#I’m not super interested in the cozy genre as a whole but I can understand

[area51-escapee]

Going to research cozy horror as a post got me thinking but I didn’t want to bother the op with my tag ramble

[binniesthighs]

multifandom soulmate aus ✨

soulmate (n): a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.

✨ a/n: hello hello!! today on, “Ro’s self indulgent fics” ehehe i’ve been thinking a lot about some of my favorite kpop besties and how i feel like sometimes in a group, there’s the members who just stick like glue and it’s kinda like they were destined to meet that way! anyway hehe this concept is so fkn cute to me so i wanted to make some poly r-ship headcannons with some of my favorites! 

➛ disclaimer: the pairings that i use are def not all inclusive of all “soulmate” pairings out there, just the ones i know of atm! also, i know some of these groups better than others, so some will be more specific, and others a little more general! 

✨ groups included: stray kids, ateez, the boyz, monsta x, seventeen, txt, bts 

✨ feedback is always appreciated! who’s your favorite?✨

➛maybe if we’re feelin’ spicy i can do a part 2 with the ones i haven’t done yet ;) 

Pairing: idol x female reader x idol (see fandoms above!) 

Genre: fluff n’ smut

Tags: established r/ship au, poly r-ship, sexual content (the usual stuff also including unprotected sex-please stay safe!) comfort ahhh, mentions of food alcohol  

*all photocreds go to ops :) 

both sfw and nsfw under the snip snip! 

♡ chanlix ♡

sfw

omg where the hell do i start with chanlix we love our cannon soulmates 

arguably the softest fkn pairing on this list; being soulmates with chanlix is like meeting your other halves (thirds?). there’s some serious destiny at work here!! 

the three of you understand each other on a spiritual level--almost to the point where you could likely read their minds if you wanted to try haha. there’s also a really, really strong type of emotional intimacy that you share with them that’s out of this world. 

this soulmate bond is so fkn strong, the three of you could go through any hardships and come out of it stronger than ever! 

the three of you have cute lil nicknames for eachother that you thought up yourselves! 

 your families are close as heck! it’s really pure how by the three of you so many people can get close ahhh 

i think that chanlix would be really into more outdoorsy dates? camping, swimming, hiking, sightseeing, stargazing, picnics etc! felix also loves taking you on food tours! 

bc chan is chan, he really takes on such a protective role over you and felix, he would quite literally do anything for you two: forgot your notebook or documents on the way to work/school? he’ll drop everything to bring them to you. sad? he’ll get you your favorite food, tons of blankets, his hoodie to wear and your favorite movie/tv show to watch with you! if anyone hurts your feelings too he will square tf up. 

felix is the world’s most adoring boyfriend in so, so many ways. not only is he such a cuddle bug, he shows you that he cares with tons of acts of service similar to chan! this comes in the form of his baking of course and other silly little gifts he sees that reminds you of him. he isn’t the best at words sometimes, but will soothe you by giving you a little massage or by playing with your hair! 

nsfw 

okay...😏 damn i’ve been wanting to write some poly chanlix so fkn bad ahhhh 

once again i really see chan taking the lead in more intimate situations. he really likes giving directions and seeing both you and felix carry them out! honestly he gets a bit of an ego boost seeing the both of you all whiny and fucked out ahhh 

here i come with my softsub!felix agenda oops hehe but this boy is frickin’ angelic for you and chan oml, he always asks for permission before he does things and eats praise up with a fkn spoon. praises alone really get him off: “does lixie like it when i play with his cute cock like this?” 

there’s something that gets the three of you ridiculously amped when you do all kinds of roleplay scenarios FRICK some favorites are pet play (you and lix being the kitties) teacher/student, roleplaying strangers, sex slaves, artist/muse, oh my god there was a halloween where you once did vampire roleplay you still think about it 🤤 

since the three of you are so comfortable with eachother, experimentation feels really safe! for example, the suggestion of shibari came up and now....let’s just say lix looks really pretty tied up ;) 

chan’s got a huuuuge (cock) and size kink!! he really likes topping both you and lix and seeing a bulge omg.... also when he can bulge your throats mmmhm! 

felix loves it especially when you ride his face, and he cold do it for hours! he looks so cute between your legs when he licks over and over your clit. he’ll ask you too if he’s doing good and you better say yes ;) 

favorite position would be all cuddled up and cozy with the two of them double penetrating you real nice and slow with tons of kisses and just touchin’ all over 

cockwarming cockwarming all day, every single time, without fail, it feels wrong if you finish without it! 

♡ woosan  ♡

sfw 

idk why but the first thing that comes to my mind is that in certain settings, ya’ll are loud as fuck AHA i guess what i mean to say as that as a trio, you are all super, super unapologetic and confident when around each other! this might have lead to you getting kicked out of a couple bowling alleys and karaoke places before... 

there’s a type of unspoken understanding that the three of you have that makes your bond so special. while you love eachother so dearly, it isn’t something that you really feel needs to be said out loud, it kind of just is! 

woosan are already really clingy on their own and when you come along?? you all can’t keep your hands off each other!! ya know how in movies there’s the whole “hand in the back pocket of your jeans???” woosan!! 

their energy together is so fkn chaotic but that's why you love them! they never fail to make you laugh and this is also the best way that they know how to cheer you up! 

Bc the three of you are a bit unbridled, it’s a bit hard to be serious at times when you go on dates/hang out with friends together so often you get some affectionate eye rolls haha 

wooyoung is someone that will try anything with you! hehe even if he knows that he mind not be that into it, he’ll still go with you! of course, he might say something snarky but he really does love just spending time with you! wooyoung also shares you with all his friends (changbin, yeonjun) so lowkey it feels like you’re one of the bros at times LOL 

san is a big fan of giving you gifts! oh also! words of affirmation too, san is someone who knows your insecurities well, so hypes you tf up all the time!! he especially loves buying things for you that he knows you’ll look pretty in just so he can compliment you ahhh 

at the end of the day however, there’s nothing more more that the three of you love than the tightest cuddles ever as you fall asleep! honestly, sometimes its a little too tight haha 

nsfw 

THESE BOYS FKN RAVISH YOU LIKE YOU’RE A FIVE COURSE MEAL 

and of course they expect the same from you as well! i mean....can you blame them??? these boys are sexy as hell and they frickin’ know it!! 

i have this super clear image of both of them stripping you down and rubbing massage oil all over your body and then giving you the turn to do it to them my lord...

sort of along this line, temperature play makes these boys feral. wax, ice, blowies with popsicles you name it 

both of them really just like being touched all over because they have the prettiest dancer’s bodies and just feeling hands on their muscles makes them loose it. 

wooyoung loves to mark the hell out the both of you in a really territorial way: all over your chests and necks even on your thighssss 

san, while he often does find himself in sub space, really easily can switch to dom you in the most beautiful way. everything with him is really intimate and raw: if this wasn’t already obvious haha he would like have a hand kink and loves seeing the way that his fingers look pumping in and out of your entrance and how your juices look as well. 

back too wooyoung, he’s the king of oral. whether it’s going down on you and sucking at your clit or deep throating with master level skill...foreplay is never boring with him! 

in my brain, i can see the both of them filling nearly position so this makes for an interesting dynamic to say the least AHA 

every once and a while, they’ll let you take complete control of the both of them while they just sit back and watch you with the most smug-ass grins that you’ll see in your life! 

AH another thought: woosan fkn love when you squirt on them, in any way this might look: when you’re nearly screaming in your overstimulation they want it all over them. 

favorite position would be 69 threesome style with all of your sloppy moans in-between <3 

♡  moonbae  ♡

sfw 

HEAR ME OUT the king of soulmates that know that they are soulmates but don’t take it seriously in the slightest istg this is my most favorite dynamic ahhhh 

there is not one dull day with these two boys, they’ll have you laughing in stiches until you can barely breathe like, the best kind of wheezy, silent laughter ya know what i’m talking about 

INSIDE JOKES literally so many inside jokes with the three of you 

Kevin is never scared to call your ass out, but that’s bc he knows you so well!! it’s all just jokes don’t ya worry ;) 

Along this line, your groupchat like has some random-ass name that’s also an inside joke

Jacob on the other hand is the biggest sweetheart when it comes to you, boy frickin’ melts. There is not a day that goes by when he hasn’t told you he loves ya morning and night. 

Also the best listener in the whole world, you can tell him anything and everything and he’s just sit and listen and give advice. 

Kevin loves you a ton a ton but just shows it differently! He remembers all the little things about you that you tell him to the point it’s scary how he does it so well 

Meme king Kevin would send you memes that remind him of you and Jacob

Lowkey i can see the both of them getting into the cutest petty arguments like which one of them you love more or think is more talented AHA again it’s all in good fun hehe 

it goes without saying but...it’s cuddle central up in here. 

THEY WOULD SERENADE TF OUT OF YOU oh my god it’s literally heavenly, Kevin would play piano and Jacob would play guitar FRICK 

You have oddly specific dates?? Like they would pick a movie to go see that the three of you would all hate just to meme the whole time. Jacob would still get invested accidentally tho. 

The way to both of these boy’s hearts is their stomachs so when you cook for them they would quite literally do anything for you 

nsfw 

ok ok so i’m a baby deobi so this is the gist of what i’m getting (i also did a little research LOL thank you @ deobi smutblr hehe) 

firstly i would like to say that i’m manifesting thigh riding with Jacob and i literally can’t think of anything else for some reason just p h e w and BOY does he love it too he thinks its so fkn cute to watch you! 

i get heavy, heavy switch vibes from Kevin with maybe some sub leanings??? either way, jacob def has soft dom vibes (oh god and occasional soft sub) to me but also has no problem with you taking control and doing what you like to him if that’s what you desire! 

kevin is impatient impatient and does not do well with your teasing. also...loud as hell, like, sometimes you have to tell him that he needs to calm tf down hehe (but of course you love it when he gets like that) 

separately, both of them are very different experiences i think: kevin is a fan of hard and fast, kitchen counter over the sofa type stuff sloppy toppy in risky places, and he loves to experiment too! 

jacob is also really different where he likes much, much more slow and intimate stuff like missionary, shower sex, real atmospheric stuff like candles and nice scents ahhh BIG fan of really fluffy pet names too like baby, princess, angel etc. super visual too omggg gets hard when you strip for him i think ;) 

together it’s a fkn whirlwind i’ll tell ya that. its like, honestly the most unique experience i can think of on this list because the two of them are so different. i will say that it can end up being really giggly and sweet tho! 

when it’s the three of you, kevin’s dom side comes out a little more so you’re left with these two lovely boys who want to give you all the attention! it’s lowkey a competition lol 

favorite position is when you’re sucking jacob off and kevin gets to do literally whatever the hell he wants with your pussy...i imagine that it might have to do a lot with edging if you ask me ;) 

♡ jookyun  ♡ 

sfw

oddly, i find myself soft af for jookyun and idk how to describe it haha (considering that they can often be hard as hellll) 

the three of you are also really nonchalant, but this is really in the way that you just feel as if you’ve known eachother for a really long time! 

as we know, jookyun were a bit of an enimies to lovers arc (AHA) so with the time that they’ve spent building their bond, it’s strong asf! 

i like to think that jooheon and changkyun would really get a ton of artistic inspiration from you for their music. since both of them write and often reflect bc of this, you’re totally their muse! (they’ll write some nasty as hell lyrics thanks to you too LOL) 

while our lovely thicc mx boys have unbridled confidence at times, really, they are babie. and they are frickin weak for your pampering. 

because of this, the two of them would become flustered as all hell when you do lil things for them!! this could be making them some lunch or just giving them the off compliment that they look a lil extra handsome that day. 

your safe place is with them!! ahhh i would also like to add the number of slick ass grabs when you’re in public is a bit off the chain at times ahah 

the duality of this r/ship is really something to note LOL when you go out and about when the two of them you certainly get some stares bc they look a lil intimidating at times but when you and your boyfriends cuddle up on the subway you give all passerby's whiplash haahah

Kyun is someone who is insanely romantic. almost to the point that it is cheesy haha he’d treat the both of you to expensive ass dinners, beach vacations and maybe even matching couple’s jewelry like rings or bracelets! 

jooheon on the other hand is a little more toned down haha but has another side to him that fkn swells with pride knowing how breathtaking you both are...frankly, his ego skyrockets knowing that he’s got you both for arm candy if this make sense teehee 

the three of you call eachother “babe” interchangeably, so it can get a bit confusing when you’re all in the same place and someone says “hey babe?” you need a new nickname ooP 

nsfw 

hello and here i am to push the sub!changkyun agenda. first and foremost i would like to explain how this man is such a pillow princess with the most lovely bratty edge *sighs* all that kyun wants is for you to fkn use him and do literally whatever the hell you want!! this man daydreams about you riding him right then and there wherever the hell he is. 

also, kyun is the king of toys, both using them on you and on himself! need i also say breath play as well in the same giving and receiving form? more than anything he loves it when jooheon wraps his hand around his neck hooooly ahhh he prefers it when you tease his tip with a vibrator until he’s angrily red and begging for you to give him a break just for you to bend down and give a kiss to his pearly head which makes him jolt 

jooheon is often more of a soft to hard dom if you ask me and takes care of both you and kyun really well. also... he will manhandle the hell out of you if you feel up for it (cough cough your arm kink for him ) oh shit and his thighs....don't’ even get me started 

while the three of you often opt for the hard and fast (even in some more risque places--such as in the recoding studio) there are really some more intimate times that you share too! 

on one of changkyun’s vacations, in the middle of the night, when no one was in sight and the hot tub was free for use...it started out as a bit of making out but then turned into something else when you decided to straddle jooheon and he let his hands creep under the straps of your swimsuit...needless to say you were bouncing on both of their dicks while you were warmed by the crackling bubbles 

at times, jookyun can get a little needy and impatient without you, so this has lead to a couple situations where you walk in on them letting out their frustrations ;) of course, immediately then they’d love for you to join! 

kyun has an oral fixation too, sooo he may or may not love cockwarming with his mouth or sucking your fingers lightly when you go to suck his dick~ 

♡  junhao  ♡

sfw

here me out with this one...but...there’s something really intimate about this relationship?? oh how to put this into words LOL junhao also have an insanely deep bond that really transcends if ya ask me haha 

while they both can be really goofy around eachother when comfortable the soulmate vibes are just...immaculate! this is all i can say? all three of you are just so connected in the way that you accept each other for all that you are and just kind of naturally gravitate towards each other even before you really knew that there were romantic feelings involved! 

first, i would like to say that out of all the pairings on this list, you three are classy as FUCK. seeing the three of you next to eachother is like seeing literally three models in the flesh. the way that you dress (sometimes even to match a little) is unbelievable bc you all just look so good? 

hand holdingggg wherever you go! holding hands across cafe tables, playing with each other’s hands absentmindedly hehe 

TRAVEL BUDDIES you would go anywhere with them and take tons of pics!! i mean the prettiest pics 

hao shows his love for you in the form of so many things, all of which he makes himself!! you inspire his physical art and drawings which he shares with you and he also loves to take clothes too and personalize them for you! 

jun on the other hand would take you to the studioooo and you could watch him danceee oh my gosh he’s literally so breathtaking and he would be dancing just for you with every curve of his body he’s so magical :’) then he’d ask you for feedback and you’d just be speachless...also loves to make you smile!! just being his goofy self he’s the best at it and thinks you’re so cute! 

there’s a ton of adoration in this relationship! tons of cute little displays of skinship that might look like a poke in the cheek or the fluffing of their hair ahh 

still, i feel like you would have kind of silly little nicknames for them that match their personalities and perhaps...you could have matching phone cases with these nicknames.... 

in this relationship there’s a ton of quiet moments that are really peaceful and indulgent such as watching sunsets, drinking wine together, just talking about life n stuff like that! 

nsfw 

hellz yeah we’re in for some more intimate-ass fuckin! but also....😏

this boys are kinky as shit but in like a really classy ass way lolll this is so hard to put into words. 

well, i’ll start with junhui catboy agenda so there’s that hehehe he would most def be into pet play: that could be like ears or pretty collars and of course calling you (or him) kitten. 

minghao is really versatile and doesn’t really like labels of dom and sub, he just does what he wants and what feels good to him! bc we’re talking about how intimate everything is, the kind of sex that you share with them is often never rushed but really purposeful and even planned sometimes! 

i also see there being TONS of sensory items that would come into play with junhao such as flowers, fragrances, aphrodisiacs, all kinds of fabrics for sensory deprovision such as velvet, silk, hemp rope, and so much more! 

BOTH OF THEM WOULD SOUND ANGELLIC i see hao as letting out really pretty soft moans that kind of trail on his tongue and jun sort of choking out gasps with a bit of a rasp to them when they cum or they feel turned on

oh god MIRROR SEX that's what i have to say about this 

it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes when any one of you would be feeling needy or pent up they can certainly do hard and fast with you between the two of them. especially when this happens, oh my god hao loves it when you moan really breathily into his mouth when you’re pressed against him ooooh shit 

and jun loves it when you bite into his shoulder too when he fucks you it just makes him feral 

actually, i could really see the three of you recording yourselves, or even taking pictures when you have more intimate moments to look at later, just for your own enjoyment or to get off when you’re without the others 

favorite position: hmmm mirror sex with you on top of minghao literally just kissing him and marking his body as jun eats you out until you’re dripping down to minghao’s cock which he jerks off too~ 

♡  yeonbin  ♡

sfw 

DON’T TOUCH ME IM SOFT  

admittedly i don’t know too much about this pairing but i do know a lil so i wanted to add them!! i also did a lil research hehe 

FIRST i would like to say that the three of you would without a doubt have the cutest puppy together, if not one, then two!! they would be little dogs with perfect haircuts and likely have their own instagram account which the three of you would run! they’d be instragram famous of course 

LITERALLY EVERY DAY ITS A FIGHT OVER WHOS CUTEST i kid you not this is an ongoing battle you’re all just...so weak for the other ahaha 

being in a relationship with them is like being in a relationship with your bestfriends! 

dates with the two of them can really range all over the place bc you just like having fun together! movie dates, breakfast dates, ZOO OR AQUARIUM DATES, taking little trips to places you haven’t been before or stay at home dates like having a little indoor picnic! 

soobin is really low energy, and would often opt to hang out with you at home or at a cafe while the two of you do your thing together! he lovessss when you bake or cook for him, literally whatever it is he’ll eat it! 

his smile is instant serotonin and the reason why you fell in love with him! the two of them together all smiley is your lockscreen! 

yeonjunie prefers going out with you clothes shopping and would DEF enable you to dye your hair a color that you’ve always been dying to do! he also loves showing you new music and blushes like heck when you tell him that you like the songs that he picks! 

in their own playful ways too, they’d always call you out on your bs LOLL but they just wanna motivate you! they’re your biggest cheerleaders! 

Deep down though, both of them are quite cheesy and would love to shower you with alll the stereotypical romance that you can take even if it makes all three of you cringe ahahah 

nsfw

NEEEEDY and literally so mf horny on the dl like it’s comical to how soft and shy they can be in real life situations 

oh my god this is a godly thought but i see both of them being both switchy as heck but not really bc they like how it feels to be in those different postions but literally....bc no matter what it is they are getting off lolll 

i see both of them having sub leanings but can get real bratty if they’re feeling it. 

yeonjun does have a dom side to him that just comes with his general confidence that he gets around you! when either of you beg from him he’s ready to let himself loose. 

im so sorry but they literally handed pet play to me on a silver platter with cat & dog and there is no going back for me. SO you’re in for puppy, kitty and bunny play (shhhh yeonjun’s got his fox ears too) 

WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HOW ALL OF YOU WOULD LIKE THIGH HIGHS

both of them love being edged to high hell by you...no matter if it hurts...they kinda like it? 

at the same time, both of your boyfriends also love giving you all the attention at times too! i’m talking about one of them playing with your breasts while the other trails kisses down your body all the way down to your pussy aching for attention too

FUCK this might be just me but soobin eating you out>>>> a GODLY sight. 

i have this other fantasy of yeonjun with either lip piercings or nipple piercings or even a dick piercing someone plz tell me to calm down 

oh please...bubble bath with the two of them holy shit baby pink bubbles all around you while you take turns givin’ each other cute kisses ahhhh 

one more thing to the pile here would be hella mutual masturbation soo much of it. the three of you get off just simply watching eachother too and dirty talking how much you love the way the others look with hands rubbing themselves away with cute whiny moans~ 

♡ taekook ♡

sfw 

omg! this is my first time remotely talking about bts on my blog hehe this is so exciting!! i don’t really read too much bts ff so this is going off of my own perception! 

i just wanna say....there’s so much to unpack here LOL but like many of the soulmates on this list, these boys are ~whipped~ for you and eachother!! its so stinkin’ cute 

another thing about these expensive boyfriends is that they loooove to sing for you too! they’d sing you to sleep, when you’re sick, sad, or just had a hard day allllways hehe 

the three of you have sickeningly adorable nicknames for eachother, the kind that honestly make heads turn LOL 

jk would without a doubt get tattoos with you!! and wine drunk lollll he’s also a huge enabler so if there’s anything that you’re considering buying or doing he’d hype you up so bad you barely have to think twice heheh 

kinda like junhao they’d also make amazing travel buddies but less for the aesthetic, but for the luxury. you’d stay at amazing hotels and eat at Michelin star restaurants wearing luxury brands that they bought for you

i feel like this goes without saying, buuuut in this r/ship, its alll about the adoring glances from afar or even just right next to you bc they love you so much!! 

i also get a very protective vibe from them as well, you’re very special to them, and they never wanna see you in harms way or disrespected by anyone! this could even look like having their arm around you on the bus or on the small of your back in a crowd 

together, they’re the biggest jokesters and flirty as HELL they think that it’s so funny when they flirt out in public AGRESSIVELY just to make you a lil embarrassed hehe  

forehead kissessss and kisses on the back of your hand! 

nsfw 

luxurious in this area tooooo 

they would rent out the penthouse or presidential suite to make an evening for you and pull out all the stops: expensive champagne, lingerie selected just for you, a breathtaking view of the city ahhhh 

ya all know how much i love my soft and intimateeee body touching and there would be plenty of this! they take their time undressing you and eachother and would plant kisses into the nape of your neck and shoulders as you do so! 

i would like to contribute to this conversation sub!jk bc this is something that ahhhhh i really like to think about as well as soft dom tae bcccc why not heheh 

these boys are utterly gorgeous under soft lighting and prowling all over your body too tho ahhh 

BUT! imagine teasing the hell out of jk, barely letting him feel your mouth besides fleeting kisses while tae drives his hips into you from behindddd 

in fact, these boys actually don’t mind a little voyeurism with the wide windows in your suite, opting to leave them open so there's a bit of thrill in the way that they fuck you too~ 

tae has a bit of...dare i sayyyy a power kink, so when you call him names such as sir, daddy, master etc oh boy 

jk himself is bit into sensory dep specifically with blindfolds especially when its your hands travelling all around his body making him shiver. 

both of them just looove cuming all over you as well: face, ass, thighs, belly, literally anywhere, they just think that you look amazing like that! 

there are a couple times here and there when the three of you also do a bit of cam work together for other people to watch--although it isn’t often, you rake it in when you do so. the three of you are a perfect fantasy! 

sex also can happen in odd places with you three too since you can just start feeling it and don’t really care ;) strangest place....hmm i’d say when you joined the mile high club with them~ 

~🌹~

Bunch of (Ro)ses! 

@minaamhh @dazzlehoseok @synnocence @jjewibeans @hyunsluvv @unexceptional-h @bobawithchaitea @lechanters @sailorhyunjinz @silencefavarchive @lunarskzzz  @yourdaddychan @bubblelixie @spnobsessedmemes @lmhmins @eunaeiekim

[biaswreckme]

looking for something right | jjk/knj

Summary: When Jungkook needs to find a new apartment with a roommate to share expenses, he thinks that the universe must be either laughing at him or conspiring in his favor. Because when he finally finds an ad that fits his budget, his roommate is the tall and handsome man from the coffee shop.

Pairing: Namjoon/Jungkook

Member: Namjoon, Jungkook, Jimin, Yoongi

Length: 3568 words

Genre: smut, fluff

Type of AU: roommates au, university au, coffee shop au (kinda) (yes i used all my favorite tropes and aus in one fic)

Rating: 18+

Triggers/Warnings: heavy pining, slightly dom!Namjoon, slightly sub!JK, dry humping, handjob, dirty talking

Project: @thebtswritersclub​ April project with the theme Bloom 🌸

A/N: A huge thanks to my lobely beta-readers @taegularities​​ AND @voiceswithoutlips for help in revising and editing ♥ and also @voiceswithoutlips for the conversation that inspired the smutty scene :3

cross-posted on AO3 too!

Jungkook had seen him around campus before, more specifically in his favorite small coffee shop just outside the university that was much cheaper and actually catered to students’ financial range when it came to prices. He always had a book with him - usually a tome so big Jungkook thought he could do some real damage to someone with it -, reading and taking notes in the margins, which Jungkook thought was an atrocity, but the other boy didn’t seem bothered or apologetic.

He must be an early riser, because he was always there before he arrived, a steaming cup of hot coffee on the table and a bottle of water next to a small open pencil case and sticky notes. He looked too well-put together to be an undergrad, so he assumed he was a grad student. Philosophy maybe? Or something that demanded a constant consumption of large books. And maybe - just maybe - Jungkook shouldn’t have been spending so much on coffee when he could be brewing it at his apartment, but his apartment didn’t have the tall boy - man? - to discreetly look at while having his morning drink.

What his apartment did have was Jimin, his close friend and dance major that moved from Busan at the same time as him. They’d been sharing a place for some time now, but things were about to change. Jungkook knew this had been coming, but the day Jimin came home announcing that he’d been accepted for a scholarship abroad and that he would need to move soon came as a shock. He was extremely happy for him, but they would need to rush the process of moving out and Jungkook finding a new place or roommate.

They opted to let the apartment go, and so Jungkook began his search for a new place to share. He’d looked at listings, visited some places that were out of his budget, and then he found it. It was a small poster at the coffee shop’s cork board from a guy named Namjoon; the place was a block away and it fit perfectly into his budget and what he wanted for the location. It seemed too perfect; there had to be a catch, right? He texted the number - who calls anyone these days anyways? - and arranged to meet him at the coffee shop the next day before classes.

The catch. Oh, there was a catch.

He entered the place as usual, and the only person there was the tall man with a book on the table, steaming drink in his hand. He looked up at Jungkook who froze for a second, nodding his head and going to the counter quickly, barely mumbling his order to the barista trying to not freak out at the eye contact. So he avoided it for the next few minutes, until he heard his name being called out. What? How did he know his name?

“Jungkook?” the man repeated.

“Yes?” he took a deep breath and turned around at the sound of the deep voice.

“I’m Namjoon,” he introduced himself, standing up and motioning for Jungkook to join him at the table. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be him. The universe had to be joking. “Nice to meet you.” He reached out to shake Jungkook’s hand.

He was touching him. And he smelled so good. And his voice was so deep. Jungkook felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush, sighing at the very sight of Namjoon, whose name he now knew. He nodded in response and looked at the counter, trying to take a break from that smile, pretending he was checking if his order was ready. It was not.

“So, you’re interested in the apartment, right?”

“Ah, yeah… my friend and roommate right now, Jimin, you might have seen him around campus? He’s an amazing contemporary dancer, so he got this incredible and super rare scholarship to go study at this academy... I forgot the name,” he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and stop his rambling - to no avail, “anyway he’s moving too soon and I need to find a new place but everything’s so expensive. Yours fits the budget and is so close to uni and I couldn’t help but check you out, I mean, check it out…” He closed his eyes in embarrassment at the slip up, hearing Namjoon’s soft chuckle.

“Alright. What are you studying? Undergrad or grad school?”

“Media. Photography, film making, this stuff. I’m into it. I mean. Excuse me,” he was saved by the barista calling him, and as soon as he got back to the table, he took a sip, burning his tongue - but at least it stopped him from babbling for a second. “Undergrad still,” he complemented.

“Cool. I’m in grad school for social studies, so I’m a TA, but I also work with music production,” Namjoon began, but upon Jungkook’s raised eyebrows and brown eyes rounding up, he continued. “I wanted to get a better grasp on understanding society, so I can write better lyrics and try to integrate that into the music writing itself, you know?”

Jungkook nodded, fascinated. So he was cute and smart. And captivating. The interview didn’t really seem like one; it was so easy to fall into conversation with Namjoon that he did not notice time passing, and soon enough they were cut short, remembering they still had classes to attend.

“Alright, Jungkook. You don’t seem like a serial killer, so how about you visit the apartment to see if you like it?”

Jungkook choked on the last sip of his drink, and he really wanted to answer that he did not need to see the apartment to know he liked him, but he managed to catch himself before letting it out. He knew what Namjoon was seeing right now: his eyes wide open in shock, maybe even a light blush on his cheeks? His ears certainly felt hot. Dear lord, he needed to get a grip on himself.

“I’m not a serial killer, I promise. I’m a law abiding citizen. When are you free? I have classes the whole day today, but I’m free around lunchtime.” Jungkook wanted to dig a hole and hide right in there. Did he sound too eager?

“The sooner the better, but wait,” Namjoon stopped midway while getting up, looking very serious all of a sudden, “I forgot a very important question that might change my mind.”

Jungkook inhaled deeply, dreading the question that was about to come. Did he seem too forward and let the other man know he was into him? Would that be a deal breaker?

“Can you cook?”

“Ah… yes?” Jungkook was caught by surprise, confusion stamped on his face again. “Yes, I can. The basics at least.”

“Oh great! I can’t cook to save my life and I can’t really afford to live on take out anymore, so… we can work something out with that for sure!” He laughed, those dimples adorning his cheeks appearing again.

Soon Jungkook would learn that not only could Namjoon not cook, but he was actually a disaster and walking hazard in the kitchen. The man didn’t even know to properly hold a cutting knife to chop some vegetables or kimchi for a simple plate of fried rice. They attempted cooking together one time and that was enough for Jungkook. That was his kitchen from now on, Namjoon would be responsible for other chores but he himself would do all the cooking in the kitchen. Namjoon was even forbidden from boiling water on an electric kettle; that was the level of disaster-waiting-to-happen that he was.

The apartment was cozy and filled with books and musical equipment, and soon enough Jungkook’s filming materials were sharing the same space. It warmed his heart to come home in the evenings after class and see how his camera bag would be sitting beside Namjoon’s headphones, or how his black chunky sneakers rested beside the other man’s boots at the entrance. Whenever he put on or took off his shoes - which was almost every single day of the week, mind you - he would get a fuzzy feeling in his stomach. He would tilt his head quickly to try and shake the thoughts away, not letting himself hope too much. He had no idea or indication if Namjoon even liked men, and he had no idea why he was even wishing for something more.

He was not exactly sure if he could pinpoint the precise moment in time when his adoration had turned into real infatuation with Namjoon. Maybe it was the fact that the older one was a disaster in the kitchen and always thanked Jungkook, each and every single meal the younger one cooked. Maybe it was the look he sported whenever he was engrossed in a book, glasses almost falling off his nose before a finger would softly push it back up (and Jungkook had found out that he only used his glasses comfortably at home, preferring contacts whenever he was out).

Maybe it was the way he always listened to Jungkook’s ramblings, no matter the topic of interest, from deep art films he had to watch (and Namjoon would actually sit down and watch with him) to the new game he’d been playing. Maybe it was the way he would always wish him a good morning and a good night with that dimpled smile. Maybe it was the way he offered to produce a freaking song to be used as a soundtrack to one of Jungkook’s short films. Maybe it was the way they ended up watching the first snowfall of the season together, side by side, looking out of the living room window. Maybe it was the way Namjoon’s left arm enveloped Jungkook’s shoulders in a soft side hug while they watched the snowflakes drift down and when Jungkook didn’t move, those dimples appeared on his cheeks.

But that was the only physical proximity for a while. The next day Jungkook could barely look at Namjoon and spent the day over at Yoongi’s place. He arrived just in time when Jimin was video calling his boyfriend, and proceeded to freak out about watching the first snow of the season together and it had to mean something, right? He put his arm around him while they stood in front of the window, Jimin, what the hell did it mean?

All the while Yoongi watched him with a cocked head, as if he was thinking hard about something, and then an amused smile shaped his lips. Jungkook thought it must have been because he had never had such a strong reaction for a boy - a man - before, especially one who was his roommate. Was it a brotherly hug? Namjoon hadn’t said anything or done anything else, did it mean he was interested in him or did he see Jungkook as a little brother? He was full of questions and asking them to the wrong people for sure, but he did not want to risk the little he had with Namjoon.

It was winter. The small affectionate moments he had with Namjoon were keeping him going, fueling and warming his heart enough to get through the coldest season. They watched movies together on the couch, huddled up under a blanket with cups of tea warming their hands. Going to the coffee shop in the morning for a cup of coffee before classes. Namjoon waiting for him outside the media building with a cup of hot chocolate in the evenings when he had classes later, walking back to the apartment together. Watching Namjoon work, focused on creating the loop he had been struggling with for a while, nothing seemed to fulfill what he wanted. Namjoon watching him work, editing an experimental short film he filmed for a class group project.

The freezing weeks passed like that, with Jungkook cooking different types of jjigae for them, Namjoon being allowed back in the kitchen mostly to keep him company, telling Jungkook he was hungry and will it take much longer?

He visited Yoongi once a week, calling Jimin together so he could freely talk about his growing fondness for Namjoon and get some advice he was keeping for when he thought the timing was right. Yoongi told him he had to create the right timing and he would actually probably be surprised if he acted on his desires. But Yoongi couldn’t know. He still had no clue about the mystery that was Namjoon’s love life, only that he had never taken anyone to the apartment.

Whether he was even interested in that, Jungkook had no idea, but he also had no courage to ask. Jimin suggested he did what he knew best: work with images. So he had been filming small snippets of their lives, their walks to their coffee shop, comfortable scenes at the apartment when no one else was looking but Jungkook through the camera lenses. Sometimes Namjoon asked to film Jungkook too, or positioned the camera so both of them were caught in the recording.

Winter went and spring came. Just as the flowers were starting to blossom on the street outside their windows, Jungkook was getting ready to show Namjoon the film. As he edited throughout the weeks, he noticed more than once how fondly he would look at the older man, and he could almost swear the gaze was reciprocated when he was not looking, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He made Yoongi promise he could crash at his place for a while in case things got weird and Namjoon kicked him out, to which Yoongi had let out a full laugh, something the boy had never heard before, and merely gave him a Sure, almost as if he was mocking Jungkook.

And so the day came. He chose the perfect song, adjusting his editing to fit the rhythm and lyrics, hoping it would express his love. Yes, he would call it love. He fell in love with the good person that the man was, with all the small quirks and imperfections.

He told Namjoon he had something to show, that he had finally finished his project and wanted to him to see. He waited for Namjoon to come back from his day out nervously, heart racing as he made them some tea while the man showered and got into more comfortable clothes. The video was ready to be played and Jungkook almost gave up, but decided this was the time.

He could not hide his feelings anymore.

And so he pressed play and closed his eyes. He had heard that song over and over again while editing, perfecting each millisecond of the final product. His heart was beating almost as loudly as the song, the sound filling his ears, his fingers clenching the fabric of his oversized black t-shirt, a shaky breath leaving his nose when he heard the final notes.

“Jungkook?”

He took a deep breath before opening his eyes, suddenly finding Namjoon’s face much closer than he was expecting, the man’s eyes staring into his own.

“I love you, too.”

The words had barely registered in his brain - although they had been imprinted on his heart - when Namjoon’s pillowy lips pressed softly against his, one of the man’s hands caressing his cheek, wiping at a tear he did not notice had fallen. He sighed into the kiss, relief perpassing his entire body. He loved him. When it finally clicked for him, his brain finally sent the necessary signals that made his arms go around Namjoon’s neck, his fingers entangling in the man’s hair and pulling him even closer. They moaned almost in synchrony when their tongues touched for the first time, Jungkook’s body almost undulating in a way that made Namjoon tug his hips towards himself, making the younger man sit on his lap.

“Fuck, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” the older broke the kiss, staring into Jungkook’s eyes, “been waiting for you,” he murmured against the younger’s lips. As their mouths clashed in an open-mouthed kiss, Namjoon pulled Jungkook’s longer hair, making him bend back so he could have access to the expanse of his neck.

Jungkook moaned when Namjoon’s lips pressed onto his skin, licking and biting and sucking and definitely leaving some marks, and all he could do was clutch the older’s biceps, shifting his hips to try and alleviate some of the pressure that was making his pants tighter. The hand that was not entangled in Jungkook’s dark strands made its way down his body, grabbing a firm buttcheek first, then going to the younger’s hip.

“Wanna ride me?” Namjoon asked low on Jungkook’s ear, biting his lobe after.

“Yes, hyung” the word came out as a whine from Jungkook’s lips, his hips starting to move aided by Namjoon’s firm grip. “Your thighs…” he started, but couldn’t continue when he adjusted his hips just right and his hard erection pressed against one of Namjoon’s thighs.

“Yeah? I’ve seen you looking at them, Kook. So go on, ride my thigh, come on,” he said as he flexed his muscles, his other hand joining the one at Jungkook’s hip, one on each side now to help him move, to watch him fall apart.

Jungkook just closed his eyes and surrendered, his hips moving on their own accord, pressing his cock closer and closer to Namjoon’s, soft whines and pleas tumbling out of his mouth as he lost himself in the movements. It was too much and not enough, his erection pressing just right so his skin glided back and forth on the fabric of his underwear stimulated by the older’s thigh, the couch too small for this - yet he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else at the moment. He needed it, and the sense of urgency overtook his body, his movements more frantic as he gripped the older’s hair and kissed him sloppily, letting out his breathy whimper against Namjoon’s lips. He wanted it.

“I’m… I’m close, hyung,” he had to pause to whimper again, a shiver going through his body from how close he was. “I want to touch you, hyung.”

“Touch me, Kook, make me cum with you, hold on just a bit,” Namjoon all but moaned into his lips when one of the younger’s hands reached into his pants.

Namjoon’s cock was heavy and hard and big, yet the skin was so soft in his hand, and Jungkook immediately closed his fist around it, his palm wet from the precum that had already gathered on the bulbous head, aiding his movement. And if Jungkook thought Namjoon’s speaking voice was deep, his mind and ears were certainly not prepared for the low guttural moan leaving those swollen lips, his own hips stuttering, pleasure coursing through his entire body, from the tip of his toes to the ends of his hair, his cock pulsating with release inside his pants as he pressed it against the strong thigh beneath him. He took a second to breathe and enjoy the tingling in his body, but soon noticed his hand had stopped. His gaze met Namjoon’s, his hand moving up and down inside the man’s pants.

“Cum for me, hyung, please,” he begged, wanting to pay attention to that moment of euphoria when it crossed his hyung’s face. And so it did; he watched as Namjoon threw his head back on headrest of the couch, hips raising and fucking into the tight grip around his cock, that heavy moan escaping his lips again as Jungkook felt the thickness of the release coating his hand. But he kept moving, prolonging Namjoon’s pleasure until it became too much and his hand was stopped, a smile stamped on the older man’s face.

There were no words needed for a while, until it seemed to finally click for Jungkook.

“Wait, you said you love me too.”

“I’ve been trying to express it for a while... And your eyes do this cute thing where they widen whenever you think you are caught and should change your gaze, so I noticed you were interested too. Plus Yoongi told me.”

“Wait, what?” He turned his head fast to look at Namjoon again, “You know Yoongi-hyung?”

And so he explained how they’ve known each other for years and how they’ve collaborated in music production before, under the names of RM and Agust D. He’d heard of RM, even heard Yoongi mentioning it more than once, and thinking back, he kept talking about RM more and more after he moved in with Namjoon. Oh. And then he remembered Yoongi’s smirks and head shakes, his certainty that Jungkook would not be turned down.

“You still haven’t said it.”

“I love you, Namjoon-hyung.”

And as Jungkook woke up the next morning, warm and cozy under Namjoon’s blankets, legs entangled and bodies pressed together, he breathed easier, lighter, happier. And he made a mental note to thank Jimin for applying for that scholarship and being so good that he’d gotten it. Maybe he would have met RM at some point, but he didn’t want to think of other possibilities. Living together and falling in love, getting to know each other was perfect for now.

They met in autumn, got closer through the cold days in winter, and their love bloomed in spring.

He could barely wait to see what summer had in storage for them.

[violetnotez]

Izuku x reader

⤷ Genre: Fluff, Barista AU!

⤷ Word Count: 7000+

⤷ Warnings: FLUFF (and maybe some second hand embarrassment!)

⤷ Synopsis: As your getting your morning coffee fix from a new cafe, your pleasantly meet with an extremely cute barista. Too bad he heard your name wrong though.

Song Recs: ⤷Sweater Weather-The Neighbourhood ⤷I Dont Know Why-NOTD ⤷Touch and Go-Ed Sheeran

This is for the Izuku Month! PLs go and check out the awesome writers participating for this month!

Please ignore all my banners being 20 different sizes I can’t figure out which size I like best 😂

You stepped into the shop, the warm smell of spices and coffee beans filling the air. It felt so warm and cozy, the whirring of the machines going on in the background as you breathed out a deep sigh.

It was one of your first days off in what seemed like an extremely long time, so you thought it would only be fitting to do some exploring today. You had always wanted to try this coffee shop, as it was acclaimed for its signature “Hero Themed” Lattes, so of course you had to at least try one.

The line was fairly long, as any popular cafe would be in the morning, people bustling to get their caffeine fix before they did their daily routine.

You got a spot in line, opening up the cafe’s Instagram page to look at all the wonderful options. Everything looked so yummy and delicious, your mouth salivating at each picture posted. Your eyes were glued to the screen, your feet only moving once you felt the body in front of you inch forward.

It didn’t take long for a chirpy voice to call in front of you, a welcoming “Next Please!” ringing against your ear. You looked up, your mind finally deciding on what drink you wanted- until your eyes landed on quite possibly the prettiest boy you had ever seen.

His hair was unruly and curly, a mixture of greens cascading across his face. His eyes complimented his hair so well, the bright emerald orbs full of happiness and kindness. He was just adorable, his pearly white smile aimed straight at you, not a hit of worry amidst the chaos around him from the morning rush.

You gave him a meek smile, your cheeks on fire-god, how were you gonna order and not be completely flustered? This boy was literally gorgeous!

Your feet took you to the counter as you clutched your phone with shaky hands.

“Hi miss, what can I getcha?” He asked sweetly, his hands grabbing a cup. A Sharpie was posed in his fingers, waiting to start writing down exactly what you wanted to order. After being blessed with this beautiful specimen of a man in front of you, you completely forgot what you wanted to drink.

You hastily looked at the menu above your head, searching for the coffee you had planned to ask for. Nothing seemed right, and you were cursing yourself for looking so clueless. 

This poor guy was probably already super busy, and you were now holding him up!

“Having some trouble?” He asked, noticing your obvious dilemma.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” you apologized, your lips shaped in a soft smile, “I kinda forgot what I wanted to order!”

“Oh no worries, really, I totally understand!” he grinned, “the menu is pretty big!”

“Yeah, it is!” you chuckled lightly, your cheeks feeling warm. “What do you recommend?”

The boy smiled at you, your heart swooning. God, how could he be so pretty!!

Wait-did he have freckles?!? The faint specks sparkled against his pinkish cheeks, making you fall for the boy even more. You had barely talked to this boy for 2 minutes and you were already head over heels.

He seemingly didn’t notice your heart pained crisis, his eyes bright as ever.

“Oh, everything on the menu is amazing! The Hawks latte is quite nice, it’s very light and airy-as well as the Endeavor, but it has cinnamon and gives it a pretty good kick-” he began rambling on about the drinks, his eyes brightening just talking about them. You couldn't fathom how he could talk so fast, the words melding into one as he listed off the most popular drinks.

His voice was melodic though, so soft and calming-yet so excited too. His voice could make calculus interesting to you.

“-but my personal favorite is the All Might drink,” he blushed slightly, his face clearly a little embarrassed as he relayed this information to you.

You grinned at his adorable expression, noticing the small All Might pin he had neatly stuck into the front of his apron.

“You're an All Might fan I’m assuming?” You noted, your voice amused and kind as you pointed at the enamel pin.

He touched the front of his apron, looking down as he tried to follow your line of eyesight.

“Oh-oh yeah!” He smiled brightly once he realized what you were referring to, “ever since I was a kid, he’s always been my favorite!”

He beamed at you, his voice stuttering slightly.

He was so adorable and  a nerd too? God, you could marry him on the spot. 

You grinned at him, flashing the back of your phone case and revealing the All Might pop socket in the back.

His eyes widened like saucers in shock, his smile growing even wider as he laid eyes on the fan merch.

“I might be an All Might fan myself,” you admitted, your heart thumping in your chest.

“Then you have to try the All Might latte!” He exclaimed, “If-if you want to try it of course..”

“I’m down!” You smiled brightly, watching how his face light up when you agreed as he hastily wrote down the drink order on the side of the cup.

“Can I-I get your name?” He stuttered slightly, his eyes wide and doe-like.

His hand holding the Sharpie was hovering over the cup, watching you with expectant eyes. You took a small breath, your words about to spill out of your mouth-until an extremely loud blender erupted in noise behind the counter.

“It’s y/n,” you tried to yell over the sounds, feeling a little bit of awkwardness fill your stomach as he cocked his head to the side, obviously confused.

He opened his mouth, words dribbling out but nothing being heard as the machine continued to whir on.

You internally cursed that damn thing for ruining the cute moment you had with this hot barista, your cheeks aflame as you nodded numbly to his question.

Whatever he asked couldn’t matter that much-right?

He smiled widely, accepting your answer as he hastily wrote your name on the side of the cup and told you the price of the drink. You quickly paid, your eyes drinking him in one last time-he was just so cute and adorable, you wanted to permanently get each detail of his emblazed into your memory.

He handed you your receipt and change back to you, his grin as wide as ever.

“My name is Izuku-Izuku Midoriya,” he added, his cheeks warm and his voice stuttering slightly, “just in case if you need anything else!”

You giggled softly, a little confused by his comment but nevertheless ecstatic by it.

His name! It was so unique, yet so innocent sounding and kind, you couldn’t help but feel your heart soar at the sound.

“Thank you Izuku,” you waved him politely, your heart pumping as you found an empty table to sit and wait for your drink. Your arms rested on the cool surface, the chair squeaking slightly as you shifted in a comfortable position. The machines continued to whir, the sounds of multiple conversations cascading throughout the small space. You began going through your social media, trying to suppress the wide smile that was trying to blossom over your face. You had just met the cutest guy ever- and weren't even trying! It almost felt so surreal, as if this moment was too good to be true.

“MIru!”

You began to hear his voice repeating a name, calling out for a customer to get their drink. You continued to look down at your phone, a small part of you saddened that it wasn't your name he was calling out.

“Uh-Miru?”

He continued to call out that same name, his voice getting a little louder each time. He almost sounded worried, hesitant even, as if he was confused about what was going on.

Thats weird- that person should have gotten their drink by now, you thought vaguely, noticing people were beginning to notice his voice as well.

“Wait, why are they looking at me?” you wondered, A small ounce of panic filling your stomach, making it feel heavy like lead as you finally looked around. 

A few customers were giving you strange looks, your head swiveling now to look at Izuku.

Wait- why is he looking at me? You thought in horror, your eyes meeting the kind, emerald orbs of Izuku’s. He looked relieved once you finally made eye contact with him, a bright smile blossoming under those freckled cheeks of his. He gave a tentative wave, motioning for you to come over.

Well thats weird-the name he was calling out wasnt even close to yours-

You got up anyway, unable to disobey the kind eyes of Izuku. You pushed your chair under the table, the legs squeaking against the shiny floor as you shuffled your way to the counter.

“Hi again!” he said cheerfully, his voice shy and sweet against your ears. ‘Its-Miru, right?”

Oh no-wait-

You finally put two and two together, a horrible realization bursting inside you- 

he heard your name wrong.

Oh crap, why did this have to happen to you? How did he hear get your name that bad?? 

 You finally meet a nice guy, someone actually genuine and kind, you hit off of, and bam-something comes to screw it all up.

In this case-an obnoxiously loud blender turned on at just the worst time.

You licked your lips, your mouth parting slightly to tell him, no, in fact, that was not your name-

But you looked again at that charming face of Izuku’s, his expressions glazed with innocence and nerves as he waited expectantly for your answer. The poor guy had called out this random name for a 2 whole minutes, probably feeling so idiotic as he waited for you to come and get your drink. Your cheeks burned at the thought, feeling embarrassed for both you and him. He must have felt so awkward standing there, just staring at you in confusion as he called out your “name” and you not even moving a muscle! If you told him he had gotten your name completely wrong, he would feel even worse about the whole situation, most likely feeling extremely embarrassed for something that wasnt even his fault.

You didnt want to make him feel anymore nervous or awkward than he already felt-you decided to swallow your pride, your head meekly nodding in a “Yes.”

His face immediately light up, obvious relief flooding his expression.

“Oh, thats great!” he exclaimed, a nervous chuckle spilling from his lips, “for a second there, I thought I was saying your name wrong…”

“Yeah, imagine how embarrassing that would be,” you said, your voice hesitant as you gave him a nervous smile.

Oh, if he only knew.

“I-uh-I don't when you'll be able to come back, but-but I have some pro hero collectibles I'd really like to show you-of course, only if you're interested!” the poor boy was stuttering again, his words melding into one.”IknowyourprobablyreallybusyandIdon'twanttopressureyouitsjustIvenevermetagirlwholikeheroessomuch-”

You laughed sweetly at the boy’s obvious dilemma, his speech beginning to quicken at an ungodly rate as his cheeks blossomed adorably with red.

“You're a talker, aren't ya?” you said between giggles, your hand grabbing the drink from his. Your fingers brushed against each other momentarily, your heart quickening by the sudden contact.

“Id love to see them Izuku,” you gave him a small smile, his green orbs widening slightly and then scrunch up into a bright, nervous grin  as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Can you come in on Tuesday-at 8? I know thats a little early but we aren't very busy then-”

You looked up, your teeth catching your lip as you thought over your schedule, the drink beginning to chill your palm.

“Thats sounds perfect, Ill see you on Tuesday, then,” you gave the boy a small smile, your eyes glinting mischievously, “Ill bring my signed All Might poster with me too-”

“A WHAT?!” he practically screamed those words, his voice giddy with excitement. “THE All MIght signed your-”

“Hey, Fanboy, can you please come back- we kinda need your help right now!” A girl with pink skin and piercing yellow eyes yelled over her shoulder, both her hands occupied as she swirled whip cream over two drinks at the same time. A girl with a brown bob was taking orders at warp speed, her face clearly in distress as the line somehow got longer as you two were talking.

“Oh-uh-of course Mina, Ill be right there!” he yelled back, his shyness returning as he gave you a small smile.

“Im sorry, I have to go-”

“No worries! I dont want to be taking more of your time,” you replied, a little bit of embarrassment dripping inside you as you sipped your coffee. Even though you felt guilty for talking to him for so long, you couldnt help but feel warm and fuzzy all over. He asked to to come back! This guy was so adorable you could practically scream. “Ill see you on Tuesday then?”

“Yeah-Tuesday!” he chuckled softly, “It was nice meeting up Miru.’

Oh yeah-he didnt actually know your name.

Your cheeks flushed with red , embarrassment building inside you as you remembered the miscommunication.

“Uh-uh-yeah, bye Izuku!” you hastily replied back as you walked over to the exit, making sure to keep your back to the boy as you used your shoulder to open it, a burst of chilled air hitting you.

God, your cheeks were so red- you sucked on your drink, hoping the intense coldness would cool down your face some.

It sucked that he had heard your name wrong, but the guy was too hot-you just didnt have the heart to tell him the truth then and there.

Oh well, you sighed, walking back to your car, there’s always time….

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Next time never came.

You, of course, took Midoriya on his offer to meet up with him the next week. He had shown you pictures of his collection of hero figurines, and boy did he have a lot.

He seemed sheepish, showing you, his cheek blossoming red like a tomato, his freckles like specks of stars pecking out of a hazy sunset. He had stuttered as he held out his phone (an All Might phone case in the back of course), as he explained that he had been collecting since he was a kid.

You chuckled at his adorable demeanor- but god, he really had been collecting for years! His whole room was decked out in All mIght gear-it was quite impressive, but you had to giggle at the kid-ish nature of the room.

You, of course, had brought in the poster, which had brought tears to poor Midoriya's eyes. You would have thought he had won the lottery, his shrieks of excitement filling the empty cafe as he gushed over the signature

 It was strange to see him without a crowd of people, the stress nowhere evident in his soft complexion as he freaked out over your piece of memorabilia.

You could truly appreciate him and his beauty when he wasn’t scrambling to get orders now, his laugh bright and unapologetic, his fanboy screams squeaky yet sweet. He radiates brightness, his whole body like a ball of energy of warm sunshine.

A bright sun in the cosmos.

You were gravitated to him, unable to stop yourself to want to know more and,learn everything about him: what he liked, what he didn’t like, his favorite food, his favorite color, his aspirations in life-any and every thing that made up Izuku Midoriya you wanted to document like you were his personal biographer.

It did feel awkward that he still called you by that silly name, but you were too embarrassed at that point to even confront him about it. You had visited his shop on the same day and time for the past 2 months, pegging for the poor boy like a puppy yearning for attention. At this point, you were getting quite antsy to go out with him, but he was still so nervous around you you were afraid to screw it up.

If you told him your name was wrong, would he be too embarrassed? Would it screw up the relationship you two had created from quick interactions behind a counter? Had you catfished in some weird way by playing along with the name he had mistakenly given you?

You were overthinking it, you knew it, but you were too terrified about the possibility of losing Izuku that you sucked up your worries. You had taken the name as a nickname now, the sound coming from his lips making your ears ting red and biting your lip in embarrassment. You were dying to hear your real name play against his lips, wondering how the word would sound in his sweetly honey voice

“Here ya go, one Mirko cappuccino!” Izuku shouted sweetly, his bright teeth gleaming under the fluorescent lights and morning sun.

You smiled at the green headed boy, your hands resting on the marble. The top felt cool against your skin, the flecks of brown like confetti as it glimmered against the lights.

You watched as he shuffled from behind the counter, sliding through a small gate as he walked towards you. Your heart skipped a beat dramatically.

He rarely came out from behind the counter, but when he did, it always made your breath disappear and your eyes get wide with flusteredness. For some reason, seeing him in all his glory, from his shaggy forest hair to his well built forearms made your mouth dry as you stared into those green orbs of his.

That permanent blush still played in his cheeks, the freckles matching the glimmering countertop perfectly as he stared down at you slightly. He handed you the drink, his fingers brushing against yours gently.

You internally screamed, your heart palpitating from the feathery touch. His skin was so warm and rugged, your index brushing gently against a raised scar. You had never noticed that slight imperfection on his otherwise unblemished skin, and your mind began reeling at the possibilities to why it was there.

Just another part of Midoriya you wanted to desperately learn and selfishly document for yourself.

You wrapped your hands around the thick paper of the cup , the texture rough yet warm against your fingertips.

“Can you maybe tell me how it tastes the next time you come in?” He looked down at you with a sheepish grin, his lips plump and pink as he talked, “ I’ve never made one before and I hope I didn’t make it too strong with the cinnamon,”

You took a deep breath, trying to will yourself to calm down. You internally thanked that Izuku was pretty oblivious to any type of flirting, or he would have definitely noticed you gawking at his lips.

“Definitely!” you smiled, “I’ll think you’ll be fine though, Mirko is a pretty feisty hero. There’s not enough cinnamon in the world to match her personality,”

Izuku chuckled at your comment, his hand scratching the back of his neck. “That’s very true! She definitely is one of the more spicier drinks we have...Im still experimenting with hers to make it just right,”

You nodded with his words, taking a sip of the drink as he talked. It really was filled with spice, the slight burn of the cinnamon pleasant as it rolled down your throat.

“I’ve actually been also working on a new drink as well,”

“Oh really,” your eyes widened in curiosity, “what hero is it based off of?”

A blush creeped onto his rosy cheeks yet again, his eyes downcast as he avoided your gaze.

““It’s not a hero, actually, just-it’s-kinda- special to me-since I’ve been thinking about it for some time... if that makes sense…

“I get it,” you said, your voice reassuring, “you're just really passionate about it-Im excited to try it, anything you make is amazing!”

“Oh-oh thank you!” he chuckled at your praise, unable to stop the stutters spilling from his mouth.

“I’m-I’m not quite done with it, but next time you come… I can explain it more and let you try it if you like!”

“Of course! I’d love to,” you smiled at the greenette, blood rushing to your ears as you stared at his bright complexion.

You swallowed thickly, not sure where to look as you tried to erase the flustered expression on your face.

He was too good and pure for this world-This boy could stomp on your heart and you’d say thank you.

You shakily stepped away from him, your hands clutching the drink like an anchor as you walked yourself to the door. you waved him a small goodbye, a smile gracing your lips as your eyes drank in Izuku one last time. It was a shame you only saw him for once a week, and you made sure to burn his image into your mind to satiate you for the next few days.

“Bye ‘Zuku, Ill see you next week!”

He waved back to you, a bright grin displayed on his rosy cheeks.

“Bye!”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

He heard the chime of the door jingle as you walked out the door, his eyes following you as you walked away from the store.

He watched you through the elongated windows of the cafe, your drink he made you in hand as he peered through the window. He did this every time you left, his neck straining as he tried to follow you, making sure you got into your car safely.

Heat rose in his cheeks, watching you walk away from him leaving a sad pit in his stomach.

He hated watching you leave, but it never stopped him from gawking at you when you go.

His breath felt tight in his chest, pure love flooding from his heart as your hair flowed delicately with your walk, his eyes trailing down to your beautiful legs-

“Hey Fanboy, you done gawking at your girlfriend,” he heard his pink skinned coworker call, her tone amused and teasing.

He jumped from where he was standing, his face erupting in red as he stumbled around his words.

“Oh-uh-hey Mina, I wasn’t doing anything I don’t know what your talking about-“

She walked around the counter, her finger pointing at him accusingly.

“Don’t lie to me mister! I know a love sick boy when I see one-and you,”

She poked her finger into his chest, her pink lemonade skin intimidatingly close to his, “are love sick.”

She threw her head back, her voice booming and bright- “You can come out Ochaco!”

The brown bob of Izuku’s other worker peaked out from the back door, her eyes wide with relief.

“Oh good! I would have felt bad if I walked in on you guys flirting-“

Izuku waved his hands frantically in front of him, his face as red as a tomato.

“We weren’t flirting I swear thatsnotwhatitwas-“

Mina laughed at the boys clear distress, her cotton candy tresses bouncing as she shook her head.

“You can’t fool us Midoriya-whenever your flustered your voice goes up like 10 octaves and you get redder than Kirishima’s hair,”

Izuku chuckled nervously as he tried to cover up his nerves as his coworker berated him. Ochaco walked over to the two, her kind aura making the air a little less thick as she looked up at Izuku with sympathy.

“It’s really sweet you like that girl so much-she seems to like you alot too,”

Mina shook her head in agreement, her canines glinting in the morning light.

“Oh definitely! Any girl that would still hang around after seeing Midoriya’s All MIght Room must be a keeper-“

“Have you gotten her number yet Midoriya?” Ochako asked, her eyes wide and curious, “Have you messaged her?”

Izuku scratched the back of his head, his eyes downcasted. He already knew the reaction he was going to get from his bubbly and sometimes feisty coworkers, and he wasn’t quite ready for their outburst.

“Oh no, well, we never exchanged numbers-“

“YOU NEVER EXCHANGED NUMBERS?!? Mina practically screamed, her yellow eyes blown huge like lemons.

“ We are in the 21st century Midoriya!” She yelled,

“Well we never quite got to-doing that-“ Izuku tried to reason, Mina clearly still flabbergasted and not impressed by his excuse

“Still-how.have.you.not. DONE THAT?!?”

Uraraka looked between the two, Mina on her tippy toes as she chewed him out, Izuku flushed with red. It was almost comical to watch, yet Uraraka felt sympathy for the poor boy who knew nothing about romance.

“Mina maybe-“ Uraraka placed a hand on the pink girl’s shoulder.

“Unbelievable!!” Mina continued, her head shaking, “I swear you live under a rock! Why haven’t you-she’s clearly into you!!”

Izuku’s eyes were like saucers, his hands shaking as he denied the girl.

“Oh no, she’s not, she can’t-were just friends, I bet she only come she only comes here for the coffee-“

Mina placed her hand on her hip, giving Ochaco a side eye look. The two girls watched the blubbering Izuku spill falsities from his lips, both quite sick of his denial

“Midoriya-,” Mina stated, her voice serious and honest, “there is no way-this girl is only ‘coming for the coffee’”

Uraraka nodded with Mina, her voice sweet like honey as she confirmed her pink friend’s words.

“You should see how she looks at you Izuku-her face lights up and her cheeks get so blushy! And whenever you talk to her her smile gets so much brighter!”

“You should see her when she looks at your behind too-“

“Mina!”

Uraraka swatted the girl playfully with her arm, earning a laugh from the pink toned girl.

“What, it’s the truth! She likes you Midoriya, she’s practically head over heels-“

Izuku listened to the two girls sheepishly, not knowing quite what to do with himself. All these weeks he had been hoping against hope you had liked him back-ever since that day he met you he felt he was destined to know you. He had never met a girl so welcoming and sweet, let alone as gorgeous as you. The fact you had accepted his quirky, nerdy side so quickly as well as were interested in his obsessions practically made his heart swoon with joy. Every week he looked forward to seeing you, counting down the minutes and seconds before he heard that welcome chime of the door announcing your arrival every Tuesday morning.

He thought about you all the time, wishing he knew what it felt like to hear your voice over the phone, to hold your hand, to see you in a pretty dress as he took you out to a nice restaurant...He was scared of rejection, and the fear you didn't like him back suffocated him, but these words from his coworkers were definitely boosting some of his confidence.

“R-really???” He stuttered, “ I-I didnt know all that…”

The two girls nodded their heads, their smiles wide as they watched their flustered coworker.

“You like her back, right?” Uraraka tilted her head, her brown strands cascading across her cheeks.

Izuku nodded his head quickly, his eyes wide and cheeks aflame.

Mina reached out, her hands latching onto Midoriya's bicep and squeezing reassuringly. “Then ask her out-Or at least get her number so the poor girl isn’t spending her money on coffee every week to just see you-“

“I-I actually was going to ask the next time she came in,”

Izuku looked to his side as the two girls gasped in awe. Uraraka let a squeal slip from her lips, her cheeks bright as ever.

“Oh Izuku that’s amazing! How were you going to ask?”

He shuffled his feet, feeling a little exposed with all the excessive attention on him. His hands began to squirm and wring together, his eyes looking to the side under his coworkers intense stares.

“Well, I-I made this new drink...and I actually made it based off of her- I’ve been writing down all the flavors she likes and doesn’t like and making a drink that’s perfect for her...,”

His coworkers were quiet-too quiet.

He looked up, a pit of fear growing in his stomach as he gazed at each of their faces, their shocked faces making him feel insecure about his plan.

“Is that-too weird??” He asked hesitantly.

The air left his chest as the two girls threw their bodies at him in a tight bear hug, their voices gushing over the boy.

“Oh Izuku that’s adorable!”

“You're such a meat head about love but thats so freaking cute!”

Ochaco and Mina were squealing, the tightness of their hug squeezing all air from his lungs. His knees locked from the sudden force, stumbling as he tried to support the two gushing girls.

“It’s was just an idea, I didn’t realize you two would like it-“ he squeaked out.

The two girls finally let go of their vice-like hug, their giggles and smiles radiating off their faces.

“We LOVE.” Mina started, her grin wide. “As women, we put our stamp of approval!”

“Really?”

“Of course! It’s honestly so adorable, I’m kinda jealous-“

As Mina was praising the blushing boy, Ochaco looked out the window, her smile slowing dropping into a tired grin.

“Uh, guys… I think we should start getting ready…”

A massive group of what seemed like 10 women in work clothing were bounding down the street, their eyes staring through the windows of the cafe as if they were already anticipating stepping inside.

Mina sighed, her face hardening as she started walking to the drink station, already prepping drink cups for the anticipated rush.

“But not as jealous as I am of that flower business that closed down last week. Get ready babes, morning rush is coming!”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

It was finally the next week, and you were extremely excited to see Midoriya again. Even if it was only for a few minutes, just speaking to him light up your whole day and the rest of your week. 

You wished sadly you could get to see or hear from him every day, instead of every week, but you knew the boy was too nervous still to say anything about his feelings (if he did have them towards you). You were getting antsy with each passing visit to just ask him out yourself, but you were too afraid of scaring off the flustered boy. 

You weren't very keen on just letting him go though, so you decided you’d keep up this little arrangement you two had-For as long as it would take.

You opened the glass door of the cafe, a gust of cold air sweeping your lungs and the scent of coffee enveloping your nose. You took a deep breath in, willing your heart to calm down to the calming scent.

As you did every time you came, no one was inside-Midoriya really knew when the cafe was empty. You bypassed the long line, walking yourself over to the front counter.

Midoriya seemed to not have noticed your entrance, his back towards you as he hummed to the song playing softly throughout the shop. You smiled at his adorable sounds, appreciating the broadness of his back as his green tresses cascaded against his neck.

You cleared your throat slightly, smiling softly as Midoriya turned around. He jumped slightly at your sudden entrance, a soft yelp cascading out of his lips.

“Oh hey Miru!I didn’t even notice you came in!”

He chuckled as you winced slightly at the name, quickly recovering with a sheepish smile.

“Obviously” you giggled, resting your hands on the cool countertop, “ you looked like you saw a ghost!”

You gazed into his green orbs, the color sending a warm shiver along your back. They were so vibrant, so expansive, that it was like getting lost in a forest, yet you weren’t scared in the slightest. You welcomed that lost feeling, that sense of adventure to flood your systems and calm your fluttering heartbeat. 

 If you weren’t careful though, you’d get lost in those galaxies that were his eyes, forever adrift in those irises.

He smiled at you, the apples of his cheeks prominent with freckles as he gazed down at you.

“Well it’s felt so long since I last saw you!” He exclaimed, a warm hue in his cheeks.

You smiled mischievously, tilting your head at the boy. “I hardly think 5 days is a ‘long time’,”

“Well, for me it is,” Izuku stared blissfully at your face, his voice extremely soft and gentle.

Your head exploded with happy screams and alarms, feeling the heat rush to your face. He was looking at you with those doe-like eyes, like he was basking in peace with your presence next to him.God, why did he have to be so cute?

He seemed to not even notice how his comment sounded until he noticed your change in demeanor, your cheeks and ears tinged with an intense red. Once it dawned on him he had just-well-flirted with you, he became instantly flustered.

He chuckled uncontrollably, his voice going up an octave.

“I, Uh,well I mean it’s just felt like a while and I have seen you in quite a bit of time did you get a new hair cut maybe that’s what it is-“

You giggled , shaking your head. The poor boy was a stuttering mess, his tongue melding his words into one to the point you couldn’t distinguish a thing.

It always made you feel better about your flusteredness around Midoriya-no matter how nervous you felt, Midoriya always seemed to be ten times more nervous than you.

You reached across the counter, your hand tentative as your fingers laid against his.

You internally screamed in happiness-the skin feeling so comfortable and warm against your own. Your movement seemed to hush Midoriya long enough for him to stop stuttering, his Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly.

His cheeks were red with heat, his eyes wide as he stared at you.

“It’s fine, really,” you grinned, “5 days feels pretty long to me too.”

You let your hand rest on Midoriyas for a few more seconds, memorizing the soft texture of his skin in your own.

 It was intoxicating, he was intoxicating, and it took everything out of you to pull yourself away.

You were now outright flirting with him, even if he wasn’t intentionally flirting with you. He was fidgeting and blushing like a schoolgirl-he clearly knew you were flirting back.

 You bite your lip in fear, hoping you didn’t scare him off.

“So, Uh, you said you had a new drink?” You said awkwardly, not quite sure how to act normally after your comment, “were you able to finish it?”

Izuku perked up, a grin gracing his face as his cheeks were still on fire.

“Oh! Yeah I did actually!” He swallowed again, his hands wringing together. “Did-did you want to try it?”

“Of course!” You beamed at the boy, your heart skipping as your eyes focused on those adorable freckles. Your hand went to your wallet, already skimming for your debit card. “How much do I-“

He instantly waved his hands in front of him, stopping your search.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured your confused expression, a timid smile in his lips. “This ones on the house,”

“Oh-okay,” you thanked the boy, earning a small nod as he began to make your drink.

Whenever he made your order, he was usually so talkative, speaking about anything and everything from hero stats to college classes. Yet, for some reason the boy was extremely quiet as he crafted your drink.

It made you feel uneasy-did you scare him? You knew Izuku was pretty flustered to any type of flirting-hell, he would blush if you simply said “Good Morning.”

Maybe you make him uncomfortable? A pit grew in your stomach at the thought, not knowing quite what to do as you watched him do his work.

But he didn’t seem that on edge, right? He didn’t push your hand away, and his smiles were still genuine. Maybe he was just worried about making the drink right-

Right?

Izuku broke your train of thought as he was now standing right next to you, his chest mere inches from yours as he stared down at you with loving eyes. His hand held your drink, the coffee the color of thick honey. His fingers were fidgeting slightly, as if his nerves were taking over as he presented it to you with a sheepish grin.

You didn’t expect him to be so close, but you weren’t regretting it at all. Your heart felt tight against your chest, blood rushing to your ears as the only thing you could focus on was Midoriya’s presence so close to yours.

You cleared your throat, trying to act casual and hide your clearly obvious shock.

“For me?” You asked thickly, wincing internally at your question. 

Of course it was for you, you were the only person in this whole cafe getting coffee! 

Sometimes Midoriya could make your brain feel like mush-and you didn’t quite enjoy it.

He seemed to not notice how silly your question sounded, his head bobbing a “yes”.

“I-I hope you like it,” he smiled sweetly, handing you the drink. 

Your hands grazed yet again, your heart palpitating as you took a sip of the drink. It was cold against your dry tongue, coating it in its sugary goodness.

Your eyes were instantly went wide like saucers once the flavor enveloped your tongue-holy shit, this was good-like liquid gold.

“Oh my god, Midoriya,” you said between gulps of the amber liquid, “this is-amazing!”

He chuckled softly at your obvious praises, his hands scratching the back of his neck.

“I was hoping you’d say that….I-“ he swallowed, his face contorted in two, as if he was battling internally with something. 

You looked up, momentarily pausing your gulps as you watched the boy with concern. He took a deep breath, his face downcasted and worried as he began to speak, his voice quiet and vulnerable.

“I-I actually based it off of you, and the flavors you like. 

All these coffees are based off of heroes, people that are extremely special to my life and have been my obsession since I was a child and even now. It’s just so strange to me though, because for as long as I could remember heroes and their work were the only thing I could ever really think of. But-but there's been something that’s been taking up my thoughts, and their the only thing I can think about-I guess you could say I have a new obsession.”

You looked up at him with shocked eyes, your lips parted as you stared at him with a thumping heart.

His voice was so soft, so gentle-as if he was pouring out all his feelings in just a few breaths.

“And what's that?” You asked hesitantly, leaning into the boy as you waited for his answer. You felt your lungs taking in less air, your nerves kicking in as you searched his face.

You watched his eyes suddenly look into yours, making your heart stop and your breath hitch in your throat. You felt yourself get fully enveloped in those green orbs, the expanse of forest caught in those irises of his. 

A gulp could be heard from Izuku, his cheeks red like cherries.

“My new obsession is-is you,” he struggled with the words, his voice timid and scared.

“I love talking to you Miru, I really do-and I was wondering if maybe-we could get lunch someday?? Without coffee involved?” He chuckled a little as he tried to lighten the mood, his eyes downcasted as he avoided your gaze.

You felt like you scream-it HAPPENED??? He was finally, finally asking you out??? You felt like you could cry and laugh at the relief flooding your body, your hands itching to wrap around his neck and kiss him from giddiness.

You restrained yourself from doing that, but the huge grin enveloping your face was hard to contain.

“I’d love to Midoriya! I’m so happy you asked, Ive been wanting to go out with you for so long now-“ you giggled nervously at your confession, your hands wrapped around your drink as you cuddled it close to your chest.

Your cheeks were suddenly enveloped in red, a  realization dawning on you, 

He still didn’t know your name-well, not your real name.

“Uh-one problem though,”

Midoriya’s eyes grew wide with concern, his lashes fluttering as he blinked.

“Oh-okay…” He replied timidly, “what is it?”

You sighed, your teeth catching your bottom lip in nervousness. How could you tell him that he had been calling you the wrong name for close to 2 months now?! Embarrassment filled your stomach, your mind internally kicking you for not correcting him a long time ago.

You cleared your throat, trying to make your tone sound nonchalant.

“Well-Miru  isn’t my name. My real name is y/n”

“Wait-what?!?” Midoriya practically shrieked, his eyes wide with bewilderment. His voice went up an octave, something you noticed he did when he was completely shocked. A small chuckle escaped your lips, his face completely comical.

“Yeah, the day we met you heard my name wrong… but I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I kinda just let you keep saying it-.”

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry y/n I didn’t realize I was being so rude if I would have known I would have never called you that I cant believe i got your name so completely wrong-“

He was freaking out, you could tell-his whole face was red, his tongue slipping and flailing over his words as he tried to apologize profusely.

Your heart went out for the poor boy, guilt filling your stomach for not telling him sooner.

“It’s fine Izuku, really! It’s my fault I didn’t say anything! Let’s just exchange numbers and forget it all happened, Kay?”

Your hand lightly went out to touch his arm, your fingers laying lightly on his shirt sleeve as you smiled at him sweetly. That seemed to calm him down, the speed of apologies finally stopping against his lips.

“Oh-okay sure!” He returned your smile, his eyes bright and loving.

 “ Ya know, I like y/n better…”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Bonus:

“You idiot!” Mina shrieked, her hand flailing a spoon at him like a weapon. “You got her name wrong! How do you even do that!”

Izuku stuttered, unable to figure out how to calm down the fiery girl in her angry rant.

“It-it was a mistake, it was loud and I heard it wrong-“

Mina huffed, her yellow eyes piercing as she flung the spoon around again, Midoriya dodging it as she continued to scold him.

“You are lucky- she is one of the nicest girls you will ever meet! If you did that to any girl they’d drop your ass like a dead fly!”

“Mina I-“

Mina then pointed the spoon right at his face, his eyes going cross eyed as he stared at the curve of the utensil with fear. His hands went up as against his body, his palms out in a sign of peace as Mina leaned herself aggressively towards him.

“Don’t you dare mess this up Izuku Midoriya! She is the best thing you will ever find!”

Taggings:

@weebartistinc​ @orokayagi​ @leeeah-loooser​ @bakarinnie​ 

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 28

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 1/?

A/N: Alright, an update and this time /almost/ on time! So, here's the thing: we are starting the so called 'Waystation arc', which will be many, many chapters because I have way too many ideas despite the fact that Leo and Cal won't even be there that long. So, please bear with me, I know this chapter is kind of a fillery one but I can't really skip the introductions 😅 More interesting stuff will definitely happen soon enough!

I hope that you guys enjoy (seriously it really always warms my heart to see your wonderful comments ♥) and maybe leave some nice words if you feel like it!!

Words: 2700+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

”So, here we are…” Leo told Calypso when he stopped his car, the faithful Argo II, in the yard of Waystation. Both of their exams were finished and Calypso had taken a few days off work so she could join Leo at his family home for the holidays. “What do you think?” he asked, possibly a bit nervous about his flatmate’s opinion. Calypso could understand that; she knew that it was a very important place to him.

She took in her surroundings: a big, old house where the family lived and several other buildings such as a garage and a shelter for the animals next to it. Even though she and Leo were still in the car, she could already hear the sharp barking of Festus the German shepherd somewhere further in the yard. The place wasn’t all that showy especially compared to what she had seen in her childhood, but there were a lot of mysterious corners and fascinating looking objects around that screamed to be observed more closely. Unlike the place where she had been living several years of her life, to her this place… seemed home-y.

“It… looks cozy,” she finally answered Leo's question when she realized he kept looking at her expectantly. “I think I can see why you like it here.”

“Yeah!” Leo seemed happy to hear Calypso liked it. “I like to call it a well organized chaos - just the way it should be in Leo’s world. But c’mon, my fam must be waiting already.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Leo barely had time to open the door of the car and stand up when Festus ran and jumped at him, trying to drown him in wet dog kisses.

“Woah, buddy! I’m glad to see you too!” Leo exclaimed and attempted to pet him even though it was hard because Festus was all over the place. “It’s my holiday break so I’ll be here with you for a long while! Isn’t that great?”

Festus gave him a small bark and wagged his tail even faster as a response. Calypso followed the exchange between the boy and his dog with amusement.

“Not sure if I should be jealous of your… you call it bromance, right?” she teased, while smiling widely. Already she had noticed that Leo seemed more relaxed in this place, and for some reason that made her feel warm and fuzzy even though she tried to battle such feelings.

“Aww, why would you be jealous? I have space in my heart for both of you,” he winked and Calypso had to look away so that he wouldn’t see her blush - again.

“No reason,” she mumbled and got out of the car as well, causing Festus to leave Leo alone and come to greet her instead. “Hi, you!” she managed to say while getting showered with love by the dog. “I guess this means you still remember me!”

“Of course he does,” Leo grinned at her. “I think you made quite an impression on him earlier. Hey, boy!” he whistled at the dog who returned to him. “I’m still your number one man, right?”

“Now who’s jealous?” Calypso chuckled at him. “He was just getting started with me.”

“That’s what you think,” Leo claimed. He had already taken his luggage from the car and now he was waiting for Calypso to do the same so he could lock the doors. She just stuck her tongue out at him instead of replying to his comment.

“Wait, are you planning to move here?” He asked with amusement when Calypso dragged her suitcase out of the car. Even though she would be staying at Waystation for less than a week, she had taken quite a lot of things with her just to be sure she wasn’t missing anything. “Not that I have anything against you living with my family… It’s just that that…” he pointed at the suitcase, “… looks a bit excessive considering we’re not staying that long and we can just drive or even walk back to our flat any time we want to if we need something.”

“You can never be too well prepared in situations like this!” Calypso stated, pulling her suitcase behind her while Festus followed her happily.

“Okay, okay,” Leo put his hand up in defeat and started following Calypso towards the house. “I believe you.”

…

“Calie, Calie!” a young brown haired girl exclaimed happily when the flatmates made it inside the house. “You came!”

“Hi, Georgina!” Calypso greeted the girl. “I did promise you, and both you and I know that promises should be kept, right?” Even at the risk of the trip being very awkward because of everything that was currently going on between her and Leo, she wasn’t planning to disappoint this little girl. She knew too well how that felt.

“Right!” Georgina agreed with her. “So, how has my brother been lately? Super annoying, as usual?”

Calypso was unsure what she should answer to that question, especially since Leo was listening right next to her. “Umm… he hasn’t been that bad, in my opinion… Sure, he has his annoying moments but I think the exams have kept him so busy that he has mostly been behaving himself.” She smiled at the girl, one part of her hoping Leo knew better than to take her too seriously. But then again, they had been bickering since day one, and apparently, he still liked her.

“Yeah, and Calypso has been somewhat behaving herself too, thanks for asking,” Leo intervened, looking slightly annoyed. “Well, what about you, sis? Did you pass all your tests?”

“I did but the math one was super difficult! Maybe you can help me with it when the school starts again?” Georgina gave Leo the kind of puppy eyes that would have been hard to resist for anyone. And sure enough, Leo’s frown melted quickly when she kept looking at him pleadingly.

“Of course I can help! That’s what I’m here for, right?” he answered without hesitation. Then he frowned again. “But where are our mothers? I thought they’d catch us like hawks the moment we arrived.”

“They’re probably busy making a big dinner,” Georgina noted. “I don’t think they’ve talked about anything else except you two the whole day…”

“Really?” Leo asked. “That’s… weird? I do visit here often enough…”

“Yeah, but how often do you visit with a girl?” Georgina pointed out sneakily. The girl was really observant for her age, Calypso thought. She and Leo exchanged quick looks before Leo answered.

“Listen, Georgie. Cal and I are friends. And flatmates obviously. But we are not dating, I hope you know that,” he said firmly, even though Calypso could sense that he wished he could have told her something else.

“Then how come she’s spending the holidays with us? Doesn’t she have her own family to spend it with?”

It was an innocent question, as Georgina had no idea about Calypso’s home circumstances, but it had still hit a bit too close to home to Calypso and Leo knew that. That’s why he rushed to answer for her: “Hey, now, miss Nosy! Cal has her own reasons why she prefers spending the holidays with us, and she doesn’t have to explain them all to you. The main thing is that she’s here and I hope you won’t bother her by asking more of your annoying questions.”

“Now you’re just being rude,” Georgina grimaced at him. “But fiiine, I won’t ask more questions. I’ll go tell moms that you guys arrived.”

“Go do that,” Leo sighed, and rolled his eyes when she was already out of sight. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he told Calypso as he showed her where she could put her outerwear. “For the first 15 years of my life I didn’t have a sibling and somehow I thought it would be great to have one… She /is/ pretty great most of the time but no one told me beforehand that sometimes siblings can be quite nuisances too.”

Calypso’s face fell a bit as she thought about her own sister and how much she sometimes wished she could see her again. Luckily Leo seemed to realize pretty fast that he had said something wrong.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry! I didn’t remember… I mean, I know I’m lucky to have a sister like her, I just… Um, I’m just gonna shut up now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Calypso tried to calm him down. “It’s an easy mistake to make. I haven’t talked about her a lot to you…”

“As someone who has also lost a family member, I understand why you don't wanna do that, Sunshine. But hey,” he stepped closer to her, sticking his index finger close enough to her chin that she had to lift it, but not close enough that it would have touched her. “You’re visiting casa de Valdez & co and we have a rule here that we should put the nasty stuff behind us, at least during the visit.”

“You mean like, ‘Hakuna matata’?” Calypso asked, having heard the story of Leo loving Lion King as a child. As their eyes met, she could feel the butterflies flying in her stomach again.

“Yep, now you’re speaking my language, babe.”

“Babe?” Calypso raised her eyebrow but was interrupted before she could say more because Leo’s adoptive mothers finally entered the room. Calypso had already met Jo earlier, but Emmie hadn’t been with her and Georgina that time. She had a long, grey braid, and something about her posture told her that the woman had done a lot of sports back in the day. She was wearing an apron over her work clothes and she was smiling at her in a friendly manner when their eyes met.

Jo greeted Calypso first.

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again.” Then she pointed at the woman next to her. “This is my wife, Emmie. You haven’t met her yet, right?"

“Correct.”

“Well, hello dear,” Emmie spoke, shaking Calypso’s hand. “You must be the Calypso I keep hearing so much about. I’m not sure which of these kids has been more excited about your visit; Georgina has been asking Leo every time he visits when he’ll bring you with her. I guess that day is finally here!”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Calypso mumbled, a bit overwhelmed by the excitement with which Leo’s Waystation family welcomed her. The more she heard, the more it felt like they really thought that Leo was bringing home someone who was /not/ just a flatmate. Despite that, she knew these people were just trying to be polite, so she couldn’t get angry at them. Especially since in different circumstances they may not have been wrong. “Thank you for having me. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this place! And of course I haven’t forgotten that I promised to teach Georgina some baking so I had to come.”

“I hope it’s not too much trouble,” Emmie said, a lot like Jo during the visit to Leo and Calypso’s flat. “Leo has of course told us that you’re a rather busy person these days so we wish you get some resting time too.”

“No, it’s not a problem at all,” Calypso shook her head, smiling at Georgina who was looking at her expectantly. “I like having something to do with my hands; I’m not used to just sitting around.”

“That’s great,” Emmie said approvingly. “I don’t think you will have a boring moment in this household. Now, let us show you to our guest room upstairs and then we can all go dine together.”

“Sounds good,” Calypso agreed and started following the women further into the house.

…

After setting her things into a guest room with a big bed, an old mahogany desk, some flowers by the window and a fascinating looking bookshelf, Calypso was led into the dining room where the dinner was waiting.

“Smells so good,” she told the others before she knew what kind of meal Leo’s mothers had prepared. “Reminds me of something I’ve tasted at home…”

“A little bird told us that you like Greek food,” Emmie said mysteriously.

When Leo had told his mothers Calypso and he would be visiting Waystation, they had asked him what kind of food she liked. Calypso had once mentioned that she missed eating some of the traditional Greek foods she had gotten as a child, so that’s what Leo had suggested. The women of Waystation had ended up making moussaka and along with it (much to Leo’s dismay) some salad with lots of olives in it.

“You didn’t...!” Calypso exclaimed when she saw what was inside the frying pan, clapping her hands together. “I loved it when mum made this when I was a kid! I probably last ate it when I was 10…” Something warm rose to her chest when it sunk into her that someone had seen that much effort to make her feel welcomed. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, dear,” Jo said. “We know you’re a very important person to Leo – even though he may be a bit bad at expressing his real thoughts sometimes – so we wanted to make sure that you know that you’re always welcome to visit us.”

“I’m sure I would have been convinced about that even with less effort,” Calypso reassured Leo’s mothers, pretending to ignore the hidden meaning behind the older woman’s words. “But I appreciate it a lot.”

“Guys, I don’t know about you but I’m starving, so can we please skip the pleasantries and just start eating?” Leo asked impatiently, drumming a glass on the dining table with a spoon.

“Some things never change,” Georgina joined the conversation, elbowing her adoptive brother. “Leo’s always so impatient when it comes to food.”

“But Leonidas,” Calypso started when she took a closer look at the salad that was being served, giving him a lopsided grin. Clearly Georgina’s mischievousness was already getting to her. “Are you really that excited about olives? The last time I checked, you weren’t particularly enthusiastic about them.”

Leo seemed a bit less excited about the food when he realized that she was right, but before he had time to comment, Emmie spoke first.

“What? You made Leo eat olives? That’s a story I’d like to hear,” she urged Calypso, and the latter mentioned did not have to be convinced twice to tell the story.

“Alright. One Saturday evening we decided to cook some Greek and Mexican style food just for fun. I of course had some olives in the salad I made and asked Leo to taste it, but he didn’t like it so somehow we ended up making a deal that if I eat one of his chilis, he eats his olives.”

“Yep, and you lost,” Leo pointed out immediately.

“I’ve said this before and I will say it again that it was an unfair bet! Those chilis were /hot/. Olives can actually be consumed without burning your mouth.” Calypso retorted.

“Wait, are you talking about the chilis that Leo has gotten from here?” Emmie asked. “Ouch, Leo, those things really are spicy. I am on Calypso’s side here; it /was/ an unfair bet.”

“Not you too!” Leo protested, crossing his arms. “Nothing happened; she only ate a little and I gave her some bread and milk afterwards. And eventually we both laughed at the whole thing.”

“Wow, brother, that was almost gentlemanly of you,” Georgina stated, clearly proud of the fancy word she had just used. “Calie, he would probably have just let me suffer if I had eaten that chili pepper.”

“Yep, because you’re just a little twerpette,” Leo replied while ruffling Georgina’s hair affectionately.

“Ahem,” Jo finally interrupted the banter. “I love hearing these stories but we don’t want Calypso’s welcome dinner to get cold, do we? So let’s dig in.”

The others didn’t have to be told twice. As everyone was eating the moussaka (Calypso noticed Leo had even taken an olive on his plate to show the others he could) and chatting about various things, Calypso really did start feeling welcomed and she even caught herself thinking that Jo was probably right; she wouldn’t be having a boring moment here.

[astrovagant]

Warm Bodies

Title: Warm Bodies Fandom: The Owl House Genre: Found Family / Gen Rating: Kid-friendly Summary: Luz and her friends have a sleepover. A house is not animated this time around. There may be cuddle piles. Notes: Written for a friend’s prompt! :3 Just a cute little fic, probably the cutest thing I’ve ever written TBH.

“I need to run an errand. I’ll be back in a few hours. Luz,” Eda looks down at the aforementioned teenager sitting cross-legged on the living room floor and bouncing in place exuberantly as her fingers tap against her legs, “Can I trust you to not turn Hooty into something even more horrifying than he already is this time?”

“Trust me, Eda! Amity is here this time. And she’s the picture of responsibility. Right Amity?”

The Blight girl blinks as if surprised before humming in agreement, eyes trained on her hands placed primly in her lap in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

“Don’t worry, Eda! We will be on our best behavior,” Willow asserts, nudging the boy who Luz lovingly renamed “Gus” to get his attention. He plasters on a cheesy grin and gives Eda a thumbs-up.

“Well, I guess that’s good enough. Don’t make too much noise, Lilith is sleeping upstairs and does not enjoy being interrupted.”

All four kids nod, varying degrees of seriousness on display at the warning.

“Be safe!” Luz calls as Eda closes the front door with a slam. 

“Keep an eye on them, Hooty,” Eda orders. As she mounts her staff and flies away, she can’t seem to erase the fond smile on her face brought on by the warmth in her chest.

                                                              …

Disregarding the rough way Eda closes the door, Luz looks around at her friends expectantly.

“What do you want to do first? Tell ghost stories? Bake cookies? I have a few things on my sleepover to-do list. Though,” Luz pauses, “Are ghost stories just … normal stories here? I mean everything is supernatural. Hm…”

Willow giggles, “Of course we have ghost stories! Amity, remember that one Emira told us when we were little? You were so scared that night you didn’t sleep a wink!”

Amity flushes, “Willow, we were five. I wouldn’t even tell that story to Gus.”

“Hey,” Gus interjects, “I take offense to that. I’ve heard plenty of ghost stories.”

“Yeah, Amity. Gus isn’t just some little kid. He’s super smart and brave and a great friend. Plus we took on the Bat Queen together. That was some serious business.”

Amity blanches, looking stricken, “Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that, I-”

“It’s okay, Amity,” Luz says, voice soft.

“Yeah,” adds Gus, “I’m not actually mad. Though I don’t appreciate the implication that I’m a baby, so maybe don’t do that in the future?”

“Ah, yes. I understand the struggle of being infantilized,” King says sagely.

“I didn’t mean to say anything rude,” Amity mutters, once again staring down at her lap, “I guess I’m still working on being nicer.”

“Well, you did hang around Boscha and her crowd for a long time. It makes sense to mess up sometimes,” Willow adds.

An awkward silence engulfs the room.

Luz clears her throat, eager to break it, “So… cookies?” 

“What are… cookies?”

“Oh, Amity, you sweet summer child…”

                                                            … 

Two hours later, an empty plate of what was once chocolate chip cookies rests on the living room table. 

Willow stifles a small yawn, “Luz, I know you said you wanted to party all night, but I’m getting kinda tired. Are we going to actually sleep at some point?”

“Oh yeah, of course. Let’s take this party upstairs!”

And that’s how the group finds themselves laying on the floor, sleeping bags arranged in a circle so that they can still talk.

“Seriously Luz, when is Eda going to get you an actual bed?”

Luz frowns, “I don’t know. I asked her a few weeks after I started staying here, but then the whole thing with Belos happened and we kind of got a teensy bit distracted. I wish I had a bed like Eda’s sometimes, though, it’s like this huge nest. It looks cozy, but the sticks might be kind of pokey so I don’t know if it actually is.”

“Why don’t we test it out?” Gus asks, eyes wide, a picture of innocence.

“Uh, I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea,” Luz says, “Eda gets kind of possessive about her belongings.”

“C’mon Luz! It’ll be fun. We’ll be in and out. She’ll never know!”

Luz looks around at her friends. Gus is giving her puppy dog eyes, Willow is wisely staying out of the debate but clearly interested, and even Amity looks a bit like she wants to see Eda the Owl Lady’s fabled nest. For science.

Luz caves.

“Okay,” she says, “But only if we make sure we leave before she comes back. Maybe we can read a book. Amity, did you bring the Azura books? I can read the first one and we can just relax a bit.”

Amity nods, pulling the first book out of her bag.

Clearly excited, it doesn’t take any coaxing at all for everyone to file out of the room, blankets in tow.

Luz opens the door quietly. It lets out a small squeak speaking of a need for oiled hinges. Luz stares reverently down at the nest placed in the far left corner of the room. Tinsel is placed inside of it strategically, making it sparkle just a bit in the moonlight. There are fewer blankets than she would have guessed on the nest, but a few hang onto the edges, snagged on the brambles. Bones and various human wares are tangled in the sticks as well. 

“Shall we?” Luz asks before carefully climbing into the nest. It’s roomy enough for Eda’s owl form to fit comfortably, meaning that it’s the perfect size for four teenagers and a smaller-than-average demon.

Eventually, everyone settles down. It’s surprisingly comfortable given the hardness of the sticks and bones interwoven throughout. One large unfolded sleeping bag is placed beneath the teenagers to form a barrier between the sharp objects and their bodies. Gus, Willow, and Luz are all wedged together, while Amity sits a bit farther away, not quite ready to join the cuddle pile. Luz opens up the book and begins to read.

Slowly, her friends begin to drop off. King is first, laid across her chest, then Gus. Willow falls asleep shortly after. Cautious as Luz was to enter Eda’s room without permission, the softness of Willow’s body against hers and the weight of Gus’ head on her lap is making her drowsy. She barely notices when Amity pulls the book away from her and decides to read aloud in her place. 

She quickly succumbs to sleep, lulled by Amity’s soft voice and the warm feeling of being surrounded by the first real friends she’s ever had.

                                                             ...

Eda has to admit that she’s surprised when she walks into a quiet living room. It’s well past the witching hour, but Luz had said something about “partying until the sun comes up” and Eda would’ve been inclined to believe her. Taking her cloak off, she tiptoes up the stairs, stopping by Luz’s room. She tries to brush off the concern that she feels when she finds it empty. Where could they be? Then she notices the sound of snoring. 

She tilts her head. Is that coming from her room?

Eda’s brief annoyance at the idea of a bunch of teenagers sleeping in her room is dwarfed by the relief that she feels at the fact that she doesn’t have to worry about four half-trained teenagers either having been captured by Belos or roaming the woods in the middle of the night.

Making sure her steps are soft despite her high-heeled boots, she slowly makes her way to her room. The door is open. A strange feeling envelops her when she opens the door and finds Luz and her friends sleeping in her nest. The possessive feeling that she would have expected from seeing someone other than herself sleeping there is nowhere to be found, instead replaced by that warmth from earlier. It heats her bones, still chilled from the outdoors.

The Blight girl jumps from where she was dozing when Eda quietly shuts the door, looking at her warily. Eda gives her a little smirk, nodding towards where Luz, Augustus, Willow, and King lay tangled together.

Slowly, she relaxes as Eda makes her way towards the nest. 

“Room for one more?” Eda whispers. Amity nods, eyes still somewhat wary but weighed down by sleepiness. 

Eda lays down in her nest, surrounded by the warmth of small bodies and the light sound of snoring, and closes her eyes. At least tonight, she can gladly say that everyone she cares about is safe.

And strange as it sounds, she does care about these kids, despite not knowing them for long. And now that she knows what she’s missing, she guesses she can never go back to how tings were before.

She doesn’t think she wants to.

[osdd-1bitch]

#1: Emily's introduction:

Hallo, I guess I’ll be the first to do a little entry thing! The Computer explained it to me, and said it wanted some basic things first, so I suppose I’ll start with an introduction.

Salut! I’m a member of the Astral Assembly-or well, that’s our name for now..? It’s, well, pending approval and there’s some others that have been suggested. I personally like that one the best though.

My name is Emily! I’m a physical caretaker, though I do occasionally help out with the kids. I’m and I’m in my mid to late 20s, a cassgender girl (she/they), and a semi-frequent fronter. Though it’s all pretty fluid nowadays…

My favorite color is green, my favorite animal is butterflies, and I really like cake when it’s cold. I love drinking tea, mystery and nonfiction novels, and hiking! I’m arospec, and sapphic.

I used to be a part of the Anonymous Enclave area, and avoided that layer shift, as well as the one with the JM, so I’ve stuck with the main fronting group for a good while. My best friend is Cookie, a gatekeeper, but she is a little hard to reach right now.

I know the most French out of all of us-though that isn’t much anyways-and really love doing my/our nails! I do the showering stuff, telling people to eat, that sort of stuff! I’m not anyone super important internally, though I was an ‘honorary gatekeeper’ for a while and helped Cookie, and that was really fun. Lanuages, like I said before, are also really really fun to learn!

I mostly hang out with Sia, Mia, and Nia when I can get down there, other than Cookie of course. I’m probably closest to Mia, though all of them are nice. Nia’s just a bit loud and Sia and I just don’t have much in common.

I’m probably the most human of the system(s) to be honest. Well there are technically humanish people around, they are mostly varying levels of humanity. Claws, teeth, extra appendages, the works. I’m just a normal human person though, but I don't mind. It probably has to do with my role, well I don’t really look like the body I certainly have more in common with it than most. And since my whole job is taking care of it, it’s pretty useful to be comfortable in it, helps me stay intune and not tap out and miss something.

About the new era, I..don’t know 2co that well, I’ll be perfectly honest, but I know ACI pretty well. 2co seems like a good match to balance it out, so I hope they’ll do well working together! Things are looking up, though it's going to be a rocky road for a while. Mmm...rocky road ice cream...

I live in a sort of secluded area of the headspace, in the Cosmic Sea. It’s this weirdly moving sort of galaxy with floating islands. Mine’s a tad lower than the rest and in a place without many of the brighter stars, mostly blue ones and dwarves.

Mine’s mostly woods, with my house! Basement, kitchen, it’s pretty quaint and cozy if I do say so myself.

The woods are pretty, and the seasons change randomly. Rivers, and birds, that sort of thing!

Or well, the general ambiance of birds, since i never actually see any, so it might just be for the aesthetic.

The Cosmic Sea is part of the Plane, but it’s only connected through a big tunnel that used to be a hub, but it’s not really very active now...it’s sort of strange to walk through that place, it’s gigantic. There’s rooms full of papers, big signboards, chairs, and doors upon doors. Most are locked nowadays. I hope it comes back into use someday, I know it’d be a great help with comms, but we need to get better at that to even start using that place again...ugh.

But it’s a very scenic trip! I walk everywhere, which most people don’t bother, but it really is beautiful. I love taking in the time to appreciate it whenever I can!

I tend to follow my routes though, so i can't really tell you much about the furtherest corners of our headspace or anything like that.

I don’t front for fun much, most of the time there’s something that's been neglected that I should take care of. But I really don’t mind, I do love my role and I don’t blame anyone. Mental health is screwy, and quite a few members are pretty clueless about how the body works.

I’ve been outside of a specific subsystem, cluster, or layer for a long time now. I suspect I’ll probably keep free floating in the future. I’m unsure why there hasn’t been any other physical caretakers, since there are repeats of every other role (I think) but things are weird.

I don’t have very many outside hobbies. I would love a cat or pet, and feed some strays. Otherwise, I’m pretty easy to miss.

Some random questions I found looking around:

-Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?

Mia calls me Emmie, and a few people call me Em or just M. The last one has caused some confusion since my name starts with a E, not a M.

-What is your favorite book? Least favorite?

My favorite genre is poetry, though I love older classical books! Sheil Silverstiens collections, Jane Austen, Red Fox, Call of The Wild and White Fang, lyrical works or written in older styles. The flow of it is just beautiful and so rich with ambiance! I don’t think I’d be able to choose a specific one….

But unrelated to those two genres, I read the works of a certain mystery/horror novelist who was wonderful in crafting pretty interesting characters and dynamics of trauma and such, and doing nothing with it. Oh, and there was an incredibly frustrating lack of action, by action I mean plot important things. The mysteries had little to no build up, and if answers were given it was randomly at the end of the book if not at all. Oh, and the cleverly set up problems and things for the characters to deal with magically vanish at the end. Like, no.

It was incredibly frustrating to read, but I fell in love with the characters and the world. They deserved better plots though, it was painful.

-Favorite food?

Oatmeal cookies and tea! I could eat them forever, way better than chocolate chip. It’s not really a meal, but it’s certainly healthier than other types of cookies.

I do really love cake though, but refrigerated! Broccoli is delicious too. Ice cream is a guilty pleasure.

-Least favorite food?

Oatmeal by itself, red meat, and carrots are all gross. I don’t like most candies, they taste of chemicals or are too sweet for me.

-If you were stuck on a deserted island, what one thing would you take with you, and why?

Would a survival kit count as one thing?

If not, one of those person-sized books about survival and animals and stuff you’d drag out of the library at age 3 and read for hours.

I can make my own fun, but well I am a physical caretaker, I certainly don’t know enough survival skills to live on an island for who knows how long!

-If you were a superhero, what power would you have?

Some sort of mind control, since it’s the easiest and most nonviolent way to keep the peace. If I can just suggest people to stop doing stuff, no need for punches. It’d also be way more efficient and I would have more time to myself, and could just mindwipe anyone who saw my real identity.

Though, that’s if I needed one. I could just brainwash people well casually hiding somewhere, rather than have to learn what spandex feels like. Seriously, I understand the want for a good aesthetic, but some of these costumes are shamefully ugly...I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing outside underwear in public, thank you very much

That’s all for now I guess. Next time I want to call up some of the other caretakers and do a bit of an introspective, maybe I can get a hold of Cookie too..

And probably find Scatter, we have a bit in common in our exclusion from the normal laws of syssics (system physics)!

I've actually posted here once or twice if you would believe that! Maybe I'll sign some posts? Either way, see you!

Emily (9/11/21)

(Ooh, bit of an ominous date.... Well, cant be helped I guess.)

(Partially transcripted by Liam)

[maryellencarter]

excessively detailed headcanon meme from camshaft22 about Wes

What does their bedroom look like? Lots and lots and lots of extremely colorful pillows and blankets. Not a hell of a lot else. And Kettch.

Do they have any daily rituals? Um. Not particularly, I think? He’s spent his entire adult life in the military, which pretty much defines what he has to do when.

Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often? Yes. We know that Wes is fairly good at hand-to-hand combat. I figure he also does weight training and cardio. 

What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy? Tricky question, as it often is for characters from military canons. But I’m thinking he’d either barge in and work around the other people using the kitchen, or if all the stoves/ovens/etc were busy, find a ration bar or something.

Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.) We have pretty much nothing on this in canon. I tend to have his workspace covered in datacards and so forth, because he has that sort of ADHD vibe where your brain needs more than one screen to spread thoughts across. We do know that he has quite a good sense of smell, so he’s probably fairly cleanly in his personal life.

Eating habits and sample daily menu? Again: military. He eats what’s there to be eaten. Probably a fair amount of it, because all that muscle needs a lot of calories. I suspect during the Rebellion he helped supply the cooks by hunting for meat.

Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time? Good question. He’s not as hyper as Shalla; there are a couple of points in the books where we see him lying down doing nothing when he has some free time. (Once toward the beginning of Iron Fist iirc, when the three ersatz Zsinjes are discussing plans, Wes is lying on a sofa with a glass of brandy while they talk, and then when Myn goes to find him for the “you can’t look dignified” talk he finds Wes lying down in bed though he has a chair in his quarters.) He’s probably always thinking about random shit and entertaining himself.

Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging? I think it really depends on the context. On Adumar, we see him cutting loose and enjoying the fame and adulation, and also capes and swords. In the Wraith books, he’s more disciplined, because his quacklings need him to be, but he definitely enjoys pranks, and also setting up the sort of prank-like training methods he uses. I don’t think he really has any guilty pleasures as such, not that he would consider guilty.

Makeup? I kind of doubt he’s been in a context to encounter it much, other than Face’s stage makeup. In universes where he has, he definitely likes body glitter, and has probably experimented with using contouring techniques on his biceps.

Neuroses? Do they recognize them as such? You can’t be a Wraith without neuroses. He sits on them pretty effectively, but he’s a mess around the whole business with Kell’s father, and he’s fairly fatalistic about his own prospects of survival. 

Intellectual pursuits? Good damn question. We know he’s smart, good at numbers, remembers obscure training protocols. We don’t know if he reads philosophy or writes poetry or... what exactly are “intellectual pursuits” anyway?

Favorite book genre? There are a lot of these questions that we don’t especially have answers to. I mean, I know this is a headcanon meme, but a lot of them I also haven’t pondered much. I don’t think we ever see Wes reading for fun, although I speculate he reads NR training manuals in order to figure out ways to mess with his students. I’ll have to ponder on this one.

Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general? Wes is pansexual aromantic. He pretty much respects that everybody has different orientations, but finds romance confusing and occasionally distressing, especially when it interferes with his friendships.

Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.) Um. Not really? The whole Star Wars bacta thing takes care of a lot of that. I have been messing around with a completely self-indulgent little sleep apnea headcanon, because you could just wear a specialized rebreather to sleep instead of a CPAP machine. I haven’t done anything with that, though.

Biggest and smallest short term goal? At what point in the story? That’s the trouble with a shared universe that spans 44 years at least.

Biggest and smallest long term goal? Ditto.

Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress? Ahahahaha yeah. XD Wes is famous, or infamous, for his unique sense of style -- although apparently there are things even he doesn’t want to wear, because Wedge was able to threaten him with letting Hobbie choose his clothes on Adumar. He likes bright colors, capes, shiny things, weaponry, and glitter.

Favorite beverage? I have no headcanon about this. Star Wars foodstuffs are difficult. 

What do they think about before falling asleep at night? Probably ways to cause minor trouble and cheer people up. Or maybe he tells himself stories.

Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them? Well, I decided the “Hesken’s fever” that kept him out of the first Death Star battle was space chicken pox, and that he had it as a kid but it didn’t take, because I had chicken pox twice as a kid myself.

Turn-ons? Turn-offs? Sexually, or what? I’m old enough in internet years that I’m never quite sure whether we’re using this in the sense of things that you generally like and don’t like. Also, for as much Wes smut as I’ve written (it is a lot), I don’t really feel that I can produce a list.

Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen? Paper airplanes, possibly decorated with dicks.

How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life? Honestly, Wes is pretty damn organized when it comes to squadron stuff. I feel like this could go either way -- that he’s also super organized about his personal life, or that he’s completely and utterly disorganized outside the military structure.

Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all? Wes Janson, Ace Statistician. XD Honestly, he could probably be good at most things, he’s a lot smarter than he acts sometimes.

How do they see themselves 5 years from today? Again, at what point in the story?

Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout? These are really difficult to answer without specifying a timeframe.

What is their biggest regret? Definitely the Doran Incident.

Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy? Best friend is Hobbie. Worst enemy is probably whoever Wedge is currently pointing him at. Wes doesn’t really have a lot of personal enmities.

Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?) Go extremely organized and make everything happen that needs to happen. 

Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies) Sit on his feelings until they stop bothering him.

Most prized possession? Kettch.

Thoughts on material possessions in general? He really doesn’t need much. I tend to figure he likes comfy cozy cuddly things and fancy capes, and other than that he mostly does with what the Rebellion / New Republic gives him. Hobbie probably invests his money for him (Ralltiir is a banking planet), and Wes doesn’t pay much attention to it. By the time he gets out of the military at last, he probably has a pretty fair pile.

Concept of home and family? The Fab Four are his family. I forget why, but I also decided he has some attachment to Taanab and probably goes back there to live once he musters out. The air and gravity just feel more correct there.

Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?) Wes gives the impression that there’s not a thought in his head that doesn’t come out his mouth, but at the same time he has secrets he doesn’t tell anybody until he has to. So, some of each? It’s a balancing act.

What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time? Um. I’m not sure he has any. I mean, this is a guy who unabashedly bounces on his bed to make a point.

What makes them feel guilty? Not much. Except the Doran incident and things that remind him of it.

Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making? Emotional, to the point that he’s made a principle out of it.

Would they consider themselves a Type A or Type B personality? I honestly don’t know what this means. *googles* Well, I have learned a lot about tobacco lobbyists in the 1980s... ;P If I’m understanding what these mean, though, Wes is definitely not a Type A personality, and therefore is by definition a Type B personality.

What recharges them when they’re feeling drained? Being around people. Having fun. Conversation. Cheering other people up.

Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither? Probably neither. Sometimes he pretends to have a superiority complex as a form of goofing around, which is much more difficult to do when you actually have one of these complexes. (Compleces? Plurals are complicated.)

How misanthropic are they? Ahaha. Not very. Hobbie does all of that for him. XD

Hobbies? BEHOLD A PUNE *koff* Sorry. I don’t really know that Wes has any particular hobbies, although I suspect he can sew for purposes of making Kettch new outfits. Somebody had to make that gray Hawk-bats flightsuit.

How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education? Well, he definitely left school on Taanab by the time he was about eighteen at the oldest. I feel like he was probably kind of self-conscious about being a Rimworlder for a while (all three of the others are Coreworlders), and that might mix into his feelings about having left school early, if he did.

Religion? When I write Wes, he’s kind of an agnostic. It so happens that he never refers to the Force at all in the X-wing books, in any way, so I’ve riffed on that to a view that, while he’s seen Luke do things with the Force and knows it exists, he ascribes it a lot less power than the Jedi do. He sees the Force basically as a nonsentient temporally-amorphous ocean of impressions, which Jedi can use to foresee things like blaster bolts (which is useful), but when Jedi get larger and vaguer impressions about the “will of the Force”, he’s pretty sure they’re projecting. This doesn’t do too much harm when Luke does it, because Luke is a ball of sunshine who just wants what’s best for everyone, but it means that Sith and other fucked-up people have their own really dangerous views on the Force’s will. ...I may have thought this out rather a lot.

Superstitions or views on the occult? He probably has them. I’m very fond of space superstitions but I don’t think I’ve written any myself. Wes seems like the sort of guy who would laugh over ghost stories and then accidentally scare himself in the middle of the night.

Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds? Ummm I’m not quite sure what this means. *ponders* Nope, I’ve got nuthin’.

If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal? That’s also a hell of a question. Like does it mean who would they fall in love with? Are we talking that Anne of Green Gables shit about only being able to fall in love with a tall dark stranger with a melting voice?

How do they express love? Snuggling. Also annoying you into cheering up.

If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like? More or less a mixed martial arts thing. We see him use some wrestling moves and spinning kicks. I suspect Shalla gave him some lessons after she joined the Wraiths, because he seems a lot more confident about his hand-to-hand abilities on Adumar than in the first Wraith Squadron book.

Is this person afraid of dying? Why or why not? Nope. He knows he’s going to die very soon; he’s a soldier in a war with an extremely high rate of attrition. His goal is to have as much fun as possible before he goes.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Laura Stevenson Interview: The Death of Things

Photo by Rachel Brennecke

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The Big Freeze, the new album from singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson, combines the size, emotions, and power of her more rambunctious releases like Wheel and Cocksure with a newfound sense of sparseness, directness, and intimacy. She weaves personal experiences--of self-doubt, depression, and dermatillomania--with universal internal struggles, like the yearning for simplicity in an increasingly complex world. Recorded in her childhood home in Long Island during winter, with bits of strings and bass added later, The Big Freeze isn’t just the first Stevenson album to not feature her backing band The Cans, but the first album that feels like a solo statement.

I spoke with Stevenson over the phone late last month--she had just come from therapy and was getting ready to go on tour with the new tunes. (The band consists of Stevenson on guitar, cello, bass, and drums.) Read our conversation below, in which we talk about the inspiration behind different aspects of the record, revealing things about yourself over the internet, and whether she’d rather be aware and powerless or unaware and powerless. Oh, and catch her tonight at the Beat Kitchen and Saturday at Do Division Street Fest!

Since I Left You: Does the title and cover art of The Big Freeze reference the wintertime when which you recorded it?

Laura Stevenson: Sort of...the cover art was taken when I was having press photos done by this photographer Rachel Brennecke--she’s amazing. It was one of the pictures I thought was really interesting. I was toying with the idea of putting myself on the cover of the record, which I had never done before, and I thought, “Okay, let’s try it.” It kind of just happened. The title of the record--it’s about a lot of different things. The big freeze on a celestial level, but also a winter, death of things level. 

SILY: The mood of the record is definitely relatable in the fact that it’s devastating and personal--what you’re going through on the record are sentiments shared by a lot of people. The cover art is relatable in an entirely different way. Fuzzy hats are very warm and welcoming.

LS: It’s super warm and cozy. I thought the colors were really interesting, too. I had never taken a picture where I was looking at the camera in that specific way because I hate having my picture taken. So I just felt like it was really confrontational to myself, too. Usually, I don’t even have my name on the record. Cocksure was the first where my name was on it, which was a big deal to me. Everything else has the artwork without a label.

SILY: What influenced the change in aesthetic of this record? Were you trying to serve the content of the lyrics?

LS: Yeah, and also, I had been playing with different band members. There was a shift in personnel for a little bit. I was also doing a lot of solo touring and writing for just an acoustic record, and because I was so used to it at the time, I was maybe writing without thinking about drums or the grand scale traditional rock band format.

SILY: There are definitely parts that sound huge--you use a lot of vocal overdubs, and on songs like “Big Deep”, your vocals are really upfront. How did you approach the record as a singer?

LS: I love layering vocals. It’s my favorite thing to do because I’m not adept as any instrument as I am at thinking of a thing and making it come out vocally. I really like to make an orchestra of voices. I love doing it on all of my records, but I had to scale it back because there wasn’t room for it in a lot of ways on other records. They were more straightforward pop. This was the perfect medium for me to experiment with that, which is what I love doing the most. I really went for it in terms of layering, like, “Okay, more harmonies, more weird shit!” I got to paint this watercolor picture that was blurry and pretty and I could turn it into whatever I wanted. [Producer/engineer] Joe [Rogers], who I was making the record with, was so on board with it. Every time I wanted to add another track, he didn’t sigh. Sometimes, I feel like me asking for another layer starts to be annoying for some people, but he was so enthusiastic about it. I’d be like, “Let’s do another track,” and he’d say, “Hell ya!” We kind of added as much shit as possible.

SILY: In terms of genre, I heard a lot of country and alt-country influence more than on your other records. Are you a fan of that genre?

LS: For sure. Totally. I like playing with traditional styles but bringing a new life or new ideas into them. I think that’s really interesting. I like alt country and psychedelic, weird, trippy country from the 70′s. People that are doing it now, too. I’m into it.

SILY: Are there individual lines in your songs that stand out to you to where you try to deliver it with a certain chord or type of instrumentation?

LS: There were flourishes that were happening where I was adding pretty strings and then making them go away. The whole end of the first song, “Lay Back, Arms Out”, is supposed to sound like somebody swimming and letting go, and I tried to do that with the instrumentation. Not necessarily chords, but the way things shimmer in and out, I was trying to make it sound like floating. I use the same chords for every song, so that’s my secret. [laughs] I don’t have too many chords, but I used them all for this record. They’re all the ones I know.

SILY: There’s a moment in “Value Inn” where you reveal the title of the song and sing, “And in a Value Inn, I dig at my skin,” on top of a really powerful guitar riff that drives the song into a new level. You’re setting the scene in the first verse, or nobody exactly knows what you’re talking about, and that’s a clarifying moment.

LS: We were practicing that yesterday, and the space situation we have for the shows I’m going to be playing with, that song in particular is so fucking heavy and so powerful. Especially on that second verse. It’s doomy, gloomy, droney, and heavy. That definitely is a powerful moment lyrically and musically.

SILY: Also the final lines of “Hum”, which seem to me to be a summation of the record: “You are burdened by only your dangerous mind.” What were you going for with that line?

LS: That song is a weird internal conversation between two different people and two different versions of myself. That song is difficult--I was doing [a Reddit] AMA the other day, and people had questions about that song in particular. I had a difficult time articulating what it’s about because it’s so ambiguous in who the conversation is between, at all different points, even for myself. I don’t know if it’s me or the other me that’s saying that line. [laughs] But that song is about compulsive behaviors, addictive behaviors, depression, and feeling sorry for myself, but also the part of me that’s trying to get better. I’m gonna have to think about how to intellectualize it, myself. It was this really natural, beautiful thing, but when people ask me about it, I’m so tongue-tied. It’s a convoluted and confusing series of ideas.

SILY: You reference your experience with dermatillomania a lot on the record and revealed it in an article with Talkhouse. Have others reached out to you who have experienced that?

LS: Yeah, and it’s been really beautiful, and that got me through the initial release of that piece I put out on Talkhouse. I was all freaked out about it, and then people were DMing me and sending mail to the band’s email with their personal experiences. It gave it a little less the feeling of throwing something out into the world. Putting something out that is so weird, because at first you think people want to hear it, and then you think, “Who’s really on the internet who cares?” You’re torn between two feelings about it. But it made it smaller, more personal, and human to have small interactions with people who experience the same thing. It’s not something a lot of people are comfortable revealing--it’s embarrassing. It’s personal and scary, and you don’t want people thinking about you in that way. So having other people be glad you’re not ashamed is nice. You still grapple with shame like everybody does. But overall, it feels manageable, in a way.

SILY: I really like the song “Perfect”--and I was reading the interview you did with Fader--and you talk about you and your friend being blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world--wars, etc.. Do you ever look back and wish you were more aware? Or were you glad you were totally unaware?

LS: I don’t know. It’s so hard. Being aware of things makes you feel powerless in a way, but being unaware is powerlessness itself. Neither way do you feel like you can change anything. You feel like giving up. I think I’d rather know, as much as I can. It’s hard to really know, because people with the information are holding their cards pretty close to the chest, so you never truly know what’s going on in the world, but it’s better to know. I don’t know. That’s a great question. There’s beauty in just existing, but is it really existing if you’re not participating in what’s going on in the world and understanding it?

SILY: What have you been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

LS: I’m watching some of the new Twilight Zone, which is great. I’m reading this book about codependency that my therapist is making me read. I’m about to start reading A Moveable Feast, which I found at my mom’s house and have never read, and I’m going to Paris so I thought I would. I’m about to listen to my friends Field Mouse, who sent me the first mix of their new record. I’m really excited; they’re such a great band. I got this record from this band called Roar that I’ve started to listen to religiously--Pathetique Aesthetique. It’s a really good record. It came out last year. It’s by this guy Owan Evans, who plays in AJJ.

The Big Freeze by Laura Stevenson

[analeoftwocities]

Book Read: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo @lbardugo

Beer Paired: Bound By Time, Enchantment Under the Sea, and Viridi Rex by Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company 

What We Love Abut the Book 

This trilogy was has been waiting on my TBR list for a long time. It’s the type of series that is right up my alley, and sometimes those books sit on my shelf the longest. I say that because, especially Leigh Bardugo’s books are so highly praised that I’m afraid they won’t live up to my expectations. So, by sitting on my shelf they can stay highly praised and highly anticipated. (I learned this when I read the Hunger Games Series and was thoroughly disappointed…sorry!)

But, I bit the bullet. I couldn’t let The Grisha Trilogy stare at me from my shelf any longer. So, down the rabbit hole I jumped, and I was not disappointed. I really enjoy these books. I won’t say they are my favorite series or even that they are flawless, but I did love being able to jump into a world and follow it through all three books.

There is something so wonderful about a fantasy series that opens a new world to you and engulfs you in it. I love when I am able to binge read a series and totally immerse myself in the world and atmosphere of the book. And, that is exactly what happened in The Grisha Trilogy. It was a lovely escape into an awesome world. It was not a perfect series. The plot has holes, the characters are interesting but somewhat predictable, and the story itself is very troupe-like in the fantasy genre. However, even with all this Leigh Bardugo has created one of those marvelous universes that wraps you up like a cozy blanket on a cold day.

I don’t think these books stand among the fantasy greats like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Lord of the Rings, and the Shades of Magic Trilogy , but it is only a step down from those. Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising are great reads. The series is easy to read, engaging, unique, and thoughtful. Although they may not the best, The Grisha Trilogy is totally worth the read. Not every book should sit amongst the greats, because then, what makes them great? But, this trilogy by Leigh Bardugo has certainly earned its place on our shelf!

Quick side note: I wasn’t aware before that Bardugo’s other books (Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, and Language of Thorns) are connected or continue in the same world! Any many readers speak highest of the Six of Crows duology, so I am now super excited to continue reading within the Grishaverse.

Anyway, what I loved the most about these books was the setting. Leigh Bardugo has taken the familiar fantasy story and set it in a world inspired by 1800 Tsarist Russian instead of the usual medieval (or really anytime) Western Europe. This was so refreshing and interesting. I’ll admit I LOVE, I repeat, I LOVE Russian folklore and fairytales. Anything based in that world, immediately has my heart. But, Bardugo was also able to make it her own, and use the 1800 Russia to inform her world, her story, and her characters. I though she was so successful and effective! This aspect of the trilogy was glorious.

Another aspect of the books that I thought was really interesting were the conflicts that Bardugo wrote in. Of course, there’s the usual love triangle story, the story of the ordinary becoming extraordinary, there are quests and fellowships, but there is also class and race conflicts, and even religion plays a role in this book. Bardugo is able to layer many dynamic aspects into the plot, which only makes her books more interesting. On the other hand, I didn’t find her characters to be so dynamic. Most were pretty average, and although relatable, not super interesting. However a few did stand out – Nikolai (Bardugo is writing a book about him as well – King of Scars) and Baghra. Both of these characters felt dynamic and unique beyond the normal.

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this series. It was everything I want in a fantasy series – an amazing world, an interesting, fantastic story, and characters that are easy to fall in love with. And, for those of you not so fond of fantasy, don’t fret! This is not a series about dragons and elves and elves and magic spells (although there is nothing wrong with that). It is a political fantasy about power and social division, about good intentions gone wrong, and what it means to do the right thing. It is the story a meek, overlooked girl, who finds within herself the power to change her war-torn world, for the good or the bad. If you haven’t already read this, check it out! The Grisha Trilogy is an easy-to-read, enjoyable romp in a marvelous fantasy world. Enjoy!

What We Love About the Beer 

Okay, first of all, these beers by Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company are awesome. We have been saving them for a long time, looking for the perfect book to pair each of them with, and when we read Leigh Bardugo’s trilogy Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising, was the perfect opportunity. They fit so perfectly because both are out-of-this world, inventive, a worth a try.

The art alone on these beer works perfectly with The Grisha Trilogy. The artwork on these cans is something straight out of a fairytale with a little something sinister, just like within the Girshaverse. The art evokes Alina, the main character of the series, and her struggle with her new place in the world. Her whole life changes and she must come to understand a new relationship with time and power. It also connects to the quests she goes on to master her power. She ventures into frozen forests, onto a cursed ocean, and a waterfall made of fire. And finally, the artwork used in Viridi Rex reminds us of the dark, evil creatures called Volcra that live with in The Fold, and were created by an immoral mutation of science and magic.

Beyond their outward image, these beers were also an awesome pair for the books based on the beer itself. Bound By Time is Edmund’s Oast’s take on a classic IPA, and it is an absolute success. It is full to the brim with awesome, fruity, hop-flavor. Just like Shadow and Bone, this beer is an awesome start. Enchantment Under the Sea is another awesome IPA, but it takes it to another level. It has an amazing mango and pineapple flavor, and a nice creamy, lactose texture. Although it has a delicious complexity, it also has a great light feel. It’s a totally special, and will hopelessly hook you, just like Siege and Storm. Finally, Viridi Rex, like Ruin and Rising, was so good; I had to go out get another one. It is a great dry hopped double IPA that brings a refreshing warmness to your soul. It is well balanced, has tons of lacing, and the perfect mouth-feel for this style. The coloration is an amazing deep gold (like Alina’s kefta?!) with vibrant papaya and orange. This beer is so good, you can’t have just one!

These beers prove that South Carolina and Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company know what they are doing, just like Leigh Bardugo! These three beers and this Trilogy are awesome. They are the reason we love beer and books. They are enjoyable, thoughtful, masterful, and so darn good! No, neither are the next holy grail of books or beer, but boy are they worth a try! So, check them out! We certainly will keep reading Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books, and can’t wait to try more Edmund’s Oast beers… once we can get our hands on them, or even better, visit the brewery! Enjoy!

THANKS AS ALWAYS FOR STOPPING BY, FELLOW BOOKWORM AND BEER LOVER! THIS WAS A SUPER FUN PAIRING FOR US TO WRITE, DID YOU ENJOY IT? HAVE YOU READ ANY OF LEIGH BARDUGO’S BOOK’S? DRANK ANY OF EDMUND’S OAST BREWING COMPANY’S BEERS? WANT TO TRY THIS PARING? WE CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK! REMEMBER TO SUBSCRIBE HERE, AND FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM, TUMBLR, AND FACEBOOK! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!                        

                           CHEERS, ALEXANDRA & CHRIS

[hvllevator]

Safe ; Jeon Jungkook, mafia au (part three)

paring: jeon jungkook x female reader

words: 2,285

genre: angst, fluff, mafia!au

summary: Jungkook tried keeping you safe, but not everything goes exactly as planned.

a/n: thank you for still reading my story. btw i hope my writing doesn’t confuse you, this is mainly the reader’s point of view but i also put jungkook’s thoughts and insights. this fic is turning so soft im so ???

masterlist | part one | part two | part three | part four

(gif not mine)

"Y/N!" Jungkook jogged towards you once he saw you standing beside Jimin. He engulfed you in his arms, holding on to you for dear life, scared that if he let you go, you'll disappear. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He pulled away from the hug to examine your face to see if there was any changes, "You're not, thank God."

Jimin drove you to one of their old hideouts, it looks surprisingly clean and neat considering it was old. From the outside it was a normal looking modern home, and on the inside it didn't change much, it looked cozy and warm. Just like a regular looking home. You guessed this is where they head to, when things got rough with their business. You almost let out a laugh at his frantic state but you understand that he was just worried for you so you kept your mouth shut and rubbed his back in comfort, "Calm down. I'm fine, Jungkook."

Jimin cleared his throat as if to signal he was still here. Jungkook completely removed himself from your arms and just stood in front of you. He flashed you a smile before turning his attention to Jimin, "Call the others, tell them there's an emergency meeting in thirty minutes." was all he said before Jimin nodded and took his phone out and started typing. You felt a warm hand intertwine with yours "Come with me." Jungkook started tugging your hand, bringing you along with him to wherever you were going.

Jungkook brought you to an empty looking bedroom. The room was complete with what you would usually find in a bedroom. You took your time scanning the place, it felt nice being here as if it brought you comfort. "Whose room is this?" You walked forwards, setting yourself on the bed which was super soft you almost sunk in it.

"This is where we will be staying for the mean time while we sort out the mess that's been going on." He followed your steps, situating himself beside you on the bed. "We have to isolate ourselves from a few people," he took a deep breath before continuing, "The, uh, rival mafia or also known as The Vipers has found out about you. They know you're my wife, and they found out who your father is, which makes it more interesting for them." He grabbed your hand as he saw your expression, he never meant to drag you into this mess. He loved you dearly and the last thing he wants is for you to get hurt again. Jungkook swore to protect you with his whole life, and that's what he's planning to do. "I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, they're trying to capture you. But I won't let that happen, not again. I can't stand not being able to see you for so long. I love you so much, Y/N. You're my entire world and I don't want to lose you again." Jungkook's bottom lip was almost trembling and the sight made you shook, this man in front of you was crying because of you.

"You didn't lose me, Jungkook." You whispered, scooting closer towards him, "I'm here now, yeah? I'm sure nothing bad will happen." You looked at his hands that were placed on his lap, reaching for them and taking them into your own. "Thank you, for everything you're doing for me."

Jungkook stared at the lovely features of your face, his gaze falling onto your lips, badly wanting to know how it feels against his, "Can I kiss you?" He blurted out, but feeling shy once he actually let it out. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn-"

"Yes." Your response made him freeze but as soon as it processed in his head, his hand carefully made its way towards your cheek, gently caressing it.

"You're so beautiful." Jungkook whispered, feeling his breathe fan against your face, signaling that his face was so near yours. You closed your eyes, awaiting for what was going to happen next. This is the first time you and Jungkook will kiss, seeing as your relationship with him grow fonder. You felt him leaning closer to you, until you felt his lips attach to yours. The kiss was soft and sweet, this was Jungkook's first time to ever be this intimate with you and he was surely not going to let this moment go to waste. His other hand made its way to your waist, holding on to you lightly. You placed your hands on each side of his shoulder, sighing, feeling at bliss.

You both pulled away, catching your breaths. Running your hand through your hair, you glanced at Jungkook but he was already looking at you. He smiled adorably once he saw you look away from his intense gaze, "Cute." He mumbled.

A knock on the door pulled you away from your short trance, "Come in." Jungkook said loudly enough for the person behind the door to hear him.

The door was pushed open and it revealed a man with messy dark hair, "Jungkook, meeting's starting." was all the man said that had Jungkook stand up from the bed.

"I'll be out soon." The man nodded and then left the room, Jungkook faced towards you, "I have to go now." he placed a kiss on your forehead, "Don't go anywhere, okay? This house is safe, but still don't wander off. We''ll be in the room at the end of the hall. I love you." and with that he left the room with you still processing about the event that just unfolded.

An hour has passed by and Jungkook was still not returning, so you thought that the meeting was probably heavily important that it has to take so long. You were getting hungry as it was already dinner time so you thought to head out into the kitchen and prepare yourself a meal.

You pushed open the door to the bedroom you were in, looked both ways to the halls and realized nobody was roaming around so you stepped out and head towards the kitchen, if you remember where it was. Recalling from earlier where you passed it by, you made your way to the kitchen.

Once you saw a fridge and a counter,  you figured this was indeed the kitchen to you head forwards and opened the fridge, seeing that it was empty made you frown. You were so hungry but Jungkook wasn't here and you didn't know if it was safe to order food so you tried discarding your hungry away.

A cough from behind you, startled you, making you shut the fridge door and look to where the sound came from. A man who you don't recognize was standing behind the counter. "Looking for something?" He rasped out as if he just woke up from a nap.

"I-I'm just looking for something to eat." You let out, somehow feeling intimidated by him.

He let out a snicker as if he was laughing at you, "Princess," He started, the pet name giving you shivers, "we just got here, out of emergency because they are after your dumb ass. I don't even know why we waste our time trying to protect you." He grumbled the last part but I heard it loud and clear.

My entire body froze as I heard those words leave his lips. Is that what everyone is thinking of you? Jungkook told you that his men would never harm or disrespect you because they know you're in the high rank, seeing as you're Jungkook's wife but that doesn't necessarily mean that they had to like you and you understood that but your heart felt heavy knowing you brought so much stress, pain and anger to his men. You didn't mean to be such a burden to them, to anyone.

"Y/N?" Jungkook silently pushed the door open to the room where you were supposed to be. Seeing that the room was completely empty, made him panic although he knows he shouldn't be. He took a deep breathe before heading back out, trying to find your location in this home. He heard your voice echo through the halls and he followed where the sound brought to, seeing you standing before one of his men, hearing you utter out an apologize. Jungkook was beyond confuse as to why you're apologizing so he decided to step closer, making sure not to make his presence announced.

"You damn better be! Do you know how much Jungkook pushes us around, especially when you fucking got kidnapped, we had no rest at all trying to save your fucking ass." His men spat out, pointing a finger at you and the sight made Jungkook furious.

Jungkook's loud footsteps echoed around the room, making the both of you turn your attention to him. His jaw was clenching and his fists were formed into a ball, looking ready to punch the life out of his ally. The sight made you terrified, you have never seen Jungkook so agitated before. "How fucking dare you speak to her that way!" He yelled out. "You, out of all fucking people should know you should treat her with respect whether you like it or not." Jungkook stepped between the two of you, holding onto your waist. "In case you weren't informed, I'm your boss, and she's my wife. That makes her your boss as well. Do you understand?" He asked but he didn't get a response in return, "I said, do you fucking understand?"

"Y-yes, sir." The man spat out. You didn't utter a word as you did not want to draw anymore attention to the scenario that was currently happening.

"Apologize to her." Jungkook sternly let out. The man seemed hesitant to do this, as he actually meant what he said.

"Sorry, Y/N." He said through gritted teeth, this made Jungkook roll his eyes at how childish he was behaving.

"You better be glad you're one of my best men. The next time this happens, I'll fucking murder you in your sleep." Jungkook's arm left your waist and took your hand instead, tugging you with him to your room. He let you go once you were alone, he sat at the edge of the bed, falling against it to lie down. "Lie with me." You heard him mumble quietly.

You gently made your way to the bed, lying down beside him, facing the ceiling. He put his arm on your waist, pulling you close to him, you placed your head against his chest, snuggling close to him. Feeling him rub your back gently made you let out a small smile. "I'm sorry about him." He whispered.

"It's fine, I honestly feel like this is all my fault, you shouldn't have lashed out like that." You murmured back, feeling guilty for everything that happened.

"No baby, don't let his words get to that pretty head of yours, you're not a burden. You're our main priority. Especially mine, of course." He smirked, pressing his lips on top of your head. "You're my entire fucking galaxy. Y/N. As cheesy as that sounds, it's true."

"Jungkook." Your heart was hammering against your chest, somehow feeling nervous.

"Yes, my love?" He hummed out.

"I love you." You whispered. You felt his hand stop at your back, you glanced up to him, seeing him already facing you with wide eyes. "What?" You asked.

"You- I- just- fir- wow." Jungkook let out a shaky breath, "Fuck, that's so nice to hear, say it again." He grinned widely making you giggle.

"I love you, Jeon Jungkook. Thank you for saving me, thank you for protecting me. That means the world to me." You yelped as he grabbed your frame, throwing your legs over him so that you were straddling his thighs.

"I love you, too, Jeon Y/N." He held onto your thighs, rubbing circles on it. You leaned towards his face, and wasted no time pressing your lips against his. He groaned at the sudden action but he was not complaining. He swiped his tongue on your bottom lip, asking for entrance and you allowed him to, opening your mouth wide, letting him push his tongue in and let it roam your mouth. You accidentally moved forwards, making your hips grind into his and he gripped your thighs at this. "Shit, baby." He whispered against your lips. "Let's stop for now, yeah?" Jungkook breathed, "It's not that I don't want to, because trust me, I do. I won't be able to stop if we keep going and I think it's too soon, do you understand?"

You nodded, pecking his lips lightly. "How was your meeting?"

Jungkook's lip formed into a thin line, letting out a small sigh, "I don't really wanna talk about it. I'll tell you some other time. Let's just get some rest, it's been a long day."

You didn't want to push him any longer so you got off his lap, changing into comfortable clothes into the bathroom before heading back into the bed where Jungkook was lying on the bed with his shirt already discarded on the floor. You glanced at the bedside table, seeing a small meal prepared.

"I heard you were starving so I called someone to prepare food for you, eat up, baby." You consumed the meal that was deliciously prepared for you. You tucked the plate in the bathroom, figuring to just bring it out tomorrow morning. "Come here." He called for you. Making you come towards him. He wrapped you tightly around his arms, the usual way he holds you. "Sweet dreams, baby girl, I love you." He whispered as your eyes slowly drift into a peaceful sleep.

"I love you, too, Jungkook."

i honestly don’t know about this part but???? this series will probably have 4 or 5 parts in it before it’s done, hope you liked it! give me feedback if you want

[aerisosweet]

Hello again, Rosa! secret santa here - a little later than i actually wanted to answer, but oh well 😅

Oh, you know EXO since debut?! that's so cool!! compared to that i'm a baby exo-l, i joined the fun in 2018 🙊 but yeah.... gushing about chanyeol... i totally get the sentiment... *^*

i'm so glad i asked about the christmas thing tho! i hope it didn't come off as too nosey or insensitive or something. where i am from Christmas is a huge deal and even if you are not Christian it is hard to escape the whole spirit of the deason because it's just so closely connected with our regional traditions, and since a few years ago i sort of keep thinking about how this might feel for people who don't celebrate or celebrate some different holiday. that's why i was interested if that might be the case ^-^ anyway, giving New Year's Gifts sounds like such a nice tradition! It has a very meaningful ring to it, giving someone something to take with them into the new year. ✨

I have listened to Love So Sweet and it's such a cute song!! personally, i only can listen to such very poppy songs when i'm in the right mood for it, but i genuinely enjoyed listening to Love So Sweet 🥰

i like tons of different songs from many different genres and i'm so so bad a picking favorites, it changes every two hours, i feel xD but the one EXO song that i heard i knew i was sold is Overdose - such a bop!!

I also loved the Harry Potter books (i share your sentiment about the movies...) and i just continued loving fantasy novels (i think the most recent bigger series i read was everything belonging to the Grishaverse) and novels of any kind in general - i spend a lot of time reading ^-^ and for movies i like, it's quite the same actually (a recent favourite has to be Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings). my taste is just all over the place, haha xD

It's still autumn, but let me ask about your favourite things in winter! Are there any typical wintery activities you enjoy? Are you more the sporty or the cozy type? I'm gathering a few nice themes for your present~ I can't wait to start working on it 😊😊

I hope you'll have a nice week coming up for you ♡

~ secret santa 💫

Hello, Secret Santa!

No worries, I understand rl can be busy, I just replied to my person as well, so 😅

Yes! I heard about them before they debuted because my rl friends were super SM fans. I thought they were too young (lol) at first and didn’t look into them but watched everything because of my friend! 2018 was such a good year too! I think, Suho has mentioned it doesn’t matter when you started liking EXO but we’re all fans so that’s what matters. I think we find EXO when we need them so 🥰

No, no, not nosy or insensitive at all! I mean, I did choose to participate in this exchange and it is Christmas-themed so I knew what I was getting into! But thank you for asking, that was very sweet of you. I do wonder how it is to celebrate it though when I see everything, so even though I don’t, it’s one of my favorite times of the year! What some traditions you have during the Christmas time?

Oh! Thank you for listening to it! It’s one of my favorites from my other group that I love. It was from one of the dramas a member was in, the Japanese version of Boys Over Flowers (season 2). But I’m glad you enjoyed it! Many people don’t like it as much because they ALWAYS perform it but I love it every single time haha

Overdose definitely was such a good song! Are there any EXO songs you don’t like? Or just would skip?

I just started reading the Percy Jackson series. I’m surprised I’ve never actually read it before because the first book got me hooked! I’m trying to read more (non-EXO fics haha) so I recently started going to our local library and I’m hoping it’ll get me back into reading. I absolutely loved Shang-Chi! I saw it a few weeks ago and loved it! I don’t really care for the Marvel Universe but really liked Shang-Chi. I can’t wait for it to be on Disney+ haha

My favorite things in the winter? Well, where I live, it doesn’t really get the winter feel unless you drive out. But I’m going to be visiting family that it would feel like that! I just like seeing the Christmas lights and hoping it snows. I know my parents want to go to the winter village so maybe when I visit them, we can! But I’m definitely more of a cozy type — I’m too clumsy to do anything sporty. How about you?

I look forward to whatever you make! How exciting!

I hope this week is wonderful!

[lainahastoomuchsparetime]

If you’re new around here, Things I’ve Read Recently is a series of posts I do that are basically mini-reviews of books that I either forgot to review, didn’t have enough to say for a full review, or just didn’t want to do a full post about for whatever reason.

I worked in a thrift store all summer and I had like a half hour lunch break. And doing nothing but eating alone is boring, so I read a bunch of magazines and then started bringing a book.

Now, I didn’t feel like taking notes while I ate, so I didn’t bring any review books. And I didn’t really feel like reading anything… you know, good. So I looked at my physical to-read stack and my book shelves and mostly found whatever looked trashiest. Never underestimate the power of good trash. Sometimes you need to read something that doesn’t make you think. At all.

So let’s talk about what I read this summer!

(Note: As I said, I didn’t take notes on any of these, so I don’t have notes to do content warnings. There’s like murder in most of them, and fatmisia and racism stuff. It’s trash, don’t be surprised by dumpster fires. Assume there’s no diversity in most of these.)

Killing Britney by Sean Olin

Published: July 1st, 2005 by Simon Pulse Genre: YA Thriller Binding: Paperback Page Count: 234 with no extras at all, actually Part of a series? Nope Got via: I wanna say thrift sale or yard sale. I own it and I don’t think I bought it online or anything.

Summary (from goodreads): Britney is the girl everyone loves to hate.

Ever since Britney transformed herself from freak-and-geek to the most popular girl at school, her life has been touched by tragedy. First it was her mom, who drowned on a family rafting trip. Then her hockey-star boyfriend, Ricky, was killed in a hit-and-run.

When the deaths continue to pile up, everyone fears for Britney. Sure she’s popular, blond, and fabulous.

But is that enough reason for someone to want to… kill her?

Thoughts: This was trash. It’s very clearly written by a man who had possibly never spoken to a teenage girl when he wrote this. Maybe because of the time period it was written plus that it’s written in third person, but it does have a kind of removed feeling. Which works for the “twist” ending (it’s a really predictable twist), but normally isn’t my favourite.

At the same time though it kind of worked for how my mindset was when I read it? I didn’t really want to connect to the characters. I just wanted to be entertained for a short period of time while I ate.

Also apparently this won an award for being appealing to reluctant readers, and I can totally see that. This was actually recommended to me by a friend like fifteen years ago. (I can remember that, but I can’t remember where I put my tweezers. Why is my brain like this?) That friend wasn’t a huge reader, but apparently liked this and thought I would.

Well, friend, fifteen years later, you weren’t wrong! Five dumpsters out of five.

(No, I’m kidding, I’m not rating these.)

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

Published: November 12th, 2009 by Razorbill Genre: YA Thriller Binding: Paperback Page Count: 235 plus an excerpt for a book by a different author and an add for the Kissing List. Part of a series? Nope. Got via: I think I actually bought it from amazon.

Summary (from goodreads): All it takes is one fatal mistake…

High-school beauty Natalie Hargrove has spent years plotting to become prom queen. She’s got just what it takes: popularity, glamour and ruthless ambition.

When someone threatens to overturn her perfect plan, Natalie needs to take control. So she convinces her boyfriend Mike to help play a prank on her nemesis, Justin… one that goes terribly wrong, and Justin ends up dead.

Natalie is plunged into a sea of secrets, shame and scandal.

Because it turns out there’s one thing even Natalie Hargrove can’t command – and that’s fate…

Thoughts: This was also trash! Not my favourite trash of the bunch here, but it was good enough for what it was. I actually thought the setting of this was really interesting. It’s set in… Charleston. I don’t know where that is. One second.

So it’s set in South Carolina! And takes place around Mardi Gras and has a whole bunch of southern high school traditions that I wasn’t really aware of. Do you remember that book I read last year, Ruined? It kind of reminded me of that, but, like, trashy CW teen show content instead of a ghost story.

Seriously with how popular Fallen was I’m surprised this was never made into a terrible movie. It’d be kind of fun to watch, honestly. Lots of teen drinking and sex, some murder, lots of drama, all that jazz. Not my favourite, but it worked for when I was reading it.

Traveling On into the Light: and Other Stories by Martha Brooks

Published: September 1st, 1994 by Groundwood Books Genre: Contemporary YA Short Story Anthology Binding: Hardcover Page Count: 146 plus an about the author Part of a series? No, but one of the stories was expanded into a book called Being With Henry Got via: I have no idea. I’ve had it forever, and there are not library marks or anything.

Summary (from goodreads): The miracle of unexpected connections and small victories that enlarge and transform shines forth in this haunting collection.

Here are teenagers on the brink of discovery: Jamie, who comes to understand that the lost can be found in unexpected ways when he goes looking for his dead father and finds a living memory instead; Laker, a runaway able to face his mother’s rejection because of the kindness of a total stranger; and Sidonie, who, threatened with the loss of the love that made her feel safe, discovers she can survive and face the unknown.

Out of alienation, isolation, and loss coms hope for the future in the support of friends, family, or lovers, the healing power of memory, or the sanctity of a safe place from which personal dragons can finally be faced.

Thoughts: This actually wasn’t trash. I grabbed it because it was in the box in my closet, and short stories seemed easy to read in small bursts. It’s actually pretty good. It’s older, so some of the stories obviously haven’t aged the best, but looking at it in the context of it being twenty-five years old (and most of the stories older), it’s not a big deal.

Also, like, props for this actually having queer characters? One of the characters in one of the stories has a father who has somewhat recently come out as gay and begun a new relationship. While normally that’s a plot I find a bit tiresome, for the early 90s, it’s handled pretty well.

I’m probably not going to keep this as I don’t feel any urgent need to reread it, but it was good enough.

Speaking of the 90s…

Obsessed by Jo Gibson

Published: This bind-up was released May 27th, 2014 by K-Teen Books which is a division of Kensington. We’ll talk about the original pub dates in the review. Genre: YA Thriller Binding: Paperback Page Count: 356 plus an excerpt from the next book, which we’ll talk about. Part of a series? This contains the books The Crush and the Crush II. Got via: Yard sale!

Summary (from goodreads): From master of suspense Jo Gibson comes two heart-stopping novels of romantic obsession–where the love never dies. It kills. . .

The Crush

Michael Barton is smart, sweet, gorgeous–the total package. Which is why some of the girls have decided to have a little contest. Whoever hooks up with Michael first will be the winner. There’s just one problem. One of the girls has been harboring a secret crush on Michael for years. She’ll do anything to be his girlfriend. She’ll play the game. She’ll win his heart. She’ll beat the competition. . .to death.

The Crush II

Michael Barton has experienced the dark side of love. He has survived the advances of a psychotic stalker. He has endured her deadly game of obsession. And now he is free from her web of lust and lies. But Michael has a surprise waiting for him. His secret admirer is still out there. Watching. Waiting. Plotting her next move. And if Michael thinks he can escape her this time, he’s wrong. . .dead wrong.

Thoughts: Originally the two books that make up this bind-up were published in 1994 by Zebra, specifically from their Scream Line. You may or may not know this, so let’s talk a bit about Zebra, because this is very interesting. Zebra, which is also a division of Kensington, mostly started as a romance publisher. In the 80s and 90s, however, they were quite successful publishing westerns and horror novels. They apparently (I can’t find too much information on it) had a line called “Scream”, which seems to have been somewhat similar to Point Horror line, but clearly not as popular.

The other interesting fact about this book? Jo Gibson is also known as Joanne Fluke, who writes the Hannah Swensen series. I find that so interesting. There’s also an excerpt for her… I think only non-cozy adult book, The Other Child, at the back of this book. Which is just such random advertising!

This is kind of trash, but it’s trash in a very specific way. Honestly, I did not realize that was such an old book when I started reading it, since I literally grabbed it because of the cover. It wasn’t until I got to a part about how cellphones were so expensive and unusual that I was like “what the hey?” and actually checked the publication date.

This is 90s teen pulp horror. You don’t go into this expecting a good book. The characters are barely characters, there’s a ton of 90s isms, the plot is ridiculously predictable, and it’s not remotely scary as an adult. You gotta think about being twelve and reading this with barbecue chips on a Friday night when you’re still young enough that staying up late on a Friday is a treat.

I also wanna just talk about these covers.

  Why are her fingernails so long?? That’s not a thing in the book at all. There’s absoluely no sense to it. I love it.

This was great! I’m actually gonna keep this and I would love to get my hands on the other bind-ups of her books. I’m super charmed by this.

Well, that was fun! What did y’all think of this round-up?

Peace and cookies, Laina

Things I’ve Read Recently (89): Stuff I read at lunch at my summer job that was mostly kind of trashy If you're new around here, Things I've Read Recently is a series of posts I do that are basically mini-reviews of books that I either forgot to review, didn't have enough to say for a full review, or just didn't want to do a full post about for whatever reason.

[mysteryshelf]

MARCH ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDS EVENT: Blog Tour - Craks in a Marriage

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF March Anniversary Weekends Event!

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Craks in a Marriage (Mah Jongg Mysteries) by Barbara Barrett

  About the Book

Craks in a Marriage (Mah Jongg Mysteries) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting – Florida Self Published (February 6, 2018) Print Length: 204 pages ASIN: B079DCX8WQ

When Sydney Bonner overhears a fellow mah jongg player arguing on the phone with her husband, she realizes the couple’s “perfect marriage” isn’t all it appears to be. A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him.

Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders.

Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them.

About the Author

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

What initially got you interested in writing?

By my late thirties, I’d achieved several life goals. I had a wonderful husband, two beautiful children, a job I liked and a lovely house. Though advancement at work was still a possibility, I was at loose ends in my life. Until my favorite soap opera introduced a new character who was a romance writer. That sparked my imagination. I didn’t need the feather boas she wore to compose her novels, but I liked her otherwise glamorous lifestyle. I could do that, I told myself. Hadn’t my teachers from grade school through high school praised my writing? I could do what she did. I tell people now that writing helped me avoid a midlife crisis. (Although I still got a red convertible about that time.)

  What genres do you write in?

I have been writing contemporary romance since my late thirties. I was first published over five years ago. I’ve published eleven novels and one novella. This past year, I returned to my love of mysteries and wrote a cozy mystery of my own, Craks in a Marriage. I’m using the same pen name of Barbara Barrett for both.

  What drew you to writing these specific genres?

As noted above, I decided to write contemporary romance because that’s what my soap opera character wrote. My masters’ degree is in American History, but I chose not to write in this area, because I knew how much research would be involved, and I wasn’t ready to return to that after my thesis. As a former human resources management analyst who studied jobs in her former life, my characters’ occupations played a major role in developing their stories.

I started reading cozies when pregnant with my first child and needing something to keep my mind occupied. I fell in love with Agatha Christie books, especially the Miss Marple series. Later, when I’d gone through most of those, I turned to English country cozies.

  How did you break into the field?

The rise of the digital book and the subsequent growth of digital publishing helped me enter the field. In just a few years, many more opportunities opened up to authors seeking a place for their works to be seen. I am very grateful to The Wild Rose Press for taking a chance on me. I published eight books with them before I felt I was ready to fly on my own last summer.

    What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

I want my readers to enjoy the read and be taken outside their daily life for a short period while going through the book. For my romances, which of course have the happy ending, I hope they take heart that many relationship problems can be worked through if both individuals contribute to the solution.

For my cozies, I hope readers have fun attempting to identify the murderer before my sleuths do and exercise their brains in the process.

  What do you find most rewarding about writing?

I enjoy the journey taken by my brain and spirit when I write, as I travel in my head and on the computer screen from the mere germ of an idea to a full-blown plot with an ending that satisfies and makes sense. The whole time I’m putting together a book, it’s like I can’t go fast enough to finish it, even when temporarily blocked, and yet when it’s done, I feel lost and alone. Until I start the next one.

  What do you find most challenging about writing?

Finding the right words to convey the true story I want to tell. I was tempted to say “finding just the right words,” but I’ve learned there comes a time to stop. The revision process is hard. Grueling. But so important. Not just for being true to the story but for helping the reader understand the characters’ thoughts and motivations.

And, of yeah, I have a terrible time with character development. Love writing dialogue.

  What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

Figure out what types of writing excite you most and explore writing in them. Keep what works and move away from what doesn’t.

Educate yourself about the publishing world and the current publishing process and decide on your entry point: large publisher, small publisher, digital-only publisher or self-publish.

Know that the publishing world has become super-competitive. You probably won’t realize how much until you break in, but even with your fore-knowledge, realize you’ll be shocked and you’ll have to work harder than you ever thought necessary.

Unless you’re picked up by one of the top publishers and offered lots of money and support, plan to do most of your promoting by yourself. Or pay a bundle to have someone do it for you.

Finish the book. It may not be the one that eventually gets published, but the self-confidence that comes with completing an entire story is fuel that will charge your brain to create more and proof that you can do it.

Write every day. It takes a while for the discipline to be established, but in time, it’s like exercise, you can’t stand to be away from for any length of time.

Get feedback. Not from your friends and family but from other writers.

Join a writers’ group. The support you’ll receive is more fuel for your spirit and brain.

What type of books do you enjoy reading?

Love reading mysteries. I’d rather listen to thrillers on tape. Several years ago I joined a book club, mainly as a social outlet, because we chose to meet each month at a different restaurant. But this experience has exposed me to stories and authors I might never have discovered were it not for book club.

  Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

So far, we haven’t talked about the subject of Craks in a Marriage, the game of mah jongg. Like the book club, I initially learned how to play the game as a way of meeting other people when I moved to Florida. Over time, I’ve come to love the game. I play two versions a week. When I decided to write a cozy, what better concept than to make this game the central feature? While I was at it, I chose to make my characters retirees like me, who live in the fictional town of Serendipity Springs in central Florida.

I also live in my home state of Iowa five months a year. My husband designed the house we built when we downsized five years ago.

  What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Start with my website www.barbarabarrettbooks.com. I have combined both the romance and cozy mystery elements of my career there. You can find descriptions of all my books and buylinks for them.

Next, consider liking and following my author pages, http://bit.ly/2aXZvG9. I tend to update it more frequently.

You can email me at barbarabarrett747@gmail.com, especially if you’d like to sign up for my mystery newsletter.

If you want visuals of who and what I envisioned in my novels, check out my Pinterest page, http://pinterest.com/barbarabarrett7.

  Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.

Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job as a human resources analyst for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and one novella, she has returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.

Craks in a Marriage, the first book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who seek the murderer of another mah jongg player’s husband before she is charged. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.

Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft.

Barbara is married to a man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.

Now retired, she is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in Iowa, her home state. She earned her B.A. degree in History from the University of Iowa and her Master’s Degree in History from Drake University.

When not in front of her laptop creating her next story, she plays Mah Jongg, knits, and enjoys lunches with friends.

Author Links

Website – http://www.barbarabarrettbooks.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Barbara-Barrett-Author-1678443865812386/

Twitter – www.twitter.com/bbarrettbooks

Pinterest – pinterest.com/barbarabarrett7

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8181756.Barbara_Barrett

Subscribe to my newsletter: barbarabarrett747@gmail.com

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MARCH ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDS EVENT: Blog Tour – Craks in a Marriage was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf with Shannon Muir

[char27martin]

Author Victoria Laurie on Writing Realistic Psychics, Penning a Good Mystery and Her Publishing Journey

Victoria Laurie hit the ground running with her debut novel Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye, and her career hasn’t slowed down since. She has multiple bestselling titles, and her latest novel, When, has been optioned by Warner Brothers for a TV adaptation.

  When tells the story of Maddie Finn, a high-schooler with the chilling ability to see the death dates of everyone she encounters. Penning novels about extraordinary talents is second nature to Laurie, who says she herself is a psychic intuitive. We talked to Laurie about writing mysteries, writing realistic psychics, and her publishing journey:

What was your life like, pre-book?

It was sad—filled with corporate America, working for the man and really disliking that kind of a life. My brain automatically goes into story form all the time and to have to rigidly put it into spread sheets and dull boring meetings daily was a little soul-killing. It was very difficult for me.

I didn’t immediately quit my job after the first book because the advance was so tiny. It took me about three or four years before I could quit my day job and write full time.

Who were some of your favorite writers as a child?

Erma Bombeck—she wrote If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? It was the first time I [read] satire as a kid. She’s a very dry, witty, humorous writer, who wrote about being a housewife with kids she didn’t enjoy. I loved how she wasn’t trying to make her imperfect family perfect and how she coped through humor. She influenced me more than any writer I’ve ever read.

Did the fairy tales you read as a child influence your fiction?

No. But some of my stories were inspired by actual ghost stories that I’ve heard. The majority of them just popped out of my brain: What can I come up with that is terrifying, keeps the pacing going, and can be tied to a mystery with people who are alive? The books all have a sense of justice, where someone is doing wrong and needs to be held accountable. You can’t hold a ghost accountable—someone alive needs to be held accountable. I love writing about those little moments where the hairs on your arms stand up.

One of Us Is Lying: Karen M. McManus on Her Gripping Bestseller

Is there a particular book that inspired you to be a writer?

Janet Evanovich’s first book, One for the Money. It was 2003. I had been laid off, and I was sad and depressed. I remember watching Janet Evanovich on a morning show, talking about her latest book. She had written about a dozen books by then. The host talked about the humor she used. I thought, I could use some humor right now. So I headed to the book store and bought the first three. The books were amazing, and her voice was very similar to mine when I wrote e-mails or letters to friends. Evanovich’s contribution to the cozy genre and the mystery genre—to mingle humor, and wit, satire and hijinks—she did a lot for the genre. [After I read her books], I called my sister to say I was going to write a book.

I am embarrassed to say that it took me days to figure out what my amateur sleuth should be. I was like, What could she do? “Oh, cool, someone wants an appointment for me to give a psychic reading.” What could she be? “Well, yeah: a psychic sleuth!”

When did you first realize you had psychic abilities, and how did you respond to that discovery?

It wasn’t just a lightbulb going off. I had to be convinced I had a talent for it. I am big on science. I love facts. Intuition can be backed up by odds, not evidence. I am right about 75 to 80 percent of the time.

There were small windows of my ability in my childhood. I remember asking my father at dinner if he was fired. The whole table looked at me, and my father was like, “No, why would you say that?” Two weeks later, he got his pink slip. I didn’t like it. There was a sense of Did I cause that? Could I have prevented that?

Now, I understand that it’s like a dial on a radio station; you pick up stuff. I met a medium who was jaw-droppingly good. She is world-renowned now. I convinced her to go professional. She was like, “I will if you will,” and we worked at a shop together… Word of mouth started to spread. People kept coming back saying everything I said was true. So, there was a slow realization of my ability, but no real lightbulb moment.

A lot of your speaking events turn into mass readings. Is that intentional, or is it just something that happens because you are a psychic?

That is totally intentional. I could talk about me—and that’s boring. I’m an introvert. I’m pretty vanilla. People love to hear about themselves. [Doing readings at events] makes it fun for me, because I get to make it fun for them. The range of questions takes me by surprise. It ends up making what could be a dull event more entertaining.

What do people usually get wrong in books about psychics?

I am so sick of reading about psychics who say something bad is going to happen—and there’s no detail—no specifics. Real intuitives are very specific. We won’t say, “Be careful at night.” We would say something like, “Have you had interaction with a man knocking on your door at night?” The client says, “No. I have not.” Then we say, “Be careful of the knock that will come in the evening. Keep your doors locked, look through the peep hole, and, if you don’t recognize him, don’t open it up.” We pick up on a detail and hone it down; sometimes we can hone it down to hair color, ethnicity, height or personality. I think that’s why [my character] Abby Cooper has worked so well—because she is very detailed while discussing things to come or things that have happened involving a crime. She gives a lot of clues, but never the answer. The tricky part of writing an intuitive-based novel is retaining the mystery while giving enough specifics to make it believable.

What tips do you have for writers on writing realistic psychics and mediums?

It’s a difficult task. It came easy to me because it’s what I know. Avoid all the stereotypes: the overly-dramatic, fainting, bangle-wearing psychics. Avoid the psychic who is always on the verge of panic in talking about difficult subjects. Intuitives have touched on difficult subjects enough not to have super huge emotions over it. Sit for a couple of readings from good intuitives. We have a similar language; we say things like, “It feels like this…” or “I have a sense of…” It’s important to discuss the physicality of how we look when we are reading someone. If you look at my videos, you can see: When I’m cued in on someone, there is a look that comes over me. When I’m giving a message, I tend to look down and to the right. Most good intuitives do this. When I did research on this, I was intrigued—looking down and to the right accesses memory. That is a telltale sign that you’re in front of a real intuitive, because they are tapping into something, energetically speaking, that feels more like a memory. It’s not something they are making up.

What tips do you have for writers who hope to pen a mystery?

I think it’s really important to get dialogue right. A lot of writing can be really stiff and formal. You want to write the way people speak and the way you speak. I think it’s so important that people read their dialogue out loud to themselves. Read every word, and try to take the stiffness out of it.

As far as tips for writing mystery, I’m a big fan of a twisty ending. I am a big fan of writing myself into a corner and seeing if I can get myself out of it. I think it’s important to make sure that you’re going in a direction that hasn’t been done ad nauseam and isn’t too obvious. Make sure you have enough dead bodies and suspects to make it interesting, and have an ending that the readers can’t see coming.

Describe your current novel, When, in your own words.

When is the story of the importance of realizing that our time here is limited. To me, it was important to get the message to young people that we have a limited number of days. I wanted readers to consider what their expiration day is and that maybe it’s closer than they think. Question the choices you’re making; if they are bad, change them.

How did you come up with the idea for the book?

My best friend’s father-in-law was dying of bone cancer. She was caring for him in her house. She called me, exhausted and depressed. She said, “This is unbearable. He is in pain.” I told her he would live through the holidays and die shortly after that. He did. He died in January. I heard a tiny bit of relief in her voice because his suffering would end. In one way, it was a cool ability in that moment to offer her a bit of peace, but it was awful to have to say, “You’re gonna lose him.”

We all know our birthdates, but not the day we die. I thought, Wouldn’t it be interesting if I had a character who could predict the exact date that someone would die? How would that affect them and the family around them? She is a young adult, so that makes it harder for her. I wanted it to be a mystery, so I threw in a serial killer, and you have When.

Mysticism, mystery and murder are essential in your fiction. Do you deliberately pursue subjects that involve these elements, or do they come to you organically?

They come organically, the path of least resistance. It’s easiest for me to write this way; it’s organic. It’s become my style. You can recognize a book from me.

Looking for a literary agent or wondering who to contact at a specific publication? Search WritersMarket.com’s extensive database!

Can you describe your writing process?

I head to the library Monday through Friday, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. I take a backpack, and I treat it like going to work. I crack out 1-=0 pages in that four hours, and I have a book in six weeks.

How do you discover your characters?

Most of them come from interactions with people I know well. Cat is loosely based on my sister. Most of my villains have shades of my mother; rather than spending time on a couch [at a therapist’s office], I write.

Tell me about your publishing journey.

Abby Cooper was my first foray into publishing—and she got rejected. I sent queries to 121 agents. A couple said, “Send me the full manuscript,” and she got rejected by every single one. My current agent, whom I adore, left the door open for a rewrite. I returned it to him in 10 days. I rewrote 11 chapters. He thought, since I returned the changes so quickly, that I didn’t take him seriously. He was disappointed, so he didn’t even open it for a month. When he finally opened it, he was like, “Oh, she did make the changes.” He offered me representation. I knew, in that moment, my life had changed. Abby went on to sell 250,000 copies.

How did you cope with rejection in the querying process?

Not well. Who does? It’s terrible. There was wine—me whining with wine. Rejection physically hurts. There is a quote that gets me through: An agent who rejected me sent a pamphlet that said, “If anything can prevent you from becoming a writer, go ahead and let it. If nothing can, persevere.” If I wanted to be a writer, and I couldn’t let the rejections stop me. Writers write. It’s what we do. I learned to take in the hurt, have a pity party, and keep going.

Looking back, is there one moment that you consider the biggest in your career so far?

I’ve been very lucky. Making the New York Times Bestsellers list was lucky. Warner Brothers optioned When, [for television], so my character Maddie is heading for big things. The one moment when my life changed direction in a positive way—and the highlight of my career—was getting my agent. It was an overwhelming feeling, having an agent who got what I was trying to do. He was excited, and he was ready to be my knight. That was the biggest moment—my favorite.

Did you celebrate becoming a New York Times Bestselling Author?

The day the list came out, I went to Starbucks at 6:00 in the morning, in the pouring rain, and had the barista take a picture of me holding the list up while I’m sobbing and crying. [Later I celebrated] with a glass of champagne—I had a bottle in the fridge because I had been close. I made the extended list a few times. The bottle has been in the fridge for three years, so I drank it. I was like, “Why am I drinking this? I don’t like it.”

Any advice for new writers?

This thing is such a gamble. Not being published says nothing about your talent or ability; it just means you haven’t found the right person to fall in love with your stories. Publishing is hard. Hone your skills, and keep working at it. Write a little every day. Keep it routine.

How has your life changed since publication?

In great ways. I have been able to quit the day job, and that was wonderful. I get to do what I love. I make myself laugh every day. If I don’t, it wasn’t a good writing day. I have colleagues that I love, like my editors and my agent Jim. They have become like family to me. They have enriched my life in so many ways.

What’s up next for you?

I’m working on a spin-off from the Abby Cooper series featuring Cat and Gilly. I am really in love with that now. I am writing a YA endeavor. I’m working on a fantasy series. It has a protagonist who’s not quite bad or good—she rides that edge. It’s a fantasy-based mystery series that has a mystery within a mystery. It’s told from her point of view in addition to a man’s perspective, and they overlap. I’ve also been thinking of doing another series that’s been in my head and won’t leave, so I am thinking of developing that—a sort of adult mystery, darkly humorous series.

How can people connect with you?

On my website: victorialaurie.com or on Twitter, at @Victoria_Laurie

Thanks, Victoria. It doesn’t take any psychic ability to predict further success for your stories. Your talent and killer work ethic will continually provide entertainment for your readers. 

The post Author Victoria Laurie on Writing Realistic Psychics, Penning a Good Mystery and Her Publishing Journey appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-genre/mystery-thriller/victoria-laurie-mystery-author-interview

[palmspringsbeats]

2017.

That was pretty sweet, right?

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk.

Well, at least we all made it.

And we’re all right here.

Quick strategy for ‘18:

There was a recent interview with Bjork, while she was promoting her new album, Utopia, where she was asked how she dealt with the insanity of the world.  She said she creates a small bubble around herself, and focuses on filling it with everything she loves. (Not, like, a literal bubble, btw….I should clarify because it is Bjork.)  Nah...but she just focuses on herself and her immediate surroundings, and creates her own world of the things that matter to her... love family music...and does her best to not let the outside awfulness in. Create your own little bubble world.  I really liked that.  That’s all you can really do these days.  What’s important to you?  What do you love doing?  Cool, create a small bubble and concentrate like a motherfucker on just those things. Tune everything else out.  Easier said than done, especially when the outside bullshit is directly affecting your life, but still seems like a pretty good goal for operating in the world today.  Work to create your best bubble.  Keep filling it with what you love.  Turn off the bullshit.  And pretty soon...this is your life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n0Ps1KWVU0

I’ve been filling my bubble with a lot of music this year.   

And it’s time to step on in this bub ya’ll.

Because it is time to present to you…

WhatWhat’s best music of the year.

Also, RESIST.

Personal Music Highlights of 2017

1. Movement Detroit (see you again soon).  

Highest of lights was Function wiping clean 90 minutes of my memory at the RA stage under Hart Plaza (went up to him afterwards, looked him directly in the eyes and told him he was number 1.  He gave me a head nod.  I was content.)  Check out his album, ‘Recompiled,’ which was released this year.  Respect the master.

Runner Up: Walking into a club at 3am with Eddie while Moodymann dropped the Beastie Boy’s Paul Revere.  An entire club of Detroit techno heads went bananas and everyone in the club sang every word.  That is what it means to be a good DJ.  First time I saw him and it was everything I needed.  Played everything from D’angelo, to MK to Ro James...to The Beastie Boys).  Talking shit into the mic all night.  Doing it all using iPod earbuds.  Thank you for being exactly you, Moodymann.  (P.S. There was a thing this year where super cool internet DJ chat room people took issue with Moodymann playing Kings of Leon, Sex On Fire, at a festival.  You realize you’re criticizing Moodymann right?  You’re criticizing MOODYMANN.  Immediately fuck yourself.  You’re what’s wrong with everything.  You are banished from my bubble.  Also, for the record, ‘Sex On Fire’ fucking rules.  Drink more cheap beer and figure out your life.  

Movement Detroit weekend playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/bobbysouers/playlist/54ve0L6kDdCI1dZIrbbL0l

2. Radiohead in Portland

Ended with Creep, can die now.  

Set list/playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/bobbysouers/playlist/3VLMcyumHN6FYCQqGvFd3X

3. Solange in Portland

Made me realize Solange is actually cooler than Beyonce.

And Beyonce is...Beyonce.

Thus,

Solange is really, really fucking cool.

4. Solar in an Oregon orchard

Me full zenith.  

Shout out and thank you, OV.

5. Queens in MSG

Thank you Ian.

Thank you for existing, Queens.   

6. My wife singing Post Malone’s Rockstar acapella in our house without knowing the lyrics.

Shout out to legal Portland things!

Also, biggest surprise of the year: I really like Post Malone.  As an artist and as a person.

And then...

7. Black Thought.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA

Life lesson: You can’t do this without grinding for 30 years.

Best Music Videos of 2017:

2 Chainz ‘Trap Check’ was a lock for this.  A LOCK.  

Then came ‘The Gate’ (see intro paragraph).  

Didn’t realize the drug DMTMDMA existed, so at least 2017 gave us that!  

Anyway,  #BjorkBubbleGoals fo real fo real.

(I’m going to get a tattoo on my face and become a Soundcloud rapper and my first song will be me mumbling “Bjork Bubble Goals, Bjork Bubble Goals, Bjork Bubble Goals” a thousand times over a pretty awesome beat.  Gonna be siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick.

Runner up:

2 Chainz: Trap Check

2 Chainz is a superhero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqoHYAdbQrE

Best Albums Of 2017:

1) Fever Ray: Plunge

The Queen Mother returned when we needed her most.  

I could write a whole bunch about this but I advise you to instead just read all the interviews she did for this album.

She is revealing and honest.   

She is my favorite artist.  

And the album’s theme of sexual freedom also made me ok with a sexual fantasy I’ve been having.

It involves Fever Ray and Mike Pence, locked in dark room for 24 hours, with only jars of Trader Joe’s Coconut oil.

GET FREE MIKE!

WE KNOW YOU NEED IT AND IT’S OK.

Also, can we please unite the two most powerful natural forces on the planet and get a Bjork / Fever Ray SUPER SLIMEY collab album before 2020?  

Help me put that energy out there and let’s create an actual vortex.

P.S. this album also contains the clear winner for 2017 lyric of the year:

“Your lips, warm and fuzzy, I want to run my fingers up your pussy.”

-Fever Ray, “To The Moon And Back”

Force of nature.

2) Honey Dijon: The Best Of Both Worlds

The music genre I was most obsessed with this year was Chicago House.  I felt the need to go as deep as I could into the origins and classics...where so much of the music I love today started.  Damn.  What a time and sound.  Deep in the exploration, something was dropped on the very top of the pile.  Honey Dijon’s, “The Best Of Both Worlds.”  Honey Dijon is a super real DJ vet from Chicago and just created a beautiful album that is just House music to the bone.  So quality, sounds so warm and good.  Only she could make this.  If you’ve never listened to Chicago House (what are you doing with your life, btw?), this is a great starting point.  Note to self: I need to see Honey Dijon DJ in the next 3 months.

3) Ellen Allien: Nost

Ellen Allien has never played it safe and has always pushed it, hard.  If you really like electronic music you should listen to her earlier albums, namely, Berlinette, Thrills and Orchestra Of Bubbles (collab with Apparat).  A pure techno head, who just BRINGS it on this album.  A review described it as spending hours in Berghain and that’s a decent description.  DARK AND HARD.  If you can’t lose your mind in a club for 3 days, you can use this album to pretend you are, while doing things like walking through airports, riding bikes fast, and sitting at your workplace desk.  There’s a track on this album named “Mind Journey,” and ALSO a track named “Jack My Ass.”  What more do you want people!?   

4) All The Good Rap Albums:

2 Chainz: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music; Future: FUTURE; A$AP Ferg: Still Striving; Quality Control: Control The Streets Volume 1; 21 Savage & Offset: Without Warning; A$AP Mob: Cozy Tapes Vol 2: Too Cozy

Don’t be a Joe Budden old head.  If you say new rap is wack, you ain’t listening...at all.  Everyone of these albums has at least 3 absolute bangers.  God I love this shit so much.  Metro Boomin is producer of the year, again and again.  Beats are so fucking hard.  Also, for the record, Migos are incredible.  The goal of rap is sounding the coolest.  And they sound pretty fucking cool.  (ALSO, they provided the ad lib of the century: https://youtu.be/yBXO_hiNWUc “Ostrich, Ostrich, Ostrich, yee.”)    My 17 Rap Songs of 2017:

5) LCD: American Dream

There was a generational sea change across the board this year.  When Arcade Fire missteps then doesn’t sell out live shows?  And they were/are the best band going?  What?  How fickle are we now (me included)?  Things are too fast.  We’re getting old.  When this album was coming out it made me nervous.  I really needed it to be good.  Proof of life.  They delivered.  No crew can bring it like this.  They stand alone.  And you know what?  Getting old is fucking badass.  What’s more hardcore?  Just keep making stuff and pushing HARD and no one can f with you.  There’s really no other way.  

6) War On Drugs: A Deeper Understanding

Me.  Music for Sunday afternoons.  Music for time with great friends and family.  For when you’re driving alone in the dark.  I love you guys.  KP and I saw them live a few months ago.  Holy shit.  Just 9 really talented and experienced dudes onstage JAM ROCKING.  Portland was standing and cheering, I was violently air drumming.  Love forever.

7) Four Tet: New Energy

Proves this guy is pushing it forward and on another plateau.  He could have just made some quality beats and it would have been satisfying.  Instead he made ambient spiritual desert in winter night music.  Happy we get to listen to this guy create things.  

8) Lil B: Black Ken

When Lil B tweets, he signs every tweet: “-Lil B.”

He also takes a screenshot of every tweet and posts it to Instagram, often times again captioning the post, “-Lil B.”

Earlier this month, he tweeted this:

"WHAT UNIVERSITY WHATS TO LET LIL B COME LEARN AT YOUR INSTITUTION? IM VERY INTERESTED IN SCIENCE AND BIO AND ALSO NUERO SCIENCE I WANT TO OFFER MORE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND GLOBALLY AS WELL AS ANIMALS WHAT UNIVERSITY WILL ACCEPT ME? I DID NOT FINISH HIGH SCHOOL!!!"

Very quickly, schools like Pennsylvania State University, the University of Oregon, Butler University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Texas at Arlington and Brandeis University tweeted at him, providing offers and links to applications.

His response:

“SO FAR PENN STATE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, LSU HAVE ALL SHOWN INTEREST IN EDUCATING LIL B !!!!! IM SO HONORED!! SERIOUSLY FOR THEM SHOWING THAT THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE !! LETS GO! I WANNA LEARN!!! - Lil B”

He then tweeted exclusively about guys and girls getting “Mudd Butt” for at least 48 hours straight.

Lil B has more personality than all humans.

Thank you, Based God.

(Anyway, this album is so good and fun and was the most hip hop thing that happened this year...until Black Thought opened his mouth.)

9) Nick Hoppner: Work

Mature master aspirations.

10) Thundercat: Drunk

I listened to this on a sunny day this year with a chocolate or two, and just remember laughing a lot.  I want to hug this guy and invite him to a party where everyone is wearing sweatpants.  So talented, makes the world more fun.

11) Karen Gwyer: Rembo

Discovered this recently.  How is this exactly what I’m looking for?

12) DJ Python: Dulce Compania

Read a review that described this album as “ambient reggaeton.”  And somehow, with DJ Python, that’s a great thing.  I put this album on as I walked into work and it helped me.

13) Kendrick Lamar: Damn

Wait, this album came out this year?

Also, I’ve failed you because I haven’t listened to this album backwards yet, as Kendrick revealed, but, fuck it, I’m on vacation so I’m going to do that RIGHT NOW.  

Best Tracks Of 2017:

Here are 70 of my favorites.

Special call outs below.

1. Track of the year - Cardi B: Bodak Yellow

In the year where women rose up and refused to accept male bullshit, this, fittingly, was the soundtrack.  What gets me everytime is that she’s just rapping her ASS off.  Also learned that saying “BLOODy shoes” is consistently really fun.  ALSO, when she was on Fallon recently she was basically Rosie Perez on Jeopardy in the movie ‘White Men Can’t Jump,’ and that just warmed my entire body.  (and....the beat is the beat).  Final score: Undeniable.  

2. Runner up - LCD Soundsystem: How Do You Sleep?

Hardest diss record of the year!  This song sounds like ten thousand angry miles.  Or, exactly like 2017!  Runner up for lyric of the year: “You warned me about the cocaine, then dove straight in.”  He makes you feel all of it.  I want to hear this played live. 

3. Four Tet: Two Thousand Seventeen

From my Sunday morning album.  A mental womb.   

4. Hercules & Love Affair: Are You Still Certain? (feat. Mashrou’ Leila) 

Shout out to Peter who played this during a b2b sesh in my basement which was the first time I heard it.  A week later I played it as the closing track of a DJ set in a wonderful outdoor space, during the day, in the Sun (Zekefest!).  Those are the moments. 

5. Thundercat: Them Changes

I started more DJ sets this year playing this song.  There is never a bad time to play this song.   

6. Honey Dijon: Thunda (feat. John Medelson)

Soul. 

7. Ellen Allien: Innocence

My favorite track off of Nost.  Play it as loud as you can in a pitch black room. 

8. Fever Ray: Mustn’t Hurry

Hard to chose one, but this one split a good divide between the sound of the first album and second album.  Oh yeah-eee-yeah-eee-aah.  Fever Ray is actual magic.  

9. The War On Drugs: Holding On

I am, because of you. 

10. 2 Chainz: Trap Check

Start your workouts properly. 

11. Sufjan Stevens: Visions Of Giedeon

See the movie, “Call Me By Your Name.”Be crushed by this song forever. 

12. Lil B: Berkeley

Play this song loud on a Summer Saturday with your shirt off.  God damn it this shit is so hip hop.  Just on his straight positive.  “We in downtown Berkley, I’m not rich, but I’m workin’.”  Thank you, Based God.

13. Kamasi Washington: Truth

Pretty fucking important. 

14. Nicola Cruz: Tzantza 

My wife and I went to Hawaii on vacation this year, first time I’d been.  We went to this place.  Very dope spot.  They were playing this on a good sound system and it stopped me in my tracks. It will always make me think of a Hawaiian vacation.  And my love of low bpm dance music.   

15. Travis Scott: Butterfly Effect

This song actually is 4am in Hidden Hills.  Everyone on incredible drugs. Perfect weather.  Slight cool breeze at 3am to remind you how high you are.  Then Travis Scott pulls up to Kanye’s house in a space ship, and the party continues.  

16. ASAP Ferg: Plain Jane     

Flipping Three Six’s lyrics from “Slob on my knob, like corn on the cob,” into “Ride with the mob, Alhamdulillah” is the reason Ferg is the Hood Pope.  

17. LCD Soundsystem: American Dream

Closing time. 

Random Afterword:

Recently learned that, before Motorhead, Lemmy was in a band called Hawkwind.  Did some searching on Hawkwind.  Christmas indeed.  One of their albums is called ‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time,’ and their live album is called ‘Louder Than The Universe.’  On these, the last days of 2017, I recommend drinking some cold beers, cranking Hawkwind up to one million, removing your shirt, and begining preparations for 2018.  Go harder than a young Lemmy, young people. 2017, peace. 2018, lessgo!

Bjork Bubble Goals,

-WhatWhat