#really what is 'drift compatible' if not a soulmate AU where you find your soulmate by sparring with them? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

osita-iza · 4 years

Text

First Choice

Tanaka Ryūnosuke x Reader

Soulmate AU: You have a matching mark as your soulmate in the same place on your body, marking the link between the both of you.

Being Kiyoko's cousin comes with its own set of challenges. Everyone's eyes always drift to her. Just because it’s been having your whole life doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when you see Tanaka’s eyes drift to her too.

“You weren’t sure what was worse: the pain of knowing him or the pain of not knowing him”

Genre: Mix of fluff/angst

Word count: 12.2 k

A/N: I've only watched the anime, and I'm only on Season 3. Sorry if any of this goes against canon tooooo much.

You loved Kiyoko. Both your parents and hers were always busy running the family shop. She was the older one, and you called her your older sister more than your cousin. You wouldn't trade her for the world.

That being said, it wasn't long for you to realize there was a difference between the two of you.

The difference being Kiyoko was gorgeous, even by kid standards.

Her looks and maturity gathered admirers at the playground by the time she was in third grade. The boys in her class would race each other, proclaiming that the winner would be the one right for Kiyoko. She never gave them the kiss on the cheek they wanted, but she giggled with them, racing them herself.

You were six, and you didn't mind that Kiyoko got attention. You got to play with her, and her attention automatically meant that you both got to play with more friends. She was running laps around the playground with some boys in her class, an almost daily occurence. But this time, you had your own friend. He was seven, which made him a big deal in your class. And he chose to play with no one but you after school.

You were playing the wonderful game of 'dig a hole', talking about dinosaurs when you realized he had stopped digging. You looked up, seeing him stare at something with an open mouth. You furrowed your eyebrows, following his gaze. He was staring at Kiyoko. "Why are you looking at her?" you asked.

"She's really pretty!" he practically yelled.

You tilted your head. You knew that. You still didn't get why that meant he had to stare at her. Lost in thought, you missed Kiyoko and her friends walking over to the pair of you. "Hi, y/n." She smiled. "Sorry for leaving that long, the race took a long time."

"You know y/n?" your friend asked, and you giggled at how his eyes shined.

Kiyoko nodded. "She's my cousin. Are you a friend of hers?" He nodded excitedly. "Well, it's nice to meet you then," she said.

You stopped giggling when you realized your friend was ignoring you in favor for trying to talk to Kiyoko. You finally gave up, choosing to dig your hold by yourself until it got dark, when Kiyoko suggested you both go home.

It was after that day that you began to notice more differences. How your grandparents always gushed over her and pinched her cheeks. How they gave her fancy dresses and hair accessories. Your grandparents loved you, you knew that. But you didn't garner the same attention that Kiyoko did.

Even as a child, you knew it wasn't her fault. That it was a roll of dice of life that decided Kiyoko's fate of being pretty. She was far too nice for you to be mad at her.

But it made you press your hand against the back of your shoulder, where your soulmate mark resided. And you hoped and prayed with all the might that a six year old could muster up only one thing: That your soulmate would give you more attention than Kiyoko. That their eyes would drift and focus on you and you alone. That, for one second, you would get the spotlight that had always followed her.

Kiyoko leaned against the wall as she watched the boys practice. The squeaking shoes and shiny floors reeling her into a relaxed state after hoe much time she spent there. She was relaxed as she watched Tanaka land from his spike. Relaxed as he pulled off his shirt, far too used to this quirk of his to blush anymore.

But her body tensed up as her eyes caught sight of the black mark that decorated the back of his shoulder. She had seen that sign before.

She took baths with you as a kid for Christ’s sake.

That was your mark. Everything was exactly the same.

She didn’t explain why she dragged you to practice the next day. Kiyoko told the Coach that she didn’t like the idea of you walking home alone, but you knew she didn’t actually have a problem with it. But you loved Kiyoko, so you went along with it.

You went along with it as she told you to stand against the wall and to focus on one player specifically, despite your protests of not wanting to be hit with a ball. But you listened and focused on the player with a buzzcut. You recognized him as Tanaka. He wasn’t in your class, but his energy was so big that you were pretty sure everyone in your year knew of him. You had laughed at some of his jokes in the cafeteria or as he walked down the hallways but had never talked to him.

As you watched him run across the court, hitting spikes aggressively, you had to admit- he was handsome. You didn’t find many guys attractive, too scared to get your hopes up. But it was undeniable. The way he scrunched up his face when a spike was blocked was cute. His focused glare was hot, along with how he slammed his hand against the volleyball.

Then, after finally hitting a spike and relishing in how its slam against the floor echoed across the gym, he ripped his shirt off. Your eyes immediately focused on the back of his shoulder. And you could feel your soulmate mark burn against your skin as you stared at his.

Your eyes shot up to meet Kiyoko’s gaze, which was focused on you. With a burning chest, you walked over to her with wide eyes. “That’s why you asked me to-”

“Yes, but we can talk about it later,” she whispered. Her eyes glancing over to where the boys continued playing before her eyes focused on you with a small smile. “It was really hard for me to not say anything though,”

You sighed, biting your lip as you sat down. Now your eyes were following Tanaka without you meaning to. That was your mark; you knew it without a doubt.

And that was how you noticed that, while you were looking at him, he was looking at your cousin.

Ignoring the growing rocks in your gut proved to be a pointless feat as he looked to Kiyoko with a big smile on his face. You had gotten used to it; everybody’s eyes drifted to her. At the same time, there was a small part of you that wanted your soulmate to be different. The fact that he wasn’t different...

You shook your head, as if to shake the thought out of your head. Finally, their practice ended. You helped them pick up the stray volleyballs, tossing them into the cart. “Hey, you’re Y/N, right?”

“Yeah?” You looked up, breath catching in your throat as you made eye contact with him.

“I’m Tanaka Ryu.” He smiled brightly as he tossed another volleyball towards you. You caught it, throwing it into the cart as he got ready to throw another one towards you. “We’re in the same year.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around before,” you replied. You were acutely aware of each beat of your heart. God, how did your friends have a new crush every week? Maybe you should ask because you felt like you were going to die right now.

“Why didn’t you talk to me then?” Tanaka tilted his head.

He’s like a confused puppy. You rolled your eyes with a small smile as you grabbed the cart, ready to push it into the supply room. “Well, why didn’t you talk to me?”

You expected him to go off with his friends, but he followed you as you walked. “You have a point,” he said, opening the door for you. You smiled at him as you pushed the cart to what looked like was the correct spot. “I guess I’ll have to talk to you more often.”

“What? Why?”

Tanaka smiled at you as he stepped back and out of the supply room. “Well you’re cute and nice. Why wouldn’t I want to talk to you?”

You were alone in the room, surrounded by volleyball nets and practice jerseys, as your mind struggled to catch up with his words. “He’s really blunt,” you mumbled to yourself, still not sure if you were breathing, as you walked out of the supply room.

Kiyoko smiled at you before waving to the team before walking out the gym with you. The pair of you got a couple of steps before you heard a loud yell, and you were sure of who was yelling. “Kiyoko! You forgot your jacket!” Tanaka shouted. You stopped as Kiyoko grabbed her jacket and thanked him. “I-it’s no problem, Kiyoko,” he said as his face turned rosy, “I didn’t want you to get cold.”

He was blushing for her. She nodded at him before she grabbed your wrist, pulling you to keep walking home with her.

A silence fell over the two of you as you walked before Kiyoko asked, “So, what do you think of him?”

Tanaka was blunt, you answered to yourself, but he was also into Kiyoko. Instead you said, “I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?”

“He’s nice but...” The words caught in your throat. They would just make Kiyoko feel guilty. Finally you sighed, “I just don’t know if we’re compatible,”

“Get to know him,” Kiyoko said, grabbing your shoulder. She had never been this insistent with you, and it made you feel worse for wanting to avoid him. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him, and I think you could really like him,”

“I’ll try,” you said.

“Good. Then you’re coming to practice again tomorrow.” You considered fighting Kiyoko on this, but the idea of seeing him again did excite you, so you just nodded along.

You were thirteen when you finally met someone that made your heartbeat speed up. Your best friend promised you over and over again that he must be as head over heels for you as you were for him. A small part of you believed her when, unprompted, he offered to walk you to the park on his way home, knowing that you went that way yourself.

With wide eyes, your friend smiled and threw you a thumbs up before she ran off. Your hands were fidgety, continually messing with the straps of your backpack as you two talked. Your friend's words echoed in your mind as you began approaching the park’s picnic tables. Your chest hammered as you gained the courage to look at him.

And just like when you were six, you noticed he was staring at something in front of you. After following his gaze, you saw Kiyoko... just like when you were six.

Your gaze shifted over to him, and you could see the awe in his eyes. He never had that look when he looked at you. “I should get going. My cousin’s here,” you mumbled, breaking away from the stride you had with him.

“That’s your cousin?”

You glanced back at him, and the excitement was evident in his eyes and voice. Your intestines tangled up and fell to the bottom of your stomach as you stared at him. “Yeah.”

“She’s really pretty,” he said.

“Yeah... She is.”

“What’s h-”

“See you later,” you rushed out and walked away.

Kiyoko grinned at you, standing up from the table, and she began walking home with you. “How was your day?”

As you stared at her, you wished you could be mad at her. You wished that you could feel a white hot anger towards her. Find her soft and sleek voice annoying. Find her symmetrical face overrated. Find the way she kept her thoughts to herself aggravating.

Instead, your gut just dropped five more levels. Kiyoko was Kiyoko, and you were you. And Kiyoko got more attention. This was just the way things were; that fact alone stabbed you in the heart over and over again.

“It was good. I have to work on my book report today though,” you muttered.

She nodded, walking with you to her house to wait for your parents to be done with work. You nodded along as she spoke, each word and step acting as another knife in your heart.

You became a regular at the volleyball practices. Ukai had accepted you as an unofficial assistant team manager to help Kiyoko and Yachi. The team accepted you in as well, always welcoming you and bringing you in on their activities. Kiyoko would argue that Tanaka was more welcoming and excited than the rest of the team; you would argue that he had the same amount of excitement that the rest of the team had.

One thing you couldn’t argue that Tanaka was the one who spoke to the most now. You weren’t in the same class as him, but he would talk to you in the hallways and during breaks. You had to admit that Kiyoko was right- he was really nice. He was also funny, caring, and energetic. You both were a regular part of each other’s day.

Except for this day. You had a case of food poisoning, so your parents insisted that you stay home for the day. Usually you were the one asking to stay home, but the one thing they disliked more than you staying home was leaving work in the middle of the day to pick you up from school.

It was around noon- lunchtime- when your phone buzzed with a message.

Unknown: Why aren’t you at school???

You furrowed your eyebrows before typing out a response.

Y/N: Who is this?

Unknown: Oh shit sorry! This is Tanaka I asked kiyoko for your number when I saw you weren’t at school

Unknown: Hope that was okay!!!

You rolled your eyes with a smile on your face. Of course Kiyoko gave him your number.

Y/N: It’s fine don’t worry about it. I got food poisoning so my parents made me stay home :/

It took maybe two seconds for you to get an answer.

Tanaka: I’m sorry! I hope you’re feeling better

Tanaka: I can bring you the work you missed if you want me to?

A warmth spread through your chest as you read his message a couple of times. It was such a simple thing to offer; something he would probably offer to do for all of his friends. Despite knowing that, your heart rate sped up at the idea that he cared about you.

Y/N: If it’s not out of your way then I would really appreciate it. Don’t feel pressured though!

Tanaka: Of course I will! What’s your address?

Y/N: Just let me know when you’re on your way beforehand or else I might be passed out lol

Y/N: Here’s my address...

Why was this so exciting? He was just going to drop off a couple of worksheets. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

Tanaka: Okay I’ll come by after schoo!!

Y/N: Thank you again <3

You groaned as soon as you hit send. You always sent hearts to your friends; it was a habit. Yet this made your stomach drop. You set an alarm for the end of school, trying not to think about why you were preparing to get ready for him.

‘Why the hell did I send that damn heart?’ You rolled your eyes, pushing your face into your pillow to muffle your complaining. Tanaka wasn’t the type to overthink that kind of thing, but it still made you want to curl into a ball.

You didn’t know that Tanaka was blushing at his lunch table as he stared at his phone screen. You didn’t know that he stuttered out an answer when Nishinoya teased him about it. But you also didn’t know that he had asked Kiyoko for your number weeks ago, and that he had been stressing over how to start a conversation with you for weeks and had jumped at the opportunity to finally message you today.

Tanaka had no idea how you felt about him; something that he agonized over pretty much every night now. However, whether or not you liked him right now, he was determined to make fall for him in the future.

It was with this plan in mind that he went to the convenience store and got all of the healthy food you should get when you're sick. It wasn't until he was walking to your home with the bag in hand that he began to question if this was a normal thing to do for someone that you had barely become friends with. Probably not.

He exhaled through his teeth, stopping in front of your house to slap his face. It was too late to turn back now. He was already pushing it with Ukai by being late to practice. Plus, if he didn't give you this stuff now, he would've wasted his money. Tanaka knocked on your door, sticking his hands in his pockets as he waited for you to open the door.

"I'm coming!" He heard you yell from the other side of the door before it opened. Your hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, strands escaping into the front of your face. There were bags under your eyes, and you were still dressed in your pajamas.

Tanaka would've said you were the most beautiful person he ever saw in that moment.

"Oh my god!I feel asleep. I'm so sorry," you rambled out, bowing your head for a moment before you saw the bag in his hand. "What's that?"

He was pulled out of his focus on you, rubbing the back of his head as his cheeks warmed up. "Oh, I got you some stuff that I know helps me when I'm sick. I figured it might help since you were home alone."

You tried to control your racing heart, before you smiled at him. "Thank you so much! You really didn't have to do that," you said.

"Hey don't worry about it. I was just worried about you is all," he responded.

You stared at him for a moment, not sure how to respond. He went to the store and bought stuff for you just because you were sick? How were you supposed to respond to this? You were just overwhelmed with the care he was willing to show you.

"Um..." Tanaka spoke up. You winced; you took a little too long trying to thing of an answer. "Sorry, you caught me off guard. Please come inside," you said, stepping to the side and opening the door. It was when you felt the breeze from outside that you realized you were wearing a tank top- meaning your soulmate mark was exposed.

"Thanks." He smiled at you, sliding his shoes off. Tanaka began setting down some of the convenience store items onto the table. There were plain crackers, bread, ginger ale, and water. You kept your front facing Tanaka as you closed the door behind him, crossing your arms and stepping sideways to face him across the table.

"You bought me bread?" You raised your eyebrows as you picked up the loaf.

Tanaka furrowed his eyebrows before he chuckled. "Uh... I was just thinking of stuff my sister told me is good to eat when I throw up- didn't really think about what you might actually not have."

"Are you supposed to just eat straight bread?" Tanaka nodded. "I didn't know that. We have bread here though, so you can bring this to your house if you want,"

"Okay," Tanaka cringed as you handed him back the bread.

But then you smiled back at him. "It's still a really sweet gesture though. Thank you so much, Tanaka,"

His entire body relaxed at your words, and a smile slotted onto his face. "Don't worry about it!"

You reached over to your backpack and grabbed your wallet, taking special care to keep your front towards him. "How much did everything cost?"

"No, you don't have to pay me back."

"I feel bad." You frowned. Though you weren't sure if you felt bad because he paid or because hiding your soulmate mark at the moment made you feel like you were lying. It was one thing to not tell him when you had your uniform on; it was another to be aware of the dark mark resting on your shoulder and keep him from seeing it too.

"Don't. It's my gift to you," he promised.

Him being nice was also not helping that guilt.

It would be so easy to tell him the truth. You would just have to move your mouth into the correct motions and voice out the words 'I'm your soulmate'. You've been talking since you were a toddler. He was Tanaka. Yeah, maybe you wouldn't date, but you could be friends with him like you already were.

Who knows maybe he would want to...

As soon as your hope came up, so did the memory of him and Nishinoya running up Kiyoko, immediately crushing those hopes. You sighed at the thought, frown deepening.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tanaka asked, going to step closer, looking you over for any signs of nausea.

"I'm fine!" You tensed up as he came to your side, turning yourself and pushing your shoulder back slightly. You didn't miss the way he pressed his lips together, making the guilt sink deeper into your gut. "Are you sure I can't pay you back?"

Tanaka's eyes lit up, making you somewhat suspicious. "I don't need money-"

"Okay..."

"But I could use a tutor."

"A tutor?" You squinted at him.

"Yeah. I overheard the Coach say if we're not passing our finals we can't go to some training thing. Right now... Let's say that I wouldn't be able to go," he confessed with a laugh.

If you spent more time with him, this guilt would probably get worse. The fact that he liked Kiyoko would hurt you more too. But if you didn't, well, you wouldn't get to spend time with him.

You weren't sure what was worse: the pain of knowing him or the pain of not knowing him. You weren't sure if there was a real answer.

"Please?" Tanaka asked, "I'll be a good student for you," He put his hands in a prayer motion and pouted his lips dramatically.

And it's because you have no answer to your question and his pleading soft eyes that you said, "Of course I'll tutor you,"

Was there ever really a question of you accepting? You weren't sure if you knowing him would hurt you, but you knew hurting him would hurt you too much.

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Tanaka yelled, pulling you into a tight hug. You were frozen in his arms, just feeling his warmth, before he pulled back. "Sorry. But still thank you!"

You smiled at him. "It's fine I just wasn't expecting it." He stared at your face, and you weren't sure what he was looking for. He opened his mouth to speak when your eyes widened. "Wait! You have practice today."

"Oh, I told Nishinoya to tell Ukai that I was bringing your homework for you. Figured it would buy me some time," Tanaka replied. As if he was barely remembering his original reason for visiting, he reached into his bag and handed you a small stack of papers. "I should probably be heading out though,"

You bit your lip, watching him put his shoes on and reach for the door. "Thanks again, Tanaka," you called out. You cringed as your voice rang out a bit too loud than the small space between you two warranted.

"Don't worry about it- really." Tanaka grinned. "Take care of yourself! Practice is boring without you," he said. With that, he shut the door behind him.

You stared at the closed door for a moment, finally sitting down at the table with a sigh. Did your stomach feel weird because the bad chicken you ate was eating you up, or was it the guilt? This was too much. No, he was too much- affected you too much.

Maybe soulmates do mean something. You always wondered if they were overrated- a tradition that didn’t mean anything. However, there was definitely a pull towards him you had never felt before. A pull that took over your whole body and mind. You couldn’t think clearly when he was there, but there was an emptiness that filled you up when he wasn’t there- maybe thinking clearly was overrated.

As if on cue, Tanaka's voice yelling out to Kiyoko echoed in your head. That, having a boy fall for her in front of you, was something you had felt before. That was a feeling you were accustomed to; a feeling you swore you wouldn't deal with in a relationship.

And you decided that that meant something too.

You were five when your kindergarten teacher told your parents that she thought it would be a good idea for you to skip first grade. It took exactly a couple of hours for your parents to not so subtly brag about it at the family dinner that night.

You remember how your grandfather's eyes shifted over to you, and they shined as he smiled. "That's amazing, Y/n!" He cooed, reaching over the table to pinch your cheek, "You're so smart,"

The pinch of your cheeks didn't hurt. You weren't embarrassed as both your grandparents gushed about you. Instead, you smiled so hard it hurt your cheeks, looking down so your hair would cover your face.

How was Kiyoko able to deal with them doing this everyday? You couldn't look up the whole night, but you loved hearing them say your name so many times. That night, your grandmother pulled you aside, praising you and telling you to keep working hard.

It was after that day that you began working harder in school. That decision that led to you getting an ounce of your extended family's attention.

As you got older, you got less attention for your intelligence from them. However, your parents always complimented you when you brought back a good test score- no matter how many times you brought back an 'A' before.

You didn't mention your grades to anyone, but you did sometimes leave the rally good assignments or tests out at the dining table when you knew one of your grandparents would come over.

And it still felt nice when your grandma would gasp at the paper and gush about how she had "such a smart grandchild", smiling at you the entire time.

You sat in the back of the library, body hunched over the math test that was handed back the class before and breathing in the scent of old paper. Tanaka had agreed to meet up with you for a study session during lunch. You knew you should be reviewing the material you knew he would have questions on, but you were too preoccupied with the score on the top of you math quiz to focus at that moment.

You got a freaking 65.

It was only one quiz. Your teacher let you do retakes, and you knew she would help you review beforehand. Even if you bombed the retake too, you were pretty much guaranteed to get an A for this semester based off of your past tests.

You knew all that, but the tears still burned in the corner of your eyes and throat. You had stayed up late so many nights working on this unit. And you were still only a couple points away from failing. Struggling in itself wasn't exactly rare for you, but struggling at this level was.

"Hey, Y/N! Sorry I'm late, I stopped by the vending machine for some snacks-"

You looked up, quickly rubbing at the tears on your face. "Oh, hi. Thanks," you mumbled.

He frowned and practically ran to the seat next to you. "Hey," Tanaka said, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," you answered, pulling out the papers you had worked on with Tanaka last time intentionally covering the math test. "I'm just being dramatic. We should focus on your studies."

"How am I supposed to focus on studying when I just saw a girl crying?" He dragged out, "I'm a gentleman, Y/N,"

You rolled your eyes. "Tanaka..."

"Seriously-" One of his arms shifted to the back of your chair, ghosting over the back of your neck, and he leaned in closer, "You can tell what's wrong. Even if it's not a big deal, it's bothering you,"

Tanaka's strong gaze was completely focused on you. Despite it just being the two of you in the back of the library, it felt like a hundred people were staring, even though it was only him. You opened your mouth, ready to deflect again, when he tilted his head a few degrees to the side; his gaze never leaving yours.

As if that action alone was the key of your heart, you relented. You grabbed at the edge of your math test, pulling on the page to place it at the top of the stack. You didn't look up to meet his eyes again, but you could feel his gaze burning into you. His hand entered your gaze to reach for the paper, pulling it closer to him, so he could get a better look at it.

"I'm sorry. I know how much work you put in," he muttered. Those words crumbled the walls you had been trying to keep up, and you covered your mouth to keep the volume from echoing in the silent library. The hand that was on the back of your chair lowered to grip your shoulder tightly. "Hey, it's okay,"

"It's just-" You sighed, never putting these feelings into words before. "I'm supposed to be the smart one, ya know?"

"No, I don't know." He let out a chuckle as the crease between his eyebrows deepened.

You took a deep breath. This was something that you had never told anyone before, and it felt like you were exposing everything that encompassed your soul to voice it out loud. "Me and Kiyoko are practically sisters. When we were younger, if we weren't in school, we were with each other. Even as kids, everyone knew that Kiyoko was pretty. At Halloween, the kids would always give her the best candy when we traded. Everyone wanted to be her friend. My grandparents gave her so much attention, and so did everyone in the world," you rambled out. You glanced at Tanaka, and he nodded for you to continue. "And then I got to skip a grade in school, and suddenly people paid attention to me. I remember my grandma took me aside when she found out and she told me-" You leaned closer to Tanaka, looking him in the eye. "-You're smart. If you work hard, you could make anyone listen to you. They won't have a choice but to at least listen to you,"

Even though you were still emotional, you couldn't stop the smile on your face as you thought of her words. You sighed, feeling nauseous. "I know that failing a math test doesn't mean I'm not smart. I know grades don't really measure that but-" The tears were coming back again. "There's a part of me that is... terrified that if I'm not the smartest one in the room, no one will have a reason to listen to me anymore,"

"I'm..." Tanaka's mouth opened before closing for a couple of moments. "I've never had a class with you, but I knew you were smart the second I met you,"

"What?" You furrowed your eyebrows.

"Everyone can see that you're smart just by you existing. Hell, me, and everyone, can see how amazing you are just by you existing," Tanaka said. His eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere but you. "You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. People that are worth it will listen to you anyways,"

You believed every word he said. Tanaka was able to tell the voices in the back of your head to just shut up, even if it was just for a minute, you had to admit that it felt nice. "Thanks."

Tanaka smiled at your acceptance. His already crimson cheeks somehow turned redder before he spoke, "Plus, you're really pretty too," he whispered, as if he was afraid of you hearing him, despite saying it to you directly.

You became aware of his hand that was still resting on your shoulder, and you realized it was resting right on your soulmate mark. This was wrong.

His eyes drifted down to your mouth, and that was all it took for your heart to begin racing. You leaned in closer without realizing it, and Tanaka mirrored your actions. His breath fanned over your lips; all it would take was angling your head for your mouth to meet his. A small angle, and you could finally experience what you had imagined so much at night ever since you met him.

This was wrong.

You leaned back a bit, just enough so you couldn't feel his breath anymore. His closeness was making your mind haywire, but you refused to leave his close embrace. "I should tell you something."

This was wrong. This wasn't right if he didn't know.

Tanaka raised his eyebrows, waiting for you to continue. You opened your mouth to speak when footsteps coming closer caught your attention. The incoming person's presence pushed the two of you away. His arm abandoned your shoulder as you both began staring at the papers in front of you.

The first-year ignored the pair of you, instead focused on the shelves. They mumbled to themselves for a moment before grabbing a book and walking back towards the front of the library, completely oblivious of the moment they walked into.

You sighed, realizing what you were about to tell him. Him finding you smart and pretty didn't mean he liked you. It meant he was a nice person. It meant he was one of your friends; any of your friends would have said the exact same things. Just because it felt different didn't mean he meant it any different.

"What were you going to tell me?" Tanaka asked, turning to you with still burning cheeks.

You wondered if he did mean it any different. None of your friends would have leaned in to kiss you. But none of your friends was as open about wanting a girlfriend as he was.

"I don't remember." You forced a laugh, and both of you knew it was fake. You grabbed your pencil before looking at him. "What did you want to go over?"

Tanaka stared at you for a moment or two before a frown settled on his face. You wanted to make it disappear, but you were utterly lost on how. He reached for a spare piece of paper. "Uh... I was confused on the second section a bit." " That stiff tension didn't leave until lunch ended. You went to class, and Tanaka usually walked with you between classes. You noticed that he wasn't there that time, and you tried to convince yourself that it didn't bother you.

"Y/N!" you heard someone yell, and you smiled as soon as you recognized the voice. He stopped next to you with a dramatic sigh. "You didn't wait for me! I had to run!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you were busy with something," you said, pressing your notebooks against your chest as it hammered. "I'll wait longer next time, okay?"

He stared at you for a moment with a bright smile. "I'm counting on it!"

If it was anyone else, you would've rolled your eyes at their yelling. Since it was him, you couldn't stop smiling. You both acted the same, but you felt different. Instead your soulmate mark seemed to burn with every word you spoke to him. It really did hurt to talk to him, but you couldn't imagine not talking to him.

You grabbed your bag and stood next to the gym doors, waiting for Kiyoko to get back from the storage closet. Hinata and Kageyama’s shoes squeaked against the shiny gym floor as they continued practice, while the rest of the boys were packing up. Nishinoya yelled from one of the corners where they kept their gym bags were, "Y/N! We need a girl's opinion,"

"What are you talking about?" You asked, stepping closer to where Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Sugawara were sitting.

"Do you think soulmates are a big deal?" Nishinoya asked.

You rose your eyebrows, trying to ignore the nausea that grew in the pit of your stomach. "What do you mean by big deal?"

"Like do you believe that being someone's soulmate means you're meant to be?" Suga clarified as he zipped up his gym bag.

"I think being someone's soulmate just means that you and them will always have a deep connection. I don't think it means you have to be with them in a romantic way," you said, purposely avoiding Tanaka's eyes, "I wouldn't want them to date me just because I'm their soulmate,"

Suga glanced over at Tanaka for a moment before asking, "So if you were in a relationship and then met your soulmate, would you break up with them?"

"I don't know," you shrugged, "I don't think so. It would take a lot for me to open up to someone in order to date them, so it would take a lot for me to break up with them just because I met another person,"

"Even if the other person was your soulmate?" Tanaka asked.

You looked over at him and noticed how his lips were drawn in a tight line. "Well... even if someone is my soulmate, they're still a new person to me. If I met my soulmate and we immediately started dating, I'd also wonder if they're with me only because I'm their soulmate. I'd rather be with someone I know and trust than drop someone just because I was born with a birthmark," You squinted as Tanaka nodded. What the hell was going on with him?

"That's what I was saying!" Nishinoya said, clapping the back of your shoulder, and you tensed up as his hand made contact over your soulmate mark. "I was telling that to Tanaka!"

Suga smiled turning to Tanaka. "See? A lot of people date non-soulmates now. They even choose those relationships over their soulmates sometimes."

"Yeah, I know you're right," Tanaka nodded and turned towards Suga, "I don't know. Everyone in my family married their soulmates. One of my aunts even left a guy she dated for years because she met hers, so I'd hate to get to know someone only for them to choose their soulmate over me,"

"Wait-" Your voice made Tanaka turn back towards you, and his eyes widened as if he forgot you were there. "-Are you into someone, Ryu?"

"I... uh..." Tanaka stumbled, and Nishinoya chuckled from your side.

So that's a yes.

You forced a small smile on your face. "Whoever it is, you should ask them. Anybody would be lucky to date you," you said, "Plus, my parents aren't soulmates, and they're still married,"

"So you would date someone that's not your soulmate?" He asked.

You nodded, refusing to say the words you actually wanted to verbalize. "Of course. Especially because I would never date someone just because they're my soulmate. If I loved someone, I wouldn't leave them for anyone," you said, "I just want my soulmate in my life; it doesn't matter how they're in it,"

"You're talking as if you've met your soulmate," Suga said. You tensed up, acutely aware of the fabric of your shirt rubbing against your mark.

Kiyoko walked up, throwing her backpack onto her shoulders. "Are you ready to leave, Y/N?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," you rushed out, your body relaxing as you turned towards Kiyoko. "I'll see you guys later!"

Sugawara and Nishinoya waved, and Tanaka nodded bye at you. You crossed your arms as you began walking home with Kiyoko. "Are you okay? You seem tense," she said.

"I'm fine, just tired," you smiled at her for a second before you looked forward again. She definitely didn't believe you, and you knew that. Despite that, she didn't press forward instead walking forward with you in silence.

Tanaka liked someone else, to the point where he was talking about it with the team. You knew Tanaka. Once he was set on something, he wouldn't stop, so you knew it was only a matter of time before he asked her out.

What if it was Kiyoko? Actually, you were pretty sure it was Kiyoko. That would suck. You hated the idea, but you were still hopeful he'd listen to you. All you wanted was him to be happy and in your life.

Because you had made a decision, it hurt a lot more to not know him.

"So you've been hanging out with Tanaka a lot lately," your best friend, Rika, said as she grabbed a chip from the bag you were both sharing. You and her were sitting at a table that was outside on school grounds. It was one of the few times you weren't shadowing the volleyball practice, instead choosing to spend time with Rika and work on your English project together.

You rolled your eyes, a smirk on your face betraying your true feelings. "Yes... We are spending some time together."

Rika froze tracing the pencil marks on your posterboard to look up and raise her eyebrows at you. "Is that it? Just spending time together?"

"What exactly are you fishing for?" You chuckled as you grabbed another marker.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me!" She shouted, laughing the entire time.

"I'm not playing," you snapped back with a smile, "Please tell me what you're implying,"

You took your eraser and began working at some of the pencil marks Rika had already traced over. She pouted from the other side of the table. "Fine. Just tell me how many times you guys have slept together."

You reached over the table to hit her on the arm, making her cackle. "We haven't done anything for your information!"

"Okay, how many makeout sessions then." She shrugged with a Cheshire cat grin.

"We're just friends."

"Oooookay." Rika rolled her eyes. "You do not look at your friends like that. And if you do look at your friends like that, I am very offended that I do not also get those loving and longing looks, and I want my apology right now."

You smiled before sighing. "You're gonna be mad at me, but you have to promise that you wont' utter a word of this to anyone," you said, leaning forward on your elbows.

"Of course," she said.

"So sometimes Tanaka will take off his shirt during practice when he does something really good," you muttered, "I've seen his soulmate mark... He's my soulmate,"

Rika smiled and looked like she was about to jump up and down. "Oh my god! That's amaz-"

"I haven't told him yet."

Her face immediately dropped as you finished your sentence. "What the hell? Why wouldn't you tell him?"

"I think he likes Kiyoko."

"I love you so much Y/N," she said with a shake of her head, "But god damn... You think that every person on the planet has fallen head over heels for Kiyoko!"

You frowned and shook your head. "Him and his friend literally flirt with her all the time during practice and games."

"I've literally told you that you're so hot I want you to get me pregnant," Rika deadpanned, "But trust me, I see you as nothing other than a friend,"

You chuckled. "I know, but it's different because we both know there's no chance of anything like that happening."

"Maybe him and Kiyoko both know that there's no chance of anything romantic happening between them too," Rika suggested. She grabbed another marker and began filling in some of the drawings on the corner of the poster.

A gust of wind came, and you put your hand on the poster to keep it from flying away. "I get what you're saying," you muttered, "I don't know... I've seen how he talks to her,"

"And I've seen how he talks with you," Rika retorted, "Besides soulmates are a big deal. He's not just your soulmate; you're his,"

Guilt exploded in your stomach at her words. "He did tell me all the couples in his family are soulmates," you muttered. Even if he was considering asking someone who wasn't his soulmate out, you knew that it must be a big deal if he was having discussions with the team about it.

Your parents weren't soulmates, but you watched movies- you knew that soulmates were a big deal. It was a big piece of information, and you knew you were wrong to not tell him.

"I don't know why I can't just tell him," you muttered.

"I know," Rika gave you a small smile, "But the longer you don't tell him the worse it's gonna blow up in your face. And the worse it's gonna hurt him,"

"I should tell him," you sighed.

Rika nodded. "You should tell him."

Just as she finished, Tanaka came into view, still in his gym clothes and sweat rolling down his face. "Hey!" He practically yelled as he stood next to the table. "Are you ready to go or do you need more time to..."

"We're good," you rushed out with a smile. You turned to Rika, and the smug look on her face made you instantly regret it.

She smiled. "Pretty excited?"

"It's a tutoring session," you answered.

"Sure," she deadpanned with a smile, "Wanna meet up during lunch tomorrow to finish this up?"

"Sounds like a plan," you replied grabbing your bag and standing up, "Bye,"

"Bye!" Rika called back before winking, "Be safe!"

Your heart went into overdrive as you understood the real meaning of her words. You sent her a pointed look before Tanaka replied, "Be safe too!"

He's so innocent, you thought with a shake of your head before you both began walking to his house.

Your body felt light as you walked to the gym, smiling when you heard the distinctive squeaks of shoes and huffing of the players. The floor was shiny and smelled of lemon from the janitor's cleaning of it over the weekend. Practice hadn't officially started yet, but some of the boys were already warming up. Ukai was muttering to himself and making notes on his clipboard.

Tanaka stopped stretching for a moment to walk over to you with a smile. "Hey, Y/N. I didn't see you at lunch today."

"I was working on an essay. My teacher offered to give me feedback before I turn it in, but I had to give it to him today," you said.

"You didn't eat lunch, did you?" Kiyoko's voice cut through, and you tensed up as you turned to her with a small smile.

"No, I ran out of time before I could," you muttered. To anyone else looking at Kiyoko, they would think she was stoic. To you, you noticed how her eyes squinted and her jaw clenched just a minuscule.

She let out a breath. "It's not healthy."

"I know, don't worry," you said, "I'm fine,"

"You've been skipping meals in order to study a lot lately, haven't you?" Kiyoko asked.

Tanaka raised his eyebrows. "Is that true?"

"I've been busy with school this week," you defended, looking between the two of them, "I'm fine, really,"

Kiyoko tsked before walking over to her gym bag. Tanaka cleared his throat, making you focus on him. "You really shouldn't skip meals. It's not healthy. You're gonna burn yourself out," he said with a frown.

"I'm sorry," you replied with a tight smile, "I honestly didn't even realize I was doing it,"

Kiyoko showed up at your side with a bento box and a pair of chopsticks before shoving the items into your hands. Your eyes got wide and sparkled. You weren't paying attention, but Tanaka smiled at your reaction as his own eyes softened.

"Is this your special bento?" You asked, and Tanaka's heart lifted at the wonder in your voice. Kiyoko simply nodded. You threw your arms around her. "Thank you, Shimmie!"

"Shimmie?" Daichi asked as he took a sip of water.

Kiyoko pulled back and placed her hands on your shoulders. You smiled at her as she led you over to the gym doors. You asked, "What are you-"

Without a word, she pushed you out of the gym. "Skipping meals is not a good habit. You can come back in after you have completely emptied that box," she said before shutting the door.

You stared at the door with your jaw dropped before you shouted with a giggle, "You're a bully, Shimizu!"

Inside the gym, Tanaka glanced at her as she zipped up her bag. "Don't you think that's a little harsh?"

She glanced up at him, staring at him for a moment with a stoic face. "Y/N does this every year. If she stayed in here, she'd probably get distracted and forget to eat again," she said as she stepped closer to him. She sent Tanaka a pointed look, but he wasn't sure what it actually meant. "She's smart, but she doesn't take hints well. You have to be blunt with her sometimes to get what you mean,"

"Uh... yeah," he muttered with furrowed eyebrows.

She looked at him for another moment before Ukai called to her.

Meanwhile, you were sitting in front of the gym, eating the bento box Kiyoko made for you- full of your favorite things. She made it for you every finals week. She must've been really worried about you if she was making it right now.

When Tanaka's eyes drifted to you later in practice, now with an empty bento box, he saw how your smile seemed brighter. He took a sip of water and overheard you thanking Kiyoko and promising to take better care of yourself. He couldn't hear Kiyoko's response, but it made you giggle, and Tanaka felt the same excitement you get as you hit the drop on a roller coaster.

As if you could feel his gaze on you, you looked over at him from across the gym before smiling. He smiled back widely, feeling the heat on his cheeks. He had crushes before, and he was always afraid of looking dumb in front of them. But he didn't care if he looked dumb as his smile got wider. You furrowed your eyebrows at the gesture, still keeping your smile as you mouthed, 'What?'.

Tanaka shook his head with that dumb smile; his heart forcing him to break the gaze and look at his bag. Daichi cleared his throat as he put away his own water bottle, making the second-year look over. "It's none of my business, but I'm pretty sure she likes you too."

"I-I don't know what you're-"

"Of course you don't," Daichi interrupted with a chuckle as he stood up, "But I think it'd be really dumb of you to not tell her soon. Heard some third-year has his eyes on her,"

"Really?" Tanaka asked with wide eyes, following the captain back onto court.

Daichi smirked and glanced over his shoulder at Tanaka. "No, but your reaction shows that you can't handle the idea of someone else."

He walked away as Tanaka froze before glaring at him. "Hey, that's mean!" Daichi shrugged at the accusation as Ukai started the next drill.

Tanaka realized his eyes were always drifting to you, and he realized Daichi was right. He wasn’t sure if you did reciprocate his feelings, this pull towards him, but he knew he couldn’t handle you being with someone else. Not if he could stop it.

Not if you could be with him.

You sighed as you stepped off the bus, stretching your legs immediately. You enjoyed going to their games, but the ride over always killed you. You grabbed your overshirt with Karasuno's colors on it, fanning it, and sighed as cool air began to hit you.

"Hey," Tanaka's deep voice pulled you out of your moment, "I have something to tell you," Your hand holding onto your shirt froze. Tanaka looked down at your shoes and groaned. "Man, this is really hard to get out."

You sighed and crossed your arms, feeling your intestines tangle up. You had no idea what he wanted to say, but you felt guilty every time you looked at him. It wasn't right. "I have something to tell you too," you said, voice croaking through your dry mouth.

He furrowed his eyebrows, finally getting the courage to look up at you. He opened his mouth to speak when Ukai cleared his throat, getting the team's attention. As he began listing the time of the game and other details, Tanaka whispered to you, "After the game, yeah?"

You looked at him, focusing on how his jaw was clenched. "Yeah, that's fine," you muttered.

You were tense the entire game as you watched with Yachi and Saeko. Yet you were still cheering with them. Watching Tanaka now reminded you of the first time you met him. Even as someone who had never played the game, you could tell that his technique was improving, and it made your heart light up as you remembered all of his ramblings about practice.

He was working so hard, and it made you proud that it was showing.

The crowd around you cheered as Tanaka hit another spike perfectly. He glanced up at you with a grin. You smiled back at him with a thumbs up before an elbow hit your side.

You whined as you looked up at Saeko's Cheshire cat grin, "I saw that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," you muttered, avoiding her gaze and focusing back on the game.

"Oh, please." Saeko rolled her eyes with a loud sigh. "I've seen your guys'study dates." She put air quotes around study.

"We do study," you retorted.

"You also flirt the entire time," she chuckled before she looked over at you, "Don't worry. I think you're good for him,"

Your head whipped over to look at her before you could even question about how that action would look. "You think so?"

Her eyes softened as she shook her head with the same smile. "Yeah, I do." Before you could question her further, the boys scored another point, making Saeko jump up and clap loudly.

Your eyes focused back on the game. Your legs bouncing as you sat on the bleachers. It was match point, and you could feel their confidence as the referee blew her whistle.

Although it took a few minutes for them to score the point, it felt like a couple of seconds. You yelled cheers with Yachi and Saeko, about to stand up when you felt something cold and wet run down your back. "Oh my god," you flinched, turning around to see a five year old fallen over the bleacher behind you, his soda cup open.

Your overshirt began to feel sticky as the soda seeped into the fabric. His mother grabbed his hand to pull him back to his feet. "I'm so sorry," she said, "He got excited when they won and tripped and-"

"It's fine," you replied, pulling your overshirt off, "I'm wearing something underneath. It was an accident,"

The mother gave you a relieved smile before she tugged on her son's hand. "Apologize to her."

He looked up at you with a deep frown as he squeezed his cup. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," you smiled, "I know you didn't mean to," You turned to Yachi. "I'm going to the bathroom to rinse this off. I'll meet up with you and the team later, okay?"

Yachi's eyes widened, too consumed with the win to even notice the interaction. "Yeah, I'll let them know."

You thanked her as you walked away, trying to remember your way to the bathroom. You sighed as you went into the bathroom; it was full of people using the bathroom after the game. You turned on the faucet, running it underneath the cold water.

Meanwhile, Tanaka was cheering with Nishinoya and Hinata. He looked around for you- the adrenaline coursing through his veins making him want to pull you close. He felt like he was on top of the world. He felt like the kind of guy that could look you in the eye and confess.

"Where's Y/N?" he asked as Saeko hugged him.

Yachi rose her hand to get his attention. "She went to the bathroom. A kid spilled his drink on her so she had to wash her shirt."

Nishinoya hit Tanaka's arm. His eyes glowed. "Dude! You should go and give her your jacket!"

"Give her my jacket?"

"Yeah!" Nishinoya was practically jumping as he explained his idea. "You give her something of yours to protect her from the cold. And while she's thanking you- Boom! You ask her out!"

Saeko rolled her eyes as she listened to the boys, but Tanaka's smile just got wider. "You're a genius!"

"I know," Nishinoya shrugged his shoulders.

Tanaka looked at Yachi. "Where are the bathrooms?" She muttered out directions, and he was off. He sprinted towards the bathroom, panting as he stopped nearby, barely missing the line of women waiting outside. He was bouncing as he waited.

Then you stepped out of the bathroom, squeezing some of the spare water out of your shirt. Your hair was pulled up, and you were left in your tank top. Tanaka smiled at the sight of you, still not used to you dressed in casual clothing. You stood in the hallway, looking around as you tried to remember the way back to the bus, and he stepped closer towards you. You turned to walk forward, turning your back to Tanaka.

His mind went blank as he stared at the mark etched onto the back of your shoulder. Tanaka couldn't think at all; his feet moved forward. He reached out and touched your shoulder, making you jump and turn around.

You relaxed as you met his gaze, a smile appearing on your face. "You scared me," you laughed, "Couldn't wait ten minutes for me to get to the bus?"

"I heard your shirt got messed up. Here's a jacket, so you can cover up," he mumbled.

"Thanks," you said as you grabbed the jacket, pulling it on quickly. You furrowed your eyebrows at his facial expression. "Hey! You should be smiling. You just won a game!"

"Yeah..." he muttered.

You squinted at him. You grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the crowded hallway and towards the wall. He followed you without protest. "What's wro-"

"You're my soulmate."

Your blood ran cold at his words. "I can ex-"

A bright smile appeared on his face. "We're soulmates!" he yelled, catching some of the strangers around you to glance over at the pair of you.

You smiled back and rolled your eyes as he began bouncing with excitement. You reached out to his hand to pull him back towards the wall, clearing the way for people walking in the hallway. "Tanaka, calm down, you're making people look over."

"Let them look!" he retorted with a smile before he furrowed his eyebrows, "This is amazing! This is a big deal! How are you not freaking out right now?"

The small smile you had on your face vanished. You sighed as your stomach began twisting itself. "Um..."

"What?" he asked.

You knew he would probably move on if you didn't mention it. He would probably believe you too. You could move on, and he would never have to find out. However, the guilt was already overwhelming you as you thought about it.

"I already knew."

His eyes widened, staring at you. "You already knew?" You nodded. "How long?"

You pressed your lips together. His stoic expression wasn't doing anything to calm you down. "Since the first practice I visited."

"That was months ago!" Tanaka said. His frown deepening as he scoffed.

"I know," you said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

You sighed. Tears were burning in the corner of your eyes as you shook your head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" he repeated, drawing out the words.

"I'm sorry," you said, voice choking up. "I should have told you sooner. I was going to tell you today, believe me. It's what I was going to tell you-"

"I-I-" Tanaka sighed, looking away from you. "I need some time."

"Tanaka-" You reached for his hand, but he pulled it out of your reach. You sighed, crossing your arms as the crowd in the hallway passed around you. You stepped into the hallway, tears burning as you walked back towards the bus.

Yachi smiled brightly at you. "Isn't that Tanaka's jacket?"

You glanced down at it, pulling the fabric around you tighter. "Yeah, it is." You looked over as Nishinoya's laugh, catching sight of Tanaka. His face was stoic as he listened to the boys talking to each other. Yachi spoke up again, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you blurted out. Yachi nodded, but you knew that she didn't believe you. You sat next to her on the bus, and you listened as she rambled about her ideas for the next fundraising poster.

You kept glancing over at Tanaka, who was sitting with Nishinoya a few rows in front of you. Even from that distance, you could tell that he was still upset. Knowing that you were the reason he was upset made you want to burst into tears.

Which is exactly what you did when you got home and laid in bed. = To say you were miserable over the weekend would be an understatement. You texted Tanaka an apology, but he didn't respond.

The radio silence was killing you the most. Every time you were upset that he would never love you the same way, you would tell yourself that he would at least be in your life. That losing him entirely would be worse than him not loving you.

And here you were- losing him entirely.

Kiyoko definitely noticed the change. She had asked you multiple times what was wrong but didn't manage to get any information out of you. Kiyoko was a protective person, and you didn't want your hurt feelings to make her have any animosity towards Tanaka. Mostly because you did know that it was your fault.

You were both excited and terrified at the idea of going back to school when Monday came around. The thought of seeing him, even if it was just a glance, seemed like a saving grace. This was the longest you'd ever gone without talking to him since you met, and you felt like you needed to see him in order to calm down your mind. However, you had a gut feeling that he was still upset. And the idea of him turning down talking to you felt like it would break you in half.

He was the first, and only, person you had ever opened up to you on such a personal level. The fact that he felt betrayed by you hurt you to your core.

Monday, you were broken in half. You didn't realize how much you were used to walking to classes with him until you watched him walk in the hallways with his own classmates. You skipped going to practice that day, telling Kiyoko that you had to study for an upcoming test.

Tuesday, you felt like someone was trying to tear your heart out of your chest. There was a dull ache in your body as you walked to class, glancing at him for as long as you could before going inside your classroom. It had now been four days since you last talked to him- four days of crying and hating yourself. So you decided to try to go to practice and talk to him before or afterwards. Your hands were shaking as you walked to the gym. You pushed the gym door open slowly. It was weird to be this anxious stepping inside when you've spent countless hours in here. You looked around when you saw Kiyoko and Tanaka talking to each other. You clenched your hands into fists until your nails were digging into your skin, hoping that the small amount of pain would keep you from crying yet again. Assuming Tanaka's feelings was what had gotten you into this mess, but you couldn't help it as he stepped closer to her. "Hey," Hinata practically yelled, "I didn't see you yesterday! I'm happy to se-"

"Can you tell Kiyoko that my parents wanted help with the shop, so I'm leaving early today?" you asked.

He froze, before nodding with a frown. "Yeah, I can. Make sure to drop by soon though!"

"I will!" you called back, already turning around for the door. You didn't see how Tanaka's head shifted over to you at your voice.

Kiyoko cleared her throat to get his attention again. "I don't know what happened with you two, but my cousin has been miserable for the past couple of days. You have too. Whatever happened, make sure you fix it."

Wednesday, you were a ball made out of anxiety and nausea. After you got home and cried until you had a piercing headache, you decided that it was you that hurt Tanaka, which meant that it was your responsibility to apologize and explain. You stopped him as he was going to lunch, grabbing his wrist the same way you did that day after the game. His eyes widened as he looked at you. "Y/N-"

"Please just let me explain," you said, ignoring the confused looks Suga and Nishinoya were sending each other as you two talked to each other.

"I-" Tanaka sighed and clenched his jaw before letting out a deep sigh, "I can't."

Your hand dropped, falling to your side. "What do you mean?"

"It's a big deal," Tanaka said, frown deepening as he saw your eyes begin to shine. "I need some more time before I..."

He didn't finish his sentence, and you didn't ask him to. Instead, he turned around and walked to lunch with his friends, dodging their questions. You went into the bathroom and wiped at your face, taking a deep breath to calm down the overwhelming pressure to hyperventilate.

Thursday, you were more frustrated than anything else. You understood Tanaka better than you understood yourself. When you saw him in the hallways, he wasn't smiling like he used to; you were lucky if you saw a smile from him at all. Kiyoko had casually (but you knew she did it intentionally) mentioned to you that Tanaka was more aggressive than usual in practice. You weren't sure if he was as miserable as you were, but you knew that he was hurting just the same.

Tanaka was sitting at a table in the courtyard with Nishinoya, Hinata, and Kageyama during lunch. You took a deep breath as you walked across the lawn towards the table. Hinata and Nishinoya kept talking, but you could feel Kageyama's eyes on you as you stood next to where Tanaka was sitting. "Y/N-" Tanaka started.

"Is this silent treatment making you feel better?" you asked. You took deep breaths in order to try to keep your emotions in check enough to talk.

Tanaka furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"If it is, I'll leave you alone till you want to talk to me," you said, "If not, then please let me talk to you,"

Tanaka stared at you for a moment before he stood up. "I'll be back," he muttered to his friends before he walked past you and towards the school. You followed him into an empty hallway. You leaned against one of the walls as he stood in front of you. It was silent for a couple of moments before he spoke up, "So what do you have to say?"

You had always heard some people say that Tanaka was scary, and you didn't understand that until now. You didn't think he was scary, but his anger was definitely intimidating as he stood in front of you.

With a deep breath, you said, "I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner. I should have told you the second I found out. It wasn't fair, and you had a right to know."

"What was the plan? Were you just going to move on and let me think I never met my soulmate?" he asked. His eyes were rich with anger and hurt.

"I kept meaning to tell you, but I chickened out every time." You shook your head. "I was planning on telling you after the game that day. That's what I was talking about when I said I had something to talk to you about. I didn't mean to keep it to myself for as long as I did,"

Tanaka stared at your face for a moment before he sighed; his shoulders relaxing as he did. "Did you want someone else as your soulmate?"

Your eyes widened, and words fell from your mouth without thinking. "No. No. No. I never wanted that. I'm glad you're my soulmate."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he exclaimed, hurt highlighting every word.

"I-" You sighed, taking a moment to collect yourself. "I thought you liked Kiyoko."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would you think that?"

"I saw how you and Nishinoya talked about Kiyoko at the first practice, and I thought it was obvious," you said, tears finally escaping your eyes. "I've never had someone look at me and look at Kiyoko and then choose me..." Tanaka's eyes widened as he took in your words. You sighed. "That doesn't mean that it was right for me to keep it from you. Soulmates are a two-way street; you should've known,"

"Do you still think that I like Kiyoko?" he asked slowly.

"I-" You opened your mouth but you shut it when you realized you didn't want to say the answer. He sighed, remembering Kiyoko’s words; you needed things to be blunt sometimes.

Tanaka took a deep breath. "Ya know, I've had a crush on you since we were first-years."

"What?"

"I bumped into you in the hallways, and I've liked you ever since," he said, "When Kiyoko brought you to practice, I was just so excited to get a chance to talk to you. I saw it as my first chance to actually make a move. To understand why when I look at you... I don't care what anyone else in the world thinks.

"I liked you way before the soulmate thing was even involved in this," Tanaka continued and stepped closer, "You're my first choice." Your breath hitched as you took him in. His eyes were shining with the same passion you had only seen him have while he was on the court. As if he would fight anyone that disagred with him. "And I will always choose you first. No one else is even an option,"

You were frozen as you two stared at each other. "Tanaka-"

"I will tell you that a hundred times a day if that's what it takes," Tanaka said, "Because it's the truth, okay?"

You grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to you, making him trip in the process. His arm reached out and slammed against the wall next to you to keep himself from falling against you. Your mouths slotted against each other. His cologne and the soft fabric of his shirt invaded your senses as your lips moved against his.

You were wrong. It wasn't a glance at him that cleared your mind; it was having him against you like this. Having him take you in and tell you that it was okay- you were okay. Tanaka's hand traveled to your waist, bunching up the fabric of your shirt as he deepened the kiss. You gasped against him as you were pressed further into the wall. His lips were soft, contrasted by his harsh movements against you. Tanaka was gentle, but he wanted to prove to you that he wanted you. That you could trust him with yourself.

The guilt that had lived in you for months dissolved into excitement. The pull towards him that you had repressed for so long, that need, finally being pushed to the surface was refreshing. It felt like you were drowning before, and this was the first breath of air you took in after he pulled you to the surface.

You sighed as he pulled away, panting as you stared at each other. He stayed close to you, lips ghosting over yours, sharing the same breath as you. "You're my first choice too," you whispered.

A bright smile appeared on his face as he stared at you. He leaned in closer, capturing your lips in a small kiss, leaning in to capture them as soon as they were released. As if he cared more about kissing you than breathing.

When the bell rang, finally pulling you away from each other, he intertwined his hand with yours. Smiles on both of your faces as he walked you to your class. And those smiles stayed on your faces as you both went into the gym. You tried your best to ignore the congratulatory pat on the backs he got as the team saw your connected hands. But you smiled when Yachi began pestering you with questions.

A promise made between the two of you, one without words. He would remind you of your worth every second of every day if he had to.

And you would believe him.

#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu imagine #tanaka ryuunosuke imagines #haikyuu x reader #tanaka ryuunosuke x reader #he's not even my favorite character and i spent the better part of a week writing this

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savrenim · 3 years

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i am running thru ur tumblr to find ONE POST to cite for tvtropes, and i agree so hard with the soulmate stuff. what if my soulmate is an awful abuser, i want the choice to NOT be with them without some painful physical consequence or loss of perception if i don't date them just because the universe said we were "meant to be"... plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist and less like an ass pull so you could justify getting 2 characters together

oH gods this is something that I have SO many feelings about that probably is slightly informed by my own orientation and preferences, but. feelings. this got long so it's going under the cut

so there are three and a half major things that I have a problem with in terms of general soulmate tropes that are "there is one person who is your perfect romantic partner" (which to be fair I've seen a number of soulmate AUs do that trope with the addendum "although it only applies to a certain percentage of the population / not everyone has soulmates / everyone has soulmates but not everyone has SUPER PERFECT ROMANTIC soulmates" which at least somewhat avoids the statistic inevitability of abusive soulmates if combined with Fate Can See The Future And So Your Fated Soulmate Just Won't Be) and these complaints aren't even from the "I'm poly where's my poly rep" kind of place which is a whole 'nother bag of worms, but let's go:

1. I aggressively believe that love is a choice. Love is something that is built, not predetermined before you meet someone. There might be initial compatibility aspects going down when you first meet someone, but, like. statistically there are more than seven and a half billion people on this planet. If there is only a single person perfectly meant for you, again, statistically, you are not going to meet them, I've seen the figure thrown that on average a person will meet on the order 10,000 people in their lifetime but let's even go 100,000, you will meet 0.001% of the world's population. Unless you think some sort of divine coincidence or fate is guiding you to a soulmate which throws free will out the window and then I can't help you but, like. discarding the math, I think it is actively harmful to a relationship to believe that it can be sustained on chemistry or predetermined 'but we're perfect for each other' alone. It requires work. You choose who is in your life, you choose who stays in your life, you choose who you want to be important to you based on what they contribute to your life and what you contribute to theirs.

(I am assuming this ask is at least partially in reaction to my soulmate post, which actually the fic in question, a buried and a burning flame, has since gone up. I highly recommend reading Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard first, but besides the setup for arson wizards that alas is never used because the fire mage with a soulmate in question is Responsible, I decided to both tackle 'okay soulmarks trope too let's throw it in', which leads to the not-really-a-spoiler passage that appears fairly early on about actually the full layout (albeit with less detail on the 'yeah for mages it just helps ground their magic, nothing romantic about it' part) of my Soulmate Rules:

Soulmates existed, both in the Empire of Astandalas and across the Wide Seas. They just worked slightly differently in Vangavaye-ve than the rest of the worlds.

The rest of the Empire seemed to view soulmates as a monolith. From what Cliopher had been able to glean, the tradition was grounded in their magic. Magi had soulmates, or rather, magic-workers would each have a soulmate. Cliopher wasn't clear if all magic-workers had a soulmate, or if magic-workers simply could have one, but there was always a mage in soulmate pairs, and it was always a pair. There were no marks, no visible signs involved, as soulmates were something that were sensed with magic. They were permanent, intrinsic, and to be recognized immediately.

To Wide Sea Islanders, soulmates were a choice.

The soul-marks, lana and lani-voa, would appear the first time you touched someone that you had chosen to love, with the full knowledge that you loved them. Cliopher had the marks of his mother and father, his sisters, Basil and Dimiter, Bertie and Ghilly. His skin was covered lovingly with the colors of his love, marks that he had gotten used to concealing with long sleeves in Astandalas when he had gotten tired of the constant staring at his 'primitive tattoos'.

Buru Tovo had been the only one to give him lani-voa, a greater mark of the soul. The pattern, with its thick lines and twisting design in a deep blue, extended over the entirety of his left arm and shoulder. They were the dances of his family pressed onto his skin, and he had traced them over with reverent and feather-light touch for months after he had received them. A lani-voa marked someone who had changed your life for the better in a deep and irrevocable way. It was a great honor to have even one.

And now, with the gold stretching up his right arm, new patterns that he didn't recognize stretching up from a handprint of pure gold that was expanding the longer he held that first contact with Tor—

now he had two.

(Buru Tovo is Cliopher's great uncle, for context. In fact, everyone listed there is either a familial or platonic relationship, with a single relationship that used to be romantic but settled into platonic.))

so. yeah. Love is a choice! The Biggest Of Moods! any soulmate lore that undermines that is a Bad Message, in my opinion.

The emphasis also on platonic soulmates leads into my second point:

2. I have found in my life that platonic relationships that I have are and have always been as important if not moreso than the romantic relationships. the emphasis of a single romantic relationship as the most important relationship that you can be in maybe fits for some people, but as a generalization to absolutely everyone I think is toxic and harmful. and not just for aro people! I'm not aro, but I would be miserable to write off my friends as Less Important And Meaningful to me than my parter, whom I love with all my heart! (I've actually ended up in my life settling into what I call the red/blue/gold system for 'relationships that I treat with the importance that society treats romantic relationships', but that's a personal thing). The standard soulmate trope tends to really solidly deliver the thesis of "there is a single romantic relationship that is the single most important relationship in your life" and I just think that's a very bad thesis.

3. Finally, I think the emphasis on permanent/forever is a harmful one for relationships in general. People change. you drift closer to people or further away from them. you move, they move, your schedules change, your interests change, your life changes. if you are living with a romantic partner you're going to keep seeing each other every day, but that doesn't stop you from changing as a person, which means see Point 1 Love Is A Choice; but even if you choose to remain together, you are probably eventually going to Ship Of Theseus your entire relationship. I think it is an important message that if that happens and it is no longer a relationship that is as deeply positive as it once was in your life, you don't...have to keep it out of loyalty to what it once was.

It's okay for people to drift out of your life that were once the most important person in your life. It doesn't invalidate how important and meaningful that relationship used to be, and it isn't a betrayal to let yourself and them and your relationships change and evolve. The idea that something has to be forever for it to matter I think is the idea about soulmates that I disagree with the most. Probably because that was the hardest lesson for me to learn as a kid and a teenager, and the life lesson that I am proudest for learning.

3.5 your point 'plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist' is exactly on the nose, literally I am unable to write anything without attempting to write down a universal theory of everything for How The World Works. if something soulmate-wise is going down even if it never appears on the page you bet your ass I have either figured out the general cosmology and theology of "are there gods or divine forces who have instituted this policy? if so, why? what purpose does it serve", or in the case of abaabf which already has such interesting magic rules in the original canon of "is there an evolutionary reason for soulmates to exist" which I don't go tracing out full evolutionary biology for a fic necessarily mostly because I would want the full evolutionary biology in canon to make sure mine is compliant enough but that sure as hell does translate to "if soulmates exist and it's not for the reason of Because Godlike Beings Said So, there better be a practical purpose". I find at least long-form soulmate fics (ie things With Plot and a Developed Setting that aren't just "let's do a ficlet with this well-known trope") that Do Not Feel Like They've At Least Thought About Why Soulmates Happen To Exist hurt my soul. which I think slightly intersects with my "I hate it when the rules of the universe/ laws of physics are human-centric" instead of "the base rules which were not designed for humans came first, and how the human world works arose in reaction to them" and. yeah. consistent desire to know at least for myself why things are set up the way that they're set up which gods ifmlam is wild and completely bullshit and pulls from quantum multiverse philosophy I started writing that thing when I was like. eighteen? nineteen? but at least it's there so I can be consistent.

as a caveat for everything above: I don't actually think that fiction, fanfiction in particular, needs to perfectly reflect what A Good Relationship or A Good Message About Relationships should be. it is a very human desire in a chaotic and confusing world to want a simple, absolute, binary thing to hold onto. fiction is a place for escapism or wish fulfillment or even exploring things that you wouldn't actually want in real life, I think that the movement in fandom/fiction that all of the messaging in your story should match the advice you'd give for a real-life setup is a bad and harmful one. mostly my opinions on soulmates and hence desire to do inversions of the soulmate trope in my fic and things like the red/blue/gold system and heavy emphasis on platonic relationships in original work that I'm writing is about a desire to see representation for me and the things I love and find important and my sort of relationships in the stories that are a big part of my life. but I am really glad that in doing so I seem to have struck a chord in other people, who maybe want to see the same thing!

#my life #my writing #abaabf #soulmates #also what post are you looking for/ what is its general topic if you haven't found it #I might remember a few keywords and be able to help you search

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miekasa · 3 years

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SCREAM!!!!! OKAY you get me YOU GET ME!!!!!! and YES the fact that the giant fighter robots are called Jaegers like...the material on hand...there’s SO much one can do!! it’s for multiple ships and for multiple reader-inserts, like hello world!!!! one of THE best aus!!! it could be an eren x reader fic where eren’s family (sadly, gr*sha 🙄) spearheaded the program hence Jaegers, and idk what the plot would be, but there would definitely be family drama. dee-lish, deelish! jean x reader, where jean is a pilot and reader works in the lab....angsty and fluffy! hange as the scientists with their apprentice armin and reader who is gonna start working there? if you’re a coconut head stan, go for it! i personally...headcanon it as a levi x reader fic because i’m a whore for levi 😌 they’re co-pilots. like unpacking all that between reader and levi, and going through the mortifying ordeal of being known just so humanity’s strongest and his partner could bring down the kaiju? yeah yeah 😌 and on the other side of things...the drift. ahem. the things one can do here. mentally holding each other in place to keep one from chasing the rabbit—oh HO the communication issues! suddenly knowing the other person so well that they nonchalantly save the last lemon curd cupcake for them because it’s their favorite and their partner was late to the mess hall. suddenly knowing how to brew tea to perfection. that neural connection lingers after a fight, and co-pilots are drawn to each other (whispers: bed sharing...and it progresses...to a lot more). mmhm mmm. i just...it’s modern romance that completely reinvented the concept of soulmates and elevated it and made it absolutely transcendent okay!!!!! i have a lot of feelings about this kinda au, literally it eats my brain and i daydream about it a lot 👁👅👁

YES TO ALL OF THIS!!! YES ABSOLUTELY YES!! The mortifying ordeal of being known... the idea of letting somebody into your head and literally knowing the inner most mechanisms of your mind, body, and soul... it's so tender; it's so fucking GOOD!! OKAY here me out for some options below

Okay, here me out: Kenny and Levi who, despite their unconventional uncle-nephew relationship, are just about the best pair of co-pilots anyone has ever seen (bc you know, shared trauma brings a family together). Until Kenny is killed on a mission, and Levi has to find a new co-pilot. Cue oc, Levi's childhood best friend, a talented engineer, and Hange's right hand woman. Hange suspects oc and Levi would be pretty compatible, maybe even with a higher compatibility than Kenny; except, oc has no plans to be a pilot, and Levi wouldn't want to do a drift with her anyways, because that would mean letting her into his mind, and, subsequently, letting her know that he's in love with her.

Or, alternatively, oc just happens to be a new recruit who is talented, and drift compatible with Levi, and become good friends through their training. Over time, it's Levi who realizes that he feels something for her outside of the drift, and finds himself drawn to her and picking up on little habits and preferences. It's too bad she's already engaged to one of Levi's closest friends.

Or, Eren's family spearheaded the Jaeger robots and obviously receive government funding to engineer them and keep them going. The whole family is pretty impressive; tho it damaged her, Carla was the first woman to solo pilot a Jaeger and saved an entire country, Gr*sha is the head engineer, and Zeke and Eren are pretty damn good co-pilots. But some other nations have suspected that Gr*sha has been making faulty Jaegers for them, and making the best ones for his home country; and oc is the person sent to by one of these nations spy/steal the blueprints/maybe even kill the Jaeger family, and ofc she somehow meets Eren and falls in love in the process.

OR scientist coconut boy and oc who were childhood friends, and who both shared a common interest in deep sea creatures. She's really interested in the kaiju themselves and has her own theories about where the come from and their overall biology, that would sound crazy to any government official, but Armin believes her wholeheartedly. However, having nearly been killed in an attack, oc grows apart from her love of the ocean and the animals; so while Armin goes on the study and aid the Jaeger program, she finds a new hobby, far away from the kaiju. When it comes time to try and close the breech, all the scientists, Armin included, are stumped and there's a few puzzle pieces they can't quite solve, but Armin remembers oc's theory, and he knows that she's about the only person in the world who could help save them right now, so obviouslyyy he has to go and find her and bring her back and ask for her help and you get it.

Okay one more because I love Jean. He and Marco are pilots, and oc is actually Marco's girlfriend; she's a civilian, and lives in their hometown. Except, in their most recent drift, Jean and Marco have been having some difficulties; Marco isn't letting him in as much, and when he finally does, Jean sees that Marco's been hiding that he's been cheating/cheated on oc. Jean is upset with him, but hardly has time to reprimand him or talk it out fully because Marco dies on their next mission. Enter oc, who joins the Jaeger program to avenge the death of her boyfriend, which wouldn't be an issue, if she weren't drift compatible with Jean, the only person in the world who knows what Marco did wrong.

As you can tell, I have many thoughts about this. I am obsessed with this movie. Very much. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#welcome to mie has an obsession with romance being the underlying factor in saving the world in sci fi movies

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cap-ironman · 5 years

Text

2019 Cap-Iron Man Holiday Exchange and Community Gifts Creators Reveals & Masterpost

This year we had 68 wonderful works submitted for our event! Thank you all very much for participating in all kinds of ways: writing, arting, submitting the prompts for the Community Gifts, cheerleading the creators, and beta-reading! We hope you had lots of fun. And here, finally, is the full event masterlist revealing the creators of each work! Please remember to mind the tags and warnings at each individual work page, and leave kudos and comments on the works you've enjoyed! ★ And she saw the case, but she saw him first by Lets_call_me_Lily for ishipallthings (3490/Noir, Art)

Natasha Stark, head of Stark Investigations. Taking on hopeless cases, and sometimes giving hope in return.

★ Antoine Stargaze by HogwartsToAlexandria for frosted_astronaut (MCU AU, 2049 Words)

Where boys are smitten, and Natasha nudges Steve just enough.

★ Beautiful Lie by jayjayverse for SweetFanfics (Ults, 8560 Words)

Antonia Stark breaks with all the conceptions Steve has about women. She is everything he never thought he wanted or desire in a person, in fact he didn't even consider her waking up in this century, she was simply a teammate.

★ beautiful stranger by ohjustpeachy for ShadowsintheClouds (MCU, 2198 words)

Both Tony and Steve grow up thinking the other is dead. When they first meet in Avengers 1 there are tears and everyone is really confused until they realize that the two are soulmates.

★ Blank Spaces by only_more_love for starksnack (MCU, 3023 Words)

Steve discovers that not everything in this unfamiliar century he's woken up in is bad. Maybe there's a place for him in it, after all.

★ Brewed Awakening by iam93percentstardust for Nixie_DeAngel (MCU, 16545 Words)

Two years after he comes out of the ice, Steve is drifting through life. On his teammate's recommendation, he decides to go back to school where he meets the grandson of an old friend. He finds happiness with Tony but Steve won't be in Boston forever and someone is out to hurt the Starks. Will Steve and Tony be able to reach their happily ever after?

★ By Any Name by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU AU, 1017 Words)

The world of spies is not kind on love.

★ Compatibility, Interrupted by MK_Yujji for Areiton (MCU, 2177 Words)

Steve gave up on soulmates after his transformation. He certainly didn't expect to find his in the future.

★ Even After All Those Years? by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (Noir, 743 Words)

Their eyes meet across the crowd. They never thought they would ever see each other again.

★ Everything Goes to Hell Anyway by dirigibleplumbing for navaan (1872, 15796 Words)

A visitor to Timely is killed, and Tony is the main suspect. Steve has no doubt of Tony’s innocence, but more strangers still are in town looking for a mysterious book, and Mayor Fisk’s boys are up to no good. It isn't long before everything goes to hell.

★ A Farm for the Horny and the Desperate by HogwartsToAlexandria for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 1738 Words)

The one where Tony walks in on Steve masturbating at Clint's farm.

★ from your secret santa by avengersincamphalfbloodstardis for SevereLove51 (MCU, 4775 Words)

The year is 2012 and all of the Avengers have moved into the tower. The holidays are coming up and it's the perfect time for each teammate to get to know another as well as they can. So of course, they do secret santa. When Tony gets Steve, he panics. How is he supposed to find a gift for the amazing Captain America?

★ For Science by HogwartsToAlexandria for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 1334 Words)

For the comm prompt- After a not-so-great night out with a girl, Steve confides to Tony that he thinks he’s not a very good kisser. Tony, of course, offers to practice with him.

★ Giddy-up Cowgirl by CaughtAGhost for Cap Iron Man Community (1872, Art)

A community fill for: "genderbent AU in a more idyllic West, though Steve still struggles with the responsibilities of sheriff and Tony is even more underestimated as the town's drunk blacksmith"

★ the heart of this flower imagines by diskarte for MK_Yujji (MCU AU, 4269 Words)

Steve isn’t really paying attention to anything when something red catches his eye: a petal. He looks down at his lap and picks it up. He’s contemplating the petal, glancing around to see where it could’ve come from, when an unfamiliar feeling wells up inside him and he coughs. He hasn’t coughed in years, not after the serum. He looks down. On his lap: more petals.

★ here comes the sun by Nasa for hundredthousands (MCU, 6884 words)

Steve and Tony meet at Woodstock. It's not the smoothest of starts for their friendship.

★ Hidden Words by ShadowsintheClouds for Padraigen (MCU, 17854 words)

In a world where someone's soul name is held in great regard, Steve is forced to grow up hiding his, lest he and his soulmate get hurt for it. He tries his best to keep things hidden, but when he goes into the ice and braces for death he inadvertently reveals his soul name to those who find him years later. Will Steve have to continue hiding or will he finally get a chance at safety and happiness

★ hologram blue by laireshi for navaan (616, 2069 Words)

During the Superhero Civil War, Tony gets haunted by hallucinations of Steve.

★ A Hook-Up by navaan for Sadisticsparkle (Noir, 1250 Words)

Private Rogers is looking for a bit of male company and gets more than he bargained for.

★ The Hot Guy Has A Tail? by betheflame for BeenAsleepFor70Years (MCU AU, 1506 Words)

Tony was used to hallucinating. Well, maybe not used to it, but certainly not unfamiliar with it. But he hadn’t taken any shrooms in days, and he’d actually slept more than 2 hours the night before, so the logical conclusion to what he was seeing was that it was actually happening. The hot guy he’d been ogling from his Intro to Western Civ class for months was in the pool. And he had a tail. The hot guy from Western Civ had a tail.

★ I Saw Cap Kissing Santa Claus by Mizzy for Cathalinaheart (616, 7222 Words)

When Tony dressed as Santa for Queen County Hospital's annual toy drive, he wasn't expecting Steve to recognize him...as Iron Man.

★ I still like your smile (even if it's filled with teeth) by Sadisticsparkle (sadisticsparkle) for diabla616 (616, 6186 Words)

It has been a lifetime since Tony last saw the Mansion and the Avengers, but his relationship with Steve is as confusing as ever. They're still sleeping together, they're still officially friends and now he's lost in a magical forest with a wolf tracking his every move. He hates magic.

★ In the Comfort of Your Arms by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Gryvon (MCU, Art)

Steve and Tony take a few days to themselves after a hard battle.

★ Inevitable Outcome by cptxrogers for Cap Iron Man Community (Ults, 2499 Words)

Tony can't believe that his team has locked him in a closet with Steve, ostensibly to relieve the sexual tension between them. He's surprised they would stoop that low, but he's even more surprised that Steve seems to be up for it.

★ Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures by Fluffypanda for marumo (Avengers Assemble, 3544 Words)

A trip to the Savage Land goes very, very wrong.

★ last call by gottalovev for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 5640 Words)

Tony didn’t prepare for Steve calling first. It's been thirteen months, why now?

★ lead up the garden path by gottalovev for nasa (1872, 5261 Words)

They cannot live openly, but Sheriff Steve Rogers has found love with Tony Stark, Timely's blacksmith and inventor. He thought everything was going well, until their friend Carol Danvers comes back from Washington with her sister Jessica and everything changes.

★ Locker-Room Revelations by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 336 Words)

Tony finds out a secret of Steve's in the locker-room.

★ March 10th, 1964 by SmileAndASong for Cap Iron Man Community (616, 1704 Words)

There’s a cake in the fridge. It’s beautiful, at least three layers high, and with an intricate red, white, and blue frosting pattern that perfectly emulates a certain shield. It’s very obvious that it’s for Steve. But why?

★ Media Blitz by Nixie_DeAngel for Fluffypanda (MCU, 1378 words)

“Well, if I hadn’t, Pep pot, we wouldn’t we be reliving the weirdest two weeks of my life. Again,” Tony points out. “And really, that’s saying something considering last year you, Nat, and I got sent to that pleasure planet with bird boys one and two.” “We agreed that would never be spoken of again,” she cuts in, eyes sharpening into a fierce glare. Or, reason number 3 on why Pepper Potts shoulder never be allowed to have a vacation that allows for a media black out while she lounges on a beach by herself.

★ Mistletoe Smoochin’ by BeenAsleepFor70Years for zappedbysnow (AA, Art)

Some mistletoe business between the best boys for zappedbysnow! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

★ A New Day [Art] by Cachette for afincf_tirwer (MCU, Art)

Steve has always seen in greys and blacks. Even before the ice the colours never developed fully, there were hints of colours, mostly blue or red, Bucky's eyes, Peggy's lips but he never saw anything like what was described in the books. The first colour he sees in the 21st century is the bright red and gold of Iron Man, sleek, futuristic and a total mystery.

★ Of matchmaking and failure by afincf_tirwer for iam93percentstardust (MCU AU, 4085 Words)

When the new art teacher arrives, Peter Parker and his friends think he'd make a great match for the school's physics teacher Tony Stark. However, as their plans progress, some things are revealed that throw a wrench in the works and set them up for embarrassment.

★ oh baby I can't even explain by muchmoremajestic for Neverever (AA, 10583 Words)

Prompt: Steve and Tony dance around each other, wanting to ask each other out on a first date, but things keep getting in the way from the random invasions on campus to each of them being nervous/getting in their own way. Or: The five times Steve and Tony tried to ask each other out, and the one time they finally got it together.

★ one may smile and be a villain by CaughtAGhost for jayjayverse (616, Art)

Fill for the prompt: Captain Hydra happens, Tony doesn't go on coma and fight against him. The avengers won, Steve is in prison and Tony decide to erase Hydra before what they did to Steve (and he didnt being capable to find a way to make Steve come back), so he go to every compound of Hydra and destroy them. Until he find something. The archives with all the fail subjects are in one computer, it’s just a little suspicious line of “code names” and information of what happened every single clone, all dead at some stage of growth and then bumps into the last file, still active, shows the background and there is no estimate of life as in the other files, Tony looks for the place where this clone is, flies and destroy everything, take the little baby he found and fly away from there. When Steve (the real one) comes back, a lot of time had passed, the avengers are led by Carol, Tony is an AI and Steve needs to get used to everything one more time.

★ pants on fire by nanasekei for talesofsuspense (MCU, 9630 Words)

“Look, I’m not thrilled by the prospect of spending my day here either," Nick said, "but there’s no postponing this. We can’t give them a chance to combine stories.” “Right,” Hill said. “And I’m sure they’ll all be very…cooperative.” “Hope you didn’t have any dinner plans." Hill’s sigh mirrored his own so much it was unnerving. “Okay.” She leaned forward and pressed a button on his desk. “Send in the first one.”

★ Patron of the Arts by BladeoftheNebula for diskarte (MCU, 2258 Words)

Steve meets a handsome stranger at an art show.

★ the perfect date by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics) for Cap Iron Man Community (616, 5638 Words)

Tony needs an alpha to be his date for a fancy shing-ding. He asks Steve, who says yes. And then Tony's heat strikes early.

★ Phish Food and Cheez Whiz by starksnack for HogwartsToAlexandria (MCU AU, 2584 Words)

Tony's afraid he'll be a bad father, Steve disagrees. + they have sex.

★ Possession by marumo for meshkol (616, Art)

Prompt "Hydra/Villain Steve decides he wants Iron Man, by any means necessary."

★ Presents by Neverever for BladeoftheNebula (1872, 2648 Words)

For their first Christmas together, Sheriff Rogers doesn't know what to get his partner, Mr. Stark.

★ Public Displays of Affection by navaan for Westernwood11 (616, 2265 Words)

It's not a good day when AIM and Hydra come for them at the same time... Things get away from them in the heat of the moment.

★ ride [FANART] by cap_ironman_event_mod for Blaithin (616, Art)

stevetony motorbike gang au

★ Save Your Kisses For Me by ishipallthings for avengersincamphalfbloodstardis (MCU, 3197 Words)

It’s nearly Christmas, and Steve Rogers’ biggest problem is that he’s terrible at keeping his new relationship with Tony under wraps. Oh, and he still needs to find the perfect Christmas present for Tony. That is, until Tony gets hurt on a mission without Steve. Then Steve has a new problem.

★ Say It First by talesofsuspense for SmileAndASong (Ults, 1788 Words)

Steve doesn’t know how to say what he wants, but Tony knows what he means anyway.

★ Shakey-Shake Globe Land by starksnack for Cap Iron Man Community (AU, ART)

Have some art! Happy holidays!!!

★ A Shove in the Right Direction by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 877 Words)

Everyone was sick of it, but he was the only one ready to do something about it.

★ Snow Bunnies by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (616, 1500 Words)

Steve finds a way to get some fun out of a winter chore.

★ Snow Wolf by talesofsuspense for Cap Iron Man Community (Any, Art)

Capwolf having fun in the snow.

★ The Soldier and the Man of Iron by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU AU, 202 Words)

Steve is a wounded soldier looking for his lost brother. He stumbles across Stark Tower looking for shelter.

★ Steve's Secret by Neverever for Cachette (MCU, 2911Words)

Steve has been sketching Tony since they met. But Steve will never have a chance with Tony, who is so far out of his league. Even though Tony seems to really like his new sweaters.

★ Strings Attach, We Conquer by HogwartsToAlexandria for betheflame (MCU AU, 7235 Words)

Steve and Tony have been together and mated for about a year when the questions of their pack become a little more - too - insistent and it's time to lift the veil on a secret that has led all of them to wrongly presume of their bond. Decisions and celebrations happen.

★ Take me away, I don't mind by diabla616 for gezhu (Ults, 2359 words)

Steve hates the 21st Century - it's lonely and he's still not over what he's lost from his own time. So when the Ultimates missions keep throwing the possibility of time-travel into his day, well, he has to try. Or: all the times Steve tried to use a villain's time-travel device to go back to the past, and the one time he chose to stay in the future.

★ Through the Drinking Glass by Cathalinaheart for gottalovev (1872, 1820 words)

It's the anniversary of Bucky's death and a drunk Sheriff shows up at Tony's door in the middle of the night.

★ A Timely Rescue by vorkosigan for Cap Iron Man Community (1872, 8341 words)

Tony saves Steve's life, but if neither of them says anything about how they feel about each other, Steve will stay in Timely and Tony will fly away to gallivant among the stars, and they may never see each other again. A Firefly AU.

★ Tony, Do You Want My Eggplant? (art) by zappedbysnow for DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) (MCU, Art)

Cap was advised to try gardening for therapy. Now everyone reaps the fruits of his harvest. Especially Tony.

★ the truth, ugly and beautiful by Areiton for alexcat (MCU, 3048 Words)

The truth, ugly and beautiful, is that you loved him. You love him still. The truth, ugly and beautiful, is that love was never enough.

★ An Unspeakable Choice by meshkol (ashernorton) for CaughtAGhost (616, 9674 Words)

When Tony and Steve are kidnapped after a mission goes wrong, they are given an unimaginable choice: the death of innocents, or the death of one of them.

★ Untitled by hundredthousands for only_more_love (MCU, 1329 Words)

Tony would say he’s used to seeing himself, but something about this is different.

★ Waiting for You by alexcat for GotTheSilver (MCU, 2559 words)St

eve missed Tony and Tony missed Steve. What if Steve called first?

★ We Did It by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, Art)

When the dust settled and all the fighting was done, they met each other in the middle of all the destruction, coming together after all those years.

★ We'll Cross Paths Again by SevereLove51 for ohjustpeachy (MCU AU, 1930 Words)

Tony Stark is a successful business after he inherited his father’s business. He is invited to a masquerade party hosted by Justin Hammer. As he’s there, he noticed that the bartender looks oddly similar to his high school sweetheart that broke his heart.

★ What Are Friends For by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU AU, 714 Words)

Professor Stark has a crush on the University's new Professor.

★ What the Textbooks Never Told by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (616, 433 Words)

History has a habit of omitting the darker parts of what makes the worlds heroes

★ Where Your Heart Is by gryvon for nanasekei MCU AU, 2582 Words)

Steve has an instant crush on the new kid.

★ The Wings of our Hearts by DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) for Cap Iron Man Community (MCU, 1278 Words)

Steve and Tony are cursed with wings. Neither of them handle it well.

★ Winin' and Dinin' the Sheriff (Without the Wine) by SmileAndASong for dirigibleplumbing (1872, 4362 Words)

In one night, Tony is finally going to do something that he’s wanted to for a long time. And he'll be something he hasn’t been in an even longer time. It’s a mighty tall order, but if it wins him the heart of the dashing Sheriff Rogers, it’ll be worth it.

★ Your Mind and Your Heart by GotTheSilver for muchmoremajestic (MCU, 7930 Words)

When Tony asks him what he wants for his birthday at the Fourth party he’s throwing, Steve shrugs and says “to get laid,” without even thinking about it. “You—excuse me?” “Shit, I didn’t mean—” Steve can feel his cheeks flush with heat as he realises what he’s said. “Ignore that, really, I’ve had some of Thor’s mead and I—” “That’s a cute excuse, but I know you’ve been drinking Mojitos and, unless Erskine’s science was very very wrong, those don’t affect you. So,” Tony hops up on the counter, the muscles in his arms flexing as he does. “No dice.” “Is there any way I can get you to drop this?”

Were your guesses right? Are you surprised at something? You can post your reactions to the guessing post! And finally, if you participated in the event, feel free to post your work wherever you want now! We will be reblogging every tumblr post tagged with #capimexchange in one of the first five tags. Thank you for a great event, 2019 Holiday Exchange and Community Gifts mods

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ve1vetyoongi · 5 years

Text

Operation: Love Letters | 01

💌 CHAPTER INDEX 💌

♡ ⇢ pairing: ot7 x reader.

♡ ⇢ chapter word count: 5k

♡ ⇢ genre: mystery, college!au, romance, fluff, eventual smut.

♡ ⇢ warnings/rating: none, PG.

♡ ⇢ summary: When every student on campus is going crazy about a survey that claims to make true love bloom, your best friend manages to convince you to join in on the fun — except you’re disappointed to find out that your results just seem to be lost causes. That is until a love letter from a mysterious secret admirer turns up and you find yourself on a mission to find the person behind the pen — but you quickly realise it’s going to be a lot harder than you initially thought when you have 7 possible bachelors to investigate, right? Operation: Love Letters a-go!

♡ ⇢ schedule: updated every day at 5pm GMT in the run up to Valentine’s Day 2020!

💌 A/N: hello! i’ve been working on this series for a couple weeks now and it makes me so happy to finally be able to share it in the run up to valentines day! as the story progresses, there’ll be a ton of clues dropped about who the identity of the secret admirer is before the final reveal...so keep reading to find out! i hope you like it hehe, drop me an ask and lemme know your theories!! <3

You scoff as you read the flier you crumple in your hand. It's that time of year again, huh? February. Valentine's. The month of love.

Yeah right.

Every year your college holds a charity event for Valentines day. You fill out a survey nicknamed the Love Calculator, where you answer so called "deep" questions about yourself and most importantly what you look for in a Valentine's date — and then a computer analyses your answers and, for just a couple bucks, works some cupid style magic and matches you up with your ‘most compatible’ person on campus.

The instructions say you're supposed to send a love letter to your number one match. And if they respond? Then it's a match made in heaven! Insert eye roll here.

It's conceited really, just a ploy to draw money out of the student body with the promise of true love — which is exactly why you've never joined in with the hype before.

Until this year, that is, when your best friend Jimin, ever the hopeless romantic, managed to convince you to sign up. Which is how you find yourself in the gymnasium, surrounded by heart shaped balloons and the cheesy cover of I Wanna Know What Love Is that plays over head, stuffed into a booth as you fold up your survey and scribble your name on the front with a roll of your eyes.

Jimin's beanie falls across his face as he excitedly rummages around in the satchel slung across his torso to fish around for a pencil, hopping from foot to foot as he places delicate crosses in the boxes beside Male and Looking for a soulmate.

"I still don't know about this." You murmur as you tap your foot and stare down at the pink piece of paper in your hand, nerves brewing inside you for a reason you can't quite put your finger on. There’s a reason you’ve never done this before -- what if you get someone weird as your first match? Or worse what if you aren’t compatible with anyone at all and you find out you’re destined to be painfully alone forever?

This is definitely a bad idea. You should just rip your survey up right now and throw it in the trash and nobody would ever have to know you even came here, even if just to entertain your best friend's fantasies.

But Jimin is too fast, snatching it from your fingers before you can protest and pulling you gleefully by the elbow over to the Calculation Station where he slides both of your surveys over to the cheerleader manning the desk with a dazzling smile, all much to your dismay.

"Oh come on, lighten up!" He says, clasping his hands together wistfully as he eagerly watches the cheerleader input your data into the computer. "This is gonna be so fun! Who knows? Maybe I'll match someone really hot and we'll get married and adopt the cutest babies ever--."

"Or you could match with a crazy serial killer." You interrupt with a raise of your brow.

Jimin shrugs. "I guess that would suck, but it would make an awesome Netflix Original. I'd totally get famous and win an oscar and—” He drags you over to the counter when he notices the cheerleader beckoning you with a finger. “Too late now anyway, our results are ready!"

The printer beside the desk spits out two pieces of paper, and the cheerleader glances over them with a nod before folding them up carefully and handing them over to you with a wink.

"Have a good day, and don't forget to spread the love!" She says, and you offer her a sheepish smile as you take your results.

Jimin is already pulling you out of the gym and into the hallway, finding a quiet corner where he eagerly unfolds his page with a grin that falls right from his face when he reads the names littered across his page surrounded by a plethora of hearts.

"What the heck! Are you kidding me?" Jimin thrusts his results beneath your nose so you can read the names for yourself. "I got Park Chanyeol as my number one match?"

You bite back a laugh. Jimin and Chanyeol had a fling last summer, but it ended on a sour note when Chanyeol ended up being allergic to Jimin's pet kitten who he refused to part with for anyone, no matter how hot.

"Maybe it was meant to be after all?" You laugh as Jimin crumples up his results and throws them into a nearby trash can with a childish pout.

"You were right. It was dumb. I would've been better off matching with a serial killer." Jimin grumbles, shoulders slumping forward as his dreams of true love crumble. He perks up when he notices you wringing your own results in your hands though, paper still sealed tightly. "Come on, your turn! Let's see who you got."

"Maybe I should just throw this in the trash, too. You said it yourself, the survey was dumb anyway." You shrug.

"Nope. I'm not letting you get away that easily." Jimin clasps his hands together, looking up at you with a pout. "Please? For me?"

You have to admit, there’s a strange fluttery feeling in your stomach as you turn the paper over in your hands. Who knows? Maybe Jimin was right, and the love of your life’s name was printed right on this here paper, and you were wasting your chance.

To hell with it! What's the worst that could happen, right?

"Fine! I'll open it."

Jimin claps giddily and with strangely shaky hands you unfold the paper, Jimin crowding around with his chin on your shoulder so you can both read your results.

Wow. You gaze down at the list of names you've never even heard of, strangely disheartened. You aren’t sure what you were expecting but this is not exactly the life changing love story you were promised when you handed over five bucks to that cheerleader just now.

You can't help but feel your stomach drop. Are you seriously disappointed? It's not like you had high hopes for this thing in the first place.

"Well damn," You crumple up the paper and drop it into your backpack with a chuckle, joining the hustle and bustle of students walking to class. "That was totally a waste of time."

Jimin pats your shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, you never know, someone could get your name and send you a love letter."

You raise your brows. "I appreciate the positivity but I don't think that's very likely."

“Don’t be such a downer! It’s the month of love after all.” Jimin slows down, heading towards the bathrooms. "I'll catch you up okay? All this excitement made me need to pee!" And with that he disappears into the little boy's room with an air kiss sent your way.

With a fond shake of your head you head towards your locker, thumbing in your combination and lurching open the metal door -- but your forehead furrows when something small and pink unexpectedly floats out and lands beside your feet.

"Huh?"

You bend down, fingers curling around a pearly pink envelope, eyes widening when you see who it's addressed to. You.

You turn it over in your hands, glancing side to side with narrowed eyes, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Could this be what you think it is? A love letter? Only one way to find out...

Your thumb slides beneath the heart shaped wax seal, hands trembling as you shake out the note folded up neatly inside and let your eyes fly across the messy words scrawled in pink pen with a gasp.

Your heart thumps. Your shaky fingers have left crumples along the edges of the paper, and you know you should throw it away before you even entertain the idea that this is real, let alone meant for you.

But your eyes keep tracing the pen strokes, the neat and even but unsteady handwriting; a nervous hand wrote this letter, you realise. A boy's hand. The letters are slanted just enough to tell, and there's smudges of ink where their wrist dragged carelessly across the page.

"Y/N? Are you okay?"

You jump at the sound of your name and shove the letter between the pages of a text book before slamming your locker closed just in time to flash your best friend what you hope is as close to a non-suspicious smile as you can muster as he bounds up the hall towards you.

"You ready to go to class?" Jimin asks, holding out his elbow and you nod. "It's a shame about the Love Calculator results huh? But who knows! Maybe we'll find Valentine's some other way."

"Yeah." You nod with a small smile, lost in thought as your mind drifts back to the love letter stowed away in your locker. "Maybe."

A smile appears on your lips. Maybe your results aren't so useless after all.

"From your secret admirer..."

You finish reading the love letter you found addressed to you in your locker with a triumphant smile, expecting a far more enthusiastic reaction from your roommate Yoongi. who just peers at you over the lid of his laptop with a bored expression.

"That's it?" He blinks. "You really paid five bucks for that?" He offers you a roll of his eyes as he watches you dance around your apartment waving around a piece of pink paper excitedly. "They didn't even leave their name?"

"Well duh," You slump down beside him on the couch, clutching the note to your chest and sending him an eye roll. "That would defeat the purpose of a secret admirer."

Yoongi just scoffs and goes back to his work with a shake of his head. "I can't believe you even did that stupid Love Caluclator thing. It's probably just a scam, anyway."

You pout, smoothing out the corners of the letter attentively. "You're just jealous nobody sent you a love letter."

Yoongi crosses his arms, flustered. "Am not! For your information I didn't even do the survey. Why would I care about what the results of a dumb survey have to say, anyway?"

You cock your head at him and dangle your results in front of his face teasingly. "Oh, so you won’t want to know who I matched with then if it's so dumb?"

He narrows his eyes with a puff, before snatching the paper with a shake of his head. "Fine. But only because you insisted."

You watch with a smug smile as Yoongi drags his finger down the list, distaste etched into his features as he reads each name out loud in turn before he splutters around the very last one.

"Hold up. You got me?" He chokes, holding up the page and pointing to where his name is printed in bold pink letters. Yoongi averts his eyes when you bust out laughing, crumpling up the paper and lobbing it at you with a scoff. "What did I tell you? It's dumb."

You clutch your sides and prod him with your foot as he grumbles under his breath. "Why? I thought you weren't scared of what a silly little survey has to say?"

"I'm not scared. Like I said, it's clearly a scam." Yoongi's cheeks heat up and he flashes you a look that tells you to quit teasing. "And this proves it."

"Oh don't get so worked up, Yoongi. I'm just messing with you." You unfold the paper and point to the biography beneath his name. "It says here we're only 10% compatible anyway, which kinda makes sense when you think about it. I'm a pretty decent roommate after all, right?"

Yoongi pushes away your results and buries his nose in a textbook instead. "You're being a pretty annoying roommate right now."

"Hey! Can you at least concentrate on this for a second? My love life finally gets interesting and you decide to do homework?"

Yoongi slams his book shut and finally turns to face you. "Jeez, Y/N, how can you even be sure the love letter isn't just...a prank or something? You're probably just wasting my time and your own getting caught up in it."

"Wow, you really have no faith in me huh?" You roll your eyes. "Because I just know. Whoever wrote this letter wanted me to read it. They left it in my locker on purpose! Is it so bad that I wanna know why?"

"Next thing I know you'll tell me you're going to actually try and find this person." Yoongi laughs breathily, but when he sees how you stare at him, arms crossed and unblinking, he lets out a groan. "Wait. You can't be serious?"

"Well why not?" You shrug. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"How do you even plan on finding them? All you have is a crumpled up note and a list of matches."

"Honestly, I haven't thought that far yet..." It's then that Yoongi turns the page of his textbook and a folded up note flutters onto the carpet. "Wait...what's this?"

He just shrugs, not even bothering to look up as you open up the paper. "I don't know. Must have been inside that book."

"Is it yours?"

Yoongi shakes his head, leaning back in his seat to stretch like he's exhausted by your interrogation. "Taehyung checked it out of the library this morning. He said I could borrow it. Why?"

Your eyes widen when you see what is written on the piece of paper in front of you.

"Hey! Look at this." You punch Yoongi in the shoulder, ignoring his ow! to run your fingers over the pen marks on the paper. "Don't the scribbles seem familiar to you?"

Yoongi rubs his arm with a bored expression. "I mean, I guess?"

"Goddammit, Min Yoongi! Would you take this seriously?" You fumble around in your pocket for the love letter, placing them side by side on the table, heart skipping a beat when you take in the similarities between the two. "Take a look at the handwriting. It's totally written by the same guy!"

Yoongi's own eyes widen, pursing his lips as he nods. "So what? Now you know he had a Bio quiz last week. Hundreds of students sat that test."

A smile grows on your face as an idea strikes you, and you rip the book from his grip. "Yeah, but how many of those students took out this exact book from the library?"

"I don't know — probably a few — hey!" He reaches for you as you get to your feet, but he's too late, and you're already taking off with his textbook. "Where are you going with that! I need to study!"

"I'll be back in a few hours, I promise." You call as you slip on your shoes and slide the book into your backpack."I just need to get to the bottom of who sent me this love letter first!"

It's almost silent in the campus library when you arrive, apart from the scratch of pens against paper from students with their heads bent over text books and the repetitive classical music that floats through the book shelves like a calming wave.

You head over to the check out desk in search of some guidance, perhaps able to interrogate the poor kid on duty about what he knows about the text book, but it's empty, and no matter how many times you ring the little bell on the counter, nobody comes.

With a sigh you duck behind the closest towering book case, dumping your bag so you can get down to business by yourself. Even if you had to search high and low, you had to find where this book came from. Surely it would give you a clue as to who sent you the love letter, right?

Blowing dust off an old stack of books, you drag your finger across the spines until you reach the B section, tongue between your teeth as you mindlessly thumb through books on Baking and Beaches and Birds before you come to a stop where you should come across Biology...except all that you find is a gaping hole that matches perfectly with the size and shape of book in your hands.

Dang. Already a dead end? Maybe Yoongi was right...hundreds of people could've checked out this book so this was probably a dumb clue anyway.

You're about to give up when a flash of a red sweater catches your eye through the gap in the shelf. There in the corner sits a lanky boy, so tall his legs stick out from beneath the desk he inhabits by the window. His fingers play with a silver pen, but he's not interested in the open notebook perched in front of him with lines half filled, too busy wiping away the condensation on the glass and gazing out at the hustle and bustle of the city in rush hour that juxtaposes the quiet company of books and dust he resides among.

Huh. Something strikes you about this dude, but you can’t quite put your finger on it yet. You duck behind the book shelf, moving a couple books to the side so you can peer between the leather spines to get a better look, and it's then that you notice the text book propped open beside him — Biology 101 — an exact copy of the one tucked beneath your elbow.

"Do you need help with something?"

You jolt when a pair of dark eyes appear and stare right back at you through the gap in the bookshelf, making you drop the textbook with a crash that elicits a series of harsh shhh! sounds from nearby. Upon further inspection you quickly realise it's the same guy you were spying on just moments ago, staring at you intently now as you stammer to form a response.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people?" You grumble, clutching your chest and dipping down to grab the book and simultaneously hide your burning cheeks.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He says, notebook deserted on the table behind him now so he can peer at you curiously through the shelves with a smirk. "It's just you looked sorta lost so I thought I'd offer my assistance."

He points to the name tag pinned to his sweater with a grin. Kim Namjoon — Librarian. Hold up...where have you heard that name before?

Oh god...you totally got his name in the Love Calculator Survey! Awkward.

It's okay, maybe he doesn't recognise you...

"It's Y/N, right?" He says as he straightens the books you knocked down earlier and thrusts a hand through the shelf for you to shake.

Dang it.

"That's me..." You take his hand with a sheepish smile, eager to escape the situation by walking to the end of the book case, but he just follows you, eyes bobbing above the spines of old books. "Wait..this might sound weird, but you don't know that because you happened to send me an anonymous letter do you?"

"Uh..." He's much taller when you finally step out of the aisle and come face to face, and he peers down at you intrigued but with confusion still evident in his voice. "No?"

Phew.

"Good to know. Just checking." He seems to find your rambling funny, biting back a smile as you jerk the Bio text book towards him. "Then uh, yeah, actually. I do need help. Have you seen this before?"

He scans the front, nodding his head slowly. "Biology 101. Yup, I've seen it. I might be wrong but I think that probably came from the science aisle."

You roll your eyes at his sarcasm. "No, I mean, have you seen it anywhere suspicious. Like someone shady reading it in a dark corner or smuggling it out of the library like drug cartel—"

"Nope. Pretty sure I saw a guy with blue hair check it out this morning though if that's who you're looking for?"

Taehyung. Damn it!

"Not quite." You cross your arms with a sigh before an idea strikes you. "Hey, is there any way you can see who checked this book out before?"

"I mean, yeah." Namjoon lifts the hatch of the check out desk and slips behind, flipping the book open to the first page and typing a couple numbers into the computer. "If I just scan this barcode..." You watch as he scans the book and turns the monitor towards you so you can watch as a document loads up. "It should give us a list of people who checked it out this semester."

An involuntary gasp leaves you when you read the list of names that pops up on the screen, eyes wide as you lower your voice to a whisper. "Is there any way I could get a copy of this?"

"Yeah, sure." Namjoon hits a button and the printer beside him spits out a mirror image of the document on his screen. You snatch it up with a breathy laugh, shoving it into your backpack and fishing around for your phone, thumbs moving across the screen at the speed of light to punch in a phone number you know by heart.

It quickly dawns on you that this mystery might be bigger than you ever expected -- and you wouldn’t be able to solve it alone. No. It was time to bring in the big guy. Park Jimin.

"Nah this shit is legit legit!" Jimin splutters as he flops back onto your bed. He's still in his cheer costume, rushing over to your place as soon as practice ended and he got the SOS call, and he let's out a gasp as his wide eyes scan the love letter for the nth time.

"So you'll help me find out who wrote it?"

"Duh. You know I love a mystery and a cheesy romcom story arc. You're, like, totally going to marry this guy and live happily every after." Jimin clutches his chest, eyes dreamy as he peers at you over the rim of his round lens glasses. "And if you don't I totally will!"

"Hey!" Jimin erupts into a fit of giggles when you launch a throw cushion at his face. "This isn't a movie, Park. I just wanna know who sent it. Ya know...for clarity." You wrinkle your nose when Jimin's narrowed eyes prod you to admit otherwise. Of course you weren’t actually interested in this love letter guy. Right? "Don't look at me like that! It's probably just some stupid prank anyway..."

You hug your torso with a frown. What if Yoongi was right and this was just a wild goose chase and you were falling right into the clutches of the perpetrator? What if instead of a secret admirer the love letter trail led to nothing but humiliation?

"Well there's only one way to find out." Jimin jumps to his feet, pacing the room for a few seconds with his hand on his chin before an idea strikes him and he starts and ripping down the schedules and homework reminders from the pinboard above your desk like a man possessed. “We have to get to the bottom of this mystery ASAP. And lucky for you, you’ve got me to help you.”

"How?" You inquire, watching curiously as he rummages through your drawers to retrieve a pot of push pins and a ball of red string that you just so happened to have lying around. Without further ado, he rips the cap off a pink sharpie to scrawl Operation: Love Letters in big letters at the top of a sticky note, pinning it in the center.

"It's certainly not environmentally friendly, but I've always wanted to make a murder board...although I suppose this is more of a romance board?" He lays out the pieces of evidence you have already gathered on the carpet; the love note from your secret admirer, the biology book scribbles, the list of library book borrowers and last but not least your Love Calculator survey results. "But as your best friend it is my duty to call the official investigation into Y/N's secret admirer to action." He grins. "So, what clues do we have so far?"

"Well we know that my secret admirer has to have been one of the people on this list who borrowed Biology 101." You grab a highlighter pen from the pot on your desk. "Hey look! A couple of the names on this list match up with my Love Calculator results."

Jimin's eyes light up as you start drawing circles around the names that correspond with both lists.

"Jung Hoseok, Kim Seokjin, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, Min Yoongi and Kim Namjoon..." Jimin reads, nibbling the eraser of a pencil thoughtfully. "Kim Namjoon. Isn't that the guy you spoke to at the library?"

"Yup." You confirm. "But he didn't seem to know anything about the love letters, so I think we can rule him out of the investigation."

"Cool. But maybe he knows someone who does?" Jimin says, crossing his name off the suspect list but scribbling his name onto a post it note next to the words POSSIBLE ACCOMPLICE? and pinning it next to the list of library borrowers, connecting the two with a piece of red string.

"And we know right off the bat that it's not Yoongi," Jimin draws a line through Yoongi's name on the list. "So we've narrowed it down to four potential bachelor's. Jung Hoseok, Kim Seokjin, Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook. Now we just need to find out if any of them had a motive to send you this letter. Any ideas?"

You ponder for a second, eyes fixated on the unfamiliar names on the list, before shaking your head negative. "I mean, I've probably seen each them around campus a couple times?"

Jimin looks unimpressed. "That's all you can come up with? No secret romantic rendezvous or crazy drunken hookups I don't know about?"

It's your turn to roll your eyes. "Jimin, you know better than anyone my idea of a crazy night is eating a whole packet of Cheez-It's and binge watching The Vampire Diaries instead of studying for my calc test. Besides, you know I'd tell you every detail if I had."

"Fair point." Jimin shrugs.

"If only we could read his name." You murmur, flopping onto your bed and holding the note above your head, closing one eye to get a better look at the splodge of ink in the middle of the page that obscures some of the sender's messy handwriting. "It seems like my admirer spilled something right where he signed his name..."

"Hold on a second," Jimin's eyes light up and he rips the note from your fingertips, ignoring your hey! of protest to perch on the end of the bed. You almost choke when he lifts the note to his nose and inhales, lashes fluttering closed before he exclaims, "I've solved it!"

"Huh?"

"This smell..."

"Smell? Jimin the fuck do you mean—"

"Cologne," Jimin drawls, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world as he pulls you to your feet and jumps on the spot excitedly. "He didn't spill anything, he left you a clue! Your secret admirer sprayed this note with his cologne before he sent it off and it made the ink bleed right here, but lucky for you, I just so happen to have a smell profile on every cute boy on campus."

You raise an eyebrow. "Honestly under normal circumstances I'd be concerned but right now I'm just intrigued. Elaborate?"

"Remember that guy I had a huge crush on last year?"

"Yeah? The footballer?"

"Right!" Jimin's finger slams down onto the name written in curly scrawl at the bottom of the love calculator list. "I would know his cologne anywhere. And it just so happens that it says his name right here!"

Jung Hoseok.

"He's my admirer?" You gasp.

Jimin shoots you a triumphant grin. "Come on! We have a secret admirer to expose. Operation Love Letters a-go!"

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ravenvsfox · 5 years

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ok bitch: 4, 6, 8, 15, 18, 41, & 48 for the fic writers ask meme

oh SHIT look at you go!! thanks babe ✨

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

man I wish I could say I’m strong and multi-faceted but I actually gotta pass on fantasy and sci-fi

who has the time to build a world?? from scratch?? what the fuck

my wheelhouse tends to be drama and horror, plus the kind of magical realism that lends itself to fanciful description. I have lots of ideas for images and almost no ideas for plot, so I write kind of sad, wistful, circular stories lmao

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

ah ew

I have a buried fanfiction.net account that is FULL of completely humiliating fic that I would actively chew up and swallow just to be rid of it

My whole hard drive is full of fic so self indulgent and terrible that it never saw the light of day, thank CHRIST

we’re talking criminal minds self insert fic and glee crossovers, man

(also my first couple of prompts for aftg were like mediocre smut that can..... go)

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Like I read a lot a lot a lot, if I’m not reading novels for a few months I genuinely read hundreds of thousands of words of fanfiction

and I often find that I read a phrase in a story or poem and I’m like oh dope!! how can I steal that in a way that makes it totally different and also mine

Sometimes my mind is blank and I try to snap my fingers and make a metaphor, and what comes to me is the last thing I studied in class. So maybe I was reading about Actaeon, ripped apart by his own wolves. And that’s such rich territory to talk about like self doubt or betrayal. Or I learned about the naming system in ancient Rome -- I could talk about how sad it is to be a contortion of your father.

I was recently listening to the audio book of I’ll give you the sun and I was like ohhh yah this book majorly inspired my style, and so did stief, and so did the way my brother talks, and so did griffin mcelroy, etc, etc

You inhale your culture and you exhale a story that’s how it goes, homie

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

keeping in mind that I’m the worst titler in the world lol

Honestly I usually just wrack my brain for the name that seems to fit the character outline and then I change it like 18 times when they inevitably sound too ebony darkness dementia ravenway

I had this wip where there was a fire-starter named simon, and then he became enzo like lorenzo (which is off the walls), and then I started calling him ren in my head a la footloose

and then sometimes I’m like okay this character is a leader and she’s from japan siri search japanese baby names meaning strong lol

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Yeah dawg im tired

I was writing a doctor/patient au that I scrapped bc I got swept away in so many prompts

I started writing a oneshot where the feds arrest neil for the murder of his mother bc someone digs up her bones and they find his dna everywhere but I was like..... this is not that exciting a premise, so I left it for a rainy day ya know

I also wrote the first few chapters of a webcomic that eventually fizzled when the artist and I got busy, so yeah I feel like it’s usually more of a lack of time than a lack of passion.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

um idk if anyone remembers the shopkeeper that I wrote into my story about the twins?? A convenience store employee mistakes Aaron for Andrew and I liked that she was a sort of homely no nonsense person who liked drew better than aaron. like. what a character she would have to be for that to be true

I’ve written lots of tiny OCs that I probably like more, but this was one of my few fanfic characters that I was like. yeah. I could write 50 late night interactions between her and andrew

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

I really like writing like... drift compatibility?? or its equivalent??? soulmates maybe? I love when two characters are very very in sync, and fiercely protective over one another to the point of self sacrifice

I also dig love confessions it’s my dirty secret as an andreil writer lmaooo I love tender helpless vocal love

Fanfiction Writer Asks

#thank you for these rad ass questions sam I'm sorry it took me forever to respond #ask meme #long post #philosophium #ask

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pettrichore · 5 years

Text

so danny rants about stuff no one asked about: pacific rim aus edition

okay so i adore pacific rim aus. i love mechas and i rlly enjoyed the first movie when it came out!! and i mean action aside (bc that’s far from what REALLY grabbed my attention.. i mean the aesthetic of things did too but MAINLY-) drift comparability was like. GOD i love it??? i mean it’s far from some like romantic connection that like it CAN be but it’s just.. it’s all about having this deep connection with someone. maybe it’s a family member. maybe it’s your significant other. maybe it’s a stranger that you end up having a deep bond with in the end??? either way i was and still am in love with the concept. i think it can be fleshed out perfectly and i like to think of my close relationships in terms of this at times. i also love the way people describe things. i love how in fics and works relating to pacific rim and aus for it like.. you can sometimes see that like.. post drift hangover as i feel like ive seen it called. where their movements still seem to mimic or they seem to know just what the other person wants or is doing without say a word. or can almost have a whole conversation without saying a thing as well. i love that kinda in sync aspect but despite my love for all of this i do have some hm other things

now i’m sure the POINT of some fics and such especially where it features a previous jaeger pilot that ends up being compatible with someone they dont know.. but like idk i feel like they try to force that connection. they find someone they are capable of having that bond with and hold onto that and claim it as what i honestly think it isnt yet and like.. kinda need to get a taste of piloting again so they use that person.. or honestly just that like they try to push a bond with someone they dont know (i honestly havent seen the movie in forever and forgot a great deal but like i do know they didnt even know each other ????) anyway i feel like this holds the same issue as most soulmate aus for me. where there’s this like Bond that these two people have or are supposed to have and they push it so hard and try to be like “look we Know each other/Love each other” and it’s like no. no you dont. not YET at least. like i would like to see so much more development. and i’m sure some fics start out that first way bc it’s called character growth and do get to the point through long drawn out Character Development that we see them form that bond and such. but yeah idk just dont force things that arent there yknow?? i wish there was less of “ah we know we’re comparable we just gotta work on it” and learning about each other through the drift. i feel like drifting to bond is cheating. you need to gain that person’s trust and like learn about them THROUGH them. not by sharing their memories and shit. i want to see programs that work at like.. getting people in settings where they’ll form bonds if they dont already have someone that they can drift with that is capable of piloting a jaeger. i want to see ppl going through shit and then when they find someone they do trust and can maybe even trial drift with to like.. spend a long damn time just living together and learning about one another. idk. more development ppl !!!! that’s it

#speaks #just my thots on some stuff

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missytearex · 6 years

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Happy 1D fanworks appreciation day! I thought I would celebrate by sharing my ultimate favourites. So, in no particular order, here we go!

Vanguard by catholicschoolgirl | @catholicschoolgirl --- 40k, Zarry

“But you've been thinking about me,” Harry said. “You've been thinking about me, and now you know that I've been thinking about you. Since before we even met, I've wanted you.”

Zayn smiled wryly, feeling cynical all of a sudden. “And it's that easy?”

Harry nodded. “It should be. People try to make it hard, but I've gotta believe it's that easy. It's everything else about this damn world that's hard.”

This one absolutely destroyed me. It’s set in the 60′s during the Vietnam war. I was completely transported there. Do yourself a favour and have a listen to the fanmix as well. It really adds to the immersion.

there's no fair in farewell by we_are_the_same | @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed --- 218k, Larry

When Harry and Louis, two Cupids who have been bringing people together for decades, are tasked with making Soulmates Liam and Zayn fall in love, it proves to be much harder than expected. But maybe, just maybe, that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

This was the first WIP I’ve let myself read in years, and guys, it paid off! I have such a soft spot for it, as I was reading along while it was being posted. Take note that it is complete now! It’s just such an original story. I laughed, I cried, I yelled in capslock. Go read this right now, if you haven’t yet!

Under All Circumstances by lazy_daze | @dazy-laze --- 38k, OT5

When Liam decides to sign up for an online dating website, his main worry is how scary it is to finally have the chance to go out with a boy; he’s definitely not anticipating having to deal with the website glitch that sets him up on a blind date with not just one boy, but four at the same time.

Somehow, the date goes well – so well that the other four convince Liam that they all need to do it again, and for some crazy reason Liam agrees. Maybe it’s because he really likes these loud, ridiculous, frankly gorgeous boys.

But it’s stupid, isn’t it? No matter how good it feels, how much fun Liam has, and how lucky he feels that all these people want to kiss him – five people can’t all go out at the same time. Five-way relationships don’t happen, there’s no way they can all make this work. He’s sure of it.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love this fic. It’s OT5 with feels, which is one of my favourite things ever, and there is not nearly enough of it in this world.

Walk That Mile by purpledaisy | @daisyharry --- 149k, Larry

Harry stares at him, the line of his jaw standing out scarily. “I wanted to get the most out of this trip so I planned it carefully.” His voice is low and steady and somehow that’s worse than when he was yelling. “So far, you’ve put your sticky fingers on everything I’ve tried to do.”

“Sticky fingers?” Louis repeats, offended. “Are you saying it’s my fault you got stung by a bee? Had you been alone you would have gotten halfway to the Dotty Diner and ran the car off the road because of an allergic reaction, so don’t go blaming me.”

“Polk-A-Dot Drive In,” Harry spits before getting out of the car. He slams the door shut with a deafening reverb and Louis rolls his eyes. - A Route 66 AU where falling in love was never part of the plan.

Larry roadtrip AU! I can only imagine how much research must have gone into writing something like this. Pair that with a brilliant writing style and amazing characterizations and, holy shit, you’ve got one incredible story!

Little Lion Man by Writcraft | @writsgrimmyblog --- 123k, Tomlinshaw

It’s his final year at Hogwarts, and Louis can’t wait to leave for good. He hates being in Gryffindor and he can’t even enjoy a smoke with the Slytherins now his best mate Zayn’s fucked off to Durmstrang. Louis would be completely miserable if not for WWN and Nick Grimshaw. The same Nick Grimshaw Louis has been listening to for years, ever since Nick’s early days on Potterwatch. As Louis tries to negotiate coming of age, sexuality, first times, homophobia in the wizarding world and his growing feelings for Nick, a new evil emerges which puts Louis and Nick in serious danger. Peace can only last for so long and Louis is about to learn exactly how brave he can be as he finds himself fighting for his life, his friends and everything he’s ever loved.

This author is an absolute legend among the HP community, and I feel so blessed that they gave us this epic coming-of-age freakin novel of a Tomlinshaw fic. Because that’s what it is. A novel. Reading it feels like reading a Harry Potter book, with added smut. Plus, I have such a soft spot for Tomlinshaw. A must read.

Let It Be Lightning by alexenglish | @queerlyalex --- 41k, OT5

Niall Horan made a choice when he enlisted with the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. Leave his family and try to make a difference. He started out as a Jaeger Tech, elbow-deep in the greasy guts of the machines that were supposed to save the world, but here he is, five years later, fresh out of the Ranger Academy with another choice to make:

Assemble a team of Rangers able to pilot two or more Jaegers at any given moment. Interchangeable partnerships, all Drift Compatible with each other. The implications of pulling off this project are astronomical, but at the end of the day, Niall's just worried about how many people are going to end up inside his head.

If you’re looking for a little diversity, look no further! This one features non-binary!harry, trans-male!louis and asexual!liam all in one damn place! And everyone is connected through Niall! I mean, that pushes so many of my buttons, I don’t even know where to start!

you came into my life by disgruntledkittenface | @disgruntledkittenface --- 57k, Larry

They stand around talking for a minute and then Jonathan starts to ramble, “Has there ever been, like, an unrequited gay love story in here? Like a Brokeback Mountain moment where, like, someone just fell in love and they didn’t mean to?”

Louis feels bile rise in his throat as Jonathan’s eyes sparkle, pleading for a yes. He manages to look around and see thoughtful looks on his coworkers’ faces before their heads shake no.

“Not here,” Liam says finally.

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

I’ve talked about this one before, and to be honest, I probably won’t ever stop talking about it. It’s a story about Louis’ inner struggles and the people that give him the courage to finally come out of the closet. Every which way you turn, there’s a character love and adore. I will definitely be reading this one again some time in the near future.

I Only Come Alive Under the Moonlight by remivel | @remivel --- 54k, Lilo

Louis knew he hadn't seen action in months, but this was just the universe making fun of him, he was sure of it. Because when he woke up in the middle of the night, he discovered that his new dog was missing, and standing in its place was a very confused, very fit... and very naked man.

Or a romantic comedy with a furry twist. Liam turns into a dog at night, Louis tries to help him get back to normal-- and ends up falling in love somewhere along the way.

It’s a rom-com, guys! And I actually laughed out loud. Imagine Louis waking up to find a naked Liam in the kitchen. And Liam having no idea how he got there, or even who he is. It’s so fun to join their weird little bubble for a while. I could’ve easily read another 50k words of this.

Replay, Darling by lazy_daze | @dazy-laze --- 1k, Lilo

Really, really schmoopy Lilo 'Replay' fic for which I blame onedirectionundergod and the fact that there can never been enough 'Replay' schmoop. (Or porn - oh man, please - but this is version: schmoop.) Thank you to checkthemargins for the title help! <3

This one really is sickly-sweet, but that’s just how I like ‘em! I know it’s short, but my love for Lilo and the whole replay thing makes it one of my favourites.

Easy As All That (Go Around A Time Or Two) by sunsetmog --- 84k, Lilo

Sometimes the hardest part of growing up is figuring out who you are in the first place.

Or: The one where Liam and Louis only kiss when they're on nights out, when it's secret, when there's no one around to see them. If no one knows you're having a sexuality crisis, that means it isn't happening, right?

Or, or: Liam accidentally turns Louis' world upside down.

A high school sixth form AU.

Lilo having a sexuality crisis! I don’t know what more you need me to say, really. When I think about Lilo, this is the fic I think about.

Heart Skips A Beat by harriet_vane --- 27k, Zarry

Harry always kisses everyone, until he starts something he can't finish. (A university AU in which no one goes to class. I am noticing a trend.)

Harry’s characterization is the whole reason I love this fic so much. He absolutely has no freakin idea how to deal with his crush and goes about it all wrong. It’s endearing as much as it is face-palm inducing.

I Could Paint You By Numbers, and Color You In by YinAndYangOnIce --- 12k, Ziall

based off this thing i wrote, basically Niall has a secret admirer and everyone is an idiot

I prefer my Ziall to be of the fluffy variety and this one does not disappoint! It makes me smile like an absolute idiot, which is why you should read it.

Not Happening by scottmcniceass --- 52k, Ziam

Zayn and Liam are roommates. They hate each other. (Most of the time.)

This was the first Ziam I have ever read and boy did it set the bar high. If you’re into enemies to lovers, as I am, drop everything and read this.

#28th appreciation #one direction #1d #mine #fic rec #my recs #my lists

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agentsokka · 7 years

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Davekat Fic Recs [P2]

Continuation of my Davekat fic rec list from ye old 2016. An absolute metric shit ton of Damn Good Fics�� have dropped since then, and it’s criminal I haven’t updated that original list in so long.

As per usual with these things, you won’t find much luck here with smut content. Some stories feature scenes, but for the most part, the fics themselves aren’t exclusively about such.

Cheers!

[Oneshots]

English is Full of Really Shitty Metaphors: You knew you probably shouldn't stay on a planet mostly inhabited by trolls once you finished your adult pupation and your blood color became more apparent. You also knew that you should learn a couple of other languages so that your weren't floundering around like an idiot when you eventually did move. Talking to random aliens on the internet seemed like a really good way to practice.

Fatalistic Humor, or, Jokes to Make Post-Mortem: ‘Head over heels’ is an appropriate turn of phrase because falling in love is exactly like throwing yourself down an endless staircase of inconvenient emotion.

i’m at the combination dunkin donuts & urgent care: Karkat Vantas is convinced beyond a doubt that his neighbor is some variety of murderer, until they actually meet in person. Highlights include blood at the laundromat, Dave's weird obsession with candles, and a box of shitty swords.

In Which a Loser is Sick: IN WHICH A LOSER IS SICK AND TRIES TO DENY IT, A TROLL IS ALSO A LOSER AND TRIES TO DENY IT, PISSING PANTS IS DISCUSSED IN THE SAME LINE OF CONVERSATION AS CALMING DOWN, VRISKA IS MENTIONED BECAUSE OF COURSE SHE IS, SOUP IS MADE AND SUBSEQUENTLY IGNORED, AND AN ACT OF AFFECTION IS REPAID BY THE WEAKENING OF AN IMMUNE SYSTEM. Dave gets sick and Karkat takes care of him.

Pretty Friggin’ MATRIMONIAL: Karkat is planning the proposal to end all proposals, but a clueless Dave has plans of his own.

Rumination: Dave and Karkat do some thinking, talking, kissing, and cuddling. Not necessarily in that order.

Self Sabotage and Other Symptoms of a Damaged Soul: Ok so everyone knows Dave and Dirk had a long amazing talk that presumably ended with Dave asking him for advice on the Being Not Straight stuff. My problem is, Dave also spent three years with his gloriously gay twin sister on a fucking space rock while he was right in the middle of coming to terms with all this stuff. So I wrote this mostly to reconcile the gap I think exists there, with a bunch of other Dave centric stuff thrown in with it.

Shitty Punchlines are the Purest Form of Self-Deprecation: Laying somewhere solidly post-credits and wondering, when do we start feeling like winners? Or is that not part of the package? Where's our fucking GameFAQs guide to navigating these stupid first steps into an eternity processing whatever the FUCK just happened, here? Going through that door was supposed to fix everything. Wasn't it? What's it going to take to fix ourselves?

Sleepwalk: Dave has unfortunate nocturnal habits. Karkat handles them better than anyone might've expected.

Start at the Beginning: Don't stop until eternity. And even then. (Davekat, meteor to can land to earth c and on. Happy anniversary.)

Sweatertown - Population: Two: Dave's cape gets hijacked, but Karkat knows what to do about it.

Tested: Dave and Karkat want to escape Aperture Science Laboratories.

That Cultural Divide: “Dave,” says Karkat neutrally, “why are they beating him up?” And your mouth runs dry.

Valentine’s Day: Valentine's Day through the three years on the meteor.

What to do When Your Boyfriend is Too Hot: Moving to a new universe and a new paradigm brings a lot of changes. And Dave kind of likes the way things were before, back on the Meteor, when he had Karkat all to himself and didn't spend sleepless nights waiting for the shoe to fall.

[Multichap]

About a Time I Failed: A doomed timeline AU. Instead of trolling John, Karkat finds himself scrolling through Dave's entire timeline. He is horrified by what he finds, and ends up in a pseudo-friendship with somewhat reluctant Dave. The story spans the rest of this timeline- Dave and Karkat's budding internet romance, the beta kids becoming friends, the start of SBURB, and, eventually, all of them realizing that Dave and Karkat's diversion from the Alpha Timeline has doomed them all. [Incomplete]

And it’s a Downward Spiral from There: One day, the whole world is going to acknowledge you as that one guy who finally made contact with aliens, but if you had known that getting drunk was going to lead up to abduction, a potential probing, and becoming the worst cult sacrifice this side of the galaxy, you probably would have just stayed at home. [Ongoing]

Astronomy in Reverse: Dave and Karkat are intergalactic pen pals, originally paired together for an extra credit school outreach project. Now, three years of correspondence later, they're best friends... and Karkat is finally immigrating to Earth. [Ongoing]

Breathe: Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools. Without your twin sister and best friend, you've been left socially crippled at school, and barely coping at home. You're nearly certain that your mental health has been slowly spiraling downhill. You have no clue how you'll last the year to high school graduation. In all this, there's just one single ray of light. Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools. Except for meeting Karkat Vantas. [Ongoing]

**The Calm is Terrifying When the Storm is All You’ve Known**: There were two kinds of trolls who went to Earth: rich shitheads with too much money and free time, and desperate assholes who couldn’t survive on Alternia, even with the best efforts of the young Condesce. Karkat hated the planet almost immediately, but with his home planet too dangerous for mutants, he really didn’t have any choice but to hide out on this weird little diurnal planet. At least he’d be safe. Or so he thought, right before blundering his way into an accidental friendship with the son of an anti-troll terrorist. Slow burn, shifting perspectives; romance really isn't the focus here but it'll still play a significant part; extra content warnings will be posted with each relevant chapter. [Ongoing] [y’all I’m serious read it it’ll water your crops and clear your chakras it’s Good Shit]

cold desert: Curiosity killed the cat. It probably just wasn't as good at being nosy as Dave is. [Ongoing]

Demon Eyes: In which Dave goes in to kill a demon for his bro, and things...don't exactly go as planned. [Ongoing]

Doc Scratch’s School for Supernaturally Gifted Adolescents: One minute you get a mysterious message from a man who types all in white like a jackass, and then the next thing you know you're being whisked away to a mystical school for kids with superpowers. If you weren't Dave fucking Strider, this sort of thing might bother you. [Ongoing]

Fortuitous: Dave and Karkat build a pillow fort and an unexpected chain of events occurs. [Ongoing]

If I Lose Everything in the Fire: The Kaiju - or Horrorterrors, as the trolls call them - first invaded Earth through a transdimensional rift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Serving the Condesce in her quest to add Earth to the Alternian Empire, these monsters have terrorized humanity for twelve years. With the help of rebel troll factions and the adaptation of Alternian mind integration technology - The Drift - the Interspecies Defense Program has fought back as the last line of defense between the Kaiju and Earth. Karkat Vantas was a Jaeger pilot, fought for freedom in the Assault on the Breach that brought trolls to Earth. The loss of his co-pilot left him bitter and full of rage, but desperate times have lead to him being recruited to join the fray once more. Dave Strider is the best and brightest the Interspec program has to offer. Jaeger Restoration Project Head, highest simulation score on record, and younger brother of the Deputy Marshal - except he's not allowed in a Jaeger. Nobody expects them to be Drift Compatible. [Ongoing]

i'm sick of the things i do when i'm nervous: Two idiots poke at recovery with a stick. [Complete]

IN WHICH TWO SETS OF HUMAN BROTHERLY BONDS ARE ESTABLISHED, SEVERAL CORRUPT INSTITUTIONS OF MORALITY ARE IDEOLOGICALY DEMOLISHED, A DOG WITCH USES GOD POWERS TO MESS WITH EXQUISTELY CAREFULLY PLANNED INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS FOR SOME TREES LIKE A JACKASS--: --APPROXIMATELY A BILLION FUCKING CONSORTS AND CHESS PEOPLE, ALONG WITH A LOT OF USELESS GOD MODED LAYABOUTS ARE LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL COLONIZATION AND ESTABLISHMENT BY A SUCCESSFUL AND COMPASSIONATE LEADER, AND LONG-SUNDERED SOULMATES TORN APART BY FEAR AND DEVASTATING, MIND-BOGGLING STUPIDITY ARE REUNITED AT LAST BY A WISE, COMPASSIONATE BOSS / GUIDANCE FIGURE AND HIS LOYAL, EFFICIENT RIGHT-HAND MAN. THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE CRYING SCENES, TWO KISSES, AND OVER TEN TOTAL MINUTES OF REAL-TIME DESCRIPTION OF LONGING GAZES AND TENDER HUGS. 2 RESOUNDING ENDORSEMENTS OF BELOVED MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS. PRIMERS ON HUMAN/TROLL INTERSPECIES ROMANCE. THIS TEXT IS SUGGESTED SCHOOLFEEDING MATERIAL FOR ALL REASONABLY GROWN HATCHLINGS GAZING OUT ON THE BLIGHTED WASTELAND OF THEIR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, WISHING THEY WERE DEAD, AND DESPERATELY YEARNING SOMEONE WOULD CLUE THEM IN ON JUST WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. RATED 8(17)+ AND UP. [Complete]

M.C. Escher that's My Favorite MC [It’s the End of the World as We Know It]: Dirk has a plan, when he's 18 he's going to take Dave and get him the fuck out of their terrible lives and start over. Until then being the barrier between Dave and Bro is his only job, his soulmate is just going to have to wait goddamnit. Dave has a plan, it involves getting internet famous and not going gay, easy right? Karkat also has a plan, to repeatedly track down his dumb as rocks soulmate and get him to actually talk to him for fuck's sake. [Ongoing]

Midnight’s Son: Dave Strider's father, a prominent detective, is tasked with infiltrating the Midnight Crew. Dave, worried about his father's safety, decides to do a little undercover work of his own and tries to befriend the boss's son, Karkat Vantas. [Complete]

Nothing Risked, Nothing Lost: Try as he might, Dave remembered nothing from the first four years of his life. There were three signs of imminent upheaval. First, the King of Derse disappeared without a trace. Second, the Queen of Prospit dropped dead. The third sign was the return of long-lost royalty. Not like any of this was Dave's concern. Not the war between Prospit and Derse, not the horrorterrors of the Furthest Ring, not the failings of some dumb monarchs. He was a nobody. Not like Rose, a bona fide Seer of Light. He wasn't sure why she wanted them to go to Derse, but he followed her, anyway. Like he always did. [Hiatus]

Off Court: Your name is Dave Strider, and a hospital wasn’t the setting you had imagined when you thought of seeing your twin again. Your name is Karkat Vantas, and having Terezi drag you around her weird human legislacerator training probably wasn’t the worst way you could spend the rest of your sweeps. And then you meet him. [Ongoing]

Palisades, Palisades: In your memories, you see Dave Strider, fourteen-years-old and made up of lean muscle and awkward limbs that he would still need a few years to grow into fully. Crows surround him, all cawing impatiently, vying for the chicken sandwich in his backpack. He swears loudly as he swings a stick at them, trying to get them to leave him the fuck alone. “Stupid feathery assholes,” he’d always complain once he finally shooed them away. You tear yourself out of the memory. You miss him, and you hate yourself for it. [Complete]

The Red Thing: The first time you ever realised there was something wrong with you, you were two sweeps old. You still remember it like it was just yesterday. You were at the playground in your then-community, which you had long since moved from. You’d been playing ‘tag’ with some of the other young trolls, but had tripped and scraped your knees. One of the other troll’s custodial guardians had noticed what had happened, and wandered over to make sure you were alright. You don’t think you’ll ever forget the look on her face when she picked you up and saw the mutant-red seeping through the knees of your pants. Things spiraled downhill quickly after that. You’d never quite understood what was happening when you were young, but you’d known that you’d become an outcast. Other trolls around you started to avoid you. Sometimes they’d throw things at you – food, stones, anything that might hurt you. Other times, they’d call you names – mistake, mutant, freak. You preferred when they tried to hurt you. At least then you could fight back. [Ongoing]

space cowboy disaster zone: Your name is Karkat Vantas, and these nights you eke out a quiet living on Antoren-3, helping around the Caltira Inn or scavenging out in the rust plains. It’s a simple life, and the only excitement you get for the most part is from the stories of other scavengers, a handful of bar fights, and the occasional salvageable wreck. Fresh wrecks, you’ve only seen a handful of times, and when John spots the telltale streak of light from a distant crash in the middle of a rust storm, you’re eager to get first dibs on whatever it might contain, the elements be damned. You don’t expect a survivor. [Ongoing]

Stepping Stones: A series of vignettes concerning the evolution of the relationship between Karkat Vantas and Dave Strider. Or, the troll title: IN WHICH DAVE AND KARKAT DISCUSS THE VARIOUS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HUMAN AND TROLL GENITALS, THERE IS AN AWKWARD CONFESSION OF EMOTIONS, DAVE AND DIRK FINISH THEIR CONVERSATION ON THE ROOFTOP, DAVE GETS SOME ADVICE FROM A FEW OF THE LADIES IN HIS LIFE, AND THERE IS A SMUTTY EPILOGUE. [Complete]

The Stories We Tell Ourselves: Dave was silent. YES. YOU. The voice answered him before he even had a chance to speak up and voice his confusion or curiosity with a lack of delicacy only a child was capable of. It had a harsh way of speaking, brash enough to be rude and so loud the sound of his voice practically echoed off his skull. In it he could feel the rich, crimson flow of blood, the drip, drip, of molten lava degrading stone so ancient not even the gods of old would have lived to see it form. A being so old, so vast, that even to speak his name would grant one with immeasurable power. It made him shudder, little hands clenching into fists against rough stone. HUMAN CHILD. In which Dave is alone and Dragons exist. Shenanigans ensue. [Ongoing]

Stow Away: Calm and collected, that's Dave Strider. The docking station around him is chaotic and loud but he is like ice, cool and clear. None of that is true of course, but nobody is looking closely enough to notice the way his hands shake and his eyes dart around underneath the opaque plastic of his vintage sunglasses. Dave Strider sneaks on board an Alternian ship in an attempt to flee his shitty situation on Earth. This is the first of many questionable decisions. [Complete]

Time Displacement: Side A: After the events of the game, Dave wakes up in a universe that is familiarly unfamiliar. Sburb didn't happen, all their guardians are alive, and Bro is...different. [Ongoing]

Transcend: Dave doesn't get troll romance, but that's okay because Karkat is bad at it anyway. A journey through all four quadrants and a bit more. [Complete]

#Homestuck #Davekat #Dave Strider #Karkat Vantas #fic recs

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luci-is-a-devil- · 7 years

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Soulmate!Meanie

(notes! Okay so I kinda cheated on this lol, it’s two members, but whoops a fucking daisy)

•soulmate au where on your own body and on your soulmates body, you have a matching tattoo •when you meet, the area where the tattoo is burns •people normally have one but having multiple isn’t unheard of •they are people who have platonic tattoos instead of romantic • •as a child, you wanted to be a singer •but then you realized that you sounded like a dying cat and that dream died •but!!!! •you decided if you couldn’t sing •you’d learn to play instruments instead •so you often went to competitions, that’s where you meet a boy named lee jihoon! •he plays the piano, and he’s amazing! •but he’s your rival, yet older brother mentor?? •it’s complicated for two six year old but it’s fine •so you get used to seeing him in every competition you’re in •and from being at the same place so often, your parents have become friends •so you now hang with jihoon pretty often •and you’re just always talking about soulmates •and jihoon fondly smile because ‘I can’t believe we’re the same age’ •so growing up, even though jihoon and you went to different schools you were close •you slept over at his house and vice versa •you guys were pretty inseparable •until •the dreaded high school years •it wasn’t anything bad •you just drifted apart y'know? •like you went your separate ways but if you see him you’ll wave and he’ll do the same •but you just realized that you weren’t very compatible people •if it wasn’t for you parents, you wouldn’t have been as close most likely • •so you’re a teen •the cursed phase •where you’re not sure who you are, what the dream is, or where you’re heading •but that’s okay!!! •you still play your instruments, but you have also spread out to other forms of art! •whether it’s lyrics, poems, or stories you like having a pad of paper in your hand and a pencil tucked behind your ear •it also comes in handy for drawing!!! •other teen find you odd, you walk around like a reporter, a camera can be found around your neck some days as well •but you couldn’t care less, it was what made you happy! •so you were in quite a few clubs •the poetry club, the music club, photography and yearbook! •you were everywhere really •so it’s the around the end of the year and you’re supposed to be taking pictures •but of course you can’t listen to instructions and you’re helping out the newspaper club •interviewing the basketball vice captain while taking pictures •so basketball captain is lowkey douchey •like he’s being super sexist and all you wanna do is finish this and get out of school •but he just droning on and on over how good he is •over how many baskets he’s made this season •so you’re pretending to listen, until you can’t take it anymore and spit you’re way out •jihoon is sitting with his group at one of the tables that��s pretty close •looking for a foot time to cut him off, you plan you’re escape •"oh sorry, my friends are over there and I completely forgot that I was supposed to meet them!“ •smiling at him, you quickly packed up your stuff and waved to him •before rushing to the table jihoon was sitting at •"Lee jihoon, you’ve saved me once again!” •and ten heads turn toward you •and the green haired boy looks at you and smirks, as if he knew something you didn’t •waving at you, he patted for you to sit down next to him •placing your camera on the table with your notepad you sit on the metal bench •"what’s up hoonie?“ •"don’t call me that, shit head.” •letting out a giggle, you introduced yourself too the other boys •"hi I’m y/n! I’m not sure what I want to be but I’m working on it!“ •you said waving at them •all ten boys are smirking, and it’s honestly v unsettling •so you’re looking at jihoon like ‘please don’t skin me and wear my flesh as a coat’ •before you can question them •three boy approach with their arms full of drinks •and you look at the first boy and instantly know who he is •yoon jeonghan, devil who looks like an angel. Not to be trusted •but when you look at the other two, your right wrist and your hip starts burning •so you scream •starting eleven boys and people nearby •but the other two understand immediately •you’re their last soulmate •the person they had been crushing on was their soulmate •and now was screaming in front of them •slowly the burn went away, you kept your eyes on the taller boy •he had his eyes locked onto you •but with a glance to the male who was next to him, so were his •everyone’s eyes in the vicinity went away, leaving only thirteen pairs on you •"what the literal fuck?” •you questioned the tall males who were standing with the juice in their arms •"you’re our soulmate!! The camera! You!!“ •the tall boy who resembled a puppy exclaimed excitedly •whilst the other male smiled, somehow you knew he was just as excited •and you stood up from the bench and looked at the two of them, then the eleven boys who were sitting (jeonghan moved, he’s not standing for anyone) •"I’m gonna take them, bye hoonie!” •take them you did, but not before taking your camera and notepad •grasping their giant hands in your own, you dragged them to an empty classroom •when you arrived, you sat on the teachers desk and pointed at the boys who were still staring •"who’s the cloud, and who’s the pen?“ •causing mingyu to laugh, because that’s what you wanted to know?? •"im the cloud. •the giggling puppy said, to both of your amusements •looking at the boy who had dark eyes, and was wearing glasses •you waited for someone to say something •"I’m kim mingyu! That’s jeon wonwoo!” •the youngest cut off your staring competition •"y/n" •and somehow the world seemed a little brighter • •you got close to jihoon again, much to mingyu’s chagrin •but wonwoo had reminded him often •"at least it’s not minghao" •and that shut up the younger •you had found out that they were childhood friends and met when they were in elementary •mingyu had sneezed and the kids had ran away •but wonwoo had introduced himself to the boy •they had never met since he was a year younger •but when he did, wonwoo’s shoulder hurt •and mingyu was crying because his ankle was burning •but they stuck it out and stayed with each other • •when you go to your music competitions, it’s no longer just yours and jihoon’s parents cheering •no, you have a hole row cheering for you •but your boyfriends are cheering the loudest •completely supporting even if you don’t know what you want to do •wonwoo will sit next to you and wrote his own poetry while mingyu cooks dinner • •for your art final, you picked out of a hat for the topic •it was love •you had complained to the two of them on one of your cuddling sessions •"how do I show love, how am I supposed to show the way woo’s eyes shine when he watch gyu’s food?“ •and they laughed, making you pout •pulling you closer into their grasp •they held you tight, making your fears worse because •really how were you supposed to explain this warm feeling? • •the answer came two weeks later, in wonwoo’s house when all of you are in the kitchen studying •slamming your hands on the table •"idea! Idea! Good idea!" •making mingyu laugh while shutting his science book because he knew he wasn’t gonna be studying •and wonwoo gently hush you with fond look on his face, knowing that both of his soulmates were happy • •you got an A •and your picture was displayed in the art show • •hanging with bright lights over it, a painted canvas •there are big fluffy white clouds hiding the sun, over three bodies who lay on a plaid blanket, limbs on each other, smiles and closed eyes on each face •with crumbled up papers, and pens and pencils thrown on the blanket •a camera lay on a notepad, on the grass, forgotten while the three bathe in the sun •This was love for you three •ove between a bookworm, a reporter and a dreamer •and it was beautiful

#seventeen #seventeen au #seventeen scenarios #kpop scenarios #jeon wonwoo #kim mingyu #meanie couple #meanie #koreabooeauty #soulmate #kpop fic #seventeen texts

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kentparsonbirthdaybash · 7 years

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Kent Parson’s Birthday Bash 2017 Author Reveal Masterpost

Hello there creators, readers and everyone in-between,

Guess what time it is? That’s riiiiight!!

It’s officially reveal time and this post contains all 52 works submitted to the challenge organized alphabetically by author.

You can access the AO3 challenge here at any time.

Thanks for much for participating in the challenge this year. It’s been a blast & we’ll see you next year!

Best,

@whiskeytangofrogman & @iamneversleepingagain

achilleees for blithelybonny: you got me wanting you (Rated E, Nursey/Kent/Dex, 11.3k): “Kent – Parson?” Dex said, kind of a squeak. “Like…” “How many Kent Parsons you know of?” Nursey said. “Yeah, Parson. Number one celeb crush. I’m mad into that douche-ass smirk, man.”

Aj4668 for McBangle: It’s About Forgiveness (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 6.1k): Kent stares at his phone. He reads the text three times. He checks the name of the sender five times. It’s a text from Jack, who, outside of saying ‘good game’, he hasn’t talked to in six years. Hey how are you? Now he wants to know how he is?

alpha_exodus for goldstandard: Moving in Slow Motion (Rated E, BittyParse, 8.6k): Bitty's room is overbooked at orientation, which means he has to stay in the only available bed left. But that bed is in the RA's room, and the RA in question happens to be Kent Parson.

alwaysbuddy for blazeofglory: the fires we started (Rated E, Pimms, 6.1k): “How long?” Kent asks. He won’t look at Jack. He won’t. There’s a pause. “Since.” Jack doesn’t look at him either. “Since then.” Since you.

asimpleline18 for ticktockclockwork: There For You (Rated M, BittyParse, 4.8k): Eric is a DJ rising through the gay club scene in Las Vegas when he and Kent Parson fall in love after Kent becomes the first openly gay player in the NHL. They start to fit into each others' lives until Kent makes a mistake because of his own insecurities. Can they fix it before they drift too far apart?

Bittyybee for jacksbits: Best Birthday(s) Ever (Rated E, PB&J, 1.8k): Snippets of Kent's birthday through the years. He's not always around, but he's always on Jack's mind.

blazeofglory for daydoodles: someone you maybe might love (Rated T, Pimms, 1.4k): Jack and Kent: the three happy years before the draft.

blindinglights for lautjuh1: Land of Wishing Wells (Rated E, Patater, 9.6k): Somehow Kent goes from dateless to Jack and Bitty’s wedding to going to it with Alexei Mashkov. Not a real date. No, they’ll play fake boyfriends, and then somehow break up after the wedding. He’s not even sure how or if they can pull it off, but Alexei is dead set on it working.

blithelybonny for mahons_ondine: With a Thousand Sweet Kisses (Rated T, BittyParse, 7.2k): Ten times Kent kisses a boy.

blue_rocket_frost for tragedyistheirs: Friends In Low Places (Rated T, Patater, 4.8k): “Hey, Mashkov,” Kent says, “who do I gotta blow to get a drink around here?”

bookwyrmling for redporkpadthai: Puerto Vallarta (Rated T, BittyParse, 2k): It's been five years since they met in a whirlwind vacation fling and five years since they began dating. Bitty wants to make sure the next five years, and much longer, start off on the right foot.

cablesscutie for blindinglights: Cherry Pie: 50 min @ 425F (Rated E, PB&J, 2.2k): “Yeah. You want in, Zimms? Or should we get a room?” “Both?” Jack asked, looking to Bitty. “Both,” Bitty breathed. “Both is good.”

cambo for TheUnvanquishedZims: :3 (Rated G, Gen, Art): Kent is a cat burglar who has a friendly acquaintanceship with other villains he sees around town, at least until a bunny-themed burglar starts showing him up. Time to teach bunny-boy a lesson... if Kent can catch him, that is. (And does stopping a thief make you a hero? Oh no. Oops.)

carsonphillips for entirely_too_tall: Something Sweet (Rated T, Pimms and Patater, 5.9k): When the media asks Kent what he was feeling as Mrs. Durand drove him to the Colisée Financière Sun Life for his first day with the Rimouski Océanic, he feeds them a cocktail of emotions: excitement, nervousness, and determination all at once. He isn’t lying—he was feeling those things—but his feelings were pushed to the back of his mind in favor of the Smell. The closer he got to the rink, the more detail he could pick up: freshly mown grass, fir, birch, lilac, and upon stepping into the rink, Kent swears he can smell maple syrup.

checkthanks for minyrrds: Crossing the Line (Unrated, Kent/Swoops, 1.1k): Kent Parson resolved to get over his longstanding crush on his straight teammate long ago. Luckily for him, he was never successful.

dogstarblack for alwaysbuddy: About Time (Rated T, Pimms, 3.5k):“You sure you're ready?” Kent asked, looking up at Jack. “Kenny, I’m sure. You don't have to keep asking, okay? I want to do this with you,” Jack assured him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Okay,” Kent echoed, laying his head on Jack’s chest, his fingers lacing through Jack’s. “Almost doesn't feel real, you know? Like, we’ve had to hide for so long and we just--won’t have to anymore.” “It'll be good,” Jack said, squeezing Kent’s hand. “It'll be fucking amazing, that's what it'll be,” Kent said, his lips stretching into a grin. “You just had to one up me,” Jack teased. “Always.”

eden22 for fieldofdiabolicalbutlovelykillers: Player 15 (Rated E, BittyParse, 20.4k): A list of things that Kent Parson definitely isn't: 1. He definitely isn't worried that the Aces just drafted Eric Bittle because he's a younger, faster version of Kent 2. He definitely isn't bitter and jealous that Bittle got Jack and Kent didn't 3. He definitely isn't falling for him

entirely_too_tall for carsonphillips: Breathe You In (Rated T, Patater and Kent/Swoops, 42.9k): "Don't hide away from me like this, Zimms. You don’t smell it?" The Soulmate Smell, people liked to call it. Scientifically, it was just pheromones, compatible people heightening each other’s sense of smell, to suss each other out like bloodhounds sniffing down their target. "Smell what Kenny? I didn't smell anything." "Don't lie to me!" Kent snaps. -- A soulmate AU where you can smell your soulmate from across the room, but not pinpoint who it is, and Kent tries to find out who he's smelling on the ice.

goldstandard for omgpieplease: Displaying Our Love (Rated E, PB&J, 4.9k): Kent receives a suggestive snap from Bitty. Jack doesn't have sex during the playoffs. Both of these things lead to one of the best nights of Kent's life.

imamaryanne for takumiismypatronus: It’s Magic (Rated T, Kent/OMC, 12.6k): In 2001, Kent Parson reluctantly goes to see the first Harry Potter movie with his sister. He has no idea how much being a Harry Potter fan will change his life, even years later.

immarcesibility for niesbixby: find me somebody to love (Rated T, Kent/OMC and Kent/OFC, 12.6k): Kent Parson has it all. Money, fame, looks, you name it. The only thing missing in his life? A relationship. He has been single for longer than he likes to admit, and he's turned into the crankiest old person because of it. Of course, his friends notice that, so they do the only thing they know will help: Set Kent up on dates. The only problem? Kent is picky as fuck. or: five times kent's friends set him up on dates and one time they didn't need to

IProtectKennyP for cambo: Not Quite Singing in Perfect Harmony (Rated T, Pimms and pre-PB&J, 27.1k): Bitty held up his phone with one hand and rubbed his eye with the other. “Kent Parson is engaged?” “Kent’s engaged,” Jack said. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Happy for him? Surprised? Something else? Bitty looked over at Jack and sighed. “Invite him to dinner,” he said.

jacksbits for manhattanproject: A Timid Love Beneath The Skin (Rated T, Pimms and pre-PB&J, 7.2k): “You should go see a trainer about your shoulder,” Jack says, voice low, approaching Parse’s side at the bar. Parse’s head snaps up. “What are—well, hello to you, too. Jesus Christ, Jack.” Or, Parse gets injured during the All-Star Game, and Jack tries to make him go see a trainer. Things escalate. To... massages?

katarama for blue_rocket_frost: (jealousy) get the best of me (Rated T, Pimms, 4.6k): There’s a familiar couple with warm smiles and crinkled eyes standing at the airport outside his gate with a giant sign sporting his name, and Alicia Zimmermann gives Kent the biggest, warmest hug he’s had off the hockey rink in years. Kent forgot how much he missed that. How much he missed them. In the excitement of it all, Kent forgets a very, very important thing about Bad Bob Zimmermann. Bad Bob Zimmermann is a terrible meddler.

ladymars for nightswatch: hesitate (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 2.8k): > Is this your way of showing love? By insulting me? That actually makes Jeff pause. He considers giving Kent a hint, at least a chirp at the weird swooping his stomach did. > Nah I just like insulting you to insult you (Wherein it takes playing at different teams for these two to get together.)

lautjuh1 for ladymars: always gold (Rated G, Kent/Nursey, 6.1k): Derek looks like fall; the good parts of it, at least, when the sun is shining through the cracks of red and orange trees, when everything is just a little softer and warmer and nicer. Kent always liked fall best, anyway. Or: the one where Kent and Derek both visit the park every morning to watch the sunrise, and their lives become infinitely more intertwined.

LydiaStJames for madameofmusic: Got You (on my radar) (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 2.6k): Kent's really starting to regret asking Bitty for dating advice.

LydiaStJames for potrix: Chirping Kent Parson (Rated T, Patater, 3.7k): “I’m just--” Kent fumbled for an explanation for his behavior. The only father-figure he'd ever had was judging him for his culinary skills, his first love was flirting with his new boyfriend ten feet to his left, and said boyfriend was looking at Kent like he ran over his dog. Too much. Too ridiculous. Instead, Kent settled with changing the conversation. “What are you making, anyway?” “I make surprise dish. Rat stew. No ingredient but is okay, since you are here. Judges will be very surprised.”

madameofmusic for immarcesibility: aftermath (Rated T, Pimms, 1k): Jack and Kent meet up years later, and talk about what went wrong.

ManhattanProject for IProtectKennyP: Avocado Toast (Rated T, Kent/Snowy, 1.1k): “You won’t tell anyone, right?” “That you write romantic poetry or that you’re gay? In which Kent is oblivious as usual.

mahons_ondine for staunchlyanonymous: To Fall Down at Your Door (Rated T, Pimms, 3.3k): Kent Parson is pretty sure he's completely ruined the best friendship he will ever have, and he runs from that knowledge. It takes him four years to find out just how wrong, and also how right he was.

McBangle for bookwyrmling: Hold Me in Your Heart (Rated T, Kent & Zimmerparents, 7.6k): Kent Parson doesn’t need another dad. His own was bad enough. He and his sister have gotten along just fine without one ever since his mom finally kicked that piece of s*** out once and for all. He definitely doesn’t need some ex-hockey star pretending to be a dad to him.

minyrrds for alpha_exodus: spring (Rated T, BittyParse, 22k): Sometimes Kent sits on the floor by the windows of his apartment and feels inexplicably lonely in a city seeking glory and affection, lets his heart feel full of things lost and yet to be found, and hopes for better things to come.

niesbixby for ronanlynchisneversleepingagain: Ace Observation (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 7.3k): Alternatively Titled: Tyler Frye Gets His Groove On

nightswatch for dogstarblack: the start of something (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 20.3k): The story of how Jeff Troy became, at first, Kent Parson’s linemate, then his friend, and eventually something more than that.

nightswatch for LydiaStJames: we should just kiss (like real people do) (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 6.7k): In which Kent Parson has a cat who keeps secrets from him, and a crush on a teammate that isn't much of a secret anymore.

Omgpieplease for summerfrost: Bed and Breakfast (Rated M, PB&J, Art): Kent's birthday celebration starts a bit early and continues the following morning.

originally for OldLace: Might as Well Swim (Rated M, Pimms, 2.5k): Kent and Jack find themselves at the All Star Game together for the first time.

palateens for achilleees: drive on through the night (back home) (Rated T, Pimms, 5.1k): They’re not the same people they were in the Q, with hockey looming over their heads. They’re better.

palateens for aj4668: The People Who Leave Us (Rated T, Kent/Ransom and Kent/Swoops and Kent/OMC, 21.5k): Ransom signs with the Aces because they’re as far away as he can get from Boston. He figures that despite their reputation for playing dirty, they’re the most progressive team in the league. He looks over at Kent, whose face is sullen and lost in a house full of people here to be with him. He wonders if someone could know his entire story without him saying more than a few words.

PoisonousFlower3 for cablesscutie: Some Days are Harder Than Others (Rated T, Patater, 1k): "Shit." Just when Kent was about to make a call back, the time and date hit him. It was his God damn birthday and he had a party and he's pretty sure he fucked up something. Kent has doubts about himself and lacks confidence, thankfully he always his goof of a boyfriend Tater there with him. Or The one where Ransom joins the LV Aces, and Kent sometimes has a grip.

Potrix for topieornottopie: The Proud and the Prejudiced (Rated M, Patater, 5.1k): “Don’t ruin pretty face,” a familiar, accented voice drawls. “It's only thing you have going for you.” “Fuck off, Mashkov,” Kent barks back automatically before he stills, and then slowly turns around to face the other man. “Mashkov? What the fuck are you doing here?” Kent has annoying but well-meaning friends, a lot of (internalized) issues, and a mild pretty bad swearing problem. But he gets to kiss a hot guy at Pride, so there's that.

Redporkpadthai for sohini96: Patater Cuddling (Rated G, Patater, Art): A quiet morning spent cuddling on the couch.

ronanlynchisneversleepingagain for originally: you could be happy (and i won’t know) (Rated T, Kent/Swoops, 10k): The year he turns 26, Kent Parson renews his contract, comes out and figures out how to talk about his feelings. It's a steep learning curve.

sohini96 for allonsyarielle: Something New (Rated G, Patater, 1.6k): When Kent bumps into Alexei Mashkov at his favourite brunch place, he finds something very unexpected, something he'd almost given up on.

staunchly_anonymous for asimpleline18: three (Rated T, Kent/Tater/Snowy, 1.5k): Three's a crowd -- or is it?

SummerFrost for bittyybee: You Look Pretty Good Down Here (But You Ain’t Really Good) (Rated E, PB&J, 5.6k): Jack finds himself a little overwhelmed at his first BDSM kink party. Luckily, Kent and Bitty are there to show him the ropes.

takumiismypatronus for imamaryanne: Yer a Wizard, Parser! (Rated T, Kent/OMC, 8.5k): Sure, Kent Parson is gay. But that’s not his biggest secret.

TheUnvanquishedZims for palateens: Meet Me When You’re Over Yourself (Rated T, Nursey/Kent and Shitty/Lardo/Kent, 4.1k): Meeting your soulmate is a choice. Some people make it more easily than others.

ticktockclockwork for eden22: Starved (Rated M, BittyParse, 16.3k): ‘Early retirement’ wasn't a phrase Kent had ever expected to use in regards to himself and yet here he was, just ten years into his career and releasing a statement with those exact words. Other parts of the press release included 'best interest’ and 'true asset’ but the ones that were the worst to read were those first two Early retirement. Fuck him. --- Kent suffers a career ending injury in a game against the Caps, forcing him to hang up his jersey for good. Now he must learn to cope with the loss of his past life and decide what to make of himself without hockey to define him. Lucky for him, help can be found in unexpected places.

topieornottopie for checkthanks: A long flight (Unrated, Kent/Swoops, Art): Fanart of Kenny and Swoops on a long flight home.

TragedyIsTheirs for PoisonousFlower3: A Soft Place to Fall (Rated E, Patater, 2.3k): “I have surprise for you, Kenny,” Alexei whispered against Kent’s collarbone. The certain surprise was burning a hole in his suitcase, mocking him every time he grabbed clothes for the day. Alexei wanted to wait until Kent’s actual birthday to use it, and the wait had slowly been driving him crazy.

#omgcheckplease #kent parson #parsepositive #omgcp #kvpbb17 #reading guides #2017 Challenge

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