Stranger Things
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Claire Keane
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
AnasAbdin
taylor price
trying on a metaphor
Janaina Medeiros
shark vs the universe
hello vonnie
Sade Olutola
Game of Thrones Daily
Peter Solarz
One Nice Bug Per Day
$LAYYYTER
@theartofmadeline
h
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Monterey Bay Aquarium
seen from Australia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from India
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Thailand
seen from Italy
seen from Indonesia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from India
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Canada
seen from T1
seen from Malaysia
@flatfootmonster
The SKAM Big Bang 2026 is open and there are 17 more days remaining for writer sign ups. Link in bio/pinned post for sign up. To celebrate this year we're sharing past SKAM Big Bang submissions from the extensive AO3 collection that starts in 2018. #140: archiveofourown.org/works/13847655
INTRODUCTION
Better late than never in 2026, the SKAM Big Bang event is returning.
The SKAM Big Bang 2026 will celebrate all things SKAM and allow fans another year to express themselves and collaborate.
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SKAM BIG BANG 2026
The SKAM Big Bang 2026 celebrates all things SKAM.
This means that your work needs to be SKAM-centric. It can be an AU or a canon compliant, but it needs to focus on characters from the SKAMverse. You can place SKAM characters in a cross-over world (e.g. situate Fatou and Kieu My in Hogwarts), or retell a story with SKAM characters (e.g. give Isak and Even the story arc of Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper), but you may not have them interact with PRINCIPAL characters (e.g. Hermione Granger), as cool as that may be. You can, however, have characters from one SKAM universe meet characters from another SKAM universe. For example, Mayla meeting up with Crisana is perfectly fine.
All genres, ships, pairings, settings, tropes, and ratings are welcome.
The SKAM Big Bang 2026 celebrates original fan creations.
All works created for the Big Bang must be original and complete. Artists may create as many pieces of art as they like, but writers will only need to write one fic, with a word count between 5000 and 30000 words.
The SKAM Big Bang 2026 celebrates collaboration.
We encourage writers and artists to stay closely involved in each other’s work, as soon as they are paired. Often, this may lead to mutual inspiration, and works may grow and evolve thanks to feedback and suggestions from your partner. Beta readers, too, are often invaluable with insights and interpretations to early drafts. We hope the collaborative spirit of the event will lead to a fun and engaging experience for all. And who knows, you might even end up with a life-long friend and an invitation for a re-watch… at the other side of the world!
Read on under the cut for the timeline, and some more detailed rules and FAQ.
TIMELINE
WRITERS
1. SIGN UP
4 January 2026 - 31 January 2026
Sign ups open on 4 January and will remain open until 31 January. Sign up here Writer Sign Up Form!
2. INITIAL CREATION
4 January 2026 - 26 April 2026
You will write a fic of minimum 5000 and maximum 30000 words.
26 March there will be a brief check-in form to help ensure you are on track. Further check-ins will be in the collaboration portion of the event. At this time we will also be asking for some information about yourself to promote the Big Bang.
3. CLAIMS
26 April you will submit a brief excerpt to help entice and inspire an artist. These will be shared with artists to make matches.
4. COLLABORATION
1 May 2026 - 30 June 2026
In the final months of the event you will finalize your story while working with your artist. During this time expect a check in on 26 May and 26 June. We will also ask you to provide some information about your work and your experience with the Big Bang to promote the event on 26 May.
5. CELEBRATION
July-August 2026
Time to share the finished work and celebrate all things SKAM!
ARTISTS
1. SIGN UP
4 January 2026 - 26 April 2026
Sign ups open on 4 January and will remain open for artists until 26 April. Sign up here Artist Sign Up Form!
2. CLAIMS
As an artist you will be charged with the very important task of reading the story excerpts after they are submitted on 26 April and ranking your choices by 29 April. You will then be matched with a writer.
4. COLLABORATION
1 May 2026 - 30 June 2026
In the final months of the event you will finalize your artwork(s) while working with your writer. During this time expect a check in on 26 May and 26 June. We will also ask you to provide some information about your work and your experience with the Big Bang to promote the event by 15 June.
5. CELEBRATION
July - August 2026
Time to share the finished work and celebrate all things SKAM!
BETA READERS
1. SIGN UP
4 January 2026 - 26 April 2026
Sign ups open on 4 January and will remain open for beta readers until 26 April. Sign up here Beta Sign Up Form!
2. COLLABORATION
26 April 2026 - 30 June 2026
As agreed between you and the author you are paired with, you may be asked to beta read chapter per chapter, or the complete work in one go. Be sure to communicate well to manage expectations on both sides.
3. CELEBRATION
July - August 2026
Time to share the finished work and celebrate all things SKAM!
RULES & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GENERAL
What is a Big Bang?
A Big Bang is a fan-centric collaborative event where artists create artworks based on a fics written by fellow fans.
The ‘Big Bang’ type of event can be traced back to the tradition of fanzines, which often combined visual and written fan art.
How can I be part of the Big Bang 2026?
There are three ways to participate: as a writer, as an artist, or as a beta reader.
Writers will create original stories to celebrate SKAM. Artists will then create an artwork inspired by the story. And beta readers will be cheering on the authors, and helping them polish their work.
If you cannot be part of the Big Bang this year, we invite you warmly to enjoy the art and the fics starting in July, and give the finished works your love to keep the fandom alive!
You may join in more than one role, if you’d like… but be sure you can really commit to the tasks expected of you before you do so.
Can I join together with my friend?
Of course! In past events, there have been teams of writers working together on one fic. We welcome artists to do the same, if they like. In that case, you can join as a team - just let us know the contact data of all team members.
Artists and writers cannot join up as a team. The spirit of the event is to be paired up with someone you might not know before. But we hope you’ll join anyway, and meet new SKAM fans to collaborate with!
Beta readers and writers can team up if they wish to do so, but they will need to sign up separately.
Is the SKAM Big Bang 2026 open to all versions of SKAM and all ships?
YES! All versions of SKAM, all seasons, all ships are allowed. The more the merrier!
How many people will I be paired up with?
The short answer is: at least one.
The slightly longer answer is that we cannot give any exact numbers yet, because we don’t know yet how many people will sign up as artists, as writers, or as beta readers.
A second consideration is that our fandom encompasses many verses, generations, and ships; of which some are very popular and others relatively obscure. The broader the horizon of the art or written work, the more writers will be able to write for it, and the more artists will be able to art for it.
That said, we will try our absolute best to make sure every artist is paired with at least one writer, and vice versa.
Do I have to keep my creations a secret before the posting date?
Yes.
For a SKAM Big Bang event, we will have an anonymous pairing. This means that artists will not know which writers have created which fics when they choose the works that inspire them.
We know writers love to write in chats. However, we ask that you do not share significant parts of your works outside of the event participants. A tease, a snippet, a mention for Six Sentence Sunday, … - these are fine; but we’d like the fandom to enjoy all the new artworks and fics during the posting period of the Big Bang. Let’s make it a true celebration of all things SKAM!
My English is not perfect. Will that be a problem?
Not at all! Most of us aren’t native English speakers, and we all make mistakes. Some of us speak other languages too, so we will find a way to communicate - even if we have to rely on online translators.
What do you mean by ‘checking in’?
During the timeframe of the creation of art or stories, we will check in with you to ensure you are on track to be ready by the end date, to help you find solutions to any problem that may arise, to encourage you during the creative process, and to make sure you are still having fun.
Is this event age restricted?
The SKAM Big Bang is open for fans aged 16 and over. However, if you are under 18, we will ask that both the art and the written work that you and your partner create, will be non-explicit in nature. Beta readers under 18 will only be paired with teams creating non-explicit works.
Will there be a place to hang out while we are creating and posting for the Big Bang event?
Every participant will be invited to a pre-existing lively Discord server with a group of enthusiastic, friendly and helpful SKAM fans. Note that this year there will be no separate Discord server dedicated to the event, but a section of the 21:21 SKAM Fan Content Creators server will be set up to host the SKAM Big Bang 2026. Join the server here!
While we hope you will join the Discord server, there is no obligation to do so.
What will be the main form of communication between participants and mods?
As said, all participants will be invited to join our Discord server full of SKAM fans.
However, should you choose not to, you can reach the Big Bang mods via email, or you can ask your question on the Skam Big Bang Tumblr account.
Where will the art and the stories created for the event be published and shared?
All written works will be posted on Archive Of Our Own (ao3), in a collection dedicated to the Big Bang. The author will include the art, a picture of the art, or link to the art, in their post. Artists may choose to post their art in a separate post on Archive Of Our Own (ao3).
If you want to participate, but have no Archive Of Our Own (ao3) account, we encourage you to request one as soon as you register for the Big Bang. You can ask the mods for help, if needed.
After the works have been posted into the collection, both writers and artists will be free to post their works on any other site, including their social media.
Of course, you will need your partner’s permission to post their work. And obviously you must credit your partner appropriately when posting their work alongside your own!
What if I cannot meet a deadline?
While an event like this relies heavily on everybody involved being accountable, we understand there is this thing called life. If something pops up that makes you have to defer on a deadline, or have to drop out completely, please let us know as soon as possible. We are ready to figure out the best possible solution, but we need to know in order to keep the event moving seamlessly for everybody. Communication is key. Do not hesitate to contact us! Better a solution that's not needed in the end, than a problem snowballing into an experience that leaves someone unhappy.
That said, please take the deadlines and timelines into careful consideration before committing to participating. An event like this can only run smoothly if all the parts run smoothly. With that in mind, exceptions to the deadlines must remain rare exceptions.
Can I use AI?
AI takes many forms nowadays. While many of us use some form of AI as a tool while creating, we want this Big Bang to reflect the many talents of fans and fan-created works. Therefore, we will not allow any art or stories which were created solely by prompting an AI generator, even if you lightly edit or modify the result.
That said, use of AI as a tool can be permitted, provided it is disclosed. Disclosing will allow people not to engage with your work, should they so choose.
To make the difference clear, let’s consider some examples.
Let’s say your art has a background consisting of a repeated pattern. It might be fine to do that manually, but if you want, you could also use some form of AI to create a repetition of something you created. Or, if you want to draw a female figure in a certain position but have difficulty finding a good reference, you could ask AI to create one for you, as long as you then draw the final artwork yourself.
For writers, you might like to ask a chatbot to suggest some names of fantasy lands if you draw a blank. Or maybe you can prompt an AI story generator to describe the atmosphere of a Mediterranean marketplace, which you then use as inspiration to enhance one short paragraph of your story.
The examples above are meant to illustrate that minor uses of AI to help create a work of art or a story, where the AI generated part is either a minor detail of the final product and/or used as reference or inspiration without it ending up in the final product, will be permitted for this Big Bang.
To be abundantly clear: Art or stories which were, at their core, created by generative AI based on a prompt by a human, will not be permitted for this event.
You didn’t answer my question!
Oh no! We’re sorry, and we invite you to please contact us through email at [email protected]. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
WRITERS
Do I have to write in English?
No. However, writing in another language might make collaboration with your artist more difficult. If you want to write in another language, but feel unsure, please contact us. We are happy to try to come up with a solution together!
Will I get to choose which artist to collaborate with?
No and yes.
During the ‘claims’ period of the Big Bang, your excerpt/summary will be provided to artists. Within that submission we will allow you provide some guidelines about what you would like to see or not see in the fic associated with your work.
Does my submission need to be finished by April 26th, 2026?
Not at all! What we need at that time from you, is something you are happy to share with the artistss and which represents you and your work, so they can choose what fic inspires them to create an artwork to accompany it.
Since the Big Bang is in essence a collaborative event, we expect that your fic might evolve as you talk more with the artist you are paired with - but if you want to have your final submission ready by March, then that’s fine too! The main point is for you to have fun, and for the fandom to get to enjoy your creations.
What if I want to write more or less than the specified word count?
While we like to read long epic stories as much as the next fan, we want to ensure first and foremost that this event is fun for everyone. That means that we don’t want you to burn out, feel stressed or pressured, or even have to drop out of the event. Hence the maximum word count.
On the flip side, the minimum word count is to establish a baseline and to encourage more collaboration with your artist and beta. While you may feel that 5 000 words is a significant number, we really hope you will give it a chance. Working together with an artist and being part of a collective creative challenge might make it a lot easier to reach the word count before you know it!
However, we can definitely discuss the minimum word count if you want to create some other form of written work, rather than a story. If you feel more at ease writing poetry, for example, or maybe a comic combining words and pictures, or a social media fic, feel free to contact us so we can work out the details!
Is the use of a beta reader mandatory?
No, but it is encouraged. You are not obliged to use a beta reader at all, or you may use a beta reader who is not affiliated with the Big Bang; but if you like, we can get you in contact with some eager beta readers. If you do use a beta reader, please be clear about your expectations, needs, and wants; and agree with your beta reader on a time frame.
What is the policy about tagging my work?
All works on Archive Of Our Own (ao3) must use the main tags (i.e. Graphic depictions of violence, Major character death, Rape/Non-con, Underage sex) if present in the work. All other tags are discretionary, but please tag for major triggers and/or include them in the author’s notes.
ARTISTS
So, what do you mean by ‘art’ or ‘artwork’?
Basically, anything can be art! Most often, artists choose to create some form of visual art, but it can also be a piece of music or a song, if you feel so inclined! Visual art can be analog or digital, and it can mean many things: feel free to create a drawing, cartoon, painting, mood board, banner, gifset, video, photo manip, collage… Or create art that exists in the physical world: hand-lettering, paper art, knitted art, sculpted art, carved art, … You could even create a nicely formatted playlist, social media page, an item of clothing, a game - you name it! As long as it features the SKAM multiverse and inspires a writer, you’re set.
What if I do not want to make art for certain types of stories?
As an artist, we will allow you to list a limited number of themes, tropes or triggers you would rather not see featured in the works associated with your art. These guidelines will also be within the writer's claim submission so you know what you’re getting into when you rank your choices.
BETA READERS
What is the job of a beta reader?
Depending on what your author needs, you can be asked to read through an author’s first (or second, third, …) draft to help them point out plot holes, continuity errors, or factual mistakes. Some authors only ask their beta readers to do a spelling, grammar and punctuation check. Sometimes, a beta reader is a cheerleader, or sometimes they help an author brainstorm narrative points, or they can provide tips for a better story flow.
You can let us know what you are willing to do when signing up, and we will try to match you with an author suited to your strengths.
Will I get to choose who I work with?
Yes and no.
You can definitely join the event together with a writer you’ve worked with before; but you can also ask to be paired randomly. In that case, we will check what your limits are in terms of story triggers, story lengths, etc. before pairing you up.
We're celebrating the third week of SKAM Big Bang 2024 with the following stories that are posting:
The Dream of Life (M) by Flatfootmonster with art by Alterlove2021
I turn to you (when I can’t sleep through the lonely night) (T) by selfsufficient with art by Hodge
To Build A Home (E) by Happily_Evak_After with art by CelesteKayy
The Cure (E) by Anna _Driesen2121 and Viola_player1 with art by monikacharaabi
Some say I should learn to cry but I only learned how to fly (T) by Arfel with art by Garce
The Time of our Lives (M) by Sprookjes with art by Pauline
Murder at 21:21 (M) by Hodge with art by Laika
Superstar (M) by Miniloc Island and Ghostcat with art by Parallel-Univers
Parallel pieces of You & Me by Jules with art by Katmylittlesunshine
Attraction - (M) by Laika and Midlifecrisis with art by Eirabach
Blessings of Babylon - (T) by Veronese_green with art from Bean Awake
Heated Rivalry (E) by Beulaugh with art by Polaris.Artwork
Blood in the Water (E) by Tea with art by Mariana/MiranhasArt
*****
Check out these stories in the 2024 Skam Big Bang collection and show them all the love 🎉 because Kudos and comments are super appreciated, especially for our first-time authors.
Today we feature The Dream of Life by Flatfoomonster, art by AltErLove2021,. We'll be transported to a dream dimension.
Flatfootmonster what was your inspiration: The idea was planted ever since I saw an incredible fan video: https://youtu.be/sYWUQyjIhO4?si=kYqzuLdHBgsN1QcN Older than canon, Isak is twenty and Even is twenty-two. The setting is canon-ish in that it’s imagining the group a few years down the line. Isak is depressed, Even is lost.
AltErLove2021 what inspired your art: I love the premise of the story of meeting your soulmate in a metaphysical realm, one that somehow completes you across a dream dimension. I was so drawn to the idea of lucid dreaming and how to represent that in art. Just reading a snippet that was so achingly moving, I immediately saw an image in my head of how to see inside Isak's mind, his thoughts and dreams. And of course the Even he finds.
The SKAM Big Bang starts June 21st! Follow us for more sneak peeks and share!
CALLING ALL SKAM ARTISTS! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷
We want you in the Skam Big Bang 2024!
Our writers are hard at working writing the stories that will inspire new Skam fanart. Artists read blind excerpts and are matched based on preferences and Skamverses. Art can take any form from hand or digital drawing or painting, gif sets, mood boards/aesthetics, photoshop edits, video edits, textile arts, music playlists. Basically anything creative you can imagine inspired by a fic!
If you’re creating Skam art, join us and be a part of fandom’s creative community! Artist signup link in our bio. DM here or on Insta with any questions!
Explore SKAM Big Bang's official socials, latest links, relevant content and more. Everything they do, all in one place on Linktree.
CALLING ALL SKAM ARTISTS! ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜
We want you in the Skam Big Bang 2024!
We have a fantastic group of writers committed to bringing new stories to the Skam fandom and we need artists to collaborate. The Skam Big Bang matches artists with writers to create a piece(s) of fanart inspired by the story. Artists read blind excerpts and are matched based on preferences and Skamverses. Art can take any form from hand or digital drawing or painting, gif sets, mood boards/aesthetics, photoshop edits, video edits, textile arts, music playlists. Basically anything creative you can imagine inspired by a fic!
If you’re creating Skam art, join us and be a part of fandom’s creative community! Artist signup link below DM is here or on instagram with any questions!
Artist Sign-Ups 2024
We’re in the dog days of the Bang. When our writers are questioning all their life choices. But the community is strong and supportive and we’re helping each other over the humps and bumps of the writers’ journey! The story outlines so far are amazing and summer will be here soon enough with all its fic goodness!
In the meantime, Artist signups are still open. Artists will get to read short summaries and samples from stories and choose the ones that inspire them and be paired up to create an original piece for the story! Come join our community of skam creatives!
Link below to learn more and sign up or DM on any of our socials with questions. Give us a follow for sneak peeks at the stories coming!
New Fics ✨ New Fanart ✨Join the fun ✨ Who's ready?
Follow us for more information to come soon! And reblog to let everyone know we're back bigger and better than ever!
Inspiro for Unhitched. Fresh Butcher and Hopper-Dropper to chew on.
I'm not avoiding my WIPs.
*vibrates existentially*
Hey, I like your writing!!!
Hey Anon! Thank you — this comment made my day ❤️
A Different Thread, Chapter Twenty:
Near Kiss, Near Miss
Nakyum made the mistake of looking up. Seungho’s eyes snared him with that stupidly earnest expression. “What are you going to do?” he asked softly, not moving when Seungho edged closer. Nakyum wasn’t confident of what he referred to with the question: the situation with Seungho’s father or why Seungho was closing the gap between them.
“I don’t know,” Seungho murmured, his eyes closing on a deep exhale. “I just needed to find you.” His hand found Nakyum's, winding their fingers together, and Nakyum didn’t pull away. Warmth encircled his hand in an easy motion that caused the air to thin and Nakyum’s blood to thicken. Then Seungho lowered his head, stopping when his forehead touched Nakyum’s. “I just need you for a minute.” His breath was as warm as his touch.
Nakyum stood still, paralysed by the gentle advance. Weeks through months, all Seungho had done was display his weaknesses, bare himself as much as he could, and show up as honestly as he knew how. And every serrated tone, every barbed word, he’d taken without complaint. And, truly, he was just as lost as everyone else, searching for contact and understanding.
Nakyum had been wrong.
“It’s OK. It’s going to be OK,” Nakyum murmured, though it was impossible to hear his voice over the sound of the blood as it pounded in his ears. It ached . Something physically hurt within his chest, like an overused muscle. How much had he been holding back? What was he straining to fend off? Nakyum didn’t know anymore—not why they were here, not what he was, nor why he couldn’t follow his impulses. “We’ll find a way,” he whispered, fingers tightening around Seungho’s hand.
Golden eyes flashed open. Seungho gazed at Nakyum; shallow breaths passed between their lips. “You’re not running away,” he murmured the half-question, spoken as though Nakyum were a doe that had wandered all the way to eat from his hand. Now Seungho was scared he’d fly away if he spoke too loud.
Nakyum’s throat closed, too tight for air, let alone words. He couldn’t answer if he wanted. It was overwhelming: the throb and yearn, the burning in his chest, the expectations he’d placed on himself, the boundaries he’d firmly drawn. It was all too much.
He closed his eyes, there was no strength left to fight. Not here and now, not after spending three hours trying to sculpt to perfection the nose that was now touching his own. He could explore it now if he just reached out.
Something in the air between them buzzed. The universe expanded so that the world and worries were as far as the stars, yet their souls pulled together. Nakyum felt Seungho edge closer still. His lips were so close, Nakyum could feel their heat—just like the fingertips on his chaotic pulse point. And then something precious and delicate glanced at the corner of his mouth, the barest brush of lips as fragile and fleeting as a snowflake. And just like a snowflake, it disappeared as quickly as it had landed.
Nakyum’s jaw sagged, and his body trembled. He wasn’t hurting anyone, not with this simple desire. Just one kiss…
Read more here…
The SKAM Big Bang 2022 is off to a flying start with 4 amazing fics posted today! Find them all (and coming fics) on the SKAM Big Bang 2022 collection on ao3!
Go show these stories (and art) some love and read, kudo, comment! 🥳
The Skam Big Bang 2022 posting schedule is here! 🥳🎉 We are so excited for the Bang to begin next Tuesday 21st June 2022 and continue all the way into September with fics in Skam OG, WTFock, Skam France and Druck ✨
All of the fics will be posted in the author’s timezone, so there may be some differences depending on where in the world you are joining us from, but we hope that you’ll all excited and ready to show some love for the incredible works all of our participants have created! 💕
Cataclysm
“What did you do with him?”
He cocked his head to one side and smirked. “With who?” he asked.
“My cat,” Nakyum spat. The animal should be attacking the stranger, hissing, scratching, and biting—the one time it was desperately required. Where had the stupid thing gone?
“You are quite slow, did you know?”
Nakyum sputtered. “What did you do to him?”
“Me? I didn’t do anything to myself . You, on the other hand, need to stop bringing people over. I don’t like to share what’s mine, especially not with that irritating tutor. I thought I was going to die; he’s so fucking boring. That’s not your type, is it? I thought I was your type.” The man crossed his arms across his bare chest, reminding Nakyum that the man, who had the nerve to bore into him with disgruntled eyes, was naked.
Mouth dry, Nakyum tried to figure out what he meant. How did he know about his tutor? “What are you talking about?” It was the only thing that came.
Nakyum flinched back against the wall. The man reached forward only to flick his forehead. Then he retreated to flop onto the bed, ass bared to the world, while Nakyum stood frozen to the spot. “You really are stupid,” he muttered into the covers beneath his mouth.
Anger overcame the stupor. “You can’t speak to me like that,” he said, advancing towards the bed. “This is my house. You can’t call me stupid while rubbing your dick all over my bedsheets. You need to leave.”
The man turned on his side, limbs stretching out in feline fashion. He looked in no hurry to oblige as he smirked up at Nakyum. “As I said, you said I could stay as long as I like, and I would like to stay. Indefinitely.”
Read more here…
Before the SKAM Big Bang 2022 starts, we are giving you sneak peeks on the stories and art coming your way!
Today’s story 📚 is "La Ritournelle" written by flatfootmonster and art 🎨 by Marc
The Big Bang will begin on 21 June! ✨
A Different Thread, Chapter Nineteen:
Show Me Yours
“Everyone gets scared. It’s not a crime.” Sangwoo was lying next to him, face to face. Bum couldn't see because his eyes were closed, but he could feel his slow breaths.
“I didn’t say it was. I just don’t get why you’re feeling like that right now.”
“I never said I was scared.”
“So why are you hiding?”
“Because,” Bum began, a little force in his words that quickly dissipated when he tried to think about the answer. “I’m confused .” That was a simple truth, but how did he elaborate? “I thought I’d figured you out before, and I let my guard down. Then you weren’t here when I woke up—”
“—That’s because you didn’t give me permission.”
“Permission?”
Sangwoo nodded. “To stay the night.”
That was why he’d left?
Bum shook his head. Sangwoo and his logic were impossible to understand. “But after that, you still didn’t come by the bar. I thought you’d lost interest, then I saw your date the other night and—” Bum clicked his tongue in vexation. So much had happened, so it was hard to surmise. “I didn’t want to feel this way. I didn’t even get to know you, and I thought that I never would. I just wanted to get drunk and fuck and forget. And now you climb in my fucking window —” he broke off, desperately swallowing down a sob. He’d never cried in front of someone. “I don't know what I want—and I don't know what you want—and I don’t know anything .” Bum forced the last word out through his teeth, frustration leaking into his tone, and turned to face the wall.
Sangwoo took the move as an invitation and inched closer, pressing his chest to Bum’s back, winding his arms tight around Bum’s waist. “I already told you that I like you. I want you.”
Read more here…
More
“Is the soup ready?” he asked.
An Zhe locked eyes with him and frowned. “Soup?”
Lu Feng hummed. “You said you’d make me mushroom soup when I got back.” He delivered it in the same flat and steady timbre he usually spoke in, though it was impossible to stop his hand from petting.
Eyes darting to the kitchen and then the window, as if to double-check it was indeed still night, An Zhe returned his focus to Lu Feng. “It’s the middle of the night,” he protested, his jaw firming in the way it did when he became angry. “How would I know you’d be back now? You didn’t even send a warning—”
Lu Feng couldn’t stop the chuckle as he pulled An Zhe close and held him against his chest. The shock that stiffened An Zhe’s body gradually melted away as he accepted the foreign gesture. Lu Feng was sure it was as alien for An Zhe as for himself. Wrapping his arms around the younger man, Lu Feng closed his eyes. Those soft strands now brushed and tickled his cheek.
“I didn’t mean it. I was just joking.”
“ Joking ?” An Zhe replied, but the ire had eased from him. One palm came to rest against Lu Feng’s chest, radiating heat.
“Mm-hm,” he said. “It’s a bad habit, but I like it when you’re angry with me.”
“Why?” And the tone of disbelief was a novelty, too.
“You are as calm and placid as the surface of a lake. I like to see it when emotion touches the surface.”
There was a moment of stillness before An Zhe spoke. “You’re as cold as ice most of the time, but I don’t try to melt you.”
Lu Feng pursed his lips. “You don’t have to try.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. Did he have to explain that? Unused to being so open, Lu Feng changed tact. “You didn’t answer my question first. What were you dreaming about?”
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