#easier to write and quicker so you guys get content.

[ofjunemoment]

work it | na jaemin

Jaemin can’t quite keep a part time job; every time he gets hired, he somehow fucks up enough to be fired straight away. But he just can’t get fired from his job with you, not until he successfully asks you out on a date, anyway.

OR: How many times can your cover Jaemin’s mistakes before you blow up, or him. 

pairing — jaemin x fem!reader

genre — restaurant!au, slowburn, fluff, humour, smut (MDNI)

wc — 20k 

content — profanity, both jaemin and reader work at a chinese restaurant, kun, jaehyun, mark and shotaro mentioned, waitressing dynamics (im gonna be honest most of this is just me throwing words together and hoping for the best), smut tags below the cut :)

a/n —  *sniff* my baby.... i loved writing this so much because the dynamics is something i truly enjoy ^^ there were times i wanted to strngle myself because i just couldn’t think of how to but the scenarios into words but here it is <3 hope you guys have fun reading!!!! 

smut tags — making out, boob/nipple play, fingering, pet names, just the slightest bit of a dom/sub dynamic, lmk if i missed anything <3

Jaemin is in the back room of the pet store, looking at a big bag of dog food and a laminated paper with the number of servings needed for each pet section when he hears his boss call for him.

“Jaemin? You doing okay here?” He turns around to look at Mr Choi, showing a light smile and a thumbs up.

“All good sir, just trying to familiarise myself with each serving of the pet food before I try feeding them.” He waves the card around, the lanyard attached to it swishing around. Today was his third time coming in with a shift at the pet store, and although the place isn’t near his house, it wasn’t far from his campus either, which ultimately makes his travel easier. If he can go all this way to a lecture he won’t even remember, he can go again and again to make some cash and help his sobbing wallet.

Mr Choi grins, plump fingers clapping together in delight. “I knew I could trust you. You’ve worked in so many places so you must have adapted quicker.” At this, Jaemin’s smile strains a bit as he lays his hand on one of the food packets to seem normal. He’s not wrong, Mr Choi— Jaemin has worked at a lot of places. He started when he was fourteen at his uncle's small business in the night markets, looking after keychains and phone cases while his uncle would try to sell items with his marketing voice. His task was to answer customers when they asked for the price, and to find out the price he just had to remember the prices — and if he was really struggling, his uncle quips, you can look behind each sections name tag, where the prices are written in vibrant red.

But he was confident with the prices, who would forget that the key chains cost 500 won and the cases cost 1000 won?

Of course he wouldn’t forget, but he wasn’t correct either. The five and fifteen behind those items were actually 5,000 won and 10,000 won. And throughout the entire day when he would receive coins instead of the colourful notes his uncle was collecting, he didn’t even question it; he just thought his uncle was a top-tier marketer. Needless to say, he was ‘fired’ (he’s not sure if he was even supposed to be paid for his labour) and his parents took out the money he credited to his uncle from his savings.

You would think that the brutal action of taking someone's hard-earned pocket money would deter them from trying another job again until they were fully prepared to take on such professionalism. But Jaemin was devastated at the fact that he had lost his chore money while sitting down on a plastic stool in the hot summer's night market. And so he tried to get another job to attain back the money.

At age fifteen, for his birthday present, he had asked for a job opportunity from his parents. Reluctantly, they had asked one of their neighbours if they’d like to get their lawn mowed. After seeing Jaemin in the backyard a few times doing the gardening, they weren’t abhorred by the idea of paying him a small fee to clean their lawns. Excited, he set to work with the mowing, which was something he would do, but he didn’t remember if it was the growing bush on his left side or right that he was to avoid at all costs. Turns out it was both, which attained Mrs Choi’s sacred tea sprouts that she’d imported from one of the islands in between Malaysia and Indonesia, and it costs an arm and a leg, he recalls her saying. The horror on her face, when she saw the shaved-down plot of land, was something Jaemin never wishes on his worst enemy and all the while desires to draw frame to frame.

But of course, it didn’t end there. He worked at a convenience store and a local retail store when he was sixteen, but was fired from the first and never received his roster from the latter. He thought that maybe local stores were just too picky with their quality of work due to having to compete against monopoly businesses, and so he opted to turn to chain businesses instead. He worked at McDonald’s and almost deep-fried his instructor's hand when being taught how to work the fries, and barely batted an eye when a few teenagers shoplifted the stores’ display clothes when he was working the chain clothing store at the mall near his house. To his defence, he’d thought that they were his coworkers changing the clothes on display with their casual dress code of the workplace, and so naturally, he didn’t think much of it. His longest-lasting job was at a general retail store he was hired for during Christmas, where he lasted for three weeks due to his supervisor being too busy to catch Jaemin’s mistake.

It’s a miracle really that he’s lasted three solid days at this place, but there isn’t much he can screw up in a pet shop; so far all he’s tasked to do is feed the fishes, as they’re the easiest to feed, and discard the box with hamster and rabbit poop for compost. Surprisingly, they’re both placed in the same corner of the room, but they’re kept in different storage boxes. Jaemin remembers how green means compost, and blue means fish; it makes sense, so he just goes to the blue one and scoops one full scoop into a mini bucket, before going into the store and feeding the fish. With the compost bin, he simply fits it onto a wheeler before going out to the back and dumping it into the designated compost area.

Jaemin sniffles a bit, before placing the laminated poster back on the shelf, checking his watch for the time. “Oh,” He exclaims, “It’s lunchtime for the fishes,” His smile towards his boss might just be pushing it, but it seems like he’s doing a great job at, well, keeping this job; anything resembling ass-kissing, he’ll try. As long as it guarantees a longer stay for him of course.

Mr Choi laughs heartily, sending Jaemin a thumbs up as he slowly filters out of the back room while Jaemin heads to the blue tin. What he misses is how the relief from Mr Choi’s face turns into sheer horror, as he sees Jaemin scoop into the blue tin and drop the pendant-like substances into the fish’s designated feeder.

“Stop!” Jaemin drops the scooper into the tin as his boss yells out, his blood running cold at the sudden shout. “Jaemin..have you been using—” Mr Choi’s eyes widen as he cuts himself off, going back to the store with hurried steps. Jaemin is very confused, as he has his hand midway in the air from Mr Choi’s exclaim, standing in the backroom like an NPC only activated when a main character comes to him for a quest.

But, miraculously, he can move his feet as he hears another shout of— a woman? Or maybe it was just Mr Choi’s sheer…excitement of Jaemin’s dedication to his job? But what he sees when he gets out of the back room and into the main store isn’t a surprise party held for Jaemin and his efforts (okay, he thought that maybe this was all a ploy to just show his new staff some appreciation; he’s still sceptical about the horror in Mr Choi’s voice, can you blame him?). What he’s instead met with is his boss’ and how his hands are clenched on his already thinning scalp — Jaemin winces when he sees a strand slowly descend to the floor— as he skids left and right around the aquariums.

It isn’t until Jaemin takes a closer look and sees that the fishes he thought were sleeping are now, well, permanently sleeping; on the floor of the aquariums, save with a few floating slowly, hanging on for Mr Choi’s happiness or the longevity of Jaemin’s work streak. He later finds out that fish float when sleeping.

“Jaemin, oh my god— the blue tin is the compost bin, and the green one is the fish food! I’ve told you about this two times, there’s even a fish sign on the green tin, how could you not tell?!” Jaemin might be tripping, but he swears he can see the bald patch on his boss’ head growing steadily.

Of course, now wouldn’t be the best time for him to point out scalp care remedies, and so he settles for the next best thing; “I thought the fish sign meant that they just…smell really bad…” Mr Choi now has his hand splayed across his face before he slowly goes to rub at his eyes, and nose bridge next, probably preventing a stress-induced nosebleed.

He points towards the front of the store, where the counter sits next to the door, finger jabbing up and down. Jaemin takes this as a sign to get some tissues from behind the counter, or his boss’ water bottle that always seems to have unlimited tea; but before he can even get back to him, with his eyes still close, in the softest tone Mr Choi says “... Out.”

He would’ve stopped his job hunting there, to be honest; but he’s in the last year of his course and is living with a roommate in a separate flat from his parents, which means he has to have at least some money to buy some necessities like groceries, much less pay rent.

He tells this much to Mark when he asks why Jaemin decided to work at a gym straight after working at a pet shop, and also what his resume looks like for people to still be keen to hire someone like him. He completely evades the second question, happily confiding in his friend about the job at a gym he picked up a week after being fired from sending the fishes into a food coma.

(“…Too soon?”

“Yeah, maybe a little bit.”)

And when Mark asks how Jaemin’s day was as a conversation starter, he vulnerably confides in him about losing his job again. This time working at a gym, he was assigned the task of giving out flyers and talking to people about why they would benefit from going to the gym, according to the outline he was provided in this big binder, the corner of the cover peeling off with age. While he was trying to promote the gym and give the discount flyers, he got into a long-winded conversation with this one old man who was talking about how the treadmill ‘fucked his knee up’, which had Jaemin thinking if treadmills existed in the 1980s.

They were five minutes into Jaemin searching the creation of gyms on Naver and the old man scolding him for not listening to a customer even though he was ‘not yet a customer because you haven’t accepted the flyer, now have you?’  when his supervisor comes out and yanks on Jaemin’s ‘employee in training’ lanyard from around his neck. Jaemin wasn’t sure what factor was the tipping point, but Mark thinks it was because he was on his phone during work hours.

“Or maybe the fact that you were stuck talking to someone likely to be the last person to ever sign up to a gym?” Mark is spinning his pen as he says this, looking up from his laptop screen towards Jaemin. Mark doesn’t even write his notes by hand, so it’s truly beyond him why he’s brought a high-class fountain pen to their study session at Jaemin’s, but that should be the last of his worries.

“Actually, they did have yoga and treadmill training for those aged sixty-five and above, so I wasn’t even targeting the wrong market.”

“Are you saying you’ve been wrongfully fired?” Mark sports an amused smile at Jaemin as if he’s laughing along with his joke; but that’s the problem, he wasn’t joking.

“Don’t laugh at my demise,” Jaemin smacks Mark’s arm, and he would feel bad at the wince that the latter lets out if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of his brutal laugh-hitting habit five out of seven times in the past week. Mark slowly halts his laughing fit when he sees Jaemin sulking, suddenly turning soft.

“Alright, you know what, here,” Mark fishes out his wallet as he says this, twisting and turning his bag on Jaemin’s bed. He gives the latter 10,000 won, waving his hand out towards Jaemin’s window. “Go ahead and get some snacks, my treat. And get me the watermelon-flavoured ice cream too?”

Jaemin scoffs. “You’re only doing this because you’re too lazy to get it yourself.” Mark’s smile is sheepish.

“Well, do you have 10,000 won to spare?” That shuts Jaemin up, as he snatches the notes out of Mark’s hand with a glare.

“When I do get 10,000 won, I’m making you eat the note,” Mark’s laugh is nervous as Jaemin marches out.

The cold hold of the ice cream contrasts the warmth in Jaemin’s hand, as the walk back to his unit proves to be a good remedy for taking a mental break from studying, as he decides to take a long way back; partially because the walk through Central parks is nice, but mainly because he wants Mark’s ice cream to have melted into a gross mush when he gets back.

Walking through the park, the rustle of the plastic bag and the tree branches are the only sounds echoing throughout, with Jaemin swinging his arm leisurely. The park is a circle shapen thread of grass with benches and pathways swirling around it, adorned with a children's playground in one corner, and the park's famous Yoshino cherry tree sitting right in the middle of the whole scene. The walk from the ice cream store back to his unit, the long way, requires Jaemin to walk through the park and the line of stores and restaurants in company with the park’s facilities. For as long as he’s lived here, three out of four of the store slots have been busy with business and traffic; all but one.

Unit store 1279 is infamous for dooming local businesses whenever someone applies for its lease. Jaemin has seen two restaurants and at least three cafes open and close, all with varying reasons for closing; the landlord is a nightmare to deal with, a corner of the store leaks something green but only when no one pays attention, and lastly about how there’s a ghost that lingers near the back door, sending cold shivers down staff and patrons alike when they pass through the door.

Out of all these rumours, Jaemin truly has yet to see one of them be proven true, the landlord was friendly enough to send welcoming flowers when each business would open; and close. He was keen to feel the shiver of the ghost's presence course through his body when he visited two openings ago but to no avail.

However, the reason why he finds the store so intriguing today is related to neither of those rumours; right on the glass door of the supposed vacant spot is an estate-sealed sticker adorned with bold letters spelling out “SOLD”. Not leased, but sold, with just below the official sticker being a recruitment post, a single slip of the business's phone number flapping in the light breeze.

We are looking for part-time staff. Starting rate at 25,000 won per hour. No prior experience is required.

Jaemin shifts from one foot to another as he eyes the piece of A4 paper taped to the door. Isn't this fate? A store opening right near where he lives, willing to accept someone with no experience, and the last slip of number is left? All while Mark’s ice cream is melting in his bag. This is the universe's calling if he knows of any.

Jaemin paces around the living room while Shotaro sits on the couch, head tilting left and right to the opposite rhythm of Jaemin’s paces as he tries to look past his whizzing figure and to the TV. If Shotaro had even a single mean bone in his body, he would ever so kindly tell Jaemin to stop pacing and maybe instead stand in one place, if he’s comfortable to of course. But as far as Jaemin is aware, he flinches at the sight of a fly, and is much less able to hurt one, so, of course, he doesn’t tell Jaemin to stop obscuring his vision, and instead turns to look at him, ignoring his show.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and Jaemin finally deflates, seeing this as an invitation to rant to his roommate. Plopping himself right next to Shotaro on the three-seated couch, he links their arms together by the elbow, needing something to ground himself.

“I wanna call this place and see if I can get a job, but I don’t know how to go about it; is there such a thing as a verbal resume?”

“You mean, an interview?” Shotaro provides, hand hovering slightly in the air as he contemplates patting Jaemin’s hand in comfort, but not for long as Jaemin separates them with a look of shock on his face.

“So that’s the word I was looking for?” He frowns to himself in contemplation, before sulking right back into Shotaro’s bicep. He doesn’t think they’ve passed the phases required to get this close to his former, but he’s too stressed about fucking up another job, and Shotaro seems to not mind this sort of interaction.

“If you find it so stressful to call them and have a phone interview, why don’t you send them a text?” Jaemin doesn’t know if this is truly coming from the goodness in his heart or if this is just something that everyone knows. Either way, the words put him at ease as he stands from the couch, patting Shotaro on the shoulder in thanks.

“You’re right! They didn’t specify their expectations; they just had phone number slips and a recruitment notice. You’re a genius Shotaro,” To that, the boy flushes with a shy smile on his face, but before Jaemin can hear him say something about how he didn’t do anything, and that he would love to help you even a little bit, Jaemin has headed off to his room and is curating a message to send.

To: [phone]

Hello, My name is Jaemin and I am interested in working in your establishment. When can I come in for an interview?

From: [phone]

Hello Jaemin. We are grateful for your enthusiasm, could you stop by next Thursday at 12 p.m at the Tao Village restaurant? Please bring a copy of your resume and provide a USB of a soft copy of said resume. We look forward to hearing from you.

To: Tao Village HR person (I think)

Yes I am available :) Thank you

Jaemin was not quite sure what is an appropriate outfit for when you want to be interviewed for a job as a waitress, but Shotaro’s eyes had dimmed just the slightest when he saw Jaemin step out of his room with jeans and a hoodie.

“Is that what you’re gonna wear?” His tone was far from condescending, even with the smile on his face, he looked more like a proud mom, but Jaemin could tell when his roommate may be slightly disappointed with a poor choice, so he had gone back and dressed up in some slacks he had and a polo shirt tucked in. he hopes he doesn’t see people he knows, or worse, Mark, because he knows he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Now he’s situated in front of the store, the ‘sold’ sticker now nowhere to be seen and a light glow shining through from the glass door, but the sun shinning from outside obscures any other view Jaemin could peak from the inside, as he sees more of his own reflection instead. Hand clasped on a clear folder and a USB with his resume, he pats his head one last time before opening the door and stepping in.

He’s been inside this store a few times over the past few cafes and restaurants, and so he’s not surprised to be met with a whole new interior. On the contrary, he’s quite pleased with the choices that the current owner of the store has made, with the walls now an even slate with ivory-coloured paint instead of the rundown orange brick that the last restaurant had. There are tables and chairs fit for two, and a last one for six people uninformed from left to right, with a counter and a curtain obscuring what he assumes is the kitchen towards the end of the restaurant.

Jaemin was too enamoured with taking in the whole place that he had completely missed the mini counter situated a bit to his left, with you standing behind, confused as to why someone has came in to simply look at the interior design and not, well, the menu.

A clear of your throat startles Jaemin out of his daze, as he looks towards you with the initial look of annoyance before his expression melts.

She’s so pretty. What the fuck? Does she work here? Is this a needed requirement? Maybe Jaemin should’ve topped up with a bit of cologne or something to truly seal his spot, but before he could embarrass himself by very subtly going to smell his shirt, you start.

“Hi, welcome to Tao Village, how can I help you?” He’s not sure if you’re using a customer service voice on him but it proves to work as he immediately thinks of how sweet your voice sounds. But Jaemin doesn’t want you to think he’s a creep who follows pretty women around and ask for their number the minute they open their mouth (he was so, so, tempted to ask for yours), so he tries a better way to ease in.

“I need to…speak to your manager.” His strong voice startles you both, as your eyes widen a bit before you lean back from the counter, now wary.

‘Is…is everything okay? My manager is unavailable at the moment.” Your eyes flit back to the curtain, where Jaemin assumes the head of this whole place is at the moment. His brows furrow further as he looks down at his watch. Twelve p.m., on the dot like the person he had texted requested. There must be a mistake.

“No, I’m sure they’re here. Maybe somewhere at the back? I need to speak to them,” he’s not sure why he’s suddenly being so demanding (he suspects that it's the polo shirt he’s wearing) but he’s nervous and he doesn’t want to be rejected before he was even given a chance to prove himself.

“I’m sorry if I offended you in any way, sir,” You voice out, now leaning back with your hand situated on the ring button placed below the counter, in case of emergencies or to be able to call for backup from the back of the kitchen. You didn’t think that you’d use it this early, “Can I make it up to you or help you in any form?”

Before you get to ring the button or Jaemin gets to backtrack, the curtains pull back and out comes a man in his mid-twenties, wearing an apron and holding a… paintbrush?

“Is everything alright?” He drops the paintbrush into its respective tray before he steps closer towards the two of you. You point at a faint smear of paint that’s caught on his cheek, mentioning silently to rub it off. Still, when he gets the memo and goes to wipe it off, he ends up smearing it further into his skin, his expression not wavering from its seriousness. It’s when he does a one-over at Jaemin that it all clicks.

“Oh! You must be here for the interview.” He pats down on his apron as if checking his bearings. “Kun said he’ll be back by now; that’s alright, have a seat.” He offers one of the two-seater tables, as Jaemin shuffles his way onward to take a seat, plopping himself on the opposite side of who he assumes is the boss of this place, as he takes his apron off and goes to brush at his clothes, before taking a look at his stained hands and deciding otherwise.

“Thank you for coming, my name is Jaehyun and I’ll just give you a brief breakdown of this place,” Jaemin nods as he rubs his palms against his jeans, thinking about how much he truly knew about this job. Come to think of it, he has no clue what the job he’s applying for even entails, just that they need staff who don’t necessarily need any experience (Jaemin does have some experience, maybe not the right kind) and were willing to pay enough for him to be able to pay his rent and only eat instant noodles two times a week, instead of the standard eight.

“We’re called Tao Village, and we offer a range of Chinese cuisines. I run this place with Kun, who was the one that got in contact with you. Both he and I cook, so we’re always in the kitchen. I have my niece,” That’s when Jaehyun points at you, which you don’t hear as you set up cutlery on tables with your earphones in, completely tuned out. “But she needs help for when we get a bit busier, or when it’s closing time; I can’t stay back because I have to wake up early the next day for the stores' essentials. We can show you the ropes but so far I just need you to work from Friday till Sunday.” Jaemin does his best to listen and store the information, but he realises that Jaehyun’s waiting for his reply.

“Yes, that should be okay,” He gave a thumbs up and a tight-lipped smile, which he slowly brings down when he sees Jaehyun’s stare on his hand.

“Great,” Jaehyun claps, standing up and reaching for the apron he placed on his lap before wrapping it around himself. “Well, the official opening of this place is on Saturday. Come in on Friday and we’ll try to acquaint you with the basics.” With a clap on the shoulder and a grimace of a smile - can it even be considered one? -  Jaehyun hands him a brochure-like menu of the restaurant, telling him that if he can memorise it as soon as possible it will be helpful.

You’re wiping down the counter when Jaemin stands to leave, and when he shoots you a barely-there smile, all you do is look away.

“You got another job?” Mark sounds surprised when he says this, and that puts Jaemin off, because, of course, he got another job.

“What was I supposed to do? Stay jobless and have Shotaro pay all the rent and food expenses?” Jaemin’s on laundry duty this week, and is being mindful of what colours are supposed to go together according to the laminated piece of paper Shotaro taped above the washing machine.

“Knowing him, he probably would offer to pay your uni fee too.” Mark tosses up a pair of bundled-up socks as he says this. “Wait, so where do you work now?”

“At the new restaurant, you know the haunted place just past the park?” Mark hums as he says this. “I’m a waitress, er, waiter there now. From Friday to Sunday. Which is good because I only have classes throughout the weekday.”

“And you barely get invited out during the weekends anyways,” Mark snickers as he says this, but misses catching the sock as Jaemin grabs a pair of used underwear and throws it directly at the boy, barely missing the undergarment as he looks at him wide-eyed. Words of ‘ew dude’ and ‘that’s gross’ goes into one ear and out the other as he picks the briefs back up and shoves them in the washing machine, closing its door and starting it off.

“Well, I have a good feeling about it this time,”

“Are you gonna blame the ghost for your- wait, did you put any detergent in?”

“ …Does it not come with detergent already?”

Jaemin picks a lint off of his shoulder, before smoothing his hand down his shirt and his pants next. He was told to wear an all-black attire, not sweatpants or hoods, so he stuck with a simple t-shirt and some black jeans.  He doesn’t know why he’s exceptionally nervous this time when all the other times he was only caught praying to last more than a weeks worth of paycheck. For some reason, he’s not keen on crossing his boss this time - Jaehyun seems scary.

Stepping forward, his hands find the handle and with one deep breath, he pushes the door. Except it doesn’t budge.

He steps back and looks through the glass of the door, seeing if anyone is inside. When he doesn’t find anyone, he pushes once more, and one more time with all his body weight; yet it doesn’t budge.

“I swear they asked me to come in at four,” He fishes his phone out of his pocket, looking at the time while his face stays squished against the door. Not even a second later, he hears the click of the door unlocking, and before his reflex could take over and help him step back, he’s launched forward and onto the ground.

“Oh my god, are you okay? Why would you cling to the door like that?” Your voice reaches his ears as he’s situated on the floor, and he then realises that his fingers were latched onto the door handle when you pulled the door to let him in.

Your slack-covered knees come into his vision first, before your face enters his view, albeit upside down.

“You didn’t get a concussion from that alone, did you?” Sounding so serious, Jaemin couldn’t help but laugh slightly at your words as he pushes himself up to his elbows, brushing at his shirt before inspecting it for any dirt. So much for looking wanting to look presentable.

“Jaehyun’s not here yet, and Kun’s stepped out just then,” Jaemin realises this is the most he’s heard you speak since the first time he’s seen you, as he sees your standing figure reaches a hand out to him, offering to help him up. He gladly accepts it, but is mindful to not pull all his weight.

“Oh,” Is all he can muster, now sheepish at the fact that your second impression of him is not any better than the first. His eyes scan around the place as he finds new additions since last week, such as a few ink-wash paintings on the wall and paper lanterns lining down the ceiling instead of the LED lamps that Jaemin saw last. Even the staff counter looks more lived in compared to the glimpse he caught before, with what looks like a brand new electric kettle and two mugs with silicone lids, one with a peach and another with a bear as their handles.

Not knowing what else to say, his eyes seek yours for any sort of initiative; hoping that you will catch his gaze and give a smile, all while explaining to him the in’s and out of this place, like how should he take orders, if there’s a particular way to fold the tissues that are placed on the tables, and if the Fujian fried rice of this restaurant is the one with or without pumpkin. Simple details.

But you all but look back at him, instead you drop your gaze away from him entirely and go to the staff counter at the back of the restaurant, picking up and taking a look at the kettle before you go behind the curtains that lead to the kitchen, out of Jaemin’s sight. He’s not sure if he’s even allowed there as a rookie staff, so he doesn’t play with his luck and instead trudges behind the counter at the door. After a few minutes of poking and prodding at things like the card reader and a pen cup, the front door swings open and in comes a tall man with red hair, holding plastic bags full of an assortment of things from food to cutlery.

“Oh, you must be Jaemin,” Jaemin straightens his back at the mention of his name, nodding his head and bowing in lieu of a greeting. The man trudges through the restaurant, the bursting plastic bags bumping into the chairs every now and then, and not long after the door swings open once more to reveal Jaehyun.

“Jaemin! You’re,” He gives his watch a glance, “On time! How pleasant, come, have you met Kun? Let’s go into the kitchen first.” Jaehyun manages to say this all with an expressionless face, but Jaemin does not feel like he’s being condescending, following his now-boss silently through the restaurant, past the main staff counter and the curtains and into the kitchen. Boxes are perched on the metal counters of the restaurant’s kitchen, filled with what Jaemin guesses are the containers for the ingredients of the dishes, and some restaurant plates, as well as takeaway boxes and bags. You’re taking out the abundance of takeaway container lids from boxes that take up two-thirds of your height, stocking them up on the top shelf.

“Kun, have you met Jaemin? I’m not sure we’ve given him a proper tour of the place,” Jaemin doesn’t think he’s gotten any sort of tour of the whole place, so all he does is politely shake his head.

Kun grunts as he places another big box next to your unpacking figure, the impact of it barely making you flinch. He looks at Jaehyun before his gaze falls on Jaemin, and with a smile and a wave of his hand, he goes through the backdoor of the kitchen without looking back.

Jaemin is guided through the whole place, with Kun showing him the storage room and the cold room, which conveniently has a sliding door; the singular bathroom of the whole place, and the main part of the restaurant.

“You don’t need to prepare much for tomorrow, it says in your resume that you’ve worked in a lot of places for short amounts of time, which gives me the impression that you can pick up traits easily,” Jaemin delivers a stiff smile as he feels Kun clasp a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Me and Jaehyun will just tell you the way we work, but first I need you to help with the unpacking. Any questions?”

Jaemin nods his head, taking the chance to now ask his burning question. “Will I get paid for today?”

Kun just laughs and pats him twice on the shoulder, shaking his head and heading to the kitchen, shoulders bunching up now and then.

Tasked with the job of organising the cutlery, Jaemin places the metal spoons and forks into the cutlery tray placed next to the plates and bowls for setting up the tables. You’re here too, wiping down the window and the glass door, emitting any sort of stain. Jaemin tries his best to not let his gaze wander on for too long, wanting to be in your good books. From what it seems, you seem just as important as both Kun and Jaehyun, so he doesn’t want to risk doing anything wrong, or piss you off. He also thinks you’re really pretty and would like to ask you out, but that’s beside the point.

It’s when you’re getting up from wiping the bottom of the window when you hear the clatter of plastic. Turning around, your eyes widen when you see Jaemin and the plastic forks he was supposed to put away at his feet.

“I…” There goes Jaemin’s one and only chance. He isn’t even being paid for this and he’s gonna get fired, right in front of the person he was trying to rizz up, too. Before he can say anymore and save his reputation, you whizz past him and into the kitchen, the curtains flying around you but you’re mindful enough to shut them back, not letting the sight of Jaemin with a bunch of forks splayed around him like he’s being sacrificed to the fast-food culinary Gods. He hears Kun and Jaehyun’s voices coming through the curtains, variations of them asking if everything is alright, to which you answer with the clutter of pots and pans.

Coming back with a big metal bowl, Jaemin’s eyes widen as you kneel — for the second time today — at his legs, picking up the forks frantically and placing them in the metal basin.

“Are you gonna help?”

And now he’s on his knees too. Scooping up the forks and placing them in the bowl, once every single fork is off the floor, you rush towards the undermount sink at the corner of the staff counter just as footsteps echo from the kitchen and Jaheyun’s figure emerges.

“Is everything good?” Jaemin feels paralysed, unable to decipher anything since the doom he felt spilling all the single-use forks onto the floor.

“Yup,” You answer nonchalantly, filling up the basin full of forks with water and a few drops of dish soap. “Just thought to rinse these clean first before…” You pause for a second as you look at Jaemin, before trailing your gaze to Jaehyun with a smile. “Before Jaemin organises them.”

Jaehyun simply nods his head before he trudges back to the kitchen, and Jaemin barely gets to utter a ‘thank you’ before you walk past him and into the kitchen.

“So she just helped you? That simply?” Jaemin’s smile is all but smug, as he cracks open his beer and clinks it against Marks, both taking generous sips.

“What can I say? I charmed her with my natural skills,”

“The natural skills of messing things up,” Mark scoffs at him before leaning over to get a piece of fried chicken out of the takeout box. “She probably pitied you for making a rookie mistake.” He starts munching on the chicken and hums in delight, following it with a sip of his beer. Jaemin reaches to pick up a pickled radish.

“Well, rookie mistake or not, she likes me enough to help me. You should come to work tomorrow for the grand opening, and while you’re at it bring everyone else too; I swear she doesn’t even like people,” Mark laughs in delight at Jaemin’s invitation, promising to come up with something.

Mouth full, he asks, “How long do you think you’ll last?”

“Swallow your fucking food first before jetting all your spit at me dude,”

In the same black polo shirt, Jaemin steps in at noon, just like his boss number one (Kun) asked him to, while boss number two (Jaehyun) had emphasised that calling him this early is to ease him in easier into the culinary business. Jaemin doesn’t mind, he’s just glad that he’s being paid for today's work.

He greets you with a wave as soon as he gets in, to which you wave back before going to the kitchen and announcing his presence.

“Jaemin’s here now,” You come back out and stand at the staff counter, taking the kettle and filling it up with water to boil. Going behind the counter, he places his phone and earbuds into his pocket, remembering that they were prohibited unless he’s on his break. Once the water is boiled, you pour it into the two mugs Jaemin remembers seeing yesterday, before putting it back on its stand and taking the mugs back into the kitchen.

Jaemin simply fiddles around, not knowing what to do. It looks like his presence on Friday was needed to set things up, but now that it’s all done, he can only wait for a customer to walk or call in, or either one of you to give him a command; he’s weary this time ‘round to not fuck anything up.

Coming back out right behind Kun, you busy yourself at the counter next to the door while Kun comes up to Jaemin, patting him on the back.

“Don’t worry about doing much today, it’s just a soft opening and not a lot of people know about our business anyways. I’m just expecting maybe two or three takeaway orders and just a handful of tables. This could be a good chance for you to bond with each other, yeah?” But before Jaemin could take in the fact that Kun had wanted some sort of bonding to happen, his mind got caught on the words ‘soft opening’.

“Wait, so today’s only the …soft opening.” Careful with his tone, Jaemin tries to make it sound like he’s just restating a fact rather than being surprised. Kun is too busy drinking from his hot water to notice Jaemin’s nervous front.

“Yup, Jaehyun and I decided it would be best to have a grand opening maybe after we got to test the waters out.” He places the silicon lid with the bear cover back on his cup to retain the heat, and Jaemin really can’t help but feel like something bad is brewing. But before he could even voice out a word, the door to the restaurant opens with a bell resounding, and in swarm a pack of ten or so customers, and a blob that looks like Mark.

“Yoo, this place is quite neat,” Apparently it talks like Mark too.

Both shocked still with wide eyes, trying to make sense of where and how this many people all came together into the restaurant just minutes after the soft opening, Jaemin just hopes that nothing about Mark and what seems like a club he gathered from the university can be somehow linked back to him. It doesn’t seem like the universe is keen on taking his side, however, as he sees Mark’s eyes squint and searches around the restaurant, knowingly searching for him. Jaemin doesn’t know why he hasn’t tried looking at where the general staff area would be, like at the door or where he’s currently situated, but before he could duck to hide or face his impending doom, you miraculously step in.

“Hello, welcome to Tao Village, how can I help you?” You sport a kind but mute smile, hands clasped together politely.

“Yeah, can I have, like, a table or something?”

“Sure, for how many people?”

“Ooh! Good question… I think there’s like, ten of us at the moment.”

“Is it alright if I were to ask you to sit separately? Since you’re walking in, we didn’t have the opportunity to set up. Just in two groups of three and one table for four maybe?” Jaemin doesn’t know how you do it, but his shoulders sag when Mark gives you a thumbs up, going back to the group of people all loitering around the entrance, telling them that they will just break into subunits.

Kun has somehow slipped away without any notice, which left just Jaemin behind the counter for you to encounter when you head towards the bottled water in the fridge. “Can you help me with the water? I’ll take their orders and you can just follow along first,” With a nod of his head, you press the bottle into his hands, waving him off as you reach for a server notepad, writing down table numbers and heading to the tables.

With your presence and the two chefs busy in the kitchen, Jaemin doesn’t do much but avoid eye contact with Mark and listen to you pick up the scarce phone orders that come through; trying his best to learn how to pick up such skill. After the third time of the phone ringing and Jaemin staying in place, simply looking at you to pick up the phone, you pick it up and press the answer button, before pressing it against his ear and giving an encouraging nod.

It turns out to be a scam call, with the person on the other end attempting to sell Jaemin a double-doored fridge with a touch screen and dual ice and water dispenser, all while Jaemin tries to promote the restaurant.

“With the dual dispenser, you can fill your glass up with both water and ice at the same time so your water doesn’t go too cold on the first si-“

“The mapo tofu is a great dish to order, as tofu proves to be a primary source of iron, easily accessible and cheap with the rising price of meat.”

“…It’s a Samsung model which has been on limited release—“

“Do you want the food or not?”

(The telemarketer hesitates just a bit before stating that they’ll call another time.)

Nothing else happens, you two go to the kitchen whenever a sound of the bell ringing resounds, signalling that a dish is ready to be served, and Jaemin uses all of his brain power and logic skills to pick up dishes that are for tables that Mark isn't seated at.

He successfully gets to do all that is required of him and stealthily avoids Mark, silently celebrating as he sees you place fortune cookies at every table, signalling that it’s time for them to pay the bill and leave.

But of course, nothing good ever lasts.

“Jaemin, bro,” Mark must’ve been some assassin in his past life because Jaemin barely notices him creeping up to him until he’s already wrapped in a handshake and a bro hug. “Well done dude, you barely made a mistake today. Yo, the food was good too, you should bring back some of the Mongolian lambs every now and then, yeah? I’ll see you later,” And with two claps on his back, he’s fishing his pockets for spare change as he heads towards the front counter and near the door, finding a singular coin before placing it in your palm, smiling as if he’s single-handedly pulled you out of poverty.

“Your friend?” You murmur towards him, looking at the coin in distaste.

“Yeah, unfortunately so.”

“I can’t do it,” Jaemin is shaking his head and hands vehemently; making him feel even more sick than he was.

You roll your eyes at him, holding the restaurant's phone in your hand. “You have to start somewhere, you can’t just avoid it now and expect to be miraculously good one day. I swear once you learn how to pick up phone orders you’ll only want to do that.” You explain, before putting your free hand out, palm facing up, encouraging Jaemin to do the same. Once he follows, not without a lot of hesitation, of course, you gently place the phone in his hand, closing his fingers around it with two hands before giving it a light pat.

“Now,” You pick up Jaehyun's phone that's placed on the counter, dialling the restaurant's number before placing yourself on the other side of the restaurant to cease any echoes. “I’m gonna call and act like a customer, you try writing down the order details.” With a nod of his head, you press the dial and turn the other way around, opting to look away to make Jaemin less nervous.

With a deep breath in, he picks up. “Hi, welcome to Tao Village,” He pauses, looking at you for any sign of motivation, but continues when he notices you waiting. “What would you like to order?”

“Jaemin,” Your voice sounds in the dining area and not through the phone, as you turn slightly to look at him with the phone tucked into your chest. “Some customers might not order food straight away. Maybe try asking how you can be of assistance,”

“Hello, welcome to Tao Village restaurant. Uh, how can I help?” Jaemin tries again, to which you reply with a bunch of dish names, asking for the different types of sauces that come with the mixed vegetables, as he tries his best to answer with what he remembers and writes down the prices of each dish from the takeaway menu.

“Uh, okay. Is that, did you want anything else?”

“Nope, I’m good. What's the total?” Jaemin fumbles with the calculator, shoulders hunched over the counter, punching in the numbers and writing down the total on the piece of paper. “That would be around 38,000 won.”

“Are you sure?” This time your voice is right by his ear without the phone pressed against it, your arm brushing against his side. Jaemin doesn’t even have the time to be scared, distracted by the proximity of you two as you reach over and use the calculator.

“It came up to 42,000 won. Did you forget to calculate the buns?”

“Oh,” Jaemin splutters. “Maybe, my bad.” Although this all sounds so new to Jaemin, he doesn’t feel as overwhelmed as he thought he would; with every other job he had, there would be someone assigned to help Jaemin understand the ropes of the place, but everyone else would add something on too, like how folding clothes the ‘Marie Kondo way’ was is even more efficient, even if that defeats the whole purpose of displaying a t-shirt at a department store.

You coach him through the quirks one by one, not moving on until Jaemin shows that he’s somewhat picked up the action. It all feels like a dream come true, with you guiding him as if you know that he couldn’t last a week into his job without actually knowing that. He’s just not sure how effective it will be in the long run. And it turns out that he doesn’t need to wait long to find out, as the ringing of the phone echoes in the restaurant devoid of any noise except for the soft piano background music.

Nodding your head at him, Jaemin picks up the phone and only hesitates for half a ring before he presses accept, bringing the phone to his ear and repeating the welcome phrase. It all goes well, with the customer asking if they can make a phone order for pick up, to which Jaemin replies ‘Why yes, of course you may’, and the sound of a car door closing sounds through the phones speakers, and suddenly the quality of the customers' voice sounds like hot garbage as their phone connects to their cars’ bluetooth.

“Sorry, did you say you wanted mixed vegetables in rooster sauce? Sorry, we don’t offer— oh. Oyster sauce. Yup,” You look at him with a confused look on your face, curious as to why Jaemin can’t understand the person when everything was good. The furrow of your eyebrows and the scratching sound from the phone sets Jaemin off, as the customer mutters something about ‘how many times do I have to repeat myself?’.

Jaemin writes down what he can understand, writing down the name ‘Kai’ and giving the customer the estimated waiting time, before hanging up the phone.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” You give him a pat on the shoulder, taking the slip of paper from his hand, wincing as you take a look at the scribbles writing of the dish names and their prices. “It’ll just go up from here. Hey, tell you what, why don’t you try remembering the ingredients of our fried rice, and see if you can differentiate between which one is the normal one and the special one without looking at the names, yeah? I’ll go help set up the ingredients for cooking these dishes,” And with one last tap, you disappear behind the curtains, taking a pen with you and correcting the mistakes before providing it to the two chefs.

You’re busy talking at a table of customers when the door swings open and in walks a customer, which leaves Jaemin to tend to them instead. With a customer service smile, he clears his throat and greets them.

“How can I help you?”

“Oh, I’m here to pick up an order. Under the name Kim I think? Sorry, I didn’t place the order but my dad did.” The woman scrolls through her phone as she says this, looking at what Jaemin guesses to be an exchange of texts between her and her dad. He ducks a bit to look at the dock under the table, where all the takeaways are brought and placed with the order slip attached to them with a piece of tape. He sees one with the name Kim and picks it up, removing the attached slip and placing it on top of the counter while the lady reaches for her wallet.

“Okay, uh, did you order the sweet and sour pork, with a large fried rice?” Jaemin reads off the food, a procedure you emphasised was important when dealing with takeaway orders. The lady nods, impatient as she swings her card around. He looks at the price at the end of the paper before punching it into the machine. Once the transaction goes through successfully and a receipt is printed, the woman quickly snatches the handle of the takeaway plastic bag and nods her head goodbye. Jaemin senses that something is wrong, off maybe even, and so he looks at the copy of the receipt and the contents of the order slip, looking at the other orders waiting at the dock and their contents and seeing that they all match their slips, and so with a shrug, he sets off to go back to the staff counter.

It isn’t until ten minutes pass that his wrongdoing was confirmed, as you call for his name from across the restaurant while sifting through the takeaway orders, a customer patiently looking over to see your interaction. He pulls up beside you, squatting down eye-level to the dock like you are before he whispers, “Did I do something wrong?”

“Where is the order for Kim? The one with the fried rice and sweet and sour pork? I remember bringing it here when it was packed at the back.” Jaemin feels his blood run cold at the mention of the order, a clear replay of his interaction with the woman coming in full blast.

“Oh… that…” At this, you pause your search and look at Jaemin, whose breath hitches at the short distance between your faces, courtesy of your crouched figures. You close your eyes, breathing in deeply to calm your nerves, before straightening up at lightning speed, knocking Jaemin over and onto the ground with an ‘oof’.

“Your order is still not ready yet, sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll go and check up on the progress, did you want to take a seat while you wait?” You smile at the customer, who nods back and says something about not minding the wait. You walk over Jaemin’s bent knees on the ground, going past him and into the kitchen.

He picks himself up quickly, making brief eye contact with the customer before looking at the curtains which you walked into. He’s doomed, you’re gonna tell Jaehyun and Kun about the mistake you made, and they’re gonna come out mad with their sleeves pulled up, ready to beat the shit out of him. He should’ve taken the self-defence class his mom recommended to him when he was twelve, maybe then he could do something to make the pain afterwards not hurt as much.

But before he could think about running out of the place with the bowl of fortune cookies (compensation for the beating that is due… possibly), you come back out, heading for the sink and filling up a glass of water while you place it on the table that the real Kim sits at.

“Shouldn’t be too long, they’re just finishing up on the sweet and sour pork. Here some water while you wait.” And now Jaemin is confused. He’s still on the floor of the restaurant with his brows furrowed and mouth hung open as if he’s gonna start throwing a temper tantrum. Your eyes widen ever so slightly when you catch a glimpse of him still on the ground where you left him, but your professionalism pushes through as you widen the smile on your face with a hum, before shuffling away towards his direction when the customer looks away. Pulling him up, Jaemin is only able to offer you a few murmurs of random words to voice his confusion.

“They’re making a new batch, I figured that someone provided a similar name and didn’t know the order details, which is why they accepted it. Don’t worry, they don’t know that you mixed it up,” Jaemin feels a sense of relief wash over him, looking at you with what he knows to be his puppy eyes; you make sure to look away.

“Isn’t it like, against the rules to not tell them?”

“Well, if you like rules so much, you can go ahead and take this takeaway order to the back and confess. Or you can split its payment with me and take what you like home. While you decide what to do, I’ll call the customer you gave the wrong order to and offer some apology coupon.” If it was professional to, Jaemin would give you the biggest head; but unfortunately, this isn’t the film industry, and so he sticks to the next best thing, which is to just look at you longingly.

In hindsight, five weeks have passed and Jaemin is still an employee of Tao Village, surpassing his longest streak of two weeks and five days at the retail store. Which calls for a celebration.

“To Jaemin,” Shotaro opens a can of beer with one hand, which truly impresses Jaemin, because he didn’t think that he knew what alcohol was, let alone drink it. “Who can finally pay his half of the rent on time,”

“You’re too nice, Shotaro,” Mark clinks his can against his and Jaemin’s at the toast, taking a sip. “I would’ve kicked him out as soon as he somehow disconnected the house's water system. You guys had to shower at the campus locker rooms for a week.”

Shotaro simply laughs as Jaemin lunges at Mark. “You don’t even live here, why do you keep coming? You should pay rent at this point too, fucker,”

Mark shoves at Jaemin’s face, which was really close to biting his shoulder, effectively avoiding a months-long bruise. He scooches away on the couch, leaning against the handle and sipping his beer. Jaemin picks up a piece of takeaway fried chicken, and it’s with his mouthful when Shotaro asks how he’s liking the place.

“It’s okay, it’s not too busy since it just opened and no one really knows of its existence. Except for when Mark brought a shitton of people on its soft opening day,”

“You told me it was the gran-”

“Anyway, thankfully I didn’t get into trouble for that. But I was close all the other times…”

Mark snorts while Shotaro mumbles something about how well Jaemin is doing. “What, did you do all the cliche mistakes?”

“Define cliche,” Jaemin speaks after taking another bite of the chicken, making Mark kick at his thigh lightly.  “Like, did you spill red wine on a customer? Or break a plate, or write down the wrong order. You know, restaurant waiter cliches.” Jaemin ponders for a second at this, thinking back to his five weeks of employment at the place.

“Not quite…” He tilts his head in thought, but before he could follow it up with anything, Shotaro and Mark clink their drinks together from opposite sides of the couch.

“Then that means you’ve finally healed! Let’s celebrate while we can,” Mark and Shotaro both chug at their drinks, and Jaemin would be ecstatic to join if it weren’t for the fact that it’s only three pm in the afternoon. But also because he doesn’t think he can celebrate yet.

“Shotaro, did you know about this person Jaemin’s working with as well? He has a massive boner for her but like, they barely interact.” Shotaro chuckles at this, glancing at Jaemin whose face is now red as he stumbles for an excuse.

“She must be really nice if you like her; does she help you around a lot?” Shotaro questions, making Jaemin flush even more.

“If only you knew,”

He picks up a carton of Sprite from the ground of the cold room, goosebumps erupt all over his forearms as Jaemin hurries out of the place, closing the door shut with his foot. Shuffling past the two chefs cooking and back into the dining area, he briefly searches for you before he finds you at the basin at the staff counter, washing the used cups.

“I brought the carton,” He announces, making you turn around.

“Thanks, do you mind placing it here? You can open the carton but be careful when you put it at the edge, it can spill out.” Your fingers are covered in sud as you point at the counter next to you. With a nod of his head, he perches the carton on the counter, half of it hanging out with the cluster of items placed, not providing enough room. As he gently prods open the cardboard packaging, he glances at you, back facing him as you lather the cups in soap one by one. Before he could continue with his task with his newfound motivation (your existence), you lean over and open the door to the mini glasswasher, backing up against him as you place the cups in.

He averts his gaze quickly, eyes wide from seeing you bend over like that, not wanting to lose his feminist streak from letting his mind wander so easily. As he continues to prod at the Sprite container, he feels the briefest brush of your legs against his, and he completely splutters, accidentally hooking his finger at the opening of the carton and ripping it open, making all the cans stacked against each other topple out and over the edge of the counter, one by one making an impact with the floor.

With a screech and a poor attempt of stopping the cans in motion, he squats to make it to the cans before they fully fall to the floor. But it seems like, yet again, the universe is not on his side, because not only does he fail to catch most of the descending drinks, the bridge of his nose makes contact with the edge of the counter, making him join the cans on the floor.

“Oh my god,” You’re shocked by the view in front of you, like some sort of twisted Renaissance painting. You reach down, and just as Jaemin is about to tell you not to worry about him, and that he can just die a beautiful death with the cans surrounding him, you pick up the fallen cans, inspecting them for any damage.

“You’re lucky none of these popped open, the floor would be sticky for days,” You mutter as you place the cans back on top of the counter, separating the ones that turned out fine and the dented ones. All the while Jaemin lies there, his nose throbbing, contemplating how he’s lasted here so far.

“Aren’t you gonna tell them?” He closes his eyes as he gently presses his cold fingers against his nose bridge, soothing the pain. The answer seems to be an obvious ‘yes’ if your lack of reply is anything to go by. A few seconds pass and he feels the cold contact of a can replacing where his hands were on his features, and when he opens his eyes, he sees your face above his, inspecting him.

“What is there to say? That you’re on the ground fighting against a nosebleed?” You taunt, removing the can and inspecting the spot with the gentle press of your fingers. Grabbing his hand and opening his palm, you place the dented can you used gesturing to his face.

“You can drink it once you’re done, they won’t notice,” Jaemin sits up as you say this, bringing the can up to his nose, pressing the cold against it as he watches you go back to turning on the machine and walking away, tending to other restaurant responsibilities.

Notepad and pen in hand, Jaemin walks to the table that raised their hand at him and delivers his best customer service smile. “Hello, welcome back to Tao. Would you like to order?” You had given Jaemin the heads up to look after this table exclusively.

“They’re this group of ladies that have nothing to do but spend their significant others’ money. They come like, almost every second day; something about wanting to support local businesses. And they give generous tips. No one does that.” You sigh. “I wish I had that much free time.”

The women smile at him, seemingly charmed. Jaemin knows the power he holds, and he also knows that if he bunches up his cheeks just right, he can have any woman over the age of fifty want to pinch them.

“What a charismatic boy,” one of them comments, and he blinks his eyes and tilts his head, smile still on his face feeling just slightly strained as he politely rejects the compliment, feigning humility.

“Okay, well can we start our entrees with a set of fried dim sims and spring rolls, and for the main course we’ll have the mapo tofu, fried rice— did you say you wanted Hokkien mee? One of those too please, and a serving of mixed vegetables with oyster sauce and chicken chow mien. No mushrooms for either, please. And for drinks, we’ll just have three tsingtao’s and one glass of Shiraz.” The woman drones, and Jaemin has a bit of difficulty catching up and writing down all the dishes she’s named, and so he repeats it all back once it’s done; a practice heavily encouraged by you.

When Jaemin finishes listing the dishes back and receives four nodding heads, he smiles in thanks and head’s to the kitchen, yelling out ‘New order!’ for the chefs to be aware of. Coming back out and placing a copy of the notepad at the staff counter, his smile turns genuine when he sees you, showcasing two thumbs up.

Now bashful, he says “I think I’ve replaced you as ‘favourite waiter’ now.” His smile is cheeky as he says this, with you rolling your eyes, pointing at the fridge near the counter instead. “Stop spewing bullshit and get the drinks ready. I’ll write down the prices of each dish.” With a salute and nod of his head, he goes to fetch the drinks from the fridge and the bottle of red wine nearby, as well as an empty wine glass. Preparing the drinks, your shoulders brush against each other in the tight space of the staff counter, with you looking back and forth between the menu and the order slip. Jaemin misses when your eyebrows furrow together, inspecting the slip for something.

“Uhm, Jaemin,” He hums back in response, eyes still focused on pouring no more than one standard drink of the wine. “Did you tell the kitchen that this is the table with a mushroom allergy?”

Jaemin’s heart drops to his ass.

His posture straightens immediately, vision zeroing in on the table he just took the order of, as his head slowly turns to you, a million thoughts run around in his head. With the expression he sports, you quickly grab a pen and a highlighter, running back into the kitchen as quickly as possible. Scanning the restaurant, when he sees all the customers occupied, he slowly slips away and into the kitchen, leaving them unattended to somehow save his ass, and from a possible murder case.

“—do you mean there’s a mushroom allergy? And why did none of you tell us? Of course the mixed vegetables and chow mien have vegetables in them.” Kun speaks as he cooks on the wok, lifting it every now and then as the clang of his wok’s spatula echoes out, mixing around the satay chicken.

“He wrote it down but just forgot to say it out loud,” You bluff, pointing at the copy of the slip that Jaemin brought back into the kitchen, now adorning the words ‘NO MUSHROOM’ in bold, highlighted letters at the top. Your other hand is clasped behind your back, holding the pen and highlighter. Jaehyun momentarily stops making his fried rice, coming up to the counter, and looking at you over it before snatching the slip, his aggressive manner making Jaemin wince slightly.

With a poor squint of his eyes, you and Jaemin wait with bated breaths for him to somehow finish reading the two words. When his eyes stop squinting, he spares a look at both you and Jaemin, placing the slip back down onto the counter before reaching into the bowl containing the ingredients for the dishes, fishing out the mushrooms and putting them back from where he originally picked them up, waving you both off. And you barely waste any time, muttering a sorry and going towards the curtains, pushing Jaemin out with you.

“Sorry. Thank you.” He doesn’t know what else to say, looking at you while you ignore his gaze so close to your face, centring him back to the staff counter. You shake your head and hand at him as if to say that he has nothing to be sorry about.

“Mistakes happen. Now can you put the puppy eyes away? We have a new customer to serve.”

“I’m not that stupid to bel— Hi, welcome to Tao Village. How can I help you?”

“Jaemin, do you think you could give the Chardonnay to table three? It’s for the man with the glasses,” You ask as you calculate the total of a takeaway order you just took, glancing at him to see if he’s available.

“Sure,” It turns out that you’ve already set out the glass and the bottle, as he opens the cap and pours it in, before taking a tray and placing the glass on it. You’ve taught him a few times to hold the tray with one hand, but he’s taking it slow and only using a single hand with drinks and sauces that he’s asked to deliver, not wanting to be too ambitious. Balancing it, he eyes for table number three and said man with glasses, strategically planning to swiftly arrive and deliver the drink.

As he waltz’s his way through, with his vision zeroed in on the customer, he completely misses the lady at the table before wanting to get out of her chair, completely skidding it across the floor and making an impact on Jaemin’s side.

Everything is suddenly carried out in slow motion, as he sees the fright on the woman's face, the tilt of his body and tray towards the customer settled on the table, the white wine toppling over the rim of the glass. If he retains his focus, maybe he can slow-mo recover and balance himself, only causing the wine to spill on the ground and maybe himself. He is willing to sacrifice his (Shotaro’s) black t-shirt.

Then he blinks.

A groan echoes and silent gasps are spilt, as he opens his eyes and sees first the man drenched in white wine, and Jaemin’s hand on his arm, balancing himself. Before he could even separate himself and apologise profusely, he is suddenly grabbed by the collar, and in his head, he’s already commemorating the lovely memories he’s made here with you and mourns how quickly he has to abandon the delusion that you two will end up together.

With one eye squeezed close, he’s not sure if it’s better to expect a punch or a slap against his face, but before he can anticipate either, he hears someone say “Excuse me, sir,”

“What do you want,” The man snarls at you, as you make eye contact with him, a silent customer-service-smile sported on your face as always.

“Apologies sir, but we don’t accept this sort of behaviour in our restaurant. Violence is not part of our values. I do ask of you to let out staff member go, you’re scaring him.” Jaemin can’t help but nod his head at the man, who glares at him before letting him go and jamming a finger into Jaemin’s chest.

“This boy spilt my drink all over me, how is that a part of your values?” He yells, making Jaemin wince at the loud volume, but you merely blink, stepping forward and closer to the customer, lowering your voice in an attempt to get him to soften his, too.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused sir, but this sort of behaviour is not tolerated. If you would allow our staff to apologise and we’ll-”

The customer scoffs, “Apologise? An apology isn’t gonna fix the stain caused on my shirt. Isn’t the customer always right? Who the fuck are you to speak to me like this,” He shoves you at your shoulder as he says this, causing you to stumble back into Jaemin’s figure, whose arms shoot out and hold you by the waist.

The curtains leading to the kitchen skid aside, and out steps Jaehyun. It all feels so dramatic if Jaemin were to look at it from a perspective of an outsider, as Jaehyun walks over to you three, his figure looming over all of you.

His smile is blinding, dimples forming on both his cheeks as he clasps his hands together. “Out,” Is all he says, hand now facing the door of the restaurant.

The man blanches. “But—”

Jaehyun merely shakes his head in a stern manner, smile suddenly dropping, pursing his lips as if taunting a child. Without making contact with the customer, he guides him gently towards the door, before the man gets the memo and stomps his way out. Jaehyun turns to the remaining customers at the table, providing a formal apology and confiding in them that they simply don’t tolerate this sort of behaviour towards their staff.

“Would you like to pack away your remaining food? You can pay at the counter just at the front, thank you for your understanding and apologies for the inconvenience,” And with that, he steps back into the kitchen, curtains shutting close as if they barely jostled. As you and Jaemin pick up the plates and pack the food into takeaway containers, Jaemin slowly approaches you, his arm brushing against yours.

“Are you okay,” He asks, voice solemn. It never feels nice to get yelled at by a customer, Jaemin’s just used to it, but he forgets that it can take a toll on different people.

Your smile is shy, barely looking in his direction as you click to close the lid of the container, grabbing both of your containers before placing them in a takeaway bag. “Yeah, I’m okay.” without a second glance, you walk to the front counter, giving the bag to the customer as well as the receipt.

“Can you two close up? Kun and I have to get up early tomorrow to make it to the fish market before the good quality scallops all sell out.” Jaehyun says this later in the day, as he folds his apron and places it on the staff counter. “I’ve already mopped the back. Do you have the keys?” He looks at you as he says this, to which you nod and give a thumbs up. With a nod of his head, he goes through the back door of the restaurant, leaving you two alone. Jaemin mops as you wipe the tables clean, preparing them to be set up once again tomorrow. Silence engulfs you two, with the only sounds being the slosh of the mop in the bucket and the scrape of chairs as you manoeuvre around them.

Jaemin decides that this is a good time to speak up. “Thank you for doing that,” He continues pumping the mop into the drainer part of the bucket, removing all excess water before plopping it back down. “I wouldn’t have minded if he had smacked me,” At this you laugh, cheeks bunching up cutely making Jaemin’s heart flutter.

“Did you want him to smack you?” You look into his eyes this time, the lights of the restaurant reflecting in your iris’. Jaemin thinks he could get used to this.

“Are you kink-shaming me? I doubt that’s allowed within the Tao VIllage values,”

“I’m not too sure. Hey, why don't we talk to the boss about it tomorrow?”

Jaemin’s grin is cheshire-like, “Wouldn't be the worst conversation I’d have,” At that you raise an eyebrow, to which he throws a wink. A comfortable silence engulfs the two of you, as you continue with your tasks, working around one another and you avoid the places Jaemin has freshly mopped while he manoeuvres himself around you.

It’s when you’re outside of the place and locking the doors, sizing up and down the door to put all the locks in place when you speak up. “You don’t have to thank me, by the way. People make mistakes, and Jaehyun would be less mad at me than at you. Plus, Kun doesn’t care like that either, as long as he can run this business, you can break as many cartons of drinks as you desire,” Looking over your shoulder, you catch Jaemin gazing at you, the same puppy eyes leering at you. Looking away, you pick up your stuff from the ground, wanting to bid him goodbye and completely disappear, maybe quit this job and move countries and settle down with a farming family of seven that don’t mind an additional one person to work their fields and pet their cows as a form of cattle therapy. Anything but face Jaemin’s face abd his ridiculously handsome features.

But before you could begin your progress, Jaemin calls out your name, making you turn around to face him once more. Thankfully, there’s no sign of the puppy eyes, but he is smiling.

“Since it’s a Sunday and we have a day off tomorrow, do you want to grab some food with me?”

The warmth from the broth and fishcake in your cup seeps into your hand, preventing them from getting too cold in the Autumn breeze. Jaemin counts his notes under the red and yellow haze of the fishcake stall, handing them to the old lady once he collects the right amount. The woman snatches the notes once Jaemin presents them and counts them twice, nodding her head in dismissal when she’s done.

Picking up his cup, the two of you manoeuvre yourself around the park and settle on a free bench, looking out into the lit-up park, with parents and kids at the playground while adults settle their picnic mats and huddle around near the fairy-lit trees; the Central park seems to be teeming with more people with the sudden shift of seasons, as people embrace the coming cold by celebrating in their own ways. Kids scream at the top of their lungs when sliding down a steep slide, and adults teem with laughter as they swish their wine in their plastic glasses.

Picking out a stick of fishcake from the cup full of broth, you blow on it a few times before biting into it, settling into the park bench more comfortably as the warmth of the food engulfs you. Excluding the bustle of people, you and Jaemin sit quietly as you indulge in your food.

But the silence doesn’t last long. “I don’t know how kids are so agile at such a young age. Like, aren’t their bones basically jelly?” Jaemin points at the few kids climbing up ropes at the playground, taking them to a tall slide as a reward.

“It doesn’t look too hard,” You quip, head leaning closer to Jaemin as you look at the kids climbing up vicariously. Jaemin turns to look at you, making you realise just how close you leaned in. “You think you could climb that?”

“At my age? Easy,” You scoff, leaning back and away, now feeling more flustered. If Jaemin catches on to your behaviour, he doesn’t make it obvious, sipping on the broth in his cup and opting to ask you about your favourite playground equipment.

“Thank you for the fishcakes,” You pat your stomach, smiling at your coworker.

“Of course,” He rocks back and forth on his heels the two of you standing at the edge of the park, ready to part ways. “I can never have a pretty girl like you be deprived of such Autumn goodness,” Jaemin teems at you as he says this, ready to receive some sort of backlash for his behaviour.

Imagine his surprise when you slightly guffaw, before stopping yourself with a hand to your mouth and a straight face. “If you think I’m so pretty,” You start as you turn around, slowly beginning the walk back to your house. “You would do more than just buy me a 3,000 won snack; I think pretty girls like me deserve more. No?” And with a wave, you continue your walk, leaving Jaemin with wide eyes and a slightly concerning grip on his cup.

It’s been eight weeks since Jaemin started working at Tao Village as a waiter, and he hasn’t known peace throughout.

It’s not that the pay is bad, or that the people around him treat him terribly. The pay is generous enough and as rarely as he sees Kun and Jaehyun on his shift, even if they’re a curtain width away from him, they’re nice and give him a container of food after every shift. And you’re an angel on earth, helping him whenever he fucks something up, and saving his ass nearly six times since he’s started working here.

The problem is that he makes those mistakes. And he has to go out of his way to not make these mistakes, and after every shift he feels like he’s worked five days with no break when in reality he just had a five-hour shift and a very generous thirty-minute break, eating hot and sour soup while you tell him about the weird customers you’ve encountered, asking him to rank them from most to least smashable with the details given from your anecdote.

Speaking of you, he thinks you're the epitome of his worries. Ever since he slipped up and basically confessed to thinking you’re attractive, you’ve been tormenting him, torturing even. If he were to tell you this, you would deny it all. And of course you would, because—

“I’m not doing anything,” You reply when Jaemin asks what you’re doing with the order slip that he’s just written down on. With a pen in your hand and a separate order slip, you’re copying down everything word for word instead of just taking Jaemin’s one to the back like normal.

“Yes, you are. Why are you making a copy of my slip— Are you ripping it to pieces?!” Jaemin shrieks, which catches the attention of the patrons in the restaurant, earning him a light smack against his arm.

You sigh, “Look, Jaehyun doesn’t like it sometimes when the slip looks too messy. There’s already a lot of oil and water being splattered on these poor things the minute they go past the curtain.” You shake the paper in your hand. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, you grab Jaemin’s hand, not looking at his face in case he’s flashing those eyes again. Jokes on you, because he’s also blushing, so you’re doing him a favour.

“Your handwriting isn’t messy, they’re just used to mine. I don’t want them to make a fuss over nothing,” You pat his hand and head to the back, not before reminding him to check on table number seven.

Looking at his left hand, the hand which you grasped hours ago, he holds it to his chest and prays to whatever holds power to keep him strong. He doesn’t know if you’re doing these things on purpose, or if he just has a weak heart.

“You barely go out of your room, so I’d say the second option is more likely.” Mark quips, tilting his body to the same side that his kart skids in the game. Jaemin lies down on his bed arm slung over his eyes as Mark plays on his console.

“Am I just due for a good fuck? Is that why I’m basically busting whenever she brushes past me?”

“Yo,” Mark sounds concerned now. “Brushes past you? Like, it’s just the accidental skinship that makes you horny?”

Jaemin sits up now, wanting to prove himself innocent despite the words he uttered just seconds ago. “You have to understand, I think she’s doing it on purpose.”

“I’ve seen your place Jaemin. The staff counter seems like a tight fit, I don’t know how she can be doing these things on purpose.” Jaemin huffs at that, falling back onto his bed again. He doesn’t know how to explain to his best friend that he isn’t delusional, so he just mutters a ‘whatever’ and tries tickling him, wanting him to lose the game and get last place.

“Yup, your order is just right here. So it’s just the large special frie—” His voice gets stuck in his throat repeating back the order to the customer when he feels a figure pressed up against his back, and with a glance to the side he sees you leering over, looking at the slip he holds in his hand. When he makes eye contact with you, you barely give back a nod of your head, encouraging him to continue reading.

“Sorry. Uhm, just the large special fried rice, and two servings of the spring rolls,” You lean in even more, and Jaemin can only thank the great heavens above for the bit of privacy that the takeaway counter provides. He feels the plush of your breasts pressing against him, leaning against him while you reach over below the counter to some pens, opening the notebook of table reservations and writing in a new booking.

He only messes up putting in the total price of the order twice on the machine, before the customer picks up his food, leaving you two behind the counter. Just as he’s about to turn around and say something, you separate yourself from him, patting him on his shoulder and closing the notebook shut.

The first thing he does is find his bearings, as he clutches a hand at his chest, then his neck, and lastly his ears, feeling how hot they were. Next, he has to somehow find a way to see if he just made that whole scenario up. Looking at where you now were, which was at a table, conversing with a customer, he was a few seconds away from losing his mind. But his thoughts were confirmed when you glanced a look at him, the corner of your lips lifting ever so slightly before you continue speaking to the table.

Jaemin doesn’t know how long he can last.

He now knows how long he can last.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not long at all. He doesn’t know if what you’re doing is on purpose, or he’s just infatuated with you enough to now notice these things, but all he can blame it on is the fact that it’s been some time since he last got laid, and so that’s why he’s getting flustered by your proximity these days.

But he also thinks that you might be doing some things on purpose; like squeezing past him in the tight margin of the staff counter to wipe some inconspicuous water stain, bodies brushing against each other in a tight squeeze, or inspecting his hand for too long after he’s delivered a sizzling plate of Mongolian lamb to the table, in search for an injury you both know is not there if he hasn’t already blatantly dropped the whole dish onto the table. Or that one time when you both went to the cold room, with him reaching up for the carton of beers while you kneel to get the soft drinks, side to side. You had momentarily lost your balance while pulling out the boxes from the back, resulting in your hand clutching at his pants, wanting to regain your balance.

“Oh, sorry,” Your words are a clear contrast between your actions, as your hands linger on for longer, lashes fluttering when you look up at him, the light of the cold room twinkling in your eyes. Jaemin swears he feels your hands squeeze ever so slightly before you let go, shuffling out of the room with a carton tucked by your side.

He doesn’t know how to confront you about it; it’s not that he doesn’t enjoy the sudden burst of attention he’s receiving from you, it’s just that it’s both not enough and too much. He wants more but he doesn’t want to risk popping a boner while taking a sixty-year-old woman’s order.

Every time he thinks he’s got you cornered, something always comes along to save you, like the call of a customer, or Kun coming through the curtains to get some hot water, even though his sightings are as common as blue moons.

So when Jaehyun asks you two to restock some of the items into the storage room as a part of your closing shift, Jaemin thinks the opportunity is basically being graced into the palm of his hands.

“The stuff might be a bit heavy, so be careful with your posture when picking up the boxes,” Jaehyun tuts, scrubbing his wok clean. “And remember to lodge something between the door, it still gets stuck from the inside. Don’t go home too late, but also don’t half-ass things as well.” Jaemin almost shivers when he hears her mom echoing back the same things to him in his head.

“Jaemin, do you know that door wedge we have at the back? You can use that, sometimes even I forget. Kun’s trying his best with the handle.” He steps over the freshly mopped places, going past and at the cashier, placing your tips in your dedicated storage boxes.

“Okay we get it Jaehyun, but if you keep speaking we won’t be done unti—” The front door shuts before you can finish what you were saying, but you only let out a light sigh before finishing up with the mopping, with Jaemin drying the cutlery with a towel.

“I’m gonna start with the boxes first,” Jaemin nods his head at you, seeing you go through the back door and towards the storage room. Jaehyun and Kun were kind enough to place a few boxes inside, but there were some still littered outside.

When a few minutes pass and Jaemin is all done, he still sees the extra boxes outside, not having moved a bit. He calls for your name, just to see if you’re back there.

“Yeah, I’m here, just—” You grunt, balancing the box on your knee as you take its contents out, placing them on the shelf. “Trying to sort this. Can you help me with the boxes outside? Be careful with the door, I have my shoe lodged there.” Jaemin rolls his eyes at the third reminder of the day, before shutting the lights off from inside the restaurant and picking up the boxes near the door, stacking them on top to only use one trip to the storage room. The light from within shines a silver lining across the now dimmed restaurant, as Jaemin nudges the door open with his leg, careful to avoid your shoe as you had advised.

He places the boxes down with a groan, straightening up and stretching his back. “That was a piece of cake,” He smiles cheekily at you, to which you barely react, handing him the box you were balancing, opting to take the items out from his hands, making the process more efficient.

“Are you having fun?” Jaemin speaks again, not letting the silence between you two stretch out for too long.

“With putting these things away? Not exactly my definition of fun,” You look at him questioningly, picking up another item while glancing at him.

“Not with the packages,” He shakes the one in his hand for emphasis. “I meant ever since that night at the park, where I called you cute—”

“Pretty,” You mutter, and the word slightly shocks you both, as Jaemin sees your shoulders stiffen. You have been doing everything on purpose, because you, too, put some meaning into his attempts.

“You keeping tally on how I compliment you?” putting the box down, he opts to look at your face as he says this. It’s not every day that he gets to tease you like this, so he uses this opportunity to rile you up a bit as you do to him, body inching closer to yours.

You feel the heat radiating off of him and onto your back, as you place down the last item in your hand on the shelf and turn around, only to be startled at the proximity of you two, Jaemin inching closer with the box discarded at the side. This close to him, your eyes tilt up to look at his, mischievous iris’ grinning back at you.

“I don’t…” Jaemin’s eyes glance at your lips as you start, parted open now as your mind blanks on what to say next. The distance between your bodies shortens, and you feel yourself craving for something. A simple touch of his hand at your sides, the heat of his breath at your cheek, the soft push of his lips against yours.

Your tongue brushes the corner of your lip at that thought, an action Jaemin can’t miss with how close you two are.

“You don’t? Don’t what, don’t know what I’m talking about? Finish your sentence pretty,” Jaemin’s hand raises, and your chest flutters at the anticipation of his touch, only for it to deplete when he places it on the wall beside your shoulder, getting closer and closer.

You want to scream, needing him to just do something, anything, but your body still inches back, wanting to see how far either of you can prolong this. Jaemin notices your game, leaning his head in and bringing his lips to your ear.

“Tell me what you want. I’ll do anything for you, just gotta have you use your words, baby.” At this your eyes flutter, fists clenching at your sides to gather up the courage as his warm breath fans against your neck.

“Can you kiss me?” Your eyes look at his as you push his body back by his shoulders, wanting to look at him as you ask for him, for more. Smile slowly softening, he leans in and places a peck onto your lips, plush skin pressed against you, both of your eyes closing shut. Before you get to do anything else, he parts back slowly, seemingly done. But you’ve barely even started.

“More,” You mutter before placing your arms around his shoulders, pushing both of you closer to one another as you lean in, kissing his lips once again, catching him by surprise. His lips are only still for a split second, before he reciprocates, pushing against you, giving you exactly what you asked for.

“Your hands, please,” You mutter in between as they slowly turn from innocent pecks to open-mouthed kisses, your own hands coming to his biceps, wanting him to touch you.

“Where, baby?” He sighs against you, hands grasping yours, ready to be guided.

“Everywhere,” You clasp your hands together, before grabbing his wrists, placing one at your waist and the other underneath your boob, arching your back in encouragement and contempt of finally having him closer. And Jaemin listens well, hands squeezing and thumbing at your body over your clothes skin, before roaming them around. Slithering one behind your back, pushing your body flush against his, chests brushing as he rushes to kiss you more, lips pressing against you feverishly. Your arms wrap around his neck and shoulders, wanting your boobs to be pressed against him fully, nipples perked with arousal from him, having the both of you pushed back and against the wall as he follows your lead of wanting to be all over each other.

Except walls don’t click shut.

But Jaemin either doesn’t notice or pays it no mind, continuing his quest of ravaging your lips, not that you mind, as he squeezes the flesh of your boob and brushes a finger over your clothed nipples, biting lightly onto your bottom lip as your mouth parts slightly from the pleasure, soothing it with a swipe of his tongue.

“Jaemin,” You try calling for him, voice coming out a bit hoarse as you pull back slightly. He takes that as a sign to venture more.

“What is it, hmm? Want me to go lower?” He doesn’t wait for your reply as he angles his head down towards your neck, breath tickling against your skin as he nips at it lightly.

“No, Jaemin. There’s—” He chuckles at you, looking into your eyes with a smirk now adorning his face. He raises his eyebrows at you while he scans your body pressed against his, and that shouldn’t affect you as much as it did.

“What, does my pretty baby want more?” his smile now turns slightly giddy, placing a sweet kiss on your lips before bringing both hands to your sides, squeezing slightly making you react to the sensitive spot being handled. “I can’t fuck you here, as much as I’d love to. But I don’t wanna be looking at a box of fortune cookies—”

“Jaemin, we just closed the door.” And you physically see Jaemin react to this, as he processes your words with a confused look, before the light in his eyes dims and his face falls, looking frantically between you and the door behind you. He searches at the bottom of the door where you had lodged your shoe, only to see it past the frame, squeezed from the pressure of your bodies against the door.

He’s about to apologise profusely, mind scrambling to think of a way he can get you two out. But before he can get too far, you plant a kiss on his cheek, and another one on his lips when he turns his head to look at you. You let out a light sigh as his hands find themselves back onto your body, pushing your hands towards his jacket, wanting it off. He shucks it off and throws it behind, hands grabbing at you again as you bring your fingers to rake at the hair at his neck.

“But—” Jaemin cuts himself off with a whimper when your hand grazes under his shirt, the cold press of your fingers against his warm stomach, fingers splaying themselves against his taut muscles, grazing your nails lightly making his body flush even further.

“Fuck, the door,” He tries again, but falls short as his head falls against your shoulder when your fingers linger past the seam of his pants.

“Later, I need to feel you,” You mutter. “Someone will come by tomorrow morning anyway,”

“Oh, fuck.” Jaemin curses as you palm his dick over his pants, his hips bucking up and into your touch, wanting more of you against him. His hand pushes your shirt up, tucking it before he slips his fingers behind your back, reaching for your bra and taking it off once the hooks are undone. His hands cup at your boobs, vision glazed over you as he squeezes them together. He leans in with his mouth parted, looking up at you and making eye contact, whining slightly in lieu of asking for your permission. It’s hard to wait for your word when he’s just as desperate, wanting your touch and scent all over him.

“Jaemin, please,” You pant, hand flying to his hair and gripping softly, scratching your fingers against his scalp as an initiative. “Make me feel good, I want your mouth on me,”

He swipes his tongue against your perked bud, before blowing lightly and saying “Anything for my doll,” mouthing at your breast, before closing his lips around your nipple, sucking in as his free hand occupies itself with your other boob, slightly scraping his nail against you before pinching your tit. The pain and pleasure shoots through your body, as you moan his name, nails scratching his head.

Your whimpers and whines turn Jaemin on even more, as he swipes at your bud one last time before pulling back, tipping your face back towards him and kissing you again.

“Want your fingers…been thinking about this so much,” You reach for one of his hands, guiding him to the apex of your thighs, looking at him as you press his fingers against where you want him the most. Even through the thick fabric of your pants, the push of his fingers against your core has you whining, happy for some friction but wanting, needing more.

As his hand goes to unzip your pants, he replaces them deftly with his leg instead, pressing his knee against you.

“Fuck,” You sigh, as he presses himself closer to you, body now flushed against yours, thigh stimulating your pussy through your pants, mouth at your cheek, jaw, neck. Jaemin is completely overpowering your senses, yet you want more.

“Pretty doll, letting me do all of this to you.” he pushes your pants down, leaving you in your underwear and your shirt tucked up, fixing it every now and then to pinch at your tits, loving when you keen against him. “Wanting me to do all of this to you. Have you thought about me a lot? Bet you thought about us sneaking off right here so you could suck me off, or maybe thinking about me taking you right behind the counter, forcing yourself to act normal with my cock in you,” He hums against your ear, swiping his tongue against the shell before biting lightly on your lobe, wanting you to remember his touch all over you.

You’re not entirely sure what he's saying, yet you nod your head up and down, moan slipping past your lips at the light swipe of his fingers against your clothed core, doing anything to get him to give you more.

Jaemin chuckles, “Is your mind going blank already? I barely did anything to you baby, do I have to dumb it down for you and remind you?” His condescending tone is the only thing that registers in your head; that and the fact that he’s not doing anything, hands splayed still at your sides, his knee not pressing hard enough against you, with no signs of more.

He leans in and presses a sweet peck against you, before his hand squeezes your cheeks together, an attempt of garnering your attention back.

“If you want something,” He leans in, just a breath away, but moves back when your eyes lock on his lips and lean in. “You gotta tell me. I’ll only do what you want me to, got it?”

Nodding your head, you add a breathy ‘yes’ when Jaemin raises his eyebrows at you.

“Good girl,” He smiles, and it only makes your head just the slightest bit dizzy. But you’re brought back when you feel the press of his thigh against you once more, a friendly reminder of what you’re missing out on.

“I want your fingers,” You start, voice wavering a bit, getting shy from having to voice your dirty thoughts. But the press of his finger pads against you edges you on even more, encouraging you to continue. “Always look so good doing the most mundane things. Want you to fuck me with your fingers, fuck,” Jaemin proves to be a great listener, as he quickly makes work of shoving your underwear aside, commenting how you’ve ‘soaked through your panties and my pants, messy girl’. He rubs against your clit, building up a rhythm, before rubbing his fingers against your folds, soaking them in your juices thoroughly before the pad of his fingers press against your hole, making quick work.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” Jaemin grunts at the squeeze of your walls against his two fingers, filling you to the hilt and shallowly pushing. “Bet you would feel so good around my cock,” You moan at his words, eyes falling shut as you rest your forehead against his shoulder, giving him better access to whisper such filthy words to you.

“So fucking dirty, getting off of my fingers in public like this. You’re lucky it’s late, no one gets to see you like this,” His fingers quicken their pace, the hot feeling in your stomach tightening as the palm of his hand smacks against your clit, other hand occupying itself with gripping your ass or tweaking your nipples. “Only I get to see you like this, messy and undone. All mine for the taking.”

“All yours,” You echo back, head burrowing further into his neck. As you feel another finger push into you, his pace making you clench tighter and tighter, you let out a high-pitched whine when his other hand comes down to stimulate your clit. Mockingly, Jaemin repeats back your moan in the same high-pitched voice, twisting the end of it to sound like a question.

“Is my baby close?” He pecks at the side of your forehead, a sweet gesture contrasting the pressure of his fingers against you.

“Please, Jaemin. Don’t stop,” You feel yourself grow hot, storage room now feeling stuffy as you separate from his shoulder, head tilted back against the door as your senses are overwhelmed.

“You’re so hot, fuck.” He smothers the pool of drool gathering at the corner of your lips, spreading it onto your cheek before leaning in for a kiss. It’s all tongue and teeth, too close and fucked out to makeout steadily, just wanting to feel him against you. Curling his fingers against you, you feel yourself ripping over the edge as he presses his other hand against your stomach and swipes his tongue over yours, sucking at the tip of your muscle before finishing it off with a peck.

“Let go, pretty. Show me how messy your cunt can get,” Fingers fucking into you, with a final rub and pinch of your clit you break off into a silent moan, hands clutching at his shoulders as you tense up, finally reaching your high. Jaemin’s fingers keep a steady pace as he helps you ride off your high, now going slower than before. But his fingers don’t stop even when you calm down, seeing how far you can go as he overstimulates you.

“Hurts,” You cry, but don’t make a move to stop his ministrations, hips pushing up into his touch, panting against his mouth when he kisses you again, pushing his fingers in and out of you. After a few more seconds though, your whine lilts painfully and you weakly push at his hand, to which he relents as he slows down the pace, before pulling them out carefully.

“It’s gonna feel icky for a bit, so bear with me,” Jaemin softly murmurs, reaching above to a shelf that conveniently holds paper towel rolls. The emptiness that is left emphasises the tiredness you feel, as your shoulders slump and you lean back against the door for further support. Jaemin folds the towel and dabs at your core, cleaning you up to the best of his abilities before he wraps his clean hand around your waist, manoeuvring you to lean against the wall, carefully pulling your shirt down and underwear and slacks back up. He slides the two of you down slowly, and you open your eyes to look at him, tiredness slowly wearing away as your heart flutters at his gestures.

“You okay?” He hums, his back now pressed against the wall, shoulder to shoulder with you as he gently smoothens his hand down your scalp, before cupping your face gently. You nod your head, leaning in and pressing a kiss against him.

“More than okay, that was so hot.” He chuckles at your words, poorly concealing the smug look that overtakes his features.

“I’m glad at least one of us had fun,” He teases, which makes you feel shy, as you spare a glance down to see a chub at the zip of his pants. He waves you off, adjusting himself a bit before sliding his hand into yours, lacing your fingers together.

“With what we did just then? I’ll be able to come for days even just thinking about you,” He laughs softly as you squeeze his hand in warning, before resting your head against his shoulder, with Jaemin reaching over for his jacket discarded earlier on, tugging it over your legs to provide warmth.

“You haven’t made a mistake today,” You mutter, breaking the silence that had settled as you play with his fingers with both your hands. Jaemin can only look at the side of your face as you say this, before getting comfortable and pressing his cheek against your head. “How could I when you have such high standards to meet? I need to be on your good side,” Your scoff holds no mean intentions, glancing at him briefly over your shoulder.

“You’re already on my good side,” He faux gasps.

“You’re telling me you liked me this whole time? I didn’t have to prove myself to you?” Jaemin squeals as he sways side to side, before wrapping himself around you and swaying you along with him.

You’re shy when you speak up again, muttering “I’ve already told you how I thought.. about you,” He tsks as he meets your eyes again, eyes going down to look at your lips that you bite nervously.

“Don’t even think about talking about that, I don’t know how long I can stay working here and pining after you.”

“But… I like— wait. Do you not like working at the restaurant?” Feeling like a deer caught in headlights, Jaemin tenses a bit at the information he let slip. He doesn’t want you to think that he’s ungrateful for your efforts, but the soft gaze that you give to him only soothes him.

“Okay, I’ll be honest. I think you’ve noticed by now that I’m not the most, flawless, person ever.”

“You’re telling me that you’ve made a few mistakes? No way,” He whines at your tease, as you bite your lip to contain your laughter, nodding your head to get him to continue.

“I’m just not really good at keeping part-time jobs like this. Things that need me to physically and actively do things. I once got fired from a scouts guidance group because I would give badges to the kids when they asked.”

“…Aren’t scout leaders there by volunteer? How can they fire you?”

“That’s my point!” He grumbles against you, bringing your head back down to his shoulder when you lift yourself to look at him, not wanting to look at you directly in your eyes. “And working as a waiter is definitely not easy, because I have to guess when a customer wants to order before they actually call me, and help with food and dietary needs and advice, and be smiling and happy all the time even when the old ladies pinch at my cheek and call me handsome like I’m some three-year-old golden child.” You pat at his bicep soothingly, fingers squeezing as he rambles on, letting him pour it all out.

“Well,” You bring your hands up to your lips, pressing a light kiss at the back of his hand before settling it back against your legs. “If you hate the job so much, why not quit and find something better?”

He stills as you ask this, thinking about your question. He hasn’t ventured far from the initial annoyance of having the job, not thinking of the reasons why he’s staying in contrast with the million reasons why he doesn’t want to. But the tingling feeling left at the back of his hand seems to be enough of an answer.

“Because I get to spend my time with you,” You squeeze your lips together as he says this, not knowing if you should cringe or swell at his words. You giggle lightly when you see him fall shy, hiding his face into your shoulder.

“Okay, then don’t quit,” You quip when you realise he’s not going to come out of hiding anytime soon, opting to play with your laced fingers instead. “Stay with me. You can deal with customers who ask if we have duck on our menu even when we clearly don’t, and try your best to not burn your finger on the sizzling plates, or get locked in the storage room overnight.” Jaemin feels bittersweet at the scenarios you provide, torn between what he should do.

“Or you can ask me out and then quit,” You shrug, conveniently avoiding his sudden gaze on you as he sits up. “Up to you,”

“I can do that?” You glare at him.

“I’m gonna blow up, Jaemin. I can’t believe you haven’t—” He stops you with a peck to your lips, now grinning like a maniac. “Can I be your boyfriend?”

“What will I gain?”

“Uhm… unlimited head?” You clench your grip on his hand harder. “...And a very deep and meaningful emotional connection where we fill each other's gaps and lift our—”

“Unlimited? Can you promise?” He’s about to agree without a second thought, before he sees you raise a suspicious eyebrow at him.

“..Yes?”

“Then yes, you can be mine.” He sighs contentedly now, cuddling himself back into you.

“I can’t wait to quit.”

You’re not sure when you fell asleep, but you’re woken up by the sound of a door hinge and a sudden shine of light. You try to bring your hand up to shield the onslaught of the sunshine, but the weight on your hand reminds you of your position, with Jaemins head tucked on your shoulder and yours stacked on top, hands still laced and legs slightly tangled into each other. With a squint of your eyes, you look up at the figure standing at the door.

Jaehyun’s facial expression doesn’t change much, other than the slight parting of his mouth. To you, this means that not only is he shocked still, but also somehow angry and maybe … confused? If the left side of his lip is slightly tilted down; you’re still trying to learn.

“Jaemin,” Your hoarse voice calls, shaking the boy next to you lightly to wake him up. He whines, lips mumbling gibberish into your shoulder.

“The doors open, Jaem,” That wakes him up a bit more, as he squints towards the open door.

“Oh,” He says, and then Jaehyun clears his throat. “...Oh,” The two of you rise slowly, as Jaemin places his jacket over your shoulders.

“So,” Jaehyun starts when the three of you step out of the room, the two of you now standing like students being punished for their wrongdoings. It takes all his willpower for Jaemin to not raise his hands in fists over his head.

“Funny you ask, boss. Remember when you told me not to close the door?” Jaemin thought he started off strong before he saw you looking at him with wide eyes. Jaehyun’s lip tilts to the left.

“How could you ignore the only warning I gave you? Not only did you lock yourself in that room, but her too? You know how dangerous that is, what if we didn’t have a Sunday shift to open for? This liability costs you, Jaemin.” At that, the boy feels his posture straighten.

“Am I..?” Jaehyun's frown is the strongest expression Jaemin has ever seen. He feels like doing a backflip right now.

“Fired? Of course—” And it probably is rude for him to whoop as loud as he did, but Jaemin is on cloud nine, having bagged a person like you and being liberated from having to mop the floors like clockwork. He cups your cheeks and kisses you square on your lips, laughing at the surprised squeak you let out and the bliss he feels. Taking and shaking Jaehyun’s hand, he turns and walks out of the place.

Jaehyun sighs. “This is who you were rooting for?”

Your cheeks feel hot from the sudden public display of affection, before shrugging. “He’s cute. And he’s always trying his best.” You try as your hand clutches at the sleeve of the jacket he’s lent you.

Ever since being fired from the restaurant, Jaemin feels like he now has the best of both worlds, going to the restaurant after your shift to pick you up, or spending time with you as your boyfriend throughout the week, not feeling like he only has to look forward to a shift to see your face. You’re also happy with this shift in your relationship, spending your time with him freely.

But Mark isn’t.

“I don’t know why you couldn’t have asked her out and kept your job. You don’t even get to use your twenty percent employee discount.”

“I mean, if I’m an ex-employee then I can’t see why I couldn’t.” Mark grunts as he smacks at Jaemin, leaving the latter with a pout on his lip as he rubs at his shoulder.

“I miss the Mongolian lamb, man. Can we not go back at all?” Jaemin thinks about it briefly, his mind going back to the restaurant and how you’re probably working your Friday shift at the moment. “I don’t see why not,” he hums, thinking about planning a day when both he and Mark can drop by, but he is dragged to his feet and is being pushed to wear his shoes and shrug on a jacket, before he is out the door with Mark guiding him through it all.

“Welcome to Tao Village. Oh, hi,” You look up from the slip of the phone order you just took, seeing Jaemin and Mark standing at the door. Jaemin’s lips break into a smile as he sees you, already enamoured even when you’re in your work uniform. Mark merely smiles and nods his head as a greeting, before lifting up two fingers, gesturing for a table for them.

As the boys take their seats, you go up to them with a bottle of water and ask Mark if he wants his Mongolian lamb dish for today. He clasps a hand to his chest, touched. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

“It’s all you order, really.” You write down his order into the slip in your hand, before looking at your boyfriend, who’s been gazing at you fondly, barely concealing adoration. You tap at the menu in front of him, encouraging him to voice his order.

“I want you,” Jaemin’s smile is menacing as he says this. Mark visibly shrinks in his seat, but you barely blink. “Gross, dude,”

“A dish's name, Jaem. Or I’ll tell Jaehyun that you’re here.” At that he pouts, leaning back before asking for fried rice, and a glass of red wine.

Mark gets his dish on the sizzling plate, and Jaemin spends two whole minutes trying to make sure that your fingers didn’t get caught on to the hot pan. You smack at his hand to get him back to his food, to which he flings his hand back, making impact with his glass and conveniently spilling the red drink all over. Mark blinks twice at the scene unfolding, pausing when he almost shoved a piece of lamb into his mouth, before continuing when he sees the wine only seep into the tablecloth and not anywhere near him.

Jaemin looks between the cloth and your expression. “Look at what you did,”

“What I did? Your hand was the one that smacked into the glass. You didn’t even try to catch it?” Jaemin ignores your words, waving at your words as if they’re merely pesky flies.

“It’s okay, I can forgive you but you have to compensate in another way,” He smirks at you, before his fingers slowly inch towards your waitress' apron wrapped around your waist, thumbing at the fabric tied around you. “Maybe a pretty girl like you can go out with me?”

You smile sweetly, clasping his hands into yours and rubbing your thumb into the back of his hand. You place it down on the table, your smile not dimming as you shake your head. “You have to pay for that, kind sir,” You nod your head in mock shame and guilt. Jaemin’s smile dims as he looks at the red-stained tablecloth.

“It’s part of the Tao Village policy.”

OKAY the part where jaemin *mocks.. u hehe was completely inspired by @/sunpopz haechan fic called ‘free falling’ !! give that a read bc its soso good

thank you for reading! let me know if you enjoyed it &lt;3

#jaemin x reader #nct jaemin smut #jaemin smut #jaemin fluff #nct jaemin x reader #nct scenarios #nct dream smut #nct dream fluff #nct dream scenarios #jaemin scenarios #jaemin hard hours #jaemin oneshot #nct dream oneshots #na jaemin smut

[slafkovskys]

could you please write #2 on the gestures portion from list 2? for ethan edwards :)

2. brushing your lover's waist/shoulder as they pass

combined these two :)

you weren’t much of a party person.

he understood that and respected the fact that you allowed him to drag you to maximum of two functions a month, but once your social battery was drained, it was drained. he hadn’t exceeded his limit for the month yet, but once you had found out that the boys had been the designated party house this week, you told them all you would be barricading yourself in ethan’s bedroom for the duration.

even though the boys had been very strict about no one going upstairs, that had not stopped people from going up there or trying to open ethan’s locked door. since you had started counting, six people had tried and the last had given up quicker than those that came before them, walking away to try and find somewhere with easier access for their extracurricular activities.

you go to take a sip of your water, only to realize that it was empty. you debate on texting ethan to bring you a refill, but he had already been up three times on his own accord to check on you, using the secret knock the two of you had created hours before so you “knew he was safe and not a creep.”

after pausing your movie, you get off the bed with a stretch and slide your feet into your slippers. you close the door behind you, making sure the coast was clear before making your way down the stairs. the bass that had been muffled upstairs gets louder as you emerge into the thick of it.

no one pays you any attention as you make your way down the hallway to the kitchen, but you do spot ethan, back turned as he talks to noah. you touch his waist as you pass and he whips his head around, looking for the culprit. once he realizes that it was only you, his face softens as he looks at you curiously. you hold up your cup and he nods before reeling you in with his arm, pressing a kiss to your temple, “come find me before you go back upstairs.”

you hum, “will do.”

and with that (and a not-so-subtle squeeze to your ass) you’re on your way. the kitchen is crowded but you push your way through, filling your glass quickly because you were ready to get back under the warm covers of ethan’s bed. however, when you spot the bag of chips peeking out of the cabinet, you sigh and grab a bowl, filling it up as well.

“making yourself at home, huh?” a voice suddenly calls from beside you which causes you to jump. “i didn’t mean to scare you.”

“you’re fine,” you send the stranger a tight-lipped smile as you close up the bag of chips and return them to their rightful place.

“i didn’t realize there was such a relaxed dress code,” you think his name was lyle decided to shout into your ear over the noise of the music. you stare at him, blinking slowly, and he gestures to your flannel pajama bottoms and sweatshirt that had obviously been worn once or twice, “you’re here in your pajamas?”

you take a couple of chips from the bowl, “i live here.”

you technically didn’t, but you hadn’t slept in your dorm room for weeks now and you had worked your way into the house group chat (though there was allegedly a separate one for just the boys so they can still talk about ‘guy things’ which you were more than content with being left out of). there was also a sparkly blue toothbrush that was designated as yours in the bathroom that ethan shared with mackie that no one would admit to buying. so for all intents and purposes, you were the unofficial sixth roommate.

“oh, so you know eddy, then?” his face lights up now that you have something in common. you on the other hand want to laugh because you know that ethan probably could not pick this guy out in a lineup if he had too. you lock eyes with luke across the way and his eyes bounce between you and lyle. you send him a glance that hopefully reads help me and he nods his head, holding up a finger and slipping out of the door frame. “we were partners in biology last year.”

“really?” you mumble, looking surprised because you knew that ethan had taken chemistry last year. “i mean, we just sleep in the same bed so…”

“you-”

it was at that moment that ethan rounds the corner with luke in tow, the taller of the two pointing in your direction. ethan’s face changes to one that you can read easily and you nod, “this was a great conversation and all, lyle, but, ah, my friend looks like he’s about to kill you. you best leave.”

he follows your head nod to ethan who had been stewing ten feet away in the door for longer than necessary. with grumbled words that you don’t bother to decipher, he grabs his cup off of the counter and storms off, making the mistake of trying to pass by ethan who grabs his arm. you can’t make out what was said, but by the visible lump your newfound acquaintance swallows, you can make an inference.

ethan sidles up beside you and accepts the chip when you hand it to him, a peace offering, “so i can’t leave you at parties unsupervised either? gotta keep you locked up in my bedroom every time?”

you scoff, “it’s not my fault that even in my pajamas i am literally irresistible, ethan, and you need to learn how to share.”

“when it comes to you, i’m good, i think,” he winds his hands around your waist and squeezes where he had left bruises the night before for only the two of you to see, causing your cheeks flame, “c’mon let’s go upstairs. i’m done down here.”

you pout, “but you’re a host.”

“and i leave you alone for ten minutes and someone else tries to steal you. let’s go to my room where no one else will try and talk to you,” he rolls his eyes and pulls you away from the counter.

“definitely gonna have to work on your possessive streak.”

requests are closed!

#ethan edwards #prompts

[markipliers-madhouse]

Hello? Hello Hello?

...Well, this place has been dead for a little bit, hasn't it?

Mentioned a little bit before on that collab piece I did, but figured I'd be better to do a full post bout it here!

So, this AU...has been laying dormant for quite some time, and there's not really any excuses for that. I've just been a little busy with school and life in general, but mainly...haven't had much motivation to do it in all honesty, and their's two main factors to that unmotivation.

1. I kinda realized I'd be needing to write a lot for this story, and though I love writing in general...the scope of this would be like writing a few novels if I continued on, and I just wouldn't have the time or sanity to do that, but more on that later for a solution...

And 2. ...I kinda fell out of FNaF for a moment. Well- Not entirely, I'll always love this series, but I guess it was mainly...the state of the fandom after one certain game...Security Breach. After that game came out, it kinda broke the fandom in half. One half being those who hate the game and left the franchise entirely, now seeing it as nothing but for kids and not taken seriously, and the other...well, actually kids. Y'know the ones. You know.

So that kinda left me kinda unsure for my AU, since I thought if I put stuff out now...it wouldn't really be that appreciated. From the start it was meant to harken back to the original classics of FNaF, but with the fandom mostly filled with newcomers for just this one game, and the original fans gone and unhopeful for the franchise, I just kinda...left this place dorment till I felt motivated again.

...And then the Ruin DLC happened, which gave me a spark of motivation. Seemed this franchise was starting to to head to a better place, getting some old fans back, so that's nice. Got me thinking more bout this AU again...

And then the movie happened, and now i've been slapped in the face with motivation.

SO- Guess that's my excuse for why things have been so empty, but now...I AM READY TO OFFICIALLY SAY IT IS STARTING BACK UP! And not just that...but starting fresh! ...Which, isn't saying much, since I only wrote two chapters for it...y e a h - But there's a reason I'm starting fresh, not just for improved art or retconing some of the mistakes of what I did give out, but mainly because...

I'm turning the AU into a comic!!

That's right! Gonna be drawing the whole thing start to finish! Figured this would be better to me since it's quicker then writing it all, and get to show and improve more of my art, so works out! (You can already kinda see some of that with the new pfp and header) Maybe might get some help in the future, maybe might dable in some animation, maybe a lot of things, but guess we'll just hafta see where it goes from here!

What does that mean for the previous content though? All...f o u r of it? Well, that stuff is gonna be non-canon from here on out! It'll be easier this way since those stuff have either some continuity errors that'll effect the story in the long wrong, or just simply I've changed my mind on some things and it'll be a bit more different! I'm still leaving them up, however! Just cause I think it'll be fun to see how far I've come, and ey some art pieces there weren't bad! ...Too bad...okay like one or two were d e c e n t

TLDR of it tho is this: AU's getting a reboot, gonna be made into a comic now, previous stuff is non-canon, and this page should be a bit more active now!

But yeah! Big things are coming, and I am excited to start up this AU again! I have so many plans for this story that I'm just hoping you guys will love, wanna do justice to both sides of the story! So keep an eye on this blog, might take a little longer, but hoping to get things officially and finally started soon!

And to prove some of that, before I go...you guys deserve a a bit of a sneak peak of what's to come, so...hope you enjoy these redesigns >:]

EDIT: THE SERIES HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN- READ EM HERE- AH-

#bringing this place back to life! #including finally changing the header and pfp oh gOd- #why did i shade the r e f p a g e s hhHHhHHH- #au #fnaf #fnaf au #markiplier #markiplier au #five nights at freddy's #tiny box tim #darkiplier #wilford warfstache #warfstache #google #googleplier #bing #bingplier #the host #the host markiplier #eric derekson #eyesore talks #eyesore's art

[sandboxer]

hi! in reading your fics ive noticed that you write kinks with care (!!) and i was wondering if you had any thoughts on how nrmt approached kinks and safewords and things like that? like do you think it's something they had a conversation about before trying anything, or did it happen during sex and then they were like wait . this needs a safe discussion

hey thanks for the ask!!

to start, I think they both thoroughly enjoy vanilla sex as well. vanilla can be awesome and hot, and for two people so busy it's definitely easier/quicker than certain flavors of kink, whether that's taking into account discussing how the parties might want a scene to go or because of the Accoutrements (though obviously not always the case)

so if we're going with a realistic progression of their relationship, I think they started out having a lot of great, fulfilling vanilla sex. maybe there were some hints of their kinkier tastes (it can be surprisingly hard to have Fully Vanilla Sex for a long time) but I don't think a real conversation was had about it for a while. the 7yg would be a great opportunity for that to happen, but I'd self-indulgently love to see it happening sooner.

I think the kinky undertones grow until even two guys who are certifiably Allergic To Communication aren't able to prolong the conversation. maybe Edgeworth pins Phoenix's hands above his head and Phoenix comes nearly instantly, and Edgeworth wants to see him in cuffs so badly that he'd risk some vulnerability in order to ask for it. likely very little of the content comes as a total shock when they sit down and say "hey, so are there any more adventurous things you'd like to try in bed?"

I think anything new they try definitely comes with a conversation either beforehand or afterward—there's enough trust there that they can try out new kinks "on the fly" without questioning whether the other would stop them if they weren't interested. I also am a huge fan of the stoplight system for many reasons (and for any pairing). if you aren't familiar, essentially it boils down to "green" is good, "yellow" is slow down, and "red" is stop (equivalent of a safeword). checking in on your partner during any kind of sex, kinky or otherwise, is important, and the existence of "yellow" is awesome for that. you can communicate with your partner *before* it gets to the realm of stopping, and make sure you're keeping each other in that sweet spot of intensity. especially with Phoenix's past of being tricked by Dahlia and Edgeworth's general... fussiness, I think they'd both prefer the stoplight system to a safe word.

alternatively, disregard everything above. Edgeworth sends Phoenix a google form after the first time they fuck with a checklist of kinks and an essay portion and they get it together immediately thanks to Edgeworth being a control freak.

#narumitsu

[primaviva]

so any news on carmilla since you returning to the gwen girlies? *does fuck boy hand rub to rizz you into confession*

*does that one pinterest emoji smirk back* ??? LMAOOAOA BUT YES LEMME GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE

for starts yes i AM working on it, i actually started recently and it’s so much easier writing for girls since i have more fun so i feel it maaayyyyyyy get done quicker. but i also want to come on and say that yes, while i will be posting it to tumblr, i think i might make it on wattpad too. its only because i feel like it might be easier for people to read if they read it on wattpad to just scroll and also people usually read series on wattpad and come to tumblr if they wanna read oneshots (beside like oneshot books). and also i like how i can just brainstorm it all together on wattpad and make it look all pretty so… anyways with my AMAZING graphic design skills lemme start showing sneak peaks 😒😒

you can see a little peak of the cover 🤭 BAHAHAHAH but yeah this is what i have going on so far. im also an extreme perfectionist and because i made the wattpad cover start with the capitalization i refuse to not make the titles or writing be lowercase.

ANYWAYS! to start, i usually write gwen with spider gwen in mind so her age is usually between 16-18 in my stuff with the acception of the fics i do that specifically link to spiderverse but she usually is her comic 17-18 version. but for the plot i am gonna take HEAVY inspiration from one of the gwenom comics but its also gonna be based on the comic where she is starting college but when the plot starts she’s already been like a student maybe like a year in.

and secondly….this will NOT be the gwen we know and love or should i say the gwen YALL know and love. i kinda want to mess with her characterization to make it interesting like yes gwen is gonna be the awkward but nice girl but also like because i want this au version of earth 65 to be a little melancholy or dark vibes to it she WILL be a bit of an asshole at times, real cocky, and so on- like it’s gonna be so fun UGH!!

thirdly, im not sure if there is gonna be downright smut in this. like again, ik i have written “suggestive” content like my makeouts because i don’t necessarily write for strictly spiderverse gwen but just a whole amalgamation of it and its always based on comics so she’s like 17-18. i’m bringing this up because if you read carmilla- CMON NOW😭😭😭 there will be the suggestive scenes but idk if imma do it because while this will be the college version of gwen from the comics around 18-19 like i never wrote stuff like that and also don’t wanna perpetuate or feed content to the predator gwen fans on ANY platform. not like carmilla is heavy in sex i just wanna preface that because it’s always weird when people utilize au from something heavily sexual so it implies that the content WILL be sexual and not that that’s wrong in this case i just wanna let yall know you can expect content but not THAT content.

LASTLY the plot is lowkey short like i haven’t fleshed it out yet because i haven’t been having fun on tumblr when i write for guys so i wanna have fun with this and take my time writing the chapters before even releasing them so i don’t worry about dates for theme. but it won’t be like an intense lead rn it’s looking like MAYBE 15 chapters? possibly 20. i want a good balance of plot heavy and also gwen content in it that is sub plots to intensify the main plot (someone break me out of ap lang im gnawing at the enclosure) but i’m still working on it.

so yeah this is just little teasers for now and y’all can tell me what you think. im making little notes and stuff and im gonna woke on the plot and then just get straight to writing so i can just post a chapter weekly until we at the end so it gives me time to sprinkle other stuff in as well. i been over astv and just wanna write for my favorite women so this is me taking my stand on business 😒

#👑 — dalia’s speaks! #gwen stacy x reader

[fangirlstorycreator]

Hello! Thank you so much for answering my other ask:) I do appreciate it, it was lovely! 🥰 I was wondering if you have done very many little fics for Cash? I finally saw all of Black Friday/The Kidnapping in full, TIG plays such a bad guy but.... he's so hot about it 😅 I know I've read some about Cash but I don't recall who's account I saw it on. If you could please, if you have the time, maybe write something sweet about Cash and his love? I feel he's conflicted in the movie, he wants to do good and be good but he's so far in it's too late to turn back. I'd like to see someone like a new neighbor come into his life and steer him away from the crime so that gorgeous face doesn't get locked up 🥹 thank you so luch for the content you post, it brings me life 🖤

Aww thank you so much 🥺 that's so sweet of you 💚 I have written Cash stories on my page before, if you wanted to check them out all you have to do is go to the search icon at the top of my profile and look up #Cash or #cash x Reader. My bestie @larabiatasstuff also writes for Cash and you can do the same thing to check out her content, she's a brilliant writer and I think you'll love her stories too. I can certainly try to do this Cash story for you, I hope you enjoy 💚

Moving to a neighbourhood was never easy, especially when it was just you. That's if you exclude your little puppy of course. You moved away from your parents as quick as you could as soon as you were an adult, let's just say it wasn't the best environment to grow up in, and you were glad to be out of there. You had lived in a flat for about 5 years once you left your parents, but you wanted to buy your own home and have a place to call your own instead of just renting. And after many long years of working all the jobs you could at once, and doing all the hours under the sun, you managed to finaly buy and own your own home. And that was exactly where you were going today, it was a wonderful moment to be in, driving with your last little box of things, including your puppy, on your way to your house. This house was in a cosy little culdesack, and it had a little park along the distance and one or two corner shops. After working all the jobs you could, you now had a comfortable job working in your house on the computer. You had your own office ready to go and you were so excited, plus it was easier to work from home when you had a puppy to care for too. You never wanted kids, and you were single. But you did say that once you were settled, you would happily have a dog and raise it from a puppy, and now you were.

You pull up outside and walk up to the front door with your puppy, unlocking the door, you felt this wave of relief and safety all throughout your body, just having your own home made the biggest diffrence in the world. Opening the door as your puppy ran inside to look at the new surroundings and smell anything he could, you take a step inside and take in a breath, knowing this was a great new start. It had been a few weeks since you moved in, and everything was going so well. You had installed a doggy door so your puppy could go out in the garden whenever he liked, and he was now completely trained which was just wonderful, he was a quick learner. One morning, you were sat in your office after grabbing some food shopping, and you had nearly finished an assignment for your boss at the office. You sipped your coffee and your puppy happily slept at your feet as you had just sent your now all finished work to your boss. That was all you had to do for the day, and as you leant back in your chair, you look outside to your garden, and wonder what you could do with it. However, it seemed your puppy must have heard something outside that caught his attention, and he ran out into the garden quicker than you thought he could run.

This wasn't like him, so you follow him out into the back garden to see what he was so interested in. You see your puppy trying to get into the garden next door, it appeared there was a broken part of the wooden fence, and he was looking worried, wining very much. "What is it?" You ask as you approach him, you look over the broken fence where he was trying to get in, and that's where you realise why he's trying to get over. There on the grass of the neighbor's garden, appeared to be a man, unconscious on the floor. "Oh my god!" You leapt over the fence and immediately went into first aider mode, checking what happened to him and weather he was ok, thankfully he was alright, but he was unconscious and by the looks of it, he was going to have a very nasty bruise on his head. He didn't respond to you when you tried to wake him, so you made sure he was in a safe position and waited for him wake up while the ambulance was on it's way. You called them as you grabbed an ice pack in your house and placed it gently on his head, but he still wouldn't wake up. He was an interesting looking man, you have never met him before and he wasn't your average guy. For starters, he looked extremely tall, well built yet slim too, and strangely, his hair was white. Not grey or silver, but white, and it actualy suited him. You wondered how he got hit on his head so badly?

But maybe he would be able to explain once he woke up. After 5 minutes, the ambulance crew turned up, asked you what happened and got your information, then took this man to the hospital to make sure he's safe. You watched in confusion as the ambulance drove down the street, that was something you weren't expecting to happen on a normal day, you hoped he would be alright, he was in the best place now. The hospital called you a few hours later to tell you he was awake and he was doing well, no sign of concussion or bad injuries, but he was being kept overnight. You were happy, and headed to bed and slept as usual, ready for your day of work the next day. Everything was normal after you finished your online work the next afternoon, so once you had finished, an idea poped into your l head. That man won't want to fix that fence after being in the hospital, you have some tools, why not give it a try yourself. You grabbed your little tool box and headed outside to the fence, closely followed by your little puppy keeping you company. It didn't seem to difficult, and you tried to put the wood back together and connect it, however, you may have bitten off more than you can chew. You were knelt down holding a tool when it slipped out of your hand into the other garden.

You tried to reached through to grab it, but it was just out of reach. When very surprisingly, a mans hand takes it and hands it to you. You look up, and see that it was the same man who you sent to the hospital, he was back, and he was ok. "This must be yours" "Oh! Hello" "Hi, are you ok there?" He asked as you stood up to talk to him properly. "Yeh yeh I'm fine, I was just trying to fix this fence" "That's very kind of you, but there's no need, I'll handle it" "Well I didn't want you to come home from the hospital and have to deal with this fence" ".....your her aren't you?" "Pardon?" "Your the neighbor the nurse told me about. She said my neighbour checked on me and called the ambulance. That's was you wasn't it?" "Yes, I'm your new neighbour. Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Y/N, it's lovely to meet you" You hold out your hand and he happily shakes it. "Hi Y/N, my name's Cash" "Just Cash?" "Yeh, my full name is boring, I like to be called Cash" "That's fine with me. Are you feeling ok after coming home?" "Yeh I'm alright, just a little sore on my head that's all" "May I ask what happend?" "It's a long story" "Well, why don't I make us a coffee? It wild be nice to get to know my new neighbour" "That sounds nice"

You invited him over and made him a coffee, you both got on really well, he even made a cute little bond with your puppy. You told him how you found him that day, then he explained how he got into that position. Apparently he got into an alteration with his former work colleague Glen, he wanted to force him to do something and Cash didn't want too. So Glen hit him and left him in the garden, where you found him, and that's where the story ends and many more conversations occur between you and Cash. Many coffees were had between you both as a small coffee break turned into hours of non stop chatting and laughter, you both surprisingly got on like a house on fire. There was more similarities you shared with Cash that anyone you've met before, it was like two long lost friends finaly meeting for the first time. "So what's it like working as a police officer?" "It has its ups and downs, but it's a good job to keep you busy" "That's really nice" Your puppy starts pulling at your trouser leg and he has his lead in his mouth too. "Oh sorry Cash, it seems it's time for someones walk" "Ah that's ok, I'll leave you to get kn with your day. Thank you for the coffee, and of course, thank you for...this" He says pointing to his forhead with a very impressive bruise. "It's no problem Cash, anyone else would have done the same" "Not in this neighbourhood, you'd be suprised. I'll see you around"

He gave you a kind smile, headed back out to the garden and slipped back into his own through the fence, where he started fixing the part that was broken. You went about your day, walking your puppy, doing the dishes, washing clothes, the usual stuff. And you were quite happy sat down on the sofa during the evening, with your puppy asleep on your lap as you watch TV. And it just so happens, that Cash slipped into your mind, why was that? Was it because he was so nice and down to earth? Or was it that he was so sweet to you and your puppy?....his eyes were lovely though....they were a beautiful colour. Like a pale sapphire blue, so deep and so....illuminating....Snap out of it Y/N, yes he was a very attractive man, but he's your neighbour, and this is only the first day you've really met him. But...you had been talking for nearly 4 hours with no awkward silences or pauses, that wasn't something you'd expected from a stranger, well, not a stranger anymore. He told you all about his life and you did the same, you were almost friends at this point, but you brought yourself back into reality and decided to get to know him more before you called him a friend. And it turned out, you didn't need to try and make a bond, it was clear that it was wanted on both sides.

Over the next few weeks, you would bump into Cash as you either came back from the shops or were walking your puppy, and again, the conversation was always on point. You started hanging out on purpose sometimes too, with you inviting him over for dinner and him inviting you around for either the same or a film night. This even became a regular thing now, you'd chat and have a drink every couple of days, and on the weekend, you would have a film night, and cook dinner together. You even thought him how to cook at some points, he wasn't the best. But it was a really fun experience, especially when you were making fajitas one night and you were play fighting, resulting in him getting tomato sauce all over his shirt. You didnt mind, not even when he took his shirt off infront of you to grab another one....you can't say you didn't enjoy the view....Weeks turned into months, and you were now quite happy to say that Cash was your friend, and it was absolutely wonderful spending time with him.

One evening, Cash had come over your house to watch a film, and it was cold in your house. The heating company weren't able to put it on until tomorrow, and you had to wrap up in a blanket. "Your cold?" "Yes, arent you?" "Nah I'm fine" "Cash it's freezing in hear, how can you not be cold?" "I've always had a good tolerance for the cold, and I'm surprisingly warm a lot of the time. Hear, feel"

He takes your tiny hands in his, and it was like holding a radiator. "Ooooohh that's so nice. Your like a hot water bottle" He laughed at what you said, giving you a kind smile. "I'll tell you what, I'll keep you nice and warm for the rest of this film" He tapped the blanket in almost an asking way, and you accepted. You pull a corner away and he slipped under it too, giving you a cuddle and warming you up little by little, it was wonderful. "That's soooo much better, thanks Cash" "No worries, anything to help" The film continued and you felt lovely and warm in his arms.....and slightly more happier. His arms were so muscular and strong, you felt safe, and you couldn't deny it was extremely attractive. But one of the sweetest things was, during the film, he could feel your hands were still cold. So he gently took them into his and held them, making them feel warm too, my god this whole moment was amazing. Once the film ended, you reach over to turn off the TV, and once you do, you say "That was a great film Cash, and what did you think about that character.....Cash?" It was one of the sweetest things you had ever seen, Cash was fast asleep on your sofa, he looked so calm and relaxed. You thought this was so cute, and you didn't have the heart to wake him up, so instead, you slipped out of his arms and gently laid him down on your sofa, putting your blanket over him too. He looked massive on your sofa, but deep down you liked that about him, in more ways than one...But for now, he can sleep happily hear and you could head up to bed too, which you did, and withing mear minutes, you too were fast asleep.

When you came downstairs the next morning, he was still fast asleep on the sofa, but now it appeared he had company. Your puppy must have seen him this morning and slipped onto the sofa for snuggles, they were both so cute. You went and made two cups of coffee, and brought it into the living room to sit on the end of the sofa next to Cash. You put the cups down and gently rested your hand on his arm, moving him ever so slightly. "Cash?" You ask gently and quietly. "Cash, time to wake up" His sleepy voice was so deep and sexy, it almost hypnotized you. "Hmm? Time to what?" "Cash, it's morning" "Morning? How...wait, did I sleep hear last night?"

"Yeh, you fell alseep during the film. Hear, I've made you a coffee" He sits up and stretches out his arms, you could see a little of his muscle too when he did that, and that noise he made when he stretched, sublime. "Thank you" he said with a yawn. He took a sip of the coffee, and he smiled in suprise. "What's in this coffee?" "Oh, I added a little caramel coffee sweetener" "That's a really nice flavour, thank you" He offered to make breakfast as you were kind enough to let him stay the night, and you happily accepted. He was the king at breakfasts as you remember from previous mornings, it was a treat with him doing it in your home though.

After you both ate, you were sat on the sofa with your puppy, putting the world to rights, when Cash gets a call from his phone.

"Oh, I'm sorry Y/N it's Glen. I need to take this" "That's fine, you go ahead" He smiled and stood up to answer his phone, he walked into the hallway to talk with Glen, it sounded private, so you didn't listen. However, that's didn't mean that you couldn't hear the tone of his voice, and it sounded like he was worried, almost nervous. When he came back, that sweet smile was now replaced with a look of worry. "Cash? What's the matter?" "Nothing, it's...it's nothing" "Are you sure? You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you" "Y/N, I....no I'm sorry, I can't get into this right now. I'm sorry, I have to go" And within a few seconds, he was out of your house before you could say goodbye, what happend on that phone call that's spooked him like that? He didn't speak to you or come buy the house for about 3 days after that, you did text him and ask if he was ok, but there was no response, you were worried about him. One night as you were sleeping, you had a terrible dream, a dream about Cash. Your friends in the past always joked around that you could dream about a future events because that had happend many times with no explanation, and tonight felt like one of those dreams.

You were in this street you didn't recognise, just walking along, not knowing what was going on. When you hear a commotion in a parking area of someones garden, and you run over to see what's happening. It's there that you see Cash kneeling up from off the floor, with a woman and her child infront of him, and the woman was holding a gun.

He approached her, and she shot him! You screamed out his name, but for some reason your voice was completely silent. That's when you woke up in a frightful state, heart racing and sweat on your brow. Your little puppy was trying to comfort you, but that dream felt so real, was Cash ok? The next morning you weren't yourself, you felt really worried about Cash, and he still wasn't answering your texts, you hoped he was ok, and that you'd see him soon. You had just finished up your last email and sent it off, when you get a knock at the front door. You opened it and see Cash standing there in the door way, your body worked faster than your brain because before you could say anything, you hugged him, and he hugged you back just as tightly. "Cash where have you been? You haven't answered any of my texts, I was worried about you" "I know Y/N, I'm really sorry. Please can I come in? I need to talk to you about what's been going on"

"Of course, come on in" You both take a seat on the sofa in the living room, and Cash looks really on edge, you instinctively hold his hand, and he ever so slightly feels a little less tense.

"I didn't want to tell you about this before Y/N, but I need to come clean about this" "Cash what is it?" "....You know my former police partner Glen?" "Yes" "Well, the last day I was around hear, he called me, and....he tried to get me to do something. You see he's got this secret client I didn't know about, and he owes him a lot of money, money he doesn't have" "Ok, so what did he try to get it off you?" "No...much worse...he invited me over to discuss a plan that may be dangerous. That's why I had to leave so quickly, I had no idea what he was up to, and if I know Glen, it was going to be very bad" "So what happened?" "I arrived at his place, and he drove me to a remote and run down old house that was all boarded up, and he said this is where we're going to hold a deal. I asked him what deal? He said I needed to kidnap a little girl! And hold her hostage in this house in order to get money from her mother who is in charge of the national banking system" "Oh my god, what?!" "I know! I refused out right, but he threatened me. He said if I don't do this I'll loose my job and go to prison. I've stayed away from him and anyone else for days because I've been so worried about what will happen. I don't want to kidnap anyone! Let alone an innocent little girl! Y/N I don't know what to do, I don't want anything bad to happen"

"Hey hey it's ok, I can see that you don't want to do that, and you told him you wouldn't, you should be proud about that. But there is a child and mother out there who will potentially be in danger, we need to go to the chief of police about this" "But they might say that I'm responsible for this situation too for not coming clean about it right from the start" "Cash, Glen threatened you, and you still said no. And you didn't kidnap this girl, so it will be ok" "But he said if I don't do it, he will" "And that's why we need to contact the person in charge, ok? Trust me on this" He breathes out a big breath, almost like he didn't realise he had been holding it in, and you give his hand a gentle squeeze. "Your right, I know your right.....ok, should I call the chief?" "I think it's better to go in and see him, and bring with you any evidence of the truth with you too, your going to need it" You both drove to his police station, and had an emergency meeting with the chief of police, where he was very understanding and knew that Cash wasn't in trouble, having come forward and told the truth. "And where did you say Glen was going to take this little girl Cash?" "To this address sir" Cash said pointing to an area in a small map. "Alright, so what we'll do-" The chief is suddenly cut off by an officer barging in. "Chief! We have a report about a little girl who has been kidnapped, her mother is Rachel McKenzie, the child name is Hannah" "Chief, that's the girl! Glen's got her!"

"Alright everyone, let's get this girl back" Everyone including you drive to this area, you and Cash went in his personal car as the officers followed the directions to the address. Once they arrived, you and Cash got out with the officers and suddenly....this is where something struck you....this was the house from your dream....the house where Cash was shot! You grab Cash's hand and stopped him going any closer. "What's wromg" "Cash, I'm begging you, please don't go any closer. Please just stay hear with me" "Ok ok...I won't go any closer" He gives you a comforting hug, he can see how scared you are, and he stays with you by the police cars. The chief and the other officers demand Glen brings out Hannah, he very slowly does that, and Hannah runs towards the closest officer. "Your under arrest Glen" "I'm not going to prison!" He shouts right before he pulls out a gun, he tries to aim it at Cash, but he is shot down before he can even shoot a bullet. It scared the life out of you, not only because Glen just tried to shoot Cash, but because Glen died in the exact same position as Cash did in your dream. "Cash? Your relieved for the next few days, you did good coming to us and helping to save this girl. I'll see you back in work on Monday" "Thank you sir, come on Y/N, I'll take you home" Cash took you back to his car and drove you back to your house, holding your hand to help you feel safer after what had just happend.

Time went quite slow back at your house, Cash was kind enough to cook you dinner as you sat on the sofa, but you felt frozen. You saw someone die today, being shot right infront of you, and that's something you had no idea that would affect you so much. The worst part was, that it could have been Cash, and that kept running around and around in your mind. You were sat like a statue on the sofa, and Cash saw this, he didn't want you to suffer this on your own, it was a situation he brought you into, and the last thing he wanted was for you to be upset by this. Your swirling thoughts suddenly stopped when you felt Cash take your hand. "Y/N?" "Hmm? Did you say something?" "Y/N you were zoned out, you were sat like that for god knows how long. Are you ok?" "I....I don't know Cash.....everything that happend today, it....it was difficult to go through" "I understand, and I'm sorry you saw all of this, and Glen-oh god you saw Glen's death didn't you?" He thought you were looking away at the time, but now he realises why your like this, so he takes you into his arms for a cuddle, hoping it will help ease any pain or worry you were feeling. "Y/N I am so sorry you saw that, I didn't think you were watching" "It's fine Cash....it wasn't just Glen's death that's getting to me" Then what is it?" "The other night, I had this really bad dream...it involved you" "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Cash I dreamt about that exact house! And instead of Glen getting shot...it was you" "What? But how? You didn't even know about that place or the situation before I told you" "I know that, but I still dreamt it, and it was you getting shot by what seems like the mother of that little girl. Its almost like I didn't have a dream exactly, more like a-" "Like a vision of what could have happend if I'd had gone through with it" "Yes! It terrified me dreaming that Cash, I had been so worried about you for days when you didn't text me back...and I....god i just really missed you" "Oh god Y/N I'm so so sorry, really I am" He continued to give you warm and comforting cuddles as he helped you through everything you thought over those last few days, and you were just happy in the knowledge that Cash was safe, the little girl is back home with her mother, and Glen isn't going to manipulate Cash anymore. Cash was so sweet and kind to you the whole night, even offering to take your puppy for a walk so you didn't have too. You asked if he could stay with you tonight and he happily accepted, he didn't want you to be on your own either. You made up a spare room for him, and the night you both sat on the sofa, cuddled up again and watched a funny stand up show on Netflix together. It was about 9 o'clock now, and you were still in Cash's arms watching TV, when you could feel his hand move down and interlock his fingers in with yours.

He was so gentle and protective of you, and being in physical contact with him made your heart melt. The thought of loosing him today really put your true feelings into perspective, watching the TV, you suddenly feel Cash kiss the top of your head, it was so sweet. You repositioned yourself so you were now looking up at him, and you say "You missed" "What do you mean?" "I mean...you missed..." Your hand gently stroked along his cheek and jaw line, making his eyes flutter shut at the feel of you. He then looked right into your eyes as you pull his face closer, and press your lips against his. They were so soft, so warm, and he kissed you back with the same want and desire as you had craved all this time. His arms held you closer as your hand cupped his face, having an incredibly sensual makeout session, his kiss was addictive and absolutely incredible. You even run your fingers through his soft fluffy white hair during this, it made him smile against your lips and envy slip in some tounge, my god you were melting in his touch. The kiss broke after a about a minute or so, but you both still lingered, just hovering your lips against eachother, not wanting it to end. "Cash..." "Too long....I waited to long to kiss you" His thumb ran along your bottom lip, and he was about to kiss you again, when your puppy jumped up on you and Cash, getting right in between you. It made you and Cash laugh as your puppy just wanted to play with you both, it may have stoped the moment, but it was a cute way to do it. "It seems someone wants you all to themselves Y/N" "It definitely seems that way. Listen Cash, this kiss.... I've wanted it for a long time too" "You have?" "Yes, and I want to do this right, I'm not the kind of woman who must jumps into bed with-" "Oh I didn't think you were like that at all" "But I really want to see where this goes. I really care about you, and I want to do this right" "I feel the same way, in fact, I would like to take you out for a date. What do you say?" "I'd love to Cash" "I know we may have gone the opposite way from the date, usually the kiss happens after going out, not before" "Yeh your right, but that doesn't matter. So....if I give this little guy a treat to chew on..." "Yes...." "Maybe you could kiss me like you just did again?" "Oh Y/N, I'm going to kiss you like there's no tomorow....."

#thomas ian griffith #sensei targaryen #cash x reader #cash

[artsysurvivor]

Book recs??

The Ranger's Apprentice books. They have mentally ill people, found family, a sexy dark-lord for you to fawn over (who doesn't have a told motivation for being evil, he just is) tragic backstories and traumatic events, a timeline that doesn't make sense whatsoever (which means less stress when writing fics!!), knights, princesses, etc. There are some battle scenes and some very, very angsty scenes that will make you cry, but the conversations and dynamics between characters are funny, relatable, and a nice balance to those scenes.

The fandom is nice, and has a confessions blog where there can be a little bit of drama when you are bored (and you can send your own opinions in!!). It's also small, which limits (if not gets rid of) the amount of toxicity that fandoms like UNDERTALE/The Amazing Digital Circus has. (I would also mention that a small fandom is more close-knit, allowing you to make friends easier, but you already have me. What more do you need? /joking). While the trauma of the characters isn't really expanded upon in canon (except for the Royal Ranger towards the end of the RA series) there are tons of fics that will fit that criteria.

I will say though, while the author is nice, he is an old white guy. So there is some sexism and racism within the books. The fandom really fights against it, however, at least in my opinion. The small fandom also means less content being made on the regular and if you do make a major mistake it will spread around quicker. (But the fandom is pretty forgiving, so while mistakes might spread around, you will still get traction on posts. I've made embarrassing small mistakes and people still like me).

#please join the people will lvoe you #and I would cry tears of joy (not really. It would be fun if you joined though). #halt o'carrick <- my blorbo. My love (platonic). Autistic fucker. Dad figure. Sarcastic. Badass. Dilf. #asks #book recs

[nctsjiho]

Mr. Housework 3 (JiHo Cut)

warnings: none

❀ JiHo appears on a Chinese Variety Show 'Mr. Housework 3', where her new roommates uncover her true feelings about moving away from the boys (this was filmed in September 2021 before she returned to NCT 127 and aired later that year)

“So, Jiji? Are you a good cook?” Xue Dong asks as he watches the young girl navigate the kitchen as if she had been living in the house for years.

JiHo smiles, shaking her head meekly. “I’m good enough to not have to eat the same thing every other day,” she explains, earning a hum from the older man. She continues to combine the ingredients for her dish in a bowl while keeping an eye out for the meat on the stove.

“Do you cook for your members a lot?”

With JiHo’s back turned the Chinese actor can’t see JiHo’s smile drop—the camera however can—before she smiles again, however a little less happily. “I used to cook for them every so often, but now that I’m living in an apartment away from them, I don’t get to do that as much.”

The other resident of the house walks in having heard the new piece of information. “Oh? I didn’t know you lived alone.”

“Not exactly. I live with my manager, but yes, I have moved out of my group’s dorm. It is easier this way since my schedule is so different from theirs.”

Xue Dong holds a soft knowing smile on his lips as he looks at the girl. “I don’t think that’s quite it,” he whispers with a sad look in his eyes which completely goes past Johnny. JiHo shares a quick look with Xue Dong but her eyes shift to Johnny even quicker as the tall man starts to talk.

“Don’t you miss them?”

“Of course I do,” JiHo laughs softly.

The room falls into a heavy silence with the two men eyeing the young girl in a brotherly fashion. They can almost see memories flicking behind JiHo’s eyes as her features shift from happiness to something akin to sadness in just a split second.

“Sometimes I miss the chaos, you know?” she asks with a smile and her two temporary roommates chuckle in understanding. “I also miss eating together and spending the evenings together. But our schedules are too different now. If I still lived in the dorm I think I’d be home alone a lot when they are on schedule and vice versa.”

“I understand,” Xue Dong says with a nod. He stands up and walks further into the kitchen to lend the girl some help. “You must have lived together for a while so it’s natural to miss them. I’m sure they miss you too.”

Johnny hums from behind the kitchen island. “Yeah, we’ve only lived together for 2 days, but I’ve already grown to care for you like a little sister. You’re very easy to like,” he explains, causing the other two to laugh. “What? I mean it!”

“Thank you. I’ve liked living here with you as well so far.”

Xue Dong, next to JiHo, pats her shoulder softly. “Good, let’s make these coming days just as enjoyable, okay?”

---

S/N: idk if you guys like this kind of content, but I have been wanting to write something like this ever since I watched some clips of the show with Xu Jiaqi a long time ago.

I think because this was when JiHo wasn't living with the boys anymore and now she had 2 male roommates, it would be conflicting yet comforting for JiHo since participating in the show would feel similar to how it was living with the boys. idk I just liked the idea of this so I finally wrote it ^^

masterlists: main masterlist || jiho.writings masterlist

#jiho.video #nct 24th member #nct addition #nct female member #nct imagines #nct additional member #nct extra member #nct female addition #nct added member #nct additions #kpop!addition #kpop!oc

[bluntfriend]

Here are the rules.

1: No minors are allowed here: This blog is not for underage individuals. Most of the scenarios and headcanons that I would be posting on my blog will involve sexual content, extreme graphic violence, and other things that are not suitable for underage viewers. So, if you are underage then do not come here. You MUST be 18 or older to interact with me and my blog. There are no other exceptions. And yes that means sending me asks or messages as well.

2. Please do not send in any pairing requests. I do not write for any character pairings.

3. No incest. Don’t send in anything that involves incest.

4. If you are planning on sending in a request that involves anything NFSW content then make sure that the character is an ADULT. When it comes to that type of content then it HAS to be an ADULT. I am not going to write anything inappropriate for a minor character.

5: Be Patient: when it comes to uploading new content I tend to be slow at it because I am a perfectionist with my writing. I want what I give out to you guys to be quality work. You guys who decide to read my writing deserve that. And I also have the tendency of procrastinating so fucking much that I barely get any writing done some days. But it wouldn't always be that way. I will always come back to finishing any requests that I said that I would write.

6. I am uncomfortable with writing things that involve physical and psychological torture so don’t ask me to write that.

7: No hate comments or antagonizing one another. I want this blog to be a place where anyone can come and feel welcomed. I don't want to see anyone judging others or talking nonsense. Just be nice to each other. I don't want to see any hate comments either. If you disagree with the way I am writing a certain character or disagree with a certain canon I am going with then you are welcome to exit my blog. It is not difficult. Just click off. Other than that, I do hope you enjoy your time here. Have fun :)

Bonus: I am currently only taking headcanon requests since they are quicker and easier for me to write at the moment. And because I want to finish the two scenarios that are extremely overdue and have been sitting in my Google Docs for a full year. So, only headcanon requests for now.

#scp fandom #update #currently working on the two requests so they should be out rly soon hopefully #request open

[nickmaghighlights]

Nick Mag Highlights - #1 Summer 1993

Hello! Welcome to the very first edition of Nick Mag Highlights! What better place to start than with the very beginning, Issue #1 from Summer of 1993? 

(Well, not counting the two editions of Nickelodeon Magazine exclusive to Pizza Hut that came out before this first issue, although I’m sure we’ll get to those at some point.)

But before we begin, I should probably quickly explain what Nick Mag Highlights is and answer some questions first.

A Nick Mag Highlights post will mainly be composed of screenshots of pages from a specific Nickelodeon Magazine issue alongside my thoughts, whether they be commentary or little factoids. In a way these posts are a way to transcribe my thoughts on each issue as I’m reading it.

All images are not mine unless stated otherwise, scans of these issues come from the fantastic folks at archive.org. Special shout-out to The Nick Mag Project on Twitter and their awesome Google Spreadsheet outlining what issues have and have not been archived yet.

I’ll always include a link to a specific issue’s archive.org page when I cover it on a Nick Mag Highlights post. Read along if you’d like!

I don’t plan on covering Nick Magazine chronologically. Hopefully this will allow for more variety, plus I can cash in on all that budding 2000’s nostalgia way quicker!

I’m just a fan of these magazines who wants to share them with whoever is interested. 

No, not every post will have such a long-winded intro. I hope you enjoy this retrospective!

And without further ado, let’s dive in to issue #1! You can find this issue on archive.org here.

Surprise surprise, the issue’s cover opens right up to a lovely smattering of Nickelodeon merchandise AVAILABLE NOW*! 

Side note, I hope you like Ren & Stimpy, ‘cause they’re all over this book. Not a big surprise since it was one of the biggest cable television shows of the early ‘90’s, but seriously, not a single Rugrat in the whole first issue?

*whenever 1993 was considered “NOW!”

Y’know I never read the table of contents in these things when I was younger. I think it was because I didn’t want to spoil what was inside. 

Also, newcomers should take a good note on that wiggly R symbol in the bottom right, which the appearance of such denotes any article’s inarguable truthfulness. That's an element of these books that made its way into every single issue, and it must have made stomping-out misinformation on the elementary school playground at least a little easier. My writing isn't so beginner friendly, I don’t include R’s. So you’ll just have to believe me all the time.

Anyway, speaking of stuff that made its way into every issue…

Zelda. Van. Gutters. Good lord. 

I truthfully believe if there’s any iconography that will incite memories of Nick Magazine for anyone who’s in-the-know, it’s the image of a small Lakeland Terrier spouting a snarky non sequitur (that, or an image of Spongebob, I guess). She's certainly not as chatty in this as she will be in later issues, but feel free to say "Hi" if you see her.

For those unfamiliar, here’s a good example of your average Nickelodeon Magazine page: a couple of gags or a puzzle usually centered around an issue’s main theme. Since this issue doesn’t have a theme, expect a lot of flack thrown at unsuspecting teachers. Nerds need not apply.

I'm not sure lunch ladies will be able to come back from this one!

They must have been serious about this gag, usually they save pull-out cards solely for mail-order forms for Nick Mag subscriptions.

And the very first feature in Nickelodeon Magazine’s very first issue is all about… State fairs? I love a fair as much as the next guy, but surely there were better options, like interviewing someone who drives a big truck or something. Big trucks are pretty cool.

Never give a breakfast fan the aux they’ll just put on the honeycomb rap.

Alright time for things to get serious. Even as the type of kid who usually liked the mag's interviews and other features, it's hard to deny that The Comic Book was the real star player of Nick Magazine. This section made it into every issue, and pretty quickly built up a roster of regularly updating series. Not to mention comics based Nickelodeon shows featuring stories you couldn’t find on television. Their popularity even got to the point that Nickelodeon started selling versions of the magazine that were just compilations of the comics! So yeah, these were popular.

Of course with The Comic Book, there comes even more ads.

Also, if anyone reading wants to get into the Niche Youtube Video Essay market, may I recommend tackling the rise and fall of temporary tattoos? I hardly see these anymore. A shame, too, cause these ones seem pretty cool, and they even have the Bubby seal of approval.

This was a section The Comic Book had which seemed to fade out pretty quickly into the magazine’s run: The Cartoon Calendar. A shame too, cause I actually find these pretty funny.

Here’s my favorite section from the two calendars in this issue.

Alright, so no actual Ren & Stimpy comic, instead we get a small journal writeup from Stimpy about him and Ren becoming models. Interestingly I can't help but feel this section of The Comic Book could've used a couple more pictures. Hm, wonder why…

But alas, it's all just set dressing anyway for a cutout activity, DARING you to sacrifice the eventual resale value of your rare first issue magazine in exchange for limitless dress-up fun in the short term. A worthy trade? You decide...

And here’s another section of The Comic Book Nickelodeon stopped doing fairly quickly (to my knowledge, anyway): the reprinting of old comics from the 40’s and 50’s. This issue has two reprints. There’s two reasons I could think of why they did this. One would be that the staff behind the magazine read these comics when they were kids and wanted to share them with a new audience, which is a cause I can obviously sympathize with. The more cynical reason is that Nickelodeon had the rights to some old comics and they used them to fluff up their page count. Regardless, once they stopped doing this it made more room for original content. Content like…

Bill Beak! Yeah I’m figuring this guy did not last long. He definitely wasn’t around when I started reading Nick Magazine. I’m not surprised! He sucks! Deeply unpleasant.

But you know what doesn’t suck and was still around when I started reading Nick Magazine? 

Scene But Not Heard (which interestingly doesn’t seem to have its name yet) was definitely an iconic part of Nickelodeon Magazine. If it wasn’t in every single issue, then it certainly must have been in most of them. These were done by cartoonist Sam Henderson, who went on to work on Season 3 of Spongebob Squarepants, and that ended up landing him an Emmy nomination. Pretty cool stuff, and these comics were always worth a smile.

Embarrassing display from Nickelodeon Magazine’s local toy store… Really glad Nick saved a page in their magazine to expose those guys.

And to promote the release of the 1993 movie Super Mario Bros., Nick got Luigi’s actor John Leguizamo to say a few words straight from the Nickelodeon “Movie Couch”.

He sure does seem thrilled to be here.

Here’s his stats in case you ever must battle him.

After that there’s some insane article about chewing gum that has nothing to do with anything. And then there’s this article about a fictional professor studying the history of troll dolls. Hey, I think this magazine might be a little wacky!

OOZE News… Y’know, come to think of it, this magazine has been pretty lacking in slime, slop, and ooze. Especially for something created by Nickelodeon in the 90’s. Even here this just seems to be giving the low-down on new episodes and happenings related to Nickelodeon shows. Hardly anything I’d call slimy!

Oh, nevermind.

I’m shocked by the amount of apparently recurring features this magazine had phased out by the time I started reading in the 2000's. Had to make more room for IPHONEs and JAVASCRIPTs, I guess, so kids never got to see a lady eating not-nice things. Thanks Web 2.0!

Lots of fond memories here! I’m pretty sure most of the rides in this list aren't around anymore, which is a shame. And even if the E.T. ride was responsible for inspiring my crippling fear of that little beef-jerky-looking alien bastard, that didn’t change how awesome the park was.

Okay first off: TV Table, obviously. Second off: QZ is a little creep and I don’t like that he was given the opportunity to give children advice. He’s 500 years old and “observes Earth and knows everything about the personal lives of its inhabitants, including its letter writers”? This guy is bad news. THIRD off: How did he already get a letter addressed to him if this is his first ever appearance, hm? All very suspicious.

Rounding off our journey is one last recurring segment: Say What?. Kids from across America were urged to muster up the funniest set-up and payoff they could make with a given photo, usually either of politicians or a stock photo of some kids. I don’t mean to spoil, but as far as I can remember, most of the answers had to do with farts. You probably could have guessed that yourself, but hey, I could be wrong!

And that’s Issue #1 of Nickelodeon Magazine! Well, most of it anyway. What a humble start to a publication so near and dear to so many people.

Anyone actually reading along may have noticed I skipped over some stuff, including a Clarissa Explains It All-themed section with a quiz on driving etiquette. I know that show was popular with a lot of people but I personally know nothing about it, and I’m not gonna bring something up if I have nothing to say on it. I did get a B on the quiz though, if you’re curious.

Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. If you liked it, feel free to stick around for more!

Until next time, keep reading!

#nmh post #90s #1993 #nickelodeon #magazine #ren and stimpy

[bottlecaprabbitgames]

Weekly Update for 17 December, 2022

Howdy, folks! Welcome back to the Update+! I bet y'all thought I'd forget, huh? HUH?

Anyway-

Chapter 5 is progressing nicely! I got a few thousand words in this week, bringing the rough draft up to 6,766 words! I also finished the second scene, leaving two more to go! The third one shouldn't take me long to get a draft for, but the fourth I will probably do after I edit the first scene or two.

Definitely thinking of a new editing and writing system where I write the first couple of scenes, edit the first scene, write the third scene, edit the second scene, etc etc. I think that'll help me get through editing easier than if I leave all of it for the very end, after the chapter is finished. However, for the last scenes of chapters, I'll probably get the rough draft done, start the next chapter, and come back to do another round of edits on the previous chapter and THEN do the final scene edits. It'll take longer for updates, but I think it'll help keep my brain motivated!

I actually got further than I thought I would this week; my original plans for scene two actually changed quite a bit between me re-reading them and then actually writing, and I got more in and I got it finished quicker than I thought it'd be. And... I'm really happy with it! I think the chapter so far is going really well, and I think when I start branching it out, it'll end up being a really nice hunk of content when it comes out.

In other news, I was really creatively productive this week, which has been awesome! I got 10 videos recorded, 3 videos edited, I finished... two? big crochet projects along with maybe 4-6 smaller ones, I got 2-3k words written (and I started the Adontis monthly bonus on top of that), and I even edited my Chapter 5-7 outlines in a very detailed manner. Like, I got a LOT done!!! I'm also curious... are you guys interested in me sharing my crochet accounts? I have a Linktr.ee for them, and I'd eventually like to make MG-themed art and items, but I'm not sure if you guys would be interested in that!

Okay, folks! I'll see y'all next week!!! Be safe!

#weekly update #mind games #mind games: trepidation #mg:t

[killemwithkawaii]

Goretober 2022 'The Staycation 🏡💙' Post-Event Reflection

Some thoughts about how the event went, now that it's concluded, so I can look back and reference them next year ✅

Positives:

>Introductions to the Mitchs: I was SO HAPPY to FINALLY be able to share all of my selfinsert characters with you guys!! I’ve been slowly developing them and their stories ever since ‘KEWKs Kidnapping,’ but wanted to come up with an interesting way to reveal all of them to you. I’ve wanted to, but held back on making art and fics about them because I wanted to save all of it for The Staycation event. Now that the event is concluded and they’ve all been introduced, I’ll be able to freely talk about and draw them as much as I like! I can already tell they have a few fans, (particularly Mitch(2)/ coworker!Mitch, who just so happens to be my favorite one! c:) so please feel free to ask about them/ their AUs if you’d like to. I may hold mini events where I RP as them and L.S.S. during their original timelines, but for now, I’d like to finally make character sheets for them and maybe write fics for their original AUs :D

>Trying new things: I took this event as an opportunity to try out some different artistic mediums that I don’t usually dabble in- pencil (my go-to before I started drawing digitally), pen/marker, collage, pixel art/ simple animation, digital but with simple lineart and a new brush, and I even threw a poem in there! It was a ton of fun to experiment with all of these, and I found that I really enjoyed all of them and would like to mess around with them more in the future. I particularly liked making the pixel art for videogame!Mitch and the collages for dealer!Mitch, and am very happy I finally figured out how to make simple animated gifs out of my art c:

>Story building: I had SO MUCH fun creating the story for this event, dropping hints to the ending, including throwbacks/references to past goretober events and sprinkling in easter eggs in the art and writing, especially all the references to food/eating, rabbits, and wolves/dogs! (tbh for a minute there, I was worried I was making things too obvious lol) I’ll have to make an ‘in case you missed it’ post pointing out some things that people haven’t mentioned yet…~

>Productivity: I succeeded in creating a total of 41 pieces of art and wrote at least 100 pages of story for this event, with about 90% of it created between October 1st and November 1st! Not too shabby, if I do say so myself UwU Doing this event always shows me that I’m capable of doing way more than I give myself credit for, and while that rapid pace is not at all sustainable long-term, I’m still very proud that I was able to pull off what I did in that short amount of time! It also gets me into the practice of drawing and writing much faster in general, which means my general art and writing will turn out quicker, too (good news for you guys, now that I’m back to my usual shenanigans~)

>Better self-care: While I did not succeed in avoiding all the pitfalls I fell into during the 2021 ‘The Do-Over’ goretober event, I still did a better job at caring for myself during this years event than the last. I managed to make time for a little socializing, did not lose as much weight over the course of the month as I did last year, and managed to avoid having a major breakdown due to the workload (still had a little cry toward the end, but it lasted like 5 minutes so I just consider it business as usual lol).

Negatives:

>Planning does not equal preparing: I did a lot of planning for this event- tons of spreadsheets, notes, ideas and a rough outline for each chapter- but I quickly learned that planning is not a substitute for preparing. I thought it would be much easier to write in real-time this year with so much to pull from in my back pocket, but I still ended up writing and drawing for at least 3-8+ hours every day during the event and often stayed up past 4am to finish the content for each day. Even with all that work, I was unable to fit in A LOT of what I wanted to include, simply because there was not enough time to create it from scratch. 

Out of all the ficlets posted during the event, the only ones that were prewritten were the finalized day zero fic, the rough drafts for Penpal, Coworker, and Neighbors original introductions, and the draft for Penpals original death, and out of all the art posted, only the intro pics for Mitch 1-5 were completed before the 1st . Everything else was created within a few days of being posted, usually the same day. So, it’s safe to say at least 90% of this event, written and drawn, was improv and was therefore not the quality I wanted for it to be, despite all the effort I put into it. 

>Things not going as intended: Despite having so much planned before October, having preset points for the appearances and deaths of each S/I and a definite ending in mind, the inbetween parts went VERY differently than what I’d set out to make them, simply because I had nothing concrete actually written for them and got new ideas mid-event. Still, I hope each chapter is enjoyable for what they turned out to be! (I may end up writing a fic version of this event that goes how I originally intended, or how I wish they turned out after-the-fact…)

>Human limitations: Despite telling myself not to do what I did last year, the pace I set was incredibly demanding, and after putting in so much work for the whole month, I was completely exhausted by the 31st. That day, I was feeling very sick and was having trouble thinking straight, but because it was pretty much the final day of the event and I’d come so far, I wanted to post something and get it over with. The writing posted on that day is not at all what I wanted it to be- it was, after all, supposed to be the climax of the story, but it fell completely flat and I am very, very disappointed with it. I intend to go back and edit it when I’m feeling up to it, but for now, I’m still recovering and trying not to beat myself up over it too bad…

>Lack of interaction: First off, I am incredibly grateful to those of you who sent in asks during The Staycation, with a special shout-out to @meadow-hearthfire and @stormcellarwitch! Your asks played a MAJOR part in the story and really helped to move it along and spark inspiration for me. Thank you so, so, SO much for your participation!! I really hope you enjoyed the ride, and that you’ll join me for next years goretober event as well :D

That being said, I was disheartened by the general lack of interaction during the event, especially after I was told there were a number of people that were excited to participate. I had more asks than I could handle last year and about half the number of followers that I do now, so I was anticipating a big turn-out and am wondering why that didn’t happen. (What made it more confusing was that I actually gained quite a few followers during the event, when I’d expected to lose a bunch due to the shift in content! But otherwise, there was very little activity in my feed…) I do realize I’m not owed interaction from any of you, and that my goretober events are very self-indulgent and different from my usual stuff, but I would still very much appreciate some constructive input as to why people were not interacting as I’d hoped and what I can do next year to motivate participation:

Was it boring? Too repetitive? Too confusing or involved? TL;DR? Were you disappointed because it wasn’t what you expected it to be? Were you confused as to how you could interact, what you were supposed to do, or assume you could not participate for some reason? Did you enjoy and follow the event, but just didn’t feel like participating in it? Are my goretober events just not your thing, and you were simply waiting for when the blog went back to the usual vibe? Or, were you just busy with life and didn’t have time to participate this year? 

Thank you in advance for your input! It’ll be very helpful to me so I can make next year as entertaining and fun as possible for you guys and for myself ^^

Notes to Self for 2023 (that may be useful anyone that wants to do an event like this themselves):

>PREPARE: You DO NOT want this to take over your whole life for the entire month or be unsatisfied with the results because it’s rushed!! Make a goal to have AT LEAST 50% of the writing and art done (ESPECIALLY THE FINALE) before October 1st, and have an outline written for the rest. It is WAY easier to edit things a little during the event than to make it all from scratch the same day you post it!!

>Stick with the plan: Throwing in some things on impulse is fun, but taking a hard left out of nowhere just makes it so you have to improvise even more afterwards. Make a flowchart if choices made by the audience can affect the story progress so that you can stay on track and still get to where you need to go in the end.

>Be interactive, but independent: Include audience participation when/if it's offered, but do not depend on it, because it may not be there when you need it. 

>Be clear: Set guidelines for participation, what the event is about, and make a masterlist/ guide for past events and the AUs within them so newcomers can get up-to-speed with the story so far

>Do some refreshing: Reread your own writing and take notes so you actually remember your own story. It will spark new ideas and help keep things consistent! Also, edit things that are not congruent and fix any plot holes you find.

>Remember this story is for you!: Just because people aren’t participating doesn’t mean your story isn’t worth creating and putting out there. Make it because you love it, and if people like it, that’s great! If not, you have a whole story custom tailored to your tastes, and that’s awesome, too ^^

Thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to getting back to business as usual on the blog and to thoroughly planning AND preparing for next years goretober event. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this years event and had a great Halloween~ 🤗🎃💖

#k.e.w.k. speaks #the staycation 🏡💙

[c-40]

A-T-4 003 Push The Button

I was out the other day when the lyric to a pop rap song being piped caught my ear, the lyric was Push The Button. The context in this case was pushing a button on a mobile phone, as a subject of pop music the telephone has been around as long as pop music itself. The subject is continually being reinvented for anew generation, for a while in the 1990s I remember it was pagers, and before telephones songs were written about writing letters, there are also plenty of songs about telegrams, all sorts of long distance communication

Pop music records changing times but as with fashion it likes to see itself in the vanguard leading the way, every season a new year in with the new out with the old, but for the last 20-years or so it's tech and gadgets that have been the height of fashion. It was a lot easier to imagine the future of technology in 1984 than it is in 2024, or even 1999 when Nas released Nastradamus in which he predicted (amongst many things) laptops with 100 gigabytes [of memory], my smartphone has more memory than that! Perhaps that's one of the reasons the most streamed song in the UK last year was Miley Cyrus's turn of the century style pop disco track Flowers, you can't argue with the song, no wild predictions here, she will survive and she can buy herself flowers - I remember in the 1980s when women couldn't buy themselves flowers, it shows social progress - or perhaps it's the workout she does in the video like all those Ministry disco-house videos from the turn of the century that's made it so popular

Miley Cyrus's Flowers is retro like pretty much all mainstream pop music is today, is it just nostalgias pendulum? I'm not convinced, this type of disco-pop been out of the charts since the late 1990s. What has changed since then is how we consume music. I enjoy science fiction movies but what makes me laugh in them is no matter how far in the future they are set if the scene is in a bar or club or something the music is 1990s techno or house, maybe bass music for films made more recently. To me it says in the imagination of the film makers music stopped innovating at some point in the mid 1990s. Coincidentally this when neoliberalism peaked and has been limping along ever since

Newcleus's Computer Age (Push The Button) takes Push The Button from another cultural obsession synonymous with the height of the Cold War (pushing THE button) and applies it to computing. Newcleus weren't as niche as you might think, Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song) peaked just outside the top 40 on the UK singles chart and Jam On It got into the top 100, the album Jam On Revenge getting to 84 on the album chart (Newcleus did even better in the US)

One of the main drivers of innovation in pop music is new technology. Electro-funk of the early 1980s like Newcleus arrived on the back off new synthesisers and drum machines. Has there been any great leaps in music tech since the mid 1990s? Soundcards are better, tasks have certainly gotten quicker and easier, there are MORE software emulators and you can do some of the old tasks on a smartphone now instead of a laptop or desktop. I'm not a musician or studio guy so I can't say for sure if there's been any great leaps in music production in the last 20 years, it looks to me things have just been refined. Oh! of course generative or ai music has come along in the last few years

Which brings us to the lyrical content of Computer Age, for a pop song that is 40-years-old some of the things they are saying about computers are still in discourse today. Newcleus had previously gone by the name Positive Messenger "and were making music that had a purpose, either messages of love or faith or talking about the conditions of the world." Newcleus and Jam On Revenge was lighter and had fun with hip hop but Computer Age sounds like it's a throwback to their roots

"Computer age is now Everyone must have a machine They say it's gonna make life easier, well, I can't stand it...."

You can't argue with the above verse. In the UK there's been several efforts to adopt a computer and for all of us to go online, interactions with local government or banks and all your bills are done via computers now, it easier until it isn't. Here Newcleus decide to ask a theological question which isn't exactly useful, does reliance on computers make us gods or slaves? and Newcleus conclude god is going to be pissed with us if we replace him with a computer

"For here we sit in our easy chairs As our machines decide how we'll fare Who will suffer, who will survive? It's up to the computers"

So in the above verse Newcleus hit one one of the most important discourses around ai/ml computing. Ai/ml has been used to decide who qualifies for parole in the US for a decade now, the data used to make the calculation records many decades of bias against non-white people so when ai/ml was used in the prison system we found the ai/ml reproduced the bias recorded in the data. Ai/ml is being used as giant management tools, making all kinds of decisions that have real life consequences. If a government or business want to make cuts or set tight targets an ai can do this without see people or asking how people will manage?

"It's up to the computers" isn't correct, it could be up to us. Some computer scientists are calling for citizen assemblies to work with ai/ml, more awareness is certainly needed. Right now tech giants are predicting a scary ai future that only they can fix, this isn't true and it gives tech companies with already too much power even more power

I wrote a proposal for a job funded by the CIA once via Cambridge University. They wanted artists to create narratives that challenged the story that an all powerful all knowing ai will destroy humanity so we might have a more sensible conversation

#1984 #newcleus #electrofunk #hip hop #new york #usa #80s music

[animeangel-2]

RULES. . .

WILL NOT DO…

Explict Nsfw (At least on this blog. Stuff may be hinted at and things may get suggestive but anything above that will be post on my AO3 with appropriate content warnings.)

Shows/Characters/Fandoms I’m not familiar with or feeling motivated to write for (I want my content to have the best quality I can provide)

Oneshots or long stories…(This may change in the future but life is very hectic and busy for me. Headcannons are easier and faster to write—I may post a oneshot or a series in the future if I’m feeling motivated enough so don’t lose hope completely!)

More than 3 Characters per request for headcannons (Writing for 3 characters or less will help me be able to go through my inbox quicker so please remember this otherwise I will choose 3 characters from the list given in the request)

Shipping (This blog strictly caters to x readers)

Basically anything that makes me uncomfortable…(Message me before hand if you’re unsure.)

WILL DO…

Yandere (Who doesn’t love a character with heart eyes and bloodstained hands confessing their undying affections for you? However it should be noted that I DO NOT CONDONE THIS BEHAVIOR IN REAL LIFE. This is strictly for artistic expression via FICTIONAL writing. Proceed with caution and read the trigger warnings that will be listed on posts.)

GIFs Reactions (Even though tumblr doesn’t post half the gifs I paste I’ll try my best!) 

Self Indulgent Stuff (This blog is first and foremost, an escape for me to express myself freely and unbounded. I am not obligated to answer your request in a timely manner or at all for that matter if it doesn't inspire me. Please do not take this personally, this falls back into my 3 character limit rule because if it doesn't motivate me enough you may not get the best quality of work that I can provide.)

Follower Interactions (PLEASE feel free to send your own concepts, ideas, thoughts, response to my work or otherwise! I love hearing from you guys and it may inspire me in my own writing!)

Also please do not repost my stuff without giving me credit or steal my work.

Other than that have fun and ask away!~

#blog rules

[rachasticks]

right now the felix fic is at 11.7K but i have so much more i want to write and there’s still a WHILE till i’ll get to where i want to end, so would you guys mind if i made that a LONG fic and in the meantime wrote other things, like the chan fic i was talking about yesterday?

#for example the felix one might end up closer to 20-25k but the chan would migjt be 7-15k?? #like neither are short LOL but the point i’m getting at is that the shorter ones are more structured #easier to write and quicker so you guys get content. #pls give me feedback on this cos i thought i’d be finished by now for felix but i just have so much more of the story to tell and i want to #do it justife #so pls do not ignore if u see this i want to know if you guys will read long fics too 😠😠😠😠

[glazelilyy]

habits of slumber

request from anon - "Hi, may I request some headcanons for the sleeping habits of some characters when sleeping with their s/o (and just sleeping, no funny business)? Stuff like if they cuddle or are restless sleepers. As for the characters, maybe Childe, Diluc (when he's not busy being Batman), Zhongli, and Kaeya. Thank you and have a nice day!"

a/n - eeeee this is so cute :)) i had to physically stop myself from squealing while writing this

pairings (separately!) - diluc ragnvindr, kaeya alberich, childe/tartaglia, zhongli x gender neutral reader

word count - 1002

genre - fluff, crack

format - headcanons

warnings - sleeping in the same bed

summary - headcanons of sleeping in the same bed as the tall genshin guys :)

content under the cut!

pretty solid sleeper

but it's also not hard to wake him either

he's got super sharp instincts and can sense danger in his sleep

one time he woke up with a huge spider right next to you on his pillow (and proceeded to accidentally scorch the sheets with his vision out of pure shock)

on his own, he probably tosses and turns until he completely exhausts himself and passes out (a classic insomniac)

with you however, he'll fall asleep much quicker and stay asleep for longer

at first he wasn't keen on the idea of spooning knowing how easily he could be woken up

but after you placed his head in the crook of your neck and wrapped your arms around him, he was sold

he can be big spoon or little spoon, he likes either one but little spoon is saved for days where he's given all of himself and needs to recharge

he'll absolutely melt if you gently comb your hands through his locks

not much of a snorer, but he makes an adorable whistling noise that you tease him for in the morning

diluc will prioritize your level of comfortableness above your own: you wanna be the little spoon? say no more. you want the extra pillow? done, it's yours

he's one big heater so perfect for falling asleep with in the winter but it gets a bit complicated once summer rolls around

overall, pretty light sleeper but sleeps better in your arms, very comfortable and soft :)

i think kaeya has a really hard time sleeping

both with you and on his own (especially on his own)

like diluc, he's an insomniac

too many thoughts plague his mind for him to sleep soundly at night

often times he'd try and fall asleep only to either wake up dry heaving from a terrible nightmare or be unable to drift away into that calm, easy dream-like state

if he does sleep, it's for a few hours and that's usually enough to get him through the day

he's very cuddly with you when trying to get to sleep

if his arms aren't wrapped around your waist (which is VERY rare might i add), they'll be slung over your body or holding some part of you

he just always needs to have you close to him, you're sort of like an antidote to his insomnia

when kaeya does get to sleep, he's neither light or deep just somewhere in between

snores lightly, you have to listen closely and be very attentive to hear it

he prefers to be the big spoon but will absolutely indulge you if you ask to hold him when you both drift off to sleep

loves when you rub your hand up and down his back, it helps him get to sleep easier

also loves if you sing or hum lullabies for him

since he runs colder than most, the blankets are usually pulled up to your necks and your bodies are pressed together to maintain warmth

he's a relatively calm sleeper, stays in one place and only shuffles about a little bit

often though, you may wake up to him thrashing about in his sleep or mumbling incoherently

to get him back to sleep, all you have to do is take him into your arms and run your hand up and down his back, and he'll go right back to sleep

kaeya's a charming man but his sleep habits make him seem like a small child (and you found it pretty cute)

an absolute menace to sleep with i would never put up with him

kicks in his sleep like a professional soccer player

a blanket hog, expect to wake up and find that he's wrapped himself up in a blanket burrito and left you cold and shivering

sprawls out like a starfish and takes up 80% of the bed

you awake often to find his entire leg resting on your stomach with his arm slung over your chest

if you typically sleep with a stuffed animal or blanket, expect to wake up in the morning with it thrown on the floor in favor of his body

snores like there's no tomorrow, it's possible to hear his snores from the highest mountains of inazuma

very very very cuddly in bed

loves when you smooth over the top of his head

big spoon all the way, he likes when your back is against his chest so he can bury his nose in your neck

if he's wide awake and you're trying to get to sleep, he'll blow raspberries into the crook of your neck so he's not alone when you drift off to sleep

locks you into a strong cuddle all throughout the night and will NOT let go until he wakes up

he's terrible to sleep with but he makes up for it by being sweet in the morning and giving you breakfast in bed

sleeps like a rock (haha get it- cause- cause he's got a geo vision-)

veeeery deep sleeper

it takes a lot for him to wake up

goes to bed early like an old man

always has to have a cup of chamomile tea before he goes to sleep

insists that you have one too (and you'd have to admit, you sleep better after consuming it)

he's very easy to fall asleep with

he's so soft when you slip your fingers into his scalp and massage his temple, especially after a long day at the funeral parlor, it puts him right to sleep

if you ask him to, he'll lean against the headboard with your head on his chest and read to you in that soothing voice of his: it lulls you to sleep and tires him out so you're both ready to get to sleep

sleeps like an old man, but is strangely silent throughout the night, no snores or anything

mister big spoon loves to tuck your head under his chin and rub circles into your shoulders

there will never be a night where he doesn't kiss your forehead before turning out the lights

10/10 zhongli is such good husband material

date published: june 26th, 2021

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