#i am recommending this to you like someone would recommend a stranger a really good book

[savanir]

DP x DC prompt [3]

during one of the final psych evals at Arkham right before he gets to be released, the whole thing wrapped up so tidy, just a little relapse which involved a robbery. Getting sent back to Arkham, but he got to stay at the asylum so long that he no longer has to serve a prison sentence, score!

But during that eval his overseeing psychiatrist recommended him to have a change of scenery, some fresh non polluted air.

Riddler was rather convinced the guy was making this recommendation to everyone in Arkham in their own weird way to convince them to just leave Gotham and become someone else's problem. should he notify Batman about it somehow? nah, it’ll be more interesting to see how this is gonna turn out in the long run.

But can he leave the state? Can he even leave the city? he never really bothered to look into it, at least not legally, up until now if he felt he needed to leave for one of his plans he just did it.

Turns out he can, it’s a whole hassle and a half though, first a judge and then a probation officer and he’s pretty sure both were like “what the hell is this psychiatrist guy thinking!?” but at the same time, shrink probably knows what he’s doing (WRONG) so he’s allowed to go visit out of state family or whatever.

he had to wear this nice ankle monitor though, Wayne Enterprises™ tech, not overly bulky but still very present. real fancy, and a fun extra challenge heh.

now as for a good reason to leave New Jersey he’s going to need distant relatives, and he finds some, great grandpa walker also has a son, who had a son who had a daughter Madeline, who married some guy Jack Fenton, and she lives somewhere out in the boonies Illinois. great he’ll visit her.

far enough away in all sense of the word that there is no way she knows anything about him. it would be best to call her first though, be polite about it.

“hello, you have reached Fenton works, this is Maddie speaking” 

“Riddle me this-” ah whoops, habit, oh whatever, “we don’t share parents, but certainly a part of your life, from laughter to strife. Who am I?”

there is a pause …  he’s going to be a bit disappointed if she hangs up if he’s honest.

“cousins~” comes the cheery reply.

“correct! the name is Edward Nygma, we are distantly related you and I and well-”

“oh you simply must come visit!” 

well this was rather easy, perhaps a little too easy, but she lives in the midwest so maybe just going with whatever some guy says over the phone is normal there? stranger danger not really a thing in a small town where everyone knows everyone?

things start to make a little more sense once he gets there and he’s starting to think some things might run in the family. like a preference for the colour green and weird hyperfixations and genius bordering on insanity. Though that remains to be seen, Jack does not seem like a very bright light after his very enthusiastic welcome.

their kids however are observant and sharp. young Jasmine is wasting no time trying to psychoanalyze him. and the boy, Danny, he had not really meant to and he swears he’s sticking with calling the kid Danny so he wouldn’t seem overly familiar, but he might have called him little bird a couple times now.

but that’s all whatever, he’s playing nice here. and he doesn’t even have to worry about his eccentricities tripping him up because this place is insane.

There actually is a local teen vigilante active but he seems about as loved as he’s disliked. and the ghost boy’s enemies are basically all his own kind, which another crazy thing to now know about. ghost. they are real actually, how is Gotham not completely overrun? and how do they even work? and where do they keep coming from?

Edward might be getting a little sidetracked here. He had fully intended to sneakily get his next big game plan underway all the way out here, ankle monitor be damned. but he hasn’t made any progress at all.

Instead he’s been listening to Madeline and Jack to maybe figure out what the deal is with these ectoplasmic entities, he has to know, at this point he might go crazier if he doesn’t. 

He’s making Jasmine promise him not to get her doctorate in Gotham, he’s going back and forth with space riddles with Danny.

so yeah the whole thing kinda just became a vacation, maybe the psychiatrist had the right idea after all? hmm nah, probably not. but this is fun. He’s thinking about recommending this place to some of the others.

It's different enough to get the vacation feel, but enough crazy shit happens to make it all feel like home.

it is not until Maddie wants to talk with him about potentially switching the position of godfather of Danny to him rather than some weird rich friend of theirs that Edward realizes he might have lost the plot somewhere

Apparently the little bird basically begged them with a powerpoint presentation on how he likes Edward so much more than that Vladimir guy. 

And honestly, the fellow sounds like a Dracula Lutho so even if it’s kinda sad Edward can understand why he’d be considered a better option. Even if the guy has more money and a huge company that makes him said money. And it’s not like the Fentons know about his Riddler activities.

Thinking it over, Edward does think that Danny would like Gotham and Wayne has that space program thing right? The kid is definitely smart enough for that (Nygma certified), and yeah Edward does quite like their space themed back and forth. So, fuck it, why not, what is the worst that could happen?

He doubts Maddie and Jack are gonna kick it any time soon anyway out here in the boonies, it’s just a title thing, a stamp of approval or something.

he should have known he was going to eat those words later… he had this whole beautifully elaborate trap set up for the whole Batclan, and he was just getting to the good part when his phone went off.

Had to put the whole thing on pause cause that particular contact wasn’t gonna get ignored. He did promise to be available.

If the whole thing he had planned now went tits up he could at the very least laugh later at the reactions of the bats as he told them to “hold up one second, I have to take this.” while they were all in various perilous positions. 

Sadly he did have to go, he had a very distressed godson to pick up.

[4unnyr0se]

PLEASEEEE MATCHING WITH CAPTAINS ON TINDER WITH USHI AND KITA PLEASEEE IM ON MY HANDS AND KNEES 🙁 FROM ONE AUTISTIC TO ANOTHER I AM BEGGING YOU

❥ timeskip! haikyuu captains matching with you on tinder | wakatoshi ushijima and shinsuke kita

warnings: timeskip! ushijima and kita, fem! reader size kink, protected sex, hayloft sex, unprotected sex, biting, marking, virgin! ushijima, soft dom! kita, spanking, rough sex, tendou mentioned, kind of dom reader for ushijima

MDNI | 18+ content

word count -> 2k

Wakatoshi Ushijima | Loosing his virginity

Ushijima wasn’t a stranger to people talking about their sex lives around him. His face was so stoic and statuesque that no one could tell if he was uncomfortable listening to the subject. The topics spoken in his vicinity ranged from how big a woman’s breasts were to how someone lost their virginity. He had to admit, he was a bit more awkward around those conversations because he couldn’t relate. He was a 26-year-old virgin, while his teammates and rivals had no doubt lost their virginity years prior. Some people even lost their virginity in high school. How scandalous!

He had contacted Tendou, his closest friend from Shirtatorizawa, to hopefully give him advice on the subject. Tendou was shocked at first (and found this entire situation to be completely hilarious) but offered his advice anyway. He told Ushijima that losing your virginity doesn’t have to be a big deal, that it doesn’t have to be romantic or special. It’s just something that happens, and everyone is different. Tendou also recommended downloading Tinder, which is a very useful resource. “If you want sex with no strings attached, look no further.” his words rang in Ushijima’s ears, his thumb hovering directly over your profile. You seemed like a good match for him, but he didn’t really know what he wanted yet. 

Shrugging his shoulders, he slid right on your profile and was surprised when you matched with him. He had very clearly stated that he was a virgin in his biography (Why would he not? It was accurate), so that kind of deterred people from matching with him. You messaged him instantly, suggesting he visit your apartment sometime this week. Of course, he accepted; that was the whole reason why he was on that app. He had one concern, however. Ushijima was massive, bigger than any other man by a wide margin. Could you handle him?

“Shh,” gentle sounds left your lips as you covered your dripping core above Ushijima’s length, observing how it was practically twitching with want for you. “We don’t have to rush things, okay? I know it’s your first time, baby,” you kissed the side of his cheek tenderly, your nails dragging themselves up and down his muscular chest. “Just let me make you feel good.”

He could only nod as your lips touched his once more, biting on his swelling bottom lip playfully. His hands rested on your hips, kneading the flesh between his calloused fingers. His usual stoic face was flushed, lipstick marks adorning his chapped lips and thick neck. He impatiently squeezed your hips, not daring to open his mouth just yet. 

“Oh? Are you ready now, ‘Toshi?” you purred, breaking the kiss to lower yourself down even further. “You have to tell me if you want this, baby. Or else I won’t do it.”

“P-please,” Ushijima mumbled, his eyes staring intensely into yours. He couldn’t take it anymore; he needed to feel you. He needed to know if the stories his teammates told him were true and if it felt like euphoria once he was inside you. Without giving you any warning, he thrust his hips upwards, pushing his pulsating shaft inside your sobbing core. “Sorry, couldn’t wait any longer. Fuck.”

“Shit!” you cried out, balancing yourself on his broad shoulders. “Y-you’re really fucking big. G-gimme a second, okay?” your breath was quick and shallow, your walls wrapping so perfectly around his huge cock. Was he really a virgin? There was no way in hell someone with that big of a dick was a virgin. After regaining your composure, your hips began to move up and down on his length, a wanton mewl escaping your lips as the tip of his cock brushed against your most sensitive place. 

“Go faster,” Ushijima demanded, gripping harder onto your hips. He wanted to take charge but had no experience in this department. What if he messed up? What if he hurt you? His left hand was the size of your entire ass, you were so fragile compared to him. “Wanna feel more of you.” He cracked his palm against your ass softly, massaging the stinging flesh soon afterward. 

You nodded, burying your blushing face in his neck. Your bruised lips peppered soft kisses on his skin as you continued to bounce up and down on his gigantic cock, his head brushing against your cervix so deliciously. All that could be heard in your apartment was the sensual sound of R&B music, your wanton cries of pleasure, and Ushijima’s occasional grunt or deep moan. He wasn’t very vocal, but he was close; he could feel his cock twitching inside of you, relishing in the sensation of your gummy walls, attempting to milk him for all he was worth. “I’m, fuck, I’m gonna cum soon. Feels fucking incredible.”

“D-d’ya wanna cum inside o-or on my tits?” you whimpered, feeling your own climax quickly approaching. He was just so fucking big, and his voice was so deep. Each word he spoke made your clit throb even harder. “P-please ‘Toshi!”

“Inside,” he demanded, bolding, leaning up to kiss you once more. The kiss was molten, full of fire and passion that he had so long oppressed. He groaned in your mouth as he felt you let go of your cock, feeling your body convulse around him. The sounds of your pathetic and fucked out mewls drove him over the edge, his cum painting the walls of your womb white. 

You broke the kiss and smiled at him, pulling yourself off of his cock with a pop! Ushijima groaned at the sight of his seed trickling down your thighs so beautifully, looking like a Renaissance painting. Was this the sensation his teammates were talking about earlier, was it this kind of beauty? 

“Was that a good first time?” you asked, snapping him out of his wandering thoughts. He nodded and got off the bed, dressing himself quickly. “Yes, I liked it. Thanks.” The faintest tinge of pink dusted his cheeks, his eyes not daring to meet yours. He knew that if he looked into your pretty eyes again, he would be included to stay, and he couldn’t risk getting distracted from volleyball. 

“You have my number if you ever want to, y’know, fuck again. You were really good for a virgin.” Was that a compliment or an insult? Ushijima couldn’t tell. Maybe it was both, he didn’t take it personally. He turned towards you, still not making eye contact. Fuck, you were so damn pretty. Was missing his practice tomorrow really worth it? Did he want to have you in his arms that badly? 

“Maybe I’ll give you a call some other time.”

Shinsuke Kita | The florist

Kita loved the local farmers market. It was where he could sell his rice without worrying about the middleman. It was peaceful, seeing the mothers bring their children and pets. Seeing couples holding hands as they checked out the local food and drink vendors. This weekend, Kita wasn’t at his usual booth. He chose to browse instead, having turned an acceptable profit this month. There were stands that he had seen a million times before and one that was brand new. Fresh, the paint is not yet chipped off by children carelessly running into it. And it smelled beautiful, but that was no surprise. After all, it was a florist's booth.

He saw no one running the stand currently, maybe they were on break. Kita shrugged and took out his phone, opening Tinder to mindlessly swipe through it. It wasn’t an ideal pastime, but it beat standing around waiting for the floral stall owner to show up. 

You greeted him with a rushed hello, an embarrassed blush tinting your cheeks as you apologized for being away from the stand for so long. Before Kita could respond, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. Opening the notification, you saw none other but the profile of the man standing before you, looking incredibly attractive. 

“You matched with me,” you blushed, holding your phone for Kita to see. He smiled softly, thinking it was adorable how you could barely make eye contact with him. 

“It appears I have.”

“Fuck, you’re squeezing me so well, princess,” Kita purred against your lips, thrusting into you so gently Like you would break like you were made of glass. “Think you can take more of me, darling? I’m barely halfway inside that pretty pussy.”

Fuck, his voice made you squeeze around him even harder. Here you were, laying under him in a hayloft with your hands clawing desperately at his muscular back whilst he thrust inside of you so slowly, painfully slow. Was he trying to be a tease? Was making you squirm his kink? “J-just fuck me already! Don’t tease. It’s mean!” you whimpered in frustration, attempting to angle your hips in such a way that you could feel Kita deeper inside of your core. 

“I’m not trying to be mean, sweetness,” he chuckled against your lips, pecking them softly. They tasted like vanilla and roses, a pure scent that did not fit you being defiled in a hayloft. “Just don’t wanna be too rough with you, that’s all.” he squeezed your wrists, pinning them above your hand with just one of his hands. “But if a pretty girl like you wants me to go rough, I guess I have no choice.”

The atmosphere changed instantly as Kita slammed himself into you at full force, his length pistoning in and out of your sobbing core. Your pathetic and adorable sobs of pleasure filled the hayloft, the occasional beg and plead thrown in as Kita destroyed your insides with his cock. He was holding back, not wanting to break any barriers you had set up. But when you beg him in that angelic voice to fuck you, who is he to refuse a darling such as yourself?

“Is this any better, sweetheart?” Kita groaned against your neck, trailing kisses down the already bruised flesh until he reached that sweet spot just above your collarbone. His teeth just grazed the skin as he continued to practically slam into you, shaking the sensitive wood of the hayloft with each powerful thrust inside your drenched core. “Do you like it when I fuck you like this instead, hm?”

“Yes! Fuck, Kita! M’close, holy fuck! I’m so fucking close, please!” you sobbed into his shoulder, your nails leaving angry crescent imprints on his back in accompaniment with the array of feral red scratches. “Please, please, please! Lemme cum!”

Kita moaned at your desperate words, the cadence of your voice making his dick twitch deep inside of you. He was close to his climax as well, your mewls of pleasure making the sensations he was feeling all the more delicious. “Yeah, you wanna cum pretty girl? It’s okay, cum on my fucking cock. Fucking make a mess all over me.” he bit down harshly onto your collarbone, punctuating every other sentence fragment with a powerful thrust into your weeping cunt. He felt your gummy walls attempting to pull him impossibly deeper, your orgasm approaching incredibly fast.

Finally, your orgasm washed over you like a tidal wave of complete euphoria. You sobbed as your release coated his cock, almost sending Kita over the edge in tandem. Quickly, Kita pulled out of your throbbing core and frantically fisted his cock, quietly roaring as his hot and sticky ropes of white painted your stomach so beautifully. He stood above you for a moment, admiring how beautiful you were from his point of view. Shaking from your orgasm, covered in his mess. You looked so fucking perfect.

“That was incredible,” Kita smiled at you, sitting beside you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder, kissing the teeth marks he had left earlier. “Do you feel good, sweetheart?” His tone was soft, gentle, and kind. He wanted to ensure you knew you would be cared for, even though you both accomplished what you wanted. 

“I feel amazing, thank you.” you smiled, resting your face on his exposed shoulder. Your eyes landed on the scratches and marks you left on his back, fingers tracing over them tenderly. “Uh, sorry about all of this. I’m not usually this rough.”

Kita kissed the top of your head and pulled you closer to his form, caging you in his muscular arms whilst he whispered sweet nothings into your ear. 

“You have nothing to worry about, pretty girl.”

okay this ask was literally so sweet i love u nonnie

[cindytoast404]

hatchetfield dashboard simulator

🎧average-theater-enjoyer Follow

whoever got the last tickets to mamma mia i hope you fucking die

☄️harbringeroftheapotheosis Follow

I have good news for you, op!

3,428 notes

🌺cryingonthefloor-deactivated20210424

running for honey queen this year, wish me luck!!!

🛍️ queenb-deactivated20210503

Alright, Liz Cunningham from Clivesdale.

🌻fuck-clivesdale1935 Follow

GUYS OP JUST GOT DRIVEN OUT OF TOWN WHAT LMAO

🪶birdwatcher Follow

To be fair, she was from Clivesdale. Anyway, respect for whoever got rid of her. You’re an icon.

🪻thetheoristsofhatchetfield Follow

oh my god this post is so interesting. there’s doxxing. both original commenters are now missing or dead. did some research and apparently the honey queen pageant winners have kept turning up missing every year. what is going on over there

☁️floatingupabove Follow

that’s just the average beauty pageant experience

6,364 notes

🐽theonewhofeastsinthedark Follow

cannibalism 👍

72,263 notes

📱alicewoodward Follow

does anyone else think we should shut down watcher world? i mean that place has gotta be violating at least 5 different safety rules, right

💜blinky’s-sniggles-deactivated20200104

ihaven’t eaten in a week! ::)

📱alicewoodward Follow

jesus christ don’t you guys have like. a union or something

💜blinky’s-sniggles-deactivated20201004

we would, but then he’d get mad! :::)

📱alicewoodward Follow

god. can someone get these bitches a lawyer

👨‍⚖️garygoldstein-attorney Follow

Hi, Gary Goldstein, Attorney at Law-

📱alicewoodward Follow

does this town really only have one lawyer

73 notes

👁️ watcher-world-official Follow

This is your friendly reminder to tell a Watcher World employee if you see a sniggle acting against the rules. This includes accessing social media of any kind, including tumblr. It is forbidden by the Watchers, and any sniggles caught using it will be reprimanded.

On another note, ticket prices are now 50% cheaper! Stop by for a weekend of fun. You’ll never want to leave!

43,464 notes

🪴emma-the-crabby-barista Follow

some guy just walked into beanies and just ordered a cup of black coffee for once. see this is how it should be. no fancy drinks, make my life easier. tall random stranger i am in love with you

🪴emma-the-crabby-barista Follow

update: we’re dating

264 notes

🖼️ horror-lover Follow

okay but why is wiggly kinda… 😳😳

☁️ floatingupabove Follow

THE DOLL??!???

🍏 uncle-wiley Follow

I literally sold my soul for that bastard and this still threw me for a loop.

🤓pete-has-been-waiting-for-five-fucking-years Follow

Why is there blue in my hot chocolate.

☄️ harbringeroftheapotheosis Follow

i recommend you drink it!!! :)

🤓pete-has-been-waiting-for-five-fucking-years Follow

…Okay.

🤓pete-has-been-waiting-for-five-fucking-years Follow

i feel like singing.

712 notes

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

snowflakes dancing on the wind

the wistful wyvern, chapter one

a/n: this series is the second instalment i my eflorr trilogy. if you haven't already read fused with the foe, then i'd highly recommend reading that first so that you know what's going on.

summary: three years where you’d sworn off love entirely, tried to interpret it as a good thing, a gift really. You could be more productive, more focused. But now that you were home again, hearing the molasses tone of his voice and seeing the beads of sweat slowly rolling down the landscape of his body, over the ink that crawled up his left arm, you knew three years wasn’t enough to mend your heart. The rest of your life probably wasn’t long enough either. 

warnings: knight!bucky barnes x knight!reader, fantasy AU (monsters, but not much magic), original fantasy world, ex-friends to lovers, coworkers to lovers, former fuckboy!bucky, tattooed!bucky, slow burn, one-sided pinning, flashbacks, alcohol consumption, kissing, dragon attack, childbirth (with very ronja rövardotter timing), blood, weapons, violence, crying

word count: 4296

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TEN YEARS AGO, ON THE THIRTY-SEVENTH DAY OF WINTER 848 PR

A biting chill swirled through the echoing halls of Yoslor Penitentiary that noon when two gruff guards yanked you from your cell and dragged you to the far side wing of the prison. 

Passing countless doors, at last, they arrived at one with someone already on patrol on the outside. As a rusty key twisted in the lock with a reverberating click, the guard, still barely letting your feet skim the dirty floor, practically shoved you inside the chamber. 

As they threw you down into a cold chair and yanked at your chains to fasten them in a strong loop smelted into the stone floor by your feet, a voice suddenly caught your ears and caused your squinting eyes to flicker up. 

“Easy, boys! No need to drag her by the scruff of her neck as if she were a cat and not an eighteen-year-old girl,” you noticed the man already seated on the opposite side of the table, “would you please uncuff her?” he requested with an outstretched hand, a command, to your surprise, the guards obeyed, “thank you,” he leaned back in his seat as the manacles fell from your sore wrists. 

Rubbing the angry marks wrapped around your joints, a shiver ran through you as you saw the cloud of your exhale clear in the air. 

When the guards had settled on either side of the exit behind you, the blonde stranger opposing you tilted his head and asked, “do you know who I am?” 

“Should I know who you are?” your gaze lifted from your wrists and met his, “look man,” you sighed heavily, “if I at some point stole something from you, I don’t have it anymore. I don’t really have much of anything anymore in here,” a short and dry chuckle tied a bow on your statement. 

With his stare never straying, his chin then tilted slightly as he said, “I am Steven Grant Rogers, crown prince of Eflorr,” his title rolled off his tongue with such ease as if it didn’t have any merit at all, “and you’re Y/n Y/l/n, daughter of the famed One-eyed Ollie,” he rested his forearms against the table’s edge, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Blinking back at the royal, your brows furrowed softly at the mystery of why a man such as him would pay someone like you the time of day, “…alright, uh, sure.”

“We’ve kept an eye on you for a very long time, long before your father slipped away and made you take the fall for the break-in at the Sulmier estate,” your jaw couldn’t help but clench at the memory, “you’re very talented.”

“Yeah, can you just hurry up and tell me what you want?” you grunted as your knee tensely bounced beneath the table, “they’re serving soup today for supper and I’d rather not miss it.”

Huffing out what seemed like an amused breath, the prince glanced down a moment as he announced, “I have a proposition for you,” he met your gaze once more, “either you can pay for your father’s crimes here in prison or you can come work for me,” he offered slowly, “twenty years either way, but in here you will be treated as, well, essentially an animal,” his eyes briefly flicked around the cold chamber, “whereas with me you will be just as any other warden. You will have the same rights, the same opportunities, maybe even a home by the end of it.”

“…you wanna give me a job?” you squinted back at him. 

To which he simply nodded, “yes.” 

“Me?” your eyebrows only seemed to knit together tighter. 

“Like I said, you’re very talented. I could use someone of your skillset,” he then leaned back in his seat, “so, I’ll give you some time to decide,” he clasped his hands together in his lap, “if you don’t show up at Fort Borün before all the snow has melted, then let’s just say that you wouldn’t be able to get very far with the bounty there’ll be on your head.”

The heavy ivory pelts that made up your cloak billowed around your frame as the piercing wind whirled it around. You had to lean forward a bit to even make any headway in the howling blizzard that coursed around you. Icy snowflakes struck the upper part of your features that the tugged-up scarf didn’t cover. 

Squinting in the snowstorm as you crested the hill and walked under the archway, you glanced above and spotted icicles hanging from the drawn-up portcullis. 

As you glanced around the courtyard and the snow-dusted castle looming in the background, your feet soon carried you over towards a pair of bundled-up wardens posted outside a door. 

“Excuse me,” you interrupted the lewd joke one of them was halfway through telling, “could any of you–” 

But it wasn’t till the soldier to the right jumped and yelped, “ah, by Apa!” that it occurred to you just how camouflaged your frosty visage had been in the blizzard.

“Holy fuck!” the other one clutched his heart after nearly drawing the crossbow strapped to his back.

“Oh gods, sorry. Thought you were a snowman some fucking pixies had put a curse on,” the first knight, whose head was warmed by a thick knitted cap, steadied his breathing with a short laugh, “what do you need?”

Glancing between them, you asked, “could you point me in the direction of Master Tully’s office?”

“Ah,” the beanie-wearing warden nodded, “you’re a new recruit?”

Stifling a laugh, you tilted your head and huffed, “you could say that.” 

“I’ll show you,” the dark-haired one gestured, “come with me.”

“Thanks,” you offered him a small smile as he then held the door behind them open for you to enter first. 

The dining hall of the bustling barracks that you entered nearly gave you whiplash with the warm contrast it had to the freezing environment you’d just been trudging through for weeks. The fireplace down on the far wall warmed the interior and lit up the faces of the soldiers halfway through their meals. 

As you pulled back your snow-dusted hood and tugged your frosty scarf down to expose your nose and mouth, your palm attempted to brush some of the flakes off of you. 

“He’s right over there,” your guide pointed to the balding man sitting alone at a table in the corner of the chamber, before he disappeared from your side and joined some comrades on a long bench, sneakily stealing a chunk of bread from one of their bowls. 

Slowly stepping closer to the older man, hunched over some parchments as he dipped and softened a crusty piece of bread in his stew, you carefully croaked, “master Tully?”

“Aye?” he lifted his gaze to find you. 

“Hi, I was told to come talk to you,” you stepped closer and reached out your hand, “I’m Y/n, I don’t know if you–”

“Ah, yes, Y/n! Great to have you on board, lass,” his gruff hand swiftly gave yours a shake, “you must be tired after that long journey, so why don’t you grab a bowl,” he briefly pointed to the humble buffet off to the side, “have a wee rest, and then we’ll sit down and discuss everything after that, yeah?”

Offering him a light nod, you agreed, “sounds good, sir.” 

As you wandered over to fill up a bowl, Tully waved over the warden who’d shown you the way. 

“Barnes?” 

Swiftly, the soldier rose from his seat, “yes, sir?”

“Go show Y/n her quarters,” Tully returned his attention towards his stew. 

Barnes’ dark brows then knitted together, “who’s Y/n?” to which his commander simply pointed with the hand still clutching a chunk of bread, “oh…” the warden’s glance followed the trail, “right…” before raising his voice to catch your ears, “oi, snow!” you didn’t turn around even as he neared, “hey!”

Dragging the curve of a spoon from your lips when you finally noticed his stare, you finally perked up, “who, me?” and pointed to yourself. 

“Yeah you,” he didn’t slow down as he gestured for you to shadow him, “come.”

“Oh, uh,” with the bowl of stew still in your gasp, you tried not to spill as you scurried to keep up, “my name is actually Y/n,” you corrected him.

Halting his step momentarily, he turned and reached out an inked hand for you to shake, “Bucky,” a small smirk tugged at his lips as your eyes finally got the chance to wash over his visage now that his striking features weren’t veiled by a blizzard, “welcome aboard, snow.”

PRESENT DAY

You felt like somehow you should have predicted that this would be your welcome home greeting. That this striking heartbreak could have somehow been prevented if you’d only remembered when training was usually held. 

It was just rubbing salt into the wound you’d been trying so fiercely to mend. Yet, it was still there, open and festering, bleeding till you nearly passed out. You couldn’t start doing that again, purposely seeking out the salt just to feel something, just to for a single second feel good before reality settled in again. Perhaps your timing had been on purpose, perhaps your subconscious had just been so strong that it had forced you to return home right at the time that practice was held in the middle of the courtyard, and none other than Bucky stood in the centre, shirtless and glistening with sweat, as he ran the newcomers through a drill, sparring with each and every one of them till they yielded. 

You tried to get your feet to move again, you truly did, but you couldn’t keep walking past, couldn’t look away, could barely even breathe as he moved like water through the trainees.

But then suddenly, as your fiddling fingers had found the long, braided leather cord wrapped nearly a dozen times around your wrist to form a bracelet, the playful comment that left Bucky’s lips to egg the recruits on fell short, as his ocean eyes flickered up to find you, only worsening the bittersweet agony you were in.

THREE YEARS AGO, ON THE SEVENTY-SECOND DAY OF AUTUMN 855 PR

“Oh, wow,” Bucky swiftly lowered his goblet from his lips and exclaimed as his stare found you, right as you passed over the threshold and entered the bustling ballroom, “holy shit.”

Closing the short distance between you as he was standing off to the side, your skin prickled at his alarm, “what?”

“No, just–, you’re in a dress,” his gaze danced across the emerald silk draped around your form, the fabric’s shade made you stand out amidst all of the warm harvest fest decorations, “never thought I’d see the day…”

“Well, they aren’t really that practical in our line of work, so–” 

“Oh, I beg to differ…” he smirked, taking a sip of wine which by the looks of it was in no way his first cup, “I think you should always be dressed like this…” slowly stepping closer, his stare continued to lick you up in a way it never had before, “especially with a neckline as low cut as that,” as his eyes brashly dipped to your cleavage, your hand couldn’t help but shoot up to tug it up a bit more, a nervous instinct that only conjured a deep chuckle within his chest, “happy harvest fest to me.”

With cheeks burning hotter than the sun, you coughed out, “you–, uh, you look good as well.” 

“Oh, yeah?” he cheekily cocked a brow and leaned in a bit closer, causing your spine to press up against the wall behind you, “how good?” 

As your heart fluttered and nearly flew out of your chest, you heard yourself sputter, “oh, well, I mean, you always look good, you just–, uh…” your words then poofed away into nothing as he nonchalantly tugged a stray piece of hair behind your ear and let his touch linger on your heated cheek, “uhm…” 

“I just what, snow?” he purred, and you swore you saw his gaze flicker down to your lips. 

“You–… you–…” 

But before your wildest dreams could come true, an individual accidentally bumped into Bucky and lodged him far enough away from you to snuff out your hopes of the taste of his lips. 

“Wow,” the guy briefly clapped Bucky’s wide shoulder, “sorry, mate.”

“It’s alright,” he smiled as the fella went on his way. Raising up his goblet for another sip, he then turned his attention back to you, “so,” his grin was still bright on his features, “you gonna let me dance with you tonight?” 

“Dance?” your eyes grew wide, “oh, y-yeah,” you tried your best, though still failed to sound casual, “sure, if you want to.”

“Great,” he held your gaze a moment longer before saying, “I’m gonna go grab another drink, you want anything?” 

“No thanks, I’m good,” though there was now a decent enough distance betwixt you two, you still stood virtually plastered against the wall. 

“Alright,” he breathed as he began to back up, offering your gown one last glance before he disappeared, “that dress…” his head gently shook from side to side as a long exhale flowed from his lungs, “gods, you look way too hot tonight, it’s not fair.”

When his visage was no longer in sight, you slumped down a bit and took a generous breather, the grin on your face nearly making your cheeks ache. 

After your pulse had settled back from the nervous butterfly he had transformed it into, a fellow warden spotted you and shouted. 

“Hey, Y/n!” he waved for you to come over and join the little cluster he was on the edge of, “you’re still here! I thought you’d left already with lord fancy pants or whatever.”

“Lord Witherington, and yeah, it’s first in the morning that the ship leaves port,” you walked up to him. 

“Well, at least you get to enjoy one last harvest fest extravaganza before becoming a babysitter.”

“Hey, he is doing important research up in Efira, in areas that haven’t been explored since Rimesunder’s demise,” you raised a slightly defensive hand as you noted the historical significance, “it’s an honour to protect him.”

“Yeah, yeah, honour and all that crap,” he sighed light-heartedly as he raised his mug up to his lips, “but you still have time to get seriously fucked up tonight.”

“So that I can be both seasick and hungover tomorrow?”

“So that you can for once cut loose and have one last fun night before you leave!” 

Marinating on his point a moment, your thoughts couldn’t help but float away to Bucky. 

What if tonight was the night? What if you just finally took the leap and told him how you felt? 

Then, like a clock arm clicking into the new hour, you made your decision. 

“Give me that,” you grabbed the drink out of his hands before he could take another sip. 

“Wow, that’s what I’m talking about,” the soldier cheered as you swiftly downed the strong brew, “yeah!”

“Gods,” your face screwed up when you swallowed the last gulp, “that’s disgusting. What is that?”

“My uncle’s mead.”

“Urgh,” the sickly sweet taste burned on your tongue. 

“Yeah, he’s not that good at it,” he accepted the mug as you passed it back in his grasp, “but it’ll sure get you pissed in two sips or less.”

Hoping that the half tankard you’d downed would grant you the courage you sought, you glanced around the ballroom, “I gotta–, uh, did you see where Buck went?” and when he then pointed out towards the main hallway, you offered him a small smile, “thanks,” before disappearing down that way. 

You felt like you were gonna be sick as you walked through the crowds. But if it was from the nerves or the mead that was already making you dizzy, that you weren’t sure of. 

As you searched the castle, carefully poking your head into drawing rooms and narrow hallways, you found yourself anxiously muttering just beneath your breath. 

“…I just thought you should know that I like you–, no, not like that…” you shook your head at your tongue-tied attempt at figuring out how you’d profess to him, “James, I have been in love with you since the day I met yo­u–, no, that’s stupid, I never call him James, that would just be weird–” 

Your murmuring then hushed as you turned down a secluded hallway and spotted the very warden that you had combed the palace for, down towards the end of it. 

The only thing was, he wasn’t alone.

Sliding deeper into the shadows, you couldn’t spare yourself the heartache and not look. 

Bucky’s lips were attached to the long neck of some leggy blonde. Her quiet whimpers echoed against the fortress walls as he felt her up and surely littered her skin with heated lavender marks. 

Suddenly, they shifted, turning till Bucky’s back was pressed up against the walls and, to your surprise, now no longer obscured by his bulky physique, another lady, a redhead, appeared beside the hickey-adored one. 

“So,” the redhead bit her lip as she slid her palm down to pet the palpable tent in his pants, “are you gonna show us to your chambers or what?”

“Yes,” he breathlessly nodded, “yes I am,” before seizing their hands, “right this way,” they then stumbled further down the dark hallway till they disappeared from your sight, leaving you frozen in the engulfing shadows with tears silently streaming down your face. 

PRESENT DAY

“Snow?” his eyes grew as wide as his grin, “gods, it is you!” Bucky then all but forgot about the training session he was in the middle of teaching and crossed the courtyard, “it’s really you!” once his brisk stride reached you, he plucked you up into his brawny arms and spun you around, “you’re back!” 

As soon as your feet touched the ground again, you took a large step back, though hated how the distance gave you a better view of his naked torso.

“Hi, Bucky,” you uttered, readjusting the bag strung over your back. 

Why did his touch still have to make your heart flutter? 

“Three years,” he placed a wide palm on your shoulder, “three fucking years!”

Three years where you’d sworn off love entirely, tried to interpret it as a good thing, a gift really. You could be more productive, more focused. But now that you were home again, hearing the molasses tone of his voice and seeing the beads of sweat slowly rolling down the landscape of his body, over the ink that crawled up his left arm, you knew three years wasn’t enough to mend your heart. The rest of your life probably wasn’t long enough either. 

“Yeah, you–, uh,” you swallowed the thickness of emotions that peeked through in your tone, “you grew a beard.” 

“And you still look exactly the same…” his gaze washed over you as a soft sigh flowed from his lungs, “gods, I’ve missed you,” he then tilted his head and asked, “you missed me?”

“I–,” blinking back into the stormy sea of his eyes, you felt your frame begin to tremble at the feelings that were still as alive as ever, “uhm…” averting your gaze, you had to get away before everything burst, “I need to go report to the king,”

“Oh, yeah, right,” his electric touch slid from your shoulder, “last I saw, he and the queen were in the blue drawing room. You haven't met her yet! She’s kind, you’ll like her.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” you refused to look back at him as you turned towards the main entrance to the castle. 

And as you began to walk away, you heard his voice call after you, “really is good to have you back, snow!”

Nearly ripping the door off its hinges, a fleeting gasp escaped you as you saw the queen by the open window, shooting arrows after the beast that whirled outside. 

“Your majesty,” you exclaimed as your eyes briefly flickered to her pregnant belly, “there you are!” you then swiftly crossed the room to yank open the small servant’s door, “this way!” 

Reluctantly, the royal stepped back from the window, smoke and ash gushing into the castle from the opening, and followed you up the revealed stone spiral staircase. 

As you rushed up the tower, your glances didn’t just dart back to the queen, only a few paces behind you, but every time you passed one of the narrow windows, your vision couldn’t help but catch the chaos down below.

The stubborn dragon, that had plagued the town of Borün for two whole years now, had returned. 

With daggers still tight in your grasp, you tried not to think about the people you knew to be down there in the fray, wonder if they had all been burned to a crisp, but instead attempted to shake it off and focus on your mission at hand. The king had commanded you to flee the fight and protect his wife and unborn child. 

A glint of fire reflected in the queen’s eyes as you glanced back at her to find her pace halted and her palm clutched on her stomach as she stifled a groan. 

“My queen,” you dropped back down a step closer to her, “are you–”

“I’m fine,” she waved you off and drew in a shaky breath, “keep going, I’m right behind you.”

Soon at the top of the tower, you pushed the door open and held it for the noble to enter, your glance though darting out the window as she passed. 

But when a low groan seeped from her throat, your gaze darted back to her with worry, “alright, that really doesn’t sound that good,” the door slammed behind you as you sheathed your weapons and stepped closer to her, “did you get hurt?”

“No, I’m–, ah! I’m alright,” she uttered through gritted teeth, her eyes squeezed shut as one hand reached out for the wall while the other stayed on her belly, “fuck…” 

Glancing down towards her hand as it rubbed in slow, soothing circles, your eyes then widened, “are you–… your majesty, a-are you–”

“In labour?” her eyes barely opened as she met your tense gaze, “yeah. My waters broke a while ago.”

“Oh gods!” now you truly wished you’d just stayed down with the dragon, “now? Here? I–, I–, wha–, can’t you just turn it off?”

Letting both her quiver and bow slide off her frame and drop to the floor, she let out a strained exhale, “not really how it works.” 

“I–, I–, okay, I don’t know what to do–”

“That’s fine,” her arm then reached out for your support, “I do,” you carefully helped her further into the chamber before she sank down a wall till she was seated on the floor, her pale yellow gown bunching around her legs, “alright, I’m gonna need one of your knives when its time to cut the umbilical cord.”

“O-okay,” eyes still wide, you checked your belt just in case they’d mysteriously disappeared in your panic. 

Noticing the terrified expression on your face, the queen’s head tilted slightly as she said, “Y/l/n, please don’t pass out on me, I need you here with me.”

“No, no, I’m not gonna pass out,” you rushed to reply, though weren’t completely convinced yourself, “I just–, w-what do I do? Do I do anything?”

Raising up her fingers, she panted, “take my hand.”

“Alright, yes, of course,” you swiftly grabbed her palm. 

You had no idea how much time passed, if your hand would eventually fall off for how hard she was squeezing it, or even how many times the royal’s groans, which threatened to morph into screams, reverberated off the palace walls and mixed with the chaos rumbling from outside. 

Then suddenly, an echo shot through the castle, “dove!” and though she couldn’t find it in her to yell back, the familiar voice visibly thawed something within the queen. 

“Up here!” you yelled as loudly as you could. 

Swiftly, the door was kicked down, and in stormed a honey-haired man, whose bloodstained shield and stout axe promptly dropped to the floor with a loud clang. 

“Steve!” the queen cried out through the relieved smile that softened her pained expression, “you’re here!”

“Yeah,” he looked as if a feather could have knocked him over, “I’m here, I’m here,” the king then rushed to switch places with you, kneeling beside his wife and clutching her hand in both of his, “what fucking timing our daughter has,” a soft chuckle bubbled out of him as he bought the back of her palm up to his lips and planted a chased peck upon it, “not even born yet and she already wants to join the fray,” he uttered, conjuring a slight laugh to crack through her pain, “a real fighter, just like her mom.”

Gazing up at him, a sombreness suddenly washed over her features as she then murmured, “my love, if I don’t–”

“No,” he swiftly cut her off, “that’s not gonna happen, you hear me? History won’t repeat itself, you’ve done everything in your power to make that so. You can do this, dove. I know you can.” 

He held her hand through it all, took the sting as each one of her nails broke his skin and every ear-piercing curse she threw at him, till a new life was suddenly in the room, laying against the exposed skin on her mother’s chest and wailing about the sudden change in scenery.

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[cntrlnoah]

Apple Fritters and A-listers

Summary: On a rainy day, famous actor Rafe Cameron finds shelter in a little coffee shop.

Pairing: famous!actor!Rafe x smallcaféowner!fem!Reader

Warning: rainstorms, food, thunder, nickname (sweetheart), flirting

A/N: wrote this on my period since I needed fluffy Rafe.

As the droplets of rain cascade down by the thousands, Rafe rushes into the doors of the closest shop to protect himself from the rain. The little umbrella held in his hands had little to no effect protecting him from the loud thunder and million drops of water.

As he dries himself off in the store and the umbrella in the umbrella caddie, he realized that he waltzed into a little coffee shop and is greeted by the owner.

“Hello! Welcome in” they said with a smile bright enough to subdue the rain. Smitten by her smile and guilty for taking shelter in her shop for the rain he decides to buy something as a thank you.

"Hi, one small coffee and uhh..." he thinks as he looks at the treats, "umm... what pastry do you recommend?" he asked with a shy chuckle.

"umm...the apple fritter is really popular and the chocolate chip cookie is really nice especially for the weather outside," she says as she looks over to the rain pouring down the window.

"I'll take your word on it. Can I get one of each please?" he says as he takes out his card.

"Alright that will be $8.50. Tap your card when you're ready," she says with a smile. As Rafe taps his card, she realizes it was a black AMEX but, doesn't say a word. After the transition went through she pours him a cup of coffee in a mug and grab the pastries he ordered. As she puts his order together, faint lofi music plays as he patiently waits for his order. She puts his order on a tray and serves it to him.

"Thank you," Rafe says as looking up at her as he takes a slow sip of his coffee. "Delicious" he says as he finish his sip. She then returns to behind the counter sits down and continues to read her book.

Rafe can't help it, the silence is killing him as he wants to talk to her as it would make time past by and distract him. Usually he would rather not as his busy schedule as an actor required a lot from him everyday and he'd want time to slow down so he could enjoy his life. His manager was probably worried sick about him in the pouring rain as he never made it to where he needed to be on time, but Rafe could care less he loved the slow pace and silence of this little hole in the wall coffee shop that he would usually ignore on his way to work. He managed to muster up the courage to talk to you and make causal conversation.

"So...are you the owner of this cafe?" he asked sheepishly not knowing why he got so shy over someone.

"I am. So what do you do for a living?" you asked curiously trying to make casual conversation.

"I'm an actor" he said. You looked up from your book with stars in your eyes. "Really?" you said with stars in your eyes. He nodded and took a bite out of his apple fritter.

"Wow this is very good" he complimented the apple fritter you made this morning. "Thank you, I make them fresh every morning along with all the other pastries" you said proudly. His eyes widen at that as he could tell that you make them with love and passion.

"So about the actor thing..." you decided to be a bit noisy because who wouldn't be if this handsome stranger said that he was an actor. "Are you famous?" you asked innocently "If its not to much to ask..."

Rafe laughed at this statement as the way you asked was so innocently not knowing who he is. It was refreshing compared to people around him either wanting his autograph or kissing up to him to get what they want from him. He was an a-lister after all, he got used to it at after sometime but it always put a smile on his face when someone treated him like a regular human being and not some hotshot celebrity.

"You could say that..." he answered nonchalantly sipping his coffee. "I've been to events here and there and stared in some movies, the usually actor things" he said admiring her quietly as he kept eye contact.

"I'm guessing you're very successful" you said. "How'd you know?" Rafe questioned how you could know without knowing who he was when he walked in. "I saw your black AMEX when you were paying..." you admitted. He chuckled, of course he should have known.

"Well if you didn't see on my card, my name is Rafe, Rafe Cameron" he said with a chuckle as he final introduced himself to you. "Nice to meet you Rafe" you said with a smile. You wanted to ask him for a polaroid with him just for the memory but you didn't want to seem impolite or rude doing so, so you held off from asking. Rafe saw that you wanted to ask something but stayed quiet and this was his cue to ask you what was wrong.

"I know you probably get asked this a lot... but if it's okay with you, could we possibly take a polaroid together? I kinda wanted to remember this moment as I don't really get customer like famous actors or singers." you asked sheepishly and shyly. As you grabbed your Polaroid camera from the back, Rafe waited patiently in the front of the store.

As you came back to the front you asked, "Is it possible that we take two? One selfie and one just of you? Is it possible if you sign the one just of you if its not to much to ask?" you asked shyly. Rafe nodded smiling at your shy confession. You first take the selfie polariod with him and he smiles at how close you are and then you take a polaroid of just him for him to sign. You grab a sharpie from the pen holder near the register for him to sign. He signs the polaroid with a special message...

'to the cute owner, the best apple fritters. much love. - Rafe Cameron ❤️'

You blushed at the message as it was very personal but you were going to put it up on the bulletin board in the coffee shop. As he was signing you noticed that the rain had stopped and the sky cleared.

"Hey, look the rain cleared. I guess you could go to where you were originally heading" you said seeming a bit sad as you two were starting to get along and talk. As you picked up his now empty tray to clean up, he spoke up. "Unfortunately...but I think you'll see me again sweetheart" he said with a sweet smile. "I'd hate to see you go, but please do visit again" you said to him as you put the polaroid on the cafe's bulletin board.

As he grabs his umbrella from the stand and departs, he can't wait for the next him he gets to walk through the doors of your cafe and have a cup of coffee served by you with apple fritter served right next to it and you can't wait for the next time he graces his presence in the store for his usual cup of coffee and apple fritter as he relaxes in this save haven you've created for him away from his busy celebrity life. He knows he's found a place where he can just be Rafe Cameron, normal citizen and not Rafe Cameron, a-list actor and flirting with you was the cherry on top that would lead to a love confession out of him.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello. I am writing a character with intellectual disability, and I have found your posts about that really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make them.

I am trying to do research and write him well, and I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to do that. My problem is that I would like to describe the way he speaks and the sound of his voice, but I'm not sure how to do that respectfully.

What I would like to describe is the way he takes a little longer to complete his sentences, needs more time than others do to plan what he's going to say, and pronounces some sounds a bit differently because of motor skills issues. I want to honor his unique voice and also help readers understand that he is noticeably disabled.

Are there any words or terms that would be really good/preferred to describe this sort of thing? And, on the other side, is there anything stereotypical or hurtful that should be avoided?

Thank you!

Hi!

I recommend our guide on writing speech disabilities!

In-dialogue, you can try showing him taking a break mid-sentence or using a lot of filler words/sounds to show that he's taking his time. You can spell them out in his speech, but I wouldn't overuse it - you can put more of them at the start, but later your readers will remember that that's how he talks, and occasional reminders should be enough.

It's important to remember that 1) ableists often mock the things I just mentioned, and 2) they're nonetheless real and real life people (me) talk with those patterns. I'd urge you to show them as just how he talks, not something that's inherently "annoying" or "child-like". Stray away from any sorts of infantilizing comparisons in general (that is, if he's not an actual child).

For him taking longer to plan what he is going to say, that's very real lol. How it shows (or doesn't show) will be very personal, I specifically tend to look up + fidget with my hands and people who know me can recognize that it means I'm trying to say something but need a moment (though strangers also often get it). But he can show it completely differently of course.

I don't think there's a consensus on what's the best way of "spelling out" someone's speech disability. My personal preference is leaving it out of the actual speech, but making it clear in the dialogue tags. It's also easier for readers who might have reading disabilities or not be native speakers of the language you write in. So you could make it clear there whether it's that he's slurring words, has a lisp, or stutters.

For terms, a lot of the accurate ones have also been used to mock how we talk. "Slow" would be the best example, "loud" would be there as well. A lot of us will talk slow, a lot will talk very loudly. I do the latter, and I know people who do both or neither. The key is to say it in a way that's neutral and not pass it off as some funny quirk or an outright gag. It's just a speech characteristic, the same way that someone could have a lower pitched voice, or speak very softly.

You can also show him struggling to follow the flow of the conversation. So sometimes it could be that he just loses the main topic and just asks what the discussion has been about (I do that all the time), or continues going on the subject that the other character(s) already moved on from.

Thanks for the ask and being thoughtful about it! I hope this helps

mod Sasza

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @thefreakandthehair! With thirty-nine works in the Steve/Eddie and Stranger Things tags on Archive of our Own!

In an underdogfics first, we have TWO nominators!

Our first nominator recommends the following works by @thefreakandthehair:

this is my month, I can feel it. october, baby!

never been afraid of any deviation.

scar-crossed lovers.

the answers are all inside of this.

Our second nominator, @sidekick-hero, recommends the following works by @thefreakandthehair:

over the hills and far away

meeting you was coming home.

make no plans and none can be broken.

rounding third, sliding home.

what's mine is yours (to leave or take)

Lex's brain is full of very creative scenarios, reading her writing is like reading an anthology of short stories but it's with all of your favorite characters! You get to see what they'd do in this AU or that AU, I love the exploration. It's like she's made a stew and it's simmering on the stove and you realize you're so hungry for stew as soon as you see it. <3 -- anonymous

Lex writes characters that come to life on the page while you're reading her stories. It makes it so easy to get invested in them, to feel with them and root for them to get their happy ending. She's one of these authors I would follow anywhere, any trope, any setting and universe, I am here for it. So I think more people should get to find her stories and be treated to the magic. -- @sidekick-hero

Below the cut, @thefreakandthehair answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

How can I possibly give just one reason! These two burrowed themselves into my brain like little gerbils with no hope of ever getting them out. I mean, was I supposed to hear ‘dontcha big boy?’ and be normal about it? But in all seriousness, they’re two sides of the same coin and those oppositions in character are super fun to play with!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

It was tough to choose, but friends to lovers keeps coming up!

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

If I have to choose a particular trope, hurt/comfort would be the closest fit, but in the sense of healing past hurts together as a unit.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

This question sent me into an existential crisis and the best I could do is narrow it down to three, and even that was nearly impossible. In no particular order: We’ll Know For The First Time by KikiZ; carve your name into my chest by hexiewrites; and more recently, Among the Wildflowers by ParadimeShifts.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Rivals to Lovers in my football AU! I’ve been so excited to get moving on that one.

What is your writing process like?

Oh, I wish I had a better one. I start with a skeleton outline, pop on some music, and then pick and choose which part of the outline sparks joy in that moment. I rarely, if ever, write chronologically so I just write what feels good in the moment and then go back with a scalpel to create connective tissue.

Do you have any writing quirks?

Definitely writing out of order, I think! And if there’s one thing about me, it’s that someone is gonna have an introspective moment looking up at the stars. Someone told me it’s like my calling card and they’re not wrong.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I like a bit of both. I like to post on a schedule for multi-chapter fics but only after it’s either completely done or mostly done so that there’s no pressure to it.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Over The Hills And Far Away incorporated some personal bits of my past that were equal parts cathartic and difficult to write at times, so I’d have to say that one! It’s really satisfying to take experiences that you regret or that didn’t end the way you’d hoped and give them a different ending in fiction.

How did you get the idea for never been afraid of any deviation?

The Eddie Month prompt for that day! Me and my co-mod for the event, nostalgicbones, included Bad Reputation by Joan Jett as a prompt and as I was listening to it, it got me thinking about how Eddie is someone who cares for those in less than ideal situations— maybe even to the point of weaponizing his own bad reputation to protect someone. In this case, that was Steve!

When writing the answers are all inside of this, what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect it to become multiple chapters! That one is part of my So Much For Stardust series (that I haven’t forgotten about, I’ve just been busy with big bangs) so it was based on The Pink Seashell interlude from the album. I still don’t know exactly how a 1-minute interlude turned into a 15k multi-chapter fic, but it was super fun to let go off the rails!

What inspired scar-crossed lovers?

Also a So Much For Stardust series fic, the first one in the series, actually. I heard Heaven, Iowa for the first time and wrote this based on that song in a day. My brain just kept rotating it around like a rotisserie chicken until I wrote it.

What was your favorite part to write from scar-crossed lovers?

This is ironic because I’m not an angst-writer by nature, but writing about the slow deterioration of Eddie’s van as a symbol for the passage of time was really fun to do. Bittersweet, but it was one of those things that I didn’t realize I was doing until I was in the middle of it and once I realized, I just carried it throughout!

How do/did you feel writing never been afraid of any deviation.?

Excited! It was the first time that I wrote pre-s4 steddie (which is wild that in two years, I just wrote that for the first time last fall?) and it was so fun to do!

What was the most difficult part of writing the answers are all inside of this.?

Probably balancing the kids’ voices in the first chapter while still creating tension between Steve and Eddie.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

It isn’t one of the fics listed here, but in no better version I could pretend to be tonight, I loved writing the line “Something about Steve feels like home, and Eddie is only familiar with houses.” Hurt/comfort, my beloved.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I’m planning on taking a break from big bangs for a bit to focus on some super neglected WIPs, so there are a few upcoming fics I’m excited about! My Football AU, an ASMR Artist!Eddie x Insomniac!Steve AU, and I’m working on a fic called Pickup Note with sidekick-hero and firefly-party that I cannot wait to dive into fully.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Just thank you so much for all that you do with this blog! The ship truly exploded overnight and there are so many incredible stories that I’ve completely missed just because they’ve fallen through the cracks. I really appreciate what you’re doing here and the undertaking that it’s been!

Thank you to our author, @thefreakandthehair, and our nominators, anonymous and @sidekick-hero! See more of @thefreakandthehair works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[dontaskmemybias]

Ryder's Jisung Recommendations

One Shots

Reckless convictions @moonjxsung This fic??? Hot professor Han falls for a student and chaos ensues. This shit rewired my brain chemistry.

On my mind @staytheword One of the first smut pieces I read and it is just so fucking beautiful. Stressed college student roommates hit home. This fic has stayed with me for so long, it showed me what fics can be like when someone really puts their all into it. I tagged more of Mari's stuff at the bottom because her fics are all so beautiful.

Weather the storm @doitforbangchan Ladies night out gets cancelled due to weather so boyfriend Han comes over and makes a fort with you. So cute, funny, and steamy.

The Heat @hwanghyunjinenthusiast Roommate Han brings home sex cookies. The hottest aphrodisiac fic I've read.

Friend Agreement @cas-skz First time with bff Han. So good. I don't normally love first time fics but this one is so cute and steamy, I couldn't leave it off the list.

Building Forts and Confessions @httpseiki Prompts: "Don't tempt me" and "lets build a fort". Bff2l story that was so good. Reader and Han are adorable and I loved it so much.

I need you, I love you @cb97breathing Amazing f2l with a nice accidental drunk confession. Everything I love in a fic. Belle is such a great writer, their fics are all amazing.

Blue Sunrise @quokkawritesarchive This fic??? Brothers best friend BLUESUNG!! Subby Ji is so hot in this fic jfc.

Same But Different @skzdarlings w/Felix. The world building is ethereal. I would legit read a whole novel. The entire threesome series darling wrote is so good but this one is one I have reread so many times now because it has such a phenomenal story. Check out the sharing a bed series too while you're at it 😘

Series

2:23 AM Pt. 1, Pt. 2 @webcorelino Flora wrote the first smut I ever read. This is from her old account but there was a time when I read this multiple times a week. F2l fic that is just so amazing. First fic I saved in my notes app on my phone.

Like Never Before Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 @writerracha Best friends brother fic that is so fucking steamy and just 🤤

Kinkuary 17, Truth Comes Out, Start of Something New @kwanisms I accidentally read the second one first because I thought these were oneshots but the whole stranger turned best friend Felix's roommate pipeline went so hard. These fics are so damn good.

What could go wrong? Ch. 1, Ch. 2 @daisykihannie Haneul wrote the best incubus Han fic hands down. This series is incomplete as of this moment but I am awaiting the next part! Soooo good.

[teddywesworl]

write what you want forever censorship is an insidious evil kill the cop in your head and so on but also. frankly. get comfortable with the idea that if you write about (a life experience) without any knowledge, insight, or research done into that thing, people with that experience irl won’t like what you’ve made and may even talk to their friends about how they don’t like it

putting this under a read more bc I don’t want it reblogged bc people on twt got mad at me for saying basically this but like listen. I’m not gonna harass individual authors bc they didn’t bother looking up an Indiana harvest calendar before writing a stranger things farm au. Or they clearly didn’t bother asking literally anyone with horse experience to beta their cowboy au. Obviously. Like who gives a shit, really. Do what you want. Your factually nonsensical farm/cowboy au doesn’t really affect my life. But I AM going to be annoyed if a fic is super popular or comes highly recommended and it gets a million details wrong that would have been easily caught by 10 minutes of googling, and that’s my right, too!!!! And also it’s your right!!! Kvetch in your friends’ DMs, it’s good for you

I’ve seen a few versions of the sentiment “I’m a hater because I love this thing and I want it to be better” floating around recently and that’s what it comes down to in the end. Fic can be really good. it doesn’t have to be “just fanfic.” I really really like when someone has obviously put in the extra effort and gone the extra mile to make a genuine art object. There are some big name fics I disproportionately dislike bc they have not bothered at all. One day I’ll be able to put all my thoughts together cohesively about this paradox of “do what you want forever but also take your audience seriously or so help me” but tbh I think it really comes down to the fact that I love the medium of fanfic and I want it to be good and when it’s not good in lazy ways it feels like disrespect to the audience, to me.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

~*~

1. hey! I'm looking for non-specific Canon or canon divergence (MDZS verse) fics where Lan Wangji has a "he is adorable" or "he is cute" moment about Wei wuxian. or just lan wangji simping and having soft, rose tinted thoughts about wwx from his point of view >< @wutheringskies​

~*~

2.  helloo!! i have a request for the next itmf. are there any fics where resurrected wwx has like a really bad flashback to his three months in burial mounds and juniors/lwj/or someone different witnesses it? thank u and love u @vicleey

~*~

3. for the next itmf, do you have fics of either A) wwx not being adopted by the jiangs/him raised in other sects or B) wwx leaving the jiangs realizing he deserves better

3A)

Seen and not heard by eatmyass (E, 51k, WangXian, Case Fic, No Sunshot Campaign, AU in canon setting, Kid Fic, dadxian, Strangers to Lovers, Found Family, POV LWJ, Pining, Sharing a Bed, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Time, Falling in love in metaphors)

this whole comp

3B)

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

~*~

4. I am back for more in the mood for requests! Thank you for everything you do.

I am in the mood for modern/au fics with a stand-in for wwx dying and getting resurrected. Such as him going missing, being presumed dead, being in witness protection, or leaving by his own volition. Any fic about modern/au lwj missing/mourning wwx and them getting reunited some time later. Preferably with lwj searching for wwx?

Anything works though. I would love to see all kinds of different takes on what his canon death could be in an au.

End Racism on the OTW || Yesterday Once More by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 22k, wangxian, modern au, reality show au, Long Lost Family au, adoption, family reunions, lost love, getting back together, family feels, angst w happy ending)

These Things Stay the Same by notevenyou (E, 29k, WangXian, Modern AU, Kid Fic, Minor Character Death, Injury, Natural Disasters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hospitalization, Accidents, These Things Stay the Same [Podfic] by Rionaa)

please accept this fried chicken and my feelings by thelastdboy (G, 4k, wangxian, modern, Reunions, Marriage Proposal, Trans Male Character, Trans WWX, Single Parent WWX, Mental Health Issues, Medication, allusions to past suicide attempt, Light Angst w Happy Ending, Alcohol, Drunk LWJ)

always on my mind series by sami (E, 37k, wangxian, LWJ/others, LWJ & JYL, modern, family, sexual tension, grief, superstar musician LWJ, fluff, children, pregnancy, parenthood)

~*~

5. Hi! Thank you for all your hardwork <33 ITMF for jealous/possessive WWX, but no post-canon fics please. Thank you!

~*~

6. Hello! ITMF Gusu lecture era smut? Like, teasing in class, getting distracted in the library, dorm room shenanigans, etc. Preferably longer fics like “ Straight at the Sun ” by diamondbruise, but short pwp would be nice too! Thanks so much!

Fentao-laoshi’s Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (microcomets) (E, 31k, wangxian, canon divergence, pining while fucking, friends with benefits, first time, cloud recesses study arc, practice kissing, sharing a bed, jealousy, getting together, confessions, happy ending)

~*~

7. Hi 👋  Thank you sooooo much for finding that fic for me," Turn Left " 😁 its exactly what i was looking for.

Please can you recommend fics that are similar 🙏Thank you 😊 

~*~

8. any lan zhan POVs? bonus points for those delicious misunderstandings @chellsky​

Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending)

The Fifth Type of Non-Contact Force by Caixx (Not Rated, 83k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Fluff and Humor, Actually Somewhat Canon, Mutual Pining, Horny Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Graphic Smut)

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing)

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Caffeine, Small Talk by mistergoblin (E, 144k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, or more accurately: frenemies to fuckbuddies to lovers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, touch-starved lwj, Slow Burn, high levels of sexual tension, Misunderstandings, Getting to Know Each Other, Switching, Bottom LWJ, bottom WWX, slight D/s, Happy Ending, side yanqing, lwj’s patented horny grip, Sub LWJ)

Mad about the Boy by TriviasFolly (M, 62k, wangxian, 1950s America au, greaser WWX, historical smoking, historical viewpoints, angst, internal struggle, pre-relationship, historical homophobia, sexual awakenings, sexual exploration, self-discorvery journey, self-love journey, gay academia, teenage dramatics)

~*~

9. Hello, for the next itmf, are there any fic where WY is just losing it and just went mad or traumatized. But not in the the way that he become brutal and jusf killing people.

Sorry if this is weird. Thank uu

of all the hands by typefortydeductions (E, 51k, wangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, emperor LXC, PTSD, nightmares, dual cultivation, mental health issues, fluff & angst, consensual non-con, pining, politics)

~*~

10. Love love LOVE fics where Yu Ziyuan gets her way and Wei Wuxian is removed from the Jiang Sect, only for Yu Ziyuan to run the Jiang right into the dirt while the whole world sings the praises of Wei Wuxian, who can now reach his true potential without having to scrape and knowtow to Yu Ziyuan's temper. I need more of them. I need ALL of them.

... Or I guess really just any fics where WWX ends up standing above Yu Ziyuan.

If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 93k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS, Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending,   Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It’s All The System’s Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ’s Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

💖  Light Source by abCEE (M, 31k, wangxian, not Jiang friendly, no golden core transfer, fall of the jiang sect, happy ending)

~*~

11. I don't mind Best Jiujiu Jiang Cheng, but it's starting to bug me that everybody seems to forget it's not canon (CQL notwithstanding ig) so I'm asking for post-canon fics that acknowledge Wei Wuxian as Jin Ling's actual favorite uncle. It doesn't need to be Jiang Cheng bashing or anything like that really, I just want Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian feels and bonding that are NOT Yunmeng Bro reconciliation or focused on Jiang Cheng. I won't say NO to some Jiang Cheng bashing, but I'd prefer the focus be on Jin Ling and his ACTUAL Best Jiujiu Wei Wuxian.

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not rated, 64k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, protective WWX, protective JL, JC & WWX reconciliation, reluctant matchmaker JL, pre-JL/LJY)

i won’t let you down (give me what i need) by orphan_account (Not rated, 2k, JL & WWX)

Questioning by Rainewritesfanfics (T, 1k, JL & WWX, Crushes, Bisexuality, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Family Fluff, Good Uncle WWX, JL pov, Queer Themes)

The Truth (Untold) by anxiouswreck0_0 (G, 3k, JL & WWX, wangxian, canon divergence, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It, JL & WWX talk, JL centric, JL & WWX bonding, wangxian being shameless)

in which Jin Ling is tragically underappreciated by Buttercup_ghost (Not rated, <1k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Matchmaking, Time Travel, Good Nephew JL, Humor, Mild Homophobia from Jiang Cheng but it gets shut down, Supportive NHS, NHS Is A Little Shit, BAMF JL, Cloud Recesses Study Arc)

a reconstruction by JaggedCliffs (G, 7k, JL & WWX, JL & JZX, Uncle-Nephew Bonding, Family, JL learns more about his parents, he also learns that his family committed past atrocities, Jin Ling is going through it)

of past and present by Here_For_This (This_Rocks_My_Socks) (T, 6k, JL & WWX, wangxian, Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, bad unlce JC, not JC friendly, Discussions of moving on, Implied/Referenced Torture, brief mentions of Wei Wuxian’s cynophobia, Implied/Referenced Character Death, self-care, Hopeful Ending)

~*~

12. Can I get some relationship reveal fics pls

The F-Word by raspberrymocha (M, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, Family Dynamics, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Humor, Fluff, Light Angst, Weddings, Engagement, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Sex, 5+1 Things, Heteronormativity)

~*~

13. Hi! Are there any canon-era fics where Lan Zhan and Wei Ying feel each other’s pain and/or an injury on one shows up on the other? Can be a soulmate au or a spell or the like. Thank you!

You'd Break Your Heart to Make It Bigger by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 32k, wangxian, soul bonding, first time, case fic, fools in love, soul boning, pining while fucking)

Sunder by naqaashi (E, 32k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmate au, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Heavy Angst w Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Pining, Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Porn w Feelings, Porn W Plot, Light BDSM, Edgeplay, Multiple Orgasms, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Rimming, Fix-It Temporarily Unrequited Love, ,First Time, First Kiss, LWJ pov, Sunshot Campaign, YLLZ WWX, Dom LWJ, sub WWX, Marathon Sex, Lube, Whump, LWJ Whump, Canon Jiang Cheng Characteristics, Angry JC, Good Sibling JYL, Good Sibling LXC, hurt LWJ, hurt WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, switch wangxian, Light Dom/sub, Cuddling & Snuggling, WWX Whump, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Five Stages of Grief, Suicidal Thoughts)

Flowers of pain by CorkaHadesa (M, 16k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmates au, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, LWJ pov, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, not YZY friendly, not JC friendly, not Jiang friendly, Bad Sibling JC, Bad Sibling JYL, Protective LWJ, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, Bad Parenting, Healing, Family Issues, Child Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Happy Ending, WIP)

~*~

14. Hello! For the "I'm in the mood for" section, I was looking for long fics where wwx or lwj (or both) have a disability. Any of them would do, I'm not picky. The longer the better, and if the fanfic has an M/E rating, I would prefer it if it's canon dynamics. Thank you so much for your hard work! :D

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP,   WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol   Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days) chronic pain

some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

we’re starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal (M, 92k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Golden Core Reveal, Burial Mounds, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Starvation, emaciation, Cannibalism, Self-Harm, Amputation, Suicidal Thoughts, Sunshot Campaign, let JZX and WWX be friends club) WWX loses a leg & gets a prosthetic

no new age Series by everythingispoetry (M/T, 145k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood,   Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX’s Death, Families of Choice)

Mod Kay: i also have a collection for stories where wwx loses his hand

The Martial Arts Instructor Fic You Didn’t Know You Needed by enbysaurus_rex (M, 423k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & Wen remnants, WQ & WWX & WN, modern, martial arts, everyone lives au, not canon compliant, WWX has ADHD, autistic LWJ, pining, enby WWX, implied/referenced alcoholism, PTSD, slow burn, chronic illness, found family, polyamory negotiations, JC & WWX reconciliation, Single Parent WWX, Single Parent LWJ) I know I recommend this fic all the time but it’s my fav so - neurodivergent disabilities, chronic pain/injury & illness Can also apply to #4 because wwx fakes his death and lwj raises a-yuan

The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, WIP, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Time Travel, Attempt at Humor, PTSD, Oblivious WWX, WWX-centric, Blind WWX, Sentient Burial Mounds, Self-Indulgent, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Oblivious Pining, Not Canon Compliant)

🧡 close your eyes, feel my heartbeat by ThatDesiGirl (T, 11k, WangXian, blind!WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rewriting Canon, not a fix-it but a what-if, Golden Core Transfer, Romance, Pining)

Disabled WangXian Comp

~*~

15. Any fics where Jin zixun succeeds in killing wwx and being lazy and callous realizes he doesn't have a gift for the party and presents wwx's as his own instead. Maybe he is immediately found out cause someone recognizes wwx's handwriting on it or whatever. Or maybe jl grows up with it and adores it cause there isn't a wwx stigms attached and like it saves his life many times, people constantly saying whoever gave it to him must of really loved him. And then he finds out the truth

a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see by paperminds (T, 9k, JL & WWX, JC & WWX, JL & JC, post-canon, canon typical violence, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, JC & WWX reconciliation) this one (from 2 itmfs back) is 'similar' the  other way, jin ling grows up thinking his mom commissioned the bracelet. for #15, i think i've never read a fic with jin zixun specifically stealing jin ling's gift, so i hope op gets recs, but otherwise it might be a cool prompt for the kinkmeme!sadly i cant find the 'similar' fic i want to rec lol 🤦‍♀️ its the one with ghost rogue wwx who was (spoiler) killed due to jin negligence in a nighthunt iirc, and jin zixun steal all his notes and passes them off as his own. wx have a different first meeting and lwj investigates wwx's death.

asymptotic by chinxe (T, 26k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Pining) The fic the previous reccer for 15 is looking for is Asymptotic!

~*~

16. ITMF fics with protective LXC. Maybe he goes against JGY because he dares to hurt LWJ and that's where he crosses the line. But I mainly want protective LXC over his brother (and maybe a bit dark?)

A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, canon divergence, fix-it , Angst w happy ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Everyone Dies au, Grief/Mourning, Lan Wangji’s awesome family, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, WIP) ooh idk fics where lxc actively opposes jiggy/discovers his actions, but for now, i have these for 16. protective lxc starts to mistrust ppl who aren't lwj

The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, WWX & WQ, LXC & WWX, canon divergence, fix-it, time travel, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Fluff, Siblings, Romance, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Fix) general protectiveness with the power of hindsight

Alternative Choices by StarClearWaters (Readoutloud) (T, 20k, wangxian, LXC/WQ, Time Travel, LXC pov, Protective LXC, Temporary Character Death, Butterfly Effect, Mpreg, Panic Attacks)

~*~

17. Hi!!!!! For the next itmf I’d like some secret relationship wangxian. Preferably canon or canon adjacent, definitely not ABO tho. Thank you!

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[bekolxeram]

I'm not on bird app, and TikTok is geoblocked here, so I don't usually get too deep into fandom drama, nor am I interested in it. Unfortunately, it seems like the drama is spilling over here, and it has me questioning my reading comprehension for the past few days honestly. So here goes nothing, if you don't want to read about fandom discourse (which I recommend, for your own mental health), feel free to ignore this post. I just feel like I'm going insane so I need to get it off my chest.

From what I've read here, someone on bird app demanded Lou to explain some racist/misogynist memes he posted on insta over a decade ago, which were still on his page until very recently. Lou replied with this screenshot:

(Username crossed out to protect their identity.)

I've heard rumors of a certain subsection of the fandom impersonating bucktommy fans in order to stir up controversies. Again, I'm not on those sites, I can't confirm that, but I do admit the timeline is a bit suspicious. I get why some of you immediately rush to defend Lou and theorize that he was hacked, but I feel like it's such a cop out. Too many problematic figures get off scot-free just by claiming they were hacked. I'll hold out my judgement on that until more verified information comes out.

So for consistency's sake, I'm going to play devil's advocate, let's assume it really was Lou who tweeted that. I still don't see how it makes him an ableist?

First, it wasn't him who made this comment, the owner of that instagram account did. It wasn't even someone else's tweet or meme that he reposted, or did he signify his agreement to this statement. It was literally someone else's insta bio, a line that somebody else used to represent themself.

Second, look at the insta account itself. It's a K-pop stan account with 0 post and only 1 follower. It follows 19 celebrity pages, so it's safe to say someone made this account especially to snoop on celebrity news. How did Lou even find out the existence of such an account? That user must've initiated some kind of contact with Lou first, either through DMs or comments. Lou's an actor on a hit TV show, I'm sure he gets random comments from strangers every day. For a random stan account to stand out, they must've made an impression, probably not a good one either.

Third, it was posted as a direct response to someone demanding explanation for Lou's past problematic insta content. Why would he make an unrelated ableist joke about bullying blind kids in response to that? It's clearly a sort of gotcha attempt at pointing out the hypocrisy of the people pestering him online lately. They accuse Lou of being a bigot and try to get him fired, but at the same time they make jokes like this, so they're not in a place to judge him. Which is..... a shit retort. Lou's social media history WAS problematic, people have to right to question him on that. Him hitting back is whataboutism, but it doesn't make it less true, those people ARE bullies.

As I've said before, you don't have to be okay with Lou's past. I personally don't care, as I don't know him as a person, I also don't know who he was 10 years ago and what kind of environment he was in. As long as he's not actively using his platform to promote harmful views or using his fame to exploit people, I'm as okay with him as his co-workers are.

You do you, you can dislike him, outright hate him even, but you have to ignore all context and twist words around in order to paint him as an ableist asshole with this and this only.

[thatfreshi]

Hi there! I saw the post about the requests! If you don't mind, Imma dump the three ideas I have here in one ask so I don't spam you. Apologies if there's not enough info in them or are too jumbled to understand! I'm not great at sending requests.

A Dragonborn tav who wishes to cuddle with Astarion/Rest their head against him, but can't due to horn/spike placement. Frustration on tav's end and, after some confusion, an emense amount of teasing on Astarion's. Maybe they find out some way to have resting on Astarion better.

Astarion helping out Tav after Tav had a medical surgery thing. They're just in pain for the first few days and Astarion just helps them out. (Mostly just want some personal comfort for my own recent surgery. I'm in pain.)

Dragonborn Tav doing some Dragonborn courting rituals to get Astarion's attention. Maybe even trying to research Eleven courting rituals to do so.

Went ahead and went with the second ask in this list. If you still want the others you can send them again! I prefer separate requests because it's easier for me to keep track of, but I appreciate that you have so many ideas for me :)

TW - broken bones

Recommended Song: Lovers Rock - TV Girl

Living a normal life comes with far too many responsibilities. Sure, killing goblins and avoiding shadows is stressful, but buying groceries? Doing dishes? It seems like there's something every single damn day, especially when you're renovating a house.

Now, Astarion loves priding himself on being a great bargainer, making a sweet deal out of any situation, and he figured a place with good bones like this would be a steal if he could cut the price a little. Was he wrong? Of course not, he has a habit of being right almost always, which can be frustrating. However, the two of you bit off far more than you could chew, especially when it came to the staircase that was practically falling apart. Mind you, neither you or Astarion are renovators, but both of you are far too stubborn for your own good.

"I'm sure we could get someone to fix it, right? Just needs some extra support."

You raise a brow at him.

"And spend more money? No way, we should just do it ourselves. I'm sure one of our friends has some extra wood lying around."

That's when you make the mistake of going up a couple steps to see just how bad the damage is. Apparently this place used to house a group of rowdy adventurers who couldn't help but destroy everything in their path. When you fall asleep on the floor every night, guess it doesn't really matter if you can't get up to any of the bedrooms. As you're analyzing the stairs, there's a crack beneath your feet, which you ignore.

"Darling, perhaps you should just take a look from down here?"

When you go to turn and tell him you'll be fine, your leg takes a plunge through the wood, subsequently fracturing several bones in your foot.

"Gods, damn it!"

You manage to cry out, trying to pull yourself out of the tattered floor. Astarion helps you, helping you get back down to the first floor, trying to make sure he doesn't face a similar fate.

"I guess a trip to Shadowheart's is in order."

You shake your head.

"Nope, her and Halsin are on that healer's retreat, remember? In Waterdeep?"

"Shit, I suppose you're right dove. When are they getting back?"

You sigh.

"Tonight, sadly."

It was currently far too early in the morning, as the two of you wanted to get a head start on your fixer-upper today.

"Alright, we'll just have to go see someone in town I suppose."

"Aster, we do not have the money for that right now. We've already budgeted everything for the house, I can't go see some uppity Baldurian doctor who's going to charge us far more gold than they're worth."

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?"

"Wait til Shadowheart and Halsin get back? I mean it's really all we can do."

"Gods Tav, we had so much planned today. Those tieflings are coming by to tile the kitchen at noon! And you know I am not good at being nice to strangers."

"Well my love, looks like you're going to have to learn, because I cannot walk on this thing."

You groan in pain, trying to flex your foot, feeling all the little spots your bones broke.

"To the bed we go then."

Astarion wraps you up in his arms, taking you to what in a couple of weeks is supposed to be the study. For now though, it's a makeshift bedroom. He gently lies you on the bed, getting a pillow for under your foot. Then, he thinks about how he truly does not like being broke, but the both of you didn't want to impose on any of your friends, staying at their place for any longer than you had to. Gale offered, but the thought of being all cramped up in his new tower was suffocating.

"Are you okay Aster?"

Your voice wakes him from his thoughts.

"Yes my dear, just thinking about our raggedy circumstances."

"It'll be nice when it's done, and when my foot's not broke."

The two of you chuckle.

"As much as I love living with you, I didn't think domestic life was quite this, complex."

He moves to lie down next to you, careful not to move your wounded foot.

"You still want this though, right?"

"Of course, a nice house to ourselves? A space just for us? I can't imagine a better investment. Just not quite used to all the contractors and market visits and drunken nights yet, all the normal things, the things I would've done so much sooner if..."

Astarion shakes his head, as if trying to get the thoughts out of his mind.

"Never mind all that, I should get you some tea."

Before you can tell him that it's alright, that you want to hear what he has to say, he's gone to the kitchen. Instead you just lay on the bed, thinking of just how lucky the two of you are. Two troubled souls set up for failure, and yet here you are. You laugh a little, thinking about how lucky you are with a shattered foot.

"Here we are my darling, a hot brew just for you."

He helps you sit up, making sure you keep your leg elevated.

"Easy my dove, don't want to break anything else do we?"

The hours pass by as the two of you wait for the tilers to come, talking about all the projects you were going to start today. It's nice, having a project, something to strive towards that isn't murdering someone or working through some major trauma. Just the two of you drinking tea in some old house, sitting on a bed that you'll have to break down and bring upstairs, and then put back together. While Astarion very easily could have left you to your devices and gotten started on all your little plans, he stayed by your side, talking about everything and nothing.

"This is just the beginning."

You say, suddenly breaking a natural silence.

"What is?"

"This. We get to start over. This is the beginning of us starting over."

He smiles at your whimsical view of things.

"I suppose you're right."

[noah-liketheboat]

I’ve recently begun using a wheelchair. Here’s the scoop.

I also started using forearm crutches even more recently but we’ll get to that in a second post bc this one got too long

I got my chair for $325 on OfferUp. It’s a motion composites Helio A6, and it has some fancy cushions on it. All in all I got it like 88% off of original price and it’s in pristine condition. Well, it was, until I brought it home and within 24 hours my cat scratched the (pink!!) paint job and put holes in the cushions. Thanks Misty. It now lives in the back of the car for its protection.

I put a clip-on cup holder on it and purple/white spoke covers. It’s pretty sick.

I use my wheelchair instead of walking/standing probably 30-40% of the time.

Personally

Oh my god it’s helped so much. I have so much more energy. I don’t flinch when I stand or walk. I can wait in line for food. I’m not dizzy, embarrassingly sweaty, and spacey just from standing in line anymore.

Because the previous owner spent literally $1,000 on special cushions (seat and back), I have the comfiest seat in any room 96% of the time. 10/10 would recommend. It helps with the back pain too obvi but first and foremost it’s so comfy.

I can go to the zoo. I get into the zoo for free because college but I can’t ever go because I can’t tolerate walking and standing for so long. But now I can go to the zoo!

I have more energy at the end of the day to participate in household chores and life. Before this, all my time was spent either in school or trying to recover enough to go to school again. Even doing my homework was difficult because of the fatigue, let alone date nights, hobbies, cooking dinner, sweeping the floors… it caused a lot of tension between me and my partner as well as my general being miserable.

Very steep learning curve. Very steep strength curve.

The ramp to my math class isn’t a steep grade but it’s long. When I started using it, I had to wheel up backwards. I got out of breath very easily and my shoulders were always aching something awful after going between classes. Now that hill is quite manageable and I only have sore shoulders if I’m going really fast or really far.

Wheelies. An unexpected but important skill. One that I am not good at. It took me weeks to get my wheels off the ground at all, but once I did I had a huge improvement and quickly was able to get my wheels ~6 or 8 inches off the ground. I still can’t sustain it though. I use them to go over bumps and get started up awkward ramps sometimes.

It’s been an amazing improvement to my life. I’m more independent, in less pain, happier, and more energetic. I should’ve done it earlier.

Observations:

People are weird. They talk to me more. Like, strangers ask me how my day is going in the elevator, people make small talk when they hold the door. This isn’t necessarily negative, but it is weird.

Kids stare. Adults also stare but they try to hide it. I don’t mind when kids stare though. They’re just curious and unaware.

I’m always a little nervous to ever stand up or walk out in public in case someone either thinks it’s a miracle and starts praising the lord or like hate-crimes me for “faking.”

When I wheeled in to all my classes after spring break, my teachers and seat mates were all instantly “oh my god what happened are you ok???” It’s a little awkward to explain that it’s just nerve damage that’s been getting worse.

People usually say “I’m so sorry” or “I hope you get/feel better soon!” And it’s like. I know their intentions are good, of course, but I don’t want people to be sorry! This has been an amazing life change for me! Also I’m not getting better, certainly not any time soon, and conversation gets awkward after that.

I think when I tell people it’s not really a “get better” thing, I think they at least subconsciously think it’s terminal or something?? Like. I’m not dying of nerve damage. I had nerve damage before spring break too. It’s just I finally decided to do something besides suck it up and hope I can make it through the day.

My campus is not as accessible as I once thought. The main culprit? UNLEVEL SIDEWALKS. They are the bane of my existence. My right arm will be pumping like my life depends on it and my left will be almost doing nothing. And then later when I’m doing the other way it’ll be the opposite.

There’s no ramp on the other side of one of the buildings I walk through to get to class. That was awkward.

There’s also a lot of cobblestone-type walking areas. Not only are they hella bumpy to wheel on, but they’re old and not well maintained. The cracks between slabs and the potholes can and will eject me from my chair if I’m not careful.

Funny story #1:

I rolled into the disability center on campus to take a test, as per usual (extended time and testing environment accommodations) and they had me wait while they got everyone else seated, which was weird, and then the testing coordinator came over to me and sat down next to me and was like “heyy how are you?” And I was like “I’m good, I’m good! Ah, well—*gestures to chair* yknow.” And she goes “Yeahh of course… so is this… new?”

Is it new??? Ma’am you see me every three weeks on the dot for tests, and every time for the past two years I’ve walked in on my own two feet, and today I come rolling in as I’ve transgendered into a vehicle. Yeah it’s new!!

Don’t worry I didn’t say that. I said “yeah, well, kind of. The chair is new, but the reasons aren’t. It’s just helping me a lot and my life is easier with it.” or smthn like that and she was like “oh ok good cool great”

Anyways, she just needed to tell me essentially that she would have me take my test at a height-adjustable table. Same room, same everything. Just instead of sitting in a test cubby I’d be at what’s essentially one of those standing desks. I was all nervous just for her to sit me at a table I can crank up and down like an old car window.

Funny Story #2

I’m rolling across the courtyard(??) in front of the library where they were having one of those random college of business things with tents everywhere. You’re aware. Just trying to get to class.

I hear “Hey! Excuse me, hey!” from behind me and I turn my head to see a girl frantically waving me down running across the grass. Naturally I’m intrigued.

She gets to me, a little out of breath, and then goes “Would you be interested in playing tennis?”

I look down at my chair. I look back up at her. “Ah… no…”

She was talking about adaptive tennis. Which I could’ve guessed probably but I was caught so off-guard and I was real confused.

She invited me to join the adaptive sports program/club thing, which is headed by a disabled professor but run entirely by able-bodied students (who get a class credit for volunteering with the organization, essentially). I told her I was really new so probably not, but I was willing to look into it. She gave me the professor’s email and I sent him an email like “hey one of your students flagged me down to talk abt adaptive sports but I’m shit at wheelchairing so probably not but I’d love to meet up and chat and get to know more about the program and stuff.”

It’s been a month. I haven’t gotten a reply or acknowledgement or anything.

All the stuff I can find about the program is obviously directed towards able-bodied students wanting them to volunteer or take the class. The Instagram has a post with each student in the class getting a slide with their lil intro and stuff. The professor only appears in group shots. At any rate I’m not that invested.

Personal Relations

Abled ppl when I told them I’m getting a wheelchair: oh no!! I’m so sorry!! What’s wrong!! That’s awful!! :((((

Disabled ppl when I told them I’m getting a wheelchair: omg that’s amazing I’m so happy for u :)

One exception to the able bodied trope: my youth group Bible study, surprisingly. I was sharing that I was really feeling a lot of turmoil about my decision and all that jazz and they were like “just do it. you already know it’s the right choice, and ur strong enough to do it” and they all “oohed” and “ahhed” when I rolled up with it next week. 10/10 queens.

My wheelchair has caused so many personal relationship issues in my life. So many.

Suddenly everyone’s a medical expert in me specifically. Everyone besides me knows what’s best, and what’s best is not a wheelchair. People who used to ask me what was wrong with them when they had a tickle in their throat or fell on their foot funny have apparently become scholars on complex hashimotos, nerve damage, neuropathy, and any and all suspected other conditions I may have. I wonder when they had time to do that, since they still don’t know how to care for a simple kitchen injury.

When I point out that the alternative to the wheelchair is constant+worsening pain and ask them if that’s what they think is best, these overnight medical experts get all huffy and don’t have an answer.

I have done extensive research about all my diagnosed conditions and possible ones over the course of many years. I’ve been in and out (mostly out) of at least a dozen doctor’s offices and done several rounds of different types of PT. I also live in my body 24/7. One of my earliest memories is of waking up my aunt at night during a sleepover because my nerve pain wouldn’t let me sleep. I wasn’t any older than 4. Back then the only words I had were leg cramps and growing pains.

I didn’t know my pain was abnormal for a long time. I’m good at hiding it. I’m good at “pushing through.” I experienced severe medical neglect, to the point of it being life-threatening, for nearly 2 years in the TTI and I was punished any time I tried to advocate for myself and my needs or really even talked about how I wasn’t physically well.

Basically I gave up trying to truly tell people how bad my quality of life was when I was about 16 because I wasn’t believed and I was often punished and/or had it used against me.

Nevertheless, everyone (read: my partner, my parents, and my partner’s parents) in my life thinks that I’m terrible awful wrong bad lying etc. for using the chair.

I’ve been using it for ~2 months and this is the first week my partner hasn’t argued with me about it or made an unnecessary comment. #1 worst thing they’ve said is that I’m “neglecting half of my body” by not walking 24/7. Oooh that made me mad. I do my PT almost every day, I stretch every day, I know exactly what almost every ache and pain originates from, I check in with my body constantly throughout the day. But I’m “neglecting it.” Not to mention that after my second appointment my Doctor specifically said he wants me using the chair until at least June.

My partner was originally very supportive, but then they talked to their mom and suddenly everything changed and they are borderline vindictive about my chair. Their mother is a Doctor, true, but most of her career she was a PICU nurse and also knows exactly nothing about my medical history except that I’m allergic to pecans and walnuts. Oh, and their dad has a friend who cured hashimotos by going gluten free, so obviously I’m just not trying hard enough or smthn. ((I’ve been almost gluten free before. No change.))

I cried every week about their attitude towards/comments about my chair except for this one. Every time I felt confident about it I would remember everything they said and my shoulders would physically slump. But no matter how many times I brought up how hurt and uncared for I was feeling, it ended up with me crying and them being either the same or more solid in their beliefs.

My therapist is a saint.

On the brightish side, my family and partner have finally begun taking my health and chronic issues seriously. I went to the Doctor two weeks after I got the chair and got started on a new medicine (a loop diuretic if anyone’s curious).

My mom keeps asking if I’m “better yet” and it’s really hurtful for some reason? She wants to know all my improvements, but when I start to say how my chair has helped so much, she cuts me off and says “no I mean the medicine.”

I am on the lowest dose they make, and I only take it every other day. I haven’t lost any weight since starting it (loop diuretics work by flushing excess water out of your body via peeing every twelve seconds, and this leads to weight loss. It’s estimated I’m carrying ~30lbs in water weight). Again, it’s been nearly two months. I’m the pissmaster 9000 every other day.

My mom at some point said she just “can’t accept that I’m in a wheelchair at 20.” My brother in Christ, what does that even mean? I’m not even using it full-time, or even the majority of the time.

I’ve had a follow up with my Doctor since I started but he kept me on the same dose even though I told him I haven’t lost any weight. Cest la vie.

He did tell me he wants me using the chair until at least June, and if all goes well he’ll start me in (another round of) PT, and it sounded like he wanted me doing decently intensive PT because he asked if I was in school in June and said it was good I wasn’t. If I go to PT, the chair usage advice will be passed on to them.

This post got far too long. I’ll split my crutches experience into a separate post and link it here once it’s up.

The chair herself. Yeah it’s in a bathroom don’t worry about it.

[disgracefulthings]

Someone has asked me to recommend some fics, I don't think this is what they meant, but here is a list of my favorite fanfiction I have read over the years

Harry Potter

Text Talk

merlywhirls

Summary:

Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number.

My thoughts: I don't know if there is a wolfstar shipper who hasn't read this story, but it is amazing. A majority of the story is told through text messages, which is a real creative choice and I absolutely believed the author pulled it off!

I Know Not, and I Cannot Know; Yet I Live and I Love

billowsandsmoke

Summary:

Severus Snape has his emotions in check. He knows that he experiences anger and self-loathing and a bitter yearning, and that he rarely deviates from that spectrum… Until the first-year Luna Lovegood arrives to his class wearing a wreath of baby’s breath. Over the next six years, an odd friendship grows between the two, and Snape is not sure how he feels about any of it.

My thoughts: A fanfiction that explores the relationship between a student and a teacher that doesn't make it romantic??? Hallelujah, never thought I would see the day. Not gonna lie, this is my favorite fanfiction of all time. While I like Snape in the original story, he doesn't develop as a character, like, at all. Which is why I can see why people don't like him, but this story gives him some development, and his relationship with Luna is absolutely heartwarming. And to those fans who think Harry got over his abuse of Snape too fast, I recommend this to you. Not sure you know, but Snape fucking dies in the book (spoilers, I know), and the author makes sure to give Harry some development too. Bring tissues, because you're gonna cry.

The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

we'll get him falling for a stranger (or a catfish)

sweetlolixo

Summary:

Lan Wangji: Yingying? Lan Wangji: Are you busy with class? Lan Wangji: Won’t disturb you if that’s the case. Lan Wangji: (´• ω •`) Wei Ying wants to cry. What jock uses kaomojis? Ever? Or, Wei Ying is hired by a client to catfish Lan Wangji online, as a hot girl, for revenge. Except, Lan Wangji is not the playboy jock he expected...

My thoughts: This is a pure fluffy and hilarious story. If you like it when characters face consequences for their actions, then probably skip this because people do a whole lotta shit and completely get away with it (except Su She, but fuck Su She)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat)

bwyn, Yuisaki

Summary:

A new plan hatches in Wei Wuxian’s head. If this nocturnal, bottom-feeding, slimy, invasive mudcat posing as a beautiful actor thinks he can sway Wei Wuxian with animal pictures and a sob story and an unbelievably stilted way of texting with still no dick pictures in the first five minutes of conversation, he has another thing coming. Wei Wuxian’s got it, alright, he has this in the fucking bag. Wei Wuxian plots to expose a catfish using strategic memes and turtle pictures while wiggling his way out of family dinner. Lan Wangji just wants companions.

My thoughts: Another catfishing story?!?! Except not really because Wei Wuxian has issues. Not gonna lie, I've only read this once, but god damn, did it destroy me. I don't reread it because I don't like it, but because I'm afraid of feeling all those emotions again. You know how I said the last story has no consequences, well this one has all of them. Watch Wei Wuxian as he slowly destroys his life, before finally putting himself back together and allowing himself to accept love. Another story you will need tissues for.

A Corpse Called By Name

jaemyun

Summary:

A continuation of zombie drabble! She loses her brother in a hoard of the undead. She finds a corpse wearing his face in a convenience store. The corpse calls her name.

My thoughts: I hate zombie movies, but I am absolutely fine with zombie fics. The story starts like how all good Wei Wuxian stories start: with him fucking dying. Watch a dead man build a family and slowing piece himself back together (metaphorically, he isn't falling apart due to decay)

Scum Villain Self Saving System

Bros before... well everything I guess

Icannotthinkofapenname

Summary:

Shen Yuan tried not to think of his original family too often, his parents, his brothers, and sister… Nope. Done with that train of thought. He’s Shen Qingqiu now. This was a new life, and he has a new family to look after. Sometimes a family consists of 12 martial sibilings and a whole lot of disciples. Just a buncha fluff of Shen Qingqiu, Shang Qinghua, their martial sibilings and the kids. Shenanigans ensue.

My thoughts: Another purely fluffy fic, though I have to mention something I really like about it. You see, I have a bit of a pet peeve when canon divergence fanfiction basically follow all of the important plot points from the original story. This story does that, but it doesn't do the scenes in full and only really mentions that it happened, and I think it's great. I don't need to read about Sha Hualing's demon invasion for the 50th time, let's move on and get to the things that matter! Like Shang Qinghua in wedding robes. Also there's a lot of platonic cumplane, which I could never get enough of.

Recovery

Moonsheen

Summary:

Luo Binghe returns to Cang Qiong Mountain with a grievously injured Shen Qingqiu. The trouble is, it's the wrong Shen Qingqiu. AKA The original Shen Qingqiu gets a happy ending, whether he likes it or not.

My thoughts: There aren't many fanfictions I have found that depict Shen Jiu in all his cruel glory. People usually sand him down, like, 'oh, he didn't actually give Luo Binghe his cultivation notebook, that was Ming Fan', or, 'he was more neglectful than monstrous'. I don't mind these interpretations of Shen Jiu, but I feel like stories are more rewarding when you try to heal the man at his scummiest. Recovery is a multi part serious that slowly shows Shen Jiu recover (see what I did there??) from what Bingge has done to him, while also finally finding happiness with Yue Qingyuan.

We Are Not Wise

Boomchick, Suzoomie

Summary:

When Shen Qingqiu drew Shen Yuan’s soul sword, it felt like being burned from the inside out. The fire wasn’t cruel, but it was still fire—hot and destructive, searing the softest pieces of him.   When Binghe’s fingers touch the hilt, he is ready for pain. Transmigrated into a version of Proud Immortal Demon Way where cultivators manifest their own souls into spiritual weapons, Shen Yuan finds himself sort of kind of…accidentally blackmailing Shen Qingqiu into taking him on as a disciple before Luo Binghe joins the sect. That should give Shen Yuan plenty of opportunities to make sure nothing goes wrong for his favorite protagonist, right? RIGHT!? A story of twists, turns, hope, despair, and soul swords. Written for the Bingqiu Reverse Minibang 2023, illustrated and conceptualized by the incredible Suzu!

My thoughts: The last fic has Shen Jiu healing arc, this one has his father arc. Another story you need tissues for, and for multiple chapters, my god is it hard to read and cry at the same time. Another really good premise that was knocked out of the park by the authors.

pride is not the word I'm looking for

Tossawary

Summary:

Shang Qinghua goes to take a self-indulgent peek at his baby protagonist son and gets a kick to the shrivelled heart for his troubles. He gave up on changing the story years ago! Yet he finds himself helping his protagonist son's adoptive mother anyway. Just this one change won't matter too much, right? One little change leads to more. Shang Qinghua never meant to care, but he becomes invested in making sure that his new family survives the looming plot. With the changes to the world cascading around him, with his position as a traitor pulling him between his sect and a certain ice demon, and with the protagonist growing up so quickly, how is one displaced author meant to ensure that everything turns out all right? A Pre-Canon to Canon Divergence story.

My thoughts: I'm gonna be honest, this is the only story on here that I have not finished. I struggle with reading fics that are 400k words long (and by struggle I mean I don't finish them), but this is a story I come back to and reread (and attempt to finish), mostly for one arc. There is a part of the story where Shang Qinghua help look for Luo Jiahui's (Luo Binghe's mom) missing sister, and it is without a doubt the best arc I have ever read in fanfiction. If you are like me and don't like long fanfiction, I still recommend reading this story at least up to that arc, you wont regret it. I also have to say this is my favorite interpretation of Luo Binghe's mom.

Servant to a Different King

Tossawary

Summary:

As the head disciple of An Ding Peak, Shang Qinghua threw the plot out the window and abandoned his sect, and now he enjoys a luxurious life as Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan's most treasured and trusted advisor, as the happy couple rules over the Demon Realm together with iron fists. He has everything a transmigrator could want. Unfortunately, there's only so long that the Imperial Advisor can continue to avoid another of Tianlang-Jun's favorite underlings: Mobei-Jun, the new Northern King. An attempt on Shang Qinghua's life inside the Underground Palace itself forces him back into the company of the demon who was once destined to kill his character - and who also once promised to kill him if they ever met again.

My thoughts: Another Tossawary story! This time Shang Qinghua saves Luo Binghe's mom (wait didn't that happen in the last one?) and dad (ok, so it's different). A Moshang focus story where Shang Qinghua tries to avoid having an awkward (and possibly deadly) conversation with Mobei-Jun, which becomes an impossible task because he is now his personal guard. I love the cocenpt of having Shang Qinghua work under Tianlang-Jun, and the interactions between those two are always hilarious.

YuGiOh

An Apocalypse Means Nothing Because You Are The World In Which I Live

sitabethel

Summary:

When an old tomb-keeper steals the Millennium Tome in order to raise the dead, the gods are forced to send Atem back to the world of the living to end the crisis; however, Bakura doesn't trust him to save Marik, so the thief finds his own way back. Meanwhile, the goddess Isis makes a deal with a certain dark entity, offering him a soul in exchange for his services.

My thoughts: Ok, it's been many years since I have last read this story, but I still have to add it to my recommendations because of how batshit insane it is. This is a zombie apocalypses story taking place in yugioh, the story where everything is solved by card games. Do you know how they stop the zombie outbreak? CARD GAMES! Like holy shit, this story is crazy, but it's also on brand. I used to be into thiefshipping and other yugioh ships, so if you're like that then I definitely recommend this one.

Annnddd those are my recommendations. Feel free to judge my taste, but I will unapologetically love these stories till the day I die.

[starflungwaddledee]

alright. look, we're going to go into this because i genuinely want to think you didn't mean harm by this, but it's unacceptable to use this sort of manipulative phrasing. especially with strangers, some of whom are kids.

this is not a call-out. i've hidden all names except my own. i just need to address this post i was tagged in, and don't want to add it onto the end of the original post. i could also have done this privately, but i want this to be here for the other folks who were @'d. i won't @ anyone else who was mentioned in this post, but many of us are mutuals, so if you see this post and you're feeling at all stressed out or bad, i recommend just clicking through because i'm going to go into this.

firstly, and i'm going to make this transparent, person who @'d me: i don't think you're being malicious or did anything purposefully bad. i don't think you intended harm or that you are "a bad person". i don't have a single negative thought about you as a person. i don't make this post to be mean. i truly think you made an earnest mistake that could easily have hurt others, and i am stepping in with the hope this can be avoided in the future! per my usual boundaries on reassurance seeking, i will not reassure about this further.

secondly, the post that you tacked this onto IS important and a helpful resource, and it is great to bring attention to it. we should be doing everything we can to not only defend against, but actively fight back against generative AI. many people cannot access the most commonly recommended tools (myself included), so a resource like this is fantastic and i'm glad to learn about it and share it! i don't speak for anyone else, but i've said before that i personally don't mind being tagged in resources that could help me or others and i'm usually happy to share them, especially if i think the latter

but, assuming that you are genuinely well meaning and don't know better, you need to know that this is not the way to go about it. i don't mean mass-tagging, which is fine in times like this imo, i mean your written add-ons that actively guilt trip every single person you tagged.

"if you weren't convinced by the idea of being a good person" and "I do hope anyone I @'d isn't a bad person" in particular.

you may not have realised, but these are profoundly manipulative and cruel things to say. regardless of how you intended them, they are inciting guilt in the reader, and especially in the people who you actively called to come and look at it. here's what it sounds like:

"hey! you! yeah you! come look at this!! come closer! now, do what i ask you to do, or you're a bad person."

there are a million and one reasons someone might not reblog something. being tired, offline, anxious, even needing to run a specifically professional blog with exclusively your art on it for your own financial survival which makes it hard to reblog important posts like this; none of those are bad.

in this case, only one thing makes them a "bad person", and it's "they're pro-generative AI and did not reblog because they want to hide this information to ensure they can continue stealing from creatives".

i'm fairly confident you don't actually think anyone you tagged here has that point of view, or that you really have any doubts about their stances on generative AI. in fact, of the folks i recognise here, they're all independent creatives, sharing artwork with fandom for free on the internet. they are the victims of generative AI, and like most of us, are facing a terrifying future and are already desperate to find a way to defend/fight back.

you do not need to use manipulative language like this to get us to care about this sort of content! this affects us all, content creators and content consumers alike!

in future if you want to direct folks to something like this, which is super helpful and it was good of you to do!, you can just @ them so they see it. you can even say something like "this is important and some reblogs would sure help to boost it!". this is still a call to action, but without the manipulative phrasing, just in case they cannot act for any reason.

in the end, guilt tripping people like this, intentional or otherwise, is dangerous.

at best it will make them feel like shit and they'll feel forced to reblog + share from you out of guilt rather than just believing in the cause. and sometimes it feels like it's most effective, especially when things are urgent; but in my opinion the risk of harm is just too high. because at worst, you could accidentally send someone into a negative thinking spiral. you can never know what people are going through offline, or outside of your spaces, and how something like this will hit them.

[beomgyuslilracha]

the ceo's son ✧.* [ pt. 8 ]

⊹ pairing: choi soobin x f! reader

⊹ genre: strangers to friends to lovers

⊹ warnings: none! just a lot of fluff <3

⊹ wc: 6.1k

summary: you've been an intern at c company for roughly over four months now - directly under the ceo as his assistant. everything was going perfectly: you were saving up money to attend uni next year, and you knew that you were under the ceo's good graces to receive a great recommendation when the time came! in fact, he took a liking to you so much that he'd often joke that he wanted to set you up with his son. at least ... you thought it was a joke.

once he returned back to campus, soobin was to be found ditching his classes - despite insisting that he needed to make it back in time - and pacing back and forth in his dorm's living area.

after a brief cry for help from him in the group chat, all four of his friends skipped their own schedules and were now seated on the couch, watching soobin slowly dissolve into complete madness.

"what am i supposed to even say to her?!" soobin asked to no one in particular, running his hands through his hair stressfully.

"uhh, how about 'hey y/n, i like you'?" taehyun offered simply, shrugging as if the matter weren't that big of a deal.

although it may have appeared that way from an outside perspective, soobin personally felt that this was a life or death situation that could seriously cost him everything he had.

the 'everything' in question being his relationship with you.

"no, no, i need something bigger. i need to really...," soobin's thought trailed off as he began looking all around the room, praying for some sort of answer to magically appear in the air. he groaned again in frustration, slowly dropping his entire body to lay sprawled out on the floor.

the confidence he had earlier in the day was long gone now.

"alright, how about this," yeonjun spoke next, scooting forward on the couch to get a better look at his defeated friend. "why don't you take her to lotte world or something?"

soobin perked his head up at the idea, intrigued. "lotte world?"

"ooh, that's actually a really good idea," kai agreed excitedly, his eyes growing wide at the mere mention. "can we go too?"

"do you have plans to confess to someone?" yeonjun teasingly asked the younger boy, shaking his head.

ignoring the little bickering that then occurred between them, soobin sat up and began to think seriously about yeonjun's idea. he knew it would definitely be a lot of fun, and it excited him just to picture experiencing the theme park all over again with you by his side.

and if you agreed to his confession by the end of the night??

he would have to thank yeonjun and lotte world itself for the rest of his life.

"ooh, you know what, you should confess on the moonboat," beomgyu chimed in suddenly, gasping loudly and praising himself for being the one to offer the best idea between them.

"ahh, but you have to do it at night so that it looks romantic," kai cooed now, turning from yeonjun and getting himself excited all over again at the idea of soobin confessing to you in such a cute way.

soobin was practically about to pull out a pen and notepad, wanting to be sure he jotted down an entire plan to lead up to the final moment on the moonboat that evening.

he wanted every second to be perfect with you, and the last thing he wanted was to go without a plan and risk messing it all up on such an important moment. whether it was important to you would still be unknown, but right now it meant everything to him.

"what should i do there first? do you think she'll like the rollercoasters?" soobin questioned them in a panic, every ride in the park running through his mind as he wondered which ones you'd enjoy and which he should avoid.

"how are we supposed to know? we don't know her," taehyun reminded him, unable to help himself from laughing.

soobin did feel bad for having yet to introduce you to his friends, especially after having told you that he would, but he now figured it'd be better this way. if everything worked out, he'd be able to happily introduce you as his girlfriend rather than just a friend.

his girlfriend... his girlfriend!!!

soobin was practically getting giggly just from thinking the words in his mind, he could only imagine passing away completely if they were to actually come true before the end of the night.

he had to use his own hands to press his cheeks together, forcing himself to stop smiling like an idiot in front of his friends. not that they didn't already notice, seeing as he was sitting right in front of them.

though neither of them would dare say it out loud, each of them were truly happy for their lovesick friend.

"wait, wait, hold on," yeonjun stopped their conversation after a while, a sudden thought occurring to him. "soobin, what was she wearing?"

"what the hell, you pervert?" beomgyu interrupted, smacking yeonjun with one of the pillows beside them - this quickly earned disgusted looks followed by the rest of the boys.

"no, i don't mean like that, dumbass!" yeonjun scolded him, yanking the pillow out of beomgyu's hands and attacking him twice as hard in retaliation. "i meant was it comfortable that she could wear to lotte world straight from work?"

soobin's lips formed into a cute 'o' shape in realization, picturing the work attire you were dressed in today. turns out yeonjun did have a point and was not trying to be dirty-minded; he didn't think your clothes would be suitable for an exciting evening at an amusement park.

"so what? should i take her home first or meet her there?" soobin questioned now, worried about having to push his plans with you back slightly.

"i know you don't want to lose precious time with your girlfriend, so you could offer to take her home first if she's comfortable with it," taehyun suggested.

soobin nodded, not even bothering to deny his words - especially considering it was half true and half (hopefully) soon-to-be true.

"wait, should i tell her now or do i surprise her when i pick her up?" soobin asked next, his eyes shifting between all of their expressions for an answer.

yeonjun seemed to be the only one rolling his eyes. soobin was one question away from practically asking them to handle the entire night for him.

"i think it'd be cute to surprise her! she'll be so excited and you'll get to see how happy she gets," kai cheered, even wiggling his fists in a cute gesture.

beomgyu was quick to agree with kai, but more so on the terms that you'd be supposedly impressed by soobin taking charge and making the plans in front of you rather than asking for permission.

"i'm not sure, i think she should know beforehand to have time to prepare," taehyun countered, thinking logically and being the only one to actually take you into consideration rather than just soobin. "besides, if she says no, it'll be better for her to say so now rather than to his face."

surprisingly, yeonjun agreed with taehyun in this case. he also thought it would be unfair to you to have no say in the decision and be caught off guard.

with the votes now being split 50/50, this turned the predicament back entirely onto soobin's shoulders.

slumping back to the ground in defeat, soobin began to think over which would be the best option when it came to you.

he wanted to surprise you and impress you, for sure, but he also didn't want to do so at the risk of upsetting you for not having any say in what he had planned.

this night was going to mean so much to him, he didn't want to risk screwing it up before it could even start.

・❥・

you sat at mr. jeong's desk, spinning around in his chair from boredom, waiting for the two men to eventually return from an afternoon meeting they were required to attend outside the office.

while you waited, you figured it wouldn't hurt to pull out your phone for a quick minute to occupy yourself for the time being.

surprisingly, you ended up receiving a vague message from soobin just as you had unlocked the screen.

binnie <;3: by any chance, do you like surprises?

you: mmm that depends

you: i like nice surprises but i hate scary ones

binnie <;3: noted!

binnie <;3: see you after work <3

your heart flipped in its own response as his last message came through, though making you feel ridiculous for reacting at something as small as a text heart.

it wouldn't even be the first time that either of you sent a heart to each other, but it still managed to make you giddy every single time.

after a second, it then dawned on you that soobin was clearly intending to surprise you with something after work. could it be a gift that made him think of you? was he going to bring someone along with him to meet you? did he simply just have good news to share??

there was an endless list of possibilities that you were going to end up driving yourself mad if you continued to think about it any longer.

you sighed to yourself, realizing you should have just lied and said you didn't like surprises - at least that way you could know what to expect already instead of thinking about it all day now.

what made it worse was that you wouldn't have anything to work on until mr. choi came back, leaving you with nothing else to do except think about the supposed surprise he could have planned.

you debated on messaging soobin back to forgo everything you just said earlier and to tell you what he was planning, but you were able to talk yourself out of it.

and by 'talk yourself out of it', you really just meant that mr. jeong's timing of walking back into the office forced you to hide your phone before you could do it.

at least it worked out for the better, seeing as you were finally given more work to distract yourself and it allowed for soobin to keep whatever his surprise was to himself.

by the time you were finished for the day, the thought of the surprise had actually been pushed completely out of your mind.

at least, up until you were leaving mr. choi's office and was suddenly grasped from the side - with a large hand quickly covering your mouth to muffle the yelp that you had let out in fear.

"shhh, it's okay, it's just me!" soobin's voice whispered in your ear, waiting until he felt your body relax in his hold before letting you go.

before saying anything, you first turned around and began smacking the idiot on the arm for doing something so stupid. "you do not do that to a woman, choi soobin, what is wrong with you??"

"ahhh, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry," soobin whined, grasping at his arm and cowering away from you playfully until you finally stopped hitting him.

not that you hitting him affected him any - in fact, he hardly even felt it - but man did he think you looked adorable anyway, so he enjoyed playing along.

"what are you even doing up here?" you scolded him next, glancing back at the closed doors of his father's office, worried about being caught alone by the man.

"i wanted to see you," soobin whispered simply, catching your eye and flashing his dimples when he saw your cheeks turn a cute shade of pink.

you rolled your eyes and scoffed, turning away from him entirely in a failed attempt to hide how badly you started blushing immediately afterwards.

what was with him today?

"come on, dork," you told him, pressing the button for the elevator quickly so that the two of you wouldn't dwell any longer and risk mr. choi exiting his office to see you both together.

now although mr. choi may have remained a little clueless about his son and intern, neither of you would have ever guessed that a certain assistant had full access to the security cameras.

a silent cupid, if you will.

"so?"

soobin looked down at you, tilting his head in confusion. "so what?"

so what? did he ... not remember?

furrowing your eyebrows together and forming your lips into a pout, you suddenly started to wonder if you had misunderstood the idea about soobin's mention of a surprise.

unless ... oh! unless him showing up to scare the hell out of you was actually the surprise!

well, in that case, he failed miserably on taking note of how you felt about scary surprises.

"sorry, nevermind, i thought there was going to be a different surprise," you shrugged, though feeling secretly disappointed.

it was your own fault, though, considering you raised your own expectations on such a vague message. the cute boy just wanted to see you and there you were, making yourself sad because you wanted more.

"but i haven't told you the surprise yet?"

your entire demeanor perked up, looking up to meet soobin's eyes with a giant smile you couldn't even suppress if you tried. "you haven't?" you echoed excitedly, bouncing slightly on your toes.

you were beginning to make it extremely difficult for soobin to keep himself together when you looked this cute. it was taking everything in him to not throw his entire plan for the evening out the window and just confess to you right there in the elevator of his father's company.

"nope, i'm waiting until we get outside," he told you, making your heart leap from eagerness now.

the second the elevator doors opened to the lobby, you grabbed ahold of soobin's hand and practically raced to the exit doors while pulling him in tow. you just couldn't wait any longer!

"okay, now tell me, tell me, tell me!" you chanted excitedly, bouncing up and down once the two of you made it out the doors and onto the pavement sidewalk.

"i just want to say that you are welcome to say no if you're not comfortable, okay?" soobin first disclaimed, heeding taehyun's advice from earlier about making sure you were completely okay with what he had planned.

you brought your excited bouncing to a halt, now being a little cautious about what soobin may have had in mind.

after earning a simple nod from you, soobin took a deep breath and finally came right out with it. "would- would you want ... to go to lotte world with me ... tonight?"

well, he sort of came right out with it.

stunned, your mouth gaped open and your eyes widened. after a brief recovery, you squealed excitedly and jumped up for soobin to catch you in his arms as you engulfed him in a hug. "yes, yes, oh my God! it's going to be so much fun!"

if he was being honest, soobin barely heard what you just said. all he knew was that you were excited and you were in his arms in the absolute best way possible.

had you not slowly pulled away to signal for him to put you down, he was pretty sure it would've been impossible for anyone else to get him to let you go.

he didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew that you belonged in his arms. it felt perfect; it felt right. his arms were meant to hold you and you alone.

"is that okay?"

soobin suddenly shook his head to focus back into reality and not in his daydreams, allowing him to realize he had to have missed something you just said. "what was that?"

puffing air through your nose in amusement, you repeated your question. "i asked if we could stop by my apartment first so i can change?"

"oh, of course, yeah!" soobin quickly agreed.

it was all part of the plan anyway, so it worked out that you suggested the idea before he could.

・❥・

arriving to your apartment for the second time, it was going to be the first time that soobin would get to see the inside for himself.

he knew you lived with your best friend as your roommate, but he was still eager to see all the details that resembled you all over the place. he could imagine that the cutest things would belong to you. or maybe you had a homier vibe that radiated warmth and comfort instead. unless you liked a more minimalist type of style that wasn't very showy.

regardless, he was chewing on his bottom lip excitedly behind you as you were searching for your key to unlock the door.

once you finally opened the door, soobin was first greeted by the appearance and general smell of a clean apartment. there was some sort of floral fragrance in the air, and it took only a second for him to spot the open candle at the dining table.

first impression alone had soobin feeling ashamed for ever taking you anywhere near the filthy hole he had to call a dorm.

"make yourself at home! just give me one second to change, okay?" you told soobin after handing him the guest house slippers, quickly taking off your own shoes and rushing to your room to change.

it took only a second for soobin to drive himself crazy with how cute you were, all from glancing down at the little bunny design on the guest slippers.

he wondered if he should invest in house slippers solely meant for you back at his dorm...

finally walking further into the apartment, soobin was practically creating a mental shopping list of things he wanted to get for you back at his dorm. he already included the house slippers, candles, a fuzzy throw blanket similar to the one that he found neatly folded on your couch, and was even heavily considering getting you your own mug for the kitchen.

it took him a second too long to remind himself that you two were still just friends at this moment, so it was completely insane for him to start practically moving you two in together.

but still ... he wanted you to at least visit more often.

there was still a movie that needed to be finished as well, which soobin would be sure to remind you of later.

as he continued to wait for you, soobin then found himself in front of a shelf full of picture frames. some were of, who he assumed to be, your roommate, but he instantly caught sight of the ones with your adorable smiling face.

he picked up a certain frame that consisted of you as a child, smiling and laughing about whatever it may have been back then, and never did he expect you to look even cuter than you do now.

taking a quick glance behind him to ensure you weren't coming back, soobin pulled out his phone and took a picture to save for himself. he then got carried away snapping more pictures of you from each frame.

so carried away, in fact, that he took no notice of the new presence that had entered the room.

"what the hell are you doing?"

soobin jumped in fear, letting out a small scream from having been shocked unexpectedly - especially from being caught red-handed. turning around, his entire face turned beet red when he realized that it wasn't even you that had caught him.

chaewon lifted up an accusing brow, her arms crossed as she eyed the creep who still held a photo of you in his hands.

she recognized him to be that soobin guy from the night before, but she had no reason to understand why the hell he was standing in her apartment taking creepy shots of your pictures.

"i- i'm ... i was just-," soobin stuttered, his gaze shifting between chaewon, his phone, and the picture frame still in his hands.

rolling her eyes, chaewon walked over to the creep and casually pulled the frame out of his grasp to place back onto the shelf. despite him being practically an entire foot taller, she found it incredibly hilarious that he was acting so nervous and shy.

"so you're soobin, huh?" she asked him rhetorically, since she knew full well who he was, taking a few steps back to get a better look at him up close.

thinking back to how you described him to her, he did appear to give off an aura of a gentle giant. chaewon felt better that she didn't get any bad vibes from him, or else she would have kicked him out then and there without a second thought.

"yes, i'm choi soobin. i'm friends with y/n," soobin quickly introduced himself, bowing way too formally.

considering chaewon was your best friend, he was incredibly desperate to make a good impression on her. it did not help, however, the situation that she caught him in.

"calm down, i'm not interviewing you," chaewon laughed, now understanding what you meant every time you had referred to him as your 'cute dork'.

"right, sorry," soobin found himself apologizing, feeling all the more nervous.

could you hear him silently screaming for help?

if you did catch his telepathic waves, you ignored it.

you were too busy practically having a panic attack in your bedroom trying to figure out something to wear. this was practically a date, so you needed to dress cute, but you also needed it to be something practical for an amusement park.

curse the cute boy for doing this to you!!

"so you're the one whose crazy father is trying to set you guys up together?" chaewon quizzed him suddenly, crossing her arms and causing soobin to find her all the more intimidating.

"yes, well-"

"and you're the one who let your friends message her and ignore her the other day?" chaewon interrupted with another question, smirking as the boy in front of her was about to panic.

"well, yes, but i didn't-"

"and you're also the one who's secretly in love with her?"

"yes, but i'm-"

this time, it was soobin who cut himself off. both his and chaewon's eyes widened twice their normal size, surprised at how easily it came to him to answer.

chaewon just wanted to watch him stutter like an idiot for an answer, she didn't expect him to say yes right away!

"but you're what?" chaewon urged him to finish, genuinely curious as to what the end of that sentence was going to be.

still blushing profusely, soobin took a quick glance towards your bedroom door one more time. either to ensure you weren't on your way out or to silently scream for your help, he couldn't be sure.

"but i'm ... i'm confessing tonight," soobin finally mumbled, his eyes quickly averting down to his fidgeting hands in embarrassment. he couldn't believe he was admitting this to your best friend right now.

chaewon gasped in a delighted surprise, throwing her entire intimidating demeanor from a second ago out the window. "you are? oh my God, that's so great! she's going to be so happy!"

if she was being honest, she didn't even realize that she had just casually exposed your own feelings to the boy without even thinking about it. hearing that the boy you were crushing on felt the same for you just made her so excited!!

lucky for her, though, it was still subtle enough that he didn't even manage to catch on to her words.

"do you think she'll say yes?" soobin asked her, desperation laced in his voice as he looked at your best friend expectantly for a response.

if anyone would know what to expect from you, it would be her.

smirking now, chaewon glanced over to see that your bedroom door was slowly beginning to open. "let's put it this way, lover boy. i don't know all about you just because i'm a good guesser," she told him in a low voice, taking her leave to walk towards the kitchen once you finally stepped out.

"hey, cutie, where are you going?" chaewon called out to you playfully from her new place in front of the kitchen counter.

"soobin's taking me to lotte world!" you answered her cheerfully, practically skipping over to stand beside soobin and wrap your hands around his arm.

"ooh, lotte world? sounds like fun~," she commented, secretly biting her tongue to prevent herself from making any remarks that would hint at soobin's plan for the night.

she already couldn't wait for you to come back so she could hear every single detail.

"so you're ready?" soobin asked you, looking down and noticing your change of clothes.

you nodded excitedly, dragging him along with you out of the apartment after bidding a rushed goodbye to chaewon. you were so happy to be going with soobin that you didn't want to waste a single second on your way.

in contrast to your usual way of traveling, this time you and soobin would take the subway in order to reach lotte world much quicker and with greater ease — seeing as it would take roughly 10 minutes to reach the exit directly connected to the park.

what neither of you were prepared for, though, was the mass of people that filled the subway - a mixture of families headed home from work and a few headed for a long night of drinking at whatever bar or club they could find.

all the seats were filled from what you both could see, but soobin managed to find an unoccupied handrail for the two of you to share. soobin made sure to stand in between you and the men that occupied the seat beside the rail, not wanting to risk any chance of either of them making you uncomfortable.

you stayed rather silent during the trip, for many reasons.

the first reason being that you felt shy with so many people surrounding the two of you, and it embarrassed you to have complete strangers hearing your conversation.

not that anything you'd say would be embarrassing at all, but it was your own anxiety that made you nervous.

the second reason was that you couldn't bring yourself to speak even if you wanted to. the cause behind that being soobin's gentle hand resting carefully on your waist, protecting you on the off-chance that you lost balance at all during the ride.

even with a layer of clothing in between, soobin's touch still emitted sparks coursing through your veins.

could he feel them too?

was he even aware of how he made you feel at all?

in this instance, soobin was clueless. he was more focused on everyone around you, watching carefully for anyone's possible lingering stares or wandering hands.

he was never a fan of the subway, having heard many horror stories - and seen many dramas - of creepy men that would take advantage of women. never would he ever want you to deal with anything like that, not as long as he could be there beside you to prevent it.

in which case, left him paying no attention to your blushing cheeks or the goosebumps on your skin from the position of his hand.

・❥・

in a matter of no time, though it felt like years to you, the both of you finally exited the subway and walked a short ways to reach the south gate entrance.

despite your insisting to help cover at least half of the entrance fee, soobin hushed you and ended up covering all the costs for himself - even going as far to splurge on magic passes to prevent any waiting for a few of the popular rides.

"soobin, you can't keep doing that," you pouted, feeling worse than you should that he kept paying for you everywhere you went.

meanwhile, it didn't bother soobin in the slightest. he adored being able to treat you to anything and everything you wanted, just as long as it made you smile.

besides, it was his father's money. he did want you two together, right? in which case, soobin was sure he wouldn't mind either.

"come on, what do you want to do first?" soobin asked you, intertwining your hands perfectly together that it felt as if it were the most natural instinct in the world.

after only a second of pondering, your eyes landed on the sign of the closest ride - with an estimated wait time of only 20 minutes. luckily for you both, the 'premium' magic pass that decorated your wrists would allow you to skip the line.

"let's go here," you urged soobin, tugging cutely for him to follow behind you as you led him to the adventures of sinbad.

seeing as you got to skip the waiting, you and soobin were placed in the perfect spot at the very front of the ride. you were, unfortunately, joined later by a lone rider to make a set of 3, but it didn't bother either of you that much.

you still held each other's hand and giggled happily together for every twist and turn - even 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing at the dragon animatronics.

it was barely the first ride out of many, but you already didn't want the day with soobin to end. you hadn't been to lotte world ever since you were a child, so creating this new memory with the adorable boy beside you meant everything.

you truly wished you could live it forever.

"i know where we're going next," soobin laughed beside you, now being the one to tug at your hand to follow him to the conquistador next door.

only this time, you hesitated. you used your free hand to grasp at his wrist to gain his attention, wanting to stop him from going any further. "actually, that ride's really cramped, i don't know if i want to go on that one," you told him.

it was true that the ride was very cramped, seeing as it held almost up to 60 people at a time, but he and his friends never really saw that as a problem before.

the only other person he knew who wasn't a fan of the ride was huening, but that was because ...

soobin looked back over at you to study your face, realizing that you looked a little nervous every time you watched the mechanical boat go upwards. figuring it was a little more than just a cramped ride that made you reluctant, he chose to play along and avoid teasing you just this once.

"you're right, we can go on something else," he reassured you, squeezing your hand gently and leading you away from the ride.

after discovering your new fear, soobin mentally created a list of rides to avoid and not bother suggesting on the chance that they would make you uncomfortable. he wanted to make this night a wonderful experience for you, and he was not about to risk anything.

the drunken basket, however, was a bit of a question mark. he figured it couldn't hurt to ask, seeing as it wasn't that high up.

"would you be okay going up there?" soobin asked you, pointing towards the currently spinning basket ride.

if you were being honest, watching it spin around made you dizzy just from looking at it, but you refused to skip any more rides and ruin the evening for soobin. if you kept saying no to anything that made you worry, he may end up having no fun with you at all.

"yeah, looks like fun!" you lied through a forced smile, taking deep breaths after he turned around in order to comfort yourself before you reached it.

declaring yourself as a party of two, the worker allowed you both to your own basket before shutting the tiny door that would supposedly keep you in.

staring long and hard at the metal disk in the center, you suddenly grew even more nervous at the thought of getting motion sick.

"we don't have to spin it if you don't want to," soobin reassured you, smiling gently as he noticed your nerves once again.

"no, no, we can! just not too much, okay?" you told him, focusing on your deep breaths once again.

once the ride started, soobin ignored your protests and ended up scooting over from his place across from you to sit directly by your side. he used one arm to hold you tightly against him, allowing you to tuck your face into his coat, while his other hand turned the disk around only a couple times.

he was curious, he couldn't help himself.

besides, you felt safer being held so closely to him, so you didn't mind one bit. for a second, you forgot you were even on the ride at all.

once it was over, the two of you ended up stumbling around a bit on your way down - soobin more than you - and you opted for waiting off to the side for a second so that you could regain your balance.

"oh, binnie, look!" you cheered excitedly, pointing over to a nearby attraction that piqued your interest.

it took soobin a second to follow where you were pointing, his heart distracting him as it flipped over from hearing your name for him fall casually from your lips.

"the mirror maze?" he finally asked, tilting his head and smiling at you so cutely.

if he had known before that something like this would have you smiling so brightly and adorably at him, he would have suggested lotte world ages ago.

"yeah, do you want try it?" you asked him, bouncing on your toes in a failed attempt to prevent yourself from getting overexcited.

now how could soobin possibly say no to someone as cute as you?

not that he would ever dare to deny you anything in the world.

"sure, cutie, let's go."

... cutie?!

had soobin not said it in such a cute, cooing way, that simple sentence had the potential to sound a lot flirtier, which could have easily made you lose your mind without any effort.

not that you weren't already.

after soobin swore he had the entire maze memorized and insisted he lead you through, it made it all the funnier to watch him walk face first into the first mirror.

from there, it was as if everywhere he tried to turn was a mirror, causing you to laugh at him the whole time. you would ask if he'd like any help, but apparently he would rather play on false confidence that he supposedly knew where he was going.

"i think they change the mirrors," soobin tried to justify, practically looking like a mime as his hands touched over every mirror surrounding the two of you.

"i'm sure they do, binnie," you teased him, having a much easier time than he had as you finally took charge and guided yourself through each turn to find the exit.

once the two of you finally made it out, soobin began jokingly gasping for air as if you had been trapped in there for days.

your heart swelled as you giggled, adoring how cute he was every time he made you laugh.

intertwining your hands together once more, with both of your hearts simultaneously racing, you began to work your way through the crowd in order to spot anymore attractions to enjoy before moving on to the next floor.

of course, your eyes refused to miss the bright, shining lights of the camelot carousel practically screaming at you.

"aww, binnie, let's ride the carousel!" you chanted happily, walking backwards as you dragged him by hand and watched his cute little dimples flash at you.

normally soobin wouldn't care for the carousel, but he would ride it 100 times over for you if you simply told him so.

from once believing that the carousel was a rather boring ride, soobin was suddenly convinced that it was the best attraction out of the entire park. watching you laugh, smile, and cheer so giddily made the ride appear so much brighter than before.

he couldn't resist taking his phone out to capture just how pretty you looked from his view, despite your protests and lies that you weren't. it took him only a second to decide to make you his lock screen, and it took even less time to choose which of the many was his favorite.

there was something about the way you looked at him in one of the pictures that had his heart swelling, flipping, and racing all at once. he didn't want to get his hopes up, but it almost looked like ... maybe, just maybe, there was a deeper feeling to your eyes whenever they looked at him — just like how his shined every time he looked at you.

sighing in content, he couldn't help but to think that everything about the night was running smoothly.

you were happy, soobin was happy, and his entire plan was on track to take you to magic island for the end of the night moonboat ride, where he would then confess to you.

and then ... soobin made a slight miscalculation.

[ to be continued ... ]

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a/n:

okay FIRST OF ALL, i may have practically gone to lotte world myself with how much i'm studying that damn park map. i didn't want to talk out of my ass and start naming things that weren't there, so i aimed for accuracy and i beg of you to pls acknowledge me for it 😭

secondly, i was originally going to make this one LONG final post buuuuut ... let's just say it ended up being way longer than i expected and i figured you guys would rather enjoy a two-parter anyway <3

PLS PLS enjoy it !!! the second part is still currently in progress, so look forward to it very soon while also enjoying part 1 !!

~

taglist:

@sha-aesthic @wccycc @yjusei @ihrtgyu @strawberrydaichi @seodami @sparkswhoz @o934pm @dongmeiii @cannedturtle @intrrverted @fanfangying1304 @n0tprettybutt1red @human-misery @baekberrie @softcabur

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