#every nook and cranny that might stand out to me lmao

[fluffle-writes]

In the weird core Au, is Yuu just a normal human or what?

Because I don’t doubt they would’ve passed out, out of primal fear when seeing everyone here.

As soon as they were somewhat getting used to Grim appearance, Crowley comes out and it makes it worse. At least depending on his appearance

At the same time it would be kinda hilarious to watch.

Yep! Yuu/the reader is just a normal human who's been whisked away or backroomsed to the Weirdcore TWST dimension lol - some parts of this AU is inspired by another Weirdcore AU I've seen actually! I can't remember where I read it - I'm pretty sure the writer stopped writing TWST stuff tho xP

If you've watched my Meeting With Vil video, you can see how the Weirdcore cast has to be a bit more careful around the resident human! They have a much more fragile psyche and body, so sights that would be fine for the Weirdcore guys may cause distress or injury for Yuu!

I feel like it'd be fun for all of the Weirdcore cast to be much larger than normal humans! But also, they'd be inconsistent - like reality warps around them. For example, Riddle looks very large when he's angry - but he can shrink down to an almost human size if he wants to come across as less intimidating.

As for Yuu encountering Grim and Crowley! I feel like being chased by Grim would be significantly more frightening for them - I'm still deliberating on how the Weirdcore beings of the world will react to a human though... Part of me wants to make them be perceived as baby otter levels of cuteness since the juxtaposition of these massive monsters cooing at Yuu seems like a fun thing to think about.

As for Crowley! Crowley will be imposing af I think - I'll probably give him more wings than Vil, as well as floating elements like Lilia (probably in the form of keys and mirrors since that seems to be a motif of his)

Yuu will probably be in some kinda state of shock during the prologue for sure, but humans are adaptable! They can eventually develop the vaguest sense of normalcy in the strange world they find themself in.

Weirdcore AU Masterlist Here!

[henrike-does-writing-sometimes]

📄❌📺🩸🧬 for the divine !!!!

Oh hell yeah The Divine ! Thank you for the ask king <3

📄 Where/How does the story open?

This is a tricky one because I haven’t actually figured out a proper way to being the story yet. From what I’ve written the first thing is Rei and Aiyo meeting for the first time, but I know that the story should begin before that. 

In an early version I had the first thing be the death of the last group of Wielders. It doesn’t really make sense with the current canon, but I might be able to rework it into something to my liking. 

❌ What one plot point, if removed, would change the story completely?

Cosmia and Ome’s battle, the collision of light and darkness. Had these two assholes never fought each other Lovka (The Divine Entity) would’ve never been created. No Lovka means no reason to create the core essences, meaning no Kayara and no Wielders.  

A lot hinges of the fact that Cosmia and Ome can’t stand each other lmao

📺 Describe your wip as if it were a tv show or movie. Is anything different?

Ohohoho~ 

Here’s the synopsis if The Divine was the animated series it is in my head;

Devices that turn inanimate objects into horrific monsters, strange people in animal masks feeding off of your emotions, and a whimsical and intoxicating circus. Whenever danger threatens the Human Domain it is up to the Divine Wielders to stop it.

Join Rei, Andie, Timothy, Nico and Mike as they navigate their teenage years while also trying to keep the worlds from being destroyed.

CUE THEME SONG-

🩸 Are the protagonist’s stakes emotional, or physical? What are they?

I think it’s more physical than emotional. I have yet to fully figure out the emotional side of it but trust me they’re there. 

The stakes also vary depending on the villain like, with the Locksmith it’s both their lives but also the lives of the people they’re filing to protect while being without their powers. And with Lovka it’s the fate of the four worlds because Lovka is an asshole like that. There’s also the risk of losing their humanity by having to use the Divine power, a concept I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with. 

🧬 What sets the protagonist apart from the other characters? Why them?

Kayara doesn’t choose on a whim, alright. The thing about the Wielders is that they are not only connected to an essence (a lot of people can be at the same time actually, fun fact) they also each embody their respective essence in one way or another. Both positives and negatives. Another thing is that Kayara also chooses based on who will become better as a result of being a Wielder. I’m going to try and stay as spoiler free as I can, but it basically looks like this;

Sun is tied with youth; Adventure, wonder, patience and kindness. Not only is Rei the youngest of the five, he’s also a massive nerd. So while not adventurous in the extroverted way, he’ll spend hours searching every nook and cranny in the media he consumes for easter eggs and the like. Too bad he isn’t as kind to himself as he should. 

Twilight centers on the community and the individual, so Andie, being a cheerleader, fits perfectly. They’re friendly, supportive, views everyone as a friend. However, the side of Twilight ruled by darkness also revolves around self-worth, and let’s just say Andie has some issues with that one. 

Moon has love, tranquility, balance and the release of emotions at its core. And quiet, bookish Timothy is the guy you want. He might not say it aloud, but he's got a lot of love to give and is very happy to give it. Although, he does also have a lot of repressed emotions and pent-up anger. Sure hope that won't be used against him-

Aurora is about progression; hope, life, letting go and acceptance. Nico radiates comfort and optimism, this is the guy who carries bandaids on him at all times. This is also the guy who takes accountability for shit he did not do and excuses people's behavior even if they’re actively harming him. 

Arcadia centers on creation and communication. Mike, as an artist and a teacher, fits this like a glove. Attentive, a visionary and with a knack for catching people’s attention, that’s him alright. Not to forget his tendency to be, well, a people-pleaser at the cost of his own interests.

[joonsrack]

Masterpiece | KTH x KNJ

+PAIRING: Kim Taehyung x Kim Namjoon

+GENRE: Oneshot, crack, angst, smidge of smut, College AU, stranger to lover

+WORD COUNT: ~13k

+RATING: 18+

+WARNING: Taehyung has face blindness, NSFW, (very) foul language, overuse of the word penis and it’s synonyms, pinning, misunderstandings, Namjoon is like real’ dumb, a little hanky panky but nothing scandalous.

+SUMMARY: 

“So let me recap here, you don’t know his name, his major, his department, his age, his number, nor his face. The only clue you have is this drawing, which basically looks like a textbook example of unrealistic body expectations. You apparently know every nook and cranny of his [REDACTED], but you didn’t have the decency to ask his name? You deserve this.” He cackles, angering Taehyung.

(OR the one where Taehyung has face blindness but that won't stop him from finding love. )

+A/N: Well, it’s been almost a year since I’ve posted anything, and almost as much time since i last wrote anything (except for the occasional guilt writing lmao). So this is me coming back with a vengeance (and the dumbest thing i’ve ever written). This is all thanks to (or to be blamed on) @minloop who put up with my non-stop messaging, gave me some plot ideas, and actually inspired me to finish this in three days. Thank you to my baby @emojihobi​ for the emotional support and the beta reading 💖

+Disclaimer: I got all my info on face blindness from google searches, so please forgive any inaccuracy.

Face blindness has definitely made Taehyung’s life difficult. 

There’s the obvious problem of not being able to recognize your parents. Remember this childhood trauma of holding a random stranger’s hands in the mall, thinking it’s your mother or father? Taehyung had to live through that many, many times; except he wouldn’t realize until said stranger would shake his hand off, or until his parents would swoop in to get him. The fact that he’s never been kidnapped is down to pure luck, really.

Making friends, you guessed it, has also been a challenge. It’s difficult explaining to kids why you ignored them when you saw each other in the hallway. Kids don’t always understand “I didn’t recognize you” as an explanation, especially if you’ve been in the same class since pre-k.

But this? This is a new and unforeseen crisis.

+

 His dorm room is very quiet, which is not unusual since he has a solo room. But he’s pretty sure he went to sleep with a plus one, and said plus one is nowhere to be seen. 

Now, he isn’t a stranger to one-night stands sneaking out after he falls asleep. He likes to take night conquests to his dorm room for this exact reason; He can go right to sleep, while they take themselves out. Easy breezy no string attached-y. That’s usually the way he wants it to be. 

But this time is different. Last night was different. Last night, Taehyung had the best night of his life, hands down. Best bangs of his existence. Bangs plural because they went more than once. How that’s even possible when his teenage years are long gone and days with multiple orgasms are less and less common, he has no idea.

He’s probably ruined for anyone else. Nothing could ever compare to the night he just spent getting his back blown out. 

Now, Taehyung is a sculptor. A very gifted one at that (if his teachers’ praises are anything to go by). Taehyung knows body proportions, knows perfect rations, all that stuff. He knows it on marble bodies, in sketches, in painting. Not on actual human beings.

Until last night.

Last night, he witnessed the body of a god. He scratched at perfect skin, held on to beautifully defined and strong arms, rode perfect thighs. Last night, he shed a tear at the view of some perfect knees. Last night, he realized that art truly imitates nature. 

And that’s not all.

Taehyung can admit he owns a nice dick; it’s decently shaped, the color is nice, and the size is slightly over average. 

But what he witnessed the night before?

The Narcissus of dicks; the most beautiful dick on the planet. The most beautiful dick in history . Probably even prettier than Narcissus’ face himself. (But Taehyung doesn’t know what Narcissus' face looks like, so he’s only assuming.) 

From the perfect red color of its beautifully shaped head to the gracefully intertwined veins leading to a sturdy looking hilt, peppered with well-kept pubic hair, ending in an exquisitely wrinkled ballsack. The girth was over average; big enough to make size queens (such as Taehyung) salivate, but not big enough to scare away enthusiasts. And the length? The dude is lucky he’s a grower and not a show-er, or he would never know peace. Mainly because the likes of Taehyung or Park Jimin would never let him be.

But where is that most perfect penis right now? 

Attached to its perfectly shaped and mysterious owner, probably miles away.

Very problematic, indeed.

+

“So what you’re saying is, you fell asleep, and when you woke up he was gone? Isn’t that how it’s usually supposed to go?” Yoongi sounds disgruntled on the other end of the face call, face half mushed in his pillow, hair disheveled and eyes squinty. It’s not yet 1 pm after all, which is still considered morning for people like Min Yoongi.

“Noooo, not this time.” Taehyung whines,” This time he was supposed to stick around and ask me to marry him in the morning. Isn’t that obvious? We went at it four times for fuck sake, doesn’t that mean anything anymore?”

Jimin chokes on his matcha oatmeal milk latte, eyes going wide. “Four times?! Now that is a monster stamina. He basically squeezed your balls dry.” There’s a pause, then he says to someone off-camera, “It’s rude to stare, ma’am.”

“Stop ruining my morning with your screaming,” Yoongi grunts out, rubbing his eyes. “So what do you want us to do about this?”

Taehyung fumbles around his desk for a moment, looking through his piles of sketches until he finds it, his only clue.

“Do you two know this man?” He asks, pulling out a sketch he did quickly off his memory of the mystery man’s body. He pulls out a second one, this one is a close-up of his perfect penis. He might have gone off tangent with the shading, but he couldn't stop himself, that dick deserves all the shading.

“Jesus fuck.” Yoongi signs.

“Baby, I’m sure you’re aware that if I knew anyone with a body and a dick like that, you would never have been able to put your dirty paws on him.”

Taehyung turns hopeful eyes to Yoongi after glaring at Jimin for a good 10 seconds, but Yoongi only shakes his head no.

“I don’t have a habit of making my friends strip around me, sadly. I wouldn’t be able to tell even if I knew him.”

“You two are useless” Taehyung signs, his body deflating. Yoongi takes offense and hangs up. Or maybe he was going to hang up either way.

“So let me recap here, you don’t know his name, his major, his department, his age, his number, nor his face. The only clue you have is this drawing, which basically looks like a textbook example of unrealistic body expectations. You apparently know every nook and cranny of his penis, but you didn’t have the decency to ask his name? You deserve this.” He cackles, angering Taehyung. 

“I was busy sucking his dick, asshole.” He spits, but Jimin only snorts in answer.

“Good luck finding the owner of Mystery Penis.” He quips back, before hanging up as well.

+

All hope is lost. Never in his life has he despised his face blindness as much as he does right now. Of course, it’s never been easy dealing with it throughout his life. He’s lucky he has two solid friends he can count on. Although Jimin regularly dyes and changes his hairstyle without warning to mess with him. And Yoongi basically has two hours of availability per week, usually arranged around his sleeping schedule. 

But he knows they care for him, and he cares for them. 

He drags his feet to class. He uses ‘class’ lightly; being a third-year means most of his courses are spent in the workshop, working on his graduate exhibition. 

He’s got his trusty overalls on, covered in clay stains. He’s been working with clay for the last few weeks, using the medium for two of his exhibition pieces. 

He greets his teacher at the front desk with a nod, before making his way to his desk. Today’s playlist consists of oldies, and he makes it to his desk just as Lionel Richie’s voice fills the room. 

He snorts, rolling his eyes.

Hello is a classic of sculpting classes. No matter the teacher or the Instructor, they all love to play that song on repeat, and he usually doesn’t pay it any mind. But right now, isn’t there a more perfect song to taunt him?

Lionel Richie asks if it’s him he’s looking for, as he’s pulling his tool out of his bag. He unwraps the plastic wrap from around the latest project he’s been working on, already planning his next move. 

He’s pretty sure the sculpting world is all over that song only because of the music video.

It’s obvious that the whole ‘blind girl sculpting’ thing– 

Oh.

Oh dear god. The music video. 

The music video.

Taehyung has an idea.

His hands move before he can fully realize the plan in his head, rewrapping his project, and getting some new clay from the front of the class.

His teacher looks him up and down in all his frantic and excited glory.

 “A sudden stroke of inspiration?” He questions, sounding curious.

“Something like that.” Taehyung smiles, trying to act inconspicuous. His teacher won’t let him take the clay if it’s not for his graduate exhibition.

He makes it back to his station without any more inquiry and starts to work right away.

Jimin was right, he does know every nook and cranny of that penis. He spent hours getting acquainted with it, and he has an excellent memory (Except for faces, obviously).

All the other students are too busy working on their final projects to notice the massive penis under construction a few feet from them. If anyone asks, Taehyung will proudly answer that it’s a life-sized depiction. But no one is asking, so he simply works on bringing the piece to life. The students in his class rarely talk to him, since he hasn’t gone out of his way to develop any type of relationship with them. It’s easier like that.

Once he’s done, many hours later, he’s alone in the workshop with the sun setting outside.

He ogles proudly at his masterpiece, the erect penis standing tall on his station, truly a creature of beauty. It’s a perfect replica, down to the ballsack wrinkles; down to the cute mole at the hilt. Of course, it’s clay-colored, and it probably won't change since Taehyung hates painting his creations, but he’s absolutely certain that everything else is exactly like the original.

The oven has been preheating for a while, so it’s hot and ready to bake some penis. The only thing left is to leave it to cure for a while. Any ol’ regular penis would have taken less than an hour to cure, but we’re talking about a monster cock here. 

He pops it into the oven, sets a timer, just in time for a knock at the door to pull him out of his penis-induced craze.

“Yo, Tae,” Yoongi’s voice resonates from the door frame.

Taehyung grabs a rag from his station to clean his hand with before making his way to his friend. There’s someone with him, and Yoongi signals at his friend with a lazy wave of his hand. 

“Remember Namjoon?” He asks, but it’s a rhetorical question. Jimin and Yoongi have taken to the habit of identifying the people they’re with, so Taehyung doesn't have to embarrass himself trying to figure it out on his own. That way, they don’t have to explain his condition to every single person that isn’t in his immediate friend circle. 

(Is it even a circle if it’s two people?) 

He sends a nod in Namjoon’s way and gets a wave back, and that’s as far as their exchange goes, as usual. Except today, his whole body language reads nervous and tense. But that’s none of Taehyung’s business.

“We’re going to see some juniors perform in a pub, you want to come with?” Yoongi asks him, and Taehyung knows he means well, but he also knows that Yoongi knows he doesn’t like crowded spaces. 

He and Jimin have tried to get him to go out more, but the only time Taehyung steps foot inside any type of alcohol selling establishment is when he wants to get laid. And there’s only one place he goes to then; that crappy little Bar near campus that’s only frequented by broke students who also want to get laid. 

He doesn’t like anywhere that’s dark where there’s enough people to make him lose sight of his friends. Something about losing his parents at the mall one too many times.

“That sounds nice, but I have to finish this piece I’m working on.” He answers, trying to sound as regretful as he can. It doesn’t really work, judging by Yoongi’s unconvinced humming. 

“Alright, careful when you go back home.” Yoongi finally answers, patting him on the shoulder. 

He starts walking away, but his friend, Namjoon, stays frozen on the spot, facing him. He’s looking at Taehyung in some kind of way, but face blindness makes it hard for him to read other’s expressions. He raises a single eyebrow in interrogation, and that seems to make Namjoon snap out of it. He turns on his heel without as much as a goodbye, which, rude .

“'Kay, bye.” He mutters after him.

But he can’t hold it against him. He knows that ‘Namjoon’ has been a long-time friend of Yoongi and that they’ve spent some time together by association. Taehyung doesn’t go out of his way to get to know new people, so there’s a high chance Namjoon might have tried to approach him with friendship in mind, only to end up frustrated by Taehyung’s lack of interest. Happens all the time. He can’t really help it, reading intentions is not in his toolbox.

He should probably tell Yoongi to share his ‘secret’ with Namjoon. He seems nice enough from what he heard, so he would probably be understanding. It should at least clear up the misunderstanding, and Taehyung might even gain a new friend, who knows?

He makes his way back to his station, works on his actual project while the oven takes care of making his penis nice and hard. 

+

The next morning, he wakes up to ten texts from Jimin, one from Yoongi, and multiple missed calls and voicemail from his workshop teacher.

 Asshole with pink hair:

9:40 am    ur crazy

9:40 am    CRAZY

9:40 am    This is hilarious

9:41 am    That’s why i love u

9:41 am    That is a beautiful dick

9:41 am    Like it was nice on paper, but the 3D version definitely makes me wonder about its  owner

10:26 am  All the student body is buzzing about the mystery penis

10:27 am  It’s on the front page of the school newspaper

10:27 am  omg you dumbass u didnt write your number

10:27 am  you didn't write your number anywhere brb dying of laughter

Hyungie:

11:32 am  You didnt write your infos dumb dumb

Taehyung bangs his head on his pillow, hoping for quick death. How could he forget to write down his infos? How is anyone supposed to contact him?

+

Namjoon has come to learn quickly that university isn’t always the most sanest place on the planet. Cramming, into a single building, that amount of genius with that amount of insanity is bound to create interesting events.

He’s stopped being surprised by most things, might be guilty of doing some of those surprising things from time to time. But today? Today is on a whole new level.

Somehow, his dick is plastered all over the school, in every hallway, on every door. Think Regina George distributing the burn book copy all over school but, multiplied by 50, that’s how many pictures of his dick are distributed around school right now. Not an actual picture of his actual dick, but an actual picture of an actual clay replica, with big bold yellow letters spelling out 'HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PENIS?', and nothing else.

It’s vaguely threatening.

He wishes he couldn’t tell that it’s his penis, then maybe he could laugh with the rest of the student body. But there’s no mistaking it. One look and he knew. The person who printed those flyers made sure to include all the possible angles, too. 

It’s 100% his dick. 

The slight curve is there, the mole is there, everything is there.

The intentions of the maker are unclear, but there’s one thing for sure: he knows exactly who’s behind it. He only knows one sculptor who has seen his penis, and that’s the current bane of his life, Kim Taehyung.

It’s not enough that Taehyung has been completely ignoring his existence before their night of passion together, he’s also been ignoring him after. 

And now this? Plastering his dick all over school? For absolutely no reason? Did he not like the night they spent together? Was this a great big ploy to make fun of him? Is this Taehyung’s way to reject him? To tell him to stay away from him? He knows he’s never been really subtle with his crush, but isn’t this going way too far? 

At least he had the very, very basic decency to forgo his name from the flyers, or Namjoon might have had to run away to the next town. 

Namjoon is not dumb, he knows his ancient Greece lore and what they thought about big dicks.

Taehyung didn’t write this so people would look at the dick, he’s obviously calling him a dick.  And for what, pinning on him for the last year? Can’t a man have a crush in peace?

Maybe he shouldn't have approached Taehyung that night. 

One thing is for sure, Taehyung is sending him a very clear message to stay away from him.

+

He spent a fortune printing all those hands out, and now he has to reprint them all? Taehyung knows very well he can’t afford another round of mass printing. Plus the librarian probably won’t ever let him walk into the library again. She had to come and refill the printer at least three times in the hour he was there. The environmental club was even called on scene by one of the students waiting for his turn at the printer. Talk about a snitch.

He can’t afford to reprint everything, and there’s no way he’ll go around school writing his number by hand.

He listens to the voicemails from his teacher then, uncovering a new hurdle.

The first one goes like this:

"Kim Taehyung I know it’s you, you left that thing on your desk."

Then the second:

"Kim Taehyung, you will take down these handouts right this instant before the Dean can see them, you hear me? He'll put you on probation and my head on a stick."

Taehyung muffles his groans into his pillow. Maybe it’s a good thing he forgot to include his number. He should have thought of that before.

He throws on some clothes, heeding his teacher’s warning. He better get to school quickly.

He texts Yoongi and Jimin to take down as many as they can if they want to see him live for another day. Yoongi doesn’t answer and Jimin only texts back asking if he can keep one for his room.

Some friend circle he’s got there.

He makes it onto campus in under half an hour, and gets to work, taking them down as quickly as he can.

He’s got only a few hallways left to do when someone taps him sharply on the shoulder. He spins around, dreading the moment he comes face to face with the Dean. Not that he could recognize the Dean.

“Are you the Dean?” He stammers in a small voice.

“What? No- you. I swear to god. Just tell me if you hate me that much.” Stranger says, before putting his long leg to good use, striding away from him. He throws a bunched-up flyer on the floor before disappearing down the hallway as quickly as he’s appeared.

Taehyung is stunned for a good minutes, utterly confused

The voice sounds similar, but other than that he has no idea who just spit those words at him. He doesn’t hate anyone, and he doesn't see why anyone would believe he has those kinds of ill feelings towards them.

+

Now that his plan has miserably failed, Taehyung falls into hopelessness once again. He lays in bed, holding his precious sculpture to himself. It’s the only thing he has left from his fateful encounter. Or he thought it was fate, but now he’s wondering if that was life making fun of him. 

Jimin is laying by his side, examining the sketch of the body with clear interest. It’s making Taehyung feel a little possessive. 

“Maybe you should try again in the school gym, no one gets a body like that from not going to the gym. You could say you’re looking for a model or something.”

Taehyung stares at his friend with all the admiration he can muster. 

“I would kiss you so hard right now.”

“We tried that once, remember?”

“Yes, and that’s why I won’t be doing it, but I would, just so you know.”

“Cool.” 

He snatches the sketch out of Jimin’s hands to get to work on the shading, trying to get his drawing as realistic looking as possible. Making a whole body out of clay would take too long, so Taehyung will have to settle for his sketch. 

Once he’s done, some 30 minutes have passed. He whirl around on his desk chair, waving the sketch around successfully, only to stop dead in his tracks. He finds Jimin with his precious sculpture halfway down his throat.

“Jimin!” He exclaims, fuming. “Get your dirty mouth off my penis!”

Jimin startles and chokes in surprise, but then bursts out laughing once the sculpture is safely out of his mouth.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just really curious about the size. You never cease to amaze me.”

Taehyung snatches his precious phallus back, grabbing some tissues to wipe off Jimin's drool.

“If I can’t find him, this is going up my ass, so don’t touch it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jimin grimaces, rearranging himself on the bed. He grabs his phone to waste some time, probably ignoring his other responsibilities as the end of their final semester is quickly approaching. “You want to end up in the emergency room? Just use it to make a mold and replicate it with some silicon at least.” 

Taehyung raises both eyebrows in astonishment.

“Jimin, your genius never ceases to amaze me.”

+

He successfully drags Jimin with him to the campus gym. Normally the prospect of hot sweaty people grunting, in various states of undress would attract Jimin like a bee to honey, but since he’s already banged or broken up with half the people that go there, Taehyung has to keep a firm hold on his friend’s wrist.

“Why do I have to come with you again?” 

“It was your idea, so you’re taking responsibility.”

“I don’t like taking my responsibilities, they suck,” Jimin grumbles, but he stops trying to run away.

The moment they step into the gym, they’re assaulted by the musky smell of sweat and determination. There’s a high volume of people working out, probably wanting to channel their end-of-semester jitters into iron pumping. 

Taehyung spots the front desk, putting his business smile on while reaching into his folder. He hears Jimin greet someone, going off by himself, but Taehyung bears him no mind and heads straight for the Woman working the counter.

“Hi there,” he says, charm on, “ I was wondering if you could help me out,-”

“Yes you can put your flyers up, no you don’t have to pay for it, no we won’t take it down before the end of the semester, yes I do have some tape.” She says without missing a beat, not looking up at him.

“Damn, maybe I’m here because I want to sign up for a membership.” 

She finally looks up from her computer, assessing Taehyung from head to toe.

“No you don’t babe. Here’s the tape.” She says, handing him the tape while blowing a bubble with her pink gum. Multitasking at its finest.

Taehyung doesn’t feel like taking her on a debate, so he gets hold of the roll of tape and gets to work, spotting where other people left their flyers so he can put his right by them. 

He scans the gym once or twice with a quick look, trying to see if, by a stroke of luck, Mystery Man could be there. No one that is shirtless has the body he’s looking for, and he sadly doesn’t have x-ray vision to check the rest. No amount of wishing as a kid made him grow that ability.

He puts up the first flyer, this time containing all his info, and stares at it proudly. He's got a good feeling about this.

Jimin finds him again as he’s putting up his last flyer, sounding excited about something.

“I had no idea Namjoon worked out. He’s got nice arms hidden beneath those sweatshirts.”

“Namjoon? Yoongi’s friend?”

“Yeah! And he changed his hair color, it looks really good on him. A little lighter than he used to have.”

Taehyung nods along, not really pressed to know more. He’s got other fish to fry.

+

Namjoon slowly counts to 30 after seeing Taehyung leave the premises, before he basically sprints to the nearest wall, spotting the flyers Taehyung has put up.

There’s a sketch on it, a sketch of a body. A body that looks strangely like his. He frowns, before reading the caption.

“Sculpting student looking for body model. Body must look like this. Call XXX-XXX-XXXX. Food as compensation. ”

Namjoon cannot believe his eyes. Taehyung knows he’s got that exact body type, yet he didn’t ask for his help. If he needed any other confirmation that Taehyung hates him, there’s one right there.

Just what did he do to the man to make him hate him so much? 

Since he’s confronted him in the hallway, Taehyung still hasn’t reached out to him. It would be easy to do. He knows Taehyung has his number, they exchanged it when they first met, so nothing is stopping him. Unless he’s happy with the way things are.

+

Maybe Jimin is not as much of a genius as he thought. By the sixth person that walks in to be a body model, he realizes this is getting expensive in food bribes and studio fees. He has also stopped putting up the pretense of wanting to sketch anyone anymore. 

But this time, It’s one Jung Hoseok who walks in.

“Have we slept together before?” He asks right off the bat, tired of wasting his precious time. It’s his new modus operandi; invite them in, ask the burning question, then send them on their way with the promised food to avoid complaints. 

“I don’t believe so, but maybe we should fix that,” Hoseok answers, taking off his shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“Your flyers have a nude body on it, you made me come to a private studio, isn’t this a nude modeling thing?” Hoseok questions, but doesn’t stop undressing. He’s already reaching for his belt. 

Something tells Taehyung this man would be really sad to be told to put his clothes back on. The way he’s unapologetically getting naked tells Taehyung everything he needs to know. 

“So, why are you asking?” He inquires while posing, everything hanging loose and stuff. “Is that how you get laid? Asking hot dudes to model, then seducing them once they’re naked and vulnerable?”

Jung Hoseok doesn’t seem to be feeling very vulnerable right now, but Taehyung keeps that to himself.

“God no. Jesus that would be sleazy of me.”

“Not as sleazy as asking me if we’ve slept together 5 seconds into our first meeting.” Hoseok points out.

“ Touché. ” He admits, a soft chuckle escaping him.

Hoseok doesn’t press him for an answer, and they spend the next few minutes in silence, the only sound coming from Taehyung's pencil on the thick page of his sketchbook.

Jung Hoseok, standing confidently in front of him in all of his naked glory, has a certain aura around him. The way he holds himself, no hesitation to bare it all, head held high; it's like he never had to hide anything in his life. Like he never knew shame. To the point where it inspires Taehyung to utter the next words:

“I have face blindness.” He starts off, which gets his model’s attention. He keeps his eyes down on his paper to avoid eye contact, feeling rusty when it comes to revealing this part of himself. He continues quickly, “I had a one-night stand with this– perfect greek god. He had the perfect penis, too. Best sex of my life.” He's making good progress on his sketch, Hoseok’s body graceful and easy to put on paper. “I’m trying to find him, but I don’t know anything about him, and I can’t tell people’s faces apart." He chuckles deprecatingly, "The only clue I have is the way his body looks. So I put up this ad for body models hoping he would show up.”

Hoseok breaks his pose to slap his hands together, then pointing at him. “Oh my god, are you the one that plastered the whole school with the penis sculpture a few days ago? Was that your version of a ‘Wanted’ poster?”

Taehyung feels his cheeks warm up.

“Yeah, but I almost lost my diploma over that so let’s not mention it.”

Hoseok laughs with his whole body, clapping his hands together a few more times as if to express his excitement.

“That was the best thing to ever happen on this campus since 1993, thank you for that.”

His statement piques Taehyung's interest.

“What happened in 1993?” He asks, expecting anything but what comes outs of Hoseok's mouth next.

“My mom and dad conceived me in the bathroom of the literature wing.”

Taehyung chortles, surprising even himself with how loud it is.

“Now that’s a conception story worth telling your kids.”

“They didn't tell me; They got caught and got expelled the next day. They framed their expulsion letter, it’s still on display in the kitchen.” Hoseok’s voice is dripping with fondness, betraying his love for his family. “The thing is, I learned how to read at a very early age.”

Taehyung is possessed by another wave of uncontrollable laughter. He wipes a stray tear from his eyes, taking a second to compose himself.

“There, you’re looking a little better now. “

Taehyung looks up at the man, standing there in his birthday suit, going out of his way to cheer him up even though they’re perfect strangers.

(Maybe not so perfect since he’s seen him naked, but still.)

He chuckles again, going back to his sketching.

“Wait does this mean you don’t actually need models right now?”

“Well yeah," Taehyung answers, shrugging his shoulders, "But you looked like you would be really disappointed if I told you to stop undressing, so I just went along with it.”

Hoseok nods his agreement, going back into his original position.

“Good call. Now that we’re here you better get the shading of my calves right. They’re my pride and glory.”

“On it.”

+

Who would have thought that this whole ordeal would have somehow turned into Taehyung making a new friend.

He looks at the contact number in his phone staring back at him. It’s written 'Jung Hoseok' with a little sun emoji. He’s told him everything he needs to know to avoid misunderstandings, and Hoseok left with the promise to always greet him first when they see each other in the hallway. It’s sad that he only met the man in his last stretch before getting his degree, but as they say: better late than never.

He’s excited to get to know Hoseok, but he doesn’t know if he should text him first. He’s feeling a little socially rusty, having not approached anyone with the intention of being friends in a long, long time. Which is why he jumps with glee when he sees he’s got a text notification from his new friend. But then he reads the text, and the glee morphes into unadulterated excitement.

 Jung Hoseok 🌞:

4:56 pm    I think i know who your penis belongs to

4:56 pm    can you send me a picture? I lost the flyers i kept from that time

                                       4:59 pm    You sent a picture

 5:01 pm   Yeah it’s really similar 

5:01 pm    Kim Seokjin, XXX-XXX-XXXX, probably currently working the counter at the campus coffee shop. 

5:02 pm     He’s tall, broad shoulders, awesome dick

Taehyung doesn’t even take the time to text back his thanks; he wraps up his project in a disorderly manner, wiping his hands on his shirt with no care in the world. He throws his backpack on and basically sprint to the coffee shop he usually tends to avoid. The owner is totally an evil capitalist, ripping off students with his overpriced coffee.

He gets there in record time, gasping for air as his poor lungs try to keep up with enough exercise to last him a lifetime.

He’s covered in clay stains, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, clothes in dismay, lungs wheezing, so he should probably expect the next few events that unfold. 

He walks into the coffee shop still out of breath, asks if Kim Seokjin is there to the first employee he sees. This is one of those times where he’s happy he can’t read people’s expressions, because he has a feeling he’s being judged very much right now.

“He… just got off his shift.” The man at the counter answers hesitantly.

“Can you tell me where he went?” And what he was wearing?” Taehyung may be sounding a little desperate, but he doesn’t have the time to care.

“He was still in his uniform, so green, and he went that way.” He indicates with a vague wave of the hand.  

Taehyung starts running again, this time looking even more crazed as he scans his surroundings like a mad man, looking for someone tall with broad shoulders wearing green.

He spots him after running for a few minutes, thanking the heavens that the employee sent him in the right direction. He had every reason not to.

“Kim Seokjin!” He calls out, picking up his pace despite his lungs begging for a break. “Wait!”

He sees the man stop, take one look at him over his admittedly very large shoulders, then start sprinting away from him.

“No! Wait up!” He pushes himself harder than he ever has, his legs and lungs burning under the continuous strain, head feeling a little faint. “Please!” He calls out again in desperation. “Please look at my penis!”

This catches Seokjin’s attention, and he thankfully stops running, turning around as if to wait for him. Taehyung slows down to a jog, then to a complete stop, bending over gasping for air. Once his breathing is finally somewhat back to normal, he straightens up, only to come face to face with a bottle of pepper spray.

“W-wait!” He stutters, falling on his ass. “I swear I’m not a creep!”

“That’s exactly what a creep would say.” Seokjin answers, hovering over him threateningly, aiming the pepper spray directly at Taehyung’s face.

“I swear I just need you to look at my penis.”

This was the wrong thing to say apparently, because Seokjin gives the bottle a good shake as if to activate it. “That doesn’t sound as reassuring as you seem to think.”

“No! Wait!” He pleads again. “Not my penis.” He takes off his backpack, frantically digging through it until he finally pulls out his sculpture.  “ This penis.”

Seokjin doesn’t look totally convinced, but he finally lowers his weapon. “That’s a beautiful cock.” He admits after a moment of staring in silence. 

“Thank you. Is it yours?” 

"I don't remember owning that sculpture."

"Not the sculpture; the Penis."

Seokjin frowns, extending his hand, and Taehyung gingerly deposits his precious sculpture into his palm. The man finally puts away his pepper spray to free both his hands. He examines the penis under every angle, trying out the hold, measuring the testicles with his palm, staring at it long and hard.

Taehyung takes the opportunity to stand back up, keeping his distance this time.

“It does look very similar,” he concludes, hands going to his chin. “But this is not my penis. I don’t have a mole there.”

Taehyung deflates. He still asks, just in case. “So we haven’t slept together?”

Seokjin gives him back his sculpture with a snort. “You don’t look like anything I've ever slept with.” 

Taehyung realizes the state he’s in. He must look ridiculous right now.

“I’m from the sculpting department. I didn’t have the time to clean up. I don’t usually go around looking like I just rolled in the mud.”

“Explains a lot.” Seokjin nods, looking him up and down.

He dusts himself off as best as he can, but he can’t do much more cleaning up than that. He’ll probably have to go back home looking like that.

“So what’s your name?”

Taehyung feels dumb, he didn’t even have the decency to introduce himself before pulling out his penis. His social skills are frankly lacking.

“I’m Kim Taehyung. Sorry about all that, someone told me you could have the original version of this sculpture.”

“I’m flattered. It is pretty similar. Can I ask why you’re going around asking people to look at your– At this penis?” 

Taehyung sighs deeply, looking down at the penis in his hand. He did it once, he can do it again.

“Long story short I had an amazing one-night stand with the owner of this beautiful creature, but I have no idea who he is and the only clue I have is my perfect memory of his penis.”

“Sounds like a proper modern-day Cinderella story. But how come you don’t remember his face?” Seokjin questions, a hint of worry in his voice that would make sense in any other situation than Taehyung’s.

“I…. have face blindness, it’s this whole-”

“Ah, Yes, Prosopagnosia, I heard about that in class.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, so this is my only way of finding him.”

“So the Penis Flyers-”

“Yeah, that was also me. Forgot to write down my info, got caught by my teacher, that was a whole mess.” Taehyung admits, feeling discouraged.

“So now you’re basically going around town asking every man to try on the metaphorical glass shoes.”

“Basically.”

“Maybe don’t start off with ‘please look at my penis’ next time?” Seokjin recommends, which makes sense.

“I’ve been told that asking if we’ve slept together first thing is making me sound sleazy.”

“Yeah well, asking people to look at your penis isn’t better.”

“I’ll take good note of that.”

+

He drags his feet all the way back home.

He sees, pushed in the corner of his room, the material he got to make a mold, and wonders if now is the time to give up.

His exhibition is coming up, this whole thing made him late on his projects, and now he’s certain he’ll never reunite with Mystery Man. Maybe Mystery Man just doesn’t want to be found. Maybe he’s seen all his attempts and has simply steered clear, avoiding him all along. Maybe it’s time for Taehyung to make himself a silicon version and move on. He’s exhausted all his options, he’s out of time, and out of ideas.

He’s reading through the molding instruction, glad that this should be easy since he’s using a sculpture and not an actual living and breathing dick, when he realizes he hasn’t exhausted all his options. There’s still hope.

He jumps in the shower, picks out an outfit befitting of his destination, and goes off with hope in his heart.

+

The Bar isn't too busy, this being the middle of a school week, but there’s still some people going about, sharing drinks and being loud, in total denial of the oncoming train that is the end of a semester

Taehyung spots the barman, beeline for him. 

“Hey, do you know who usually works on Sundays?”

“That would be me.” Mr.Barman says, convincing Taehyung he finally has luck on his side.

Mr.Barman is on the tall side, with nice tattooed arms and wavy over-bleached hair tucked behind his ears. He’s making his forearm bulge seductively by polishing some beer glasses, and if Taehyung wasn’t on a mission to find his possible Mr.Perfect, he would be actively trying to get into his pants. 

“Do you, by any chance, recognize me?”

Mr.Barman doesn’t miss a beat.

“You’re a regular. And you gave me a blowjob once. Why are you asking?”

Well, Taehyung might have many flaws but at least he’s consistent.

“I was wondering if you remembered seeing me a few weeks ago– I was with a dude, about this height, with this body,” he adds, pulling out the sketch. He looks a little crazed, once again. But it’s ok, he’s reaching for straws here. “He had dark hair, but that’s all I can tell you. See, I have face-”

“-Blindness, I know, you cry about it every time you get drunk.”

Hm. And Taehyung thought he was a character full of mystery.

“I do know who you’re talking about. He’s a regular too.”

The irritation Taehyung feels is only momentary, everything melting away with this new bit of information. Someone saw them, someone knows what his Mystery Man looks like. He didn't hallucinate the whole thing. 

“Do you know his name??” He asks, pleading with his eyes. His heart is thumping wildly in his chest, desperation tangible.

“No. And he hasn’t been here since that night.” He says, crushing every hope and dream Taehyung mustered up in the last five seconds. He pauses his polishing, head tilting to the side. “But I do remember his face. I can try and draw him if you want.”

10 minutes later, Taehyung is looking at his disability in the face.

“Wow, you did it. You perfectly illustrated how people with face blindness see others.” Taehyung says, looking down at the drawing Jungkook (he asked for his name) quickly scribbled on a piece of napkin. It looks exactly like how he sees others.

Jungkook being good-natured, only laugh it off. “I can’t do much here, I’m working. But if you give me your number, I can try and do a better sketch once I get home. I’m from the painting department.”

“You would do that for me?” Taehyung asks, feeling deeply moved by Jungkook’s kindness. 

“Sure, it’s good practice for my portrait class anyways. You can take this as a thank you for the blow job.”

Taehyung nods to himself. 

“I do give amazing blowjobs.”

+

Jungkook, like any good art student, does not appreciate being rushed.

After a whole week of being told “it’s not ready yet”, Taehyung stops asking. 

He also wakes up one morning and realizes he only has a few days left before his exhibition.

Not only is he not done with all his pieces, he still hasn’t started studying for his finales which happen to be the week before his exhibition, meaning, the next day.

He pushes aside any thought of Mystery Man (except when he hugs the sculpture at night, heart yearning for the original), and jumps straight into his cramming strategy, which consists of hitting himself with the books until he’s absorbed the material. If he’s not studying, taking a finale, or sleeping, he’s huddled in the workshop with the other students of his department, functioning on coffee and eating various shades of sculpting material for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is not what Taehyung expected when he was told that artists live from their arts.

The day before his exhibition, he’s barely feeling human, he’s got dried clay in places clay should never find itself, he doesn’t know words anymore and he has basically forgotten his own name.

No matter how fast he works, he realizes he won’t be able to finish his last pieces in time. He’s wracking his brain for a solution, thinking long and hard about just what he could do, when it hits him. 

The solution is right underneath his nose; 

His penis. It was always his penis. 

He’s supposed to expose pieces that he finds impactful, and if there’s anything that had a big impact on his life in the last few weeks, it’s his sculpture.

He can’t tell his teacher, he’ll categorically refuse. Not after the stunt he pulled with the flyers. Plus he wouldn't understand the cultural reset it was for Taehyung, finding and crafting that beautiful creature.

So he sets to work in secret. It shouldn’t be too hard, he hasn’t printed his labels yet. Plus the students are in charge of installing their own corner, meaning he can wait until the very last moment before the opening to put his penis on display.

He needs to find a name for his sculpture, so he texts his friends for help, but as usual, they are unhelpful.

 Asshole with pink hair:

6:45 pm  ‘ Suck on that’

 Hyungie:

6:45 pm    why are you asking me idk

 Jung Hoseok 🌞 :

6:50 pm   “ Long lost lover”

 He’s glad to see that his new friend will fit right in once he introduces him to everyone. 

He isn’t satisfied with the answer he gets, so he sends more text.

 Kim Seokjin:

7:05 pm  “Is this your penis?”

7:06 pm   Or better yet, “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PENIS?”

7:06 pm   that way people will understand how current your art is

7:10 pm   Also I didn’t give you this number to chitchat

7:10 pm   after we find out his identity im cutting all ties with you

7:11 pm   Im just feeling invested right now

7:11 pm   that’s all

7:17 pm   Where’s your exhibition again?

Jeon Jungkook barman and artist:

9:56 pm  idk

9:56 pm  im almost done with the portrait btw

9:56 pm  you mind if I use it for my exhibition

9:56 pm  im really proud of it

 So not much more help on that side either.

+

The next day, Taehyung is busy setting up his corner and feeling emotional over his last exhibition.

He’s done with uni. He can go off into the world and live from his art. Or more like, he’ll first find a side job that’ll suck the life out of him, to pay for his art. Then he’ll spend a few years regretting every decision that led him to be an artist, but just as he’s about to give up, his sculptures will be noticed by a mysterious millionaire that’ll commission him thousands of dollars at first. He’ll refer him to his rich friend who will be all over his art and will throw their money at him.

Yeah, it’s a nice pipe dream.

He makes sure all the labels are in place, the lights are hitting his pieces in all the right way, and that no one notices him putting his penis in the middle of his space 30 seconds before they open the doors.

By the time his teacher notices, it’s already too late; the place flooded with friends, family, and even the occasional art critics that the university invited.

It’s not like his penis feels out of place in his setup. Most of his pieces are on the theme of the human body; studies of movement, skin texture, whatnot. If you look at it as a whole, you almost have a whole body. The only thing missing is a face, which is extremely fitting for Taehyung.

The wave of people coming is not preferable for Taehyung, since he doesn’t like crowded places. He’s never been a fan of their exhibition opening nights over the years. He keeps himself busy by trying his best to merge with the wall while people circle his pieces. His friends know he won’t be able to recognize them in the crowd, so they’ll come to him by themselves, he simply has to make himself visible.

“Hey babe,” Jimin says with mirth in his voice, “Is that greek?”

“Yeah” Taehyung answers, fixing his eyes on his most beloved and central piece. 

“I didn’t know you knew greek”

“I don’t, but Google does.”

The Penis is standing directly underneath his own spotlight, looking like a beacon of light, grabbing the envious stares of the people around it.

There’s a little white label by its base:

   Kim Taehyung

πέος, 2021

Red Clay  

(if you recognize this penis, please ask for the artist)

  “ What does it mean?”

“ Penis ”

Jimin hums, crossing his arm over his chest. “I guess I was not expecting anything less.”

Yoongi chooses that moment to appear, whistling his praise.

“So you did work this semester.” He jokes, bobbing his head with approval.

“Har, har.” Like he’s one to talk. He basically spent the last few months becoming one with his bed.

His phone vibrates in his pocket, and he expects it to be Hoseok or Seokjin telling him they’re here, but instead it’s from Jungkook, and it’s a picture.

A little gasp of surprise escapes him.

His hands shake as he opens up the text app, his heart thumping as the picture loads. He presses on it once it’s ready, taking up the full screen, and Taehyung can finally-... well, Taehyung can’t do anything with that. His case of face blindness is pretty severe, so even drawings are unrecognizable for him. But it’s something! A new clue! He can make a flyer out of this! He can-

“Why do you have a portrait of Namjoon on your phone?”

Time stops.

Yoongi’s voice echoes in his head, mocking him, but also stealing the carpet right from underneath his feet.

Why do you have a portrait of Namjoon on your phone?

A portrait of Namjoon

Namjoon

Namjoon, who stood in front of him silently, that day Yoongi invited him out, probably expecting some kind of reaction from Taehyung.

Namjoon who frequents the campus gym.

Namjoon, who’s tall and broad-shouldered.

Namjoon, who’s been around Taehyung for a while but was never told about his condition. 

Namjoon, who probably thinks Taheyung has been ignoring him all this time.

“Jesus fucking christ, My Mystery Man Is Kim Namjoon.”

Both his friends voice their confusion as Taehyung tries to rip his hair from his head.

“This penis belongs to Kim Namjoon, who doesn’t know I have face blindness, and who probably think I’ve been ignoring him all this fucking time.”

“Holy shit,” Yoongi says at the same time as Park Jimin, that prick, starts cackling uncontrollably. Taehyung always knew he was evil.

“This is- I’m so sorry but- This shouldn't be funny– But I can’t, it’s too funny.” He wheezes out in between laughter. “He was right there, probably confused as hell as to why you were showing his dick to everyone- I’m sorry this is so funny but also so, so sad. You never- oh my god.”

Under the attention of about half the gallery, he wipes the tears from his eyes, body convulsing with laughter.

“What the fuck are you waiting for.” He finally manages to say, taking a deep breath. “Hyung, didn’t you drag him here tonight?”

That seems to snap Yoongi out of his stupor.

“Fuck, yes he’s here, he’s... There!-” He says pointing somewhere, but then his voice dies down. “And now he’s leaving...”

Taehyung spots the man with a black cap currently walking out the exit with an angry stride. He reacts on instinct, running after his Not So Mysterious Man Anymore.

+

Kim Namjoon is having a very no good, very bad day. 

Not because of school, no. He aced all his finales, he doesn’t even need to get his grades back to know.

Not because of the weather either. No, it’s a beautiful spring day, and there’s a hint of cherry blossom in the air, wrapping the world in a romantic tint.

No, the reason he’s having a very no good very bad day, is because he can’t, for the love of God, get Kim Taehyung out of his head. 

It started with a very interesting dream, clearly drawing inspiration from the night they spent together. It woke him up at the crack of dawn, sweating up bullets and hard as a rock. Finding sleep afterward was nearly impossible, meaning his first precious day of vacation started way too fucking early.

Now music theory never sleeps, so he simply spent his morning trying to forget his dream, channeling all his energy on composing. 

But then Min Yoongi, long-time friend and co-compositor, had to go and ruin his fragile peace of mind by reminding him he had two tickets for the sculpting department exhibition, and Namjoon was obligated to show up. Meaning he would inevitably run into Kim Taehyung; Meaning he would agonize about him all day; Meaning , that he would be thinking about Kim Fucking Taehyung all day.

But it’s ok, because he was finally starting to come to terms with that too. Taehyung would probably ignore him again, and all he needed to do was circle the gallery once and get the fuck out.

But no.

Oh no.

Life had better plans.

Because right into the center of Taehyung's exhibition space, is his very own penis, standing proudly, mocking him.

He can recognize it from the flyers, so he knows instantly that it’s Taehyung’s work. 

He’s stunned by the audacity, wondering once again what he did to draw Taehyung’s ire upon himself. The flyers were not enough, no he had to go and put it on display as his final fuck you to Namjoon. Even wrote 'penis' in greek as a title, confirming Namjoon's theory that this is all a ploy to make fun of him.

Namjoon has had enough, he’s getting the fuck out of there. 

He spins on his heel at the speed of light, taking advantage of every inch of his long legs to walk out as fast as possible. He ignores the call of his name that follows after him, readjusting the cap on his head.

He’s fuming, feeling tears of frustration building up. He doesn’t deserve this. He’s been nothing but respectful of Taehyung. He’s been staying away from him too. 

He doesn’t deserve this.

He makes it a few blocks before his phone starts going off every 5 seconds with incoming texts, forcing him to finally look at it.

 Yoongi Hyung:

6:14 pm   Before anything, know that Taehyung suffers from severe face blindness.

6:14 pm   I know you know what that means you wikipedia rat

6:15 pm   I didn’t tell you cause it’s none of my business who he chooses to tell

6:15 pm   But the dumbass has been trying to find you for weeks using your dick because he had no other way to identify you

6:15 pm   Your pinning hasn't been exactly subtle either

6:16 pm    he ran after you when you left but I bet he’s pleading with the wrong person in the street right now

6:17 pm   Nice dick by the way

 He rereads the series of text to try and make sense of them. Only after the third read, does he finally understand.

Well, shit.

+

“Please Namjoon listen to me, you have to listen to me, I didn't mean to ignore you, I just didn't know it was you!-” Taehyung pleads, holding on to his sleeve.

“Can you please let go of me?!”

His voice sounds a little older than what Taehyung remembers, but he doesn’t have the time to think too much about that. Maybe he’s got a cold or something.

“-I can explain everything if you can just give me two minutes-”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not this kind of person.”

Taehyung isn’t deterred, holding on to him desperately “-Please I swear just two- no, one minute, even one minute is enough-”

Someone clears their throat, tapping him softly on the shoulder. 

“Sorry sir, I believe my friend here is mistaking you for me.”

Now that’s a familiar voice. A voice he recognizes from many occasions. 

Taehyung lets go of his poor unsuspecting victim, taking a step back which is all it takes for them to run away from him.

He finally comes face to face with the source of all his past weeks' torment.

The height is there, the shoulders are there, the body proportions are there, the hair color is completely different, but Jimin did mention he changed it recently. He’s got the black cap on, the one that made Taehyung mistake a perfect stranger on the street for him.

It’s him. He found him. It’s his Mystery Man, his cinderella. He’s got him.

“Namjoon?”

“Yes, that’s me.” He confirms, voice gentle.

“Kim Namjoon.” He repeats, trying the name out on his tongue. His body is filling up with butterflies, and he can’t feel his toes.

“And here I thought you just could never remember my name.”

“I can explain–” He rushes, eager to get rid of the misunderstanding.

“It’s ok, Yoongi told me.”

“And about your penis–”

“Yes, Yoongi told me about that too.” Namjoon cuts him off, the tip of his ears getting pink.

“I’m so sorry– I should have asked your name then. I mean– you made me come four times .”

Namjoon chuckles, catching one of Taehyung’s hands mid flail and holding it with both of his, making his heart jump.

“We’ve basically known each other for years, so maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t. I don’t think I would have appreciated it then.”

“I guess that’s true. I’m still sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, I could have come up to you first. I mean, I’m the one who sneaked out in the morning. I had an 8 am class, by the way. I didn’t leave because I wanted to. But you have my number so… I assumed you would call me. ”

“I have your number...?” It's pretty vague, but it does ring a bell. He's got a blurry memory of time, around their first meeting, when Namjoon and he had exchanged their numbers for Yoongi related reasons. “That’s right, I do have your number. Fuck.”

“Well, I know now this wouldn’t have changed anything for you, since you simply didn't know it was me you were with.” Namjoon snorts, but not unkindly. More at the situation. 

But Taehyung still feels terrible.

“I’m so sorry.” He whines, feeling like burying his face in Namjoon’s chest. But they’re not there yet. “I tend to keep people at a distance to avoid misunderstandings.”

“It’s ok, I get it now. I guess I wish I knew before, but I get it now.”

“Good. I should have told you sooner. I was actually planning on doing it soon if that’s any consolation.”

“It is.” Namjoon murmurs, inching closer to him.

“Cool, cool cool.” Taehyung blurts out nervously.

This is it. This is his chance. Everything that has transpired in the last few weeks is leading up to this moment. 

"So," Namjoon starts when Taehyung has been silent for too long. "Yoongi said you were looking for me... Any particular reasons?"

"Well, yes." He answers but stops. All of this means nothing. It doesn't mean that Namjoon will accept to go out with him. He has no idea how Namjoon feels about him, and he sure as hell cannot tell by his facial expression. He's going in blind, no reason to believe that Namjoon wants to have to do anything with him. For all he knows, Namjoon is only here to settle the misunderstanding, and then be on his way. Maybe he's even mad about the penis flyers.

But then he also remembers that Namjoon is holding his hand right now. It's now or never.

He takes a deep breath for bravery and goes for it.

“Kim Namjoon, can I please take you out on a date?”

Namjoon doesn’t let him second guess himself, word leaving his mouth as fast as a blink.

“Absolutely.”

Apparently, they’ve gathered a crowd because there’s cheerful hooting and shouting erupting around them. But Taehyung pays them no mind as he goes in for a hug, Namjoon meeting him halfway.

“Wait, wait,” Namjoon says, suddenly, taking a step back. “I still don’t know why you put my penis on display at the center of your exhibition.”

Taehyung chuckles, bringing Namjoon back in. 

“Simple, ‘cause it’s a masterpiece.”

+

 2 months later

There’s a knock at the door, which throws Taehyung off. He’s getting ready for his date with Namjoon– their actual first date– and is not expecting anyone. Jimin knows the code, so it can’t be him, unless–

“Hello sir, would you be open to receiving the words of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ?”

“Jimin, I swear to god, I can tell it’s you by your voice. And no one from church would dress like you do, slut.”

Moving in with Jimin is as much a blessing as it is a curse. A blessing because, well, they’re best friends. A curse because his best friend’s favorite hobby is to try and prank him. Taehyung almost misses the time where Jimin was treating his face blindness as a taboo. 

Almost.

The last two months have been a whirlwind of life-changing events for Taehyung. 

First, moving in with Jimin is a pretty big deal. Not only has Taehung been living alone for the last three years, living with someone is sometimes a challenge for him. Wondering why a stranger is standing in your kitchen at 3 am, brain slowed down by sleep and the weak lighting not helping, isn’t always a recipe for success. But he’s slowly getting used to it, and Jimin, as much as he can be a prick, is being patient with him.

The second big event is, well, his current job. Somehow his workshop teacher, even after everything, recommended him for a job at a sculpture academy. He now teaches different types of sculpting medium to children, four nights a week. Pretty sweet gig.

At first, he was going crazy out of his mind worrying about working with children, but four weeks in and he’s feeling confident. He sat down with the kids the first week to explain to them what face blindness is, and although the children were initially confused, they now enjoy switching names with each other for the duration of his classes, to mess with his head.

Jokes on them, Taehyung also called their parents during that first week. So far, none of the children have noticed that their parents have been making them wear certain accessories every time they leave for the academy. Checkmates.

And the last big event, of course, is Namjoon. 

In between moving, his new job, and Namjoon’s own busy schedule, they have yet to go on an actual full-blown date. But they’ve slowly been getting to know each other. They make time to go on quick coffee dates sometimes, and they text none-stop. Namjoon hasn’t seen his new place yet, but they’ve hung out at Namjoon’s plenty of time. 

His boyfriend (he gets giddy thinking about that word) also showed up at the academy a few times to walk him back home (The first time he kept it as a surprise, but he quickly realized Taehyung didn’t like surprises; especially when it means having a tall stranger approach him in the dark without saying anything. Now he texts beforehand.)

“Do you like this outfit? Or should I go with my floral button-up?” He asks Jimin, who’s lounging on his bed after his failed prank attempt. 

“Why are you so stressed? It’s not like it's the first time you two see each other.”

“Because the chances of me getting laid tonight are extremely high and I want to look good.”

“Oh?” Jimin perks up, knowing full well Taehyung and Namjoon have been taking their time to get to know each other. “Should I sleepover at Hobi’s tonight?”

Another new development from the last two months: Jimin and Hoseok’s instant attraction. They’ve been dancing around each other since the exhibition, but it looks like it’s finally getting ‘ sleeping-over-at-each-others-place ’ serious.

“...Good idea,” Taehyung answers, not because he wants the house to himself (though it’s a nice perk), but he likes giving a little push to love sometimes.

His friend circle can finally be called a circle now. Somehow, Hoseok, Seokjin, and Namjoon just naturally fit into his now actually social, social life. Namjoon was the easiest since he already knew Yoongi and Jimin. Hoseok got it easy by becoming Jimin’s more-than-friend, and Seokjin just showed up one day with a video of that time, outside the gallery, when Taehyung thought an older gentleman was Namjoon because of his black cap. 

He looks at the time, curses when he realizes he’s going to be late. He grabs his wallet and puts on his shoes in a rush, and makes it out the door accompanied by Jimin shouting “Don’t you dare fuck on the couch or you’re buying a new one!”

He makes it to the Bar with only a few minutes to spare, and as luck would have it, Jungkook is working. He’s come to recognize his tattooed arm and bleached locks instantly. 

Namjoon would have texted him if he was there, which means he’s cutting it close as well, so he sends a quick ‘here 💖’ text before sitting down at the Bar with a big smile.

“You make me want to puke,” Jungkook says, disgust dripping from his words. 

“Hey now don’t be jealous, I’m sure you’ll find yourself a monster cock as well one day.”

Somehow, he and Jungkook started texting on a semi-regular basis. It’s mostly Jungkook begging Taehyung to introduce him to Seokjin (apparently he’s been crushing on the man since he first saw him at the coffee shop), which Taehyung has to find excuses every time to avoid telling Jungkook the cold, harsh truth.

(“I don’t date men with bleached hair, it ruins my whole aesthetic.” Jin said after the first time Taehyung asked. Which aesthetic he’s talking about, Taehyung has no idea.)

But that also means that Jungkook has heard all about his very fascinating and blooming love story with Namjoon.

“Did you tell Seokjin I said hi?”

“Dude, just go and ask him out. You know where he works, you know where he studies, you even know his birthday, which is really creepy when you two have never talked by the way. Just, go ask him out, he won’t be able to resist you once he actually sees how attractive you are.” He pauses for a second, then adds for safety measure, “But if he reaches in his pocket, just run the other way.”

“What?” 

“Don’t ask, just trust me.” Taehyung has some unpleasant flashbacks of a bottle of pepper spray being waved in front of his face. He shakes his head to try and get rid of the memory.

“And how would you even know that I’m attractive, you don’t actually know what I look like.” Jungkook retorts.

“Shut up, just go and ask him.”

“Just go and ask him what?” A familiar voice asks from behind him, and Taehyung's smile is back full force. He rotates on his chair and jumps into Namjoon’s arms, hearing him groan under the strain of his weight. He can hear Jungkook fake gagging behind him, the actual child.

They share a quick kiss before they both sit down at the bar.

“You’re not seriously thinking about having your date here, are you?”

Taehyung snorts, tempted to mess with Jungkook, but Namjoon is the one to answer.

“No we just wanted to get the evening started with a nice drink, but we have a reservation to an actual fancy restaurant, paid graciously by Taehyung's actual serious adult job.”

“Is it a serious adult job if he had to stop a kid from eating his donut-shaped clay yesterday?”

“Shut up. If you keep being like that I’m going to order the most annoying thing on the menu.”

Jungkook scoffs and walks away, without actually taking their orders.

They both watch him do a big show of ignoring them, answering other customers without turning in their direction.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Namjoon whispers in his ear. “We can go waste time walking around aimlessly, hand in hand.”

“God, you’re so cheesy,” Taehyung mutters, but he actually loves it.

His dating experience before Namjoon amounts to an enormous zero, but it’s not because he’s one of those unattainable, i-don’t-believe-in-love types of people that live rent-free in Hollywood movies. He simply never thought it would be possible to get close to someone romantically with his condition. But since officially meeting Namjoon, he’s been researching, and turns out, he totally can. 

There are even people, artists like him, who've noticed that repeatedly drawing or painting their loved one has made them actually able to remember their face (not 100% of the time, but he’ll take what he can get.). So he’s been sketching, using pictures, trying out different angles. He’s planning on using clay at one point. He’s totally the girl from Lionel Richie’s music video. Which makes Namjoon Lionel Richie.

“Did you know that I was inspired by Lionel Richie’s music video to sculpt your penis?”

Namjoon chuckles under his breath, squeezing Taehyung’s hand just a little bit more. The hot summer air is making their palms sweaty, but they both don’t care. 

“Where is that thing, by the way? It’s been a while since I’ve last seen it.”

“I put it on my bedside table when I moved in and I haven't moved it since. I’m thinking about making it into a lamp. I have to keep it out of reach of Jimin and Hoseok, they both seem a little too interested.”

Namjoon grimaces. Or Taehyung is assuming that’s his grimacing face. 

“Please never let it fall into their hands.”

“I swear on my honor, I shall protect your penis.”

“Thank you, I feel better now. I still can’t believe they put it on the first page of ‘Sculpting Now’. Crazy how all of your friends and the sculpting world know what my dick looks like.

“It’s a masterpiece. If it was mine I would never keep it in my pants, I’d always want to show it off.”

“How are you not in prison right now?”

“I don’t have your dick in my pants, sadly. Did you know that Seokjin almost pepper-sprayed me the first time we met? In retrospect, having a stranger run after you, pleading for you to look at their dick is a good excuse to pull out your pepper spray.”

“Wait, you did what?”

“It was all in the name of love.”

Namjoon shakes his head, probably disappointed in him.

+

Namjoon is utterly enamored. Every time Taehyung recalls a story from when he ran around school trying to find him, he falls a little bit more in love. 

He was so nervous for their first romantic date that he couldn’t eat during the day, but Taehyung is making him feel at ease, as he usually does, so hunger is coming back with a vengeance.

“Should we go to the restaurant now?” He asks, pulling Taehyung along with him. "It's almost time."

“Let’s.” Taehyung agrees readily, “I’m ravenous.”

They quickly make their way to the restaurant, only to find its door closed. There’s a sign in the window reading “Closed for vermin infestation”.

“Oh.” Namjoon says, “Dammit. That’s not good.”

There’s this awkward silence, filled with growling sounds from both their bellies. It’s too late to make reservations anywhere nice, and anywhere else risks being too loud for a romantic Rendez-Vous. Namjoon is scrambling his brain for a solution when Taehyung’s shy voice interrupts.

“Hum, if you want to– Jimin told me he wouldn't be home tonight, so… You want to come over? We can pick up some ramen on the way.”

Taehyung’s face might be neutral, but the blush growing on his cheeks is anything but. Namjoon takes a moment to appreciate the sight that he makes, burning up in embarrassment. Without the blushing, Namjoon would have believed he’s only inviting him for ramen, but the angry red of his cheeks is definitely betraying Taehyung’s intentions.

He nods his agreement, feeling anticipation replace hunger in the pit of his stomach.

+

 Having Namjoon in his space is a new experience. 

The apartment is still messy from their move, boxes lying around, but they’ve managed to make it quite homey. Everything that is necessary to their everyday life has been unboxed, only the odd objects being ignored by Jimin and him.

He puts on some soft music to set a nice mood, and Namjoon is humming along straight away, which is all the approval he needs to feel confident about his music selection. Music Theory graduate approved. 

 He gets to work on the ramen while he directs Namjoon on where to find a cheap bottle of wine and some wine glasses. He sets the table, trying to make it as nice as possible, but it’s really just a pot of bubbling ramen and two bowls with some chopsticks. 

They eat in comfortable silence, the music playing in the background mixing with the sound of their eating.

But then Namjoon dumps the content of his wine glass on his tan-colored pants, and it’s downhill from there.

“Damn it!” He curses, jumping to his feet. He grabs some napkins to try and pat some wine off, but it’s already been absorbed by his fancy suit pants. 

“Quick, take them off,” Taehyung says, not thinking too hard and only reacting to the situation at hand. “Let’s rinse them in the sink.” 

Namjoon complies, taking them off in record time, passing them on to Taehyung like it’s a relay race.

Taehyung deposits them straight in the sink, opening the tap and letting the water hopefully get rid of most of the stain. They both stand there for a minute, staring at the water filling up. 

But then it hits Taehyung that Namjoon’s thighs are currently bare and in his vicinity. He sneaks a quick peek to satisfy his horny brain, but he’s quick to snap his eyes back to the sink to avoid doing anything stupid.

Like, let’s say , dropping to his knees. 

He can feel himself blushing, his cheeks, ears, and neck feeling hot. He knew exactly what he was doing, inviting Namjoon for some ramen, but now that he can act on it, he’s suddenly feeling very shy. 

Plus, not being able to read facial expressions never really impaired his ability to get laid. He used to just– go to the bar, wait until someone would offer him to get out of there, and go for it. 

But this is not a bar, and Namjoon won’t ask him if he wants to get out of there. He has no idea how to tell if Namjoon wants to jump into bed with him. Or not. 

He takes matters into his own hands.

“So, as you know,” He starts, staring intently at the water flowing out of the tap, “this whole face blindness thing– I can’t really read your facial expressions. So in the future, it’ll be hard for me to figure out if you’re angry or happy, or sad, or… or horny. I’ve never done this whole– Romantic relationship thing, but I’m guessing we’re going to have to be really vocal with how we’re feeling, what we want, whatnot.”

He lets his statements hang in the air, staring at the stain that doesn’t seem to want to go away. He’s thinking maybe this will have to be removed professionally. 

But then, Namjoon chooses that moment to drop a soft kiss on his nape.

“Are you asking me, right now, if I want you?” 

Taehyung turns around, letting himself be cornered against the counter. Namjoon has his nicely defined biceps, somehow peeking through his suit vest, on each side of him. He absolutely loves it.

“Yes. I am.”

Namjoon kisses his neck once again, and Taehyung is this close to losing it. 

“I absolutely want you.” His boyfriend finally answers, landing a heavy kiss on his lips, sucking all the air out of Taehyung’s lungs.

 After turning Taehyung’s inside to mush via lips on lips crime, he returns to his assault on Taehyung’s neck, peppering the skin he can reach with sweet kisses, each one sending electricity straight to his groin. 

“Do you want me?” Namjoon questions softly into his ear, making Taehyung's eyes roll back so far he’s scared they’ll never come back. 

“Fuck yes.” He grinds out, voice turning to a whine when Namjoon, emboldened by Taehyung’s enthusiasm, rocks his pelvis into his in a languid motion.

He sees white then, bringing Namjoon’s mouth back to his, smashing their mouths together in a wet and messy kiss.

“How important are your pants?” He inquires in between kisses, enjoying the slow grinding Namjoon has going on. He’s still in his suit pants, but Namjoon only has the thin cotton of his boxer brief as a barrier. Taehyung can clearly feel his monster cock waking up from its slumber. 

“Not very important.” He finally answers, hands letting go of the counter to firmly grab at Taehyung’s ass. 

Taehyung can proudly say he’s got a fat ass, and Namjoon seems to appreciate it if the growl that escapes him is anything to go by.

He gets to work on the buttons of Namjoon’s dress shirt, Namjoon getting the message and taking his vest off by himself. Soon he’s standing there in only his boxer briefs and socks, while Taehyung is still fully dressed.

It’s kind of hot. 

They slow it down a little, Taehyung pushing Namjoon away so he can take a good look at him. 

The light of the kitchen falls almost gracefully over Namjoon’s defined chest, creating shadows that chisel out his muscles even more. It’s a sight to behold. 

He drags his hands down Namjoon's body, teasing a nipple as he goes with a flick of the thumb, mapping out his taut stomach with the tip of his finger, then coming back up to hold onto his strong shoulders.

“You know, I’m like, really good at massages. I feel like this is something you should know.”

Seems like this is all the time Namjoon will allow him away from him. He reels him back in with an arm around his waist, the other taking hold of one of Taehyung’s hands and bringing it to his mouth. He nips at his fingers, maintaining eye contact while he uses his tongue to soothe the sting.

How he’s even real is beyond Taehyung.

“Do you need help undressing?” Namjoon teases, reaching for his belt.

“Let me close the tap and we can move this to my room.” 

Namjoon doesn’t give him a response, only cages him once again against the counter, plastering the full length of his warm body to his. He reaches behind Taehyung and moments later, the soft ambiance music is the only thing they can hear again. 

Taehyung leads him to his bedroom, taking off his vest as they go. Somehow Namjoon already got his belt buckle, so he unceremoniously drops his pants to the floor, then jumps on his bed.

“Welcome to my room. That’s my desk, that’s my bedside table, that’s a replica of your penis, but I heard the original is planning on making an appearance tonight. This is my bed. Hope you enjoyed the tour.” He finally gets to the final button, looking up eagerly as he sends his shirt off to the side, wondering what’s taking Namjoon so long to get on the goddamn bed.

He finds his lover completely captivated by his penis duplicate.

“You’ve got the same one in your pants, you know. Get you your ass over here.” 

“Sorry I was just thinking… it’s crazy how similar you made it only from your memory.”

“Excuse me?” Taehyung objects, crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re not just similar, they’re identical.” 

“Only one way to check, is there?” Namjoon taunts, before finally, finally getting rid of his briefs, releasing the Kraken. 

Except he also grabs hold of the sculpture, bringing it close so he can do a side-by-side comparison. 

“You’re right, it is identical. How did you even manage that?” He says, awe in his voice. “Have you ever used it on yours–” 

Namjoon loses his train of thought as he takes in the sight of Taehyung, laying in bed completely naked, pumping himself at a leisurely pace and looking very unimpressed. 

“No, I haven’t. But if you don’t get into bed in the next 5 seconds I just might consider it.”

Namjoon doesn’t have to be told twice.

[sunflowerhae]

Tandoori Chicken

⚠️HORROR ,, by the name you wouldn’t guess right?? Lmao keep reading! It’s not like, that bad? Still could be scary!

| 🎞📽 ▹▹Mark x reader

��• For the sake of the story, we’re gonna pretend that college dorm rooms have normal sized beds with the phat sheets, and not the high beds where you can clearly see underneath. ALSO also, I got this from a video I saw on Instagram of a TIKTOK, explaining a story where the same thing happens, although it’s a BIT different. Lemme tell u when I wrote the climax sentence, my own stomach dropped and tears came to my eyes at the sheer fear of the situation. Lol ENJOY! 

“Jesus, how late is it?” Mark mumbled as he leaned back from his hunched position over the desk to stretch, only to find the library basically empty, with only the two librarians and a student or two staggering about. You - sitting across from him - looking up at his words, and, when reaching over to your phone and turning it on, were surprised to find that is was 12:46am. You stared at Mark in disbelief, and you both were astounded at how long you two managed to study without checking the time.

“Maybe we should end it there for the night?” You questioned, and Mark nodded while beginning to pack up his stuff - you starting to do the same. Everything was going fine up until the two of you found yourself standing on the library steps; prepared to say goodbye.

“So how are you getting home?” Mark asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Um, probably walking. I live on campus, so it won’t be long. How ‘bout you?” Mark sighed at your question.

“Well, the bus doesn’t run this late, and I’m in a frat - as you know -

“-right,” you nodded.

“-so we live kind of off campus, I’m not sure. I might have to call someone. Maybe hyuck will be up?” He had started mumbling to himself a bit, and you smiled at him awkwardly, before finally suggesting what had been on your mind.

“Well, you could always just, I don’t know, psh, stay the night with me? I mean - not with me, with me, but.. I mean my roommate is at her um, b-boyfriends tonight so there’s an empty bed and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you spending the night there once I explain the situation! I mean, you don’t have to or anything I totally understand if you just wann-“

“Y/N, y/n! Chill, sure, that’d be great actually. Hyuck would kill me if I woke him up - or worse, interrupted a gaming sess.” Mark gave his signature boyish laugh, and your heart leapt.

The thing is, you really liked Mark. You had him in your Political Science class, and the two of you had never spoken up until the moment you got paired together for a project - three months ago. You had already finished the project, but the two of you genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, so you liked to study together. It wasn’t much of a friendship, but it was something. Sometimes, you both studied in a cafe, and Mark would always buy your drink,

so yeahhh, it was love.

When the two of you finally got back to your bedroom, something felt, off. It was cold, first off, which was unusual - your roommate always left the room hot. Second, it was pitch black, but you could have sworn you left a lamp on - knowing how much you hated walking all the way across the room in the dark to turn on the light. The scariest thing, however, was that your door was unlocked. Had your roommate possibly changed all of this before she left? You were scared, but felt more calm with Mark walking in right after you.

After you turned on the lamp, you turned around to Mark, who was looking at all the photos on your desk. “I’ll see if Seulgi - my, uh, roommate - has anything you can wear. Her boyfriend stays over a lot.” You went and looked in her drawers, and successfully found a pair of shorts for Mark to wear. After giving them to him and turning around so he can change, he awkwardly coughed, and you both stood in silence; until Mark broke it.

“Um, I might just sleep on the floor. I already am wearing her clothes, I don’t want to take your roommates bed too. It might be more comfortable for me.”

“You sure?” Mark nodded in affirmation, and you gave him a quick, “ok,” before taking an extra blanket you had in your closest and handing it to him, along with a pillow of yours. After he comfortably was resting on the ground, and you were snuggled into your sheets, you wordlessly turned off the lamp and gave Mark a, “night, Mark,” to which he responded,

“Sweet dreams, y/n.”

2:00am.

You could hear the shuffling.

At first, you didn’t want to open your eyes - hoping you could will yourself back into your dreams - but eventually it got kind of annoying, so you turned your body to be facing outwards and opened your eyes. You could just barely make out a figure standing in the room, and in a moment of terror and surprise, you turned on your light.

Mark was standing in the middle of your dorm room, which would usually calm you down, but the look on his face just scared you more. He looked like a mix of confused, and also terrified - but it seemed like he was trying to keep that one in.

“Mark, what are you doing up?”

Mark quickly glanced at you, almost as if he didn’t know you were awake, and gave you the strangest look you’ve ever seen on someone’s face before.

“Y/n,” he suddenly says, “I’m hungry, let’s go get some tandoori chicken.” You were baffled, and sat up higher in your bed.

“Mark, no, it’s 2am. Just get something from the food cart thingy,” you said, and gestured to the food area of your dorm. Mark’s face went even more pale then it already was - you just now realized how pale it was - and before you knew it, he took two huge strides over to your spot on the bed, grabbed your forearm, and used all of his strength to pull you off the bed.

“No, we’re GETTING tandoori chicken, right now.” Once you’re successfully off the bed, he continues to pull you out of the room, not even letting you get your keys or shoes before you leave.

Once you both are successfully out of your room and a few feet down the hallway, Mark stops, and you pull your arm from his grip while you practically yell, “what the hell mark?” Mark turns around to face you, and he no longer tried to hide his blatant fear; you realized he was successfully holding back, because the look in his eyes at that moment chilled you to the bone.

“I’m not really hungry, we just needed to get out of that room. Y/n, there was someone under your bed.”

Bonus (this is a bonus bc I don’t like it lol)•

You felt like you were about to throw up, but successfully kept it down as you asked,

“What?”

“Okay, I woke up like, 4 minutes before you did with like this restless feeling that I was being watched, and no offense but I thought it was you because well, you’re the only one in the room with me, right? Well when I opened my eyes, and look up at you, you were dead asleep. I felt sick, because the feeling was still there, only heightened, like whoever was watching me knew that I knew. I just moved my line of sight to under the bed for a second, just a glance, and I saw someone staring back at me, y/n. A man, a whole ass person, just...watching me. I got up as casually as i could and started mumbling about wanting chicken just loud enough to where they could hopefully hear me, and you would hopefully wake up; thankfully you did.” You both quickly made a b-line straight for your RA’s dorm, but when the police checked your room, no one was there, but there was evidence of them being there. You guessed they left while you and Mark were out of the room, but it didn’t stop the fact that you now had a habit of checking every nook and cranny of your living space the minute you got home, and it didn’t definitely didn’t stop you and Mark from sleeping together most nights, possibly using the shared trauma to get closer.

[promptis-imagines]

Prompto’s Sacrifice (the other side)

collection of all those asks in one convenient place

okay first we got this ask

GHOSTOFBEACONHILL

I'm in the mood to crush my heart, so I got to thinking about promptis! Specifically, promptis during the 10 year separation. How Prompto is the last one that finds out that, even if Noctis comes back, he needs to die to bring back the light. How Gladio and Ignis are so hesitant to tell him because he's one of the few things that help them keep going on in their current hell world. And how Prompto swings between denial of what is about to happen and heartbreak.

Oh…oh man…definite heart-crushing material right there. The idea that Noct might return really is the one thing keeping Prom going, but…the other two aren’t sure about telling him. Ultimately, they decide that it won’t be fair for Noct to be the one to break the news when he returns–that would put too much more on him, and they don’t want to.So they decide to tell Prompto a few years before the ten. Prom is grief-stricken. If he gets his best friend back, his love, he’s going to lose him for good the next day? That’s just not fair. He’s also probably a little hurt that they didn’t tell him for so long. That causes a spat between them, but Prom isn’t thinking in his right mind at the moment.Now I’m torn between this super depressing acceptance and Prom going on a journey to figure out how to keep Noct alive. He’d make a damning deal with the Astrals if that was the only option.

And then:

GHOSTOFBEACONHILL

To continue with the heartbreak scenario and taking what you said, what if Prompto goes searching for ways to prevent Noctis having to sacrifice himself just so that everyone else can survive? What if, while searching, he loses complete track of time and isn't in Hammerhead when Noctis arrives? What if he is so invested in trying to save Noctis that he misses ... everything?

Oh I see you aren’t done hurting me. I see.

That would devastate Noct. He wants to see Prom so badly, but he’s not there when he arrives at Hammerhead. Of course, he’s really happy to see Gladio and Ignis, but they’ve got this look on their faces. And…well, when Noct looks over their shoulders for that spike of blond hair, Gladio tells him that it’s just the two of them. They aren’t sure where Prom is, haven’t kept tabs on him since he up and left without a trace.

Noct needs all three of them for support before what he’s about to face. He doesn’t know that Prom is off trying to save his life; all that’s apparent to him is that Prom isn’t there. Maybe he didn’t want to handle seeing this moment. Which Noct can understand, but doesn’t he deserve a bit of selfishness in his final hour? Doesn’t he deserve to have a proper goodbye?

Aight you’re the master of this so tell me: does Prom find the answer? And if so, what does it cost?

Then it branched off! This is the “Everyone Else Forgets timeline” under the cut

GHOSTOFBEACONHILL

Alright then. *cracks knuckles* So, Prompto is visiting every place he knows that have significance to either the Royal family or the Astrals and is investigating every nook and cranny, trying to see if maybe they missed something. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But Prompto is nothing if not stubborn and determined, so he keeps searching. On his stop to the Greyshire Glacial Grotto, he runs into Gentiana who asks him why he is not with the King of Kings (1/?)

And Prompto tells her about his journey, about how he wants to save Noctis’ life while still saving everything else. Gentiana warns that Bahamut, the Sword Keeper, will not allow it; that the line of Lucis Caelum will end with the saving of the world. Prompto screams and shouts at that, saying that what was the point of watching him, protecting him … loving him if he was set to die anyway?! He blurts out everything about Noct he loves and cherishes and Gentiana (2/?)

is moved. This human, this special human, loved the King of Kings just like she had loved the Oracle, even if in different ways. She reveals herself as Shiva and she informs him that there is a way. She tells him of the location of the Dawn Mother, Eos, and where he could find her. But warns that there is a price. Prompto, the idiot in love that he is, states that he would pay any price for Noctis. Any price at all.

(I then diverged the convo to the other timeline, but back to this one!)

ANONYMOUS:

I really like the idea of Prompto being forgotten because then you can have all the people who he’s connected to feel like they’re missing something even though they don’t have the memories telling they are. And just because they are missing memories doesn’t mean that photographic evidence of prompto doesn’t exist. So imagine if Noct just finds a picture of Prompto kissing him on his phone. In fact i bet there is a whole folder dedicated to pictures of prompto or things he sent him

Y’all have much better ideas than me lol who wants to run my blog- (this point still stands y’all are great)

Now, let’s take the reverse of [the Prompto Forgets] scenario. Where Prompto is completely removed from people’s memories. The sad thing is that Prompto’s removal … wouldn’t actually affect … anything in the game’s timeline at all. But his removal is harmful, not that Prompto on the outside would notice. Because Prompto kept Noctis human. Our blonde boy was what kept Noct going for so long and to remove that? You have a king that is fully in his depression with no one able to get him out of it.

You’re right…but gods, the depression that Noct would fall into. His light isn’t there, even in his memory. He feels like something is just missing, and he’s helplessly reaching for nothing. Poor thing, nobody has ever really been able to cheer him up like Prompto has…and now Noct doesn’t even know that it’s a person he should be searching for.

ANONYMOUS:

Ok ok so, I’m not the og anon, but I’ve been keeping up with the asks so I hope it’s ok to add on! I love the idea of Noct trying to peace together who this mystery man is, so like he goes on a scavenger hunt of what’s left of the world and insomnia, like going to all the places that he sees in the pictures on his phone but no one knows who this kid is. And maybe prom’s like decided to just live a secluded existence in the mountains or something and accept his fate idk so Noct has a hell of a time finding him but he doesn’t give up because he just FEELS somethingn he knows there has to be something to it all, because it’s super wierd honeslty for this person to just apparently not exist? But there’s photographic evidence? And he can’t shake the feeling of forgetting something important and he knows it must have something to do with this dude. Maybe Noct starts to have dreams about Prom, because like you can never really forget someone, ya know? And it just ads to the confusion of it all. Idk if they ever find each other again or what happens then but I feel like Noct wouldn’t give up

Hello new anon and welcome to the madness. It’s always definitely okay to add on!!

It is now time for Who’s That Guy? The show where the King of Lucis goes on a hunt for a random blond he keeps seeing in his phone!

No but really, it probably takes him a little while to notice. Phones aren’t of much use at first, when they’re starting to rebuild, so he doesn’t have it on hand enough to consider going through the photos he has until a random day when he decides to sit down and charge the thing. Then it hits him like a sack of bricks that he’s been feeling something nagging at him for a while. Like there’s a piece that hasn’t been fitting quite right. Maybe…this guy has that missing piece? Thing is, nobody he shows it to has a clue who the guy might be. The photo looked to be from when he was 20, so ten years is a long time for someone to think back on (especially with the circumstances of the starscourge).

Well, this can only mean one thing. Start looking.

ghostofbeaconhill:

In Everyone Else Forgets (EEF), Gladio and Ignis try EVERYTHING they can think of to help get Noct out of his depression. Something inside them, some instinct, knows that it's possible, but nothing they try works. They knew that their king dying was going to happen, and now that it isn't in the cards, they are doing everything they can to keep him here in the waking world. But how? How?!

It’s a mess! There’s so much to do, and they’re all in this weird slump that they can’t quite place. They keep glancing around them for another person before remembering it was just the three of them. There’s a vague sense of someone else that rode in the Regalia with them. Something stirs in their minds when they see a chocobo. Everything is confusing, and again, there’s so much to do in this broken world. Their broken king is number 1 on that list.

anonymous:

Howdy it’s og (can you really call it og when I just added to it) anon of the split timeline where Noct forgets and I like hurting myself apparently because the only thought that I had about their reunion is Prom and Noct freezing and then Prom immediately running away. Noct is trying to follow but is still not in the best shape because the throne room stabbing still happened, he just didn’t die from it. Not only that he just doesn’t have the magic to gain the advantage.

lmao this man who has the aches of being stabbed so many times over trying to compete with an actual runner? Good luck Noct give up while you can. 

Prom, poor thing, cannot believe that Noct found him. Like, what are the odds? He’s tried so hard to keep his distance, thinking that it would be best if Noct didn’t go through the stress of trying to befriend him again. But then he just shows up?? Are you kidding?? My mans bolts away.

anonymous:

Prom is either secluded because he doesn’t feel he has a place in the world anymore or is a nomad who rides a chocobo that helps people along the way because he just can’t not do that.

Also I just personally love this

[lainelannister]

Porn meme! Cersei/DEALER'S CHOICE, Cersei dresses up as Jaime and seduces someone. SHE TAKES THE IMPERSONATION REALLY FAR.

LMAO OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS GOING TO END UP BEING ABOUT LYSA. OH LYSA.

(AU in which both Cersei and Jaime visit Riverrun as teens.)

“She thinks she’ll be your wife, you know.”

Jaime snorts derisively and rolls his eyes as he and his sister stroll along the riverbank. “What are you talking about?” he asks; a less-observant conversation partner might accept his lazy drawl as genuine indifference. But Cersei knows him too well for that.

“Hoster Tully sent a raven to Father, proposing a betrothal between you and his daughter. Since the older one is already spoken for, it seems that little Lysa may be your bride in a few years’ time.”

“Her?” Jaime’s brows knit together, and Cersei finds herself satisfied by his disdain…but not quite as satisfied as she could be. He clearly has no particular regard for Lysa Tully, but she’d prefer slightly more disgust, more indignation.

“Yes, well. One would think that the future Lord of Casterly Rock could do better than a sad, sluggish little river trout for his lady wife. But perhaps she’ll grow to be a beauty. Who knows? Those skinny legs and that flat chest could be only temporary-”

Jaime abruptly interrupts her with a forceful kiss, and there’s a bitter edge to the laugh she breathes into his mouth as his tongue demands entry and his hands guide her toward a dense thicket of trees.

-

She’s relieved to discover that she can still fit into Jaime’s clothing…for the most part. Yes, he stands a few inches above her now. And yes, his chest and shoulders show signs of broadening. But after she takes a moment to strap down her own budding breasts and slips into her brother’s tunic, she’s pleased to find that it laces with little difficulty. The breeches prove slightly more challenging; as her body adopts the shape of a woman, her hips begin to flare outward, no longer mirroring the clean, straight lines of Jaime’s. It’s possible that a more clever girl- like Lysa’s sister Catelyn, for instance- would notice the difference, making this deception impossible.

But with Lysa, Cersei sees very little reason for concern.

It indeed proves laughably simple to take the younger Tully girl’s hand and coax her out to the shaded grove past the riverbend. Of course, Cersei’s hands are far smaller and smoother than Jaime’s now…but she knows his grip, knows the pace of his steps, knows how to flash Lysa a quick but dazzling smile as she trots along at her side. The girl returns the grin, her lips wavering and bending into an insipid simper, and Cersei feels equally inclined to shove Lysa into the prickly brambles nearby…and to see just how far this little charade can continue.

“My father tells me that we may be destined to wed,” Cersei whispers in Lysa’s ear when they settle down upon the soft grass in the knoll, taking care to keep her pitch lower than usual. 

Violent splashes of scarlet rush into Lysa’s cheeks, and she says nothing, save a twittering burst of anxious giggles. Cersei must gnaw on the inside of her cheeks to keep from rolling her eyes so far back that they never return to their rightful places. 

(And yet, she’s surprised to discern a peculiar darkness in Lysa’s eyes, an expression not quite consistent with the total jubilation that Cersei expected.)

But the girl leans into Cersei’s orbit, and it only takes a few sweet, flirtatious, insincere compliments to guide the stupid little wanton onto her back, breaths shallow and legs splayed open. 

Cersei kisses her roughly, her tongue as insistent as Jaime’s, her teeth seeking purchase in Lysa’s thin lips when the girl hesitates to open her mouth. But the invasion happens quickly, and she’s exploring every nook and cranny, her hands roaming over the sad, flat plateau of Lysa’s chest, her fingers venturing beneath the silk skirt of her gown-

Lysa flinches slightly, but she says nothing to halt “Jaime”’s progress. In fact, Cersei finds herself rather more out-of-sorts than her companion; she’s never touched a girl before. But then, Jaime’s hands are her own, and his digits know exactly what to do with a slick, wet cunt-

The girl cants her hips up to meet Cersei’s fingers, her eyes winched shut. It’s equal parts comical and appalling- to think, that Father would consider betrothing his golden heir to this piece of used goods. The entire concept defies all reason, and Cersei feels a sudden swell of rage in her chest and between her temples. And now she’s fucking Lysa hard with her right hand, sliding a third finger in and increasing the pressure (she’s done this before, the little harlot…she can take more). 

A scrape of a (too long) fingernail along Lysa’s inner wall, and the Tully girl releases a panicked scream. Then and only then does Cersei pull out of the girl, a triumphant smile tracing her lips as she observes a bit of crimson blood pooling beneath her fingernail. 

[hanalwayssolo]

Between The Phrases and Pages

A/N: Back at it again! This time I return with my obvious bias lmao

Tagging some pals! @raspberryandechinacea @noboomoon @emmydots @bleucommelhiver @gowithme @hanatsuki89 @valkyrieofardyn @animakupo@lazarustrashpit @blindedstarlight @mp938368 @boo-dangy (i have 6 more remaining in the series, so to anyone interested to get tagged, lmk!)

(Links in AO3) Alternate Universes in Which You and I Belong Together: Noctis | Gladio | Prompto | Ignis | Nyx | Cor | Ravus | Ardyn

Today marks your seventh visit in Once Upon A Page, and Gladio could not resist watching you read his copy of e.e. cummings’ Erotic Poems with clinical concentration.

He tries to imagine what page of the book you are reading. Are you, perhaps, somewhere in the first half of As We Lie Side By Side? “I shove hotly the lovingness of my belly against you,” reads the first couple of lines in the poem. “Do not laugh at my thighs. There is, between my legs, a crisp city. When you touch me, it is spring in the city; the streets beautifully writhe, it is for you.” Funny how Gladio still has it memorized. He can recite the words by heart, even if each line has been soiled by the memory of the nights he made love to his wife—or his ex-wife, rather. The prefix still pricks like a barbed wire at the tip of his tongue.

Gladio dismisses the horrible thought and chooses to study your face instead. From his cash register counter, he observes you sitting on one of the couches in the reading nook. He can see no sign on your blank face for any sort of reaction. Nowhere in the focused gaze of your eyes nor in the firm line of your lips can he tell what’s on your mind. He can spy a tiny tinge of pink on your face, and it might as well be from the heat of this blistering summer’s day. He’s dying to know what your thoughts are on the poem. In fact, he’s been dying to figure you out ever since you bought books of different genres in the last couple of days you have dropped by his bookstore. One day, it’s all fantasy and science fiction with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin and the rest of the books in The Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin; then the next, a couple of pastel-covered contemporary romance from authors he could hardly recognize. Two days later, you returned to purchase even heavier reads: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace—both of which, personally, Gladio found a bit boring for his tastes. He had to admit that you did pique his curiosity when you picked up copies of Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin, The Wild Iris by Louise Glück, and War of the Foxes by Richard Siken one lazy Saturday afternoon, or that particular weekend you bought all of John Green’s and Rainbow Rowell’s books—effectively shattering his speculation whether or not you’re into young adult fiction. But what truly earned you his admiration was that time you spent one Sunday evening glued to one of the reading corners, dedicatedly poring over Henruit’s Silence of Knowledge. That book is and will always be his personal favourite, and seeing you read it with the spark of enjoyment in your eyes filled him with a pleasant satisfaction.

As far as Gladio can tell at this point, the only thing he knows about you for sure is this: you certainly love books. There’s no doubt about it. Each of your visits never fail to keep him on his toes. What book are you going to buy next? What genre will you be obsessing over? The more you visit, the more Gladio is keen to know you. But what should he say to you? Usually, he can charm his customers with a simple “Hello, that’s a nice pick for today,” or “How did your last read go?” to make small talk, one that eventually leads to an often interesting discussion about their favourite books. With you, it seems whatever charm or charisma he believes he carries in himself ceases to exist. The first time he had tried to make conversation with you, you only smiled at him and left with your purchase without saying a word. His next attempts were a tongue-tied mess, as if you have been designed to cripple his confidence. But this time, he wants to try again. He wants to learn more about you. He wants to learn what specifically tickles your fancy, what turns you on—

“Don’t you know it’s rude to stare?” Gladio barely notices Iris sidling up to him, one elbow propped on the counter and one eyebrow raised in jest. “You know, you can go up there and say hello.”

Gladio scoffs. “And disturb them away from their read? I don’t think so.”

“So you’re just going to watch them like some creeper, huh.” Iris casts him a withering look.

Gladio, however, remains unaffected. Evenly, he says, “I’m not being a creeper, it’s called people-watching—”

“Did I hear that right? Gladio is back on his creeping business?” Prompto bursts in from the back of the shop armed with a box of newly delivered books. Behind him, Noctis is shaking his head, laughing.

“Like I said—” Gladio sighs in exasperation, tries to make his tone less defensive— “I am not creeping—”

“Sure, whatever you say, big guy.” Noctis pats him on the back, a snarky smile on his face. Prompto and Iris laugh. Somehow, Gladio is relieved that Ignis is off busily tending the café counter on the other side, else all four of them would have easily tore him to shreds with their endless stream of annoying banter.

Nevertheless, Gladio loves this banter all the same. He’s happy to have these four troublemakers by his side. Once Upon A Page would have remained a pipe dream if not for the encouragement of his sister, the constant support of his three best friends, and of course, the sage counsel of his father. At thirty-five, running a bookstore was never a part of his long term plan; Gladio thought that by this age, he would finally reach the zenith of some ideal adulthood: a stable job, a nice house in the suburbs, a loving wife to always come home to. Those things, simple as they may be, have always been part of his grand aspirations in life. But the last two years had all been a merciless undoing, as if his life was pulling a loose thread, happening stitch by stitch: first came his ex-wife’s betrayal and the subsequent collapse of their marriage, then came losing his job after a company merger, quickly followed by his father’s battle with cancer. Everything that held him together came undone so ruthlessly. He had no choice but to rebuild himself from the jagged shards of his broken life, and rebuild himself he did. Painstakingly, rigorously, until his old self became a shadow of the man he had once been.

Somehow, opening this bookstore became Gladio’s saving grace. Each nook and cranny of this shop, he had meticulously laboured and designed out of his rekindled love for books: the rows of mahogany shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, all packed with numerous titles of both old and new; the cozy reading corners draped in beaded curtains and fairy lights, decorated in the casual glory of mismatched furniture; the humble café on the opposite side of the cash register, one that housed tiered pastry stands to showcase Iris’s delectable desserts, and the expensive espresso machine Gladio had received on his wedding day—something his ex-wife refused to take and one he gladly kept—that Ignis now used to brew his signature coffee blends. There’s a platform with a mic stand on the other side, a tiny island surrounded with technicolour bean bags that hosted many of Prompto’s spoken word literary nights. In this small and quaint space, every spot is perfumed by the crisp aroma of coffee, every corner incensed by the smell of old books. Gladio never imagined that he would be owning this beauty of a sanctuary with his closest friends, and now, he could only be grateful for the tumultuous ups and downs of his life. Because now, he couldn’t dare imagine trading this bookstore for anything else.

Iris yanks the sleeve of Gladio’s shirt. “Hey, Gladdy—”

“What?” Gladio says snappily, narrowing his eyes at his sister. Noctis has drifted to the café to help out Ignis serving coffee to a group of sleepless college students huddled on the long table, while Prompto has himself occupied with the inventory.

Iris stares at Gladio, as if he hasn’t been paying close attention. She jerks her head in front of the counter. “Uh, a customer?”

Gladio turns to see you standing by the cash register, watching his brief exchange with Iris. The heat of embarrassment rises to his cheeks.

“Oh, hi,” Gladio says with a nervous smile. He mentally punches himself in the face for making a fool out of himself in front of you. “Uh, sorry about that. How can I help you?”

You shake your head, offering him a kind smile in return. “No, it’s alright. Um, so—” you sweep a hand over your hair, all the while gingerly sliding the copy of e.e. cummings’ Erotic Poems over the counter— “do you happen to have a new stock of this book?”

Iris leans over and checks the title. Startlingly, she turns to Gladio and says, “Hey, isn’t this your own copy—”

“Nope,” Gladio says sternly. He shoots her a deadly glare; Iris shrugs it off. Of course his sister would notice that. It’s only a matter of time before she figures out that he’d been purposely selling the books gifted to him by his ex-wife by hiding it with the rest of their sale.

“Is it true?” you ask. There is no judgment on your face, only a genuine expression of curiosity.

“Uh, yeah. Long story,” Gladio says, rubbing the back of his neck. He clears his throat and asks, “How did you like it?”

“I love it, actually.” A shy smile and a faint blush spreads across your face, and Gladio swears that for a moment, he forgets how to breathe at the sight of it. “It’s… sensual. The author has his way with words.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” he says, nodding in agreement. “In any case, since my sister had me busted, you can have it. Free of charge.”

You wave a hand. “Oh, no I don’t think I can—”

“No, it’s fine.” Gladio smiles, sliding the book back to you. “You’ve been coming here and buying a lot of books, and you’ve been keeping my sales up. So, yeah. Consider this a gift. I insist.”

You consider Gladio for a moment. The way you are looking at him right now—lips slightly parted, eyes searching in disbelief—sends his heart racing at an alarming speed. Eventually, you say, “Okay. Thank you. It’s weird, this reminds me of that scene in this Disney film—”

“You mean the one from Beauty and The Beast? Where Belle gets a book from her local bookshop?” Iris chimes in, still watching both you and Gladio with brimming amusement.

“Yes, that’s it.” You laugh, and Gladio watches your face brighten into a bubbling radiance. If your smile had his lungs forget how to function, your laughter might have killed him right then and there.

Iris laughs, too. “I think it’s quite apt, in more ways than one. ‘Cause you’re quite a beauty and my brother here’s a beast,” she teases. Gladio only frowns at her, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, but he makes a very handsome beast,” you quickly tell Iris. Then, a pause. A very awkward pause. Gladio looks away with a sheepish smile, hoping against hope he isn’t blushing like an idiot this time around. Meanwhile, Iris is grinning from ear to ear. You nervously stammer, “Uh, I mean, well… never mind.” You heave a sigh and hurriedly say, “I’m so sorry. Thank you so much for this, um—” you squint at Gladio’s nametag, then at Iris’s— “Gladio. And you, too, Iris. Anyway, I gotta go. Bye.”

Gladio and Iris watch you hastily march out of the bookstore, the sound of the metal wind chimes tinkling at your departure.

Iris is still smiling as if she had won the lottery. Wearing a triumphantly teasing look, she says. “Wipe that blush off your face, you handsome beast.”

“Yes, you handsome beast,” Prompto repeats. He is leaning on a shelf, arms crossed over his chest, flashing Gladio a cheeky grin. On the other hand, from across the room behind the café counter, Noctis is looking at him with a giddy smile. So does Ignis.

“Can it, all of you,” he says out of annoyance, but he cannot help the smile that curls the corners of his mouth. He has to admit: he likes the way his name sounds in your lips, how it softly rolls off with the lilt of your voice.

Slowly, it dawns on him that he had forgotten to do one simple thing.

He had forgotten to ask for your name.

Today marks your seventh visit in Once Upon A Page, and you finally catch a glimpse of Mr. Muscle Man’s name tag.

You try to forget how you have so easily embarrassed yourself in front of Mr. Muscle Man—or Gladio, rather—with something completely tactless. A handsome beast. Who casually says that in the middle of a decent conversation? Either way, what’s done is done.

Walking back to your apartment, you clutch the book in your hands. Some part of you wants to entertain the distracting idea that a stranger entrusted you with such an intimate piece of literature, but you are only touched by his gesture. You can only hope that Gladio has not caught you blushing as you read through e.e. cummings’ Erotic Poems, especially when you got to the last half of As We Lie Side By Side. “O mountain, you cannot escape me,” read the remaining lines of the poem. “Your roots are anchored in my silence; therefore, oh mountain, skillfully murder my breasts, still and always I will hug you solemnly into me.” Back in the bookstore, you couldn’t help imagine the rich baritone of his velvety voice reading the lines of the poem to you—or quite madly, you couldn’t help imagine how he’s doing all these carnal things to you that the warmth on your cheeks had traveled between your legs…

You expel the foolish thought, shaking your head at your own severely inappropriate imagination. It is quite obvious that Gladio is awfully attractive and one heck of a devastatingly handsome man; but the guilt of reducing him to a beacon of a fantasy weighs heavy on your stomach. He deserves more than that. After all, with the generosity and hospitality he has extended to you throughout your visits, what you truly want is to earn his friendship. In fact, you’re dying to know what his thoughts are on the poem. You’re dying to know his personal tastes in books. Not once had he ever judged you on your selection of purchases, and you could not help but wonder what his favourite book could be. Or if he even has one. How can a man like him who’s running a lovely bookstore possibly pick a favourite?

As far as you can tell at this point, the only thing you know about Gladio with much certainty is this: he loves books. There’s no doubt about it. He wouldn’t be tending to a bookstore if he didn’t. And that fact alone makes him a hundred times more attractive, which now makes each of your bookstore trips a bit more troublesome. What if he sees you staring at him? What if you see him staring back? The more you visit, the more you are drawn to know Gladio. But what should you say to him? Clearly, you cannot even begin to formulate a normal sentence without embarrassing yourself—as already exhibited in your earlier exchange. Besides, in his attempts to make conversation with you, you always end up shrugging him off with an awkward smile out of your nervousness. You hope he does not think you are too rude or callous. Because this time, you want to properly return his kindness. You want to learn more about him. You want to learn what stirs his curiosity, what makes him smile—

Someone is tapping you over your shoulder. “Uh, excuse me?”

You freeze for a moment. The sound of that voice sends your heart beating violently against your chest. It’s a voice you can probably pick out even in a crowded room. You turn around and see Gladio, all flustered and breathless.

“Hey, so. I think this is yours,” he says, handing you a phone. Which you first find strange. Then, for another second, you realize that it is your phone. Shit. How reckless can you get today?

“Oh my god, I… uh, thank you. So, so much,” you say in a stupefied relief, taking your phone from his hand. “I probably wouldn’t realize that I left this until I reached my apartment.” The sidewalk is glazed with the summer heat and you are already a few blocks away from his bookstore that you just have to ask: “You didn’t happen to run all the way here, did you?”

“Well, I had to,” Gladio says with a crack of laughter. “But it’s fine. I think you’re worth chasing after.” He pauses, then quickly adds, “Because y’know, you left your phone. And besides—” he scratches his cheek, hesitates for a brief moment, then runs a hand through his ponytailed hair— “you got my name but I never got yours.”

You try to chew the smile that threatens to escape your lips, but you fail miserably. You regard him curiously for a second, narrowing your eyes at him. “Do you always ask the name of your customers?”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Usually I don’t need to ask since they give it to me on their own.”

You roll your eyes. “Right. Of course. Very charming.”

“So you think I’m charming?”

“Haven’t decided on that yet.”

“How about you decide on that after one date?”

A stunned silence. The cacophony of honking cars and bustling pedestrians fill in the wordlessness. You stare at him and with uncertainty, you repeat, “One date? Are you… asking me out?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Gladio nods with a smile. The way his smile illuminates his face, you can promise that this summer afternoon has never been brighter. He digs his hands on the pocket of his jeans, his expression suddenly dubious. “Is it… too soon?”

“No, not at all,” you say. “I’d love to go.”

The said date did prove that Gladio is, indeed, one charming man. Excruciatingly charming, even. Without a shadow of a doubt. He had arranged to close Once Upon A Page the rest of the evening just for the two of you. Without the sight of customers flocking his shop, the place looks even more magical: the whimsical arrangement of furniture, the towers of bookshelves teeming with books, the soft jazz music wafting from the stereo. The both of you spent hours in the reading nook talking about books, trading recommendations, and exchanging good-hearted criticism on reads that never quite left a mark on your reading experience. (”I gave up halfway on Atlas Shrugged, just so you know. While I support Dagny Taggart as a badass female protagonist, it all felt too... wordy? Prosaic? I don’t know how to describe it,” you tell him when he asked you what you thought of the Ayn Rand book you once bought, and he couldn’t help but laugh, because he, too, felt the same.) The majority of the night was then wasted away in a comfortable silence reading each other’s favourites.

The said date led to another. Then one more. Then two, three, four, five... until the nights you had spent with him could no longer be measured in numbers. Days drifted to weeks, weeks meandered to months. By then, you could only measure it by the way he makes you feel each time you are together. As if you are home, as if you are safe, as if you have always loved him your entire life.

Today marks the night that Gladio openly shares with you the story of his life, and you look at him with a genuine kindness that makes his heart swell.

Sitting side by side on the couch of his bookstore’s reading nook, you rest your head on his shoulder, threading your fingers with his. Quietly, he confides in you the pain. It’s all in the past now, but he has not talked about the gravity of it all with anyone else. Not even with Noctis, or Prompto, or Ignis. Not even with his sister.

“So yeah, that’s why you found that e.e. cumming’s book,” Gladio explains. “Quite a petty move, isn’t it?”

“No, I don’t think so,” you tell him sincerely. He pulls you even closer, and you look up at him with a smile. “We all have our ways of coping with heartbreak. I remember my mum once telling me that we do all these things to move on because we put the people we love on a pedestal. And I think she’s right—there's a sense of trust in that, because in a way, we equip them with the weapons we know that could hurt us, all the while firmly believing that they would never wield it to do us any harm. So when they fall from grace—unconsciously or otherwise—the easiest response is to put the blame on ourselves, rip out our feelings and memories of them to be cured faster of the hurt.”

Gladio nods pensively. “Yeah, but most of the time, in the process, some eventually close their hearts to love.”

A solemn silence lingers. Then, you cast him a searching look. “Have you closed your heart to love?”

“At some point, I was about to.” His lips quirk into a small smile. “But then I met you.”

You say nothing. You can’t say anything. Did he just…

Gladio immediately understands the bewildered expression on your face as he goes on to say, “Y’know, you made me realize that I don’t want to live the rest of my life with my heart closed to others just so I could avoid getting hurt. To love is to live. To hurt is also to live. I’d rather feel anything than choose to feel nothing.” He tucks a loose strand of your hair behind your ear, and a wide smile spreads all over his face. “So I guess what I’m trying to say here is yes, I'm in love with you.”

Again, you say nothing. Instead, you meet his lips with yours. Somewhere, you hear the wild cheers from Iris and Noctis, and Prompto saying, “Get a room, you two!” but you didn’t pay anyone any mind. Gladio doesn’t mind them, either. Because he kisses you as if the world is on fire and your mouth is the only way to extinguish the flames. He has been used to carrying the burden alone, but with you, the burden feels lighter. With you, he feels like he is home. Like he is safe. Like he has always loved you his entire life.

[trans-shuichisaihara]

the first chapter of “Empathy without Sympathy”, aka the linked emotions oumota au! bonus points if you can tell who’s linked w/ each other aside from the obvious lmao (also it’s a bit longer than the stuff I normally post so I went ahead and linked it below)

read on AO3

---------------

He woke up with a deep unease brewing in the back of his mind. The type that tore across his entire body, constricting his muscles and leaving him shaky and nauseous. Kaito groaned, curling in on himself. That action was quickly reversed as the smell of blood hit his nose; a dark patch sat in the corner of his pillow where he’d spent parts of the night coughing into.

What a crappy way to start the morning.

Mentally berating himself for his weakness, he forced himself up, dragging his tired body to the bathroom to clean up. Fuck, why was he so fucking tense? He scowled at his reflection in the mirror, splashing water onto his face to resist the pull of negativity (and to clean the bits of blood off, but he didn’t want to think about that). Deep breathes, don’t cough, inhale, exhale. Everything was fine.

It calmed down, only to rise again with the morning announcement. He grit his teeth, trying to push down the sudden fear rising in his body. Dammit. He wasn’t scared of those stupid fucking bears. Thankfully this attack passed almost as soon as it came, though leaving him tired nonetheless. He felt a swell of empathy for Shuichi; it was clear from how he quivered like a leaf that he suffered from some sorta chronic anxiety issues, and dealing with this on a regular basis? Fuck, that had to be hell.

Though, the situation they were in was probably an even worse hell. He sighed, tossing his jacket on and leaving for breakfast, greeting a downtrodden Shuichi after a few minutes of lingering around. That wasn't surprising; the murders of Angie and Chabashira and the trial that had followed the day before had been rough on the entire group.

He herded his sidekick towards the cafeteria, pushing any distracting thoughts to the side. It’d be bad if he made the others worry; weakness from him would lead to fear in the group. He was the leader figure after all, so he had to keep everyone together to avoid another murder.

Of course, Ouma had to make that difficult. Even without the dark mood lingering over the hall, him opening his lying mouth was always a pain. At least he wasn’t moping like the rest of the group, though Kaito couldn’t say if that was from a lack of concern or what.

On a positive note, Yumeno was attempting to stand strong. If he didn’t have his hands full with Shuichi and Harumaki and his coughing, maybe he’d invite her to train with them. She could use someone to guide her along, even if Chabashira had given her a big push forward with her final words.

As he was finishing off his miso soup and attempting to nudge Shuichi into eating more of his eggs, Gonta finally lumbered in, worry written clear as day on his face. As he explained the addition to the writing in the courtyard, Kaito felt bad that he was finding himself bored with the turn of events. Was his training regiment just not enough to keep his ambitious mind focused? Maybe they were missing something, something that could snap his mind back into gear. He was Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars; he wouldn’t allow himself to become disheartened.

Just as he was jerking himself back into reality, Monokuma decided it was time to make his post-trial appearance. Stupid fucker and his stupid kubs, acting as if getting to access new areas was worth the lives of their friends. Disgust swelled in him at the very sight. It didn’t help that Ouma was acting all buddy-buddy with them.

Monophanie held up a stone and a paintbrush to the group, eagerly declaring them to be the latest keys before turning to her brother. “Come on, Monotaro; give them the third item.”

He tilted his head. “Huh? What item? I don’t have nothing!”

She gasped. “You lost it?! That was the motive!” She hit him upside the head with the frying pan again. Guh, he was tired of this stupid comedy routine.

“Oh, a motive?” Ouma sounded interested. “How disappointing, the game won’t be exciting without a motive.” He grinned. “But maybe that means I won’t get murdered after all!”

“Can you shut the hell up,” Kaito grumbled, though he had to admit he was relieved. He glanced towards the others; Shuichi looked deep in thought, eyebrows knitted as he looked to the silent Monokuma.

Who wasn’t silent for much longer, as he chuckled. “Oh, that old thing? I think it was dropped somewhere, but whatever! I got a better idea for a motive, so I enacted it right away! In fact...” His red eye flashed. “... some of you might be feeling it right now.”

Feeling? Kaito was no Ultimate Detective, but it didn’t take one to hear the implication that something had been done to their bodies. Was... Was whatever was making him cough the next motive? Were the rest of them sick too? A deep dread broke through his repressed emotions.

“What do you mean?” Harumaki asked, fixing the bear with a glare. They received no answer to her question, however, as Monokuma simply laughed at them and made his exit. The kubs hung around, though Monophanie was quick to follow her father’s lead, leaving her brother to the wolves. Not that he would be useful, with his convenient amnesia.

“Jeez, just forget about the stupid motive.” He scratched the back of his head, trying to appear nonchalant. “Let’s just go check out the new areas or whatever.”

“Hm, no, I don’t think so,” Ouma had to object, “I think I’m gonna go look for that third motive item; that sounds much more exciting!” Exciting? More like worrying; last time Ouma messed around with the motives, Hoshi learned that Harumaki had his motive video and watched it, leading to him choosing to give up his life to Toujou.

“I said,” Kaito repeated louder, “Forget about it.”

“Gee, who died and made you leader,” Ouma replied with a grin, dampening the mood further from the verbal attack. He clenched his fists, trying to hold himself back as a wave of anger followed the sadness.

“What's your fucking problem?!”

Ouma smirked, pulling his hands behind his head. “What’s your problem, Momota-chan? Are you that scared of what little ol’ me will do with Monokuma’s motive?” His expression quickly changed, big blobs of wetness filling the corners of his eyes. “I, I thought you trusted meeee!” He sobbed in his obviously fake way.

“Who’d trust a liar like you?”

The room was quiet as Ouma’s face returned to a more neutral expression. “Oh, well, I guess you’re right. That was a lie anyway.” Kaito bit down on his tongue as a stabbing pain hit his chest. “I’ll be going now; have fun with exploring!”

“Wait-!” Before he could stop him, Ouma ran out. Instinct forced him to run after, ignoring the others shouts.

It was probably a poor decision, he realized after a few minutes of “playing tag”. Just attempting to keep the other in view forced his body to its limit far too quickly. Frustration flooded him as he pushed himself harder, Ouma’s mocking jibes echoing back at him. This continued until he lost him somewhere on the 3rd floor, his chest throbbing in protest. He slumped onto one of the benches near Harumaki’s lab, glaring at his clenched fists and trying to hold down the cough threatening to rise. Why did he have to be like this? So... So weak.

... Now wasn't the time to sit around feeling sorry for himself. With a grunt, he pulled himself up, wandering up to the 4th floor. The place was still creepy as hell. He didn't linger long, especially when he discovered stairs leading up to the 5th floor. Shuichi must've unlocked it. His sidekick was becoming more reliable, thanks to his training of course.

And speaking of Shuichi, it didn’t take long to find him, along with Harumaki. The two of them were on the far side of the 5th floor, inside what appeared to be the Ultimate Detective’s lab. With the door left cracked open, he was able to catch bits of their conversation as he approached them.

“... only useful after it’s too late.” Shuichi hung his shoulders, eyes trailing along the floor in defeat.

Harumaki crossed her arms. “Why are you so gloomy all of a sudden? Do you want to die?”

He flinched. “You’d kill me just for that?!” Kaito snorted in amusement, before deciding it was as good of time as any to make his entry. After all, what kind of leader would he be if he didn’t step in to inspire him?

Once the ‘Shuichi pep talk’ session was concluded and he wandered off to go use the second item, Harumaki sighed. “He’s high maintenance. Not that he’s the only one; are you going to go look for Ouma again?”

He scratched the back of his head. “Prolly not. If he doesn’t want to be found, looking for him’ll just be a waste of time. I bet he’ll come running back when we find the Flashback Light.” He grinned. “So let’s get looking, Harumaki!”

She huffed. “Both him and you are a pain. Stop calling me that.”

They scoured the 5th floor, checking every nook and cranny on a level of thoroughness that would impress Shuichi. After some time searching in silence, Kaito got the feeling that Harumaki wanted to say something and turned to her expectantly. She stared back, before sighing again.

“So, what do you think the motive is?”

A paralyzing terror nipped at his nerves. “Uh, I, I dunno. Something to do with our bodies..?”

She glanced away. “I do feel a bit strange. Not sick or anything, but...” She hesitated. “Oddly excited? There’s nothing exciting me though.” She trailed off, running her fingers through one of her twintails.

“Huh, weird. Maybe it’s-” His eye caught on a distinct shape. “Oh, the Flashback Light!” He approached the pillar, finding it hanging on a nail far above the others reach. For him or Gonta, however, it would be easily obtained. “Great, let’s gather the others!”

Harumaki stayed silent for a long second. “Alright, fine.” Ah, was she upset with the sudden topic change? He’d have to make it up to her later.

The Flashback Light was horrifying.

Fire raining from the sky. Panicked screams, pushing, shoving, sobbing. The memories of dark times etched itself into his mind, into all their minds. He curled his hand into a fist on the table, using it to steady himself. The others were equally as unstable; Iruma shook until she fell into a chair, bringing her knees to her chest to assume the fetal position. Shuichi stood stock still, eyes wide with terror. Gonta started crying on the spot.

He had to take control of the situation. He knew that, yet his body would barely move. His chest felt like it was in a vice, terror constricting to the point he could barely breathe. His eyes languidly moved across the scared faces of his friends, until they met Ouma’s. Stone-faced, unreactive towards the chaos around him. Mask firmly in place. His lips split, corners turning up into a false smile.

An abyss opened up in Kaito’s chest, swallowing all the feelings the Flashback Light brought down into it until he was left with nothing but apathy. No, not apathy - Emptiness would be the better word. He felt numbingly empty, a dull ache leaving his body tingling.

“Fuck! I’m so fucking tired of this!” Iruma wailed, pulling his attention away. With her terror-filled shouts, the watergates opened, prompting conversation among the group about what they saw. The meteorites. The cult. The Gofer Project. It all sounded so surreal, but...

“It wouldn’t be so strange if something beyond common sense happened, would it?” Ouma pointed out, “I mean, with Monokuma and the Exisals, is anything really too far out there?” His conceited smirk both pissed him off and confused him.

“What are you getting at?”

“Hm? I’m not getting at anything,” he lied. Kaito scowled as he felt his interest in whatever Ouma was keeping to himself rise.

“Buncha BS,” he muttered in response, shaking his head. He couldn’t waste time indulging Ouma’s lies. “Anyway, don’t worry guys, I’m sure everything’s gonna turn out okay. We’ll find a way to escape this fucked up Killing Game and see with our own two eyes that everything’s fine!”

He clenched his fists, anger pumping in his veins. Out of the corner of his eye, Ouma slipped out of the cafeteria. Whatever. He could deal with him later.

“While I agree,” Kiibo hesitantly begun, “I think... I think I would like some time to myself to think about this. All this new information is, well, quite fatiguing to take in.”

Shit, yeah, the others did look pretty tired. He sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Guess you’re right. But don’t forget what I said, alright!” He might as well been talking to a brick wall as the others shuffled out, Iruma quivering and mumbling to herself while Yumeno dragged her feet, head hung. Shuichi went out the interior door back into the school by himself while Shirogane ducked into the kitchen.

“Um, Momota-kun,” Gonta spoke up as Harukawa was leaving, “If there is anything Gonta can do to help, just let Gonta know.” He pulled his glasses off, dragging his sleeve across his tear-streaked snotty face. “Gonta wanna be helpful to everyone, so he took manhole cover back off.”

He gave him a smile and pat on the back. “Hey, no need to cry man, you’re doin’ fine. I don’t think we’ll be challenging the underground passage again though.”

Gonta slumped. “O-Oh. Gonta think more of how he can help then.” He turned to leave as well, prompting Kaito to shout encouragements into his back. Damn, what a mess. His chest was burning after all that stress.

Guess it was time for a bathroom break.

[theempresskaizer]

Tagged!! 30 Questions

tagged by two lovelies @kakihoden, and @arimii​ (smooches you both, may strength fill your bones and happiness take root and grow from your hearts)

Nickname(s):  Ythmir, myusername works fine too

Gender: Female

Sign: Scorpio

Height: hmmm im not sure, 167cm?? 165??

Time: 11:50pm, otherwise known as that time i somehow regret drinking that espresso but also am vibrating with energy so yeahhhhhh

Fav band(s): too many to even remember properly anymore tbh and on the top of my head, Panic@theDisco, FOB, Maroon5, Kamisama I Have Noticed, Florence and the Machine, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike (lmao i consider them a band in the loosest sense of the word ig uess), Kaleo, The Rigs, Amazarashi

Fav solo artist(s): mafumafu, S!N, SymaG, Deadmau5, Karmina, un:c, araki,  Megaterazero, and so much more i cant even list them all but im currently just browsing youtube for utaites so if you know a random singer with lots of personality to their voice hmu

Song stuck in my head: cover version of Roki by amatsuki feat melost, and Inochi ni Kirawareteiru cover by mafumafu, boi i got the feels

Last movie I saw: i.... i have not seen a movie since last year... ;A;

Last show I watched: i rewatched the ikemen sengoku anime haha

When did I create my blog: April 2011 (s w e a t s) and my sideblog around April 2016 

What do I post: reblogs mostly on my main, and writings on my sideblog!

Last thing I Googled: complete list of utapri cards released for the mobile eng version because i am a nerd and i need a database to look at

Do I have any other blogs: yeah my sideblog! check it out for fanfics and original writing if youre bored, maybe?

Do I get asks: H A R D L Y D: prompt me people!! on my sideblog! do itttttt

Why did I chose my URL: it’s my oldest OCs name and my title haha, i chose it because im bad at choosing names and think im a clever lil shit

Following: 874 (a mess, i know) (i cut it down to 700 but end up following a bunch again and at this point i might prune it again)

Followed by: i havent even reached 500 beh haha

Average hours of Sleep: 6-8, any less and im bound to be malfunctioning

Lucky number: i have just the worst luck im just i dont know :/ fortune does not smile upon those who are grit their teeth and dig their heels and scowl because they cant win at rockpaperscissors

Instruments: once upon a time i tried learning the guitar. now i just do rhythm games. do they count?

What I am wearing: pajamas and my sins

Dream job: writingwritingwritingwritingwriting, basically telling stories and using words to convince people that hey look up and see the magic around you, you know

Dream trip: anywhere with history which is basically every nook and cranny of the planet but in particular i want to go to places where people move and live and breathe and learn about them. there’s so much to learn and so little t i m e ! ! you stand there and you look at them and you realize that so many of them have layers and layers of history and you just want to know who they are and what they do and sometimes you press your ear to the walls and they whisper back.

Fav food: anything that does not have mayonnaise (DISGUSTING)

Nationality: w h o knows?? 

Fav song: atm i am listening on loop to: Nonsense Literature as sung by Mafumafu or un:c; Dramaturgy as sung by Rib, I thought I was an angel as sung by S!N, and Roki as sung by amatsuki, someonen gimme new music

Last book I read: currently trying to finish And I Darken by Kiersten White, i find it compelling bu t where do i buy the time to finish???

Top 3 fictional universes I wanna join: let me into anything that has urban fantasy or with dragons, or better yet BOTH, let me have my lovelies

Blogs I would like to get to know better: despite the unfortunate fact that i am not the most consistent presence on here and i am a really awkward entity i have been looking at a few new blogs so if you dont mind me barging in unceremoniously into your internet lives, lemme have it:

@shadowfairyy , @countdowntocake ​, @shadycupcakestrawberry ​, @acrispyapple ​, @rizosrojizos ​, @oh-my-otome ​, @pseudofaux , @nobume-dateand @dreamscapesin1582, and at all the people im struggling and too shy to tag because i admire you all

[wasabi-duck]

florist jimin

these are so generic but i wanted to do it so yolo

okay so jimin

our boy jimin

he works at a lil flower shop down on main street

okay so here's some visuals

so it's this little shop tucked away between a restaurant and like a public office

it has a giant awning and an old wood door that makes it seem like a gate into a fantasy world

in the windows sit not only roses and lilies and daisies but also like cacti and ferns and vines too so is obviously not just flowers, but every plant you can imagine

the inside is super tiny so it's like flowers are practically growing from every nook and cranny to make the most of all the possible space

and when the seasons change, the plants offered change so like in spring it's obviously flowers all around and you can't make a turn without ramming into a sunflower

and in winter it's all succulents and cacti and it's like a fairy garden

there's always some classical music playing and sometimes there's like off celtic music playing too just soft non vocal music

jimin was actually the one who suggested the music because he's like we can't talk to all the plants all seconds of the day and they're going to get lonely if they don't hear anything!! so we have to play them some music so they feel better!!! and so yes there's always music playing in the background

the walls are gray blue and there's wind chime hanging from the ceiling always and every time it step inside you're transported to another world

you just moved into a new apartment and you're like it's so dark and cold in here and i hate it and i need something to make my world better

you hear of this little flower shop down the street so you bundle up and decide to go explore

it's easy to spot

you head inside, and the little bell above the door tingles and jimin is the one at the counter

he's singing to some of the lil cacti so he doesn't really notice you standing there and so you kinda just watch and listen

and his voice is so beautiful you're like what is he doing here when he should be on the radio

jimin finally notices you and he gets all embarrassed and he immediately stops singing when he sees you and he coughs and straightens up and fixes his apron

“oh hi i'm- i'm jimin!!” he waves shyly and his cheeks are redder than the roses

you smile and introduce yourself but you guys don't talk after that because jimin is too embarrassed to say anything

and you think he's super duper cute and you don't wanna seem weird by talking more so you just meander around and look at all the other plants

it's not awkward with the music playing in the background but it's cute??

because like you keep peeing at jimin from behind the sunflowers and he keeps glancing over at you when your back is turned

he eventually whips out his phone and texts the bangtan group chat and is like uh help i have seen the cutest angel in the world

and hoseok is like :D wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and yoongi is like lmao but hoseok is here with us uhhh

but namjoon is all supportive like plz just say hi and tae is like no that is noT ENOUGH-- drop your number

jungkook and jin are seeing who can send the most naruto memes :/

jimin thinks that he'll end up regretting it if he doesn't say anything to you though so he takes a deep breath then walks over to you

“so is there anything you're looking for in particular?” he asks and you jump a little because you didn't realize he was standing there

“oh um…” you brush your fingers over some peonies “well i moved into a new apartment and it's so dreary and i just wanted something to brighten my room…”

“well i mean… not like you have to take my advice but gerberas are really pretty. you could make those your center pieces.” jimin smiles and points to some large red flowers “they always make me smile”

your eyes widen and you smile excitedly “oh those are beautiful… i think i'll take those…”

you hurry over to them and jimin follows along patiently while you pick out your favorites

you're not making a bouquet so jimin doesn't talk about the greens and other flowers you typically add to make a complete set

but then he realizes that like uhh you're gonna leave now

“you should come back next week, we're having a sale.” he blurts out after ringing you up

you blush heavily but nod “of course… i'll need something new by then, so think for me okay!!”

it becomes a weekly tradition to go into the flower shop and every week jimin has a new flower for you to take home

and as the weeks go on you spend more and more time chatting with jimin and one night you even stay until close because you and jimin get lost in your conversation

jimin always gives you flowers for free too like sometimes you'll get an order of daisies and he'll slip in lily for you

or you'll get a ferns for the week because you need some green and jimin is like well these white carnations are going to rot if someone doesn't take them soon so you can have them!!!

and succulents!!! he admits to you that he named them all and he's like they're my children…

and that day you find one that's really long and spindly and you're like this is so opposite jimin omg cute…

and you're like,,, “this one can be our shared child.”

and jimin gets all red and he hides behind his hands and he's like !!! “our what!!!!!”

“our child?? his name is johnny, we're the proud parents obviously…”

and soon you two are both giggling and joking about your new little family…

all the other works know jimin is like in love with you….

but he's too shy to say anything like you're just a customer and he just needs to get back to reality, you're just being nice to him….

but his boys are like lol jimin plz you're the whole package you need to make a move!!!

but jimin is so shy and so cautious that he doesn't want to upset you or ruin your relationship because you guys are like… friends

and you like come in every day so it would be weird if you didn't!!!!

but one day you actually don't---

and jimin is pacing because they're about to close and where are you?? and everyone is teasing him because he has a crimson amaryllis waiting for you… but you're no place to be found

he shakes it off and thinks you must be busy,,, but he goes home with a heavy heart because he was looking forward to seeing you and your beautiful smile and bright eyes,,,, and hear your cute laugh,,,

but the next day you don't come in either?? you're gone??

jimin panics and he assumes that maybe you're upset with him or something and that day he doesn't sing to the flowers and he just stares out the window, glumly waiting for you

it's like all the flowers wilt when you're not around and jimin swears that it's because you're not there to brighten their day…

one of the other workers is like why don't you check on them…

and jimin is like thats weird---

but then jungkook, that little brat, tells jimin that he's heard from some mutual friends that you've been sick!! like super duper sick and haven't left your apartment!!

and jimin is like what--- how do you know and jungkook is like i have their number lol we're bros now

and jimin is whAT!!!!!!!!!!

jungkook is all like you should bring them some flowers on your day off or something idk just an idea or something…

and jimin is like yes i will

jimin doesn't have a car, he has a bike, an old rickety bike with a big basket in front

he fills the basket with a variety of flowers and ferns, to include a bouquet of roses and your son johnny

there's a bunch of your favorites too!! jimin knows all your favorites and brought them along

and he's pedaling down the street as fast as his legs will pedal him and as he does some petals fly into the air!! and it's kind of cute like it's a very sunny day and he has all these flowers and he's peddling down the street to come and make your day

jungkook told you to make your way downstairs so you assumed jungkook (who you don't know is jimins bestie) would be coming to bring you soup or something

you're standing at the entrance to you apartment, huddled in seven quilts and still wearing your favorite pajamas

you squint because you see someone coming and then to your surprise it's not jungkook, it's jimin, on his bike

your brows furrow but then you acknowledge that yes, yes that's actually jimin and your heart starts to run a marathon in your chest

jimin brakes and then parks his bike against a tree

he grabs all the flowers in his arms and hurries over to you

before you can even speak he shoves them all in your arms

“jungkook told me you were sick and so i brought all your favorites and i hope you don't think this is weird, but i'm sure you were feeling lonely and i thought all of these might cheer you up or something!!!” and he's rambling now because he's so embarrassed and he realizes that damn this is a lot of flowers…

but you smile so wide and even though you're absolutely sick, you're glowing… like jimin hasn't seen anything brighter

you hug all the flowers to your chest and you go to say thank you but jimin suddenly runs back to the bike

he comes back holding johnny and he's like “ahh i forgot this one…”

and you're so touched you could almost cry but now isn't the place and time and you don't wanna embarrass yourself in front of jimin

you go to say thank you but then you sneeze and jimin is like !!!! is it that the flowers and you're like shhh no i'm just sick these are amazing

and he gets all smiley and he does the eye smile thing and he shoves his hands in his pockets all sheepish and shy “it was nothing…”

and he gets all embarrassed so he's like uh i gotta go hoseok and yoongi and jin and i are having game night i'll see you soon okay???

and you're like okay… bye chim

and his heart skips a beat because um chim?!

okay but you head inside with all your flowers and you're like wait… red roses… i've never gotten roses from him…

and you're like well uh… google

and then you look it up and uh… this can't be right i thought they were generic romance flowers because they were pretty…

so you're like is it coincidence or

or does jimin…

like me???

and you stare at the screen for what be hours upon end and you don't know whether to laugh or cry because jimin just admitted his feelings!!! or at least you think he did!!!

and you're like spinning around and you're holding the roses close to your chest and when you go to bed that night you keep the baby succulent and roses on your bed with you…

once you feel better you head into the shop and jimin just watches you because yes he confessed but like… he doesn't know if you saw that… or realized it so he stays silent and he kind of ignores you almost at first…

you have a plan though

you go through the store and when you find what you want

you slam it down on the counter, waking jimin from your thoughts

“ambrosia.” you smile. “it means returned feelings. or at least… i think it does…”

you purse your lips but jimin just stares at you and you're like oh uh maybe i misread the situation--

“i get off in an hour- come back and maybe we can get some coffee…??”

and yes you get coffee and you raise a succulent family and he gets you a new flower bouquet every day cause he loves you...

[i-growl-growl-growl]

Do you like mpreg? What about any of Exo or NCT members announcing to their lover they’re pregnant? (but if u don’t like mpreg - that’s totally fine if you won’t fill this :)

Nah, I’m perfectly fine with it. I’m fine with anything really unless it’s pedophilic or racist and (I myself am also not so great with fluffy stuff but I don’t mind it). 

This seems like it’ll have an extremely fluffy feel to it (according to how I… ?define?… fluffy) but I’ll give it my best try but I won’t guarantee that it’ll be good since it’s my weakest link in writing genres. 

I’m also going to mix this up with some EXO members and some NCT if that’s alright with you.

~Savie

———————————————————————————————————–

Luhan: Luhan wanted to make sure that the announcement was perfect from the location, the time, the date, he’d even come up with a speech and plan a celebratory dinner and go for dessert after. He’d work on memorizing his speech, imagining that his reflection in the mirror was his partner so that he wouldn’t seem too caught off guard once it was time to actually tell him. “H/p/n, I have some very big news. I know it might come as a shock especially since you’re the one who wanted this to happen to you but it’s happening to me instead. I know we’ve been trying for a long time since the media and my fans have learned to support our relationship but up until now nothing has happened. H/p/n, I want you to know that I love you and I always have and always will, my life has been so much brighter with you in it and I look forward to living a long and happy life with you but there’s something else that we’ll live with for the rest of our lives and I hope you’ll love it as much as I will even though you’re not the one bearing it like you wanted to. H/p/n, I’m pregnant!”

He’d come close to getting caught practicing his speech by his partner several times but his partner’s timing is just barely off the mark so he’d come home and find Luhan blushing at the mirror and wonder what the hell was going on but Luhan would just brush it off by saying “Oh, no there’s nothing wrong here. I was just admiring my natural handsomeness and thinking about yours. I really think we make the perfect handsome couple haha.” At that point his partner would give him a weird look but break as a slight chuckle escapes his mouth, “you’re so cheesy Lu! Sometimes I wonder how I ended up dating such a dork like you.” “Yeah, haha ha *nervous laughter* same!”

On the day of the announcement everything would be going better than planned: He was able to schedule a fancier car to drive you around in than he’d originally planned, the diner said that they’d give him a special reservation on a private balcony of the restaurant, the dessert venue was baking him a special chef choice dessert along with a large sampler platter of all the other desserts they had to offer which would be ready upon his arrival, the part of the park that he had planned to make the announcement on was lit up perfectly and the Chinese magnolia trees were all in bloom, everything was perfect,that is until he and his partner arrived at the spot. “So what’s going on?” h/p/n asks, “clearly it’s something special since the place is all dolled up.” “Well uh, actually yeah there is uh haha…” it was time to tell h/p/n about the pregnancy but the speech that he’d practiced and prepared wouldn’t come out of his mouth- he was a stuttering, blushing, fidgeting, awkward mess. his partner would have to push him to speak, “Luhan, what is it?!”

“I uh, we are uh, well there’s this thing uh…” “Luhan just tell me. You can tell me anything.” “Yeah I know uh I know” he wouldn’t be able to look in his partner’s eyes, he’s so nervous “well we have um well uh…” “Luhan just spit it out already!” h/p/n chuckles worriedly “I’m, I’m pregnant! haha”

Baekhyun: Good god his announcement would be soooooo out there! Like honestly what would anyone expect otherwise? He’d make the announcement so fun and embarrassing and just completely weird and everyone could be damn sure that he’d capture the announcement on video to send to others and look back on in the future no matter how many times his partner would end up screaming at him and begging for the video to be deleted due to overall 1000000000% embarrassment! Seriously no one could stress enough just how embarrassing it’d end up being. Baekhyun would look up great songs to announce a pregnancy and find spoofs of popular pop songs and ofc he’d choose one of them gfdi  ! 

On the day of the announcement Baekhyun would call his best bud Chanyeolie the Yoda over to put up decorations all across the house: in the living room, in the dining room, in the master bedroom, the extra bedrooms, hell he’d have so much decorations and he’d go so far out with the whole thing that even the garage and the bathrooms will be completely bombarded with pregnancy announcement decorations. It’d take weeks to clean up! and that’s not including the snacks and main dishes and beverages for all the people who were going to attend because he wouldn’t make this a private deal OH NO! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE that Baekhyun knows would be there for the announcement. “hey Baekhyun, do you want these “congratulations” tapestries hung up in the bathroom shower?” “Hell yeah man, you know it! Oh and put one on the lid of the toilet to while you’re in there and don’t forget to put the “it’s a baby” soaps on the counters!” “yep, I got it bro!” “Awesome sauce!”

After his partner has had a fairly long day at work he’d come home to a completely dark and unusually quiet house. he’d park his car in the drive way and press the lock button listening for the beep before heading up to the porch of the house. He’d scramble around in his pockets to find his house key then unlock the doors, severely oblivious to the shocking surprise that awaited him once he’d step through the house doors. 

Upon entering the house all of the lights would turn on simultaneously and people would pop out of seemingly every nook and cranny  of the house yelling “SURPRISE!” and “CONGRATULATIONS!” H/P/N would stand in his place against the door where he had jumped back to when it all happened and he’d look around wondering what the F**k was going on and what the whole “congrats” was for. H/p/n would look around a see that the visitors are all people that Baekhyun must know because he’s never seen some of these people in his entire life! As he continued to look around a pathway would open up and there, in the middle of the living room, standing by himself would be the one and only alien Baekhyun with the widest, stupidest grin on his face! “CONGRATS TO US!” he’d yell before music would start pumping from large speakers that were set up around the house. What song was playing you ask? A spoof of LMAO’s “I’m sexy and I know It” — “I’m pregnant and I know it!”

Everyone in the house would start dancing around like complete fools expect for h/p/n. “Yah, h/p/n! Come join meh and yur babee on the dance fluur!” Oh how his partners face would be blushing the same color red as a bright, shiny lobster tail.

Yuta: Yuta wouldn’t want his pregnancy announcement to his partner to be too public but he also wouldn’t want it to be private either. Despite the risks Yuta would really ReAllY REALLY want to make the announcement at someplace like a park (during the daytime), or at a concert of one of his partner’s favorite bands that he could take him to. Yuta would brainstorm, but not too much, about how to do it and when before finally coming up with a plan. The timing of the pregnancy was perfect because spring had just rolled around and shown it’s beautiful face. NCT was let off to take a break for a few weeks before a large promotion would take place so Yuta bought tickets and told h/p/n to pack up because they were going on vacation, “Where are we going?” “You’ll see. I want it to be a surprise so you’ll have to wait until we get there to find out!” he smiles. 

When the plane arrives at the destination Yuta and his partner will leave the airport before Yuta happily exclaims “WE’RE IN OSAKA!” they’ll head to their hotel and get situated before Yuta excitedly pulls on h/p/n’s arm telling him “hurry hurry, we need to go somewhere before it’s too late!” “before what’s too late? Yuta what has gotten into you today?” “You’ll find out just please hurry up! We need to go!”

Upon arrival at the place Yuta so desperately needed him and his partner to be at his partner will find out that it’s at a Cherry Blossom festival and there’s hundreds upon thousands of people lined up on blankets under the blooming trees. Yuta will tug at him to follow him before they both reach an empty spot and Yuta lays a blanket down along with a basket of food and beverages. The area is alive with people chatting and it’s nearly impossible to hear each other over the surrounding conversations. This is the perfect place and time to make the announcement! 

“H/P/N! I have an announcement I need to make” Yuta nearly screams into his partner’s ear (even then they can still hardly hear each other). “What is it?” his partner yells back into Yuta’s ear. “By this time next year it won’t be just the two of us coming here!” ‘What do you mean?! Will the rest of NCT be coming with us?!” “NO! No Silly!” By this time next year we’ll both have a beautiful baby joining us for the trip! Our beautiful baby!”

Ten: Ten would want to be creative with his pregnancy announcement to his partner. he’d think of a way to tell his partner without the whole thing being embarrassing, or public to anyone other than themselves but he’d definitely also plan another, separate pregnancy announcement for everyone else once he’s further on in the early stages of terms of pregnancy where h/p/n and himself would make the announcement together to the NCT member’s and staff and maybe even to the public all at once- sort of. He’d look up clever ideas on youtube, on pregnancy sites, hell even on the limited social media sites that he had kept without SM noticing.Ten would admit that there were some great ideas that he found from online but most of them included the risk of major embarrassment or facing a large crowd of people so he’d be left to brainstorm on his own since that’s definitely not what he wanted. 

One day, as Ten is taking a break from explaining to Lee Soo Man that he won’t be able to exert as much energy or work as hard, and eventually at all for awhile, as he usually does he finds a bag of candies wrapped up in his lunch box that his partner had packed for him that day. When he unwraps the clear plastic bag to enjoy the sweets and is holding one of the small, round candies in his hand an idea hits him like a speeding train. This little candy was the perfect specimen to use as an announcement to h/p/n! The small jelly bean was the perfect size for an example of the baby that he’s currently carrying and probably even the same shape! Ten would preserve the little sweet that had helped him come up with his plan and take it home to use for later, then he’s preserve it in a memory book that he’s begun as a reminder of this adventure.

When Ten arrives home he’ll find h/p/n sitting on the couch with a wine in his hand. “Oh Ten! You’re home early, here I’ll go and pore you a glass” “Oh no no no, that won’t be necessary, I won’t be able to drink that sort of stuff for a long time.” His partner would look back at him quizzically “what do you mean you won’t be able to drink it?” “Well uh” Ten will pause to open up his lunch box and pull out the small jelly bean, once he has it in his hand he’ll hold it out to h/p/n. The look his partner gives him is even more confused than before “oooookkkk what does a jelly bean have to do with you not being able to drink with me?” “ten will look from his partner to the piece of candy in his hand, “well my handsome man, you see, this little jelly bean isn’t a normal jelly bean!” 

Ten’s partner would look at him like he’s lost his god d**n mind. “I… well you see” Ten pauses again to hold the jelly bean against his stomach “this jelly bean is very precious and very vulnerable it is easy susceptible to otherwise non-harmful things such as drinking alcohol or staying in Jacuzzi-s for too long, I also cannot eat any raw fish because if I do this little jelly bean will get hurt.” It would take his partner a moment to understand what Ten is getting at but when he figures it out he’ll pull Ten into a barely tight bear hug and tell him how proud he is to have him as his partner “I’ll look forward to raising a family with you and you’ll always be special to me Ten! I love you, I really F**king love you!”