#i also kept track of how long it actually takes me generally to make a video

[casualhedonists]

✩ it don’t need your loving, it just needs attention ✩ (chapter two)

pairing: Coriolanus Snow x reader

chapter: 2/?

MASTERLIST

warnings: NSFW (18+), snow being snow, themes of sex work (not the reader), cuckolding, eventual smut, fake relationship, unprotected sex, themes of voyeurism & mild exhibitionism, murder mention (but no actual murder) (not yet at least?), MAJOR manipulation/gross power dynamics + generally darkish themes, some power play, oral sex, thigh riding, eventual piv, i’m new to full on smut bear with me here (and pls tell me if i forgot anything!)

i do not give permission for my work to be reposted/translated anywhere, under any circumstances.

a/n: first off, THANK YOU for the love on chapter 1. wasn’t sure how I’d fare since I’ve done a lot of writing in my life but little to no smut. with that said! longer chapter incoming. also I just know he’d give insane head okay i just do,the guy looks like he fucks and he definitely does

You weren't sure exactly how you slipped away from Snow’s room that night, but you could somewhat piece it together in flashes. First a head rush, then the fire in the pit of your stomach practically having gasoline thrown on it.

You remembered a quiet gasp escaping your lips, then panic, a flash of white, and suddenly you were stumbling away, head spinning as you tried to catch your breath, pacing unevenly down the hallway, any chance of a stealthy escape long thrown out the window.

Back in your room, once the door was bolted and your back was against it, making sure nobody could get in if they tried, you had your first shot at clear-headedness since you’d heard heels scuffing the hardwood.

You’d soaked your panties through and were dripping down your thighs, but you’d be damned if you could get into the headspace to take care of it. Panic flooded your veins, ice-hot as you tried to catch your breath. you slid down the door and sat there, legs numb against the cold wooden planks.

Who was she? A million questions filled your head all at once. Was she from the Capitol? Could she be one of Snow’s friends, one of your friends? The thought made you sick. What if you’d dined with her before? Talked to her? How long had this been happening? Who knew about it? Were you being played?

Had he seen you watching him?

Unable to help yourself, your one-track mind took you back to the way he’d groaned your name, though you were half sure that had been a fever dream of some kind. Still, you kept replaying it. Over and over, like a broken record.

It didn’t make any sense, you were so fucking confused. All this time you’d been hoping he would make a move, you’d practically begged him to. Why hadn’t he? When you were clearly on his mind, and yet he made you believe he didn’t think of you that way at all. Was he just respecting your agreement?

You fiddled with the lace on the hem of your slip as you mulled it over. You stayed sat like this for almost an hour, trying unsuccessfully to wrap your head around it. When you ended up right back where you started, and you were sure enough time had passed that if someone was coming to get you, they would’ve already, you finally stood up. Your caution led you to drag a chair from across the room, propping it up by the door to jam the handle. That left you with the sliver of peace of mind you required to shower off this cold sweat you’d formed.

The next morning, you dreaded breakfast. But you knew you had to face him, as well as the fact that this could very well be your last meal. You should at least try to eat well.

You made your way downstairs, a few minutes later than usual, enough for Coriolanus to already be sipping coffee, a few pages through his newspaper. You’d not got fully dressed yet, not wanting the contrast to be too obvious, but you’d wrapped a silk dressing gown around you so you were a little more covered up. You knew one thing for certain, you wouldn’t be trying any more of your tricks until you knew just what you were dealing with.

He didn’t look over at you, which you took as a good sign. The urge to hide from him, from what you’d seen and what you now knew, overwhelmed you. You didn’t say a word, and picked silently at your breakfast, but despite your best efforts, not managing to keep more than a few bites down.

“You’re quiet today.” He muttered, and you started.

“Um.”

He lowered his paper.

“Something wrong?”

How about everything?

“Oh, no, I’m okay. Just uh…” you glanced up at him, and met his sharp gaze. Fuck. You’d hoped you’d go unnoticed. You felt like a deer in headlights, like he could read your mind.

“Well?” He prompted, gaze unwavering. You blinked.

“Headache.” You managed to breathe, faking a small, pitiful smile.

He brought his paper back up in front of him, crisply turning the page. You both thanked the new barrier between you for cutting off his stare, and resented it as you looked at the tiny printed words you couldn’t make out from where you were sitting.

“I’ll have Lucille bring you up something.”

“Thank you.” you said quickly, almost too quickly, and you feared he might lower his paper again to watch you as you stumbled over another excuse. But you fell lucky this time.

The week seemed to pass in a blur, Monday’s gala being one of the only times you really left your room when Snow was around, other than meal times, which you spent in a similar state as that first breakfast. You cursed yourself for throwing out your longer dresses, and settled for the least suggestive of them, the white one you’d been thinking of pitching to Snow as a backup plan in your panicked state outside his bedroom. That all felt worlds away now. What you’d seen had shifted the tides, marking a solid, definitive line in your head between the before and after.

The gala went as well as it could given the circumstances. You danced, Snow was charming to you in front of the guests, but held your gaze no longer than usual. It was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling to feel his hands on your waist, knowing what you knew. It felt like you’d been tapped with a cattle prod and had to hide it every time his hand brushed yours on top of the dinner table, as unsuspecting guests smiled at you, the happy couple.

If only they knew that in the same breath, you were scanning the crowd, wondering who the blonde could’ve been, how close she was to Snow, if at all, and hating the way every touch he placed on your hands and waist served as a reminder that he’d been touching her instead of you.

Your stupid brain had formed a highlight reel of what you’d witnessed behind Snow’s door, and it tortured you with every passing moment. To know he was thinking of you. To think that maybe, he wanted you there instead. It put a strange sense of possessive pride into you, that weaved between your jealousy. Because yes, you’d seen another girl on her knees with her mouth around him, but you hadn’t heard any name other than your own while it happened.

You carried this strange hope, dwindling to start off, and then building each day that you were left un-hanged and very much alive, slowly chipping away at your fear of the worst. And yet, you knew the game, unbeknownst to Snow, had been fundamentally changed. You’d stopped your antics altogether, now barely meeting his eye as you passed each other in the hallway, covering up more at breakfast, and only talking just enough to avoid another interrogation. Avoiding touch, and conversation, and all-around keeping yourself away from him.

You were quieter still at night in your room. After a few days, you’d finally felt safe enough to move the chair away and sleep with the door locked as you normally would. But while your games had stopped, your want for him had only been amplified. Fuelled by jealousy and frustration, you had to bite down on your hand so that not even the slightest noise made its way out as you pictured him, not as you used to in your fantasies, but as you’d seen him that night, undone with your name on his lips. It was much easier, in your head, to picture yourself as the one on your knees. Any other fantasy just failed to make the cut now you’d seen the real thing.

Thursday rolled around and you’d made a new habit of pacing the downstairs library when Coriolanus was out of the house. That way, if he got home and stepped inside, you could pretend to be lost in a book. But the hours seemed to stretch out and you became bored, and with no Snow in sight, you decided to head down to the servants’ quarters.

This wasn’t a common occurrence, but it wasn’t unheard of. You were known for your gentleness among the house staff, less harsh than Snow, but firm nonetheless. It had led you to a respectful friendliness with the maids and servants, and once every so often you’d check in on them.

Today’s objectives, however, were purely self-motivated. You found Lucille, who dressed you, at the kitchen table, chopping vegetables.

She stood upon seeing you, and curtseyed (Snow was rather old fashioned that way). You nodded, then took a seat at the foot of the table.

“Do you need any help with that?” You glanced at the cutting board.

Lucille’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Ma’am.”

You laughed. Lucille chopped and diced, and you asked questions. At first, they were after her family, her brother was sick and despite your offers, she wouldn’t accept help. So instead you listened, and slowly but surely, your questions got a little more directed toward the object of your interest.

You were good at playing the long game, so you started by asking about the company he kept. What she thought of them, with the promise that it would stay between the two of you, cross your heart.

She wouldn’t say much but she knew a little more than you; Snow kept very similar company as you did, and rarely went out for social visits. Any trips were strictly work-related, and when you eased into the topic of his past, Lucille mentioned, in very polite terms, that he had left a small trail of women heartbroken after a short period of time. That not all of them had been pleasant, and that she was pleased you seemed to have a positive effect on him.

She knew about your arrangement, practically the whole staff did, but they were kept on a very tight leash and were thoroughly reminded to not say a word acknowledging it, not even to you. It was with a knowing glance that Lucille told you she was happy you’d stayed around.

You smiled. Knowing that was likely all you were going to get for now, you let her be. By then, it was late enough to have gone dark, and you headed up to bed.

You awoke to creaking outside your door, and the shadow of footsteps from underneath it. You’d been tossing and turning for the last - you checked your watch - two hours. Excellent. You rolled onto your back wondering who it was, and then you heard it again. At first you wondered if it was just a sleep-deprived hallucination, or a sense of deja-vu, but then you focused, and there it was. The sound of heels. Again.

You sat up in bed, pushing your hair out of your face. You were enraged the first time, but if this was becoming a Thursday night tradition, it would be a serious problem. You were tired, you reasoned, you could just try to go back to sleep. Ignore it. Not let him have this power over you, a power that he didn’t even know he had. All the more reason to ignore it, and make it tomorrow’s problem.

But you just couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie, no matter how hard you tried. Your mother used to say it was a problem, always sticking your nose in places it didn’t belong. But it had got you this far, hadn't it?

You knew you were going to follow her to Snow’s room again, it was just a matter of time. You had to at least pretend you had an ounce of self-control, whereas really your head was thrumming and you knew it would take getting hit by a high-speed train to send you back to sleep now.

So you held off. Five minutes passed. Then ten. You had to know, at least, what they were doing. Maybe you could get a look at her face, see who it was, and answer some of the questions you had.

So you went. With a purpose this time, knowing full well what and who you’d end up seeing, trying to take steady breaths and focus on your plan. Check who it was, then leave.

You’d never been that great at execution. Call it hedonism, call it a morbid fascination, or living vicariously, but when you walked up to the door - which was ajar again, strangely even more than last time, by at least an inch or two - you looked inside, and your feet planted. The last shred of your self-control allowed you to take in the room first, the desk and chair that was right within your sight, and as you tucked yourself into the room, half hidden behind the door, you finally looked back at the bed where you’d seen Snow with his blonde girl last time.

Neither of them were sitting now.

Thirty seconds ago, you would’ve believed the hottest thing you’d ever seen was what played out in this room last week. But that was before you saw Snow turned away from you, still fully dressed with his sleeves rolled up, stomach on the bed and face between the blonde’s thighs, eating her out like he was on death row and she was his last meal.

You’d gotten head before. You knew it felt good, but the boys you’d slept with before your arrangement with Snow were selfish and inattentive. They would try, but they were far more interested in getting their dicks wet than showing you a good time. But Snow - you’d never seen anything like it. You didn’t know it could feel that good, or at least, not as good as the blonde girl - who you noted in the back of your mind, wasn’t anyone you recognised - was making it look. Her hips were bucking so hard he was having to pin her down with both hands around her waist.

She was just moving so much, wriggling and crying out and gasping and - you didn’t think you’d ever truly known jealousy until that moment. You couldn’t look away, knees weak and hands shaking, letting yourself get sucked into this headspace again, losing all trace of rationality. You’d think she was playing it up for him, but you knew what that sounded like. You’d faked enough orgasms to know if she was, but this? This was real. As she got close, grinding into him, writhing, running a shaky hand through his hair then getting louder, you managed to snap out of your trance.

In a flash, you ran back down the hallway.

If you thought you were avoiding Snow before, this week was about to give you a run for your money. You took breakfast in your room, and kept only to the parts of the house you knew he never entered. You only touched yourself in the shower, silent cries washed away by the water and steam, paranoia backing you into a corner.

You feigned illness the one time Snow sent a maid to inquire after you. Nothing too major, but enough to put him off. When he left the house, you snuck into the library to smuggle books back to your room, a pile forming as you tried ceaselessly to distract yourself.

You wrote home, you studied art and history. You attempted a few terrible sketches. You tore apart your room, then put it back together.

Before you knew it, Thursday rolled around again. On longer days like this, when Snow had been away working for hours at a time, you’d doubled down on your efforts to get information, and after chipping away for just long enough, you finally managed to squeeze some tidbits out of Lucille. Namely that there was a certain gentleman’s club in the city that he used to frequent before his election as President. Snow’s old driver might know its name, she said.

“But that was long before he met you, ma’am, rest assured.” She added hurriedly.

“Of course. Thank you, Lucille. I think I’ve kept you for long enough. Goodnight.”

Snow had been gone for the whole day, and you weren’t sure if he’d come home yet, so as you headed up to your room, you quietly wandered a little further down the hallway, to check if there was any light beneath his door. There wasn’t. Good. You were glad he wouldn’t be continuing this routine of his. Maybe this Thursday night, you could sleep peacefully.

With a sigh, and mulling over what you’d learned today, you returned to your room, poured a drink, then collapsed into bed.

This night was as sleepless as the rest, and you’d been drifting - not uncomfortably - in and out. A storm was brewing outside, and the sounds of howling wind began to keep you alert. You rolled onto your back and stared at the ceiling, then glanced towards your door. Snow must’ve come home at some point, and very late at that, because dim lights had been turned on in the hallway. Paranoia crept into your mind, slowly poisoning your thoughts and turning you inside out.

It didn’t take long before the feeling pushed you to roll out of bed, slide on a dressing gown, and crack open your door. This time, you couldn’t hear footsteps, or anything that might arise suspicion. You closed the door again. Waited. Then looked around your room, at the messy sheets and the half finished glass of liquor on the nightstand. You rarely drank alone, but these past few weeks had been getting to you, fucking with your head. Coriolanus Snow had driven you to this.

The wind got louder, and you knew you were too wired to sleep, so you stood by your window and finished the glass.

You’d never been good with mysteries. You wanted to know everything, all the time. Know who had power over you, know precisely how to take it away. Know exactly what was happening around you at any given moment. But most of all, you didn’t like being played for a fool.

And sure, the ethics of it had never been discussed between the two of you. Your business was strictly professional, but when you weren’t allowed to sleep around, why could he?

In fact, how dare he?

You poured another glass, straight whiskey. Downed it, pacing your room, back and forth between the door and the window, running your fingers along the ridges of the crystal glass. You thought about him, comfortably in his room, not a care in the world.

How dare he.

You weren’t sure if it was the drink or the buildup of your situation that had your blood boiling, but it didn’t matter. You were incensed. His behaviour was an insult to your name, to your family’s name. Sure, this relationship was a sham, but all the more reason for him to act with basic fucking respect. Sleeping with - and very obviously, at that - a whore, who had a bad habit of leaving the door cracked open, was unacceptable.

You were running hot, and if you knew one thing for certain, it was that when Snow met with fire, he was going to melt. You’d make sure of it.

Your feet took you into the hallway, with the decidedness that this would be the last time.

You rushed down the corridor with a tightly bottled rage that was about to burst, words hot on your tongue and demanding to be spoken, until you turned the corner and saw Snow’s door half open. You stopped in your tracks. Reassessed, then stepped closer, slowly, steadily. Remembering what you were there for.

Then, as you got close enough to see inside - right there, without you even having to step past the threshold, were the two of them, lit by a table lamp, Snow sat on the desk chair as the girl rode him to high heaven, obscene noises getting louder. As you approached you saw Snow’s face again, eyes shut, breath laboured, and you couldn’t believe that anyone just walking by would be able to see this. They were fucking like animals, out in the open. You didn’t know how or why you drew closer still, closing in on them. The girl’s head was dropped down to his shoulder, back facing you, and couldn’t see you unless she turned, but Snow? He was practically facing the door, almost as if he’d been…

No. It couldn’t be. Could it?

But you didn’t have time to think it through, because Snow’s eyes blinked open, and you knew. He was looking right at you, blue eyes piercing into yours, sharp and dangerous like he was going in for the kill. You stood there, jaw dropped, unable to look away. In what world could you walk in on someone like this, and feel like they held all the cards, and you none? That was how he looked at you; like you’d been there watching the whole time, and this was all a show, playing out exactly as he’d planned it. Like somehow, despite all your best efforts, he’d landed on top.

It was like he read your mind, because he wet his lips, unblinking as the blonde writhed on his lap, and fucking smirked.

a/n: can’t wait for them to hate fuck after this (oh sorry forgot i’m the author for a sec) thanks for reading <3

taglist: @superchatnoir07 @itsrainingreid @nycweb-slinger @lookclosernow @etfrin @resibunn @serving-targaryen-realness @harmfulb1tch @demonsnangels @superb-icarus @julesandro @gracieroxzy @slyhersophia @shadowsepiphany @ben-has-arrived @unclecrunkle @zerotwo-sciencequeen @itsleniiilosers @thesiriusmap @ooooglymoooogly @darkqweenn @going-through-shit @loverw1tch @stinkii-boii

if you’d like to be tagged, please leave a comment on the masterlist!! 💌

#coriolanus snow #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow x you #snow x reader #snow x you #the hunger games #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow smut #tom blyth

[softspiderling]

think you're a genius (you drive me up the wall) | r.c.

summary: it wouldn't be an outer banks party if there wasn't at least one fist fight. also, rafe is trying to turn over a new leaf.

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

word count: 3,8k

warning: mention of blood, violence (reader gets punched in the face, but there are no graphic details), shitty topper (sorry top)

author's note: long awaited (at least by me) rafe fic, whoop whoop!!! no usage of Y/N, happy reading, don't forget to reblog!!! also tagging @sunderlust bc i borrowed some of our conversation in this fic😘love you sol

☆⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄

“Since when do you drink beer?”

Barely pausing at the words, you continued to stack cold beer cans in your arms, the condensation dripping onto your skin. You didn’t have to turn around to know who the voice belonged to, having heard it so many times. And this was his house after all.

“Wasn’t aware you kept track of my drink of choice,” you retorted, turning around to face him, while simultaneously trying to balance the cans.

Rafe raised an eyebrow at you before his gaze lowered to the beer in your arms. “… You trying to tell me that all that beer’s for you?”

“You calling me a lightweight?”

The corner of Rafe’s mouth ticked up and he took a sip from his drink, the ice clinking in the glass.

“I think we both know I’m not.”

If someone had told you that one day you’d be standing in the parlor of Tannyhill, having a mostly civil conversation with Rafe you’d have them institutionalized. But things have changed. When Sarah returned with the news that Ward has died protecting Sarah, Rafe imploded at first. Blaming her for his death, the downfall of their family and generally being ungrateful for Ward’s love for her.

Everyone avoided the Cameron estate for a while, hearing stuff crash and yells from a mile away. No one dared to step close. A few days after, the disturbances stopped, being replaced with complete silence.

It was so silent, you actually grew concerned until Rafe turned up at Heyward’s setting up a weekly grocery delivery. Pope had dumped the stuff he was holding as soon as Rafe had stepped into the store, storming outside, with Cleo hot on his heels, leaving you to set up the standing order.

“Can you tell Sarah I’m sorry?”

“What?”

You looked up from the register and Rafe clenched his jaw, giving you a look.

“You really gon’ make me say it again?”

“How about you call her yourself instead of making me deliver your message like a post boy?”

Rafe exhaled deeply, knitting his eyebrows together like he was really trying not to explode and honestly, you had to respect him for that. You know how impatient he could be.

“I tried, okay? Don’t you think I’ve tried? I’ve tried to call her, she’s not picking up. Fuck, I don’t even know if she still has the same phone number,” he said, like the words physically pained him. “I don’t even know where she’s staying. Is it at John B’s new place?”

Somewhere between his words, Rafe had started pacing up and down the stairs, making you antsy.

“Hey,” you said, coming around to slowly, carefully - like you were trying to pet a stray cat - curl your hand around his wrist. Rafe immediately stopped, eyeing his wrist where you were touching him.

“Sorry, I’ll take my hand off,” you quickly said, but before you could, Rafe stopped you.

“’s fine,” he muttered, meeting your eyes for a second before looking away again. “Physical touch grounds me… Y’know… When my thoughts get too… Much.”

You swallowed thickly, nodding at him and staying in place, for god knew how long, until Rafe had seemed to calm down.

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

You drew your hand back, crossing your arms over your chest and leaned against the counter to put some distance between you and him, wildly overwhelmed with this situation. Rafe didn’t seem like he knew what to do either, turning his ring on his finger, his eyes cast on the floor.

“If you really want to apologize to Sarah,” you started, making him look up. “Maybe I can talk to her. Ask her if she’s willing to meet up with you.”

Rafe raised an eyebrow at you, clearly surprised. “You’d do that for me?”

“Don’t let it get to your head. I’m mostly doing it for Sarah,” you scoffed and Rafe only smirked, shaking his head.

“Sure, tough girl. Gonna ring me up now or what?”

Rolling your eyes at him, you returned to the cash register, finishing up his order. You still felt his eyes on you as you worked away.

“Thanks,” he finally said, and you lifted your head, briefly meeting his eyes.

“Don’t mention it.”

And he never did.

Miraculously, you had managed to get Sarah to agree to talk to Rafe and while you had accompanied her to the beach, where she had met up with Rafe, you stayed behind to give them privacy. You weren’t sure what they had talked about, but you didn’t press her about it either when she came stomping back to you with tearstained cheeks. Whatever they have talked about must have helped though, because even though Sarah still stayed with John B of the the times, she went home every odd night, returning with sandwiches and drinks the next day like a soccer mom. It went unsaid that Rafe had provided her with everything and Sarah avoided talking about him, mostly because Pope still got that distant look in his eyes whenever she mentioned her brother. Which is why you were surprised that he was the first one to agree to go to a party Rafe had invited Sarah to, forwarding the invite to her friends.

“What?” Pope had said everyone gave him an odd look. “He stole a family heirloom of mine. The least he can do is invite us to a party of his.”

“Okay then,” JJ jeered, beating on Pope’s back with his opens palms. “Let’s go to a Kook party.”

You had to admit that it was nice to see that the two tribes of the island coming together. The fact that Pogues were invited to a party on Figure 8 was huge. Granted, it was just you and your friends, but still. It was a start.

Loud cheering from outside brought you out of your thoughts, you and Rafe both looking towards the dimly lit backyard, where the main attraction of the party took place.

“JJ and John B are destroying a group of Kooks at Rage Cage right now,” you then explained, lifting the beer in your arms. “Hence... You know.”

“Right right, I was starting the wonder what all that yelling was about,” Rafe mused.

“So how come you’re not out there?”

Rafe shrugged. “Needed some quiet.”

“What, you having your private party in here?” you teased and Rafe smirked, raising an eyebrow at you.

“Why? You jealous?”

You rolled your eyes, shifting the beer cans in your arms, the weight slowly getting to you.

“In your dreams, Rafe,” you scoffed. “I got to go, get these beers to the boys before they’ll get warm. You should come down, when you’re done brooding and shit.”

Throwing your last words over your shoulder, you returned to your friends, being welcomed with loud cheers as the empty cups get filled rather quickly. You dropped down into your empty chair, taking your drink from Kiara who had been holding onto it during your absence.

“Pope was about to send a search party because you were taking so long,” she said and you gave Pope a look over the brim of your cup.

“You’re such a mother hen. I was talking to Rafe.”

“Why the hell were you talking to Rafe?”

“You talked to Rafe?”

“Jesus, guys relax,” you groaned, leaning your head back. “He’s fine. He didn’t even do anything. We just talked.”

“It’s never just anything with Rafe,” Pope muttered.

“I get that,” Sarah started, rolling her empty cup in her hand. “But he’s different.Like… He regrets a lot of the thing’s he’s done and trying really hard to make up for his mistakes,” she paused, pressing her lips together tightly. “I’d be the last person to defend him, but I feel like he’s trying to turn over a new leaf.”

Before Pope was able to list all of the bad things that Rafe has done in the past, your conversation was interrupted, angry yells ringing over the music.

“So now you’re just all buddy buddy hanging out here, huh?”

The new voice wasn’t really new and everyone looked at Sarah, who paled, slowly pushing herself up from her chair, looking towards the disturbance, the rest of the group following her.

“Shit. What the hell is Topper doing here?”

The sudden intrusion of a rather inebriated Topper had immediately tanked the relaxed and laid back atmosphere; suddenly, everyone was tense, not daring to make a move in fear of making the wrong one.

“What? Aren’t we here to party?” Topper cajoled, waving a half empty bottle of whiskey around. “Let’s get rid of these Pogues and party!”

The rest of the Kooks looked between themselves, not really wanting to follow Topper’s request but also not wanting to defend your friends. Even if they just had fun together, the Kooks wouldn't go as far as openly defend Pogues, you knew that.

“You should leave, Topper,” John B said, his hands curling at his sides, which was fair, honestly. Even though you had rebuilt the Chateau, bigger, better and most importantly more fire resistant, Topper burnt down John B’s home. His safe space. Topper only widened his eyes at John B comically, snorting.

“Who are you to tell me to leave?”

Sarah pushed herself to the front, pressing herself to John B’s side, which was probably not the smartest thing she could have done, as it only aggravated Topper even more to see her next to John B. You and the others stood right behind her, ready to step in as soon as it escalated.

“Leave, Topper,” Sarah snapped at him. “Nobody invited you.”

“Yeah, as far as I know, you don’t even live here anymore, Sarah,” Topper said, spitting out her name like it was venom in his mouth.

“I didn’t invite you.”

You hadn’t even noticed Rafe having joined you, not really standing on your side, but not on Topper's side either. Suddenly, the tension had grown even thicker and by now, you realized this could go wrong in about a 100 ways.

Topper stared at his friend, mouth agape, before he collected himself, pulling a face.

“Seriously, Rafe? Weren’t you the one who told me that I’m better off without your bitch of a sister and now you’re taking her side?”

“Watch it, Top,” Rafe only said, not even moving an inch.

Not that he had to. Everyone knew what Rafe was capable of, if he was angry enough. Topper only narrowed his eyes at his friend, weighing his options.

“Topper, just go,” Sarah yelled, walking towards him for good measure, trying to offer some sort of olive branch, but Topper only pushed Sarah roughly, causing her to stumble to the ground.

“Jesus, fuck, Topper,” you snapped, rushing to get Sarah back on her feet again, making the fatal mistake of getting between him and John B, as you received a sickening punch to the side of your face.

“Fuck!”

“Holy shit, Topper are you insane?”

You had toppled over your feet to the grass, not having expected the punch at all. Disoriented, you touched your throbbing cheek, your fingers stained red when you looked at them.

“Fuck,” you moaned, feeling like you were about to pass out. Your friends quickly crowded around you, helping you up.

“Shit, girl, you alright?” Cleo asked, carefully pushing your hair to the side to assess the damage.

“Is Sarah okay?” you only asked, pausing to spit out some blood, leaning on Cleo, your legs still shaking.

“Dude, I’m fine!” Sarah said, wrapping an arm around you, still shaking herself.

Your vision was still dizzy, and the voices were not helping, but it seemed like most of the party goers had dissipated as the argument had started. As your eyes adjusted, you could just see Rafe holding Topper by the collar of his shirt and saying something you couldn’t quite understand, before he tossed his friend on the ground. Topper didn’t take long to get back to his feet, fleeing from the scene.

Rafe turned around, his eyes scanning over you before turning to Sarah.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bruise,” Sarah said, her eyes fixated on you. “But you should definitely get checked out. I can't believe Topper punched you."

“Come on, I got a first aid kit upstairs and some ice for the swelling.”

Rafe reached out to grab you under the arms, but Cleo was reluctant to let you go.

“Maybe I should help.”

“Seriously?” Rafe asked, incredulously and you only watched with narrowed eyes, your reaction time still limited.

“We should just take her home,” Pope chimed in, grabbing you by the shoulder gently, jostling you around.

“Guys, I’m gonna be sick if you keep handing me around like a joint,” you groaned, shutting your eyes, in the hopes of making the dizziness better.

“Pope, it’s fine. Rafe’s not going to hurt her. And he knows a thing or two about patching up wounds,” Sarah said, Pope’s grip on you loosening.

“Fine. But you even look at our girl funny, and you got another thing coming, you hear me, Rafe?”

“Yeah yeah, I got it,” Rafe grunted.

You peeked an eye open, when your friends let go of you, Rafe looping his arm around your shoulder, pausing to look at John B. “You got Sarah, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about her.”

Rafe nodded his head in thanks, before leading you towards the house.

"Hey, just call if you need anything!" Kiara called after you, which you only replied with a weak "Okay!", your focus on putting one foot after the other. Rafe had his arm around your waist, taking most of your weight.

“Can you walk alright or do you need me to carry you?”

“If you pick me up right now, I will vomit on you,” you moaned and Rafe snorted.

“Right, and neither of us want that.”

It took you guys an embarrassing amount of time until you reached the house, since you kept making Rafe stop because you thought you were going to throw up. When you finally walked inside, Rafe lead you upstairs, instead of steering you towards the living room.

“Where are you taking me?”

“First aid kit is in my bathroom,” Rafe replied, mostly supporting your weight as you climbed the stairs.

“Ugh, your bathroom? Am I gonna get infected with herpes or something?”

“Is it the smartest idea to insult me in your position right now?” he asked dryly, and you almost sighed in relief when you reached the second floor.

“Just take me to your bedroom Rafe.”

“Alright, Princess,” Rafe sighed, a hint of exasperation in his voice as he guided you to his bedroom, carefully depositing you on the bed. While he went to the bathroom to fetch the first aid kit, you took a second to catch your breath, hoping the world would stop spinning.

Rafe returned with the first aid kit, moving slowly so as not to startle you. He set it down on the bed and then looked at you, concern flickering in his eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah," you mumbled, pressing a hand to your throbbing cheek. "Just a little dizzy."

"Right." Rafe opened the kit and began to rifle through it, pulling out a bottle of disinfectant and some cotton pads. “This is probably gonna sting,” he warned you.

“Do your worst.”

You managed to flinch only slightly as the cool, yet burning liquid hit your skin, with Rafe’s surprising gentle touch as he cleaned your wound. He put a small bandage on the cut, before sitting back to inspect his handiwork.

“I’ll go grab you some ice for the swelling,” Rafe then said, standing up. “No dozing off, though, a’ight?”

Without waiting for an answer, Rafe left the room, leaving you by yourself yet again. Even though he explicitly told you not to doze off, you laid down on the bed, figuring that it might make the pain a little less bad. As soon as your head hit the pillow, Rafe’s scent engulfed you, and you weren’t sure if you lying down in his bed was too... Intimate? Then again, he was the one who had left you in his bedroom by himself. Before you could sit up again, Rafe reappeared in the room, holding a bag of in his hand, an unreadable expression on his face as he took you in on his bed.

“Sure, go ahead and make yourself at home,” he huffed, but you could see the frown on his face. Rafe sat down on the bed next to you, carefully wrapping the ice bag in a small towel and pressing it against your bruise, his other hand cradling your face. Despite the ice on your skin, you felt your cheeks heating up.

It was odd. You’d never have expected that Rafe could be able to be so gentle, so caring, and you suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

“What’d you say to Topper?” you blurted out instead, breaking the silence. You reached up to hold the ice bag, and Rafe pulled his hands back, raising an eyebrow at you.

“What?”

“After he hit me. What did you tell him to make you leave?”

Rafe sighed, leaning back a bit, staring at the wall as his eyes hardened. “I reminded him of what he did to me when I… Hurt Sarah. Asked him if he was willing to beat me to a pulp for my sister, what he thought I’d do to him for hurting her.”

His eyes flickered back to you.

And you.

You let out a breath at the pregnant pause, scared he’d say something he couldn’t take back. Something real. Maye you had been flirting with him, but so what? There was no harm, they were just words. Right? But admitting something real? That was a whole other story.

“Who would’ve thought Rafe Cameron could be so nice?” You said instead, a teasing lilt in your voice.

Rafe snorted, shaking his head with a laugh, the moment dissipating. “Yeah yeah, don’t get used to it. It was a one time thing.”

“Right, right, we wouldn’t want people to think that Rafe the Kook prince actually has a heart.”

“Does that make you the Pogue Princess then?”

“What?” you asked, flushing. “Where’d you get that idea? That’s obviously Kie.”

“Come on,” Rafe huffed, rolling his eyes. “Kie’s half Kook. And don't even start with my sister. Sarah’s… Half and half, at least.”

You eyed him in amusement. It was clear that he’d spent a good amount of time on that analogy.

“What about Cleo?” you asked, humoring him.

“Ehh. She would’ve made a good Pogue princess, too bad you’ve already taken the spot,” Rafe said with a shrug. “Pogue Princess. Flirts with everyone, heart of gold, never hesitates to get right between a brawl to help out a friend and to call people out on their bullshit…. Should I continue?”

“Please don’t,” you laughed, pressing the ice bag to your cheek. “You’re talking shit out of your ass right now.”

“I’m talking shit out of my ass? You’re the one saying everything that comes to your mind to stop yourself from kissing me right now.”

What?

“What?”

You never thought he’d actually say it out loud. Mention the elephant in the room. The tension you had been trying to ignore all this time. The silence that followed was deafening as you tried to find the right words, your heart beating in your chest.

“In your dreams,” you muttered hotly, repeating your words from earlier in the evening, looking everywhere but at him. It didn’t take long for Rafe to grab you by the chin gently, forcing you to look at him, his eyes piercing yours.

“In my dreams, yes,” he said quietly, inching so close that his warm breath was fanning across your face. “What about yours, princess?”

Gaping at him, speechless, you knew you didn’t have long until Rafe would take your silence as rejection. Your mind was racing, but ultimately, you leaned in, closing the gap and finally kissed him. Rafe let out a soft grunt, dropping his hand from your chin and cupping the back of your head instead to press even closer to you. The kiss deepened, becoming more passionate, as you finally admitted the attraction you felt to another, but you pulled away, when you felt a tad too dizzy.

“Right, shit,” Rafe cursed, knitting his brows together, examining your cheek. “Got too carried away.”

You flushed, handing him the small ice bag, that was more or less a bag of water now. Rafe dumped it in the trash next to the nightstand, before turning back to you with a smirk.

“Took you long enough.”

“Shut up,” you huffed and Rafe only grinned, pushing your hair out of your face, where it stuck to your wet cheek. You leaned in for another kiss, only for Rafe to stop you, holding you back.

“Nuh-uh. You get better first. Next time, I want you to get dizzy because of my mouth and not because you just got punched in the face.”

“You sound real confident there will be a next time,” you pointed out.

Rafe sighed, faux-exasperation. “Princess, don’t act dumb, it doesn’t suit you. You really think I’ll let you go after you’ve professed your love for me?”

“After I did what?” you shrieked in laughter, and Rafe only laughed. It was nice seeing him laugh for real for once, not the smarmy, smirk he used to do. After your laughter subsided, your pursed your lips, serious.

“You know my friends won’t take this well, right? Especially Pope.”

Rafe ran his hand over his buzzed hair, exhaling softly. “I know. But I won you over, didn’t I? Rest will be a piece of cake.”

“I’m serious, Rafe.”

You gave him a look and he leaned down, clasping his hands in his. “So am I. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have been trying to make things up to him, to Sarah. To everyone. It might take a while… And I don’t blame him.”

“As long as you’re aware…. Now, can we get back to kissing?”

“Didn’t you just hear what I said?”

Pushing your lower lip forward, you pouted at him. “One kiss.”

Rafe stared at you for a hot second, frowning. “Fine. One.”

But when he leaned down to give you a chaste kiss true to his words, you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of you.

"Jesus, are you trying to kill yourself?" Rafe hissed, but you only cackled, almost taking your bandage off in the process.

⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠂⠄☆

author's note: pls leave a comment/reblog/like if you liked it🥹

#rafe x reader #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron fanfic #rafe cameron fic #rafe cameron fanfiction #drew starkey #obx #outer banks

[bangtanflirt]

(Un)natural Instincts (Part 8)

*Series taglist is closed.

angst, fluff, smut

Pairings: OT7 x Fem Reader, Human CEO Reader, Human Assistant Yoongi, Wolf Hybrids Joon, Jin, Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kook.

Basic premise: You and your assistant end up rescuing six wolf hybrids. No part of the process is easy.

Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4 > Part 5 > Part 6 > Part 7 > Part 8 > Part 9

General Warnings: Hybrid abuse and lab experimentation, hybrids as second-class citizens/owned property (Minors DNI, 18+ content)

Specific Warnings: pretty mild smut with references to past group sex (consensual), sexual aversion due to past trauma, ptsd, panic attack

____

Jimin makes his way through the maze of a house, scent-tracking locked on the youngest caretaker hybrid until he’s led right to the door. He knocks softly, waiting for Taehyung's permission. Jimin looks at the scene, first in awe at what his packmate is capable of, but following with concern immediately after.

“That looks incredible, Tae.”

Taehyung says nothing, simply locked in on what he’s creating.

“But is it alright for you to be doing this? Your knuckles, aren’t they still healing?”

The hybrid winces at the mention of his knuckles.

“They’re fine” is all he mutters under his breath. His knuckles were almost healed by now, thanks to you insisting on bandaging them up on his first day. The wolf had also started eating meals on his own again, but it was hard for others to tell if the wounds were healing when they’ve been hidden under bandages for so long—making his pack unsure if he was actually in less pain or just trying not to show it.

It was a primary concern Namjoon had, one that would have kept him from sharing this idea with Taehyung at all. Namjoon knows better than anyone how Taehyung thinks, how defensive he would get at the mention of his knuckles at that moment. The last thing the young hybrid would want is another reminder of a time he messed up—another time he couldn’t measure up to his caretaking duties the way the other two do. The Alpha had to be crafty in his earlier check-in:

“Hi Tae,” he looks down past the hybrid’s face, “oof, let me see those hands.”

Taehyung shamefully puts his hands up for his Alpha to take in,

“I told you biting your claws isn’t a good habit.”

He had taken the wolf’s hands under the guise of checking his over-bitten fingernails, grazing his knuckles with just enough pressure to make Taehyung squirm if he was actually in pain. It’s only when his pup didn’t show any sign of hurt did the Alpha propose his plan. Ever so tactfully.

And if their Alpha was in the room right now, he’d no doubt glare at Jimin, before changing the conversation. But Namjoon is out on his walk, and Jimin doesn’t know any better.

“Are you sure? Can I see under the banda—”

“I said it was fine. I know how to take care of myself hyung.” The annoyance in his tone clear as day.

Jimin shrinks, not understanding why his gesture of concern is being met with such hostility.

“I just want to make sure they’re healing properly.”

Taehyung turns around to face his packmate, eyes mirthless, “Knuckle strikes stop hurting by the sixth day, but you wouldn’t know that, would you? You’ve never been the one who gets hit. Now, if you could leave, that’d be great. I need to finish this.”

Jimin closes the door with pursed lips, unable to say much. It didn’t go unnoticed that Taehyung was slowly putting a distance between them (and Jin) ever since the orange juice fiasco, but to explicitly hear something so close to “fuck off” was jarring. Although the pack was close before the lab, it was Jimin and Taehyung who were always a little closer to each other. They were the ones getting scolded together, bickering over the dumbest things, and cuddling the closest at night—the others would say that the two had a bond more inseparable than a pack bond. But all that changed during training. Instead of both getting scolded by their Alpha for some mischievous prank gone wrong, it was now only Taehyung getting punished. And this time not with Namjoon’s stern words, but with strangers in white coats picking him apart mentally and physically, until the only thing he could do was wail against the cold floors of the time-out rooms.

Jimin would try to teach him, would spend hours helping Taehyung understand how to properly hold a kitchen knife or cradle a bundle-of-blankets as a makeshift baby. But there was no improvement, his clumsiness and boyish nature would always get in the way of training. There was only so much the two older ones could do to help, especially when their pup would get frustrated quickly and give up until the researchers came to dish out punishment. It would hurt, watching him get tortured over and over again, but at some point, the hormones shifted their priorities, making them turn a blind eye—just as everyone did with Hoseok’s food portions.

Jimin knows it’s selfish to act like him and Taehyung are still the same inseparable pair, to approach him with contrived obliviousness, but he can’t help it. It’s easier to think this way. To think they are still strong in their love for each other.

“You okay?” The voice almost causes Jimin to jump back, before seeing the source.

Yoongi, with furrowed brows as he looks into the hybrid’s glossy eyes. Jimin doesn’t even notice that he’s tearing up, hands intervening quickly to wipe them away.

“Yeah.” He doesn’t stay around for conversation, hurrying away to the hybrid room.

It’s just as Jimin’s walking away that Jungkook comes into view. He only saw the last second of the interaction, with Jimin wiping away his tears, but he gathers everything he needs to know.

“What did you say to Jimin hyung?” The tone is accusatory, causing Yoongi to put his hands up in defense.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I don’t believe you. You seem good at making people cry.”

Ouch.

Yoongi may be human and he may be your guest, but Jungkook doesn’t see why he has to keep being obedient and polite to someone his owner isn’t even on good terms with. Still, it’s the first time since after training that he’s talked to a human with such an attitude, and he himself is caught by surprise. It’s ever so slight, but still a peek into his old self—the wild Jungkook with a sharp tongue and bristling personality.

“Okay, I deserve that, but he came out of that room and started crying. I don’t know what happened.”

Jungkook eyes the door, heightening his senses and focusing. Taehyung’s sour scent emanates strong enough for the wolf to put the pieces together. It’s not the first time Taehyung and Jimin’s scents started souring around each other, but it’s a topic Jungkook doesn’t dare touch with a ten-foot pole.

“Sorry” he mumbles.

___

Jimin doesn’t get to cry into the bed like he was hoping to—because there’s already someone else crying there.

“Hyung?” It’s a soft whisper, but it prompts Hoseok to look up with puffy red eyes. He doesn’t try to hide the tears as Jimin comes closer. Jimin situates himself under the blanket, keeping a small gap between the two bodies.

“Hyung, talk to me please” it’s as much of a plea for Hoseok’s sake as it is for his own, not thinking he can handle being turned away from two of his packmates in a row.

Luckily, Hoseok doesn’t snap at him or push him away, instead staring with imploring eyes. Your words ring in his mind.

Hoseok, no more lying. Whatever’s on your mind, you have to be honest and let us help you.

Whether or not you meant it as one, it’s a command to him.

“I can’t stop thinking about the stuff they made me do at the lab. It’s like every five minutes my mind goes back there again. Before, I could just disassociate and jam it all into one part of my brain, but that’s getting harder to do ever since the collar came off. Now every time I even blink, I think about those people…how they would use me…and I feel so dirty Jimin. I try to scrub it all off in the shower, the feeling of filth, but no matter how hard I scrub, it doesn’t go away.”

Jimin doesn’t respond—doesn’t know how to respond. Instead, he opens up his arms, slightly reaching out but still not touching the older wolf, just in case he doesn’t want it. But Hoseok’s quick to roll into his packmate’s arms, pressing his head against the brunette’s chest as his hands come to hold him tight. Jimin feels his shirt getting soaked through, tears staining the light blue cotton. The two stay intertwined for a moment, with Jimin’s hands massaging through Hoseok’s hair until the crying turns into soft sniffles. It’s then when Hoseok pulls slightly away, making eye contact with Jimin, with an expression the younger wolf can’t quite read.

“You…you can fix me.”

Jimin’s face contorts in surprise, but Hoseok stands firm in his statement.

Of course. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? If anyone can help me, it’s Jimin.

Jimin, who, before all the training and experiments, had the biggest appetite for sexual intimacy. The one who would cling onto each packmate and beg to feel them every chance he got, make their good days better and bad days bearable—all with lustful words and sensual touches.

“You can make me forget them…can replace those memories. If anyone can remind me how good it feels to be touched again, it’s you.”

Jimin looks into Hoseok’s eyes, seeing more hope than he has for a while.

Is it really that simple?

Jimin thinks back to pre-lab days, when that is exactly how he would console his hyung. There’s been many days when Jimin’s eagerly used his body to dull down Hoseok’s anxious scent…is it really no different this time, even after everything?

“We can try” Jimin concludes, untangling himself from Hoseok to lock the door, not wanting any interruptions if this is to be done right.

He dips back into the bed, gently pulling his hyung to sit up, until he can comfortably sit on his lap. It’s all a little rusty to Jimin, who’s had his mind focused too much homemaking to feel sexy in a while, but he’s hoping it’ll come back to him.

“You have to stop me if it gets too much. Promise?”

Hoseok nods, but Jimin makes him say it out loud before diving in for the first kiss.

The kiss feels novel, with both of them chasing after the other’s soft lips. It’s not long before it turns hungry and deep—noses touching and soft whimpers being spilled into each others' mouths. Hoseok, surprisingly, isn’t thinking about the lab at all. He’s thinking about nothing except the man on top of him, reveling in the way Jimin’s tongue sneaks into the mix.

Jimin’s losing himself too, getting back into the groove of his old self, gently rocking his hips as he gets comfortable, fingers snaking back into his lover’s hair—almost about to kiss down before remembering the bandages. It's been over three months since he's felt love like this, and his body's been yearning for it more than his mind even knew. Each second of the kiss reminds him of his old self: the way he'd be at the center of his packmates' passion-filled endeavors, always begging for everyone's attention. They'd give in easily, spoiling him, filling him up just right as he was passed around between warm bodies. It's a feeling he doesn't know how he's lasted so long without.

Everything's good until it isn’t.

Good until Hoseok feels Jimin’s length poking through, while his own is still soft and unable to stir up. Good until the other man’s hardness triggers the faces of ten random research participants who had their hard lengths pressed against him in the same way. Instead of going away, the memories come back more vivid than ever. Suddenly he wants to vomit.

“St-stop!”

Everything stills. Jimin snaps out of his lustful gaze in a second, face scrunching up as Hoseok’s vanilla scent starts burning. The caretaker hybrid quickly hands him water from the nightstand, waiting until after a few gulps to cup his lover's face into his hands. Hoseok’s chest is heaving from panic, eyelids feeling heavy and stiff, but Jimin pulls him back into his chest.

“Breathe with me, just focus on breathing.”

He does as told, putting full attention on the steady pace in which Jimin’s chest rises and falls against his eardrums. He tries to mimic it, but the panic in his lungs turns every breath sporadic.

“I’m sorry…I thought if it was with you I could…but I couldn’t…fuck…”

“It’s okay hyung. I’ve got you. Don’t think about anything but breathing for now.”

It’s not until Hoseok’s breath truly steadies that he speaks again,

“I’m such a disappointment.”

“No, you’re not.” His voice is unwavering, planted firm with conviction as he continues, “There’s nothing wrong with needing more time to heal.”

“But what if it’s permanent? What if I can never be that way with you guys ever again?”

How can he even preserve his relationship with Jimin alone? Sex has always been the wolf’s primary love language, and his libido will surely go back to normal soon...what will happen if Hoseok can't satisfy him anymore?

What if he can never love me the same? What if none of them can?

But Jimin’s quick to shut Hoseok’s inner demons down.

“Then we’ll just have to double up on everything you are comfortable with, whether that’s hugs and kisses, or just conversations. Our love for you has never been conditional hyung. Sex or no sex, we just need you. Our Hobi.”

It’s the way Jimin says it, like he’s never been more sure of anything in his life, that make Hoseok’s chest feel a little bit lighter.

“Stay right here. I’m going to grab some of that waffle cone ice cream I saw in the fridge, and we can put something on the TV.”

“But we haven’t had dinner yet. We shouldn’t skip to dessert.”

Jimin smiles at the way his hyung pouts, not expecting him to have such a clear stance on ice cream before dinner.

“Relax hyung, just once is fine.”

___

It’s 7pm when the main door clicks open. Two and half whole hours of you and Namjoon walking around and talking about everything and anything. You feel a little guilty using him as your therapist, but find yourself unable to stop oversharing when it comes to him. He’s bulldozed the walls you put up at this point, and not even by trying that hard—more of a kindred spirits kind of thing?

You don’t know exactly what yet, but it’s insane how much he knows about you in just three days. The hours just kept passing by and neither of you wanted to end the conversation, ending up stopping by a Chinese place for take-out when realizing it was time for dinner already.

It’s Yoongi who notices the closeness the most, seeing how easily you smile at the pack Alpha. And this time it’s not the “I’m a safe person” or “You’re doing really well” kind of smile you’d flash to ease the hybrids’ nerves, but more of a smile you’d show a friend. The kind of smile he’s used to being the only recipient of. But he knows just how badly things went last time his jealousy was involved, so he focuses on serving himself some rice, hushing that little green voice in his head.

“I’ll go give this plate to Taehyung hyung” Jungkook announces, a generous heap of orange chicken and fried rice on the platter.

“He’s still not joining us?”

“Don’t worry y/n. He’s in his zone right now!” That’s all the youngest says before speeding off, hair bouncing cutely with each step.

“I really want to ask, you know?”

Namjoon laughs, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

‘Soon enough’ turns out to be an hour after dinner, when the boxy-grinned brunette makes his way to you. You can’t help how relieved you feel seeing that smiling face again. In his hands is a messily wrapped object, and you raise a questioning look at your Christmas wrapping being used in February.

“It’s the only wrapping paper I could find” he pouts cutely, nudging you to take the gift.

You try to unwrap it neatly, but the random way it’s been wrapped makes that impossible, so you end up tearing through.

On the surface, it’s nothing special, just a bunch of printer paper stapled together with the words from your ruined book rewritten on each page. But as you flip through, you see them: pencil-drawn images of you and your grandmother sprinkled throughout the “book.” Some poses you recognize from the pictures in your study, but others are completely new compositions, drawn straight from Taehyung’s mind. And it’s all so well-drawn.

“Taehyung…where did you learn how to do this?!” The awe in your voice makes the hybrid’s shoulders rise, pride evident on his features.

Namjoon, equally proud of his pup, chimes in to answer.

“Taehyung’s always had this unbelievable gift when it comes to drawing and painting. He’s basically a genius at art.”

You look up at the mention of painting, “Wait, you can paint like this too?”

The wolf nods.

“If I get you a canvas and some paints, could you make me a portrait of her for the living room?”

“Yes! I would love to!” The wolf practically squeals at the thought of getting new paints.

It’s still not your grandmother’s book, and it’ll never have the memories you two made, but there’s something so beautiful in the way he’s portrayed her—so captivating how the glint in her eyes feels alive, as if she’s telling you that she’s still with you through her gaze alone. It’s clear that Taehyung tried his absolute best to make it up to you (and thank god for that, because you don’t have it in you to be mad at him for any longer).

You bring him close into a hug, to which he jumps into, mouthing a “thank you” to his Alpha from behind your gaze.

___

Jimin and Hoseok wait patiently until you’re done with wound care and out the door, clearly having something they need to get off their chest to the pack. It’s the younger one who recounts the day’s events, giving the elder one gentle hand squeezes throughout to keep him grounded.

There’s not a wolf listening whose face doesn’t fall instantly.

Namjoon takes lead in responding, to no one’s surprise. “We all have to be careful moving forward. Only give Hoseok affection on his terms and no initiating anything sexual with him, understood?”

Everyone nods, but the wolf in question just groans, "The last thing I want is you guys having to be careful around me. I don't want to be a burden."

"Not careful around you Hobi. Careful with you. Careful with the way we love you for as long as you need. It's not a burden because you're fucking worth it, and I won't hear anything otherwise...unless you tell me you'd find it a burden if it were any of us instead."

That shuts Hoseok up quick, because if it were any of the others, he'd give every inch of his energy and love into helping them heal. He'd pour everything in his soul to give his packmate what they need and when they need it. The word 'burden' wouldn't come into his mind at all.

“C'mere pup, how about sleeping next to me tonight?”

It takes a second for Hoseok to realize Namjoon is talking to him—the nickname ‘pup’ not being typically his. Namjoon may be a couple months younger, but it feels nice to hear the name spill from his lips. Makes him think he can be small like a pup should be, and taken care of like one too. He sees why the younger ones like the name so much.

His mind feels a little calmer the second Namjoon's hands wrap around his waist, telling him how proud he is of him for opening up. Assuring him that everything will be okay.

___

It’s well into the night when Jin carefully removes each limb piled on top of him, glad he chose the bed’s edge tonight. He’s learned it’s the best spot for him, easy to slip out when the insomnia gets unbearable. He tip-toes to the living room, deciding to read another one of the random books on the bookshelf like he did last night. But this time, he’s not alone. The living room is already dimly lit, and Yoongi’s lost in a book of his own, sinking into that recliner you love. It’s too late for Jin to retreat, as the two make eye contact.

“Can’t sleep either?”

Jin nods his head, “I can—um I can go somewhere else. Don’t want to disturb you.”

“I wouldn’t mind some company, to be honest. Most people in this house aren’t big on being in my presence right now.”

“Y/n’s our owner. Whatever fight you two are in, we’re not going to be on your side.” It’s not a challenging tone like Jungkook’s, more of a matter-of-fact statement.

“She’s not your owner and you’re not pets. Whatever’s going on with me and her is between the two of us, and we’re figuring it out. So please, grab a book and sit.”

The wolf timidly reaches for a book from the shelf before settling down on the sofa, the last part of Yoongi’s sentence sounding too command-like for him to refuse. He’s still your guest, and his commands still hold weight.

The two sit like that for hours, quietly indulging in their own pieces of fiction. It's not as uncomfortable as Jin thought it would be.

____

A/N: If you liked this part, let me know! I've said this before, but everyone's love and anticipation for this series is just so positively overwhelming. You guys are the best!

Permanent Taglist: @skyys-universee @morelovefortn @seagulljk @shadowyjellyfishfest @m4gg13-g @wittyreader

Series Taglist [CLOSED]: @welcometomyworld13 @kalala22 @fxirytaetae @btsfluffsworld @belikejk @shycreationdreamland @danielle143 @singukieee @blackrockshooter780 @g-b-artist @i-have-no-life-charlie @sopemee @no-regrets-just-confusion @acciocriativity @ldysmfrst @amara-mars @caelumwrites @estrellaburnxd @borahaetelevision @on-1ce @fuckthinking @jaiele

#bts hybrid au #hybrid bts x reader #poly ot7 #ot7 x reader #bts angst #bts smut #bts fluff #hurt/comfort

[jhuzen]

Will there be a part 2 of the "Attention" fic?

infidelity [gn/m.reader]

the answer to that is a solid yes AND a big apology for taking a hundred years to post this. this ask has been in my inbox for freaking months. and it’s mostly because i have been remaking this fic until i got the most satisfying fic LMAO. i’m sorry for taking so long 😭 i hope this is compensation enough. btw this part 2 to this! but honestly, you don’t have to read it lmao.

𖦹 crack taken seriously, hsr mention but this is mostly genshin, this is just a fic of me making fun of cheaters aka you, highly based on that one tweet of the “welcome home, cheater” one, pushing my grand overseer reader agenda like in my early fics teehee <3, sagau, sahsr au

“I should probably go back…”

Jing Yuan begged to differ. The general himself had his reservations about your sudden eagerness to depart. After all, you were a good company — one that amused him to the core and even kept him awake for the better part of the day. You are an interesting being to him after all — much after learning from the exuberant girl from the famed Astral Express suddenly emphasizing your importance when they left you under his supervision.

You, in much simpler words, are adorable in the Luofo general’s eyes. With eagerness and curiosity melding in those gaze of yours that could leave anyone transfixed — wanting and desperate.

You truly live up to the title as the grand overseer across worlds. You were the sole beholder of their sentience, despite the fact that right now, you’re barely aware of your status and your circumstance, it was more than enough for anyone go cherish your presence. How could they not? It was a blessing to see you descend from where you were, behind the great barrier that they all could only stare at when they looked to you for guidance.

Alas, that mattered little, not when you were beside the amused general and his coy smile, fingers raking through your hair; reminiscent of the pattern when he would do the same thing to Mimi when you visited his abode to meet the furry beauty that was his pet.

Quite frankly, you weren’t all too sure if this was something you were used to, being treated like an animal companion, with even the way Jing Yuan’s hand would suddenly roam behind your very human ears, scratching behind out of habit.

The only thing missing was him giving your food to you in a bowl, actually, and you’d be no different than Mimi at that point. Wait. No. You were sure Jing Yuan’s lion also ate out of a golden encrusted plate when you saw his hired caretakers come and feed Mimi.

“Bark for me, won’t you?” The general teased with a purr and it was more than enough for you to pull the plug at your willing compliance.

You removed his hand from your head and only shot him a subtle glare, “That’s a request I can’t honor even if my life depended on it.” You sighed, “I should get going now though, General… I made a promise to help our conductor in sweeping the floors. Apparently Caelus tracked some dirt inside when he decided to lug some trash.”

“Must you really? You’re the grand overseer, no? I believe such a title deserves a limitless freedom in doing whatever it is that they wish,” he coaxed in a suave tone, quick to win anyone over. And honestly, that sounds nice. But you’ve never seen Pom-Pom look so stressed when you saw an unwilling March and Dan Heng drag some trash either wrapped in gold bags or regular black ones inside the express when they came back from Belobog.

You somehow regretted leaving first — but even you had urgent matters to attend to at that moment.

“Ah—!” The lax Jing Yuan jolted at your sudden outburst.

“…Anything troubling you, Grand Overseer?”

“T-Teyvat! I completely forgot…!” Your eyes were blown wide as the panic settled within you. You had promised Nahida you would make it to the Interdarshan championship. She was so excited when she communed with you just days ago, completely elated that even your beloved Wanderer would participate as a representative in a Darshan.

Albeit confused by your sudden squawking, Jing Yuan understood and only watched you pace around while you lamented what sounds to be a rehearsed apology that you will no doubt tell to someone you hold precious.

“How envious, to receive an apology from you even sounds like a great honor.” Jing Yuan teased with a chuckle. “Well then, off you go now. Don’t be away for too long. I rather enjoy our time together.”

“O-Oh, yes, of course… I truly apologize for cutting our time together short. Do give my regards to Fu Xuan and Yanqing if they drop by. I have to go and talk to the crew and also bid my goodbye for now.” You bowed before turning away, briskly walking your way towards the door outside of the general’s office, only to bump into Welt and March.

“Oh! There you are! Ya ready to go shopping?” March held an exuberant energy as she asked, clasping your hand in hers tightly with an excited gleam flashing through her eyes.

Welt, however, was far more observant than March, “Judging from that look in your eyes… you have some affairs you’ve forgotten to tend to, Your Benevolence. Would I be correct in my judgment?”

“It’d be a miracle for you to be wrong at this point,” you laughed amidst your panic. “But yes, unfortunately. March, I hope you don’t mind a little bit of postponement… I have somewhere to be urgently.”

March’s bottom lip stuck out into pleading pout, “But you promised!”

“March, let’s not force them. It is as they say — an urgent affair.” Welt only looked at you with a small nod and an encouraging smile, “Don’t be too worried. I’ll let Himeko and Dan Heng know of your absence. Just be safe.”

“I will definitely come back and visit.” Your smile and reassurance was enough to quell March’s disappointment and Welt’s initial concern. “Please tell Caelus not to track more dirt inside. It’ll only serve to frustrate Pom-Pom further.”

“It’s a useless attempt, but for you, I’ll try,” March winked as she waved to you with Welt.

With a nod to the two of them, you were off to Teyvat — lucky that you have little need for the Star Rail in the first place to travel. Otherwise, it would most certainly take you the entire conceivable time just before you could even come back to one of the many worlds that you oversaw and to a fault, even took care of from afar.

You stepped into the familiar grassy fields of Sumeru’s rainforest, looking up to see that the city isn’t too far off. There was a gentle breeze that blew by, almost like a kiss from a certain archon, but you paid little heed to it. You normally always took your time to appreciate the sights in Teyvat, finding its vast lands and many biomes incredibly fantastical in sight. But even that couldn’t keep you from the fact that you’ve broken several promises that you willingly made to some residents here.

You can only imagine the disappointment in everyone’s faces once you’ve admitted to the fact that… other people may have swept your attention away in the first place — hence your sudden absence.

You owed your first apology to Nahida. She is after all, one of your far more favored archons around, treating her like your own, definitely something that would make Rukkhadevata proud among every other archon out there. And then there’s also a matter of apologizing to your dear Aether, you made another promise to him that you would spend your time with him in Sumeru’s far end by the Realm of Farakhkert to meet the infamous Sorush and the majestic race of the Pari (you once made a claim that Aranara’s are superior, and your endeared traveler was reluctant in protesting to your words it seems).

Now that you thought about it — you were sure you made quite a lot of promises to the residents of Teyvat. A lot of commitments were hammered into your special sanctuary that Aether had built for and with you inside his teapot.

Commitments that you’ve forgotten in favor of space travels with a couple of trailblazers.

Onlookers turned to your direction, completely flabbergasted at your casual appearance. What were you doing in Sumeru city (not that they were ungrateful for your gracious presence) — but it was as if you were solely taking a stroll on your own. Where are your entourage? Was the Acting Grand Sage even informed of your arrival? What about the archons that always accompanied you? Where is Buer?

Best of all, why does your face contort into an expression of what seems to be utter guilt?

You hiked your way to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, refusing any help offered to you by the guards that were courteous enough. You were prepared to face Nahida’s crestfallen look — prepared to start indulging her wishes to make up for the tomfoolery you engaged in. The corners of your mouth trembled as it itched to finally spill out the plethora of apologies that you’ve prepared.

“Oh. So you exist after all.”

Only for your well-rehearsed (by the last minute) apologies to fall apart when the Wanderer’s voice rang from above. You looked up to see him perched on one of the ledges just above the door of Nahida’s residence. He was stationed like a watchful hawk — and he was, constantly on the prowl for anyone suspicious daring to come up to the sanctuary.

Suddenly, a memory of you promising him to go fishing by the coasts of Sumeru had you wincing. And with the way the puppet’s mouth turned up in a smug smirk showed that he was aware of an engagement you swore you’d do with him.

“Ah… I hear you go by Hat guy now?” You tilted your head, giving him a reluctant smile.

“Spare me the meaningless prying. Where have you been?” His eyes narrowed, suspicious and a tad bitter at your absence and incompetence in attending a tiny little leisure that you yourself insisted he join you on. Who the hell even creates plans first and suddenly flakes out? The Wanderer has never felt more betrayed, quite frankly.

You suddenly looked like a guilty spouse that came from a messy affair, with the way you shifted your footing and how you averted your gaze quick. The Wanderer was intolerant of such a behavior however when he finally came down from his little high up spot to face you with no escape. He will summon a void and trap you in it halfway if you so much as make an attempt to escape.

“I’ve been… away…”

“Were you now?” His scrutinizing gaze only served to intimidate you further when he came up close, his nimble fingers tracing against your clothing. “Whose is this?”

And before you, he held a familiar long strand of white hair — possibly acquired when the general of Luofo decided to frolic around with you, coaxing (or coercing, more like) you to give him a much deserved head massage for his hard work (though in truth, he barely did anything that day).

“…A cat.” Technically not a lie. Jing Yuan does exhibit certain behaviors that you can classify as a behavior that a feline has.

“Is it now?” His voice went an octave higher — clearly mocking you if his churlish grin wasn’t enough of a sign about his suspicions of you and your… agendas prior to your unprompted visit in Teyvat.

A terse silence engulfed you and your Wanderer before he flicked away the hair and dragged you inside Nahida’s sanctuary.

“She was disappointed that you were absent the entire Interdarshan event thing. Where in the abyss were you?” The puppet hissed, his grip on your wrist tightening. Somehow you found it far more comforting compared to the times where people would treat you like some fragile object that could break at any second.

What’s not comforting however, were his words. You couldn’t bear the thought of letting Nahida down, and now you’re faced with that very thought becoming a reality that you now have to get through just for the sake of your sanity.

You smiled a little despite seeing the Dendro Archon’s back turned while she minded her own business. There was always something comforting when wasting your hours away inside the sanctuary. Just having to teach Nahida from your old world knowledge about people, and to an extent even teaching the Wanderer with your wisdom that rarely pops out (according to him, with full intent to insult you). It’s not as daring as the time Venti decided to fling you up and catch you or Ei’s insistence on you eating your tenth dango during your walks.

For now however, you had one goal in mind — and that is to make amends with your favored archon and puppet.

Teyvat altogether created an unspoken rule to never ever doubt you — the Grand Overseer. You have a position that transcends even farther than the Primordial One, your eyes that gaze on many universes and worlds. You are the one that took care of the blooming life in each planet that teemed with it, thriving under your guidance.

There was a collective decision among all gods and mortals alike to never doubt your endeavors, much less your love for them. You care a lot about them, and based solely on your constant descent towards their world, it seems as though above all other worlds, you favored them. They were the proof of your benevolence, granting the residents your presence while you walked among them.

Right. That was the case that everyone agreed upon.

However, there was an underlying layer of unease. Heaven forbid may it be doubt; they could never! But perhaps… a tiny bit of uncertainty in the layer of cautiousness as the residents watched you with adoration.

It first started with the wrong names.

When Albedo, Sucrose, and Timaeus wholeheartedly welcomed your help when you visited Dragonspine with Klee. Jean was far too busy with her work and while she wished to, could not have time to bask in your presence after the announcement of your sudden arrival. In turn, you only assured her and relieved her of her added duty in watching over Klee.

Klee was the one to visit big brother Albedo, to surprise him that you were finally back. And you complied. Dragonspine is an extension of Mondstadt, and you had plans to check up on every single resident of the nation.

Suffice to say, you were quickly hooked up in a chair, pulse detectors attached to your temples while you watched Klee doodle away on the floor. For a respected overseer, you certainly were a people pleaser, letting Albedo scan you out of his own volition (Sucrose was fussing the entire time, she didn’t want you to be hurt in the process, after all!).

“Look Grand Overseer! This is you and me and Dodoco!” Your vision was quickly filled with a flurry of bright colors on paper, one that was filled with an abundant amount of red and the other with the colors of your clothing.

“Ah! So it is! Good job, Hook!”

Everyone in silence soon tore themselves away from their work, looking at you with evident confusion.

Klee blinked, tilting her head as she looked just as lost and surprised as the other three researchers in the mountain, “Hook? That’s not how you say Klee…”

Your heart hammered against your ribcage and tried to save it with a cough, “D-Did I now? Ah, my bad… I meant to say was that you… did a great job! It immediately hooked me in!” It was a half-baked excuse — hell, call it a raw excuse even and everyone aside from Klee caught on as the explosive child beamed with pride, just happy that you loved her heartfelt creation.

Albedo eyed you in suspicion before returning to his work.

Then there was your misplaced reminiscence.

In your defense however, Snezhnaya does feel like Belobog. Sometimes… most definitely not because of the fact that both places are constantly subjected in a thick layer of snow.

The Tsaritsa was all but cruel to you. She loved you like any other archon out there and always basked in your presence — even keeping you for herself a week or two longer, leaving the next nation in your rotation of visitation completely restless at your tardiness. However in her gentle kindness was a terrifying beast that laid dormant.

Only then did you catch a glimpse of it on the morning that you and her spent on your appointed room in the palace, both you and the Cryo Archon siting on the balcony while you sipped on a hot beverage, enjoying the mountainous coated in freshly fallen snow.

You sat your cup down and blew on your hands. The Tsaritsa laughed at your actions, pleased that you can truly feel the love she embodied through the cold winds of her icy nation.

“Cold enough for you, Grand Overseer?” She jested with a light tone.

“…Yep…” your teeth lightly chattered. “…T-This place is a lot c-colder than Belobog, I’ll tell you that… B-But not more than Jarilo-VI as a whole…”

All of a sudden, you could feel the creeping coldness from beside you and looked to where the archon sat, her striking eyes looking at you with curiosity… with a smidge of coldness behind them.

“Pardon? Not colder than where?”

Her tone was pressed despite her sweet adoring smile. She took pride in her sovereign kingdom of cryo. It was all for you, to feel the comforting cold after you spent your last stay with Murata in Natlan. This was her giving you love, and suddenly, it wasn’t enough?

The better part of your mind decided to feign ignorance. And you lived to see another day.

And then the sudden secrecy.

By all means, of all people, Zhongli indulged in your stories the most. Whenever you visited Liyue, you were almost always found beside him if Ningguang wasn’t asking for your presence or if you weren’t getting coerced into another drinking competition with Beidou and her crew. And in this case, you were preoccupied with a little something while you accompanied Zhongli in his usual spot.

He listened earnestly to the storyteller while you busied yourself writing a little something on a parchment you had acquired from the Wangsheng parlor when you fetched Zhongli for his break.

And ever so slightly, he’d find himself glancing at your hunched over form, while you stewed in your little activity. He didn’t particularly mind the lack of conversation from you. Having you beside him was more than enough, actually. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to have him be just as engaged in your little agenda, would it?

The former archon peered at your work, only to be faced with scripts that were oddly reminiscent of Liyue’s characters. Albeit there were significant changes that made the language still all too different from his nation.

“…Might you be translating ancient texts, Grand Overseer?” He inquired and was met by a suspicious jolt from you.

It was a text Dan Heng gave you before to practice the language used in the Xianzhou fleet. Only now did you have time to do his little practices upon your descent. You had plans to check up on everyone as soon as you were done in Teyvat, and perhaps impressing Yanqing with your language prowess was a good party trick (and eventually not get bullied into eating something spicy because of your ignorance).

“Ah! N-No—! I— yes. No.”

Zhongli tilted his head and you were quick to recall your flubbed answer, shoving away the parchment into your little pocket. There was a frantic look in your eyes and Zhongli was concerned, naturally.

You used to be so willing in divulging everything to him in exchange for his stories, with the both of you managing to talk from dusk to dawn without fail with him needing little to no sleep and the time dilation that your body couldn’t seem to adjust to. You weren’t afraid to share what you were preoccupied with, and even often let him experience new things from your own world.

So why are you keeping secrets now?

But perhaps, the breaking point was your standoffish nature.

Aether has always cherished his raw connection with you and was proud to wear his closeness to your divinity, not because of infamy, but because of how incredibly special you treat him. While, certainly, you have made the people of Teyvat special on your visits, but what sets him apart from the rest is your adamant expression of affection towards him. For some reason, he was favored alone, not as a part of a collective unlike Venti and his people, or Zhongli and his. He alone was yours to indulge, even more behind closed doors in his teapot realm.

However… something was off after your abrupt visit.

Something had changed when you came home.

You were far more distracted, occupied with that tiny device you always held in your hand. Suddenly, Paimon wasn’t the loudest one in the teapot mansion with the incessant beeping that your phone made. It never did that before, it was always tucked away somewhere, sometimes even letting him place it in his inventory if there was little time to go back into the teapot.

He had always deemed your mode of communication useless. Especially on your travels. It was always so silent, like a useless artifact that you keep on you.

But suddenly it was teeming with life, buzzing endlessly that could drive any man with weak resistance into the threshold of insanity. You’d often pick it up and grant the little device a heavenly smile and proceed to be on it for hours upon hours.

It was a heartbreaking time for him.

It was heartbreaking whenever he would peer at your device, only for you to keep him in the dark as you made some lame excuse.

It was heartbreaking whenever he could no longer recognize your words when you talked about your own anecdotes, throwing name after name at him while he listened intently.

And oh was it heartbreaking when you called him by the name of someone else.

“[Name], have you seen my earring?” He took pride in his informality with you showing your comfortability and familiarity with the renowned traveler.

“Over on the table, Cae— ther… Caether… Aether.”

Not so much with that tiny slip.

Yes. Perhaps that was it. And all the preceding reasons.

Perhaps it was why you sat like a condemned criminal in the court of Focalors, as every archon looked at you with scrutiny and skepticism in their eyes. Only sweet Nahida looked at you in concern. Ah, your poor child. You’d rather her look away than experience the possible punishment you were about to receive.

“Grand Overseer, make no mistake, this is a trial born from the accumulated concerns of us all. This is a trial born… from our love.” The hydro archon’s voice bellowed through the courts. She normally wasn’t one to personally try the defendants, however you were a special circumstance.

You always were.

…Sure doesn’t feel like it…

“M-May I at least know what my charges are…?”

“Infidelity, Grand Overseer.” Ei answered for the collective. “I can only hope you are not found guilty.”

You grimaced. You’re quite glad that this was a private trial, with only the archons, retired or otherwise, gazing at you. Make no mistake however — this was an intimidating position to be in. You may be the Grand Overseer, but you’re quite sure the only thing keeping you alive is their thinly veiled fanaticism and adoration for you. Otherwise, you would have been incinerated long ago.

It might have been your luck. But it was something you would wholeheartedly thank as the moment Focalors slammed her gavel down, the horrifying screech of something you can only classify as a hideous ally pulled you out of your impending doom.

The alarm on your phone rang incessantly, a glaring reminder of your subpar and mundane reality, waking you up from a dream that you could barely remember.

You shot up, only realizing you fell asleep in front of your own computer. You looked up to see your game open, with your beloved traveler gazing down at you with a disappointed frown on his face.

You chalked it up to your awful sleep and rubbed your eyes, closing the game and migrating to the other, where your in-game phone was filled to the brim with messages.

Smothering a yawn in your hand, you can only shake your head.

“My games have been really weird lately. I should probably leave them alone for now. Maybe have fun with Elysia and the girls.” You muttered to yourself but not before powering your computer down.

Truly, your utter cluelessness is bound to drive everyone insane.

Fret not however, they will make it work. They will let you know of their sentience. They will make sure that you are aware of how much they admire you.

It’s only a matter of time until then.

#this is a feel good fic tbh LMAO #before i face my final exams #genshin impact x male reader #genshin impact x gn reader #honkai star rail x male reader #honkai star rail x gn reader #hsr x gn reader #hsr x male reader #jhuzen’s stupid one shots #sagau #sahsrau #sahsr

[simplyender]

You previously mentioned that Johnathon probably had a less than ideal childhood. If you are still in the mood for headcanons, would you mind sharing your thoughts on his upbringing/childhood/adolscence? The good, the bad, whatever comes to your mind. Thank you! (I wonder if he was still roommates with Quentin Beck in the movieverse)

Thank you so much for asking!!!! Sorry about taking so long to respond, work has been exhausting for me, and I really want to give my best answer, hence why I stew over asks quite a bit, lol

ANYWAY,

• Apparently, The Spot from the comics is originally from Spokane. Yeah, I'll incorporate that one in to my personal beliefs.

• He reads to me as having come from an upper-middle-ish class family.

• Only child, but his parents were frequently busy with their jobs, and when they were around, they didn't exactly have or bother to make the time for him.

• Pretty judgemental parents in general.

• Despite that, he still spent a fair amount of time trying to prove himself worthy of their attention, a difficult task with...Mixed results, mostly leaning towards failure.

• One of my friends was once like "There was definitely a time where he wanted to show them something he made and got snapped at for bothering them.", and yeah I totally agree with that.

• Over time he became more reclusive, spent more time in his room than anywhere else. He preferred reading, learning to code, and working on his own little projects over socializing, something he wasn't all too skilled at. It wasn't like there was much to socialize with at home, anyways, considering he would either be ignored or treated like a nuisance a solid 90% of the time.

• This was a double edged sword, though, since he'd also been yelled at for "being in his room all the time" a few times.

• Was used as a scapegoat quite often.

• After a certain point he moved on to trying to get his validation through other means. High grades, impressive science projects, plans to become a scientist and making the biggest damn breakthrough ever seen, do something that will change the world forever. Because then nobody could ignore him or treat him like he's less if he managed that.

• But obviously they're not the worst in his mind because they helped pay for college, so,,,,,,

edit: actually thought about this some more and he probably got a scholarship. oops lol idk high academics.

• Saw the 1933 Invisible man at a young age and absolutely loved it, he spent a short period of time trying to figure out how to make himself invisible, and kind of wished that dr. Jack Griffin was his real dad and that also maybe he'd kill his parents, healthy and not worrying thoughts from a probably 8 year old. It's been around 25+ years since then, but he'd still get seriously embarrassed if somebody brought up his old attempts.

• Had a massive growth spurt in his early teenage years, which automatically put a target on his back for even more bullying.

• Started experimenting with his fashion and putting some more work in to his appearance close to the end of high school. Still sucked at keeping up with haircuts and remembering to shave, though.

• Was probably at his peak in college, honestly. Nicest place he's been in. Least bullying he's experienced. He even made a friend or two!

• IMO he was totally roommates with Quentin in this universe too, they were on different tracks, but all in all, they got along pretty well! John was happy to help him with with whatever he was working on, although, John mostly kept his personal stuff to himself (still appreciated the extra hand with carrying things...), or at least tried to. Whether he was listened to or not is another matter entirely. When they collaborated, they were a real dream team. Unfortunately, they kinda fell out of contact after college, so it was a pretty big surprise to John when Mysterio got caught and it was released that his old college roommate had become a supervillain.

....Which only further entrench him in the "I'm meant to be Spider-Man's nemesis" mindset, by the way.

#the spot #atsv #johnathon ohnn #across the spiderverse #spiderverse #headcanons #character analysis #i guess? #whenever i thought abt the growth spurt hc id hear those lyrics from 'danny dont you know' #'you had a growth spurt and you're suddenly 6'2“.... #the girls are steering clear #you walk like a newborn deer....' #thats him #anyway im still open to asks just expect me to take along time coming up w an answer #oh right bruef mention of #quentin beck #yippee

[sophiasharp]

I’m fascinated by the fact that I still see variations in the new quintessence ghoul’s name. Phantom is the obvious front runner, but I’ve also seen plenty of people use Aeon and a few people still use Midas as far as I’m aware, and even some people that still refuse to pick.

This is immensely funny to me and so I present to you an absolutely non-answer of a headcanon: What if he doesn’t actually HAVE a name?

What if things were so hectic when he was being summoned, needing a sudden replacement for Aether, like, yesterday, that Copia just. Forgot to ask the name of the new ghoul he summoned in favor of rushing him to the rest of the pack.

And as a result the ghouls just… kind of started giving him a bunch of nicknames that the others thought were his real name?

Aether’s the one that starts to call him “his little Phantom,” or just Phantom for short, since, at the time, the man was like a living ghost in their den. Barely made a sound the whole time he was there, barely noticeable as a person, blended into social situations so even if you knew he was there, you never really have track of where he is.

Not long after he was summoned, Dew finds him looking out the windows at the night sky, absolutely enamored with the stars and nebulas above them, and Dew takes it upon himself to drag the new ghoul outside and stargaze with him while he points out every constellation and star he can remember from all the times he’s sat out with Aether in the past. The next day, when ghouls start gathering at the breakfast table and Dew asks “Orion” if he wants some coffee, everyone there takes it in stride.

Mountain was likewise quick to come up with a name. “Aeon,” he called him with full confidence one day after spending the afternoon showing him around Primo’s old garden. When asked where it came from, Mountain claimed it was in reference to his quintessence. “It’s hard to describe. It’s something that feels simultaneously older than memory and younger than the present. It’s time and space stretched like taffy and bent in the shape of a ghoul.”

“Midas” comes from Swiss, who insisted on sitting in on a practice session between the new ghoul and Aether. Swiss was blown away by the progress he’s made in such a small amount of time! “It’s like the strings turn to gold under your fingers, man! Which archdemon did you make a deal with to play like that?”

Other nicknames followed. “Quint,” “Shadow,” “Bug,” “Puppy,” “New Guy,” it just kept going. It got to the point where if anyone just said a word in his general direction with enough authority, his head would turn, assuming they were talking to him.

And yet, not once this entire first leg of the tour did he ever correct the other ghouls. It seems he’s content to let them each have their own name for him, at least for now. After all, each name is like a gift: something personal that his new friends have given him, something that grounds him in this new and hopefully permanent pack. Then it would be rude to just choose one over the other, wouldn’t it? And he doesn’t want to disappoint his new pack. How could he possibly choose?

#the band ghost #ghost the band #band ghost #ghost band #thebandghost #ghost #ghost bc #ghostbc #the nameless ghouls #nameless ghouls #nameless ghoul headcanons #ghost headcanons #nameless ghoul phantom #maybe I’ll write a fic about them confronting him about this later #my read on new ghoul is that he’s faking it till he makes it #but as a consequence of constantly faking it he has no idea where he actually stands in the pack #he’s that friend that you’d trust with your life and has seemingly infinite chill but then you realize you know literally nothing about them #Sharp’s headcanons #ghost fanfic #ghost fanfiction #ghost ficlet

[gaslightgallows]

Please imagine a pithy title about fresh starts here.

(crossposted from Patreon)

Coming into 2024, I had big plans for how I was going to get back on track and get back to posting once a week and yeah, obviously, that hasn’t happened.

But what I have been doing is looking at my Patreon and at my own projects and figuring out some things I need to do differently. Last April, I changed my nom de plume because I wanted a fresh start. Now it’s time to give this entire Patreon project a refresh.

Here’s what’s happened so far:

Deleted my old A.F. Linley website and gave up the domain; the cost for hosting has risen by $200/year and I wasn’t using it as much as I thought I would back in 2018. Also I kept getting spam emails through the contact page.

Took down my Smashwords account; the single title I had managed to self-publish, a short story collection called Creeps, Ghouls and Jewels, had some serious formatting issues that it was not going to be worth the time/money to correct. Plus, I’m not happy with the changes that have come since Smashwords merged with Draft2Digital. (I’m considering moving to Payhip for future self-pubbed titles but that’s a discussion for a different post.)

I’m starting the process of taking down my Redbubble shop and....Okay, actually, I might have done that already? I just went to grab a link to the site in case anyone wanted to order a Moonicorns t-shirt before I deactivated but uh, it looks like it might’ve deactivated itself? Anyway, merch isn’t the right direction for me at this time, but I’ve still got all the actual designs and I really do like the “Finishing Things is Hard” logo, so I’m definitely going to hang onto that and slap that onto some stuff at a different print-on-demand site in the future.

Here’s what’s happening next:

New posting schedule: Starting in April, patrons will receive one short non-fiction post every week (500-1k words) and a piece of fiction every month (2-2.5k words). Oddments posts will continue to be free to read, but these take a decent amount of research and will be sporadic, basically happening around patron-only posts.

Revised patron tier perks: Getting rid of physical rewards and adding more digital ones. More details to come.

Current and long-time patrons: Thank you for sticking around while I get my shit together. I say that frequently. I mean it every single time.

Potential new patrons: Hello. I have just met you, and I love you. My name is Ethan, I live in a 200-year-old house and I’m writing a novel called The Lion’s Paw. It’s set in 1925 and is about an immortal queer disaster woman and what happens when 400+ years of terrible decisions catches up with her.

(I will neither confirm nor deny that she was inspired by H.G. Wells from Warehouse 13.) (Yes I will confirm it, she totally was.)

There are séances and ghostly possession and psychics, there is historical romance, and psychological horror, there are haunted houses and artists behaving badly and a lot of ladies making out.

I post about my writing process and all the weird little historical niches that pop up during my research. Frequent topics include: 

Spiritualism

Cryptids

Historical curiosities

Medical quackery

Weird tech

General oddball occurrences and serendipitous intersections of history, folklore, and culture

And sometimes when I’m really bored I write short fiction via random prompts.

If any of that appeals to you, please consider subscribing! I’d love to have you along for this journey and my caffeine habit needs all the support it can get.

=====

Banner photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash.

#patreon #original writing #the lion's paw #warehouse 13 #pinned post #reblogs welcome!

[highonmarvel]

I’ve been reading a bunch of fics about Steve (kemp) and it’s so weird because I WISH he was a good guy, y’know? But it also just makes you think, what makes a person like that?

so I was wondering, what do you think would happen if reader got angry, and like drugged Steve and just turned the tables. Kept HIM locked up. But just kinda wanted to make him understand? Even if it didn’t make up for it, because reader still loves him.

maybe when he’s good he gets something…? I don’t know, tbh honest I’m terrified even asking right now.

Placate

do not be scared, shawty; i’m super friendly. and nice idea, i like this, i hope you like how this turned out, because i’m not sure if i do, but i tried my best. let me know what you think! and i apologise for the long wait.

Steve Kemp: You need to take a page out of Steve’s book to get him to understand. 18+!

more content warnings here!

You scramble to stand the second he groans and begins to stir.

Though you did a bit of research beforehand, you had never drugged someone before (naturally), and when he barely had moved after the second hour he had spent passed out, and his breaths remained so shallow you weren’t sure if they were even sustainable, you worried you had killed him, pacing your living room before finally sitting and just waiting.

Steve slowly peels his eyes open and his gaze falls on you. Usually, the first thing he does when he wakes up is give you a smile, now, though, his face remains stoic, like he can feel what you’ve done before he’s even seen it. He feels the ropes wound around his ankles and chaffing against his raw wrists, strung together behind the back of the dining room chair.

He blinks a few times as he adjusts to consciousness. He opens his mouth, but you speak before he does.

“I saw you go into the basement,” you tell him, voice shaky as you begin to pace the room, “And you didn’t shut the door, and I followed you in, and I saw them.”

You should have known he was involved in shady business the second you saw such a gorgeous house in a secluded area: only dangerous people don’t worry about dangerous people. You thought he was involved in trafficking, which made you sick to your stomach, but before you could dart out of the house, he had come back up, looking as cool, calm, collected as ever. You didn’t ever see what he did but after snooping around you got the general gist of it.

“And you have to stop, Steve.”

He follows your pacing up and down the length of the room in front of him, bright blue eyes swinging right and left as you walk back and forth.

“Sweetheart—” he begins, but you stick up a hand to stop him, and, surprisingly, he complies, and presses his lips together.

“Don’t,” you warn, stopping dead in your tracks before slowly turning to face him.

“You can’t keep doing this, honey,” you say. You place one hand against the top of the chair, leaning in until your faces are centimetres apart. He visibly gulps, and you smirk internally at his reaction.

“Baby, listen—” he starts, beginning to sound near desperate, actually, as his breathing grows just slightly uneven.

Once again, you hold up a hand to stop him, and he falls silent, but mouth slightly open this time as his chest rises and falls just a little quicker than normal. You press a kiss to his jaw and he lets out a soft sigh.

“Please, Steve, and if you stop…” you pull away to look back at him; his pupils have dilated, “I’ll make you feel real good…”

Slowly, you lower yourself over him, straddling his hips. His body goes rigid and he takes in a harsh breath, fiddling with his hands behind him trying to get free.

“Stop that,” you say, as you lay your head on his shoulder, lips ghosting over his neck.

“I need to touch you,” he says, breathless, desperate, nearly whining, as he tilts his head to the right, exposing more of his skin, which you press a gentle kiss to. You sigh as you pull your mouth away and lean back a bit to get a look at him; his eyes are closed, pink lips slightly parted, shallow breaths leaving him in a bit of a rush.

For a split second you consider it, consider untying him and letting his hands roam your body, consider acting so selfishly it’s dangerous, but you stop yourself. The truth is, you like Steve so much you’re nearly okay with the idea of letting dozens of women slip so you can keep him. Nearly.

“Steve,” you say, sitting up to look him in the eye, “I’m serious.”

He blinks open his eyes to meet yours, and you can see conflict swirl in his gaze as his features tense, a look you can imagine is a mirror of your own as you wait for his response while grappling with yours. You can feel him slipping away, see that shift in his demeanour when he’s come down from an episode of lust, you’re losing him, so you gently take his face in your hands and announce clearly and slowly,

“I love you.”

A statement you admit to him when you can barely admit it to yourself. His eyes go wide for a moment, and you pull your hands away, worried that maybe you shouldn’t have said that. Well, you probably shouldn’t have, but for the moment this feels particularly bad.

“I love you, too.”

You let your hands fall to your lap as you stare back at him in bewilderment.

“But I…” you begin, looking down at your upturned palms, “I can’t love you if you hurt people.”

That may have been bullshit, because, truth be told, you could never stop loving Steve, not even if you tried.

“Then,” he begins, and you look back up at him, “I’ll stop. I’ll do anything for you.”

♯

#dark steve kemp x reader #steve kemp x reader #dark steve kemp x you #steve kemp x y/n #steve kemp smut

[shina913]

The Boyfriend Experience | JJK

The Boyfriend Experience: Jungkook

The BFE: Masterlist

Pairing: Escort!Jungkook x Fem!Reader

Rating: M

Genre: Fake!dating; fluff; light angst; SFW (generally)

Warnings: Sexually suggestive conversations and tones; cussing; alcohol consumption; boyfriend-for-hire; some kissing; JK is very touchy here

Word count: 9,355 words

Summary: 💬 He’s a confident man who takes pride in his appearance, but also in how he treats other people. He loves to have a good time, but still holds strong values on being respectful and well-mannered. Chivalry is not dead! 

A/N: Ackk--okay so...I didn't mean for this to be super long but it just worked out that way! I really wanted a sweet, encouraging, JJK story. I'm also projecting a bit because...I'm a little frustrated at my job. Anyway, I hope you'll like it. It's smut-free but I hope you'll still find it endearing?😬 I do love how the boys are encouraging to fans, especially on their social media posts and such so I wanted to highlight that a bit here. I still added hints of thirst...because I'm me. 🤷‍♀️

A/N2: Thank you to my sis @internetjunkdrawer for beta'ing and being so supportive even as I kept switching up this story for the Nth time.

A/N3: If you want to read about JK and all of his sexy glory, there's always Coquet 😘

A/N4: LMK if you catch a couple of easter eggs here!

‼️IMPORTANT: Although the narration will include Jungkook's name, OC/Reader will not address him as so because she booked him under an assumed alias. Weird, I know but--let's just go with it 😉

You were proud to be a self-made woman. You had a steady corporate job, an actual retirement fund, and a decent apartment with a bedroom and a kitchen. You didn’t have any responsibilities other than your bills and yourself. 

Things could always be worse, you thought. On the other hand, things could be better.

You valued your independence. You wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. But you couldn’t deny that you had some days when you would feel pressure to lock things down with a partner or significant other.

The company you worked at was not only headed by predominantly male staff but the two women who were in upper management positions were married and had children.

Although you had a great track record, you’ve been stuck in the highest mid-level position for a few years. Recently, you’ve helped bring in new contracts, additional revenue; not to mention that all of those clients raved about you.

You’ve worked very hard and were fully expecting a promotion before the end of the year. You knew it had to be in the bag!

Today, you had a scheduled lunch date with your former coworker, Miri Jang, whom you haven’t seen since she left the company. You talked about coming so close to making it to senior account manager in the last couple years but for some reason, kept falling short.

“I think it’s my time, Miri. It should be,” you remarked.

“Not to burst your bubble, YN but don’t hold your breath,” Miri responded cynically.

You laughed. “Are you kidding me? I had the best performance this last quarter and the one before that! I could totally represent the company in front of big-name clients!”

She gave you a deadpan look. “To be the face of the company, you have to be relatable.”

Your eyebrows creased in confusion. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Miri inhaled sharply. “I was told once, ‘We need to foster a warm, welcoming environment to attract more lucrative clients to partner with’.”

“My clients like me just fine,” you retorted. “I haven’t heard otherwise!”

“Riiight…But at the end of the day, it’s a…” she gestured air-quotations with her hands, “‘Family-run company’, YN. They think that single employees are more likely to switch jobs more frequently because they see them as people who don’t believe in long-term commitments. But if you had a family? There’s a bit more incentive there,” she explains.

Much to your own family’s chagrin, you were unapologetically single. They think that if you aren't well on your way to being a wife or a mother by a specific age, there must be something wrong with you. And if you aren't looking for a partner, your parents would take matters into their own hands and arrange one for you.

You’re beautiful, smart, and have a great personality so…why aren’t you married or in a committed relationship?

Your biological clock is ticking!

It all gets very old and stale after some time.

You give her a quizzical look then shake your head in denial. “That doesn’t seem to add up.” You were unconvinced that your singlehood was an obstacle. If anything, you have more leeway to put in time and effort since you don’t have any other commitments other than your job!

“So you’re telling me that I need to be married or have children to secure this promotion?” You were incredulous. 

Your former colleague threw her head back in laughter. “Of course not! At least, they can’t legally ask you to do that. They’re simply saying that being in a committed relationship or having a family helps with relatability,” she leered.

Come to think of it, most people from your cohort who were recently promoted were married and/or had children. Still–that can’t be legal, could it?

“If you ever want to take your talents elsewhere, my company has openings. We can definitely use someone like you on our team. Child-bearing hips not required,” she smiled and winked at you.

You went back to your office after that lunch date with your ego slightly deflated.

So you needed somebody in your life…to show that you were committed to your job? It sounded like bullshit and a small part of you wanted to prove Miri wrong.

The company’s year-end celebration was coming up. You initially planned on going alone, per usual. But with your recent discovery, you now needed a contingency plan. This event not only invited existing clients but it was also a huge networking opportunity.

It wasn’t like you didn’t try to bring a date to any of these company events. It’s just that there weren’t any good candidates for you. You weren’t dating anyone seriously–at least, not serious enough to bring them to company or family functions.

The only friends that you have were either unavailable or uninterested in accompanying you to the year-end party.

Until…you had a stroke of genius: hire someone to pose as your significant other for the evening.

Sure, you could have gone on dating apps or picked someone up at a bar–but those options might prove to be too complicated. If you were going to take a risk, you’d rather it be a calculated one.

******

“Do we have to have sex?” You ask Jungkook point-blank. He is an escort…and while that was usually on the table, it wasn’t what you were hiring him for.

“No.” He says simply. “This is why we have conversations like this. We need to come to an agreement about what you need or what you want.” He paused to regard you intently. He narrowed his eyes slightly, zeroing in on you. With one look, he escalated the temperature from warm to white-hot…just like that.

Geez, YN. Control yourself. Focus!

Downloading the app and creating your profile was easy. But getting your foot in the door–that was a whole other story. You had to sign an NDA before you could even gain access to this backroom speakeasy.

It was an exclusive club. One where you needed to be referred to by a current member. You got the idea from one of your high-value clients–with lots of disposable income and a frequent patron.

But even with the referral, not everyone is accepted that easily. You’d have to pass a background check and a health check, for your safety and the escorts’.

And my god! Once you were in, it was like being in a candy store. You could browse the app and explore escort profiles–which are recommended by compatibility based on your preliminary intake. Each profile had a photo and contained brief bios, personal interests, and ‘specialties’. It made you slightly uneasy, but this was better than getting a friend to do this for you. At least these guys were professionals.

On the app, you can schedule a ‘mini-date’ with an escort of your choosing. You would meet them at the secret club room–which was housed in the back of a high-end restaurant. Very unassuming, you thought, but it was an ingenious cover story.

This backroom had mood lighting illuminating the space. It was darker, quieter, more intimate. Each escort was on a mini-date, which was mostly one-on-one. You spotted a woman talking to two males. Either she was being greedy or she was having trouble deciding.

One of them looked sweet–he was touchy but not in a creepy way. He had a cute crinkle in his eye whenever he smiled. The other was soft-spoken but had a look so intense that you could swear it made any woman’s panties drop upon eye contact. 

You could see her dilemma—they both looked very desirable. But poly-dates were not allowed in this club. To get the most out of your experience, you can only book one. That was a shame.

But it didn’t really matter since you were completely happy with your choice. 

His photo and profile intrigued you. Of course, that wasn’t his real name. None of them used their real names–which was fine. Unfortunately, you had to use your real name since you’d have to take him out in public.

Unlike those dating apps you’ve perused a while back, the photos on this app were as close as you could get to the real thing. They were meant to whet your appetite–which was a great marketing tool because you certainly bought it. And now here he was…in the flesh. He seriously looked Photoshopped. How was that possible?

And he smelled like heaven. No, not one of those annoying woodsy-floral notes that seems to be popular amongst the smarmy senior account managers at your office. His scent was warm and spicy with subtle hints of citrus. It was more intoxicating than the glass of prosecco that you had in front of you.

You rubbed your already-crimson earlobe then cleared your throat to compose yourself again.

“Uhm, so, I guess you’ve read my profile on the app and my comments about what I need out of this experience?”

He hummed in agreement. “Yes, I read your notes.”

“Okay, great! In so many words, I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a work function,” you stated.

“Sounds simple enough–”

“I’m not done,” you respond curtly, making his eyebrows lift in surprise.

You softened the edge in your voice. “I apologize. I’m just a little tense, that’s all. I just…really need my plan to work and–”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for.” Something about the look in his eyes offered assurance and it placated you.“I’m here to help you. And I apologize for interrupting you as well. Please, continue,” he urges.

“I’m trying to get in good with the senior partners at my firm. I’m done waiting for this promotion that should have already happened last year. Which is why…I’m taking matters into my own hands.” You couldn’t hide the bitterness in your tone. 

“All of my bosses and some well-known associates will be at this party, along with their significant others. If I have to play their game, I’m going to need some backup.”

“Who are we trying to impress here, exactly?” He sounds genuinely curious. “I need to know who’s going to be in the room; how old they would be or gender ratio…”

“It’s…primarily men. The goal is to land a huge account that evening. If I can do that, it should show them that I deserve to be within their ranks. Our CEO will be there too, so if I can impress him–even better!”

Both his eyebrows flick up. “Okay. So, how do you see my role in this?”

You exhaled sharply. “I need to prove to my bosses that I am capable of commitment whether it’s with my job…or my personal life.”

If being single is seen as flaky or untrustworthy in your company, you want to prove them wrong. You could show them that you can be in a committed relationship. At least, until you’ve secured this promotion.

He stared at you for a few seconds to make sure that you were done talking before he responded. “Alright.”

Your face twitches slightly. “‘Alright?’ Simple as that?” You’re not sure why you were led to believe that this was going to be a more complex process given the vetting process you had to through just to secure this membership.

He lifted a shoulder. “Yeah. Just tell me when, where, and what talking points I need to look into so that I can do some research, if I need to.“

Talking points? Research?

He sounded thorough and really wanted to make a good impression to sell this story. 

You give him a rundown of some interests that your senior staff had. Your CEO had a penchant for wine and recently invested in a small vineyard in Napa Valley. It was all he could talk about in the last few months. About midway through, Jungkook asks one of the servers for a pen and paper, continuing to take notes about the ‘job.’

You appreciated that attention to detail. You started to think that you may be getting your money’s worth.

You went on to describe a couple other people whom you wanted to impress at the party, most especially your managing director, who had a say in your promotion.

When you finished, it was his turn to talk through other necessary details about your arrangement.

“What’s our cover story? How did we meet, how long have we been together…in case anybody asks. Oh, and you’ll have to tell me how intimate I can be with you.”

“Intimate?” You croaked out. You thought that ‘intimacy’ was optional–which was why it was the first thing that you asked him during this mini-date. You internally panic and reach up to your earlobe to press on it gently. 

“I mean, can I hold your hand? Are you okay with me touching you anywhere else? Can I kiss you?”

“Oh…uhm...s-sure.” Your eyes immediately flick down to his mouth briefly. It was very distracting.

“So…where?

Your breath hitched, snapping you out of your daze. “I beg your pardon?”

“Where can I touch or kiss you?”

You paused for a few seconds to consider this before you answered him. “Cheek, lips…” you say as casually as possible before quickly adding, “Not open-mouthed, though.”

He chuckles and nods along. “No problem.”

“And you can hold my hand, waist, or shoulders...” You rub your earlobe again as you try your best not to visibly sweat while you discuss parts of your body that this very unreasonably attractive and sexy-smelling man can put his hands on.

He cocked his head to the side, eyeing you carefully. “Is that a nervous tick?” 

You stilled. “What is?”

“That,” he gestures at your hand fidgeting with your ears.

“Oh…uhm…coping mechanism,” you say nonchalantly. “It calms me down,” you reasoned.

He pursed his lips and nodded. “I see.” He subtly makes note of it.

You exhaled deeply. Focus, YN. You tell him where the event would be at and approximately how long you’d be there before he told you how much he would charge. You’d need him for about 3-4 hours. Once you agreed on his rate, you moved on to discuss the dress code.

“Do you have a tux or do you need me to rent you one?”

He chuckled again. “I have a couple, but I appreciate the offer.”

After hearing what his hourly rate was, you had no doubt he had a couple of tuxes…nice, bespoke ones, you presumed.

“What are you wearing?”

His question catches you off-guard. If you didn’t know better, you’d say it was a come-on. “Does that matter? We don’t need to coordinate or anything. This isn’t prom,” you joked.

He laughed. “I know that but I want to complement your outfit. Aesthetics draw people’s attention. I think it would help.”

You purse your lips, turning pensive for a bit but eventually acquiesced. He notes that you were wearing a jewel-toned dress.

“Okay, so I’ll need you to meet me at–”

“Wouldn’t it be more believable if we arrived in the same car together?”

You hadn’t thought about that. You were slightly apprehensive about driving around with a stranger, much less a boyfriend-for-hire. Then again, this wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill escort service. Everything about this place screamed high-class. The app also assures background checks and necessary clearances for all of their employees.

“If it makes you feel more comfortable, we can meet at a neutral place, then we can take my car to the venue.”

“Sounds practical,” you uttered then proceeded to set a meeting place and time so you could drive together. “Okay so, we’re all set? Do I give you the money now or…after?”

“You can give it to me when we meet–either before or at the end of the night, once you’re satisfied with the service,” he finished with a smile.

You cleared your throat. You were really doing this…

“So, I know our time’s almost up but did you have any more questions for me?”

“No.” You felt confident that your plan would work. “What about you? Do you have any questions for me?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you single or…not in a committed relationship?”

You squinted at him suspiciously. “And how is that relevant to our agreement?”

“Knowing helps me form a bond with my clients. It also enhances the experience or customizes it, if you will.” He smiled faintly.

And then there it was again–that stare. Something about that look made you feel safe and encouraged you to open up.

You paused before you answered. You’d already worked this out in your head and justified it over and over…“I just haven’t found anybody who respects my independence. I know that seems counterintuitive especially if you’re trying to find a partner but–I want to be with somebody who is comfortable with the thought of me not needing them all the time.”

“That’s an interesting take.”

You sighed wistfully. “To me, the concept of ‘needing someone’ is because you’re expecting some sort of benefit from them…as if they’re necessary for you to function properly. That’s where dependency lies and I do not want to be dependent on anybody. I do, however, want somebody to love…or care about. Wanting something or someone involves desire, passion…comfort.”

His eyebrows lifted at that. “Wow,” he blew out. “That’s deep.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed, taking a sip of your drink. “I’ve just been in one too many relationships where my partners have always complained about me not making them feel needed. And the truth is, I don’t need them,” you said simply before turning serious again, “I want them in my life, but they just didn’t understand so I focused my energy elsewhere.”

He nodded in earnest. “I hope that I can fulfill some of your wants.”

“You already are,” you smiled.

The next morning, you called the assistant about changing your RSVP to include a plus one. Luckily, another guest backed out, and they were able to make room at your table for your date.

******

On the day of your company’s party, you pulled into the parking structure a few blocks away from the venue, where you and Jungkook agreed to meet. When you reach the third level, you spot him standing next to a sleek, black, two-door Mercedes C-class Coupe. You pull your own white, Mercedes E-class next to his and parked.

“Nice ride,” He remarked at your car as you stepped out.

“Thanks,” you responded, then gestured at his car. “Clearly…great minds think alike!”

“I wish! It’s a company car,” he clarifies. Your eyebrows flick up and wonder how many ‘companies’ like his had $50,000 cars on-hand for ‘business purposes.’

He gives you a once-over and compliments you. “You look beautiful, Miss YLN.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” you compliment him back. He was dressed in a matte, all-black tuxedo with silk lapels and a black bowtie. The only hint of color on his outfit was a pocket square matching your dress’ hue, which you noted appreciatively.

And you thought he couldn’t get any sexier. You internally fanned yourself.

“First things first!” You opened your clutch and took out an envelope that took up most of the space in it and handed it to him.

He glanced down at it before accepting it. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until the end of the night to see how it goes first?”

Still holding your hand out, you cocked an eyebrow at him. “Are you saying that I should have second thoughts about this?” You countered.

He smiled confidently before quietly taking the envelope from you, tucking it in his jacket’s inside pocket and smoothing the front once more.

“Ready for showtime?” He asks.

“As I’ll ever be,” you respond before he opens the passenger door for you to slide into.

******

Your company went all out—valet parking, red carpet rollout to welcome all guests.

Jungkook hands the attendant his keys and you both walk up to the entrance, hand-in-hand. 

The event was held at a fine arts museum whose structure was originally modeled after a French-style pavilion. It was located on the other side of the city, over a hill with sweeping views of the Pacific ocean.

The venue had a large atrium in which guests would be drinking and dining. It was surrounded by large, concrete columns that covered the whole perimeter and at the center of it all was an illuminated glass pyramid—which was where a small stage was set up.

Since the museum housed many classic, invaluable collections, museum staff imposed restrictions on guests milling around with beverages or appetizers next to the art.

You scanned the room and spotted a few of your coworkers, already in deep conversation with a few of their current clients.

“Who are we going for first?” He asks.

You crane your neck in search of your managing director. You locate him having a conversation with your CEO. Two birds with one stone, you guided Jungkook in their direction.

“Sunbaenim,” you bowed, greeting both of them.

“YN-ssi!” They bowed back, acknowledging you.

You introduce Jungkook to them, using his assumed name, and they exchange handshakes and pleasantries.

“Are you in finance, too?” Your CEO asks him after some small talk about the weather and the party.

“No. I’m in the hospitality business, actually. Client services, specifically,” Jungkook replied. You couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways look.

“Ah, I see. And how is business?”

“Very lucrative, actually,” Jungkook smirked and side-eyed you back, making you clear your throat sheepishly.

“Really?” He asked dubiously. “How so?”

“Well, I work for a private company that caters to a very specific yet virtually untapped market. Our clients pay top dollar to acquire our services and we’ve been very successful at it in the last few years.”

“Huh. That’s interesting. Which company is this again?”

“Le Groupe De L’Atelier,” he answered smoothly. “Have you heard of it?”

Your scalp prickles while you shift uncomfortably. Jungkook sounded as if he was winging this whole part of the conversation. You wanted to jump in but your director interrupted.

“Oh wow–” he breathed out, sounding impressed. “Your restaurant is very popular. I’ve uh–been wanting to get in touch with your CEO for a while. Any way you can put in a good word for me?” Your director asks opportunistically.

You grimaced. “Oh, director-nim–he’s not here to work,” you interject nervously while squeezing Jungkook’s arm.

“That’s okay, jagi,” Jungkook says sweetly. “Hyung gets a lot of partnership offers but he prefers to keep the corporation closed and limits contractors.”

Your director frowns. “Oh…surely he needs a good financial manager–”

“I believe he already has one,” Jungkook counters with a smile. “And he’s had a great working relationship with her over the years so, I think that’s taken care of.” That effectively ended that topic.

“Anyway,” Jungkook piped up, “Hyung has been looking into partnering with a local vineyard to expand our wine offerings. Do you have any suggestions?”

Your CEO’s eyes brighten and he begins to wax poetic about his newly purchased vineyard.

Jungkook glances at you and gives you a small wink, which makes you visibly relax.��

******

Next, you approached a group of other analysts from your team.

You went down the line and introduced your boyfriend. They shook his hand in awe and approval.

“See that guy over there?” You whispered to him, pointing towards your office rival on the other side of the room. He bent down, leaning his ear closer to you. “That’s Wonwoo. We’ve been gunning for the same promotion all year.”

Wonwoo was not as motivated or competitive as you were. He was technically a non-factor but you noticed that your boss had been meeting with him often to share some ‘tricks of the trade.’ You tried to think nothing of it but suddenly recalled your conversation with Miri not so long ago.

Wonwoo was married and he and his wife had a baby on the way. Picture-perfect family. 100% committed.

You took a gulp of your drink. All you need is just one huge, notable account–and that promotion should be yours.

“He looks pretty unremarkable to me,” he mumbled back before one of your colleagues brought up a new topic of conversation. Every now and then, with your consent, he would massage your neck or put his hand around your waist protectively. He also continued to call you ‘jagiya,’ but not in an obnoxious way. His actions made you giggle–which shocked you more than it did your colleagues. His touches felt like you were trapped in a heatwave…one that made you desperate for a cold shower.

At dinner, a steady stream of alcohol flowed along with the conversation. You scanned the table in search of clues to find out if anybody was onto you–perhaps a weird stare or some whispering. You didn’t see any of that. You and Jungkook seemed to be a very believable couple!

It also helped that he was incredibly charming and humble at the same time. He talked about his hobbies and varied interests which didn’t seem all that extraordinary to you but the entire table was enthralled by him.

For a moment, it felt like you were the envy of everyone not just at the table but the whole room. Jungkook was the date the women at your table wanted to be with. Every party guest and colleague you encountered wanted to be his friend. 

He was certainly a gentleman in every sense of the word. Earlier this evening, he opened doors for you, helped you with your coat, pulled your chair out, and with your consent, placed his hand on your leg or caressed your bare arm every so often.

You’d never know if he was a genuine guy or just a great actor. Still, it felt nice to be treated well and showered with affection.

******

After place settings were cleared out, everyone continued to mill around the party.

“I think things are going well, don’t you?” You asked Jungkook absently while you scanned the room for your next target.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be,” he replies smoothly.

You turned your head to regard him. “You know, you’re really good at this,” you complimented him. He kept up with conversations, even laughing politely at your coworkers’ bland jokes. He chimed in topics that seemed way out of left-field but he was always prepared with a quip or two.

“Me?” He points to himself incredulously. “Honestly, I feel like I haven’t done much except hang back and watch you. I just crack a couple jokes and talk about random stuff. You, on the other hand, are amazing at what you do. I’m starting to forget what you needed me for,” he joked.

“You have the charm factor! And…suddenly, I seem much more interesting to my coworkers now that I’m out in public with a date,” you remark with slight bitterness.

“You’re doing just fine, YN,” he says in consolation.

You inwardly groan. “Thanks,” you say sardonically. “Now I just need to find a big fish to reel in to look even more appealing. Once I do that, it should definitely give me a boost.”

You took a sip of your drink while you tensely scan the room again for other potential clients. Suddenly, you feel a warmth curl around your bare shoulders.

“Relax,” he crooned softly. He reached up slightly, stroking your earlobe and applied the faintest pressure with his thumb. “You’re too wound up,” he purred.

You peered up at him, his eyes boring into you, making your breath hitch and your mouth dry. When you pulled on your earlobes, it was a coping mechanism that helped center you; whereas he managed to turn it into foreplay.

“Feel better?”

Quite the opposite.

“Uhm,” you stammered hoarsely. “Sure…t-thanks.” You take a huge gulp of your drink to distract yourself again until you recognize someone familiar in the crowd.

“Oh! That’s Jessica Nam! Wow, she actually came,” you gasped in disbelief and turned to Jungkook.

The name didn’t ring a bell for him so he continued to stare blankly at you.

“S-sorry.” You apologized for expecting him to know a potential client. “Her e-commerce company’s valuation just hit a billion dollars,” you explained. “She just announced an expansion.”

He eyed her for a second, noticing that she was sitting at her table alone, not counting the two other guests who didn’t seem to notice her. She was sipping on her drink quietly, and texted on her phone, looking bored. If this woman was so rich, why wasn’t anybody crowding her, he wondered.

“Okay,” he takes your word for it. “But how come nobody’s trying to fleece her?”

You sighed softly. “Her company sells lingerie–via subscription.”

“Oh…and…that’s…a turnoff?” He asks slowly.

You clicked your teeth. “No. But she’s what my boss calls ‘new money.’ She started off as a social media personality who then capitalized on her base when she launched her business. And it worked to her advantage! I think she’s impressive.”

“And she doesn’t count as a potential big fish to reel in?”

“I feel that she is! It’s my boss who thinks she’s too new to the scene. Word on the street is that she’s shopping for a reputable wealth management firm. Our company invited her in an effort to reach out but…I don’t think my boss wants to put much effort in it. He’s doing the bare minimum.”

“Well, what do you want to do about it?” Jungkook turned to you.

“I’ve been wanting to schedule a meeting with her but I can never get through. She’s a busy woman.”

“What’s stopping you now? She’s right there! It’s not like she’s got armed guards or whatever.”

You sighed. “I technically need to have my boss present before going for a big account like that.”

Jungkook looked at you incredulously. “It’s a party! You’re just trying to make conversation! This might be the ace you need for your hand.”

“Hmm…” You hesitated. You knew the protocol. Your boss allowed you to speak to potential clients but usually under his direct orders. He always had to make the final, formal pitch and afterwards, sign the client with the company. You didn’t want to steal his thunder. Otherwise, it would compromise all of the schmoozing progress you’ve made this evening.

“Aish, screw your boss! You clearly respect this woman’s hustle–use that to your advantage! What’s the worst that could happen?”

You know what? Fuck it!

“You’re right,” you say, fully fired up by Jungkook. “I’m gonna go reel me a big fish!”

Together, you approached Ms. Nam, introducing yourself and your ‘boyfriend’. When it was his turn to shake her hand, he made eye contact with her and you could have sworn that she got a bit of whiplash.

Despite that, he kept himself calm and collected and was his usual gentlemanly self. While you made smalltalk with her, his eyes wandered towards the one side of the atrium–where he found your director eyeing your movements.

******

As you chat up your potential client about what your company can do for her, Jungkook excused himself to get you another drink. Your conversation was sounding a bit technical and he didn’t want to cramp your style.

On his way there, he passes your managing director, who was now joined by your company’s CEO, looking like they were having a casual conversation. He was fully intent on ignoring it but his ears perk up when he hears your name. He walked back slightly and hid behind one of the columns to listen in.

“Do you see YN making her move with the mail-order panty lady,” your director quipped, making the CEO chuckle.

“Well, her profits have been trending upward showing no signs of stopping,” your CEO remarked. “It would be great if we can sign her exclusively to manage her finances.”

“I trust YN to get the sales-talk going. Luckily, since she’s only a junior analyst. She has to defer to me to sign clients,” your director points out.

“You know, if she books this meeting, it will really raise our profile,” your CEO adds.

“I know–which is why, I’m thinking about bringing Wonwoo to the formal pitch. He can seal the deal on this. I’ve been mentoring him in the last couple months.”

“He’s planning on buying a house up north, right?” your CEO wondered out loud.

“He is,” your director confirms. “He and his wife are expecting their first kid–would be nice to get a nice commission to cover some of that downpayment, huh?”

“Yes, I think that’s a great idea,” your CEO bemused. “Keep me posted on that progress, huh?”

“I will, sunbaenim.”

Jungkook, forgetting about his bladder, decided to double-back to where you sat. This was something that he needed to let you know right away.

******

“I love your spunk, YN!” Jessica Nam laughs.

You were making great strides in your conversation with Miss Nam. If it were up to you, you’d draw up a contract on a cocktail napkin right this second to seal the deal.

“Seriously, though–that business expansion that you’re planning? I think it’s genius and it’s the next logical step!”

“It is, isn’t it?” She remarked. “And please, call me Jessi. ‘Miss Nam’ makes me feel way older than I need to be. Well–” she suddenly switched tact, “It does come in handy every now and then…especially during business meetings with male financial advisors,” she smiled ruefully. “It’s probably the only way I can garner respect.”

You sighed regretfully. “I’m sorry to hear that, Jessi.” She was young and became financially successful unconventionally. Unfortunately, some people only saw her as a bag of money.

“One of your staff has been relentless with my assistant. He’s leaving messages at my office, asking for a meeting. He said ‘hi’ earlier, made some boring smalltalk…” she craned her neck to look around before spotting him in one corner by the columns. “That guy!” She gestured at your boss.

“Oh,” you say, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, he’s my managing director,” you replied carefully.

Feeling slightly suspicious, she cocked an eyebrow. “That’s…interesting,” she drawled.

However, you quickly added, “We don’t share the same principles, though, Jessi. I guarantee you that,” you assured her. “And if you give me an opportunity, I can give you a more formal presentation on what I think would be the best approach for your company. Much like your business, I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all plan. I think that there should be something for everyone–something that fits you perfectly and makes you look and feel good.”

Her face visibly relaxed. “Hm…tell me more,” she uttered, her interest piqued.

******

Jungkook returns to your table as you chat away. He quietly presents you with a drink and hands a glass of wine to Jessica.

After you mouthed your thanks, you feel his hand squeeze your shoulder. You turned your head and he smiled warmly at you. You had to admit, it was endearing.

Jessica smiled at the silent exchange. “You two look so cute together,” she mused.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just the trophy boyfriend,” Jungkook jested. “It’s YN here who's the real diamond.” His thumb and forefinger grazed your earring, and moved to your earlobe.

Normally, you’d cringe at that but he was on a hot streak tonight. You had to admit, the compliment warmed your cheeks…among other things.

Jessica sipped on her drink, then sighed. “You’ve given me a lot of things to consider, YN.”

“I hope so, Jessi. And–” you paused to reach into your clutch for a business card then handed it to her. “I’d love for us to talk more. I’m available for questions, any day.”

She accepts your card and smiles. “You’ll hear from me soon, YN.”

Her tone sounded really promising. You think you’ve left a good impression. On that note, you excused yourself, not wanting to hover too much and just hoped for the best.

Resting his hand on the small of your back, you and Jungkook walk away. When you were out of earshot, he immediately said, “Listen, I need to tell you something important.”

******

You were absolutely livid after Jungkook told you about what he overheard your bosses saying about you. To avoid making a scene, he walks you out into the courtyard, to blow off some steam–away from the party.

“That is so fucked up!” You fumed.

“Wonwoo?!” You spat out. “Him?” You were incredulous. You were in the same cohort but he never operated on the same level as you did.

“I’ve been working my ass off for five years and how am I still nowhere near making senior analyst? It’s…” You shook your head, unclench your fists and let out a growl of frustration. “I have way more billable hours than Wonwoo! I work late all the fucking time; I am the first to volunteer for all of the firm’s charity shit…I should be the shoo-in here! Yet they’re picking him?” You raged.

“YN…”

You paced around and took several deep breaths to calm yourself. You still had a chance to salvage this. “You know what? I have to seal the deal with Jessica Nam and just do what I need to do…then it should be fine. It should be fine,” you repeated.

“You know, you say that word a lot.”

“What?” You say hastily.

“‘Should.’”

“Huh?” You were confused.

“Seems like you work your way through your career around the word ‘should.’ Do you ever notice that?”

“N-no. I don’t think…”

“The first time we met, you said, ‘This promotion should have happened last year;’ or if you pull this off, ‘it should show them’ that you deserve this. Then tonight, you said, you need to ‘do what you need to do then it should be fine’.”

That didn’t seem right. You couldn’t have been using the word that much.

“Do you always have an idea as to how things should go for you?” 

“Well, I do have goals,” you reasoned. “And I believe that if you continue to push hard, make the right connections, you shou–” You stopped yourself and pursed your lips immediately while he grinned, proving his point. 

“Fine!” You relented. “So I’m a little more determined than most people and I like to manifest things. It keeps me focused.” You then looked down at your palms. “Because if I don’t, I’ll just keep wandering around aimlessly. I’m not a fan of winging it!”

He gave you a sympathetic smile. “I get it. Some people like to believe that if they push hard enough, they can change things as opposed to accepting them as they are.”

You shifted your stance while you considered his comment.

“Have you ever wondered about what you would do if your ‘shoulds’ don’t work out? Would you be open to going about things differently?”

You opened your mouth tentatively to speak but truthfully, you didn’t know the answer to his question. You weren’t sure if you had an answer for it.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but coming from an outsider’s perspective? I don’t get why you’re trying so hard to get a seat at this table. A table that nobody seems to want to make room for you.”

You sighed in irritation. “It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s…it’s just the way things are,” you justified. “That’s how you filter the unworthy ones.”

He scoffed. “Just because they make it so, doesn’t mean that’s how it should be.”

You paused and stared at him as if he’d grown two extra heads.

“Why don’t you look for another table where they make you feel welcome? Or better yet, here’s a crazy idea–build your own table!”

The thought of you leaving and starting all over again–it was daunting. You had worked so hard, invested so much of your time and effort, making many sacrifices along the way.

“This is supposed to be the top company to work for! I’ve...given so much just to get to where I’m at…” You groan in frustration. “And I’m just supposed to walk away from all that?”

He nods, trying to understand your justification of the situation. “Okay, I got that part. Suppose this all works out and you manage to force your way into this promotion. What now? Do you think they’ll make things easier for you then?”

You didn’t know that for sure. You were already jumping through hoops at this point! Meanwhile, all Wonwoo had to do was be married, knock up his wife, and continue to half-ass his client calls. 

“I understand that some people need some form of validation–that’s an inherent human desire. But…you shouldn’t have to beg for it. If you think you’ve been doing great things this whole time– yet you still haven’t received that recognition that you know you rightfully deserve? Maybe it’s time to move onto some place where they appreciate you for who you are and what you do, instead of forcing you to conform to their righteous criteria.”

Somehow, in the back of your mind, you already knew this but you’ve been in denial. You didn’t need to prove your commitment to the company–that should have already been evident from the moment you broke the single-day contract signing record.

But those shoulds didn’t come through for you then. What difference would they make now?

“I know we haven’t known each other long but–I think you’re a badass! You’re a badass dwarfed by a bunch of dicks.”

That made you laugh.

“I’m serious! I’m not pulling your leg here. I think you can stand toe-to-toe with any one of those guys. It’s just that–this system has you set up for failure. They don’t think you could be great. And based on what I heard back there, they didn’t even think much about you at all!”

You got a sinking feeling–especially after your former colleague, Miri, left nearly two years ago. She didn’t seem like she held a grudge against the company but you suspected that she’d been shanked.

“I mean, obviously, you have final say on whatever you want to do. I’m fully aware of my place in this.”

“No, don’t say that.” you interjected softly.

He regarded you curiously.

“If there’s anything I learned from you tonight, it’s to not minimize myself. You should practice what you preach.“

He grinned at you. “There you go!”

You let out a long sigh. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

Jungkook nodded gently. “Do you still want to head back inside?” He asked softly.

“Yes, but only to say goodbye to a few people. After that, I think we should call it a night, if that’s okay with you?”

His eyes softened before bobbing his head for a nod. “I’m good with whatever you decide, YN.”

“Thank you.”

“After you,” he utters, stretching his hand out towards the pathway leading back into the atrium.

After saying goodbye to a few clients in attendance, you excused yourself, telling Jungkook that you needed to make one last stop in the ladies’ room before heading back to the parking lot to retrieve your car.

******

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were stalking me,” a female voice said.

You look up at the mirror in front of you to find Jessica Nam’s reflection as she washed her hands over the sink next to you.

“Jessi…hi!”

“Fancy seeing you here,” she joked. “Are you staying for the dancing?”

You laughed softly. “Oh, no…I’m actually going to call it a night.”

“That’s a shame. I really enjoyed our conversation this evening. Most exciting one I’ve had in a while. Now I have to deal with all of these stiffs for the rest of the night. Your boss was not-so-subtly hovering and making inappropriate jokes,” she jested. “Maybe I should take that as a sign to take my leave, too.”

“I’m…sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t worry, YN. You don’t need to apologize for anything.” she smiled. “Well, anyway,” she sighed while she wiped her hands with paper towels. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier and I’ve decided that–I would love to sit down and talk more–say…at my office?”

Your jaw nearly drops to the floor in shock. “Uhm–uh…wow. Yes…yes! Thank you!” Your mind started to race. This was a huge opportunity for you.

“You can reach me here.” She hands you her business card. “I’m usually in the office during the week but if I’m not, my assistant will set up a schedule for us to meet. I’ll give her your name so she knows to pencil you in right away.”

You nearly squeal in excitement as you accepted her card.

“On one condition though,” she cautioned.

“Name it,” you replied instantly.

“I want you to be my point of contact,” she stated firmly.

Some analysts, like yourself, were experienced enough to talk to clients directly, answering their questions and handling minor issues so the managing directors would be free to work on bringing in more business. You did the grunt work while your bosses took all the glory. Still…protocol was protocol.

“Jessi–” you faltered, “My boss usually handles all of the client negotiations and I’m not sure if I have the authority to–”

Her expression unyielding, she waved her hand in mid-air to swat your excuses. “Then get the authority! Your boss is condescending and a complete asshole. You’re smart, ambitious, and unafraid to take risks. It’s either you or I walk away.” She shrugged.

Your cheeks warmed at her compliments. It was great to watch another woman beat the odds and succeed in the most unconventional way.

“Okay, I’ll be your point of contact,” you answered. It was too good a deal to pass up. You’d handle the consequences later.

“Good,” she grinned triumphantly.

“I’m really looking forward to our partnership, Jessi. You won’t regret it,” you said, holding your hand out. She took it and squeezed firmly.

“I don’t think I will,” she replied.

When you both exited from the ladies’ room, you found Jungkook scrolling through his phone. He spots you out of the corner of his eye and looks up to see an awestruck look on your face while you watch Jessica Nam walk out of the venue and into her waiting car at the front.

“Hey–everything okay in there?”

“Y-yeah. Uhm…I think that I just landed a deal with Jessica Nam,” you choked out in disbelief.

“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed. “Congratulations!”

“No, no–don’t congratulate me yet. Not until we’ve drawn up contracts and everything.”

“Yeah but isn’t that all just a formality?”

“I mean…I guess? Holy shit!” You breathed out, laughing.

“Nice, YN. You should savor it!” He was right. You should savor it!

******

Once you were back at the parking lot, he got out of the car and made his way around to open the passenger side. He offered his hand, which you held onto for support as you stepped out.

You unlocked your car, put your coat in the backseat and retrieved a pair of flats to switch out your stilettos.

When you were done, you leaned against the side of your car, and found that he had also shed his jacket and was now loosening his bowtie so he could undo the top button of his shirt. 

Then he pulled his cufflinks off, pocketing them before he shut the passenger door. He was rolling up his sleeves when he turned to face you, mirroring your posture against his car.

He looked much more relaxed after all that while you, on the other hand, became unreasonably all wound up. 

Crossing his arms over his chest, he asks, “Are you good?”

That zapped you back into reality. You nodded absently. “Yeah, I’m good,” you sighed.

“Sorry if things didn’t work out as you had planned,” he expressed regretfully.

“On the contrary–I think they worked out for the better,” you quipped.

He smiled broadly. “Where do you go from here?”

You lifted a shoulder. It was going to be difficult starting over again but–the great thing about it was that you had options.

“I’m taking my talents someplace else,” you say simply, alluding to Mira’s offer.

“Not that my opinion matters but I think that’ll be good for you.”

You mouthed your thanks. “So…where are you headed after this?” You ask him.

“Probably home. I was going to take another date but since we weren’t quite done, I turned it down.”

You gasped, realizing that you had gone way past your original time limit. “Oh gosh–I’m sor–”

He waved his hand, not making a big deal out of it. “It’s alright. So we went over an hour,” he shrugged noncommittally. 

Mortified, you tried to rectify your oversight. “No, no, I’d feel bad. I can add more–”

He shook his head. “That really won’t be necessary, YN. As long as you got what you needed?”

You nodded earnestly. “I did! And I can’t help thinking that I owe you in some way…not just for the extra hour but in general.”

“Nah,” he chuckled softly. “I didn’t do anything. I just stood there and watched you work. It was all you.”

“Yes, but without your prompting, I never would have realized some things. You know, since I was always focused on the ‘shoulds’ instead of the ‘coulds’,” you say, thinking back to your initial conversation. “So…thank you,” you say graciously, since you couldn’t think of any other way to express your gratitude.

“You’re welcome.” He pushed off his car, straightened out, took a step closer and stretched his hand out towards you. “I hope that you were satisfied with your experience?”

You smiled, clasping your hands with his. “I was.”

Then he turned wistful. “Does this mean that this is the last time I’m ever going to see you?”

You gave him a rueful smile. “I think so.”

He hummed, releasing you from his hold to slide his hands in his pocket and rocked back on his heels. “That’s a shame. I really liked spending time with you.”

You raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. “Do you say that to all of your clients?”

“Yes,” he replies candidly, with a little chuckle.

You laughed. “Thanks for not lying on my account.”

“That aside, I will say that you’re going to be one of my more memorable clients. And uh…If you ever want to talk or hang out and grab a drink somewhere–as friends,” he emphasized, “Just let me know.”

“I might take you up on that,” you answered in all sincerity.

You’d never met anybody like him. His lack of complication was fascinating to you. It was refreshing.

This evening, your chemistry felt so natural that you had moments where you forgot that you hired him to pretend to be in love with you. You didn’t know for certain if it was the alcohol, the boost of confidence that he gave you, or the fact that he was this unattainable fantasy–but you found yourself to be in love, too…just for tonight.

Nevertheless, beneath those big, round eyes of his was a dose of reality. It didn’t make you feel bitter thinking that you would never find someone exactly like him in the real world. He made you realize that even though you should not settle for anything less, you could still consider a compromise–one that would make you and your potential partner happy.

“I’m not forcing you to, though. The choice is always yours, as it should be,” he grinned.

You stare at him silently for a few seconds–and he stares back. As safe and assuring this look made you feel before, the longer he did it, the more intense that look got. Before you knew it, it felt as if he was undressing you on the spot.

After some hesitation, you wondered, “Can I try something?”

“Sure,” he replies.

You straightened out and moved closer to him, making his eyebrow quirk in anticipation of what you would do next. The last thing you see is him closing his eyes as you tilted your chin up to press your lips to his.

Although tentative at first, you opened your mouth slightly. Instinctively, his lips moved in perfect synchronicity with yours. You felt a tingle in the pit of your stomach when you felt his hand cup your jaw while your lips continued to explore each other’s mouths.

You finally found the strength to pull away from him, which left you breathless and slightly off-balance.

“Huh,” you say with your eyebrows raised and forehead creased.

His face falters a little at your seemingly unimpressed reaction. “Was that not good for you?” He asks slowly.

“Oh–it was good. Really good.” Your mind is buzzing, heat pooling between your legs.

You watched his tongue graze his lower lip before his right pointer finger slowly reached over to push some errant strands of hair away from your forehead. “I can show you exactly how good it could be.”

For a second, you actually considered it. He was great company and you had fun tonight…not to mention that he was also really hot.

“I can get a room for us at the hotel a couple blocks away from here.” Then, he leaned in and lowered his voice to your ear. “Off the clock.”

You had to admit, it was extremely tempting. It was all part of the service: the companionship, the fantasy, and mind-blowing sex designed to specifically please you…with no strings attached!

And why were you second-guessing this again?

But something within you thought that if you took him up on his offer, you wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself. A fantasy— no matter how enticing— was still a fantasy.

“You know what?” You stepped back slightly, clearing your throat nervously, “It’s just not what I need right now. I had a really great time with you and…I think we should leave at that,” you say as respectfully as possible.

He smiled, unperturbed. “I thought it was worth a shot,” he shrugged. “You never know!”

You groaned inwardly. “Trust me…it was not an easy decision.” You clutched your keys tighter while that ache between your thighs turned excruciating. You had to be logical about this.

“Can we at least hug it out?”

You laughed softly. “Of course!” You stepped into his waiting arms and he gave you a gentle squeeze. You had a fantastic time with him and he fulfilled the task that you had hired him for. In turn, he opened your eyes to what you’ve been missing this whole time–your worth.

“Don’t be a stranger, hm?” He mumbles into your ear.

You unlocked your car and opened the door. Before sliding in, you turn to him one last time. “Thank you for…everything, really.”

“You’re welcome. And don’t forget that you’re pretty awesome, too. You just have to believe in it more.”

******

“Oh and don’t forget, you have lunch with Jessi Nam in an hour.”

You look up and acknowledge your assistant, who sat across from your new desk in your new office, at Miri Jang’s firm. After the party, you put in your two weeks and gathered your things, taking with you a couple of notable clients–one of them, Jessica Nam.

“Thanks, Kai. I can’t miss that!”

He smiled. “And Cristina in Legal just sent over the final draft of the Nam contract. It’s all worked out and ready for her signature when you bring it to the meeting.”

“Perfect!” you remarked. “That’ll be all, Kai. Thanks again.”

When he steps out, you lean back against your seat and stare out your window.

It’s been over two weeks since you last saw Jungkook. Every now and then, you’d miss him…but it was more the idea of your date. The constant physical contact, being extra-attentive, complimenting you without sounding patronizing. And even the little things like, calling you ‘jagi’ or simply leaning in closer to listen to what you have to say.

Was it nice having the perfect boyfriend for a night? Of course!

Would you ever do it again? Highly unlikely.

Then again, it’s not like you canceled your membership so…never say 'never'.

You’ve reached the end! Thank you so much for reading!

If you loved it, please comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers! If you didn’t like it so much, I would still like to hear about it. Help me become a better writer! 💜

Tagging: @internetjunkdrawer @deepseavibez @itdoesntmatterwhy @effielumiere @yoongukie-ff @miksancheese

#bts fan fiction #jungkook #jeongguk #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook #jungkook fluff #bangtanbathhouse #btswritingcafe #btshoneyhive #btscarnivalnet #bts jungkook #bts jeon jungkook #TheBFE x jjk

[recreationalfanfics]

Ooo, lately I've been thinking about yandere shay dragging his assassin darling along with him when he defects from the brotherhood to the templars. Like, he's got to "save" then whether they want to be saved or not

YES! YANDERE SHAY. Okay so I do actually have thoughts about him-

Shay knows that after he defects that it will not be easy to get you, that Liam and Hope will tell you all of these horrible things and you will believe them.

He doesn't blame you, though. The Brotherhood kept him in the dark about many things but he's sure you'll understand when he can explain himself to you.

So I can see two paths that'd he take when it came to you: 1. He takes you quietly in which he and the Templars set up an ambush for you and some other assassins and makes it look like you were killed so no assassin's come looking for you or maybe he just straight up is hunting you down by tracking assassin's you've both trained with and interrogating them about you before killing them.

Either way, he hates how you look so scared but he doesn't blame you. You're just confused and he will happily explain everything, you just need to calm down first.

In general, he's...an infuriating yandere, to say the least. He doesn't hear you out when you try to explain that he's a hypocrite for siding with the Templars and simply tells you that you "don't understand". Or he gives you this pitying look as if YOU'RE the one being stubborn and unreasonable. Trying to make him see reason is a waste of time and trying to argue only leads to him just sighing and being condescending to you because the Assassins really have dug their claws into you.

You also aren't sure what's worse, the fact that he believes he can "fix" you or the fact that he imagined you even harbored any romantic feelings for him in the first place. You've only really ever been on a few missions with him and yet, he acted as if you two were some star-crossed lovers.

He'd really rather not be rough or harsh with you but if you try to fight him then he will be sure to remind you that he is not messing around, you will not escape him and even if you did, you are in enemy territory and he will stop at nothing to track you down and take down as many of your Assassin friends as he needs too.

If you cry or sob out of frustration or maybe you found that he destroyed your robes and your blade, he'll sit next to you and let you rest your head on his chest and coo to you, petting your hair as he tells you that everything he does is for your best interest. He's creating a better world for you and for him to be together!

Sometimes he will do such things as isolate you, trying to convince himself he's giving you time to cool off but deep down he knows what he's really doing.

If you were to ever say that you could never love a Templar like him, his gaze will become more stern as he just grabs your chin roughly and says: "I have been patient and understandin' with you long enough, (Y/n), but I really wouldn't test me if I were you."

and as he makes you look into his eyes, you realize that this isn't the same Shay staring back at you or maybe it was. Maybe this is the first time you ever took a real look at Shay and noticed the intense and infatuated look his eyes held for you.

You'll thank him someday. You'll laugh in his arms about the silly little notions and tell him how grateful you are he set you free from those contradicting and hypocritical ideals the Assassin's had. But there was clearly a lot of work need to be done if he was going to secure that future with you.

#tw yandere #yandere #yandere male x reader #gender neutral reader #yandere shay patrick cormac #yandere assassin's creed x reader #yandere assassin's creed #yandere shay cormac x reader #yandere shay x reader ac #yandere headcanons #FIRST TIME WRITING FOR HIM LET ME KNOW HOW I DID- #BUT YES THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING CONCEPT I AM IN LOVE WITH SHAY #JUST OBSESSIBELY TAKING HIS DARLING W HIM KICKING AND SCREAMING AND HE DOESN'T CARE

[simplyavatrice]

In the spirit of learning from the people you admire, would you be willing to share some tidbits about your writing process? Along the lines of 'do you draft chapters at first then polish them up/are there any resources or programs you use/do you outline your stories or just wing them/how do you approach research/do you try to write every day or simply when the muse strikes/what does it take for you to turn an idea into story?' etc., that kind of thing. If you're not comfortable sharing, that is absolutely okay. I hope you have a wonderful day. <3

oooh okay let's break some of these down

do i draft chapters/then polish them up? i don't write drafts, i just write out the chapter and then read through it once or twice and tweak what needs to be tweaked before i post it. i think you can get way too into your own head when you do drafts or spend too much time editing. the last chapter of angels like you took me a while to finish because i got in my head about it and kept changing things. you just have to trust your instincts and put it out to the world

do i outline my stories or just wing it? i do very very simple outlines, and not all the time. I'll know where a fic is going and have a general idea of the plot, but i like to leave most of it open so there's room to explore and expand and honestly stories change a lot as you're writing them, at least they do for me. i'll have a destination and a handful of scenes in my head, but the path to get there is wide open

how do i approach research? i do a lot of research for my fics. i'm not knowledgeable in many of the things that i have ava and/or bea doing in any au so i take my time to research it. in an old fandom i wrote a pregnancy fic and literally created a pregnancy calendar on a website to track the progress throughout the fic so i could write about milestones and things that come up during pregnancy, etc. i do my best to make sure things are accurate and if i can't make it work, i'll just go vague and hope no one notices lol

do i try to write every day or simply when the muse strikes? i try to write every day but if i don't manage to do it that day that's okay too - if you're writing and not into it then you're probably not going to be happy with it. a skill i've learned is to write slow, and i'm talking physically slow - where your fingers are not rushing on the keys as you start. I think it's a good way to let your brain catch up to what you're doing and get into the vibe of whatever it is you're working on. also sometimes you just have to write with your brain turned off entirely and clean up whatever comes out

what does it take for you to turn an idea into story? i need to see it, i need to be able to visualize a scene or multiple scenes and have them create a map to the plot i want to get to. mom!ava started because i thought the idea of ava and lilith raising a kid together was fun, and then i slotted where beatrice would fit into that and it was like 'oh, this is complicated!' then it turned into 'wouldn't it be funny if everyone wanted ava and lilith to be together but they both hated the idea' and then that shifted to 'okay but what if lilith DIDN'T hate the idea' and so on and so on. for me, an idea turns into a story where i can take the original premise and string it along the path to an actual story

sorry this got so long! i hope this helps or was at least interesting lkfsjalfaj, take care!

#thanks for asking <3

[deadeyedaisy]

Tales of Destiny ~PROUST~ Forgotten Chronicle rough summary

I wasn't sure where else to post this, and Tumblr seemed like the one that would get the most use out of it.

So, I streamed my blind run through TODDC with Kio for the past several months. I ended up getting really into TOD from how much cleaner the presentation of the story and characters were over the PSX version, and was really frustrated that nobody had translated the drama CD, which had been hiding like 95% of Leon's characterization until the remake came along.

I kept a notepad of stuff to talk about during those streams. Sometimes it was off-topic things, sometimes it was little tangents about parts of the game that I thought of over the week until we'd play again. Sometimes it was summaries of supplemental material that was never localized. But most of the time, that material was translated by a fan.

Nobody has fully translated Proust. I wanted it to be translated. So I listened to it as hard as I could and summarized as best I could. The following are the unedited notes as I wrote them to be read during stream, rather than a direct translation or anything formal. I'm not good enough at Japanese to fully translate it. I'm so not good at Japanese that there's probably a lot of errors throughout this summary, too. I hope someone eventually comes along and gives us a full translation.

Also note that I'm not great at recognizing the voices of anyone that isn't the main cast of protagonists, so I probably mix up the antagonists or the generals' identities a lot.

--------------------------

So I went back through the drama cd, and I think I've got a few more little details. I could be wrong about a lot of this since there's no translation and I am really fucking bad at Japanese. But this should actually clear up a lot of misconceptions that we, or I had throughout this entire game. Foolish me for just believing everything TVTropes told me instead of trying to comb the drama cd myself.

(track 1-01 Thunder + track 1-03 Lullaby) Chris tried to escape with both children, but Hugo sent the goon squad after her?? and they managed to take Leon and mortally wound Chris. She drags herself back to the mansion to see Leon again and asks him not to hate Hugo, because this certainly isn't the same kind person she married. [I previously summarized it based on this post, which does a much better job of summarizing track 1-03: https://jeredu.tumblr.com/post/136918641610/so-after-the-horrible-sad-feels-from-the-emilio]

(track 1-02 History That Was Forgotten is just Leon saying the title of the CD)

(track 1-04 Yes, My Lady) Less than 2 years before the game starts. The girls in Leon's class aren't very good at dance lessons yet, so he complains to Marian that all the girls are stupid-- oh but not you Marian, it's only other girls that are dumb. lol I can't catch why Leon's mad at Hugo this time, but Marian sticks up for Hugo, since he's the one who pretty much discovered how useful Lens could be to further technology and make modern life easier, and has for the most part made it all affordable. She's also grateful that he hired her when she had nothing. Marian wants Leon to make friends with the girls because she's worried he'll be all alone. Leon says he's fine alone and that he'll only grow stronger, and to distract Marian, decides to teach her the dance he learned, calling her "my lady". At the end, he says he'll be fine as long as he has Marian. Hugo walks in on them and Leon quickly makes an excuse but Hugo just puts him down for hanging with the staff and tells him to get to sword practice. Leon seems excited for it. Leon whispers to Marian that they'll practice dancing again. Marian says she's looking forward to it, but when he leaves, she sadly mumbles that he's a pitiful child. (Not in a mean way)

(track 1-05 True) [Oops I didn't cover this one. It's just villainy anyway. Who listens to Proust to hear Mictlan-Hugo monologue?]

(track 1-06 Man of the Mask) I forgot about this detail and its MASSIVE importance. In the original, Leon and Hugo's relation wasn't known for a long time. In the remake, their relation is paraded around loudly. Hugo will not let anyone forget that Leon is his son, and Leon's motivation is to not be a nepo baby. But in the original, specifically in the drama CD, Hugo doesn't want their relation known. He doesn't want Leon around while he's doing business because it might reveal their relation. He reprimands him for coming home while he's doing business and tells him not to come home so often. Leon was actually excited to let him know of one of his missions' successes, on his 15th birthday no less. Chaltier tries to comfort Leon when he's basically told to gtfo, but Leon tells him he's not sad at all, and that he just wants to be acknowledged by someone as skilled as Hugo. His cadence is fairly fond as he says all this, but he's awfully insistent about it. Like thou-doth-protest-too-much insistent. Leon thinks he saw a masked man, but Chaltier says he doesn't sense anyone. They go on their way, but a filtered voice of Hugo calls Leon's name.

(track 1-07 Emilio) The following track makes it more clear that yes, he was actually very fucking upset about it. I already talked about this track since it was one of the only 2 tracks that were fully translated by someone else. Where Marian has a little private birthday party for him and he breaks down. With the added context of the previous track, the breakdown makes a bit more sense. He's just been told and brushed off again by Hugo even after so many smashing successes. Took it upon himself to put up a strong front in front of Chaltier. Then Marian does this gesture of kindness that I guess makes him feel like he's being treated like a child or mocked, and that's the last straw. Marian is of course calling him Emilio, and he refuses that name because Emilio is worthless, nobody needs Emilio, and he's all alone. He insists he's Leon Magnus, because he's at least useful as a tool for Hugo. Marian doesn't like him calling himself a tool. Says he's her precious Emilio. And Leon cries. [Previously summarized based on this post, which actually has a full translation!: https://jeredu.tumblr.com/post/136880537875/jeredu-spoilers-for-tales-of-destiny-for]

(track 1-08 Family) Next track takes place a year later and has Leon being the wunderkind beating everybody and being taken under Finley's wing. They've all got praise for him but are a little put off by him being so uptight. Late at night, Leon sneaks into Marian's room through her window because of the lecture he got about COMING HOME TOO OFTEN jfc. He's excited to tell Marian about officially working with the knights, and asks to dance with her. I think I skipped a bit. Leon only started trying to become a knight because Hugo told him to, so that he'd have a pawn within the castle to help further Oberon's goals. I think he moved out of the mansion after the last track to dedicate himself more fully to cementing his position there?? I'm probably wrong. But he's been a lot happier this way. Later that night, Chaltier tries to suggest that Leon just continues living like this and become a full fledged and honest knight instead of working for Hugo, because all of the generals seem to like him and are nice people. Buuuut Leon's already fallen asleep. Boo

(track 1-09 Nightmare) Next track has Leon and Finley talking and they think Greybaum's sus. They meet with Greybaum and Chal also thinks he's sus. That night, Leon has a nightmare where a man is telling him he can save Rutee. Except Leon doesn't know who Rutee is yet, or her name. The man is wearing a mask like the one from the mansion. It seems to be the real Hugo. He attacks Leon when he knocks his mask off I think?? and I guess Leon wakes up and is back at the mansion temporarily? I have no idea what's going on here but Hugo's not doing great and Leon rushes to his aid but Hugo basically tells him to gtfo his house again. I think real Hugo is fighting Mictlan, because Leon says something about Berserius. Belserius. Berselius. Fuck it. Scene change and Leon's at a tavern or something. The waitress fawns a bit, showing his good reputation has spread. Leon thinks about the nightmare and what the heck a Rutee is. Then he overhears some guy talking about a demonic lens hunter dude and the waitress is like oh nah you mean that girl Rutee? and Leon all but trips over himself to go violently interrogate the waitress. The guy she was talking to gets mad and tries to attack Leon and a fight starts. Finley shows up and slaps Leon and reprimands him and I think threatens him?? But Leon got the information he wanted out of the waitress.

(track 2-01 Masquerade) Next track. The villains talk stealing the Eye of Atamoni. A masquerade ball is held in Seinegald. Leon's all ready to be big bad security but Finley says he should blend in and dance. But he ain't got no fancy clothes! So Finley arranges to get him some fancy clothes. He's about to arrange for a partner too but Leon's like nah I got a girl for this and yoinks Marian up. She's worried she's not allowed to attend such a party, but Leon assures her she's part of the mission so it's fine. She tries to make excuses to not go but he shoots them all down. He sounds like he's having just oodles of fun on the carriage ride with her to the ball. He's laughing and smiling and it's just great. This moment is probably literally the happiest Leon will ever be in his entire life lol He… sneaks her in through the BACK DOOR and gets stopped by guards who ask who dis. And he says, "my partner" and they say they can't let randos in and he says NO SHE'S MY PARTNER and they say :/ that's not good enough bro, come on, and Marian takes his arm all suggestive like and says "What part of partner don't you understand ;)" and they let them in??? okay But Marian hasn't received her dress yet, so Leon's waiting for her to get dressed. And Chal teases him a bunch implying Leon's nervous to see her in her fancy dress. Leon tells him to shut up but Chal notes he's blushing really hard. But, Leon suddenly sees the masked man again, and this time Chal sees him too. Leon attacks but he disappears. He hears the voice and he's big mad 'cause he thinks he's being jerked around so he shouts a lot. Marian hears him shouting and rushes to him and real-Hugo goes whoops sorry about that I guess lmao and goes away. The ball gets into full swing and allll the girls are wowed by how pretty Leon's partner is. Marian says she feels awkward and Leon tells her she's beautiful, but she still doesn't think she should have come. He asks her to dance, she tries to make excuses not to, but he keeps asking, calling her "Lady" again like when they danced alone ;A; aaaa So they dance, and Leon is just so entranced and whispers that he wants to go far far away together to a place with only them, that's quiet and warm. He says something like he lost such a promised place inside of him a long time ago, but feels that it's also right there with her, and he's about to say something that MIGHT have been a confession, but they're interrupted by an attack and are separated. SO YEAH I'D SAY HIS FEELINGS FOR HER ARE PRETTY ROMANTIC. HOLY SHIT. I felt like I was listening to one of those listener-POV CDs where they do nothing but sweet-talk you, gosh. Whether his feelings are actually romantic or not, he's still just entirely fucking smitten with her. oh my god.

(track 2-02 Venomous Snake) Next track, I have no idea what's going on because I'm not familiar enough with all the villains' voices, but it's villain stuff. I think it's Greybaum mostly, and they're messing with King Isaac, the Phandaria King. And Greybaum is evil monologuing but Leon was hiding in the room and ambushes him. Hugo shows up before Leon can do any damage and something happens or is talked about, idk, villains get away. Leon's like what the fuck, dad, they tried to kill the king. Hugo says Isaac's spent too long in office and ain't doin his job right no more. So it's fiiine just let it go, besides, Graybaum's gonna be a useful tool. And the word "tool" sets Leon off 'cause it's always about tools with Hugo, and Hugo goes YEAH, A TOOL, A TOOL JUST LIKE YOU. I'VE BUILT HIM UP AND I'M TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIM, JUST LIKE I DID TO YOUUUU. And he demands Leon apologize but Leon says no, he's done being Hugo's puppet, he's going to live for himself, he's not going to accept this shitty fate anymore, he's going to carve his own path and make a place for himself in Seinegald. And Hugo goes "Ohoho what silly thoughts Finley's put in your head. Sure, you could do all that, you could escape me no problem, you're good enough for it, but I wonder how Marian is doing~ Sure hope she's okay after getting separated from you. It's just such a scary world out there, you never know when or where such a fragile little thing like her could get got." So basically the ongoing threat on Marian's life has begun. It's not explicitly stated, but obviously the implication is that Leon could leave and take Marian with him, but Hugo will get to her one way or another. Then it's just 20 full seconds of Leon desperately calling and looking for Marian.

(track 2-03 Requiem) Next track, he finds Marian and clings to her and sobs in relief that she's okay. She says yeah it's okay I'm fine, but Leon just cries harder. Later after he's calmed down, he brings up that far away warm place he spoke about. He wonders where that could even be anymore. Probably somewhere further than the moon. He wonders if he can go there. Then it's very suddenly Finley's funeral. People are crying. The priest is praying. People are swearing vengeance. Hugo, Chaltier, and Finley's voice echo in Leon's head. Hugo coercing Leon into poisoning Finley. Chaltier asking him not to do it. Finley telling Leon they're alike in that they both lost their parents at birth. That he'd like for Leon to think of him as his father, because he thinks of Leon as his son, I think. Hugo reminding him where his place is, and that that's never going to change. Finley succumbing to the poison, in disbelief that it was Leon, and desperately asking why. Leon's sure he's never going to get to that place. Hugo and friends do some villain talk and make some snide remarks at Leon, and he just says it's fine. He's defeated at this point.

(track 2-04 Rutee) Next track has Leon on his way to Cresta to look for whoever Rutee is. Chaltier recognizes the name a little but doesn't remember. Rutee runs into him and runs away, but Chaltier recognizes Atwight on her back right away and they give chase. Rutee's giving gifts to the kids at the orphanage, is asked how she made the money for this and she's like "eehh I worked really hard :D" Chal finally remembers Rutee was the name Chris spoke of before she died and he's super excited that Leon's not all alone, that he still has his sister. But Leon just runs away. Chal's like what the fuck, where are you going, and Leon says it's been 15 years, so it doesn't matter, they're not family. Chal keeps trying to get him to go back to Rutee, insisting she must have been looking for her family for a long time, and that he should reach out to her. Leon admits that he's scared that Rutee won't accept him. Chal tells him that's stupid. Leon admits he's scared of Rutee also betraying him like Hugo did, and cries that he's truly all alone. The track ends.

(track 2-05 Flow of Fate) Next track, it's revealed Greybaum's theft of the Eye of Atamoni was actually not in the plan. He did that on his own and betrayed them. They plan for Leon to lead the investigation and gather the swordian users. Leon asks if Hugo knows who wields Atwight, and Hugo, like a fox, says mmmyessss. During Leon's first real meeting with Rutee, while she goes off on him, he's thinking to himself that he wishes he met her sooner, but he's too dirtied to face her for real by now. Chaltier insists to him that it's not too late, but Leon refuses. A bunch of scenes of Leon traveling with Stahn's group pass. Leon thinks about how Rutee has good friends and a home and family to return to, and feels even worse that he can't be happy for her. He hates himself for it, but he can't help it. Chaltier tells him he could become a part of her family. Leon says it'd be nice, since he's being shown such a warm place, but he can't escape his fate. More scenes pass, and Leon is moved by Stahn's resolve. He thinks maybe he was wrong about fate, because everyone is fighting. More scenes pass, and Leon is even moved by Batista and Greybaum, because they went against Hugo. Even if they couldn't win against their fates, they still tried. He's confused and doesn't know what to do, but Chaltier doesn't have answers for him. The only thing he knows he can do is protect Marian. The only reason he has to keep living is Marian.

It continues in the mines. Hugo and friends say they need to buy time to escape Stahn's group. He tells Leon to stall them as long as possible, and then detonate an explosive. Tells him exactly what will happen, down to the sea water flooding in. So Leon absolutely knows he's going to die if he agrees to do this. Leon asks to be alone with Marian, as his first and final request as Hugo's son. Marian observes that Leon doesn't want to go through with this. Leon says it's fine, he'll just do what he's told. He asks why Marian is here, why she's still a maid for Hugo. Marian answers it's because Hugo was trying to save the world, or whatever. She owes him a lot. So she'll do whatever she's told, too. Leon asks what'll happen if he dies. Marian says she'll probably never stop crying. Leon asks how much, for how long, because it's not possible to cry for him for her whole life. Says she'll probably cry for a bit, but eventually she'll meet someone he doesn't know, fall in love, get married, and have children, and she'll forget all about him, and then he'll truly be gone and not exist anymore. He'll disappear. Leon cries, really hard. He pulls himself together, apologizes, says she should go. She goes, but she calls after him that it was fun. That being with him was like a dream. He says quietly to himself that, yeah, it was like a dream to him, too. (The wording is different from the opening song! Important to note because the remake did a full on title drop in its climax. The opening song is 「夢であるように」, but the wording here is 「夢みたい」. But it's still probably a 100% intentional reference to the opening song.) [I cut off here because I previously summarized these two posts about the end of this track, which is an exchange with Chaltier: https://jeredu.tumblr.com/post/136997902840/i-dunno-if-its-possible-to-fall-in-love-with-a https://jeredu.tumblr.com/post/137057162215/checked-with-a-friend-who-knows-more-japanese-and]

[I yada-yada'd track 2-06 Father, Friend because I already summarized it previously based on this post: https://jeredu.tumblr.com/post/143045097730/i-finally-typed-up-a-summary-of-father-friend]

(track 2-07 -Epilogue- Yes, My Lady) In the final track, Rutee is visiting Marian. She asks Marian to live with her. Marian declines, saying she has to keep Emilio's room clean for him for when he comes back. Rutee says he's already gone, but Marian interrupts and asks Rutee to dance. She teaches her how to dance. She calls Rutee "My lady" like Leon did with her.

-----------------------------

May I just say, if Leon retained his character from the drama CD in the remake, he absolutely would have broken down crying after Stahn convinced him they could work together to save Marian. And maybe hugged him or held his outstretched hand with both of his. While crying. Drama CD Leon is a huge crybaby and I'm so here for him. I was disappointed he didn't get to cry through the remake.

And also that hot damn, Hikaru Midorikawa was allowed to emote SO MUCH MORE in the drama CD than in the entirety of the remake, not even counting all the crying he does.

#Tales of Destiny #Leon Magnus #Marian Fustel #Tales of Destiny PROUST Forgotten Chronicle #translation

[mqfx]

so a passing thought about post-canon sangcheng occurred to me & i would like to receive any wise counsel you'd like to give on my thought processes... 🙇‍♂️ they're a little disjointed. disclaimer that i havent read the novel in a while!

im not super convinced by the idea that nhs was able to control eeeeverything that occurred in his Great Revenge--i imagine a lot of it was incidental and opportunistic.

im not clear on whether jiang cheng would figure out that there was a masterminding aspect to the grand finale at the temple at all, bc while i think he's smart! he's also, like, so uninclined to overanalyse things that might uncover something painful for him (see: wwx's behavior post golden core transfer--unless you have to adjust for shixiong admiration/how jc places wwx on a competence pedestal? if wwx says he can handle it he can handle it, until he doesnt handle it so hard he dies. i guess.)

ANYWAY. i dont think jc would be friendly, or maybe he wouldnt like that he Was friendly with nhs if he thought nhs intentionally put jin ling in danger. im not sure if nhs DID! but im thinking in circles about whether jc would think that would have been the case. in my mind he is both endlessly capable of knee-jerk trust recindication (is that a word.) AND trust extended way past reasonable limits. but do you think that would be discussed (with jiang cheng loudly in tears about it in front of many rubbernecking witnesses, mdzs style?) at all? the most i can imagine is jiang cheng yelling obscurely around whether he can trust nie huaisang! clarifying details & inside voices are for the next generation.

i feel like there something to be said about how he trusts wwx with jin ling's safety, too...

this kind of doesn't have a conclusion im just interested in what you think of post canon sangcheng en generale-- it feels like a very different relationship from anything i can imagine in like... cloud recesses era. they're both miserable i think 😀 but actually post canon jiang cheng is doing better than usual than he has been for a long time, in a sense, and nie huaisang is probably thinking he should be doing better.

sorry this is so long!

ok firstable i must address "rescindification" bc it compelled me and apparently the noun form of "rescind" would be "recision" or "rescindment". heeheehee

now my thoughts on the matter:

2019 me wouldn't have agreed with this but remember 4-5 years ago i was only a college sophomore and was less capable of independent thought. since i was more caught up in fandom back then i generally went along with the headcanon that NHS Planned Everything, especially since it gave him more BAMF-ness(??) to, i guess, make up for the fact that he's not a "strong" cultivator. i would Like to delete the fic i wrote about it then but people like it a lot and i'd feel bad just taking it down. it's kinda like my sorrows of young werther (in that goethe regretted his first published work. not that im like goethe ew)

2023 me obviously thinks that's kinda eeehhh and i agree with you more now bc (flips through my memory of Hot Strategist Tips) no plan survives contact with the enemy. nhs wouldn't have been as effective if he had clear strict play-by-plays from the get-go. i think overplanning is what got jgy, because he kept stacking plots to cover his tracks but nothing makes a crime obvious quite like a cover-up

(unrelated question: if you're stark naked in the street, do you cover your ass or your balls? the correct answer is, you cover your face.)

as jgy's narrative foil and winner of that year's political oscars, nhs wouldn't make those exact same mistakes. not to mention, his strength (i think) is in recognizing patterns and doing the least amount of work for maximum effect--the hallmarks of the "lazy" (efficient) genius. plus it's not like he was starved for opportunity (again, bc jgy really was doing too much..... he really could've not gotten caught if he would just focus on the damn infrastructure)

also re:jc yes you're right my man's the king of repression and sublimation lol the whole "who is the REAL mastermind" would be the LEAST of his problems right nyeow!!! he has to help his nephew secure the succession and keep those scheming little rats of jinlintai away from jl, THEN he has to reckon with the fact that his brother is back, which comes with 15+ year old unopened baggage. wouldn't it be funny if he's like, an old retiree before nhs even tells him "yeah it was me lol" and that's finally the thing that kills him LOL sorry

ok that aside let's imagine a scenario where jc gets a whiff of an inkling of an idea that NHS Risked JL's Life (whether he did or not is irrelevant in this case). i'd like to believe that as an older sect leader, like yeah sure emotionally he's stunted like evel kneivel* but at the very least he should have the presence of mind not to scream at a fellow sect leader in the streets about Serious Accusations. (he is not as logical about wwx in canon because that's his big brother and no younger brother is ever logical about his big brother. also he knows wwx well enough that he can trust wwx Wouldn't Endanger Kids)

*get it. bc evel kneivel was a stuntman

imo jc would go in circles thinking "but no..... nhs wouldn't do that" then "but that's what i thought about jgy too......." and then working himself up to a froth. this will probably result in the most intense assessing death glares and some shady little quips in public. coin toss whether jc would decide to confront nhs about it privately. at least for as long as jl hasn't fully settled in on the role yet, i highly doubt jc would let his guard down for anyone, even nhs. maybe wwx

postcanon sangcheng...... keep in mind i have shipper goggles on. but they're not getting married babes im sorry if i'm keeping it realistic they both have Duties to fulfill and they live in a Society where they don't have time to...... governance is not just Paperwork, it's their lived reality and not everyone has the privilege of a living family to hold down the fort while one goes off traveling (@ lwj, but he can do whatever he wants forever). not saying that they'll get married to other people and have babies, mind you. especially in societies based on martial strength i think it would be less important to have an Unbroken Bloodline than it is to pass down sect techniques

at the end of it IF there's a romance then they're living off of stolen time, sneaking around during hunts and conferences. and i highly highly doubt it'll be a soft epilogue my loves they are two jagged broken people who have given up too much and gotten back so little. they are not gonna make each other better, but hey the consolation is that they also can't make each other worse! at least they'll have someone else who somewhat Understands what it's like. "miserable but not alone" is a boon if you've lost everything else that mattered

#hewwo #asks #anonymous #NOT TO PAINT A BLEAK PICTURE of one of my favorite ships in the world btw!!!!! #i just think it's not gonna be soft or fluffy. they both have a lot of healing to do :( #comfort like a knife under your pillow #sangcheng #long post

[evelhak]

Akashi for the ships tier list ? :D I thought about asking for Kuroko but i assumed you only ship him with Kagami

I'm going to give you both. : D I know my shipping capabilities are probably annoyingly limited, but it's like... Yes, I don't really truly ship Kuroko or Akashi with more than one person because I have a story brain, like one-linear-chain-of-events brain, and yes, I could expand, and yes I've tried, but I'm just the happiest this way, it's the most natural way for me, so even though it's frowned upon by fandom generally, it's just me and that's how it is. It's not satisfying for me to simultaneously entertain multiple possible storylines, I just need to be on one track until the end.

So in that chain of events in my head both Akashi and Kuroko are in a commited monogamous relationship. So basically the only way I ship more than one ship is if characters break up and have another relationship during the course of my head story, or if they are polyamorous, which neither Kuroko nor Akashi have been at least so far.

But also that doesn't mean there's nothing else going on besides who they date. People's feelings are hardly ever black and white, and I do give space to complexity and general human nature, that's kind of the whole point.

I realise this intro was probably not necessary, I just wanted to express myself better about the "only ships KagaKuro" thing, because it's like... Yes, but also not really? Because do I see them having another significant other for the rest of their life? No. Do I actually root for and actively want to see them with other characters? No. But do I think their feelings and relationships with other characters are also complex and have multiple layers and phases through time? Absolutely.

Also, I felt really self-conscious about this, debating whether I should include my OC in this, because it still feels obnoxious to me, no matter how much I try to express love for OCs. But there's no denying that my only long-term ship for Akashi is my (and my ex's) OC Azumi, so the list would be kind of meh without her.

So, here we go. I felt like getting creative with the tiers to express my thoughts.

Akashi

*So, yeah... I ship Akashi with an OC. She's a collaboration of several years of exchanging elaborate headcanons with my ex about what kind of person we saw for Akashi. This is the only time I've actually created an original character for the purpose of being with a canon character, and it happened almost by accident because it wasn't my thing at first, it was for my girlfriend who loved Akashi. Not in the way that she would have wanted to date him herself, it's more that she related to him in some ways, and just wanted to imagine him with someone who was good for him and would grow with him and be a positive force in his life, and so we kept developing this relationship over the course of a long time, and I merged it into my headcanon about the rest of the story. A lot of the inspiration was also what we didn't like seeing in Akashi fics, such as sadistic Akashi and a meek poor girlfriend. We wanted someone who could be an actual power couple with him, and most of all, someone who could give him security, and the feeling that he doesn't need to be in control of everything and take care of everyone.

*I don't see long-term potential in AkaFuri but it's too funny to ignore completely. The idea of Akashi being Furi's bi awakening was too juicy for me to ignore, it makes for good comedy and sweet and heartwarming growth on Furi's part when he struggles with his feelings. It's all been one-sided in my headcanon so far and Akashi has no clue. Whether or not their paths actually cross later much at all remains to be seen but I have some ideas how that might be relevant and, well, cathartic.

*Azumi slightly resembles Aomine in some ways, which lead to a comedic dream Akashi had about Aomine in my head... Also I don't really see Midorima and Akashi being attracted to each other, but I bet they have wondered.

*The last row just looks aesthetically cute with Akashi but I don't really see anything there. Their relationships mean more to me as platonic friendships.

Kuroko

*Yeah... you know my feelings about KagaKuro. It's the truest love ever.

*There's something deliciously tragic about an almost, isn't there? The person who you probably would have ended up with, had things gone another way? I wanted to explore that concept in my fics, so, there was Ogiwara.

*I think Kuroko enjoys Kise's attention more than he admits and Kise probably thinks all his friends are hot, but he's not actually interested in a relationship with any of them. But I do think when Kise manages to pull the right string to get Kuroko out of his shell and Kuroko manages to pull the right string to get Kise comfortable exploring the deeper meaning of life, they may sometimes get excitement out of it that isn't strictly platonic. It's just not strong enough to act on.

*I would be lying if I said I didn't see at all where people are coming from when they say Aomine and Kuroko have bitter exes energy. I don't think they were together, but that kind of makes it the more satisfying to explore. They definitely have grey-area feelings for each other. They would be terrible in a relationship, and they know it. All of that causes friction which feels awfully lot like chemistry, especially as long as none of this is ever voiced. But would they make out if someone smashed their faces together? Absolutely. Would they enjoy it? In a twisted way, probably at least a little. Would they regret it immediately and wish it had never happened? Definitely.

*Again, the last row means more to me if they are friends/found family. I totally get what you said about Kuroko and Momoi having that pastel aesthetic. I even have a scene in my fic where Kuroko's dad tells him he should date Momoi (instead of Kagami) because they look so good together, like a pastel coloured painting.

I hope that wasn't too long. I am actually very into exploring the different flavours of all kinds of relationships, so it's not always as easy as do I ship it. I hope you didn't get bored. 🙈

#ship tier #knb #akashi #kuroko

[goldenteaset]

(I know I've posted this official art before but I don't care, it fits the occasion)

It's my 1 year yume-versary with Belial today! I felt like being a hopeless romantic (especially after seeing this art again), so I wound up thinking about the process of how this happened. And while it's 99% coincidences that make me happy, when put together like this they do form a love story...

While I got into GBF because of him, the actual act of falling for him "as myself" (for lack of a better way to put it) was a lot longer. Four years, in fact! It was half "I just like him with Djeeta and Lyria better" and half "Nah, he wouldn't like *me*, I'd be too shy".

Cue 2022. XD;

By which I mean, I'm not sure when in summer it started, but all of a sudden he kept showing up in my dreams (as Oribe, his semi-canon school AU self). "Oh cool, that hasn't happened before", I thought, thinking nothing of it. It seemed a good reason to write him and Djeeta in a similar setting; I'd take it.

And then I started noticing that Djeeta wasn't involved. "Well, maybe she's there but I'm seeing things from her POV this time"... ^^;

Months before the Oribe dreams, I kept dreaming about Summer Belial months before we got the Summon, which is funny anyway, but those were still focused on Djeeta. My subconscious really wanted me to have fun with Oribe/Belial, and it was going to bludgeon me until I did. At the same time, two things happened:

A particularly powerful dream about Oribe!Belial where he really wanted to take a selfie with me and kept insisting "I want to see your face, don't hide~"

The "Belial advice column for GBFest" appeared

The former was A Lot, but the latter was easily compartmentalized: "Just write the letter as if you're part of GBF's world". It took a few tries, because I had to remember kafabe (i.e. these letters were being sent to "Belial", not the devs), but I did it!

I burbled about how he'd always gotten me out of writer's block, because of course, and made absolutely sure not to overthink my heart racing while imagining sending it in canon. It was in English, down to the pen name "Shy Writer", and knew it probably wouldn't get picked for the GBFest segment.

"Just the fantasy is enough," I thought, forgetting what "yume" meant.

Fast forward to Jan 2023!

GBFest is here, it's fun whether you're there in person or not...and I'm catching up on Day 1's stream after falling asleep. ^^; I found the "Belial answers fanmail" segment and was just enjoying the spectacle. Here's a video of it separate from the massive stream one:

Someone had sent in something about being shy/nervous about who they liked, very likely him. (Also they called him "Beli-chan", which is adorable.) Belial read it normally, but his response (at 4:13, yes I've kept track of it)...well...

He let out probably the deepest, sultriest chuckle we've heard from him yet, which is saying a lot, and then added "'Shy'? How cute (kawaii ne)~."

Again: it's all coincidence, of course. Just a lot of convenient circumstances that eventually lined up into a fantasy narrative that makes me happy.

But boy did it not matter in that moment, when I felt like a tsundere who'd been found out after a whole season of UST. XD

It felt like there wasn't any need to deny it anymore. Nor to make excuses that were never going to hold up, as long as I kept denying that sense of fun to my own detriment. Or, to be extra sappy about it--it was as if Belial had been seducing me throughout '22 to the beginning of '23 and had now finally gotten the point across to my very dense self-insert/OC.

I've been enjoying myself a lot since then--going out more, trying new hobbies, just being happier in general. Could that have happened without this as a push? Maybe. But it didn't happen until I "had food at home", so to speak, which feels telling.

I think we as a species need space in our heads for imagination and play, and that varies from person to person. Along with writing, mine just happens to be (day)dreaming about the Primarch of Cunning acting like a bird of paradise and/or seducing me and my self-insert OC into semi-reasonable sleep schedules.

So, yeah. Happy anniversary, Belial. May there be many more!

#F/O: Look Into The Abyss of His Heart #yumejoshi #proship selfship #Sadly I don't have precise anniversary dates for the other two but I can figure out something I'm sure #It's tempting to be cynical about it all and wave it off as “patterns that aren't there yada yada” #But you know what? I *did* that nonsense in my teens and wound up worse for it #So here we are. Improving by embracing the fantasy XD #Youtube

[yukidragon]

Miss Yuki, What do you think Jack's reaction would be when Alice [M/C] tells him that she is pregnant with his baby? How will the events unfold during the pregnancy and the birth of the baby?

PS. I love Alice ❤️

Aww, thank you so much. I'm really happy that you love Alice. 💖

Ah yes, the classic pregnancy headcanons. I actually somewhat answered this question in this post about happy pregnancy headcanons with Alice and Jack. Also this one, though it's not exactly happy for Ian, hahaha. I've also touched on darker tones for the headcanons, like yandere Ian snapping after hearing Alice is pregnant here. Don't worry, Alice and the baby are okay at the end of that scenario, though the same might not be said for this post here and here...

I think this ask calls for some more happy pregnancy headcanons, don't you? As I mentioned in previous posts, I think Jack can't get Alice/MC pregnant unless it's with explicit consent on both their parts. No surprise accidental pregnancies here with a supernatural ghost(?) who literally can't do anything unless his sunshine allows it after all.

This means that the pregnancy would be absolutely intentional. Jack and Alice would've been trying to make a baby, and having quite a bit of fun doing it I'd wager.

On that note, I'm going to give a heads up that this post will have some Adults Only NSFW headcanons, because pregnancy hormones can make a person very horny. Not to mention the act of making a baby and breeding kink will probably come up while I'm on the topic.

Also, I'm just going to go ahead and plug the SnaccPop Patreon since your first question about Jack's reaction to Alice being pregnant has reminded me of a beautiful classic piece of art posted by Sauce on their now gone twitter. Credit, as always goes to them for their gorgeous art. Remember, always credit the artists generous enough to allow such a thing with their publicly posted art, and don't redistribute anything that was posted privately on patreon.

When Alice and Jack officially start trying for a baby, I can just imagine him looking at her like this in the afterglow of their lovemaking and in the calm after he gets the news that she's pregnant. He just has that that dreamy, happy expression where he can't help but bask in her glow as they lie in bed together, thinking how lucky he is that she not only found and saved him, but that she loves him enough to want to build a future with him and carry his child. More than a few nights would be spent with the two of them just cuddling in bed together and talking about their hopes and dreams for their future together.

Of course, once they do decide to try for a baby, ever helpful Jack will make sure to learn all he can about the best techniques and positions to ensure that he'll get Alice pregnant. It won't take long for it to happen once they make the conscious decision to have a baby, but you know this horny clown, he's going to indulge in breeding kink fantasies and his sunshine is going to need him to carry her around after how much of a pounding her pelvis is going to take from being filled with so much of his love.

In fact, why don't I write out a little example of the baby making process~?

...

Full. Alice had never felt so full before. She was overflowing, wetness spilling out and making such obscene noises as Jack kept pounding into her. He could get so deep inside her when he had her legs bent back until they rested on his shoulders, and whatever little space left was filled with his love.

How many times had Jack cum inside her? How many times had he made her cum? Alice lost track long ago. She barely had a sense that their bedroom still existed from the soaked sheets clinging to her back and the creaking of the mattress that accompanied each deep thrust.

“That’s it, sunshine,” Jack cooed, his normally smooth voice rough and breathless. Somehow he never ran out of sweet words to say, though sometimes it came out as incoherent mumbles or strained from pleasure. “You’re doing so good for me… Just a little more… I know you can take just a little bit more. We want to make sure you get pregnant right away, don’t we?” 

“Jack…,” Alice moaned in return. She could feel yet another orgasm creeping up on her, but she was too exhausted to chase after it, letting Jack draw her closer to it. She barely had the energy left to hold on as she let him take total control, moving their bodies together in a steady, relentless rhythm that he disrupted only to create an added jolt of pleasure that left her keening.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” Jack said as he admired the way Alice writhed underneath him. Her soft pale skin was flushed and sweaty, peppered with countless kiss and bite marks where he used his mouth to show his love for her with more than just words. Her pretty blue eyes barely managed to meet his, fogged by the pleasure he overwhelmed her with. “Alice… sunshine… You’re going to be even more beautiful with our baby inside you. I can’t wait to see you so filled with my love.” He bent down to kiss her lips. “You’re going to be such a wonderful mother, Alice… I love you so much.”

Alice vaguely felt like she should say something, but she had no idea what. She could barely register all the sweet words Jack showered her with, but his voice and the way he spoke with such love and reverence resonated through her, adding to the pleasure. She could barely babble out his name, broken up by moans and whimpers before it turned into the most obscene shriek as he once more sent her over the edge.

Jack didn’t last much longer as he felt the rush of her ecstasy wash over him combined with the way Alice squeezed him, milking him for every drop of cum despite how much already overflowed. He reveled in the feelings, the way she couldn’t never seem to get enough of him and his love, and the endless love and need she had for him. He couldn’t ask for more than this bliss, but he knew that soon their love would only grow deeper and richer when their efforts finally bore fruit.

...

What? That was just a blatant excuse to indulge in some OTP smut, you say?

...Well, anyway!

Alice would be periodically taking pregnancy tests. Since Jack is a house husband, he'd be waiting alongside her for the results to come back on the home tester. He might even be even more anxious than her about the process, being a little too helpful perhaps.

No, Jack, Alice doesn't need your help to pee on a stick. She can handle that part on her own just fine.

Well, maybe not that helpful, but you get what I mean. I'm not interested in adding watersports to my personal headcanon kinks. ;P

When the tester shows a positive reading, Alice won't be able to speak, just let out a thin squeak, covering her mouth as tears come to her eyes. However, the way she would be radiating joy, excitement, and a little bit of fear would speak a thousand words even before Jack would see the reading for himself.

Naturally, Jack is ecstatic. This is proof, absolute proof that he's real. He always knew that he was real, but when the world keeps insisting something about you, a part of you feels doubt in spite of yourself.

Before Alice knows what's happening, she's swept up in Jack's arms, getting showered with kisses and loving words of praise. His happiness can't be contained, and he's babbling now, only interrupted when she muffles his mouth with hers.

Naturally, this leads to lovemaking. Sure, they already reached their goal, but who doesn't love a good victory lap, am I right?

As I mentioned in the previous happy pregnancy headcanon post, Jack's supernatural nature does play a part in influencing the baby making process. It's a little more demanding on Alice's body than a normal pregnancy, requiring her to sleep and eat more.

Jack is full house husband throughout the process. Cravings? He's on it. If they don't have what Alice is craving, he'll go get it. Don't ask how, he'll find a way. Maybe he'll get some the same way he got those blueberries?

Speaking of which, it feels fitting that a lot of her cravings wind up being for Jack's special blueberry pancakes. Maybe it's just because he's so good at making them, maybe it's the way he makes them with so much love, but Alice takes great pleasure in eating them often. Fortunately, he's only too happy to make them for her even in the middle of the night.

Morning sickness and other such taxing ill effects Alice has to face are going to be hard, but she's fortunately got a high pain threshold and is used to getting sick. Her chronic illness is being treated with medication, but she's had enough flare ups that she can handle the mental toll of needing to rest up more. Besides, she's got Jack to serve her every need with a smile.

There would be a lot of intimate moments between the two during the pregnancy where they just cuddle. Alice's love language is primarily physical touch, and with her feeling under the weather and her hormones going nuts, she's especially clingy to Jack during her pregnancy. It's a side-effect that Jack is certainly not going to complain about, especially when it makes her horny and needy for more of his love in all senses of the word.

Of course it's not just Jack and Alice who are going to be involved with the events of the pregnancy. I mentioned before how Shaun is going to be helping out and being a good friend to both of them, as well as how broken hearted Ian will be over it. Alice's family is also going to help out. Just like with Shaun, she told her family about Jack and his situation.

While I'm still building the rest of the King family, including names and number, Jack is going to have a few interesting interactions with his mother-in-law popping by at random to help Alice out. There might even be some playful rivalry between them for who can help Alice out first and faster until she tells them to knock it off.

Alice's mom may or may not have threatened Jack similarly to how Shaun did when they first met to make sure he knows that he won't get away unscathed if he hurts Alice. Can you blame her though? Ian really broke Alice's heart pretty badly and this mama bear has teeth.

Being the oldest child, Alice might be the first among her siblings to have kids, so that would make her family especially eager for the new grandbaby.

Then again, the second oldest sibling might wind up beating her to the punch there given the horndog wanting to make litters of puppies with her sister Barbie...

Either way, Alice is going to have a lot of support through her pregnancy. Jack is also going to get the pleasure of having more than just his sunshine to acknowledge him as the father, even if they can't see/hear/touch him. It's more things to make him feel real.

There'll be the typical pregnancy milestones of course. Going to the doctor to hear the baby's heartbeat, ultrasounds, finding out the baby's gender, etc. Jack goes to every single doctor's appointment with Alice, of course. The good thing about no one being able to see him is that no one can tell him to leave the room, so she gets the assurance of his company as much as she wants.

Naturally, Jack is going to get pretty emotional hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time, and seeing the ultrasound, feeling the baby kick for the first time... and the hundredth time really.

Jack is good with kids, even when they're technically not born yet. He has this knack of helping their little sunflower calm down so Alice can get some rest. He has little "dad' talks with the baby, and Alice just can't help but find it absolutely precious how much he dotes on her and the baby.

You know, that inspires me to write out another short and sweet scene between Jack and Alice, though this one is a bit less smutty and a lot more wholesome.

...

“Now, now, it’s time for bed, sunflower,” Jack chided the squirming baby bump playfully, adding to the bit by wagging his finger as he bent down close to Alice. “Your mommy needs her rest, and so do you.” With that, he pressed a soft kiss on her swollen belly... only to be kicked lightly in the mouth by tiny feet.

Alice couldn’t help but giggle, though she at least pretended to stifle it behind her hand. “I think the baby just told you off, daddy.”

Jack chuckled along with her as he rubbed where their baby kicked him. It didn’t hurt even a little bit, but it was hard for him not to marvel at the little miracle growing inside of Alice.

He didn’t mind his sunshine’s new nickname for him either. Maybe he could convince her to use it again later during an even more intimate moment.

Jack grinned widely, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “I guess I should’ve been prepared for our rambunctious little sunflower to resist a-rest.”

The sudden pun caught Alice off guard, but she stifled the urge to laugh with a snort, even when Jack pulled a silly face at her to go with it, waggling his eyebrows as he stuck out his tongue. “R-really, Jack?”

Jack feigned innocence. “What? I’ve got to practice my dad jokes before the baby is born, you know.” He winked playfully. “Don’t want to let my son down at the end of the day, do I?”

Alice schooled her expression and was about to give a wry retort when a thought suddenly struck her. “Wait a… Was that another pun?!”

Jack couldn’t hold back his laughter. “I knew I could count on you to shine a light on my jokes, sunshine.”

Though Alice tried to hold back with a mock disapproving frown, she couldn’t stop herself from eventually giving in, falling into a fit of giggles along with her beloved clown.

...

Of course, Alice will pretend to groan whenever Jack drops a dad joke. This clown now has even more of an excuse to make goofy jokes and puns, though Alice appreciates them even if some of them are pretty cheesy. She appreciates his laugh even more and just how much he lights up her life.

During the ninth month, Jack is practically carrying Alice everywhere. It's the harshest month on her body. She's ready to pop and she wants this baby out already.

When her water finally breaks, Jack is ready to move. He's got stuff packed and ready to go. This time he's not waiting for Shaun or someone else to give them a ride to the doctor. He's driving even if no one sees him. Woe be it to anyone that even thinks of trying to get in his way.

I wonder if Jack being a ghost(?) with connections to media and thus electronics might be able to use his power to interfere with radar guns tracking for speeding cars. Imagine a driverless car zipping by in front of a cop car and instead of a number flashing on the screen it just reads, "DON'T" or something spooky like that.

Hmm... Maybe I should expand this idea another time...

Since Jack is able to feel what Alice does to at least some degree, the delivery process is going to be hard on him too. He's going to be a trooper though, focusing on trying to help his sunshine through it and remind her he loves her and the baby so much. He'll there for them both and he'll help them through it just fine.

Pff. As I was thinking about Jack helping Alice keep her breathing steady, I just had this image of the two of them taking parenting classes. You know, where a partner helps the pregnant person with massage techniques and prepares them for the baby. It seems like Alice came alone, so she might get some odd/pitying looks. It might be a good setup for ghost(?) shenanigans. Another idea to expand upon later, perhaps.

When the baby is born, he takes very strongly after Jack - fluffy dark brown hair, mole beside his eye, the shape of his face and nose... The main difference is that their baby boy has Alice's light blue eyes. It fills Jack with a lot of emotions seeing their baby take after him so strongly, looking so much like a mini Joseph.

It's a possibility Jack thought that he was prepared for, but it hits him with all of the emotions when he sees their son for the first time. Tears are shed.

Alice is in no state to talk after what she's just been through, but she reaches out for him, and Jack is quick to promise her he's happy, he really is. Their baby is beautiful, just like her, he says. She still pulls him to her and he practically wraps himself around her and the baby, holding them close and protectively, his family.

Family. Jack never really had family before, but now he does. It's so painfully beautiful, and he is so endlessly grateful to Alice for giving this to him, for giving him her love and so much more.

It's not just the three of them. Alice's parents and siblings would come visit and congratulate the both of them, cooing over the baby. Friends would come too, particularly those Alice trusted enough to introduce them to Jack like Shaun.

In the past, Jack's world always felt so small, so empty and cold... and Alice brought him so much warmth. He's not forgotten. He has a place to belong, a future. He has a legacy that won't be forgotten in the family they now share.

Jack gets to be a husband (even if not legally), a father, an uncle, a son-in-law, a brother-in-law, and a friend. He can never thank Alice enough for bringing so much sunshine into his life.

Of course, Jack is all over taking care of Alice and their son after she gives birth. He helps her through post-partem and how hard it was on her body. When the baby cries at night, he's on it, making sure that diapers are changed and that the baby latches well for feeding.

Alice feels a little spoiled by Jack doting on her, though she's grateful for it. Jack thinks she deserves to be taken care of, and he's happy to do everything he can for her. She's the one who was doing the hard part after all - making and carrying the baby for 9 months, then constantly producing milk and nursing until their son is eventually weaned.

Though once the baby is weaned, Jack will claim exclusive rights to his sunshine's sweet milk, so Alice is probably going to keep lactating all the way until they have their second child. We are talking about a horny yandere clown who is heavily into body worship after all. He'll be sure to make it well worth her while to indulge him by making it feel as pleasurable as possible.

Alice doesn't mind though. Jack's love and praise can at times be a bit overwhelming, but at the same time she can't get enough of him.

Alice wants to have a large family, and that stays true even after going through the harshness of pregnancy and giving birth. Jack is totally on board with that plan and will help her every step of the way as they grow their loving family together.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

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