#future au wr

[lyddieowl]

in the future au blake and ruby often take the time to just sit quietly and read together. blake then eventually suggests naps, so they snuggle up together peacefully. (weiss and yang think it's adorable ofc)

[lisired]

love jones

pairing: photographer!haechan x (f) reader

genre/warnings: smut, angst, strangers to lovers, hollywood!au, photographer!haechan, model!reader, unprotected sex (don’t be silly wr- [gets hit by a car])

summary: After breaking off your engagement to your fiance, you move to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. There in the fairytale land where stars go to shine you meet Haechan, an aspiring photographer with a penchant for mischief and flirtation.

word count: 12.4k (/25.5k)

a/n: inspired by love jones; the song by leon thomas featuring ty dolla $ign and the movie by theodore witcher. this is a repost of an old fic that i will be publishing in 2 installments; it is also the prequel to supermodel, which you do not have to read. installment two will be linked here when posted. as always, feedback is appreciated!

The air was different in California. 

“The land of make-believe,” you sighed, holding the cold metal bar in your hands. This was your new home. Sine die. 

Better than New York City, you muttered crankily to yourself. Everything there reminded you of him. Every street, every scent. You would rather not think of the asshole that cheated on you with another woman while you gave him everything. California, on the other hand, was a brand new slate. Free of assholes that showed other girls their penises while being months away from vowing forever to you. You had let out a massive sigh of relief when your doctor confirmed that you didn’t have any infections.

Still, you fondled the engagement band on your finger. 

“I know you’re not out here thinking about he who shall not be named,” Chaewon chided in disapproval, hands on her hips. 

You turned around. You hadn’t heard the door open. When she came beside you, you turned around again, facing the busy street just below of you. 

“No. I’m not thinking about him,” you lied through your teeth. “I’m just brooding.”

“Same damn thing.”

You rolled your eyes. 

Chaewon back-hugged you and wrapped her arms around your waist snugly, making you giggle. “I forbid you from thinking about that asshole any longer. The whole point of you coming here was to forget about him.”

“And the new opportunities,” you added. 

“Exactly. He was holding you back. He wanted to be the man and bring home the bacon, and couldn’t stand the thought of you being a successful independent woman perfectly capable of taking care of her damn self,” Chaewon said without taking a single breath. 

You mulled it over. That was a little too true. Your ex-boyfriend always talked about having kids and taking care of you and them, but you hated to think that your independence might’ve driven him away. “But you don’t just forget about the life and broken promises of the future you made,” you whispered sadly. 

Chaewon let out a little sigh. She was sad for you. Her heart, too. 

Then, she backed off and said, “You know what? We’re going to the club.”

You gawked and did a one-eighty. Full speed. “What?”

“You heard me. And put that ring up, girl. You’re not gonna get any dick if a man sees that on your finger. I don’t know why you haven’t given it back to him yet. Better yet, you should throw it off a mountain. We have plenty.”

“Oh, please,” you replied boredly. “I know these Los Angeles boys don’t give a damn. They would fuck the hole between the ring if their dicks were small enough.”

“Oh, don’t bring your Manhattan bullshit over here. The boys I know have decorum,” Chaewon replied matter-of-factly. 

“I’m sure,” you deadpanned. 

Chaewon cocked her head at you and planted her hands on her hips. “When you’re done being a drama queen, you need to go change into something risqué. I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up.”

“Yes, Mother,” you said coolly, in spite of not being even the least bit inclined to bump and grind at a club tonight. 

“I’m serious. If that ring’s not off your finger by the time I get back, I’m kicking some ass.” Then, she went back inside. You shook your head. Los Angeles, you thought. What am I going to do with you?

The club was packed with people, which was to be expected given that it was a Friday night. You paid them no attention, sticking close to Chaewon like a toddler kept close to their mother’s bosom. 

“And I told her, ‘but that doesn’t make any sense. Gladys Presley popped Elvis Presley out of her coochie eighty-six years ago. There’s no way you could be his mother.’”

The group laughed at Jeno. 

Jaemin hurled back a shot of vodka and added, “Gladys Presley didn’t look happy in a single picture I’ve seen of her.”

“Shit. If my son was Elvis Presley, I wouldn’t exactly be exhilarated either,” Ryujin quipped. 

Mark covered her mouth. “Lower your voice. You cannot say that too loud out here.”

Ryujin shoved him off. “Get your hands off me, freak,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. 

The group laughed again. Except for Mark. 

And Haechan. 

Winter casted a glance at Haechan. “What’s up with the sun man?”

Jaemin, who was to the left of Haechan, nudged him and asked, “What’s wrong, my man?”

Haechan didn’t even blink. He was too busy staring past the tables. Something had evidently caught his eye. 

Jeno followed his gaze and snickered. He spotted you, sitting at the bar with Chaewon. “I know what’s got my boy’s attention.”

Everyone glanced where Jeno was looking. There you were, obliviously laughing and chattering with your best friend. You were wearing a flimsy black dress now in lieu of the dolphin shorts you’d worn while moving the last of your stuff inside your new condo. 

“Damn, she’s bad,” Jaemin murmured under his breath. 

Winter angrily hit him. 

Jaemin immediately stammered, “I mean, you’re badder. She’s nothing compared to you. I’m just saying she’s a little cute. For someone like Haechan, maybe.”

The table erupted in laughter. 

“Mm-hm,” Winter hummed doubtfully, crossing her arms. 

“Come on, baby. You know I’ve only got eyes for you,” Jaemin said, giving Winter a smooch to the cheek. “Billions of girls in the world and I still choose you. You’re the only one I want.”

Mark deadpanned, “He’s so smooth.” 

“He must get it from you,” Ryujin shot, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

Mark shot her a glare. 

Jeno draped an arm around Haechan’s shoulder. “Come on, man. You just gonna sit and stare at her or what? You gotta make a move.”

Ryujin quipped, “And what do you know about making moves?” 

“August twelfth, two years ago.” 

Ryujin narrowed her eyes at him. “Only losers who get little play remember the exact date they fucked somebody.”

“Well, that says a lot more about you than it does about me, doesn’t it? I could have been talking about anything,” Jeno quipped, smirking. 

The boys, especially Mark, laughed. Winter fought a chuckle in female solidarity. 

“I pieced it together,” Ryujin mumbled. 

“It’s okay to admit you’re a little lonely, Ryujin. I mean, after Sunwoo fled to Chicago, I can only imagine it’s been a long minute since you’ve gotten any attention downstairs,” Mark crooned like potent venom. 

There were a couple of ‘ooh’s from the boys. 

“You guys are annoying,” Haechan finally said after having not spoken for the past few minutes. Which was unusual for someone like him. “I’m going to go get her number. Watch this.”

The table whooped and hollered, cheering him on. Meanwhile, he approached you stealthily, popping a stick of gum. 

Haechan sat at the available seat to your left (because Chaewon was to your right) and greeted, “Hello, ladies.”

Chaewon took one glance at the handsome stranger to your left and had raging heart eyes. You, on the other hand, were wishing you would have ignored her and brought your ring to deter any unwanted visitors. The one thing he was good for, you grumbled to yourself. But if you were being honest with yourself, the stranger was pretty cute. Pretty brown eyes, like your ex-fiancé. Smooth skin. And he had the cutest, most kissable lips. If you hadn’t already written him off as bad news, you would have let yourself be interested. 

“Hi, handsome,” Chaewon flirted, giggling like an idiot. You stiffened. You knew your way around men, but you weren’t in the mood. 

Haechan smiled, but he was all eyes for you. Ironically, you were wishing he would disappear. He asked, “Can I have your name?”

“You haven’t done anything to deserve it,” you replied with complete disinterest. 

“Hard to get. I fuck with it,” Haechan noted. “What do you want me to do?”

You pretended to be in thought. “You can start by removing yourself from my vicinity. Please and thank you.”

Chaewon winced and told him your name.

“Chae,” you groaned.  

Haechan repeated after her. “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

“Oh, could you be any more original?” you deadpanned. “By the way, I’m engaged.”

Haechan laughed. “You are definitely not engaged. I know that and I know nothing about you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “And how would you know that?” 

“Because engaged people have engaged people vibes. You have painfully strong ‘I hate anything that has to do with love and romance’ vibes,” Haechan answered slickly, then leaned close to sing for only your ears, “And I don’t see an engagement ring on your finger.”

Chaewon was having a laugh at your expense. Meanwhile, this stranger pulled back and smirked at you, reading your thoughts. You wanted to be mad that he was right, but you kind of liked his voice in your ear.

“She’s single,” Chaewon added, as if it were necessary. “Maybe not ready to mingle though.”

You were fighting the most irritated groan at this point. 

Haechan raised his hands and backed off, taking the mean scowl on your face as a firm ‘no’ and the rejection coolly. “That’s cool. Look, I’ll leave you ladies alone. Have a good night.”

“You, too,” Chaewon said, waving him goodbye as he stepped off the barstool. 

When he was finally gone, you let out a breath of relief. 

Chaewon gave you a look. “He’s so into you. I’m not even mad. You fumbled so bad. He’s fine as hell.”

“You’re forgetting that I didn’t ask to be dragged to this club in the first place. I don’t want to get dicked down by some dude whose name I don’t even know,” you grumbled, finishing what was left in your cup. 

“I’m sure he would have given it to you if you asked,” she replied teasingly. 

You rolled your eyes. “He can keep it to himself. I don’t want to fuck and forget.”

“Ugh, lame,” Chaewon groaned. “Fuck and forget is every young model’s motto.”

“Well, not mine,” you huffed, vexed. With a smidge of attitude. 

Chaewon noticed your tone and frowned. “Okay, timeout. Babe, listen. I’m not trying to pressure you into doing anything you don’t wanna do. If you don’t wanna fuck around then don’t. I was just suggesting it might be nice to get to know somebody else. See where it goes.”

“I know,” you sighed, squeezing her hand. “Tonight’s just not a good night.”

Chaewon bobbed her head. “I understand. Take your time. You’ll know when you’re ready.”

You gave her a weak smile.

Meanwhile, Haechan was doing something adjacent to the walk of shame as he approached his clique’s table, empty-handed.

Jeno immediately taunted, “What a snag, man.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jeno,” Haechan hissed, throwing Jeno his middle finger. 

Mark gave Haechan a compassionate look. “You get an ‘E’ for effort, dude.”

“L for loss,” Jeno murmured under his breath none too quietly.

“She looked like she wanted to kill you with her bare hands,” Jaemin retorted, holding Winter’s hand under the table.

Winter snickered. “And how would you know what that looks like?”

“Because I see Ryujin look at Mark like that everyday,” Jaemin quipped, earning a couple laughs around the table. 

“Whatever,” Haechan said, feigning nonchalance. “You win some, you lose some.”

Jaemin braced his hand on Haechan’s shoulder. “This is just the trials and tribulations, buddy. You’ll get her next time.”

Haechan downed a shot of liquor. “We’ll see.”

When Tuesday morning arrived, you were up bright and early. You slipped on a minimalist outfit and got a taxi to the record store. 

Ryujin was working the cash register when you walked inside. You didn’t recognize her, but she recognized you, smirking in amusement. “Good morning. Can I help you with anything?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for a Michael Jackson vinyl,” you replied, holding your purse. 

“Vinyls are back that way,” Ryujin said, pointing her finger. “Good luck. He still sells fast.”

You thanked her and headed straight for the back shelves. Your record collection was a vinyl away from being finished after a number of years spent putting it together and you were desperately on the hunt for the finishing piece. Not a second later, Haechan meandered inside clad in denim jeans and black leather. He looked like nothing short of any parent’s worst nightmare. 

Ryujin beckoned him over and whispered, “Aren’t you the king of good timing? Your girl’s in the back.”

Haechan furrowed his brows. “My…” Then, he faced the back of the store and saw you carefully sifting through records, trying your absolute hardest to find the one you were looking for. From the looks of it, however, your efforts were in vain. 

Haechan glanced back at Ryujin in shock. “Shit. Should I shoot my shot?”

“I mean, the last time you shot your shot, you missed,” Ryujin replied, propping her pretty face up on the counter. “Like Michael Jordan against the Toronto Raptors in 2002 missed.”

“And he still won. So, watch it,” Haechan shot back. 

Ryujin rolled her eyes. “Whatever. But don’t make me get the buff Johnny guy from next door to escort you out of the building. The cute one that’s pretty tall.”

“Everyone knows who Johnny is, Ryu,” Haechan muttered, making his way towards you. Again. 

You didn’t even give Haechan the chance to speak when you noticed him. Your face scrunched up and you droned, “You again.”

Haechan lifted his hands. “You know, most people usually greet others with a ‘hey’ or a ‘good morning.’”

“Not in New York City.”

Haechan gave you a curious stare. “You’re from New York City?”

You grimaced. You didn’t mean to let that slip. “I’ve already said too much.”

“You’ve said just enough, girl,” Haechan replied with a smirk. “Whatchu looking for?”

“A Michael Jackson Thriller vinyl. It’s for my record collection,” you answered absentmindedly, ransacking the shelves for the record to no avail. Which was irritating. It’s like his most popular album, you grumbled to yourself.  

That certainly got Haechan’s attention. “Oh,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I have a signed Thriller vinyl at my crib.”

You scoffed. “Please. As if.”

“I’m deadass,” Haechan insisted, but the untamed twinkle in his eyes made him hard to believe. 

“Right,” you droned. “And I’m guessing this is the part where you invite me back to your crib and try to persuade me to hook up with you.”

“Hey, I’m not that type of guy. Scout’s honor,” Haechan said, though sensing your raging skepticism, he called out, “Look. Hey, Ryu! Don’t I have a signed Michael Jackson vinyl?”

“It’s like you won’t let us forget,” Ryujin shouted back, annoyed. Then, she leaned over the counter, noticing the reluctance all over your face. “Yeah, he’s got one. It’s legit. I’d tell you if this punk was bullshitting.”

For whatever reason, Ryujin’s words of confirmation finally pushed you to believe him. You badgered, “How in the hell did you get your hands on a signed Michael Jackson vinyl? He couldn’t have given it to you. You were how old when he died?”

“Legends never die, baby,” was Haechan’s witty reply. 

You almost rolled your eyes, but settled for stubbornly folding your arms instead. “Okay. What do I have to do for it?”

“Go out on a date with me.”

That didn’t surprise you at all. Haechan had been trying to ask you out from the get-go. He was nothing if not persistent as ever. “A date,” you repeated with a smidge of boredom. 

Haechan bobbed his head. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be a date-date. My friends and I are having this get-together tomorrow night. You should come. Ryujin has been bitching about how there’s an uneven boy-to-girl ratio.”

You arched a brow. “And you want me to even things out?”

“Well, with you we’d have four boys to three girls, but if you find me worthwhile you can start bringing your friend and then we’ll be as even as a figure eight.”

You mulled it over. One date wouldn’t be so bad, you contemplated. It wasn’t as if you would be alone with this boy. There would be five other people in the room with you. Not to mention Haechan truly didn’t seem that bad. And if you were being honest, under better circumstances, you probably would’ve already taken him to bed. 

Besides, after spending most of your dating life with a cheating bastard, you definitely deserved to move on. Something fresh. If you decided that you didn’t like Haechan after this date, you could cut him off. Matter of fact, you could cut him off afterwards whether you liked him or not. Anything for the vinyl. 

Haechan watched your lip tuck out in thought and thought it was the cutest thing ever. He could tell you were really mulling it over. The gears in your brain were spinning quicker than ever before. 

“Fine,” you finally said after a while. “I’ll go on a date with you.”

In his head, Haechan was doing a very, very strange victory dance. But instead, he played it cool, and said, “Sweet.”

“Cool.”

Haechan pointed to the vinyls behind him with his thumb. “Can I play you something?”

You shrugged. “Sure.”

Haechan did a smooth one-eighty and grabbed a Michael Jackson Bad vinyl before popping it into the record player beside you. You watched him skillfully set the needle, as if he had done it a thousand times before. A song you knew very well started to play. 

“I just can’t stop loving you,” you exhaled, noting the song name. You knew every word. 

Haechan nodded and smiled at you. Then, he stretched out his hand. “May I have a dance?”

You giggled and took his hand in yours, putting your other behind his shoulder as he wrapped his around your waist. You wanted to be mad that you liked how his hands felt on your body. Ironically, you couldn’t remember the last time you had felt the touch of a man. 

In little to no time, you were slow dancing in the back of a record store with a stranger. A very handsome stranger at that. You locked eyes and it was enough to make you hold your breath. 

Neither of you took your eyes off of each other afterwards. You were just swaying to the rhythm, breathing in the sweet, titillating scent of him. Sharing the warmth of your bodies as they touched. 

It was almost romantic. Then, a thought struck you. “I never got your name.”

“My friends call me Haechan,” he replied, flashing a smile. “But you can call me ‘baby.’”

“Haechan,” you said, tasting his name on your tongue. And ignoring his attempts at flirting.

Haechan’s face faltered for half a second, but he was quick to recover. “Because I like the way it rolls off your tongue, I’ll let it slide.”

You snickered. 

That sound was music to his ears. “So,” Haechan started. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at seven. Sound good?”

“Sounds great,” you chirped. “I’ll give you my number.”

“I hope you like motorcycles,” Haechan replied with a chuckle. 

“You drive a motorcycle?”

Haechan pointed to the entrance with his shoulder. “Parked right outside. She’s my baby.”

You stared over his shoulder and right through the glass window, spotting his motorcycle parked directly out front. It was a sleek, black motorbike that coupled perfectly with his mischievous attire. 

Oh, boy. 

For an entire hour, you carefully planned your date night outfit with Chaewon (who after loudly celebrating your secured date agreed to assist with the wardrobe assembling prep) over FaceTime. 

Not that it was a fancy date. Which was exactly why you were conflicted. You wanted to dress to impress, but you also didn’t want to seem like a try-hard. Like hell you were trying to impress Haechan, but you knew men like him perceived the slightest things as sexual advances.

You went for jeans and a crop top with a cute puffer jacket in the end, and called it a night. Just in case it got chilly, which was unpredictable in bitter Los Angeles evenings. Over the night and throughout your day, you caught yourself thinking about the handsome stranger that liked motorcycles. 

The slow dancing in the record store. The eye contact. The warmth of his body beside yours and his perfect scent throttling you. And you found yourself smiling. When Chaewon asked you how the dance was after you confided in her about the little event at the back of the record store, you’d replied, “It was magical.”

You were standing on the fence. Haechan was cute and could be an excellent distraction from your mess of a love life. But you weren’t exactly ready to risk getting your heart broken again. 

So, you decided you wouldn’t be getting your heart involved. Haechan was harmless fun.   

But you were still counting down the hours until he arrived at your front door. 

Haechan arrived punctually at your front door with two minutes left to spare. You grabbed your phone off the charger and dropped it in your purse before racing to open the front door. “Hi,” you said. 

Haechan waved. “‘Sup, baby.”

“You’re on time,” you commented, maybe slightly surprised.

Haechan chuckled at that. Seemingly not offended. “Yeah, I am.” He cocked his head.  “Should I have stood you up?”

A part of you somewhat expected him to and you would be lying if you said it hadn’t. Sue you for being cynical. After all, your last relationship had taught you to be a little more careful with your heart. Deciding you wouldn’t be answering that question, you gave him a quick scan and concluded that you liked what you saw. “You clean up nice.”

“Is that your way of saying I’m handsome?”

“It means you dress up well. Take the compliment before I retract it,” you replied, crossing your arms. 

“You already said it. No take-backs,” Haechan teased, grinning all smug-like. “You look pretty. But you’re always gorgeous.”

His flirting was going to be the death of you. “You’ve seen me three times and not once without makeup.”

“Take the compliment before I retract it,” Haechan mocked, giving an impersonation of however your voice sounded in his head. 

You gawked. “I do not sound like that!” 

Haechan snickered and grabbed your hand, shutting the door behind you with his other. “Listen, baby,” he started. “While I would love to get on your nerves, we’re going to be late.”

Realizing he was right, you dropped it. For now. “Okay,” you sighed. “Well, let’s go.”

Haechan led you outside to where his motorcycle was parked, making small talk with you along the way to fill the silence in the air. You didn’t talk about anything special - most of it turned into him being endearingly aggravating - but you noted that you liked his voice. 

When you got there, Haechan passed you a pretty pink helmet and told you, “I bought this for you. I hope you like pink. You gave me a pink girl vibe.”

“Because you’re just so good at knowing what vibes I give off,” you deadpanned, realizing this was the second time he had told you what vibes you gave him. And had been correct. 

Haechan didn't do shit but smirk. “Well?”

You sighed. “I love pink,” you admitted, attempting to put it on. 

Your confession made him grin even broader, but instead of teasing you, Haechan opted to help you put the helmet on correctly. “You a virgin?”

The use of that word made you shudder a little bit in surprise, but you quickly realized what he meant. 

Your faltering didn’t go unnoticed by Haechan, no matter how brief. “I meant a motorcycle virgin,” he added.

“I know,” you replied, chuckling. “And yup. Nobody has ever taken me for a spin on a daredevil before.”

“I’m glad to have taken your motorcycle virginity,” replied Haechan, stepping back after clasping your helmet. “Ready, babe?”

Your voice wavered, “Sort of.”

Haechan mounted his bike and gestured for you to mimic him. When you were straddling the seat, he gently steered your hands around his waist. “Don’t be scared. You’ll be fine as long as you hold onto me really, really tight.”

You narrowed your eyes. “And you liking me touching you has nothing to do with it?”

“Those are the pros.”

“And what else are the pros?”

“On a motorcycle, we get to dodge all the traffic,” Haechan replied with a grin, securing his own helmet. “Now, like I said, hold on tight.”

You did as told, tightly clasping your arms around his waist and holding on for dear life when you felt the motorcycle jerk alive underneath your shared weight. 

And it was exhilarating, flying past the city lights at the speed of light itself and watching splashes of color bleed into each other. You could feel the wind on your face and whip through your hair. You found yourself laughing as Haechan quite literally took you on the ride of your life. 

He weaved in and out of lanes adroitly, avoiding stationary cars with a technique only years of training could upskill. Which was reassuring. You weren’t sitting on the back of the bike of a total amateur. 

Hearing your noises of excitement made Haechan crack a broad smile. She likes it, he thought smugly. It was a step up from the night he met you and he would gladly take any tiny accomplishment. He couldn’t wait to see the look on the boys faces when he popped up with you in tow. No one believed him when he said he’d scored a date with you. 

Well, of course Ryujin did, because she saw the whole thing go down. But she wouldn’t support him nor deny that he had snagged you. So it would be a huge surprise. 

With some minutes of driving out of the way, you and Haechan finally dismounted his bike, arriving just shy of Jaemin’s house. You both caught your breath for a second, leaving your helmets behind. When you knocked on the door, a man you obviously had never seen before answered, a cup in hand. He saw you and his features instantly twisted with surprise. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered under his breath. 

“I told you so,” were the first words to leave Haechan’s mouth. 

Jeno stepped aside, making room for you. And ignoring his friend. “Come on in, beautiful. The party’s just getting started.”

You weren’t wooed by the pet name, which made Haechan snicker as he walked inside the party, arm locked with yours. 

The look of surprise on everyone’s faces did not go unnoticed by you and you quickly turned to Haechan, asking, “Did you not tell your friends I was coming?”

“Oh, he wouldn’t shut up about it. We just didn’t believe him,” Jaemin answered for your date, shock promptly fading into amusement. He held out his hand for you to shake. “I’m Jaemin. The host of this shitshow.”

You kindly shook hands with him and told him your name. “Nice to meet you.”

Haechan took over from there and pointed to his friends in the order that they appeared on the couch as he introduced, “Winter, Ryujin, Mark. And I guess the fuckward that opened the door for you is Jeno.”

Jeno lifted his middle finger. “Oh, fuck you, Haechan.”

“Love you too, man,” Haechan replied smugly, ushering you to the couch. 

In little to no time, you were socializing with Haechan’s clique as if you’d been good friends for ages. None of them made you feel like an imposter, which you appreciated. Jaemin and his girlfriend Winter, who was sitting squarely on his lap, encouraged you to get comfortable. You felt right at home, laughing at their shenanigans. Many of which were Haechan’s, who was quite the shit-stirrer and troublemaker. You weren’t at all surprised. He screamed chaos. 

His friends had a noteworthy amount of individuality and magnetism too. Jeno was everything you thought Haechan would be, but hilarious. Maybe even charming depending on who you asked. He liked taking turns hurling insults with Haechan. They were like brothers. 

Jaemin and Winter were absolutely smitten with each other and were insufferable when apart, but grossly cute together. She was glued to his lap most of the time, but added a unique sense of humor to the conversation in between kisses. 

Ryujin and Mark were mortal enemies and couldn’t go a half second without bickering and endless banter, but they were a killer Spades duo and gave you and Haechan a run for your money. Their similarities to an old married couple were reminiscent of your grandparents and you made a mental note to check on your grandmother later.

“Talking to yourself is not weird,” Mark whined some hours later. 

Ryujin shot, “Maybe on whatever planet you come from.”

The pack (and you admittedly) let out a laugh at poor Mark’s expense. 

Jaemin set down his drink and took a hit from the joint you had all started to pass around not too long ago. Everybody was at least a little buzzed by now except for Haechan, which surprised you. You didn’t expect him to be responsible. “Okay, okay. Chill. Every man deserves to give himself a good pep talk in the mirror.”

“Okay, so are we talking pep talks or having full-blown conversations with yourself?” asked Jeno. 

Winter turned to Jaemin and asked, “You give yourself pep talks?”

Jaemin bobbed his head. “Sometimes,” he said. “Like when I asked you out. I gave myself a long speech of encouragement.”

Ryujin furrowed her brows. “Didn’t she say ‘no’ the first time you asked her out?”

Everybody laughed. 

Haechan turned to you and explained, “Jaemin asked Winter out in our freshman year of college in the courtyard. He pulled out all the stops - flowers, chocolates, the whole nine. She rejected him and the whole campus talked about it for weeks.”

“I thought he was so weird!” Winter exclaimed. 

“She thought Jaemin was weird. Jaemin talked to himself. I’m connecting the dots,” quipped Ryujin, passing the joint.  

Mark hissed, “You didn’t connect shit.”

“I’m connecting them.”

Jeno pointed to you with his drink. “What about you? Do you talk to yourself?”

“Sometimes,” you admitted. 

Mark leapt up and exclaimed, “Yes!”

“But only when I’m self-deprecating.”

“Oh,” Mark replied darkly. Ryujin had to tug him back down. 

Haechan grabbed your hand and said sweetly, “Never talk to yourself.”

You rolled your eyes. He was such a flirt. Maybe you were starting to like it. 

Some more colorful banter later, Haechan decided to connect his phone to Jaemin’s bluetooth speaker and everybody got up to bust a move to his wonderful music selection. He volunteered his hand and you took it gladly, in a world of your own as you each danced. 

Haechan quickly became talented at making you laugh. He shimmied his hips in a very, very unattractive way and you almost snorted. “You know,” Haechan started a couple minutes later, your bodies much closer. “I can’t shake the feeling that you’re really familiar. Like I’ve seen you before.”

You shrugged. “Maybe. I do modeling.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hm,” you hummed. Your faces were dangerously close. One wrong move and your lips would be touching. “Mainly in New York, but I’ve decided to come here for a fresh start.”

Surprise was Haechan’s initial reaction, but he quickly responded, “That checks out. You are breathtaking, after all.”

You groaned. “It’s like you have some compulsion to flirt with me.”

“I do,” Haechan replied with a grin. “I’ll keel over and die if I don’t flirt with you.”

That checks out, you were tempted to mock, but instead you mimicked monotonously, “Must flirt. Will self-destruct if I don’t flirt.”

Haechan laughed loudly and you smiled at the sound of him. As the night carried on, you were finding less and less to dislike about him. He also only got even handsomer at this range. You could see every little detail on his pretty boy face. 

Needless to say, Haechan was also hyper aware of the lack of distance between your faces and bodies. His eyes kept flitting to your plump lips and all he could think about was how kissable they were. “I think it’s really interesting that you’re a model,” he began. 

You casted him a glance. “Why?”

“Because I’m a photographer.”

“Really?” you asked, somewhat shocked. 

Haechan bobbed his head. “Mm-hm. My whole life kinda. It’s my passion.”

“Interesting,” you replied, though it wasn’t a lie. You were thinking over his admission. He was splurging your assumptions of him, dime by fucking dime. Haechan screamed spoiled rich kid at first glance and you’d doubted that he even had a job. 

“Tell me something else about you,” Haechan said, locking eyes with you and doing his best to keep them there. You tested the limits of his self-control and he didn’t know whether he liked it or not. 

“Like what?”

Haechan shrugged. “Anything.”

You thought long and hard about it. His weighty stare didn’t help in the slightest. After a minute you confessed, “I like cheesy movies.”

His eyes flickered with surprise. “Seriously?”

You smiled coyly and replied, “Yes. It’s a character flaw, I know.”

“Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “The model with an attitude that collects vinyls as a hobby likes cheesy movies. You amaze me, you know.”

You gasped. “I do not have an attitude!”

“You have lots of attitude, baby. Snark for days. And I love every minute of it,” flirted Haechan for the umpteenth time this night alone. 

You were tempted to roll your eyes, but you kept them on his face, realizing again how good-looking he was. His lips were calling your name and you wondered if they were as soft as they looked. “Relax,” you said, feeling your hold on the reins slacken. You didn’t like it not one bit. “I’m only going out with you because I want that Michael vinyl.”

Haechan seemingly didn’t take offense to that and replied, “I know, but I thought that maybe if we went out on a date you would realize there’s actually a lot to like about me.”

You had already reached that conclusion on your own, feeling yourself become attracted to Haechan the longer you spent time with him, but your heart had intricate security and you were in no way inclined to let your guard down. 

“Like what?”

Haechan didn’t waste a second on hesitation. “We have similar music tastes. We both like cheesy movies. I’m a photographer. You’re a model. I mean, come on. We go together like pancakes and syrup, baby.”

Him likening you both to pancakes and syrup made you snort. “Is that the best analogy you could come up with?” you asked. 

“Cut me some slack,” Haechan groaned. “The last time I ate was ten this morning. I’m starving.”

You laughed. 

He squeezed your hand affectionately and said, “Speaking of which, there’s a diner down the block that serves really good pancakes. I can vouch. Wanna go grab some?”

You pretended to mull it over and eventually replied, “I would like that.”

Haechan sported a victorious grin before disclosing to his clique that the two of you would be seeing yourselves out. Ryujin bid you goodnight and Winter pouted, asking when she would see you again. You and your date barely managed to escape the party, slipping outside into the cold after a solid five minutes. 

The sky looked a little darker now, the city a little brighter. Time really did fly by when you were having fun. Among other things. “C’mon,” Haechan said, grabbing your hand. And you both held hands as he walked you to his parked bike. 

The diner was bare, given the early hour as the clock transcended past midnight, but the food was delightful as promised. Only a pair of employees were working their shifts, but you and Haechan tried to keep it down as you talked over an early breakfast in the booth. 

Which failed tremendously. Haechan was just so hilarious. Your laughter rang out through the breakfast joint in spite of how much you constantly reminded yourself to be quiet. You weren’t even paying attention to the pair of co-workers increasingly losing the will to live. You and Haechan talked about everything under the sun. The city and its shallow. Work and speeding vehicles. The best spots in the entire city. Your heart sped like how it did when you were speeding on his bike. 

“Your friends are cool,” you told him after a while. 

“But I’m cooler, right?” Haechan asked jokingly, earning a roll of your eyes. 

You picked up your coffee and droned, “Very.”

Haechan laughed playfully but sobered a little to confess, “I’m glad I met them. It’s kill or be killed in this city. It’s hard to find people that don’t share the same three superficial personalities.”

“Oh?”

He bobbed his head. “Yeah. It’s brutal.”

“Tell me about them.”

“Shit, where do I even start?” Haechan said, chuckling a little, but soon finding the answer to his question. “Jaemin is a complete geek. Don’t be fooled by his looks. There’s a reason Winter turned him down the first time, but he’s a chill dude that doesn’t bother anybody. He’s studying to be an engineer.”

That surprised you and tempted you to laugh. “Really?”

“Yup. Ironically, he’s probably the most regular person out of all of us. He doesn’t like to draw attention to himself,” Haechan ranted, pausing to sip from his drink. “Winter is the complete opposite. She’s a model, like you. Been in Vogue. When she’s not feeling up Jaemin, she loves to tend to her garden.”

So that explained the abundance of flowers in their front yard. It was vibrant plant galore. They looked nurtured, obviously a lot of love was being put into taking care of them and keeping them healthy. 

Haechan continued, “Ryujin is a unique blend of art kid and debate club survivor. She works part-time at the record store obviously, but she has big hopes for her paintings. She’s really talented.”

You were genuinely intrigued. “Wow. I would love to see her art.”

“That painting in Jaemin and Winter’s living room is hers. It was a housewarming gift when they moved in together,” Haechan told you like he was giving you the inside scoop. “Mark is a single pringle with way too much time on his hands, but he makes great music. He wants to be a famous rapper.”

“Mark and Ryujin aren’t boning?”

Haechan snickered loudly, shaking his head. “Nope. They’re like brother and sister. Ryujin has a boyfriend, but they’re dating long distance. He lives in Chicago or something like that.”

You made a face. “Commitment. That’s impressive. I respect it.”

“Yeah, same. I couldn’t handle it. I need too much stimulation for that shit,” Haechan said. 

“Hypothetically, you wouldn’t be willing to make it work for me?”

Haechan thought over his answer, chewing over his words. “I would at least try,” he told you admittedly. “But I can’t say for sure I could make it work.”

You admired his bluntness. His ability to be straightforward was something you genuinely respected. You knew he wanted to impress you, but on top of all that and his acute need for humor, Haechan was incredibly honest. Unlike somebody you knew. 

Curiously, you cocked your head, realizing you were missing somebody. “What about Jeno?” you asked. 

“What about him?”

You cocked a brow. “You were telling me about your friends?”

Haechan made a face of remembrance. “Oh, right. Jeno is single, but Giacomo Casanova reincarnated. He could have been written by Shakespeare. Another aspiring model.”

Why aren’t you a model? You took one good goddamn look at Haechan and not very subtly licked your lips until they were dry. He was so breathtaking. You couldn’t believe he was the man behind the camera. “You’re kinda handsome, you know,” you admitted. 

Haechan snickered. He hadn’t expected those words to come out of your mouth, but with how you were unabashedly checking him out, it was no secret you found him attractive. “Is that what you gathered from what I said?”

“No. I gathered that you’re fine enough to be a model and yet you are not. I think you even have the charisma,” you told him blatantly. “Why stand behind the camera?”

Haechan shrugged. Feigning nonchalance. “That’s just who I am,” he said. 

“Do you like it?”

“I love it,” he replied with zero hesitation. 

You shot him a smile. “Then, I guess that’s all that matters.”

Haechan nodded in agreement. He wouldn’t trade his job for the world. He liked being able to do his favorite hobby for a living. Not everybody had that luxury. You were the same way, but damn it you couldn’t take it off your mind how Haechan looked straight out of a magazine. You had seen hundreds of handsome men in your lifetime, far and up close, but he took the cake.

It was hard to believe Haechan was anything but a casanova himself, considering your first impression of him was that he was a player trying to get into your pants. Which was fair because he was, and he couldn’t deny that. But in spite of his good looks, magnetic personality and charisma, Haechan had some admirable personality traits. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, accusing, and asked, “What do you think about debauchery?”

There you went with the random statements and questions again. Haechan snorted, leaned back in his seat, and replied silkily, “I am quite the debaucher.” 

“You mean debauchee,” you corrected. 

Haechan groaned, “Who gives a fuck? I love pussy.”

You snorted back a laugh. Again, honesty. Noted. 

Haechan finished what was left of his pancakes in one final bite and chewed without any particular rush. “Listen, if you’re asking me this because you think I’m a player, you’ve got the wrong guy,” he said eventually.

Your mind was racing. You were plagued by doubts. “Do I?”

“You do.” Haechan dropped his fork, reaching for a napkin. Then, he added, “I fuck. I fool around. I’m not gonna lie and act like I’m a fucking prude. But when I’m tied down, I get tunnel vision.”

“Something tells me you’re not tied down often,” you remarked, never taking your eyes off of him. 

Haechan met your stare and shot back, “Something tells me you don’t like being tied down.”

He caught you there. You wanted to be upset, but you couldn’t. Not when he was so right about you already. “I don’t mind being in a relationship but… I don’t like it when men act as if a woman being in a relationship should deprive her of her individuality. I want to be independent.”

“Then, we’re the same in that regard,” he replied, grinning at you. “I would never try to control you or anything like that. You’re a grown ass woman and I’m a grown ass man. I just hate feeling stagnant and I need constant stimulation. Hypothetically, could you handle that?”

You pretended to mull it over. “Yeah.” You nodded your head. “I could.”

Haechan grinned wildly. He was liking where this was going. And he definitely wanted to see you again. Little did he know, you felt the exact same way.

Haechan checked his watch and frowned. “It’s late. I should take you back home.”

You quipped, “What kind of grown ass man has a curfew?”

Haechan snickered and started to tidy up his things. 

You left the diner a couple minutes later, hopping back on Haechan’s sexy motorbike. He drove you through the city, besotted with how your arms felt wrapped so tightly around his waist as he sped through the night. 

When he dropped you off at your doorstep, fingers laced through yours the entire trip there, something bittersweet came over you. You didn’t want the night to be over. Haechan had won you over in just one night alone. 

“I guess this is goodbye,” you said when you’d reached your door. 

“Goodbye for now,” Haechan corrected you, smirking. He could hear the sadness in your tone you tried to veil. “By the way, I’m free tomorrow. You can swing by my place to pick up the vinyl. I’ll text you my address.”

Confusion twisted your features for the briefest second before you remembered the reason you’d even agreed to go out on a date with him in the first place. You had forgotten all about your record collection. “Sounds great,” you chirped, reluctantly taking your keys from your purse. You were glad you would finally get your hands on the vinyl, though still crestfallen that he had to leave. 

Haechan didn’t want to leave until he was certain you were safely inside your condo and he heard the door lock, but you surprised him when you unlocked your door and turned around to say, “I had a really great time tonight.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m glad.”

You pointed inside your place with your thumb. “Do you… wanna come inside?”

It was no secret what that meant. You wanted to fool around with him, there was no doubt. “I shouldn’t,” Haechan said. 

Not that he didn’t want to. But it was the first date and he didn’t want to seem like he was only after one thing.

The disappointment on your face was noticeable, but you forced a smile. “Right. You probably shouldn’t.”

Something told Haechan to bid you goodnight and leave it at that, but then he thought, Who the fuck am I kidding? And with all his self-restraint parked squarely beside his bike, he smashed his lips against yours. 

Your first instinct was to be surprised, but then you kissed him back just as hard. Fuck, you had been resisting the urge the whole evening. It was so satisfying to finally know what his lips felt like pressed to yours like a mold. You lost your mind a little at how romantic his kisses were. They were hard, but slow. You met him halfway, feeling something shift in your body as the kiss steadily grew more and more heated. And you couldn’t fight the heat that wafted over you as his hands kneaded your hips. 

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s a great kisser, you screamed internally. It drove you mad. It made you crazy with burning ache. 

Naturally, Haechan ultimately ended up slipping past your doorway, locking it shut behind him and kissing you through the hallways. “Bedroom?” he asked between kisses. 

You pointed, although you were losing your sense of direction as you became drunk with the taste of him. You panted, “Over there.”

Each of you were both half-naked by the time you charged through your bedroom door. You were reduced to your underwear, your clothes scattered across the hallway in your wake. Haechan pulled you towards your bed, collapsing over you as your lips synced messily. 

His warmth made you moan, little noises escaping you at the meeting of your bodies, skin to skin. Then, his lips attached to your throat, sinking lower and lower until you could feel his breath at your abdomen. “Can I taste this wet fucking pussy?” Haechan growled while flitting his gaze to your eyes. 

One look at him between your thighs and you were tightening around nothing. There was no reason that should have been as attractive as it was. Please, your body begged. “Are you any good?” you asked. 

Haechan cocked a brow at you and chuckled, reaching for some pillows to hand over to you. “Get comfortable,” were his only words. 

You tucked the pillows he passed you underneath your elbows obediently and lifted your hips. Haechan started to slip your panties off, pulling them right down your ankles before they were tossed into oblivion. All it took was a single glance at your bare cunt for Haechan to dive between your legs. He gripped your thighs, spreading them apart and holding them in place. Your thighs were plush and it was no doubt he liked the way they fit in his palms. 

Haechan spent a moment wandering, just getting a feel for what made you tick. Not a bunch of time was wasted idly and he caught on quickly, reducing you to moans and squirming quicker than anybody before him. It was infuriating. His hold on your thighs tightened, keeping you rooted and still. You bit your lip, trying to smother the sound of your soft sounds in an endeavor to wipe the smug look off his wet lips, but to no avail.

Haechan was eating you out like he just couldn’t get enough of you. Which wasn’t far from the truth at all. Your moans were pornographic and made him crazy with a burning, all-consuming flavor of lust. You covered your mouth flat with your palm, tense when he sucked your clit, moaning, “Fuck,” into your own hand. 

You were already unbelievably sensitive. Maybe because it had been a while since you’d had sex. I’m so busy, you thought. Work had taken priority in your life. In between being pursued by Haechan, you were also becoming high-demand in shoots. None of that changed the fact you’d been maybe subconsciously hoping that this would happen though. You even shaved in the shower just before throwing on your clothes. 

Your whole body was unstill. You clenched your hands into fists, over and over again, before finally letting yourself run your fingers through his dark hair. His lips felt so good, tracing the skin around your thigh. He was disarming you. Slowly but surely. Or maybe not that slowly at all. 

“Haechan, shit. Fuck,” you cursed, your tongue tied in knots. Nothing could articulate how he was making you feel, how the walls of ice around you were collapsing in on themselves.

Haechan merely groaned against your cunt with a mouthful of pussy and the noise was powerful enough to kill you. You were already seeing god. 

Your back arched off the mattress, your hips driving into his face. You couldn’t get enough either. He was making you greedy and you didn’t even understand what for. All you knew was that you wanted him and the attraction was so fervent it was undeniable now. The boy between your thighs had a mutual thought. The room was a hundred degrees hotter than it had been before, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t feel the heat from the outside, too engrossed with how besotted and hot for you he was internally.

He was going to get you to climax even if it was the last thing he did, not that you were far from finishing. And when you thought things couldn’t possibly get any better, he stuffed a pair of fingers inside your pussy. 

The bedroom was too hot to breathe in. You kept panting, kept crying out Haechan’s name, pulling at his locks of hair as you pleased. And he let you. Your body was so indecisive, arching into him but flexing away involuntarily, as if it couldn’t decide what it wanted. 

“Don’t stop. Please,” you cried out. 

Your body only knew him right now, on the verge of going numb because of how sensitive and swollen your clit was. Haechan did the opposite of slow down. He was undeterred and absolutely nothing would stop him from bringing you to climax while he went down on you like a madman. You could feel the heat gathering in your thigh, like it would consume you at any given moment. 

It was practically over for you when he continued to finger your sweet spot, dragging his fingers in and out of your perfect cunt. You were a whirlwind of excitement, less and less able to keep still the longer he sucked and fucked, and touched on you. You could feel sweat on your back and chest. “I’m gonna cum,” you warned. 

“Cum,” Haechan told you, voice a little deeper. “I want you to cum, baby.”

The pressure was building. And it kept coming. There were no peaks, no limits. Like steady rainfall in the forest. 

You cried out his name one last time before your orgasm got the best of you, making you shudder and shake, and tangle your fingers deeper into his head of hair. The whole world stopped for a second. But Haechan kept tasting you through your climax, not stopping until it was over. You arched off the bed, too many sensations hitting you at once. 

When the last of your high faded your back hit the mattress with a thud. You were completely out of breath, a couple of tears forming a shroud in your eyes while they gathered at your lashes. You were finally broken. 

But with your permission, Haechan went down on you one final time after that. For safe measure. Haechan finally pulled back once you’d cum for a second time, meeting your stare, but the eye contact only lasted for a couple of seconds because you couldn’t take yours off of his slick lips. He licked your release nonchalantly and something primal took over you. You were feeling less and less like a woman. More like a beast.

Haechan, grinning to himself as he took notice of how defeated you looked, cocked his brow at you expectantly. “So?” 

Ah. You had asked him if he was any good. “Mind numb,” you panted. “Can’t think.”

Haechan laughed. Feeling a little less lethargic than before, you clambered over to him, tugging at his boxers. You could see the print of his hard dick against it. 

“Someone’s impatient,” Haechan teased. 

“Someone’s not moving fast enough,” you shot back, pulling them down for him to step out of. You gawked, licking your lips at the sight. Fuck, he was huge. You should’ve known. 

You glanced up at him with a little glimmer in your eyes, asking, “Can I suck you off?” 

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” you replied, your lips dry from how much your tongue passed over them. He was just so fucking mouth-watering. You wanted a taste badly. 

There was no way Haechan could tell you no when you looked at him with that sexy gleam in your eyes. Plus he wasn’t at all against feeling your mouth on his dick. “Alright,” he said, playing nonchalant. 

Haechan moved to sit on your bed and you crept between his thighs, sitting on your knees. You spat in your hand and grabbed his dick, only pumping him in your fist for the meanwhile. 

Then, you slowly transitioned into swirling your tongue around his dick, though not yet drawing him inside your mouth. You were toying with him, trying to see how much he could take, and Haechan realized very quickly that you were pushing his buttons. Which was strange. That was his thing. But he kinda liked it. 

A high-pitched moan left him when you finally - fucking finally - started to take him past your lips, hollowing your cheeks, and he fisted your hair behind you. Giving you a full scan, Haechan realized how sexy you looked sucking him off, kneeled between his legs with that sexy ass stare in your eyes gazing up at him. You must have known it was his kryptonite. 

And you did. Meeting his stare, you could read him just by looking at his handsome face. It was your time to be a smug little bitch. You wanted to break him, just like he had broken you. “Fuck, baby. Like that,” Haechan grunted, throwing his head back. Which meant you must have been doing something right.

You were feeling benevolent and took him deeper inside your mouth while wrapping your fist around whatever was still available. There were many sensations on his dick and it was doing something inexplicably unhinged to his brain. 

One look at his face made you feel extremely accomplished. His features were tensed and his lips were parted. I’ll suck the soul outta that dick any day to see that face, you thought very amusedly to yourself, resisting a chuckle. 

You pried yourself away for a while, still looking into his eyes, and taunted, “Too much for you, baby boy?”

“Never,” Haechan retorted, voice airy and light. Like he was on some fucking cloud. 

You lifted a brow, amused, though in that case, decided it was time to up the stakes. You sucked him a little faster, taking him a little further until he hit the back of your throat. Very eager and deliberate. 

Haechan was losing whatever was left of his goddamn mind. His thighs trembled, cock twitching inside your mouth. You were doing unspeakable things to him right now and he was absolutely obsessed. Your tongue touched the base of his dick and your free hand squeezed his bare thigh. God-fucking-damn, was all Haechan could think. Literally. His mind was numb, thanks to you. In a matter of minutes, his legs would probably be as well.  

A couple of tears gathered in your eyes, but you willed yourself to power through. You couldn’t be finished until he was finished. You were way too resolved to make him unravel. At the sensation of your warm mouth, Haechan whimpered, “Fuck,” grabbing and using your hair. 

His sounds were just so fucking hot. You wanted to record them so that you could put them on loop. Arousal seeped between your thighs, but you ignored it, just for his sake. 

Some time had passed since your last blowjob. It was good to know that your mouth was still spectacular, if his sensitive movements and high-pitched moans were any indicator. You squeezed your thighs together. There was throbbing between your legs. Mutual chaos. Mutual destruction. The two of you were a very, very unlikely duo.

Haechan was warm to the touch everywhere you touched him, blood circulating through him swiftly like a Shanghai maglev. You traced your fingers up and down his thighs, giving them a little pinch, and were surprised to find he was incredibly pliant. You little freak, you thought teasingly. You jotted down a mental note to playfully scold him later, too concentrated on stringing him to climax. 

The male before you looked a total of seconds away from malfunctioning altogether. You were making short work of him like no other girl and it was giving him much to think about.

Your nails found purchase in his thigh, dragging your nails down the flesh and leaving little red lines, just before you brought one of your hands to his cock again. You’d been pulling out all the stops to chase him closer to the finish. Every other thought on your mind vanished as you fixed all of your attention on making him cum. Haechan had the same thought, involuntarily bucking his hips as he tried to fuck your mouth.

You let him control the pace, let him do whatever he needed to finish. You moaned around his shaft again, sending vibrations that shook him. A little longer and he wouldn’t last. 

“I’m coming. Shit, babe. Keep going…,” he mumbled, winding his fingers through your scalp again. His pace was erratic. It was all you could do not to choke, giving him permission to use you to get himself off. And it was too fucking hot. You were in disbelief. 

Haechan tried to be careful, not wanting to trouble you, but you knew what you were doing and he couldn’t exactly control his impulses. His impulses controlled him. You sucked and swallowed, all good and pliant. 

Seconds later, Haechan was orgasming, painting the back of your throat with cum. His thighs shook and you could physically feel his dick twitch inside your mouth as he released. He moaned your name loud enough to wake the neighbors. 

You took as much of his load as you could fit inside your mouth, but as it turned out, Haechan came a lot. Some dripped from your chin and you wiped it with the back of your hand. When he let go of your hair, you pulled back, just watching your handiwork smugly. You mocked, “So?”

Haechan blinked, like it would clear the invisible haze. He was barely handling the stimulation. You were undoubtedly one of the best he’d ever had and he was officially sprung with you. “High fucking hell,” he groaned. 

You giggled. That was answer enough. 

For an uncertain amount of hours (nobody was counting), you and Haechan took turns finishing each other, even sixty-nining once or twice till you needed a break. 

“Okay, timeout. I can’t feel my dick,” Haechan sighed after a while, surprising himself. Usually, he wore other people out. Not the other way around, but the two of you were in a competition to see who could exhaust the other first. Haechan realized then and there that you were matching his energy and it shocked the hell out of him, because that was a first. He was even more interested in you now. 

You chortled and collapsed on the bed. You were also having some revelations, but you kept them to yourself. He hasn’t even asked to put his dick in me, you realized after a moment. He was definitely a pussy fiend, but he hadn’t even fucked you and it’d been ages. 

That was a first. 

You held your chin in your face while staring at him. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

Haechan looked high as hell and he hadn’t done a single drug in your presence. “Not as we speak,” he replied quietly. “Other than playing pool with Jaemin later and giving you that vinyl, I don’t exactly have plans.”

“You should still rest,” you told him assertively. “Do you wanna stay the night?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

You smiled, resisting a squeal to contain your excitement. You patted the spot beside you, gesturing for him to come over. Which he did. “Goodnight,” you whispered.

“Goodnight, beautiful,” Haechan said, blowing a kiss your way.

You rolled your eyes, but quickly devolved into giggles and tangled yourself in his arms. 

Sleep came easy for you that night and had you not forgotten to turn off your alarm, you would have slept past noon. You could feel the sunlight on your face and flipped over, desperate to escape its brightness. 

That was when the memories of last night slammed into you like an eighteen-wheeler. Haechan’s fingers tangled in your hair and his mouth between your legs. Sleep had sobered you, the inebriety of lust distant, save for the ache that lingered in your thigh. Your heart fluttered for a second, but it was gone the second you noticed the man you’d spent all night with had disappeared, his arms no longer thrown around your waist. 

You started to worry then. There was no note on your nightstand. You immediately grabbed your phone from your bedside table, hopeful of finding some sort of message, but Haechan didn’t even have the courtesy to leave a text or voicemail. Bitterness seeped into your chest as you assumed the worst. He’s had his fun and now he’s done, you thought disdainfully. Why you expected him to be any different was beyond you. 

You threw on your robe and slipped on your slippers before stomping downstairs, full of attitude in large quantities. Maybe it was for the better that you didn’t exactly let him hit. But you still felt stupid, because you would have. If he would have asked. 

But he didn’t. 

Thoughts of hunger broke your reverie when you smelled eggs from the kitchen, which was strange, because you were certain that nobody was there. You grabbed a vase off a nearby table and approached the kitchen with slow, cautious strides. 

A part of you hoped it was only Haechan, but surely enough, you were taken aback when you got an amazing view of his back while he faced your stove. 

Haechan is here - and he’s cooking? 

You shook your head. This man was full of surprises. 

Haechan was none the wiser, humming to himself, and didn’t even realize you were present until he turned around to grab something from the island. “Good morning,” he said sweetly. He pointed to the vase in your hands. “Thought I was a killer?”

“You scared the shit out of me,” you sighed, walking over to the island and sitting the vase down. 

Haechan grinned. “Why - you didn’t think I was gonna still be here?”

You didn’t have to answer that question. And you wouldn’t be. You didn’t like that he saw through you so clearly, it made you feel transparent. Changing the topic, you asked, “What you cooking?”

“Omelets,” he replied nonchalantly, fixed to the stove again. “I know we technically had breakfast not too long ago, but I saw how much you liked omelets.”

Something fluttered in your chest. It was sweet, dare you say. 

“That’s really thoughtful of you,” you whispered, getting comfortable at the island. 

“I’m a thoughtful guy.”

“That you are.”

Comfortable silence enveloped you in its wholeness. For the first time since you met him, if it was worth noting. Neither of you liked the quiet very much - silence gave too much room for thinking - but you didn’t mind it right now.

Haechan slipped a steaming omelet from the pan to your plate masterfully, handing you a knife and fork. You opened your mouth to thank him, but he beat you, finally starting, “Speaking of thinking, I been, well, thinking. And I need you to not go ghost on me after this.”

Your eyes flickered, but you glanced at your plate to hide your surprise, cutting off a morsel. “Why would I do that?” you asked. 

Haechan shrugged his shoulders, but ranted, “I just hate when you think shit tight with a girl, and then after you hook up, they don’t wanna keep in touch anymore.”

“Huh,” you mumbled. “Funny. I feel the same way.”

Haechan took the seat beside you. His eyes met yours, something sober in them. “I say all of this to say that I like where this is going and I want to see you again. But if you’re not on the same page, let me know right now.”

“I’m on the same page.”

He pressed, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Haechan,” you replied, setting down your knife. “If I didn’t want to keep seeing you after this, I would tell you in no uncertain terms. I’m having fun.”

Haechan nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” you repeated. “This is really, really good, by the way. Where’d you learn to cook?”

The boyish smile was back on Haechan’s handsome face. “Everything I know I owe to my parents,” he said. “This particularly to my mother.”

You taunted, “Ah. You a Momma’s boy?”

Haechan chuckled. “Something like that, yeah.”

Almost endearing. You got a mental picture of a tiny Haechan peaking around the corner, watching his mother cook, and it brought a smile to your lips. 

Both of you talked over breakfast. You got orange juice out of the fridge for you to drink and spent what was left of the morning chattering incessantly. You finally accepted that you liked Haechan. Maybe unconsciously, you’d been fighting it because of your ex. 

As of now, you were playing tug-of-war with your heart. On the one hand, there was a part of you that lingered over him and it still felt forbidden to be interested in other men. But one swift reminder that he was interested in other girls while apparently being interested in you, and all the feelings you had for him dissolved into resentment. 

Plus you weren’t exactly ready for another relationship, nor did you completely trust Haechan yet, but on the other hand, he made you forget all about the bastard that hurt you. And how it felt to be hurt. 

Needless to say, you would be seeing him again. Haechan made you feel something you hadn’t felt in a long, long time. 

You were sad when he had to leave, picking up his clothes that were scattered across your entire condo and redressing himself, but gladly kissed him goodbye. On the cheek. For various reasons.

Besides, you would be seeing him later on that day anyways. You both had things to take care of. 

Chaewon was sporting the biggest smile you’d ever seen when you climbed into the back of the taxi with her. You expected a stern reprimanding, given that you hadn’t returned any of her calls or texts since last night, but somehow this was worse.

“Don’t even,” was the first thing you said when you entered the backseat. 

Chaewon grinned mischievously, singing, “You’re glowing.”

“Yes. There’s this cool thing called a skin care routine. You may have heard of it,” you deadpanned. 

Chaewon wriggled her eyebrows. “Does this skin care routine consist of Lee Haechan’s semen?”

You grimaced. “Gross.”

“You guys totally boned, didn’t you?” she asked. Though it was less of a question and more of a declaration. You hoped the driver was tuning both of you out.

“Jesus, Chae. Good morning to you, too,” you replied boredly. 

“Good morning, bestie. Now did you or did not you bone Haechan?”

You just rolled your eyes. She was relentless. “Okay, fine,” you started, sighing out a little. “We hooked up.”

“I fucking knew it,” Chaewon exclaimed. 

You added sharply, “But we didn’t have sex. It was strictly head.”

Chaewon gave you a look. “Girl, seriously? How was it?”

You pretended to think about it. Memories of last night plagued you. You couldn’t get the image of Haechan strumming you to climax out of your head. You admitted quietly, “He made me see a star or two. Maybe a galaxy. Maybe another universe.”

Chaewon clasped her hands together and made a squealing noise of excitement. 

All you could do was shake your head. But you couldn’t deny that all of your doubts and hesitations about Haechan had been converted into an inexplicable will to see him again. You had an impulse to smile and faced the window so that she couldn’t see. 

“You’re smiling,” Chaewon teased, watching your reflection. 

“I’m not.”

Chaewon nudged you with her elbow. “Come on, girl. You deserve this. You deserve to be happy.”

“I am happy. And I don’t need a man to be happy,” you quickly replied. 

Chaewon frowned. “You know that’s not what I meant. You’ve obviously been down in the dumps since you called off the engagement and I think it’s a good thing you’re letting yourself be a little more lax.”

You let out a disgruntled groan.

Chaewon slipped her fingers through yours and continued, “No one’s saying that you’ve gotta jump the broom. With how hard you’ve worked all these years, you deserve to play.”

“I know, and that’s all he is. We’re just playing around,” you assured her in spite of the fact that nobody questioned it in the first place. “We’re just kickin’ it.”

Chaewon squeezed your hand. 

Meanwhile, Haechan was across town with a friend of his own. 

“I’ve got a question for you, man,” Haechan started after a total of three minutes of silence. 

Jaemin slung his head back and whined, “Oh, brother.”

He had seen it coming from a mile away. Haechan treated silence like the black plague and when he wasn’t chatting his friends ears off for every second of every minute, he was thinking. Of course, Jaemin knew his friend well enough, so it was no doubt he had a question. 

Truth be told, Haechan hadn’t stopped thinking about you since he left your condo. The endless hours of chatter, you dancing in his arms, the sex. All of it was giving him a lot of shit to ponder. 

“It’s been weighing on my mind for a while,” he continued, choosing his words carefully. “Do you think you’re with the someone you’re meant to be with?”

“You mean like my soulmate?”

Haechan gave him a nod, although Jaemin was too busy resting the cue between his fingers. “Yeah, like your other half or some shit like that. The one you’ll live for and die with.”

Sparing his friend a couple seconds worth of a glance, Jaemin paused his endeavors and mulled the question over. “You know, not everybody wants to be in love. But everybody wants to be loved,” he began. “People who get in relationships solely to feel loved don’t know what love is.”

“What’s that gotta do with my question?”

Jaemin shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t trade the love Winter and I share with each other for the world, but what nobody tells you about love is that it has its fair share of ups and downs. There’s bad days and disagreements. Not everybody wants to deal with that.”

“That’s some profound shit, brother,” Haechan teased. 

“Whatever, man. I’m just saying that the idea that love has no bounds is false. I’d give my life for Winter and I wanna marry her someday, but we’ve both got boundaries because love is mutual respect.”

Haechan’s mind was adrift again. He was thinking.

Jaemin connected the dots, blocking the corner pocket with his hand. “Now wait just a second. Don’t tell me this is about that girl.”

Haechan groaned, “What are you doing, man? Can I get my shot?”

“No, no, no. This is about that girl you brought over last night, isn’t it?” Jaemin asked. 

Now, Haechan was officially caught. He heaved a breath, stood to his full height, and said, “You just don’t get it, man. We were talking for hours and she could actually keep up with my bullshit. Not only that, but she understood. Then, I get her in the sheets, and man.”

Jaemin snickered. “I’m guessing it was good?”

“Understatement of the year,” Haechan sighed loudly. “I mean, we didn’t even fuck. She volunteered to suck me off. She left me mind-blown, you hear me? Mind-blown. I can still feel my thighs shaking.”

Jaemin whistled. “Goddamn. So, you think she’s your soulmate?”

“Nah, man,” Haechan replied nonchalantly, setting his cue back on the table. “She’s impressive. That’s all. We’re just kickin’ it. You know I don’t do the whole love thing anymore.”

Jaemin could sniff bullshit from a mile away but shifted his hand. “Alright, man. But when those jones come down,” he started, blunt. “It’s a motherfucker.”

Haechan’s eyes flickered.

[fillmargarin]

Eyepatch future AU wr

[taintandviolent]

Trick r' Treat ; James March x reader!

summary: 🎃 slightly AU!Halloween fic! Reader unknowingly lives next door to the James March and in the few glimpses she's gotten of him, she's become enamoured with him. When she gets the idea to trick or treat at his home (despite being an adult), she thinks it's the perfect plan to get them introduced. Little does she know, James has a hunger that isn't satisfied by giving out candy to kiddies.

word count & w a r n i n g s: 2.5k! | mentions of affluency, James being very forward and persuasive, very vague insinuations of James wanting to kill reader, mild smut; arousal, kissing/making out, dry humping.

a/n: requested by @juliamaximoff! i chose a photo of the ever-lovely madge bellamy because she's always in the back of my mind as reader when i'm writing JPM fics, but of course, reader can look however you do! apologies, i'm a little rusty writing, but hope this isn't too dreadful. comments and reblogs are always appreciated! divider by @/strangergraphics

full fic under cut! ↓ / ao3 link here! / I don’t have a taglist, but please turn on post notifications if you’d like to be notified of future fics!

You’d never spoken to him, but you were enchanted with him.

Oh, it sounded dreadful when you said it like that. 

You never knew what he did, but he was well off. More so than your parents were, decidedly. You still lived with them, and thankfully too, because if you hadn’t, you might not have seen him. Nearly every morning, you’d see him leave for work, bright eyed and bushy tailed, always in a sharp suit, sometimes a bowler hat, sometimes without. Each time you saw him, he was so, so, so dreadfully handsome. Some nights, he wouldn’t come home and on those nights, you would sadly slink away from your window, defeated. 

Every glimpse of him was savored. 

Which is why the plan you had devised was perfect. Or nearly. You hadn’t quite worked out what you’d say to him once you were in front of him, but… you’d cross that bridge once you got to it. 

Once you’d dressed yourself, you grabbed the small pumpkin shaped pail and headed out the door. You’d rehearsed in your head a million times; trick or treat. That’s all you had to say once he opened the door – it was a fairly new concept, this trick or treating business, but it was wildly popular and had taken the country by storm. Mostly for children… but you weren’t going to focus on that. 

The short walk was enough to send a chill up your spine. A gust of wind blew its way around you, fluttering your delicate costume around your form. As you made it up to his door, you gripped the knocker, banging it against its plaque three times. You withdrew your hand, and dropped it down next to your side. 

Trick or treat.

After a few moments, the door opened easily, revealing that same sharply dressed man. He looked like he did when he was leaving for work; dressed to the nines in his pressed suit. He held a pipe in his right hand, which he brought to his mouth, puffing on it.

“Well,” he said, smoke flowing from his mouth as he looked carefully over your costume. You watched him as his eyes flitted over every detail, pleased with what he was seeing. You’d chosen it earlier that month, and were admittedly very proud of it. It was a butterfly; with sequined wings attached to your wrists, while a sequined bodice hugged you tightly. Long, graceful pieces of chiffon flowed from the bottom of the bodice, accentuating your figure even more. “I expected children tonight… but you…” 

He paused, puffing on his pipe again. He exhaled, and held his arms out, almost theatrically. 

“My dear, you are ravishing!” he exclaimed, his dark eyes wide. 

Here it was. The moment you hadn’t planned for. You were in front of him, and now? You swallowed back your nerves, hiding any indication that you were unsure of yourself and thrust your small jack-o-lantern forward. With a demure smile, you meekly said: “Trick or treat?” 

Immediately, he reached forward, taking hold of one of your wrists. He tugged on it with such power that your grip broke free from the handle and turned your delicate hand over in his large one, softly running the pad of his middle finger along your palm. It sent a tingling sensation up the length of your arm, which instinctively jerked, but he held you fast. 

Your stomach was in knots. And butterflies, with much stronger wings than your own, hammered around in your ribcage. From afar, you’d been enchanted but up close, you were ardently, and  wholeheartedly obsessed. His eyes were like circles of coal, black as the night above you, but somehow, pulled you in a way you’d never experienced before. Neither of you said anything for a moment, as if you both were savoring the silence, and taking lungfuls of each other’s existence.    

“Perhaps… you desire a treat of a different kind. Something sweeter.” 

You felt your cheeks warm at his words. 

“Please,” he said, tugging you in a little further. You nearly lost your footing on the edge of his threshold, but regained composure, and took a single step towards him. Sensing some apprehension, he smiled warmly… invitingly, and quickly stepped to your side. 

“My name is James March. I own a hotel downtown.” He said, as he lured you deeper and deeper into his lavish home, as if the information would soothe your mind that he was a good man. He wasn’t, but that was none of your concern.  “Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The Hotel Cortez.” 

You let out a tiny gasp. You had, of course. Anyone who lived in Los Angeles had heard of the luxurious new hotel that had opened up on South Olive Avenue – and here you were, in his home. Your mother would be proud. Wouldn’t she? 

Your head pivoted from side to side as he guided you inside, taking in the beautifully designed house. It was art-deco, and elaborate in decor. But pitch black in all the corners. It was darker than you liked, and the darkness loomed from all the corridors, inviting you deeper with lengthy, unseen fingers.

You shivered and turned your attention back to him. His, seemingly, had never left yours. You weren’t even sure he’d blinked. 

“Surely, you’re hosting a Halloween party at the hotel?” 

“That was last night, my little butterfly. Devil’s Night is my night for celebrating.”

The comment unsettled you, though you couldn’t pinpoint why. You suspected it was because he’d called you his little butterfly and that was much more of an interesting thing to focus on. 

You smiled softly. 

He led you into a drawing room of sorts, a large room with a massive fireplace and windows that looked out onto the yard. The fireplace wasn’t lit, but the few wall sconces were, casting eerie, long shadows onto the floor. After only a few seconds, James’ hands seemed to crawl up your arms and around your back. He pulled you quickly towards him, compressing your body against his. You were toe to toe with him then, and the sensation thrilled you. 

James panted, as though he’d just run a mile. He hadn’t, but the feeling of being close to you was enough to get his systems running. You stood stock still, still clutching your Halloween pail in your hand. His arm wrapped around your waist, tugging you lightly a few times. As if on cue, your body melted into his, muscles loosening against his grip. 

“You’ll have to forgive my… ravenous demeanor. I’m taken by your luminous beauty. Captivated by it! Enamored with it!”

You shivered in his clutches, feeling his body pressing tight against yours. His arms wound around you more firmly, like a snake. You hadn’t expected the interaction to go this way, but you weren’t complaining. Not in the slightest. 

“I live across from you, you know.” You said abruptly, looking up into his inky hues. 

“Do you?”

“Mhm,” you say, nuzzling your cheek against his chest. Your free hand floated up, resting on his chest next to your face. “I do.” 

“And you’ve never come to introduce yourself before this spectacular holiday? My, what manners.” 

His hand came up from your arm to your chin, where he carefully lifted it. You yielded to his power, and your eyelids drooped shut as his lips pressed against yours. His moustache tickled your top lip, but the feeling was oh so divine – the way he kissed you oozed control, opulence and promises of what was to come. 

He kissed you like that for so long that you had to pull away, gasping for air. If you were being honest with yourself, it almost frightened you – the way he kissed you. It frightened you how it made you feel, and how hungrily he devoured you, without so much as a word. You searched his eyes, desperately.

“Don’t you speak to me about manners. Not after a kiss like that….” 

He hummed low in satisfaction and pulled you back in again, this time, allowing his tongue to sweep across your bottom lip, hungrily tasting your essence. You shuddered again, unable to control the physical reaction your body had. You’d been kissed only a handful of times, but never like he kissed you. It was an all-consuming feeling, one that you felt pooling deep in your stomach. There was an undeniable warmth on your rouged cheeks and between your legs. He kissed you deeper, the wet muscle swirling with yours. 

He paused for only a moment, to lead you to the large sofa that sat adjacent to the fireplace. After urging you down onto  it, he joined you, sitting next to you. Then, carefully, he untied the ribbons from your wrists, allowing the wings to fall down your back. His hands trailed up the beaded bodice, fingers raking over the smooth beads and though it was impossible, you swore you could feel the warmth of his hands as they caressed your sides, ghosting over the ornate fabric. Nimbly, he clasped the zipper pull at your side between his thumb and pointer finger, pulling it down abruptly. The dress fell apart underneath your arm, and to your surprised delight, his fingers slipped against your ribcage. 

Ahh, he thought. Warm flesh. There. So alive.  

“A treat, indeed…” He crooned. With an already lust-blown gaze, you looked into his eyes and leaned into him, taciturnly begging for another kiss. He obliged, of course, by capturing your face in his hands and lifting your head to his own. Again, his mouth found yours, but not before peppering kisses up along the length of your jaw, and nipping at the soft, supple flesh there. You yelped quietly, never having felt the teeth of a man on your skin. He was like a beast. A very well-dressed, lethally handsome beast. 

Those were the worst kind. 

“I didn’t really come here for candy, Mr. March…” 

“I know, my sweet. I know exactly what you came for.”

You felt your back lean against the curve of the sofa as he eased you back into it, his body weight atop yours. Your breath caught in your throat again, for the umpteenth time that night. You were incredulous over the fact that despite never having spoken to him, you were suddenly in his arms, underneath him while he assaulted you with hungry kisses, marking your neck and face. 

You felt a pressure against your inner thigh, a pressure you knew all too well. You hitched your hip up, pressing back against him and James responded by hissing sharply through his teeth. 

“Little devil,” he crooned low, looking into your eyes with a desperate glare. 

He urged himself against you again, clearly testing your boundaries. Much to his surprise, you had none. You spread your legs a little bit wider, allowing him in. He positioned his hips between yours and the throbbing pressure then pressed against your center. You felt it twitch against you, and hummed a happy, delirious little sound. His hips ground against yours, the outline of his cock heavy and straining against the fabric of his trousers. 

He thrust into you and you whined. It was a high pitched sound that echoed off the walls, and James seemed… over enamored by this. You watched as the gears turned. 

Her screams….  He thought, madly looking at you as your chest rose and fell so rhythmically. …her screams must be divine…. 

He thrust again, harder that time, and you gripped the back of his neck desperately, letting out another little vocalization. 

He thrust once more, and you felt your breasts bounce underneath your dress, moving with the robust animalism of his thrusts. Blistering heat pooled between your legs; you weren’t sure where his warmth ended and yours began. It didn’t matter. Your lids were heavy with arousal as you clamored, gripping the back of his neck to brace yourself for the oncoming thrusts.

But they didn’t come. He clenched his teeth, looking down at you with a curbed hunger. 

“Ah, I mustn’t.” he said suddenly. 

“You mustn’t?” You echoed, sounding somewhat dejected. 

“As much as I want to,” he started, stroking the side of your face. “I must exercise strength.”

You felt the muscles in your face turn down, clearly disheartened. 

“No…” you cooed, gripping the front of his suit jacket in your delicate hands. “You must. You don’t understand, I’ve spent months watching you… oh, you must forgive me for how that sounds, but it’s the truth! I have, I can see you from my bedroom window, and every morning you leave, I’m there, watching.” 

Wide-eyed, almost crazed. He looked enamored with the news; like he’d been told he’d won the lottery. “Is that so?” 

“Yes! Yes!” You tugged on his collar again, pulling him back into you. The small amount of space he’d interjected between you was unbearable. “Please… don’t stop.” 

“Awh,” he moaned, sympathetically. “How delicious.” 

“Mr. March –” 

“James.” 

“James, please.”

You urged your hips against his, sweeping them back and forth. He was hardened above you, so why on Earth did he want to stop? The question baffled you. 

His grip on the back of the sofa abandoned its post and immediately clamped onto your wrist. Hard. You winced slightly, though the arousal didn’t leave your core. 

“My little butterfly… You flew to my door, of all doors, and you’re so willing– but we must control ourselves.” He paused, and his dark irises drifted to the side, almost dreamily. 

Finally, after a few moments, he said " again. “Perhaps you’d like to visit me at the Hotel.” 

“The Hotel?” You questioned. A tempting invite, but one that you weren’t sure you cared for at the current moment. What was he going to do? Give you a grand tour? When he already had you right where he wanted you? 

“Yes, my Hotel.” 

“Why… yes, yes I would, but why can’t we – “ 

He shushed you, stuttering out shh’s. “All in due time.”

He stood up and that’s when you noticed the outline of his rock hard cock. You averted your gaze, feeling embarrassed by it, and looked up to him as he loomed over you. James made quick work of retying your ribbons and zipping up your dress. Wordlessly, he took your hand, lifted you from the sofa and guided you back to the front door, opened it and gently pushed you outside. 

“Friday, six o’clock. Six-one-seven south—”

“Olive street.” You said as you turned around, looking up at him as he stood in front of his door. “I know where it is. Everyone does, James.”

His ego swelled, much like his dick had. He was inexplicably pleased that you were so taken by him, but he had to restrain himself. At least until he had you in the confines of the Cortez. He nodded once, curtly. 

You hesitated a moment to see if he was going to change his mind. When he didn’t, you turned and headed back down the road you’d walked up only an hour ago. 

And he waited in the chill of the night, watching as you retreated into the darkness with a pleased grin across his face. 

And  he waited some more. 

He waited until the light went on in a window adjacent to his home. The silhouette of a woman appeared between the curtains, and James smiled, lifting his hand in a polite wave.

“I’ll have you, my little butterfly. Fret not.”

[powertaco]

The tale of the ultimate huntress, and housewife Ruby Rose - Promptmas 10

In Ruby's opinion life with Weiss gets better every day. She gets to go out, and help people by fighting Grimm, and Weiss gets to help people by making things better with the company.

She knows Weiss is really tired sometimes though so it's up to her to make sure she has the best day ever anytime she can. Weiss deserves it after all.

This fic is for a super cool cat by the name of @fillmargarin based on their future WR au! I hope you like it buddy! They did all the art so PRAISE THEM!

[tspud-whiteboard]

[Full Previews, Final Files and Extras can be found on GoogleDrive!] !!! THE DEADLINE HAS ARRIVED !!! (End of June it was) I am currently working on putting together the final files, but as this might take a while, YOU CAN STILL KEEP SENDING ME YOUR FELLAS! Once I’ve prepared the actual, finished, fullsize versions, this pinned post will unpin itself and I’ll put a different one here, with the final previews, the download links and some information what the future may hold... maybe I’ll do a Season Two if the interest is there. But we’ll have to see about that. For now, [SUBMIT MORE] like the wind while you still can! Hello, hello! Welcome to The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe Whiteboard Collaboration (a just-for-fun fan project)! I’m assuming that you found your way here because you’re well aware what The Stanley Parable is, and that you are curious to know what a Whiteboard Collaboration might be about!

Let me cut straight to the case then. It all started in 2023 - the 27th of April, to be precise - which just so happened to be the One Year Anniversary for the release of The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe on Steam and consoles, along with the historically very important and internationally renowned - or at the very least grudgingly accepted - 4/27: STANLEY DAY!

To celebrate the occasion, and only one day too late on the 28th, an idea came forth to put together a Whiteboard, containing all those Stanleys by all the fan artists out there (all credited, of course!), a worthy tribute to the Man of the Hour! And as you can see... we’ve already got quite a few collected!

But why stop there? Since plenty of people also came up with their own Narrator designs, and there’s a good few Timekeeper-Settings-432s and Curators, and plenty of other characters (defining the term loosely here), we might as well give them all their own little space to look absolutely dashing next to each other! Imagine, all those different designs, united in one glorious collection!

My point being... I’d love to see yours in there as well.

So... how can you join in?

The gist can be found up there in the first image, but let me also put it into text form down here, with some extra information:

[Submit] your Stanley, Narrator, 432 or Curator mugshot (or all of them at the same time!). You have [some other canon TSP favorite]? Go ahead, submit ‘em, too! We’ll find a spot. The format of the picture needs to be 300px (width) x 400px (height) to fit with the others. I can resize and cut them into shape if needed, but it’ll be easier on all of us if I don’t have to do that. All pictures will have a small white frame added by me afterwards, to give them that authentic printout flair.

Should the [Submit] button not work for you (I triple-checked and it works for me, but then who knows what this thing does while I’m not looking), sending your artworks through PM or tell me where you posted them is fine as well!

AUs and all art styles are fine! Please only submit one picture per character (if you have more than one design, maybe pick your favorite, or elegantly squeeze them into one picture. If you absolutely cannot decide, sending two pictures per character is okay, but I’d like to cap it there to give everyone equal amounts of space.

Must be Safe For Work!

This is also very important: Tell me how to credit you! Your name will go under your artwork, I do have to put something there. I’ll likely default to your username if I have nothing else to go by, but it’s best if you directly tell me, right there in your submission.

I will publish your submission(s) on here as soon as I’ve added it to the queue, so you’ll know it went through okay, and so you can show it around to others if you wish! (I can’t do that with PMs, of course.)

THE DEADLINE: Please try to submit your artworks before the End of June! Yes, 2023. This month. In this year. There’s a chance I’ll change this if a sudden influx of new entries rolls in, but as of now it looks like it’s a good time to start wrapping this up. I want my life back and all. ...But prove me wrong, why don’tcha? Why not tell your favorite TSP artists that they NEED TO BE ON THIS THING? NEED TO! WE CRAVE THEM, PRECIOUS. ...Sorry, got carried away there.

I give updates regularily. Previews of the latest Whiteboard statuses, questions that need answering, sometimes I might just add some nonsense rambles, all inclusive, for free.

The FINAL files, whenever they’re ready, will be 8000x4000px in size each and are mostly a much bigger version of the previews, with maybe a few small changes for the aesthetics.That’s quite massive. Humongous. It’s really impressive to browse all those artworks next to each other at that size. Here’s the [Google Drive] link, for all to download from and share around. So far, you can always find the latest Previews and a bunch of random Extras there, along with the first fullsize Stanley board as a test. Please do make suggestions if there’s better options, or if you can’t drive the Google.

I also post on Twitter and the Crows Crows Crows Discord server (fanart channel). If either of those are more comfortable options for you, or if you know someone on there who might also be interested in joining this collaboration, maybe poke me so I can give you directions. Or you might be able to find it yourself, I’m not actively hiding them away. Not even passively.

I think that’s all for now! If you have questions, suggestions, reservations, my Asks should be open. Looking forward to hopefully a lot more additions to the Whiteboards, there’s quite a few of you guys I’d loooove to see on there!

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Hey, I'm looking for a fanfic in which LWJ assuming that he somehow impregnated WWX in his dreams when WWX says that he birthed Wen Yuan, I remember reading this fanfic on ao3, but I can't find it. There's a fanfic that looks like the one I want. called Taking Responsibility, but it's not what I'm looking for. please if anyone knows, help me 😭😭😭😭😭 @narablackpotter

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2. I read a fic (obviously), one key scene is LWJ has OCD and needs to feed LXC’s pet snake a defrosted mouse and has a bit of a panic attack while doing it. WWX eventually steps in to help feed the pet. LWJ then obsessively cleans the kitchen. There is a balcony near the kitchen.

So, LXC is dating NMJ and they are living together and are together but somehow LWJ doesn’t know. WWX needs a place to stay. He is an art student and is applying to universities in London, I think. NHS offers to let him stay at the apartment. NHS is also staying there in NMJ’s “room” which is like a workout room with a futon. So, WWX is sleeping on a sofa that's a bit too small for him. Eventually it turns into "there was only one bed" (maybe).

I hope you can help!! @dreamlandtrees

FOUND? Adventures in Pet Sitting by raitala (E, 63k, wangxian, modern, hurt/comfort, artist WWX, maths nerd LWJ, LWJ pov, comphet LWJ, self-realization, coming out, London, sharing a bed, exploring sexuality, pining, fluff & angst, happy ending) I'm still in the middle of reading this so the scene described hasn't come up yet but the premise is the same!

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3. hi~~ <3 for the next fic finder i was hoping you might help me find a weird but good one! wen ning and wei ying were best friends and used code to talk to each other around other people but they were modern and using memes and references so the not modern everyone else couldnt understand them, and thought they were a wee bit crazy. At one point, wei ying gave lan xichen a doom prophecy of everything that was going to go down. It was so good and i miss it  lol. Thank you for any help!

FOUND? So Call Me a Pessimist, but I Don't Believe in It by Anonymous (Not Rated, 121k, WIP, WangXian, Food Issues, Family Feels, Possible future XiCheng, Transmigrator WWX, transmigration au, Slow Burn)

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4. There's this one fic on archiveofourown that I've been trying to find since ages ago.......

The fic has (maybe) foxxian, and he's an omega. It is kind of au, but when Wen Chao attacks Lotus Cove, Wuxian kills him when he tries to mate with Wei WuXian because his omega counterpart knows that he's not the alpha who can dominate him. Later, he brings Wen Chao's head to Jiang siblings after killing all the Wen people there at Lotus Cove.

This is the only thing I remember. It would be great if someone could help me find this fic because I'm gonna lose my mind soon if I can't find it again. Feel free to tag my account if someone finds this eventually and contacts you. Thanks in advance!! I hope to get a reply soon!!!! @nabi1118

FOUND? In Love and War by Cataclysmic_Calamity (E, 68k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Canon Divergence, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Arranged Marriage, Kind of a slow burn, enemies to lovers ish, rampant sexual tension, Miscommunication, past emotional abuse, Dubious Consent, Consensual Non-Consent, Semi-Public Sex, Anal Fingering, Dom/sub, Anal Sex) There's no foxxian, but everything else seems to be present

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5. For ficfinder, it's a time travel one. The scene I recall: WWX and I think JC were captured with JF by Wen Ruohan. After they defeat WR, LXC is a bit mad they killed MY since he was the spot, but WWX said "he killed uncle Jiang" and everyone accepted it. I really want to read that scene again but I've read approximately 70 billion time travel AUs so uh I need your help... @mreisse

FOUND? Hand in Hand Together (All Your Life) by sami (T, 41k, JC/WZL, WangXian, Asexual JC, Queerplatonic relationship, Implied future MingLi, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Slow Burn)

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6. Hi do you think you know this one fic where WWX came back from the burial mounds without memories and stuff? I remember he kinda knew who JC was, and that LWJ was playing the guqin to try and bring back WWX's memories. I think it also had WQ and JYL as a ship

FOUND? Helping Yourself by nirejseki (Not Rated, 1k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Temporary Amnesia, Short-Term Memory Loss)

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7. Hi! I'm looking for a fic where LZ proposes Weiying a threesome with Moyuanxu (no explicit sex scene described) in Modern Setting, which triggers WWX jealousy & wonders about LZ feelings bc he admits that 'boy Moyuanxu reminds him of WWX' (at the end). It starts when Mo is leaving after sex (he's LZ office's co-worker). The entire fic is ab Weiying questioning their relationship & explores both of 'em feelings after being together for so long. Prob cheating/unfaithful LanZhan. Happy ending. Tysm @einherjermineord

FOUND? give something new a try by ilip13 (E, 12k, wangxian, modern, established relationship, angst w/ happy ending, married life, insecurity, jealousy, mentioned threesome (WWX/MXY/LWJ))

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8. Hello! Please help me find this fic. Its a modern au where WWX and LWJ is theater actor. I think the setting is in acting department in university? The junior and WangXian practices for an oncoming show. In the past, WWX was kicked out from university and the reason he can play for this show is because of LWJ's recommendation. When its close to the day the show playing, LJY (and other junior i think) overheard that SS wants to blackmail WWX with the same material that makes WWX dissapear in the past. So they tried to investigate it and ask NHS for help (?). The material of that blackmail is WWX writes an essay and claim it as JWY's without JWY knowing. I think LQR already knows about that but decide it was already in the past (?). I think thats all i can remember. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

FOUND! stir things apart by azurewaxwing (T, 27k, WangXian, Modern AU, College AU, Fluff, Angst with a happy ending, Pining)

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9. hello, I don't know if you'll understand cause English is not my first language. I'm trying to find three fic(but one is a series) and i cant find them.

A) This series is an a/b/O universe. I think it was an arranged marriage between wei ying and lan zhan. It was to unite YunmengJiang and the GusuLan clans because of the war but madam yu didnt didnt want to send her children. The marriage wasn't supposed to be a happy one but lan zhan and wei ying mated on the night on their wedding and both of them had a mate Mark and in this verse is a big thing for an alpha to allow an omega to bite them, it gives an omega a higher status. The jiang siblings were jealous of wei ying for this as her marriage to jin zixuan wasnt a happy one and he didnt allow jiang yanli to bite him, so she had to now to wei ying as he is of higher status than yanli. Also lan sizhui is wei ying and lan zhan biological child.

B) This is like a fantasy where they we're all gods. Wei ying was bunished to his place for a crime he did not commit. Lan zhan firstly did not believe wei yinh but later realised his mistake. He went to live in wei yings palace. But wei ying was very angry and did not speak to him for many years but lan zhan managed to win him with his loyalty.

C) I don't remember the context of the story but what I remember is that lan zhan used to call wei ying san Lang

9A)

FOUND! Alliance AU by Ilona22 (E, 17k, wangxian, ABO, arranged marriage, intersex omegas, canon Jiang family dynamics, not JC friendly, matchmaking, night hunts) is the first in the Alliance series I think

9B)

FOUND! The Mark of a Phoenix by glowingreverie (G, 3k, wangxian, gods & goddesses au, angst w happy ending, betrayal)

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10. Hello! Hope everything's great! I've searching for a fic for a while now, I hope you can help me. I remember a couple of things about it:

-The Wen/WWX give A-Yuan to LWJ (because he got sick, I believe. And they couldn't help him. Or maybe just to get him out of the BG and the storm that was coming.)

-LWJ claimed him as his son and everyone believes he fathered a bastard. JGS even compared himself to LWJ and got shot down LMAO. In this scene LWJ asked JGY for future advise in how to raise his son so he would know life outside of the Great Sects' vision.

-LWJ composes a song and ask a street musician? to play it for him. I believe he cries. Words go out and everyone just talk about the tragic love between LWJ and a dead woman LOL Maybe WWX even sends a reply or something, I don't quite remember.

If you can help me find it, I'l appreciate it! Even then, thank you for the time! ♥︎♡♥︎ @randomhystericgeek

FOUND? Part 2: Han Guang Jun’s Son of Claiming Life from Death series by MarbleGlove (T, 3k, wangxian, canon divergence, rumors, lying is forbidden, but what is the truth)

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11. Hello again!!!

I need help finding a fic please!

I don’t remember much but I know that wwx and the juniors were on a night hunt or something when they came across some type of dog-like yao. Wwx fought it by himself even though he was scared shitless and I think he did something to restrain or protect the juniors so they couldn’t help him. I think he got injured and all the juniors were worrying over him. Sorry if this isn’t descriptive enough. It’s all I can remember 🥲 thanks in advance!!! @jikcf​

FOUND? heroic aftermath by Last_for_Hell (T, 5K, LSZ & WWX, JL & WWX, LJY & WWX, OYZZ & WWX, JL & LSZ & LJY & OYZZ, WangXian, Aftermath of Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt WWX, the juniors love wwx and he loves them too, Guilt, References to WWX’s Cynophobia, Implied Sexual Content)

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12. hi hi! Im trying to look for a wangxian fic but i barely remember anything of it.

the only thing i remember was the near ending where wwx is in a hospital bed and mutters "fuck me" and lwj "maybe later"

that's all i remember i'm so sorry 😔

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13. Hi! I’m looking for a tumblr fic. I think it’s in jiang cheng’s pov. Jiang Yanli comes back to life but the price of that is that Wei Wuxian loses all his memories of Lan Wangji. He eventually kills himself because of it. I don’t think it’s super Jiang Cheng positive and Jiang yanli doesn’t forgive him for it either. Something along those lines, thank you in advance!! @fruityloopsh

FOUND? I think it is this Tumblr Post

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14. Hii! For the next fic finder can you help me with this fic where

A) after WY resurrection lWJ is happy but at the same time has moments where he’s annoyed by WY but then he also feels guilty about it cause he should just be happy WY is back after all. It follows the canon, mostly, it just has more LZ POV

B) -- This one moved to ITMF post ^^ ~Mod L

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15. Ack, sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm looking for a post canon fic where LWJ was cursed and sort of fell out of love with WWX, who was hurt by the growing distance, but only really twigged something was wrong when LWJ began ignoring Sizhui too. I remember there was a part where he confronted LWJ about not meeting LSZ at the gates.

FOUND! Does anyone even read work titles? idk what to call this by Nighttdust (M, 14k, WangXian, Curses, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, though not to much, Both get hurt both get comforted, Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Happy Ending, Protective WWX, Insecurity, a bit only)

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16. Heyy how are you feeling ???

I’ve been looking for this fic where nhs and wq secretly make wwx and lwj meet each other and wei ying over hear it and leave. (He is also loaded because he invented the tiger seal : a security system when he was working / in a summer camp with nmj) also he pretend to be someone named mxy to talk to jc and fix the problem they have. They are also some musicals references like wwx singing defying gravity and playing the flute with lwj (and also the piano alone)

But I’m scared these could be two different fics please help 🙇🏼‍♀️✨✨ @ihaveasoftspotfora-yuan​

FOUND! Come Around and Stay by trippednfell (M, 160k, wangxian, modern, slow burn, kid fic, found family, it gets worse before it gets better, PTSD, blood and injury, dissociation, trauma, angst w happy ending, musicals, alternating pov, JC & WWX reconciliation, hurt/comfort, panic attacks) it's all in the same fic, the scene described with NHS and WQ happens in chapter 9

NOT FOUND! Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing) the tiger seal security and musical part reminds me of tempo rubato. i wasn't sure this was the fic since the other parts doesn't match, but since u mentioned u might have mixed up different fics, i might as well put this here

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17. I'm looking for a fic where the night after Wei Ying tries to run away and is brought back by the Jiang children, someone (either Madam Yu or the Head Disciple) mentions they'll need to talk to the night watch, because 'three children shouldn't be able to slip away at separate times without being noticed' (Not quite a direct quote but alpng those lines.)

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18. Hi, I'm looking for a fic where Wei Ying has amnesia and thinks hes a ghost who haunts lotus pier and is really out of it and convinced hes dead. Good ending, just cant find it. @quxxnrandonmness27

FOUND? can't find a way home by KouriArashi (M, 109k, WangXian, JC & JYL, JC & JYL & LWJ, LXC/JGY, WWX & WQ, JYL/JZX, JC/WQ, Canon Divergence, Angst, Family, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Politics, Family Feels, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Developing Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical political bullshit, Mental Health Issues, Eventual Happy Ending, Descriptions of suicide,(caused by dark magic))

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19. I am looking for a fic for a while. It would be really great if you are able to find it. There was a scene where a a baby Lan sect disciple challenges LWJ for a duel to marry WWX. It was an adorable scene where the lan child confuses WWX platonic cheek kiss and concludes that he has to fight for his Wei-qianbei’s honour (even though he is intimidated by Hanguang-jun). Thank you in advance!!

Hello it’s the requester for no. 19 from the recent fic finder. Thank you so much for the quick response. The fic you found was really similar to the one I was looking for and I enjoyed it. Although it was not the fic I had in mind(I guess it is a scene from a larger work or it may be deleted). But, nevertheless I really a thankful for the mods and others who are so enthusiastic and helpful!!! I hope you have a great day!!

not FOUND A Small Love by JTHM_Michi (G, 1k, wangxian, puppy love, teacher WWX)

NOT FOUND could be a scene in 🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 803k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

FOUND! A marriage duel. by satans_dolly_boy666 (G, 2k, WWX & OC(s), LSZ & LJY, WangXian, WWX-centric, Shameless WWX, Duelling, Marriage Proposal, Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, Married Couple, Married Life, Married Characters, So Married, Gusu Lan Sect, Gūsū Lán Disciples, Cute Kids, Teaching, Senior WWX, Gusu Lan juniors, Gusu Lan dialect, Misunderstandings, LQR is done, Cloud Recesses, Post-Canon, Husbands, Innocence, Gusu Lan is needed of sex education ASAP, Teacher-Student Relationship, Students, WWX living in the Cloud RecessesH, e is loved by everyoneee, Protectiveness, Protective Husband, LQR will die someday because of Wwx, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Romantic Comedy, Love Triangles, but not really, WWX is a Lan)

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20. Hi can you help me find a wangxian fic.

All I remember that they are fact together.. and wei ying want to have a work shop in the lan area. And wangji said with Me and in my arm sleeve. Like big empty place.. for wei ying to be at and I also remember wangji put his head into to it to make sure it was safe for wei ying. . @sadritsuka12​

FOUND! My heart in my sleeve by exmanhater (G, 2k, WangXian, Crack, Qiankun Sleeves, Sleeve Husband, LWJ’s Fondest Dream, Let LWJ Spoil His Husband, Post-Canon)

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[llittletingoddess]

Borderline

"It's a priceless experience"

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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Genre: AU, Psychology, Drama, Angst, Character Study

Words Count: 1.1k

IMPORTANT: English is not my first language so there may be some mistakes, please be patient. Also note that it's based on real occurrences but do not claim to be accurate. Everything described is merely the author's point of view ♥

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October, 2022.

"Mr Hetfield, Ms Tomassi, this document confirms your divorce. Provide it to the proper authorities when you change your papers."

The prim lady with the glasses gave a sprawling signature and handed copies of the divorce document to the still recently husband and wife. It seemed like yesterday everything was so good…except that it was two years ago. Perhaps even a little longer. Francesca believed their marriage had cracked back when James had been held captive by alcohol for the second time. Forbidden fruit is sweet, and who better than James to know that.

The long-awaited divorce, it would seem. An event that should have brought them relief, but did it get better…? Francesca glanced at James, who seemed to be in a trance as he read his copy of the divorce certificate. There was no emotion on his face. Francesca knew he'd already had another woman and it hurt, but she hadn't expected him to grow cold to her so quickly. After all, she was the mother of his children, his spouse for 25 years and his best friend! Had he forgotten that so easily…? No, this was not the James she knew and loved. It was the soulless shell of her ex-husband, in whose arms she would have drowned with pleasure, even years later….

James had never been generous with his emotions, especially in important moments, and Francesca was prepared for that, but deep down she hoped to see warmth in his eyes..a glimmer of hope that this was all just a big mistake she had to come to terms with. They should just get past this crisis phase. But all she saw was the endless coldness that came from him. His frown hidden under the thick frame of his glasses, his slightly hunched shoulders and arching back expressing detachment, his nervous rubbing of his chin…Fran knew his body language, and she could see that he was having a hard time. But could it be hard for him when he wanted this for himself? Another life, another woman, concerts and rehearsals for weeks on end…something he'd dreamed of at the beginning of their relationship.

The truth is, she was angry at him for it. For going cold on her so quickly, for not wanting to fight. Instead of supporting her, being her rock and a rock wall, he'd given up. Francesca was willing to fight for their marriage to the last! They'd been through so much, and giving up so easily was… wrong? Maybe James had his reasons. It was so unlike him.

Thanking the register clerk, Francesca took her copy of the certificate and left the office. Perhaps she should have said goodbye to James as well. He didn't even seem to be looking at her. Maybe she should stop thinking about how things could change. It was time to start a new life, but before she did, it was time to say goodbye to the old one.

She wandered down the corridor, thinking that this place must bring happiness. How many happy couples were within these walls? They were probably engrossed in conversations about marriage, family and a shared future in a cosy cabin somewhere in the mountains outside the city. Wale was the perfect embodiment of her thoughts. Memories took her back to the day she and James had first walked into the San Francisco wedding palace. Young and in love, they didn't fully believe what was happening. That day Francesca could barely contain herself: of all the female variations that were ready to scratch her face, had James chosen her? They had been over the moon.

And now this place brought only pain, resentment and despair. How many couples as enthusiastic as her and James had seen these walls? Behind the pretty wrapping of marital happiness, this place hid screams, pain, curses and crying.

Francesca left the building, sitting down on a bench nearby. She looked at her copy of the divorce document and couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really the end?…on the official white letterhead were printed in black and white the very words. The very words she had dreaded all these 25 years:

Mr James Alan Hetfield, 08/03/1963, Miss Francesca Tomasi, 01/27/1970, divorce filed.

She sighed, being grateful to James for the easy divorce. The children were staying with her, and he had no objection to that. Luckily for her, the kids were all grown up and there was no need to give reasons or find fault. They could always visit their father and he would always welcome them. James may have been a disgusting husband, but he was definitely the best father ever. Except Marcella didn't agree. She gave up her last name, sold her father's things, and refused to come to Wale when James was home. This bothered Francesca. Perhaps she should have brought them together for dinner without telling Sella of her father's presence? She would definitely have a full-blown hatred for one of her parents after that. But Francesca needed her children to have a healthy relationship with James.

And if it would help her get closer to him - she was willing to take the risk.

The door of the marriage palace opened and he appeared outside. Still as sombre and emotionless as ever. Francesca watched him, trying to read his thoughts. He was probably happy about this outcome…many people talked about how unhappy he was with her…but why? He always talked about how lucky he was to have her, how important his family was to him, and that he was the luckiest man on earth…Francesca's control made him that way, and she knew it.

James turned round to her. He looked rather thoughtful as he watched Francesca. She was grateful that he was alone right now. His new woman…she was very lucky. But this woman was her, always had been her! Francesca smiled weakly as James walked past, expecting a similar reaction. But she didn't expect him to stop at all. Was it really hard for him too…? "James?"

"Fran, thank you for this time together. It's a priceless experience."

She nodded in response, watching as he slowly dissolved into space. James got into his pickup truck, leaving the scene of their couple's death far too quickly. What was going through his mind? If only she knew…

Perhaps she could help him?

[superblysubpar]

My friend

One of my fav things about WCIL is that they each had this journey of not being true to themselves. She was punishing herself - a self imposed thing forcing herself to believe that good things can't happen because they'll all end and he was punishing himself because... Well the pervasive Rich Dick dad card. Living your life for someone else vs not living your life for anything. Both of these paths are honestly so relatable. And I think it just goes to show that fighting things to meet expectations you put on yourself or others put on you just ... Don't work. Punishing yourself because of what others want from you or you think you deserve....totally whack....but WE do it ALL the time. Sell ourselves short. Think *this is the best I'm gonna get so this is how it is* Even if it's not love... Reader didn't owe her life and love in exchange for her parents and neither did Steve. Their respective "debt" to their parents needed to be kicked to the curb to do what they need to do for themselves.

Also, I don't think I blabbed about this part but one of my absolute favorite character traits about Steve is how observant he is. He is so smart because he pays attention. And I think it's probably a trauma response from his childhood or a result of boredom growing up being toted around ... Like what else was he gonna do? He knew all the old rich person gossip I just know it. And he probably was so observant because he tried so hard to find things to get his parents approval - like maybe if I do this thing that I noticed my mom likes she's love me more. Maybe if I do that thing I noticed they liked they'll stay home with me this summer. That's why he's "charismatic" because he is adaptive and knows what people are looking for from him. I think that helps him in the ST story and his problem solving and seeing patterns (S3 and the carousel music, etc). He notices the small things and they're so small most people write him off quickly about it. So I think that any AU that really puts that into his character is just beautiful. Because i can imagine the way his heart would swell when he realizes he can store that tiny piece of information away, or when he immediately had an idea because someone said something and it will pay off. Because I bet so much of that observant nature in his life was never appreciated by anyone. His HS friends took advantage, his parents didn't care...it never really made a difference. But when they DO make a difference to someone oh my god. And they made such sweet moments in your story that are subtle (the food orders, pickles, the well timed balcony sex, the Christmas dish, grilled cheese, I mean... So many things you hid in there) and yeah they're all cute Easter eggs for your story that really took a lot of thought and intention as you wrote those callbacks later but... It's also such a perfect ode to Steve as a character. That's how he IS. So I love that for you and your story as a writer because that brings me so much joy as a reader to recognize those little treats, but also so much joy as a Steve lover because its so *him*

I also love love the arcade chapter. Just running into him in that hat having the sweetest day/not date. Like they both really needed that moment together because they were in their feels respectively just... quietly. And god were they misunderstanding each other in such a real way. Id give my left tit to know what was going on his his brain that day. He was probably SO angsty knowing what we know now was going on for him at that point.

Ok I'm done. Bye. 📣

I don't even know how to respond to this...I am SO emotional...I read this hours ago and I literally just started sobbing. I was literally, in the middle of something semi-big involving WCIL (an announcement for future taylor to share on Tumblr MAYBE) and then, I went into my kitchen, started cooking dinner and put on When Harry Met Sally. And as I was drinking a glass of white wine and thinking about how I desperately want to write a movie or a book or a show that someone loves so much that one day they're in their kitchen, drinking wine, cooking dinner and playing it or thinking about it...I opened Tumblr and saw this.

Now, I can't even begin to tell you how much an analysis like this means to me. How much you sharing this with me will literally be a moment I remember for the rest of my life. I wish I could say thank you and address key things more eloquently and dive into the insanely amazing things you pointed out and sent but I'm truly at a loss for words. I can't believe you felt and got all of this out of the story and I'm just incredibly touched.

Thank you for sending this, and thank you again to anyone who's sent anything about WCIL the past few days when I asked. You've made a sad girl who's been Going Through It ™️ be able to say "It's okay. You're doing this and it's scary and it's gonna be okay."

I can't say thank you enough 💛

P. S: I am *literally* demanding we meet one day so I can kiss you and also give you a handmade mix tape which feels far too small of a way to say thank you but it is our shared love language and I'll tape it to a bottle of champagne 💛

[charlesdesvoeux]

7, 11, 18, 65, 74!

(This got a little long so let me put it under a cut)

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

My default is 3rd person limited. I've only recently tried 1st person-- it can be downright addictive, because it puts you so close to the character. Thing is, I always feel like I need a *reason* to write 1st person, otherwise it can be a little strange to me??? Like why are we hearing them talk directly. Do they know they're writing a book*. So I usually stick with 3rd person limited. The only fics I'm working on right now that are 1st person are a Billy afterlife au-- I felt I needed his direct voice, also his "justification" is that he's dead. he's screaming into the void and trying to see if someone will listen-- and another one that's essentially "what if the ministry of time but with John Irving and also his bridge is a bisexual man of pakistani descent"-- the book was in 1st person so it made sense that a fic based on it would also be 1st person.

11. Link your three favorite fics right now.

Wait, of mine or of others? I'm gonna say of others. I've recently read If on an Arctic night an author which I think is one of my all-time favorite terror fics (as the author said in the tags: porn and post-modernism. it's amazing). Another all-time favorite terror fic is húshuō bādào which is essentially the other side of Fitzjames' Chinese sniper story and I cannot praise it enough. Lastly I'm still obsessed with I dreamed of the fine, deep harbour I'd find (50k word Hartving modern au my beloved)

If it's mine. Hands down best thing I wrote in terms of fanfic was Three Scenes from an Afterlife, I think. Unnatural and Detestable still works, I think, because of its smaller scale-- I tried to chronicle only a moment and not the whole history of something, so I think I managed to do ok. And if nothing else at least Jacko, the Ripper is funny.

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

Sometimes a title inspires a fic, other times I'm tearing my hair out trying to think of a title. I was listening to a Nicole Dollanganger song and it reminded me of hickeygibson, so I thought "hey, what if I wrote a Billy afterlife au with this line from the song as the title?" (still working on it). But with my Bryant/Chambers fic I had absolutely no idea what to call it, and then I thought "well I think I've used the idea of warmth as like a recurring thing here so. ok let's call it Warmth". Jacko, the Ripper was too good a pun to pass up. Unnatural and Detestable is from how the Articles of War in the navy described the crime of sodomy, and it plays well with Irving's self-loathing in that one.

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

My only ongoing fic is The War Between Us and Our Ghosts. I'm planning for next chapter to have Tommy and Pilk go on a "night on the town" before Pilk leaves for a while to go see his family in Bristol and then oops some gay stuff happens. I'm looking forward to that; only reason I haven't written it is bc I'd need to do some research on "things working class people in London would do for entertainment in the mid 19th century" like. Would they go to the theater? If so, which type of theater, with which type of plays? What might they have eaten? And I don't feel like looking it up *right now* so I haven't written it yet, lol.

For future projects, I think the "tmot but with jirv" thing will be quite fun if I do manage to continue it (i'm only posting after i finish writing it). can't wait to see how john irving deals with the modern world and how the narrator deals with falling in love with a "glorified zombie" as he's called him so far.

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

I've never posted anonymously. I have no idea how one might guess I wrote it lol sorry.

*weirdly enough I only get this hang-up about fics. i've written original works before that do 1st person without feeling this kind of "offness".

[abe-the-detective-blog]

Royal au!!! I love these let me ramble please please!

This will be long.

The gunnerson family is of royalty. They have a small kingdom but it’s very kind and humble. Abe is supposed to take over the kingdom being the oldest of his siblings.

Now here comes in out favorite werewolf. I see the lupin family or at least Benjamin’s mom being a butler for the family. She’s treated very well and paid very well as well had a nice room to sleep in with her little Benjamin. Benjamin would eventually grow up to be a servant for prince Abe once he was older.

Just imagine Benjamin running into Abe when they were kids and is super polite. Full on bows down to Abe and says. “Good morning prince Abe” and Abe just instantly becomes friends with him.

Well as they grow older they grow closer and closer till both of them are crushing on the other. Benjamin probably went into so much denial about it all. “I can’t love the prince one he doesn’t like me like that two he’s my boss. I’m supposed to serve him!” While Abe is also going through different denial. “I’m in love with my servant…what did he doesn’t like me? I’m getting my hopes up.” And the both are so obvious to each other’s feelings everyone knows.

Benjamin has annoyed the shit out of all the servants and rest of the workers of the castle of him rambling about something cute Abe did. “Oh yes prince Abe today started talking about sea creatures to me. He was quite passionate about the topic.” And the poor soul who Benjamin is talking to just sits there like looking borderline annoyed because this werewolf won’t shut the hell up.

Now I’m not saying Abe isn’t any better hell he could be worse sometimes! Just full on at the dead of night he’s rambling to his brothers about Benjamin. He talks about how kind he was to him and how Benjamin agreed to dance with him so Abe had practice for an upcoming ball. Oh how many nights of sleep were Gunther or Hank were forced to stay awake since Abe was rambling.

I haven’t really thought about how they would eventually confess to each other. Probably a by accident by saying “I love you” or something. But they would keep there relationship a secret well try too. It’s not their fault they keep getting walked in on when they’re kissing. At this point the whole staff has seen them kiss at least 3 times ; even Benjamin’s mom has seen them kiss. The royals figured out Abe was gay from them seeing Benjamin and Abe kissing, but they saw it coming lol.

As time dose go on their relationship becomes more and more open. Simple hand holding and touches you know. Side note just thought of something, back when both were crushing on each other Abe would only dance with Benjamin. So someone asks “well why do you only dance with Benjamin at balls full of other princes and princesses, your supposed to find a future queen or king there.” And Abe just responds with. “Benjamin helps guide me through dancing is all.” Which isn’t a Lie but like we know you dance with him so you two can hold each other, shut yo gay ass up.

Markus time!!! :3

So Abe is probably a stable hand. They take care of the knights horses and the royals horses. Well he’s treated like crap mostly by the knights. They shove him around and tease him all the time, bunch of fucking bullies basically. But he’s payed well by king iplier (Markus father) so he deals with the harsh treatment.

Markus probably also teases Abe and the stable worker ignores his behavior. The spoiled prince would probably after a few years become fond of Abe and think of him like a friend. Now Markus would still tease and harass Abe but now it’s friendly. He would gently shove Abe and make fun of him having to work on horses. Abe finds it annoying but he deals with it.

Now here comes the mutual pinning for each other. Abe would fall first for the prince. He’s not sure why he falls but he dose as Markus shows his kinder side of himself. He talks to the horses while talking about Markus. “He’s been kinder to me lately. Know don’t get me wrong I know it’s wrong to think about the prince like this but I can’t help it.” He says while he’s brushing a horse. Markus would be in 100% denial and he sometimes rambles about Abe to his servants. “That stable boy is quite kind. He treats those horses like gods you know? ‘Sir you’ve been talking about that stupid stable boy for hours.’ HEY! He has a name his name is Abe. You can not call him stable boy.” Very much tsundere vibes.

We’ll time passes and the two confess to each other. Abe probably confessed to him knowing he could die. But instead of being be headed Abe is given a simple kiss on cheek by a very pink Markus. The two keep a secret relationship for the most part, hard to not notice the prince sneaking about the stables to see Abe.

Markus is crowned king of his kingdom. Well a few months offer his coronation his father the ex king finds Markus and Abe kissing. The ex king screams his head off and how impure it is to one be gay and date non royalty. Long story short the ex king was be headed the next week.

The now king no longer hides his relationship with Abe and is quick to marry him soon after his fathers death. Abe and Markus run the kingdom smoothly and its still a powerful kingdom but it’s more humble than using fear as power.

[lyddieowl]

something that i saw on the bird app... they are at peak levels of comfort do NOT disturb them!! they are SLEEPING!!

but anyways here's the link to the og tweet if u care :)

[lilac-udon]

romance blue print for this au, it’s really fiction

I never think this through

sunny -> basil-yes in love but stupid, definitely like basil accompany bc he is lonely but deny most feelings towards him, at first it’s bc he thinks basil is human, then the I’m just the worst person I caused death. Both of them are mentally ill so they never communicate their affection because reason

Later part he give up whatever they are and just go with basil , he knows he likes him and basil seem like happy to follow whatever sunny desire, he is indecisive because of mari, which later he felt better w basil which caused conflict in his mind

basil->sunny- obsessed with the idea of death, but also slowly got attached of the changes of someone can and only ever be aside without leaving or dying before him, he would followed whatever ppl wants, a bit of unaware selfish tendencies shows when he wants sunny attention to himself , same as sunny, unspoken rules but very comfortable getting comfy with him , actually really stressed out getting actual indication of others loving him

Kel -> basil- in love with basil. He idealizes starting a family or being with someone because of loneliness, and how his father and mother relationship. Problems is not knowing basil enough, and basil intentionally hiding info about himself form kel because don’t want to hurt him or think they will keep this way and kel passion will fade . They are really nice to each other . Kel just always thought he love basil and whatever happened he just wanted basil happiness (so if sunny and basil became a thing, good for them) it actually goes more and more neutral till the day he got heartbroken

I got tired and this make no sense

Omori ->basil-not much opinion, good food and interesting, noting beyond that, also not letting sunny be with basil is what sunny deserves

Omori->sunny- (middle finger if he could) think sunny a cat and too indecisive, don’t really want to care about him but they sadly share a body, actually still listen to sunny wishes, even though he won’t admit, really rough ways but he is the one trying to take care of sunny , he is very hungry

Basil ->omori- the more straightforward person that is alike sunny, acts more childish, wants to take care

Sunny->omori- who ? to, other me please help me , acceptance, try to make Omori less aggressive, but like how

Kel-> sunny- respectful and sorry for him, best friend, actually someone who understands him, and plays with him sometimes(kel -wow i thought I was childish, never know your too) deep bond

Aubrey-> sunny- respectful (not saying, and just a bit fan girl, just a tiny bit) sunny and Aubrey is more like study group or teacher student for my blue prints, yet to be finished

Sunny->Aubrey- really pretty person but I felt like she hate me, worried about her, try to warn her

Kel-> Aubrey- friend, got tempter but funny and nice to talk to, sometimes wisdom sometimes just fooling around, helping her with her stuff

Aubrey->kel - stupid wolf boy, actually good companion but won’t admit, hope him have a better future them her

Basil-> Aubrey- jealous, if I’m a woman would sunny like me more , a little scared of her because she always seems angry towards him

Aubrey-> Basil- jealous, you will never die , why can’t I be like you , also other complicated emotion (? yet to be finished

Hero-> kel- deeply sorry but don’t know how to fix their relationship after he been avoiding the problem, busy doing other stuff to occupy his goalless life, he isn’t really trying to fix it because he’s really busy, everything in his life seems perfect besides himself and the incident he hurts kel

Kel -> hero- it hurts a bit but get a life on his own, happy to see his bother succeed, feel like he needs to be happy about his current life but has difficulty to communicate with hero, he knows but he doesn’t know how to

hero-> mari-admired/ also a lot of emotion I don’t want to talk about bc spoilers and I felt people would just get the wrong idea, yet to finish

Mari -> hero- the same ,yet to reveal

Mari-> sunny- complicated ,yet to reveal

The blueprint element will be: protective, plan B

[fillmargarin]

Future AU wr as this meme

[transingthoseformers]

[g1 SG au]: not my au but basically, most of the autobots and decepticons are on Cybertron. Elita One is the leader of the sg autobots on earth, and Shockwave is the leader of the sg decepticons that are on earth.

[Atop the Barricade] au: basically, alternate DSotM events. The autobots find the Decepticon hatchlings, and take them in as their own. Unbeknownst to then, Megatron lived and as soon as his self repair could, he lays more eggs and schemes to not only support them but get back his other sparklets, steal resources from the autobots, ect. Barricade is helping.

[Swinlock au]: Swindle and Lockdown are married and super domestic with each other. Their grown kids are the missing tfa constructicons (Hook, Bonecrusher, and Scavenger), there's baby Battletrap who is much younger than the rest. Their uncles and aunt are the rest of the combaticons!!

Propagate: just... Just look at the tags for it. I can't describe it beyond that.

Splendid Surprise au: So, a RodiOp one night stand happened, and Rodimus found out he was carrying. Unfortunate to Megs, he only found out Rodimus was carrying after Roddie had Yellow Splendid Convoy. Megs ends up becoming this stepdad figure to Splendid, Whirl Jr. Becomes her friend, and they manage to "magic of friendship" Getaway into being a better person

TSBAM au: short for "This Should've been a meeting". So upon reuniting with Shockwave, Soundwave quits the decepticons (not defect, mind you, but quit lmao) and they fuck off to well have children and all that. Megs talks peace with Optimus, and somehow becomes the wavewave and family's bodyguard Decepticon

Reality Television au: earthspark crackfic au. Just. Scroll the tag, down to up.

Get Wrecked Sentinel Au or GetSent:

No Romo Au

So far what we've got from recent shenanigans:

Fractured reflections: baseline mecha are dumped into the SG universe, chaos ensues as the baseline mecha realize quickly just how horrible SG Optimus is. Rodimus and Megatron end up attached at the hip after The Horrors™️. Kinda a mix of g1 and IDW?

shards of stars au: baseline tfp Starscream is dumped into the SG tfp universe and is completely adopted by the shattered glass decepticons. To him all of this sounds too good to be true

Mltfp: transformers prime but also make it my little pony. Optimus is an alicorn prime, Megatron was an earth pony turned into ~something else~ by Unicron. Really fucking dope designs, the Autotrots and the Decepticorns.

Love boat au: Swerve orgy parties end up getting mecha sparked up, Megatron ends up revealing he's had no formal sexual education. Ratchet gives free interfacing courses because these fuckers need them.

💫Bottom bitch💫 Getaway: well what it says on the tin, Getaway gets knocked up by Megatron, consequences occur.

Where sire au: Megatron has a litter and will not tell anyone who the sires are, there's a fucking forum for it and everything.

A Glitch In the Matrix: Glitch accidentally destroys the matrix, ends up leading the quest to find the Knights of Cybertron out of religious guilt. No war au.

Forced Redemption Arc Au: the matrix can slowly but surely turn bad people into good people, it may or may not be IDW Shockwave and we're trying to figure out how his shadowplay factors in.

TFP Through The Glass au: Shattered Glass Optimus (who currently looks identical to BL Optimus) temporarily replaces BL Oppy, and it takes the autobots a bit to realize what has happened. Tfp Megatron finds him super hot actually, BL Optimus returns, and wow is SG OP able to entirely discard the personality mask now

you are/arent the sire au: so IDW no war, Megs is in medical school but Impactor is still a miner. Somehow, these two fuckers got knocked up by the same sire... But did they? Nope! TC and 'Warp, who were both painted as Starscream in an illegal money scheme, did it, and the law things Starscream did it. Paternal test ensues, Star still ends up as beta-sire. Now, sadly to him, these grounders have gotta stay with them.

[powertaco]

2024 Secret Santa Sign ups!

Secret Santa prompt exchange

When? Sign ups are November 1st to November 16th

You can post them anytime from December 1st onward through December 31st. 

Length: Min 2-2.5k but you can go longer if you want. The minimum is there just so everyone gets at least a 1 shot worth of fic in return since if they wrote like a novel and got a 400 word drabble back it wouldn’t feel great. 

What do I need to do? Tell me you want to sign up, and give me your ao3 name as well as any pairings, tropes, etc you don’t want to write. Ie I do not want to write about Arkos,Neon or Miltia, or Coffeeshop aus. 

Also give me your general prompt (first christmas WR/BB etc) I will then match you up with other compatible people. I won’t limit you in other ways, but try to adhere to good taste. I’ll only add more rules if I have to do so. I trust we’re all adult or adult adjacent here.

You will know who you are writing for, but not who yours is until they post it. 

When posting tag on tumblr, or ao3’ Power Taco Secret Santa 2024’ so we can see ‘em all in the same tag. If I learn how I’ll request and add em to a collection for future posterity. 

Questions, Comments, Concerns, or anything reach out to me here, discord, or tumblr. 

If you have to drop out before the 16th no worries. If you have to drop out after then let me know and we’ll try to have some other peeps lined up to take your place. 

If enough artists would like to do an exchange, respond or leave a notice for me and I’ll organize a cool thing for you guys too alright?