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#Lent 2020
susiephone · 1 year
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if you have old spotify wrapped playlists saved, put your #1 song from every year in the tags, i'm curious
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coffeenuts · 2 years
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Akelei (AQUILEGIA) by ToJoLa https://flic.kr/p/2iZfAnj
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peachyteabuck · 1 year
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I think the best part of seeing my best friend is even though we're older now (and don't have to buy alcohol with a fake) I see every age of us flattened into one view when I see her. We met when I was in 6th grade and she was in 7th, and now I'm entering the last year of college and she's graduating in May. When we met, I was a deeply repressed (assumed) pansexual who spent most of their time hating everyone and everything. Now I'm (a surefire lesbian) slowly but surely building a home with my loving butch girlfriend and our three cats. I have books by my bedside I haven't read but want to stay alive long enough to read. I have cowprint sheets, a cowprint laundry basket, a cowprint headband, a cowprint skirt, and a cowprint backpack. I've got a pink electric kettle and ADHD medication and an air fryer and a crockpot. I've got a TV in my bedroom and disposable water bottles and string lights. I could go to law school, or grad school, or work after I graduate. I've got a hydro flask covered in stickers and a laptop with a sticker of my pronouns. I've got baby yoga luggage meant for a child and a Nexplanon in my arm. No one but my family calls me by my birthname. I have measly paychecks but real employment. Life is tough. But life also used to be a lot tougher.
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ane-doodles · 3 months
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A little help please
update: we did it!!! (you can read in my reblogs)
Greetings
I'm not one to write or tell things about my life here, but I'm here to ask for a little help.
To explain myself, I would have to tell you that the computer I currently work with art and comics is not mine, it belongs to a friend of my father who lent it to him during the pandemic (2020) so that he could work from home and I would have a place to do my University's homework. It's not a super-cool computer but it got us out of trouble back then.
It's been a while since then, but last year my dad has mentioned the idea of ​​returning it soon. The problem with that is that if he does then I won't have anywhere to draw or work or study.
My current job as a graphic designer and illustrator from home depends entirely on this computer, which in itself is not very good…
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The monitor burns my eyes after a certain time, the memory and processor is limited so it does not support several programs, it does not have a graphics card and even the mouse has started to fail recently.
This is why I come here to ask for a little help… I have a goal of approximately $400 to buy a new computer (including a good monitor, but not a keyboard or mouse). The budget is not fixed due to the constant changes in the country's economy that make it difficult to save in the long term. But if we get over that line I admit it would be something great…
I am willing to work on commissions to reach the goal, I plan to organize my time between work and studies for that. Unfortunately I am in the process of writing my thesis so sometimes it will take time, but if you are willing to wait I promise to put all my heart into my drawings.
I'll be doing special commissions, some discounts, YCH, adoptables and maybe giveaways… Whatever comes to my mind at the moment, so stay tuned.
Donations are also highly appreciated!! If you do I will give you a huge hug.
And that would be all. For now you can check my pinned post to see my commissions, or check my Kofi page directly and check if they are open. If you don't have the opportunity to contribute monetarily, don't worry, sharing this post is also a great help.
I hope you have a beautiful day/afternoon/night :)
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lilaccatholic · 3 months
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This poll is for my practicing Catholic beloveds! Please only vote if you're a practicing Catholic (except for the see results option)!
Edit: autocorrect corrected whore of Babylon to whole bc apparently it's baby's first swear word 🫠
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meeedeee · 7 months
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When is a library not a library? When it’s online, apparently
"If you buy a physical book, you are allowed to sell or lend it because of a legal principle known as the “first sale doctrine,” which gives the owner of a (physical) object the right to dispose of that object in whatever way they wish, regardless of copyright. The Archive argued that the same principle should protect the sale or lending of a legally purchased digital copy, pointing out that all the copies of books it lent out had previously been acquired lawfully by libraries.'...
The Internet Archive’s lawyers also pointed to a Supreme Court decision, from the nineteen eighties, ruling that using a Sony Betamax video-cassette recorder to make a copy of a TV show was fair use. The Archive argued that its digital copies of print books similarly “improved the efficiency of delivering content to one entitled to receive the content” in a way that didn’t “unreasonably encroach on the commercial entitlements of the rights holder.” "
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toasttt11 · 4 months
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sixteenth birthday
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June 8, 2020
Carter looked up from her phone hearing a knock on her door and then three more knocks followings she smiled knowing it’s Connor, she walked across her dorm room opening the door seeing Connor standing there with a box in his hands, Connor stepped towards her handing Carter box, “Happy birthday!!” Connor smiled towards the person that had become his best friend in the last few months.
Carter looked down at the box smiling taking it from him, “Thank you Con, come in.” Carter moved out of the way letting Connor into her dorm, watching him jump onto her bed like he always does.
“We’ll go on Roo! Open it.” Connor put his arms behind his head smiling at her.
Carter fondly rolled eyes sitting next to Connor on her bed and untying the green bow on the box and taking the lid off seeing a stuffed animal gently picking it up seeing what animal it was, a kangaroo. Carter laughed knowing why he picked the stuff animal, “Thank you it’s adorable!” She held up to her chest feeling how soft it is.
“Thought it fit you perfectly Roo.” Connor smiled knowing how much Carter adores Kangaroos and that’s why he calls her Roo.
Carter layed down next to Connor cuddling her Kangaroo enjoying spending her birthday with someone as she couldn’t see any of her family for her birthday this year because of Covid.
Also because she was lent to the Sweden Hockey team being able to practice and play some hockey during Covid, not knowing when she would be going home luckily Connor had been lent too and their are sharing a common room that connects to their own dorms, meaning they are quarantined together and spend basically all their days together.
“Want to go to the cafe?” Connor turned on his side facing Carter, as she turned to look at him.
“Yeah!” Carter got out of bed slipping on a pair of sandals and setting her Kangaroo on her bed againt her pillows before grabbing her phone and slipping it into her small purse before throwing her purse over her body.
Connor hopped out of the bed heading to the door opening letting Carter walk through and then closing it behind them. They got into their common room both grabbing their masks that were hanging by the door slipping them on before leaving their common room and walking through the doom halls and. the million other hallways before walking down the staircase and walking out of the large building to the outside.
They walked for about five minutes before reaching their favorite street, a few of their favorite places they have found are all on this one street.
Connor helped open the door for Carter as they walked into the Cafe, “You go find a seat, and i’ll order.” Connor shook his head seeing Carter about to protest, “Nope it’s your birthday you’re not buying.”
Carter reluctantly nodded knowing Connor can be just as stubborn as her before walking away and going up the stairs in the cafe to the loft area, that has a small library in it.
The loft has Connor and Carter favorite spot, a small little booth and table in the corner right by the window with a pretty view of the city and the beach.
Carter and Connor found the cafe within the first week they were in Sweden and it’s become the place they like to hang out together, and where they end up doing their school work most days.
Carter sat down on her side of the bench looking towards the window, opening it and immediately getting hit with the smell of the fresh water from the beach close by, she was so focused looking outside she didn’t realize how much time had passed and Connor was already upstairs and setting their stuff on the table, gaining her attention.
“One Strawberry, Blueberry, Spinach, Peanut butter smoothie and a chocolate crossiant for the birthday girl.” Connor smiled sliding into his spot next to her, taking his mask off setting it on the table next to Carter’s who took her’s off already.
Carter smiled always touched that Connor always remembers her smoothie order, “Thank you. Chocolate crossiant?” She knew that wasn’t apart of their diet and usally Connor was the more strict of the two for following their diets.
Connor fondly rolled his eyes, “It’s your birthday.”
Carter just smiled at her best friend.
Carter never understood growing up how her brothers all had that one best friend that they were so insanely close with.
Carter doesn’t love making friends and has always been find with her brothers friends and her brothers but she met Connor and she understood.
Connor just snuck into her heart and she knows he has no plans to leave, not that she would want him to anyway.
Connor pulled out his phone, not loving having photos taken of him but he does like taking photos of and with Carter, enjoying looking at them later.
Connor snapped a photo of Carter smiling with her crossiant before holding the phone in front of them as Carter stuck her tongue out for the selfie and Connor silliy grinned at the camera.
Carter gently grabbed Connor’s face with her hand and squeezed his cheeks together with a big grin on her face as she looked at the camera and Connor looking at her.
Carter laughed with Connor as they looked at the photos together and they spilt the chocolate croissant.
Carter did miss her family that day but she ended up having an amazing birthday spending it with her best friend.
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charlotte-of-wales · 10 months
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Happy 3rd wedding anniversary to Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi!
The couple tied the knot privately on 17 July 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor. The couple are believed to have begun dating in September 2018, and their engagement was announced on 26 September 2019.
Beatrice's wedding dress was a remodelled Norman Hartnell dress that was lent by the Queen, and she wore the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara that was also worn by the Queen at her own wedding.
The couple has a daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born on 18 September 2021. Edoardo has a son - Christopher Woolf - from a previous relationship.
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helenazbmrskai · 2 years
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Radio Sweethearts (m)
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🎧Pairing – [Yoongi x Reader]
🎧Genre – [Brother’s Best Friend Au, Smut, Fluff, Angst, College Au, Slow Burn, Podcast Au]
🎧Summary – [Yoongi have always been your brother’s best friend. You grew up together it was natural that you’ve fallen for him. The question is – does he feels the same? Will he ever see you as more than just his friend’s little sister?]
🎧Warnings – [sibling fall out, age gap, smut: (grinding, oral (f+m), vaginal fingering, oral fixation, cunnilingus, good morning sex, cum play, cum eating, blowjob, handjob, protected sex, dirty talk, multiple orgasms, brief creampie kink mention)]
🎧Word Count – [17k+]
Author Note – This fic is from 2020! It took me a crazy amount of time to spell check and rewrite entire parts to be somewhat good. I hope you will enjoy this project I planned where I rewrite some old fic of mine.
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Menu: Masterlist l Be part of my permanent taglist to recieve a notification when I upload a new fic or send an ask!
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”Damn Hyung, I can’t believe you outsmarted me in Mario Cart!” Jimin’s yell of utter defeat sounded surprisingly deep, overpowering the annoying music that’s on repeat in the game – coming in contrast with his high pitch usual tone. Yoongi looks pleased with himself his smile is not washed away when Jimin childishly pokes his tongue out at him. Boys will be boys – you think.
The printed words on page 84 – which you’re almost at for thirty minutes without really getting the story to stick in your head – the words are blurring together as you couldn’t ignore the loud noises of your brother’s constant complaints mixing with Yoongi’s soft chuckles that filtered through the white noise and the computer’s constant buzzing with electricity.
As soon as you began to pick up the plot where you left off last night. You are desperately trying to concentrate and get through the whole book in one sitting but your room got ambushed by Jimin and his friend to play their stupid game. Your parents are out on a date and it’s not like your brother would listen to you if you asked him to play games at another time.
You’re eager to finish your mother’s favourite novel by this weekend and give her some feedback on it. The spine of the book seems well worn out from being read so many times by your mother and she excitedly lent you his most prized possession in terms of a materialistic sense when she discovered your newfound interest in reading. You found yourself hooked on the spot from reading the first few pages alone as you started it yesterday but you still have many pages to complete the story.
It seems to be an impossible task now with two loud boys in your baby pink hand-painted room. Your books are tossed to the side along with your barbie CDs as Jimin made room for their snacks that are now emptily scattered around on your desk – without asking for permission first of course.
”It’s not my fault you suck at this, am I?” Yoongi’s reply was almost inaudibly drained out which didn’t surprise you the slightest, taking into consideration how loudly the game’s music was bursting through the speakers and them trying to overpower the sounds with their voices and each other’s. A headache was already forming in the back of your head as you listen to them bicker.
They probably forgot about the fact that you’re in the same room as them.
”Did you practise without me? No way you’re that good! I demand a rematch!”
You lowered your book to rest it on your lap just in time to witness the exchange of how your brother moved an accusing finger in his best friend’s face who shot him an innocent look in return in the next getting offended by your brother’s accusation.
You watch with a disinterested look as they try to get each other into a headlock making the books on your table fall to the floor with a loud thud.
That’s it. This is where you draw the line when you’ve had enough of their antics, disturbing your room and peace.
”Why don’t you use the computer in your room Jimin? Why does it have to be my room you wreak havoc in?”
You’re using big girl words like havoc that Jimin doesn’t understand but he won’t let you make him be the dumb one in front of his older and cooler friend!
You butt in before the brotherly banter could carry on and disarray your room even more – that you undoubtedly will have to clean alone. Even if it wasn’t you who caused it. Your mother taught you to be the bigger person, that boys are growing up later than ladies but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make your blood boil when you have to let things go in favour to avoid another fight with your brother.
Disbelief dripping from your voice as you place the bookmark over the current page and close the book with more force than intended but that finally earns their full attention.
You doubt you can get things done while you have to listen to them shouting at each other over the loud-ass music that the game plays too many times than necessary so you get up from your bed.
”Because dumb-dumb, your computer is better than mine.” Your brother is ready to throw a tantrum. You knew he was jealous when you got a new computer even though dad tried to talk to him about that feeling jealous is bad for him and you. It just created more space between you.
He obviously still hangs on to the fact that you got a new computer and he hasn’t.
You roll your eyes listening to his childlike antics – he’s such a baby. Sometimes you wonder if he’s really the older one in this blood relation. He may have been born before you were, but you’re definitely the more mature one here. Yoongi sitting beside your brother witnessing your interaction – gives you an apologetic look once your eyes meet but you only let your gaze linger on his face for less than five seconds before you look away.
”Fine. Stay then but I’m leaving,” You say as you don’t find the will in yourself – or in the mood to start another meaningless quarrel with him – you rather choose the option to not put up with him since his friend is also here.
You don’t want to be the evil sibling who doesn’t know how to have fun.
”I’ll be in the living room if you guys need anything.” You stand up with your book tucked under your armpit – ready to get out. It wasn’t an invitation for him to give out demands. He does anyway.
”Bring up drinks if you go downstairs anyway!” That stupid boy doesn’t even look up to say the words to your face as he’s fidgeting with the settings before starting the game up again. Completely missing your face turning red from anger.
You let out a frustrated groan once you step out of the room letting your anger out when no one is looking. You take a deep breath as you descend the stairs. Deep breaths, it doesn’t worth it. You should be the bigger person! ”He’s only five years older.” You murmur under your nose while making your way down to the kitchen to get the stupid drinks.
The audacity your brother has! Huh! You want to dump the drinks on his head instead.
Ever since Jimin started high school following his best friend’s slash neighbour’s footsteps – Yoongi, who’s two years older than him and more mature and cooler than your brother will ever be in your eyes. Being his friend changed him. For the worst. You don’t blame your neighbour for it – you know that this change is because of the things Jimin believes to be true about himself. You’re too young to fully grasp what prompted this change you know that he didn’t have the best time in elementary. He lost weight but his self-esteem needs more time to build up again. He likes to act like the bullying didn’t affect him at all – when you know it’s not true. You heard him crying multiple times when his classmates called him fat, or a pig or ugly. He’s none of that. And instead of finding comfort in you, he decided to withdraw and completely shut you out.
You started to notice little changes in his behaviour at first. You talked less and less – caught him making up excuses to hang out with his other school friends shaking off all your attempts to ask about what’s wrong with him.
If you did something – but the truth was simple. Suddenly his sister was not cool enough to hang out with when he started to grow popular with the other kids. You even caught him sneaking out to go to a party even though he’s still underage!
You contemplate choosing between coke or sprite; standing in front of the fridge for a couple of minutes before coming up with your decision. Going with Yoongi’s favourite drink instead of Jimin’s. You can be pitiful too every once in a while. You stand on your tiptoes to get the glasses from the cupboard arranging them next to the bottle of sprite on the tray.
”I got the drinks.” You try to capture their attention again as you enter your room by placing the tray on the desk. They’re still immersed in the game – Jimin trying hard to win even if Yoongi’s character is way ahead of him in the race. The chocolate wraps scattered on the surface make you grit your teeth in silent anger that you will have to clean your room again.
You’re shaken out of your fuming thoughts when your eyes lock with your neighbour. ”Thank you Y/N.” Yoongi’s polite reply makes a little smile appear in the corner of your mouth, his voice is soothing and deep naturally as puberty hit him hard, but it soon turns into a deep frown as Jimin doesn’t even acknowledge you – instead he has the audacity to whine that you didn’t bring up his favourite drink for him when he sees the sprite on the tray.
”Asshole.” You spew profanities in your head.
You didn’t intend to say your thoughts out loud but you realise the slip of your tongue too late as both Yoongi and Jimin turn to you abandoning their game to look at you with big eyes almost falling out of their sockets. Surprised to hear such vulgar words leaving your mouth.
”W- Who taught you that word? Little girls like you shouldn’t speak like that Y/N.”
The comical way Jimin’s eyes widen and stutter with his words almost makes you laugh in his face (his words struck a chord in you) but you restrain yourself to just simply glare at him. You want to see how he would react if you told him you learned it from the porn videos he forgot to delete on his laptop. You were perplexed when you found his mature movie collection after you borrowed his laptop to finish a school project since your computer gave out – that’s why you got a new one that Jimin got jealous of.
”I’m not a little girl anymore if you haven’t noticed. I’m not five years old anymore and as far as I know, you are not five too so can you please stop whining like you are still in elementary school.”
Jimin seems embarrassed as you blow up – you know that your words hurt him but you couldn’t care less at the moment. It feels good to let all the pent-up frustration out. Your brother’s pride is hurt since his friend is in the middle of this argument and normally you wouldn’t humiliate him like that but enough is enough.
There’s a weird change in your relationship and you’re not used to getting so worked up by Jimin’s antics. He’s supposed to be your partner in crime! You considered your relationship to be fairly close when you were younger. You used to build pillow forts together and talk about the people you liked and disliked.
You don’t know what happened but you’re tired of trying. You muster up your meanest glare before you look away matching his heated gaze and Yoongi is caught in the middle unsure what to do to resolve the sudden tension in the room where both of you are at fault.
If he will be like this then you can change too. You storm out without saying sorry – and you don’t intend to apologise ever. He hurt you too! He never apologised either why should you? You’re not going to be the first to bend to his will anymore and whilst things between you only went downhill after that night – neither of you did anything to stop it. Both of you are too young to understand how it will negatively affect your relationship in the future. If you will regret letting it come to that – or not. Later realising that family is important.
Jimin was about to graduate the year you entered high school. Couldn’t ask for better timing as you didn’t have to deal with his reputation for too long. You were excited to become a freshman – be a big girl and start making your own decisions, prepare for college – but still nothing much changed regarding your relationship with your pompous brother. You had your own friend group and lived in the moment. There were good and bad days. This is how life works.
You two seemed to be drifting further and further apart as you got caught up in your separate lives. Mostly see each other at family dinners.
His friendship with your neighbour grows at the expanse despite the distance. Yoongi finished his studies before either of you did as he’s older than you. The memory is still vivid in your mind when you attended his graduation with Jimin. Your families always liked each other so it was given you attend.
You remember how sad Jimin looked but Yoongi cheered him up making him seal a pinky promise to meet again in College just how they always planned it.
It would be a lie if you said you were never envious of what Yoongi and your brother had.
Remembering the times when it was you who he told everything to and laughed about anything and nothing. They seemed to think alike and always had tons of fun leaving you out. You were jealous of that too. You were young and stupid just like Jimin. You let your frustration out on him when you were wondering behind the scenes – what can Yoongi give him that you can’t, why he doesn’t seem to like your company as much as his. You tormented yourself with these questions for a long time before you learnt to let go.
Even when Yoongi went to College they still talked – significantly less – as Yoongi had so much to do and Jimin was studying hard too to get into the same college as his friend but their friendship never wavered and you envied what they had.
High school was a fresh start for you. You finally realised once Jimin graduated and you were left alone in your small fishing town for the first time – not following your brother’s footsteps. Not seeing your brother or Yoongi for the first time in your daily life came with a lot of realisation on your part. How childish you both were. How in the end blaming the other one for drifting apart is pointless. You fixed your gaze on their backs for so long that you never thought about what you wanted. Blinded by the road they walked on before you. They used to babysit you on many occasions when your parents worked night shifts, you were around them constantly from a young age and throughout the time you fixed on them you watched as both Yoongi and Jimin got older, matured over time and their features became more defined and look more as a man than a boy. They were your role models as you didn’t know better. They were always just there.
They experienced your first period with you. Your mother was out of the house that day so you had no one else besides your brother to ask to buy you pads. You can easily recall even after many years how heated your face was with embarrassment as you told him you got your very first period.
He rushed to the convenience store for you like a headless chicken, leaving Yoongi by your awkward side. He gave you painkillers and rubbed your belly to ease the pain you felt. He reacted less awkwardly to the situation as he was more mature than Jimin at that time and knew more about a girl’s body. He felt like a second brother to you until the year of his graduation.
Then. Everything’s changed.
Yoongi was very thin back then and lanky. You knew that his family had struggles with money because you overheard when your parents conversed that Yoongi’s father lost his job at the company he worked for so their income was cut short. Yoongi often had to save his money to spend it on transportation rather than buying his lunch at the cafeteria as he didn’t want to ask for more money.
Hearing the concerning news you wanted to do something for him, so you woke up extra early to make sandwiches for him so he could eat something during the day. You knew that he always comes early to pick your brother up – waking up before Jimin so your mother lets him in as he waits for your brother to get ready for school and Jimin is sometimes worse than a girl if you consider the time he needs to get ready that you had plenty of time to give Yoongi the lunch you prepared without your brother suspecting anything.
Your master plan was perfect. At first, he was surprised by your kindness he always thought you didn’t like him because, in theory, he took your brother away from you but you never hated Yoongi for that. Knowing about his family’s situation he tried to bashfully decline your offer to make him food so he doesn’t need to buy them with his money. However, you successfully roped him into accepting it as you threatened to tell Jimin about it knowing that he would have made a much larger deal about this than you are. So you started to wake up early to make little sandwiches for him and sometimes he even showed up earlier sitting down and talking with you as you were making him food.
Due to quiet mornings careful not to wake up the house you whispered a lot into each other’s ears.
These mornings continued for a whole year as you visibly grew closer being able to spend some time together without the presence of your brother you started to get what Jimin liked about him as you too wanted to spend more time around him.
There were conversations filled with jokes and other’s were filled with serious talk about the future, getting to know him better you realised that despite how responsible and mature he appears to be on the outside he’s struggling with finding his way, growing up doesn’t seem so appealing after learning the ups and downs.
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Things started to change in your dynamics when you reached your last year at high school. You met with nice people along the way and did various things – you felt ready to go to college. And what’s a better ending for the year? To get buzzed at a house party in your friend’s opinion.
”Fuck, that tastes like my hand sanitiser.” Yuck. Yeah, you’re not going to drink all of that. You purse your lips tasting the alcohol on your tongue for the first time in a while. You feel the liquid burning your oesophagus all the way down as you swallow the hard liquor.
You resisted the temptation of alcohol and drunk parties because you wanted to study hard to get into a good college after high school. You weren’t even supposed to be here tonight but Eunbi convinced you that there’s no better occasion to drink than the fact that you will finish your studies in less than twenty-four hours. You had to agree.
The last chance to party like a class. A very drunk class.
Your opposition weakened as more and more alcohol got into your system and the party started to get louder – your earlier sentence that you will not stay for long as the graduation ceremony will be held tomorrow morning the idea retreated to the back of your head as your mind got clouded with the booze taking its effect. This is the last time you could spend time with your classmates and everyone seems to have fun, why shouldn’t you do the same?
”Oh my god! Y/N, don’t look, but I think Hongbin is checking you out right now at two o’clock.”
Eunbi squeals as she presents you with her observation grabbing your hand with a grip that almost makes you spill the entirety of your drink onto the floor if It wasn’t for your fast reflexes to reangle the cup before it could come to that. You shake your head at her drunken antics.
You cough when the drink goes down the wrong pipe. ”What is he even doing here? Wasn’t he Jimin’s classmate?” You turn your head to take a glance in the direction she was looking when she painfully squeezes your cheeks to keep your head from turning.
”No! I told you to not look!”
”Ahem. Anyway. I heard that Kyungmin invited him but I thought he was kidding.” She was speaking to the air behind you as she was still eying the boy up and down. Freeing yourself from her grip you step back cautiously trying to prevent her from reaching you if she perhaps decides to try that move again. Her nails digging into your cheek hurt like a bitch.
”He may be looking this way but there are others around us so it doesn’t mean he’s looking at me. How do you know he’s not looking at you?” You take a big sip from your drink – want to desperately forget about boys for a moment – getting better at making a straight face while consuming it so you’re proud of yourself. It either means you’re getting used to the burning taste or you probably should stop drinking before you get so drunk you can’t remember your name and have to ask your brother for a ride home. Brr. Anything but that! You would rather walk all the way home.
Summoning the devil, you sigh when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket.
You pass your solo cup to your friend – shoving it into her chest to hold it for you while you fish out your phone that keeps vibrating inside your jeans. You’re getting tired of it no matter how much you tried ignoring it. You have to blink a couple of times to keep the letters from coalescing as you read the messages.
All of them are sent by your brother. Typical.
You take a look at the words before locking your phone again without typing out an answer. Eunbi sees the way you roll your eyes even though the kitchen you are currently standing in is dimly lit with disco lights running all over the place.
”Was it your brother again?” She guesses, and she’s absolutely right. She should go and buy a lottery ticket. You snicker sarcastically.
You told mom before you left where you were heading and who you’re going with and she didn’t say much to that – only encouraged you to have fun but be careful knowing that it’s going to be your first ever party and someone might try to take advantage of you if you’re not being careful.
This party is long overdue.
Jimin went to his first party when he was sixteen and he still thinks that mom doesn’t know about that little sneak out and you’re 19 and as Eunbi phrased it, it’s the only time you could drink with your soon-to-be ex-classmates for the last time before everyone scatters around the world choosing different cities to get a degree or some starting work immediately after postgrad.
”He asked when I will arrive home.” You retell the content of his message for her knowing that she’s dying to hear it and it earns giggles from Eunbi, she had a huge crush on your brother when you were freshmen but she got over him for the most part. ”That’s very nice of him.” She beams and you roll your eyes at how obviously she’s acting. The alcohol truly is liquid truth.
”Nice of him my ass. He never cared before what I was doing so he doesn’t get to start now.”
You grit your teeth together in annoyance. A few messages from him won’t make up for the lost times that he ignored you during his high school years or even before that. A how have you been and birthday wishes won’t change that you two drifted apart. Away from family may have triggered his sudden change of heart but you won’t swoon over some half-hearted messages when he’s not making a real effort to fix your broken relationship to stand on the pillars where it stood as you were kids.
He should have thought about the consequences before you prominently drifted apart. Young or not. It feels like you barely know your brother anymore. So many years passed by without talking to each other. Really talking and not just pleasantries on holidays.
”So you won’t reply?” She nudges the hand that held the phone prior, and you shake your head in response.
You were thinking about getting home before midnight but after receiving the texts from him you want to make him worry a little and actually stay here longer than you originally planned. It feels like you two are bringing the worst out of each other. It feels like you’re a little girl again having her pity party. It’s also surprising he’s still up as he must be tired from the car ride all the way here from Seoul. Only here to attend your graduation that’s tomorrow.
”It’s nice of them to come back just to see you graduate.” Eunbi presses the matter, and it turns the channel of your thoughts into the direction where you wouldn’t want them to wander. What you’ve been trying to avoid all night.
To think about Yoongi coming back.
”You’re just saying that because you have a fat crush on my brother and you’re happy you will see him tomorrow.” You wriggle your eyebrows knowingly, and you swear you could see a faint blush creeping up her neck and spreading to make her cheeks appear in a bold red colour. Stuttering when she tries to deny it. She’s actually cute. She deserves better.
”What about you and Yoongi? Are you guys still texting?” Eunbi turns the question around and it’s your cue this time to blush at the mention of his name. Right, the texts.
Jimin doesn’t know that you’re talking to Yoongi, mostly over texts but sometimes you give each other a call if something big happens – it’s not shocking because you rarely text Jimin you mostly exchange birthday wishes and that’s all – but Yoongi talks with him daily so besides that it’s weird he doesn’t know. You have no idea why he’s keeping this a secret from your brother. Not that you expect him to bring it up casually in a conversation as you are not doing anything wrong but text each other so the chances that Jimin didn’t see your name pop up on his screen is almost close to zero. It’s not like you guys are flirting behind his back.
”He didn’t text me today he’s probably tired from packing and coming back, or he’s playing games with my brother. I don’t know.”
Eunbi hums knowingly and you dismiss her suggestive eyes narrowing down on you when you present the face that says it’s no big of a deal. But deep down you’re filled with nerves.
She sees right through you as a best friend should. Knowing fully well that you’re overthinking again, anxious to meet him after so many texts but no face-to-face interaction. The other concern that is plaguing your mind is that you wonder how he’ll act in front of your brother when the three of you get trapped in the same space. Will he be platonically friendly with you like when you were younger? Or he’ll ignore you altogether? You’re afraid to find out which scenario will become a reality tomorrow at your graduation.
-
Your cheeks heat up in embarrassment when you got called out for being at the top of all of your classes. For a moment you were afraid they forgot about you as they choose you as the last person to receive your honours.
You worked hard for your grades so some part of you felt proud because of your achievements but standing in front of a bunch of people knowing that there’s Min Yoongi among the crowd somewhere and hearing the high praises about you renders you into a blushing mess. Not a fan of the limelight.
Throughout your high school years, your grades were always average – not bad but not particularly good either because you were always lazy. You only decided for the last year to work extra hard so you won’t have to be nervous that you won’t meet the requirements of many universities in the area.
You were afraid of not getting accepted and disappointing your family. You only told your mother yesterday which colleges you decided to apply to.
Toying with the edge of your skirt you felt on edge as minutes ticked by and you were getting closer to the end of the ceremony where the flowers will be handed to you.
”I can’t believe my last baby graduated too. Time flies by so fast.” Your mother was the first one to approach your form caging your body into a bone-crushing hug and you hugged her back with the same vehemence. You can see the happy tears shining in her eyes that make you sentimental. Her familiar scent washes over you. You parted from your mother and your dad handed you the bouquet and planted a kiss on your right cheek congratulating you timidly but nonetheless proud of you. You smile back. They show love differently but you know they love you all the same and that’s the only thing that matters in the end. Family is important.
”Mom, what did I tell you about crying at my graduation?” You scolded her lightheartedly but you still smiled at her, not angry at all. It was expected, she cried so hard on Jimin’s graduation.
”Crying? Who’s crying? It’s just that something got into my eyes.” She makes up the least believable lie that makes everyone laugh out loud in your small circle of family.
It’s nice, you feel yourself relaxing as you’re surrounded by your immediate family.
”Congratulation Sis, you got me shocked. The top of the class, huh?”
Letting him envelop you into a loose hug was the weirdest experience in your life you patted his back awkwardly not used to the physical contact he initiated. The light teasing reminded you of the old times so it eases some of the tension you felt building up in your muscles and you managed a genuine smile.
”Thanks for believing I was stupid.” You retort back out of habit, but he doesn’t seem to mind your bratty response as he lets out his signature high-pitched chuckle at your comment.
Only one person is missing. You look behind Jimin searching for Yoongi’s eyes in the crowd, the only person who didn’t congratulate you yet, that you were the most excited and most scared about. You don’t have to wait for long before he appears and your heart hammers away in your chest when he smiles upon seeing you look for him so eagerly.
Once you meet gazes he speaks up. ”Congrats Y/N.”
Mirroring his big smile you let him scoop you up from the safety of the ground and twirl you around with a small chuckle coming from the both of you. You internally squeal. He’s gotten stronger, you can feel his muscles shift against you.
”Thanks Yoongi.” You whisper the words intimately into the space between your bodies but he hears you all the same given how close you are due to the shared hug still not broken apart.
You take a deep breath letting his scent overrule your senses – he may have changed his cologne over the years of knowing him but his different scent never discouraged you, it’s still so unapologetically Yoongi that you could inhale it all night and still have the same calming effect.
”You look beautiful by the way.” He whispered cheekily into your ear for only you to hear – the words were lost in the crowd. Yoongi let his head weight down onto your shoulder to keep the hug comfortable and you welcomed his embrace. It felt right to be in his arms again after so long. Hugs from him were rare even when you were younger but you cherish all of them because you know Yoongi never does something without intent.
The moment, however, soon gets disturbed by someone butting in. ”Ahem,” When Jimin clears his throat behind you urging you two to break the hug you give him an eye roll. Not sure if he’s trying to protect you from Yoongi or all the way around. Your brother destroyed your momentary illusion – again.
-
”How should I cut these?” You pointed in the direction of the vegetables laid out on the counter in front of you on the cutting board, already cleaned and pealed.
The music playing from Yoongi’s phone is relaxing as you cook together after an exhausting day. You’ve been both under a mountain of stress and assignments from college so it’s been a while since you could hang out like this. You missed him a lot.
Yoongi paused what he was doing so that he could take a look at what you were pointing at with your hand.
His lips curled into a pout of concentration you always found cute. He sometimes talked in a pout that was adorable too. ”Huh?” You looked up with a confused expression realising that you were looking at his lips zoning out instead of listening – you saw how his pink lips moved while forming the words but you didn’t hear anything he said.
”I said cut the carrots in half and then cut them into thin slices.” An amused smile stretched across his lips whilst he repeated his instructions, but you turned your head back facing the vegetables to not get distracted again by his good looks as you nodded along this time clearly hearing him.
You started to chop the carrots first while Yoongi turned back to tend to the stew on the stove. You work on separate things for a while in comfortable silence, only the occasional stir of liquid or the knife in your hand making noises besides the music as it meets with the cutting board in fluid and practised motions.
You watched your mom a lot while she was cooking for the family so you weren’t lost in the kitchen per se – but you loved pretending that you don’t know how to make certain meals for the sake of getting lessons from Yoongi who is an excellent cook himself. At first, it was just an excuse to spend time with him but later on, it became your thing to do together.
You have radio sweethearts but it’s more like work – it’s fun to listen to him talk about different topics and hear his side of things. The recordings are always fun but quality time like this is what you think is the most fun to do with him.
He learned it from his brother as you got to know one time the topic came up but on the other hand, he had to take it more seriously when he was living alone in his first year of college. Not having the benefit of getting home from school to a homemade meal waiting for him unless he made it beforehand.
He often cooked to release some steam. No pun intended.
He later moved in with some friends he met in college and later Jimin moved in with them as he got accepted. You were introduced to the whole group later when you started to attend college as well. They’re all nice people and you liked them all – unlike some of Jimin’s high school friends.
They are living in a fairly big house rented from an elderly couple who live the next town over. Seven boys under one roof is a bit chaotic and some might think it will never work out but they make it work and were able to form a fascinating group mixed in terms of age and interest as well.
Yoongi decided to change majors after two years of pursuing something he wasn’t sure of and it meant that despite him starting this process before you did you got the chance of spending some years with him around campus before he graduated.
Some of his friends including your brother are still in college while others already got their degrees.
The front door suddenly slamming shut awakened you from your daydreaming.
The loud sound of the lock clicking into place made you jump up in surprise resulting in nearly chopping your fingers off by accident. You let out a string of curses.
”Finally home, I thought this day will never end.” Picking up Jimin’s voice from the living room you knew he was coming even before he ducked his head into the kitchen.
Jimin’s dirty blond hair styled in curls makes him look like an actual puppy the girls love it – shaking his head from right to left trying to exercise his numb neck he drops his bag from his shoulder and lets it fall to the ground with a big thud.
He’s dropping by the kitchen for a short minute to greet you and Yoongi before he makes his way into his room with quick steps.
-
Interacting with your brother without arguing all the time got better with time when you decided to attend the same college and you were forced to see him more often.
There are still plenty of things left to fix between you but you see him try harder than before to be a better brother to you. You promised Yoongi you’ll go easy on him since he’s trying. Things won’t go back to the way it was before but you’re welcoming this new change in his behaviour. He’s trying at least and you appreciate it even if you don’t say it out loud.
”Wanna watch a movie after we’re finished?” Yoongi asks while dropping the vegetables into the soup that you just cut. No longer having any task to carry out you step beside his much larger form to observe him season the dish – you lean against the counter as you watch him stir and add more stuff to the mixture.
”Sure.” You say, accepting the soy sauce from his hands to put it away and help him clean up. Lunch is almost ready.
You go to call the others.
-
You take one side of the earphones out of your ears as you stand in front of the rented Studio blowing some hot breath into your freezing fingers as you wait.
You knock impatiently as you move your weight from leg to leg, your limbs feel frozen as you walked in the cold. Your lecture ended pretty late because the professor kept rambling on and it meant you were running late and you missed the bus so you had to walk from your dorm room to here.
Yoongi was wearing a black turtle neck jumper with some blue jeans when he opened the door for you, his parted hair almost long enough to reach the bottom of his ear, as always, he looks good as he stands in the doorway taking in your slightly shaking form.
”Are you cold?” His voice is laced with concern while he runs his hands up and down the length of your arms on both sides to warm you up with friction. Your body heats up but not for the same reason he thinks as your pulse picks up from his proximity.
You nod obediently scooting closer to his frame searching for his heat. You shouldn’t have listened to today’s weather forecast and left your scarf at home.
But you can’t complain as it presented you with the perfect opportunity to be in your friend’s arms. Your brother’s best friend’s arms who you’re secretly in love with. Ever since you were a high schooler – but act natural!
Draping an arm over your shoulder Yoongi beckons you to move further away from the door as he closes it after you. Your cheeks and nose resemble a rosy red colour from the wind’s harsh blowing even though you felt cold – you still decided to get rid of your jacket and let the article hang on the arm of the chair.
The studio has a portable heater so you’ll be warm in no time.
”Ready?” You hope your voice rightfully conveys your excitement – today’s topic is love and you can’t wait to discuss the questions your other teammates put together for you – despite how you need to physically hold yourself back from giving in to the clashing of your teeth.
You wrap your fingers around the solo cup that contains a steaming hot coffee it’s probably Yoongi’s fill for the day from his favourite cafe place but you’re sure he won’t mind you using it as a handwarmer for a bit.
”Let’s check the script before we start.” The boy sitting next to you suggests and you nod in agreement. You’re professionals. Placing the coffee down as your fingers started to warm up the temptation to take a sip is too great so you let go.
As if reading your thoughts Yoongi holds it up for you to take again with a small gummy smile. ”Drink up, it’s yours. I already finished mine.” Sensing the dilemma you were having – Yoongi urges you to drink the coffee whilst it’s hot and you accept it gladly, with your free hand you pull up the document your team came up with last week when you had the meeting about the future content of radio sweethearts. You were distracted by Yoongi’s attire so don’t remember in detail what you discussed – it seemed like he was going on a date but you were too chicken to ask if it was true. It put a damp in your mood for the entire evening.
The podcast was originally Namjoon and Yoongi’s idea and the name they had in mind was far from radio sweethearts if you remember correctly it didn’t really have a name yet – the title only contained numbers generated by the computer itself when they aired their first attempt.
Nana a new addition to your friend’s group and you joined in later as hosts.
They started with minimal equipment and experience in this field – doing it to only have fun – the recordings didn’t bring much success in the first couple of episodes that’s when they joined heads and attempted to make the podcast more interesting so more people will listen to them.
They wanted to talk about various topics while still delivering good music in between discussions. They didn’t want to focus on only one thing.
They wanted to put together a wide range of programs where all students in your college could find something that interested them. They were not driven by popular opinions all they wanted is to give young ones – who are still in the process of figuring out their lives – something that could benefit them all in all aspects of life.
Take a little load off their shoulders with funny topics. The goal they had in mind was that students can relax while listening to the podcast and have fun, the program plan they came up with was manifold – starting from open hours where students have the opportunity to ask for advice on the many topics that have been discussed by the hosts day by day.
Nana and you immediately fell in love with the idea. It was actually her who came up with the concept that we should pair up and take turns in recording stuff.
It allowed you to catch up with schoolwork as you only needed to record once every two weeks but the main reason was that the representatives of both sexes may listen so why not make a duo consisting of a girl and a boy to meet everyone’s needs.
It helps with the topic discussions as boys cannot speak in the girls’ place and vice versa.
The pairings were obvious from the start since you and Yoongi gravitated toward each other naturally. Namjoon and Nana are a perfect match as well – usually, they are the ones who like to talk about love life and they even came up with a special feature on Fridays that anonymously you can confess to a loved one by sending in a love letter. It has been a huge success.
Yoongi and you, on the other hand, often discuss heavier topics – like mental illness or burnout to let the listeners know that they are not alone because when you are dealing with your struggles you often forget the fact that someone else might be struggling with the same things and whilst it doesn’t help you with your problem it’s good to know you’re not alone. Some discussions are heavier – some are lighter and today it’s the latter. You’re in the mood for a funny and lighthearted conversation.
The recordings with Yoongi always go smoothly. It could be because these talks remind you of when you were younger and chit-chatted about different things in the kitchen. Always feels natural to share your thoughts with him and he’s relaxed in your presence as well. You think this is why you make a great team.
Taking the first sip out of the cup the rich texture and delicious sweet caffein melted your downcasted mood – the coffee got the job done by warming your insides. While Yoongi took care of the heat of your cheeks by leaning in close to see the script.
”How about we switch this part.” You thought aloud – leaning forward in your chair. Trying to act like his closeness doesn’t affect you but you push your thighs together under the table in nervous jitters. ”Let’s talk about the holiday and foods first to set the mood for the winter break.” Yoongi hums considering your suggestion. Going with what you suggested in the end, changing the outline to favour your idea clicking and typing away on the computer scanning the outline. You can’t help but look at his hands flying across the keyboard the veins producing from the skin as he moves them expertly.
You push that thought away before it can affect you and you decide it’s best if you concentrate on your tasks.
After you’ve finished fixing the minor changes in the plot Yoongi checks the equipment as you test the mics that they turn on alright and start the prerecording soon after. The chair squeaks as he leans back to take up a comfortable position – hard in work mode – again fixing your mics and testing if your voices are not lumpy before starting. You always thought he’s sexy when he’s concentrating on something. You can see the passion in his eyes when he does the things he likes and you can’t get enough of his visuals.
”Welcome back everyone. My name’s Yoongi and as expected, Y/N and I are back with a new episode of Radio Sweethearts.” The smirk only you can see sends you to heaven you can’t help but smile back. It’s showtime.
-
Surrounded by mostly boys sometimes even you forget that you’re a girl. You like to paint your nails and you have a fascination with sparkly and cute stuff. Glitter yes. Pink – is not your thing but baby pink is acceptable. If there’s one thing you hate as a girl is shopping for stuff. Not to say – gift shopping. Your biggest nightmare is that you have to think about what the other person might like or doesn’t like. You were never good at gift shopping. Jimin’s birthday is just around the corner and you’re out of ideas on what to get him. In other words, you’re screwed.
He doesn’t need any more clothes – he has too much already that he even gave you some as he stated he won’t wear them anymore so here you have it use it for sleepwear or whatever giving him a book would be pointless as he’s barely reading his textbooks.
You ponder if you should just go the easy way and get him some new video game or a useful electronic gadget as he seems to be interested in making music with Jungkook these days but it would be too impersonal. You look for your wallet in your bag to check how much can you even afford for his gift when you bump into a hard chest on your way to the first shop you’ve seen from afar. You let out a small ouch when your nose collides with a chest and you rub it once you get some distance in between you and the stranger before you look up.
”Sorry I wasn’t looking where I was – going.” You haven’t seen this handsome stranger before but the city is big and you’re not very outgoing.
The first thing you see is that he has a lot of tattoos even more than Jungkook and he has a lip piercing and one on his nose.
”I wasn’t paying attention either. No worries.” The stranger strokes the back of his neck after he asks if your nose is alright, his smile is cute and dimpled.
You dismiss his concerns shyly, fuck this is awkward. He’s not scary at all even though he could be the lead vocalist of a punk group band for all you know. He looks like a charmer and only a bit scary when he smirks at your timid behaviour. Your eyes go to his lips as he bites his lip ring.
”Would I be too forward if I were to ask for your number?” You were not expecting that and your eyes widen in response. Yes – he’s handsome but you’re not exactly ready to date.
”I- I don’t even know your name.” You’re speechless. You look to the side – looking for an escape route before you make this situation even more awkward. You didn’t think he would try to hit on you!
”Where are my manners my name is Horo. Have you heard of bleeding butterflies before? It’s my band’s name. We’re having a show at the local bar tonight. I would be happy to see you there sweetheart.” And then he winks. Oh my. You’re in trouble.
The name doesn’t ring any bell even if the guy seems confident that it would change your mind and suddenly worship the ground he’s walking on.
You avoid eye contact looking around in case you would see a familiar face. You know you should say no, he would probably understand and don’t try to pursue you but you can’t seem to will yourself to do it. Relief washes over you when you spot Yoongi’s black hair in the crowd but that smile soon freezes on your face when you see a hand attached to him. They are not holding hands but her hand is looped in his. A hand that belongs to a woman around his age in formal office wear – looking like a couple out shopping. He laughs at something she says when suddenly your eyes meet and you look away in panic. The only thing you can look at is the guy’s expectant face.
”I will think about it.” You offer him a smile – not in the mood to shop anymore and risk seeing Yoongi with his date. You go and hide in the lady's bathroom.
Horo only let you go after you took the paper he handed to you with his number on it asking you to call him if you decide to go to the show and you nodded with no further promises. Your heart is already taken by someone else – and you’re not ready to let this feeling go anytime soon. Even if you have to suffer seeing Yoongi with another woman. Because you’re selfish. You want him to be happy but you want him to be happy with you and it makes you feel like you’re a bad friend.
You open a bottle of wine at home momentarily forgetting about Jimin’s upcoming birthday and Horo and the gift shopping you didn’t do as you gulp down the content of your glass in your dark apartment. Wallowing in self-pity.
-
”Oh, Yoongi what are you doing here?” You shouldn’t be as surprised as you are to see him. You were ignoring his texts and not answering his calls – you should have expected him to come and check up on you.
You’re forced to look up because of your closeness, him a few heads taller than you so you have to tilt your head back a little to see his face fully as a deep frown climbs its way up to his features. You look dishevelled, your hair is a bird's nest and there are big circles under your eyes. Every sign shows your distress and Yoongi is concerned. He’s sizing your body up silently from the tip of your sockless toes and bare legs to the outworn black t-shirt that you were sleeping in – a new addition to your collection from your brother. Just an old band t-shirt with a faded logo.
You were not bothering to change as you weren’t going to leave the house for a while so his unannounced arrival was, to say the least – caught you off guard.
”You didn’t answer any of my texts or calls. I was worried. Did something happen? Are you alright?”
You know he probably noticed that you didn’t invite him in like you usually do. You didn’t hug him and you always hug him when you’re upset and he pretends that he doesn’t like it when internally he’s smiling – you’re not following tradition. It makes his suspicions justified that it connects to him – and you’re acting strange because of something he did. He just has to figure out what so he can fix it. He doesn’t like to see you like this.
”It’s not the best time Yoongi – I’ll text you later, okay?”
You sound tired which makes him more determined. He could tell that you want to be alone and it’s your subtle way of telling him to back off but he’s not letting you off the hook. Yoongi slips his feet between the door before you could close it – knowing you well enough that you won’t call or text you just wanted him to be gone by offering an empty promise. He knows all your tactics by now. He’s getting frustrated that something is clearly on your mind but you try to avoid the conversation. What is it that you can’t tell him? You’ve always come to him when you had problems. Why now you decide not to? The suspense makes him go crazy as he awaits your next move.
Half expecting you to shut the door on his face anyway but instead, you sigh and open the door wide enough for him to slip inside the comfort of your home.
His gaze fixates on the pictures on your wall – it’s you with friends and family and a few of them just of the two of you.
You’re not ready for this conversation but Yoongi doesn’t give you much choice.
”No you won’t. You are avoiding me and I just want to know why.”
His gaze turns pleading as he desperately tries to keep your eye contact – hoping that he can read something from them but to no avail. He wants to know why you’re acting so strange when everything was fine the last time you saw each other and now suddenly you don’t want to do anything with him and go as far as to lie to his face.
You’re confusing him even if the answer should be obvious from a bird's view.
He caught your gaze at the mall but you disappeared so suddenly that he wasn’t so sure it was you in the end. It could have been just someone who looked similar to you.
Seeing him with a woman on a date made you feel like you were back at high school protecting a stupid crush as a teenager. It’s been a while since Yoongi had a girlfriend so you didn’t have to confront your feelings. You should start – as this time is good as any. You can’t run away from your feelings forever and dismissing them was not doing you any good. Or your friendship with Yoongi. You know that this will eventually tear it apart if you keep it bottled up inside.
You never pictured a world where you were not standing beside Yoongi and Jimin on either side of you.
It’s a tough decision that has to be done if you want your friendship to last. You need some time apart.
”I think we need some time apart.” Your words are sudden and it makes Yoongi realise the problem is a lot bigger than he originally thought. This thing you’re not telling him runs deeper. You look sad but determined and Yoongi is afraid if he lets you go if he accepts – you might never come back. He refuses to let you go without a fight. He’s not the best with words but you surely know how important you are to him right? Was he not forward enough? Did you think he didn’t see you as a friend? That you’re just his best friend’s little sister? Yet – you’re so much more than that to him.
It even scares him sometimes.
”W –,” It’s the first time he’s completely lost for words to say – his pupils dilated in shock – as he steps back from the sheer absurdness of your behaviour. ”What? What’s that supposed to mean? No. We don’t need time apart. All you need to do is to talk to me and we can fix the problem together. Like we always do.”
Yoongi startles you by grabbing your hand as if he was afraid you will disappear into thin air in your own apartment. He’s not hot-headed but your behaviour throws him off.
He holds you like his life is depending on it and your heart aches – you don’t like seeing him so lost and helpless. He doesn’t know what to say or do to make this right and that terrifies him.
”You can’t fix my feelings Yoongi. Let me just think okay? I just need some time alone. Can you leave please?” You don’t want this to be harder than it already is but Yoongi is not letting you go. The gesture makes your heart flutter even if you tell yourself you shouldn’t react that way if you want to salvage your friendship.
Pulling your hand away felt wrong and you hated every second of it but it was a necessary moment of pain that you need to endure. It had to be done. Friends shouldn’t be jealous when they see their friend with another woman.
Even in high school, you were holding onto a sliver of hope that someday Yoongi will look at you the same way you look at him. You rejected a couple of boys who wanted to date you and lied to your friends that you’re just not interested in men yet. You focused on school instead.
You achieved your goal – you’re living in the same city going to the same college – got closer with time, you do things together without your brother and you know a lot about him, that you could fight Jimin for the title of his best friend.
But being his friend doesn’t seem to be enough. You want more than just platonic friendship. You want to hold his hand, kiss him and tell him that you love him. You want him to call you his girlfriend when he introduces you to new people.
He would be probably shocked to hear you say that out loud. You always thought that you were out of his league. You’re seven years younger – a girl with little to no experience whilst he’s probably looking for a woman who already has a stable career and she’s ready to start their life.
Your brother wouldn’t approve – he will think you’re trying to steal his best friend away from him.
You don’t want things to get awkward and that means you need to take a step back. Not sure if a confession now would do you any good at this point.
”I’m not leaving when you’re like this. Not until you tell me what’s gotten into you.”
His frown deepens when you refuse to meet his eyes.
This is not how you face problems. Not with him. You spent many late nights talking facing the wall with Yoongi laying beside you on your bed. The atmosphere surrounding you is different. It’s suffocating you both.
”We are friends right?” The question itself would be a simple one if your feelings weren’t so complicated and all over the place. Yoongi is confused – it shouldn't even be a question in his opinion.
The answer comes fast. ”Of course we are friends.” Yoongi watches you and tries to read your body language.
”Well that means I can’t tell you, friends shouldn’t say things like that.” Your focus is on a little crack on the wall avoiding his eyes makes the talking easier.
A tiny light appears at the end of the tunnel that seems to spark recognition in him but it soon fades as he quickly dismisses the possibility.
”What’s that supposed to mean? Tell me Y/N.” Yoongi grabs your shoulders in a last desperate attempt to make you look at him tired of you keep beating around the bush without saying anything. He wishes you could just say it.
”I shouldn’t be in love with you but I am.”
”I’ve liked you for years and when the other day I saw you with that beautiful woman- it looked like you’re on a date and I got jealous. I’m sorry.”
Words spill out after you start.
”Y- You love me?” Yoongi can’t seem to process it, the confession genuinely seems to surprise him and makes you feel more disappointed – that the idea didn’t even cross his mind.
Yoongi is quick to grab your forearm to stop you from moving away in shame. You want the ground to swallow you whole to save you from his rejection. He just needs a minute to think about this. He’s not rejecting you but it looks like it to you.
”No don’t go! Wait.” He panics eyes large and observant. ”Don’t go. Don’t hide from me, let’s talk about this.” He needs to think carefully as it looks like you could start crying at any moment. His grip on your arm is gentle you could have easily freed yourself from it – but something in his eyes makes you stop and wait. Yoongi looks like he’s thinking hard about the things you told him.
He’s thoughtful like always. Don’t want to hurt your feelings. He listens to you and considers the words he wants to reply with – this situation is no different. He’s searching for the right words that could best convey his inner thoughts and he’s struggling to find them.
”It’s ok Yoongi. You don’t have to say anything really, you are not responsible for what I feel. I understand that you don’t feel the same way- I’m a big girl I can handle rejection.”
”Stop talking. Who says anything about rejection.” You gulp when he takes a step closer his piercing gaze holding you captive. His confidence gives you a sense of wishplash. You take a step back in turn but Yoongi follows your movement holding you by the back of your head so you can’t move away this time. He rests his forehead on yours – takes your breath away with how close he’s getting. You’re confused but your heart is beating like crazy in your ribcage from joy. His face is coming impossibly close which makes you think he’s going to kiss you. You really wish he did.
The fingers in your hair started moving caressing your scalp with gentle touches and twisting the ends. Your eyes close on their own accord your lips part to say something but nothing comes out as you enjoy the feeling of his fingers playing with your hair.
Is this a dream? It certainly feels like it. Placing a thumb on your cheekbone Yoongi outlines your face with careful strokes. ” Since when do you like me? Answer me Y/N.”
Wettening your dry lips you gather the courage to search for an answer in his dark pools of blackness. You tell him everything. The moment you fell in love with him. Everything you’ve been feeling but was too afraid to voice out. He knows now that you’re in love with him and it makes you vulnerable. Does he feel the same? What does this position mean to him?
Is it possible it’s not just you? You see him follow the motion of your mouth – placing a finger over your soft lips before looking up to meet your vulnerable gaze.
”Please Yoongi tell me you like me too.” You know he wouldn’t play with your feelings like that – but you need to hear it. You’re scared. You want this to be true. Yoongi sees the distress on your face and straightens the lines on your forehead with his fingers.
”I had a long and very awkward talk with Jimin on the day of your graduation that you probably don’t know about. You turned 19 so I wanted to ask him if it would be okay to ask you out on a date. He didn’t want to let me but I insisted until he agreed.” Yoongi cringes as he remembers the conversation.
You tilt your head to the side it’s the first time you’re hearing this. Jimin never mentioned it but it’s not like you guys talked a lot. Your heart sinks to the bottom of your stomach at the realisation that he had the permission to ask you out but he chooses to not act on it. Does this mean he changed his mind?
”What happened? Why didn’t you ask me out then?” You need to know why he never said a word about this before. Why he never asked.
”I overheard your conversation with your friend before the dinner celebration. You said you’re not interested in dating and you would say no if anyone asked. I know it’s silly but I chickened out because of it.” Yoongi looked away bashfully, the confusion dissolved and a new kind of realisation took its place. That conversation…oh no. You remember that conversation.
Your friend tried to convince you to date Hongbin – that guy who was Jimin’s classmate. You didn’t want to obviously because even back then you were in love with Yoongi.
-
You started laughing at the absurdness of the situation. If you don’t pick up that call maybe you would be together or at the very least he would have asked you out. You had no idea he heard you, but it makes sense he thought you would reject him.
”You’re stupid. I said that because I didn’t want to date Hongbin because I was already in love with you.”
It’s hard to believe for all those years he liked you, Yoongi, your friend. The best kind of adrenalin is surging through your entire body and it helps you make a bold decision as you place a chaste kiss on his mouth, just a quick press of lips but you feel like you’re swimming in between the clouds.
”Fuck. That sucks but I’m glad at least I know now. We could always make up for the lost time.”
The curse word that left his lips is sexy. It makes you feel things. He’s thinking about something else – less sexual – as his eyes close in frustration, probably thinking that you two would have been together for years if he properly made a move on you.
His eyes fixate on your lips, capturing the flesh of your bottom lip with purpose. Asking for permission to enter the cave of your mouth – to make up for lost times. You taste each other for the first time as your tongues dance together feverishly. A moan is swallowed by his lips and you get lost in his touches.
-
After that hot first kiss, Yoongi stayed the night and more kisses were shared between the sheets more pure and innocent ones as you fell asleep in each other’s embrace.
The lego pieces are finally put together.
And things drastically changed between you. A welcomed change. –You went on cute dates and held hands in public you were over the moon. He finally introduced you as his girlfriend. No one seemed surprised and even Jimin congratulated you without any remarks added in the end.
Kissed in his room when no one was looking with you perched on his lap which led to heated make-out sessions but nothing crazy took place. You didn’t have sex yet. Yoongi wanted to take it slow for you and you agreed. You just wanted to be with him.
-
”What are you up to shortcake?” His head lay heavily on your shoulder to look over what you were doing. You smiled at the nickname – you didn’t think he would be a guy to be into that but you were pleasantly surprised that he liked to call you sweet names when it was just the two of you.
You turned your head to peck his cheek before you focus back on the movie playing on the tv.
”Just watching something on the tv.” You replied sweetly. Yoongi had to finish his project for a class so you haven’t seen him exit his bat cave – he’s been cooped up in his room all day only coming out to make more coffee. He ate the food you prepared in his room still rehearsing his work.
Yoongi occasionally surprised you by kissing the top of your head as he was passing by the living room to the coffee maker – appreciating your presence even if you were doing different things. You came over because you missed him but you respect his will to finish his work first.
”I’m almost done.” He promises with another kiss. You’ve been hearing him say that for the last couple of hours.
The day went by fast while you were relaxing but you’re still surprised by how dark it is outside when you look over to the window. You should leave soon if you want to catch the last bus home.
Yoongi seemingly lost track of time too because when you step into his room he’s deeply engrossed in his work still. You found him leaning over his equipment making adjustments when you cleared your throat to catch his attention.
Confused about why you’re wearing your coat and appear to be ready to leave but it takes one look at the clock to realise the time. This is around the time you would normally leave because of your bus. He peeks at the clock rereading the time as he sheepishly strokes the side of his neck - you see that an apology coming before he even starts forming the first syllable.
”You don’t need to apologise. Your work is important but it’s getting late and I should catch my bus. I came to tell you.” You showed him a tired smile.
You stayed up late to finish your assignments. You haven’t got much sleep as you wanted to come here first thing in the morning to see Yoongi. You’re sad that you couldn’t spend much time with him but you don’t blame him for being busy. Exams are coming up and you know you won’t be able to meet for a while. You know how much this degree means to him. He’s getting busier as he gets closer to the finishing line.
”Come here baby.”
Yoongi pouts and beckons you to get close you can’t say no to that face. Even though you should really leave if you want to arrive home before it gets too dark.
”You should get some rest too, you’re working so hard. I’m very proud of you, you know that right?”
Carding your fingers through his hair lazily – his hands circle around your waist. Getting comfortable as he rests his head on your chest and pulls you to stand between his legs. Yoongi starts kissing his way up on your neck before he invites your mouth to mould against his in a sweet kiss.
”I don’t deserve you. You’re too good to me.” Caressing your hipbone his fingers dip lower as he drags his warm palm over your thighs. ”So. Good. I’m. The. Luckiest guy. In. The. World.” Stressing the words out between kisses he delivers each caress of his lips with care and love. He misses you too. You smile into the last one before pulling back removing the dark locks that dare to interfere with his vision with delicate hands. It feels nice. You don’t want this moment to end but you really have to get ready to leave.
”Baby, are you trying to distract me so I would stay the night?” Yoongi’s ears turn pink shifting uncomfortably as soon as he got caught in the act of his coy. This shy and affectionate side of him causes your heart to skip several beats.
It’s always endearing to see him squirm under your observant gaze he always has new ways to show you why you fell in love with him in the first place.
”I’ll stay, but..” You emphasize the ’but’ that results in another pout from the man in front of you.
”You have to say it. Say you want me to stay.” You say it in a sing-song voice. You give him a peck on the lips that he tries to chase after you pull back but you don’t let him deepen it not before he tells you.
He’s not the most verbal man out there, but you don’t mind that you have to work for his affection from time to time and he always gives you what you want in the end. He can’t resist you.
”Please, stay.”
And you do.
-
You’re subconsciously rolling to the other side of the bed to feel his body next to yours – you search for Yoongi’s hand blindly under the covers without making a real effort to open your eyes.
There’s morning light filtering through the curtains but you have no desire to move.
It’s cold outside the covers so you abandon your side of the bed to scoot closer to Yoongi’s warmth who’s still fast asleep. The moment feels domestic as you carefully rest your head on his chest. You would love to wake up to this every day.
-
His eyelashes flutter kissing the skin of his cheek at your cold touch and his lips move in a pout. His breathing evening out – you trace patterns on his smooth skin and follow the dip of his collarbone and shoulder blades with your fingertips. Your lips map out the same path before you arrive at his slightly furrowed brows in his sleep and you place a light kiss there – a little secret between you and his body.
You’re laying on the bed wide awake listening to both of you breathing.
You take a deep breath and prop yourself up on your elbows facing your sleeping beauty boyfriend and watch his eyelids twitch with motion. Careful to keep your touches light you place a few curly strands of hair behind his ears. You don’t want to wake him up. He’s just so unresistible you can’t keep your hands to yourself.
You stop before you could get too carried away and wake him up for real so you roll to your side to get to your previous position maybe try to get back to sleep as well. Unaware that he’s already up enjoying your sweet touches. Sleepy Yoongi has other plans as he pulls you back by tangling his fingers into your bed hair and pulling you on his lips.
He doesn’t guide your head further as you take control of the kiss. More than eager to continue what he started. He’s following your lead like he’s in hypnosis – in between the line of being asleep and awake you hold his cheeks in your palm and caress the soft skin there tenderly. Your lips are dreamy, warm and wet when you push your tongue beyond the seam of his lips and taste him with a flick of your tongue over the roof of his mouth. You drink up his moans and seal them against your lips.
”Good morning.” You smile into one of his kisses.
You’re licking into his mouth as if he’s the first drop of water to your dry throat you’re greedy, you’re growing impatient with your exploration – you want to drown in his taste his scent. It all surrounds you like a warm blanket.
”Morning.”
You comfortably lay your body weight on him after he encourages you to get on top with little taps of his fingers on your hipbone. Palm flattening across your skin as his firm hold closes around your waist. He’s so sexy you enjoy morning Yoongi a lot and his voice is so deep when he just woke up.
You have to break the kiss eventually to come up for air and his lips move to your neck.
He couldn’t bear the thought of not tasting your skin. Yoongi’s mouth moves down exploring the unmarked canvas of skin and leaving reminders for later scraping the sensitive flesh with his teeth just to run his hot tongue over the abused area soothing the pain with kitten licks. Igniting a fire in the pit of your belly. Your panties are soaking wet and clinging to your folds begging to be touched.
Your core throbs when his teeth enclose your earlobe and he nibbles. You shiver and writhe under his skilful lips and fingers. Your thighs rub together still tangled in the sheets when his hands explore your bare back under the oversized shirt. The shirt you borrowed from him hides you well but gives him more room to roam underneath the fabric. He likes to see you in his clothes but he would like it better if it would be on the floor already.
He’s feeling for the clasp of your bra his mind all over the place but realises you don’t have one on and it just makes his job easier. Also, who wears their bra to sleep? Big hands grip your waist and move your body back and forth for delicious friction and your mind go blank. His long fingers are digging into the flesh of your ass as he uses his strength to move you.
You both start panting and your heart is picking up speed – the volume of his moans increases as you roll your hips naturally placing your bodies together like puzzle pieces. You can feel your body heat up from the intimacy of what the position brings and your head is still foggy with the aftermath of sleep as dormant desires take control.
”You’re so fucking beautiful.”
You feel dizzy as your back meets the comforter Yoongi hovering over your heated body barely covered by his shirt and your panties. He whispers sweet nothings into your ear distracting you from his insistent biting and licking the flesh behind your ears before he continues his descend. Following the lines and curves of your body with his hands and mouth – not leaving an inch of your skin unloved. Not moving lower until he kissed an apology to every bruise and hickey he sucked onto your immaculate skin. Proudly coating his gifts in his saliva leaving a wet trail between your breasts.
”Can I?” Your heart flutters as he asks for permission. You say yes in a heartbeat.
Yoongi rolls your shirt up until the fabric is stretched around the upper side of your boobs. Showering your collarbones with kisses before rolling the material up further to lick a fat stripe starting from your stomach to the underside of your heaving breasts.
”Yoongi-ah fuck please.” Pushing the shirt up entirely he has the best view of your naked chest moving rapidly up and down with each breath. His warm palm covers your perky mound before he leans down to suck a nipple into his wet mouth and suck a bruise onto the underside of your breast as he kneads the other one like it’s silky dough using circular motions to toy with your pink nipple.
The way his soft hair brushes against your skin with every lick and suck adds to the sensation. You can’t keep your eyes open as the overwhelming feeling of his mouth devouring your flesh numbs everything else. Pale fingers slide easily over your tits that are slick with his spit trailing the other one and down following the lines of your ribcage to find the last barrier separating your bodies. Your underwear.
Reaching for one of his hands you intertwine them next to your head kissing him with renewed fervour you don’t want him to ever stop touching you. Gripping his hand tighter Yoongi’s lips turned more eager to reintroduce himself to your taste. Kisses turning open-mouthed. The clash of teeth and tongues fighting for dominance.
Stretching the fabric to accommodate two of his fingers he first begins by rubbing slow shapes over your puffy lips collecting your arousal and rubbing it onto your clit in figures. Parting your folds to feel your wet heat directly on his fingers he dips the first digit in – just the tip.
Your core throbs under his touch and a whiny moan climb its way up your throat the sound elicits him to smile into the valley of your breasts.
Yoongi enters the first digit fully but it leaves your warmth too soon as your walls try to keep him inside. Your boyfriend chuckles into your clammy skin your pussy eagerly tightens around his leisure fingering. Peppering your stomach and tits with kisses before he hooks his index into the band of your underwear and starts sliding down the material down your legs agonisingly slowly.
Your arousal is smeared around your thighs as your panties are removed. You hide behind your hands as he opens up your legs exposing your core to the cold morning air and his ogling eyes. Yoongi caresses your legs up and down to help you calm down and get over your embarrassment of being nude in front of him for the first time.
His fingers leave a wet trail behind as he grips your inner thighs to keep them apart. You yelp when he plunges the first finger back into your core without warning.
There’s no place for shyness. His hungry eyes shamelessly follow the movements of his one digit as he thrusts it in and out of your fluttering hole. Curling it to find the spot that makes you moan the loudest and use it against you to fuck the shyness out of you.
You don’t need a wild imagination to picture his smirking face behind your eyelids – watching each twitch of your lips and every flutter of your eyelashes to his fingers curling and uncurling in you.
The stretch fades soon that he needs to add another finger in the mix. He starts preparing you for his cock.
Your eyes are dreamy prettily glossed over as you watch Yoongi work his magic your mouth open with the sole purpose to call out his name.
His eyes never leave you as he commits every inch of your body into memory. Monitoring your reactions and filing them into little boxes in his mind to remember for later. His touches adjust to your needs.
He knows how to introduce the third finger without that uncomfortable burning stretch dulling your pleasure. It seems like he already figured you out.
Pushing you closer to the edge of your first orgasm for the day and it’s only just the beginning. If he knows how to use his dick half as good as he fingers you open with his long pale digits you don’t think you’ll ever have to fake an orgasm again.
He figured out every weakness of yours in minutes. Knows where to curl or how hard to go for your eyes to roll to the back of your head.
Yoongi licks his lips at the visual of your pink tones glistening in the morning light. You feel his hair brush against your thighs first then his tongue flatten over your rosy bud.
You’re moving with him like clockwork following the rhythm he dictates bucking into his fingers when they’re knuckles deep in your cunt until you’re creaming around his fingers with his lips attached to your enlarged clit.
He had to press down with his free hand on your stomach to keep your hips pinned to the bed as the waves of euphoria washed over you.
Having to multitask between holding you down and flicking his tongue over your nub as you cum around his fingers makes it messy. Your cum drips down his hands thickly that he eagerly swallows up. Cleans around your folds until his entire face is drenched in your juices.
You’re too spent to hit him when he looks down on you with a pleased look etched into his features. Almost cocky.
Inserting three of his fingers into your sensitive core makes you mewl. It’s too soon to not hurt a little. They glide inside of you effortlessly. You’re not ready to feel his tongue toying with your clit or his fingers move inside you in scissoring motions. You let out a loud moan you feel your pussy pulse and contract around his digits.
The stretch fades when he removes his fingers in a sudden decision just as sudden as he sank them in you. His mouth collects the wetness oozing from your core pushing it back into your walls with his pink muscle. Prodding your hole with the tip of his tongue a couple of times not reaching as deep as his fingers but managing to keep you on your toes. Just tethering over the edge but never pushed over – until his finger joined forces on your clit and started rubbing you in tight circles while his tongue continuously lapped at your essence burying his face in your cunt.
”Good girl. Just like that- fuck. Cum around my fingers again.” You came a second time with your entire body shaking in his hold his fingers slipping inside. A fresh gush of your cum is welcomed by Yoongi’s greedy mouth as he holds your legs apart and helps you ride out the rest of your high with lazy laps across your core.
The room spins around you when you finally open your eyes to look at him. Still licking the remains of your orgasm out of your sensitive cunt collecting the droplets of your post-orgasmic bliss but he obediently climbs your body to meet your kiss. You pull on his hair which earns a loud noise in turn – using the opening of his mouth to taste yourself.
”Can I have you?” You ask leading your shaky hands up his torso and gripping his shoulders for leverage. You wouldn’t be able to keep yourself up if it weren’t for his hands holding you firmly by the waist as you straddle his lap. You plant a sweet kiss on the corner of his mouth but it leaves him unsatisfied – he slips a finger under your chin to tilt it up for a real kiss.
”You had me all this time. Ouch. Why did you do that?” Yoongi lifts an eyebrow when you hit him on his chest. You didn’t even hit him hard but you still rub the skin with your thumb in comfort circles.
Yoongi has you caged under him within seconds. He puts his weight on his knees on either side of your hips as he hovers over your form resting his hands curled around the headboard for stability. If you haven’t seen him between your legs feasting on your arousal – you would be flushed red from the view of his face his lips swollen and chin smeared with your cum. His fingers would probably shine if the light hit his skin just right. He pays it no mind as he holds your gaze still waiting for an answer.
”I wanted to have sex with you for the longest time and you can’t even take me seriously.” You talk in pout which shouldn’t make his cock twitch in his boxers but it does. You try poking his chest with your finger but he’s faster than you pinning your hand to the sheets next to your head.
”I thought I took you very seriously just now.” A playful smirk appears on his handsome face as he licks his lips – probably still tasting you on his tongue.
Your face heats at the implication of his words, you’re speechless as he’s clearly toying with your sanity here. You look away – your timidness is back as you wrap your hands around his waist while he kicks your knees apart with his thighs.
”I’m just teasing you baby. I feel the same way.” His gaze softens when your eyes lock – the morning light creates a halo around your head you’re so beautiful it takes his breath away – the tender shimmer is only there for a second before lust swallows it fully. Yoongi moves your intertwined fingers over the bulge still prominent in his underwear. He’s aching. Tasting you did this to him. He’s so turned on his cock feels neglected and wants your fingers around his erection and your mouth on his tip to taste him too.
”I’ve been dying to fuck you.” Placing his larger hand over yours he guides your movements to rub him over the material of his boxers. His breath hitches in his throat when you start palming him with confident hands. He doesn’t need to encourage you as you want to touch him just as bad as he craves it.
”Then why didn’t you?” Feeling bold from his reaction you slowly start pulling down his boxers – treating the garment the same way as he did with your panties. You remove it halfway –slowly dragging your nails over his exposed skin – until it’s straining against his muscular thighs. His cock springs free of his confines the curvy tip smearing precum on his lower belly as it stands to attention. The shaft is swollen and wet when you teasingly caress it with a single finger from base to top and watch his cock twitch against his stomach from the light stimulation. His gaze is fixed on your playful fingers.
Anticipation builds in the pit of his stomach when he feels your soft hand grasp his shaft. His hand is resting over yours for a moment guiding your fingers up and down his cock until you don’t need his help to move the way he likes it – he teaches you silently the pressure and the speed he likes to use on his cock – and his fingers grip the headboard next to your head, his knuckles turning white once you take over.
”I didn’t want to pressure you. Wanted to go slow with you because you deserve the best. Don’t think it wasn’t hard for me at all to hold back when you were walking around in those shorts. I took so many cold showers to get my boner to go down – you have no idea baby. How hard you make me.” Yoongi buries his head into your shoulder using your skin to muffle his moans as he pours his heart out in filthy undertones. You rub your thighs together feeling the pressure build in your pussy even after two mind-blowing orgasms.
”And yesterday when I saw you in my shirt fuck I wanted to rip it off you so bad. You looked so irresistible wearing my shirt to bed and I haven’t seen you for so fucking long.” You remove his underwear all the way so nothing will separate you from him before you take him into your mouth.
”And who’s fault is that?” You ask while delivering harder pumps collecting more precum from the swollen red tip. His moans turn up in volume and get whinier as his cock twitches in your palm with every precise flick of your wrist.
Yoongi spreads his leg now that he has the room allowing you to change your position as he rests against the pillows with his hands behind his head. Relaxed because now’s your time to take care of him.
”I’ll make more time for you baby I promise.” Yoongi kisses your neck lovingly. It could be one of those sweet moments if your hands were not full of his dick.
He knows he will like everything you do because it’s your lips wrapped around his tip and your hands moving up and down the rest of his length.
He did so well focusing on you forgetting about his pleasure in favour of yours.
His member stands proudly you supporting the base with your hand the wet tip glistens as you run circles over it with your thumb. Yoongi tries to keep his noises down you’re not the only ones in the apartment but you want to hear him it doesn’t matter to you who else does so you decide to test his limits.
You want to hear more and get the full experience of his moans and grunts so you collect the lubricant from his tip and smear it down his entire length to aid your moves.
You increase the tightness of your fingers wrapped around him as you jerk him off. His hands fly to grip your shoulders his muscles contract when you continuously place pressure on his cock not neglecting his tip as you swirl your tongue over the wide head. He’s fighting off his release as he bites his lips raw.
His bite comes as a surprise he uses your body to keep his voice down.
The sudden pain from his love bite makes your hand tighten around his cock it earns a loud moan that he could barely seal against the juncture of your neck his warm breath hitting your skin as he inhales sharply.
”Baby stop or I’ll cum.” You slow down but you don’t stop. His dick pulses in your hold ready to burst when it rips a growl from Yoongi’s throat he squeezes your hand with his around his cock panting as he tries to hold back from cumming on your face. You’re proud of yourself when you see his red face and dilated pupils.
You let him take over after he calmed down. Take his place between your spread legs as he teasingly rubs his cock along your wet folds. You want him inside and you show your impatience by bucking your hips into his –  your pussy is aching from being empty for so long.
”Yoongi,” He looks at you when you call his name. You look serious so he halts in his way to lining himself up with your entrance giving you his undivided attention.
He thinks he might have done something you didn’t like so he stops entirely no matter how hard his cock twitches to be inside you already. But it’s the opposite as you peck his lips before continuing. ”I love you.”
The sweetest gummy smile appears on his face at your confession. Eyes radiating fondness and love as he cups your cheeks to pull you into a long and passionate kiss. ”I love you too.”
Yoongi fishes a condom out of his wallet that was left on his nightstand. His fingers tear the wrapper with practised motions and roll the latex down his cock under your watchful gaze. He gives his wrapped cock a couple of pumps to test the flexibility of the condom and when he’s sure it won’t rip he returns to his place between your legs.
”I love you.” The repeated confession ends in a moan whispered against the seam of your smiling lips as he pushes the tip in. Parting your folds with his fat cock he delves in slow and steady. He showers your neck and chest with kisses once his entire length is in you and waits for your pussy to adjust to his size before he moves.
You move his hair out of the way to see his face and dark eyes. Sweat collects at his hairline that you wipe away with your thumb. You kiss his cheek, his temple, the tip of his nose and his left brow – you get lost in the bubble of your intimate kisses with his cock deeply nestled in your heat.
The first few thrust of his hip is calculated and slow. You’re so wet that when Yoongi drags his cock in and out he’s pushing your arousal out with his movements and drops of your cum from before roll down between your buttcheeks and stain the bedsheets.
Your hands hold onto his waist your nails dragging down his sides as he picks up his tempo and watches with hooded eyes as he disappears inside of you. The condom is thickly lubricated with your cum and collecting arousal.
”You feel so good.” Moan after moan leaves your chapped lips your back arching to get closer to his warm body chasing your pleasure with synced thrusts of your own hips. Yoongi considers telling you to be quiet but he doesn’t want to disturb the moment so he lets you moan his name as loud as you want.
His fingers rub your clit whilst his cock split your folds diving into your heat faster and harder until the headboard bumps against the wall loudly with the power of his thrusts.
”Gonna cum for me again?” Yoongi questions you breathlessly his pace is relentless as he feels the signs of your approaching need for release. You’re getting tighter you squeeze him so good he has to close his eyes to prevent cumming in the condom before you let go.
Yoongi keeps your body pinned to the mattress imprinting his touch onto your skin as he fucks you into the sheets. You raise your hips in time with his thrusts spreading your legs apart as far as they can go to feel him deeper.
He’s getting lost in the feeling of your warm walls surrounding him, squeezing him as your third orgasm washes over you more intense than the previous ones. It’s a lewd picture when you look at where you’re connected – his latex wrapped cock is shimmering with your cum drenched in your release when he pulls back.
He’s close as he fucks your buttered cunt so pink and swollen but you let him use you to get off. Spread wide open for him. He’s chasing his own high satisfied to fuck your cum out of you for now – he hopes that later you will let him fuck his own cum out of you but it’s a discussion for another time. Yoongi takes in your expression – your half-lidded eyes and open mouth as you moan his name. He hisses when you leave red marks on his back with your nails as he fucks your overstimulated pussy. He’s so close he picks up his pace so close to cumming that his eyes are unwillingly close when he empties himself into the condom.
He wishes that his hot cum was filling your insides instead and he would sloppily fuck it into you cover you with his sticky release everywhere.
Yoongi is thoughtful to pull out slowly knowing that you’re highly sensitive. He knots the end of the condom and trashes it in the bin next to his bed. Once he’s done cleaning you up he settles beside you again and buries his head in the space between your breasts.
You play with his hair enjoying the quiet morning together before you have to get up in your post-orgasm bliss. No one is up yet but the sun. Neither of you is keen to start the day right away. However, Yoongi wouldn’t mind waking up early if he gets to fuck you like this every morning. Listening to the sound of the wind outside as you lay in each other’s arms. You caress each other’s naked bodies and share more kisses before you eventually get up to take a shower.
-
Jin comes to collect you just when you got dressed and freshly out of the shower. Fortunately, Yoongi had already gotten up to take a shower so he didn’t have to see his friend naked. It would have been awkward. You remember you promised to help make Jimin’s cake so you follow him into the kitchen. He didn’t mention if he heard you and you’re thankful for that as you start cracking the eggs.
-
”Happy Birthday!”
You all shout when Jimin unlocks the door to the apartment. He’s sweaty from the gym Jungkook follows him in with a smile (knowing he did a good job distracting his friend to buy you time to prepare all of this) as Jimin stops in his tracks to take in the decoration and your grinning faces. Your brother laughs as the surprise wears off.
You watch them fool around with a smile your fingers intertwined with Yoongi’s as you observe them from the sideline. Playfully tackling each other Taehyung says proudly how his gift will be the best as he gets the birthday boy in a headlock. Feature chaos is unlocked in the apartment as everyone’s volume goes up to outspeak each other everyone’s excited.
Jin comes out with the cake you two prepared freshly out from the fridge. Following tradition, he gets frosting smeared on his nose before you cut the cake.
Lively conversation fills the room as you sit down and enjoy the gifts and food.
You’re confused when Jimin suddenly points an accusing hand in your boyfriend’s direction as if he suddenly remembered something.
”Dating my sister is one thing Hyung but hearing you guys have sex in the next room is something I will never want to hear again.” Jimin shudders as if this memory is bringing him trauma. Everyone laughs except for you two as you both blush and look away from your brother. You should have known he won’t let this go that easily.
”I guess it’s time for that conversation sis –”
”Jimin!” You yell his name – trying to shut him up with your palm over his mouth but he’s quick on his feet.
”Always use protection!” You roll your eyes and sit back down sulking when you feel Yoongi’s hands wrap around your shoulder rubbing sweet circles onto your skin. You’re related of course you have a comeback you smirk and crack your knuckles.
”I’ll listen to you if you do what you preach first. How many pregnancy scares did your girlfriend have?” Jimin looks at you like you grew a second head.
”That’s a low blow attacking me with my kink! Do you realise your boyfriend has the same kink I do?” In fact, you didn’t know as your eyes grow big. You look to the side to catch your boyfriend’s eyes but Yoongi’s is narrowed down on your brother. Traitor. He conveys without words.
”Don’t get me into your mess.” Yoongi pulls you closer just to spite Jimin he kisses you on the lips. He smirks once his best friend finally shuts up. What a mess indeed.
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beautifulpersonpeach · 12 hours
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Not gonna lie, this whole thing really sucks. I think I wrote a message awhile back about the very cool feminist angle of the Plus Global Auditions Invitation video, I'm an SNL Army and was new to watching kpop very closely and was so sold by that video. I thought - 'this company is really different.' Going public with a company f*cks a lot of things up, it happens all so often, and often it's the people and the ethos that gets messed up the most. It's frustrating to see this devolution. Because I was really excited by what MHJ was being given space to do at BH/Hybe. Though, as a fellow art school student, I am shaking my head and serious side-eyes at how she says things like 'I'm an artist, I don't know how to read contracts' (obviously I'm paraphrasing) - it's clear Hybe knows she's got the goods but she's not playing by their game anymore. The response and flood of crazy comments and hate at BTS is frustrating but expected, but just such a waste of time all the same. I've also never thought BH and then Hybe were super super smart and long-gaming everything (don't come for me Bangtan U fans) I think they were lucky and scrappy and skillful and making cool things happen moment to moment. Later on they got better at the strategic planning, sure. I don't know. They may need a good kick in the pants to remember that's what makes them great at what they do. But still, I hate the idea of MHJ being cooked even if she seems like a real pain in the tush to work with. Because technically, she's what got me to really buy-in to what BTS & BH were doing in the first place.
***
Yeah, it's a shitty situation.
To be fair, I think at the start, Bang PD was trying to do something different and 'forward-thinking' with HYBE. He sought out good talent going by the hires he did in 2019/2020, managing to onboard creatives like Min Heejin and Zico. Zico already incorporated his company to manage himself before Bang PD approached him, which is probably why he owns ~24.5% of KOZ - his sub-label in HYBE.
But with Min Heejin...
She had partnered with 250 - a popular DJ in Korea and NewJeans' main producer, since she left SM in 2018. He runs BANA (a creative collective) but she'd wanted her own label since the start.
Bang PD knew this, and wanted her for HYBE, so it's likely he made all sorts of promises to get her on board without awarding her a single share. Almost as soon as key creative decisions had to be made post-Global Plus audition, they both clashed, but HYBE as a company was less than 1 year old and it appears Bang PD and MHJ still had good relations... which was kinda easy since he still needed her creative output and wanted to see what she could do. So they let her make her own label: ADOR, and keep NewJeans even though according to Min Heejin, HYBE executives and Bang PD thought her concept and style of music for them would be impossible to sell to k-pop stans.
They expected NewJeans to fail or flounder. Instead, by 2023 NewJeans had become one of the top 5 most valuable k-pop IPs in Korea. If my guess is right, by that point she had no shares in ADOR, no agreement with HYBE's indefinite non-compete clause. She could walk anytime and I'm sure a lot of people wanted her.
Then HYBE approached Min Heejin with the shareholder contract to give her 20% of the company. It's a classic 'carrot and stick'. The carrot was easy to see. Apparently offered her the shares at a very low price, apparently Bang PD even lent her the money to buy it, for a valuation that HYBE considered more than generous, he was in her KakaoTalk chats buttering her up with those godawful emojis lmaooo. He was selling that shit hard. The stick in the contract was the poison pill which essentially tied her to HYBE for as long as they want her.
Perhaps she was aware of the pill and signed any way because at that point they still had good relations with Bang PD and HYBE in general. But according to her, Bang PD kept wanting more control over NewJeans the more successful the group became. Realizing she had to do something about the poison pill, she sought to negotiate, and as is typical in these sort of situations, you fight greed with more greed.
Asking to bump up the multiple on the options from 13x to 30x is frankly ridiculous. For a male CEO I can see it being considered... maybe, but for a woman? In Korea?
I'm sure when the other suits at HYBE heard that's what she was asking, at least one of them almost had a stroke. The logic is simple though: start crazy high and end.. just high. If HYBE was looking to exert more control over NewJeans (for example, every sub-label and group in HYBE changed to using 'bio-paper and ink' for their albums starting in 2023, to help HYBE meet their ESG targets. The only company that's not made the switch yet, is ADOR. Given how carefully MHJ controls branding and album design for NewJeans, I can see this minute detail being a massive thorn lol)... anyway, if HYBE was indeed looking to gain more control, the fact that they'd have to pay 30x if MHJ exercised her options on a whim, would serve as a very strong deterrent.
Given what I understand Korean corporate culture to be like, I doubt she had any friends in upper management to start, but with a demand like that, practically all of them would turn enemies in a heartbeat. It's the sheer audacity lmao. My guess is she would've eventually negotiated down, at least once she was assured real creative independence from Bang PD. But at some point, rather, quite predictably given this is corporate Korea, the need for control and the egos involved decided she had to be cut loose now and perhaps taught to not bite the hand that feeds her.
It's not a sentiment limited to the suits at HYBE. It's followed her since SM and the general public would hate it too, which is one reason I think it's only a matter of time before the narrative switches again to HYBE's favour. I promise you, most regular men in Korea would go red in the face, eyes bulging out their heads, drool and spit shooting out like projectiles, at the thought she would dare to demand such a thing. And in a way they'd be right. It's an insane amount of money for female creative in Korea, but I think given everything else, it also seems like a gamble she was taking as a means to an end. A simple negotiating tactic, given what she keeps highlighting as her main goal - unimpeded and full creative and managerial control.
Bang PD wants to build a 'forward-thinking' company comparable to Western conglomerate juggernauts like SONY and Warner Music, but I don't think these Korean men have the chops to do it right, just yet. I've had that impression of Bang PD for a few years now. He's been getting results, but they are inconsistent and he's got the biggest 'surety' in a sense with BTS, so he's been fine, and will continue to be fine for a few more years at least. But if they are messing up this spectacularly with their first female executive and one of their most valuable IPs, over... an options price negotiation?
And they want to pretend to be better than any other corp in Korea?
Lol.
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Anyhoo.
I sympathize a bit with how you feel, but as a Korean woman, I guess I'm numb to it. There's a reason I've never chosen to work in that country, there's a reason why the birth rate is nearing the negatives. It's really unfortunate, and I'm sorry you're seeing a prior expectation you had getting blown up this way. And this latest hatefest on BTS has been quite ugly and isn't near done yet. This whole situation is gross, and even more so when the motivations behind it are so... banal and backwards.
But these are undercurrents that are too simple and boring for the average stan. Burning the witch who is responsible for masterminding the demise of a virtuous group is far more exciting. And so that's how the story will go.
I just hope that by some miracle, NewJeans turns out okay and manages to thrive after this. Because in all of this mess, they will deal with the implications the most and for the longest time.
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eliotquillon · 9 months
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just finished the rwrb movie and although i really enjoyed it (and was kicking my feet giggling the whole time) i do have a couple of major criticisms, some of which i think aren’t really the movie’s fault because they had to fit a whole book into 2 hours, but some of which left me kind of disappointed:
-i feel slightly icky that bea and nora got their screentime SIGNIFICANTLY reduced even after june got cut entirely (which i was upset about, but did understand). i loved zahra and adored her on screen but i do think it’s very odd that she is pretty much the only major female character in this movie since bea was nonexistent and nora got permanently spirited away to pez’s bed or something sometime during the second act
-it felt like a lot of the internal conflict in alex and henry’s relationship was very unbalanced and henry heavy - alex’s neurodivergence was erased, his bi epiphany was barely even an epiphany, and him not being explicitly kicked off the campaign after ellen finds out about him and henry essentially killed his whole subplot about realising he doesn’t need to have everything achieved at thirty and deciding he wants to apply to law school instead. which wouldn’t have been terrible but on the flipside it felt weird that we didn’t see very much of henry’s family considering how much they affect and shape his fear of being outed and his feeling of being in a glass cage - e.g bea’s treatment by the media during her active addiction (which was entirely erased), the extent of the tension between him and philip. felt like henry’s pov scenes were a super wasted opportunity for that and we were mostly just being Told about all of these things
-i am not actually that mad about oscar and ellen still being together lol but i felt like in the scene with oscar smoking the cigar on the balcony they were kinda building up to there being significant strain in his and ellen’s relationship that just wasn’t explored. especially since it’s clear oscar would never be able to be president because he’s not a natural born citizen + the sacrifice of his career for ellen’s is so much bigger now that he’s first gentleman in this version
-pacing in general was a bit off but the worst offender was the fact that there was a complete time skip between the alex henry confrontation/reconciliation and the outing. so much of the tension and desperation from that outing scene comes from the fact that the risk of it happening was slowly increasing throughout the book and it felt almost inevitable (the elevator cctv being leaked, henry having to fake date june) and honestly making it so abrupt weirdly reduced a lot of its impact for me
-similarly i actually completely understand why the richards plot / rafael luna plot was cut (i suspect republican election interference hits a bit too close to home after 2020) but my god was miguel a lame fucking villain and him being queer and hispanic erased a lot of the original commentary about racism and homophobia that the richards plot lent itself to. like in general this movie was a lot lighter than the book which is fine! but for a movie where the main subplot is a presidential election So Much of the political themes were heavily neutered or cut to the point that it seemed like the pressure on henry and alex’s relationship was disproportionately coming from henry’s side when in the book it was more balanced
again on the whole i really really loved this movie and i knew going in that certain changed were going to be made. and i hope more movies get made like it! these r just my Thots and i may change my mind when i rewatch it with my friend tomorrow
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naturallyadventured · 5 months
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martamei
Estiu de dies llargs i lents. Pèls rossos als braços del sol, ferides a les cames de fer el monete per les roques, migdiades i menjar molt. Descansar. No recordo un estiu així en anys. Slow life. 2020, m’estàs tornant boja.
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weepingwidar · 1 year
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Citlali Haro (Mexican, 1991) - Oye, Pásame los Lentes (Hey, Pass Me the Glasses) (2020)
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softrozene · 1 year
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Just a Few Minutes
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Anonymous requested: Mind if I take a shot at a request for a scenario? NSFW Female!reader x Dutch (if you are ok writing for him, if not, Arthur then?) takes you to Bronte’s party, (reader) teases him (either her sultry dress or planting secret little kisses on his neck when no one watches) to the point of just needing a few minutes (ok, a lot of minutes) with her alone? Thnkx bb 😊
rdr2 masterlist
I was going to do Dutch for this but I’ve been in an Arthur mood lately and I’m thirsty for Arthur LMAO I hope you enjoy it, Hon!
 I want Arthur to say Yes, Ma’am to me
Originally published on March 22, 2020
Arthur Morgan x Female Reader
Warnings: strong suggested n s f w, sleepy writing so grammar errors
Words: ~900
-
You have never felt more thankful for a person in your entire life than you did for Molly O’Shea right now. She and Trelawny have shown true brilliance in choosing your outfit tonight for Bronte’s party. Trelawny used his vision as a man to make you look delicate and sexy.
The dress hugged your curves a bit too tightly but with Molly’s vision and experience in wealthy gowns, somehow made it look extravagant and not like a working girl’s dress. She even lent you one of her favorite shawls to bring more attention to your chest.
Your job was to just be the eye candy of course. You didn’t care too much for that job but it was worth it the minute you realize that your lover, Arthur, kept glancing at you during the ride in the stagecoach. This night was already a win in your eyes.
As soon as you stepped into the garden, you could feel a dozen eyes on you for a brief moment. The feeling of being watched by so many people disappears just as fast but you already did the main part, catching the attention of the party for a brief moment. You can feel the content of your boss and discontent radiating off of Arthur as he goes to mingle with the party per Dutch’s orders.
Though you played your part and talked with men who ogled you and women who seemed to desperately want to be on good terms with you, your eyes followed Arthur’s form. For this party, he cleaned up rather well. He looked good in a suit but oh boy did it make you want to tear it off him.
You can only assume he feels the same way about you from the way he keeps trying to find you within the crowd. You finally go up to him and take his hand. He flinches before visibly relaxing when he realizes it is you.
“Hello Handsome, mind pouring me a drink?” You ask your voice light and airy.
He raises an eyebrow but plays along. “Anything for a beautiful lady.”
He hands you a glass of champagne and you quickly place a kiss on the corner of lips. He freezes and you can feel his cheeks heat up. Smiling to yourself with victory, the hand not holding the glass glides down his chest.
Arthur quickly pulls away and excuses himself. The flustered look on his face vanishes as soon as he returns to his own task at hand. Every once in a while when the two of you finally made eye contact you would be dramatic and wave at him before blowing him a kiss.
You wait a while, get acquainted with the people, and then finally spot him talking to Dutch after the mayor. You excuse yourself from your current conversation and wait a moment before following Arthur is wandering off after a butler. Thankfully most of the snobs here wouldn’t look into this since Arthur is keeping a safe distance.
He disappears into the mayor’s mansion and you wait at that entrance. You could be his cover if he gets caught. He is quick and out within a minute. You nearly give him a heart attack from being right there waiting for him and he looks around anxiously.
He questions you, “Are you in insane following me?”
“I think we have quite a few minutes, don’t you think so? Besides, it would be much better to be caught or to come back with me being the lovers we are than you mysteriously coming back all by yourself,” You murmur as you scoot closer to him.
His eyes fall to your cleavage and you laugh. He lets out a growl-like sound. “Damn woman. Teasin’ me all damn night. You have no idea what you do to me,” He states as his hands grab you by your waist and pull you flush against him.
His hands pinch at the tight fabric of your dress and your body grows heated. It worsens upon feeling his erection through his suit pants. Your arms immediately reach up and wrap around his neck. You use your fingers to comb through his locks and he practically melts from the touch.
“You sure you wanna be caught pirooting at this guy’s party?” Arthur questions trying to keep his logic in place.
With a gentle move of your hips to his, he changes his mind.
“Those dumbasses can wait. We only need a few minutes.”
You place a gentle kiss at the front of his neck and whisper in a sultry voice, “Help me hitch up my dress.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
 Bonus:
It definitely didn’t take just a few minutes.
When both of you return to the party, or well the first floor, your crew is waiting and Dutch doesn’t look too pleased. That is until he takes the sight of both of you in. He laughs.
“Ah, young love,” He murmurs.
Dutch is laughing like a mad man now. Hosea chimes in, “You mean dumb love. (Name), Arthur, you both might want to get those twigs out of your hair. Molly and Josiah ain’t going to be too pleased with how you ruined her dress you big brute. I also do not think Molly wants that shawl back.”
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ghostoftonantzin · 2 months
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The WIP Graveyard Game
@phasmama was kind enough to tag me back on her post
The rules: post snippets from at least on WIP you have abandoned! Mine are going under the cut, because I'm going to post the full five, mostly from 2020-2021 times.
I'm going to tag another 5 people, because I can >:) : @achaosmuppet @theshriekingsisterhood @madelgard (yes I know you moved into the star wars fandom, but still) @starkurt, @indashadows
WIP Title: Laura Branigan Lyric (that's what the word doc is called)
Concept: 1980s AU, focused on Laszlo and Nadja as high powered business people with a sideplot of Nandermo paralleling Guillermo's season 2 arc.
Abandoned because: tbh this one was mostly just one I liked to turn around in my head. It never got past the outlining phase.
Snippet:
His friends frequently describe the joy of conquest to him. Finding a beautiful woman, a model or a music video vixen or both, taking her to the hottest restaurants, introducing her to their friends, showing her the kind of life they lead, on the cutting edge.
It reminds Laszlo of the foxes the hounds chased on hunts on his childhood manor. He imagines the woman as a fox set upon by hounds, torn apart under their small teeth.
But this, this… is like being caught, helpless, in the jaws of a lioness.
(this was the only part that made it past outlining)
WIP Title: tie a ribbon back around it
Concept: Jenna/Shanice, Jenna comes to visit Shanice after she's turned
Abandoned because: it just kind of stayed near the bottom of my WIP list until it fell off, pretty much. Plus I could never get the Jenna POV feeling quite right.
Snippet:
Jenna’s phone said 9:16 p.m., so she figured Shanice would be back from her chemistry night lab pretty soon. She shouldn’t be late, unless she got murdered on that one stretch of the walk from the chemistry building to her new dorm with no lights or police call boxes. Jenna knew it was a good place to get murdered, because Nadja had told her so when Jenna had shown it to her.
One downside to being a vampire was the whole no-reflection thing, which made it hard to check her lipstick in the glass. The lipstick was new, a plum wine red color that the saleslady at Sephora said looked good with her skin tone. Not that she didn’t like the red Nadja had lent her on their first night out! But this was one of those liquid lipsticks that was supposed to stay on through anything.
WIP Title: you've got me living only for the night
Concept: a follow-up to come in from the edge (and let the good times roll), my second-ever fic, the one with Karen (from Collaboration, remember her?) and two of the ladies from Simon's gang. Karen is now living with the Freak Sisters and performing at
Abandoned because: partly because it got struck down so thoroughly by future canon installments, and partly because I fell out of love with the idea.
Snippet:
She sits down in the living room to wait for Mr. Fifties. The Freak Sisters had flown ahead, something about a meeting at the club before the show. They obviously hadn’t needed Karen to know more about it, so she hadn’t asked. She’d felt bad about making Mr. Fifties drive, but Despoina had put another bobby pin in Akeldama’s red wig and patiently explained how he was usually looking for an excuse to bring out his stick shift convertible anyway.
They’ve got her bloodstained bra and underwear framed on the wall, like a sports jersey. It’s a little embarrassing, Karen thinks. She can tell how cheap the lace is now; most of hers costs at least twice that now. She models every pair for them, which is more of a thing for her than for them, but they still clap and leer and pull her in close every time.
The Leatherskins have all always been polite about her, but Mr. Fifties has always been a perfect gentleman. He offers her his arm at the door, though she’s wearing slip on sneakers and not heels. Her heels are usually too high for her to really walk in. The Freak Sisters really like that, especially Despoina.
WIP Title: Vampire King
Concept: a follow-up to such strenuous living, i just don't understand, aka the one where Guillermo is a volunteer at a vampire sanctuary. This was intended to be the follow-up covering the release of the documentary being filmed in the original fic.
The documentary being Vampire King, about the controversies behind Simon the Devious's Sassy Cat Vampire Ranch and Guillermo de la Cruz's campaign to have it shut down.
Abandoned because: other ideas took precedence and I didn't want to learn to code the fake tweets. It also never got past the brainstorming stage.
WIP Title: Die, Cry, Hate
Concept: post-season-2 on the run fic, this time where the vamps go and stay with an old friend of Nandor's, Madame Beausoleil, a creepy French ex-aristocrat vampire with live-laugh-love type taste in decor (hence the title) and a questionable tendency towards hypnotizing her familiars. She decides to repay Nandor's past help by hypnotizing Guillermo to seduce him.
Abandoned because: this was brainstormed in the post-s2 hiatus, and canon continuing past that diminished my interest in the idea. Also never got past the outlining stage.
Snippet (in outline form):
-M.B. is laying boxes out on her coffin, kind of ignoring him
            -coffin looks slightly out of place in the room; large white, carved into deep, intricate panels with elaborate motifs and inlaid heavily with gold and accented with pale pinks and blues
-Guillermo asks her about her relationship to Nandor
            -she’s known him a long time, helped her out a lot in Paris, owes him a lot of favors
-turns to him “You will submit to my dark power.”
-fuck.
-“You will be Nandor’s for the daytime, for him to do with as he pleases.”
-“alright, strip”
-Guillermo starts taking his clothes off, stake falls out of his sleeve, sees MB. watching it fall to the floor, but can’t move to do anything about it
-she’s absolutely going to kill him
-She picks up a stake “I didn’t know Nandor was into gardening. I’d always taken that as more of Laszlo’s hobby”
-naked, looking at her, she gestures towards the boxes
-he goes to look at them, opens the boxes
            -lingerie: red and silk-like, black and strappy, white and lacy, pink and sheer
            -she tells him to pick out the pair he think Nandor would like
-“I had to guess your cup size.” She said, glancing at his chest with a furrowed brow.
-feels like he’s walking on the floor above a great machine, feeling its motion beneath him without comprehending it
            -brain working without him
-picks white and lacy (“always knew Nandor was a big fan of the wedding night look”), slides on underwear, garter, stockings
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Gender Swapped Fairy Tales
by Karrie Fransman & Jonathan Plackett (2020)
My mother-in-law got this book and for obvious reasons she lent it to me. I have far more thoughts about it than I expected, so I thought I'd do a little ramble review for those of you that are interested in looking at fairy tales from a gender perspective:
Firstly: I think this is a very interesting, well introduced project
Fransman and Plackett, who are married, explain in the introduction that they didn't want to retell fairy tales but specifically chose to simply swap out all relevant gendered words (with a computer program created by Plackett) in an attempt to "illuminate and disrupt the gender stereotypes woven into the stories we've been told since childhood". This is also the reason, they explain, why they've stuck to a very binary approach to gender, not just changing "princess" to "prince" etc, but also changing "dress" to "suit" and so on. They used the text from the Langs' Fairy Books and tried to change as little as possible, to show how different it would be to have Cinderella's actions attributed to a man and Hansel's to a girl. It's a solid concept and I appreciate the effort they put into it.
Second: It's a beautiful book with gorgeous illustrations
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Just look at these takes on Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast, delightful!
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So, if this looks like something that's your thing, I encourage you to check it out!
But of course I also have many nitpicky folklore feelings about this, so for anyone who is interested I will put those under the cut~
So, folklore feelings and ruffled fairy tale feathers:
This is a project with a very specific concept (complete binary gender swap, but edit as little as possible besides) and it's unfair to fault it for sticking to it, but I do think that not every fairy tale is equally well suited for such a treatment. I also think that the authors cheat a little here and there and if you start cheating then why not do it to make things a little more elegant?
Here are my thoughts on the gender swapped fairy tales this book contains:
Handsome and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
This one works very well, I think. Having a female merchant be the protagonist of the first half of the story and a male romatic hero the willing captive of a female beast changes the feel of the story completely while leaving all its main elements intact. It's interesting to see a female character lose her monstrous characteristics through the dutiful devotion of a man and it also highlights the uncomfortable parts of the story by recontextualizing them. I like it!
Cinder, or the Little Glass Slipper (Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper)
From a story perspective this one is as good as the previous one. It's fun to have an evil stepfather and stepbrothers obsessed with beauty, a fairy godfather, and a beautiful boy who longs for a ball. However, I really don't think "Cinder" has the same feel as "Cinderella" as a name. In the Langs' translation the protagonist is called both Cinderella and Cinderwench, which they swapped for Cinder and Cinderboy. This isn't quite right. "Wench" is a much nastier word than "boy" and "Cinder" is just the full noun not made into a name. If more editing was allowed, I would have taken inspiration from Norwegian fairy tales about Askeladden and called the protagonist "Ashlad".
How to Tell a True Prince (How to Tell a True Princess / The Princess on the Pea)
This one is silly, but so is the original. You can really tell that this is a literary fairy tale. But honestly the nonsense of it call is kind of the point and a princess looking for a dainty prince who bruises like a peach is a story worth telling.
Jacqueline and the Beanstalk (Jack and the Beanstalk)
There is nothing wrong with this one at all, but I don't like it much because there are plenty of trickster tales with women as the protagonists. Changing Jack into a girl doesn't really have much bearing on the story for me and it doesn't create a sort of story that's all that new. If I wanted to a girl defeating a giant I could also read Molly Whuppie. But I do see that Jack's characterisation of being silly and thoughtless, brave and brazen is unusual to see for a heroine, so there is that.
Gretel and Hansel (Hansel and Gretel)
Similar to the previous one I don't think this particularly benefits from a gender swap. Hansel and Gretel are both clever in their own way. There is a clear difference in Gretel being the one who cries more and has to do chores for the witch, but still. It does make me think though, because the male witch/wizard wanting to eat Gretel makes me more uncomfortable. One thing I find very funny in this one is that they didn't just change the duck they meet along the way into a drake (as in male duck, but now seems like a dragon), they also have the wizard call Hansel a "silly gander" instead of a "silly goose".
Mr Rapunzel (Rapunzel)
Now here I get very picky. I think "Mr Rapunzel" is a ridiculous way to solve for the fact that leaving it unchanged would make it seem like the same fairy tale. In fairy tales people are hardly ever addressed with titles like Mr or Mrs and it completely breaks the tone. I would have just kept it Rapunzel, as they do in the actual text of the story. What I do appreciate is the complete ambiguity in this version as to whether it is the husband or the wife who gives birth to the baby. But here is also the first moment of cheating: they have Rapunzel grow a long beard. That is a decided change. A boy could grow long hair just as well as a girl, it did not need to be altered. But it is an amazing image. I'm all for it. But if you make this change because it's cool, you can change more things. The dynamic between the Evil Wizard, Rapunzel and the Princess is very interesting with swapped genders though.
Snowdrop (Snow White)
I wanted to yell about unnecessarily changing the name again, but Andrew Lang was the one that changed the name from Snow White to Snowdrop, so my yelling is directed at him. In this story the gender language program comes up with some changes I just don't like the sound of. "My Lady Queen" turns into "My Gentleman King", while I think "My Lord King" would work a bit better, and "My noble King" a lot better. It also changes the Princess' bodice being laced up so tight it nearly kills her to the Prince's shirt. That's one hell of a shirt. The preoccupation with beauty is interesting with a king and prince though, and the female dwarves are fun.
Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Riding Hood)
This certainly is interesting, because it's one of the versions where both Grandmama (so Grandpapa in this version) and Little Red Riding Hood get eaten and never rescued. I would have liked to see a brave female woodcutter, but having this story of straying off the path and getting preyed upon for it be centered around a boy is definitely impactful. The wolf is introduced as "Mistress Wolf", which I don't love but since the Langs' originally chose "Gaffer Wolf", I can't really argue with that. I do argue with the way the wolf is illustrated though. Because they gave her a head of blonde hair on top of her fur and a red lipstick mouth.
The Sleeping Handsome in the Wood (The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood)
This is very interesting with the genders swapped. (Again could be read as the King giving birth, fun.) I'm all for armoured princesses climbing towers and falling to their knees at the sight of slumbering princes. This is also the Perrault version with the second plot where the in-laws want to eat the new spouse and the royal children, which adds the dynamic of the young Queen going to war while the beautiful King stays home and is endangered. The title irks me though. While I fully supported the use of "Handsome" as a name in the Beauty and the Beast story, I do not like it here. I'm sure there is something patriarchal about the way "beauty" can be used as a noun describing a person, while "handsome" cannot, but "the handsome in the woods" just sounds very jumbled to me.
Frau Rumpelstiltzkin (Rumpelstiltzkin)
Again with the unnecessary name change. "Frau" is an interesting pick, perhaps they were inspired by Frau Holle, but it's really not needed and it looks very forced. I don't like this story as much as most of the others, but mostly because it's not a very nice fairy tale to begin with. The romance isn't romantic, the kindness isn't kind, and changing the genders doesn't change that. The young king fighting to save his baby daughter is very charming though.
Mistress Puss in Boots (Puss in Boots)
Listen. If you insist on having a different title for it, go all the way with the old-fashioned language for animals and make it Pussy in Boots. Or go with the "Madame Puss" that is used in the story since the Langs' decided to use "Monsieur Puss" (hilarious). But the gender changes are fun in this. The Prince falling head over heels for the freshly-fished-from-a-ditch miller's daughter is very good.
Thumbelin (Thumbelina)
Another one by H.C. Andersen and very clearly a literary fairy tale. I really like the name change to Thumbelin and having a single (?) man wishing for a child and finding one in a flower is very lovely. I've always liked Thumbelina's aesthetic but rather disliked the story, everyone is forever trying to marry her against her will. I don't like the story more with a boy in the same position, but the change does hit hard because it.
If I had to pick a favourite from this book, I think it's Handsome and the Beast, but Cinder is also very fun with the genders reversed. I like this book very much as an experiment, but while I agree with the choice not to make it actual retellings, I wish a few more tweaks were allowed to make some parts flow more smoothly.
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