#i know this was my longest au but it somehow ended up longer

[aclowntiny]

Foolproof- Seungkwan x Female!Best Friend!Reader

Shoutout to my irl first love for inspiring this…except for any getting together parts 🥲

Word Count: 3738 | Best Friends to Lovers, College AU, some Angst | Warnings: some language, my painfully obvious love for Boo Seungkwan I mean look at him he’s so cute PLEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE

It had been four years. Some would assume there was an anniversary of sorts, but if you were being honest, you didn’t even know what day it was. It didn’t really matter, just that it was early in the year four years ago that you officially met Boo Seungkwan.

You two had become fast friends, the young man introducing himself with great ease and charm, inspiring you to follow suit, and from there it took off- finding common ground was easy for you both. Seungkwan was impossible to dislike, a great singer with lots of music recommendations, the kpop ones being your favorites. He got you into more girl groups than you could count, but you started trying to infect him with your music taste, too.

There was a small student party, just an opening of a new building on campus, and you both went. That night ended up creating one of your favorite memories, the one where Seungkwan taught you how to correctly do the macarena, which you always messed up on, and it looked so funny you couldn’t help laughing as you joined him.

You started to find yourself actually feeling excited to go to class just at the mere prospect of him being there. In that section alone you would always have someone to talk to and share exasperated looks about the professor with. In a rare move, you initiated a study get-together just to get closer to him, and somehow it actually worked. The two of you were the longest ones to stay, and you ended up talking about books and movies and majors and slipping on banana peels far longer than you pored over your drafts.

You went to his performance in the music building, clapping and congratulating how amazing he did. He wasn’t expecting you to bring him a small bundle of flowers, but the way he lit up when you gave it to him was worth it.

Getting him hooked on your favorite game store was his roommates' bane, but your joy, the two of you picking out cute card games and ridiculous board games alike. It sold collectibles from your favorite franchise, which Seungkwan always threw into every birthday and Christmas gift...except for the one that referenced a comedy song you'd shown him, which you two now collectively referred to as your theme song.

Every trip you planned, despite going on very few, included each other. You guys were going to go to an amusement park, to Japan, to the beach, New York, his hometown on a Jeju trip, you name it. You and Seungkwan hadn’t gone on a one-on-one trip yet in four years, which might have been good for your heart in some ways, honestly.

Since Seungkwan lived on campus, you brought your laptop to the dorms and sat together in one of the common rooms so you could show him one of your favorite movies. You met his roommate, Jeonghan, and plenty of others. The three of you recruited Seokmin, Soonyoung, and Hansol, some classmates of theirs, for a dorm game night that became a weekly meeting. On the biggest nights there were fourteen of you there in that room, some fellow dorm-dwellers just wandering into the group, but Seungkwan stuck by you every time until the nerves of bring surrounded by strangers and established friends faded, your chest loosening up again along with your behavior. Soon, you had a large, eclectic, tight-knit group ranging from a handful of music and dance majors that already had at least perfunctory knowledge of each other to Seungkwan's advertising major roommate, a guy studying journalism, a quiet game design major, a fine arts student, and two business majors. One guy would be finishing up a painting for midterms while another had to calculate his fictional project’s cost risks, but you were all the same when Jeonghan cheated, one voice amidst a chorus of mirthful protests.

You got close to the other guys, but not like you were to Seungkwan. Both of you knew each other’s deepest secrets, all your struggles, and you even admitted you thought one of the guys in your group was cute before you realized your personalities didn’t match up like that.

Heck, Seungkwan had seen you literally at your worst, laying eyes on you in your crustiest state when he brought you ice cream after your wisdom teeth extraction. Tired, on meds, no nice clothes or makeup, probably still swollen, but for once you didn’t care. You were confident he’d see you the same no matter what. He was one of your best friends, after all. You didn't have to be fake. You felt the most yourself with him.

Not a phrase you'd have ever expected to use, but Seungkwan became your tangerine dealer. Every two weeks he'd pay a visit to home and come back with a huge box of them just for you. It got to the point where you paid him to bring some back for your family, too, your parents practically begging you to make sure you secured the citrus.

So many days that you strolled down campus lanes you longed to just reach over and take his hand in yours, having some movie moment beneath blowing autumn leaves where it just magically came together and boom, instant mutual love. But you knew firsthand life wasn’t like the movies. Heck, knowing how affectionate Seungkwan could be, he’d probably think you were just doing goofy buddy-buddy hand holding, not hey, you’re the cutest and funniest and most trustworthy person I know, please date me hand holding.

You’d gotten too many mixed signs to ensure a move like that would be foolproof.

Seungkwan asked you to dance at every event you went to that offered it. He also talked about asking a girl again that had requested him, leaving you shaken for the entire remainder of the 'college prom' despite the fact that she left before he could. You faked a smile when Seokmin invited you to dance, but it never came back the same until you and Seungkwan were in his car driving to the convenience store and chatting about your latest projects, no mention of the girl in the envy green dress.

You told him you'd never worn a suit jacket like his one night and he immediately stripped it off, handing it off to you to try.

He described his type once, saying this or that look on a girl was totally his style, and let's just say it was quite far from yours. It was almost laughable if it hadn't made you want to cry. That conversation was part of why you went through such a giving-up phase, trying to get the attention of one of the twelve other guys you hung out with to, somewhat depressingly, no avail.

But then another time he mentioned an old crush from high school, a girl you happened to have class with, and she basically had your style dialed up a notch.

You did try dating once, determined to get over Seungkwan once and for all, but when you showed up to a formal event maximally gussied and Seungkwan was the one who told you you looked nice, not your boyfriend who barely said hi to you, something in your chest just snapped. The other guy wasn't a great fit, either, and you ended up breaking it off when he picked one too many fights over your damn personality of all things. He told you to get serious once and that was the last straw because he'd had months to see your humor.

The next time your ex passed you by, shooting you two a glance across the crowded resident dining hall, Seungkwan pulled the same gag he'd hated just to show him.

One of the guys, Seungcheol, once asked about the two of you and you freaked out, denying anything and saying you guys were super duper close Just Best Friends. Later, you wondered if Seungcheol reported that to Seungkwan. But if he did, then why? How would that come up?

Why did Seungkwan seek you out for trips and hangouts and calls like that? Why were you so much less on edge with each other than you were in the one relationship each you guys tried? Why did he never do a single thing to pursue more in four freaking years? Then again, you did tell him you thought Chan was cute before you realized you couldn't keep up with his lifestyle. Too 'work hard, play hard'. You were used to someone who just wanted attention, something you were happy to give when they were as dynamic, hilarious, and deep down so caring as Seungkwan. But that was beside the point.

God, you wish you hadn't hammered in the point of your friendship so hard with Seungcheol. Had that been the moment that ruined everything? Had not confessing on that one phone call where Seungkwan went off track talking about his upcoming Lotte World trip before you could get around to it been the moment that ruined everything? Had feeling so comfortable, showing even the very inner, more damaged layers of your shell been what ruined it all? Or had there simply been nothing to ruin?

Every time you thought you were done, whether you thought you could be happy with someone or he could and that meant case closed or even that you could put everything you felt in a box and take his smile just as a testament to your friendship, something would happen to make you question what was really going on inside his head or make your heart beat a mile a minute. Even something as simple as going on a thirty-minute drive, eyes scanning Seungkwan's side profile as he talked, feeling a great urge to just kiss him right then and there.

Moving on would get harder, you assumed, when others started to learn. It hadn't exactly been intentional, at least not on your part, but one day you had met Minghao, the arts major from your chaotic game group, for lunch and he'd brought up Seungkwan, one of the biggest connections you two had. Ok, that was fine, just a normal conversation, until that is he dropped a bomb in the form of a very choice phrase.

"If you did that, he would be so happy he'd kiss you," Minghao had joked, eyes rolling a bit as his naturally infectious smile widened.

Your very natural, instinctual, practically biological at this point, reaction to any jokes about you and Seungkwan that anyone made was a deeply transparent glare your eyes melted into before your brain even computed it. Indeed, you felt it before you considered it, but by the time you willed your face to return to normal Minghao was staring at you with raised eyebrows.

"Oh."

"What?"

"You, uh, have feelings for him, don't you?"

"Maybe I was grossed out by your joke," you feigned, pointing accusingly at Minghao with your chopsticks.

Those darn eyes of him were like swords stabbing straight into your soul. "Were you?"

"No," you broke down, melting into a stream of sweet, sad, funny, and everything in between words of your messy failed love and how bad you wanted closure, but not if it came at the cost of losing or disconcerting one of the closest people in your life.

Soon you were sobbing, Minghao sliding out of his bench seat and into a spot at your side, where he pulled you close. You felt tears soak into the chilled fabric of his scarf, but he didn't seem to mind, silently rubbing circles into your back for a few moments before he gently spoke.

"Seungkwan talks about you all the time, you know. I think even if he couldn't return those feelings, it would take a lot worse for him to stop being your friend. He doesn't cut people off easily, you know that."

"I do," you agreed, "he hates it when people do that."

"Then why do you think he'd do it to you, the person he so clearly wants at everything you can be?"

"I-" You inhaled shakily. "I don't know. I've been rejected a lot. I even asked one of the guys out and he turned it into a group hangout."

"Is that why we went bowling instead of-"

"Yes," you muttered into his scarf.

"I really think you need to talk to Seungkwan."

"About everything?" Peeling your face back out of the scarf, you felt a chill breeze lap at the tears drying on your cheeks. "Why?"

"If nothing else because he's standing like twenty feet away giving me a really weird look I've only seen him give Chan, and that has only been since Bowling Night."

"Oh, God, does he think-"

"I don't know, but here," Minghao replied, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. Leave it to him to have a beautifully embroidered ruby handkerchief in his pocket instead of a pack of Kleenex crushed beneath everything else in his backpack like every other college student.

"Thanks. Wish me luck."

"I don't believe in luck."

"Gee," you drew another shaky breath, rising unsteadily to your feet, "thanks."

"I believe in fate," Minghao smiled.

Art majors. You felt your eyes squinting in a half-glare before willing your defensive brain to be kind. Dabbing at your eyes, you attempted a wobbly smile, nodding and giving him one last thanks before wandering miserably over to Seungkwan. You couldn't help but crack a smile and chuckle at the way he cocked his head on you, the sound of mirth cracking into a sob because you hadn't fully exited cry-mode.

"Whoa, what's wrong? Or was that good crying? Did Minghao just confess? I gotta say, you and Minghao. Quite the surprise, I kind of would have seen you going for Seokmin or Soonyoung since they're funny and go better with-"

At all that, the floodgates opened again and you just strode off, sobbing. He was practically throwing you at all the other guys. You got it. Maybe that was the closure you needed, though if it was, why did it have to sting like ice piercing your lungs?

You always knew it would, though, if it came to it.

"(y/n), wait! Whoa!" Jogging to catch up with you, Seungkwan physically stopped you from walking, grabbing you by the shoulders and making you face him before he pulled you into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What did Minghao say to you?"

"Nothing."

Seungkwan's face hardened in a way you'd never seen before, not even when the guys teased him in the ways he hated the most. "Did he hurt you? I love Minghao, but I swear if he said anything that ruined your day I'll punch his lights out."

"No," you shook your head, "no, please. We were just talking about something he thought I should do is all."

"Ok, so he didn't reject you and you're not dating? Good. Great first step."

Shoving the arts student in question's handkerchief back in your pocket, you raised an eyebrow. "Good?"

"Well, er, I mean, that is... you... you can date Minghao. Like, if you want to. I was surprised, but it's not a bad thing, like he's a good guy and all, just really quiet for someone who screams her head off during improv games and takes approximately point five seconds to initiate whipped cream fights."

Another shaky laugh, this time not quite fading into sobs. "Yeah, no. I don't want to date Minghao."

"Good. Great."

There they were again, those little things that got your hopes up. How well Seungkwan knew you, how deeply he was aware on whatever level that you two went together like peanut butter and jelly, how he could always make you laugh, how he seemed freaking glad you weren't getting yourself into a relationship. But if he wanted one, why didn't he say anything?

"Why do you keep saying that?" You burst out.

"What?"

"Good, great, all that," you turn slightly away from him.

He reaches over and straightens the collar of your jacket, yet another of the little caring motions you'd fallen in love with. A small way he touched you when he didn't have to. When his hands fell away, though, his jaw set, eyes fluttering closed as if in pain, like your words were a slap.

"I- I'm sorry, (y/n)."

"You don't have to be sorry," you sigh, "I just...wanted to know what that meant, I guess."

He blinked. "I know I'm one of your best friends and that's all you see me as- heck, I'm probably like a brother to you- but I admit I have a hard time with the idea of you going out with someone who isn't me. My mom told me I needed to realize I was in love with you when I apparently 'constantly talked about only you forever'," he began, making air quotes as he imitated Mrs. Boo, "but ever since I did I can't help but see the guys as threats. Especially Chan, because, well you know. I know what they say, though: you have to let them go. So whoever it is, as long as they're good, I just want to see you smile forever. Even if that's not Minghao or any of the guys. I care about you so much, (y/n), and when you said you wanted to be friends forever it touched my heart because I want the same. I really, really do. Maybe I didn't want to say that all for so long because it would have made it real, you know?" He asked with an awkward chuckle.

Holy shit. This time, your brain overrode your face, preventing a smile in favor of a shout. "I KNEW IT!" You exclaimed. "I knew saying that to Seungcheol was a bad idea! I didn't trust him with my feelings for you because he'd spill, but then why would my dumb ass trust him with a lie? Oh my God, I'm going to kill him. I thought I wasn't your type, so I just... it just seemed easier to hide them. Oh, my God!"

Seungcheol was a scapegoat for all the nights you'd spent cursing yourself, calling yourself stupid for not moving on when you'd gotten this or that sign, for believing this or that sign to the contrary, for hanging onto every last shred of hope that that extra-long hug might have meant something.

"Your feelings?" Seungkwan questioned, hands still on your shoulders as his head returned to its studying tilt. "I thought we were doing mine."

It sounded like a cry for attention, but you knew Seungkwan too well for that. Your face fell, and panicking he cupped your chin and pulled you up, only to see you shaking your head and half-sardonically, half-deliriously, laughing. What the heck were you guys doing? None of this felt real. He'd only processed one thing, and that was getting his confession out there. "I think our feelings might be the same," you reiterated.

"What do you..." Head un-tilted. Eyes wide. Grin increasing. "You were lying?"

"That's the first time I've seen you so happy about filthy deceit before."

"Hey, you told me you weren't going to use that phrase anymore," he pouted. Yep, even in the middle of all that, he was sensitive to the memes he'd made in the group. That was Boo Seungkwan for you, presentations class ace and funniest non-comedian you'd ever met.

"Sorry, it was too funny, Jeonghan loved when you said it then and he still does. Just like me to you," you added, trying to get him back on topic. You were not about to have another Lotte World Phone Call Debacle.

"You love me?" The hand that was under your chin slid to your cheek.

You nodded. "I can't believe it wasn't obvious by, well, everything. When I look at you I can feel the change in my eyes. They have to look different when they fall on yours versus anyone else. They feel twice their size and like they must have that anime shine in them."

"That's...one of the sweetest things I've ever heard."

"Well," you give your first full, genuine smile since bursting into tears on Minghao, "it's true. You make me feel like my fullest self. That's why I always seek you out. I'm scared to sing in front of people, but with you I'll belt out whatever we play. You know things about me my own parents don't even know, and that's because you've given me nothing but reason to trust and value you like you have me."

"Wow," Seungkwan sighed, sniffing, "I...I can't believe I got so lucky, I just..."

The moment he trailed off, you took a hold of his cheek, too. "Hey, whoa now, don't you start crying too, I'll do it again."

"And we don't want that."

You'd cried countless times over your feelings toward Seungkwan for almost exactly four years, though there was no anniversary. You hadn't known how important that day in class would become to you, despite how many times you'd thanked it now. Typed out paragraph upon paragraph about how no one else makes you feel quite as yourself, quite as at home, as the man from Jeju who loved hosting game nights at every opportunity. The man who would never look at a girl like you. You'd tearfully imagined how he'd reject you, how he'd accept you, if your confession would burst out during your first fight like in a movie, if you could ever have that moment in the autumn light you'd always imagined.

Well, it wasn't autumn, in fact it was a cold January day you'd more than shivered through on the lanes between each building, those falling leaves long died away and crumbled into the dirt. The trees looked like sticks, your cute outfits hid under your coats, and sometimes your nose ran. Surely it was right now after all your eyes had done. But somehow, as you looked at Seungkwan, all of that was more beautiful than every red and gold that could have drifted on the wind.

"No, we don't, do we?"

Seungkwan leaned a little bit closer. "I know we're both, like, totally crying, but I think it's safe to say we both know what we do want?"

Tears on tears cancelled out. Mingled, even, like debts paid.

[gracefireheart]

Finally decided on what animal each of the mercs are for the TF2 x Beastars AU, so I'm making a new more clean post about it instead of adding it onto this rb train of mine.

So, let's get into it :]

First off, who is what animal:

Heavy - Eurasian Brown Bear

Medic - Alpine Ibex

Spy - Red [European] Fox

Scout - White-Tailed Jackrabbit (w/ some Red Fox mixed in)

Sniper - Dorset Horn Sheep

Demoman - Scottish Highland Bull

Soldier - Raccoon

Engineer - Blue Lacy [Dog]

Pyro - Gila Monster

Onto some side notes about the mercs in this AU (as well as some other stuff):

Like I wrote about in my fanfic for this AU (which you can read here if you wanna), Heavy is a bit bigger than the average Eurasian Brown Bear despite him not eating any meat. Tho', it also results in him having a weaker bite force. On the flip side, his arms are pretty powerful.

Out of the carnivores- who tend to get long, sharp nails- the only one that doesn't file them down is Soldier.

Scout's coat- as he grew older- began getting more and more tinted a red-ish orange color instead of it's usual gray-ish tan color. His tail is a bit longer than it should be, along with his nails being sharper (which he trims in secret). On the plus side, he is pretty fast, even in jackrabbit standards.

Medic has a few scars on his body he avoids showing anyone- especially Heavy and Scout- after a rather nasty night at the black market. The only ones that knows of it is Engineer (who helps clean the scars) and Spy ('cause of course he does). And ever since then, whenever he goes around the city, he always brings a bag with his trusted bonesaw, a scalpel, and a syringe inside of it.

Under his mask, Spy's fur around his face is graying a bit. As a lil' side note: He does eat meat, but avoids eating it in front of anyone. Even if he knows that Engineer (sometimes) and Soldier (quite a bit) eats meat as well.

Since it takes quite a lot to properly take care of wool, Sniper ends up just not really taking care of it. Which results in stuff getting stuck in it (like leaves, sticks, and so on), an awful time showering, and a grumbling doctor.

Due to how his hair is, Demoman always wears a headband to keep it out of his eye. On another note; While Heavy is the tallest carnivore of the group- and tallest overall- Demoman is the tallest herbivore.

Like Sniper, Soldier doesn't really take care of his fur, despite Demoman, Engineer, and Medic's best efforts to take care of it. His ears are also pretty scarred, but still works alright! If he didn't wear that helmet all the time, that is.

Being a type of dog, Engineer- whenever he isn't busy with a project- is the one to keep the other carnivores in line if they end up getting rowdy, or start losing themselves in their instincts.

Pyro does wear a mask all the time here as well- both to hide their more severe burn scars, and also to not accidentally poison someone with their venom- but only wears an asbestos-lined suit when their job calls for it. Their mask has at least one new sticker (to replace old stickers) plastered on it everyday, and their clothes tends to be decorated with patches that's sewed on, keychains, bracelets, and so on.

This one's gonna sound dirty af, but it's about horns, I swear. Out of the horned herbivores; Demoman's horns are the longest but are also somehow the thinnest, Medic's horns are the thickest (and just a tad shorter than Demoman's), while Sniper's horns are the shortest. These three- more notable Demoman and Medic- tend to get their horns accidentally hooked together and make them fall over eachother, over and over again.

I have ideas for other TF2 side characters for this AU, but I mostly have no clue what animals to give them. Except for Saxton, who gets to be a Red Kangaroo.

[no-see-um-incorrect]

hey there! i really like your actor au for yuurivoice and was wondering if I could ask a question? if you're no longer taking questions for that au feel free to ignore this but I was wondering if how long it would take Charlie and Casper to get ready, like makeup and hair wise. and if the others are jealous because of how little time it takes?

(I got ya honey💋)

(all the other parts are linked on this post ⬆️)

YV Acting AU PT4

Interviewer: Charlie and Casper. How long does it take for you two to get ready? And are any of your costars jealous about how little time it takes?

Casper: *Holding in laughter*

Charlie also holding in laughter: ………..

Charlie: ……..would you hate me if I said two minutes? 

*Casper pissing their pants laughing*

Charlie: all I have to do is put my contacts in and I do that in the car so…..

Lucian: these two little shits are the only ones that don’t have to go the cosmetics department EVEN SETH HAS TO GET COSMETICALLY  ROUGHED UP!

Casper: the longest time we’ve spent in the dressing room, and with make up and stuff was for the Halloween special and the school dance… and even then it wasn’t a lot of time 15 minutes maybe😆 

Interviewer: next question is from @everything-redacted-and-others

Interviewer: was there ever a time when the acting was improvised? 

Charlie: most of my scenes with Casper were improvised  but that wasn’t on purpose. It was either A One of us forgot our lines and we just rolled with it or B Yuuri gave us this thing we call a “loose script” where the script will have a few key conversation points and lore drops for us to include, but then we just improvise the rest…but aside from that there is one thing that comes to mind 

Finn: Oooo The one scene that amazed everyone on set was actually improvised by Auron

Auron: here you guys go again 

Rook: at the end of your first episode 🤭

Faust: the voicemail 

Charlie: favorite quote “I will personally scrub you raw and introduce you to some aromatic culture”

Faust: “thank you for your time”

Finn: “stop wasting mine”

Rook: Talk DIRTY TO ME HONEY 😏

Auron face in his hands: can you tell that I hate it? 

Interviewer: this is one of the questions we didn’t get to last time from @antipasto-the-theif  who is the best dressed every day of the cast 

Alphonse: 😶

Faust: 😶

Alphonse: you already know what I’m gonna say 

Faust: WHICH IS NOT FAIR! You were on the show first! I know everything I am from you!

Alphonse: and you somehow managed to do it better than me. Your point?

Faust: I only look this good because of your mentorship!

Finn: ………good luck getting an answer to that question

————————————————————————

This is a mini part but keep submitting questions!

[bettsfic]

2023 WIP cleanout

a couple years ago i did a major WIP cleanout and it was very satisfying, and i've been bummed out lately so i'm doing it again to cheer myself up.

i have about 200k worth of unposted/unfinished fic, and i'd like to make a decent dent in that. when i listed out my WIPs i was surprised to find that most of them i'd written past the 50% mark and for whatever reason, the fic went an unanticipated direction. instead of fixing it, i moved on. the problem is that usually the unanticipated direction is something cool and that i want to pursue, but would make the fic longer and more complicated than i want it to be, and more work than i want to put into it. once i get enough distance from a fic, it's a lot easier to see how to get it back on track.

there are many things i set down and never think about again, but if it sticks in my head for longer than a couple months, then i know i need to come back to it eventually.

so this is my accountability thread! and i'm going to lay out the steps i took to triage these fics and get them posted, in case it helps anyone struggling with the same problem.

here are the things on my WIP cleanout list:

(Organic Chemistry isn't on this list because i'm actively working on it, albeit slowly)

Wind of the New World

Annie/Finnick, The Hunger Games (ASE epilogue)

started August 2020

this one is what inspired the cleanout, and as of yesterday it is DONE and POSTED. for the longest time it sat at about 7k when i knew it would be 10k, and i couldn't make myself write the last 3k because somehow it turned into a threesome fic with Gale and it took me a loooong time to let go of that idea. also, it required a lot of canon knowledge, which faded the longer i kept it on the backburner.

to finish it, i:

killed a few darlings (Finnick's crush on Gale)

down drafted the scenes i hadn't yet written

reread ASE while taking notes

rewatched Mockingjay 2 while taking notes

transcribed several scenes of Mockingjay 2

made a punch list of things i wanted to fix/rearrange/expand on

up drafted, dental drafted, and posted

completing it took about 15 hours across 3 days.

Stray

Lumine/Razor, Genshin Impact

started April 2021

this is an alternate beginning to genshin where the traveler finds Razor instead of Paimon. it stalled out at 5k because i wanted it to be rated M and i also wanted the characters to get all the way to Liyue, but both of those things were far more work than i wanted to put into it. so now it'll be rated G and end when they reach Mondstadt. i don't anticipate it will be more than 7k.

Before the Suns Rise

Anakin/Padme/Obi-Wan, Star Wars

started June 2022

this one is nearly 45k and about 95% done. i set it down because 1) i got to the threesome part and writing threesomes is hard, 2) i hadn't watched the Clone Wars or Rebels yet and so i was self-conscious about my knowledge of canon, and 3) i got distracted by Lemon.

another thing that a lot of these WIPs have in common is that they're very closely tied to canon and therefore have Plot and even though i can do Plot, i find it exhausting and a little tedious.

this is a post-Vader, alt-OWK timeline fic. in the 20+ star wars fics i've written, only 5 of them are in any way related to canon, and they're all one-shots. so this one is going to be hard.

i anticipate it'll only take 5k to finish, for a total of 50k and 14 chapters.

Patronage

Seungho/Nakyum, Painter of the Night

started October 2021

this is my Patreon AU that's over 10k already. in it, Seungho is married to Jihwa (and cheating on him with Nakyum) and i wanted to write the whole thing through to their divorce (and Seungho Getting A Real Job), but that is just. a lot. so i'm going to write only to Seungho finally giving in to his feelings for Nakyum, with the knowledge that after season 4 is finished, i may want to continue it as a series and write the latter half as i'd intended.

i'll probably only add 1-2k, for a total of 12k.

In Water Falling

Ahsoka/Rex, Star Wars

started November 2022

this was the first rexsoka fic i started working on when i finished Clone Wars. i got about 10k in, scrapped it, wrote another 15k, scrapped it, and then started focusing on Organic Chemistry. also, i just got very frustrated with it. to fix this one, i think i need to lower my expectations of it, rearrange some plot points, and write the final 2-3 scenes.

maybe 3-4k more? hopefully it'll cap out under 20k.

There & Here

Chishiya/OFC, Alice in Borderland

started February 2023

in my defense, i set this one down, like. a week ago. there's nothing i'm stalled out on; i just have to finish it.

currently 25k, hopefully only 5k more, capping out under 30k. it's 4 chapters.

things i intend to finish later:

Good Bones - this is my Emergency Fic that i'm saving for when i'm too blocked to write anything else

Bomb Time - this is a BOSAS fix-it. i definitely want to finish it, but i'm going to wait until the film comes out in November, so i don't have to reread the book to remember what's going on

[lavenoon]

Accidentally Undercover - Hatchling Robin variation 

What if Dusk and Dawn are the senior star agents, and Robin is the new hire that throws them off their rhythm? Brought to you partly by my usual need to explore au variations like a kaleidoscope and partly encouraged by discord shenanigans. Slightly edited and proofread but otherwise same unpredictable ramble style as usual

This got long, and I’m very sorry but also not. Word count: 3625

Some generally applicable info on how their dynamics change in this then:

Cheerful new hire who apparently can’t take anything seriously meets the animatronic star agent (unaware there is another agent involved) and decides he’s their goal. Clocked him as instant rival and the respective boy has to wonder if this is just another part of this new hire’s secret agent fantasy. 

The boys are much harsher in this scenario - after years of working for the agency they may feel confident in their job and have solidified their status, but at the cost of the more playful aspects of their work life that they allowed themselves. Dusk in particular - Dawn is already a pretty ruthless agent, but Dusk kept that playfulness up longer. The softest they are is when with Robin (and definitely hinging on how well they get along with Robin), and in this one they didn’t have them for the longest time. They had to become sharper, harsher, because there wasn’t anyone who kept them company, and reminded them to have fun. (This being exactly what happened to Robin as senior agent, too)

So new hire Robin climbs the ranks, all while somehow not taking a singular thing seriously, not yet jaded by the harsher realities of the job and their long social isolation they went through as senior agent.

Neither star agent is impressed with the chatterbox he ends up with, but Robin is new in town and not quite as used to the isolation, so they just seek connections where they can. They’re excited for this opportunity, and want to make friends - even if the friends act like hissy strays they found on the street. They’re determined! And, surprisingly, they *can* keep up with them both, even if their ideas are sometimes crazy or over the top. The boys notice quickly that as much fun as Robin has, they’re still seriously determined to do well, shooting for approval. The happy looks they shoot the respective rival present as if to ask “did I do well? wasn’t this cool?” 

Robin does manage to chip away at the boy’s walls, slowly convincing him that there is fun to be found in this job, something they also share with their respective counterpart, shaking up the monotony they resigned themselves to, and actually make the work enjoyable again, reminding them that there is a reason they stuck with it for so long. And there’s just a special kind of pride once they start paying attention to Robin - because this Robin is starting from the bottom (of the pecking order, haha bird joke) so they aren’t going to feel threatened when Dusk/ Dawn does something cool. So when the boys do something impressive, and just steal a glance at their self declared rival to see if they saw, and then Robin just beams at them? Gushes about their technique even? Oh, oh those boys are suddenly melting <3 

There is the potential angsty route of “Dusk/Dawn’s harsh shooting down of Robin’s enthusiasm breaks Robin before they manage to break down their walls, leaving the respective rival to realize just what kind of asshole he was and scrambling to make it up to them, though Robin’s kind of hesitant to trust now”. Maybe even the ouch of “I thought we’re friends!” “We aren’t, you’re just a nuisance making my jobs harder” - something long pre-reveal, but not too early in the rivalry. Enough time to give Dusk/ Dawn something to miss but also something that will need to be resolved pre-reveal, because otherwise things get too messy.

But let’s go into the specifics:

Robin only knows Dusk (canon adjacent): Same personalities as described above, and Robin already decided they’re doing better with the sneaky break-ins and parkour. They’re so chatty, and Dusk regularly reprimands them, and is especially annoyed when the little bird seems to have taken a shine to him, showing up at his missions (something that… no one really could before, much less actually keep up with him) and for some reason trying to be his friend? Bit of a switched dynamic where Dusk is the one annoyed and kinda weirded out - what are they doing, trying to prove they’re better than him? Meanwhile in Robin’s head it’s just “oh my god he’s good at parkour hell yeah hell yeah hell yeah I wanna race him can I ask him to race with me? Is this a normal thing agents would do? Maybe we should be friends first. Challenge accepted!” 

The boys current landlord just happens to be a dick though, and they look for a different place, and Sun really likes how enthusiastic and nice Y/N is, even as spaced out from apparent tiredness as they are. They do mention their nightshift job, and that they’re kind of nocturnal, so he shrugs it off and just. doesn’t mention Moon again after they didn’t process the previous mention at all, leaving it to him to introduce himself. Maybe they even decide it’s better this way - one less point of contact/ risk to a civilian. 

Shenanigans, as we know it, except that Y/N is so desperate for a friend they also latch onto Sun even quicker than in canon, because he seems nice and approachable and they have that coworker they’re really trying to impress who just seems annoyed and brushes them off a lot ): Sun kind of struggling because he does feel for them (and thinks that coworker is a bloody idiot and missing out) but he’s much tenser about being a good agent and keeping things secret, so keeps Y/N at arms length. Robin sometimes sighs about how their neighbor really doesn’t seem to warm up to them, and maybe they should just leave him be, while Dusk just gives a non committal hum while thinking what a gd idiot would ignore this little ray of sunshine like that, really :/

Robin only knows Dawn (au au au adjacent): There is no ankle grabbing. There just isn’t one specific instance of Dawn fucking up, because he’s just allover so so much sharper, so it’s all the ankle grabbing. But Robin isn’t scared for their position, and instead is trying hard to prove to him that they’re worthy, that they can keep up with him! They crave the validation that seems so impossible to get, but there are moments where Dawn is visibly baffled and forgets to hiss out a sharp reprimand, and that surprise and the soft replies give them enough hope to keep trying. Dawn has no clue what this newbie’s deal is, but he’s worked too hard to be taken seriously just for a rookie to decide they can be just as good as he is through sheer willpower alone and to declare themself his rival. Rivals are supposed to be equals - and they aren’t. And he does feel threatened when they seem to get better and better and make less and less mistakes, gaining a certain sharpness themself while still retaining their humor through it all, before he realizes how they never try to outdo him, only to match him

Moon meanwhile finds a new place for them to live, not quite caring to socialize with the landlord, even though they seem really really determined to please. They knock for the smallest excuses, asking if there’s anything he needs, or if anything is broken. He asks to exchange numbers just so he can say he’ll text when something comes up, and they just take it as a win towards friendship. The ice breaks when he sees them one day, obviously distraught, and very much looking like they were crying. Because maybe he can’t risk socializing, but seeing them like this still just doesn’t sit right with him. They mention that their coworker was just a tad harsher than normal earlier, saying something that technically wasn’t wrong, they suppose, but it’s disheartening that no matter how hard they try to match him and to learn from him, he doesn’t let them for some reason. Like he doesn’t want them to get better, like he’s worried about them catching up - they just don’t wanna be left behind. Moon calls him an idiot right then, says only a fool wouldn’t get that. They’re much too genuine to misunderstand, surely. (After all, even he is starting to warm up to them, and he hasn’t warmed up to anyone in years. And that coworker has all the opportunity to get close to them, something he doesn’t even have, because he doesn’t want to put them at risk). 

Does check in more often then, but sometimes gets that wave of shame about how he shouldn’t, sending some mixed messages that have Robin distracted on the job. They’re quick to wave things off when called out, but Dawn is insistent and when it happens one time too many, maybe they do admit that they’re just worrying about their neighbor - maybe he’s just tolerating them, or even secretly hating them, and maybe they should just leave him be and avoid him, too. And Dawn just scoffs, saying how he can’t believe that - they’re so disgustingly nice and genuine, they’re made for the neighborly life. Offering people eggs or flour or whatever people come knocking for, offering a helping hand, what kind of neighbor wouldn’t like that? And Robin kind of snorts, confused but amused by the way he phrases all of that as hypotheticals. “Pretty sure you have neighbors, too.” “Yes, and I don’t talk to any of them. My landlord doesn’t even know I exist.” He deadpans, and maybe enjoys just a little bit when they start laughing heartily then <3

The little consistent moments between the variations of course stick around - the stabbing, sick day, and overtime (and some more general thoughts)!

Robin getting stabbed ends a little harsher for our poor baby bird. It’s their first serious injury on the job, and their rival adding to that by freaking out over them not being careful really isn’t helping, even as he takes them back to HQ and ensures they get the medical attention they need. Going home they continue worrying however, and maybe their counterpart suggests a gift basket, because their landlord is in the hospital too - it’s certainly only polite concern in both cases, so a gift basket is totally appropriate, right? Neither goes overboard here actually - and Y/N returns home happy, positively surprised that both their kinda distant neighbor and the rival they thought might hate them got them something while they were indisposed.

Sick day would go over relatively subdued, actually - because the neighbors are just too aware of the risk of getting too involved with a civilian. They are worried, and it doesn’t help that their counterpart is worried and in denial about the little rival he totally doesn’t care about. So Sun cooks a meal in the largely unused kitchen in their place, even though it means buying spices he’ll never use up (haha unless?), and Moon simply drops by with some takeout (maybe a ridiculous variety just in case of allergies or preferences). Either only knocks on Y/N’s door, dropping off the food with some polite small talk while totally not asking if they need anything else (but eyeing them carefully just in case they notice something), and it’s Y/N who, unprompted, sighs and then smiles. Of course they’re gonna rest - they always work hard, and they’ll work hard to overcome this sickness, too (Y/N baby please you have recovery all mixed up)! They really don’t wanna come back to work and get reprimanded for taking so long to get over a simple flu, and the respective neighbor just mentally curses out the idiot coworker who wouldn’t even be worried about this genuine source of positive energy

Dusk/Dawn reprimanding them for overworking themself gains the note of the more experienced agent almost taking on the mentor role, or at least that’s what he tells himself when he just bursts into their office to send them home. They’re a little easier to convince because they never tried keeping a distance from him, though he still pulls the “wouldn’t people in your life worry if they saw you like that?” card because he can’t admit to himself that he worries, seeing them like that. It still stings when they mention their neighbor, but Dusk/Dawn is simply too deep in denial to realize that as jealousy.

Of course they talk about Robin/ Y/N to each other, too. For Robin it’s very similar to the "annoying coworker" vibes between senior agent Y/N and the respective neighbor, but switched from Y/N to their counterpart. That means they aren’t jealous of that coworker of course, so they notice when the genuine annoyance turns into begrudging acknowledgement to kinda amused sharing of antics, and then they tease the other for being such an utter fool who would get soft for the self proclaimed rival he was so annoyed by at first.

The landlord doesn't get too much attention (bc they’re generally harmless) apart from some teasing about their counterpart falling for a civilian, given that there are no stakes except "boy this landlord better never find out about me or shits about to get really awkward. thanks for taking one for the team and being the only point of contact". The teasing stays mild though, because, well…

The boys are years into social isolation, even Sun minimizes civilian contact by now. They think they're fucking martyrs. Y/N mentions another man in their life, who obviously doesn't have to make those terrible sacrifices (keeping a distance from Y/N/ Robin due to their job) and thus is entirely voluntarily putting up his nose at the greatest thing that could happen to him a really neat person (authors note: I am laughing at my own sentence) is simply a complete and utter fool and definitely wouldn't deserve them actually but it's still preposterous that he wouldn't even try to bask in that light that is Robin/ Y/N? They're gonna say the bit about how he's an idiot, but they'll be damned before they admit they're jealous. They're professionals and they do what they gotta do, simple as that

The reveal (of course also a consistency) would go a little differently - because I flipped it around and it's Robin who finds out first somehow (to be decided - maybe a simple dot connecting after finally learning of the other star agent they somehow evaded all this time, since the neighbors wouldn’t allow them close enough for pictures for way too long for this to be a compelling timeline), so it's the newbies finding out first instead of locking that onto the characters themselves 

Robin would just be completely. well. feels like being hit by a train, maybe. terrified, honestly. So not only are there two star agents, one of which they weren't aware of at all (and here they thought they were getting somewhere, becoming a good agent) but their rival actually lives next to them? Rejection sensitivity flares up because oh god, what if he does hate them, what if he'll be furious about the situation when he finds out - when both of them find out? What if they get Y/N fired somehow - they're star agents, their seniors, and they're just one kinda talented newbie, of course they'd be the one to lose their job? They keep it to themself out of fear (of everything - what they have is already so fragile in their eyes), and they’re distracted on the job. Being distracted isn’t good - and they get hurt again. The respective rival just tears into them for being reckless he thought he'd lost them again and they just break

Frantic, apologizing, crying - and Dusk/ Dawn just realizes there's something else. This isn't like the Robin they know, and their apologies are not matching the situation at all. But both soften because man, their rival is sitting there, a blubbering mess pleading with them not to hate them - so they just ask, what's this about? As gentle as they allow themselves, slowly calming down when they also realize that if whatever injury isn’t even on their mind, so overshadowed by what else is plaguing them, then it can’t be too serious anyway. They can focus on that first, and analyze how much Robin being stabbed scarred them too later

Dusk gets a still very blubbery Robin just explaining they just wanted friends, they didn't want to be alone, they didn't mean to risk their jobs or identities and they didn't mean to find out, and they're sorry and - "What do you mean, you didn't mean to find out?" Dread creeping into his tone, even more so when they quietly admit that Sun moved in with them. But they're just so obviously terrified that after a moment he just sighs, and drops his shoulders with a somewhat exasperated chuckle. Says something like of course that would happen, of course he'd get his revenge. The confusion gets them out of their panic a bit, and he elaborates cheekily how they followed him to his missions, so he followed them home. Gets a laugh out of them, and then they just cry again out of relief while he just scoots close and comforts them, explaining he’s not mad, and that it would have been a miracle for them to never find out, and that HQ never interfered so they don’t need to tell them anything, either -

Dawn gets more of a deer in the headlights, and a barely holding on Robin just insists that "Your landlord? You mentioned them before? And that they don't know about you? They know. They do know." and he's just kinda frustrated, no clue where that came from, little thief, but they don't - "They do. I do." and he freezes. Gears start turning, but he reaches out without thinking, and they just clench their eyes shut as if afraid. Start apologizing again, how they didnt mean to, they're sorry, please don't hate them - and that’s when the suave agent breaks, too. Turns out he can’t stand the thought of his little rival afraid of him after all. 

"Oh no, oh no no no - you didn't do anything wrong, we moved in with you, we didn't realize -" and despite their earlier flinch making him hesitate he reaches out again, hoping to soothe them, and then they do cling to him and just cry while he continues to whisper reassurances, how he's not mad, how this isnt their fault, how the agency would have interfered if it truly were an issue, no one's gonna lose their job as long as he has a say in it - 

And yeah, in the end it does go over a little smoother than canon reveal (though not as smooth as reverse reveal), because Sun and Moon get to skip the drawn out angst, but also it's even rougher on Robin because they don't even have their job to feel confident in, that being way too new, and the rejection sensitivity just really fucks with them in this one as they’re really not as close to any of them pre-reveal compared to canon/ reverse au

Robin does immediately get genuine reassurance once they spill, which is very very good bc if the boys had taken longer to react or, as feared, if they had reacted badly Robin would be very scared of Dusk/ Dawn. They are kinda isolated apart from those two and the touch/ genuine comfort and staying with them (and also the concern over the unspecified injury scare) is just really really soothing to them on a deeper level, so they forgive the boys more easily for the harshness from before too (and the boys do kinda warm up to them over time, too, same as senior agent Robin warms up to their rivals)

Reverse Hatchling PS: Post reveal Dawn doesn’t initially know of course that he made Y/N cry before, but Moon shared the initial conversation where he comforted them, and once Sun connects the dots he's devastated. He was so focused on himself, he didn't even care about the impact he left on them, worse yet, at the start he enjoyed "putting them back in their place". Looking back he already internally winces every time, and is glad that they don't seem to hold a grudge - but finding out he made them cry? He needs to apologize - unfortunately, he's still an idiot and only knows how to do grand gestures. Robin doesn't want that - they dont want the flowers or extravagant gifts, and they tell him so. Small voice, confused - and he's crushed. He has no clue how to fix this! He just wants to apologize, he needs to apologize, he was a complete and utter fool and he hurt them so much, and he didn't even care, and he can't do that again he needs to make sure it never happens again - and why are they crying he just said he wanted to prevent that! 

And they laugh (a little teary, yes), and say that is a whole apology? The words mean so much more to them than non specific gifts? A bouquet is just a bouquet, it doesn’t promise anything or actually shows what he’s sorry for. But they would like a hug if he's open - and boy is he. Kinda awkward, kinda thinking about the snot on his suit, but also just wow, they're so warm and they hold on so tightly, and they trust him like that, and - and oh. He’s suddenly not mad about snot anymore, and instead simply melts into the hug, holding them close for a very long time <3

[lunar-wandering]

Hello! This is my first time sending an ask and I wanted to know if you could give a quick description of some of your au's.

I'm new to your page and i'm curious about them.

Right!! Okay!! Sorry this took so long and I'm sure I'm gonna forget one or more of them but here's as many as I remember with summaries-

Uno Reverse Card Swap AU: Red Son runs a cafe, MK works at said cafe (Pigsy and Tang both work at the local university), Mei also works at the cafe. Mei and Red Son are secretly vigilantes, who guard Monkey King's staff, which is sealing the Lady Bone Demon. One night the alert goes off, and they find that MK has lifted the staff. MK gets inducted into their lil team + Wukong breaks down the door of the cafe to announce that MK is his successor now. (As for personalities, to make it quick; MK is a lot shier/anxious in this AU, Wukong is a lot meaner (kinda like a tsundere but like for EVERYTHING. also he swears a lot), Red Son's more chill... also Red Son uses water guns hslfkjslks. ...oh and also MK is a scientifically made clone of Wukong because humans wanted a "controllable Monkey King" but that's not important-

(... that summary was a lot longer than i thought it'd be and i didn't even mention half of the stuff going on in it. ...oh boy this post is gonna be longer than i thought it'd be.)

Giggle Glow AU: this one is fairly easy to explain; basically, Wukong glows when he laughs. this spreads to MK and Macaque. in some scenarios this also spreads to the others as well but that's Basically It. despite it being so simple I love this AU with my whole heart.

Phantom Thief AU: essentially?? Mei comes from a long line of phantom thieves, Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy used to be a phantom thief trio, and, due to being raised by Pigsy and Tang + being friends with Mei, MK is also a phantom thief. the funniest thing about this AU is that the other characters all start the same as canon- the differences are that when Wukong finds out about MK's second 'job' he demands that MK teach him how to be a phantom thief. Oh, and, also, Red Son has a crush on MK's phantom thief persona, and had NO idea that he was also MK for a while. He started looking for someone to train him to be a phantom thief at some point, and ended up somehow becoming Macaque's apprentice.

Fruit Smoothie AU: a lil similar to Uno Reverse AU- Red Son and Mei run a smoothie truck + are heroes/vigilantes (albeit it didn't start that way- Red Son was initially a villain that Mei ended up redeeming). The difference here is that they meet MK, the new vigilante on the block (who takes forever to reveal details about himself to them; he doesn't tell them he's the Monkey King's successor at first and instead makes up a lie that he's from a reclusive demon family), via him literally slamming into the back of their food truck, injured, and them having to take him back to their shared apartment to treat him. ...Also in this AU Macaque escapes from LBD and needs somewhere to hide so he throws on a human glamour and gets a job working at their smoothie truck shflksdjfls. Only MK knows it's him for the longest time.

Fantasy Break AU: Wukong and Macaque fall through a magic mirror mid-fight and end up stuck in this ballroom where the doors teleport them into different stories/myths. They have to complete all the stories in order to get out.

Shadowheart AU: Macaque is cursed to end every sentence he says with "I Love You", takes the over dramatic route of just Not Saying Anything, and this leads to Problems.

Slapstick AU: Essentially, in this universe, demons decided that fighting with violence was just, y'know. Not a good game plan. So now fights are fought via comedy. Whoever can land the best joke (slapstick, stand up, even a knock knock joke), wins the battle. (LBD does not follow this rule). Oh also Wukong is cursed; but the curse works to his advantage via making people think he's a master at slapstick comedy. (Macaque, on the other hand, is just clumsy).

Twinkle Twinkle AU: Wukong and Macaque both have star-freckles on their face + ears that reflect the stars that are currently over top of the people they care about- it's kinda like a map to be able to find their loved ones, essentially.

Electric Avenue AU: MK, Pigsy, Tang, Mei, and Sandy (who are a band) end up trapped within the Demon Dimension, and MK accidentally ends up with all of Wukong's powers after an incident, leaving Wukong powerless. This AU is very much inspired by an 80's cartoon that was themed around 80's music, so this AU is based on that too (+ with some of their outfits being 80's themed as well). LBD in this AU is running a band that steals music from other people and pretends to play it while LBD uses a magic record player to hypnotize people/cause other magic effects. Kind of a battle of the bands AU?

Melody AU: SPEAKING OF MUSICAL AU'S!! this one has a bunch of my OC's in it but outside of them the main plotline is that there's a magic barrier protecting the city and Wukong needs to supply it with magic energy to maintain it and the easiest way of doing so is through song, so he became a pop star (sorry, no stagefright in this AU). one night, when MK, Mei, and Red Son get the chance to do their first performance (or, well, MK's first performance), MK accidentally releases such an enormous surge of magic power that the barrier cracks, allowing the Lady Bone Demon to get through.

Sitcom AU: this AU can mostly just be summed up by "they all share a giant mansion of a house. shenanigans ensue". (and by all i mean ALL).

Sundrop AU: due to bottling up his emotions for so long, any emotion that isn't happiness or sadness will cause Wukong to go into his kaiju form. (there's more to it than that but that's the simplest way to put it)

Forget-Me-Not AU: in this one, MK is the reincarnation of Xiaotian, who was Wukong's apprentice centuries ago. Xiaotian is.. kinda haunting MK, and they need to find pieces of a magical object in order to fully free Wukong- who's been turned to stone and hidden within a garden- he can be free when MK is there, but he can't leave, and turns back to stone whenever MK is a certain distance away. In this AU, MK was actually found and raised by LBD, so he's uh... a little traumatized, I'd say.

Flightless Birds AU: basically one of those AU's where everyone has wings- except MK was born with wings that are too small for him to fly, Wukong's wings were severely damaged by the mountain, and Macaque is missing a wing.

Platonic Soulmates (Soulmarks??) AU: everyone has multiple soulmates; you and your soulmate decide what the definition of soulmate means to you, essentially. Wukong has the belief that anyone he's soulmates with will meet a terrible fate, and so tries to avoid the subject altogether and theres SO MUCH MORE BUT THIS POST IS SO LONG I GOTTA MAKE THESE SUMMARIES SHORTER

Mixup Mashup AU: I haven't touched this one in a LONG time but it's basically an AU where MK, Mei, and Red Son are sharing a body (Red Son's body, specifically), and Wukong and Macaque have swapped bodies (due to the same incident that caused the trio to fuse).

Sunset Wukong AU: Wukong is cursed so that if he uses his powers during the day, he will slowly turn to stone. The process reverses at the end of the day, and he can use his powers during the night freely. He avoids telling MK this for a while hsdflsldfjs. (TBH this whole AU was made so I could make a Macaque vs Wukong fight scene that would be similar to that one Hibiki vs Miku fight scene in Symphogear but then I never wrote it)

Doppelganger AU: An AU where Wukong freed Macaque before going to save MK at the end of s2- and, basically, Macaque and Wukong swapped places. Or to put it in a way that's easier to understand: the Wukong that shows up at the end of s2 is actually Macaque in disguise. Eventually Wukong rejoins them on the airship, disguised as Macaque, and the two just... instead of explaining anything, decide to keep this illusion up? (Sandy and MK are the first to figure them out and... kinda help them with it a bit).

Rock Garden AU: different types of plants and flowers grow on Wukong based on his emotions.

Sway AU: When either Wukong or Macaque dances, the other is forced to copy their movements perfectly.

Chocolatier Macaque AU: this is basically an AU where Macaque decides, post ep9, to just. run a chocolate store instead. despite the fact that chocolate is literally poisonous to him. He wears a human glamour for this (MK figures him out pretty easily but does NOT figure out Wukong's human glamour which is hilarious). Wukong keeps showing up in a human glamour as well just to banter with him. There is some plot development and angst moments involved.

Zing AU: it's been so long since i've thought about this one actually but in this AU Wukong gets cursed while travelling with the gang so that he just. to put it simply has moodswings/personality-swings that are accompanied by his eyes changing colour

Shy!Wukong AU: I only ever wrote one fic for this but I'm mentioning it anyways since I love it so much; basically the years of solitude on the mountain made Wukong REALLY shy. like SUPER shy. and he has a really hard time talking to people (he outright spends his first meetings with MK just leaving sticky notes for him instead of actually talking to him). He'll hide behind trees just to avoid social interaction.

Double Heart AU: Wukong had his heart stolen, literally, like ripped out of him, by LBD. This affects his emotions: leading him to have three different states depending on the time of day; in the morning, he's mainly silent and doesn't talk outside of telling MK what to do, in the afternoon, he acts similar to how he does in the show, but you can tell that he's faking it/that something's off, and in the evening, he becomes a perfect mirror and mimics whatever actions/words the people around him do. LBD used his heart as part of the process to revive Macaque, so Macaque actually has Wukong's heart contained within him, and feels all the emotions Wukong would be feeling if he had his heart. (as in, if MK tells him something exciting, Wukong will feel nothing, but halfway across the city in his dojo Macaque will suddenly feel the emotion of excitement and not know why). Later on, they end up transferring Wukong's heart to him, but for a period of time him and Macaque share it in order to get Wukong used to having emotions again.

Secret Relationship AU: Macaque and Wukong are already dating- but due to a series of circumstances they are outright hiding Macaque's general existence from MK and the others. This is mostly a comedy AU hsdlfkjsdlfs.

Seapearl AU: Wukong was born as a mermaid (or mer-monkey), and Macaque ended up becoming a mer-monkey due to the circumstances of his revival.

Wisp AU: When Macaque got revived, he split in two, the part of him that fully accepted what had happened and forgave Wukong, and the part of him that's in denial of, well, everything + 'hates' Wukong. The side that forgave him is called Wisp, and usually just stays as Macaque's shadow and goes along with Macaque's plans. (Technically, it kinda is more like Wisp is Macaque's shadow than it is one person split in two). Wisp is incapable of speaking until Macaque actually admits/says that he forgives Wukong outloud. (Macaque's hatred of/grudge against Wukong had been literally silencing his forgiveness).

Astral!Macaque AU: mentioning this one despite the only one post about it cause i think it's funny, but basically a version of MK time travels back from the future in order to prevent a really bad timeline- but ended up too early, and ends up possessing Macaque's body (and decides to try and recreate as many important events as possible). Macaque gets knocked out and kinda starts. haunting Wukong, up until episode 9 where he sees himself do stuff and is like “what the fuck who is that. who the fuck is possessing my body. what the fuck dude that’s not your skin get the fuck out who ARE YOU-”

...

ohhhh god i THINK thats all of them?? or at least most of them??? IVE PROBABLY FORGOTTEN SO MANY SHDLFKSJDFLKDS IM SORRY I FEEL LIKE IM FORGETTING MY KIDS OR SOMETHING

IF THERE'S ANY AU THAT I DIDN'T MENTION HERE JUST.... SEND AN ASK ABOUT IT AND IT'LL ALL COME BACK TO ME IM SURE

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

every dead-end street

(robert aeor high au p12)

masterpost

*bonks this on you in a rush cuz imma be outta town the next 5 days or so*

He hears the door swing shut behind him, and turns to find Owen, pulling on his coat and jumping down the steps. Scott follows, the aching familiarity of the situation tainted by the gap that’s somehow grown acres between them, stifling the cool breeze that tosses Owen’s hair this way and that.

or, owen and scott reunion!!! also im not sure but this is possibly the longest chapter yet so :3

(5913 words)

Scott wakes in a cocoon of yellow feathers. 

His face is pressed to someone’s chest, his arms wrapped around their middle and his hands pressed into their hair, legs intertwined with theirs, so familiar his heart aches.

Jimmy.

His eyes flash open as he realizes it’s him, the events of last night coming back to his mind in full, blazing technicolor. Lips and hands and warm, warm skin against his frozen exterior. Whispers and promises and episodes of goddamn High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

He doesn’t want to move from his entangled position, it’s warm here, it’s safe. He doesn’t want to give it up, he’s so sure it was just a lapse of judgment on Jimmy’s part, but maybe if he stays still for a little while longer he can keep living in the fantasy. He clutches Jim tighter, nestling his face into the avian’s chest, breathing in the citrusy scent that he carries everywhere.

A pair of hands cup his chin and soft lips kiss his forehead. “Morning, Scott,” Jimmy’s familiar voice whispers, quiet and low, against his brow. Scott makes a muffled noise of protest, squeezing his eyes shut again, vaguely muttering something about how it’s too early and can they please just stay laying down for a bit longer.

Scott honestly can’t believe that he and Jimmy are, like, an item. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a mistake. Somehow, by some miracle, Jimmy likes him. Jimmy kissed him last night, something he never thought would happen from anyone, much less the boy he was so sure he’d ruined things with such a long time ago.

 Scott thinks he might have a boyfriend. And as much as he wants to stay wrapped up in Jimmy’s wings forever, his anxiety will never let him settle down into the comfort if he doesn’t get a few things straight.

“Jimmy,” Scott says, pulling himself up and immediately regretting it, because now he’s vulnerable and exposed to the world, upright under the blankets in his favorite blue nightgown.

“That is my name, yes,” Jimmy says sarcastically, yawning as he sits up as well, his wings floofing out behind him, somehow wrapping around Scott yet again.

“So are we dating now?” Scott’s hands irrationally shake as he asks this, it’s such a stupid question given the circumstances-

“I mean. We literally spent last night making out? So I would hope so, yes?” Jimmy answers, affectionate confusion leaking into his voice.

“I was just- you know- making sure,” Scott rolls his eyes, trying to presume his comfortable icy exterior, and from the look on Jimmy’s face, failing miserably.

“Mhm. Sure.” The avian pats Scott condescendingly on the shoulder, his face the worst facsimile of seriousness Scott has ever seen.

“I hate you,” Scott grumbles, pulling his face into a mock pout and crossing his arms with a huff, which just causes Jimmy to snicker even more.

“Love you too,” Jim smiles, what Scott thinks to be a genuine tone hidden underneath the snark . “So what’s the plan for today?”

Scott looks off into the distance, out Jimmy’s window at the rows of trees crossing through suburbia, his hands wrapped around each other so tightly he can see the knuckles turning even paler than his natural skin tone. “I… actually, I have something I need to do before anything else, but after that I’m free for whatever.” He can hear his voice shaking, and he’s sure it’s even more obvious to Jimmy, who plops back down and rests a hand on his back- which does calm him, though admittedly not much.

“Want me to come along?” Jim asks, his tone soft and unforceful.

Scott shakes his head. “Not this time.”

Jimmy nods. “I get it.” And the thing is, Scott can tell that he does.

--

It’s a long walk up the familiar neighborhood streets, all the turns imprinted permanently in Scott’s memory from years and years of walking the same routes around this stupid city. His feet scuff along the pavement, the sun shining down from a cloudless blue sky. The leaves are just starting to turn for autumn, tinges of yellow and orange peeking around the corners of imposing maple trees, the wind combing through branches to create a cacophony of rustling sound.

It’s been a while since Scott’s been in this part of town, and there’s a good reason why. It’s honestly terrifying, being so close to where it all happened, and Scott doesn’t even notice he’s shaking until he wraps his arms around himself for comfort. A part of him, and not an insignificant part either, wishes Jimmy was here to make things easier- and most of the time, that’s exactly what the avian does. But right now, with what he’s about to do, he knows that having Jimmy there would absolutely ruin any chances of reconciliation.

He’s been so lost in his thoughts that he walks right past his destination, before doing a double take and turning on his heel, walking back and standing right in front of a tan-colored, two-story house. It’s been so fucking long since he’s walked up these steps, knocked on the paint-peeling door, a familiar orange tiefling grin peeking out at him from behind him. It’s been so fucking long since he’s seen Owen at all, and he misses him more than he’d care to admit. He stands there, rooted still to the sidewalk, swallowing nervously, for what feels like hours, the seconds dragging by with every beat of his heart.

It’s not too late. He could turn back, head home and spend a quiet, uneventful day with Jimmy, forget this ever happened.

For a second, he almost considers it.

But he knows he can never live with himself if he gives up, he’ll curse himself for the rest of his life if he lets himself walk back home. So instead, he steps up the decaying wooden stairs, the porch leaning heavily beneath his weight as he trods across it and raps his knuckles loudly against the door. Paint peels off beneath his touch, joining the first fallen leaves in the wind and tumbling across the street. Scott turns idly to watch it blow away, his neutral face hopefully not betraying his rabbiting heart.

And the door creaks open behind him.

His head snaps back quickly, meeting a familiar pair of eyes as they peer through the crack of the door at him.

“...Scott?” Owen asks, confusion lacing his voice, and, Scott hopes, a little happiness too.

“Hi.” Scott tries for a smile, but it doesn’t quite land, and he’s certainly not about to force one if it won’t come. “Would you care to join me on a walk?”

“Sure,” Owen mutters, glancing behind him into the house. “Let me grab my coat, I’ll be right with you.”

Scott nods, taking long strides over to the side of the porch and leaning up against the railing, as he’s done so many times before. This whole house, this whole street, gives him deja vu, the memories almost tangible around every corner. But with the nostalgia comes a deep, crunching anxiety; he can barely contain his fear that he’ll see Father walking down the road, snakes hissing forebodingly and that familiar sneer that’s somehow even colder than Scott’s skin. In fact, he can just make out the roof of his old home, the Major Mansion, from here, and even the simple sight gives him shivers down his spine.

He hears the door swing shut behind him, and turns to find Owen, pulling on his coat and jumping down the steps. Scott follows, the aching familiarity of the situation tainted by the gap that’s somehow grown acres between them, stifling the cool breeze that tosses Owen’s hair this way and that.

They walk in silence for a little, neither daring to speak, following the well-tread routes they’ve known since they were young, before they’d met; when the orange tiefling had just been a question living right down the road from Scott.

“So. Uh. How’s it been?” Scott asks, trying to keep his voice light and utterly failing, breaking quietly before he’s finished the sentence.

“How do you think?” Owen answers, for once not a trace of mirth on his face, his eyes full of annoyance and sadness and hope and loss, pointed stubbornly down at the pavement.

“I mean, you’ve kind of been ignoring me lately, so I wouldn’t really know,” Scott says, tone breezy enough to hide the anger simmering underneath. And that, that subtle, ignorable undertone, is enough to set it all ablaze.

“I’ve been ignoring you? Are you fucking kidding me?” Owen stares shocked, eyes wide and offended and more than a little bit angry.

“What else would you call” (Scott gestures to the space between them) “all this?”

“Pray tell, what would you consider ‘all this’?” Owen mocks his hand motions, making them seem wild and erratic, a judging, aloof expression blanketing his usually-smiling features.

“You know what I mean, Owen. You know me well enough to know what I’m talking about. The distance! The way we can’t even talk anymore, you ignore me all the time, don’t you know how hard my past many months have been?!” Scott seethes, dimly aware of the rims of his shades frosting over in the corners of his vision.

“What about me?” Owen grabs his shoulders and spins him around until their eyes have met, brown glaring into piercing cyan. “Have you asked even once, since you met Jimmy, how I’ve been doing? My parents are getting divorced, Scott, and I can’t even talk to my best friend about it.”

Scott’s struck momentarily speechless, because oh god, he didn't expect Owen to have a valid response, but quickly recovers, spitting, “You didn’t even try!”

“I did, though,” Owen sighs, kicking at the pavement. “I attempted to contact you about it on many separate occasions. But no, we always had to talk about you, you, you. Scott, you never even left me any room to get a word in edgewise!” He yells the last sentence, and Scott can see hints of tears in his eyes. Again, he’s slightly taken aback, he can remember maybe one time when he’s seen Owen cry, in all the years of them being best friends.

Maybe he doesn’t know the tiefling as well as he thought.

“I- How was I supposed to know, Owen? My dad kicked me out of the house and I had to move in with my crush. I had a lot on my plate, okay?” Scott fumbles, trying to find the right words, his confidence crumbling down rapidly.

“Apparently not enough to listen to your best friend’s problems in addition to talking about yours. I had my own shit going on, Scott, still do- and you couldn’t even be bothered to listen to it. And here you go again, talking about you. Like, I get it, okay? You’ve been through a lot and I’m sorry. Genuinely.” Owen pauses, turning around to face Scott. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse to neglect your duties as a friend. For a little bit, sure. But it’s been seven months.”

“Well, you didn’t-” Scott pauses midway through his sentence, breathing in deeply. “You know what, this is a stupid argument. Can we just forget about this? It doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, Scott, actually, it does matter,” Owen hisses, broken and full of rage, his voice echoing across the neighborhood streets, earning him some nasty looks from passersby. “I love you, Scott, so much. You’re my best friend and I miss you. But I’m also your best friend, so sit down, take a second to think, and then tell me that you’ve been in the right here.”

“But-”

“Nope. Sit down by this tree and think.” Owen points authoritatively to the roots of an old oak sprouting out of the tree lawn, his mouth pursed, not giving room for an argument.

Fuming, Scott flops down, staring angrily through Owen’s knees. He’s not in the wrong. He’s had such a fucking tough time, nothing could possibly compare, his life has been tossed into the ocean and swallowed by a shark that was then gutted from the inside, its intestines held high for all to see. 

But that doesn’t diminish Owen’s suffering. 

Scott’s past few months have been hell, they have to be so much worse than whatever the heck’s going on with Owen. Like, Scott’s sure it’s been hard for him, but it can’t possibly have been as bad as Scott being kicked out of his house by his abusive father.

But that doesn’t mean Owen hasn’t had a hard time lately as well. 

Scott has been in such a dark place, such a terrible headspace, such a just generally horrific time in his life, Owen’s not allowed to pretend like everything’s been all diddly dandy for him when it’s been the polar fucking opposite.

But Owen is his best friend and Scott’s supposed to be there for him. 

Owen’s supposed to be there for Scott too, though! Scott and Owen are supposed to be a package deal, they’re supposed to stick by each other, Owen’s supposed to support Scott unconditionally. Isn’t that what friendship is? And yet, lately he hasn’t even been answering Scott’s texts.

Did Scott have time to respond to texts when he was being kicked out of his house? 

It’s different, though, it can’t have been as bad as that-

That doesn’t mean whatever Owen’s been through wasn’t still hard for him. 

Scott’s pain-

Pain is not a contest. 

It was worse-

Both of their different experiences are allowed to coexist. 

Owen’s been such a bad friend lately.

So has Scott.

…so has Scott.

Scott stands, his hands shaking.

“You done sulking? Are you ready to talk like an adult now, or-”

Before Owen finishes his sentence, Scott steps forward and wraps him in a strong, tight hug, the tiefling stiffening at first but then relaxing into Scott’s embrace, his arms reaching up to hug him back, his fists gripping the loose fabric of Scott’s dress.

“I’m sorry,” Scott whispers, the words scratching in his throat, something he hasn’t been saying enough recently. “I’ve not been the best friend lately, huh?”

“Neither have I, to be honest with you.” Owen laughs a silly little half-laugh, still clutching tightly against Scott’s back, and it feels so good, so right, to have his best friend pressed against him, the smell of his hair the same pinecone scent it’s always been, since the day they met.

“I thought you were convinced you were so ‘in the right’ here,” Scott teases, pulling away from Owen and poking him lightly in the chest, a clear sign of surrender that they both know well, unspoken but always mutually recognized- Scott can tell Owen sees it too, as he immediately relaxes.

“To be honest, I knew the only way I was going to get you to realize what was going on was if I acted like you were the only one who’d done anything wrong. Everyone just always has to go the extra mile for you, Scott S-smajor.” Owen’s trying to stay chipper, but Scott can hear the cracks in his voice, the raw emotion leaking through after months of holding it back.

And sure enough, just moments after finishing his words, Owen’s lower lip begins to quiver and he breaks down, sinking to the sidewalk and pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, shaking his head with all the unspoken words, all the hardships he’s endured these past months. 

And this time, his best friend is right there beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Scott asks, sitting as well, and resting a hand lightly atop Owen’s shaking shoulder.

The tiefling nods, rattling sobs escaping from his throat. “Argh, Scott, I d-didn't mean to melt down on you, I’m s-sorry.” The way he says it breaks Scott’s heart, like Owen somehow thinks he’s done something wrong by letting all his emotions free-flow for a bit.

“Don’t be. You’re fine, I could not care less. Trust me, I’ve been there. So what’s the scoop? Also, mate, when was the last time you cried?”

That gets a laugh out of Owen, albeit a half-hearted, shaky one. “I don’t actually remember?”

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Scott asks, rubbing a hand over the nape of his neck. “We’re kind of blocking up the sidewalk.”

“Sure,” Owen mutters, pulling himself to his feet and rubbing aggressively at his eyes and breathing deeply to steady himself.

“So, what’s going on? Tell me everything, and I mean everything: I want the full rundown, all the details, the whole story.” This time, Scott means it.

And so Owen talks as they walk, ending up climbing the giant pine in his backyard and sitting amongst its branches like they have for as long as they’ve been friends. Owen explains how his parents have been arguing for a long time, really big, yelling arguments, and finally, after leaving the house in a huff and living in a motel for a week, Owen’s mom had finally called home- only to announce that she was ordering a divorce.

“That’s a shitty move,” Scott interjects, wrinkling his nose.

“Yeah, it kind of was,” Owen agrees, sighing and leaning against the trunk of the tree, his tears having stopped for now, though his eyes are still red-rimmed and his nose still sniffy.

He continues on to explain how after that, it’s been weeks of alternating close contact or no contact with his mom, and his sisters, all nine of them, are absolutely emotionally lost. His other mother is struggling to bring home enough money to feed them all, and his mom is just draining all the money from the family bank account.

“It’s been really hard on all of us,” Owen mutters, wiping at his eyes aggressively. “Like, I love Mom and all, but she’s being a real bitch right now- she could have tried to stick it out with Mother, if only for me and my sisters. And that’s not something I say lightly.”

“Yeah, you really don’t like to swear,” Scott comments, stretching and cracking his neck.

“Yeah, no,” Owen laughs lightly, a cautious sound as if he’s afraid to show his genuine emotions, and Scott feels his teeth clench in sadness.

Owen goes on, finishing with the fact that his sisters are going to have to live with their grandparents for a while, and as of now, Owen doesn’t really have much of anywhere to go. His dad’s tried to explain that sending him to boarding school might be the best bet, but Owen’s having none of it.

“I didn’t want to leave you,” he admits, looking down and coughing gently, his feet kicking in wide arcs that stir up the twenty feet of empty air below them on the branches.

“So you can’t stay with your dad right now? Like, there’s not enough money?” Scott asks to clarify, leaning back against the tree, eyebrows furrowed, concerned, in Owen’s direction.

Owen shakes his head, lips drawn tight and eyes looking anywhere but Scott’s. “There’s really nothing to be done for it. I pretend I have a say in the situation, but deep down, I know that there’s really not another possibility at this point.”

“You could come live with me and Jimmy,” Scott spits out before he can catch himself, eyes going wide as he realizes what he’s said. “I mean, you don’t have too, obviously, but I’m sure John and Laura would have you, they took me in, and I know you and Jimmy don’t really get along and you blame him for a lot of things, but maybe give it a chance? Genuinely, Owen, I really, really don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t want to leave either,” the tiefling mumbles, a thickness to his voice that Scott rarely gets the privilege to hear. “But I’ve genuinely been such a jerk to Jimmy, Scott, like, he did nothing wrong. And I’m- I would love to live with you, and I mean this truly, but I don’t think Jimmy would have me. And if it’s you, him, and Beks now, I don’t know if there’s enough money or space for me.”

“Well, let’s just go check then,” Scott says, a smile growing across his face as he begins to descend from the tree.

“Wha- Scott, we can’t just go up to his house! And aren’t you and him all awkward and stuff? Like, after the whole kissing thing that you wouldn’t shut up about all those months ago?” Owen asks, scrambling to follow.

“No, uh, actually turns out he does like me. But that’s not important- plus, you forget, it’s also my house.” Scott drops down, his feet landing firmly on the hard-packed soil as Owen lands a little less nimbly besides him, taking a few stuttering steps forward before regaining his composure and grabbing Scott’s shoulders, staring him in the eyes.

“What. You’re dating. You and that little scrunkly bird man. Scott, you have a boyfriend?!” Owen yells the last sentence so loud that Scott flinches in an involuntary response, certain that all the neighbors are now listening in.

“Shut up,” Scott mutters, stepping out of Owen’s backyard and onto the sidewalk, turning back the way he’d come, back towards home.

“No. No I will not, when did this happen?” And there it goes again, a perfectly normal conversation turned to Scott’s business. He curses himself inwardly.

“Last night. Can we talk about something else instead? Because you just went off on a huge tangent about me talking about myself too much, so, you know, hypocritical much?”

“Scott, I didn’t mean you can never talk about yourself ever. Plus, we’ve just gone over my problems for like an hour, so I think you’re pretty much clear to rant to me about your boyfriend and how that all happened on the walk over to Jimmy’s… which I’m not quite sure about because we’re really not friends at all, why would he have me even if his parents are able to take me in…” Owen mutters the last sentence under his breath, still very obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Scott soothes. Though, he’s not sure in the slightest, to be honest, but Owen is his best friend and if he needs help, Scott wants to be the one to offer it.

But going back to the tiefling’s earlier comment on the way to his house, Scott tells Owen everything. Every little last detail, every grievance and the high points and the lows. The only thing he leaves out is the weird memory-sharing thing, because he and Jimmy haven’t even really talked about that yet, and they probably should before anything else.

He also doesn’t tell Owen that he’s apparently the reason Jimmy hasn’t-

The reason Jimmy’s not-

He shivers involuntarily, because even imagining Jimmy dead is just- it’s too much, a world where he doesn’t have Jimmy isn’t even something he’d like to theorize about right now. But it’s also none of Owen’s business, it was something told to Scott in confidence, and he’s definitely going to have to bring it up with Jimmy later because he wants to do everything and anything in his power to prevent something like that from happening.

He doesn’t know how he can live with himself if Jimmy confesses to Scott about his suicidal (Scott can’t even-) and Scott does nothing about it.

And then before he knows it, here they are, standing in front of Jimmy’s house. Owen shoots him one last worried glance, and Scott shakes his head, smiling gently. He grabs the tiefling’s wrist, pulling him up the stairs and through the door, until there they are, standing on the foyer.

“Jimmy!” Scott calls, cupping his hand around his mouth.

“I’m in the kitchen,” the avian yells back, and Scott nods encouragingly towards Owen, beckoning for him to follow as he heads into the kitchen. Owen does, albeit quite hesitantly.

“So. Uh. I brought a friend over,” Scott says, entering the kitchen and leaning up against the counters as he always does, Owen’s head peeking nervously around the corner.

“Oh!” Jimmy sounds quite surprised, and honestly, why shouldn’t he be? “Hey, Owen, how’s it going?”

“Um, not- not the best, honestly,” Owen mutters, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. “Welp! Thanks, Scott, for bringing me here, but I really should get going-”

As Owen turns to leave, Scott shoots out a hand to grab his shoulder, shaking his head admonishingly. Jimmy seems completely out of his depth, just standing there in an apron, absolutely covered in flour- Scott snickers silently at the bright smudge of white across Jimmy’s cheek, the powder dusting everywhere from the tips of his hair to the softest cadmium feathers of his wings.

“Owen,” Scott starts, glaring pointedly at the tiefling now stood awkwardly beside him, “has something to say.”

Glancing to his right, Owen bites his lip, breathing in deeply before he speaks. “So. Hi, Jimmy- um. Shoot, I’m no good at this- give me a second?” he laughs clumsily, fumbling for words that aren’t there. Scott rests a gentle hand on his shoulder, silent support that seems to help, as Owen closes his eyes for a couple seconds, before opening them as well as his mouth and beginning to speak.

“Look, before I do anything, I just want to say I’m sorry.” His voice is strong, so much stronger than it was just a couple seconds ago, and Scott is honestly kind of shocked at the sudden switch. “I’ve been a jerk to you since the day we met. You did nothing to provoke my dislike and you didn’t deserve it. You’re a genuinely lovely person, and if I’m honest, I was jealous of you.

“I saw how close you and Scott were getting, how much he very obviously liked you- he still does. And I’m his best friend, I was used to getting the majority of his attention. And if I’m honest, I was worried that he’d hurt you. Scott hasn’t always had it easy, in fact, it’s been much harder than him for most. I was there to witness a lot of that and I won’t speak for him, but I’ll just say that there have been days where even I couldn’t cheer him up.” Jimmy’s listening intently, Scott can tell, his ear feathers are pricked up and his wings relaxed as he leans forward on his hands to hear, nodding along to all the important parts.

“And you did. On the days where I failed, you made him happy. And I was angry and confused and jealous and just… I was worried, I guess, for my best friend. You were such a beacon to him, we could all see it, me and Shelby and even Joel, who’s pretty much the least emotionally intelligent person on the planet. I think we all knew if you hurt Scott, it would be such a genuine blow to him. And I didn’t want that to happen. But I was also really annoyed that I couldn’t be the beacon that you were, I was angry that he was moving away from me.”

Scott’s eyebrows crease, because everything Owen is saying is completely and utterly true. In other circumstances, he would be furious at being spoken about like this right in front of him, but what Owen’s saying is such a complete and utter reading of him that he can’t muster up the anger.

“All he would talk about was you. And I was fed up. So I hated you and I was a huge jerk, and you didn’t deserve any of that. So, I’m sorry. I just need to get that out of the way before Scott reveals his big fancy plan or whatever he wants to call it. Just to clarify, what he’s about to say was completely his idea, I had no say in any of this, he just dumped it on me- and also sorry Scott for talking about you like you’re not there when you’re right next to me. And also possibly spilling all your secrets to Jim.” Owen bumps Scott’s shoulder with his own, and the gorgon shakes his head, rolling his eyes affectionately.

“But, yeah, I’m sorry,” Owen mutters, his tone back to serious, tail flicking gently behind him. “I sucked and I was really rude to you. I hope you can accept my apology.”

Jimmy presses his hand to his face. “You were really rude to me.”

Owen cringes, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together forcefully.

“And…” Jimmy trails off, sighing deeply and staring off into space. Owen and Scott share a quick glance, and Scott has to admit, he has no idea what Jimmy’s about to say.

“And because I’m a nice guy, and you’re Scott’s best friend, I’ll give you a second chance. What do you say? Friends?” The avian extends his hand and Scott can barely believe it, this is what he’s wanted for so long, they’re finally getting along.

“Friends,” Owen agrees, stepping forward to bridge the gap, firmly shaking Jimmy’s hand before the avian pulls him into a seemingly unexpected hug, as Owen’s eyes go wide before he somewhat awkwardly hugs back. 

“So… what now?” Owen whispers, now back standing by Scott’s side.

“Now I get to talk,” Scott answers, moving forward and leaning against his arms pressed against the island.

“Jimmy, would John and Laura be open to taking another person in? Not for long, just for a little bit. We could set up a tent in the backyard or something, Owen just needs a place to stay for a while. There’s some shit going on with his parents and the alternative is him being sent to boarding school. And I know it’s a lot to ask and it was completely my idea, Owen had nothing to do with this scheme of mine at all, he was actually very against it.”

“And for good reason,” Owen interjects, “It’s way too early to ask you anything like that.”

“Anything like what?”

John’s voice intersects into the conversation as he enters the kitchen, Beks and Laura in his trail, heavy-looking grocery bags hanging from all their arms. John plops down his bags on the counter, crossing his arms and looking over at Owen. “Well, who’s this, then?”

“That’s Owen,” Scott reassures, resting a hand on the tiefling’s shoulder. “He’s my best friend- you know about him, he’s friends with Shelby and Joel and all of us.”

“So what do I owe the pleasure, Owen?” Laura’s reedy voice is much calmer than John’s, and Owen’s shoulders visibly relax.

“Oh, um, I was just-”

“I want him to live here,” Scott interrupts, eyes shining with hope. “Just for a short amount of time, but otherwise he leaves for boarding school, and I don’t want that, he’s my best friend.”

Laura sighs and rubs her hands against her temples, leaning back against the wall and exchanging a meaningful glance with John. “Scott, honey, we’re already taking care of three of you, I just- we’re stretched thin enough already, you know? And where would he stay, we have no room?”

“He could stay in the backyard, in a tent, and we could all get jobs to pitch in around the house!” Scott’s not going to let this go, he can’t let Owen leave, not after they’ve just fixed things, he can’t-

“To be honest with you, and this is going to sound really selfish,” Beks starts, “I really don’t need to share my house with another weird boy I don’t even know.” Jimmy flinches slightly, almost imperceptibly, at her statement.

“That’s kind of uncalled for, Beks,” Jimmy mutters before Scott can say anything, his wings drawn protectively around him. “That’s- I dunno, that feels kind of like a terrible thing for you to say?”

“Yes, Beky, that’s out of line. We’re going to have to talk about that later,” John cuts in, his beefy dad arms folded across his chest. “But regardless, Scott, I’m so sorry-”

“No.” Scott’s voice is tiny, shaking and trembling like the leaves he’s seen today, blowing away in the wind, with no power of their own.

“-but Owen cannot stay.”

“No!” Scott runs after John as he makes his way upstairs, brushing the unwanted tears aggressively out of his eyes. “John, you don’t understand, if he doesn’t stay here he has to leave, and he can’t leave, he’s my best friend, he’s one of the only people who understands me and we just fixed things between us, please, you let me stay, why not Owen?”

John sighs, rubbing his temples. “Scott, you need to understand. If we take Owen in, and as much as I wish we could, we’ll have four teenagers to take care of. Do you know how much even one of you hooligans eat? Even with Bek, we were struggling. Then she found Jimmy, alone on the street, and it wasn’t like we could turn him down.”

Scott’s given up trying to stop the tears because he is sobbing now, he doesn’t want to lose his friend he can’t they don’t understand no one understands Owen is the only reason why he hasn’t cut himself off completely Owen is the person he cares about the most on the entire planet and they don’t get it, if he doesn’t stay here in this house with Scott he leaves. Owen has to leave.

“Then you showed up. We were hesitant, I’m not going to lie, but Laura convinced me that we should take you in. Both you and Jimmy were in very vulnerable spots when you came into our lives, both of you would still be homeless if not for us. But in addition to paying for food for all of you, you forget that we also have to pay for your school tuition. And we just can’t do that for another kid. I’m sorry, Scott.” This time when John ascends the stairs, his bedroom door slamming shut behind him, Scott doesn’t follow.

Instead, he runs out the door, his head throbbing and wishes pounding this way and that inside his mind. He doesn’t listen when Owen calls him back, pretends to not hear as Jimmy yells after him, asking where he’s going. He doesn’t know, he doesn’t care.

Scott just runs.

And he’s not surprised when he looks up, all out of breath, and finds himself right back in front of the Major family mansion. Right back to where it all fucking began.

Somehow, Scott’s not surprised at all as he closes his eyes, breathing deeply, and begins to walk down the cobbled path, through the all-too-perfect garden, glaring straight at the white marble building looming before him the whole time.

And not a bone in his body holds him back as he climbs the wide colonnade steps to his old home, rapping once, twice, three times on the “M”-emblazoned door, his knuckles almost vibrating from contact with the stone.

Scott’s not surprised that he came back here.

He is, however, very surprised that his mother, his siren, cult-leader mother, is the one who swings it open.

And it comes as even more of a shock when she wraps him in a strong, warm hug and ushers him inside.

[pinkfadespirit]

End of year fic writer round-up

Thank you for the tag @barbex! And Happy New Year everyone!

I’ll tag: @fandomn00blr, @goth-surana, @aria-i-adagio, @johaerys-writes, @sulky-valkyrie, @glowing-blue-feathermage, @potatowitch, @noire-pandora, @factorykat and the others I’ve tagged below and anyone else who might want to do this. 

This year I published 4 new stories on AO3, completed one old one and completed the first draft of a new fic that I’m hoping to start posting in January. 

Words written (published or not, WIPs included!): roughly around 150k if I include DADWC stuff. This year started out a bit slow writing wise but it really picked up for me towards the end of the year when I did the DA Create-a-thon and Nanowrimo back to back. I somehow managed to write over 80k in those two months. I’ve slowed down a lot since but I’m still feeling quite positive about my writing after it, which is great!

Smut scenes: I think 3 published ones. One or two unpublished. And there are a few in the fic I’m still editing but they’re mostly glossed over. I may go back and add more to them but I’m undecided on that for now. 

New things I tried: I wrote Nanders for the first time – which was also my first time writing Nathaniel’s POV and my first Awakening fic in general. 

Fic I spent the most time on: the fic that took me the longest to finish was the life that, here, awaits, which I worked on on and off throughout the year. But that was several short chapters with long breaks in between them. So the fic I spent the most time actively working on must have been the Justnanders fic I wrote in part for Nanowrimo. It’s the longest fic I wrote this year at 40k and I’m still working on editing it. 

Fic I spent the least time on: My Secret Sanders gift is the shortest one I have on AO3, if that counts (I know author reveals haven’t happened yet but I’m pretty sure it’s no mystery which one is mine for anyone who is at all familiar with my work - and my giftee has definitely figured it out lol). If that doesn’t count then Trouble Sleeping would probably be it. I can’t actually remember how long I spent on it, just that it’s my shortest work from this year outside of DADWC stuff. 

Favourite thing I wrote: Probably the Justnanders fic. Not officially titled yet but I’m thinking of calling it Not To Disappear (shamelessly stolen from the Daughter song/album). I don’t know if it’s the best thing I’ve written, but I enjoyed writing it and I’m even enjoying editing it so far, which is surprising for me. I think the fact that I’m not rushing myself to publish it is helping a lot with that.  

Favourite thing I read: I read Holy, Holy, Holy by @little--abyss not that long ago and I loved it. Really loved it - like in a ‘it’s been weeks and I’m still thinking about it’ way. Also, The Place Where I Belong by @dismalzelenka is amazing and I think everyone should read it. 

Writing goals for next year: First, I’d like to finish editing and post the Justnanders fic. I’ve filled in most of the placeholders up to chapter six out of eight for that so hopefully that won’t take too much longer. After that, I’d love to get back to All Falls Away. I never meant to take as long a break from that as I did, but I think it was a good thing in the end. I feel excited by the idea of picking it up again so that’s a definite improvement on how I felt about it when I put it on hold back in February.  I also have a Handers modern AU in the works. It was my first nano idea for this year but I ran out of steam after the first week and switched projects. Now I’m having lots of thoughts about it again, mostly just working on a playlist and letting scenes play out in my head but I’d like it to turn into a full fic one day. My main goal is not to get so distracted by exchanges this year and make some progress on some of the ideas I’ve had on hold over the last couple of years.

[giya-goates]

I posted 302 times in 2022

That's 302 more posts than 2021!

27 posts created (9%)

275 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@beardedllamaoafwombat

@pajamamen

@strangermask

@pillowdrawz

@mushtoons

I tagged 179 of my posts in 2022

Only 41% of my posts had no tags

#ninjago - 117 posts

#kai smith - 61 posts

#lego ninjago - 51 posts

#ninjago kai - 47 posts

#kai ninjago - 46 posts

#cole brookstone - 32 posts

#lloyd garmadon - 27 posts

#nya smith - 26 posts

#ninjago nya - 26 posts

#rottmnt - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#they'd probably find a whole box of knock off vhs movies and childhood nostalgia is not gonna change their minds on how much they love them

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

More things for dragon smiths au

They all molt. That's it

When it happens, as a kid kai would run Nya a bath and help by just gently rubbing on the scales. He wouldn't let Nya help him tho

When their parents were back ray was super excited about helping them with it

Ray treats close friends like family and is just as clingy

Kai has really good hearing, Nya has really good sight, and ray has really good smell

Sensei Wu was the one to help the sibs with learning about their ancestory to help them

When Kai was a baby, Maya would pet his hair and feel his lil horns starting and making him do lil purrs

When Nya found Kai's old scales in the bathroom when he finished molting she thought they were such a pretty shade of red that she claimed it her favorite colour (it did end up being her favorite)

Kai unintentionally calls Nya "hatchling"sometimes. In turn Nya calls him mom when he does

Ray and Maya thought this hilarious and adorable when they first heard it

Nya uses her old scales as reinforcement for her inventions, same with Kai's scales

Just like in httyd, they ALL dispise eels, when they see one they hiss and back away. They need someone else to get rid of it.

That's all for now

92 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#4

Ok so, I'm rewatching Ninjago for like, the eighth time and I just got back to season four but during Zane's funeral thing I saw something

Looks normal right? Look behind Wu

Why tf is his mouth so high up on his face 😂

94 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

#3

I made more

You bet that if kai saw a child on their own in Ignacia and he didn't know their parents he would go mother hen and help them the whole damn day sometimes longer if needed

Kai is insecure of his big pointy ears and how expressive they are but the others, especially Cole, thinks its adorable

Like my last post, Kai has really good hearing making him a light sleeper so when he moved into the monastery, he would drag Jay to bed bc he was up late

Nya is extremely flexible, kai is too just not to nyas extent

Both being unaffected by fire, ray does tiny puffs of fire at them to make them laugh as kids and as adults

They all have longer life spans. Like if they aren't killed they are going to live to at least 1000 years. And that's with having human ancestors

Kai, after basically becoming Nyas parent, he now calls her "hatchling" and when he got attached to Lloyd that's what he calls him as well

Kai gets the best gossip from the teams dragons in the early season and uses it as balckmail

I might write a short oneshot but please tell me what time and kind it should be ( like what season) also I'm not very good at writing so go easy on me

99 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#2

I want to write about an au where the Smith family from rays side are somehow related to dragons.

Like imagine, the others are meeting kai for the first time and when that first see him they think nothing of it. But later on when everyone is calmed down l, they notice how sharp his teeth are and how pointy his ears are.

When they first saw his hair they all thought it was ridiculous, but then Jay, not caring about staring, notices the lil points it seems to be hiding.

Then later when they rescue Nya, since her hair isn't up, they see her horns witch are growing into a blue gradient slowly.

The Smith sibs don't know about their heritage and just assumed to hide it as much as possible.

WITH THEM BEING PART DRAGON that would make more sense as to why kai would like them more; they can communicate with eachother.

I don't know what else to add for now but I'll figure out how to turn on my asks

125 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I've decided to contribute with this dumb turtle thing I found today

395 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dashuisofanubis]

Another ghost AU

Okay the premise for this one is sort of a what if they figured out Nina was the chosen one and performed the ritual, but its also an AU.

KT, Eddie and Willow move into a boarding house for the prestigious Ankh school. They notice there are a lot of awards and items in the school dedicated to a group of students.

It turns out that on the 7th of July, around 50 years ago, these 7 students were discovered dead. The cause was believed to be poisoning as the students were all from the same house and the two surviving students admitted to having skipped meals at the house that day. The house mother was arrested and sentenced for murder, despite rumours that she was innocent.

The truth of the tale is different:

An ancient Egyptian artefact was believed to have power beyond scientific knowledge, and, once assembled, was said to grant immortality. However, nature must maintain a balance, and for every life extended, another has to be cut short.

Despite all their research, the Secret Society were not aware of these consequences, or most likely were at some level but chose to ignore it. So, when the ritual took place and life was transferred, they had what they wanted, but at a cost.

The Immortals:

Victor Rodenmaar. Location unknown. Has been off the grid for 25 years after vanishing one night in the middle of the school year

Daphne Andrews. Still a teacher at Ankh. Taught many student's parents and has said she will retire next year for the past 20 years

Eric Sweet. Eddie's father, and a man he's always admired and looked up to. He's not what he seems, and is a lot older than Eddie believed.

Mercer, father to one of the lost students. Has realised immortality is not all it's cracked up to be. Having lost his wife 10 years ago, he lives a lonely life and regrets ever joining the society and offering up his daughter.

Jason Winkler. Joined due to degenerative illness, hoping this would be a cure. It was, and he lives a mostly happy life, when he can forget what part he played in the tragedy.

Doctor Delia. Now the CEO of the local hospital, she's experimented with her immortality, to see if there is a way to transfer part of her life to a patient. It took a lot of work, but 11 years ago, she finally had some success. 14 year old Sophia was fatally injured in a car crash, and Dr Delia used her blood in a transfusion, saving the girl.

Rufus Zeno is the final immortal. It was supposed to be Roebuck, but Rufus broke in and threatened the Chosen One, unless he got what he wanted. Wanting to save the girl, and being the only one who hadn't drunk from the cup, Roebuck sacrificed his chance.

(Had he known the girl would die anyway, it might have been different)

Rufus is out there, somewhere, and he's dangerous.

Back to the story:

(Idk what the plot really is but here goes)

The trio (Eddie, KT and Willow) discover the students used to live in Anubis House.

One night, they're playing truth or dare with their housemates: Stella, Marco, Anna, Raf and Peter. KT is dared to go down into the cellar, where she finds a secret panel. Behind it, she finds 7 balancing scales, an intricately decorated cup, and an empty bottle.

The scales have discs with names written on them. The names match those of the 7 students who died. However, the discs are only on one side of the scales, suggesting there were 7 more previously. KT takes the bottle to prove she went into the basement, and something compels her to take the discs as well, which she shows to Willow once they're back in their room.

They let Eddie know about it the next morning and the 3 begin to wonder if the students' deaths were really as they seemed.

Eddie is walking up the stairs when he trips on a loose floorboard. Annoyed, he goes to try and put it back into place when something catches his eye. It's a metal disc, tarnished with age. He cleans it up and sees the word Zeno printed on it.

He tells KT and Willow, and KT realises it must be from the scales she found. Something doesn't feel right, so they decide to investigate.

Eddie jokingly suggests they hold a seance, and despite Willows warnings, they do.

It doesn't seem to work.

The next day, Willow discovers an intruder in the house, someone who looks very similar to photos in the school...

Willow is unnerved but curious, so she says hey to them. They turn around, apparently spooked that someone can see them, and vanish.

Willow tells the others, who initially disbelieve her, but soon they come to meet the former residents of their boarding house.

The ghosts were obviously affected by their own deaths, and the fact that they're ghosts, but it's been 50 years now, so they're getting over it. They generally try to stay out of the students' ways, as they learnt that people generally freak out at the sight of ghosts.

They appeared as ghosts the same moment their lives transferred to the immortals, but were extremely weak and found it hard to keep themselves together. They were unable to dissipate completely though, something was keeping them there. They had to watch as Trudy was arrested; as their house was put out of action till an increase in students forced them to open it again 15 years later; as Victor still wandered the halls; as all the students came and grew and left while they were trapped in the house.

Unable to die, but unable to live.

Slowly, they began to gain more power, and for the past 10 years they've been able to hold a corporeal form for lengthening times, meaning they can actually do things and go places. They're capable of leaving the house for short distances and periods of time, though if they're out for too long they fade away and reappear back in the house with a killer headache.

They think (hope) this means the immortals are weakening, but it could just be they're getting used to the whole being dead thing.

Their lives were tied to the balancing scales and the person on the opposite side, so they each have some connection to an immortal

This means they get fleeting impressions/feelings from their immortal, which strengthens with their proximity.

Connected Immortal and Ghost:

Rodenmaar - Nina

Sweet - Fabian

Andrews - Amber

Delia - Alfie

Roebuck/Zeno - Jerome

Mercer - Joy

Winkler - Patricia

Amber gets the most impressions because Ms Andrews still teaches at the school

Nina and Jerome receive hardly any because both Zeno and Rodenmaar are unknowns

However, recently they've started getting fleeting emotions and visuals that aren't their own. The two missing immortals are becoming active and they're heading for the house.

The ghosts can't do much on their own so Eddie, KT and Willow have to be prepared to discover what these two immortals want and put a stop to it.

Eddie finds out that his dad was once Eric Sweet (he chose a different name after leaving the school, to distance himself), the former headmaster of the school and is horrified by the part he played in all this. A confrontation goes down.

There's a bit where they track down Mick and Mara, now in their 60s, and bring them back to Anubis House to reunite with their former housemates. It would be a really emotional scene because while most of them weren't close, you can't live in close quarters with people for a long time, without forming a bond. And when it ended so abruptly with no goodbyes...well.

They also track down the other immortals and bring them to the house to face their ghosts (literally). Ms Andrews regrets it immensely; Delia has no (some) regrets, but argues she's able to save many more lives this way, Jason is in denial.

Don't imagine immortal!Mercer finally seeing his daughter again, only she's a ghost and he caused her death. He's full of apologies, but they're all based around how he missed her, not how he cut her life short.

There would be a lot of regret and grief all round, and anger on the ghosts' part.

While Trudy probably wouldn't be alive after all this time, the trio and the ghosts want the immortals to clear her name.

Zeno and Rodenmaar arrive at the house. They're both searching for an ancient artefact hidden in the house.

(Is it the mask? Is it the Book of Isis? Robert Frobisher Smythe? Who knows? Not me.)

They also want to try and end the other because, why not. Grudges can last forever.

The trio also meet Sophia at some point, who is undergoing weird transitions as a result of the blood transfusion. Her body is fighting it while also trying to embrace it, and it causes her to randomly absorb life/energy from plants or other people. She can also transfer energy to other beings, but this causes her to collapse. She also still looks 14 when she should be in her 20s by now. The trio befriend her and try to figure out a cure.

While their existences are tainted with regret and bitterness, the ghosts still make their own fun. Sometimes they'll pull pranks on unsuspecting students, or just sit in the back of the class room to listen to the lessons like they're students again. They know for a fact Ms Andrews hasn't changed her curriculum in 50 years and can now recite her lessons by heart. They also like to play games in the house like tag or hide and seek, and they will admit its more fun when you can phase through walls.

When they reveal themselves to the trio, they enjoy tormenting them, but also help them with their games nights, charading the answers behind the other 5s backs. Everyone's had near misses with the 5, but somehow they remain oblivious to the SEVEN GHOSTS living in their house. But then again everyone else is oblivous to the fact the 5 are on some Arthurian quest.

I don't know how this story would end, but the best outcome is that they fight Zeno and Rodenmaar, and some truth comes out that Rodenmaar has discovered a way to reverse what was done and needs an artefact from the tunnels to conduct the ritual. Zeno, meanwhile has discovered another ritual that would give him the power from the other immortals to essentially make himself a god.

Naturally, both are trying to stop the other from achieving their goals.

Initially, KT, Eddie, Willow and the ghosts (and Sophia) attempt to stop both parties, but when they discover Victor's plan they work to take down Zeno. Once he's subdued (taken down by Sophia draining his energy), they summon the other 5 immortals.

Some of them take some convincing, but others are all too ready to give up this immortal life. They get time to tie off loose ends. Ms. Andrews hands in her resignation, Delia entrusts someone (Sophia?) with her work, Mercer has a long talk with his daughter, Eric has an even longer talk with his son. Victor spends his time in Anubis House, telling the kids his story and apologising for taking so long to fix his mistake.

Eventually, the ritual takes place, and the next day sees 7 new students enrolled who look uncannily like the students in the pictures.

(It takes them a while to adjust to the fact they can't walk through walls anymore)

[flwrsuh]

golden boy — jake sim

/ pairing ; jake sim x implied f!reader (use of “miss” referring to the reader, but no pronouns are used !! )

summary ; golden boy jake, high school / tutor au. jake is just the most perfect human to exist and you, along with everyone else, notice that. this is also very loosely based on you belong with me by taylor swift

a/n ; hi lovelies !! im thinking about making this a series, so please send some asks / leave some comments on what you think !

if i make this a series, this would be part 1 and the rest of the chapters would be a lot longer than this !! this one is only so short to test out the idea and see how you guys like it :)

one more thing, i know this is the longest a/n ever i'm sorry, but this is dedicated to my bestie @lettertothesoul who helped me so much with this idea and it wouldn't have become a reality without you <33 thank you so much for all your help

~~ lowercase intended and not proofread !!

you had never been the smartest, always struggling in school and barely scraping by with grades one could only call acceptable. it was enough to pass year by year, so why should you try any harder? however, this year in particular was the most important to your future, your senior year, and for whatever reason, this year your grades had dropped to an all time low. failing almost every class, you were lucky if you would have the credentials to graduate on time. you were brought out of your thoughts by your teacher calling your name out.

“y/n?”

you look up from the desk you had unknowingly been staring at for the past hour. looking around the almost deserted classroom, you realize she was telling you the class period had ended. almost deserted, the only other people remaining in the room being your physics teacher, and star golden boy, jake sim.

“oh,” you manage to let out as you quickly stand to begin packing up your books, not that you used them anyway.

“miss y/n, please come speak with me.”

your face heating up feeling jake’s gaze fall onto your frame; he had never noticed you before, not that you knew of anyway, and you didn’t want the first time he actually sees you to be when you’re being scolded about nearly flunking out of school. sighing and pushing your bag onto your shoulders, you approach her desk, knowing exactly what was coming.

trying to keep her voice down as to not embarrass you in front of your totally-perfect classmate, your teacher begins, "miss y/n, i'm sure you know why i called you over. your grades as of late have been, well, unsatisfactory."

you blink up at her, unsure of what to say. of course, you knew this, but where was she going with it? just then, you feel him approaching the desk, he comes to a stop, his presence resting to your left. too afraid to look in his direction, you begin playing with your sleeves.

please god, why me? what have i done to deserve this?

"jake here has offered to tutor you in not only physics but math as well! isn't that just lovely of him?"

your eyes must be bulging out of your head, you think. this is not where you ever could've imagined this going. the jake sim, your school's perfect boy, captain of the track team, student council president, man of every person in their right mind's dreams, tutoring you... and voluntarily? you must be hallucinating.

somebody pinch me.

just then, you feel a tiny sting on your left arm, only now letting yourself glance in that direction. your gaze trails from the floor all the way up to his gleaming brown eyes that had been watching you all this time.

did i say that out loud?

you had always fantasized about the moment jake realized your existence, and this was not the way you ever could've foreseen it happening. not only was there the embarrassment of needing a tutor, but you somehow managed to make matters worse for yourself by letting your thoughts slip past your chapped lips.

your first tutoring session with him was to be held in the library during lunch the following day. you could do this, right? i mean, it can't get any worse for you than it already was, and besides, it was during school, in a public place where you could easily make a getaway if needed. yeah, you got this. maybe he would've even forgotten about your little slip up in the physics classroom by that time; he's so busy, why would he remember such minor details about you? what you never could've known, was that he remembered everything when it came to you; he had admired you the way you did him, and he was just as nervous for your meet-up.

when the time you had been dreading for the past 24 hours had finally arrived, you entered the library with sweaty palms and the deepest breath you could muster leaving your lungs. peering around the dimly lit library, you notice the stunning brunette wearing his signature golden framed glasses. he looked effortlessly beautiful, as he always managed to. finally gaining the courage to approach him, you silently pull out the chair opposite to him and take your seat. he seemed startled almost as he looks up at you; you must've been quieter than you had thought.

he flashes you his all too popular pearly white smile, "well, let's begin, shall we?"

"um, yeah, yeah, i guess so."

real smooth, y/n.

"so i was thinking we start with some basics today and eventually work up to the more difficult stuff, what do you think, y/n?"

the way your name tumbled past his lips sounds like a sweet melody. you are caught off guard, not even sure previously that he had known what your name was, thinking that you were just one of the many charity cases he picked up off the sidewalk to help with their... math? but he knew much more than your name; for months now he had picked up small bits of knowledge about you from your friends and overheard hallway conversations, and you had been the thing taking up the majority of his thoughts for so many days, besides physics, of course.

after about an hour of studying, which was more like the two of you stealing glances at each other while the other was busy reading from the many textbooks that had been spread across the table, you part ways and head off to your next classes, with the promise of another study date, i mean, session, in the nearby future.

[v-hope]

Secrets

Pairings: Artist!Kim Taehyung x Heiress!Reader, Heir!OC x Reader

Genre: Fluff, slight angst, Ex Roommates AU, Enemies to Lovers AU, Arranged Marriage AU (OC x Reader), ft. Ex Friends with Benefits (Heir!Jimin x Reader)

Word Count: 5.3k

Summary: Your relationship with Taehyung has grown a lot since the two of you used to live together and be at each other’s throats. And with both of you starting to develop feelings for each other, he could no longer stand not knowing what was going on in your life and you could no longer keep from him the biggest secret in your life.

Warnings: Family issues, mentions of death (not a main character).

A/N: Hellooo! This is the 19th part of my Social Media AU “Belong”, but I guess you can read it as a one shot if you don’t follow the story (although it might be a bit confusing lol). Please let’s just ignore the fact that I was not in the mood to come up with a cool title lmao. i hope you guys enjoy!

Waving goodbye to Sungjin one last time after getting off his car, you turned around to enter Taehyung’s building, only then hearing the car engine as your so-called-fiancé drove away. It was exhausting, honestly — having to pretend you still lived here when you no longer did. Not only was it awkward to stand at the reception until you made sure Sungjin was gone, but having to later take the bus every single time to go back to Hobi’s was not something you were a fan of either.

Many times you had thought about telling him you had moved out of Tae’s a while ago and were living with Hoseok in the meantime, but telling Sungjin meant your parents would might find out about it at some point, and you could just not risk it for the world.

At least today you would be able to skip the ‘awkward standing’ part, since you had agreed to drop by Taehyung’s so the two of you could talk. In all honesty, though, you didn’t know which situation was worse.

Once on his floor, you took your time walking over to his front door, contemplating whether it was a good idea to tell him the whole story behind you leaving home and your family a few months ago, for once you walked through that door, you knew there would be no turning back. And the thing was, for the longest time, you had kept it from him because you did not trust him. It was only natural, right? He would make sure to let you know just how much he disliked you every single day during the entire time you had lived with him, so telling him about your personal life was most definitely off the table.

However, now, trust was no longer the main issue. You did trust him. Somehow along the way, he had earned your trust — the way he had stood up for you more than once, and the way the two of you seemed to grow closer by the day, could do no other but for you to believe he was actually there for you. So, the problem now was that you didn’t want things to change.

You were getting along so well, and it might even sound delusional, but you could feel a very particular kind of tension when you were with him you had not quite ever felt before, not even when Jimin and you had the whole ‘friends with benefits’ thing going on. And you couldn’t help but believe that, if he found out about you and Sungjin, about how you were supposed to marry him at the end of the year if you failed to show your parents you could have a good life on your own, Taehyung would pull away from you and all the progress the two of you had made would be completely ruined. The thought of that possible outcome alone made your chest feel heavy.

Taking in a deep breath once you reached his door, you decided to just go with it. He needed to know the truth — Jimin’s words about a possible romantic relationship developing between the two of you in the future coming to mind and being the last push you needed. Because, although you hated to admit it, sometime along the way you had started to like that idea, and keeping things from Taehyung, especially ones that were such a big deal like the possibility of you marrying someone else, would do no other than jeopardize what the two of you could be in a near future.

If it were to be jeopardized, it needed to be now, for once and for all, for it would not be fair to him to find out when the two of you were in too deep — if he ever happened to return your feelings and the two of you even got to the point of being in too deep, of course.

Pushing every thought aside, you finally called on the door, feeling your breathing become heavier when you felt his footsteps coming closer to the entrance.

“Hey, you came” Taehyung said first thing, the look on his eyes letting you know he, too, had been doubting whether you’d come or not.

“I only came because you said you’d have something yummy for me” you teased him with a smile, which only grew bigger at the sight of his own as he rolled his eyes.

“You were the one who told me to get you something yummy,” he mocked you on that particular word, moving aside and keeping the door open for you to come in. “But whatever you say, princess”.

Letting out a light giggle, you made your way inside — eyes instantly going to the doughnuts box that was placed on the small table in front of the sofa.

“Coffee?” he offered after having closed the door behind him.

“Please” you smiled, turning around to look him in the eye and catching the way he smiled right back.

With a quiet ‘okay’ coming out of his mouth, he motioned for you to take a seat in the meantime. Doing as told, you sat down on the sofa and took your coat off — not even two minutes passing by before he came back with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

“Thank you” you quietly said when he handed you the coffee, eyes fixed on him as he took a seat beside you. “You really went big with the doughnuts”.

Taehyung chuckled at your comment. “I just remembered how much you liked them. I mean, given the way you were stuffing your mouth with them on this very sofa a while ago”.

“Shut up” you lightly shoved him with your shoulder out of embarrassment.

“If it makes you feel any better, I got those triple chocolate ones you seemed to love so much” he teasingly informed you, leaving his cup on the coaster so he could open the box.

Smiling at the sight of them, you leaned in to grab one. “Thank you. I promise not to drop it this time”.

Your statement earned a laugh from him. “You better” his threatening tone as he grabbed a doughnut as well, had you rolling your eyes. “Otherwise, you’re cleaning up”.

“I cleaned it up last time, so what’s new” you shrugged.

“Touché” he gave it to you, biting onto the baked good right as you did.

“So…” you began after a few seconds of silence in which your chewing was the only sound filling the room. “What did Jimin exactly tell you?”

It was now his turn to shrug like it was no big deal. “Just about your guys’ arranged marriage a few years ago”.

“Just that?” you pushed it.

Although you had bombarded Jimin with text messages right after his infamous tweet and he had confessed to you that he had told Taehyung more than he should have, causing him to now be suspicious over your relationship with Sungjin, you had not really asked him about the details he had told Taehyung about your past relationship —if you could call it that—, for you had already given him the green light to tell him the whole thing. Therefore, you now wanted to hear from Taehyung himself how much your friend had told him about it.

His face right there, however, was all you needed to know he did indeed know about the whole thing.

“Also about… you know” he struggled. “You guys being friends with benefits and all that”.

You nodded, watching him stuff his mouth with the rest of the doughnut in his hand in a poor attempt of making things less awkward. “Okay… so you know everything”.

He rushed to swallow. “I think so…”

“So what was it that you wanted to know about Jimin and I then?” you inquired, taking another bite of the baked good.

“Huh?”

“You said over texts that you wanted to talk about Jimin and I” you reminded him. “As well as about Sungjin and I”.

“Right…” he pursed his lips, leaving place for silence to take over the room as he did not know where to even begin.

You were telling him about Sungjin for sure, he knew that, since that was the part of the story that was missing for him. But, on the other hand, should he just be up-front and ask you what he really wanted to about you and his best friend?

“Um…” you awkwardly shifted in your seat, leaving the doughnut back on the box and placing both of your hands around the coffee cup instead. “I don’t really know where to begin,” you admitted. “So just ask”.

Taehyung couldn’t help but let out a snort, followed with a shake of head that left you completely puzzled.

“What is it?”

He shook his head in amusement once more. “You and Jimin are the same” he remembered the exact words his friend had told him right before telling him his history with you. That’s when he decided to just be up-front and ask the first question. “Do you have, or… did you ever have feelings for him?”

There it was, the one thing that was troubling him the most when it came to you and Jimin. Although his friend had told him over and over he had never felt something for you, and even assured him you had never felt something for him either, Taehyung needed to hear it from your very lips.

Much to his relief, you were quick to shake your head no. “I don’t. Never had”.

He gave you a silent nod as his response, one that, for some reason, wasn’t convincing enough to you.

“I mean it,” you determinedly said, aching for him to believe you. “We were only ever friends with benefits. That is all there was to it”.

“I guess I just can’t understand how you guys had it going on for like two years and didn’t catch feelings, I mean…”

“I know it’s weird to wrap your head around it, but… we somehow made it out without catching feelings. We’re just really good friends and I guess the platonic love we have for each other beat any other kind of romantic love there could have been” you explained, leaning one of your sides against the sofa so you could properly look at him. “Can you believe I don’t have feelings for Jimin now and I never did in the past either?”

After staring at you for a couple of seconds, he nodded, this time both genuinely believing you and convincing you of it. “And for Sungjin?”

“Huh?” his question took you by surprise.

“Do you have feelings for him?” he went straight to the point.

“I don’t”.

“Then why are you dating him?” he questioned, not being able to understand why you were going through so much trouble for someone you felt nothing towards.

“I’m not dating him, I…” you sighed, staring down at the coffee cup in your hands. “I told you, there’s a lot to it”.

“Well, isn’t that why you’re here, princess?” he wondered with a small tilt of his head. “So you can tell me why you left home in the first place and have a boyfriend you don’t love?”

You bit down on your bottom lip. Not being able to look him in the eye as the truth abandoned your mouth. “He’s not my boyfriend—”

“So you’ve said a hundred times”.

“—He’s my fiancé”.

Silence. That was everything that filled the living room for the next couple of seconds as he tried to take in what you had just told him. It could not be true. It just could not.

“Y-Your what?”

“My fiancé…” you sheepishly repeated.

He pulled slightly away. “You’re joking”.

“Come on, Taehyung. I think you know me well enough by now” your eyes squinted ever so faintly. “Do you truly believe I would joke with such a thing?”

He uncomfortably shifted on his seat, eyes going to your fingers as they held the cup. “Where’s the ring then?”

Your eyes instinctively went down to your hands, lifting the one your engagement ring had once been on and showing it to him. Taehyung didn’t think twice before leaving his cup on the table so he could grab your hand and analyze it as if he would find the ring camouflaged somewhere in your fingers.

“I took it off” you stated the obvious. “Couldn’t come here and try to have a normal life with a diamond ring on my hand, the media would’ve found out right away”.

“You just said you feel nothing for him and now you say you’re marrying him?” his eyebrows furrowed, denial written all over his face as he let go of your hand. “Y/N, you’re literally making no sense”.

“I know, I…” you looked up to the ceiling, trying to compose yourself before you could explain it to him. “I mean, he’s not really my… we won’t, m-my parents said—unless…”

“Hey, hey. Princess,” Taehyung tried to calm you down, his hands gently cupping your face so you would look back at him. “I’m listening. No need to get so nervous”.

You nodded, taking in a shaky breath. His warm hands on your skin, although causing giving you chills, had managed to calm you down. “So, you know how me and Jimin were being forced to get married a few years ago?”

Taehyung nodded, eyebrows still furrowed as he had seemed to already catch up and did not like one bit where this was going to.

“Well,” you laughed humorlessly. “Sungjin is the new Jimin”.

His jaw dropped, and, much to your disappointment, his touch left your skin. “So you’re… being forced to marry him?”

“Mhm…” you nodded.

Taehyung bit his bottom lip. Just like you had said, it was a lot. He needed time to process everything, because out of all the things he could’ve imagined when it came to the reason why you had left home, marrying Sungjin was not it. Which he now found kind of dumb, considering your parents had tried to marry you off to Jimin only a few years ago. If anything, an arranged marriage should’ve been first on his list.

He found out right then, though, that out of all the scenarios he had came up with, this particular one he had not thought of, was the one he hated the most.

“And you can’t do anything about it?” he questioned. “I mean, it ended up working out for you and Jimin”.

“Jimin didn’t want to marry me, it’s different”.

“Sungjin wants to marry you?” he raised one of his eyebrows — for some reason he already knew yet would not quite admit, feeling his blood boiling.

“Hard to believe anyone would want to, I know” you bitterly joked. “But yes, he wants to marry me. His parents were looking for a heiress to marry him off to anyway and he’s been into me for a while now, so he offered”.

“Wait, he offered?!”

You couldn’t help but laugh lightly at the way he seemed to be so invested in your life — completely oblivious to the fact that his dislike towards Sungjin was growing by the second.

“He did” a heavy sigh escaped your mouth. “He didn’t mean any wrong by offering, we used to get along quite well regardless of us not being the closest of friends and I was getting married off to some other heir anyway, so…” you shrugged. “He thought he would ‘save me’ from having to marry someone I didn’t like at all, and plus he got to be with me, so it seemed like a win-win situation”.

“And was it?” Taehyung wondered.

“Not at all” you shook your head, a weak smile curving up the corners of your mouth as you sipped on your drink. “I had managed to make two other possible fiancés not wanting to go through with it anymore, but with Sungjin nothing works because he already knows me and likes me just like that…”

“Doesn’t sound so bad” Taehyung mumbled, internally slapping himself for the way he had just encouraged you to give it a second thought.

“You’re serious?” you furrowed your eyebrows, and he couldn’t help but feel chills at the sight of your sudden cold stare. “I don’t want to marry him, Taehyung. I don’t want to marry anyone I don’t love”.

Although wanting to smile over the fact that you had once again turned down any possible feeling you could’ve had for Lee Sungjin, he remained serious, reaching for his cup on the table.

“Is that why you left home?” he took a sip of tea before putting it down once again. “To rebel yourself?”

You shook your head no. “It’s more than that…”

“Tell me”.

“It was the only way not to marry him”.

His eyebrows knitted together in genuine concern. “How’s that?”

“I tried to talk my parents out of it multiple times but they were very set on making me marry someone from our same status. And, in all honesty, I was hopeless. My brother took over the family business and they still married him off to another heiress,” you shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was not that big of a deal, while Tae’s face said the exact opposite at that new bit of information. “And then there I was, the younger sister with a stupid business management degree that, may I add, my parents made me get, who would not really be of any major help to the hostelry business given Jin-ie is the one in charge. So, the best contribution I could give our family would be marrying some wealthy man with a wealthy and well-known family so we could improve our respective businesses and whatnot”.

“So you left home because…”

You laughed lightly at his confusion. “Well, the only way to make my own choices is to take myself out of the picture” a melancholic smile showed on your lips. “I reached a settlement with my parents,” you informed him, sitting up straight and having him unconsciously move closer to you in anticipation. “I have one year to show them I can have a good life without their money. If I can’t manage on my own, I go back to them once the year is up and I marry Sungjin. If I can manage and want to stay here, then they disown me and I get to live the rest of my life the way I want it”.

Taehyung remained silent, staring into his lap as he tried to take in everything you had just said. Everything slowly starting to make sense.

“Will you please say something?” you nervously pushed it, staring down into your cup as you could not face him either.

“Are you okay?” his sudden question took you by surprise.

“W-What?”

“Are you okay?” he repeated. “I mean, you either are forced to marry someone you don’t love or you get disowned. Doesn’t sound like a fair agreement to me”.

You bit down on your bottom lip, giving him a light shrug before you put your cup down like he had done minutes ago. “I still have a good amount of months to go, anything could happen so… who knows,” a breathy laugh escaped your mouth. “I could either end up loving my life away from them and hence wouldn’t be that affected by being disowned, or if I see I can’t do it anymore I could… you know…”

Taehyung shook his head. “I don’t…”

You sighed. “My parents are making me spend so much time with Sungjin to make the media believe we’re together that maybe, eventually, I could—”

“You don’t want that” he abruptly cut you off, sticking to the words you had said only a minute ago.

“I don’t” you agreed in a heartbeat. “But I’ve got to have a plan for every possible scenario, and making myself fall for him seems like the best idea if all of this doesn’t work out”.

“It will work out” he stated, the confidence he had just put on you making you look away as you shyly smiled. “You’re doing great so far”.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘great’, if I’m honest” you nervously fidgeted with your hands.

“You have a place to stay at, you have a job, you’ve got friends…” he numbered. “You’ve got all the essentials covered already”.

“I don’t have an actual place though…” you pointed out. “Don’t have an actual place I belong to, one that is fully mine and I won’t move out from every month. Don’t have a family either, probably won’t ever have one again”.

“But you have friends… and a brother who loves you” he reminded you. “Friends can be family, too”.

You sighed. “It’s not the same...”

“It’s not, but they are” he let out a small, humorless laugh. “Trust me. I know it first hand”.

“What?”

“Jimin, Yoongi hyung and Namjoon hyung are the only family I have” he shrugged. “Took me a good while to realise, but that’s how it is”.

“But wait,” you moved closer to him as you tried to process what you had just heard. “You mean you also left your family behind or…”

“They left me” there it was again, another laugh with not even a pinch of amusement in it whatsoever. “Not intentionally, though. At least not my mum and grandparents. My dad was out of the picture since before I was even born”.

“Oh,” was all you could manage to say. “So they…”

Taehyung nodded before you could finish the sentence, not wanting to put you through the awkward situation of having to actually say it out loud. “Mum passed away when I was nine” he shrugged in an attempt to take importance away from it, yet the look in his eyes gave away just how much it still affected him. “I was raised by my grandparents, but they were quite old and you know how nature works, so…”

You bit the inside of your cheek, having to keep yourself from giving him a hug, as you knew he should be tired of having people pity him by now. Instead, you couldn’t help but want to know more a about it.

“The press doesn’t know about it” he pointed out before you could ask any further. “No one apart from my friends know about this, so if you could please keep it to yourself...”

“I will, don’t worry” you gave him a reassuring smile, catching the way he had seemed to relax at your words. “What did you do, though? I mean, how did you... manage...”

“It was right after I had made it into art school, so... I moved to Seoul. I mean, we didn’t live that far from here, only right outside the city, but the house felt so big and empty right then that I decided to just rent something small near the university” he explained. “The inheritance wasn’t much, so I got two part time jobs that would be compatible with my lectures. I actually met Jimin that year” a smile curved up at the memory. “We had this project I needed a model for, so I could draw the human body from different perspectives, and I ran into him with his genius dancing skills and asked him to help me out. Then we became friends and he introduced me to our hyungs, and here we are now”.

“Must’ve been tough...” you mumbled. “I’m glad you met the guys right that year and weren’t all on your own”.

“Yeah...” he smiled weakly. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without them”.

“I’m sorry” you apologized.

“No, please no” he begged, making your eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Not the pity face”.

You shook your head immediately. “I’m not saying sorry because I pity you, I actually admire you right now and think you’re really strong” you reassured him, reaching for his hand and tightly holding it in between yours. “I’m just… God, I’ve been complaining over my family for so long and you’re actually here comforting me when I can still go back to them if I want and…” you took in a shaky breath. “You must think I’m such a spoiled brat. I’m sorry”.

He chuckled. “I thought you were. That’s why I disliked you so much at first” his confession, although new to you, was not surprising at all. “I didn’t think it was only because of the way you acted but I couldn’t put my finger on any other reason, and then Jimin made me realise that it mostly had to do with my family issues”.

“How’s that?” you tilted your head.

“I mean, I’ve been on my own without a choice for so many years and have longed for a family so bad… and then there you were, having one and wanting to stay as far away from them as possible…” a breathy laugh escaped his mouth. “I really couldn’t stand you because of that. You had everything I wanted and were pushing it away over some stupid tantrum—”

“It was more than that” you cut him off, earning a small snort from him.

“I was getting there, princess” he cynically informed you. “I know that now. Trust me, I understand why you did it”.

You smiled genuinely at that. “So you don’t think I’m a spoiled brat anymore?”

His eyes went up as he feigned to be deep in thought. “Mmm…”

“Yah,” you lightly shoved him off, earning a chuckle from him and having his hand grab yours to pull you closer and stop you from pushing him again. “You’re such an ass”.

“I think that is the first time I’ve heard you curse” he mocked.

Your mouth opened in offense, feeling the heat reach your face. “That was not a curse at all!”

Taehyung laughed loudly this time, his chest trembling as he did. “You’re such a good girl”.

“Make up your mind, Vante” you taunted him, playfully squeezing his hand that was still holding yours and leaning your cheek against the sofa. “Am I a brat or a good girl?”

“They’re not exclusive traits, princess” he let you know, just like you, resting his face on the sofa as well.

“Oh, so I’m both now?” you laughed.

“Mhm…” he agreed, face now only a few centimeters from yours as he intertwined your fingers like he had done a couple of nights ago.

“And which one do you like more?” you wondered, unconsciously having your eyes travel down to his lips.

“I like both” he said before he could stop himself — before he could answer with another sarcastic remark of his like he wanted to.

“You do?” your voice came out soft, taken aback yet very pleased with the answer of his you had not expected to hear. Looking up to him, you caught a glimpse of the way he had been staring into your mouth as well, causing the corners of your lips to curve up. “Is it okay if I’m a brat now?”

He chuckled. “Sorry to break it to you, but asking for permission to be a brat is such a goo—”

And that’s when your lips on his shut him up.

Taehyung’s eyes opened wide for a second, travelling in utter shock from your closed ones to your mouth pressing on his. Nevertheless, that was it. A second. After that, his eyes were shut as well and his lips trapped yours before you could pull away like you had already started to do.

As if on cue, the two of you smiled — your hands comfortably resting on his chest as his own cupped your face and deepened the kiss.

In all honesty, you had just gone for it. Kissing him in that very moment had just felt right, and, plus, you needed to know if there was something worth not forcing yourself to fall for Sungjin for. You had not expected him to kiss you back at all, if anything, you had taken the risk, being well aware there were high chances he would push you away. But hell, was your heart going wild at the way he had done the exact opposite.

It hadn’t lasted long, yet just enough to leave the two of you longing for more.

Just enough to let you know there was something else worth staying here for.

“What was that for?” he mumbled against your lips when you pulled slightly away, not being able to hide his growing smile when you pressed your mouth to his one last time.

You bit your lip, looking down for a second. “Just wanted to kiss you, so I did”.

He rolled his eyes in amusement. “Such a bratty move”.

“You told me to go for what I want the other night”.

“Oh, and you want me?” he smirked.

Feeling the heat once more reach your face, which was pretty much burning at this point, you couldn’t help but look away from his eyes. It didn’t take him long to catch up on that, deciding to go easy on you and not tease you any further after noticing how shy his words had made you.

After all, he didn’t want to keep you from possibly kissing him again.

“I’m not like Jimin…” he quietly blurted out.

Taken aback by such a sudden comment, you stared at him with a puzzled semblance. “Huh?”

“I can’t,” he sighed. “I don’t do this whole friends with benefits thing”.

“Are we even friends to begin with?” you asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

“Ouch?” Taehyung brought his hand up to grab his chest, making you giggle at his feigned hurting as you leaned against the sofa again. “Where does that leave us then?”

You shrugged. “Let’s leave it at… kind of friends”.

“Okay, I’ll take it” he contentedly nodded. “We’re good then?”

“We are” you smiled, earning a smile from him in return.

“No more secrets?”

You giggled, holding your pinky up for him to interlock with his. “No more secrets”.

Rolling his eyes in feigned annoyance —yet the way the corners of his lips remained curved up letting you know just how much he was enjoying this—, he wasted no time on interlocking his pinky with yours, smile turning into a boxy one when you later added:

“And just for the record, I know you’re not like Jimin. I like that”.

That was the whole point after all. With Jimin, you never felt like this. It was always something strictly physical, not once had you felt some kind of electricity run through your body when you kissed him, not even when things got way more heated. With Taehyung, however? One simple touch of his lips had made you feel everything you had never felt before. Not with Jimin, not with Sungjin. And that’s how you knew you were already in too deep.

Took you long enough to realise. Maybe way too long. But that kiss had been all you needed to figure out what you felt for Taehyung.

And therefore, the label you had put to your relationship had not been wrong at all. You couldn’t call yourself his friend, because although you may have been acting like friends —and very bickering ones at that— the past few weeks, you did not see him like that. You could not, for whatever it was you felt for him, was so much more, so much stronger, than what you would feel for a simple friend.

[kiribakuhappiness]

Do you have any long kiribaku fic requests? Like, 100k, 200k, 300k etc

Something I can sit with for a bit? I’ve been burning through so many that are under 50k and I love that but I have a weekend free to do nothing for the first time in forever and want to settle in

I'm actually glad that someone has asked for this rec because I've been feeling really bad lately that my account has been so inactive while I recover.

So, to try and make up for it, I've put together this rec list of some longer kiribaku fics (maybe not 300k but still pretty long) that have had such a profound impact on me since I've joined the fandom, some of which have really helped with and improved my writing!

I hope you find something of interest among these choices, Anon, as I've enjoyed them all so much! <3

1. In the Roaring Autumn by thegrimzuera. (94k) I'm in the process of re-reading this fic at the moment! A College AU with Katsuki as the main POV (which I love) and his characterization is so well done. I actually picked up and adapted a lot of my current Katsuki writing from this fic when I was first figuring out how to write his character! Highly recommend, Kirishima is a lovely jock who ends up teaching a scorned Katsuki about friendship and how being manly means taking responsibility for your actions. A slow burn that is very well done, all around just a really fun read and so I am reading it again (and again and again and again and...)

2. Tomorrow, Today by timetoboldlygo. (87k) It's been a while since I've read this fic but I've been meaning to come back to it for some time now (HAH, that's like a pun without the set up because -) It's a Time-Travel AU! Love love love that. Future Husbands Bakugou and Kirishima get sent back into their old junior high bodies (to before they met at Yuuei, if I'm remembering correctly). Lots of feelings and working through marital conflicts. I think the story did a good job of taking the usual time-travel trope and giving it an interesting spin from a new perspective that I hadn't seen before!

It's where my love for analyzing Bakugou's younger behaviors came from and probably what eventually spawned the creation of my OC fic later! 😁

3. Broken Bridges by DeathBelle. (68k) Have you ever, uh... have you ever, um, pining?? Yeah. That's this fic. Future Pro-Hero's Red Riot and Ground Zero haven't spoken since their graduation from Yuuei High, and it's a wild ride once they bump into each other again at an active villain site (so bad at trying not to spoil things, ahaha). Another really fun read, a bit on the shorter side compared to the others on this list but it's longer than A Secret Admirer (which might be my longest fic on this account) so I thought it was worth mentioning!

4. Opposed to the Typical by heronfem. (178k) I've talked about this one before (quite recently maybe) and while I was only ever able to read through this once so far, it has stayed in my head for so much longer afterwards, and I think that's a true testament of a great story! Super immersive, really pulls you in for the long haul. If you enjoy lots of world building and fun imagery, fashion labels and plenty of artsy drama, I highly recommend this fic. You can tell a lot of time and attention to detail went into this one, and for that it has gained a ton of my respect!

5. Crown of Thornes | Book 1 by WonderBoyz. (111k) I'm still in the process of reading this one so I don't know all of what happens but as far as Fantasy AUs go, this has really captured my attention. It's gritty, it's got action, lots of conflict and plot twists, I just imagine the fic author must have had so much fun writing this and that gets me really excited to read more! And it's part of a series so there's even more to read after!

6. Moment of Truth by Fanficismything. (104k) This is going to be a really bold claim for me to make, alright? But. This might be my favorite fic on ao3. I have read this fic numerous times because it's a great adaption of one of my favorite tropes and I had so much fun reading it that it literally can't be anything other than my favorite fic. A kiribaku rom-com based on the 2009 movie The Proposal (AKA the greatest fucking movie of all time). I would cradle this fic in a blanket because it just hits all of my comfort feels and makes me so happy. I implore you that if you think you don't need this fic in your life well, then, you are simply wrong. 😂

7. An Abundance of Penguin Shit by Vixensheart. (214k) An Animal Handler AU Y'ALL THIS IS THE SHIT I LIVE FOR! I really enjoyed this fic for so many different reasons, and this is another piece of work that heavily influenced my own portrayal of Katsuki in my writing; I thought his characterization in this was really interesting and leaned on a lot of certain traits of his that I hadn't really considered much before reading this one. There's also (similar to: Opposed to the Typical) so much great detailing and world building and character analysis, ugh I love it sooo much you don't even know. BAKUGOU PLAYS WITH A MF PENGUIN AHXBHAXBA. It's so damn cute and I honestly can't get enough of it. Always recommending. Always always.

8. Metallic Bonds by Kaustikha. (106k) This is another new fic for me that I've just recently gotten my hands on; a Fullmetal Alchemist AU! I've never really dabbled in Fullmetal Alchemist before (yet) but this AU is written so well that honestly, I almost feel like I don't even need to know much at all to enjoy it. It's already so entertaining on its own, the dynamics are really interesting and I'm just all-in-all super hooked on this one right now! I'm really excited to see where it goes!

9. Chitchat and Pencil Pushers by beebuzz. (92k) Of course, I literally could not have made this list without mentioning this fic. A Job Office AU that I find myself coming back to time and time again. Lots of pining and really I don't know what it is about Insert-Regular-Job-Here AU's that I enjoy so much when it comes to kiribaku, but it has my entire soul.

I enjoyed each of these fics for their various own reasons, but mostly I enjoyed all of them and felt the need to add them all into this list because I can tell just how much effort and energy has gone into these works. The characterization is always really well done, the character's conversations feel authentic and engaging, the struggles that they all face vary so drastically (while somehow all being the same exact characters) that it is honestly so fascinating to me to read through these works and know that, inherently, they are all the same story rewritten with a new skin but, outwardly, they're so unique and show so much personality and range between them all.

Isn't that so amazing?? I feel like that's so amazing... maybe I'm just going insane after quarantine, ahaha :,D

Both are viable options, but whichever way that it is, a huge shout-out to these writers and to the others who I have been binging on this hellsite (affectionate) since I got here. Some of these stories bring so many people comfort and entertainment, myself included, and it's nice to be able to share them with you as well!

I hope you find something fun to read! ❤️🧡

[shuntarooo]

You had me at Christmas day.

✧ Character/s: Xiao

✧ topic/scenario: modern au where you confessed to him at Christmas day, fluffy, fanfic

✧ warnings: mild-swearing

✧ gender: neutral

reblogs are appreciated (〃ω〃)

more content utc !

You and Xiao have been childhood friends for the longest time, growing up in the same neighborhood you two will always play together at his house. You always suggest what to play which really irritates him, plus the game you always choose is you two being married! Even though it’s pretend, he can’t help but blush at the thought of marrying you when you grow up.

A few years later, you took a liking to him. But why would he like someone like you? So, you kept it to yourself ever since then.

The liking you have towards him bloomed into something else, you love him. Not like, but love. You heard him once say that he will never be with someone with you and would rather kiss a frog, but you just laughed at it.

Deep inside, it hurts. It hurts so much.

But you still love him, you really do.

Now, you still live in that neighborhood and, still has feelings for him.

“What am I going to do, Ganyu? I mean, he clearly doesn’t like me the way I like him..” You sighed, kicking the rocks below your feet.

“Hmm…. I’ll tell you what, maybe Hutao and I could put you guys under a mistletoe!” You looked at her with a deadpan face, you mentally facepalmed yourself at her words.

“He hates hates mistletoes, do you think he is an idiot to be under one let alone with me?”

“Yes! (y/n), if you keep those feelings to yourself it will be somehow a…. burden?? Is that the right word? Anyway, try confessing. It can ease some pain, y’know? And if you end up getting rejected, we have plenty of tissues here, we can also go to your fav ice cream shop! Buuutttt as if that will happen.” You blinked at her once, then twice, then thrice.

“I think you got those from watching romance animes and k-dramas, am I right?” You giggled, she showed a thumbs up with a big smile.

“Mhm! With Hutao and Yanfei by the way.” You nodded and and looked around. Who knows if someone is gossiping around and tell him? After checking for a couple of times and prove no one was there, you stood up.

“Yu, I really need to go now. Kinda sucks if you confess without giving something to him, no?” You joked.

“Yeah! By the way, do we still need to put you guys under a mistletoe?”

“No need, i’ll just figure something on my own.”

“Okay then, goodluck!” She nodded and waved you goodbye.

You went to the store where you and him would go after school, might forgot to say that xiao has a sweet-tooth, no? Looking at the pastries, you picked his favorite and a bit of yours just in case you get very nervous. You payed at the counter and left the shop. As you were walking, you were thinking what’s the best place to confess and write a letter for him to read after he gets home.

‘Maybe in the park? Nope never, he doesn’t like crowded people. Somewhere where there’s fireflies around? Nah, don’t think so. Think (y/n) (l/n), think! ….Maybe in the place where we met? I guess that works. Now I just have to rush to that place and get writing that letter!’

You went to the venue then started writing a letter for him. Your hands started to get all sweaty and you knew you were getting nervous. You tried calming yourself by eating the pastries you brought for yourself but somehow it won’t work, so you took deep breaths. With a shaky hand, you went to get your cellphone and texted him.

‘HEYO so um come meet me at the place where we met, I wanna tell u sumthing eyueheueheheue （σ｀・∀・´）σ’

You got very very nervous that he just seen your text and replied with a ‘mkay’. You’re starting to think this was a bad idea, but you can’t just bear it any longer. ‘No, you have to stay calm, you must stay calm!’

.

.

.

.

.

It was almost sunset, and he still didn’t show up.

You sighed and pouted, still eating some of your treats. ‘What a great day to be rejected.’ Just as you were about to accept that he won’t come, you heard a voice behind you.

“Sorry i’m late.”

.

.

He’s here. He’s really here.

You didn’t even noticed that you held your breath, you silently prayed to the archons that this would go well.

‘OH ARCHONS ABOVE HELP ME HE’S TOO MUCH TO HANDLE HELPHELPHELP-’

You take the pastries in your hands and slowly turned around and you could feel yourself passing out, you held your face and you could tell that you were red as a thomatoe. You closed your eyes shut, took a deep breath and..

“uhhh hiii um.. ihavetotellyousomethingthoughitmaywasteyourti-”

You feel something touch your hand, you opened your eyes and Xiao was staring at you with both of his hands on top of yours.

“Slow down, I can’t even understand a word.” He removed his hands and glanced at you as a sign to continue.

“S-sorry…” You took a deep breath, ‘It’s now or never I guess, if I end up being rejected then that’s it.’

“The reason I made you come here is b-because of this. Xiao, I really really like… y-you. Not actually like but l-love. I fell in love with you ever since we’re kids. I fell in love with you not only because of your l-looks but how you treat… me. I fell in love with how you comfort me after a bad day, I fell in love with the way you look after me whenever I’m sick, I fell in love with the way you still stick up with me even when I’m sometimes annoying. Well, not sometimes but always hehe. There’s so much more I really want to say but I think I’ll be taking the whole day to explain everything. Y-you don’t have to accept it, just take the pastries with you. I know you’ve loved these. I’m sorry, I know you said you’re not ready for relationships but… It was getting harder to bear. But everything I said, I really mean it…. So here. Sorry for wasting your time.” You closed your eyes shut after you give him the pastries. You felt better after letting those.

“…. Dumbass, open your eyes.” You hesitantly open your eyes and you felt something wet on your cheeks, you wiped it with your sleeve and played with your hands.

“I… love you too. Yes, I did say that I was not ready for relationships but…. You’re an exception. I love you, okay?” You looked at him and you could see a red tint on his face. You feel more tears streaming down your face, he frowned when he saw you crying.

“Why are you crying? Hey it’s okay.” His hand caressed your cheek before wiping the tears in your eyes.

“I just feel… happy you felt the same way, i really thought you’re going to reject me.” He gave you a small smile before shaking his head.

“Dummy.” He brought your face close to him and kissed your nose, you giggled at his actions.

“… You better read the letter I put in with the pastries when you get home, okay?” You pouted when he pulled away, he kissed your forehead and your face couldn’t be redder.

“You wrote me a letter? But sure, I’ll read it. For now I want to stay close to you.”

Who are you to deny his request?

a/n: HELP my hand hurts yes I lied I wrote another xiao ff but i hope you liked it :> it’s posted a lil late bcuz we had a Christmas Party with my fam HAUWNALAKABA

if you wanna be added on my taglist, just send an ask hehe

[wheeier]

no taking back

summary: it was only fun and games. but steve had other plans.

warnings: modern au, tooth-rotting fluff i guess, little but of swearing

+ olivia rodrigo’s sour album (stream besties), the movie tangled at the end because it just radiates as a comfort movie

yes a modern au !!! i just saw this on tiktok (the sour part, but the rest was my idea!) and thought it was so cute so it gave me an idea to make it as a fic, enjoy !!!

steve harrington x fem!reader

olivia rodrigo’s new album just released and you were thrilled to listen to it and stream it the whole day.

when you finally got to listen to it, you asked your friends—robin, nancy, and the party, if they listened to it and which ones were their favorites.

robin told you that her top three were hope ur ok, jealousy, jealousy, and brutal.

nancy said she really loved favorite crime.

max said hers was also brutal.

el told you that she played good 4 u and traitor on repeat that hopper had to go into her room to turn it down.

when mike comes over to the cabin he can assure that el does indeed play them on repeat and get pissy about it (but he secretly loves the album, but he wouldn’t let her or anyone know that).

and lastly lucas and dustin are fans of deja vu and 1 step forward 3 steps back. max even told you that they would sing the bridge of deja vu on the top of their lungs.

you slightly laughed at the memory of them telling you about it.

however, there’s one more person that you haven’t talked to about it yet.

steve.

your smile faltered and faded when he came across in your mind.

your feelings for him had deepened over the time and listening to the sour album made it feel like you two had broken up, which in fact, is not true because you were never together in the first place.

suddenly, an idea popped in your head. instead of being sad about steve, you thought about texting him, although it’s almost 1AM, you knew he’d still be up.

Sailor Man

You: hey

You: u up?

Sailor Man: duh

Sailor Man: this has been our nightly routine u always bother me when i’m about to go to sleep

You: fuck off

You: don’t pretend that you’re not binge watching outer banks until 4am

Sailor Man: i’m not?!?

You: yeah right

You: anyways

You: can u do me a favor

Sailor Man: will i get free pizza afterwards

You: no

Sailor Man: k

You: what the fuck

You: fine

Sailor Man: hehe

Sailor Man: what’s the favor ;)

You: dont get me started with that winky face i swear ure so dead when i see you at the wheeler’s house tomorrow

You: have you listened to olivia rodrigo’s new album

Sailor Man: ohh the bitter album?

You: ITS SOUR DUMBASS

Sailor Man: I DONT KNOW?!?

You: I CANT DO THIS HJAGSK

Sailor Man: shut up

Sailor Man: i’ve heard some of the songs but i haven’t fully listened to them

Sailor Man: why

You: can you like

You: ask me to be ur girlfriend then break up with me right after so i can experience and actually feel the whole sour album

Sailor Man: what

You: just do it !!

Sailor Man: you’re so funny (y/n/n)

Sailor Man: okay

Sailor Man: will you be my girlfriend?

You: yes !!!

You: ...

You: hello

You: dont tell me u fell asleep

Sailor Man: i’m not doing the last part you might as well forget about it

You: wjat

Sailor Man: :D

You: wtf

You: okay steve cut it out i’m not doing this anymore u’re not funny

Sailor Man: nope

Sailor Man: go to sleep we’re dating now that’s how this works

Sailor Man: okay i dont know if you’re still reading this now and i am terrified to say this to you in person like TERRIFIED. might piss my pants if i did. so (y/n/n), my favorite dumbass, my favorite person to talk to at night even if it interrupts my binge watching marathon, you make me so happy to the point that even when i sleep you’re still in my dreams. i like you. i have like the biggest fattest crush on you. and thank you for doing that sour album thing or whatever, because of that i get to finally ask you out

you rolled on your back after you read the message, facing the ceiling as your mind processed what just happened. was he playing with you? was he actually serious about asking you out?

Incoming video call...

Sailor Man

you took a deep breath before tapping the green button and placing it back down on the bed.

“hey,” you can tell that he was tired based on his voice. “can you show your face, please? i miss you.”

ignoring the butterflies in your stomach, you hesitantly lifted the phone and shifted your position to lay on your side. “hey.”

“hey yourself.” steve grins. that stupid grin that makes your stomach turn, that grin you always want to see everyday.

“what’s..up?” you avoided looking at him and started to admire your surroundings and the posters placed on your wall. this was the only time you were glad you weren’t with him in person.

“i just wanted to see if you’re okay.” of course he will ask that. he's steve. he cares about other more than himself.

“i am, thanks.” you showed a smile that doesn't reach your ears and steve knew something was bothering you. “hey, look. i'm sorry about my confession- if it made you uncomfortable i'm sorry-”

“no,” you cut him off, looking back at his face on the screen. “i’m fine, really. you don't have to apologize. i was just, surprised.”

there was silence between the two of you for a few seconds, before you spoke again. “did you mean it?” you voice was only above whisper but steve managed to hear them. “of course,” he answered almost too quick, without any hesitation. “i've been trying to find the perfect opportunity and had been asking god for signs because i can't make a move myself-”

“asking god?” you chuckled and steve smiled hearing them, glad that he somehow lightened the mood. “well, more like begging.” he continues and you giggled.

once your laughter died you both fell into silence again. you still couldn’t believe that out of a fun joke, it would turn into a whole another situation. “so, um.. just so you know, i’m not mad, or upset, or anything. i really was just surprised. it felt like a dream because i didn’t know that you like me back and all i did was just supposed to be a fun joke but—”

“hold on, back?”

“what?”

“like you back. you said i like you back.” steve sat up on his bed and fixed his hair as his eyes widened. “i did...” you said slowly, not catching up.

“does that mean you..”

then it hit you. “oh, right. yeah. i- i like you..too.” you waited for his reaction and once you saw him smile you couldn’t stop yourself from doing the same.

“i knew it. and well, i guess that confirms it. we’re dating now. no taking back.” he smirks then laughs when your rolled your eyes. “don’t flatter yourself, harrington. i did not say shit.” you pointed your index finger on the screen, barely containing your giggles.

“based on your beautiful smile i think you don’t need to say it. i like you, and you like me. we’re dating.” steve gives you a teasing smile. you tried keeping your serious face but it won’t last longer so you finally smiled again. “alright, fine. no taking backs. we’re dating.” you said then laughed as he whisper-yelled ‘yes!’ while fist pumping the air.

he soon joined your laughter and you stayed like that until your jaw was pretty much in pain because of your smiles. when it was all quiet again, you both just admired each other’s presence through the screens of your phones. “i wish i was there with you.” he mumbles. “yeah, me too.” you hugged your cold pillow beside you, closing your eyes for a moment and imagining it as steve.

“are your parents home?”

you snorted at his random question. “i’m actually alone right now, they’re out because dad got promoted at his work so he and mom and i think a few friends went out to celebrate. they should be home by an hour or two. why?”

“nothing.” was all he said before hanging up. you were left confused but then he’s your best friend after all, so you knew right then and there that he’ll do something stupid. after you turned your phone off you suddenly felt watching a movie so you went to the kitchen to make some popcorn.

when it was finished and had been put in a bowl, that’s when you heard your doorbell rang—in a pattern which you recognize, and only one person does that.

you let out a quiet laugh when you realized who it was and set the bowl on the counter before opening the door.

“hi!” steve greeted you with a smile. “uh, hi?” you laughed nervously and stepped aside for him to go in. “i smell popcorn, are we having a movie night?” he says as he steps inside and shrugged off his jacket. “actually yeah, i’m planning on watching—”

“tangled.” he finishes off, you subconsciously smiled upon hearing your favorite movie. “how’d you know?”

steve snatches a few popcorns from the bowl as you both arrived in the kitchen. “(y/n), you have watched that movie 7 times this week and always gush to me about it.”

“well, you’re the only one that is around my age that i can talk to with that movie. robin and nancy aren’t that into it.” you replied, grabbing the bowl and making your way back to your bedroom, steve following your heels. “and you think i’m the best option to talk to about that?” he asks, plopping down on your bed and resting his back on the headboard.

“you’re not complaining.” you shrugged as you grabbed your laptop and sat beside steve.

“yeah, probably because i like you.” it came out of his mouth casually. you froze in place and felt your cheeks heat up, finally nodding your head slowly, “..probably.” as you typed in the movie in your laptop you felt steve scoot closer, making your breath hitch.

you were both in a comfortable silence while watching the movie, except for a few jokes and comments that steve makes and him explaining how similar he was to flynn rider.

“you know, since i’m eugene, you could be rapunzel.” he suddenly says. you eyes were still on the screen but your eyebrows furrowed. “why? i’m nothing like her.”

finally looking at steve, you almost screamed how he was already looking at you. “oh, you are so rapunzel. you may not have the longest hair in the world, but you are pretty much similar.” he replies, smiling and not taking his eyes off of you.

you paused the movie and shifted your body towards him, intrigued by his explaination. “how so?”

“well, first off,” steve starts, resting his hands on the soft mattress. “you’re both sweet, you’re both a huge ray of sunshine, have gorgeous eyes and smile, and eugene is head over heels over you — and since he doesn’t exist in real life, i’d like to be the substitute.” he finished with a confident smile.

after about three seconds, you burst out of laughter. you laughed. as much as he loves the sound of your laugh, he can’t help but pout. “(y/n), i’m trying to be sweet here!”

“i’m sorry!- it’s just- i can’t help but laugh at your flirting.” you managed to say between your laughs. you know he’s kidding but he looked at you like he was offended.

your laughter died down and held steve’s face. “it’s cute, sorry.” you mumble with a little laugh. when he finally smiled you turned to your laptop and continued the movie.

steve gazes at you for a few more seconds before watching the movie with you again. “thank you.” you whisper, glancing at him.

“you’re very much welcome, my rapunzel.” he says smiling before he slides a bit down on the bed so his head could reach your shoulder and rests it there.

you giggled as you heard him whisper,

“thank you, olivia rodrigo.”

[valberryy]

i wanna ruin our friendship. — childe

im sorry for using jenny song lyrics but its been living in my head rent free 😩 diversity win? anyways

the second of the raffle requests!! this one is for @pazii !! i had a lot of fun writing this, so i hope u like it!! <3 also i call childe by his real name here cause idk how to explain his uhhhhh soundcloud rapper nicknames or whatever in a modern au so. does peace sign in front of mirror

pairing: childe x gn!reader

content warnings: spoilers for childe's real name

Of all the ways Ajax expected his summer break to go, getting random texts from you was honestly a rather common occurrence—he'd have found it weirder to not hear from you, honestly, no matter the time of day.

What made this stranger than the normal "hey ugly where are u" messages he'd often get was the sheer absurdity of what you were asking: with no pretense whatsoever, he had been woken up at some ungodly time of the night to see a text from you that simply read, "can you pretend to be my boyfriend for a thing".

He simply rubbed at his eyes and went back to sleep.

The next day you barged into his apartment and made yourself at home on his couch, your feet up on the armrest as you explained yourself. "My cousin's getting married," you said, "and he and I made a bet a few years ago that I wouldn't be able to get a boyfriend by college."

Ajax raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his coffee as he said, "And what does that have to do with me?"

"I hate losing."

He raised another eyebrow at your determined expression—and he'd deal with any and all jabs you'd make about how dumb he probably looked right now—but agreed, taking another swig of coffee as he did. He watched as you grinned, clapping your hands together in a way that made him suspect that he was definitely the first person you asked.

"Great! That's good!" You started digging through your pockets for your phone and continued to explain. He caught the date and also something about, "needing to act the part"—and he nearly dropped his mug as you dragged him forward by the collar with some starstruck look in your eyes.

"Let's go gift shopping, dearest boyfriend of mine!" you teased. "What better way to get into that mindset, you know?"

You stifled another laugh as he shoved his hand in your face and pushed you away.

And a few hours later, Ajax found himself strolling with you through one of the many malls near campus. At some point during the trip he had joked about wearing matching outfits, and it seemed you were so into the idea that he was at your mercy as you dragged him in and out of clothing stores. More than once had you shoved him back into the fitting room for coming out in what you called, "an insult to anyone with a decent sense of fashion."

"Oh? And would you prefer to dress me instead, sweetheart?"

"Just change back, Ajax!"

He laughed as you kicked at his shin to force him back inside.

By the end of the day, his and your arms alike were sore from the weight of the bags you'd been carrying around ("Hey! It's not my turn yet, take them back!"), but Ajax couldn't quite find it in himself to tease you for the dopey smile on your face as he walked you back home.

"If I'm going to be your pretend boyfriend, I need to go the whole nine yards," he had said.

You stopped walking in front of your door, peering into shopping bags and handing him the ones with his things in them. Ajax was about to bid you a simple goodnight right when you pulled him in for a hug, lingering for a few seconds longer with your hands wound tight against his waist.

"Thanks for agreeing," you said, and he could hear the beginnings of a laugh start to bubble up your throat, "even if it's kind of a dumb thing to ask."

You let him go before he could respond, making a show of blowing him a kiss as you closed the door.

Ajax' chest felt warm as he walked home that night.

"So, how thick do I need to lay it on them?"

He heard you let out a little snort from the passenger seat, hearing the rustling of your clothes as you inspected the wrapped gift in your hands for any dents. "Just don't go getting on one knee or anything," you said. "But don't worry, they'll love you...I think."

Ajax drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "You think," he repeated.

You snorted again, and through the corner of his vision, he caught the way you were smiling at him.

The rest of the trip was silent save for the occasional snide comment and the low droning of the radio, and the wedding ceremony itself was rather quick in and of itself—the parts that felt the longest were the ones that involved talking to your family.

But you stuck by his side after the ceremony and into the reception—in true best friend fashion, he joked—and instead of leaving him to the wolves, whatever fabricated stories dates you two went on (which were mostly just joyrides where Ajax dragged you to come with) left even your skeptical cousin looking convinced.

And then you were dragged away to dance with one of your younger cousins, and Ajax was left to the wolves.

Your cousin walked up to him and nudged his shoulder, jerking his chin in your direction. You had to bend down a fair bit to "dance" properly with the cousin who had dragged you off, and they were standing on your feet to boot, but you still looked rather happy in spite of that.

"Thanks for dealing with them," your cousin said, snapping Ajax out of his daze.

"If anything, I think you should thank [Name] for dealing with me."

With a laugh, your cousin clapped him on the shoulder before going off to mingle with the rest of your family, and Ajax found his gaze drawn back to you.

Somehow, he wished that the night would go by slower.

A few hours later, you stood by his side in the parking lot, rolling the few knots out of your neck as you waved goodbye to your relatives that passed by. "Ahh, I can't wait to get out of these shoes," you said.

Ajax glanced at you as he dug through his pockets for his keys. "Don't go stinking up my car, dearest partner of mine," he replied.

You laughed as you slipped into the passenger seat.

He hadn't bothered to turn on the radio, or the GPS for that matter, and you made an odd noise from the back of your throat once you realised his little detour. You turned to him with an eyebrow raised, and he looked at you as much as he could without taking his eyes off the road.

"Don't look at me like that," he teased. "Let me do this one last thing as your pretend boyfriend."

"Where are we even going?!"

He laughed, opening the windows and sputtering as a stray leaf hit you square in the face.

"We'll see when we get there."

You seemed about to curse at him again, before you settled with a fond sigh. "Well then, pretend boyfriend, you better make it count, hm?"

He didn't say anything in reply, only watching you out of the corner of his eye and watching the way the moonlight shone on your hair.

Maybe next time, he wouldn't have to play pretend.