#still stealing my dumplings

[anemoisoap]

[buckysgrace]

Apple Dumplin'

Steve Harrington x fem!Reader

Flufftober 2024

Steve takes you apple picking. 

You bounced your knee up and down in the seat, holding your fingers tightly together as you waited for Steve to return with your sweets he was collecting. You had a scarf wrapped around your neck, a long sleeved shirt on and a pair of pants that was thick enough to keep you warm from the chilly breeze. The coldness wasn’t unbearable, just cold enough to make your cheeks burn. 

“Okay so-,” Steve approached, hair wind blown and kissed from the sun as he sat down a few different items that had been sandwiched between his long fingers, “Apple cider, caramel and candy apples, apple butter, apple pie and uh, I think that was an apple dumpling. It’s new.” He presented to you, making you blink in surprise at the mass amount of items. 

“What is it?” You asked him as you poked at the last object, yanking your finger back at how warm it felt. He pulled his jacket around him tighter, wrinkling his eyebrows together. 

“Uh,” He paused as he looked at it again, “Some sort of apple donut? I don’t really know, it just looked good.” He shrugged his shoulders, making you smile as you gently picked it up this time. You placed it against your teeth, taking a bite from it. 

“It’s really good.” You told him seriously, your tongue burning with the flavor of melted caramel, cinnamon and soft dough. The apples were crisp and soft too. You handed it towards him, laughing as he leaned forward and took the rest of it from your hand with a large bite.

“That’s hot,” He protested, fanning his mouth as he quickly chewed it down, “You could’ve warned me.” He remarked playfully, but his eyes were still widened in a flurry of panic as he tried to keep from burning his mouth. 

“I thought you knew,” You defended yourself, fanning your hand as well to try and help, “I’m sorry. I thought you saw the heat from that sucker.” You told him seriously, laughing as steam rolled out of his mouth. 

“It’s good,” He agreed a second later, smiling as he wiped at his lips with the back of his hand, “Just blistering. My tongue hurts.” He rolled his tongue around inside of his mouth, as if to prove a point 

“Do you need a kiss?” You teased him, passing the apple cider over in hopes that it would help some. He took a big gulp, fluttering his eyelashes before he turned back to you in amusement. 

“Yes,” He answered cheesily, eyes glazed with mischief as he looked at you, “I’d appreciate that very much.” He dropped the cup down back onto the table, making you grin as he leaned forward expectantly. 

You leaned over the table, letting your fingers graze against his wrists gently as you slowly dipped your head down to meet his. You grazed your lips over his gently, tasting the leftover sugar and cinnamon as electricity spread through your body. 

“Better?” You asked him as you pulled away, flattered by the lovestruck look in his eyes. He was too cute for his own good. 

“Much,” He grinned, taking you by surprise as he shoved a spoonful of apple pie into your mouth, “How’s that taste?” He questioned you as you rolled the bite around in your mouth. 

“Really sweet,” You spit out between mouthfuls, “I really like it.” You stated, nodding your head in approval as he pushed the pie back to himself. 

“It is good,” He agreed as he used the same spoon to eat from, “But not as sweet as you.” He replied with a small smirk, making your insides warm. 

“Flattered,” You giggled as you held your hand to your chest, “It's like you’re trying to impress me or something.” You teased him, sending him a sly wink before you dived into your next apple dessert. 

“I’m your boyfriend, that’s my job.” He added, stealing the fork from you once again. Underneath the table he slid his shoe between 

“Robin said it’s to be corny,” You added as you took a sip from your shared apple cider, “Which you are, just a bit.” You added as you pressed your fingers close together. You didn’t mind it though, not one bit. 

“It doesn’t sound like you’re complaining.” He cocked his eyebrows playfully as you both fought over who got the last piece of apple pie. 

“No, I love it,” You grinned as you watched him chew it down triumphantly, “Very much so.” You grinned as you bumped your knees against his, hoping that he enjoyed that last piece.

The farm wasn’t too busy today, but you supposed that had to do with it being a Tuesday afternoon. But it was the only day that you didn’t have class and Steve was off. Even though you knew you’d ditch class if he asked you to.

“So we just take whatever?” Steve turned towards you curiously, fixing the hem of his shirt to keep the material from falling against his palms. His sweater was yellow, fitting him quite nicely with the afternoon glow. 

“It said a basketful,” You repeated as you thought about what the rules had said, “So I guess however much we can fit in here.” You gave your wooden basket a little spank, just to prove your point.

“Sweet,” He added, taking the basket from your hand and linking your fingers together with his free one, “See any you like?” He questioned as you two went forward on your path. 

Rows and rows of trees lied in front of you, all of them covered with bright red apples. Thick and gleaming. You weren’t sure which ones were best, or how to tell which ones were bad. They all looked great. Good enough to pull off of the limbs and take a bite out of. 

“Um,” You paused as you came to a thicker branch, “These look nice and red.” You replied, picking a few off of one of the trees. You were about halfway down your current row. That had to be a good spot. Well, at least you hoped it was. It would be your luck to bring home a basket full of rotting apples. 

“What about these?” Steve hummed in agreement, motioning to a cluster of apples just above where yours had been located. Maybe you had found the best tree. 

“Get those too,” You nodded your head, letting him get the ones that were higher up, “Yeah. We’re doing good.” You reassured him, feeling proud of the amount you had found so far. 

The two of you went on like that for a while, gathering and plucking different apples as you searched through the various trees. The basket slowly began to get heavier and heavier, making the two of you switch back and forth on who was carrying it. 

“How many apples is too many apples?” You asked him seriously, grinding your teeth together as he tentatively balanced another apple on top of the rest. Your basket was close to exploding, the apples just a brief motion from falling into the dirt. 

“Will we eat all of these?” He asked you seriously, both of you sharing a little laugh. You were sure by the end of this you would be tired of apples, but it was still fun. You’d find something to do with them. 

“We could try and make apple butter,” You stated as you thought about it, “And we could candy them. Or we could make an apple pie.” You thought of the various desserts you’d had earlier, thinking they could be easy enough to replicate.

“So yes?” He asked as he cocked an eyebrow, shifting the basket towards you. You reached out, gripping the other side so it didn’t topple over. 

“Yes,” You agreed with a nod of your head, “I have faith in us.” You told him, a bit amused by the thought of him selling desserts on the side. Perhaps he could bake little desserts for the kids he occasionally watched too. You were sure that they would like it. 

You walked with him, both holding onto one side of a sagging basket as the sun warmed your back. The breeze was cool as it drifted you both towards the end of the lot, an occasional apple falling free from your basket. But you didn’t worry about it. Not with Steve convincing you that it would be totally fine to have apple pie for dinner. 

[thefiery-phoenix]

YANDERE FATGUM HEADCANONS

Have you SEEN how RIPPED this guy can be? One teensy little slip up, he will not hesitate to take severe and drastic measures for making you behave. Don't get fooled by his looks, and like people say, don't judge a book by its cover. Despite his innocent and harmless friendly side towards you, if you drive him over the edge, or if he's interacting with his rival, he WILL reveal his scary dark side 

This guy is delusional and possessive as a yandere. He has the image of you both happily married and you having his kids in his head and thinks you both were DESTINED to be with each other. Everytime you praise him for something or compliment him, it's just going to add up to MORE of his deluded fantasies 

He's also going to be very overprotective of you since he views you as a tiny defenseless kitten that needs to be protected. He won't do anything that'll make you uncomfortable, in fact, he is very well aware that his feelings for you weren't normal at all, but, he'll still kidnap you. He'll give you as much time as you want to adjust to your new lifestyle since he understands you'll be frightened and scared 

He won't force himself upon you but sometimes, once in a while, he WILL demand cuddles from you. That's IT. And maybe some light forehead kisses. Nothing more, nothing less, PERIODT. He won't keep you tied up and all that. He'll just place a quirk cancelling cuff on your ankle and he'll let you roam around the house whenever you want 

He's the 'I'm sadistic with others and not with you' type of yandere. At least, that's what I think. With you, he'll behave like an obsessed love-struck puppy that'll look like a KICKED puppy when you don't return his affections but with the others, he'll be the living entity of HELL himself and frankly, this man is scary when he's angry

He'll take his time torturing his rivals and his enemies. He just wants you to be safe and feel protected by him. And of course, like every other yandere, he's afraid of losing you and someone trying to steal you away 

Speaking of him cuddling you, you're so tiny compared to him that his entire hand almost covers your whole stomach as he clutches you to his chest in a bone crushing embrace. But, don't worry, he'll give you space to breathe. But you still can't help get the feeling of him snapping your neck in half like a twig if you do something wrong though he promised he won't lay even a finger on you. This guy drinks his respect women juice and even DROWNS in it. He's a very gentlemanly guy

If you act up, his face will quickly darken, but he'll just hold your wrists to his chest till he gets you to stop wriggling and behaving badly and THEN, he'll smother you in MORE affection because he feels the reason you're acting up was because he wasn't giving you enough attention

A request, don't talk about other people too frequently while you're with him unless you want hear about their 'accidental' deaths the next day on the news channel. He's the type of yandere who DESPISES and HATES it when you speak about other people and when you think of them. Why can't you just focus only on HIM? Those attention seeking rascals don't deserve to even LOOK at you. So. he'll just his connections and his influence as a pro hero and hire some people to kill that person to make it look like an accident 

Will never insult you. He'll just scold you gently like some naughty toddler. Overall, he's not that bad of a yandere to you but trust me, you don't want to see his dark side.....

''My sweet little dumpling, I wonder how we'll look together when we have a family of our own. It'll be splendid won't it?''

[quitealotofsodapop]

Peaches Soup, except Wukong never got souped. It's just that he was so injured from his fight with the Thrall he ended up collapsing on the side of the road, and Pigsy happened to find him. Seeing he's so badly hurt, he brings him back to the Noodle Shop since A) he has a baby and B) the last thing Wukong coherently said before passing out on Pigsy was no hospitals. Wukong wakes up in the spare room of the shop approximately three days later, confused as to how he got there and panicked because his last memory was Xiaotian and him being attacked

That could be very much be the "#marbled stone egg au"!

For those unaware; Wukong in the au has a Stone Egg (basically his body doing rock-mitosis) and is struggling to take care of himself + baby MK.

I can see a situation occurring in the AU; where The Thrall still steals the Stone Egg/baby MK, and Wukong goes berserk mother-monkey on him, only to get severely injured in the process.

Pigsy finds an injured, pregnant monkey on the side of the road clutching a crying newborn, and wonders if this is one of those "what you do in the dark?" situations.

Mystery Monkey, defeated: "No hospitals, please." (*passes out clutching the newborn*)

Pigsy panics, thinking this is someone who just gave birth and is running from a disapproving/abusive home life. Gathering all his pig-dad strength, he lifts the unconscious monkey and newborn into the van.

Pigsy isn't a doctor, but he's patched up Sandy enough back in their military days to treat most wounds. The (still) pregnant monkey heals quickly, almost meditating in their sleep as the newborn rests beside them.

Tang is called in a panic. He knows about monkey demons, right? Any idea whats going on here?

After the initial shock of learning his best friend is hosting an undocumented injured demon, Tang is quick to find sources that can help (he aint a snitch). Namely what they can feed the baby monkey (which Tang melts at the cuteness of), and how to tend to it's unconscious parent.

They're thankful that the baby monkey only requires formula and a few diaper changes before it's parent awakens.

Wukong, jolting awake: "Xiaotian! Where is my Little Heaven?!" Baby!MK, besides him in a baby basket: (*grumpy squeak at being woken up!*) Wukong, overjoyed, pulls baby into arms: "Oh Buddha is gracious! You're safe! Are you ok? I'm sorry I was too weak to get us home." Baby!MK: (*happy chirpy noises at hearing it's parent's voice again! Reaches chubby little hands out to them*) Pigsy, sigh of relief: "Whew. Thank the gods you're ok." Wukong: (*turns and looks at his saviour with shock*) Wukong: "Piglet?" Pigsy, light-hearted laugh: "Heh, close enough. It's Pigsy. I found you and the little guy hurt on the side of the road. You said no hospitals so I brought you back here. Not exactly a surgeon, but I think I did ok." Wukong: (*looks at injuries and sees that they've healed well enough. Better than he would have thought given his Egg zapping his powers*) "Thank you. If there is anything I can do to repay you-" Pigsy, waves him off: "Nah, I'm good. You and the kid rest up here as long as you want. Tang's got an old phone if you need to call anyone. I'm making soup dumplings if you're up for eating." Wukong: (*completely in shock. Was genuinely not expecting this level of selflessness from a complete stranger. Eyes fixate on Xiaotian once more, the newborn sucking idly on a store-bought pacifier. Wukong finds himself smiling again for the first time in ages.*)

Although the mystery monkey "Qi Shihou" isn't likely to stay above Pigsy's for long (he has Stalwarts and an island to get back to), he never forgets the kindness Bajie's descendant showed him.

A teenager wearing skates frequently appears in the years following that encounter, picking up the exact same soup dumplings he fed the mystery monkey that night.

And if Pigsy opens an unmarked letter stuffed with yuan and literal chunks of gold from the strange monkey, then he ain't saying nothing.

Until they reunite accidentally through Xiaotian's noodle-loving tutor that is.

[cocorulesz]

𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 - chapter ¹!

hey, y’all! couple things befo we start! ..

- please do not steal, copy, use, translate or repost/remake my work anywhere. i work really hard on these and the image alone took some time. you get me? igh, COOL!😛

- i don’t swear😭 (expect no cussing)

- warnings: heartbreak idk?😂

tags: @trippinsorrows @shes2real

word counttt: 900+!!💓

OKAY, ENJOY, DUMPLINGS! (who the frick.)

——————————————

The air was thick with anticipation as she stood at the entrance of the grand hall, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. Her father stood beside her, his comforting presence a steady anchor in the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her. She was about to become a Mrs. Fatu, a title that filled her with both excitement and a touch of nervousness.

Her dress was a masterpiece of elegance, a flowing white gown that hugged her curves and cascaded down to the floor in a sea of satin and lace. The intricate patterns sparkled under the soft lighting, making her feel like a princess in a fairy tale. Her dark skin glowed with a radiant beauty, the contrast against the white dress making her look even more stunning. Her hair was styled in soft waves, a delicate tiara resting atop her head, completing the look of a bride ready to walk down the aisle.

As she glanced at her father, she saw the happiness in his eyes, and it gave her the strength she needed. She was excited, yes, but also nervous. The thought of committing her life to Joshua Fatu, the man she loved, was both thrilling and terrifying. But as the music began to play and the doors slowly opened, she knew in her heart that this was the beginning of a beautiful journey.

“You ready fo’ this, baby?” her dad asked, leaning in so his daughter could hear over the music she had picked. She smiled and nodded, still looking over at Joshua and replied with “never been more ready for anything, daddy”. Matthew, her father, acknowledged the response with a nod and led her further down the aisle. Josh turned around as everyone stood from their seats happy to see the bride. But instead of turning around with a big smile plastered on his face and tears rolling down his cheeks, he looked more worried. Scared, if you may.

As she reached the altar, her mind raced with thoughts and emotions. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Josh’s worried expression was unsettling, but she reminded herself of the love they shared and the journey that had brought them to this moment. “You look beautiful” Joshua had said, in which Mariella responded with “Thank you, you look good too!”, not forgetting to add a smile. Josh’s eyes met hers, and for a brief second, she saw a flicker of the man she knew so well. His dark hair was neatly styled into his classic mullet, red at the end, and his tuxedo fit him perfectly, highlighting his buff, bulky build. Despite the worry etched on his face, he looked every bit the groom she had dreamed of. She took her place beside him, her hand trembling slightly as she reached out to him. Josh allowed her to take his hand but he looked away, resulting in Mariella dropping her hand from his. The warmth of his touch reassured her anyways, and she felt a surge of determination. Whatever was troubling him, they would face it together.

The officiant began to speak, but her focus was entirely on Josh. She searched his eyes for answers, hoping to understand what was going through his mind. As the ceremony progressed, she felt a mix of hope and fear. She wanted to believe that their love was strong enough to overcome any obstacle, but the uncertainty in Josh’s eyes made her heart ache.

When it was time for their vows, she took a deep breath and spoke from her heart. “Josh, from the moment I met you, I knew you were the one I wanted to spend my life with. Today, as I stand here about to become a Mrs. Fatu, I promise to love you, support you, and face whatever challenges come our way, together.” Joshua couldn’t help but to smile.

When it was Josh’s turn, he took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto hers. “F-from the moment I met you, I knew you were special. You’ve brought so much joy and love into my life. Today, standing here with you, I .. vow to always support you, to be your rock, and to cherish every moment we share. I vow to be the, uh, best partner I can be, to-“ he sucked in a breath and muttered the rest. “-g-grow with you, and to face…and to face, uhm, every challenge together.” he coughs awkwardly afterwards.

As he finished, there was a brief pause. The officiant then asked the pivotal question, “Do you, Joshua Fatu, take her to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?”

Josh’s face tightened, and he hesitated. He looked deep in Mariella’s eyes, a permanent smile put onto her face, and took both of her hands. As he hesitated for around 5 seconds, Mari’s eyebrows furrowed slightly and her wide smile lessened. The room seemed to hold its breath, everyone hoping for the best outcome.

Finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, “I..I-I do not.”

A gasp rippled through the crowd, and her heart shattered. She felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. The man she loved, the man she was about to marry, had just said no. The pain and embarrassment were overwhelming, and she could barely process what was happening.

…………

At that moment, Mariella woke up from her sleep.

——————————————

not i left y’all on a cliffhanger? womp, womp. lol sorry, that was rude 😭😭

[aloysiavirgata]

A Mulder-Scully child/children in an interfaith household. Chag Urim Sameach, Virgata Family!

From here, darling. Merry (late) Christmas and Chag Sameach! https://www.tumblr.com/aloysiavirgata/761731982784888832/loved-your-skinner-pov-i-am-the-ultimate-sucker

***

Baby Matilda, dimpled and blue-eyed with a thick shock of cinnamon hair. Baby Matilda, fat as a soup dumpling, blinking curiously as her siblings and parents and grandmother gaze down.

“Chag sameach,” say William and Fiona, Hebrew-school mindful. Their ch- careful as their father’s Bar Mitzvah lessons.

Silas and Clara, less confident, mumble Merry Christmas to her, though it’s two weeks away. Mulder palms their glossy heads, beaming. The tree lights are tacky and bright and gorgeous. They make stained glass circles on his children’s faces.

Margaret, chamomile-warmed and still a little baffled by the existence of these children, cuddles Tilda close.

Salt-dough handprint menorah ornaments on the Christmas tree. Cocoa and dreidels by the fire. Latkes and dripping goose fat and boozy sweet fruitcake. Marzipan and mistletoe and sufganiyot.

William retreats to the big leather armchair with his illustrated book of winter holiday traditions from around the world. Silas and Clara head off to find the cats, and Fiona sneaks another marshmallow into her mug.

Mulder does not believe in god because the notion of an interventionist deity like Scully’s is a Lovecraftian horror to him. But Scully still wants to. Scully cannot look at herself and her five children and not believe that there must be Something who loves her, at least a little.

***

2 AM.

Mulder brings Tilda over to the bed, warm in a deep blue flannel sleep sack with silver moons on it. She is complaining loudly. She is the mottled pink and yellow of a Rainier cherry, with flailing round fists.

Scully takes the unhappy baby to her breast and sighs as the milk lets down. Tilda, already the fiercest of her children, latches on with something like aggression. Tilda has the fattest cheeks of all their babies, the plumpest dinner-roll feet.

“I think maybe she was also a twin but ate the other kid in the womb,” Mulder observes. “I’m going to see what Si and Clara think. As the house experts.”

Scully adjusts the baby. “That’s great, that’s exactly an appropriate question for preschoolers.”

Mulder stretches out beside them on the bed. He loves these lost hours. “Ahhhh, these modern kids are too soft. When we were babies they just gave us bottles full of lead paint and sent us off at six to the asbestos factory.”

She looks at him in amused disbelief. “Mulder you were wearing Brooks Brothers at birth. Your mother had a night nurse for you and Samantha. There’s a picture of you at like 6 eating latkes with crème fraiche and caviar.”

“Okay well first of all those were blini and that’s how they’re traditionally served so pardon my cultural sensitivity.”

Even Tilda pauses nursing to look at him.

“Oh you too?” Mulder pokes his daughter in the belly. “Watch it kid, because she won’t be making all your meals forever.”

Scully sticks her out tongue, switches Tilda to the other breast.

Mulder begins to doze when a blood-curdling shriek splits the night from down the hall. He jumps up, reaches for his hip out of habit.

Fiona, still shrieking, races into the room and launches herself into the bed. She clings to her father like a koala, sobbing. “The Yule Cat,” she wails into his neck.

Tilda, born into the whirlwind, remains unperturbed by her sister.

“I DIDN’T DO IT!!!��� William yells, racing in after, hair sticking up everywhere like his father’s

Scully narrows her eyes at that. “William what-“

“SHE STOLE MY BOOK I SAID IT WAS TOO SCARY FOR HER!”

Fiona, tear-stained but no longer howling, points a finger at him. “I didn’t steal your dumb book I just was LOOKING at it while YOU sneaked another sufganiya!”

William scowls back. “Well I wasn’t going to tell but I saw you ate four more marshmallows!”

Mulder peels Fiona off his chest. He looks sternly at both of his children. “First of all we do not narc in this family.”

“Tattle,” says Scully, exasperated.

“We do not tattle in this family,” Mulder amends. “Unless someone is making a choice that will endanger them or someone else. You only tell us to HELP not to HURT.”

Fiona’s lip starts to tremble again. “He eats you up,” she whispers. “Daddy the Yule Cat eats you all up.”

“Oh, honey, it’s not-“

William takes her hand. “Fee?���

Her eyes are brimming again. “Yeah?”

“Come in my room and we can read about Saint Lucia’s Day. The oldest girl gets a special dress and a crown.” William’s face is earnest, excited to share something new with her.

She brightens, Yule Cat seemingly forgotten. “Yeah? Daddy can I have a Saint Lula dress and crown?”

“Sure,” Mulder says, yawning.

Fiona hops down, still holding her brother’s hand. They head to his bedroom and his reading light goes on.

Mulder takes the baby, tosses a blanket over his shoulder, and gives her a few solid thwacks. She belches like a sailor.

Scully laughs, delighted. “God, remember when you first tried with William and I had to explain the goal was to burp him, not put him to sleep?”

Tilda is already out cold and Mulder returns her to the bassinet. “Listen if I broke the miracle baby you were going to be really, really pissed. Now that we have a basketball team…eh.”

Scully curls against him when he’s next to her again. “Mulder, I feel kind of awful, but I’m glad William took her because god help me, I did not have the energy for that child in the bed tonight.”

Having Fiona in bed was a lot like having a bag full of ferrets in bed. “No, no. Me too. Little narc.”

Scully pinches him. “Let’s sleep while the sleeping’s good.”

They nestle into the pillows, exhausted. The white noise machine, the scent of the fire, of jam, of cinnamon…Scully drifts into a gingerbread dream.

Little feet on the hardwood. “Mama,” Clara hisses. “Silas got scared when he heard Fee and now I’m scared too.”

“Got scared,” Silas echoes. “Me and Clara.”

Mulder barely wakes as he heaves his children into the bed. They jostle and squirm but eventually curl together, safe from the Yule Cat.

[seospicybin]

VESPER.

PART I

Hyunjin x reader. (s,f)

Chapters: PART II / ONE DANCE.

Synopsis: You've been praying every night for someone like Hyunjin to come and when he finally did, you doubt that he would approve your job as a stripper. (11,2k words)

Author's note: Happy birthday to the sexiest dumpling, Hwang Hyunjin!

For the record, you're not a religious person.

However, there's a prayer you make at night and that is someday you'll find your man.

You keep your prayer still despite knowing how vile, how rude, how nefarious a man can be. You keep a firm belief that you'll find your mate soon and but not here, not in this place where you're working at, anywhere but here.

"Hey, dirty blond!" A man shouts from across the room against the music playing in the club.

It's unclear who that man is calling but based on the way he keeps waving his hand at you and you're wearing a blonde wig, you're sure it's you.

You walk up to a table of three of them in black suits, you guess they're probably coworkers.

"You boys want a dance?" You offer with a smile.

The man who called you pats the shoulder of the man sitting next to him, "it's my friend's birthday and I want to make sure he's having a fun time," he says.

The birthday boy shyly smiles while stealing glances at you.

"Fun time, huh? I think I can do that," you say with a friendly laugh.

The man pulls out his credit card and hands it to you, "please, take care of him well, gorgeous!" He adds.

You lean on their table and take the credit card from him, "with pleasure," you reply with a flirty smile.

The birthday boy is too shy to come with you, you end up getting him up the chair and linking your arm with him. His friends cheer as you both walk up the stairs.

"I'm sorry for the way my friends addressed you," he says with a quivering voice.

You went through so many things that to be called by the color of your wig is nothing to you.

"That's okay. I've been called worse," you assure him.

It's not every day you found a man who is aware of what his friends did wrong and apologized on their behalf of them.

"You have good friends," you add.

He awkwardly smiles, "no, not really."

"They treat you to a lap dance on your birthday," you say.

You have enough proof of why this shy boy's friends are in a good category because not once have you found a bunch of men telling you to give their friend a dance but none of them offers to pay for it.

Not with his, they are willing to spend some money just so their friend can have a really good time.

You hand the credit card to the staff who works there to pay for the champagne room and hand it back to the shy birthday boy to give back to his friends.

"Okay, come," you lead him through the room the staff assigned you to.

The room has its walls covered in velvet which matches the sofa with the light set to low.

You start by picking some songs to play in the room while the birthday boy is looking awkward just standing there, doesn't know what to do with himself.

"Why don't you take a seat and get comfortable," you tell him.

He obeys right away, sitting on the sofa and sitting so awkwardly with both hands on his lap.

“May I know your name?" He asks as you finally settle on a song.

"Vesper," you answer with your fake name, one you always use at work.

It's a name you choose yourself, it comes from Latin words meaning evening star and it's also because you think of yourself as Venus at night.

The birthday boy swallows as you stand in front of him in your black lingerie and looks down, "you have a very beautiful name!"

Of course, a nice guy like him would think that's your real name, "what about you?" You ask back.

"Lee," he answers.

"Happy birthday Lee!" You say as you walk up to him and start moving your body with the slow rhythm of the song playing in the room.

"I have to tell you that it's my— it's my first time getting a lap dance," he stutters.

Even from the first time you met him, you can also tell that it's his first time coming to a strip club.

You come up to him and place your hand on his shoulder, "Well then I have to make it extra special since it's your birthday and your first time," you say.

You glide your hand down to his chest and feel his heart pounding under your palm, "your heart is beating so fast."

"Y‐yeah," he shyly answers and wipes the sheen of sweat on his forehead, nervous.

You bend down in front of him and ask in a low voice, "Are you scared or excited?"

He shrugs then says, "both."

You let out a low chuckle, "don't worry, I promised your friend to give you a good time."

You put your other hand on his chest and look at him, "so relax..."

You slowly lower yourself on his lap then say, "and enjoy."

-

All of these eyes are on you.

You're supposed to be the one looking at them but it's the opposite, you feel like you are the painting and not the other way around.

Wish you could understand paintings, you wonder how these people who attended the art gallery get to talk about them like they're reviewing a book while here you are, trying not to be intimidated by all the stares you got from these people in a painting.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" A voice says.

You didn't know someone is standing next to you and looking at the same painting with you until you turn your head to the side.

"Oh, well, I'm just wondering why the little girl is giving me the side eyes," you playfully remarked.

He softly chuckles and lightly nods, "yeah, she's looking not happy."

One look is enough to know that he's tall and 60 percent of that height goes to his legs and the 10 percent is the dark long hair that curtained his small face. His eyes, nose, lips, and everything on his face complement each other

You have to actively tell your brain to stop staring at his beautiful face.

"I don't understand a thing about paintings," you mutter and everyone can probably see how out of place you are. You are here for something else not to look at these art pieces that you know you don't have the capability to comprehend it.

"You're lucky that I'm here then," he says with a nice smile.

You smile back but resist the urge to look at him, God knows that you'll not stop staring once you do. You keep looking straight ahead and endure the side eyes of the little girl in the painting instead.

"This is Las Meninas by Diago Velázquez," he introduces you even though there's already a card with a short introduction of the painting below it.

"It's a nice painting, right?" He asks with his body turned at you.

You nod even though you're not sure if it's 'artistically' nice based on your judgment as someone who doesn't know anything about art. But is it pleasing to the eyes? Yes.

"But what makes this painting so interesting is because it has a secret illusion," he says with a suppressed excitement in his voice.

You tip your head to the side, "really?"

"A lot is going on here but let's break it down," he then takes a step closer to your side to explain further about the painting.

"First, the little girl is giving you the side eye," he starts.

"Yes."

"Then these people must be her entourage," he says as his hand to point the part of the painting he's explaining to you.

"Someone is creeping in the back steps, there's the painter, and then..." he glances at you before continuing to speak.

It gets you intrigued that you turn to face him unintentionally, "what?"

"You see that mirror on the back wall?" He asks.

"That's a mirror?" You ask back since you didn't notice it before.

"Yes, and the reflection in the mirror is meant to be us."

"Us?" You sound like you heard that word for the first time in your life but liked it without knowing the meaning of it.

He nods and lines himself to stand right next to you then looks back at the painting.

"With all that considered, from where we're standing as the viewers, we're the ones being painted looking at the rest of the room."

He gently places his hand on your shoulder and turns your body slightly to the left to make you look at a certain part of the painting.

"The square shape coming off the side, that's the canvas, and that guy..." he pointed to the guy holding a brush in one hand and a pallet in the other, "he's painting us."

It's like someone flips the switch in your head and the light bulb finally lights up, everything makes sense to you now. It seems like he’s the one who's enjoying your moment of enlightenment the most.

"In the present time, we're getting used to this perspective because we have things like phones which make us understand this perspective of being behind or in front of a camera," he eloquently explains as if he memorized the textbook explanation of it.

"But he made this painting in 1656 and this perspective thing must be trippy for its time. That's what makes this painting so groundbreaking," he finished.

"Wow!" That's all you can mutter as you try to process all of these pieces of information in your head.

On the other hand, it's nice to hear an explanation from someone who knows what he's talking about and doing it so passionately. Not only that it's very informative, but also, low-key hot.

There's just something about a person who talks about something he truly passionate about.

"I am indeed lucky that you're here," you playfully remark with a low laugh.

You've been avoiding looking at him long enough that it feels impolite, slowly you turn your body to face him. You find him shyly smiling and brushing his hair to the back.

"Are you working here?"

He lifts his head but now it's his turn to avoid your eyes, "No, but I'm a painter."

"Oh, that explains!" You say.

When he finally meets your gaze, your heart skips a beat and you stop breathing for a second which is something that rarely happens to you when you've seen so many kinds of men when you're at work.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here if not for the paintings?" He asks.

A man with manner, that's a first. You confidently look at him as you speak, "my friend works here and I'm waiting for her so may as well look around..."

"Your friend is a curator?" He wildly guesses.

"No," you answer, "she's working at the front desk. You probably saw her when you came in."

"Ah..." he nods.

There's a silence going on for a moment and he brushes his hair to the back, looking like he hesitates to ask you something.

You decide to keep the conversation going, "are you coming alone?"

He sheepishly smiles, "no, I'm coming with a friend," he proceeds to point at a guy with bleached blond hair who's looking at a painting on another side of the gallery.

Somehow you feel good that he makes it clear that he comes with a friend or maybe it's your question that is pretty much the equivalent of asking if he's single or not.

Your phone vibrates inside your purse and you open it to check a new message from your friend, telling you that she's already waiting in the lobby.

"I'm sorry but my friend is already waiting," you say to him.

He looks at you, then at your phone, "can I have your number?"

You offer your phone instead to him, "why don't you put your number on mine?"

He takes it from you and types his numbers on it, then hits the call button so he can have your numbers on his phone as well.

He introduces himself as he hands your phone back to you, "I'm Hyunjin."

He offers his big hand with slender fingers with bracelets around on his dainty wrist for a handshake.

You shake his hand and introduce yourself back to him, his hand is cold but once you see his smile, you feel warm all over.

You're not sure if his personality will match his beautiful appearance because you can’t decide on it yet.

But is he pleasing to the eyes? The answer is a million times yes.

-

It's a slow night.

You decide to get off early after working 6 hours and paid the house fee, the DJ, the room, and the house mom on the way out. After all that deductions, you go home with $360 in total.

It's only a little after midnight when you arrived home, you eat some food with the noise from the TV playing in the background to fill the quiet of your apartment. Hit the shower after then sleep.

Not without taking a few minutes for your silly night prayer and an extra minute to pray that the man you'll be seeing tomorrow is the one.

It takes you less time to get ready for the date and more layers of clothes than when you have to get ready for work. And you get to feel the warm spring sun even though it's close to twilight.

Hyunjin is dressed nicely in a black sweater and blue jeans, his dark hair is shining under the pale sunlight. A smile rises on his face the moment he lands his eyes on you.

"I'm sorry for making you wait," you say as you stand in front of him.

"No, I only got here a few minutes ago," he assures you.

You nod, "so, what are we going to do today?"

He licks his lower lip before speaking, "I have two tickets to the art gallery," he pulls them out of the pocket of his jeans.

"But we can do anything else if you want," he quickly adds.

You smile at him, "why would I skip on a chance to get a free art lesson?"

He lets out a soft chuckle and brushes his hair to the back, "well, it's not free," he says.

You tip your head to the side and slyly smile at him, he looked so gorgeous in this light of golden bursts of sunset, making him glow like an ethereal being.

"You can pay with dinner," he says.

It's hard not to get flustered, he just knows how to soften the moment, "Well, that wouldn't be a problem."

You're not feeling out of place this time. Hyunjin is patiently telling you these bits about the painting you're looking at together but despite all of these beautiful pieces of art, he's the most beautiful here.

"I want to show you this," he leads you to another part of the gallery. Seeing you trailing behind him, he grabs your hand to walk together to the painting he wanted to show you.

"It's the last day you can see this," he says as he stops in front of a painting framed with glass which proves that it's very valuable.

The small painting depicts a distressed-looking man in a straw hat and your little understanding of paintings can't find what's so interesting about this.

"There are 35 self-portrait paintings of Vincent and for many years, art historians believed that this was one of them," Hyunjin explains.

You know so little about art but you're certain that you have seen an image of Vincent van Gogh at least once on the internet. He's the famous painter, The Starry Night.

"It was revealed over 120 years after its creation that the painting was not an image of Vincent but rather was a painting of his brother, Theo."

You softly gasp in response to this newfound information and take a closer look at the small yet painted in considerable detail.

"Unfortunately, there is no decisive evidence to determine who is actually portrayed which is why the painting now has a double title," Hyunjin furtherly explains.

He then trails his hand on the painting information plaque and shows you the double title he mentioned, 'self-portrait or portrait of Theo van Gogh'.

"I would have mistaken him too because of the uncanny resemblance," you say still in awe.

Hyunjin places a hand on the small of your back and gently takes you a little to the side to make space for a group of people wanting to look at the painting.

"It was Theo who supported Vincent to be an artist, emotionally and financially so Vincent can devote himself entirely to painting," Hyunjin eloquently explains as if this knowledge has been kept in his head for too long and he is finally able to let it out.

"He kept every letter Vincent sent to him, he named his son after him, he died six months after Vincent's death and was buried next to him," he finishes.

You look at Hyunjin while he's looking at the painting, "That's beautiful!"

He turns and looks you right in the eyes, "beautiful, yeah."

And you know he isn’t talking about the painting with those starry eyes.

-

After dinner, you take a stroll along the row of cherry blossom trees with their petals swirling in the air and enjoying the warm spring night. You used to think all of these couples having dates in the park are so cliché but now you’re a part of it.

"Want to take a seat?" Hyunjin offers as he spots an empty bench.

"Yes," you let him lead you there and sit together while looking at the river.

"I haven't gone on a date for a long time so I hope I didn't bore you," he suddenly says, nervously wiping his palms against his jeans.

"If that's the case then I'd leave earlier," you shortly reply with a sly smile.

He turns his body on his seat to face you, "I'm a painter so I'm not good with words," he says.

"Are you working on something at the moment?" You ask out of pure curiosity. You want to know how an artist works and compare it with yours.

"I have two more paintings to finish for an exhibition," he answers.

"That's a huge thing, right? To have an exhibition?"

Hyunjin adorably scrunches his nose as he thinks of an answer, "I guess."

He's just too humble to say yes when you know for sure not all artist can have their exhibitions, "so when is this exhibition?"

"Less than two months away," he says while tucking the stray hair falling over his face.

"I'd love for you to come," he eagerly says, "I know it's still less than two months away and I haven't finished my paintings but—" he stops himself from talking by taking a deep breath. He's blabbering and it's cute.

"I'd love to come," you say to him.

Hyunjin sheepishly smiles, "only if you're not busy, of course," he adds, "I'm sorry but what are you working as again?"

Truthfully, Hyunjin hasn't asked about your job at all, the whole dinner you kept asking about him and a part of the reason is that you don't want to tell anything about yourself.

"I'm a dancer," you settle with a simple answer that he can easily digest.

"A dancer? Are you a part of a dance company or an academy?" He asks as a cherry blossom petal makes a landing on his shoulder.

Hyunjin seems to be delighted to hear that and you hate to ruin that, you decide to end the talk.

"You have something..." your hand reaches for the cherry blossom petal off his shoulder and blows it away.

He also turns to look at you and says, "you also have one on your hair."

You grope around your hair to find the petal stuck to your hair, then he grabs your hand to stop you.

"I'll get it for you," he helps you by taking something from the crown of your hair. He proceeds to fix your hair by brushing it with his fingers. He got so incredibly close that you can see the tiny dot of mole under his left eye and his dark eyelashes that curl beautifully.

There can't be a more perfect time to kiss than now with Hyunjin's eyes fixated on your lips and you've been wondering how soft his lips would be like on yours. Then he swallows air as if he refrained from letting something out of him, possibly the courage to kiss you.

"It's getting late," he says and nervously looks away from you, "I'd better drive you home."

Hyunjin stays quiet the whole ride home and you start to think what have you done wrong? Was he comfortable when you thought he was going to kiss you?

"You can stop right here," you say as the car approaches the front of your apartment building.

Hyunjin obeys and turns off the car engine, the moment passes in silence as he only watches you unbuckle your seat belt.

Maybe he knew that you lied about your job?

"Thank you for the ride home," you tell him with a smile.

He keeps looking straight ahead, "no worries," he replies.

Or maybe it was you who bore him? You don't want to keep guessing and fill your head with negative thoughts. Hyunjin has been nothing but nice and lovely, let’s end the note there.

"I had a nice date," you say to him.

"Me too," he shortly replies.

Better not to prolong this pain, you tell yourself and take your purse with you, "Goodnight!"

He doesn't say anything back to you and you take this as your cue to get out of the car. You look at him through the windshield and wave your hand at him before making your way inside. As you wait for the elevator to arrive, you can't help but wonder what changed. Then you hear footsteps coming towards you and you turn around to see who it is.

"Hey, wait," he shouts as he stops right in front of you, panting.

And you don't want to pressure him to explain what just happened, "no, it's fine. I was just confused," you assure him, "you don't have to run out of your car—"

"I like you," he cuts you off with a surprising confession, "a lot. I like you a lot. I do."

That's enough to make you stay on your feet and hear what he has to say.

"I was too in my head about it and I don't want to come off too strong," he meekly explains as he looks down for a while to muster up the courage to continue talking, "you're beautiful and kind and curious and sometimes when people give me attention it overwhelmed me but not you. I like being with you, I—" he pauses to take a breath.

He dryly laughs, "see? I'm bad with words."

You take steps closer to him and not stopping until your bodies collided, you wrap your hand around his neck, then kiss him.

It's way softer than you imagined, his lips are as soft as the cherry blossom petals blowing in the wind.

It takes him a second to return the kiss to you, brushing his lips over yours with his hand on the side of your face, holding you still and deepening the kiss.

You slowly pull away with a faint smile and lowly gasp, "I'm bad with words too," you tell him.

Hyunjin smiles with his eyes half shut and thumb lazily rubbing your cheek, this time he confidently gives you a long, lingering kiss on your lips.

"Goodnight," he softly says as he lets go of the kiss.

You let him slip away and walk into the elevator as it chimes open, you wave your hand at him before it closes. As much as you like him, you don't want to get your hopes up, especially when you haven't told him the truth about yourself.

-

You just paid the DJ for playing the song of your choice for your dance, then sit in the empty booth when someone calls for you from a table nearby.

You turn to face him, "hi, how's your night going?" You ask with a smile.

There are two of them but only of them is interested in your offer, he looks at you and says, "can you get up?"

It's not the weirdest request you ever heard. Most men are looking for someone with their 'favorite type' of body and in your line of work, it's normal to be judged objectively.

You obey and get up from your seat, you tuck your foot to the front which is a pose you learn to accentuate every curve of your body.

"Do a twirl for me!" He orders once again.

You do what he says without complaint, it's only a twirl. When you're back facing him again, his friend lets out a snort, then says, "you should have never asked."

So much for the highlight of your night!

You come home with roughly $900 from 7 hours of working and yeah, the money is great, but you have to deal with mean or rude comments like that on top of having to compare yourself to other girls.

It's a job that requires you to have tough skin and not to take it personally.

When you meet Hyunjin again for your second date, it's like you're living in a different world that is so vibrant and warm. He wears a knitted sweater in a cobalt blue color and washed jeans that make him appear taller than he already is.

"Do you want to do something today?" He asks.

You're a little out of it from the lack of sleep and fatigue from working all night, you don't want to walk around searching for a place to talk or take another stroll in the park.

"I'd like to see your studio if you don't mind," you say.

It seems like he didn't expect that answer, "Oh?"

"Am I allowed?" You ask with an awkward smile, regretting that you make him feel pressured by your request.

"Yes," he eagerly answers then tucks his hair behind his ear, "it's just a little messy I'm not sure you'll..." his words trail off as he looks at you with a cringe on his face.

"That's okay. I can handle a little messy," you say to him.

What you didn't expect though is that he lives in there too. You see his unmade bed in the corner of this spacious studio where one side of the room is littered with specks of paint and canvases lining up the wall.

"What are those?" You ask to the paintings covered with a white cloth.

A smirk dances on his face and he walks backward to uncover the paintings, "you'll be the first to see these paintings," he says.

Your eyes dart to his, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

He shrugs with a sly grin, "I want you to," he simply answers.

He then pulls the cloth off of them one by one, revealing the paintings he made for the exhibition.

They're all paintings of flowers, each has a different combination of colors but they're most of the color blue in every hue. They look so incredibly real that you feel like wanting to touch them and feel their soft petals.

Hyunjin takes a step backward to give you a space to observe his paintings.

"Can I touch?" You hesitantly ask.

"Yeah," he shortly replies, "the paints have dried so you can touch them."

With his permission, you allow yourself to take a closer at each painting. It amazes you that all of those strokes of paint create something as beautiful as this. Too bad that you can't fully fathom what these paintings make you feel into words.

"They're beautiful!" That's all you can mutter to him when he asked what you think about his paintings. He hands you a glass of wine then takes a seat next to you on the end of his bed since he doesn't recommend you to sit on the sofa because it's splattered with paint.

"I'm bad with words," you remind him and clink your glass together with him before taking a sip.

"That's okay," he says, then he puts his wine glass away to lean his hands behind him on the bed.

"We don't need praise or acknowledgment. We all just want to be understood, right?"

The reason Hyunjin asks you that is probably because he knows you're also an artist in a different medium. You wouldn't call yourself an artist because you're not a ballerina who dances to Tchaikovsky on a big stage, you're just a stripper who dances at the strip club.

"By that, I mean me with my paintings and you with your dancing," he adds.

And suddenly, you feel like you're no longer a part of this world that Hyunjin lives in.

"I'd love to see you dance someday," he suddenly says.

Someday sounds hopeful and that means he wants to see you in foreseeable future but you can also see the disappointment overshadows it.

"Why not now?" You ask back.

Hyunjin turns rigid like he has just heard something shocking and looks straight ahead.

"Play something," you tell him.

He glances at you, "you're going to dance? Right here? Right now?"

His confounded face amuses you that you forget you're anxious, "yeah."

You get up from the bed as he gropes around the pocket of his jeans, looking for his phone. First, you take off your shoes and go barefoot to stand just a few feet away from him. After a minute, Hyunjin finally starts playing a song from his phone and turns the volume high until it replaces the quiet space of his studio.

He looks nervous although you haven't moved any part of your body to the slow tempo of the music playing. You have done this a million times, faking your confidence even though you're shuddering with anxiety inside.

You start moving and freely dance to the song, just trying to express what you feel like your body is trying to tell him. That in this world with Hyunjin in it, you want him to see you past your flaws.

The smile doesn't leave his face the whole time he's watching you dance in the middle of the room. The song is about to come to an end so you make your way to him and stop at the same time the song finishes.

He looks up at you still with the same soft smile plastered on his face.

You want him to like what he sees so you unzip your dress and let it drop onto the floor, let it pool around your ankle.

"Do you like what you see?" You ask him.

His eyes widen in awe as if he's seeing something that is beyond his level of comprehension.

"I like it," he replies with a dreamy sigh.

You step out of your dress and approach him, slowly lowering yourself on his lap, and straddling him. Using your thumb, you swipe his lower lip before slowly putting your lips on his.

And you want to feel his skin on yours. Your hands slide down his front to grab the hem of his sweater and take it off of him, laughing as his ear got caught in the process.

"I'm sorry," you quickly apologize but your eyes suddenly got distracted by the muscles on his arms and abdomen, firm and perfectly sculpted.

He laughs as well and puts the sweater away, "that's okay," he says as he looks up at you, wrapping his hands around you to pull you close.

He leans in and captures your lips in a rapturous kiss that is both gentle and hungry, he pries your mouth open with his tongue to invade you, tasting more of you. His hand snakes under the elastic band of your bra and he gasps into your mouth once he succeeded to unclasp it. You reluctantly break the kiss to help him get it off of you.

Slowly, he slides both straps down your arms simultaneously but his eyes are looking into you, intensely and flickering with lust. Hyunjin doesn't waste time putting his lips on your skin, first is on your neck, second is on the base of your throat and forcing you to crane your neck for him.

From there, he makes small kisses down your chest to your sternum and stays like that for a moment. He tightens the hold around you and gently lay himself down on the bed with you staying on top of him, he eventually flips you over and has you under.

Your hand slips inside his hair, silky hair slipping through your fingers as he plants kisses all over your chest, "Hyunjin?"

He abruptly stops kissing to look at you, "yeah?"

You take his hand and press it against the side of your face, "do you like what you see?"

It confuses him because you asked this before but he gets the real meaning behind your question after taking a minute to think.

He gives a gentle caress on your face that makes your heart flutters, "are you kidding me?" He asks in disbelief but in a rather soft tone, "You are undeniably beautiful!"

You can feel that he's being sincere your heart aches the moment you hear it. You bring his face close to yours and put your lips against his, expressing what you need to tell him through the kiss, that you like him and you want him to like you back.

"You feel so good," he murmurs to you with a haste kiss on your lips.

Hyunjin has been nothing but attentive and gentle with you, he thrusts into you at a slow, steady pace with his eyes boring into you, making you feel more naked than you already are. His kisses are fiery and passionate but you don't mind any of it when it feels like you're kissing cotton candy, sweet and pillowy.

"And oh... you keep clenching around me," he says with an overwhelmed sigh.

He buries his face in the crook of your neck and plants his mouth there, kissing and nibbling your skin. His free hand gropes around the bed to search for your hand and interlaced it with yours.

"Cum together, yeah?" He tells you with another haste kiss on your open mouth.

Your brain is clouded with pleasure that you're unable to form a verbal answer, you respond with eager nods instead.

The room is quiet except for the sounds of your bodies colliding and moans that grow louder spilling out of your mouths as you both take each other closer to the edge.

Hyunjin hastily presses a hard, deep kiss as he comes to his release a little after you while you still catch your breath from your orgasm.

"I think that was the best sex I've ever had," he shamelessly admits while spooning you from behind, his hand intertwined with yours.

You don't know how to respond to that because, on the other hand, you don't want to compare him with your previous sexual partners. That doesn't stop you from saying that he's exceptional, he makes it more than just physical fulfillment. You turn your head to meet his gaze and smile, "I like you, Hyunjin."

He puts your hair to the side and places an affectionate kiss on your cheek, "I like you too. A lot."

The morning casts pale sunlight on his bare body that makes him glow bright like a yellow daffodil under the sun. You've been sitting on the side of the bed watching him sleeping and wondering if things would change once you told him the truth about you.

For one, he deserves to know the truth but you're not ready for that, not when there's the possibility that you'll lose him. You decide to take a step back and give yourself time to muster the courage to tell him everything.

So for now, you land a gentle caress on his beautiful face and say, "I hope we'll meet again."

-

White icing and rainbow sprinkles, you've been having the same birthday cake since you were twelve. As you grow up, you stop asking to have your birthday celebrated but your mother always insists.

It's the same thing this year, you sit with your family at the dining table with your cake in front of you and they're singing you a birthday song. Except for your father, he stops speaking with you the day you told him what your job is.

"Don't forget to make a wish!" Your mother says.

You pretend to make one in your heart and blow the candles off, smiling when you look up at them.

"Happy birthday!" Your mother puts her hand around your shoulder and places a kiss on your cheek.

Your father doesn't say anything but left the dining table and your mother senses that she needs to distract you from it, "Let's cut the cake!"

Your younger brother takes the next turn and hugs you, he's much taller than you now that he's in college.

"Happy birthday!" He wishes you then gives you a small box wrapped in silver and blue ribbons.

"What is this?" You glare at him, "I told you not to gift me anything."

He nonchalantly shrugs, "don't get ahead of yourself and take it," he playfully remarks.

A smile rises on your face, "thank you!"

"Open it!" He says.

"Okay, okay," you hastily unwrap the box and open it to find a pair of silver earrings.

"My friend helped me pick this," he sheepishly says.

From the way he got flustered, you got a feeling that this friend is more than just that, "whoever she is, she has good taste. I approve!"

He nervously laughs and drinks his glass of cola, "Nah, I'm going to study hard and pay you back," he says.

You nudge his elbow with yours, "it's okay to have fun in a while. Also, I never asked you to pay me back," you remind him with an intense stare.

Your mother places something in front of you as well, "I think it'll look good on you," she says.

Without looking, you already know that she gives you another lipstick because she always does that too whenever you visit her salon.

"Thank you, mom!" You say again as you check the color she picked for you this time, it's a coral red.

She stays with you at the dining table while eating the cake together, "so, are you seeing anyone lately?"

The last thing you want to be reminded of besides your father still won't talk to you is that you still haven't contacted Hyunjin since that day you left him. You know it's not fair for him but you can't look at him and lie to his face again.

"I was," you answer, picking a dollop of icing cream off your cake and licking it.

Your mother rolls her eyes dramatically, "what is it this time?" She asks.

You slump in your chair, "he's too nice, mom, and too... beautiful," you say as an image of Hyunjin's face vividly flashes in front of you.

"What's so bad about that?” Your mother asks a little too aggressively, "you always look at the wrong in a guy. He's too nice, he's too happy, he's too hot..." she heavily sighs.

You chuckle watching her take a spoonful of cake and shove it into her mouth, annoyed by what you said.

"I get it if he's too beautiful, it'll fade in time but he's nice and that's good, that means he'll try to understand you," she says.

She takes a piece of cake on your cake, "isn't that what you want? Someone who understands you?"

You slightly shrug, also confounded by your way of seeing things when it's simple as that, it's you who complicate things.

When it's time to go home, your mother insists on you taking the rest of the cake with you and having your brother drives you home.

"I'm going home, dad!" You tell him as you stand before the front door.

He doesn't reply but nods at you which is better than nothing. Your mother gives you a long hug on your way out, "come next week to get your haircut, okay?"

"Okay," you say back and kiss her on the cheek.

"Take your vitamins, drink lots of water, and stop biting your nails!" She ends her talk with a warning glare and walks with you out of the door.

Your brother is already waiting in the car when you get in and is typing on his phone.

"Let's get you home first," you say.

"It's okay, I can take a taxi from your place," he assures you because that's what he usually does.

You put on a seat belt, "I'm not going home."

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"Somewhere," you vaguely answer with a smirk on.

He squints at you, "and where is this somewhere?"

"Since when do you get nosy at your sister?" You tease him despite knowing that he's just being a protective brother for you and you're grateful for that

He puts his hands off the steering wheel and laughs, "Okay, no more questions asked!"

Your brother hugs you as you get out of the car to switch places with him, he ignores the jeers coming from the students hanging out on the balcony.

"Drive carefully!" He says before you get into the driver's seat.

You don't even have to think twice about going here but you take a long moment on knocking on the door of his studio, afraid that you're unwelcomed after ignoring his calls and texts for two weeks. You swallow your pride and knock on his door, three times until he finally opens the door.

"Hi!" You know it's not a good impression to act like you haven't ghosted him for the last few days.

Hyunjin seems a little perplexed like he's seeing something that he doesn't know whether it's real or not.

"I'm sorry for coming late at night like this," you say with a sheepish smile. Not sure if he considers 10 pm as late but who knows?

After a moment, it finally registered to him that you are real and speaking to him.

"Oh, sorry for just standing, come in!" He says and opens the door wide to let you inside.

You bring the cake you brought from home with you and place it on the small, round dining table he has in the studio.

"What do you bring with you?" He asks, standing next to the table with hands on his waist.

You open the box to reveal the half-eaten cake inside and show it to him.

"A birthday cake?" He asks and uses his finger to get a piece of the icing cream to taste it, "whose birthday is it?"

"Mine."

Hyunjin's mouth hung open, he seems to be surprised that it's your birthday and that you don't tell him about it. He thinks of something and looks around, "I'll get us drinks," he says.

He returns with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands, taking them to the dining table.

"I hope this goes well with the cake," he says as he sits next to you, then fills both of your glasses with the crimson-colored drink. He seems so calm and somehow that makes you even more nervous to start talking. But this is the only way and sometimes the only way is through.

"Hyunjin," you call.

"Yes?" He stirs the wine by shaking the glass in circular motions.

"I'm sorry that I left in the morning and not taking your calls," you start by clearing the air between you.

He stares at the whirlpool inside his wine glass and softly exhales, "I started to think that I'm going crazy," he takes a small sip, then licks his lower lip, "I thought you don't want to see me again."

Knowing that your absence affected him that much and it makes you want him more therefore the fear to tell him the truth is getting unbearably scary.

"I can't go further from here," you say.

He glances up from his glass and looks straight into you, there's a flash of sorrow in his warm brown eyes.

"Without telling you the truth about me first," you immediately continue before he gets the wrong idea.

He leans forward on the table, "I'll listen and try to be open," he earnestly says to you.

You put your hands together under the table and hold it tightly, "I'm not a dancer," you say.

He tips his head to the side, waiting for you to say more about it because that can't be the whole truth.

"I'm a stripper," you say and look down at your interlaced hands on your lap.

Most men would most likely be thrilled to hear it because it sort of fills their wild fantasy but Hyunjin is not like most men, you know he needs the time to process it.

Then he puts his hand on your clasped hand and squeezes it, "and what's so wrong about that?"

Tears spill out of your eyes without you intending to and he wipes them for you with his knuckle, he's softly smiling as he's doing it.

"Did you think that I'll judge you for that? Do I look like I'm that kind of person, mmh?" He asks you while holding the side of your face with his hand, offering the warmth of his palm to comfort you.

You shake your head and croak, "No."

Hyunjin gives you a heartwarming smile that put you at ease then slowly leans in to place a soft kiss on your lips that sets everything in its place, that's he's right, this is right.

"How are you still beautiful even when you're crying?" He asks as he wipes fresh tears from the corner of your eyes.

He looks up to see the time and says, "we have twenty minutes before your birthday ends."

He takes the half-eaten cake out of the box and puts the candles back on top, lighting them up so you can blow on it once again in front of him.

"Don't forget to make a wish," he reminds you.

You stop yourself from crying when you should be happy that he accepted the truth well and it was useless for you to be scared. You lean in and close your eyes, you make a wish with all of your heart that you want Hyunjin to be that man you asked for in your prayers every night.

You dearly wish that it's the truth and blow out the candles, sending your wish away with it for the universe to grant it.

"Happy birthday!" He says to you.

You turn to the side to look at him and got the assurance that you have found him, you kiss him to let him know how grateful you are to have met him.

The two of you catch up while eating the cake together and wash it down with wine. He is finished with his paintings for the exhibition and he's already starting on a new series but can't decide on a theme yet.

A little after midnight, you both decide that it's time for bed. He lends his oversized t-shirt for you to wear to bed and is a little surprised when you tell him that you usually sleep naked.

You talk all night talking about yourself and your job. You tell him that you started the job at the age of 21, went to a beauty school, and worked for a regular job for a few months, however, the pay wasn't as much as you expected so you returned to being a stripper.

From there, you built your own life and everyone around you. The money you got helped your mother's business and paid for your brother's college, you also mentioned how both of your parents are not supporting what you do but only your father decides to stop talking to you.

While your brother remains neutral and worries about you a lot in the most brotherly way.

You feel lighter for every piece of truth that you tell him and it's not scary as you thought, it feels liberating instead.

"When I first met you I just knew that you're not like the other girl," he says to you, his fingertips trailing up and down your arm.

"Is that a good thing?" You ask.

He softly chuckles, "what I mean by not like the other girl is that I felt a little intimidated by you."

Your eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "how is that so?"

He scrunches his nose as he thinks, "you give this impression that you are not one to be tamed and that you're this girl who runs free looking for someone who is just as wild to run with you."

He sucks air through his teeth as if just regretted his way of explaining things, "I'm bad with words," he says as he drops his head in your neck. But you get what he said, know that it means you're different to him and different doesn't always mean bad. From what you see from the way he said those, you know he meant it in the best way.

"You don't have this fantasy of dating a stripper, right?" You jokingly ask.

He suddenly lifts his head to look at you, "funny you said that," he props his elbow against the mattress and looks down at you, "I thought I'd never get to date someone," he reveals.

It baffles you so much to hear that because he got the look and the good personality, "Why?"

He subtly shrugs, "I don't know," he vaguely answers, "dating an artist can be difficult."

You don't want to take his words too seriously, that's just what people say and he said it himself, you're not just like the others.

"I don't see how you can be difficult," you tell him.

He holds your chin and swipes his thumb on your lower lip, "that's because you haven't seen that part of me yet."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" You ask with a daring smile.

He shrugs again, "only tell you what's most likely to come," he says, then he kisses you.

He wraps his hands around you and pulls you so close, so tight that there's barely any space between your bodies. He puts your hair to the side and places another kiss on your lips, a lingering one that makes you melt against him.

With his forehead presses against yours, he tightens his hold around you and says, "don't try to leave me again."

It's your fault that you made him think you'd leave in the morning again. You assure him with a deep kiss then say, "I'm not going anywhere."

-

You're no longer nervous going to the art gallery, not when it's Hyunjin's exhibition and he's been waiting for you.

Hyunjin is deep in a conversation with two people that you don't want to interrupt, however, his eyes instantly found you. He excuses himself to come to you, "I've been waiting for you," he says, doesn't hesitate to briefly kiss you on the lips.

"Congratulations!" You bring a bouquet of flowers for him and hand it to him.

"Thank you," he mutters and gives you another peck.

He then grabs your hand and shows you around, introducing you to a few of his friends along the way, "this is my girlfriend," he introduces.

You get flustered every time he said that and at the same time, feel a little small because he's cherished and admired by so many people.

There is no moment when you're not interrupted by people who wanted to talk to him, "You go ahead and talk to them," you say.

"But I'm not done showing you around," he says.

"That's okay. I can do it myself," you say and soften him with a kiss.

"It'll only take minutes," he says.

You smile to assure him that it's fine, "take your time, it's your night!" You remind him.

He brings your hand close to his mouth and kisses the back of your hand, "don't try to leave me again," he warns with a gentle squeeze on your hand.

"I won't," you say with an annoyed sigh.

He finally let go and leaves you alone to continue looking around the exhibition. Your brother said he'll be coming soon, you told him about going to Hyunjin's exhibition this morning and suddenly he wanted to come too.

He is probably curious more about Hyunjin than the paintings in the exhibition.

You almost choke on your drink when he taps your shoulder from the back, you quickly swallow it and greet him, "you're here!"

He gives you a quick hug, "sorry, the bus arrived late," he concisely explains.

You see someone else behind him and he immediately introduces him to you, "I'm coming with a friend," he says.

You offer your hand for a handshake and smile, "hi, I'm his sister," you say.

He smiles back at you and looks at something on your face that you start to wonder if you smudge your lipstick or something, "they look good on you," he says, pointing at your earrings.

You're wearing the gift from your brother that goes well with the black dress you're wearing tonight, "thank you. You have good eyes," you praise.

You exchange a glance with your brother then look back at his friend, recognizing that this is the friend that helped him picked the birthday gift for you and that tells you something.

"Let me show you around!" You offer.

Hyunjin finally joins after he finishes an interview with a local newspaper. You introduce your brother to him along with his friend which leads to the moment you take the turn to introduce him.

"This is my boyfriend," you say with a sheepish smile.

Hyunjin and your brother shake hands, exchanging pleasantries while they're at it, Hyunjin mostly asks about his paintings to your brother but he has just as little knowledge in art as you are.

Unfortunately, Hyunjin has to excuse himself again as he got called by someone, "I'm sorry," he regretfully says to you both.

He shakes hands with your brother once again, "thank you for coming," he says.

Before leaving he kisses you on the cheek which your brother reacted with a raised eyebrow, his friend excuses himself to get drinks while you both sit on the empty round sofa in the middle of the spacious room.

"Do you like him that much?" Your brother asks you.

"I do," you answer without a beat and you have never been this sure of an answer before.

He chuckles at your blunt and eager answer, "yeah, I can see that," he says.

He looks at you with a smile on his face, "you look radiant."

Here's the thing, you both argued a lot when you were younger but despite all that, he grew into such a loving and protective younger brother when it was supposed to be your role.

"Do you perhaps need something? A new laptop? Phone?" You jokingly ask and gently bump your shoulder with him.

"A new car?" He jokes back.

"Sure," you roll your eyes at him.

He then puts his hand on you, "I'm happy that you're happy," he says, "because I know you deserve it."

Words can't express how grateful you are to have someone who will always have your back especially when you share the same blood with that person. You rest your hand on his shoulder as you both are looking at the same painting of irises in a glass vase.

-

Hyunjin carries the flowers you gifted him in one hand while he's making his way toward you, he told you to wait in the car earlier as he finished a few things about his exhibition first.

"Hi,'" you say as you lean against his car, "can you give me a ride home?"

He ignores you and walks to the driver's side, "I'm sorry, I already have a girlfriend," he says.

You softly chuckle, "I'm not going tell anyone," you say with a hushed voice.

Hyunjin carefully puts the bouquet in the backseat then gets inside the car, he pushes open the door to the passenger's side, "we have to hurry before my girlfriend finds out," he playfully says.

Hyunjin is surprisingly stunned to see your apartment, not only that it's bigger than his studio. Kitchen, living room, bedroom even the balcony, he gives you an impressed look because of how you keep the place neat.

The only reason everything is organized is that you don't have time to make a mess out of the place, "I only sleep at home," you tell him.

He stands in the middle of the living room and takes a look around, "I like it."

You take a stand in front of him, "then you should stay here," you subtly hint at what you've been wanting to ask him.

His ears perked up hearing that, "do you want me to?"

You nod.

He wraps his hands around you but you put them away, you take him to your bedroom, "I have a big bed too," you show off with a sly smile.

Hyunjin gives another impressed smile and nods, "I agree. The bed is big."

You walk toward the bed and turn to face him, "and it's comfortable too."

"Yeah?" He asks.

"Want to try?" You ask back to pique his interest.

He comes up to you but you stop him at arm's length, "I have one rule," you say, "just one rule!"

He tips his head to the side, intrigued.

"You're not allowed to wear any clothes on the bed," it won't be enough to tell him the rule and not show him how it's done. You strip all of your clothes off, tossing your underwear at him which he catches in his hand. He takes a sniff at it as he looks at your naked body on the bed.

You lie on your side and wait for him to join you, giving him the eyes and you know he'll soon catch the signal.

"You look comfortable," he says.

"I am," you say and prop a hand under your head.

Hyunjin tosses your underwear onto the floor to start unbuttoning his shirt and the rest of his clothing, he doesn't wait for your invite to join you, lying his body on top of you.

Everything seems to be aligned when you're together. Your bodies mold into each other's so perfectly like they're made as a pair. You've seen him hovering above you but what you discovered just now is how beautiful he looked under you.

"I know we're just getting started," you're tracing the outline of his face with your index finger as you speak, "and I like you so much."

Hyunjin is rubbing his knuckle up and down the arch of your back, his eyes locked in a gaze with yours, "and I like you as much," he lifts his head to place a quick peck on your lips, “if not more.”

You get a boost of confidence to continue talking from his kiss, "I want to fully commit to our relationship only if you wanted to do the same," you say even though you're aware of how demanding you sounded.

You prop a hand under your head and the other on his chest, "this is how I do and I hope you understand that I don't want to waste time on a meaningless relationship," you explain.

It's always going all in or nothing at all for you. When you're in a relationship, you're willing to put your all into it and you want your partner to do the same. It's either that or don't bother trying. Also, yeah, you're tired of being in a meaningless relationship.

"But I understand if you're not ready," you quickly add with a smile, "I'm sure you need time to think about it."

Hyunjin seems calm when most men usually freak out at the slightest mention of commitment. Then again, he is not most men. He takes a deep breath as he brushes your hair to the side and holds it there, "Let's do that."

It surprises you how easily he agreed to that, you're supposed to be happy but is it real? That he wants to do the same for you?

You playfully shove his shoulder and laugh, "seriously, take your time!”

He puts a hand on the back of your head, "do I look like I gave you a false answer?"

No, he's rather looking serious and looking so gorgeous doing it.

"Are you sure?" You ask because the ghosts of your past relationships are haunting you right now and you want the assurance that this is it. No more heartbreak.

He softly kisses you and says, "yes."

You've been dreaming of reaching the stars then one falls right onto your lap and he's perfect and loving and beautiful. He's the brightest star in the dark of your sky, Hyunjin.

“Okay, let’s do this,” you say while nodding.

“Let’s do this, together,” he rephrased your sentence.

When he slips his hands through the spaces between your fingers, the stars are aligned in that very moment because it feels like nothing but fate.

Hyunjin looked even more beautiful as you make love to him, moving your hips back and forth on top of him while listening to his low moans spilling out of his slightly parted open mouth.

"Oh, I like having you inside me," you breathlessly say to him as you put your hands on his gripping each side of your hips.

"You're perfect inside me," you moan at the end of the sentence, feeling him engorging inside you.

You slide your hands down to his forearms and hold them as support as you pick up the pace, moving faster than before. "close, mmh?"

Hyunjin doesn't answer but keeps groaning with his hands clawing on the flesh of your thighs. You don't need him to though, you already know he's close to his release from the way his cock keeps twitching inside you.

You move as fast as you can, sending him closer and closer to his edge until he lets go.

Hyunjin lets out a loud, raw moan as he cum and you start to slow down, collapsing on top of him. He smiles at you with his eyes closed, "I like you so much to be just like," he mumbles, too tired to speak clearly.

"What is it then?" You ask while giggling.

He puts his hands around you and pulls you closer, "I am deeply smitten," he says with a kiss on your forehead.

"Enamored," he adds with another kiss on your nose.

"Infatuated," he finishes with a long kiss on your lips.

Hyunjin flips you over, sending you under him and he hovers above you, lovingly caressing the side of your face with his hand that painted so many beautiful things.

"You have to know that from this second, I'll never let you go," he warns you.

That doesn't sound like a warning at all to you, that sounds like a promise, that sounds hopeful and makes you want to hold on to him more.

-

Hyunjin moved in with you two weeks later.

It’s a mutual decision with one condition: he's not allowed to pay rent. You argue about that because he keeps insisting on paying half of the rent with you.

"I can't allow you that," you persist, shaking your head at him.

He tries to soften you by holding you close and sweetly talking to you, "we live here together therefore we should pay the rent together," he says.

You shake your head again, "but it's my apartment."

"I know," he shortly replies.

"I mean, I already bought it so why would you bother paying rent?" You ask with a shrug.

His eyebrows knitted together and forms a questioning face, when it finally registered to him, he exclaims, "oh!"

You put your hands on his chest and smile, "You'd better use the money to keep your studio," you suggest.

"Should I?" he asks you as if he needs your permission to use his money.

You don't want to keep him away from his work and he should do it in a separate space, so he can fully focus and not be distracted, “yes, you should!”

It's only time until the two of you form a routine, you wake up in the morning to cook and eat breakfast together, and Hyunjin would go to his studio while you take a few hours of nap. Sometimes you go to work early but many times, you leave after having dinner with him. A few times, Hyunjin stays until late at night in his studio and come home the next morning.

You rarely see him but being with him even just for an hour puts you at ease, coming home never felt this good before despite having to find him already sleeping. You'll quietly get under the cover and give him a goodnight kiss to eventually join him in dreamland.

There's also one of those days when you feel like staying home with him or taking a day off just to have a date, meet some of his friends, and take trips to the art museums.

Never in your life have you dreamed of having a boyfriend that makes you the happy from the moment you open your eyes to the last of your day. But in each of that happy moment, there's that drop of fear that pain will soon replace it.

"Is it okay for me to be this happy?"

“Where is this coming from?" He asks with a slow caress on your head.

You slip your hand under his arm and hold him, "it's just that... this happiness... I'm afraid that it will be taken away from me soon."

He puts his forehead against yours and softly kisses the tip of your nose, "you think I would let that happen?"

Not when he's the source of happiness, just one look at his face and all of your weariness evaporated into thin air. Not only that, he's your source of strength and support.

He kisses your neck and jaw, "I'll try to always make you happy," he assures you.

At that moment, you realized he wants the same thing from you, that he wants you to be that person who does all that for him. Suddenly, you don't want to be afraid anymore, you want to be brave and strong for him.

"I'll always be happy when I'm with you," you tell him.

-

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[leviackermanscleaningbuddy]

SKZ DRABBLE-OT8

Valentine's Day is a whole other ball game when you have eight mates and the power of surprise (and god and anime) on your side.

or a fluffy, smutty Valentine's Day with the pack.

A/N: HAPPY (late) VALENTINE'S DAY LOVES <3 <3 <3

Tags: Skz, Stray Kids, Stay, OT8, Skz!Pack, SKZ!abo, Poly!skz, omegaverse, skz x you, skz x reader, bang chan, lee minho, seo changbin, hwang hyunjin, lee felix, han jisung, kim seungmin, yang jeongin, y/n, fluff, smut, valentines, skz imagines, skz reactions, skz scenarios

Genre: Fluff, Non-Explicit Smut

Warning: Spit kink (remember how Jisung said he wasn't into spit in the prequel? Well, now he is. 😅)

Title: Lonely Hearts Club

“Ow, fuck!” 

You hear Chan swear under his breath, jerking his hand away from the boiling water he’s currently straining, at the same time you hear Minho’s knife come to a stop on his chopping block, a long, irritated sigh leaving his lips. 

“Christopher, I swear to god, if you injure yourself one more time while in my kitchen, I’ll send you to the hospital myself.” 

Chan looks instantly chagrined, grimacing slightly as he picks up the pot once more with an apologetic look in Minho’s direction. “Sorry, hyung.” 

You glance back to the carrot you’re currently peeling, trying to hold your smile, and Changbin grins at you from across the table, his own potato held between thick fingers. 

You arch your brow at him and mouth warningly across the space, ‘don’t.’ 

If he makes you laugh right now, Minho will have all your heads. 

He cocks his head mischievously in return, as if testing the line, but thankfully returns to his potatoes, a smirk hidden behind his teeth. 

You finish your last carrot and stand from the table, taking the bowl to Minho, who is now sliding his chopped scallions into the waiting stir fry, and he accepts the offered carrots with a slight smirk, his warm fingers brushing your own. 

“Nicely done, sweetheart.” He glances down at the peeled carrots and arches a brow at you appreciatively, before adding them to the pan and stealing a smug glance in the general direction of Chan’s struggle. “At least someone here is helpful.” 

“Hey.” Changbin protests, appearing at your side and holding out his completed potatoes for Minho’s inspection with a slightly offended glare. “I helped.” 

Minho takes the offered potatoes with an air of indifference, dumping them on top of your steaming carrots as he waves Changbin off casually.

“Yeah, yeah, princess. We get it. At least those meaty fingers of yours are good for two things.” 

“What’s the other thing?” You ask with amused interest, leaning your hip against the counter beside Minho, watching him stir the contents of the pan methodically. 

He gives you a sidelong glance, a smirk curving his lips, before he replies easily, “Finding the prostate.” 

At Minho’s nonchalant words, you laugh gleefully, while Changbin squawks out a hoarse protest from beside you and Chan chokes on his own spit across the room. 

“Now.” Minho waves his spatula between the two of you, back to all business immediately. “Set the table, and grab the stuff from the fridge. Christopher-” He turns to Chan, who is still locked in a battle with the dumplings and the strainer over the sink.

 The other alpha meets his gaze with wide, harried eyes, and the man beside you pinches his nose between his fingers and closes his eyes for a brief moment, letting out a long, low breath between his lips as if he’s trying to find his patience. “-just try not to die before dinner is served.” 

You grin, and Changbin coughs to cover a laugh, but you both scurry to do as you’re told as Minho turns his glare to the two of you next. 

Minho with a spatula is deadly, and you all know it. 

“Where are those hooligans anyway?” Changbin asks, as he sets the table, and you lean over to place the freshly made hotteok and kimchi in the center of the surface. He glances at the clock on the wall, brow furrowed. “We told them to be back by six right?”

“They’ll be here.” Chan says confidently, finally setting the dumplings down on the table, a look of relief pronounced on his features. “Seungmin won’t let them be late.” 

There is the sound of the front door opening, and loud stomping steps, followed by laughter and chatter, and Chan grins cheekily at Changbin as Minho slides between the three of you to place the steaming pot of stir fry down in the center of everything with an air of finality. 

“Told you.” 

Changbin rolls his eyes, but the retort on his lips is unheard, as your five mates enter the kitchen, bags and coats slung over their arms, their cheeks and noses rosy from the cold outside air. 

Jisung comes to a stop in the doorway, eyes going wide and cheeks puffing adorably at the sight of the table full of food, the four of you standing behind. 

“You guys made us dinner?” 

Chan steps forward, shrugging slightly, his ears going red. “Happy Valentine’s Day?” 

Jisung’s eyes scan the spread in open wonder as Seungmin steps around the awe struck beta, depositing his phone and keys on the counter with a superior look in the other beta’s direction. 

“Told you we needed to be on time for once, Sungie. Aren’t you glad you listened to me?” 

“Oh my god, I’m starving.” Jisung moans, sliding around the still motionless Jisung, eyeing the table hungrily, as Minho steps up beside Chan, arms crossed over his chest, but expression fondly soft. 

“Sit down then, pup. Food’s ready.” Jeongin doesn’t hesitate, moving to his spot at the table so fast he’s almost a blur. 

Jisung and Seungmin follow him, tucking into the table, Jisung’s eyes still adorably wide, Seungmin giving Minho a hidden little grin as he settles his napkin into his lap. 

Hyunjin’s gaze skates over the contents of the table from the doorway, his arm loosely around Felix’s shoulders, and there’s an open sort of different hunger in his eyes as he lets his gaze flicker to the four of you, his tongue slowly lathing across his full bottom lip. 

“I was hoping there’d be a different kind of meal served.” 

Changbin smirks dangerously, sharp teeth flashing. “Later, baby.” 

You arch a brow in the omega’s direction, stepping around the table to pull he and Felix’s chairs out for them as they finally step forward. 

“What do you think’s for dessert?” 

********

“Sit.” Hyunjin commands, dragging the last chair to its spot against the wall, his voice and expression stern, as he turns to you and motions to the empty seat. 

You sit with a sigh. “Is this really necessary?” 

“Yes.” Hyunjin replies firmly, leaving no room for argument, as he points to the four of you, now sitting in a silent line along the far kitchen wall. “It’s only fair.” 

He takes a step in the direction of the doorway, where the rest of your packmates had disappeared only minutes earlier, his eyes sharp as he waves a hand between you once more. 

“Now stay.” 

You roll your eyes and Changbin growls from beside you, but none of you move, and Hyunjin’s expression turns smug as he backs out the doorway. 

“Good alphas.” 

He disappears from view, and Chan slumps in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and sighing in a sort of petulant child motion that would make you want to laugh if you weren’t currently on high alert. 

“What do you think they have planned for us?” 

“Who knows?” Changbin groans from beside you, leaning his head back until it hits the wall with a heavy thunk, expression irritated and impatient. “All I know is that I hate waiting.” 

Minho scoffs from his position at the other end of the line. “Maybe they’ll do us all a favor, princess, and make you wear the gag so we don’t have to listen to you complain.” 

Changbin leans around Chan and shoots the other smirking alpha a deadly glare. 

“Fuck you.” 

“And you can, too. But only if I’m feeling uncharacteristically generous and you ask nicely, princess.” 

A low growl builds in Changbin’s throat at the challenge, and between them, Chan sighs. 

You hide a grin. 

Luckily, the tension is interrupted by the reappearance of your mates, and suddenly, at the sight of them, there’s a whole new tension in the air, thick and hot and instant, because every single one of them is wearing nothing but their designated collars and lace lingerie. 

Even Seungmin, who usually isn’t into things like that, is wearing sheer, black panties, peeking teasingly from beneath the hem of the shirt he wears, long and thigh length, one you vaguely recognize as belonging to Changbin. 

Beside you, the alpha in question swallows thickly, the sound loud in the sudden, tense silence of the room. 

Somewhere down the line, you hear Chan let out a quiet, strangled, “Fuck.” 

Your thoughts exactly. 

Hyunjin arches a brow, looking smug, watching the four of you openly panting over them, before he tosses an arm around Jeongin’s shoulders, his eyes never leaving you and the other alphas, as he asks casually, “So? How do we look?” 

Changbin swallows again, and when he speaks, his voice is unusually hoarse. 

“You look-” He fumbles for a moment, as Hyunjin leans toward him, the red little number he wears shifting at the movement with a whisper along his tan, flawless skin. Smoke burns your throat as the alpha beside you shifts in his seat and finally manages to say, “-good.” 

If you had more brain cells at the moment, you would scoff at his sadly pathetic word choice, but since you don’t, you just stare as Felix takes a step toward you all. 

The movement makes the bright yellow lace around his upper thighs bunch temptingly, and you try not to openly drool at the sight, your teeth suddenly aching, saliva pooling beneath your tongue. 

His eyebrows furrow, his lips pulling down with disappointment, but when he speaks, his voice is teasing, “Just good?” 

Chan chokes, and you hear Minho’s resulting growl as amber spices the air, teasing your nose, making you feel like you need to sneeze. 

“Good enough to eat, little one.” 

You don’t miss the way Felix shivers at the sudden alpha in Minho’s voice, and it makes you feel slightly more grounded, on even footing almost, knowing beneath the show of confidence and unflappability, they’re just as affected as you are. 

Jisung takes a halting step in your direction, cocking his head, his large doe eyes on your own, uncertainty suddenly washing across his features. 

“Noona?” His voice is soft, meek, questioning.

You realize with a jolt, that you haven’t said anything since they appeared, too caught up in your own head, in the stupid daze that’s seemed to come over you, your alpha clawing impatiently at the pit of your stomach. 

You swallow the excess saliva in your mouth and let your gaze drop from Jisung’s face, taking your time as you slide your focus down his chest, across the ridges of his abdomen, along the scalloped edge of the blue lace that hugs his thighs, the waist chain that hangs delicately around his hips, accentuating the curve of his impossibly tiny waist. 

Your eyes drag reluctantly back up to the beta’s face, his dark eyes still watching you expectantly, and unwittingly, your gaze gets stuck at the hollow of his throat, the silver o-ring of his collar snug in the divot of his beautiful bronze skin. 

Fuck. 

Your fingers itch to tug. 

“God, you’re pretty.” You breathe out hoarsely instead, voice strained, warmth already pooling between your thighs just from looking at him, at them. 

The hesitation washes away, and he takes another step toward you, confident this time. 

“Yeah?” He asks quietly, cocking his head curiously, pulling you into the dark depths of his eyes, until you feel like you’re drowning, but in a good way. “How pretty?” 

Another step, your heart thundering in your chest. 

“So fucking pretty.” 

Jisung smiles then, wicked, and closes the distance between you, slinging his leg over your hip, settling into your lap as he straddles you. 

As soon as his skin touches your own, the urge to absolutely destroy the beta now in your lap is almost insatiable. 

His tongue darts out to wet his lips-slow and sensual-his gaze holding your own, and without your own urging, your fingers find purchase at his hips, tangling with the dainty golden chain that rests there. 

You bite back the moan that wants to leave your lips at the feel of him finally beneath your touch. 

“I like being pretty for you.” Jisung comments with a tilt of his head, running his fingers carefully up the lines of your chest, before he lets them rest at the base of your throat, leaning into you, the smell of linen taking over your senses. 

You’re vaguely aware of the others moving in on the remaining alphas beside you, but you can’t focus on anything beside the way Jisung feels in your lap, the way his hot, pink tongue darts out to wet his lips, the way he takes in each quivering breath, the rustle of lace going straight to your core. 

He’s watching you, one brow arched, lips tilted into the hint of a smile, waiting, but before you can rouse enough of your faculties to say anything, he puts his hands on the back of the chair, leaning into the weight, and rolls his hips against your own. 

“Fuck.” Your hand flies up to his hip, stopping his movement, and you let your head drop back against the wall as a wave of heat ripples down your center. 

You catch your breath and level him with a weak glare, mouth suddenly more than a little dry. 

“Fuck.” You finally repeat again, as his cheek ticks with bitten back amusement, though his eyes express nothing but innocence. “You can’t do that without warning, baby boy.” 

Something washes across his expression-defiance-and then he asks a little too innocently, “Oh, am I in trouble?” 

You growl and tug him toward you, stopping your lips from crashing into his at the last second, holding him in limbo, and you don’t miss the way his body tenses in response, breaths quickening and pupils blowing, pulse pounding beneath the skin of his throat. 

Your wolf snarls triumphantly. 

Got him. 

“I don’t know.” You muse in a low voice in the space between the two of you, letting one of your hands trail up his chest, fingers playing with the collar at his throat as you mock thoughtfulness. “Do you want to be in trouble, little beta?” 

You don’t give him time to answer, sliding your fingers beneath the slick leather of his collar and tugging him to you roughly, and he whines in response, the need suddenly rolling off of him in waves as he squirms in your grip, his breaths morphing into harsh pants now as they leave his lips. 

“Do you-” You draw out, long and slow, holding him by the throat, your eyes flicking up to his, the blackness of his pupils swallowing his irises. “-want me to punish you?”

His throat bobs with a swallow, and you shake him gently, fingers digging into the skin beneath his collar. 

“Answer me when I’m talking to you, pet.” 

“Yes.” He stutters out, breath shuddering, and you slide your fingers from beneath their current hold to take control of his jaw instead, pinching until he parts his lips. 

“Good boy.” You purr, before you tap his jaw commandingly. “Open your mouth.” 

He does as he’s told, baring his soft, pink tongue for you, the sharp points of his teeth, and you lean forward, hand slipping down to grasp his throat once more, pulling him flush against you, before you spit directly into his waiting mouth. 

A shudder goes down Jisung’s body, and your wolf growls, satisfied, in response. 

“Oh, he likes that.” 

A hand slides around the front of your throat, long fingers cool as they splay across your skin, and Minho appears in the periphery of your vision, chin brushing your shoulder, gaze predatory, as he appreciatively drinks in the sight of Jisung straddling your lap covered in only thin bands of shimmering gold and baby blue lace. 

“Mmm.” You hum in thoughtful agreement under your breath, low in your throat, and run a finger down the column of the beta’s throat, watching as his needy body arches into your touch like a cat seeking attention. “That he does.” 

Minho’s fingers flex minutely against your own throat, and then his lips are at your ear, breath warm as it washes across your cheek, his voice a deep growling purr. 

“But so do you.” 

Without warning, his fingers lace into your hair and yank your head back roughly so you’re staring up at him, and he rises to his full height behind you, looking down at you with a smirk, as something dangerous flashes across his dark gaze. 

The sting of your scalp keeps you alert, your heart pounding and your breath catching deliciously as you stare up at the other alpha. 

Your fingers dig into Jisung’s hips on reflex, and he whimpers and squirms on your lap beneath your tightened grip, and the feel of his clear arousal has wet heat gushing between your thighs. 

Minho slides his free hand around the front of your throat once more, fingers slipping into the divots of your jaw, prying open your lips, and when he speaks, his voice is dark and commanding, sending a shiver down your spine. 

“Be a good girl, sweetheart, and keep your mouth open for me.” 

He keeps the hand in your hair as he leans over, increasing the pressure, so slowly that you think you’re going to go mad from waiting, and then, when both you and Jisung are practically squirming with need, he parts his lips and lets slick, hot saliva drip from the gap of his mouth into your own. 

Everything inside of you clenches with the taste of Minho.

You need more, you need him, all of him right this second, but the wriggling beta on your lap needs attention first, and so when Minho finally releases his stinging hold on your hair, you let your head fall and slowly sweep your hungry gaze over Jisung. 

He whines, grinding against your thigh, and you reach out and catch his chin between your fingers in a firm grip. 

“If you need something, baby, you have to ask. Use your words.” 

His lips gap, skin flushed and pink, and it takes everything in you not to lean forward and devour him whole, big doe eyes fixed on your own. 

You wait, even though there’s electricity zipping across your skin and your wolf is growing antsy, and finally, Jisung’s tongue darts out to snake across his lips, his eyes darting between you and Minho, before he manages to get out, “Can I please, alpha?” 

“‘Please’ what?” You chide, cocking your head and not letting him waver beneath your heated gaze. 

Jisung whines again, his breath stuttering as he grazes an overly sensitive spot across one of your thighs, and you pinch his chin to get him to look at you again. 

“‘Please’ what? I thought you had better manners than this, pet.” You tsk, and Jisung’s throat bobs with a hard swallow. 

You let your fingers trail along the line of the underwear he wears, playing with the golden waist chain, and just when you can see the hope on his face, that maybe you’ll let your fingers dip lower, lower where he so desperately needs you, you stop. 

It’s enough to push him over the edge. 

“Come!” He blurts out desperately, writhing beneath your hold, trying to buck his hips to get your fingers where he wants them. His wild dark eyes sweep your face and he groans in frustration. “Can I please come?” 

“Good boy.” Minho murmurs from his spot behind you, but you don’t look at him, keeping your eyes on Jisung. 

Your voice is proud when you speak next, brushing your fingers along the skin of Jisung’s red, heated cheekbone. 

“A very good boy.” You affirm, nodding slightly, as you finally, finally, let your fingers find Jisung through his lingerie. He gasps and is immediately putty in your hands. “Good boys deserve a reward, don’t you think?” 

Jisung nods, panting now, as he slides his own hands beneath the band of the underwear, ready to fling them off. 

You stop him with a stern look, and a clench of your fist around him. 

“No, pet.” You shake your head slightly, brow arched. “Those stay on.” 

Jisung opens his mouth, as if to protest, but another well timed stroke of your hand has him sinking into you, words forgotten, lips parted on a moan. 

You use your free hand to tip his chin back, meeting his already hazy gaze. 

“Now. You’re going to come in my hand for me, like a good boy-”

Jisung nods frantically, eager to please, even through the daze of the pleasure, and you lean forward, pressing a soft, gentle kiss to his lips, at odds with the way you pump him at the same time, making him break off the affection as he groans into your mouth. 

“-And Minho-” You lean your head back now, glancing up at the other alpha, who watches the two of you with a smirk and an unreadable expression, hands resting on the back of your chair. 

You part your lips and let your mouth fall open, holding his stare. “-is going to come in my mouth for me, also like a good boy.” 

You can’t resist the little jab, so you don’t wince when Minho once again threads his fingers through your hair and yanks, something dangerous flashing across his dark eyes as he leans down to you, lips brushing your own when he murmurs warningly, “And you’re going to be a good girl and take me without a sound, hm, sweetheart?” 

You nod, not shying from his gaze, and he smirks, reaching to undo his pants. 

Everything is heightened-Jisung’s pants, the sting of Minho’s fingers on your scalp, the sounds from your other mates in the room. 

You swallow, and let your gaze fall to the beta on your lap, your own smirk curving up your lips as you take in his beautiful, flushed, wrecked demeanor, on display for you, all for you.

Minho reaches beneath your chin and tilts your head back. 

Warmth starts to soak between your thighs, and Jisung’s breathing increases. 

You meet Minho’s heated, dark gaze. 

“And then, after all that, you’re both going to make me come until I physically can’t anymore.” 

Minho grins, sharp teeth flashing, and there is a promise in the depth of his eyes that makes you shiver in anticipation as he steps toward you menacingly. 

“Of course we are, sweetheart. But first, give me that pretty fucking mouth.” 

His fingers splay across your throat once more, and there is no more talking. 

*******

“Best. Valentines. Ever.” Jeongin sighs out happily from the middle of the cuddle pile currently taking place on the omegas’ shared bed, after everyone has been cleaned up and taken care of following said previous kitchen activities. 

You grin, fingers carding through Hyunjin’s dark hair, and Felix hums in agreement beneath his breath, the sound rumbling through his chest as he cuddles deeper into your side. 

“Agreed.” 

“Double agreed.” Changbin raises his hand from where he lies on the bed, barely seen beneath the puddle that is Seungmin and Jisung curled on top of him. 

“Fuck, I’m tired.” Chan sighs, the exhale jostling your head where it rests on his abdomen, not even bothering to open his eyes. 

“Coming more than once will do that to you.” Hyunjin remarks dryly, his voice slightly muffled, face buried in your side, arms thrown haphazardly around your waist. 

You silently agree, because your legs are still jelly after what Minho and Jisung had put you through only hours earlier. 

The memory sends heat coursing through you, and like he knows what you’re thinking, Minho suddenly smirks at you from the other side of the bed, his head propped up on an elbow, Jeongin curled up as the little spoon against his waist. 

‘Shut up’ You mouth across the distance at him, and you’d flip him off, if you weren’t worried about jostling the two omegas currently falling asleep on you. 

Minho arches a brow at you, expression feigning innocence, and lets his head fall back down onto the pillow beside the youngest omega. 

Your eyes are heavy, surrounded by warmth and familiar scents and those you love most, but you fight it, because honestly, you don’t want it all to end. 

“So, who won Valentine’s Day then?” Jisung asks sleepily from atop Changbin, shuffling around until his nose is buried in the alpha’s throat. 

“It’s not a competition.” Seungmin quips back with dry amusement. 

“But if it were-” Hyunjin’s muffled voice speaks up. “-We’d have won. Hands fucking down.” 

You honestly can’t argue with him there. 

“Hey!” Chan moves beneath you, and you tilt your neck back to see him pushing himself up on his elbows, raising his head to glare down at the omega beside you. “I nearly killed myself making that dinner for you, you know.” 

“He did.” You nod in agreement, laughing slightly, and the head alpha turns his glare on you. 

“Fucking idiot doesn’t know how to strain dumplings.” Changbin mutters beneath his breath, and Chan whips his head around to glower at the other alpha. 

“Well, I do now!” 

“Too bad you’re banned from Minho’s kitchen for life now and you’ll never get a second chance to prove that.” You offer with open amusement, and Hyunjin snickers into your side. 

Chan makes a halfhearted effort to cuff you upside the head for your comment, which you dodge easily. 

“Actually, you’re all banned from my kitchen for the foreseeable future.” Minho finally speaks up, not even bothering to raise his head to look at you all. “Sex in cooking spaces is unsanitary, and rule breakers have to be punished.” 

There is a chorus of weak protests, mostly from the omegas, but Minho remains resolute. 

That is, until Hyunjin sniggers out smugly, “If the punishment is anything like Jisung received earlier, then count me in.” 

“Yah!” Jisung rouses from his exhaustion to protest loudly and glare at the omega currently buried in your side. “Hwang Hyunjin!” 

“That wasn’t punishment.” You clarify lightly, flicking the side of Hyunjin’s head affectionately. “That was funishment.” 

“She’s right.” Minho agrees with an arched brow in Hyunjin’s direction. “The type of punishment I’m talking about involves a whole lot less orgasms and a whole lot more watching Christopher fuck up dumplings right in front of your nose.” 

“Hey.” Chan protests again, but weaker this time, as if he knows he’s fighting a losing battle. 

Minho fixes him with a stare. 

“Your punishment, Christopher, however, is the opposite. You’re not going to leave my kitchen until you know how to properly cook without injuring yourself or others.” 

Chan groans, and Changbin chuckles. 

“Hey, what’s your punishment, hyung?” Jeongin suddenly blurts out, turning to Minho and fixing him with a stern glare. “You were in on the kitchen sex too y’know!” 

The omegas readily agree, the betas joining in. 

Minho doesn’t even flinch. 

“If you don’t think being forced to teach Christopher how to cook safely and correctly is a punishment for me of the worst kind in and of its own, Yang Jeongin-” 

He doesn’t even need to finish the sentence before everyone is agreeing with him, and Chan is looking more than a little offended. 

“Oh. Yep.” 

“Sorry, hyung.” 

“Point taken.” “Forget we asked.” 

“Hey.” Chan protests once more, expression irritated. “Spending time with me is not a punishment.” 

“Cooking with you is.” Changbin remarks dryly from across the bed, and promptly gets a pillow chucked forcefully at his face by the head alpha. 

“Happy fucking Valentines, everyone.” Minho says with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, before he disappears back behind the form of the youngest omega. 

Felix sighs against your throat, content and warm and sleepy. 

“Happy Valentines.” 

********************************************************************************

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[theink-stainedfolk]

The Fox and The Flam

---

The sun was setting behind the horizon, casting a warm golden glow over the neighborhood. A quiet evening, except for the usual chatter of the local market and the faint hum of music drifting from the corner store. It was a good day to blend in—something Jinx had mastered after years of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. He wasn't famous, but his name was whispered in the right places. The streets knew him, and he knew the streets.

He was out on one of his regular rounds, weaving through the alleys when a figure caught his eye. A tall man, dressed in a crisp coat, standing at the edge of the market square, looking like he didn’t quite belong here. His posture was too stiff, his gaze too focused, scanning the surroundings in a way that screamed “outsider.”

Jinx narrowed his eyes, instinctively sizing him up. The stranger didn’t look dangerous, but there was something about the way he held himself. Confident. Sure. As though he’d stepped out of a place where people didn’t question authority, didn’t wonder why the world was the way it was. Someone who thought rules applied to everyone but him.

“New face around here,” Jinx muttered to himself, adjusting the small pouch on his belt. The neighborhood had its share of newcomers, usually people who thought they could fix the poverty or clean up the streets, but Jinx didn’t trust them. Most of them were just another part of the machine, another cog pretending to care about the people they were stepping over.

Still, curiosity got the better of him. With a casual, practiced swagger, Jinx made his way over to the stranger. He had a way of moving that made people notice him—without making it obvious. No one questioned a smile, after all. And everyone loved food.

“Hey there!” Jinx greeted, flashing a wide grin as he approached. He’d already spotted a small vendor nearby, the sweet smell of fresh dumplings filling the air. It was a favorite spot of his—one of the few places where people still sold things that were real, not made for tourists.

“Got any interest in trying some homemade dumplings?” Jinx continued, his tone light and friendly, like he was offering a gift instead of a simple snack. “My treat. I make sure they’re worth the coin.”

The man looked down at him, his sharp gaze flicking over Jinx with a certain calculating interest. The silence between them stretched for a moment before August replied, his voice steady but carrying a subtle curiosity.

“Homemade, you say?” August’s lips quirked slightly, as though amused. “I haven’t heard of you before. You’re not from around here?”

Jinx grinned. “I’ve been around. You’re new though. Not from here, I mean.” He gestured vaguely around them, at the haphazard shops, the lively crowd, and the occasional cat darting between the stalls. “What brings you to the charming little chaos we’ve got going?”

August chuckled, his eyes lingering on Jinx’s face a moment longer than necessary. “Just trying to settle in the neighborhood. I’ve heard things about this place. Figured I’d see for myself.”

Jinx arched an eyebrow. “Settle in? You?” He nodded toward August’s immaculate coat, which stood out sharply against the more worn, patched clothing of the neighborhood. “You’re really going to settle around here like that?”

August glanced down at himself and then back at Jinx, his expression unreadable for a moment before he spoke again. “Well, I know what you are thinking based off of my clothes. But i really am thinking of moving here. I think it’s possible to settle down here.”

Jinx laughed, a short, sharp sound. “A lot of people around here have tried that, and they’re usually long gone by now. And if you want to help, you’ll need more than just good intentions.” He paused, looking August up and down, his gaze narrowing as he tried to read the man. There was something too perfect about him, too polished for a place like this. “What’s your name?”

“August,” the man replied smoothly, offering a polite smile. “And you are?”

“Jinx,” he said without missing a beat. He wasn’t one to give out his real name often, but this felt... different. It was one of those moments, like when you meet someone and there’s a tiny spark of something, whether good or bad. You’re not sure yet, but it’s there.

August’s brow furrowed slightly, as if considering something. “Jinx?” he repeated, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “That’s a... unique name.”

Jinx froze, his smile faltering for a second. “Hmm, you have a weird name too... But it’s cute.” The words came out so casually, so dismissively, that it was like a slap in the face.

A rush of irritation flared in Jinx’s chest. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” August replied, unfazed, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Just that it’s an... interesting name.”

Jinx’s teeth gritted. He hated it when people tried to comment on things they didn’t understand. His name wasn’t a joke, damn it. It wasn’t something he chose, it was part of who he was. And no one—especially not this pretentious stranger—was going to make light of it.

“Cute, huh?” Jinx muttered under his breath, glaring at August. “Well, I’ll make sure to change it next time I’m making a joke out of it.”

August seemed to take it all in stride, though. “You don’t seem to take compliments very well.” He shrugged, his expression still composed. “But you’re an interesting guy, Jinx. I’ll give you that.”

Jinx didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he handed August the small basket of dumplings, the steam still rising from the warm, savory treats. “I’d advise you to get used to the neighborhood,” he said, his tone much less hostile now, though the bite was still there. “It’s full of people who don’t need fixing. And a lot of them don’t appreciate being treated like projects.”

August took the dumplings with a gracious nod, a hint of a smile on his lips. “I’ll try not to make that mistake.”

“Good,” Jinx said flatly. “Just don’t think you can come in here and fix things without knowing what you’re dealing with. People around here are cleverer than you think.”

August studied him for a long moment, his gaze intense. “You seem to know a lot about this place, Jinx. Maybe... I’ll take you up on your offer to show me around?”

Jinx’s lips quirked into a half-smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t usually go showing strangers around. But, hey, I’ve got a feeling you’ll be around here long enough to learn things yourself.”

“Is that so?” August asked, his voice almost playful now. “And what makes you think I’ll be sticking around for very long?”

Jinx shrugged, the tension easing slightly. “Everyone does. They just don’t know when to leave.”

And with that, he turned to walk away, his mind already racing. There was something about this man—August—that didn’t sit right with him. But for now, Jinx could play it cool.

---

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[aernx]

𓂋˚˖ IT’S A WRAP ! ૪ ࣪˖ 이희승﹙🐋﹚

࣪˖ 𓂃 003. dream on, lee 🥛

You open the glass paneled door, making your way inside your family’s dumpling restaurant. Just as you enter, the familiar sight of people enjoying homemade dumplings engulfs you like the breeze of a thousand winds. The savory aroma of steamed dumplings and distinct chatters from each table welcomes you back after a good six months away from home.

You stride past people enjoying their lunch, making your way to go see your brother behind the counter. “Hey Hyun I’m here. Where’s mom?”

“Oh she’s not here.” You hear your brother snicker before looking at him with an annoyed gaze.

“But here. Give this to Aunty Lee. Those are some new dumplings recipe mom came up with and she wanted aunty’s opinions on them. Say hi to her and Heeseung Hyung for me.” Taehyun shoves you a medium sized container filled with fresh steamed and fried dumplings before pushing you away with both of his hands.

“Yah, Kang Taehyun!”

The distance between your family dumpling restaurant and your home isn’t quite the long journey. You peacefully walked across empty lanes and neighborhood houses before you reach the designated house. Lee Heeseung’s house.

Growing up, Mrs. Lee and you mother has always maintain a close kinship so you and Heeseung has always been exposed to each other’s presence. Yet the two of you just let’s say…don’t get along very well.

You didn’t have a problem with his family, no. In fact Mrs. Lee was practically your second mother and she treated you like her very own daughter. It’s just her son that you can stand. The feeling was mutual. Heeseung hates you just as much as you hate him. Hell maybe he hates you more. But right now you were praying that you wouldn’t meet him. Yet it seems as if the heavens did not answer your prayers when the familiar sight of the boy you dread to see, opens the door.

“Yn?” Heeseung’s eyes widen at the sight before him.

“Heeseung.”

Well this is awkward.

You both stood still for a few seconds before the latter cleared his throat. “I was just not expecting you to be here. Tell me, why are you here Yn?” He tilts his head feigning confusion and you have the urge to smack his annoying face with the container in your arms.

“Those six months without me must’ve been so lonely. If you miss me that much you could’ve told me, princess.” He jokingly placed a hand on his heart and you visibly cringe at the nickname he placed replacing your name.

Heeseung knows very well just how to press your buttons.

“Miss you? Dream on, Lee. This past six months in Japan had been a dream without you. Besides, the only one I’m missing here is your mother.”

As if on que, you hear footsteps approaching the door from inside his house. “Heeseung-ah who’s there?”

You were met with the sight of your Aunty Lee. A smile adorned her features as she sees you by the door. “Yn, sweetie you’re finally home! I miss you so much, darling. Come on, let’s go inside!”

Mrs. Lee welcomes you in with with open arms. She leads you inside her house and you almost miss the way Heeseung rolls his eyes at you. Your gaze meets his for a sliver of second before you poke your tongue at him in response leading him to scoff at your childish action.

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yah guys i’m srry if it was cringey when hee said “princess” but it’s supposed to be like that bc he’s trying to piss her off LMAO

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[thatonepikminperson]

The Dandori Battle Post (How to destroy the AI really)

Dandori Battles aren't really that bad, but sometimes they can be a bit hard, so here's some advice in case you're having trouble getting that Platinum medal (Spoilers for Pikmin 4's Dandori Battles Below)

Trail Run: Player with 10 Red Pikmin, Olimar with 5 Red Pikmin, Moss with Buff L.3

First of all, abuse the hell out of my favorite strat, Oatchi go do it. Just sick Oatchi on anything 10 or higher in weight, and if Oatchi has Super Buff, just sick him on whatever the hell Moss is trying to bring back. You can also try to get the nugget piles, as they quickly add to your score (Or Olimar's if he goes for them)

Battle in a Box: Player with 5 Ice Pikmin, Olimar with 5 Ice Pikmin, Moss with Super Buff Lv. 1, Intro to the Bonus Item

In this Dandori battle, Olimar doesn't understand that when a creature dies in an icey form, it won't drop it's corpse. If you get the Bulborb, it's a lockout for that Bonus Item 90% of the time. Go for the nugget piles, as Olimar doesn't really prioritizes them as much as he should. Also bully him sometimes, it's fun.

Dandori Castle: Player with 5 Yellow Pikmin, Olimar with 10 Yellow Pikmin, Moss with Super Buff Lv.2, Intro to the Golden Sniffer and Items

Olimar will not try to go for the Golden Sniffer or Items, so ABUSE THE HELL OUT OF THEM. He can still get them, it's just not at the top of his prioritizes. You most likely won't have to abuse the Bonus Item AI trick as seen later, but if you want, just get it after Sunseed Berries, those are easy to steal from him. Also, don't lower the thing near the electric wall, or even break the electric wall. Just use Oatchi, it's a waste of time. TRUST. Also, around this point in the game, you should dedicate a button to the IDLE ALERT, because hot damn it this item good. It allows you to call you're army back to you if they are at the base without interrupting the other tasks you may have active, like carrying back items or nuggets. Very good item to use.

Leafy Showdown: Player with 5 Rock Pikmin, Olimar with 10 Rock Pikmin, Moss with Swallow, Intro to the Sneak Bomb

Now it's time to bully the old man with my favorite Oatchi related strat, called MURDERING MOSS. No really, if Moss swallows something you want, just sick Oatchi AND ONLY Oatchi on her. She'll get stuck in a loop of spitting out the item, picking up the item, getting hurt, and repeat cycle until Moss dies. If you sick Pikmin on top of this, Moss with shake them off and break the cycle Oatchi created, so don't do that. Also, Olimar doesn't really seem to prioritize Bonus items on land, for some reason. If it's the Sunseed Berry, then he'll go after the ones in the water, instead of the four near his base. Dunno why he does this, but he does.

Hot Sandy Duel: Player with 5 Red Pikmin, Louie with 15 Red Pikmin, Moss with Swallow

This battle is where the Bonus Item AI stuff becomes important, as this battle can range from easy as hell to wtf nintendo depending on the starting bonus item. If it's Downy Snagret, Firey Bulbax, Sunseed Berry and/or Water Dumple, you're going to have a bad time. The one you're looking for is the Scorchcake, as Louie's AI will grab his Pikmin, run over to the creature, and press X. Most times, this ends up murdering his entire army, and if it doesn't, get Oatchi to steal the Scorchcake for you. Also never use the firestarters, Louie's AI won't either and it's a waste of time really. Don't fight the Firey Bulbax, let Louie do it for you :). The Oatchi trick still applies. Also if you want, since the Louie AI doesn't know of the Oatchi trick, you can get have him swallow it and lead it all the way over. Also start paying attention to the multiplier that some items get, as if you are beating Louie too badly, the game will pity him and give him a 5 times multiplier and you a 2 times.

Final Battle: Player with 5 Winged Pikmin, Louie with 20 Winged Pikmin, Moss with Swallow

Same everything that applies up there, but add on that the Bonus items you are looking for are either the Insect Condo, or the Portable Sunset. Both have one on the board as the game starts, and Louie most times won't go for them. If you get anything else, you'll have a bad time, especially if it's the Sunseed Berry. Make sure to Sneak Bomb Louie, and while you're at it, you can just throw a mine on top of his base, which can explode his entire army. Ignore the Baldly in the middle, trust me, not worth it. Nuggets are also back as a good way to own Louie. Keep some Pikmin back at the base, just incase Louie sends over the Sneak Bomb via Pikmin.

[gerbiloftriumph]

Lost and Found (ao3):

Grandpa’s story of the goblin caves started out familiarly enough, but as he spoke, the story started to twist and change. New friends, new conversations, and new ways to use old items transformed the tale, and the young king discovered new ways to be brave in the dark tunnels beneath Daventry.

(4/?)

~*~

The cure-all was heavy in Graham’s hands. He examined it carefully. A little potion, an unassuming design, but it could do so much. He had to pray to all the stars above that no one else would get sick down here, since there was just a single dose. He had to get them all out before it went wrong. Well. Wronger. Er. More wrong. He rubbed his forehead, feeling a crease in the skin where the heavy crown sat.

Nothing for it. Decisions had to be made, had been made for him by circumstance. He walked to the Feys, clutching that bottle like it was life itself. And, as far as he could tell, it kind of was.

Bramble was moaning, clinging to Wente’s hand. “Can morning sickness last all day?” she asked, and she curled in on herself, mumbling, “Self hug. Self hug. Arghh, self hug!”

Wente rubbed her shoulders, his eyes glassy, and he glanced up at Graham. “We’re in a very bad place, Graham. I’m scared for her. If I had the strength, I’d rip these bars apart just to steal her a nibble. Please help her. I don’t...I don’t think she’ll make it another day.”

Graham held out the potion. “For Bramble. I think it’ll help.”

Wente took the cure-all with reverence. “Bramble, sweetling, a gift! From King Graham!” He helped her sit up, ever so slightly, just so she could drink. “That’s great, Nutmeg” he said fondly, rubbing circles on her back as she breathed. “Take it easy now.”

“What was that?” Bramble asked, her gasps relaxing into natural breathing. “It tasted so sweet, like honey.”

“Nothing’s so sweet as you, Gumdrop. How are you feeling?”

“Instantly better!” She swung her feet over the side of the cot. “I think I should stand,” she said. “I’ve been lying down for so long, I need a stretch.”

“Easy, easy,” Wente said, taking her arm. “Okay? Okay! Your color is so much better, baked bread instead of raw. Oh, dumpling!” He embraced her tightly.

Graham smiled as the bakers approached, holding hands. But Bramble hesitated, getting a good look at him for the first time. “Come closer,” she said, and she reached out between the bars, gently touching Graham’s jawline. He flinched back instinctively—he bore a smattering of purpling bruises along his cheek and jaw, blows from goblins during the initial capture, and blows from being tackled for all kinds of other reasons. Like not cleaning fast enough. Or watching salamanders. Or just...existing, really. “Majesty, these don’t look nice.”

“They’re fine. I’m fine,” he said, with as stiff and regal a bearing as he thought a king ought to have. At least she couldn’t see the other tender marks hidden beneath his clothes. Especially along his legs. His own weight against rough goblin hands during those upside-down shakedowns, ow. “You’re much more important. Better?”

“Even down in this pit of despair, I find hope. Bless you, Graham,” Bramble said.

“I don’t have anything I can give you, Majesty, but you’ve saved my family today.” Wente firmly shook Graham’s hand in lieu of a hug, since the bars still stood between them.  

“I don’t need anything in return, Wente.”

“No, no, there must be something...” he fumbled in his pockets, then pressed a single gold coin in Graham’s hand. “Here.”

“But, Wente—” Graham knew how desperately the Feys always counted their coins.

“I have no use for gold down here. Unless that’s chocolate. Is it a chocolate coin? I didn’t mean to give you a chocolate one.”

“No, no. It’s real.” And brand new, Graham realized, turning it over in his fingers. Freshly minted and shining. With his profile on it. He ran his finger across his own little golden nose, across the tiny imitation of the crown on his head. He swallowed hard, then jammed it deep in his pocket, unable to look at it further. Whisper mumbled something sleepily in his cloak.

“Well, either way, she’s definitely on the rise, thanks to you. When I’m outta here, I’ll give you a proper hug, too. It’s the yeast I can do.” Wente’s hand found Bramble’s again and squeezed it.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Graham said.

Bramble leaned against her husband. “You didn’t find an oil fryer in any of these cells, did you?” she asked, smiling shyly. “I should be eating for two, but I’m afraid I’m eating for none. I’m doing better, but Wente, we have to get out of here. It’s not good for the baby.”

“Hey, you once told me I could never trust a skinny baker, so I’m going to keep you in your most trustworthy state. I’m just coming up with ideas now. I promise, we’ll be out of here as soon as I can manage it. I just need to, uh. Do some things.”

Bramble nodded. “At the very least, if you can find some wood and flour, we can use this furnace to bake some simple prison sweetycakes for our fellow prisoners, and you too, of course.”

“I don’t need anything.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Bramble said. “You’re so thin you could turn sideways and disappear, if you’ll forgive my crude observation, Majesty. I can’t imagine you’re holding up, either.”

“I’m still feeling good,” Graham lied.

“Mmm. Well. Either way. Thanks, Your Majesty.”

“You don’t need to call me that, you know,” Graham said. “Just Graham is fine.”

“Of course, Majesty,” Bramble said.

“I thought you were just going to leave us here,” Wente said. “Even with our extra little bun. I’m glad you’re still a compassionate fellow, Sire. You’re still doing you, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you. Now.” He turned back to his wife, his mustache bright and high. “Lay your head down, Bramble. You need rest. Healthy, good rest, this time.”

“Oh, Buttercup, I’m all right. You don’t need to fuss.”

“It’s true. I’m a worrier. Come on, let’s lie down. Ooh, speaking of worrying, I hope we didn’t leave the oven on.”

“Wente, it’s fine.”

“I’m sure it is, sweet potato.”

“Carrot cake.”

“Cinnamon sugar.”

Graham left quietly while the bakers whispered pet names at each other.

~*~

“This bed might be my final resting place. Good thing I’m a stickler for thread count.”

“Don’t say that, Amaya.”

“Here lies the body of Amaya Blackstone. May she rest in Egyptian cotton sheets.”

“Come on, please.”

“Then get me outta here, kid.”

“I’m working on it.”

“What do you still need?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Graham sat back against the cell bars, his back to her, watching the goblin guards in the room. They ignored him. “So much. Food. A way to get everyone out of their cells safely. Food. A way out of the prison safely. Food. A way up to the surface safely. A different hat.” He pulled his crown off and set it on the ground near his feet. He curled over his knees, glaring at it, and he felt his eyes prickling with frustration. “It’s probably that hat’s fault. Whisper thinks so. Which means it’s my fault. Gods, it’s my fault.” He pressed his face against his knees, trembling.

“Oh, no, is Twinkle Toes down here, too?”

“Don’t sound so annoyed.” His voice, spoken to his knees, was muffled. He chose not to mention Whisper was actively snoring in his pocket.  

He felt Amaya sit down behind him, her back to his, bars between them. “Look, Graham, I’m not saying this wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t king. But, it could have. These little hoarders have been taking my stuff for years. You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve lost to them.”

He snorted. “Yeah, is this a prison, or a museum?”

“Someone needs to have an intervention with these hoarders,” Amaya agreed. “Unfortunately, they failed to hoard all the food. Look, kid, we have no time for emotions. But. Because it’s you, I guess maybe we should. Because you’re, ergh, emotional. So, I mean, like…no, stop trying to turn around, don’t look at me while I’m talking about this, stop it, Graham.” She punched his shoulder hard, and Graham turned back again.

Wente didn’t believe I was going to help them. Did he think I lost my compassion when I became king? Did I? Have I? What is this hat doing to me? His face, ohstars, his expression. He really thought I was going to give up on them, that I’d changed.

And what if there had been multiple people sick? With only one bottle of cure-all? What would I have done? Who am I to choose? Does this crown give me that right? Do I want that?

(“As an adventurer, I was great at taking quests. As a king, I struggled at giving orders. What if I made the wrong choice? What if I led the kingdom astray? What if I lost another friend to that dragon?”)

Graham said nothing, but he reached into his pocket and withdrew the coin, flipping it over and over in his hands. The Daventry royal crest on one side. His profile on the other. Twirling it over his knuckles, a trick his sister had taught him so long ago.

“I’m just trying to make the right decisions,” he mumbled. “How can you ever decide what to do?” Especially when the choices felt so important. Did wearing the crown mean he had to make choices he didn’t want to make?

(Grandpa looked sadly at his little mirror self, curled up and feeling so alone, despite Amaya’s warm presence. “But taking too long to choose something was hardly better than choosing nothing.”)

“Indecision and indigestion’ll both make you sick.”

“Pff, thanks.”

“What’s that thing you always say? This is a puzzle, work it out, or something? You just gotta lay out the pieces and find out what you’ve got, step by step, and focus on what’s in front of you. One step at a time. One choice at a time. It’s gonna suck, and you’re gonna doubt every move you make. And others might doubt you, too. Think you’re not doing what they need you to do, and get mad and impatient. But you gotta commit to your plan. And, more than that, you don’t have to do anything alone. You can ask for help.

“But you gotta take it one step at a time, first. When something’s this big, overwhelming, focus small. We’ll deal with the big mushy feely fault stuff later, okay?”

She sat up. “Speaking of mushy stuff, would you stop staring at me?” she snapped at one of the goblins, who was standing close to the two of them. Not listening to what they were talking about, but cooing over Amaya. “I’m not interested.”

“What’s he after?” Graham asked, pulling his crown back on. He hoped his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he felt.

“They seem to be drawn to me. I wish I could make it stop. Go away! We are not friends! Go see Wente if you want a hug!”

“Aside from the goblin, I, uh. Thanks, Amaya. It’s…easy to get lost in here.”

“I’d make a great advisor, you know.”

“I’ll keep that under advisement.”

“Give me your crown so I can throw it at you.”

(“I was wondering if I would see a rock break through her shell,” Grandpa said, as he and Gwendolyn watched the little mirror Amaya swat at the goblin outside her cell. She couldn’t quite reach; he kept skipping back a pace, then approaching again. He made little heart shapes at her with his claws, and she groaned, rolling her eyes. “I know I probably shouldn’t have just stood there watching that goblin try to woo Amaya, but I just couldn’t help myself.”

“I remember that from the first time you told this story a couple days ago,” Gwendolyn said. “I don’t think we need to go over it again.”

“Well, then, my little biscuit, I can skip it if you like. Now, what happened next…ah, yes, it was near the end of the day. Amaya had just reminded me that I didn’t have all the answers, but I had found great friends who would help me find them. But I couldn’t lose one of my friends to the goblins. I had to find a place to hide Whisper. Could you imagine if he tipped out of my pockets while the goblins were searching me?”)

Graham returned to the upper levels, which seemed to have fewer goblins, to find a place for Whisper. With their combined strength, they were able to push some weighted levers, giving them earlier access to some hidden rooms, including a very lovely mushroom garden, which took Graham’s breath away.

Every species of fungus Graham could imagine grew in that space, and many more that he had never thought to imagine. They glowed faintly in a huge array of colors. Even roses bloomed, in a cultivated pot. So many fairy tales required a single perfect red rose, Graham wasn’t surprised that they were here. Just surprised that they were able to grow. Someone cared a lot for that little collection of roses.

“Whisper is quite fond of this room!”

“It does seem safe,” Graham agreed. “Lots of places to hide if you need to. Oh, but, what about food? I can’t imagine these are edible.” He waved vaguely at the towering fungi.

“Don’t worry about Whisper! Whisper goes on frequent fast days, to keep this trim physique! Besides, Whisper doubts you have any special energy drink powder in your pockets.” He posed dramatically amongst the mushrooms. “You worry about yourself and the others. In the meantime, Whisper awaits your command!” He got distracted looking at the roses. “Oooh, look at those. Whisper wonders if the lovely Miss Amaya would like…hmm….”

Graham had one more thing to do before the end of the day, and it involved Amaya, a sword hilt with a frying pan attached to it, and a hapless goblin’s face.

“Oooh, shank you very much, Graham,” Amaya said, looking at the sword-pan combo. Then, she turned to the goblin that had been flirting with her all day, screamed, “My name is Amaya Blackstone! You stole my mattress! Prepare to die!” and thumped the goblin over the head with the frying pan with a loud twangy ring.

He scooped up another coin the goblin had been holding (two in hand, four more to go for his black market prize) before being scooped up himself by a goblin. He was dragged back to his room and flung against the far wall, bouncing off a protruding pipe and earning another bruise. He was yelled at in goblinese, presumably for starting a fight in Amaya’s cell. The little goblin kept pointing and standing with his hands on his hips, which might have looked threatening if he wasn’t so short.

Graham suffered the indignity of another upside-down shakedown, clinging to the crown with both hands so it wouldn’t fall off and dent as goblins held his legs and shook him wildly. But while the crown was safe, the shovel clanged out of his pocket. He winced—he’d forgotten about it entirely. The goblins dropped him and grabbed at the shovel, perhaps assuming he could use it to dig his way out. Never mind how long that would take against bare rock, but still. They hurried away, shovel in their hands, and Graham clutched the bars on his door as he watched them disappear into darkness.

Still. That meant they hadn’t noticed anything else he’d been carrying. Perhaps none of it would have caught their eye, perhaps it would have. Fake magic beans, Whisper’s portraits, Acorn’s flowers, plant growth potion, coins…sure, it was mostly junk, but it was all he had, and that made it a treasure trove.

“All right,” he said to the salamanders, trying to force confidence into his voice. He rubbed his side and his new bruise distractedly. “Newton, I think we’ve done good today. I think we should rest up.” He glanced at his little camp bed, which had another salamander on the pillow. “I know, Sally! We were super-productive, right?” He ran a finger over the magic beans, which glittered especially brightly in salamander light, and yawned hugely. “Well. I probably shouldn’t keep talking to the newts. I guess I’ll go to bed.”

[noirandchocolate]

Headcanons About My Master Kohga’s Mama—

Named Hotaru (“firefly”), as I’ve mentioned on a few past posts. Her family has a tradition of insect names. Not everybody in the line has had one, but it’s common enough among them that if you read Clan records and notice somebody named after an insect it’s very likely to be an ancestor of hers.

Was adept at making and then administering poisons, both via subterfuge in food, drink, touches, etc., and via daggers and kunai. She studied under the Clan’s master apothecary for the poison making part. Kohga’s father was one of her mentors on the stabbing people part.

In fact, one of her earliest flirts with Kohga’s Dad (while his own mother was Master), was to, after bringing him over a bowl of food in the Complex’s dining hall, watch him take a few bites and then claim she poisoned it “to see if the stories of the Heir having an uncannily strong constitution were true.” Dad panicked, then laughed his ass off when he realized she was joking. That was what clinched his interest in her romantically.

Hotaru had very long, wavy hair (for real, not as part of her usual magic disguise, although I do not know at this time if it was really black or if that was disguised) and was very meticulous about caring for it. Around the Complex (ie not on missions when she was younger), she’d often have it done up in complicated styles and decorated with hair sticks/pins and kanzashi.

She’s responsible for Kohga’s extensive skin- and hair-care regimes. She washed her lil’ boy’s hair and showed him how to finger-comb and -curl it into pretty, neatly flowing coils and then wrap it up in the style he still does today. <3

I’ve said this before but Hotaru was a musician! She’s the one who taught Koh to play shamisen. She also taught him traditional Ancient Sheikah calligraphy. In general, she was big on preserving Yiga culture and traditions. She was an avid reader too and would go slip into Gerudo Town in disguise to buy (or, yknow, steal) books. If you gave her a good novel as a present she’d be your friend for life.

Very competitive player of the Yiga equivalent of Go. When Nana Master Kohga noticed her son taking an interest in Hotaru, she near-immediately rushed to arrange for them to marry. But not before inviting the girl to play a match against her so they could chat about her interest level. Hotaru won, impressing Nana, and declared that if there was anyone who could rein in the rambunctious Heir and be a good match for him, it would surely be someone who could best the Master herself in a contest of strategy, yes?

As a teen and young adult going out on missions, she liked to make up stories about the Hylians and others she and her comrades spied on or saw at stables/in towns. And then she’d sometimes go up to these people and use her disarming way with words to find out if she was right!

She loved foxes! Especially snowcoat foxes found up in the Highlands. Whenever she met up with any fox, if she had food on her she’d toss it a bit, and even if she didn’t, she’d gesture it a greeting. She was a quite stealthy girl, and she loved getting as close as possible to a pretty perfect white snowcoat whenever possible!

Once killed a target she wasn’t strictly supposed to have, because he tried to put hands on her. Upon reporting to her Blademaster superior, she recited the information she’d gotten and then remarked that she “also learned that he was a lech, and that leches die easily.” She did not get in trouble for killing him.

Almost never raised her voice and felt strongly about maintaining decorum even when she was joking or…well, killing people. As I said in the second linked post up there, she did not use swear words under any circumstances! Now, creative curses were another thing though. Imagine a petite, beautiful woman saying, in an even and possibly mildly sweet tone, “May you be dissolved in the stomach acid of a Molduga” after you take the last dumpling she wanted.

If it’s not obvious already, Hotaru had a dry wit and a saucy sense of humor. She was a master of one-liners. But she was fiercely loving toward her family and the Clan. She was the friend who’d tease you about not being able to handle spicy food but then who’d warn you sincerely if a certain dish in the day’s lineup at the hall had peppers in it. She was good at remembering details about people and asking after them and giving appropriate gifts on birthdays, things like that. As the Clan’s Mistress, that made her a very unifying figure.

She sadly died of what was probably a form of cancer, just shy of a year after her son’s ascension to the Master position. She was only 50. Every year on the anniversary of her passing, Kohga goes to her altar in the Clan’s hall of ancestors and plays some of their favorite songs for her, and at least one new one each time. <3 <3

[blitzsicedcoffee]

Might Regret this and delete it later but answering a question about my most traumatic experience made me want to list all the fucked up and just...weird as fuck things that have happened to me. Like I can't sleep til I do this. Maybe it'll be cathartic I dunno:

Tw: Sexual assault, all other assault?

-Age 3 force fed Tabasco

-Age 2 Thrown in pool by Stepdad

-Age 4-6 locked in room when parents screaming at one another

-Age 6 or 7 Witnessed mom throw a hairdryer at stepdad because he verbally abused her.

-Age 5 Fell off a table from dancing and broke my leg, my dad didn't tell my mom.

-Age 2-7 Forced to stay at the table (sometimes falling asleep) cause I couldn't finish my food.

-Age 7 Forced to eat chicken and dumplings and immediately threw it up (still can't eat It today)

-Age 7 Got laughed at by my whole elementary school class because we had to say our times tables in front of the class and I couldn't get past 5's. Sobbed in front of them all.

-Age 8 Moved across the country to a whole new state.

-Age 8 lived with a family friend for a year who had five other kids (add on myself and my three siblings) so there was not quiet ever for that whole year.

-Age 9 Cried in front of *that* class about math and being the new kid.

-Age 9 Got pressured by neighborhood kids into stealing from 7/11.

-Age 10 Got made fun of for having certain friends

-Age 11 Got made fun of in fifth grade for still playing pretend.

-Age 11, Almost lost friends cause I tried to convince them I was a real witch (damn you halloweentown and your influence).

-Age 12-14 Pervy PE teacher that made the girls all do squats and the boys do jumping jacks. Never the other way around.

-Age 13 A middle school science teacher is Arrested for child pornography.

-Age 13 Had a boy tell me that kissing me made him realize he was gay.

-Age 13: Become my science teachers' TA (different teacher than the one above). Mostly spend the time watching cash cab and Bill Nye in his room.

-Age 13 I received my first tiny acer laptop and start playing Webkinz online, club penguin, and Wizard 101. (Also looking for dates on there but I don't tell people that).

-Age 14 Got my first flip phone, add my friends' contacts for text. We don't have Internet yet.

-Age 14 Start playing around on Omegle. Where kids SHOULD NOT BE.

-Age 14 Met one of my best friends on Wizard 101 and cheated my bedtime and played more when I really should have been sleeping.

-Age 14 Read Twilight, got obsessed. Started my first babysitting gigs. Overpriced myself but they paid it so.

-Age 14 Best friend in person at the time was a really bad influence and decided to pretend she was possessed and drown me in a pool. I begged her to stop and she pretended that the demon in her left.

Okay it's about to escalate:

-Age 15 Tried out for my first play, it was hairspray. I wanted to be one of the leads. I could sing but I couldn't dance. I ended up a techy.

-Age 15 Had my first girl/girl relationship And I kiss her on Halloween and I like it and she says she likes it too. But then she has to break up with me cause she's Mormon and doesn't want to leave her church.

- Age 15 Gets into an online relationship with two British guys from Omegle who are definitely adults. Sent them underage nudes cause I didn't know better.

-Age 16 Said British guys decided to blackmail me with my nudes and threatened to post them online if I stopped meeting with them over cam. (I was regularly doing shit over cam with them. It was gross). Told my mom, she had no idea what to do. She just took away my phone and laptop for a while which??? Didn't do anything to help???

-Age 16 Started going out with my first in person boyfriend after we sang owl City at the same time and fell on top of one another on the theater stairs. LMAO it was so cringy.

-Age 16 Six months later I broke up with him over text by trying to scare him away by telling him I thought I was a fallen angel so he'd think I was crazy. (He was ignoring me a lot so I was done) Then I gaslit his friends and said he broke up with me. (I don't act like this anymore, teen me was WILD).

-Age 16 Pretended I was in a romance bdsm novel and handcuffed myself to my own dresser and had to make an excuse for my parents not to come in, so they wouldn't see me.

-Age 17 Met my current partner of 10 years over Tumblr, we started talking over messenger then skyping every day.

-Age 17 Parents kept fighting and stressing out younger siblings so I had to take them all to the park to get them out of the house.

-Age 17 Mom kept telling me that my partner over Skype was a 56 yr old man. (He looked 19 to me).

-Age 17 I finally got my own room.

-Age 17 I ended up trapped in my walk in closet while naked because there was a brown recluse in a power stance. I stayed in the closet for an hour until it moved.

-Age 18 We had to move to a house where we didn't have enough rooms for everyone so I was put into a makeshift room in the dining room where I had no privacy.

-Age 18 My partner visited for the first time.

That's where I'll stop. Holy hell. It feels good to go through it all. I'm sure there's more. But this is just some of the weird things that have happened over my childhood and teenhood lol. Not to mention everything that's happened in my adulthood. That'd be a whole novel. Maybe this is why I follow Loki because I've been through so much chaos 🤔

[cherrypikkins]

15 Lines of Dialogue

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture their character/personality/vibe. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well.

doing this for my WoL OC, Pixy Fluffybuns!

1) -running food stand in Ishgard- "Yes, yes, I killed Nidhogg now are you going to buy some dumplings already or what?"

2) "How do y'all live together and uhhh not tear each other's hair out?"

3) "Twelve be damned, I really am the only adult here."

4) "I'm not wearing your dank ass robes."

5) "So... when can I expect payment for the 100 rolanberry tarts on your tab?"

6) "We have food at home!!! I COOK food at home!!!"

7) "ALRIGHT WHO'S BEEN STEALING MY GINGER COOKIES AGAIN?"

8) "Is she really swindling people or just taking stuff from them??"

9) "What you do with the mustard is your own damn business."

10) Pixy: "GET OUTTA MY PANTRY." T'sia: "Hey, Jimmy and I are trying to have a little privacy here!" Pixy: "You are welcome to have your little bit of privacy LITERALLY ANYWHERE ELSE."

11) "Wow, is THAT what Sin-Eater tastes like?"

12) "I'm not angry or upset…" -shows everyone a flattened cake- "I just want to know who did it."

13) -someone else initiates cuddling- "NO WAIT I GOT STUFF ON THE STOVE-"

14) "He could eat you whole and still have room enough for Soli."

15) "I'm too full of carbs to care right now."

I tag... pretty much anyone who wants to do it :D

[overheard-at-the-berryworks]

Orange Blossom: Hey Raspberry, it’s getting pretty late, shouldn’t we be putting the chicken in the oven? Everyberry's coming over soon-

Raspberry Tart: I messed up…

Orange Blossom: What?

Raspberry Tart: So I was in the kitchen, I was getting things ready for the Winterswirl dinner, right?

Orange Blossom: Right?

Raspberry Tart: So I got the chicken, got the spices, got it all prepared, got it all stuffed up and put it in the oven.

Orange Blossom: But wait, I just saw the chicken on the counter-

Raspberry Tart: And then I looked in the fridge… And I saw the chicken that we bought.

Orange Blossom: But I thought you just said you put it in the ove-

Orange Blossom: …No.

Raspberry Tart: Yeah.

Orange Blossom: There’s no possible way you could’ve-

Raspberry Tart: I messed up…

Orange Blossom: Raspberry, did you COOK Apple Dumpling’s PET DUCK?!

Raspberry Tart: I MESSED UP!!

Orange Blossom: Raspberry, you have enough money to buy every chicken farm that has ever existed in all of time, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME ANYBERRY EVER ASKED YOU TO SLAUGHTER A LIVE ANIMAL?!

Raspberry Tart: I DON’T KNOW! I forgot that we already bought a chicken!

Orange Blossom: Alright, alright, we’ll salvage this! We will salvage this!! LEMON!! Get in here!!

Lemon Meringue: (enters the room) Yo, wassup? Hey, it’s getting kinda late. Don’t you think you should start preparing the chicken?

Raspberry Tart: I already did…

Lemon Meringue: What are you talking about? I just saw it on the coun-… Oh. Oh! OH! HA-!!

Orange Blossom: Shut up! We don’t have time for you to laugh! Here, take my wallet, go put on a hoodie, go to Fruitleg Alley. By any means necessary, go get an identical looking duck to the one Apple had!

Lemon Meringue: Wait, why do I have to go? I freaking hated that bird!

Orange Blossom: Because, honestly, you are more likely to steal it and we really need the speed right now!

Lemon Meringue: … Okay, that’s a fair point. Little hurtful, but a fair point. I’m gonna go.

Strawberry Shortcake: (entering the room) Hey, why’s everyberry in this room right… now…

Orange Blossom: …

Raspberry Tart: …

Lemon Meringue: …

Strawberry Shortcake: … You killed fake Ducklin', didn’t you?

Raspberry Tart: I’m so sorry! It was a complete accident!

Orange Blossom: Shortcake, I’m so sorry, Raspberry didn’t mean to do it, it was a total mistake and did you just say fake Ducklin'?

Strawberry Shortcake: Yeah, fake Ducklin'.

Orange Blossom: Yeah, no, explain. Now.

Strawberry Shortcake: Well, it’s Winterswirl, and you guys are both the smartest and the craziest berries I've ever met. No offense, Lemon.

Lemon Meringue: Yep, honestly, some taken.

Strawberry Shortcake: So whenever there’s a holiday associated with the slaughter of an animal tangentially related to my friend’s favorite pet, I always assume that one of you is going to slip up and end up killing her. No offense, Lemon.

Lemon Meringue: Yep, still- still some taken.

Strawberry Shortcake: So, around holiday time, I take Apple Ducklin', put her in an undisclosed location, and then I grab a replacement and let it… fly around the farm.

Orange Blossom: ……..

Strawberry Shortcake: Yeah, hasn’t really been useful the last couple of years. But I know what I’m gonna thank Cinnamon Swirl for this year!

Raspberry Tart: Okay, so I didn’t kill Apple Ducklin'?

Strawberry Shortcake: No, Ras, Ducklin’s fine. This time. Let’s go eat!