#sorry for posting late i just finished now lmaooo

[kottaniq]

I love being your friend.♡

[jils-things]

by the lighthouse.

dividers

[heartepub]

if i loved you less

summary. wonwoo's biggest gamble starts a week before valentine's day. pairing. jeon wonwoo x gn!reader genre/tags. non-idol!au, friends to lovers, bookworm!reader, spoilers for a 210-year old novel, wonwoo wins most creative confession, suggestive at the end wc. 2.9k suggested listening. pretty u, seventeen // dreams, the cranberries // andante andante, abba // i will, the beatles // library card, janani k. jha // aphrodite, the ridleys

notes. late to a hearts day posting, but pls accept this humble offering in between thesis cramming! i first pitched this to kae waaay back, but unfortunately it is not royal/period au (sorry ueueue). i read aspen's accidental one night stand ww and dug around my wip's for this in a fit of madness LMAOOO as always, reblogs are appreciated and come say hi if you're so inclined 🫶🏼

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Wonwoo hands you a package wrapped in brown paper, tied neatly with twine. Your eyes light up as you accept it with a soft thank you.

“Aren’t you a week early?”

“I know,” he replies simply. “I wanted to ask you to finish reading this by Friday.” Your brow furrows.

“Is it something I can finish by then?” Wonwoo nods. You feel the weight the parcel in your hands, considering his strange request.

“What brought this on?” You ask. 

The shift is subtle, but you notice it nonetheless—a flicker of something passing across his eyes, and his shoulders tensing up before he pulls them down again. Wonwoo looks away, as though steeling himself for something.

“It’s my reading recommendation.”

“Yours?” You straighten. Wonwoo’s never gifted a book to you before based on his own taste. He always based it off your reading list, after being hopelessly lost navigating a bookstore and asking the clerk for help, only to give you a book wildly different from your preferences.

You hold the book close to your chest. “Can I open it now?”

“No.”

“Fine,” you pout, then frown as a thought comes to you. “Wait. I remember telling you I’m on a ban right now.”

Normally, Wonwoo was scrupulous about following your rules, one of which being that he can’t gift you a book if your current priority was reading through the ones you already had.

He seems to weigh his words carefully before replying. “I just thought this one was too important to pass up.”

You catch how his fingers curl and uncurl in his jacket, the poor fabric already wrinkled at his fidgeting. Trying to make your voice as soothing yet nonchalant as possible, you pull your lips up to a grin, thumbing the edge of the twine ribbon. “I suppose I can make an exception for my best friend.”

It seems to have the opposite effect.

There it is again—the subtle shift in his demeanor, the miniscule purse of his lip before Wonwoo speaks. “Do you have dinner plans, or are we doing movie night again?”

“Movie night sounds good. Any requests for food?”

Normally, Wonwoo would ask you to prepare ramyeon, especially after you had figured out Mingyu’s recipe, while he brought dessert. But his reply, like everything else in this conversation, is unexpected. “I’ll handle it.” He checks his watch before leveling you with an apologetic look. “I have to run. There’s a bunch of shit to do at work between, but I’ll see you on Friday?”

If he wanted to talk to you, he would. You’d never push him to say anything he wasn’t ready to share. You repeat this to yourself, even as you nod, maintaining your façade of soothing nonchalance.

“Yeah, see you.”

For the past couple of years, Wonwoo’s gift of choice has always been a book. After your protests at the price of new titles and your steadfast allegiance to your library card, among other reasons, the rules had been laid out as follows:

Copies should, as much as possible, not be brand new. They could be from thrift stores, secondhand shops, yard sales, or those Facebook groups where owners sold their old titles. Only new releases would be the exception, and even then, indie bookstores should be the first place to look.

Refer to the Notion page of your current to-be-read list for possible titles.

If you were on a book buying ban, so is he; it’s bad enough that your shelves continue to groan under the weight of books still unread. 

The first rule was for your indulgence, too. You happened to take home a volume of the Diaries of Anaïs Nin only to find notes scribbled in the marginalia, and fell in love immediately. It’s a rare thing in your collection, but you do have someone’s old Letters to Milena and Giovanni’s Room, the latter with annotations in Arabic, of all languages.

You stare at the unwrapped gift, heart in your throat.

Emma.

Wonwoo must have been lying when he said it was his recommendation; you have your own well-worn copy, annotations and all, sitting in the corner of your shelf dedicated to Austen. Hands shaking, you open your messages, snapping a photo of the book laying on the desk.

You [picture] ??? wonwoo?? (Seen)

He sees it almost immediately; three dots appear onscreen.

aa wonu It’s a gift. Don’t overthink it. But I hope you won’t get mad.

You is it smth I should be mad abt?

aa wonu Up to you.

You you know i’ve read emma, right

aa wonu Have you started reading this one yet?

You turn to Chapter 1, and gasp. There, in black ink, is Wonwoo’s familiar scrawl, remarks littering the blank space between the heading and the text. You flip through the first half, seeing how he’d write anything from a smiley face to bracket off entire passages with an exclamation point. Some brackets and underlines have longer annotations beside them that you have yet to read.

It’s all in black pen—so characteristically Wonwoo, who wouldn’t be the type to use different colored highlighters and page flags, anyway.

You oh my god. wonwoo

aa wonu The last time I read a classic was in high school Don’t judge me too harshly. Please. See you Friday?

You hesitate before replying.

You yeah ofc! see you!!

Your thumbs are shaking too badly as you type the last message; the phone gets thrown on your bed, bouncing once before resting on the pillow. A hand comes up to cover your mouth. You stare at the book, mind whirring.

Years ago, there had been a time when you entertained the thought of dating Jeon Wonwoo. In night-outs where he’d offer to get you home, a hand on your back to keep you from stumbling as you’d fumble for keys that always ended up at the bottom of your bag. He had even taken to keeping a pair of slippers in his car, in your size, for you to change into when your feet were hurting. Wonwoo never told you—he just knew your foot size, just cared in the understated, quiet way he always did. When you found out, you remember thinking that this would be the kind of man you wouldn’t mind offering your heart to. Thought that obviously he’d only do something like that for someone he was in love with.

Now, of course, after his exes and your own, and no confession in sight, you had buried your wishful thinking in the deepest parts of your heart. You’d even grown to appreciate it more, finding comfort in the care that was independent of any romantic expectation.

Wonwoo, your best friend, chose, out of all the books to annotate and gift you, Emma. You know how the story goes. He knows you know how it goes. Yet Wonwoo’s thoughts are here, immortalized and entrusted into your hands, the same hands you have now buried your face in while trying to reel in your breaths.

Today, that bird you had deprived of the sun beats its wings against your ribcage, insistent once more. Your body is simultaneously numb and buzzing with energy, as though it could not decide whether it wanted to freeze up or run a few hundred laps.

It could be nothing—could be like that time with the slippers again where you allowed yourself to be caught in your wishful thinking. You don’t know if your heart can take it if it isn’t. You don’t know if your heart can take it if it is.

You welcome Wonwoo in your apartment with a painfully bright grin, accepting his proffered bag of takeout before ushering him inside. He had offered only a soft hello, barely a smile on his face as he took off his shoes by your entrance. You couldn’t bring yourself to keep up any chatter while he washes his hands in your kitchenette, even as you busy yourself a few feet away with peeling off the tape on the plastic containers and wiping away any grease that leaked out.

“I’ll set up the table,” he breaks the silence, gaze unreadable. He’s already holding the two rice containers, and two pairs of chopsticks from your stash. 

You paste on a smile, tape still sticking to your fingers. “Sure.” 

He walks away. Not even when Wonwoo had broken up with his last partner, who made him choose between them and you, has it been this awkward. Steeling yourself, you join him, setting down the plate of chicken and bowl of steaming kimchi jjigae a safe distance from the laptop.

Before you begin eating, you hold up a hand for him to wait. Reaching into a nearby drawer, you pull out and offer your own present—a beta-release of a game he had been eyeing for some time now. Wonwoo’s eyes soften.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, as though he hadn’t been expecting you to gift him anything.

“Of course,” you respond immediately. Wonwoo glances at you before looking away. He always sits across you when you eat, and you catch the micro-changes in his expression as he shifts, staring hard at a spot on your floor before picking up his chopsticks. He looks at anything but you. The sound of the bamboo breaking seems to echo around the space.

Eventually, it’s too much for you to bear. You square your shoulders, inhaling a quick, sharp breath.

“I thought you wouldn’t come,” you begin, tentatively.

“…I thought about not coming,” he replies, raising his eyes to meet yours, which have not yet looked way from him. He looks away again. Something in your chest twists painfully, even if your body is buzzing with repressed adrenaline.

“Do you still want to watch a movie? Or are we gonna talk about it?”

Wonwoo’s eyes are guarded. “Is there anything to talk about?” he replies, an edge in his voice. “You never messaged after that day.” 

“I thought you wanted today to be the day we talked about it? Seemed like too big of a thing to discuss over text.” And you had spent the last week agonizing over what to feel, how to feel, what to say, and how to say it. He presses his lips together, fixing his gaze on the piece of napa cabbage resting on top of his rice. The broth stains the grains around it with a tint of red. 

He rests his chopsticks against the rim of the bowl before leaning back, running a hand through his hair. “I get it. It’s a lot. I’m sorry.”

You shake your head. “Don’t be sorry.” The response feels automatic, but you do mean it. He has nothing to be sorry for.

You look at him, really look, searching his features. There’s something in his eyes that breaks your heart—as though he had come here already expecting heartbreak, yet showed up nonetheless. 

Just like that, all the questions, any plans you had for today, vanish like smoke. 

“Just—just wait here.” You set your chopsticks on your bowl. The bamboo clacks softly right before the chair creaks as you stand, stumbling back a little as you turn to your bedroom. 

“Where is that—” you mutter. “Aha!” You run back to the table, where Wonwoo is waiting. Under his fingers, the takeout napkin is all but shreds, though he does try to hide it under the table once you arrive. You approach him, dragging your chair so you can sit beside him, nothing separating you.

“Hold out your hands,” you instruct. Wonwoo does, and you set down a copy of Emma on his waiting palms. But not the one he gave you the other day. It’s yours, the one you’ve owned for many years.

Wonwoo stares at it, before lifting his gaze to you. 

“Did you know,” you begin softly. “I used to like Persuasion the most. I loved how it was written, how both characters were more mature than the ones in her other books. Pride and Prejudice had my favorite characters. But Emma…”

You thumb at its spine, and then at the crease on the cover, a thin white line disrupting what would have been solid black. Its careworn edges are familiar under your fingertips, and you know if you fan the pages in front of your nose it will smell like the characteristic scent of old books.

“Emma is the one I reread the most. At least, certain parts of it.” There’s a page marked—the scene where Mr Knightley finally lays his heart bare to Emma. From behind your back, you bring out his gift, flicking through the pages until you find the same page in this copy, Wonwoo’s only highlight in a book annotated with black pen. 

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.

In your copy, there’s the same, with a note in your handwriting—in the script you first learned in high school and tried to revisit some years ago before giving up: me!!! but also me when!!!!!

Wonwoo looks at both of these, mouth parted. You know how sharp he is, how the pieces have already come together in his mind. 

“Really?” He asks, voice soft, as though he can hardly believe it. The only thing left is for him to believe it. You know, because you are the same. It was only the heartbreak in his eyes, the anticipated rejection at the start, that made it sure for you. 

Tentatively, your hands wander, moving from clasping the book to cupping his hands, cool under your own. You glance down at the book.

“‘If I have not spoken, it is because I am afraid I will awaken myself from this dream.’” Finally, you allow the giddy smile to spread across your face. Your heart flutters against your ribs, so utterly alive. “We’re both idiots, aren’t we?”

His lips twitch upward. After a moment, he begins to chuckle, and the weight on his shoulders seems to dissolve before your eyes. You begin to laugh too, simply out of the sheer relief of finally realizing that the past few days are now behind both of you. 

“In case it isn’t obvious, Jeon Wonwoo, I’ve been in love with you too.” You whisper. He leans forward, resting his forehead against yours. Where before, he was afraid to look at you, now, it seems it’s all he can do. The fondness in his gaze is enough to bring anyone to their knees.

“Thank God,” he whispers back. You just stay there, basking in the moment, letting the joy finally seep itself into bones that have been weighed by resignation for so long. After a while, you begin to pull away, only you catch how Wonwoo’s gaze drops down as you do. You pause, gazing at him questioningly.

There’s a minute tremble in his hands as he reaches for your face, brushing your cheek with his fingers. His thumb traces a line on your jaw. He leans in, but stops, watching your reaction first before closing the distance all the way.

Though his approach was hesitant, the kiss itself is anything but. His hands find your cheek, then your neck, then your waist, pulling you further forward. You thread your fingers through his hair, both to bring him closer and to anchor yourself. There’s the faint taste of spicy broth, but you don’t care, knowing you’re the same anyway.

“That was hell of a gamble for Valentine’s,” you murmur once he pulls away, shaking your head. “Why now? How long have you known?”

Wonwoo just smiles. “It’s been a few months since either of us had a partner. And after the last one, when I was made to choose…they called me out on how unfair I was being, trying to be with them even as they knew I was in love with someone else.”

Your breath catches in your throat even as he continues.

“I tried to deny it, at the time, but they knew even before I did.” he finishes. He tilts his head and leans forward, closing the distance again. It’s more insistent now, the hands on your waist fully pulling you onto his lap. Wonwoo’s teeth nip at your lower lip, and you gasp. It shifts from chaste into something more demanding; his hands wander, fingers trailing paths of fire as they run across your back and grip your waist, as though he were finally releasing everything that had been pent up in him until this moment. 

He swallows you into himself, and you allow yourself to be pulled into his passion. His mouth moves, latching down onto your neck and sucking. A quiet, shuddering moan leaves your lips. Wonwoo freezes. He pulls away, stricken, looking at you.

“Sorry,” he rasps. “I took it too far.” His hair is mussed, lips swollen and puffy. Something in your stomach stirs as you look at him like this—a Wonwoo you’d never seen before. A Wonwoo who is like this because of you. “I—”

You kiss him again, just because you can. Just a small thing, a tender reassurance. Pulling away, you smile. Absently, you play with the short strands of hair at his nape. “You’re okay. I don’t think I’m up for anything, er, more, tonight, but can we please keep kissing.”

After a beat, he chuckles, shoulders relaxing as his thumbs trace circles on your waist. Wonwoo leans in, lets your lips meet again in a slow dance, almost lazy. Like you finally have all the time in the world.

“Okay. But maybe after dinner and brushing our teeth. I’m still hungry.”

“Deal.”

Behind your ribs, the bird flies, finally free.

[povlnfour]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ TALES OF CANDOR (LN4)

pairing: lando norris x f!author!reader

summary: lando’s girlfriend has a secret identity. she’s not quite the girl next door everyone assumed, and he might just be the inspiration for more than just her instagram captions.

warnings: some hate comments

* faceclaim: mélanie, aka wailcester on ig (please imagine her as you see fit)

ੈ✩‧₊˚ landonorris just posted a photo

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landonorris some days @ home

👤 tagged yourusername

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user i hope ur enjoying ur time off!

user no hate but like what does his gf actually do?

user literally nothing she’s jobless💀

user it’s giving🏅👷‍♀️

user lando i love u but half naked pics of ur girl isn’t helping how much we dislike her…

user what’s she reading!!!

yourusername a thousand splendid suns by khaled hosseini!!

user ofc u are. i totally believe u acc read well written books. u probably just read gossip columns but want to seem interesting🙄

ੈ✩‧₊˚ musingsofcandor just posted a photo

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musingsofcandor biscuit approves of the final draft🤍

👤 tagged acatcalledbiscuit

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user HELLO??? CANDOR DOES THIS MEAN WE R GETTING A NEW BOOK

user i love that we know more abt candy’s cat than we do her…

user can’t wait to read it🥹🥹

rickriordan has to be my favorite thing you’ve written!

user RICK’S READ IT??? OH YOU KNOW ITS GOOD

user lando norris in the likes he’s just like all of us fr

ੈ✩‧₊˚ yourusername just posted a photo

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yourusername ‘when she finally got the camera film developed, seeing his face made it all come rushing back’🦋🫧🧚🏻

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user im sorry i know we r meant to be supportive but she annoys me sm. is she just living off of lando’s money?

user omg the caption!!!

user i recognise it, where’s it from?

user it’s from ‘tales of peter rourke’ by candor!!!

user 🤢

user we get it… ur dating someone rich. now get a job!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ mclaren interview

[captions:

interviewer: what have you been up to in your break?

lando: a lot of lounging around with my girlfriend. read a few books too!

interviewer: anything good?

lando: i’m really into magical reality at the moment! that kind of it’s all normal till it’s not stuff, you know?

interviewer: any good recommendations?

lando: if you like that same genre, i recommend ‘the right side of upside’ by candor! it’s pretty recent, i finished it last week.]

comments

user he likes candor??? he’s so real for that

user KNEW I COULD TRUST HIM

user bad taste in women good taste in books

ੈ✩‧₊˚ musingsofcandor just posted a photo

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musingsofcandor thank you for all the love lately on ‘the right side of upside’. insane seeing so many of you recommend it, biscuit and i are eternally grateful. love, candy🤍

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user QUEEN DID YOU SEE LANDO RECOMMENDED IT

user CANDY HAS A MAN???

user love u forever ur so talented

user CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU DO NEXT. CANT BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT NOW

musingsofcandor it might be sooner than you think ;)

user UM. candor is this a soft launch?????

ੈ✩‧₊˚ landonorris just posted a photo

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landonorris got some super helpful race advice today

👤 tagged acatnamedbiscuit, musingsofcandor

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user OH MY GOD MY WORLDS ARE COLLIDING

user LANDO WE NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING IS SHE CUTE I FEEL LIKE SHES CUTE

user break up w ur gf and date candor when

musingsofcandor biscuit says he can’t be held responsible for the outcome🐾

landonorris can i hold you responsible instead, candy?

user UHHHH WHATS GOING ON HERE

user i just know y/n is feeling THREATENED

ੈ✩‧₊˚ yourusername just posted a photo

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yourusername all mine

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user LMAOOO U STARTED SWEATING HUH

user candor could steal ur man if she really wanted to

user GIRL YOU’RE SO OBVIOUS

landonorris yours🖤

user STOP LYINGGGG

ੈ✩‧₊˚ an exclusive interview with candor : entertainment weekly

interviewer: so candor! tell us how it really feels having the world at your feet!

candor: [laughing] honestly quite normal! it’s a blessing and a curse, really, not having my identity revealed. i get to live my life without those pressures, but i don’t get to see anyone and thank them for reading!

interviewer: do you ever get the urge to approach someone reading one of your books?

candor: all the time! whenever i go browsing in book stores and see someone looking at or buying mine, i have such a temptation to scream THANK YOU at them!

interviewer: do you see a future in which you reveal your identity?

candor: maybe! there are a few of my fans who know who i am, those who attend the secret events and signings, but i’m very lucky that they all respect my privacy and haven’t shared anything further. perhaps one day soon i’ll finally let everyone in on the secret.

interviewer: and we can’t talk to you and not bring up your cat — or rather, who your cat met the other day…?

candor: oh! i’m assuming you mean lando norris? yes! he’s a pretty good friend of mine, he’s been a big support over the last few years and we found some time in our schedules last week to meet up.

interviewer: so you’re a formula 1 fan?

candor: huge fan! i’m a big mclaren girl so lando and i met through their events!

interviewer: oh fantastic! see folks reading this, she really is just like us!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ yourusername just posted a photo

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yourusername cars going vroom vroom makes my heart go boom boom

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user lmao posting before and after candor’s interview. girl ur not subtle.

user im so sorry but ur clearly so threatened it’s hilarious

user i don’t get all the hate in here??? she’s just in love n happy?

user shes a gold digger

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ੈ✩‧₊˚ musingsofcandor just posted a photo

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musingsofcandor told you it wouldn’t be long🫧 ‘thomasin jeffe, the cat, and the diplomat’ will be with you next friday. a lot of love poured into this one over the past few years, i just couldn’t wait any longer to give it to you🤍

already a member on my website? check your emails🦋

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user WHDHSJSJSJSJS

user OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING

user THE EMAILLLLL🥹

user candy omg where do you live that looks so pretty!!!!

musingsofcandor monaco !!

landonorris 🖤

user lando using the black heart and candor using the white… i’m sorry to his gf (not really) but they’re meant to be

ੈ✩‧₊˚ user just posted a photo

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user the best day of my life!!! thank you so much candor for being the absolute sweetest human and taking time to talk to each and every one of us! i cannot wait to read thomasin jeffe, the cat, and the diplomat🥹🤍

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user YOU MET HERRRRE???

user WHO IS SHE TELL TELL TELL

user candor asks us not to share her identity so i’m gonna respect that but LET ME TELL YOU I WAS SHOCKED

user i recognise her from just that inch of her face but i can’t tell whERE FROM

musingsofcandor it was WONDERFUL to meet you! i hope you enjoy the story🤍

user wish people on twitter were as kind as this,,, there’s photos of her going around :/

ੈ✩‧₊˚ f1wags just posted a photo

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f1wags the internet has been in PIECES after famous author candor’s recent book signing. photos have emerged of the popular anonymous author from the event, revealing her to be none other than LANDO NORRIS’ GIRLFRIEND, Y/N! turns out, she has a job after all👀 (pictures taken from y/n’s instagram!)

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user i… cannot believe this

user see. when y’all were hating on her you were secretly worshipping her

user @ everyone who was an arse to y/n… KARMA IS A BITCH!

user WHAT????

user HOLY SHIT LANDO HAS BEEN DATING MY FAV AUTHOR THIS WHOLE TIME????

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yourusername well. the secrets out. it’s been a long few years, but it’s nice to not have to hold it in any more.

both my accounts will remain active for separate purposes, but i’m excited to be able to introduce you to candor as she is in her whole truth — just like her name suggests🤍

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user ironically this is exactly how i picture marian elsie from thomasine jeffe looking. full fairy

user i am. so sorry. so so so sorry. i know nothing can ever compare for the things we said but i really am

yourusername thank you. no hard feelings on my end🤍

ੈ✩‧₊˚ landonorris just posted a photo

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landonorris my candy. it may not have been how you intended, but i’m glad i get to show off how proud of you i am.

i’ve watched you as both candor and y/n for a while now, and i love both versions of you entirely. i cannot wait to see what you do now you have the freedom to be whoever you want to.

and hey, pretty cool to be able to say i’m the inspiration behind some of your characters, huh?🖤

ps. so glad i can finally share photos of mY CAT. even if he does hate me biscuit is MINE as well

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user love the clarification that the most important thing to lando is sharing photos of his cat😭😭

user MORE PICS OF BISCUIT PLEASE

user i’ve always been in love with her i can say that confidently

user oh so you’re a successful fanboy

yourusername biscuit told me to tell u ur smelly for using him for likes

landonorris you literally said to me omg i can post about biscuit now YOU FEEL THE SAME DONT LIE

ੈ✩‧₊˚ musingsofcandor just posted a photo

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musingsofcandor i’ve had a bit of inspiration for some time🤍

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user MOM AND DAD

user i can’t believe this. my worlds are colliding

user I KNEW CAPTAIN ROURKE FELT FAMILIAR IN THE TALES OF PETER ROURKE

user i can’t believe my fav ever love interest is based on lando….

landonorris i love you. thanks for immortalising me🖤

————

a/n: hello hello! another one whilst i recover!

so this was based on an anon request and i have had so much fUN writing it!!!! whilst i don’t normally do requests generally due to being overwhelmed easily, this one stood out to me as i Love books so i was inspired. to the anon who requested, i hope this is what you imagined🤍

in terms of further requests! whilst i can’t promise i’ll do them, if you have any pressing ideas you think would work with my style , do feel free to send them in ! i always love to hear your ideas (and any thoughts on my works!! please send feedback as well!!) and will try gradually to get through some🤍

fun fact: all the book titles are based on actual books i have written hehe

fun fact pt2: yes her pseudonym is chosen bc i watched divergent last night

taglist (found in pinned post): @idkiwantchocolatee @vellicora @alessioayla @bborra @crimeshowjunkie @minkyungseokie @paolexsstuff @celestialpato @champagnelovers101 @loxbbg @hobiismyhopeu @tsukishitm-a @moonypixel @champagneproblems17 @ironmaiden1313 @lqvesoph @sunflower-golden-vol6 @six-call @skatingiswalkingincursive @peqch-pie @m0cha-bunny @woozarts @he6rtshaker @iluvvmeeee @goldenalbon @izzy-marvel @lucyysthings @lichterfee @tallrock35

[shepscapades]

not you coming back just to remind me of my old pokemon obsession/j

I remember watching Pokemon XYZ series when I was younger (probably the closest thing to anime I've ever watched) I used to be a hardcore fan back then, used to watch many gameplays theories stuff and all...-

Pokemon were like,,, my only interest back then? Damn I used to be crazy about those creatures, still remember how whenever I was playing a Pokemon game my team was almost exclusively flying types (birds! I love them!) and an Eevee (later one of the eeveelutions, probably vaporeon)

I don't recall watching your animatic in the past but it feels very familiar to me like some kind of deja vu so it's possible I've actually seen it before! And I must say it has a very nostalgic feel to it! I can see how much you've improved since then but the animatic still is very cool! I love it <3

(ALSO I almost forgot how much I loved Sycamore's design back then ghghhghghgh he's such a pretty man)

Welp, now I go back to watching Welsknight and some other Pokemon animatics because you messed with my algorithm and led me into diving into an old obsession -

LMAOOO MAY <3 I’m so sorry for the YouTube algorithm that’s so funny XD yeah idk, Pokémon’s one of those things that never left me— mcyt has been at the forefront of my hyperfixations for a very long while but I still always play the new games and have brief Pokémon obsessions every now and then hehe (also!!! flying pokemon and eevee beloved!!! <333333)

Funny enough, it always happens at times like these when most of my Drawing Brain+Brainrot is taken up by school or professional work, bc my free time is instead spent playing games I can zone out to like Pokémon :>

About 2 months ago I picked up Legends Arceus for the first time since I didn’t get to finish it two years ago, and seeing cheeky references to the characters I grew up with + the insane plot that is this game gripped me so tightly that I’ve kinda been in a Pokémon spiral (/pos) ever since LOL. I’ve been a submas freak lately and if anyone who has ever been into the funny train men has me on discord they’ll know that my status is very telling <3 maybe I’ll post some of the background doodles I’ve been doing lately!! I’m such a freak about minecraft idk why I’m embarrassed to be equally freakish about the other ““game for children”” LMAO

[mochinon-yah]

Happy super late Valentine's Day! (2)

BANG!!

Behind the scene (bloopers):

"Yeah, pose just like that!"

"Like this...?"

"Mhm! Now, do a creepy, almost crazy-like smile! Rather than a villain look, i think a crazy one fits you more."

"...what?"

"—or you could just smile."

SORRY BUT I COULDN'T HOLD IT IN ANYMORE AAAAA- white day isn't really far off, but i don't wanna keep rin waiting for too long lmaooo. I should've posted the finished artwork at feb 14th but yea, stuff happened and school was (and still) killing me-

ANYWAY CAN I JUST SAY THAT I LOVE COVIELLO KLNFOEIJFOW- i would be delighted to draw more of covi, maybe as a chibi next time >;)

Anyway @meimeimeirin or @zhongrin, this is your lovely baby <3 I hope the drawing matches your expectations lol. I actually wanted to draw their official clothes, but i was like gosh, i wanna see hot covi. Though, in my defense, their top was supposed to be sleeveless (because that's hotter), but then i was like "wouldn't it be uncomfy if you're doing a pose like that while being sleeveless?" so that's what happened- yeah no, it's actually because i rarely draw sleeveless top in the past, so i thought it would be safer if i didn't draw it.

Another thing is that i wanted to draw their mask, but i was a little confused by the design, so i just kinda went without it hehe 🙏 it would be fun if i experimented on this drawing to make it look more lively, but i didn't wanna ruin their image 😔👉👈 with theo, i was more comfortable since the clothes were all covering his body (i love rendering clothes' folds), but with covi, i was a bit confused... BUT HONESTLY IT'S MY FAULT FOR PICKING THAT POSE FOR THEM LMAOOO

[venacesaur]

For the writer ask game!! <3 (I put a bunch of the ones I’d be curious about, feel free to answer whichever ones you’d like to)

2. Where is your favorite place to write?

6. Favorite character you've written?

9. Favorite/least favorite tropes?

12. Which story of yours do you like best? why?

21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

29. Is writing more of a hobby or do you write with the intention of getting published?

35. Post the last sentence you wrote

45. First or third person?

Thank you for the ask!! One thing about me is I'm a prolific writer so I'm sorry if this gets long😭

2. Where is your favorite place to write?

My bedroom I guess. I've tried writing in more public places but it's usually harder to focus. But if I'm desperate and feeling a surge of inspiration I can frantically type words on my phone anywhere (those places have included in an airplane at 3 am, and in a university hallway when I was a student) (yes I snuck out of class a few times pretending to go to the bathroom but I was actually writing lmaooo)

6. Favorite character you've written?

This is too hard, you can't make me choose between my CHILDREN. Also this changes constantly. I guess my current favorite is a character from my current novel right now named Elliot. He's a trans guy who works as an errand boy for a rich and famous artist (in 1892). He's quiet and calm at first glance but there's a lot going on under the surface and he's an intriguing character to me.

The fun thing about him is that initially, he was supposed to be a background character who's just set dressing, but from the first scene he was in, he basically yanked me in a different direction and was like, "No I'm actually one of the main characters." And he's RIGHT. I'm so glad I trusted him because he ended up creating this deliciously complex, layered, sort of toxic dynamic with my protagonist (Charlie) and it's my favorite thing about this story right now. It's not romantic or friendship but a secret 3rd thing. They kind of hate each other but they also have INSANE chemistry. I love it so much

9. Favorite/least favorite tropes?

Here's some I love that I've been thinking about lately: anything involving time travel or time loops, morally gray characters, messed up families, settings that feel like characters, eccentric rich people, characters who find out they're actually royalty/related to an important family and they didn't know, characters who were created in a lab and have a lot of angst about this, social horror type stuff where a group of isolated people starts spiraling and becoming violent to each other. Tropes I don't like: characters who say they don't care about romance but then meet someone who "fixes" them, love triangles, having to save the world from destruction, protagonists who are too "universally likeable" and don't have much of a personality. The last one is a huge pet peeve of mine, especially when there's side characters who are interesting and it's only the protagonist who feels bland like...why did you choose them to tell the story??

12. Which story of yours do you like best? why?

Again it's hard to choose, but I'm having a lot of fun with my WIP novel, nicknamed Project Spiral. It's a historical fiction/murder mystery where a famous artist is holding an exclusive party to unveil his newest project, which is a strange tower he built in a secret remote location on the Oregon coast. My protagonist Charlie is the only person there who doesn't personally know him and isn't rich herself, so she doesn't know why she was invited.

On the first night, the artist gets murdered and Charlie is accused of killing him, so she has to solve the murder to prove her innocence. Oh, and the doors in the tower move and disappear of their own accord, and the front door disappears, trapping everyone inside for a week. I started this on a whim in November and now I'm past the halfway point!! It's at 54k and I hope I can finish the first draft in the next few months :) It's my second novel and I can already see that I've improved a lot from my first novel which is exciting! (Also Charlie is aroace and there's several other queer characters, including her best friend Selestina who's a lesbian!)

21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

Character relationships. I really enjoy writing character-driven stories with complicated dynamics where they pull and push each other. Also occasionally I write a banger line or two

29. Is writing more of a hobby or do you write with the intention of getting published?

I don't really care for having an audience or being published, I don't intend on making money off it, but calling it a "hobby" feels wrong because it's like...a major passion that I've loved as soon as I learned the alphabet. I did recently get one of my poems published for money in a local Asian queer newsletter and I might do that again. Also idk if this counts as publishing but I started a blog on Substack recently! It's called "Salt, Candle, Mirror"

35. Post the last sentence you wrote

"Growing up as a child without a mother, I knew what it was like to be pestered with nosy questions, so I decided to lay off even though I did very much want to ask the nosy questions."

45. First or third person?

This really depends on the story, I don't think one is better than the other. But I'm old-fashioned and have a soft spot for third person (specifically what Philip Pullman calls "classical tone"), and I think first person is a bit overused and overrated these days. If you're going to do first person, I think you have to really nail the specific voice and mindset of the character to pull it off well, which is difficult! A lot of writers don't even try that and just default to writing in their own voice which is lazy writing in my opinion.

[iamfabiloz]

hi idk anything about transformers which i think means you should educate me . eye emoji

GOES NUTS i was abt to finish what i typed n posted but i lost my og draft ACK!! sorry this took a bit to answer i wanted to answer properly EEEE TY FOR ASKING I LOVE THE ROBOTS!!!!

BASICALLYY the transformers r alien robots from the planet cybertron!! they are fighting a civil war and eventually all the fighting wrecks the planet n the battle gets moved 2 earth!! there r two sides, the good guys called the autobots (led by a guy called optimus prime he is popular n beloved in the franchise n fandom) and the evil bad guys r called the Decepticons!! they are led by their evil leader Megatron!! OP and megs are sworn enemies n fight sm, the wars been going on for like over 4 million years (these guys live a LONGGG time) on earth, the autobots r nicer and treat the humans better than the cons anyways (tho no bot/con is rlly pure their like all war criminals LMAOOO) u would not BELIEVEE their mfing drama!! the pettyness of these mech mfs fr

ANYWAYZZ another rlly cool thing abt the series is the many canon queer bots!!! :D their mostly in the idw comics tho, such as the comic series 'more than meets than the eye' and lost light' which features multiple main characters who r gay and have a bunch of mlm relationships, as well as lost light having some t4t lesbians who r prominent EEE it so cool to see!! another example of transgenderformers is in the newest show 'transformers earthspark' which features one of the main characters who is nonbinary!! their sooo cool :]!!

now AHEM some recommendations r below for tf shows that I rlly like (NO PRESSURE TO WATCH/CONSUME ANY OF THESE THO!! i just rlly always like linking tf stuff it makes me happy :3 i wont mind at all if these just sit here foreva i just am like YAYY when i have to find linkies it is very fun!!)

the first tf show I ever watched is Transformers Prime!! I’d def start here bc it’s good for beginners new to the series, has lore, action, rlly good characters r plot!! Very dearly beloved by the fandom :] has three seasons n a movie! links to view it 4 free below:

YouTube Playlist with all eps + Movie

Seasons 2-3 on tubitv.com (Season 1 is on U.S Netflix if you have, idk why season 1 isn’t on tubi 🤔)

(ALSO THE ORIGINAL 80s G1 SHOW IS ON TUBI AS WELL, it is very funny i like it even tho i havent finished all the way EE)

If u want smth short I’d also recommend TRANSFORMERS EARTHSPARK!!! It’s ongoing tho, not fully finished like Prime, n is the newest tf show as of late, but it’s proven to be wonderful so far and I’ve actually gotten people who haven’t seen any tf stuff before to watch it and they’ve been fine and liked it HEHEEH :3 only 18 eps rn, here is my google drive w all the eps so far if u want!

other shows that I have links to watch to r:

Transformers Animated (3 seasons, 2d animated, more stylized, very fun)

Transformers Cyberverse (3 seasons and two 40 minute specials more kiddy and not as serious and a little shallower than the other shows, but I really enjoyed it, it was so so funny and it was my top tf thing for a while before Earthspark stole my heart 😨 cyberverse season 3 has no right to go so hard)

and the idw comics can be read on readcomiconline.li (tho beware of the weird ads n pop ups if u go on here, their rlly AAA so its best viewed w adblock) theres some mlp and transformers crossover comics on there also THEIR SO GOOD AND FUN i dont think u need any prior knowledge to enjoy them tbh their great

ty again for letting me explode abt robots

[delusionisaplace]

this is just gonna be a personal update because my mind has been all over the place and i rlly need to get my shit together lol

so first things first, i decided to do nanowrimo this year, because i saw one of my mutuals doing it and i was like “woah that sounds cool i should do that”

but i made this decision last week and since then, i’ve only figured out the character names and the outline for the first chapter

so yeah november is gonna be a rough month 😅

i’ll probably post an intro and moodboards for the new wip tmrw if i’m not sleeping in all afternoon 😭

i’m also working on the last worldbuilding post for my wip 2083, so anyone that’s interested can probably expect it by next week

there’s some tags games i have to catch up on, so if you’ve tagged in the past month and i haven’t gotten to it, i will eventually i promise 😭

when it comes to requests, i’m really trying to get everything finished and posted by 2 weeks from now, and i’ll probably stop taking them until mid to late december so i can take a small break

also to the anon that requested some romance prompts, it’ll be up in an hour or so lmaooo sorry it took me so long to get to it

and yeah i guess that’s it, so thanks to anybody that took time out of their day to read this long ass post :))

[highwayphantoms]

Hi Jay!! For the writer asks:

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why?

hi niri!! :D

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

Ignoring the ones that are semi-permanently living on the backburner, there are a few that have been on rotation lately. A little Twine game I've been poking at, which if I ever finish it I might post to itch.io and share for fun, lol. I have an Andromeda Six fic rattling around in my head that is still trying to take shape, but it's getting there. Mulling over a gift fic that I would like to write and have posted by the end of the summer. I think that's everything that's currently at the forefront? Idk LOL

17. What's something you've learned about while doing research for a fic?

Hmmm hard question, on account of the fact that I can't keep straight what I learned watching assorted documentaries vs chatting with people vs writing research lol.

Since I can't think of a specific example, here's a random fun fact: intravenous antibiotics tend to smell gross and they also tend to be sticky if they get spilled or if a bag leaks. Most oral antibiotics thankfully don't smell too bad but cefdinir smells like rotten eggs. It just does. Sorry. 😂

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why?

lolololol literally all of them, I am so afraid of putting my words where other people can see them. some of it is the rejection dysphoria, some of it is just generic anxiety, yes nice comments make me feel better but I'm always gonna be afraid of how people will react to what I write lmao. nevermind the fact that I am... fairly certain I've never gotten a mean comment on fic? and I've been posting fic online for like... 15 years now. intermittently, anyway. no, I'm not going to show you the trash I wrote when I was 13 lmaooo. (it's not actually that bad, but like... I was 13. you can tell.)

ty for the ask!!! :D

[mochinon-yah]

MY LIVE COMMENTARY REBLOG HEHE

(S P O I L E R !!!)

I'm playing the game while eating a cup noodles hehehe

The main theme song here is ven's work, righhtt??? IT SOUNDS SO CALMING AND GOOD ASSRHDJDJ but like kinda ominous, it's like the calm before the storm (btw ven, can u share the song and like make it loop for 1 hour straight-)

ANYWAY U DID SUCH A GOOD JOB @naraven MAKING THIS THEME SONG, IT SOUNDS GOOD!!! AND I LOP ITTT

Okay, so now, with my 18% laptop and my somewhat sleep deprived self and also my cup noodles, we are gonna play this game smoothly (hopefully) 🤩

THAT'S ME GUYS, I'VE BEEN POSTING THAT HASHTAG SO MANY TIMES- /SMACKED

Okay, noted, April 20 2024, 'i' go missing.

EH THE VIDEO????? THE INTRODUCTION VIDEO??? WHAT THE WHATTTTTT???? I DID NOT EXPECT THIS LMAO

"Can you find yourself?"

Aight bet-

WAHHH I ACTUALLY DIDN'T WATCH THE VIDEO ON THE TUMBLR POST SO THIS SURPRISED ME SO MUCH SGSNSHJSKSK SO GOOD BRYNN WAHHH IT'S SO AMAZINGGFF

AND YEAHHH "what happens in penacony city, stays in penacony city" ☝️

Daym, myself, ur so sad 🥲

Penacong isn't really the place where dreams come true but whatever floats your boat ig

OMGGG THE NAME SECTION FINALLY

Mochiiii :D

WHAT THE??????

U SCARED ME FOR A SEC, I WAS LIKE "WDYM PLS DON'T LIE???? 😭😭😭" so this is revenge huh- /jjjjj

Wait, i have an 'ex'????

ALSO BRYNN I'M SORRY 😭😭😭😭 I'LL MAKE IT UP I SWEAR- oh what's that? A dimitri fanart, you say? Ohhh, okay okay, i'll draw one for you-

Yes, i will make one specially for you TRUST ME ON THIS ONE, but i need to finish ven's request first hehe- SORRY FOR BEING SO LATE VEN, I GOT BUSY 😭😭

Context:

Hehe.... OF COURSE IT IS WORTH IT, I'M MISSING YK 🥲

ARE U SAYING YOU DON'T WANT ME TO BE FOUND????

Context:

OH SHOOT MY LAPTOP BATTERY IS LOW- imma get the charger first okay-

Okay i got it, anyway, moving onwards to the storyyy

Awhhh, my name is quite unforgettable??? Thanks for saying that kakavasha 😽

OH??? SPECKLED???? AND DIMITRI??????

Yeah ur so right bestie, i am sleep deprived, i am playing this game at 1 am-

Uhhh wdym he's red

HAHAHAHAHAHA OKAY OKAY "i'm always hot" sure let me get a lighter and burn you-

LMAOOOO MC'S REACTION

Ehhh??? There's a notif 'kakavasha liked that' that's so cutee bdbdhdjsjwkw

Oh wow finally, ratio *claps* now let me at him, i'm gonna diss him-

Okay nvm- oh wait- HAHAHAHAH YEA, MC GO DISS HIM MORE 🔥🔥🔥

Omg.... ratio calm down bae, kakavasha isn't even attacking you 😭😭 oh wait, we don't know he's a gambler????

EH THAT'S SO CUTE, WE'RE NUMBYYGGG

Ayo? No slander to my jelena >:o

Hahahah, sure, we can whisper to each other until they stop dissing jelena-

HAHAHAHAHHAHA GALLAGHER???? YOU THINK U CAN TOP JING YUAN IN A BEAUTY PAGENT???? LMAOO

Okay this is cute, i won't diss ratio ☝️

OH YAY MC'S FAV SINGER IS ALSO ROBIN YEYEHEHD IKR SHE'S JUST SO UGHDNND- WAIT IS THIS A REAL SONG OR DID BRYNN JIST MADE IT UP?????

OH HAHAHHAHAHAHA BRYNN OH STOP IT YOU (context: mochi said "But it's as much as I love to tease Brynn about taking my whiskey neat, and my coffee black and my bed at three- but whatever.")

NO WAIT NOOOOO I CAN'T PUT ANYMORE IMAGES........ oh this hurts </3

Okay, i'll put the context on text now ig hufftttt

OH I'M GONNA DM SOME CAESAR CIPHERS TO KAKAVASHA LMAOOO (is the prank i pulled on you traumatized you-) he said "please don't" i'm sorry bae, do i traumatize people by giving em ciphers??? 😭😭

Okay wow, yes, i can see that, no need to bold it, put it on red color, and the main of the screen- (context: Senator Sunday) /jjjjjjj

Yes, we're all sunday haters (i don't rlly hate him tho but honestly as mc, yes i would hate him!!!)🔥🔥🔥

Did gallagher just barked-

OH HE DID, AND WHAT IS THIS REALLY COOL SOUNDTRACK????? AYO????

Um, pls no sunday angst- 😭😭😭

NOT THE NOTIF SAYING "ARE YOU SURE?" AFTER I PICKED THE TALK TO SUNDAY OPTION- WHAT IS THIS ALHAITHAM DEJA VU I'M FEELING RN- Okay, sorry guys, i'm just trying to make things be more peaceful by talking to sunday alone, is it that hard for you to understand 😭😭

Eh? I need to leave the cafe?? :(((

Oh gosh, sunday.... let me pat pat u here 😭😭😭 why are u such a sad puppy here

Oh? OH? PENTHOUSE-

WAIT HUH???????????? WHO WROTE THAT??? YO, WHO WROTE THAT KIND OF FANFIC HAHAHAHAHA- PLSSSS I WANNA PUT A PIC UGHHHHHFDBND

Oh gosh, it's tempting to say yes oh no uhhhh but since this is my first run (basically choosing what i like) imma say no >:D

Oh.... sunday, oh..... this made me feel bad :((( oh i'm sorry uhhmmm uhhh 🥹 sorry?

Anyway, homeless route is on the go- probably- actually no, it's missing route now

UH IDK???? I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID IN THOSE TIME- oh.... there's no news about me going missing? Well, aside from that little news on tv after robin's but yea-

Well, robin, i don't think that sad puppy birb would hurt me too, but we don't know yk

I'M SORRY I'M GOING MISSING, ROBIN 😭😭😭 ILY ROBINNNN, UR MY FAV HYV SINGER UWAAHHH HDNDJDKKDKS CAN'T BELIEVE MY FAV SINGER IS LIKE SEARCHING FOR ME

OMGGG WE CAN MAKE SUNDAY A ROUTE???? BRYNN, WHAT- I MEAN- okay 🫡

Lmao not me being scared of my own name showing up when brynn is talking-

EH??? WHAT TRADE- Speckled??? Brynn???? What happened, besties 😭

OKAY THIS HAS BEEN A WILD RIDE, I LOVE ITTT!!!!! If i could take a pic for every scene and comment on em, then i would- trust me hehe!! Sorry if this got a bit too long and sorry if i ever comment something weird, but uh yeah! I enjoy the game so much, brynn! <3

A special muach muach for you <333

🍵 𝒲𝐻𝒪𝒟ℛ𝒜𝒩𝒦𝐼𝒯? ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚: A Yandere!H:SR x Reader Otome Game

✧ romanceable characters (© hoyoverse): Professor Veritas Ratio, "Your friend" Kakavasha, and "Gallagher" [for now]

✧ content warning: yandere themes, mentions of racial/species discrimination (your character is SEA/Filipino-coded), (y/n) uses they/them, the story takes place in a modern hybrid alternate universe where each planet (Belobog, Penacony, etc) is considered a country.

PLAY THE DEMO HERE (available for download on PC & Mac AND online play for any devices, though download is preferable to avoid pixellated graphics & misaligned textboxes)

You (name changeable) are a hardworking and full-pledged human cafe owner in Penacony City. Your Dreamjolt Cafe has been a go-to for residents and tourists alike. But your loved ones' lives took a sharp turn for the worst when you decided to take a much-needed vacation back to your homeland, Perlas. While your family eagerly awaited your arrival, you disappeared en route. Where did you go? How did this happen? Who did this? Was it...

☕ the prickly yet fascinating Prof. Veritas Ratio, your self-proclaimed avian-hybrid regular,

☕Kakavasha, your longest fellow human friend who always seems to have a secret or two;

☕ or Gallagher, your hound-hybrid roommate whose past is as peculiar as his loyalty?

☕ or are there two more you're forgetting?

... so...

𝒲𝐻𝒪 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝒾𝓉?

Please support this game by reblogging the post & sending asks/comments! I put a lot of time and effort writing, drawing, and learning for to code for this. Thank you so much, my beloved yandere!H:SR community and of course, @dreamjolt-hostelry, for being supportive friends!!! - @beloved-brynn

✧ Characters, Background Art and UI Credits

Hoyoverse assets sourced from the-astral-express-archive. I just tweaked em a bit!

Canva freestock images... Haha...

✧ Intro video, sprites & CG art Credits

Me!!! Hi <3 I hope you enjoyed them! I can't believe yall made me learn adobe after effects a bit for this-

✧ Music Credits

The main menu theme (the first song upon booting the game) is made by @naraven!

The rest of the royalty free music soundtrack (such as the music used for the video above) is sourced from Vodovoz Music Productions!!! Please show the creator some love!!! I was actually vibing so hard while listening to them lmao

✧ (Fan)Story

lol hi again!!! man. i feel like Argenti.

If you wish to support my work and want to see more of this in the future, please buy me a coffee! So I can at least prove to my parents that my work is at least worth one dollar ;;;;

[kithtaehyung]

sundress season (3tan) | myg

drabble: sundress season | chapter: post-anytime pairing: 3tan!yoongi x reader(f) series: masterlist | three tangerines | fireworks | house party | basketball | stay | sidewalk talk | friends | dalo | like that | anytime  rating/genre: m (18+) ; fluff , smut ; brother’s best friend au, implied age gap au summary: you’re wearing a what.   warnings: language, his texts might need their own warning, yoongi on the phone, mentions of sexual acts, this gd outfit note: this takes place between 3tan8 and the upcoming 3tan9. if you haven’t read anytime or any of the three tangerines series yet, i highly recommend reading those first! it will make so much more sense lol note 2: again..... this literally happened bc of this post so it’s everyone’s fault lmaooo.. but since the goal was p big, i didn’t wanna slack on this one, so that’s why it took a bit longer to finish. i hope y’all know how much ily ! starting off the bday month with a bang. mood: wet dreamz - j. cole (sry lol i had to)  word count: 4.8k  release date: august 13th, 2022, 2:47pm est

-

-

“No, dude. Outta your league.”

“Fuck you, Chim.”

“I’m just saying.”

“What do you even mean? Hey, Yoong, look at this.”

Barely having paid attention, Yoongi only gets a bright screen shoved into his face before he retreats with a squint. “The fuck? What.”

“Shit, sorry.” His friend lowers the light before showing at a more acceptable distance, the only thing visible a photo of someone with her friends. “The one in the middle. I got a chance, right?” 

It only takes one good look to see that he probably doesn’t. “No.”

“Wow. Both of y’all can fuck off.”

“You asked,” Yoongi points out before taking a sip from his glass, the sounds of multiple conversations bustling around their table. 

It’s surprisingly busy for a Monday night, especially on this side of town. But who knows. Maybe this is their normal; he doesn’t come around here often. 

Besides, he’s only doing what he was told. Upscale hasn’t really been Yoongi’s thing, but Jimin’s newest way of cheering people up is to drag them to high-end, expensive as fuck restaurants. A bit different from inviting them over for drinks and a smoke. 

Tae probably has something to do with this.

Whatever. He’ll deal. Not like he has to eat anything. Frankly, he’ll shock himself if he ends up getting anything other than an overpriced cocktail. “If you really wanna know, just find out on your own.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Beside him, Jimin shrugs. “He’s right, Shiv.” 

“That’s because you both—People just—Look. This shit isn’t easy for me.” 

As soon as Yoongi says “we know” in tandem with Jimin, he huffs into his drink hearing the latter’s laughter. But this dude has been striking out lately, so he decides to soften the blows. “Just chill. You’ve been trying too hard.” 

“Yeah, I know. It’s just been rough since we split up.” There’s a big swig before Shiv continues. “Like if being myself caused that, then—”

“Nah, fuck that.” The thick leather of his chair pushes against him as he leans back. “Don’t let that get to you.”

“Just because she left doesn’t mean it was all you,” Jimin tacks on, bottle limp in a few fingers. “Especially when she dipped out of nowhere.”

True.

Yoongi stares into his glass, unblinking as he peers through the dark amber liquid inside. “Exactly. She’s been wanting out for a minute.”

A scoff is all they get. “Is this your way of cheering me up because…” Shiv’s words fade out, but it isn’t until he says something else that his attention is given

“I fucking love summer.”

Huh.

The hell is he looking at?

When Yoongi turns to look, all boredom and sense leaves his body. And everything else leaves his brain.

Because he spots you. Draped in a dress that feeds every goddamn fantasy he’s had since last week—maybe even longer than that.

Fuck.

Fuck.

What are you doing here? Was he always clutching his drink this hard? Shouldn’t he not be looking this long? Why does he frankly not give a fuck if he is or not?

You have to know how attractive you look right now. There’s no way you walked outta that house thinking anything else. 

And to think he almost stayed home.

Although, Yoongi’s a little regretful that he didn’t. Because seeing you without being able to do anything else has him on the brink. The edge. An edge he’s fucking close to ignoring because your ass looks even better than he imagined it would. 

Goddamn.

You aren’t even doing anything. All you’re doing is waiting to be seated, your entire party talking and occasionally roping you into their conversation. 

And he can only stare. Knowing damn well he shouldn’t.

So damn beau—

“Oh, wait. That’s…” His friend that’s still very much present cuts into his thoughts. “Damn. Wait, that’s her? She looks a lot different now.”

Before Yoongi says anything he’d regret, Jimin goads, “Yeah? Different how?”

“Hot.”

The dark, inward laugh that threatens to spill out of Yoongi’s mouth is potent, his tongue shoving all thoughts and responses into his cheek. 

Yeah, you’ve certainly matured. And sure, you look hot as fuck right now. 

But he guarantees that, above all, it’s your confidence that’s drawing everyone in. 

Calm. Unbothered. Staring right at everyone’s eyes as if they’re the most important people in the room.

You’re gonna be someone someday. 

And it terrifies him.

Suddenly, Yoongi hears your name leave his best friend’s lips, and it’s taking all of him to hope that you don’t hear him fuck you heard him. So damn loud…

But he laughs to himself in the end.

Because after all this time, you’re still so cute, with your looks of shock that are admittedly some of his favorites. 

Especially when he knows the main reason for them. It’s too easy to get a reaction out of you, and he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t fucking love it.

The only thing is: he can’t do anything. Absolutely nothing as you make your way to their table hold up why are you walking over? What the hell are you looking at—

Fucking Park. 

Of course.

“Hi,” you address in a sweep, looking even better up close. 

To Yoongi’s despair, it’s much easier to see how you accessorized yourself. And how well you fill that damn sundress that he still can’t believe you’re wearing. 

Of all the things to see you out in… 

Is there someone out to get him? Is this karma for all the shit he’s thought about? Or the way he had you on the phone last night?

He needs to not think about that, either. Not when he’s already dealing with you in the present. There’s no way he can handle both at the same time, especially since he’s already forcing himself to stay the fuck in his seat. 

At least he gets you tomorrow.

Wait, isn’t your interview tomorrow? Don’t you have work early, too?

Jimin’s compliment cuts through his realizations as it floats above the table, “You look nice.”

“Thank you!” 

“Hello.”

Yoongi gives Shiv a once-over as you turn to greet him, and when you thank the guy for saying you look pretty, he hopes that you don’t face him next.

But you do.

And you give him a greeting that’s much to shy, for his heart does something stupid before he offers his own.

“Didn’t expect to see y’all here,” you comment, thankfully sparking conversation around him instead of with him. 

Which is for the best. He probably shouldn’t stare while thinking about how those nails would feel digging into his back. Or how you would react if he pulled you into a stall, one palm clamped over your mouth while the other can’t decide where to start. 

Another sinful laugh threatens to spill. 

Fuck, how he would ruin you if you let him.

Feigning nonchalance, he takes a slow sip from his glass while his eyes inevitably linger, finally tuning back in when you observe,

“It’s so busy right now.”

“Happy hour. It’s why we’re here,” Jimin responds before pointing at Shiv. “Cheering this guy up.”

“Excuse you?”

God, he can’t do this. Your small, innocent pout is enough to break him down, which should never, ever be the case. 

If you ever pull one of those on him… 

Nope. He doesn’t wanna know.

In a dumb attempt, Yoongi fishes out his phone as you turn to add your own encouragement. Because of course you would. 

“You okay?“

“Yeah. Just a breakup.”

“Oh, damn. I hope you feel better.”

“It’s nothing, sweetheart.”

He pauses.

What did Shiv call you?

The look on your face says it all. Yoongi has to fight his lips from spreading any wider, your sorry attempt to hide your expression way too adorable to ignore.

He’s definitely gonna give you shit for that.

“Well, umm. That’s good,” you offer before looking over a shoulder he wants to kiss. “I should go.”

And Yoongi offers a bye along with the others, clenching his jaw when you walk off because what the fuck.

He might damn near groan.

Forget tomorrow. You need to be bent over his couch right fucking now. 

If he were younger, and if you were anyone else, there’s no telling what he would’ve done to you in those bathrooms near the back. Or in his car after he swerved off the road.

But on the same token, there’s another emotion lingering in his chest. Something deeper, fuller, more important than the outright attraction he’s hoping to god isn’t so obvious.

Pride.

How can he have that in someone that isn’t his?

Is that normal? How he feels watching you walk with your chin up and a new sway to your hips?

He’s seen that same walk hundreds—thousands—of times. So why does it seem fresh and brand new when it’s you?

He huffs from his nose before staring into his glass.

Showing you off would be too easy. 

Whoever gets to do that better do it right, and often.

“Was that too much again?”

Yoongi lowers his eyes to his phone before scrolling in his lap. “Sounded fine to me,” he lies.

There’s a tinkle of laughs while the guy laments, “I knew it. I’m so bad at this now.” 

“You wouldn’t’ve gotten that one anyway,” Jimin chides with one more chuckle. “Let’s keep going.”

Yoongi officially checks out when they discuss other potential matches. Because he may or may not have noticed that your table is easily visible, and he may or may not have decided to not leave you alone just yet.

Not like he’s going anywhere soon.

He can’t even stand up if he needed to anyway.

Tonight is supposed to be a fun, celebratory party for Dom. You put on a nice, comfortable dress, and freshened up more than you have in a long time. Feeling great is an understatement.

But seeing Yoongi throws you off in every which way possible and inside you feel like a wreck.

While you’re delighted that he gets to see you done up, you want nothing more than to mount his lap and ride him until he tears you apart.

Because holy fuck, he looks so fine.

It’s decided. You’re sure of it. The universe is testing you and you haven’t studied a single thing.

Did he have to have his hair like that? Did he have to look the most dressed up you’ve ever seen him? Why did he follow this restaurant’s dress code and not opt for a more casual fit instead? 

Just don’t think about it. Any of it. Especially the way his hair would look between your—fuck!

Focus. 

Tonight is for Dom. 

When everyone situates around a multi-table setup, you tell yourself to not be distracted. Yes, there are a bunch of people—most of which you only semi-know—but you still can’t get too sidetracked by his frame in that suit. By the chains on his neck. By the spread of his—

Stop!

Just try to converse. Be social. At least Reia and Yuri are in front of you.

That’s when you feel a vibration.

And you already know who it’s from.

Attempting to appear normal, it’s a wonder you only choke internally when you view what he said.

Yoongi [8:03pm]: Hey sweetheart :)

Goddamn it.

It’s a struggle to not smile like a fool. Admittedly, you didn’t exactly hold back your expression at the stranger’s forthcomingness. Which is exactly why you’re getting this text.

If you weren’t mistaken, you’re also pretty sure you saw Yoongi react. Which was way too attractive in itself, but you don’t wanna give him even more unspoken praise. 

You [8:04pm]: oh my god

You [8:04pm]: was my face that obv

Yoongi [8:05pm]: Lmao

You [8:05pm]: 🥴 

Wait.

Why is he texting you now? Aren’t you both in public? Surrounded by people you know?

Yeah, your brother isn’t here, but Mr. Sweetheart could know him. 

Then again… What does Yoongi have your contact saved as? Is it your name? Something else? Just your number and no name at all? 

There’s still so much you don’t know about him, and it excites you as much as it pains you.

Before you can mull over it more, he keeps the conversation going.

Yoongi [8:07pm]: Afraid he’ll never recover

Well. 

If he’s gonna keep texting… 

Why not lean into it?

You [8:07pm]: damn

A couple minutes go by without anything, and you’re pulled into a discussion. When a few other moments pass with no texts, you assume that’s the end of your thread.

So much for leaning into it. You definitely spoke too soon.

Probably for the best that it’s already over, though. There’s no telling how future texts would go, with the thrill of him being here and looking like sin.

Fuck, he looks handsome.

And quite frankly, you look pretty decent, too. 

Hummingbirds flit about your stomach when you know Yoongi got to see you tonight. Because all the other times he’s seen you, what you’ve worn has mostly been casual. Comfortable. Dalo was the only exception, but you assume neither of you wanna count that night. 

You briefly wonder what he thinks about your dress before a road trip talk materializes.

“I haven’t been on one in awhile,” Reia sighs as she places arms on tablecloth. 

When Yuri agrees before facing you, you already know what she’s gonna suggest. “We should go. It’s summer!”

“I have work,” you groan, frustration pursing your lips. With this interview also hovering over you, there isn’t much thought you can pour into something like that. 

“Boo.”

“No fun!”

“Sorry, y’all.”

Although… You start thinking about how one with—

Another vibration pulses in your lap, and you check to see who it could be. 

Yoongi [8:12pm]: Wdy look so cute for?

What.

Huh?

What is he doing!

The other texts were harmless. What the hell is he thinking sending this?

You [8:12pm]: 😳

You [8:12pm]: be serious

Yoongi [8:12pm]: K

You snort when you see the curt reply, knowing that if it was anyone else, you would’ve been mad as hell. But it’s so him that you can’t help but laugh.

At least he came to his senses quick. Gotta stay safe someho—

Yoongi [8:13pm]: Wdy look so fucking hot for?

Fuck!

Your foot abruptly slides forward, shoe clunking against the middle table leg in your shock. 

Everyone around you doesn’t notice, but Dom eyes you with a cocked brow from the head of the table. How did she know that was you? 

You wave her off before taking a sip of your drink to cool down.

You [8:13pm]: ……..

Yoongi [8:14pm]: :) 

Ass! 

In your haste to just reply and get this over with, you discover that he can make you flounder even over texts. 

You [8:14pm]: don got promoted !!

You [8:15pm]: don*

You [8:15pm]: dom**** fuck

Yoongi [8:16pm]: Lmaooo

Why the hell did you ever respond? 

You don’t know how it’s possible, but just his texts are enough to make you sweat. Beneath your dress, both of your legs slowly shift, your thighs rubbing against each other a bit too often.

If anything, Yoongi certainly knows how to compliment someone.

Distraction comes in the form of servers, getting everyone’s orders and gathering menus. A bit thrown by a potential vibration in your lap, you don’t even remember what you got and you hope to everything that it was a relatively cheap option. 

More conversation sprouts around the table, and you try to listen to what’s happening on either side. Some are talking about work troubles, others are lamenting the down period for sports. But they’re all lively and let you feel included, just like the one that invited them all.

You feel a little bad when you keep checking your phone, but at least they don’t really know you. To them, it would just look like you’re…

What? Talking to someone you like? Someone you may or may not be seeing? 

Where were you going with that?

Glancing down, you do see another text. And its contents affect you just as much as the notification.

Yoongi [8:30pm]: Isn’t your interview tomorrow?

You [8:36pm]: mmhmm. i’m dd🙄

Why are butterflies mingling with the hummingbirds? And why do you feel like smiling like an idiot in front of all these people?

Maybe how last night ended is still staying with you. Because you feel pretty damn good right now, and knowing that you have Yoongi’s attention like this in a public space makes you feel something dangerous. 

There’s another reason why you decided on your outfit today. Since you left that part out, you allow yourself to slide another message up, riding this wave as far as it will go.

You [8:39pm]: but yeah it’s sundress season !

Yoongi [8:39pm]: My favorite :)

You [8:41pm]: ofc it is

Yoongi [8:44pm]: 😊

You [8:45pm]: don’t even 

Yoongi [8:45pm]: Haha

Yoongi [8:50pm]: But I’m serious. You look nice.

That’s where it should end.

A natural close. 

Just say thank you and move on. 

…But what if you do something else?

Be it the thrill of doing this in a public space, or the fact that you want to jump his bones right now, you don’t know. There’s just a tiny flame you see in his words that you want to stoke.

So you do.

You [8:55pm]: how nice

Of course, you sometimes forget who you’re dealing with.

Because your plan completely backfires when his response comes way too quick.

Yoongi [8:56pm]: Meet me in a stall and I’ll tell you

What the fuck!

You can’t even pick at your food. Not when he’s giving you plenty to choke on already.

You [8:56pm]: ???? 

You [8:56pm]: here?(?

He’s not serious, is he? No. 

Even if he was, that would be crossing multiple lines. Texting is already pushing it, but it would be glaringly obvious if the both of you were absent from your tables for too long. 

Yoongi [9:01pm]: I’m kidding 

Yoongi [9:01pm]: But I’d be down

You [9:05pm]: no !!

Yoongi [9:06pm]: You don’t wanna? :((

God.

You hate how much you like this side of him. Or maybe this is just him, and you still can’t believe that you get to witness him in his natural, lethal state.

If you told yourself from a year ago that things would come to this, you wouldn’t have believed it for a second.

But if you also told yourself that you’d grow in ways you didn’t even consider, you wouldn’t have believed that, either.

You [9:10pm]: i do

You [9:10pm]: but i’d rather go home with you..

Looking back, much has changed.

But when you glance over to see him lift his eyes your way, your heartbeat concludes that some things will always stay the same.

You don’t ever think you’ll get over him. 

Which is fine, because you don’t want to.

Yoongi [9:11pm]: You don’t want that lol

Huh.

Of all the responses that he could’ve sent, that certainly wasn’t the choice you were expecting. Cocking a brow at your screen, you respond. 

You [9:12pm]: i do🥺

Yoongi [9:13pm]: Promise you don’t

You [9:13pm]: why not?

What the heck does he—

You hear your name being called, and it takes all of you to not react like you’ve been busted. “Hmm?”

“The party’s this Friday, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“See,” Dom directs to one of her friends. “Busy.” 

A small smile is offered on your end before impatience ropes you back to your phone. You’re sure the song that’s playing above your head is nice, and you can guess that the giggles in front of you are about Rohan. 

But your full attention is on an answer you’re zero percent positive about. 

What the hell does Yoongi mean? And why is he so damn enticing even over texts? 

Yoongi [9:14pm]: Just cus 

Enticing, your ass! 

You [9:15pm]: wow

Yoongi [9:15pm]: :)))

It’s like that, huh… 

This guy is something else. 

Questioning why you started texting him in the first place, you put your phone down to take a few more sips. Because you’re thirsty. Certainly not to cool yourself down. 

Right.

“Damn, where’s our dessert?”

“I was wondering.” 

Now that people mention it, you agree. It’s been quite awhile since you all ordered, and you feel a bit bad that your party is so big. Damn Dominique and her brilliant way of gaining friends and keeping them. 

She looks positively radiant as she tells another work story, and you laugh a little when you know exactly which one it is. 

Not many people can say they had a tough conversation with their CEO and came out unscathed. But when you save your company a bunch of time and money, no one can really do anything except let it slide. 

Well, and promote you. Which is why all of you were invited to a place like this.

What would she tell you to do now? How would she tell you to respond? 

Probably to press the man for an answer. 

Following sound advice that you manufactured, you go back to your device and start typing.

You [9:22pm]: tell me🥺

He probably won’t, given his stupid, short track record. But damn it, you wanna know! 

The only solace you get from minutes of no texts is that you can always hound him tomorrow. You know exactly where to poke him to make him flinch, after all. 

Yoongi [9:27pm]: Can’t. Heading out now :) 

Oh. 

Forget poking.

The both of you are gonna fight.

You [9:29pm]: RUDE???

You [9:30pm]: ok🙄

After you slip your phone back into your bag, you turn just in time to see him walking away with the others. When he playfully shucks Jimin off at the exit, you wonder if it has something to do with you.

You blink.

Why do you feel so… peaceful? Like life is okay and there isn’t anything that can bother you except the man strolling out the door? It’s such a serene feeling that you feel like smiling for no reason.

For the first time in a long while, the sky in your mind is spotless.

Thunderclouds can’t be seen for miles, and there lies an abundance of soft grass and flowers at your toes—a stark difference from the thick, muddy sludge you’ve been trudging through for days. Weeks. Months. 

And something else drapes over you like a warm blanket, a feeling from the night that you kissed under moonlight. Another time Yoongi blatantly disregarded where you were and simply did what he wanted. 

You craft the scene from memory, staring and realizing that those two have no clue what they’ll go through in the coming days. How the uncertainty between them is going to wither and fade, bit by beautiful bit.

And then you leave them alone.

You join the present with newfound tranquility. Everything around you rings clear, from the voices around the table to the clinks of glasses around the restaurant. The summer breeze announces its presence through open windows, and you wonder if it’s been trying to get your attention for awhile now.

Everything’s good.

Observing a decorative clock on the wall you never noticed before, you can’t believe that you’ve been texting Yoongi for over an hour. In public.

If only you could sit next to him next time. Or maybe even… 

A text comes through.

And you figure that things are fine as they are now. 

Yoongi [9:40pm]: So are you 🤕

Shit, you know you’re beaming but you honestly can’t help it. You truly didn’t know he’d like your outfit this much, and this new information makes you feel more than a bit dizzy. 

Suddenly shy, you text back and hope he sees it when not being orbited by his friends.

Dessert finally arrives a couple minutes later, and it isn’t until ten minutes after that when you get a reply.

You [9:42pm]: i wish i knew you liked them. i have a lot.

Yoongi [9:55pm]: Show me sometime 

Ah. 

You intend to. 

You [9:57pm]: if you behave🥴

Yoongi [9:59pm]: Haaaaa

The giggle you let out is the one that gets you caught. 

You raise your eyes to Yuri and Reia, the two of them giving you smug as fuck looks. “Huh.” 

“You’re so gone, dude.”

“I told you!” 

Swatting their comments down, you give them sheepish lips before muttering, “Shut up.” 

“You are!” 

“Why didn’t you invite him!” 

“She wants to keep him to herself, look at her.” 

“Stop!” you playfully grit. “I told you, we aren’t a thing.” 

“Bullshit.” 

“But you’re married?” 

You outright groan through a grin, feeling bashful and elated and giddy all at once as you laugh with them right after. 

“Go on, keep sexting your man.” 

“I’m not!” 

“Sure you aren’t.”

“Uh huh.”

When they mercifully let you go, you chuckle to yourself before texting back your reply, thrums of doves invading your stomach when he immediately responds. 

You [10:05pm]: jk. i will☺️

Yoongi [10:06pm]: Thank fuck

It should be a crime how attracted you are to this man. 

Well, no.

That isn’t the real issue. While attraction and lust are certainly problems, they aren’t the feelings you’re really worried about. 

Yoongi [10:08pm]: Have fun doll

The scarier feelings are the ones you have to sequester to the innermost parts of your heart. Because your finish line seems a bit too much in reach right now, and you don’t wanna trip right before you can cross it. 

You [10:08pm]: see you tomorrow<33

As soon as you click your phone shut, your head shakes with a tiny smile.

Because somehow, seeing him makes you more nervous than your interview does.

And you’re determined to make the most of both.

—

—

—

—

You can’t.

You can’t leave this alone.

What did Yoongi mean? What did he have on his mind?

After everyone’s made their way to the standing bar, you sneak away to lock yourself in a stall. Inhaling, you ring him up, hoping that Jimin or the other guy aren’t around. 

Thankfully, he answers.

“You okay?”

“I wanna know.”

“Huh?”

Your voice comes out in a whisper, even though you know you’re alone. “What you would do. If you could’ve taken me home.”

The soft chuckle on the line makes you weak.

“You’re in the bathroom, huh.”

“Maybe so.”

“Adorable.”

“You’re stalling.”

“Maybe so.”

“Yoo—” 

Suddenly, some people walk through the door, the sounds of the restaurant a lot louder for a few seconds. After perking up, you realize it’s some of Dom’s friends. 

Do you think they’ll care? Would they even know who you’re talking to? 

Have any of them been with Yoongi before? 

It’s that one stupid question that convinces you to keep quiet. 

“Mm. Can’t talk?”

“I—” Your voice is hushed. “Yeah.” 

“Poor baby.”

Ugh! 

You almost think about hanging up on him, but the deep, knowing laugh that strokes your ear renders you useless.

“I’d blow your fuckin’ back out, doll.”

Fuck.

Breaths turn ragged in a second. Vision is somehow blurred.

You weren’t ready. Fucking hell, you were not prepared. 

“Make you sit on my face until you come.”

You almost moan his name, and you have to press a palm against your mouth to keep it in. 

“Is that what the baby girl wants?”

“Yes,” you whisper, impossibly small and undoubtedly hoarse. 

”What was that?”

“I said fuck you,” you grit a tad louder, lowering your phone volume when Yoongi outright laughs through your speaker. 

“Please do. But get your pretty ass back out there.”

Why the fuck is he so perfect? 

Sighing, you shudder out before obliging. “Okay.”

“And good luck tomorrow.”

It’s not the interview you’re worried about anymore. While you feel prepared for that, you don’t feel ready for what’s to come after it in the slightest. “I’m more nervous to see you.”

For some reason, Yoongi chuckles again. And you don’t have a damn clue know why. 

“Don’t say that.”

Why not? “It’s true.”

“Always so cute.”

Well, you figure you’ll find out either way tomorrow. 

Maybe you’ll think of some preemptive revenge, as well. 

“Bye, babe.”

“See you soon.”

Everything goes silent again, only the ambiance of the bar and the music in the speakers accommodating the space. 

When you stare at your dark screen, you realize a few things. 

One, you’re alone again. Two, you call him babe way too easily. 

And three? 

Whether in secret or not.

You’re seeing someone. 

For real. 

And it’s Min fucking Yoongi.

-

-

-

tbc. 

-

A/N: DID YALL SEE HIS SELFIES TODAY?? HOW TF DID HE KNOW HE’D LOOK FANCY.. anyways, i dunno what else i can say other than this is hopefully a part that was worth waiting for! i’m just glad i could swing it between anytime and 3tan9. did i expect for it to be this big? no lol. but i figured that i would spoil y’all. it’s bday month! i’m feeling pretty good, what can i say skfjlshf but seriously, i love you all so much and i hope this was okay! A/N 2: this is not the end of sundress scenarios >:))) so stay ready  ++ feedback box: ⇥ of course, any reblogs/comments/messages are appreciated! ⇥ for the ones that are too shy to reblog with a review, comment on this, or send a message, i went ahead and made another anonymous form where you can send in what you think! ⇥ no emails collected, no need to put in a username. it’s literally just a comment dropbox :D feedback can be as short/sweet or as long as you’d like! ⇥ here! ++ ⇥ masterlist

[polyghostfacehours]

Sooo, this was originally a B-Day fic for @thirsting4slashers that is months late lmaooo. But I finally finished it, sent them the personalized version, and she gave me permission to post it. I edited this and took out specific details so that it can be x Reader for you guys to enjoy <3.

To all my Randy lovers, enjoy!

---

They Could Never - Randy Meeks x F!Reader

TW: Smut. Possessiveness. Bullying. Brief Degradation. Billy and Stu ignoring boundaries and personal space. We kinda shit talk Billy and Stu in this lmao.

---

Randy felt like his teeth would shatter.

He was trying his best, he really was, to listen to the young girl asking him for some movie release dates, but his eyes couldn’t help but look past her curled hair to zero in on you.

He watched the smile pull at your lips at whatever undoubtedly stupid and likely offensive joke poured out of Stu’s mouth. He liked to imagine it was a strained smile, but he knows it isn’t; Knows that whatever quip came out of Stu’s bug-eyed ass was genuinely bringing out the laughter he himself was addicted to.

“- also, and sorry for going on and on, but if you could pull up when Lawn Dogs comes out too…?”

The voice felt like a blade being suddenly passed in front of his face, making Randy jump. He internally cursed, briefly forgetting he was currently at work, and didn’t need to be threatened to be fired by his manager again.

“Uuuuh, yeah, you got it. Hold on juuuust a second. Computer’s slower than a grandma made of molasses.”

He hears your laugh again, and he likes to imagine you somehow heard his lame little joke from across the store and found it funny. A small smile graces his features as information loads on the screen.

“May 15th. The Brits got it first though, so maybe you can find a pirat- I mean, yeah sorry, not for a while.” Randy sidetracks the sentence just as his manager walks in, but briefly scribbles something on some small paper before sliding it to the girl. It was the name of some website, one clearly meant for pirating, and Randy gives her a wink as she smiles back.

Another round of laughter, and Randy’s heart drops as he looks to where you are standing with Stu. Plus, a greasy addition.

Billy Loomis.

Randy didn’t hate Billy Loomis, at least not until recently. They had known each other for years, just like everyone in his little friend group had, besides you, the rather recent heart-throbbing addition. But Billy had been giving him bad vibes ever since his mom left. Okay well, actually ever since he started dating Sid about two years ago, but Randy wasn’t blind enough to realize that’s just his jealousy talking. What really set off his alarms was after Mrs. Loomis left.

Before that, Billy was ok. Dating his (former) dream girl, sure, but other than that he seemed to treat Sid well and, as much as it killed him, they had both seemed pretty happy. Until Billy’s mom left, and then Sid’s mom died, and now Randy has a chance that he didn’t even want anymore.

Because you came into the picture.

Billy and Sid will probably break up. Which makes Billy’s newfound friendliness with you all the more confounding and infuriating. Billy was distant to everyone outside his friend group and, because of what happened with his mom, he seemed closed off to even everyone in it nowadays too, except maybe Stu. But for the past couple of months, he and Stu had been getting closer and closer to you. He almost shit bricks the first time he had spied Billy smiling at you when you two were alone in the library. Not smirking, but an honest-to-god white-toothed, pretty boy smile that had Randy’s stomach churning as he watched from between the shelves.

For the second time that day, Randy gets startled out of his reverie. The clatter of VHS tapes and those new DVD discs that were starting to get popular, has his eyes snapping up at the three of you. Your eyes, bright and hypnotizing, had him almost smiling again, but when he sees Stu’s unnerving blues and Billy’s cold browns on either side of you, he immediately loses the urge.

“Hey Y/N! Stu…Billy.” Randy says as he begins scanning all the items, nearly scoffing at the selection.

‘Only horror movies again? Jesus, at least watch Star Wars too or something. Get another personality trait Loomis’

It was a hypocritical thought coming from him, he knows, but he can’t help being a little petty.

“Yup, that’ll be it! Oh, actually.” Your hand reaches below his view to the row of candy below, and you drop some Sno Caps and Sour Patch Kids onto the counter “These too, if you don’t mind.”

“Course I don’t. Always happy to-“ He feels his neck burn and nausea pitting in his stomach as Billy’s hand comes up and wraps around yours as you reach for you wallet. “…Serve.”

“I got it.” Is all Billy says to you as he fishes his wallet out of his back pocket with his free hand, all the while keeping his on yours, only letting go when he had to dig for some bills.

You look surprised, but thank Billy, earning a smirk from him. You miss the way he makes eye contact with Stu over your head, a clear indication that they’re plotting something, but Randy doesn’t miss it, and worry washes over him.

Billy and Stu teaming up to do something was always a bad idea. He learned this a long time ago, ever since the two had put some clear tape over his 5th grade English class door when he was running late, resulting in him barreling face first into it and almost falling over and cracking his head. The way Stu had howled and Billy had smirked confidently even with his stupid bowl cut back then, told Randy all he needed to know about the two.

It dawns on him that you were renting movies together with them. While they’re clearly plotting something. He squints at you before asking.

“You three gonna have a movie night?”

“Yeah.” You smile “Been planning for it for awhile.”

“Ever since she told me she never watched the Hellraiser movies.” Billy drawls lazily, eyes scanning the store casually before falling on a group of girls, giving them a once over that would be subtle to most people, but had Randy nearly rolling his eyes back into his skull. How Sid or you couldn’t tell that Billy couldn’t keep it in his pants was beyond him.

Billy’s eyes move back to Randy and he gives that smirk that he hates so much, before leaning casually on the counter “Thought we’d show her what a good time it is.”

Stu gives out a loud whoop, earning some dirty looks from customers, before slinging his lanky arm over your shoulder and letting his gross, dog-like tongue lol out of his mouth.

“Blood, guts, a thought-provoking humanist tale on the hubris of man. Maybe some tits. What could be better?”

Randy finishes ringing them up, a scoff leaving his lips.

“The first one is worth watching. The others, like all sequels, are trash. And it doesn’t have tits, nor is it a humanist tale, it’s post-modern at best. You want to find something humanist? Try-“

“Yeah, uh, don’t care nerd.” Stu says with a sharp grin and a little laughing hop. You elbow Stu’s side, getting an exaggerated ‘oof’ out of him, before turning back to Randy.

“I want to hear what this quote unquote “nerd” has to say.” You state, and Randy’s heart flutters. “Try what?”

“Well, you could- “

“It’s getting late, he can tell you later.”

Billy cuts in before anymore words are spoken, and both you and Randy frown before you look outside and realize it was getting dark. And you had 3 movies to get through.

“Damn. Sorry Randy. Gotta acquiesce there.” You exaggerate the ‘kwee’ part of acquiesce and it has a snort of endearment come out of both Randy and Billy at the same time. They both freeze and lock eyes, glaring at one another, almost challenging the other.

“Anyway, lets blow this place, my lady and sir.” Stu says as he makes his way to the door. Billy holds Randy’s glare in his for a moment, something unnerving flashing in his eyes that had Randy gulping, before turning to follow Stu, who was bowing cheesily as he held open the door for both you and Billy.

Randy didn’t like the way Billy grabbed your hand to pull you out. And if he had looked a little harder, he would’ve seen that you didn’t like it either.

---

Turns out, J.R.R Tolkien is an excellent tool to get a mind off of unrequited love. Randy laid in his bed; blue covers bunched at his feet as he read The Hobbit in an attempt to stop his thoughts from wandering to you.

He knew Billy and Stu wouldn’t try anything. They had girlfriends, and Randy was pretty sure they wouldn’t share with each other in that way. They weren’t that close. Right?

Still, the thought of you there, laughing at Stu’s jokes, pulling smiles out of Billy…letting them both get handsy with you. It made him angry. Angrier than he had ever felt when it came to Sidney.

What he felt for Sid and what he felt for you were two very different things. With Sid, it was a small crush, nostalgia-fueled and old in a comforting way. When he first realized her and Billy were having problems, he was ecstatic, not even thinking about how bad the situation probably made Sid feel. Maybe he liked the idea of dating or having sex with her, more than her herself. Because his feelings were so different when it came to you

With you it was intense. Less of a want and more of a need. You were, in simple terms, his type. Whenever you came over, the hours you spent talking and drinking cheap beer that made you both gag were hours he had burned and branded into his mind forever. Your laugh caught his attention without fail, and every time you let it out, his breath caught in his throat.

Back in high school, when graduation came around, he was crushed he couldn’t see anymore. Then you ended up in the same college as Randy and the others, and he couldn’t be happier. Seeing you every day, meeting up for coffees and lunches with the rest of the group. And seeing how you had grown in that time had Randy putting down his book and biting his lips.

You drove him wild. You were hot, and just the thought of you had Randy clenching his fists.

‘If she were here right now…if she’d let me I’d-‘

Images of you under him floods Randy’s thoughts, and he began to thumbs the edges of his T-shirt as he felt his cock stir.

His eyes scanned his room, and thoughts of fucking you on every surface had him groaning out loud. The desk, he could see himself bending you over the red wood, pushing everything off it and driving his cock into your soaked cunt. Pulling your arms back, he’d demand you to tell him who you belonged too, who you knew was the only one who could fuck you like this. And he’d hear you call his name in rapture, not Billy’s or Stu’s, over and over as he pounded in you.

‘O-or maybe…’

This bed. He could have you on your back, legs spread, and worshipping the soft folds of your pussy. He wanted more than anything to suck and lick your clit, finger you and put a vibrator to the sensitive bud and watch you come undone on his hand. He’d make sure to go for another round, or two, or three, until you were satisfied. He didn’t care how long or short it took, the thought of your juices dripping down his chin had his hands finally making his way towards his now throbbing cock.

Randy was a mess now, fingers gingerly wrapping around his length, and he swore he could almost hear your voice.

Wait. Fuck.

One pump in, and Randy’s eyes are shooting open. That was your voice, and after the brief panic and confusion wore off, his eyes fall to his curtain-covered windows. His ears strain and then he hears it again. A harsh whisper of ‘Randy’ coming from behind it.

“Shit.” Randy whispers to himself as he scrambles up, grabbing a sweater to tie around his waist to cover the pulsing erection in his sweatpants.

He moves the curtain away, and though he was sure he heard your voice, he was still surprised when he sees you standing there. You look exhausted, but otherwise fine, putting to rest any worries he has in the moment.

The click of the window opening has relief blossoming in your eyes, and you crawl through before turning to the confused man. Silence rings out, and Randy rubs the back of his head casually before giving a simple.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” You give a smirk, and Randy smiles back. The situation was awkward in a funny way, and after the night you had, you were more than thankful for it.

“Food? Drinks? Thai massage?” Randy quips before moving his bunched bed covers to be smoother so you can sit.

You give a stretch, and the little slice of skin that reveals itself as your shirt rides up reminds Randy of the current half-chub in his sweats. He gulps and takes a seat, making sure the arms of the sweater give nothing away.

“I’m good. Though that massage sounds great.”

You move to sit next to him, and its then when Randy speaks up.

“You okay? Bad movie night with Casafuckface and his lapdog?”

“Pffft! Hahaha! Yeah, guess you could say that. A little.” You reply with an easy smile, and Randy loses his.

“Wait I was joking. What do you mean? What’d they do?” Randy couldn’t help the anger rise in his voice at the thought of Billy and Stu pulling any shit on you. Even the idea of them pulling a small, but mean prank on you had his nails digging crescents into his palm.

“No! No they didn’t- I mean- they didn’t do anything. I just-“ You sigh. You have no idea where to even begin.

Randy could see the worry in your face, and the worst came to his mind.

“They didn’t-“

“No.” You turn to face him, dead seriousness in your eyes.

“They didn’t hurt me or force me to do anything. Really. It’s just…” You sigh, letting your arms give out and falling back on to the bed. You could smell Randy’s scent and it comforted you as you begin speaking your piece.

“They just made me a little uncomfortable. Stu touching me so much, and Billy flirting. It felt like fun and games before, but they have girlfriends, and they keep, I dunno...upping the ante?” You furrow your brows as you recall the way Stu had insisted on having your legs over his lap during the movie.

“It feels wrong now. And we were all just talking like normal, when Stu suggests putting in Cannibal Holocaust, which we were all like, yeah, sure, ok. But then the scene where the guy goes into the lake and has all those people pleasure him comes up, that it gets weird. We finish the movie and Stu keeps talking about how hot being in that situation would be? Mentions some kitschy horror flick he watched one time where 2 guys tag team a girl. Like just keeps talking about orgies and threesomes…especially threesomes.” Your eyes shift to Randy, and you almost laugh at the way his jaw slackened in shock.

“Yeeeeeah. And normally, when Stu acts weird Billy hits him and tells him to knock it off, but this time he didn’t. He just kinda…stared at me. Almost like he was trying gauge my reaction to Stu not-so-subtly talking about threesomes when there are conveniently three of us alone in a room. I pretended not to catch on, so nothing happened, and the rest of the night was fine but…I just felt uncomfortable. Needed to talk to someone about it. And I sure as hell can’t go to Sid and Tate about it.” You sigh. “Like, if they were single it wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but they have Sid and Tate, and I know Billy is having problems with Sid, but it’s still not right.” You shrug your shoulders.

Silence blankets the room again, and when you turn to Randy, you can practically see the blood vessels popping. A part of you, the part that’s head over heels for Randy, stirs, but you ignore it. You know Randy is in love with Sid. Still, seeing him so concerned for you set your heart a flutter. You could almost thank Billy and Stu for being horny creeps.

“Would you if they weren’t?”

“Huh?” You blink, and Randy’s eyes shift to yours.

“If they weren’t dating Sid and Tatum. Would you have taken up their offer for a threesome?”

Randy shifted a little closer, and you think you can see hope in his eyes, though you aren’t sure why.

“Uh, no. Billy and Stu are really fun as friends. But I’m not into them that way.” You bite your lip and lean towards Randy conspiratorially “Plus, something about them seems…off? Like, don’t tell them I said this, but I’m half sure one of them is gonna turn out to be, like, some sort of psycho. My money’s on Billy.” You wink playfully, only a little serious, choosing to rag on Billy a bit since you know Randy doesn’t like him much. Randy nods, his eyebrows stiffening as he leans in as well.

“I’m putting money on Stu. Billy’s a greasy ass momma’s boy with some, in my opinion, homo-repression issues, but Stu’s the goofball. And you never, under any circumstances, trust the goofball.”

This gets a laugh out of you, and Randy can’t help but chuckle.

“Oh my god you’re so right! No one would ever suspect Stu. It’d be perfect!” You wheeze out between laughs, Randy’s joining yours until you’re both laughing at the ridiculous thought that your two friends could become crazed killers one day.

Amongst the slowly dying down laughter, you lock eyes, and the smiles blooming on both your faces is unmistakable. You realize slowly that both of you were just staring at each other, and Randy clears his throat before speaking up again.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. But it’s good. That you don’t go gaga over them, especially Billy, like most girls do. He’s a walking, talking red flag.”

“Yeah, I saw how he stared at those girls in the video store. It’s part of the reason I wouldn’t really be cool dating him. I don’t trust him to not cheat on me. Not to shit-talk him or anything, he’s a cool guy to have as a friend, I just wouldn’t go there with him y’know? Kinda feel bad for Sid in that sense.”

Randy nods. “Yeah, same here. Out of curiosity though…is there anyone you would go there with?”

Pink overtakes your face almost immediately, and Randy’s stomach sinks. Of course there’d be someone who you’d like.

‘But if it isn’t Billy and/or Stu, then who?’

“Yeah. Yeah I do. And you? Er, well, dumb question. I know you like Sid.” Randy could’ve sworn he heard disappointment in your voice, and it makes him jump on the defensive before he can even think.

“Correction, I used to like Sid. I got over it in high school, senior year.”

“Oh yeah, isn’t that around the time I came to Woodsboro?” You smirk, and your voice is light and teasing, clearly not being serious. But you know deep inside you’re hoping that is the reason, and that Randy is in fact secretly in love with you.

“What?! No! I- uh I, just, y’know, got over it! Nothing to do with you!” Randy sputters, and for second time that night, he gets a vibe of disappointment from you. You frown, eyes turning down briefly, before correcting yourself.

“Y-yeah. ‘Course it isn’t me, just pulling your chain, man.”

And it fucking kills him. That he can’t just grab you by the shoulders and shake you and scream in your face how bad he has it for you. That he just doesn’t have the balls. He remembers one time, back when Billy first started dating Sidney, where Stu had teased him about it.

“You lost, not just cause our Billy-boy’s a hunk, but because you don’t have the balls to step up your game!” Stu had laughed out cruelly. “You’ll never get the girl, man. Billy does, because he goes after what he wants. I do, because I know I can get what I want. But you? C’mon nerd, get over it. Sidney and you wasn’t gonna happen anyway, Billy or no Billy.”

It was a memory Randy abhorred. There was no doubt that there was tension in the friend group, and that Stu and Billy in general were those kinds of subtly toxic friends he should’ve cut loose a while ago, but kept due to nostalgia and the few good times between the cruelty. But that conversation in particular? That shit stung. And it’s those words cutting into his brain that cause the next words to tumble out of Randy’s mouth.

“Just kidding. Yeah, it was you.”

His shoulders stiffen and you mirror him. Fuck. Fuck. He shouldn’t have just said it like that. He had no idea if you actually liked him, or if it was just the residuals of the nice-guy syndrome he had gotten rid of in high school convincing him you do. But either way he was fucked, so fucked, absolutely and totally-

‘Not fucked?’

He thinks as you move forward to crash your lips onto his.

It’s everything he had been hoping for, and then some. Randy wastes no time in cupping your face, and you wrap your arms around his waist to press your chests together. The feeling of you opening your mouth for his tongue has him groaning, and he can taste the mixture of buttery popcorn and chocolatey Sno Caps from your movie night.

That movie night. Where Billy and Stu overconfidently thought they could snag a gem like you, and you turned them down. The thought that you did that to them, whilst opening yourself up to him?

It had Randy moving to push you back until your back made contact with the bed. Your lips moved together, tongues flicking and rubbing against each other, and groaning into one another’s mouth until you needed air and parted. You both pant, looking into each other’s eyes, and you give him a sexy smirk that made Randy think his dick would explode.

“I’ve wanted you for forever. Billy and Stu can go bite it.”

Those words had something snapping Randy. And before you could say more, he laces his fingers through your hair, pulling your head back and latching his lips to your neck.

“Yeah they can.” He says between kisses, bites, and sucks. “Those losers really thought they could take you from me?” You moan as he gives a harsh suck. “Fuuuuck that. You’re mine Y/N. You got it?”

You nod. This is a side of Randy you never thought he’d have. But you find yourself loving the possessiveness. You lace your fingers in his hair as he goes to remove your shirt and bra. The minute they leave your form, he pauses. Staring at your chest in near reverence, as a small ‘fuck’ leaves his lips. Strong hands move up to grasp at your chest, feeling and watching your reactions as he pinches your nipples. Randy breaths a little harder before speaking.

“These are.” He lowers his mouth to one tit, circling his tongue along your nipple before his hot breath cascades over them. “Mine.”

The way Randy’s hot mouth covers your nipple has your back arching in ecstasy. You can feel yourself dripping down to your ass, and you press your thighs together to get some relief. He moves his mouth back and forth between your left and right, sucking and licking, and then biting, until you were practically quivering as you moaned. It felt like heaven, but you knew where you really wanted Randy.

“R-Randy.” He pops off your breasts before looking up at you. “P- please. I need you, down…there.”

Randy lets out a little huff, before returning to your breasts.

“Be patient. I wanna take my time making you feel good. Buuut if you really need something there…”

His hands remove your bottoms, and deft fingers make their way to your cunt, drawing a curse out from Randy.

He pulled back to look, and like your chest, he took a moment to appreciate the sight before speaking up.

“God. Billy and Stu could only dream of this.” You moan at that, and Randy moves his fingers through your folds gently, collecting wetness.

“Fuck. You really wanted me this bad? You should’ve told me sooner.” He growled out, before pinching and rubbing your clit in slow torturous circles before returning to your chest. You cried out, steadily building the pleasure as you close your eyes and soak in both the feeling and Randy’s dirty talk.

You loved this. You wanted more of this side of Randy. You loved the nerdy, passionate side of him. You liked his shyness. But to see he was so ready to take and give in the bedroom? How he called you his, whilst disparaging your pushy friends? It drove you wild.

You came once, twice on his fingers and then his tongue. Randy wouldn’t let up, refused to fuck you until you were a mess. It was an hour and a half in, and he still hadn’t gotten his cock near you. You needed to change that. So you put your hands on his shoulders and pushed, causing him to look up. His eyes were half-lidded, drunk on your cunt and ownership of you, and you give him the sweetest smile before speaking

“Randy, I need you to fuck me.”

Not a second later were you face down, ass up. You moan when Randy spits on your cunt, rubbing his achingly hard cock on your before teasing just his tip in. You look back at him, and groan in annoyance. But all Randy does is smile.

“You.” He slaps your ass, garnering a squeak “Are mine. Not that wet-rag Stu’s and definitely not that rat-face Billy.” He growls out. “If I ever see them trying shit with you again. I’ll pulverize them.” You give a playful smile at the tough guy act, and Randy catches it before shrugging and gripping your hips. “Or at the very least."

"I’ll put a shit ton of late fees on their accounts.”

You throw your head back as he shoves himself in, his cock immediately rubbing against that spongy ridge inside of you that had you seeing stars. Randy’s pace is quick immediately, uncharacteristic of his usual attempts to be cool, and he grips and kneads your flesh as he pulls you back to him as he thrusts forwards.

The weight of a hand grips the back of your neck and pushes down, your face rubbing against the bed and allowing you to smell him on his sheets.

“God. God! Y/N you’re so- ngh- ah, so gorgeous. You wouldn’t believe how fucking good you look. How tight you are.” Randy pants out, his eyes trained on you and nothing but you.

“Say it. Say your mine. Say Billy and Stu can go fuck themselves. Tell me you’re never letting anyone but me touch you.”

“Yes! Fuuuck Randy I’m yours! I’m all yours! Billy and Stu are trash, and they could never compete with your cock!”

“Of course they can’t Not when you’re – ah – my personal, little, fuck toy.”

The steady build comes to a head the moment you start rubbing your clit at his words, pushing you over the edge just as Randy hits that spot inside you that had pleasure thrumming through you, and you scream his name in rapture. The way you push and pull around him, milking him for all he’s worth has him doing the same, cumming with a groan of your name, before collapsing onto you.

Your back and his chest were pressed together, sweat slicking you both, and you couldn’t care less. This is what you had wanted. Had craved. Billy and Stu were cute, sure, and it was flattering that they wanted you to be a part of…whatever it was they clearly had going on behind their girlfriends’ backs, but still. Randy was the whole package. Cute, nerdy, not a cheater, never gives off any bad vibes. Bad boys had their appeal as a teen, but as an adult what you really wanted was someone you could relax around and be yourself with.

‘Billy and Stu really did peak in high school.’ You thought in amusement, almost feeling bad for them. The weight of Randy rolling off of you brought you out of your thoughts, and you turn you head to look at his tired face. He looks back and smiles.

“Soooo. Does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?”

You laugh, taking the throw pillow and playfully hitting him with it.

“Yes, you fucking nerd.”

[xiaojunsmintchoco]

omg adding to the anon who asked for the nct dream reaction, can I ask for a sungtaro version as well? thankss

NCT Dream + sungtaro reaction: s/o doesn't do well in an exam

hey guys! so sorry for the long inactivity, I've been busy :") with a part time job and lots of flute practice my time is flying away lmaooo anyway as you can see I had 2 anons request this, and I'm finally finished with it! to the anons, I hope you enjoy this!

ps. we're gonna pretend the Shotaro one isn't kinda self-indulgent-

taglist: @moonsclover @bangchan-fairy (sorry guys I totally forgot about my taglist 😐)

Mark:

"y/n! y/n!" 

Turning around, you're greeted with the sight of Mark running up to you, grinning like a cheshire cat as he links his arm with yours. "School's finally over for the year! How should we celebrate?"

His rambling about post-examination plans soon fade and turn into background noise as you space out, the displeased glare of your teacher as she unceremoniously tossed your result slip onto your desk replaying in your mind like a broken DVD. As your feelings of failure and self-doubt consume you slowly, you fail to notice Mark waving his fingers in front of your face, having realised that you were in a world of your own.

"y/n? Dude, you good?" He inquires, eyes shining with concern. "You spaced out. Is something the matter?" 

"Thanks for your concern Mark, but I'm fine. It's nothing much, really," you reply, as you didn't want to ruin his post-examination celebratory mood by venting to him. However, the monotone in which you said that convinced Mark otherwise. 

"Dude, c'mon. After all this time we've been together, I can read you like an open book. Something's definitely up," Mark objects. "C'mon, spill the tea. You know you can tell me anything". 

You knew that because Mark watched out for you and your wellbeing like a hawk, he wouldn't drop the subject until you told him what was on your mind. With a disheartened huff, you told him everything. "I did worse than I expected for every subject, except Math, and even then I didn't get a stellar score on it. It just feels like all my mugging was for nothing. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like celebrating today – my dismal results aren't worthy of a celebration," you conclude.

"Dude, hey, listen". Mark interjects, bringing up his hands to wipe away the tears that you didn't realise had slipped out of your eyes. "You've done your best, and that's all anyone can ask for. It may not feel like enough sometimes – like now, but there are people who see how hard you work and acknowledge them, okay? I know for a fact you stayed late in school for weeks on end to study for these exams," he points out. "There's always more opportunities to try again," he reminds, moving in to give you a warm hug. 

"Thanks so much Mark, I do feel better," you say, tears having been replaced by a smile. 

"You deserve to relax after all the hard work, regardless of the results. Shall we go to my house and hang out? We can play on my Switch together!" Mark suggests, his previous exuberance having returned.

You nod eagerly, returning his excited grin. "Sure!"

Renjun:

The moment you brushed past Renjun and made a beeline for your shared room instead of greeting him with a warm hug as you usually did, he knew something was wrong. "Y/n? Hey, what's wrong?" He questions, voice tinged with notes of concern. Knocking on the door twice, he waits for you to tell him to come in, and his heart drops when he sees you sitting at your study table, head buried in your hands and shoulders shaking with every sob. He rushes over and begins rubbing circles on your back in an attempt to soothe you, and one look at the stack of papers beside you on the table told him that it was your results that you were so disheartened over. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asks comfortingly. 

"I…" you sniff, trying to calm yourself down. "I'm so disappointed. I studied my ass off for these exams, yet I did so horribly. Even my form teacher told me that she was disappointed in me," you explain, in between sniffles and cries.

"Oh, y/n…" At this moment, Renjun wraps his arms around you in a warm hug, allowing you to lean into him and soak up the comfort he was offering. "Hey, I know hearing such words can sting a lot, especially coming at a time when you're already feeling disappointed with yourself. But I see how hard you worked for these exams and the tremendous amount of effort you put in for these exams, and I think you've done well, okay? It's time to let yourself breathe – you've done what you can, and I'm so proud of you".

Hearing those words from your boyfriend struck something in you, and it made you realise that after all, there was someone who saw all your efforts, even in this time where it felt as if they were going down the drain unnoticed. The floodgates opened and you burst into tears as Renjun continued to keep you in his warm embrace, whispering sweet nothings into your ears. 

When you manage to calm down, Renjun releases you from his hold. "Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" he asks.

"I don't know…honestly, I think a nap would be great. Maybe I'll feel better after I wake up," you respond.

"Okay. You definitely deserve a nap," Renjun replies, leading you to your bed. "What about we get your favourite takeout tonight for dinner?" he suggests.

You shoot him a small smile of gratitude and nod weakly. "That sounds great. Thank you so much, Renjun. I love you".

Renjun begins to make his exit from your room and closes the door slowly. "I love you too – and remember, that does not depend on the kinds of grades you get at all". 

Jeno:

The sound of your doorbell jolts you from your train of thought. Sighing, you rise from your seat on the couch with an air of reluctance and move to answer the door, knowing very well who was there – your boyfriend, Jeno. While you usually loved seeing him, because you were feeling down about your examination results, which had been less than ideal, you weren't in the mood to see anyone, not even your boyfriend. Still, you opened the door, only to be greeted by his trademark eye smile.

"Y/n!" Jeno greets, making his way into the house as you let him in. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"I'm happy to see you too," you respond and plaster on a smile, hoping it was convincing enough. However, Jeno noticed that your smile did not quite reach your eyes as it usually would. Nevertheless, he was sure that the surprise he had brought you would cheer you up, regardless of whatever had got you down.

"Since examinations are over, I thought I'd stop by the bakery and get you the cream puffs you love so much as a treat," he says, walking in and handing you the paper bag. "Here, enjoy!"

"Thanks Jeno, but…" your voice trails off as you gently push the bag away. "I don't deserve it. It's alright, you can have it".

"Y/n, why would you say that?" he asks, perplexed that you'd just refused something he'd bought for you for the first time.

"All my grades are either borderline passes or fails, and my teacher says it's because I didn't work hard enough," you explain. "I think she might be right". Tears well up in your eyes as the feeling of failure weighs down on you, and you swear you can hear your heart shattering into smithereens.

Within seconds, Jeno's arms are around you, engulfing you in a soothing embrace while silently piecing together words of comfort in his mind. "Your grades don't define you, y/n," he begins, rubbing comforting circles on your back. "You're so much more than just a stupid number on a silly piece of paper, don't let it define your worth. In doing so, you'll just make yourself miserable, you know? Those who truly care about you will definitely see past your grades, and recognise that what makes you you is stuff like your interests, personality and character. If they don't see that, then that's their loss. I love you for who you are, y/n, and nothing will ever change that – no matter whether you pass or fail your exams. I'll always be right here," he concludes. His touching words bring on a fresh wave of tears, not because you were still sad, but because his sincerity touched your heart, and because you felt reassured that your boyfriend really loved and valued you for who you are, regardless of what you did or didn't achieve. "It's alright. Let it all out," he reassures, tightening his hold around you.

You spend a few more minutes soaking up the warmth of his embrace as he continues to whisper sweet nothings into your ears. "Feel better now?" he asks softly, wiping away the last of your tears. 

"I do. Thank you, Jeno," you answer honestly. 

His eye smile reappears, glad that you were feeling much better than earlier. "Go ahead and eat the cream puffs. You definitely deserve them, especially after all the hard work you put in. After that, what do you say we chill on the couch with a movie?" he suggests. 

You smile back, nodding eagerly. "Sounds great".

Haechan:

The moment the creak of the door reached his ears, Haechan came speeding out of his room at a speed even Usain Bolt could only dream of. "Y/n-ahh!" he yells out with his usual exuberance, but slows down when you merely return his greeting with a half-hearted grunt. Something was wrong, and he could tell. 

"Y/n, what's wrong?" Haechan questions, placing a hand on your shoulder out of concern as you're making your way to your room.

"Haechan-ah, I think I'd like to be alone for a bit. It's nothing to do with you, I promise," you hurriedly squeeze out the words. 

Taken aback, Haechan takes a moment to read your expression and make his own inference about your situation. You'd just ended exams last week, and you'd just gotten back from school…"It's the exams, right? The results?" He picks his words carefully, afraid to upset you further. 

"Yeah, it's that," you sigh, shoulders sagging. Haechan nods, immediately comprehending. You needed your alone time right now, and that was fine. He could always check on you again later. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Haechan muses in understanding. "I'll leave you alone for as long as you need. Then if you want, you can tell me more later?" he suggests, which you agree to. "Okay then. Go to your room first. I'll fix you a drink. And I want you to know, whatever grades you obtain won't change how I view you. I still love and care for you all the same, and you'll still be my precious y/n," he adds. 

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Haechan arrives at your room with a cup of tea. "Thank you so much, Haechan-ah. I really appreciate it," you say, expressing your sincere gratitude.

In return, he shoots you a bread smile. "Rest well," he whispers, shutting the door. As you sip on the tea, you feel it warm your heart as well, knowing that your boyfriend cared so much about you and loved you beyond your grades.

Jaemin:

Normally, the smell of food cooking as soon as you enter home was an instant refresher to you, but today, it failed to put even the slightest sliver of a smile on your face – and being ever so observant, Jaemin had realised that. "y/n-ah? You alright? You seem so sad," he asks while setting dishes on the table, the notes of concern in his voice reaching your ears. 

"Stupid end-of-years," you mumble, tossing your backpack to the side and shuffling into the house. "I study so hard, and the results come back trashier than ever". 

"Oh…I'm so sorry to hear that. That feeling sucks so bad," Jaemin grunts empathetically, wiping his hands on his apron and hurrying over to you. Before you know it, you're wrapped securely in his embrace, and he's uttering words of comfort to you. "You've done well, y/n. I really think you have. I know you might think the results show otherwise, but you put in so much effort and worked your head off the whole school. You deserve to rest. Great job for making it through, and I want you to know – I love you, no matter what," he whispers, running his fingers through your hair gently.

"Thank you so much, Jaemin. I love you too," you reply, feeling some of the heaviness in your heart lift. "Though this round of exams was disappointing, it's over- nothing much I can do about it. I might as well focus on the next one," you conclude. 

"That's the spirit," Jaemin affirms, lips curving into a fond smile. "Come, let's have dinner- I made your favourite. Hope it cheers you up," he adds, leading you to the dining table where an assortment of delectable dishes is arranged. 

"Thank you so much, Jaemin. I love you," you say, helping yourself to the food which your boyfriend had painstakingly prepared. 

"Love you too".

Chenle:

"I failed".

The second he registers the text that appears on his phone, Chenle already knows that you wouldn't be feeling your best. Hence, he immediately sprang into action and headed out to buy some of your favourite snacks, hoping that they would cheer you up. He even tells Daegal to be extra nice to you because you weren't feeling happy.

The moment you open the door, Chenle is waiting for you with Daegal in his arms. "y/n, I'm sorry to hear what happened," he begins, taking your bag from you and sitting you down on the couch with Daegal, before rushing to grab the snacks that he'd bought earlier. "Okay, come, spill. Unless you'd rather not talk about it, which is fine too," Chenle says, thrusting the bags of snacks into your arms.

Tearing open one of the packets, you begin your rant. "I don't know. I don't even know how to feel," you start. "Like, I studied so hard for these exams only to fail? Okay then, if that's what I get. Life isn't fair, anyway," you conclude, mouth stuffed full of the snacks while you pet Daegal. 

Chenle picks up on the resentment in your tone, and throws his arms around you, allowing you to lean on his shoulder. "I feel you. Remember when I was in my first year of junior college and I came so close to failing promos?" he reminds you.

"Yeah, you raged for weeks!" you reply, with a small laugh. "But I see why you were so mad – failing would have meant repeating the first year". 

"Luckily my teachers found ways to help me pass. But what I'm saying is," he continues. "I get how you feel. I know it feels like your hard work has gone down the drain and that it wasn't fair. But hey – like you said, life isn't always fair. What matters most is how we bounce back from whatever life throws at us and come back stronger," he exhorts you, reaching over to steal some of the snacks. "And knowing you, you'll do that. After all, you're my y/n – the tough cookie I've known since secondary 1. I believe in you," he finishes as he pats you on the head.

You return his smile and continue to stroke Daegal, feeling thankful that you had such a supportive boyfriend who believed in you no matter what. "Thank you so much, Chenle. This isn't the only exam I have in life, I guess what matters now is how I tackle the next one".

"Yeah! That's my y/n!" Chenle cheers, ruffling your hair affectionately. "Rest up, and then go out there and crush the next exam!"

Jisung:

Receiving bad results and then having to stay behind in school for extracurricular activities really sucked – however, those were the circumstances you found yourself in. Luckily, as a student himself, Jisung understood that and was ready to comfort you as soon as you made your situation known. 

"Seriously. All this hard work, and –" you whip out your report card and plonk it in front of your boyfriend. "I get this? Really? So all of whatever I did wasn't enough? Great. I swear, I can't do this no more. Maybe I should just fake sick and skip CCA- I don't even feel like going anymore". 

"Woah, calm down y/n," Jisung begins. "These results are by no means an accurate reflection of how much effort you put in. I know you worked really hard, we were studying together. Sometimes, other factors come into play. For example, this round the teachers decided to pull a little sneaky on us and give us weird exam questions. Which is why the whole batch didn't do well either – they literally gave us questions none of us had any practice with!" he points out with a huff. It was true, the whole batch had done so badly that the principal had asked your batch to stay behind for a "batch meeting" – which ended up as more of a grill session on how your batch was "lazy" and "unmotivated". 

"You're not wrong," you admit, calming down a little. "I mean, what was that biology essay question? God, I didn't understand any of it at all," you grumble. "Mr Jung still wants to believe that it's our fault, when really, it's the fault of the setter". 

Jisung shakes his head and sighs, a small smile on his face. "I don't get how he thinks. But anyway, enough harping about this round of examinations – nothing you or I can do about it, after all. I think what's important is that you know you did your best. I don't know what you think, but I know for sure you did your best, and nothing can dispute that," he reassures, reaching across the table to hold your hand to comfort you. 

"I sure did," you acknowledge, memories of the late nights spent mugging and endless consultations with teachers running through your head. "I guess this means I don't need to hold any regrets for this round of examinations. I did my best, and though the outcome wasn't satisfactory, it was out of my control". 

"You're right," Jisung replies, drawing circles on the back of your hand with his thumb. "Still, that feeling sucks, and you've still got CCA to deal with. I don't know if this would help, but what about we go for dinner together after our CCAs end? I can wait for you here," he suggests. "My treat". 

The thought of being able to spend dinner with your boyfriend after CCA sure was lifting your spirits, and had you motivated to attend CCA as well. "Sure thing! Thank you so much, Jisung. I love you," you answer, smiling up at him.

Jisung returns your smile, and stands up to leave. "I love you too. I've got to go for dance now, so see you later, yeah?" he says.

"Sure, see you!"

Shotaro:

With bated breath, you open the envelope that contains your O-levels result slip. The O-levels were a most critical examination – how well you fared on them determined which post-secondary institution you would attend, or whether you'd have to repeat secondary 4 – every student's worst fear. Slowly pulling out the result slip, you take a glance at the paper and feel your heart sink – you hadn't scored well. Fortunately you wouldn't have to retain, but it still wasn't a good enough score to go to your dream junior college. 

Curious about how your boyfriend Shotaro had fared, you turn to where you know he's sitting. You knew he'd done well as the principal had mentioned his name earlier in the list of top scorers in the school. Sure enough, there he is, eyes shining with happy tears as his friends congratulate him, and you decide to do the same. He really deserved it, having slogged away at assessment books and notes for the past two years since secondary 3.

"Shotaro! Congratulations," you announce excitedly, giving him a bear hug, which he promptly returns. "I'm so happy for you".  

"Thank you so much. I really didn't expect that, all I hoped for was to do well enough to get into my dream polytechnic course," he answers, breaking away from the hug to wipe away his tears. "How about you? How is it?" he asks curiously.

"I…" you're at a loss for words. You were afraid you'd disappoint Shotaro since he had spent so much time tutoring you in the subjects you were weak at. "I know I kept saying I wanted to go to LBJC, but my score won't allow that. I can't even make it into any of my top 5 junior college choices," you whisper despondently and show him the result slip. "Taro, I'm sorry. You're probably disappointed, because you spent so much time teaching me-"

Before you can finish, you find yourself back in his bone-crushing hug as he shushes you. "No. Don't say that," he commands, stroking your hair comfortingly. "I'm not disappointed at all. You're still my y/n, after all. And though society makes this out to be an exam that holds your whole future, it really isn't. Not all is lost, y/n. There's so much more to life than just this one national exam. You can always pick yourself up again, and I'll always be here to love and support you. You're doing great, y/n. You really are," he consoles, rummaging in his bag and passing you a tissue packet as soon as he sees you begin to shed tears. "I love you. Always".

Accepting the tissue gratefully, you dab at your eyes. "I love you too, Taro. I'm really happy for you, and thank you for being there for me throughout the past 2 stressful years. I couldn't have done it without you".

"I'd say the same for myself," he answers confidently. "Thank you for being my pillar of support since secondary 3".

A few more minutes pass in silence, until Shotaro breaks it. "Let's go do something fun together? We've worked hard, and regardless of our results we deserve a break," he suggests. "We can think of places to go to together".

You break into a smile, liking the idea. "Of course!" 

Sungchan:

The call connects, and the face of your boyfriend appears on the screen. "y/n!" he exclaims, doe eyes brightening as soon as he sees you.

"Sungchan! I've missed you," you answer honestly. He was overseas on vacation at the moment. "How's life been?"

Both of you carry on bantering over the call, talking about the recent events and happenings in your lives. It's mostly chill – up until Sungchan asks you this one question. "Oh yeah, you mentioned you had an exam recently? How did it go? I know you put your whole heart into the preparations," Sungchan inquires, genuinely interested to know.

The question he had just asked brought back an onslaught of emotions – first making you remember the initial shock at seeing the low scores on the papers, and then the searing pain of the sense of failure at having scored those low grades. "Sungchan, I scored badly. Even that's an understatement," you deadpan, not bothering to mince your words. "My grades were shit". 

Immediately his brown eyes pool with guilt, sensing that his question had upset you. "Y/n, I'm so sorry to hear that…" he trails off, catching sight of tears falling out of your eyes. "I know you did your best. I know you did".

"Even then, it wasn't enough," you sob. "Maybe I could have done better".

"No, no, y/n, you really did give your best effort, I can tell," Sungchan refutes, waving his hands frantically. "I hope you know that you've done all you can, and that that knowledge is of any comfort to you. If that doesn't help, please know I'm so so proud of you, and it doesn't matter what grades you score. I just want you to do your best, that's all," he adds, garbling out words in an attempt to comfort you. After all, there was so much he could do from behind a computer screen. "I'm sorry I can't be there with you in person, so I'll send you a virtual hug," Sungchan decides, moving towards the screen and making a hugging motion with his arms. "There. Feel better?" he asks.

Your boyfriend's adorable antics successfully cheer you up a little, and with a laugh, you copy the motion that he'd made earlier. "Yeah, I do feel better. Thank you Sungchan. I love you".

"Love you too. Hey, tell you what – I'll buy you something nice from here. You absolutely deserve it," Sungchan promises. "I'm coming back in 3 days – look forward to it".

A laugh escapes you, and you begin to look forward to your boyfriend's surprise for you. More than that, you appreciated that even though he wasn't there with you in person, he made his love for you so evident that you could feel it so tangibly, even if you both were miles away from each other. "Sure thing!"

[thiswholewideworld]

ok just posting some random things about the concert last night

- I was on Ray’s side so I saw him come out first and I literally screamed. so sorry to everyone around me

- Gerard in the cheerleading outfit!! they really seemed so happy and comfortable in it just jumping and twirling around, it definitely felt more like personal expression than a performative gesture

- towards the end of the show G said “the only thing I’m sad about is that I probably won’t be able to wear this again” to which everyone awwed, but like. no. you are WELCOME to wear it again my best friend

- also loved everyone else wearing Mikey shirts since he lives in nashville!! side note: Frank’s cardigan…….

- I was worried they wouldn’t play our lady of sorrows since they played it at the last two shows and it’s one of my all time favs but THEY DID I’m actually so happy

- during give ‘em hell kid right before “you’re beautiful” G pointed at us and was like “no YOU are. it’s YOU” <3

- they were all just so smiley! like smiling at each other and at the crowd and I know everyone’s been saying that they’re just so happy to be back but like- it was just awesome to see

- I loved Mikey’s posing like you go king!! lol

- boy division, sorrows, give em hell, and HOUSE OF WOLVES back to back HOW did any of us survive

- Gerard has officially proclaimed im not okay the “greatest summer jam” so everyone else can go home now sorry

- hearing “trust me” live… my life is actually over now thanks

- being able to see Mr Ray Toro working his magic up close was life changing. I’ve never seen anyone look as happy as him playing guitar

- sadly Frank shelved the moaning during DESTROYA probably since Mikey’s fam was there but boy G sure didn’t !

- also I wasn’t super close since I got into the pit late but it was enough that I could fully see all of their faces. the thought that any of them could have seen my face is kinda messing me up ngl

- there was never a moment where I was like “oh fuck they’re looking at me” except for one time when Gerard stared in my direction for a long time and it was… very intense. I was recording at that moment (you can’t see their face very well) but I was like- do I have the flash on or something is that why he’s staring this way?? you can see me nervously turning the camera to check in the video lol

- Ray’s vocals during na na na are literally everything to me <3

- being at the first show that they played the finished version of the world is ugly is something that is actually soooo special to me

- also this is the best day ever- bullets songs just hit different man idk what to tell you

- I’ll be honest I don’t listen to wttbp a lot just because it’s such a thing, but hearing it in person surrounded by everyone singing along is just so epic. it could never be overhyped

- mama with G in the dress is obviously incredible and I’ve seen a ton of videos of them during the “should’ve raised a baby girl” part but I remember looking at Ray right before that part as well and he just looked so happy and excited knowing how loud everyone was about to sing along. they all did really. they absolutely know how much that part means to their fans

- when the intro to sleep was playing Ray smiled and raised up his wine glass lmaooo

- love that they played Helena early so they didn’t forget this time lol

- GERARD SINGING THE CIRCUS SONG WHEN THEY CAME BACK ONSTAGE FOR THE ENCORE. bestie are you calling US clowns?? ok

- Gerard’s little ramble before kids of yesterday, saying he recognized people’s faces… <3

- Ray’s solo during kids was gorgeous to behold- perfect way to end

- I’d only ever been in the pit at two other concerts and this one was by far the least crazy crowd. even though everyone was obviously excited and super energetic everyone was very respectful and considerate (also the band and crew were great with safety and giving everyone water)

Anyways this was the best night of my life and though I hope to see them again, if I don’t I’ll still be happy to have been here

[fireheartbuzzard]

electric love

day twenty-nine: a work based on a song

author’s note: i thought of this while i was attending mass lol. sorry jesus. also, it’s been so long lmao. again, i’ve been busy with college apps and assignments for the ib diploma program so i couldn’t get the time to work on the writing i wanted to put out for rowaelin month. and, i know it’s really late, but i still do plan on posting the ones that i had ideas for because i was really excited about this. so stay tuned, but the next one might come out in another two/three months lmaooo. anyway, hope y’all enjoy this one <3

content warning: no editing

word count: 1.4k 

~

Aelin’s heart was thumping so loudly, she feared that the silver-haired man she loved sitting right next to her could hear it. She was about to do something risky, however, she couldn’t help but think that everything would go perfectly fine, because it always did, only with Aelin, of course. If all went well, then she’d have the man of her dreams. And if all went wrong, then Aelin would lose that man, and Aelin was not a quitter nor a loser. 

Aelin figured Rowan would’ve left her by now if he’d truly been annoyed by all of her pranks, but Aelin couldn’t resist pulling pranks on her perfectly unsuspecting friend who had no social media or didn’t use the ones he did have. All the pranks Aelin pulled on Rowan for her TikTok page had been somewhat risky, but none had been as risky as this, none of them put her friendship with him on the line. However, this thing Aelin was about to do has been long overdue; the tension between her and Rowan has been driving Aelin crazy and finally became too much for Aelin to bear. 

The other night, Rowan had placed his warm hand on her thigh at a reasonable spot for friends, stroking her thigh throughout the duration of the movie they were watching together causing Aelin to be squirming throughout the whole movie. And, Aelin was sick of using her own hands at night when they could’ve belonged to the man she fantasized about every night, which was exactly why Aelin had decided to throw all caution out the window and take this risk. 

Rowan and Aelin were both finishing up dinner at her kitchen island, him coming straight to her place after work to spend some time with her before leaving and turning in for the night. Before Rowan had arrived, Aelin had already propped her phone up on her sugar jar. But, Aelin didn’t start the video until they were washing their dishes, the music blaring into the quiet ambiance of Aelin’s cozy home. 

Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle

“Are you filming another TikTok?” Rowan asked as he turned from his spot in front of the sink, wiping his hands with the hand towel on the counter. His left brow was quirked, making him look inquisitive and absolutely handsome to Aelin. Aelin could only nod in response as she nervously peeked at him before looking back at her phone. 

I can't let you go now that I got it

Aelin knew she looked awkward on camera right now, which was never an occurrence with her. However, with her heart palpitating and her hands shaking, Aelin knew it was too late to turn back now. A glance at Rowan had Aelin scrambling to gather her wits before she lost them; he was staring deeply at her, brows furrowed together and face in deep thought, like he was trying to connect the dots.  

And all I need is to be struck

Aelin braced herself, turning slightly to weakly smile at Rowan and brace herself for the inevitable. Rowan only smirked in return, pine green eyes somehow twinkling in the yellow glow of the kitchen light. Aelin took the remaining steps toward Rowan, stopping in front of him before the song hit its crescendo.

By your electric love (Ohh)

Just when Aelin looked into Rowan’s beautiful eyes, his lips had smashed onto hers. Shocked, Aelin could only stare wide-eyed at him as she tried to process the moment. Rowan’s warm hands grabbed her face, tilting her head up a bit allowing Rowan to deepen the kiss as Aelin’s eyes started to close. And when Aelin started moving her lips, following his movements, Rowan let out a low groan that reverberated through Aelin’s lips, which in turn, caused her to let out a small gasp. 

Taking in the essence of Rowan, Aelin could only focus on the smell and taste of him; his lips firm, yet soft at the same time, his pine and snow scent dominating her nostrils. Aelin’s lips moved in tandem with his, her hands moving to cradle one side of his face and to grip the silver hair at the back of his head and when Rowan let out another low groan, Aelin couldn’t help but grip his hair tighter. 

Aelin felt Rowan slowly start moving, pushing her towards the kitchen counter and when Aelin leaned against it, Rowan’s hands trailed down from her face to her arms, leaving goosebumps in his wake. His hands trailed further down Aelin’s body, resting on her hips for a bit before moving to grab onto her ass, causing Aelin to let out a quiet moan. 

Out of breath, Aelin removed her lips from Rowan’s and hooked her leg onto his waist as he continued his kisses down her neck. Sensing Aelin’s intent, Rowan grabbed onto Aelin’s other thigh and hoisted her onto the counter, continuing his attack on her neck and lightly biting into the skin between her neck and shoulder. When Aelin immediately moaned louder, as if she couldn’t control herself, and tugged on his hair, Rowan trailed his way back to her lips. 

Aelin didn’t know how long they kissed for—minutes, hours, days—but when they finally broke apart, Aelin could still hear the music repeating itself on her phone as she stared into Rowan’s pine green eyes. Aelin still hadn’t been able to comprehend what had just happened, which must’ve shown on her face because Rowan let out a short laugh before gently smiling down at her, his dimples appearing on his cheeks. Aelin couldn’t help but lean up and kiss his dimples, causing them to deepen on his face when she pulled back. 

“What made you kiss me?” Aelin asked as she stared at his lips. 

Rowan hooked his finger under her jaw to draw her attention to his twinkling eyes before he replied, “I knew what you were doing.” 

Shellshocked, Aelin could only mutter, “W-what? How?” 

Rowan’s smile turned shy as his hand ran through his hair, “I got TikTok a couple of days ago and I came across this trend. I thought my ears were playing with me when I heard this song, but then I saw you position yourself and I knew that I had to do something to make you realize that I’m in love with you.” 

“You’re in love with me?” Aelin’s mouth was agape and Rowan laughed as he pushed Aelin’s mouth back together and pressed a small kiss to her lips. 

“Of course, I am, Fireheart. I’ve been in love with you since the day you punched that one kid for bullying me.” Rowan’s eyes sparkled with humor as he thought back to their high school days. 

Aelin smiled as she reached onto her tippy toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Well, I love you, Rowan. I’ve been in love with you since the day I met you,” Aelin whispered the words across his lips and kissed him again when she was done. 

Rowan reciprocated the kiss and pulled her tighter to him before cupping her face. However, Aelin abruptly pulled back. 

“Wait! Why did you get TikTok?” Aelin’s eyes narrowed, suspicion lingering in the depths of turquoise and gold. Rowan smiled awkwardly, ducking his face and avoiding Aelin’s eyes. This time, Aelin pulled Rowan’s face up with a finger under his chin, “Tell me,” her voice had no room for discussion. 

Rowan quietly rambled, “IgotittowatchvideosofyousinceyousaidthatyoualwayspostonTikTok.” His cheeks reddened as he continued explaining to Aelin. 

“What are you saying, Rowan? Speak louder.” 

“I said, I got it to watch videos of you because you told me that you always post on Tiktok.” Stunned, Aelin stared at Rowan for a long while before bursting into laughter. Rowan could only stick his face into the crevice between Aelin’s neck and shoulder and press a kiss to her neck before holding onto Aelin tightly, her melodious laughter ringing in his ears. 

When Aelin quieted down, she asked him, “Is that why you suddenly got Instagram a couple of years ago when I was always taking pictures?”

When Rowan slightly nodded, Aelin let out another peal of laughter before pulling Rowan’s head out from between her neck and shoulder and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Gods, I love you,” she whispered across his lips. 

“I love you, too,” Rowan grumbled as he continued kissing her long into the night.