#Pull a yuri on ice instead

[pinktoonie]

Of course his eyes are on Kazuki, watching his reaction to Miri with her mom, reading him like an open book as usual. He hates seeing Kazuki distraught and he knows it's killing him. But Rei stays quiet.

However, this seems like a moment where Kazuki is saying something on top of the ferris wheel, that gets quite a reaction from Rei. He's probably resigning to the idea that they need to let Miri go (which btw fuuuuck that and the mom) despite how much it'll hurt. I'd think it was some sort of admission (cuz ferris wheel heh romantic), but Kazuki is glum af and Rei reacts kind of angrily (determined?) in addition to shock to whatever he says. Idk, but

Rei isn't going to let this family go without a fight. He has something worth protecting.

#buddy daddies #Suwa rei #kurusu kazuki #unasaka miri #Don't you dare pull a banana fish on me #Pull a yuri on ice instead #This show is about change and moving forward so why the fuck would it end with all of them in the same place they were at the beginning #And don't give me shit about oh well even if they lose Miri they have changed for the better as people #You're going to tell me kazuki wouldn't totally self destruct because the fact that he thinks he doesn't deserve to be happy is reaffirmed? #You're going to tell me Rei wouldn't regress mid change after losing his reason for doing so? #Like rei wouldn't crawl back into the life he knows and go back to not thinking #Like kazuki wouldn't get into a street fight he just couldn't handle

[touchlikethesun]

one of my fav things about until my feet bleed and my heart aches is how it worked in and reimagined iconic moments from the show itself, like not that they’re the first person ever to do that ofc not, but i think it works really really well for this fic. i finished it days ago and i’m still thinking about it tbh, all those little moments. the tie pulling, for instance.

#i’m catching up on victuuri fic now #i ac hadn’t read umfb&mha or vic’s pov before #and it’s really stuck out bc i really admire how they crafted the au and how they tied back to the show #the tie pulling reimagined was very. memorable. but i also really liked viktor seeing yuuri skate his routine in moscow #i liked the use of the eros costume #i like the pole dancing being the impetus for vic realising that yuuri might not hate him #instead of being the moment he himself fell in love #there were just so many Ah Ha i recognise that moments and it made reading a lot of fun #as for my feelings about the fics over all i prefer vitya’s pov bc yuuri frustrated me immensely #but i really liked both of them they kept me up all night #yuri on ice #victuuri #fic recs

[doukeshi-kun]

𝙙𝙖𝙙!𝙣𝙞𝙠𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙞 + 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢

content ⨳ fluff, family scenario, fem!reader, oc kids: yuri (first son), mari (second daughter), karol (little gremlin)

notes ⨳ dedicated for homies in discord and especially @quansoda! we love dad nikolai and bsd dads agenda ehe ❤️ p/s, you're also the baby mama and this might seem unpolished and all lol im tryna escape the burnt-out

“Alright, kids. Who wants ice cream?”

“Me!” “Me.”

Yuri and Mari who are sitting at the back immediately raise their arms. Karol on the other hand is sleeping on your lap. He almost cries because he doesn't like sitting in the middle of the back seat. So you prompted to settle him down on your lap instead and now he's oddly sleeping peacefully despite the nauseous drive — uh, only Yuri is nauseous.

“We're gonna get ice cream?” you ask your husband who has been driving the car for almost an hour and a half now. The journey still has around three hours to go.

Nikolai grins. “Yurochka looks too fatigued,” he says slowly, just so his first son won't hear him. You try to get a peek at Yuri who sits behind you but your movement is limited since Karol is sleeping.

“Yuri, do you want water?” you ask.

“It's okay, mom...” you hear his voice. He tries to make himself sound like everything is fine but you and Nikolai can clearly tell he feels nauseous because of the ride.

Within five minutes, Nikolai stops by a rest and service area, complete with many open premises and petrol stations. The rest stop is not crowded with people, so he finds parking just quickly.

“Mama...” Karol shifts in your lap as he wakes up. You smile and pat his back.

“We're gonna get ice cream, Karol,” you say and his eyes gleam almost immediately. He hugs you and tries to open the car door in excitement.

“Kuh-kream! Ice cream!”

“Okay, okay! Don't run, Karol— Oh my Goodness!”

Leaving you dealing with the chaotic little gremlin — he actually opens the door and almost falls face down first — Nikolai goes to open the back seat door. He helps Mari to get out, as well as Yuri.

Nikolai crouches in front of Mari, fixing her blouse and ponytail, as well as her glittering purple pouch sling on her body. Yuri is just standing close to him, keeping an eye on you and Karol who are in minor chaos.

“Yurochka.”

Yuri turns to his dad and Nikolai grins at him before he brushes Yuri's hair, purposely messing it just to have Yuri pushes his hand away. “You good, Yurochka?” he asks and Yuri flashes him a regretful look. Yuri shakes his head and Nikolai nods. He reaches to Yuri's hair again, now styling it like a government secretary's hairstyle, which makes Yuri sighs at his dad's teasing.

“After this stop, you will sit at the front, 'kay?”

“What about mom?” Yuri asks. Coincidentally, you and Karol finally get to the three, with Karol hopping joyfully. Your face looks like you just overcame a war. Yuri huffs and smacks the back of Karol's head lightly.

“Ack!”

“Behave.”

“Behave!” Mari points her finger at Karol, supporting her brother but the youngest clenches his tiny cheeky fist before he bites Mari's finger. “Waaa!”

You pull Karol back and Nikolai gets to Mari. You sigh when Karol just giggling like some sort of villain character in one of his cartoons. You look at Nikolai. “He's very like you.”

“What? Darling, that's very offensive!” Nikolai clutches his chest, seeming to be offended by your remarks. Yuri scrunches his nose, seeing his dramatic dad. Without even saying anything, Nikolai knows Yuri is judging him very hard right now.

With Mari holding Nikolai's hand, Karol in his arm and Yuri holding your hand, all of you walk to the rest stop. Nikolai leads you to a cafe that serves waffles, ice cream and some drinks. You find a table just enough for your family of five near the window.

“What do you want to eat, kids?” Nikolai asks before he hooks his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt.

“The pink ice cream!” Mari says, giving Nikolai a fake pink card to him — as if she's paying.

“The choco waffle with vanilla ice cream,” Yuri says after he looks at the menu board at the counter.

“I'll take whatever you take,” you reply as you are braiding Mari's hair.

“Aaa... kreammm!” Karol.

Nikolai nods as Karol makes a biting gesture with his hands on Nikolai's hand — acting as if his fingers are dinosaurs' teeth. He twirls Mari's 'credit' card in his fingers as he looks at the menu. Swaying his hand gently from Karol, he walks to the counter to order. Having nothing to bother, Karol repeats the action at Yuri's arm instead.

“Mom,” Yuri calls you who are accessorising Mari's hair with pins and ribbons. You hum, looking at him. He is just letting Karol play with his arm. “Dad says he wants me to sit at the front...”

“Oh. Sure, Yuri. You can sit at the front.”

“But...”

“Yuri, you don't feel good sitting at the back, right? So, sit at the front later. Besides, dad can look after you. Or me, if I'm driving after this.�� you say softly. Yuri looks at you and nods — he always listens to you the most.

Mari looks at her brother and raises her body on the table. “Yurochka, are you sick?” she asks, concerned. She reaches to Yuri to feel his forehead but ends up palming his face instead.

“No! I'm not sick.” Yuri moves Mari's hand, pouting.

Several minutes later, Nikolai returns with a tray of two plates of waffles, three drinks and two ice cream. Mari and Karol are quick to reach their ice cream and Yuri knows well to sit beside you so he can enjoy his choco waffles to himself. Nikolai gets both of you the same coffee and a plate of waffles to share.

“Pa! Naaaa!” Karol tries to feed Nikolai his chocolate ice cream which Nikolai gladly opens his mouth to, only for the spoon to land at the corner of his lips, smearing some chocolate.

You chuckle when Nikolai looks at Karol with a judging face. He turns to you, pouting. “What are you laughing at? Clean me.” he shakes your arm, making you chuckle more.

“Aren't you too old to not be able to clean yourself?” you tease, wiping the ice cream with your thumb. Nikolai snickers as he licks your thumb shortly, just fast enough that the kids do not even notice — but you notice.

“Tsk. Playful,” you grumble, shyly. Before you can pull away, Nikolai grabs your wrist, kissing it before he rests his cheek on your hand.

“I'm tired...” he mumbles. Since you two are sitting side by side at the round table, it allows you to talk with Nikolai personally. You look at your husband and it's clear that he is quite tired of driving — also adding with how he came home late the night before the journey, he oughts to get some sleep.

“I'll drive later. You, sit at the back and take care of Karol and Mari,” you say tenderly, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. Nikolai smiles at the kiss, laughing softly — his laugh is just contagious, even if it's short and simple, and that's what makes you love to be around him. He makes you smile too easily too.

Not to mention, his voice is just the best.

“Mari is easy to take care of. My hardship begins when Karol wants to slop on my head like a koala to sleep.” Nikolai comments as he takes a piece of small waffles from the plate and feeds it to you.

“Well, if I'm a koala, I want to sleep on your head too,” you say before you reach his hair, brushing your hand against his white soft locks. “Soft... fluffy... and fragrant.” you tighten your hold on him, trailing your hands to his cheeks, squishing him as you glimmer with apparent happiness in your face.

“My husband is so cute.”

Squishing his face so his lips would pucker, you take a quick chance to peck his lips before releasing him. Nikolai's face is completely basked in a crimson hue, flustered by your aggressive affection. It's often him who does that to you, so receiving it himself makes him feel giddy inside.

“I love you too...” Nikolai says, slow enough only for you to hear. He cannot help himself from smiling and shifting in his chair like he just met his first crush. The sweet waffle cannot make him forget about the sweet short kiss of yours and the warm coffee cannot calm the fluttering butterflies in his stomach.

“Ugh, adults.” Yuri grunts.

“Shush, Yurochka. You can't even cut a potato.”

©doukeshi-kun 2023 — do not copy, plagiarize and repost my works to any platform, more @cherikolya

if you like my works, consider buy me a ko-fi!

#道化師-jest❃ུ۪ #bsd x reader #nikolai x reader #nikolai gogol x reader #bsd imagines #bsd nikolai gogol #nikolai fluff #bsd fluff #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #bsd nikolai x reader

[yaoiconnoisseur]

♠ Knight of Spades - Mari ♠

〈 Protector of Innocence 〉

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Ahhh I finally get to post this :D It was an honor to be able to contribute to the amazing project that is Yuri!!! On Cards from the Yuri!!! On The Web Discord server!

You can see the entire project via this masterpost! If you'd like more context for this gigantic YOI AU, head over to this blog post for an explanation of everything.

I'd like to give a massive shoutout to @arom-antix and @lines-on-ice for basically putting this all together and making this amazing idea a reality. I know Arrow credits me as one of the admins of this project, but I really only made a Google Drive and did a little research for the artists on how to format their cards haha

I had a ton of fun coming up with Mari's design as the Knight of Spades. I knew right away that I wanted Mari's design to reflect her Japanese heritage since the suit of Spades is a fully Japanese cast.

I've cut me talking about the art itself and my thought process while working on it so I don't nuke your dash, but if you'd like to read my ramblings feel free to

Making Mari a samurai was an easy choice since, one, that's basically what a knight was in Japan (albeit there was no legal binding between a daimyo and his samurai), and, two, I've always HC'd Mari as a protective older sister in the sense she'd be fairly hands off until someone made the mistake of bullying her little Yuuri.

I wanted her armor to be blue since that was the overarching color scheme for Spades, but choosing what blues to use was.. Difficult. There needed to be enough contrast between the different pieces of her armor to show that the armor is made of multiple parts while keeping the hues and brightness values close enough to still look cohesive. I also wanted to keep the blues relatively low saturated to bring our Mari's blonde highlights.

(As I was coloring her armor I realized half way through that I basically drew a Samurott ginjinka oops (￣▽￣*)ゞ)

I had originally intended for the sarashi (the belt) to be pure white, however when I put all the base colors down I realized the white was too much and pulled your eyes away from Mari's overall form. I knew having the belt be pure blue would make the belt blend in too much with the rest of the armor, so I ended up making the belt mostly blue with white accents as a compromise. I still wish the belt could have been white, but oh well.

As for the katana.. That was originally going to be pure blue, but like the belt problem, I had issues keeping the katana from looking muddied. I ended up trying five different variations of black/dark gray until I settled on what you see above lol. It was really difficult making the hilt of the katana look nice because if I went too dark with the blacks I would lose detail on the hilt, but if I went too light I would lose the contrast with the hilt's blues. As for the saya (scabbard/sheathe) I wanted it to be black, but I ended up matching it to Mari's armor instead because a black saya with a mostly black hilt somehow made the entire katana look flat.

The color palates I used for everything else was just me eyeballing her fleshtone and hair color through various screenshots I ripped directly from the show.

The background gave the the most trouble out of everything though because I'm not particularly great at making interesting, minimalistic backgrounds for my art. The card looked to plain without some sort of variation of color behind Mari, but since her armor was already so complex I needed a background that didn't take away from those complexities and didn't muddy the entire piece. I had originally planned to do a sumi-e type background, however I found that no matter what I did the sumi-e designs took away focus from Mari. Eventually I settled on a default abstract Procreate brush and drew lines until something stuck.

Overall I had a blast making this and also the borders for the rest of the cards! I learned a lot about how to format and prep digital canvases for making a card deck, too lol

#eeeeee im so happy about how this whole project turned out #i hope you all enjoy :> #yoi #yuri on ice #yuri!!! on ice #mari katsuki #katsuki mari #yoi fanart #yuri on ice fanart #yuri on ice!!! fanart #katsuki #digital art #art #my art

[lily-blue]

13 reasons why | reason no.7: their iced coffee can mend a broken heart

☆ characters: manager!wonwoo & teacher assistant!you (Yuri - ‘98 liner) ☆ genre: coffee shop au, angst, fluff ☆ summary: after your boyfriend breaks up with you in public, you tell yourself you aren’t ready for another relationship; however, Wonwoo is willing to wait until you are ☆ words: 9,1k ☆ massive thank you: to @dat-town​ ♥ for proofreading this chapter; i appreciate you a lot, i hope you know it ☆ taglist: @soobin-chois​

➼ chapter index

Getting a chance to challenge yourself as a teacher assistant had always been the plan. It was an amazing teaching experience at a prestigious university that you would have been a fool to decline even if you would have liked to work with high schoolers in the future. Many of your students were barely out of high school anyway, the memory of CSATs struggles still vivid in their mind. It was as good of an opportunity as you could get without working experience and you had always liked being a busy bee anyway.

You didn’t mind when you needed to answer ridiculous questions in and outside of class. You never complained when you had to grade assignments on top of submitting your own papers. A part of you actually liked giving detailed, written feedback to freshmen because it was always harder to guide them in person despite your seniority. You might have been confident in what you knew and had learned through the years, but the lingering awkwardness before speaking to someone for the first time often made you insecure. You needed a fair amount of time to get used to people.

Drumming on the hard surface of your old phone’s screen, you counted the seconds until the subway’s door opened and you could finally ran towards the café where your boyfriend was waiting for you. Joon had called you a few minutes past your lunch break, so you had been already teaching Creative Writing to a smaller group of students at your favourite seminar that semester, but luckily, you had time to read his messages while you had been waiting in line in front of your professor’s office for next week’s exam papers, hence all were good. You had agreed to meet at a coffee shop halfway between his workplace and the university, then promised him that you would be quick.

Relatively speaking, it shouldn’t have taken longer than ten more minutes. You had been the next one in line, you had only needed to pick up the papers and go, but professor Byeon had been adamant to tell you about the teaching opportunity at the high school where her son was attending and you couldn’t have left until you had gotten every possible contact information and instruction you might have needed to apply for the job. It was your dream job after all and she had willingly offered to write you a recommendation letter.

You were out of breath by the time you pushed the double doors open and you almost crashed into someone close to the entrance of Coffee Carat when you rushed inside without knowing where exactly your boyfriend was sitting.

‘I’m sorry,’ you apologised, but the gesture was also rushed; you didn’t even look the person in the eyes, too busy to scan the shop’s customer area.

Joon was chuckling when your gaze fell on his figure, but he didn’t laugh at your dishevelled appearance as he usually would have done with endearment written all over his face. Instead, he was staring at his phone. The sight pulled the corners of your mouth upwards. You wondered whether he was still playing with the same game he had shown you two weeks ago or he had already found another one he could have obsessed over.

Since you couldn’t see any drinks or pastries on the table in front of your boyfriend, you decided to surprise him for being so patient and understanding; thus, you walked up to the counter and ordered a cup of espresso for him with sugar and milk, two pieces of chocolate shortcake, and an iced coffee for yourself. It might have been late October already, but the cold weather never urged you to opt for something warmer.

‘I am so sorry, miss. Our freezer is currently out of order, but our manager is already on it. In the meantime, I can make you any other drink on the menu for the same price or if it is not a huge inconvenience, I can prepare your drink when hyung is back with the ice. In case of the latter, it is obviously on the house,’ the barista informed you politely with an apologetic smile and you stole a glance at Joon before you made a decision.

‘It’s fine. I can wait for it,’ you reassured him a bit clumsily, telling him where you would sit, so he could find you easier later.

Although the kind barista - Seokmin as his nametag suggested - offered a helping hand with the goods you had ordered, you told him you could manage and you really did. You lifted up the packed tray with ease and carried it to your table without any mishaps.

‘I’m sorry it took me so long,’ you started as soon as you took a seat across from Joon, even before you took off your coat. You didn’t intend to take his support for granted, not like how your mom had done to your father before he had left, so you always made sure to apologise first when something like this happened.

‘It’s not like it’s surprising anymore, is it?’ Your boyfriend retorted with a chuckle, making you frown with his comment, although you were aware you deserved it. The two of you had gotten together in January and you had made a habit of being late from dates and skipping on them altogether because of your other responsibilities. The only reason you could still show your face around him and his friends was that you knew you genuinely tried your hardest to be present in your relationship.

And he appreciated you for it just as much as you appreciated him for not giving up on you.

‘Okay, I admit that, but this time, I promise I have a really good reason for being late,’ you claimed while you reached out for one of the shortcakes and placed it in front of you on the table. You picked up a fork and sliced a small bite off it so that you could try it moderately. You didn’t want to make the same mistake you had made at the restaurant where you had gone with Joon on your 100th day: it had been a fancy place in Gangnam, but you had almost choked on their cheesecake, it had been that dry.

‘You always have a good reason for it,’ your boyfriend reminded you, his teasing wording as familiar as the furrow between his brows lately. He was right, though. You would have never made him wait without a good reason: whenever it happened, you were convinced that you either had a slightly more important task to finish or something you couldn’t have missed out on.

‘It’s true, but this time, it’s huge! You won’t believe i–’

‘I think it’s enough,’ Joon claimed, his voice lacking the warmth it always held when he was talking to you. The way he was looking at you now rendered you immobile; the fork in your hand trembled a bit before it came to a clumsy halt in front of your lips.

‘What?’

Your first thought was that Joon had had one of those awful days at work. It happened rarely, but when his sunbae gave him too much extra work or criticised his performance too harshly, he couldn’t bear other people’s happiness. Their achievements and excitement only upsetted him more and made him say things he wouldn’t have said otherwise.

‘We should break up. No… we need to break up,’ your boyfriend stumbled over his words in order to find the most suitable ones that wouldn’t have left any space for misunderstandings. One glance at his hardened features made it obvious that he didn’t want you to cling onto him and whine. He had the same look in his eyes when he had scolded you in front of his friends for being too excited about the movie you had been about to watch in the cinema and when he had told you how to behave around his family members before he had introduced you to his parents. ‘Look, I can’t do this anymore. I’m tired of being someone’s second, third and fourth choice when I should be their one and only,’ he explained and your throat closed up while you were listening.

‘I…’ hadn’t meant to make you feel that way; this was what you wanted to tell Joon, but the words refused to come out of your mouth.

‘I’m leaving then. I’ve already packed your things, you can pick them up whenever you have some spare time, but I would prefer it if you didn’t come over unannounced.’ Your eyes were brimming with tears, but you tried your best to not let them run down your cheeks. You didn’t want to make a scene in public; you hated how he was doing this to you in public. ‘Could you give your keys back now? My landlord wouldn’t want anyone to copy them and…’

At that point, your brain got too overwhelmed to comprehend what he was saying. Not that it really mattered whether he wanted you to give those keys back because he truly believed you would have broken into his apartment when you two weren’t in a relationship anymore or it was his landlord’s request for safety reasons. Because at the end of the day, you had no right to have them in your possession anymore, anyway.

You swallowed the itchy knot in your throat, but it came back again by the time you grabbed your bag and found the requested item in the middle of the chaos. You loved your tote bag a lot, it had cute cats painted on the harsh canvas on both sides and you had bought it on sale in your freshman year, but it didn’t help much in situations like this: when your nerves made it hard to do anything efficiently.

‘Here,’ you mumbled, resisting the urge to smash the keychain against the table. That would have only drawn more attention to you and a part of you had already felt like everyone was giving you the side glances and judging you for being an awful girlfriend.

You didn’t take your eyes off the half-eaten shortcake on your plate. You couldn’t. If you had done so, you would have most probably started to wail because of how utterly miserable you felt while Joon had walked out on you so easily. You didn’t understand how you could have been so ignorant of the signs. Since there must have been signs. No one broke up with their partner of one year on a whim. Your behaviour must have been bugging your boyfriend for a while by the time he had come to this decision.

It didn’t take too much time: in a matter of mere seconds, you were already drowning in your own self-blame and self-hatred. If you had been a better girlfriend, your ex wouldn’t have felt the need to part ways with you in a coffee shop. He would have taken you to a private place and let you cry on his shoulder before he said goodbye.

You were pulled back to reality when someone put a glass of iced coffee on your table and your blurry eyes fell on an equally blurry man with rounded glasses.

‘Here, your iced coffee, miss. I am so sorry for the wait,’ the man said and while it must have been unintentional, his words broke something in you.

You were an ugly crier. There was not a single person you knew who would have claimed the opposite when your shoulders were shaking rhythmically, your cheeks turned red and puffy, and your tears got into your mouth along with your snot. When you cried, you cried like a child who felt like their life was about to end and maybe you actually felt the same way each and every time it happened. You definitely felt that way when the stranger turned his back on you, then turned back towards you twice within a minute.

‘Do you not want your iced coffee anymore?’ The man asked, his question barely registering in your mind until he wrapped his fingers around the glass and took it in his hand again.

If you had been in the right state of mind, you would have realised that you had never paid for your drink and that you were acting ridiculous when you reached out for it nevertheless, but at that moment, you couldn’t think rationally. Your emotions took control of your actions and your lips trembled in distress before you could have done anything about it.

‘Or… you want it. Of course, you do,’ the man mumbled as he put the drink back on the table and slid it right in front of you.

You observed his movements with mesmerism; your wailing quieted down and turned into a soundless sobbing that still shook your body, but not as intensely as it had done before. You pulled the glass closer to yourself and took a tentative sip from the most delicious chocolate coffee you had ever tried.

The awkwardness was palpable. You kind of felt sorry for the waiter who was still standing by your table when you eventually cleared your throat and wiped the tears off your cheeks with the back of your hand.

‘I am so sorry,’ the man mumbled, who looked a lot younger now that you could see him for yourself with a clearer vision. You had never been too good at guessing other people’s age, but at first glance, you would have said that he couldn’t have been that much older than you. Which made you feel weird when you tried to refer to him as a man in your head.

You couldn’t have helped but giggle at how absurd of a turn your train of thoughts had taken. Especially because it reminded you of the very same open lecture that had made you choose journalism as your major.

‘Are you… Is everything alright?’ The boy asked and you shook your head despite showing him one of your softest smiles. 

‘I’m having a rough day,’ you admitted before you took another sip from your cold drink and willed yourself to focus on your shortcake instead of looking around in the customer area. It would have done you no good if you had seen anyone staring at you with pity or laughing at something completely unrelatable just for your brain to convince you that everyone was as fixated on your misfortune as you were on other people’s opinion. 

‘If I said something–’

‘You didn’t. I mean, it’s not just that. I…’ you stirred your drink with the paper straw you had gotten with your coffee, then shifted your gaze from the floating ice cubes to the boy. ‘It’s not your fault.’

You weren’t good with strangers; you weren’t too good at reading your loved ones’ feelings and thoughts, either. You wondered whether the same went for this waiter, too, who opened and closed his mouth multiple times just to leave you wondering and swallow back his words in the end.

‘Thank you for the co–’

‘Hyung!’ The same barista who had informed you about the broken freezer cut you off, his firm voice urging your company to span his head towards the counter as though he knew the younger boy was calling for him. Maybe, he did. You couldn’t have been sure how many of the working employees were older than the smiley barista or how many of them worked that day to begin with. Most customers didn’t pay attention to these kinds of details and you definitely weren’t an exception.

‘They need me,’ the boy said in an apologetic manner as though he owed you anything when he obviously didn’t. If anyone, you were the one who should have done something for him for acting so non-judgemental when he had seen you going through a mild mental breakdown in the middle of their coffee shop.

‘Thank you for the coffee,’ you decided to say, since what else could you have told him? It was obvious that they needed him. You could have heard when the barista had called for him. It felt like it would have been super embarrassing if you had repeated the obvious. Especially because based on how loudly and urgently the younger boy had screamed, everyone with ears was aware that something wasn’t quite alright at the counter.

‘My name is Wonwoo,’ the boy blurted out, but before your brain could have processed what he meant by that or given your name to him in exchange, he turned his back to you and power walked to the quickly accumulating crowd around his coworker.

You didn’t keep your eyes on him. You weren’t super curious about the drama, either. Thus, you turned back to your food and took a couple of deep breaths. The overwhelming sadness that stressed your chest was still there, your lips still trembled here and there due to certain bittersweet memories, but the longer you were at the coffee shop, the less you thought it was all your fault.

You were obviously aware that your break-up was more on you than on Joon, though. But he could have shared his concerns and worries with you sooner, when you could have still been able to work on your problems together.

You might have planned to spend the rest of the day with your boyfriend to make up for your late arrival - which meant you could have gone a night without checking the questionnaire for professor Byeon -, but you didn’t stay long in the shop. You packed your things after you finished your drink and decided to carry the tray back to the counter, so that you could have told the barista that no one touched the second shortcake. It was delicious, the chocolate between the layers melted in your mouth while the whipped cream on the top complemented its subtle bitterness perfectly, but you had bought it for Joon, hence you couldn’t eat it.

‘Are you sure you do not want me to put it into a paper bag for you, miss? Our bags are all eco-friendly,’ the smiley barista informed you when it was finally your turn in front of the counter, but you just shook your head and fished a few won bills out of your wallet to pay for the iced coffee. ‘It is okay. Like I said, the drink was on the house.’

You blinked up at him, bashful, when the memory came back to you and shot a grateful smile at him before you bid your goodbye.

A part of you might have resented the place because of what Joon had done to you that day, but you knew you would have never been able to hate the employees who worked at Coffee Carat that afternoon thanks to the warmth they planted in your heart with their kindness.

In the following days, you had five midterm exams to study for, a couple of more exams to monitor, and a bunch of exam papers to grade, so your brain barely had any time to rest, let alone ponder over what you could have done differently in your relationship with Joon. Since your ex-boyfriend had been your first serious relationship, your knowledge of heartbreak and how to deal with the pain was strictly based on what you had seen in movies. Yet, other than the most random waves of sadness, you experienced none of the expected extremes. You had a healthy appetite, you didn’t feel the urge to get rid of the gifts he had given you during that one year while you had been together, and you hadn’t thrown your heaviest book at him when you had gone over for your stuff.

Once you had less obligations to fulfil, however, your brain couldn’t stop reminiscing about the afternoon when Joon had pulled the rug from under your feet. At nights, when you were too tired to be productive, but not tired enough to black out, your thoughts kept wandering: you wondered whether your ex would have given you more time to accept his decision if you had chosen a different shortcake for dessert; would he have stayed if you had begged him to? You also couldn’t get rid of the feeling that you should have paid for your iced coffee. Sure, the smiley barista had said it had been on the house because of the inconvenience, but hadn’t you put their waiter in a tough position when you had cried your eyes out in front of him? He had definitely looked uncomfortable when he couldn’t have decided whether you had wanted the coffee or not.

Might it have been because your family had been fairly poor until you had graduated from middle school and your mother’s online business had gone viral, but you didn’t like the idea of freebies. They reminded you of snickering and pity, so you much preferred working for what you had and paying for other people’s food or necessities when you went out with friends and acquaintances. Thus, it only took you a couple of days to come to the conclusion that you needed to pay back at least for the waiter’s kindness for your inner peace to be restored.

The day after the delivery service had dropped your order off at your doorstep, you woke up super early, so that you could leave the package at Coffee Carat anonymously. Your plan was foolproof: all you needed to do was arrive at the shop before any of the employees and hang the plastic bag with Wonwoo’s name on it on the door handle. Even your five-year-old sister could have done it if she had been strong enough to lift the gift above her head. You could almost hear her lisping “easy-peasy” in your ears when you closed your eyes on the bus for those three stops that separated you from the café.

You almost failed, though. 

The plastic bag was already swinging back and forth on the handle, you just wanted to make sure that the handwritten letter on the top of the package was visible, when the smiley barista from that day made your blood run cold with his loud yelp. Your shoulders tensed up as you snapped your head in his direction, then quickly let go of the bag and turned your back to him and his blond friend before your eyes could have met his.

Although your first instinct was to run, you forced yourself to walk at a natural speed since it would have drawn more attention if you had suddenly speedwalked to the closest bus stop, which was actually in the opposite direction. You didn’t have the luxury to take the latter into account. You had to get away from there as soon as possible without getting caught. You just had to get away quickly.

Which you did at the cost of being fifteen minutes late from your meetup with your friend, Xiaoxiao, but the girl had been a sweetheart as always and bought you a chicken-mayo sandwich, too, at the campus convenience store for breakfast, so that you could have spent every crucial minute on your final project that was due by Friday. With your individual, packed schedules, it was a drag to find time for these offline sessions - no wonder the library was practically deserted when you both were available -, but they were a part of the requirement and at least you both took your academic career seriously.

Having yet another strict deadline in your life was also the perfect distraction you needed. So you wasted no time on useless chatters and taking a huge bite from the dry sandwich, you got to work. At that, at least, you were excellent.

On the day of your job interview at the high school professor Byeon had mentioned to you, you decided to give yourself a well-deserved break. Thus, you skipped your Adult Education lecture for your minor and wrote a list about cliche things you had always wanted to do as a university student, but never had the time or energy for.

You started the day off with a veggie smoothie that you made with your own hands, then took a bunch of pictures of it just for fun, too embarrassed to send it to anyone - especially because Xiaoxiao would have wanted one for herself in exchange for her notes (she was a big foodie) and called you out on its terrible taste the moment you gave it to her. That, and your only other option would have been your mom who would have scolded you for wasting your time in the kitchen. She was the type of person who didn’t see much value in being a traditional woman because she had hated her life when she had been forced to live as a housewife despite her husband’s incapability to provide for his family on his own.

Later, you put on warm clothes and searched for an empty bench at a park not so far from the job interview’s location. You wouldn’t have admitted it for the world, but you had somehow managed to underestimate the November weather; thus, couldn’t concentrate on the book you had brought with yourself after the second chapter. Still, it was an aesthetic experience you could have finally ticked off your wishlist, so you stayed there until it was time for you to carry your (hopefully) future coworkers off their feet with your enthusiasm.

For lunch, you went to one of those homey diners where the owners knew all of their regulars and chirped their ears off about personal matters when there weren’t a lot of customers in the shop. It was a little overwhelming - very overwhelming to be honest -, but it reminded you of family gatherings when your parents had been still together, so you finished your jjigae in a good mood.

You didn’t plan to stay out all day. You had movies and series to catch up on, youtube videos that had been sitting on your watch-it-later list for months, and a couple of house chores to do since your laundry, for example, was long overdue.

However, when you walked past the coffee shop where your ex-boyfriend had pulled the rug from under your feet a couple of weeks ago, your gaze fell on a familiar blue scarf and a boy with two heavy-looking boxes in his hands, and your steps came to a subconscious halt. You were standing on the opposite side of the road, wondering whether you should have helped him with the door, but the smiley barista was faster. He came to Wonwoo’s help before you could have made up your mind, leaving you hanging in an odd state of mind: should you have gone home? Should you have walked inside?

You weren’t sure you were ready to have an iced coffee at one of their tables yet. And a part of you said you had already repaid the waiter’s kindness when you had bought him that scarf to keep him warm. But a drink to go had never killed anyone, had it? It could have been a nice step forwards on your way of moving on.

Still, your hand was trembling when you pushed the handle downwards and your heart was beating in your throat while you were waiting for your turn in the line. With every tiny step you took forwards, coming inside felt a stupider idea. Yet, you stood your ground. Mostly, because there were already people behind you and it would have been awkward if you had run out of the coffee shop without a plastic cup in your hand.

‘Welcome to Coffee Carat! What can I get for you, miss?’ The polite question pulled you out of your thoughts, eyes growing wide at the realisation that there was no one between you and the counter.

‘I…’ you stuttered before you took a step forward and put yourself together. ‘An iced coffee to go, please,’ you muttered, eager fingers fidgeting with the hem of your coat even after the boy took a plastic cup in his hand, put it on the inox grill, and pushed a button on the huge coffee machine you couldn’t see.

‘You must love iced coffee a lot,’ he commented, but because he didn’t look at you while he was talking, you couldn’t decide whether he was talking to you or talking to himself. Were you expected to say something to that? Did he mean it as a joke? You weren’t sure your sense of humour matched his in case he was waiting for a laugh. ‘I am sorry. It is just, last time…’

‘Oh?’ You let out a surprised sound when his apology reached your ears. Disoriented, you felt a bit bad for making him feel as though he had offended you, when you were just taken aback by the ease he had cracked a joke around you after last time. Considering that you were right and he had tried to be funny. ‘Yeah. I can’t drink too fast and it tastes weird when it starts to get colder, so I just… choose to drink it cold from the beginning,’ you explained sheepishly, a soft smile tugging on the corners of your mouth when he bit into his lower lip and scratched his nape out of embarrassment.

The light tint of his rosy ears was something you could resonate with. Yours turned crimson, too, when you felt like you had said too much.

‘Makes sense,’ Wonwoo concluded quietly and you couldn’t help it, you let out a small huff upon hearing him. You weren’t sure funny was the right word to describe him, but to you, he was amusing. ‘I am not making fun of you. It does sound logical,’ he defended himself while he opened their freezer and filled another plastic cup with ice cubes. You wondered whether he should have done that first or this was the standard way baristas made iced coffees in this coffee shop.

You didn’t ask him how much he remembered from last time or whether he knew it was you who had written him that letter in which you had expressed your gratitude and asked him to stay warm in the chilly weather, but the way he looked at you when he slid the cup towards you on the counter said it all. He could have put two and two together. He was aware that the person to whom he had brought warmth with his consideration wasn’t someone else despite how the iced coffee he had served you that day was rather cold.

You were chewing your cheek out of nervousness when you took a couple of bills out of your wallet even before the boy told you how much you owed him for your coffee.

‘Anything else?’ He asked and you hesitated. It hadn’t been that long that you had eaten, so you obviously weren’t hungry, but these delicious, baked goods at coffee shops were desserts anyway. You could always find some place for dessert.

‘A croissant, please,’ you decided and chose a raspberry croissant with dried raspberry pieces on the top and raspberry-vanilla cream on the inside. You had never tried or seen anything like that before - it had a few dark pink stripes on it beside the usual, golden brown ones as though its dough had been made of raspberry -, but it had caught your eyes the moment you had turned towards their sweets, so you couldn’t resist. You hoped it would be as delicious as their chocolate shortcakes.

You wished it had tasted even better!

‘Here,’ the boy said when he handed you a paper bag with the coffee shop’s logo painted on it, his smile warm and indecipherable while he told you how much your order cost in total.

Your fingers didn’t touch when you took the croissant from him, but you felt as though you had been struck by lightning when your eyes met. It made no sense: the effect his piercing yet soft gaze had on you. So you paid for everything as fast as you could, then shoved the change into your tote bag along with your croissant and bid your goodbye.

It was a matter of sheer luck that you didn’t walk into the double door on your way out, but somehow you managed. You even got back to your student apartment in one piece, without your heart breaking out of your ribcage.

You were sitting on the floor, elbows leaned on the coffee table you used as a dining table due to the lack of space in your home, when you noticed the extra croissant in the paper bag you had gotten for free. It must have been Wonwoo’s way of saying thank you for your gift, it had to be, but in a way, it was what started it all: the neverending saga of small smiles, bashful conversations, and thoughtful presents you surprised each other with to repay for something both of you thought was basic human decency on your own part.

It was on the third day of winter break that you decided to stay inside the coffee shop while you finished your usual iced coffee with a dessert of Sooryeon’s choice. You wouldn’t have called the girl - or any of the employees of Coffee Carat for that matter - your friend, but she liked promoting their desserts to you whenever you seemed indecisive and you didn’t have the heart or confidence to tell her that at the first time you hadn’t been contemplating about what to order. You had been wondering where Wonwoo could have been as you couldn’t have seen him anywhere and whether he had liked the book you had bought him the week before.

You chose an empty table close to the windows because they were the furthest from the huge coffee bean sticker you had sat under the last time, then fished the same book you had read on the day of your job interview out of your tote bag to catch up on some reading. You would have liked to finish Rey’s The Enchanted Forest before the New Year began because you had started it months ago and you knew you wouldn’t have too much free time once the new semester started. Especially because then you wouldn’t only work as a teacher assistant anymore, but as a substitute literature teacher, too.

Sometimes you were convinced you overworked yourself and that you would be burnt out at the age of thirty, but you loved your busy schedule. Your endless to-dos were what made you feel accomplished. Wasting just one day, when everyone had limited time in life, always felt like you threw away something important. Something most people held onto desperately until their last breath. 

You took a bite from your brownie and pushed aside your lingering worries. It wasn’t that you would be a university student forever and you didn’t have too many friends to spend time with anyway. One more year and you would get your first degree. From then on, only your pedagogy minor would take up your time beside work and that wouldn’t last much longer, either, just another ten months. You could do it.

‘Hey,’ a familiar, deep voice addressed you and you turned your head to the left so that you could see Wonwoo’s face when he shot a soft smile in your direction. You reciprocated the gesture without noticing. ‘Sooryeon said it’s already winter break. How do you like it so far?’ He asked; the question a bit clumsy, but heart-warming at the same time.

‘It’s a bit… slow. But I’m not complaining,’ you said as you slid your index finger between the pages and placed the book on your lap. ‘Does the coffee shop go on a break, too? Will you be able to rest during the holidays?’

It was always interesting to see the contrast between how awkward you felt your questions were and how happy Wonwoo got when you engaged into a conversation with him despite his duties that often put an abrupt end to your talks. If you wanted to be honest, you didn’t mind the unlucky circumstances. In fact! They made each of your encounters more precious since you both needed to make an effort for them to happen.

‘We will be closed on the 25th, but other than that, I’ll be here on most days,’ he said and you acknowledged it with a nod. By now, you knew that he wasn’t just any waiter in the coffee shop. He was the manager of the place who was kind of a substitute for the owner when he wasn’t around. And that man had a whole wedding to plan, so he was less frequently around since he had proposed to his fiancée.

You and Wonwoo had obviously talked about a couple of different topics through the weeks, not only your responsibilities at work and school, but there were times when you still found yourself wondering whether you were allowed to ask personal questions and if you had been, where was that fine line you shouldn’t have crossed.

You were about to ask him whether he celebrated Christmas at all when he cleared his throat and broke the temporary silence.

‘Speaking of the holidays… Will you come to the charity event? It’s on the 23rd,’ he asked, referring to the event you had already seen on social media and of which they had posters all over the place. You honestly hadn’t thought of coming since you would go back home for the holidays, but Guri wasn’t that far from Seoul. You could always catch the last train and got home in time to help your mother with the Christmas tree. ‘We could come together if you are wary of coming alone. It’s my day off, but I’ll bring some presents to the kids, so… not together together, though. I mean, if you wanted to, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea, I’m just not sure it’s appropriate considering that it hasn’t been that long since you broke up with your boyfriend…’

You had never heard Wonwoo speak so much under one breath. And while you thought his rambling was adorable - not to mention his rosy ears -, you wished to put his heart at ease, so you put aside your book and turned towards him with your entire body.

‘Wonwoo…’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,’ he apologised, tugging on your heartstrings with how weak his voice sounded. For some reason, you hated seeing him like this. Especially because it was you who made him feel so bad about his suggestion; although, you did so unintentionally.

‘You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable,’ you reassured him and based on the sigh that left his mouth, he must have believed you. ‘It’s just, Joon broke up with me because I didn’t have enough time for him. I’m a bit reluctant to get back into dating,’ you explained, finding it odd how easily the words had fallen from your lips when not exactly two minutes ago, you had been wary whether you two had been close enough to talk about personal matters.

It seemed like, from your point of view, you were.

Still, the silence that usually pulled you into its warm embrace around him refused to bring you the same comfort. Instead, you felt anxious. Had you been mistaken? Had you crossed a line with how much you had said? Did he see you in a different light now?

‘I would have waited for you,’ the boy claimed in the end, stirring up dozens of conflicting emotions in you with his statement. On one hand, you were grateful for his approach, that he didn’t think you had deserved to be dumped because of your behaviour. On the other hand, he sounded too sure of himself, too hopeful and you didn’t want him to take your words lightly. You weren’t just saying you were busy. You were really, genuinely way too busy for a serious relationship. (Or any kind of relationship, truly, including platonic friendships that demanded more than a couple of hours of your time per week.)

‘He waited for me, too. All the time. That was where things went wrong,’ you insisted, which brought more silence into your conversation.

You didn’t think your concerns were overdramatic. You were simply cautious, because you didn’t want to make the same mistake again, especially not with someone like Wonwoo who deserved the whole world and more. He deserved more than what you could have given him at the current period of your life: late replies and indoor dates because you were too tired to do anything else but cuddle with him in bed.

Wonwoo wasn’t oblivious or stupid. He must have known that you tried to reject him in the least painful way possible without damaging the bond you had built during the past weeks. Still, when you looked up at his face, he was smiling.

‘That doesn’t matter to me. People are different,’ he reassured you and you might have been delusional, but the care he formed every syllable with and the way he looked at you like you were someone he wanted to protect made you feel as though this was his way of telling you that he would wait. That only if you had given him a chance, he would have waited for you and appreciated every date with you regardless of how short they would have been.

The weight of the implication closed up your throat, hence you were grateful when he didn’t push your boundaries more. Not that it should have taken you by surprise. He never did.

Your heart skipped a silly beat when instead of more questions, the boy put a minimalistic yet beautiful daily planner on your table. It was his turn to surprise you with a present, you were aware of it, too, somewhere in the back of your mind, but it still took you aback. You were seriously at a loss for words when you thanked him with a bashful smile.

‘There’s a letter in it. It’s like a book report about the book you gave me last time. I finished it yesterday,’ he explained and your first instinct upon hearing the news was to jump on the opportunity and ask him how he had liked the plot, which was stupid. This was exactly what his letter was about.

Cheeks rose-tinted and palms clammy, a massive amount of anxiety was lifted off your chest when Minghao chose the next second to walk up to Wonwoo and tell him about the woman who came for the job interview. You knew from the boy that they were currently looking for a second baker who could have helped Mingyu with the immense amount of baked goods he needed to prepare from day to day, but you had no idea it was a part of his job to evaluate the candidates. It made sense, though. He was the manager of the shop, after all.

After the boys went back to work, you spent long hours by your table, enjoying your lack of concrete plans for that day. You finished your book and got so excited about the sequel that you ordered it online. You jotted down a couple of important tasks in your new planner. You also paid more attention to your surroundings between two sips and bites, wondering whether it had always been so entertaining to just exist or it was the unique atmosphere of the coffee shop that turned mundane activities into something worth experiencing.

In the meantime, you pondered over Wonwoo’s words more frequently than your confidence would have let you admit. You thought about how differently you and your family members saw the world. You thought about all the fundamental things you disagree on with Xiaoxiao despite loving her with your whole heart. You recalled every single fight you had had with Joon and thought: Shoot! How insignificant they appeared to be compared to those millions of harmonious agreements you had come to in that almost one year you had spent together. Could those differences have mattered more than you had initially thought? Had it been a mistake when you had been deliberately oblivious of your differences because it had been easier to concentrate on your similarities?

Were differences a good thing or a bad thing? Where did the line lay from where too many disagreements would have torn a relationship apart?

You didn’t find the answers that day. You were also reluctant to believe that just because Wonwoo was right about how every person was different, he could have also been right about the difference in their opinion about the importance of time spent together with their partner. Could such a significant deviation exist at all when it came to human connection?

You were almost convinced that you had more questions by the end of the boy’s shift than how many you had had when he had asked you about the charity event, but you were still smiling when Wonwoo walked up to you in his streetwear and offered you to walk you to the bus stop in case you were still up for it.

You obviously had nothing against spending a bit of more time with him just because of the awkwardness that had lingered around you when you had been talking about your break-up. Especially because when you looked him in the eyes, you realised that waiting for him to finish at work hadn’t been bad at all. You simply weren’t ready to admit: just like his, your definition of waiting for someone you liked might have differed from Joon’s, too.

To you, it was more about the barely noticeable excitement of anticipation than the wasted time you could have spent more wisely. It was about the reward in the end instead of those long minutes or hours it took you to reach the finish line.

And this might have been easily the reason that ultimately led to the end of your first serious relationship. Not the number of differences you had, but the nature of those that reappeared in your everyday life over and over. Joon was too focused on the negative aspects of your busy schedule and you were too happy to see the problems.

This conclusion helped you feel less guilty.

You hadn’t had much time to decide whether you would have shown up at the café’s charity event, only five and a half days to be precise, but you had made up your mind an average of five times a day before you had written a curt message to Wonwoo about what kinds of gifts you should have bought for the children.

Since there wasn’t a maximum amount of presents each participants should have left on the table in the back of the shop where Yeseo and Seokmin were collecting them, you arrived with one for each age group they had announced on the posters beforehand, then exchanged your free coffee or dessert coupon at the counter for a glass of iced coffee.

‘These coupons don’t have an expiration date. You could have taken one for each box and used them another time,’ Wonwoo enlightened you while he was waiting for his pumpkin pie hot chocolate. It was a seasonal item on the menu along with their cinnamon-apple pie latte and gingerbread macchiato, but no matter how christmassy they sounded, they were all hot drinks and those were a big no for you under every circumstance.

‘Yeseo made sure I knew, but it’s for a good cause. It would’ve felt wrong to take more,’ you explained, failing to find an empty table in the customer area until Wonwoo tilted his head to the right and encouraged you to follow his line of sight. ‘I’ll go and take a seat,’ you claimed with a relieved heart, glad that you wouldn’t have to stand awkwardly beside the counter until the event officially came to an end.

People had almost an hour left to bring their presents to the coffee shop before the girlfriend of one of Wonwoo’s friends arrived with her minivan and took them to the children’s hospital near your university.

You shot a grateful smile at the boy when he put the tray in the middle of your table and took your coffee off it the same moment Wonwoo put one of the shortcakes in front of you. You hadn’t ordered any dessert, but accepted it without a word or making a fuss about how it was your turn to surprise him with something he might have liked.

‘Thank you,’ you said instead, only realising it belatedly that you didn’t feel burdened by the error in the unspoken order or the fact that he gave you something for free.

If you wanted to be honest, you weren’t sure how you felt about the change. You had been taught in your whole life that owing others could be dangerous; you had been unable to accept gifts from Joon without a frown throughout your whole relationship. But if anything, it only proved to you that you might have been more ready to give a chance to Wonwoo’s theory than you had thought.

You still stalled.

Even though you had a separate present for him in your bag, you let him bring up topics that had nothing to do with the holidays. You jumped on the opportunity to talk about your future plans like a starving man jumped on a loaf of dry bread and inquired about his. How had he ended up at Coffee Carat with a literature degree? Had he always wanted to be a coffee shop manager? Didn’t he seek something more tranquil like libraries and those hidden bookstores in the heart of Seoul he liked to visit in his free time so much?

With every answer he gave you, you had two and three more to ask, but you made sure to add comfortable silence to your afternoon, too, because you knew you would always have another chance to get to know him more and because you didn’t want to overwhelm him with your slowly growing curiosity. 

You also felt awkward whenever you talked so much and with that came the urge to play with the closest napkin, tear it to tiny little pieces and look at the snow-like pile intently, so that you had a reason to avoid eye contact.

‘I brought you something,’ you blurted out at one point, after your third glass of iced coffee, when there were only a couple of people left in the shop. Maybe, you were on caffeine high. Maybe, you found Wonwoo irresistibly cute when he reminded you of the consequences of a fourth glass. Either way, you felt you were finally ready.

Your smile was small albeit genuine when you reached for your tote bag and pulled a square shaped present out of it. It was wrapped in midnight blue paper and neatly decorated with silver ribbons for aesthetics. The more time you had spent on making it look perfect, the less you had thought of the book you had chosen this time, which had definitely kept you from overthinking it. It was just a book, after all.

Even if, to the both of you, it might have meant more. In case he had meant when he had said he would have waited for you.

‘Here,’ you mumbled, too nervous for your own good while you paid close attention to the boy’s reaction. He didn’t seem surprised, which made sense since he must have anticipated it the same way you always did after you had given him something. It was like… like an unsaid promise that sooner or later you would get something in return.

You held back your breath while Wonwoo’s long fingers tore apart the wrapping paper ever so gently and debated whether you should have observed his facial expressions or kept your gaze on your empty glass.

‘Is this…’ the boy broke the silence, his deep voice borderline hopeful as he reached for your hand to gain your attention.

You gulped and nodded, letting his fingertips brush aside your nerves as they fondled the back of your hand.

‘Yeah, I…’ you started, staring at the cover of the book you had bought for him, at the capital letters that said: Ready for the fall.

The book itself had nothing to do with relationships. It was a sequel of a fantasy you had never heard about, but when you had been wandering around the bookstore to pick the perfect novel for him, you couldn’t have left it there. 

‘I’d like to give this… us a try. But before you say anything, Wonwoo-yah, I need you to know that I might not be the best girlfriend you can get. I’m busy and I will be even busier once the next semester starts. I might fall asleep in the middle of our date nights and be late from dinners. I might forget important dates and…’ you bit into your lip when he squeezed your hand and a part of you expected him to say your words meant you weren’t really ready, but instead, he just smiled at you as though you had given him something wonderful.

‘It’s okay. I’m okay with baby steps,’ he reassured you. ‘It’s also okay if we don’t put a label on our relationship immediately. We could hang out outside of the coffee shop more often at first, just the two of us,’ he proposed and his consideration took the invisible burdens of high expectations off your shoulders.

You squeezed his hand back.

‘I need to go back to Guri for Christmas, but I’ll be back on the 28th,’ you said, not letting go of his hand. ‘We could… grab dinner together,’ you suggested, loving how easy it was to find a date that was good for the both of you even though you knew it was easy because it was still winter break. It would become harder with time.

The possibility that your relationship with Wonwoo would hurt him in the long run scared you, but one glance at his warm, chocolate brown orbs gave you hope. Thus, when he walked you home later that night, then said his goodbye in front of your building with a clumsy bear hug, you wished you had made the right decision.

This time, you wanted to do it right. You wanted to keep all the unsaid and voiced out promises relationships were built on, because if you had been worth the wait, he had been worth the extra effort.

➼ next reason

#seventeen scenarios #caratwritersclub #wonwoo x reader #wonwoo x you #wonwoo #ssbyme #seventeen series #angst #fluff #coffee shop au

[dekusleftsock]

Omg the amount of people who used to love Toga as a cute yandere waifu they could occasionally ship with Deku and enjoy in sexualised (but totes not gay!!!) fanart who are hating her now that she actually has a genuine shot to be with another girl… Also how is she more problematic now that we know she isn’t actually a bloodthirsty serial killer and has really only killed in self defense than when we all believed she just murdered people for funsies? Any anti Toga people want to explain That one to me?

Yeah it’s absolutely baffling the claims I’m seeing bro idfk what awoke in people after these chapters.

Tiktok is kinda being its normal stupid self, not even trying to think about the characters at all in any sort of way outside of “izu//ocha being canon”

Tumblr is tumblr. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Twitter is the interesting mixed bunch. People coming out of everywhere, in this fandom or not, watching with VERY curious eyes as to whether this was actually gonna happen or not. Those people can have wild opinions from “this is never gonna happen it’s a shonen get over yourselves” and “omg are you guys gonna have your own yuri on ice moment?” I also happened to go into an mha discord server when 393’s leaks came out, and it was mostly people complaining that horikoshi is trying “so hard” to make toga sympathetic. People who just hate toga bc she’s toga pulling the dumbest claims out their asses. It’s interesting how, every time there’s a gay chapter, there seems to be a loud minority that likes to make fun of it, talk down on a certain character (toga or bakugou), make claims that it’s not gay before anyone even SAYS ITS GAY.

All of my friends who aren’t really into mha all that much were also celebratory with me when these leaks came out. (Except zay and lends so sillay we’ve been having a party)

I think it’s less about anything to do with her being into blood or whatever other bullshit they keep on trying to claim, and probably (most definitely) about the fact that a queer woman isn’t suffering. She isn’t “getting the consequences she deserves” or whatever. What they’re ACTUALLY mad about is that it’s not a queer tragedy. Imo at least.

There’s always exceptions but damn, the second a character is unconventionally relatable instead of so evil you can’t even comprehend it happening irl, you suddenly hate a characters flaws! Wow! It’s almost like they’re made to be flaws!

#togachako #himiko toga #toga himiko

[prongsfootandco]

On Love

Day 28 of @prongsfoot-microfic

AN: Yuri on Ice references (I don't know much else about ice skating. Don't judge me)

On AO3

_

James landed on the ice, his hands hitting the frozen floor as he skates slid out elegantly behind him. His hand was bowed, hidden from the audience behind a shock of dark brown hair, and he was panting hard. It all came down to this routine. He was either the gold medalist of the grand prix, or he’d come in second with silver. Well, unless he’d completely flopped… 

Had he?

The whole free skate was a bit of a blur even though he’d just skated. He couldn’t remember what jumps he’d done, but he was pretty sure he’d done something stupid. There was just a distinct feeling of recklessness, adrenaline rushing through him and he closed his eyes to try and drown out the applause, retracing his steps in his mind. He’d pushed his quad salchow into the second half of the routine for more points, directly going against his coach Alastor Moody’s advice, but he’d swapped it for a double axel into a loop combo in the first half instead of a triple… so hopefully, he’ll be off the hook. 

His step sequences… happened? Probably. He wasn’t sure, but he hadn’t fallen so that was a good sign. 

Oh.

He’d gone for the quad Lutz. 

At the very end of his routine. 

Sirius’ jump. 

Fuck. 

James got to his feet, his face red as he peered out at the crowd. He hated wearing his contacts, but at that moment he was glad for them. There was no way he would have been able to see anyone in the crown without his contacts. He bowed halfheartedly, faking a smile and a wave as he glided over to pick up a bunch of lilies. 

Always the lilies. 

You say one thing in an interview and then you’re hounded by Lilies for the rest of your career. But Lily Evans was the last thing on his mind now. He was looking for the French skater, his rival, his lover, his Sirius. 

Their relationship was private, mostly at the behest of both their PR teams, but Sirius was retiring this year and James was so fucking tired of hiding. He didn’t care that their “rivalry” was massive viewer bait, he hadn’t seriously considered Sirius his rival since they were twenty, after one rather memorable night out in Barcelona. 

But adding the quad Lutz to his routine like that, right at the end when he was most fatigued… that was a declaration in skater speech. Anyone who knew anything would know. It was a love letter, a poem, a vow. 

Finally, he spotted Sirius running towards the edge of the ice, and then he was on the ice, skates forgotten. James grinned and skated gracefully towards his boyfriend, his arms opened wide. When Sirius reached him, he launched into James’ arms, crashing their lips together as they tumbled back onto the ice below. 

When they pulled apart, Sirius cupped James’ cheek, beaming like the sun. 

Gold, silver, bronze. It didn’t matter. 

James had Sirius. 

#prongsfoot #bambibelle #james potter #sirius black

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @clotpolesonly 💜

How many works do you have on AO3?

Officially it is 2,434 fics but probably 4-6 more fics under anon. I will eventually de-anon those but I'm not right now,,,, 👀👀👀

What’s your total AO3 word count?

2,912,560 words.

What fandoms do you write for?

I have written for 489 fandoms so far but I collect fandoms like Pokemon so I'm sure the number will be up in the end of 2023, hehe. I will list the top ten fandoms though I have done so far:

DCU (222)

Merlin (TV) (180)

Marvel (132)

Game of Thrones (TV) (125)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (111)

Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime) (108)

Voltron: Legendary Defender (97)

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (96)

Young Justice (Cartoon) (82)

Stranger Things (TV 2016) (77)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

2,699 kudos -- Take Me Up (G-rated, Knights of the Round Table & Merlin + Merlin & Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin)

Excalibur acts like Thor's Hammer - only for the worthy. Magic prevents others from grasping it.

2,105 kudos -- Sleepless In New York (No Rating, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Banana Fish - Anime & Manga)

Ash goes missing and Shorter discovers him taking care of a sick Eiji. It makes sense why Ash hasn’t contacted anyone. Or bothered to glance at his messages. Ash’s head gets fuzzy when it comes to Eiji, Shorter realizes once more. That’s what happens with love.

1,722 kudos -- Belonging (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin - warnings for mentions of underage and noncon)

“I’ll be fine here,” Merlin insists, upright and curled in the dark, velvet blankets. He’s naked as sin, beautiful with morning-light in his thick, sable hair, his nipples exposed to cold air. “You’ll only be away for a season, maybe half.”

1,688 kudos -- A Matter of the Heart (E-rated, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! on Ice - warnings for mentions of violence)

If there's a single thing Yuuri can't get enough of—it's Viktor's attention. People want it. The letters from Viktor's fans beg for it, for a photo or an autograph, for him to respond. One of Viktor's most ruthless stalkers attacks Yuuri in broad daylight.

1,615 kudos -- It Was Only You (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin)

Looking across the playing field, Arthur dripping with sweat and mud, knocking away the ball from the other footie team, Merlin feels the pull. It starts at his belly, from the centre of his navel, and radiates pleasantly to every nerve-end.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love to respond to comments and talk and possibly make more writer friends! 😊 And I also wanna respect boundaries with commenters so I implemented a new idea: If you comment with a certain emoji, I will leave your comment as it is and not respond. It has been a GREAT decision for the people who admitted they're shy.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

OHHHHHH GOD. THE FIRST ONE I THINK OF IS THE LAST HOURS (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin) WHERE THEY DIE IN THE END BC THEY ARE ON VACATION IN AUSTRALIA WHEN AN ASTEROID HITS EUROPE AND THERE'S A FIRESTORM COMING. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE READ THO. IT'S A FAVE OF MINE.

I do wanna say that Bereavement (T-rated, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Harry Potter) where Harry, instead of Sirius, falls through the veil and No Matter What Happens, You'll Return To Me (T-rated, Porsche & Porchay + Porsche/Kinn + Porchay/Kim, Kinnporsche (TV)) where Kim dies bc of a random act of cruelty by a stranger and Porchay overdoses on sleeping pills and it's all in Porsche's POV,,, those are very strong competitors for the #1 spot of angsty endings.

no no I'm sorry,,, no it's definitely Devil's Side (T-rated, Lord Asriel & Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials) because I cannot explain to how fucked up that story got me and basically everyone I inflicted that on

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ohhhhh god this one is harder ASJSDJ,,,, if I'm picking a fic with angst, Up In Smoke (T-rated, Korra/Asami Sato, Avatar: Legend of Korra) has a satisfying ending after a group of people burn down the Sato residency and Asami grieves,,,, but if I'm picking a fic that is fluff and has an ending I like, then Pulled From The Wreckage (No Rating, Aziraphale/Crowley, Good Omens (TV)) because I'm love them.

Do you get hate on fics?

Oh most definitely. It's happened. Either some mfer didn't read the tags I got up and they got something smart to say,,,, or is a ship hater🥱,,,, or leaves poorly masked constructive criticism,,,,,

When I do think of AO3 hate I've gotten, I do think about the time I posted a Bellamy/Clarke & Clarke/Lexa vee-relationship poly fic from The 100 tv show where both shipping fandoms showed their own asses in the comments. (And I would do it again to laugh at them.) Or I think about the guy who came onto my Merthur fic where Arthur had terminal cancer and he practiced safe consensual sex (like some of the most consensual I've ever written) and called Arthur 'a whore' because it wasn't enough Merthur sex going on in my fic??? Like you gotta be out of your goddamn mfing mind to do that nonsense.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I got 505 explicit rated fics and they're 99.9% full of smut! Mostly the smut is between OTPs/ships I like, but sometimes it's just because! I gonna recommend three smut fics of mine just for shits and grins:

Don't Fall In Love So Madly With The Night (Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac, AMC's Interview with the Vampire + Novel Canon, 666 words - warnings for graphic content)

Louis anguishes over consuming his own flesh-and-blood, and Lestat dotes. Because Lestat enjoys it.

Come And Get It (Loki/Sylvie, Loki (TV), 3902 words)

Loki and Sylvie wind down, hopping from apocalypse to apocalypse, by trying to kick each other's ass.

Hold Me Close (Padmé Amidala/Sabé & Padmé Amidala/Eirtaé/Rabé/Sabé/Saché/Yané, Star Wars, 1000 words)

Padmé has no immediate recollection of the Festival of Light, long after dusk, save for the matter of too much scentwine — purplish in quality and strong with its bright, floral aroma. She wakes among her handmaidens, come morning light, savoring their conversation and heat and presence.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not very often! But they do happen! I've done J. Robert Oppenheimer/Barbie (BARBENHEIMER!) with An Old Friend and Part II Ellie Williams meeting HBO TV series!Ellie Williams with Me, You, Us and Prince Charming from Disney's Snow White/Prince Phillip from Disney's Sleeping Beauty with Love's First Kiss and Emily from Corpse Bride/Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas with Butterfly Bush and then I did something kinda cool in The Autopsy of Jane Doe/The Witch crossover with Long, Long Ago!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

AND THAT'S WHY I FUCKING HATE WATTPAD. YOU EVER SEEN MY ACCOUNT ON WATTPAD? I AM THERE TO HUNT PPL DOWN. I THINK I MADE TWO ACCOUNTS JUST IN CASE. AAAAAAAAAA.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! I have had a couple of bad experiences with people asking to translate my fics so I'm a little wary now but,,,,, yeah there's a few.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Me and @glove23 have cowritten fics! It's So Goodbye Until Tomorrow! There's also The Lie Of Living, The Truth In Wanting! I'm a terrible and temperamental cowriter sometimes, I'm sorry ☹️

What’s your all time favourite ship?

SHRUGS. IT CAN CHANGE OVER TIME. I'm gonna say Peter Pan/Wendy Darling though. Easily you're gonna get me with that.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

If you were ever holding out for an update on Fate's Design, Facing the Darkness, or Game, Set, Match then oops.

What are your writing strengths?

SHRUGGGSSSS. I just think through experience probably and writing as much as I have, I've mastered some kind of writing style? Or at least my rhythm in it? I know I put a lot of detail into what I'm writing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I could be doing more with expanding on parts and structurally setting scenes up. Like I can SEE where I can improve and I wanna.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Eh. I've done it.

First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter?

Favourite fic you’ve written?

THAT'S HAAAAAAARD. I HAVE TOO MANY FICS.

You know what, if you wanna get on my good side, just talk to me about anything out of Your Childhood Cishets, Now WLW/MLM ashsdsahjsaj the entire thing is my ongoing and beloved project

---

Tagging @glove23 @merlinsbed @onestrangenovelist @greyisbetterthangray @rapha-reads @divorcedmalewife and literally if you got some fics on AO3, this is an open invite to do this!

(Blank question format inside!)

20 questions for fic writers!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

#about rie

[glassofspoiledmilk]

Going Gold | Yuri P.

Chapter 2 - queasy | TW language

I awoke to my alarm clock ringing. I tiredly turned it off and stood up.

I remembered I had training early in the morning, so I quickly put on my black athletic leggings and a black zip up jacket. I walked into the bathroom I shared with Yuri and quickly brushed my teeth. Afterwards I pulled my hair back and threw on some sneakers. I walked down the stairs to see Yuri in the kitchen on his phone. He was eating pancakes and looked extremely unhappy. He had his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and had on his tiger t shirt with black leggings.

"So you finally decided to get up, jeez no wonder your always late to practice" he teased.

I fought the urge to snap back at him and grabbed a plate and put pancakes on it instead. They were surprisingly good. Yuri and I sat in silence on our phones until Lilia burst into the kitchen. "Why are neither of you done eating I said specifically to be in the ballet studio by 7:00 Am sharp and neither of you did so" she said angrily.

"What are you waiting for let's go" she added.

Yuri and I awkwardly stood up and followed her into the ballet studio. Neither of us dared to say a word in fear that Lilia might scream at us.

Once we got to the studio she had us do a pretty basic warm up. Afterwards it was like hell, if we so much as breathed the wrong way she'll yell at us and have us redo our dance. After that we had a break for a few hours until we had our skating session. I was laying down on my bed until I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in" i yelled.

to my surprise, Yuri opened the door.

"Hey I wanted to know if you wanted to go shopping with me after skating, I need new clothes and I don't know what matches" Yuri said sounding very annoyed.

"Why do I have to do it" i asked.

"Because I asked Lilia if I could go and buy new clothes and she said I had bad taste and to come ask you to go with me" he said getting even more annoyed.

"Ok fine I'll come with you" i replied, laughing a little.

"K thanks" he said, shutting the door.

Later I was called downstairs for the on ice training session. I grabbed my skates and headed for the the living room. I flew down the stairs and saw Yuri,Yakov, and Lilia standing at the door.

"Ready to leave?" Lilia asked me.

"Yup" I replied

"Let's go then" she added, opening the door.

We walked out of the house and into Lilia's very fancy car. I opened the side door and got into the back, Yuri sitting next to me. I put on my seatbelt and Lilia started driving. The ride was silent, as expected.

About 15 minutes later we arrived at the rink. I exited the car and walked through the glass doors of the ice rink. Yuri and I walked over to the benches and quickly laced up our skates. I walked over to the ice and put my guards on the ground next to the door. I skated out onto the ice where Yakov stood, and Yuri followed shortly after.

"I want both of you to run through the jumps in your program and once your warmed up we'll start running through the full thing" yakov said dismissing us to practice.

I went on the side opposing Yuri and immediately started practicing. The jumps in my program were a quad toe loop, triple toe loop, quad lutz, triple axel and a triple flip. I wish I could put more quads in but yakov said only two for right now. I started off with the quad toe loop and triple toe loop combination to get it out of the way. I fell a few times, but I soon started consistently landing it. Then I went onto the quad lutz, then the triple flip, and lastly I did my triple axel. After a good twenty minutes of jump practice yakov called us back to the center.

"It's time for you to perform your programs, and because your Grand Prix assignments will be announced soon I will be giving much harsher criticism" he said.

I wasn't really worried because I didn't think yakov could give any harsher criticism than he already does.

"Yuri your up first" yakov said.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO GO FIRST" he complained.

"BECAUSE I SAID SO NOW GO" yakov screamed.

I turned around and quickly skated off the ice hoping yakov wouldn't catch me as I tried to hold in my laughter. I took a deep breath and turned back towards the ice. Yakov was standing against the sides of the rink and Yuri was in his starting position. Yakov turned on the music, and I couldn't help but watch. He started skating, it was a lot different from the hot springs on ice event. I could tell he had been working on it a lot more. The way he moved to the music was so mesmerizing and graceful.

I looked away and my stomach started feeling weird so I sat down decided to tie my skates tighter. I took deep breaths to try and calm myself down but that wasn't working.

Not much later Yuri finished his program and yakov was talking to him about something. After his talk with yakov Yuri came off the ice and walked over to me. "Why is your face so red, are you ok?" Yuri asked with a confused look on his face.

My stomach starting feeling even more weird so I just said "yeah I'm fine..I just need to use the bathroom."

“I bet your just jealous because you know im better than you” he says.

I scowled at got up from my seat and ran into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and saw my face, bright red. I ran my face under cold water and finally calmed myself down. I walked out and told yakov I was ready. I skated out onto the ice and got into position.

I was about to kick Yuris ass.

#yuri on ice #figure skating #fluff imagine #grand prix #oneshots #victuuri #x reader #yuri plisetsky x reader #yurio plisetsky

[diedraechin]

Sneak peek time? Sneak peek time...

Nope, Io is still not done editing. He's still recovering. But why not have a little something to tide you all over in the meantime. Let's take a little break from Japan and see how things are going in Saint Petersburg, shall we?

Yuri ran from the rink entrance straight to Yakov’s office and barged in without knocking. The coach just sighed and looked up from his pile of paperwork.  

“What did Viktor do now?”

“I don’t know l, and I don’t care!” Yuri shoved his phone with the Instagram post from the night before in Yakov’s face. “HOW DID YURA DO THAT?!”

Yakov plucked the phone out of Yuri’s hand and held it out to look at the screen before taking a deep breath and handing it back. “With his skates, I presume.”

Why everyone thought that he was stupid was beyond him. “I know that! BUT HOW! That’s not possible!”

Yuri still had never seen anything more disturbing than Yakov smiling; the man was born to frown. “It is, but not for you.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Yuri huffed. Not possible for him? He glared. “Teach me. Now.”

“I can’t.” Yakov leaned back into the old creaky wooden desk chair that had probably been the same since he’d taken over the rink when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Yuri absolutely despised how smug the coach looked.

“WHY NOT?!”

“For starters your edges aren’t deep enough, you don’t have enough control over them, you need to learn to work your knees better, you–”

“THAT’S THE STUFF YOU TELL ME WHEN I ASK HOW TO GET MY SKATING SKILLS SCORE HIGHER! I want you to teach me how he made the sun!” Yuri did his best not to stomp his foot and just clenched his hands into fists at his side in frustration.

If Yakov noticed, he didn’t show it. Instead when he spoke, his voice had that edge of patronizing that Yuri hated even if the geezer only did it when Yuri was being particularly stubborn or dense. “Did you think there was no point to skating skills besides how to make your crossovers fast?”

“Step sequences, I guess?” Yuri huffed.

Yakov just sighed and shook his head. “Come and get me when the ice is being resurfaced. I’m not going to bother to try and figure out how he did that one, but I can show you the techniques he used with a different design.” 

“Really?!” Truth be told, Yuri hadn’t actually thought he’d be able to convince his coach to show him how to do something so frivolous. Weird.

“Really. Now get lost and get ready to skate.” Yakov turned away from Yuri dismissing him, and Yuri barely caught the “if it turns out Cialdini has a point I am going to eat my hat.”

Turning on his heel, Yuri jogged back out of the office and collected his bag from where he dropped it before getting ready. 

“You’re late.” Katya was looking down at him as he pulled on his skates.

“I needed to ask Yakov something. When is the ice due to be resurfaced?”

She sucked in a breath against her teeth in a tsk. “Thirty minutes. Why?”

“None of your business!”

Fifty minutes later, no one had stepped onto the fresh ice and Yakov skated out to one of the Lutz corners and then growled at Yuri to watch. The old coach went from a standstill to moving, looping and turning on a single blade with just a bend of his knee or ankle and rarely changing feet like he was some weird skating wizard.

Next to Yuri, Viktor leaned his elbows on the boards and whined. “I miss Yura. Watching Yakov skate like this just isn’t the same. It’s all wrong.”

#yuri on ice #viktor nikiforov #yuri plisetsky #bysoti(d) #bear your soul on the ice #yoi fanfic #sassy writes #It's time for some FIGURE skating #I wonder why Yuuri skated a sun............................ #Something must be on his mind....

[enchantingjacarandas]

Ice Skating

Pairing: Lee Know | Minho / Seungmin

Tags: Established Relationship, Slice of Life, Jealousy, Not K-pop Idols, Arguing, Ice Skating

Other Sites to Read on: Ao3 or Wattpad

Word Count: 1,404

A/N: This was my first fanfic that I ever wrote. Of course I re-edited it before posting, but I thought I would start my Tumblr fanfic journey the same way I as I did, when I first started. Hopefully you'll enjoy!! <3

“Ughh I’m so bored,” Seungmin spoke exasperated. To cure his boredom he decided instead of talking to himself he should try to figure out where his boyfriend was. Searching around the house he finally found Minho sitting in front of the TV watching anime. More specifically, he was watching Yuri on Ice. Then an idea popped into Seungmin's head. 

“We should try that,” he stated, pointing at the television.

“Getting rings together?” Minho was thoroughly confused. Seungmin simply rolled his eyes, his boyfriend always made it so hard to not smack him upside the head.

“No, I mean we should try ice skating, it’s been a while since we did something new for date night.” After he didn’t hear an immediate response he added, “It could be fun.”

“You wanna ice skate?” Minho looked him up and down. His boyfriend was cute yet so naive. 

Seungmin gave an oblivious nod, “I heard there’s one at the mall”.

Minho chuckled saying, “Alright”.

“Come on, this was your idea.” Minho said while watching his boyfriend starting to fall once again. Minho quickly went to his side to save him from getting hurt.

“I know what I said, I just didn’t expect it to be this hard!” Seungmin pouted looking into his hyung's eyes for comfort. Having seen his boyfriend being so sulky made it hard for Minho not to carry him bridal style away from everyone else. To somewhere more private, just the two of them. Minho had almost gotten completely consumed by his daydream, when the sight of Seungmin’s eyes sparkling from the fairy lights around the ice rink started to slowly pull him back to reality. However, on Seungmin’s side of things it seemed that his boyfriend lacked any empathy so he pushed Minho away.

“I know what I said, I just didn’t expect it to be this hard!” Seungmin pouted looking into his hyung's eyes for comfort. Having seen his boyfriend being so sulky made it hard for Minho not to carry him bridal style away from everyone else. To somewhere more private, just the two of them. Minho had almost gotten completely consumed by his daydream, when the sight of Seungmin’s eyes sparkling from the fairy lights around the ice rink started to slowly pull him back to reality. However, on Seungmin’s side of things it seemed that his boyfriend lacked any empathy so he pushed Minho away.

“I’ll figure it out myself. Just keep going around, showing off to everyone!” Seungmin was done with his boyfriend being so perfect at everything meanwhile he looked like an idiot falling down so much. Minho rolled his eyes at Seungim’s statement.

“Are you sure?” Minho leaned in closer, “you know, it’s safer to have me close so you won’t get hurt”. He hoped putting the moves on Seungmin would make him rethink his words.

“What do you know about getting hurt, just go already!” Seungmin was tired of the lecture coming from Minho, and just wanted to be alone to prove him wrong. Minho, not wanting to start a fight in public, decided it was for the best that he just skate somewhere else before his boyfriend would explode at him. He was still ready to tell Seungmin I told you so when he would inevitably fall again.

Seungmin, now that he was alone on the ice, was quickly regretting his words. “Why did I have to push him away? Now I look even more stupid not knowing how to skate all by myself.” He thought. He decided to head towards the wall of the rink so he could have at least some stability to try to improve his skill. Yet, the attempt almost ended with disaster when his skates betrayed him, they started to move faster than his body. He closed his eyes and was prepared to fall flat on the ground, yet he hadn’t hit the ice rink’s floor. 

Feeling arms around him he expected it to be his boyfriend, but was stunned when it was a man he’d never meant before was holding him. Seungmin quickly tried to get up and move away from the stranger, but that only seemed to make things worse. He started to lean away, but his head was heading for the ground once again. The stranger moved to Seungmin’s side to support him, seeing as maybe he had gotten too close for Seungmin’s comfort the first time around.

“Hey, let’s get you to the wall,” said the stranger.

“Ah thanks, I was trying to get here,” Seungmin explained once they had reached the wall. Seungmin decided to take in the ice skating rink’s serene scenery. The moment passed when he saw a pissed off Minho skating towards them. “Uh, you should probably go before my boyfriend gets here.” Seungmin awkwardly laughed, although he was pretty scared of pissed off Minho.

“Oh,” there was disappointment on the stranger’s face. “I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, but like I said.” Seungmin gestured for him to leave, however the stranger was too slow. Minho quickly put his arm around Seungmin looking that stranger up and down, as if sizing him up.

“Hello, I’m his boyfriend, and you are?” 

“I am… I was just leaving,” the stranger was clearly intimidated by Minho.

“Good.” Minho smiled as the stranger skated away. Then he turned to his boyfriend for an explanation. 

“Listen, it wasn’t like that,” Seungmin sighed and turned his head. “I really did wanna skate on my own, it's only because I couldn’t make it to the ice rink’s wall before slipping. I tried to get away from him…” he trailed off, not really sure what the right answer was.

“You still want to learn to skate on your own?'' Minho furrowed his brows. He let out a sigh and skated away once again before even hearing Seungmin’s answer. 

“No wait!” Seungmin tried to skate after him, but forgot he couldn’t skate and landed right on his butt, maybe even tailbone. He was hurt in more ways than one, he simply put his head down fearing the laughs of others at the ice rink. Just when tears threatened to fall, he saw a hand. A smile brightened his face because his boyfriend didn’t leave him behind. Seungmin took the hand and held tight as his boyfriend pulled him off the rink. Minho found a bench and led Seungmin to sit down, deciding he would untie his boyfriend’s skates.

“Ah!” Seungmin’s butt still hurt from the fall, when tried to sit down he felt a sharp sting. However he would bear the pain because Minho was being kind by taking off his skates for him.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Minho asked.

“Sorta, I’m sure it’s not too bad though.” Seungmin assured his significant other.

“Okay, let’s head home. I think that’s enough of an adventurous date for today,” Minho said. Seungmin thought he was right, for they weren’t exactly getting along before his fall, plus they only had about 10 minutes left on the rental skates.

While Minho returned the skates Seungmin wandered around window shopping while staying within sight of his boyfriend. 

“Do you have any ice packs for injuries, or know where I can get one?” Minho questioned.

“Oh, I think we have something around here, let me check real quick” The clerk then went towards the back of the shop. They soon came back with some ice in a plastic bag, “here you go sir”.

“Thank you!” Minho replied to the clerk as he took the bag from them. Turning around he hastily walked towards Seungmin, swiftly placing the ice on his butt.

“What the-” Seungmin looked down, upon seeing what Minho was doing, he started turning red in the cheeks. “Minho, this is embarrassing.” He pulled Minho to the side out of the shop’s window area and behind a pillar so most people couldn’t see them. 

“Good, then next time don’t push me away and this won’t happen.” Minho smiled mischievously at his partner, still holding the ice pack on his butt.

“Yuck!” Seungmin couldn’t help but to fake gag at the cheesy line. “Come here.” He then leaned in and gave Minho a quick peck on the lips. Glad they were in a somewhat secluded area. Even if Minho said the cheesiest line, Seungmin would always kiss him after.

“But seriously, can we not ice my butt while in the mall?” Seungmin pouted.

“Is that why you kissed me?” Minho considered Seungmin’s question and then replied, “I’m still making you ice it in the car though”.

“Deal.” Seungmin then leaned in for another kiss while Minho eagerly reciprocated. They quickly put their arms around one another. Seungmin attempted to advance the kiss more, when he tried to slip his tongue into the other’s mouth. However, Minho had to stop them, so they wouldn’t get too heated in a public area. After breaking their kiss the next thing Minho did was grab Seungmin’s hand, heading for their car. He couldn’t wait for it to just be the two of them.

➤ Masterlist ❀ Ao3 ❀ Wattpad ❀ Ko-fi

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! <3 This is my first time posting on tumblr and I'm fairly new to the site so, if you have any tips or helpful advice it would be much appreciated. Also if I managed to mess something up please inform me on how I can correct it. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to make it this far. Make sure to stay safe and healthy!!

#stray kids #fanfic #first fanfic #2min #skz #lee know #lee minho #seungmin #ao3 writer #ice skating #established relationship #jelous #oneshot #no beta we die like no one dies in this fic #sliceoflife #date night #romantic #gay kiss #1k words #kim seungmin #mxm #minho x seungmin #male x male #bxb #cross posted on wattpad #cross posted on ao3 #fanfiction #fic #argument #arguing

[anxiety-thyme]

It’s time for first Friday fic night!

For a refresher you can see what this is about here.

Last month we returned to Teen Wolf.

This month it is Snow White With the Red Hair. Poll at the end for what we should cover next month!

I'm really excited this month to talk about what may be my favorite fandom. This list was a little harder because for all that there are fewer fics for this ship there is such a wide array of feels and themes to pull from.

Fandom: Akagami no Shirakukihim | Snow white with the red hair. Ship: Obiyuki (Obi my beloved!) Theme: Shirayuki figuring out what she actually wants

As always, mind the tags. There will be smut.

I have to start off by acknowledging my favorite author in the fandom, Sabraeal. I love everything she writes but I feel like linking to each of her fics would be overkill. So instead, here are three that I feel in my bones and that fit the theme. I can guarantee you will see more of her work in future posts.

Seven Suitors for Shirayuki, by Sabraeal

"If someone had told her this was going to happen, maybe she would have taken Zen up on his offer."

I have reread this fic so many times that I actually lost count. The same can be said for the companion fic 100 Headaches for Haki. Just, Obi's devotion to Shirayuki, and Obi & Haki's friendship, and Haki shipping the hell out of Obiyuki, and Shirayuki growing into herself are all just. Fantastic

as seen through a mirror, sharply, by Sabraeal

"It takes a certain type of stubbornness to believe that one tragedy won't beget another; Shirayuki is finding that she no longer has it in her to turn a blind eye and hope for the best."

and all my winding roads have led me here (to you), by Sabraeal

"Shirayuki turns thirty and ponders at all her untaken roads-- as well as the one she put herself on, all those years ago."

Eclectic80 is another of those authors who has so many fics to love. Their most recently completed one is just everything.

Changling, by Eclectic80

"Shirayuki goes to extreme measures to help the king and queen of Clarines, and ends up with an unexpected consequence."

Fairy Tales, by Eclectic80

"After Zen's royal engagement is announced, Shirayuki finds her path leads her to the far corners of the continent. Good thing she has her best friends along."

This is the lightest on this list. I just think it's neat.

Period Piece, by ccprovolomies

"Shirayuki's life told through days of her menstruation"

I actually found this one more recently and I cannot express how much I adore the way the the author uses Shiryuki's cycles as measure of her life's trajectory. Just :chef's kiss:

I hope you enjoy. Let me know how much you love them on a scale of 'Oh. Oh' to flower porn.

For next month we are going to pick a theme instead of a fandom. Within each theme you could get works from: Snow white with the red hair, My hero academia, Teen wolf, Attack on titan, and maybe even Yuri on Ice or Buffy thrown in as a wild card.

#first friday fic night #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with red hair #obiyuki #ans obi #ans shi #attack of titan #levi acker #eruri #teen wolf #erwin smith #boku no hiro akademia #my hero acedamia #todoroki shouto #bnha todor #bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugou #todobaku

[kayssweetdreams]

Prim and Proper Problems Bonus Chapter: The Worst First Day

The moment that the bus pulled up to Prim, Proper, Perfection, The girls finally began to stir from their strange and long slumber. The first thing that they noticed was Madame Prim giving them a strange, smug, stare. "Come along now. It's time for your first day." She said, as the girls slowly got their bearings.

Yuri and Kaylo slowly got out of the bus as they walked towards the doors of the large imposing school, anxiety in them. Unlike Timeville Public and The Barnum Naka School, There was nothing that made the girls calm down. The girls saw no color, heard no music, instead there was only the loud clicks of Madame Prim's shoes as they followed her down the halls of the school. When they reached her office, the two girls were given their schedules...and boy where they strange.

Yuri had received her classes (English, Advanced Beauty, Proper Playthings, Etiquette 101 and Language Arts) while Kaylo received hers ("Chemistry" Respectable Music, Etiquette 101, English, and Perfection Personified) and both girls were quickly sent off to them. As soon as they stepped foot in the classes, they immediately hated them

Yuri ended up getting bored about what a 'proper' girl should play with, and almost got her hands smacked when she DARED to try and investigate a small butterfly near a window, while Kaylo had been forced to play a very long and very elaborate song on a harp that ended up lulling her to sleep...and it resulted in her getting her knocked off the stool.

By the time lunch rolled around, both girls were exhausted beyond belief. "I don't know how much more of this I can take..." Yuri whimpered "I'm starting to think that Juvie was a better option." She said as she and Kaylo got their lunches...and they were very small portions of food. The two of them took a small bite from the small meal...and found that they had absolutely no taste whatsoever.

The two of them struggled to try and swallow it, as it was the equivalent of eating that horrible stuff you got in cavity fillings. When they finally DID get it to go down, they paled "We're never going to last a month are we..." Kaylo said, her eye twitching. Yuri shivered "I miss your aunts cupcakes. At least those were edible..." she said. Kaylo gave a small smile. "I actually have one on me, we can split it." She said, revealing a small chocolate cupcakes with pink icing.

The girls smiled and cut it in half, but before they could even take a bite, they heard a all too familiar voice. "What on earth are you eating?!" Yuri's eyes widened and Kaylo suppressed a groan. That same trio of girls had come back...and they were staring at the small cupcake. "Something actually edible in this place." Kaylo retorted as she and Yuri lifted up the cupcakes to bite. However, before she could even get a single bite, she felt something swat it out of her hands and onto the ground.

"Sweets aren't permitted here. Are you trying to become as fat as a whale?" She heard the girl state. Kaylo's neon pink eyes twitched angrily. "If anything you should be thanking Madame Prim, and Me." He heard her say. That however was a very bad thing...because something that made Kaylo angry was getting between her and Sweets.

In her anger, she loudly slammed a hand on the table and her eyes flashed into The girl's face "NOW YOU SEE HERE YOU LITTLE-" What then happened was a very long, and very angry tirade from Kaylo, with more swears than a sailor could ever dream of saying. The entire cafeteria looked on in pure horror "-AND IT'S ALSO YOUR FAULT THAT WE'RE EVEN IN THIS STUPID SCHOOL!! IF NOT FOR YOU AND THAT HAG NAMED MADAME PRIM!!!" She finished.

The entire cafeteria looked on in silence after Kaylo finished her raging tirade. Even Yuri was in shock at the pink haired girl. However, a familiar clicking caught their attention. "What on earth is going on in here?!" Madame Prim asked with the upmost authority. A orderly whispered the entire ordeal to Madame Prim who gasped in horror. Her eyes then narrowed at the girls.

"Bring them along. It's time to get a well deserved Disciplining." She said. The orderlies grabbed Yuri and Kaylo as their protests and yells echoed through the halls...and they became the newest model students of Prim, Proper, Perfection...

#Balan Wonderworld #Yuri Brand

[tokiro07]

Started thinking about Monet’s ships and how surprisingly varied they’ve been over the years, so I’m going to rate them

Law: the ur Monet ship; she asked him for wings, he gave them to her, it’s really easy to extrapolate that into an intimate moment for her, and her flirty interactions with him suggest the kind of gratitude that she feels. S

Doflamingo: as close to canon as the Law ship, except we know for a fact that she feels some form of love for Doflamingo, she probably wouldn’t have tried to sacrifice herself for him otherwise. Aesthetically, they also just work really well together with green and pink feathers together. S

Caesar: I get it, but I do not like it. I just plain don’t like Caesar, personally, and the idea of him being intimate with anyone is uncomfortable for me, but Monet’s constant roasting creates a fun dynamic, so she pulls up the rating a bit. D

Vergo: Not much interaction between them, but the idea that they both survived Punk Hazard and helped each other get back on their feet creates a lot of opportunity for something fun. Lots of potential, but barely any foundation. B

Luffy: she hugged him, so that’s a plus on aesthetic, and Luffy loves snow, so that’s a plus on interaction, but Luffy’s staunch aromanticism very promptly kills its potential. They’d make great friends, but that’s it. C

Nami: they both have weather abilities, they’re both women, and orange and green go well together. Not enough interaction to work with, but damn they look good together. B

Zoro: they’re both green and they fought. Certainly more to go on than Vergo, and they’d make a good looking couple. I’ve seen cute fanart of their hypothetical child, and damn if that doesn’t give them a few extra points. B

Tashigi: they fought and they’re girls, so not much more to go on than Zoro, but the yuri angle has led to more popularity among fans and Monet thrives when she has the advantage in the ship, so I think it’s a little more fun than Zoro. A

Robin: similar to Nami in that they’re both women in One Piece and Monet stabbed her once, but that’s the extent of it. It’s pretty arbitrary, and the art I’ve seen of it...wasn’t the most flattering. C

Kuzan: both have ice Logia, and similar to Vergo, some believe he played a part in her survival; I like Kuzan more than Vergo, so that’s a plus, but Monet has had canon interactions with Vergo, so they approximately balance out. B

Bellamy: I don’t think anyone’s done this one other than me, but as Doflamingo stans that may both become disillusioned and ally with the Straw Hats, their common ground is a lot of fun to think about. Similar to the Vergo situation, but I’m super endeared to Bellamy whereas I’m neutral to Vergo. A

Viola: Monet used to work as an attendant for Viola, so while we never saw them interact, we know they had a master/servant dynamic, which is prime shipping material. The subsequent betrayal creates an opportunity for some juicy angst, especially with the potential nuance that Monet may have been the one to convince Doflamingo to let Viola live. A

Gladius: Only just saw this one, so while there’s nothing to go on, they at least look good together. I’m sure they’d work fine, but I don’t feel connected enough to Gladius to give it a particularly high rating. C

Carrot: I came up with this because I originally believed that Carrot would get the Snow-Snow Fruit and started thinking about Monet’s spirit living on through Carrot. Beyond that, the aesthetic of a bird of prey shipped with a rabbit is really cute, and their personalities seem like they’d complement each other pretty well. B

Camie: basically the same as with Carrot, just a fish instead of a rabbit, and the shared aesthetic of both being green-haired. This one is fairly popular and I see it a lot, so it beats out the Carrot ship if for no better reason than ubiquity. A

Marco: another one based solely on aesthetic; snowbird + firebird, both wearing glasses. It’s cute, especially when Marco is in hybrid form to match Monet’s body type, I just don’t feel connected enough to Marco to really get behind it. B

King: same as Marco with the ice and fire aesthetic, it gets a slightly higher rating for two reasons; 1) King is hotter; 2) I’ve mentioned before that I think there’s a connection between Monet and the Lunarians, so it’s easier for me to imagine the sorts of interactions they’d have. A

This isn’t an exhaustive list, these are just the ships that I’ve seen and that come to mind easily. The rating system is pretty arbitrary and subject to change. Maybe I should have just arranged these in order of how much I like them, but I think that factoring in canon, aesthetic and dynamic was a good way to help account for my biases. At least a little

#one piece #monet #harpy monet #monet headcanons #sorta

[pod-together]

Day 7 Reveals!

Till Scurvy Do Us Part [text, audio]  (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) written by crowreys_wormstache, performed by Flowerparrish Summary: They were just all being so… nice? Not that they weren’t nice to Jim normally, but there was something in their eyes – this sort of knowing look. Jim couldn’t stand when others clearly knew something they weren’t let in on. And there was still no sign of Oluwande. OR Olu has a surprise for Jim and the crew does a terrible job at keeping it secret. like I didn't walk in willingly  (陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)) written by remiges, performed by deepestbluesky Summary: She'd married Qingheng-jun because she didn't want to die, and yet the marriage is also what almost ended up killing her. It's funny, if she thinks about it for too long. Ready to be wrong  (Check Please! (Webcomic)) written by DesignatedGrape, performed by Amanita_Fierce and HowOldAreWe Summary: Kent flops onto his bed in his sister's tiny office-slash-guest room and pulls out his phone, his fingers bringing him to Whiskey’s Instagram seemingly of their own accord. Unsurprisingly, there are no updates, and his tags are the usual stale mix of photos from the Leafs’ official account and pictures from random fans trying to get Whiskey’s attention. Kent growls at himself. This is his fucking vacation, and he is not going to spend the entire time moping and hanging out with his sister. He exits Instagram and pulls up Grindr, instead. It only takes a couple minutes of scrolling before his thumb screeches to a halt. The photo is just a faceless torso, but he’d recognize his own tattoo work anywhere. A compass, half of it dissolving into dust. A little less detailed than usual so that it could be finished in a couple of hours. C, 24. 4.2 miles away. --- Or, Kent and Whiskey unexpectedly find themselves in the same city again. Lost and Found  (Star Wars Legends - All Media Types) written by Spiraling, performed by Dr_Fumbles_McStupid and litra Summary: When Feemor and Obi-Wan go on an archaeological dig to some Sith ruins, there's more active danger than they were anticipating. a love that won't sit still  (Check Please! (Webcomic)) written by vocatives, performed by Aliteralgarbageheap Summary: It must be a boozed-up mistake, because there is simply no universe in which he, William Poindexter, has fallen in love with  Derek-fucking-Nurse. The soul mark on Dex's hand, however, tells a different story. Those Who Walk the In-Between Places and See Unseeable Things  (Gundam Wing, Addams Family - All Media Types) written by AngelSelene, performed by Hangebokhan Summary: As long as there have been people, there have always been those who are other, who walk in the in-between places, and who see the unseeable things. Those people are often attracted to great events, and so, in the After Colony years, they are once again. You Tick All My Boxes  (EXO (Band), VIXX) written by XiuChen4Ever, performed by cheshiretears Summary: Cat hybrid Minseok is grateful for his best friend and his favorite human. Even if one is rather lumpy and the other is rather loud. Wet & Wild  (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) written by BardicRaven, performed by Aether Summary: Quark tries another money-making scheme for the Bar. It goes about as well as you'd expect. A.K.A. 'These aren't (quite) the lobes you're looking for, Quark.' Crossroads Bargains  (The Magnus Archives (Podcast)) written by Spiraling, performed by Koschei_B Summary: It's over. Jane Prentiss is dead Tim and Jon are injured. All the archive team wants to do is rest and regroup. Tim offers his flat. And that moment of impulsive kindness changes everything. A Real Boy [text, audio]  (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) written by trinityofone, performed by SweetPollyOliver Summary: Frenchie convinces Stede to hire the cursebreaker. Stede can see the logic in it: a way to cleanse the ship after all their troubles, clear the air between the reunited crews. “A little vibe adjustment,” Frenchie says. See This Heart Flow  (Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)) written by Robin_Fai, performed by riverdaze Summary: Victor was one of the few competitors in the figure skating community who was public about his creature heritage. He was part fae and proud of it. It was different for Yuuri. He knew that his own identity was something that people feared. He had been hiding his whole life. Variations  (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, A Stitch in Time: Andrew J. Robinson) created by BardicRaven and RisalSoran Summary: Color, like Truth, comes in an infinite variety of variations, each with its own unique shape and form.

#podfic #fanfic #our flag means death #the untamed #check please! #star wars legends #gundam wing #addams family #exo #vixx #star trek deep space nine #the magnus archives #Yuri on ice #a stitch in time

[buzzcat]

Fic Rec - don’t look back in anger, by @dadvans

Fandom: Yuri!!! On Ice (Anime) Wordcount: 2,718 Tags: Crack, Robodick, Future Fic, Growing Up             Summary: (“Robodick,” confirms BuzzfeedMars) Otabek Altin and Yuri Plisetsky in the year 2086. Context for Newbies: Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek were professional skaters. Yuri skated for Russia and had continual beef with Viktor, who also skated for Russian and in whose shadow he spent the early part of his career. The anime is twelve episodes and very good, would highly recommend.

This is one of those fics that I love for how strange the premise is, and love even more for the emotions it pulls out. it’s set in a not-so-distant future of everyday space travel where organ transplants can allow people to stay young forever, and it stars Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin. The pair of them are in their 80s, and have opted to not have their organs replaced and to instead age as normal. However, when Otabek gets sick, he needs organ transplants. Including a “robodick”.  Which is something Yuri has to parse his feelings on, for various reasons both serious and funny.

This is a fic that takes quiet delight in the idea of growing old, which is something I’ve rarely seen in fandom. The surgeries are not seen as a chance to recapture or cling to bygone youth, but instead a necessary step to have as much time together as possible. The focus is never on living young as long as possible, but living together as long as possible. This is a fic that I appreciate because the absurdity of the premise creates a beautiful contrast with the humanity and the love that radiates from it.

Favorite Line: “Yuri will still be able to occupy a comfortable silence where the room feels full and alive just because his feet are resting in Otabek’s lap. Yuri would do anything to keep that selfishly for himself as long as possible.”

#no joke I had like four favorite lines pulled for this fic; picking just one was hard #yuri on ice #yuri!!! on ice #yoi #fic: don't look back in anger #buzzcat fic recs