#honestly both stories in his series are amazing and i would highly recommend them
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title: depollute me
author: mindelanwolf
rating: teen
wordcount: 17406
pairing: bang chan/hwang hyunjin
summary:
‘Minho has got this roommate who Hyunjin isn’t sure about.
“Chan-hyung makes most of the tracks I use for showcases,” Minho tells him when they’re introduced for the first time.
“Oh, god, don’t even mention it, please,” Chan says. He meets Hyunjin’s eyes and half-smiles modestly down at the floor, cheeks pinking. Hyunjin’s hackles are up immediately. Hyunjin hates false modesty and Chan doesn’t have anything to be modest about. He’s got a muscle tee showing off his arms, the deep cuts in the side of his shirt to hint at his ribs. And his tracks are good. If Hyunjin made music that good, everyone would know about it. He doesn’t like the way Chan steals a glance at him, either.
He’d better not try flirting. Not that the guy is bad to look at, but here? This place is supposed to be Hyunjin’s escape from campus and all it’s eyes.’
link
#chanjin#bang chan#hyunjin#stray kids fic#stray kids fic rec#au: university#misunderstandings#pining#self discovery#strangers to friends#friends to lovers#honestly both stories in his series are amazing and i would highly recommend them#asexuality#asexual chan#author: mindelanwolf#wc: 10000
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Hi I’m an 8th/9th grade teacher and I’m looking to buy some new books for my classroom and you seem to be reading a lot of YA recently!! Would you mind sharing some recommendations you think are uh appropriate for me to purchase through the school? You seem to read a lot of fantasy/sci fi/romance which is a lot of what my kids like 🥰 thanks!
YA fantasy/scifi and romance! Yessss I can!
I just finished Legendborn by Tracy Deonn and started it's sequel today and it was AMAZING. Highly recommend. It's a King Author + magic retelling, Black Main Character written by a Black Author and done SO WELL because duh, own voices. It's dark academia fantasy and such a killer debut novel FOR SURE. And it's got a the classic YA love triangle and some romance thrown in too. Plus February is Black History Month, great time to support BIPOC authors 💜 (Duolgoy)
Scythe by Neil Shusterman is a YA SciFi dystopian and its SO GOOD. It's a story about how in the future, death no longer exists. The only way a human can die is by being gleaned, aka murdered, by the Scythes. They are trained to deal out death to those who deserve it and contain the human population in the most humane way possible. Yet, there is lots of betrayals and power plays and double crossings happening between those in power of the Sycthe organization. And yes, a very cute side plot romance here too (Trilogy)
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong. It's a YA Paranormal Urban Fantasy. It's actually like the YA verison of one of my favorite adult series of hers and it's set in the same world with little Easter eggs connecting the series. But can be read as a standalone trilogy. It follows Chloe discovering she is a necromancer and thrust into this supernatural world and all that comes with it, including a werewolf love interest and the classic YA love triangle and romance. Still so good honestly too. (Trilogy)
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab. It's a YA Dark Urban Fantasy that basically explores the overall themes of how humans can be the monsters too. It's SO GOOD. Basically 2 kids of powerful men on either side of a war that is destroying their city, must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake.... and while one is human, one might be something else entirely 👀 Literally it's so good. And yes, it does end up having romance too (Duology)
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. It's a YA Paranormal fantasy story about a gay trans boy who while trying to get his family to accept both his gender and his powers (the men are traditionally spirit guides and the women are healers), accidentally summons a ghost, who then refuses to move on. And yes, its got a VERY sweet and cute romance here too. Plus own voices trans rep (Standalone)
Illuminae Files by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. A YA SciFi Trilogy where it's one of the most unique formats of crafting a story I've ever read. It's told through a series of files and emails and transcripts and it's SO FUN. It follows the story of Kady and Ezra and the journey they go on after their tiny space mining colony was attacked and destroyed. And oh yeah, they had just recently broken up but they Still love each other 😏 and what in the AI happens in this book too! Lol (Trilogy)
And I really wasn't kidding about it being a uniquely written book and yet somehow the audiobooks are just as well done too lol
Warcross by Marie Lu. A SciFi YA Dystopian Novel that is basically like an emersive video game. It follows our main character as she becomes lowkey a spy and bounty hunter. Yes, it's got romance and betrayal and plot twists and rainbow hair and constant reminders that nothing is truly as it seems. And it's so good. (Duology)
As always, make sure you look up content warnings. I didn't list them here this time. But these are all scifi/fantasy YA novels that include a fun romantic side plot that I've LOVED when I read them. Hope this helps and thanks for asking! I have more I can suggest too of course
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Hi. I’m hoping you can help. For various reasons I want to move over to fics that aren’t Larry, the only fanfic I’ve ever read. (Love your writing and always excited when I see you post anything; love fics about actual adults; any shift I make won’t keep me away from your Larry fics!) Do you have a ship you think is similar to Larry and maybe easily accessible? One problem is that I haven’t watched the shows that underlie some of the other big ones I see, like Sterek or Destiel. From what little I’ve seen, Destiel especially piques my interest. Should I watch the show before reading? Any starter/foundational/really well known fics you’d recommend I start with? I’m sorry for bombarding you with questions. 🥴😔 Thank you so much!
First, thank you SO much for your lovely words about my writing!! xox
And I love this ask, but I'll be really open about my own bias, which is that I read ships/fic in stuff where I've never really interacted with canon and I'm fine with that. I'm much less picky about specific ship and much much pickier about writing and stories.
The other thing that might help me would be if you had a specific vibe about Larry that you've enjoyed?
If you are comfortable with Harry Potter, Drarry is an absolutely phenomenal ship and there's such an enormous depth of history and writing and talent in this fandom, I just cannot even. I've written a ton of Drarry, and I tend towards less "being dicks to each other" and much more towards "we've kind of sorted our shit out now let's gooooo" vibe. Even if you haven't read HP but have a pretty good grasp from just the cultural infusion perspective, you should be fine. And again, there's SO much amazing fic there, and I can totally point you towards some of my own favs. This list is woefully out of date, but there's so much good content here!
If you have seen Captain America TFA and the Winter Soldier, those are all you need for one of the most brilliant Stucky series ever, by my darling friend @vmohlere, the Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail. It's brilliant, just amazing, and I can't even tell you how many times I've read it or how much it's impacted me! (Honestly again, if you have sort of cultural knowledge of Steve and Bucky, you will probably be fine.)
I haven't read a ton of Destial, so I'm not sure I have recs there, but I will say, I've never watched the show and had no trouble with the fic!
I've only seen 30 minutes of the first episode of Teen Wolf and I have devoured about 8 billion Sterek fics and can give you so many recs if you want them! There's some absolutely stunning fic in that fandom!
Have you read Red, White & Royal Blue? I 100% recommend the book, I know not everyone loves it, but I really do, and it reads closer to a really good fic to me. And there's SO MUCH good fic!! @clottedcreamfudge is one of my all-time fav authors there.
Let's see. Are you familiar with Check, Please!? Online webcomic, gay college hockey players. Zimbits (Jack Zimmerman and Eric Bittle) might actually be one you'd enjoy. The comic is fantastic in and of itself, it's definitely a "small southern ball of sunshine and grumpy Canadian hockey-bot" (with a bunch of UST and pining and stuff)! So good. Highly recommend. And again, there's SO much great fic! I actually read a lot of different ships there, and there's great stuff!
Buddie seems to trend very much towards no smut/fluffy type fics, which I have to be in the right mood for, but there are some absolutely great writers in that fandom! (Including @hattalove who wrote some of my fav Larry fics!).
Okay, this is a lot, I know!! Please don't hesitate to message me for Sterek recs, and Drarry recs if you want! I'm currently absolutely OBSESSED with gay hockey players, both fictional and rpf, so reach out if you want some recs there!
#fic rec stuff#not fandom specific#I love to share what I love#so please don't hesitate to come talk!#I HAVE SO MANY RECOMMENDATIONS FRIEND
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(Part 1 if you missed it)
Eventually, Robo Ky actually defeats this as well, but justice pulls the ol uno reverse and executes a self destruct sequence, blowing both of them up. After that, crow reveals that the new P series is going according the plan and honestly i WISH we got a robotemkin in one game because that would be so cool. And that is largely IT for Robo Ky until xrd. There was a Robo Ky mk2 in guilty gear isuka but that game does not really affect the canon all too much nor does Robo Ky really do anything as it is mainly focused on A.B.A, another amazing character. He is on the box art for the psp’s Guilty Gear Judgment but is not playable in that mode at all, which is really disappointing as that mode gave a ton of cool lore to characters and I would highly recommend checking it out or just watching the cutscenes on youtube. However between this and Xrd, there was a drama cd, yes, Robo Ky gets a full backstory in a drama cd, known as Knight of Knives Volume 1 which was translated by the gear project on tumblr and i will include their account and the story itself as well as a recording of the cd in the description but the story goes like this. A Robo Ky unit finds a children's book that he believes to be a guide on obtaining secret treasures from the old world. The three ingredients are copper, zinc and a tangerine which essentially just create vitamins but again, this unit believes he has come across a gold mine to an old treasure. Eventually, the Robo Ky unit gets the copper and zinc and just needs the tangerine, however the unit senses something is approaching him and scans it, only to find it is another Robo Ky unit coming to capture him and take him back to crow. After arguing a lot, and I really do mean a lot, both of the Robo Ky units decide to rest, even though the unit that was sent to capture the xx Robo Ky is severely wounded from unknown circumstances. They talk for a bit and our Robo Ky explains that he has so much data stored in him from other fighters like sol and bridget, down to even copying tyrant rave. This enthralls the Robo Ky sent by crow and he keeps asking more and for the first time in both of their lives, they make friends, sure just with each other which is essentially the same person, but a friend nonetheless. After a bit however, the rain does not settle and our robo gets impatient, wanting to move out immediately but the crowbo, which is what i'll be referring to him as from now on, says he can't go out or the mission will be compromised. More arguing occurs which causes our Robo Ky to leave on his own, seemingly making crowbo sad. In the morning, robo finally finds them, a bowl of tangerines just our in the open but before he can take him, a voice that sounds just cowbo’s emerges, causing robo to yell back at him but surprisingly, this turns out to be ky kiske himself, the defective original. Ky is ready to attack robo but both decide to argue first and ky even makes robo think about his time with crowbo, realizing that yeah, they were friends and he absolutely abandoned him. But right as he realizes this, ky attacks and nearly destroys robo but just in time, reinforcements arrive and among them is crowbo who shielded robo from ky’s onslaught. Robo questions why crowbo would do this and he simply responds that it was his mission to secure Robo, serial 0, and nothing else mattered even at the cost of his life. Desperate, robo hooks crowbo up to the tangerine, zinc and copper and attempts to revive him, even yelling at the original ky to help him and weirdly enough, ky tries his best but no matter what, there simply aren't enough tangerines, and crowbo enters an eternal sleep mode in robos arms and despite not being able to, robo krys for his fallen comrade, waiting for the day he could redeem himself to someone by being there for them, no matter who it is.
(Part 3)
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CORYNN HI
belated merry christmas if u celebrate!!! wow im so late but let's pretend im not 🙂
i hope that you're doing well and enjoying the rest of this year!
also a question that has been on my mind lately, what is the inspiration of your username? i'd guess it's because of that book, 6 of crows? maybe i got the title wrong woops hehe but yeah!! feel free to explain it or not :) and also, if you'd like to, recommend us some books!! i'm not a native english speaker so i'm looking for a few books to read in english :^)
take care of yourself! and have a good day <3
so I had just finished typing a giant response to this when my laptop died and deleted the whole thing💀 so here we are for round two.
if you were late for christmas wishes, then I am like, horribly horribly late. so instead.. happy new year! hope it treats you well ash <3
as for my username, yes it is inspired by six of crows hehe. I made this account way back in 2017 and didn't rlly use it, but when I came back to write fanfic I thought it was kinda cool and kept it even though the blog has nothing to do with the series lol.
but as for book recs, ofc I have some! admittedly I haven't read much in the last year or two, so some of these I read a while ago and am not sure if they still live up to how much I loved them years ago, but I figured i'd include them anyway:
all time favs:
the secret history by donna tartt: this is like, my all time favourite book, when people ask this is what i say. it's the only book i've bothered to read twice. admittedly I know it isn't for everyone, as it's highly satirical and slow-paced, but if you're alright with that I can't recommend it enough. i'm low-key an avid hater of first person narration 99% of the time, but richard's perspective in this book is so deliciously horrible I can't help but love it. honestly i could talk about it forever. highly recommend.
the way of kings by brandon sanderson. this book is literally everything I could ever hope to achieve with my writing. so complex. such amazing characters and development. insane world building. and so massive. it's like 1200 pages, and there's four more with the same amount that are already out, of what will become ten. it is a commitment, but I think it's so worth it (I'm currently almost done book 2, and will be immediately picking up book 3). if you like fantasy this is my number one rec.
the grishaverse by leigh bardugo. given my username i'm sure this isn't a surprise lolol. this series includes some of my favourite characters across any form of media. it includes the shadow and bone trilogy, the six of crows duology, and the king of scars duology. personally while I think the shadow and bone trilogy is the weakest instalment (mostly bc I don't like first person narrative) it's where I would start. fun story, great cast, and a good way to settle into the world. they're also YA so they read pretty easy.
some other books/series I recommend (with variety for your reading preferences):
an ember in the ashes quartet by sabaa tahir
the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater
1984 by george orwell
turtles all the way down by john green
they both die at the end by adam silvera
the troop by nick cutter
illuminae by jay kristoff and amie kaufman.
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3, 18, and 29 for ao3 wrapped!
thanks for the ask choco!
3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?
would it be cheating if i had a series i'm proud of? lol
to date, i would consider my Katara-centric series i don't know who i am (but i won't stop trying) my magnum opus. it is my pride and joy in fandom, and honestly i don't think i could ever top this masterpiece of a series lol. i feel like the central themes of colonialism, assimilation, and cultural genocide are themes that aren't really explored in the atla fandom as a whole, and as self-deprecating i am about my fics, i really do think those themes shone through in my series.
i am especially proud of the first fic in the series, teach me how to live my life (because I can't remember how). it was a very emotionally charged fic that was written at the right time with the right feelings, and of the few things i did purposefully in that fic, i'm proud of the cyclical structure, how it began with Katara listening to stories from the SWT myths from her mother and ended with her listening to the few myths Aang remembers from Gyatso's telling him. I'm just really amazed at how well it turned out, and honestly it would be very, very hard for me to top this fic.
18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?
Hakoda. most definitely Hakoda. i wrote him for these sleepless nights we spend (waiting to come home), my very recent Hakoda adopts Aang fic I wrote for @itsmoonpeaches. and boyyyyy��that was a doozy.
i think part of the reason is that i never really thought about Hakoda much as a character, considering we don’t really get to meet meet him until end of Book 2, and even then, we only see him a few times afterwards. another part of it might be that Hakoda isn’t as relatable to me as the Gaang (aka Aang lol) so as a result, i had a more difficult time slipping into his mind.
when i sat down to write this fic, i had to think a lot about Hakoda’s grief and how the war affected him. i wanted his grief to entwine with Aang’s as the basis for why he chooses to adopt Aang into his family, because both of them have lost too much to the war (but really, they all have), and in that loss, they find each other and pick up what’s left to keep going. i drew heavily from other sources to make sure i was able to characterize him properly, including two of peaches’s fics, which were Mark of the Living and Snow Drifts, which i highly, highly recommend to anyone who wants Hakoda-centric works.
it was definitely a rough start, getting this fic off the ground, and it didn’t come as naturally to me as my other fics did. i would say i’m relatively satisfied with how the end product turned out, however, and i really do think we need more Hakoda-centric works in fandom that deals with his loss and grief but also hope and rebirth😌
29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?
this is the final passage of my platonic zukaang fic dreamless dreams!
That night, he dreams of life.
He dreams of a grassy hill, under the shade of a tree, where he and his friends are laughing as they picnic. He dreams of Aang's brilliant smile, of Katara's laughing face, of Sokka's quips and Toph's crude retorts and Mai's slight smile. He dreams of kids being kids and learning what it means to live.
And then he dreams of towering temples that glisten a brilliant white in the midday sun. He dreams of children in Air Nomad clothing running around the courtyards, laughing as they play airball or ride air scooters. He dreams of flying bison and winged lemurs that circle around the temples, of airbenders gliding alongside them.
Every night, he dreams, and he dreams of hope.
i’m just really proud of this passage because it circles back to the beginning of the fic, when Zuko dreams of his blood family and the genocide of the Air Nomads, dreams that are filled with suffering and hopelessness and death. However, by the end of the fic, after Zuko learns to heal and forgive himself thanks to Aang, he begins to dream of his true family, his found family, and the rebirth of the Air Nomads.
I also really love this passage because the Air Nomad section can be interpreted one of three ways: you can see it as a precursor to Legend of Korra, when the Air Nomads indeed come back and Zuko is still alive to witness it; you can see it as Zuko dreaming of the past reborn into the future; or you can see it as him being determined to help Aang bring back his lost people. Either one of those interpretations are valid, and in my opinion, really really beautiful.
ao3 wrapped
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What are your top 5 favorite anime?
Princess Tutu - gorgeous in every way, a story that does the concept of a multilayered narrative justice while also using the beauty of ballet and fairy tales to their full emotional advantages, and also the name helps gatekeep, because if you can't get past the name you aren't the sort of person who would enjoy it anyway. I can't recommend it highly enough. Available here
Kill la Kill - amazing and energetic animation, a unique story with a surprising family theme, and probably the coolest modern take on the delinquent girl archetype. I did resist watching it at first because of the lack of under-boob support on Ryuko's outfit, but honestly, it no longer bothers me. There are valid story reasons behind all the costume designs. Again, this has the beneficial side-effect of automatic gatekeeping. Available here
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - peak early 2000s character design, tons of merchandising money to fund legitimately good filler arcs and hire high quality animation directors (sometimes), a hero that actually has the worst win-loss record of all the protagonists of his franchise (but still retains the largest fanbase and greatest admiration for his skills and personal character), multiple engaging character arcs, and my personal favorite. This is the one most affected by nostalgia. YGO was my first fandom outside of Disney, the first thing I was really into that neither my parents nor my younger sister cared about, and it remains incredibly important to me. It took me 10 years to be able to watch the final two seasons, as my local channel for some reason decided to only play the first 2.5 seasons over and over. Those final seasons were not at all disappointing either; I loved them entirely, even with all their flaws and animation issues. I'd never claim that YGO is perfect, especially since I prefer the 4Kids dub to the original; yet even the subbed version, which I have also seen, has issues as a story. The original manga is superior to BOTH versions, if we're being honest. But this anime is amazing, fun, wholesome (without being lame, particularly the sub; the dub can be pretty lame) and long without being impossible to finish. The dub is available here (w, x, y, z), but to get the subbed version, you either have to pay through the nose or search the bowels of the Internet. Might as well try the dub: even if you don't like 4Kids, you can have fun laughing at them, and all the changes the dub made were meticulously catalogued here.
Dragon Ball - one of the best shonen ever, with an amazing world, strong characters that stay simple without being simpletons, and a slow, savory pace that makes every fight pop. I binged the entire (subbed) show in March 2020 when I had to stay home during the initial lockdown. It was exactly the cheery, grounded, fun shot in the arm that I needed when things were still uncertain and scary in my world. While I enjoy Z and parts of Super, the original is far better: more consistent in quality, pacing, and relevant themes. It's here and here right now. If you're already a fan, Totally Not Mark has some huge video essays reviewing both the entire franchise arc-by-arc and analyzing the major characters of the franchise. (The Buu arc review features Team Four Star ^_^)
Akage no Anne - one of the best works of World Masterpiece Theater and directed by future Studio Ghibli director Isao Takahata; a picture-perfect adaptation of Anne of Green Gables made for Japanese ESL education that managed to capture the pace, feelings, and gradual growth of its cast. With dreamy sequences to represent Anne's imagination and mirror the long descriptive passages of the book, the series grounds itself with simple and realistic character designs that change slowly over the course of the series to reflect the passing of time. It's from 1979, so it's even less fancy looking than Dragon Ball (1986), and Anne's initial design looks a bit awkward since she's pretty awkward and underfed at the start. But don't be fooled. Not only is this the closest adaptation I've seen to the book, but it manages to reflect Anne's rich, emotional inner world without relying on narration or a diary. It uses silence in a very mature way. Although Akage no Anne was not at all the beginning of Japan's love affair with Anne Shirley, it has become a cornerstone of that fandom in Japan. And if you love Isao Takahata's work like I do, seeing one of his earliest works is a pure joy. It's actually available on YouTube; this version has been up for 7 years straight, but I'd urge anyone interested to watch it sooner rather than later. You never know when a YT anime playlist will disappear.
Honorable Mention: Maison Ikkoku - this is one of my favorite manga, one I liked enough to collect in full and read multiple times. The anime is beautiful, and unlike some adaptations of Rumiko's work, it doesn't delve into alternate characterizations or themes. It's an iconic 1980s anime and I love what I've seen of it. But I can't put it higher because I've never been able to see all of it. Occasionally I've been able to watch episodes on YouTube with French subs, but I'm not fluent in French, so I only know what's going on because I'm so familiar with the manga. I still recommend it as a mature seinen romance/comedy. If anyone knows where I can watch or legally obtain it, I'd be very grateful.
#cool ask thanks!#asks#anons#inbox#personal#pers com#anime#btw yes I did watch DBZ abridged before watching DB; I wouldn't have tried it otherwise#very glad I did though#Maison Ikkoku#Akage no Anne#Dragon Ball#yugioh DM#yugioh#Kill la Kill#Princess Tutu
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Tetsurou Kuroo || Kiss Kiss, Fall in Love 🍃
MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT
|| 18+ ONLY ||
|| ao3 version | series m.list | hq tag | main blog ||
If ever two were one, then surely we.
–To My Dear and Loving Husband || A. Bradstreet
🍃 A love story as told through kisses…
↠ Requested By: Nobody, I just had an ~i d e a~, Mr. Krabs
↠ Reader Gender: Neutral
↠ Content Type: SFW quip-y floof with a dash of angst for flavor lol ((but my blog’s 18+; if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3))
↠ Chronology: Pre and post time skip.
↠ CWs/TWs: As I’ve said before, Tetsuro Kuroo is his own warning tbh lmao. But he cute so we’ll let it slide. Aside from that, that dash of angst that I mentioned before comes in the form of allusions to pre-time skip Kuroo’s rocky home life. I don’t go super into detail, but it does get touched on in the second and third sections; there’ll be a more in depth note before said sections. Also the general stresses that come with being a third year are touched on in the second section.
↠ Betas? Nah, we good. ((we are indeed, not ‘good’, but I’m too lazy/weird to actually work with a beta lol))
↠ Total WC: 6k~
Inspired in part by my girl Zaira (@screamin-abt-haikyuu)’s post and my corresponding review. It’s a v. cute, fun read (tho it does start off with some angst, but it gets cleared up in short order, promise!!)—I highly recommend both her and her work, tho y’all probably know that already lol. It was definitely the kick I needed to get this installment started…
So once again I may have gotten a bit carried away with the First Kiss section—and by ‘may have’ I mean I definitely did, but it’s not my fault! With this being my first time writing for our dear chemistry rooster I’m still gathering my thoughts/HCs about him and how a relationship with him would function so things are naturally a bit more wordy. Plus I’ve found that I really like writing banter with him because you just know he’d match you word for witty, quip-y word and I love that type of energy.
But anyways!
Actually there isn’t really an ‘anyways’ this time around, so uhh, have at it ig lol…
First Kiss 🍃
Partners, in Crime and Otherwise || WC: 3.2k~
CW/TW for one very brief mention of Reader’s questionable sleeping/eating habits—as in they forget to eat, esp. when stressed, and sleep in regular intervals in v. much a foreign concept to them ((me, projecting? it’s about as likely as you think lol)).
“Hey, ____, can I uh, can I talk to you for a minute, babe?”
Ignoring the butterflies that immediately set themselves to fluttering in your tummy at the casual use of the petname, you give Kuroo a smile and a nod before excusing yourself from the group. Several of your friends give you knowing, overly amused looks that you also chose to ignore, opting instead to take the hand that’s offered to you.
As Tetsurou leads you away to somewhere more private, you focus on keeping your steps measured as the last thing you want is to trip over your own feet in front of your overly teasing best friend turned crush. You just know that he’d end up making a quip—“Can’t stop yourself for falling for me, eh?” or something else equally cheesy—that’ll send your heart and mind both into overdrive even as the former shatters just that little bit more.
You wish he meant all of the sweet little things he says to you, that his flirtation could be something more than banter, but you know that’s not in the cards for you. You’ve never been one for the whole ‘friendzone’ thing, as people are not vending machines that you put friendship coins into until a romantic relationship falls out, but at the same time you cannot help but to feel like a citizen all the same. And that’s just fine! Really. It’s not as if Kuroo owes you anything, least of all his affections, but…
Well that doesn’t stop you from craving them.
And honestly how can you not, when he’s so damn amazing?
For all his teasing he’s so very kind, looking out for the whole of his team and all of his friends with a level of attention that would leave so many others burnt out. But for Kuroo it isn’t a burdensome task, or at least not one that’s too great for his broad shoulders to bear; it’s just a part of the way he’s built. And when it comes to you specifically he’s always so gentle, even when he’s getting after you in one way or another. He knows you better than you know yourself some days, and he’s always there to fill in the spaces where you’re lacking. He’s sensitive to your every mood and very much in tune with you as a whole, so much so that it almost gives you hope–
But no.
There’s no point in chasing a sun that has already set.
If Kuroo wanted to be with you he would’ve made a move by now, surely. In all the time you’ve known him he’s never once shown any real interest in you in that way, not even when various classmates had come to confess to you—in fact he encouraged you to say yes on several occasions! That is decidedly not the behavior of a guy who’s harboring feelings for you. But despite all this you still want to believe that there’s something more there so badly, and Kuroo with all of his (somewhat questionable) charms doesn’t help matters.
The sweet little names he’s always calling you are the worst perpetrators and perpetrators of your foolish hopes. Babe, baby, honey, sweetheart, my little quark (that one’s admittedly a lot-a-bit nerdy, but it leaves your cheeks burning just the same, and is honestly among your favorites)—the list goes on and on and on. You know you should tell him to lay off, but there’s a part of you (that greedy, selfish, mildly masochistic part that’s all too willing to latch on to even the smallest scraps of affection) that cannot do without it. And so you allow him to unwittingly cut into your chest with every word, to peel back the layers of skin and muscle and bone with each new display of care to toy with your heart.
But it won’t do you any good to focus on any of that, ever, really, but especially right now when he’s clearly got something important to tell you.
When you finally stop walking you find that you’re on the very edges of the school’s grounds. The pair of you often come up here when you want to get away from the rest of your friends and just breathe a bit. Lately it’s become a weekly occurrence, with every Wednesday seeing you both making your way to this towering tree to share lunch.
“The third year slump is real,” he had told you with a tired laugh from where he rested his head in your lap, his feline eyes reduced to mere slits thanks to the way your fingers moved against his scalp. “Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to make it through the week, never mind the whole of the school year if I didn’t get to recharge with you like this, so… Let’s make it a thing, yeah?”
And of course your silly, lovesick self was quick to agree.
That had been nearly two months ago now, but the memory plays with stunning clarity in your mind’s eye. In the now, Tetsurou gives your hand a little tug as he urges you to sit beside him. Gentleman that he is, he’s already spread out his jacket to give you a cleaner option for seating—“But of course my lap is always open to you, cutie.”
Your response comes in the form of an eye roll as you gracelessly flop down next to him. “So you wanted to talk, nerd?”
“You’d better be glad I know love you me or else that shit would hurt.”
You can feel your face heat a bit at his words, and you find yourself willing him to go on with a groan of his name.
“My little tsun-tsun,” he laughs as he pokes at one of your cheeks, though the sound is a bit strained. “That’s um, actually why I wanted to talk to you though.
“Okay, so,” he starts after a deep breath. “I… Man, this is harder than I thought– Heh, um. You, erm, you like me, right?”
You blink dumbly at that. “What? Of course I do, we’re best friends–”
“We’re more than that, ____, and you know it.”
“…I do?”
“Well I would hope so—we’ve been dating for almost two months now… Haven’t we?”
His voice loses a bit of its annoyance and all of its surety as he takes in the thorough confusion and extreme shock that are both fighting for dominance in your expression. He stares at you for a long moment and for the first time you find yourself able to hold the hazel of his gaze without any problems, too stunned to drop your eyes as you normally would. Kuroo’s own eyes twitch, followed soon after by the pouting of his mouth and a crinkle of his nose (It’s so cute, why is he so cute??), before the whole of his handsome face contorts itself into a grimace as he allows his head to fall back against the tree’s trunk with a heavy sigh.
“Shit. I cannot believe Kenma was right.”
“…About?”
“This, us—you not knowing…”
“That we’re supposedly dating.”
“Yup.”
He lolls his head towards you then with an unreadable expression. Those sharp, all-seeing eyes rake over your face, clearly searching for something, before he turns back towards the horizon. You try to will him to look at you again with your own probing stare, but he refuses the bait and now it’s your turn to sigh out your frustrations.
“I, uh, yeaaah… Gotta be real with you, Tetsu, I’m pretty much lost here,” you tell him. “When did this even happen? We’ve never been on a date as far as I know—hell, you haven’t even asked me out–”
Apparently that’s enough to finally get him to look at you again.
His indignant sputtering of “I– Wha? Yes I did!” leaves you rolling your eyes as you give back an equally impassioned “When?!”
“Damn near two months ago to the day!” He sits up straight now, leaning towards you in his excitement and damn near looming over you as a result. Were he anyone but who he is to you you’d probably be intimidated by the action, but as it stands you just cock a brow at him as you wait for him to explain himself.
“Remember when we had that really special lunch, and-and I confessed—or at least I thought I did—and you agreed! Did you really not know? Was I not clear enough?”
You try to remember the day in question only to find that it’s the very one you’d been thinking about just minutes before. You quickly run through the whole of your interactions—a thing that’s far too easy to do given how your brain apparently sees fit to catalog and preserve damn near every second that you spend with this boy—in an attempt to figure out when exactly he confessed, though nothing there screams ‘I like you, please be mine’.
In fact the only thing that really stands out is–
Wait.
“Keep being my partner in crime?”
“Yeah, Tetsu, of course—always.”
“That was you confessing?”
“Well, yeah…”
His voice has gone sheepish in a way that you’re not used to hearing from him—in fact the whole of his countenance is shot through with nerves, and were you not so caught up in your own incredulity you would’ve thoroughly enjoyed not being the one on their back foot for once. But as it stands you just drop your head down into your palms with a groaned out laugh.
“So all those study dates–?”
“Actual dates, yeah. I wanted to take you out to do something a bit more romantic, but with midterms coming up and things with our clubs piling on—well, I couldn’t let our grades suffer, yanno?”
You nod a bit at that. Putting grades before fun is very much a Tetsurou Kuroo thing. “And Wednesdays–”
“Our standing lunch dates.”
“Guess this also explains why you’ve gotten even more annoying about my sleep schedule and eating habits.”
“Well I gotta make sure my baby stays healthy! You’re always forgetting to eat, and it only gets worse when you’re stressed,” he reminds you. “And honestly even if we weren’t a thing, your hydration levels and sleeping habits are still atrocious.”
Well, he’s got you there.
“And the flirting?”
“That’s always been real, from the very start,” he admits. “I’ve kinda had a thing for you from day one.”
His words are equal parts validating and exciting, and the heady mixture leaves you spinning, just a bit, as you mutter out a quiet, “I, um, same.”
His lips pull off into that smirk that you love to hate as he teasingly nudges your arm. “Figured as much. I mean, it’s not like you’re out here making bentos and fetching forgotten water bottles and cheering yourself into laryngitis for just anybody.”
Way to make me sound like a Stage 3 Simp. (Not that you’re not, mind, but still.) Aloud, “That was one time, and it wasn’t my fault—that match was intense!” you grumble with a laugh. “But no, no I’m not. Just like you’re not out here taking extra notes and incessantly flirting and making dates that aren’t dates with just anybody.”
“No,” he parrots with a grin, “no I am not.”
The pair of you fall silent for a beat before the ridiculousness of the situation hits you in full. You cling to one another helplessly as you laugh—long, loud, and hard—before settling into your shared embrace. It should feel a bit odd, you think, being cuddled up with him like this. Despite how close the pair of you are, Tetsurou’s always been very respectful about the way he touches you. Was what you had assumed to be his way of keeping things platonic actually his not wanting to potentially give away his secret before he was ready to?
Yeah, probably, you silently decide when he presses you in more closely to his side with a contented sigh.
“I kinda feel like I should apologize,” you tell him once you’ve settle more fully into his embrace.
He stirs a bit at that, golden eyes finding yours as he lets out a confused hum. “Why?”
“Because I must’ve seemed like the world’s worst partner,” you reply, laughing a bit.
“Ah. Yeah, well…” He shrugs before leaning his head against yours. “I honestly thought that you were maybe regretting saying yes. You didn’t really act any differently—not that I was expecting a huge change considering how close we already are, but… I dunno, you just didn’t seem interested in getting to know me on that level. And you never initiated anything, uh, physical. Not that I was expecting anything like, yanno, that!” he quickly amends. “It’s just, I thought you’d at least want to hold my hand or something, but… It had me wondering if maybe I just didn’t do it for you, you know… looks-wise.”
You have to choke out a laugh at that. Tetsurou Kuroo is unfairly handsome and he damn well knows it, has even used it to his advantage on occasion—the time that he charmed a free scone out of that barista when he was too broke to actually buy himself one comes to mind, and that’s saying nothing of the fact that he’s never paid a late fee at the library, despite the fact that he never turns his books in on time—so to see him doubt this is absolutely unreal, and not in a good way. Not liking the feelings fueling the unsure quality of his voice, or the way it all makes your heart seize, you steel yourself to say something you know you probably—no, definitely—will get teased for later (and by ‘later’ you mean less than a minute after you say it).
“I’m only gonna say this once if for no other reason than I don’t need your ego getting any bigger than it already is, but… You are very much so my type, looks and all, so yeah. That’s uh, that’s out there now, so no doubts, okay?”
The same intense flush that you can feel heating the whole of your face spreads across the planes of his own to stain his cheeks with rosedust as you speak, but this sweet display doesn’t last for long, unsurprisingly. The shy smile that he’d been giving you at first slowly sharpens until it’s a full on shit-eating grin.
“‘Very much so your type’, huh? Prove it then.”
Oh no.
You know that tone. He’s about to say something that’s gonna leave you wanting to dome him while somehow simultaneously dissolving into the ether.
You don’t want to ask, probably shouldn’t for the sake of your sanity, but—“…How?”
“Kiss me.”
Yup, there it is.
His expression’s so fucking smug that you don’t want to give in on principle, but goddamn if he doesn’t wear the look well…
As you continue to weigh the pros against the cons of conceding, Tetsurou’s confidence begins to falter again, with his smirk drooping as he rubs nervously at the back of his neck. “Hey, look, if you don’t want to, that’s cool! I was mostly joking anyways, like at least ninety-seven percent jo–”
You cut off the rest of the sentence with a press of your lips to his cheek. “No doubts, remember?” you gently chide as you urge him to turn his head towards you fully.
“No doubts,” he repeats, nodding a bit dumbly as if he hadn’t actually expected you to act. He smiles then, soft and sweet, as he leans in closer. His nose brushes alongside yours once, twice, and then he’s finally kissing you properly.
That first press of his lips is a tentative thing, so much so that it would almost seem teasing if it wasn’t so obvious that he was nervous. But nerves soon turn into excitement, desperation, action. You know for a fact that you’re not the first person that Tetsurou’s ever kissed, and it shows in this moment. His hands cradle you expertly, guiding your head and the rest of your body as needed until you’re kissing one another as if you were created for no other purpose.
Once you’re finally forced to part you find that he’s maneuvered you onto his lap and isn’t at all keen on letting you go—not that you really want to move, of course, though the positioning does leave you ducking your head down a bit in embarrassment. And with your boyfriend (of two months now, apparently) being who he is, he cannot help but to pick with you a bit.
“Tetsu, baby, stoooop,” you half laugh, half groan somewhere in the middle of one of his quips.
His grin is sharp and directly at odds with the way his eyes soften into something gooey and sweet as he looks you over. “Oh, so I’m your ‘baby’ now, huh?”
“Tetsurou…”
“What? I’m not mad at it at all, it’s just… nice. I, uhh, like it, yanno? Makes all of this feel real, like you’re just as into me as I am you.”
“Tetsu, I–”
“No, it’s fine,” he tells you with a shake of his head. “Well it’s not fine fine, but it’s fine.”
“I’m so glad you cleared that up,” you reply with a snort of laughter. “But seriously though—I am sorry. Had I known we were actually dating things would’ve been different, I would’ve been different.”
“Well you’re definitely good enough to me on the platonic side of things that I wasn’t completely left wanting, but I guess relationships make me greedy. I wanted all of that and this. To be honest, I…” He pauses then, uncharacteristically shy as his fingers trail down the lengths of your arms to tangle with your own before continuing on. “I want everything with you, ____.”
The admission leaves your cheeks burning, but you don’t dare look away—not now, not when he’s being so vulnerable with you and impossibly sweet. Your quiet reply of “Same” leaves you both smiling, albeit in two totally different ways.
His replying grin is heart stopping, truly, striking that balance between cute and cocky as effortlessly as ever. You cannot help but to be drawn in by it, your lips grazing over his as you say something about making up for lost time.
“Mmm, yeah, definitely, buuuut–! Looks like classes are about to start up again.”
You chance a glance over your shoulder where your fellow students are indeed preparing to head back inside and the sight leaves you sighing. “We could just ditch you know–”
“____!”
“Don’t say my name like that,” you laugh, “you sound like some old, pearl-clutching auntie!”
“Rude. I do not–”
“Oh you totally do! What happened to being partners in crime, huh?”
Your digging tease leaves him huffing out a laugh. “Conning a barista out of various pastries is one thing, but skipping class is another beast entirely. That shit can really impact your future.”
“And petty crimes won’t?”
“Not if you don’t get caught.”
“The same could be said for ditching.”
“Yeah, but–”
The pair of you continue on this way as you head back towards the main building, hand-in-hand—an old, familiar act made all the more precious by what you now know.
Volleyball Kiss 🍃
No Doubts (Remember) || WC: 1.1k~
One last CW for talk of the strains and pressures of Kuroo’s home life. Again, I don’t go super into detail, but I do make it clear that all of that as well as the general stressors that come with being the team’s captain as well as a third year (fuck those scholarship/college entry essays, amirite?) are getting to him. But luckily for him, he’s got his lovely little partner to help pull him out of his head.
“Can’t sleep?”
The question shocks Tetsurou if for no other reason than he was sure that everyone else had already fallen asleep, desperate to catch up on the rest that nerves had robbed them of the night prior. It may only be a half hour from their school to the stadium, but every bit of energy that they can acquire, no matter how seemingly minuscule, really will count down the line. The chorus of light snores are cut through by the occasional cough or dull th-thunk-ing of the bus rattling over something in the road; an odd lullaby to be sure, but one that three years’ worth of away games have taught him to appreciate.
Under normal circumstance the familiar refrain would’ve seen him drifting off along with everyone else, but his mind refuses to turn off this morning. His thoughts have been rapidly oscillating between various plays, the breakdown of rival teams’ structures, the welfare of his own teammates, and eventualities that he has no real way of evaluating or controlling. It’s an endless, near vicious loop that he’s yet to find a means of escaping in (relatively) quiet moments such as these, and so he’s resigned himself to suffer until an adequate distraction presents itself.
In truth he’s been mentally running himself ragged for the past week, with his anxieties reaching a resounding crescendo the moment he stepped onto the school grounds just a little while ago. If it were just the tournament he could probably deal, but it’s not just the tournament. It’s the tournament and the half dozen-plus entry essays that are sitting on his hard drive in various states of completion and the school year that he needs to survive with his GPA intact for those things to even have use and his mother who’s already exhibiting symptoms of empty nest syndrome despite the fact that he’s still here and Hitomi visits at least once a week (never mind that neither of them has actually lived with her in over a decade).
Dozens upon dozens of responsibilities and obligations of varying import have finally complied enough to reach critical mass, and the resulting internal meltdown is a thing that he’s been determined to weather alone.
Because Tetsurou Kuroo does not share his burdens, he bears them—resolutely and without complaint.
This is why he’d been all smiles and encouraging words and back slaps and everything else his teammates expected of him when he arrived this morning. He could do no less, be no less, not when they looked to him for stability. He’s sure that Kenma, Yaku, and Kai had seen right through his façade—never mind your knowing frown—but you all had been wise (not to mention kind) enough to keep your observations behind your teeth. After all, it wouldn’t do for the others to find out their seemingly unflappable captain’s just as capable of harboring doubts as the rest of them.
His kohai setter might be the brains, but Kuroo’s role runs deeper in some ways. He’s in the team’s very cells, the nucleus that gives direction, brings structure. To allow his misgivings to visibly manifest themselves would be extremely selfish, in his opinion, especially when he knows the worst of them will fall away once he’s on the court.
And so he sits here in the still and silent of a too early hour on a dreary January morning, nursing his thoughts with eyes pinched shut and mouth set in a hard line. Sleep is not a thing he’ll be entertaining anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be.
“I can hear you thinking,” you say, answering the question of why you too are awake before he’s forced to ask. “I would ask you what is it that’s got you so wound up, but that’d be kinda silly, huh?”
He pushes out a huff of air through his nose at that, as much of a laugh as he can muster at the moment. When you squeeze at the hand that has been firmly in yours since you’d both settled in, he knows that it’s a silent call for him to unburden himself, and yet he hesitates. It’s not that he doesn’t want to confide in you—well, okay, that’s a lie. He’s never been one to share his fears easily, never wanted to risk making himself a nuisance to those closest to him (to risk having yet another person he cares deeply about leave him behind because his needs extended beyond the extent of their capacity to care).
But if knowing you—loving you and being loved in turn—has taught him anything is that when someone truly cares for you they’ll be there, however and wherever you need them, for as long as you need them. So long as he’s brave enough to make the jump he knows you’ll be there to catch him on the way down.
Still, he doesn’t open his eyes, not yet, settling instead for a shrug that he’s sure you feel more than see as he’s careful not to displace you from where you’re leaning heavily into his side. Though the reply is hardly one at all, you’ve long since learned to speak Tetsurou Kuroo fluently.
“Worried?”
“Mm.” (Though it pains me to admit it, yes, yes I am.)
Your thumb follows the length of his own in slow, steady strokes as you tell him, “Don’t be.”
“Hmm…” (Easy for you to say, sweetheart. You’re not the one that’s gotta get out there and preform.)
“You guys have been training hard, yeah? Have done everything you can to prepare?”
“Mhm.” (You know we did, you were there.)
“Then there’s nothing else for it. Trust in your team, trust in your training, trust in yourself. You got this, babe.”
The feeling of your shifting is the thing that finally sees his eyes opening. Overcast skies have turned the whole of the horizon into a uniform sheet of white-grey and he finds himself blinking hard against the muted brightness. When his inner lenses finally decide to play nice and focus you’re smiling that perfect little smile of yours—the one that you save just for him, and grace him with liberally. He mirrors the sentiment, slow and easy, as he allows his forehead to come down to rest against yours.
“Remember—no doubts.”
Those words have been a mainstay in your relationship since you’d uttered them all those months ago, and the callback works as well as it ever does. His smile softens down into something sweet, private—an expression saved solely for you, one that he knows you think is just as perfect as the one you’re giving him—before falling away under a chaste press of lips.
“No doubts,” he echoes, voice decisive and heart steadier than it has been in a long while.
One Hundredth Kiss 🍃
Questionable Decisions that Bear Repeating || WC: 900~
CW for one use of ‘kitten’ as an endearment (Reader receiving). Also more mentions of Kuroo’s jacked up home life. His parents’ divorce (and the resulting emotional fallout) really did a number on him, and while he’s determined to rise above it all he’d be lying if he said it doesn’t still get him inside his head from time to time. Luckily for him he’s got a sweet, loving, and supportive partner that’s more than willing to help ease his thoughts and fears…
“Looks like you got the first problem wrong, and if you used this formula for the subsequent ones—and I’m guessing you did—then that means they’re all wrong too.”
You stare blankly at the essay before you, the words that you’re supposed to be scrutinizing for the sake of your boyfriend’s GPA dropping out of focus until they coalesce into a formless, graphite hued blob. Biting down on the dread that’s attempting to claw its way up from your stomach to settle inside your chest, you blink hard a few times and take one deep, steadying breath before slowly looking down past your knees to the man that sits with your legs in his lap. A too small bed in an equally small room makes the positioning more of a concession than a comfort in the same way that your calling what Tetsurou is doing ‘sitting’ is being extremely generous. In truth your boyfriend is one of the worst manspreaders that you’ve ever met, though in his defense his stature doesn’t really allow for him to not sprawl.
Still, he’s taking up a good chunk of real estate in your dorm, with his long ass legs stretching over the side of the mattress and far beyond, to the point where his feet are nearly under your desk. As for the rest of him—his back’s slouched against the wall at what has to be an uncomfortable angle while the hand that isn’t holding your (apparently very much wrong) calculus homework busies itself with rubbing a soothing pattern against your calf. It would be more effective, you’re sure, if it wasn’t accompanied by a golden gaze shuddered with pity.
“That… cannot be right. I spent so long on those problems, Tetsu!”
“I know, baby.”
“And I triple checked to make sure I was using the right formula because I knew I kept getting them mixed up–”
“I know–”
“I even had you check for me! So how—fucking how—is this even possible?” You pause again as another thought suddenly takes you. “Tetsurou Kuroo. If you’re trolling me right now, on god…”
He holds your stare (glare) for a beat, then two before his mouth starts to twitch with the beginnings of a laugh. When you growl out his name the dam bursts leaving him cackling like a hyena as he doubles over.
You pull your legs up towards yourself as you tell him, “You’re the absolute worst, you know that?” When he only laughs harder you nudge him just as hard with your feet in a bid to push him out of your bed. It doesn’t work, of course, he’s built way too sturdily for that, but the sentiment is there at least. “Ugh, I swear I cannot stand your childish ass! You stay on some bullshit…”
“Oya?”
“Oh no—we are not starting that mess. Get out, I don’t want to look at your stupid face anymore–”
He snorts at that. “Oh so now my face is stupid, huh?”
“Yup,” you’re quick to reply, popping the ‘P’, “and your hair is worse. Ol’ chemistry rooster looking headass. ‘What is a comb?’ headass. All the gel in the world can’t do nothing for all these damn cowlicks headass–”
Your next quip devolves into a squawk followed by peals of laughter as your man quickly pulls you down the length of the bed so that he can cage you in. Retribution comes in the form of a flurry of kisses that are interspersed with the odd nip to your vulnerable neck and collarbones; all the while you’re left to laugh wildly as you try to fend off his attack. It’s only when your giggles turn into something more breathless and wanting that he decides that you’ve been properly chastened. He kisses his way up your neck and over your jaw, stopping just shy of letting his lips brush against your eager mouth.
“If I’m all that, kitten, then why do you love me so much, hmm?”
“Because I make questionable life decisions, obviously.” A coquettish air replaces the snark that would usually color such a retort, with your voice wrapping around the words in a sinuous purr instead.
He hums at that, his lips slurring along your skin until he’s able to breathe his reply directly into your ear. “In that case, wanna make another one—or several—with me right now?”
“Oh hell yes…”
“Well somebody’s eager. No second thoughts, questions, concerns… Doubts…?” Though his tone is equal parts playful and teasing, there’s something buried in the heart of it—of him—that harbors doubts of its own.
It’s that same part that leaves him clenching desperately at you on days when childhood memories try and convince him that love is transient and that vows are made to be broken–
That part that has him begging you to be that one defiance to everything he knows and stay on nights when he thinks you to be soundly asleep–
That part that drives him to do better by you than what he’s been shown, and to be the kind of man that can be trusted to guard your heart.
That level of passion, devotion, love can only ever be met in kind.
This is why you do not hesitate to drop all pretenses–
Why you pull him flush against you—body to body, heart against heart–
Why you pour all of your sincerity into one simple promise, words that have become a well-loved refrain–
“No doubts—not now, not ever.”
–and seal it all with a sweet, lingering kiss.
Forever Kiss 🍃
It’s too Late to Catch Me (Because I’ve Already Fallen for You) || WC: 700~
“Still falling for me, even after all these years, huh?”
Admittedly it’s not his best line, but Tetsurou figures he can be cut some slack given the fact that the person he loves more than anything almost lost their life to their own clumsy feet.
Okay, so he might be being a bit dramatic here—your fall probably would’ve only netted you a bruise at most—but having spent the better part of a year babysitting the well-meaning, but ultimately chaotic disaster humans that made up his old VBC has taught him to expect the worst from even the most minor of instances. But the what if’s are all immaterial in the end, he supposes, since they were not. He was there to catch you (albeit unwittingly, you’d kinda just fell into his chest as he was coming through the door) and your knees are safe and contusion free, so what more could either of you ask for?
Perhaps a lack of cheesy and ill-timed pick-up lines, if your unimpressed stare is anything to go by, but hey—you knew what you were signing up for from jump.
Though your face screws itself up into something thoroughly annoyed, for Tetsurou that has always translated as ridiculously adorable, so by his estimation it really shouldn’t surprise you that your expression does not garner the desired reaction.
His smirk is as unrepentant as ever as he pulls you more firmly against himself to press kiss after overly loud kiss across the breadth of your cheeks, only daring to capture your lips once their pout parts around reluctant burbles of laughter. It only takes a few pecks before you’re both in need of more, but he refuses to be the one to break. Holding on to his resolve when you’re whining so prettily for him—feeble hands curling into the fabric of his shirt and his name falling from your lips in a plea as you look up at him with those doe-like eyes—is a nearly impossible feat, but he manages if only just.
He tells you to use your words, but you decide that actions would serve you both better and honestly he couldn’t agree more. He bends easily under your insistent tugs, yielding control of the kiss readily only to snatch it back the moment you think you’ve gained some ground. When a need for oxygen forces you to part some long seconds later he’s pleased to see you thoroughly flustered and damn near drunk on his affections.
Gods, they’re always so beautiful, but seeing them like this? Breathtaking, truly… Though the thought is an overly sweet one, by the time it makes it out of his mouth, well…
“Gods, you’re so into me—simp.”
You scoff at that. “Says the man who’s still trying to win me over with dry ass pickup lines after damn near a decade of being together.”
“But did it work though?”
When you don’t bother with a reply beyond an exasperated roll of your eyes he counts it as a success. And said success, he decides, deserves a reward in the form of claiming your lips once again.
You don’t resist him despite the cut of your glance, with that soon falling away under the fluttering of lids. Tetsurou eyes follow suit with a soft exhale as he revels in the sweetness of the kiss. There is nothing demanding about the ministration, only the gentle give and take, the beauty that comes with intimate repetition.
When the pair of you part this time it’s with a soft sigh, but you don’t go far. Foreheads brace against one another as breaths are shared and heartbeats sync. The silence that follows is a comfortable one that the man is reluctant to break, and yet he feels compelled to speak just the same, to reassure you of his love just as you’ve done for him so many times throughout the years.
“I know I’m not the most conventional when it comes to showing it, but– I love you, ____. Far more than what you’ll probably ever know, honestly.”
His words leave your eyes syruping with emotion as you match his stare and devotion both. “You drive me crazy more often than not, but I really do love you for it. I love you, Tetsu. Always…”
“I know, baby, I know—and I never doubted it, not even for a second.”
Taglist (open to 18+ users ONLY): @therescrackinmytea ((sorry for the random tag, but I saw you were feeling a bit meh and I thought that this might cheer you up some))
© notepadsandtealeaves, 2022 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol…
#personally i feel like dating kuroo would see me osculating between being a blushing mess and wanting to headbutt something--#--with that something 7/10 being him lmao#we'd either get on really well or constantly be at each other's throats (lovingly)--there's no in between#anyways...#((Immy does fan fiction: The Volleybaes))#kuroo x reader#kuroo x gn reader#kuroo x gender neutral reader#kuroo x you#kuroo x y/n#kuroo imagine#kuroo scenarios#kuroo fanfic#kuroo fluff#haikyuu kuroo#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu fluff#kuroo tetsuro x reader#kuroo tetsuro fanfiction#kuroo tetsuro x you
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Do you have any long kiribaku fic requests? Like, 100k, 200k, 300k etc
Something I can sit with for a bit? I’ve been burning through so many that are under 50k and I love that but I have a weekend free to do nothing for the first time in forever and want to settle in
I'm actually glad that someone has asked for this rec because I've been feeling really bad lately that my account has been so inactive while I recover.
So, to try and make up for it, I've put together this rec list of some longer kiribaku fics (maybe not 300k but still pretty long) that have had such a profound impact on me since I've joined the fandom, some of which have really helped with and improved my writing!
I hope you find something of interest among these choices, Anon, as I've enjoyed them all so much! <3
1. In the Roaring Autumn by thegrimzuera. (94k)
I'm in the process of re-reading this fic at the moment! A College AU with Katsuki as the main POV (which I love) and his characterization is so well done. I actually picked up and adapted a lot of my current Katsuki writing from this fic when I was first figuring out how to write his character! Highly recommend, Kirishima is a lovely jock who ends up teaching a scorned Katsuki about friendship and how being manly means taking responsibility for your actions. A slow burn that is very well done, all around just a really fun read and so I am reading it again (and again and again and again and...)
2. Tomorrow, Today by timetoboldlygo. (87k)
It's been a while since I've read this fic but I've been meaning to come back to it for some time now (HAH, that's like a pun without the set up because -) It's a Time-Travel AU! Love love love that. Future Husbands Bakugou and Kirishima get sent back into their old junior high bodies (to before they met at Yuuei, if I'm remembering correctly). Lots of feelings and working through marital conflicts. I think the story did a good job of taking the usual time-travel trope and giving it an interesting spin from a new perspective that I hadn't seen before!
It's where my love for analyzing Bakugou's younger behaviors came from and probably what eventually spawned the creation of my OC fic later! 😁
3. Broken Bridges by DeathBelle. (68k)
Have you ever, uh... have you ever, um, pining?? Yeah. That's this fic. Future Pro-Hero's Red Riot and Ground Zero haven't spoken since their graduation from Yuuei High, and it's a wild ride once they bump into each other again at an active villain site (so bad at trying not to spoil things, ahaha). Another really fun read, a bit on the shorter side compared to the others on this list but it's longer than A Secret Admirer (which might be my longest fic on this account) so I thought it was worth mentioning!
4. Opposed to the Typical by heronfem. (178k)
I've talked about this one before (quite recently maybe) and while I was only ever able to read through this once so far, it has stayed in my head for so much longer afterwards, and I think that's a true testament of a great story! Super immersive, really pulls you in for the long haul. If you enjoy lots of world building and fun imagery, fashion labels and plenty of artsy drama, I highly recommend this fic. You can tell a lot of time and attention to detail went into this one, and for that it has gained a ton of my respect!
5. Crown of Thornes | Book 1 by WonderBoyz. (111k)
I'm still in the process of reading this one so I don't know all of what happens but as far as Fantasy AUs go, this has really captured my attention. It's gritty, it's got action, lots of conflict and plot twists, I just imagine the fic author must have had so much fun writing this and that gets me really excited to read more! And it's part of a series so there's even more to read after!
6. Moment of Truth by Fanficismything. (104k)
This is going to be a really bold claim for me to make, alright? But. This might be my favorite fic on ao3. I have read this fic numerous times because it's a great adaption of one of my favorite tropes and I had so much fun reading it that it literally can't be anything other than my favorite fic. A kiribaku rom-com based on the 2009 movie The Proposal (AKA the greatest fucking movie of all time). I would cradle this fic in a blanket because it just hits all of my comfort feels and makes me so happy. I implore you that if you think you don't need this fic in your life well, then, you are simply wrong. 😂
7. An Abundance of Penguin Shit by Vixensheart. (214k)
An Animal Handler AU Y'ALL THIS IS THE SHIT I LIVE FOR! I really enjoyed this fic for so many different reasons, and this is another piece of work that heavily influenced my own portrayal of Katsuki in my writing; I thought his characterization in this was really interesting and leaned on a lot of certain traits of his that I hadn't really considered much before reading this one. There's also (similar to: Opposed to the Typical) so much great detailing and world building and character analysis, ugh I love it sooo much you don't even know. BAKUGOU PLAYS WITH A MF PENGUIN AHXBHAXBA. It's so damn cute and I honestly can't get enough of it. Always recommending. Always always.
8. Metallic Bonds by Kaustikha. (106k)
This is another new fic for me that I've just recently gotten my hands on; a Fullmetal Alchemist AU! I've never really dabbled in Fullmetal Alchemist before (yet) but this AU is written so well that honestly, I almost feel like I don't even need to know much at all to enjoy it. It's already so entertaining on its own, the dynamics are really interesting and I'm just all-in-all super hooked on this one right now! I'm really excited to see where it goes!
9. Chitchat and Pencil Pushers by beebuzz. (92k)
Of course, I literally could not have made this list without mentioning this fic. A Job Office AU that I find myself coming back to time and time again. Lots of pining and really I don't know what it is about Insert-Regular-Job-Here AU's that I enjoy so much when it comes to kiribaku, but it has my entire soul.
I enjoyed each of these fics for their various own reasons, but mostly I enjoyed all of them and felt the need to add them all into this list because I can tell just how much effort and energy has gone into these works. The characterization is always really well done, the character's conversations feel authentic and engaging, the struggles that they all face vary so drastically (while somehow all being the same exact characters) that it is honestly so fascinating to me to read through these works and know that, inherently, they are all the same story rewritten with a new skin but, outwardly, they're so unique and show so much personality and range between them all.
Isn't that so amazing?? I feel like that's so amazing... maybe I'm just going insane after quarantine, ahaha :,D
Both are viable options, but whichever way that it is, a huge shout-out to these writers and to the others who I have been binging on this hellsite (affectionate) since I got here. Some of these stories bring so many people comfort and entertainment, myself included, and it's nice to be able to share them with you as well!
I hope you find something fun to read! ❤️🧡
#kiribaku#bakugou katsuki#kirishima eijirou#bakushima#kiribaku fic#kiribaku fic recs#bakushima fic#bakushima fic recs#bakusquad#fantasy au#office au#animal handler au#fake dating#friends to lovers#strangers to lovers#ao3 fic recs#ao3 author#bnha#my hero academia
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VelvetCardiganBucky’s Recommendations 2021: Week 12 & 13 | March 14th – March 27th
Welcome to weeks 12 & 13 of my recommendations, if you would like to be featured on a future list, I follow the hashtag #VelvetCardiganBucky, message me, tag me in your future works, or reblog this post and link to your story, one-shot, Masterlist, writing challenge, etc.
Be aware some if not most stories and writers on this list are meant to be consumed by an audience of those 18+. My blog is also an 18+ blog.
✨Page breaks are made @firefly-graphics✨
«Last Week
Week 14»
My Masterlist
My Fic Rec List of Mafia/Mob Bucky/Sebastian & Steve/Chris/Andy
Stuff I Posted This Week:
Steve + Bey = 4Ever » Steve Rogers and Bey carved places in each other’s hearts, that no one else could ever replace.
I Hear A Symphony » Bucky Barnes x Mutant!Reader — Reader plays an important song to her for Bucky.
—Formerly The Winter Soldier » “I’m no longer the winter soldier, my name is James Bucky Barnes & you're part of my effort to make amends.”
Lee Bodecker
(Mini) Series:
*Give In by @not-a-great-writer » soft!dark!Lee Bodecker x shy!Reader — She didn’t think she was anything special. So when the intimidating Sheriff takes an interest in her, she can’t help but feel a little unsettled. Her boring life is about to get a little interesting. | This story has to be one of my all time series I’ve ever read, and I know I will weep when it’s over. The chapters are decently sized, you have angst, fluff and smut. I couldn’t ask for more, it’s simply a masterpiece.
Deadbeat Pt. 9 by @the-witty-pen-name » Lee Bodecker x F!Reader — You work at the bar at the edge of town, the Sheriff is going through a divorce and needs to rent a room. | Cole thank you for feeding my current Lee Bodecker obsession after I watched The Devil All The Time, for the time. This story is good and I love soft!Lee, and one where no one dies. At least I hope no one dies...
SamBucky
One-Shots:
Loving You Is Cherry Pie by @river-soul » Sam Wilson x Reader x Bucky Barnes — When Sam Wilson, one of your regulars at the cafe finally asks you out, you’re ecstatic until he tells you he wants his friend to join. When you meet Bucky, you decide it might be worth your while after all. [Allusions to stalking, exhibitionism and explicit sex, 18+] | There is just not enough SamBuck stories out there and we have @river-soul to thank for feeding our love for the boys and giving us some good smut, especially to tide us over till Friday.
Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM by @callmeluna » Sam Wilson x Reader x Bucky Barnes — You are admittedly a handful when you’ve had a few drinks in you. Luckily, your partners Sam and Bucky are more than up for the challenge… maybe. | If you are looking for something to make you laugh, might I suggest reading this? The whole time as I read this I couldn’t get the huge smile off my face, it was that good.
Bucky Barnes
Drabbles:
Matching by @heli0s-writes » Bucky Barnes x Reader — Reader and Bucky are “matchy matchy,” with their belly button rings. | This is adorable as well as very funny.
One-Shots:
Smooth Criminal by @bestofbucky » Bucky Barnes x Reader — Based on a dream @velvetcardiganbucky had. You’re parents told you to never give rides to strangers, but when you notice Bucky Barnes trying to break into your car, you know some strangers aren’t so bad. | Jenny did my dream justice! I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Don’t Over Do It by @whisperlullaby » Bucky Barnes x Reader — Your boyfriend is an asshole. Bucky reminds you that you are perfect the way you are. | I can’t describe this anyway other than perfect, that I wish I had a Bucky like this there for me. Trust me you’ll love the ending.
Coming Home to You by @angrythingstarlight » Biker!Bucky Barnes x Reader — Your Biker boyfriend is finally home and he’s going to show you how much he missed you. With every inch he has. And you’re going to remember how much he loves you. | It’s not very often you read something that has an alternate ending and when you do you find yourself loving both endings. Both endings are hot, the smut is great, again who couldn’t love Biker!Bucky?
Won’t Let You Go by @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay » Mob!Bucky Barnes x OFC!Kori — Kori met Bucky in one of his clubs, out to get shit-faced with a couple of friends to forget about her worries and maybe take home a guy to further rid herself of her numerous frustrations. Little did she know that the one-night stand with Bucky would turn into so much more than that. | Thank you so much for entering my writing challenge, it means so much. This one-shot is so good, it hit me right the feels and left me falling in love with Kori and Bucky.
Show Me How To Ride by @angrythingstarlight » Beefy Biker!Bucky Barnes x Reader — You’ve been keeping a secret from your biker boyfriend. He is going to get the information out of you one way or the other. | It’s hot and it makes you realize just how much you realize just how much you love Biker!Bucky.
Bubble Baths by @floatingpetals » Bucky Barnes x Reader (Modern AU) — Even your boyfriend Bucky, needs to wind down at the end of a stressful with a bubble bath, but he doesn’t want to do it alone. | Okay, so my summary of this sucks but let me just say this is fluffy and smutty all at once. I wish I had Bucky to take a bubbly bath with.
Bad Boy!Bucky Barnes x Shy!Reader by @gagmebucky — in which there’s nowhere to sit and bucky offers his lap—then, subsequently, his cock. (bad boy!bucky x shy!reader, dirty talk, exhibitionism and voyeurism, cockwarming, unprotected sex.) | *chugs water* yeah is it a little hot in here? I probably would have failed class if Bucky had been in my class along with Steve, I wouldn’t have known who to stare at, forget learning the material.
**Greater Good by @fuel-joy » Bucky Barnes x Reader — There is a cure for the zombie outbreak but is it worth the cost. | Grab your tissues, because you are going to need them. Thanks darling for entering my writing challenge and making me feel so many feels with this one.
(Mini) Series:
A Tender Heart ♥️ Pt. 2 by @river-soul » Alpha!Bucky Barnes x Omega!Reader — You’ve been sweet on Bucky since you started working at the compound six months ago. Normally quiet and mild mannered, an unexpired fight with a coworker brings Bucky into your orbit. [A/B/O dynamics, brief mention of bullying and fluff] | If anyone can pull at your heartstrings it’s @river-soul making the beginning of this series look so promising and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Run To You 🪙 Pt. 10 🪙 Pt. 11 🪙 Pt. 12 by @bestofbucky » Mob!Bucky Barnes x Bodyguard!Reader — Mob boss Bucky Barnes hires you to be his bodyguard. | Jenny left me at the edge of my seat, making this such an amazing story, I always look forward to her updates, and so sad that there is only 1 chapter left.
Better than Working sequel to This by @angrythingstarlight » Beefy Biker!Bucky Barnes x Reader — Beefy Biker Bucky shows you all the benefits of working from home. In fact what he has for you is so much better than work. | Sometimes you just need to read something hot to lift your spirits, let this do that.
Stucky
One-Shots:
*Tell Me What You Want by @angrythingstarlight » Mafia!Steve Rogers x Reader; Mafia!Bucky Barnes x Reader — Your mob boyfriend, is none other than Steve Rogers and he is willing to get you whatever you wanted, all you have to do is ask. And be careful what you ask for because he’s going to give it to you over and over again. | This is so hot that I highly recommend not reading this anywhere out in public. The smut in this is just *chefs kiss*
(Mini) Series:
Miracle Pt. 2 🥀 Pt. 1 by @heavenhatesme » Soft!Dark!Bucky Barnes x Reader; Soft!Dark!Steve Rogers x Reader — When infertility threatens mankind with extinction and there hasn’t been a baby for almost 18 years, what happens when two certain super soldiers fall for the same woman and accidentally impregnate her? | It’s not tagged as dark, sorry to the writer I tagged it that please forgive me? But I just want to tell everyone heed the tags. I do look forward to reading what happens next. The smut in this is great!
Invisible Ink by @navybrat817 » Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader; Bucky Barnes x Reader x Steve Rogers — The owners of the Howling Commandos Tattoo Parlor want to make you their best girl. | I love the idea of tattoo’d Bucky and Steve, but that's because I have a weakness for tattoo’s. So this series is just right up my alley, and the start of it is so good that I know it’s good to be a great one!
Steve Rogers
Drabbles:
Chocolate Milk & Dino Nuggets by @nony-bear » Steve Rogers x Reader — Daddy Steve helps make his little girl feel better after a long week. DDLG THEMES | Had me wishing I had a Steve to make me Dino nuggets after a long day at work. It’s precious folks.
Prompt 4K Drabble Challenge by @sweeterthanthis » Steve Rogers x Reader — “Show me how deep you can take it.” | You’re going to need an ice cold bath after this one.
One-Shots:
A Cruel Tide by @writerwrites » Nomad!Steve Rogers x Reader — A lost hero thinks she needs saving, but this divorcée’s needs were different, fleeting, and then full of attachment. Can they overcome the burdens on their shoulders and keep their word? | Sometimes you want to wrap the reader and Steve in a blanket and protect them while enjoying the smut. This gave me that and more.
Untitled Request by @navybrat817 » Steve Rogers x Reader — Sending Steve a naughty photo while he’s in a meeting leads to punishment that will remind you to never do it again, right? | Hi, I’m just going to drench myself in ice cold water. ✌🏻
(Mini) Series:
*Control Pt. 3 🔐 Pt. 1 🔐 Pt. 2 by @river-soul » dark!Steve Rogers x Reader — When a probationary agent asks you out on a date you learn Steve’s intentions for you have evolved. He doesn’t take kindly to someone touching what’s his. [Noncon, physical violence (biting), grooming behavior and explicit sex, 18+] | Definitely one of my favorite series to read on Tumblr so far, you know it’s dark, and the smut is great. I always look forward to the updates on this one.
*Lipstick and Crayons 🖍 Ch. 4 by @oneoftheprettynerds » Dark Mob!Steve Rogers x Reader — Steve can’t ever repay you for what you did. After meeting you, Steve believes his broken family is the missing piece in the puzzle of your own wrecked one. Indebting the crime lord to you has been the biggest mistake of your life, cause now you can’t get rid of him, no matter what. Loyalty and favours go a long way in the mob. | This story always gets my heart a racing and leaves you with questions as to what is going to happen next. I truly love it and Soft!Dad while being Angry!Mob boss Steve all at the same time, this story just has it all for me.
This Is My Unbecoming by @river-soul » Werewolf!Steve Rogers x Witch!Reader — When the Hydra pack graduates from turning humans to swell their ranks to kidnapping and murdering witches to consolidate power, Steve knows he needs to strike. He makes a deal with a powerful coven leader for a witch of his own in exchange for destroying the rogue pack. [Magical realism, biting, blood, slightly dubious consent and explicit sex, 18+] | Okay this is so good and I would like to thank the teenage mind of @river-soul for creating this! Like seriously thank you. I look forward to reading more!
It’s been a long, long time ☕️ Ch.1 by @mostly-marvel-musings » Steve Rogers x Reader — Steve Rogers – a man who has lost too much finds himself blending into the crowd in attempts to forget his past but revisits familiar places and spends days sketching his heart out. A rainy evening leads him to find shelter in your coffee shop. Is having meaningful conversations over endless cups of coffee with a stranger the key to unlocking a heart that’s lost the will to love? | The prologue tore my heart out, it truly did but the first chapter just puts the pieces back together. I really love this and I’m honestly looking forward to reading what happens next. I can’t thank you enough for entering my writing challenge!
*Not A Team Part: 1 by @shedobewritingalittle » Steve Rogers x Reader — The Reader tries to live a normal life, but her memories won’t leave her alone. Rhodey comes to visit the reader with a proposition. | There aren't a lot of stories out there that have walk on parts with Rhodey in it and I didn’t know how much I missed out on having him in stories till I read this. This was just so well written and the characterization of Rhodey was perfect, how Peyton got the emotions written across, it’s perfect. Read this and have some tissues on hand. I will always love it.
Andy Barber
One-Shots:
Closing Arguments by @river-soul » Andy Barber x Reader — Andy and you are going out for the first time since your daughter’s birth. Anxious about leaving her behind Andy does his best to make you feel better. [Fluff with explicit sex (f recieving), 18+] | So fluffy and sweet!
Keep the Heat by @ozarkthedog » Andy Barber x Reader — Andy fucks you in the coat. | Semi-Short and the smut is oh so good.
(Mini) Series:
Homebound 🏡 Ch. 1 by @fuel-joy » Dark!Andy Barber x Reader — You witness your neighbor kill his wife. You try to gather evidence all from the comfort of your home. | Prepare to be at the edge of your seat with this one, it’s just that good.
One Night by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor » Dark!Andy Barber x Reader — One night changes your entire life. | This is dark and exciting, with tons of angst in it. I love a real good dark!Andy fic and this is it.
Chris Evans
One-Shots:
Mirrors by @cherrychris » Chris Evans x Reader — “wanna know what i see? me owning you and this sweet little pussy” | Sometimes you read things that just blow your mind and this was one of those things.
*Work Party by @harrylovex » Chris Evans x Reader — you get drunk at a work party and chris looks after you… | This is really adorable and probably one of my favorite fluffy Chris Evans one-shots I’ve ever read.
Misc.
One-Shots:
An Act of Kindness by @stargazingfangirl18 » Jake Jensen x Female!Reader — A simple act of kindness seals your fate. | I would like to simply start of by saying that this was my first Jake Jensen fanfiction in years, or maybe my first one, and all I could was where have I been hiding from him? So good and glad I read this and so will you!
*Come Back Safe by @celestialbarnes » Sam Wilson x Reader — based on tfatws, you find out sam’s leaving for a mission, afraid to lose the man you love, you confront him, and he promises you to come back. | So fluffy you’ll want to cuddle it under a blanket fort and wish under a thousand starry night skies for it to come true.
(Mini) Series:
Fiery Friends Pt. 3 🔥 Pt. 4 by @wanderinglunarnights » Johnny Storm x OFC!Sophia Jones — Johnny invites his best friend Sophia to stay with him in his penthouse during quarantine. | I really like this story, because I find myself mentally rooting for Sophia and Johnny, also going you go girl. Looking forward to what is next for this duo.
Ensnared Pt. 2 🔗 Pt. 1 by @stargazingfangirl18 » Ransom Drysdale x Female!Reader; minor Robert Pronge (Mr. Freezy) x Reader — Robert preps you for the handoff to the smooth talking stranger who bought you, but before he lets you go, he wants to have a little fun first. | So good and hot. Honestly I look forward to hopefully finding out what happens between the reader and Ransom.
Made With Love by @ayybtch » Wanda Maximoff x f!Reader + Friends to Lovers — Wanda is an excellent cook but a terrible baker. A rough day leads her to the bakery in the Avengers compound where she meets you, the lead baker. After a dismal attempt at making chocolate chip cookies, you volunteer to help Wanda learn how to bake. Your friendship grows stronger with each successful recipe until the two of you stumble into something even sweeter than baked goods. | This story will constantly have you smiling, sure it’s only 3 chapters so far, but I started off reading it in a bad mood but by the 3rd chapter I was just so sappy and happy. I can’t wait for more!
Without Me by CuttingMyFingersOff » Legolas x OFC!Braigeth — Braigeth was an elf who has nothing but memories of Legolas to help her survive being imprisoned in the walls of Orthanc. That is, until she is able to escape and reunite with him. | I’ve been invested in this since my friend came forward to me with the idea for this story and now that it’s being written, I couldn’t be more excited to read it. I need more Lord of the Rings in my life if I’m being honest.
Forever and Ever More by @syntheticavenger » Dark Alpha!Ransom Drysdale x Omega!Reader — Ransom Drysdale may be Boston’s most eligible Alpha but he has his eyes set on you. With his inheritance hanging in the balance, he won’t take no for an answer, whether you like him or not. | Prepared to go on a Hawaiian EMOTIONAL roller coaster with this story, there are so many times in this story you find yourself picking your jaw up off the floor. I’ve linked you to chapter 9, which has all the previous chapters, listed.
Is A Shout Out To My...
@bluemusickid in celebration of 700 followers is hosting a Holi Celebration Writing Challenge, that is due April 30th, but extension can be given. Any Marvel or MCU characters can be used in addition to Chris Evans and his characters. The theme is Holi and its colors, for better explanation visit the link provided.
@whisperlullaby in celebration of 700 followers is hosting a 700 Followers Challenge, your entries will be due May 5th. The theme is kinks, no RPF, DDLG/MMLG, bathroom related , incest, or under age kinks. This is MCU characters, Sebastian Stan, and Chris Evans characters x OFC or Reader. For more information visit the link provided. Congrats Becca on the 700 followers you deserve it hun!
@stargazingfangirl18 in celebration of 5K followers is hosting a Soft Dark Writing Challenge, which is due May 31st. Don’t let the name fool you, your writing can be soft, dark, or soft!dark, or headcanons about any Chris character. 500 word minimum with no max, but new or be read as a stand alone piece. For more information visit the link provided and be sure to congratulate Siri on her 5K milestone!
@cloudystevie in celebration of 4K followers is hosting a Mob!AU Writing Challenge, that is due on May 30th. You can use Chris Evans and any of his characters he’s played before, as well as make it NSFW or SFW. To learn more about it please visit the link below. Also congratulations Jasmeen on the 4K followers! 💗
#fanfiction recommendations#VelvetCardiganBucky#bucky barnes#steve rogers#bucky barnes x reader#steve rogers x reader#ktk fic rec#ktk rec ‘21#mob!steve rogers x reader#mob!bucky barnes x reader#ktk rec#andy barber x reader#andy barber#chris evans x reader#writing challenge#alpha!bucky barnes x omega!reader#nomad!steve rogers x reader#wanda maximoff x reader#wanda maximoff#biker!bucky barnes#biker!bucky barnes x reader#johnny storm#johnny storm x original character#lee bodecker x reader#lee bodecker#mob!bucky barnes x ofc#dark!steve rogers x reader#dark!stever rogers#legolas x ofc#legolas
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This Week in BL
July 2021 Wk 2
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.
Ongoing Series - Thai
Don’t Say No Ep 0 (AKA LeoFiat Special Episode) - backstory from TT2 using previous footage plus new stuff to add chemistry, agency, and flashbacks. Full recap here. Officially, the series starts Aug 6, but all release dates out of Thailand should be taken a large grain of salt. (Or dousing of fish sauce, if you prefer. Which I do. Seriously tho, I just made marinara with fish sauce instead of salt. It’s AMAZING.)
My Boy the series Ep 2 - I get what my issue is with this show, every character is just a little bit skeezy. I’m not into creepy. This one is not yet bad enough to drop, but could be a matter of time.
Golden Blood Ep 3 - basically we got a first date, also symbolic gift exchange and the importance of the Sky’s blood. This episode was to establish friendship and intimacy between the two characters so when one or both of them are at risk going forward we feel it more. Worked for me. I like that we even get a fight scene in a slow episode like this.
The Best Story Ep 1 - finally more YinWar, although it’s only supposed to be a 3 ep miniseries. (Bold claim in the title, it means this f’er better have a plot.) It’s a slow moving high school Thai BL pulp on a classic crush trope, but with better acting and production values than most. Our POV Best seems to be out, at least to his friends, so props for that. Yin & War play similar personalities to their respective roles in Love Mechanics so this feels a little like it’s the story of Mark’s first crush. Still it looks like it’s going to sing your feelings trope reliant so I am... WARY AF.
Top Secret Together Ep 9 - if there is anything I like less than sing your feelings it’s a white elephant party. So I pretty much skipped the first half. My boys were adorable, of course, but even they tropetted (that’s a word I just invented it’s trotted + trope) out the sponge bath. NO ONE IS SAFE. If they don’t getcha with a guitar, they’ll getcha with a wet towel.
Oh hey, I think I just invented Thai BL’s operating slogan:
If ya can’t get the boy with a guitar get him with that wet towel.
Is it me, or does that sound weirdly kinky?
Nitiman Ep 10 fin - and that’s it? Okaaay? So it’s was fine and cute and repped a relatively healthy relationship and... absolutely nothing happened. And I thought Oxygen lacked drama, but this was basically "a month in the life of uni students.” Seriously, just 2 cute boys trying to figure out how to have a relationship. And there it is. The cabal of matchmakers was funny tho: the Fellowship of the BbombJin does sound like something Tolkien would come up with, only gayer. Got all the tropes in the finale - coming out, distance, water, hand kiss, public claiming via phone, gift giving, including The Gear, etc.. RECOMMENDED so long as you don’t expect much story.
Hometown’s Embrace Ep 4 - couldn’t find it and frankly, I’m not fussed. I’m dropping this one for now.
The Yearbook Ep 0 15 min sampler (?) - could be the first episode, it’s confusing as it officially starts next week. Anygay, way different filming approach more indie influenced than usual but with Thai BL pulp pacing and pat plot. But the acting is good and it’s focused on one couple so I’m intrigued. I think it’s trying to be the Thai BL pulp version of I Told Sunset About You.
Y-Destiny Ep 15 fin - just a wrap-up check-in. Cute boyfriends being cute and getting a little switchy. I particularly loved the ghostly 3some and their frubble. LOTS of tropes. Honestly the most improbable thing about this show was that there would be that many queer couples in one friendship group, all happily in relationships at the SAME TIME. Under real life stressors this is guaranteed to cause a breach in the space time continuum.
This week in amusing captions: “Food that you spooned for me.” I’m a big food cuddler myself, been known to spoon a watermelon on occasion. No, that’s not a euphemism, I have a perfectly natural inclination to hug spherical things.
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Monster in Law AKA Mẹ Chồn Dâu Cáo (Vietnam) Ep 12 - I’m watching is because I like the main couple but if they aren’t on screen together i kind of check out. This ep ended with spying with the intent to cause drama, which ought to be a crime, but then all of high school woudl be spent in lock up.
Ossan’s Love Eps 5-7 - Darren’s kid is a new character, so is the female friend (maybe faen fatale?), so we are diverging from the original. I definitely like this adaptation better, although it’s still more sit-com soap than it is BL.
Light On Me 3-4 - this one airs 2 eps a week (Tues, Thurs) also Viki has started airing, so things are getting litigious out there. Ep 3 was a very awkward dating stich which I found rough going (I get serious second hand embarrassment syndrome), but nicely dramatic with hints at secrets and fence mending.
Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan) Ep 9 - OMG they are so soft and SO CUTE and so awkward and then so soft and so cute allover again. They’re like the BL couple version of this:
In Case You Missed It
Korean queer studio Strongberry dropped their short film The Confidential Coffee Break. I loved it. It’s a monologue pice about two closeted older gay professors about changing times and the nature of acceptance (self and others) in modern day South Korean academia. Go watch it. It’s in the Kinou Nani Tabeta? vein.
They also dropped Sweet Curse. It’s basically low-gore atmospheric horror but with very high heat BL (explicit so be aware). Longer and with a larger cast than their usual stuff, but not much.
Breaking News
KinnPorsche is on the rocks. The author disaffiliated afrom the production company, Filmania. From the author’s statement it seems like the KinnProsche team/writer hasn’t been paid(?) and the author is taking a stand and withdrawing from the project. I can only tell you want this means in Hollywood speak, and you can read that here.
Chinese danmei wuxia(?) Immortality and Winner is King rumored to be getting live action adaptations. I know nothing more. This is not my fandom.
Thai/Korea joint project Peach of Time also got a trailer. This has JimmyTommy in it, but I don’t think it’s a Mii2 vehicle. Looks like Jimmy has a different pairing.
Next Week Looks Like This:
Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons. Monster in Law and Ossan’s Love are listed on Monday because they show up whenever they show up during the week.
Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.
Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.
#asian bl#asianbl#thaibl#thai bl#don't say no#leofiat#KinnPorsche#My Boy the series#Y-Destiny#Golden Blood#Top Secret Together#Nitiman#Hometown’s Embrace#the yearbook#Monster in Law#Vietnamese BL#Mẹ Chồn Dâu Cáo#Be Loved in House: I Do#Light On Me#Ossan’s Love#strongberry#The Confidential Coffee Break#Sweet Curse#the best story
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so @sorryiwasdrunk1 recently saw their first opera (Ariadne auf Naxos) live in HD from the Met and asked me for more recommendations. ergo, here are some operas that I think would be great:
first up, not because it’s the greatest opera for a beginner but (partly) because it’s next on the Met HD series (March 26 at 11:55 AM EST!) is Verdi’s Don Carlos. it’s a looooooooooooong work (about 3.5 hours not counting intermissions) but I promise that it will be so worth it: the cast is great, the production looks cool, the music and story are *chef’s kiss*, there’s personal drama, political drama, and pretty much everyone in this opera is queer (trust me, it’s true, just look in the subtext, and also not subtext).
(Honestly, I may be biased because Verdi is my favorite opera composer, but just about any Verdi opera is a good one to check out. For first-timers, I’d recommend Nabucco, Rigoletto, or La traviata, although sadly none of them have as strong Queer Vibes TM as Don Carlos. But they all have music you will likely recognize, great stories, and great characters, and plus there are plenty of great performances of each on the Internet, which cannot be said for all Verdi operas, sadly.)
Some other general good-for-first-timers:
Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro: A package deal here: even though the Mozart was written first, the Rossini opera takes place first. They share characters, they’re both iconic, and many of the characters give off Heavy Bi Vibes. Both among the best operatic comedies ever written.
For Mozart: Don Giovanni is also really great. Die Zauberflöte has great tunes but the plot is…something.
You cannot go wrong with just about any Rossini comedy: La cenerentola is a witty take on the Cinderella story, Il viaggio a Reims is both utterly brilliant and utterly stupid, Le Comte Ory is one of the most delightful things you will ever see. Guillaume Tell is more serious and also LONG but the music is iconic and the whole thing is just so good.
Speaking of Cinderella, Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon is “you didn’t think Cinderella could be GAY, could you? well you’re wrong” because the Prince is sung by a woman. Go check out the Met 2018 production, which is absolute magic.
(Massenet in general was very good at writing a) marvelous roles for women and b) gay. His opera Chérubin—quite an obscure piece—was a sequel to Le nozze di Figaro.)
Bizet’s Carmen is iconic. That is all.
Puccini is great for first-timers, but you have to choose carefully: La bohème is a sweet sentimental tragedy, Tosca is a thriller (more women shanking their would-be r*pists please), Il trittico is 3 one-act operas (a violent gritty thriller, a mystical tearjerker about redemption, and one of the funniest comedies in all opera) put together. It is a TREAT. The other Puccini ones are best saved for later IMO.
Speaking of which, do not slack on the one-act operas of any kind. They are amazing. Also the operettas: Johann Strauss (not the one who composed Ariadne auf Naxos), Lehar, Offenbach, and Gilbert and Sullivan are all great choices.
Since you seemed to really like Ariadne auf Naxos, Richard Strauss seems to be a good direction to go into: you’d probably like Der Rosenkavalier, which is long and has some highly problematic elements (a woman in her early 30s is having an affair with a 17-year-old, although she eventually gives him up), but the romance between the two younger people (Octavian and Sophie) is so adorable. Also it’s supposed to be broadcast Live in HD next April with Lise Davidsen and Isabel Leonard (Ariadne and the Composer from this HD) as the Marschallin and Octavian.
You’d also probably really like Arabella (romantic complications revolving around two sisters, one of whom has been raised as a boy) and Capriccio (a poet and a composer are both in love with a Countess. it’s supposed to be a metaphor for opera).
Baroque operas are long and can get repetitive. The upside: a) they bop and b) they are gay as fuck. Seriously. The amount of gender-bending is amazing (and to discuss more on this, I will pass you along to my friends @solointhesand and @monotonous-minutia).
Other miscellaneous things in no real order:
-check out anything by Gaetano Donizetti. comedies, tragedies, this guy could do it all.
-Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma is another gay as fuck opera. Seriously. (I’m not a huge Bellini fan, but this one can stay and also that is just my opinion. It is not The Law.)
-so is Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann (will once again pass you on to @monotonous-minutia).
-I LOVE Tchaikovsky. You’d probably love Eugene Onegin…the sheer YEARNING in that.
-especially from the 20th century, there are a LOT of English-language operas. three I’d recommend are Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (passing you on to @madmozarteanfelinefantasy), Floyd’s Susannah (Susanna and the Elders with an Appalachian, much darker bent), and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is great and also obviously very gay.
-people are going to try to get you into Wagner very early. go as you are comfortable. Wagner is great but also very intimidating. my first Wagner was Lohengrin, which was a good choice. I’ll pass you on to a couple of my huge Wagnerian friends @dichterfuerstin and @beckmessering for more in-depth thoughts on this subject.
That’s just to start—I’ll ask my opera friends on here to add their own opinions about good operas to explore, particularly ones with Gay Vibes, because operablr is really a very diverse community and I am only a small part of it. Welcome! Make yourself at home. ❤️
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2022 What I’m reading list
I didn’t read a lot of fic last year, though I sure bookmarked a lot. My plan this year is to actually set schedules to read the things I’ve wanted to, but had not forgotten whatever reason. I’m trying a long fic a week, with whatever one shot float me way, so here’s how I started the year. I plan on updating this post as I go.
February
This month was about catching up on a few WIP that I had started and dropped off when last year started stressing me out. It was great to come back to these
To Kill a Silent Princess by @kittmoon
Set pre Calamity, with slightly aged up characters. WIP chapters 9 of 19 are posted
Murder mystery set in Hyrule castle. There are some great OCs, especially Zelda’s cousin. Canon characters also have a lot of complexity to them and read well. At the moment, there’s been an assassination attempt on Zelda, a murder on castle grounds and it’s set against a huge festival with nobles arriving from all over. There’s the flickers of slow burn ZeLink starting. Last updated 10/31/21
Hold the phones! This fic updated about an hour after I posted, so there are ten chapters and last update was 2/27/22! I’m off to read!
Navigator Act One (complete, part of a series) by @saltysaph
Set in a non canon cycle, Link has escaped his duties to treat directly with Ganondorf and ask for help. This is also a slow burn GanLink with a really nice relationship developing. Looks at a lot of the game tropes in unique ways (omg the heart container) Part one is now complete and ended on an amazing note, so I’m really looking forward to part 2
Dropping the Sword by @wanderingnightingale
WIP chapter 14 of unknown posted Last update 12/26/21
The post Calamity fic that asks but what if Link and Zelda had been parents before the Calamity? This has been a really interesting exploration of this idea and it’s has just gotten to a big turning point. I’m not sure the author is a native English speaker as they have an unusual and wonderful way they put words together. I like it but it may not be for everyone.
The Story Mill by @jenseits-der-sterne
WIP updated 2/19/22 chapter 10 of unknown
Post Calamity BOTW. Follows Link and Zelda and a budding relationship…and Traysi is writing RPF of them as they go. This is well written and it’s often a very funny look at fanfic, both the tropes we write about and how we read them. Also, octoroks.
Displaced by @airplanned
Completed post Calamity. There’s a disclaimer on this fic about its word count that honestly kept me away from it for a very long time, though I’ve enjoyed other works by this author. I realized I’d been jamming along on other fics as long or longer in a week, so I plunged in. It’s got short chapter which help if you’re still worried about the word count.
Anyway…this is pretty much Link and Zelda working through the BOTW DLC and falling in love as they go. I liked that just as I was going omg would they just do x, they pretty much did x the next paragraph. This is also a really good example of some very hot writing with no one getting naked. That’s hard to do. Anyway, I really enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to starting the sequel as it ends with a bunch of unanswered questions. There’s also a lot of Zelda dealing with her own Calamity trauma. I feel like we see a lot about Link dealing with it, but Zelda often has her crap unrealistically together.
One shots
None this month!
Past recs below the cut
:readmore:
January
Interim by @punishandenslavesuckers
Set immediately post Breath of the Wild.
You say to yourself yeah, I’m not into GanZeLink.I’d never be into that. Read this fic. You’ll be into it. It starts off as soon as the game ends, with Link and Zelda at loose ends and sorting things out and rolls from there. It’s good from the first word. Highly highly recommend.
The Zora bow style headcanon is from this fic
Insurrection Part One by @snidgetwidgeon
Set post Breath of the Wild.
This fic is complete but part one of a series- here we see Link and Zelda start to consider life post Calamity without realizing that there’s a new Yiga Clan threat underfoot. Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I am hoping part two is in the works.
Age of Intolerance by @unmaskedcardinal
Set in the latter part of the hundred years between the Calamity and the start of Breath of the Wild, this is a deep dive on Kass’s backstory, as well as excellent world building about recovery in the post Calamity Hyrule.
Navigator Act One (WIP but complete-Still being posted 31/33 chapters up, part of a series) by @saltysaph
Set in a non canon cycle, Link has escaped his duties to treat directly with Ganondorf and ask for help. This is also a slow burn GanLink with a really nice relationship developing. Looks at a lot of the game tropes in unique ways (omg the heart container). Updates on Monday.
One shots
In Parallel by @intangiblyyourswrites
This is a blend where both Age of Calamity and Breath of the Wild happened. I loved playing AOC but I’m still annoyed it was marketed as a prequel when it wasn’t. Consider this a lovely fix it fic to Age of Calamity.
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My warrior queen
Rowaelin month day 7 - Fairytale AU
So, this is a bit a strange fairytale. I am not a fan of Disney style princesses so I went for something different. I wasn’t even going to write this prompt but then inspiration hit and honestly I had to rein it in because otherwise this was going to be a 10k words one shot.
To be honest I am not even sure if it follows the prompt but here you go...
I hope you will enjoy it.
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In the northern part of Erilea there stood a land of unforgiving winters and majestic mountains. The place was called Terrasen and it was ruled by a queen. Her name was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius. It was rumoured that she was the most stunning woman in the whole continent and that she had a long line of suitors trying to win her hand. So far, no man had ever accomplished the task. No one seemed to be a match enough for the fiery woman. She had standards, very high apparently and rumour had it that she rejected many potential rich men from other kingdoms as soon as they mentioned they would cover her in gold, lavish dresses and fine jewellery.
She liked her luxury, fine dresses and jewellery, but she if she had to settle down she would not to do that with a man who would treat her like a prize to show around at parties.
No, she was looking for a man who treated her as an equal, and was not scared of a woman who could defend herself and have a high skilled competence with knives, swords and bows.
Far too many men had been horrified by her past times.
Tough. She was not going to give that up, because they thought it was very un-lady like. Screw it. She was the queen.
It was a balmy afternoon and she was in the training yard with her sword master Brullo, practicing her sword skills, when Ress, one of her guards interrupted them. At his side stood a tall man with silver hair and clothed in a dark green cloak. The stranger was broad-shouldered and incredibly tall. Definitely close to 2m. His eyes were a beautiful pine green and the man emanated a certain air of danger. She could tell he was a born and bred warrior and that sparring with him might be quite amazing if he accepted. A rival with a challenge. Brullo was skilled but she had a feeling he was not pushing her as much he could just because she was the queen. Truth was, she wanted to be pushed to the limit. Wanted a sparring partner who ignored her title and just treated her as an equal warrior.
“Your majesty,” said Ress, kneeling in front of her “I present you with your new captain of the guard.”
Aelin sheathed her sword at her side and took a step closer, circling around the new arrived and taking stock of his frame.
“What’s your name, captain?”
“Rowan Whitethorn, ma’am.”
A gasp surged from both Brullo and Ress for the lack of use of her title, but Aelin smirked, loving that already. Maybe he was the one.
“Ress told me you come highly recommended.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“She is your queen,” shouted Brullo from behind her “show some respect, you oaf.”
Aelin turned and glared at her master at arms.
“Brullo, Ress, leave me alone with the captain.” Not a request but an order.
“Yes, your majesty.” They both bowed and walked away.
Aelin grinned then once they were gone sat on the edge of the fence and grabbed the knife she kept on her thigh and started peeling her apple “you must excuse them. Brullo might kill in the name of lèse-majesté.” She explained, taking a bite of her fruit, “I would just recommend you to use my title in public. When we are alone and in training you can call me ma’am or Aelin.” She stared at him and saw surprise in his stark features “in training? I am your captain of the guard, ma’am.”
She got off the fence and walked to him, flipping the knife in her hands and Rowan approved of her skills. Maybe that assignment would not suck as he feared. It looked like he did not have to guard a weak queen who mostly used him as an errand boy, but one that appeared fierce and capable of handling a sword probably just as much as him.
“I know, captain, but I am looking for a sparring partner who would actually present a challenge. One who is not afraid of inflicting a few bruises to his queen. Brullo is good but he holds back a bit too much for my tastes.” She looked up at him, meeting his green eyes. Gods, the man was stunning as well.
“As long as you promise not to put me in irons if I scratch your esteemed highness.” His eyes glinted with mirth and she laughed hard.
She walked away and then turned and threw her knife at him.
Rowan grabbed it with a very easy gesture.
Gods, he was all of a sudden drawn to her. She threw a knife at him and his male nature found the gesture a turn on. He could not deny that the queen in front of him was stunning, probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
“Good reflexes,” then she threw the apple, Rowan grabbed it and took a bite, never averting his gaze.
“Meet me here tomorrow at nine, captain.” And she walked away swaying her hips on purpose.
Rowan looked at her walk away and thought that his new assignment was not bad after all.
Back in her quarters, Aelin shed her boots and started removing all the weapons stashed on her body.
“Do you really need all that metal on you?” Asked a voice at her back. Aelin turned and saw Lysandra, her lady in waiting.
“You never know who is ready to attack you on the streets, I need to be ready to defend myself.”
And threw a few knives on the bed.
“Maybe if you actually stopped wandering around Orynth on you own and used your guards? They are here to protect you, you know? That’s why you pay them.”
Aelin shedded her fighting leathers and remained in her undergarments while Lysandra held out one of those horrible gowns she hated so much.
“And where’s the fun in that?”
“You are the Queen.”
Aelin rolled her eyes. She loved Lysandra like a sister but the woman was a proper lady and had been trying for years to teach Aelin to be less wild and more approachable to men. As the queen it was expected of her to marry and then sire heirs to the throne. She had no patience for all that crap.
“Rumour has it that your new captain of the guard is quite hot.” Lysandra tied the corset and Aelin whimpered at the damn cage “Elide has seen him with Ress.”
“Hopefully he is not scared of sparring with me like a true warrior.”
Lysandra was about to reply but Aelin lifted a finger “I don’t care.” And walked away. Ready spend another afternoon in a tedious council meeting.
*
The next morning she almost ran to the training grounds. Once at the site she noticed Rowan was already there, sitting on the ground and sharpening his sword. He had trousers tucked in his high boots and a white shirt with the first three buttons open. The sleeves were rolled to the elbows and a stunning tattoo in the old language swirled around his left arm and she could notice a hint of it on his chest as well, from the opening in his shirt. She stood in silence staring at his powerful arms running the wet stone on the length of the sword and her treacherous mind pictured those powerful hands on her body.
She cleared her voice and saw Rowan raised his head “Good, you are here.” In a powerful move he stood.
“So, captain. Where do we start this morning?”
“We’ll do some conditioning to strengthen your muscles a bit, then we can choose sword or knives. The choice is yours.”
In private he did as she had told him and didn’t use any title and she was grateful for that.
“I’ll take the sword.”
For the first hour he put her through a gruelling series of exercises that, according to him, would reinforce the muscles in her arms, her core and her legs. She was not a frail lady. After years of training she had build her body to be quite toned and alethic but apparently she could do a bit better.
“Good, take a break.” He sat at her side and she drank from her canteen.
“So, how did you end up here in Terrasen?”
He looked at her quizzically.
“Your accent. You are definitely not from here. Wendlyn, perhaps?”
Rowan nodded “Born and bred in Doranelle.”
“I visited a few times. Very hot place.” She looked at him “why Terrasen?”
He was silent for a moment as if to ponder his answer “I needed a change of scenery. I have been here a few years already. Mostly worked as a hired guard for some rich lords. Then I saw that the palace was looking for a new captain of the guard and here I am.”
Aelin knew there was more to the story, but she didn’t push.
“Let’s go, captain.” She said standing up again “show me how to fight like a real warrior.”
And Rowan did not hold back. For over an hour they trained relentlessly and Aelin was now sporting some cuts on her arms, a bruise and a limp from when she slipped on the ground after Rowan disarmed her for the umpteenth time. She realised at the end of the session that she was not even remotely skilled as she thought.
“We better stop here for today.”
“No,” she grunted, still sitting on the cold ground exhausted.
“Aelin,” and the way he said her name made her heart race “You need to rest for the day and have a healer see to those cuts.”
“Thank you for not holding back, for not treating me as if I was made of glass.”
Rowan placed his hand on her shoulder to steady her as she tried to stand, when a jolt went through both at the contact.
Their heads snapped up in surprise and their gaze met.
Aelin’s heart started to race madly. What had just happened? Was that the bond? She heard about that. All the girls dreamed of eventually find their mate, to look a man in the eye and feel the bond snap into place. She thought it was just a kids fairytale but as she looked at Rowan’s expression she knew he was thinking about the same thing.
They were mates.
He was her mate and she was his.
*
As she limped back to her quarters she could not stop thinking about what had happened with Rowan. How was that possible? And how was she going to solve that? According to the stories, once the bond was in place it was difficult to resist and painful to ignore, but what if Rowan didn’t want to be her mate? He’d be tied to a queen, making him king consort. It was far too much to force on someone. It was in moment like this in which she wished her mum was still alive. She’d need her support right now.
“Your majesty, what happened to you?” Said a horrified voice at her back. She turned and saw Chaol, one of her guards.
“Oh, I had an amazing training session with the captan.”
She saw disgust in his face “did he hurt you?”
Aelin rolled her eyes “No, well technically yes, but we were training so it’s okay.”
“You are the queen. He cannot treat you like that.”
Aelin was fuming when a familiar figure joined them in the courtyard.
Chaol drew his sword, pointing it at Rowan’s throat and Aelin felt a surge of rage in her “Put the sword down.” She commanded.
“Majesty, he hurt you.”
“It’s called training,” said Rowan, moving Chaol’s sword aside in a bored gesture. His eyes on hers, ignoring the man in front of him.
“She is your queen.”
“She gave me an order. I followed it. If she wants to punish me for hurting her during training I will take anything she will inflict upon me. Until that moment I would order you, as your captain, to go back to you patrol, or I’ll have you scrub the stables.”
Chaol stormed away back to his post and Rowan and Aelin remained alone.
“Rowan, we should talk—” he shook his head.
“Not here.”
Aelin nodded “let’s go to my library. No one is allowed in there. We will have privacy.”
He followed her and once in the room she locked the door for good measure and then collapsed on the sofa exhausted.
Rowan looked around the room and stared amazed and the astounding collection of books. The bookcases where floor to ceiling high and there must have been thousands of books.
“The perks of being the queen. I have unlimited funds to gave in in my obsession for books.” Then he turned and saw a piano against the window “do you play?”
Aelin nodded and he moved a step back in her direction “Rowan…”
“We are mates.” He said in a gentle tone that disarmed her.
“You don’t have to…” she had no idea how to tackle the issue “Rowan, I will not force you into something you don’t want.” She sighed “I thought it was just a fairytale mothers spun to their daughters before bed. But I felt it. The power of the bond, curse through me when you touched me.” She stood and took a step to him “and when Chaol had his sword at your throat I was ready to rip his head off if he touched you.”
“Aelin, it’s up to you, I am your subject and if you decide to follow the bond I will not reject you.”
She looked at him and for an instant she had a glimpse of another Rowan, one that under the warrior face was in fact a loving and caring man. Her heart ached. She could not force something on him that he didn’t want.
Rowan went on his knees in front of her and bowed his head “If I accept the bond I will be your king consort.” He looked up at her “I am just a warrior, with no power or gold to offer or alliances. Accepting me would be a very bad move for a queen. I have nothing to offer you.”
Aelin kneeled in front of him and took his face in her hands “For the first time, I found a man who is willing to fight me like a warrior. A man who treats me like an equal, something I have been searching for a very long time. A man who is not afraid of me or who does not feel the need to tame my wild side. You are that man, Rowan.” She caressed the stark lines of his face, the gesture feeling natural all of a sudden “It’s your decision. Not a command from a queen.”
“It would be political suicide.”
She laughed “you let me deal with the council and the politicians. It’s my life. And I think my citizens might like the idea that I choose one of them as their king.”
Rowan nodded.
“This is new, for both of us. We barely know each other, but if you want I would like to get to know you better.”
“It’d be my honour, my queen.”
She smiled at him “but we are not stopping my training. I am not giving up on that. You keep your territorial male nonsense at bay.”
He nodded and Aelin kissed his forehead “thank you, captain.”
**
Two weeks had passed and Aelin had continued her life as normal. Rowan had been true to his words and kept training with her and she realised that under his supervision her skills were improving, to the point that once she had even managed to disarm him. She had celebrated by jumping into his arms for a hug. One that he did not deny her.
They had also started to spend time alone in the library and learn about each other. He had told her the real reason why he moved. A raid had attacked Doranelle, setting the city on fire. He was not quick enough and his family died in the huge fire and some of his friends too. So he had decided to help for a while, but as soon as the worst was over he had left Doranelle.
Aelin had heard about the raid. She had contacted the royal family there and offered her help, but they had been proud and replied with a no thank you.
Slowly they had also been getting closer, feeling the bond between them getting stronger with each passing day. And with it its side effects.
Aelin one day had almost put a woman called Remelle in irons when she saw her flirting with Rowan while he was guarding the throne room. He had ignored her but Aelin had felt jealousy spread like a wildfire. Through the bond she felt the same from him during a meeting in the throne room. As captain of the guard he was at her side on the throne and he had to suffer through a parade of men walking to Aelin and promising her riches beyond imagination and power.
You’d better look interested he had mused through the bond. A nifty trick that had appeared very recently.
I am disappointed that no one so far had offered me a unicorn
Aelin threw a sneaky glance at Rowan and saw him fighting the smirk threatening to appear on his face.
She tried not to smile either, it was not polite.
They hadn’t told anything to anyone about them being mates. It was all still too new and they needed time to adjust, so she had to suffer the tedious courtship from men who were as interesting as a bowl of broth with no salt. But they had decided to tell soon. The solstice ball was almost upon them and she was going to announce that she had found her mate and that all other men could just fuck off for all she cared. Her council was going to kill her, but she couldn’t care less. Rowan was her mate and even if they hadn’t even kissed or been intimate, she could not deny how strong the pull between them was becoming. Even being away from him was getting hard.
While she left the throne room, Rowan stepped at her side, taking his place as he usually did. Two more guards were trailing behind them at a distance.
“Are you getting me my unicorn, captain?”
“I’d do everything in my power to make you happy, but I think they really are a legend.”
“Everything?” She looked at him with a wicked grin “well, I need more training, captain. And it’s an order.”
She said the last sentence out loud and Chaol looked at them in disappointment. Her guards and maids had not appreciated the marks that training left on her. Lysandra complaining that a lady should not turn up for court with a bandaged arm and a limp.
Aelin ignored the protests relentlessly.
During training Rowan never gave her special treatment. Not even now that they were mates and she respected him so much for that.
They had been training with knives and close contact when she did manage to win an encounter and Rowan lost his balance and they both tumbled on the ground. Aelin on top of him. Her face had smashed on his chest and she inhaled sharply his scent of pine and snow. Rowan smelled like home, like Terrasen. She looked up at him and his expression was curious. That was the closest they had ever been. Rowan had been a proper gentleman and always been respectful of her, especially when alone in the library.
But now… now she wanted him to grab her in his arms, rip off her clothes and make her forget her name.
Some of her thoughts must have trickled through the bond because his stare grew lustful. Her eyes landed on his lips and a moment later he was kissing her. And rutting gods, she almost combusted on the spot. The kiss was not gentle, she could taste the desire in him. Aelin’s hand were in his hair and pulled him closer and felt his arms tighten around her back.
Rowan had tried to be respectful and not to give in to the instinct that had slowly been taking over him recently. With the passing of days the bond between them had become much stronger and he found himself needing her. To wake up in the middle her smelling lemon verbena and feeling an insane need for her. He knew that was the downside of a new mating bond. It would drive him insane until he could finally claim her. But he would not rush her.
He was still of the opinion that he was her worst choice, he had tried again to convince her that choosing him was a political mistake. That as queen she should think about alliances. But Aelin had always refused to listen, saying that she was not going to marry a stranger just for the sake of an alliance. She was not a romantic and kept repeating her that they were mates and the council could not stop that. She had told him of her plan of announcing their bind at the solstice ball. The idea scared him but he would follow her.
***
Solstice was upon them and the castle was buzzing for the celebrations. The guests had started to arrive and to gather in the ballroom.
Rowan was posted outside Aelin’s quarters, ready to escort her to the ballroom.
Two weeks had gone by since they kissed on the training grounds and since then they had been barely able to keep their hands off each other when they were alone.
Rowan would go as far as to admit that feelings had started to develop for her. Deep, strong feelings.
“So, who is going to be at your arm tonight at the ball?” Asked Lysandra while dressing Aelin. She had chosen a deep green gown with laces in silver to match Terrasen colours. Her hair was tied in a braid that was then tied in a complicated fashion on her head. And on top of it her tiara. She was not going to a ball with her crown. At her neck Lysandra had clasped a necklace with a pendant a kingsflame. Her mother had left that for her and Aelin would wear it on special occasions.
“It’s a surprise,” replied Aelin with a wicked grin. She had managed to convince Rowan to agree to dance with her.
“Oh, is it one of the lords?”
“Are you going with Aedion?” She changed the topic.
“Yes, as soon as you are ready I will join him. If you are okay.”
Aelin turned and hugged her friend “of course. I want you to enjoy the evening and if you end up spending the night in Aedion’s quarters I will not complain.”
Lysandra blushed “you are ready.”
Aelin stared at her image in the mirror and was looking forward to Rowan’s reaction.
Rowan heard the door open and jumped to attention, then saw Aelin step away from the big doors and he was sure his heart stopped for a moment. Her gown matched his uniform in shade of green. She was stunning, she was the most perfect creature he had ever set eyes on.
Stop staring, captain. We need to maintain the ruse a bit longer.
Rowan looked at her and nodded briefly “shall we go, my queen? Your court awaits you.”
While they walked she could see Rowan scanning the area “relax, captain.”
“Aelin, my job is to keep you safe. Both as your mate and your captain. And might I say that your idea of inviting the citizens to the festivities is a dangerous one?”
Aelin sighed. He had raised his concerns every single day since she had explained to him the tradition. On the solstice the castle had always been open to everyone. The ground would host a fair with vendor and some stalls. The ballroom and the banquet hall were the only two room open to everyone. She had explained that her father had started the tradition and that the solstice was a big thing in Terrasen and she had continued such celebrations as a legacy to the late king.
Rowan had yielded but she could feel he was nervous.
“Have you given your guards rotations so they can enjoy the festivities as well?”
He nodded “and I told the vendor selling alcohol that they are not allowed to sell it to any of the guards. If they do I’ll take their licence.”
At the door of the ballroom he saw Chaol and Ress and Rowan nodded to them and the two men opened the doors.
The ballroom was incredible. Metres and metres of fairy light adorned the walls instead of the big candelabra. Snowflake shaped decorations hung from the ceiling and spruce and holly adorned the big windows.
Aelin stepped inside and everyone pulled aside and bowed. In the crowd she spotted aristocracy and citizens alike.
Once in the centre of the ballroom she turned and Rowan stepped at her side. Hands behind his back and back straight.
He was nervous. His life was about to change but as he looked at her smiling at her people, he realised that if his life had her in it, maybe it wasn’t going to be so scary after all.
Aelin stared at all the people gathered around her and tried so hard not to stare too hard at Rowan. He had his uniform of captain of the guard, the one reserved for special occasions. The deep green of the fabric matching his eyes and the silver of the trimmings at the hem accompanied his hair. He was stunning.
No improper thoughts, my queen.” He told her, sensing where her mind had wandered.
As if you restrained yours a few minutes ago when you saw me. I must admit that the sparring room surrounded by weapons is a massive turn on.
Rowan cleared his voice at her side and she tried not to laugh.
“Good evening dear citizens of Terrasen and thank you for joining us tonight for this solstice celebrations. Like every year we follow the tradition started by my father and gather all together here and have fun. This year, however I have a special announcement that I hope will make this day a bit more special.” She then spoke and noticed her council member look at her with a puzzled expression. Lysandra was holding Aedion’s hand and looked curious. Her cousin was downright terrified.
I am at your side was all that Rowan said through the bond.
“I want to use this night of festivities to announce that I have found my mate.” A chorus of gasps echoed in the room.
Aelin took Rowan’s hand and pulled him closer to her side “Captain Rowan Whitethorn is my mate. We have accepted the bond a few days ago.”
They had discussed the whole thing in the library. Both had confessed that feeling were starting to appear. The attraction was definitely there and Aelin had confessed that the idea of not having him at her side pained her. Rowan had made the same admission. She then had explained to him that if he was going to accept the bond he’d become king consort and he’d have to drop his job as captain of the guard. Rowan had accepted with the condition that she would keep on training with him. Aelin had, of course, accepted. And after that they had officially accepted the bond and that night he had claimed her and she claimed him, body and soul. They were now one and there was nothing separating them.
“My queen,” said Darrow, the head of her council, bowing to her “you should have consulted the council before making such an important decision. Also, may I suggest that the captain might not be the most suitable candidate?”
Aelin was raging, but as queen she had learned to restrain her wild side. In public, at least.
“Darrow, thank you for your concern but this is my life. Who I choose as my king consort it’s not your concern. I told you all before, I will not be sold in marriage for the sake of an alliance. Rowan is my mate. You cannot ignore the bond.” Aelin looked at Lysandra and saw that the woman was sobbing happily.
Then cheers erupted from the crowd, the common citizens, the ones who approved their queen choosing one of them.
“All hail the queen,” shouted one of them “all hail the king,” chanted another one and slowly everyone joined in, Lys and Aedion included. Her councilmen were the only ones who stood silent. Oh well, that was a battle for another day.
Rowan went to his knee and took her hands, bowing his head at the same time “my queen, I have no riches, no power, no land to offer you. All I can give you is my loyalty and my love. Until my last day. To whatever end.” He recited out loud for everyone to hear.
Aelin squeezed his hand and pulled him up. They were equals, something she had told him over and over again. She would not allow him to bow to her or to feel diminished. He was her world.
“To whatever end .” She whispered back while holding his face and kissing him deeply in front of everyone.
Her buzzard.
Her equal.
Her friend.
Her mate.
#rowaelinmonth#day 7#rowan whitethorn#aelin galathynius#rowaelin#rowaelin fanfic#rowaelin fanfiction
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If you like beautifully written children/all age’s fiction you might like...
My descriptions are going to be a little useless so I linked their Overdrive profiles that have actually good descriptions.
Howl’s Moving Castle (Diana Wayne Jones)
3 book series but both sequels are completely optional. All three books tie up super neatly. I wouldn’t read them out of order though. I never got around to finishing the 3rd book but when I tell you that the first one is my favorite book in existence. I’m pretty sure I’ve read it through about a dozen times. The reread value is astronomical. I would write the author a letter if she was still alive.
don’t expect the same story. but yes
Guardians of Childhood (William Joyce)
Honestly I haven’t yet finished this series either but there are 5 novels. If you’ve seen the movie you can kind of think of the books as a prequel story but really it’s the movie that’s the sequel. Another series in which if you don’t make it through all the books it’s pretty much fine. If you can get your hands on a hard copy I highly recommend it because it’s beautifully illustrated. There are also picture book versions of each book that are absolutely gorgeous.
These guys, yeah
Same author
Oh, and this one too
Tangled in Time (Kathryn Lasky)
Ok, so have I finished any of these series? no. In this case though it’s because it’s a very new book and when I read it the sequel wasn’t out yet. This one does do actual cliff hangers though so rip me. I’ll get to the sequel eventually. the premise? think kinda gay, fashionable middle schooler starts randomly time traveling into different points of the life of Queen Elizabeth I. She meets key players like Henry VIII, at least one of his wives, and Elizabeth’s siblings.
If you remember this movie, same author.
First Light (Rebecca Stead)
The only title here not part of a series. First Light is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it in full 3 times. Rebecca Stead’s stories tend to be very real world based, very logical, very grounded but with a twist of sci-fi or fantasy. I would definitely consider it an all ages book but this one does lean a little more into being for children. But that might just be that global warming was pretty new to the public conscience when it was written so it might just be a spot of poor aging. We switch between the perspectives of a young boy and a young girl as they navigate the mysteries of their families and wait to see where their stories intersect.
if you recognize this book, I believe it was written after First Light
Sisters of the Sword (Maya Snow)
So this series does not get enough credit. It’s absolutely amazing. And no, I never finished it. But think Shakespearian levels of family drama + Mulan gender stuff + Japanese samurai + preteens obviously. I originally read it when I was in about 4th grade (so think age 8 thereabouts) so don’t mistake how tough kids truly are but I will say this one is pretty violent. I don’t want to say much though because I don’t want to spoil the great beginning. But like, yeah, there is actual sword violence and blood.
#book rec#book recs#book recommendations#howls moving castle#guardians of childhood#tangled in time#first light#sisters of the sword
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May 2021 Schitt’s Creek Fic Round-Up
There have been some INCREDIBLE fics coming out this month, including a solid amount of the Tropefest fics (which are all incredible and really show the talent of this fandom) but here are my top picks for the month!
Also keep an eye out for the upcoming Elevate femslash fest, and the Schitt’s Creek Passions and Pastimes fest which are both taking place over the summer so much much more to come!
1. Sting Like a Bee by @vivianblakesunrisebay
I waited until this WIP was finished but by GOD it was worth it for the binge read afterwards. I spent a whole day on this and still was broken hearted when it finished. This fic is so eloquently written, the story is complex and detailed, and I honestly loved every second of it! I really recommend if you haven’t read it yet that you get on it as soon as physically possible!
2. The Other Certainty by @rockinhamburger
This fic is so beautifully written. It’s thoughtful and elegant, and has the characters so perfectly portrayed throughout such a real life experience. I loved the way they handled the tough conversation and turned such an awkward interaction into something really beautiful.
3. Stand With a Shield at your Side by @houdini74
This one is so original! The concept is that David and Alexis keep their trust fund when the Roses lose their money, so David doesn’t move to Schitt’s Creek, and Patrick is their financial advisor. It’s wonderful because he gets to see David both before and after he has done his crucial growth in the town, and loves him regardless. So so wonderful, and such a treat to read!
4. so bitter and so sweet by @5ambreakdown
They’re so ridiculous and I love them so much!! This fic is just such a joy! Full of post-canon love and fluff, and they try so hard to be sexy it’s honestly sweet as hell!
5. can’t conceal it by @fishyspots
HIKE AU YES PLEASE, this fic is amazing, it’s SO David to try to escape the promise of exercise, and I love that Patrick is so patient but so frustrated at the same time. They really are meant for each other, I highly HIGHLY recommend.
6. See How They Shine by @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3
I ADORED this, it was the perfect piece of post-canon married fluff, wherein David is (trying to) help Patrick find himself a close friend like Stevie. There’s a lot of perfect married judgement, and many soft moments, and it’s such a lovely read!
7. like family would by @ratchet
It’s about the FOUND FAMILY of it all. I love this fic, I have a million things to rant about it but most of all the affection and care that every single character has is just mind blowing. It’s so beautiful and affectionate, and filled with postcanon married fluff.
8. doesn’t mean a thing by @maxbegone
I realised I had 3 different fics by @maxbegone on the list so I had to cut it down to this one (other honourable mentions are lead me home, back into your arms and Day Nine) but this one contains SO MUCH in SO FEW WORDS. It’s masterfully written, and I won’t lie I read it three times on the day it came out. Just go and read every @maxbegone fic please, it’s for your own good.
9. Strike Anywhere by @madlori
I mean, I had to mention this, it finished posting right at the beginning of the month and is so so good! Lots of drama and sweet moments and is a really fun read!
10. it just felt right to me in the moment [SERIES] by many people
Okay so this might be cheating because I was involved in this project but the fics in this are a whole new LEVEL. I’m constantly in awe of the incredible writers in this fandom and I couldn’t pick from all these wonderful fics so I have linked them all for your enjoyment!
#schitt's creek#schitts creek fanfic#schitts creek#DAVID AND PATRICK#David Rose#Patrick Brewer#fanfiction#May Fanfic Roundup#fic recs
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