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#when i think of aus like this i tend to center on the events during and directly following
cassyapper · 10 months
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How do you think the series would have changed if Jotaro, Joseph, and/or Polnareff had died instead of Avdol, Kakyoin, and Iggy?
ive talked about aus where jotaro is the only one to die but if it's basically like a death swap i think
part 4: kakyoin and holly go to morioh (it would also occur sooner than it does in canon, like 1995ish). some very strained but genuine half sibling bonding btwn josuke and holly. kakyoin rapidly fluctuates between very kind and very harsh as a mentor and it gives the kids whiplash until they find out the tragic backstory tm and theyre like oh. well what does that have to do with us we didnt do shit wtf dont be mean to us. kakyoin reflects. holly reflects. middle schooler josuke kills a man (kira)
part 5: iggy fills in what would have been koichi's role and then avdol appears. gio being dio's son would have a bit more of a Point if just cause avdol is watching him. avdol tags along cause he's concerned about mafia people making standusers and also he wants to watch gio. gio is like fine but dont get in my way. bruno is like "who's this" when gio shows up with avdol after black sabbath and gio is like "uhhhmmmmmmmmy uncle. great uncle" and avdol and bruno are both like sure. so avdol tags along. no kids die on his watch (avdol is 40 by the time va takes place so bruno and abbacchio are included as "children" to him). uhh yeah. i cant see avdol becoming a turtle (very stupid) but idk if i can see him living. he might though cause kakyoin being the sole survivor oh that'd fucking kill me
part 6: kakyoin and pucci duke it out. very messy. pucci is mad af cause all he knows about kakyoin is that he thought they were friends and then kakyoin abandoned him to dio. kakyoin is mad af cause all he knows about pucci is that he was friends with dio willingly and is carrying out his will today. i do think they'd get some understanding of eahc other but i do think it'd end with kakyoin having to kill pucci and kakyoin might cry about it for vairous reasons that i can't get into rn cause it's 1;30 am in my timeone andit kinda hurts to type rn. kakyoin and weather very good friends btw. foof is their daughter (theyre not in a relationshpi but theyre just like shared custody of ff). emporio is there as well of course. kakyoin might like adopt him honestly like jokes aside for real like genuinely adopt and sign papers and shit after everything. anasui is there
anyway i think the theme would shift cause like. the story is about a family. well the crusaders were family. kakyoin avdol and iggy were jotaro and joseph and polnareff's family. so they go on adventures ot make sure they can rest in peace. and yeah. no more jojo gimmick but i think it owuld still hold otherwise. anyway.
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buzzybee3 · 5 months
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I need help-
I have two au’s in my head atm and can’t decide which one too start on, kinda leaning towards greenhouse cause it’s like based on true event ft me. But I wanna see what some people think
Au 1: Experiment Au
Ships:
Y/n x sun/moon
(Married to Stephanie ofc poly) Matpat x Dj music man
(Dating Amy ofc it’s poly) Markiplier x Glamrock Freddy
Y/n parents:
Human: (tbd these are just filler names if anyone has suggestions) Sandra and Martin (younger siblings Reily and Alya)
Animatronics: Bonnie and Freddy
Y/n age: 17 when kidnapped, 19 during main story
Y/n Story: on family trip to the Pizzaplex with family, they are just leaving the area and she goes to the bathroom at a gas station across the street. Vanny happens to be around and kidnaps them on their way out. They wake up 3 months later in a laboratory, before being put back under again
Y\n behavior: Sassy, loves kids, nice, has an attitude when needed, calmer later on but still very jumpy, forgetful (thank god for tech), likes listening to music while in the daycare.
Y/n appearance: nothing specific, but for self insert, long hair, freckles
Y/n likes: Chicken nuggets, gets along with Vanessa, like both sunlight and dark places, stickers, rock en Español(specifically la flaca, lives playing it and one day sun hears it and it goes as one would expect),
Y/n dislikes: fazbear management, rowdy kids(nothing they can’t handle), sudden changes in light, cherry flavoring,
Names for Venus- Sun: Morning Star, sunshine, sunspot, Moon: Evening Star, moonlight, starlight, star,
Au 2: Greenhouse AU”
Timeframe: post ruin
Ships: Y/n x sun/moon
Y/n parents: tbd but not mentioned. Godparents are, they are important to story(tbd if you guys have any name ideas shoot): aunt/godmother: Yelina uncle/godfather: Rafael godsiblings/cousins: Ulices and Maddy
Y/n age: 23
Y/n story: they always wanted a greenhouse, grew plants all the time. Their godparents had land in Arizona, and they had surrounding land that hadn’t been bought yet. Y/n decided to buy it once they were older, and they have the land now, 3 acres, plus the two acres from her godparents that she used to build her house on.In her house she had a ton of plants, it is somewhat small but cosy, she has a giant garage for robotics and stuff since she had always wanted to work with that, and they make small little guys similar to helpy. Once they begin construction on their land they start looking for workers, there was going to be the main greenhouse area which they would tend to, a restaurant in the center, a small daycare for kids of adults who wanted to go to relax, and a small cafe, all inside the giant greenhouse. They start looking when someone catches their attention, they went out on a ride with their cousins on ATV’s and found robot parts by the mountains, that seemed to be mostly intact, they looked like the sun almost, and considering every time y/n found machine parts they would take them, they decided this time would be no different, they place the animatronic in their lap and continue their ride as per usual, and going fast over the bumpy parts of the dirt makeshift road because that is always fun. Once they make it back to the land, they show their find to their godparents, who are thrilled! And their cousins are excited too. They take them to their garage with the help of their godfamily and get to work on fixing up some damaged wires and cables, and also cleaning up the shell and endo skeleton. The animatronic seems yellow, like the sun, it reminds them of something but they can’t place it. Then they turn it on and shenanigans ensue.
Y/n behavior: Nice, assertive, loves doing fun or dangerous stuff(ridding atv’s at 60 mph on dirt paths on the mountain) but also loves arts and crafts, is good with kids but never wanted them, which is why the greenhouse has a daycare, like to joke around a lot, and hanging out with their cousins even if they make fun of them sometimes, they have a ton of hobbies like sewing, crocheting, 3d printing, drawing, building crafts out of cardboard, 3d modeling, and building with legos.
Y/n appearance: is often seen wearing gardening clothes, a sun hat, or mechanic clothes and a bandana(that they made by crocheting it)
Y/n likes: doing crafts, dangerous things like riding the atv’s, having fun, relaxing, robots, sun/moon, learning about psychology, always 3d printing stuff, playing Mexican music over the greenhouse speakers(like la flaca) especially in the restaurant,
Y/n dislikes: karens, people destroying their plants in the greenhouse.
Y/n nicknames: Cabron(a), Sunshine, sunspot, moonlight, star,
Silly moments and memories: y/n is sitting with her grandma by a fire pit with their family, she notices she is eating peanuts, they ask if they could have any, and grandma pulls an endless well of peanuts out of her pocket, with some candy, surprise lol. The whole family just looks in shock at grandma, like how tf???
They had a piñata one day to celebrate Christmas and a hook was sticking out, so y/n gets a small gash on their hand (horizontal from the base of their thumb to the other side of the hand(no this is not very specific wdym)) while blindfolded and going at it on the piñata. (Yea y/n is sorta Hispanic I’m sorry but it’s so fun to write that stuff)
So what do you guys think?
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Hello! I’m relatively new to the genshin fandom and after doing Venti’s story quest I have decided that he is the favorite, but all of the fics I try to find with him he’s usually just a side character, so do you have any recommendations? :)
Sorry if it’s too much to ask you can ignore this if you want
Anon we are shaking hands!!! Venti's story quest really got a lot of people onto the Venti fan train huh XD
Also you're in luck because when ever I hyperfixate on a character I tend to scourer their ao3 tag like a dog digging holes in someone's yard (admittedly I've only begun organizing my bookmarks recently so I may miss a fic but it's fineeee)
Anyway onto the fic recs! (I'll mention the potential quest spoilers since I don't know how far into the game you are)
The Melody of a Gentle Breeze A recent fic I read and one I made art for! Nameless Bard/Venti's friend gets yeeted to the present learns about how the world has changed. I love how he's characterized here and how his relationship with venti is portrayed <3 (admittedly venti isn't the main focus here but you can feel his presence and influence on the fic and I adore that!!!)
Singing to the Mountains, Only My Echoes Sing Back This one is based on the Wings of Shimmering Galaxy (anniversary glider) description! It's about Venti's story and the fic ties it to song and I love it a ton!!!
Pure Sky This one is a lighter one that uses wine as a character study and honestly I love that! Venti and his love for Mond and their love for one another in return my beloved!!!!
Three Evenings Before the End THIS ONE THIS ONE IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FICS!! It talks about Venti's friend's throughout Mondstadt's history and the whole thing with repeating parallels and how he notices the similarities and differences between his friends throughout the ages,,, o u g h A lot of the stuff in the fic is regarding bits of old mondstadt and aristocratic mond lore that you can find in book, weapon and artifact descriptions in game so it's not quite spoilers. But you might get a little confused regarding the characters if you don't know the jist of mond's history sfdgdfs (the author has the second chapter dedicated to worldbuilding and lore speculations tho which is hella neat!!!!)
Event Horizon I THINK ABOUT THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY Not really spoilers but it does talk about the Cataclysm and destruction of Khaenri'ah + speculations(?) though a convo between Venti and Dain (The guy that narrates the character miscellanies and who first appears in game in Bough Keeper: Dainsleif and later on in subsequent archon quests)
The Archons (soldier, poet, king ANOTHER FAVE OF MINE! This one's a series about Venti and his interactions with the other archons!! I love how it shows the more serious side of him that others may not see along with his usual silly whimsy <3 Of course, since each fic talks about the archons we meet in each nation, spoilers for all the archon quests so far!
The Springtimes You Never Saw Okay this one's longer than the ones I've recommended so far (my ADHD fucks with my attention span so I tend to stick to one-shots for the most part) but it's so good!!!! I know I say that about all the fics here lmao but I do genuinely adore this fic. It's a canon divergent AU where Dvalin never gets poisoned during the fight with Durin 500 years ago and it's such a good character study of my boyyyyy Also while the fic is tagged xiaoven it's queerplatonic and the pairing doesn't take center stage (not that into shipping in general lol so I tend to prefer fics without ships or with them not as the main focus)
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livehexmoments · 10 months
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OK SO I HAVE AN AU YIPPEE!! I love the hex side characters sm for some reason, im making an entire au centered around them. These are just copy and pasted from my doc i made (and still working on so it might be a little rough!)
So, basic plot summary because it's not that deep: Wizarro found a bunch of supposed “dead” characters somewhere far off into the void on his travels and took them in to travel with him. Some characters like Shrewd and Rocky are actively looking for someone, while others like Jack and Alley just follow because they have nowhere else to go. Catarina joins them later on because she feels bad and wants to at least help them in finding a safe place to stay. Chaos ensues. Adding onto this, I was thinking they would eventually find a place to live in “beneath the Surface” or somewhere like it! (for fellas who don’t know, it's a free game that was made by Carla in canon. It contains the secret ending for the Hex).
Main Cast:
Wizarro:
Description: Very cryptic guy but friendly (Like “I don’t sleep, I dream'' cryptic)!! Always calls people his friend and isn’t afraid of much. Tends to wander from place to place, which is how he found most of them. His magic is VERY weak, even weaker than Moji’s. He’s trying to get better throughout the events of the au and does manage to learn some powerful spells to protect himself and his new found family. At least he is able to fight back and can do some hand to hand combat (he wasn’t the best fighter in combat arena x but got by). He used to work for Gameworks and was assigned to Combat Arena X but quit during the development of Secrets of Legendaria and has chosen a life of wandering in worlds/engine (which explains how he ends up in the weirdest of places). Irving didn’t really care too much, since his hands were full with SOL, so he was able to get away with just leaving. Wizarro is someone who appreciates the newfound company and is actually afraid to lose it. He’s been wandering by himself for a while and it does get pretty lonely.
Appearance: Wizarro still wears the same clothes as he did before, with the addition of a little handbag he carries around, a scarf around his neck, and maybe a patch or two on the shirt. The handbag actually works on cartoon logic, as he seemingly can fit a lot of stuff in there (yet constantly forgets to put what they actually need in there). His sunglasses are still there too and he’s never seen without them. Even when it’s cloudy, he refuses to take it off. One change he does have is with his hair as it grew a bit longer from his travels and he doesn’t want to cut it.
Rocky:
Description: BELOVED ROCKY ...He's so confused on this journey and just wants to go home with his pops (if he could find him that is). He doesn’t remember too much from his death, just the forest and the hat lady shooting him out of existence, which he still has nightmares from. While Rocky is confused, he is also very kindhearted and protective over his new found friends. Like Rust, he doesn’t understand the concept of being a video game character and whatnot and tends to ask a lot of questions. Well, he always did that, he’s just a very curious person. Like to crack jokes and puns to lighten the mood and hear the stories of everyone. His protective nature came naturally from his time in the wasteland, the unfortunate downside is how he usually treats himself as a meatshield and will take a lot of hits for people, which isn't good.
Appearance: Rocky’s appearance hasn't changed too much. Instead of the undies he wears in game, I gave him shorts that are a bit torn up from being in the wasteland for so long. He still wears his worn out sneakers and bandages on his arms. I also gave him a lot more scars. Not only on his arms from those implants when the mods took over, but also just from cuts and bites from when he fought raiders and rad rats. One notable thing I did give him compared to his canonical design is he wears a large brown hooded cloak. I don’t know how he got it yet (thinking either they found it or Wizarro/Mr. Shrewd made it for him) but I wanted him to wear something that was a bit similar to Rust’s hood. I also think that most of the members of this travel gang wear stuff that covers their identity a bit, since they don’t want people immediately recognizing them and causing issues (especially Gameworks).
Jack:
Description: SNARKY BITCH. Has a hatred for liars and hates being here sm. The only person he tolerates at first is Wizarro as they knew each other well from Gameworks, everyone else is for him to get used to, ESPECIALLY ALLEY AND JUNIOR. They both annoy him so much. He is still a door, so he moves around with magic and floating. He is the best magic user by a long shot, but his only spells relate to ankhs and that’s it. He says his sense of smell is good…that’s a lie, it’s really bad. He misses his queen sm and he honestly misses Secrets of Legendaria, as he truly did consider it one of the better games he was assigned to.
Appearance: There’s not much I can say about his design because I didn’t change much. I will say that since coming back, he does have a couple of more cracks showing, specifically on his door body, arms, and face. I’m thinking about also just giving him a chipped ear because why not. OH and a tail on the backend that yes, will wag if happy or excited (he hates it).
Alley:
Description: Uncontrollable swearing. Is the reason why Rocky now knows 10 swears including Fuck. He is a pretty strong character too (apparently from dialogue, he was put in the npc detention center for being OP), but only in short bursts. He then gets tired and can’t fight so he’ll either give up or pass out. Known for having a bad temper and short patience. Easily irritated and only calm during rare moments when nothing is going on. Despite all that, he is not one to pick fights unless he’s approached directly and feels threatened…which is a lot of the time.
Appearance: Alley is the one character who died that doesn’t have any major design changes in this au, other than maybe his clothes being scuffed up with rips and a few scratches (he’s perfect as is <3)
Mr. Shrewd:
Description: Wonderful old man and dad. The father figure of the group and someone to keep everyone calm. He’s used to dealing with impatient or jerkish people (see Weasel kid and Mr. Squarrel here), so he can handle whatever fighting is going on that day. Pretty stern yet always giving good advice and support to anyone who needs it. While is a horrible fighter, he is decently quick with getting anyone out of a sticky situation and his ability to burrow underground will be useful. He honestly wants to try and find Weasel and/or Squarrel but realizing how much time has passed, he grows more unsure of that plan since he doesn’t want to upset them and bring back old trauma. “I miss my husband and kid…I miss them a lot. I’ll be back.”. Honestly I think he is pretty protective overall. He’s so used to being like that in Super Weasel Kid 1 and I do think it does come from a genuine fear of seeing people he cares about being hurt in any way :(
Appearance: Mr Shrewd has big ass glasses because of his old ones being “missing” (with mr Squarrel). He also has an amount of gray on his sideburns and mustache as he still is considered a bit older. It applies to his fur too, as the color is much paler. The wiki says he wears a green tee, so i'm gonna change it to be a green plaid sweater vest with the white shirt and tie kept because honestly i like that better. Oh so because he was initially designed (COUGH no legs COUGH), i think that the gang manages to code him in some legs and they’re so small. He would have khakis and a small tail with these new legs.
Moji:
Description: I feel so bad for Moji, he’s honestly seems so nice and just trying his best. Kind of a dumbass and too naive for his own good but he tries. Goofy little guy who’s just trying his best and desperately wanting to spend the time he missed with his kid. The resident healer of the group who makes sure everyone is in good health and spirit (Even if they don’t want it). He can get upset, but it’s very hard to genuinely make him mad or sad. If you do, what’s wrong with you, he’s been through enough. He’s more lenient as a parent, basically letting “the kids” which consists of Junior and Rocky, to do whatever as long as it isn't super dangerous. He honestly forgives Chandrelle for killing him, he isn’t the type of person to hold a grudge (Junior does that for him). He still is apprehensive towards actually seeing her again and honestly I do think that forgiveness comes from him wanting to believe the good in people, even someone like Chandrelle who killed him in cold blood.
Appearance: So many burn marks and a scar from being stabbed by a sword on his chest. It’s honestly kind of horrifying. Moji otherwise has barely any notable design changes such as that. I will mention it here (and it applies to Junior too) but I think moglees’ eyes work in the same way as Olimar’s does in Pikmin. Basically always closed but when expressing extreme shock, fear or anger, go wide open. idk i just thought it would be funny
Junior:
Description: The “Wildcard” of the group. Very chaotic and a “You can’t tell me what to do kind of guy” (except when his dad tells him no). Does not regret killing Jay at all as it was per the agreement. LOVES COMMITTING WAR CRIMES (and regular crimes). He does regret one thing: Blaming his father for abandoning him when that didn't happen at all. He is so traumatized from secrets and his own death it's insane. Loves denying it though to keep up his toxic masculinity. When he finds out about Chandrelle and how Lazarus kept quiet about it, he is going to lose it. While him and Lazarus aren’t the closest or anything, he does respect Lazarus’s skills and actually looked up to him since he was a kid (he thought being a knight was cool, he was like 10). Although being a bit older than Weasel, he is very much more immature than him and doesn’t know how to take responsibility for his actions that well.
Appearance: Junior has a lot of scars from his days in Vicious Galaxy, his child self dealing with the Vallamir attack, and his untimely demise being crushed by debris. He also has some stitches on certain parts of his body that he doesn’t remember getting at all. He absolutely ditches his armor and goes for the most punk/goth clothes you can think of. I can imagine him finding a red trench coat with combat boots and ripped jeans and being like “yep, im wearing this from now on, this is badass”. He carries his shotgun on his back at all times and is not afraid to use it. He’s very much taller than Moji
Jay:
Description: Oh god, this man has so many issues. He is still a meek and cowardly man, but since his death, he’s…changed. He’s honestly become a bit more jaded and bitter, actually getting over his anxiety when the time calls. He’s less afraid of getting into arguments but still is relatively quiet. I know I compare him to Lazarus a lot but they are alike in my eyes. But unlike Lazarus who became more depressed, Jay became more angry. Finally being sick of being treated like a tool and dirt (dying does change your mind lmao). He looks out for everyone as best as he can. Out of everyone, he’s the 2nd person to know most of Reggie’s plan but refuses to ever step foot in there again. His feelings about everything and his death and…them are complicated and too much for him to handle. So he’d rather avoid the pain than confront it. He does not tell the others about it though. Only him and Catarina understand the extent of his revenge and both would rather not let the others know to avoid any potential problems.
Appearance: Jay has scars from the vicious galaxy and his death. But his death scars are the biggest pain to deal with it because they fucked him up physically. I think the shotgun bullets hit his backside (need to check in game and stuff) so id like to think his head, back and maybe arms are a bit fucked. He gets frequent migraines, mood swings, and even can have serious back/arm pains during the worst of it. Jay still wears his old armor (and occasionally wears his old robe if necessary), the only real difference is with the helmet. Think of Master Chief's helmet but with the visor being in shape with the arrow and a removable mouth piece for drinking and eating. He wears it not for protection, but to keep his identity hidden if needed.
Catarina:
Description: Now I was debating on making her a side character or having her be a part of the gang...Ultimately, I chose the latter because 1. Cat lady and 2. I love her. Barely see anything about her so I'm gonna change that. She’s the last person to join their little traveling gang and she didn’t do it out of a big reason or wanting anything. She did it for fun. While she had nowhere else to go, she was feeling rather lonely and just wanted to be with other people. This group seemed chaotic yet welcoming when she stumbled upon them so why not join them? She gets along with everyone fine (especially shrewd who she sees as an old friend). She actually cares about them a lot. The group’s safety is important to her (she grew attached to these silly men) so if she foresees some bullshit, then she will let them know and try to get them to avoid it. She is also someone who knows everything about the plan and stuff, and agrees with Jay that going to the Six Pint Inn is a bad idea. Before the Hex, she actually knew it was going to happen, and yet felt powerless to do something. it’s one of her biggest regrets to let it happen (not because of Lionel but for the npcs that were killed and how the patrons’ lives were basically fucked).
Appearance: No change to her design at all. The only thing I will say is that she can be seen walking more rather than using her carpet everywhere. This was a personal choice by her. She wanted to be on their level and walk alongside them so she only uses the carpet for emergencies or if they need to get somewhere fast (it shockingly can hold all of them but only barely).
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yuzukult · 3 years
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from home 04 || jjk & reader
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title: from home pairing: jungkook x reader genre: richkid!jk, baker!reader, fakedating!au, fluff, angst, e2l, smut in future chapters word count: 7.4k prompt: jungkook is the youngest of five boys, the last in line to truly inherit any his parents’ money. but what if his mom suddenly cuts him off due to his current poor behavior and he’s forced to learn how it feels like to be part of the working class? a/n: so so so thankful that from home 01 has reached over 400 notes! this is a huge milestone for me so thank you all that reblogged, liked, and replied to my chapters because it means so much to me! so grateful for all of your support because i never thought any of my fics would get any attention! honestly, not my best chapter, but i have plans for from home 05 that are more exciting to write lol please let me know if you’re interested in being tagged! but also let me know if you want to be removed! taglist: @scalubera @strugglingartistno16-2 @taestannie @teresaisla @drumsofheaven @vampgguk @christiandosworld @madjammil @jungkookieyoongs @bananagguknim @shuttheelleup ← previous chapter || next chapter →
You’d never invite him over to your apartment without the company of Hoseok. So why did you ask him to come over and just him?
Jungkook is anxious. Other than the fact that you've requested for his company on a Friday night, he hasn't really spoken to you alone ever since that weekend at his parents' estate. You weren't avoiding him, at least that's what he speculates, but there wasn't much 'alone time' and he was starting to feel insecure about how you felt about your relationship.
Rephrase. Fake relationship, he means.
The brisk, heavy wind smacks his face when he steps out of his apartment, ready to be on route to your house with the address you sent over just minutes ago. Cheeks flushing crimson, he pulls his denim coat with sherpa lining closer, suddening wishing that Hyungjin was still driving him on days like this, oh how lucky Old Jungkook was. 
15 minutes is what the GPS on his phone says, grateful that his mother hasn't cut off his line with the money because he honestly wouldn't have known what to do if he didn't have it. What did people use back then when they needed to go somewhere they've never been to before? He'd have to google that later. His hands are occupied, looking for warmth in his pockets. 
His fingers are curled frozen by the time he reaches the front of your apartment, face pale with only the tint in his nose and cheeks. There's something swirling in his gut—whether it's gas or he's just plain nervous, he's not exactly sure, but he knows that this is the first time he's ever been to your apartment and it's not the same feeling he gets when he's at his one night stands.
Once you receive his text, the buzzer goes off, allowing him to enter into the hallway of your apartment building and how different it is compared to his is astonishing. Other than the fact that the wallpaper was tearing off and the carpets look like it's been years since someone last vacuumed it, the lights were dim, giving off a spooky aura despite Halloween being a month ago.
"Apartment 344," He reiterates to himself from your message, following the instructions underneath that had been oddly specific. "Don't go into elevator car six. Six breaks down after floor two, and five is missing a button for floor three, so only car eight works without a chance of you being stuck in it. There's a smell, so you'll just have to hold your breath."
Weird. So Elevator Eight then?
When he finally reaches your floor, he nearly faints when he walks out. It smelled like a combination of pee and weed with a sprinkle of air freshener which wasn't much help. 
344. The black printed numbers are inscribed in the gold plaque that isn't real gold because it's peeling and the surface underneath it is brown. When you come to the door after he knocks, he can't help but gush at the sight of you. 
Oversized hoodie and shorts with your hair tied in a low bun, strands that fall out effortlessly and frame your no-makeup face, his heart almost jerks out of his chest. It's not fair that someone so mean can be so pretty.
"Hey," You say, breathless. "Come in. I'm in the middle of cooking up dinner. Have you ever had a home cooked meal?"
He furrows his brows. "Uh, the chefs usually put something together at the estate."
"Is it even called home-cooked if you call your house an estate?" 
"Well—" You wave him off, stepping aside for him to enter. "Welcome to my humble abode."
Your apartment is you in a version of a place. Outside entering in, he thinks it's intimidating and tends to throw people off, with the impression that it's not somewhere you'd want to be at. Yet your home itself— he finds that the confined space between where the TV sits on the shelf, books residing in the cubes beneath, across from where a grey love-seat couch is placed is a resemblance of serenity. The kitchen is relatively small, even smaller than his current studio apartment, but everything about it here feels cosy. "It's nice," He hums in content, slipping off his jacket to hang on the coat rack nearby. "I never thought your place would be so... comfortable."
"What'd you think it was going to be? A white void?" Well, you're not wrong, but he fears you so he figured it was best to not respond to that. "So... what are you cooking?"
"Couple things, actually. I even cooked some rice. What did you usually eat when you were living at home— I mean, the estate?" Leading him into the kitchen, which didn't really need much guidance with the short square footage of the apartment, he still can't believe that this place is your own. "American food? Italian? Just generally European? Our chef is from England, and studied somewhere in France. Not much Korean, if I'm being honest."
"Then... is it even home cooked? Take a seat."
He sits at the little round table centered in the middle of the kitchen, a couple recipe books stacked to the side, just enough room for the two of you to work with. "I guess not. You never answered my question, what did you make?"
"Mm... Kimchi Jjigae, bulgogi, and some stir fried veggies. I even baked something for dessert."
Something about this view of you working over the stove, plating the food and side dishes onto the table that makes it feel so domestic. He likes you like this—clear faced without trying so hard, despite thinking how beautiful you looked during the charity event, this felt refreshing.
"Alright," You cheer, handing him a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. "Let's dig in."
"Can I ask you something?" You're in the midst of putting some beef into his serving before looking up. "What is it?"
"Why... Are you being so nice to me? I haven't heard a jab since I got here. And why did you invite me over? Not even Hoseok joining in, just us two. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were trying to avoid me ever since you got to see what it was like to be in my family but then you asked me to come over. I’m a little confused."
Chewing on your bottom lip, your shoulders slouch as you drop your body back against the seat. "Honestly?" He nods. "I've been putting you in a weird spot. I don't like you because you have money, look down on other people who don't have those opportunities, and to be fair, you're very ignorant to this life stuff. You almost bought something from the Supreme drop until Hoseok stole your phone away from you." Fiddling with the kimchi sitting in it's plate, you poke at it with your chopsticks. "You took me back to your family house but it wasn't a house. You called it an estate then you proceeded to show me that you have no real relationship with your brothers. I get why you'd come to those events drunk, and I felt bad."
He scoffs. "So you pitied me."
"Well— no, I just... I just wanted you to know the feeling of home. What home really feels like, and how it's a place you find yourself wanting to come back to. I'm trying somewhat to show it through food—" You gesture the meal that you spent hours on. "—and possibly other ways. I'm not pitying you, I just don't think it's fair."
Jungkook's face softens. "You... don't think it's fair for me. You've always said things aren't fair for you, how I get all these things and I'm provided with so many advantages and now... you're siding with the rich?"
"No, not siding with the rich. Siding with you, Jeon Jungkook. Or, Kookie, whatever your sister-in-law calls you." He can’t help but laugh, as embarrassing as the nickname is to him because he’s too elated that you see him in a different light now. Maybe Hoseok was right. Learning a thing or two from you would be beneficial for him, if anything.
“Here— have some more of this,” You say before hauling a load of veggies into his bowl and he can only smile at the gesture.
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“So,” Jungkook begins, finishing washing the last dish in the sink. Truth be told, he offered because you so kindly prepared a delicious dinner for him, but he needed guidance on how to actually do the chore. “What’s the dessert?”
It’s cute— the way you squirt the bottle of dish soap into the sponge in his hands, teaching him how to properly clean after himself. He feels like a baby being taught how to do the basic life tasks, low-key wishing that he could just ask Hana or Nayeon to do it instead— but it’s you beside him, telling him he needs to thoroughly scrub in order to get the tough grease stains out. He’d say, “how can you tell if it’s still greasy?” and despite you rolling your eyes and responding back, “by touching it?” something about tonight feels different than when you do it at the grocery store.
“Cinnamon rolls!” There’s a sparkle in your eye, exuberant about getting a target to fixate on. “I can pop it back in the oven for a couple minutes to get it all warm again.”
He agrees, wiping his hand off on a rag hanging by the sink, watching as you eagerly pop two buns on a tray, slipping it into the pre-heated oven. “I want you to try the things I bake from scratch... since you’re kind of investing in me.”
“It’s an exchange, more like I’m paying you.”
You grumble, rubbing your face in your hands. “No, no, no, don’t just give me money, Jungkook. If anything includes you putting cash of any form into my palms, it means you’re investing in me because you believe in me.”
Jungkook frowns. “But I do believe in you. Why do I have to keep saying that? You have the characteristics of a trustworthy person. Why else would I have asked you to be my girlfriend?”
“Pretend girlfriend,” you rectify, pointing in his direction, “... you chose me to be your pretend girlfriend. Even so, what if I’m a bad baker?”
A chortle escapes from Jungkook’s lips, shaking his head in disbelief. “OK, ok. Keep baking me goods. If in the end, I think you’re a horrible baker, I won’t ‘invest’ in your business, but I’ll invest in you instead. You keep the money. Do whatever you please with it, even if it means opening a really bad bakery. You’re helping me out here by fake dating me. My father has already personally called me on four occasions, asking when we’re visiting again.”
There it sits. The cinnamon bun. Or roll. Whichever it is— but there you are, directly leaning against the table across from him, eyes watching him attentively. Thoughts start running in his mind like; what if it actually tastes horrific like the possibility you mentioned? What would he do then? You both had already gone as far as meeting his family, he’s too deep in. 
“Stop thinking and just eat.” You say discernibly, impatient with his indecisiveness. Using the fork you provided, he pierces through the the pastry and the cut is buttery smooth, requiring no effort. When he brings it to his mouth, the moment it touches the tip of his tongue, it practically melts, dissolving in contact with his saliva, awakening up his taste buds. It’s sweet, the cinnamon with the brown sugar and butter, yet not overwhelming enough to turn it away because something about it just brings life into you again.
His mouth parts open, gaping in awe. “Oh my god,” he mutters with his cheeks full of the pastry, “W-what, oh my god. Did you drug me or something? Because there’s no way it tastes that good.”
“No— but then I made a home-made yeast dough where I added some more ingredients to transform it into an enriched dough, and that contributes to it’s soft interior with a more fragile crumb. Then the filling, I brushed on butter after rolling the dough out to a rectangle—“ 
“I-I don’t need the details,” Jungkook stutters with a nervous laugh but you were going to go off for hours if he hadn’t stopped you. “I think if all the things you make taste just as good as this, I’m impressed. You’ve sold me. But... I have to ask, why a bakery? I looked up what it means to be someone in your field with your degree and people go off to do product development, maybe research in processed foods— this isn’t necessarily close to being a baker. I honestly don’t know why my father asked you to take part of the restaurant chain he’s planning on building.” 
“Oh,” Pursing up your lips you tap your fingers against the wooden table, heaving out a sigh. “I’m surprised you did some research.”
“Well, you taught me to do some extensive exploration before I invest in something.” He shoots back.
“I wanted to go to culinary school, simple as that. I told you, I love Guy Fieri and wouldn’t it be crazy if he went to my bakery and put me on his show?” Jungkook is keeping this in his back pocket for future teasing, but you seem so dazed when you talk about your dreams that he has to refrain himself. “But I couldn’t just go to culinary school, no, my parents would kill me. So, I chose something as close as possible and so here I am. I should get into product development, maybe I can be part of something that could be preserved and easily accessible to help feed third world countries but— I don’t know how long I’d be able to sit in a lab for. I want to make people happy, see them walk through the front doors and hear the bell ring along with their footsteps, see their faces lit up when they eat what I made.”
There’s a lot of things he can point out in your expression when you talk about your dreams, them being how your eyes become the pools of chocolate cupcakes, swirling dark and sweet, and how your lips look so pillowy pink like a fluffy buttercream frosting. Within your voice, there’s so much certainty that holds it, credence along with each syllable you sing, words rising like the yeast in bread. Wholeheartedly, he wants to back you up on your aspirations, solely from the way you’ve sold them but at the same time, he feels this green-eyed envious being within him that wishes he had something to be equally as passionate about.
Money can only be ardor for so long, an inanimate object that can eventually lose its meaning if the world goes to shreds. It’s value will be there when emphasized but what if it didn’t exist? What did Jungkook like?
It’s a constant battle he finds himself placed in, especially when he absentmindedly scans the groceries for the customers, reiterating the same phrases every couple minutes with a new total tailing behind it. His uniform fits too well these days, stability making a name-tag on the chest pocket of his apron, and he’s not sure what to make of it. 
He has an ivy league degree in international business, but what does he do with it? Currently, he’s asking customers how their day was, what the end price of their shopping run is, and hoping the rest of their day is well. Four years grinding hard at a prestigious university and for what?
He used to look down on people like you and Hoseok, with a belief that their placement in the supermarket was a controllable decision on their part, but visually seeing and hearing the other employees speak about their struggles of the inability to access higher education or finding difficulty in providing for their families so they throw away their dreams for a daily life in the deli section— he wants more because he’s able to, and he doesn’t want it given to him.
Yet, Jungkook still doesn’t have a dream. And according to you, he doesn’t have a home either.
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Obviously, Jungkook has been through many flings. He's even said so himself and the women who have stirred up scandals on media outlets are evidence of it but never in your life did you think that you'd find yourself in this position, blankly staring at a girl weeping in front of you as you're in the midst of restocking laundry detergent onto one of the shelves in the middle of an aisle.
"He's supposed to love me," She bawls, eyes swollen from her crying previously. The girl is barely a couple inches shorter than you with long, straight black hair that stretches down to her lower back, waist so small you could wrap your hands around her. "Jungkook told me that I was the only girl for him and nobody else. So who are you? What'd you do? What's so great about you?"
"Uh, beats me," Rubbing the back of your neck in consternation, you're not sure what to do. There's about a handful of these supermarkets in Seoul alone, so how did she even find which one you worked at? "Um... Have you talked to him about this?"
"N-N-No," The pretty girl stutters, lips quivering. "I went to the estate and they kicked me out, said he doesn't live there anymore but I think they're lying to me."
"Jungkook doesn't live there anymore." You confirm, typing something into your price gun. "He moved out into the city."
"H-He did?" She retorts, eyes glimmering in hope. "That means they didn't lie to me just to kick me to the curb. He really moved out, he's not living there anymore?" You nod, glancing up at the girl who is supposedly Jungkook's ex-girlfriend or in his eyes, one late night affair. She really fits his ideal type—one that you've accidentally discovered when you came across an article of his on one of those gossip magazines... that you googled. Nonetheless, you learn that he's into girls like her—skinny, long straight hair, feminine with a soft, high-pitched voice. Nothing wrong with those things, you just observed that none of those things are you.
"Maeri?" Why does that name sound familiar? 
Jungkook rushes his way down the aisle to stand by your side, gaze immediately glued onto you. "Hey, you alright? Did she say or do anything to you?"
"No," You respond, blinking rapidly at his sudden action. There's a girl who's crying her eyes out right in front of him and yet he's asking if you were okay? "But she claims to be your current girlfriend or ex—whatever it was, I don't remember. Kind of your problem and somehow I'm roped into this."
"And you picked her? Even though she speaks to you like that?" Maeri whimpers, nose pink and lips swelling. "She doesn't even treat you the way that I do. I can't understand why you would just drop us and pick her!"
"Maeri," He says, voice soft and gentle, completely different from what you're used to. Jungkook leans over, hand flatly pressed against her mid-back, rubbing soothingly to calm her nerves. "You're also my dad's assistant. It would've never worked out. He would've found out what we were up to and be completely against it." So that's why the name sounded so familiar, Jungkook's dad requested him to make an appointment with him through his assistant, Maeri.
... Question is, why would he do something so risky and get involved with his dad's personal assistant?
"B-B-But..."
"Listen," You quickly interject, dropping the price gun onto the car where the array of laundry detergent bottles sit. "This feels like a private conversation. You can finish this after you talk with her, I'll just find something else to do."
"Wait—" But before Jungkook could even grab you, Maeri already has her grasp tightened around his wrists, pulling him in close. "Jungkook, don't go. Talk to me, please?" He sighs when he sees you don't even glance back.
It's a bit infuriating, you think, to hear some girl complain about how you're not worthy enough for a guy that you'd previously thought wasn't even good enough for you. You were somewhat decently looking, right? Or so, that's what you thought.
"You good?" Hoseok interrupts your thoughts, brows furrowed in confusion. "Seem kinda lost there."
You hum, resuming back to stacking up the apples in the produce section because Jungkook was doing your task instead due to the incident. Truth be told, you hated here in produce, because since you first stepped foot into this section, six old women had already tried starting small talk. But anything to get out of that conversation between him and Maeri. "Well, I just saw Kim Maeri over there with boogers dripping from her nose because Jeon Jungkook suddenly has new arm candy."
Rolling your eyes, you threaten to throw the apple in your hand at him. "Not arm candy. Girlfriend."
"Ohhhh," Hoseok teases, hands slipping into the front pocket of his apron. "Not arm candy but rather girlfriend. Not so fake anymore? So, who confessed first? You or our clueless Kook?"
"Hoseok, not in the mood. I just dealt with some weird girl crying over a guy I'm not even really dating, weeping on for twenty minutes about how I'm not good enough for him."
"Why? Are you sad because you think it's somewhat true?"
Your glare nearly kills him. "No, but it's not easy to hear. I mean—he's this guy who doesn't even know what to prioritize in his spendings, can't even properly do his laundry without dying some of his whites, and he doesn't know how to clean after himself. And yet she��thinks he's too good for me?" Scoffing in disbelief, you slam an apple onto the pile and Hoseok grimaces, hand on your wrist. "Please don't bruise the apples."
You sigh and he lets go of his grip. "Sorry. But am I that mean?"
"No, no, don't say it like that, of course you're not. Sure, you sound sorta insensitive sometimes but you mean well. Or else Jungkook and I wouldn't willingly spend time with you, right?"
"I'm your timesheet approver and Jungkook is using me to get back at his parents. I don't know about that."
Hoseok rolls his eyes, handing you the apples from the inventory cart as you continue to organize them onto each other. "If that's the case, I wouldn't actually help you out when we're not at work. You don't have enough authority here for me to kiss your ass my way up for a promotion here. And Jungkook— although, true, yes, he's asking that from you but he wouldn't just willingly see you or try to spend time with you outside of work. Stop being so insecure because some pretty girl came by."
"Uh, Hey." Jungkook appears out of thin air, startling both you and Hoseok. "I... restocked the detergent like you asked. I can take over this if you'd like, I know you don't really like working in the produce section because the grandmas like to start conversations up with you."
A smile tugs on the edges of Hoseok's lips, suggestively eyeing you before stepping back. "I'm gonna go find myself elsewhere..." Then he jolts before you can get a word in.
"I'm good," Turning back to the pyramid of fruits, you're content with how it looks so far yet Jungkook doesn't seem to share the same pleasant expression. "I'm almost done anyways."
"She's not... we've never dated," He says, swallowing his nerves. In all honesty, he's unsure why he feels the need to justify his relationship with her and elaborate the story behind it, but he gives into the urges nonetheless. "Just a fling. We slept with each other a couple times because I liked the rush it gave me, knowing that if my dad knew I slept with his favorite assistant of all time, I'd be done for."
Silent and brushing your hands off from the debris, you avoid chiming into his story. Was he telling this to you because you’re his supervisor or because of the weird relationship that’s going on between the two of you? “Uh, it’s fine. It happens. Wasn’t necessarily your fault, it was unavoidable. At least that over with, right?”
Jungkook scratches the back of his head quietly, the ponytail on his head bouncing slightly. “About that... there’s an event this weekend.” After brushing over the details, you don’t say much, striving to finish the pyramid of apples, Jungkook assisting by taking over Hoseok’s spot. “I have a question.”
“What’s up?” You don’t shift your attention away from the red fruit.
He clears his throat. “Are you and Hoseok a thing?” Letting out an airy laugh, your eyes finally meet his. “Of course not. He’s just a very involved and caring friend. Nothing more, and he isn’t really my type. Plus, I’m sure he’s not over Hyeri.”
Jungkook nods, pulling his lips into a straight line because he’s trying to hold back a smile. You and Hoseok were not a thing, which meant that there was one thing less he didn’t have to worry about.
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Maeri found you through the instruction of Mr. Jeon; he said that his wife had mentioned your current employment at two of her chains and this was her second attempt after wailing over at the coffee shop, hoping that the second location was a charm. Meeting Jungkook there was really a coincidence, in all fairness, because apparently Mr. Jeon didn’t say anything about Jungkook being there—his main target had been you.
“He wants you to come with me to another event... but it requires some travel.” Jungkook told you, feeling a bit guilty because you had just spent a weekend at his parents estate barely a couple days ago. This means begging your supervisor at the supermarket and the café to let you call off for the next week. Hopefully in the end it’s all worth it...
When Jungkook says travel, this is not what you thought it was going to be.
“We can either take the private plane there with my family or ride the train.” You don’t hesitate to pick the latter option, evading the potential family argument that would blossom in seconds if you were to be stuck in a cabin full of the Jeons. 
You don’t recognize the awkward position you put Jungkook in until you’re standing on the platform, waiting for your train’s arrival with a duffle bag in hand, body hidden underneath a heavy winter coat. “Oh. Have you ever rode on the train before?” He shakes his head ‘no’ and you frown. Maybe you should’ve taken the plane there, Jungkook would’ve been more comfortable. And as if he read your thoughts, he nudges you with his elbows, hands dug into the pockets of his jacket. “Since you’re popping my train cherry, take it easy on me, will you?’
He’s perhaps a little funny, but you’re not going to cave into that.
Busan— is what your ticket says, from Seoul to Busan. Honestly, you had never been in Busan before but you recall Jungkook saying that it was his birthplace and he’d be more than happy to guide you through the nooks and cranny of the largest port city in South Korea. 
Once you reach the city, it’s completely different from Seoul. The buildings are condensed, there’s so many markets yet at the same time, there’s just as many people there are in Seoul. Hyungjin is holding a sign that says, “Jeon Jungkook,” written on it in bold letters, bowing when he sees your fake-boyfriend, just as eager as Jungkook. “I’m glad they asked you to pick me up again.”
“Well, I requested it, Mr. Jeon.”
“Oh please, I’m sure you didn’t. You hated having to drive me home whenever I was partying.”
Hyungjin shakes his head with a grin plastered on his face. “I did, perhaps. However you are a new man now with a very intelligent woman by your side, so I can almost guarantee that you’ve changed. Much more likable, Mr. Jeon. Please, let me take you to your hotel.”
You nearly have a nosebleed just from the view from your room.
The sea is beautiful, despite the grey clouds that hover the water from the colder weather but the charm could never be hidden. Apparently, the hotel that Jungkook’s parents had booked for the two of you was a 5-star hotel, spas, pools, restaurants and everything included and some that you can see from your balcony. 
“Holy shit, Jungkook, is there where you grew up?”
“No, not in a hotel.” He laughs, watching as you move around the room like a little kid to see every trinket the hotel had to offer. “My grandparents’ house is just down the road, and I’m sure they want to meet you. We can do some stuff beforehand and meet them for a late lunch with the rest of the family. How’s that sound?”
Jungkook is your tour guide for the day— taking you to the market where they sell merchandise with idols faces on it, snacks, and so on. He takes you to see the Gamcheon Culture Village, a place where homes are condensed that are splatters of the rainbow and filled with painted murals. It’s a sight for sore eyes, and everything is just a bit more enjoyable with a tall little kid standing by your side.
He takes you to the Haeundae Beach, where a story he tells is a place he recalls biking with brothers when he lived there during the summers. Once they were a bit older and found interest in girls, he stopped going since the only thing he looked forward to was spending time with his siblings there. 
When you meet his grandparents at their humble home, his brothers are already there with his parents, paying their respects and doing their ‘routine’ to visit them at least once a month, apparently. You assumed the family would have neglected their grandparents with the presence of wealth, but it was nice to see that his parents still kept their roots.
“This is Jungkook’s girlfriend?” His grandma says in a mixture awe and disbelief, glancing back at his mother and you. “I’m so glad, he hasn’t been here to visit me in a long time. Did you convince him?”
You shake your head in response, bending down to sit across from her. “No, he asked if I’d like to come.”
“He wants to introduce his pretty girlfriend to his grandparents, of course! Why else?”
From the corner, Jungkook can see Jongseok twitching in annoyance at the attention you were gaining from their grandparents, complimenting while pinching your cheeks, pleased with who Jungkook had ended up with. “Smart and beautiful, will you wed her soon or else someone else sweeps her off her feet?”
“I’ll try,” Jungkook says with uncertainty, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “It’s really up to her though.”
“Then make it so that she can’t say no!” His grandfather chimes in.
Lunch had been nice with his family; it had been a lot tamer than the conversations at the dinner table in the Jeon’s. For one, it seemed like if anyone had anything bad to say, they refrained themselves from doing so in respect for their frail grandparents.
Back at the hotel, you stand with your arms rested against the rail of the balcony, your hair blows with the wind, strands getting into your face as you attempt to push them away, only for Jungkook to lean in, gently brushing them out your way. He’s close— so close that you can feel his breathing against your cheek and you don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath when you exhale after he steps back. “There,” he grins, proud of his work, “looks good.” Was he talking about how he completed the task well or that you looked good?
“It’s... really nice here, Jungkook.” If it weren’t for this arrangement, you never would’ve found the time or money to come here unexpectedly, especially with how much money you were trying to save to open up the bakery. Enjoying the finer things in life proved burdensome since one of the things on the list of adulting was knowing what your priorities were. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten the chance to explore Busan if it weren’t for you.”
“You... you should take a break every now and then,” Jungkook suggests, leaning beside you. Everything about the sea at night is striking; the gusts of wind from the waves, the lights at the pool from the hotel, the sky, sparkling with stars from above that causes a glimmer in your eyes, swirls of mocha full of wonder and excitement. “You overwork yourself to death. You’re completely burnt out. Yet at the same time you keep making time for Hoseok and I when what you really need is a spa night.”
“It’s... it’s not that easy,” You frown. “I just have so much to do.”
“I told you, let me take care of you. If I can prove to my family that I’m capable, I get the money back. I can pay you for all the things you’ve done for me, all the things you’ve taught me, everything. You need to enjoy your life before you’re old and wrinkly because by then, you won’t have the energy to do the things you want to anymore.”
“Jungkook—“
“No, let me teach you something this time around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I think I know everything now, I just... with chilling and relaxing, I think you should let me take it from here.”
“I just—“ Cupping your cheeks in his hands, he forces you to face him, pressing them together for your lips to purse up. “No arguments. No disagreeing with me, no more of that. I need you to listen to me for once and not tell me what to do.”
Assertive Jungkook is an inconsistent version of him that’s usually feeble in comparison to you. But something about Busan’s air and water gives him the confidence he needs to stand up to you for once, and it makes your heart skip a beat. You nod in compliance, caving into what he demands. His eyes shift, trailing from the bridge of your nose to the tip, oh how he wants to give it a peck, but once they reach your lips, he realizes that’s what he really wants. 
He swallows, releasing some pressure off of his hands as you survey his distinct expression. “Jungkook, are you—” hastily, he pulls your jaw toward him, lips crashing into yours and it’s more than he expects. He swore in a not dramatic way that it felt like there were fireworks being set off behind him.
Noticing what he’d done, he quickly lets go, hands dropping at his side. “I’m sorry, I just, I couldn’t help myself but I know I said boundaries—”
Hands flying up, your thumb brushes against the soft flesh of his cheeks, hopping onto the tip of your toes, reaching up to meet as much of his height as you could, eyes hooded with your breath fanning his lips. Fingers slipping to the back of his neck, you tug him down, gingerly pushing your lips against his.
It’s gentle— the kind of kiss that Jungkook isn’t familiar with when he comes across his flings, but the way you ease your way into his parted lips and how your tongue brushes against his, it makes him feel hazy, drunk on your scent. His hands find purchase on your waist, tugging your hips to rest on his as your fingers run through his luscious hair. The length is something you’ve grown to love, a huge step from forcing him to tie it back because it hadn’t been ‘professional’ enough. And here you are, making out with your trainee on the balcony of your shared hotel room. He lets you lead the kiss momentarily before you break away, foreheads against each other, you’re both panting with tinted cheeks. “Don’t hold yourself back, please,” you beg in a whisper, completely intoxicated by everything radiating off him. 
Reaching down your thighs, he puts those muscles to use when he grabs onto them, wrapping your legs around his frame as you yelp, arms immediately hugging around his shoulders. He slides the balcony door shut with his feet, dropping you onto the bed, falling along in unison. 
There’s a smile upon his lips, a genuine one filled with admiration. Just when he’s leaning closer to you for a second round, there’s a knock on the door.  Jungkook groans, dropping his face into the crook of your neck as laughter erupts from your chest. “Go get the door.”
“Whoever it is, they just ruined this moment.” He grunts, untangling your legs from his waist to open the door.
Jongseok is leaned up against the door frame, eying his younger brother suggestively. “What were you doing?”
“None of your business,” Jungkook hisses in return. He doesn’t need to say it though because Jongseok knew from his sibling’s disheveled locks, swollen lips, flushed cheeks and labored breathing. Jongseok wasn’t going to look, but he could already tell that Jungkook was supporting a boner in those sweatpants. 
“Hm,” Jongseok hums, narrowing his gaze. “Alright then. Stopped by to tell you that mother wants us to have dinner with family tonight in about 30 minutes. Should be enough time for you to finish, right? How long does 3 pumps take?”
“Get out!” He responds through his gritted teeth, slamming the door on him.
Quickly standing up, you brush your clothes off and fix your hair in the mirror. “We should get ready to head out, I don’t want your mom to wait on us.”
“You sure? I mean we don’t have to go—“ 
“I still need to impress your parents too, right?” Hand pressed against his chest, he calms down at your touch and nods in conformity. “Alright then.”
When the two of you return from the trip, you don’t mention anything about the kiss and what it would’ve led to. Fearing that you’d back out from the agreement, Jungkook doesn’t bring it up either, despite having so many questions running through his head, discovering that there’s a small chance that he’s fallen for you.
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Hoseok throws something in Jungkook’s direction, a confused expression on his face when he catches in his hands yet his body doesn’t move from the couch. “What’s this for?” He asks, opening his cupped hands to see a shiny gold key.
“That’s my apartment key,” Hoseok responds calmly, shuffling through some letters that sit on his counter. “For whenever you want to come over.”
In the past month, he found himself gravitating toward not just you, but Hoseok as well, a friendship blooming from being acquaintances. Reminiscing to a time where they would only say ‘hi’ in passing, mostly for politeness because their parents had worked together before, there had never been a real bond between the two of them. And ever since he started working at the market, their friendship had escalated to hanging out with each other on the weekends or any available free-time they had.
Jungkook has friends now.
Real friends, he notes. Ones he never thought he had, ones he had only ever dreamed of, and ones that he didn’t have to bribe for them to become. He admits that whatever he has with you is a bit rocky and unknown, but after having that home-cooked dinner with you that night, he feels like you’re opening up to him. 
An action from you that he rightfully earned, he likes to repeat to himself, because he can’t believe he’s able to obtain relationships with people that didn’t include money.
“You’re giving this to me? You trust me with it?”
“Well, yeah,” Hoseok nets his brows in confusion, making his way to sit beside the other male on the couch, switching his PlayStation 5 on, handing Jungkook a controller as he stares dumbfoundedly. “You come here almost every weekend, or well, recently almost every other day since I got the PS5. You’re a bro now, we’re not just some dudes that acknowledge each other at parties anymore.”
Jungkook feels like he’s soaring. His feet are hovering in the air, and his heart feels light. If this is what it feels like to have a friend who cares and enjoys spending time with, he doesn’t need to get high and wasted to obtain that feeling anymore.
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“Mom, I’m not really in the mood to come back so soon.” You sigh, fingers raking through your drenched locks. It’s supposed to be a relaxing Friday night in; Jungkook bringing the pizza with wings and Hoseok grabbing the beers from the supermarket when he finishes his shift tonight. Figuring that you had some time, you’d give yourself a relaxing shower, knowing damn well you were going to need some peace and quiet temporarily with two rowdy boys coming later.
“Please,” She begs, attempting to raise her voice in a baby-ing manner. “Your sister said she was coming tomorrow morning. I would love to get the family back together. And you said so yourself last week, you’re free this weekend!” You’re starting to regret calling your mom with life updates.
The door swings open, the sight of Jungkook hauling in bags and a box in his hand. “Jeon, you can put it on the coffee table,” Pointing in the living room, he nods as you trail behind him. “You can move the books off the table and put it by the TV.”
“Jeon?” Your mom reiterates, suddenly intrigued by whomever you were at your apartment with. “Who is Jeon?” Ignoring her, you press the phone against your shoulder and cheek, freeing your hands in attempt to help Jungkook clear out the table. “Oh, Jungkook, can you close the door? It’s cold for some reason.”
“Jungkook?” She gasps the name into the phone, squealing afterwards. “You have a boyfriend and you didn’t tell me?”
“What?” You reply sharply, Jungkook coming back from your request, brows knitted in confusion. “Who’s on the phone?” He mouths, you retort, “my mom” back faintly. 
“I heard you calling some guy named Jungkook. It’s just him in your apartment alone, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have some guy with you unless he’s your boyfriend, right? Oh my god, I thought you were going to be alone forever—” She yammers on, not even taking a second to breathe. “You know what? Bring him tomorrow. Don’t say no, I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. I’m letting your dad and siblings know. Goodnight, dear! Sleep well! Tell Jungkook I said hi!” And with that, she hangs up.
Throwing your phone on the couch, you grumble, hands rubbing your face. “I’m assuming she thinks I’m your boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” you exhale, plummeting your body onto the couch. “As much as I don’t want to do this, she’s going to attack me nonstop if I don’t bring you. Are you free tomorrow? Would you... like to meet my family? If not— it’s totally fine, I mean we’re not even really dating anyways and—“
“Of course,” He grins, settling down beside you. “This doesn’t have to just apply to my parents, you know. I am your boyfriend, not just you being my girlfriend.”
In all honesty, he finds this as an opening. Ever since your trip to Busan, he couldn’t help but see you differently out of the blue. He admits, maybe right now isn’t necessarily the best time for him to start a relationship, especially one where a business deal is involved, but he can’t help it. Something about you, since that night, he saw you underneath those lights and you’re not the same mean supervisor that he thought you’d been.
And don’t even get him started on the way you kiss.
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Kaede Akamatsu!
Why I like them
She is an atypical autistic icon, especially post first flashback light, so as someone who relates to that experience and see similar flaws and strengths in her as the ones I have, I really do have a soft spot for her. Also, her frankness is often hilarious, I love it.
Why I don’t
Honestly, there isn’t much I don’t like about her character? I have some things on the fandom side that bugs me with her, but as far as her own character goes, there isn’t really much. I actually do like her flaws (impulsiveness, quick to switch to an all or nothing/black or white thinking, tends to miss what’s in front of her in a lot of ways, has a certain self centered understanding of people that she can only achieve by comparing the way other people feel about other things by how she feels about piano/music especially with other ultimates etc) so I can’t even say I don’t like those flaws, really.
Favorite episode (scene if movie)
I do like the elevator talk with the context of her thinking she is going down there either to her death and/or to catch the Mastermind, and how it is both a double talk about her own fears while also coming off as encouragement to Shuichi. It’s the sort of thing that hits differently with the context of her thinking she is Rantaro’s killer
Favorite season/movie
She lasted like one chapter, two if you count the prologue, so... And the prologue is mostly introduction, so there isn’t much to characterize her beyond acting like a normal scared girl about the circumstances she was suddenly thrown into. She was interesting in chapter 1, but I am also biased to her fun reactions to meeting the cast too so I’ll cheat and say both lol
Favorite line
"I think everyone is afraid of learning the truth. But the people who are willing to find the truth are the ones who can decide their fate. If you never know the lies from the truth, then you can't choose a path. You won't even know you're on a path. So...fight for the truth... Even if it is frightening. I know you can do this. If you're scared, borrow the strength of others who will be there to help you. Think of everyone you're helping, and let that be your strength."
Favorite outfit
She has like two outfits besides crossover events, but I think it is her argument armament dress. What can I say, I love that kind of frilly clothing too~
OTP
I don’t really have hardline ships with her (or anyone, really) but she is the bi queen of V3 so I’m down for basically all cast, maybe sans Kiyo unless it’s an AU situation where he wouldn’t kill her. Ones that stand out most to me are her FTEs with Shuichi in the Salmon Mode, her events with Tsumugi, Kokichi and Kaito though. I really like Kaemiu and Kaede x Tojo content when I occasionally see them too.
Brotp
Again basically everyone but I’m very partial to her friendship with Kaito given it very much read to me like an autistic girl meeting a likely neurodivergent boy too and both connecting over their hyperfixations/special interests (Music and Space, respectively).
Rantaro more because he reads very aroace to me as an aroace myself, so I’m really down for the two bonding too.
Kokichi’s events with her was actually some of the rare times Kokichi is praising someone openly, to their face no less, to the point of offering “ruling over the world together” so again I’m very down for that too.
Head Canon
I’m pretty sure my take of her being actually a surprisingly realistic (if unintentional) portrayal of an autistic girl/someone who grew up with AFAB experience of their neurodivergence being ignored and mocked until her special interest “proved her worth” counts as a headcanon, so that.
Also tangentially, I think she would have songs she associates with people/situations beyond her just name dropping one song at the prologue retake and during that classroom event with Shuichi, even in a peaceful world too.
Unpopular opinion
I didn’t dislike the protag swap, I just wish Kodaka didn’t pull the troll of advertising her as the protag for so long (especially since as far as my understanding of V3 goes, both her and Shuichi were just POV side characters in universe, with Kiibo being the “real protagonist” of the season) and I really do like that she attempted a murder.
A wish
For her to get a chance to have friends who understands the way she experience the world and bond with to spend rest of her life with, without feeling like she is a “freak” (or an “idiot” if going with piano baka) as people would call her over her obsession with piano, so just having a happy life in general.
An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen
Gestures at the V3 canon  Losing her ability to hear would be probably most devastating thing to her besides death, so that.
5 words to best describe them
Bold, Cheerful, Friendly, Obsessive (With SI and even how she describes that she wants to know everything about her new friends), Impulsive.
My nickname for them
I don’t really have any tbh? Her name is hard to nickname, really.
-Mod Kokichi
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charlieslowartsies · 3 years
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Can I ask about 21 and 22 for Knight Guard AU Fazbear gang (Freddy, Bonnie, Chocs and Foxy)?
21. What is their favorite thing about their personality?
22. What is their least favorite thing about their personality?
Freddy:
Freddy is very proud of his sense of self and confidence. Being a showman is one thing, but being the ring leader of said show is even better. He brings a lot of pride to any situation.
Freddy is the first one to agree that his stubborness can be a problem. However, it is easy to say this, and harder to fix.
Bonnie:
Others may disagree with him, but Bonnie loves how well he relates to teenagers. He thinks older kids/teens need all the help they can get, and he knows growing up isn’t easy. He’s happy to be a loudmouthed, opinionated bunnybot, because he knows that when kids learn to find their voice, they can become amazing adults.
Bonnie can be very insecure about himself. He worries about much physical and mental damage that has been done to him back during the events of FNAF2, when he was Withered Bonnie. Being unable to keep up with his bandmates can cause lots of frustration at himself, and his own programming tends to ruminate on it.
Chica:
Chica loves how good she is as being, as Mike puts it, motherly. She’s pleasant and friendly and even gets along with her Toy model, Chi. She’s very proud of how much enjoyment she gets from learning something new--especially a recipe! For Chica, there’s nothing better than putting her smarts to work and making something delicious for Mike or the kids to enjoy.
Her programming and her personalty separate a bit here. On stage she is a bit more vapid, a bit more of a side lined cheerleader. She dislikes the way she’s forced to act and speak on stage, but keeps things professional for the kids. She and Mike sometimes work on different acts where she can take center stage.
Foxy:
Foxy is brave as can be, rivaling even Golden Freddy himself. He puts that bravery to good use and will use his weight to back up anyone who needs it--he respects Freddy as a Captain, but also demands respect himself, and will argue against Freddy whenever Bonnie won’t. Foxy knows there’s a fine line between bravery and recklessness, and is careful to never cross that line if he can help it.
Once haunted by the spirit of Alex Afton, Foxy can be a bit of a bully sometimes. When angered, he will put aside his common sense and can become snappish and cruel...in more ways than one. He doesn’t like being called out on it, either, which is why Mike usually comforts him instead of argues. Foxy has a short temper sometimes, but is quick to calm down.
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glimmerglanger · 3 years
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Oooohh could we see an outside perspective on obi-wan and Cody’s slow coming together after the events of oof au? maybe from someone like bones, because he seems close to Cody and he must’ve known Cody’s feelings during the war, and then he was there on mustafar too to see all that happened .... I’d love his thoughts on all the awful things that were done to them - specifically them because Vader was hateful and jealous - and then finally seeing them find their way into each others arms after so long and so much pain🥺. Thank you so much!
Alright, so today turned into “finish all the oof!au-related prompts in my inbox day” (i AM going to get it cleaned out so I can start working on the accidental courtship au with my full focus) and that’s just how it’s gonna be. 
~~~~~
Bones had always known too much about his C.O.
He’d gotten access to General Kenobi’s medical records; he needed them as the General’s primary physician in the war. Before the General had ever taken an injury in the field, Bones had….had known things about him, had seen his past written out in reports of different procedures, recovery notes, suggestions for future treatments….
The records started in earnest when his General had been thirteen, which - at the time - had made him several years older than Bones. But Bones knew, well enough, that nat-borns wouldn’t be fully grown at thirteen, at least not nat-borns of the General’s species.
He’d been young. Not fully trained. Almost killed.
Things hadn’t improved, over time. But Bones hadn’t been sure if such things were normal for nat-borns, for the Jedi. He’d only read over the records and worked to incorporate what he learned to provide the best possible care for his General.
And the knowledge mitigated his surprise when the General tried to walk off injuries that should have required days in bacta.
His General was used to dealing with injuries. With blaster wounds. With torture. 
Bones had known that before Zygerria and all that happened there. He’d known it before Mustafar.
He thought it wasn’t much of a surprise, the way Obi-Wan reacted in the aftermath. He did the same thing he’d always done in the war. He just...put the physical pain somewhere else. Just as he’d done after Rattatak. Just as he’d done after Kadavo.
Bones had treated him for the injuries he sustained in those places, without any trouble. But it was….different, after Mustafar. After all, it had not been the troopers - the people Obi-Wan had to keep living beside, every day - who hurt him in Rattatak, on Kadavo, on any of the other worlds Bones had learned about, reading his General’s medical records.
Bones tended injuries he remembered Skywalker inflicting. He tended hurts that he’d stood by and done nothing to stop. It didn’t matter, much, that he’d been screaming inside his head, trying to put an end to it.
It hadn’t been enough.
That knowledge sat like a weight on the center of Bones’ chest, pushing down at all times. He looked around at his brothers and saw the same burden on each of them, crushing and heavy. Remorseless.
He thought, sometimes, that Cody wore it most openly.
But he would, Bones supposed. They all...cared about their General. Loved him, in one way or another. Cody hadn’t made much of a secret about the way he felt about their General, not back during the war. 
Oh, he hadn’t said anything, but they’d grown up together.
Bones hadn’t needed words to read what Cody was thinking, when his gaze lingered too long on their General, when he brought Obi-Wan a cup of caff, or urged him to take a break, or just leaned against him, after a campaign that stretched too long.
Bones had known. He just hadn’t realized that so many other people knew, too. He’d had no idea that Skywalker knew, but perhaps he should have. The Force had a tendency to tell your secrets, if you weren’t careful with them. Perhaps that was how Skywalker had found out.
The hows of it didn’t really matter. He’d known, and he’d used the knowledge like a knife, all serrated edges turned down against their General, carving into him, viciously. Skywalker’d had plenty of weapons at his disposal on Mustafar.
His favorite had become Cody.
Bones supposed that meant Skywalker had still maintained some ability to strategize. Cody had been the most effective tool at his disposal. Bones had watched Obi-Wan tense and flinch every time he even saw Cody, back in that nightmare. 
Skywalker had been exceptionally skilled at causing damage. But it hadn’t been enough to save him, in the end. They’d walked out of that hellhole. Most of them, anyway. Bones swallowed bile at the memory of Cody carrying Obi-Wan onto the Recompense, bleeding out himself, and--
And Bones knew Cody’s medical history, too. He’d been taking care of Cody since they both left Kamino. Cody had taken some knocks during the war, but he’d been...lucky. He’d only needed to visit the medbay occasionally and he’d never had to stay for very long.
He’d had no Rattatak in his past. No Kadavo.
Just Mustafar, and everything that had been done there.
Bones healed the physical damage done by Skywalker, to both Cody and Obi-Wan, to all the rest of his brothers who had been injured, but he could not touch the damage on the inside. He could not do anything when they refused to sleep, when they grew more and more tense.
It was a relief when Rex showed up with Commander Tano in tow. It let Bones exhale, eventually, to have someone else aboard who seemed qualified to offer assistance. It made some kind of forward progress seem possible, even if they had to struggle and fight for each step.
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alienheartattack · 3 years
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Hello. Who’s ur comfort character? (Snk) what r ur notps for snk? And, last one, how do you write Levi and Mikasa so perfectly? Like their personalities and what they say- how do you even get good at that? I love all ur works
Hello! Thank you for reading and for taking the time to send a message!
I don't really have any comfort characters from SNK. I guess Levi? He's the only one who doesn't make me depressed about the series when I look at him lmao. Right now my comfort characters are my OCs, considering how much I enjoy brainstorming for them. (Both male leads I've written so far are masculine men with strong personalities who are also soft and kind. Now that I think about it, I tend to write Levi in a similar way in a modern AU where he's allowed to indulge his softness.)
In terms of notps, I think I've made my feelings on EM pretty clear. I'm not a fan of Levihan (love it platonically though, and I even follow some Levihan blogs) or Rivahisu either. However, I just filter everything I don't like so I barely even remember it exists.
I've been accused of writing Levi and Mikasa OOC before, so it's wonderful to hear that someone thinks I do it perfectly! I pay a lot of attention to how people talk IRL and sometimes I'll even say my dialogue out loud to make sure it flows. It's always been a big pet peeve of mine that authors who write "snappy" dialogue rarely write how people actually talk, instead they go all big and pretentious with it. I think Levi and Mikasa are relatively uncomplicated people (despite all the trauma), so their dialogue should be more straightforward. A lot of what I do is think, “How would a person who watched their parents die in front of them/was raised in a dangerous slum/is the only person they know who’s as strong as they are/etc. act in this situation?”
ETA: I rambled a lot about writing here, so I'm just gonna toss it below a read more.
In terms of Levi and Mikasa's personalities, I tend to focus on things we know canonically about the characters and then fill in the blanks from there. They're both relatively reserved people but they have a wicked sense of humor, and usually it relates to things that are scatological or taboo. I tend to focus on them being people who are stoic on the outside but very emotional on the inside, because that way I give myself an opportunity to explore their inner life, which usually involves some kind of domesticity (based upon Mikasa's desire for a family and Levi's potential career as a tea merchant).
I also like to drop in random canon or fanon facts, like Levi only sleeping a few hours a night or high school AU Mikasa being a goth, and then use those as jumping off points for further characterization. For example, writing a scene with cranky Levi doesn't hit as hard as writing a scene with cranky Levi when you know he's tired from a bad night of sleep and he's running on caffeine and fumes. It's easier to characterize him and add details to your writing by drawing on your own experiences of being tired: he probably feels like shit, he's exhausted, his eyes are puffy, he's yawning, he's not paying as close attention as he normally would be.
Another thing I do that helps keep me in tune with the characters is to decide what kind of Rivamika I want to write before I start writing. I decide how they feel about each other during the story and whether I want that to change. If I write a story where they're already friends, their personalities are going to show a lot differently in a story where they openly dislike each other, although I usually write them bickering in some way to reflect their interpersonal conflicts in canon.
The way I'm able to achieve all this complexity in my writing is that I tend to write pretty mechanically: I decide what goal I want to achieve with a story, then work backwards and figure out how to get there. For example, with the assassin AU, I knew it was going to center around a scene that was violent but also very caring and maybe even loving, so I made very sure to write Levi and Mikasa as people who argue a lot and say some really terrible things to each other, but who show deep respect through their actions. If they truly hated each other, Mikasa would never agree to sleep with him in any situation, so I had to make sure to add details that infer that maybe they don't actually hate each other that much. I really fixate on making my characters' motivations believable, so I was literally sitting there thinking, "If I were in Mikasa's shoes, in what scenario would I be okay having sex with a weird coworker?" Or I'll try to imagine a similar situation in my life where I thought I disliked someone but actually realized I would be upset if I didn't see them around. Especially with fanfiction, it's all about showing how the characters feel about each other, and what events and actions can make those feelings change.
I've already written enough here, but I wanted to emphasize one of the things I stand by as a writer that I think makes for better characterization: nothing is ever black or white. People are frequently conflicted or torn by competing desires, even when it comes to relatively easy decisions. (Especially when it comes to things like food and sex.) Even if someone falls strongly on one side of an issue, they can usually see the merits of both sides. No one is ever 100% good or evil, and oftentimes bad people genuinely believe they're doing the right thing. I try to make it so that every character in a story genuinely believes that they are doing their best, so when they come into conflict it's because they have deeper issues than just a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. For example, in Inexorable, I wanted everyone to be sympathetic to a degree, even Eren, because I think it's too simple and unrealistic for him to be a straight up villain. Plus it makes the reader really feel for Mikasa, because both she and the reader can see that even though Eren was a dick, he's also trying to make things right. It makes her final decision that much more anxiety-inducing and ultimately satisfying because she has a good reason for being with Levi and a less good but still valid reason for being with Eren, and (hopefully) you don't know which one she'll pick. These problems often take a lot of thinking and brainstorming to resolve, but I find that they make for much more satisfying characterization and plot.
I could blab on about writing forever (obviously) so I'm always down to answer asks!
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higuchimon · 3 years
Text
[information]
I decided since my old 2021 Resolutions post was so horrifically out of date, that I should write a new pinned post. I recommend reading this for information about me.
First: no more writing resolutions. I'll write what I can, when I an.
Second: I am non-binary/agender. Pronouns are they/them, though I responded to she/her so long that I am not bothered by them. I'm also asexual & aromantic.
Third: I am nearly fifty. My fandoms of choice are, in no given order, are: Power Rangers (MMPR-PRLR, with occasional dips into later ones), Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Xros Wars/Hunters, Digimon Applimonsters, Digimon NEXT, YGO DM, YGO GX, YGO 5Ds, YGO Zexal, YGO Arc-V, YGO VRAINS, YGO Sevens, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boubeiu Love & Love Love, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boubei Happy Kiss, Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, and Trollhunters. Digimon tri & Digimon Kizuna I might take small bits from but am not overly fond of them. Nothing more needs to be said on that front. YGO GX is the blood in my veins. I am unlikely to writee any given game for Pokemon.
Fourth: I have a large backlog of prompts for fics, both submitted by others and taken up for myself. If you wish to send in a prompt, the inbox is always open but it may take time for me to get to it, depending on my mood and what the prompt sparks. Please check "higuchimon prompts" for lists of prompts.
I warned you. All right. Here we go. You'll see some concepts and preferences pop up repeatedly. Tread with caution.
Digimon Adventure 02
Non-epilogue compliant: fics where the epilogue (and now that they exist, Tri and Kizuna) isn't going to happen. Non-canon ships (most often Ken x Daisuke & Taichi x Yamat0) abound. Fics seldom related to one another unless otherwise noted.
Loss, Gain, & Other Heartaches: A new enemy brainwashes a lot of human Chosen and their partners, after destroying the original twelve's patners, leading to the Digimon's data being merged with the Chosen's.
Division of Destiny: What if Vamdemon turned Sora into a vampire and from there defeated the Chosen? Well, he ended up turning Taichi, Jou, & Mimi into vampires as well, while imprisoning Hikari and giving Yamato, Takeru, and Koushiro to Piemon and the Dark Masters as slaves. A pesky rebellion formed of Daisuke, Iori, Miyako, Ken, Osamu, and various other charactes tries to fight them. Firm ships are currently just Ken x Daisuke.
When Blood Crosses: Oh, one of my favorites and probably my oldest AU altogether. What if humans and Digimon could have children together? And what if they did already? Seven out of twelve of the Chosen are part Digimon - or more. This is a full-blown multiverse. Stories don't always relate to one another, but the basic concepts tend to be the same. Ships can vary but for the most part are Taichi x Yamato, Jou x Koushiro, Mimi x Sora, Hikari x Miyako, Ken x Daisuke, and Takeru x Iori. Not averse to Piemon x Takeru, either.
Quiet Interlude: Little fluffy pieces featuring Taichi x Yamato in an establihsed relationship during 02 and beyond.
Adaptions: I don't have much written here but I have Such Plans. It will involve Things Happening to Taichi (in season 1) and Daisuke (season 2). It will probably end with Taichi x Yamato and Ken x Daisuke.
Take To The Skies: In this world, some people have wings and can fly. Daisuke is a Flier. The Digimon Kaiser thinks that makes him the perfect pet. But he will need training, of course. Kaiser x Daisuke. Other stories might involve the others who have wings.
Return of Old Enemies: Takeru is captured by two strange Digimon and collared so he can't speak. That's only the beginning of what's going on.
Fragmented Memory: Kaiser x Daisuke. Kaiser has wiped Daisuke's memory and convinced him that they're together. The other Chosen are not happy about this.
Broken Bonds: A soulmate AU featuring Piemon x Takeru. This is also a breeds AU. Piemon murders Patamon and takes Takeru.
Fight To Remember: Kaiser has lost his memory. So has Daisuke. Together, they need to learn who they were, who they are, and who they're going to be. Ken x Daisuke, obviously.
Services Rendeed: Daisuke gets poisoned and the cure lies within territory controlled by the Kaiser. The only way to save him is for the Kaiser to do it. His price - Daisuke himself. To be his until he gets bored with Daisuke. Sadly, the Kaiser isn't easily bored. Ken x Daisuke.
Stirring Shadows: Ken had a very naughty dream about being the Kaiser again and wanting to dominate Daisuke instead of the Digital World. Now, it was just a dream - right? Ken x Daisuke, older.
Scars of Victory: The Digimon Kaiser defeated the Chosen and took Daisuke as his trophy. For seven years he's ruled over the Digital World unopposed, having blocked the older Chosen from entering the Digital World. Now the barriers have dropped - and revenge is best served cold. Ken x Daisuke, brainwashing, off-screen death.
Course of Events: Set in a breeds AU: Vamdemon notices something unusual about Daisuke when he's in line to meet Tailmon and sends him to Piemon, who discovers who and what he is. How interesting. No current ships.
Walking The Edge: The Chosen have fought the Kaiser for years without knowing his true identity. Daisuke has also been dating Ichijouji Ken for years. So when the Kaiser finally reveals who he is - well, Daisuke has a choice to make. And the Kaiser will only allow one.
Dark Brotherhood: breeds AU. Ken, as Kaiser, has discovered that his half-brother is Yamato. Or rather, Anbumon. An alliance is offered. Ships: Yamato x Taichi & Ken x Daisuke.
Danger Zone: The Kaiser is very annoyed at Daisuke's continued existence as his enemy. So he decides to change where Daisuke's allegiance lies. Kaiser x Daisuke.
Hidden Truths: Miyako-centered breeds AU, also involving Jou and his dark side Fuseiimon. No ships centered, but light indicationss of Ken x Daisuke, Jou x Koushiro, and Taichi x Yamato.
Errors of Love: Aged up AU. Daisuke is dating the Kaiser. This is probably a very terrible mistake. KEn x Daisuke.
Magical Educations In Love: Magical school AU. Established ships: Ken x Daisuke, with possible Ken x Daisuke x Takeru.
Shadowed Soul: Piemon x Vamdemon x Takeru. is it love or just sex? Takeru wishes he knew. It's also a soulmate AU.
Melody of the Heart: A world of magic and magical creatures. Loosely a mirror of my breeds verse (and I do mean loosely). Established ships: Taichi x Yamato, Ken x Daisuke, Jou x Koushiro, Mimi x Sora. Others to come.
What He Wants: M rated/non-con, Kaiser x Daisuke. That's pretty much all there is to it. Just a couple of drabbles now but I'll expand it later.
Game of Life: breeds AU. The Kaiser's noticed something about some of the Chosen and wants to know what's going on. Undecided ships.
Bitter Bargains: The Chosen have fought the Kaiser for years. He's shown a rough attachment to Daisuke - kidnapping him on a regular basis. Then one day, Daisuke wakes up to find the Kaiser in his bedroom. Oh, dear. Non-con Kaiser x Daisuke.
Sanguine Bindings: Aged up AU - and Ken's a vampire, who mind-controlled Daisuke from episode 2 onward. Brainwashing/mind control/non-graphic non-con.
Purpose of Existence: Kaiser found out about Daisuke being a very special breed and claimed him for his own. Daisuke doesn't like this but something isn't right - he listens, whether he wants to or not. Aged up/breeds AU. Ken x Daisuke.
Buds and Blossoms: A romance between Hikari and Mimi. That's about it.
No Good Decisions: Daisuke accidently eats something he shouldn't have in the Digital World. It wouldn't be so bad - if the Kaiser hadn't found him and determined that someone needed to watch him. Ken x Daisuke.
Blood Of His Blood: Breed AU. Piemon wants to live again and will ensure that he does, through his oldest son.
For All Time: Taichi's been in an accident and Yamato's not sure when he will wake up. Taichi x Yamato.
Heart of Demon, Soul of Angel: AU where Taichi is an angel and Yamato is a demon. At least it starts off that way. A lot is going to change. Established ships: Taichi x Yamato & Ken x Daisuke.
Bonds & Bondage: Kaiser goes ahead and Rings V-mon. This affects Daisuke, unexpectedly. Now what will the Chosen do? Ken x Daisuke.
Fireblood: Breeds/Firestarter/Healer AU. Vamdemon bites Yamato and awakens his dark side - not good for anyone at all. Taichi x Yamato.
Flaming Ivy: The 02 Chosen are Healers and Firestarters and are working out what that means for them. Ken x Daisuke.
Digimon Tamers
Fair Wings: Some of the Tamers have wings, including Juri, Kenta, and Ruki. Adventunres and romance thereof. Established relationship: Juri x Takato.
Digimon Frontier
Consequences of Games: Just a set of fluffy post-canon fanfics featuring the Chosen playing games and what happens after the games. Firm ships include Kouji x Kouichi and Junpei x Izumi.
Heirs Apparent: Lucemon's spirit escaped confinement and was able to have an encounter with Kimura Tomoki, siring twin boys.
Godslave: So, Lucemon is the God-King of the world, ruling humans and Digimon alike. What he wants, he gets. And now he wants Kouji.
Tales of WInd and Water: Stories that cicle around Ranamon and Izumi.
Reflections of Dark Shadows: An AU where Kouji doesn't have a twin. What he does have is a reflection - and the reflection doesn't like his boyfriend. Established Takuya x Kouji, one-sided Kouichi x Kouji.
The Wind-child: A fantasy AU where Izumi is the daughter of AncientIrismon and has many adventures.
Yu-Gi-Oh Xros Wars/Hunters
Not Telling All: Yuu is a vampire with a taste for Tagiru. Tagiru doesn't know - at least not yet.
Hunting The Great Game: A rewrite of Xros Wars/Hunters. Set three years instead of one after the Xros Wars. Taiki finds himself back in the Digital World and that's where it all begins.
Digimon NEXT
Knight Tales: Fantasy AU. Kahara Shou's village is slaughtered and burned down and he's the only survivor. Taken in by Barbamon, he becomes the Demon Lord's devoted Knight.
Yu-Gi-Oh DM
Pleasures of Shadows: Yami no Malik has been revived as an incubus.
Crimeland: An AU where there are three Kaiba brothers (Seto, Seth, and Mokuba) and - many other differences I haven't gotten to writing yet. Only set 'ship is Seto x Kisara.
Uncertain Choices: A modern day AU, with Atemu and Yuugi as twin brothers. Only set ship right now is Atemu x Mahaado. If I ever finish the sequel I have in mind, I will add Seto x Yuugi.
Ways of Magic: a magical AU. Seto and Mokuba are dragons. Pegasus is a sorcerer. Mai is a pirate queen. Otogi is a djinn. A few scattered set pairings such as Otogi x Bakura Ryou.
Heart of Magic: a magical AU. This one involves a magical school where various characters are students or teachers. Established ships: Atemu x Mahaado.
Gifts of Power: A Superhero AU. A large chunk of people have powers. Established relationship: Isis x Mana.
Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Reversal AU: In canon, Juudai has the poewr of the Gentle Darkness. Here, in a world very like Dark World but with differences (such as a sun), he has the power of the Destructive Darkness - and he is pure evil, enjoys it, and has the overall goal of destroying all of creation. A small, plucky rebellion stands against him. Do they stand a chance? Time will tell. Be warned: non-consensual Juudai x Johan, as well as someone becoming a vampire, and many other twisted plot points. I love this AU.
Stronger Than Water: We don't know much about Johan's past. So what if he actually grew up in Dark World, as Brron's adopted son? And was sent to kill Juudai? Firm ships are Yubel x Juudai and maybe Yubel x Juudai x Johan. I havevn't gotten far enough to be sure.
Hell's Ice: What if Ryou were the one taken by Kagemaru and Amnael instead of Fubuki? Well, add in some elemental affinities and we have the Hell Kaiser of Ice - one of the Seven Stars. No set ships othe than Yubel x Juudai, though I am debating a few.
Itch To Scratch: Juudai and Yubel are demons. Johan's an angel - or he thinks he is, anyway. What he really is, he'll find out eventually. Firm ship is Yubel x Juudai x Johan.
Bridges: So, in this series, Juudai's power is that of the Light of Creation. Johan has the Gentle Darkness - and Juudai has been possessed by the Light of Ruin for seven thousand years.
Dead Weight: It's the zombie apocalypse! Ahhh! No set in stone ships yet.
King's Champion: When a late-night break-in goes very wrong, Yubel ends up taking Juudai to Dark World for his own safety. He ends up being raised by Brron. But taking him away from Earth has consequence, both good and bad. Yubel x Juudai. Not ruling out Yubel x Juudai x Johan in the future.
Shadow Demons: Juudai: King of Hell, with Yubel and Johan as his Consorts. Ryou, a demon prince. Fujiwara Yuusuke, a shadow mage with Honest as his guardian angel. Fubuki as an angel of love. Asuka slays evil vampires. And much, much more. Established ships: Ryou x Yuusuke and Yubel x Juudai x Johan.
Echoes: Rewrites of different parts of GX. Currently only the Haou arc, but others to come. Established ships: technically none but eventually Yubel x Juudai.
In The Shadows of the Fae: Juudai is the King of the Fae with Yubel and Johan as consorts, and Shou as his servant. A delicious AU that I enjoy. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan.
In Chains: Fantasy AU. Brron is gifted Shou as a slave, and Shou has to deal with that. Not easy. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan & Edo x Ryou x Saiou.
In Any World: A series of non-connected Yubel x Juudai AUs. Each is a one-shot and is in a different AU.
Past and Future: Yubel shows Juudai events that happened in their past lives together, as they forge a new future with one another. Yubel x Juudai.
Sky Stories: A lot of people have wings. Juudai didn't - until he fused with Yubel. Ryou has rusted metal wings - until Edo takes care of them. ANd many more stories. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan.
To Accept Fate's Will: A soulmate AU. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai, Edo x Saiou x Ryou. O'Brien x Sea God's Priestess.
Hole In Your Heart: Not fighting means that Shou's in danger. Especially when he gets captured and sold to one of Haou's servants. As if his third year wasn't already going downhill. No actual ships that I know of (probable future Yubel x Juudai)
In Space, In Light: Juudai sent Yubel into space to be healed by the Gentle Darkness. In canon, it failed. Here, it worked. Uh-oh. Yubel x Juudai.
Paladin's Quest: post ending series. Ryou dies of heart failure and is reborn as a duel spirit without his memories of his past. But that's going to change, because what he did in Dark World cannot be forgotten.
In Darkness We Find FIre: An AU of my own devising, that I call Healer/Firestarter. Healers can heal & communicate/grow plants, and Firestarters bun things. There are a lot more details than that but this tale is a retelling of canon through that lens. Established ship: Yubel x Juudai.
Politics of Ages: Asuka is a vampire queen with two consorts: Manjoume and Ryou. Lots of vampiric politics.
Infinite Love: A magical AU with soulmates. Features Ryou x Yuusuke, Camula x Ruthven (OC), and Edo x Saiou.
King's Knights: Post-canon series. Juudai offers Ryou, Fubuki, and Yuusuke as his Knights. But that's just the beginning. Johan has his own tale to tell.
Passion's Flight: Soul-wings universe. Established asexual/aromantic Asuka. Future Yubel x Juudai.
Prisoner of the Black Tower: Johan is trapped in a black tower by someone called Haou. He doesn't know who that is. And he wants to leave.
Apprentices: A mild alternate timeline, where Kyle and Nero from season 3 meet and become friends - while in Haou's dungeon.
World of Fusion: Brron fused all the dimensions and the world that results is so very different. Now Brron also has three sons: Juudai, Johan, and Rune (the Johan lookalike from season 3). Also, Ryou is a vampire. Established relationships: Yubel x Juudai.
Fate's Heart: Multiple tales of Yubel and Juudai as soulmates.
Power of Earth: Healer/Firestarter AU, featuring Jim and O'Brien.
Family Flowers: Healer/Firestarter AU, featuring Rick and Cobra.
Red Zinnias: Healer/FIrestarter AU, featuring Saiou and Edo
Destructive Flames: A merging of the Firestater/Healer AU and the Reversal AU. It's even less fun than the usual REvers - well, for values of fun.
Spirit Friends: People become friends with Duel Spirits aren't in their decks. Such as Wolf for Juudai and SQuall for Amon.
Bonds of Kinship: Exploring the relationship between Johan and the lookalike - his twin brother.
Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal
Order of the Outcasts: A fantasy AU loosely inspired by AD&D. The Order of the Outcasts is the Barians. Yuuma is a powerful healing mage and Astral is his fae companion. Much fun to be had! Co-written with SilvorMoon.
Committed To Her: Kotori is Queen Merag's slave, and devotedly loves her. Merag would like to return it, but it's not that easy. Obviously, a Merag x Kotori story, and an AU.
Cry of Vengeance: Vector wants revenge on Nasch for a long-ago offense, so he attacks Nasch's boyfriend Durbe. But that's not all he wants his revenge on and he has an interesting way to get it. Vampire/slight magic AU.
On Dragon's Wings: Mizael is a dragon. Vector is a prince who becomes a demon. And many other changes for a fantasy AU. Established ships are Vector x Mizael and Alit x Leo.
Inevitable Encounters: soulmate AU and how they deal with it. Established ships: Kaito x Yuuma, Durbe x Nasch, Kotoi x Merag/Rio, Vector x Mizael
Fae Whispers: Durbe x Chris. Chris is a Fae Prince who offers for Durbe to become a Fae Knight.
Different Numbers: Another soulmate AU. Features Durbe x Nasch, Vector x Mizael, V/Chris x Kaito, Gilag x Sanagi, & Alit x III/Michael x Yuuma.
Prison of the Prince: Vector wishes to keep Fae Prine Mizael as his prisoner. Mizael isn't so thrilled about that. Vecto x Mizael.
Hating Humanity: Durbe finds Nasch and Merag before the Astral Messenger arrive. Without Yuuma's influence, what will Nasch do? Durbe x Nasch.
Blurring: There are multiple ways to detect one's soulmate. Mizael has Vector's name on his right arm and Kaito's on his left - right arm is for the soulmate and left for the enemy.
Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V
Beat of Wings: Some characters have wings, including Yuuya, Yuuto, Yuugo, and Yuuri. And Shun. And others. No real ships (that I know of) and Yuuri is going to have fun!
Life With A Demon: Featuring Masumi x Yuzu, Asuka x Selena, and past Selena x Masumi. Demon AU, along with other creatures of magic.
Confusing: Yuuri has captured Shun and is training him to be a warrior of Fusion. Shun would rather not - but his mind is now Yuuri's plaything.
Angels, Demons, and Deciding Factors: Angel/demon AU. Yuuri is a demon, who encounters the angel Shun in his territory. Yuuri decides that he wants this angel for his own - mostly because Shun doesn't want that, nor does Yuuto. M rated/consent issues/brainwashing.
Collars and Keeping: Yuuri captured Shun early in the war and Shun escapes the first chance he gets. But Yuuri won't let him go - and there's a horrible punishment awaiting his pet.
Fae Song: Selena x Rin x Ruri x Yuzu. Selena is a Fae Princess and the others are her servants.
Deadly Daughter: Professor Leo Akaba decides he can't trust Yuuri and thus trains Selena to be his sgent to find and captue the other gils with her face. Selena's girlfriend, Asuka, helps - only seeing what happened in the war turns her away from Fusion. Undecided ships.
Dragon and Falcon: Yuuri's a dragon & Shun's a shapeshifting falcon. Yuuri claimed Shun as a part of his hoard and his servant. And it just seems that dragon saliva does something to shapeshifters. non-con/drugged Yuuri x Shun.
Soulwings: In this AU, when soulmates meet one another (or when one's true purpose is found), wings are developed. So when Kaito and Edo cross paths... Established Kaito x Edo and alluded to Yuuri x Shun.
Strike Hard, Strike Fast: Vampire AU. Sora, Yuuri, and Dennis are vampires. Ruri and Shun are vampire hunters. So when Shun crosses their paths, Yuuri decides to take him for his own.
Opposite Ends: Yuugo is brought to Shingo as his slave. Yuugo doesn't like Shingo. Oh, they're going to have a lot of fun.
Dragonflame and Nature's Spark: A HEaler/FIrestater rewrite of Arc-V, mostly featuring Ryou and Mizael, along with Yuuri and Vector. Ship: Ryou x Mizael, Durbe x Chris, and Shou x Michael.
Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS
A Model Life: Kogami Ryouken is a supermodel. You know, when he's not a cyber-terrorist.
Power Rangers
Flip Of a Coin: Tommy Oliver is Tommi Oliver here. Gender-switch from birth.
Soulborn: Soulmates from the Power Rangers. Established ship: Cassie x Phantom. Future ship: Kat x Tommy.
BKCBL
Burning Inscription: Soulmates have the most important words spoken to them by their soulmates written on their arms. On Kinshiro's: I am Battle Lover Epinard! Nonsense. Atsushi x Kinshiro.
Love of Spirits: Kinshiro is a spirit of the sun. Atsushi is a wind spirit. The others are also magical beings. Kinshiro x Atsushi.
Crossovers
Elemental Ties: YGO GX & Digimon Frontier. Juudai and Kouichi cross paths. But they're not the only ones who share elements.
Replacement Vampire: YGO GX & Digimon Adventure 02: Post his defeat in 02, Vamdemon awakens in his Perfect form again, in a new world, where he meets someone he never thought he would - a female vampire. Camula didn't think she'd ever see another vampire. He's not quite her species, but he's definitely her type. Firm ship: Camula x Vamdemon. Also, vampire Seven Star!Ryou.
Scorpion Strike: YGO GX & YGO Zexal: Ryou wakes up in the Barian World, and doesn't know his name or anything else. But he's a Barian now, so he works for the Barian World. Ryou x Mizael.
Those are all my current series. Here are the series that I have waiting in the wings:
Power Rangers
Unexpected Tales: A series of fics about ships I like: Rita x Zedd, Emily x Jason, and Tanya x Adam.
Yellow & Blue: A pair of fics involving Trini x Billy
Digimon Adventure 02
Blossoms of Death: Non epilogue compliant, where a new enemy attacks the Chosen and a lot of things happen including friendship between different Chosen and their partners.
In Our Veins: Breeds AU. Non epilogue compliant and the breeds slowly start to awaken to their powers. Known ships: Ken x Daisuke.
Far From The Tree: Breeds AU, rewrite of a very old story of mine. Starting in the Devimon arc, the Chosen begin to awaken.
Last Dark Master: Breeds AU, another rewrite of a very old story. Yamato attracts Piemon'os attention. No ships at this time.
To True Love: A series about Taichi x Yamato. Mild Ken x Daisuke also.
Heed The Call: The Kaiser discovered the breeds - especially Anbumon, the strongest of them all. Time for an alliance. Ken x Daisuke & Yamato x Taichi.
Digimon Tamers
After Tamers: Post-canon, the Tamers have even more adventures with their returned partners.
Burning Brightly: An alternate take on Ruki and Renamon meeting one another.
Yu-Gi-Oh GX
In Solitude Lies Strength: A slight divergence changes a great deal about Juudai's rule in Dark World.
Different Kind of Darkness: When Juudai encounters a vampire before his rule in Dark World begins, everything takes a dip to a deeper darkness.
After Academia: Graduating doesn't mean that their adventurs have ended. They're just different now. Yubel x Juudai.
Colors of Love: A different soulmate concept - those who have soulmates only see the colors of their soulmate's hair and eyes until they meet - at which point they see all colors, and sprout their wings. Edo x Saiou and Yubel x Juudai, with others to come.
Hi Kari Kouri E: Healer/Firestarter. Kagemaru wants a powerful Frostflame on his Seven Stars team, so sends people to recruit a six year old Marufuji Ryou. Future Yubel x Juudai and Ryou x Yuusuke.
Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V
Prey and Hunters: Yuuri captures Shun and has a good old time tormenting him. Rewrite of my original "Yuuri torments Shun" story. It will have a crossover with Mythology of Love by SilvorMoon eventually.
BKCBL
Seduction of Shadows: a realm with Io being human, Akoya being a demon, and Ryuu being an angel.
Crossovers
Love Is Out Of This World: BKCBL & Digimon Adventure 02. When the Digimon Kaiser drops into the Student Council Room, things become very interesting. Ken x Daisuke, Atsushi x Kinshiro.
Ties To Magic: Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, and YGO GX. A fantasy world where anyone can meet anyone at all.
From Shadows Within: Digimon Adventure, 02, Tamers, and Frontier. A new adventure for everyone! Ships: Ken x Daisuke.
I fully expect to develop more of these in the future. Time will tell! And I will update this when or if the time comes.
17 notes · View notes
fullsunalicia · 4 years
Note
oh could you please write like a soulmate au for chenle? i just watched this video on yt 'chenle is an angel' and honestly its giving me major chenle feels because hes so sweet and caring and cUTE?? if its not a bother and if you arent busy hehe
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pinky promise — ZCL
a long time ago, long before the symbols on your wrists appeared, chenle gave you a promise. no matter what, he’ll love you forever, whether that’s going to be in a familial sense or romantic. you would never have thought that chenle would break it.
soulmate au — when you turn eighteen, a symbol will appear on your wrist that matches the one your soulmate has.
gladly bubs! honestly this is chenle’s era, look at him go,,,, i love him so much sigh
Promises are sacred. In this friendship, they’re not shallow words that are easily spoken. Whenever Chenle and you lock pinkies, the next thing that’s going to be promised is of utmost importance.
“I promise to tell you the truth.”
“I promise to take care of myself.”
“I promise to love you forever.”
Your eighteenth birthday is supposed to be a day you get excited for, and not a day you dread. Yet, you’re the one who’s going to lock herself into the room for the next seven days, and if you want to cry on your birthday, you will do it.
Zhong Chenle has broken his word, and your heart with it.
❀ ❀ ❀
You met Chenle in kindergarten. Rosy-cheeked and a big grin on his lips, he had offered to push you on the swings. He always made sure you didn’t fall, and when you did, Chenle was always the fastest to grab some bandaids. At that age, boys tended to be disgusted by the other gender, but Chenle had always treasured you as much as any other friend. You shared sweets with him, and you already began exchanging birthday presents at age seven. Toys turned into handwritten letters and bracelets you made yourself, and flowers were replaced with real jewelry Chenle bought you with his pocket money.
At age thirteen, you bought him a proper bracelet, not one you made yourself. It wasn’t much and couldn’t compare to the ones Chenle always got for you, since your family didn’t earn as much as he did, but when you told him that you saved up your pocket money and even helped around in the neighborhood to gain some, he had burst into tears and held you close for the longest time.
It was the first and last time you ever saw Zhong Chenle cry.
He was not the type of child to spill tears; always happy, constantly loud. His good mood radiates and affects every person around him. It’s funny to watch him panic when you start bawling, since you’re a big crybaby and Chenle is a stone when it comes to feeling upset. He just doesn’t see any reason to do it. If something upsets him, he works on it.
Tears don’t get you far in life. It’s what Chenle was taught, drilled into his head since he first stood on his own two legs. Even now when the stress bursts open his temples and weighs on him as heavy as an anchor, he’s just unable to do it. He clutches to you like his own personal life ring, fingers leaving scratch marks on your arms and back as he tries to get a grip on reality. Never once do tears pool in his eyes. It’s just not him.
At age sixteen, Chenle bought you roses. He was just a little older than you, barely being able to call himself that with the few months he’s got on you. You’re younger than your shared friend Jisung, but it’s not fair he plays the ‘respect your elders’-card every time you get cheeky with him. On that day though, Chenle had given you the roses and held your hands tightly, his face unusually serious, almost scary.
“You’re younger than me, so I have to protect you. I have to show you how a boy should treat you so you’ll never let anyone trample over you.”
Pinkies interlocked, Chenle promised to never let anyone hurt you. He started showering you with presents and bouquets, even though you begged him not to waste any money on you. Your words fall on deaf ears - he doesn’t accept the ‘your friendship is the biggest present’. He has to show you. Windows are left open in the middle of the night so Chenle can climb in, because you don’t want to be alone. When your parents start fighting, he starts taking you out to do all the things they usually don’t allow you. Stay out until the sun rises. Skip town and go to a fair. Go on your first party and get a taste of alcohol, but only this sip - Chenle still deems you too young.
You don’t know when your friendship had shifted into something more, but there comes a time where Chenle stops looking at you as his baby that he has to protect and starts recognizing you’re becoming a woman. Hands start hindering you from getting to your first date; he claims your boy is nothing but trouble. Cute outfits are snatched out of your hands just so he can pull his own hoodie over your frame, because “it’ll be cold outside and I don’t want you to get sick”. Chenle stops making his friends sit on each other’s lap in a full car so you have a seat for your own and begins sitting you down on his own lap, legs spread, hands on your waist.
When you look Chenle into the eyes, you don’t see the innocent toddler that used to put Spongebob bandaids on your nose, but a grown man. Chenle, who fills out his baby face features. You still pinch his cheeks, but it’s not the same when both cheekbones and jawline are sharper than in your childhood days. Veiny, big hands that cover your own. He even thinks about going to a fitness center, but you can hinder him from that by luring him with cuddles.
The moment this boy - or man, whatever - starts gaining muscles, you’re seriously going to lose it. You have to postpone that for as long as you can. There’s still that selfish wish inside you that craves for Chenle to stay the friend you made in kindergarten, with a soft tummy and dimply cheeks. It’s childish, but you don’t want him to grow up and be noticed by even more fans who will for sure fall in love with him.
Of course you’re happy for him. You attended lots of showcases and concerts, and Chenle always laughs and says you’re the loudest one to scream. Every album is bought yourself, no matter how much he wants do it for you. Very often, you end up going with his parents to support him at an event. It seems like with every comeback, Chenle drifts out of your hold.
Age seventeen, Chenle makes you a promise that changes your friendship forever.
Surrounded by several plates of sweet and sour pork, dumplings and spring rolls, Chenle and you are seated on the ground inside your room. The window’s wide open, the nightly breeze making you shudder every once in a while. In the past few weeks, he’s been busy preparing for a comeback, and had practically jumped at the chance to have a free day. As soon as he had told you about it, you grabbed your keys, gotten some takeout and took the bus to his place. With a big grin, Chenle shared some information with you about the music video(even though he was technically not allowed to), going so far to ask you to only look at him during the music video or he’ll get jealous.
You rolled your eyes at that, but he was only halfly joking. Not that you knew that.
“How’s school going?”
You sigh. “Sucks without you, of course.” Chopsticks clatter on your plate as you let go and lay back, looking for comfort in the blanket your best friend had given you. He’s got the best view of the house - the city’s skyline is clearly seen even from your seat on the ground, the pale moonlight filling his room with a ghostly ambience. Outside, you can still hear people chattering away, even though it’s late in the evening. “But atleast I don’t have to worry about exams anymore. We’re all just waiting for summer break. It sucks to be stuck in a classroom when it’s a thousand degrees outside and we’re not even doing anything productive. Why would I go to school to watch a movie?”
“Be patient, you big baby,” Chenle giggles. He stuffs his mouth with a dumpling and follows your gaze, before he looks at your face again. You may not notice it, but Chenle stares at you often. There’s something so angelic about your features, the soft slope of your throat ... When he closes his eyes, he can vividly picture you. You’re unforgettable. Born out of stardust and sunlight, you are the single most beautiful thing Chenle has ever laid eyes on.
No money in the world would ever be enough to match your worth. That’s why he will treasure you forever. It’s a silent promise, the only one he never speaks aloud.
A yawn tumbles from your lips, and you wrap yourself tighter into the blankets. Why cuddle the blanket when you can cuddle him? “Whatever,” you mumble, unknowingly answering the question he posed in his mind. “I just want to get the hell out of school and visit the ocean again.”
“You want to visit your grandmother?”
You hum. “Yeah. It’s been so long since we last went. I didn’t even get to swim that day.”
Chenle remembers. It was cold and the wind was freezing up your cheeks, almost hurtful to the touch as he had pressed his hands against them. You shared a picnic there, but your mother forbade you from entering the water. That day, he had discovered that you’re even pretty when you pout. He clears his throat. “I’ll take you,” he says then.
His heart jumps in the most lovely way when you reach for his hand. He mimics you, gripping it tightly as he inches closer to your tired body and presses your hands against his cheek. Even though the darkness casts shadows over your pretty face, the dim light makes your eyes shine like jewels. “You’re busy,” you remind him, but there’s a big, grateful smile on your lips as you take in the view infront of you. Does he make your heart skip like you do to him? What galaxies do you find in his eyes? “You can take me when you’re not busy promoting another album. I’ll go with my cousins this summer.”
“Let me take you,” he complains, but Chenle knows just as much as you that he won’t be able to. When you pull him closer, his fingers move on instinct to untangle the blankets enveloping your body so he can pull it against his own. You’re frail and precious, but that doesn’t stop him from holding you as tightly as humanly possible. When your hands bury themselves in his dyed hair, his eyes slip closed.
In moments like these, he can pretend you’re his and he’s yours and there’s not a worry in the world. Someday though, you’re going to find your soulmate and leave him forever. And he can’t even get mad about it; how could he get mad over something that makes you happy, when it’s all he wants in life?
“(y/n).” Chenle breaks free of your embrace and holds up your hand so he can lock pinkies. You follow his quick movement with your eyes, suprised about his sudden actions. “I want to promise you something.”
“Hear, hear.” You’re joking, but there’s just a slight hint of nervousity hiding in your voice. He doesn’t have the time to ponder over that.
Chenle looks you in the eyes and sees the woman he wants to marry someday. The woman he’s never going to have. “(l/n) (y/n), I promise to love you forever.”
❀ ❀ ❀
You had left Chenle’s house that evening with thousands of questions swarming your mind. After he promised you, he returned to finishing his dinner and even offered to take you home, but you had needed the fresh air and alone time to think about what he said. Why would he say something like that, when his soulmate mark already appeared? Does he want to break your heart that badly?
A summer at the seaside will help clear your head. It’s not like Chenle confessed to you - in a way, it was just like any other promise he’d made you. This isn’t the first time where he had been overly affectionate with you. You’re reminded of the last summer where Chenle was so hellbent of proving you how a real boyfriend should treat you, and you almost want to start crying again.
What guy that was in love with you would show you how another guy should do that?
When Chenle comes to help you pack your bags for Busan, he never mentions the promise. Like always, he makes fun of you and your bad habits, since you tend to pack last-minute every time. Your grandmother would be disappointed Chenle wouldn’t accompany you both, but it’s not like you can tell the guy “hey, stop being an idol for once and come chill with my grandma”.
It’s a four-hour-drive by train. Chenle insists on buying you snacks while you wait for said train to arrive at the station, and your best friend returns just before your transportation means arrive. “I’m going to miss you,” he says, and you wish he wouldn’t say that. It tugs at your heartstrings, since they’re tied around Chenle’s mere existence. Every step away you take away from him hurts. You don’t want to go without him.
But you don’t say that. Instead, you tell him: “I’ll miss you, too. I’ll show grandma your music video.”
“You better - she’s my biggest fan.” Chenle hooks an arm around your waist and pulls you close. You want to scold him not to do that in public, but his lips are already on your cheek. It’s a pretty quick way to shut you up, and he enjoys the way you blush. Unbothered, Chenle lets go and stuffs your bagpack with the many gummybears and chips he bought. “Text me when you’re there. I don’t want to find out over the news that you turned into a zombie.”
“Please leave the corny jokes to Jeno, Chenle.”
That makes him laugh. He grips your hands for a last time. When he offers you his cheek, you can’t help yourself, leaning forward to leave a peck there on instinct. It hurts. But you stay quiet.
“See you soon, (y/n)ie.”
❀ ❀ ❀
What a blatant lie.
When you reach Busan, several trends are already taken up by Chenle and the most recent scandal. You should’ve known. No, you knew you should have stopped him, and yet you selfishly decided against it because you did everything for just a slither of his attention. The place where his lips had met your skin still tingles, the effect not numbed by the tears running over them.
The public eats the rumors up; they’re all very excited to trash you for being close to their precious Chenle, and it doesn’t take long for his company to react. This is what you feared. This is what you’ve been trying to avoid for so long, and now it’s caught up with you.
He ignores all of your messages. Not a single call goes through. That evening, you’re contacted by his manager. He tries to formulate it as a plead, but you know it’s an order.
“Please refrain from meeting Chenle ever again. He has a dating ban until he finds his soulmate.”
The words are like a slap to the face. Your grandmother doesn’t question it when you leave the house to walk to the beach, at the very spot Chenle and you hang out at every time you’re there. There’s a bench in which Chenle carved in both your initials, and you can still hear yourself beg him not to do it because he’d hurt himself.
Of course that idiot cut himself several times. But it’s impossible to get mad at him when he smiles so sweetly at you and hugs you so tight you forget all about your worries.
He’s never going to hug you like that again.
The sea shells you find prick tears at your eyes, since they’re the same ones you used when you were younger to create the necklaces you gifted him. You shatter them inside your hand, matching the state your heart is currently in.
You curse the universe for giving you Chenle when he was never yours to begin with.
❀ ❀ ❀
Days stretch into weeks as you wait for any sign of life from Chenle. With every day that passes, the pain grows bigger, eating away at your heart and mind as you cry yourself to sleep. You tear out all of the birthday presents you’ve gotten from Chenle in plans of being rid of them forever, but it feels like such a betrayal to yourself that you end up cowering over them, violent sobs wrecking your body. You’ve never been away so long from Chenle, and it hurts. It hurts to reread the many letters and hear his voice whispering the words. Looking at pictures seems almost impossible when it feels like salt being strewn into a deep wound.
The closer your eighteenth birthday looms, the more you feel like vomitting.
You don’t want a soulmate if it’s not going to be Chenle. Your Chenle, who laughs so loud the entire street hears him. Chenle, who taught you how to play basketball despite you being so clumsy. Chenle, who composed a song on the guitar for you as a seventeenth birthday present. You’d rather die than look at anyone else the way you used to look at him.
You know hearts can’t physically break, but your chest hurts so much. With your best friend gone, it feels like someone ripped a huge piece out of it and left it to bleed out. And it feels disgusting.
In the last hours before your birthday, your thoughts keep drifting back to Chenle’s soulmate tattoo. You’ve never seen it, but you know it took him a longer while for it to appear. Usually, when the clock strikes twelve on your birthday, it’s supposed to already be there. It only takes longer when your soulmate lives far away, or you’re not the same age.
Despite rejecting the idea so much, you wonder how it’s going to be for you. You’ve seen several soulmate patters; the intricate lines connecting to form a heart on your parents’ wrists, or the balloons tied together on the skin of Chenle’s parents. Jisung’s small smiley, right over his pulse artery.
Your parents cheers flood your room as midnight signals the end of your seventeenth year of life, but the missing person is felt by everyone. Instead of Chenle, Jisung is the one to burst through the door to give you a present and a hug you desperately need.
It’s not the same. It’s not your childhood best friend of fourteen years, but you’ll take anything that eases the loss of him.
Your soulmate mark doesn’t appear until lunch, where your mother slides you a piece of cake over the table and promises to celebrate your birthday properly when she comes back from home. Your dad’s already long gone.
There’s another promise ringing inside your head while you stare at the dessert, but before you can cry over that, too, it knocks quietly at the door.
It’s unusual for your mom to forget anything. She’s very tidy, a born perfectionist. She never let you forget your school stuff on purpose, no much how you begged her to let it slide just this once. You swing open the door, ready to tease her for being forgetful, but your mouth falls open instead of speaking.
Chenle doesn’t let you recover from your shock. He pushes you inside, locking the door behind him. His hair is disheveled, his cheeks a fiery red - did he run here? “What the hell?” you gasp. “Chenle, what are you doing?”
“I ran several blocks to escape the dreamies and came here because I couldn’t stay away from you.” Your best friend topples over as he tries hard to catch his breath, and you turn to fetch him a glass of water. You’re stopped before you can make a single step, familiar arms wrapping around your middle to keep you there. How long has it been since you’ve last hugged him? You almost forgot his heavenly scent; the mixture of way too expensive perfume and chewing gum. Chenle raises his head to look you in the face. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”
“You disobeyed your management just to show me your stupid soulmate tattoo? I don’t want to be the reason you get into trouble again...”
“Did yours appear?”
Your breath hitches. For a few seconds, you just continue looking at him, the familiar teddybear eyes that have watched you your entire life. Making sure you don’t trip. Watching you get home safely. “Yeah,” you finally whisper, and you let him hold your arm besides yours.
His fingers are trembling, almost as much as yours. You don’t dare hope, but it’s impossible to do so when Chenle is right here and your heart yearns for him so much, it almost jumps out of your chest. “(y/n),” he says. His voice is the remedy to the pain blooming inside your chest. “I gave you another promise. And I don’t intend going back on that. That’s why I’m telling you again, (y/n), that I love you with all my heart. You are in my heart, been there since the day you gave me that necklace you wasted all your money on even though I’ve got enough to cover us both. I’m so in love with you, in love with your flaws, your mistakes, everything that makes you you. I’ve loved you long before I even knew what love was. It doesn’t matter what’s on your wrist, (y/n), because I’ll love you for eternity. I’ll love you until I die and I’ll love you even after.”
And then he tugs down both of your sleeves.
Despite revealing the soulmate marks, you still look at each other for a long time, imprinting the other’s face into their minds for maybe the last time in long. You think about Chenle’s laughter and how easy it was to laugh with him. The sweet, dark chocolate brown color of his eyes, how you can look past them and right into his soul. And you think about how Chenle never cries, and yet the tears spill past the rims of his eyes to leave wet tracks over his milky pale cheeks.
The pattern matches. Several points, connected by thick lines. A star constellation. You can even name it - Cassiopeia, lover to King Cepheus, a love story written in the sky.
For a long time, you both don’t move. And then you jump straight into Chenle’s arms, you almost knock him over and make him slam his back straight into the door, but he still laughs and wraps his arms around you. You can’t breathe because of his tight embrace, but you don’t care, you don’t need to breathe when this is the single most happiest day in your life.
“I didn’t bring you a birthday present,” Chenle whispers, and you draw back to cup his face. Every single cell inside of you screams for you to kiss him, but first, you have to thank your soulmate.
“You’re the birthday present, Chenle.”
The universe’s apology comes in form of a sweet kiss, one that’s long overdue since the day Chenle sent you off to Busan. This time, you’ll return to your grandmother to introduce her to the love of your life.
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carynsilver · 4 years
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Favorite Stucky Fics
Reading has been a big solace to me during this time of sheltering in place, both novels and fanfic. I wanted to put a little positivity out there for some of my favorite fanfic writers as a way of saying thanks for providing some of the stories that have been brightening my days.
Today, I specifically want to give some love to my favorite Stucky fics. There is just something about Bucky and Steve’s contrasting personalities and their “to the end of the line” friendship turning into something more that is compelling every time, and I love it. I have read many, but these are my absolute favorites--the ones I go back to time and again.
Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail by owlet.
Normally, amnesia/memory loss in a love story is one of my nope tropes, so the majority of my Stucky reading veers toward AUs. However, I saw a Tumblr post about this one, and I was hooked by the first chapter. Barnes is a compelling narrator as he figures out how to piece himself back together over the course of this series. It treats his recovery with so much care, and yet Barnes is also a hilarious and grumpy dude that it is fun to read about. There is a touch of unreliable narrator, which is a favorite trope of mine, but even when Barnes doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, he still gets to the heart of a situation in a satisfying way. This is now my preferred head cannon for post CA:tWS.
I just met you (and this is crazy) by @littlesystems
This was the fic that really hooked me on Stucky for the first time. I tended to avoid Stucky due to my nope trope on amnesia, but a Harringrove fic writer I loved recommended this so I tried it. Modern Bucky pulled me in and I fell into Shrunkyclunks, which then got me into Stucky in general. I love how modern Bucky can compliment cannon Steve, and in this fic, his personality is so pre-WWII Bucky that it’s perfect. Adding in Steve 1000% Rogers and some unexpected Tony heart are great additions. Faking dating is another favorite trope of mine, and while this fic isn’t classic fake dating, it skirts the edge in a really fun way.
Prince Charming by Brenda
Brenda writes awesome modern Stucky AUs, but Prince Charming is the best. The concept of someone who sets their exes up with their best friends is fun, and Bucky’s character growth as he navigates being bisexual for the first time is powerful. The supporting cast is great. I love the mix of Howlies and Avengers in his life, and Cap and Winter the pups are perfect. Also, there is something really compelling about both the tattoo shop setting in general and his specialty in tattooing scar tissue. And if you like this one, check out Off the Record and Lessons in Chemistry by Brenda, too.
Sweater Weather by @odette-and-odile
Another Shrunkyclunks, this one centering around holidays and important events. It starts with a misunderstanding in which Bucky doesn’t recognize Steve as Captain America, and it just gets better and better. There is real character growth in both of characters over the course of the series, the Avengers and the Barnes family get really fleshed out, and there is tons of humor as well.
food for thot by @deisderium
This fic introduced me to a new favorite trope--dragons living as humans who treasure a person. And then Deisderium turned the human into a vampire for good measure. The supernatural elements of this world feel so natural, and the dragon world is especially fleshed out in the most recent installment. Deisderium has a way with story-appropriate turns of phrases and writes thirst and pining like a master (check out deep dive and the one less traveled for more of that).
 Fan the Flame by Avaaricious
As you can tell, I am partial to modern AUs and Shrunkyclunk stories. This one started off with a funny “meet ugly” concept--swiping right on Tinder by mistake--but it has become one of the most well fleshed out, character oriented stories I’ve ever read. Bucky’s emotional IQ in this story is through the roof, and it touches on issues like PTSD with tact and grace. The chapter about Bucky’s no good very bad day made me teary. Also, this representation of the Barnes family as a whole is the best one I’ve ever read. Fair warning, this is the only one on my all time faves list that is still a WIP, but it’s worth it and chapters come out semi-regularly.
Slide to Answer by relenafanel
There should be more wrong number meet cutes in the world. I love Steve the relationship/dating guy accidentally misdialing Bucky the one night stand guy. And the sequel with Bucky fumbling through his first Christmas in a relationship makes the series.
Red Velvet (a.k.a. Sugar Sweet) by @colorcoated01
I’m not sure why I even started this one, because Daddy kink is not really my thing, but this story is so good that does not even matter. Steve is gorgeous, caring, and basically too good to be true, but what really makes this story is Bucky. He’s sweet, funny, and full of heart, but his youth makes him an unreliable narrator in ways both hilarious and delightful. If the summer vacation sequel to this series ever shows up, I will be so excited!
Not Easily Conquered by dropdeaddream and What Are Fears
In this AU, Steve survives the plane crash, lives to marry Peggy, and then, in the 1960s, a set of never-sent letters from Bucky to Steve during the war come out for public consumption, turning everyone’s life upside-down. This is a new one to my list of faves, but man, it was a gut punch in the best way. Here is the best quote: So how long have I loved you for? Womb to tomb, sweetheart. Since before I was even here at all.
If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)
I knew that my favorite Stucky fics list would not be complete without something from leveragehunters. This writer’s world creation skills are absolutely incredible. So many of these fics, I’d read and think, “This world is so good, so compelling, that I’d read it without the Marvel characters.” Amazing stuff, seriously! And the way she uses the familiar Marvel characters only enhances the worlds she’s created (and the ones she’s borrowed, too). I love so many of these, I was really torn on which one to put on the list, as there are many I revisit. Finally, I decided on If Wishing Made It So because I wanted one Shrinkyclinks story on my list, and this is a great one. The Winter Soldier as genie works so well, and pairing him with Skinny!Steve was even better. The way she weaves consent issues into the mix is compelling, and their adventures draw you in from the get go. And the all-powerful genie trying in vain to protect the guy who doesn’t want to be protected or healed is a great dichotomy. And if you want other Shrinkyclinks, you can’t go wrong with Chase This Light (dragon trope!) or And Shadows Fall Behind. And, if I hadn’t decided to go Shrinkyclinks on this entry, leveragehunter’s Werewolf? There Wolf AU would totally have been on the list instead.
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bexterbex · 4 years
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A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 18
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Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.
A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–
He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?
MASTERLIST
Chapter 18: Before the Committee
You woke up early to your alarm. Pausing before getting up you relived the events of the last two days. It was a whirlwind, and you wondered if it was always going to be like this. Shaking your head you got out of bed and ready for the day. You wore one of your work ‘uniforms’ as you deemed them more appropriate for the meetings you had ahead of yourself today. You also decided that you should put on some light makeup, as to make a good impression that you took good care in self-grooming.
When you were finished getting ready you grabbed your phone and started to head out of your room. You noticed that Kylo was not in his room, you entered the living room and Lieutenant Mitaka was there once again.
“Good morning m’lady,” said the lieutenant.
“Good morning lieutenant have you eaten this morning,” you ask while walking to the dining room.
“Yes, ma’am,” replied the short man.
“Well can I order you a cup of coffee or tea? And I am assuming you have been assigned to me again this morning,” you asked.
“I have been assigned to be your personal assistant of sorts, by the Supreme Leader. And a cup of tea would be most appreciated,” you could see relief cross his face. You reminded yourself that the Kylo that you see is not the Supreme Leader everyone else deals with.
You ordered from your phone for the first time. Unlike Kylo’s data pad there seemed to be a long list of Earth foods, and there seemed to be a list of your favorite foods in the favorites tab. How Kylo was able to do this you didn’t know, but you were too nervous to ask him.
The droid arrived in a matter of three minutes before you were really able to ask the Lieutenant anything. But you enjoyed your breakfast and the Mitaka thanked you for the tea.
“I know I have to be at the Health Committee by around 10. I know I need to arrange for transport. If I could I would like materials sent to me on my phone, about what the First Order’s current health policies are,” as you were saying this Mitaka was typing on his data pad.
“I will have everything sent to you. I can arrange for transport at 0800 hours this morning. I have been informed that the Finalizer’s chief medical officer would like to meet with you before the meeting. He would like you to debrief him on what you and the Supreme Leader have discussed on the subject,” said the lieutenant. You received a notification on your phone informing you that the First Order health regulations documents have been delivered.
You thanked the lieutenant and saw that the time was only 7 AM. You walked into your room and took out your work tote. You pulled out a notebook and pen and walked back to the living room. You started to make notes on what you were reading.
Several manuals, the biggest being 'Field Hygiene and Sanitation.’ This seemed very obvious to you. The purpose of the command, which person is responsible for what in terms of their own health. The individual is first and foremost responsible for their own health, then their immediate commander, then the medical/dental officer, then upper chains of command.
The manual went over personal cleanliness, care of the mouth and teeth, care of the feet, food, and drink, exercise, rest and recreation, protection against the elements, protection against disease-carrying insects, avoidance of the sources of disease, special protective measures, cultivation of a healthy mind, and finally rules for avoiding illness in the field. Many of these things could be translated into civilian life and so you made proper notes on this.
You glanced at the time seeing it was 7:45 by the time you were done making these notes. You decided that you should brainstorm some marketing tactics for this health regime. You made a more encompassing list that you previously stated the day before; Posters, pamphlets, video, radio, press releases, and large advertisements.
“Ma’am we should head to the hangar to depart for your meeting,” said the lieutenant.
You nodded and packed up your things. You followed the lieutenant to the hangar to which you saw the command shuttle and Commander Pyre once more.
“Everything is ready for your departure my lady,” said the gold plated commander.
You climbed aboard the ship and everyone strapped in for take-off.
“Tell me commander, am I to expect you to escort me every time I leave the ship,” you ask.
“Yes, ma’am unless Captain Phasma or the Supreme Leader is here. I have been put in charge of your immediate safety otherwise. General Pryde will meet us with the  Finalizer’s  chief medical officer. Pryde is also in charge of your safety and your movements,” responded the commander.
You thanked him and thought about what he said, that General Pryde was in charge of your movements. Why did you need to be watched or guarded so heavily? You shook that thought from your head as you received a ding from your phone.
There was a notification from the First Order messaging center. You opened it seeing a message from Kylo, ‘Good morning. I will be in strategic meetings all morning but I would like to join you for a late lunch.’
You responded, ‘Good morning to you too. That sounds perfect, I have no idea how long the Health Committee meeting will go, but I will notify you when we are done or at recess.’
The ship landed and you were greeted by the gray-haired general and an equally gray-haired medical officer.
“Hello, my lady. My name is Dr. Crale Koroban I am the chief medical officer aboard the Finalizer.  You and I will be working together on the Health Committee as assigned by the Supreme Leader,” said the medical officer. He bowed slightly when introducing himself with his hands resigned behind his back.
“Hello, Dr. Koroban. I was informed that you were wanting to meet with me before the official committee meeting. Why is this,” you ask. You were now all moving into the White House to a conference room similar to the one you were in yesterday.
“Yes. You have some background and first-hand knowledge as to the health and hygiene of your planet. I was also informed that you were quite frank when you recalled the health of many of the countries. It is this honesty that I need before we meet with the health officials from your planet. The First Order cannot afford a large unhealthy population on your planet,” said the doctor.
“What would you like to know,” you ask. The general had taken a seat on the other side of the table, whereas the doctor sat near you as did the lieutenant with the commander guarding the door.
“I know that many of your third world countries do not have access to proper hygiene facilities let alone water. They have no way of properly cleaning themselves nor do they have proper health care, this is not my initial concern. They are easier to rectify. Your ‘first world’ countries, on the other hand, seem reluctant to want to improve their hygiene and health as they view themselves to be clean and healthy when in fact they are not,” responded the doctor. “What I would like to know is what you know and have observed as a ‘first world’ citizen on the health practices of your class. It is obvious that civilians have not been keeping things up to standard and we need to rectify this.”
You thought for a few moments about what the doctor said, “Like you said, we believe we are clean when in fact we are not. It is sad when the Center for Disease Control needs to remind us constantly during flu season or during any disease outbreak that we need to wash our hands, avoid touching our face and to not share food and drink with others. Many adults fail to wash their hands after using the restroom, but they always make sure to scold children if they forget. One of the officers gave a really accurate statistic about it and honestly, it didn’t shock me. We also don’t tend to stay home when we are sick, like we are supposed to because we tend to be workaholics. During outbreaks, people fear things but don’t really change their habits.”
The doctor nodded to you and was taking notes on the data pad you didn’t notice he had until now. “Reminding people is part of their job, but I see your point. Personal hygiene is step number one in preventing the spread of disease.”
“I also know there has been a rise in people against vaccinations, they fear side effects that have been disproven by medical professionals. There are also people seeking out home remedies for things that can only be cured or treated by a doctor. I am not talking about the occasional headache or stomachache, I am talking about skin rashes, diseases, and even cancer. Not that I am opposed to being prescribed rest, fluids and a healthy diet but there are some things only a medical professional can effectively treat. In third world countries, people will walk for miles to receive medicine, vaccines, and the ability to clean themselves, but in ‘first world’ countries we seem to deny these things as a privilege. It can be very frustrating.”
This time the doctor took more time taking notes and seemed to think a bit more before responding, “I agree with you. Your planet seems to have shifting parallels when it comes to health and hygiene. Your input on this is very valuable to me. We will be meeting with the others soon, but tell me who the three officials you have chosen are.”
You did not remember choosing anyone, you had simply mentioned that it may be best to include someone from the CDC, the WHO, and the Surgeon General. This may be what the doctor is asking.
“While I never directly chose anyone I merely suggested that we have some of the most respected health officials in the room,” you said.
At this point the lieutenant spoke up, “we have the director of the CDC and the director from the WHO coming along with the Surgeon General.”
“Explain to me why you chose the CDC and the WHO,” asked the doctor.
“The CDC is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention here in the U.S. they help set medical standards and are a resource many people trust. The WHO or the World Health Organization does the same thing but worldwide. The Surgeon General is one of the top public health officials in the world. They are chosen by the president of the united states and have significant experience in public health programs. I chose these three because they care for health and not for maintaining public appearances as to how clean we really are. They would like for the world to have high standards and health practices, unlike the politicians who like to refuse the truth about how unhygienic we really are.”
The doctor nodded at this response and seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. “If these are people whom your world trusts than it is of utmost importance that we get them to agree to First Order health practices. Dr. Xero Dabrini will be assisting me in this committee along with a handful of other First Order doctors and nurses. I hope to look to you for help with any mediation that may need to happen between us and these health officials. Note that the First Order wants healthy and hygienic citizens. We want to be able to provide the health care necessary for this to happen.”
You nodded and agreed with the doctor. The First Order is a military. They need healthy soldiers and citizens. You knew Kylo was counting on you to assist the doctor in this committee and you did not want to disappoint him you were ready for this meeting. The first meeting that you would handle on your own, helping him with the First Order.
A/N: Note that this is a PSA from the Author: WASH YOUR HANDS, AVOID TOUCHING YOUR FACE, STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK, AND GET PLENTY OF REST AND FLUIDS. The COVID-19 is going around and the next few chapters will be centered around health. In my worldbuilding propaganda, there will be useful hygiene and health tips. Heed them if you would like, and stay safe from the virus and listen to the CDC and the WHO.
A PSA from your lovely Author.
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avatarnao · 3 years
Text
A Million Dreams CH. 5
Pairing: Zukka, Kataang
Soulmate AU, College AU, Roommate AU
First, Previous, Next
A03
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After the initial shock seems to wear off, Suki and Aang manage to wrangle Katara, Sokka, and Toph into their seats. Toph can’t seem to stop laughing and Sokka won’t stop staring at Zuko like he’s grown a second head. Katara won’t stop glaring. Aang seems to be halfheartedly trying to talk her out of committing murder in broad daylight.
Zuko wouldn’t mind any of this so much. In fact, he’d be completely okay with ignoring their presence while he works. If only Jin hadn’t sat them at the only open table left in his section. Now he has to talk to them and interact with everyone and Sokka still won’t stop staring at him.  
He disappears into the safety of the kitchen, if only to have a moment to himself. Unfortunately, his uncle never seems to leave the room, busy making tea and treats for everyone. Zuko huffs and stalks past his uncle to the back door. Iroh’s worried inquiry goes ignored as the door slams shut behind him.
Out behind the teashop, away from customers and his uncle’s prying questions, he can actually think a little. So… Sokka, his roommate, is apparently the same Sokka Aang mentioned in the few times he came to practice with Katara. He’s not sure if he should feel guilty for not picking up on the names… then again, he also didn’t want to assume everyone from the Southern Water Tribe knew each other… or were related. Sokka could’ve been a common name and maybe that’s just how he justified it.
Only Sokka and Katara are related and Katara hates his guts. Zuko presses his back against the wall and slides to the ground with a groan. Of course she would hate him, and he doesn’t exactly blame her but… Sokka’s never said anything about his sister. He’s definitely never mentioned being friends with the avatar of all people.
Has Sokka ever mentioned knowing the avatar? No… no, he’s sure he’d remember something like that.
Why doesn’t Sokka hate him for nearly hitting his sister? Surely, she told him about that… but Toph is also their friend apparently. Maybe she vouched for him? No… that’s dumb. Why would she do that?
And then he just… walked away…. Shit… why did he just walk away? What if they complain about him being rude? Uncle doesn’t need that sort of negativity….  
No… that’s stupid. They definitely won’t complain to Uncle of all people. Besides, the tea is already free to students.
Zuko blinks, frowning. How… how does Sokka know about this event? Wasn’t it only meant for his uncle’s students?
“Oh, Agni, ” he hisses, eyes going wide. Does that mean Sokka’s taking his uncle’s class? No wonder Sokka was giving him funny looks… wait, no… maybe he doesn’t know they’re related yet. Maybe Sokka isn’t even in his class. It could just as easily be Toph or Katara or Suki…. Only… what if they’re all taking the class together?
He jumps to his feet at the thought. If none of them know, they sure as fuck are about to find out. Especially if Uncle decides to venture over to the table. Which he most likely will the moment someone tells him the avatar is visiting.
The door swings open just as he steps up to it, smacking him in the face.
“Oh, nephew,” he hears his uncle say. “ There you are.” Zuko glowers at the man, rubbing his cheek. The smile on Uncle’s face drops. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing…” he grumbles. “Did you need something?” Uncle hums thoughtfully, perking up as he seems to remember what he came outside for.
“Oh, yes,” he replies. “I’ve been told the avatar is joining us today. You must come and meet him!” Zuko hesitates. He hesitates because the avatar is hanging out at the exact table he’s trying to will out of existence. Maybe he can just force himself to throw up and go home for the day. That would probably be rude though and he can’t do that to his uncle after everything the man’s done for him.
Zuko reluctantly follows his uncle back inside. They pause in the kitchen to load up a couple trays with food and tea, then head out to the dining area.
Toph’s howling laughter greets them as they step out of the kitchen. Sokka’s hunch over with his face pressed into the table. Zuko eyes him, curious as to what transpired but remains quiet. Uncle perks up the moment he takes in everyone sitting with Aang.
“Suki! Sokka! What a pleasure to see you here!” Uncle greets. Zuko swallows a groan. Of course those two would be in the class. He quietly sets the tray of food on the table and begins helping Uncle serve tea. Suki’s watching him with a sort of smug amusement as he places a cup in front of her.
“Is he your uncle?” she asks, mirth glinting in her eyes. Zuko stares at her for a long moment and he just knows . Suki must know too because she smiles softly and says, “Thank you for the hot leaf juice.”
“ Uncle ,” he hisses, turning on the man. Said uncle just gives him a sheepish look as Zuko presses on. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” That seems to knock Sokka out of whatever dilemma he was having. He slams his hands on the table and looks between Zuko and his professor like they’ve both grown an extra head. Okay so maybe Sokka’s crisis is still ongoing.
“ You’re his nephew?” Sokka snaps, voice loud enough for the whole shop to hear.
“Honestly, Sokka,” Katara scoffs. “Do you know anything about the person you’re living with?”
“ Me? ” Sokka retorts, turning on his sister. “How did you not know Zuko was my roommate? It’s not exactly a common name!” Zuko wants to argue that he’s standing right here, but decides against it as the siblings launch into a passionate argument. Instead he continues giving everyone tea. He wants to argue that he probably should have known too considering Katara’s brought Sokka up at least once. He didn’t want to just assume though, that everyone from the Southern Water Tribe was related…. Or that they knew each other.
“Oh yes,” Aang is saying by the time Zuko gets around to him. The avatar and his uncle are deeply engrossed in a conversation of their own. Aang takes the offered cup with a grateful smile as he says, “Katara’s my soulmate so I’m staying here with her while she’s in school and travelling when I need to.”
Once all the tea is passed out, Zuko quickly makes his exit under the guise of tending to another table. He spends approximately ten minutes checking on other customers and filling orders when Toph loudly calls him back over. Doing his best to conceal a grimace, Zuko drags himself back over to the one table he’s been avoiding as much as possible.
Toph’s giving him a shit-eating grin by the time he comes to a stop at the table.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asks. Toph pulls out an empty seat and gives it a pat.
“Iroh says you’re on break now, so have a seat.” He stares at the seat, then at Toph. Back to the seat, and then at everyone else around the table. Katara still looks like she wants to murder him but that’s not exactly new.
“Um…” He glances over toward the kitchen. “Let me just check with him first…” And leaves before anyone (Toph) can force him into the seat.
Sure enough, his uncle insists he go spend the afternoon with his friends. Zuko reluctantly agrees to the break, unable to stop the feelings of guilt from weighing on him. He’s supposed to be working today, not having tea with practical strangers. Well… Sokka’s not a stranger. He’s probably the closest to friend out of any of them, and Toph and Katara are his teammates… and Aang would probably be sad if Zuko didn’t consider him a friend. Not that Aang would say anything about it, but he’d be sad deep down and that just makes Zuko feel even more guilty. Okay, and Suki is definitely a sort of friend. They spend enough time together during meals and study sessions for it to count, right?
Now that he’s thinking about it, Katara might be the only questionable one at the table.
Giving himself over to his fate, Zuko returns to the table and takes a tentative seat between Toph and Aang. Katara sits next to Aang and next to her is Sokka, then Suki. Sokka slouches in his seat, stirring his tea with a pout on his face. Zuko gives Suki a questioning look but she just smiles and shakes her head.
“Sokka’s just upset because he didn’t know you were such a talented bender,” Aang explains easily. He leans closer, shielding his mouth with his hand. “You know, because roommates don’t keep secrets or whatever.” Zuko frowns. He wants to argue that he’s not really that good. Wants to tell them he knows of others who are far more talented than he’ll ever be. His sister is a prodigy for Agni’s sake.
“I guess it just never came up,” he says instead. “But it’s only because I learned from the best.”
“Well it just so happens that Aang needs a firebending master to teach him,” Katara chimes in. “So if you could point us in their direction that would be great.”
“I don’t think he’s taking new students right now…”
“Oh,” Katara scoffs. “So he’ll teach you but he’s too good to teach the Avatar?”
“It’s okay, Katara,” Aang replies. “I’ve already spoken with Zuko’s teacher and he’s a little busy at the moment.” He perks up. “In fact, he suggested someone who should be just as good. I’m going to see him in the morning.”
“When did this happen?” Katara asks.
“Just a little while ago, when Iroh was over here he-”
“ Iroh taught you?” Katara turns her attention back to Zuko with a strange look on her face. Sokka scoffs, waving her question away.
“Of course he did,” Sokka says. “Iroh is his uncle. Why wouldn’t he teach Zuko?”
“He runs a teashop, " Katara points out. Toph snorts, and sits up in her seat.
“Don’t you know anything?” she asks. “Or are you too low class for something like that?” Katara gasps and slams her hands down on the table. All the dishes on the table rattle dangerously. Zuko quickly reaches into the center and stops the teapot from falling over. His uncle would be upset if such a valuable set were to break. Zuko doesn’t even know why he uses such fragile tea sets to begin with, and at this point there’s no point in asking. Only he’s turning back into the conversation and Toph’s still talking.
“Iroh is very well respected in the upper crusts of society,” she says. “He’s from a very well respected family in the Fire Nation. You might have heard of them in fact since he-” Something jumps into Zuko’s throat, and he’s leaping from the table before he knows it. Anxiety spikes through him, fear sending sparks of electricity into his fingertips.
“Toph,” he snaps, voice pitched high and far too tight to come off as anything less than tension. “I think my uncle wanted to see you in the kitchen.” He shoves the teapot toward her. “Would you mind getting us a refill while you’re there too?”
“Fine.” She snatches the teapot from his hand, and pulls him close. “But just so you know, I can tell when people are lying.” He watches her stomp away from the table, trying in vain to steady his racing heart.
“Uh… Zuko?”
“Sorry,” he snaps, turning back to everyone else. “My uncle just doesn’t like talking about his family is all.”
“Unless it’s about you, right?” Suki teases, grabbing a cookie off a plate.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “We’re very close.”
“You should hear the way he talks about you in class,” Sokka adds, grinning a little.
“He’s very proud of you, that’s for sure,” Suki agrees. Zuko finds himself smiling a little despite the near slip.
“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” he confesses, because Uncle helped him through the lowest lows of his life. He was there for Zuko when… everything happened, and he was there for him afterward too.
Eventually, Toph returns with fresh tea and treats for everyone. The conversation turns to lighter things, and even Katara loosens up enough to joke around with Zuko.
By the end, everyone’s leaving with smiles on their faces and Zuko’s returning to work feeling like he’s gotten closer to calling their small group friends.
Despite the rocky start, Zuko would have to say this ended up being a good day.
A really good day.
There’s heat. Heat and fire everywhere. A roaring sound rushes through his ears. He flinches as something flies towards him.
Pain, blinding, sharp, and hot stabs through him. It burns at his flesh, eats away at his mind. He distantly hears the sound of screaming and belatedly realizes it’s him.
The burning fades but the pain doesn’t.
It consumes him until darkness washes over him.
The screaming never stops.
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linskywords · 4 years
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Hi! Do you know of any guides on how to write hockey? I know the best way is to just settle in and watch a few games and read a few fics, but I'm sort of on crunch time because of a holiday exchange and this'll be the first time I write about ANY sort of sports. XD;; Dunno if this is useful info, but it's an AU with non-RPF characters. (saw your recent meta post on RPF fiction, very well-thought out!)
What a fun question! Though I suppose less fun under a deadline (good luck!!). Unfortunately, I don’t know of any guides already in existence -- though if anyone reading this does, please pass them along. In the absence of that, here are some thoughts off the top of my head. (This is about hockey; I’m not sure what you mean by an AU with non-RPF characters, so if you’re not writing in a hockey setting, this will probably not be helpful to you. But if you’re not writing in a hockey setting, you’re in luck, because you don’t need to know any of this!)
Preliminary warning: I am not a hockey expert! I don’t watch a ton of games or read all the stats, and there are people out there who know way more than me. As recently as this year I’ve made some pretty major errors in stuff I should already have known about. So take my advice with a grain of salt, but also know that people are there to enjoy the story and won’t mind too much if you screw things up. 😄
The schedule:
The hockey season starts in early October. It goes until early April. Training camp is mid-September, and then there are a few weeks of preseason games before the season starts, where everyone doesn’t play every game; the teams are trying to get a look at prospects and see how players gel, and longtime vets may not play. Prospect camp or development camp is July-ish, but you don’t go to that if you’re a returning player.
Players don’t really get a break during the year except for the All-Star or Olympic breaks, if they happen. In the last year or two (I think?) each team has started getting one bye week of five days off per year. This year it looks like they’re all overlapping with the All-Star break, which sucks for the players chosen for that game. Other than that they might get a day off at a time but not usually much more than that -- maybe a few days at Christmas, depending on the game schedule.
There’s a game roughly every other day, but it’s not quite as regular as that. I usually write with the Wikipedia or hockey-reference.com page open for that team’s season. I tend to assume the team has practice or some kind of skate pretty much every day, which may or may not be accurate for any given team. There’s also media stuff and team events, so true days off are rare.
Players take naps in the afternoon before a game. It's an important sports performance thing.
Half the games will be at home and half will be on the road. I believe (someone correct me if I’m wrong) teams are required by their CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) with the NHLPA (Players Association) to return the players as quickly as possible, so at the end of a road trip they’ll usually fly home that night right after the game.
Sometimes road trips are pretty long, like if they’re going to play a bunch of teams far away. Some teams have an annual long road trip when some other group is using their home arena (e.g. the Blackhawks usually have a circus trip in November). They fly on private flights and will take a bus to and from the hotel and the rink.
Playoffs start a few days after the regular season wraps up. 16 teams qualify, based on their number of wins (2 points per win, 1 point per overtime loss, 0 points per loss in regulation). Non-qualifying teams are usually mathematically eliminated in late March or early April, depending on how badly they’ve done that year. There are four rounds of playoffs: two rounds within their conference, then conference finals, then Stanley Cup finals. Each round is the best of seven games and stops after one team has won four.
Teams play other teams in their division most often, then teams within the other division in their conference, then teams in the other conference. Divisions and conferences are organized geographically, so this makes sense for ease of travel.
In the off-season, players rest up, train, see the people they don’t get to during the year, and play a lot of golf (they’re jocks, but they’re prohibited from playing dangerous sports by the terms of their contracts, so golf is one of their few refuges). Sometimes they’ll try to bulk up because it’s hard to keep weight on during the season. They usually take at least something of a break from training right when the season ends, and they won’t start skating again until partway through the summer. A lot of them go to special training camps or work with professional trainers.
Worlds happens during the Stanley Cup playoffs, so players who aren’t in the playoffs, or who get knocked out early, will go represent their countries. Junior Worlds is around Christmastime. There’s sometimes a World Cup of Hockey, which is in theory every four years but has been irregular. It happened in 2016, but the 2020 tournament was cancelled. When it does happen, it’s in September, just prior to the start of the season.
The game:
If a player earns a point, that means they’ve gotten a goal or an assist. An assist is when they passed to someone who scored (a primary assist) or passed to someone who passed to someone who scored (a secondary assist). Goals are better than assists but both are good, and both are worth a point in terms of player stats.
A point per game average is very good. If a player’s at a point per game, he’ll be very happy. Your top players probably do a little better than that. Of course, this is an average; it’s very rare to score in every game, and players have point streaks and also stretches where they’re held scoreless. There’s a LOT of randomness in hockey.
Shots on goal is another good stat: how many times did a player have a scoring opportunity where the goalie denied him?
You get three forwards, two D-men (defensemen), and one goalie on the ice at a given time. The forwards are organized into four lines of three: one winger on each side and a forward. The D-men are organized into three D-pairings. Defensemen will usually play for more minutes per game than forwards because of this. Your top line (of forwards) will play close to or just over 20 minutes per game. Your bottom line might play more like 10. The top D-pairing might be more like 25 minutes or even higher.
Play starts with a faceoff, where one forward, usually the center, faces off against a forward from the opposing team. The ref drops the puck, and the two players in the faceoff both try to knock it back toward their own players. The one who succeeds wins the faceoff. Sometimes a player will move toward the puck before it's legal to do so, and the ref will throw them out of the playoff circle and one of the other forwards will have to take the faceoff.
There are a bunch of penalties you can get for stuff like illegal checks, high sticking, holding, tripping, hooking, delay of game (e.g. if the ref thinks you deliberately knocked the puck out of play). If you commit a penalty, you go into the penalty box and your team is on the penalty kill for two minutes, meaning they’re down a player. The other team is on the power play. If the team on the power play scores, the power play is over and the offending player is released from the penalty box early. If the team on the penalty kill scores, it’s called a shorthanded goal, and the power play continues. How often a team scores on the power play is a stat people talk about -- sometimes teams have stretches where their power play is terrible, and they never manage to convert (score).
The two-minute penalties mentioned above are called minor penalties. You can get a five-minute major for fighting, or you can get thrown out of the game or suspended for multiple games for really bad stuff.
There are three main parts of a hockey rink (there are probably technically more, but eh): each team's offensive zone, where the opposing goal is located, and the neutral zone between them. You can't take the puck into the offensive zone if there's another player from your team already there; if you do, it's offsides, and there's a stoppage of play and a faceoff in the neutral zone. That means you can't pass to someone deep in the offensive zone. Because of that, sometimes when players enter they dump the puck, meaning they shoot it deep into the offensive zone even though there’s no one there to receive it. They might do this if they need to buy a little bit of time for a shift change.
They might also try to buy time for a shift change by shooting the puck deep into the offensive zone from behind the center line, but it will not work, because this is called icing, and results in a stoppage of play. The team responsible is NOT allowed to have a shift change, and there's a faceoff in their own defensive zone. You can get some really long shifts from this. (The exception is when you're on the penalty kill, when you are allowed to ice the puck.)
Shifts are usually about a minute long. When players aren't playing, they're on the bench. When it's their turn to play, they go over the boards.
If a player gets the puck and has no members of the opposing team between him and the goal, it's called a breakaway. 
If two players have the puck and are facing one opposie in the offensive zone, it's called a two-on-one.
There are three twenty-minute periods divided by two fifteen-minute intermissions. If at the end of the game, play is tied, they go directly to one five-minute overtime period, which for the past few years has been three-on-three (three players plus a goalie, usually two forwards and a D-man) and is very exciting. If no one scores in overtime they go to a shootout, where the players take turns shooting on the opposing goalies. Overtime rules are different in playoffs, where I believe they keep playing regular twenty-minute periods until someone scores.
If one team is down by a lot at the end of the third period, they'll often pull the goalie so they can have another forward on the ice without going over their six-player limit. If the other team scores while there's no goalie, it's called an empty-netter.
Players wear a ton of pads but still get a lot of bruising. Which can be fun for writers. 😆
The team and the players:
There are up to twenty-three players on a team at a time. Twenty can dress for a given game, which includes the goalie and the backup goalie.
There's usually a captain and two or three assistant captains (A's). They have general leadership responsibilities among the players. The captain wears a C on his jersey and the A's wear an A.
If a player gets injured, he might be put on IR and someone would get called up in his place from the minors (the AHL, or American Hockey League). There's been a particular focus on concussions in recent years, since a lot of players have had major problems with them. There's a concussion protocol players have to go through if one is suspected. Players still, unfortunately, lie about their symptoms to try to play through concussions sometimes.
There's a cap to how much salary a team can pay out to its players in a year. This can get very complicated so I'm not even going to try.
When players are first signed, they go on a three-year ELC (entry-level contract) which is capped at I want to say $895K per year, but I don't think that includes bonuses. Again, this is complicated stuff and I'm not even going to attempt the details. Players on ELCs aren't guaranteed their own hotel rooms, so you get road roommates. Good times for us fic writers! After their ELC runs out, they’ll negotiate a more lucrative contract with their team; there are also some limited ways in which they can choose to go to a different team. Later in their career they’ll become free agents and can choose which team to sign with.
Players get drafted at 18 or so, or older in rare circumstances. Draft picks are determined by a lottery that's weighted by how badly your team did this year. Again, you can look up the math on this -- it's a limited number of teams that have a shot at a first overall pick. The draft happens in a bunch of rounds where each team gets a pick, but sometimes teams trade their picks in advance as part of complicated trade deals. The first round of the draft is televised and the players go up onstage and shake their new GM's hand and get a jersey.
Players often come up through Major Juniors, which is the CHL (Canadian Hockey League, though a lot of the teams are in the U.S.). The CHL has different divisions: the OHL, the WHL, and the QMJHL. Players get paid and are considered professional, so they become ineligible for top-tier college hockey in the U.S. There are scholarships offered to CHL players at Canadian universities; I don't know the details of that. While they're playing Juniors they often live far away from their families with billet (host) families. Junior teams are limited in how many players they can have who are over 18.
Other places players might come from: American colleges; private prep schools or even public school systems; the U.S. NTDP (National Team Development Program); or many places overseas.
Most draftees don’t start playing for their NHL team right away, if they ever do. They might stay in Juniors for a year or two, or play for the A (the AHL) once they’re old enough, or go to college first.
NHL players in their rookie year often billet with an older player or sometimes even front office staff. Partly this is because they don’t want to invest in long-term housing until they get their housing letter, which is the team saying that they plan to keep them around. Partly it’s because they’re only technically not children anymore.
Players will each have an agent who negotiates contracts and does other stuff for them.
The teams each have a head coach and a bunch of other coaches, a lot of them specialized. I don't have a lot of detail about this. There's also a front-office staff, headed by a General Manager, who reports to the owner(s). The GM makes staffing decisions as well as draft and trade decisions.
Teams usually have an official arena where they play home games and their front office has their actual offices, and they’ll also have a practice facility which may be theirs or may be something local that they rent.
There are a bunch of awards players can get: the Art Ross for the most points in a season; the Hart for MVP; the Conn-Smythe for MVP of the playoffs; the Calder for best rookie. (There are a bunch more that you can look up.) These are given out at the NHL Awards in June. And of course what everyone wants to win is the Stanley Cup. If your team wins, you get a specially designed cup ring with your name and number on it (possibly everyone in the front office does, too??), and you get to spend a day with the Cup during that off-season. Players usually throw a big party for all their family and friends.
Other general stuff:
These boys are kind of dumb in general and specifically about emotions. It’s one of my favorite things about writing them, honestly. It also means you can go as bro-y as you want with the language. 
The NHL is pretty deeply homophobic. Its official position is not homophobic, and there's an organization called You Can Play that's fighting to eradicate homophobia, but there are no out players, which speaks for itself. It's pretty much like all major male American sports in that way. The homophobia is something I really enjoy exploring in some of my stories and in other stories just elide entirely if I feel like imagining a better world. You definitely have flexibility there.
Watching is definitely helpful but also I didn’t watch a hockey game until at least two stories in, soooo you can get away with a lot by just reading fic. :)
Reading fic is especially helpful because honestly the stuff I've laid out here doesn't even touch on the details of a particular player's life or a team's traditions and history and dynamics. You can Google some of that, but the prior research done by other fans is going to be so helpful. (Maybe you don’t need to worry about this if you’re not writing RPF characters?)
On the plus side, if you don't know much about how something works, you don't have to go into a lot of detail about it. I've had some stories where I've gone into a bunch of game details and others where you wouldn't even know they played hockey if it weren't for their spending a lot of time changing next to other men. Feel free to stick to the parts you know.
Another thing you'll get from fic, which I'm not even going to go into here, is the plethora of tropes that are popular in hockey fandom. Or fandom in general, of course -- you can always import new tropes, or make them up from whole cloth. AO3 is your oyster.
So that's some info to start with. I'm sure I've forgotten a million useful things that I'll think of as soon as I hit post, and also I'd be shocked if I haven't gotten at least some of this wrong. Please send me corrections and additions, everyone! If I get enough of them, I'll post a new version later in the week.
Also, good luck with your story! I'm sure it will be awesome. 🥰 Like I said, you can fudge SO MUCH OF THIS. Most of us are here for the dumb hockey boys kissing, and we won’t care if they do it after a slightly implausible hockey game.
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gascon-en-exil · 4 years
Text
Mercilessly Judging the Men of Fòdlan: The Empire
It’s been a long time coming, over eight months in fact, but now that it may be assumed that the last of the DLC has been released and the fandom as a whole has settled comfortably into its various camps I think there’s no better time than now to answer that burning question: how raunchily, outrageously gay can the male cast of Three Houses possibly be? For those unfamiliar with this fun little series of mine, I’ve been applying my extensive knowledge and experience of gay male sex and hookup culture to the men of Fire Emblem, originally as a way of reckoning with the refusal of the games themselves to provide me with any worthwhile self-insert M/M content. I stand by that premise for FE16 - you all know how absolutely nothing appeals to me about m!Byleth or his prospects on that score - but in the years since my first outing of merciless judgment with Awakening that idea has expanded into something broader, an imaginative modern AU of sorts where all these guys are into men (if not always exclusively) and willing to put themselves out there in the lewd and semi-anonymous world of hookup apps in search of their preferred carnal delights.
A note on organization before we begin, as this material is too long to cram into one post. Excluding Byleth (as Avatars and their spawn always are for this project) there are twenty-one playable male characters in Three Houses. This makes for an even threeway division to preserve the eponymous conceit of the game, but not a particularly neat one. Aligned with the Adrestian Empire I therefore have below the male Eagles, Crimson Flower-exclusive Jeritza, former Imperial noble Hanneman, and...Seteth, because he’s the closest thing to a non-self-insert lord figure in Silver Snow and because he had to end up somewhere. As I said, not very neat.
The Kingdom
The Alliance
Hubert
His profile is sparsely filled out and his photo less than promising, but the select few who catch his eye will be treated to a courteous (if mildly acidic) barrage of introductory messages and polite requests to meet over coffee or a light lunch, no dick pics or requests for same in sight. It’s only after the exchange of small talk has passed that someone - could be you, could be him - brings up why he has kink as a listed interest, opening up a Pandora’s box of horrors as he casually shows you some of his photo collections. Asses red from whips and floggers, scrotums stuck through with pins, barbed cock rings, electrified nipple clamps, and ghastly shots of the man himself, his mouth dripping with blood over a fresh bite wound on his teary-eyed partner’s shoulder. He is, he explains, a Dom at heart - and the rougher the better. What he doesn’t explain and likely never will is that all that pain play and torture porn neatly covers for the fact that he’s less endowed and less skilled in that area than he’d be willing to admit, or that he harbors a secret longing to be Dommed himself, probably by someone close to him who has no interest whatsoever. He takes his career very seriously although you’ll never learn exactly what that entails, but you have a sneaking suspicion that whatever it is enables all those coldly violent impulses he displays in the bedroom.
Favorite erotic tea time subjects: CBT, vore, femdom
Favored gift: stiletto heels, for use on his face
Ferdinand
Within a minute of talking to him you know his full name, what prominent public figure(s) he’s related to, and where he plans on going with his life, in an overwhelming display of lack of concern for keeping his private life private that would be worrying if he didn’t pair it with an indefatigable self-confidence. The type of gentleman who expects flowers and opened doors and one person to pay for a whole date and coy blushing about going back to his place for some tea, but what unfolds afterwards may be surprising to anyone who wasn’t picking up on the subtext during the night out: that you’re dealing with a toned and vigorous vers/bottom who longs to lie back and be taken care of but absolutely will never turn down a challenge or request no matter how much it demands of him or how expertly he will be able to rise to the occasion. Long practice and some truly enviable thighs (he’s a noted equestrian, and loves showing off his album of favorite horses) let him milk a cock for hours - nearly as long as the subsequent pillow talk will be. It’s little wonder more than one of his lovers has had the idea to gag him...or to fuck him somewhere outside his bedroom once they go in and find the walls plastered with posters of his favorite pop and stage divas staring at you. Prime trophy husband material, wealthy and well-connected and fetching on anyone’s arm, but there’s no question that he’ll only be truly happy if he’s with someone who can challenge him to step out of his unusually large comfort zone: socially, professionally, or sexually.
Favored erotic tea time subjects: edging, crossdressing, fisting
Favored gift: a horse cock dildo, for his much-lauded huge hole
Linhardt
A master at genuinely negligent ghosting, it’ll take a minor miracle to actually arrange a meeting with this guy. Either he never answers, or he does but only to snap at you because he’s busy and only even logged into the app because his mind wandered for a second. Still, he draws a lot of attention from those into geeky twinks. Is not into foreplay, and can scarcely be bothered to maintain interest long enough to even stay hard unless you get lucky enough to hit on one of his subjects of recent fascination. Never offers to do anything in bed, and will in fact pick up his phone to browse through Wikipedia and Reddit while he’s being penetrated. Calling him out for his appalling lack of manners will get nothing more than a wry snort and a quick summary of whatever’s currently got his attention. Never cums, doesn’t seem to want to cum, and guys creative enough to try to ride him are often disappointed that he’s more likely to grumble that all that bouncing on his pelvis is making it impossible for him to catch a power nap. Just about the only way to fully get him invested is to get really weird - introduce him to some fetish he’s never thought to try. Incest kink, breeding kink, role reversals, elaborate roleplay...the more cerebral the better, because the physical stuff tends to put him off (especially blood play, which is his hard limit). Needless to say most aren’t up to that task, and so he’s nonchalantly left a trail of frustrated and disappointed men in his wake.
Favored erotic tea time subjects: somnophilia, historical roleplay, mpreg
Favored gift: a long-lasting vibrator, so he can stick it in and let it work while he’s otherwise occupied
Caspar
No amount of headless torso pics and carefully scaled dick pics will be enough for his ego, but encountering him in person will reveal that he’s not so much vain or delusional masc4masc as really, really compensating for something. This manifests as a deep-rooted resentment against guys taller than him or, ahem, better-proportioned, but his preference of sexual partners does not reflect his prejudices - which is fortunate for him given his measurements. Loud and energetic in all things, and it shocks no one that he’s a screamer in bed but also can’t last for very long once he really gets going. Lucky for everyone that his refractory period is unusually brief, although that leaves him deflecting odd inquiries into whatever substances he may be on (he’s clean and always has been, hard as that is for anyone to believe). Likes to top for the workout, but he won’t say no to riding a good dick. Has an unexpected sentimental side he’s not very good at expressing except indirectly, in the same way that he’s apparently oblivious to his casual innuendos. It will take someone very patient to put up with him, but the reward is (probably) worth it for the body alone provided he’s got a sufficient outlet for all that energy. Would be perfect for an active poly relationship or long-term FWB situation so no one guy has to manage him alone, but he’d have to be at the center of any such arrangement lest his numerous insecurities rear their heads. Is not into incest kink.
Favored erotic tea time subjects: post-workout sex, multiple orgasms, autofellatio (he wishes)
Favored gift: condoms a size too big for him, because even safe sex should be an opportunity for bragging
Seteth
He doesn’t share nudes, and says upfront that he’ll block anyone who asks or opens conversation with one. Seems to be genuinely interested in friendship over anything else, although he’s not great at small talk in text and would rather chat over snacks on a park bench or at one of the numerous community events he likes to organize. Is a family man through and through: devoted to his loved ones, quiet in his hobbies, and unusually spiritual in an orthodox church-going way. You start to wonder if he’s even into men or if his presence on the apps was just a very strange fluke, but he holds his handshakes just a little too long and progresses quicker to hugs and quietly intimate arm touches. Discussion of his prior love life is strictly off limits, but many months down the road when you finally get invited into his bed it’s clear that he’s no blushing virgin and is adept in the use of fingers, tongue, and cock for fully satisfying his partner. He might even bottom, although he’ll blush about being long out of practice in that area which suggests a wealth of untold stories by itself. He also may be, somehow, the only man in existence who knows what intercrural is and how to do it. Blessed with stamina far beyond what might be suggested by his age (which he only reveals several weeks into your acquaintance, another point of embarrassment for him), your encounters are far more likely to end with a phone call from one of the innumerable people who look up to him and depend upon his reliable if fussy sense of duty than it is from him tiring out. Fond of fishing, and known to take dates out to cast a line and then maybe have some naughty fun afterward. Does not appreciate being called a daddy, but he’s been known to accept big bro as an occasional slip-up.
Favored erotic tea time subjects: discipline, incest kink, scalies
Favored gift: your STI testing history, because he doesn’t mess around with that stuff
Hanneman
A polite if unassuming silver daddy, with no sugar for the obvious escorts but the cushy professional post and generosity to make him appealing to a less openly mercantile sort of young man. His chosen field is not an easy subject for light conversation, but damned if he doesn’t try his best regardless. His favorite tactic might be finding some way of applying his work to something about his date, no matter how tenuous the connection or how unwelcome the observations. Not super fit and doesn’t get out much so as the night is winding down he’s not good for very much other than intermittent blowjobs and even more languid handjobs, although a truly dedicated partner might coax something more out of him with help from a little blue pill or two...and maybe some poppers, because he’s old enough to remember when everyone used those. Despite his reputation for mildly inappropriate perving on guys young enough to be his sons - some of which he acquired in a professional context, with some of his favorite anecdotes of past trysts involving junior lab techs/TAs/secretaries/others among his subordinates - he’s not actually averse to fooling around with men closer to his own age, although he’s more awkward about it since he’s a bit out of his element when he’s no longer the only experienced voice of wisdom in the room. Either way, if there’s one thing he hates it’s sloppiness, whether in one’s personal or professional life. As a result he avoids bars like the plague and has little patience for drunks. Contrary to this fastidiousness however his advances in his career are such that he may one day do something radical and ill-advised in the pursuit of knowledge; one only hopes that the various skeletons hiding in his closet don’t come back to haunt him - with regret or harassment lawsuits or who only knows what else.
Favored erotic tea time subjects: medical kink, teacher/student, cock milking
Favored gift: consent to video encounters, for future reference
Jeritza
The kind of rough trade all your friends warned you about...except he’s not rough trade, not really. Deeply troubled and disarmingly attractive is a deadly combination, and he thrives in a medium where one-word responses and explicit pics are considered perfectly commonplace. Encounters with him are quick and rough and nearly anonymous, always in the dark and with little opportunity to see or interact with him apart from the hands grasping you to him and the admittedly impressive cock jabbing into you from whatever angle he can manage. He’s had the threat of assault charges or worse thrown at him more than once, but it’s never made him any more considerate or careful. To the very rare individual who keeps returning for more the most explanation he’ll ever provide is that he becomes someone else when pursuing sex, someone hard and violent and not at all like the person he insists that he is. This is something he ties into some deep-seated trauma, but there’s something distinctly insincere about the underlying psychology as if it were only an excuse for an abuse fetish run wild. Pretty much all of his tricks ghost him at that point, wanting to get as far as away as possible from a true crime drama just waiting to happen. Curiously enough if he ever does find a long-term partner it won’t be with the expected extreme masochist - expect them only to show up in a police report one day, with extremely gory pictures - but with someone who can match his lustful bloodlust with more of the same and who is totally comfortable throwing around death threats that at some point transform into only moderately disturbing innuendos. 
Favored erotic tea time subjects: masks, blood play, asphyxiation
Favored gift: anything sweet he can lick off your body...because it’s either that or viscera
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