#truly the best collaborative post ever

[crazymecjc]

here’s my comic for @souyozine!! this was such a fun project to work on and all of the contributors did such a lovely job 💕💕

[kookslastbutton]

Guilty Pleasures ༓ jjk, kth (m) | ch. i

✑ Summary: Three years of being Seoul's power couple earns you nothing but a big fat divorce settlement and your face plaster on every gossip column around town. You're angry, hurt, and desperately want to move on, but worst of all? You're still in love with the man who started the whole mess, even though the most he can ever see you as is a friend. The renowned actor you've hired to be your company's new endorser seems to have a soft spot for you though. He's easy on the eyes, you'll admit, but who actually wants a divorcee like yourself? It's unrealistic really.

pairing: ex-husband ceo!jungkook x ceo!reader, slight actor!taehyung x ceo!reader

genre/AU: angst, smut, loverstoexesto ?, unrequited love

word count: 3,328

Warnings: oc and jk are both 30, mention of gossip columns and unequal treatment of how oc is portrayed post-divorce, hint of differences between men and women in the business world, oc struggling to be professional, both care about each other and are not toxic but oc fell in love, oc has the need to groom him a little out of habit, talks about Bam, feat, Namjoon and Taehyung, and sexual content

sexual warnings: dom!jungkook, sub!reader, desk s*x, d*rty talk, oc is on bc, handjob, swearing, making out, neck kisses, clothed s*x, impulsive s*x, light praising, growling, some minor petnames (baby, Kook), mention of threesome, recalling of past sexual events

playing: Unkiss Me

a/n: uh…this one has been in my drafts and idk its kinda angsty but I decided I will share it. Enjoy! 🥰

series masterlist | next >>

From the moment he stepped into your office, Jungkook could tell every ounce of color was drained from your face. All except for your puffy red eyes that is, which he knows you've been rubbing fervently to keep your tears from rolling down your cheeks.

He doesn't blame you for it though–you're his ex-wife.

Recent ex-wife that is.

For three years the two of you masqueraded as the perfect power couple; appearing completely in love to the public eye in hopes of forming an unshakable business partnership (transaction more like). You attended charity balls together, collaborated on several work projects, and attended countless corporate functions to establish both your presence in your respective industries.

That's right, you and Jungkook were in an arranged marriage and it would have flourished into a classic love story if it wasn't for one obvious detail–you're the only one that fell in love.

Despite all the times he's called you "stunning" when you dolled up for formal events or that you "feel so good" during late-night sex, Jungkook never truly loved you. He cared about you, did his best not to intentionally hurt you, and even tried loving you back; thinking he could fall for you with time.

But the most he could ever see you as is a friend, a beautiful friend, though a friend nonetheless. He knows how much it pains you, especially after you've held out hope that he'll want you the same way someday. This one embarrasses you the most which he wishes it wouldn't.

Well, Jungkook doesn't want to trap either of you in a loveless marriage any longer. So even if it means being the center of gossip columns for a while, he's giving you a divorce so you can find the right person to share your love with.

After all, you deserve it; you both do.

Today's day one of looking at one another as exes and it's bittersweet, to say the least. The only factor that would make this worse is if children were in the equation, but there aren't any.

"Thanks for letting me swing by __," he speaks first, doing his best to conjure up a genuine smile. The black floral button-up he's wearing suits him well and his smooth chest peaking out near the collar is far too tempting, yet you know better than to let your eyes linger.

"Of course," you answer and grab a small box from behind your desk. "These are 100% yours so I wouldn't keep them from you." Jungkook takes the box of belongings from your hands with slight hesitation. You're keeping a brave front for the sake of civility and professionalism.

He doesn't blame you for that either.

As a CEO of a large multinational corporation himself, Jungkook's no stranger to the age-old philosophy that that office is no place to let your personal woes get out of hand; you have a team to lead and a reputation to uphold. The latter is proving to be harder for you than him, however, being that the media is portraying you as some kind of she-devil, spinster, or worse of all—a cheater.

Jungkook plans to personally make sure those articles get removed from the public eye before the end of the week. (Not that he'll tell you though.)

"I still could have dropped by the house to pick these up if it'd been easier. I feel bad for interrupting your work day over a couple of old books, records, and dog toys." He watches you nod silently as he vocalizes the inconvenience of it all; he really doesn't have to but he does it anyway.

"No, it's alright. You haven't been to the house since you moved out, so I thought it'd be better if we met here instead." You pause to check the time. "If there's anything you think of that you might've forgotten later, just let me know. In the meantime, I have a meeting in twenty so..."

"He misses you."

"I'm sorry?"

"Bam, I mean." Jungkook throws the box under an arm and pulls out his phone. He scrolls through his camera gallery until he gets to one particular photo of a red and tan Doberman. "He hates the new place and all he does is sulk by the door."

Your heart's already struggling to settle down from the painful reality that the man you love is leaving you, let alone being reminded of another forced separation. Bam's the closest thing to a baby that either of you ever had and he was one of the few things that bonded you and your now ex-husband together.

Being Jungkook's dog, however, he couldn't stay with you. That means no more visiting the dog park, sneaking treats behind Jungkook's back, and snuggling together in the king-size bed after a stressful day.

"I'm sure he just wants his favorite chew toy that's been held hostage at the house," you joke lightly, thinking it simpler to spin the topic. It's similar to what Jungkook does when he uses flowery language to soften the cold hard truth of your divorce; that he doesn't love you and he can't ever. "Give Bam a lot of attention for me. I miss him too."

"Of cour—shit!" When Jungkook moves to slip his phone back into his pocket he loses his balance, causing the box with his belongings to spill out on your office floor. Naturally, you kneel down to help him clean up the mess. It's not until your fingers reach for the same item and come into contact with each other that you quickly retract your hand. "Sorry, did I shock you?" He asks gently and tosses the last item into the box before standing up.

"No, you didn't." You rise to your feet as well, until you're face to face with him. This time it's closer than before. His hooded eyes stare straight into yours and you can't believe it takes being inches from his face to notice how bloodshot his eyes are. "You look exhausted. You should go home and rest Kook." The petname is out before your brain tells you to stop.

Jungkook's eyes widen, the corner of his lip subtly quirking up for the first time since the start of the conversation. "Don't worry about me __. I probably get more breaks than you do. But thanks." He briefly glances at the ticking Snoopy clock behind you, a Christmas gift he gave you as a joke last year. "You still have that?"

You look over your shoulder at the small, Snoopy-shaped digital clock on your desk. Ten minutes until your next meeting. "It's cute and it makes for a great conversation starter with clients so I guess so. If you want me to give it ba—"

"Keep it," he interrupts. "Please, it was a gift and I'd like you to have it if you enjoy it." Jungkook gnaws on his lip before continuing. "Speaking of clients and business partners, I should make myself scarce now shouldn't I?"

"Yes. I do have that meeting soon." But once he leaves, neither of you is sure when you'll see the other again aside from the odd charity event. The Annual Winter Gala in December is one that particularly comes to mind.

Most high-ranking executives like yourselves attend the function to keep up appearances and to network with other professionals. Last year, you and Jungkook were the center of attention however now that you're divorced, you fear you'll be avoided like the plague—they always preferred Jungkook over you anyway.

"You're forming a new partnership with that actor, right? Kim Taehyung? I read an inkling about it online yesterday." He also read his whole biography too. The man is equally handsome as he is altruistic and kind.

"Nothing's signed and sealed yet. I'm sure you've heard that he's gotten dozens of other offers on the table. To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't nabbed him yet."

"Yeah, we don't need...wait sorry, let me rephrase that. We aren't ready for a new partner or merger yet."

You can read between the lines despite Jungkook's correction. His company is thriving more than yours in every way, so he doesn't need the help of a third-party endorser...like you. Well, you're not doing too shabby yourself and this isn't simply about fame and fortune you want to argue.

The head poking through your door stops you from following through on that last line.

"Mrs. Jeon—shit." Your secretary Kim Namjoon screws his eyes shut at his drastic misstep. "Ms. __, Kim Taehyung called and said he'll be a bit late due to unexpected delays during his filming today. He apologizes profusely but is on his way over now. Sajangnim," he bows at Jungkook respectively.

"That's fine, Namjoon, thank you. You can send him in whenever he gets here. Mr. Jeon was just about to leave and I had the rest of my day cleared."

"Of course. I'll let him know to come in." Your secretary nods and shuts the door. Jungkook shifts between his feet once Namjoon is out of sight, a habit he's picked up that tells you he has more to say.

"Was there anything else, Mr. Jeon?" You shuffle a few files on your desk, prepping for your meeting with Taehyung. At this point, you're not even looking at Jungkook.

"Mr. Jeon? I think I prefer when you call me Kook more," he mutters, allowing his line of sight to catch a glimpse of your lips. "Can I...kiss you? Before I go."

The question knocks the wind out of your lungs and you instantly lift your head up toward him. "Kiss me?" You gulp slowly, then shake your head. "No, I'd rather we not. Goodbye kisses aren't really my thing." You couldn't be a bigger liar, evident from the sudden churning in your gut. Having Jungkook's lips on yours was the best and worst moments of your entire relationship but you have to fight yourself....your innate desires that tell you to say yes.

"Okay, I understand. What about a hug?"

"Jungkook..."

"I'm sorry, I'm pushing. Thanks again for my stuff." He gestures at the box under his arm. "I hope your meeting with Kim Taehyung goes well. Maybe I'll see you both at the next Winter Gala." He makes a beeline for the door.

"Wait!"

Jungkook stills in his tracks as he watches you stride in front of him. He's unsure what you stopped him for until your hands reach out towards his shirt collar, smoothing the delicate material down. A light smile plays on his face as you do this, though he says nothing aside from a simple 'thanks'.

"It was bothering me the whole time." You finish fixing his collar and peer up into his Bambi eyes. Out of all the potential suitors, you wish Jeon Jungkook didn't become your husband. It's not like you got to keep him or anything.

Jungkook once again flickers his gaze toward your barely parted lips. And this time, you do the same for him. Before either of you have time to back out you lean forward and kiss him.

It's a hard kiss too. Painful but so inviting that neither of you pulls away.

With his free hand, Jungkook snakes a hand around your waist to hug you close. Having his fingers pressed against the small of your back is so familiar and all you can do is deepen the kiss.

You're obviously not the only one that gets a sense of pleasure from this because, in a matter of seconds, the box from under Jungkook's arm falls to the ground. He then places his second hand on the side of your neck and jawline which you lean into, exposing the other side of your neck.

"Jungkook," you gasp when his lips attach themself to the soft skin, sucking lightly. His teeth come out and nip too. "Wait, we can't do this, we shouldn't. Taehyung, he'll be here soon."

"That would have sounded so convincing if you didn't just moan the words, baby." He walks you backward until you're forced to sit atop your mahogany desk.

"Don't call me that." You allow him to push up your pencil skirt and spread your thighs until your panties are the only material he sees. You decided to go with black lace today, his favorite now that you think about it.

"Did you—"

"No, they weren't for you."

A brief growl leaves the man's rose-tinted lips. "In that case, we don't need them." He places both hands on your hips and brings you into another kiss, messier than before. His tongue shoves between the seam of your lips to lick every crevasse he can. He hasn't kissed you like this for months and to be brutally honest, he's missed it as much as you.

Jungkook hasn't been with anyone else since marrying you either, which means he's completely adjusted to your body, your preferences, and what turns you on. The same applies to you so while he's busy shoving his tongue down your throat, you palm his half-harden bulge through his trousers.

"Mm," he groans and bucks his hips into your hand. You smile at how well you've managed to draw a response from him. With a little burst of confidence, you hastily move to unbuckle his pants. "What are you doing?" He mumbles between kisses.

You decide not to answer, preferring to reach inside his trousers to take his length out. You make sure to pump it a few times until he's fully hard. Jungkook has a gorgeous dick, and that takes a lot for you to admit.

"Fuck, that's it." He says with gritted teeth, now watching your hand as it moves up and down his cock. "Get me how you want me."

"We don't have much time." You slide your panties down your legs and spread your thighs wide apart, which makes Jungkook's eyes dilate about 10 meters. "Fuck me, please." One last time. Make love to me one last time.

"Are you sure? I don't have a condom."

"It's okay, I'm on birth control. As long as you're still clean then its fine."

"I am. I got tested recently. But are you sure you want this?"

You glance at his pulsating length, tip leaking with pre-cum, and swallow hard. "Hurry."

"Fuck, okay." Jungkook wastes not another second and guides you flat on your back, his hands resting on either side of your body. The coolness of your desk has you shiver slightly. He then urges you to raise your legs until they can wrap loosely around his slim waist. And as if second nature, you link your arms around his neck as he eases him into you. He's able to bottom out without much effort thanks to how wet you've become.

"Oh god." Your back arches off the surface of your desk as Jungkook thrusts into you. They're only practice thrusts at first to get you re-adjusted to his size, yet the pleasure zipping down your spine already has your eyes rolling up.

You shouldn't be doing this at all. Your conscious whispers to again to which you blindly dismiss. You'll enjoy it now and tomorrow, start a new—another lie you tell yourself.

"Fuckfuckfuck, you're so wonderful for me," he chants while pushing his cock in and out of you, the speed of his movements picking up to an insane rate. Jungkook never had an issue with quickies so he's likely in his element now. "You know what this reminds me of?" He cocks a smirk and kisses down your neck.

"Hm?"

"That time when we were abroad for a weekend conference. Remember when we stopped at my second office to pick up some files? You were so horny that day that you pushed me into my chair and demanded that I let you ride me. It took the wind right out of my sails to see you like that, so confident and in control." He prys apart the top button of your blouse until he can slide the material down your shoulders. He doesn't take it off completely, favoring the chance to place kisses on your newly exposed area instead.

"I was beyond stressed that day. It was the first time I had to speak at that conference and you looked so good with your freshly slicked back hair. I couldn't stop myself—oh fuck! Right there Kook, don't slow down. Please." Jungkook grunts at the use of his petname and fucks you rougher, sweat forming around his forehead as his dark hair dangles messily over his eyes.

You manage to sneak a glance at the time on your Snoopy clock between thrusts. "Shit, I need to come soon, or Kim Taehyung's never going to agree to do business with me." The man laughs and buries his head on your shoulder.

"You never know, he could be really into threesomes."

"Fuck! Don't joke about that." You claw at his back and surprise both of you with the unexpected clenching of your pussy.

"You're right, I take it back," he groans and continues to snap his hips. "Looks like he's not the one who wants a threesome after all, considering your body's response to the suggestion. You wanna ask him if he walks in?" He whispers in your ear and you're embarrassed that your cheeks burn at the thought.

Of course, Kim Taehyung was sexy and you've rehearsed to yourself dozens of times not to let yourself get any crazy ideas about him. Still, one unrequited love is enough for you; Taehyung wouldn't want a divorcee. You shake the train of thought before it has time to go any further. "Make me come, Kook. Need you to finish too. It's not just Taehyung who could walk in at any second."

Jungkook grunts and continues to thrust into you, bouncing you up and down his thick length as the desk shakes underneath you. He feels you getting closer and closer by the sporadic clenching of your walls squeezing him. A big part of him doesn't want this to end but it has to....he doesn't love you. He only wants to make you feel good before he has to say goodbye. Both of you come just before Namjoon calls your office phone, giving you a heads-up that Taehyung's about to enter your office.

Jungkook shoves his pants back on while you button up your blouse and fold over your skirt. You decided to shove your underwear in your bag with the lack of time. No one has any business digging in there anyway.

"How do I look?" You turn around to get a quick once-over from Jungkook but he's already out the door. Now the person standing in front of you is Kim Taehyung who has nothing but the most genuine smile.

"You look lovely as always Ms. __. I'm so sorry I'm late by the way. I feel terrible about it so I brought you these." Taehyung whips out a large bouquet of your favorite flowers. "Hope you don't mind that I did a little research on you ahead of time. I found out these have a special place in your heart."

You smile and accept the bouquet with thanks. As you set them on your desk, a messages comes through your phone. You manage to give a quick look.

Unknown Number: Sorry I had to duck so fast! I know it looked rude but Taehyung was already opening the door and you were dressed so I thought it'd be better if I left. Hope you're meeting goes well! And thanks for everything today ;) if you need anything, you have my number.

You flip your phone over and invite Taehyung to have a seat. Business is business, and you have to carry on even if your heart has completely sunk to the ground. Kim Taehyung is sweet anyway, so you'll enjoy his company.

Too bad you don't realize how much he enjoys yours as well.

a/n: so, yeah... there's a potential for our Jk to actually love oc and not realize it but either way he does care about her (despite the impulsive sex). And yes, taehyung likes oc... it's like a double unrequited love 😔 okay bye lmk what you think, thank you! 😘

Also, lmk what you think about jk in this poll!

masterlist

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

[kpopfanfictrash]

Jingle All the Way Collaboration

Coming your way this holiday season! Whether you've been naughty or nice, you'll have seven fics to unwrap by @kpopfanfictrash , @leahsfavefics , @kithtaehyung , @yoonia , @cybrsan and @sugaurora.

All second chance romance. All holiday themed. All attempting to utilize the same quote: "The holidays aren't so bad with you around." Come down the chimney, embrace your inner Vixen, and warm up this season with the Jingle All the Way collab!

Content Creator: all amazing banners are made by the truly spectacular @kithtaehyung!!

(Links to be added as fics are posted)

Title: The Ten Days of Ex-Mas

Author: @kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: Jimin x Reader (f)

Rating/Genre: M (18+); angst, fluff, smut; hockey player au, second chance au, oh noo there was only one bed

Summary: Three months following the worst break-up of your life, you finally feel ready to start moving on. The world, it seems, has other ideas when you pick up the phone and find your ex-boyfriend calling.

Jimin Park, star right winger of the NHL and (until recently), the love of your life, has a very large problem. Despite the courage he regularly shows on the ice, in his personal life, Jimin is kind of a coward. When you broke up this fall, he could barely admit it. Not to his neighbors. Not to his friends. Not even to his family, who are expecting him home for Christmas. In a desperate plea for more time, Jimin begs you to pretend you’re still dating – and to his surprise, you agree. Faced with a second chance, Jimin is determined not to squander it. If only fixing a relationship were as easy as falling in love.

Posting Date: December 19th, 2023

Title: All I Want for Christmas is Joon

Author: @leahsfavefics

Pairing: art historian!Namjoon x art historian!reader (f)

Rating/genre: m (18+) angst, fluff, smut, second chance au

Summary: You have had a rough year following the mutual break up with your grad school sweetheart. On a whim, you book a spontaneous trip to Europe for the holidays to help get you out of the funk you’re in and assert your independence. It would be great, if it weren’t for the fact that you keep bumping into your ex boyfriend.

Posting Date: December 21st, 2023

Title: Back to December

Author: @kithtaehyung

Pairing: Seokjin x Reader(f)

Rating/Genre: M (18+); angst, fluff, smut; brother’s best friend au, wedding au, second chance au

Summary: Ever since you left town to pursue your dreams, life has fast forwarded into one big blur. so when you hit pause to attend your brother’s wedding exactly three years later, your brain instinctively resets and rewinds. because you have to spend it with the very person that had been there at the start. the one person you regret leaving behind.

Posting Date: TBD

Title: A Christmas Fix

Author: @yoonia

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader(f)

Rating/Genre: M (18+), secret baby au, s2l au, fake dating au on the side (more on that later)

Summary: One-night stands are supposed to be nothing more than just. It shouldn’t have involved seeing those two red lines looking back at you weeks later without a name or a contact number linking you back to your mystery man. Nothing more but his face. The unforgettable face that would sometimes appear in your dreams at night. So unforgettable that you immediately recognise him the moment he walks into your family home at Christmas, hand-in-hand with your older stepsister.

Title: Everwinter

Author: @kithtaehyung

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader(f)

Rating/Genre: M (18+); angst, fluff, smut; ex-fwb 2 lovers au, second chance au

Summary: You told him you loved him, and that was a mistake. Because years later, you both meet up with your old friend group for a holiday trip, and neither of you have forgotten that.

Posting Date: TBD

Title: Miracle of the Season

Author: @cybrsan

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Rating/Genre: M (18+); angst, fluff, smut; angel au, second chance au

Summary: Cast out of Heaven after a painful betrayal, you find yourself having to navigate the intricacies of human life without any guidance from the Creator or the family you have always known. Things only get worse as the holiday season reaches its peak, with reminders of the life you left behind everywhere you look. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, a familiar face pops up and you aren’t sure whether to consider it a blessing or a curse.

Posting Date: December 29th, 2023

Title: A Porn Star's Guide to the Holidays

Author: @sugaurora

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader(f)

Rating/Genre: M (18+); smut; second chance au

Summary: Jung Hoseok was your first love, a relationship that ended only because your post-high school dreams led you down two very different paths. Yours brought you to Jeon Jungkook, an innovative talent agent promising to produce the most well-loved adult entertainment artists of the era. And that’s how you became an erotic market darling, doing just about everything from outdoor gangbangs to golden showers and a long list of kinks in between.

Ten years later and you’re ready to find a new path, celebrating your exit from the business with one last appearance at the biggest adult industry convention of the year. Only when you arrive, you find yourself unexpectedly face-to-face with your high school sweetheart. Suddenly, you’re forced to confront where the years have taken you and feelings that may have never quite gone away.

What’s a former porn star to do?

Posting Date: TBD

[moonxytcn]

Hellooo, here is my request! We are a new upcoming artist in the industry and we attend the grammys for the first time. Some guy is interviewing us and asks a really inappropriate question which makes us uncomfortable. And before we could even attempt to answer the question billie so happens to notice how uncomfortable we are and steps into the conversion saving us just on time. This is the first time we ever meet billie, and some how by the end of the night billie gives us her number in hopes of being able to see us again 🫶🏻

rescue on the red carpet

| Billie Eilish x fem!reader

summary – Billie saves you from an uncomfortable interviewer question

tags & warnings – just fluffy

a/n – hiii <3 it's been a while since I wrote anything hihi, but I'm back, and thank you so much for the request anon!! and I'm sorry it took so long to post, I hope you enjoy this <3

| English is not my first language so there may be some errors.

| Masterlist —✽— Pinned Post

   ㅤ✯ ━━━━━━ ✿ ✫ ✿ ━━━━━━ ✯

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The lights of the Grammy Awards shimmer and sparkle like nothing you've ever seen before. You're standing on the red carpet, the air electric with excitement and anticipation. It's your first time here, and the grandeur of it all feels almost surreal. You're a newcomer in the music industry, and being nominated for Best New Artist is a dream come true. Your heart races as you take in the dazzling sea of celebrities, flashing cameras, and enthusiastic reporters.

The crimson carpet under your feet seems to stretch on for miles, lined with eager fans and journalists clamoring for a glimpse of the stars. You feel like you're in a dream, walking amongst giants in the music industry. Your dress, an elegant blend of shimmer and sophistication, clings perfectly to your form, making you feel both powerful and vulnerable at once.

As you make your way down the carpet, a charming interviewer from a popular entertainment network beckons you over. His smile is wide, his demeanor polished, but something about his eyes makes you uneasy.

"Welcome to the Grammys!" He exclaims, holding the microphone out toward you. "How does it feel to be here tonight?"

You smile graciously, taking a breath to steady yourself. "It's truly an honor to be here among so many talented artists. I'm just grateful for the opportunity."

The interviewer nods, then leans in slightly, lowering his voice as if to share a secret. "You've had quite a rise to fame this year. Many are calling you the next big thing. How are you handling all this attention? And." He pauses, his grin turning a shade sharper, "there have been rumors about your personal life. Care to comment on any of those?"

The question catches you off guard. Your mind races as you try to think of a polite way to deflect. Rumors? About your personal life? You’ve tried hard to keep your private life out of the spotlight. Heat rushes to your cheeks, and you feel your confidence begin to waver.

Before you can find the words, the interviewer presses on, his smile now verging on predatory. "There's a particularly juicy one about a certain collaboration turning into something more... intimate. What do you have to say about that?"

You freeze, acutely aware of the cameras zooming in, capturing every moment of your discomfort. You can hear the crowd's murmurs, feel the eyes of countless onlookers on you. You’re cornered, and the vulnerability is almost paralyzing. Your pulse quickens, and your rehearsed poise starts to crumble.

And then, like a bolt of lightning, a voice cuts through the tension.

"Hey, I think that's enough of the tabloid questions, don't you?"

You turn to see Billie Eilish stepping forward, her iconic green hair and bold fashion sense unmistakable. Her expression is calm yet commanding, her gaze steady as she addresses the interviewer.

The interviewer falters, momentarily taken aback by Billie's intervention. "Oh, Billie! Of course, it's great to see you. I was just asking about—"

Billie interrupts smoothly, her tone firm but friendly. "I know what you were asking, but tonight's about celebrating achievements, not spreading gossip. Why not focus on her incredible music instead?"

Her words hang in the air, a lifeline thrown your way. You catch Billie's eye, and she offers you a reassuring smile. It's like a wave of relief washes over you, the tension easing from your shoulders.

The interviewer, now visibly flustered, clears his throat and shifts his attention back to you. "Right, right. Apologies for that. So, tell us about your album and the inspiration behind it."

You take a deep breath, grateful for Billie's timely intervention. With renewed confidence, you talk about your work, your passion for music, and the journey that led you here. Billie stands by your side, her presence a comforting shield against the prying questions that had threatened to throw you off balance.

As the interview concludes, you thank the reporter and turn to Billie, who is already flashing her signature grin.

"Thank you." You say, gratitude evident in your voice. "I didn't know what to do back there."

Billie chuckles softly, shrugging off the praise. "No worries. I've been in this industry long enough to know how these things go. You handled it well."

Her words are genuine, and they bolster your spirits. You find yourself smiling back at her, the tension from earlier fading away.

The rest of the evening passes in a whirlwind of excitement and celebration. You watch performances that leave you awestruck, rub shoulders with artists you've admired for years, and even manage to snag a selfie with a few of your musical idols.

As the night draws to a close, you find yourself once again crossing paths with Billie. She's surrounded by a small group of admirers and friends, but when she spots you, she waves you over.

"Hey! How was the rest of your night?" She asks, her energy as infectious as ever.

"It was incredible." You reply, feeling more at ease than you had at the start of the evening. "Thank you again for stepping in back there. It means a lot."

Billie dismisses your gratitude with a wave of her hand. "Seriously, don't mention it. I've been there. And besides, we're all in this together, right?"

You nod, feeling a connection with her that goes beyond just the shared experience of the industry. There's something genuine about Billie that makes you feel seen and understood.

As the crowd around you begins to thin out, Billie leans in slightly, her voice dropping to a more private tone. "Hey, if you ever want to hang out or need someone to talk to about the craziness of this industry, here's my number."

She hands you a small card with her number scrawled on it, the gesture both casual and meaningful. Your heart skips a beat at the thought of having a direct line to someone as renowned and talented as Billie Eilish.

"Thank you." You say, tucking the card safely into your purse. "I’d love that."

Billie gives you a nod, her eyes twinkling with sincerity. "Great. I hope we can catch up soon."

With that, she waves goodbye, disappearing into the remaining crowd, leaving you with a newfound sense of hope and excitement. The night may have started with uncertainty, but it's ending with the promise of friendship and the potential for so much more.

As you make your way out of the venue, you can't help but smile. Your first Grammy night has been unforgettable, not just because of the awards and performances but because you've found an ally in one of the industry's brightest stars.

And as you step into the cool night air, you know this is just the beginning of an incredible journey.

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Yandere MK11 + MK1 Raidens with the same darling

I got this idea from this post...although this isn't nsfw sorry lol

A/N: Does it count as a harem if it's only two? Who cares, this is for my baby girls. I love the Raidens so much (mk11 just a bit more tho lol)

Warnings: mentions of kidnapping, abusive themes, obession...ect..

Masterlist

Requests: open 24/7

Dynamics

Raiden (mk11) is the one calling the shots in the relationship. He's brooding and demanding, he's so selfish over you. He doesn't particularly like to share his things. He's much rougher with you and likes for you to comply with whatever he has in store that particular day. You're his. And only his, he's only allowed for his younger counterpart to have access to you because,,, well...it's technically still him. Truthfully though I think he's a jealous diva. He doesn't like how youthful and relatable Raiden(mk1) is to you. He feels like he's in a competition and needs to assert his superiority over him. toxic power play over both of you.

Raiden(mk1) doesn't mind taking the backseat to the relationship. He's not really looking for a fight with the older man, he's just here for you. Honestly, he's just happy that he's not alone in his sinful desires for you, that even his other self is just as sick in the head as he. In comparison this Raiden is a lot kinder. he doesn’t speak down to you or is nearly as demanding. He almost appears to be genuine about his “love” for you..just a little screwed.

One thing that both Raiden's bond over is their jealousy. One or the other is always closely lurking around you. Even in their sky temple where you'd think you'd be free to roam, they are always supervising. Younger Raiden is a dirty little snitch and will promptly tell (Mk11) Raiden about you talking to a male servant a little too long. It's a sick pleasure for them really, they enjoy keeping you in line and showing others who you belong to. They sometimes will find themselves boasting about the things they did to their poor unsuspecting victims and collaborating on methods of torture. It's a bonding moment. truly.

As much as the older Raiden is a grump towards the younger, he's rather inventive when it comes to guiding him through the relationship. Unexpectedly reassuring at times and helps younger Raiden gain confidence with you. Younger Raiden will help out too where the older one lacks which is usually emotional intelligence. He helps (mk11) with gifts and compliments to give you. ahhh they so cute together.

Do they feel guilty?

(Mk11) Raiden feels absolutely no shame, guilt or remorse for his actions. He's a corrupt tyrant who loves his place in your life. Taking you captive and devoting his life to you is nothing he should regret, it's an honor to be your protector. Dark Raiden is far gone and is unwavering in his beliefs, no matter how deluded they may be. You will soon come to understand that this new life is the best one for you...he'll make sure of it.

"This is for your greater good, my dear. It's far too unsafe out there without you being under our protection and care."

(MK1) He feels a bit shameful, this isn't the morals he's grown up on. It's quite embarrassing at times how enthralled he is with you, how easily he melts at your will. You probably think he's pathetic in comparison to his older self. He's not nearly as confident or self-righteous. But even so these feelings aren't enough to ever stop him in his tracks. You do rightfully belong to them, and though he's not one to be quick to anger, he'd easily find himself bashing someone in for trying to take you away.

How do they show their affection?

(mk11) Raiden maybe isn't as outwardly sweet as his younger counter part. He shows his love by providing for and protecting you. He allows you to be near while he works on things and makes attempts to conversate. When he controls and corrects you, that's his way of showing he cares. All the deep lovely dovey stuff, he couldn't really care for. He doesn't fully understand all the emotional needs and wants that humans have. His actions can come off rather surface level or even like he's not as in love with you as he truly is. Everything he does is romantic and thoughtful in his own twisted mind. Its a struggle but he gives you everything and makes sure you're safe...what more can a devotee offer?

(mk1) Raiden is the one you go to get all your emotional needs. He's a sucker for you and very charming too. When you're crying, scared or upset, he will comfort you. Raiden understands your emotions on a deeper level since he's an earthrelmer. Raiden loves to compliment you often and worship every part of you. You don't have to ask to hold his hand or to cuddle, just do it. He is always more than happy to satisfy any needs. He's such a blusher and I like to think his heart still beats fast whenever you touch or look at him.

Both are feral for your affection. Older Raiden might not react much to your compliments but he holds on to every single one and it makes him spiral deeper into his insanity. Younger Raiden is always very verbally thankful for your love. Even gifts you with your favorite desserts or flowers as a gesture in return. Oh They love you. *will both kiss your feet if you asked*

Trying to escape?

Yeah no. It's stupid for you to even think for a second that you can get away. Two champions holding you hostage? One is like a million years old and extremely experienced and the other was literally created to be a diet version of him.(lmao don't come for me)

If you should escape (mk11) Raiden will be furious about this. He's the one that found your ass and is dragging you back to his temple. This isn't just some light situation, your actions are telling him that you're unhappy. How can you be unhappy when you're revered to wits end? Everything you could want or ask for is at your foot..you ungrateful girl-

(mk1) Raiden had to step in between you two because the ways things were looking, your punishment wasn't going to be pretty. Don't be fooled though, he's rather upset you wanted to leave him but he still loves you. He somehow convinces Raiden to let up on you and to give you a lighter sentence like isolation. He's super pouty and manipulative towards you for the next couple of days. I just know he's the best guilt-tripper and breaks you down into sobbing at their feet..you beg and whine for forgiveness and find yourself spewing declarations of love to them.

"Now I got you out of your stupid mess, y/n. Why don't you be good and tell Raiden how much you love him? I can't hold him off forever and I'm not sure how much electroshock therapy you can handle."

Do you think (mk1) Raden would be right over (mk11) Raiden's shoulder while he punishes you? Like he's feeling super bad about it and trying to give you "reassurance" he's actually just taunting you and egging on Raiden. Deep down he's kind of enjoying it. Like he knows this is deserved and is happy that after this you surely won't leave them again hehe..

Okay i have to stop because i don't wanna slip up and start writing nsfw LMAOOO

[amirasainz]

Along the lines of Amira and Kim, could you do where the drivers and WAGs react to Amira being part of one of the Skims campaigns?

Enjoy reading, and let me know if you have some requests!!! I added a little Instagram part. Let me know what you think about it.

-XoXo

No part 2!

SKIMS FOR EVERYONE

“Oh my god. Honey, you look absolutely amazing,” said Kim. As Amira walked out from the dressing room, everyone looked at her. It was clear that she truly looked breathtaking. “Really? I feel like I don’t do your fashion enough justice,” whispered Amira nervously.

It came as a quiet surprise to everyone, except Kim, when they saw how shy Amira was. Of course, it was never easy to walk 1000% confident in front of the camera when you’re wearing particularly revealing clothing. However, they thought that a breathtaking beauty like Amira wouldn’t be nervous to model in a room full of people.

“I don’t think I can do this, Kimi,” whispered Amira. “Amira, love, there is nothing to be nervous about. If it makes you feel better, I can send the people away so it’s just us two, the photographer, and your stylist in the room.” Amira nodded thankfully. After Amira sent everyone away, the four of them got to work.

At first, Amira was a bit stiff. However, after Kim continued to tell her some silly stories, she couldn’t help but loosen up. The tension left the room, and the other two couldn’t help but laugh along with Kim and Amira.

“Okay, I think it’s time for the couple photos,” said the photographer. Kim and Amira changed and went to the prepared bed in the middle of the studio.

"Relax, love" whispered Kim to her. "I don't really know what to do" admitted Amira. "Let's cuddle like always." Kim threw an arm over Amira and gently stroked her back. The photographer really captured the comfort and love between the two of them.

@skims, @kim kardashian &@amira sainz

Liked by charleslecerlc, landonorris, oscarpiastri and 17 567 398 other people

SKIMS: Guess who's back? This time with our favourite girl, Amira Sainz. The new collection will be available on the 1st June.💕💕

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The internet erupted into chaos three days later when the pictures were posted on the official SKIMS page, Kim’s personal page, and Amira’s social media. Fans immediately started shipping Kim and Amira, and the hashtag #Kimira trended worldwide. In a matter of 20 minutes, the entire SKIMS collaboration was sold out.

As for the drivers, they were equally affected. The group chat, sans Carlos, went into a frenzy. Pictures were shared left and right. Kika and Lily each purchased three sets. Charles even changed his wallpaper from Amira with Alex to one featuring Amira in underwear. Kelly took Kim out of existing photos and added her own face. Lando, ever the enthusiast, printed out some of the pictures.

And Carlos? Rebecca did her best to shield him from the images for as long as possible. But after 40 minutes, her luck ran out. Carlos finally saw the pictures and promptly retreated to the bathtub, seeking refuge. He lied there for 4 hours in the dark, Charles piano music playing in the background…..

Bonus (+):

"Hey Oscar, there's a package to you from…SKIMS?" Zak looked at Oscar with a confused expression. Oscar slowly got up, took the package and left the room. "What the fuck…." whispered Zak to himself, starring at his empty hands.

[hazbin-but-good]

another hazbin hotel rewrite/redesign?

yup! and i'm so serious about it that i made a whole blog for it. i'm a white queer ex-cath tran doing this as an art and writing exercise, so feedback from other creatives + jewish and/or racialized folks is especially welcome.

i'm putting this post and only this post in the main tags for visibility. also, not gonna link my main, but i do make my own original stuff, and i encourage fans and haters alike to do the same.

anyway, here's a mostly good-faith 1.7k-word essay on the original. i think it's pretty funny and brings up some less talked-about points. correct me on the facts, disagree with my opinions, and ask clarifying questions, but don't come at me with any piss-poor reading comprehension.

the hellaverse is garbage, and here's why

cw: strong language, stronger opinions, intersectional feminist critical discourse analysis

1. vivienne medrano, the person

medrano was born as a well-off white-passing latina (salvadoran-american) in bougieass frederick, maryland. while attending new york's top art school, she got popular on deviantart-tumblr-twitter by being a prolific multifandom fujoshi furry who's more into ornamental character design than storytelling. upon graduation, she leveraged her fanbase and industry connections to make the hazbin and helluva boss pilots, get helluva made for youtube, and get hazbin made for amazon prime.

like every woman online, she gets harassed for no good reason, and as a certified autist, i will defend her right to be dumb, weird, annoying, and bad with words. however, there are legit reasons to criticize her:

racism, misogyny, homophobia, fatphobia, some antisemitism, past transphobia, past ableism

shitty boss, bad friend

cowardly, vindictive, manipulative, thoughtless behavior

skeevy friends

sucks at taking criticism

in short, i think she desperately needs a PR person and someone to clean up her digital footprint.

2. medrano's art

incurious

inauthentic

noncommittal

creatively stagnant

overindulgent, and the indulgence isn't even fun

shallow and childish framed as complex and mature

bland and boring framed as shocking and subversive

to be clear, i'm at peace with the existence of suckass art like this; i just think the money, attention, and praise it gets are unearned and should go to more interesting works, of which there are infinite.

medrano's had the time, money, and social cache to grow as an artist, learn from the best, and take creative risks, but she hasn't. if she truly has nothing more to offer, she should let her collaborators take the wheel, but she doesn't do that either. instead, she keeps getting more and more resources to make the same baby bullshit, and that pisses me off. she could be the nicest person ever, and this fundamental arrogance would still make her art blow.

stop with the pointless guilt: liking medrano's work does not make you stupid or evil. however, if you stay in the kiddie pool of culture, if you refuse to engage with a diversity of art, if the hellaverse is your point of reference for anything media-related, you can't expect to have your opinions on art, media, or culture taken seriously. you have not earned a seat at the table. you gotta hit the books first.

i cannot emphasize enough how much incredible stuff is out there if you're willing to look further than what social media and streaming services put right in front of you. if you come away from this blog having learned about just one new artist or piece of art, i'll be a happy camper.

3. the hellaverse

a. empty and confused

hazbin and helluva's content and marketing has no clear target audience. the subjects are inappropiate for teens, but the execution is too childish for adults, and lemme tell you what i don't mean by that, first.

not inherently inappropriate for teens:

sex and sexuality

violence, including when it intersects with the above

politics and religion

not inherently childish:

animation (any style)

comedy

episodic writing and/or loose continuity

young characters

fun, happiness, optimism, the power of friendship, cuteness, tenderness, sincerity, etc.

what i mean is that these shows are literally about adult characters who fuck, smoke, drink, do drugs, go clubbing, work full-time, manage their own finances, and deal with stuff like bureaucracy, sexual violence, domestic abuse, marriage, divorce, late adoption, and family estrangement.

however, none of these "adult" things are given enough specificity to create drama or comedy. it's all too stock, vague, flat, weirdly sanitized, and thus utterly banal—pure aesthetics on top of bad saturday morning cartoons. it's exactly what i'd expect from a sheltered disney kid who needs to log off and get into their local gay scene ASAP so their only contact with things like poverty, policing, addiction, and sex work stops being facile movies and TV.

if the shows were aware of this and played with it, that could be amazing, but they're not. they give you the mickey mouse version of the world with a straight face and then play looney tunes sound effects to try to make you laugh and sad_violin.mp3 to try to make you cry. now that's funny.

b. old and tired

let's make like americans and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist. even within the confines of the USA, home of the hays code, the red scare, and reaganite propaganda, this neopuritan fascist state ruled by 1000 megachurches in a trenchcoat, the indie/underground animation scene has been doing crazier shit for decades. anti-war films in the 60's, bakshi movies in the 70's, the simpsons shorts and r-rated movies in the 80's, adult swim and MTV in the 90's, flash/newgrounds/youtube in the 00's, streaming in the 2010's—so what are we doing in the 2020's with this wet white rice drowned in expired ketchup? i feel crazy making this point because it's obvious if you've watched these things, but if you haven't, you're gonna be like "well, there's gotta be something new here". no! there isn't! in the words of jimmy "the scot" jordan, nothing, nothing, NOTHING!

c. ideological purgatory

actually, there is one thing in these shows i've never seen before: the presbysterianism. shout out some interesting or at least intentional presbysterian art in the comments, because the way these ideas are presented here is not compelling. it just makes the rainbow neoliberalism even more confusing and contradictory.

i guess the big presbysterian things are protestanism, calvinism, and, uh, big church government? presbysterians, get your shit together. get your brand down. catholics have BDSM and vampires, evangelicals have TV and corporatism; what do you have? celtic crosses? no wonder medrano has such uninspired ideas on divinity.

d. queer deficiency

when i look at a piece of art, i ask myself: "what does this give me that i can't get from the hunchback of notre dame (1996)?" if the answer is as limp as "uhh, gay people, i guess", i can probably look for my gay shit elsewhere and rewatch the hunchback of notre dame (1996) in the meantime.

but let's say that you have no standards. you've been waiting for ages for a show about gays by the gays for the gays, and by god you're gonna get it. this is it! here we go! time for some

generic twink obliteration

male sexuality as aggression and dominance displays

WLW (sex and chemistry not included)

a couple straight femdoms

and the stalest sex jokes known to man

...yeah, it's not very queer. and by "queer", i mean "questioning or subverting gender norms (including sexual roles) within a given cultural context regardless of creator identity and intent". i'm not a queer studies scholar so LMK if there's a more specific term for this, but whatever you call it, it's not in the hellaverse much.

there's not even any transness, literal or metaphorical, just ancient drag jokes. i guess the writers thought we would've been too controversial. so much for an indie animation studio that prides itself in the diversity of its staff both above and below the line, bakshi-style. i wonder how medrano, a bisexual woman, would've felt if told that a lesbian main couple in hazbin would be "too controversial".

4. spindlehorse and the vivziepop brand

spindlehorse toons underpays its overworked staff and keeps outsourcing more and more labor to even more overworked freelancers overseas to cut costs. a rainbow sweatshop is still a sweatshop, and just because these practices may be "industry standard" doesn't make them any more ethical.

the studio has also been repeatedly accused by current and former employees and contractors of creating a hostile and abusive workplace. AFAIK, it still has no dedicated HR person, and victims are too afraid of retaliation like blacklisting and online harassment to speak out.

this is exactly the stuff that unions exist to prevent. as i'm writing this, the IATSE (the parent union of TAG, which is the parent union of all US animation unions) is negotiating with entertainment industry executives for better working conditions, and if the execs fuck around like last year, it's strike time again. so watch this space, voice your support, and don't cross any picket lines.

i hope spindlehorse unionizes, but until then and for these reasons, i don't think you should give money to the company.

first of all, all content on amazon-owned platforms is ok to pirate, and all youtube ads are ok to block. everyone involved in making the episodes has (or should have) been paid upfront, so you're not taking the bread out of anyone's mouth.

next, let's look at the succulent offerings of the official vivziepop merch shop:

$10 pins and keychains

$15 sticker packs

$20 mugs and acrylic cutouts

$25 shirts

$30 metal cards (not even tarot)

$40 lounge pants

$50 mini backpacks

random $80 skateboard deck

forgive my latin americanness, but this is all stuff you can get made by a local metalsmith, print/sublimation shop, or just crafty people in your life. it's cheaper, customizable, and better for the environment to skip all the shipping and packaging. also, not painting your own skateboard is poser shit.

the hazbin website also has $15 pins, one $20 keychain, and $6 trading card packs. people are weird about trading cards, so if for some reason you wanna gamble for a mass-produced bit of cardboard, plastic, and tinfoil, at least bulk-order for all the vivziepoppers in your area so it's less of a huge waste. better yet, trace the designs and make infinite bootlegs.

at the end of the day, buying merch is not activism. your bulk order of trading cards will not save any wage slaves from getting evicted from their overpriced studio apartments. however, the shop links you to all the credited artists/designers, and more of your bucks will actually reach them if you buy their designs directly, then turn them into body pillows or life-sized bronze statues or whatever the fuck.

go through the credits of any episode of helluva or hazbin, and you'll find even more creatives you might wanna support. get jinkx monsoon's albums on CD. subscribe to actually good artist, animator, and composer gooseworx. lots of voice actors now have patreon, cameo, or self-hosted pages where you can write better lines for their characters and have them read it. these things may not look as shiny as Official Merch™, but we all need less plastic shit and more culture anyway.

[dnpbeats]

OKAY i need to speak on the interactive christmas adventure and how it's a full circle moment, but at the same time so indicative of what dan and phil have created together (retroactively saying, strap in because this got long)

so, to begin with, i can't imagine how it must have been for dan to be making that video with phil. six months prior dan was a fan among many, commenting on phil's videos and tweeting at him. and then this interactive space adventure drops on his birthday. and dan loves it so much he comments on every single path! and tweets phil about how much he loves it!! (okay not the point of this post but i also just need to sneak this in: i just know deep down part of dan felt so special that this was posted on his birthday. and the fact that phil used a song from ff7 and dan commented on it... anyway!) so, needless to say, dan was really into this interactive adventure thing.

so then we all know what happens after that, but fast forward to december. dan, who has been talking with phil for a few months now, who has known him in real life for barley over two, is not just with phil but is collaborating with him. and they're making something that, honestly, for the time was a pretty big production! it's obvious when you watch it that they've sunk so much time into it. there are parts when they talk in unison so you can just imagine them sitting there with a little script practicing it 😭 so think about what a full circle moment it is, that the first phil project that dan profusely expressed his enjoyment of was an interactive adventure, and here he is half a year later making that very same thing with phil!! and also, the fact that it was truly a joint project, even though it was going on phil's channel. in the last scene of the adventure, dan sacrifices himself.

dan: i have to sacrifice myself phil: no dan, please don't! there must be another way dan: but phil, this is not my channel, i'm not even meant to be here phil: don't say that, dan, think about what you're doing

and like, yes obviously this is scripted! but even in the script, when dan says "this isn't my channel," phil says "don't say that." because this was 100% a joint effort. a year and a half later dan stated it was the best thing he's contributed to the internet. idk i just love the fact that one of the things dan really appreciated about phil early on was his interactive adventure, and then six months later they got to make one together, and dan obviously has a very soft spot for it :,)

okay so that's how it came full circle for dan in 2009. but secondarily i want to talk about the fact that i truly think the interactive christmas adventure is the cornerstone of everything dan and phil have accomplished together. "but emma, what about pinof?!" okay yes. pinof my beloved... but also, at the end of the day, pinof was basically just dan and phil shooting the breeze. don't get me wrong, it is foundational as well! the fact that it got so popular really highlights that dan and phil's natural chemistry is a big part of them being a duo and their popularity. and i love a good video that's just dan and phil riffing off of each other.

however, dan and phil have done SO MUCH with their careers that is so much more than just their base level chemistry. SAP, the radio show, books, TWO WORLD TOURS, movies of said tours. because besides the fact that they have a dynamic that's enjoyable to watch, they also create so well together. even their solo things, we know they help each other behind the scenes. they just get each other creatively. but aside from that, all of the aforementioned things they've accomplished together really paved a way for other people in the industry!! other creators (vlog brothers iirc?) have talked about the fact that tatinof was the first Big Youtube Tour and the fact that it was so successful meant that other creators were able to do the same.

dan and phil as people aside, i don't think there will ever be another professional duo like dan and phil. like they ARE the blueprint. and i think that's because they care so much about putting out content that they're proud of, but also because they enjoy what they do. the reason why the interactive christmas adventure was so great was because they put in a lot of effort, but also bc you can tell that they were having so much fun making it. at the end of the day it was just two boys making something together because they could! and they wanted to! and i think their mentality for creating things today is still the same. so yeah, i think the interactive christmas adventure is so so important in terms of d&p as a creative duo. it's the first project in a long long list of amazing things dan and phil have created together, when no one else was doing what they were doing. and the fact that almost 15 years later they're still here, making content together, having a whole career together... oh yeah and also a whole life!! just absolutely wild, and i'm so grateful we're all here to see it

[wordstome]

now that we don't talk

I cannot be your friend, so I pay the price of what I lost And what it cost Now that we don't talk

alpha colonel König x beta ex-lover reader

2nd person, no y/n, she/her pronouns, reader's callsign is Eden, reader speaks French, omegaverse, exes to lovers, fraternization

2.2k words

tw: none

I swear to God one day I'll write something that doesn't involve that big hooded freak. But today is not that day.

Shoutout to loganlermanstanaccount here on Tumblr, who I won't tag. The bullet point headcanons with written parts interspersed format is from their excellent college roommate Miguel O'Hara post, which became their fic Rigor Mortis. I highly recommend both!

Also, excuse the absolutely butchered military content. I'm sure none of this is how it works in real life, but alas, this is fanfiction, not a research paper. Reader serves a Laswell-like role, but I refrained from labeling her as CIA even though I do call her a station chief. For the purposes of this fic, she's the voice in the operatives' ear during ops. We're playing a bit fast and loose with the terminology here.

You’re a highly skilled intelligence agent and operative handler.

You’ve spent most of your life dedicated to your career: moving through the ranks, proving yourself, refusing to let anything stand in the way of your ambitions.

You’ve done some things you aren’t proud of, but always for the right reason. Or the reason that made the most cold, logical sense. Even when your heart tells you otherwise. Nobody in this line of work has clean hands, after all.

You’ve always done what needs to be done. For everyone’s best interest.

Today marks the first day of your collaboration with a PMC called KorTac. You’re hunting down a homegrown cult turned out-of-control terrorist cell.

You haven’t had much experience working with mercenaries, but in terms of hardened war criminals, KorTac’s people are quite well mannered.

Not that you had expected them to be rude and discourteous, but, well. You are an outsider. They haven’t necessarily embraced you, but their reception was nice enough.

You’ve got a meeting with their commander, but you can’t quite find the room you’re supposed to be meeting in. Not a great first impression to make, but luckily, someone takes pity on you.

He introduces himself. Korean. Callsign Horangi.

“You’ll get used to the layout of the base,” he says as you follow him through winding hallways.

“I hope so,” you reply. “I’ll be here for a while." You study the walls, the signs and numbers on the doors, trying your best to memorize everything.

"Do you know your commander well?" you ask. You're not the world's biggest fan of small talk, but you may as well know what you're walking into.

"König? Yeah, we've been close ever since he joined up." Horangi says, leading you into a long hallway. "He's a good guy. A little intense, but don't let that get to you. He's just getting the job done."

"We'll get along if he's competent." You can respect a man who forgoes pleasantries for making sure the shit gets shoveled.

"You don't have to worry about that." Horangi stops and holds the door open for you. "After you."

You study him for just a moment before entering the room. He's curt and to the point. Not bad-looking, either. Hopefully you'll get more chances to—

Your heart nearly stops.

KorTac's commander is facing away from the doorway, shuffling through some papers by the looks of it. But you would know him from any angle. The set of his shoulders, the way his stance is at ease but never truly relaxed, the way his hair curls at the nape of his neck.

You have to force yourself to step into the room. And when you do, he turns around.

You're vaguely aware of Horangi stepping around you to get into the room, but that's happening somewhere far away from the headspace you occupy right now. By the way König's eyes widen as they meet yours, he's in the same place too.

He hasn't aged so much as he's gotten more tired. He never did sleep enough, but now he looks like he hasn't gotten a sound night's rest in a long time. He's put-together, but there's a haggardness to him that probably wouldn't be noticeable to anybody but you. Someone who knew him when he was younger, and in the prime of his life. Someone who used to know every scar on his body, every crease of his brow, and now hasn't seen him in more than a decade.

The man who broke your heart stands on the other end of the room, staring at you as if he's seen a ghost.

The two of you stand there for a while before Horangi's voice shakes you back to reality. "Brought the station chief, sir."

"I...see." König—you suppose that's what he calls himself nowadays, the arrogant prick—clears his throat. "Thank you, Hong-jin."

"No problem." Horangi takes a seat. "The others will be in soon."

Horangi seems like a perceptive enough guy. Can he tell that the room feels several degrees colder? You pull a chair out, the furthest one from König's position possible, and ignore the hurt that briefly flashes across his face as you sit down.

The meeting goes well. It's just an opportunity for you to formally introduce yourself to the KorTac operators you'll primarily be working with for the next few months.

You can tell they're a close knit group by the easy way they interact with each other: they've worked together for a while.

König, too, is part of them, which must be how they pick up on the chilly dynamic between the two of you. Some of them are just puzzled. For most of them, it raises their hackles.

It doesn't matter to you. You can barely focus on getting through the meeting without feeling like you're going to faint.

It's absurd. You're not some delicate Regency-era lady. You're a hardened military officer. But it makes no difference.

It doesn't matter how long it's been, it seems. He's still the only one who can make you feel like this.

You can't get out of there fast enough after the meeting has concluded. Not only are the others shooting you suspicious looks, but you've spent too long in his presence. Any longer, and you don't know how you're going to keep your composure.

But you can't escape him. Of course not. Why did you ever think otherwise? You hear him call for you, and you walk faster. But it's futile.

This hallway is smaller, narrower, less open. Nobody's around to watch when he slams you against the wall to stop your hasty retreat. Nobody's around to see the way you sway in his hold, overwhelmed by the smell of him all around you. You're bathed in it, the overpowering presence of him.

"We need to talk." he demands.

"We just did. Meeting's over," you shoot back, making a paltry attempt to wriggle out of his grasp. He loosens his hold on you, but you're still trapped between him and the wall. No exit.

"I didn't plan this, in case you're wondering."

"That much was obvious." He's let his hair grow out longer, you notice at the most inopportune time possible. It suits him, you think.

He sighs in frustration. "If we're going to work together, we have to be civil."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't expose how much of a scoundrel you are in front of your precious squad," you bite.

You feel a twinge of smug satisfaction as regret settles into his expression. Too little, too late.

"I don't want it to be like this, either," he murmurs. "Ignoring and avoiding each other."

"You don't get to tell me how to act."

"You're right. But it's been a long time. Can't we try to get along? Not for my sake, but...yours."

"Well that's not condescending at all."

"That's not what I meant. I know my team. If you're walking around resenting me openly like that, they won't trust you. And they need to, if you're working with us."

He's right, and you know it. But there's that deep instinct inside you, older than your bloodline, waking up after a long slumber. It wants him, snapping at the bit to give into him and do whatever he asks of you. The urge will consume you if you don't fight it every step of the way.

You glare up at him, hoping you come off as brimming with resentment instead of desire. "As long as you and your team stay professional, I can too."

He's not satisfied with that answer, but it's all you're going to give him.

"Fine." He steps away from you, and you pour all your willpower into commanding your body to stay still. To not chase after his closeness. You sway on the spot, dizzy with his scent after having gone so long without it.

"This hallway is a dead end, by the way."

You try, you really do. But it's hard to be around him without feeling the urge to touch him, to press yourself against him and inhale him like the most destructive drug possible.

Your only recourse is to stay as physically far away from him as possible.

You do your best to ingratiate yourself with the other operators. You and Calisto are fast friends: she's got a breezy confidence to her that's quite refreshing. It also doesn't hurt that you speak French, as well. There's a bit of kinship felt whenever the two of you are holding a conversation none of the others can understand.

Horangi's a different story, though. The initial courtesy he showed you is a bit more clipped, now that it's clear something is up between you and König.

You can't believe you missed it the first time, the way König's smell is all over him. It really has been too long.

The two of them must be pretty close. You give up trying not to fixate on the idea.

You didn't mean to eavesdrop on them, but you were curious. Even more curious when you hear your name mentioned.

"It's pretty clear you and Eden know each other. None of us are stupid."

You freeze in your tracks. The door is closed, but you can hear Horangi's voice, loud and clear in the room behind it.

"It's not relevant. She's just here to do a job."

"I think it's pretty relevant that she gets up and leaves whenever you enter a room, regardless of what she's doing. She can't get away from you fast enough."

You give a surreptitious look at your surroundings, then lean down slightly, pressing your ear to the door.

"You're not going to give this up, are you?"

"Hell fucking no."

You hear König sigh. "Fine. We knew each other before I joined KorTac. Back when I was in the Jagdkommando."

Do you want to hear this? Your painful history, relayed to a near stranger? Horangi's not a stranger to him, that's for sure.

"And?"

"We were...involved."

"You and a beta? Never took you for the type."

"Well, neither did I. But she was...special. Smart, pretty, deadeye with a knife. Wouldn't give me the time of day, of course. I was obsessed with her."

"Naturally."

"Give me a fucking break, okay?"

"Can't wait to hear how this ended."

"Not...great. I was a total dick."

You can say that again, you think.

"I was young. Real dumbass who thought he was hot shit."

"You still aren't."

"Shut the fuck up." Something twinges inside you at the hearty laughter the two of them share. You missed that laugh.

"Despite everything, it was the most stable relationship I've ever been in. We looked out for each other. She knew me better than some of my family does."

"How did you fuck that up, then?"

"I got too comfortable. Started thinking I could do better. God, what a fucking idiot I was. I loved her like crazy, but I didn't realize how good I had it until it was gone."

"She left you?"

"No. I was the one who ended things. In the worst way possible, too. I told her the relationship wasn't going to go anywhere, that we were never going to be a serious thing."

"Ouch. Why not?"

You squeeze your eyes shut. You remember that night, like a shard of glass buried in your chest. As hard as you tried to forget, you'll never forget the way you felt. Like the world was ending.

You'll never forget the decision you had to make.

"I told her I couldn't see myself with a beta long-term."

"...that's fucked up."

"I know. I know. I was too caught up in that shitty macho alpha mindset. I was fucking ravenous back then, and I thought only an omega could give me what I needed."

"I get it now. If I were her, I would have quit on the spot seeing you in that meeting room."

"Yeah. She's a better person than I can ever imagine being."

Well. It's nice to know he regrets it, you think. Not that it does you much good now. Quiet as a mouse, you make a quick exit before you can get caught.

You make it back to the the room you've been assigned to. They were nice enough to give you your own private quarters, something you deeply appreciate when you need to be alone with your own thoughts. Like right now.

It's a strange feeling, to sort of get closure like this. Not at the end, but at the beginning of something new. You still have to see each other. Does it help that you know how he feels? Maybe, but it doesn't ease your own guilt. In fact, it makes it worse.

You're not mad at him for telling Horangi. You're glad he did, actually. There are some secrets that cause more harm to keep than not.

You open a drawer and pull out the pill bottle, hidden underneath your other possessions, and stare at the label.

WARNING - SUPPRESSANTS. NOT TO BE USED BY ALPHAS. ONLY CONSUME UNDER PHYSICIAN SUPERVISION.

You would know.

BOOM! There you have it. (In case it wasn't clear, the suppressants are for omegas.)

@sprout-fics's omegaverse 141 headcanons series inspired me to write something based off the idea of an omega disguising themselves as a beta in the military. Please check out her series, it's great.

I was really into exploring how omegaverse dynamics can make complicated relationships even messier. I did consider writing this story without the omegaverse, but I think now it's kind of an essential element. (I also just. Want them to have crazy nasty omegaverse sex. Sue me) I can't picture König ever breaking up with someone he deeply loved and was obsessed with, unless he had a reason like that. Still not a great reason, but a little bit understandable. Eden being a disguised omega also adds a bit of spice to the exes-to-lovers arc, too: she could have just come out and told him she's not actually a beta, but she chose not to for the sake of her career. Oof. Ruthless judgement calls were made on both sides.

I put this out because this idea had me in a STRANGLEHOLD, and I just had to get it out before I burst. Hopefully my writing's still up to par 😅 As for Kingdom Come, part iii may take a little while longer because a lot is going to happen in it, so I hope this can tide you guys over until then.

As usual, comments and feedback are always appreciated! I would love to talk about this au more. And again, if you'd like to be tagged, drop a reply. And if you're in the taglist and would like to be removed/only tagged for Kingdom Come, please let me know!

@crowbird @poohkie90 @cumikering @iytatsworld @papaver-decervicatus @anxietyrain @riotakire @ax0lotly @cookiepie111 @kacchasu @no1runawaymilkdad @chthonian-spectre @backwards-readings @yxllowtxpe @garbau @hexqueensupreme @queenthorin1 @violetstyless @her-majesty-theking @vegan-peppermint @peonytarian @ghostslittlegf @euuuuuuun @e1x03 @kokonoiwife @deaddainish @dragonfang @teehee-47 @catluvwr @keiva1000 @waves-against-a-cliff @channelsoph @cutiecusp @itsagrimm @dins-riduur-anthe @mantishymns @lexuria

[txttletale]

Because I'm curious now, what are your favorite TTRPGs? One of my personal favorites is the Kids On Bikes system and its variants for their simplicity and ease of access for new players.

so first of all--kids on bikes is very cool. it’s a nice rules-light game with a pick-up-and-play vibe. haven’t ever run it myself but i feel comfortable seconding your recommendation. anyway here’s some of my FAVOURITE TTRPGS.

Blades in the Dark is probably my enduring all-time favourite game. it’s a little flawed in places but its core loop is pure fucking elegance at play. flashbacks (you can spend stress, a metacurrency, to have done something in the past) and resistance (you can also spend stress to evade something bad that happens to you) are two of my favourite mechanics in any TTRPG ever. every player character gets to be a competent badass while also facing real, tangible danger with every moment. not to mention an incredibly well-fleshed out and evocative setting in the gaslamp fantasy nightmare city of doskvol.

Eidolon: Become Your Best Self is a game that dares to ask questions like, ‘what if jojo’s bizarre adventure was good’ and ‘what if persona, also, was good’. characters manifest the power of their souls as weird freaks with incredible powers. the ‘reveal your master plan’ mechanic works much like BiTD flashback mechanic and a smart combat system where enemies get stronger as you fight them really makes this the perfect vehicle for creative character-driven superpower-based combat. if you subscribe to the developers’ patreon you can also get access to the draft of the second edition, which does some really cool fucking things like replacing dice rolls with a tarot draw.

Lancer is the game for people who like grid-based tactical combat. it has incredible tactical depth, well-thought out mechanics that interlace perfectly--and best of all, you get to design and customize your own mech from a truly dizzying array of options to find all sorts of fucking insane synergies between abilities like ‘teleport whenever you attack somebody’ or ‘do more damage the more you overheat’. it also has a very comprehensive suite of GM tools that make it a breeze, and even fun, to create and run a balanced encounter with clearly defined and narrativly interesting goals for both sides. i’m not too into the setting for reasons i’ve talked about elsewhere, but fortunately as long as you can accomodate ‘mech combat’ into your setting, none of the worldbuilding is load-bearing to the game’s core appeal.

Microscope is totally different from a lot of TTRPGs in that it’s noit about playing characters, but about creating a world. it’s a beautiful collaborative storytelling tool with deceptively simple tools that can easily add up into your table creating a world that’s way more intricate and eclectic and fascinating than anything one of you could have come up with on your own. good for creating TTRPG settings but also good just as something to play for its own sake!!

Dream Askew would probably round out my top five, but i’ve just posted about that one here--so instead i’ll give this slot to Nobilis 3e, a game that might not be one of my favourite games to actually play, but is genuinely fascinating to read and sit with, a fucking masterful work of both design and literature, something that so distinctly creates a world and a tone that it’s instantly magnetic. not for everyone, but worth checking out.

[mithrilhearts]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

Look at me getting to this 500 years later (I'm so sorry!!) Anyway.

Thank you both so much, @cilil & @laurfilijames for sending me this ask game thingy!! I figured I'd just do it in one post, so I hope that's okay, but here we go!

I think picking my "favorite fics" of mine is like, asking a parent to pick their favorite child - not easy, in most cases I guess lol...but I will do my best and explain why! These are all based off of fics I've COMPLETED, and by no means reflects on my love and affection for the other stories I've written. I love them all for their own reasons, otherwise I wouldn't have written them.

In no particular order...

May Your Forge Burn Bright - This is THE original longfic from me. I started this back when I was creeping my way out of RP and into fanfiction, and was nothing more than an independent baby writer. (Been writing a long time, just never like this), and the story means so much to me, as well as the commentary from readers along the way. It's still my longest fic to date, and I love a good "alternate first meeting" fic. It's the OG, and you can't replace that.

Dragonhearted - The Hobbit & Beauty and The Beast are my two FAVORITE stories, and mashing them together like this was perfect for me. Dragon!Thorin is such a fun concept for me, and badass Bilbo is another. This setting just WORKS. (Also, did you know @i-did-not-mean-to had a BLANKET made for this fic???)

Kurdu 'abadaz - That's right, I finished this one just recently, and it has easily stolen my heart to being a favorite. The Fix-it fic that I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to write, that went under a LOT of rehashing and had a huge overhaul in the story early on when planning. It turned out so much better than anticipated, and the love for this fic from readers/friends has been overwhelming.

Fuck Thy Neighbor - A VERY FUN ROM-COM STYLE MODERN AU!!! This really had me cackling the entire way through, and like a few other fics of mine, it spawned from a writer's ask game/tag game thing that I can't quite remember. Accidental marriage & neighbors? I love it. It's so funny, and I enjoy rereading it frequently for the laughs.

When Darkness Shines Brightest - Did you know that anything can be made into a Bagginshield Fic? Did you know that this fic spawned from a joke/conversation between @starthecozy and I and then erupted into this really original Hades/Persephone, Nightmare Before Xmas, blended style fic?? Various worlds and environments, powers over elements, and saving homes from a dragon?? The Onion Fic sprouted, and blossomed into one of my favorite stories, and I got to collaborate with Star the entire way through it, and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Go give it a read, it's really neat!!

Honorable Mentions:

(Take Me Back To) The Night We Met - My entry for THAUC22 (partnered with the amazing @consultingpacha), and one of my FAVORITE concepts. Yet again, another "alternate meeting" style fic, featuring small kids Fili and Kili, rather than adults. What it sets up to at the end of the fic blends into the OG Hobbit story, but with a few small changes that I kind of want to explore one day in a sequel. 👀

Between Vices and Virtues - My entry for TRSB22 (partnered with @mysandwichranaway!!) First of all, I love working with Sandy, it's truly one of my favorite things on this good planet, and I can't wait to do it again - hopefully soon. Secondly, this was my take at a modern royalty AU, and learning about how to connect with the people around you. I have two sequels planned for this universe (even if this fic kind of felt like a let-down in terms of reception? but idc about that lmao) it was so fun for me. A light dusting of magic superstition in a modern au setting? Sign me up!

[honeytonedhottie]

quality of life‧₊˚✩彡🎐

this post is a collaboration with @prettieinpink my lovely mutual <3 so make sure to check out ur page for the continuation of this post and it has been a PLEASURE to work with her! go and follow her <3

HEALTH : ur health is easily the most important of these categories and ur own health must be prioritized in every thing that u do. health is wealth, and without health, ur quality of life will be very low.

eat foods that are good for u and that nourish you, pay close attention to ur body and how it reacts to certain foods cuz everyones body is different and u should have a vast knowledge on your own body and how it works. eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. a helpful ratio in eating that i like to use as a basic guideline is (80% of the time, eat healthier foods and 20% of the time eat what u crave)

stay hydrated and drink between 1-3 liters of water a day, about 15 minutes before u go to sleep drink a couple glasses of water, drinking water before bed literally CLEANSES you, it improves ur skin, helps ur heart pump blood more efficiently, and improves blood pressure and heart rate, which affects ur quality of sleep in a positive way

to continue on the note of ur sleep u should be sleeping 8-10 hours of sleep a night. sleep deprivation is NOT cute, so please opt to sleep at an earlier time and rise at an earlier time as well

aside from what u consume, take care of ur health by taking supplements, drinking lots of teas, sleeping enough, stretching ur body, dry brushing, lymphatic drainage massage etc

MENTAL WELL BEING : september is suicide prevention month so i feel like now is an AMAZING time to bring up mental health and ways that u can improve ur mental state of being.

i always talk about self concept and i always will because self concept truly is the foundation of everything. ur whole entire life is literally ur mindset. keeping a positive outlook, meditating and practicing gratitude sounds cliche but it does wonders for ur happiness.

understand that its okay to NOT feel happy 24/7 because happiness is simply a feeling, and feelings are fleeting. they dont stay forever. i talked about the science of dopamine and what it does to ur brain in a previous post but some things that u can do to improve ur happiness levels are :

cutting back on social media and screen time in order to experience the world around you

surrounding urself with people who build you up

consuming social media that impacts ur mental health in a positive way

if u can, invest in therapy and if u can't do some shadow work, and based on ur discoveries with shadow work use the resources that u have (like youtube) to learn how to heal from ur trauma properly. healing isn't an overnight process, its a journey but it will DRASTICALLY improve ur quality of life.

find ways to cope and deal with ur emotions in a healthy way if ur going through a hard time, if ur going thru a REALLY hard time please go and seek help bcuz u dont deserve to live in a constant state of sadness, and if u ever need encouragement my inbox is always open 💗

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE : ur physical appearance can greatly impact ur quality of life also so here's some way to maximize ur looks:

sleep, drink water, and walk everyday - the best way to be pretty is to be healthy so make sure ur taking care of ur nutrition and ur sleep schedule

skincare - build a solid skincare routine and be consistent with it, do ur skincare RELIGIOUSLY 2x a day and dont touch ur face with ur hands unless ur washing ur face. double cleanse and dont forget to apply spf &lt;33

haircare - learn what ur hair texture is and watch influencers or people who share the same hair texture as u and watch how they take care of their hair. once u know ur hair type then ur hair will thrive and be healthy

clean nails, long or short its all a matter of preference but keep ur nails clean and done nicely

wearing clothes that fit and complement ur body nicely, get ur clothes tailored to fit ur body comfortably

take good care of ur hair to keep it healthy, and learn how to do ur hair in cute hairstyles.

lastly POSTURE will tie all of this together, ofc these categories were rly broad but u can totally look into them more to maximize ur own looks and beauty

i know dear peachie on youtube has AMAZING makeup tips especially if ur a beginner she can teach u a lot

GENERAL : this is just a broad category of helpful things that u can do to improve the quality of ur life.

manifestation : when u learn about the way that the world works and operates and how ur mind creates ur own reality u will literally step into the power of knowing that you create. start committing to ur dream life and learning about law of assumption

finding little things to be happy about : i feel my happiest when im consciously living. and what i mean about this most of us just live our lives on autopilot out of necessity or habit, but paying closer attention to our lives and our experiences and romanticizing our lives will improve the quality of ur life

decision making : make decisions that will give the quality of life that u wanna live. for the future, make decisions that are good for ur future self instead of just focusing on making decisions that only look good in that one moment. ofc this differs depending on the situation but make an effort to make smart decisions that'll set the foundation for ur future

go check out @prettieinpink for the next part of this post <;3

[tiny-tini-imagines]

Hey, I saw your post and just realised you're new here🖤.

I saw that you take requests so I was wondering if you would mind to write some headcanons about the fellowship members and how they would react to a female fighter from our world. (Maybe refuses to wear dresses and is very emancipated) Hope that's understandable & thank you 🖤

Re.: Thank you for your request! Never thought I'd actually get an answer xD. I tried my best and hopefully its what U wanted.

Headcanon Request - Lord of the Rings

incl.: independent female fighter, fellowship

(added: character art, what they would say to them, or about them)

Aragorn:

Respectful: Aragorn recognizes her capabilities and respects her as a fighter, acknowledging her contributions.

Gravitas: He conveys his seriousness through his tone and demeanor, showing her that he considers her an important member of the group.

Empowerment: Aragorn empowers her by entrusting her with important tasks and responsibilities, boosting her confidence.

Guidance: He provides guidance by sharing his extensive knowledge of the world and offering advice on surviving in challenging situations. He's secretly protective (just as he'd be with Arwen)

Comradeship: Aragorn actively involves her in decision-making and treats her as an equal, fostering a sense of unity and camaraderie.

"Your strength and determination are truly remarkable, my friend. In this fellowship, we stand together as equals, comrades bound by a common purpose, and I hold your skills and character in the highest respect."

Legolas:

Curiosity: Legolas' curiosity leads him to engage her in conversations about her world, learning from her experiences and perspectives. (based on reciprocity)

Admiration: He frequently compliments her combat skills and courage, demonstrating his deep respect for her abilities, especially since she's a human

Grace: Legolas appreciates her fluid movements and agility in battle, often complimenting her grace under pressure. (however he always keeps an eye on her, although he knows it's not neccesary

Friendship: Through small gestures like sharing stories (and defending her in battle - if ever needed), he builds a strong and trusting friendship, sometimes showing her how she can do better

Teamwork: Legolas actively collaborates with her during fights, highlighting her importance in their team dynamics.

(same "who can kill more?" competition as with Gimli)

"Your grace in battle is as awe-inspiring as the dance of the leaves in the forest, my friend."

Gimli:

Skepticism: Gimli's skepticism is rooted in his initial doubts about whether she can keep up with the group, which he gradually overcomes. (get's actually impressed by her)

Curiosity: His curiosity about her world leads to lengthy discussions, and they bond over shared interests and differences. (He'd often talk about his folk, and would rave about dwarves)

Loyalty: As she proves herself, Gimli becomes fiercely loyal, actively supporting her decisions. If a man ever appears who doubts her or doesn't take her seriously, he is immediately at her side

Surprising Friendship: Over time, his skepticism turns into a deep and surprising friendship, marked by trust and camaraderie.

Mutual Respect: They both earn each other's respect through their actions, setting aside prejudices and working together effectively.

"Aye, lass, ye've a fire in yer heart that matches the forges of Erebor. I doubted at first, but now I see - ye're a true warrior, fierce and capable, and I'm honored to fight beside ye."

Gandalf:

Wise Mentor: Gandalf recognizes her potential and takes her under his wing, teaching her about the world they traverse and imparting his wisdom.

Guidance: He guides her in decision-making, fostering her growth and helping her adapt to the challenges they face. (However he keeps an watchful eye on her, unsure about her intentions)

Empowerment: Gandalf instills confidence in her abilities, believing that she can contribute significantly to their quest. (Thinking that she might have another point of view/ sees things and details that the others don't notice or think are seemingly unimportant)

Trust: He trusts her judgment, showing it by relying on her insights and respecting her choices.

Strategic Ally: Together, they strategize and plan, viewing each other as indispensable allies in the pursuit of their goals.

"In you, my dear, I see a spark of inner fire, a potential yet untapped. Embrace your strength and let it blaze like a beacon in our dark journey, for you have the power to change the course of this quest."

Boromir:

Initial Skepticism: Boromir is initially skeptical of her abilities and her commitment to their quest, as he worries about her impact on the Fellowship's safety. (Believing they'd have to protect her)

Gradual Trust: Over time, her actions and determination gradually earn Boromir's trust and respect, and he slowly starts to see her as a valuable member of the group.

Protectiveness: Boromir develops a protective attitude towards her, ensuring her safety during dangerous situations (offering to train with her to improve her combat skills, however shes the one to beat him in a battle)

Mutual Respect: As they share the trials of their journey, Boromir and her come to respect each other's strengths, skills, and dedication to their common cause. He'd open up to her (when alone) and talk about Gondor and his fears

"Your strength is undeniable, but in this perilous journey, remember to heed wisdom as well, my friend."

Frodo:

Protective: Frodo feels responsible for her safety and wishes he could protect her in dangerous situations, although it is absolutely not neccesary. He might feel guilty to, however she is quick to sense that and makes sure to tell him, that he should not worry about her

Trust: He trusts her unconditionally, evident in his reliance on her during crucial moments and his openness about his concerns and fears. (He only trusts Gandalf and Sam more, however Aragorn might share the same level of trust with her)

Friendship: Their deepening friendship is built on shared experiences, mutual trust, and unwavering support for each other.

Empathy: Frodo's understanding of her struggles (as a woman) fosters a strong sense of empathy, and they confide in each other about their personal challenges. (him as a hobbit/ her as a woman)

Courage: Both exhibit courage in their own ways, inspiring each other to persevere and face adversity head-on.

"Your courage reminds me that even in the darkest of times, the light of friendship and determination can guide us through."

Sam:

Respectful: Sam respects her independence and appreciates her combat skills, addressing her with deference and showing admiration for her capabilities.

Trusting: He trusts her judgment and decisions, often turning to her for guidance in challenging situations.

Friendship: Their friendship flourishes as they share personal stories, trust each other implicitly, and develop a profound bond during their journey. (it's also a bit like a mentor - protégé relationship)

Loyalty: Sam's loyalty to her is unwavering, always putting her safety and well-being above all else. (He'd instantly worry if she would not eat something and insist, even if it was just a bite)

Kindred Spirits: They connect on a deep level, understanding each other's motivations and providing emotional support when needed.

"Ye've got a heart as brave as Frodo's, and I've seen it in action more times than I can count."

Merry:

Curious: Merry's curiosity about her world leads to inquisitive conversations where they exchange stories and knowledge.

Supportive: He is supportive of her choices and actions, often backing her up in debates and ensuring she feels included.

Friendship: Their camaraderie transforms into a genuine friendship marked by laughter

Encouragement: Merry frequently offers words of encouragement and praise, boosting her confidence and morale unknowingly

Wit: Their friendship is sprinkled with witty exchanges and playful banter, creating a lighthearted atmosphere (that she actually treasures)

"Blimey! You've got a spirit as fiery as a dragon's breath, lass! I reckon you'll give even the bravest of us a run for their money on this quest!"

Pippin:

Playfulness: Pippin's playful nature adds a touch of levity to their journey, lightening the mood when things get tough.

Friendship: Their friendship deepens as they share adventures and form lasting memories together. (He'd occasionaly offer her his pipe, but she'd politely decline)

Loyalty: Pippin's loyalty is unwavering, standing by her side through thick and thin. (She's often the one to watch out for him and safe him from dangerous situations)

Admiration: He admires her determination and independence, often expressing admiration for her spirit.

Growth: Their experiences together lead to personal growth, making them more resilient and capable adventurers. Pippin learns a lot from her, might get a bit more serious

"Y'know, I've never met anyone quite like you, lass. Your spirit's as fierce as the fire of the Shire's finest pipeweed! And I reckon that's saying something, coming from a Took like me!"

[trillscienceofficer]

Let's imagine that you have a signed book deal for a Star Trek novel. What would you write about? If nothing was off limits.

I've been thinking about this question for a couple of days and I'm kind of stumped. I have to say that ‘book deal for a Star Trek novel’ and ‘nothing off limits’ are imho a bit contradictory terms here, given that my fanfic writing is... almost entirely canon-divergent. If nothing was truly off limits I would simply pitch a post-canon, post-divorce, unhappy ending Seven/B'Elanna novel set on Fenris in 2386, but that could never ever become a Star Trek novel. It would be a novel-length fanfiction at best. I've been trying to psych myself up to write it, in fact.

That being said, here are a couple more ideas I've toyed with in the past for novel-length Trek fiction I'd write or that I have written (but currently sit unfinished in my drafts):

Jake Sisko stumbles upon the Starfleet conspiracy about the USS Discovery and Michael Burnham's true fate, and it becomes an obsession which is both good (he isn't following the path of his future self from “The Visitor”) and bad (Starfleet isn't happy that he's snooping around). If we're talking about getting paid to write this one, a Black writer should definitely receive that money rather than me though

A sequel to “Infinity”, one of the stories in “The Lives of Dax” in which Saavik, Torias Dax and Nilani Kahn met while collaborating on the project that eventually killed Torias. I always wanted to know about Trill in the 23rd century, with all their secrets. I have a WIP about this that I spent most of 2021 writing but it's very very unfinished. (I would happily get paid to finish this one)

The character-death-fix story of how Kimara Cretak escaped the Tal Shiar thanks to the Qowat Milat (if you've read “Policy of Truth” perhaps you'll understand what I'm talking about). I'd love to see a former Romulan Senator try to adapt to living in a commune of fringe extremists. There can be a plot also, I haven't really thought about that in depth.

[gabessquishytum]

Hello Friend,

With US Thanksgiving coming up I’m feeling really very thankful and feel the need to tell you. You, without fail, make my day better everyday. I read your blog like some people might their newspapers and it can often help me relax after a long day. Even when I am not your target audience I can always see how your writing is so thoughtful, excited, and well-rounded. You just care so much and I know it must take so much effort to reply to all these asks but you do it with such compassion and vigor that I read things I never thought I would. I have discovered new tropes and kinks I enjoy and it’s even helped me get desensitized to some of my previous icks which I am grateful for. But it has also brought me countless smiles and expanded my imagination in so few words. I think sometimes we internalize that horny writings™️ are LESS than others but you have helped me truly get over that internalized superiority complex I had.

You have genuinely brought me so much joy that I sometimes think I love you in the way only a fan can love a creator. I love you in the way a stranger can never express to another stranger on the internet but longs to. Please let me know if you ever get a Patreon or a Kofi or a Paypal even because I feel such guilt in never being able to repay you for the joy you have brought me. Truly, you are one of my favorite fandom creators ever like top 3 (Aria is in there with you fyi).

I’m sorry if this is creepy but you have truly made me unhinged and I am grateful for it. You compel me to think of my own words for fandom which has never happened to me before. You compel me to think more and to love more (and be more of a horndog lol) and you are so special for that.

I hope you have an amazing holiday season and know that you are loved and appreciated (hopefully by friends and family) but especially by strangers on this hellsite.

All the best,

🧶

P.S. I am sorry this got weirdly rambley and maybe borderline creepy - I am just like this lol.

Beloved 🧶 anon please know I am having a little cry over your message. I am feeling so so under the weather and sick at the moment and this is just the nicest thing i could have received.

It makes me so happy and proud to know that my blog helps you relax and makes you feel good. I do love making my silly posts and collaborating with you guys, it really does mean the world to me. I try not to talk about it a lot but I am currently very disabled and as a result I can't work, so I've kinda started seeing this blog as my fun little job that brings enrichment into my life. It makes me happy and gives me a sense of accomplishment and community and I'm so grateful for that.

Every time someone writes to me with a kink they enjoy or a prompt or anything really, I DO feel so much enthusiasm and care for each one and I'm so glad that you guys can feel that in the posts.

I'm so thankful to all of you and especially you 🧶 anon, it means the world to get such lovely feedback on my weird little beloved horny passion project. Love you all.

[lily-blue]

13 reasons why | reason no.9: the cupcakes are heavenly

☆ characters: baker!mingyu & food critic!you (Sooyoung - ‘97 liner) ☆ genre: coffee shop au, slowburn ☆ summary: your love life consists of flavourful dishes, delicious desserts and your best friend’s stories about his relationship with the sweetest girl; that is, until Mingyu decides to add something luscious into the mix ☆ words: 12,9k ☆ massive thank you: to @dat-town​ ♥ for everything! ☆ taglist: @soobin-chois​

➼ chapter index

Food, especially sweets, had always had a special place in your heart, because as soon as you had grown old enough to understand your parents’ relationship wasn’t ideal, they had become your safe place. Shortcakes, cupcakes, croissants - when they were made expertly, they could put a smile on your face even on the most emotionally draining days as if they had indeed been made with that one magical secret ingredient that you were desperately missing around your parents: love.

Becoming a food critic had been a semi-conscious decision that had become your passion in university. It had started small: with silly albeit professional posts on your Tumblr blog under the sarcastic nickname Joy where you had uploaded aesthetic pictures of the food you had tried, given stars to the places in different categories with a few additional words to express your opinion and credited the experience to the restaurants and coffee shops by mentioning their name and address.

When your curt comments had turned into few-paragraph-long articles was lost on you. But you still remember the day when your blog’s popularity had skyrocketed and you realised that you could make enough money from your hobby to never have to look for a job that’s related to your major: boring finances. It had been the day you had posted your first short video on Youtube with your article’s link in the description below. People had loved your sarcasm and the dynamic pacing of your edit. They had loved it so much and so actively that sponsors had started to email you about collaborations and the platform paid you for creating content. 

It felt surreal up to this day, but you had gotten more than fifteen minutes of fame.

You were still as hated as loved: truly, at the peak of your career.

Fancy restaurant and small diner owners alike kept requesting reviews from you so that they could boost their popularity, but you rarely gave the time of day to those emails, because they made you feel as though you were buyable despite never taking their money. Therefore, even if those places piqued your interest, you simply jotted their names down in your notebook and gave them a try months later when the pressure to write them a good review wasn’t palpable anymore. You didn’t do well with pushy people.

Except when that pushy person was your best friend, Felix, who couldn’t shut up about his new favourite coffee shop close to his girlfriend’s workplace. Coffee Carat was a constant in your conversations ever since Yewon had started her internship in March and you finally got to a point where you thought you had to see for yourself whether their cupcakes were really as otherworldly as Felix claimed them to be or else there was a huge possibility you would snap at him. And there were only a few things you hated more than fighting with your loved ones.

The morning rush’s buzzing noises were pleasantly lively when you walked up to the counter in your red high heels and your steps came to a halt at the end of the shorter line. You didn’t mind the crowd nor the extra time you spent in the shop waiting, because you had chosen this time of the day on purpose. You wanted to see how well the baristas worked when customers had just a tad bit less patience and so far you weren’t disappointed in their professionalism.

You offered a grateful smile to the barista who took your order and carried your tray to one of the empty tables in the back of the customer area, pleased with the interior design and the amount of sunlight the voile curtains let into the coffee shop. Even with purposely taking the chair that was facing the window, you weren’t blinded by the light, which definitely earned the place a couple of brownie points. You liked places that took their time to cater to all of their customers.

Comfortably seated, you took your phone out of your long coat’s pocket and took a few takes of the pretty decoration on the curtains, your table and the cupcakes you had bought. You made sure the videos had similar starting and ending points so that the transitions would be smoother and more natural in the final product. Then,  you were ready for the taste test.

‘Excuse me!’ A pleasant voice, albeit a bit unsure, addressed you and you put your chocolate cupcake back on the porcelain plate before you turned towards your intruder. It wasn’t hard to recognize the coffee shop’s uniform in the man’s outfit, but that just made you confused. You knew for a fact that making videos at places that were open for the public wasn’t against the law until there were no concrete signs that asked you not to take pictures or record videos. Had you missed a sign like that?

You were about to apologise and ask for special permission if that was the case, when the man shot you a small smile and bowed his head respectfully.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just wondering whether we could take a picture together? I’m a big fan of your blog and I just… had to give it a try,’ the barista was rambling and while it wasn’t the first time someone recognized you, it never ceased to amaze you how some people turned so shy in your presence when they were clearly brave enough to walk up to you. You could have never done the same when it came to your idols, but it was true that you weren’t in the same league as Taemin and Junho from 2PM.

‘It’s okay. We can take a photo,’ you agreed easily, never one to say no for such easy requests despite your sarcastic personality. Stealing a glance at the counter behind the man’s back, you actually appreciated that he had waited until the lines had gotten shorter.

You decided to stand up so that the barista - Seokmin as his nametag suggested - didn’t have to bend his back too much and took a couple of different pictures with his own phone until there was at least one in which you looked presentable. Not that you asked him to delete the rest. It didn’t matter to you, really, but your society was fixated on beauty standards and you wanted him to be able to share this experience on social media in case he wanted to. For that, he needed a good photo.

‘But you being my fan won’t affect my review. I’m not this easy to charm,’ you stated with a pinch of playfulness in your voice, facial expression stoic. You obviously meant every word, but Felix liked to tease you about how unintentionally rude you could come off whenever you were overly honest, so you tried to lighten your tone lately when breaking down the obvious. You weren’t sure it was working. A part of you felt it made you sound ridiculous, but well… practice made perfect.

‘Of course! You really shouldn’t be,’ the barista agreed with a wide smile and you wondered how some people made acting friendly look so easy. Not that you were a bad friend material. If anyone, your best friend could vouch for you that you were caring and understanding under the surface. But smiling at someone you had never met before so brightly? You could have never. ‘And I’m not worried about your review. Mingyu’s cupcakes are seriously the best,’ he said before the female barista called his name from behind the counter and he bowed his head again, grateful for the pictures you had taken.

You kept your gaze on Seokmin as he jogged up to his coworker and helped the girl with the coffee machine. You watched as he joked around with her effortlessly while a part of his focus was always on the task at hand and shook your head before you could have gone into a detailed analysis on how ineffective it made his work. It would have been a useless train of thought and you had come here to work anyway.

So you sat back on your chair and took the chocolate cupcake, you had been meaning to try, in your hands. It smelled delicious, a little citrusy, which was an achievement in itself taking the intensity of the dark cocoa powder you assumed they must have used when making it. The tiny card behind the display had suggested that it had an additional, orange flavour, but you had already tried a dozen of chocolate cupcakes in your life. Finding the balance between their rich, characteristic aroma and other, milder flavours was harder than it seemed.

One bite from the dessert was enough to acknowledge it was good; whoever had made the recipe was talented. However, the execution was almost amateur, and you didn’t understand why this made you disappointed when it shouldn’t have mattered. Coffee Carat was nowhere near the first coffee shop on your long list that failed to back up the hype. Still, you had more faith in Felix and his love for quality cupcakes and brownies.

Having been taught to never leave your food on your plate just because it didn’t reach your expectations, you finished your cupcakes in peace while you answered a couple of asks and comments on your social media accounts. Then, you left with a polite smile and the thought that you needed to take your best friend to a better coffee shop on your next friendly date on the weekend. Maybe you could have bought something sweet and creamy for his girlfriend, too, so that neither of them lowered their bar.

Food was self-love. Especially with desserts, no one should have made compromises.

You were used to the amount of notes, mentions, asks and messages you usually received on the day you posted a new review. You had learned it in the hard way not to be too hang up on the hate comments in your comments section for the sake of your mental health - people were more brutal in the Youtube community, a significant downside of expanding your brand and advertising your blog on another platform - and while it would have been a lie to say you had a foolproof method to scroll through the hate, now you were able to stop reading those lines when it became clear they had been written with malintention. You could focus on the good: the fun remarks, the constructive observations and the appreciation you received.

You tried out low quality places, so your followers didn’t have to and discovered rare gems, so that they could visit them knowing their food and drinks were worth the money.

Receiving demanding texts wasn’t a new thing, either. It was almost ridiculous how many people wanted you to change your opinion about a restaurant or café either for the worse or the better just to justify their preferences. You never wasted your time on these requests; that would have gone against your principles. And still, a week later, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you found yourself in a situation when you couldn’t ignore the reappearing name in your spams anymore: Kim Mingyu. 

Every damn message you got that week was about Kim Mingyu.

Thus, when you saw that a new Tumblr blog with the default profile picture of a triangle sent you a private message, you opened it and typed out an answer.

milkgyuandcookies: “please, you have to come back to the coffee shop again!” milkgyuandcookies: “i’m telling you we have the best cupcakes” milkgyuandcookies: “it’s all a misunderstanding! i’m begging you 🥺🥺” you: “i wrote my review about the cupcakes i purchased at your coffee shop, so i can’t see any misunderstandings or mistakes here” you: “i rarely visit the same place twice, let alone in such a short period of time” you: “i’m sorry, but you had your chance” milkgyuandcookies: “then make an exception, please!! you can’t just write a review like this about my cupcakes when those weren’t even my cupcakes 😭😭 have some mercy” you: “you sold those cupcakes, i wrote a review about them. next time don’t sell them if you’re not satisfied with how they turned out” milkgyuandcookies: “aren’t you listening? those aren’t my cupcakes!!” you: “well that’s not my problem. i’m not going back” milkgyuandcookies: “just this once, please!🙏🙏i’m on my knees” you: “i’m blocking you” milkgyuandcookies: “no!!” milkgyuandcookies: “wait!! 😭😭” milkgyuandcookies: “come back!! 🥺🥺”

You clicked on the three dots next to his username and blocked him like you promised before he could have kept going on about how you should have given their coffee shop a chance to redeem themselves despite your definite no. Whether those cupcakes had been baked by him personally or not shouldn’t have mattered. They had given their name to those sweets when they had let their customers buy them, so it wasn’t your fault that you had chosen a cupcake that tasted average. You didn’t see why you should have revisited their place because of a few pleading emojis and a half-assed excuse.

You weren’t heartless - it just wasn’t easy to coax sympathy out of you with pleading emojis. They had taken a poorly calculated risk and lost when you had picked a dessert that had not reached the promised quality. End of the story.

You spent the next two hours blocking every blog that messaged you about Kim Mingyu and another half an hour phrasing a curt answer to a polite ask that claimed Coffee Carat deserved more stars. Then, you disconnected your phone from your wifi and spent the rest of the day in your bed, binge-watching the Chinese drama you had found last week. Wang Yibo’s gamer character might have driven you up the wall when he started to neglect his girlfriend because of his mentally unstable ex, but the reappearing cliffhangers did their job wonderfully, taking your mind off your followers’ obsession with Kim Mingyu.

His cupcakes or not, what you had tasted didn’t deserve your praises and you stood by your opinion.

The original plan had been to celebrate Felix’s promotion at his favourite high-end restaurant, but that place was full until the end of August, so you had ended up making a reservation for his birthday instead and invited him over, promising the blondie an inexhaustible supply of doenjang jjigae and permission to choose the movie you would watch. It was the second best thing you could give him, you were both aware of it, because your tastes in movies were pretty different and most of the time he was powerless against your arguments. You prayed he wouldn’t make you regret each one of your life decisions - such as letting him sit next to you at the American diner you had first met or befriending him - and make you watch something that left you with no other choice but to sleep with the lights on. You still couldn’t get over your unreasonable fear of rollercoasters because of your Final Destination marathon and that had been ages ago.

‘Hm, it smells delicious,’ your best friend’s voice came from the front door along with those struggling noises that coaxed a genuine chuckle out of you without witnessing his battle with his shoes. His habit to tie his laces so tightly it became impossible to get rid of his sneakers without his hands was beyond you, especially because his hands were almost always full. 

‘Better! It tastes delicious,’ you shouted back and turned off the stove with a snicker the same moment Felix finally emerged from the hall and walked past you to put his plastic bag on the counter and wash his hands by the kitchen sink.

As you two had previously agreed, he had taken a small detour to bring something sweet for dessert because while this jjigae recipe was your pride, you couldn’t bake to save your life and after numerous disheartening attempts in the past, you would have rather not given it another try at such a short notice.

‘What did you bring? Shortcakes? Pancakes?’ You asked while you stepped to your cabinet and took out half a dozen tiny bowls for your side dishes. The yellow radish in the lowest compartment in your fridge had been fermented by you a couple of weeks ago, but the napa cabbage and cucumber kimchis were new additions to your poor collection that you had purchased in the morning at the best organic food market downtown.

Although you couldn’t resist stealing a few bites here and there while you were distributing the side dishes, you did manage to leave the volcano steamed eggs untouched, which in itself was an achievement. Therefore, you let out a proud hum when you scanned the dining table, looking for important details you might have forgotten about.

‘Cupcakes,’ Felix said as he also opened your cabinet and fished out two inox rice bowls with their lids for the rice you had left in the rice cooker. Oh! How could you have forgotten about the rice? It was almost as important as your main dish.

You raised a brow without much elegance and watched as your best friend made himself at home in your humble flat.

‘They better be good,’ you threatened, although your voice was more playful than anything. It might have been over a month that you had set foot in Coffee Carat, but your friendly banters about those damned cupcakes and what delicious meant for the both of you had been a constant in your life ever since.

The pseudo-outraged scoff that left Felix’s mouth was the only retort you got, so you counted it as a win and didn’t drag out the topic. Instead, you put the jjigae in the middle of the table and let your friend dive in first although you were older than him. You were celebrating him, after all. And you had never been too keen on following conservative sentiments, anyway, like showing unconditional respect towards your elders and relatives. Your relationship with your parents had pretty much predetermined your thoughts on such matters. Thus, ever since you could have remembered, you appreciated one’s effort more than their age. Obviously, it had caused you headaches during your studies, but without a strict supervisor or a boss, it was almost too easy to live by your own rules. Even if it meant, some people called you rude and a disgraceful brat.

While eating, you listened to the blond boy’s endless chatter about the company dinner at which they had celebrated his promotion with his coworkers: how the other candidate, a loud guy named Yuksun who came from old money, had gotten wasted because he couldn’t have handled the decision. There were tears in your eyes from all that laughing when Felix’s story reached the climax, Yuksun’s futile attempts to drink Felix under the table being a comedy at its finest with the guy calling up his mom to take him home.

Since all you could have bragged about in exchange was the speed at which you had finished the tteokbokki you had ordered on Monday and the series you had almost finished the same day, you asked your friend about his girlfriend, because for 1) you genuinely liked how sweet she was and you had the habit of living your non-existent love life through their relationship and 2) you preferred the role of the attentive listener while eating.

‘She said it’s a surprise, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have a picnic,’ Felix said with a little laugh before he went into more details about Yewon’s lovely idea for their own, private celebration next week as she had needed to go home to Busan due to a family emergency you didn’t plan to pry about. It clearly wasn’t your business.

As always when you spent time with your best friend, your laugh was a bit more honest, your personality a bit more dorky and you couldn’t stay pissed at him for longer than two minutes when he chose a movie you would have never even considered watching without him being around. You were hiding behind the blondie’s shoulder, drumming with your legs out of fear and frustration while you reached for one of the cupcakes he had on a metal tray atop of his lap. You had sworn you wouldn’t have tried them until the movie had a calmer vibe, but you were already halfway through it and it showed no signs of less psychological torture.

Since your eyes were half-closed and the only source of light in the living room was your TV, you didn’t bother with checking which flavour you put your hand on. Instead, you peeled off the cupcake liner with one swift movement and took a huge bite from it as though Felix had ever restored your faith in his taste. 

Cinnamon and orange mixed perfectly atop of your tongue and the fluffy texture of the dough melted in your mouth. You needed to take another bite and one more to make sure your taste buds weren’t messing with you. The dessert your friend had brought was just this good.

‘Heol! These are heaven!’ You moaned a bit breathless when you tried a different flavour and it tasted just as good: the white chocolate and the raspberry complementing each other instead of fighting for dominance. You found yourself hoping Felix had brought dark chocolate ones, too, while you were simultaneously wondering which additional flavour would have balanced out the bitter aftertaste. Mango? Banana?

‘I know, right? Like I said, my favourite place,’ he bragged with a cheeky smile as he picked a random flavour and shoved the cupcake into your mouth. It tasted like salted caramel and reminded you of summer vacations when you had finally had enough money and freedom to visit the countryside on your own.

‘Oh, yeah? Where did you get these from?’ You asked between two bites. You narrowed your eyes and hovered over the tray, so that you could make a better judgement on the flavours of the remaining cupcakes. They all smelled delicious and two of them had that unmistakable, chocolatey aroma to them that made your mouth water.

‘Coffee Carat, obviously,’ Felix said and you snapped your head in his direction so abruptly, you headbutted his chin on accident, eliciting a groan from him with your carelessness.

In any other situation, the apology would have already rolled off your lips, but the revelation closed up your throat and made your tongue feel heavy. Confusion and disbelief knitted your brows together as you took another tentative bite from the cupcake in your hand. Obviously, it tasted nothing like the ones you had tried back in the coffee shop and suddenly the private messages you had gotten after you had posted your review flooded your mind.

Your fingertips dug into the soft texture of your dessert and the dough stuck under your nails, clinging into you like the memories of Mingyu’s whining that it hadn’t been his cupcakes you had tasted, that he wanted another chance to redeem his worth.

You didn’t notice how hard your teeth were tearing into your chapped lower lip until the damage was done and you could taste your own, coppery blood in your mouth. Fuck. Why were you feeling sorry for how you had replied to him when it didn’t change a thing. They had sold those cupcakes to you. And they were nothing special.

Your concerns must have been visible due to the deep furrows on your forehead and the small pout on your lips because the first thing your messy mind successfully took in was your best friend nudging you with a poorly concealed smile on his face. You straightened your posture and leaned your back against the backrest of your couch.

‘Is that guilt on your face?’

It was. However, you refused to acknowledge it out loud. That would have meant you had made a mistake when you had written your criticism, that blocking Mingyu hadn’t been the right thing to do and a rational part of you knew you did nothing wrong. Sure, lots of places, from high-end restaurants to family businesses, had a star chef or baker they advertised their menus with - especially when these people were not only talented, but handsome as well -, however, it didn’t necessarily mean they prepared all the food on their own. In fact! It was rather rare that one person was behind all the delicious creations. Which meant it was their own responsibility that each and every employee reached the bar.

‘Tsk, why would it be? I wrote about the food they served me,’ you retorted and stuffed the damned chocolate cupcake into your mouth out of spite so that Felix had no chance to taste it. Not that, in the back of your head, you weren’t aware that he must have been a regular at the coffee shop, hence could have tried all of these flavours out already.

To show your friend how determined you were to put an end to this conversation, you steeled yourself and kept your eyes on the screen even during the most disturbing scenes. You didn’t cave in when Felix tried to stare a hole into your temple with what you assumed was his best kicked puppy eyes. You didn’t seek shelter in the crook of his neck even when you felt like you were at your limit. You stayed strong, stubborn as a mule, and finished all the cupcakes on his tray as some sort of childish punishment that he let you have.

Damn. They tasted so much better. You hated the perfect balance of flavours and the fluffy yet filling texture with every fibre in your body - you did so almost as fervently as you loved each bite. You were clearly and unequivocally screwed.

You weren’t stupid. You might not have known every teeny tiny detail of Felix’s motives, but you should have been extremely oblivious to not realise he was trying to make you go back to Coffee Carat with the amount of cupcakes he had been bringing to your friendly dates lately. Even when you had been supposed to go out and grab some coffee at a different place, he had managed to bring you some of the sweet desserts for later and acted like it was perfectly normal to walk into a café and order brownies with another place’s cupcakes in your hand.

Slowly but surely he had been getting on your nerves until the situation had gotten to a point where you had needed to confront him whether he had accepted money from those people in exchange for his help. The accusation had earned an offended scoff from the blondie, but you had had every right to be suspicious, so you had refused to apologise.

Instead, you were thinking of ways he could have made it up to you when fueled by Felix’s persistence that festered into your own, growing guilt, you crossed the threshold of Coffee Carat for a second time, barely three months after your first visit.

While you were waiting for your turn in front of the counter, you gave yourself a pep talk and brainstormed about how you should have recorded your video differently since the interior design barely changed over the months. It more or less took your mind off the unfamiliarity of the situation and the possibility of another disappointment.

‘Hey! You came back!’ The barista who had approached you last time said, his smile so big and bright that it made you believe he still liked you and your articles despite your opinion about his workplace. His attitude made you grateful; you made a mental note to mention his professionalism in your follow-up criticism. ‘Are you here to try out our seasonal specials? They’re made with peaches.’

You stole a quick glance at the displays: all those cold drinks and sweets that were made with peaches, but still shook your head.

‘No, actually I’m here to—’

‘You!’ Someone exclaimed and you turned your head in the direction from where you heard the voice on instinct just how Seokmin did.

The man whose index finger was pointing at you was almost too tall to stand on the threshold comfortably, but somehow he managed even with his chin held high and his spine unnaturally straight. The flickering flames in his chocolate brown eyes dressed your arms in goosebumps, but you stood your ground and resisted the urge to look behind your back and check whether he was talking to someone else.

‘Me?’ You asked, breaking the momentary silence, eyebrows furrowed more because of your confusion than his intimidating aura.

‘Yes, you!’ The man claimed and let his hand fall back by his side before he took a few loose steps towards you and grabbed your wrist so naturally like he had every right to touch you even though the two of you had never met before.

Later, when your nosy best friend would ask you where did your survival instincts go when a random guy dragged you to the closest empty table without your consent, you would put all the blame on how freaking ridiculous this whole situation was. You wouldn’t admit that his grip was actually gentle or that he smelled like raspberry and chocolate, one of your all time favourite combinations. The latter two were obviously irrelevant.

‘Wait here!’ He commanded leaving you no choice but to comply because of how quick he was to turn his back on you as soon as he pulled the chair out for you and pushed you down on the hard, wooden furniture. You had never been so lost for words in your entire life.

As the shock started to slowly wear off, you contemplated whether you should have stood up and finished your order at the counter, but considering that Seokmin had done nothing to save you from this man and they were wearing the same uniform, you assumed it was for the best if you did as he asked you. Worst case scenario, you could still ask for the manager or make a complaint directly to the owner. Nothing too extreme that would have gotten him fired, but something that would have made him think twice before he did anything like this to another customer in the future.

You were a strong believer that manners should have been of the utmost importance in every establishment in the catering industry.

It was the sharp sound of a metal tray colliding with the top of your table that pulled you back to the present, the delicious smell of freshly baked cupcakes only registering in you a couple of seconds later. In front of you, there were at least a dozen of different flavours from peach and white chocolate through bananas and cinnamon to raspberry and mint. The amount of saliva that gathered in your mouth at the heavenly sight wasn’t even funny.

Caution being thrown out the window, you acted on autopilot when you reached out for one with melted chocolate chips on top and took a huge bite from it. Good gracious! It tasted just as good as everything else Felix had brought for your friendly dates.

‘Here! It’s on the house,’ a familiar voice said and you shifted your gaze from the iced white mocha to the person who had placed it in front of you, worry clear and evident in his words. ‘Please, forgive him for acting so disrespectfully.’

Seokmin looked like he was about to throw up (or throw fists, you really weren’t sure) when his eyes accidentally met yours and he bent his back so quickly and deeply, you were afraid he would hit his forehead into his knees because of the momentum. 

‘I’m not acting disrespectfully. She’s the one who blocked me for no reason,’ the giant said, proving your assumptions right. He was an employee at the shop: the baker who was praised by many and defended by even more because of his delicious creations. As childish as he acted, you had to admit that a part of you could understand why he was so upset about your article. It mocked his worth and hurt his ego although you still stood by your opinion. It was on them that they had sold those average quality desserts.

‘Dude, shut up,’ Seokmin hissed, the action so raw and human that you had to swallow back an amused chuckle. Their friendly bickering in the customer area, right in front of a customer no less, was highly unprofessional, but somehow you couldn’t mind their actions. You should have done so, you always did, but their duo was more entertaining than anything else, so you let them be for a couple of more seconds before you cleared your throat.

‘It’s okay. I appreciate your kindness, but I would rather pay for this,’ you said with a small tilt of your head. You lifted your mug a bit higher, then pointed your index finger at the tray on the table. ‘And the cupcakes as well.’

‘You don’t…’ Seokmin started, but you dismissed his worries with a firm set of mocha-tinted lips and a pair of eyes that accepted no further objection.

‘I insist,’ you added before you took another sip, satisfied with the silence that followed your statement. You watched as the barista’s gaze met his coworker’s for a brief moment before he nodded in a tentative manner, reassuring you that in case you finished, you wouldn’t have to wait in line to pay until it was him behind the counter, and turned his back on you two.

Knowing well that you wouldn’t have jumped the queue even if you hadn’t had the entire day for yourself, you stared at his back while leaving for a tad bit longer than it was necessary, then turned back to the giant with a raised eyebrow. 

‘So?’ He asked as soon as he had all your attention and you took another bite from the dessert for good measure, as though you hadn’t been addicted to his cupcakes since the day Felix and you had celebrated your best friend’s promotion.

‘They’re one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever tried,’ you admitted, blunt and raw in the way you formed your opinion, which earned a goofy smile from the baker. His sharp canines and naturally rosy lips did something to your head; you almost bit back the rest of your words just to protect his smile, but the realisation what you had been about to do horrified you enough to sober you up and push you forwards. ‘But you have to understand that I still can’t give this place a ten even though it might deserve a correction,’ you claimed, turning back ahead, so that you faced the table, at the first sight of an ugly twitch in the corner of his mouth.

Considering what you had already seen from his personality, you had a vague idea what to expect and with his darkening facial expression and pitched voice, the man did not prove you wrong.

‘What? But you’ve just said it yourself that—’

You lifted your empty hand next to your head to make Mingyu shut up before he could have started a tantrum. You had already known he felt wronged, you didn’t need the reminder.

‘Your cupcakes are exceptional, but this place clearly has employees whose aren’t,’ you said, not letting your arm fall back on your lap until you were at least eighty percent sure that he understood your reasoning.

Mingyu’s pouty lips and sad eyes made him look like a giant puppy who had been kicked out from home and your heart clenched when you saw him shift his weight from one foot to the other while he was struggling with his thoughts. The furrows on his forehead made it clear that he desperately wanted to come up with a good comeback that could have potentially changed your mind, but to his misfortune, there was no such thing. You spoke straight facts no one could argue with.

‘I didn’t even want a baker’s assistant, it’s all Rina noona’s fault,’ he mumbled, his complaint quiet enough to make you question whether these words had been meant to be spoken in the first place.

In the end, you didn’t ask for a more detailed explanation nor did you make comments on how he should have trained his assistant better instead of putting the blame on a third party. You simply took another cupcake in your hand and opted for letting him know with your dismissive body language that your decision was final.

Luckily, the afternoon rush was about to start and the more people walked into the coffee shop, the less baked goods stayed behind the displays. Therefore, the man had to go back to the kitchen and leave you alone with your cupcakes despite the desperation in each one of his movements that made it painfully obvious that he didn’t want to give up yet.

Without his overbearing gaze suffocating you, you could finish your food in a good mood and record a few videos for your channel as well before you walked up to the line in front of the counter and paid once it was your turn.

It might have gone against your principles to visit a place so soon just because your criticism made them upset, but these cupcakes… they were worth bending your ways for. Even if you refused to redeem their name entirely.

You had never been at Coffee Carat with Felix before. Not because you refused to go back to the coffee shop after your second visit, but because you liked to discover new gems during your friendly dates and the blondie had never complained about it so far.

However, when one of the chefs you had given a bad review decided to mess with your tires and fuck up your car, that was where your best friend took you after his shift to take your mind off your horrible day.

‘No way man! Is she your girlfriend?’ The blond barista asked as soon as his gaze fell on you and Felix and you furrowed your brows in confusion because of two totally different things: 1) since when was your best friend so close with the employees of this place that they used not only informal speech with him, but threw their manners out the window when they talked to him? And 2) how could this guy mistake you for Yewon when your personalities and your preferences in clothes and colours couldn’t have been more different?

A part of you was convinced that the couple was a regular at the shop, hence the only logical explanation you could have come to was that this barista was either a newbie or somehow he never worked when those two walked into Coffee Carat together.

‘Best friend,’ came the correction from your right and the mortified look on the barista’s face made up for his mistake generously. His red cheeks and crimson ears, his dilating eyes tugged on the corners of your lips and coaxed an amused scoff out of you.

‘I’ll have an iced white mocha and a brownie, please,’ you decided to order to spare all three of you from embarrassment and turned towards Felix with the intent to ask him whether he wanted to carry out the whole cheering-you-up agenda and pay for your drink or you should have fished your wallet out of your bag. 

‘No cupcakes?’ The boy asked before you could have spoken and you pressed your lips into a firm line, not pondering over the question for longer than three seconds. Felix was right. You had had a terrible encounter with a maniac earlier that day. You deserved the extra dessert.

Humming in contemplation, you eyed the cupcakes behind the display and pointed at the pile that was placed behind the plastic card I Feel Peachy written on it.

‘And two of those,’ you asked, feeling a bit better already at the sight of the generous amount of chocolate chips sprinkled atop of the cupcakes. You hoped they were made by Mingyu and not the giant baker’s assistant as you were rather sceptical that he had trained his subordinate to perfection in the past few weeks.

‘That’s my girl,’ Felix cheered and asked for a matcha latte and a brownie, swiping his card like he was a billionaire.

Only later, when you were sitting in the customer area, teasing your best friend because of his sugar daddy vibe, did you get to know that so close to the closing time every baked good was sold for a lower price. It surprised you, pleasantly so, and you couldn’t have helped but think that it was very nice of the owner to prioritise not having too much leftover instead of money. After all, those pastries they failed to sell by the time they closed the shop couldn’t have been sold the following morning. They had to be thrown out according to the local regulations.

You were thinking of buying some more cakes to support the shop and their attempt to reduce food waste when someone pushed the front door open with such force, the wood crashed into the wall with an alarming thud. Your best friend and you - along with the other six customers in the coffee shop - snapped your head in the intruder’s direction, shocked by the petite girl’s dishevelled hair and tense body language. She looked like she had come here to commit murder and you had never been more relieved in your life that it hadn’t been you who had rubbed another person the wrong way.

‘Do you kno—’

‘Where is he?’ She demanded, pointing at the blond barista accusatively as though he had already refused to answer her question when in reality he just seemed too speechless to form a coherent sentence. You felt bad for him, but you weren’t sure you had any right to confront this girl - not to mention that you had enough drama in your life with a vengeful chef who had promised to make you regret ruining his career. Considering that he hadn’t been fired after giving you food poisoning, you were convinced that he was stretching it.

You lowkey wondered whether this girl was acting like a drama queen as well or her attitude was justified. Not that you supported screaming in public under any circumstances.

‘Excuse me, miss! Who are you looking for?’ The blond barista asked as soon as he collected himself and you leaned your elbow on the table so that you could have rested your chin atop of your palm. Although his reaction time was definitely on the slower side of the scale, you were genuinely impressed by his manners; you were sure you would have failed miserably if you had been the one who had to handle a cyclone like this girl.

‘That good-for-nothing Kim Mingyu, who else?’ She spat, not giving a damn about the man who walked into the coffee shop after her or the old woman who tried to make an order, but failed to gain the barista’s attention because of her tantrum.

You watched as a handsome guy with round, nerdy glasses rushed out of the staff only area with an anxious-looking girl behind his back and wondered when she had disappeared behind the curtains to find the manager because you admittedly hadn’t paid too much attention to her presence. You had been too engrossed in your own world and the wide variety of desserts you could have chosen from.

In your defence, you were sure most customers didn’t care about the staff of these kinds of places, only that one employee who was serving them.

‘I’m not leaving until he grows some balls and speaks to me!’ The girl claimed angrily when the guy said something to her in a voice too quiet to be audible from where you were sitting. You lifted your drink in front of your lips and took a small sip, just as shocked as Felix was when the girl pushed the manager aside and hit the counter with her palms. Your bewildered gaze met your best friend’s eyes for a sheer second before you both turned back towards the ongoing drama. ‘I know you’re in there,’ she pointed at the door close to the counter. ‘Come out you self-centred bastard or else I’ll drag you out myself.’

While everyone was waiting for the baker to make an appearance - you saw two teenage boys recording the happenings with their phones -, you recalled your first encounter with the giant, puppy-like boy and wondered what he could have potentially done to piss this tiny girl off so badly. Considering that he had completely disregarded your personal space last time, you had a couple of ideas, but for some reason none of those sounded too believable, not even in your head. Sure, he was headstrong and whiny, but would he have hurt her on purpose?

You shook your head. It didn’t matter what you thought. You didn’t know him.

Still, you sucked in your breath when the baker walked out the door with a piece of cloth on his shoulder. He looked like a mess: there was flour on his apron and shirt, his hair stuck out in numerous directions and he also had some dirt on his chin although you couldn’t have told what exactly. Maybe some chocolate cream or cinnamon syrup.

‘I’m here. Can you please stop making a scene?’ Mingyu asked in a surprisingly icy tone that complemented his rigid posture perfectly. His arms were linked in front of his chest in a way that highlighted his muscles and you had to take another sip from your mocha to cool down before your imagination could have run wild. So what if he had looked like someone who hit up the gym frequently? Trouble was clearly written all over his face with capital letters.

‘Why? Does this feel humiliating to you? Am I humiliating you?’ The girl asked with a scoff, tilting her head to the right to mock him with her body language, too. You knew the type: she was petty and ready to give back tenfold whatever Mingyu had done to her. ‘Then you finally know how I felt when I was waiting for you for hours in that restaurant where even breathing in the wrong way is a crime,’ she raised her voice even more, enlightening everyone on what had hurt her so much and getting different reactions from those who were witnessing their (pretty much one-sided) fight. Looking around in the customer area, you saw your best friend shaking his head in disappointment and a boy having enough of the drama and turning back to his laptop. One girl pointed at Mingyu while whispering to the person next to her. You just drank some more. You had been to those kinds of restaurants dozens of times. You had no doubt the experience had been humiliating. Especially if it had been her first time at a place like that where even the waitresses wore tailored uniforms. ‘They had to send me away so that people who actually went there to order more than a glass of wine could eat,’ the girl spat, her frustration slurring her words a little at the end of her monologue.

You felt sorry for her even though you thought she was overreacting.

‘I’m sorry, but I’ve already told grams I’m not interested in going on random blind dates she and her friends set up for me,’ Mingyu said, not taking his eyes off the girl he had stood up intentionally or unintentionally. He claimed it was their grandmothers who had organised the date, but he had never said he hadn’t known when and where he should have shown up. Did he have the girl’s number saved? Did he know her name?

‘Not interested?’ She scoff-laughed. ‘You think you’re so amazing because you’re tall? Your skin looks like you were sweating on a farm your whole life, pathetic, really. I wouldn’t want a second date with your sorry ass even if you begged,’ she said with her index finger pointed at the baker. She acted more pathetic than a minute before if that had been possible.

Objectively speaking, everyone must have been aware that Mingyu’s beautiful, tanned skin didn’t fit your country’s ridiculous beauty standards, but this was the core problem with how a lot of people in South Korea looked at beauty. It should have been a subjective matter, not a long list with endless items everyone tried to tick off.

You genuinely believed that the boy’s natural, sun-kissed skin looked a lot healthier than the pale complexion many people desired to have and tried to achieve with make-up.

‘Excuse me, miss,’ the manager raised his voice while taking a step to the left to protect the baker from the girl as though there hadn’t been a big enough distance between the two. ‘We don’t tolerate degrading comments like this in our coffee shop. I need to ask you to leave or else I’ll call the police,’ he gave the petite girl a fair warning, something you weren’t sure she deserved, but knew it was necessary.

‘The police? On what grounds?’ She asked back, shifting a part of her attention to the person who was talking to her without really looking at the young man. Instead, she put her other hand on her hip, too, shaking her head.

‘You’re disturbing the peace, harassing the employees and as of now, you’re banned from the shop, which means you’re trespassing,’ the manager listed, making you furrow your brows in question. You might have done a detailed research on media law when you had started to gain fame on the internet just to avoid some unwanted, nasty consequences, but you had obviously never studied law. You had no idea whether she really committed trespassing if she refused to leave, but the manager sounded confident enough for you to consider it as a valid option. The question was whether she believed him as well or was willing to take a chance.

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

You sucked in a breath and leaned a little closer to the commotion subconsciously. This girl was clearly furious, most probably because she had felt humiliated in that restaurant, but was it really worth being called the cops on?

‘Seungkwan, call the police, please. Tell them that—’

‘Screw you! All of you,’ she screamed into the manager’s face, pointing at the blond barista, Mingyu and everyone who were watching the drama. Then, she pushed the manager’s broad shoulder with her hand, fueled with frustration, and turned her back on everyone, so that she could speed-walk to the double door.

The straw between your teeth was so damaged, you could barely use it anymore when your gaze loitered over the employees a tad bit longer than it should have and your eyes met the baker’s chocolate orbs. You turned your head away so quickly like he burnt, shame creeping under your skin and tinting your ears and neck crimson in fist-sized patches. There was no way he didn’t know now that you had been paying attention to the drama, which meant he must have thought you were nosy.

You let out a pained groan.

‘People are getting crazier and crazier these days,’ Felix commented and you needed to make extra effort to not concentrate on your iced mocha in a way that could have been considered suspicious when you let out an affirmative hum.

Despite having your own car and preferring it over the crowded metros and buses you should have taken to get around in the city, you knew how public transportation worked. You even had your own T-money card somewhere in your wallet, so you really didn’t understand why your best friend acted like he owed you a ride home when he told you that he had plans with two of the baristas after closing time. Clearly, you had had a terrible day and your car had been caught in the crossfire, but you were also an adult. You could get your ass on the metro when you needed to.

‘I can take her home,’ you heard a familiar voice say and you both snapped your head in the baker’s direction on instinct, slim fingers tightening around the paper cup of iced coffee you had gotten along with the cupcakes you had purchased for the morning.

As if he had no shame, Mingyu shot a lopsided smile in your direction and made no attempt to hide that he had been eavesdropping. His elbow was still resting atop of the counter while his chin was casually on the back of his hand.

‘Would you really? Thanks, mate! You’re a lifesaver,’ your best friend exclaimed, completely disregarding the displeased glares you were giving him. He knew damn well that you didn’t like owing people, let alone someone you weren’t close with. If anything, the fact that the two of you had known each other for years and you still had problems receiving help from him when you were sick should have been a telltale sign.

You cleared your throat to express that you also had your own two cents to throw into the conversation that should have involved you in the first place.

‘Thank you, but I can take the metro. It’s no big deal, really, Felix’s just acting like I’m still five and snotty,’ you declined the baker’s offer with a patient smile, keeping your cool with grace in your every movement: in the way you held your chin high, how you lifted your paper cup in front of your lips. You took a small sip from your drink as elegantly yet unbothered as you could, mentally ready to leave the coffee shop for another month or two.

A boy and a girl left the building in the background, the unmistakable sound of a heavy door slipping into its frame encouraging you to bid your goodbye, too.

However, you were too slow.

‘She lives in Hongdae,’ your best friend said so casually, it made you wonder whether he was oblivious of the dangers of such a statement in public or he would have trusted this guy with his life and was messing with you on purpose.

‘Yongbok!’ You hissed, but he just laughed it off with a gentle wave of his hand as if you had been pseudo-sulking and he had better things to discuss than dealing with you. You bit into your cheeks and swallowed down a curse, making a mental note to tell on him to Yewon, because you knew for a fact that she would have taken your side without a second thought. She was a young girl who had moved to the capital city because of her studies. She knew the differences between the countryside and Seoul at night and in general. 

‘Then it’s not even a detour,’ Mingyu said and you rolled your eyes, because he couldn’t have known for sure just from the district. It was a big area, considering the traffic, it could have meant an hour-long detour, too, for all you cared. 

Honestly, you didn’t understand why he had offered you a ride in the first place. It wasn’t that the two of you were friends. You might have written a correction about his cupcakes, but his blog was still blocked on your Tumblr.

When his gaze landed on you, you let out a sigh.

‘It’s already dark outside. Let me take you home,’ Mingyu asked after he finally spared you a glance and it took everything in you to not squeeze the living daylight out of your coffee. You didn’t want to inconvenience the baristas who would need to clean up the mess, especially because both Seungkwan and Junhui had been fun when they had prepared your orders.

‘What makes you think I’m comfortable with you knowing where I live?’ You asked back, tongue sharp and merciless. Obviously, you would have liked to believe that your best friend wouldn’t have pushed you into a shady person’s arms just to be able to hang out with his other friends right after closing time, but the baker was technically still a stranger, so you had every right to put up your defences even if some considered it rude. It was your life, your sense of safety.

The silence that fell upon your trio didn’t resemble anything poetic. It didn’t feel like a warm blanket that shielded you from the cold; it wasn’t ugly and sticky and uncomfortable. Instead, it existed without picking on your skin or filtering out the background noise.

You gulped when memories from an hour prior popped up in your mind. You saw the petite girl storming into the coffee shop, screaming at Mingyu and calling him a farmer like it was an insult. You saw the baker’s unbothered facial expression slowly morphing into something sad and you could feel your resolve breaking as your brain identified the sight with a kicked puppy. You swore, the boy’s chocolate orbs were shining in the artificial light, tricking your heart into thinking he was about to cry.

‘Fine,’ you groaned in defeat. ‘Do you need me to wait here or…’

Mingyu’s smile was blinding.

‘Give me five more minutes and we can go,’ he promised and you acknowledged his words with a silent nod before you took a seat by a random, empty table.

You liked to believe that you were an independent, mature adult, but after the bravado he had pulled, it wasn’t below you to give your best friend the silent treatment. Thus, you paid him no mind while you were waiting and bid him goodbye only because it would have been rude if you hadn’t. You didn’t hate him. You simply wanted him to think twice before he had even thought of doing something similar to this in the future without your permission.

A part of you was hoping that the ride to your apartment complex would be spent in silence, maybe, listening to the radio or a playlist you would have never put on on your own, but of course you couldn’t have been so lucky. You couldn’t have reached the first red light, Mingyu was already rambling about his grandmother and her obsession with his love life as he was her only single grandchildren.

‘Look, it’s really not my business. I’m sorry I was eavesdropping when that girl came in, but in my defence, it was hard not to,’ you decided to put an end to both of your suffering, since it wasn’t an easy topic - family had never been one, not to you at least. If he insisted that you should have gotten to know each other while you were in his car, you would have much preferred starting with lighter subjects like what had made him become a baker or how he had come up with those recipes he was so proud of. Food… that you could have talked about for hours.

‘I know, I’m just saying tha—’

‘I can’t bake to save my life,’ you blurted out the first thing you could think of before he could have given you another lengthy explanation he didn’t owe you at all. Whether Mingyu had stood that girl up intentionally or he had underestimated the length his grandmother was willing to go to like he had said, it didn’t matter to you. At the end of the day, even if you had become acquaintances, you weren’t interested in him romantically, were you?

‘What?’ He snapped his head in your direction, making you point towards the road ahead in fear.

‘Eyes on the road!’ You demanded and you didn’t let your hand fall back on your lap until he did as you said. Once the shock of the moment passed, you needed to take a few deeper breaths to calm your heart, while the baker on your left let out an embarrassed, little laugh like he didn’t actually know what to do with himself.

You were grateful that he didn’t let go of the steering wheel with one of his hands to scratch his nape awkwardly like most people usually did in similar situations. Not the letting go of the steering wheel part, but the unconscious scratching.

‘Would you like me to teach you? How to bake,’ Mingyu specified, his question rolling off his lips with a little uncertainty, like he was fearing your reaction, which was ridiculous. You didn’t have a significant place in each other’s life, you were nobody to him but a girl who had dared to criticise his workplace and knew a guy his coworkers were close with.

You raised an eyebrow. Where was the infamous confidence that urged him to drag you to an empty table without a fair warning and feed you with his best desserts just to prove a point?

‘If I remember correctly, you didn’t want your own baker’s assistant. What makes you think you’re not an insufferable teacher?’ You asked, not out of spite, just to trigger a reaction that showed which one was the real him. Was his confidence all an act, something he perfected over the years because of his relatively handsome face? Did his personality change so much around particular people? Was it harder for him to believe in himself because of the article you had written about Coffee Carat or because he didn’t know what to expect from you?

Mingyu’s laugh was deep and it reverberated around the interior of the car, tugging on your edges and smoothing them effortlessly.

‘That’s a fair point. We might have to give it a try to figure it out,’ he teased as he took a turn to the right then stopped at the end of a painfully long line in front of the closest red lights. The traffic was as heavy as you had predicted. ‘But really, my offer still stands,’ he made sure you were aware and you acknowledged it with a curt nod.

It wasn’t that you totally hated the idea, you just weren’t sure you wanted to accept his offer and spend time together with him in an informal environment. Not because you thought he was bound to catch feelings for you; you knew more frequently than not people simply didn’t feel that spark regardless of one’s looks. Instead, you had doubts you could manage one more person in your private life. You might have been your own boss, you might have been able to spare time for friends almost whenever you wanted, but keeping in touch with more than two or three people at the same time was draining even for your generally extroverted ass. You didn’t like retelling a story multiple times, sometimes you were demotivated to answer texts immediately. One more person meant one more relationship to put effort into.

Unless he gave up on you as soon as he saw what a disaster you were in the kitchen when it came to desserts.

‘Can I turn on the radio?’ You asked after a couple of heartbeats, sneaking a glance at the boy by your side, trying to decipher how he felt about your question and your dismissive attitude. Was he disappointed? Did he feel stupid for bringing it up?

‘Sure,’ he agreed kindly, letting you pick a channel and telling you in way too much detail how you could have connected your phone to the audio system if you couldn’t find anything up to your liking.

During the rest of the ride, you didn’t speak much. You chose the first channel that played a pop song you were distantly familiar with and opted for staring out the window, watching the colourful neon lights blending into the yellow beams of the street lamps.

Still, when it was time to say goodbye, it wasn’t unpleasant or unnerving. On the contrary, there was a visible smile in the corner of your mouth when you closed the passenger door and lifted your hand for a polite wave.

You unblocked Mingyu’s blog on Tumblr two weeks later, in early August, when your best friend was unavailable because of an unannounced family visit - an early birthday surprise from Australia because his parents couldn’t take any days off at the same time in September - and you had too much food to eat on your own. The two of you had planned to have another movie night, so you had ordered plenty of mandus, kimbap balls and tteokbokki, while Felix had been supposed to bring dessert, which is why the giant baker came to your mind in the first place.

you: “is your offer still standing?”

You sent the message with quite low expectations. After all, it had been months since you had last spoken on this platform and you couldn’t have been sure whether he had remembered it existed. Based on the default profile picture he had and the lack of reblogs other than a couple of cooking memes from a month ago, you honestly doubted he checked on it regularly.

And he really didn’t. But at least the food didn’t taste horrible after you reheated it the next day in the microwave.

Your bi-weekly baking sessions with Mingyu had started with a bunch of double-texts:

milkgyuandcookies: “are you free tonight?” milkgyuandcookies: “i’ll be there in an hour just need to take a quick detour” milkgyuandcookies: “with which flavour should we start?” milkgyuandcookies: “seokmin said felix said you like chocolate so i bought chocolate chips and tons of cocoa powder” you: “are you really coming? like… are you really on your way here?” you: “what if i’m busy? or if i’m not even at home?” milkgyuandcookies: “are you?” milkgyuandcookies: “that’s a bit awkward then cuz i’m already here” milkgyuandcookies: “so you’re really not home?” you: “…” you: “give me five minutes”

Mingyu as a teacher was more patient with you than you had expected him to be based on his displeased comment on his baker’s assistant and a lot more zealous than he should have been considering your repeated mistakes with the baking soda that made even you, a complete newbie, feel tired and snappy on the fourth week, let alone a professional. Shouldn’t have he gotten tired of you after the second time you failed to measure the powder accurately? If your pride could have taken the blow, you would have given up on baking a long time ago.

‘I still think it’s the size of your kitchen,’ Mingyu claimed after he crouched down and took the tray out of your oven. Watching him move around in your small space, you remembered the disbelief on his face when he had first come over: how he couldn’t have believed there were kitchens out there where the oven and the fridge weren’t built into the complete set of kitchen furniture, preferably at his chest’s height as though being so tall was common in your country.

‘Yeah, sure,’ you shook your head in amusement, loving the chocolatey smell of the cupcakes you had baked, the third and most promising attempt that night.

You reached for the cream you had prepared for decoration, skipping on the fondant because last time you had given it a try, it took hours to make them look good and you started to get tired of standing. As usual, Mingyu had come over after his morning shift around four and it was already nearing eight. Thankfully, you had had a dinner break an hour ago.

‘No, but listen! With more space, you could feel less crowded and more relaxed,’ he argued, coaxing an airy scoff out of you when he hit your hand lightly to remind you to be patient. The cupcakes were still hot, you shouldn’t have touched them with bare hands.

‘Just admit you want to show off your kitchen and shut up,’ you groaned pseudo-annoyed with a hint of a smile hiding in the corner of your lips. You were genuinely waiting for the comment, anticipating it even, and if you wanted to be honest, you had heard so much about his kitchen equipment by now, you were actually considering asking Mingyu to facetime you from home just to show you around. However, your curiosity needed to stop there for both of your sake. ‘I won’t go over to your place just to destroy your kitchen, too. I don’t earn that well,’ you complained and watched him as he placed the warm cupcakes on two separate porcelain plates.

When Mingyu’s hand came to a halt in midmotion, you slid your gaze from the dessert to his face. He looked at you sceptically like he was about to call you out on your bullshit and you shrugged in response. Okay, maybe you earned that well, but it wasn’t what mattered.

‘What if I want you to come over, so I could cook for you? We could call it a date,’ he asked and it was your turn to raise a brow. By now, you knew that his confident and insecure selves came hand in hand, but it was the first time he didn’t beat around the bush by flirting with you shamelessly.

On most occasions, Mingyu brushed aside his own advances with a carefree chuckle before you could have taken him seriously. This time, however, he kept his warm eyes on your face, waiting.

You looked away and cleared your throat.

‘Aren’t there like a dozen of granddaughters in your hometown who are waiting for your grandma to set them up with you?’ You asked, because you could and because deep down you were a little desperate to avoid answering his question with the level of seriousness he most probably wanted you to. The teasing chuckle that stuck in your throat tasted bitter, like a nasty knot that went bad the moment you decided to not let it out.

You took a transparent bag filled with lilac coloured cream in your hand and pulled one of the porcelain plates closer to yourself.

‘You know I hate those blind dates,’ he claimed firmly and you hummed because you knew. Mingyu had the habit of giving you detailed explanations about things that were absolutely not your business. How could you have not known at this point? ‘I only go on dates with girls I genuinely want to get to know. I really don’t understand what’s so bad about this! So what if I don’t date that much, it’s not like I’ll die alone,’ he groaned, the pain in his tone so real, you could feel it in your own chest. You were being unfair and you did feel bad. However, taking him seriously would have meant you had to give him an honest answer and you weren’t sure you were ready for the consequences.

It was easier when it was all about harmless flirting.

Sneaking a glance at the boy on your left, you recognised his frustration in the way the deep furrow between his brows became even more bottomless and you swallowed your guilt when the thought that he looked adorable with his darted out tongue crossed your mind.

‘I don’t think it’s bad,’ you stated, late enough to call it an afterthought, but not too late to make things awkward with your commentary. Or so you hoped.

‘But you don’t think it’s maintainable,’ Mingyu retorted, finishing the rose petals on his first cupcake with ease while the cream was still hanging clumsily in your hand. You took a deep breath and got to work.

‘I’m only saying you have a lot of options,’ you explained and while your words came out less neutral than you would have preferred, you kept your focus on your dessert to make up for the pinch of annoyance in your voice. You shouldn’t have cared how many girls he could have gotten with a flick of his fingers, so you told yourself you didn’t.

‘So? There are hundreds of restaurants that want you to write about them. Still, I don’t see you eating out every single night,’ he argued, forcing your brain to see the logic behind his metaphor.

You nodded in acknowledgement as you got started on your next cupcake, not finding the perfect retort for a couple of minutes, but thankfully, Mingyu didn’t rush you. Instead, he put a second colour in his plastic bag atop of the first pastel cream and created the most beautiful lilac-marigold roses you had ever seen.

If you wanted to be honest, you would have admitted you were scared. Not of Mingyu, even though he had some questionable habits you were still trying to adjust to and accept - but who didn’t have those -, but of a romantic relationship with another person: the quality time you had to spend with a significant other, the responsibilities you needed to share. How long could you two have been together before everyone around you started to talk about marriage and babies? How long could you have been with Mingyu before he started to yearn for all the conservative steps a relationship entailed?

What if you had fallen in love with him one day, but not the idea of raising his children? You liked your freedom and the simplicity of taking care of only yourself although life in general could be difficult.

You went over the pros and cons in your head repeatedly, until there were no more cupcakes in front of you without a poor attempt of a rose on top of them and reached for a chopstick as soon as you made up your mind. Sure, Mingyu might have been childish and whiney and a lot of immature adjectives in your dictionary. He wasn’t familiar with personal space when it was convenient to him and his ego could take only one or two blows when it came to his profession.

However, he gave you space and time when he realised you needed it and made you laugh with his dorky behaviour more frequently than not. He was patient and optimistic. He baked the most delicious desserts you had ever tasted and hated those disgusting movies Felix used to drive you out of the world under the disguise of your friendly dates.

Your hand was shaking slightly when you scraped the sugary cream off your last cupcake with intent behind each one of your swipes. Then, with your breath caught in your throat, you slid the finished baked good in front of Mingyu.

To keep your mind busy and the mood nonchalant, you didn’t turn towards the boy to ogle at his reaction. You simply walked up to the sink and washed your hands, so that they would be clean when you placed each one of your cupcakes on a tray that fit into your fridge.

You became aware of Mingyu’s presence right behind you sooner than you felt the light touch of his dirty arms around your shoulders. You shuddered from the unexpected weight he put on you. Or was your body reacting to the warmth of his breath against your ear?

‘I’ll never eat it. Never,’ he claimed and you rolled your eyes (affectionately).

‘Sure, I worked so hard to bake and decorate these, so that you wouldn’t eat them,’ you said, then turned off the tap water without pulling away or making any attempt at putting more distance between the two of you.

For a split second, you hesitated whether you should have turned around in his arms to make him let you go with your sharp gaze, but soon you came to the conclusion that doing so would have been too risky in the current situation. The ugly, clumsily craved “yes” on the top of your cupcake might have given him enough confidence to realise he also had some power over you. It wasn’t just the other way around.

In the end, you stepped aside, but he still followed you like a giant puppy, his chin resting on your shoulder. Your movements felt uncoordinated as though your body was suddenly three sizes bigger, but you managed to reach the kitchen counter and the confession you had left on it.

Grabbing the lukewarm dessert, you lifted it to your lips, but before you could have taken a huge bite from it, Mingyu linked his long fingers around your wrist and pulled it in front of his own mouth. The crumbs that accidentally fell into your shirt tickled your skin in places that were lowkey unpleasant, but instead of scolding him, you turned your head and dived into the sweets from a different angle.

‘Delicious,’ the baker moaned, exaggerating, earning another eye roll from you and you two finished the cupcake in the middle of your small kitchen until the back hugging position got too painful to maintain due to your height difference.

That night, while you were cleaning the kitchen, you promised Mingyu that you would show him the coolest restaurants in the city and that he could have called all of your dinners dates if he wanted. In exchange, he promised to bake you every cake from his grams’ famous recipe book, which you, too, were allowed to call a date.

You doubted it fitted the definition, but you didn’t draw his attention to his mistake. You were too content to care about semantics when you (thought you) knew exactly what he meant and couldn’t wait to experience it all.

➼ next reason