#I started this on my lunch break but I'm definitely bleeding into actual work time now guys I'm gonna shut up now but uhh

[badsalmonella]

My hottest Camelot revival take is actually that when it comes to magic in the show I'm running on death of the author rules. Like I actually don't think Aaron Sorkin should have gone around saying magic is 1000% axed gone completely from the show and it's world, because when you actually watch the show I feel like it exists more ambiguously, and it's a belief that multiple characters hold to varying degrees. And I think the clashing of beliefs is interesting actually especially because how it slots into changes in the show. This is why I do not hate these changes and like idk maybeee you should HEAR ME OUTTTT

How going in with this sexy, sexy reading benefits me and might even benefit YOU. TODAY. RIGHT NOW:

-Any mean spirited jokes about the magic system feel a lot more like character moments. Important to note that Guinevere is the character who tends to go hardest on these types of comments, whereas Lancelot is completely devoid of them.

-Genny being the most cynical is a fun lil nod to her now cut line from Simple Joys of Maidenhood where she so easily ditches St. Genevieve when she doesn't feel like her prayers are being answered.

-Even more interesting is how Arthur seems to be somewhere in the middle on this. He thinks legends abt him slaying dragons, and this idea that Lancelot revived him from the dead is ridiculous because these are his lived experiences he knows that's not what happened. But he believes Merlin whom he holds in high regards could see the future. And he is constantly debating on what made the sword come out of the stone when he pulled on it. It's like he needs a reason. What can he say about him and his reign if it was completely random?

-Am I being cheesy if I say I think the conclusion he comes to at the end issss kind of sweet and feels like ohhh the magic??? Of humanity??? Yeah probably.

-Also as much as Arthur and Genny insist that Lancelot did zero resurrecting can we trust them??? It's played off as a joke but Pelly's got a point he WAS UNCONSCIOUS! HOW COULD HE 100% KNOW??? Perhapssss the truthhh is whatever the individual believes now!!! 🤔🤔🤔 perhapssss it's MYTHOLOGY BEING FORMED IN REALLL TIMEEE BABYYYY. ARTHUR CAN SAY WHAT HE WANTS THAT STORY IS LOW KEY OUT OF HIS HANDS NOW! Which looms over his whoooleee legacy

-Lancelot believes his virginity is tied to his miracle work and strength I just think you should put THAT in the toaster of your brain while watching ILYOIS

-this has ALWAYS existed in every version of Camelot but it feels really at home in this version where Lancelot still manages to fight off unreasonable amounts of men post Genny hook up, which now puts all his beliefs up for debate.

-side note when my friend pointed out that his miraculous acts of strength come out It's tied to a love for Genny (rescuing her) or love for Arthur (reviving him) I needed 10 business days to recover. Sequel post Camelot is bisexual you CANNOT CONVINCE ME OTHER WI

-sorry staying on topic

-Anyways important to note all these characters and their varying beliefs rarely have clear cut answers who's right and who's wrong

-except maybe Lancelot in that top point

-but is that due to lack of magic or just not knowing where it comes from???? 👀

-Guys is magic and religion and mythology true or real??? Or is it what we put in it??? Do we give it power when we believe it???? WAS THE ROUND TABLE AND CAMELOT EVER TRULY AS PERFECT AS THE TALES SAY OR IS THAT JUST SOMETHING WE HAVE TO TELL OURSELVES SO WE HAVE THE WANT TO STRIVE FOR GOOD??? IT'S WHAT WE TELL THE KIDDOS WHO WILL BE OUR FUTURE

-Guys Jordan Donica low key agrees with me. He's never had a bad take about Camelot ever. So like trust me fam.

-or maybe there's like a line or plot point I completely forgot about and someone will point it out in the replies and this whole house of cards will fall apart 😔 IDK thoughts??? Feelings???? Guys plz send food through the bars of my enclosure I need it I'm sooooo mentally stable I prommyyy 🥰

[astaraels]

so I know I'm in the no galladads side of the fandom but hear me out on this one—

so it's maybe five years after the end of the show, Ian and Mickey are still going with their security business, maybe they've even branched out and hired some extra help, making good money, swapped out the stolen ambulance for actual SUVs that Debbie has fixed up for them, and they've maybe even bought a house back on the South Side with a dog and a cat and they're close to all of Ian's siblings (Debbie and Carl and Liam all still live in the old Gallagher house, Lip and Tammi are a few blocks over)

and one day they're on a lunch break together, leaving some diner when some rando kid bumps into Ian, turns out it was a pickpocket, and Mickey takes off after the jerk who tried to steal from his husband (he may not be a South Side thug anymore but like hell is he gonna let that shit slide)

he knocks the pickpocket over and it's some kid, like thirteen or fourteen with bright pink streaks in her dark hair and fierce brown eyes, and Mickey is like wtf kid do you wanna die

and the kid is like oh fuck you, very much an angry kitten type because she's definitely a scrawny thing—by this time Ian's caught up to them and his bleeding heart is like look if you give me my wallet back I'll buy you lunch (Mickey complains that "we just ate, Gallagher" but Ian insists)

so they either go back to the diner or find some McDonald's and this kid practically inhales some burgers and fries, and both Mickey and Ian know the look of a kid on the streets, but she's giving off those vibes that say don't touch me don't talk to me don't fucking perceive me

but Ian probably sees something like Mickey, and Mandy, in this girl and we all know he wants to help people, so he asks her if she's okay or if she needs anything, and even though he can feel Mickey starting to grumble next to him Ian still offers her their couch to crash on after she mentions getting kicked out of a salvation army shelter because they found out she was trans

and after some very intense eye to eye communication between the husband Mickey's like okay yeah fine but if one thing is outta place in the house then we're gonna have words

and the girl—they find out her name is Starr, or something like that—is like wtf why are you people being nice (they understand the suspicion, obvs, they aren't stupid), and Ian's like uhhhh we're gay and we've gone through some shit of our own so maybe we just wanna help?? (although he does notice she relaxes a little bit when he tells her that they're gay)

so they drive back home and Starr is absolutely enamored by the gallapets (a beautiful fluffy black cat and a big pittie mix, both of these animals are Ian and Mickey's baby girls), while Ian fixes up the spare bedroom with fresh sheets—usually it's where Franny or Fred stay when they come for weekend visits

and at first Starr is like okay yeah I'll stay one night but then I gotta go, and somehow it ends up that one night turns into two, then Ian and Mickey come home one afternoon and the house looks amazing because Starr is like "yeah your place was a fucking mess so I figured I'd clean" because she's not a freeloader gdi

and before they know it she's been there for a few weeks and Ian's trying to help get her back in school, because one night they were sitting around and talking and she offhandedly said that she does kinda miss school but the last place she went they were assholes about her transition, and Mickey is like just do that homeschooling course thing that maybe Tammi talked about one of her bougie friends doing for their kids

and then it's been a month or two and they bring Starr to a Gallagher family get together—Debbie hosts the family at the house at least twice a month, but everyone's been super busy lately so it's been a while since the last family dinner—and Debs gives Starr a hug and is like "oh so you're the kid my brothers adopted" (she and Sandy worked things out btw and have been back together for a while now, they've even maybe talked about getting married)

and Starr is like oh no I'm just crashing for a bit but by this point Ian has already got her the homeschooling correspondence courses, and Mickey's taken her to find a doctor who can prescribe her HRT ("it was on our route anyway, fuck off, Gallagher") and their pets adore her—Ian jokes that their cat is the one who actually adopted Starr, they just went along with it

and basically I just love the idea of them taking care of a young queer girl, and being like the cool gay uncles, and yeah :')

[juniperwoodwell]

Domesticated

Paring:Kylo Ren X F!Reader

Word count:2k

Warning(s):Soft!Kylo, Minor bullying, Fluff.

A/n: There will be a part two coming out soon.

Being the assistant to the newly appointed Supreme Leader had its perks; for instance, A higher security level and managing to have a higher level than Hux definitely did something to your ego. Larger living quarters and respect. Simple things that just made the position every bit more enjoyable. Well...That's what Y/n initially thought. She wasn't expecting to get stuck between Kylo Ren and General Hux's 'Issues' They hated each other. That was just plain as day.

"Well, if it isn't the secretary." A tall man with short brown hair walked over to Y/n as she headed to the cafeteria's assembly line of unidentifiable foods.

"Jack. Let's not do this today, please." The woman sighed as she grabbed a tray. "No, No, Let's. Y'know, everyone's wondering how you got that position. I mean, just a month ago, you were nothing but a mission report editor. What'd you have to do, huh?" The man mirrored her actions and leaned in towards her, his voice low. "Did you have to screw around with some superiors? I bet you did. I mean, come on. You were nothing, and now you're the Supreme Leader's pet." Y/'ns patience was growing very thin with this man; He was always like this. Jealousy seeped off him like a thick steam. "You know what, Jack, You can go fu-" "Miss Y/l/n, You're needed in the command center immediately." A Stormtrooper informed her, and she looked down at her tray of grey mush and then at the trooper. "Alright, Thank you." She dismissed the trooper and left her tray on the assembly line. "Yeah, that's right. Go find your master, pet." That bastard was getting on her last nerve, but she ignored him and left the cafeteria. If only she'd let her anger take over, that man would've been on the floor with a broken arm and a bleeding nose. But that was her old life; She'd done too much to get where she was to risk it all on that man.

"General." Y/n called out when she entered the command center; she'd seemed to of startled the ginger, but it was subtle. "Ah, Good. Punctual as always." He spoke, then cleared his throat as he turned to her; Hux was actually quite fond of the woman; she was resourceful, respectful, and almost always completed her work perfectly. He understood why Kylo Ren hired her.

"Do you have the information I requested yesterday?" He asked,

Y/n nodded and pulled up the files on her datapad. "Would you like me to send them to you, Sir?"

The General took the data pad from her and skimmed through the work. "Exceptional, Yes. As soon as possible."

"of course, sir." Hux handed her the data pad, and she quickly sent all the information to Hux's pad.

 "Thank you. You are dismissed." With that, the General turned and returned to his office, and Y/n headed back toward the cafeteria.

 The interaction lasted for almost the entirety of her scheduled lunch time, and when she returned to the cafeteria, it was empty; all the food was put away. A sigh escaped her lips. "Alright. I can wait for dinner, that's fine. I'll go do some of the reports I need to finish." She spoke softly to herself. She headed to her tiny office that was adjacent to Kylo's. It was one-thirty when she started on the reports, and when she looked up to take a break, it was already five o'clock. "Shoot! I'm going to miss dinner." She shot up out of her chair, fixed the mess of her desk, then left her office.

When she turned the corner, the supreme leader had turned the same; If it weren't for her quick reflexes, she'd be picking herself up off the floor. Quickly, she stepped out of his way, only to realize he had grabbed her arm.

 "Just the woman I was looking for." The distorted voice echoed off the walls. "My apologies, sir, but I was just heading to dinner." the grip on her arm was released, and Kylo stood in Infront of her.

"The cafeteria is in the opposite direction." He stated, watching as she looked around frantically. "Oh. You're right.." Y/n turned back to him, exhaustion lingering behind her irises.

 "Are you alright?" he asked, looking her up and down. "Um...Why do you ask?" She scratched the back of her neck nervously. "You're wearing two different shoes." The statement shocked the woman, and she looked down at her shoes; he was correct.

"Ah...That makes a lot more sense now."

 "What does?"

 "Well, I've been getting weird looks from everyone today, and I wasn't sure why. Even Hux was looking at me like I was sick or something."

A low distorted chuckle escaped the dark mask. "Go fix your shoes the come to my quarters." "But, Sir, I've already missed lunch. I'd rather not skip-" Kylo raised his hand to silence her.

"Do as you're told, Miss Y/l/n."

"Yes, Sir." She nodded and turned from him. Once she entered her quarters, she sighed, "Am I ever going to eat today?" She asked herself, then changed her shoes. Her room wasn't too far from Kylo's; he liked keeping her close in case he needed her. Three knocks on the large door, then it opened, but no one was on the other side. "Uh...Sir?" She called out, "I'm in the kitchen. Take the door on your left." Kylo's pleasantly low voice echoed through the hall.

 When Y/n walked through the door, the table was set, and two plates were laid on top. "Take a seat." The man instructed, and she did as she was told, "Oh wow...this smells amazing." She stated as Kylo sat down across from her. "Did you make this?" she asked, looking at Kylo.

"I did. You seem surprised by that."

"Uh...well, I just assumed you'd have a personal chef or something."

"I've got trust issues." he joked (partially). "But I prefer to cook my own food. I learned most of it from my mother, so...It should taste good." Y/n smiled sweetly at his small confession. "Well, I'm certain it will taste better than anything they serve in the cafeteria." Kylo nodded at her words, returning her smile

"Let's eat then, shall we?" so they did. There wasn't much conversation; they were exhausted from the day, but being in each other's presence seemed to bring a peaceful atmosphere.

"You did well, Sir," Y/n spoke up as she finished her plate and wiped her lips with a napkin. "Thank you. I'm glad you approve of my cooking." He chuckled, finishing off his plate. Y/n contemplated asking the question that'd been bothering her since she changed her shoes but decided against it. "What is it?" The man asked, his voice soft with curiosity. "I...No, It's nothing, Sir."

 "It's obviously something if you're blocking me out of your mind."

"Oh, am I? Sorry, I didn't realize."

 "It's fine. If you have something you want to say, then do so."

"Alright, I was just wondering why I'm here."

"You mean, why did I invite you to dinner with me?"

 Y/n nodded, staying silent "... the truth is, I'm not sure myself. When I saw how disorientated you'd been in that hallway. I just wanted to keep an eye on you, and when you said you skipped lunch, I felt like you needed a good meal for once. You deserve it for all the work you do." Y/n stared at him in shock.

Kylo Ren wasn't one to express his feelings like this. He was Mr. Dark and Scary. No...This...This was someone completely different. This was the man behind the mask, A completely (mostly) normal man with emotions and feelings. This was the first time Y/n had truly seen Him.

 "What..? Did I say something wrong? Is there something on my face?" He questioned, trying to figure out why she was staring at him. "I-I Um. N-No, Sir. You're fine. I mean, it's fine." Y/n stood up quickly and picked up her and Kylo's plates. "Allow me to wash these since you made such a fantastic dinner; it's the least I could do to repay you."

"Y/n-" Kylo called out to her, but she ignored him as she walked over to the sink.

"Y/n." He called again as he stood from his chair, following after her. He grasped her by her elbow and turned her to face him. "Breathe. You're panicking."

"I know." She breathed out, placed the plates on the counter, and rubbed her hands over her face. "Sorry, sir."

 "Don't be. You've been going through a lot of changes this week. I understand you must be stressed. Why don't you sit back down?" He guided her to the table, and she returned to her seat. She sighed heavily as Kylo refilled her glass with water. "Drink this." He ordered, and she obeyed. "I didn't mean to get all...Frantic. But you're right; My life has changed a lot this week...month even." Kylo nodded and returned to his seat. "Well, tell me what's been bothering you today. Maybe I could do something to help relieve some stress as you've done for me." He offered, "Yeah...Uh. Well, there's apparently this rumor that's been going around since my promotion."

"Ah, I didn't think you were the type to be affected by rumors."

"I'm usually not. This doesn't just affect me, but...." She paused to clear her throat and sip her water. "But, It could also possibly affect you."

 "Me?" He asked, surprise written on his features, "Yes... People are saying that I got promoted only because I've been sleeping with my superiors. Which, in my opinion, is outrageous. Some of these people were my friends and collogues. There's this one guy who hasn't stopped bugging me since the promotion. I came very close to beating him up." Kylo huffed a laugh. "I would've liked to have seen that." Y/n smiled sheepishly. "What did he say that made you angry enough to want to hurt him?"

 "Well...for one, his face just annoys me beyond all reason, but secondly...He called me your... Pet." A rose tint crept up Y/n's face as she spoke. "Pet?" Kylo leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes, Sir." She paused, poor choice of words, when her eyes met his; he was amused by her response but cleared his throat. "Continue."

 "Y-yes. Right. Well. I feel it's unfair to you, Sir. My reputation doesn't mean all that much to me, But yours does, and I don't want to be the reason it gets tarnished."

"Y/n...You don't need to worry about that. They're just rumors they will be stopped; if anyone chooses to act on them."

"But- I just...What if, because of this rumor, people will think that you're abusing your power for personal pleasure? That could cause conflict between you and everyone working for you."

 "It won't."

 "How can you be so sure?"

"Because. Think of who I am. You know my reputation isn't just for show. If anyone dares to continue this rumor, they will have to deal with me. And you should be worried about yourself. What would happen if people started believing you got your position from inappropriate means? The respect those people have for you would be gone. Your work will never be trusted again. You'd be nothing, just like you were when I found you. You'd go back to sleeping on that small cot with no one to care for you. You'd be less than scum in their eyes." His words were harsh but true, and they frightened her. Y/n swallowed hard; her skin crawled with goosebumps. She realized that she had more to lose than anyone else. Especially him.

 "Yes. You do. But I gave you those opportunities and this new position, and I won't allow you to overthink something that I will never let happen." He reassured her as he reached over the table to take her glass out of her hand, afraid she'd crush it. "Why don't I walk you to your room?" He asked as he stood, but y/n was silent. She was not meeting his eyes. He walked over and crouched beside her chair. Placing a hand on her knee

 "Y/n." His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Hmm? What did you say, Sir?" Kylo sighed, "I'd like you to stay in my guest for the night" Maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave her alone in the state she was in. he thought to himself as he watched her face change color. "B-but wouldn't that only make the rumor worse?" She stuttered out. He shook his head. "No one knows you're here, Plus. I'd rather not have you stay alone tonight."

"And why's that, sir?" Kylo raised a brow in suspicion. Did she not realize she was shivering? "Y/n, look at your hands." She did as she was told, "Oh. I'm scared. Ha. That's new." She looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't want any of that to happen, Sir..." He gently took her hand in his much larger one. "It won't. Trust me as you have before. I won't let you down." Y/n stared at the contrast of their hands; she stayed silent for a while. Tracing the top of his hand with her free one, absentmindedly, "Okay..." She spoke softly, a smile spreading across her delicate features. "So. If you'd like to change, a pair of sleepwear should be on the dresser. Then we could do some paperwork if that'd help settle your nerves. If not that we could do anything you'd like." He offered as he stood, pulling her gently from her seat and guiding her to the guest room. "Could we read something?" She asked when they reached the door; Kylo nodded as he opened it and turned on the light. "I'll be out here when you're done." He informed then closed the door behind her.

The room was similar to her own but a bit bigger. There was a queen-sized bed in the middle and a bathroom on the left. Just like he said, there were two pairs of sleepwear, one for males and another for females. Y/n thought the woman's sleepwear shirt was too formfitting to be comfortable in, so she wore the male shirt with the female leggings. She neatly folded her clothes and placed them on top of the dresser. When she was finished, she walked back out of the room; the lights had been dimmed to a comfortable level that didn't strain the eyes. She hadn't looked around when she first came in. It wasn't just a kitchen; it had a decent-sized dining table, and off towards the side was a couch facing a massive transparasteel window. Had that been there the whole time? She thought to herself; she noticed the familiar figure sitting on the couch.

"May I join you?" she asked when she approached the small lounge. "Of course, Make yourself comfortable," Kylo gave her a faint smile as he observed her; he noticed her choice of clothing and chuckled. "Is something funny, sir?" she asked as she sat on the couch. "No, It's nothing. You said you wanted to read something. What were you thinking?" She was curious but let it go. "Something that'll put me to sleep."

"Ah, so...Paperwork. I bet you'd be asleep in minutes if I read that aloud to you."

"You would be correct, sir." Kylo hummed as he picked up his datapad lying on the coffee table. "You don't need to be so formal when we're alone, Y/n."

 "but it's disrespectful-"

 "Screw Respect. We're both adults; We're both just people right now. So you can call me Kylo."

"Okay...Kylo." Y/n smiled tiredly.

His name on her lips was heavenly. He wished he could hear it forever.

[thebreakfastgenie]

A and T for the fic writing ask

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

It's still The Emergency Room, which is a West Wing fic. I think it's my best work. I'm really happy with the prose, I think I achieved the level of vividness I was going for, and I think the dialogue hit the mark. It's always really gratifying when readers tell me they can hear the dialogue in the characters' voices, because that's the way I write it. The Emergency Room is the rare fic where I can pretty much hear all of it.

It looks like you dodged a bullet.” Josh laughed, once, before he could stop himself. “Not so much,” he said, breaking into a grin.

This is one of my favorite bits I've ever written, although when I went to get this just now I thought "hm, I kind of wish I had done this slightly differently" so that tells you what kind of writer I am, lol.

I really did a lot with subtext in this fic and I don't know how much any of that came through to the readers, but I was definitely working with that in a way I hadn't before and I'm proud of it.

I think this is also my favorite because it's about something. It's about healing. The subtext in the ER scene is you lived because you wanted to live and in the last scene with Donna, Josh is reassuring her that he's going to be okay on his own because he actually is. That's what it's all about! I'm just gonna quote a couple bits because I like them:

He felt a surge of appreciation—affection, even—but protection wasn’t what he needed now. “Next time it could be something else.” The implicit acknowledgment hung between them like frozen breath. There would be a next time. Donna turned up the heat. “We can deal with that too.”

(I also had the "hm could I do this slightly differently" impulse on this one lol)

“I’ll be right here when you get back,” he whispered into her hair. She pulled back just far enough to look him in the eye. He caught the glint of unshed tears. “Promise?” He squeezed her once more, tighter, then released her. “I promise.”

(the subtext of this scene, btw, is you're not gonna kill yourself, right? it has a Toby counterpart in Fortune Cookie Wisdom)

I think with Emergency Room a reached a potential I didn't quite know I had and that really motivates me to do that again and keep getting better, so it's very important to me.

I also want to give an honorable mention to a couple of fics that I am, personally, very fond of. Campfire (also West Wing), which I started mentally writing while I was in the woods and spent some time panicking that I would forget it before I could write it down (there was some furious notes app typing during lunch and I never ever write on my phone, lol). That energy was really fun and I'm happy with the result!

I similarly had so much fun writing Expenses back in my Hamilton days and while I think my writing has improved since then I think that one holds up pretty well. And again with 'Til Death (Un)does Us Part (Star Trek TOS), which I was worried I wouldn't be able to type fast enough. I do think my writing has improved since then, too, but I also know that fic was uncharacteristically light for me (lol) and the tone and style really work for what it is.

I'm really fond of the play's the thing, but it's too new for me to fully evaluate it yet, and it's also unlikely to ever be my personal favorite because it's so short. I'm biased toward the longer ones because they take so much energy I'm impressed with myself for producing that much.

And then there's the one I just posted, safe travels. There are parts of this I think are very, very good, but whenever I write something it takes a while before I can actually perceive it as a reader.

The Big Moment is:

“Hawk, he held a gun to your head!” BJ explodes. The thought of Hawkeye at gunpoint enrages him nearly as much as it frightens him. “What would you do if it was me?” Hawkeye asks. “If I had a chest full of shrapnel, bleeding into my brain—” “I—I’d try to make some burr holes. Get some pressure on the arteries—” “What if you weren’t a doctor?” Hawkeye presses.

but personally I like the Potter conversation better, especially:

“You’re serious.” “You thought I was kidding?” He’s not too old to feel the flush of shame. “I’m sorry.” “People always think I’m kidding,” Pierce shrugs it off. “Of course, most of the time, I am.”

I actually think the best scene is the first one in the mess tent, especially:

BJ gives him a once over. “You’re a mess,” he declares. Hawkeye scowls. “Is that your expert medical opinion?” “You know you’re on duty in post-op,” BJ reminds him. “Charles is already in a sore mood—” “—because of how thoroughly we whooped him—” Margaret interjects. “—and he’ll be even sorer if you don’t relieve him on time.”

I just think I captured the group well with that bit. I also like a lot of the non-dialogue lines, like this one:

Civility and courage are in short supply in the army, but the colonel has both: the courage to give an order and the civility to disguise it as a favor. Charles admires these qualities, when he’s in a better mood.

So maybe this fic will end up being my favorite once I'm able to perceive it. Probably not, though, because I feel like Emergency Room is still structurally and thematically tighter.

T: Any fanfic tropes you can’t stand?

Yes. The thing is, there are very few fanfic tropes I actually like. It's not about tropes, for me, it's about execution. In terms of fanfiction, I usually have tropes I can't stand for a specific fandom, because they I don't feel they match the characters or the tone. In general lately I'm just... not a fan of pining. At all. Even mutual pining. I do have exceptions to this, but they're every few. I wouldn't say I can't stand them, but in general I don't get the appeal of a lot of the classic fanfic tropes and I always kinda feel like they're just a meme and I'm a little surprised when I realize people, like, actually read/write that. I don't like There's Only One Bed very much. Fake Dating can be fun but I think it's way overhyped. I only like Enemies To Lovers when it actually suits the characters, which just doesn't apply to most of my fandoms. I'm sure there are more but I can never think of tropes off the top of my head so if you're curious what I think about a specific trope feel free to ask! I can't stand soulmate AUs. I'm not a fan of destined romance in general. I do kinda like the opposite, where the universe really doesn't want these people to be together, but they fall in love anyway. This isn't exactly a trope but the thing I really can't stand in a lot of fanfiction is that it's just too much. Especially with a slowburn pairing and a pre-relationship fic that's set early (or, worse, a fic that gets the slowburn together way too early).

[chwesolai]

change up. | lee chan

inspired by change up by seventeen and grease, yes, the movie (you’ll understand why in a second don’t you worry)

university au!

nerd!chan x class clown!y/n

-

chan spent his times in his books, in his studies, in ‘always looking in the future’. he never took a break. but towards the end of his senior year of high school, his parents wanted to reward his hard work and studious efforts. it was post-finals, he finished, he got into the university he dreamed of. 

he was free, finally.

so the trip began, his family packed their bags and the road trip to Daecheon Beach from Iksan. chan and his younger brother remained silent most of the ride, chan's brother playing on his phone, occasionally showing chan the new character he unlocked.

"you're going to fry your brain because of those games," chan scoffs, lifting his head up from reading.

"you're going to become evil because of all those scary books you read."

"then, let me."

the two brothers laugh and slowly immerse themselves into their activities and as the sun sets, the two fall into a deep sleep.

four more hours later and the sun began to warm chan's face, they have arrived.

y/n's parents allowed her to pick this year's summer family vacation, her older sister picked last year and her older brother did the year before. they've been to the us, europe, japan but she just wanted to stay home. but her family just didn't allow that so she picked the beach. 

"THE BEACH? Y/N ARE YOU KIDDING?" her sister wasn't here for that, but her brother backed her up, "hey less money spending for us then. we wouldn't need to exchange money, buy flight tickets, bla bla blah."

"exactly." y/n proud of her decision.

"alright, i guess we could go visit my hometown's beach then," y/n's dad shrugs looking at her mother, who was nodding in agreement, "ok, saving money this trip, I like it. we could stay at mom's house then," it was set.

y/n packing her bags, excited to just bathe in the sun, swim, eat her grandmother's food again, this was her trip.

the car ride was absolutely chaotic.

y/n gained the entire back seat to herself with her two older siblings stuck ripping each others' heads off in the middle seats.

"I WILL GIVE YOU TWO MY LAST TWO POCKY IF YOU SHUT UP RIGHT NOW." 

"ok bet," her brother held out his hand as his little sister handed him a strawberry pocky packet and her older sister then received her chocolate pocky.

"thank you," y/n bathes in the silence as she goes back to her drama.

the two met at y/n's grandmother's restaurant. y/n was peeling oranges as chan's family walks in, if you're offered to earn some money on vacation, you take it, y/n dropped the peeler, telling her grandma she can take this table.

chan pushed up his glasses as he looks up at the possibly cutest girl he's ever laid eyes on. she was definitely she was shorter than him, her hair held back in two braids, she kept her pen behind her ear and she looked just like how chan envisions the female characters in the classic novels he reads.

"hi welcome to kitchen by paradise, i'm y/n and i will be your server today and if you have any questions about any items on the menu, i'll be more than happy to recommend you anything! now, could i get you all anything to drink?"

chan's mom ordered water, his dad got a cola, his brother banana milk and chan didn't have a clue.

"and for you?" y/n says as she turns her attention towards chan.

"u-um. um. do-do-o you guys have any specialty drinks?"

"oh yeah! we grow our own oranges so we have a whole specialty of drinks. we have an orange-hibiscus iced tea, an orangeade, an orange-pineapple refresher and an orange mint sunrise."

"could i get the orange-pineapple one? please?"

"of course, that's my personal favorite," y/n smiles and chan could've sworn his heart melted, "i will get those ready for you guys and again, if you guys have any questions, call out for y/n!"

"thank you!" chan's parents chimed in as y/n walks away.

"channie has a crush channie has a crush." 

"i will drown you." chan glares at his little brother as his cheeks began to flush.

chan never knew he could fall so easily, i guess this is what happens when you're not focused on studying instead of girls, but this charismatic waitress got his attention.

chan watched y/n peel oranges and make the drink he had ordered, almost feeling bad because the drink looked so tedious to make. he saw the tray of drinks coming their way as she finishes pouring the yellow-orangey iced drink.

"here we go!" she places the drinks at the table, handing each drink to its rightful owner, "so are we ready to order?"

y/n took everyone's orders and y/n couldn't help but giggle at this nerdy guy stuttering ordering his seafood bibibimbap.

he's cute i can't deny it.

"alright let me repeat your guys' order and i'll send this to the kitchen!"

-

chan's family finished their meals and had left while y/n was on her break, disappointing chan, so he jumped to this opportunity. his 18 y/o heart couldn't believe himself that he left his number for this cute waitress he just met, i mean she probably is a local here and i'm here for the next two weeks.

y/n couldn't believe either. she smiled that that dorky kid thought she was cute, so she saved his number, texting him around sunset.

to orange boy: hey! this is y/n!

to server girl: hi! i'm chan i can't believe you actually saved my number ha

to orange boy: i just had to thank the guy who called me cute and also thinks my favorite drink is good because its our least popular haha

to server girl: thats surprising its rly good omg

to orange boy: so are you free tomorrow?

to server girl: i think my family is just hanging out tmr why?

to orange boy: my grandma is sending me to the market tomorrow to pick up some ingredients and i know you're here for vacation and i know im just a stranger but idk want to explore the coast tmr?

chan couldn't believe it, in his 18 years of his life, he is being asked to go out. with a girl. and she isn't trying to steal his study book.

y/n couldn't believe herself, she just asked a stranger to go out with her.

to server girl: i'm down wanna pick me up?

to orange boy: tmr 12pm i'll bring us lunch 

to server girl: sounds like a plan, so whats your favorite color?

the two spent all night getting to know each other, learning they're the same age, chan was older by a month and a half, y/n's favorite color is every color and said some picasso joke making chan laugh in his hotel room. they both felt like they've known each other for years.

the next day came and y/n packed her backpack and her scooter for the day, writing down the list her grandmother has told her the night before and then sending a text to chan for his address.

"I'M TAKING THE SCOOTER!" y/n yells as she runs down the stairs, "TEXT ME IF YOU NEED ME!"

her family all replying as they hear her leave.

as she makes it to the garage, she ensures she brings the second helmet.

this is a vacation. the wind blowing in her hair as she follows the directions to chan's hotel. her dark blue scooter shimmering in the sunlight and she arrives in front of chan's hotel, rich kid huh?

to orange boy: outside by the lobby!!

chan was already in the lobby for the past ten minutes, didn't want to look like a complete weirdo and come out right when she texted so he waited for a good minutes before walking out. he was wanted to be casual, didn't want to screw anything up with her.

"hey! chan over here!" he walked out seeing the pretty girl from the restaurant on a blue electric scooter? taking off her helmet waving her hand around. he smiled and waved back as he walked towards her.

"this is tomi, my trusty stead," she smiles proudly at her scooter making chan stifle a laugh, leading y/n to laugh at his poor hiding of a laugh, "this is yours, hop on!"

"did not expect this to be the start of my day," he laughs as he puts on the helmet, he gets on the back of the scooter and before y/n turns on the scooter, she grabs chan's arms and to his surprise, wraps them around her stomach, "we're going fast so i don't want you falling off," she turns and smiles at him. what am i feeling right now? butterflies swarm around the two teenagers' stomachs, falling in love before they've even gone out.

"oh o-ok."

and they were off. 

y/n parked the scooter in her usual spot, the noise of the market sang to her and before getting off, she introduces the market, "welcome to daecheon market where old men try to peddle tourists and where local teenagers find the best clothes AND one stand has the BEST fruit produce." 

"y/n i think i should just call you fruit girl because you seem very enthusiastic about them," chan smirks

"i dare you to, orange boy."

"alright fruit girl."

the two laugh as they barely even notice chan's arms are still around y/n, y/n begins to take off her helmet right before she bumps chan in the face with her helmet.

"OH MY GOD! i am so sorry chan oh my god im sorry oh my god i-"

"y/n its ok really," chan laughs at her worried look, "i'm all good no bleeding see?"

"alright im still super sorry i kind of forgot i had a passanger with me," she nervously laughs, im such an idiot what is wrong w me wtf y/n

chan hops off and helps y/n down, "thank you, sir," y/n bows.

"you are very welcome madam," chan bows back, leading them both to laugh once more because of their dorkiness.

"here hold this," y/n opens the scooter compartment and hands chan a camera, "thats my prized possession, keep it safe." she pretends to glare at him but ending up laughing anyways, "you're on picture duty and i am on food duty," y/n pulls out a picnic basket and a large water bottle, "before we explore lets eat!"

y/n leads chan down to a secluded area next to the market, "my siblings and i love coming down here and eating lunch and playing ball. its our secret hideout, and you are a new member of paradise cove, mr chan."

"i'm honored," chan couldn't believe how comfortable he felt around her, a stranger that he had a very long text conversation last night about their favorite colors and whether or not aliens exist. y/n couldn't believe either. why did she feel so bubbly around a kid she met on the job at her grandmother's restaurant?

chan helped her put out a small picnic blanket from the basket and y/n began to pull out the food, “so i remembered your order from the other day and grandma pulled through and made some more this morning and a special touch, an orange-pineapple refresher. dig in!”

-

their picnic was nothing but boring, time passed so quickly while they talked more about the city and high school and where they want to go for univerity, and what they want to be. a convesation nether of the two have had with another human being. they both took some pictures while they were at it, y/n always doing some silly pose when chan had the camera and chan always looking away from the camera. they were comfortable with one another. 

“so, let’s explore the market shall we?” chan standing up, offering his hand to her, she was hesistant at first, “come on y/n i don’t bite,” he laughs, looking away. feeling odd with  his hand out for so long, he looks back at her smiling this time, “i’m feeling a cramp coming on”

standing up, she grabs his hand and pulls him close to her, both of their faces flushed now. y/n had NO idea what she was doing, “can i?” she looked at his lips and then back up at his eyes, prepare for any reaction

“yes,” once y/n heard his answer, his hand caressed the side of y/n’s face and pressed their lips together, almost melting into the kiss. y/n felt her cheeks burn up, the kiss lasted a few seconds but felt like an eternity. pulling away, the two laughed with their eyes closed and foreheads pressed against each other, “so the market?” y/n slowly opened her eyes, seeing the flustered boy in front of her interlocking their hands together.

“i thought you were the romantic,” he smiles back.

-

two spent nearly everyday together. y/n told chan she didn’t live in daecheong, they both knew they were both on vacation and the day one of them was leaving was soon appoarching them. “what will you do without me?” “cry.” “shut up chan” “you asked i answered~!”

chan didn’t want to believe but neither did y/n. their two weeks was up, y/n helped chan pack. “are you really going to cry?” “y/n you’re my first kiss, my first love, my first crush, the first girl that actually has gotten my attention so what do you think?” “now, you’re going to make me cry.” she pouts “y/n you have my number, i have my license, you have a kickass scooter. we have ways to still see each other even if that means our universities are miles apart, we can do this.”

-

to orange boy: i miss you

they couldn’t do it. the long distance lasted about a month and then school started.

to server girl: i’m sorry

chan was at yonsei university and back to his old ways. head in the books, no partying no social interaction just studying. this physical therapy major wasn’t moving an inch.

now, what chan didn’t know was y/n was ALSO at yonsei. this visual arts major was the biggest party animal on campus. she ruled frat parties and she was a good students. her professors loved her and her charm.

- ten months later -

HALLOWEEN

“CHAN! you have to come dude!” chan’s roommate, xuxi, begs him. xuxi was the polar opposite of chan, same age same major COMPLETELY different social class.

“no ‘xi for the last time, i’m not a party guy.”

“chan please dude, its a costume party, nobody will know its you.” chan began to consider it, when was the last time i had fun?

“what are you dressing up as?”  “i’m going to be capt. american because im going as the avengers with mark and the other guys. if you don’t want to be recognized then wear a mask, be a masquarade ball dude? idk wear a suit and a mask, be that DUDE”

“i’m in.” here we go lee chan

to server girl: finally going out with the boys for the first time hope you’re well i miss you

y/n read the text almost immediately, “i wonder where he’s going?”

“who?” y/n’s roommate jungeun asled as she’s doing her makeup.

“some summer fling, he just texted me after like three months.”

“he’s more than a summer fling hon if you saw his text so fast.”

“shut up”

“kiss me,” jungeun stuck her tongue out at her, “so what are you dressing up as y/n?”

“poision ivy, mark said they’re going to be the avengers and so i’m showing him up and being dc’s sexiest villian.”

“you’re such a heartbreaker miss y/n let the boy breathe, he may have cheated but-”

“but nothing! he treated me like a one night stand and i wanted more! im going all out!”

-

chan looked at himself one more time in the mirror and xuxi walked behind him in his captain america outfit, “my son you look so fucking good,” pretending to tear up

“shut up,” chan rolled my eyes, sitting back down on his bunk, “should i still go?”

“YES! you look good dude! can’t even recognize you, you look so different and the contacts? you’re really hiding your identity with this one channie.”

“this is the only night we get to be other people so,” he puts on his lacey masquarade mask he bought from target, ‘let’s go.”

xuxi wraps his arm around him, “LETS FUCKING GO!”

-

“MISS Y/N YOU DID THAT HONEY!”

jungeun and y/n nearly in shock of how well this costume curves around her body.

“green is your color girl,” jungeun sighs, “you knock them dead baby.”

“you look amazing yourself j OMG ms daphne over here.”

“I’m finding my fred tonight ok?” she smiles as she ties her scarf around her neck.

y/n places her red mask on, “i’m heading out!”

“HANG ON!” y/n was practically out the door before jungeon runs out, “ok ready.”

“let’s go fuck shit up.”

-

the party was everything chan was not used to, drinking, loud music, people EVERYWHERE, you could say he was slightly overwhelmed. 

you could say he also wasn't used to the attention around him, girls coming up to ask if they wanna hook up or take a shot with him which he declined all of them until she walked in.

ms poison ivy walked in.

it was about 30 minutes after the party started and y/n walked in like she owned the place, jungeon next to her, y/n walked in red heels and green latex in its full glory.

"i'll go get us drinks!" jungeon pracatically screams in y/n's ear.

"OK!" now alone, chan saw this as an opportunity, still not knowing who that was or even who he was in this moment he walked up to her.

"hi!" y/n was drawn back but the handsome stranger in front of her

"HI!"

"I THINK YOU LOOK REALLY PRETTY!"

"THANK YOU! I THINK YOU LOOK PRETTY HOT YOURSELF! LET ME GUESS, a VAMPIRE?"

the music got increasingly louder as this conversation went on so chan yelled back, "NOT EXACTLY, IM A MASQUERADE BALL HOST"

y/n felt eyes beaming her up and down and she saw him, mark, and before he could come any closer, y/n kissed this handsome stranger in front of him.

chan had no idea what was going on but he really didn't care anymore, this kiss began to be a full makeout session in the middle of the dance floor.

"IM SORRY BUT DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE?"

"YEAH I DO ACTUALLY"

 both of them walk out of the loud frat house, "so who do i owe this honor to mr masquerade man?"

"chan, i'm chan. how about you?"

"i'm sorry did you say c-chan?"

y/n hasn't heard that name in what feels like ages until today.

"yes? is something wrong?"

was it really him?

"no its just i knew someone named chan awhile back, ha." she sadly smiled.

it can't be him chan was never this bold.

"ah i see, how about you ms poison ivy?"

"y/n"

"y/n huh?"

"yes, what about it?

"do you still have that blue scooter?" chan takes off his mask and turns to face the girl he's been wondering about for so long.

"c-chan?"

"long time no see huh?"

"i-i-i didn't even recognize you? where're your glasses? did you get your braces off too? your hair's lighter, you look really good, chan," she sighs in disbelief.

"college does stuff to you i guess," he nervously rubs the nape of his neck, "and you? wow. i didn't think someone could look so gorgeous in latex." he smiles all goofy.

"chan."

"y/n?"

pulling herself into his chest, "i've missed you, im sorry for being an asshole, im sorry for saying those things i shouldve held on im sorry im-"

"nothing is your fault y/n, look at me," he pulls her out of his chest, "i'm here now! we just needed time i guess," he lets out a small laugh.

"now you're the jokester mr lee."

"lets restart. hi im chan."

"hi im y/n," she smiles and takes his hand in hers, "lets never leave again."

"yes ms poison ivy."

“never call me that again.”

[suney]

Ripules n 12 cuz shy losers?

12 - things you said when you thought i was asleep [1/5]   next →

Amanda is standing at her workbench heaving on the end of a crowbar the first time it happens.

“Just give me a second! I’m nearly- there!” 

“What the hell are you going on about now?” A barrister pokes her nose into the workshop, observing the unfolding events from over her glasses. “I know you like your own company and tend to have these ‘stern’ discussions with yourself, but yelling at no one is actually pretty fucking weird, Amy.”

“Don’t call me that.” Ripley fires at her with a dangerous glance, wiping away horrific spatters of tin scented fluid, it’s tang reminiscent of aluminum on fillings. “Also, I was yelling at you for being an impatient ass on my comms.” 

“Mm, no, I wasn’t.” 

“Who else could it have been, Nina?” 

She hums, squinting down at the screen, an insistent banner flashing white and grey along the top.

Eat… 18:30.

“My God you’re an idiot, Ripley. That’s not a message, it’s an alarm.”

“What? I don’t have any alarms, not for this time of day.” Amanda brushes the device off the table and into her bag on the floor. “And name calling, really?”

“I was joking.” She holds her shoulder, crossing her ankles to lean fully on the other woman. “But since you’re already distracted, come and sit down. I bought lunch.” She gently touches the cold wrist of a synthetic, laying motionless on the table. “If that’s alright by you, Samuels? Because I swear, even you won’t be able to make me give her mouth to mouth if she faints again.”

“He won’t be able to make you do anything until he’s fixed, Taylor.” The engineer rolls her eyes and follows the heavenly smell of curry wafting from the crib room.

“You really think you can?”

“I have to…”

The next time it happens she had fallen asleep using a bicep of the deactivated- the temporarily dead- android as a pillow. Her chair up as high as it will go and his hand in her own.

Sleep… 23:59.

“W’the fuck is going on?” Amanda mumbles into the synthetic’s side, lazing her arms over his chest to look at the screen. She wonders if she had installed a dodgy app, or if there had been a bug in the last batch of updates. 

She yawns, swipes at the alert, and decides it probably had the right idea anyway. 

Goodnight.

“Goodnight… I guess.”

Over time, the alarms had become progressively more specific. Mentioning conversations she’d had in private, even alone. Offering her advice, greeting her, wishing she had a fabulous day or night. Shockingly even to her, she never thought it was creepy, going back through her downloads to determine they had in fact been from the phone, to the phone. It was sweet. Familiar in the way it was worded like an old friend. 

“Hey.” Taylor, as had become routine, appears at her door for visit one out of three today. “I bought coffee.”

“Oh my God, you read my mind.” 

“I do, everyday, at exactly seven in the morning.”

“Yeah and what time do you call this?” Amanda gratefully trades the cup for a pair of soggy tin-snips and takes a drink, her fluid covered hands sticking to the paper as they swap back. Her friend holding it by the lid at an arms length.

“Late. Late is what I make of it. I’ve been at work since five absolutely snowed in with paperwork. So, fend for yourself for lunch? And don’t stay up all night, I know you’re excited, but get some rest and do it properly. Please. You only get-”

“One shot.” Amanda nods, pulling at a creamy tube full of metallics. “I know.” 

Her phone blares once, and then again. 

“Are you still getting those?” Nina asks indifferently, unable to counteract the hand over her upper stomach attempting to hold her bagel down as out of the chest comes what looks like an organ, attached at the base by colour coded wires.

“Yah." 

“Aren’t you going to check it?”

It rings one more time in a different tone and Amanda supposes she should. The advice it offered had sometimes been handy, telling her the microwave had gone off, or the ice had melted in her bourbon and coke. This, however, was eerie.

Pay attention. 

Please don’t cut the red wire.

Do not cut the red wire.

It vibrates a final time. 

S-Exec Repair Manual, p 138: preventative measures for fuel cell ignition.

“Holy fuck.” Amanda flips a page on the next table over, quoting from it. “‘Disconnect from power source before removing fuel cell… red wire last… prone to violent combustion…’ Holy fuck." 

“Someone’s definitely watching over you.” Nina breathes a sigh of relief. 

“I might- yeah, I might sit down for my coffee today.” 

“Good idea. I’ll leave you to it.” 

Amanda nods her goodbye with a quick hug and regards the synthetic at a safe distance. It isn’t until hours later that she moves, or even speaks again, shocked into silence by the fact she could have killed her friend and less importantly, lost an arm in doing so. 

Your drink is definitely cold. It has been for six hours.

She glances at the screen as it wobbles on her jogging knee. “So, I’ve been thinking,” she starts out of nowhere, “if I didn’t know any better, which I do, I’d agree with Nina and say you’re looking out for me. Which is ridiculous because all the evidence points to you just being a device, but I think somebody is behind this. Whatever this is." 

I am here. 

“Yeah, I feel that. Maybe I’m going insane, because that’s kinda likely… but I think you want something from me too.” 

What might that be?

“I don’t know. I don’t even know who you are, let alone what you could possibly be after.”

It would be nice if you stayed intact.

Amanda huffs her way over to disconnect the trickle charger from the terminals in Samuels’ chest. “A real Samaritan.”

I am being honest. I want you safe. I… 

“You what?" 

Nothing.

“Okay buddy, maybe it’s best to pump the breaks before you freak me out. Don’t get me wrong, you’re cool, whoever you are, and if you ever show yourself we can go for a beer or something. But I’m kind of… committed elsewhere.” 

Committed?

“Yeah.”

Oh.

“Problem?”

Not at all. I'm… happy. For you. Pause. Anyone I might know of?

“Probably not, we haven’t been on-site very long.”

Nina? A familiar sass bleeds through this notification that Amanda can almost hear. 

“What? Fuck no. I care about her too, but it’s definitely someone else.” She wipes hydraulic fluid from her hands on an old rag. An old rag that happened to be a shred of Samuels’ favourite semi-melted shirt. He looks disgusted by her actions even in his sleep. “Do- do you really think I’d be investing so much time and effort into fixing this synthetic if I didn’t- care about him? A lot?” 

Yes, you would. Because you are kind.

Amanda fights to urge to inform the stranger that she’d had to kill people before. Murder at point blank range. Leave some to die. Use human life as distraction. Instead, she turns up the radio.

“Blue Öyster Cult. Burning for you. What a solid song.” She looks over the slightly charred synthetic before her. “I’m not being at all ironic.” 

Home in the valley, home in the city;

Home isn’t pretty, ain’t no home for me;

“You know it?”

Obviously. The text is no different than usual but rings like a pompous English accent. It is a classic, I rather like it. And Bat Out Of Hell.

“Oh, my friend. You are after my heart.” 

I hope so…

“Keep hoping.” She laughs to the ceiling, tapping a hex key to the palm of her hand. “When I finally get this guy up we’re going to Earth and we’re just- just fucking hitting the road. Getting outta Dodge, or y’know. Luna. We can sleep in shitty motels and in the back of the car and I can pick up work in garages as we go. And I know I’m going to absolutely torture him with this kinda music, he’ll hate it, but I’ll find ways to make it up to him.”

I do not think he’d hate that at all. I think he’d love it, actually. 

“I don’t think he loves anything. I don’t know if he can. But here’s hoping he’ll be fond enough of me to stick around after he’s back in one piece, and out of The Company’s grubby little hands.” She realizes the irony of her words, hesitating to brush his hair back with grease stained nails. “If he doesn’t it’ll be enough knowing he’s out there somewhere. Alive, even though I miss him. Fuck, I miss him.”

The device falls silent as she presses her lips to his forehead. 

“Goodnight, Samuels. Keep ‘em crossed for tomorrow. It’s the big day.”

Her comms device vibrates in her pocket as she flops down onto the cribroom couch. Her eyelids droop, brain shutting down for the day. She decides she might just check it in the morning. 

(Goodnight, Amy. I miss you too.)

[nancykali]

Hey I donated 6$ and I hope it helps ❤ (Is there anything else we can do to help you? Cheer you up, fill prompts for you?) Can I ask for a "I picked up your bag at the airport but I can't find your number so I'm about to embark on the largest scavenger hunt of all times by using your strange belongings to track you down" AU for mike/el/will maybe? I'm not yet sure how it could work for an ot3 but I trust you and your amazing writing and I'm sure it's going to be super amazing and wonderful 😍

Mike had never been to an airport before the first springbreak of his college career. So it didn’t surprise him that he had managed totake the wrong bag off the baggage claim when he and his boyfriend Will hadreturned from their week-long vacation at Dustin’s family’s lake house.

And it just happened to be a bag with no ID tag on it. Only when taking the bag from the Uber driver’s trunk had Mike noticed the subtledifferences in the black suitcase telling him it wasn’t his. One peek in thefront pocket had been the damning second clue; it contained not his shavingsupplies, but a book titled Flight bySherman Alexie.

It had taken another two hours to find their way back to theairport, to the baggage claim office, only to discover that not only had no onereturned for the mystery suitcase, but no one had left Mike’s suitcase behind.

Will had comforted Mike on the way back to the dorm with theknowledge that at least Mike’s suitcase had his name, address, and phone numberattached. Whoever had it would have to return it. Mike tried to remainoptimistic, completely blocking out the price of the X Box games he’d packed inthat suitcase.

“It won’t be that hard to find her, she has to go to thesame college as us,” Will told him, seeing the guilt and chagrin on Mike’s face.Will sat across from him on the still absent roommate’s bed, as he and Mikestudied the contents of the suitcase in Mike’s dorm room (as hard as they’dtried, they hadn’t been able to get a dorm room together—Will’s room was eightdoors down the hall. Mike had counted).

“What makes you think that?” Mike said, his face almostburied in his hands, elbows on his knees.

“This t-shirt,” Will said, fishing a shirt from the pile ofhaphazardly folded clothes. It was bright red and had the phrase “Keep Calm andGive Blood” printed on the front in black letters, a silhouette of a “bleeding”jack-o-lantern in the middle.

Mike looked at Will in confusion, and Will answered hissilent question, “I have the same one. Remember last October, the blooddonation campaign? Everyone who donated got this t-shirt.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Mike said, perking up. He hadn’t gottenthe t-shirt, because he hadn’t donated blood. Needles frightened the hell outof him. The first and only time he’d tried donating blood in high school he’dfainted. Will was kind enough not to bring up the embarrassment, he simplyfolded the t-shirt and put it back.

“And we do have a name,” Mike said, picking up the stranger’sbook he’d set on his bed next to him. Inside the front cover, written in smallcursive handwriting, was the name El Hopper.

Encouraged by this information, the boys set off on theirinvestigation.

And quickly hit a roadblock.

There was no “El Hopper” listed as a resident at any of thedorms on campus. Not even anyone with the last name Hopper. They got the sameanswer when they found out who to contact from the blood donation campaign. Noone by that name had donated blood last October.

That same night, with Mike’s roommate still not back fromhis spring break vacation, Will and Mike settled on Mike’s bed to study thesuitcase’s contents further.

They’d turned up nothing useful besides that the owner was asize small, bought Herbal Essences hair products, and seemed fond of the colorpink—more than half of her clothes were a shade of pink, even the socks. Andthe swimsuit (“It’s a bikini, Mike. I know you’ve seen one before. You have twosisters.” “Shutup. This is different. Also you’re gay and I’m not.” Will wasstill smirking so Mike threw a pair of pink socks at him).

It was now nearly 10:00 and they’d ended up taking a “break”that was actually Will leaning against Mike’s headboard, reading El Hopper’sbook, Flight, while Mike rested hishead on Will’s stomach and played a game on his phone.

They both nearly jumped out of their skin when there was aknock on the door. Will and Mike exchanged glances, their expressions and theunspoken question in them mirroring each other. Who the hell could be knocking at Mike’s door at 10pm? Then—no way, it couldn’t be.

Mike shot up to answer the door while Will scrambled to closethe stranger’s suitcase. Mike peripherally saw Will scrambling back for thebook he’d left on Mike’s bed, before he turned back to open the door.

A girl stood there, and she looked to be about Mike and Will’sage. And there was no doubt—she had Mike’s suitcase next to her.

“Hi!” She said brightly, grinning at him. “Are you MikeWheeler?”

Mike blinked a couple times before he realized he was gapinglike a fish. He closed his mouth. “Uh, yeah.”

The girl glanced behind him, obviously seeing Will. Mikeglanced back too—Will was holding what had to be the book behind his back, hischeeks a cute shade of pink.

“I’m Jane,” the girl said, looking back at Mike, her smilefaltering. The guilt returned and Mike could feel his face reddening.

“I have your suitcase. The people at baggage claim said youmight have mine?” she said, tilting her head. She had dark shoulder length curlsthat framed her face perfectly. Mike’s face grew hotter.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, we, uh, have it. I—um—Come in. Please,”Mike said, stepping aside so she could get past him.

She moved past him and sure enough, she smelled like HerbalEssences shampoo.

Mike closed the door, then made a realization. “You saidyour name was Jane?”

She’d stopped in the middle of the room, feet away fromWill, who stood in front of El Hopper’s suitcase as if guarding it, though hecontinued to look as guilty as Mike felt.

Looking up at him (she had to be nearly a foot and a halfshorter than him) Jane nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry there was no ID tag on my bag.I’d never gone out of town before, it just slipped my mind.” She looked down atMike’s suitcase, then back up to him. Her grin was back. “They do look nearlythe same, don’t they?”

Mike nodded mutely, then looked over to see Will staringpointedly at him. He looked at Jane, who was also staring at him. Curiously.Why did she look at him like that?

“This is Will,” Mike said, nodding toward Will, who gave atight smile and shook Jane’s hand. They exchanged nice-to-meet-you’s and thenJane added, “Are you Mike’s roommate?”

“Boyfriend.” Mike and Will spoke in unison.

“Oh, cool,” Jane said, smiling, not at all awkward orforced. Mike could literally see the stiffness go out of Will’s shoulders.

“Um, we were trying to find you,” Will said, holding out thebook Flight to her. “But the name inhere says ‘El Hopper’. Is she a friend of yours?”

Jane took the book, laughing and shaking her head. “No, no,El is me. El is my nickname. Middle name, really. I guess,” she said,shrugging. The way she said it made Mike think there was more to it, but hewasn’t going to press.

Will turned to pick up Jane’s—El’s—suitcase and hand it toher, and seeing Will was about to offer some sort of explanation, Mike quicklysaid, “We were trying to find clues. To find you. Um. That’s why your stuff isgonna be kind of…”

Jane was looking at him, her brows raised in question. Hewas rubbing the back of his neck, all but sweating now. He floundered, tryingto find the right word. Will remained unhelpfully silent.

“…Disorganized,” Mike finished lamely.

Jane’s mouth quirked. It was not the response he expected.She glanced between him and Will.

“It wasn’t that organized to begin with,” she said, laughterin her voice.

There was a few beats of silence while Jane replaced herbook in the front pocket Mike had found it in. Mike blurted out, “Is your lastname Hopper then?”

Jane’s eyes snapped up at him, this time looking genuinelysurprised. Then even more interesting—her expression became guarded.

“No, it’s Ives. Jane Ives,” she said. There wasn’t even ahint of a smile on her face anymore. Mike bit the inside of his cheek,wondering how much he’d screwed up.

Will cut in, “So that’s why we couldn’t find out if you livedin any of the dorms. We thought we could find you that way.”

Jane looked at him and nodded. “That makes sense. I haven’thad the last name Hopper for a few years. It’s a long story,” she said, hereyes moving down and away. Then she shrugged again. “I live in the dorm rightnext to you guys actually.”

“Cool! You guys have the better dining hall,” Will said,smiling at her. She smiled back, and Mike felt a pang in his chest. He wouldn’trecognize what it was until later, and then he’d be furious with himself.

“Want to meet there for lunch sometime? Mike and I havesimilar schedules, we’re free after two most days,” Will said, adding on, “Iwant to ask you more about Alexie. I started reading it, he seems really good.”

Jane’s eyes brightened. “I love all his work. I’lldefinitely rec you more of his stuff,” she said, then glanced at Mike, bitingher lower lip. Mike only had time enough to hope he didn’t look as idiotic ashe felt.

“Are you guys free after two on Wednesdays?” Jane asked,directing her question to Will.

“Definitely,” Will said.

“Okay! Well, I’ll see you guys then,” Jane said, walking tothe door, pulling her suitcase behind her. She opened the door, then beforewalking out, made a show of checking her bag. Then she gave that same grin,directed at both of them. “Had to make sure,” she said. She winked and gave alittle wave, before shutting the door behind her.

A couple beats of silence passed. Mike grew hot with embarrassment,and turned to see Will grinning diabolically at him.

“Did you just make a lunch date…for me?” Mike said, noemotion in his voice.

“Kinda had to, you were making cow eyes at her the wholetime, I had to do something,” Will said, pulling Mike’s suitcase across the roomand lifting it onto his bed.

“You’re my boyfriend,”Mike almost yelled.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m chaperoning.”

“Chaperoning?”

“Jane seems pretty cool, I want to see her again too, y’know,”Will said, unzipping Mike’s suitcase. Still not looking at him.  

Mike huffed, not replying. He couldn’t think of what to say.Will was right. Jane did seem cool. He definitely wanted to see her again, too.But why?

Then Mike saw something that made his stomach drop.

“Will, goddammit,” Mike said.

“What?” Will said, turning to him.

Mike pointed. On the floor in front of Mike’s TV stand was apair of Jane’s pink socks.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Welcome to the Guardians kid; GOTG x teen reader

This request does have some triggers so if car accidents and loss of parents aren’t your cup of tea I WARN YOU IN ADVANCE just skip down to the keep reading link and just skip over it. Other than that being briefly mentioned throughout the oneshot and maybe the occasional swearing not really anymore warning, I hope you guys enjoy this :)

____________________________________________________

*July 7th, 2004*

I was just 7 years old at the time when it happened. At first it was just a calm summer's day with my parents, we went out to the beach for about 2 weeks every summer to visit my grandparent's. Well right now the two weeks were up and we had to head back because my dad's company wanted him back to work by Monday so we left early Saturday morning. But as we drove it started to rain and it got worse and worse as time went on.

So bad that my dad didn't see the oncoming headlights in front of us. He swerved the car but it drove us down the hill and we were stopped by a tree. I don't remember much after that because I blacked out from hitting my head against my mom's seat.

Next thing I knew I woke up to bright lights and the sound of beeping sounds. I then realized I was in the hospital with minor injuries because I was safely buckled up and right behind my mom, but unfortunately my parents weren't so lucky. They died right on impact, my dad from internal bleeding in his head and my mom well foolish woman didn't have her seatbelt on and slammed her face right through the mirror and died instantly from that. I was now the dreaded word no child should have to be labeled as.

I was an orphan.

Without thinking twice, I removed myself from the hospital bed and took off running. Doctors and security tried to stop me but I escaped them with ease and just took off running as far as I could in the storm. I don't know how far or fast I ran but I suddenly collapsed to my knees and just sobbed in my grief for who knows how long.

It was then I saw a bright light shine down on me and next thing I knew I was taken away from Earth.

*12 years later*

While the rest of the ravagers were asleep from a long night of stealing and celebrating their victory, I quietly packed up all my junk and walked towards my ship to hurry and make a break for it. Even though Yondu and the rest of the ravagers took me in and raised me like one of their own, I still don't feel like home here, nor are we even a family we just steal from others and lie to each other and talk smack about the person next to us even when they're standing right behind us.

So at 19 years old I figured enough is enough.

Just as I finished loading up my ship, I heard a faint whistle and felt an arrow to my head.

"You even think about gettin on the ship girl, and you'll regret it". I slowly raised my hands up and slowly stood up and said.

"Hey Yondu, whatcha doin stalking around the ship at night?"

"Shouldn't I be askin you that (l/n)?"

"Well how to put it nicely Yondu," quick as lightning, I disarmed Yondu and pinned him down to the ground with my gun now pointed straight to the center of his forehead. "It's been a long run, but screw you all and leave me alone!" I knocked him out by slapping him with the back of my gun and boarded my ship and took off hoping that the rest of the ravagers didn't hear the commotion between their boss and me.

Setting new coordinates to the farthest place the galaxy had to offer, I punched it and off and flew off hoping for a new life.

Somewhere far from the galaxy, I managed to smuggle myself into the population of Nowhere and worked there doing various jobs that I could get my hands on that paid top money for me to get enough money for more food, supplies, and hopefully even find another place to live.

But on that fateful day when I would meet a certain team of Guardians, it would be then that my life would change forever.

I had stepped out of my job at the local pawnshop for a quick lunch break and when I returned, I took notice of a bunch of odd people heading into the shop. A tall live tree, a raccoon, a strong guy covered in red tattoos, a slim but tough looking green woman and a man looking similar to me but wearing the same ravager garb I was wearing. Fearing that he and the rest of his gang were working secretly under Yondu, I quietly went through the back way through the store and readied my sword and gun ready to attack these intruders.

"Hello!? Hello?" I heard one of the men cry out.

"No one seems to be here Peter". The female voice said.

"Well that means more parts for us then, come on Groot help me with some of this stuff" a rough almost Brooklyn accent said. I then charged out and attacked the intruders. I managed to knock down the man wearing ravager garb, the raccoon and disarm the tree by cutting off his arms but both the woman and the big guy proved to be tougher to take down.

The big guy disarmed me and held me in a tight hold against his chest while the woman pinched a nerve on my neck and next thing I knew, I was now in darkness.

When I awoke I heard voices surrounding me.

"Did you really have to go and do that Gamora?"

"And what else was I suppose to do? Allow her to continue fighting us?"

"She's right, the kid went way out of line back there".

"I am Groot".

"You said it pal".

"Wait shh, she's waking up!" I saw the five of them standing over me but I also took notice that my arms and legs were bounded onto a bed. As I began to struggle and thrash around trying to get myself free the man in ravager clothing said to me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa easy kid. We didn't come here to rob you of your store".

"Easy for you to say Quill". The raccoon said.

"Well almost all of us but don't mind him he's always like that".

"Why are you in those clothes?" I snapped at him.

"What? Oh you mean this, it's just a costume you know an outfit".

"Yes I know, but I know where those come from cause you see me wearing the exact same thing. Now if you take me back to Yondu I swear I will kick your ass from here to the end of the galaxy!" I threatened him.

"Oh damn Quill, kid’s got fire, I like her".

"Look we just want to know why exactly you attacked us like that?" The green woman stated.

"I already told you, I don't want to go back to them".

"And you wont. Jesus kid".

"Then why bring me into this ship?"

"Well we couldn't just leave you there back at Knowhere unconscious like that, someone could've robbed you or worse sold you off to black market. Plus we wanted to apologize in a place where there aren't that many witnesses" the man in ravager clothing stated again.I took a deep breath and said.

"Alright I'm sorry, it's just I didn't want to go back to Yondu and his crew, I already beat the crap out of him trying to escape, if I go back there he'll do worse to me that just give me a black eye again or beat me until I can't eat".

"Whoa wait a minute, you actually beat the shit out of Yondu? Wow you are pretty spunky kid, you definitely got some skill to do that". The raccoon stated proudly.

"I am Groot".

"Oh stop it you big baby! Let me have this chance to praise her for her antics!"

"I agree, she shows spirit and would make a keen ally plus she is a worthy opponent" said the big guy in red tattoos.

"I agree" said the green woman.

"Okay why don't we start off with introductions. The raccoon here is Rocket, the tree here is Groot, big muscle guy is Drax, and this green female assassin who only thinks of stab, stab, stabbing is Gamora. And I'm—"

"Peter Quill, otherwise critically self-claimed the famous Star Lord, yeah I know who you are, Yondu talked about you a lot, said in a way I'm like you, I'm (y/n) by the way" I said. Peter then loosened the bonds and said as I rubbed my wrists trying to wake them up.

"So, in what ways does he say we're alike?"

"Well we're both from Terra aka Earth. He picked me up when I was just 7 years old. I ran from the hospital shortly after waking up from a car accident. My parents and I visit my grandparents' beach house every summer for 2 weeks, but as we came back we were driving through a terrible storm, the rain was pouring so hard and so bad that my dad barely saw the headlights coming towards us. We went off the edge and hit a tree, I managed to make it with minor scratches but my parent—they both died. My dad instantly from internal bleeding, and my mom died with her face through the windshield, they tried to save her since she was still barely alive but they failed. Heartbroken I ran and next thing I knew, I was taken onboard the ravagers ship with Yondu and his men, just like you Quill. Now 12 years later after having enough of their crap, I wanted to make something better of myself. Hopefully find myself a new life, a new home. Hoping that I can belong somewhere, stupid I know right?"

Everyone remained silent at my sad tale but it was then Peter said.

"Well it seems your wish has finally come true".

"Huh?"

"Tell me this (y/n), how would you like to be apart of the Guardians of the Galaxy?" I turned to the others seeing them smile softly with acceptance in their eyes then turned to Peter and said.

"Are you serious?" Peter nodded then I turned to the other Guardians and Gamora said as she came up to me.

"You definitely got some skill as a warrior, Drax and I wouldn't mind helping you train to become more agile and stronger on your next battle". Drax nodded in agreement then Rocket said.

"And from the craftsman work I've seen on your weapons I assume they weren't made by just anyone right?"

"Yeah, some of my own designs I was trying out" I admitted sheepishly.

"Well I could always use a helping hand in building some new big guns".

"Rocket you're not gonna blow up any moons or planets, not after last time" Gamora said.

"God you just wanna suck the joy out of everything Gamora".

"I am Groot".

"Hey that honestly was an accident! That planet wasn't even my preferred target!"

"I am Groot" Groot said to me.

"He said to you that he's in with you joining the team".

I then turned to Peter who said.

"So what do you say? Wanna join the team and save the world as well as cause some trouble?" As I looked at them I began to feel that feeling that I thought I had lost the day I lose my parents. The feeling of finally belonging somewhere, the feeling of being accepted for who I am.

The feeling of having a family again.

I smirked and said.

"When do we start?"