POV - Day 6 (Mid Day)

Bastien had just finished going over the staffing list, and had just told Liam about the attack at Applewood.

Liam was overtaken by both anger and despair upon hearing the news. He had many fond memories of running through those orchards, and just being able to be a real child at Applewood. Far away from the court, the nobles and the press. “Do we know who is behind this?”

“Not yet, My King, but we are following various leads, and believe it has to do with the Liberation Core and the Sons of Earth. As a precaution, though, we have also put surveillance on both Olivia and Lucretia Nevrakis”

Liams brow furrows as he speaks “What..? Olivia...? ....Why..?”

“The Nevrakis name has come up a few times in our investigation, Sir. We are just ensuring that no leads go unfollowed”

He frowns. The thought of one of his oldest, childhood friends possibly being behind this both hurts and angers him. Lucretia being behind this, that he could believe. But Olivia? No. There is no way. She would never do this to me, my family or my people. That is inconceivable....Applewood was like a second home to her, just as it was to him. But at the same time, he knew the surveillance was a necessary evil, as it would most assuredly prove she played no hand in any of this. “Alright. So, what plans are in place at Applewood?”

Bastien points to a folder on Liams desk “I prepared all the information ahead of time, that folder there is in regards to Applewood, it gives a detailed break down of the tree replanting plan, and the stipend for the workers effected”

Liam picked up the folder, opening it to scan over the pages for a moment. “Thank you for this Bastien” he said as he put the folder off to the side “I’ll give it a thorough read through once we are finished here”

Bastien then told him about the art galleries flood and finally the bombing, finishing by pointing to 2 more folders with the most up to date information they had on both attacks.

“Bastien, you need to find who is behind these attacks. We can’t allow them to get away with this!”

“Yes, My King. We have all the best men working around the clock. We are gaining new information and intel daily. We will find them, and bring them to justice. You have my word”

Liam nods. But before he could open his mouth to respond there was a hasty knock on the door. Bastien stood up, walked towards the door and opened it.

He watched eagerly as a guard on the other side hastily whispered to Bastien for a moment, before he nodded and closed the door.

Taking note of the frustrated expression now residing on his head of securities face, he stood from his chair “What is it, Bastien? What’s going on?”

“Sir, we have a situation..”

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

Chapter 17 - HERE.

[cinnaminsvga]

44 & 46?

How do you decide what story idea to work on?

it really all depends on my mood, to be honest? i have plenty of wips, probably more than i know what to do with. i choose which ones to work on based on how interesting the idea is to me, whether i am in the mood for it (i have to be happy in order to write crack or else it’ll turn into crangst like tlhc or looh), or depending on how much time i have.

so, fics like La Douleur Exquise and Memento Mori take ages to finish because they’re really sad fics, which generally take me longer because i have to be both 1) extremely sad to finish them but 2) not sad enough that the content will trigger me into a worse depressive episode LMAO

humor/crack fics are easier for me to churn out because my brain is perpetually on crack anyway and i enjoy making myself/other people laugh so... there’s more incentive i suppose? i have so MUCH crack ideas, guys... i’m just so fucking lazy HASJDHsAJ someone send me seratonin so i can stop being sad

What Hogwarts house would your protagonist(s) be in?

FUCK THIS IS SO HARD... like, the bts members in my fics all have differing personalities (looh!jimin and tlhc!jimin are very... uhh...) so this is kind of hard? i’ll try my best to sort them based on how i collectively characterize them, i guess!!

seokjin: ravenclaw, for the most part. looh!jin is a slytherin, though.

yoongi: slytherin, for literally all my aus. he could be a hufflepuff in churro chumps, maybe. definitely not ravenclaw; he’s a dumbass.

hoseok: slytherin... idk why, but i always make him so cunning in my fics... sorry babe HJSADHAJS

namjoon: gryffindor, usually? looh!joon is a bit of a slytherin, though.

jimin: GRYFFINDOR... that bitch will fight and cut you in the name of justice... and YES, that includes looh!jimin, fyi

taehyung: he’s... a bit of an enigma. tlhc!tae is definitely a hufflepuff, but looh!tae is a ravenclaw. he thinks too much with his heart though, so maybe gryffindor too...

jungkook: hufflepuff. he’s always a dumbass bitch with a heart made of gold in my fics. cop-a-feel!jungkook is a gryffindor, though. 

[creideamhgradochas]

Thanks to the lovely @lenavonschweetz for taking the time to answer these! Get to know more about lovely Lena, go give her a follow and then show her some love!

These questions are from this list. You should check it out, there’s 50 questions all together and they’d be great to ask your favorite fic writer!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan-fiction?

I believe I was like 14 or 15 (omfg it's been 10 years...).  My best friend and I actually got into it together :)

2) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

Aaaaaah this one is difficult.  I love both for different reasons.  I just recently explained this to a pal, and he freaked out cuz he loved the metaphor so much lol I like to write reader inserts because I feel like a DM of DnD, kinda weaving a story - which is also why I like reading reader inserts.  Because I never reader them and put myself in the Y/N slot, but rather a OC kinda version of myself, like the woman I wish I could be so to speak.  But I also find there are some stories that need to be written as an OC, so I have a love for both forms.

3) What is your favorite genre to write for?

I really like AUs that take characters and put them in totally different situations

4) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

any of the stories I wrote about A7X members - yes, those are out there lol I wrote them in middle school.  They are GARBAGE and so laughable

5) When is your preferred time to write?

Middle of the night - when I should be sleeping lol

6) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Music, mainly, whether it be lyrics or the feel of a song

7) In your Show Me Love series, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

Natasha and the "Accidentally Suck His Dick Pencil™️" scenes lol

8) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

I've fixed errors in stories, and I've considered editing couple of pieces due to severely harsh criticisms , but haven't had time to do so

9) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

Romantically - Bucky, of course. Platonically - Nat is my favorite BFF character to write

10) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

Unfortunately, Steve.  I just haven't found a groove for him yet though I wish I had!!

12) How did you come up with the idea for the Show Me Love series? 

Like everything - it was inspired by music lol I was listening to Show Me Love by the band t.A.T.u. when writing the desk scene and it just kinda stuck

13) Do you have any abandoned WIPs?

I don't have any that I've abandoned for good, but I do have a few that I had to put on the back burner because of inspiration that stalled or just flat out writer's block

14) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

YES.  I'd really like to write sequels to Show Me Love, Never Have I Ever, and Die A Happy Man to name a few.

15) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Before the Worst.  It didn't cooperate with me, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it.

16) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Oh god, All of them!!!  It's very hard to narrow down, but anyone who has the guts to create and share their work with the world is worthy of admiration.  To be specific though, oh god, uuuummmm @sugardaddytonystark, @myattemptatfanfictioning​, @plumfondler​, & @papi-chulo-bucky, & @emilyevanstan (BUT I LOVE SO MANY MORE, NARROWING DOWN IS SO DAMN HARD).  I'd have to go with these folks in particular because they are all so talented and kind and everything I aspire to be in a writer, honestly.  They just have a way with words and world building that is A1!

17) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Can I say all of them? cuz if so, I'd say all of them. lol. Maybe my Loki fic Light in the Hallway.  I was in a dark place and wrote it as a form of catharsis.

18) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

M U S I C.  always music.

19) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

I am a big baby, sooooo yyyyUUUUUP

20) Which part of your Show Me Love series was the hardest to write?

The ending.  I always have a hard time wrapping things up.

21) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I have a general outline that often morphs along the way

22) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan-fiction?

people can be cruel, BUT, people can also be so kind it's uncanny.  Learn to look for the light in people and just keep writing what makes you happy.  Writing is not a competition, it's a passion :)

23) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

The Bridges of Time.  I get that it's a little off the wall but I just felt an insane need to write it, I wish more people would give it a chance

24) In contrast to 23 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

A hobbit fanfic I wrote on AO3 - Like Flies and Spiders, probably.  I started it when I was a LOT younger then picked it up again and you can tell that the first several chapters were written by a youngin and it's kinda funny lol

25) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Oh, always.  Natasha and Wanda are based on my irl BFFs in every story I write them.  I literally had a friend tell me to drop a pencil and accidentally suck my professor's dick, so there's that lol

26) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

OMG  so I just saw this recently, and it literally made me cry: @ok-shuri-buck said "I don't know how I fell in love with you through your writing but I just want you to know it reflects your soul.  I love your soul" I literally WEPT in front of my mother, it was the kindest thing anyone has ever said of my writing and it still makes me smile

27) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

as said in response to my 'imagine riding Bucky' drabble, and I quote, "Perfectly good fic ruined by 2nd person POV and that Y/N cop out." But I totally get that some people don't like reader fics, so ah well.  To each their own.

28) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I share them with my IRL bff @skrywolf772.  he and I bounce fic ideas back and forth all the time, It's wonderful (Also, he's my basis for sassy Nat BFF just fyi)

29) Do people know you write fan-fiction?

A handful of people do.  Like I said, my two irl BFFS, a girl from school (who I am mutuals with - love ya Lex ;P) and my mom.  Idk if she knows I write fanfiction or not, but she knows I write and post on tumblr

30) What’s you favorite minor character you’ve written?

probably Sam, Tony, or Thor in Never Have I Ever.  I just love writing those little shits as the wackiest teammates

31) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Often when I get the idea for a fic, it's a single sentence that will be later in the plot, so often I find myself writing and building to that specific point.  After that, I have some trouble wrapping things up (which is why I write more multi-shots than full series) but I usually use music to spur me along after I've reached that peak :)

32) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Friends to Lovers. is. mah. SHIT!!

33) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

Oh lordy, that was like 15 years ago...but I betcha it was a Avenged Sevenfold or Escape the Fate fanfic lololololllllll

34) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

(don't hate me) Angst >:)  it just comes easier to me than the other 2, and I find it so cathartic

[lizabethstucker]

Asimov's Science Fiction (March/April 2017)

Digging into my backlot of science fiction magazines. A mixture of verse and stories. I've only reviewed and rated the stories. This particular issue is the 40th Anniversary one! 3.8 out of 5 "Soulmates.com" by Will McIntosh Daniel wants someone to share his life with, to love and be loved by. When he meets Winnie through a dating app, he thinks she could be the one almost immediately. Emily, his former girlfriend and current best friend, is more suspicious, doing a deep dive on who Winnie could be. Which, considering they never meet in person despite Winnie being in Atlanta and Daniel in Athens, not that long a drive, is valid. Starts extremely slowly, assumingly to establish the characters. Not my favorite way as most writers don't do a good job at it. I'm not entirely certain that this is actually science fiction, despite the use of Artificial Intelligence. As to Daniel, I found him to be incredibly childish, blind, immature, and boring. He learned absolutely nothing from his experience. I struggled to complete this novella. 2.5 out of 5 "Number Thirty-Nine Skink" by Suzanne Palmer It started simply enough, an expedition designed to bring life in balance to an empty planet. Then the humans left suddenly, leaving Mike willingly behind with Kadey whose programming makes the creatures populating the area. When Mike dies of cancer, Kadey continues her work. Until the night something changes. Poor Kadey, struggling with loneliness, possibly incomplete programming, and the knowledge hidden from her regarding why the humans left. Sad, yes, but with a more hopeful ending that is also a beginning. Lovely story, so well written. 4.5 out of 5 "Three Can Keep a Secret..." by Bill Johnson & Gregory Frost A convoluted tale of assassins, misdirection, love, greed, and con-artistry with an almost noir feel to it. It's almost impossible to give a synopsis that isn't chockful of spoilers. The first person narrator isn't totally reliable, but still intriguing in what he shares. I loved this more than I expected with this strange little story. FYI, in case you don't know, the title is from an old saying. Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. 4.5 out of 5 "The Ones Who Know Where They Are Going" by Sarah Pinsker A child must suffer so the city can be happy, or so they say. One particular child is taken from her mother, locked away in the dark with no social interaction beyond the delivery of food. As time passes, language is lost and memories of a happier time begin to fade. Then one day the door isn't shut tightly and the child gets out of the tiny dark room. She crawls up the stairs, each step bringing back a particular memory, heading for freedom. But at what cost? Rip my heart out, why don't you? Two and a half pages of the most gut-wrenching narrative. The tightly woven writing is painfully descriptive. And the ending! Oh, the ending. I just cannot deal with it. 5 out of 5 "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" by Dale Bailey Teenagers have been foiling alien invasions for some time. After all, the adults are either locked in their homes consuming television or would dismiss the very idea of aliens. The newest landing of a flying saucer bonds together teens out at the local make-out point. Per the author, his idea was to take the cheesy sci-fi and horror movie titles of the 1950s and treat the core idea with some emotional and thematic nuance. Here we have a group of teen archetypes, from the football star to the nerds to the beauty. There are also the followers that are always found in high school. This brings back memories of too many cheesy nights at the drive-ins in my county. I've always found my sympathies fell with the aliens most of the time, faced with humans whose first response to the unknown was always violence. Horrible ending to this story. Horrible. CW: extremely graphic attack. 3 out of 5 "Kitty Hawk" by Alan Smale After receiving word of her brother's death, Katharine Wriht travels from Ohio to North Carolina to help her other brother. Instead of Orville preparing to pack up for the trip home with his beloved

brother's body, he is trying to continue with the flight experiments that killed Wilbur. Katharine finds herself engaged in helping, even learning to fly herself. This is a complete AU of the Wright Brothers and the birth of flight, through World War I and the suffrage movement. The writing is evocative of the time period and the dangers of experimental flight. I don't know why it didn't click with me, but I struggled quite a bit in reading this imaginative tale. I can see others enjoying this greatly, just not me. 3 out of 5 "Cupido" by Rich Larson Marcel is a genius at chemistry. He came up with a way to make pheromones specific to the pair he's paid to bring together, either by one of the potential couple or by a third party. The majority of the money he charges goes to pay for his grandmother's colon cancer treatment. As word gets around, he finds himself moving to smaller cities to avoid identification. As yet, what he does isn't illegal. He didn't expect to find himself attracted to his potential mark. Frankly, I don't consider this to be science fiction at all. The science is already viable. Add the consent issues which would be called dubcon (dubious consent) and I'm too busy cringing to enjoy. In my mind, Marcel is anything but a hero. 3 out of 5 "A Singular Event in the Fourth Dimension" by Andrea M. Pawley Olive was removed from the reducer pile, adopted by a childless couple to help stave off loneliness. Now that the second grandmother is living with them and Mama was pregnant, Olive is worried that she will be sent back to the pile, no longer needed. A loving, imaginative little android who believes in fairy dust, even if the fairies never seem to do anything magical like in the stories. Love doesn't have to be limited to just humans or blood relations. Sweet and touching. 4.5 out of 5 "The Wisdom of the Group" by Ian R. MacLeod There are theories and studies about group-think, how certain groups can intuit a trend or coming situation without any real knowledge. With the right group, the members could get wealthy or probably save the world, depending on their inclination. Samuel has been part of such a group since brought in by his professor while still in university. Now, years later, Samuel is wealthy, has a liv-in lover, three dogs with unfortunate names, and a gorgeous house in Washington state. But something is wrong, something that seems to be originating from Samuel. The response is usually to cut the wrong out of the group. A complicated basis for a disturbing story. I had to sit on this one for a while in order to determine what I felt about it. Definitely strong writing, could almost be considered psychological horror. I don't know if I would ever say that I liked it, but I recognize the work done and the uniqueness of the story. 3.5 out of 5 "After the Atrocity" by Ian Creasey Abu Hameed, the terrorist behind the attack that left ten thousand people dead, has also died during interrogation. The solution? A machine that can make exact copies, complete with memories, of an individual. Violet Ruiz, operator and creator of the machine, even made a duplicate of herself in order to work 24/7. As Hameed's copies die during the enhanced interrogation, more copies are needed. Soon Violet II wonders about the ethical implications. Well thought out consideration of just how far a nation is willing to go in search of revenge wrapped in the disguise of intel. Patriot Act, enhanced interrogation the Greater Good, dismantling both Habeas Corpus and the Geneva Convention, anyone? 4 out of 5 "Goner" by Gregory Norman Bossert In order to explore space, humans had to be converted from flesh into nanotechnology based creatures. The pilots call themselves Goners. Char's best friend's father is a Goner. Already fascinated with the idea of flying, Char uses a sliver of Pilot Clark to begin changing. While this is complete in itself, the story also begs for more. What is happening to Char? Will he be allowed to live his dreams despite his age? S fascinating a concept. 3.5 out of 5 "We Regret the Error" by Terry

Bisson A series of news corrections from the future. So many corrections, even some corrections of corrections. Taken individually, these are amusing. Pieced together, there is a much deeper story playing out. Oh, and a nice dig at Disney's well-known history of not paying some of their artists for their work. 3 out of 5 "Tao Zero" by Damien Broderick Teenagers, incredibly smart ones, have unprotected sex after winning $370 million in the Mega Millions lottery. The celebration leads to a child, the narrator, and the money to try to trap the Tao, the Way that cannot be named, inside a machine. I tried, I really tried to read this without success. After rereading the first two pages over and over in an attempt to struggle through, I put the story aside, hoping to pick it back up when refreshed. Didn't work. DNF