#i should re-read all of ^^^ that but i won't
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tls123 · 1 year ago
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Oh my god HOW DID YOU LIKE SVSSS!!!!!
i liked it more than i thought i would but overall less than i might have given the potential of the story, i think in general i really enjoyed the characters (mxtx never goes wrong with characters, she creates them in a way that makes me feel unhinged) and the world building but the pay off to the set up—which i really liked!—felt a bit........ i mean, just alright.
the dynamics too are pure mxtx, personally the bin/gqiu dynamic specifically really was the least interesting part of the whole story. to me!! but individually i loved both characters. my interest was just elsewhere because """elsewhere""" felt way more fascinating idk how to explain it
was very, very happy about the extra with airplane and the yue qingyuan / shen jiu one because that's exactly what i wanted more of in the story itself as well as just more shen yuan/qingqiu interacting with cang qiong mountain
maybe it's my orv brain but like i told jana a while back i think i would have enjoyed svsss way more if it was more about shen yuan (loner; hater; etc) suddenly finding himself among all of these people (disciples looking up to him; sect siblings relying on him one way or another; common folk admiring him; etc etc) and starting to.... live? again?
Shen Qingqiu hadn't noticed that, unconsciously, he no longer considered the disciples around him (...) to be mob characters the novel had described in a scant number of words.
^from volume one, he starts seeing them almost immediately because he's not actually that separate and he genuinely cares. all the time. about everything. even before that we get:
This was only a book, and all the people were constructs, imaginary characters. Logically, Shen Qingqiu was very clear on this fact...but when a character was actually being taunted and bullied right before his eyes, it was just flat-out unrealistic to expect him to be completely unmoved.
like why are you lying, shen yuan (<- svsss tagline if there ever was one)
just the idea of this really lonely detached guy finding a community, i know it's not the story mxtx was trying to tell but again, with the set up i really wanted to see it go in that direction.
there's one line from vol two where liu qingge goes "you fear becoming a burden to cang qiong mountain (...) but cang qiong mountain fears not your burden"
and basically what i'm saying is that i wish the story had been about THAT
(and also ning yingying's lines in that same chapter about shizun always taking on everything himself and why is it always you like that whole moment with the cang qiong mountain almost begging him to see that they care. idek what i'm saying but you know)
(also foaming at the mouth that we only got tiny tiny glimpses of shen yuan's life from before, those handful of times he mentioned his siblings i wanted to take a bite out of my kindle. tell me more!! dear fucking lord tell me more!! keep talking! elaborate!! he really felt very "kim dokja and his fourth wall" at times, sorry once more about the orv brain)
tldr: i guess i wanted a story about shen yuan/qingqiu but mxtx created svsss to be a story about bin/gqiu. and i just have to be okay with that.
#does this make any sense? no. am i still hitting ''post''? yes. sorry kay#fra.txt#fra.xml#pathos-logical#overall i quite enjoyed obsessive lu.o bin.ghe. so intense and possessive about the one person who showed him a little kindness#(so what if he also showed him a lot of pain too here and there?)#but like i said the bin.gqiu dynamic just didn't pull me in. of course to each their own#(''one person'' but poor yingying was trying to help him since day one.)#but also..... to me it felt like his arc was the least satisfying. he just.... is. whereas most everyone else seems to evolve more tangibly#right now i can't help but think of tianlang-jun. ''i can't bring myself to hate humans''#not to mention all the women from his harem becoming characters in their own right#i wish i could explain myself better but i don't have the words. sorry!#l.uo bin.ghe you ARE interesting i just feel like your story could have been more#as an apology here's my favorite line of yours: ''I don't want you to repay me. I just couldn't get over my anger''#see?? i pay attention to you too baby boy#i should re-read all of ^^^ that but i won't </3#edit: one thing i forgot to mention is that i did like the small snippet we got of bin/g-ge reacting to shen yu.an/qin.gqiu#like now that's something that immediately caught my eye it already made for such a more fascinating dynamic.#also i've seen a few things about shen yua.n (not trasmigrated) getting to meet bin.ghe/bin.g-ge and again that i would take a peak at#fully black lotus bin/g-ge coming face to face with shen ''i'm a hater but also can't help but be kind all the time'' yu.an truly pickles#my tickle. i'm sat. i'm listening. i'm compelled.
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devondespresso · 10 months ago
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Let Me Raise The Bar
T | 3,602 words | Steddie | also on ao3! | Modern AU, Meet Cute, Fluff
This fic is for the @strangerthingswritersguild fic exchange, by @starryeyedjanai and @devondespresso. Thank you to @dreamwatch and @bubblesandink for betaing for me!! <3
dividers by @/thecutestgrotto
edit: oh my god i forgot the keep reading the first time im so sorry guys
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This night is going terribly.
He keeps telling himself he’ll delete all his dating apps for good, but the prospect of being alone forever always has him re-downloading them.
Right now, he’s remembering why he hates them so much.
He hates Tinder, specifically—guys on Tinder only want to fuck. And if that was what he was looking for, that’d be fine, great even!
But he wants a relationship and guys on Tinder will say they want one too and then turn around and leave right after they get what they want.
At least guys on Grindr are upfront about it being just a hookup—no one’s getting their hopes up or feelings hurt when it turns out to be just that.
Tinder guys will take you on a date and pretend to be interested in you as a person and then won't fucking text back after they leave your apartment the next morning. It’s annoying and it’s frustrating and it’s a waste of Steve's fucking time at this point.
And this guy tonight isn't even trying to pretend. He tried to get Steve to blow him in his apartment building garage before they even left for the date and he really should have taken that for the red flag that it was.
But Steve looks good, and he did his hair routine that takes entirely too fucking long for no one to appreciate it.
His date drives him to this hole in the wall restaurant that Steve must have passed a million times on the bus ride to his job without ever noticing.
He thought he might be able to turn things around when they got there—it’s a small Italian place, a real family-owned type vibe to it. He knows before he even orders that the food is going to be some of the best he’s tasted since moving here.
He tries asking the typical first date questions to get to know him, but his date keeps giving him short answers. So he switches to talking about himself a little, but then he realizes his date’s been staring at his mouth the whole time he’s been talking and Steve finally snaps that he isn't getting into his pants.
Steve breathes out a deep sigh as his “date” gets up and goes to the bathroom. Some fucking date this is—they haven't even gotten their fucking food yet. What a disaster.
“Hey,” he hears their waiter—Eddie, his nametag reminds Steve when he looks up—say after a minute of his date being gone. “I hate to be the bearer of super bad news, but I just saw your date slip out the back door, and I don't know if he’s planning on coming back.”
There's a lilt of sympathy in his voice and Steve can't help but snort.
“Of course he did,” Steve says. “Why can't guys just be upfront about what they want? It would save everyone so much time.”
He’s not looking for an answer, but Eddie's mouth twists and he says, “Guys are stupid. I mean, they’d have to be to give up the chance to get to know someone as cute as you.”
Steve can't really muster up a smile at the pity, so he says, “Well, whatever the case, he was my ride home, so I think I need to call a Lyft now. Can you box the food up and bring me the check?” At least he’ll have lunch for tomorrow, which doesn't feel like an adequate consolation prize for how shitty he feels right now.
Eddie shakes his head and says, “There’s no way I’m letting you pay for such a shitty date.” Steve opens his mouth to protest, but Eddie continues, “Tell you what, my shift ends in ten minutes. Why don't I show you how I’d treat you if we went on a date.”
Steve's heart thuds in his chest, a flicker of hope in this incredibly dull evening. “Seriously?” he asks.
Eddie nods. “Think of it as a trial run. See if I rank good enough for a real one.” He winks and Steve finds himself nodding dumbly, still shocked at the rapid turn of events.
“Okay,” Steve says, kind of breathless.
Eddie heads back to finish cleaning up his other tables before he ends his shift, and Steve fills Robin in over text about what happened.
He’s still waiting for a response when Eddie shows back up with two plates of food, setting one in front of Steve and the other where his date sat before sliding into the chair across from him.
He’s wearing a different shirt, Steve realizes. It also looks like he attempted to wrangle his curly hair into something more manageable, maybe sprayed some water on it to smooth it down.
The thought that this guy, this random guy who happened to be his waiter on this horrific night, would put in more effort than his previous date makes Steve's cheeks get hot.
Maybe this night really can turn around.
“Alright, names. Hi, I'm Eddie.” Eddie says, sticking his hand out across the table cartoonishly for a handshake. Steve suppresses a laugh and takes Eddie’s hand with a smile.
“Steve.” He says, and Eddie’s eyes brighten before he takes his hand back.
“So, Steve, what do you do for fun?” Eddie says, leaning forward slightly with vibrant confidence, tone feeling more and more noticeably rehearsed as he goes. “Other than light up the room with that smile, of course.”
Steve huffs a laugh, blushing despite himself.
“You practice that one a lot?”
Eddie shrinks back a little, still smiling even as he messes with the hair on the back of his neck, already starting to ruffle what he’d tried to tame.
“Yeah, it’s uh…”
“It’s sweet.” Steve leans in a little closer himself, trying to match the effort Eddie keeps putting in. “Almost as sweet as the smile you're wearing.”
Eddie flushes pink and lets out a little “Thank you” to cover a nervous laugh—and christ, Steve is already hooked.
Steve hums and grabs his fork to start eating and Eddie mirrors him.
“Thank you for this by the way.” Steve continues, “Tonight's been… ugh, you know.”
“A special kind of shitty?”
“Yeah,” Steve sighs, “So all this is… really nice.”
“I'm glad.” Eddie says, voice soft before he shrugs and continues casually “M’hoping I’ll at least do better than the last guy.”
“Yeah, of course, you haven’t even asked me to blow you yet or anything.”
Eddie turns red and busts out a nervous laugh, looking away immediately. God, he’s so fucking cute.
“Yeah, yeah, I'm not–” Eddie looks back at him, nervous still, but sincere anyway, “That's not exactly my style.”
“You a wine and dine kinda guy?”
Eddie shrugs lightly, then he seems to get an idea, leaning in again with a smile “Actually– ideally, I'm a dine and mine kinda guy.”
A smile takes over Steve’s face that he can’t fully tamp down, a little flustered and a lot amused.
Eddie preens, then continues with a shy smile.
“Though, uh, usually it's more dine and…” Eddie pauses, “Pine. Dine and pine. You know, like pining.”
Steve makes his face relax as he nods and leans back. “Oh, yeah, like the tree.”
Eddie stops and looks at Steve, and soon Steve’s smile breaks out again.
“No, I know what you mean.” He says with a little laugh that Eddie quickly mirrors.
Eddie visibly relaxes, slouching overdramatically to the side with a sigh.
“God, I swear I’m usually good at this sort of thing, words and stories and shit,” He groans, gesturing around almost like he’s talking to himself, “But apparently I meet one pretty boy and suddenly I’ve got screws loose. And they’re all falling out, all across the floor, ‘there they go!’, y’know?”
Steve bites back a snicker and hums a quiet agreement. Eddie notices, though, looks up and sees right to Steve’s amusement, so Steve decides to save them both the embarrassment and move on.
“So your job. You like it here?
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Eddie says, perking up and gesturing as he starts talking, “The owners are really cool, they were our neighbors– Wayne’s—my uncle’s—neighbors when I first moved in with him, way way back, and they were so chill, loved having people over. Then one time in highschool I mentioned saving up ‘cause I’m trying to make it big with my band, and they offered to give me a job here while we get there.”
“That’s awesome. Your band any good?”
“Depends on who you ask.” Eddie laughs, playing with the food on his plate, “Wayne says we’re pretty good, which is probably the equivalent of moms showing up to their toddler’s dance recitals, but it’s something.”
“Where'd you guys play?”
“The Hideout, a couple blocks down…”
Steve nods.
“Yeah, it’s, uh, pretty fun if you ever wanted to stop by.“
“Sounds like a great second date.”
Eddie blushes, playing with his hair again as he smiles and looks away.
“I’ll probably have to wear earplugs– not because of your band or–”
“No, no, no, you’re good–” Eddie says, almost jumping up to reassure him, “It’s metal, that’s normal– good, even.”
“Oh– good.” Steve says, a bit awkwardly, and looks back down to his food.
Eddie leaves barely a moment of silence before he pulls the conversation back together.
“So what about you? You just a professional bad-Tinder-dater?”
Steve huffs and fiddles with his fork.
“Guidance counselor, actually.”
“Oh damn, really?”
“Yeah, Middle school.”
“Oh god,” Eddie groans playfully, “I can't imagine going back there willingly.”
“Yeah, I mean, it can get pretty rough,” Steve shrugs, “It's good though. Kids start thinking about who they are, I get to try and make that a little less shitty.”
“That’s a tall order.” Eddie laughed into his glass. “I respect it though. Hell, just having a queer adult exist around me would’ve made a lot of it easier.”
“God, yeah. I've got practice, at least, for when they need more than just some guy standing around in an office.” he laughed, pulling out sarcastic air quotes for the next part, “ I ‘babysat’ kids in middle school before I graduated. Bunch of little shits but they were good kids– still are good. They're like four years younger than me though, so they're more like siblings than kids.”
“Yeah, bet they don't take well to ‘kids’.”
“Oh, they hate it.” Steve laughed and Eddie followed with him, “Always hated it, but Dustin put his foot down after highschool. Rob and I call them my ‘twenty-somethings’ now.”
“God, wait, how old are you?” Eddie laughed
“Twenty-six.”
Eddie laughed a little louder, a lively and full laugh that looked enchanting on Eddie.
“You'd love them, they're all–
Steve’s phone buzzes.
Both of them look over to it on the table. Steve moves it to the seat next to him, looked up to Eddie with an apologetic smile.
His phone buzzes again.
And again, and soon Eddie’s eyes flick in that direction, eyebrow quirking with barely-restrained curiosity.
Then Steve’s phone starts ringing, the electric guitars of Hammer To Fall creeping up in volume way too fast for comfort.
“Sorry–” Steve cringes, grabbing his phone and answering the call in a furious whisper, “Robin, are you dying?”
“No, but thank you for confirming that you aren’t.”
“I texted you what happened.”
“Yeah and it was vague as hell! I reserve the right to be a worrywart with this shit.”
“Yeah, I know.” Steve sighs, but can’t really argue with her on it. “This was going well, though–”
“Is.” Eddie chimes in, not trying to be loud enough for the phone to pick it up, just for Steve to hear him clearly.
“Is going well.” Steve smiles.
“Oooo okayyy.” Robin hums and Steve can hear her cheeky smile through the phone.
“Goodbye, Robin.” Steve says, failing a half-assed attempt to cover his amusement.
“Oh wait no, tell him if he tries anything I’ll–”
“M’not doing that.”
“I will though, I’ll go after him–”
“Oh woah you’re breaking up, can’t hear you.” Steve deadpans.
“Steve, I know–”
“Love you, bye–”
“Steeeeve–”
“Don’t pull your hair out.” Steve says and hangs up, coming back to the present to Eddie watching him, thankfully looking amused instead of annoyed.
“Sorry about that.” Steve says.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Eddie leans forward again, propping his head up in one hand, “So… friend?”
“Best friend, has to be to get away with shit like that so easily.”
Eddie snorts.
“What was she calling about?”
“I wasn’t clear that this new date thing was gonna be a good thing.”
Eddie nods civilly.
“She worries,” Steve continues, “Fuckin’ tinder dates, y’know?”
“Uh, not really….” Eddie smiles.
“Good for you. They’re all the same asshole in a different haircut.” Steve says, and Eddie smiles, laughing a little with him before continuing with something calmer, a little more earnest.
“Then why keep going to them?”
Steve shrugs.
“Call me an optimist, I guess.”
Eddie hums noncommittally, like he’s thinking more than he’s sharing, and continues the conversation in a lighter direction.
_
The rest of the date is wonderful. A little less chaotic, especially once they start finally eating their food for real, but what it lacks in eventfulness it makes up for in comfort. They’re not exactly quiet, but Eddie’s energy always comes with a sincerity underneath, like he’s bold and fun because he just is, and not because he’s making himself be.
It’s refreshing. And as the night goes on, it becomes intoxicating.
So when Eddie offers to save him the Lyft fee and just drive Steve home, Steve agrees, just to get a little longer in Eddie’s bubble.
Eddie leads him through the restaurant and out the back into a small parking lot with a handful of cars and one big van, decorated with a clearly hand-painted dragon on the side. Which, of course, ends up being Eddie’s.
“Dustin would love this thing.” Steve says as he hops into the passenger’s seat, not really thinking twice about it as he looks at the interior, eyes lingering on the big fuzzy dice with too many sides hanging from the mirrors.
“So Dustin is…?”
“A Twenty-something.” Steve laughs as he spins the fuzzy dice to see all of its sides. “He’s like my little brother. Loves DnD and science and… all the nerd shit.”
“Nerd shit?”
“Yeah, I mean– it's not my thing but it’s cool. I’ve played with Dustin and them a couple times.”
“Oooo, a bit of a nerd, are we?” Eddie hums in a weird, almost witchy voice.
“Casually.”
“Mmm, but you’re already down the path~~”
“Just drive, dude.” Steve says with a fond eye roll.
“As you wish, your majesty.” Eddie hums in his normal voice, giving Steve a glowing glance before shoving the keys in.
“Alright, I'm about to push your nerd-tolerance to its limits.” Eddie says, pulling out his phone with a grin. He connects it to the car and quickly turns it down before drums and guitar erupt from the speakers, and Steve flinches at the volume.
“Sorry, sorry.” Eddie whispers and turns down the music again.
Steve nods, and after a second of the music playing much more quietly, he finds it much more comfortable. Nice, even. The energy is quick and alive like Eddie is, though the aggressive vocals fit his outward aesthetic more than his borderline goofy demeanor.
“It’s not the music, I promise.” Steve says, saying it casually but meaning it sincerely.
“You’re fine, I get it.” Eddie laughs, a little too cynically for Steve’s liking.
“No, I–” Steve reaches for Eddie’s hand between them, intertwining fingers and bringing both hands up between them, “I’m serious, I like it. My head’s a little sensitive, been hit a few too many times, but it’s nice. It’s bold and very energetic… stuff that I already like about you.”
Eddie blushes hard—a sweet cherry pink—as he slouches, bringing their joined hands closer to his face like he’s trying to hide behind them. Eddie rests his forehead against the back of Steve’s hand and huffs a quiet laugh.
“God, you’re quite the charmer, Stevie.” Eddie says, and Steve finds his face warming too.
“And I’m guessing it’s working?” Steve laughs.
Eddie looks up at him, smiling wide.
“Oh, it’s working very well.” Eddie says, and brings their hands closer to him again to plant a soft kiss onto Steve’s hand.
Steve’s face goes warm again, lights him on fire, and Eddie’s smile turns slightly smug before he looks away.
“Alright,” Eddie says, looking back to the front to drive but not letting go of Steve’s hand. He even reaches his left arm over to change the gears, leaning into how silly he looks to make Steve laugh.
It’s sweet, it's genuine, and it's everything to Steve.
Eddie starts driving, hand still firmly holding onto Steve’s, neither of them willing to let go first. Steve looks at it as Eddie drives, splitting most of his attention between their hands, Eddie’s profile lit up by the colorful city lights, and the road ahead as he navigates Eddie to his apartment.
And if they miss a turn or two because Steve’s tired brain doesn’t want to watch the damn road? Eddie doesn’t mention it.
_
“Alright.” Eddie says, putting the car into park with his left hand again, though far less comically now.
He sits there for a second, quiet like something’s on his mind, so Steve waits.
“Okay, uh,” Eddie starts, looking vaguely down as he wanders through what he wants to say, “I had fun, I’m assuming by how the nights gone that you did, too…”
Steve squeezes Eddie's hand, and Eddie laughs.
“I had a really great time. And I want to do this again, if you want to.” Eddie glances up at Steve for a second before his eyes dart away again. “But I want to be sure you’re… you’re not being an optimist with me. That you want want this, y’know, because you're an amazing guy, Stevie. I don’t know how you keep having such shit luck but believe me when I tell you it's not because of you.”
Eddie looks back up at him again and keeps his gaze there, looking more relaxed now.
“So, uh, I would love to take you out again.” Eddie says, “If you want to.”
If he wants to, as if that's not the most romantic thing Steve’s heard in his life.
Steve almost says that. He also debates kissing him or pulling him into an awkward hug over the center console that he’s sure would be put up with no matter how uncomfortable it’d be. But Steve doesn’t, because Eddie continues before Steve can make a decision.
“What do you want?”
Steve resists the urge to say a cheesy ‘You’ and thinks about it, really thinks so he can put together words that make sense, so he can give Eddie a real answer.
“I want a long relationship. A real one, y’know?”
Eddie nods.
“And I want to get married, someday. I want someone who’ll stay that long, who will love and let me love them, all cheesy and clingy and shit.”
Eddie hums, searching Steve’s face.
“And?”
Steve looks down at the joined hands between them.
“And I’d love if it were you. You’re sweet, so sweet, but you’re also… alive. Everything you do, you’re…” Steve thinks hard for a moment, working out how to phrase it. “It’s like the world doesn’t weigh you down. And you’re so genuine and you’ll come and say what you mean like it’s nothing, and I think every one of the people in my life—my favorite people—would love being around you almost as much as I do.”
Steve looks back up to him, face hot with another intense flush, and tries to smile casually.
“Hate to break it to you, dude, but you’re kinda my perfect man.”
Eddie huffs a breathy laugh, face painted with disbelief and wonder.
“Okay, then. Case closed.”
“Yeah,” Steve hums, with as much fondness as possible. Steve leans in across the center console, bringing a hand up slowly, trying to signal that he’s leaning in for a kiss.
It takes Eddie a second, and Steve gets to watch him look down at Steve’s hand and look at Steve leaning in, gets to see the moment it clicked before Eddie lunges to meet him halfway and then some, making the hand that was supposed to cradle Eddie’s face hold onto the seat beneath him to keep their balance.
Eddie kisses him hard at first, bringing a hand up to card through Steve’s hair, excited and alive. Then Eddie seems to come back to his senses, moving back but taking Steve with him until they’re both leaning over the center again.
Their kiss softens, intensity melting out into fondness, gentle but passionate, warm and Steve wants to melt from it.
Still, Steve’s going home tonight, going to go upstairs to Robin and tell her all about it. He’ll get to have a good night's sleep in a bed that doesn’t need cleaning, and he’ll get to wake up to the idea of something new brewing fresh in his mind.
Steve pulls back gently and Eddie does the same, eyes flicking open one after the other, a smile on Steve’s face and another lighting up Eddie’s.
Steve catches his breath, feeling lighter now than he has in ages, and Eddie opens his mouth to say something again.
“Does this mean I can get your number?”
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jensthwa · 8 months ago
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woo's prelude: a clown's remedy to heal a broken heart (JWY x reader).
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part of the love's an uncharted path universe ★.
SUMMARY:
A drunk and kind of akward conversation inside of a closet is the start of Wooyoung's journey into healing his broken heart. Only he doesn't really know the name of the Scarlet Witch that helped mend a heart that wasn't supposed to break anymore, even if she starts plaguing his thoughts and dreams after that.
PAIRING: wooyoung x fem!reader.
GENRE: halloween hookup to [redacted] (we'll get to that when we need to).
WORD COUNT: 11.9k
WARNINGS: SMUT ☽ (MINORS DNI) attempt !!! at comedy, drinking and drunk behavior, mature language, insults, woo getting his heart broken by his ex girfriend even though they're friends and they haven't been romantically involved in YEARS my god he's a dummy, reader getting her heart broken too, some self worth issues, frat bros being stupid and getting drinks throw at them for stepping over the line, howl!wooyoung (not for people with weak hearts and strong imaginations), making out, biting, description of female anatomy, sweet dirty talk and praising , fingering, semi-public (they're at a party, does that count?) and protected sex (wrap it up please), switching them positions for him, masturbation, hook up talk and the start of something new that we won't see for now but soon!
NOTES: hi everyone! decided to do a halloween drop on halloween day because spooky season is not over until i get this story out of my system it seems! this story is PART OF THE LOVE'S AN UNCHARTED PATH / SHOW & TELL UNIVERSE but can be read as a stand alone finally yay! THIS A PRELUDE TO WOO'S STORY, a little taste of what's to come for him and his boo (see what i did there?). this took place BEFORE we can't be friends (san's story) and will be placed accordingly on the masterlist to clear any future confusion. there's mentions of the characters that show up in wcbf so if u want to better understand the dynamics, you can read that but it's def not needed!
this is 100% self indulgent, as all fics should be, and i think i've re-read it so many times that if you find a typo or something that just doesn't make sense, you can blame it on english not being my first language i guess lmao. i hope you enjoy it and if you do feel free to send to my askbox/reblog/type in any feedback or thoughts! <3
POSTED: october 31st 2024 at midnight!
masterlist
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There's a particular way one too many tequilas can make a room spin that Wooyoung absolutely adores. 
When it happens, he lets himself catch the world swirling around him before closing his eyes and praying for a little bit of lucidity to come to him so he can get his drunk ass home safely. 
As he opens his eyes, his face scrunches at what he sees: San, dressed as Gomez Addams, waving a hand in front of him. It takes him a little to remember where he is. 
It's a bit extra confusing with all the costumes and strangers and the music blasting through the speakers but when it finally clicks, he's grateful that he's not completely gone yet. 
“Are you good?” He can faintly hear San ask over the music, San’s girlfriend by his side dressed as Morticia, eyeing him with a quirked brow. 
Why is San with her? He will never, ever get it. 
Kyungmi is not really right for him. It's been a few months already since they made it official and Wooyoung can just tell. He always tells. He's not as oblivious as everyone paints him to be. 
There's one girl who's right for San but, in all honesty, Wooyoung is too tired to fight him on it. 
San always shoots back with a comment about him and Gyuri, his ex girlfriend (now best friend) and it always brings his mood down for some stupid reason. 
He's oblivious to why that happens. By choice, of course, but oblivious nonetheless. 
He prefers it that way. 
Wooyoung would nod, but he knows it's dangerous to do so “Just peachy.” 
“Why don't you—” San starts but he interrupts. 
“Some air and water,” he smiles, taking the water bottle from his friend’s hand “Waaaay ahead of you, babe.” 
Kyungmi rolls her eyes “Quit calling my boyfriend babe, dude.” 
San laughs, Kyungmi does not. 
“Don’t be jealous because he loves me more than you,” sticking his tongue out, he stumbles his way around them both “I'll be back.” 
He focuses on putting one foot in front of the other until he reaches a very big window. It's larger than usual. 
Oh. 
It has a door. A door that slides! 
It's a balcony. Amazing, just what he needs: To be a safety hazard and a possible traumatic experience for everyone at the party. 
He should probably turn back around before he's accidentally leaping over the edge but then he sees it. 
He sees her.
Corpse bride. Her blue makeup being wiped off by somebody's tongue in a secluded corner of the backyard of this stupid frat house the friend group ended up for the night. 
Gyuri is kissing someone. 
His chest tightens, his mouth drops slightly and his heart thumps hard enough for him to feel it on his throat. 
Why is she doing that? 
She's wearing matching costumes with him. She carefully picked them out, she ordered everything a month and a half ago and now she's kissing some… Some… Attempt at a Superman costume. 
Which is pretty fucking hilarious because how do you fuck up a Superman costume? 
But Wooyoung is not laughing. He's hurting, he's fucking pissed and, at the same time, he can't pull his eyes away from her. From them. 
Is feeling this pathetic something that would fit Víctor?
Vector? 
Whatever his name is? 
He's never seen the Corpse Bride, so he doesn't remember the name of the dude he's dressed up as. He just knows he wants to wipe the pale complexion Gyuri painted on him off. 
Off. Off. Off. Out. He needs to leave. 
But he ends up going back inside and downing another shot before he can really think about it, giggling to San and pretending nothing happened because who the fuck is he to Gyuri to get upset over it? 
Her ex, sure. But that happened a long time ago, so it doesn't count anymore. 
So it doesn't really matter. Nothing really matters when he finds Yeosang (dressed as the Phantom of the Opera) and drags him to the dance floor for what it feels like forever.
And then, one thing leads to the other and he's sitting on the floor, in a circle of people he doesn't even know, playing spin the bottle. 
Or is it seven minutes in heaven? A vampire and a fairy kissed in front of him half a second ago, but Zuko and the creepy doll from that one netflix show got up and into a closet like… six minutes ago. 
He didn't really pay attention to the rules. 
Oh, well, he's about to find out anyway! 
Fingers grasping the soju bottle in the middle of the circle, he carefully inspects the faces of everyone sitting there, expectantly looking at him. 
His vision is a little blurry but he wants to pick whoever strokes his fancy the most to try and get rid of the funny feeling he gets when he sees Gyuri walk right in front of him and head for the drink table. 
He decides quickly that, as long as it makes him forget the image of that dude's tongue down the mouth of the love of his life, he's good. 
So he spins the bottle. It spins and it spins and it spins and everyone leans forward in anticipation until it stops in front of someone. 
There's someone on his left that audibly gasps and Wooyoung looks at them before his eyes focus on the person he has to… Kiss? Get in a closet with? 
What does he need to do? 
“You can skip her if you like,” some dude with red paint dripping down his forehead and cargo shorts tells him. He's not even sitting down in the circle but lying on the couch closest to it “She's in a bad mood.” 
That’s when the Scarlet Witch that the bottle landed on rolls her eyes and gets up. 
Wooyoung thinks he's about to lose his turn and wait for the next round or until the bottle lands on him when she offers him her gloved up hand. 
He gets up. He's a little bit more sober now, alert as he plants his feet on the carpet again just to not make a fool of himself, throwing a glance at Gyuri just to find out she's not actually looking at him at all.
The pang on his chest comes back. 
“Don't throw a drink on him just for trying to kiss you too, sweetheart, that's what the game is all about,” the same dude from before tells her as they both pass by the couch and head for the space Zuko and the doll who, he assumes, just got done with their seven minutes was occupying “Don’t say I didn't warn ya, Wooyoung!” 
Who is this obnoxious motherfucker and why does he know his name? 
It takes two and a half hazy steps until the darkness of the small space engulfs him and Scarlet Witch. 
It's one of those long closets with narrow walls that leave absolutely no space to move around when you actually need to put something away, but it's a perfect nook to make out. 
He would know, he's been in this situation many times. 
He lets go of the stranger's hand, only because she turns away from him and then she huffs once the door closes. Wooyoung hears a thump against the wood of it, so he assumes she hit it with her fist or her boot. 
“Fucking asshole.” She mutters under her breath but he hears it. 
It dawns on him that the reason he sat down to potentially kiss strangers that night was to be seen. 
Wooyoung wanted people to see him so they knew he was completely fine and, as soon as Gyuri walked into the room, his motivation was for her to see him doing completely fine. 
Cool. He's cool. He's one of the actual cool guys at the university, he's been told so before. 
He also wanted her to feel a little bit jealous but now, eyes closed for a few seconds to try and regain composure after whatever just happened, he realizes that she probably wouldn't even care.
So this whole thing is useless anyway. Only now he gets to meet (kiss?) someone dressed as one of his favorite characters of the decade. 
There, as his eyes adjust to the minimum light that's filtering under the door, he realizes his mistake: he said nothing to defend her. 
In his defense, his drunk brain processes the information a little too late. And, in her defense, Scarlet Witch seemed like she didn't really care what the asshole said in the first place. 
Now he notices that's not true. 
It's hard to make out her figure but he hears another soft thump and when he turns his head to the right angle, he's able to make out that she just leaned against the door. 
He opens his mouth to apologize, he thinks, but she beats him to it. 
“We don't have to kiss or… fuck or whatever people do with their seven minutes.”
“Wow,” he laughs, his back finding a wall and almost knocking something placed on a tiny shelf next to his arm “I promise I wasn't expecting you to—” 
“Yeah, yeah, save it,” she lets out a breath. “If you want to tell them that we kissed, that's fine by me. I know how your frat bros behave when you don't do what you're supposed to.”
“They're not my frat bros. In fact, they are not even my bros,” he frowns, and slides against the wall because his legs are threatening to give in. He's suddenly very, very exhausted “I don't know them.” 
“Isn’t your name Wooyoung?” 
“Y-yes?” 
“Then you know them,” she shoots back, matter-of-factly “And I'm not interested in kissing any of your kind tonight.” 
“My kind?” 
“Men,” she clarifies and Wooyoung can feel her smile in her next words “Although frat bros are a different kind of species altogether.” 
“I'm not a frat bro!” 
It takes a second and his honest frustration but she laughs “Sure.” 
In the dark, with his ego bruised and his heart crushed, Wooyoung thinks it's a pretty laugh. 
He thinks it's even prettier when he hears a little ruffling and then her body heat invades his space, kind of. She just sat beside him, thigh against his and perfume reaching his nostrils. It's a mix of something sweet and something citrusy. 
It's really nice.
He gulps before asking “W-what was that about?” and then points to the door like she can see him. 
“He's in one of my classes. He thought he could kiss me and when I said no, because fucking look at the state of him, he tried to kiss me anyway,” she says all chirpy but Wooyoung picks up on the sarcastic tone and let's out a soft ew at the story “I preventively threw my drink on him because I got a little freaked out and now I'm sober and pissed off. I think he's a little upset about me thinking he was about to take advantage of me.” 
He grimaces “You can't never be too sure, though.” 
She hums and then sighs a: “I know.” 
“I don't even know his name but he does sound like a fucking asshole.” 
“Why does he know you?” 
Wooyoung shrugs and he's a little glad it's dark. He's not exactly smiling, his playful nature not coming out at the moment. “I'm a pretty popular guy.” 
“I don't know you.” 
“Well, I don't know you either, so we're even,” he shrugs again and it's kind of hypocritical because, to be fair, he didn't get a good look at her face at all “I just know you s-smell nice.” He murmurs, tripping on his words like a babbling drunk idiot. 
Maybe because that's what he is right now.
“Thanks… I guess.” She sounds weirded out by that but he's not sober enough to care. 
“You're so welcome.” 
There's silence in which Wooyoung does nothing but try to find her in the dark. He eventually does, given the fact that the light from under the door casts a little on her face now that she's sitting down.
He doesn't recognize her, which is odd. Wooyoung knows almost everyone. At least her voice would ring a bell but there's absolutely no frivolous memories with this girl and he kind of likes it that way. 
If she doesn't know him, she doesn't know about Gyuri. That's a plus because there's no reason for her to be walking on eggshells around him like every other student at the university who finds him attractive. 
There's another beat of silence between them both, music blasting outside and making the floor slightly thrum underneath him. 
He's not usually this quiet. When he doesn't feel like crying, he's usually very annoyingly outspoken. Mind glowing in red alert, he practically stumbles his words out to fix that. 
“I like your costume.” 
“You do? People didn't get it.” 
“That's because they care more about Captain America than Wanda Maximoff,” he scoffs. “It’s the Multiverse of Madness one, hm?” 
“Wandavision post-credit scene,” she whispers back and Wooyoung nods, encouraging her to go on even if she can't see him. He thinks she's about to maybe rant about the show or the character or the party or anything that can help him forget, but she does the opposite “I, uhm… Also like your costume.” 
There's a tint of shyness in her voice, like she's not used to being nice. 
“Victor, right?”
“I've never seen the movie.” He makes sure to clarify before she asks him about it. 
“You don't really have to see the movie to know the character, Wooyoung,” he feels when her head hits the wall slightly, on purpose maybe “I don't like him anyway.” 
“Then why did you say you liked my costume?” 
“I lied. It's called trying to keep the conversation going,” her explanation makes no sense to him in that state of inebriation, but he lets it go “I don't exactly know what to talk about when I drag someone into a closet.” 
Wooyoung pauses and then laughs to himself “We were not exactly supposed to talk in the first place. Have you never done this before?” 
“No. I don't usually go to frat parties,” she says after a second where Wooyoung was met with silence, a moment where he wondered if his question was out of line “Coming here tonight was a mistake.” 
He finds himself asking without thinking, again “Then why did you?”  
“I'm so bored.” 
That takes him by surprise. 
“Bored?” 
“Yes, I'm bored. My dorm room mattress has a hole in it because I never go out and… Well, there's a boy I liked that came here tonight, so, I came as well.” 
Liked? 
Wooyoung doesn't really ask her about it. 
Eyebrows practically touching his scalp, Wooyoung thinks for a split second she's talking about him but that's not really possible because they've never met until now, she said it herself. 
“Well did you find him?” 
She takes in a shaky breath and then lets it out. Sadness suddenly fills the constricted space and Wooyoung isn't sure if it's just him or if Scarlet Witch is going through a heartbreak as well. 
“Yeah, I did” she whispers back and doesn't elaborate, so he doesn't ask “There's a bride going around the party. I saw her, she looks really cool, maybe you could—” 
“She's my best friend,” he interrupts because the mention of Gyuri, so directly at that, has his heart racing with anxiety. So long for her not knowing about his ex girlfriend “We, uh… We dated in highschool and we stayed friends, so it's not really happening again.” 
“Oh… Do you want it to happen again?” 
“W-what?” 
“I mean,” she laughs a little awkwardly, like she's nervous “You sounded very sad when you said it, a little angry too.” 
“Did I?” 
He definitely didn't mean to sound like that at all. 
Scarlet Witch hums in agreement and he really thinks about what to answer. The short answer is a simple yes but, if he's being honest, he already knows that they're not good for each other. Not like that, anyway. 
“I don't really know what to tell you.” 
“You don't have to tell me anything,” she says right away and it calms his nerves a bit. “Just know that there's no real helping when you like someone, it doesn't matter if you thought you didn't like them anymore. It just happens. It sucks but it just happens.” 
The unsolicited advice doesn't really help him, if he's being honest. It stirs something inside him that he wants to keep hidden, concealed, so he turns the topic of conversation away from him. 
Away from Gyuri. 
“Speaking from experience?” He asks, half jokingly.
“Yeah, so I can confidently say that it fucking sucks.” 
She turns to him with a smile (he's hyper focused on her, there's no way he could've missed that) before laughing and a tiny force lifts up the corners of his lips. That's one pretty laugh.
Maybe, in an universe where was a little bit more sober, he could've actually spent these seven minutes kissing her. 
Kissing her. 
He wants to kiss her. That's going to take his mind off Gyuri, sure. 
His heart beats quicker this time, for a completely different reason. 
He leans in. 
He's going to kiss her. 
She clears her throat “Are you going to the party next saturday?” 
Huh? 
Oh. 
“Yes, I think so,” he's a little breathless and probably blushing because of what he was about to do “Why?” 
After the night he had, he thought he was going to struggle to even bring out this sort of excitement out of himself. When Scarlet Witch raises her gloved hand and brings it to the nape of his neck, he wonders if she actually has magical powers. 
It effectively distracts him, it sobers him up and makes him feel drunker at the same time. Short nails caress the skin where her fingers lay and then she grasps the strands of hair sticking out, not gelled down for the sake of his costume. 
“Is this real?” 
What does she mean? This feeling taking over his body? The heat that spreads all around? He's not sure if it is, if that's what she's asking. 
Hia mouth feels like cotton when he asks “Is what real?” 
She laughs softly again “The hair, the length.” 
Oh. 
“Yes, it is.” 
Maybe he should've taken his time in answering because, as soon as he does, her touch leaves him. 
“You should go as Howl,” she murmurs and he melts a little “It'll suit you better than a Tim Burton character, I think.” 
He laughs, it's short lived and through the cloud he feels he's on right now “You think?” 
“Yeah,” he can't see her, but he knows she's nodding “Even if you claim that you're not a frat bro. You know, the whole seducing ladies and stuff.” 
Wooyoung laughs “Howl did not seduce any ladies, it was all a rumor!” 
“He did, in the book.” 
“Oh, I don't read.” 
“See?” she clicks her tongue and then her shoulder touches his, teasingly “Total frat bro.” 
Wooyoung thinks about it again. 
Kissing her. Now out of pure want instead of selfish motivations. 
She said she didn't want to, earlier, if he recalls correctly and that's okay. 
He still wants to though, so… 
The question is on the tip of his tongue, he even thinks he makes out the start of it before it's cut off by the sound of the door opening. 
Closing his eyes at the sudden intrusion of light, it takes a few seconds for them to adjust to it and, when they do, he finally sees her face. 
He should've kissed her. 
The costume she's wearing it's cool, sure, and she's even wearing a wig that looks very expensive so he confirms the fact that she likes to dress up sometimes but that's not really what amazes him. 
Maybe it's because he sort of already formed a judgment of her character but she's beautiful and he really, really, really, should've kissed her. 
“Time's up, you're hogging the closet. Oh, and someone is looking for you,” the girl dressed up as Zuko points in his direction and then, because neither of them makes an effort to stand up, she nods and steps aside “I'll give y'all a minute.” 
Scarlet Witch laughs and Wooyoung wishes he could share the sentiment. At this point, he thought he would be done with a makeout session and in desperate need for another drink to keep the night going. 
Now, he wants nothing but take her hand in his and find a quiet spot where he can keep getting to know her. Maybe get her number. 
And he swears he's going to ask, but the universe is not in his favor. When she turns to him, he loses all ability to speak and when she leans in to peck his cheek his breath hitches and he feels like a teenager getting a crush for the first time. 
“In case you need to tell anyone I kissed you,” she whispers in secrecy, leaning back a bit “So you don't have to lie. I hate liars.” 
He gulps “Noted.” 
She doesn't even give him the opportunity to escort her out of tiny space: she gets up, bolts for the door and when Wooyoung's brain catches on to the gigantic problem of his own creation, as he gets out of the closet and looks around for her, she's already out of his sight. 
“Are you good?” 
It's the second time tonight San has asked that. It's not annoying by any means but when it comes with the concerned faces of Yeosang, Kyungmi and Gyuri he has to think his response through.
But the Scarlet Witch's words echo in his mind. 
I don't like liars. 
“No, I'm not,” he says, a little out of breath “I didn't get her name.” 
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This time, the entire crew joins him, Gyuri, Kyungmi and Yeosang to go to the party. 
He wishes his other best friend came along as well, but she's really not that fond of parties in general. 
Which sucks because she would look good in a costume and maybe that would prompt San to act on his feelings and break up with Kyungmi in the process. 
She was a pain in his ass tonight. Didn't really help his nerves at all. 
Yes, he's nervous about possibly seeing Scarlet Witch again. 
Yes, he thought about her all week and tried his best to find her on social media but couldn't. 
Yes, he's aware tonight's theme for the party is a mix of a masquerade and a normal costume party or whatever the sorority organizing it said in their invite. 
And yes, he's dressed up as Howl Pendragon, wearing a black and white mask that he borrowed from one of the girls in the group. They decorated it with little gold and pink stars and it looks cute on him but that's not the point! 
Masks complicate his quest for the night. 
He hopes that she's here tonight. He also hopes that the costume alone is enough for her to recognize him: There's a lot of people here tonight. 
Even waiting in line to pay the cover fee for the party felt stuffy. 
He turns to Gyuri and she's laughing at something her date for the night is telling her. That's right, for the first time in many, many years, Wooyoung is not her date. 
Superman is. He's dressed in the same costume he saw him in last weekend, he thinks he even sees as smudge of Gyuri’s corpse bride body paint on it. 
She's Wonder Woman for the night. So original. 
Wooyoung feels bad as soon as the bitter thoughts go through his head. He didn't even know they exchanged numbers, let alone kept chatting to coordinate their costumes for tonight's party. 
He found out when she told her that the Raven and Beast Boy costumes would have to wait until next year. 
And he, actually, was relieved that he didn't have to paint his face green for God knows how many hours just to keep losing his date in the crowd and finding her kissing someone else. 
Ugh. 
Bitter. He's as bitter and jealous as someone who has to see the love of his life not give a damn about them or their feelings can be.
But that's okay, he has other plans for the night anyway. 
As soon as they all get through security (there's security at a house party, what the hell), they all scatter to do what they do best at parties. 
Hongjoong and Seonghwa head for the drink table, Yeosang and Jongho head for a corner of the main room, San, Kyungmi, Gyuri and Superman go straight to the backyard and Mingi, his girlfriend and Yunho walk with him to the dancefloor. 
He dances with his friends, he pretends he's paying attention to their banter as his eyes scan the crowd looking for someone familiar behind a mask. 
He thinks he remembers her face very well, it stayed on his mind for a whole week but, even after dreaming about their conversation, Wooyoung is having a hard time in finding her. 
She didn't even tell him what she was going to dress up as or if she was even going to show up. 
Or did she? 
His memories are all blended together. He's going to make sure to be sober tonight, just for the sake of remembering every little detail if he does end up finding her. 
But the hours go by and he still can't find her. 
He's losing hope, he's beginning to believe she didn't even show up to the event which, hey, sucks but that means that he can finally get her out of her head. 
Sort of. 
There's a Scarlet Witch staring at him. But there's this alluring nature to his Scarlet Witch that can't be replicated, or so he thinks. 
He's about to convince himself he drunk dreamed the entire thing but then he sees him. 
The obnoxious motherfucker. Her classmate, mister can't-take-no-for-an-answer. 
In all honesty, the first thought that crosses his mind is to punch him in the face. He's still dressed up all frat bro-ish and his mask is a paper mask, completely diy-ed and with a dick drawn on the right side. 
And then he abandons the thought because, although an asshole, he can lead go finding his Scarlet Witch. 
Only issue is: Mister asshole is walking away with a girl on his arm and heading straight to a… room? bathroom? 
Stopping his movements, mid a Troye Sivan song and cutting Yunho off in whatever he's telling him, he let's out a loud “Fuck!” 
Yunho stops, Mingi and his girlfriend turn slowly to them with wide eyes and concerned expressions 
“What did you do to him?” Mingi asks Yunho and his best friend laughs nervously. 
“I didn't do anything! Did I do something?” he turns to Wooyoung “I didn't, did I?” 
“No, no. Sorry, I… I gotta go.” 
“Go where, Serena Van der Woodsen?” 
Wooyoung doesn't get the reference Mingi’s girlfriend makes but he laughs like he does “I'll be right back!” 
He's never been so determined before, moving through the crowd like his life depends on it and crashing into Batman and his Joker on the way to stop the guy who's potentially changing the course of his night. 
“Hey!” He yells behind him but the music is somehow louder on this side of the house and five people turn their heads, but not the guy pushing a Silent Hill nurse into the bathroom door to kiss her before opening it. 
Damn it. 
He runs faster and faster and he thinks he's going to miss his chance when the tip of his boot catches the door before it fully closes on his face. 
Breathing hard, his lips turn up in smirk when he catches the way the guy's face scrunches in confusion before opening the door again and looking at him.
Wooyoung takes it a step further and gets into the bathroom with them, closing the door behind him and lifting up his mask.
“What the fuck, Wooyoung?” 
“Hey, so sorry for interrupting your fifth makeout sesh for the night but I need to ask you something. Hi.” He says to the nurse and she smiles a little before turning to the Frat Bro and raising her eyebrow inquisitively. 
“And it couldn't wait?!” 
“No,” he says right away, smiling sardonically and getting straight to the point afterwards. “So, remember the Scarlet Witch that I ended up going to the closet with last week?” 
“Who?” 
Wooyoung is going to kill him.
“The girl who threw a drink on you last week for trying to kiss her even if she said no the first time you tried,” he reminds him, “Is she here?” 
“Y/N?” the name comes out in a whisper and Wooyoung sucks in a sharp breath. 
Y/N. 
It fits her. 
“Your classmate, yes.”
“Uhm, yeah, I think she's here,” he looks a little embarrassed at the recalling of the events of last week and Wooyoung wants to smile because of it, but he just looks at him with an insistent look so he can catch that he needs more than that to find her. To find you “Look, bro, I don't know where she is right now. I think she's dressed as a… Clown? A jester? Some weird, indie costume, uhm… She has a pointy black birthday hat? I don't know.” 
He's slurring his words but that's not enough for Wooyoung to feel bad for him. He, however, does not want to speak with him anymore. 
“Alright, thank you for that, I'll… Leave you to it,” he opens the door again and frat idiot scoffs, so he turns and looks directly at the Silent Hill Nurse “Please make him wear a condom.” And he can tell she's a little turned off with the whole conversation. 
So, as he closes the bathroom door and scans the crowd one more hopeful time, he counts that as a second victory. A little revenge on your name, even. 
He wanders the house, the hallways and rooms and little hideaway spots but he finds no sign of you in them so he heads for the backyard and looks up to the second floor. 
The first room is presumably empty, lights turned off and no activity in it the few seconds he observes it. 
The second room has an ambiance light turned on and he sees what looks like a Mad Hatter run across the window and then he hears something crashing, so he hopes that's not where you are. 
The third room has a balcony. It's dark, there's not one light lit in the entire room but there's neon lights in the backyard and streetlights and the moon casting perfectly on it, so he's able to see it perfectly from where he stands. 
And there, draped in some sort of vintage looking clown costume, wearing striped tights and a black and white pointy hat, mask in your hand and your forearms supporting your weight, you stare past him. 
You look sad, but it could also be the illusion the makeup you put on gives. 
He doesn't know you enough to know what your sad expression looks like and it bothers him a little. 
You also don't notice him at all, which is odd, because you're staring directly over his shoulder. You only blink fast and focus on his face once someone calls out: 
“Woo!” That's Gyuri's voice. Raising your head, you wave to him and smile a little. He smiles back. 
He has to literally force himself to peel his eyes from you and look behind him, at his best friend “Are you okay? Come hang out with us!” 
She looks so happy. A little drunk, but happy. San is also right beside her and he shoots him a knowing smirk that he ignores because he has to leave and speak to you. 
“I'm a little busy, Yuri. I'll be down in just a sec,” that's a lie but she nods happily and so he turns to you, your smile a little bigger now “Don't move.” He warns cheekily in a whisper and you seem to get it, because you smile wide, raise your arms defensively and open your, once again, gloved hands in defeat. 
He practically sprints to the second floor after that. 
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You hope Wooyoung didn't notice. 
Staring daggers at the girl he told you last time is his best friend? Yeah, that could turn into a fight really fast if he reproaches it. 
You don't remember her name but you do remember her kissing the guy you've liked since forever. She's been doing that all night tonight, too. 
It pisses you off for all the wrong reasons. Sure, she's not exactly at fault, but the human mind is horrid when it comes to mental self flagellation and you, unfortunately, are an expert at that. 
All kinds of things went through your head. The main one, a question: Why do you feel so possessive over something that clearly isn't yours? 
His heart. 
His heart it's not yours, it never was, it never will be.
It's time you come to the realization that that's okay even if it hurts you. The obsession you have over it, over what happened with the two of you it's starting to get pathetic and it makes you feel lonelier than usual.
You really hope Wooyoung didn't notice. 
As you walk to the door and unlock the room you claimed for the night (because you want to leave, but the cover was expensive and there's no way you're letting it go to waste) you let yourself detach from the emotions you've been feeling all night. 
Wooyoung doesn't need to know what's going on in your head. You have a good memory of him, you even filtered a little last weekend and you want to keep that going. 
He doesn't need to know, he doesn't need to stay in your life for too long either.
It makes you giggle when he opens the door and scans the moonlit room of this sorority house like he doesn't really believe you were there in the first place. He smiles wide when his eyes land on you, back against the wall closest to the door. 
“Hey.” You say, biting down a smile.
His chest is heaving, like he ran all the way up here and it does nothing but send nervous tingles down your spine.
He smiles beautifully, entering the room and closing the door behind him “Hi.” 
Peeling your back from the wall, you start walking around the room because that keeps your body busy and unable to embarrass you. 
“Thought I missed you completely tonight, Y/N.” 
Frowning, you give him a glance over your shoulder “You know my name.” You say, rather than ask. 
“You didn't want me to?” 
Shaking your head, there's a tiny smile that curves your lips when you turn to him. He's walking around as well, slowly, carefully, like you're about to disappear if he moves too fast. 
“I don't really enjoy mysteries that much.” 
He smiles as well “You didn't tell me your name last time.” 
“You didn't ask me,” shrugging, you take a few steps his way and scan his costume without any discretion “You see?” 
“Hm?” 
“How good you look as Howl?” tilting your head slightly, you don't miss the way his cheeks darken slightly and that makes the remains of your shyness disappear from your body. You tell yourself that you, in this room, there must be no space for it. You point at his cape “Was it hard to get this?” 
“Overnight shipping,” he whispers, taking a step in your direction “You look very cute.” 
“You think?” 
“Yeah, I really like the, uhm…” he gestures to your costume “Vintage vibe.” 
You don't have to be a genius to notice he doesn't really know what you are. “I'm a pierrot clown.” 
He scoffs “I knew that.” 
“Sure you did, buddy.” 
There's a pause and then you both laugh but it dies down quickly and there's this tension between you both you don't really know why it's there.
You two didn't exactly connect that much last time. At least, you don't think you did. He was kind of drunk and you weren't really thinking straight either. 
“Y/N…” Your name sounds good out of his lips. 
“Yes?” 
“Why did you disappear last time?” 
That makes you laugh again. You didn't exactly plan on it, you were going to wait for him outside the closet but then you saw them kissing goodbye and your heart couldn't really stand it, so you bolted. 
You walk towards one of the two beds, sitting down on it carefully, to not disturb it too much. He follows you with his eyes, his head turning slightly in order to do so.
“You mean when I left the party? I didn't disappear on you,” that's not really a lie, you convince yourself. You kind of bid your goodbye to him that night “Didn’t think you wanted me to stay, either. Did they give you too much shit?” 
“For what?” 
“I clearly didn't kiss you that night. I think it was obvious, so… Your frat bros didn't give you shit for it?” 
Closing his eyes, the smile he gives you in return for the inside joke you two have going on makes your heart flutter “Stop insisting on that, will you?” 
“You can't really fight the truth, Wooyoung.” 
“Hm,” he walks over to you again, sitting on the bed next with his thigh touching yours. Innecesarlly so, because there's plenty of space, but you enjoy the warmth it spreads around your body so you don't say anything “You did tell me you didn't like liars.” 
“Oh, you remember that?” 
“I remember everything,” he nods, “I wasn't that drunk.” 
You give him a look “Weren't you?” 
He laughs again and you follow, pushing him slightly with your shoulder like you did back in the closet as well.
You don't really know what to say anymore, so you clear your throat slightly. 
“Are you enjoying the party?” 
“Are you?”  
“What do you mean?” 
“You seemed kind of sad when I saw you, there,” he points at the balcony and that makes you sigh. He noticed, kind of. That's disappointing and impressive at the same time. “I thought it was the makeup but it doesn't really seem like it.” 
“I’m not sad,” you admit, “I'm hurt.” 
“Isn't that the same thing?” 
“Not really, no,” shaking your head, you stare out of the big panel windows into the night sky. He doesn't need to know entirely, but you can tell him something about it “Remember the guy I told you about last time?” 
“The guy you went to the party for?” 
You nod “Well, he's here tonight too. With a date this time.” 
“Oh,” when you turn, catch him licking his lips before continuing and your eyes are fixed on the motion for a second too long “And that hurts you, duh, obviously.” 
You think it's adorable he's also a little nervous but you only smile and don't give him shit for it like you would do to anyone else “When you're obsessed with the idea of someone specifically seeing you a certain way, yes, it hurts,” you shrug “I'll get over it though.” 
“I feel that,” he says and you can imagine. You sensed it in his feelings last time, you can't actually believe the coincidence and irony of it all “Did you and this guy…?” 
“We went to highschool together. He was the only person who I thought saw me for who I was, whoever that is,” there's a bitterness in the laugh you let out you don't enjoy “We kissed a few times, he told me pretty things and I feel. Totally forgot about me when he had a summer glow up before we started our first semester, though.”
“Well, he's an asshole.” 
“He's not, not really,” and you desperately need to change the topic to him, so you bump your shoulder against him one more time “Did you come with your Sophie?” you ask, pretending to not know about Wonder Woman and the fact that she's here with somebody else. 
He catches who you're talking about, though and shakes his head, giving you. tight smile. 
“No, no, uhm… She has a date.” 
You hum “Are you hurt too?” 
“I'm bitter,” he whispers back, right away “Don't know if that's the same as being hurt, but I'm bitter.”
Silence falls comfortably around the understanding in between you both. You stare at each other, lips slowly curving upwards until you end up laughing yet again at the absurdity of the situations you're both in. 
“Guess we're just… A pair of losers tonight, huh?” 
“And what a pair we make.” 
You agree. There's this electricity running through you, you even dare to say it's running through him too and it makes you slightly regret not kissing him last week. 
If you did, the desire to do so right now would be easier to come to terms with. 
Thankfully, the same thing seems to be going through his mind “I know I was drunk, but I wanted to kiss you so bad.” 
“Are you drunk now?” You ask back in a whisper. He shakes his head. 
“Don't want to ruin your pretty makeup. Besides, you said last time—” 
You lean into his space a bit. 
“That was then,” you interrupt with a tiny smile “And now is now.” 
“That's how time usually works, yes,” he laughs and you join, rolling your eyes at the bad joke. You can see the second he makes the decision, his hand hesitantly finding your cheek and, when you don't recoil at the possible contact, he leaves it there “But are you sure it's okay?” 
You know why he's asking. He doesn't want to take advantage of a vulnerable moment, neither do you.
But you want to kiss him. 
“It’s matte,” you say instead and you hope he understands the real meaning behind your answer “The lipstick, it's matte. And the base It's set with really good powder, too, because I thought…” 
You thought that somebody else was going to kiss you tonight. 
He gets it. He understands why you did it and he scoffs with mild annoyance at it, which makes you smile. 
“Y/N,” he closes the distance between you even more and your breath hitches with anticipation before he whispers: “I'm going to kiss you so good, you'll forget about his lips forever.” 
That's the best thing someone has ever said to you, ever. You shudder at the thought and just stare, eyes dropping when he leans in further and his nose bumps into yours. 
“Do you want that?” 
Sleeping with Wooyoung won’t fix your problems. It sure won’t, not yours, not his but it doesn’t need to. You don’t know what the remedy for a wounded heart is but a distraction from the hurt can’t be all that bad. 
It's still a little bit pathetic how you whimper in response to his question. 
But it gains you the prize of tasting him for the first time, his minty flavor mixing with the remnants of whatever soda you had earlier and you sigh into the encounter. He’s not as delicate as you thought he would be. 
Wooyoung kisses you hard, with want, with need, with something you recognize in yourself and give back: the need for a distraction, for a feeling other than that hurt and bitterness you two mentioned not even three minutes ago. 
You don't know what to do with your hands, where to put them, but he fixes that. He grabs them, puts them on his shoulder, scoots a bit more into you and so your chest touches his and he sighs in contentment at that. 
You feel a little bit nervous, but that’s okay. 
It’s not like you’ve never been touched, like you’ve never done this sort of thing but it is the first time you want it. You want him. 
You’re not numb this time around, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when his other hand joins and keeps you in place, pulling back a second to take in some air before going back in for another toe curling kiss. 
Mind disconnecting from the outside world, you curse the layers of clothing (and there’s a lot) in between you when his hands travel down to your waist, against your body, caressing it and then grasping it in a way you’ve never felt before. 
It’s not rushed and it doesn’t really feel like something that you both want to get out of your system even though it is. You don’t really expect Wooyoung to ask you on a date after hooking up at a sorority party, after all. 
Oh. 
The party, that’s right. Did you lock the door? No, no. He walked in and didn't, you think. 
You can’t really think straight when he’s biting your bottom lip and then licking it as an apology for his misbehaving. It draws a breathy moan out of you and he drinks it, tongue meeting yours for the first time ever as you stand up from the bed, kiss never breaking, his body following yours. 
You’re wearing a lace ruffle white collar that goes with your costume. It’s cute, surprisingly not itchy at all and right now it seems to be getting in his way. His fingers look for the velcro clasp and then, when he loosens it enough, he janks it off. 
Somehow, you enjoy the theatrics and you giggle as his mouth abandons yours.
“Woo…” You manage to say when his lips start to make acquaintance with your neck, over your pulse. Craning your head to the side, he moves to the skin that unveils because of it and it’s hard to think of anything but the way you start to tremble under his touch. 
Grounding yourself by sinking your fingers in his hair, you attempt to speak again but he keeps distracting you. 
“Fuck, say that again.” 
Humming, you return “Woo,” you say again, “the door…”  
He moves to the other side of your neck “What about it?” 
“It’s— Oh,” teeth sink into your skin and you moan out loud, you can practically feel his smirk on your skin after that and your face burns as a consequence. “W-we need to lock it.” 
“Afraid someone will walk in on us?” he finally pulls away enough for you to see his face. His lips are swollen and there’s a flush across his cheeks that sits beautifully there when he smiles, forehead resting against yours a second later “You don’t like that thought?” 
There’s a part of you that doesn’t think it’s proper. It’s bad enough you’re hooking up with a somewhat stranger in a room that isn’t yours, but people finding out? That should terrify you. 
But it doesn’t. He seems to read it on your delayed response and the way your eyes widen with need when he pulls away again to watch your reaction to what he said. 
“You do, don’t you?” and then you’re moving, backwards, backwards, backwards until your back hits the door and there’s this passion glistening in his eye that excites you and sends spikes down your spine and into your core “You want people to know I’m kissing you dumb, hm? You want them to see what I’m doing to you?” 
He pauses and you feel like it’s on purpose, you feel like he takes in you heaving chest and the way your eyes follow the veins down his arms when he presses his hand behind you, pushing into your space a bit more and you should feel overwhelmed like you normally do with everyone else, but you don’t. 
You want him to get even closer.
“You want them to see what you do to me?” 
His whisper shakes you, awakens something in you that you desperately want to explore. It makes you feel shy and brave at the same time and the contradiction makes you bite down a smile. 
There’s no need for you to see what you’re doing to him, you can feel it when the hand that wanders to his waist pulls him closer, forward, until his hips meet yours and his leg finds a home between yours. Grunting, he raises a brow and gives you a knowing grin, but you enjoy surprising people. 
Your black gloves contrast against his skin and the white of his shirt when you caress the arm planted next to you and he follows the motion, letting out a breath “What if I don’t?” you ask, low, like it’s a secret you don’t want anyone else to find out even if you’re alone in this room “What if I want to keep you all to myself?” Watching his expression carefully, you try to measure if you’re crossing the invisible hookup line with your words but he closes his eyes and there’s no way for you to tell, so you correct your possible mistake in a whisper “For the night. You don’t want me to be only yours tonight?” 
Something twitches against your leg and the brief tension melts from your shoulder. Damn, you’re not that mouthy during these sort of scenarios so you almost, almost fucked up, huh? 
It doesn’t really matter when his free hand brushes his knuckles against your stomach, over your clothes and the ridiculously big buttons of your costume and then leaves you to twist the lock on the door “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, by the way.” 
“I want you.” The words get out before you think it through and you don’t mind it. You value honesty, you love when your body acts before your mind has the time to make you feel ashamed of your own feelings and wants. 
It pays off because his expression morphs in pure want and his tone is a whimper when he begs you, forehead meeting yours again “Again.” 
“I want you, Woo…” You whisper against his lips and then his mouth is on yours hungrier than ever before. The wood hurts against your back but Wooyoung’s hands pull you against him to move you away from it. 
This time, your hands know exactly what to do, because you know exactly what you want. They tug at his cape, trying to find the clasp of it with desperate trembles because your heart is beating faster and faster and you’re impatient, body too impertinent and rebelling against your wishes of taking this slow and savoring every little touch.
Cape on the floor, you feel his hand trying to figure out your costume. It makes you laugh and you’re glad he returns it, looking down at it and frowning at all the fabric he finds. With your hands against his chest, you push him into the mattress and he lands gracefully on it, supporting himself with his arms “I’ll do it.”
“Baby, this is a great costume and you look so fucking cute on it but why is there so much layering?” 
The nickname is new and he doesn’t seem to catch that it slipped out of his mouth so you don’t comment on it but it sure deepens the color on your cheeks and you laugh shyly, tilting your head to side in a playful manner. 
“I told you I like dressing up.” 
“And it shows! Mine’s a little simple,” without the cape, he just looks like a dude with a loose white shirt and black trousers. A handsome dude, but just a dude nevertheless “But I wanted you to find me, so…” 
“What was the first option?” 
“Beast Boy.” 
There’s something that crosses his expression that goes away the second he sees you slowly working the buttons and the skin underneath reveal after each one. His eyes fix on it and you’re sure you look ridiculous in the makeup and the get up and all but he’s looking at you with so much need you feel sexy wearing it. 
The shirt comes off. You’re wearing a cropped top and a bra underneath and you hook your thumbs under it to make him believe you’re taking it off, but you don’t. 
“You’re killing me.” He groans out and you laugh at him, making a show of bringing your hands down your torso and into your hips. You move to take off the striped bloomers that are matching with the tights you plan on taking off next. 
Your underwear doesn’t exactly match but you weren’t really planning on any of this with anyone. You weren’t planning on going this far but you don’t really care when it’s all, eventually, it’s just going to be off, so it doesn’t really matter. 
“Want to take these off yourself or you’re going to make me do all the work?” 
Smiling, he sits straight on the bed, taking your hand in his and bringing it to his mouth he nips the satin fabric of your glove, it loosening around your index when he pulls. He must see the way it affects you immediately, the way you breath catches, because the corner of his lips lifts up before he does the same to the thumb, the middle finger, the ring and the pinky and then he pulls the glove completely off. 
You feel like you short circuit for a second, even more so when he keeps the hand close to him and starts kissing the pad of your fingers so softly it doesn’t match the hunger in his eyes at all. 
And you’re killing him? 
It happens in a flash but the other glove is off and then your tights, your top and his shirt are off and on the floor and you’re sitting on his lap, tongue parting his lips and mouth bruising against his and you feel like you’re in a small pocket in time no one can really disturb. No one can burst this bubble, this cloud you land on when he turns you around and the expensive material of the sheets touches your bare back. 
“Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” 
When did he take off your bra? It doesn’t matter, his lips are making their way down your throat and exploring your chest, gaining puffs of air and moans from you when he flicks your nipples with his tongue, expert and careful, measuring your reaction and doing it again when your back arches off the bed instead of verbally asking for more. 
He kisses down, down until his teeth are catching your underwear. Looking up to you, he searches for an answer in your eyes and you both come to an unspoken agreement. Even if you’re both taking your time in exploring each other, there’s no actual time for him to eat you out, for you to get on your knees and taste him as well. 
You immediately wonder if there’s going to be another opportunity to do all of that. Either way, there’s not enough time to wonder. You help him get out of his trousers, his boxer briefs and you stare at him with an eyebrow up and an open and watering mouth. 
He laughs at your reaction, like he was expecting it. 
He stops laughing when you reach for him. Breathing hard when your thumb teases his tip, gathering precum, he shakes his head and you immediately stop “Baby, we… Not tonight.” 
Then when? You want to ask. 
You just nod before bringing the thumb to your mouth, tasting him and humming in content. Wooyoung leans in and puts his tongue on yours a second later.
He smiles, teeth sinking on your bottom lip before diving in for another kiss “Dirty girl.” He teases you and you shrug. 
“You look so good,” You say against him, pecking his lips, “Couldn’t help myself,” fingers grasping the hairs at the nape of his neck, like you did the night you met, you stop him from kissing you again just to whisper “You taste so good too.”   
His eyes almost roll at that, hips stuttering against you and almost brushing where they need to. “Fuck, don’t say shit like that to me, Y/N.” 
“Sorry.” You say but it’s clear in your smile that you’re not sorry at all and maybe you shouldn’t have because when it comes to taking your last piece of clothing off, he takes his time. 
Fingernails raise goosebumps as they softly go through your skin and he lets out a ragged breath “So fucking beautiful.” 
You feel beautiful. That’s good, because earlier tonight, before you catched him staring up at you on the balcony, you felt undesirable. You felt little, small, incomparable in the worst way possible because… Why not you? 
His words reassure you. Even if you know that’s something you need to do yourself (built enough confidence to not let the choices of a man who doesn’t give a damn about you define your self worth), it helps you tend that wound that reopened. 
He touches you and you feel worth it again. You believe it when your panties fall to the ground and your legs part for him and he looks at you in delight, thumb finding your clit and circling it right away “So fucking wet, fuck.” 
Your hips go up when he finds the right pacing, the right pressure to it and you really shouldn't moan this loud but you don’t care when he lets out a moan of his own at the way your face scrunches in pleasure “I want you.” You let out, breathy and pliant under his touch. 
“You got me,” he’s sweating but you don’t really care, you love the way his pretty nose touches yours when he leans in, index searching and then entering you. “Fuck, I could slip right in, hm? Is that what you want?” 
A moan slips out when he finds your sweet spot and strokes it carefully, he takes it as a reply and, honestly, it is all you can let out at the moment. You squeeze the second finger as it enters you, so it gives away how much you like the thought of that. 
“You do,” he says, teasingly and smiles against your lips as he pecks it “Dirty girl,” He repeats and you shake your head again, hips bucking up when the heel of his hand press against your clit and it sends a new wave of heat across your entire body “Impatient girl. I wish you were in my room now, fuck.” 
You wish that too.
“Woo…” 
“I had to—” 
“I know but there’s people—” Passing the door, you can sense it. In this midst of anything, you can sense it. 
“Who cares about them—”
There’s a phone vibrating somewhere in the room and it’s definitely not yours. He ignores it, fingers picking up their pace. 
“I need you,” you whisper, propping yourself up to kiss his mouth “Please, please fuck me.”
“I want you to come first.” He communicates his crude intention so cutely you might actually miss him when this is all over. 
“And I want to come with you.” 
That stops him and you can literally feel him get harder where he rests against your inner thigh.
“Condom?” You ask in a whisper. 
“Condom, right, fuck—” Both moving to reach his pants on the floor, you giggle and his lips find your cheek for a second as your torsos hang from the bed and you can safely say you never had more fun during sex before this. 
It’s lighthearted even if you’re both practically strangers and then it grows hot, sexy, passionate again when he finds the condom, breaks the package open and then rolls it on with practiced moves. He kisses you, laying back down against the pillows and aligning himself with your entrance. 
“Wait, let me just…” 
“What?” 
You turn around, laying flat on your chest and arching your back just a little so that you can open up your legs for him to enter. You look at him over your shoulder and his surprised expression makes you giggle “You never tried this one?” you ask and at his silence, you nod “Look how easy it is for me to—” Reaching down your stomach and reaching your clit with your fingers for him to see, you circle it a few times and close your eyes at the sensation. 
He kisses the small of your back “Holy fuck, Y//N.” 
“I told you that I’m coming with you, I’m helping.” 
He leans into you, his tip pressing against your clit deliciously “You’re so fucking hot, I almost came.” 
“That’s the point, Woo.” You say through pants, his hands kneading your ass and spreading you open for him to see. It’s a little nasty and you wonder what you both could do with a little more time and less people waiting for you outside. For him, at least. 
When he enters you, the moan that leaves you echoes his and you probably needed just a little bit more prep for the size of him but since you’re so turned on it barely matters when he’s completely seated inside of you and this position just makes it feel ten times better “You feel so good, baby, fuck.” 
“Yeah?” His chest is touching your back now and his lips are leaving open mouth kisses on your shoulder. He moves his hips experimentally and you moan into the sheets, sweat running down your neck and your chest into them but you don’t have time to feel bad for the owner of the bed at all “Was that okay?”
“You can go harder.” 
“Yeah? Fuck.” 
He complies right away and it feels so good you let yourself close your eyes and fully enjoy it, consequences be damned. 
People outside the room hearing you moan? Who cares when your fingers the weight of Wooyoung against you feels so right? 
When his thrusts help you grind your clit on your fingers just right, especially when he increases the speed of them and the wave of pleasure that hits you squeezes him around you so good his moan bounces off the walls and outside of the balcony where someone downstairs giggles and whistles. 
“Oh, God,” he says, a little ashamed but never slowing down and you turn your head, searching for his lips “We should’ve closed that door too.” 
You decide to tease him to wipe that emotion from him and just focus on you “Thought you wanted to give people a show.” 
Opening your eyes, you are able to watch when his eyes harden slightly at the thought, pace faltering as he lets out a tiny whimper. 
“And I thought you wanted me for yourself tonight,” he resumes his relentless pace, thrusting in and out of you with ease now and your cheek meets the sheets again so the bed can muffle your sounds “Maybe next time.” 
Next time. 
You don't really have time to dwell on what that means because you’re so worked up it won’t take much for you to come. You let Wooyoung know and he nods, his forehead against your shoulder again “Kiss me.” He whispers and you crane your neck to do so, to swallow his moans down and keep them with you forever. 
You swallow all of them down when his hips stutter and he comes and you know he keeps yours when you let yourself come right alone with him. He fucks you through both of your orgasms and slows down gradually until he grows sensitive and hisses at any tiny movement and your arms go kind of numb underneath you. 
There’s a sense of urgency your mind picks up immediately after but you ignore it. You have nowhere to go and they charged you twenty dollars to get into this stupid party so they can wait for you two to return to it. 
But there’s a phone vibrating somewhere. And even if you both hear it, Wooyoung turns you around and leans in to give you a kiss so sweet you almost want to keep it with you as well. 
When he pulls away, you wipe the sweat on his forehead with your hands and brush the hair out his face so delicately he closes his eyes and seems to enjoy your touch. 
Now what the hell should you say at a moment like this? Where he doesn’t seem in any rush to leave you and you don’t really want him to leave either. 
Do you tell him he did good? Do you tell him you enjoyed it, that he made you feel safe? That’s the first time in ages you enjoy a quick fuck this much? 
That—
“Please give me your number.” 
Oh, he’s actually adorable. He takes your stunned expression and silence the wrong way, though, and he sits on his knees, pulling out of you and working on getting his condom off while he speaks. 
“I can give you at least ten reasons you should give me your number. Number one, I enjoyed this a lot and I can do better if you give me time, number two—”
“Woo, you literally just fucked me with clown makeup on. I think we’re past you giving me reasons to sleep with you,” you sit up as well, taking his face in your hands again and leaning in to kiss his cheek soundly “Give me your phone.” 
He gets off the bed and looks around the room for the trash can. It’s a tiny one, sitting on top of a desk and you really, really start to feel bad for the girls who are going to have to sleep off their drunken night in this room. You’re surprised that no one knocked on the door but, on party eastern time, it’s still kind of early. 
Two thirty am reads the clock on Wooyoung’s phone when he hands it to you, unblocked. There’s messages flowing in and you try your best to not read them as you enter your number and name into his contacts but you do notice they’re from a group chat. 
You wonder if his friend group is big, if he’s close to all of them, what kind of friend he is. You’re impatient, you want to get to know him all of the sudden and you know it’s dangerous for expectations to grow after a hookup but, as you hand him his phone back, you can’t help but let out a “Woo, do you just want to fuck me or do you want to be my friend too? Something more?” 
He’s reading the messages on the group chat with a frown when your questions register in his brain and he looks up, a curious expression and a tiny smile “You’re very direct, aren’t you?” 
“I hate wondering and mysteries,” you shrug, “I don’t want to expect the wrong thing.”
“Fair,” he nods. “I’m more of a… Just wait and see what happens kind of guy, but if you want an honest answer I just don’t really know. I want to see you again, though.” 
“I want to see you again, too,” You murmur back and he smiles, leaning in a fraction to try and kiss you again but then there’s a thud against the door and a soft ouch coming from behind it that interrupts you “We should really get out of here.” 
It takes a millisecond for him to misinterpret what you meant, smirk growing on his lips when you shake your head disapprovingly and blushing while you pick your panties from the ground and get up to slip them on. 
“Not what I meant!” 
“I mean,” he starts to dress himself as well, “I wouldn’t mind.” 
“No,” you say but you don’t sound so sure of it yourself and it makes him smile even wider, so you roll your eyes. “Where are my…”
“Here.” He hands you the tights and you thank him, almost falling while trying to put them on fast the next second. He laughs at you “Just sit down, babe.” 
“Don’t laugh!” 
“I’m literally not!” 
You tease each other as you get in costume again. This time the fabric bothers you a little but only because you’re sticky and sweaty even if it’s the last day of october. 
Fully clothed, you walk to the door and you suddenly feel very shy and nervous at what can await you behind it. Wooyoung seems to see it on your face, so he steps in your space and kisses your lips sweetly, holding your waist respectfully like he didn’t just make you come less than ten minutes ago. 
“I’m so glad I met you,” he whispers against you and you melt even if you don’t want to. He doesn’t specify why and you don’t ask, but he does smile when you peck his lips one last time before stepping away “Do you want to step out together or do you want to go first, should I go first? We can meet downstairs,” he clarifies before you can think the worst and you giggle “We can leave together too, if you want.” 
You know he means the party. 
But his phone vibrates again, insistently shaking in his pocket and you rest your head against the door softly “I feel like you have people that need you right now.” 
He takes the phone out of his pocket. The screen reads “yuri”, with a series of heart emojis and a middle finger emoji at the end and his expressions turn worrisome immediately. 
“Shit, no, you’re right, um…” 
Stepping away from the door, you grab the knob and open it for him “Do your thing, Woo.” 
You think you know exactly who's calling him. 
Like you already knew, sleeping with Wooyoung didn't fix yours problems at all: 
It hurts that she's been chosen over you again, but you keep the soft smile on your lips either way. 
“I'll text you. I'll call you, I—” he leans into you again, stealing a hard, parting kiss that you probably are going to think about until he keeps his promise “Hey, everything alright?” You faintly hear when he picks up the call. 
When he leaves the room and closes the door behind him, you sag against the wood of it and let yourself meet the cold floor to try and plan out how you're getting out of there and how long it would take you to walk to your dorm room at this time. 
But then your phone digs in your hand, screen lighting up the dark room and your face. 
+82-8-918-2910: my friend got sick bc she drank too much. wish i could take you to your dorm. text me when you get there, yeah? x 
It makes you smile. Despite it all, it makes you smile really hard. 
+82-8-918-2910: it's wooyoung btw ;)  +82-8-918-2910: send me pic of how you save meeeee  +82-8-918-2910: okay my friend is puking in the pool and her date it's fucking useless i have to go text me back pls!! xx 
When you catch yourself re-reading the texts on your home screen and grinning, this time like a complete fucking idiot, you know you'll have to start thinking of another recipe to mend yet another broken heart. 
That's fine. At least you're not thinking about Superman anymore. 
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luanna801 · 5 months ago
Text
Despite me joking about Lan Xichen not reading the room re: NMJ and JGY, I actually disagree with the idea that the Sworn Brotherhood was inherently a terrible idea and he should have known it would make things worse. I think it's a classic case where because we as the audience know how it turns out, that outcome seems like an inevitability and the characters end up being called dumb for not predicting it. But I think with the information Lan Xichen had at the time, it wasn't unreasonable for him to think this might work and was at least worth trying.
And I think in a different story, this is the kind of idea that could easily have worked and led to a heartwarming story about redemption and healed relationships. MDZS is just sadly not that story, at least for these characters, but as always fictional characters don't know what story they're living in and can't be expected to predict the future. All they can do is act based on the information available to them, and I would argue Lan Xichen didn't really have enough information to predict how this would turn out:
(1) At this point, the only time Nie Mingjue has tried to kill Jin Guangyao is when he mistakenly thought JGY had actually betrayed them and defected to the Wen side. Once the truth was cleared up, NMJ is still furious but backs down from trying to kill him. (JGY, meanwhile, has made no attempts to kill or even harm NMJ yet, and in fact actually saved his life.)
From Lan Xichen's perspective, he has every reason to think this incident was just an anomaly based on a very extreme situation where NMJ was acting on faulty information. He has no reason to think Nie Mingjue would try to kill Jin Guangyao again, or vice versa, so as far as he knows the worst case scenario for the sworn brotherhood is just... that it won't go great. That maybe they'll never really get along again, but they'll still collaborate politically for the sake of the Sworn Brotherhood, and there will be no real harm done that they tried. There isn't really a way he could have predicted things would escalate to them trying to kill each other.
(2) Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao used to not just tolerate each other but get along/work together EXCEPTIONALLY well, and Lan Xichen saw them during that time. He also knows they're both pretty closed-off people who canonically don't have a lot of friends and are hurt by the way things fell apart. It makes total sense for him to think they might be able to get back to how things used to be if they just got a chance to clear up misunderstandings and be reminded of the things they used to like about each other. And it makes sense that as someone who cares about them both he would want that for them.
(3) Lan Xichen sees both Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao as fundamentally good people. We can argue that he's mistaken in one or both of those evaluations, but based on what he knows, and indeed what they're respectively actually guilty of at that time, I don't think it's unreasonable for him to think so.
Most of JGY's worst actions are still in the future at this point. His only real crime (other than the things he did undercover, which LXC doesn't condemn) is killing the captain, which is an ambiguous enough situation that it makes sense for Lan Xichen to not consider it conclusive. Especially when weighed against what for LXC is far more substantial proof of JGY's goodness, like JGY having saved his own life when he was on the run, his time loyally and effectively serving NMJ, his incredibly brave and critical contributions to the war effort, etc.
Likewise, Nie Mingjue has yet to start acting as violent and unhinged as he later will on account of the saber spirit. While he's gotten angry, it was typically in rational ways that are largely proportional to the situation. He isn't doing anything comparable to the way he later flies off the handle at both Jin Guangyao and Nie Huaisang in largely irrational ways.
(We could argue that LXC should have known that he'd eventually end up there because of how saber cultivation works, but considering even Nie Huaisang apparently didn't know about it, I don't know that a member of another clan would have that kind of in-depth knowledge of the effects of Nie saber-wielding. LXC presumably knows the basic idea, but that doesn't necessarily mean he knows the specifics or how bad it can get.)
Therefore, from LXC's perspective these are two fundamentally kind, good people who all other things being equal should be able to work things out. And on the whole, he has far more evidence backing that up than contradicting it at this point in time.
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dingodad · 11 months ago
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please god i need to know what U think of the whole “jadebloods are all female!” thing because i got into homestuck in 2019 around the time of friendsim and (retching) Lanque so i always assumed they were explicitly intended to be an all-female caste. however, re-reading the comic this year, i couldnt find a mention of it other than virgo and the Space aspect being really feminine, but i think kanayas journey with motherhood is more kanaya-centric than All-Jadebloods centric??
on one hand, it makes sense given that alternia has very real gendered oppression, so what’s better for that than CATHOLICISM?? on the other hand, i always saw kanaya as being transfem coded, because it connects so well with roxy yknow.. homestuck fans love to insist that certain characters just have to be cis women (kanaya, jade, roxy)
(as an aside; was “long hair was butch on alternia” a one off joke? i like speculation about alternia’s fashion opposing earth, lol)
most all of our basis for explicitly gendered interpretation of Alternia comes from act 6 intermission 3, where Aranea tells us that "jade 8loods were also an almost exclusively female caste". so the door has always been open for there to be "some male jadebloods". but it's a mistake to view this as having anything to do with any kind of "biological sex". the whole idea of biological sex among trolls is a smoke screen. the jadebloods' assigned gender at birth is "jadeblood". this is what makes them a feminised caste.
Caliborn doesn't have a clue what biological sex is. Aranea will tell you that there are boy cherubs and girl cherubs, but for your own sanity you need to cast this idea out of your mind: cherub sex takes place between good and evil cherubs - which is determined by their blood - and anything else is just roleplay. Caliborn's attitude toward sexing is that the ones he likes are boys - that's all the thought that goes into it. and that's the mindset we need to be aware of when we delve into understanding troll gender. there are some trolls who have breast tissue and some who don't, but they aren't "mammaries" in any sense, so there's no reason to believe they're actually sexual characteristics of any kind; maybe this is what Lord English chose to base his gender schema on, but the idea that this means there must be "male trolls" and "female trolls" is completely imagined for the narrative convenience of the human reader.
when we read that there are "male-dominated" highblood castes and therefore by implication female-populated lowblood castes, it's not by some coincidence of biology: the highblood castes are male-dominated BECAUSE they are highblood castes. each caste has a role to play in Caliborn's Alternia, and just as the highblooded roles are those of patriarchal domination, the lower castes must take on roles of feminised submission; and in the case of the jades in particular, this means breeding duties. the fact that this also comes with the expectation to wear makeup and pretty clothes is just more roleplay.
so tl;dr what i think of "the all jadebloods are female thing" is that it is very obviously true but in a way more 5 dimensional gender studies way than anyone else tends to mean when they say it
my pet "long hair was butch on alternia" headcanon - which is a joke but in the way all headcanons about alternia should be jokes of some kind - actually kind of relates to this lol. bc i figure that if gendered expectations of female trolls includes working in disgusting underground caverns filled with genetic material, it's going to be practical to keep your hair close to your head where it won't get dirty, in much the same way the feminist image of the short-haired woman became popular in the west during and after world war 2, wherein a lot of women had to start wearing their hair close to their heads to avoid scalping themselves in the factory machinery they suddenly had to start working with. hence kanaya dedicated to her assigned feminine role and wearing her hair short vs. porrim rebelling against it for feminist reasons and thus wearing her hair at a length that would be totally impractical for wading through gene pools.
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walkingnearfoxes · 5 months ago
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The Space Between the Lines (Homelander x Reader) - Chapter 3
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1.7k words. 18+. Warnings for stalking and the Homelander being horny. She/Her Teacher Reader. 
There are a dozen teachers who would kill for this job. You’re just not sure that you’re one of them.
The Homelander had been watching you for weeks.
He didn't have much of a choice. He clearly couldn't trust Ashley and her merry band of mediocrity to pick an educator for Ryan. These "teachers" brought to him were either idiots, ugly as goddamn sin, or too busy shitting their pants at the sight of him to educate his son. One bald and sweaty winner was all three; he took care of that one. That dumbass wouldn't be teaching anyone any time soon.
Clearly, to ensure the best possible future for his son, the Homelander needed to step in. He looked at the curriculum. He re-mapped the lessons with wide-eyed instructional designers. He looked at the resumes. He burned the resumes. He asked Ashley whether she was picking these fuckers out of the sewers or the prisons.
And then, to her luck, she found you.
At first, he wasn't very impressed. You were young, first of all. Educated, sure. Cute, even. But young. Weren’t the best teachers supposed to be ancient? Set in their ways?
"She won an award for education, sir," Ashley had offered at his evident ambivalence. Your file was displayed across the screens of the conference room. The Homelander sat back in his usual chair, gloved fingers drumming at the arms.
He rolled his eyes. "Did she win by having a fucking pulse? Honestly, Ashley, after the zombies you sent me-"
But then she clicked on the video that came with your award profile. It showed a clip of one of your lessons - an introduction to the War of 1812 with a rambunctious group of middle schoolers. He would have fried them immediately, but you were the image of calm. 
It was the way you held yourself that caught his attention. You had energy, but you were always in control. You answered each question the little shits had for you concisely and even joked with one or two of them. When a student reached for the cell phone bulging in their jean pocket, your glare across the room was enough to stop them and give you a mumbled apology.
You cared. You cared deeply.
He stared at the screen for another minute, his gaze following you across the screen. Finally, he nodded. "Bring her in."
Ashley looked like she might just come from relief. "Absolutely, sir," She breathed and turned to the computer for all of two seconds before her dirt brain got distracted. "I-I should mention, she doesn't have a background in math or science-"
"Oh, boo hoo." The Homelander drawled as he stood. "Now we won't know how a plant fucks itself. Half that shit isn't real, Ashley. Just bring her in."
He didn't take part in the interviews. He had actual work to do and lives to save. The notes that Ashley gave him were all things he already knew. You were quick, intelligent, and wanted to make a difference. No shit. He didn't need an hour-long conversation to know that. He knew that keeping an eye on you was much better than any performance task. He did the actual work.
It was comical to him how little people paid attention. He was invisible to all the ants if he didn't want to be spotted. He easily flew from building to building, neighborhood to neighborhood, all to learn more about cute, unsuspecting little you. You weren’t hard to find; Vought had all of your information before you even applied.
His findings were boring as fuck at first. You had a small group of friends, you read all the fucking time, but you kept yourself in shape. He appreciated the last part, at least. But you weren’t as refreshing as he thought you would be from the teaching video. The only thing that slightly caught his curiosity was the mysterious relationship to your family. Your mother called about twice a week - sometimes more. From his x-ray vision and superior hearing through the ancient walls of your apartment, he learned enough to know your family didn't live far away, but you made no effort to visit them. Every time your mother called, he saw your lips thin and your eyes narrow. You usually were doing something else while speaking to her - browsing the Internet, pacing the living room, even punching a pillow. Why, he wondered? Maybe mommy and daddy were neglectful of you. A favored sibling, maybe? Drugs? There are limitless possibilities, but you never spoke about it to anyone. Was it a minor issue then, or were you so selfless that you didn't want to bother anyone with your problems? His mind drifted to the matter more than once. He didn’t quite comprehend what would make someone distance themselves from their blood when it was so close at hand.
Then, there was the run.
You very stupidly liked to go for runs at night. Alone. With headphones on. It was like you were asking to be gutted. Sure enough, only about two weeks into his watch, a mindless oaf of a man found you at a stoplight. From his standing perch on a nearby rooftop, his body cloaked in shadow, the Homelander rolled his eyes. 
Was he going to have to save you already? Christ.
But then, he noticed your movements. The man was to your back, but you had already turned off your music and lowered your headphones. You already knew he was there. 
"You lost, baby girl?" The man murmured, stopping a mere five inches from your back. "I can bring ya home and warm ya up..."
You turned to look at him, and the smile on your face - a grin full of teeth - wasn't polite. It was a warning. "I'm just fine, buddy. Now walk away."
The man bristled - he had a good foot of height on you and about three times the fucking body mass - but then your smile disappeared. The Homelander saw the way your eyes changed. There was something darker. Something he was intimately familiar with.
The man swallowed, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and shuffled backward. "Right. Sorry. Ma'am."
You watched him for a long moment, ensuring he truthfully intended to leave you alone. Once you were sure, the Homelander watched as you put your headphones back in and carried on as if nothing had happened.
Oh.
Oh.
You weren't just a cute little teacher. There was something else.
His lips twitched upwards in approval. There was another twitch down south, but that wasn't too surprising. He’d always admired strong women. He could take care of that later; the few “accidental” peaks of you in your shower had given him plenty of material.
So, he told Ashley to hire you and continued to keep an eye on you. It wasn't out of surveillance now; it was out of curiosity. He didn't see another glimpse of that side of you again, but that would come with time. You weren't perfect. Your clothes were boring, you couldn't nail down a signature scent, and he loathed your roommate.
But that look. He could do something with that look.
And so he sat and watched as you taught his son. He had to admit that you were good. Ryan was paying attention, and he was smiling. He was smiling a little too much - he certainly never smiled that much with him - but what was important was that he was learning. What was also important was that you were slowly becoming more at ease. You had stopped your adorably nervous glances at him about 20 minutes ago, and adrenaline had stopped obnoxiously pumping through your body. He could barely detect the scent anymore. 
You were explaining how the colonists had grown independent from Britain when Ryan's brows began furrowing.
You, the diligent educator that you are, notice right away. "What's up?"
"I'm...a little confused," Ryan admits.
You smile encouragingly. "Well, share with the class. It's my job to help with that."
Ryan points to his textbook. The Homelander can see from across the table that he's touching an image of a plantation. "You said George Washington had slaves?"
You hesitate, and your eyes move to glance at the Homelander. He says nothing, the same polite smile on his face. You look back to Ryan. "That's right."
Ryan's frown deepens. "He wanted the colonies to be free but he had slaves?"
Uh oh.
The Homelander laughs, and it's the first sound he's made this entire lesson. Ryan meets his eyes immediately, and you barely mask a flinch. "Whoa there, buddy," He says, standing up from his place at the table. "It's a little more complicated than that."
There's barely a beat after his words before you reply. "Yeah, their whole idea of freedom is a bit...convoluted."
The Homelander blinks and raises a brow. "What do you mean, teach?"
Your smile is polite, but your eyes are a bit less so. "I mean that Ryan is making a good point. It's a bit hypocritical."
He scoffs and steps forward, his hands moving to his hips. "Are you calling our founding father a hypocrite?"
There it is. There's that look in your eye. Without missing a beat, you nod your head. "Yes."
He hadn’t expected to see it again so soon - certainly not directed at him. But there it is.
There is a long silence interrupted only by Ryan's fingers anxiously tapping against the table. It's death to the Homelander's eardrums, but he doesn't care. He's staring at you, waiting for you to flinch or murmur an apology like all those other mudpeople did. You don't.
"Well, on that exciting note, I think we can call it for today," He announces, turning to give his son a warm smile. "Ryan, you earned yourself some Tournament of Heroes time."
Ryan turns to look at you - a decision that makes the Homelander's fists clench on his hips - and you smile back at the boy. "Same time tomorrow?"
Ryan smiles shyly back. "Yeah. Definitely." He stands up slowly, closes his notebook, and looks at his father. "Do you wanna come play, Dad?"
The Homelander grins. "Sure thing. You set up the VS5 and I'll be there in a jiff," But he looks back at you with a wink. "I just gotta have a word with Miss Benedict Arnold here before she rushes out on me."
The way your pulse skyrockets makes his heart sing.
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respectissexy · 5 months ago
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I've been thinking and blogging about mental health for a while, and I wanted to re-share a condensed version of an old blog (that nobody read) about what it takes to have good mental health besides Medication And Therapy. Medication And Therapy, for those who need them, can put some guardrails around how BAD your mental health can get, but they probably won't get you all the way to GOOD mental health. Having a mental illness is like having a boot on your car; you need to take the boot off in order to drive it anywhere, but that isn't the ONLY thing you need to do.
Secondary caveat: generally speaking, in order to have good mental health, you need to have your basic needs met. If you are lacking sustenance, shelter, or safety, your proverbial car has no gas in it and you will not travel to the land of emotional well-being. The following practices might have some harm reduction effect, but they should be understood as such.
Based on my experience as a therapist and as a person who has been managing a serious mental illness for 20ish years, these are the practices that I’ve found have the strongest evidence base for promoting mental health and well-being.
1. A practice of tuning in to what’s going on with your body. Meditation and breathwork are classic ones; likewise yoga and stretching. Many kinds of physical exercise can fit this bill, but only if practiced mindfully and intentionally as such.
2. A practice of connecting deeply with another person or people. This can be a significant other, a tight-knit group of friends, a close relationship with a parent or child. Your level of connectedness to other people is one of the strongest possible predictors of good physical and mental health, so much so that joining a DnD group might reduce your likelihood of early mortality as much as successfully quitting smoking.
3. A practice of gaining mastery over a skill with repeated practice. MANY things fit this bill; most types of physical exercise, singing or dancing, playing an instrument; knitting, sewing, or other handicrafts; sculpting or pottery, learning a new language, cooking. Many people get this need met through video games, which isn’t bad, but if video games are the ONLY way you get this need met and you feel like your overall life satisfaction is lacking, and you can’t explain it with an obvious lack in one of these other categories, I would humbly recommend picking up something else in this area.
4. A practice of expressing yourself creatively. Writing, art, music, theater, standup comedy, playing story-driven tabletop RPGs, even doing elaborate makeup or putting together cool outfits can scratch this itch.
5. A practice of externalizing and processing your feelings. Therapy is what people often think of for this, but journaling, writing a song or poem about it, or having a good old fashioned bitch sesh with your bestie are also valid ways of meeting this need.
6. A practice of going the fuck outside. It feels unnecessary to elaborate on this too much; “touching grass” is a meme for a reason. There is no requirement to be rugged or outdoorsy, to get "off the grid," or to sacrifice any of our precious indoor amenities; a stroll in a public park or a few hours of sitting in your yard will make a difference.
7. A practice that provides you with a sense of positive purpose. In other words, what do you do that makes you feel like you made the world better in a concrete way? I get this need met by being in a helping profession; some people volunteer or organize; a lot of people derive their sense of purpose from parenting or some other kind of caretaking.
Obviously, a lot of these practices can overlap, and most “good for you” activities meet a few of these needs at once. Physical exercise can put you in touch with your body, give you the experience of mastering a skill over time, and (depending on what your preferred exercise is) get you outside or connect you with other people. Writing poetry can be a way to externalize your feelings, and a way to master a skill, and a way to express yourself creatively. Playing an RPG can be a creative outlet and a way of connecting with other people. Sex, when practiced correctly, puts you in touch with your body and connects you with another person. Gardening gets you the fuck outside and provides a concrete sense of having improved on something.
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albertasunrise · 3 months ago
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Hope - Hopelessly in Love
Masterlist
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Summary: After Joel loses his wife and your best friend during childbirth. You support him as he takes on parenthood on his own at 22. But when feelings start to develop, you battle with the guilt you feel for falling for your best friend’s husband.
Relationships: Joel Miller x Reader
Warnings: Like AO3 I choose to give none. Read at own risk. 18+… this is to avoid spoilers! (Sorry this has taken a while. Trying to do as much writing as I can, when I can, but ya know how it is 🤷🏼‍♀️😅… hope this was worth the wait 😘 I haven't managed to proofread this so any mistakes are my own... Enjoy 🫶🏼)
Series Masterlist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
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Six months had passed since the night that you and Joel confessed your feelings for each other. The two of you had decided to keep your relationship a secret from the kids for the time being. Not wanting to confuse things if it wasn't going to work out.
But it was becoming clear to both of you that this relationship wasn't going to break any time soon. You fit together as a couple so seamlessly that the two of you had confessed that you wish you'd just confessed your feelings sooner.
But… You could never regret marrying Alec.
You had loved him so fiercely and you shared two children with him. Noah had always felt like yours despite not being related to him in blood and two years after the accident, and Alec's health started to decline, he has asked if you would consider adopting Noah.
You had accepted without question.
A year later, Noah was legally your son.
His mother had given up her parental rights without argument, which had both saddened and relieved you. You could never understand how someone could just walk out on their child the way she had but you also felt like her loss was your gain. You loved Noah with every fibre of your being.
You had started to discuss with Joel when you should tell the kids about your relationship. You were sure they had their suspicions. You spent most evenings at each other's houses, with the kids of course, but it was pretty obvious that getting them together was just an excuse for you two to spend time together.
So it was no surprise when Ali sprang the question of your relationship on you both that Sunday at your bi-weekly BBQ.
"Are you two together?" She asked out of the blue, poking her head up over her book and spying the two of you talking quietly to one another with sweet smiles plastered over your faces.
"What makes you think that?" Joel asked and the girl shrugged.
"Just being all gross together."
"Oh, thanks." You huffed and Joel sniggered at your reply.
"Well?" She asked again "Are you?"
"Would you care if we were?" You asked and Ali shook her head.
"Nah… Makes sense." She replied casually "But I dunno about Noah and Sarah… They might find it weird… with them being together and all."
This is the reason the two of you hadn't said anything.
Despite Noah having told you that he wouldn't care… you were still nervous. Neither of you minded if the young couple stayed together. They weren't related after all but you knew people might talk, and that's why, 6 months on, you hadn't gone public.
"I won't tell them if you are." Ali continued "It's up to you guys to do that but don't leave it too long."
For a 9-year-old, she was wise beyond her years. You felt like it was partly to do with the fact she had been forced to help you take care of her father towards the end. You'd had to take on more hours in order to ensure you could cover the bills after he'd been medically retired and that had meant Ali and Noah had taken on a little of his care. Something you'd never asked of them but they had done without complaint.
"Yes, we are together." You stated simply, you and Joel sharing a sweet smile before you finished with "We will tell Sarah and Noah so yes, we would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself for now."
"We'll tell them soon." Joel finished and Ali shrugged again before returning to her book.
.
You were finishing up the dishes when Joel came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist as he placed sensual kisses along your shoulder and up your neck.
"Joel, the kids…"
"Are all passed out on mattresses downstairs in the basement." He stated, spinning you in his arms so that he could kiss you.
You hummed against his lips, savouring the feel of them against your own and he growled slightly as his hands grabbed your ass and lifted you onto the counter.
"But what if they-"
"Pretty sure they're in a meat coma." He chuckled as he nibbled your chin "Sarah begged me for a sleep which I said was fine as long as Ali slept down there with them and they slept separately."
"What did she say to that?"
"Her exact words were… 'Why would I wanna share a sleeping bag with a boy… ewwww' so I don't think we have anything to worry about."
"Does that mean that I get to sleep over too?" You ask seductively and he grins as he kisses you hard which is all the answer you need.
After peeking down the stairs again and assuring yourselves the kids were okay, you threw caution to the wind and snuck upstairs together. In almost no time at all, you were stripped down to just your underwear and trying not to moan too loudly as Joel lavished your breasts with attention.
You wish you had the time to enjoy his ministrations but you were conscious that the kids could wake up at any moment so after pushing Joel down onto the bed, you rid yourself of your underwear and he did the same. You took a moment to admire him, laying there looking delicious with his length painfully hard and practically screaming for you. You climbed onto his bed and straddled his hips, throwing your head back in a silent scream as you sank down onto his thick length. No matter how many times the two of you did this, you never seemed to get over how perfectly he filled you.
Then, after taking a moment to adjust, you were moving together in perfect harmony. Swallowing each other's pleasured moans with languid kisses as he stroked that spot inside of you that made your toes curl. His hands urged you to move faster when your moans became louder as you neared your peak.
"Cum for me baby." He mumbled against your lips and your movements became more frantic as you started to cum, squeezing him hard as you crested.
Pulling him along with you.
You lay there limply for a moment as you soaked in the moment… loving how this was your life now. You'd never thought you'd get this. You had always felt like he was the forbidden fruit… being that he was your dead best friend's husband.
"I love you." He uttered against the apple of your cheek and you turned your head to look him in the eye, yours filling with happy tears as you replied "I love you too."
"Reckon I can get away with sleeping in here without the kids noticing?" You asked after sharing a few sweet kisses.
"I think it's worth the risk." Joel replied as he flipped you so you were spread out beneath him "I'm not done with you yet."
You and Joel allowed yourself a few weeks longer to plan how you planned to tell Noah and Sarah. You had told Joel about what Noah had said… How they'd work it out. But Joel wasn't so confident Sarah would feel the same. He had only ever had one girlfriend that he had introduced to her and that was Sandy, she hadn't been a fan.
So to say, Joel was nervous that he would be telling her that her boyfriend's mum was his new girlfriend, was an understatement.
"I think she'll surprise you." You said before taking another bite of your sandwich "She's a sensible girl."
"She is and I am sure you're right she hated Sandy so you can understand my concerns." Joel replied as he wiped his hands on his napkin and grabbed his coffee "How you feel if you were in her shoes and you found out that your dad was knocking boots with your boyfriend's mum?"
"You have a point." You conceeded "But she has also said to me once or twice that she wished you could find someone to look after you." You revealed, "She worries that you're lonely."
"Is that what you're going to do for me?" He asked, one of his eyebrows quirking as he gave you a suggestive smirk "You going to take care of me, baby?"
"You know it." You replied, giving him a bright smile before finishing off your sandwich.
After finishing lunch together, you decided to take a walk. Sarah and Noah were at football practice but one of the kids' parents was having a BBQ afterwards and Ali was at a sleepover. So you were both kid-free for a while and decided to bask in the ability to just be together for a few hours.
The heat was beating down on you both and you were glad you had chosen to wear a sundress. The idea of any clothes clinging to you made your skin crawl.
"Anywhere you'd like to go?" Joel asked as he spun you into his arms so he could kiss you sweetly and you swooned as you grinned against his lips.
There's this little pub I know that has live music playing all day on a Saturday in their pub garden." You suggested, "Perhaps we could go for a drink and listen to some music?"
"That sounds perfect." Joel replied, kissing you one more time "Lead the way."
.
You had been to an English pub once as a child, that you could remember. Your mum's parents had lived there and you had gone to stay with them for the summer. They had taken you out for drives in their classic Bentley and one day, had taken you to this quaint little pub near where they lived. This place reminded you of there and it made you smile as you thought about how special that day had been.
"You okay?" Joel asked when he noticed how quiet you had gotten and you simply smiled and nodded.
Leading him to the bar, you ordered a glass of white wine and Joel ordered a beer. Then, following the music outside, you were welcomed by a lovely little garden set up with a mixture of benches and garden furniture set around the space. Taking a seat in one of the comfy garden chairs, you placed your wine down and snuggled back into the large cushion at your back.
The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a while. You sipping at your wine and trying not to grimace at the flavour… Something you failed miserably at.
"Something wrong with your wine?"
"Just not nice." You replied with a shrug "It's fine… I'll still drink it."
"Hmmm… that's weird." Joel hummed and your brows pulled together as you asked "What is?"
"I saw the bottle and it's one of your favourites. The De Abelo one that you keep telling me you served at your wedding."
"Really?"
Joel nodded and you frowned "That is weird… maybe its just a bad batch." You replied with a shrug and Joel nodded in agreement.
A slow song came on a few moments later and your eyes noted how a few couples had gotten up and were now slow dancing. It made your heart sore to see such beautiful outward shows of love and when Joel's hand appeared in your line of vision, you looked at him and swore you fell in love with him more.
"May I have this dance?"
You took his hand without question, the two of you embracing each other as you swayed to the music. The moment was so perfect. You wanted to freeze time so it would never end. But alas, the song started to wind down and people's dancing started to slow. Joel nudged your face with his and you felt dizzy as he kissed you so sweetly. But when he pulled his head back to look at you, you realised it wasn't the kiss that had given you the feeling of dizziness.
Your hearing suddenly became muffled and you didn't hear what Joel said to you as your vision darkened around the edges. You only saw his brows pull together as you felt you legs give you and everything went black.
Joel stood by your bed, chewing his thumbnail nervously and you reached out to grab the hand closest to you in the hopes it would calm him.
"I'm fine Joel." You assured him "It was probably just from the heat."
"Baby you fucking collapsed." He stated, giving you the saddest eyes you'd ever seen "Your eyes rolled back into your skull and I thought…"
"Oh, baby." You said softly "I'm sorry I scared you. I've been having some dizzy spells lately but I suffer low with Low Iron. So it's probably a combination of that and the heat… I'll be fine I promise."
Joel nodded but you could tell he wasn't convinced.
He was a natural worrier and it was sweet that he was so concerned about you. You knew it was going to be nothing but Joel wouldn't believe that until the doctor told him. So you both waited for someone to pull back that curtain.
Minutes blended into hours. Nurses came by to make sure you had water and even Joel pulled himself away for a brief time to grab some decent coffee.
You would be lying if your anxiety didn't start to spike, the longer it took for someone to come and see you but finally, after laying in that uncomfortable bed four four hours, you got your answer.
Your name fell from the doctor's lips as he skimmed through the notes on the clipboard in his hands "Sorry for the wait." He said as he looked at you both apologetically "Short-staffed in the lab… Anyway, your results came back fine. Nothing to be concerned about but there was one thing that did crop up."
Your stomach dropped.
"What is it?" Joel asked, his hand tightening around yours "She okay?"
"She's fine… Healthy." The doctor assured you both before he said your name and dropped an utter bombshell on you "I am assuming you weren't aware you're pregnant?"
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Next
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lsunstreakerl · 5 months ago
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I was re-reading Dad- I mean, GP- (love all your fics btw) and noticed a line about Max calling Christian Dad when he was high on painkillers after Silverstone. How did Christian react and do you think that Max even remembers it? Keep up the amazing writing!
okay, in my defense I think I mentioned somewhere that it wasn't soft or fluffy at all and I stand by that. here you go! (no, max doesn't remember it. christian will never tell him.)
Search History APOV, christian, set in the hospital room after Silverstone. 1.3k words <3
"Okay, out, out- clear the room, please."
Christian feels more like an usher than a team principal as he directs people out of the hospital room. Max deserves better than being treated like some kind of zoo animal.
Christian knows he's not supposed to get attached to his drivers, but-
He can't help it. They crawl into his heart, carving out their own little space.
Redbull's children. His children.
Seb, Daniel, Max.
Strong, proud, defiant Max. He looks tiny where he's unconscious in the hospital bed, and Christian's heart twists. He hasn't felt fear like that in long time, sitting on the pitwall, waiting for Max to come over the radio. It was the longest few seconds of his life, but what's haunting him-
Gianpiero, normally so collected and calm, a man Christian has never once seen agitated- his hand had gripped Christian's wrist so hard there are purpling bruises in the shape of his fingers. He's back with the team right now, but Christian knows he'll be on his way soon. If Max has carved a space into Christian's heart, he's taken up complete residence in GP's.
There's footsteps at the doorway, and Christian turns his head, meeting hard blue eyes with his own.
"Kind of you to finally show up, Jos."
Jos is frowning, the way he always is, but there's no fear in his eyes- he's not even looking at Max in the hospital bed. Christian has barely been able to take his eyes off of him.
"He should not have left without me."
Christian feels a muscle in his jaw twitch.
"He's a legal adult. We weren't exactly thinking about it when they airlifted him."
He can hear the strain in his voice, but he can't help it with Jos. It creeps out of him, makes it hard to think straight.
Jos sneers, finally looking at the bed. There's no sorrow on his face- just a complicated cocktail of emotions. He looks more disappointed than anything.
"He is fine, yes?"
Christian takes a deep breath, forces himself to stay civil.
"The medical team wants to take a deeper look at his brain, see if there's any damage hiding they might've missed. That kind of thing can get worse over time- we'd rather get ahead of it now."
Jos raises an eyebrow, and Christian continues.
"But otherwise, they just have him under observation at the moment. He's got a nasty concussion."
Jos hums, and the sound is so startlingly Max that Christian feels his gut churn.
"Skip the additional tests. They just want money. He has had concussions before, he knows how to handle them. I want him out sooner, not later."
Christian opens his mouth to protest, but Jos doesn't budge.
"I am his father, and his medical proxy."
Christian bites his tongue.
"I'll let the nurse know."
Jos looks back down at Max, and for a split second there's a flash of something across his face.
Christian isn't sure if it's guilt or rage.
"He will be fine."
It almost sounds like Jos is trying to convince himself. He turns back to Christian, and now he looks pissed off.
"I am going to handle media. The Dutch media, where they will not twist the situation. To behave that way, when a competitor is here- it is disrespectful. I will not stand for it."
A competitor. Jos disgusts him.
Max is supposed to be his son.
Jos leaves, and part of Christian feels a bit like he's just set a rabid dog loose on the press, frothing at the mouth. It's not out of a genuine care for Max though- it's about the way Lewis is behaving. Jos won't stand for it.
Normally Christian wouldn't either, but.
He's needed more here.
He settles in one of the armchairs with his laptop up. He has messages from GP, keeping him updated on the team meeting, and a personal message from John telling him the garage is chomping at the bit, furious and protective.
He's neck deep in emails when Max stirs a bit, eyes blinking open slowly. One pupil is larger than the other, and he seems like he's looking through Christian, rather than at him.
"Max?"
Max takes a shaky breath, and Christian is alarmed to see the way his eyes start watering.
"Papa-"
Oh shit.
Christian does not get paid enough for this. Really, he doesn't get paid enough for most of his Max related responsibilities, but especially not this.
He reaches an arm for Max's hand, intending to reassure him, but Max jerks away from him, eyes widening.
"No- no, I'm sorry, I did not-"
Max takes another breath as Christian backs up, bile in his throat.
"Max, hey it's okay-"
"I will- it will be better, next time, I won't- I won't slide, I'll make the turn, I'm sorry-"
Christian feels helpless at the way Max is pressed back into the bed away from him, eyes hazy with medication, blown from the concussion.
Redbull's children. His children.
He takes a breath and steps forward, pushes past the way his heart squeezes as Max tries to get away from him.
One of his hands lands gently on Max's shoulder, running up his back to settle in his hair. Christian leans down to wrap Max in a hug, gentle even as he's shaking in his arms.
"I'm- papa, I'm sorry."
Max says it desperate and panicked, like he knows the words won't do him any good.
Christian shushes him like he does his own children, even as his own heart twists. He's not supposed to get attached to his drivers.
Redbull's children. His children.
"It's okay, Max. You did a good job, and I'm glad you're okay."
Max chokes on a half sob.
"No, no I missed, I fucked it up-"
"Max, I don't care about that. I care that you're okay. That's what matters right now."
Christian lets Max cry it out, palm running up and down his spine as Max settles, finally nodding off against his shoulder.
Max is asleep, but-
Christian stays, holding him in his arms. Their golden boy. The garage is ready to go on a warpath, every single one of them. Max is fiercely loyal, but Christian is fairly confident he doesn't realize how devoted their loyalty is in return. He's theirs. To be crashed out, deep into the heart of Silverstone, to see the celebrations from Mercedes afterwards-
There's a vile, rabid taste in all of their mouths. They'll come back stronger, hit harder. They won't let him get away with it.
There's shuffling by the doorway, and Christian looks over as GP steps in. He looks haggard, still in his Redbull polo, jacket thrown hastily over his shoulders. He's pretty sure it's not even Gianpiero's jacket- normally he sees it across the back of Helmut's chair.
"How is he?"
GP settles on the other side of the bed, flipping through the paperwork from the table with one hand while the other rests over Max's.
Christian sighs.
"Concussed. They don't think there's any additional damage, but they wanted to do some extra testing to make sure. Jos said no."
"Cunt."
Christian raises an eyebrow. GP is normally much better about keeping his feelings internalized.
"Mhm."
"Sorry, Christian. I just-"
"I know."
Gianpiero helps Christian settle Max back against the bed.
"I'll stay with him if you need to leave."
Christian looks over at him, assessing.
"Do I need to leave?"
GP winces.
"I think the team needs some guidance. John is with them, but a more... direct reminder should probably be given. Maybe a reminder that sabotage and unsportsmanlike conduct won't do Max any good."
Christian snorts. He feels more like a babysitter than anything, but he understands where GP is coming from.
"I hear you. Message me if anything changes with him, okay? And- he was a little bit confused earlier."
GP nods, thumb brushing over the back of Max's hand.
"I will. Thank you for being here."
Christian gives him a thin smile.
Redbull's children. His children.
"All part of the job, isn't it?"
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pinksmonkey · 11 months ago
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Posting my Ultimate Byler Evidence/Analysis List here directly because it probably makes it more convenient and I should have done this a while ago. XD
There is so much proof for Byler being endgame in S5 of Stranger Things. They are so cute together, and so much in the show has been building up to their relationship. I just wanted to share some of my favourite Byler analyses, because they are so cool, detailed, and in-depth. I love reading about all the hints, symbolism, and subtext for Byler, it's amazing how much thought must have been put into all these things. Why go through all the effort of adding these details if they aren't actually going anywhere with them? Mike is so queercoded, and they are truly in love with each other.
🫥 Just gonna leave some good Byler analyses here 🤐
Most of the links go to written Tumblr posts, and a couple of them are Reddit posts. So it's a lot of reading. If you prefer watching videos over reading, I highlighted my Byler YouTube playlist in green so it's easy to find.
And apologies for any of the links that aren't working, I know some of the posts have been deleted now sadly, but there's no way I'm re-numbering all these so I'm just leaving them in. My fellow Bylers, please stop deleting your amazing posts. ;-;
So anyway, here is the list of some of my favourite Byler evidence/analyses of all time (not in any particular order):
1. Mike's Season 4 Monologue To El
2. Camera Roll Byler Proof Part 3
3. Mike's Monologue and Milkvan
4. Mostly Byler Post Index
5. Dawson's Creek Parallel
6. "My Experience With Stranger Things"
7. What Ollie Learned From Film School
8. Byler Music Analysis
9. Why Don't The Duffers Discuss This?
10. ST Theories Masterpost
11. If Byler Isn't Endgame Then Someone Screwed Up
12. Byler Crumbs From The Cast and Crew
13. Favourite Combination of Endgame Byler Proof
14. I Doubt Byler Then I Remember This
15. The Fact That We Have This Interview
16. You Know Your Ship is Endgame When
17. Mostly Byler Post Index 2
18. Losing Hope Of Byler Endgame?
19. Why I Think Byler is Endgame
20. So Many Thoughts on This
21. Mike's Wall Art
22. Painting Miscommunication Leading to Mike's Monologue Coded
23. Yes, That Scene Did Foreshadow Mike's Monologue as Disingenuous
24. Mike's Monologue Didn't Sit Right With Me
25. Blue And Yellow Pen
26. That Tweet Is So Sweet
27. Heart Eyes, Literally
28. "My Process of Realizing Byler is Real"
29. Looking at Will, Not El
30. High School Musical Parallel
31. Said It Before and I'll Say It Again
32. Delusional Milkdud?
33. ST Writers Twitter Analysis 1
34. ST Writers Twitter Analysis 2
35. For When You Are Doubting Byler
36. Is Mike Bi or Gay?
37. Fully Convinced
38. The Ultimate Byler Playlist (my Byler YouTube playlist)
39. 100% Confident
40. Mike in S4 and S2
41. Mike Is Angry With Himself
42. It's Been A Year, Mike
43. Rink-O-Mania Remodel
44. The Development Of Will And Mike's Relationship
45. Mike's Lies
46. El Was Holding So Much In
47. Flickergate + Lettergate
48. Did Mike Ever Like El Romantically?
49. Mike Is Stupid
50. Byler Won't Write Itself
51. What's The Alternative Explanation?
52. Comparing Mileven and Byler
53. It Was Always About Them
54. Mike Is Not Ok
55. He Has A Love Interest
56. Will's Happy Ending
57. Trying To Be Normal
58. It's Not That Milevens Are Homophobic
59. Byler Is Reality
60. A Proper Look At El's Shrine To Mike
61. Mileven Through The Seasons
62. Suspicious
63. I Can't Doubt Byler
64. D&D Soulmates
65. Let's Talk Phones
66. Not Delusional
67. What Do They Want?
68. The Main Character
69. Mike's Mental Health
70. So Close
71. This Look Confirms Byler Isn't One Sided
72. Mileven Is Bones
73. They Don't Care About Mileven?
74. The Airport Hug Will Always Be Famous
75. The Monologue Mystery, Why Did They Lose?
76. The Cabin Scene
77. Why Couldn't Mike Say It For 2 Seasons?
78. He Was Trying To Find Will
79. Mike The Surfer Boy
80. Mike Definitely Shows Attraction To Girls
81. The Cast Knows
82. Mileven Loses On All Fronts
83. The Bouquet
84. 53 Minutes And 5 Seconds
85. Pink Panther
86. El And Choice
87. Will's Spotify Playlist
88. He'll Come Crawling Back To You, Begging For Forgiveness
89. Mike's Character Arc Prediction
90. It's The Same Look
91. Will's Truly Happy Ending
92. That's The Same Look, Right?
93. You're The Heart
94. Mike And El's Relationship In S4 Was Really Weird
95. Fireworks Parallel
96. Mileven Has Been Built Up For 4 Seasons
97. Not Stupid: The Fate of Mileven and Byler
98. This Suddenly Makes So Much Sense
99. Metaphors In Filmmaking
And unfortunately Tumblr will only let me add 100 links per post, so when I've posted part 2 of this list, I'll link it here: Part 2
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auset66 · 11 months ago
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How to get out of this stuck feeling? 🍓🏡 (tarot)
1. Blue girl 2. Sleeping girl 3. Green girl 4. Cat girl
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2. Sleeping Girl 🛏💤
If you are looking for a sign that if you should go for that obviously very unrealistic goal yes go for it. You do have it in you and you sure can do it. Here it is as simple as to get your routine kicking and do things you are passionate about develop hobbies and just trust yourself. Talk to friends go out and yeah that's it just believe in yourself. I feel you are an ambitious and hardworking person you don't need motivation that much from external sources to go for something you want.
3. Green Girl ☘️🍃
I feel you are just confused jack of all trades. You are confused so that's why you are doing nothing cause what to pursue what to put time and energy then? Yeah so first of all you can actually pursue all these things all at once yes even if they seem obviously clashing one wants medical study and other wants engineering study type of situation, yet you can yes pursue it all (everything's on youtube). Secondly start writing your feelings everyday and re read it everyday even it random shit just write down your feelings everyday like a dairy it will help a lot to give your dreams and hobbies a shape which is what you are lacking right now. Also Pay attention to your dreams they might also help a lot to see what your subconscious really wants.
4. Cat Girl 🐱🥐
So I see you want to talk to either this one person or just want to talk to people be out there but your own thinking about yourself is keeping you from doing it. You are assuming things right now without any proofs. It's kinda sad. So for some it could be that you did something bad in past or it's just your own thinking about yourself that you feel you will just mess up either way or you don't deserved to be talked to all of it is keeping you from people as whole or that one particular person but either way finally doing it will help. Take the lead whatever Will happen atleast you won't feel this stuck up and you know this Choked up guilty feeling so yes first of all just have the courage to speak your truth and follow it like you always do.
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arminthada · 1 year ago
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if you're hoping for joe 2.0 to get his 'revenge' in the second half of the series...
warning: mild novel spoilers (but also not really because i'm just discussing things that have been shown in the trailer)
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i really think you should either drop the series or give up the hopes of a satisfying makjang revenge storyline in my stand-in instead of setting yourself up for disappointment. because that simply isn't the story that my stand-in is trying to tell.
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so what is my stand-in about really?
well, for me i think its a romance tragicomedy drama about an idiotic scum male lead losing the person he loves most because of his own arrogance and refusal to listen to his heart and the series of unfortunate events that happened consequently for our protagonist who was living a peaceful and quiet life as a stunt actor before the scum male lead entered his life.
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joe 2.0 and his approach to life
i've mentioned it twice now that one of my favorite traits of joe/zhou xiang is that kindness in his strength where even if he can be choose to be mean or cruel, he simply doesn't because he has such a soft heart and he's weak to see others in pain (joe is my fellow enfp people pleaser okay) (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ which is why even in his 2.0 life, you won't get to see joe turning 180 degree and going around to hurt everyone who's ever hurt him like it's some makjang kdrama.
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and while that seems like it could be fun, i think the reason why i loved professional body double (my stand-in novel) so much in the first place is because that very distinction between joe and other rebirth/second chance at life protagonists that you often see in revenge kdramas/cdramas/thai lakorns.
logically, if my stand-in was a 24-episode one31 lakorn/thai soap opera, joe would be full of hatred and burning rage after his rebirth and started his intricated revenge plot while still falling in love with ming whom he should hate the most.
and yet he isn't (or at least it seems to me so far).
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if you read the lyrics 'Die For You' - the opening ost of my stand-in, i think you can have a good guess of what the second half of the story will be like.
Even running away to death can't help. If my heart had chosen to stop at you I'll have to surrender with the confusion I feel. To come back to the same old place. Even if I have to die, disappear and then be reborn But the love is still buried deep inside, even if it's been shattered into pieces Even if my life ends, I can't stop my heart from calling out to you Because this whole body, life, spirit It is yours only, for all eternity.
and even from the trailer of my stand-in, you can tell that joe 2.0 has a lot of internal conflicting feelings about whether he could trust ming again after the betrayal he faced in his 1.0 life. and i feel like essentially the journey of ming proving to joe 2.0 that he really does love joe is very much the central plot in the second half part of the story.
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so i'd like to take this part to note how well the series has done to adapt the novel so far. i think a good adapted change they've made is this early realization of feelings for ming in the joe 1.0 timeline. i do think the novel made him realized his feelings a little bit later but my stand-in did well to show within ep.3 what happiness could have looked like for joe 1.0 and ming and i think it rationalizes a bit more more for why joe 2.0 would still have feelings for ming 'buried deep inside' even when he's been badly hurt the first time around. and reading the story i've always found it interesting that they took this route to focus on the re-entangled complex relationship between mingjoe rather than going for a joe-centric revenge makjang plot (i swear if this was your typical thai lakorn, joe would seduce ming while planning to take down his whole family or something).
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of course, that's not to dismiss that there's a lot of character growth for joe in the second half of the story, especially in his building of self-confidence, self-worth, the ability to put himself first and the fight for his own happiness above all. but like i've mentioned above, his growth journey is not at the expense of a drastic personality change in regards to the kind hearted joe we saw in his 1.0 life. instead, we get kind hearted joe 2.0 who quickly adapts to his new life and attempts to start anew while conflicted feelings resurface for him as he is pulled back into the relationships he once had.
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all in all, my stand-in is still at the heart of it, a love story. perhaps, a dark romance as my friend @dragonsandphoenix would call it, but a romance nonetheless. i think that is what also makes professional body double such a compelling read too, because the progression in the feelings and complex emotions of these characters are so tightly written that it's convincing enough for me (maybe not for others though) to believe that yan ming xiu has/will always love zhou xiang (to the point ymx would probably eliminate anyone else who dared to steal zx from him). obsessive love? yes. do they both need therapy? probably. yet i still believe in their happy ending? of course.
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final note/disclaimer: then again, this is just my PERSONAL opinions based on the novel and up til 3 episodes of my stand-in (which seems to be very faithful to the novel so far), who knows maybe they can anger novel fans and adapt it completely differently later on (something i sure hope they don't but we'll seeeee) ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ
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thinemoonshine · 1 year ago
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𓆰𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 ♡𓆪
cha hyun su x female reader genre: romance, angst , fluff (because hyun su is a cutie) type: series (but can be read as a oneshot) word count: 1,791
part 1 of series ◄◄ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ part 3 of series
౨ৎ ⋆。˚ synopsis: cha hyun su and (y/n) go on a mission together to find items requested by eunhyuk but then, meets an unexpected danger that threatens their life and death. monster hyun su makes a small appearance ౨ৎ ⋆。˚
"Hyun Su."
(y/n)'s call snaps the said other to whip his head to her- eyes widening and brows raise along with the makeshift spear in his hands. "Huh?"
"Let's check this room," she says and points to a door she then, swings open. Hyun Su follows her inside before taking the lead once they slip through the entrance.
They're now on a joint task to find a couple of things needed for the livelihood of the residents. Okay, well one of them was assigned on a mission and the other made the choice to tag along. Guess who's who?
Asking Eunhyuk wasn't option. Everybody knows how uptight and aloof he can be- for good reason of course but, that's exactly why (y/n) had to go behind his back. She went ahead and stalked Hyun Su like a tail the moment Eunhyuk left after giving him a rundown of his objectives for the day.
"You shouldn't have come," Hyun Su quietly expresses his disagreement to her decision but (y/n) just shrugs and scans the room for valuables.
Contrasting Eunhyuk's constant character however, Cha Hyun Su had changed little by little. He's more vocal regarding his feelings now compared to before and he's less solemn. He's also less hesitant to reach out to (y/n) when it comes to asking for comfort although, it rarely happens. Still, there a lot of things he keeps silent about such as when he was zoning out before; what thoughts were he thinking, he won't say. All those time (y/n) used to accompany him in the quarantine room bore fruit.
"Ooh! Batteries," she alerts with subtle excitement and points to a torn 4-pack battery set peeking out from under a shattered mirror. She reaches out to grab it but is intervened by Hyun Su who quickly picks it up.
"...You'll get cut," is all he mumbles while stuffing the batteries into his backpack. A small smile stretches on (y/n)'s face at his attentiveness towards her. "These are my tasks."
Her smile widens at his proclamation that indirectly means for her to just do nothing. The search continues.
"So, duct tape's the last one. Where can we find that?" (y/n) wonders aloud after they found the rest of the items in the list. She's responded with a tug on her sleeve to which she reacts with letting Hyun Su drag her away gently to the upper level and in front of a door. "Janitor room?"
Hyun Su nods and quickly pulls his hand away from her shirt- afraid he'll get greedy for her hand if he were to hold longer. "I once saw the janitor tape the hinges of the electric box together before the electricians came. I think, he should have one. Hopefully."
The words he speaks sound incoherent to (y/n)- the letters blurred and jumbled in her head as his rapid action of pulling away causes a slight undesirable tug in her heart. But she manages to brush it off and reach for the doorknob.
Yet once again, being interrupted by her knight in shining armor who sneakily slips to the front and opens the door. He walks in to search for the tape and lets (y/n) to just stand and watch. He mimics a cat when his face snaps towards the tape with large eyes sparkling with quiet glee.
"Here's the ta—" His sentence is cut after he takes the object and turn to (y/n) whose hair gently flutters to the side from a breeze. His brows furrow and (y/n) shares the same reaction.
She turns her face to the direction of the source and lips part in shock at the sight of a broken window. "Hyun Su, that window's broken. Something must've got in."
"What?" Hyun Su blurts and throws the tape in his bag before rushing out to shield her. His eyes then darts to the camera before belatedly realizing that the CCTV on the floor had broken down. This meant that whatever it is that happened here, Eunhyuk would be unaware of. No one will know if anything is to happen to them here. If anything happens to (y/n).
Dread fills him as panic ensues like a sprout rapidly growing its stems and roots to every end of his figure- a siren blaring in his head and heart pounding faster than ever. "(y/n), we have to go."
A faint whimper follows.
He frowns, confused by her lack of response despite feeling her standing behind him. So he turns- and the sight is enough to shatter him whole.
A monster with what seems like the deformed head of a spider and a twisted figure of a sea creature with debris and broken glass sticking out of its back had coiled its tentacles around (y/n) who's frozen with fright. Her eyes are wide with horror as she stays still- trying her best not to agitate the monster who only captured her soundlessly yet have done nothing after.
In fact, it's now staring at Hyun Su with its 8 black protruding eyes that look like they'll pop any second- all blinking in different times which rises goosebumps in their skin.
But Hyun Su's much too terrified at the possibility of losing (y/n) that he sees nothing but a target to kill.
SLOSH!
He stabs his spear into one of its eye, causing it to explode and inadvertently loosen its grip on (y/n) who quickly limps to the ground.
"(Y/N)!" Hyun Su shouts and pulls her up before dashing through the halls with her almost floating behind him. "In here!"
He slips into a room and shuts the door before falling to his knees to be eye-level with her who's desperately trying to catch her breath. The monster's tentacle had suffocated her, turning her skin and lips a shade of blue. Her head's spinning from the lack of air.
"(y/n)! (y/n), are you okay?" Hyun Su asks frantically as he constantly brushes her hair away from her face as she holds her head in his hands. His gaze heavy with concern scans her but is interrupted by a large growl, followed by a slam near their door. "...It's going to find us."
(y/n) sees nothing but colours and shapes and suddenly finds herself in an enclosed space before seeing Hyun Su's face near hers.
His lips form words. He's saying something. But (y/n) can't hear them. She's having trouble keeping her eyes open as her chest heaves for air. Seeing her dazed state, Hyun Su then forms a small smile, a smile that doesn't reach his eyes but for some reason, it reaches so deep into her chest. It... stings.
His shadow then swallows her when he bends down slightly- letting their foreheads touch for just a few seconds long before he hesitantly pulls away.
The light then disappears around her as the closet doors are closed by Hyun Su who leaves a gap big enough for air but not enough to replenish hers completely.
And so, she faints.
She awakes with a gasp and she quickly shoves the doors open- tumbling forward as a result but feels something minimally soft cushioning her.
Hyun Su's backpack.
Panic overtakes as she recalls the mangled monster and the life threatening situation she experienced. And yet, it's now strangely quiet and... Hyun Su is nowhere to be seen.
"Hyun Su," she mutters and rushes out the room with the bag only to gasp at the large volume of blood smeared on the floors and walls- but what scared her the most is the bloody handprints scattered around the windows which eventually increased on the layers of duct tape used to cover the crack they saw before. "He covered this. He's alive! Hyun Su!"
It's as if she's a madman- running around the hallways in search of him and completely disregarding the fact that there could be another monster. It's unlikely, anyways, or else they would've came out before.
"Hyun Su! CHA HYUN SU!" She shrieks and drifts to a stop in front of the janitor room where the door is open by ajar. She's scared to swing it open wider. What if what she sees is worse than a 'missing' Hyun Su? What if... he's not just gone?
But relief settles in the moment she sees him collapsed on the ground, breathing and alive- although, battered and bruised.
"Cha Hyun Su," (y/n) sobs and pulls him into her arms. He stirs.
He pants onto her back as she lays his head on her shoulder. "...(y/n)? Why are you h-here?"
"For you," she answers without pause and she feels him flinch.
"I told you to not come for me... If I don't come back, don't search for me," he strains his voice and (y/n) pushes him up- tightly holding his cheeks against her palms with a glare.
"Stop being sappy and just rest up, will you?" She scolds and Hyun Su's eyes flicker between her angry ones- feeling a thump in his chest and question marks seem to appear on his head. "Now, shush."
She pulls him back down to her shoulder and hugs him tightly in hopes to hide the tremble of her arms and the tears that brim her eyes. Acting tough seems to work, thankfully.
No, it doesn't. Not at all.
And yet, as selfish as it sounds and as much as he wants to hit himself for it, Hyun Su feels... grateful that she's so deeply affected by him. That she's moved by him. His lips stretch to a grin as he nuzzles further into her shoulder- shuffling to the crook of her neck to feel the warmth of her skin.
"...If you try to sacrifice yourself for me again, you better stay alive," she suddenly says.
"Alri—"
"So I can kill you personally."
"Oh..."
Despite her death threat, the joyful miens they each wear show their heartfelt feelings for one another.
'I'd like to see her try,' a voice that's eerily similar to Hyun Su's chuckles in his head and his smile drops- eyes turning completely black before they fade just as quickly.
'Shut up,' Hyun Su snaps back in his head and wraps his arms around (y/n)'s waist- unintentionally leaning towards her for security and comfort which causes a blush to creep on her cheeks.
a/n: do leave a like and reblog if you like them because they will totally help in motivating me!! thanks for reading ઇ♡ଓ
copyright © 2024 thinemoonshine all rights reserved
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cheri-2047 · 1 year ago
Note
May I request some fluff with Alhaitham and an overworked and stressed reader who just won't put the book down due to an upcoming exam 😔💪🏻 + they are struggling with motivation to study but they just NEED to study now or they'll fail or get a low grade
OF COURSE!! Thank you for requesting !! Also I’m assuming you have an exam so wishing you good luck
Alhaitham x Stressed Reader
WARNINGS: none aside from cursing, This is all fluff
CHARACTERS: Alhaitham, (im gonna write this as if alhaitham and reader are still in college btw !! Both of you are dating in this AU and dormmates too)
Okay I’m gonna write headcanons and then a mini oneshot after <3
please tell me if I accidentally mischaracterized him I’m really sorry in advance if I do 😔
Alhaitham would be telling you the entire afternoon that day to drink water, eat a snack and most importantly, take a break
Alhaitham would be stubborn at these times and making SURE that you are drinking water and taking care of yourself and all
Alhaitham practically tries to pull you away from your desk, but he fails. Instead just trying to keep having a conversation as an attempt to get you to get away from your studies, even if just for a minute
Alhaitham tríes to wait for you, but you insist he goes to bed ahead. He still tries to wait, while he lays down alone, clearly worried about you though having the same expression.
Alhaitham gets out of bed every once in awhile to check if you’re done, but everyte he does, he just receives the same response. “5 more minutes…”
Eventually he just stays in bed slightly frustrated and Alhaitham falls asleep waiting, that is, until he hears your frustrated mumbles from your desk.
“Damn it damn it! Why can’t I get it!”
You mumbled softly to yourself. No matter how many hours of hard work you’ve done today, you can’t seem to process any of the information.
“Fuck!”
You buried your head in your arms in frustration, clenching your fist tightly. As suddenly you felt someone trying to unclench it for you.
You flinched once you felt the touch, but once you turned, you saw your boyfriend alhaitham.
“It’s 1:07… you should be having some rest.”
He says, starting to put away your books.
“Nono! Just 5-“
“5 more minutes? Darling it’s been 5 hours. Please rest.”
He starts to pull you out of your chair, but you’re stubborn. You say no once more in a slightly pissed tone due to overworking the entire day.
“Y/n. Im serious.”
“I am too… just please…”
He saw the desperation in your eyes, but instead he pulled you into a hug, as you hurried your face into his shoulder.
“Look, the exam is in a few days correct?”
You nod
“And how much material have you gone through?”
“I don’t know”
“And you’re only starting to study now? Why?”
“I didn’t have motivation all week..I couldn’t bring myself to do it..”
You started getting ready for a scolding, but instead ended up with a kiss on your forehead.
“You ran out of motivation all week and so now that you have it, you don’t want to lose it, correct?”
You nod. As your boyfriend sighs.
“And do you remember anything you’ve been studying?”
To your shame, you shook your head.
“No..”
Alhaitham pulls away from the hug as he cups your cheek.
“Let’s have a deal, you get some rest today and I’ll study and teach you the topics myself tomorrow morning, deal?”
“But-“
“No buts, would you rather you passed out unwillingly or this?”
“…”
“That’s right, thought so.”
He pulled you into the bed, as he layed you down next to him.
“Please don’t do this again..if you need motivation then..I’ll help you, I’ll do whatever just take care of yourself please.”
He kissed your cheek goodnight as both of you slept in each others arms.
Alhaitham teaches you the topics the next day and you understand it. He tells you some study tips and motivation tips like:
Make flash cards and review them before the exam
Re-type it, NO copy pasting
Reading the text aloud to someone else
Quiz yourself and your friends <3
You can also make reviewers for you and your friends to motivate you to keep giving them some
Alhaitham will be happy and proud of u <3 good luck on your exams !! (These tips are my personal study tips that got me through the school year HAHAHAHAH, they work for me at least. Good luck again !!)
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whimsicalwritingsandmore · 2 years ago
Text
Want You Back | ateez x reader
Tumblr media
Pairing: werewolf!ot8!ateez x werewolf!reader
Genre: fluff mostly, romance, poly, a little angst?
Warnings for this chapter: fighting, mention of a sharp object.
Word Count: 1550 words
a/n: yeah, I couldn't wait to share this! I'm lowkey worried I'm being too repetitive in the chapters; I don't think I am when I re-read previous ones but ✨overthinking.✨ so I'll always be grateful for your feedback, and I hope you enjoy! <3
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Chapter 8
Hongjoong flew across the room.
You know when someone is beyond infuriated and enraged, but they maintain an unmoved and unflustered disposition? That was Jisung at the moment. Despite the boiling rage that simmered and seethed inside him, Jisung displayed a calm and undisturbed expression, almost like a statue, and that could never be a good thing. Undeterred by Chan’s urges to stop him, Jisung tossed and hurled Hongjoong around while Yunho and Yeosang attempted to rescue their leader…so they could deal with him themselves.
"Is it fun to mess with someone's feelings? I don't think it is. Maybe you need a really good wake up call, coffee clearly can't help. Don't worry, this won't hurt much...at least for me." Jisung casually stated.
Jeongin lodged himself by the door because he wanted a good view of Jisung in action. Meanwhile, San and Jongho struggled to restrain Seonghwa and Mingi from pummeling Hongjoong, and Wooyoung was torn between cheering for Jisung and helping Yunho and Yeosang.
But then he realized there were enough people to handle the situation and Hongjoong deserved it, so he slipped out of the café and went searching for you. 
Wooyoung was furiously livid but at the same time, he was wretchedly heartbroken. He couldn't believe Hongjoong would ever do something like that and it was eating him alive that he didn't realize sooner. Wooyoung liked to give the benefit of the doubt to people. So, when Hongjoong coaxed him into hanging out with Lila, it was mainly due to the former's reasoning being that Lila was on her own and they should make her feel welcome.
But you also felt alone too and as Wooyoung recalled every time he essentially stood you up and listened to Hongjoong, he could feel his heart crack little by little, the pain being unbearable and unrelenting. He felt like he was slowly losing his mind, the aching feeling over the idea of losing you completely because of his foolishness, was burning like a fever and consuming all of his thoughts. It was like a hurricane, ripping through him with no mercy.
Wooyoung refused to entertain that thought and pushed it away as far away as he could. He was going to fix things on his part, and if you would have him, he would stay here in the human realm with you. He did not mind giving up his status, position and responsibilities. Rather, he preferred to help you with the café. He didn't care for the power and ranking being an alpha brought, he cared about you, and his alpha wanted you, forever and for more. 
Just like the first time he met you.
It was nearing the Christmas season, and Wooyoung convinced Yeosang to venture out to see the activities that were taking place in the main town. However, the latter found the weather to be much too dreary and cold for his liking, so he plopped himself on a bench and sent Wooyoung for a coffee. 
Wooyoung scoured every tent until he stumbled upon yours. Along with Seonghwa, the two of you planned to hand out complimentary coffee and tea for the cold weather alongside some biscuits. When he approached and met you face to face, his heart began to do somersaults and he could feel himself burning up in the cold weather. There was a connection between the two of you that united each other’s hearts. You were graceful, humorous and so pretty, the kind of beauty that radiates from within. As the two of your hands grazed one another and the familiar sparks erupted, it was like every single puzzle piece fit perfectly where it belonged.
And as the other boys came in together, it became clear that the puzzle was complete. 
Wooyoung had no idea where he was going till he saw you standing near a lake. Just like the first time he saw you, you were still charming and enchanting from afar. In an entire big city with so many scenic views, all he could see was you and he rushed to you with no time to waste.
In the meantime, you stood at the lakebed ferociously irate and riotously bitter. You could feel the flashes of irritation and raw rage thrumming through your veins. Your mood sharply decreased and soured like a lemon after the confrontation and in the moment, you wanted to do nothing more and just fiercely smack Hongjoong.
How did it end up like this? 
And was it even going to get better? You had a bad feeling it wouldn’t.
"Y/N! Y/N!" Wooyoung hollered.
Surprised, you blinked in confusion and turned to see Wooyoung hurriedly sprinting towards you.
"Wooyoung? How did you find me?”
"I just wandered around and saw you from across the street."
“You can’t just wander Wooyoung,” you chastised, “You need to be careful out here.”
Wooyoung felt that similar feeling he always felt when you reprimanded him. It felt like home again, when none of this happened.
He stood in front of you and got a good look at your expression. Despite your rigid form, your face was streaked with dry tears. He could imagine all the emotions you were currently processing. All because of them.
He then fell to his knees as he bawled.
"Please don't leave me." he then whimpered.
"Wooyoung..."
"I'm ready to give it all up for you, Y/N. I'll do whatever you need me to. My life means nothing without you in it. Please, please give me a chance."
Wooyoung couldn’t bear to lose you. He silently hoped things would get better from here, but just like you, he too had a bad feeling that loomed in the air.
"Get up Wooyoung." You spoke softly.
How is this going to go? It wasn’t just two of you, there were nine of you. One, who had already dug himself deeper and deeper in a hole, slashed a bond that was meant to be so divine and seraphic. But what about the others? They were willing to repent and atone for their actions. But…was it enough? Was there any possibility of going back to how things were before?
And Hongjoong, how do you just forget all he said and did?
It’s not like you could meet again for the first time.
You assisted Wooyoung from the ground and cupped his face to wipe away the stray tears. However, you felt it again, that bad feeling and suddenly, from your peripheral you noticed a looming figure coming towards the both of you with a sharp object in hand. Noticing the blade in full view as it neared closer, you pushed Wooyoung out of the way and tried to block it. The miscreant stumbled forward, reeling from the block and swung blindly in your direction. Despite the pounding blood in your ears, you outstretched your arm to grab the perpetrator’s wrist, only to have the blade gnash your hand and then feel a sharp sensation in your side.
Wooyoung counterattacked and managed to rip the blade out of his hand before plunging into the culprit. 
You collapsed to the ground, shaking as the pain seared through your body. In your blurred vision, you saw Wooyoung’s silhouette rush towards you, bawling your name like his life depended on it. 
The blade was coated with an extract from the deadly nightshade - crushed belladonna and nerium.
You didn't know what else happened, everything around you became indistinct and all you could remember was just Wooyoung's cries and a slight apparition of Minho before it all went black.
In the meantime, the others felt it. Your bond went desolate again. But unlike last time, this time there was no lingering presence. They couldn’t feel you whatsoever as a blackhole took over instantly.
Chan’s phone snapped everyone out of their trance. Jisung felt the shift in Chan’s aura, and as he zeroed in on Chan’s call from Minho, he knew it wasn’t good. That's the only reason why Jisung let Hongjoong go. Minho spoke loudly amidst the screams from Wooyoung and Chan felt his blood turn cold. 
No, no, no.
This can’t be happening.
“What’s going on?” Seonghwa asked, “Is Y/N okay?”
When Chan spluttered out what happened, an avalanche of pain crashed over them without warning. There was now a profound emptiness in each of them, even Hongjoong, threatening to swallow them whole. Their spirits felt like it was sinking like a stone in water and misery tried to seep in and envelop them like a wet blanket, heavy and smothering.
“We need to go now.” Chan firmly stated.
Each of them bolted out behind Chan leaving Hongjoong and Jisung behind.
Jisung looked at Hongjoong, and saw the grief washing over him but also realization. 
“I had told Mingi I was wary of him, but you? I don’t like you one bit. We’re not done here but if that look in your eyes means anything, then you know you better get to it. All of this is your fault, if you only had a backbone to stand up to your mother. But mark my words Hongjoong, if anything happens to Y/N, I’m coming after your whole family.”
Jisung muttered a spell in Hongjoong’s direction and left Hongjoong to himself and his grief.
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Taglist:
@eastleighsblog @sehun096rainbow @greensnakeglobep @satsuri3su @zonked-times @sugarrush-blush @lomons @explorewithd @chatsgotmytongue @scarfac3 @popcatx0 @angrynightnight @sannieluvrr @idfkeddieishot @alicia-dpa @park-simphwa @puppyminnnie @mysticfire0435 @sundayysunshine @chngbnwf @dementedaly @thunderous-wolf @itsmeregan
a/n: hello again! just wanted to let new readers know, if you're interested in being part of the taglist, you can send me a private message or in the ask me anything! It'll be easier for me to see! if I missed your message, please PM me and I'll add you in asap! thank you! <3
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mer-acle · 19 days ago
Text
Snippet: Silent Wars
~Home Sweet Home~
Pt. 1 |... |Pt.3| Pt.4 | Pt.5
In case anyone wondered how EPIC came into this :D The family and Aph have a quiet evening.
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Evening dawned, and they came together in the living room. Zeus had excused himself on accounts of work, but Hera put down a tray with tea and hot cocoa and ruffled Hephaestus' hair.
The boy wheeled himself over to where Ares, Aphrodite and Athena were settled on the couches.
"'Res, can I sit on your lap?" he asked, half-oblivious, half establishing territory. Aphrodite untangled herself from under her boyfriend's arm without further prompting.
"Come here, bug," Ares said with a smile, scooting forward and helping his brother from his chair into his arms. Hephaestus leaned his head against his shoulder.
"Thena?" Hera had stepped inside, holding a folded piece of knit fabric. Athena looked up from a book she was definitely too tired to be reading.
"I found a cardigan for you the other day," Hera said, holding it out to her, black with a subtle white pattern. "I thought you might like it, and the fabric feels nice."
Athena ran her fingers over it.
"It does," she said quietly. "You didn't have to-"
"You said you were cold on the phone the other week," Hera said matter-of-factly. "clearly you don't have enough warm clothing."
She brushed a strand of hair behind Athena's ear. The young woman smiled faintly, putting the cardigan over her hoodie.
"Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome, little owl."
Hephaestus demanded hot cocoa, then his green eyes lit up with an idea.
"I got a new puzzle! From the game that Mom won't let me play properly still." He pouted.
"You can play the later levels when you're old enough," Hera said evenly. "Be grateful we bought it even though it's 12 and up so you could try out the other mode."
"What game?" Aphrodite asked. 
"EPIC," Hephaestus said. "But I can only play Winion mode... you catch little creatures and collect stuff. Mom thinks I'm too young for the story mode because it has violence." His tone was quietly indignant.
"EPIC?" Aphrodite asked. "I haven't played it, but I love the soundtrack! It's like a musical pretty much."
"Of course you like it, then," Ares teased fondly. She stuck out her tongue to him.
"Anyway," Hephaestus said. "The puzzle is real big, but can we do it over the weekend? All of us?"
Ares shared a glance with Aphrodite.
"I'm down," she said. 
"Thena?"
Athena jumped slightly, looked up.
"What... I mean, yeah, of course. Should we get the table from the play room in here? It's warmer here."
"Mom, I fear you have to buy better cardigans, Thena's still freezing."
Hera looked up from her magazine.
"Do you want me to stack the fire, Thea?"
Athena shook her head.
"It's- I'm not cold now, but I would be in the other room, that's all." She put down her book and got up.
"Is the puzzle in your room, Heph?"
He nodded. "Yes, on the shelf at my bed."
"Okay, I'll get it," she said.
Ares nudged his brother.  "Let me move? I'll get the table."
Hephaestus hesitated for a second as if torn between wanting the puzzle and wanting the hug, then nodded. Ares helped him settle on the couch and got up.
"Be right back."
Aphrodite stayed seated, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, her eyes flickering between the fireplace, Hephaestus and Hera. The drink was good. She still tasted the difference between fresh milk like she had grown up with and store-bought, but there was a touch of spice and definitely some heavy cream and it tasted like a winter afternoon.
Ares returned first, placing the table from the playing room in place of the couch table and moving back the couch set enough to make room to fold it open to its full size. He went to get the chairs as well, since the sofas would be too low.
Hephaestus pulled his wheelchair closer, climbing back on it with practised motions and wheeled himself over so he could reach the table top more comfortably.
Athena reentered the room, holding a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle box.
Aphrodite leaned forward to see what the picture was.
“It is from the God Games level,” Hephaestus said gravely. "That's when Minerva fights the king of the gods to help her friend.” He grinned. “Thea is Minerva, by the way. I decided.”
Aphrodite looked over to Athena who shrugged, then at the image on the puzzle, showing the goddess from the game surrounded by her adversaries. She remembered what happened in that level pretty well because the song was one of her favorites on the soundtrack.
"Are all of the gods people you know?" she asked.
Hepheastus nodded.
"Yes. Dad is Jupiter. I decided because his work is called Lightning Invest- Investment? And because I think Juno is like Mom. Jupiter is evil, of course," he said earnestly. "But he's also really powerful and cool so I think it's okay."
Aphrodite nodded, thinking to herself that that was the most innocent shade she'd ever seen thrown.  She could see Hera as Juno though. The queen stood to the side on the puzzle, peacock feathers around her, gentle yet fierce.
"And you?" she asked Ares. "Did you get a cool god, too?"
Ares grinned.
"Yeah, that's me," he said, pointing at the tall god in red and black, brandishing a sword.
"Mars? Yeah... yeah I can see that." She laughed. 
“Thanks?” He sounded a little unsure.
“No, I really like him! I mean, he is loyal, he has strong principles, And I think that him and Minerva have such an interesting relationship, just like you and Thena, so it fits.”
“Okay, I am totally taking this then," Ares said with a laugh.
Athena smiled a little.
"I'm Vulcan," Hephaestus said proudly. "He builds the coolest machines."
"That fits well, too," Aphrodite replied with a smile.
Hephaestus reached for the box.
“Can we start now?”
“Alright alright, Mr. Impatient,” Ares teased, and they opened the box.
“I wanna do the edge first,” Hephaestus proclaimed. “And then the people and the sky and lightning stuff.”
“Good plan,” Athena commented. “Oh, I forgot the sorting trays, let me get them. Heph, you guys take care of the edge pieces?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The boy saluted playfully.
By the time she returned, they had separated all the edge pieces, and all four started on one corner.
"If you get... 21 and 13... 34 pieces of the edge, you're better than Ares and me," Athena said lightly to Hephaestus. 
"Don't let me win though!"
"I would never dare to insult you like that."
"And I'm barely competition in the first place," Ares said. "I am here for the fun."
Hephaestus did manage 34 pieces, and if Athena had 35 because she had worked more on her shared edge with Aphrodite, she didn't point it out.
For a while, they worked in quiet solidarity, each of them mostly at their corner but handing over the others' pieces if they found some. most of the faces took shape because the eyes made it easier. Athena was quietly working on the upper corner, on a cluster of lightning and clouds. Hephaestus was gleefully working on Vulcan. Ares was slowly putting together Mars' massive sword. Aphrodite jumped between doing the marble steps and doing Juno's cape.
The sun fully disappeared behind the horizon, and Hera got up with a glance on her watch.
"Time for bed, Heph."
"Mooom!" He protested. "I'm almost done with Vulcan!" Hera didn't argue that he was still about a half hour away from being done.
"You can finish him tomorrow. We'll leave the puzzle setup like this, and you can continue in the morning."
He pouted, sneakily putting in another piece.
Hera rounded the table and pressed a soft kiss to Athena's head.
"You, too, sweetheart."
Athena looked up at her blearily.
"Hm?"
"You should go to bed, too."
Athena nodded slowly, looking like she was already half asleep. 
"Ares is allowed to stay up longer," Hephaestus complained.
Ares got up.
“We're headed up to bed too, buddy,” he said. “Been a long day.”
Hephaestus murmured something that sounded a lot like ‘traitor’. Aphrodite fought against a giggle.
“Heard that,” Ares said. “Very rude.”
“You’re rude,” Hephaestus shot back grumpily.
“Alright, that’s it,” Hera said. “Up you go.”
Athena rose quietly, wrapping the cardigan more closely around herself. Hera gently touched her back as she left.
"Should I help with the mugs?" Aphrodite asked, but Hera shook her head.
"No, thank you, I'll tidy up later all in one. Gotta get my little one into bed first." She smiled. "I won't disturb you two later. Aphrodite, if you need anything that Ares doesn't have, left bathroom cabinet might have it."
Aphrodite nodded. "Thank you, that's really sweet."
"Don't mention it." Hera turned to Ares, and they hugged.
"Sleep well, darling."
"You too, Mom."
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hehehehhe
MOM HERAAAA give your baby all the cardigans
Also I am genuinely so happy about incorporating EPIC like this, because it lets me have both a mythology version and the EPIC versions of the characters, thinking up how the game works in rough strokes was super fun AND i mean Jorge wants the epic video game so i made it happen hehe I debated a bit on the naming but I just decided for the Roman variants bc it's less hassle than making names up, and I think this AU is not goofy enough for Goddess of Wisdom Teagan lol
Also baby Heph is murdering me stop being SO GODDAMN CUTE
(also, am I the only one who doesn't see my posts under the #silent wars modern AU tag?? cos I just see @grape-jucie-dog 's for some reason with like a few of mine from march or something, even in the "Latest" category. I used to see my own as well. Any tumblr experts that can help me out?)
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Tagged for updates:
@firinnie , @pikachiee , @yourfavtexan , @witless-winion1 , @wickeddisney55 , @flyingonions , @aikya-kat-44 , @therapybard , @electricpirateduck , @greekmythologyjunkie
(ask if you want to be included :3)
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