San gently held your head still against his neck while he readjusted his legs. You were half asleep when you curled yourself into his lap not even half way through the movie, which ended 20 minutes ago. The other members quietly exchanged 'good-night's before heading off to their bedrooms, leaving San alone with your sleeping form and the television remote to keep him company.
"So this how it's going to be? Still falling asleep on me? I haven't seen you since we were 16 and you still can't stay awake?" He whispered as he looked down to check the blanket that covered you both and smiled. You always used to fall asleep when you'd hang out together when you were younger. San never really understood why but he thought you'd have grown out of it after your lives parted ways in high school.
He smiled to himself as he put an old show on television.
Tomorrow, he thought to himself. Tomorrow I'm finally going to ask Y/n out.
Okay, there are several on this list of WIPs that I'd love to know about... a couple that either sound punny or straight up kooky, but if I only get one. I'd love to hear what you've got to say about ATEEZFairyTaleRetellings :D
From the WIP File Title Ask Game
I rarely get asks and have been pleasantly surprised how much fun it is to have the chance to talk about works in progress so feel free to come back for more anytime! This is helping me keep drafting stage works in mind.
So, when I finished Hongjoongstiltskin my mind immediately turned to how the other members came into his family of children with the reader. I love fairy tales and oral reenactments of them was one of my things as a kindergarten teacher so that kind of story comes very easily to me. It has actually been stranger making a more dialogue-heavy fairy tale than working K-pop idols into the story.
I have not picked a fairy tale for each of the ATEEZ guys yet but family loving Yunho is earmarked for 'The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack' and our brave Jongho is getting ‘The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear.’ So, there are seven tales to come and continuing below the cut is the opening to Jongho's without even getting into the fairy tale retelling portion.
~
Once upon a time there was a family living in a cottage in the woods who had many sons. It was your family, and you were a devoted mother alongside your husband Hongjoong. Seonghwa, the eldest child, was only two and a half years old when Jongho came into your family bringing the number of children in your household to seven with Seonghwa being senior by just shy of a year over Yunho. Despite his tender age, Seonghwa took to the final member instantly and loved sitting on the immaculate floor holding the newborn in his lap under your close supervision or the equally watchful eye of your spouse.
One of the perks of having a partner with some magic were the enchantments your cottage held. There was the ever-filled cauldron in the hearth with a nice variety of substantial stews and porridges for each meal beside the stove bearing piping hot bread at all times. An additional luxury was the ability of every speck of dirt, dust, or crumb marching itself straight out the door upon touching the wooden floor. It made your chosen and pleasurable work of mothering your family of seven young children far easier than others had it.
As your boys matured, you even discovered the creaking of the house at night was indicative of growth spurts leaving the once small dwelling that was snug but perfect for the young couple you had began as transformed. Over time, a bedroom popped into existence as each infant outgrew the need to sleep in the crib at the foot of the bed you shared with Hongjoong.
While your partner’s full name was Hongjoongstiltskin, he preferred the shortened form you had coined for the man you dearly loved. Whatever magic he possessed soon became tied to the baby as well and Jongho quickly developed the same trait of color changing hair just as all his brothers had upon joining the household.
Seonghwa looked down at Jongho swaddled in his lap and touched his sparse but growing bangs. Today it was red, yesterday was black, and a warm brown the day before. For whatever reason Jongho had not yet shown the same wide range of shades his siblings had and you wondered if was personal taste. Not that someone barely a month or two old had opinions on these things, or was even in control of the magic that transformed his hair completely over each twenty-four hour period but there was something different about the latest son to enter your life.
Babies fascinated Seonghwa. He had been so young when the others came into the household, just out of infancy himself for Yunho’s arrival, and had mostly peered into their bassinets with watchful eyes or brought teething toys to their crib. While other people called this age the terrible twos, you recognized it was the beginning of a period of developing a mind of his own. It was not always convenient compared to how easy it had been to just lug him around when younger but luckily his interests generally coincided with yours keeping the household of so many young children and a newborn running smoothly.
Fiercely protective of his charge, Jongho became Seonghwa’s baby in a way the others had not. The younger siblings toddled about your cottage in the safely partitioned areas away from the fireplace or outside in the sunshine within the fenced yard separating your home from the forest. Perhaps it was the way the eldest and youngest had entered the family as babes left on the doorstep that bonded the two in a way the others had not. Their outlier birth years just before and right after that of the other five sons may have also contributed to their closeness.
While Seonghwa had come into your care through a woman originally thought to be his mother, Jongho had arrived accompanied only by a note requesting his inclusion into your happy family. Despite the wording hinting at the writer not wanting children, that was not fully the truth. In a revelation shared by a visiting fairy who owed Hongjoong a favor, it was later learned that Jongho had been rehomed by his parents upon birth for being a runt.
Over the years, Jongho appeared to grow in step with his older siblings but his increasing strength attested to an unusual heritage. He was in fact a giant. Just as everyone else came in a range of heights such as your beloved Hongjoong being on the smaller end of things, Jongho was stocky and little, tiny in fact for a giant but the strength that came from his unusual parentage was undiminished. The other trait which became apparent as he ages was an unerring sense of bravery. While his brothers, particularly the antics of Wooyoung and San might crack his sense of composure by getting him to laugh, he was otherwise unflappable. Jongho was afraid of nothing.
As he approached his twentieth year Jongho decided it was time for him to make his way in the world.
~
Whenever I feel moved, I will do some fun rereading from the stack of colored fairy books or rewatching Faerie Tale Theatre episodes I grew up with to finish this opening chapter with Jongho’s adventure then knock out the others. For Yunho’s tale I will return to my favorite Anthony Minghella version from Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. My copy is pictured below with tea and cookies. I truly enjoy the research portion!
This is my application to be a professional Noona.
I have significant lived experience that I believe qualifies me for this position:
-I have been an older sibling for most of my life and am still on excellent terms with them.
- I have several nephews and nieces and am the preferred babysitter.
- I have years of experience working in long term healthcare.
- I am known to be the 'mom friend' in social situations.
My skills include:
-Finding the appropriate 'nag-to-coddle' ratio to encourage people to perform at their best.
-Getting people up and out the door on time.
-I'm a good listener.
-I try to be gentle with my advice but I won't lie to people.
-I'm great with sick people.
-Former red-cross certified lifeguard.
-I'm stronger than I look (and I have no problem dressing femme and body checking sasaengs, if needed.)
-I make excellent drunk food and will go out of my way to learn foods people like.
-It takes a lot to affect me in terms of rumors and gossip.
-Native English speaker and studying Korean so I can be of use with English skills.
-I can bring an outsider's perspective. (I do my best to be mindful of social issues (from a US-based perspective) and might catch unintentional cultural insensitivities before they reach the public.)
-I already care about your idols and trainees so you've already got my loyalty.
I'm easy to find on all the socials and KakaoTalk.
This is a little teaser for an Ateez AU that I’ve been thinking about since the Seoul concerts in February 2020…
Pairing: None… pretty sure
A/N: I still need a name for this story. So far it’s going by “Not Guardian Angels” but idk. ALSO so far, it’s really just an AU where one or two shots might take place with no overarching story- I just like the idea.
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You pressed your fingers to the hourglass tattooed on your wrist and it tingled as you concentrated on the memory of your friends' faces.
"An inter-dimensional text message, that's all it is..." Hongjoong had explained, "you won't bother us."
You hoped he meant it as you continued concentrating on your friend, closing your eyes to help you focus.
You only waited for a minute before you heard someone taking a breath then knocking on something. "I didn't want to just barge in... but you did call..."
Jongho looked every bit the sweetheart that he is, even dressed entirely in black.
"You don't have to knock, but that's really thoughtful of you.”
You want another ask, you got it... because "MilkOfHumanKindness" ???? I am intrigued!
From the WIP File Title Ask Game:
That one has 3000ish words already, another one with more there than I remembered. It is quite the outlier for me as a more explicit story so if I ever did feel like posting it would only go at AO3 as a rare departure from what I enjoy being known for and to preserve my somewhat shaky absence of adult content in my own posts here.
While it is an easy setup to get a poly fic if that was where I wanted to go, despite the deliberate attempt at some elements of smut it is still really a "how two clueless people got together" story at heart. But definitely adult in portions yet to be fully written so this one is a long time away from public sharing, if ever.
It would be a lot of breast touching more than anything else, and lighter references to intercourse but still is very unfamiliar territory for me as a writer. The fleshed out story would take a beta reader or two I trust to tell me if something is absolute rubbish that only made sense inside my head. I write for myself, but share thinking others might get something out of it too. So far I have met that threshold in my estimation and want to keep that up.
A peek at part of the setup, after the reader’s sister who is married to Seonghwa made a request for help breastfeeding giving the fanfic-flimsy rationale for the story. NSFW, but mature things are discussed rather than happening so marginally sharable here.
~
“I know not all of you are into women, but this would be completely clinical. Does anyone want to participate?” Busty as you were, you had never been more conscious of so many eyes on your chest.
Being well-read as well as cynical, Yeosang was the first to speak. “Call me skeptical, but this has all the hallmarks of a fanfic plot. You can't seriously be asking friends to massage your breast tissue for the sake of your sister and her child to be born.”
“Don't be mean,” San chided, then turned to you. “I think you are doing a noble thing to offer to nurse when she can not.” Glancing to his partner who nodded, San added, “Mingi and I would be happy to help. We can work together and be more efficient.”
Yunho laughed. “You two look far more interested than people assisting from the goodness of their hearts.”
“We have very giving natures,” Mingi angelically replied while San's smirk gave away the game.
Hongjoong wanted reassurance the request was completely platonic. “I could do it only if you were not enjoying it.”
Quick to respond, you let your friends know you absolutely were not looking to use them for your pleasure. “As far as I know I don't get any sensations from my breasts so it will not be arousing for me, nor anyone helping I should hope. This will all be very impersonal.”
“It is an intriguing offer but we will have to think on it,” Wooyoung counseled while shoving you out the door. Once you were gone he turned to the others and reflected, “There is one person missing from this conversation. What about Jongho? Nobody else would be needed if she has him.” All eyes turned to hear why he made that assessment. Loving the spotlight, Wooyoung reminded the group he had been Jongho's roommate for one semester in college. Dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, he asked the men, “You know that night I brought those porn DVDs to Seonghwa's room?”
The men recalled the bawdy titles all focused on a particular interest. “Oh my god, I remember,” Yeosang laughed. “One was, 'Squeezing Melons At The Farmer's Market' and also 'The Accommodating Milkmaid'. Those were so weird. Hot though,” he added as an afterthought.
Scratching his head, Yunho admitted, “I don't remember those, were they so bad I blocked them out?”
“No, you had your appendix out that week,” Hongjoong reminded. “You were on bed rest at the hospital and it is a good thing we did not come to your room with the movies on a portable DVD player to cheer you up.”
Growing impatient, Mingi asked, “So, what does this have to do with Jongho?”
“They were his movies,” Wooyoung triumphantly declared as if that explained everything.
Yunho was as confused as the rest of them. “Jongho has a farming fetish? Women in overalls and boots? No shame on the people who are into that, but not my thing, and I can't see the relevance.”
Dissolving into laughter, Wooyoung informed him that the adult movies he had found hidden in horror movie DVD cases on Jongho's side of the room were devoted to large breasts and lactation porn. “When I brought the discs over I thought we would be getting screams from a slasher movie and we got ladies making noises of a completely different sort instead.”
“I get it now,” San declared. “You think Jongho would jump at the opportunity to handle breasts. Strange how she did not include him in the request though. Maybe it was intentional. They don't seem to interact as much so she might not be as comfortable including him in such an intimate proposition.”
“I also know something else you do not know,” Wooyoung continued. “He had a crush on her back then and I think he still does. How could he resist an opportunity like this?”
“But her feelings toward him need to be respected,” Mingi advised. “Jongho was not included tonight for a reason, I am sure.”
“I think I have an answer to that,” San shared. “From watching her around Jongho, she does a convincing job of looking everywhere but him. And the times she does see him I have noticed she blushes.”
Hongjoong was quick to catch on. “So, perhaps we should play matchmaker and literally leave the job in Jongho's capable hands.”
“No, no, you don't have to. I want to help too,” Mingi complained.
Smirking, Yeosang called him out. “You would not be doing it for altruistic reasons.”
“But neither would Jongho!” Mingi crossed his arms and looked petulant.
“You have San, Mingi. She doesn't have a partner,” said Yunho. “Let's give them this opportunity to figure things out.”
Hongjoong was voted most likely to deliver the news with a straight face and he arranged to meet you at the building's coffeehouse the next day. Over your steaming cup of cinnamon cocoa he used vague language befitting your public presence to consider making the same request of Jongho that you did of the rest of the guys. “Maybe write to him, he may be more receptive when he can think the offer over out of your presence. I really encourage you to give him a try.”
Your first thought was that there was no way you could ever bring yourself to do such an embarrassing thing. Why you did not hesitate to ask the others was something your mind refused to examine. However, to even contemplate asking Jongho made your stomach twist.
"post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips."
I was tagged for this challenge by @absentcaryatid and honestly, this is pretty cool, so here we go. Ask me about any of them and I’ll tell you something. I have a little bit of everything in here from the fully fleshed out ones that sit unpublished for one reason or another to the ones that are literally just a vague prompt. (side note: my files are pretty disorganized and I used this opportunity to migrate some of my oldest WIPs over to my laptop from google notes... so now at least they all have names. And you can ask about any number of them. I'd hate for you to pick one and I'd only be able to go "yup... there's three sentences here and no context. sorry" )
Yeosang – dance space owner
Stage Demon
Silent Screams
Protest bf reaction
Officer Park
New Message – Yeosang
Mingi- Korean Interpreter
Lights Out – Yeosang
Canadian Resort Vacation
Not Angels - Uneasy Sleep
Not Angels – Not Guardian Angels AU
Not Angels – Anger Management (correct one)
Healthcare AU, sister visit
Healthcare AU, no red wine
Healthcare AU, Mingi’s resident
Healthcare AU, Olivia Benson
Healthcare AU, Sweet or Salty
Healthcare AU, Yeosang After Liz is aware and polyamory resumes
Yeosang’s a hard worker
Noona in another timezone
Little Cabin in the Woods
Incubus of Cuddles
Yunho drabble
10/23/19- The Escape
9/28/19 – come with us and see for yourself
Untitled assistant meet cute
Now, as for tags... I don't even know whose on here from my list and frankly, my tumblr is experiencing some technical difficulties so if you can see this post and you feel up to it, I tag YOU!
Pairing: reader x Seonghwa (Ateez), gender neutral reader
Genre: Fluff, super mild angst
Word count: 1403
Summary: You wake up after a party to find yourself exactly where you wanted to be with too much of a hangover to remember how you got there.
Warnings: Drinking, drinking to excess, ALWAYS BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND BE SMART IF YOU’RE GOING TO DRINK… see the Author’s Note
Author’s Note: Ok, kids. Here’s a bit of a note... second note at the bottom of the story.
I fully admit I don’t know much of anything about “Fashion” but I love looking at it- it’s like moving art when it comes out right. Ateez, in my opinion, must have good personal styles and good stylists because so often I look at them and it’s just … pretty. (An excellent tumblr to follow would be Ateez Style Search if you’re interested in their clothes too. The blogger is really good at finding specific pieces and has fun commentary in the tags occasionally. I HIGHLY recommend them.) The Crush On You shirts are pretty iconic Seonghwa and I just wanted to see if I could write a piece with this shirt in mind… already overthinking about a few other pieces of their wardrobe, if I’m being honest, but we’ll see where this goes first.
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A sliver of light sneaks between the blackout curtains and falls across your face, waking you in a bedroom you're not familiar with. The sleeping man in the same bed with you only stirs slightly as you try to shift to get away from the light that seems to be burning a strip across your face.
Or maybe that's the hangover.
Oh shit. You have a hangover.
There was a party last night. Some of the details started coming back a little fuzzy at first, like Wooyoung playing bartender all night with a mischievous grin and San challenging everyone to a dance battle that quickly turned into San Vs. Yunho with Yeosang offering sports commentary and shade in equal measure.
You shift again and become very aware of the position you find yourself in.
Somewhere in your brain, alarm bells begin to sound. You’ve never admitted to anyone the enormous crush you have on Park Seonghwa, let alone been able to do anything about it. His status as Idol all but ensured you’d never be able to date and bringing it up only seemed like a surefire way to make your career at KQ difficult so you made absolutely sure to be nothing but a friend to the man.
Yet somehow here you are- snuggled into his chest and pressed against his body as it were the most normal thing in the world. His arm around you tightens slightly as a contented sigh leaves his sleepy face.
Though hungover and shaky on the details, your brain starts kicking into overdrive. Do you try to get out of bed since you’re awake? Do you wake Seonghwa? Do you leave the dorms, hoping to not get caught? Do you stay since surely everyone already knows?
“Mmmmmmmm. Good morning, Y/n,” he whispered suddenly.
“OH, Seonghw-“
“Shhhhhhh, I think they’re still sleeping up there.”
You stilled and heard two distinct breathing patterns in the bed above you. “Sorry. I just…”
“Y/n.”
“Yes?”
“Five more minutes.”
“Wh-“ you started and began to try to shift to get off the bed and give him more space.
“Please?” He kept his arm gentle but firm around you.
You considered this for a half moment. Even placing your own feelings aside, he did ask nicely. You relaxed against him again, secretly relishing the contact and intimacy of the moment and cursing yourself for forgetting exactly how you got here.
“Mmmmm, thank you.” He closed his eyes again.
“Wait.”
He peeked an eye open and looked down at you.
“The Sun,” you whispered, covering your face where it was brightest.
“Oh.” He smiled as he moved toward the window and shut the curtain fully.
<><><><><><><><><>
Some time later you woke again, Seonghwa was still lying under you, his hand had moved to attempt to cover your ear.
A very clearly enunciated though nearly silent “GET. OUT. Still Asleep!”
“Okay, okay… I mean ‘You’re welcome,’” the voice giggled as they walked away and shut the door.
Seonghwa uncovered your ear and started to relax.
“Seonghwa?” You lifted your head from his chest.
He tensed again and looked down at your face with a mix of nerves and happiness playing on his face. “Hello, uh… good morning, Y/n.”
You pulled back from him, far enough to be off him but the pounding in your head warned you not to try to sit up too fast. “Good morning… uh, what happened last night? We didn’t…”
“No, no, no… see?” He pulled back the blanket to reveal himself fully clothed in the same clothes he wore last night.
“Oh, okay… Seonghwa I’m so sorry,” your words began tumbling out in a rush and you pushed yourself up into a sitting position. “I don’t know how this happened, I didn’t think I had too many! I never-“
“Y/n, it’s fine. It’s fine,” he sat up too, “I don’t think it’s entirely your fault.”
“Oh, good.” A little relief came to you and was gone just as fast. “Wait, what?”
“Y/n, I’m so sorry. I never would have imagined Woo to act like this. I made all the guys swear they wouldn’t say anything.”
“Seonghwa, what are you talking about?”
Seonghwa shifted, “So… last night, Wooyoung VOLUNTEERED to mix all the drinks…”
“Right, he said he was working on that skill for his cooking license.”
“That’s not the real reason. He wanted to get me drunk so I would ‘loosen up’ but his little plan backfired when I switched to water pretty early in the night so he switched targets… Y/n, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know any of this until after you were already covered in beer-”
“Beer?”
“Uh, yeah. Soojin tripped and spilled her entire beer… mostly on your back.”
“My…” You shifted to look at yourself but noticed something else entirely. “Seonghwa. How exactly did I end up in your shirt?”
“You did it yourself, I promise. The beer was all over your shirt and in your hair and you wanted to take a shower…so I brought you a shirt of mine. I hope that’s ok.”
“That’s fi- Seonghwa, this is one of your favorites. Are you sure I can wear this?”
He smiled a little, a slight pink flush grew on his ears and cheeks. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
God, he looks cute like this.
“So, uh…” You looked down again and adjusted his shirt around you. I can’t believe I’m wearing his shirt. “So how did I get…” you motioned to the bed space between you that was probably still warm.
“Here?” He offered.
You nodded, curious and a little nervous about the answer.
Seonghwa combed his fingers through his hair and started slowly. “So, I waited outside the bathroom for you. I think the alcohol hit you in the shower because you were alright walking to the bathroom, but it sounded like you crashed around a bit in there trying to get dressed and…” He pointedly looked away from your face, the flush growing in his cheeks. “and I sort of caught you falling out of the bathroom…”
You covered your face with your hands in embarrassment.
“… Wooyoung saw the whole thing. Helped me keep you upright but you were falling asleep…”
“Oh god, Wooyoung helped you get me to bed, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he said apologetically. “You wouldn’t let go of my arm so I stayed… You know you’re very snuggly when you’re-“
“Completely drunk? Yeah, I know.” You whined from behind your hands. “This is so embarrassing.”
“You shouldn’t feel too embarrassed. Wooyoung basically poured liquor into you all night, you didn’t plan for any of this to happen.”
“I’m sure everyone knows by now… I’m going to have to quit KQ.”
“Please don’t. No one saw you after the shower except Wooyoung and myself and I’ll deal with Wooyoung later. He won’t say anything to anyone other than maaaybe the other members, but he wouldn’t expose you... not after spending the evening trying to get the two of us together.”
You immediately dropped your hands from your face and stared at him in shock. “He… he what?”
“I told him it was a bad idea.” He started panicking, “We’re friends, and I can’t date publicly, and employees aren’t supposed to date inside the company anyway, and you don’t-“
“Seonghwa.” It was barely a whisper, but he immediately stopped talking; looking into your face as if he only just remembered that you were there, listening to him spin out of control. “I-“
Wooyoung suddenly burst through the door and screeched at top volume. “HE WANTS TO ASK YOU OUT, Y/N!” You sat motionless next to Seonghwa, stunned by the sudden intrusion. “HE LIKES YOU BUT HE’S TOO MUCH OF AN IDIOT TO FIGURE OUT YOU LIKE HIM TOO AND IT’S BEEN AGES AND HE’S ABOUT TO SCREW IT UP SO PLEASE, Y/N JUST SAY YOU’LL GO OUT WITH HIM!”
“I… I, uh,” you start but are interrupted again, this time by Hongjoong.
“Wooyoung, do you have to scream this early in the-“ He steps into the room far enough to see you and Seonghwa sitting in bed. “OH… well, it’s about time… uh, nice shirt, Y/n!” He says with a wink before grabbing Wooyoung and dragging him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
The room was suddenly quiet once again.
“Y/n, before anyone else needs to come in, would you like to go to dinner sometime?”
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Another author’s note:
I wasn’t sure if I should post this one due to content. I try to be mindful of the message I put out when I write and I try to be respectful of the people who have inspired my stories. I think I danced the line here but I want to point out a few things. Y/n is drinking with trusted friends who would (and do) take care of them and as the author, I can tell you that no one would have forced Y/n to keep drinking if they wanted to stop- Y/n had the free agency to stop if they wanted. I know this sounds preachy, but seriously everyone, take care of yourselves out there.
