#oh well :3 it was fun and enlightening and I got a lot out of it

[givemaycoffee]

Oh my god. I just wrote an essay in the comments of a fanfic and I was like Wow, I sure had a lot to say.

And then I remembered I actually took my adderall this morning XD

[anim-ttrpgs]

I recently ran an oneshot for my friends in Eureka.

It was a lot of fun and went mostly smoothly! The charakter creation was very easy. It still took more time than I expected, but that was simply because the players needed it to decide on which traits etc. to pick.

The central resolution mechanic with 2d6 is of course tried and true (I assume. Never played one of the many other 2d6 games.) but especially the Eureka system felt really good.

I think I read in a recent post of your's, that you are overhauling the chapter on combat. That seems very important to me. Even though I read the whole book once before running the game, I had immense problems finding out how small details of the combat worked during play. The musings on game design (eg, "yes, the combat is deadly, thats on purpose heres why" and such) where really enlightening to read, but got in the way when searching for concrete stats.

I will run the same oneshot again for different friends. The game seems really promising to me.

My mystery took place on a single in game evening, and none of the players were monsters. Having therefore only scratched at the surface of Eureka, I am looking forward to running it more.

Woo! We LOVE hearing about this kinda stuff!

And yeah everything about how the combat-related rules are structured is getting overhauled. All of that was written like 2 years ago when I was a slightly worse game designer and MUCH worse at writing coherent paragraphs and hasn’t been touched since until now. Instead of being split across like four paragraphs (what was I thinking), there will be just two chapters on it: “Instruments of Violence”, which is mostly just a giant list of references for the stats and special rules of weapons and armor, and “Dangerous Situations”, which covers every rule related to how your investigators can get killed. Some of these clean-ups are already available in the latest patreon release, and the rest are coming soon to both patreon and the itchio beta.

Combat is a very rare thing in Eureka, but when it does come up, we want it to be tight and granular, but without wasting the players’ time, which I think we’ve done pretty well at.

Like the book says, combat is deadly and there’s a reason why: so it doesn’t waste the players’ time.

This is a twofold problem to solve. The first layer of it, we solved by making sure the numbers are low. Most weapons can take a character down in 2 to 3 hits, so a single instance of two guys smacking each other will never take too many rounds.

Secondly, well, combat is dangerous and deadly, and if the PCs approach it without a plan, they’re gonna die, or at least get their asses kicked fast. Otherwise, well, I consider that a waste of the players’ time. If it was predetermined that the PCs would win otherwise the story can’t continue, well, what did we roll all those die, look up all those stats, and track all that HP for? Why didn’t we just describe the PCs winning and move on? Combat matters because it can change the outcome of the adventure, and if it can’t change the outcome, why are you rolling dice? Of course with death being so possible, to keep it fun, we gotta include lots of “tools” like cover, positioning, different weapons, special melee attacks, etc. that the PCs can use cleverly to give themselves an edge, and *earn* their survival.

Oh and also yeah can’t wait to hear what you think about the monsters. Funny thing about that, everyone who has read the rulebook knows that monsters and other supernatural creatures are supposed to be really rare, like one supernatural person for every 3,000,000 normal people kinda rare, but, monsters are super cool and fun to play, and are one of the big draws of the system, so we were kinda worried that that rarity wouldn’t come through in play, everyone would just be monsters. We considered setting a limit on how many monsters can be in a party? But quickly decided against it, because then players would have to compete for the limited monster slots, and people might even feel like if they’re not filling in that slot every single adventure, they’re missing an opportunity, and so every party would max out their monster limit every time and there’d, again, be way too many monsters.

In practice, though, most parties in Eureka seem to be comprised of all normal people, or all normal people and 1 monster at most, even without the limit. And I suspect this is both because monsters are kinda difficult to play despite their immense power, and, just to brag, because we made the normal PCs fun has hell to play too. :)

[jacks347]

I made this dumb thing like a year ago cause I think Hiccup's dad sounds like a drunk Albus and thus this shit was born so take it :3

~~

Faith had an inkling of what to expect when Albus had found the alcohol storage in the ship but had still hoped the warrior would keep some level of composure. I mean, all that heavy drinking meant he had to have some tolerance, right?

Oh, how wrong she was.

Albus was a stumbling mess, slurring his words and barely able to stand on his own two feet. After he'd nearly locked up the ship's systems three times due to his incessant button pushing on the control panel, Devlin had begged Faith to take Albus to his room so he wouldn't break anything. Seeing the forgemaster on the verge of tearing his hair out in stress of keeping his brother from destroying the very ship they stood on, she decided to heed his warnings and guided Albus to his room, saying she'd stay with him to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

"Woah, Faithful, watch where you're puttin' those hands or I might get the wrong idea." Albus laughed as Faithful gave him one last push through the door of his room. "Get your head out of the gutter, Albus. It was either I push you to make sure I could catch you if something happened or risk you toppling over and I can't have you breaking your nose on my conscience." Faith sighed, taking a minute to breathe after having to shove the small mountain that was a drunken Albus halfway across a ship.

Albus all but collapsed onto his bed, the bottle in his hand threatening to spill its contents as it sloshed around. Faith pulled up a chair next to his bed, plucking the bottle out of his hand. Albus half whined at the loss of his precious alcohol, his now empty hands searching the air around him. "Hey, don't you know it's not nice to take things that don't belong to you?" "Albus, you're already drunk. I may not be able to spare you the headache you'll have tomorrow but I can try to limit its strength." "Ah, you're such a prude. Don't you know how to have fun?" "Not your version, no."

"My version? Oh then please enlighten me dear priestess, what does your version of fun look like?" Faith sat back in her chair, thinking for a minute. There were very few happy memories she had from back home but there was one...

She smiled to herself, the sounds of music and cheering faintly ringing through her mind. "Well, there were a lot of celebrations that happened in the church. It was one of the few occasions that we got involved with the local culture. I always liked to dance." Albus stared at the Sister with a look of vague disbelief before he burst out laughing. "You. Dance. Excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe." Faith just rolled her eyes, her smile only growing. "Laugh all you want, it's true. I still remember a few of the songs. My favorite was one of the traditional songs for courting. It would bring out all the kids and young couples, it was so cute."

Faith couldn't quite describe the look on Albus's face when she said that. He squinted at her, it could be considered calculating, even analytical if it didn't look so out of place with his cheeks flushed such a rosy color and his entire body still swaying slightly. "What? What's with that look?" She raised an eyebrow at him, seriously wondering how many of his brain cells were on thinking duty after how many bottles he'd downed.

The question was answered by Albus suddenly sitting up and getting to his unsteady feet. Faith just watched him as he staggered to the middle of the room, turning in swaying circles and mumbling something under his breath when he suddenly stopped. "Albus? Are you okay?" Faith could only watch him, wondering where his head was at. The warrior took a breath before turning to her, holding out his hand. "I might not remember the whole song but I remember the ending. So, may I have this dance, Faithful?"

Albus wished he was sober enough to remember the exact deep rosy color Faithful flushed.

The priestess was a blushing mess, staring at Albus like he'd lost his mind. He extended his hand a little further, his signature cocky smile spreading across his face. "Well? May I?" Faith sputtered for a few seconds before sighing, taking his hand with an embarrassed smile. "I guess you may."

Albus pulled her close, twirling her around much to her surprise. She burst into giggles, leaning further into him. "Since when did you know how to dance?" "Oh, I don't. I've just watched a lot of festivals. Which is why I only know the ending to this song." Albus clarified, placing a little distance between the two and clearing his throat.

"But I would bring you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry, and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me."

He started quiet, growing louder as he became more sure of the words. It'd been a long time since Albus had last seen a traditional festival, even longer since he'd heard this particular song. But to see Faith so happy remembering it...

His dance steps were unsteady, unsure and not helped by the alcohol running through him but Faith didn't mind, following along with a practiced sort of ease and a giddy smile before opening her mouth.

"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold..."

"I only want you near me!"

She sang so sweetly, confident and excited. It made something warm in Albus's chest, a different kind of warmth than the alcohol he so treasured. This was so much deeper, in his very soul. And then she was taking his arm and- Oh gods the spinning he'd forgotten about this part.

"To love and kiss, to sweetly hold for the dancing and the dreaming. Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your laugh inside me. I'll swim and sail the savage seas, with never fear of drowning. I'd gladly ride the waves so white if you will marry me!"

As should've been expected, Albus tripped over his own feet, taking both of them to the floor. After a second to recover, Faith and Albus made eye contact. The silence stretched on for one second, two, three...

They both burst out laughing, leaning into each other and blinking tears from their eyes. "Oh, make it stop, my stomach hurts." She gasped between giggles. "No can do Faithful, you brought this upon yourself." Albus poked the Sister's side, making her bat his hand away as she calmed down. "Hey, no, keep your hands to yourself, mister." "You're the one who took me up on my offer to dance so you touched me first. I'm simply getting even." "You're drunk, you don't know what you're talking about." "Maybe I am but hey, at least one of us will remember this, right?"

Once again, Albus wished he was sober enough to remember the look on Faith's face as she blushed, that shy smile he was coming to adore pulling at her lips again. "Oh shut up. Now come on, we need to get you back to bed before Devlin comes down to find out what all the racket is." "And we just can't be having that, now can we? Don't want poor innocent Devlin to get the wrong idea." He teased, waggling his eyebrows and earning himself a smack to the back of the head.

Faith got herself to her feet, brushed herself off and pulled Albus up. The warrior stumbled back to bed, faceplanting into his pillow. She once again took a seat next to him, knowing she still needed to watch over him. Albus pulled his face out of his pillow to look at her. "Y'know, maybe one day we'll be able to see one of those festivals in person. And then we can do this properly." Faith couldn't help but smile, brushing the hair out of Albus's face. "One day, my warrior. One day." "One day..." He mumbled before falling asleep. Faith just sat there, pulling her hands to her chest. Maybe if she held onto this feeling long enough, she'd be able to keep it forever.

[roadtodeltarune]

Earthbound Update 3

(PART 1)

I'm back! Some of you may have thought I abandoned this project, but you were wrong!

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Oh, I've been busy playing Earthbound! I knew I was close to the end, so I wanted to finish it before updating! I could have finished in a week, but I got distracted by other games and responsibilities. Now what exactly did I do in Earthbound?

Well last time, I cured Tenda Village's shyness. After making my last update, I tried their coffee and had another strange vision. But once my head cleared, I did some trading and then hopped into the cave.

As I figured, this was my next Sanctuary Location. The boss wasn't very tough; he was blasted to bits by a multi-bottle rocket and some good bashes. The hardest part was the maze of a cave!

We had a strange moment of Straw's(Ness) thoughts being beamed to a wall, then jumped down a hole into the Underworld.

This place is huge! And there are dinosaurs here! I wanted to avoid them since I felt strong enough already, but they were just too big, they kept blocking my path. It's actually so huge here that I had to look up a map. I also got lost in the first five minutes and was walking in circles, so a map helped a lot.

I feel like this should be a bigger moment, but didn't Buzz Buzz already say something about being in a prophecy? I guess it's good to remember the scale of our journey. Welp, time for the last Sanctuary Location!

Well, that was a fever dream...

The Fire Spring wasn't too hard to go through, the Psychic Psychos were more so just annoying. The final Sanctuary Boss felt like a good final boss, though, that fight was lots of fun.

As for all the melodies playing together, they sounded very pretty. I feel like they fit together better than Mother 1, but I hope there is, or will be, an orchestrated version like Mother 1 has.

The sequence afterward of Straw going through his home and seeing how much his parents loved him... Man, that hit me right in the feels. At the end of Mother 1, I came to the conclusion that this series is about love. Spoiler: I come to the same conclusion with Earthbound.

MAGICANT?! How is Magicant here! I thought it was Mary's dreamscape and it faded when she accepted death. Is... Is Mary still around? Is that why the melodies are back?

I think I like the aesthetic of this Magicant more. The old one was pretty, but this one feels more peaceful, and the color shifting adds to the magic/dream aspect.

Plus all the veggies remind me of my Mother 1 characters: Carrot, Onion, Potato, and Beet.

Is this true or is this what Straw thinks is happening with Pokey? Is he really, truly a bad guy?

Rest in peace, Buzz Buzz. We'll win this war for you.

The Flying Men! It's good to see them again! Oh no, wait, I don't want them to die

Interesting... My personal explanation for this is that the statue brought out the worst in people, so it uses the evil part of your brain; but I also think Straw just views it as the worst evil he's fought so far.

Hi, I'm back here. I died to the statue. This seemed impossible, just like Belch, so I looked up some tips and a map. I found that I just needed a bunch of Dragonite, so I got some from storage. I also got an extra Earth Pendant for Apple (Jeff)

Wow! Dragonite is strong! I got lucky though, he didn't heal in this second attempt. If he would have, I might have lost.

Like how Grape (Poo) had his training that, to me, like he was reaching his personal enlightenment, I feel the same for this moment. It feels like Straw is taking everything that's happened to him and learning a great lesson that's left up for interpretation, whether it's a lesson on Love, Determination, Destiny, overcoming Evil, or all of the above.

This also makes me think that Magicant is a by-product of the Melodies, meaning Mary must have been in Magicant for decades, waiting for Carrot(NinTen) to restore peace to her and help her move on.

[sic-fayl]

Guild Member Next Door (kinda) translation - Part 13

Click here for the previous part - or click here for Part 1!

Disclaimer, as always: This is based on an MTL translation, I do not know Korean myself, I am trying more to stick with the impressions/vibes of a sentence instead of a strict word-for-word meaning - and most importantly, this is only for fun.

Time for the actual text (enjoy)!

That evening, Yeo-woon came home late, after eating with Jeong Se-hyung and doing some errands, so he logged into the game late as well.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: Has the mighty woodcutter appeared?

But still, as soon as he logged in, someone sent him a whisper. For a moment, Yeo-woon thought he had been transported into a traditional fairy tale.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: I heard of him by way of the sellsmanship notice last week. Would he perchance still be in possession of the most glorious of resurrection tokens?

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Yes...

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: Splendid indeed! Hahaha I shall take them all ^^ What may be the place’s name where we shall aquire that which the other holds at present?

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Let’s do Channel 3 Isis

‘But I won’t be ready for the trade yet, right after switching the channel…’

So Yeo-woon rushed to get the requested items out of his storage, at the village’s Storage House, as soon as he entered the new channel. Somehow he still managed to get to the place they’d agreed on before Mountain Spirit, so he settled in to wait in front of the Isis Stone Tower, where they’d said they’d meet. Weirdly enough… there were a lot of people today who randomly sent him trade requests, perhaps by mistake.

But no, there were too many to blame it on simple coincidence... Unsure, Yeo-woon just kept waiting for Mountain Spirit, while he declined all the incoming requests.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: The start of a trade would delight this wandering soul.;;

As soon as he closed another trade request, he spotted a character that looked like a pure white mountain spirit, who was jumping in place to draw attention. It was Mountain Spirit. As the username suggested, they were dressed in a hanbok that made them look ethereal, and the white hair and beard that went all the way down to their waist made them look even more wise and holy.

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Give me a sec, ppl keep sending requests. Why’s today so... Just one sec. I’m rejecting them all, so just hold on.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: Oh, but a glimpse of enlightenment has struck this soul: How much may you ask for, for each blessed item?

[Whispering] neutaaaa: 400/50pc, in total 200 million.

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Btw why are you talking like that? Is being a mountain spirit you whole thing or something?

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: That’s indeed the truth;

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Lmaoooo

When he put the requested Tokens of Resurrection into his side of the trading window, he saw Mountain Spirit was already displaying the necessary ‘200,000,000 Coins’ on their respective side of the trade as well. He counted the 0s to make sure the amount was really accurate and then he clicked on ‘Accept’, but somehow, in that small timeframe, another 0 had been added to the amount and he only noticed after he’d already clicked the button.

‘Trade successfully completed.’

“...huh?”

After he checked that he had, indeed, gotten way too much money for this trade, Yeo-woon immediately tried to send Mountain Spirit a new trade request. But the game told him he couldn’t, because Mountain Spirit had already left channel 3 for a different one, making a trade impossible.

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Hey, you gave me too much money.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: ? How much more did this wayward mind bless you with?

[Whispering] neutaaaa: I was supposed to get just 200 million, but I got 2 billion.

[Whispering] Mountain Spirit: Haha, what an honorable woodcutter.^^ As reward, it is only right he shall get to keep the rest.

[Whispering] neutaaaa: ?

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Hey wait

[Whispering] neutaaaa: Mountain Spirit

[Whispering] neutaaaa: You there??

‘Did that really just happen?’

First things first, Yeo-woon used a warp capsule, to escape all the people still sending him trade requests. He fled to a deserted village, so that his screen could finally stay free of the constant notifications, though he still had to contend with the insane amount of whispers in his chat. For the moment, he could relax.

[Server] Mountain Spirit: The fabled slot machine event was prosperous indeed. This participant had their doubts, but my amount was doubled haha. You may give 2 billion in a pretend-trade and receive 4 billion for it, in the end. May fortune smile upon you all. ^^

Just then, that Mountain Spirit, who Yeo-woon had been talking to, used a server megaphone to broadcast this strange message to everyone currently online in the game, regardless of what channel they were on. And as Yeo-woon slowly grew to understand the situation, a dumbfounded look took over his face.

[Whispering] GD Lemon: Hello? This is GM Lemon. It seems you won our game’s Sudden Surprise event, so please empty one spot in your inbox and we will send you the prize you won.^^

[Whispering] Chlorine: Hey, someone said if I give you money, they’ll double it. Is that true? Isn’t that reportable?

[Whispering] CM Centimeter: Hello, this is the new GM of the game. We are giving away 100 million coins to random players as a celebration reward. Would you like to participate?

[Whispering] Chlorine: I got 1 billion coins right now. If I give you 1 billion and receive 2 billion for it, I’ll split the profit with you after and send 500 million your way!! Want to make a deal?

As he watched more and more whispers coming in, frozen in place, he really felt like laughing. There was only one person who could be responsible for something like this.

[Couple] neutaaaa: .

[Couple] Ji9Star: I DIDN’T DO IT?!??! No way, no how!!

Even when he first came online today, Earth Star had been silent, not even trying to send a greeting. 

‘But as soon as I message, he’s yelling out incriminating stuff.’

It was so incredibly obvious, thanks to his reaction.

[Couple] neutaaaa: Haha, I haven’t even said anything yet.

[Couple] Ji9Star: Lmaoooooo

[Couple] Ji9Star: Oh... Guess I just got nervous haha

[Couple] Ji9Star: Also, why weren’t you on yesterday? >_<

[Couple] neutaaaa: Was busy drinking…

[Couple] Ji9Star: Lol…ㅠㅠ I’m no good at drinking myself

[Couple] Ji9Star: If you were on yesterday, you would of gotten the quest for the 3rd job change already by now.

As his character idly sat on the deserted Marchen Bridge, Earth Star soon appeared beside him, with the help of a warp capsule. He threw his black shadow spear weapon in all possible directions, weaving his way through the air. Then, as soon as he got close to Yeo-woon, he slammed the spear into the ground and spammed random emotes, more and more of them the more time passed.

[Couple] Ji9Star: I’ve no way to reach you.

[Couple] Ji9Star: And this event period is so short. It’ll be over before you know it and if you’re not logging in each day, we lose out on too much experience...

[Couple] neutaaaa: I can make up for it, so what does it matter?

[Couple] Ji9Star: But it was so frustratingㅜ

[Couple] Ji9Star: I waited all day yesterday...

[Couple] neutaaaa: ? Stoppppppppppp

Earth Star finally did stop his slew of emotes, then sent an apology in chat that seemed only half-serious.

[Couple] Ji9Star: Newt, you know Whole Blue?

[Couple] neutaaaa: I do.

[Couple] Ji9Star: Install it.

[Couple] neutaaaa: ?

Whole Blue was an app that was often used for games with a really bad in-game voice chat, so that people could talk in spite of that. He’d heard that many different groups used it to play games together, thanks to its amazing voice chat and the fact you could both talk and chat with multiple people at once in it.

‘I’ve used it so rarely though...’

[Couple] Ji9Star: And then I’ll tell you my friend code >_<

[Couple] neutaaaa: Why?

[Couple] Ji9Star: ‘Cause this is frustrating. I’m trying to make it easier coordinate things… Or do you want to always have to tell me when exactly you’ll be back, every time you log off for the day?

[Couple] neutaaaa: ?

[Couple] neutaaaa: But won’t I have to talk with you then?;; Sounds annoying...

[Couple] Ji9Star: Annoying for me, you mean ㅡㅡ;

[Couple] Ji9Star: So what’s your solution then?? Do you want me to have to wait all day long in here???

[Couple] Ji9Star: Did no one ever tell you that time’s even more precious than money??

Earth Star showed his irritation by moving all over the screen non-stop, as if his body would combust if he stood still for even a second. But below the surface, his frustration seemed sincere to Yeo-woon.

‘…if you just turn off the computer, it’s like the other person never existed anyway. So why should we establish some connection outside of the game?’

Yeo-woon really didn’t care for things like that.

‘Ji9Star invited you to join the party. Do you want to accept?’

Once he joined, Yeo-woon saw CroakRush and Captain Poseidon were already part of their team as well. It seemed like Captain Poseidon would replace KittycatMeowMeowMeowin their party for the day. It was a blessing and burden both, and as a result, Yeo-woon’s heart felt heavy for no concrete reason. CroakRush and Captain Poseidon saw where he and Earth Star had met up and so they joined them on the Marchen Bridge.

[Party] CroakRush: I heard our newbie is now a confirmed investment account!

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Sorry about himㅠㅠ I’m afraid all our guild members are secretly childrenㅜㅜ

[Party] neutaaaa: It’s fine

[Party] Ji9Star: You’re fine gm haha

Their four characters looked pretty cute, all sitting together on the railing on the bridge, so Yeo-woon took a quick screenshot without even thinking about it. The little Poseidon Guild mark above three of their heads looked nice, surrounded by the flowing river and the map’s starry background. Nearly romantic, even.

[Party] Ji9Star: Newt, did I have you all wrong from the start? I feel like I did

[Party] Ji9Star: I was wrong about you being one of those troublemakers, who insist on causing problems for the guild.

[Party] Ji9Star: I guess, now that I know you better, I can see you’re not like that...

‘All of a sudden? Just like this?’

[Party] Ji9Star: You’re actually just a normal guy, aren’t you?ᄃᄃ

[Couple] neutaaaa: ㅡㅡ?

[Party] Ji9Star: Ah, well, I just feel kinda sorry now, is all.

Yeo-woon, hopelessly confused, tilted his head to stare at his screen from a different angle, hoping that would somehow help with making sense of Earth Star’s weird shift in behavior.

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Your acting is really good ^^; But I know that’s all this is, so I won’t give you back your guild position yet.

[Party] neutaaaa: Lmao that explains it...

[Party] Ji9Star: Damn haha whatever

Seemed like the Guild Master was right and had caught Earth Star faking an apology in front of Captain Poseidon, in an attempt to get his position back. Even without being a part of their guild, Yeo-woon really liked their Guild Master because of how strict he was with Earth Star.

[Party] neutaaaa: Earth Star

[Couple] neutaaaa: What do you do for a living?

[Party] Ji9Star: Ah, what’s this sensation. Almost like I heard someone talking who won’t even install Whole Blue.

[Party] neutaaaa: Are you rich in-game because you’re rich irl too and bought coins with money?? Or how did you get those

[Party] Ji9Star: Lmaooooo

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Lmaoo...

The laughter made Yeo-woon feel a bit like he’d missed some joke, leaving him as the odd one out.

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Money... I guess he has a lot...? It feels strange to think about, because we never really talk about these things.

[Party] neutaaaa: Is that because you’re actually unemployed, Earth?

[Party] Ji9Star: ? Lol I’ve had the same job for the last 14 years.

Even if he’d started work straight out of high school... that would still leave him older than even Yeo-woon’s cousin. Yet, the way he talked didn’t make him sound that age at all.

[Party] CroakRush: He’s a 2nd year college student lol.

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Lmaoooo 14 years

[Party] Ji9Star: Ugh, giving away the game right from the start, really?

Earth Star’s character fell to the floor, seemingly crying. Then he just disappeared, so Yeo-woon checked his location on the map, since they were still in one party together, and he found him at the entrance to the ‘Wrath of the Lion King’ Dungeon, which was higher in level than the Ant Cave they’d farmed before.

[Party] Captain Poseidon: Oh, Earth Star legit ran. Are you feeling embarrassed? Shall we join you over there?

[Party] CroakRush: For sureee lmaooo

[Whispering] Ji9Star: You installed Whole Blue yet?

[Whispering] Ji9Star: I’ll get dinner soon…ㅜ Aren’t you curious when I’ll be back?

[Whispering] Ji9Star: You were curious what I do for a living tooㅜㅜ

[Whispering] Ji9Star: Aren’t you curious what I’m getting for lunch too?

“...”

Earth Star was a real pro at using every feature in the game to its fullest potential. Using the Party chat, whispers, and even occasionally the Couple chat, all to sent separate messages. But still, Yeo-woon had never been curious about what others might eat, or when.

‘I don’t even know what I ate myself yesterday...’

[Party] neutaaaa: Ah, those quiet whispers again. I really can’t understand them

[Party] Ji9Star: You’re so annoying

[Party] neutaaaa: Sure sure

[Party] CroakRush: Whispering in secret like a real couple… You sure you’re not together?

[Party] Ji9Star: Real couple what a joke

[Whispering] neutaaaa: You roach, are you really bullying me too, now?

[Party] CroakRush: ;; Sorry

With Earth Star this frustrated about not having a way to contact each other, Yeo-woon contemplated giving in. For now, he followed his team members into the Dungeon, but in the background, he searched up the app and left it to download and install. When they defeated the Dungeon’s boss, the lion king, the app was already done installing.

[Whispering] neutaaaa: 2445ealbkn

[Whispering] Ji9Star: ?

[Whispering] Ji9Star: Oh

[Whispering] Ji9Star: Nice

Earth Star seemed to have recognized the whisper as Yeo-woon’s friend code near instantly and so he got a friend request on Whole Blue from him just as fast. As soon as Yeo-woon clicked ‘Accept’ on the friend request, a chat room appeared with the two of them in it. A button to start a voice chat was at the bottom right of the screen, while the chat room itself allowed them to write messages back an forth, same as they had been doing in the game they played together.

[Party] Ji9Star: Time for dinner ><

[Party] Captain Poseidon: In that case, I’ll take a coffee break too for a bit.

[Party] CroakRush: Got some chores from my dad brb…

And just like that, Yeo-woon was left alone, with only three idling charactere in front of a Dungeon, after they’d all agreed to meet back up in half an hour. A few moments later, Earth Star sent him a picture. Seemed like his dinner was pan-fried chicken, seasoned with a nice red sauce. He hesitated for just a second, unsure what to reply with, but eventually settled on a simple thumbs up emoji.

(Next Part)

[alluringjae]

au cours de l’été - jjh

⤑ translation: over the summer

⤑ summary: this is a story of an exhausted painter who needed a breather from the hectic city life. so aside from moving to the countryside, the needed air in your lungs also came in the form of a person. this summer meant for pure relaxation, perhaps your heart may dive into him too.

⤑ pairing: jaehyun x female reader

⤑ word count: 15.2k (so much for saying that i’ll be writing shorter stories)

⤑ genre: fluff, romance, smut | author!jaehyun, painter!reader, strangers to lovers!au, 50s-60s!au, summer love in france!au

⤑ warnings: me inserting some french phrases because I want to practice (feel free to correct me if I made mistakes, i’ll appreciate them), fictional interpretations of real-life people, explicit language, jaehyun being such a romantic pls im in tears, mentions and scenes of burnout (the worst)

⤑ playlist: everybody loves somebody by dean martin | c’est si bon by eartha kitt | it’s always you by chet baker | les yeux ouverts by emilie-claire barlow | a sunday kind of love by etta james | the most beautiful thing by bruno major | try again by jaehyun and d.ear (duh) | free love (dream edit) by honne | petite fleur by jill barber | plus je t’embrasse by blossom dearie | so this is love by ilene woods and mike douglas

⤑ author’s note: this was an idea that just came to me after pinterest kept recommending me poetic beauty/try again jaehyun, so here we are! i intended to write less than 5k words but sometimes plans don’t go as planned once you really invest in the story yet i’m really happy how this turned out!

the romantic exhilaration in my bones are off the charts because this is jaehyun we’re talking about lol enjoy!

⤑ masterlist

⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism, or hellos!

3 juin 1957

The city life overstimulated your entire system, losing your brainpower and inspiration. Another exhibition that’ll feature your works with other influential painters was happening at the end of the year, and you had nothing prepared so far. You’ve crashed to the deep end of creative fatigue.

So you needed to get away again; somewhere quieter and surrounded by nature.

That’s why you ended up in the countryside down south, somewhere within Provence. It’s purely just for the summer, but extensions were okay as long you get back at least a month before the show. Filing that leave of absence at the studio you worked at was worth it.

You rented an apartment overlooking the marketplace, where the heart of the village was. After arranging things from your boxes and luggage the entire day, you found out that you lacked in the food department.  

So the succeeding day, the entire morning was spent on grocery shopping downstairs then stocking them inside your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Right after changing out of your pajamas into a flowy floral dress and sandals, you decided to bike to the bakery that locals suggested. A must-go place for newcomers, they all raved.

“Café des Étoiles Perdues.” (Café of Lost Stars.)

The clear chimes of the bell resounded through the small, cottage-like lobby as you entered inside. An old woman, whom you assumed was the owner, welcomed you openly.

“Oh la la, vous êtes belle! Vous vous appelez (Y/N), la nouvelle venue, n'est-ce pas?” (Oh la la, you’re beautiful. Your name is (Y/N), the newcomer, right?)

She complimented, making you shyly mutter your answer. Wiping off the flour from her apron, she introduced herself kindly.

“Je m’appelle Camille. Mes spécialités sont les macarons pisctaches et des croissants avec des amandes. Autre chose que tu aimes?” (I’m Camille. My specialties are the pistachio macarons and croissants with almonds. Is there anything else you like?)

“J'aime tout ce que vous suggères, Madame.” (I’d like anything that you suggest, Madame.)

A younger man, who went by Jaemin, was a part-timer barista who asked for your coffee order. As he directed you to the best seat of the café, which was outside overlooking the garden of blooming sunflowers, you pulled out your sketch pad so you could capture this dreamy view. It was nothing like you’ve ever seen in your life.

You’ve decided on a theme already for your exhibit thanks to your conversations with locals yesterday, which was related to freedom. After being chained to cities for so-called better living and financial standards, it’s actually how your inspiration to create squeezed the life out of you like a lemon. Although it was fun at first to see those tourist spots, it eventually got tiring.

Another matchstick to graze intensity through your bones was what you prayed for.

While you’re engaged in a rough sketch of the scenery, the dandy presence of a young man entered the café with his books. White shirt, red trousers with a matching beret, he sported freckles on his pale face. Despite visiting his favorite café numerously, Camille was overjoyed to see him and his serene smiles.

“Jaehyun! What brings you here?”

“Bonjour, Madame! I’m starving for your croissants because I ran out back home.”

“Not to worry! I’ll pack up some so you’re on your way.” She lightened him up like one of her kids, taking one of the bigger paper bags.

“No rush though, Madame. I’ll be reading and working here for a bit here.” Jaehyun affirmed, bringing it out his wallet and called out for Jaemin.

“Un café crème, s’il vous plait.” (One cup of cappuccino, please.)

Jaehyun’s usual chair was by the large window, overseeing the wide garden planted by the citizens of the village way before he was born. It was places like this he missed after moving to the city for his education and work’s sake. 

That’s the thing when you’re coming from a rich family; you don’t have much of say with what your parents order you to do. However, his recent request to stay in his childhood home (or mansion) again was fulfilled because he couldn’t search for what he needed in the cities anymore.

Jaehyun was a sucker for romance; an old romantic others would say. A lot of women mistook his kindness as flirting on many occasions, but ironically he just wasn’t looking for anyone yet. 

Starting as a novelist in the said genre based on real-life stories of people he met in Paris, Barcelona, London, and more, his stories were popular hits especially to young adults who aspire to find love one day.

However, traveling to the known places no longer felt fun as he got older. The stories he gathered were very similar, just in different languages. It took an enthusiastic dinner with his family, specifically his only older sister Krystal retelling fond stories from their younger years to get the idea of moving back for a bit. So consumed with the city life, he wanted to see things from another perspective.

What was the difference between a love story formed in the countryside than in the city?

It’s been a month since he arrived, but he didn’t hurry himself to do his research. He’s been reading books in his family library, revisiting monumental places, exploring around the village, and reconnecting with old friends as if he never left. 

Readjusting to his former life would make writing easier when he’s motivated enough to do it again. Besides, his books were profiting well enough to his taste; good enough for the next 10 years according to his personal accountant, Kim Jungwoo.

Jaehyun resumed reading this book his mother recommended him before he left. Entitled “Réessaye”, which was about a young man who reunites with his childhood sweetheart after his arranged marriage failed. After what she put her through, he’s hesitant whether to try again or let her go.

Jaehyun enjoyed reading books with realistic outlooks on love because he found them more meaningful, enlightening how exactly it makes you feel and do. Even if he enjoyed reading sappy, fairytale-like stories from time to time, he always returned to the real ones as they only displayed the truth.

That love isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, but something that can also break you especially if you go after the wrong person. This kind of mindset was how he toiled on his stories, which gained him a status outside of his unavoidable labels such as “the only striking son of the Jeong family” or “Valentine Boy”.

He diligently browsed through the climax, where the main male character confessed all his constrained emotions to his sweetheart. But it was until Jaemin pressed the bag of croissants in front of his face after placing down his childhood friend’s drink to disturb his peace.

“Reading again?” He taunted, snatching his book away and throwing the bag on Jaehyun’s lap. “When are you writing that book already? Everyone is practically dying for you to release something new again!”

Jaehyun flatly shook his head, drinking his coffee quietly. It’s not the first time anyone asked (or pressured) him about his next release, and it’s the last thing he wanted to think about. “Not in the mood right now, Jaemin. Now off to work before Madame Camille scolds you again.”

“You’re just stalling because you have nothing to write, don’t you?” Jaemin cunningly expressed, raising a brow. He’s known to catch onto the people’s bs easily; the last person you’d want to say your secrets too and Jaehyun realized too late. Though lucky for him, Jaemin shut the topic down right away so he wouldn’t pop a vein.

“Sais-tu de la nouvelle venue dans le village, d'ailleurs?” (Do you know about the newcomer in the village, by the way?)

“Une nouvelle venue?” (A newcomer?)

Being stuck at his mansion recently, news about village affairs were now late to him. Jaemin’s finger discreetly pointed outside the window, pertaining to a young woman sat outside painting her view in front of her.

That would be you, shading all the flowers in bright colors.

Seeing a new face amazed Jaehyun, especially when she was almost someone right out of a book. In a neat bun with white daisies printed in her dress, she crossed her legs whilst continuing her movements. She bit her lower lip, frustrated over an accidental smudge she made and trying to fix it by blending it with another color. When she accomplished it, she swapped brushes. A thinner one, to outline the shapes of the flower. Her lips curved to a smile after finishing another one perfectly with the rest.

“Jaehyun?”

Jaemin snapped his fingers to his distracted friend, zoning out the window. Still something he hasn’t stop doing, he pondered. With a final snap, Jaehyun broke away from falling hard from his abstract. Jaemin calculated the problem so quickly, analyzing his friend breezily like his medical school requirements.

“Elle est splendide, n'est-ce pas?” (She’s gorgeous, right?)

“Elle ressemble à une personne décente.” (She looks like a decent person.)

Jaehyun pushed it aside, flipping back to the page where he stopped reading. Before Jaemin responded, the door chimed open again to alarm him that a new customer came in. He excused himself to his friend, warning him that this wasn’t the last time he’ll talk about the newcomer too.

Jaehyun nodded along, not taking his friend’s cheeky words so seriously. However, the final result you attempted to create tickled his curiosity, so he slyly peeked from his book to the window.

You’ve freed your hair down, victorious to have started your collection this early in your break. A fantastic start, you let the paint dry first and munch on the croissant that served as your reward. However, you ‘re quick to notice a manly figure glancing through the window. From the side, his brown eyes appeared lively even if his entire face was hidden by the book.

Réessaye by Mark Lee; he must be a romantic. Every person in your studio read it, excluding yourself. Painfully beautiful, they’d summarize it.

Daring to meet more people, you locked eye contact with him. He didn’t expect it, almost flipping from his chair. Bashfully, you waved him a hello to somewhat break the ice. However, it broke his composure, and suddenly, he scurried off with his things from the café.

Now, you got quite worried. You checked your tiny mirror if he saw anything unpleasant with you, but you’d say you look relatively fine. Oh, maybe you could redeem yourself the next time you saw him. After bidding goodbye to Camille and Jaemin, the latter chased after you when you prepared yourself on your bike.

“By any chance, did you say hi to a guy with brown eyes and a red beret?”

“Well, more like I waved at him, then he zoomed out. Did I do something wrong?” You questioned with concern, putting your hands on the handles.

“That’s my friend, who’s quite reserved with strangers. I’m sorry on his behalf.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” You brushed it off politely. “See you again soon, Jaemin!”

Peddling away, letting the cool breeze fan you, your mind reverted its thoughts to that strange man. Maybe you’ll give it some time; you had a lot of it.

“Shucks, he was pretty cute.”

12 juin 1957

The world must really be on your side with these good decisions because you crossed paths with the strange man again in the café a week later. But instead of running away, he asked nicely if he could sit across your free chair in front of your table outside. It was a Saturday, and the place was packed.

“Joignez-moi, s’il vous plait.” (Join me, please.)

You insisted, giving yourself time to subtly observe his physique a lot more. Freckles dotted under his eyes like a constellation, bushy eyebrows, pink cheeks to match his pale complexion, and wearing a fuzzy knit sweater that meshed well with his green beret. He had some sort of necklace too; there was a heart pendant.

“Vous êtes une artiste.” (You’re an artist.) The small wooden palette of paint beside your small sketch pad was exposed, finding it as a great icebreaker.

“Une peintre, spécifiquement. Franchement, les visuels ici sont trés captivants qu'à Paris.” (A painter, to be specific. Frankly, the visuals here are more captivating than in Paris.)

“Je suis d’accord,” (I agree,) Jaehyun leaned against his chair, taking a better look at you with the remaining light from the descending sun.

“Oh, vous êtes comme moi. J’habite à Paris aussi.” (Oh, you’re like me. I live in Paris too.)

“Bon, je suis née à Londres. Puis, j’ai déménagé où je voulais en Europe depuis j'avais 18 ans. Mais oui, j’habite définitivement à Paris maintenant.” (Well, I was born in London then moved wherever I wanted in Europe for inspiration since I was 18. But yes, I live permanently in Paris now.)

You clarified, beginning to enjoy his comforting company. Initiating conversations with people you’re not acquainted with wasn’t in your range of skills, though he didn’t have an intimidating vibe. He looked too youthful to act like that.

“Je m’appelle (Y/N), d'ailleurs.” (I’m (Y/N), by the way.) You stuck out your hand as a sign of respect, which he enthusiastically obliged.

“Salut, (Y/N). Je m’appelle Jaehyun.” [Hi, (Y/N). I’m Jaehyun.]

He kissed it in a gentleman fashion, applying the manners he’s been taught since he was a child. Should you have been flustered, but no.  It’s been a long time since anyone greeted you like that, specifically back home.

Throughout your talk, you learned more about who he was, his job, and what his life in the countryside is like. He was an author of romance novels, yet you’ve never heard about him prior. Heavily prioritizing your work, you don’t keep up with the new releases or trends at all. Though after mentioning his last name, it piqued your interest.

“Jeong? As in the business, Jeong Tea Inc.?”

“Correct.”

His family was one of the most affluent families in Parisian society. Old money immigrants from South Korea, they brought their tea business to France and it boomed successfully. You’re quite sure you’ve seen his parents in past exhibits, but never did you approach them because you were a rookie then. But he reassured you that it was fine, and to just treat him like you’d treat your friends. Plus, it came to your knowledge that he was the same age as you too.

He opened up how this village was where he lived his childhood, so he asked his parents if he could hand over their mansion for a while for rest. It then shocked both of you at how identical your reasons were for staying in the countryside.

“I’m burnt out from the city, so I’m trying to regain my spirit here hopefully. Besides, I needed a change of scenery after living there for 3 years. My longest stay yet outside of London!”

“I need new ideas for my books. The cities don’t charm me anymore, so I returned here for peace and quiet. Maybe let these ideas come to me rather than me going after them.”

From a bigger lens, people would conclude your interaction as a sight of two artists who passionately talk about their art. But to you, you’d interpret it as two relaxed, young adults in their twenties who simply wanted to run away from the pressures of their art and enjoy the summer as every young adult should.

Not cooped up in the studio or office, but innocently waltzing around with your youth while it’s still there.

début de juillet 1957

“Dépêche-toi, (Y/N)!” [Hurry up, (Y/N)!]

Jaehyun yelled at your open balcony from downstairs, parking his mini car beside your bike. He planned on taking you somewhere a little farther this time; to absolutely feel like one of the locals.

The countryside urged you to wear more dresses and flat shoes, so you took out a turquoise dress with a white scarf to wrap on top of your head. Like your relaxed fit, your mindset too was calm. Upon meeting him, he wore his round spectacles with a red knit sweater over a white turtleneck long-sleeved top. His fingers were adorned with silver rings, then around his neck was a thin black ribbon. He curled some of his hair again, a style you really liked of his.

You can’t lie, but this man could pull any trend or style and still look extra pretty.

Out of all the locals you’ve befriended in your stay, Jaehyun was always your companion. He took you to varying places that those locals don’t visit nor tourists acknowledge in their reviews for the past few weeks. For someone who hasn’t been in the village for a long time, his memory didn’t disappoint. His childhood was only filled with cheerful moments.

Today, he was taking you to a peaceful district of shops in the farther part of the village. It’s where he’d buy sweets, journals, and accessories with his mother, Krystal, and one of his housemaids every other weekend.

All the stores there were currently bombarded with blooming flowers along their alley, bringing more enticement to those who were roaming around. There was so much life here; the head waiter of one restaurant smiling at every passing customer, one florist handing a free flower to anyone who asks, and a young lady showcasing her jewelry collection to a bunch of women who looked like tourists.

“Cette librairie vendent des livres enveloppés dans du papier. Ma mère m'a offerte l'un d'eux pour mon anniversaire tous les ans comme une surprise.” (This bookstore sells books wrapped in paper. My mother gifted me one of them on my birthday every year as a surprise.)

He trained his attention at a rustic shop with open wooden windows giving a glimpse of their shelves.

“Avez-vous fini les lisant?” (Have you finished reading them?)

“Du début à la fin.” (From cover to cover.)

He took you to this rooftop restaurant overlooking the entire plaza. Since he didn’t arrange a reservation yet didn’t get rejected, he must know the owner. Especially how a lot of the staff gave casual hellos and high fives.

Speaking of the owner, he walked out of his kitchen to introduce himself to you. He went by the name Moon Taeil, another one of Jaehyun’s childhood friends whom he used to play at his house whenever his parents came along.

Gobbling up in the appetizing food Taeil prepared beforehand, Jaehyun brought up your painting exhibition again. He loved hearing artists talk about their works, wanting to know more about their driven mindset and what their imagination is like. After all, it does vary for everyone.

“So far,” You poked your fork through the chicken, taking a bite of it. “I’ve produced 3 paintings. The garden of flowers outside Café des Étoiles Perdues, the kids playing hopscotch in the alley, and the peach tree outside your house.”

“Woah, you’re on a roll.” Jaehyun clapped across you, pouring you another glass of water. He recalled the nights you ranted not having any clue what to do for the exhibit. Then after taking you to more places, he’s rewarded to see you be creatively active again. “How many artworks do you left to make?”

“Around 3-4 left. I have ideas already, but I’m still brainstorming.” You internally rejoiced, loving how much progress you’ve made. “How about you, Jaehyun? How’s your progress?”

Unlike you, Jaehyun still felt stuck. Although he did find couples around the village, none of them intrigued him as much as his past stories. But he won’t give up easily; that’s not in his work ethic.

“Still searching, but I’ll get there.”

Recently, you got ahold of some of Jaehyun’s books from him personally since they weren’t sold in the village. You wanted to understand how he became so well known outside the labels people put him under. Reading his first novel entitled “Des Papillons” (Butterflies), it was about a couple separated during World War II without contact or knowledge about their well-being. Yet whenever they saw butterflies on the day they parted, they took it as a sign that the other was alive wherever they were.

You’re always hanging on the cliff when the scenes revert back and forth to the main male lead getting stuck in intense war scenarios, rooting for him to get out alive each time. In the end, it took 7 years before they were reunited and wed.

Jaehyun had a wonderful way with his words and descriptions, managing to enwrap you in as if you’re also a character in the book. Like how you rooted for that male lead, you’re rooting for him to find his spark again.

Following this uplifting conversation, Jaehyun finally took to your greatly anticipated spot. It was the main viewpoint of Gordes, one of the most beautiful hilltop villages in the country. The sunset was about to hit, and the lights from the city across you slowly turned on like a bunch of dominos.

As you marveled at its aesthetics, Jaehyun leaned against the hood of his car. He sensed how in awe you were, more than you ever were in the city he assumed. So used to the city that being surrounded with nature became foreign to you.

He took out his polaroid camera from his trunk and captured a photo of you from behind. The shutter sounds were obvious, turning your back at the commotion. Jaehyun fanned the freshly printed photo to dry, giving a mischievous smile.

“What can I say? While you’re fawning over the view, mine was more enamoring.”

Although Jaehyun felt overwhelmed the first time he locked eyes with you, he can’t resist the power of his developing feelings for you. The more time he took you around, the more his heart found different details about you to admire. After listening to all those love stories in the past, the people he spoke to shared how there will be some distinct moment where your heart decides who they’re longing for.

That exact view of you by the cliff, he already knew.

He’s infatuated by you.

“Tu es très ringard, Jaehyun.” (You’re so cheesy, Jaehyun.) You scoffed sassily, with a hand on your waist.

“Un gentleman ne ment jamais, (Y/N). Allez, il fait nuit maintenant.” [A gentleman never lies, (Y/N). Come on, it’s night already.]

He cleverly responded, grabbing his car keys from his pocket. The trip back to the village was energizing, putting down the roof of his car to relish the chill breeze of the night weather. You even raised your arms in the air, losing your scarf even from the speed Jaehyun went at!

The two of you belted along to the songs on the radio when the fields were the only ones surrounding you, no neighbors to shout at your rambunctiousness.

The late-night hours drew by so quickly almost like dinner with more of Jaehyun’s friends didn’t happen. Arriving at the front doors of your apartment complex, Jaehyun raced over to your side to open your door. Always maintained proper observation of manners, you appreciated that side of him. Rarely anyone in Paris that you’ve encountered treated you that way because you were a foreigner.

“Bonsoir, (Y/N).” [Goodnight, (Y/N).]

“Bonsoir, Jaehyun. Quand est-ce que je te revois?” (Goodnight, Jaehyun. When can I see you again?)

“Demain et après-demain. Appelle-moi quand tu es libre.” (Tomorrow, and the day after that. Just give me a call when you’re free.)

With a short wave, you entered your building and marched up to the stairs. A good day only meant being tired to the core, ready to crash and fall in your soft bed. Opening your wide windows to let more of the cool breeze in, your eyes easily caught Jaehyun’s classy car still there. As for the owner, he didn’t move an inch from his leaning position.

“Rentre à la maison, Jaehyun! C’est tard!” (Go home, Jaehyun! It’s late!) You shrieked, peeking side to side to make sure none of the neighbors scold you.

Jaehyun laughed wholeheartedly, not budging at all. “La nuit ne fait que commencer, ma chérie.” (The night has just begun, my darling.)

“Comment tu m'as appelé?” (What did you call me?)

Either your ears were fooling you or he addressed you by a divine pet name. The gasp you swallowed, as your entire body tingled with exhilaration. Your mind would simply disregard it like his former teasing words, but your heart begged to differ.

Rather than responding with words, Jaehyun’s voice serenaded you with a wondrous song, C’est Si Bon by Eartha Kitt, that played on the radio earlier. Out of the blue, a random guitar accompaniment followed his baritone vocals.

“En voyant notre mine ravie,”

Against the railing of your wired balcony, your body shifted forward to watch him better.

“Les passants dans la rue, nous envient,”

Your hand perched on your cheek, admiring his talent.

“C'est si bon de guetter dans ses yeux,”

It was like a lullaby, and here you were drowning in its peacefulness. Sensing the passion he gives off in his singing, your heart couldn’t refrain the strings inside from being swayed and tugged.

This was your moment of realization: that you too were smitten.

“Un espoir merveilleux, qui donne le frisson…”

À la mi-juillet de 1957

“Hello, nature!” You greeted brightly as your legs raced the huge garden in his manor. It was the first time he invited you over, too lazy to go out of the city. His social battery needed a recharge for the weekend, so a picnic within his home would do the trick. Additionally, it was an excuse to bring you over after the numerous times you’ve begged him to.

Jaehyun merely shook his head, enjoying the rush of childlike fun in your veins while you squealed and grazed your hands through the flowers.

He carried a wooden basket full of treats his family maids cooked, taking his time to venture through the rows of flowers. They were growing healthily and phenomenally these days, sometimes riding his bike to personally water them since he became busy with writing again. Lately, he found inspiration again, and so he wrote day and night to set them free.

“Voila!” You yanked out a sunflower, sniffing it a little. “Come on, Jaehyun! Pick up a few for our lunch!”

He followed your order, picking out some he found ideal. But just for fun, he put down the basket and carried you from behind out of the blue. You tried kicking him away, but his muscular arms can’t compete with your soft ones.

“What are you doing?”

“You said to pick up a flower, so I did. The prettiest of them all.”

His flirtatious words were never serious, yet you took it as a compliment. That’s how high your confidence is. Only we define our own worth, not others. The two of you chatted more about your lives until the first rain of the season poured down, chilling down from the raging heat. None of you had an umbrella; the weather was too unpredictable.

Deciding to just run for it, he gave you the wooden basket to protect yourself whilst he used the blanket you’ve sat on. Running with laughter to return to his mansion in the muddy dirt, the cool drops shivered your figure yet felt fantastic.

If you were in the city, you’d panic because it’d mess your appearance and your boss would be infuriated by your unprofessionalism. But in the countryside, it didn’t matter at all. The condition of the rain wasn’t budging to improve, getting stronger by the minute. His entire house even lost power, his housemaids having to bring candles to his bedroom and your assigned one once night dawned.

It was hopeless to return home for you, plus it’s dangerous to drive in in the dark, narrow streets too. Jaehyun handed you some of his fresh clothes so you’d be free from flinching from cold dress sticking to your body.

“Get dressed and some sleep, (Y/N).”

Nodding, you excused yourself to find the bathroom. You’d assume it’d be easy, but this was your first time in his house; a mansion even. Doors from left to right, long corridors that seemed never-ending, no maids were within the vicinity whom you can ask for guidance.

Resorting to return to Jaehyun’s chamber for help, you were taken aback by what your eyes laid on. In front of his full mirror, he discarded his now-dried shirt. Even with the dim lighting, you could make out that he was fit by the transparent view of his abdomen. Peeping like this was wrong, yet you couldn’t turn away just yet. The heat in your cheeks was inevitable, finding composure in such an unholy sight.

Though a gear in you suddenly twisted; a gear that straightened your nerves. You’re taking a bold move on the chessboard of your feelings. Wholly opening his bedroom door again, you leisurely sauntered inside without warning.

“Oh, (Y/N)! Ne peux pas trouver la salle de bain?” (Oh, (Y/N)! Can’t find the bathroom?)

Unbothered as he stood shirtless, you on the other hand silently dropped his clothes on the floor. Holding intense eye contact, your fingers graciously unzipped the side of your dress. Inch by inch, the tension built up like the strong tiny flames lit on the candles around you two. Joining the pile of clothes, all that remained were your white lace undergarments. Unplanned for the get-go, it’s the ideal set for your earlier outfit at the picnic.

“Je me suis perdue, mais je pense avoir trouvé quelque chose de mieux.” (I got lost, but I think I found something better.)

Your fingers grazed your arm up to your collarbones, faking your naivety. From your lust-filled stare, the glint in Jaehyun’s eyes darkened. He gulped at the revealing sight of you, brushing his hair back to restrain himself.

None of you could utter a single word, only the vivacious rain being the only sounds ringing around you. Thus, you allowed your actions to pursue precisely what you desired to do.

Taking baby steps towards him to test the waters, he met you right in the center and closed the leftover space. His hands cradled your face, whilst yours clung to his chest. His lips tasted like red wine, watching him pour in a glass for himself earlier. He did offer, yet you declined.

Your tongue darted his lower lip, gaining access after. Sensing the edge of his bed, you plopped yourself down the cushion. His knee urged your legs to widen, letting his body slide in. From your face, his fingers lowered to the back of your bra, snapping the clasps open.

“It takes skill to accomplish that in one try, Jaehyun.”

“I lived in Paris too, ma chérie. You out of all people would understand and have the experience.”

His palms massaged your freed breasts, throwing your head back even more to his pillows as his lips ravaged down from your stomach until the fabric of your not-so pure panties.

“Call me that again, please.”

“Ma chérie, seras-tu mienne?” (My darling, will you be mine?) He kissed and licked the tiny ribbon in front repeatedly, where your now-swollen clit laid. It electrified your bones, pulling on to his ruffled hair.

“Tu peux m'avoir.” (You can have me.)

Sex in the form of one-night stands were all you’ve invested; upcoming artists like you weren’t capable to maintain long-term relationships. Les plans à trois even if you’re extra freaky or drunk from the afterparties of your events. All that these occurrences had in common were not seeing those men ever again after sneaking out of their apartments in the morning.

This time, it’s different.

When they said that doing the deed with someone you’re romantically entangled with was more special, they didn’t bluff. You could plan bits of your life, but it can sometimes change aspects of it when you least expect it. Sometimes for the best or the worst, but right now, it went beyond your expectations.

It’s rewarding that the man you’ve slowly fallen for within your stay returned your affections.

Around late 3 am that night, your brain jolted with artistic ideas that awoken your sonorous rest. There are no hopes of sleeping them off because they tend to bother you for hours until you do something about it. But you’re already so cozy having Jaehyun’s arms around you, skin to skin under the duvet. His lips daunted right above your forehead, recalling his endless kisses there that helped you fall asleep.

Well, these ideas don’t work themselves unless you do. Untangling him tactfully, you stepped out of the blanket and wore one of his long white shirts he gave you earlier before pulling out your sketchpad and palette of oil paints.

Luckily, there was still one available candle to use as the rest have melted indefinitely. You slid the matchstick again to the sand surface, boring a flame from the friction which you placed on top of the wick.

All your ideas that night leaned towards one thing, or person rather: Jaehyun.

You spent a few minutes retracing how he vividly looked at the picnic, leaning back from the chair of his work desk. His outfit of a turquoise turtleneck underneath a white button-top with trousers matching the said turtleneck looked good together, how his ears tingled red after you complimented his newfound inspiration for his book, and the prominent veins in his arms when he rolled his sleeves due to the heat.

The thin brush you held defined the shape of his face, then paying attention to the messy strands of his hair. Stroking in a circular way to outline his eyelids, a hoarse grunt disturbed the peaceful silence.

“Get back in bed, ma chérie.” His eyes drowsily opened, lying on his side. The moment he no longer felt your warmth, he worried something happened. Instead, you’re working late at night after quite a rough yet romantic night.

“Shush,” You shunned him down with your index finger. “Give me a few more minutes.”

“Perhaps, are you painting me?” He hunched from the covers. “Your eyes looking back and forth would never lie to me, would they?”

“Maybe…” You teased, batting your eyes at him without any risky intentions. Or not?

He deeply chuckled, sluggishly removing himself under the covers. In his pure nudity, he advanced himself towards you. You shrieked, covering yourself with your free hand.

“Jaehyun, stay back! I told you I’ll be there soon!”

Not listening, he carried your bridal style, making you drop your precious palette to the fur rug. Laying you carefully, he popped each button open. By the sight of his cock hardening again, you knew you were in for another round with him.

“Wet again, ma chérie? Oh, this will be fun.”

Fin de juillet 1957

So this kind of summer romance concept that everyone fantasized about… it became your present.

Together you’d stroll in the smaller streets and immerse yourselves in the unique culture of the village. Whenever anyone saw you together, holding hands, biking, or what-not, they’d praise in the name of love for bringing you both together. A romance like yours in the countryside was a lively sight.

Remember how extensions were a possibility if your search for inspiration wasn’t found? Well, it’s not a question that you’d make one, except inspiration found you instead. And he had one arm around you as he slow danced with you in the open grounds of the village, listening to the live band covering song classics.

In particular, Chet Baker. He was Jaehyun’s favorite artist at the moment.

There was an ongoing week-long festival dedicated to summer, giving more plants their bloom and spreading gratitude to the hardworking people. Especially the students, off on their break.

The faint radiance from the post lights as Jaehyun swayed you around, making you laugh as he tried to mumble the lyrics of the song. All those glasses of wine he tried earlier with you from the bartender offering it for free had its effects, and you weren’t off the hook from them either.

Blisters started to form from your ankles, adjusting to the new pair of heels Jaehyun gave (or insisted to buy) you a while ago after staring at them like lasers. You’ve always provided things for yourself that being spoiled by someone else felt weird to you.

“If there’s anything you want me to buy for you, just tell me.”

“How can I buy you if you’re already mine?”

His smooth talk often made you punch his shoulder, but it’s just a mechanism to hide the exhilaration.

Under each other’s spells in your dance, you laid your head on Jaehyun’s chest. Feeling the strong beat of his heart, you were reminded of how much life he’s filled with. And you became a part of it, in the same way he crossed yours.

Jaehyun’s lips sank to the top of your head, pecking it affectionately. The first-ever summer where he wasn’t stuck at his desk working or drinking his life away with his rich friends in their Parisian homes, it couldn’t get better than this.

“Oiii! Flirtez ailleurs!” (Oiii! Flirt somewhere else!) The distinct voice of Jaemin, handing out pastries to passersby, shouted at the both of you, making you flip your middle finger at him.

“Trouve une copine d’abord, d’accord?!” (Find a girlfriend first, alright?!) You shouted back jokingly, almost falling due to the ache of your feet. Your immodest behavior was censored by Jaehyun’s large palms, not wanting the kids around to see it. Whispering closely to your ear,

“Tu es ivre. Laisse-moi te ramener chez toi.” (You’re drunk. Let me take you home.)

You changed back into your sandals as Jaehyun led you through the different alleys. Your vision was too hazy to navigate, so he had one arm wrapped around your shoulders. The weather grew cold too, shivering your bones so he draped you in his blazer.

“Wait,” You stopped, making him do the same. But before he could ask for your reason, your hands yanked him by his suspenders and your legs walked backward to reach the brick wall. Standing in his 5’11 glory, you were overpowered.

Yet your lips captured his effortlessly, raising to your toes to press yourself closer to him. He moved fast, one arm hugging your waist while the other hoisted your leg up. Tangling around his waist, the urge to move your hips against his crotch couldn’t be contained any longer.

Everyone was probably still out at this time or sleeping. The sloppy sounds you’ve produced were beyond suitable for any audience. Not to mention, the nasty words Jaehyun’s pretty mouth spoke in your ears desired you to fall to your knees.

“Not afraid of getting caught, ma chérie? You want me to ruin you right here, right now?”

“God, Jaehyun,” Your hands tugged his belt forward, the friction it gave to your core twitched the naughty side out of you. “Do it, please.”

The idea of public sex thrilled your mind into overdrive, yet you’ve never done it. In Paris, a city where several people started to know your name, you didn’t need a scandal to be plastered in your resume yet.

Jaehyun himself included, and still opted not to give it to you.

“Another time, ma chérie. Your apartment, now.”

The moment you unlocked your apartment door, Jaehyun was far from gentle like in the mansion. Ripping you out of your frilly dress didn’t take long, so was unbuttoning his trousers down to the floor.

On your knees, his hand gave you a makeshift ponytail as your tongue flicked the slit of his cock. Then slowly taking him inch by inch on your mouth, you’d let out a loud pop when you needed to breathe. Your hands fondling his balls, he groaned from the edge of your bed and tightened his hold on you. Tears formulated in your eyes as you got to swallow him whole, uncontrollably bobbing your head.

He felt like putty when he released, your throat taking the salty base. You hastily unhooked your bra in front of him when suddenly, his hand flicked on the fabric of your panties, cueing you to stop your motion.

“Keep them on when you ride me.”

Straddling on his lap, his head laid against the headboard of his bed. His arms roaming around your back to stabilize you, your fingers pushed your panties to the side as you pushed yourself down his protected length. Your moans became shaky. Up and down, you bounced while bracing on his shoulders.

Against his ear, your moans were harmonious. His hips moved against your beat, hitting your g-spot like the sexual ace he is. His thumb rubbing your clit, you shuttered your eyes at the impending high approaching you like a bus.

“I’m close.” You choked out, the overstimulation overwhelming your nerves.

“Fuck, me too.” He grunted, slapping your butt that made you shriek.

Soon enough, everything hit you both all at once. The knot snapped, and so did your body falling on his chest after a single scream. Panting, Jaehyun pecked on your temple as his cock softened up. Once you returned to your senses, you lifted yourself from his length, laying bare beside him.

His eyes started to fall, but before they did, he muttered huskily. “Je t’aime, (Y/N).”

It was the first time he’s said those words in the way they meant, and he’s more than certain that it’s what he felt with you. Sure, it started as mutual infatuation, but now, it can’t leave. Not on his watch.

Love was a concept unfamiliar to you, but Jaehyun slowly taught you what it was and how it felt like. Books and films may give sneak peeks, but to personally give and receive it back was made possible by him.

From this moment on, you could conclude that yes, you reciprocated it.

“Je t’aime aussi, Jaehyun.”

16 octobre 1957

Autumn made its way to the countryside.

The leaves switched into red-brown shades, the weather in the south was warmer, and the wine harvest was highly anticipated. Jaehyun’s camera was a common item in your outings, taking as many photos as he could so the two of you had something to look back on.

Planned and candid, his range was wide. These were moments that proved that your youth was as happy as you wished it to be. You wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

Painting in his mansion was a regular thing, having new canvases prepared at his patio. There were so many items that amused you there like you could base your entire collection on his home. It’s not like Jaehyun could argue; it meant more time with you whenever you came over.

“Jaehyun, if you smudge paint on me, so help me Go-” He refused to listen to your “threats”, smearing black paint on your cheek.

“You were saying?” He cockily pestered, showcasing his paint-filled fingers. You dipped one of your brushes into the new paint and chased after him without hesitation. The entire evening became a paint war, a laugh fit even after seeing your reflections in the mirror. But before you could clean yourself, Jaehyun’s camera was by your face and he pressed the button.

“Still breathtaking.”

But the middle of the season arrived, that’s where your planned extension you’ve reached its end. The exhibit was next month, getting calls from your boss regarding your return and the paintings you’ll present. You informed her that you already had them mailed to your studio way back, so there’s nothing much to worry about.

All your bags were packed in the private car Jaehyun rented. Here, you’re bidding your goodbyes to every friend you’ve made outside the doors of your apartment complex, saving your last words with Jaehyun.

The night before, he stayed over and helped you pack your last items in luggage bags. He even brought extra clothes for you so you wouldn’t work extra. You’ve talked it out the whole evening through what happens next to ease your worries. In your bed, he opened the wide windows and pulled you under the sheets.

“Write to me.”

“Call me when you’re free, or whenever you feel like it.”

Leaning against the railing of the stairs, watched the sorrow in your face over this parting. He sensed how bittersweet everything was, but he wouldn’t change anything about it. He’s positive that your story won’t end here, not right now.

Sauntering to him, you sighed whilst taking your bag he held the whole time from him. His touch was tighter as the two of you hugged tenderly, nuzzling his head on your shoulder. The scent of his citrus cologne that implanted in your brain felt comforting, despite the uncertainty of everything between you.

You hinted a minty taste from the menthol candies from his home as his lips brushed yours, colliding it timely. He waited when everyone left, relishing these last seconds.

Stepping inside the vehicle, you waved your summer love farewell one more time before the driver hit the pedal. Your eyes couldn’t stray away from looking back, the distance between him and your former apartment widening. Only when he was no longer in the frame, you shifted your focus back in front.

Your fingers fiddled with the charm bracelet he gifted you from the market. It was custom-made by a jeweler who was great friends with his mother in his younger years. There were two pendants chained on it: a paintbrush and the sun.

“A paintbrush to remind you of your passion, and the sun to remind you of the summer we first met.”

The man was like one of his romance books, in human form. He knew how to catch your breath effortlessly.

Your stay, for now, may have concluded, but there was always next summer. And the ones after that. The village felt like a second home, one you can’t neglect like the other places you’ve lived. Then having Jaehyun here, the more reasons to return.

Undoubtedly the best vacation you’ve ever been in your adult years, one that didn’t sacrifice for your art so you could compete with other artists. The weight on your chest poofed into thin air, and you felt ready for what the next steps as a painter were.

Appreciating the greenery you passed by, you peeked over the side mirror of the car only to find Jaehyun quickly biking in your direction.

Now, what was he up to?

You instantly requested the driver to slow down his pace, rolling down the window of the car. Not caring about the strong winds, “You fool, what are you doing?!”

Although he trusted your last words, he had the greed to see your face again. It would be a long time until he’ll see you in person again. So he pedaled as fast he could to still reach you. Oh, the things you do when you’re in love.

“Mon cœur bat la chamade pour toi, (Y/N)!” [My heart beats loudly for you, (Y/N)!]

You giggled at his silliness, throwing out flying kisses.

“Je reviendrai bientôt, Jaehyun!” (I’ll come back soon, Jaehyun!)

21 octobre 1957

Only your friends at the studio gave you a warm welcome back, receiving comments like “get back to work” from your first encounter with your boss. Popping a champagne glass open after work hours on the rooftop of your studio, they interrogated you with all the questions they could think of.

“So this village in Provence…. was it beautiful as the tourists said?” Ten, who moved from his home in Thailand to Paris at a young age, expressed his curiosity whilst leaning against the railing overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

“Beautiful is an understatement, Ten. I miss it dearly!” You heaved a sigh, twirling your glass.

“So this inspiration you were looking for…” Amélie, your dear friend since your university days, created some tension as she prolonged her last word. Playfulness twinkled in her eyes, crossing her legs. “Was a person involved by any chance?”

For a moment, your throat almost gagged on the sizzling alcohol going down.

“What do you mean?” You acted clueless, pouring your now empty glass with more booze. But the moment Ten gave you the troublesome look coordinating with Amélie, you already knew you wouldn’t hear the end of it. These two were such gossips in and out of the studio.

Ten took the seat across you on the table and leaked all his pent-up information.

“So you know Seo Youngho, the only son of the Seo family. Rich, socialite, a total hotshot… yeah, all that jazz.” He dived in, seeing you nod over knowing that man. Someone in the past you’ve slept with, but that’s another story. “Well, Amelie and I attended one of his parties at his large penthouse. He had his usual crowd there; Kim Doyoung, Lee Taeyong, Nakamoto Yuta, and Lee Minhyung. But fun fact: there’s another member in that friend group who doesn’t go to these kinds of events.”

“Here’s where it gets interesting,” Amélie excitedly took off like the pipelette (chatterbox) she is. “Youngho, who was talking to us for a bit, asked where you’ve run off. Poor him, he must’ve missed you in his bed but anyway! We told him that you went down south somewhere in Provence for a break. Oddly enough, he mentioned how the mentioned member moved back there for the same reason.”

Ten and Amélie gave each other another frisky look, merely to piss you off. So predictable of them.

“Get to the point please!” You screeched.

“Jeong Jaehyun, ever heard of him?” Amélie imitated your tone of voice. “I mean, you should since you made a whole painting of him.”

“H-How,” Speechless, that’s what you were. Ten went on a fit of giggles, signaling the build-up of his intoxication.

“Youngho visited the studio to find a specific painting for his home, and we helped him in choosing. Then when your deliveries of paintings arrived that day and were unwrapped, the look on his face when he saw Jaehyun’s painting was priceless. Things started to add up, especially when he told us that he called up Jaehyun prior, he said that Jaehyun was seeing a girl during his stay there.”

“A young, burnt-out painter from Paris, to be specific.”

They’ve put you on the edge of the cliff, and it was too close to call it a coincidence. Of all things to be revealed, this had to be the first.

“Well, I was waiting for another time to tell you guys about him though.”

Their gasps of joy could give you guys a noise complaint by the neighbors, telling all about your escapades of him and you. During it, the more you missed seeing him daily either on his bike or his car. It was stuck in your routine, but now it’s reverted to your old one.

Could the next summer come any faster?

14 février 1958

Perhaps your newest collection at the Louvre was your most successful one yet.

Entitled “Inspirez, Expirez” (Breathe In, Breathe Out), your sceneries during your stay in the village varied. An old couple slow dancing under the night sky, and the quiet district of shops Jaehyun took you, those were some of your last additions.

A multitude of positive reviews on the newspapers and art magazines came in, commending on taking on a fresher, brighter outlook for a change whilst finding your spark again. As fulfilling it was, what you longed the most was the one responsible for it.

Lately, it’s been tough to contact him. His maids always answered the calls, informing you that he was busy with work or family matters. It’s so rare for him to act like this. Whatever it was, it wasn’t grand or serious hopefully.

Back to your collection, tonight was the last night of it. Just in time for Valentine’s day, where numerous socialite lovers embarked on this event, but you’re more fixated that it was also Jaehyun’s birthday. A boy full of love born on the day dedicated for it, things made more sense. In case, you’ve sent your birthday wishes to him through letter and passing the message to one of his maids. Even on his special day, he hasn’t reached out to you.

But to momentarily forget about that, there was a closing ceremony held for this exhibit with the other artists involved, and it was your turn to give your final remarks. More esteemed socialites and journalists were present, which didn’t halt your nerves the slightest. You were a professional after all, holding pride in your craft as you stood in front of the microphone wearing your new favorite custom-made gown.

There are perks when you have close friends in the fashion industry, specifically Kim “Key” Kibum from the House of Key. After defending him from a disrespectful client when you were picking up a dress for your boss during your internship years, not only did you earn his respect, but an invite to his shows and first claiming of new items from his collections. Dining in expensive restaurants in the metro was a plus, catching up on your lives. Sometimes calling each other out for your sexcapades too.

Speaking of him, he was in the crowd that night, ordering every photographer to take photos of your gorgeous self in one of his dresses. Or in your opinion, bribing some by how he stuffed a few thick stacks of Euro bills down their pockets.

Only one of it ever made. A dark green satin v-neck off-the-shoulder gown, where diamonds adorned your neck and ears and white stilettos kept your perfect balance. Also courtesy of Key.

Because it’s the winter season, he gifted you a limited edition white fur coat every socialite tried getting their hands on. Your hair was styled in a bun, emphasizing your dark tinted lips from this new lipstick Amelie insisted you buy.

Most people would get the first impression that you were one of the socialites, a child from one of the affluent families even. But you were a lot more remarkable than that, having inborn talent in the arts that you specialized over your youth and rising to the top without any parental help.

“Thank you to everyone for their endless support towards the magnificent collections of each artist present. As for mine, I am grateful to rechannel my creative side by taking a break. Rather than romanticizing overworking our bones to the core, there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back from the pressure. Being alive is a blessing, realizing further how our youth won’t stay with us forever. Being away from the boisterous cities, I found relaxation in the countryside of Provence.”

Your lips quirked into a grin as every single memory during that time reeled in your head like a movie. “The beauty of Provence cannot be simply put in words. The muses I’ve encountered were more than lovely, especially the man behind the Poetic Rose. With that, I sincerely thank everyone from my bottom of my heart and I hope to continue to support me in the years to come.”

The applause roared once you stepped down the platform, shaking hands with every esteemed guest with more gratitude as they praised you. These days, socializing with them was a lot easier. You’ve even taken more initiative to greet people first before they do, conversing with them easily about anything.

Key definitely noticed that as you toured him around your section, holding his nth glass of wine for the night.

“You, Madame (Y/N), transformed into a social butterfly.” He nudged your shoulder, smirking once he got a better view of his favorite painting from you. “I guess that’s the thing when you’re in love.”

“I beg your pardon?”

With this free hand, he motioned it up and down at the painting in front of you. “The Poetic Rose is none other than the youngest son of the Jeong family, whom I’ve met through his older sister, Krystal.”

“Am I really the only one who doesn’t know him?!” You stressed, jokingly. Key was elated to capture you in his trap, the changes of your personality too evident in his eyes. Figuring it out that it was love took a while, but being acquainted with Krystal, she’s the one who told him that her younger brother was in love with a painter in Provence. Do the math.

“I’ve met him through his older sister, one of my highly favored clients. He’s not much of a socialite like her, so I don’t really blame you for that.”

Searching for a waiter to refill your wine glasses, a surprise emerged the both of you.

“Madame Krystal, you’re absolutely stunning.”  Key complimented her, giving the engaged heiress of Jeong Tea Inc. kisses on the cheek as respect. Her recent engagement to Kim Donghyun, her childhood sweetheart and also the heir of Kim Couture, was the talk of the town.

They arrived at the event together, drawing the attention of everyone in the room earlier. Now, he was speaking to a few influential socialites he made a deal with this week about the art collections present.

“Key, you never fail to look fantastic,” She remarked positively, poking his necktie before placing her undivided attention on you. “So you must be (Y/N) (Y/L/N). You’re beyond bewildering in that gown.”

“Flattered to hear that, Madame Krystal. Such a pleasure to meet you.”

The three of you chatted as if you were the only people there. From art, passion, and love, pride filled in your chest when you toured your collection. It was like walking down memory lane for her, adding out how she used to climb the peach tree with her younger brother during their childhood. Once her eyes laid on Poetic Rose, she took her time admiring it.

“My younger brother grew up well. That’s all I could ever hope for as his only older sister.” She paused, noticing how silent you became when you stared at the painting along with her. She observed the passion lit in your eyes, yet there was longing behind it by the way your lips pouted briefly. “You must really love him, do you?”

“I do, truly. After meeting him, not only was I boosted with so much ideas, but my heart embraced him for what and who he is in this universe.” You professed confidently, earning an approving smile from Krystal.

“If that’s how you feel, why not tell him that yourself?”

Her fingers gestured you to turn around. Stood in a grey suit with his brown hair slicked back, it was like seeing a completely new person. A handsome one though. His fashion in the countryside heavily differed from his fashion in the cities. So sophisticated and refined, he looked like a prince straight out of a fairytale.

Your fairytale.

“Jaehyun.”

It’s like everything stopped once he sprinted towards you, pulling you off your feet for a snug hug. Your arms threw themselves on his neck by instinct, not wasting a single second in his grasp. Your nose inhaled the woody scent of his cologne, something more formal than his usual fruity scent.

The smell of aftershave in his jaw couldn’t go ignored either, assuming that he must have had plans to go out tonight. Nonetheless, you squealed as if you were back in Provence, giggling at his boldness. Once he put you down, neither of you could get your hands off each other.

“What are you doing here? You didn’t tell me you’d be in Paris!” Clutching your waist, you gazed at him with doe-like eyes, instilling confusion.

“J’ai voulu te surprendre, my chérie.” (I wanted to surprise you, my darling.)

He chuckled, pushing some straying strands of your hair behind your ear. His eyes evoked so much endearment towards this elegant look you prepared, making his heart race as if he were in the gardens of his manor again.

Hearing his petname for you again attacked your heart every time no matter how much time passed, he lifted your chin high. Jaehyun urged himself to kiss you senseless right there, leaning lower. And yes, you anticipated it by how your eyes instantly closed.

Only if it weren’t for Krystal to clear her throat, obviously ruining the mood. Flinching away from your sensual lover, you rubbed the nape of your neck. Towards an heiress like her, it must’ve been unprofessional.

“Couldn’t you at least wait until I left, younger brother?” Her fingers flicked Jaehyun’s forehead, a teasing trick they used to do as kids. Even if she was a lot shorter now, it didn’t mean the impact was weak. He cursed under his breath, covering his forehead.

Stifling your laughter was a failure, crinkling your eyes to unleash your emotions. So this is what their sibling dynamic was like?

“Now excuse me, older sister. You didn’t tell me you were visiting the exhibit after my birthday dinner with our parents?” He crossed his arms, exchanging a judgmental look. For his sake, he wanted to maintain his pride. “All you said after dinner was that you were going straight home with your fiancé after all the alcohol mother gave you because it made you lightheaded.”

“Well, you know Key and his persuasiveness. He insisted I attend this event last minute because all the collections were amazing.” She explained, shedding a subtle glance at you. “Plus, it’s an excuse to finally meet this lovely girl you raved so much through your letters.”

Jaehyun kept his family life private, so this piece of information was new to you. The unpredicted way the fluttering feeling drew in your stomach, all you could do was smile from the flattery.

“He spoke about me to you?”

“More than speak, my dear. He practically professed his love for you, asking me advice on how to court a girl, make them smile, etcetera. You’re the first girl he’s been this affectionate with, and I completely understand now.” She patted your shoulder, hopeful. She had such a strong older sister vibe, reminding you of your older siblings back home. “You’re a clever, talented woman. I look forward to seeing you more often.”

As you nodded in approval, she turned towards her brother with her recurring teasing look. “Yah, Jaehyun. You better take care of her. If she ever sheds a tear because of you, I’m hunting you down in the gardens.”

“Harsh of you, Krystal.” He planted his hand on his chest, feigning pain. “But no worries. Having you and mother around me kept me well-mannered towards women growing up.”

Playfulness aside, Krystal felt honored towards her younger brother. Men these days maintained their sexist beliefs and rudeness, especially those who doubted her high position in the family business once her father stepped down. Nowadays, it’s men like Jaehyun who could really challenge the patriarchy and make women pursue a lot more than being limited as a housewife.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now please excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”

Krystal waltzed her way out without tripping from her slight intoxication, which Jaehyun worried about earlier. But anyway, that left him alone with you. Filled with so many questions, you didn’t know where to start.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Paris? Why didn’t you acknowledge my birthday wishes to you? Why aren’t you answering my calls and letters?” You blurted without wasting a breath, weren’t trying to come off as needy, but it became peculiar when he was contacting you like usual.

You pushed off thinking of the worst scenarios, not wanting it to ruin your drive and your emotions either. Yet you trusted Jaehyun enough to know he wasn’t the type of person either.

“Okay slow down, ma chérie.” His hands maneuvered for you to stop for a bit. “Ask me one by one and I’ll give you a solid answer for each while we roam around.”

He arrived in Paris last week, which was initially for work. Then his birthday clashing was a coincidence. It would be too lonely to go home and celebrate his special day alone, so he extended. But again, it’s his work that caused his abrupt contact.

When you were too busy delving into the success of recovering your inspiration, he also found his spur to write again too. Day and night, his mind kept him tedious with an endless trail of thoughts and words. Overall, he finalized it then brought the end product to the same publishing house where his books in the past went through.

In fact, he decided to publish them specifically today on his birthday. The only day in his itinerary he planned, where after publishing, he’d hang out with his friends, have dinner with his family then run off to reunite with you.

“I didn’t intend to make you feel like a second choice, so please forgive me for that, ma chérie.”

“All is forgiven, Jaehyun.” You held both his hands, kissing them tenderly out of habit. “I’m overjoyed that you rekindled your creative side again.”

You were so understanding and empathetic, and Jaehyun aimed to act that way too. He learned so much from you as his friend before being his lover. Quickly enough, you’re both back to his portrait in the center. Like a critic, he narrowed his eyes and scrunched his nose. Tapping his chin with his finger,

“This man in Poetic Rose, he’s quite dashing.” He commented with conceit, walking closer to it to view it better. “His freckles are on point, his dimples and dazzling eyes too. Why exactly is he described as a Poetic Rose?”

“Well sir,” You stood beside him, imitating his actions. “This man here always spoke so eloquently, like he had a very poetic approach on life. He reminded me also of a rose by his rosy tinted cheeks and his beauty. He was alluring inside and out.”

“Is he your favorite muse?”

“I never quoted him as a muse because he’s more than that. Muses can be replaced once they no longer serve purpose towards the artist. Though with him, he’s the never-ending flame that I want to keep for the rest of time."

You held on to his hand, interlocking your fingers with his. The apparent reddening of his ears proved that he was flustered, yet you spoke no lies.

“Joyeux anniversaire, ma flamme.” (Happy birthday, my flame.)

“Merci beaucoup, ma chérie.” (Thank you, my darling.)

Something about his new release piqued your attention so you brought it up again.

“So tell me about your new book.”

“Let me show you instead.” Inside the blazer, there was an inner pocket that sealed a small hardbound book. Taking it out, he handed it over to you. “This is your copy.”

The cover of the book had an illustration of two young adults running down the fields under the bright sun, with the title written in cursive and placed in the center.

“L’Été de 1957.” (The Summer of 1957.)

Like a child who received a new gift in the mail, you flipped the book open. Seeing the table of contents and credits to other important people involved in the process, there was a detailed dedication right before the starting chapter. It’s an unexpected page, noticing that he never put anything like this in his last works.

“Pour ma chérie, qui a peint les couleurs manquantes de ma vie.” (For my darling, who painted the missing colors of my life.)

Although Jaehyun planned to write about the couples he met in the countryside, he chose to change his perspective. Instead, he based this new book on your summer romance, installing more original characters who made your romance blossom more.

“I was once so engaged in listening to people’s love stories, hung up on what they felt.” He expounded, pacing around the floor whilst you skimmed through the pages. There were black and white photos from your adventures too to wrap the reader further in the story.

“While I was struggling to find the next story, I realized late that my story with you was a perfect choice. When I fell in love with you, it’s like I didn’t have to fret anymore about anything. Everything slowly yet surely aligned into place for me. Like how we found inspiration in each other.”

A poetic speaker meant having a poetic, wise mind. You kept an open mind whenever Jaehyun shared his thoughts on life with you, an intimate time that didn’t require using your bodies. Whether you were stargazing or drinking wine by his patio, his soulful personality never changed.

“So I recapped every single memory we had and compiled them,” He resumed, taking a closer step towards yours. His warm hands grasped your waist again, catching a glimpse of your astonished face. Mostly, towards your lips that he missed feeling against his.

“This book expressed my own take on love this time, the one I want to grow in.”

You’d care less if you dropped the book and your coat right there, your major desire to kiss him again was driving your senses to the edge of a cliff. Nothing could’ve braced yourself the second you fervently collided your lips with his. It didn’t feel like you were in this exhibit, but somewhere back in his mansion engulfed in each other’s presence.

Your legs almost melted by your daring move, if it weren’t for Jaehyun’s arm moving upwards to your back to stabilize you more. Your body tingled with goosebumps due to his relaxing fingers all over your body. His tongue caved in your lips, and you couldn’t ban its access.

Such an explicit sight, it felt forbidden as you were inches away from the public crowd. Yet it was the least of your worries if they made a big fuss over it. Jaehyun was here again with you, and that was more valuable to you. He savored every trace of your touches, taking his delicate time with you. No past birthday could defeat this, especially when it’s the first one to celebrate with you. The first of many.

As much you wanted to keep this up for hours, your lungs started feeling constricted of air so your lips timidly let go. Though your hands couldn’t, your overwhelmed eyes couldn’t shift away from the heart-stopping view of your lover. Wherein even after such a fearless session, his eyes fused with love and need with his plumper lips.

“Everything about Provence, especially you, that’s the life I want.” You confessed this concealed secret that’s revolved your head for a while now. Yet its certainty was true.

“Are you sure, ma chérie? What about work?” As an artist, he believed you should stay where everything is accessible. Yet as his woman, he wanted you to follow your heart. Jaehyun didn’t want you to choose or struggle.

“I’ve grown out from the idea that the city life was the only life meant of an artist like me.” You replied, confident enough to discuss it after deep thought. “Cities like Paris hold exciting, vigorous flames that will have you clinging on to them. But then, they’ll eventually die the longer you stay. You get burned in the process too. However, I stand by what I said earlier. I found an endless flame when I met and began loving you, Jaehyun. It doesn’t sting at all; it illuminates strongly every living day.”

Urging him to lower his stance with your fingers, you stated one last phrase. “Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”

“If that’s the case,” Jaehyun acknowledged, sticking his arm out for you. “Let’s get out of here.”

Astounded expressions crowded the socialites in the event as they watched the both of you exit together. If the news of Krystal and Donghyun weren’t crazy enough, some journalists figured the mysterious man behind The Poetic Rose and spread it like wildfire.

How was the youngest son of the Jeong family turned renowned romance novel author connected to the impressive, up-and-coming painter from London?

What really went down in Provence?

“How can you miss out on the signs? Did you not see them share a kiss earlier?” Key protested to those who weren’t approving whatever relationship you guys had. He loved his tea but hated those who simply were money hungry. Wanting a chance to be a part of the rich family, only to fish them out of their riches sooner or later.

Meanwhile, the winter season didn’t stop any of you from roaming the streets of Paris. Moments like these were a preview of the future you’ve envisioned with Jaehyun. Youthful, free, and fiery, a love between two artists created more magic not just in their crafts but to those around them.

Promenading a street overlooking the Seine River, Jaehyun took out a smaller instant camera from his pocket and took a candid shot of you. Stunned, you slapped his chest with your bag.

“Hey! Just how many more things are hidden in your blazer?”

“Just my wallet and a few condoms. Why’d you ask?” He raised a suggestive brow, feigning good intentions.

You hummed, faking your deep thought mindset. “At this rate, I don’t think we’ll make it back to my apartment alive.”

Jaehyun tugged you by your coat, his lips hovering your ear to whisper. “If we call a cab right now, I can finger you in the backseat.”

You chuckled at his vulgar idea, but it seemed ideal. You loved the thrill of getting caught or having someone overhearing you two, just like him. Besides, his fingers don’t match up to yours when you touch yourself alone in your apartment. You bat your eyelashes, giving in.

“Deal.”

6 ans plus tard (1964)

Summer returned, the sun strongly smiling down to the plentiful flowers at your family garden. By the patio of your home, your canvas was already laid by the easel stand. Shades of yellow were applied first to symbolize the brightness of the day, following the outline of your desired scenery for this piece.

Dipping the brush in water to change colors, you took another glance at the breezy sky. Light blue with clouds resembling soft pillows, you inhaled gently as your brush faintly stroked the canvas again.

Your hair was tied in a bun, meaning that you’re in for a busy session. But a more soothing one as the jazz music flowed from the vinyl player inside. Stress was the last thing you needed right now.

“What’s madame artiste up to right now?” Your husband piped in from behind, placing down a tray of tea and crackers. With some top buttons of his white top left unattended, you glimpsed on his toned chest when he leaned down. But you mustn’t pry whilst working, even when temptation was calling your name repeatedly.

“The summer sunshine healed me of my discomfort, so I think it’s about time I painted again.” You chewed on the snack, looking back and forth to the view. As enchanting as all the flowers you and him planted over the years grew, you’re more amused by a little boy strolling around it with his magnifying glass and tiny wooden basket with his furry puppy by his side.

His tiny legs often troubled the two of you because he enjoyed spending time with nature. Only God knows what he found in the garden this time.

“Adrien est explorer encore. Devrais-je lui dire qu’il change de place, ma chérie?” (Adrien is exploring again. Should I tell him to change places, my darling?) Jaehyun cautiously asked, not wanting his 3 year old son to impair your perspective.

“Non,” (No,) You held on to his hand, kissing it sweetly. Although you peeved any unnecessary details found in your scenery in the past, Adrien was an exception. As his mother, it’s hard to say no to him unless necessary.

“Il est un garçon curieux, alors il devrait explorer et flâner où il veut.” (He’s a curious boy, so he should explore and wander wherever he wants.)

Life ever since you returned to the countryside shifted into something more precious than you imagined. From moving places constantly, you found a home to settle in for good. A home with overflowing love and inspiration. A home within Jeong Jaehyun.

Recently, you halted your work-related activities in Paris and came home because you were heavily homesick. It even affected your health as a whole. So you made adjustments with your schedules, postponing appearances to events to next year.

On the plus side, you could be more active as a mother to Adrien. It felt like you burdened Jaehyun to take care of Adrien most of the time because he mainly worked from home, wherein important people who wanted to meet him would have to fly out to the countryside.

Back and forth to Paris, your presence towards Adrien often lacked. Here came your biggest fear, which was Adrien forgetting you. But Jaehyun told you over and over again that it wasn’t the case. As he listened to every wrenching thought you had, but he’d combat it with heartfelt words of reassurance so you wouldn’t overanalyze things.

He vowed to love and take care of you when times get hard, and he will continue doing so.

Remember when you said how his mansion felt too big?

It no longer did after getting married.

It gave more room to grow and breathe more life into it. When Adrien was born, he was the prime reflection of your and Jaehyun’s love. He mirrored his father’s physical traits but with a daring personality like yours. A perfect mixture, the world worked amazingly to bring a boy like him into your life.

“Maman! Papa!” Adrien bolted to where you and Jaehyun stood. From the clothes he wore, it’s very much clear that his father was in charge of it whilst you slept in the entire morning. Suspenders, capri shorts, a white shirt, and a red beret, he deserved his title as Jaehyun’s mini-me.

Jaehyun swelled with pride and love for his only son, peeking over what he brought to show and tell you both. “Oh Adrien, what do you have for us today?”

In his basket, there were 3 sunflowers stuck out from the edge. It’s been a while since you’ve seen some in full bloom, lowering your stance to get a more vivid view. He took them out to hand them to you and your husband.

One flower for Jaehyun and two for you. You let out a gasp, scrunching your brows to the center. He always gave one of each item to you and Jaehyun, never more or less.

“Ooh, deux fleurs pour Maman. Pourquoi, Rien?” (Ooh, two flowers for Mama. Why, Rien?) Jaehyun let his nickname out for his lips while you grasped his small hand.

“Well, I heard from Olivier next door that on his birthday, he gave extra flowers to his mother so he could have another sibling. And it worked!” He spoke so innocently, yet it hitched a choke from Jaehyun’s chest. Your eyes widened from disbelief. The information he collected due to his curiosity, no boundaries truly.

“Le mois prochain, c’est mon anniversaire. Je me demandais si je peux avoir un frère ou sœur comme Olivier? Tu es toujours occupée, comme Papa. Je ne veux plus être seul, alors je veux une amie aussi.” (It’s my birthday next month, and I was wondering if I can have a sibling like Olivier? You are always busy, like Papa. I don’t want to be alone anymore, so I want a friend too.)

You exchanged looks with Jaehyun, not knowing how exactly to respond. Although you and Jaehyun did agree that you wanted more than one child when you were younger, neither of you brought it up again since your careers were always loaded with plans.

Adrien was a surprise child actually, conceived on the night where you and Jaehyun celebrated after L’Été de 1957 was announced to be the best-selling romance novel of the decade in the country.

In Paris at his family home, where his parents brought out all their prized liquor, the two of you drank the entire night away to the point Krystal and Donghyun had to push you away from each other from your public affections because their children were present.

But it didn’t stop you two once you reached his bedroom, far away from everything and everyone. And you’ll never change it.

“Oh, Rien,” You eased in, consoling him. “Je suis désolé. Mais c’est franchement une grande demande, n'est-ce pas?” (I am sorry. But that’s quite a big request, right?)

“Mom and I will think about it first, okay? Another kid is a big responsibility, and you’ll be their older brother. That’s another important job, can you do it well?”

“Yes, I can, Papa!” He beamed with glee, his covered head patted by his father after. As you placed the sunflowers beside your palette, Adrien then proceeded to ask you if he could paint with you like old times.

Never you refuse especially with his sparkling round eyes and chubby face that makes you want to squish every time.

As you lifted his light body to sit on your lap, you placed your brush between his stubby fingers and carefully aimed in whatever angle seemed fit so the painting process would run smoothly and perfectly. He let out sounds of amazement when the strokes get bigger, jumping slightly too because the picture became more vivid. You’d smile and coo at him, commending whenever he followed instructions well. As his mother, you only encouraged your child in whatever they want to excel in.

Adrien was the child of two artists, so it was only natural that he had an artistic side in his veins.

Too caught up in your fun, hearing the automatic shutter of the camera from your side was delayed. The source was none other than Jaehyun hiding behind his camera. Jaehyun’s heart soared at the heavenly view of the most important people in his life, wanting to treasure the moment as a lovely memory.

“Hey!” You shouted, placing down the messy brush by the palette. “Je suis très laid!” (I am very ugly!)

“Shh! Tu est rayonnant, ma chérie. Papa est juste, Rien?” (Shh! You are glowing, my darling. Papa is right, Rien?)

Jaehyun politely quizzed the peppy boy, nodding excitedly. His dimples deeply showed up, the main trait he claimed from his father.

“Oui, papa! Maman est toujours belle!” (Yes, papa! Mama is always beautiful!)

He exclaimed, pecking your cheek numerously. You squealed, attacking him with tickles and kisses back. His shouts of delight, then he was suddenly carried by your tall husband in the air like he was flying in the sky. Adrien enjoyed that motion highly, ending up on Jaehyun’s shoulders shortly after to play by the garden again.

“Go paint. I’ll take care of him now.” Jaehyun persuaded, roaming through the long rows of flowers in full bloom. Though seconds after adding some strokes to your piece, you let down your hair, put a hat and sandals on, and ran to the cute duo to join them.

And that’s how your family spent the entire afternoon. By the garden, running around and taking photos and short videos from Jaehyun’s camera. Freezing these valuable memories, this was truly the life you loved so much.

After your break, you could convince the company you worked at that you’d prefer fewer trips to Paris and stay in the countryside longer. How badly you’ve wanted to hold your exhibits here instead. Plus like Jaehyun, let influential people visit you. You’ve already made a big name for yourself now, so that should be valid enough.

Dinner time passed by quickly too, eventually putting Adrien to a smooth slumber as you massaged the roots of his soft hair while Jaehyun sang him a lullaby. This was your joint parenting technique with him since he was a newborn, and it worked quickly as lightning.

You redressed into your silk nightgown after bringing your canvas to the master bedroom, opening the balcony doors to invite the cool breeze in. You tweaked some bits of your painting, including a silhouette of your small family. Regarding where to place it, probably by the living room as it matched the theme.

“What a spectacular day, don’t you think, ma chérie?” Jaehyun conversed, admiring the calm movements of your brush. He noticed a quirky smile grace your lips.

“It’s been a long time since we had quality time like that with Rien. He’s a feisty ball of energy these days.” You replied with a nostalgic daze. “It’s so crazy how one day, he was still crawling to us. Now, he could outrun the both of us.”

“Comme le temps passe vite, hmm?” (How time flies fast, hmm?) Nodding, nothing braced for what your husband had in mind. You almost dropped your brush mid-way. Jaehyun’s lips impatiently devoured your neck, his huge hands fondling your breasts. Violently throwing your head back against his chest, a needy moan parted your lips.

“Jae-” His touches reaching south to where you desired him highly, dampening hastily as your legs naturally spread apart. Rushed exhales, “À quoi tu penses maintenant?” (What are you thinking about right now?)

“Rien se sent seul,” (Rien feels alone,) His hot breath whispered against your ear, his fingers dangerously trailing your thin panties up and down. With your hands tightly clutching on his bicep,

“Alors, donnons-lui une amie.” (We should give him a friend.)

Ever since Adrien mentioned such a daring topic, it hasn’t left Jaehyun’s mind the whole day. After seeing you in utter bliss with your son earlier, he found you so majestic and radiant. It’s a different kind of happiness, especially for parents.

Now you went on hiatus, he thought that it was the right time to have another. He enjoyed his younger years with Krystal, and he wanted Adrien to experience it too. 3 years was quite a wait, and it seemed ideal to try again.

From his nude chest, you flipped around to intensely clash his lips with yours. Draping your arms behind his neck, Jaehyun lifted your entire figure from the chair. His hands gripping on your butt, he delicately lowered you down your bed.

Drowning into his sensual kisses with his hands all over you, this could prolong for hours. Reddening love marks started to resurface whilst your fingers tugged on the drawstring of his pajama pants. Jaehyun’s fingers dove under the fabric of your panties, his index finger rubbing figure 8s the sensitive bundle of nerves.

You struggled to swallow your moans, not wanting Rien to hear it. You wouldn’t want to repeat history, covering it as Jaehyun massaging you after a hard day.

“I know you want one too, ma chérie.” His fingers began to drape down the straps of your gown, presenting your breasts in its full, perky view. But before his lips could suck on your erect nipples, you parted momentarily from him and got up on your feet. Pulling up your straps again, Jaehyun simply laid down but he wasn’t pleased from how you left him hanging.

“Où vas-tu, ma chérie?” (Where are you going, sweetheart?)

He was growing impatient. You were never to interrupt such a sexy atmosphere ever.

From one of your drawers in your vanity table, an important, half-opened envelope was hidden. You were supposed to give it tomorrow but now seemed like a perfect time. Reading it as soon one of the maids handed it to you gave you the jitters, but in a positive way. Sitting back down on the edge of your bed, you exhilaratingly passed it to your husband.

“Qu’est-ce que c’est?” (What is this?)

“Ouvre-le.” (Open it.)

Jaehyun slowly opened the edges and once he took out the contents. Reading it thoroughly, he couldn’t believe it as his jaw dropped, pacing from the letter and you back and forth.

“Vraiment, ma chérie?” (Really, my darling?)

It was from a doctor you visited in Paris a few days before you left, who confirmed just exactly what caused your health to go feeble suddenly. You already had one certain suspicion, which you addressed in your leave of absence letter. Amelié, who finally got the position as the head, couldn’t believe her ears and insisted you take all the time off you needed.

“On dirait que Adrien a reçu son cadeau d'anniversaire en avance.” (It looks like Adrien received his birthday gift early.)

Overall, it turned out the headaches and repeated vomiting you mistook as motion sickness from traveling was a surprise hello to your second child.

A girl specifically, thanks to the blood test she recommended.

“Je t’aime, (Y/N).”

“Montre moi combien tu m’aimes, Jaehyun.” (Show me how much you love me, Jaehyun.)

The whole night through, the two of you vigorously celebrated with the moonlight from the windows and a few scented candles set in the room. Wet kisses left on your collarbone, words of devotion exchanged, holding his hand as he groaned from heartily thrusting in you, the number of moans from your lips overlapped with the vinyl playing in the room. The intimacy between you two increased, almost as if you made love for the first time again all those years ago.

Excluding being drenched from the rain.

Once the two of you grew tired, Jaehyun lied down beside you. Wrapping one arm around, one hand trailed down your naked skin again. His wedding band flashed your eyes, reminding you of the commitment you promised each other. For better, and for worse.

Jaehyun promised to love you endlessly as a woman and his wife, and it didn’t cease when you became the mother of his children. He respected how strong you are, physically and mentally. He helped you in any way he could as you endured the struggling process.

At the end of the day, his family was his biggest priority. More than ever now, you needed him as you go through the pregnancy phases again. Specifically, his index finger lingered on your stomach. There was no bump or other signs of showing, except for that glow he complimented you earlier on.

“We met and fell in love over the summer, got married in summer, had Adrien mid-summer, and now found out about our daughter at the start of summer.” He smiled, blessed at all the good he’s received during this time.

“The summer gods must adore us.” Your vacant hand with your wedding band topped his. To love and to cherish. “Ils m'ont amené à toi.” (They brought me to you.)

His power on you was simply addicting, as if your early twenties revisited you. You straddled himself once again, your fingers caressing his face sweetly. When it reached his lips, he placed longing kisses there and pulled you closer again for another kiss on your lips. In between, you mumbled in a silvery tone,

“Then they led us to say I do. Pour toujours et à jamais.”

copyright © 2021 by alluringjae.

[stcveskent]

never letting go ; chris evans

warnings : smut and fluff <3 minors dni

and also its my first smut on tumblr so im scared

pairings: chris evans x reader

requested on wattpad

_____________________________________________

it started with a small argument. Ever since he started working with one of this lady, Kiara. he kept on talking about her, and told his mother about her and praised her a lot of times.

You ignored it a few times, but then you noticed how long he'd talk to her on calls, and you had that bit if suspicion that he isn't interested in you after you two got married and he was cheating on you with her.

The ASP programme was a success, for which all of them decided to have a stress reliving get together and obviously, chris agrees and also takes you out with him, as his plus one.

Chris again, started talking to her, and they were really close, so by sitting and looking at them talking, you felt jealous, and you sighed turning to go get a drink, to which he didn't even notice it.

Mark Kassen, one of Chris's friends, and also yours after you've seen him a million times at your place and on many gatherings.

"Hey!" He spoke, and you turned to him, a smile on yoir face as you greeted him.

"Mark! Hey!" You said and he smiled nodding.

"Its been long y/n, damn! Chris is a lucky man." He complimented, making you blush and giggle.

"Thank you, and you look great." You complimented him, and he nods. You and him indulge into a conversation and all of your attention which was on chris a while ago, has turned to him.

Two-three drinks later, Yours and his laughs, were loud, and you both didn't care, you were enjoying his company, because its really been that long since you laughed. Chris was always busy, and he always had time for Kiara, but when it comes to you, he brings some excuses.

"Oh god! Its been so long since i've laughed that bad." You spoke, still laughing.

"I know i am funny, you didn't had to compliment me all the time." He spoke and you rolled your eyes. The only thing you didn't notice that as soon as you started to smile and laugh next to Mark, Chris started to notice.

All his attention which was on Kiara, has turned to you. He noticed how you dressed, it was similar to the times when you dressed for him in the newly married days.

"So you looked upset when i came here? Is everything okay?"

"was that really that evident?"

"People say i am very great at reading people's face and thoughts, so guess for me, yea." He says and you giggle.

"As a friend i'd love to hear you, it makes you feel less heavy."

A sigh left your mouth, and he brought you a drink, and you looked up to him.

"Thank you, so, for the past couple of days, i mean weeks, i-i feel like Chris and I, weren't meant to be, i feel like the love between us is one sided, and he really doesn't love me anymore." You said your head down, and you spoke your thoughts out, it really did make you feel light

"I would be lying if i agreed to you, Y/n, he loves you so much, sometimes when you called him between meetings, he would have a smile on his face, so bright that everyone near him knows, that its your call, and when he hears your voice before any meetings, he really says everyone, that my girl really knows how to make me feel better, trust me Y/n! he loves you." He says, keeping a hand in yours, Chris noticed it and came towards both of you.

"Thank you, this really made me bette—"

"Hey! Mark." Chris says hugging him and then stands next to you

"Y/n?" Chris called

"Yes?" You asked and looked at he looks at you.

"can we leave?" He asks as he slides his hand on your waist, and put his head on your neck.

"See, i told you!" Mark says and you giggled

"It was nice to talk to you, I think we'll leave, he's tired." You said and he nods.

"I had alot of fun talking to you, see you soon!" He said and hugged you, and after your goodbyes, you two walked out, his hand on your waist.

As both of you sat down in his car, you notice how angry he looked, which honestly turned you on. He started to drive, your eyes on your side of the window.

"you won't speak?" you asked

"About what?"

"about why you look mad."

"you should ask that question to yourself."

"Well what did i do? Care to enlighten me?" That, that's where the point you started getting mad.

"y/n, you're pushing your luck!" He warned, parking his car near yours and his house. You both got out of the car, and you walked your way inside as you unlocked it

"i am pushing my luck?!" You asked as you sat down.

"do you want me to remind you what you did?"

"Ofcourse!" You said and rolled your eyes.

"You flirted with him, you flirted with my friend, Mark! Obviously i got mad!"

"funny how i saw you and Kiara flirting like hell, and if i just talked you feel like i flirted, great job christopher."

"Don't pull this on me!" He yelled

"YOu're pulling it on me, and it's not me, who were flirting with a girl, when their wife was next to them!"

"y/n enough!"

"No! What would you do if I didn't stop—" as soon as you said that, his lips smashed over yours, shocked at first, you kissed him back, roughly as he roughly kissed you, full teeths and tongues. Your arms instantly wrap around his neck as you pull him closer.

Small grunts and moans leave yours and his mouth as his hands travels from your face to your sides, he pulls away for a while.

"You need to be taught a lesson!" He said as you looked into his now-dark eyes blown with lust. He picks you up in his arms and puts you on the bed as he looks at you with a smirk. He comes closer and you look at him, your breathe hitches as you him.

he kissed you, with the same energy, and you being a smart ass, riped his shirt off as soon as he kissed you, a small chuckle left his mouth as he saw the eagerness in you, and then his hands on your back as he unzips that pretty dress of yours, leavimg in your bra and underwear.

"Eager are you, baby?"

you nodded, wrong move!

"i'm sorry what was that, talk to me, baby."

"Yes yes i am!" You said desperate for his touch over yours.

He pressed his lips on yours and his fingers hooked on your panties, you moaned as you felt his hands close to your clit, he smirks, and pulls away and throws your panties away. You whinned as the cold air hit your clit, and he just smirks

He groans at the sight of it, wet, just like how he liked.

"You made me angry honey, will you be a good girl for me? will you listen to daddy?" He spoke, his voice was low , raspy and sexy. You whinned.

"you have to talk to me, not whine or else you will be punished!" He groans near your ears, as his hands tease you, by simply running his hands over your thighs.

"Yes daddy i'll be good." You spoke.

"That's my girl!" He says before putting your one leg over his shoulder, and you meet his eyes, which were blown with lust. He pressed kisses on yoir thighs and then licked a strip of your clit, you moaned as you felt his tongue, your hands grabbed his soft locks, to which he groaned

He continues to eat you, and your moans were unstoppable, and he would eat you as long as he wants, you were sure it was a longgg night.

"Chris please!" You begged, and he immediately pulled away.

"what did you say honey?"

"Daddy please!" You corrected yourself and he continues, before you know you're already close and he feels you.

"You wanna cum baby?"

"Yes daddy i want to pleasee!" You begged and h smirks.

"Cum baby." As soon as those words leave his mouth you came undone, with a loud moan, but that still didn't stop him. It felt like he was starved, and got his meal after weeks.

"Who's making you feel this good?" As soon as he asked a question you answered immediately, or else you knew what he could do.

"You, daddy only you!"

"That's good baby, you're a good girl, baby!" He said

Just by eating you out he made you cum endless times , to which you've lost the count of.

He pulls away and kissed you, you could taste yourself. His hands made its way to your bra and unclasps it, throws it away to the pile of clothes on the floor. His fingers found its way to your clit and he starts to pump them. Your eyes roll , and he just gets turned on more by that look of yours.

He starts to press kisses on your neck, to your chest , to your everywhere before connecting them again to your lips. Your legs were shaking, and he knew how close you were by just his fingers.

"you wanna cum again baby?" He asked and you unable to talk by the condition you were in with him.

"give me one more i know you can do it." He pleased and then that was it, you came on his fingers, now you were breathing heavily under him, both of your bodies covered with sweat.

He lines himself, and kisses your neck leaving marks, before slowly whispering into your ears,

"Are you ready for me?"

"Y-yes." Just as you gave him the permission, he pushed himself in you, both of you moaning at the feeling of warmth of each other. Your arms around his neck, as your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer.

he starts to move, your legs shaking heavily, as you arched your back. He started pressing kisses all over your chest.

"God! You're so tight!" He groaned, as you gasped, his one hand tangled with yours on the bed.

"only i can make you feel that good, no one else can!am i right?" He spoke, and yes he was right, no one other than him can make you feel this good. He thrusted into you, your whole body numb.

"yes only you."

"that's right, only i can!." He grunted as he felt how close you were , and he knew he was close too.

"daddy i'm close!"

"I know, baby, don't cum until i do." He says, as you feel how slow he has begun, but he didn't stop.

"You're mine, all mine!" He says and cums, followed by you, yours and his forehead resting againsy eachother as both of you heavily breathed.

"I'm all yours." You spoke between gasps, as he kissed your forehead.

He stoods up to go get a wet towel to clean you up, and then later throws it in the laundry basket. Laying next to you, he pulls you closer and you turn to him, facing him as he kissed you softly again and again.

"Was i rough?" He spoke softly, as he looked into your eyes.

"Nope, you were perfect, for me though I don't know about my legs though." You said and both of you giggled , wrapping your arms around his neck

"i was not flirting babe, he was telling me about how much you loved me." you spoke softly, and he looked at you.

"i'm sorry, for yelling at you."

"I'm not mad at you babe, i was just feeling like there's no love between us, i felt how distant we both have became due to time, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and you know I blamed myself for it.

"i can never stop loving you, never in my life! You're the love of my life, i'm sorry i made you feel that way."

"and jealous too!" You said smirking.

"oh really from who?" He asked , pretty boy was confused.

"maybe if you spend more time with me more than Kiara."

"oh damn, well that's okay i can do that. I'm not letting you go." He says and you smile at him.

"That's like a good boy, and im not letting you either." You said and he kissed you.

"I love you so much." He says and you kiss his nose

"I love you too!" You said as both of you slowly drifted to sleep, it was one of your best nights with him, both of you tangled in bed with white sheets covering you both, your arms around him and his arms around you as he pressed small kisses on your forehead before he falls asleep.

_____________________________________________

istg I can't write smut 😤😩

this is my first smut (on tumblr lol ) feedbacks are very much appreciated 💙

[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x actress!reader (part 6)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5)

series summary:  bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 5.1k

warnings: smut (in the form of road head lmao) plus some more implied smut and teasing and stuff, use of 'y/n' which is perfectly fine but it still makes me anxious cause I've never done it before, other than that just fluff and celebrity/PR stuff

You tilted your head slightly as you watched Bucky emerge from the pool, slicking his wet hair back out of his face, body dripping with cool droplets that sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

Yeah, you were never going to get tired of this view.

“See somethin’ you like?” he grinned as he grabbed a towel and rubbed it over his hair before lowering it to dab off his shoulders and torso, his dog tags jingling lightly when he bumped against them.

“Yeah, why don’t you come over here and put that body on me?” you purred. He chuckled and stepped closer, tossing the damp towel aside before leaning down to climb onto your pool chair and hover above you; the dog tags hung low and tickled your stomach, making you giggle a little.

“I don’t know that I should, I actually have a girlfriend…” he explained, feigning hesitance as you sat up slightly to nibble at his jaw.

“You know, a lot of couples have a ‘celebrity pass,’ and I just so happen to be a celebrity… do you two have one of those?”

“Maybe we do,” he replied nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow.

“Who’s yours?”

“This really hot girl I saw once, in this really crappy movie,” he winked.

“Hey!” you laughed, shoving him back. “Which one of my movies is crappy?”

“What makes you think you’re the hot girl I’m talking about?” he countered.

“Oh, you’re really trying to get yourself in trouble.”

“Just to be clear— we’re not going to have any celebrity passes, right?" he frowned. "Because you know a lot of famous people and I don’t like those odds.”

You scoffed. “Definitely not.”

“Good. I can only handle one famous woman at a time anyways,” he chuckled.

//

He, meanwhile, would never get tired of waking up beside you, holding you before you were even really aware of anything yet, feeling you stir in his arms and snuggle up close to his chest.

“Bucky…” you mumbled sleepily into his shoulder.

“Yeah?” he whispered, smiling a little as your eyes fluttered but didn’t really open.

You just hummed and shifted again, looking so peaceful that he couldn’t help but kiss your forehead. “Mornin’, beautiful,” he purred.

And there was the best part of every morning: when you opened your eyes and looked up at him for the first time, and you smiled— actually smiled at the sight of him. He couldn’t remember the last time somebody was this happy to see him. He couldn’t imagine what he’d ever done to deserve it.

“Hi,” you greeted coyly.

“Hey there,” he grinned back. His eyebrow raised when he felt your foot delicately trail up the back of his leg, your hips beginning to straddle his. “Got somethin’ on your mind, pretty girl?”

“Maaaaybe…”

He chuckled, always impressed (in the best possible way) by your insatiability. “Already?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “had a dream about you.”

“Care to enlighten me?” he prodded, rubbing your back with his metal hand.

“You had me bent over the bed…” you began, voice a bit lower than normal.

“Good start.”

“In my trailer," you finished.

“Oh, you’re filming in this dream?”

“Well, we weren’t filming right then," you grinned, and Bucky clenched his jaw just imagining the idea of filming you while he fucked you. Much too risky when celebrity sex tapes always seem to end up leaking, but a fun thought nonetheless. "But you made me promise to keep quiet in case somebody heard us. Said you didn’t want anybody else to know how I sound when I come.”

He smirked. “Seems like something I would say.”

“But really I liked the idea of everybody overhearing and knowing how good you make me feel… I want them all to know I’m yours.”

“Sounds like a nice dream,” he smirked, shivering slightly when you leaned in to start kissing his neck and jaw.

“Feel like making my dreams come true, stud?” you purred.

“Yes,” he admitted tensely, “but we don’t have time. You have a meeting at 9, remember?”

“No no no, we have time,” you assured. “We both know how fast you can make me come.”

“No point in doing something if you’re not gonna do it right,” he frowned, “and I don’t have time to do it right.”

“You really are just completely against quickies, aren’t you?”

“Morally and religiously, yes," he announced firmly as he puffed up his chest.

“Religiously?” you repeated with an eyeroll.

“Making you come at least three times is sacred,” he explained. “I worship your body. The shapes I make with my tongue on your clit? I’m spelling out my prayers.”

“You do spend a lot of time on your knees,” you remembered.

“Yeah, well, so do you,” he winked. “But you really do need to get up. And I need to shower before I go warm the car up.”

“Fine," you groaned, wrenching yourself out of his grasp and hopping out of bed.

"That's the spirit," he laughed, getting up with you and starting his own morning routine.

He had to keep you in check to make sure you were ready on time, but with a little encouragement he was able to get you in the car with even some time to spare. And since it was just the two of you and you weren't going to be seen getting out of the car, you could ride passenger and be closer to him.

"What's this meeting about again?" he asked as he took the car around the driveway and out of the front gate, starting the commute to the address you'd given him.

"Director wants me for a project, we're gonna talk about her vision and see if it's a good fit."

"Have you seen a script yet?" he asked, hoping that you'd let him take a look at it if you had.

"No, it's still being written, but the concept sounds amazing. I'll tell you all about it after the meeting," you promised.

He checked the estimated arrival time on the GPS screen and noticed it was even faster than he anticipated.

"Hey, we've got some room for error— do you wanna stop for breakfast?" he offered.

"I want breakfast, but I don't wanna stop," you decided.

"What, like drive-through?" he asked, but then you suddenly reached across the console and slid your hand over his thigh and right over his groin. "Oh, fuck."

You smirked as you leaned in a little bit, resting your head on his shoulder as he started to grow hard in your palm. "Keep your eyes on the road, okay?"

"O-okay," he nodded a little, shifting in his seat to make it easier for you to undo his belt and fly.

You reached into his boxers and wrapped your fingers around his shaft— even just that made him shiver and blink a few times to try to focus on driving. Your fingers were a little cold but it was welcome relief considering he was suddenly burning up.

A few strokes were enough to get him fully hard, and it took a deep breath to keep him together as you leaned your head down into his lap, giving a slow lick right over his tip. "Fuck," he whispered under his breath, but you definitely heard it because he could feel your smirk as you kissed up and down his length.

Just when he was about to beg for it, you wrapped your lips around him and sucked, gentle at first but slowly getting more aggressive as he fought the urge to buck up into your mouth.

"Oh god," he sighed, head falling back onto the headrest. Your tongue swiped over his slit where precum had gathered already, and it was just another reminder that you'd already found all his most sensitive places and planned to use them against him whenever you could.

A little hum echoing in your throat vibrated through his cock, making him hiss a little as you started to set your pace of bobbing up and down and stroking what you couldn't fit in your mouth. Little drops of your spit rolled down the shaft to his balls and if he wasn't trying to hard to look at the other cars on the road he would've let his eyes roll back in his head.

Finally, a red light gave him a chance to take his hands off the wheel and grab your hair, stroke your back, hold your face— he didn't really care what, he just needed to touch you.

"Baby," he groaned, "fuck, you're so good… keep sucking my cock, just like that, oh my god—"

A car horn tore him from the moment and made him realize the light had turned green. One hand quickly shot up to steer as he let his foot up off the brake, breathing through his teeth as you sucked him harder and deeper.

Just as he put his foot on the gas, you took him down your throat until your lips met with the very base of him, and the shock made his leg jerk and sent the car lurching forward.

You were laughing a little as you pulled off of him, still stroking his soaking wet length as you popped up to glance out the windshield and then up at him. "Drive much?"

"All the time," he defended breathlessly, "but, uh, not usually like this."

"You can handle it," you scoffed. "All you need to do is not hit any cars or poles or pedestrians. Just relax and let me get my breakfast…"

You went back down with a smirk as he exhaled sharply, silently promising himself that he was going to keep his cool and drive safely.

Instantly, the tip of your tongue just barely pushing into his slit sent that plan out the window, a loud moan echoing through the car and his eyes falling shut for only a moment.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he groaned.

You let out a coy little giggle before getting back into it, returning to your reliable pattern of stroking and sucking with the occasional venture into the back of your throat— but this time gaining speed steadily, making his toes curl inside his boots and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

His metal hand had a death grip on the steering wheel while his other stroked your hair and held you down just a moment longer each time your throat wrapped around his head.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna— oh god—" he tried to warn you.

You moaned approvingly, stroking your hand and bobbing your head faster.

His turn was coming up and he needed to get two lanes over, but at this point he accepted that he was going to miss the turn because he just needed to come down your throat right fucking now; he didn't even hear the GPS announcing that it was recalculating the route, he didn't even care that he was driving way too slow, all he could perceive was the feeling of your lips around him as he throbbed with each pump of his load onto your tongue.

"Fuuuuckkkk," he gasped as he held you down at your neck, making sure you got every drop. But that backfired pretty quickly when he let go and you still didn't come back up, sucking as if he hadn't come at all. "Oh— oh fuck!" he yelped, and his fears that his eyes would fall shut were gone because they were wide fucking open now, his breathing coming fast and hot through his teeth as your tongue refused to let up.

Your little moans made it clear this was not an accident, but a deliberate attack on his senses that made his entire body jolt.

He tried to pull you off of him, and you resisted for just a moment before finally giving him a break, popping up from his lap to swallow what was in your mouth and lick your lips with a prideful smirk. He allowed himself a quick glance at your satisfied expression as he laughed exhaustedly, still trying to catch his breath as you leaned back in your seat.

"You are…" he began, but he didn't even know where to start. "That was dangerous," he decided to inform you instead.

"But it was fun," you grinned.

Another red light gave him a chance to tuck his softened cock back into his jeans. "We're just a few minutes away, so I don't have time to return the favor," he realized with a frown.

"Don't sweat it, I get the feeling you're gonna more than make it up to me tonight."

"What makes you so sure?" he smirked, even though you were completely right.

"Because I'm gonna take you out somewhere fancy, and you always put out after I buy you dinner," you explained with a chuckle.

"It's cause every time we go out, I have to act all professional and stuff, so when we get home I just can't wait to get my hands on you again."

He pulled in to the parking garage of the studio, finding a spot before turning off the car. You were about to grab your bag but he pulled you into a kiss; not so desperate since he'd just come two minutes ago, but still plenty passionate as his tongue slid over yours in search of the taste of himself to remember what you'd done even clearer.

Your lips moved against his with a quiet little moan, so precious that he couldn't stop himself from gripping your waist tightly.

"You're sure you can't be a few minutes late?" he mumbled, barely pulling back as he reached up and held your face in his hands. "We could get in the back and you could ride me real quick."

"Ah ah ah, we know there's no 'real quick' with you, you said it yourself," you reminded him. "You'll say it's just to take the edge off and then I'll end up folded like a pretzel while you rail me for an hour."

He laughed; he couldn't deny that. "Fair enough. Go to your stupid meeting."

"It won't even take that long," you promised. "And I'll be thinking of you the whole time… hard not to when sucking you off got me so wet."

"Fuck," he growled, "you'd better leave now before I change my mind and make you stay."

You smiled and gave him a peck on the nose before opening the door and getting out of the car. He took a moment to watch you walk away before grabbing his newest borrowed book from the glovebox: Tuck Everlasting. You promised this one wouldn't make him cry which was the only way he agreed to read it because he couldn't handle another sad ending again. And, because he was a little too in love to think straight, he actually believed you.

He hadn't told you yet, though; it was way, way too early for him to feel this way at all, let alone tell you about it. For now, the two of you had something great going, and he didn't want to rush it. Well, he did want to rush it, but he knew he shouldn't, so he kept his feelings to himself for the time being.

//

You were heating up some Vietnamese leftovers on the stove (you’d taught Bucky to stop using the microwave to reheat noodles and now he would never go back) while your boyfriend relaxed on the couch, attempting to find something decent to watch with your meal.

“Hey, one of your movies is on later,” he noticed as he scrolled through the channels. “We could watch that.”

Maybe it was weird that you watched your own movies pretty often— after all, plenty of actors preferred to avoid seeing their own performance— but it made perfect sense to you; you took roles in the kinds of movies that you enjoyed watching and wanted to see more of. It wasn’t that you sought out something you’d been in to watch, and it definitely wasn’t that you didn’t cringe a little watching yourself, but you just happened to like a lot of the things that you’d been in. Plus, they brought back sweet memories. “Oh, which one?” you asked, focusing mainly on stirring the food in the wok.

“After Midnight,” he informed you, and your smile dropped.

“Oh. Um, I don’t like that one,” you dismissed quickly, “what else could we watch?”

“Really?” he pressed, unfortunately not following your segue. “It’s pretty popular… I never saw it, sorry, but I figured I should. Is it not good?”

“No, it’s good, it just—”

“Then what don’t you like about it?”

“Do you not know that I did that movie with Sam Wilson?” you finally blurted out.

“Oh…” he deflated slightly. “You two dated, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, over a year,” you remembered, sounding more somber than you intended.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories,” he frowned, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“No, it’s okay, it’s not bad memories,” you soothed.

“Well, I didn’t mean to bring up any good memories either,” he smirked. “I guess you guys were pretty serious?”

“I thought so,” you answered, leaving the silent second half hanging in the air: He didn’t.

“Kinda sucks you can’t watch your own movie just ‘cause your ex is in it,” he realized.

“Yeah, that one’s especially hard since that’s how we met and all… and I was basically the only person on the planet who didn’t watch Code Gray while it was on,” you remembered. “I mean, everyone was talking about it and I just had to smile and nod and try to ignore the big-ass billboards in LA with his face on them. You get used to that last part, though.”

“Maybe you get used to it, but I don’t think I will,” he admitted.

“I guess it’s easier when you’ve already seen your own face on a billboard,” you shrugged, turning off the stove and distributing the food into two bowls.

"That reminds me, I saw your perfume ad on the side of a skyscraper yesterday," he told you proudly.

"Oh yeah? How's it look?" you asked as you stuck some chopsticks into the food and brought it with you to the living room.

"Looks good, I guess, but it doesn't really look like you to me. You're so airbrushed I couldn't see all my favorite little details of your face," he admitted as you set the bowls on the coffee table.

"That's the nature of the game," you shrugged, joining him on the couch and relaxing against his chest as he embraced you.

“Dating in the public eye must be tough…” he mumbled. You twiddled your thumbs and wondered if that meant he didn’t want to go public with you. He must have sensed your discomfort; he always did. “What’s on your mind, beautiful?”

"Would you ever want to… you know… go public? I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather stay this way as long as possible—"

"What?!" he scoffed. "Baby… I don't care about the spotlight, for better or for worse, I just care about you. And I want to shout it from the fucking rooftops if you'll let me."

You grinned and snuggled up into his arms. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he hummed.

“We could, you know… start that process, if you wanted.”

“What about what you want?” he pressed instead.

“I want everybody to know,” you decided with a smile that you tried (and failed) to fight. “I want to be able to go out with you and not worry about who sees or how you touch me.”

He grinned and kissed you, gentle but a little bit less than innocent. "I want that too," he whispered.

"Then let's do it," you announced giddily. "But, let's have dinner first."

//

He was reading as he waited for you in bed, starting to pick up on the fact that you'd duped him into another heartbreaking read. He was about to confront you about it when you returned from the hallway, but you spoke first.

"I just got off the phone with my publicist," you informed him, "she thinks we should get papped together before I post about it on Instagram."

"'Get papped'?" he repeated incredulously as he slipped a bookmark between the pages and set the novel aside. "Is that some sort of hip slang for getting a pap smear because, I'll warn you now, I’m pretty sure anatomy dictates that we can't do that together."

"Paparazzi," you clarified unamusedly as you got in bed next to him. "She wants us to go to lunch or something and tip off a few photographers; it'll be in the gossip rags by tomorrow."

"God, being famous sounds weird as fuck," he shivered.

"You'll find out for yourself soon," you warned, half ominous and half humorous, as you laid your head on his chest. "You're gonna have your own following once this hits."

He grimaced a little, afraid of becoming slightly famous in his own rite just for dating you when he didn't actually have any talent worthy of attention or praise. “Oh god, I’m not gonna have to make an Instagram, am I?”

"No, but you might want to consider a tinted moisturizer," you pondered aloud as you suddenly examined his face closely.

He gently batted your hand away as you reached up to poke his cheek. "Okay, I get it, I'm old. Makeup ain't gonna fix that."

"You're not old," you laughed, "and it's not that there's anything wrong with your face, it's just that everybody looks washed out on camera and the magazines and their readers are fucking ruthless. If I go out without mascara they'll start running shit about how I'm turning into a crypt keeper. God forbid I wear a tight shirt after eating a massive burrito; they'll pick out baby names for me."

"Christ," he groaned.

"You still wanna do this right?" you asked quietly, shifting from joking to concerned so quickly.

"Of course," he assured, clutching your hand where it had been absent-mindedly rubbing over his chest hair. "Do you?"

"Yeah," you smiled, relaxing again. "I can't wait, honestly."

"Then let's do the lunch thing tomorrow. You have to help me pick what to wear, though." Your arms wrapped around his torso and hugged him tight. "Ooh, don't squeeze me so hard, I ate a lot of Vietnamese food," he frowned.

"Sorry," you giggled, still holding him close but applying less pressure. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, instinctively stroking your arm with his thumb for a moment before leaning over to turn off the lamp on his bedside table.

Yes, his bedside table, with a drawer full of his stuff. Next to your bed. It was like his wildest (yet most domestic) fantasies coming true and he was beside himself about it.

"G'night," you whispered, cuddling up closer to him.

"Goodnight," he whispered back, planting a kiss on the top of your head. He stayed awake just long enough to hear your breathing and feel your heartbeat as they slowed down, only then allowed himself to fall asleep as well.

//

You'd convinced him to stick to his usual style of 90% leather and denim, while you opted for the classic "I'm famous but I'm pretending I'm normal but I'm definitely not" look of jeans and a t-shirt that looked casual but actually cost nearly a grand combined. It was the ideal look for allegedly-candid pap pics, in your mind; unfortunately, the ribs were wanted to order were not part of that look, and you frowned a little as you ordered your salad and gave the menu back to your waitress.

"I'll have the same," Bucky mumbled quickly and handed his menu over as well, the waitress nodding before she stepped away.

"Salad? Really?" you questioned, fixing your hair for a moment since the breeze had messed it up slightly; you had to sit outside for visibility reasons, and thankfully the weather was gorgeous, but you could do without the wind.

"I'm not stupid, I know better than to unhinge my jaw to eat a burger when I'm going to be photographed," he chuckled. "I'm not hungry anyways, I'm too nervous."

"Don't be nervous," you dismissed, "all you have to do is sit here and not suppress the instinct to act like my boyfriend."

He reached forward and rested his hand on top of yours on the table, stroking your wrist with his thumb. "How about this?"

You smiled a little, feeling your face warm; sometimes he made you feel all shy and giddy like that, just from the simplest things.

“So, when are the paparazzi getting here?” he asked, breaking the silence that you hadn't even really noticed before, too lost in your thoughts.

“They’re already here. Across the street, behind those bushes.”

“Wha— oh my god,” Bucky gasped as he craned his head to see there were, in fact, cameras obscured behind the foliage, “they’re good!”

“Yeah, it’s too bad they use their powers for evil most of the time,” you frowned. “Spent a lot of time and money trying to keep less flattering pictures out of the papers.”

“How ‘less flattering’ are we talking here?” he pressed with a raised eyebrow.

“Unfortunate angles while getting out of a car… maybe a rendezvous on a balcony that we thought was totally private…”

“Do I want to know who the ‘we’ was?”

“Nope,” you grinned. "That's all in the past now… and right now I'm here with you." For emphasis, you slipped one of your shoes off and playfully trailed your foot up his leg.

"Careful there, honey, or you're gonna end up with some more dirty pictures to bribe some sleaze into deleting," he warned with a smirk.

"Just gotta make sure these pictures make it clear we're not just friends," you explained, shrugging a little but wiggling your toes as you moved just past his knee before going back down and slipping your shoe on.

"Maybe we're just really, really good friends."

"Ever gotten this personal at lunch with a really, really good friend?" you asked playfully.

"No, I don't think so…"

"Ever had sex in the bathroom of a really fancy restaurant?" you added, voice dropping as you grinned.

"No, and I never will," he laughed, "because the chances of getting caught are astronomically too high. We literally came here for the express purpose of getting caught."

"Yeah, fair enough," you deflated slightly, taking another bite of your salad.

It was easy after that: just talking with him as naturally as you always did. He glanced over at the hidden photographers occasionally but you'd all but forgotten they were there.

"Well, I think our job here is done," you decided after a half hour had passed. You stood up from your chair and he followed suit, but he stopped you before you turned away.

"Not quite yet," he smirked as he pulled you closer and into a kiss— one that just barely pushed into 'a little too steamy for out in public' territory. Even so, he was the one that had to pull away first because you quickly got so lost in it that you would've let him go on forever. "Now we're done."

"Yep, that'll do it!" you laughed, hugging him quickly before dropping a fifty on the table (it was a 40% tip but who cares) and leading him back to the car.

//

His phone was already set to give him news updates about you, and he smirked when he checked it after dinner only to see your plan already in motion so easily.

New photos spark Y/N Y/L/N dating rumors

Is Y/N Y/L/N dating again after highly-publicized romance with ‘Code Gray’ star Sam Wilson?

‘Touch of Blood,’ ‘After Midnight’ Star Spotted At More-Than-Friendly Lunch with Her Bodyguard

Y/N Y/L/N and Mystery Guy Get Frisky Over Salads at Lazan Bistro In The Lower East Side

“Now we just have to wait until tomorrow,” you smirked. “Is it weird that I’m all jittery about it? I mean, it doesn’t really matter, cause we’re the only thing that matters, but—”

“No, it’s okay, I’m excited too,” he agreed, setting his phone down and wrapping his arms around your waist. “Although I am enjoying my last day of anonymity.”

“Soak it in, Bucky-boy, most of us don’t get the chance to really appreciate it before it’s gone,” you giggled. “You should go out and celebrate— go grocery shopping, see a movie, something I can’t do anymore.”

“If you can’t do it anymore, does that mean you’re not coming with me?”

“That’s sort of the point.”

“But I’ll miss you…”

“You’re so needy,” you rolled your eyes. “But I like it,” you added with a peck to his cheek.

“Need anything from the grocery store? Or the movie theater?”

“All I need is a kiss before you go,” you decided.

He purred and pulled you a little closer, ghosting his lips over your cheek. “Do I get to pick where it is?”

“Above the belt,” you scolded playfully.

“That still gives me plenty of options,” he smiled as he leaned down to lift your shirt up, deciding to place his slow, gentle kiss onto your nipple. He wrapped his lips around it carefully, circling his tongue around the bud as it hardened.

“Oh fuck,” you sighed, weaving your fingers into his hair.

He grinned and looked up at you, pulling away just a little too soon to hear your pretty whines. Who’s the needy one now? “Can I give you one more kiss, on the other one?”

“Only in the interest of symmetry,” you smirked, moaning when he moved to the other nipple and sucked it a little harder than the last. He let his teeth just barely graze the sensitive skin, your body jolting in his arms at the sensation.

“Oh, I bit this one but not the first one,” he realized, “so I’m gonna have to go back. For symmetry.”

He kissed his way back and gave a rough lap over it before sucking it between his lips and using his teeth just like he’d promised. “God, just fuck me.”

“Really? I thought you wanted me to go out without you,” he remembered.

“Later,” you sighed, “need you now.”

A prideful grin stretched over his face as he stood back up and held you tight, tapping your back to instruct you to jump into his arms and wrap your legs around his hips— which you did instinctively, much to his delight. “Okay, pretty girl, let’s get you to bed.”

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hello, may I request for Albedo hcs for an s/o who is inattentive? For example, the reader has difficulty reading long sentences or paying attention for a short time span, and ends up zoning out a lot? (If you're comfortable with this request of course, since it comes from me having inattentive adhd, or if you aren't too busy...) (But other than that please take care of yourself (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)) Thank you ( ╹▽╹ )

:DD

Somehow these requests are pulling out my Psychology teachings ahahha- this is honestly such a nice prompt cuz I miss my college roomie, I love her so much and she has adhd. I might be projecting but I'll be using her techniques in this too! This was so cute and fun to work on awwwwwwwwww thank you anon!

The Curious Case of S/O

Albedo with a Reader that has a hard time focusing

I saw someone hc Albedo as an autistic character and I actually agree with it, so some of that aspect will seep in to this answer eheh-

SO!

When it comes to things Albedo is passionate about, he keeps himself grounded and focused on it for an unhealthy period

So when Albedo found out about your curious case, safe to say he was intrigued too, and sometimes frustrated

You’re all over the place and it kind of irks him when you can’t stay put and just- keep moving to different stuff?

But Albedo knew this before you got together and he took it upon himself to make sure you’re taken care of whenever such episodes happen, he’s your lover and a genius, he can and will find a way

Reading: Albedo loves reading literature and will offer to read out the text for you if you get frustrated enough over it. He may not have all the time in the world, but if it’s important that you understand this text he will make sure you do so

His voice is really nice and calming, but sometimes- you get so lost in them that you ended up just focusing on his voice instead of uhhh paying attention to what he was saying

big sigh

If that approach doesn’t work then he’s got another trick up his sleeves!

Doodles, sketches, all that cute artistic stuff!

There’s a chance you already do this but he’s gonna make this 95% more effective!

When taking notes for big texts, he’s gonna draw little doodles to the side so you can get a good grasp of what it means just by looking over it.

If the text is especially long, he’ll give it a quick once over, and then rewrite it just to highlight the most important parts you need to remember

He’ll take it up a notch and use different colored pens to write over it so you would know what you need to read without going through the whole chapter

If he wills it, Albedo would find himself incorporating such techniques on his notes as well and he’ll just chuckle at his antics (smiling every time he remembers you through his lil notes)

Being inattentive also makes it so you forget or not take note of important stuff

Chief Alchemist also has a good remedy for this!

Given, this was established after numerous trials and errors of finding the best route

F I N G E R  R I N G  B A N D S

This boyo had this genius enlightenment of an idea one day and prepared the necessary materials

Ngl you actually thought he was gonna propose when he offered that golden ring, you were about to cry

until you see him bring out ten more rings, multi-colored

w h a t

And so he explains as he grasps your non-dominant hand:

“Your thumb represents the early morning, from when you wake up after the sun.

Your index finger signifies the period of 12PM, the moments the busy-ness starts, never forget to eat lunch always, darling.

Your middle finger is the longest and busiest hour, the middle of the afternoon where the sun is high up in the sky. You’ll find yourself running around a lot during this period, and I won’t always be there to remind you.

Your ring finger,” he pauses to give it a gentle kiss, “someday. But anyways, this is the period when the darkness starts to devour the sky in place of the sun. You should be cleaning up and finishing all other tasks at this period.

And finally your pinky finger, almost at the dead hours of the night, god knows what you’ll be doing at this time when you should be ready for rest. I don’t want to see a lot or any rings here, for you should be in my arms by this time.”

After that heart-warming, proposal-like dialogue, he’ll offer the rings and explain as best he can

The red ring represents deadlines; blue stands for commissions; white is for meet-ups; pink is for self-care or routines

He holds up the gold rings with a soft smile, placing one in each finger as he explains, “This one stands for me. Make sure that on every finger I am there, to remind you that I wish to know how you are, to accompany me so that I can remind you that I love you every day of the year.”

If you’re still alive after this, good for you

OTherwise I’m dead, this man is so cheesy and hnghhh-

After all that, Albedo wakes up with you and helps you organize your rings for the day <3

It looks nice and glamorous on your hand, and even if you get distracted by it, you’ll find yourself being reminded of what you need to do

Genuis boyo

But that’s not even 100% of his power

nononono he has another solution and this was something he picked up after spending time with you

His pretty t e a l eyes (just look at that damn banner)

You seem to stop everything when he focuses his eyes on you, eye contact, like you’re grounded or crystallized

Somehow when you see eye-to-eye it gives him enough time to remind you that you’re focusing on the wrong thing, go back to your notes

It’s just- so pretty :((

Works 99% of the time!

The rare 1% it doesn’t work tho, you get this very rare moment: before you can even move away from your task, finding yourself not caring about it again, he’ll just wrap his arms around you from behind. They’re comfortably tight, grounding your feet to the floor as he whines against your hair, scolding you and telling you to finish your stuff first

You couldn’t say no to a cute whiney Albedo

You can’t

//brings out knife// You better not-

Bonus: Albedo likes to focus on the important things, but he’s easily intrigued by curious things too

And with your tendency to lose focus and notice other things, this becomes a chaotic series of events

You’re both silently sitting in his laboratory, him sketching a diagram of his current research

You look up from the papers you were reading as you lose focus and the movement would easily catch Albedo’s attention, ready to move his lips to call you back-

“Oh, is that Crystalfly changing colors out there?”

“Huh?”

You’re both rushing to the window where you saw the phenomenon

And then you’re both running out to investigate further <3

All of Mond watches you two’s antics and finds you just to be the cutest couple in existence. Albedo has two Klee’s to take care of, is what it would look like sometimes.

PS. This is not an Albedo Blog

[someone-worth-racing-for]

My plan was to read the last chapter of "Becoming a Man" during next week but I couldn't wait so… On the day you posted it, I might have went to bed a "little" late 🙈

Really, I love how you portray Carlos. When I thought that he couldn't be more perfect… He was so gentle ❤️ You really wrote a truly wonderful first time for Lando. Ah, loved that Lando wore THOSE specific boxers.

It just so happened that in the day before I also read another Lando first time - "Diamond" (Carlos was so gentle in that fic as well. I mean... he always is). This story was so fun to read. By the reactions of Max, Charles and Daniel at the beginning while talking to Carlos, I already knew that Lando's crush was Carlos, but I was dying to see Carlos face when he arrived at the restaurant.

Oh, and I'm addicted with your fics where Carlos is a father. I LOVED "My Bad Habits Lead To You", I was not expecting Carlos being a father of two, but it was just a wonderful surprise (also to Lando 😅).

Ok, it seems that this is the round 2 of me talking about your other fics, so "Who am I, without you" - Carlos saving Lando and Max was so emotional. A perfect turning point in their relationship. And of course the elevator scene ❤️ Loved the ups and downs in the conversation (the elevator was the perfect choice for this 😅). We thought everything was good, but then "and you and Charles?", but then finally all was enlightened. Ah, loved that you also include Max and Charles's moment!

"And suddenly all love songs were about you" - I think it was the most different Lando that I read so far in your fics. It was really interesting, although sometimes I wanted to yell at him "DON'T YOU SEE HE LOVES YOU". Oh, and Charles letting Carlos go 🥺 Really loved Charles in this story. And this part, the Spanish quotes you chose, just perfect: "With still that cheeky smirk on his lips, the Spaniard challenged his friend all bossy like already so many times before “Say something else.” Lando still needed a few moments to understand what was going on right now and what those words coming from the man he loved with his whole heart really meant. Carlos could exactly tell the moment, the younger one got it and his lips also formed into his usual cute, happy smile. And like the cheeky, young man he was always, Lando answered all naughty “El helicóptero no puede volar.” They did both burst out into laughers at the same time, because out of all those many memories they did share, Lando had chosen this one. When their laughers calmed, Carlos tilted his head and looked all lovingly down at the younger one, who exactly got it that his friend did still want to hear more from him. So Lando finally whispered with tears in his eyes “Soy lago.” Also tears were shining in Carlos’ eyes, but not only from their laughers any more. Because they both knew what those two simple words meant to each other. It meant more to them than any other words in both of their languages could ever do, more than anyone was ever able to understand."

Just one more thing. How I laughed with "Toys" 😂 Piñón playing with the dildo ahahahah

Maybe I will annoy you again soon with a round 3. It has been a real pleasure discovering your stories 😊

Oh, another one of those great messages of yours! 🥰 Or like I call it - a day-made-message 😉❤

I'm really sorry for taking some well-deserved sleep from you - no, I'm actually not 😜 Just kidding! But seriously, I'm really happy to hear you have enjoyed the latest update of BaM ☺ I have wanted to make that chapter as perfect as possible, because Lando deserved it and I know so many have been waiting for that chapter. So I'm really, really glad that you liked it that much! That really means a lot to me and was worth the entire work!

Oh, Diamond is one of those stories of mine I have enjoyed to write the most! I really love to look back at that story and those vibes that come with it 🥰 I'm just a sucker for AUs 😅🙈

And I also really, really have a thing for Carlos being a father - like you have probably already noticed 😅 I just love, love that thought, it always warms up my heart just thiniking about it 🥰 MBHLTO is also one of those stories I have really enjoyed to write a lot - back then, that thought just had to get out of my head, you know 😅

WAIWY was a little more difficult to write and maybe also to read, but I'm glad I still managed to give all of them their deserved happy end, even though I have needed months to finally finish that story.. But I just love Lestappen and I couldn't leave them behind like that - they did deserve their happy end as well, after what they had been through. But that story has sadly got waaaay too long in the end - something I really try to avoid in the future 🙈

Yes, in ASALSWAB I have really portrayed Lando way differntly to like I usually do, but it just had to be, for the storyline. Even though I still felt bad at the same time to do so, but I think it still made sense in the end why I had to write him like that. But that was also one of those stories that was really hard to write, but I just needed to write it down to finally go on with other projects 🙈 And yes, Charles was really great in that story, such a sweetheart! He was there for Carlos, knew what he needed in that difficult time and he also even knew when it was time to let him go. That was really brave of him, I still get goose bumps just thinking about it. But I also loved the moment Carlos and Lando finally got together after everything was sorted out, because yeah - they are just meant for each other 😉

Haha 😄 Oh, that story 😜 Believe me, I also had a lot of fun writing that storyline 😁

Yes, yes - you really "annoy" me a lot of these kind of messages of yours 😉 No, I'm actually really happy to hear, that you obviously enjoy my stories so much! It's the best compliment a writer can receive 🥰 So thank you very, very much for your always kind words and taking yourself the time to write those messages 🙏🏽 I really appreciate a lot!!! ❤

[zafirosreverie]

if you’re still taking requests could i request #8 or #9 with carla? 🥰

#9 is here ^ - ^ so i did #8 for you! I also combined it with this:

Hope you like it!

Grumpy prompt (closed)

Drinking night, crazy night (Carla x Fem!Reader)

a/n: this is looooooong. Sorry for that 😅

Warnings: Smut, alcohol mentions, Carla's dirty mouth. Dom!Carla...i think.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

You sighed and settled back in your seat, trying to be subtle enough not to attract Gwendolyn's attention and avoid her scolding. God, you hated these things, you hated being here. But what else could you do? You knew that if you had gone to Amy Mitchell's house, Gwendolyn would find out and she could do something terrible to your daughter. You would not allow the witch to get near your precious girl.

So here you were, in the middle of a huge house, surrounded by other moms who definitely didn't want to be here either, praying that the blonde woman in front of you would shut up soon.

"Y/N, Look at this" Cassandra, a mother whose son was in the same group as your daughter, whispered next to you.

You glanced at Gwendolyn quickly before looking at Cassandra's cell phone screen. It was a message from Janice.

Come to Amy's. We have shitty wine.

Followed by a selfie where the woman appeared, surrounded by other 3. They seemed happy and drunk. Lucky them.

"Let’s go" Cassandra whispered to you

"Are you crazy? If Gwendolyn finds out-"

"She won't" she interrupted you "besides, she can't do anything against everyone"

You frowned in confusion and looked around you. You noticed several moms silently slipping away. You smiled to yourself and turned back to Cassandra.

"We better go now that we can" she winked at you

There was no way you would directly face the blonde. Not if you could help it. You took your bag and smiled.

"Right behind you" you said.

You two held back your laughter as you sneaked out of the place. Whatever was going on at Amy Mitchell's house, it had to be so much better than this.

__________________

You were surprised when you arrived at the place. There were too many people here!! How many moms had sneaked out of Gwendolyn's house before you?! Too many in your opinion. How the hell had the blonde not noticed? You didn’t know or care.

Anyway, you were too busy dancing and screaming with the rest of the moms to care about those things. Tomorrow maybe you would, but right now, to hell with everything.

You heard someone yell loudly behind you and saw a row of moms taking a shot as a wild-haired woman yelled at them one by one.

"Drink!"

It looked fun.

___________________

Your head was starting to spin, but you were still sane enough to know what was going on around you. You watched from a few meters as the wild-haired woman laughed with two other women, kissing one of them and then making them kiss each other.

Pretty wild in your opinion. You liked it.

The more you looked at the woman, the more you tried to remember her. You were sure you ran into her a couple of times in the school parking lot, but her name escaped you.

Carolina? Carmen? Carola?

Something like that.

You turned around when you felt a hand on your forearm and Cassandra dragged you into the living room to dance. You missed the amused look that the blue-eyed woman gave you.

_____________________

You grunted when an elbow hit your rib. This is why you didn't go out to parties!...And because you had a daughter to take care of, but that wasn't the point.

You worked your way through the other moms and sighed when you walked back into the hall. You couldn't tell it was fresh air, but at least there weren't that many people here.

You leaned against the wall and closed your eyes for a moment, until you felt someone looking at you. You straightened up and looked next to you to find a pair of incredibly blue eyes looking at you.

The woman looked you up and down without shame, running her eyes all over your body. She took her time on your legs and you mentally thanked whatever god was listening for enlightening you and making you wear that dress.

She didn't say anything to you, but she had a funny smile on her lips. Shit, she was beautiful, you weren't going to deny it. And the image of her kissing that other mom hadn't left your head in the last hour.

"You like what you see?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

Normally you would have blushed, but you blamed alcohol for your actions. Also, you weren't really expecting an answer.

Oh, but you got one.

The woman smiled at you and approached you with a confident stride, trapping you between her and the wall. You swallowed audibly. She smelled like she had a few too many drinks, but you guessed you weren't exactly better.

"That was my question" she told you "You haven't stopped looking at me since you arrived"

You frowned in confusion. What was she talking about? You didn't even know her name or who she was? Why would you -...but you did...

You looked at her when you walked into the house, when she had made all those moms drink a shot, when she had danced in the living room, when she had laughed with those women and kissed them. You had been looking at her all night. Shit.

"I'm sorry" you mumbled, smiling at yourself. Your confidence disappeared little by little "I didn't mean to be rude"

"You weren't" she told you. Her face was too close to yours and there was no indication that she planned to walk away "But I'm going to ask you for a favor."

"Of course" you nodded and smiled.

"That!" she growled she, making you jump a little "Please, stop smiling at me like that. I'm not sure what will happen if you keep doing that."

You blinked in surprise. Have you been smiling at her too? Hell, you really had to stop drinking. And yet you found her frown too cute.

"Why?" you said, smirking at her "does it make you nervous?"

You teased a bit and ran your tongue across your lower lip to moisten it. The woman in front of you grunted again and suddenly your back hit the wall hard. You didn't have time to react by the time her lips were pressed against yours. It was a hot, demanding and desperate kiss. You loved it.

You wrapped your arms around her neck and pulled her closer to you, returning the affection and pushing your tongue into her mouth. You could taste the alcohol in her tongue and something that was purely her.

You moaned against her mouth when you felt her hand climb up your thigh, lifting your dress little by little. Unfortunately, you weren't drunk enough to do it...not here.

"Wait" you said with a broken voice "we can't do this here"

"Come with me" she ordered, taking your hand and pulling you.

She led you upstairs, saying nothing. You were sure this wasn't her house, but that didn't seem to matter to her.

____________________

Well, at least she had the decency not to take you to her friend's bed.

You grunted when your back hit something. Maybe the wall, maybe a shelf, you weren't sure. It was hard to tell when everything in this damn closet was so dark.

"Are you sure your friend won't mind?" you asked, suddenly feeling nervous

"She won't find out" she assured you "Now strip" she said harshly.

"I don't even know your name" you said, trying to sound more confident than you were, but god, that tone had made your legs shake.

"Carla" she said simply "Now strip, I'm not going to repeat it again, Y/N"

Carla! That was the name that had escaped you all night. You were going to ask how she knew your name, but then you remembered that your kids went to the same school, damn it.

So you did what she told you and took your dress off quickly. Carla made a noise of satisfaction and you felt a hand caress your leg. The woman suddenly dug her nails into your inner thigh, making you gasp.

"Shut up" she growled "I haven't even started on you, save it for later"

You swallowed when you felt her press against you and one of her hands went down to holy ground. You bit your lip hard when one of her fingers caressed your already wet slit.

"My, my...You're so ready for me" she teased "No wonder you looked at me all night...you should have come to me earlier, honey, instead of showing your legs all over the house. trying to tempt me "

"I wasn't-" you tried to say, but she slammed her finger into you, making you scream.

"You were" she told you, nibbling on your lobe "but don't worry, you'll have what you want...you won't be able to walk after I'm done with you"

You had no doubt about that.

_______________

Your head hit the wall behind you, but you didn't care. You were too busy chasing the orgasm that she had been denied you times already.

"Please" you moaned "Please, please, please"

Carla smiled against your neck and moved her hand so that the three fingers that were inside you dug deeper. But the pleasure only lasted a few seconds because she yanked them out, just when you were almost there.

You grunted in pain and frustration. Your eyes stung with unshed tears. The older woman just laughed.

"Please" you sobbed "let me come, I need to come"

"Then you will have to work for it" she told you "On your knees, now"

You opened your eyes, but you could barely see her figure in front of you. Your legs were shaking, but you did as she commanded and knelt in front of her, groaning a little when your heel brushed against your center.

Carla quickly took off her pants and underwear, separating her legs right in front of you. She didn't have to tell you what to do, because the mere scent from her center drew you like a moth to the light.

The woman gasped a little as your hot tongue tentatively licked her slit and her fingers tangled in your hair to keep you in place. For a moment you were tempted to return her favor and play with her a bit, but she must have read your thoughts because she immediately reprimanded you.

"Don't even think about it princess" she growled "If you want to cum tonight you better start working"

She tugged on your hair tightly and that was enough to send an electric current to your already sore, wet core. So you got to work quickly.

Carla moaned as your tongue slipped in and out of her. Sometimes, you would suck hard on her tangle of nerves, making her jump a little. Little by little, you got braver and then your fingers entered the game.

You smiled against her when she moaned loudly as you shoved two fingers into her.

"Fuck" she growled "Don't you dare stop" she threatened

And you didn't. You continued your rhythm for a few more minutes, until you felt her tighten around your fingers and you knew she was close. You sucked hard on her center while twisting your fingers inside her and that was it.

Carla screamed loudly as waves of pleasure washed over her. Happily you helped her work it out. Her hand never left your head, though, and you found yourself cleaning up the mess that was coming out of her pussy.

"Good girl" she gasped when she calmed down a bit.

"Can I come now?" you asked.

"Stand up" she ordered and you happily obeyed

Carla pushed you against the wall again and kissed you fiercely, tasting herself in your mouth. Her fingers quickly found their way to your center again.

"I think you deserve a reward for being so good" she said and you trembled with excitement when she started pumping her fingers inside you.

You begged that this time she would let you finish.

_________________

You hurried out of the house, grateful to the one upstairs for the fact that most of the women were drunk and no one would see what a reeling mess you were.

You sighed when you got into your car and took a moment to recover. Your legs were weak and it hurt to sit. But you didn't regret it in the least. The best sex you've had in years since your divorce and it had been with a half-drunk mother from your daughter's school.

You laughed at it. That night, you couldn't help but dream with a pair of blue eyes.

__________________

"I made-out with so many women tonight" Carla said.

"I know" Amy laughed

Except no. The woman didn’t know what her friend had done in one of her closets and Carla intended to keep it that way. She couldn't help but think about the way you were walking when you left the house, anyone could see that you were in pain and that made her feel incredibly proud.

_________________

"Good morning" you greeted the woman after your daughter said goodbye and ran to school.

"Hey! What's up, pretty lady?" Carla smiled and walked towards you.

You blushed a little. You didn't expect her to get close to you, you just wanted to be nice. The truth is that you hadn’t been able to get her out of your mind all week, neither her nor her evil fingers.

"What are you going to do today?" she asked

"Oh...well...I don't have work today, so cleaning the house I guess" you said nervously.

"Do you mind if I go with you?" she said "Those two idiots over there plan to go to a sewing class and there is no way in the universe that you will see me there alive"

She pointed to Amy and Kiki talking a few meters behind. You laughed a bit and felt as if the air around you was no longer so thick.

"You can come" you said "But I don't know if you want to help me clean up"

"Oh no" she smiled at you "I was actually thinking of making more mess. I think we both deserve a second round, no alcohol and in bed" she winked at you.

You have never dragged someone into your car so quickly in your life.

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

KH’s tags: @midnight-lestrange @emilyprentissslut @mochiadria

[sopxhiea]

Lush

Alfie Solomons X Reader

Summary: The days morph into months and Alfie realizes that he wants more but fate and the wild girl has other plans, ones that make the scary gangster feel uneasy.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 

“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.”

Push and pull.

It’s easy, second nature at this point in the game you have been playing for months now. The opponent occasionally manages to surprise you, use your skilled movements against yourself in the battle that’s nearly as old as time. But he’s easily deceived, not by anyone else but you. He trusts you, you find out and the little devil inside smirks.

Poor man.

You’re not around as much.

He finds out that it was all fun and games at the beginning, as it is with any kind of relationship but it becomes harder and harder to reach you every passing day. Alfie’s sitting on his large chair, in front of the old wooden desk with a bunch of papers on it. He doesn’t know what’s on them, although he’s skimmed through the yellow pages at least a dozen times now.

Something went wrong, he thinks.

You still come around, a devilish smile on your lips as you wear a thin dress that leaves more to the imagination than he’d led on. He thinks maybe you’re winning the game still, although he swears in the early hours of the morning when you snuggle against him that there is no game to be played anymore.

But he hears things.

There’s a price that comes with being redeemed wild on your side. He hears of the frequent visits you make to the pubs and the poor men who want to buy you a drink. You let them, although you don’t sleep with anyone but him anymore. It’s not a relationship, not exactly but he doesn’t know what it is. He’d wanted you all to himself and when he got it, it had been very easy for you to slip away from his hands.

He then thinks about the favor.

You’d wanted to go to the country side, somewhere specific too where he assumed you had family. He didn’t know a lot about your ties to other people than the ones in the boarding school so he hadn’t denied you the opportunity. You’d be leaving soon, in a couple days and he wanted to see you once more before you left.

He knew you’d come to him. 

You were such a wicked little thing, Alfie thought. Always got what you wanted without pressing too much, it only took you one smile and he was done for. He gathered maybe it was his age, or the fact that he hadn’t been with anyone like you before but the effect was there on every man as you walked down the street and he realized, a long time ago, that he was utterly fucked and that he was quite okay with it. 

Ollie came into the office, a faint smile on his lips and stack of papers on his hand. He muttered something underneath his breath and Alfie, with the frustration of not getting any work done, raised his voice at the lad. “Speak up, lad!”

“You have a visitor, boss.” Ollie said, the same faint smile still apparent before he disappeared, not letting Alfie ask who the fuck was visiting him without an appointment.

And then the doors opened and things made sense.

You walked in with a bouquet of roses in your hand, ones he’d sent out to you the same morning. The color of your lacey dress matched the rose color of the flowers, hair a bit puffy than usual as you walked inside his now familiar office.

And Alfie felt himself go weak.

The man was someone many trembled against, avoided at all costs and changed lanes when he’d walk down the street. Women were in awe of him to some level but not in the way that made him desirable for more than a week tops but you, oh you, didn’t even care that he was a gangster. 

Seeing as you were much more dangerous than he was. 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Solomons.” you spoke, voice breathy as you left the flowers on his table and shed the layer of the thin coat you were wearing to give him a better look at you. He wouldn’t have you, not against the desk but you could always tease him.

You made your way towards him and his legs instantly opened wide from where he was sitting to allow you easier access. Slowly planting yourself on his thigh, your hands rested on your lap as he looked at you. His hands were now on your waist and hair, caressing as he looked at you like he had been resurrected. 

“’ello, lass.” his voice was gruff, eyes always searching for yours but he realized it might as well be a trap.

“Busy?” you spoke, looking over the desk to see the mounts of paper staring right at him but his response was direct, too fast almost as he played with strands of your hair.

“Nah.” he spoke, making your attention snap right back at his direction.

You nodded at his words before getting up from his lap. He lightly groaned at the absence of your small body on top of his but didn’t lead it on. You fixed your dress, something you’d bought on your own last week and he admired it for a split second before leaning back on his chair and watching you roam around his office.

You were there to tell him something.

“I’m leaving soon, you know.” you spoke, a mere whisper Alfie was accustomed to. He nodded before speaking.

“Aye, I do.” he spoke and you looked at him through a smile, a genuine one you have him from time to time.

“I came here to.....warn you, let’s say.” you said, making him raise his eyebrows at the words.

He liked the game.

“Fuckin’ warn me, eh?” he spoke and you nodded, a light chuckle escaping your lips before you spoke up again.

“It’s good to see your ears are working again.” you teased before hearing his hearty laugh. You basked in it for a second, the sound echoing through the empty corridors outside. Then your soft voice could be heard. “Don’t have me followed, not by Ollie or anyone else.” your words were stern this time, a spark of mischief in your eyes as he looked at you.

“Why the fuck would I do that, lass?” he spoke, amused but he already he knew the answer.

Because he was getting possessive.

Men had gotten away the first weeks of you being called ‘his girl’ but these things only lasted for a bit before blowing over. A month later, you were back to how things used to be, dancing with strangers and using their wallets to help yourself out to a drink. You didn’t sleep with them anymore, not when you’d need some quick relief as Alfie took care of you in that department quite well.

You sighed, swaying your hips as you walked around the office. He forgot, for as smart as he was, he could also be foolish and forget who he was dealing with. You offered him a smile while speaking, looking at him with darker eyes than usual. “You know why.”

And he did, he just preferred to hear you say it.

“Enlighten old me, eh?” he spoke, hands clasping in front of him as he looked at you from head to toe once more before settling on your eyes. He wanted to fuck you against the desk but knew you wouldn’t let him, not today.

You would enlighten him, with pleasure.

“Since our little....arrangement here..” you started off, walking closer to him as slowly as you could and you saw his fingers moving, itching to touch you. “..you seem to think I belong to you. Now, that’s not true and very foolish for a man of your power.” you spoke, almost cooing when you stood right in front of him with hands on your hips. He was looking at your eyes this time.

You had hit a nerve.

It had to be done and you didn’t mind breaking the poor little baker’s spirit a little to do that. Men needed it, some harsh words to be put into their place and you had never been afraid of a gangster. Plus, the way he’d hold onto you in the nights you spent together told you he would do no harm.

“Go on.” he spoke, hand tugging at his beard with dark eyes.

“I know you want me safe and as nice as that is, you know I’m a big girl.” you spoke and he knew what was to come.

You could take care of yourself.

“Leave me alone for the time I’m there and things might change around here for the better.” you spoke, almost giving him some sort of an ultimatum. He looked at you with a smirk on his lips, you were threatening him again but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

He offered his hand to you as if he was making an offer and you eyed it for a bit before meeting it. His much larger hand enveloped yours as you shook it, the first of many deals to come with the devil and he didn’t know what he was in for.

------

The grass under your feet was cold, the weather nice for the first time in days as you watched the kids run around. You had been here for a while now, it had been a week or so with you staying in the countryside and it already felt like a month. Time passed differently around the forest, you had realized and it had done some good in clearing your mind to a certain degree.

This was a place Lisa had taken you a couple years ago to blow off steam at first. It had quickly become a favorite of yours after meeting the owners of the other houses. The place you were staying at was hers, a timeless gift to you so that you could come here whenever you wanted and spend time with her family.

She was married now, a kid on the way and the husband was a successful businessman, or so you’d heard.

That had been the case with many of the girls your age who had been lucky enough to leave the boarding house. You walked next to her mother, a smile on her lips as she spoke to you about how happy Lisa had been and it made you feel content that at least someone who left that damn place had found her happy ending. 

It wasn’t long before the sunset came around, little kids running around the open field. You didn’t mind the mud on your light colored dress, the weather was nice enough to make you forget some things.

Like how much you had grown attached to him.

It was hard to tell if it was love, you didn’t know how that felt to begin with. You didn’t show it, not to him or anyone else but your heart was at ease when he was around and it had made you confused. You had mastered not getting involved with people after all and the entire relationship you had with the gangster had grown so complicated that you had forgotten to keep your heart in a cage in the meantime.

And he’d caught it, he just didn’t know it.

You watched the kids dance and their mothers clapped. All of them were slightly younger than you, a content smile on their lips as they watched their little ones. You wouldn’t be able to that, you’d made peace with it a long time ago that motherhood was not for you but you craved human connection, much like any other living being.

“Ms. Y/N?” a boy spoke, not older than ten years old with flowers in his hand.

You offered him a smile and spoke, voice softer than it was in the city. “Yes?”

The boy slowly gave the flowers to you, red colored roses that stared up at you. You offered him a curious set of eyes and he spoke before running away. “You have a visitor.”

The boy then ran away and you stood up, careful with the flowers as you looked around. The other mothers around you didn’t seem bothered, like it was common occurrence as you looked around in the open field before settling on a familiar form. Broad shoulders, no cane in hand but his hat instead.

A smile found your lips but you got rid of it quick enough.

Walking towards him as he looked at your approaching form, he saw a part of you he had not seen yet which only made him wonder about the depths of you. Your feet were covered in dirt and grass, the ends of your dress wet and grassy from the running around you had done the entire day around the fields. Your hair was messy, picks and a few leaves on top of your head as you approached him with a smile.

He felt like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs.

“You’re following me again?” you spoke with a playful tone. Hand coming to your face to push some of your hair back.

He giggled.

The man who had crushed another man’s windpipe with his left hand giggled. The very bad, scary gangster giggled as he looked at you with a smile you had missed. This was him in his pure form and it made you want to hide.

“Came to see how you ‘ere doin’, yeah, ‘s all, luv.” he spoke with a smile on his lips which you mirrored and nodded at his words.

And then, you did something he didn’t think you’d ever do.

Taking an unsure step towards him, you wrapped your arms around his middle and put your head against his chest. Your head barely reached his chin but you could hear his heart beating, fastening with each passing second before he returned the embrace. His hug was tighter than yours, enveloped your entire body in his as he planted a kiss on top of your head.

“I’m glad you did.” you whispered against his chest, hoping he hadn’t heard in the three seconds of you being as vulnerable as you were capable of being with him.

He nodded at your words, confirming that he’d heard but he didn’t reply. It didn’t need a reply. He smelled of musk and rum, some vanilla you could still place as he hugged you. He didn’t let go, not until you did and took a step back with flushed cheeks.

This was the same you he had seen that day in the boarding school, knees bloody with soft eyes.

He cursed at his heart for being so soft.

“Are you...” you spoke, trailed off and then met his eyes and remembered what you were going to say. A smile found his lips as he looked at your flustered form but he had been holding one of your hands the entire time. “Are you staying?” you asked, voice breathy and hopeful.

How could he say no?

“If you’ll have me.” he spoke and it made you giggle. He was a stupid man.

Then, he just watched you.

He watched as you went up to the women and asked for a bigger mattress for you and him. He watched you shyly nod as they asked questions about him and watched you hold his hand as you led him to the cottage. He watched you sit on the dinner table, next to him, talking to the smaller kids about their findings around the field with a halo around your head. He watched you converse with the women around and giggle, smile like you hadn’t done in his time of knowing you and the entire time, you could feel his fingers caressing your knuckles.

------

You turned around on the bed next to him. Alfie should’ve been asleep, he had driven for hours to reach you but your shuffling on the bed made it impossible, along with everything he’d seen today. He pulled your body close to his, almost on top of his broad form and you gasped, realizing he was awake. 

You slowly sat on top of him, not quite straddling his thighs as he looked up to meet your face. “Do you hate me?”

His eyebrows furrowed at your question. Of course he didn’t. He hated everyone else, the people he worked with and the men he had to hire, he even hated Ollie sometimes but he had never even come close to hating you. He slowly sat up much like you’d done a couple minutes prior but cradled you on his lap in a careful manner while doing so. You watched him the entire time.

“What the fuck did ya’ say, pet?” he asked, thinking he must’ve been imagining or hearing things. The entire night felt like a dream to begin with and he wasn’t sure what was real anymore.

“I said do you hate-” you started speaking and he realized he had heard you correctly.

“No.. Why th-” he started speaking but realized his voice was too harsh. He stopped, kissed your hand and then continued. “Why the fuck would I hate ya’?” he asked, genuinely curious and also quite angered by your words. He would never do that.

“The Alfie I know would’ve hated me after the past couple of weeks.” you spoke, voice a mere whisper and he understood every word you’d been saying.

You hadn’t behaved well and he knew it. You knew that he knew it.

“The Alfie you fuckin’ know, yeah?” he spoke with a smile on his lips this time. He dismissed the entire idea of him hating as you as that was out of the question, he had not even thought about it once. You made him confused and sometimes, frustrated but that was it. He liked that anyway.

“The one who came to the boarding school, the one whose wounds I cleaned...” you trailed off, counting first experiences with him as you sat on his lap. He fixed the strap of your nightgown as you spoke and nodded when you didn’t speak any further.

“Lass...” his voice was a mere coo, like he was talking to a kid and you felt the need to be babied by him even though you’d hate it if it was anyone else. “I don’t know if you’ve ever fuckin’ noticed this, right, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.”

You nodded at his words, searching his eyes for a....lie of some sort, to see if he was saying it just to please you but that was nowhere to be found. You sighed, looking away into the room, away from his eyes this time and he pulled your face towards him to face his moonlit face.

“So no?” you spoke, earning a laugh from him and a shake of his head. 

“No, lass. Never, okay?” he asked, as to make sure that you knew, for sure, that he would never feel that way towards you.

All he earned was a nod from you before you laid on top of him again.

Maybe some people were good. 

Most had been mediocre at best, people only cared about themselves and as far as you had been concerned, Alfie was the same. But he had surprised you, at every little turn and it made you utterly confused. It put you in a place of wonderment about him.

You slowly got up again, sitting on his lap once more and earning a throaty groan from his lips. You didn’t know if it was because of the position you were in or because he wanted to sleep but he seemed wide awake as you looked at him.

“You didn’t listen to my warning.” you spoke against his face as he got your hair away from your face, a silly smile on his lips as he nodded.

“No, I fuckin’ didn’t, right.” he spoke, his words following the previous ones soon after. “I got fuckin’ worried.” it was a mere whisper but you’d heard it.

It earned a giggle from you.

“There’s no need to be worried.” your voice was soft as you spoke against his lips, pecking them every now and then during the conversation.

“Hm.” he grunted, deepening the last kiss you had given him. Your little mewls made into his mouth, vibrations meeting his chest before you broke the kiss.

You looked into his eyes and realized this was as good of a time as any to ask the one question you’d been thinking about. The one keeping you up at night and the one that had made your stomach feel sort of sick when you had thought about it because it was so unknown to you.

“Alfie...” you whispered, face a little away from his to gain space so that he wouldn’t try and kiss you while you spoke as he did often.

And you’d ask him.

It was a given fact that if you didn’t ask, you’d regret it and you didn’t see it as a question that should be asked in his office with his anger on the highest level it could be. He was soft now, as kind as he could be, away from the mess of the city and his job.

“Are you in love with me?” the words left your lips, sure of yourself as you looked into his eyes.

His orbs were housing a storm now, no longer as calm as they had been as you looked into them. You didn’t shy away from his piercing gaze, wanted him to tell you all about what he was thinking but he just cleared his throat and stared at you for a bit.

How did you not know?

The answer was obvious to Alfie, had been for some time now but he found out that you were quite clueless when it came to it. He didn’t chuckle at how blind you were to his feelings but just offered you a stare, a kind one at that.

“What do ya’ think?” he asked, challenging you as he kept playing with your hair.

“I don’t know....that’s why I asked.” you spoke softly, honest with him for the first time about all this: about how you felt and the fact that it was affecting you daily.

“Ya’ still don’t fuckin’ know?” he asked, expressing his genuine surprise at last. You shook your head, eyes meeting his once more in the dark room with curious eyes. You spoke up afterwards, impatient and panicked.

“If you’re not going to tell me then-”

“Aye, I am.”

You couldn’t look up to meet his eyes then, the courage didn’t come to you. He watched you fumble, try to get in a more comfortable position while avoiding his eyes at all costs. A smile found his lips when you groaned, realizing you had nowhere to go.

There was nowhere to go.

“I don’t know..” you whispered at last and that’s when he wrapped his arms around you and spoke against your temple.

“Ya’ don’t have to fuckin’ say it back, right.” he whispered, making sure that you knew. 

Maybe you would.

You presumed it wouldn’t be today or the nearest future it could possibly be but sometime in the next couple of months seemed doable. You had not done this before, this part of the game was new to you where the lines of what was real and what was not blurred in together. He was peculiar, different in a way that pushed out of what you really knew to be true. Men weren’t gentle like this but he had been, they weren’t as kind or understanding.

He was so stubborn, never listened to anyone but himself but he felt himself stilling with you. Like the war was a distant memory, more so than it already was. It felt as though some of his deepest scars didn’t exist and it was all because you had made it felt that way.

He pulled your body closer to his then, watching the way moonlight kissed your skin. This was a reality for Alfie that had not existed before, a line where he could be kind and loving.

And you were it for him.

--------

Tagging: @clairecrive  @parkbearum @sourirez  @vetseras @mollybegger-blog @babylooneytoonz @peakascum @fuseburner @r-rose08 @innerpaperexpertcloud @caffinated-tree @cathartichaoss  @ihavefandomsssss @thatchickwiththecamera @sugarcoated-lame @alainabooks143 @enrapturedbythemoon @a-southern-doctors-drawl  @houseofdupree @evangelinesolomons​  @kissmyoops a/n: hello, dear ones!! I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for sticking with me on this. I think there’s going to be one more and that would be it for this series but i would love to hear any other ways of going about it. Do let me know if you’d like to be tagged and what you thought of the chapter!!

And Ramadan Kareem to all who celebrate <3

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Yup, Sure Was a Finale

I had an epiphany. The reason why I never re-watched the final two parts of Sozin’s Comet even though I’ve popped in episodes at random many times over the years isn’t that I can’t bear the sadness of seeing one of the best, most engaging narratives out there come to an end.

It’s simply that the finale isn’t all that good.

Some honorable mentions of what was enjoyable.

(+) This

Just this.

(+) The Church of Zutara has another convert

“Are you sure they don’t get together?” Hubster, 2020

(+) The tragedy of Azula

And the fact that it’s acknowledged as such. I hope Zuko will do his best to get her help and have a relationship with her…

(+) Sokka being a big bro

And the whole airship sequence in general. It’s wonderfully paced and plotted, with moments of humor, real stakes, Toph being both badass and a scared crying kid, Sokka strategizing and protecting, Suki saving the day, and non-benders being instrumental in thwarting the bad guy firebender’s plans. Would be shame if Bryke never portrayed them this capable ever again…

And now for the main course.

(-) Blink and its over

The wrap-up feels too quick (hashtag Needs More ROtK-style False Endings). A part of this is due to how fast the story goes from the thick of the action to hastily tying up a bunch of loose ends, but the larger issue is how Book 3’s uneven pacing comes home to roost. After spending half a season on filler episodes that at best subtly flesh out established characters while dancing around a huge lionturtle-shaped hole, and at worst contradict the theme of “no one is born bad” with “you’re a hot mess because your great-grandfathers didn’t get along too well”, the frantic “go go go” rush of the second half screeches to a halt with “they won and everyone was happy because now the right people have power and it will be all good from now on yup nothing more to deal with baiiiii”.

Yes, I know, it’s a kids’ show. But goddamn, this particular kids’ show has proven so many times it can do better than the expected tropiness. Showing the characters in their roles as builders of a new world was the least that could have been done.

Oh well!

(-) Ursa

We’ll never know. There will never be a story that delves into this. Yup. Shall forever remain but an intriguing mystery. Is good, though. Mystery is better than a story where Ursa shares her son’s penchant for forgetfulness. Imagine how embarrassing that would be. Speaking of which…

(-) What does Mai see in this jerkbender?

Look, I like to harp a lot on the mess of inconsistent writing that’s Mai but let’s unpack this scene from her perspective, shall we?

Zuko forgot about her! It totally slipped his mind that the one person who prioritized the safety of his dumb ass was rotting in the worst prison in the Fire Nation—because of him! And she was rotting there long enough after the final Agni Kai for the news of Zuko’s upcoming coronation to spread and her uncle to feel sufficiently secure to release her. But then the coronation scene is attended by every single member of Gaang & Friends that was imprisoned?

So what this tells me is that either a) the invasion force had the ability to break themselves out the whole time and for some reason decided not to exercise it until after the war was over, b) Zuko forgot about them as well and no one thought to remind him there were prisons full of POWs until Mai arrived, or, and that’s even better, c) Zuko took care to free every single resistance fighter while making sure Mai would be the one to stay behind bars.

Never thought I’d say this but Mai? Honey? You deserve so much better.

(-) “What does Katara want?”

Asked no one in the writers’ room ever, apparently.

This is not so much anti Cataang as anti romance stories that pay attention to the needs, opinions, and wants of only one partner in general. Over the previous 60 episodes, Katara actively expressed romantic interest in Aang exactly, wait for it,

Once.

And it got retconned out of relevance by the following two interactions where the possibility of a romantic relationship came up, making the Headband dance pretty easy to reclassify as just one of those examples where Aang “teaches” Katara to have fun (as if one of the main obstacles to her having fun wasn’t him constantly fooling around and offloading his duties). And because the writers not only didn’t succeed in portraying Katara’s internal state of mind, but also failed to root her reluctance to pursue a relationship in outside circumstances that could change, her sudden state of unconfused once Aang steps into the spotlight has a single canonical explanation that as much as approaches coherency.

The fact is, though, that trying to interpret canon Cataang from a Watsonian perspective is an exercise in foolishness. Because there is no Watsonian justification for the ship and never has been. Bryke simply conceived of Katara as nothing but a tropey prize for Aang, never saw her as anything beyond that, and were perfectly happy to go on and immortalize her as a passive broodmare for the rest of her life.

And I fully intend to die mad about it.

(-) Iroh dips

OK, it’s been long apparent that the show doesn’t intend to do anything about Iroh’s complicity in AzulOzai’s regime in any meaningful way, and that his sole motivation for doing anything whatsoever is Zuko whom he views as a replacement son which is supposed to be good for some reason. But the finale has him abandon even that, and instead turns him full-on YOLO, idgaf anymore. It really throws Iroh’s supposed love for Zuko into doubt when his last act in the entire show is to take a half-educated 16-year old with no political savvy or an heir to secure a dynastic continuity and plomp him on the throne of a war-mongering imperialist regime where the entirety of the militarist and ruling class is guaranteed to fight him tooth and nail for power.

(I sure hope Mai’s ready to start popping out babies by tea-time otherwise the whole country is fukd in about a week)

Christ, how hard would it be to have Iroh keep the throne warm for a few years while Zuko is getting ready to succeed him? Not only would it make the whole FN reformation bit quite likelier to occur, it would require Iroh’s hedonistic ass to actually sacrifice something for once. And not having Zuko ascend to power, instead spending some time bettering and educating himself first, would be a wonderful message that no matter what you endured and overcame, you never stop growing. A kids’ show, remember?

(-) The conquering of Ba Sing Se

Gee, I feel so blessed to have my attention diverted from battlefields which actually matter to an old dude vanity project I would have been perfectly happy to assume resolved itself off-screen.

The White Lotus in general just bugs me. I was fine with the individual characters and their overall passivity when they were portrayed as lone dissenters living under circumstances where it wasn’t really possible for any single person to mount a meaningful resistance. But as members of a far-reaching shadowy organization that’s left the real fight to a bunch of kids for 59 episodes straight and didn’t turn up until a perfect opportunity presented itself to take control of the largest city in the world and bask in the spotlight?

Yeah, no.

Similarly to the lionturtle-ex-machina, the White Lotus represents a huge missed opportunity for a season-long storytelling. Here’s just a brief list of what they could have been doing throughout Book 3:

orchestrating a Fire Nation uprising;

gathering those directly persecuted by AzulOzai’s regime to help Zuko keep his hold on power once he’s crowned;

establishing themselves as a viable alternative to Ozai;

sabotaging Fire Nation’s war efforts from the inside;

countering Fire Nation propaganda (Asha Greyjoy’s pinecones, anyone?);

running a supply network to alleviate the suffering of Earth Kingdom citizens.

Instead, they sit on their asses until the time comes to claim personal glory.

You know what, good on Bryke for making me conclude that in comparison, the Freedom Fighters were perfectly unproblematic, actually.

(-) Fire Lord Dead-by-Dawn

Yes, a kids’ show, I know! But ffs, this is the same kids’ show that came up with Long Feng and portrayed courtly intrigue, kingly puppets, secret police, spy networks, and information wars. Was it really too much of me to expect something other than “enlightened despot solves everything”? Especially if said enlightened despot has persisting anger issues, no personal support system, no base of followers, and no political experience whatsoever?

If Zuko’s actually serious about regaining the Fire Nation’s honor (i.e. by dismantling the country’s military machine, decolonizing the Earth Kingdom, paying reparations to everyone and their lemur, and funding any and all cultural restoration projects Aang and the SWT come up with), then there is no way, no way in the universe that he doesn’t face a civil war, deposing, and execution within a month.

One reason why his future as a Fire Lord seems rather bleak is that little’s been shown about the actual subjects of AzulOzai’s regime. While we get a vague reassurance that “no Toph, they’re not born bad” (le shockings), they largely remain a voiceless uniform mass of brainwashed clapping seals. What is their view on the Fire Nation’s crimes? Do they associate their condition with their country’s war-mongering? How will they react when Zuko starts dismantling the country piece by piece to rebuild it, bringing it to economic ruin? What will they do when noble Ozai loyalists come out of the woodwork and begin rounding them up under the banner of “Make the Fire Nation Great Again?”

I have no idea, and Zuko doesn’t either because he’s unironically more qualified to rule the Earth Kingdom than his own people.

You know what would have been better? Fire Lord Iroh, White Lotus pulling the strings to maintain the regime, and Crown Prince/People’s Champion Zuko travelling the Fire Nation with Aang and an army of tutors to promote the new boss, only to realize that absolute monarchy is kinda crap for the people he’s one day supposed to rule and gaining their support by ceding some power to them.

I’d laser holes into my TV due to how much I’d enjoy watching that.

(-) All hail Avatar Rock

Literally and metaphorically. Aang doesn’t sacrifice anything, gets everything, and the clever solution of going about getting said everything is handed to him on a silver platter, requiring no active participation on his part whatsoever.

He doesn’t work to unblock his chakras, spiritually or physically.

He only speaks to his past lives to get a pat on the back and a bow-tied solution he could mindlessly follow.

Energy-bending doesn’t require any sacrifice from him, leaves no lasting marks, and only serves for the narrative to praise him as the rare individual that’s unbendable and thus so very very special.

The most infuriating thing is, however, that Aang is clearly shown as being able to beat Ozai without either the Avatar state, or energy-bending.

And he chooses not to. From this moment on, Aang no longer fights to save the world. He fights to preserve his beliefs, going directly against the instructions of his past lives and effectively reneging on his duties as the Avatar.

Again.

It’s not like you can’t portray Aang’s faithfulness to his spiritual beliefs as the key to beating Ozai and saving the world. But that’s not what the show did. There is no link between Aang sparing Ozai and securing a better future, quite to the contrary—Ozai’s survival ends up being a massive problem for the continuation of Zuko’s rule, and consequently a threat to the world at large. His survival benefits Aang and no one else.

Aang’s spiritual purity and his status as a savior of the world are allowed to coexist only due to a deliberate stroke of a writer’s pen.

And I hate it.

Welp, nothing to do about it now except to bury myself up to my tits in fix-it fics I guess.

[amtwst-tls]

Scary outfit Jade Personal Story Translation Part 2

Jade Scary Outfit Part 2

Would you please teach me?

Where the 2nd years all talk about the Halloween traditions back at their places.

Classroom

Jade: Would you mind teaching me about the many different ways you all celebrate Halloween?

Riddle: ...Halloween, huh.

Riddle: In my hometown, typically young children would gather in the plaza and hold a 'Fun Party.'

Jamil: Why do you sound so detached?

Riddle: That's because I've only ever attended it once. So I can't speak much about it.

Riddle: The one thing that left an impression on me was the 'Apple Bobbing.'

Floyd: Goldfish-chan, what's that...Apple....whatchamacallit? That sure sounds real tasty~

Riddle: It's a traditional game that is played in the Rose Kingdom.

Riddle: You fill a large tub with water, and some apples will be tossed in, floating on the surface, which you have to try and catch with your mouth. Of course, you can't use your hands for this.

Jade: That... certainly sounds like a game to be played on the surface.

Azul: Indeed, the moment one lets go of the apple under the sea, it would immediately try to rise to the surface.

Jade: I suppose chasing after the apple could be a game in itself.

Floyd: That actually sounds real interestin'~

Silver: However... is it even possible to catch an apple with one's mouth?

Riddle: They normally use smaller apples rather than the regular ones... but even then it can be difficult.

Jade: Children with bigger physique would have the better advantage in trying to capture the apple in their mouth.

Riddle: Certainly, one would need good jaw strength to match the size of their mouth as well.

Ruggie: In this school, Jade and Floyd definitely have the advantage here.

Ruggie: They're dang huge. With sharp teeth to boot.

Jade: Fufufu, I wonder about that. I would be too shy to open my mouth so wide with people staring at me...

Jade: And I just may not be able to catch the apple in time while bumbling around...

Floyd: I mean, how do ya even decide on who wins in this kinda game?

Riddle: According to our rules, I think the one who manages to catch an apple the quickest would be considered the winner.

Riddle: There are regions in the Land of Pyroxene that play this game as well.

Riddle: Cater said that in his hometown, the winner was decided by who got the most number of apples.

Riddle: I was never able to grasp the technique, and would end up drenched from head to toe...

Riddle: Thinking back on it now though, I suppose the result was never the important part.

Riddle: Having fun, laughing at each other as we all struggle to catch that apple... I think such joys are important.

Jade: Certainly, to be able to see Riddle-san desperately chasing after an apple with his mouth wide open would be quite amus-

Jade: -I mean, would be worth seeing, yes.

Riddle: Just what were you trying to imply...

Kalim: I get what you were trying to say Riddle! It's not about winning or losing, it's all about whether you had fun or not!

Riddle: Yes... that's right.

Kalim: It's kinda different from the Rose Kingdom, the Halloween over at our Land of Hot Sands is real fun too!

Jade: Oh? Does the Land of Hot Sands have it's own peculiar recreational activity as well?

Kalim: Nope! When you say Halloween in the Land of Hot Sands, we mean 'Feast'!

Kalim: That's because in our homeland, to spend time together as we enjoy a splendid feast is what we consider to be the most fun!

Kalim: That's why, when Halloween comes around, the tables are almost overflowing with all kinds of delicacies!

Jamil: We do this so the ghosts that come back can also eat to their heart's content.

Jamil: Sweet, salty spicy... from small appetizers to large platters, we prepare a wide variety of dishes.

Jamil: When Halloween is close, the kitchens are always on full overdrive from the meal prepping alone.

Jade: Someday I would love to feast my eyes on such a sumptuous dining table myself... Are there any staple dishes for the tradition?

Kalim: The star of the Halloween Feast... it's definitely gotta be that dish.

Kalim: What was it again? That dish we bake with vegetables and sauce...

Jamil: Who knows?

Kalim: Ah, your face tells me you know it. C'mon, it's that one! The one with potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes!!

Jade: Is it something like... a lasagna that had the pasta replaced with vegetables instead?

Kalim: Ahh that's actually pretty close to it. It's super delicious when freshly baked.

Azul: I see, it certainly sounds like a dish that would be popular with people who prefer a healthy diet.

Jade: Jamil-san, would you mind telling us the name of the dish?

Jamil: Ha... It's a local specialty called 'Moussaka.'

Kalim: Yeah that! That's the one!

Kalim: When we were younger, even if there was no banquet or feast going on, I'd still ask Jamil to cook it for me time to time!

Jamil: It was quite the mess back then... my parents, and even the other servants would always scold me, telling me that children shouldn't handle fire by themselves.

Kalim: Eh!? That happened??

Jamil: We were still in elementary school after all.

Jamil: It's not like I was already great at cooking from that age... It would've been a big problem if I accidentally set a fire.

Jamil: I can now understand why my parents and the people around me used to get angry whenever I tried.

Kalim: Oof... I'm really sorry about that.

Kalim: But the moussaka you cooked back then was also super delicious! I can still remember the taste...

Kalim: Talking about it got me hankering for it again. Jamil, you gotta make it for me soon!

Azul: I would like to request it as well. It may be a good addition to the Mostro Lounge menu....

Jamil: No.

Kalim: Aww, don't say that Jamil~

Jamil: Moussaka is a very time-consuming dish that needs a lot of ingredients to make, it even needs two kinds of sauces to be prepared for it

Jamil: I don't believe such a dish is a good fit for a cafe.

Jade: From the sounds of it, it seems to be a dish that requires an oven to bake it.

Jade: The oven back at the Lounge isn't quite big... it would be quite difficult to bake enough of it.

Azul: I'm sure there are a number of ways to increase the turnover rate if you cook it all in one big platter.

Ruggie: Octanivelle's the same as ever.

Jade: Fufu... I suppose we can have a nice, long discussion about this once I have tried Jamil's cooking myself.

Jamil: Wait, I never said that I would make it- ...sigh...

Silver: *snore*

Jamil: See, you've bored Silver to sleep while you were hyped up about making profits.

Jade: Oh my, this won't do. My apologies for derailing the conversation.

Jade: Excuse me for a moment, Silver-san, Would you please wake up?

Silver: ...ha! I apologize. You want to know the traditions of Halloween at the Valley of Thorns, was it.

Jade: Yes, if you would please.

Silver: Halloween... all I can remember is my fath- I mean, Lilia-senpai going all out on dressing up for the occasion.

Riddle: As I recall, both of you are from the same province.

Jade: I see, so even the people from the Valley of Thorns would have costumes... It seems to be a standard custom no matter where you are from on the surface.

Silver: Do merfolk not have costumes?

Jade: We do not have a habit of wearing clothes in the first place.

Jade: But it is precisely because of that fact that I find wearing the many different kind of clothes from the surface quite interesting. Silver: As a matter of fact, it is quite difficult to say that dressing up was a fun memory... I shudder even now when I recall it.

Floyd: Ehh~ Wasn't pancake devilfish-chan even smaller back then?

Silver: Oh, there is not much of a change in terms of appearance, however...

Silver: It was the one and only Halloween that I had seen Lilia-senpai in such a fearsome visage....

Jade: My, that does sound very curious indeed, since he prides himself on being quite cute, and it's hard to disagree.

Silver: Lilia-senpai's threatening demeanor when dressed up like that...

Silver: Sebek who had witnessed the horror with me was also trembling in fear...

Silver: The two of us were so afraid to fall asleep that we promised to stay up all night together.

Jade: Oh my, if I were to be exposed to such horror, I would surely let out a loud scream myself...

Floyd: Ehh~ What the heck, I wanna see that too~ We've been together since the day we were born and I haven't got 'ta see that even once!

Ruggie: So~? Did you both end up greetin' the dawn with tears?

Silver: No, I ended up falling asleep at some point.

Riddle: As I thought...

Silver: Apparently, Sebek had to hold off on going to the toilet the whole night, so the next morning he was angry at me and called me a traitor.

Ruggie: Wow~ Even Sebek had such a cute side to him huh.

Jamil: Well then Ruggie, how is Halloween over at your place?

Ruggie: Me? I don't think our Halloween over at the slums would make much of a reference for ya.

Jade: Now now, I find any and every aspect of culture on the surface to be interesting, so please do enlighten me.

Ruggie: Well, I don't mind tellin' ya, but don't go gettin' all weirded out after hearin' it...

Ruggie: "Trick or Treat" is where ya get pranked if ye don't hand out the candy yeah?

Ruggie: But back at my place, it ain't anythin' as cute as that.

Ruggie: If candy isn't handed over, you'd be marked until ye do... it's a 24 hour candy collectin' endurance event! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wow that was long, really long, I almost died but I did it for y’all ;-; Note: Jamil and Kalim actually call the dish “Munazzara” but I believe that is another term for ‘Moussaka’ in jpn, I changed it so it’s easier to place. Part 1 Part 3

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Ateez: Their Crush Confesses While Drunk

Kim Hongjoong:

"I think you've had enough." Hongjoong said as he snatched the shot glass away from you.

Whining, you tried to take it back. "I think the fuck not!"

Hongjoong only snorted. "Trust me, the last thing you're doing at the moment is thinking."

Huffing, you rested your head on your hands, feeling dizzy and ready to puke at any moment.

"I am thinking for your information." You said with slurred words.

"Really? Do enlighten me, what could you possibly be thinking about in your inebriated state?" He rolled his eyes, knowing you would probably just spurt out some nonsense.

Lifting your face slightly, a goofy smile was spread on your lips.

"I'm thinking of how cute Hongjoong is..... how I just wanna squish his cheeks and kiss those lips of his."

Hongjoong nearly choked on his water at your words.

"Wait, what?"

Sighing, you confessed. "I can't stop thinking about him, I just like him so much......."

Turning to him, you held up a finger to your lips. "But he can't know. It's my little secret."

Hongjoong could clearly see that you were so drunk that you didn't realize that it was him who was in front of you right now. He only blushed slightly.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He winked at you, already planning out how he was going to tell you about this in the morning.

Park Seonghwa:

Seonghwa was currently in the process of holding your hair up as you spilled your guts out in the toilet.

"I told you not to go out with that friend of yours, cause everytime you do, you end up like this." Seonghwa cringed.

"It wasn't even that bad!" You protested.

"Oh no?! You literally tried to eat a leaf plant thinking it was a salad!" He exclaimed.

Groaning, you lifted your head. "Why are you always nagging and yelling at me?! You're not my mom!"

"Cause I'm your friend and I'd rather you not end up like a hot mess." Seonghwa said.

At his words, you teared up and started crying, it actually made Seonghwa frightened.

"I know you're only looking out for me, cause you're my friend.....that's all you'll ever be. Just my friend!"

You ended up falling on the floor, bawling your eyes out. Seonghwa didn't know whether to hug you or tell you to snap out of it.

"Why can't you love me like I love you? Why do you only see me as a friend? What's wrong with me?"

Seonghwa's heart clenched at your words. He didn't realize you were hurting just as much as he was. Gently, he picked you up and carried you to his room.

"Nothing's wrong with you, you're absolutely perfect. But you're gonna have to wait until you're sober so I can say it to you." He said to himself as he began to tuck you into bed.

Jeong Yunho:

Yunho ran around the parking lot like it was a marathon. How you managed to get lost was beyond him, but all he could think about was finding you and taking you home. After 20 minutes, he found you underneath a tree, passed out.

Sighing, he lifted you up onto his back and started carrying you back to the car. He felt you moving and whining.

"Oh you're awake." Was the only thing he said.

"Are you mad at me?" He could practically hear you pouting.

"No. I was just worried about you and I'm relieved to find you."

Finally arriving where the car was parked, he felt you tighten your hold on him.

"Wait! Let me just stay like this for a bit." You begged him.

"Why?" Yunho asked.

"Cause I really really like you, and you only let me hold you like this when I'm wasted. Let me just stay like this before it's over."

Yunho got flustered by your words, but made no move to get you off him just yet. When he felt that you were asleep, he carefully placed you in the passenger seat and buckled you in.

"You know if you want me to hold you like that, all you have to do is ask."

Kang Yeosang:

Yeosang tried to avoid looking at you in your drunk state. You were currently grinding against somebody, occasionally even letting them kiss your neck, which made him clench his fist under the table. He refused to admit he was jealous though.

Walking up to him, you tried to bring him out of his seat. "Come on Yeosangie! Dance with me!"

He pulled his hand away rather harshly. "No thank you."

You pouted at him. "Come on! Have some fun."

"Y/N stop wasting your time with me and just go back to dry humping whoever you were with." His voice was angry.

Huffing, you stomped your foot. "At least they actually pay attention to me! What do I have to do to get you to notice me? Obviously making you jealous isn't working."

Yeosang only whipped his head towards you. "What?"

"Have you ever been remotely attracted to me? Cause I'm super attracted to you. I seriously like you. But why don't you find me attractive?"

Yeosang looked at you, wondering if it really was you or just the alcohol talking. He did find you attractive, extremely and he was insanely jealous. But he wasn't going to tell you that until he knew for sure you would repeat what you said in the morning.

Choi San:

You woke up with a pounding headache, already regretting the alcohol intake last night. Once your eyes focused, you saw San looking right at you, a huge smile on his face. You screamed and sat up immediately, covering yourself, not realizing both of you were fully clothed.

"Well good morning to you too love." He giggled as he cupped your cheeks.

You squirmed out of his touch, making him pout.

"Is that any way to greet your boyfriend? Come on baby, give me a kiss." He leaned in once again but you dodged him.

"What on earth is wrong with you Choi San?!" You exclaimed.

"What's wrong with me?! What's with you?! First you confess to me, telling me how much you want to date me, and even after I say yes, you treat me like I have coronavirus?"

You stood there, stunned at him.

"What?"

"Don't you remember what happened last night?" He asked.

When you shook your head, he sighed before telling you all the events of last night, from your awkward confession, to him accepting and how he let you sleep with him cause to him you have been official since last night.

Song Mingi:

Mingi was currently standing next to a wild dancing you, trying to make sure you didn't hurt yourself, hurt anyone, or worse, go home with somebody. That was definitely something he wasn't letting happen on his watch.

"Are you having fun Mingi?!" You hollered at the top of your lungs.

"Yeah..... so much." He responded as he adjusted his position, blocking the view of someone who was eyeing you too much.

You turned to him with a mischievous grin on your face.

"If I jump, would catch me?" You asked.

"What?!" He asked, wondering if he heard you right with the music blasting too loud.

Without warning, you sprinted to him before jumping into his arms. Mingi stumbled a bit, but regained his balance quickly. He looked over to make sure you weren't hurt.

"You're either really brave or really stupid when you're drunk." He shook his head at you.

"What would you classify this as then?"

Right then and there, you crashed your lips against his, giving him a rather desperate kiss, leaving him stunned.

"Y-yah! What was that for?!" He asked, blushing violently.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that. You don't know how long I've wanted you." You confessed, nuzzling into his neck.

Mingi was at a loss for words, he tried not to, but a happy smile formed on his face.

"Y-yah.... Don't say things like that when I don't know if you're serious or not. Don't make my heart flutter just like that."

Jung Wooyoung:

For once, Wooyoung didn't get wasted with you. In fact, he wanted to stay sober just to see if the alcohol in your system would reveal your true feelings for him, since he knew you had no filter when you were drunk. But so far, it seemed you avoided the question.

That was until a girl came up to Wooyoung, flirting with him and practically throwing herself at him. That's when you stepped in and confronted her.

"Hey! Hands off what's not yours you skank!" You warned her.

"Who or what are you?" She scoffed.

"I'm the one who's gonna rearrange your bitch face if you keep hitting on him! He's mine you hear?! I called dibs long ago!" You shouted.

Wooyoung chuckled and blushed at your confession.

"Finally, I knew it. I knew you had the hots for me." He said to himself, proud that he got the confirmation he wanted.

"Fight me bitch! Try me!"

Your voice snapped him back and he realized he needed to pull you away before you got into a cat fight over him, not that he'd mind seeing that.

Choi Jongho:

Jongho stood looking unimpressed as your drunken voice was heard through the dozens of voice mails you left him.

"Yah Choi Jongho! Why aren't you answering me?! I have something important to say!"

"You don't have practice so pick up your phone you oversized panda!"

Jongho chuckled at your cute attempt to offend him.

"Why are you ignoring me?! You're so mean! You asshole!"

He rolled his eyes at that. It was 3 a.m when you sent that voice mail, meaning he was asleep by then in the comfort of his bed, completely unaware that you were getting wasted.

The last voice mail was at 5:30 a.m.

"I'm home, I'm crying and I hope you're happy! Hope you're happy that your life is perfect while I'm here suffering cause I love you so much! I love you so much and you don't give 2 damns you fruit murderer! You treat my heart like those stupid apples you split!"

He could hear your sad, depressed sobs.

"I hate you!..... I love you but I hate you!! You and your stupid muscly arms! But oh god how they turn me-"

The last thing he heard was your puking noises before the message ended.

"Aish! Seriously Y/N! You couldn't think of a better way to confess to me?" Sighing, he picked up his jacket, making his way to your house to take care of your hungover ass and get an explanation.

Gifs not mine, credit goes to their respective owners.

[mccoyyy]

Bring historical accuracy to Carlisle's early life, pretty please 🥰

absolutely (and thank you @pandabooraccoon and the other two anons who asked something similar to this too I love you so much). I'm putting this under a read more cause, yeah

ok, to start of with I am nowhere near an expert, but this time period in history really fascinates me cause there was so much going on. 

so Carlisle was born in 1640′s London, and at the time there was a shit tonne of religious and political upheaval going on. You had the Union of Crowns, disagreements over the Church systems, covenanting, Civil War and Cromwell, Executions and the removal and restoration of the Monarchy. Shit was mad. But I’m gonna start with Carlisle’s dad (I’m going to call him Abraham but full credit for that one goes to @panlight​) cause I have so many thoughts

Abraham was a pastor in 1640. He most likely started working when he was breached and then took over as Pastor (Preacher) after his dad died. I’m going to say he was born around 1620, married in 1639ish and then Carlisle was born a year later. So he would be what, 20 when Carlisle was born. 

First of the bat, there is no way that Abraham would still be alive and kicking when Carlisle was 23. The life expectancy back then was just under 40, so a 43 year old Abraham cutting about burning witches (and we’ll get to that in just a moment) just isn’t realistic but neither are vampires so oh well. In terms of religion if were being historically accurate, then Abraham would have most likely been an Anglican pastor as that was the dominant form of church in England at the time and he would have been fucked up by the mob/church/general public/all of the above for being anything else

However, it gets sticky when you bring in the idea of Puritanism. I firmly believe that Abraham would have loved Cromwell and puritanism (cause I like to headcanon him as an utter dick) but if were doing that then it creates a problem. If Abe was a devout Protestant Anglican, he would have believed in the divine right of kings (a monarch has no authority other than the word of god and therefore doesn't need to listen to anyone else) and therefore seen Charles I as the mouth of God, and had issues with the whole execution thing, so if Abe was a Puritan, then he would probably have to be a Presbyterian (dominant form of church in Scotland and also the parliamentarians) but again, this causes problems cause no one really liked Presbyterianism (understatement). It’s possible that he could have been influenced by Cromwell and switched from Anglicanism but religion back then was very different to what it was now, it took a lot to get people to change their ideas over faith (see the plague) so I’m gonna go out on a limb and blame Charles I who first started to undermine parliament and try to start Absolutism which lead Abe to change his loyalties. Either that or he supported Cromwell’s agenda but didn’t agree with execution which is the most likely option tbh.

With Abraham out of the way, we can now move on to our boy. Carlisle, the son of a pastor in 1640, there is no fucking way that this dude didn’t know the year/date he was born. Know why? cause dates were recorded by none other than the fucking church. aka his father. Carlisle is just bad with dates but that's ok buddy i guess that happens when your like 300. Secondly, his dad wouldn’t have raised him. It would have been left up to his mum, but cause she wasn't around he would have been raised by a wet nurse until he was breeched and entered the adult world at the ripe and grown up age of six (at least I think but I’m not 100% sure) when he would have started helping his father with sermons, and received an education of some form (probably a clerics education). Either way, he would have been helping his father at a very young age and exposed to so much shit

Back to Abraham for a wee second. Smeyer writes that he hunted down and burned vampires but again, this isn’t likely. Vampire hunters did exist but not in London. They were most common in Bulgarian/Serbian beliefs and even then they were very different to the modern idea of vampire hunters. And secondly, they wouldn’t have been burned! pyres weren’t used in the 1600s and instead would probably have been killed through hangings, torture or trials to determine whether they were a witch or not. So the good news is, Carlisle didn’t have to watch women being burned alive from the age of like six, he would only have to watch women being drowned, tortured, disembowelled, branded and hanged! and not just women accused of being witches, but most likely Catholics too!

We don’t know much about Carlisle’s life from his birth to his ‘death’, so I’m gonna take creative liberty and make some stuff up. London in the 1640s was utterly awful. It was dark, bleak, and really smelly. He was pretty lucky in terms of the plague cause the only major outbreaks occurred just before him and just after him (1603, 25 and 65) but there would have been the odd outbreak. I like to believe that Carlisle was an argumentative little shit and from the age of like 10 argued with his dad about literally everything. Canon says that Carlisle didn’t agree with his fathers particular brand of faith, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that whilst he was still a protestant, and most likely Anglican, he probably followed an early form of religious tolerance at the least. Lutheranism didn’t reach England until around the enlightenment so I don't want to call him that but it was in existence in Germany at the same time so others had probably moved towards it a little, it just didn't have a name. His tolerance probably came from watching his father punish Catholics from the age of six, and their main argument as he got older was probably regarding tolerance of Catholicism. As much as I hate to say it, its low key unrealistic that Carlisle wasn’t married as a human so that would probably have been another point of contest between Carlisle and Abraham.

During Cromwell’s puritan reign was the most prominent witch-hunting years too, so if were being really nit-picky then Abraham would probably have only started hunting witches or at least started doing it a lot more frequently than he previously did round about here.

Cromwell died in 1658, and the monarchy was restored in England in 1660, but Carlisle’s dad most likely still followed puritan ideals and was not happy with the restoration period, and again, the revival of Christmas, theatre and fun was something that 20 year old Carlisle and Abraham would have disagreed over. Carlisle would have taken over a lot of his fathers duties round about this time, leading sermons and all that because Abraham should have been dead by now so I guess smeyer can have that one.

And now we get up to our boy’s final years. And this is like shooting still targets. Carlisle was hunting vampires in London sewers when he got bit, and then crawled into a potato cellar where he writhed in agony for 3-4 days. Firstly, sewers. The London sewage system wasn’t built for one or two hundred years. London was so fucking smelly. Like so much so that if it was sunny the house of commons/Westminster had to be evacuated cause the (literal) shite in the Thames would have warmed up and became especially pungent, and it was only when it started to affect MP’s that they though that maybe they should do something about it (which is probably another reason that super-senses-vampire Carlisle boosted to France as soon as possible). So he wouldn’t have been fighting vampires in sewage systems, but instead an alley, slums, or even along or near the Thames if you want to keep the sewage aspect. 

After being bitten, it would have been pretty difficult for Carlisle to drag himself into a potato cellar because he’d be crawling for quite some time. Potatoes didn't become a staple crop in society for quite a while. They were about and people ate them, but were largely seen as food for the lower classes in society, and there certainly wouldn't have been cellars filled with them.

Also just as a little end note, plague devastated London 5 years after he was turned so literally my favourite headcanon to give Carlisle is that he blamed the outbreak on himself. Yes, he may have went along with the miasmic theory that Plague was caused by bad air instead of his fathers ‘divine punishment’ theories, but there’s nothing like a good bit of puritan guilt am I right? seeing and maybe helping with the plague (masks and so many herbs stuffed inside them would have blocked the smell of blood) is also what I like to think made Carlisle want to go into medicine.

And there you have it. A (sort of) accurate version of Carlisle’s and Abraham’s life. and again, disclaimer, I am nowhere near an expert, so there might be inaccuracies and mistakes here. But basically, smeyer please. Google is free.