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#so when he tries succeeds and someone actually notices it. praises him for it???
maegalkarven · 6 months
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The reason why Atrox and Glasya are on somewhat better-ish scale of warlock and fiend patron is because Atrox always behaves like he's performing in a show. He needs an audience at all times.
And Glasya is just there, chilling in his mind. Sometimes she even applauds when it's something she approves of.
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brights-place · 5 months
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Floyd dating an S/O that can't speak English
Pairings: Floyd X Reader
Warnings: Floyd being an cutie patootie, Fluff
A/N: As an Person who can't speak english properly or that well I find this request so lovely! THIS IS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO'S ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE >:))
- The first time Floyd saw you he stood still and stared in awe like a deer caught in headlights - He wanted to talk to you then and there so he did he stuttered but loved how you smiled but when he noticed your accent he melted into putty
- Floyd loves you so much its well known that he does - He helps you practice English whenever he gets the free time, only if you actively wanna improve, he doesn’t mind otherwise
- Floyd makes sure that you are respected by everyone and if someone points out your accent he smiles while you tell them your from (Your country)
- He loves how you are always smiling when people ask about yourself and your culture along with your genre of music since you were also an troll
- He loves it whenever you sing in your language either in front of the others, or even just by yourself in your room when you think no one is listening to you.( Not that he will ever tell you he dose)
-The thing is that when people of the same culture/ethnicity meet it’s an automatic click and bond so when he see's you chatting with trolls who are the same culture/ethnicity as you he can't help but be happy
- He tries to learn your language which he succeeds in and would see you blush when he calls you "My Love"
- Learns about your culture and tries to make you feel like your at home - The way your heart did a double back flip and a barrel roll when he spoke in your home langage as you got all excited and giddy squealing - He loves how you start to praise him whenever he learns a new word which ends up with you two making out after a bit when he speaks in your mother tongue
- He LOVES IT! WHEN YOUR COOKING! he will tell you directly how much he loves it and hopes you would make more which you do
- When you struggle to speak english he makes sure to hold your hand and smile up at you
- He loves your accent and how you sound so angelic to him
- He likes leave light kisses and kissed all over your face. Your forehead, cheeks, nose, anywhere accessible to him he would kiss smiling while you laugh and try to stop him but he couldn't help but giggle -I swear he just zones out on you. Like he’s just hypnotized by you and all he’s thinking "Fuck i'm so lucky..."
- When you ever get mad he can't help but blush and cover his face with his hand. You switching languages makes him squeal but he also knows when your on the phone speaking to another language he knows that it was to let others around you know that your conversation was not for them.
- When you get mad and are close to ripping someones lungs out floyd has to stop you but sometimes he stays back watching you in awe
- You cursing in your home language and insulting someone he can't help but smile at how gorgeous you looked to him but to others they have fear in their eyes
- But whenever you two fight which is never ever happening unless your in an very bad mood and notice the mess in your house when he had his brothers over
- Like when he see's you fighting with someone he can't help but be smile softly when your yelling at him he would be worried trying to understand you but soon he smiles more and moves closer towards your pissed off expression "Your Beautiful when your mad" floyd said as you blushed
- he made sure to tell his brothers not to cause an mess next time coming over.
- Loves it whenever you come to his defense and cuss whoever is bothering him or making him uncomfortable - You have cussed out john dory face to face for what he had did to floyd in the past and - It warms is heart seeing you do that. You’re actually defending. He covered his face whenever you ask him if he’s OK since he’s blushing under the covered up part of his face with his hand.
reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
©brights-place 2024 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact!
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mxsinizter · 1 year
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Cursing Swiss with hardly sensitive, inverted nipples. He gets frustrated that they don't get big, hard, and pretty like Rain's. Sometimes doesn't even bother to play with them cause it takes too long just to get them slightly stiff and/or cause they go soft very quick. Gets really embarrassed when someone tries to get them hard and it doesn't work even if he's all ready to go. Some of the ghouls like the challenge every now and then. Especially Cirrus and Mountain. They'll take as long as they need to get them all pretty and pebble-y and tease him while they're at it - saying he's that desperate for them that his nipples actually stiffened for once, throw in some degradation y'know? Gets whiplash when it turns to praise for letting them try and for being such a good, patient boy. He's noticed they do get nicely semi stiff occasionally with a soft cold breeze, so of course, Cirrus loves using her element on him. If or when they succeed, they'll make sure his nipples stay hard for as long as possible so Swiss can bask in the extra pleasure that feeling provides <3
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kissettka · 2 years
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ok, i want to show you some of my romantic or whatever headcanons about starscream. why? bc why not?
starscream really likes positive attention to himself, and compliments and so on. so if you give him attention, praise and support, he will quickly notice you. at first, he will behave like a grumpy birdie, because he will think that you are mocking him, but then when he realizes that you really and sincerely want him to feel better, he will change his attitude towards you.
starscream will not be completely open with you and he will not fully trust you at first. to prove that you really don't wish to harm him will take a lot of time. he will be afraid of your touches, afraid to tell his secrets and his attitude to the people around him, discuss his problems.
when starscream realizes that you are a good person and you want to be his friend (or maybe more), then he will get close to you. he still cannot believe that he is not being used, that he is important to you and you are not bullying him, he thinks that this is all a strange dream at first.
starscream will begin to open up to you and he would need your support and your compliments. of course, he will pretend that he does not need it and knows everything himself, but in fact it is very important to him.
sometimes, the things you say to him will break him. and this is obvious, because before he had never heard something so good about himself. "you will succeed", "i won't leave you", "you're great, i'm proud of you", "i like you the way you are", "i'm very lucky to have you". starscream will pretend that he knows he is, but when he is alone he will surely shed a tear at the realization that he was really told this.
‌i think we all understand that starscream will be very jealous as fuck. are you showing attention to someone else? you tell him that someone is cool?? some dirty asshole asked you out on a date??? oh, don't think he'll be okay with this. he just found someone who is really nice to him and now someone is taking you away from him?????? he will be angry, but will never admit that he is jealous. he will more or less stop being angry when you explain to him that he is very important to you and you will not stop being his friend under any circumstances.
when starscream begins to fall in love with you, he tries to find out everything about you, so later he would try to please you somehow or just for your praise. he loves to give you gifts and surprises, because he likes to watch you smile and thank him. he wants to spend time with you all the time because he feels so freaking happy. so calm. so quiet. so comfortable.
when starscream realizes that he is in love with you, he will immediately realize that he wants your love too. he wants you to love him with all your heart, always be there for him and be faithful to him. he will fall into daydreaming, imagining how you stroke his helmet and say how much you love him.
starscream will be very afraid to tell you about his true feelings, because he is afraid of being rejected or of being so disgusting that much so you decide to leave him. he will hint very badly, try to arrange a date with you or try to change something in himself to please you more. moreover, when you notice these things, he will shrug it off and come up with excuses to make you sure that he is act like usual. later he will regret that he did not tell the truth then.
but at some moment, starscream will get tired of all this chasing and hiding. then somehow he will try to confess. this will be very embarrassing and he will quickly shout to you: "i really, really like you and i want to always be with you!!!" after this akward moment he will try to apologise and he will starting to think what a actual fool he is and how he shouldn't have said it. how could he believe that someone could love him? what a jerk.
starscream will absolutely not be ready for the possibility that his feelings are mutual. so when you say it he will think it's either a dream or a joke. he will be shocked when you start telling him that you really like him and you love him as fuck, that you also want to be here for him and love him. when you're done, he'll ask if you're kidding and when you say "no, i really love you so much", he'll burst into tears. he will be so happy that he will not be able to control himself. he will surely hug you tightly and say how grateful he is to allspark for the fact that his desire to be loved came true.
after that, you will start dating. he will look like a cat who didn’t love you from beginning, but then imbued with you and now he is sitting on your chest in a loaf position and licking your nose, purring loudly. starscream will treat you like royalty. no one dares to offend you! he will gnaw through the spark to anyone who dares to offend you, even megatron will not dare.
when you take care of him (heal him after a battle or support him after a difficult situation) he will quickly sink into stasis of satisfaction. and he will smile in his sleep.
he really likes it when you sleep on his chest. commander loves to watch you sleep.
he will be embarrassed like at the first time every time you tell him that you love him. especially on people.
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dropsofletters · 3 years
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runaway silhouette [jjh]
—summary: no one asks about that polaroid picture of a woman yoonoh keeps in the depths of his wallet.
lace, measurements, models—jung yoonoh has worked for the world of fashion for a little too long, but he’s as unknown as the person next door. with his inspiration dying down and his designs getting cheaper by the day, yoonoh has changed his ways. no longer is he the best lingerie designer in ‘silhouette’, the company he works for, neither is he the playboy he used to be and the dulcet-mouthed man that got his way through success.
bad luck has settled in his life, much like it has done on hers. the manager of a hotel that slipped his fingertips when one night she denied him all—the world, her hold, her smile, and just left him with a picture on his wallet.
only when he has to prepare one of the biggest fashion showcases of his life does he meet her again, and he realizes things could never be easy between them.
why is he, a man of fashion, infatuated with such a lovesick, monotone, blazer-sporting hotel manager? no one will ever know.
a runaway has captured him, and he’s not sure how to get his heart back.
maybe, he should start by forgetting that night.
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—title: runaway silhouette  —pairing: jung yoonoh x reader  —genre: lingerie designer!au ; hotel manager!au ; strangers to lovers to enemies!au ; slowburn!au ; slice of life!au  —type: fluff ; angst ; humor ; drama ; suggestive —word count: 19,326 (i said slowburn and i meant it) —warnings: mentions of sex (the act is never on paper or narrative)
Jung Yoonoh is dressed to succeed.
With folded white sleeves and a black vest that becomes a second skin, he merges into the office like it belongs to him. It might, at some point in time; an associate after a few years and then, onto another business that was his own—vision, designs, everything. That’s the plan. His suitcase hangs, paces back and forth in the hook of his fist while all eyes cast on him while walking through the cubicles.
Today, Yoonoh is becoming the one in charge.
Silhouette is the lingerie line everyone wants to have cladding their skin. Expensive, intricate and elegant. It’s one of those things people put on when they need to feel their best while also being comfortable. Garments that enamor the buyer and the people who see them. His home for the past two years, Yoonoh has broken his ass to get to the manager position in the design department.
When settling his suitcase on his cubicle, he shares a smile with his neighbor. Johnny, part of the social media team, with his long-curled hair framing his rounded face. Fixing the collar of his shirt, Johnny interrupts him to say.
“Big day today, aye?”
Redemption, he likes to call this day. The payment for the parties he didn’t go to and the obnoxious nagging he stood from his boss, Mrs. Kang. This tall woman with atrocious so-last-season fluffed out coats in bright pink who screams at the mere sight of beige underwear. As she says, it’s tacky and simple, the kind of clothing you’d want to wear when un-turning someone on.
Yoonoh can’t wait until he can make decisions, organize collections, make bigger and better options for Silhouette to expand.
“You see, John, once I become your boss…I’m making you the leader of the PR and Social Media Team.” This place is a nest of snakes. One bite on his first day and he already became smarter. “Can’t be trusting anyone else with these babies.” With that, he opens his suitcase, sketchbook pressed to his chest just as Johnny claps his hands.
“Better position means better salary.” Johnny conquers, as casual as ever in his baby blue sweater
There are a few rules to Silhouette. To any workplace, really, and Yoonoh thinks about this just as he swings his long legs with Johnny following after him like a dog and his tail.
He had written them down in a portion of his brain that keeps his coffee order and his mom’s birthday. He’ll never forget them.
1)     Never trust nobody—never say where you come from in business, where you’re headed, what your dreams and aspirations are. Copycats exist everywhere, and they’ll do anything to follow your track if you’re doing good.
2)    Say goodbye to friendships but hello to hypocrisy. A smile is needed, but is it real? Not at all.
3)    Differentiate your works from others. Being special is the only way you’ll stand out.
One push of the door spreads a smile on his face, brown hair pushed back to showcase his plush, rosy lips and his gleaming eyes. What’s rule number four, you may ask?
Don’t let them see how tired you are.
Mrs. Kang sits at the very end of the meeting table. Always early, never late. Her face is dense with makeup, each wrinkle becoming more apparent as she applies a third layer of bright pink lipstick. Yoonoh knows Mrs. Kang has been the biggest dictator of all—giving him more work hours, destroying the designs she didn’t like from him, and making him get jittery fingers from how much he had to sew and unsew with the sewing machine to show her what his mind had captured. Now that she had found a way younger boyfriend that is eager to give a trip to the entirety of Asia, he’s over the moon.
Because that means old and grumpy Mrs. Kang will be gone for a while, and whoever becomes manager will be, then, the one in charge.
“Mrs. Kang!” Yoonoh greets in a tone that is much too faux, his dimple becoming apparent by the second. The woman looks up and away from her compact, stopping the conversation he is having with his biggest rival in the office. Not worth even thinking about. “Classic always goes best. You look beautiful today.”
She can barely even move her features in a smile. That’s how obstinate this woman is, but one of her wrinkly hands comes up to hold Yoonoh’s bicep when he leans down to press two kisses on each of her cheeks. The old European greeting. “I know, Yoonoh.” She adds, extending her hand towards him. “May you show me your designs? I got here earlier than expected and I have something to do right now so—”
That makes Yoonoh’s smile falter the slightest, just as he opens his sketchbook and splays it in front of Mrs. Kang. “Well, Mrs. Kang, if you let me have a few of your minutes, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation and a video for the collection I have in mind as my desire to become head of the designing team—”
“Silence, Yoonoh.” Mrs. Kang interrupts, going through his lingerie designs for both men and women. It’s not the kind of job people think about when designing, but there is something about seduction and comfort that just works well for him. “I’m in the midst of planning my engagement and I don’t have the time for whatever extra thing you have in mind.”
The room is silent, but if features could talk, the woman seated next to Mrs. Kang would have burst out in laughter. Siyeon is a 4’11 piece of shit that dared steal one of his designs when in his beginnings in Silhouette.  A fuchsia baby-doll that turned viral in the blink of an eye once it appeared in runways. Comfortable, sexy, with the right number of straps and the comfort of wearing it at any occasion, companion or not.
Yoonoh had left his sketch at his desk, only to find it gone the next morning. Mrs. Kang was over the moon, both from the money she got and about the audacity of the design. Siyeon had turned it in as hers.
No wonder her husband doesn’t stand her. She’s the devil reincarnate, and slips in Johnny’s DM’s every once in a while.
Yoonoh can’t say he doesn’t have some screenshots saved on his phone just in case he needs to blackmail her. This is the kind of man he has become.
“Done before.” Mrs. Kang flips onto another one of his designs. “Done before.” And then, she continues with the rest. “Vulgar. Boring. Ugly. Done before. Jesus, Yoonoh, did you even try to do anything?”
Yoonoh is used to praise. He has got it from women, throughout his time in college and even at his previous jobs. As an intern, he was refreshing and a nice sight in the designer area. Now, he is the floor Mrs. Kang steps on with her Louis Vuitton’s.
“I—” The meeting room is silent, everyone in the designer team trying to peek at his sketches. A short laugh leaves his lips, though awkward in tone. “We’ll compete against brands like Savage with designs like this. They’re brave and fitted and—”
“Boring.” Mrs. Kang completes, and Siyeon actually laughs at that moment, playing with one of her curled bright red strands of hair. “Yoonoh, I’m being serious. If the women you’re sleeping with are wearing lingerie like this…I’m worried about your sexual health.”
More laughter, and his jaw finally tightens. He tries to tell himself to smile, but he doesn’t, instead, snatching the sketchbook from her.
Mrs. Kang notices this, pushing her reading glasses down her nose before sighing. “Yoonoh, you need to learn how to take constructive criticism. You’re not perfect and I’m here to make you grow.” Says the woman that steps on him each time she can. At this point, he’s practically plastered on the floor. “I’m sure you’ll get to divert these boring ideas into something creative once Siyeon becomes the head of the department. You two have been so close since the beginning and I am sure she will work magic on you.”
“No.” Yoonoh shakes his head just as he plasters a faux smile on his features. “Ah, I—Well, I won’t—”
Siyeon stands up from her seat, fixing the sleeves of her white dress before clearing her throat. “I’m glad of getting the position and being the one, remotely, in charge of Silhouette as Mrs. Kang goes find true love.” This is not happening. Yoonoh rubs at his eyes in case he is dreaming. He has been preparing for this presentation for five months— “All I have to say is…I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of everyone here. My team. My heart. I have grown to have a family with you, not because we’re perfect, but because we’re together and…of course, it’s nice to continue down this path.” She hums. “A woman in charge and then, another woman. Isn’t that the whole point of Silhouette?”
His tongue scalds his palette when he takes a seat next to Mrs. Kang, closing his sketchbook with a harsh slap of his hand. Siyeon’s eyes connect to his own, fluttering her dense mascara-coated lashes before sighing.
“I had the pleasure of seeing Yoonoh in his first few days here and he has lost that spark, but I’m sure we’ll find it again.” Oh, everyone gets roses but he gets a few, too. For his social funeral, that is. He really wants to get out of there as soon as possible. “I’m thankful.”
There go the tears, and Siyeon covering her face with her hand, a smile hidden behind the action.
…Has he ever said he hates working in Silhouette?
“You’re going to make me cry, too.” One of the members of the manufacturing team says in between big sobs and Yoonoh can’t help but roll his eyes.
Fuck this place.
After an elongated meeting with tearful hugs and looks thrown his way, Yoonoh is ready to find somewhere else to work in. Keep to himself until he dares get his curriculum somewhere else and stab this company straight in the back. Not because he didn’t get the job…but…
Let’s be honest, it’s because he didn’t get the job and he lost it to Siyeon.
Johnny slips around a few hours later with some cheeseburgers in a plastic bag, dense in cheese and stinking the two conjoined cubicles before he says:
“She’s the devil.”
“An exorcism wouldn’t be enough for her.” Yoonoh replies, tongue itching to say something when he unleashes the cheeseburgers from their confines. He’s only five minutes away from lunchtime, after all. “I can’t believe they gave it to her. Her designs are…I don’t know, like lace over lace. That’s not elegant, that’s not what Silhouette stands for—”
“Here’s the thing,” Johnny says, smacking his lips as he speaks with a mouthful of burger in his mouth. “You never had a chance.”
A pang rests in the pit of his heart when he scoffs. “Yes, I did.”
“No, you don’t.” His friend replies. “Everyone in this office hates you but me. I believe it is a Freudian theory. The Jung Yoonoh Effect.” Voiced out like a movie trailer, Johnny extends one of his hands in the air.
“Sorry for not caring about anything but business. Everyone here are suck-asses and crybabies. Why should I care?”
“Because people feel disconnected to you. They don’t to Siyeon.” Johnny conquers. “The Jung Yoonoh Effect is simple.”
“Stop it. You don’t even know who Freud is.”
“That one psychologist that compared everything to sex. That’s who he is. Hence, why you’re there.”
Yoonoh quirks an eyebrow, playing with a slice of meat that had gotten out of his burger. “What are you even talking about?”
“Interns always thirst over you. At least, five out of every nine people in this office has had a wet dream about you, liked enough of your Instagram pics to look like a freak, or would have your dick in a second if the second step of your effect wouldn’t come around.”
“…I’m not that bad of a guy.”
“But you’re bland. Work. Work. Work.” Johnny moves his hand as if it’s talking. Now he’s playing marionettes. Great. “We’re selling lingerie, and you are always about competition and work. We need you to be passionate.”
“Passionately suck up to people?” Yoonoh shakes his head, huffing in the process. “No thanks, man. I’m not going to lower myself to Siyeon’s standards. Not sure I want to get pink eye from kissing so much ass.”
“Been there, done that.” Johnny sighs, a smile displayed on his features. “I’m just saying, bro. Maybe, change the game—”
Something Yoonoh is…stubborn. He’d die with that title, and it is only enhanced when he feels a long nail tapping on his shoulder, making him turn around. He expects to see one of those interns that try to stumble out words when asking him for his e-mail to send him the summaries or designs they have worked on, but this time around, he is met with Siyeon’s face.
“No eating until lunchtime.” She tuts, shaking her finger in the air.
This means war.
Yoonoh points at the clock on his wrist, showing it to her. Rolex, maybe, he’s spoiling himself with the benefit of showing her he has also earned some money, designs mediocre or not. “It’s already my lunchtime.”
“Not to me.” Siyeon answers, straightening her back. “Maybe, you’d like to listen to me before I kick you out of the team, don’t you, Yoonoh?”
With that, he pushes the burger onto his desk, covering it just as Siyeon smiles.
“Good boy.” She coos, laughing when she turns around and returns to giving a run-around the office.
“That’s it.” Yoonoh whispers, running his hands through his hair, not caring if he messes it up in the process. “I’m designing the best fucking collection one could ever find and showing everyone in this goddamned office that I have talent.”
“Ooh, and where do you think you’ll get inspiration from?” Johnny tries to gossip, and Siyeon’s soft touch for him is shown when she doesn’t even spare him a glance as he munches on his burger.
“I think I have someone in mind.”
###
She’d color-code her life if she could. Hence, it’s still a mess, and while she is as organized as she could be, her mind is still trying to process how to keep the hotel she works in safe and sound and quiet.
One would think that being the manager of a hotel would be easy. A three-star-hotel, no celebrities, no paparazzi’s, definitely not enough rich people who care about their environment. As long as she made it homely, clean, and nice to stay in, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
The problem is…everything is a mess.
For one, her boss, Sachiko, has not appeared in the last two days into the hotel. None of her well-prepared summaries, in Times New Roman twelve, with enough punctuation to make it look like a contract, have been read. The maids keep talking amongst themselves, gossiping instead of cleaning. They got a bad review on their restaurant because the head of the cooking team had decided to shout to one of the clients about how ‘they didn’t have an ounce of taste’ because they disliked the taste of his Ratatouille and oh, how to forget? The fact that her duties as a manager transcend to something else.
She rushes through the kitchen, heat and smoke accompanied by the sizzling of veggies and meat. She doesn’t care that there are flames around her, or that she bumps into one of the cooks in the process.
Sachiko has a mini version of herself, gift of a getaway with her ex-husband to try to make her marriage work. Then, came the five-year-old that had slipped her hold as she was attending one of the residents in their hotel at the entrance, granting them information about the type of rooms they offered. Erika, in all her round-faced glory with grabby hands and too much energy, had slipped from her line of sight and her hold.
She has roamed the entire hotel and she can’t find her.
Oh, then, she should change her statement that she hasn’t seen Sachiko in two days. She has. Sachiko’s heels have clicked against the tiles of this hotel. Only to leave Erika with her, spitting out excuses about having to get on another meeting for the expansion of the hotel, before she’s off the hook of being a full-time mother.
She doesn’t even get more payment for this.
“Have you seen Erika?!” She asks out loud, voice strained from so much shouting, only to watch the head chef speak, his moustache moving with each word he says.
“Oh, little Erika?” Well, seems like he has a soft spot for someone. His eyes glimmer, just as he wraps his hand around his mouth, as if to utter a secret. “She’s in one of the tables. She asked for two milkshakes already. Oreo milkshakes. She’s starting to jitter.”
“Mr. Oh!” She whines, throwing her head back with a groan before splaying her hands on her hips. Navy blue uniform as a simple suit giving her the most boring yet comforting outfit she could come up with. “I am the one that has to get her to sleep, and if she has sugar before bed, she won’t even close an eye—���
Mr. Oh shrugs. “What am I supposed to say? She’s my boss’ daughter.”
“I am your boss as well.”
“You’re getting me fired?”
She can’t even answer to him, hearing the Baby Shark song spoken at the top of someone’s little lungs. Her feet are rushing out of the kitchen by the time she notices it, blazer opening up when she gets to the table Erika is in. Red walls and marble tables don’t scare her, playing with the straw of her drink and grabbing someone’s phone to listen to that fucking song again.
“Erika…” She tuts, voice stern, hands spread out on her knees. This cardio routine has been enough to make her burn all she has eaten this month. The little girl’s short hair caresses her cheeks when she turns towards her, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Yes?”
“Let’s go to your room and wait for mommy to get here.”
“Nope.”
“Yes, Erika. I am not playing.” Her voice levels itself, only to have Erika staring back at her. Big brown eyes blinking, playing with the edge of her pretty pink dress before sighing.
“But you won’t let me…let me watch my shows.” She takes in a breath, shuddering it out as a pout splays on her lips. “Y—You…mommy said you’d be with me, but you aren’t with me at all—”
Tears wield her eyes and she has to rush to cage her in her hold, hoisting her up before a big wail left her lips and she lost her job. “I’m sorry, Erika. I’ve been so busy, I hadn’t realized.” She mumbles out, pressing her cheek to the top of her head before sighing. “Do you want to give a walk around the hotel and go back to your room to watch as many shows as you want?”
She has to play good cards here. She’s not raising this child, after all, so if the long hours of TV-watching make her turn out bad when she’s a teen…that’s not her business.
Erika nods continuously, engulfing her arms around her shoulders. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
At least, she has found Erika before Sachiko arrives the next morning, but her body practically glues itself to the floor in tiredness by the time she slips out of the restaurant.
The best part of being a manager is when she gets back home.
###
“So, you’re saying you practically lost your job?”
Yoonoh’s life revolves one thing. Those four walls of his cubicles, the connections he has gotten from his workplace and his elongated list of explanations that always go unheard. In any other occasion, he would have been delighted of being given the benefit of lying. Casual relationships are more of his thing and explaining his every insecurity, recollection of time or worry isn’t part of the plan. Carnalities? Sure thing.
A hook-up turned friend with benefits pushing him by the chest and practically gasping when he sighs? He didn’t think it’d end this way.
“Mia,” His voice rasps out, leaning back on his calves while hovering over her. Her bed is as pristine as always, the rosy satin sheets from last week turned into beige, deep fibers that do sound too elegant for them to do whatever they are thinking of in the bed. “I didn’t lose my job, I just didn’t become the head of my department, okay?”
He’s trying to spell it out, but the model is just as confused. Mia had modelled for Silhouette a bunch of times in the last two years, and that’s how he met her. Fitting one of his designs to her will had led him to be asked out on a date and then, the contract came about. Just sex, nothing more.
Mia scrambles away from underneath him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as if repulsed. As if she had kissed an ogre itself. “Yoonoh, you’re practically jobless—!”
“I am not.” He sighs out, trying his hardest to concentrate on anything around the room. The tall ceilings, the conversation at hand, anything but the obvious problem in his boxers right now. “I swear, I will just be working for Siyeon but it’s for a period of time. I’m sure I’ll get her position soon enough.”
“Oh my God,” Mia pushes her long brown hair away from her shoulders, widening those innocent eyes of hers, sharp cheekbones lifting in distaste—not even a smile of comprehension. “I can’t believe I almost slept with a good for nothing. You told me you’d get that job and now you didn’t?”
“A good for nothing?” Yoonoh stands up from that bed, hands on his hips when Mia nods, once and then twice.
“Your dick is good, but not that good.”
Is this the day Yoonoh’s ego gets bruised to shattered little pieces that poke at his feet like glass? Perhaps.
Is this the day Yoonoh lets that pang of pain in his chest become visible? Not at all.
“Were you just with me because I was probably going to be a manager?”
“Silhouette is—listen, they are established, but it’s not what I had in mind.” Mia puts on her robe, covering her Goddess-crafted body before picking up a glass of the wine they had been sharing. “If you became manager, I’d have more connections with other teams. I would probably be in better runways and—”
“I’m not your manager or your little linking buddy, Mia.” Yoonoh complains, chest flushed when he seethes, pushing the strands of his dark hair away from his face. “We’re just having fun. I wasn’t going to bring you as my plus one when we had already established—”
“I don’t know if you notice,” She starts, licking her lips in elegance. “But you’re…you’re going to end up alone, Yoonoh. All you do is work, you’re always tense and silent and…a little bit boring, if I’m being honest. I am definitely the closest thing you’ll ever have to a relationship.”
Oh, no. That’s the thing he hates the most. How the world has been divided in romanticists and hard-workers. You’re one of the other, can’t ever be both, and sometimes, he feeds into that stereotype. He knows he doesn’t have time to fully sit down and talk to someone about his interests, let his heart be wandered about like a museum, but somehow…hearing anyone tell him that he’s tense, silent, boring…doesn’t sit well with him.
He shrugs, eager to poke just like done to him. “Good thing I never wanted a relationship with you to start with.”
Mia gasps at that, plush lips parted before she’s opening the window of her one-floor home. Elegant, but still not the grandest thing out there. “Oh, is that so?”
“You happen to be presumptuous, superficial and now, a complete opportunist—” He says, walking behind her until she turns around, her robe falling off one shoulder when she points at the window, crisp air whisking the tension around.
“Then, leave.”
“Okay.” He’s about to turn around and grab his clothing, when he feels her tugging at his taut forearm.
“Not through the door. You don’t get the benefit to do that.” Once again, Mia is pointing at the window and that catches a chuckle out of Yoonoh, that rises and rises in tone.
“I won’t get out through there.”
“I didn’t ask you. I told you to.” With that, she’s pushing at his chest, trying to get him out as he scrambles to get a hold of her.
“Mia! Are you fucking insane?!”
“Tired of your bullshit, Yoonoh. That’s it.”
Mia is, perhaps, not stronger than him, but for someone who walks on runways…she’s mad strong. Maybe, it’s the necessity to get him out of her home or the flying atrocity of her train of thought that has him stumbling backwards in one of those moments. In just his boxers, the prickling of the grass and the flowers in Mia’s garden caress and poke at his skin, tickling in enormous amounts just as he falls into the most embarrassing position he has been in.
The moonlight seeps over his skin, a groan ripping from the depths of his soul at the ache on his back when he hears the window closing, not without a few words from Mia: “And don’t you dare call me again, asshole.” And maybe, he would have laughed at the stupidity of the statement, because throwing someone out of a window is definitely not a reason to call someone back, but now, he’s much too surprised and in pain.
### 
She wishes she was back to being a kid.
It’s a thought she has when the days are tough and uncertainty fills her, like a vase that is neither half full or half empty, but just stuck. In this town, with a job that she had wished for years ago, that takes away every ounce of will and thrive that she ever had. Days are tiring, nights even more so, and sometimes, she wishes the lake would stop being so calm. For it to be some movement, some waves, some dance of life that tells her: ‘this is something new and I give it to you because you deserve it’.
Instead, she’s walking alongside Erika, whose little feet in her elegant tiny boots are kicking a rock on the sidewalk. They had decided to walk for another block near the hotel, houses scattered in their glow in this enchanting night. It’s a moment of quiet, and she relishes on it, sending a look to the rock and to the little girl, just in case she’s not warm enough or she’s tired.
Oh, how she wishes she was tired.
Erika calls out her name, soft and through a pout, in a way that makes her sound like her age. Very much little a baby. “…Why do…why do girls your age never like boys?”
“What do you mean?” She questions, a smile on her face when sparing Erika a glance. A shrug is given. “I think boys are cool. Not all boys, but some are.”
“Mom doesn’t like my dad, and he’s a boy.” That must be the way she explains her parents’ divorce, but how she’s involved in that? She has no idea. “You…you don’t have a boy. I never hear you talk about boys.”
You see, she hasn’t dated in a while. A while as in…years. Comes to be, building trust into someone after having another person shatter it for you is not only difficult, but somehow near impossible. A plane ticket had said farewell to her in-person relationship and she had embarked in this immense long-distance relationship with too many tears and too much longing. He was distant after a while, and she blamed it on time differences…
Time differences that were proven to be someone else when she called him to tell him she had saved money for seven months just to visit him, only to hear him with another woman.
Another woman who claimed to be his girlfriend of four years.
Not one. Not two. Not three. Not even three and a half. Four.
“I don’t know.” She starts, trying to find the best way to say this. “We don’t always need a boy, Erika. Us girls, we don’t. The only people we need are our family, our friends and ourselves. Princesses can still be pretty and have a lot of people looking up to them without a prince.”
“Like Moana?”
“And Merida.” She completes, a smile on her face when she tugs the little girl up to scoop her in her hold. “Your mom has a hotel and she takes care of it very well without a boy. That doesn’t mean your daddy is not important, but they are happy even when he doesn’t have a girl and she doesn’t have a boy.”
“Then,” Erika plays with the collar of her white button-down. “We all have to be in pairs?” She stops.
“You mean couples?” Erika nods. “Oh no, honey, not all of us have to be in pairs or be part of a couple.” She chuckles at Erika’s innocence. She must be a bit insufferable, but still a kid. With the nightly air blowing at her face, she sighs. “We can all be with anybody, depending on who we like, girls…boys…your mom has told you that, right?”
Humming, Erika opens her mouth to speak up. “Yep.”
“Good girl.” She coos, smiling in the process. “Do you know what decision means?”
“Yes.” Erika conquers. “Carrots or potatoes, like that.”
“Exactly. What you choose is your decision.” She’s trying to make this easy for her. “Your mom doesn’t have to love a man, because that is her decision. As long as she loves herself and you, she’s already complete.”
“And you?” Erika questions.
She hadn’t thought about it in years. It didn’t feel right to be next to someone else, and she doesn’t know if that falls on her a little bit. Loneliness is inherent, this wandering thought that comes to her when she stops and wonders if there is someone out there. Not to complete her, because she’s already full by being on her own, but to support her.
“I am complete, too.” The answer is simple, tucking a strand of Erika’s hair behind her curved little ear. “So are you.”
“I am complete!”
“Yes, you are.”
Something interrupts them just as they pass by a cream-colored house. A groan comes from the flowers planted in the front-yard, and that has her stopping. Flowers don’t talk, obviously, but if someone is hurt—a dog or a human, she has to check.
More groaning and then, she sees a peak of milky skin under the moonlight, paired with tousled black hair. A man is standing in between the bushes, with his lower half thankfully covered by the plants, a short small nose, decently sized lips and a face that speaks anything but a good time.
And he’s half-naked. Only in boxers.
Her hand comes upwards to cover Erika’s eyes just as a loud gasp leaves her lips and she screeches: “Pervert!”
“No, no, no!” The man in question shushes her, lowering his body until even his taut chest and abdomen are covered. His eyes widen comically, and she has to shut her mouth to hear him speak. “I’m not a pervert, I promise! I know this looks wrong but—”
“You’re hiding in the bushes without clothes on, sir. This is definitely something illegal—”
“I was with a woman,” He sends a look towards Erika, levelling his words just because a kid is there, trying to snatch her hand away, but its grip is tight like iron. “And she threw me out because we had a break-up. Kind of. Not serious enough to call it a break up but…my clothes are inside and she won’t let me in. I’ve tried for such a long time. I was hiding until someone passed by but…no one did.”
Still far away from him, she quirks an eyebrow. This relatively, conventionally handsome man had been kicked out by a woman…almost ass-naked?
Talk about an attitude.
“Well, I’ll call someone over to help you out—” She’s about to move again, not completely trusting the man in the bushes when he calls her over with a hiss from his lips. A mix of ‘psst!’ and ‘hey!’ that obnoxiously makes her stop to turn around, still covering Erika’s eyes. “What?”
His eyes glisten when he says: “Help me.” He must be some kind of boss. The stranger says these two words like she has to do it, and she would have turned around again had it not been for those plush lips saying: “Please.”
“What do you want?” She questions, only to have him smiling.
Oh, there is a dimple there. A very profound and albeit, a bit attractive, dimple.
“Clothes.” The stranger adds. “Can you buy me some clothes? I promise I’ll pay you. I just need to get out of here. I think a cockroach bit me in the ass.”
“Language.” She spits out, just as Erika tries to wiggle away from her hold and repeats:
“Ass!”
“Erika!”
“Sorry.” He says again, bringing his hands together in a plea before sighing out: “I need them right now.”
She fixes Erika’s hold around her body, before rolling her eyes hard enough so she cans see the back of her head. “Fine. I’ll find you some clothes.”
###
Erika won’t take care of the family business. She’ll be a stylist, for sure. 
The only thing opened at this hour of the night that doesn’t cost her a big portion of her salary is the thrift store and after endlessly explaining the situation to a very eager Erika, she is watching the little girl moving around the store as if she owns it, grabbing clothes here and there in a hassle.
“Erika, be careful. We can only pick three pieces of clothing!” Not that the teenager by the counter cares, popping his bubblegum in between his thin lips, looking down at his phone and tapping on it with a speed that a piano player would envy.
“We have to make him look cute.” Erika tries to say in her most professional voice, and she has to sigh. She will definitely not become a mother anytime soon.
“Yes, but we also have to make it cheap. I don’t have much money in this suit.”
“Yes, yes.” Somehow, she feels like Erika is not listening, pulling at a t-shirt on a table nearby, only to unfold it and give it to her. Her body is so small that she couldn’t see the imprint on the front. As her babysitter of the night, she expands it over her chest, only to watch something within Erika lighting up. “I like it!”
“Good,” She checks the price after muffling a laugh at the words written at the front. “It’s cheap. We can get it.”
Small steps patter against the tiles of the grand store before she’s tugging at the leg of a pair of pants she found on a rack, too tall for her to grab.
“This, this, this, I want this!”
Those ones are a little bit pricier, but when she gets them out of the rack, a smile finally spreads through her features. She has to get it. “You have a gut for styling, little one.”
Erika straightens her back in pride, fisting her small hands before nodding. “Thank you. Want me to buy one for you?”
She chuckles at her words. Definitely not, but she masks it by saying. “We don’t have enough money tonight. Another time.”
### 
Props to the man whom now she knows is called Jung Yoonoh…he doesn’t look half as bad in those clothes as anyone else would.
The milky way spreads on Erika’s pupils when she leans on the table that she had taken up in the hotel’s restaurant a little bit over an hour ago. Her line of sight is filled with none other than Yoonoh, whom she had practically cried to just to invite him to have dinner with the two of them. Erika has practically eaten her weight in Oreo milkshakes, but she can’t quite say she is not starving by the time she slips into the leather seats and she smells the delicious cooking from the kitchen.
Compare that to the bland sandwich she has in her locker.
The little girl talks even out of her elbows. Yoonoh, however, patiently listens, trying to keep up with the grand story she has for the outfit she had picked for him. That explains why people take second-glances towards him. Not that he is not handsome enough; the lighting at that house his girl had kicked him out of did not do justice to his chiseled, quite carved face, but there is something about his clothing that captures most of the attention.
A pair of pink flip flops that Erika had picked up at last after they both forgot about shoes. Tight red leather pants that showcase the strength and curve of his thighs, quite lean, elongated legs that she had taken a second look at when seeing him out of the bushes with some clothes on. And, how to forget the old, quite used black tank top that reads: ‘With a body like this, who needs a personality?’.
She had laughed when she saw him.
Her fingers dip her fries on some ketchup by the time Yoonoh does so, sparing her a glance over Erika’s shoulder when the little girl says:
“My friend doesn’t need boys.” The girl adds, wrapping her hands around her mouth before saying. “But don’t feel offended, she still finds boys cool.”
“Some of them.” She corrects, connecting her gaze with Yoonoh’s just as the man leans back on his seat, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Oh, words from a broken heart. Who hurt you?” He questions, quirking one of his eyebrows before taking a bite of the fried chicken he had insisted on getting. Something about those brown eyes seem to capture her perfectly, as if reading her like a book…and she doesn’t like it.
“I’m just too busy to care.” Her voice wavers the slightest when letting out her excuse and then, she scoffs. “You know, that happens when you’re the manager of a hotel.”
“Understandable.” Yoonoh nods a few times before that dimple appears again. “Too busy to care or too busy to date?”
Her face burns by the time Yoonoh asks that question, pleased with the way she widens her eyes. “When did we decide to make me the subject of our conversation?”
“You saw me half-naked, I get to know something about you other than the pressed suits and the obvious distrust issues.” Yoonoh’s tone is playful, that smile never erased from his features, while her frown deepens. She can’t say he’s not correct, but he’s also poking at her nerves with his words.
“I don’t have trust issues.”
He hums. “Your first reaction is to say no to everything. You deny every word that is thrown your way.”
“Because I happen to think guys like you just feel like they know it all.” She comments, taking the same position as him while crossing one leg over the other. Erika just looks between the two, trying to understand this conversation to no avail. “You read and read people, but I can read you well, Yoonoh.”
He expands his arms, showing that ridiculous shirt. May be half true, his body is great, and his personality may be a little bit insufferable. “Read me.”
“Bachelor with a good job who has that ‘rise and grind’ mentality. Don’t take relationships seriously. Can’t look past what’s in front of him and oh, trust issues, too.” She relishes on leaning over the table, watching as his eyes concern the rest of her face, taking in her every feature before his gaze delves down to the fold of her shirt, no buttons opened, but he’s trying to see something there.
“You want me to look at what’s in front of me?” He questions. “It’s you. Didn’t know that was your way of flirting with me. Guess I really do have to thank you for the…outfit.”
“And me!” Erika raises her hand, waiving it in the air happily.
His tutting tone changes when smiling at her. “Thank you, Erika.”
“Who hurt you, Jung Yoonoh?” She questions, mocking the tone he had used on her and trying to stop a smile from appearing on her lips. So, playing around with him is fun, as it seems.
He stops for a moment, as if thinking. The curve of his mouth falls down the slightest and she hears a breath-in that she overthinks about, noticing that there is pain in even the brightest of people. Instead, he shrugs. “I haven’t gotten my heart broken.” Yoonoh says, playing with the strands of his hair, curves of his arms contorting. “Want to be the first to break it, sweetheart?”
“You wish.” She scoffs, only to have Yoonoh dipping more of his fries in ketchup.
“You wouldn’t even kill an ant.” Yoonoh swats without importance. “I doubt you’d break my heart.”
“I wouldn’t want to break your heart, and that’s what differentiates us.” She points between them. “Good cop, bad cop.”
“Excuse me.” A tender voice cuts through the air around us, a young-looking guy with innocent features and glasses too big for his face waves a Polaroid camera in his hold when nearing them. “May I take a picture of you? I have a photography project for a class I’m taking in college and I need to take pictures that bring nostalgia and warmth. I happened to think your little family could be the perfect subject.”
Before she could fully deny they are a family, Erika is wrapping both her little arms around their shoulders as she settles at the center of the table, smiling at the camera. “Cheese!”
Two pictures are taken before she could fully bring a smile to her face, her eyes connecting to Yoonoh’s over the table in a look that she can’t quite recognize. His smile has erased but still, he’s the one to take the picture when the college student says:
“One for you, one for me.” He says, bowing slightly. “Thank you.”
With that, he is gone, but the effect of his picture lingers when she realizes where she is. A complete stranger sits at the same table as her, trying to figure each other our while she should have put Erika to bed long ago, continue with her job and not even look to the sides to see whose lives are coexisting while she’s just working.
“Sorry.” She stands up, shaking her head at her own antics. Helped him, she had already done, and now she has no business to sit with him, grab a bite and just pretend that she doesn’t have things to do. Yoonoh looks up from the picture, eyebrows furrowed when she grabs Erika by the arms and hoists her up. “I—I have to work. I don’t…I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t be here with you.”
“Why?” Yoonoh questions, voice softened when she shakes her head.
“I just shouldn’t.” She finishes, not knowing quite well what this feels like. Casually flirting with a man like him means trouble. “Goodbye, Yoonoh.”
She says those words with the harshest weight of the world, turning around and rushing out of the restaurant while Erika screams out Yoonoh’s name in need for more fun in the night. Nonetheless, she feels someone’s eyes trailing after her, but she knows one look over her shoulder would only bring more questions to her head.
What was the universe trying to do when putting him on her road?
###
There is a picture in his wallet that doesn’t even begin to answer the questions roaming his head. As confused as in the beginning, Yoonoh remains.
He doesn’t know why he stares at it after finishing his meal during lunchtime, the office emptied out of people, flicking at the corner of the Polaroid he would not show anyone even if they paid him a billion won. He just wouldn’t. That ridiculous shirt and those obnoxiously tight pants that definitely gave him a carpet burn that he’s still feeling two days later, should have been enough of a reason not to wonder about the sudden change of mind the hotel manager had. 
Maybe, he had offended her. Though, she had kept on playing his game—and he half meant what he said. People like her are easy to read. Definitely an organization freak, perhaps a bit nerdy, with enough worries in her mind to fill an entire book. She wasn’t wrong about his trust issues either, but as he splays his fingertips on top of her placement in the picture, the only one who is not fully smiling, he ponders…
What’s about this girl that has his mind bringing her back all the time?
He closes his wallet just as he opens his sketchbook. A new one, because in his hassle, he had ripped the other that he had filled with all his dreams and hopes. He had crafted bodies, all in different sizes, to design something…and nothing had come to mind, not until he saw her again. That treasure hidden under baggy suits and clothes that he would have never looked at twice if only he hadn’t been captured by the naïve elegance in her face.
His eyes had tried to look, capture a glimpse of the curves around her body, and his imagination gave him more than what he could actually perceive. Yet, it had been enough. Flipping through his color scheme cards, he compares it to the vision he had inside his brain. Conservative, but still enough to feel powerful…
Violet. He doesn’t know why he picks it, but he does.
His fingers can’t stop sketching over the model he has on his sketchbook. He imagines lace and stain, draped thin pieces of clothing over the shoulders. Enough coverage for a one piece…and it comes to him in the form of a muse he would have never imagined. Someone who did not even show him anything, never gave him a chance to talk or fly, because that’s what he had never tried. What Silhouette had never stood for.
The people who are too shy to wear something like what they design.
Attractiveness is a feeling most people should get used to. Being looked at in an adoring light or have a flower thrown their way in the form of a compliment is desired, but has been lost in the eye of lust. Every word of adoration these days has been related to something—the imminent stoppage of the moment for the promise of sex. Never had Yoonoh thought of his designs as something more than a form of self-seduction, with the portrayal of self-love as a higher force for lust, but now, he sees it again.
Lingerie shouldn’t be seducing. It should be a weapon of beauty; a piece of clothing to be taken into consideration, colors that merge well with one’s personality. Not everyone is ready to fully unveil themselves in the light of the sexualized society we live in. Sometimes, people just want to feel nice fabrics against their skin or a glimmer of gorgeousness without showing everything.
The magic of designing is in delicacy.
The ideas come to him then. What was once a two piece for Yoonoh, now is one. What was once see-through, now makes up for riskiness in designs and curves, fabrics added to give more structure, instead of more nudity. Lingerie doesn’t have to be a thin layer of clothing—it can be beautiful, crafted and built.
His e-mail dings with a new entrance, stopping him on his third design as he envisions what must be under that suit—what would fit her and other working people for needing a boost, without actually showing the clothing to anyone but themselves, but soon enough, his face falls at Siyeon’s e-mail.
Subject: The Boss Wants You to Work.
Greetings, my beloved Yoonoh,
Silhouette has been known for its strong stance in the fashion community, and I have been pleased to land a runway show for us in, specifically, twenty-nine (29) days. In light of this, I send you the list of things you have to do:
1)   Design a set for the main male model of the runway, Kim Jungwoo. It has to be a showstopper if you want to keep working with him. I need this to be sent in 6 days.
2)   Find a nice and not as expensive place for the publicity photoshoot to take part on. I don’t want simple. I need ravishing visuals.
3)   Talk to the newbie models and make sure that said day, the stylists don’t screw up.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jeon Siyeon.
Yoonoh rolls his eyes before starting to type a reply. The devil must be in front of her computer.
Subject: [RE]: The Boss Wants You to Work.
Hello,
I had already started working on a female set. I’m a female lingerie designer. I think I am not the one in charge of Jungwoo’s outfit.
Sincerely,
Jung Yoonoh.
The response comes just as he begins scrabbling his ideas into paper once again.
Subject: Who asked?
I want you to work on Jungwoo’s outfit. See if you get better while working on boxers instead of bras.
Not as sincerely,
Jeon Siyeon.
Spreading one hand on top of his sketchbook, he rubs the bridge of his nose before he breathes in deeply. Okay, now it seems like he has to craft something for a model that he doesn’t even know about, as well as finding the place for a photoshoot. An assistant, he seems to be now, and Siyeon’s, nonetheless.
But a place comes to mind, soon enough.
###
Devastation comes short to the wails that leave the kid’s lips. That speaks of pleas and pain.
Over a week of Sachiko coming up with different meetings had led up to an expected, yet somewhat uncalculated, road trip to where she hopes to build her second hotel. That said, she won’t stay for a day or two, but for the entirety of two weeks away from Erika. The daughter that now clings onto Sachiko like a koala, hiding her face in the crook of her neck, black hair matching her own as she cries uncontrollably.
Sachiko is at her apartment’s doorstep, luggage by the side of her elongated legs, as she shushes her daughter with a worried gaze. “You’re going to be okay, baby.” Then, she calls out her name, trying to wipe the tears in her eyes with just one hand. “You’ll be taken care of…and I will be back before you know it.”
“Why do you leave?!” Erika screeches, and Sachiko tries her best to reason with her, but her own whines are stopping her.
So, with her pajamas and tiredness lingering within her, she places a hand on top of Erika’s back. “Because your mom wants you to have a great life, Erika. She wants to buy you all you need and for you to have dreams as big as hers.” Maybe, she won’t get it now, but it’s the best she can do to explain the situation.
It manages to make Erika turn around, blinking her tears onto her cheeks. “I don’t want her to go.”
“We’ll mark the calendar…and she’ll come soon enough.” She whispers out, and it’s at this moment that she regrets saying yes to Sachiko when she asked her to take care of her daughter for a little while longer.
A little while longer shouldn’t mean two weeks.
Still, Erika doesn’t let go of her mom. She’s glued to her.
“I made you some hot chocolate, and I have some pudding that I prepared for me earlier.” Because sugary sweet meals seem to make her feel better in these days of uncertainty. This makes Erika widen her eyes, looking back at her mom before questioning her with a small smile.
“There you go, there’s my smiling baby.” Sachiko finishes, putting her daughter down before looking down at her watch. “My taxi is waiting for me. You can call me tomorrow, Erika, okay?”
“Yes, mommy!” But Erika is already moving towards the kitchen to grab a mug of that sweet, sweet hot chocolate.
She knows sweets are her weak point.
The only weak point she has.
“Make sure she sleeps early, okay?” Sachiko says, and all she can do is nod.
“Sure thing.” I can’t promise a thing, she thinks.
“And that she doesn’t eat too many sweets. I’ll let this one slide.”
“Only veggies.” She says as she grabs her doorframe in between her hold. Only to give her something sweet after she throws the veggies at my face, her mind replies.
“Thank you.” Sachiko adds over her shoulder, a smile to her face. “I know it’s difficult, but I really don’t have any family to take care of her and I really do trust you. I promise to pay you well after all this.”
That’s a nice start.
“Don’t worry. Me and Erika get along well.” That’s not a lie, but taking care of a kid is extremely tiring. “Just get in your taxi. We’ll be fine.”
With that, minutes pass by of complete silence, Erika’s eyes trained on her phone, blasting Peppa Pig, with one or two hiccups escaping here and there as she drinks her first mug of chocolate. She joins her, slicing another bit of cake and shrugging off whatever thought appears inside her brain.
The chocolate merges on the roof of her mouth, warming her to the tip of her toes, each aching muscle after hours of working relaxing, even a bit entranced by the show she’s not watching, but might be brain-washing her just like the rest of the kids.
“Another one, please.” Erika says after finishing her episode, extending her mug of chocolate towards her before she smiles sweetly.
She shakes her head. “Mom said no sweets.”
“Please?” The little girl drags with dulcetness in her tone, but she repeats the previous action.
“Nope.”
Erika places the mug down, head laying low before she repeats: “Chocolate, please!”
“I said nope.”
The kid stops for a moment, thinking as the sound of the dishwasher starting up as she cleans the mugs and the plates, and just then, her small voice is heard again:
“You don’t give me chocolates because you’re sad about Yoonoh?”
That makes her halter all steps. Yoonoh. The man that she had met days ago. Adonis without a shirt on, and then some weird 2011 wannabe that happened to have dinner with her and Erika. The lingering flirtations between the two had not been forgotten, those pair of eyes that somehow seemed to want to strip her of her utmost secrets, only for her to back away.
Yoonoh means trouble.
“I am not sad about Yoonoh.” She adds, turning around with her damp hands ending up over her waist. “Why do you think I’m sad about him?”
“Because he’s your boy!” Erika screeches as if it’s the most obvious thing, and she’s starting to get tired of the kid’s insane romanticism mixed with optimism. Sure, she’s a kid, but Disney should start making less princesses with a prince. “Mommy explained it to me.”
“What did she explain?” Not that she’s understanding a thing, but please, she does need to be enlightened.
“I asked mommy how people acted when they were in pairs.”
“When they are couples.”
“Yep!” The grin on her chubby cheeks is enchanting, but by what she’s saying, she’s about to ask Sachiko to pick her up again. The love talk is not her thing. “And she said boys smile a lot and they speak weirdly, like things I can’t understand.” That is a way to put it. “And the girl looks down a lot…and I don’t remember what else she said, but you did all those things with Yoonoh. He is your boy!”
“Boyfriend, not boy.” She corrects, turning around to continue to wash the dishes. Was he smiling at her? She had seen the dimple, but she hadn’t thought that he had beamed around like a madman. “And he’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have one.”
“But why?” Erika drags her voice.
“We already had the talk of Moana and Merida.”
“I get that. I’m like them. I don’t want to be with boys.” She utters innocently, standing up to tug at her sleeve. “But you are with Yoonoh.”
“Oh, no.” She shakes her head, laughter escaping her lips. “You hit your head, Erika.”
“I didn’t!” The little girl says, scratching her head just in case. “You’re a princess. He’s a prince—”
“Erika!” She stops her, interrupting her with ease before sighing. “I met Yoonoh the day we saw him, and I didn’t like him that way. We aren’t even friends.”
She juts out her lip. “I wasn’t friends with Mina either.” That’s Erika’s best friend from school. “But we became friends in a day. She put a worm in the teacher’s sandwich…” Her voice becomes soft, a blush appearing on her face. “It was awesome.”
“It’s different for adults.” That’s the best way to put it. She shakes the water away from her hands after closing the faucet before patting them dry on a towel. “What would you do if I said I disliked Yoonoh?”
“Nothing.” She adds. “You said you liked cool boys, and he’s a cool boy.”
He’s an overachieving asshole with a nice smile that could potentially enter her heart if she let him, but that should and would never happen. That’s who he is.
“Erika, I’ll tell your mom to ground you if we keep this conversation up.”
That seems to make her stop, grabbing her phone once again—and she knows the password, which is even worse, kids in this generation are geniuses—, before adding: “Does Peppa have a boy?”
“Oh my God, no!”
This will definitely be a long night.
###  
His mind is blank. Absolutely blank. Lingerie for men is even more difficult than lingerie for women. 
Jungwoo gives another walk on the stage, bleached blonde hair barely moving with each step he takes. He’s in the simple designs, the first launch of Silhouette, as bland as bland can get, and while his strut is fine, he can’t think of anything. Nothing that couldn’t be just a simple pair of boxer briefs thrown on a model. He could do that, but that’s so common, so plastered on paper. He wants to do something else, and yet, in the day of the photoshoot, he can’t think of anything.
“Why are you making me do this?” He met Jungwoo a few days ago, and he was actually quite surprised to recognize who he is. A runway model that has been around the world and all over fashion weeks. His dulcet personality and tall frame have gotten him somewhere, that’s for sure. “I should be already in my clothes and ready to take pictures.”
“I have nothing.” In the middle of the hotel’s ballroom, Jungwoo stops walking at the sound of Yoonoh’s voice. The designer looks down at his sketchbook, where he had made the drawing of a body similar to Jungwoo’s and still, nothing came to mind.
“…You have to have something.”
“A pair of black boxers.” He turns the sketchbook around just as Jungwoo slips a robe over his body and ties it securely. “Better than white boxer briefs, sexier, too. All the women I’ve been with likes them.”
“I won’t model that.” Jungwoo conquers, a lightweight laugh following after. “Those look like plain cotton boxers.”
“Well, I just don’t know what to design. Either I make you look tacky or I make you look bland. There is no in-between.”
“That bad?” Jungwoo questions, taking a seat next to him before grabbing a water bottle. “People are going to be here any minute. Everyone has decorated and I’m not sure my manager will be happy to hear that I came here just for nothing.”
A look is spared to the model, with Yoonoh shaking his head softly. He has to think of something. He can’t give Siyeon the benefit of seeing him tuck with a simple design.
His pencil taps against the drawing for a few seconds before he breathes out a few words: “You’re okay with being more covered?”
Conservative and elegant is more of what he has been aspiring for, with that peek of skin that makes the world go around. It’s what he has been drawing these days, but mostly with a muse in mind.
“Sure. I wasn’t over the moon thinking my ass was going to be out in the world.”
Yoonoh chuckles at that, turning the page around from the plain black boxers before sketching something else. “How about a crop top? With a fabric similar to a bralette, and you look better in red than you do in black.” He draws a diagonal line across the ribcage, making slitted long sleeves to showcase pieces of biceps, filling it up with the color red in a quick hassled manner that he will fix later. “Maybe some chains and garments around that wrap up to your waist.”
“I like that.” Jungwoo announces when looking over his shoulder.
“I’ll keep the black boxers. I still think they are classics, and I can talk to the management team to make them more than just cotton.” Yoonoh announces, soon after looking at the picture before clicking his tongue. “I think there’s something lacking.”
“Dunno. You’re the designer, but I’d wear this out of the runway.”
That’s something good, but Yoonoh is thinking of something else. People in real life transcending into their own confident version. That’s what he wants to portray. He draws a suit jacket draped over his shoulders, falling onto his long legs until it reaches midway through his calves, before sketching a pair of pants on the side. Loose, simple, highlighted in the waist.
“We could connect do something like…like suspenders. Office guy turns into midnight God.” Once again, he’s sketching. “You’d wear this, the crop top underneath but I have no idea how you’d show the boxers.”
“Make them low cut.” Jungwoo suggests, eyes trained on his phone momentarily when he crosses one leg over the other. “That way, the boxer’s band will be showing, and it will have Silhouette’s name there. I’d take off the jacket to show the statement piece.”
Yoonoh thinks about it, erasing the line at the waist before drawing the band, and his eyes glimmer at the image underneath him. Not as bad as he imagined it.
“Your ideas are good.”
“Thanks, I’m not just a pretty face.” Jungwoo jokes around, only standing up when the doors of the ballroom come open.
The theme of the photoshoot is simple. A party at the eighties, with beaming colors and disco balls. Darkened walls, confetti, everything has been added to highlight the idea Yoonoh had come up with. Nonetheless, his team is not the one barging in the room when the doors open, instead, he’s met with another darkened suit and a serious face that stares down at her agenda.
“Morning, people. I’m sorry I’m late. I was figuring out an issue at the penthouse, but I am here to help you with any form of decoration or with any question you may have.” The hotel manager stands there. Not that Yoonoh ever pondered they could not meet each other when he had specifically picked her hotel—he had walked through when entering the restaurant, and the three-stars help with the price, but the decorations are immaculate. Architecture its utmost beauty.
Now that he sees her, a smile spreads across his features. Maybe, a bit too soon—in a way that has him pushing it down because it is not possible to get that reaction out of him when it’s not faux. That woman had stood him up without even much of a reason, in the literal sense of the word, took those pretty legs away from the seat and walked away after they had been having fun.
He wore those leather pants. She owed him not leaving him in the middle of a restaurant with her meal and his to pay.
When she looks up at him, a few sentiments flash before her eyes, but he can’t guess any of them. He breathes out her name, capturing her off guard when she questions:
“You remember me?” Her voice is levelled as she moves forward, with a tinge of curiousness.
Yoonoh shrugs his shoulders in his fitted black sweater, paired with dark ripped jeans. “I wasn’t shitfaced. Just half-naked.”
That makes her frown deeply when she looks up at him again. “Don’t you dare say that out loud in front of anyone.” Soon after, she’s talking to Jungwoo. “I—Don’t listen to him. I’m the manager of this hotel and I have no business with this man.”
Jungwoo lifts his hands in the air. “None of my business, but please, do let me hear.”
He doesn’t know why it surprises him that Jungwoo likes gossip. “Why? You’re embarrassed of helping me out?”
“You’re saying it with double intentions.”
Yoonoh chuckles. “I wasn’t intending on anything the night we met.”
“Oh, come on.” She rolls her eyes, making him raise his eyebrows. That cynic voice in her is not something he expected. “We both know what kind of intentions you have with everyone. It seeps from you.”
“Seeps from me?”
“You had no issue going with some stranger after being kicked out of your…your hook up’s house and you were smiling and using those eyes on me and buddy,” She stops, a short laugh leaving her lips. Her index finger extends to point at him. “I’m not a charity case. I’m not in need of a man. I don’t need you to come around and cause me trouble, okay? If you’re here just to tease me instead of letting me do my job, then we’re off to a bad start.”
Offended is short for what he feels. Sure, he may not make a big deal out of hook ups, but it’s not like he’s the easiest man in the world. And if he was, why does she care?
“You’re the one talking about my eyes. I never made eyes at you.”
That makes her stop, holding her agenda to her chest before patting her ponytail in place. “Okay. Fine.”
“You just think you’re so much better than you, don’t you?” Yoonoh spites, crossing his arms across his chest, never once raising his voice.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, yes, you take care of your boss’ child. You’re so sweet and kind. So in synch with yourself you need no one’s company…” He trails off, pointing them out with the sharpness of his words. “That’s fine, but it’s not fine when you point fingers at people for being with other people. The twenty-first century is calling, they are here to say you can show someone your ankles without losing all sense of rightfulness.”
Scoffing, she shakes her head, a sarcastic smile appearing on her features. “Yoonoh, I know men like you.” She starts. The typical stance people have of him. Men like him. “You’re a…around with a bunch of women, and you use your good looks to your advantage, never care about anybody but you, never take anyone out on a date—”
He gets closer at that moment, lowering his eyes onto her lips before connecting them with hers. “…You wanted me to take you out on a date and that’s why you’re mad about me being a thot?”
“No!”
His hand reaches for one of her ears, laughing when he feels the heat. “Your ears are hot. Have something to tell me?”
“Where’s the person in charge of this photoshoot?” She slaps his hand away, turning to Jungwoo who has the biggest grin on his features.
“Oh, it’s him. The asshole Jung Yoonoh.” Jungwoo conquers with a flick of his finger before he expands his hands in front of them. “But please do continue. I love a good drama.”
“You?!” She gasps that word out as if it’s venom, a sharp intake coming after.
“Me.” Yoonoh retorts, a smirk appearing on his face. “And I happen to have lots of questions about this ballroom.”
He doesn’t, but he enjoys his next thirty minutes, trying to get the offense out of his body by having her carrying boxes—not heavy, but definitely bothersome when ordered by him—and giving her his phone number wrongly three times as she finished up the contract and the bill for the rent of the ballroom. Exasperation is short for what she feels, but as she’s working on that bill, he realizes something.
The shirt underneath her suit is a sunshine yellow, and he may change violet from the position of his desired color on her, because yellow makes her beam like never before. It gives her a powerful stance, standing out even in between seas of models posing around.
Though what she thinks of him has been a repetition of what he has heard before, somehow, he cares a little bit more when it comes from the one woman that has inspired him to do better with his designs. Not that she even cares about his position as a designer.
For her, he’s only another asshole who uses people to his will, and that’s only half correct.
###  
“The sexual tension was so thick I had a hard time breathing. Seriously, it was like when I used to steal rated magazines when I was young!”
The maids cheer and giggle to themselves when Blue spits out another version of the story that she and Yoonoh supposedly wrote yesterday afternoon in the ballroom. She has to play with the lettuce of her sandwich, cheek squished against her palm as she watches Erika stare in between the seas of women, following after every reaction even when she doesn’t understand them.
“Blue, don’t say such words in front of Erika.” She tells them, biting on her densely sauce-coated sandwich, before breathing out softly. How could they think of Yoonoh as a dream when he’s obviously a womanizer dressed in sheep’s clothing?
Or the devil. He’s definitely the devil.
“Whatever.” Blue, in her eighties, moves the skirt of her gray uniform before picking up one of the maids. One of the youngest and the tallest, with a long black fringe and moon-bathed features. Chaewon, she thinks her name is. “He told her: ‘Need help with those boxes’?” She lowers her voice to be a faux deep vibrato. “And she said: ‘No, I can do it myself. Thank you.’” That time around, her voice lifts up.
“I don’t speak like that.”
“And then, he retorted by saying: ‘I know, but my arms are waiting to hold something. I think you’d rather it be boxes.’”
More screeches and giggles follow after that statement, and she rolls her eyes because he did say that.
Chaewon ends up being swooped over, rolled around in Blue’s hold before she’s cooing. “I was expecting him to lower her down and give her that kiss that she was definitely asking for with her gaze,” She imitates the actions by looking down at Chaewon. She’s an actress, even at such an old age. “She kept looking at his lips before she cut him off, and you had to say the way his eyes lingered on her…”
“Where was he looking?” One of the maids asks, organizing the towels in their little eating room when Blue lets of Chaewon to let her sit somewhere else.
“He wasn’t looking.” The manager defends, ears heated up…but because of the golden lights here, definitely.
“Everywhere! There was not a portion of her that he simply did not worship with his gaze alone. He wanted to ravish her like—”
More heat, and maybe, summer is coming around earlier than expected. “Blue, stop reading those romance books with naked men on the cover. They’re getting to you.”
Blue laughs at her antics, her curled gray hair jumping around when she takes a seat in front of her. She continues to bite on her sandwich. “Aw, come on, boss. You can’t expect us not to want to see you with that man.” She covers her mouth to lower her voice before whispering: “He’s sexy.”
“Jung Yoonoh is anything but that!” She defends, leaning back on her seat and trashing the last bit that was left of her sandwich. She opens her water bottle and gulps it quickly.
“Look at that heat!” One of the maids adds, and Chaewon nods in return. “How does he look like, Blue? He sounds like a dream.”
“Pecs over pecs over pecs. He had…” The oldest woman curves her hands in the air and the manager has to scoff.
“Stop thirsting over him.”
“His girlfriend over there will get jealous but you had to see that sweater on him. That man is lean and had the sweetest, prince-like face. But not the kind of prince that wants you for his kingdom, having you wearing proper dresses and greeting the crowd.” She stops for a second, thick silence lingering in the air before she adds. “But the kind of prince that sneaks you into the castle to show you ever room—”
“More sexualization, great.” Her knees buckle when she picks Erika up from her spot in between the maids. “I have a meeting with the valet team. You better stop talking about this if you don’t want me to talk with Sachiko about your disrespect towards our clients.”
She opens the door when Erika wraps her arms around her neck, turning around to wave to the maids. “Bye!”
“Bye-bye, honey!” Blue waves back, returning to the crowd to say: “And his hair—”
She has to close the door with a bang as a huff leaves her lips. Everything has been about Jung Yoonoh these days, but what is the sudden obsession to have her paired up with someone who will definitely shatter her to pieces?
Every thought about him shall be erased as soon as possible now that he has finished with his photoshoot. She won’t hear about Jung Yoonoh ever again.
###
“And then, she went on to call me a man-whore or something. Practically drawing me as the biggest scumbag to ever exist.”
It’s way over nine at night when he finally has the time to check over what the manufacturing team had done with the design that he had sketched for Jungwoo. He still needed to take his pictures for the event, asking the graphic design team to help him out with the deadline, but that’s the least of his worries. Johnny is by his side, lost in his phone as he listened to his story, being his support for another all-nighter.
He unfolds the blood red fabric of the crop top and smiles in delight. Fitted, with slits that could pierce well into the subject of edge, and some chains dangling in elegant curves towards the waist, with Swarovski diamonds in between. He continues to look through the pieces, pants and jacket as well, when he hears Johnny speaking up.
“She’s not wrong.” He says, still engraved on his phone. “You’re a bit of an ass and you haven’t been in a serious relationship ever since I met you. Even before that, you have been single and into hook-ups. Why are you bothered?”
“Because I am not like that. I don’t have the time to embark in a relationship, okay?” Yoonoh mutters out, placing the jacket down on the table to look at it more precisely. “She has this…this air of arrogance of thinking she’s better than me. I don’t know, like…she just thinks I am some kind of douchebag that gets to her nerves—”
“Yet, still you sketch her.” That is the moment he hears the pages of his sketchbook being flickered at. Yoonoh widens his eyes, turning around to close it just as he says:
“Let go of that!”
“They’re pretty. Don’t be a nerd about it.” Once again, Johnny has taken the sketchbook, turning around to keep it away from his hold. “Are you into BDSM or something? People talking down on you? Women hating you so badly that they are kinda into you?”
Hate. That word is enormous, and he wouldn’t like to use it when plotting what she feels for him. Strong dislike, let’s go with that. “I’m not.” He denies all allegations. “…You just have to see her.”
“Ass or tits?”
“Not that.” Yoonoh feels his own cheeks heating up as a smile takes over his features. Not that he had gotten to see a lot with how baggy her suits are, but attractive is short for how he would describe her. “It’s in the way she holds herself. She’s the quiet kind of powerful. With everyone, she is kind and understanding, and yet, her action speak louder than she does. She’s independent and doesn’t let anyone else help her, even if she’s over the top with assignments and—”
“And it kind of sounds like you’re paying a little too much attention to her.” Johnny closes the sketchbook at that moment, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. “What’s with you, Yoonoh?”
The man scoffs, shaking his head. “Nothing. Just saying. I’m so angry that she’s like that, I just—”
“No, you’re not angry. Real angry Yoonoh? It’s the kind of Yoonoh we see with Siyeon. Not this one, talking about how he loves someone’s kindness.” His eyes trail over to his sketchbook, then to the design for Jungwoo before he’s ripping one page out and jotting down a message for the manufacturing team. It’s alright, he just wants a few more diamonds. “Come on, man. Talk about it. Mama Seo used to say there are no secrets in this household.”
“What do you want me to say?” Annoyance seeps from his voice when he looks over his shoulder. “Yes, I was interested. Yes, I guess we kind of flirted. Yes, she still ran away and yes, she absolutely despises my guts?”
“…She blew you off.” Johnny says that as if it’s the biggest announcement in the world.
Yoonoh shrugs. “Yeah, so what? It’s not like I asked her or made it known—”
“For the first time in his life, Jung Yoonoh didn’t get blown, he got blown off!”
“Johnny, it’s not funny—”
“I have to see who this woman is.” Johnny gets his phone out of his pocket, opening his Instagram app before he’s lurking for her. “What’s her name?”
Maybe, curiousness got the best of him when he stands behind Johnny, looking over his shoulder when he rasps out her name.
“There we have her.” His friend announces just as he clicks on the first account. “Private. I can’t really see her face in the profile picture.” It’s the silhouette of a woman, most likely her, in a sunset. Her hands are fisted deep in her pockets and she must be looking at the sun. “Should I message her? Something like: ‘Hi, if you don’t want to date Yoonoh, I’m single and the second-best option’?”
He’s joking around, yet, Yoonoh stares longingly at that picture. Something about her is so lukewarm that he finds himself at peace. He has always liked everything scalding hot—his relationships, his hook-ups, his meals, even the days that he spends at the beach, but now, he is interested in silence and tranquilness. In that lukewarm nature that comes within her, never too cold, never too hot.
“No.” His voice sounds unused when he finally speaks up. “Leave her be.”
Johnny’s eyes inspect his features. “Dude…there is really something about her, isn’t it?”
“I’ll never know, I guess.” Yoonoh finalizes, shrugging his shoulders before moving towards the edge of the room and turning off the lights. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”
###
“I won’t take a bath! I don’t want to!”
Five days from Sachiko’s arrival and she already feels like breaking. Breaking down or breaking out of her home, one or the other. Erika screams at the top of her lungs while rushing out of the bathroom, still very much in her pajamas, to sit down in front of her TV and watch another cartoon.
She throws the towel over her shoulder, eyes half-closing from tiredness when she breathes out softly and approaches her again. “Erika, get in the bath. It’ll be quick.”
The little girl shakes her head, hugging her knees to her chest. “I don’t want to.”
“Sometimes, I don’t want to either, but you have to.” She announces, taking a seat next to her to run her fingers through her hair. “Come on, Eri, it’s just a bath.”
“Nope.” The little girl mumbles, growing more annoyed by the second.
“You’ll stink. You don’t want anyone to smell your scent if it’s bad.”
“It’s okay.”
“Someone will come visit us.” She doesn’t know why that’s the first excuse she comes up with. Truth be told, none of her friends live in this city, and her family are nowhere near either. Loneliness is something she is used to, and she doesn’t like being the house’s host all that much, either. “And you really like them, so we need to bathe you before they come.”
Erika raises her eyebrows, a big smile appearing on her face: “Peppa?”
“No, not Peppa.” From the back of her mind, she can’t think of anybody who will come here that Erika really likes. She’s not entirely obsessed with Blue, and the woman is too old to take a taxi here. She is not sure who Erika likes apart from her…and Sachiko is not here. “Ah…” Think, think, think. “Yoonoh, my…uh…my boyfriend. He’s coming over.” 
The title makes her cringe, but Erika stands up in her couch, hair wild and little fists connecting to her shirt when she says: “He’s coming! You didn’t tell me!”
“Oh, I was just waiting for you to take a bath first.” She tries to sound smart, but this is the worst idea she could have. Sure, she saved his number when she was making that bill for the rented ballroom, but that has been about it. Never texted him, never planned to, much less to tell him to come over and pretend to be her boyfriend just so Erika takes a goddamned shower.
“I will! Hurray!” Erika moves away from the couch, rushing over to take off her clothes.
“I’ll go fill up the bathtub in a sec, okay?”
“Yes!”
This is the worst idea she has ever had.
By the time she hears the door to the guest room closing, she sighs deeply, going over to the kitchen to unplug her phone and look down at her contact list. Her heart is racing, eyebrows frowned in worry when she sees it in glimmering lights:
Jung Yoonoh (Never Respond. Not Even If You’re Dying).
She’s not dying, but she definitely feels like it.
Whenever she got a cut as a kid and she put a band-aid on it, she took the band-aid off in one harsh tug. It’d rip some hairs apart, but it wouldn’t hurt—it wouldn’t make her hesitate as much as she did. This is one of those decisions that need to be done that way; as if she’s drunk and she needs to call her ex, or as if buying that dress that she’ll never wear sounds like a good idea today.
The phone rings a few times and she paces back and forth in the kitchen, giving a few puffs out and jumping in place before she hears it.
“Hello?”
His voice is to die for. One of those melodies that anyone wants to hear when they are waking up, mumbling sweet nothings, promising whatever the hell sounds great at the time, and it’s so dangerous that it has her closing her eyes, trying to fight a shiver and not exactly of anxiousness.
“Yoonoh, I need your help.”
A bead of silence follows soon after, and it comes as a surprise when he mumbles her name. She hums in return. “Why are you calling me? How do you have my phone?”
“Don’t ask.” She tells him, about to start her rant when Yoonoh cuts her off with a deep chuckle.
“You stole it from my bill.”
Caught, yet, she places a hand on her waist. “I wanted to save it just in case you decided to call me and make my day more difficult.”
“Oh, if I called you, it’d be to ease any kind of stress.” He purrs out, making her groan out loud when a lighter laugh from him comes about. “What can I help you with, ice princess?”
“Stop it with the names.”
“Boss?”
“I said—”
“Stop it with the names, I know. I will.”
When there is another pause, she knows she can speak, so she does. “…Erika believes we are in a relationship.” He doesn’t scream at the idea or laugh straight at her face, so she sighs. “And she’s also like madly connected to you. Seriously, she never stops talking about you and how you were so cool and whatnot. She only agreed to bathing now that I told her my…” She clears her throat. Shit, this is awkward. “My boyfriend is coming to visit, but you’re my supposed boyfriend and you’re nowhere around. I was wondering if you could come over, I don’t know, for like thirty minutes and then leave, just to fulfill that promise.”
Another elongated silence comes soon after, but it’s followed by a hum from Yoonoh.
“You didn’t say we were friends,” He teases, and she rolls her eyes at his antics. “You still went on with the boyfriend thing. Something you want to tell me?”
“Erika thinks we are together.”
“Erika meaning you.”
“I would personally sew my lips if we were to be in a relationship, Yoonoh.”
He chuckles, though she hears some moving. “Why? You’d want to make out with me so badly that you would want to stop yourself?”
“You wish.”
“Kinda.” Yoonoh confesses and it sounds like a pin falling to the floor. It makes her anxious, because the idea of being trapped in his arms, mouths molding into each other, breaths mixing, tongue intertwining is not so bad when in theory. “So, where do you live?”
“You’re coming?”
“Yeah, but in like forty-five.”
With that, she gives him the address, only to hear Yoonoh breathing into the microphone.
“So, my dear girlfriend, my beloved future wife,” Those dramatics that come with him make her want to slice him in half, but she keeps on just for Erika. “…How long have we been together, exactly?”
“…Since my headaches started coming daily.” She responds, hearing pattering in the hallway. “Call me when you’re here, okay?”
Once she hangs up, she sees Erika ready for a bath by the kitchen’s door, waving her hands in the air.
“Let’s go!”
Kids are nightmares.
###
Epoch hats don’t fit him well, Yoonoh realizes as he sits on a little stool that barely can hold his weight, knees practically touching his chest as he plays tea-house with Erika and her babysitter. Or well, her mom’s worker that happens not to know how to say no.
Erika had gone over the top to make this a grand event, the Peppa Pig plushie he had brought with him when entering the apartment seated in front of Erika, while he stares ahead at the woman that has his mind a complete mess. She is wearing a pair of wings on her shoulders, and her clothing is different, still not letting him see much, but the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants still fit her nicely.
The roles are simple. Erika is the princess, and they are their Aunt and Uncle. Peppa Pig is her sister, and that’s about as much as he knows as he sips on the two-point-five milliliters of water with lemon that Erika dares call tea.
“More tea, please.” Yoonoh says when placing the small cup down and looking at the woman ahead of him. She is the one serving the tea, yet, she quirks an eyebrow at him.
“That’s your fourth cup.” She explains, shaking her head when he tries to reach for the tea. “You’ve already had enough. You’re doing it just to see me serving you.”
“While the sight is adorable, beautiful, this cup is the size of my pinky. I can’t even feel it going down my throat.” He waves the little cup in his pinky before trying to reach for the tea again. “I’ll serve myself if it makes you feel better.”
“You’re too sweet-mouthed…” She looks over at Erika, inspecting them with interest. “Sugarplum.”
“Sugarplum?” Yoonoh questions the nickname, pouring himself a cup of tea when snatching it from her hands before leaning his weight forward, taking a sip that has him downing the entire drink. “I’m not sweet, don’t know if you’re noticed.”
“Quite clearly.”
“May change my ways for you if you stop judging me.” His eyes trail over her features, the culprit of his playfulness spreading across his face.
“Oh, I happen to be very judgmental.”
“Get to know me,” He waves his finger on top of the cup, tracing the outline only to see her gulp soon after. “…I promise the last thing you’ll end up doing is hating me.”
Erika stands up in between the two, her little hands spreading on their chests when she says: “Princes and princesses don’t fight.”
“We’re not fighting, Eri.” She tells her, though she sends a glare his way. “Right, sugarplum?”
“Of course, beautiful.” He uses that same nickname, relishing on the way she seems to be seething at the name. Truth be told, he knows that she’s, at least, a bit attracted to him…but whatever is stopping her must be strong enough to have her stopping on her tracks that first night. His lips wrap up in a kiss he sends flying in the air before adding: “We actually love each other. My kingdom is now better because I have found my truest love.”
“Yeah…” She trails, looking over to the side before she takes a sip of her own tea. “How’s the collection going?”
That question surprises him. She must have supposed he was a designer, much more after all he did in her hotel, but he didn’t think she was paying attention from up close.
“It’s not a collection.” Sweetly, he corrects, voice lowered when he puts the cup down. “I—I’m only working on this one fit. An outfit. We design lingerie, as you could see. I’m normally in the women design department, but my boss which is an absolute…” He stops, looking at Erika. “Witch, changed me to the men’s department just to freak up my head.”
A small chuckle trips out of her lips at the choices of his cusses. “So, you were designing Jungwoo’s fit?”
“Precisely.” Yoonoh takes his phone out of his pocket before displaying something only for her to see. “Erika, you can’t see this. It’s…it’s not something you should be seeing, okay?”
And actually, she listens. Yoonoh can’t understand why she says that Erika never listens to anybody. Her eyes trail over to Jungwoo, and the way they scan up and down have something within him tugging his phone away.
“That’s my design.”
“You’re talented.” Those words shouldn’t weight as much as they do, but he hasn’t heard them in a while. Perhaps, in two years. “If only you weren’t so much of a butt-face whenever we speak, I’m sure that part of you would show through.”
“What part of me?”
“The part that doesn’t try to hide that you care.”
That’s the moment Yoonoh backs away, because he shouldn’t care. It’s easier to go through life without caring about the people around you. The small stool falls behind him just as he stands up, clearing his throat after a harsh swallow.
“I have to go.”
Erika stands up as well, eyes widened. “Is it because she called you butt-face?”
Yoonoh chuckles, ruffling her hair with one hand. “No, I—I think I left my stove on at home.”
He hears the sound of her picking up her keys, nodding in the process. “I’ll walk you there. Don’t worry. Erika, stay here.”
The hallway that leads to her door is far too cramped for the two of them, his shoulders brushing with hers as they walk alongside each other. The part of you that doesn’t try to hide that you care; it’s not like he cares about her past the normalcy of two people who happen to be attracted towards each other buy deny it—
He turns around, his chest expanding with each breath that she takes, oxygens mingling when he looks down at her features, those lips that he would have kissed if granted the permission, but instead he asks:
“Is that why you hate me?”
She doesn’t listen, a deer caught in the headlights when she questions: “What?”
“Because you think I don’t care. Is that why you hate me?” He questions, only to have her shaking her head. His fingers hook a strand of her hair behind her ear, feeling the heat of her skin, much like that one time he had touched it.
“I don’t hate you.” She confesses, honest and yet surprising, before she breathes out in a shudder. “…Sometimes, it’s better to not wonder, Yoonoh. Not be curious about people like you. Not because you’re bad, but because you’re not right, either.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Stop looking at my lips, it distracts me.”
Yoonoh trails his eyes up before engulfing the words in his plush lips. “And what about you?” He questions. “If I’m all types of wrong, what are you?”
“All the different types of wrong that aren’t yours.” She says, just as his chest brushes with her own again, her stomach extending, back bending, body molding closer to his just because of electricity and gravity, she opens the door, releasing a breath that feels like a million pounds of weight. “Good night, Yoonoh, and thank you.”
He nods, and while he wants to return the words, he can’t.
###  
Four Years Ago.
She never came back.
Sometimes, Yoonoh felt stupid for believing that there was someone in the other side of the computer. That said chatroom that had once started as complete curiousness had now turned into something else, tangible, present in his every day. He was young, his eyes wandered, his mind stopped thinking about the importance of his future and he thought that Dami was it. The woman of his dreams, the picture that he couldn’t take out of his head when he laid still at night and looked at his ceiling.
His friends made fun of him, because this is not the Jung Yoonoh that had gotten secret notes during Valentine’s Day in high school with love confessions and promises of marriage. This was a young man, seated in front of a computer, waiting for an answer. Waiting for the day she returned, after she said that she’d come back. It was only supposed to be a lunch break, but with no contact other than this chatroom, than what they had in social media, how was he supposed to get in touch with her?
JJH1997: Hey, did I do something wrong? (Three weeks ago.)
JJH1997: Hello! How are you doing? Are you okay? (Three weeks ago.)
JJH1997: I bought that one record you told me about. (One day and a half ago.)
JJH1997: [Picture Attached]. (One day and a half ago.)
JJH1997: Are you mad? (Thirteen hours ago.)
JJH1997: I’m sorry if I offended you. (One hour ago.)
The reply he got soon after, as he was studying for one of his finals, had him widening his eyes. She had not answered in weeks, this was the best news he could hear—
DAMISONG96: This is her husband. Who are you? (Just Now).
His hands shook, trying to find the words to say. Husband. All this time, he had been talking about a future with someone with a husband…
DAMISONG96: I’ve just read your messages. Stop talking to my wife, you fucking kid.
[This contact has blocked you].
The worst part was that he could never know if it was a catfish, if the person he talked about was real…or, actually, that he could never apologize, perhaps for ruining a marriage that he never knew of.
Love doesn’t come easy when you don’t know how to trust. 
### 
The reason why he became a lingerie designer instead of any other kind of designer is because of the subtlety. His friends think that it is because of the obvious love Yoonoh has for the human body, but as he sits on the front row of his own show, staring at the Silhouette designs his team had worked on, with harsh white lights matching the upbeat and bass-boosted songs that have models swinging their hips from side to side, he feels proud and more.
Jungwoo is the next one to come, and all signs of his beam is long forgotten as he struts down that runway. At first, he does it simply, how he’s taught, the buttons of his jacket are done, undoing them as he walks to showcase the crop top underneath, only pulling it down and turning around to throw the jacket aside and show the top and the chains, along with Silhouette’s name on the band of his boxers. It’s perhaps something not seen in the streets, but he can imagine celebrities falling in love with the design.
He’s concentrated on the faces of the people ahead of him, cheers resounding around the air as Jungwoo finishes off his catwalk. The invitees seem to be overjoyed, and just when a smile creeps up his features, fixing his stance in his tailored black suit, he feels a hand spreading on his thigh, a chuckle being breath out in his ear.
“You’ve done a great job, Yoonoh.” Siyeon speaks with certainty, and to anyone, they are just two friends congratulating each other. He does great work in feigning a smile when turning to her, but what he says is not so kind.
“Thank you. I’m known for that.”
“I know…if we don’t compare that to your organization problems and your endless witty mouth.” Siyeon starts clapping when another model comes around before a beam appears on her features.
Something doesn’t feel right.
“…And what about it?”
Siyeon’s long silver earrings move when she turns to him, quirking an eyebrow in the process. “Well, you see, Yoonoh, the reason why I wanted you to craft a showstopper and to leave with a bang is because…” The acids in his stomach go up, nervousness creeping up on him, trying to keep the dimples there to no avail. “You’re no longer going to be part of our team. Out of all the designs you’ve done, this is your best, but you proved yourself right a little too late. Sorry.”
She’s not sorry, and he knows this. The smile that he has fought so hard to keep there is no longer of his interest as he stands up, pointing at her while scowling.
“You can’t do that.”
“Yoonoh, you’re making a scene.” She tries to chuckle through her words.
“I’ve been working for this fucking company for two years and I haven’t slacked once.”
“Says you,” Siyeon shrugs. “I’m in charge, Yoonoh, and I saw you’re slacking.”
“Fuck you.”
“Have heard that before.”
The air around him engulfs him in a way that almost makes him feel like he’s trapped. He’s out of the expensive hotel Siyeon had found in seconds, but yet, he feels like he has run a marathon. His eyes concentrate anywhere, hand coming up to his chest, his dream shattered when trying to give this company another chance—
The night whisks him in the face as he runs, not caring to grab a taxi, not minding that he feels like his life is falling down…because this is stupid. Life is so fucking ironic that he hates it. He trusts people? He ends up losing. He doesn’t trust them? They never believe him.
What’s the realest way to get a happy ending? He’ll never know.
### 
Eight hours of sleep feel marvelous once she gets them back.
Not only has she gotten to return her calls, but it doesn’t smell like baby food in her apartment and she gets to take a break from Peppa Pig. Erika had been sad when letting go of her, pressing her face to her stomach in a hug before she was off to holding onto her mother for dear life. Her paycheck came around, life was good, and this night was excellent with the bag of savory chips she had just opened.
The crunch is the only thing that can be heard, mingling with the noise of the romantic movie she is watching, tears wielding her vision and yet, she pushes them away. Tragedies are the best form of romance—when both characters have gone through so much that finding happiness in each other feels a thousand times more personal. Perfect, even. It’s a nice chance for her romantic comedy binge from earlier.
The air is interrupted when she hears someone ringing her doorbell, and that brings a frown to her features. First, she’s not waiting for anybody. Secondly, she had been crying just now. Grabbing a napkin, she taps it against her ears and waltzes over to the door to see who is standing by the door through the peephole.
And if there was a sight that could capture her breath away just as much as it could make her be excited about something, it’s this.
Yoonoh stands outside her door, with the buttons of his shirt half-opened, a peak of his shirt showing, his jacket thrown haphazardly over one forearm, and if only this peephole let her see lower, she would relish on the strength of his thighs. Confusing or not, as well as a bit annoying, one can’t deny that Yoonoh is extremely handsome. Taken out of a magazine, even.
She opens the door softly, unaware of why he is there. Today, the runway for Silhouette should be happening and yet, he’s here, at 10:45 at night, with his hair made a mess and his eyes trailing on her.
“Yoonoh,” He doesn’t stop looking at her eyes, a frown in his features. “Hi…uh…may I help you with something?”
“You’re right.” He starts, entering her house just as she moves to the side. He must be in a rush. The door closes behind her. “I try not to care about things. I don’t take relationships seriously. I’m an asshole at most times. I’m fake and boring and quite clearly, all kinds of wrong.” Well, that is a statement. She knows there is some good for Yoonoh. He’s always one call away, he’s organized, he’s given. He’s strong and rampant and fiery, in that way that have people shuddering in their spots.
“So?”
“So, yes, I’m fucking tired of being that because it doesn’t work.” He stands in front of her now, in that same hallway that had trapped them weeks ago and had managed to make her even more confused. “I just lost my job and I don’t know what the hell I am going to do with my life. I was used and—fuck!”
Her heart weights down when he admits that. “Why would you lose your job? That outfit you designed for Jungwoo is amazing…”
“Because my new boss hates me, just like you do.”
“I said I didn’t hate you.”
“Then why?” Yoonoh questions. “Why did you run away that night? What about me is so repulsive that you can’t even look my way without frowning when all I have been thinking about since that moment I saw you in the restaurant, in nice light, after getting me some clothes, is that you’re the kindest and most humble woman I have ever met and I would do my fucking best to kiss away every fucking insecurity you have about me?”
Silence comes to be awkward around them. Or, well, filled with tension. But this silence is of understanding. Yoonoh’s eyes that night, that had scanned her with such intricacy, had thought about the same things that she did. And yet, she had let it slide—because it’s easier to fear than to try, to run away than to stay.
“Because…you’re difficult, Yoonoh.” She states. “And I don’t mean it in a bad way. I just know…I know I would like you.” That makes her ego blot down the slightest. “And then, when you realize that kissing me is not enough, that waking up to me is not enough, that I won’t give you whatever interesting shit you were doing when I found you outside that house, you’ll leave…and I’m not at an age or time in my life where I want to see you leave without an explanation. I don’t.”
He finally reconnects his gaze with her eyes. “The explanation here is simple,” He conquers. “You’re beautiful. Each part of you I get to see and each part I don’t. Every bit of my imagination can only think about you, so much that everything I design is everything my mind gushes about and can only perceive on you. It’s stupid enough that…” He chuckles at his own antics, leaning his head back on the wall. “That I think about what color fits you best and I am certain it’s not the navy blue you like to use. It’s yellow, because you’re so bright it practically burns my fucking eyes. You’re so smart and given and you don’t even let me tell you that, because you’re always…pushing me away.”
“Yoonoh—” Her heart flutters at his words, but he doesn’t stop talking.
“And you’re your own kind of goddess and it drives me insane, because I was the type of dumbass that didn’t like the chase, but each and every time I hear you speak, I just want to tease you more and…” He stops for a second, finally fixing his position to look at her. “I just wanted you to know, because if I’ll never get a chance, at least I want to say I—”
Silences are what made them. It’s what she likes the most about him, when he’s silent and concentrated, when all his might goes to one thing and one thing only. She doesn’t know what overtakes her at that moment, when her lips clash against his in a dance that it’s much too passionate. She can’t keep up with whatever she wants to do, her hands hooked around his waist to mold him against the wall, his abdomen carved against hers when a groan traps itself on the back of his throat and he grabs the back of her head, taking more of her in, granting himself entrance, rubbing his lips in a tempting touch before he’s diving in for air…and she’s his oxygen.
Yoonoh’s hold is not strong, overly passionate, tumbling. In his own way, Yoonoh is delicate. It’s just when she kisses him that she realizes there is a beautiful thing to Jung Yoonoh. The delicacy he portrays in lingerie, that translate into his utter fears. The pristine glass he is when she caresses his neck with a touch of her mouth and he shudders while grasping the back of her shirt, asking to see her—to be seen.
When heartbreak happens, there is always a dot. That one finalization of a chapter in your heart that aches insufferably. Her dots connected to him, in one way or another, in the moles in his face or the way he begs to connect to her lips again when she pulls away. He’s gravity when she asks to be taken to her room in one simplistic glance and he’s smiling by the time he puts her down on the sheets.
Over all, Yoonoh is a lover of beauty, and maybe, for once in her life, she feels like art, just when he throws her shirt over her head, staring down at small portions of her body being shown before showing that dimple that she had trained herself to hate.
But who is she kidding? She didn’t hate it at all.
“…You were forbidding me of this.” He points at her body, earning laughter from her, ears heated up under his gaze. “And for that, I’ll never forgive you.”
That night, it’s not a promise of love—it’s lust mixed with something else, that fluttering feeling of having a crush, maybe, or the start of something…how he calls it…beautiful.
###
Normally, Yoonoh doesn’t text. He hooks up with someone, leaves it in the air, then moves on to working. Awakening in his lover’s bed, having breakfast with her, arguing in that way that only they know how to do—playfully, of course—and then having to see him himself off just so she can go to work, however, is completely different.
Just as he lays on his bed midway through the day, he looks at her contact. Missing her would be a statement, and it would be absolutely correct. His gut twists, not knowing exactly what to say—new and yet old in this dating thing.
Uh, can he call it that? They haven’t even gotten out on a date.
Yoonoh: We haven’t gotten out on a date.
Yoonoh: Do you want to?
She must be near the phone, because she replies quickly.
Beautiful: If I slept with you, I obviously want to go on a date with you.
Beautiful: Duh.
There is the bite that he likes, enough to bring a smile to his face before he’s biting down on his lip.
Yoonoh: You didn’t sleep with me when I was employed, wearing suits, confident and flirty. Your standards? Very low.
Beautiful: You’re complaining? Because I could not do it again.
Yoonoh: Who said I was complaining? I was trying the whole time and just when I’m a huge loser, I get the girl.
His life seems to be twisted in circles, cycles that he don’t know how to stop, but a text from her gives him hope that he’ll figure it out.
Beautiful: You’re not a loser. I don’t date losers.
Beautiful: Dinner tonight? I brought a sandwich, but that’s bland.
Yoonoh: It’s a date.
A few seconds pass by before he’s typing again.
Yoonoh: Wait, how do you have me saved in your phone?
A screenshot comes soon after, and he doubles over in laughter when he sees ‘Sugarplum (DNI)’.
###
She has forgotten how to say it, and it’s not like it’s another language, but nervousness clads her every pore just as she sits down by a table at Erika’s seventh birthday party.
Five months into this dating thing, and she doesn’t understand most of it. What she knows is that it feels great. Waking up next to Yoonoh—her place or his—, being kissed on the cheeks, on her forehead, only to be ravished by one of those kisses that he only knows how to give. To watch him grow away from his fears and create his own lingerie line, obviously with the support of his model friends that were eager to take pictures with his pieces and make do with what they have.
It’s difficult, but just as Yoonoh lowers Erika after hoisting her up in the air, always charming with her and with anyone, she doesn’t know how to say it. You know, those three words that have captured her ever since Yoonoh smiled at all her baby pictures, or when he spends some extra time in the kitchen making her favorite meal just because he feels like pampering her.
Three words that she has said before, even jokingly, and yet, she’s petrified.
The trees are tall in the backyard of Sachiko’s home, yellows and reds contrasting the feeling in her heart. It’s pure pink, just like the glow on Yoonoh’s cheeks or that set he had once sewed himself just for her, the one that he never gets enough of and still groans at. Childish music and cake should be enough to calm her down, but just as Yoonoh plops himself alongside her, resting his head on his forearm on the picnic table she’s by, all words she had practiced are lost.
How does he have that effect after five months?
“Erika loved the gift.” Even their gifts had been united. From Uncle Prince and Aunt Princess, they had written on the note. A doll that she had been screaming about months ago when they had visited her.
That word, even he is saying it. If Jung Yoonoh is capable of spitting it out, why couldn’t she—?
“You look like you’re sick.”
That makes her sigh. “Thanks. I don’t see you complaining.”
Yoonoh’s smile grows wider at that, rolling a piece of her hair in between his index finger. “I like the sick look.” He replies. “Something about the sight of a girl who wants to throw up on me. So sexy I could take you to a bathroom right now and just—”
“Yoonoh!”
“There it is, not so sick anymore. Now you’re angry.” He has his ways, she has to admit, and even when finds herself laughing when he changes that glimmer of his eyes that always gets him what he wants. “What’s with you?”
She opens her mouth, placing a piece of cake inside of it—just a little bit too big—when she says: “I love you.”
Or whatever can be understood in between a mouthful of cake.
Yoonoh quirks a perfectly styled brow. “You what?”
“I love you.” She utters out, swallowing soon after before giving him a smile. “Okay, alright, I’m done here—”
His hands gravitate to her hips before she could stand up, sitting her down on his thigh and bringing her face to his by her chin before asking, much too close and too softly for her to ever resist him. “You what?” He repeats, much more delicately, and finally, she finds the reason to stop being nervous.
Those brown eyes look from her eyes to her lips, never getting enough of her, never knowing how to battle the thoughts that show on his features. That kind of adoration she has never gotten before, and that is worth trying for.
She hides her face in his neck, breathing in his scent before spitting out: “I love you.”
It brushes against his skin, tickles him in a way that has him tightening his hold before he replies: “Sounds so good when someone means it.” And that confession is only meant for her to be understood, before he’s pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. “I love you, too.”
616 notes · View notes
zackcrazyvalentine · 3 years
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okay first of all, this event idea is really cool and actually kind of genius???
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second of all, may i please request fluffy platonic headcanons for these boys with an MC-coded reader? like, just the soft/sweet things that come with being their friend please
Aha~ thank you!! Also, what a wonderful loading screen this is! Jamil getting annoyed and cornered by the Octavinelle trio dfklsk
Let's see!
~ Sweet friendship headcanons ~
With: Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto, Floyd Leech, Jamil Viper, and MC-coded reader (used "you" pronouns, hope you don't mind)
-- --
🐬 Jade Leech 💜
Jade will sometimes gift wild flowers and pressed plants to the Ramshackle prefect, claiming the flora reminded him of them
Please ask him first if they're safe. His smirk will give the answer you need
From his birthday card, we learned Jade sketches when out in hikes. He sometimes gifts a particular drawing to you. It brings a smile to his face when he sees his sketches displayed on the walls of your room in Ramshackle
Be prepared for some info dumps when you ask what the particular plant/fungi in the drawing is
Jade goes into a subtle fanboy mode when you have genuine curiosity about the things he's seen on hikes
There's still things he doesn't know about being human Be patient when he asks about the most mundane activities and "rituals", he's sincerely confused and hopes someone can guide him through without judgement
Just as how he's curious about land, he's curious about your world He sneakily gets information out of you to sate his curiosity. It isn't until later when you bring up something about your world that you realize just how much you've told him, and how he remembers it all
Yes, you will become subject to his experimental mushroom cooking. Not something to boast about, but he takes advantage of your frugal life to feed you his dubious mushrooms because he knows you and Grim wouldn't say no to a free meal
He's open to tell you about life under water and all that. Though he's less open about his childhood than Floyd
If you ever need someone to protect you or escort you back to Ramshackle late at night, Jade's your guy
One of the first people to jump in and take care of you when you fall ill and can barely move/remain awake. His affection comes in acts of service, so this is the prime time for Jade to show he cares for you
🐙 Azul Ashengrotto 💜
Azul helps you study for any problematic subjects you encounter. He acts like he's doing it to be follow the merciful Sea Witch's example, but in reality he does it just 'cuz ('cuz he wants to be seen as the reliable upperclassman asdfg). His one condition is for the study session to be one-on-one, no pesky friends or flame-spewing cats following behind you to peek at his exceptional notes
Ashengrotto will give you a meal on the house in the Lounge once in a while, meals for you and Grim both
He gets very surprised whenever you throw any sort of compliment his way. Tries to reciprocate, but he gets too flustered, it's all chopped up due to stuttering
When concentrating in work, you can hear him hum jazzy melodies
Silence in the presence of Azul is comforting, for you and for him. He rarely gets quiet time with how busy he is with responsibilities, and Grim + Ghosts can get noisy. Moments where you can hide away in his office in quiet calm are cherished
He lends you his coat when you get cold while visiting the Lounge
You once showed him an old coin you found in Ramshackle, his collector instincts immediately flared up and he told you aaaall about it
Of course, before you knew better, he took a couple of those ancient coins for his collection. Now, Azul is your assessor, he tells you a rough estimate of its value and you go off to sell them when you can. He even buys some of them
You have joined him and Idia in their club activities and.... You never saw a more competitive scene than the game of (twst's equivalent of) Clue you just witnessed. There was no other option but become just as competitive yourself~
🦈 Floyd Leech 💜
Squeezing and leaning his weight on you have become his go-to ways of greeting you
You're welcomed to greet him the same way. Finds your squeezes (hugs) amusing
That silly nickname of "shrimpy" has become comforting for you and him. Floyd smiles whenever he remembers you and your nickname, and you can't help but smile a little at his call of "little shrimp". A unique nickname only he can use
OH, HE TOTALLY GASPED, POINTED, AND SAID "CANNIBALISM!!" AFTER SEEING YOU DEVOUR SOME FRIED SHRIMP He just wanted to be dramatic lol
I headcanon him owning sea creature plushies. He knows you like cuddling up to an eel plush he has, so he always leaves it available and easy to spot in his side of the room whenever you visit
Not a lot of people have free access to his snack stash in his bedroom, but you're free to grab some if you want
Don't tell Azul, but Floyd's constantly sneaking you drinks and little desserts from the Lounge
Whenever you catch him in a mood, all you have to do is drag him out to a patch of grass and have him lay down beside you to cloud watch. Works every time. Don't even need to talk through it, but you sometimes encourage him to in case there's something bothering him
You've had to scold him more than a handful of times about practicing his basketball throws on Ramshackle's very fragile walls
When he's missing you/wants to chat without typing words, he sends gifs of swimming shrimp (or eels). When he's mad at you, he sends pictures and gifs of shrimp being cooked or eaten
Sticker chats are common between you
🐍 Jamil Viper ❤
Whenever he wants to invite you to hang out in Scarabia, he does it with extreme secrecy so Kalim doesn't get word and doesn't interfere with his plans
When he notices you're a little blue, or has heard Grim complain too much about being hungry, Jamil will show up at your doorstep with warm food. "We had some leftovers from the party Kalim threw recently." He says, like he didn't sneak into the kitchen after hours to prepare this fresh, just for you.
That or he shows up with the needed ingredients to teach you how to cook an affordable, tasty meal with them
It's due to these cooking lessons why you have a wonderful selection of spices and herbs for seasoning any dish with, for an extra pop of flavor!
When you're both alone and he catches you singing a currently popular tune, he will join in
Has tried to teach you some dance moves, breakdance and traditional dances from his hometown (if you succeed on learning them, I leave it up to you)
You tease him with a bag of dates from time to time
Joking and freely ranting with Jamil is a wonderful activity. He really is a great friend when you get to know him and let him be himself
You will never let him live down how he yelled so loud when a resident Ramshackle bug crawled over his hand. It took a complete month to convince him that it was okay inside the dorm now
You notice how he misses VDC practice, so you decide to ask him to film some trendy Magicam dances with you It's lots of fun and serves as an outlet for Jamil to let out frustrations. Plus, the small audience you've managed to gather is perfect to feed Viper's need for praise and attention, to be in the spotlight
The bloopers of your filming are your favorite part. You've made a couple of stickers from the weird faces and dumb stuff you said
-- --
Hope you enjoyed~!
Perhaps they aren't too sweet, but still, hope it was fun to read
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notnctu · 4 years
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through the lens ❀ l.jn
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❀ lee jeno x fem!reader ❀ genre - slow burn, smut/mature content, fluff (romance?), slight angst ❀ details - photographer!jeno, model!reader, college!au, shy!jeno but he aint shy in bed, strangers to fuckers!au ❀ word count - 8k (this is the longest thing ive ever written) ❀ warnings - nude modeling, swearing, oral (f/receiving), some sweet love makin’ ❀ brief synopsis - jeno asks you to model for his internship project, but little did you know, it was going to be a nude photo shoot.  
❝ jeno was too shy to hold eye contact, but he stared at you endlessly through the lens. ❞
❀ a/n - hihihi this is author doie❀ ! im bad at writing smut so pls dont hate me ah ha lol i tried my best i also dont model/do professional photography so really apologize if i butcher any terms lmaoo the only thing i am is that im in college and im shy
Jeno had applied to almost a hundred internships and almost close to none returned with an offer, even after a whole month of waiting. He absolutely needed to start building his portfolio before the beginning of his senior year of college. The embarrassment of possibly graduating without any experience loomed over the desperate boy. 
Photography had been more than a hobby to him, to the point where he wanted to take it seriously. His parents weren’t the most supportive of an Arts major, but that couldn’t stop him. Jeno saw the best through a camera lens. He had a special eye for beautiful moments and the impressing urge to capture it forever. 
It was too late to change his major, if he wanted to graduate with all of his friends. If he wanted to be successful, he had to act on it now. 
The swoosh! of a new email startled the sleeping boy. He stared at the brightly lit screen, reading the words over and over again to make sure it was real. Jeno was so enthralled with excitement that he scrambled out of bed to wake up his roommate, Jaemin.
He shook him so violently that the sheets fell from Jaemin’s warm body. “Dude! I got an internship!” He spoke with incredible glee, a wide smile couldn’t leave his face.
Jaemin groaned and had to hold Jeno by the shoulders to halt the boy from causing the room to spin. “Why--What is going on?” He dazely rubbed his tired eyes to blink at his giddy roommate.
The screen blinded Jaemin as it was shoved too closely to adjust. “Whoa--,” he pushed it away and shut his eyes, “--repeat what you just said one more time.” Jaemin held a finger up and Jeno grabbed it, jumping onto his best friend’s bed.
“I got an internship. Someone got back to me.” Jaemin returned the same excitement the moment he processed his words. He shot up in bed and hugged his friend tightly. 
“Wo-w, dude! Congratulations!” The two boys hurried on their feet to cheer together. There was no concern for the rest of their housemates, only celebration that roared throughout the entire night.
+
Truthfully, Jeno had no recollection of applying to this studio. It could have been a random link on a job scouting website, but he couldn’t be more grateful. An internship was long overdue and Jeno had been itching to get some recognition for his craft. 
“Hello, I’m Lee Jeno.” He bowed slightly at the receptionist, who had a stern stare that made him feel vulnerable. The first thing he noted about the office: white and minimalistic. 
Jeno’s specialty was landscape photography. His aesthetics consisted of black and white filters, city lights, dark mood lighting, and background commotion. He enjoyed capturing chaos the most, a scene where more than one thing was happening. The only reason being that there was more to look at. 
“Nice to meet you. The name is Lee Taemin, but you can call me what you please.” A young, lean man strolled his way towards Jeno with a wide grin and his hand for him to shake. Taemin was slightly shorter than him, but his stylish, expensive boots made up for his height. He had to be only a maximum of five years older than Jeno as Taemin appeared relatively youthful. 
Taemin’s firm grip pulled Jeno along inside the studio. A small gasp escaped from Jeno which earned robust laughter from the older man. “I hope you can break out of your shell soon. There is no room for timidness around here, Mister Lee.”
“Please, you can call me Jeno.” He smiled, quite awkwardly at the beautiful man. 
The tall glass windows, the concrete, gray floor, the white doors that lined the hallway, had to be all too predictable. Jeno envisioned this is what high class must look like. It was the pristine, bright feeling and the smell of vanilla that lingered distastefully. There was chatter behind the closed doors --- mainly directing, and high praises. 
The only off-put was that photographers worked behind closed doors. From the few studios he has visited previously, photographers often worked in open spaces due to lighting fractures or the ability to roam more freely. 
“I’m actually very ecstatic you signed up for the internship, since you do seem a bit on the younger side.” Taemin gestured toward the sofa in the middle of his massive office. Jeno sat across from him. Water was already placed on the glass coffee table that separated the two. A laptop was opened to face Taemin.
Jeno slyly rubbed the condensation from his palms on his jeans. Taemin’s stare bore deep into the shy boy, who had to break eye contact from time to time. “I know.” Jeno chuckled nervously, “thank you for getting back to me. I was really hoping to gain work experience through mentorship.” 
Taemin nodded at everything Jeno was saying. His face being completely expressionless. Jeno sipped his water to regain moisture in his dry throat. Taemin was more intimidating than he was anticipating. “Sounds great. Happy to have you here. It might be a small business, but the experience is worth investing in. Every photographer who has come in and out of my building has found their forte. Let’s say, it’s eye opening.” 
“That’s exactly what I was looking for actually.” As scared as he was of this mysterious man, he really enjoyed the comfort the environment radiated. 
Taemin leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “I noticed in the portfolio you sent that you don’t have any portraits or any people, in general, in your photos. Do you have any works with people? Since this is a studio of fine art nude photography.”
Nude. Jeno practically choked on the last remaining spit he gathered. Taemin acknowledged the boy’s shocked reaction and tilted his head curiously, “you did know that I specialize in contemporary fine art nude photography, right?” Unfortunately, Jeno did not. 
Jeno cleared his throat, “yes, of course. I wanted to challenge myself.” He had to lie, there was no other way to cover up his disbelief. This internship was the only hope left for him to gain something. Though, even the thought of shooting a naked body made him anxious.
He hated how timid he was. His friends and family say otherwise, mainly for the reason that Jeno automatically lit up behind a camera. In all honesty, he hid behind it. It was the only safe place that Jeno knew what he was doing. However when it came to real life situations without it, he lacked the confidence to be himself.
As ironic as it was, he hated being seen. He liked to be the background character in his own life, because the main character took too much of a toll. It could also be his deafening insecurities and lack of self esteem, but Jeno didn’t mind not being the center of attention.
“You like a challenge?” It was more of a statement rather than a question. Jeno caught a glimpse of the twinkle in Taemin’s dark eyes. “Then for your first task, I want you to show me that you can take on this role.”
Jeno scrambled for his phone to jot down notes. “Send me an emotional portfolio, model of your choice. They could be a friend of yours that you feel comfortable seeing naked. It must include a variation of headshots, full body, and body details. It must also be raw and unedited photos. I want to see if you have the eye for the art to capture these types of images.”
“When would you like it by?” He stammered, completely winded at the sudden project that unloaded on top of him. 
“Next Friday, and you’ll present it to me here in person. Feel free to use this studio if you don’t have a place of your own with equipment. All you need to do is book a room with the front desk. Any other questions?” The sound of the laptop shutting caused Jeno to look up at the brilliance in front of him. He needed Taemin to help him succeed. 
“Why do you take nude photography?” 
Taemin was unable to stop the laughter that erupted into the room. “I don’t run a pimp business or sell soft core porn, if that’s why you’re staring at me so funnily. What I make is an art masterpiece, it has nothing to do with physical features or desires. It’s the pure emotion that clothing distracts from. Clothing conforms the model into an aesthetic, and while that works for editorials, it won’t be a consistent thing here.” 
Jeno nodded understandingly. Overwhelmed and lost at words. He was unsure what he had gotten himself into. Where was he going to find a model on such short notice on such lewd conditions? He was really going to need to step out of his comfortable zone, in his photography and social skills. 
Taemin stood up and extended his hand once more. “I take pride in my art, so I hope you, too, start finding that in your own.” 
+
Jaemin held his stomach from the endless laughter, tears welling up in his eyes. “Nud-Nude photography? And you didn’t know?”
“Jaemin, keep it down.” Jeno whispered and cautiously peered around at the few people flooding into the small lecture hall. “I don’t want everyone in our club to misunderstand and think I’m some creep.”
His best friend straightened up in his seat and placed his hand on Jeno's slumped shoulder, “first of all, you’re a complete idiot for not researching. Secondly, it’s an art form. If you really got yourself a shady, rated R internship, I would’ve told you to drop it instantly.” 
His spirits were slightly lifted, but he was still struggling with who he should ask to model for him. As much as he’s already seen of Jaemin, being his roommate, he honestly would rather leave the rest to imagination. Jeno wasn’t purposefully searching the room for a candidate, but he could not stop his eyes from drifting.
He spotted the most attractive side profile that sat two rows below him. He shook his head to make sure he was seeing her correctly. Peering around, he looked for another possible face to shoot. But oh god, how she caught his eye every time she even slightly moved.
You smiled happily with your friends by your side as your club’s executive board members introduced this year’s goals and events to attend. It had to be the smallest amount of alcohol still running in your system that caused you to giggle every time guys tried to turn around and hit on you.
“Why don’t you focus on our club members instead?” You smirked at the smug older boy, who had poorly attempted to grab your attention. “I think this information is important to you. These events could help you develop your social skills to be much better.” Your voice was barely above a whisper, but your girl friends scoffed by your side.
He got up in disbelief and quickly walked out of the room. There was a brief pause at the sudden movement, but the announcement carried on per usual.
Jeno impatiently waited for the club meeting to finally be over, so he could talk to you. The longer it dragged, the more his confidence was subsiding. “I’m heading to study, wanna come with?” Jaemin poked at Jeno’s knee.
“Yeah, but you can go ahead first. I need to talk to someone.” His voice was shaky and his throat went so dry. Jeno’s shifty eyes scanned the room, hoping no one saw how nervous he was acting.
Jaemin’s eyebrows lifted suspiciously, “who? I didn’t even know you talked to anyone who came today. Donghyuck and Renjun aren’t here---”
“--her, Jaemin... her. I’m going to ask her to model for me.” Jeno motioned his head. His heart beating faster at seeing a small grin appear on your face from a comment someone made.
Jaemin hummed, “good luck with that, bud. I’ve got two shoulders for you to cry on after.” The extra hint of sarcasm only made Jeno sweat nervously. He was seriously doubting his decision, but it wouldn’t be a challenge if he didn’t do it. He knew he’d regret it more if he didn’t just ask you. 
Once the meeting was dismissed, you wanted to get out of the room before the heavy rush into the hallways. Unfortunately, a few frat guys pulled you into their conversation and chatted up a storm. Your friends played into their foolery, but you stopped paying attention when they asked for your numbers.
There was a faint tap on your shoulder and you turned to see who the culprit was. You didn’t seem to know him, because you would’ve remembered such a demeanor. His eyes were glued to the floor behind you and his shaky hands ran through his brown locks. His shyness was quite endearing, yet alarming since you weren’t sure why exactly he had approached you.
“Yes?” You asked curiously.
The moment Jeno heard your delicate cadence, he melted like a popsicle left out in the sun. He peered up, but quickly reverted his eyes to the white tiles when he noticed how beautifully you stared at him.
He counted his breathing to calm his rapid heart beat. He cleared his throat to introduce himself, “I’m Jeno. I’m a third year Arts major, um-- I was just--- I know we don’t know each other. I wanted to ask, uh-” Jeno was horrified at how he stammered over his own words. His cheeks burned with a red glow, and if he couldn’t look you in the eye before, he definitely couldn’t now.
“Hey, see you later.” One of the bulky frat guys called and you waved back weakly. 
A guy who had been chasing you endlessly scoffed at the pitiful sight and smirked at you, “see you at my house tonight? Been missing you in my bed lately.”
“Thought you would’ve guessed the reason why I stopped coming around.” Jeno heard the sting in your remarks and the disbelief in the male. 
You honestly could have left, Jeno knew that. But you stayed and waited patiently for him to finish. Jeno could tell how strong you were just by your intimidating aura that practically suffocated him by standing in close proximity to you.
You sighed and reached to grab your jacket on the folded seat, “look, Jeno. It’s nice to meet you and all, but I gotta get going.” 
Shockingly, the shy boy reached out to stop you by your fingertips. His touch lingered before he dropped your hand quickly. “I’m sorry. Are you free this Monday?”
“Uh, that depends. If you’re asking me on a date, then I’m busy.” Rolling your eyes, you weren’t sure why you still stayed to listen to what this random stranger had to say. If it were anyone else, you would’ve walked away the moment he asked if you were free. However, you acknowledged his timidness and the courage he must have mustered up to approach you.
Jeno shook his head violently, completely in shambles from that type of misunderstanding. “Not a date. I need someone to model for my portfolio photos that my internship assigned. It’s actually very important to me because it’s the first internship that responded back to me when I had applied to so many a whole month ago. Basically, I really need this and you because I think you’d be perfect to take pictures of. Oh-- wow! That sounded very bad --- uh --- what I meant is that your facial proportions are perfect and---”
“I’m free Monday.” You cut off his endless ramble and gestured toward his phone. He handed it to you without any hesitation and you typed in your number. “Text me the time, place and what I should wear.” 
“Oh actually, it’s a nude photoshoot.” Your eyes doubled in size, completely offended by that statement.
Jeno felt the sudden shift in the air and brought his hands up to block himself, “to be more clear, it’s a contemporary fine art nude photography studio. The pictures are pieces of art and to be seen as that only. I have no intentions or ulterior motive to sleep with you, see you naked or sell, leak your nudes for the profit of your body. But, I understand if you no longer want to do it because it sounds super strange now that I am explaining it.” 
Your shoulders relaxed and the fist that formed unraveled. You exhaled deeply, “I’ll do it. We can talk more about it on Monday and I get to leave on my own accord if I don’t feel comfortable. We work on my conditions.” Picking up Jeno’s chin, he was absolutely petrified at the forced eye contact and your incredible, powerful gaze. He was mesmerized by the fire in your eyes, and if he stared any longer, he could’ve lost himself in them. 
“Of course.” With that, you dropped his face and left without another look back. Jeno looked down at his phone and the new contact name, (Y/N). It had slipped his mind to even ask what your name was and he slapped his face in utter stupidity. “Do better, Lee Jeno.” It was a remainder to himself to, hopefully, be better the next time you two speak.
+
Monday, 3:03 PM. 
Jeno paced back and forth in the brightly, lit white room. He was trying to find any blinds or curtains to cover the tall windows of the high rise building. It should not be too much of a problem, the extra lighting was a positive. Jeno was only worried for your comfort of the openness. 
There was a soft knock before Jeno practically tripped to open the door. His breath hitched at the sight of your bare face. This time, you were the vulnerable one. Jeno only saw purity, yet impressed at how your tired eyes still managed to bid him a soft smile. He admired your uneven complexion, and the sparse moles that dotted your skin. 
“Okay, so you want to see me naked now or later?” Filled with jokes, your voice was light and airy this afternoon. There was a bit of a contrast from the first time you two met. Softer, enchanting, almost ghostly. 
Everything in the room was white. The mattress on the floor had a white comforter and white sheets. The backdrop. The walls. The hardwood floor. The only color was the blue sky that the tall windows let in.
“Here’s a robe. You can change in the bathroom.” Jeno scratched the back of his neck and his eyes wandered everywhere, but your’s. 
“Would you be okay with me just taking off my clothes in here?” You saw the light tint of pink cover his face, and spread to his ears. You examined more of the shy boy’s embarrassed face, finally getting a really good look at him. Jeno was very attractive, and you could only imagine how beautiful he must look if he fully faced you.
Jeno fiddled with his camera strap, “only if you are okay with that.” Clearing his throat, he stood next to the window to give you some privacy. “I’ll go over what I plan on doing. I’m going to take photos of your face details, parts of your body, full body, and portraits. You can lay down on the bed and I’ll direct you in poses. Have you modeled before?”
He was scanning the bustling city below his feet. Cars zoomed quickly and crowds of tiny people flooded the streets. He brought his camera up to his face, not being able to resist the urge to capture such a thrilling sight. 
“If Instagram counts, then yeah. Professional model gig would be a no. Nude photography is a definite no, unless we are talking about being filmed during sex.” Jeno chuckled, while also holding the camera steady and stealing a few moments to keep for himself.
For a strange reason, being naked for a non-sensual reason felt even more vulnerable. Laying on the soft fabric, you felt oddly exposed and slightly more reserved. You’ve had countless strangers see you naked. Men were sexually desiring to see a sexy picture. You were always lusted after, but this feeling of nakedness was special.
“Are you ready?” Jeno gulped, finally setting the camera down. 
You hummed cheerfully. Your heart was leaping out of your chest as the boy shifted slowly to face you. As he turned, you noticed he had his eyes sealed shut, which caused a small laugh to erupt. “Jeno, you have my permission to open your eyes and to look at me.”
Holy shit, he was trembling with an inexplicable fear. The camera was slipping from his sweaty hands. His mouth was as dry as the desert. Jeno’s pounding heart was loud in his ears. 
Jeno has seen his past girlfriends laying naked in bed, but this situation was too different. When he saw you laying there in absolutely nothing, he was overwhelmed, yet astounded at how graceful you appeared.
There was no exchange of words and no exchange of eye contact. He towered over your lying figure and shakily brought the camera to his eyes. He selfishly wanted to capture your elegance. Through the lens, he saw all of you: the curve in your eyelid, your curled eyelashes, the small mole next to your soft lips, the sharp color of your eyes, the way your hair frames your face.
This was the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. You were comparable to the arts found in popular museums. Your body lines were enticing and an impressive shape. Your breasts pooled on your chest, the round nude nipple in the centers. Your details had to be sculpted by gods, who took their sweet time making you. You were a true masterpiece. 
Confused, Jeno felt a huge mixture of emotions. Was he aroused? Was he infatuated? Did he just fall in love with a complete stranger? He recognized the same thrilled feelings he felt taking landscape photos. With each click, he grew more excited with how beautiful the photos were turning out.
“Sit up and rest your chin on your left hand. Lean your weight on your right leg.” Jeno’s direction was clear and firm. There was no evidence of a smaller tone he usually spoke in. Sitting up, you placed your elbow on your upper thigh to steady your chin. Jeno had already gotten down to floor level to you. 
Without the camera that separated you two, it had to be the first time he faced you completely in such close proximity. There was so much to admire about Jeno. He remained concentrated on his craft, but it was actually very sexy to see his dedication. It was almost like he was a whole new person, like all the shyness drifted away. 
Jeno couldn’t take his eyes off of you. It wasn’t simply your beauty that amazed him. Your confidence made everything easy. There was something about your blank stares, when he asked for an emotion, you portrayed it perfectly.
“Can we talk while you shoot?” Your sudden voice startled the photographer. He lowered his camera and his gaze automatically wandered off behind you, which didn’t go unnoticed. He nodded after a short pause and the shutter noises continued.
“Why did you choose me as your model?” 
Jeno peeled away from the device, “because you’re you.” He didn’t even know what that statement meant. It wasn’t like he knew you before the first time he asked you to model for him.
The corners of your lips dipped down, drawing an evident frown. Click. Jeno loved that image especially. It was a simple way to get real, authentic facial expressions. He marveled at the photo, but registered the reason behind it. “I wanted to ask you the second I saw you. I just knew that I wanted you.” 
“But you don’t know me.” 
Jeno looked through the lens once again, welcoming a full view of your stunning attributes. He spoke in a low voice, “then, let me know you.” Click. 
It would be the biggest lie to say that you weren’t aroused by Jeno at the moment. He was cool, without trying to be. He really did shine when he had a camera to work with, like a star to a dark night. While he had a distinct demeanor off the bat, you enjoyed unraveling the rest of him. He was, also, the first man you met that didn’t seem sexually driven by a naked woman in his presence. 
You had to resist every urge to push the camera away and share the few seconds of his entire gaze before it wandered away. You wanted to rock his world, he was so innocent and beautiful. You wished to wreak havoc on him, have him show you how much he wanted you. 
+
You anticipated an awkward photoshoot, but Jeno made you feel safe and comfortable. He made sure to adjust the temperature when goosebumps rose on your arms and when your nipples became painfully hard. He never touched you or came too much into your personal space. He always asked for your permission. 
Nude modeling was a new experience for you, but you were surprised at how much you liked it. or how much you liked Jeno taking your photos. He sat next to you on the bed when you put on your articles of clothing and panned through several shots to satisfy your curiosity.
Leaning close, your head ducked to see the photos. A gasp escaped your lips when you saw just the first few. “Is that really me?” The pictures made you feel an abundance of emotions, you felt what they reflected. Sadness, melancholy, happiness, confidence. You didn’t know images had that much power to make you feel that, especially photos of you.
Jeno nodded, smiling so wide that his eyes turned to moon crescents. He was so in love with the results. He found respect for Taemin’s craft and he was right, he might’ve found a new forte to experiment with. “I can send you the photos digitally too, if you want them.”
“Maybe I’ll print them out, frame them, and gift it to every horrid man who has tried to flirt their way to my body since they want to see it so fucking bad.” 
Jeno peered over and saw the tiny glimpse of pain in your orbs, “why would you give horrible people what they want?”
“So they can finally shut up and leave me alone. Plus, this is art and if I tell them it’s actually me, maybe it’ll change their minds to start treating me like it.” 
He held his palm up and almost immediately, your fingers filled the spaces between his. “I’m going to need you to start treating yourself as fine art.”
“Keep taking more photos of me and I just might start thinking I’m Mona Lisa.” Your laughters blended nicely into each other. There was mutual mental acknowledgement of the happiness you were both feeling.
Jeno never let go of your hand, and there was a short moment of comforting silence where you two sat in each other’s existence. You were the one to break it, “are you doing anything after this?” 
He shook his head. “Well then, you’re mine for the rest of the night. We’re going to pretend we’ve been close friends since first year and eat take-out on my bed because that’s what I need at the moment.” 
+
“I know you respect my body and see this as an art form, but I’m genuinely surprised that you didn’t feel aroused at the slightest.”
Jeno didn’t even realize how much time had already passed being you. You two ate and chatted as if you’ve known each other forever, as if the friendship wasn’t established several hours ago. It felt safe and right, like you two belonged in each other’s existence and nowhere else mattered.
He felt warm inside from your hearty laughter and courage, like he was watching a painting come to life or a photo in movement. You were smitten over how endearing and complex he was. He was more than what meets the eye and that alone drew you towards him.
“Okay, I’ll admit,” Jeno paused to watch your reaction, “in the most respectable way, I was somewhat turned on. But! Before you trail blaze me for being just like every disgusting male in your life, I genuinely didn’t have any sexual thoughts during the photoshoot. That was all professional and it will continue to be like that.” 
Getting up from your bed, your mind was working at lightspeed to process his confession. Jeno was fast to pick up someone’s personality, what stood out and what was kept hidden. He knew quicker than anyone else that you were not someone to offend because you were a strong, straight forward woman.
His personality breakdown went like this: you knew what you like, you knew you were going to get what you want, you enjoyed flirty banter (with people of your choice), you weren’t afraid to be blunt, or kick someone’s ass. You carried yourself with confidence that graced your every step, which makes anyone attracted to you instantly. Bold, confident, sexy had to be what came to mind whenever he thought about you. 
Nonetheless, he really liked you as a person. He could pat himself on the back all day long for just approaching you, but he knew the real reason as to how this all happened. It was you saying yes to a stranger’s odd photoshoot. You made him the luckiest man in the world. 
“Continue? Are you looking for excuses to keep seeing me?” You smirked and Jeno’s voice grew small. 
“I--- uh, well,” there goes the nervous stammering, “I know the conditions were a one time thing, so I understand if you don’t want to do it again.” As the night had progressed, Jeno gradually began to hold eye contact and actually looked at you directly without the help of seeing you through a lens. This was the first time he broke it. 
“Hey now, I’m messing with you, Jeno.” He had been sitting on your floor, at the end of your bed. You crawled on your elbows to reach him, and to hold his chin to face you again. Deja vu. “I’d love to get naked for you again, and again, and.. as many times as you want me to.” 
He stared at you with his mouth hung open in disbelief. His eyes scanned your beautiful face to see your lips pull back into a mischievous smile. Gulping, he swallowed every ounce of courage he had left. “You don’t have to say it like that.” He tried to remove your grip, but it latched onto his hand. 
“You’re finally looking me in the eye, sweet thing. I don’t think you realize how much I had been wanting that from you.” You caressed his cheek, rubbing small circles on his texture. 
“What else do you want from me?” His implication sounded suggestive, even if his curiosity was innocent. 
Your hot breath brushed against Jeno’s lips. “I can show you.”
Jeno, the one and only college guy who has seen your naked body in a non-sexual context. Jeno, the shy, sweet boy who appreciated and recognized you as a form of art. Jeno, the talented and skillful photographer, who consistently made sure you felt comfortable. Jeno, the only person in the world who you’d model nude for. Jeno, the dazzling character behind the camera who you wanted more than anyone else you’ve ever met. Lee Jeno.
He seemed like he was inching closer, already tilting his head to fit your’s. You smiled to yourself, seeing that your words were received well. Diving in, your lips swam together fervently. 
The poor boy found himself lost in your enchanting, alluring gaze. He let the trance consume him, selfishly kissing the art he admired so dearly. A small part of him felt the guilt and confusion that began to rise. He wasn’t sure why he suddenly wished to feel your lips on his neck, or run his hands across your hot skin. He swore these thoughts were not present earlier. 
A small pop! and Jeno held your shoulder to pull away. “I’m sorry, did I do something?” You asked, honestly concerned that you were taking more than you deserved. The least you desired was to hurt Jeno, who had been nothing but nice and sweet.
“(Y/N),” you could listen to your name roll off his tongue all day, “I feel somewhat guilty. I don’t want things to be misunderstood.”
“Which would be?”
“I don’t want you to think I coerced you into being my model just because I had intentions to sleep with you.” Jeno was already gathering his things, but you hopped off your bed and placed a hand on his chest. “Because that’s what it’s starting to look like at the moment.”
“Was that something you did though? Did you have those intentions?” Your stare bore right through him. The warmth of your hand relaxed his racing heart.
“Never, (Y/N), I would never do that to someone.” Your hand traveled down to grab his belongings and tossed it back onto the ground. 
He silently watched as you took off your pants, and stood in front of him in your underwear. “Then, we’re fine. I know your intentions have always been pure. But truthfully, Jeno, seeing you focused while you worked sparked something in me. You don’t understand how aroused I got and how badly I wanted you to fuck me on that bed.” His hand trailed up your exposed thighs, finally touching your softness. “You’re the one guy I wanted first, and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that.” 
“I-- I don’t know what to say.” His cheeks revealed how embarrassed he was, but his dark, lustful eyes were telling a different story.
A smirk fell upon your face, “then don’t say anything.” 
Jeno devoured you, inhaling the light hint of vanilla that still lingered. He hoisted you onto your mattress and kissed you like his life depended on it. His antsy hands roamed your free range, exploring, holding, gripping the parts he marveled over. Small moans from the back of your throat encouraged him to continue.
No one has ever kissed you with the amount of passion Jeno did. It was gentle, with enough vigor to cause your panties to dampen. It wasn’t sloppy, where previous guys had a problem of missing your mouth entirely and slobbered your chin. 
His lips worshiped you, highlighting your good sides. Flashes of the photoshoot popped into Jeno’s head as he left purple marks on the places he loved capturing the most. He pushed up your shirt, exposing your chest to him again. His tongue circled around your hard nipple as he made sure to give the same amount of attention to each one. 
Jeno knew he was too shy to hold your intense stare, but getting to know you during and after the photoshoot, he could see the softness in your gaze. He was, now, able to see all of you. The sight of you through the camera was addicting enough, so finally taking you all in was more than satisfying. 
Your hands ran through his hair as he kissed down your torso. His thumbs hooked the waistband of your underwear, and peeled it off your body. You gasped as the cold air from your apartment grazed against your exposed figure.
Jeno paused to admire your glistening pussy, “would it be okay if you let me make love to you?”
Your heart burned, not out of embarrassment, but at how he still managed to ask you for your permission in the sweetest way. You rested your weight on your elbows, “no one has done that before, would it actually make me want to fall in love with you?”
“It wouldn’t be too bad. I have a lot of love to give and you look like a person who deserves all of it anyways.” Jeno’s finger ran over your wet slit and rubbed your clit slowly.
Your moans filled the room as the electric jolted throughout your veins. The wetness grew, seeping out of you like a waterfall. Jeno dropped down to his knees, and lifted your legs on his broad shoulders.
“Are you usually this wet, baby?”
Chuckling, you smiled at his bold choice in using pet names, “Just for you.”
He hummed, chiming at how he liked your answer. Spreading you open, his tongue met with your swollen bud that begged for his licks.
His tongue darted side to side, up and down and in result, your back arched in pleasure and a darkness clouded your mind. His name and mindless profanities streamlined their way out of you as Jeno ate you out in such a precisely delicious way.
Grabbing a fist full of hair, you pulled him closer, even if there was no more space to fill. Looking down, you two exchanged glances before he thrusted a finger into you. Your hips bucked harder as he eased in another one.
Jeno curled his fingers in search of your sweet spot and found it when a deep moan escaped your throat. His fingertips rubbed and pressed into your plush flesh, causing you to practically scream and squirm in his mouth. 
He suckled your clit and fingered you simultaneously and quickly. The pleasure was overflowing and you released his hair to grip your sheets below you. Your legs shook and trembled as he had no caution to stop.
“Please, I’m going to--” you could barely talk due to your face contouring to the splurge of pleasure every single time Jeno rubbed your spot. “--to explode.” 
He had to take back what he thought earlier in the day. This was the most beautiful sight he’s ever laid eyes on. The whole scene played like from one of his favorite films. It felt like he was giving his photos life. Your body twisted and turned, accentuating the curves of your lines. 
Jeno had become painfully hard against the fabric of his jeans, but seeing you fall apart because of his minimal movements exhilarated him. “P-Please, don’t stop.” A breathy moan followed suit and your thighs tried to press themselves together. Jeno didn’t allow it, his free hand hooked underneath your left thigh to pull one side away from his cheeks.
Your high gradually grew so tall that it all eventually came cascading down. Your legs shook violently and sat up from the euphoria that took over you. Jeno prolonged your buzz and you screamed loudly, having to bite down on your fingers to stop yourself from angering your neighbors.
Jeno drank you up, letting your wetness cover his chin and drip down his knuckles. He pulled away, at last, and you took deep breaths to control your heavy breathing. It was like Jeno knocked the wind completely out of you. 
He stood up and you saw the outline of his hard bulge straining itself through his jeans. The next scene was quite animalistic. You, still embodying your high, sat on your knees and unzipped his pants with your needy hands.
“Now, it’s your turn to get nude for me.” You whispered, tauntingly. Jeno groaned when you reached down and gently pulled him out. He stepped out of his clothing, all of it. His shirt was lost in the corner and his bottoms were scattered over your floor. Mirroring his actions, you took off your last piece of cloth.
Jeno was built. Though his biceps did not go unnoticed during the photoshoot, you were surprised at the lines of muscle that sketched his body. It made your mouth water, seeing his extremely hard dick stand against his toned abs. His red tip fell just below his navel. Jeno only kept getting better as the night continued on.
Pulling him closer, his hand found their way to the back of your head as you aligned your mouth to the wetness that spilled from his tip. “I want to make you feel good.” Jeno’s hoarse voice made your knees weak.
Peering up, you batted your eyelashes at him fondly. “Just a little taste?” You begged, having to hold his shaft with both of your hands because of his thickness. Your tongue was already stuck out, your hot breath causing the tiniest bit of sensation for him.
He nodded and his eyes were trained on you. He didn’t want to miss any second of your kitty licks. You flattened your tongue against his warmth, dragging it up to the top. The saltiness hit your palette as you swirled around his redness. “Oh--” Jeno threw his head back and bit his lip, “--lay on the bed now.” 
You smiled sweetly and gave his member a quick kiss before reaching for a condom in your drawer. Jeno climbed onto your bed and situated the rubber comfortably. You laid on your back and he was fast to pull your legs around his waist. 
He lined himself at your entrance and eased his tip in slowly. Squirming, you craved him to fill you up to the brim. He leaned down to kiss you, letting your tongue lap with his. It’s your hands with the mind of their own when they flew automatically to hold his face whenever you wanted to deepen the kiss. Then, Jeno stretched himself all the way in and he caught your gasp with his lips. He groaned, feeling the mess he created merely minutes ago. 
His hips moved so easily with your wetness, but he went slow. Dragging out each pull and then, pushing himself back in roughly. “Jeno!” Your body jolted up the bed each time. His body fell over yours to hold you intimately, letting you bury your face into his neck. Your lips latched themselves onto his sensitive skin, painting a purple sunset. 
Jeno’s arms snaked underneath your thighs as he pressed them to your chest, folding you almost into a ball. Your mouth hung open as he fucked you harder, rougher, deeper yet keeping the tempo rhythmically slow. At this point, you could feel his hits in your gut. Your weak hands gripped loosely around his strong wrists that held your legs down. “You’re pussy is so tight and holy shit---, you keep getting more beautiful.”
A familiar burning sensation set in your chest as you saw how concentrated his face had become. You were so fucked out that you could barely speak, “you—” his hips mercilessly slammed into you powerfully, enacting a low moan every time he reached your sweet spot. “—keep surprising me.” His actions came to a halt and he stared deeply into your soul. 
You whined, wiggling your hips for any friction. He held them down into the mattress, knowing his grip was strong enough to leave a mark. “I told you, I was going to make love to you tonight.”
“I’ve already fallen for you.” You said breathlessly, tracing the side of his face and pecking his lips softly. 
“You don’t understand what you’re doing to me by saying those things.” He whispered and pushed his entire shaft to fill you to your brim. 
You yelped his name and gripped his shoulders, but he wasn’t done yet. “Show me how badly you wanted me the first time you saw me.” Jeno blinked at you in slight shock. 
As he continued to hold the deep gaze, he kept pushing his dick further and further into you. He was balls deep, almost impossible to keep going. He fucked you without the need to pull out, just burying his cock deeper into your wet pussy. You exclaimed, moaned, cussed at every push. Holding the stare was more than enough to lose yourself all over him again. 
Jeno was drunk with the image of your fucked out expression and every time the mixture of pleasure and pressure caused your eyebrows to crease and mouth to open release sensual sound. He had been trying his best not to come undone, to fixate another climax for you.
The feeling of you wrapping tighter and tighter around him drove him insane. “Give it to me, please.” Your muffled plead called for his release, but he could feel that you were close to your second.
Jeno sat up on his knees and pulled you into his arms where your thighs fell over his. You groaned at the empty feeling, though it was quickly replaced with a gratifying moan when he inserted himself again. Your arms dangled around his neck, foreheads touching intimately. 
The fucking eye contact again, how could you get enough of it? You giggled, amused at how different Jeno was when he eventually opened up. He wrapped his strong arms around your back and thrusted his hips up into you. The way this man made you squirm, scream, and shake were nothing you’ve experienced before. 
He smirked, placing a gentle kiss on your cheek when he went rampage on your pussy. “Not laughing now, are you?”
You whined in pleasure, brushing your fallen strands of hair out of his face. “Shut up before I make you.” 
“Then I’d rather keep going.” Kissing up his jawline, you lead your way to his pout. His kisses intoxicated you with his passion and madness, like the most intense part of a symphony, or when the bass drops after a long build up in a song. 
Jeno sped up, ramming up into your slick pussy over and over again. He even brought your hips down to match him, guiding you down as he went up. The headboard was knocked against the wall, your windows steamed up, cries of pleasure from the both of you created the ambiance, the smell of sex filled your lungs. Jeno reached between your bodies to furiously rub your clit to where it felt almost raw. It all sent you into the clouds, the familiar queasiness settled in your lower half.
Your eyes rolled back and your back arched, having to pull away from the desirous kiss with Jeno. “I’m cumming!” You announced before the tension unraveled, causing you to see absolute white. The second wave was much more uncontrollable, Jeno felt you squeezing radically around his dick as he tried to fuck you faster to prolong the feeling.
Your legs shook around his and your upper body went limp with pleasure. You reached the peak of the mountain and it came crumbling down underneath your toes. It was catastrophically enthralling, to the point where you physically felt something leave your body.
“Oh shit..” Jeno stopped his motions at the sight of you squirting over his lap. He pampered your torso with fluttering kisses, hoping to calm your spastic body. “...baby, are you okay?” He asked with a bit of concern of how lack of life you seemed. 
This man just gave you the best climax in your whole life and he asked if you were okay? Regaining your senses, you sighed a small yes to reassure him that he didn’t actually murder you. Hopping off, you pulled the condom that restricted him.
He hissed when you cupped his balls in your palm. “Cum, my sweet thing.” You purred and Jeno’s hand pumped his member aggressively. You leaned in to help, sucking the tip and flicking your tongue over his slit. 
His other hand gripped your neck, causing you to drip on your sheets. Jeno was panting and with every tug, it became louder. He seemed so desperate to release that it made you smile to be the reason behind it. “Can you lay down,” A grunt followed his question, “please.” He huffed.
“Because you asked nicely.” Smirking, your back hit the sheets and you opened your legs to give Jeno a view. He situated himself above your stomach, as he fucked his tight grip.
“I’m cumming---” He couldn’t look any more amazing. With a final moan, the white streaks streamed out in short sequences. It landed across your abdomen, over your nipple, and pooled around your belly button. 
Bringing himself back to reality, Jeno stepped back to marvel you, his masterpiece. The white streaks coated your purple skin and your chest rose fast to catch your reality. Gazing upon your naked body, he was utterly infatuated with all of you. He was so in love with the sight of you that not a single photo could capture the beauty that you were. 
Jeno pondered the thought of how merely a day changed a small part of him. You were life changing, addicting, an incomparable character that he felt like he’s known forever, and now, couldn’t live without. It was the taste of your juices on his lips, your sweet melodic music that was your voice, your daring smile that enticed him to never peel away from you. It was simply you. 
He leaned down to rub his knuckles against your cheek, planting a lovingly peck on your forehead. “I’ll go start the water for you.” 
+
Jeno anticipated the reaction of his mentor. He found himself at the same scene he was when he was first given the task. Taemin sat across from him, hunched forward to analyze his new set of photos on his laptop. Raw, unedited photos of you, your body, your details. 
The hum of the air conditioning droned on, driving him mad. Jeno needed one reaction, but Taemin had been silent and expressionless for the past ten minutes. Whenever he did move, it was to click through to the next picture. 
Suddenly, he shut it closed and stood right up. Jeno, panicked, did the same. Taemin stuck his hand out and Jeno hesitantly grabbed it, incredibly unsettled and unable to read the older man.
Taemin received it firmly, giving Jeno a good handshake. “Welcome abroad, Lee Jeno. I expect even more great things from you.” 
Jeno registered his delightful mood switch and he was fast to follow up, “my photos, --- you --- like them?” 
Taemin nodded generously, patting Jeno on his shoulder. Taemin reached up to tap his own eyelids. “What you can see, is very special, kid. You’re an artist and I’m here to recognize that for you. It seems to me, you can do more than take pictures of sidewalks.” 
Jeno smiled happily, his eyes disappearing from joy. He couldn’t wait to tell you about it. 
The rest of the week, leading up to Jeno’s appointment, had felt nothing short of blissful moments together. You and Jeno spent almost every waking minute together without the cost of your friends’ time. He walked you to your classes, some even being across the campus from his own. You accompanied him for meals, even sitting in his lectures to just be with him.
There were no words that established what you two had become to each other. Jeno wasn’t looking for that anyways, in fact, he somewhat liked the ambiguity. If only he could tell you how making love to you made him begin to actually fall for you.
You were never one to hold a serious relationship, but you found a small want for that festering in Jeno. It was hard to admit to yourself, but Jeno saw you for all that you were. He truly saw you, whether it had been through a lens or through his own eyes. He captured your rawness and you were able to find vulnerability around him. 
He ran to you, where you sat in the lobby waiting for him to finish his meeting. Peering up from your phone, you noticed the beaming smile on the boy’s face. You couldn’t hold back your own grin, seeing him apparent with so much joy. “I’m guessing good things?”
“I got it, (Y/N)!” He jumped into your arms and you laughed at the sudden affection. “He loved my photos.” 
“I didn’t doubt it for one second. You’re an artist, Jeno. You create masterpieces that make even someone like me, feel like art.” 
Jeno hugged you closer to his chest, giving you a tiny squeeze. Pulling away to face you, his eyes examined your outstanding grace. You knew what he was already going to say, but simply wanted to hear him say it. “That’s because you are art.”
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sylverstorms · 3 years
Text
Miranda x Mia---- Eternal
A Ko-Fi commission I wrote for the wonderful @saltwatereulogies. Thank you so very much for the support and I hope you enjoy the fic!
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Drip. Splatter.
The first sound you’re aware of is that of the occasional waterdrop crashing onto the same humid, uneven floor you’re lying on.
The second is the sound of her voice.
“Rise and shine.” she says, somewhere off to the side. You are still too disoriented to pinpoint exactly where.
You’re not dizzy enough, though, to not immediately realize you’re trapped. The way the light behind your captor shines makes it all the more obvious, casting large shadows in the shape of your prison bars across your small, moldy cell.
“Y-you…” you struggle to talk. Your throat is too dry and your temples pound like a war drum. It feels like you’ve collided with a truck. And yet her voice commanding you to sleep is the last thing you remember.
“I haven’t formally introduced myself. Though I’m sure your friend has told you about me.”
You blink to make your vision focus yet it’s hopeless. She is but a dark blur to you –am I hallucinating or are those wings?
“My name is Miranda.”
Suddenly, that name snaps everything into focus so sharply you could get whiplash. You’re on your knees the next second, just about ready to leap at her. She’s the one. The one Chris warned you about. She may look like an angel but she is a devil.
“I don’t care who the hell you are! What do you want from me?!” you demand.
“Your cooperation in my experiments, for starters.” she says it calmly, but she is no fool to believe you’ll just agree to that, you can see it in her crystal-blue eyes.
“Ha! As if!” you retort.
“Well. That answer will change when I have Rose.” The name of your daughter makes every nerve ending in your body kick at once.
“What. Like Ethan will just hand her over to the likes of you?”
“Actually.”
A slow smirk crosses her full lips. Then their shape changes to match yours. All of her does, until you are left looking at a perfect mirror of yourself. Only, there’s no way you look quite that good inside of this shitty cell.
“He’ll hand her over to you.”
When she laughs, it is your own voice haunting your ears.
-
-
She has your daughter. She has your everything in her hands. So, she has your cooperation, as well.
Miranda doesn’t really talk when she comes to collect blood samples for whatever experiments she needs them. Your initial cries and questions were muted the second she told you the more helpful and less annoying you are, the more inclined she’ll feel to bring Rose to you for a while.
In the end, you do let yourself be her docile little lab rat.
Until you literally can’t take the silence anymore.
“Was it really… that easy?” ‘To enter my home and take my daughter’ you want to add but you can’t even get the words past your throat.
She seems to understand, though. “Effortless.” she isn’t being cocky as she says it. In fact, she seems almost surprised herself. At least, from the angle you get of her face, while she’s studying a strange rock-like substance under a microscope.
“How the hell did Ethan not figure out you aren’t me?!” That moron. He just gave your daughter to her. That clueless moron!
For a split second, you see her lip twitch in what could, perhaps, be a withheld smile. “I was there for a day, so. Seems like your husband doesn’t know you quite that well.”
Is it really fair to blame him for not knowing you, though? With the secrets you’ve kept from him? The distance? The trauma from the shared nightmare you experienced coming back to you every time you even looked at him?
God, Rose really is the only thing that kept you together, isn’t she…
It’s easy to hate the accursedly beautiful bitch outside your cell. It’s easy to blame Ethan for not even suspecting something was amiss with you for a whole damn day.
It is not so easy to blame yourself as much as you do them.
-
-
Miranda replies when you ask her things, so you ask her about herself. To your surprise, she does not shroud her motives from you.
She has lost her daughter, she tells you, and the only way to get her back is through yours. For the first time since you met her, you see emotion clearly expressed in her eyes and voice. You recognize how she longs to be with her child again.
You can understand the never-ending grief of a mother losing her offspring. You know if anything happened to Rose you would rather fling yourself off a cliff than live a life without her.
And apparently, that is what she tried to do, too. She tried to die –and discovered life instead. That is what she calls it, anyway. All you can hear as she explains is that she found –and founded— the Mold. The same one that ruined your husband and you.
One more reason to hate the psycho witch.
And yet.
When you try to reach for the rage you previously held for her, you find that it’s gone. You’re bitter, you’re exhausted, you want to cry and above everything you want to see Rose again. But you don’t loathe her as you should.
“What do you mean… the only way to get Eva back is through Rose?” you dare ask after several minutes of silence.
She turns to look at you, eyes as piercing as they are blue. “Technically, the trade is simple.” Maybe you’re losing it from the stress and lack of sleep, but you think she almost hesitates for a second. “…a life for a life.”
As soon as she speaks and the meaning of her words registers in your mind, you’re gripping at the rusty iron bars with all your might, rattling them, shouting profanities at her. You are back to hating her all over again. It’s much simpler this way.
Until… she walks over and grabs your hand over the metal. Her touch is oddly warm for such a glacial heart. You cannot tell what she does to you, but it feels like an aura flowing through your system that silences you. Calms you. You do not want to be calm.
“I wasn’t finished.” she speaks. “That is where the experiments with you come in. By running tests on your blood and Rose’s and using my DNA as a medium, during the ritual I can trick the Megamycete into giving me what I want through a form of mitosis. Essentially, cell duplication that will not override the existing vessel.”
To be honest… you lost her midway through the very first sentence. You were quite good with biology back in the day but right now, in the state you’re in, science is going right over your head.
“...Is there an English version of that.” you ask.
Her mouth curves into that almost-smile again. It would be quite gorgeous, actually, if she hadn’t kidnapped you, infiltrated your home as you and abducted your daughter.
“If the tests succeed, you get your daughter back, I get mine from cloned DNA and Mold cells.” There’s a hint of pride in her voice as she says it.
And now, assuming she’s telling the truth, you want those tests to succeed more than you want to get out of here. Her hand leaves yours and the weird calm she blasted into you dissipates with it.
“Wait. So…” Realization strikes you like a thunderclap. “So these tests are for me?”
“You’re welcome.”
“I didn’t say thank you, you crazy b—blonde.” You rattle the iron bars again, a tad weaker than before. She does smirk over the microscope, this time. “How likely are the tests to succeed?” you ask impatiently.
“Quite.” she replies, flat once again.
“…And if they don’t?” you hate how your voice shakes there, at the end.
She looks at you, dead in the eyes, as she answers: “I am getting my daughter back either way, Mia.”
You can’t believe it. You cannot believe you’re thinking this, but you hope the crazy bitch knows what she’s doing.
-
-
Miranda is… despicable, but she is a woman of her word.
She brings you Rose for hours at a time and in exchange you help her outside of your cell. You thought your daughter would be in a worse condition, considering who keeps her, yet she’s healthy as ever, well-fed and clean. The worst part is, she laughs every time Miranda comes close and she even reaches out for her.
“No, my darling, don’t do that.” you tell her, tucking her tighter in your arms, before the woman behind you notices what’s happening.
Except it’s too late. “Ah, I see.” Miranda speaks, coming up to you from behind. She’s tall enough to lean over your shoulder and wave at Rose, who moves both hands towards her. “A lady of taste.” the woman praises and the lightness to her voice almost makes her sound like someone else. Someone normal.
“Stop it.” You turn your child away from her. “She’s just confused because you’re lit up like a Christmas tree.” You motion with your chin at her getup.
Miranda chuckles. “What. She senses our bond. Rose feels safe with me.”
Safe with the monster who wants to sacrifice her to get her own child back. You cannot swallow that thought down. “But she’s not, is she?!” you snap.
“She is.” Miranda reverts to her cool facade, glancing down at your daughter. “I will never let anything hurt her. And when she gives me Eva back, I will make sure she grows up bathed in luxury.”
It’s the Mold, you’re sure of it.
It’s the Mold’s fault that you believe her.
-
-
You were supposed to see Rose today. Instead, Miranda comes into the cave alone, looking irritated. You start to worry. Nothing phases her without a good reason. What if—
“Where’s my daughter?!” you demand, eyes wide.
“We have a problem.” she tells you. Your blood goes cold in your veins. “A problem named Ethan Winters.”
“Ethan?” you gasp.
“He is trying to get Rose back and according to reports from the Lords under me, he cannot be killed. His hand got cut off and he just reattached it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” she’s certain that you know. You can see it in her steely eyes.
“I— why would I—”
“Before you think to lie to me, hear something else. I bear good news, as well.” Miranda says. “I have succeeded in my experiments. During the ritual, I can guarantee Rose will remain unharmed and unchanged.” the edge of her lip curls up as she delivers the news. You almost cry from the sheer relief.
You almost leap forward and hug her, yet you remember who she is and that she caused this mess in the first place.
“But my conditions have changed.” her voice is a sword that cuts off your happiness just like that. You knew it was too good to be true. “For me to save Rose, you will tell me how to permanently get rid of Ethan Winters.”
…What?
She wants you to… trade your daughter for your husband? How the hell can I do that?!
“He has ruined too much for me to let him walk away happily now.” Her jaw is tight enough to sprout new lines on her flawless face. She wants him dead and she always gets what she wants. “He has killed colleagues of mine. Spat in the face of a damn-near god. I will have his head.”
The corners of your eyes sting with welling tears. Your body is far more honest than you in making a decision. Nobody is too important to sacrifice when it comes to your daughter. Not yourself. Not Ethan. And Miranda knows this better than anybody else. You loathe how she knows.
“Give him to me, Mia. And in a few days this whole thing will be over.” she continues in a significantly softer tone, getting closer to you. Her wings shift, the very edge of black feathers brushing your arms.
“You want me to aid in killing the father of my child?!” you sob, grabbing at her clothes. You’d expect her to shove you away, but she doesn’t move. She doesn’t even blink.
“You have been so cooperative and so brave.” she soothes, gold-taloned fingers coming underneath your chin. “Make one last sacrifice for me. Help me murder Ethan so Rose can live. Help me and I vow to be her eternal guardian angel. Hers and yours.”
She could just force the answer out of you. She’s touching you and you know she has that power. But she doesn’t do it and it’s far worse this way. She wants it to be your choice.
You look away from Miranda’s icy eyes and her promises of everything.
And you tell her.
-
-
You do not ask about Ethan. All that’s in your mind is the ceremony.
For the entire morning, you cannot breathe. You trace notes in her lab and pace around until you literally feel like you’ll explode—
And then Miranda comes in. She is radiant, smiling from ear to ear, glowing with pure joy. She looks every part the goddess she pretends to be. The golden circle usually adorning her back is gone, her long blonde hair is left free to flow like fine strands of silk past her square shoulders.
“It is done!” she tells you, a hand extended for you to take. “Come. I’ll take you to Rose and you will be the first to meet Eva.”
Her hand is warm when it closes around yours. Black wings shroud you both. There is a gravitational pull around you that’s so intense you shut your eyes and grab onto her biceps for dear life.
“You can look, now.” she speaks once the world is stable again. Your gut is churning, yet every bit of exhaustion and discomfort vanish the second you see Rose. She is safe within the first of the two golden cribs in front of you, bathed by the soft sunlight that disperses across the luxurious, dark-tiled chamber you’re in.
You run towards her, lifting your daughter in your arms and kissing her forehead over and over. She laughs at you, blue eyes crinkled. My love. My everything, you think. Everything was worth it for this moment. And you would do it all again, to ensure her safety.
Miranda’s steps, regal and authoritative, come to a stop near the other crib. You lean closer, take a look… to see another little angel there, sleeping peacefully. She resembles Rose, yet she resembles Miranda, too.
“Oh my God.” you breathe. “You really did it.”
“I did it and you and Rose made it possible, Mia.” she says. Your child extends a tiny hand towards her. She removes one of her claws and lets her finger be taken in your baby’s grip. “You don’t have to leave. She loves me already.” A proud smile curves her lips.
You hate how it looks like a sunrise.
You hate it even more that you understand why Rose is so charmed.
“Her mom can grow to love me, too.” Crystal eyes look into your own. “There is no place safer than by my side. Stay and we will raise them together. You won’t have to fear disease or death with me. You and Rose will have every little thing you could ever want. Forever.”
You don’t want your child to be co-patented by this selfish megalomaniac, who is the killer of her father. But. Then you stop to consider what you have been through until now. Nightmare after nightmare; this vicious cycle does not look like it will be broken. One thing or another will haunt you and hunt you wherever you go. You don’t want that life for Rose.
You won’t accept that life for Rose.
“…we will stay. But you can forget that part about me growing any fonder of you than I am now.”
Miranda nods, but something in her expression is so damn cocky you want to smack her. “Oh, what’s that, Rose? You can tell your mother is lying, too? My genius girl.”
Your jaw drops. She is my genius girl!
Miranda then touches your chin and tilts it up. You don’t want to be any closer to the gorgeous fucking witch, but when she stops there, hovering just over your mouth for a skipped heartbeat, looking down at you with those crystalline eyes of hers, you’re paralyzed.
Her lips slide over your own for just one slick, hot second. When she pulls back, she caresses Rose’s cheek and winks at you.
“I hate you.” you say, yet it holds no real bite. God, you’re exhausted.
“That’s alright. We have all the time in the world to change that.”
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sakumareikun · 3 years
Note
I'm pretty new to enstars so can I ask for some past rei with s/o headcanons? possibly make the s/o a childhood friend so they see his past and present sides lol
i love the whole concept of adding a childhood friend to rei's life because it just gets BETTER for him and i rly love rei being happy. he just gets kinda wrecked toward the end...
(tw: death/s--cide mentions in the middle part)
→ given that rei and keito were also childhood friends (to an extent) s/o would have met him. however, at some point (maybe puberty-ish age?) keito gravitated away from him and toward eichi, so that left rei with s/o more often than not. and you know what? those were some really good years they'd have with rei. i love that for both of them.
→ (they all could have had a whole fun dynamic that may or may not have involved a love triangle or other similar situations... but, while that is a fun concept, i don't know that much about keito and want to answer this ask first lmao.)
ANYWAY for actual headcanons:
→ crossroads opened with rei dragging keito around the school, jumping from the second floor to the ground floor, nearly hopping onto someone's motorcycle and just going. his s/o would be pulled into this type of daredevil stuff all the time.
→ with all the instruments rei knows... well, s/o got serenaded on more than one occasion. (i bet that's how the relationship started, actually.)
→ maybe he taught them instruments too - there's nothing nicer than his hands positioning theirs properly on the strings of a guitar or the keys on a piano, being very close, talking to them with the gentlest voice. he's patient.
→ they could expect lots of praise for whatever they do, whatever they succeed in! rei tried his best to help them get better at anything they do - he's absurdly skilled/talented at everything so of course he'd put a lot into helping his s/o improve.
→ man, there would be so many people jealous of their relationship. but rei didn't take well to anyone acting on it. or... just anyone touching s/o in a way they don't want. he was really intimidating when he got protective, so i don't think there would have been many instances of that.
→ there's a lot of refs in canon to past-rei being treated like a god, put on a pedestal, etc. that means they'd be also a god and/or his mortal lover. (how cute would hades/persephone references be?)
→ the 'learning from the past' event goes way into the details behind rei's current vampire thing: he watched the show 'vampire shogun' A Lot. as kids, s/o had to sit and watch it with him at least once for every episode. which also means he'd watch things s/o liked as well... however, i think he'd probably be talking/commenting while watching it, unless he was really absorbed (rare.)
→ rei never refused requests ever, so the 🥺 worked on him. they'd never have to worry about asking for something, because if it was a reasonable request he'd gladly indulge them! (and it still does, but i'm sure they'd have seen how worn down he got from doing that during wartime, so i'm sure they handle it carefully now.)
and now i get too into Plot again
→ another part of rei is how casually he talks about death, and very concerning/worrying when he expressed that s--cidal ideation. it was especially strong the last year and s/o would prooobably have noticed, he is their childhood friend and they know how he is, and being that i am 90% sure they'd already be dating him by that point... yeah!
... except he'd brush any concern right off. i don't think he wants them to worry about him at all and he never seemed to believe it was a problem, so i don't know how much they could really do if they tried to persuade him?
→ that said, i think he'd have tried to push them away a bit at some point? during wartime, he had very spontaneous reappearances / disappearances, was busy overseas a lot (solving stuff at other schools and looking for a cure for ritsu's condition iirc.) so i don't think he would be the one to break up with them, but there comes a point where he barely keeps in contact, can't be reached by ANYONE, so s/o has every right to call it off if they want. tbh, i think he'd expect it and already feel awful about it.
→ but! if they actually don't break up with him, or welcome him back in any capacity... then, once he's finally worn down enough to drop being past-rei, i'm sure he comes back really apologetic as vampiric-old-man-rei. probably still as loving as before. take that as you will, s/o!
→ ... and after that. well! i think p. much every writer here (from what i've seen) does a really good job on actual details/hcs about dating current rei, so i highly recommend their hcs/writing for that!
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aio-rya · 3 years
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Pomefiore Kabedon Headcanons
Fem!Reader SO x Pomefiore trio~
「Requested by: Anon」
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Vil 👑
・He does this to you sometimes, when you are alone and he wants to give you attention before you run away. But when you thought you could get your revenge, your heel slipped on the polished floor of Pomefiore's hallway and you were now at his mercy.
・Fool of you to think you could surprise him. Instead of getting him caught against the wall, you were now with your back against it, shrugging by the sight of his tall, beautiful figure leaning over you.
・"What is this, my beloved potato?", he asks, moving aside a strand of your hair to caress your smooth skin. His touch is soft but his eyes are dangerously serious, you actually are speechless.
・He never asks things twice, so he now lifts your chin with a finger to look you straight in the eyes. He is curious about your motives and he gets nearer to make you nervous until you, suddenly, burst in laughter.
・You got him startled which made you laugh harder, he sighed, letting you go but you caught his hand and placed it on your cheek. Then started with your explanation about trying to pin him down against the wall just as a little revenge, you didn't even preview he could turn things to his advantage.
・Vil lectures you about how long it takes him to get ready at morning, furthermore, he lectures you about how you slipped when you made your "seductive" move and you could have hurt yourself. This without pulling away from you, getting near until you could feel his breath on your skin.
・But he has his own way to take his revenge. He will tease you for days using your own strategy, pinning you against a wall... And finally leaving as you sigh, defeated. As you know now you are at his mercy, you have learnt you cannot mess with your lover.
Rook 🏹
・Le Chasseur d'Amour is not easy to catch, specially since he is the expert on camouflage; as a hunter he knows how to hunt someone and how to know when you're being chased. That's why he wouldn't be surprised when you place your tiny arms aside his body.
・"It seems like Trickster has been doing research, hasn't you, mon amour ?", he will ask with a smirk in response to your disappointed expression. He will place his hands on your arms to weaken them and make you fall into his chest.
・His voice with a mischievous gleam when he praises the beauty on your attempt, giving you some advice about being a hunter. Making you so immersed on his speech to realise he has been moving, getting away from the wall and making you walk backwards.
・"This is how you do it", he will say to make you aware that now your back is the one against the wall. "Beauté!~", he whispers by the sight of your surprised visage. He left you breathless, his hunting talent is great enough to make you being hunted in your own game.
・You triggered something on him, some hunting instinct he never had before —not to chase you and make you run away desperately on the forest surrounding the castle but something more... Private. His desire is to surprise you and finish what he couldn't start that day.
・You must be careful since you never know where would he be appearing from. He approaches carefully enough for you not noticing, but not silent enough to scare your heart out of your chest, instead, enough to pin your back against the wall and whisper, "this is how you do it, mon amour~"
・Of course, since you are smaller, you have the chance to sneak from him and run away, so he has to chase you now. Sometimes you are fast enough to turn him and trap him between your arms —ah~! What a lovely Mouse-n'-Cat game.
Epel 🍎
・ The little Poisoned Apple is fairly easy to surprise, you will succeed on your first attempt without any doubt... But be aware, you must not expect a friendly reaction from him without exception, which means you: his beloved SO. His innocent appearance hides his ferocious reflexes.
・His wide open eyes with a shocked expression are an awful combination with your loud laughter. "You are lovely", is what you say, resting your forehead on his chest as you weaken your grip on the wall. Big mistake, your attempt of praising him got a completely different result.
・Your body may be smaller, and Epel has not enough muscles to be seen but for sure he is strong and your "prank" just triggered this pseudo "bad boy" personality he has on the inside —without any advice, he holds your waist and turns around so now your back is facing the building.
・"Am I still lovely?", he asks in dangerous voice trying to look as serious as his appearance allows him to be. Of course you stopped laughing, you never thought he could even think about changing the move.
・As you speak in calm voice trying to explain the situation, looking for a way to sneak under his arms, he easily realise about your idea and press his body against yours. It's not awkward but for you is completely unexpected, now you are sure he is not letting you go.
・You started getting nervous and that was an obvious fact to him, enough to take advantage of it and start teasing you about how you were the cute thing now and how you just looked so defenseless. His complaints always had the same conclusion: it was not funny to be trapped without a way to leave.
・He promises to try it again but you know he would never, he may forget or he just doesn't have the courage. But you haven't learned your lesson, this was not the last time you tried it and of course, it wouldn't be the last time Epel will turn things around to work on his favour —after all, he is learning from Vil how to use beauty and strength on his advantage.
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life-rewritten · 3 years
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WE BEST LOVE (Fighting Mr Second) Deyi And The Role of Family, Duty/Obligation and Responsibility.
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Let’s get to it, oh my, We Best Love just keeps on getting better and better the more I break it down. Seriously I am so surprised by how much I can write about this show especially when it comes to these two, they’re so incredibly written in my perspective just because they hit all the right things I want from writing; they are 3 dimensional, they’re flawed and realistic, they are relatable (the more we get to understand why they do what they do) and their romance is both sweet and entertaining but also deep and serious. There’s nothing else I can say when it comes to praising this show especially season 2 which is very polarising to the audience because they feel whiplashed by the sudden seriousness and change of tone with the goals the show is trying to achieve. My thing is if you don’t understand the show properly, and how the characters have been planned and written from the start, you end up in season 2 just being sad and frustrated by how many mistakes the characters make, how stupid and illogical their actions seem when they do something or they respond to something. For example in episode 3 Shide is seen as an idiot, a noble idiot, his actions by pulling away and refusing to communicate and be open with Shuyi is seen as stupid and annoying because it caused a lot of pain, suffering, anguish for them that could be avoided. And yes it was uncontrollable situation to him that he tried to deal with but because there are other ways he could have dealt with this more maturely, smarter and better, there is this struggle to try and forgive and understand his perspective for why he decided to stay away from Shuyi for 5 years. It’s very sad and upsetting to know the reason is again a basic trope used in BLs and romance stories. But again I keep saying We Best Love isn’t trying to do something different it’s using the same tropes in this genre but writing it better. And I know it doesn’t seem like the choices made so far in the show is smart but there is understanding when you finally break down what the writers are trying to say with this story, why the writers are choosing this path. So again I come with another essay (my second one this week) focusing on Deyi and why it’s more complicated than just what we saw in episode 3 about the truth of Shide’s reason for why he chose to give into Shuyi’s father. Let’s break it down shall we?
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The Theme of Family in WBL
The first thing about this essay is going to be focusing on the role of family, duty, obligation and responsibility in We Best Love. Family is something that has always been important in the show since we started of our couples first reason for talking to each other being that they both have lost a family member. The effects of Family in the show is very prominent and shown in season 2 of WBL. But also it’s always been hidden and hinted at how the environment that Shuyi and Shide grew up in (Nature vs Nurture) had made them become who they are in both seasons. So the reason why Shide is  seen as responsible, always in control and strong is because of him having to replace his father’s role when he was younger to want to be the one to protect and take care of his family. For Shide Family means everything to him it’s what makes him who he is, his focus is his duty and obligation to them to make sure they are living peacefully and safe. This started of just as his mother and him but later on as we see in season 1 he also then takes the responsibility (In America) over his stepfamily as well, we don’t know exactly why he’s the one who has to deal with a lot of struggles to protect the family again, but everything he does is to keep them safe. The reason why we see him in season 2 in his company is again to do with Family. And Shuyi is not different, Shuyi is also shadowed by the influence, control and hold of Family, he has a legacy he has to protect, but also someone he has to impress and become like his father who he was left with. Whilst Shide takes on the role of protecting the family’s safety and happiness by ensuring they’re taken care of and at ease, Shuyi also takes on this role to protect his position, his heritage and his father’s riches and company by being competitive and determined to be on top. So this has always been there since season 1, it explains a lot about how these two think and how they act. They’re both feeling pressured by the responsibility, duty and obligation they have to the role they play in their family to succeed.  And what season 2 does is it brings that to light, it shows the struggles that they have been going through but also it makes us see the sacrifices and choices they have to make because of this influence of Family and pressure of Duty.  The idea of having to both hold a weight of responsibility which clouds people from them, their wants and needs, and leads them to make constant sacrifices.
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The Introduction to Shuyi’s Father
 So that’s important to notice because episode 3 brings in a revelation that Shuyi’s father is very important to the break down of our couple’s relationship and the reason for why they’ve both entered a state of misunderstanding and miscommunication.  It’s because he pressured and made Shide separate from Shuyi for 5 years that we are in this well of pain and anguish and toxicity. Shuyi’s father is not introduced to us immediately in season 1 but his shadow is there. The mentions of how Shuyi has an easy life, his wealth, having people keep an eye on him, having a very privileged easy life is hinted throughout the whole season until finally it’s after Shuyi and Shide fall for each other, the father shows up from the dark. He’s been keeping an eye on Shuyi and looking out for any hints or clues for obstacles to his goals, but also when we first see him he’s shrouded in dark lit room, he’s cold, has a powerful aura and demands to know more about the situation. We can already see from how he reacts that he’s angered by the situation. So we know he is going to be our villain in season 2, it’s not a surprise to realise that he’s always been the reason for why our couple is separated, it’s not a surprise to see that he’s an obstacle to them. But the thing about him is that as much as he is at first just a typical one dimensional homophobic BL parent, he’s more than that, in fact at the end of this analysis you will see he’s not even the villain the writers want us to focus on because he’s not a villain, he’s actually so more than that. Let me explain more.
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A Lovers Game or A Long Lasting Commitment?
The first time we see him as an obstacle is when he calls Shide,  after Shide returned back to America to find Shuyi and know what’s going on. Shuyi had misunderstood and thought Shide was married with a kid and had left him. So Shuyi was not speaking to Shide and Shide after dealing with his own family issues, finally returned to Taiwan and came to face to face with the father instead of Shuyi. The father is determined immediately to stop their relationship, the first reason he gives is because he thinks it’s not long lasting, it’s fickle. He calls it a game. Of course our mindsets and Shide’s start to think he says this because he’s phobic, he’s belittling what they have, he’s refusing to take it seriously and he thinks it’s doomed to end. He doesn’t think the relationship is strong or right enough to help Shuyi, he sees it as a waste of time and an obstacle that needs to be stopped. He’s determined. This is quite contrary to what Shide and Shuyi believed about what they had, they believed especially Shide that they would have forever, because that’s how devoted he was to Shuyi which is what he tries to say.
Shide tells the father that he’s serious about what they have but also that Shuyi can leave him but  he won’t give up on Shuyi. Again this is a huge hint to one of the reasons for why Shide is lacking, or what was his first mistake, his doubt in Shuyi. In that sentence it’s him that is chasing, he believes it’s his strength and determination to make their relationship succeed because that’s how he’s always been since they were  together and  that’s what always got Shuyi’s attention. He doesn’t trust fully Shuyi’s commitment to him because he always believed for so long that it was one sided. In a way Shide views Shuyi’s feelings for him as weaker than his, it can change at anytime, it’s not as strong as his, hence the consequences of his actions is that he hurts Shuyi’s pride and feelings by  holding back the truth from him because he wasn’t confident in what they had.
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A Volatile Fight For Survival and Peace 
But this is not just what the father uses as his reasons for why they shouldn’t be together. Again connected to phobic beliefs he focuses on Shuyi’s future in the company. Remember this is what Shuyi’s character outline is connected to, his duty and obligation to protect his position as the heir of his father’s company. So we find out that the father believes that the environment is harsh and inhospitable for Shuyi if he’s found out by the shareholders of the company that he’s with Shide. The father views Shide as an obstacle to Shuyi’s peace and comfort in the future. Shuyi has been told this before and also Shuyi knows he’s being watched by the shareholder, he’s under pressure by them and he mentions how much he is in this season.
Shuyi’s initial reaction is also always focused on control and protection of the position he has, because he was constantly told he had to be more stronger and better to be in a great position where he was safe, his father made him active, agile and more but that only always broke his spirits, broke his trust in others and broke his heart because he also constantly felt like he was never enough because he was           always losing. It’s actually his father’s constant push that makes Shuyi determined to always become first because he was always told he had to be ahead to get to where his father was. His father’s shadow always covered him and led him to always distrusting and misunderstanding people’s actions, he always felt babied, and without freedom to actually do what he wants until he fell for Shide. This is why he states to Shide I didn’t want to fall for a guy after he confesses to him. Not because he didn’t know what he was or he was in denial but because of the exact reasons that his father gave to Shide, because of the pressure of taking over and being watched by people and the shareholders, of being used as a weapon to take him down in the homophobic society he was in. Shuyi saw competition even in season 1, it was always his focus because his life has always been about that, Shide saw wanting attention and notice to ensure that he was never seen in his protector role as weak or vulnerable  to get what he wanted, to make a name for himself, and to be something more.
. It’s the reason for why Shuyi has to fire half of the company because it makes the Shareholders trust that he’s in control and isn’t weak. The father also mentions how it’s family that are also enemies to them, because they’re also looking for reasons to see Shuyi’s downfall. (hence why Shuyi is so distrustful of people because his own family also wants to see him fail).  This is when we start to see the intentions of the father’s actions, yes he has a phobic mindset but the focus is on Shuyi’s protection, the focus is on making sure Shuyi is safe. The father believes that the shareholders all are phobic hence showing the environment that he was raised in but also his mindset that has been framed by ignorance, tradition and society. The father doesn’t want Shuyi to struggle with the company because he won’t be able to manage the shareholders’ power if they do have something to say since they also affect the stocks and how the company runs. In a way his business is also in jeopardy in his head, he wants to have an heir to his company to secure the safety of it but Shide might be an obstacle to that because of how society and the environment they are in is.
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What’s ironic is that Shide is remarkably similar to the father when he mentions his past in terms of struggling and trying to make it to be something. The father talks about how he started from scratch to make this company hence he knows the struggles, the chaos, the vicious environment surrounding them, which is why he constantly wanted Shuyi to be strong, to be seen as successful, to be seen as in control, because he knows what Shuyi will have to go through  with that role. He doesn’t want  Shuyi to struggle with the same stuff, it’s ironic because Shide is actually in the father’s position when he was younger, where he is struggling with responsibility, and work and making a company stay safe and being someone in society. That’s why it’s sad but also funny that both Shide and the father in their acts of always wanting to protect and keep Shuyi safe they actually just hurt him and they make him feel insecure and less than because of what they do to him. But again it’s understandable why they are so determined to protect what they love because its what they love, Shuyi is precious to them both, and they don’t mean to make him feel the way they do, to hurt him, or to push him away. The father is not meant to be seen as the villain of the show; it’s society that is the villain of WBL, how society acts, how they pressure people to think, how they control our ways we view ourselves and our freedom, that’s why the father is shown slowly to be just jokey, funny and  sweet in his own way to Shuyi, he’s not cold he’s warm despite being such a suffocating shadow over Shuyi. So that’s a very important thing to notice about the show with what they want to show with the father. It’s society that’s making him act the way he’s acting.
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The Distance Of Two Different Worlds Apart
The father also mentions another reason for why he thinks Shide and Shuyi are unfit. He claims they are from different worlds. This is so eye opening because again Shide has the same ideas in his head about the struggles that they face (it causes his insecurity of why Shuyi’s feelings may be weaker). Being from different worlds is why Shide is determined to be number one. When Shuyi’s father mentions that they are from different worlds it puts a perspective again on understanding why Shide feels insecure about what he is to Shuyi but also why he’s so determined to by himself make sure that what they have is safe and okay. It’s why he’s so focused on protection. Because there is a slight insecurity about what he lacks in terms of economic status, reputation in general, and position. He’s always been trying so hard to make it and that’s another thing he focuses on for the 5 years they are separated; to keep trying to make it to become someone in Shuyi’s world. In order to be with Shuyi he has to ensure that he can be in a place of protection, safety, security and ease which he feels he can’t provide by just being himself.  It’s so important because it’s this insecurity plus other things that will be mentioned later that makes him give into the father, seek the father’s approval, and proceed to sacrifice what he wants, for Shuyi’s happiness. He always hoped that even after 5 years even if there has been a distance he’d be able to be stronger to get back to Shuyi. Because he was never going to give up.
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The Problem With Insecurity, Doubt, and Fear
1. Insecure about their relationship;
As mentioned Shide is insecure about what he is to Shuyi, he has been in an 8 year unrequited love for Shuyi and he still struggled to believe and trust that what they had was strong enough to withstand anything.
This is sorted in his head because he always believes that his determination will win over Shuyi. As long as he can fight for Shuyi and as long as he doesn’t fail chasing after Shuyi he will be successful in ensuring he makes Shuyi want him. This is why he automatically thinks in season 2 the reason why Shuyi is angered is because he disappeared for 5 years, he failed at his determination to make sure Shuyi’s attention was always on him, because he thought it could be stolen if he was weak. The father tells Shide that if Shuyi has a girlfriend after 5 years then he needs to give up. As long as he doesn’t have someone by that 5 years then there’s hope. But also if he does have someone and is happy then Shide who is self-sacrificial will be willing to sacrifice his own happiness for Shuyi’s happiness. Even in season 1, he’s always been self-sacrificial because he didn’t even want to win over Shuyi whenever he had a chance to, he was only trying to get a friend, instead of doing what he wants and trying to elevate their relationship. He always chose whatever Shuyi wanted over himself as we saw in season 1 when the truth came out in the hospital and Shuyi said he didn’t want to fall for a guy. Even the reason for why he chooses to give into the father’s demands even though he knows it’s a trap and has no chance of escaping, is because of Shuyi. He says it’s to protect how Shuyi views his father, and their relationship (and that hurts because he understands the value of the relationship between father and sons because he lost his father, so he wouldn’t want to put Shuyi in that position when he knows how it affected him)
2. Insecure about himself
Shide although he tries to have a mask of being in control and being strong all the time. Although his goal is to always ensure he’s number one to everyone and Shuyi, there are parts of him that does not see that in himself. It is because he does not think he can be loved/helpful by just being himself, being vulnerable or being weak that he takes on everything and works hard constantly to make sure he is ahead always. Especially for Shuyi in Season 1, the reason why he thought Shuyi wanted him was because he was number one and he got his attention by always defeating him.
This is treated in his head by becoming something or someone just the like the father requested so they end up in  the same status. Because he’s determined to be someone to his family and protect them he takes on the responsibility of taking care of the company but he also does so because the father gave him an ultimatum to get a career and be someone to be with Shuyi.
3. Insecure about society and how they are treated
Shuyi being the heir of his father’s company also makes Shide become insecure about what to do to protect them. Again Shide wants to be viewed as a helpful addition not a burden, someone who protects not destroys, he didn’t want to be the reason why Shuyi ends up losing the relationship with his father, and his position as the heir.
 This in his head is removed by staying away for 5 years to ensure that Shuyi  has enough time to focus and get the company, become CEO and defeat the shareholders. Once Shuyi passes the test of the shareholders and takes over, they wouldn’t be as big of a threat. This is what both Shide and the father believe.
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Society: Mindsets, Environments, and Prejudice
The father’s focus on wanting children is also stated when he later goes to the bar with Shide. Again him being phobic is problematic but it makes sense that he is, he’s ignorant and again warped by the ideas in the environment he’s in. His phobia isn’t from nature it’s caused by nurture, it’s caused by what he’s been shown, told, since he was young. His automatic mindset for success and stability is for the typical path that society wants ‘men’ to follow in his time to become; to be masculine and strong, ( hence why he forced Shuyi to do a lot of athletic activities which ended up breaking and hurting him in different ways),  to make a legacy happen, to have a wife and kids, it’s all old-fashioned ideas because he is old-fashioned because he wasn’t taught better. Again he’s not the actual villain of the show. Society is.
 The cheating misunderstanding is what causes the catalyst that makes the dad try to break them up. He tried to listen and accept Shuyi’s threats of leaving but then when Shuyi showed back up after America he was furious. Because he already had an idea formed in his head about how fickle their relationship would be  because of phobia, and now it was being shown to him because the way Shide is perceived to cheat is to choose the right path that he wanted for Shuyi. (a wife and kid).  Not only did Shide cheat but Shuyi cried about like being ghosted for 6 months, because Shide wasn’t texting. The most important thing to discover about the father and understand his character outline is that although his flaw is having closeminded ideas based on society and environment, his actual focus is protection of Shuyi’s happiness, the reason he really wanted them to separate, the reason why he formed that trap was because he thought Shide was not serious and that Shide was harmful for Shuyi because of the cheating scandal, because he made Shuyi cry so much, because he hurt Shuyi, because he essentially was mocking Shuyi’s devotion and heart by cheating in America. It’s also about the  pride of Shuyi being protected. Again just like Shide the father’s prime goal is protection of Shuyi.
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So now knowing Shide’s mindset and why he did what he did, we can revisit the couch scene in episode 2 and discuss more about how the show shows him dealing with the consequences of his actions.
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The Consequences of Actions and Mistakes
Ahh the couch scene, I’ve been thinking about it. I know people want me to break down why it was wrong they had the romantic music playing when they slept together, what message it showed, I know people want me to talk about how uncomfortable we all felt in that scene (you were meant to feel that way), I know people want to talk about the trigger warnings in that scene but there are so many other comments about why non consent/ dubious consent is an issue that should be taken seriously when being shown in BL. You can find them in the tags.
I’m going to focus on the writing of the show and analyse why the scene happened the way it did. This is not me defending non consent, this is just me laying out what the writers wanted to achieve with the scene. You weren’t meant to find it healthy, you weren’t meant to want a relationship like that, you weren’t meant to praise the actions of both characters, because Shide and Shuyi are problematic as of this time because of the situation they are in. So from this show we can finally can say that Shide and Shuyi did sleep together, how do we feel about that, probably not great right? I feel like, I didn’t think they would sleep together because I was holding out for hope that Shuyi would punch Shide. So yeh it was an interesting thing to see not fully discussed or explained in the new episode. However these two’s relationship are in the stage of miscommunication and misunderstandings (which can lead to toxicity and escalations)  mixed with the longing, pining and passionate love they’ve both been trying to hold back for each other for 5 years. The theme for these two has always been about control as from my previous analysis and the couch scene no matter how morally wrong or right it was, was always going to happen because we finally see both of them  break down and lose that control they’ve been trying to have on each other, and of course before that happens it’s done with a fight, with breakdowns, with confusions, with questions.  
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The loss of control of the heart
Shuyi loses control over his heart because he can see Shide in his most broken state. Remember this isn’t like Shide.  Shide is normally calm, in control, always trying to salvage the situation, Shide has never cried in front of Shuyi apart from their first confession and even after all that he’s always come out looking better and in control of everything because it’s like him to do so.Shuyi was frightened; one because of trying hard to keep himself from giving into his wants and longing for Shide that he’s been trying so hard to not lose to, he was frightened because Shide was being aggressive and he wasn’t sure if he was messing around with him or not, he was also frightened lastly for Shide. Because Shide was screaming like someone who was drowning on the inside, someone close to just giving up on everything, someone who was so broken and desperate to have something to hold on. Shuyi was frightened for Shide because he realised that there was something more to what happened, he also realised that Shide was not willing to let him know, he saw Shide grapple with confusion and wanting to say it, and he couldn’t understand but he was worried and understood that Shide wasn’t happy, wasn’t a victor in their breakup like he thought. Shuyi also recognised Shide’s pain because it paralleled his at the beginning of the episode when he cried over the broken phone and his heart break. Shide was also heart broken like he was, Shide was also struggling like he was, Shide was also lost like he was. That’s why even though he tried so hard to fight it, his walls fell and he let him self be with Shide that night. That’s the first part of this equation for why Shuyi let himself sleep with Shide although he was drunk, (dubious consent,).
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The loss of control of the mind
If Shuyi was fighting losing control over his heart, Shide was losing control of his mind. As much as it pains me to say, Shide wasn’t in the right state of mind, this was a Shide who was being the worst version of himself because he was exploding, he was losing control, he was confused, he was also very angry at the mess he and Shuyi were in, he was lost because all his efforts, (which is pointing to the title of episode 3; Self Righteous Efforts Are Wasted).  His energy, his work, his heart was wasted because of situations he couldn’t control. Shide was so affected because he realised just like Shuyi also realised seeing him drunk, that what he did to Shuyi was so much more worse than he thought, he was doing everything he could to protect Shuyi, to prove himself to Shuyi’s father, to let them have a happy forever later on, he was doing all he could to stay with the one thing that was his ultimate priority and happiness, he was doing everything he could to protect that and he found it so unfair that he couldn’t even let Shuyi know about that, he probably also hated life its self, because there was so much he had to struggle with those 5 years without Shuyi that he couldn’t control.
He couldn’t control the situation in America in his head (why he didn’t text Shuyi is his own fault but it’s a flaw of Shide to always hold back his truth so he’s suffering consequence of his actions), he couldn’t control in his head Shuyi’s father’s requests because Shuyi’s future was more important, Shuyi’s relationship with his father was more important, Shuyi’s peace and calm was more important (what he failed to see was that he was also Shuyi’s priority, happiness, future, peace and calm so again because he had self-doubt about how important he was to Shuyi he put himself in a situation where again he held back the truth which again is his flaw). Basically Shide was exhausted, and hurt because to him it was so unfair it was like all his efforts for the past 13 years when he finally got hope with Shuyi fell down the drain, because Shuyi no longer saw him as someone even worth being real to. Like Shuyi really was going to go so far in his heartbreak and hurt to also break Shide even more, Shuyi must have hated him so much to want to use him and toss him after. Shuyi’s care for him had ended. And all Shide could do was blame him self, wrap himself up in self-hate, self-doubt, insecurity and anguish as he drank with Shouyi.
Even when drunk he tried to be in control he wanted to go home, that’s what he told Shouyi, he was going to choose to keep up the façade with Shuyi and let Shuyi have his revenge or whatever with him but he couldn’t because he was no longer able to hold back because of the influence of alcohol. That’s what alcohol does, it disinhibited all his inhibitions, It made him explode with everything he was feeling, pain, suffering, longing, anger, tiredness and defeat. He was split into two people. One the Shide that was angry and upset at how Shuyi wanted to treat him, at how much everything he’d done was for nothing, but two, the Shide that had just been biding his time to be with Shuyi since 5 years, the Shide that ever since they reunited had just wanted to hold and go back to how they used to be with Shuyi hence the kissing, hence the skinship, hence the breakdowns and tests and everything that happened. That Shide was not meant to be liked, that Shide was the most vulnerable form of Shide that he was trying to hide so much.
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The Problem With Gao Shide
Shide’s actions is not right but it is understandable (I mean he’s dumb and stupid for always reverting to holding back the truth and himself, and emotions from people it’s his downfall, but it’s always been his character, it’s loyal to how his character was written).  He’s always been invasive, always been secretive, always shoulders all the burden on himself so of course he does the noble idiocy trope with Shuyi’s father, of course he doesn’t tell Shuyi when he’s suffering in America, of course he doesn’t; for Shide his problems are his problems and he doesn’t want to be burden to people, he always wants to be seen as number one, now this can be anything, seen as a success to people ( wanted by people), proper and responsible for others (so they feel safe and protected with him) to be seen as strong and happy (so the people he cares about feel happy and loved). Because he lost someone that was like that to him (his father) and so he felt like he had to replace his role since a young age, he had to be that person for his mother, he had to fill up that space and do things right, and make sure he’s not a burden, he’s not weak, he doesn’t fail. Because of this he never wants to show when he’s struggling, to anyone,  even Shuyi.
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It’s a flaw that he formed because it was the only way for him to stand up and take the role that kept the people he loved safe in his head. But the thing with character flaws is that they have to go through a development, so Shide has to suffer the consequences of his flaws, hence why season 2 is the way it is because it’s unveiling how he is and what he does to himself constantly, how he hurts himself because of his flaw and how he also hurts others. Again Shide and Shuyi are flawed characters since season 1, but season 2 is when we finally see them mature and have to grow from all of that just like people have to also grow and learn about their flaws and compromise when they get in a relationship. Remember the goal is pure covenant love at the end (they don’t have that yet) which is at the end of it all unconditional love. These two need to be able to learn and work through both flaws and communicate and show each other the truth, it’s only when we finally let ourselves be vulnerable with the one we love, that’s when you get that healthy, relationship, you get that healing, you get that pure love. So give them time; the truth is slowly being unveiled, this couch scene, episode 2, is the worst versions of both Shuyi and Shide. Shuyi because he’s vengeful and cruel and obsessed with wanting control and Shide because he’s Shide and he finally enters a state where he can’t do that no more, alcohol had to be the thing to finally make him stop hiding and doing everything on his own. That’s why the couch scene happened, you can argue they shouldn’t have slept together (I agree with this) we could have had the punch, we could had a different outcome or a discussion shown about why it was wrong, or even add  a trigger warning to the episode. I agree but it’s not going sway me from seeing how good season 2 is with story telling and character development, and character writing. Say what you want to say about the show but this writer hasn’t changed anything about her characters. About her aims of the show, about these twos journey since season 1. She’s always left these clues, she’s always shown what these characters are like, she’s never hid their flaws and it’s not surprising that Shide does all the things he does that are harmful to himself and Shuyi but that’s the part of learning and seeing their relationship finally tackle these issues and get to the healthy place they will end up at. And I still commend the show.  
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bcbdrums · 3 years
Note
(Super long ask ahead)
Ok I really wanted to add and talk more about how bad the wiki got, just look at some of this lines:
As is common for a fictional underdog, Ron has a tendency to have low expectations of his performance and to set low standards for himself, both academically and socially. He lacks focus and often appears to fare poorly due to either a lack of effort and a lack of belief in his own abilities or through trying too hard and coming across as a clown.
Shocker, he is a teenager boy who sometimes can be insecure and seem awkward, as the series goes on he gains more confidence in himself, but why do they make it sound so mean? Going on a bit of a tangent here with this being a personal headcanon, but doesn’t this also sounded kind of albesit? because come on how many times have somebody called a person with adhd that they are “ lazy”, that they”lack effort” or “focus”? This so unnecessarily mean
His efforts to fit in are often hampered by the fact that he is moderately hyperactive and has a tendency to act with a pronounced level of immaturity, which has earned him a reputation as a loser among his peers. However, for the most part, Ron's type B personality means that he either does not notice this, and thus tends to embarrass those around him more than himself
I mean it was shown that Ron was friends with various characters in the show, which usually shared his same interest inside and outside of school such as: Tara, Zita, Felix, Yori
And besides Bonnie, who ever considered him or called him a “loser”?
Ron has also displayed considerable bouts of jealousy throughout the show, especially when he feels that he does not have Kim's undivided attention. However, all of Ron's Kim-centered jealousy is entirely restricted to the instance of Kim paying attention to others over him.
Like what considered bouts of jealousy? One or two times and even when Kim dated Josh or Eric, Ron was always supportive of her and he basically shelved his agenda because he recognized Kim looked happy and he did his best to be supportive and still helped Kim with whichever he could (like when he brought her the flower in the first episode)
And you know which other characters also had “considerable bouts of jealousy”? Kim, Shego and Drakken, but when has the wiki page being edited to go out of it’s way in order to call Shego out of this? Never (of course that’s the shippers fav, they will never do that)
Ron's type B personality means that he either does not notice this, and thus tends to embarrass those around him more than himself, or that he passes his quirks off as part of his intrinsic "Ronness" and ignores what others think.
Like notice how him not caring about what others think of him, something that made him and Kim such a great dynamic because they complemented each other is suddenly portrayed in a bad light, why is that? Isn’t being authentic a positive character trait? Why is suddenly the wiki page so means towards him and Kim? (Now I know why: toxic shippers)
And the wiki also tried to said that the reason for his “low-expectations on himself” was because of Kim, and I’m like: Could you not? So, dissing on Ron wasn’t enough, was it? Whoever edited the wiki also had to diss on Kim as well and blame her for things that weren’t even her fault.
Kim herself often performs a similar function for Ron by motivating him, encouraging him to participate in some areas, and attempting to dampen down his enthusiasm in others.
When does Kim does that? look at the wording: Kim sometimes encourages Ron but more often she “damps Ron down” nah, she is very encouraging on him specially on season 4
And just notice the wording: “Kim sometimes encourages Ron but more often than not she damps him down”
Ron's personality is defined by ego [..] Ron has on occasion expressed his usually hidden arrogance , which typically results from a bout of self-confidence combined with his tendency to go overboard with things. Kim once commented that Ron is "prone to big-headiness." The statement came as a result of the sudden ego boost
He is not egoistical by any means, he has moment of big headiness sure, but he is never defined by thus, you know which tower characters also have moment like this? Shego, Drakken and Kim, why is Ron the only one being called out while other chats yes (Shego) have nothing but praise in their pages? Even Kim is being so harshly criticized
Another effect of this personality type is that Ron tends to doubt himself more often than not, making himself subservient to Kim. It is highly probable that his behavior patterns have been influenced by Kim's frequently overbearing and hyper-competitive Type A tendencies causing him to back down as a trained response because he knows that Kim does not like to lose. Because he values Kim more than anything, Ron is willing to sacrifice anything for her, including his own potential for greatness.
What? Did we even watched the same show? Kim encourages Ron to excel and be more active in general and this goes both ways, ron isn’t subservient to Kim, he is actually one of the few people who can and will call her out on her flaws, this goes both ways and both of them grew because of this
All of these self-imposed restrictions are lost, however, when Ron becomes his alter ego, Zorpox. Because he is evil, Zorpox does not care about hurting Kim's feelings and therefore has no problem unleashing his full potential
No, those “self imposed-restrictions “weren’t caused because he “didn’t wanted to hurt Kim’s feelings” it was because Ron is by nature an anxious person, I hate how they are trying to blame Kim for Ron’s character flaws, if anything it was because of Kim that he grew more proactive and confident, he always stepped-up and confronted his fears when Kim needed him the most.
He tends to "trip over his own feet" in most episodes, often in comical or socially embarrassing ways
This is straight up just a Jab against his character at this point
Ron's problems are accentuated by his overall lack of focus, and by a tendency towards laziness which, at its most extreme, included expecting his lab partner to do all of the work on the grounds that their natural motivation to succeed would compel them to pick up his slack.
He keeps up with Kim academically and he is in almost all of the classes he is in, he even said he was an average C + student at worst, he goes with Kim in all of their missions and it was shown on episodes that he would even travel half of the world in order to aid Kim because he knew Kim needed him, he applied himself more in school in the last seasons and even applied to a lot of schools.
And this is me projecting, but Ron tends to apply himself on the subjects and hobbies that are interesting to him, he might have adhd (even the wiki had a section in which this was speculated) this sound si low-key ableist
And I just hate how bad they are talking about him, all of his character is so negatively described: “jealous”, “immature”, “clown”, “Lazy”, “egoistical” “subservient”, “embarrassing”
There is zero mention of his positive character traits, being selfless and committed? Nah, that makes him subservient somehow , no caring what others think by being authentic to who he is which is a great counter-balance to Kim? Nah, this makes him embarrassing and dense, What about every time he is able to apply himself and do something great every he gains a little more of confidence (usually because Kim inspires him to) nah, this just mean he is defined by his ego and that makes him arrogant somehow.
They did my boi so dirty here.
i'll refer you to the anon i just answered before yours...
if someone out there wants to take the time to try to fix the wiki, or start a new one, i fully support it. i just don't have the energy to fight them anymore.
but you're right, this is character slaughter. their so-called evidence is all things being broadly and grossly interpreted to be extremely and unfairly negative to ron, and in some cases plainly made up, when we know that's not what the majority of fandom sees. in fact i'd wager that ron is the second-most popular character to shego. you've just got your people out there who are clinging to their pedo out-of-character ship for who knows what reason... 🙄
perhaps anon, if not edit the wiki yourself, you'll take time to make a positive character post about ron? 👀
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aks3raao1 · 3 years
Note
Me, to Luja: So tell me about yourself
Luja: No
Me: ...ma'am I need to write the story—
Luja: Good luck <3
[now that I do think of it, ALTERNATIVE's main duo that's established right at the beginning is literally a chiller but edgier Katsuki and way worse sUrViVe Nagito genderbends]
~~~~~~
Luja Sen, she/her
Anyways, Luja and Romila are friends from middle school (the story starts with the beginning of their high school at AoS (Academy of the Specialised) which was essentially founded by Nyx). Luja gains her Specialisation (Ferrokinesis: The Ability to bend metal) at the age of twelve, so she has it for a lesser time period than Romila.
Luja primarily wants to become a scientist. Her family is happy with that, because it's praised and everything, especially in our society.
She has a gifted child superiority complex. Being a gifted child + Specialised means that she hardly had many friends in school. Her family had tried to get her to socialize....which didn't go down too well.
She believes that most people are annoying because they waste too much time on useless things like gossiping and what not, which she never showed much interest in and doesn't like to be dragged into those nonsense.
She is friends with Romila since they do share the same taste in stuff and were the only Specialised ones in their class. And they kinda stuck together for most of middle school and went into high school.
She has a problem when it comes to seeing Romila since she tends to see her bad parts and is like, "It's a phase" considering that it's not necessarily affecting her. Romila doesn't get too cranky with her since she fascinates her, with her passion™ for science. Also because she isn't all self sacrifice UwU.
Luja cares for her own self above others (but tends to put Romila pretty close to that hierarchy, which is why she's one of the only two Romila trusts during the Mansion of Death (the other person is Kratanos)) however she also does want to keep what friends she has and is generally caring towards them.
She has a genuine love for science and loves to discover how things work and why, and her favourite facet is Physics. She does want to invent things and honestly just make stuff easier for the Specialised who face a LOT of issues, especially when it comes to amenities since the government is an ass about accomodations and they gained the Fundamental Rights like ten years or so ago in the ALTERNATIVE timeline. And they gain an additional right ("The body won't be harmed for science") when they graduate from school, after signing a contract that they dedicate themselves to helping the government when called upon. (The whole contract is stupid and basically oppresses them more especially the punishment for not abiding by it).
With her goal of becoming a scientist, she wants to use her talents to make accomodations specifically for them so that she could have done something.
The things she fears the most is failure. Failing as in being unable to accomplish her goals. She is afraid of it because it's an unknown variable that's constantly haunted her and she's working hard for it to never reach her.
I suppose there's a way for her to confront that fear during the Mid terms at AoS where she essentially "loses" in the practicals due to her......teamwork issues.
Everyone thinks of her as stuck up and isn't interested to listen to her much and since she views the others as annoying people with annoying habits, she tends to fail to regulate them, causing Romila to win instead (yes, it's THAT unfortunate of a situation) in their match, which causes her to review a LOT of things and she tries to see what caused her to lose after having a severe breakdown.
She develops an inferiority complex in respect to Romila and then spends a long time wondering where she went wrong.
Rena (who somehow clung to her) tries to cheer her up but gets turned back halfway, but she still stays on and Luja is like, "Wtf" until she sees Romila going entirely off the deep end (she presents an interesting contrast to how Koldin sees Romila as well, she sees Romila's behavior and considers it as a justification for her own self....she uses Romila to justify herself a lot (since if you asked Romila, Luja was more or less fine according to her since she wasn't being a doormat and stood up for herself) while Koldin sees Romila as the reason he should cling onto his own stuff) and realises that she could be on the path to destruction herself and accepts Rena's help and tries to be more open to others which leads to the Mid terms parallels in the Archenemy of Society arc where she "succeeds" instead and manages to get the class together enough to escape the situation.
However it doesn't mean that her fear of failure has entirely vanished into the blue, she just reviews the ways she can fail better now and works around it to avoid it and has more confidence in her own self. But she is still scared of failing and would love to avoid that more than anything. However she's chiller after that.
Her intelligence is more or less on par with both Romila and Kratanos, making them the three main strategists in the final battle against the bigots (which is basically a rerun of the Mansion of Death situation but way way worse and fucked up and has different leads to it).
....
The thing is that, no matter what I do, she winds up feeling like one dimensional/repetitive, which is something I am trying to amend about all the characters (I mean, I had to revamp a lot of characters so it will probably take me a long long time to actually get to writing.........sigh besides she stands up like a cardboard amongst people (I mean, you have Romila and Kratanos with extremely complicated storylines and then you have her. Just there))
So the main question is how to make her more interesting as a character and on par with the rest while still keeping her character flaws and personality?
I think the easiest way to go abt this is to view her as a sassy Bakugo. They have the main points in common. They're salty, don't like to socialise, feel inferior to a certain someone while still having some semblance of confidence and a terrible fear of failure
Now as much as I hate to compare your character to another one, it makes it a lot easier to have them become - as my English teacher would say - more. So I am sorry if this comes off as offensive-
For Bakugo, he became interesting by playing a big part in the mc's main story and we do get a few scenes where his vulnerability is shown. I assume it's the same with your character but...what rlly ties the knot for me when it comes to Katsuki is the fact that his problems...are more than just an inferiority/superiority complex. His whole thing stems from background especially (*cough* abusive mom *cough*) and the fact that he's not the main character (or rather that the story isn't being told in his perspective).
These facts make us over think and want more of him. The mystery draws us in which is why I think Luja's character is so perfect for someone in the background. She doesn't like to reveal things abt herself and is pretty dismissive to most things on top of that (plainly just salty). Her character rlly draws you in and the best way to portray those kinds of characters is through another character. Ofc, you'd have to get to their POV eventually but it's important to note that most of the details should come from someone else's POV (an observer, if you will) instead of info dumping and starting straight with hers. A character that's mysterious with a very simple yet relatable story attracts a LOT more attention and interest when seen from someone else's perspective than when you kickstart it from theirs.
Ofc, if u are planning (or already have) started the story from her POV, that would be a bit problematic in terms of interest. But not a train wreck. This is where my other point comes in. The point of making a character have more than one problem
Different ppl as well as characters have a main problem but also different ones, no matter what way you look at it. It seems that even you are confused with all ur character's ins and outs (dw, we've all been there... I am still there tbh) and a solution to that is backtracking a bit and looking at their life from the very beginning in HEAVY detail (like more than u already did). Think abt what other trauma could have been caused, what doubts and fears could have slowly crept it's way to her heart and head (I am a sucker for long-lasting doubts that develop over time) and anything you can even so much as GRASP on. If you look at it and see it as a possibility, try to fit that into her character and add it subtly in different places (as subtext or a creative pattern, wordplay, doesn't rlly matter as long as it's not openly stated bc, remember, the key thing to these types of characters is mystery).
For example, a fear of failure can stem into anxiety before the character has even lost smth later in their life. They probably get rlly anxious when evaluating smth but don't show it much or at all so no one notices. This adds even MORE to the character bc you can build it up after other events. Like once they have failed, they could probably get even more anxious and then develop a bad relationship with the person who beat them (double the points if it was a friend). You could build all that up and turn it super toxic instead of jumping right to the healing. It makes it more interesting, doesn't it? Plus, reevaluating almost everything including world views after 1 loss is...kind of hard to believe even with anxiety (no offense)
Adding a lot of little problems and thinking abt how Luja's behaviour can impact other characters helps a terrible lot if ur doing most of the story from her POV. Especially since she's probably the most relatable character (from what I've heard anyway). I have a certain saying... it goes like, "It's better to have a relatable and connecting character than one with a problem that is too big for normal people to fathom."
I like characters with heart-wrenching problems that I would never be able to relate to (take maybe Shigaraki as an example ig?) But my favourite are the ones that make me feel as tho I made a real connection
Also, I would like to say...if ur looking to progress her character even further, I would debate on whether it's the complete end to the novel or if there'll be a second part. If it's a second part, keep some of Luja's issues. Make her get better but not completely "YAY, I AM DONE BEING TORMENTED". If it's the end of the novel/series/etc., make it so that she's resolved most of most of her issues. They don't have to be completely gone but they have to be a lot better compared to how they started. And how i would work that out is a mind map but knowing ur a scatterbrain...lets talk it out where everything is all over the place
Luja's main thing is to gain confidence in herself and be finally ok with losing, right? If you ask me, that's a tough one but not impossible. I think to get her from point A to point B is to put up a bunch of events like:
Get her super anxious when doing smth
Lose to *insert person*
Have a breakdown and over think on what she could have done better (on the project or whatever she lost at)
Get even more anxious and totally mess up the next thing
Lose once again (double points if it's the same person as last time)
Overthinking abt how she's not good enough
F i g h t i n g f r i e n d s c o z d r a m a
"YoU'rE nEvEr GoNnA gEt BeTtEr If YoU kEeP tHiNkInG aBoUt YoUrSeLf"
Over think abt no. 8 bc out of options and ideas and ✨a n x i e t y✨
Try listening to others more and become b e t t e r
Win smth (bc creator forbid 3 losses in a row to start depression)
Lose again (there is gonna be a bit of back and forth but is necessary for development)
"I tHoUgHt I wAs FiNaLlY dOiNg SoMeThInG rIgHt AnD nOw LoOk"
"Losing is not th3 3nd of th3 fucking world, you lunatic"
"WELL, IT IS TO ME, BITCH"
*insert psychology somehow idk*
Another loss
"I'm angry...but I'm ok"
Note that idk where bullying would come in and these are only how I would think it to go-
A character like this isn't rlly my strong suit when it comes to them resolving their problems but they are fun to write and think abt-
................................did I just give you advice on how to traumatize? I-
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perriewinklenerdie · 4 years
Text
Touch me (Ethan x f!MC)
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Claire Herondale
Word count:  2,3 k
Summary: Chapter 19 rewrite. Ethan and Claire actively reach out to feel each other’s touch after what happened to Leland and Caroline. 
Warnings: none
A/N: Because you can’t tell me that E and C didn’t so much as look at each other while talking to Baz about not touching. Ft. how the two of them leaving the hospital actually went down.
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Baz’s vision blurred as he watched Leland and Caroline leave, the weight of their situation too heavy for him to move on from. In his lack of focus, he completely failed to notice the change in the atmosphere that was pushed even further with his next words.
“Can you even imagine? Never being able to touch the person you care about most in the world?” he wiped his cheeks, his voice a bit shaky when he talked. “Could there be anything worse?”
Ethan’s eyes shifted to Claire without him even thinking about doing it. The whole ordeal brought back the memories of the night he spent by her side while she was fighting to stay alive. He’s experienced not being able to touch the person he cared about. The time they both spent in the isolation room, a thick layer of plastic between them with every touch they shared. Touching, yes, but not feeling anything; not the softness of her skin, not the warmth of her body.
It seemed as though Claire was thinking of the exact same night in their lives. Her gaze found his almost instantly, prompted by Baz’s words. Having experienced it, at least to some extent, she found herself feeling even worse for the married couple.
“It’s horrible. I don’t even want to think about it.” a shiver ran through her, making her whole body shake at an unpleasant feeling. Ethan followed his first instinct, reaching for her hand with his, letting their fingers brush against each other. She reciprocated the gesture, hooking her ring finger with his and giving it a firm squeeze. With a heavy sigh, she continued. “Every time I imagine it, it feels like my heart is breaking again.”
Ethan blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head. His old self would have said something about how the couple would get through this. People went through worse things, after all. But this new version of Ethan Ramsey, the one that fell for the woman standing next to him, the one that almost lost the said woman before he could even let her know that he cared about her, couldn’t bring himself to say that. Because yes, people did get through situations like these or worse. But they shouldn’t have to.
“It’s a terrible thing.” He started, looking at Claire as he said it. “Touch is such a vital part of creating emotional connections between people. To live with someone for years and then suddenly not be able to even touch their hand…”
“No one should have to adapt to that. I...” Baz nodded his head in agreement, his face falling even more. “I think I need to find Zaid and give him a big hug. I’ll see you both later.”
As Baz disappeared behind the corner, the shy touch of their fingers turned into the bolder, proper hand hold. Ethan couldn’t pinpoint what was it exactly that he was feeling, but there was a sense of a certain urgency in the way his thumb grazed hers. The warmth of her skin passed onto him, making him feel feverish.
Claire turned towards him, taking his other hand into hers delicately. The world as they knew it was about to fall down in a few hours, with the hospital closing and neither of them having any plans clarified. And yet, standing in the middle of the hall, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes, there was nothing else for them to care about.
A quiet sound of her phone burst the bubble they were in, reminding them that there was still a thing or two to be done before they left the hospital for the last time. She smiled at him, blinking slowly, then rose onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek tenderly.
He missed her touch the moment they let go of each other’s hands.
~~
Thirty minutes later, Ethan walked into the diagnostic team’s office for the second to last time. Caroline’s patient file had to get sorted and put away, and after that, there were a few patients he had to discharge.
The office, as it turned out, wasn’t empty. Leaning over the desk and scribbling something in the file was Claire, her hair out of her ponytail, creating a curtain around her face. She greeted him with a hum, not looking up from her work just yet.
Since he last saw her, he tried and succeeded at diagnosing his own condition. Come to think of it, he’s been battling it ever since the night of the attack. This need to hold onto her in any way the situation allowed. This urge to feel her skin against his. This starvation for any form of contact with her.
He hasn’t felt the need for anything or anyone quite like this before. All his life, he saw himself as an independent man that didn’t require anyone to succeed. He still didn’t, but he didn’t want to be alone anymore. He felt a strong pull towards her, like they were two magnets with opposite charges, and they couldn’t help but be drawn together. Like there was no way he could stay away from her now, even if he tried.
Ethan took a few quiet steps, cautious to not make too much noise. He looked at what she was doing, resting his chin against her shoulder, his arms wrapping around her middle and pulling her flush against his body. Claire hummed again, turning her head to nuzzle her nose against his.
“I see you already took care of the paperwork.” He muttered, breathing in the scent of her perfume. She placed her signature at the bottom of the page, then clicked her pen and tossed it onto the desk.
“I know you hate doing it, so I did it for you.”
“That’s the most attractive thing you’ve ever said to me.” he growled playfully, biting her shoulder. She giggled, leaning back into his embrace.
“If I knew that’s all it took, I would have been doing your paperwork a long time ago.”
They remained that way for a long moment, giddy and light despite the circumstances. They were always heavy on witty banter, but since their relationship became more serious, this bright tone bled into their conversations more and more often, especially when they were alone.
Eventually, she twisted out of his hold with a squeeze of his hands, grinning as she walked backwards. “Discharge the last patients and meet you here in a few?”
Ethan nodded his head in answer to her question, watching her go and immediately feeling like he wanted to follow her.
~~
Having discharged his last patient, he walked to the elevator, heading to his office. He pressed the button and took a step towards the wall as he entered, waiting for the doors to close. A distant shout attracted his attention, causing him to stall the elevator just enough to allow Claire to catch up and join him in the confined space.
“Thanks.” She panted, trying to catch her breath after running a marathon down the hall. He fought the smirk, pressing his hand to his face briefly. Claire fell against the wall, her shoulders moving slower and slower as her lungs returned to their normal pace of work. “It’s a miracle I didn’t trip.” Her words triggered a fit of laughter from him, unable to resist it anymore. “Don’t laugh at me, Ramsey, we both know how much of a possibility that was.”
She swatted his arm with her palm cheekily but failed to retreat it fast enough. Ethan’s hand wrapped around her and held her in place. His gaze fell onto their joined hands, then slowly trailed to meet her eyes. The air around them cracked with electricity, atmosphere getting thicker with each passing second.
His hand reached forward, blindly searching for the control pad. Looking away from her for just a second, he found the emergency stop button and pressed it, both of them feeling the elevator halt almost immediately.
The papers he was holding got thrown onto the floor in a flash. His now unoccupied hands were free to grab her by any place he could reach. With a low growl, he pressed his lips to hers, keeping her as close to him as humanly possible with his fingers curling into her hair.
A surprised gasp slipped from her in between the kisses, the intensity of the entirety of Ethan’s being pushing the air out of her lungs. Without any precision at all, she grazed the fabric of his shirt with her hands on their journey up his body, only to finally grip the collars and pull him down to allow herself more comfort than her current position provided.
Ethan’s hands left her hair, traveling everywhere and being nowhere at the same time. He took handfuls of her white coat, creasing the fabric as he pushed it aside. With wild abandonment, he traced the lines of her body, squeezing her bottom teasingly and grinning when her lips left his for a stunned moment.
Going further, he raised the material of her sweater upwards, exposing the skin of her back to the cool air of the elevator. His hands felt like red hot metal in contrast, sending feverish shivers through her body with each brush, squeeze and pull of his fingers.
He whispered her name, sounding like the highest praise in the utterly silent confinement of the elevator. He touched her like a starved man, unable to press her hard enough to him, pull her close enough. All the small gestures of affection he gave her that day cumulated into an enormous expression of longing and want that they were experiencing right now.
Claire’s fingers slowly let go of the fabric she was gripping tightly, blindly reaching for the buttons of his shirt. Undoing the first one, then the second one, she exposed the patch of his skin around that area, pushing the material to the side.
Reaching for one of his hands, both of which were still pressing against the skin of her back under her sweater, she brought it to her front and upwards. Brushing over the lace of her bra, she pushed their joined hands even further up, until she reached the location she had in mind. Breaking the kiss, she leaned back to look into his eyes when she pressed his hand to her chest, right where her racing heart was, mirroring the gesture with her other hand on his torso.
Time stopped. The intensity dropped to a tiny simmer of lust, accompanied by a roar of affection and desire to feel each other’s touch. Their eyes met, green on blue, grounding themselves in the only thing that they could consider being stable in their lives: each other.
As their breaths evened and their hearts slowed down, Ethan cupped the side of her face delicately, smiling down at her pensively, memories of the horrid night at the hospital tormenting his mind.
“I can’t imagine never touching you again.” he muttered, his eyes shining with vulnerability. He traced the line of her spine, then pressed his palm between her shoulder blades, bringing her into a warm embrace. Her lips pressed against his neck, muffling her words.
“Let’s hope neither of us has to experience it. Ever again.” a shiver wrecked through her body at the mere thought of the trauma that followed her around to this day. It slowly became easier to cope with what she’s been through, but it would be a long time until she would be able to say that it’s behind her.
Ethan noticed the change in her posture, searching for her eyes urgently. They would tell him without a shadow of a doubt just how she was feeling. The nightmares she still had were clearly in the back of her mind, but the light was beginning to overwhelm the darkness.
“Are you okay?” he asked, returning his hand to her face and running his thumb over her cheekbone softly. Concern colored his voice, caring about her always being on the forefront of his mind and intentions. Claire stood on her tiptoes, brushing their lips together sweetly.
“I am now.”
Pressing the button again, they let the elevator carry them to the seventh floor. They gathered their things and stopped in the threshold of the office, looking over it for the last time before turning the lights off. Smiling somberly, they made their way towards the entrance.
Standing together in the middle of the atrium, they watched as the last patient left the hospital. It felt like an era was coming to an end, something monumental and groundbreaking. Ethan reached for her hand, tangling their fingers.
“I’m not ready to go yet.” Claire muttered, looking around the grand room they were in. As the last light died, the shadows became more pronounced, the space feeling bigger and scarier. Ethan hummed, sighing heavily.
“I’m not ready to go either. It’s eleven years of my life, ending like someone cut it off with a knife.” Looking away from the windows, he focused his eyes on her again. “What are you going to miss the most?”
“You.” she responded without a moment of hesitation, both of them giggling like a pair of fools a second later.
“Likewise, Claire.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his arms for a tight hug. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he let his mind wander towards the future. The only thing he could see clearly was her. Smiling at him from her place on his couch. Smirking over her shoulder under the hot spray of water in his shower. Sighing his name as she straddled him in his bed. Their bed.
“We’re going to be okay.” Ethan reassured them both, and then they left the hospital for the last time. Together.
Notes
In my mind, it’s how it went down, and no amount of canon from PB can change that. My idiots, my headcanon.
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194 notes · View notes
myhaikyuuthings · 4 years
Note
Bf Hc's for Kageyama bokuto and iwaizumi?
oh my babies, yes ofc!
Boyfriend Headcanons
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Kageyama: 
very shy when you first start dating
you’re most likely his first relationship so he has no idea what he’s doing
will leave milk on your desk for you, share his milk and even buy your own whenever he buys himself one
would l o v e for you to come to his practices and games
bonus points if you help him practice
spending time helping him practice is the quickest way to get him to open up, fall harder for you And you get more time with him
it’s really a win win to help him out
he loves you 50.1% and volleyball 49.9%
does he love you 100%? yes of course but he also loves volleyball and if you ask him to choose between the two of you? he will have a very very hard time 
i feel like he’s the type to absolutely lose himself in a kiss
hes not huge on PDA but if you kiss him in public, he literally can’t help himself
he thinks he’s addicted to your kisses
doesn’t show affection much in the start he doesn’t know how
but once he gets comfortable with you and you start showing him more affection? he wants it Constantly
hold his hand, please
if you’re cuddling his head is either on your chest while you play with his hair, or you’re laying with your foreheads touching just enjoying being with each other
not the noticeably jealous type but he definitely has his tipping point
he tries not to step in if you’re talking to someone or someone’s flirting with you, he trusts you fully
but if he thinks for one second he Could lose you to that person or you look uncomfortable he will step in and not feel bad about it
a lot of your dates are volleyball related tbh
going to watch games together, practicing together etc
but he likes quiet dates too, take him to a park or a coffee shop and he’s thriving 
actually really good at communication tbh
if he has an issue with you, he comes directly to you about it almost immediately
he doesn’t like having to overthink if he’s got something to be upset about or not he’d rather confront the problem together
expects the same from you, but understands if sometimes you just Can’t bring up what’s bothering you
will wait impatiently for you to come to him
he just really loves you and wants to make you happy, whatever that is for you 
12/10 boyfriend
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Bokuto: 
i’m in love with him so this is a little biased I’m sorry
upfront about everything
he’s upset? you will know and you’ll know why within seconds
really bad at hiding his emotions as we know
but you appreciate that! never have to play the guessing game with this boy
he is so so so affectionate 
from day one, his hand is practically glued to yours as long as you’re okay with that
we love a respectful king
he needs constant validation tbh and he deserves the praise so it balances out
doubts whether or not he’s good enough  for you sometimes
he just thinks you’re the epitome of perfection, so he can’t wrap his head around why you would want to be with him of all people
lowkey insecure and idk if thats an unpopular hc but i stand by it
you get promoted to #1 Bokuto wrangler when he’s having an episode
go to his games, his practices everything
when you’re there  he’s at the top of his game, his spikes? unstoppable. his blocks? unbreakable
if you happen to miss a game or practice they might as well not even put him on the court
hes so sad omg
he understands Why you couldn’t come, doesn’t help that he’s missing you
the type to want to be around you 24/7
if you have classes together he will hold your hand throughout the entire class, usually leaving his dominant hand useless because he doesn’t want to mess up Your notes
will 100% ask to borrow your notes
study dates! you rarely get anything done but if you promise him a kiss for every question he gets right you have his attention for a solid hour
after that he gets distracted by your kisses
loves loves loves kissing you
if you don’t like kisses on the lips? no problem he will pepper your cheeks with kisses
gets jealous very easily
won’t approach you about it though
just goes directly into ‘emo mode’ 
takes a little bit to get him out of it tbh
usually a simple “you know you’re the only person I want right? I love you, you’re my person” and a kiss to his forehead and he’ll perk back up
kuroo flirts with you just to throw Bokuto off his game when they play against each other
if you’re ever uncomfortable with anything, he will remove you from that situation
has thrown you over his shoulder to get you out of situations before with no issue
loves to work out with you! if you’re not into working out he will beg you to let him lift you instead of weights
doesn’t matter what you weigh, he can and will lift you
constantly reassures you that you are the most beautiful, intelligent, caring person he’s ever met
you’re sad? not on his watch. he will listen to whatever is upsetting you and if he can fix it he Will, if not? he’s doing everything in his power to cheer you up
cuddling him is a mess. you don’t have a set position you two cuddle in
the most common is you laying your head on his thick thighs while he runs his hands through your hair and vice versa
big spoon, little spoon, he doesn’t care as long as he can touch you
when it’s too hot to cuddle, he Must at the very least have a pinky touching you or he gets restless
15/10 respectful, funny, kind, talented boyfriend. marry him seriously  he will marry you with zero hesitation
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Iwaizumi: 
  you two roast Oikawa together #couplegoals
he’s big on taking care of yourself, proper sleep a good diet lots of water
if you’re forgetful like me and don’t always take care of yourself properly he will text you every few hours to remind you to drink water and eat something
not huge on pda, mainly because of Oikawa, he doesn’t want to hear his mouth
but if you love pda, he’ll compromise, just try to keep it to a minimum around the captain
no shame in his love for you though
if you tell him you don’t feel the love he is doing a full 180
will full on make out with you in front of Oikawa if that’s what it takes for you to realize how important you are to him
come to his games. he won’t ask you to nor does he expect you to but it really helps him
knowing that  you’re out in the crowd cheering for him, it’s his biggest motivation
bonus points if you’re louder than Oikawa’s fanclub
loves going on dates with you
the type to pick you up at random times for impromptu dates just because he misses you
not super clingy but definitely likes having you around, he knows you both have your own life and he respects that but if you can spend time together he wants to
will leave practice early if you tell him you’re sad or miss him
super cuddly in the privacy of your own home
wrap yourself around him like a koala and he is in heaven
honestly just loves feeling like he can protect you, even if you can protect yourself
will 100% help you study, and is super nice about it
you were skeptical after hearing the horror stories from Oikawa but honestly he has a ton of patience with you and will go over the same question for an hour until you understand it if necessary
just wants you to succeed 
another one who loves your kisses
he likes making out and everything but the small kisses mean more to him
when you kiss his cheek before a game, or press a kiss to the back of his hand while you’re walking together woooo
he just feels so loved and knows you have no other motive
with make outs theres always the chance the other person is just horny, but these? they’re so innocent and he can feel how much you care about him with them
not the greatest at expressing himself at first but not terrible either, you make do
once he fully opens up though, you know he loves you
won’t let you stay sad, if you’re upset for whatever reason hes just
“let’s go bully shittykawa that always makes me feel better”
if by some miracle that doesn’t help you, time for cuddles movies and calming tea
gives the b  e s t massages with no complaint
just a really good boyfriend 11/10 caring, funny, protective 
717 notes · View notes
sabababa · 4 years
Note
Hello, I was wondering if I could request a oneshot please. About goblin slayer having a crush on the reader and making it really obvious and being super blunt about it, but shes to much of an clumsy airhead to relise it please. Awh and bonus is shes short and slightly think/chubby 🖤💞
Goblin Slayer x Female!Reader
Summary: Goblin Slayer takes up different non-human courting methods to convey his feelings for the reader, but she thinks he’s just being a good friend.
Warnings: Some mention of alcohol 
Word count: 3.3+
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When Goblin Slayer first told his group that he had a crush on (Y/n), they didn’t take it literally. “I like (Y/n),” he said simply. They didn’t look too much into it until one day, they noticed him watching her as she left the guild for the night. He waved back to her like everyone else did as she left the building. He sighed as he leaned against the table, still looking at the door she just went through.
Elf Archer nearly spat out her drink. “Wait! You like-like (Y/n)?!”
“I told you before,” he stated, still staring at the door.
“Well, we thought you meant as a friend!” She exclaimed.
“More than a friend,” he replied, turning to look at the elf girl.
“If you explained more in detail, we would’ve known better and helped you,” Dwarf Shaman said as he stroked his beard in thought.
“Would you?” Goblin Slayer asked.
“Of course!” Lizard Priest praised. “My people take great joy in when someone starts to court another as a mate!”
“What would you recommend?” The slayer inquired.
“Have you tried getting her gifts?” Priestess asked.
He shook his head. “I haven’t tried anything yet.” He admitted.
“How come?” She stared up at him, confused.
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to do.” Then sighed and rested his chin in his hand as he leaned against the table.
“Woah, you must really like her to be acting like this,” The archer commented as her brows rose at his demeanor.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen you like this,” Priestess said worriedly.
“Are you sure you like her? You’re not mistaking this for another emotion? Because if you are, I won’t hesitate to hurt you if anything happens to-” Elf Archer began to rant before she was cut off.
“I like her.” He stated and stood up straight again, looking at the elf girl. “In fact, I think I might actually love her.”
“Woah!” The entire group gasped.
“That’s a big word, Orcbolg. Are you sure you’re using, right?” Elf Archer teased.
“I may be ignorant socially,” he started, “but I know my own emotions.”
“Hm.” Lizard Priest hummed. “I will help you with courting (Y/n) with my people’s customs. Hopefully, she will reciprocate.”
“What do I have to do?” He asked.
“The females of my species look for many things in a mate,” the lizard began. “First, who is the strongest,” he held up one finger, “second, who is the best hunter,” he held up another finger, “and third, who has the best scales.”
“Your species must be picky if the males have to jump through so many hoops!” Dwarf Shaman commented.
“It is the best way to secure a strong bloodline,” Lizard Priest nodded his head. Then he turned his attention back to the slayer. “You’ve already proven your strength when fighting goblins. Now you must hunt for her to show you will be able to provide for her.”
“I don’t hunt animals.” Goblin Slayer said flatly.
“Well, you hunt goblins, can’t be that much harder!” The dwarf replied.
“Goblins and animals are very different.”
“No matter, I will teach you how to track!” Lizard Priest offered. “We will track the biggest game in this region. Tell me, do you know what it is?”
“Deer,” the slayer answered.
The lizard put his snout in his hand, thoughtfully as he closed his eyes. “That should be big enough since you humans are smaller than my people.” Then he formed a fist with his hand and smacked it into his palm. “Right, let’s go hunt!”
                                                         * * *
Goblin Slayer dropped the deer carcass onto the table inside the farmhouse, where the group waited. “Did you have to bring it inside!” Elf Archer screeched and jumped away from the table in horror. “This poor, innocent creature!”
“Now what?” The slayer looked to Lizard Priest.
“You must present it to (Y/n),” the lizard stated with a smile.
“You can’t just give her a dead deer!” The archer yelled.
“Yeah, you should prepare it as a meal,” Cowgirl spoke from the kitchen doorway, a small smile on her face.
“Can you help me with that?” Goblin Slayer asked her.
“Of Course!” She agreed. “You just need to help me prepare it.” More time passed as Goblin Slayer and Cowgirl prepared the home-cooked meal, even using vegetables from the garden to make it into a wonderful stew. “That looks like everything,” Cowgirl said as she stared at the ingredients. “If you go grab (Y/n) now, the stew should be ready by the time you get back.”
He nodded. “Right,” and started to leave before he was pulled back.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Elf Archer grinned mischievously. “You still have one more step to do!”
“What?” The slayer looked at her.
“We have to make you look presentable!”
“But what about (Y/n)?”
Lizard Priest spoke up, right as a Dragontooth Warrier appeared. “I’ll take care of that!” And then gave it a note before it ran out the door.
Time passed again as Priestess, and Elf Archer helped Goblin Slayer look his best. They made him bathe while they cleaned his armor and placed some long, rooster tail feathers in the back of his helmet. They were a rare red color, and they curved nicely against his helmet, making him look like a knight. “You look amazing!” Priestess complimented as she watched him fit his armor back on.
“Were the feathers necessary?” He asked as he felt them go over his should from how long they were.
“Yes! You look so much better now!” The elf girl spoke. “I dare say you even look handsome!”
“Are you staying for the dinner?” He asked.
“No way! This is a date! It should just be you two!” 
“Really?” He sounded unsure, nervous even.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be in the next room over, so we’ll be listening!” Elf Archer grinned and waved her hand dismissively.
“Don’t be nervous,” Cowgirl said as she began setting the table. “Just be yourself.”
He stayed silent for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah.”
A knock came at the door, and the elf ushered everyone but Goblin Slayer into the next room to hide. He watched them for a moment, seemingly confused, before she stuck her head back out the door. “Answer it!” She hissed quietly and hid again.
He did as she said and opened the door to reveal (Y/n). His heartbeat sped up, and felt his helmet become a bit humid. She looked so pretty, she wore casual clothing, but she looked perfect to him. He kept staring until she brought a note up to his face. “Did you ask me here for a ‘delicious and hearty game to devour’?” She giggled at the end.
“Oh, is that what that says?” He took it from her hand and read the contents. It was clear Lizard Priest wrote the note, but the signature at the bottom was his name. He put it in his pouch behind his back and then gestured to her to come inside. 
“Wow, it smells delicious!” She smelled the air deeply and hummed in content.
“Yeah, it does,” he said as he sat down at the table. (Y/n) sat down too and admired the meal before he spoke again. “You smell nice too.”
“O-oh, do I?” 
“Yeah, I always worry if the goblin’s blood will be enough to hide your scent,”
Elf Archer face-palmed at his attempt at a compliment.
“Well, I guess you put enough on me that it works.” (Y/n) laughed. He laughed with her. They began eating the stew in silence before he heard a noise from behind her. He looked up and saw Elf Archer mouthing something to him. ‘Mention the meat!’ He stared at her longer, trying to figure what she was mouthing until it clicked. “Um, is something wrong?” The girl in front of him spoke up, noticing his staring.
Since he wore a helmet, she couldn’t tell he was looking behind her, luckily. “I caught the deer for this stew.” He said.
“Oh, you know how to hunt?”
“Lizard Priest taught me earlier today.”
“Wow, you must be a natural if you were able to catch one today!” 
Lizard Priest’s heart swelled with pride as he felt like he was watching his youngling succeed in getting a mate.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t that different from Goblin hunting.” He ate another piece of the stew.
“It’s so cool how you’re so willing to learn new stuff.” (Y/n) smiled before taking a bite of meat.
“A lot of people are smarter than me, I know that,” he started, “but when it comes to goblin killing, I’m the smartest there is.” He heard another noise at the doorway and looked behind (Y/n). Elf Archer was mouthing something again. ‘Steer away from goblins!’
“What do you keep looking at?” The girl asked nervously. “Is something on my face?” She tried wiping around her mouth for any stray food, but nothing came up.
“I…” He kept staring at her flustered expression. “I just think you’re beautiful.”
A faint blush dusted her cheeks before giving a light giggle as it disappeared. “I think you look handsome too, especially with the new feathers,” she complimented him.
He looked back down at the soup, stirring it for another bite. “I think they’re unnecessary.”
“Then why did you get them?”
“I didn’t, the girls put them in.”
“Why?”
“To impress you.” He casually took a bite of a vegetable.
“What for? Do you need something? Because you know you can just ask.” (Y/n) smiled sweetly. He stared at her for a while, he was mostly confused at her offer. Why would he need to impress her if he needed something? The entire group face-palmed at hearing her response. Then she looked over and saw that the sun was starting to set. “Oh! I need to get back home before it gets dark!” She quickly ate the rest of her meal and stood up. “Thanks for the food, it was delicious! But if you need a favor, you can just ask next time!” She smiled before leaving the house.
Elf Archer entered the room after the door closed. “Quick, offer to walk her home!”
Goblin Slayer’s head dipped as he looked at the rest of his stew. “No, she doesn’t feel the same way.”
“No, that’s not what happened!” She sat next to him, and the group joined them. “We all know (Y/n), she’s pretty oblivious to stuff like this!”
“Yes, Sir Goblin Slayer, do not be discouraged!” Lizard Priest held a fist up. “You have no other suitors to quarrel so you can have another chance with her!”
Goblin Slayer didn’t respond, he kept looking down. They stared at him sadly in silence.
“Alright! I’ve made up my mind!” Dwarf Shaman declared loudly. “I’ll help you court (Y/n) with some surefire dwarf customs that not even a human could resist!”
                                                          * * *
The next day, Goblin Slayer and the group stood inside a jewelry store as the dwarf began a lecture. “In Dwarf Society, we value wealth above all else, and a quick way to a woman’s heart is with jewelry!” He began. “By giving (Y/n) a rare and expensive jewel, you are showing her that you can take care of her and that no jewel is too expensive!”
“What should I get?” Goblin Slayer looked to him for advice.
The dwarf hummed as he inspected each jewel in the store. He came upon one that looked like the proper stone to give to the girl. He held up a large sapphire necklace that was held together by pearls. “This one!”
“No.” The slayer said immediately.
“Why not?!” Dwarf Shaman gasped. “It’s the perfect size! The jewel is immaculate! Any dwarf woman would accept this!”
“Exactly, you’re thinking about dwarf women,” Goblin Slayer said as he looked around the jewels himself. “(Y/n)’s human and doesn’t need something that gaudy.”
“B-b-but-” Dwarf Shaman stuttered before being cut off.
“Shut it, dwarf! Let him do what he thinks is best!” Elf Archer shushed him.
The slayer stopped when he saw a particular piece. It was a small ruby gemstone with a small, golden chain attached to it. He picked it up to inspect it, then handed it to the dwarf. “What about this?”
The dwarf looked at it and gave an appreciative nod. “This would do.”
Priestess gasped when she saw the price. “But that’s so expensive!”
“Cost isn’t an issue,” he said as he grabbed the necklace back. “It’s worth it for her.”
After they left the store, they started to head back to the guildhall in search of (Y/n), but as luck would have it, right as they turned a corner, said girl bumped into him and almost fell onto her back, but the slayer grabbed her before she fell. She opened her eyes, surprised she didn’t feel hard ground beneath her, but instead, Goblin Slayer held her in a dipped position. 
He pulled her back up as he asked. “Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine!” She stuttered, embarrassed that she almost fell onto her butt in front of the silver-rank hero.
“Hey! Perfect timing! He was looking for you!” Elf Archer pushed him forward slightly, and he almost tripped.
“What for? Do you need that favor?” The girl asked.
“Uhh…” He looked at her. He started to feel discouraged again. The doubt crept into the back of his mind as he thought back to the jewel in his pouch.
“He just needs to give you something!” The archer explained. “But we’ll be going now! See you at the guildhall!” She pushed the group around the corner, and they hid there as they listened to the conversation.
“You need to give me something? I don’t remember lending you anything.” (Y/n) rested a finger on her chin in thought.
Goblin Slayer managed to kick himself out of the rut he was in and cleared his throat to catch her attention. They stared at each other as he reached behind him and pulled out a velvet box. “This is for you.”
(Y/n) grabbed the box from him in curiosity and opened it. She gasped at the vibrant jewel inside. She pulled it out from the box and admired it in the sunlight. “It’s so pretty!”
“Not as pretty as you.”
She blushed. “T-thanks, but you didn’t need to get me anything,”
The blush that appeared on her cheeks gave him some hope, and he perked up a little. “Do you want me to put it on you?”
“Sure! If you don’t mind!” She smiled at him. She handed him the necklace as she turned around. The necklace fell in front of her gaze before resting on her chest.
“There,” he said.
(Y/n) turned back around to look at him. “Thanks so much, but why did you get me this?”
“Because I like you,” he felt his helmet grow humid as his heartbeat was erratic in his chest.
“Aw, you don’t have to buy me jewelry!” She smiled. “We’re just friends!”
His heart rate sped up again, but in panic and anger toward himself. He was stupid to think she actually liked him. He knew it. He knew she didn’t like him. He felt like an idiot as he tightened his fists at his sides, but then the tension released from them once a wave of sadness came over him. “I have to go.” He quickly brushed past her and the group around the corner.  
Elf Archer caught up to him. “Wait! She didn’t mean that!” She tried to defend. “She took it the wrong way if you just explain-”
“No,” he stopped and spun on his heel to look at her, then hung his head low in sorrow. “I told her how I felt, and she said we’re just friends. I should have taken the hint the first time.” Then he walked away again, leaving the archer behind.
He kept walking until he made it to the guildhall. He stared up at the big doors, contemplating if he should go inside. Before he knew it, he was already at his usual spot, standing at the tall table on the side of the room, a drink in his hand. He took a sip and felt the burn of the alcohol down his throat. He almost took another sip before a hand rested on his. Priestess stood there with a sad smile.
“I know you’re hurt, Goblin Slayer,” she started, “but I think you’ve been going about this the wrong way.”
He looked at her, debating on whether or not he should listen to another courting method.
“You just need to be yourself, just like Cowgirl said,” she took her hand off his and held her staff to her chest. “You know (Y/n), so only you know how to get through that thick skull of hers.” She smiled as she looked to the door behind him, and he looked too.
There (Y/n) stood. She had a worried expression on her face as she scanned the crowd of adventurers. Her eyes eventually landed on him. He turned to face her to look approachable as Priestess walked away. (Y/n) made her way over to him and stood in front of him. “Did I upset you earlier? I’m sorry if I said something wrong,” she apologized.
He sighed as his helmet tilted downwards. The priestess’s words echoed in his head as he thought of what to do next. He looked back up to her and held her hand. “Will you follow me?” She nodded her head, and he led her out of the guild, still holding her hand. They kept walking for sometime before coming up to a secluded garden in the town. It was night now, so no one but them was there. He brought her over to the side of the fountain, where no one could see them if someone peeked in. He held both her hands in his as he stared at her. 
“Do you have something you need to say?” She asked as she noticed his silence.
He took a deep breath before speaking. “These past couple of days, I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you how I really feel. I listened to a lizard, I listened to a dwarf, and honestly, I should have listened to the elf more. But then a priestess told me how I needed to be myself, and I realized that I need to follow my heart.” He stared at her, squeezing her hands before saying his next words. “I love you.” She opened her mouth to speak, and he cut her off. “Not in a friendly way, in a romantic way. I’m in love with you and have been for a while now.”
(Y/n) was at a loss for words as she stared at the stoic slayer. There wasn’t any way she could confuse this with general kindness. “I-I-” she started to stutter as she looked down. His heart began to sink at another rejection. “I love you too!” His head jolted up at her confession.
“Really?” He almost sounded excited.
“Y-yeah, I just didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to assume- plus, I thought you were just being nice, but I guess I was wrong about that.” She giggled to herself at the end.
He stared at the girl for a long time before a blush erupted on her face. That’s when he finally spoke. “Can I kiss you?”
Her eyes widened slightly at his request, but she gave a shy nod. He let go of her hands to remove his helmet and tucked it underneath his arm. She had seen his face before at the festival, but it had been a while since then. This time she memorized his features; fluffy ashen hair that dropped in front of his red eyes, two scars stuck out on his left cheek, but they only added to his beauty. He held her chin delicately between his finger and thumb and pressed a kiss onto her lips. It didn’t last long before he pulled away and put his helmet back on. She assumed he was being shy and gave him a bashful smile.
“So, you’ll be mine?” He asked.
(Y/n) nodded her head. “Of course.”
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