#here's a couple of starters i could order

[lire-casander]

when you find an amazing restaurant and there's literally not a single main you can order

[metalandmagi]

Romance Anime Starter List

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅

[minkdelovely]

love and power

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chapter six

“the more that you give away the more that you have.”

Alastor x Fem!Reader ; MDNI 18+ ; [y/n] used sparingly ; Alias in Hell is Sylvie

tags/warnings: diet codependency (doesn’t quench the thirst), mentions: blood play; biting, slow burn eventual: smut

word count: 3.2k

author’s note: don’t get too excited over the tags lol but we’re kicking things into gear cherished ones. i’m unsure how many chapters are left but i’d like to aim for ten (total; i’m low-key flying by the seat of my pants) but fire is starting to catch as we close in on our journey. thank you for sticking with me on this, i hope it’s been as fun for you as it has been for me and that my gratitude is properly conveyed in this chapter ❤️‍🔥

prelude ; chapter one ; chapter two ; chapter three ; chapter four ; chapter five ; chapter six ; chapter seven ; chapter eight

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Watching Alastor leave the hotel without you felt… strange. When he passed through the door you half expected to feel that invisible tugging at your neck, beckoning you to follow, but it never came. Leaving you unsure how to deal with the level of disappointment you felt at its absence. All you hoped was that he couldn’t see it in your eyes when he turned to give you a final smile before walking down the entrance stairs.

It had turned out to be quite the morning, just not in the way you had expected. Alastor told you about how your afternoons were to be spent over his breakfast, not the least bit apologetic for springing it on you at the last minute in spite of knowing since yesterday. A couple things clicked into place with this knowledge, like your conversation at the cafe. Just as you had suspected, what you had ended up talking about had nothing to do with the important things he had sat you down for.

That’s what he meant when he said he had a busy morning, you thought as you watched him pick at his food, looking less and less like the wraith you had seen the night before. You had used the phrase duality of man as a joke in your mortal life, but Alastor set quite a bar for it. Despite the short amount of time you’ve spent with him, you really had managed to learn a lot about him. A goal of yours that seemed to be… shifting.

What had been born from a place of survival was now skirting the lines of fascination. A discomfort settled in you as you realized this, knowing that you were drifting into dangerous territory. Developing a fascination — you couldn’t admit to another word yet — with Alastor wasn’t smart for a lot of reasons. He owned you, for starters. Not that you’d have ever been on even ground with someone of his status, but knowing you were literally at his beck and call… It was hard grappling with that. 

Your grandmother had been such a terror, the expectations she had of you impossible to obtain. Whether she blamed you for your mother’s death or if she would have treated you the way she did regardless was something you’d never know. But you thought you were done being pushed around and forced into boxes you didn’t fit when you went through with your plan to murder her. Turned a new leaf, as they say. 

Yet here you were, with not even a little bit of resentment towards your keeper. He annoyed you with his antics, sure, but you found yourself to be more fond of him than you had expected to be. Hell, you even took extra care making his bed every day despite knowing he didn’t sleep in it — it would’ve done no good to have him catching on that you knew he was just messing up the sheets. You were surprisingly reluctant to put his bed back in order this morning, wanting to preserve its state for as long as you could, burning the image of it to your memory. Even though they were still relatively neat, the slept-in sheets were a peek behind the curtain; another facet of him for you to collect.

The seemingly ever-present lump in your throat creeped up again, sending a tingling jolt through your body at this thought. Fondness, fascination. It had been a very long time since you had attached words like these to someone, and even then it wasn’t something you felt very often applied to anything past friendship. What little friends you had, anyway, preferring a small circle over a plethora.

You had experienced some romance in your life, but nothing longstanding. Flings might be a better word, comprised mostly of the usual dinner and a movie followed by some backseat fumbling. Living with your grandmother didn’t exactly present the option of bringing someone back to your room. And it was fun while it lasted but the payoff had never felt worth it in the end. You were more grateful for the distraction it provided from home than anything else. A lot of the time it just felt like another personality to juggle that you simply hadn’t the energy for.

But was this really something you were beginning to feel towards the Radio Demon? Or were you merely clinging to the twisted sense of stability he represented? Wanting to struggle against him to maintain as much autonomy as you could, or surrender? 

The memory of how Alastor had held your face in his hand surfaced then. How his eyes had been heavy with a desire you couldn’t pinpoint, the way your skin burned under the pad of his thumb. How, somewhere under the fear and exhaustion, you had been thrilled watching him taste the blood off your face. Your chest was tight again, breath shallow as your fingertips ghosted over that spot on your cheek.

Fuck.

You wanted to rip your hair out, the desire to run after him growing stronger with every step you saw him taking towards the city battling against your own self-worth. You wouldn’t go after him of course, not only because it would be pathetic but you knew he would be disappointed and quite possibly repulsed if you did. Neither were things you wished to be associated with in his opinion of you or yourself. Though in this moment, all you could feel in regard to yourself was disgrace. 

If someone had told you any of this a week ago, you would’ve balked at the idea. Actually wanting to please and follow Alastor around like a well-trained dog? Until quite recently you had looked forward to any time you could finally spend alone, but here you were, apparently counting the seconds until he returned home. 

Get a fucking grip, you scolded yourself, inhaling deeply through your nose as you forced yourself to make your way back upstairs to change clothes.

Group activities would be starting in an hour, and it wouldn’t do any good to be fretting over whatever Alastor was up to. Above your pay grade, remember? Remembering what a snide bitch he could be soothed you, the irritation you felt towards his words from earlier reassuring. Though your meaning couldn’t be more different from his, you wanted to believe that you weren’t totally hopeless. The erratic heartbeat under your ribcage begged to differ.

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Alastor never imagined that he’d be sick of heading to Cannibal Town, but there was a first time for everything. It was a novelty he might have actually appreciated under different circumstances. Valentino aside, his days were beginning to feel a bit too repetitive for his liking. Perhaps this meeting could end up being a blessing in disguise, a way for him to defuse some of the restlessness he was feeling.

He had to admit, your absence was… noticeable. Not that you could ever take its place, but having the option to take your arm had been a nice substitute for his microphone when his hand was feeling empty. As if to taunt him, his fist clenched with a nervous twitch, reminding him there was nothing to do with it other than keep it behind his back. Irksome.

The way you lingered around him before his departure hadn’t gone unnoticed, either, something he was unsure you wanted him to know or not. Though there was nothing you could really hide from him, not anymore. Alastor was now very in tune with the way your scent changed based on how you were feeling. It had been particularly strong and floral today, to the point where it still burned his nostrils with a pleasant ache. A keepsake, of sorts. How generous.

Even without that, it was obvious you had wanted to join him on this excursion. There was a sincerity in your ever-pouty face that was actually quite endearing. Still not a fan of frowns, Alastor was beginning to understand that it was your mask, intentional or otherwise, just as the smile was his. His original goal to strip it from you would probably never come to fruition with this revelation and he sighed, though not from disappointment. It was nice to be kept on one’s toes, after all, and he had already made the decision to find new ways to provoke you.

That’s not to say that he didn’t still wish to see what was hiding underneath that gray cloud you took shelter under. The few breakthroughs he’d glimpsed so far had been delightful. Getting you to murder someone wouldn’t work… though that wasn’t off the table. He’d just prefer you to want it; force wasn’t a measure he was willing to take in that regard, there was no satisfaction to be found in it that way. And so by extension, was getting you to indulge in a new eating habit. He hadn’t given up on that, either; he wasn’t lying when he said he thought you’d enjoy it under the right circumstance. 

Something came to mind and passed as quickly as it appeared, shocking him despite coming from some recess of his own imagination. The taste of blood was on his tongue from where he bit the inside of his own lip, and he relished the coppery tang, delight coating him thick as honey as he tentatively explored the thought. His ears twitched low as his horns grew just the smallest bit and he cleared his throat to calm down. Alastor wasn’t one to just lose his composure on the sidewalk.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, though with some hesitance. Alastor was always taken by surprise whenever his mind conjured up anything he considered to be salacious. But this sudden inspiration fell under same qualifications as his previous idea, if not under an even stricter sense. That was something you definitively needed to want, being it was something he very, very rarely desired to give. 

And what was it about you that made him want to? Clearly, some small part of him did. Had it just been too long and you happened to be an option now that this feeling was rearing its ugly head again? No. Alastor was too… picky to just choose someone out of convenience. He was unashamed to admit he had standards when it came to this. In fact, he felt the real issue at hand was that too many sinners didn’t, fucking anything that breathed with abandon.

His pulse jumped at the word: fucking. Was that even what he wanted? It would be enough just to have you taste him, bite into the flesh of his wrist and lap away at the blood that eagerly pooled to the surface. If you earned it, of course. As mentioned, his body wasn’t something he offered up on a whim to just anyone. But the thought of you enjoying it, unraveling at the feeling he hoped to inspire in you, your sullen face relaxed in the throes of pleasure in the taboo. His mind was racing now, running away with the fantasy as it so often did in these uncommon moments. 

What sounds could he illicit from you? He nearly bit through his tongue, thinking on the satisfaction it would bring to hear your voice, normally tinged with some level of sass, pleading and heady in his ears. How would you taste in his mouth — clean and tart, rich and sweet? What would you smell like, blooming under the touch of his mouth and hands? 

It wasn’t prudent of him to get swept up in this daydream, knowing the caveat to any of it being your willingness to partake. And he’d sooner face Adam’s axe again than ask, at least not without the inclination of acquiescence, which at this point was unknown to him. Uncharted waters.

Alastor hadn’t noticed that there was a sizable diameter of empty space between him and any other demon who happened to be walking by; rightfully threatened by the hungry look in his eyes, the tautness of his fanged smile, and the static that was crackling in the air around him as he approached the dry cleaners.

Thankfully he still had a bit of time to kill before Valentino arrived, needing every second he could get to center himself before their meeting. Were it not for his gloves, his clawed fingers would’ve easily punctured the soft skin of his palms, he was so wound up. But it was invigorating, this little idea of his, already feeling the ache ebb away as he shelved it for safe keeping. Only time would tell when he could dust it off.

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The afternoon had actually been… fun.

It had been a long time since you had experienced that, feeling a little ridiculous now as you lounged on your bed, thinking back on how nervous you had been to be roped into the daily activity with everyone. Charlie had obviously lead the charge, but the whole group had made you feel very welcome. Niffty had even sat next to you the entire time, her approval something you were unaware you were even wanting but now grateful to have. She was actually really charming.

Since it was your first time, it was mostly story-telling and introductions for your sake. It was clear they were a tight-knit bunch, and you found yourself hoping to find a place in their little circle. That seemed to be your theme for the day; seeing where you stand, fitting in. But it felt nice to open up, divulging bits and pieces of yourself to your housemates. You hadn’t realized how much you missed being part of a group, gossiping and sharing anecdotes. 

You told them about the accounting job you had, well-paying but boring all the same, which you didn’t think you minded at the time. Looking back, it really was just for a paycheck. There was no passion in your heart for it, and it was downright mayhem during tax season. Vaggie joked that she would be keeping this in mind when the need arose for bookkeeping, with you quipping back about cruel and unusual punishment.

A knock at the door interrupted your reverie, and you got up to answer it, opening your door to Alastor’s smiling face. The brief moment of butterflies you felt faded when you noticed the tired look in his eyes. You weren’t sure what mood you were expecting him to come back in, but you knew he had something on his mind. Beyond fetching you to perform chores — which he rarely did anyway, preferring that you came to him — what else would he stop by your room for than to deliver some kind of news?

He swept over you, no doubt picking your outfit apart all the way down to your bare feet. You were well aware that the cardigan and slip dress didn’t exactly fit into his definition of put together. Frankly, you were surprised Alastor didn’t force you to wear a corset under your uniform, a complaint you wisely kept to yourself for fear of giving him ideas. But for this, you couldn’t bring yourself to care, relishing the sparse opportunities you had to be in your own comfortable clothes; the v-shaped neckline of the dress allowing your poor décolletage to get some much-needed air. Besides, what could he really say? You were technically off the clock.

“May I come in?” he asked with a jarring sobriety, the absence of his radio filter giving you a chill. This wouldn’t be like the tête-à-tête you had this morning on the balcony. 

You simply moved out of the way, giving him the space to enter your room before closing the door behind you, keeping your attention on him as he stood with his back to you. Alastor’s shoulders moved as he took a breath, his expression concealed as his head fell back, looking to the ceiling as he exhaled.

He maintained this position as he spoke. “I’m afraid I must ask something of you, Sylvie. It won’t be dangerous, but it won’t be pleasant, either.”

There it was again, the illusion of choice. Why did he keep presenting things to you this way when he didn’t need to? Not that it upset you, it was a polite gesture after all, but well… He beckoned, you came running. Was it smart to be so willing to do his bidding? No. But after Angel talked a little about the way Valentino treats him — which he seemed to handle with a bravery you could only hope to have a portion of — you knew there was a level of safety that came with belonging to Alastor. Certain lines he simply wouldn’t cross out of duty to himself, resulting in a strange benevolence for you.

“What is it?” You were surprised at the calm in your voice. 

Alastor seemed to be too, his ear flicking at the sound before finally turning to look at you. The soft expression on his face sent blood rushing to your cheeks. You could almost mistake it for pride. Toward you. A burden you weren’t prepared to handle, apparently. A small sigh escaped him as he closed the gap between you and he absently picked at the shoulder of your cardigan, pinching the soft fabric in his fingers as he worked through what he was going to say next. For your part, you just tried to keep your breathing even and your hands to yourself. 

He released you, smirking without his usual venom but still with that strained look in his eye. The fraction of instinct you had that still worked told you that this wasn’t good, but you had a hard time letting that sink in the way it should, too distracted by the charge in the air between you.

“I met with Valentino today,” he said quietly, giving you a small, knowing smile as your brows knit together in concern. “He wants to meet you, in two days. As of right now that’s all it is but he’s reserved the right to make a final decision on what he wants once he speaks with you,” he practically choked on the words, anger nipping at the edge of his voice as he continued, “And there were certain… concessions that had to be made, given the circumstances. Proud as I am at what you did, I can also appreciate certain aspects of Valentino wanting reparation.”

You felt like a toddler being scolded for acting up in front of company, unable to stop yourself from looking away from him, embarrassment blending into your fear. He wasn’t wrong though, and you always had a feeling you would need to make up for what you did to Donny somehow. Meeting with Valentino was the least you could do, guilt already eating away at you for the position you had put Alastor in. No wonder he had been so upset last night…

“Will you be with me, at least?”

The question was out before you could stop it, the blush on your cheeks threatening to melt your face it was so hot with shame. Alastor huffed a laugh, the mischief returning to his eyes in a way that made you feel dizzy. 

“I’m afraid I don’t elaborate on stupid questions.”

Maybe it was the low timbre of his voice, or the familiarity of his smug grin when he knew he had denied you something. But the irritation you typically felt when he spoke to you this way was nowhere to be found, your brain practically empty with the exception of one thing. 

I’m so… fucked.

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tag list: @fairyv-ice, @wat4r, @midorichoco, @raynerrold, @krak-jj, @tremendoushearttaco

[heyjude19-writing]

I really enjoyed that u made a drarry starter kit/guide to reading that genre. Can u by chance make one for dramione (pls plug in when i should maybe read ur works, cuz all i see is so much praise for it! and im so excited)

happy new year !

Happy new year anon, and I'm more than happy to put this together! A quick disclaimer: I won't be recommending any dark fics. I’m not much of a dark fic reader myself and unless that’s something a reader specifically asks for, it’s not what I’d recommend starting with for dramione, especially if you’re new to the pairing. As always, read/write what you want, this is a purely subjective list. It’s also doomed to be incomplete/lacking. This ship is 20-plus years old at this point, there are more than 20,000 fics on Ao3 alone, which doesn’t account for the FFN-only fics as well as those lost to FFN purges and deleted LJ communities over the years (pours one out for Hawthorn and Vine). Don’t be afraid to fall down an older fic rabbit hole, there’s loads out there if you don’t mind looking.

Let’s start with fics that focus on Draco putting in the work to earn his redemption.

The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy is a Deathly Hallows rewrite and an excellent way to ease into this ship.

Once you've read that, come on over to the post-war side of things where we completely disregard the epilogue:

Remain Nameless

Wait and Hope followed immediately by Beginning and End

Apple Pies and Other Amends

The Eagle's Nest

Graveyard Valentine

Avalanche

Somewhere Down the Line

Not Fond of Asking

commit this to memory

Waifs and Strays

Tin Angel

Okay, now that you’re convinced Draco has the potential to even approach Hermione and that they could eventually be a couple, here are some more plot-driven fics.

Love and Other Historical Accidents

Heavy Lies the Crown

Distance

Enekpe’s Clock

Between Certifiable and Bliss

Carpathian

Looking Glass

Five Days

Okay, now you’re fully sold on these two and want to run the gamut of tropes, ratings, and story length:

Out of Order

Mutually Beneficial

Movements, Contrived and Improvised

He Becomes

Les Pelerins

The Alkahest

In These Silent Days

What You Think is Right

Boardwalk

Well Said, Hermione

Strange Birds

Mugglefied

The Seduction

Sex Ed

Breath Mints / Battle Scars

Ardent Bonds

Ordinary People

Ways and Means

Draco Malfoy’s Halfway House for Wayward Hens

Out of Mind

Celestial Navigation

I also want to acknowledge my FFN roots, since the first ever dramione fic I read was called their room. Some more FFN fics:

Macbeth

Fallen

The Mountain and the Sea

Bus Stop

Eight and Eighth

One Day in Autumn

Okay, that's probably more than enough to get people started 😅. Happy reading anon!

[pinkynana]

gamer boys are the easiest target for you. they barely interact with any other woman so the moment you find out haechan was a gamer boy, you promised to sit on his lap any time he wanted to. 

warnings : cock sucking, boob job, fingering, finger sucking, pussy slapping (like, once)

taglist : @matchahyuck @jiminsfiilter @jaemjunie @babyjenono @woniebuns @thegracerammy @jyowui (couldn't tag the last two)

note: as the starter of this series, i would like to tell you guys that reader doesn't actually have sex with most of the boys except one. because the point is that she uses these men for their attention and doesn't want anything else from them. if you dont like that you can just stop reading from here. please do not complain to me after this. enjoy reading if you stay!

all the seats were taken at the diner when you entered it. even the high stools were all full. some couples, some friends, some families and of course there were people who sat alone. seems like you had to flirt with that guy over there sitting at one of the booth so you could sit with him. 

you pasted on a sweet smile, rolled your skirt up to make it shorter and approached the guy that had his headphones on, focusing on his phone. you knocked on his table to make him look at you. he pushed the left side of his headphone to hear you saying "can i sit here with you?" 

"oh, sure." the guy pulled his plate towards him so you could have more space on your side of the table. you took the seat across him. as you landed your ass on your seat, his focus went back to his phone. 

it annoyed you. 

so you tap on one of his hands lightly. he gave you the same look he did a minute ago when you asked to sit with him. 

"what are you doing?" you asked curiously. "watching a stream." he answered. 

"twitch?" he nodded. "i wanna see." you got up and sat next to him. your face was literally next to his, your cheek touching his headphones. you have no idea who the streamer was but you watched anyway so the guy would be bothered by your presence. 

"ooh, can i have an egg salad, fries and a banana milkshake please? thank you!" you called out to the waitress walking past you. you actually wanted to eat a burger but that plan was canceled. there's no way you'd let this hot man witness how sloppy you eat. 

"i can't hear him." you whined. no shit, sherlock. he had his headphones on. 

he didn't say anything but he did turn his headphones off, placed his phone against the salt and pepper shakers so you two could watch the stream together. he thought you'd sit away from him, now that you didn't have to lean against his headphones to listen to something. but you stayed close to him. you were practically hugging his arm there. this stranger you met not even ten minutes ago. 

"you're a gamer?" you asked him. 

"yeah." 

probably why he's not pushing you away. when else could he have the chance of getting a pretty girl like you to stick on him like glue? 

"really? that's so hot. i always wanted to sit on the lap of a gamer guy while he plays his game." you realized how stupid you sound at the moment. you've done that plenty of times. this guy isn't the first. but still, it's your favorite thing because you could feel the guy getting hard underneath you. 

"what's your name, by the way? i'm ___." you finally introduced yourself. 

"i'm hyuck. donghyuck. i like your stars."  he was referring to your hair clips that were star shaped. his compliment made you shriek in excitement. you knew men liked those sounds. 

"thank you!" you gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

 "my food's here!" you did some tiny claps with your fingers, looking at the food you ordered. 

"can i uh.. can i get your number, ___?" he suddenly said, scratching his neck awkwardly.

he fell right inside your trap. 

"of course!" you took out your lipstick and started writing digits on his arm. 

donghyuck was confused as to why you did that. you could've just typed it in his phone. 

-

"people actually still do that?" donghyuck's best friend, mark looked at him weird. and then donghyuck smirked. "i'm telling you. this is legit, bro. i had red numbers on my arm." 

"she's like so hot but she still has a little side of cute in her too." donghyuck described you. and just at that moment, he received a call from you. he displayed your name to mark, shaking the phone in front of his face. "she's into me." 

she's really not. 

"hello?" 

"hyuck!" you whined. "i'm so lonely. what are you doing? can i come over?" he couldn't see you but you still made a cute little face. 

"of course you can, baby. come here. i'm just about to start my gaming session." 

you giggled. "you called me baby." 

"and does baby like it?" 

"she likes it." 

"then hurry here. i'll let you sit on me if you come fast enough." he convinced you as if you wouldn't have some sly tricks down your sleeves to make him let you sit on him while he plays. 

not more than 20 minutes later, you arrived at donghyuck's shared apartment with mark. you still haven't met this mark yet and he wasn't there when you came. if you saw him, you'd probably try getting his attention too. 

"hyuckie!" you spread your arms up high, asking for a hug from this gamer boy you've met for only three times, fourth if you count the lunch time at the diner. 

he immediately gave you the hug and you snuggled against his chest. "i can feel your heartbeat." you said. he kissed the top of your head, catching the scent of your citrus shampoo. 

"what does my heartbeat tell you?" he rested his chin on your head. "it's telling me that you like having me here." he laughed at your answer, pulling out of the hug and guiding you to his gaming set. 

"i'm streaming today." he sat on his gaming chair, patting his thigh to invite you to sit on him. usually you'd sit facing the pc to see the game and how it's played. but today you felt too lazy to pretend to care about that. you sat facing him, hiding your face on his neck as you gave it lazy kisses. 

"hi guys." he started speaking to his viewers. you hoped that some guys you messed with some time in the past would see this and recognize you and feel jealous of hyuck for being the man that got you now. 

"is she your girlfriend?" he read a comment. 

"are you?" he looked at you and you just winked, making him laugh. he left the viewer's question unanswered. 

"flip her skirt." he read another comment which made you perk up. "guys, my channel isn't 18+. i'm not gonna make her flash you." you smiled, snuggling closer to him. you wouldn't mind it if he made you flash his viewers without even asking you.

soon enough, you got bored with just sitting on his lap and not doing anything. he isn't even getting hard underneath you, not to mention his attention that's fully towards his game. why were you even there? 

you pushed his headphones away a little so he could hear your whisper. "hyuck, let's make out." he didn't say anything, focus still on his game as his fingers clicked on his keyboard. 

so you started grinding on his lap, not caring about his viewers anymore. he turned off his microphone before talking to you. 

"baby, let me finish this round first then we can make out." you shook your head and whined. "i want you to kiss me now." you pout your lips. "baby, i-" 

you shut him up with your lips, finally getting what you wanted from him. you licked up his mouth, exploring it. your hands behind his neck so he can't pull away. 

you hear a faint sound from his headphones that indicated that he lost the game. 

but he pushed your arms and pulled away anyway. you had a feeling that he's mad at you. gamer boys' rage can be dramatic but if he got mad at you or yelled at you, you'd leave him that very moment. you hate men who yell at women. their attention wouldn't matter anymore at that point. 

"get on the bed." he said. and you smiled in victory, seeing him ending his live. you giggled when you landed your ass on his bed, can't wait for him to get on the bed too. 

you stuck your tongue out at him so he could immediately suck on it. "naughty girl." he chuckled. you didn't care about anything else when he finally landed his lips on yours, taking away each other's breath. you could feel him getting hard as it kept hitting your thighs. 

gamers are so easy.

"hyuck, wanna suck you off." you said when he pulled away to catch his breath. "what?" he thought he misheard it. 

"let me suck you off. i know you're hard and it's because of me. so let me help you." your fingers played with the strings of his sweatpants, waiting for his agreement. 

"fuck, yeah. go ahead, baby. take my dick out and suck it. on your knees now." he told and you find it hilarious how he's trying to dom you when you've got the upper hand from day one. but you followed his instructions anyway, getting down from the bed to get on your knees. you pulled his sweatpants and his underwear down, revealing his hard and throbbing cock. 

the thought that you caused this made you dizzy. you feel powerful. hyuck has no idea. he sat down on his bed, having your face in between his legs.

you started jerking it off while looking at him with round eyes. you even leaned your face on his thigh, moving your hand on his dick lazily. looking so innocent while doing something so unholy. you opened your mouth and let his cock rest on your tongue without actually sucking it. "baby, none of that please. just suck my cock like a good girl." he groaned and you giggled. 

deciding to be nice, you closed your mouth around his cock as you moved forward so your nose hits his tummy. you let your tongue out so it could reach for his balls underneath. then, you moved back and then forward again. you loved the sounds that he's making. you loved the feeling of his dick twitching in your mouth. and you know you will love the way he pours his cum into you. 

"you're so good at this." his eyes were closed and his head was thrown back. you suddenly had an idea of how to make this more pleasurable. 

you took off your shirt, leaving your bra on so your breasts were perked together. you started rubbing his cock with your boobs while you kissed the tip that's peaking out. "fuck, you're so sexy looking like that." he started caressing your hair, praising you. the way he moaned louder and louder convinced you that he was close. 

"wanna cum on your pretty face." even if you had different ideas, you're still fine with making his wish come true. so you moved your breasts on him faster as you started sucking on his tip. 

"gonna cum. gonna cum. gonna cum. fuck, baby. fuck. paint your face with my cum. close your eyes" 

and he did just that. his juice landed everywhere on your face. you're glad he reminded you to close your eyes. you could feel it dripping from your eyelashes to your cheeks. he moaned at the sight, loving his masterpiece. 

"you can take a picture, hyuck." 

"shit. stay still, okay?" he left the bed to look for his phone. 

"open your mouth and stick your tongue out, please." he started taking your pictures. once he's done, he swipes his cum away from your eyes. 

"you wanna continue?" he asked but you immediately stood up. "actually i have plans with my girl friends tonight. you can help me clean my face though." 

you washed your face in his bathroom and he helped you redo your makeup since he's the one who ruined it. you sat on his sink, facing him.  you had him standing in between your legs. "just stroke it up." you guided him to apply mascara on you. "what if i poke your eye?" he worried but you took his hand and showed him how it's done. 

"you can take it slow. i'm in no rush." you ensured him. 

"maybe you should just bail." he pulled the mascara wand away from your face. "awwh, but i haven't met my girls in so long." as if you actually cared about meeting them. convinced enough, hyuck continues to help you apply your make up. 

seeing him this close, with such a focused face made you count his moles and admired how beautiful he actually is. once he was done with your mascara, you pulled him into a kiss, softer than your make out session from before. then you started giving kisses on his moles. 

when you pulled away, hyuck had his fingers on your chin. "want me to eat you out, baby?" you bit your lip at his invitation. it was tempting, of course. but you want to keep kissing him too. 

you thought of a solution. "maybe fuck me with your fingers? i really like kissing you." you gave his lip a little lick. he chuckled at your suggestion. "and you said you didn't want to continue after swallowing my cum." 

he started kissing you again, this time with his fingers teasing your core. "hyuckie, want your fingers in me. don't you want to make me cum on your fingers?" you turned impatient. 

"of course, baby. want you to make a mess just from my fingers." you loved the fact that he kept kissing you after you told him that you liked it. your makeup was ruined again at this point but you didn't care. kissing hyuck felt so addicting to you. he looked so pretty like this. 

you feel his fingers pushing your panties aside to put it in. you smiled on his mouth. you thought you'd be cumming on your own tonight. you were thankful for making a last minute decision of letting him finger you like this. 

he started pumping them in and out if you. "messy baby." he's probably talking about how wet you were and the squelching sounds from both your lips. 

"nggh, hyuck. wanna cum." you bit his shoulder and started moving your hips on his fingers, desperate to chase your high. 

"fuck, you look so sexy." he fucked his fingers into you faster than before, wanting to see how messy you'd get once he makes you cum for him. "cum, baby. you're doing so well." his lips came back to yours so he'd have you moaning on his mouth. 

you started babbling nonsense when you let go and came on him. "fuck, baby. so fucking sexy for me." he slapped your cunt once before bringing his fingers to his mouth, tasting your juices. 

"you taste so good. i should really eat you out next time." 

next time, huh? as if. 

"we have to do my makeup again." you said. "i'm sorry, baby. i'll help you." 

you left his apartment after you're sure that you look presentable. but most of all, you left while being sure that all the next times donghyuck jerks off, he'll think of you. he'll use the picture he took and wish you were there to suck him off again. wished he could at least fucked you. but you won't. 

this is enough. you made him hard, made him cum, made sure that he thinks of you next time. he'll probably even compare other girls to you. 

you won in the game he didn't know he was playing. so who's the gamer now?

[heyidkyay]

Pause it, play it, pause it, play it | Market girl AU

Matty x marketseller!reader

Summary: Saturday's are always the same working the stall, until a stranger stops in to disrupt your cassette display...

Authors note: A one shot for you, needed something to help me with a little writer's block so I hope it's alright! Nothing too detailed, mostly just fluff, just saw that middle picture and the idea took root:)

--

“Oi, Rob… You see where I set those new slips I just had?” I called out loudly, riffling my way through the boxes I’d brought over from the van that very same morning. “I swear I left them here in one of these lot.”

Rob seemed to shuffle over towards me at the beckon, peering around the tent whilst I pulled apart one box’s contents. 

I huffed when I heard a familiar crunch and looked over my shoulder to see him stood there munching on an apple. “Nah, babe. Sorry. I can ‘ave a look though if you want, got Nance watchin’ out for me.” ‘Nance’ being Nancy, Rob’s massive Alsatian that had once been his grandad’s guard-dog when he’d manned the stall years back. 

With a soft chuckle I pushed myself up onto my feet once more, tucking my hair behind my ears as I went. 

“Have at, can’t for the life of me find them.” I told him, watching on in growing amusement as he bit down on the green fruit to hold it between his teeth whilst he mooched about the pyramid of cardboard boxes for me, “Sure you’ll still have enough left to sell? Last Saturday you ate your way through six of those, the one before that was the highest yet, at eight.”

Huffing, Rob took another bite of his apple and then shot me a wink. “Keepin’ an eye on me, are you?”

I rolled my eyes as a breathy laugh escaped me, falling against the stall’s main bench so that I could cross my arms over my chest. 

A quick glance at the time told me that we still had a while yet ‘til it hit nine and the market opened properly, letting that first bit of crowd sail in. Though I’d always found it was easier most days to just enjoy the atmosphere that was Portobello, instead of focusing in on the imminent mob.

See, I’d been at the market since I were nine, working the vintage stretch with my mum and aunt, having grown all too fond of the people and their many eccentricities. Rob was of the same cloth, though a tad bit older, just enough that I’d had the fattest crush on him and that East London accent of his as a kid. 

It had faded over time, mind, what with him jetting off a couple years back when he’d been a holiday rep in Ibiza and me realising that I’d wanted to try my luck at art school. Not that either of those things had worked out, which had ultimately led us back here, surprised not to be rid of the other.

He was as close as I could get to a best mate though. Strange yeah, but he was family, wasn’t he? Everyone who worked the market was.

“With an arse like that? Always.” I retorted easily enough to have him laughing along with me and shaking his head at my antics. Something he’d grown all too used to in the recent years since I’d come back and made my mark with a stall of my own.

It wasn’t anything too grand, my stall. Nothing like the tourist trapping shops that sat a little further down, but sweet enough for the likes of me and the massive music collection I managed to drag down here each weekend. Set up was always mad, yes, but with Rob, Nancy and a few other early starters, time slipped away quick enough.

“Here we go then.”

I blinked and looked back over at Rob, who was now beaming brightly at the set of LP slips I’d ordered in special, waving them about in smarmy pride. I swatted his side as I made a grab for the things, only to have him lift them up higher to where I couldn’t reach. 

“Don't be a twat, pass them over. We open in five!”

Rob simply chuckled in retort, taking another chomp out of that apple of his. “A thanks wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Yeah, yeah, I would’ve gotten to it!” I swiftly shot back, jumping up to swipe them from his grasp and grinning in triumph when I managed it. He only laughed, a slight rasp working its way into it like it typically did. “Thanks.” I added after I’d thumbed through the lot, smiling up at him as he made his way to the other side of the tent. 

“Buy me a pint and we’ll call it even, treacle.”

I gave him a roll of my eyes, but agreed without much fuss. “Fine, but just the one, tight arse.”

His hearty chuckle filled the steadily growing street of sellers and I watched on as he stroked Nancy’s collar before settling back in at his own stall which resided by mine.

“Penny’s take care of the pounds, my darlin’.”

I raised a single brow and tucked the slips into one of the closer vinyl cubbies- 70’s Proto-punk wasn’t much of a seller anyway. “You mean, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.”

Rob clucked his tongue, waving the correction away with the hand that held his apple core, “Alright, smart-arse. You knew what I meant.”

I smirked, tittering quietly to myself whilst he settled his usual bum bag around his hips. It suited him, I thought, the neon green pouch sitting atop that awful red and white apron he’d pinched off the butchers up in Notting Hill when he’d worked there for a weekend. Though I much preferred my own, my nephew having decked it out in all sorts of pins and patches for me a while back now. 

With that Rob and I settled into our own stations, me taking perch on the old wooden stool I’d found in the back of a garden shed, and Rob being his usual loudmouth self, beckoning the arriving customers on closer.  

The crowd grew bigger and bigger the closer it got to ten, lots of people stopped by to have a chat or a look round, a few purchased a couple of bits. It was mainly just the vinyls that sold these days, but I still had posters, cd’s, and even cassettes on show.

It wasn’t usual for the cassettes to get a good look over though, mainly just a ‘Oh! Do you remember them?’ and then a small laugh before people eventually moved on. Which was why I was more than a little surprised to see a figure having a right old rummage through the steady collection I owned, once I’d managed to wrap up another sale. 

Glancing about, I spotted a pair of old birds flirting with Rob by the pears, Nance having gone to settle herself down by my bag in the back to hide from their gentle clucking, and how the crowded mob had thinned out a tad since most people had made their way further down the road’s neck.

I tucked the few notes I held into my pouch and stepped over a tangle of cables to make my way closer to the person, taking in their too big graphic tee and the tight zip up that had been layered over top of it. The nearer I grew the more I spotted though, the slight nod of a head as fingers worked their way deftly through the collection, the array of dark curls that poked their way out of the sides of a worn cap, and then the tiny hoop which dangled from a right earlobe. 

“Looking for something specific?”

The bloke didn’t startle much, there was no real jump at the sound of my voice, only the slight tilt of his head, as though he was used to being caught off guard. I watched him closer after that, noting how his thumb trailed across one of the few Sonic Youth singles I had.

“Their ‘86 album?”

His voice was gentler than I’d first been expecting, rasped with a slight accent I couldn’t quite place. I blinked at his ask, skimming through the catalogue of tapes my mind offered me, which hardly ever seemed to move from their typical place of sorting. 

“Um, top right? Should be one there, got Sister and Goo too, if I’m not wrong. Though the ‘88 album seems to be their most popular- even in cassette form.” I had rambled a tad there, I knew that much, but it was all part of the job to me. Talk and talk until they either fled the scene or decided to buy more than what they’d first come for. “You into cassettes then?”

He gave me a low chuckle and pulled away from the stand slightly, it was then that I caught sight of his face, a tad bit stubbled and lips parted almost in wait. He must’ve been closer to Rob’s age than my own.

I raised a brow when he didn’t offer me an answer, tilting my head in turn. “Or, is it a gift of some sort?” I dragged out.

With a blink, he seemed to stand a little taller and I noticed he only had an inch or two on me.

“Er, no.” He muttered, before mimicking my head’s movement and propping his elbow up on the cassette stand almost as if he was attempting to suss me out. It took a second before he finally flashed me a slow but genuine smile, “Looking for a certain sound. Some tapes sound better than the actual record so I figured here would be my best bet.”

I hummed, crossing one ankle over the other. “The further back you go you can hear it, but most of their stuff's good either way.”

He smirked as he settled in further, looking out at me from under the brim of his cap, “Aren’t you meant to be selling it to me?”

My laughter couldn’t have been helped because he did have a point there, only… “It’s just not everyday that someone pops by to talk about music mediums with me.” I argued, all too pleased when I heard him give another hearty chuckle in reply, “So forgive me for my excitement.”

“Will do.” He simpered, eyes flicking down to where he still held the Evol tape, I reached out to tap its plastic top.

“That one’s known for its ballads, if that’s something you’re into, but,” I practically sang before peering round him to see if I could find the one cassette case I was thinking of, “If you’re wanting a specific sound then A Thousand Leaves is probably worth giving a listen to. Personally I don’t think it got the recognition it deserved, but there was a lot of experimenting whilst also managing not to betray their roots, you know? It’s softer, smoother, and the guitars are almost unmatched.”

When I went to hand it over to him just to have a look at, I found him already watching me with this inscrutable sort of expression. I merely brushed it off, figuring that he’d just leave if he did eventually grow tired of my ranting, then turned slightly when a round of whispers echoed around the tent. It seemed a few younger girls had wandered straight on over to the independent artists section I had placed by the front and were arguing over who got this one Sam Fender album.

I looked away and went to say something else to him, but the way he'd simultaneously moved to angle his back away from the cassette tapes when he too spotted the new arrivals wasn't lost on me. I frowned a tad, though chose not to comment on it. “So, what sort of sound are you searching for anyway?”

His gaze skittered away from the tapes to meet mine for a second and I wondered, briefly, why he’d so suddenly lost the relaxed stance he’d been in just minutes before, but then he said, “Anything I haven’t heard much of before, in truth.”

Mulling his words over I then gestured towards the stand. “Can I?” I gestured, and immediately he knew where I was going with it, jumping back a step to let me riffle through the lot. 

I pulled out a couple I figured he might be into, simply going off of the Sonic Youth album he’d been eyeing, then a few of my own favourites, not that I’d let that tidbit slip. 

Handing them over, I let him search through their titles and answered one or two questions he had for me. I had to admit he intrigued me a bit, I’d had music enthusiasts stop by and talk about this and that with me, even had a couple people who played and were searching for new stuff to learn and adapt, but him? He didn’t give much away.

“Any good?” I questioned once I'd wandered back over to join him. I’d only left him to look through the selection again when a customer had called me over towards the front, and was just tucking away the few extra coins I’d been given when he glanced up at me with a bright grin. I was a little surprised to say it caught me off balance a bit.

“I’ll take the lot.”

Trying my hardest not to outright baulk, I paused. “The lot?”

Sure, cassettes weren’t all that pricey, not compared to pressed records at least, but there must’ve been just over a dozen that I’d pulled out to show him and now he supposedly wanted to take them all.

He laughed after a moment, most likely at the baffled look that marred my face, and made to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. “That gonna be a problem?”

The question was almost argumentative, pushy even, but in a jokey sort of way, the kind you’d use when ribbing a mate, not now. Not with some stranger at a market stall. It only left me marvelling further.

“Might be, I’ll have to find a bag big enough to fit them all though.” I countered, hiding my own smile when I heard him laugh again whilst I spun around to fetch exactly that.

“Anything will do, love.”

I dipped my chin in a slight nod but didn’t go right for the usual stack of black baggies I used for most sales, instead I swiped one of the few printed totes I had hung up for trade and tallied up the price. “You gonna be alright walking the rest of the market stretch with that?” I teased him, looking up once the transaction completed to hand him the now very full bag only to find him already looking back at me.

He hummed around a sly smile, fingers meeting mine around the totes handle before they were slipping away again. “Think I’ll make do. Only came looking for these anyway.”

My brows jumped up in surprise as I watched him tuck his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans. “Everyone loves Portobello.” I murmured and his light laughter echoed around the market stall once more before he simply shrugged. 

“Been a couple times before, and besides, don't reckon I’ll get a better deal than this, do you?”

My eyes narrowed when I smiled, humoured by his easy going nature and quick quips. I found that I wanted him to stick around a while longer, if only to solve the mystery he made. “No, don't reckon so.”

He lingered for a moment or two more, simply smiling at me and I found myself smiling back, before a gaggle of school kids wandered on over, loud and uncaring of the looks they garnered. They caught my attention too and I found myself reminiscing over years where I’d been much of the same. 

When I glanced back over to him, I saw that he was gone. My forehead pinched in confusion and I glanced around to see if I could spot him in the busy crowd, but it had grown all too quickly again and appeared easy enough for anyone to get swept up and lost in. 

I rocked back on my heels as I gave up the search, just before I was called over by one of the kids asking for a specific LP. I let it go, him and the strange encounter we’d shared, and went about the rest of the day just going through the motions.

By the time seven o’clock rolled around I was shattered and had already packed most of the stall away. I waited patiently for Rob to help me with loading the larger bits into the van, watching Nance for him whilst he wrapped up what remained of the fruit and veg, knowing he’d take most of it back home to his family. It was at that moment that I caught sight of something amiss in the vinyl cubby I’d used to hide those slipcovers in just before we'd opened. 

I walked over and was more than a little dumbfounded to spot a cassette lying there on its side. Standing On A Beach. One of The Cure albums I’d mentioned to that bloke in the cap earlier, the very same he’d gone and bought, and the exact one I was more than sure I’d bagged. 

I picked it up, feeling Nancy brush up against my side whilst Rob called out to say that he was just dropping off his usual round of goodybags to the nearby sellers. I waved him off, then looked down at the tape I held, pausing when my thumb caught on something attached to the back. 

Flipping it over I found a quickly scribbled note, its corner tucked into the case's opening so that it would hold its place. 

(It sounded like you enjoyed this one when I asked about it. Know it’s a first edition too, so I figured maybe you should be the one keep it. - Matty.)

Matty.

“What you smiling at, weirdo?”

I startled at the sound of Rob’s usual drawl, head snapping over to my left to find him already trailing back towards us, a happy grin plastered over his face. 

“Go on, tell us!” He ribbed, and now that he was drawing nearer I was quick to tuck the note into my back pocket. 

“Nothing, just this tape. Figured I’d keep it.” I told him with a small shrug, clutching the cassette closer when he hip checked me in passing and bent down to give Nancy a good old stroke.

“Thieving your own gear! Wow, that’s a new low even for you.” Rob chuckled, shooting me a bright smile before he stood once more.

“Hush up, it’s a goodun. Forgot I even had it.” I defended, but he merely continued to laugh at me. Rolling my eyes, I shoved his arm lightly before I said, “Now be useful for once and grab the last of those boxes for us, will you.”

“Tetchy.”

I simply snorted, shaking my head as I moved to pick up my bag, clinging to the old cassette case for a second before finally dropping it inside. 

“You coming then?”

With a deep breath I took one last glance around the stall and didn’t see anything that had been missed, so I wiped down my jeans and then gave Nance another pet, “Yeah, coming!”

…

My week continued on much the same after that. I worked in the local pub behind the bar when I wasn’t performing on the crate stage there and on my day off I took the tube over to see my mum and nan. They lived further East nowadays, closer to the clinic my nana hated but needed, and not too far from the street she’d grown up on as a girl.

Saturdays were my only market days, even though it was open most of the week. Rob usually did Fridays there and the rare Tuesday too, when he could be arsed. Though the rest of his time was used up by frequenting the old boxing club every other evening, training and helping out with the younger lot that liked to come in. I’d only been half a dozen times, but he was very much in his element there.

So in shorter terms, my week had slipped on by without much fanfare, which meant that Saturday had seemed to both crawl and shoot back around. 

I opened the stall like usual, only without Rob for the first time in ages. He had apparently come down with some sort of bug or other that he’d gone and caught off of his nieces when he’d popped round to see them Wednesday afternoon- and well, he was a man, wasn't he? Which ultimately meant that he was dying. 

He’d let me have Nancy though, seeing as she hadn’t been out very much since the cold had hit him. So the Alsatian had jumped in my van that same morning and had been as good as gold all day. To be honest, she was a much better seller than me and I could see why Rob always brought her along with him, people seemed to flock to dogs which in turn meant more sales for me.

I’d been fanning the crowds away ever since we’d opened, which typically only tended to happen during half term or school holidays, but nonetheless it was a more than welcome change after the crappy tips I’d garnered down at the pub the night before.

‘Cause well, since I’d dropped out of school I’d taken to performing there on the more livelier nights, a few covers, one or two of my own songs, and then I’d end the set and slide behind the bar to serve. Normally I was fine with that, the tips were often good when both the older folk and the younger lot rolled in, Friday nights especially. Only, there’d been a gig on down at the O2 so we hadn’t gotten our usual patrons in, and had instead been sacked with a couple of stragglers and a less than lively lot.

Still, today more than made up for it.

The sun was shining as much as it could do during a London March, the skies were blue although not completely clear, and the market crowd seemed to be in good spirits too.

Sy, who worked a couple stands down, had passed out a tray of coffees not too long ago, just after the lunchtime rush, and then Dianne and Reg had followed with some of their freshly baked pastries. They’d even thought to bring a little treat over for Nance too. 

I'd just texted a picture to Rob to show him what he’d missed out on by having a case of man-flu and had just got up to toss the last of the rubbish away when I was caught off guard by an unexpected surprise.

“You!”

Matty, my mind supplied a half a second later. The same name that had been circling my thoughts since he’d left me that note the Saturday prior. I blinked at the sight of him. He was wearing a cap again, although this one was different, a dusky navy blue that he’d gone and tucked under a giant grey hoodie. 

“Me.” He grinned in glinted amusement, jutting out his chin in a gentle hello. “Figured I might find you here.”

The snort I gave was unprecedented, “Oh, really? Wonder what gave that away.”

Matty smirked. Matty. It felt strange to put his name to his face then, even though it had been puttering around in my head like the bouncing DVD logo since the last time we’d met. 

“Got any more tapes for me then?”

My eyes squinted in my attempt to dim my smile, not really believing that he was actually here, before I pursed my lips and tilted my head at him. “Might do. Take it you liked the last few?”

He hummed, smiling down at Nancy who’d trailed on over and allowing her to sniff at his hand. When she nudged his leg with her snout I watched on as he dropped into a crouch to give her a proper stroke. Nance seemed to be quite taken with him after that. 

I propped a hip against the nearest vinyl cubby, crossing my arms over my chest whilst he replied, “They were good- helped a lot, in truth. You were right about the Roxy Music album, too.”

Chuffed with that, I shot him a pleased little grin. 

“You’ll come to learn that it’s to be expected.”

“What, you bein’ right?” Matty wondered with a low laugh, petting Nancy’s head once more before he forced himself back up onto his feet. 

“What I said, in’t it?”

He shook his head softly and I felt his eyes on me before I finally gestured him on over to the cassette stand. “I found a few new ones in the charity shop near my mum’s the other day, figured it’d be best to add to the collection after you nearly took the lot.” 

“Wow, and she’s dramatic too.”

I swatted his arm thoughtlessly, then stilled the second I realised what I’d done, but Matty was either none the wiser to my momentary pause or just didn’t care. “That come with the job then? Having to be mouthy?”

My jaw dropped a tad at his sudden cheek and I tutted around the tiny beginnings of a stuttered laugh, “You’re brave. I’ll let you have that. But honestly, you’re probably not wrong there either.” We shared a chuckle, coming to a standstill by the tower full of tapes, “Most of this lot have to be gobby enough to have a shout at bagging any customers, especially when Rob’s around.”

“Rob?”

I titled my head over towards the next stall which sat empty, “Yeah, he works the fruit and veg. Might’ve seen, or rather heard him last weekend.”

Matty gave a slow nod, dragging his gaze away from where I’d pointed and back to the many cassettes I had to offer.

“So what're we looking for this time?” I smiled, thoughts on The Cure tape he’d gifted me, although wary to mention it too soon. “80’s Punk? Electro? Rhythm and Blues?” I dragged that last one out, enjoying the sight of his smile and how it only appeared to lift on one side before dimpling the corner ever so faintly.

“Give me one of your favourites.”

“Mine?” I blinked.

He hummed again, fingertips trailing over multiple rows of cases. I watched the movement, caught up in it in actuality, before I tore my eyes back over to him. 

I caught him looking again, only this time around I didn’t much question it, not when the Saturday sun sitting high in the sky reflected so prettily in his eyes. Lightening them enough that they almost appeared to glow. 

I followed through on the ask though, once I’d finally managed to get my head in working order and drag my gaze back towards the task at hand, pulling out an extensive range of cassettes, both singles and albums, for him to view. 

Matty liked to talk, I quickly learned. He asked question after question, even when it seemed like he knew more than he was letting on at times, and he waited whenever someone else walked over, sitting amongst the back shelves with Nancy whilst I talked and sold a couple of vinyls.

Soon enough the sun had started to dip low in the sky and we realised that the hours had honestly escaped us. I was startled when I finally looked down at my phone to see that it was almost time to start packing away, having lost myself in the conversation we’d shared, or rather the debates we had both started over artists and genres, and what decade had done the most for music. 

“Oh shit! I can’t believe it’s almost half six!”

Matty appeared to remember himself at my exclaim, pulling out his own phone to see for himself and blowing out a large breath when it rang true. “Fuck, ah, I didn’t even realise.”

He actually looked somewhat apologetic when he met my eye again. 

I shook my head and waved him off, “You’re all good, actually one of the best market days I’ve had in truth, made almost double than what I did last weekend, even with the stash you claimed.”

With a soft laugh, Matty made to stand, holding out a hand to help me up too once he'd found his footing. I smiled softly at the offer and took it, perplexed by the careful callouses which lined the tops of his fingertips and the soft palm that accompanied them.

“You play?”

“Hm?”

My chin jerked over towards where an older acoustic hung on display in the stall across from mine, “Guitar. Do you play?”

His brows knitted together at the ask but he did eventually give me a low chuckle too, hand still holding my own. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

My eyes flickered up to find his and I gave a small smirk, unable to help myself. “Intuition.”

Matty scoffed in amusement, “Oh yeah? How’s that work?”

Shrugging a single shoulder, I stepped on closer to him, near enough that the brim of his hat shaded the top half of my face and the toes of our shoes almost aligned. “Just comes to me, I ‘spose.”

He quirked a questioning brow.

“What’s your intuition telling you now then?”

I bit down on the insides of my cheeks in hopes to contain my playful smile, figuring I’d best take the chance now while it was being handed to me. “That you’re gonna buy me a drink.”

“Am I?” Matty answered, voice dropping a fraction as a grin threatened to split his face.

Humming, I could only smile, eyes flickering between his own before they darted up towards the brim of his cap. With the hand not holding his, I reached up and settled it a little lower on his head, then glanced back down at that growing grin. “I mean, if you’re gonna keep coming back each Saturday then…”

His eyes narrowed a tad and finally he let go of the chuckle he’d been holding onto, leaning in even closer to me. “Intuition telling you that?”

“Hm, along with a couple other things.” I quipped, revelling in the hand that came to rest on the hem of my jeans. “So, that drink?”

Matty laughed, sweet and lovely. “Might know a place.”

“Good,” I murmured in the little space he’d placed between us, mouth almost touching his own before I was smirking and pulling away, “Guess you can help me pack up then.”

Matty huffed out a breathy chuckle whilst shook his head at me, watching as his hand slipped from mine. Though he wasn’t left lonely for too long, seeing as Nancy padded on over to him for another round of strokes whilst I set to picking up a horde of albums. “Tease.” He shot out, though he didn't look too disheartened.

I gave him a loud laugh in return, content with being labelled as such. “Well you’d best get to work then. Quicker we’re done here, quicker we can see about you and me sharing anything other than a drink.”

And he did, he set to work swift enough, the two of us slipping by one another with a gentle ease we shouldn’t have yet earned and sharing soft smiles in the lessening market bustle. All the while I continued to wonder and watch him, thinking back on the cassette he’d gifted me and the sudden fondness I’d found for him. 

“Ready to go?” He asked me not long later and I found myself never wanting to say no to that pretty smile of his. So I just nodded and took the hand he held out, Nance moving to join us too before we finally ventured our way out of the market street. Matty asking me every question he’d been holding back the further we got, and making realise that I had a horde of my own.

[hoony2k]

HOLD THIS FOR A SEC!

You hand them your beverage and excuse yourself for a moment. How will they take care of your drink?

PAIRING: 7/7

GENRE: fluff

WARNING: none. no specific drink is mentioned

NOTE: old post that I dusted and renovated thumbs up emoji

★ HEESEUNG

He's a perfect choice, just look at his physique- broad shoulders, slender body and limbs. plus, he's incredibly good at communicating with his eyes. he can go from Bambi/doe eyes to smug and overconfident in seconds. He's going to interact like how he does normally and will use his body language to scare people he mistrusts. Like Sunoo he will hold your cup and unlike Sunoo it doesn't exactly look natural but it does get the message across that his sharp eyes are cautious. the moment you return, his expression will return to normal as he gives you a bright smile.

★ JAY

not the first time someone has asked him to do this, just look at him sweet guy with such a trustworthy personality. Takes it casually, and doesn't make a big deal out of it. Keeps the cup close but not too close to it indicating that the seat next to him (yours) is taken. If someone tries to come sit on it or leans close enough to be suspicious- he will very rudely and bluntly call them out. "Don't lean over me to order. Can't you see there's space on the left? " Someone's already sitting here." A classic "can I help you?" "Do I know you?" Guy

★ JAKE

He takes his job very seriously. He's not dramatic about it but his eyes do NOT leave your drink and seat. If someone's talking to him, he'll respond normally but will spare quick glances at the person. Keeps his eyes glued and actually loves that you trust him enough with such a task so he wants to ensure you'll feel comfortable and safe enough to ask him again in the future. Eventually pulls your drink closer just in case-can't take any risks even if no one is 3 feet around. i love him

★ SUNGHOON

A goofy guy, a prankster if you will. Tells you not to worry and by the time you leave the gears and cogs in his brain are already turning. He'll keep an eye out but he's going to test your beverage to see if it's good. if he hates it, he'll pull a face and then get you a new one. why would you drink something so disgusting? Goes to the kitchen to get you a new beverage from the fridge. When you return, he doesn't warn you about a change in taste. You ask what the hell happened to your previous drink and he simply gives you a thumbs up and says a fly fell in.

★ SUNOO

Doesn't matter what the setting is or if he is around people he knows. He'll place his cup on the table, pick up yours and pretends its his. It's in his hands so basically there's no way anyone can come past his quick eye. No one would even suspect a thing because he looks so natural doing it that he forgets about it until you come back. He probably takes a few sips, lost in thought and then bam! remembers that he's drank half of it.

★ JUNGWON

Very sensible about it. He's going to cover your cup with something like a cup coaster or a couple of napkins. He's going to keep the drink close by but will return to whatever he was doing. He's done a really good job at covering the drink but wonders what is taking you so long. He finishes his drink before he gets up to search for you. When you two finally reunite, he begins to talk with you. In the end, both of you would forget about your drink.

★ NIKI

First, his chest swells with pride realising you came to him. Secondly, he realises you just gifted him a perfect opportunity for a prank so why would he decline? there are many ways this could go about, for starters he would drink half of your drink or more and then say this was how you gave it to him. In another situation, he'd drink a bit and mix another drink to spoil the taste and offer an innocent smile before returning the cup. He wouldn't pull anything that would make you distrust him but next time you hand your drink you'll be prepared that you're getting pranked.

thank you sm for reading!

all rights belong to hoony2k. please do not translate/edit/copy.

[morgana-ren]

Why do you think Bailey has such regret/panic after he fucks the PC?

I think that ultimately, there's a few reasons why that is.

For starters, Bailey has cultivated a 'no bullshit, no excuses' atmosphere in his orphanage. You have a set date he expects payment, and if you don't have it, you pay another way-- he extracts value from you, one way or another. However, that doesn't mean what one might think it would mean in a devious concept (at least not regarding Bailey himself.)

We know Bailey has some sort of miserable past likely mirroring your own. The only thing that seems to shake him is that attic. It alludes to the fact that he may have grown up in the orphanage, or maybe before he bought it, it was something different and darker entirely.

The way he seems to have gotten over it is by separating himself entirely from any form of sentimental or gentle emotion. Like poof, gone. Not a fucking ounce of humanity left in that man. Not one. He found a goal, and he sticks to it steadfast. That goal is to-- more or less, anyways-- to never be vulnerable again. The town he lives in is sick, and it's wrong. Something is going on in this place that makes people exceptionally more licentious; more rotten. Dark desires that most people would never even conceive of entertaining are rather commonplace here. In more ways than one, they have everyone-- victims and perpetrators-- by the balls.

One way to crawl your way to the top would be to remove yourself from that situation-- and then take advantage of it. If you're not looking at anyone as a potential victim of your lust, but rather purely as a paycheck, it removes a lot of the complications. The town still has a facade of law and order, as we can see if you frame Leighton, or just allow Briar to get raided, the cops at least pretend to do their jobs when confronted with cold, hard evidence.

Bailey has avoided this outcome because, plain and simply, he doesn't indulge. Doesn't even consider it. He doesn't take advantage of his charges in the way one might expect. In the way that Leighton does, or the way that most of the people in this perfidious town do-- with pure, unadulterated lust and base desire.

Bailey is all about the paycheck, which has the double advantage of making him rich, and riding him under the radar. Both of these things, when coupled with his raw power, leave him relatively untouchable.

Let's examine what sleeping with the PC means knowing all of this.

Well, having sex is in and of itself a vulnerability. Especially in the way it's instigated with him. It's actually sort of brilliant: it literally breaks every single rule he has. Even the unspoken ones.

He shows humanity in being seduced. It reveals a weakness, both to him and to someone who could potentially take advantage of it. It shows that he very much does suffer from base human desire to the point where it's actually boiling over from his repression.

And how you seduce him has him breaking his very strict rules on payment.

No mercy, and no leniency. That's what one can usually expect from Bailey. No amount of batting your eyes and pouting your lips at him will get you what you want. It might work for everyone else in this shithole, but not him.

....Except it does.

In fact, it works so unbelievably well, that he pounces. Literally.

He loses all sense in that moment. Just goes right out the goddamned window. You ask him for a little extension on the payment, which should be an automatic 'no' without even thinking-- except he makes the mistake of looking at you when normally, he probably wouldn't. He would just keep his nose in his paperwork and point wordlessly to the door.

(This shows a pique of attention when it comes to the PC themselves. He seems to indulge them a little more than he would anyone else, which you see on several occasions.)

The PC doesn't even technically outright ask for anything. Just puts on a little show in the most minor sense, and Bailey straight up loses his mind. Shoves you to the floor and crawls on top of you right there, tearing at your clothes and trying to get his cock in you as quickly as physically possible.

Desperation. That's the word for it.

He breaks his most iron rule and pretty much every other one in one swift motion (or several, lmao) and he loses from it-- at least how he tries to view things.

He has to honor his word. You help up your unspoken part of the bargain, and while he is a complete bastard, he's not a scumbag. You get your damn extension.

And then there's the matter of the power you have over him, and know you have over him now. Lusting for someone is, in the most base sense, them having a form of power over you. You want something from them, and whether you'd like it to or not, that impairs your judgment regarding them. He wants to be seen as this iron-willed monster. Unbreakable and unmovable. Not even human.

But his grunting and panting and hissing over you shows that he is all too human for his own liking. Because not only did he give in to his lust, but he enjoyed it. Enjoys it so much that even if you ask him to stop, and take it all back, he won't. He'll keep fucking you even if you beg him to stop and try to beat him away, which shows that he is just like everyone else in this fucking town.

Even he has a weakness.

Bailey doesn't casually have sex just to have it. You'll never see him at the brothel, and he never touches any of his charges, or anyone else for that matter. That puts a weight of importance on sex to him, whether he means it to or not. That means there's something so special about you that he indulges.

That's where the regret stems from. It breaks his own mental image of himself. It breaks every one of his rules. Everything he bases himself on and spent years building crumbles beneath your touch. It shows him that he's weaker than he thought he was, and all because of, what is to him, the whining and mewling of an orphan girl he's supposed to be 'taking care of.'

I imagine that's why he turns colder afterwards. He cannot risk that happening again. Can't risk you worming your way into his heart the way you manage to do with everyone else. You'd ruin everything because you let him ruin you.

He owns you, and you're his property. If he thinks too long on that, he might start getting ideas.

And he can't have that.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

“Alright! Let’s just quickly go over your answers to our questionnaire in your application.”

As far as job interviews went, this one was rapidly moving up the list of utterly strange ones. For starters this was the fanciest office he had ever been in, and this was supposed to be an animal sanctuary. The amount of decorative pillows piled onto the chair he was currently trying to sit on would have been more appropriate for a lounge in a posh hotel.

The sanctuary manager – at least that’s how she had introduced herself – peered at the printed sheets of paper.

“So you have experience with animal handling?”

“During several internships, yes.”

“Wonderful. And horticulture?”

“I know how to keep a healthy habitat.”

“Excellent. And do you have any siblings?”

There it was, barely three questions in and already off the deep end. “Yes, three.”

The woman fixed two keen, dark eyes on him. “Three including you?”

“No, three besides me. I’m the second oldest, if that matters.”

“Ah! That’s alright then, Second of four, very good.”

By now he was looking at the manager with unrestrained wonder, eyebrows almost disappearing under his fringe.

“Well that all seems to be in order, just one more question—are you comfortable?”

He faltered, blinking. “I...well, to tell you to truth this chair could do with a few less pillows.”

To his amazement the manager’s face lit up with genuine delight. “Oh that is very good to hear. I do apologise for all that nonsense, but there’s rules against asking people about the circumstances of their birth, you know. Here, let me.”

He got to his feet, still rather stunned, and watched how the manager removed three pillows and, from underneath them all, a small green pea from his chair.

“There we are! Now, we’d be very glad to have you, you certainly meet all our qualifications, and I assure you we offer excellent terms and benefits. You clearly have plenty of experience with amphibians and birds, but you will need some on the job training, because apart from the usual frogs, swans and ravens, we also have clients in some of the rarer categories.”

“Clients? I thought this was an animal sanctuary,” he stammered.

“It most certainly is! Except our residents have not always been animals.” The manager smiled meaningfully. “You’d be surprised just how many people, especially royals, decide they would rather stay enchanted.” She looked a little embarrassed for a moment. “Which is of course exactly why I need to take certain precautions with my employees, you understand.”

He was pretty sure he did not at all understand, but he wasn’t about to admit that now. “Right.”

She peered at him again. “I do still need you to promise me not to fall in love with any of them.”

“Why on earth—”

“It’s happened before,” she said gravely. “We also have a couple of private parks, with a more human enclosure, I mean house, because we do get the occasional beastification.” She shook her head. “The last person we hired, well, our client was kind enough not to file an official complaint, on account of the whole finding his true love thing, but it was really very embarrassing.” He sat very still for a moment. “So, how many of those are there?”

“Beasts? Only two at the moment, since that unfortunate incident.”

“And your other...residents?”

“Hmm lets see, seven swans and seven ravens, three frogs, a stag, a hind, a fox and a bear. Well, and the cat, but she’s an exception, she lives in our head quarters and mostly looks after herself.” She gave him a rather worried look. “I haven’t scared you off, have I?”

He gave her a weak smile. “You promised me five weeks paid time off, so no you haven’t. But I am going to need some more information.”

“Wonderful,” she sighed. “In that case, let’s start with giving you a tour.”

[technicolouredmonochrome]

so i've been falling down the danmei productions (chinese censored productions of BL novels) rabbit hole and i've figured out the basic BL starter pack:

1. BANTER. the two protagonists need to make a ton of thinly veiled jokes at each other about being in love. because censors! so in order to get any of it aired it's all gotta be nudge nudge wink wink. let me insert an episode where everyone suddenly acts out of character due to magic! or let me make the shameless one dress as a woman for an episode! they will find any and every way to let the two leads f l i r t and make us all wonder: why don't these two just get married already?

2. YEARNING. because if one half of our main couple has not waited at least 10 years for the other to either show up in their life or resurrect from the dead, are they really in love?

3. OPPOSITES ATTRACT. we need the flirty one! endlessly grinning and touching and teasing the silent one! and the cold quiet one is only soft for the sunshine one! how else can we know that their love is true!

4. SUFFERING. and i mean SUFFERING. dead parents. entire families annihilated. torture. tragic backstories abound. these men have never known happiness until they've met their other half. and then all they want to do is watch the world burn together. (and can we really blame them for that?)

5. ACTS OF ("brotherly") LOVE. they were brothers, historians would say, but they're almost always nearly dying for each other, and longing after each other, and siding with each other against the entire world.

5.1 OH BUT THEY WERE IN LOVE IN LOVE. there's gotta be at least one scene somewhere when our two main protagonists speculate about their possible future together. especially if it's just before some incredibly terrifyingly intense climax of the story (where one of our leads may *gasps* die) they talk about running a noodle shop together, or roaming the world together, or travelling from town to town fighting crime together.

5.2 AND THEY WERE SOULMATES. the word soulmates comes up somewhere. it technically translates to confidant (or person who knows me) but. if the translators decide to subtitle it as soulmate who am i to tell them otherwise.

6. FOUND FAMILY. they also have to adopt a kid who's gonna follow them through their adventures. sometimes it's two kids, sometimes it's a whole baseball team of children (of all ages and genders, they are incredibly inclusive on this point in this way). these kids are going to represent every single viewer, watching the main leads flirt while wondering, why don't i have two dads? why must one always go away and leave me behind? why is it always the rich dad that's gotta go? please come back and feed me and my poor papa we are starving rich dad.

i could keep going but these are the main requirements in our basic chinese BL novel adaptation starter packs. oh also most of the budget goes into hiring the two most attractive main leads possible and you get to watch as the cgi gets worse episode after episode as the show loses funding through its run. but it doesn't matter because these two men are clearly in love and i'm still 100% here for it.

[stayteezdreams]

A Better Ending: Part One

Plot: Sitting alone at a restaurant, you accept your date has stood you up. But before you can leave, someone else decides to join you.

-Part Two-

Pairing: Choi San x Gn!Reader

Warnings: A teeny bit angsty, with some self-doubting/sad thoughts but only for a moment

-Meet-Cute Masterlist-

Words: ~2k

Your eyes flashed to your phone screen again as you nervously fiddled with your water glass, your leg tapping impatiently beneath the table.

'I'll wait five more minutes' you thought to yourself as you glanced around the restaurant.

Your date was now nearly thirty minutes late, and you hadn't received a single message or call from him.

You let out a sigh as you saw your waiter look at you as he walked past, pity obvious in his eyes. He had refilled your glass multiple times, asked if you wanted a starter, offered you a drink, but you refused everything each time and you said you were going to wait.

But the waiting felt more pathetic each minute that passed.

Picking up your phone, you re-read your messages.

'Hey! I'm here, are you close?'

'Did you get lost lol?'

'Are you okay?'

'If something came up let me know, we can reschedule.'

'I'm starting to get worried, are you okay?'

You messaged your friend who had set you up on this blind date, telling her what was happening. She said she'd try to reach him, but you hadn't heard anything yet.

Your mind began to go through all of the options again. He forgot tonight was your date. He got lost. He got in an accident. He decided he didnt want to come and has ghosted you. He showed up, saw you and then left.

'Ouch' you almost winced at the last thought, hurting your own feelings with the possibility.

Feeling your phone buzz, you quickly checked it, and felt your heart drop.

'I'm so sorry Y/n. He's not coming, coward. I'll never forgive him for standing you up like that.'

You sighed softly as you began to type out a reply

'I had a feeling he wasn't gonna show, but I waited anyways. Don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. Thanks anyways.'

San tapped his fingers on his phone as he looked at his texts. He was left on read, again.

He scoffed as he rolled his eyes softly. He really thought she was interested in him, but he was proven wrong it seems.

The first date went well he thought, though, the more he thought about it, the less interested in him she seemed, and more in the fancy date he offered.

He had never been stood up before, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. It wasn't like anyone knew, but, a man sitting alone at a dinner table for twenty minutes would probably make it obvious.

Looking around, his eyes cast over the various couples and groups in the restaurant, before landing on someone sitting alone.

You were staring into space, phone under hand. He had noticed you earlier, you were here when he got here. Had you been alone the whole time? Did you also get stood up?

As his waiter walked past, he stopped him "This might be an odd question, but, have they been alone the whole time they've been here?"

The waiter glanced over to where San was referencing and the guy frowned "Yeah, they said they were waiting for someone but I think they got stood up."

San frowned, looking over at you "They're not the only one."

The waiter rose his brow at this and shook his head "Two in one night, wow."

San watched you for a moment, seeing you check your phone, before your face fell. He had a feeling he knew exactly what you were going through in that moment.

How could someone stand you up though? You were gorgeous. Bad boyfriend? Bad friends?

Watching as you texted someone, your face knit with disappointment, San suddenly felt the urge to tell you he knew how you felt. Maybe you could rant about your bad dates together? Or was he just being crazy?

After setting your phone down, you leaned your head back a bit and let out a sigh. Should you say screw it and order some food and eat alone, or just go home?

Admitting defeat, you reached down to grab your bag, wondering how embarrassing it was going to be to ask for a bill for four glasses of water.

Seeing someone sit down across from you, you looked up startled.

San felt his heart thump heavily in his chest as you looked up and met his eyes. You froze, and San thought that time stopped for a moment.

As one of the most attractive men you've ever seen sat down in front of you and smiled, you felt your whole body freeze.

This was not your blind ate. He looked nothing like your blind date, at least not from the photo your friend sent you.

"Uhm." You managed to let out, obviously uncertain of what was happening.

He lifted his hands and let out a chuckle "I know you're confused, but I'll explain."

You sat up slowly, eyeing him carefully. "Okay?"

He smiled, obviously a bit embarrassed "I've been sitting over there waiting for my date, who decided to never show." You felt your heart jump at this.

"I noticed you when I first showed up, and I also noticed you've been alone the whole time and I was wondering if maybe..the same thing happened to you?"

You nodded your head "Yeah, he ghosted me."

San closed his eyes and let out a hiss "I was left on read."

You winced a bit, feeling the pain, before you suddenly felt a bit amused "So, you saw me, guessed I was going through the same thing and decided to...?"

"Save us both from the embarrassment of eating alone at a romantic restaurant?" He said with a laugh and you couldn't help but smile in return.

The way his eyes wrinkled and his dimples showed when he smiled gave you butterflies.

"Well that was a nice thought." You said softly, your tone shy, yet amused.

Seeing your waiter come up to your table, you wondered what he was going to think, before he smiled over at San.

"I was wondering where you went." He looked over at you and grinned "Would you like to order now?"

"Uh-" you looked at San who met your eyes, rose his brow and smiled "Sure" You gave in and he smile a bit wider.

After you both ordered some food San leaned in a little bit "Do you know why your date ghosted you?"

You shook your head as you sipped on your drink "No idea, he ignored my messages, I had to hear it from the friend who set us up."

His face contorted to anger as he shook his head "Coward."

You giggled "That's what my friend said."

"And they're right."

You tried to ignore the way your heart was beating, and the heat rising up your neck "What about you?"

He shrugged "I don't know. This would have been our second date. I thought the first one went well, but I guess not. I think maybe she was just in it for the fancy dates, and this did not meet her expectations." He said looking around.

You scoffed "This place has great food, shes missing out."

He smiled, his voice rising in agreement "Right?"

You looked around "I wonder if that's why my date didn't show...I picked this place, maybe it wasn't up to his standards either." You shrugged "That's a better reason than the one I was torturing myself with anyways."

San raised his brow and tilted his head "What do you mean?"

You suddenly felt a bit embarrassed as you twirled your glass slowly in your hands "I thought maybe he did show up, but then he saw me, and left."

San felt his gut twist at this. How could you think that? You were one of the most attractive people he'd seen. Exactly his type. He couldn't imagine anyone reacting that way to you.

He shook his head "No way."

You gave him a curious gaze and he smiled softly "There's no way he came. Because if he showed up and saw you, he would have come in, definitley."

You felt your face get hot and you hoped it wasn't noticeable. You looked down at your glass shyly and smile "Thank you, that's nice of you to say."

San smiled amused at the way you reacted to his comment "I'm not just saying it though, I mean it." He said softly, and as sincerely as he could, and the way your eyes looked up to meet his made his heart skip a beat.

You were obviously stunned by his comments and it made him think you weren't used to them. What a shame.

Not wanting you to get too uncomfortable he smiled "I didn't ask your name."

You swallowed, clearly glad of the change of subject, though you were still effected by his comments. "Oh, it's Y/n"

He smiled "I'm San."

"It's nice to meet you San."

"And you Y/n." He said in return, as you both smiled, shy giggles leaving you both as your heart hammered in your chests.

You had decided, about half way through your dinner with San, that even if your blind date had showed, you wouldn't have felt like this.

It turned out you and San had a great deal in common, similar interests, hobbies, and dreams. If you had met some other way, there was no way you wouldn't be friends.

But there was also a growing attraction, that you were sure you would not have felt with the man who ghosted you. You hoped San was feeling the same things you were. The way he acted, and looked at you said he did, but maybe that's just you being hopeful.

When your waiter finally brought the bill, you reached for it, but San grabbed it faster. You met his eyes with amusement and surprise.

"Allow me."

"No, are you sure? I'm okay with paying for mine." You said as you reached out your hand and he just shook his head.

"Take it as a thank you."

"A thank you?"

"For saving me from eating alone."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"You're welcome." He said with a brazen tone and cheeky smile as he handed the bill and his card to the waiter who had come back over.

You scoffed in amusement before you fully laughed, making him chuckle.

San walked you to your car, and you had the growing realization that you might never see him again. Would he say yes if you asked if you could? Would he decline?

As you stopped by your car and faced him and smiled "I had a great time, thank you."

He grinned and nodded "I did too."

"I hope the girl you were supposed to take out regrets it."

He chuckled "And I hope the guy who stood you up learns just how much he missed out on."

Your ears burned a bit hotter at this, and you giggled under your breath. You wondered again, if he would say yes to seeing you again, but it seemed he had the same thought.

"Would you want to have dinner with me again?" he asked you with a soft voice and a shy, endearing smile.

Your heart skipped a beat as you nodded "I'd love to."

He beamed at you before tilting his head "No standing each other up?"

You shook your head fervently "Definitely not."

He chuckled "Good."

After you exchange phone numbers, San reached out and took your hand and you held your breath. Bringing it up to his face, San pressed a soft kiss to the back of your hand before he smiled shyly at you.

"As mean as it might sound, I'm glad you got stood up."

You laughed, but knew what he meant with his comment. "I can say the same."

He grinned before he slowly let your hand go "Goodnight Y/n. Until next time."

You nodded and smiled softly "Yes, until next time."

xx

Kind of an odd ending, but I always suck at them lol so sorry.

-Part Two-

Taglist: @bubblesreplies, @halesandy, @why-am-i-sad

[lovepookie]

zerobaseone masterlist

૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡ “is it a new start or the end?"

disclaimer! i will not be writing fics for yujin as he is a minor and i am not comfortable doing so! however, if i write reactions/fake texts for him it is purely platonic/friendship. xoxo

✿ = my personal favorites!

ot9 reactions/imagines — (coming soon)

ot9 fake texts —

☁︎ — texting zb1 “we need to talk”

hyung line | maknae line

☁︎ — zb1 texting you “i’m paying for your nails” ✿

hyung line | maknae line

☁︎ — angsty zb1 texts: after an argument ✿

☁︎ — zb1 reaction to “pull up, i’m in a fight” ✿

hyung line | maknae line

☁︎ — bestfriend!zb1 accidental confession

hyung line | maknae line

.♡.

— kim jiwoong ༉‧₊˚. (coming soon)

— zhang hao ༉‧₊˚. (coming soon)

— sung hanbin ༉‧₊˚.

SUN STAR MOON | 2.7k | angst, fluffy, slightly suggestive, established relationship, fem!reader, pregnancy au, kind of depressing ngl

♡ sypnosis: two lines. all it takes is two lines to change the trajectory of your life; you're pregnant. what are you to do? for starters, you have your amazing boyfriend hanbin by your side-and he'd go to the ends of the earth to make you happy and to make things work. there's something deep down that tells you he'd make an amazing dad; and maybe, just maybe, that you could make this work.

— seok matthew ༉‧₊˚.

NO PRESENTS | 2.4k | teeth-rotting fluff, suggestive, established relationship, non-idol au, christmas centered

♡ sypnosis: you and matthew agreed on no presents this year in order to save up to see his family for christmas next year. he has pestered you for a christmas tree, and now he won't stop clinging to you because "it's christmas, woman!" little does he know, you have a little gift up your sleeve.

— kim taerae ༉‧₊˚. (coming soon)

— ricky shen ༉‧₊˚.

FAVORING ROSES OVER DAISIES ✿ | 7.0k | royal au, fantasy/magical, fluff, angsty, prince! ricky, fem!reader, prince!hanbin side pairing, enemies to lovers, forbidden love

♡ sypnosis: daisies will forever and always be boring; they were the former queen's-your mother's-favorite flower. however, now that it's your turn to ascend the thrown, you can't help that roses are your favorite; just like the blood-red ones embellished on prince ricky's black suit on the night of your suitor's ball. but don't get caught up in the pretty scent and petals, because where there is beauty, there is thorns. ricky is the prince of an enemy nation-and your whole life he has been nothing but a pest. a really pretty one.

— kim gyubin ༉‧₊˚.

WHAT? HUH? ✿ | 5.3k | fluff, slight angst?, suggestive, childhood bestfriends to lovers, crack, college au, older reader

♡ sypnosis: your childhood friend gyubin had managed to bribe you into being his date to an all exclusive couple's christmas frat party, but you know more than anyone present that you don't belong there. the way gyubin's been eyeing you the whole night, the slight touches here and there; the way your heart beats fast in your chest in response-none of it belongs because you're just supposed to be friends-right?

HONEY ✿ | 3.7k | fluff, hint of angst, fem!reader, bestfriends to lovers, college au

♡ sypnosis: you're not really sure why the sight of gyubin's eyes start to look different one day. they had your cheeks burning when he'd get even so much as a foot away from you despite him being your best friend, and they reminded you so much of honey when the light from the window hit them just right. you've slowly come to realize that the big brown eyes that belonged to the exhausting and annoying loser just might be the reason for your fast heart rate too.

— park gunwook ༉‧₊˚.

CONSEQUENCES ✿ | 2.1k | teeth rotting fluff, some angst, established relationship, boyfriend!gunwook

♡ sypnosis: your boyfriend is park gunwook. sweet. cute. couldn't hurt a fly. and you? a demon who wants to tick him off and see him jealous. gunwook doesn't play when it comes to his feelings, so naturally, you'll suffer the consequences-or maybe you won't. you're kinda his soft spot.

PROMISE | 2.0k | fluff, slight angst, sports fic, established relationship, boyfriend!gunwook

♡ sypnosis: star-football player park gunwook probably can't play for the rest of the season due to an injury sustained on the field. but more than that, your boyfriend park gunwook is in pain-and you'll hop fences, run past security, and go to the ends of the earth just to get to him; that's a promise.

— han yujin ༉‧₊˚.

2024 © lovepookie

♡ please do not plagarize, repost, copy or translate any of my works. thank you.

[mvrtaiswriting]

Wah hi, sorry I'm new to this. I saw requests were open so imma just leave this here. You can get to it whenever you want or you can just ignore it. No pressure. :"

I was thinking Sanji takes their S/O to dinner in a local town on some island they're visiting (Y/n orders a lobster but it's rotten & Sanji realizes last minute after their S/O eats it). This is actually from an episode from Kitchen Nightmares, I was curious on how a chef like Sanji would react towards a chef at the restaurant getting their S/O terribly sick, let alone serve rotten lobster?

1:20 | https://youtu.be/1Dhkjmup7PQ

- Your local plant boy 🌱

Lobster x Black Leg Sanji ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :

hullo local plant boy, thanks for requesting this! what i came up with doesn't exactly follow your video suggestion - but it definitely informed the whole scenario! of course, I had to put a lil one piece universe twist, and i hope you don't mind it!! i enjoyed writing this so much, hope it meets your expectations <333

warnings: usual one piece violence, food poisoning, mentions of nausea?? gn!reader, fluff / 1.1k words.

feel free to reblog, like, and leave a comment. i would very much appreciate it. if you enjoy my works, click here to read more. 

Sanji had been preparing for this exact moment for weeks now.

Finally docking in such a small, hidden island was the perfect opportunity to finally enjoy some time alone with you. With a bit of luck, no marines or stupid pirate hunters would be around to track you down trying to get your head. Finally, Sanji could take you out on a proper date - dining in a fancy restaurant, walking around the city and buying you the biggest bouquet of flowers. For one night only, you could lead a normal life, free of dangers and violence.

"I found a really nice place for tonight." He whispered in your ear with the biggest smile on his face. Interlocking his fingers with yours, he gently guided you through the colourful alleys of the new town. His pace was confident and so oddly patient - you stopped at every shop, tasted every type of local street food and bought souvenirs for every member of the crew. Feeling so safe was a strange feeling - not that you ever feared danger with Sanji by your side; it wasn't that. That night you weren't one of the most wanted pirates on the Grand line, you were just a happy couple enjoying the warm welcome of crowds that didn't know you. Despite the warm welcome the island offered, the anonymity it granted was the best gift it could provide.

Finally arriving at the restaurant Sanji had chosen, you noticed how a small table for two was set up in a more private area of the ballroom. It had rose petals all over it, and a majestic candle holder that made everything just perfect. Two glasses of the best champagne were waiting for you at the dinner table, your private waiter offering them to you immediately after your arrival. Sanji had everything planned, he had thought about every detail - the starter you would share, a lobster for your main meal, remembering how much you enjoyed it. It was difficult on the ship to catch some, so he rarely had the chance to prepare it to you. Tonight however, he wanted everything to be perfect - from the atmosphere to the food, from your dinner date to himself.

"Could you taste this?"

You asked Sanji, a small cough escaping your mouth. Something was off with your plate, yet you weren't quite sure. Your meal had a strange, bitter taste to it - and you almost didn't want to bring this up, you didn't want to ruin the night Sanji had meticulously planned. You couldn't exactly pinpoint exactly what was wrong with your food, if they used a particular spice or a local ingredient - and although you weren't a picky eater, you couldn't tolerate it anymore. Coughing again, you handed your fork to Sanji.

Sanji raised his curly eyebrow in confusion, grabbing the fork from you and offering you some water. Before he could even taste the bite of lobster you handed him, the stinging smell of rotten flesh inebriated his sense. It was well-hidden behind a fancy coat of wine sauce, spices and fresh tomatoes - but there was no doubt, not for him.

Before he could even tell you what was wrong, your hands were already wrapped around your throat, desperately reaching for air. Poison? Rotten meat? Sanji scanned the room quickly, trying to find a the culprit, someone who even remotely looked like someone who might want you dead. This was intentional, there were no doubts - a chef would always recognise rotten meat, even a rookie. Yet, this wasn't a rookie's doing - no, the distinctive, stinging smell and taste of death was too perfectly hidden for this to be just a silly mistake.

Kicking the table out of the way, he was quick to reach you. His years working in a restaurant had thought him about first aid in case of food poisoning. He was quick to open your airways just enough, finally enabling you to finally grasp some air. Your breathing was weak and still a bit impeded, but you were out of danger for now.

"Go."

You nodded, noticing the rampant rage in Sanji's eyes.

"I'll get us out of here." You added, winking at Sanji and trying to reassure him. Despite being out of breath, you still managed to reassure him. He was quick to kiss your forehead, grateful you were alive and so, so understanding.

What happened after that felt like a blur. You had fragmented memories of you fighting the waiter who had served you all night, who you discovered to be a pirate hunter hoping to earn your bounty. You remembered hearing Sanji screaming about the chefs' code and rumble about the sanitary rules of a kitchen instants before seeing the chef fly down the hall, probably being kicked out by Sanji - but you had no idea of how you managed to make it to the ship safely. As you sat still on your bed, a strong feeling of nausea made its appearance - making you remember you had just eaten rotten food, ingested an incredible amount of poison and almost choked to death on the floor of a restaurant. Not bad for a first, should-have-been-proper date. Sanji lightly knocked on your door, before making his way in your room. He was carrying a try with what smelled like soup, some bread and a tall glass of water.

"These will help." He said, leaving the tray on your bedside table and kissing your temple. The brand new shirt he wore earlier on just for you was now covered in soup spills, its perfectly ironed sleeves now all rolled up and ruined. Even his tie was undone, hanging loosely from his neck - indicating that he'd probably worked on your soup for hours. A deep sense of guilt was painted across his gentle figures, making his worried expression the saddest scene you've ever witnessed.

"I'm sorry for tonight. I should have been more careful, I.."

Sanji sighed, taking your hands in his. He left soft kisses on your knuckles, his face resting on the back of your hands. Resting your forehead against his, you chuckled and poked his nose.

"Thank you for the soup, and for taking care of me. Not that I ever thought otherwise, but now we know you're the only chef worth of my trust. And taste buds, most importantly."

Sanji couldn't help but chuckle at your response - your words made his heart feel ten times lighter. Even with your bed hair and your sickened appearance, Sanji thought you were as beautiful as ever. He would take this over ten million perfect dates; he longed for this type of intimacy, even it meant holding your hair while you feel nauseous.

"I owe you a lobster."

[matan4il]

Buddie 604 meta

I feel like I deserve a medal for not making a joke about how, since it was implied in 401 that Eddie stayed at Buck’s during the pandemic, we know at some point Buck will have two ex-roommates who want his body fluids. XD ~~

It’s maybe a small thing, but I enjoyed seeing Ramon advise Eddie on his issue with Chris. It was a lovely callback to their promise in 517 to work on improving their relationship, and it also showed really nice insights from Ramon. I loved it! It’s a nice reminder that 911 for the most part doesn’t vilify people, even when it doesn’t shy away from their faults and failures. It’s also proof this is a show that doesn’t drop things once a storyline seems to have wrapped. I adore that about 911, and I also think it makes every single meaningful thing we’ve witnessed even more significant, because we know the show will return to it sooner or later. Like maybe certain scenes between a couple of firefighters? Maybe... ~~

Buck and Eddie exchanging a meaningful look over seeing this oblivious moron in love at the scene of the ep’s first call is giving me life. The wordless communication, the implied sass, the way they’re so in sync, the irony of them being exactly like him except less aware of their own feelings even if they are more aware of propriety. They’re not even teamed up together, because Chim needs Eddie’s medic experience as long as Hen’s still captain, and yet... Buddie are our hopeless romantic idiot kings, while 911 could give entire courses on how to showcase soulmates in less than a minute. ~~

A continuation of that can also be seen in another call. When Buck recklessly hops on the bike to chase and stop a car by almost getting himself killed in order to save Chim, right away we have Eddie calling out after him. He’s so exasperated with his work husband, he’s not even yelling in order to stop Buck, Eddie’s resigned to his husband’s ways. But a good husband still has to shake his head, much like we saw Eddie doing when Buck boldly insisted on the rope rescue in 316. It’s a part of their love language. ~~

All of that stands in contrast with the rest of the ep, where we don’t get to see Buck and Eddie being their usual self, meaning iconic life partners. The thing is, absence can be loud, and something that really makes this absence stand out rather than fly under the radar is contrast. In other words, we’re meant to notice the absence. That loudness is even amplified with the only scene in this ep where we have Buddie interacting in connection to their personal life. Even though they don’t actually get to consult each other, as they usually do, there’s a lot of intimacy there! For starters, Eddie’s surprised that Buck isn’t weighing in on the new issue with Chris.

This is so uncharacteristic, and we only need to think of the way Buck jumped right in with his objections about summer camp in 318 to see the difference. Eddie also believes that there are things Chris may tell Buck but not him. This man is shown throughout this ep having trouble letting go as his son is growing up to be his own person, and yet the one exception Eddie takes no exception to (sorry, bad pun, I know) is Chris filling Buck in on how he’s really doing. Eddie actually expects that to be the case. It’s a subtle, but oh so real acknowledgement that Buck is Christopher’s other dad and that the two of them have a bond that is not limited to the relationship either one of them has with Eddie. I love it. And lastly, of course Eddie can tell something’s up with Buck, troubling him. But it’s also obvious that Buck’s not ready to talk about it yet, with his quick denial of “no secrets here,” so Eddie, like the good husband that he is, lets him be.

Them suddenly dealing with their personal lives separately very much reminds me of basically the mood of most of season 5a. Buck was kept busy with Taylor and away from Eddie, who ended up struggling with how to be a good parent to Chris without the help of his biggest support, his life partner. It led to Eddie making a rash decision that we all knew he would have to find a way back from. If that’s not enough to make us realize Buck’s decision at the end of this ep is probably the wrong one, we also have him being drunk while getting drunk advice from Hen. The last time that happened (and only other one we saw on screen)? When Buck spiraled in 511 over Eddie leaving, and did something rash and foolish.

I tend to think that’s what we’re going to see with Buck now as well. I already was of the opinion that it doesn’t fit Buck as a person, he just cares too much to be the guy who can walk away. His history with Daniel might influence him to wanna help, do for these parents what he couldn’t for his own, but if he does recognize that connection, could he really help bring a new “Daniel” into this world and then... never have anything to do with that kid? But what makes me even more convinced that this decision will be reversed is the build up, showing Buck coming to this conclusion without consulting the one person he actually already shares his life (and a kid) with, and the way it parallels that storytelling structure we saw in s5. In addition, even the way he verbalized it makes me think this is meant to be seen as the wrong decision. Buck is on this journey to figure himself out, yet at the end of the day his decision to say yes isn’t about himself at all, it’s about Connor and his wife. This is who Buck has always been, the guy putting others ahead of himself. There’s nothing wrong with his big heart and generosity! But in an ep called “Animal Instincts,” this has always been he’s instinct. Now he’s meant to learn to balance it with looking after himself and his own happiness, too. So I might be wrong, but I don’t see it ending here. Taylor was a r/s Buck had to have in order for him to learn how to be the one who leaves, now Connor came to him with this request, and we’re gonna get to see him learning to say no. And just like Buck was a part of Eddie finding his way back during season 5b from his wrong decision, that temporary distance between them leaving them closer than ever, so I expect Buck’s sperm donor arc to be resolved with Eddie’s support and with the two of them getting even closer.

~~ Thank you so much for reading this! And for every reblog and like! If you’re interested in catching up, you can find my 603 meta and more on my blog. Thank you to the incredible @whosoldherout who tops posting her amazing gifs every week with providing some more for my meta.

[insult-2-injury]

A Worthy Distraction

Header by my wonderful and talented friend @drawlypsy. Please go check out their work, they're fucking amazing.

AO3 Link NSFW Dottore/femReader, murder couple, dirty talk, fingering, questionable coping mechanisms, over the pants feelies, villains will be villains, trauma

[This is a Genshin OC one-shot I wrote for friends and then rewrote into a reader insert. Some tenses and stuff may be a little wonky here and there, but I think I caught most of it. It is only a tad OC-centric, as reader does have a backstory, but it's minor and shouldn't make a difference. Idk. There's smut.]

The lowdown: reader has anemo vision w/ pyro delusion, has one metal claw hand and PTSD to match

~~~~~~

You lay on your side, sprawled out across an uncomfortable-looking exam table like a cat in a patch of sun, yawning and stretching as you awoke from a short nap. Head twitching to the side, Dottore acknowledged your entry into the waking world with a rigid nod and a tiny quirk of his lips, something that could almost be categorized as a rigid smile, before turning back to the subject on his table. 

You shot him a cheeky grin, unruly tufts of your hair falling across your face as you did so. Your socked foot tapped a rhythm onto the metal beneath, warm now with the prolonged heat of your body. Your head thumped back against the metal… Bored. So bored.

Archons, you were just as ambitious as he when it came to testing out new ideas and just as prone to getting lost for hours in the mental process of it all. But he had been at this experiment for days, barely sleeping, hardly eating. Your best friend Ana was off on some secret Fatui mission, his more tolerable clones were deployed in Sumeru, and chatting up the locals was apparently a non-starter. Besides, it wasn’t your fault anyway that the local creperie burned down. And, unrelated, what kind of creperie ran out of fucking crepes?

You were bored. So completely and utterly bored. You sat up, criss-crossing your legs beneath you in order to better watch the Doctor work.

Dottore was a straight line– seemed perfectly content staying in one spot for an entire day, his mind single tracked and obsessive. You, on the other hand, took the path of a crack of lightning, your interests branching and changing rapidly, new revelations branching into new ideas and new ideas springing into new experiments and it was a wonder you ever finished anything at all. You always did benefit from someone who could help organize the near constant fusillade of inspirations in your head. 

You used to have someone. Now they were the ghost in every corner.

You needed distractions. And a man possessed could provide no such thing. Your fingers twitched and the pyro delusion warmed on your hip. Then burned. You inhaled sharply, your heart rate picking up.

You blinked away at the encroaching visions that threatened to steal you, usher you inside. The disembodied voices and the ghostly feeling… the familiar mourning of the fiercest kind of love expanding in your chest but with no vessel, no discernible memory to hive it away in. So full yet so terribly out of reach and–

“You’re fidgety tonight,” Prime said calmly and you gasped, your eyes shooting open in time to catch the fire blossoming at your fingertips, having singed a small hole through the thin fabric of your shorts. Cursing, you swatted at the smoke as he continued evenly. “Go take a walk outside if you must.”

You allowed the span of a few centering breaths to pass as your gaze fell upon Dottore’s raven mask laying on the counter behind him. Your gaze darted back to his uncovered features and you found yourself drawn in, and not for the first time. It was a recent breakthrough, one he’d made no announcement of despite the shock when he’d removed the thing in front of you; a promising sign of trust from a man who so lauded in the unsettling air of mystery he exuded.

You fiddled with the mask in your own hair as you observed. The ancient scar that crossed the bridge of his nose and extended up to his right temple, eyes untouched, the rest of his face pale, smooth, and unscathed. The scar that he could easily remove with his scientific prowess yet he kept it just the same. You’d always reckoned it was a reminder of something; a tether of sorts.

And Celestia knows a mind without a tether was a dangerous thing. Yes, you thought, Celestia would know, indeed.

You let out a sudden shriek of laughter, unprovoked.

“Ah, shucks. You’re always trying to send me away,” you chided finally, rolling the singed fabric between your thumb and forefinger. “Besides, it’s the middle of the night, bozo.” 

The stiff, weary shake of his head was indicative that he was now only slightly bothered by the plethora of nicknames that you’d coined to get under his skin. Good, you thought with delight, he’d better get used to it.

“I mean, heck,” you continued, throwing up your arms, “who knows what kind of monsters are skulking about out there?”

Dottore’s piercing, crimson eyes latched onto yours and you smiled at the clear meaning within.

Worse than me?

A familiar shock of yearning racked the length of your spine. You gnawed at the inside of your cheek, noting the way his eyes flicked to the motion of your lips before slowly drawing back up, almost expressionless. But you knew his little intricacies by now; the indiscernible twitch of his eyelids when you toed the line with him, the drumming of those long, elegant fingers against any available service whenever he was in deep thought. 

How he studied you when he thought you weren’t paying attention.

You had always been attracted to the dark; where flame cast light upon a brick wall you were drawn to the shadows that slid effortlessly in between, morphing and making their quiet nests within the cracks in mortar. Yes, Dottore was indeed a darkly beautiful thing, you thought, not allowing your gaze to stray from his.

“I was under the impression you could handle yourself,” he said coolly, but the bladed glint in his unflinching stare was bright and calculating, even beneath the eerie shadows cast over his features by the medical lamp above. “Was I wrong to think so?”

Hmph. All work and no play made the Doctor cranky. Your nose twitched and you cocked your head, lips curling coyly.

“I can handle myself just fine,” you said, baring your teeth. “But you’d miss me, wouldn’t you?” You placed your chin in your palm to drum fingers against your cheekbones but didn’t wait for his answer. “So I’ll stay right here. For the good Doctor’s sake, of course.” 

You winked.

“For my sake. Of course,” he murmured, examining your wide, inciting grin and the butterfly flutter of your eyelashes. A tiny quirk of his lips betrayed his forced impassivity before he put a pin in the expanding balloon of tension by turning back to the body on the table silently.

You swallowed down the uncharacteristic dryness in your throat.

There were different routes you could take to get your desired result, one that would ease the ache between your legs and provide you a worthy distraction from the ghosts in every corner. You were used to people winding up putty in your hands, pliable and needy; even the self righteous ones. You just had a gift about you, an impulsive need for control in all senses of the word that people just responded to.

Except him.

To have Prime in your greedy clutches would be nothing short of euphoric. But there was something ancient and omniscient about him that made him effortlessly superior to them all, as if he would slip like sand through the fingers of anyone who tried to hold him. He was patient, unhurried; a lone viper coiled atop its rock, full-bellied and confident in his supremacy, so many leagues above that he had all the time in the world.

Your lips twitched. But, so did you now, didn’t you? Cursed with immortality and ironically bestowed the power to alter time; a power that centuries ago you would have used to pulverize the very forces that had granted them to you in the first place. But time just wasn’t enough for you. You were a creature starved. You wanted to devour and destroy each moment now until nothing remained but the burning foundation. And even that must go.

Your mind strayed again and you fought to ground yourself. All must go.

You hissed between your teeth, leaping off the table to take up space beside Dottore, shoulder pressing into his as you studied his bloody work. You viewed his profile in your periphery; his bladed nose, the soft, steel blue curls that framed his face, the slight, disapproving curl of his lips downward as he was jostled.

“Need any assistance?” you said brightly.

“I do not.” His hands began to move carefully across the corpse, but you knew enough about his craft and were observant enough to see that his focus wasn’t on the experiment before him. 

 “Hm… You want a drink or something?” 

“No,” he said shortly, and then as if remembering himself, “... but thank you.”

“Well, you must be hungry at least.” Your long fingers dared to wrap his elbow, fiddling with the rolled up arms of his blue linen shirt before trailing up to his bicep, squeezing. “Goodness, you’re all skin and bones, crazy you can even hold that scalpel like you are. It’s almost like… like… like holding a flimsy little test tube…”

Dottore’s chin dipped, the slope of his nose tipping down toward your mocking countenance, which faltered slightly when his gaze dropped briefly to the two fingers now trailing over the sharp buckles of his arm bands. You hadn’t touched Prime before besides the occasional brushing of shoulders and on the surface, he didn’t seem the type to enjoy such things. Maybe all it took was the right button.

But Prime only hummed, crimson red eyes rising.

“Your actions suggest you desire to take this man’s place.” His voice was soft but rife with danger. Your tongue darted out to wet your lips and you cocked your head to the side like a mischievous crow. You seemed to share the same steady breath back and forth as you studied each other for a short moment.

“Suit yourself, old man,” you chirped, conjuring a gust of anemo to tousle his loose, hanging locks of unruly hair before releasing his arm abruptly and in a blur of motion swinging around to his other side. “You’re loads of fun, you know that? Have your harbinger friends ever told you what a dream you are?”

Friends. Maybe there was a segment of him that had what one could call a friend but Prime, you had observed, seemed to have no interest in any social dealings that didn’t involve the business of sinister diplomacy. The only person who came around here often enough was Pantalone, and you could hardly call a wallet a friend.

Not that you had many tried and true friendships besides Ana. There was, of course, the pink-haired stick bug that was a package deal with your best friend and he seemed to be warming up to you a bit, but on the whole, people just seemed to tolerate you. Not your fault. Social skills were a fucking bitch.

“Has anyone ever told you how exasperating you really are?” he retorted and then continued, softly mocking, like he was speaking to a child. “This experiment is a particularly sensitive one that requires a certain amount of space and time to complete. Space and time that you seem unwilling to provide.”

“Provide?” You giggled and leaned in close, voice a low purr in his ear. “You get awfully mean when you’re frustrated, Doctor.” And you swung from him, sauntering away.

On a shelf across the room, a little radio sat playing quiet soul music. With one slow stroke of your forefinger across the dial, you turned the volume up, wiggling your hips to the music as you bent across the counter. But when you peeked over your shoulder, he was paying you no mind. Worse, he was turned completely around, vials clanking as he fiddled with something in the depths of his cabinets. Your sly grin turned into a wrathful frown as you glared.

Taking the radio beneath one arm, you spun around to bow comically low, your free arm splayed out like the spread wing of a bird about to take flight. A gust of anemo slammed the cabinet door in his face and he paused, hand still mid air. Then, terribly slow, he turned, eyes hooded and serpentlike but otherwise expressionless. You waited for his full attention with a feral grin on your face before you flicked the volume up another notch and spun out of the stance.

Your socks slid clumsily across the rubber floor as you moved with exaggerated motions, using the radio as a dance partner, swaying to the egregiously loud music. And to add insult to injury, you sang along, too, belting out the words like you were doing all this to save your own life. 

Dottore’s eyes were all that moved as they followed, crimson glowing in your periphery as you twirled. And even if he had raised his voice above the cacophony, you wouldn’t have been able to hear him. But his gaze challenged just the same.

You shrugged, turned the volume up to max and watched his eyelids twitch in contemplation before he started to carefully put the corpse before him away, zipping them into a body bag before rolling the table away and into the walk-in freezer. He returned, surprisingly gloveless fingers casually brushing down the front of his pants.

All the while, you danced closer, singing and laughing with frenzied glee, winding up to perform a full running slide toward him. But a small, abrupt twitch of Dottore’s wrist paired with a warning, devilish tick of his lips had you dropping the radio in order to conjure your polearm, spinning it elegantly above your head. 

The cogs of a clock rotated before your eyes, a secondhand wheeling at an impossible speed. With practiced ease, you whirled it swiftly back, resetting the clock. You slid to a steady halt in front of him.

The giant needle, half the size of you, that would feasibly have torn into your flesh floated innocently now beside his head, gleaming in the fluorescent light. You searched him with razor eyes, a cocked grin on your face as you reached out with the deadly point of a clawed finger to prop under his chin while the other wiggled beneath the center strap of his harness to pull his face closer. “You weren’t actually going to use that little pin trick on me, were you? I was looking for a dance partner, princess,” you tutted, “not a fight.”

And not taking your gaze off his, you stretched out with your free hand to slowly turn the point of the intimidating needle away from yourself. “Ooh, that is sharp, though!” you remarked. “Very impressive, doctor, I should fashion you up a fancy shmancy corkboard to match. Because you know, I’m nice like that. Now, wanna tell me why you’d go and ruin my good fun?”

“Your good fun…” He hummed regretfully. The finger beneath his chin dug in and he chuckled, a dark blaze of interest in his eyes. “You are right, my dear, I may have overreacted. Well, I am sorry, for all that my word is worth. I simply had the strangest inkling you weren’t listening to me. But now…” The corners of his lips twitched just slightly. “Now you must think me quite uncivil.”

You grinned and met him in the middle of the playing field, the claw beneath his chin falling to round his neck. “You did forget your manners there for a second, huh?”

Dottore hummed, leaning unexpectedly forward and into the grip of your unmoving talons. It seemed every segment of the Doctor favored a nice side plate of anguish, and Prime was no different. They really were just flowers plucked from the same garden. 

The talon of your thumb dug into his pulse point and he let out the softest groan, his breath tickling the strands of hair across your forehead. 

One of his hands peeled your hold carefully from round his neck, holding it instead against his chest. You swallowed down a secret, hidden delight born of being held by a being who did not often seek out the pleasures of touch. In this moment, he was yours. Your Prime.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Doctor,” you said, “I can think of several ways to atone.” 

Clawed hand laced beneath his, your free hand trailed down to his lower abdomen, pausing so as to peer up at him through your eyelashes. His breathing remained practiced and steady but there was no mistaking the muscles that twitched and jumped beneath his shirt as your fingers danced innocently from hip to hip. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and his eyes rose to meet yours.

“I shudder to think what punishments a mind such as yours could dream up,” he said lightly. 

Too lightly. Too unbothered. 

“I’d only give as much as you’re able to take, of course.”

“Ah, of course.” 

Dottore huffed out a dark laugh, his free hand rising up to almost tenderly stroke the ticklish outline of your jaw before falling to cup beneath. “I’ve been told I’m long-winded but you don’t give up do you? An admirable trait in some circumstances, I suppose. But you are a horribly impatient thing.” 

His thumb pushed into the plush of your bottom lip, quietly admiring the give of it, the shades of red warping under his shifting pressure. “Although I suppose I have been quite busy, haven’t I?” he crooned and you felt a bright flicker of irritation at the implication that your entire time here had thus far revolved around a one-sided pining for him.

No, no. That wouldn’t do.

You had intended on taking him quick once he showed interest, but something bright and oddly delicate within the depths of your chest had you slowing down. Besides, you supposed a bit of teasing wouldn’t hurt. 

“Being elbow deep in your funny little corpses all day makes you awful ornery. I just think you could use a break.”

Your hand dropped those final fatal inches, brushing along the front of his pants, fingers dragging a slow, lazy rhythm across the twitching hardness beneath. Archons, he was big. And he knew it, too. Had no reservations about pushing his hips forward and into your grip just to watch your eyes widen.

With a centering intent, you located and swiped across the tip, pressing there to savor the bead of precum wetting slowly through. His grip tightened painfully on your jaw and his own thumb jerked forward, sliding between your teeth. His eyes dipped closed almost as if to center himself, his finger resting on the pad of your tongue.

Dottore’s crimson gaze reemerged and fell transfixed upon the digit you pinched between your teeth before releasing. His voice was surprisingly even when he spoke again. “Tell me what you want.”

“You on your knees,” you said candidly, stroking along his length again, so hot against the palm of your flesh hand. “Some begging would be nice.”

His chuckle was a roll of thunder, sinister and foreboding. “Oh? How forward,” he remarked.

“And just a liiiittle bit of your time. Since like you said, you’ve been so busy. Then we can go back to pretending you haven’t wanted this since the very beginning. Is that so much to ask?”

The slow, wicked curl of Dottore’s lips would have sent anyone else running for the hills, but not you, a vicious thread of want unspooling between your thighs at the sight. To have such villainous lips pressing not only to yours but to your legs, your breasts, your everything.

The thought gave you pause, if only for a moment, a lapse that he took full advantage of as he dragged his palms up your sides with the leisure of a man with unlimited patience, his presence hot and solid, thumbs brushing, swooping purposefully along the outside swell of your breasts before trekking back down to settle on your hips. 

“You just want a little bit of my time,” he repeated, nodding, “of course.”

You frowned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. With a sudden, urgent need to unravel him, you yanked his hips closer with a tug of his belt buckle. “Then why don’t you kneel, hm? Or better yet, pet, why don’t you get on all 4’s for me?”

Dottore’s chest rumbled against yours. “You know,” he said gently, “you were right about me.” Something about his tone had your brows knitting with unease, stomach twisting.

“Was I?”

“I do get mean when I’m frustrated.”

With a single toss of his head, three things happened in sequence. 

One, the needle beside Dottore’s head, the one your elemental skill had been holding in place, impaled into the tile behind you with a deafening crack. Two, there was a terrible sound of something whirring to life. And three, a cloud of winged darkness descended upon the two of you.

Ravens. Too many to count. With bright turquoise eyes and mechanical cries. They were jet black with gold stitching; the man couldn’t help but put signature pieces of himself into every one of his creations and these were no different.

A sudden, predatory step forward by Dottore sent you pedaling away, movement stalled by the backs of your legs hitting against the flat head of the embedded needle, too low to sit on, too wide to skirt around. Instinctively, your fingers found a stabling purchase in the center strap of his harness before you could topple backwards as he drove forward still.

In a terribly awkward mimicry of a ballroom dip, you hung off him, head whipping to the side to ward off the flurry of winged creatures that swept viciously past your faces like an ocean riptide. Spinning, they.painted an almost ethereal backdrop of black wings behind him for but a moment before they fell in a swirling formation around the two of you.

A tempestuous wind, one that matched the power and complexity of your frenzied mind, built with a vengeance around your feet as you swung your sharp gaze to his. Your taloned hand gripped into the blue linen of his shirt as you found an awkward balance, teetering backwards still, knuckles digging punishingly into his chest as you glared up at him.

“This isn’t fun for me,” you complained. “I’m not having fun.”

“Pity.” A thick laugh at your expense flowed like a dark lullaby from his chest as he addressed you with a sharp-toothed grin, ignoring the anemo tantrum even as his hair swept wildly across his face.

“Do you like control?”

“Yes,” you wheezed up at him, neck straining from the effort of holding your head up to glare at him. “I do. I really, really, do.”

“As it happens, so do I.”

“Oh well boo you, you absolute bore. You know, I was wondering where you kept that backbone.”

Both time and an unquelled fury had afforded you the capabilities to destroy a village with a single spin of your polearm. You both knew you could level the playing field if you wanted. And quite literally, too. But despite the terrible yearning to pin him into the nearest wall, to see him come apart at your hands, the storm remained strangely controlled. Even as you clung to him while he explored the notches of your spine gently, the movement clashing with that familiar lilt of cruelty with which he spoke.

“What was it you were searching for, hm?” he crooned. “For me to shirk the integrity of my research just for a meaningless dalliance? You seem to quite fancy the notion of vexing me into compliance, seeing how you’ve been trying to get this spine of yours bent over one of my exam tables for how many weeks now? You spoke of punishment earlier, well I’d like to subvert that notion entirely. Of what use are you having around at all if you only seek to meddle in my work?”

“Four,” you said simply and then in the following silence supplied, “four weeks I mean. And you’re in no position to be tossing around death threats. Not with those arms.”

“Aren’t I?”

Punishment came in the form of his fingers withdrawing from your spine, instead languidly dragging around to your lower stomach. Crimson eyes observed your reactions carefully as he slid a wriggling middle finger across the thin fabric of your shorts, mapping out and nestling between the hidden folds there. His eyes darkened with hunger at the intoxicating sound of your breath hitching. He pressed upward with the pad of that finger, carefully avoiding where you needed his touch most, circling your clothed entrance and basking in the heat emanating between your thighs.

“Shall I proceed?”

“Shall I proceed?” you mocked in a gruff voice. “What is this, open heart surgery? Pass me the scalpel, Doctor.”

“That could be arranged,” he responded, voice tight.

A quiet whine loosened from your throat when his arm slid around your lower back to better support his endeavor as he pressed his thumb into your clit. In a launched counterattack, you slashed four thin strips into his shirt with a flick of your wrist, then hoisted yourself up to his ear by wrapping the back of his neck.

“You want to look at my brain, too?” you said breathlessly. “You can finger fuck that, too, if you want.”

The arm around your back tightened painfully. He continued his exploration of the shape of your cunt, picking up a slow rhythm with two fingers circling your clit. The hand on your tailbone dragged up until it tangled into your hair, holding you there in the crook of his neck while he turned to whisper against your cheekbone.

“I wouldn’t put such temptations into my head, pet.”

“Nothing that wasn’t already there.”

“You are dangerously drawn to the profane, I’m afraid. Hm. What to do, what to do… I think the only way to silence such a perverse mind is to deprive it of what it craves most, wouldn’t you agree?” 

He paused in his ministrations.

You were sure the glare you yanked back to sear him with could've taken out a small village. “No. I would not.”

Dottore chuckled low, but the tone was something you’d never heard, so tattered and almost restrained. Your eyes flicked down to the space between them and you smirked when you saw just how restrained he really was. He snatched your jaw and pulled your focus back to him, squeezing into the meat of your cheeks when you bared your teeth at him.

“You’re not incorrect, though, I have weighed the merits of studying such a specimen as you.”

“Ooh,” you grinned. “Intimately?”

He turned your face to the side to examine. “By and large, people are just a complex sum of their parts but you…”

You’re a person of jagged, scattered pieces I haven’t quite figured out yet.

“-You’ve been useful to me thus far. But all things fade and my patience wears thin.”

The murder of ravens dove back toward you with the command of an unseen signal and you closed your eyes and giggled as talons caught in the mask in your hair, knocking it completely off your head. But when the cold strike of metal wings slit into the sleeve of your shirt, slicing a thin crimson line across your shoulder, your eyes narrowed onto his with a deadpan, lethal focus.

“Do you want to know what happens if you keep pushing? Hm?” His fingers retreated until they splayed across your lower stomach instead.

“Do tell.”

“The bite of a single raven is painless when compared to, let’s say the bite of a scalpel against unsuspecting skin,” he murmured and his lips curled into a razor smile in response to the shiver that drove down your spine even as you vowed not to react. 

“But just imagine in that creative head of yours… the onslaught of hundreds of tiny blades clipping away at flesh. Talons tearing into skin, muscle, perhaps even bone, reducing you to nothing but your base components in none but an instant. A deplorable thought, isn’t it.” The birds dive bombed again and you vibrated with the strangest kind of fever, your eyes fluttering shut as you teetered with the adrenaline, the hypnotizing lull of his voice as he spoke of Death.

Death. That big old thing with wings. Shy and sweet - that shadowed creature that flitted just there at the corner of your eye. Always there, gone no matter how swiftly you turned to look. Soft and unforgiving, a small comfort, as light as the feather of a single raven. That’s all they were, just feathers across time. 

“Open your eyes.” You did with a whine, locking onto Dottore with a furrowed brow, your hands trailing up to bury into his shoulders, recentering yourself with reality. “After all, those would go first, I’m sure. Ravens are inclined to burrow, build their nests in high places. Ah, perhaps I’ll put your skull on my bookshelf. What a pretty sight that would be,” he crooned. His thumb swept up and smoothed across your brow almost comfortingly, circling down to rest on the crest of your cheekbone. Your head buzzed and a deadly impatience gnawed at the place his hand rested unmoving on your belly.

“It is a pain beyond the bounds of human comprehension, to die in such a way, at least from what I’ve borne witness to. Is it Death that you crave? I wouldn’t allow a creature such as yourself a tedious end, you know. No, you deserve something more… remarkable.” With an uncharacteristic bout of submission that had his head cocking in satisfaction, you allowed his hand to wrap your neck, the experimental squeeze like a trigger, your hips rolling needily into his. 

“So I’d beg you the question, what comes next?” he asked. “What happens if you continue to push and push?”

Dottore’s erection dug into the soft of your stomach when you pressed forward, your palms rising to cup his face in wonder. Your eyes followed the track of his swallow. 

Such a beautiful distraction he was. 

“Oh, Dottore… Oh, please, Dottore,” you sang out like a damsel in distress before lightning quick, you wrenched his head to the side to hiss in his ear. “So poetic. Romantic, even. Death by a thousand cuts and all that. Listen, I’ll tell you what happens,” you panted, a pyro fervor rising quickly to the surface of your skin. “Birds or no birds, if you don’t make me cum, I’ll call every last scrap of power you so sweetly bestowed upon me just to incinerate this place to nothing but the ashes of your hard work. What a fucking waste that would be, hm? No punishment quite like the consequences of your own actions is there? Oop! Hello karma, let me introduce you to my good friend the Doctor!” You tittered when the muscles of his jaw clenched beneath your grip.

“And then, Doctor, when we’re both standing here in the rubble of this archon forsaken place, I will go out of my way to abuse the laws of time just to make sure you suffer over and over again and then I will burn you, Prime, I will burn you if you don’t move your fucking fingers right now-”

The rest of your sentiment was cut off by a fist clenching into your hair, tearing your lips away from his ear and crushing them against his own. With a shattered groan, he poured his frustration down your throat while he did exactly as you requested, picking up an intensely fast rhythm against your clit that had you clawing at his biceps, startled from the sudden friction, your squeal of surprise swallowed whole by the violence of his kiss.

There was nothing gentle about the way he moved against each you, hips grinding a relentless rhythm, lips bruising yours as he nipped and licked, hand fisting so tightly in your hair you swore he’d take a good bit of it with him if he ever decided to remove himself.

And nothing could have prepared you for the peculiar sensation - an uncharacteristic feeling of being completely unsure of what came next. Of being knocked completely sideways whilst never feeling more balanced. Like there was a pulsing thing in your sternum running parallel to your heart, some melancholy sensation that centered and secured. 

That tethered.

Wind howled around them. Birds cried. And somewhere, somewhere in your addled mind, there was quiet.

Pleasure recycled from your mouth and into his as he drove you toward a climax that came fast but ferocious in its intensity. The borders of your vision faded until all you could do was wrap your arms around his shoulder and hold on as you shook against him, a high pitched whine spilling from between your lips. And his crimson gaze, glazed and almost desperate, remained open to study the way in which you unraveled; how your eyes screwed shut, your fingers finding purchase in his own hair, tugging it terribly hard to prove some semblance of control over him even as you came apart with nothing but his fingers.

Time, with no assistance, seemed to stand still as you came to, your nose pressed into the soft crook of his neck, arms still wrapping his shoulders. Papers were scattered, tables overturned. Some ravens flew still, riding the leftover anemo current above, while some perched, eyeing the two of them with a cold, mechanical disinterest.

A song played on that little radio somewhere, broken and skipping but still pushing through as he swayed back and forth.

“Are we… dancing?”

“Quiet.”

Soft wings brushed across the hollowness in your chest and you nuzzled further into him without much thought. Holding your breath, you dragged your fingers down his chest, intent to undo him in the same way, his cock still hard and insistent against you, but he swatted your fingers away. Once, twice.

“Hey. You haven’t even-”

“Be quiet.”

“Why do you get the lead?”

Dottore didn’t say a word, but his weary sigh tickled the back of your neck and you fell into the silence that comes with newness.

“Did you know ravens usually work in pairs to acquire their food?” you said suddenly.

There was a long pause. “...I did.”

“Hm.”

You said nothing else, and if he noticed the unsubtle way in which you stole back the lead, he didn’t say a word.

[nevernonline]

✧.* grow as we go; svt smau.

entry #16; the part we play.

synopsis: over the past ten years you’ve fallen in love many times. one day someone happens to stumble across your journal sitting out on your nightstand and started posting your entries online. after all of your secrets are leaked it’s clear things would ever be the same again.

𐦍 paring: svt members x afab! reader.

𐦍 feat: non-idol! svt

𐦍 genre/s: reader is super angsty low-key, fluffy, sexual themes.

𐦍 content: swearing, bullying, crazy ex’s, mentions of sexual relations, some drinking& mary jane 🍃

word count: 1.5k

note: in-between photo sets is some writing!! xo

masterlist ▸ 015 leave it to the cullens (part 2). ▸ 017 happy trails.

Jumping out of bed and throwing on a random pair of sweatpants scattered on her floor in what y/n referred to as her “stress pile” of clothes, she ran down the hallway to the front door to check who she had kept waiting for over ten minutes. 

Much to her surprise it wasn’t one of her obnoxious friends waking her and her overnight guest up so early, but a shady one. Joshua. 

“Y/n? I know you’re here, I asked the front door man if he had seen you leave yet this morning? Hello?” 

And with a couple more knocks pounding in her brain, she swung the door open to reveal a smiling old friend holding a bouquet of wild flowers and a box of pastries. 

“Sorry. Hangover. Why are you here?” 

“Tomorrow is your birthday?” 

“Right. But, it's also 7:30 in the morning?” 

“I thought I’d come by today so I didn’t disrupt whatever plans you have tomorrow with Seokmin and Jun. That’s okay?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So.. Can I come in? Or do you not want to have a chocolate croissant?” 

“I do, but coffee! I’m out of coffee. Can we go get some? I can’t possibly have a pastry without it, silly.” 

“Yeah, of course. Mind if I use the bathroom?” 

“Why don’t you just use the-” 

In all of her attempts at protesting Joshua walking through her apartment and finding the boy hidden in the guest room, he still managed to somehow find a way in. Just like he was doing to her heart. She knew she shouldn’t even entertain the idea of spending a day with him and pretend that she has no idea the amount of blackmail he had a hand in, but a part of her couldn’t help it. 

In all her daze of thinking of the moral repercussions of his and her own actions. She didn’t even notice him slipping back by her side. As she rapidly texted the man she unnoticeably had hidden in the room down the hall it was his time to sneak out like a secret to be kept. 

“Ready?” 

“Uh, yeah. Let’s go.” 

“So, how was Wonwoo’s event?” 

“Well for starters I had no idea that gamers drank so hard, I felt like I was back in freshman year of college trying to keep up with drunk Soonyoung and you at those dumb ass Dream Boy parties you used to take me to.” 

“That hard, huh?” 

“Yeah, I haven’t drank like that in so long. It’s fun once and a while I guess.” 

Walking into the white walled coffee shop with Joshua felt like some sort of omen, but y/n couldn’t decide if it was a good one or a bad one just yet. 

If Joshua was honest about his play in the game with Mimi, maybe someday down the road she could forgive him and patch up their friendship one last time. But, the more he waited to say anything, the more he lied and kept his secret the less she even believed he’d own up to his actions. 

“What would you like?”

“Just a drip coffee please, large, no sugar or milk.” 

“Okay, I’ll pay.” 

“Wow. Thank you so much.” 

Sensing y/n’s sarcasm, he smiled and turned towards the register placing their matching order and grabbing the cups as he handed her the steaming cup of fresh coffee and made their way back to her apartment. 

Waiting to cross the street her front door opened, walking out was Minghao dressed in his same outfit from the night before, catching y/n’s eyes, as she quickly turned Joshua around to look at a dog passing by so Minghao could make his quick exit without any suspicion. 

When she was sure he made his exit and got out of the line of sight, with Joshua by her side they headed back up to her apartment, announcing she needed to go use the restroom fast and search the bedroom that once belonged to another untrustworthy friend. 

Under her laptop sitting on the desk, a small note was placed with just the corner of the purple sticky note sticking to the side. 

‘Swan, by midnight tonight you’ll be one year older. I hope another trip around the sun brings you peace of mind and the happiness you truly deserve. See you tomorrow, MH.” 

Placing the note under the cover of her laptop, she smiled to herself and decided now was the time to confront an elephant in the room. 

She walked back up to Joshua sitting on her couch, the plate of chocolate croissants placed on the glass coffee table, two cups of coffee on either side. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah. Can I talk to you about something?” 

“Of course.” 

“I need you to listen to me, like really listen and don’t deflect. I need you to tell me how you got my journal to Mimi.” 

“I didn-”

“You did. I know it was you who took it, I just want to know why?” 

“Just listen. I didn’t take it to give it to Mimi. I actually took it before she even got back in touch with me. And I didn’t just stumble upon it on my own time. Minnie showed me it, she wanted me to know how much I hurt you and how you felt about me because you never told me. You kept all those cards so close to your chest, I felt like I had to read more. So, the night of Mingyu’s bar opening, I had Mimi over at my house after, we were just catching up, talking, nothing too serious, she had just moved back and needed somewhere to stay for the night. She was the one who found your journal and took it and concocted the entire plan.” 

“Why?” 

“Why what?” 

“I guess why didn’t you just tell me all of this at the beginning?” 

“I was just going to bring you your diary back and ask you out, I had feelings for you too. I still do. I eventually was going to tell you everything. But, it just got so complicated and the day I came over and saw Minghao here, I got so pissed off at you for trusting him after he hurt me, I figured he’d hurt you too.” 

“But he didn’t. You did.” 

“I know. I should’ve just told you the truth from the beginning, but I was scared to lose you.” 

“You already had lost me. How am I supposed to even believe a word you’re telling me right now?” 

“Because, I have proof. The only reason I even still talk to Mimi is to make sure she doesn’t go too far.” 

“Why did you fight with Minghao then?” 

“He pisses me off. Simple as that. I knew he had helped Mimi. I knew he was being deceitful to you as well, but so was I. It was just a matter of who owned up to it first.” 

“Alright. What else do you know?” 

“I know that Minnie is helping Mimi. They’ve been in contact with each other for quite some time, even before Mimi moved back. I can’t tell you why only because I genuinely have no clue. But, I have a feeling she's trying to hide something about herself and not exposing you.” 

“And Mingyu?” 

“No. He has nothing to do with it.” 

“Okay.” 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Mhm, sure.” 

“Do you think we can ever get past this? Even if we just stay friends or see each other once and a while?” 

“If what you’re telling me is a hundred percent true, then I think we can. But, if I find out you’re lying to me, I will never speak to you again.” 

“I can show you the texts. Between me and Mimi, Minnie, Minghao. Anyone involved.” 

“Who sent me the bouquet? You right?” 

“Yeah. It was just a warning to be careful about the people around you.” 

“Okay. Well. Thanks for telling me, I guess.” 

“There’s something else.” 

“Uh, alright?” 

“Tonight. There’s a party at Mingyu’s bar that Minnie was throwing for your birthday. I came over here initially to invite you. They told me only you’re invited. No Seokmin, Jun, or anyone else.” 

“Why?” 

“They wanted me to take you as a surprise.” 

“My party is supposed to be tomorrow night?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So they have something planned for me and I feel like it’s safe to say it’s not good.” 

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s safe to assume that yeah.” 

“Okay, if you want to make it up to me. You’ll help me sneak Minghao and the dorks into the back of his restaurant.” 

“Yes.” 

“Call Jeonghan, tell him everything. Get him to cause a distraction so they can come inside. Text Minnie and ask if it’s okay you invite Seokmin to come with you and I. It's believable I wouldn’t go anywhere on my own without him and I’ll handle the rest.” 

“Are you going to tell me what the rest is?” 

“Yes, eventually.” 

“Okay, let’s hurry, we have about three hours until I’m supposed to bring you.” 

“What’s the dress code?” 

“Formal. It's some sort of mask party.” 

“Fuck.” 

“So you’re still friends with Hao?” 

“Yes, idiot. I heard you jiggle the doorknob this morning. Come on.” 

taglist: @sun-daddy-yoriichi @hipsdofangirl@kissesfrmwonwoo@minhui896@wonwooz1@porridgesblog@jasssy051@soonyoungblr@saucegirlreads@musingsofananxiouspotato@young-adult-summer@punkhazardlaw@bibs-world@the-swageyama-tobiyolo@wonuulvr@woozixo@k-drama-adict@90s-belladonna@blaycke@dnylwoo@to-mi-yo, @nonononranghaee

note: hi me again!! lol. I hope you enjoy this messy lil installment. not my favorite (everyone says this sometimes ik ik) let me know what you think our resident traitor mimi is up too 👀