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#anyway human brains are so fascinating but also I really wish I was better at explaining myself analysis of people I feel like I’m good
ko-eko-ev-go-ms · 3 months
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It continues to trip me up how much human brains are just weird organic computers
#thoughts#oni talks#oni vents#additionally wild that the easiest ways for me to explain brain stuff are generally in computer or video game terms despite the fact I’m#notoriously awful with computers (and to a lesser extent video games) although I won’t if my natural inclination would be different if I#didn’t have trauma related to computers/if maybe it’s the classic adhd interest based learning difference? unknown tbh#I still really wanna go to school to study people but academics is fucked as hell so making that work will be a personal hell for me#but also I have so many theories and data I can’t do anything super tangible with coz I’m not in an academic setting so even if i wanted to#talk about stuff and work on it no one would take me seriously w/o that academic background no matter how much effort I’d put in learning it#on my own for my entire life at this point it won’t matter if it’s not on some level acknowledged by an academic system I despise tbh#it’s one of those things that makes me miss my dad coz we used to commiserate together about these sorts of things tho he made it work far#better than I have been able to. i wish i could ask him science questions again.#anyway human brains are so fascinating but also I really wish I was better at explaining myself analysis of people I feel like I’m good#enough at this point to be like partway understood coz I’ve done so much practice on my own coz I tend to rehearse explanations ahead of tim#but its still often misunderstood or misconstrued & it’s understandable a lot of the time coz like most other people aren’t spending a ton#of their free time thinking about and researching how people work/analyzing those around them+themselves vs me whose been doing since like#I dont remember the exact time but I do remember being really young & making the conscious decision to study & analyze my family for example#so that I could be helpful & translate their words to each other better + ppl often don’t see things about themselves that others do#also forever thinking about the human brain/experience in relation to the sims & video game commands lmao#currently trying to explain save states in the human brain to ppl but no one knows wtf I’m talking about#& researching academic terms that are close to what I want doesn’t necessarily work if there’s no academic term for what I’m talking about#hence wanting to do the research myself coz sometimes it feels like there’s all this stuff that’s obvious to me but no one else?? from what#I’ve seen in recent studies they are only starting to scratch the surface of stuff I’ve already known sometimes? other stuff is older & it’s#VERY gratifying when it’s stuff I’ve known but not been listened to about & it actually gets the proper recognition#though getting ppl to actually listen/take what I say seriously is its own journey & I have to be careful myself bc I’m human so my own#understanding/data is constantly updating + I have storage issues so finding the data I have in my brain is its own struggle sometimes#every version of me is interested in people & I think that’s neat even if other people don’t understand that concept#sometimes I feel like an alien/robot whose sole task is just to study & support humanity & it’s very weird tbh
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beeoftheanxieties · 10 months
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So, @da-proti-toku-grem kind of inspired me to make a lengthy post, sharing some positive vibes across the fandom, listing the reasons why I love each member of Joker Out and why I would go full mom-mode on them and cook for them and bake them gluten-free cookies.
Anyway:
A Joker Out, brain-rot, appreciation post
(members listed in alphabetical order)
Bojan
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First up - as someone who had the chance to see them live, he is an insane performer
His ability to enchant the crowd is insane and you can tell really well that he has great acting abilities too
Watched him in Gospod Profesor too, spot on for someone who is a so-called amateur
His singing voice is... amazing to say the least, it feels really unique
Also, the way he talks, the sound of his voice, the words he uses, his pronunciation, if there were awards for talking he would get one
The languages he speaks, I want to study him, linguistically, he is truly a phenomenon
We of course love a bilingual king
He looks like he has his priorities straight
I also respect him so much for how open he is about his mental illness
I might relate to him a bit too much at times whoops
And the fact that he can somehow befriend literally anyone??? Love that
His friendship with Jere is the main one of course
Oh yeah and the fact that he literally helped people who collapsed at their gigs a few times
Bless him, he deserves all the rest he is hopefully getting
Jan
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First things first, I have a soft spot for math guys
And the way he talks about math is fascinating (but you still won't get me to like it Jan)
Cat dad???? We absolutely adore Igor and a man loving cats is such a green flag
I know people say he mumbles a bit and it's hard to understand him at times, but idk, he talks nice and slowly, so it's still really easy to understand him
He comes from my home region, so I am very biased haha
Also, every band needs a guitarist with luscious locks
He absolutely owns the colour red, that colour was invented specifically for him
The nose ring suits him so well too, this man KNOWS what fits him
And if that ends up being jackets with nothing underneath when he performs, THEN SO BE IT
I know people call Kris the lesbian icon, but from what I've seen lesbians are very drawn to Jan as well
Oh, and he gives me Klaus from the Umbrella Academy vibes (I blame the hair and the pink boa)
Jure
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Holy shit, sunshine in human form????
The most underappreciated one in the band imo
His surname literally means 'cat' and I am so normal that Jan has called him 'muca'
He also comes from my region haha, bias again
He's really good at filming, he actually shot a few things for RTV (national TV station) and edited them as well, god, talent
Also playing drums... I have sang, I have played guitar, played bass, but drums is something I feel like I could NEVER do, so hats off to you
As @da-proti-toku-grem pointed out, THE MOLE ON HIS LIP? weak knees, yes
He also reminds me of a good friend of mine and I vibe with him so much, I feel like I would vibe with Jure as well
I really don't like the fact that drummers tend to get ignored and I just wish there was more Jure performing content
Though I love it how every time, during Novi Val, he comes to the front and hangs with the others
His hair also looks so soft and fluffy aaaaaa
Again, biased but he resembles my bf the most out of everyone so hmmmm
Kris
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The baby of the band! (and the only one in the band I could actually call 'mulc')
In case you didn't know yet, he's half Dutch
And he speaks Dutch, which, as someone who speaks Dutch (in theory, not in practice) makes me really happy
I wish to study him linguistically as well
Also his parents' story feels very close to me, as I'm dating outside of my culture as well
According to him he was menace as a kid and I think we should normalise the fact that you can become a better person as you grow up
But pls don't honk at me on the road Kris, pls, I will cry
The songs he wrote??? NGVOT and Vse kar vem??? Oh boy, I love them, adore them
His holey sweaters are also a vibe
Dutch fans, if you don't shower him and the rest of the band with gifts at their Dutch concerts, I will be mad
Also gotta honorably mention Maks
They gotta be my fav nepo-but-not-really babies out there
Kinda like Maya Hawke?
I am ranting
He also looks like the only member of the band that I would fight, and idk why
Also, I must know if he supports Max Verstappen haha
Minus points for chemistry though, I cannot with that
Nace
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Okay everyone
Here we go
We have reached my beloved
I love all of them, but Nace just a bit more
It was love at first sight, I cannot lie
I have a soft spot for bassists and he might actually convince me to try and play bass again
He has been playing it for so long too??? like wow
Oh and of course; THE TATTOOS, BLESSETH BE THE TATTOOS
I will always go feral about his tattoos
At every concert
I know he was the last to join the band but it looks like he fits in so nicely, it's beautiful
Strong mom-codded dad friend vibes
He kinda is the dad of the band haha
And he looks like he gives amazing hugs (lucky all of you who had managed to get one already)
A nice addition to the band
Oh and he's apparently shit at sports which is like... felt
Plus the fact that he wanted to be a vet?
Me too boo, me too, but neither of us is there now
Anway, I'll stop now. In conclusion, this band has my whole heart and they deserve every good thing that happens to them and so much more.
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animentality · 5 months
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Your post about dark urge dying twice is interesting and I agree that denying daddy bhaal at the temple and being resurrected right after is a let down. Anyways, playing a good Durge who never says anything mean/weird feels to me a lot like tav+ which is disappointing, not a lot of durge specific lines there to choose from. Best experience I have had with The Dark Urge is antihero, who chooses bhaal at the temple but does the right thing at the end and destroys the brain and kills themself, you get a nice chat with Withers after game and it feels a way better than what a happened at the temple, while still not being as good as it could be. Let's all hope that Larian fixes act3 eventually <3
See, that's the thing that really annoys me.
The Dark Urge to me is just far more interesting than Tav, who is by design, a blank slate so that you can make them who you want them to be.
And I get that's the fun of DND and BG3.
I just wish they had bothered to give this ORIGIN CHARACTER any of the same amount of depth for the other origins.
Which is not to say that they really have as much depth as they should, Astarion aside, but let's not get into that.
It's just odd to me that the Dark Urge really only has three extra scenes, and everything else is just edgy lines and biting off a toe or an arm here and there.
The pre-amnesia dark urge is FASCINATING to me, but we barely see anything from them.
That's why I was so obsessed with the Prayer of Forgiveness. It's an inkling that there was something to the Dark Urge more than just slaughter, and there's only ONE line in it that does so.
I KNOW I know it's an RPG and it's not trying to tell a story, so much as letting you tell yours.
I just personally find the Dark Urge way more interesting than the Tavs i see out there, and YES, I'm SORRY.
not all of yours OCs are going to be intensely interesting to me.
But the Dark Urge as an origin?
I find them interesting.
I like edgy characters who choose to let their edginess go, and begin the journey of becoming more open and human.
And I simply don't CARE for oh here's someone's hero OC who is a hero, and fucks all these hot people.
You can play the game that way, I don't care. I just personally...wish BG3 had given the Dark Urge specifically more depth.
The Tavs can be boring if they want.
Just, the Dark Urge should not be available as an Origin, if they weren't going to actually give them a well developed and open origin.
You can keep it a secret up until the end, but even when you find out you're bhaalspawn...you're just bhaalspawn.
and nothing else. nothing about your past beside a hasty line or two about it.
plus once you kill orin, it ceases to matter. there is no impact on the story if you choose to be a good dark urge. you are essentially just a tav.
the dark urge also was overhyped for what it was. Everyone is out here saying they're scared to try the dark urge because they might kill their companions - that's a joke.
You have to option to do so ONCE and your entire camp kills you, giving you an immediate game over.
Plus, save scumming.
It's really not that hard.
The Dark Urge really should be a harder option. They should have to wisdom roll for more choices, forced to ACTUALLY grapple with the desire to torture, maim, and kill.
Then your sacrifice would mean even more in the end, because you are tired of hurting people you don't want to hurt.
But alas.
I need to just be happy with what I have, so.
I'm done complaining, I'll go back to talking about burying my face in Gortash's tits again...
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siriannatan · 1 year
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“Hey hey it’s okay. It was just a nightmare. I’ve got you now- your dreams can’t hurt you” - WelsJev
As with the whole series, the prompt was found over on deity-prompts
This one was inspired by THIS comic by @krummskorner
AO3
Dragons and knights. Natural enemies some would say. And then there was Wels. Somewhere in between the two. A kid from nowhere, with no family, who somehow became a knight. And then had to run away when the wings and horns and all the dragon bits appeared out of nowhere. He kept running and running. Confused. Scared. He run and hid from everyone - humans and monsters alike - until he met Jevin. A slime who was so fascinated he would not let him go. 
So Wels stayed. Buried what remained of his armour, dragon scales made it almost completely useless. Getting used to being part dragon was a bit harder than that. At least the neighbouring, less eager-to-talk monsters mostly left them alone after a round of Wels growling at them. Jev called his crowing cute multiple times a day after the first, involuntary round of said growling in an attempt to stop him from sulking. 
He was slowly getting used to his new reality.
But no matter how well Wels seemed to do as a 'monster' he would never let go of that word. His own dumb brain would not let him.
Jevin was not lonely. Not in the slightest but... He was still gland when Wels stumbled upon his home. And even happier when the half-dragon decided to stay. How he buried his armour was a bit weird but what did Jev know about dragons. Nothing aside from what he learned living with Wels. 
Like that he was warm. Very warm and not in an unpleasant way most warm things were. And he was not against Jevin cuddling up to him in his sleep and the slime used it whenever he had the chance. Which wasn't often with how irregularly Wels slept and how he liked to hide. 
Jevin wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking or a real thing but he had a feeling Wels slept a bit better whenever Jevin found his nap spots. no matter the reason he set out to try and always find Wels when he vanished for a nap. Keeping a closer eye on him whenever he showed any signs of being tired. And silently following when he went to one of his spots. Despite Jevin knowing them all he never found new ones.
And he did so today when Wels excused himself with having to clean dirt from between his scales. He was really weird about his scales and always dealt with them himself. Anyway. Jevin, as usually followed him after that excuse as sure enough, Wels went to one of his hidden 'nests'. He looked really angry with himself that one time he called them that.
Wels must have been really tired since he was already asleep when Jevin caught up to him. "Wels?" he asked just to make sure since Wels was shifting and murmuring more than usual. But there was no answer so Jev assumed the half-dragon just had a bad dream. Nothing new so Jevin ignored it for now and carefully joined him and was almost instantly grabbed and pulled into a tight hug. It would probably be uncomfortable if Jevin wasn't a slime. His organs could accommodate a lot of squeezing. Wels being grabby was nothing new. He clearly had some unpleasant dreams.
But Wels suddenly waking up with a shout, pushing away and crawling back with wide eyes was new. Just like shaking and muttering out strings of apologies.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." the half-dragon mumbled.
“Hey hey it’s okay. It was just a nightmare. I’ve got you now- your dreams can’t hurt you,” Jevin said as calmly as he could, fighting the urge to hug his new friend. Spooking him was the last thing he wanted. "It's all okay Wels, dreams can't do anything to you, and if they could I'd punch them for you," maybe joking would make Wels feel better.
"Oh... Jev... I..." The joke did get Wels to stop apologising but the clarity also had him curling up in on himself.
"It's all okay, Wels. It was just a nightmare, a bad dream, everyone gets those... I think," Jevin said as he gently pulled Wels into a hug. "It's all okay, I've..."
"Thank you... for being here and... everything," Wels mumbled and passed out again. Be it from exhaustion or stress of whatever nightmare he had. And while Jevin could just leave them in the little 'tree house' Wels' favourite nest was it wasn't that comfortable so he carried him to their house. They could talk when Wels rested. And if he wanted to talk about it.
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beevean · 8 months
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isaactor hecula isaacula for the bingo? for fun, trevor/grant too
👀
Isaactor:
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The divorsties 🥰
I got in an Isaactor mood again after picking up my old WIP, which is funny because the chapter I'm working on is mostly Hector bashing Isaac like the bitter ex that he is :P but yeah. They have a relationship. Not sure what kind of relationship, but they definitely have one. I wish at least one of the prequels fed me more than the smallest of breadcrumbs.
... I'm just weak for that "we're fundamentally incompatible and we are toxic for each other and we are using each other for our deepest selfish needs and yet we are so close that we're part of each other and I can't imagine my life without you" thing that is rotating in my head. Then you add the divorce, and you have a beautiful mess <3
Hecula:
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"It's not my OTP," I say, as I squee fangirl-style everytime I see someone fall in hell with me, or even better draw fanart/talk about it. I may be in denial :P
Anyway, yadda yadda, it's abusive, it's gross, it's Problematic™, it hits those very nice tropes that make my brain rot faster than fruit in summer (age gap, abuse of power imbalance, mentor/protégé, manipulation...), IMO it enriches Hector's character arc of finding freedom and agency in the human world, I am utterly fascinated by how Dracula's feelings for Hector are described in Japanese, it's Lenector done right.
(I was about to tick "it would never work in canon but", just to get that bingo, but I can't lie. After all, it's canon and I have proof :P although I admit there is a lot of heavylifting to do here since we know very little of what Hector thought of Dracula pre-betrayal)
Isaacula:
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The mirror opposite of Hecula. Isaac adores his Lord and would nullify himself for him, and Dracula is, at best, only mildly amused to have a dog at his beck and call, but won't grant him the Special Treatment that Isaac craves :P I still rotate in my head various possibilities on what Dracula does to Isaac, from completely ignoring him, to only feeding on him but pretty much for necessity, to also using him as a toy but without any sort of fondness, just a way to manipulate him and keeping him happy and compliant.
Sidenote, I find somewhat amusing that Isaac is "merely" Dracula's loyal servant in canon, as in one that simply didn't even think of betraying his Lord, but it's just so, so easy to imagine him as being utterly, selflessly devoted to the point of self-destruction. It's because of the collar and tattoos. Because Isaac has a fantastic character design that tells you everything you need to know about him without anyone explaining it to you. (and personally, I've always loved his line "if you have a good weapon, you use it, don't you?", which just. says a lot about him. my broken boy <3)
And second sidenote, I honestly wonder why any combination of Dracula/Hector/Isaac seems to be so unpopular, even back in the day when people were far less picky regarding ships :\ (N!Isaactor is quite popular, but I haven't found anything for N!Isaacula and N!Hecula. The latter sucks so I understand, but idk, are people really afraid of some good lord/servant ship even when positive like in the former's case?)
Gravor (?)
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I see them as fire-forged besties (or "besties" 😏), but I can absolutely see the romantic appeal! Also their relationship is underrated in general because Grant is underrated in general :(
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beansterpie · 1 year
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For the character bingo: Griffith, Farnese, The Fool, aaaand your favourite Eyeshield 21 character, whoever that may be.
<3 <3 <3 tyyy for the ask! most of which I will putting under a cut because this is quite long lol so GRIFFITH:
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Oh were to start <3
Griffith is such a wonderful character who's been living rent free in my brain for the past? Several years?? But I also haven't encountered a character who incites quite so much vitriolic hatred like he does, especially considering that he's written to be quite sympathetic imo. The amount of terrible takes out in the wild web is bonkers, thus the 'everyone but me (and my friends) are wrong about him' and 'done dirty by the fans'. Regarding being done dirty by the creators, that's still up in the air-- depends on how his arc ends. But seeing as the whole moonbaby thing uh exists, I think my choice is valid.
I love Griffith and Guts equally, in large part because of the way they orbit one another, so they both work better as a dynamic (which each other <3) and he's one of the two best characters in the work imo. There's so much wrong with this boy, but I'm adamant that he's never done anything wrong ever in his life, and this opinion really IS like swinging a bat at a hornet's nest lmfaooo. Fight me about it!!
That being said though, in large part because of his Issues™ and Actions™, no I would not want to meet him irl. Even if the eclipse didn't happen, he's just too intense and messy man, I don't wanna deal with that. I just wanna watch and poke him from afar.
FARNESE
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Farense is one of those characters where I really like her potential as a character, but I'm largely disappointed with how she turned out lol. I think her initial character traits were really fascinating, and quite unique! Plus her complicated relationships with her half brother is also really frought with tension, but then halfway through her personality basically does a 180 and all the things that were interesting about her mostly up and disappear. AND, so far anyway, the issues between her and Serpico have just been left hanging. So yeah, loved when there was something deeply wrong with her, and never want to meet her because of it, so I like the version of her that I wish she had been.
THE FOOL
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It's them!! I love the Fool (or Beloved, his true name), he is so precious. He is put through so much shit, though that isn't the reason why I think he was done dirty (well, not the only reason). That's for lack of follow through with FitzFool as a ship lmfaooo I just wanted them to be happy together and I was so mad to learn that doesn't actually really happen. I would love to see the Fool in every book in the series, and to be more prominant in the ones that he IS in because he's great and that's that. And he really DID nothing wrong ever in his life, and I'm not even being all that tongue and cheek about it lol. Usually characters who are just Good™ can be a bit boring, but he's just such an endearing mix of mischevious, mysterious, and genuinely kind, that I can't help but love him.
EYESHIELD 21 CHARACTER: HIRUMA
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YA-HA BABEY!
I've been rereading es21 lately and ugh, I love him your honor. He's kind of a strange character to describe, because in a lot of ways he starts off less as a character and more just this narrative force of nature that exists to make crazy, badass things happen since our protagonist is like, the meekist of meek in personality, and nothing would happen if it was left up to him lol. But as the series progresses you do see glimpses of his humanity, and he loves football!! and his friends!! And he's just UGH so over the top but so relatable and inspiring? Weird combo but there it is.
But yeah he is a difficult character to capture I think, because bluffing is like breathing to him and he's also at least half a loonytoons character. (He and Bugs Bunny should really hang out) So while I have definitely seen good depictions of him in fic and art and stuff, I also see looootsss of stuff where I'm like 'he would NOT say/do that' hfhfh. Plus I have specific hc's about him that I'm pretty adamant about. Also he's the fandom bicycle, and I think the ships are all fairly valid, but the really popular ones are the ones that I actively don't ship so.
He is such a fun character, but I would hate to meet him in real life because he'd probably blackmail me into doing menial jobs for him with no reward soooooo that is also why there are many things wrong with him lol. He's the kind of character that works because the story he's in is also really over the top-- if you met him in real life, he'd just be in jail.
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loserchildhotpants · 1 year
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I looked at your pics very slowly... (pic #2 is my fave), feeling the summer wind in your hair... taking the time to imagine a quiet day by the water on a wharf, and just... thinking. Or not. Just quietly existing. And I loved your face, and I don't know what in my life experience made my brain do this, but the word "generous" popped. Like... I'd see you and think, I'll be fine with this person. I bet she's nice and generous. Now it does make one wonder how life shapes humans differently, so that they perceive each other in ways neither of them expected. (I'm philosophical when I'm tired lol) (also there's 4 feet of snow in my backyard. so. there's a bit of summer longing in this I bet lol)
That’s so fascinating to me — I’m genuinely flattered, so thank you! I so often wonder what the experience of me is like for other people and this is such a fascinating insight.
It’s summer weather here, and it was a warm breeze, it was nice out. I saw a turtle in the water super close to the surface, warming his shell but then I gasped in delight at seeing him and he heard me and he zoomed away 😭
Idk if I’m generous, but I do know that I try to be. I share everything I can, even when it sort of puts me at risk. If I’ve got a roof, I share it with whoever crosses my path that needs one (this has been dangerous of me 🥴), I always share food and money when I can, I like to think I’m generous w my time and effort for friends.
I keep 2 bags of crystals and gems in my satchel, and one is full of crystals and stones and gems for giving away as gifts to people I meet, and telling them what the crystal means and what it’s divine associations are. Even if people think it’s kooky, they get a pretty rock out of it lol the other bag is for me, just my favorite ones or the ones I wanna travel w that day.
I think my friends would describe me as generous, and I really try to be, but I do have a bad understanding of myself (I’m working on it 😅) and I struggle w feelings of being inadequately kind, like, I don’t give enough.
I wish I could give more than I do, but I don’t have v much 😅 maybe someday I’ll *feel* like a generous person.
Anyway, thank you for this, it actually means a lot to me. I really can’t express how helpful it is to me when folks tell me what their experience of me is — it doesn’t just help me w recognizing myself as I am, but it helps me to grow and alter what needs altering and bettering what could be better. And ofc keeping up the stuff that works.
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hola amigo kaise ho thik ho? i need to stop starting everything like this :sob: hi. its been a long time. so many things that happened. but i trust him, im proud of him, i know he'll pull through. but that's a discussion for his diary, not here. today, we talk about some theory i've been budding for a while now, its a little bit of a sensitive topic, that i have no right to talk about but such are my alien ways :) (moments is such a good song) heart beats harderr ; time escapes me trembling hands, touch skinn ; it makes thisss harderrrr and the tears stream ; down my faceee the Aromantics. " Aromantic people have little or no romantic attraction to others. They may or may not feel sexual attraction. An aromantic person can fall into one of two groups: aromantic sexual people or aromantic asexual people. " thats the textbook def of it, and that's not the topic of discussion here. andd also not talking about asexuality, that's a whole other thing that i havent really thought about. some leads, but none too decisive, so nvm. what im interested in is what could be the reasons behind aromanticism? i really damn wish and hope i do something neuroscience related in the future coz otherwise my human will BURN ok, so what made me interested? some people around me, 2 in particular, both im close to, both i want to understand like nobody else. both have their fare share of troubles, both i hope, i can have a conversation with about this very topic some day. both, have had many many proposals in the past, both, i've fallen for at some point or another, both, i've fallen out of (for the most part), both, i've never confessed to. both, ridiculously fascinating people. both, ive had the privilege to know from my pov rather than just his, and hence, both, i can evaluate devoid of humane feelings. common points in both - bad past, sub par family dynamic, at least from one side. and i think therein lies the jackpot. also, both very physical beings. in touch with their skin. idk how to describe it without feeling like a fucking creep, but both value physical touch a lot. its intimate. their skin is sacred, it has meaning. almost as if they're stuck in this world in between, on one hand they have extremely complicated minds and thoughts and emotions and on the other, their body revolts if they don't pay heed to it. maybe its a girl thing, im not sure. but idts. i think the answer lies in the past. they've suffered such negative experiences there, regarding the same thing. love. somewhat of a mix between family relations, and other kids, heck, maybe even some horrors from the past resurfacing in their present, which makes them repel all this even more so. its like their mind has created this bubble, or a safety shield, which makes it invalidate romantic feelings or approaches. maybe in the past, they felt too much, then were faced with nothing but bad results, over and over and over over again. it solidified. their minds stopped believing. as maturity rose, it brought with it an almost completely concrete blockage towards feelings. and that was that. im lucky, since both my POIs are very different people, fundamentally. one deals with feelings like a cold machete. dangerous. but its a defense mechanism, ...and ok he knows that but hes kinda tired of it. anyway, the other deals with it via a bit more maturity. she knows what feelings are. how to cater to others' feelings too. shes almost been doing this for too long, but shes getting better, and he has faith in her. most importantly, she DOES NOT SHUT DOWN when something bad happens in this realm. and thats VERY IMPORTANT. the only way is THROUGH. she FIGHTS. unlike the other. im not gonna conclude this, because tbh it was a bit of a personal rant as well, instead of just a devoid barren thought portrayal. also have to say, that im kinda just speculating. idk anything for sure unless i have some brain scans. until next time, humans thats x8c signing off (︶^︶)
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whereisten · 3 years
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Stupid Cupid
A Taeyong fic that’s a part of our Halloween Series!
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Summary: Cupid, also known as Taeyong, has never experienced real love. But when he meets you, he may finally have a chance.
Pairing: Cupid! Taeyong x female reader
Genre: romance, angst, fluff, smut, fantasy
Word Count: 13k
Warnings: oral (male receiving), penetration, breast fondling, cursing, alcohol use
(A/N: thank you guys so much for being so sweet and understanding and patient. I’ve always believed Halloween should be a celebration for multiple months out of the year and since the Halloween series is ongoing, it works 💀. Anyways, I’m so excited to share this with y’all. ❤️ One of my favorite songs is “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. And the music video features Cupid so I was inspired. 👍🏼 I hope you guys enjoy it! I also was inspired by “The Consequences of Cursing Cupid” by @by-moonflower). I loved it!)
...
Cupid was one of God’s most prized pupils. He was also one of His most beautiful creations. His hair had the shades of pink you’d see at sunset and warm brown eyes that could claim the heart of almost anyone. His tan skin glowed, bringing a piece of heaven’s glow down to earth with him. His body was slender, elegant, and muscular. His true appearance was known to few mortals but overtime, historians were able to conclude that Cupid was as beautiful as any of the archangels.
God entrusted his son to bring love and hope to the world one couple at a time. With his bow and arrow, he was able to give people love every day. As the years have passed, though, the population of the world expanded and Cupid only had so much time in the day to bring couples together. God and Cupid carefully handpicked Cupid fledglings throughout the years. Cupid wasn’t alone in his work anymore and he could afford some downtime every few centuries. It was 2020 and it was time for Cupid, or, as he was known by his earthly name, Lee Taeyong, to take a vacation.
Taeyong arrived in the sunny coastal town of Isla one Sunday morning. He would stay here for a few months. Taeyong would’ve kept working if he hadn't been forced by his coworkers to take a leave of absence. He’d always been a huge workaholic and quite the perfectionist. He was the type of guy who liked to get things done by himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his team. He just had a fixation with doing things his own way, which caused many clashes over the years.
This time, God had to intervene and force Taeyong to step down so that newly realized Cupids like Haechan and Yangyang could step up in his absence. Taeyong moved into a beach house right by the beach. A whole mansion to himself, he grimaced. What the hell was he supposed to do in such an expansive and luxurious place all by himself? Well, he had some ideas.
As much of a workaholic Taeyong was....when he let loose, he really let loose. It was like there was an on/off switch in his brain when it came to his rebellion and since he was out of work for the foreseeable future, it was time to turn the switch on. All work and no play for so many years made him act out in rebellion, which was why God sent Cupids Sicheng and Kun to watch out for Taeyong this time around.
Taeyong heard a knock on the door of his beach house. He frowned in confusion.  
“Knock knock,” Kun said as he brought in suitcases and carried a backpack over his shoulder. Sicheng followed him in with his own bags as well.
Taeyong frowned. “What are you guys doing here?”
Sicheng beamed. “We’re here to make sure you don’t start up another orgy and anger many significant others…”
Kun nodded. “You’ll barely know we’re here.”
Taeyong brought out his angelic smile. “Is that so?”
Even with Kun and Sicheng on his tail, Taeyong was able to throw a massive party at the beach house the next night. A pretty face like Taeyong’s and a few likes on Instagram could attract many followers. And with followers, there was a great party. Celebrities even caught wind of the festivities. Taeyong was able to hire caterers and event planners to make the beach house a Hawaiian paradise. Tiki torches were lit all around the house. People lounged in the lagoon-shaped pool. There were party games in every room in the mansion.
Your friends convinced you to come with them to the hot new bachelor’s party. You could use a night out after working another six day work week at the local Isla Humane Animal Shelter. You wanted to let loose and dance with your friends. If only for a little while. Hopefully, you didn’t think about him now that you were able to relax.
Taeyong was having the time of his immortal life, dancing with one girl...one boy...after another. He was already hooking up with people on the dance floor in the backyard that overlooked the beach. He would grind behind one girl while another boy grinded against him from behind. Taeyong was in nothing but red swim trunks. His abs glistened with sweat and-
Your friend Jisoo said, “y/n, ask him to dance.”
You’d spent the last few minutes staring at the dancefloor. You couldn’t help but watch the pretty boy who stood at the center. You quickly gulped down your drink and shook your head. “Pass.”
Jisoo sucked her teeth. “Y/n, you’ve been staring at him for five minutes now.”
You rolled your eyes. “I like to observe my surroundings...It’s nothing.”
“You should ask the pretty boy to dance. It won’t hurt.”
“Nope. I’m fine right here, drinking my free pina colada...Not a care in the world.”
Jisoo replied, “Y/n, it’s been five months...”
You met Jisoo’s eyes. “Yeah, and I’m doing a lot better. You know this. My family knows it. All of the people who should be sorry to follow me on any social media know this.”
Jaehyun joined you two. “She's talking about how she’s over...him?”
Jisoo nodded. “And she clearly wants to dance with The Bachelor over there.”
Jaehyun watched him, also. “Well, for starters, he’s way cuter than that bastard but she should stay away from him. He’s trouble.”
Jisoo scoffed. “Who are you? Her father?”
Relieved that Jaehyun was on your side, you said, “Thank you, Jay! Now don’t worry about me, Jisoo...I’m great! I’m out of the house. I’m cutting a rug.”
Jisoo eyed you. “Okay…”
Now you had to admit that you thought about throwing caution to the wind and dancing close to the man, making ‘come hither’ eyes at him, kissing him in a closet, and calling it a night. The idea made you wet just thinking about it. But you knew yourself. You were the type to fall hard. And you fell hard once and it left you broken to this day.
Anyway, Pretty Boy seemed kind of busy so you turned the other way to join a game of poker in the living room.
Every human that spent an intimate moment with dear old Cupid was guaranteed the best orgasm of their lives. In Taeyong’s hands, his lover would feel treasured and adored and spoiled. Taeyong, a bringer of love, could bring paradise to anyone.
Now in his human form, Taeyong still had some of those divine powers. However, in a human body, he had limitations.
Like his alcohol tolerance, which, unfortunately for him, had never been good.
Before he could take anyone to paradise like he’d longed to do since he came to the Earthly plane, he was outside in his front lawn, vomiting all of the alcohol he downed in the past two hours.
Taeyong felt woozy. He wasn’t all there the moment when you first approached him. He looked awful. Pale and sweaty from puking so much.
Your concern outweighed your fear of talking to him so you approached him. You handed him a bottle of room temperature water and a wet towel from his kitchen so he could clean himself up.
Taeyong uncapped the water bottle and drank. He managed to say, “Thank you.”
You sighed, relieved to see that he was responsive. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am...Thanks…What’s your-”
“Y/n! Time to go,” Jaehyun started. Jaehyun promised to take you home. You were supposed to go into the shelter tomorrow to finalize an adoption.
You shouted back, “Coming!” You turned to your friend. Taeyong couldn’t see your face now. You did smell heavenly, though. Like fresh berries and daisies.
You turned back to Taeyong and smiled. Even if he was a wreck, he was still the most gorgeous male you’d ever seen. “Great party. Take care of yourself.”
Taeyong was still trying to sober up but he was able to meet your eyes, the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen on this planet. In any realm, actually. “You, too…”
You left him there, curious about you. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to ponder further as he threw up again. Maybe these parties were getting old. He always found himself like this whenever he visited good ol’ planet Earth...
[One Month Later]
Taeyong continued to indulge in his debauchery, throwing parties every night. Part of him hoped you would return so he could properly thank you for your kindness.
Your eyes were sultry and your scent was intoxicating. He wished he could remember you.
Every night that he spent time with a different partner, he thought of you.
Without any hidden agenda to get in bed with him, you absolutely fascinated him. His clouded judgment that night only made him remember your eyes. That was all he had to go on. He couldn’t explain the need to see you again.
The need grew stronger and stronger.
He certainly couldn’t ask his coworkers or the big man upstairs for help. Surely, they’d misinterpret his actions. He simply wanted to see you again.
In the process, Taeyong slowly began to reevaluate his time on Earth. Like Gatsby before him, he threw even more parties in hopes of you showing up. But he had no idea about your hectic work schedule. The parties continued and Taeyong quickly grew bored. Maybe he needed to get out and explore the city if he ever hoped to see you again.
In the daytime, Taeyong found himself waking up earlier and sending his partners on their merry way. He took up a couple of hobbies at home, as well. Baking and playing games on his Nintendo Switch. For his outings, he’d go to the mall, the grocery store, the amusement park, and more. Everywhere he could think of. But you weren’t there. He had the ability to feel your presence but you were never within his radar and it frustrated him.
Taeyong finished swimming a couple of laps in the pool and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Kun was making dinner and Sicheng was setting the table.
“Penny for your thoughts, boss?” Sicheng inquired.
Taeyong sighed. “I’m just wondering when you two will finally leave me be.”
Kun turned off the stove and let the stir fry cool. “When your sexual appetite ceases.”
Taeyong frowned. “Have you no shame to comment on my activities?”
Sicheng and Kun looked at each other and looked back at Taeyong. “No.”
Taeyong sighed. “If you must know, the parties will cease tonight. I have given up.”
“Given up on what?” Sicheng asked.
They couldn’t know about Taeyong’s true motive with his parties. “Parties, of course.”
“Really?” Kun asked as he washed his hands.
Taeyong sighed. “Yes. Now let’s eat.”
A few hours later, Taeyong went to the beach to get some sun. A few girls asked for his number and he simply pretended not to know English. He spoke Japanese and spoke broken English to throw them off. He was in no mood to frolick. He was frustrated.
It was because of you. He couldn’t explain it but he desperately wanted to see you. Wanted to know you. Wanted to feel you come alive under him as he pleased you. And he had no leads.
Maybe he should just throw in the towel. It was dangerous for him to entertain the idea of seeing someone as more than just a fling. Knowing his one night stand’s name was more information than he needed.
Perhaps you weren’t real. Oh, heavens. He knew you were real but maybe he should convince himself of the contrary so he could give up on you.
Meanwhile, you’d been busy non-stop. You couldn’t go out and unwind because of your extremely-packed schedule, which was just how you liked it. Whatever free time you had was spent at home curled up in bed before bedtime. It was how you preferred it, though. It helped you get over your ex much more quickly. Or so you thought, anyway.
One of your co-workers at the shelter was an adoption counselor who had a family event she needed to attend. So she asked you for a favor. You came in for the afternoon shift to help pair up families with pets.
You loved working at the shelter, helping animals find their forever homes. It broke your heart to see so many of them, neglected and homeless. You always knew you wanted to work with animals, though. In high school, you started at the shelter as a volunteer. Now, you were one of the managers. You helped with fundraisers and outreach events to get the shelter animals’ faces out there.
You went to check on the dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other residents of the shelter, like you always did. Then, you finished adopting out an Australian Shepherd. His new family already adored him. The shelter’s adoption process was strict so if a family really wanted to commit to a pet, they had to commit to the process to prove it. So you had high hopes that this adoption would be permanent.
On the off chance it wouldn’t, these animals always had a home here. You wouldn’t cease until you did everything you could to get a home for each animal that walked through the shelter’s front doors.
You took a picture of the happy family to post on the shelter’s social media. You sent them off. You felt like you were being watched so you turned to the front window where you recognized Jaehyun and the pink-haired man from the Hawaiian paradise party. They were talking like they knew each other.
You frowned and walked outside to greet them. “Jaehyun?”
The men faced you. Jaehyun beamed, “Y/n! I was passing through and I ran into Taeyong here who is looking to volunteer at the shelter.” Taeyong was about to cut in when Jaehyun continued. “Is there a volunteer orientation today?”
You shook your head. “It’s tomorrow, Jay.”
Taeyong just looked at you, not saying a word.
You tilted your head in confusion. “But...If you’re free, Taeyong, we’d love to have you.”
Jaehyun answered for him. “Of course he is. There’s no other place he’d rather be!”
Taeyong shot Jaehyun a look but his face softened as he looked at you. “Yeah...He’s right about that.”
Still confused, you smiled. “Okay, tomorrow it is.”
Taeyong headed home after his confrontation with the meddlesome Jaehyun. Just who was he to you, he wondered. How dare he cross a god?
Sure, Jaehyun was a beautiful specimen but he was not at his level, Taeyong thought to himself.
[A Few Hours Ago]
After his time at the beach, Taeyong took another stroll through the town, exploring small businesses and stumbling upon an animal shelter.
Through the front window, he saw a family with their Australian Shepherd. And that’s when his radar switched on. His heart squeezed and his breathing faltered. You were here. You greeted the family inside. They posed for a family photo together with their dog. They held a sign that read “Furrever Home” on it. The family thanked you and you sent them off.
You were exquisite. Your smile. The glimmer of hope in your eyes. Your laugh. You were out of breath from running around so much and from the excitement, he could tell. Even though you were stressed and tired, you were happy at that moment. You turned toward his direction and he read your name on your name tag: y/n.
Taeyong wanted to rush in and call for your name but his feet were planted to the ground.
“Hey, I remember you,” someone called out to him.
Taeyong snapped out of his daze and turned to find a handsome young man with black hair frowning at him. Taeyong started. “I’m sorry. I don’t-“
“You’re Taeyong. You throw parties at that beach house and you’re the city’s most eligible bachelor. It’s all over social media.”
“Yes, and?”
The stranger glared as he nodded at you through the window. “You’ve been watching her, haven't you?”
Taeyong smirked. “And what about it?”
The man looked down at Taeyong’s pants where his member betrayed him. Jaehyun lifted his eyebrows.
Taeyong shrugged. “It’s rude to stare at a stranger’s crotch.”
He laughed. “You’re pretty easy to read, Taeyong. But I gotta warn you: don’t waste her time if you’re not fully committed.”
Taeyong laughed. “And who are you to tell me this?”
“Someone who refuses to see his friend’s heart broken again.”
Again, Taeyong wondered. “Well, I have no plans to let it get that far.”
He rolled his eyes. “Right.”
“Jaehyun?” You started.
Then, the conniving Jaehyun set Taeyong up to be a volunteer at the animal shelter without his consent. Well, Taeyong could’ve said no at any time but he didn’t want to disappoint you. Besides, this would be an opportunity to get to know you. Jaehyun may not be so bad, after all, Taeyong mused.
Jaehyun left Taeyong with these parting words. He grinned, showing his dimples. “If you hurt her, I will run you out of this town.”
Taeyong smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”
To anyone else, it would’ve seemed like two friends were parting ways but in reality, it was more like a declaration of war.
Your friend Jaehyun was very protective of you, Taeyong realized. He wondered if Jaehyun was enamored with you. And your nickname of “Jay” for him made Taeyong’s stomach turn.
Who was he to you? And why was he butting in on Taeyong’s pursuit of you? And what did Jaehyun mean by you getting your heart broken again? Who broke your heart? And why was he still breathing, unless Jaehyun failed to mention your ex’s funeral?
Taeyong wasn’t going to break your heart. He wasn’t that stupid. He spent enough time on this planet to set boundaries and never fall in too deep with a human.
It didn’t matter if you made him feel different than any other human has after twenty seconds of an interaction.
[The Next Day]
Taeyong wasn’t sure how he would feel about working with animals because he’s never interacted with them before. He envied any family who had a pet, though.
It was a kind of love he didn’t get to see frequently. His job was primarily focused on romantic love so it always fascinated him to see familial love, love between friends, and now love between man and man’s best friend.
You led the volunteer orientation. It was a relatively full house. You gave the new recruits the rundown on maintenance, walking the dogs, socializing with the animals, feeding, laundry, and safety. Taeyong was so impressed by how skilled and informative you were at work. You were a no-nonsense girl when you needed to be.
When the orientation ended, Taeyong lingered behind in the staff meeting room. You had to admit that seeing Taeyong again made your heart do weird things. You’d dreamed of him for a few nights and part of you wished you could’ve gone to another one of his parties. Your friends told you he’d thrown so many this past month that they lost count. So you were shocked to see this wealthy party boy at an animal shelter of all places. You did notice as you gave your talk that his eyes never strayed from yours.
After the orientation, you began, “Hey, Taeyong. How did you like the orientation?”
He smiled. “You were brilliant.”
Your face heated up. “Thanks.”
He asked, “I was wondering if you were free tonight to-“
A volunteer popped in. “Y/n, code leash with Ruby!” Code leash meant a dog was loose in the shelter without a leash on.
You started. “Oh, God. Sorry, Taeyong, I have to help catch one of our dogs.”
You looked distressed so Taeyong decided to help. He didn’t know where this altruism came from but it was there. “I can help.”
“Thank you. I have to warn you, though. She’s not friendly with most people. So be careful.”
You and Taeyong teamed up to catch Ruby while some of the other volunteers also teamed up elsewhere. Ruby had hidden under one of the benches near the cat corner of the shelter.
Ruby was a Papillon, also known as a Continental Toy Spaniel. She was a reserved dog. She was adopted as a puppy but when she was a year old, her owners gave her up for adoption when they were expecting a baby. With the betrayal she’d experienced, she closed herself off from most people and most animals. It took a few weeks for her to warm up to you.
Ruby had cute ears that resembled a butterfly’s, which explained the name of her breed, the Papillon.
With her leash in your hands, you crouched down to greet her. “Hi, Ruby…”
She surprised you by running over to Taeyong, who froze in his tracks. Ruby jumped against his legs and cried. She wanted his attention.
You looked at them in shock. Ruby had never taken so quickly to someone before. You were impressed.
Taeyong’s eyes doubled in size as he slowly backed up. Ruby continued to jump against his legs, regardless. “What’s happening? Is she trying to kill me?”
You fought back a laugh. “No...She wants you to hold her.”
He looked mystified. “Uh...I’ve never…”
“You’ve never…?”
For the first time, he looked shy. “I’ve never held a dog before…”
You approached them and called Ruby again. “Ruby, I’ll help you.”
You picked Ruby up and guided Taeyong. “Just raise your arms and cradle her. It’s okay.”
You handed Ruby to Taeyong and he was shocked at this new feeling he felt in his chest. It was this overwhelming joy and worry and affection he’d never felt. He would die for this dog.
Well, if he could die, he would.
So this is what familial love must be like.
Ruby licked him all over his face and he giggled like a little boy.
You were overjoyed to see Ruby with another person. This was promising. “She really likes you. It took me weeks to get her to warm up to me.”
Taeyong stared at you. “Really? I can’t imagine that…”
“You saved the day, Taeyong. Not bad for your first day as a volunteer.” You laughed.
You led him and Ruby back into her room. You stepped into her small room where she resided alone. She had a big fluffy bed and toys to play with. Even so, it could definitely get cramped in there after a few hours. You would take her for a walk later.
Taeyong asked, concerned. “She lives by herself? She must be so lonely.”
You told Taeyong her story and he understood her circumstances. He was furious at Ruby’s previous owners and he finally understood why places like this shelter existed.
You said, “She needs someone who will remain faithful to her all of their life. I hope she finds them soon.”
Taeyong rubbed Ruby’s belly. “So do I.”
“I have to get back to work. You’re not on the schedule until tomorrow but you are more than welcome to spend some time with the dogs…”
Taeyong was in his own bubble with Ruby.
You giggled. “Or maybe just Ruby.”
You left them be and got back to work.
Taeyong spent the next hour playing with Ruby, taking her for a walk, taking pictures of her, and cradling her to sleep. He hoped to catch up with you later but he couldn’t let go of his attachment to this dog now.
There was something about this town that made him attached to others. First, it was you. Then, it was Ruby.
It was unusual.
Ruby fell asleep and Taeyong checked his phone. He received a text over half an hour ago.
Where are you? Kun says you’re not home :( -Yooa
Crap, he’d forgotten all about Yooa. His “date”.
Taeyong realized he’d be getting earful from Kun later. He texted Yooa he was on his way.
[2 Weeks Later]
The first few days were rough for Taeyong because he’d never done manual labor in his life. He was willing to try and with your and other volunteers’ guidance, he was able to pick up on everything quickly. Everyone thought Taeyong was as strange as he was beautiful. They thought he was a sheltered rich boy who was learning how to care for someone else for the first time. Well, they weren’t far off from the truth.
Taeyong volunteered almost everyday at the shelter. He did everything he could possibly do as a volunteer and still had the energy to take the dogs on more walks than required. He was a god, after all. His energy on Earth was higher than that of any normal human’s. He hoped to impress you, too. He tried to ask you out or even for your phone number but you were always busy with shelter tasks. It was very hard to tell if there was a connection between you two.
At the end of each shift, Taeyong always left Ruby for last because she was his favorite shelter animal. “Alright Ruby, today is the day I finally ask y/n out.”
Ruby snoozed in response. Taeyong sighed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
You were the last person to leave the shelter and lock up. Everyone had already left an hour ago but you were finishing up some emails. You found Taeyong waiting outside the door. “Taeyong!”
He waved and smiled, not looking disheveled at all after a full-day shift.
You, on the other hand, could use a shower. “Everything okay?”
Taeyong asked, “Are you free?”
“Uh...”
“I was wondering if you…”
Your eyes as you watched him left Taeyong in nearly almost a trance. The way your hair fell over your eyes when you adjusted your work bag. The breeze caused your perfume to creep into his nose and he had to catch his breath. Even your little yawn after a long day was cute. Damn it.
You started, “Taeyong?”
Taeyong tried to say something but his throat went dry. Why wasn’t he able to say words? He was prepared to say. Come away with me tonight. I’ll take us to dinner and then...Well, it’s your call, y/n.
And here he was, his palms sweaty. His cheeks were red. He was so close to trembling from the new anxiety that crept up on him.
You asked, “Are you okay?”
Taeyong shook his head to shove his fears away. “Are you free?”
He invited you over to his house for dinner as a thank you for showing him the ropes around the shelter. You felt bad for assuming that he was asking you out. It appeared that he wanted to keep this platonic and you were relieved.
You’re a chicken, Taeyong thought to himself. The ball was in his court and he missed his shot to take things further with you. Even so, you’d said yes so all in all, you two were headed somewhere.
You followed Taeyong in your car over to his place. You entered the extravagant beach house, which was surprisingly neat and homey. The furniture looked comfortable, like you could easily fall asleep on it. The lighting was at a low, almost romantic setting. The house was tranquil and all you could hear was the crash of waves in the distance.
Taeyong said, “Please take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you some wine?”
“Yes, please. Thank you.”
Taeyong smiled warmly at you before he departed for the kitchen.
Another young man appeared as he came down the stairs, calling out. “Sicheng and I will be back in a few days. Our Lord needs us in Beijing for an emergency match-up.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and merely stared at you. “Seriously, another ‘appointment’?”
Taeyong darted out of the kitchen. “Kun.”
You got up and waved. “Uh, hi. I’m Taeyong’s friend, y/n. From the animal shelter?”
Sicheng joined the group. “Friend?”
Kun’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re just friends with him?”
You looked at everyone around the living room. “Yes…”
Although you had to wonder what Kun meant by “appointment”. If you had to guess, you weren’t the first girl Taeyong brought home. This week.
You knew Taeyong was a player from the first night you met him. But you were attracted to him so the possibility of a one night stand with him didn’t repel you. You weren’t about to ask for it, though. You were already going out of your comfort zone, coming over to his house for dinner.
And then...Taeyong’s personality surprised you these past few weeks. He was warm and hard-working and kind. You had to admit you had a little crush on him. You wouldn’t let that truth see the light of day, though. A player was a player, no matter what.
Sicheng smiled as he greeted you, “Y/n, welcome to our home. I’m Sicheng. Our rude friend right here is Kun. We are Taeyong’s coworkers and roommates.”
“It’s nice to meet you. What is it that you guys do? You mentioned a match-up?”
Taeyong eyed his friends. “They...”
Kun continued, “We...are dating gurus!”
You replied, “I see. So you’re headed to Beijing? That’s exciting!”
The boys told you they worked for a dating website for high-profile people and traveled to countries like China and South Korea to counsel them on dating. It was unheard of and unusual. At least for you, anyway. But it was kind of fascinating. Kun and Sicheng told you that Taeyong had been working nonstop for years now as a dating guru so now he was taking some time off. They excused themselves and headed off to the airport.
You accompanied Taeyong to the kitchen as he cooked some New York strips for the two of you. He refused your help and wanted you to sit down and relax. “I didn’t know you were a dating guru.”
He chuckled nervously. “I don’t really like to talk about it.”
“Oh, well, we don’t have to…We could always talk about something else. Like where you’re from?”
Taeyong chopped some vegetables as he mulled over his answer, avoiding your eyes. How was he going to say he came from Heaven? First of all, it would be ludicrous to you. And second, it sounded like a pickup line that would only stroke his ego. There was no way to win by telling the truth. “Abroad.”
You sipped your glass of wine. He was so vague. “Abroad? Where?”
“My Lor-...father traveled all the time when I was growing up so we always moved. And once I got to work with the dating website, the traveling continued.” Nice save, he thought to himself.
“Oh? Wow, that’s sad, isn’t it?”
Taeyong looked at you. “Sad?”
“I mean, maybe it wasn’t...What I meant was that it must have been difficult getting uprooted all the time. Having to get accustomed to a new place...Only to have to start over somewhere else.”
You had no idea, Taeyong thought. You read him like a book so he had to ask. “How did you know?”
You understood his situation very well. “My dad is a lieutenant general. We’ve moved around a lot until I was eighteen. Come to think of it...Are your parents in the military?”
Taeyong knew he had to come up with something. Quick, he told himself, think of something believable. The first thought that came into his mind was Jurassic Park after he watched it last night. “No...He’s a...paleontologist.”
That was an uncommon job but you were impressed. After all, Jurassic Park was one of your favorite movies. You asked him about the places his dad took him, what dinosaur bones his dad uncovered, and more. Taeyong had to get creative and being dumb about the subject didn’t hinder his case. He claimed that remembering the names of species was impossible for him. You were riveted, regardless. You spent most of the time talking about Jurassic Park, anyway. You told him about Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure and a Jurassic Park feature located at the park. You suggested you two could go together sometime and Taeyong’s eyes lit up, then. His doe eyes caught you off-guard.
You continued talking about your interests and your pasts. Well, you did. Taeyong had to get a little creative when topics such as his “childhood” and “family” came into conversation. But other than that, he enjoyed having you in his home. You were full of warmth and generosity. You laughed at his jokes and asked him about how he was doing. It left him speechless. He wasn’t sure what you were really thinking or if you were even interested. You were equally unsure and found yourself considering what you’d been fighting since the moment you first laid eyes on him.
Taeyong served dinner. His cooking was incredible. The steak and baked potato were paradise on your taste buds. “Taeyong, oh my God, this is incredible. You should be a five-star chef and open a restaurant.”
Taeyong chuckled. “Thank you, y/n but I’m more of a pastry chef than anything else.”
“What’s your price for a batch of chocolate cupcakes?” You teased.
He smiled. “Free of charge.”
“But?”
“Well, if you were free to watch Jurassic Park 2 with me this week, then I would consider it.”
“I’ll take it.”
Taeyong was excited that you two would see each other outside of work again. Taeyong served you cookie dough ice cream with fudge.
You ate your ice cream. “Thank you so much for inviting me over. I haven’t been able to hang out with friends in a while so this means a lot.”
Friends. Taeyong was a little hurt at your label of him. He thought there was something between you. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to make a move so he forced a smile. “I’m glad we’re friends, too.”
[2 months later]
Taeyong continued to volunteer at the shelter. His ego took a nice, deserving blow after you told him you were just friends. He was still happy that he got to spend time with you. You became so close that you spent most of your time with him outside of work. You played video games and watched movies. You also fostered some animals together on the weekends.
Taeyong hadn’t thrown a party or gone to one since he started spending time with you. His phone started lighting up a lot less as the weeks passed. The truth was Taeyong had stopped hooking up with anyone else. He was focused on you. Getting to know you.  
You even told him about your ex Jaemin. You and Jaemin were going strong for 11 months. The biggest player at your university, Jaemin worked hard to get you to say yes to dating him. The romance started off beautifully and ended abruptly when Jaemin said he didn’t want to be unfair to you. The day after the breakup you saw him out with another girl like it was nothing. And a month later, they were engaged to be married. Now, they were married and expecting a child together. It seemed that he genuinely loved his wife. The way he looked at her with such affection the day after he broke up with you. It broke you because that was how you used to look at him. You thought he was the one and up to a certain point, he told you you were the one for him. You wondered how he moved on so quickly to this day.
Since then, you didn’t want to date anyone, much less a playboy. Hook-ups were something you would’ve considered but you were still hurting. Taeyong had been the first boy you looked at in five months but you still weren’t ready. However, now that you two were getting to know each other...Maybe, just maybe…
Taeyong wanted to track down Jaemin and destroy him, break up his family, and kill him. Well, maybe not to that extreme. But he wanted to avenge you for how Jaemin could’ve been so swift in hurting you and moving on like nothing. He had to wonder…
If maybe one of his coworkers had something to do with it. He’d never had a hand in pairing up a Na Jaemin with anyone. If that were the case, he would’ve never forgiven himself for pursuing you.
He finally understood that you were guarding your heart and he didn’t want to push you. He would wait for as long as it takes to…Well, he wasn’t sure...Kiss you? Take you out on a date? He wasn’t sure how romance or courting worked.
It took some convincing but Taeyong finally decided to foster Ruby for the week. He didn’t refuse before because he didn’t want Ruby. He was scared of being ill-prepared for taking care of her or that his house had some hazards for the little dog.
You drove Taeyong and Ruby back to his house. The three of you stood outside his front door. He had Ruby on a leash.
Taeyong started. “Are you sure, y/n? What if Ruby falls in the pool when I go take a shower? What if she chews at my phone charger and gets electrocuted?”
You laughed. “Taeyong, how is she going to get in the backyard? Are her paws going to magically turn into hands so that she can turn the doorknob to the back door?”
“No…”
“So long as you keep her active and give her toys and activities, she will have no reason to chew at your charger or go on an online shopping spree while you’re asleep.”
Taeyong frowned, knowing that you were mocking him now. “Fine. But if anything happens, I’m taking you down with me.”
Your eyes danced. “Fine with me.”
You three went to the beach and Ruby was having fun playing on the shoreline. Taeyong giggled like a little boy as he played fetch with her. You watched them and smiled. It was beyond you why Taeyong wouldn’t adopt Ruby. They clearly loved each other very much. Maybe today you could finally convince him.
You returned to the beach house as you ate ice cream cones from the boardwalk ice cream shop. Ruby ran back inside to drink from her water bowl. You and Taeyong lingered on the outside deck by the pool and watched the sunset. Taeyong’s chocolate ice cream cone was melting at the sides and you regretted not buying chocolate so without thinking, you licked his melting ice cream. Taeyong was caught by surprise and you looked up at him before getting back to your ice cream cone.
The innocent but teasing glint in your eye made him shocked and aroused. He paid a little too much attention to your tongue. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. And he longed for it to worship his body.
You winked. “Sorry. You’re a slow eater and it was melting…” You handed him your vanilla ice cream cone. “You can have some of mine.”
He snapped out of it and licked the cone as suggestively as he could to try and get a reaction out of you. And that he did. His big brown eyes had a mischievous glint to them. He smirked. You avoided his eyes completely. “Y/n.”
You bent down and pretended to tie your shoe and realized you weren’t wearing sneakers but sandals. You got back up, embarrassed and still looking away from him. “Yeah?”
“I like you.”
You looked back up at him. “Taeyong-”
“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just wanted to say it. At least once.” He liked you for a long time now. The more time he spent with you and went out of his way to be with you every moment he could made him realize that maybe what he longed for with you wasn’t simply one night of pleasure.
He wanted more. He didn’t know exactly what that meant. But he just liked to be with you. Your kindness, your wit, your sense of humor, everything about you made Taeyong feel that heaven could be found in another person.
He didn’t want to push you, not at all. He did wonder about what things would be like if you gave into each other. But he would still wait for as long as it took for you to consider him.
You admitted, “Taeyong, I like you, too.”
He sighed in relief. “Oh, thank heavens. Let’s go out on Friday.” Hundreds of plans were running through his mind of how he wanted to spoil you for your first date. He’d been doing research on where he could take you in the city and debated whether or not a road trip to Universal Studios would be too much.
You smiled in spite of yourself. “That’s so sweet…”
“But?”
“I don’t know if I’m ready...Or if I can trust you...You’re very…experienced.”
Taeyong looked at you in confusion as he finished his ice cream cone. “What do you mean? I’ve never dated.”
“I mean...Sexually…” You muttered the last word. Your face was hot and Taeyong only looked at you like you’d said the sky was blue.
“Taeyong, before we met, you were partying every night and sleeping with multiple people. Are you going to tell me that you’re not that person anymore? Because you know what happened with Jaemin...I don’t want that again. If we are going to take this any further, you have to be honest with me. When you want to end it, show me your heart. Don’t leave me wondering what I did wrong...” He could see your eyes get bigger and redder. They were welling up. Your voice broke and it broke him to hear it.
He hated seeing you unhappy. You didn’t deserve to be burned the way you had. He wrapped his arms around you, then. For the first time. “I would never do that to you. I would never-”
You hugged him back. “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep. Let’s just take this slow...Okay?”
He never felt as close and vulnerable with someone. Then you came along and he was ready to do what he could to be with you. To at least try. “Okay.”
He caressed your face and pulled you in for a kiss. He lifted you off the ground and sat you on a ledge as he leaned down to kiss you deeper. His tongue intertwined with yours. You both tasted like ice cream and it made you both crazy with longing. You were the first to stop the kiss and reminded him, “Slow.”
He kissed your forehead. “Slow.”
[4 Months Later]
You and Taeyong took your new relationship slow. It drove you both crazy that you put off sleeping together for so long. You wanted to get to know Taeyong better. So did he. Even if this was the longest dry spell Taeyong had undergone, it was worth it.
“What’s got you so happy, boss?” Sicheng asked, visiting from New York. Sicheng and Kun moved out months ago when they saw that Taeyong wasn’t causing any trouble. Sicheng held Ruby in his lap. Taeyong adopted Ruby not too long after you two agreed to date.
Taeyong was worried, though. Just how far could he take things with you before he was summoned back by God? It could be five years or fifty years before He called him back to Heaven. Taeyong had to tell someone what was eating at him and Sicheng was one of his closest friends. “I need to tell you something.”
After Taeyong told Sicheng about you and what transpired all this time, Sicheng sighed, “Taeyong, this is trouble. We are not supposed to get involved with humans.”
“Sex is okay but dating and marriage are out of the question? How does that make sense?”
Sicheng frowned, reminding Taeyong of Kun at that moment. “Sex was never okay. In moderation and with zero strings attached? Sure...But you’ve crossed several lines...You’re playing with fire by pursuing y/n.”
Taeyong sighed in frustration. “I know but Sicheng, I’m falling…”
Sicheng watched Taeyong that night and witnessed how he changed after he met you. He put a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder. “I know. You’ve fallen since that first night. Five seconds.”
It took Taeyong five seconds to fall in love with you.
Taeyong continued, “I want to make this work. Let our Lord find out from me.”
“But-” Sicheng started.
“I appreciate you for not ratting me out to our Father, Sicheng. You’re a good friend.”
Later that night, Taeyong picked you up from your apartment and wanted to surprise you. He blindfolded you as you sat in the passenger seat of his car. Taeyong whispered into your ear. “Can you hear me?”
You laughed and bit your lip. “Taeyong, it’s a blindfold. Not ear plugs. Why are you whispering?”
He whispered even lower and the warmth of his breath made you fidget and press your thighs harder together. “It’s fun. That’s all.”
He could tell you were aroused. He could see your nipples through your black dress and he had to control his cock from making an early appearance. It was a good thing he blindfolded you.
Taeyong drove you two in silence and his giggles made you laugh. You held hands. It didn’t take too long to reach your destination. He escorted you out of the car and removed your blindfold.
“Surprise!”
You were at the Isla Central Marina and you stood before the entrance of a yacht named Cupid’s Bow. The boat was decorated with white Christmas lights.
“Taeyong, what is all this…”
He smiled as he led you onto the boat. “It’s where we’re having dinner tonight.”
You sat down at the table set at the center of the yacht. It was decorated with white daisies. Taeyong chose white daisies because their scent reminded him of you. And for their significance.
He sat you down at your seat and squeezed your shoulders.
You looked around in wonder. The night sky was clear as the full moon shone down on you both. “This is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
Taeyong sat across from you and smiled brightly. “I want to give you the world, y/n. If you let me, I will.”
Your face felt flushed and you stared down at your lap. “You’re so corny.”
He asked for your hand and you gave it to him. He kissed it and looked at you with what could be described as bedroom eyes. He tried to seduce you a couple of times now because he loved to tease you. You’d tease him back and pretend to consider sleeping with him. Fair’s fair.
But tonight? The teasing would stop.
Someone else cleared their throat. “Welcome to Cupid’s Bow. Thank you for dining with us tonight. I will be your server, Kun.”
You gasped and laughed. “Kun, what are you doing here?”
Dressed as a waiter, Kun said, “Taeyong needed a hand for tonight. And our friend Sicheng will be maneuvering this vessel.”
You turned to Sicheng as he waved from the steering wheel. He was wearing a captain’s outfit. You fought back a laugh. They were a cheesy group of guys.
Kun started you guys off with drinks as the boat departed the marina. You sailed around the bay that connected to the ocean. The bay led into downtown Isla where the city lights shone brightly. It was a beautiful modern-day fairytale.
Taeyong started up a playlist from his Bluetooth speakers and asked you to dance. “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran played.
Taeyong was a great dancer. He must have been classically trained for years. He spun you in circles and dipped you, pretending he was about to drop you to tease you. He pulled you close and hummed along to the lyrics. You laughed and held him tightly.
The songs continued as you and Taeyong watched the view. He held you from behind. The night was perfect.
“Y/n,” he said into your ear softly.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
You turned back to him and smiled. “I love you, too.” You kissed him.
You liked Taeyong ever since that night you met. But you started falling in love after you saw how he was with Ruby. He carried a lot of love and loyalty in his heart that it left you in awe every time you were with him. There was more to him than the wealthy bachelor persona he emitted. That wasn’t who he was. He was a man who loved fiercely. He was your best friend. And now you wanted him to be your lover.
You sat down together and ate Italian cuisine. Kun was an incredible chef. You and Taeyong share lasagna and chicken Alfredo. It was delicious. For dessert, you two fed each other gelato.
When Cupid’s Bow returned to the dock, you and Taeyong sat in the car, awkward.
Taeyong waited for you to tell him to take you home but it never came. You wanted him to suffer for a few more seconds.
You started. “Thank you for tonight.”
He cleared his throat. “I had the best time.”
“Can I stay the night?” You asked softly.
Taeyong was hearing things. “I’m sorry?”
“Let’s spend the night together.”
Taeyong was about to jump out of the driver’s seat and scream. He played it cool and his face was unreadable as he said, “Okay.”
You giggled. Taeyong was an enigma but you could see the blush creeping onto his cheeks.
You returned to the beach house and darted to the pool. Taeyong ran after you. You removed your dress and turned to him, biting your lip because you knew he loved it.
You were down to your black and red lingerie and Taeyong was so close to salivating. He longed to worship your body. He stood there, unable to move. He watched you slowly descend the steps into the pool and wait for him.
He walked slowly over to you, like a tiger about to pounce on his prey. He wanted you. You could see the desire in his gaze. He unbuttoned his shirt and you could see his abs glisten against the reflection of the pool. He smirked again, knowing it drove you crazy when he did that. He slowly unbuckled his belt and you could see his bulge better as he pulled down his pants.
“Wow,” you said.
“Hmm?”
Taeyong was down to his briefs. He pulled them down and chucked them away. His physique was like that of a statue of a Greek god. He was rock solid. You swam into the deep end, waiting for him to follow you in.
Taeyong got into the pool and dove down. You couldn’t see him now.
You were waiting for him to surprise you but time passed and you wondered if something was wrong.
“Yong?” You started. “Yong!”
He crept up behind you then, pulling your panties down in the process. “Boo.”
You smacked him. “Jerk. I thought you were dying.”
Taeyong chuckled. “I wasn’t down there for that long.”
“You’re kidding, right? I counted. It was at least a minute.”
Maybe he crossed the line with his immortal abilities, then. He sighed. “What can I say? I have incredible lung capacity.”
You rolled your eyes. “Why don’t we put that to the test?” You put your arms around him and kissed him deeply.
Taeyong’s heart skipped a beat. Your soaked body got him harder. You got onto his lap and he kissed your cleavage. His kisses were everything. You had been thinking about your first night with him for a long time now.
Taeyong lowered the strap of your bra and kissed your shoulder, silently asking if he could unclasp your bra. You nodded. He adored your breasts, biting and sucking at them.
You lowered your hand to his pelvic region and felt his large cock. He grunted as you clasped it. You kissed his neck and nipped at his ears.
You both loved teasing each other so now that you were spending the night together, neither of you was going down without a fight.
After a few minutes, Taeyong carried you out of the pool. You looked up at him, admiring his flawless profile. He dried you off and he took your hand and led you upstairs to his shower.
He started up the shower and you looked up at him. He took your face into his hands and gave you a peck on the lips. He smiled.
He started washing you with his body wash. It was Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin. It smelled just like Taeyong and you wished you could smell like this all the time. He carefully navigated your body like you were a fragile vase and kissed you all over. He saved your chest for the end and could feel your heartbeat against his palm. He looked up at you through hooded eyes and you kissed his nose.
You washed him and teased him as you washed around his crotch, lightly tracing it with your fingers. His skin was soft while his body was muscular. He was the most beautiful contradiction in the world.
Taeyong pulled you in for another kiss and you wrapped your arms around each other. He turned the shower off. You both dried off.
He scooped you up, making you giggle. He laid you down gently. You stretched your body against the mattress and Taeyong admired all of your angles.
“I’m going to fuck you until the sunrise, y/n,” Taeyong said as he looked down at your body. Your eyes lock on him. They were no longer doe-like.
“I bet you are,” you said, feeling a little nervous now.
He straddled you and kissed you. His cock teased its entrance into your folds. “My stars, you are the most gorgeous creature,” he said as his face was mere centimeters from yours.
You pulled him closer and you kissed again, running your hands over his back. He traced his fingers around your folds, teasing your entrance. You whimpered as you held him tightly.
You pushed him off of you and laid him back as you gripped his cock and pumped. “You think you’re the only who’s been dying for this moment?”
Taeyong gaped at you. You were the first partner to take charge. His other lovers usually let him take the lead. He didn’t mind it much but to see you cater to his needs made him dizzy.
You took his cock into your mouth and your throat burned from the contact. You couldn’t take all of him in so you had to love the rest of him with your hand. You started bobbing your head back and forth, licking the veins of his throbbing member. Taeyong grunted. “Fuck, y/n.”
You looked up at him and his heart nearly stopped again. He gripped your hair. He came into your mouth and you swallowed his seed.
“You taste better than I imagined,” you said as you wiped your mouth.
You were generous in all aspects of life but in the bedroom? Taeyong was floored. “Allow me to pamper you.”
He laid you against his bed frame and brought out handcuffs.
“Well, you came prepared. Are those new?” You hoped they were.
“Yes. They came in yesterday…Good timing, wouldn’t you say?”
You nodded as he unlocked the cuffs. “Lift your arms up, y/n.”
You obeyed and he cuffed you. Your breasts were raised beautifully and Taeyong sighed. “Breathtaking.”
You averted your gaze and Taeyong shook his head. He took your chin and turned your face to him. “No, no...Don’t get shy on me now...Not when you fucked me with that pretty little mouth of yours.”
You loved how low his voice became and you felt your pussy tremble underneath him. He fondled your breasts, squeezing your nipples and biting them. He kissed around your folds. He traced his tongue at your entrance and breathed against it, making you whimper. He started whispering sweet nothings in multiple languages. He spoke in almost ten languages and you wondered who this man really was. You came once he spoke dirty French into your ear.
You were already soaked and Taeyong wanted to indulge in torturing you for a few minutes before he entered you. He started by slipping one finger into your entrance and carefully avoided your G-spot to rile you up.
“Taeyong, please,” you cried.
He stopped and kissed your forehead. “We have all night, y/n.”
You pouted. “You’re too good at torturing me.”
He smiled. “Am I torturing you? I didn’t think so.”
You wrapped your legs harder around his abdomen. “Get inside me. Now.”
He sighed. “You seem to forget that I’m calling the shots, y/n.”
You licked your lips. “Are you?”
He frowned and slipped his fingers out of your folds. “Do you not like it?”
You shook your head. “I do. I do. I do.”
He smirked. “Then, let me work.”
He continued to fingerfuck you until you cried. “Yong, please…”
“I love when you call me Yong. It destroys me,” he said as he finally entered you.
You cried out loud as his cock entered and hit you in the right places. You could feel him go deeper and could feel his cock twitching in your belly. You climaxed quickly and Taeyong quickly pulled out and came right after.
Taeyong cleaned you both up, not removing you from the cuffs just yet.
“Uh, Taeyong?”
“Yes, darling?”
“You forgot something?” You looked up at the cuffs.
“Oh, you’re right. I did forget something.” He kissed your forehead. “I love you.”
He walked out of the room.
Your arms started to hurt from having been raised for so long. “You are so funny!”
He returned with a tray that had two glasses of water and a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream.
“Are you hungry?” Taeyong asked, acting oblivious.
“Taeyong, I think it’s your turn to try on the cuffs…”
He beamed. “Exactly what I was thinking, y/n.”
“Okay, great. Now if you can get these off of me, the chances of me choking you to death will be lower.”
He laughed. “You’re so funny.”
He sat next to you in bed. And fed you a strawberry with whipped cream on top, popping it into your mouth. He carefully slipped his finger out and licked his finger. “Mmm.”
He took the whipped cream and drew out shapes onto your body, tracing his tongue over the shapes and eating the whipped cream. It drove you crazy.
“Now that I’ve had my dessert. It’s only fair that you enjoy yours.” He uncuffed you.
You cuffed him and had your way with him. You even took it a step further and pulled out another set of handcuffs from the drawer. “I see you got an extra pair.”
He smiled. “Can never be too prepared.”
You returned his smile. “Let’s kick it up a notch. Shall we?”
You cuffed his ankles, as well. He laid in bed and waited for you to get to work on him but you decided to get the bowl of strawberries and whipped cream and eat a couple slowly. You even fed a couple to Taeyong.
You started, “This is nice.”
Taeyong grumbled in Korean.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. I’m just waiting here. Patient.”
“Like the good boy that you are,” you cooed.
Your voice made him harder. You took the whipped cream and traced it over your collar bone. “Lick,” you commanded.
He licked across your collarbone. Then, you drew shapes onto his body, drawing a heart around his pelvic region. You saved it for last and slowly licked around it. You kissed his tip. He groaned. You straddled him and kissed him passionately.
You teased each other like that all night and made love for hours. You fell asleep in each other’s arms, holding each other tightly. The sun had risen a few hours ago. You woke up first and found Taeyong holding you tightly to his chest. He felt your movement in his sleep and he held you tighter. The sun lit up his features. He looked like an angel.
You kissed his cheek and his eyes opened slowly. “Good morning.”
You smiled. “Hi.”
He stretched and held you again. “I need to check on Ruby.”
You shook your head. “I’ll take care of her. You sleep.”
He whined. “It’s okay. You rest.”
You giggled. “It’s okay.”
You and Taeyong got cleaned up. You borrowed some of Taeyong’s clothes. You took Ruby for a walk around the neighborhood. You spent a quiet day together, living in utter bliss.
[1 Week Later]
Taeyong was on cloud nine. Having you in his life made him complete. He can’t imagine it getting better than this. You were at work and Taeyong was preparing dinner for you as you were sleeping over later. He was going to ask you to move in.
He finished his homemade pepperoni pizza and put it in the oven. He heard the doorbell ring. Ruby barked and he joined her to see who was at the door. It couldn’t be you. It was too early. He opened the door to find Mark at the door.
“Mark!” Taeyong smiled and hugged him. Mark was another one of his coworkers and close friends. Taeyong regarded him as a little brother.
“Taeyong, it’s great to see you…Wow, you are glowing.” Mark eyed him carefully.
He smiled, thinking about you. “Yeah...I guess I am. Come in!”
After they sat down and caught up with each other, Mark said, “I’ll cut to the chase...I���m here in Isla for my next pairing session.”
“Is that so?”
He nodded. The usually lighthearted boy looked serious. “I know about y/n.”
Taeyong’s smile faded. Ruby snuggled tighter to Taeyong as she rested on his lap. “Who-“
He shook his head. “I found out myself. Y/n is my next assignment.”
Taeyong felt his world crashing down onto him. “No…”
Mark sighed. “I expected one of the fledglings to get into this mess but you? Our mentor? It’s absurd.”
“Mark-“
“Father doesn’t know…Imagine his disappointment when he finds out. He doesn’t have to. If you end it now.”
Taeyong’s chest was on fire. Tears were threatening to fall. “No.”
Mark frowned. “What?”
“You heard me, Mark. I’m not leaving her.”
Mark sighed. “Once I strike the arrows at her and her partner, it’ll be over.”
Taeyong shook his head. “Mark, please.”
Mark hurt for his friend but his duty as a Cupid came first. “I’m sorry, Taeyong. This is how our world works. You’re the one who told me so.”
Taeyong hated this. He hated the world he knew before you. How could he go  back to a world of bringing love to others and have no love himself? He couldn’t. Not after meeting you. You’d been burned before. No doubt by one of the Cupids interfering. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.
“Taeyong, if you interfere with y/n’s pairing...There’s no telling what the consequences will be.”
“I’ll be the one to deal with that, Mark. But I won’t let you come between us.”
After their exchange, Mark left. Taeyong retired to the kitchen to check on the pizza. It was ready.
“What is he saying, Taeyong?” You started.
“Y/n?!” Taeyong jumped as he found you waiting for him at the kitchen island. 
You’d snuck in earlier to surprise him with sweet potatoes you bought from the farmer’s market. You wanted to scare him because it was a bit of yours. You snuck through the back door with your own set of keys he gave you.
You were about to duck your head into the living room when you heard Taeyong say he wouldn’t leave you. Your heart sank.
He wanted to hold you. “Y/n…”
You crossed your arms. “What is going on? Who is Mark? And who exactly is your father? What exactly is your job, Taeyong? Because I’m beginning to suspect you’re not a dating guru.”
Taeyong sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Taeyong checked the schedules of the fledglings at work in Isla. The best way for him to prove his identity to you was to show you how Cupids worked. “Come with me.”
He drove you to an amusement park. You turned to him. “You are not taking me on a date right now.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. Just follow me.”
He led you into the park and you sat down on a bench by the haunted house.
Taeyong started. “See that guy in the leather jacket? That’s my coworker Shotaro.”
“I don’t see him…” There was no one by that description where Taeyong was pointing.
“Y/n, hold my hand.”
“Taeyong, now’s not the time.”
“Please. Just do it.”
You gave in and held his hand and suddenly, a young man in a leather jacket appeared. Shotaro was carrying a bow and a bag of arrows. He prepared his arrow to shoot at someone leaving the haunted house.
“Taeyong, what is he doing?!” You yelled.
Taeyong shushed. “Y/n, just watch.”
You put a hand over your mouth and you were about to run over and stop this madness. Taeyong held you back.
Shotaro released the arrow and hit the young woman first. She looked at her best friend and kissed her cheek. Shotaro then shot another arrow at the best friend. She kissed the first young woman on the lips, then. The arrows vanished just as quickly as they pierced both women. It was as if they were never struck. Shotaro noticed Taeyong and waved before he faded away.
You rubbed your eyes. “Taeyong?”
“Yeah?”
“What the hell was that?”
“More like what the heaven was that…”
“Explain.”
Taeyong explained everything to you. How he was Cupid. How there were Cupids all over the world bringing people together. Taeyong was the original Cupid and he was on vacation. You took it all in and a lot of things started to make sense. Why he never spoke about his family or his job. How a lot of things were so new to him. It wasn’t because he was a sheltered rich boy. He wasn’t even human. He was a god.
This also meant that your concept of love was completely wrong. Cupids had their hand in romance all over the world. Which made you realize...
“So…When Jaemin broke up with me, it was because of you guys?”
Frustrated that you brought up Jaemin, Taeyong managed to say, “Yes…”
Tears fell from your eyes. “And you were never going to tell me?”
“It wasn’t my place to-“
“Oh, hell, if it’s not...How long were you going to play me like this? You were going to leave, anyway. What was the plan? Lead me on and then dump me like Jaemin did?”
Stabbed by your words, he begged, “Stop saying his name.”
“Well? How long were you planning to lead me on for? I’m sure you have a carefully crafted schedule for your next victim ready.”
Taeyong shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”
Tears fell onto your lap. “Taeyong, I loved you. Did you ever love me?”
The past tense killed him to hear. “Y/n, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone in all my years. You’re the only one for me.”
“Taeyong, you’re going to leave me.” You sobbed.
He shook his head. “I won’t leave you. I’ll fight for us.”
You hugged him tightly and he shushed you. He bought you a funnel cake with a large cup of lemonade to share. You both ate in silence for a few minutes.
You broke the silence.“When Mark said I had a pairing session, that means that I’m being matched with someone. Someone that isn’t you…”
“Yes…”
“Taeyong, I don’t want to be matched with someone else. What are we going to do?”
“I have a plan.”
You sighed. “I’m being selfish.” “What? No...Why would you think that?”
You took a sip of the lemonade. “The consequences of you disobeying...God, I still can’t believe it....I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Taeyong replied, “Let me deal with that, y/n. I will fight for us. It’ll take some convincing but after all of my years with Father, he has to listen to me.”
[The Next Day]
Tonight was the animal shelter’s fundraising gala in downtown Isla. It was held at the lavish Sun and Moon Hotel’s ballroom. Your potential partner would be in attendance tonight but you didn’t care. All you cared about was Taeyong and what he had up his sleeve. Mark was mingling with the other guests. He didn’t know that you were in on his plans with you. He met your eyes and smiled, playing the part of the oblivious but charming young man.
As far as Mark knew, you and Taeyong broke up last night so you had to look miserable. And frankly, you felt miserable not knowing what was about to happen with Taeyong. There was a chance you could lose him forever tonight. But you held onto the chance of remaining with him.
You forced a smile and continued to mingle with the guests. Meanwhile, Taeyong disguised himself and kept an eye on Mark. Mark may have been a well-established Cupid by now but he was not at Taeyong’s level. He was off by a few centuries.
The shelter had received a lot of donations from many local businesses and celebrities. You gave a thank you speech to all the attendees for their generosity and raised your glass to them. The uncertainty was killing you underneath it all.
Taeyong watched Mark prepare his arrow, then. Mark was no longer seen by humans. You realized Mark and Taeyong were missing, which meant it was time. Taeyong prepared his arrows. He stabbed himself with his own arrow as he watched you. Right before Mark shot his arrow, Taeyong shot at you. You turned to him, then, finally able to see him. Mark realized too late what he had done.
Mark yelled. “What have you-”
Taeyong and Mark vanished.
[5 Years Later]
The year you spent with Taeyong had vanished from your memory. The night of the gala after Taeyong and Mark disappeared, you continued on with your life. Living with an inexplicable hole in your heart. You thought it was because you were being dramatic. Seeing a lot of your friends get married and have kids didn’t help your case either. Meanwhile, you were alone. Working hard and thriving, sure. But emotionally, you weren’t all there.
None of your friends or family remembered Taeyong either. It was as if he never existed to any of you. One day, Jisoo introduced you to one of her friends from her gym. You two hooked up not too long afterwards. The night was fun. It was a one-time thing.
However, that one-time thing ended up in your pregnancy. The father wanted nothing to do with your child so he skipped town. You didn’t hold it against him. The child was unplanned and you decided to carry on with the pregnancy on your own. Your friends and family were very supportive. You gave birth to a baby girl named Daisy.
The emptiness in your heart was filled by your love for Daisy. She was your world. She was your partner in crime. You wanted to give her everything good the world had to offer. Maybe someday you could give her a father.
After dropping her off at pre-school, you stopped by the post office to send out a letter to your pen pal. Isla recently started up a pen pal program for its citizens to send each other letters and gifts. You were paired up with someone who shared a lot of the same interests as you: favorite movies, foods, and animals.
You were paired up with a man named Lee Taeyong.
Dear Taeyong,
I’m sending you a copy of my favorite movie of all time, Jurassic Park. Please let me know if you like it. If you do, there’s a bunch of stickers in it for you. I hope you have safe travels to Munich and Budapest.
Warmly,
y/n
Taeyong had faced serious consequences for interfering with your pairing session. The work that had to be put in to pair up y/n’s original partner, Nakamoto Yuta, with someone else put everyone into a frenzy. Thankfully, the damage was repaired.
However, the Lord was pissed. Taeyong disobeyed him. Even though God adored him, he knew he had to be punished. For every second it took for Taeyong to fall in love with you, it would take a year for you two to reunite.
God relieved Taeyong of his Cupid duties and wished him a wonderful life as a human. He looked forward to Taeyong returning to him again one day.
Taeyong returned to Isla with an established job as a pilot. Ruby remained with him. His friends Sicheng and Kun would look after her while Taeyong was away now and then. He loved traveling the world but he loved coming home to Ruby most of all. He tried dating a couple of times but it never clicked with anyone. And hook-ups were a thing of the past. He wanted something serious. He hoped to find someone to call his person someday.
He recently sent his pen pal a letter before departing for his flight to Paris.
Dear y/n,
I loved Jurassic Park. I can’t believe I wasted so many years of my life not knowing this movie. Don’t hold back on the stickers. I’m sending you a copy of one of my favorite movies. It’s called Train to Busan. Try not to swoon too hard over Gong Yoo or I might get a little jealous.
Warmly,
Taeyong
You two exchanged letters frequently and after a few more months, you decided to meet up at the cafe right next to the shelter. Taeyong walked past the shelter, arriving early for your meet-up. He was thrilled to meet you and finally put a face to your name. He looked at the windows where adoptions were currently underway.
That was when he saw you.
And just like that everything flooded back to him. How you two already knew each other once. How you became friends and grew together. How you fell in love.
He ran into the shelter and called your name. “Y/n!”
You were answering a volunteer’s question when you heard someone call your name. When you turned to the person who called you, it all came rushing back to you. All of the memories. All of the love for him that you carried in your heart. 
“Taeyong…” Your eyes welled up.
You ran towards each other. You jumped into his arms, then. You laughed and cried together. You took a ten minute break to sit outside with Taeyong.
“I can’t believe it’s you…” He cried.
“Me neither...It’s been five years…”
“Five years...A year for every second it took for me to fall in love with you…” Geez, he thought, God was so unfair and so corny at the same time.
Five years without each other was too much for either of you to bear. You caught up on each other’s lives. Taeyong was shocked to find out you have a daughter. You were shocked that Taeyong was a human now.
But now this meant that you two could grow old together. Daisy could finally have a father. And you couldn’t wait to hold Ruby again.
[1 Year Later]
After a year of dating and getting to know each other again, you and Taeyong got married. Daisy and Taeyong adored each other. Ruby was happy to see you again and more than happy to welcome Daisy into her life. It was a beautiful union.
All of your friends were in attendance. Jisoo was weeping so hard. Jaehyun and his boyfriend Johnny were in attendance. Taeyong was shocked that it hadn’t been Jaehyun who claimed your heart after all this time. It turned out that Jaehyun was just a concerned friend. They became good friends.
You got married at the beach. You wore a stunning mermaid white gown. You walked down the aisle with a train decorated with white daisies. The white daisies translated to: “I love you truly.” Sicheng, a violinist, played his rendition of “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo. It was yours and Taeyong’s song.
Taeyong donned a black tuxedo. A daisy decorated his lapel. He nearly broke down in tears at how lovely you looked. You couldn’t help the huge smile on your face.
You recite your vows to each other. You started, “Taeyong, from the moment we first met...My life became tinted in shades of pinks and oranges again. I could see that the world could be beautiful. You helped me find happiness again. A happiness I didn’t know I needed until I met you. I adore you and will adore you even into the afterlife. Whatever happens, I will always be here for you. You have my heart. My everything. I cannot wait to spend our lives together with Daisy, Ruby, and our future children. I love you.”
Taeyong replied, “Y/n, you are my world. I found love in you. You are the light of my life. You made me a better person and you made me want to live and enjoy life. The world is beautiful because of you. I love you with all of my heart. I promise you that we will always be together. No matter what life...and the after life...will throw at us. I am yours. I will always be with you. My love. My darling y/n...I love our family. Daisy and Ruby, we love you so much. I cannot wait to raise our family together, y/n. I love you.”
Officiant Kun continued, “By the power vested in me by the State of Sweetwater, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
Taeyong scooped you up and kissed you, earning applause from your friends and family.
A magical day of many. You two lived happily ever after.
Fin.
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pixy-stix-art · 3 years
Note
I was thinking about the tiny assistant au and like how it would be so crazy and jarring if benchtrio switched places! Idk how that would work logically, the best my brain could think up is either a shared dream or just like, not cannon but I would love to see you write it.! Ranboo having to get used to being big and not having information just. Fed through their brain + having to walk everywhere and being super tired bc tubbo usually carries them. And not knowing how gentle to be with tubbo.1/2
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Ok so I know I should work on the beginning of this AU, but this was too good not to do something for. So not cannon, but a very good idea. I don’t know how close this ended up being what you wanted, but I hope you like it. This would take place before Tubbo finds Tommy and shortly after Tubbo and ranboo actually become friends.
(I spent way to much time on this and I’m still not perfectly happy with it so hope you enjoy. I was to frustrated to grammar check too, also sorry it’s short)
THE SWITCH
Tiny assistant AU
(Warnings: accidentally fear play, hurt/comfort panic)
———————————————————————
Ranboo gasped at he woke up. He was on a soft surface. He must be on Tubbo’s pillow. He set up looking to see if Tubbo was awake yet. But now as he set up he was equal size with all the bed and all the familiar furniture of Tubbo’s room. He tried not to panic thinking this must be a dream, but he didn’t have dreams… He slowly stood up looking around. He was human sized now. He tried to feel outwards with his mind for his phone to maybe figure out what happened. But he couldn’t feel his phone. Ok, now he could panic.
Tubbo grumbled as he woke up on a hard cold surface. He couldn’t remember why he wasn’t in his warm soft bed. He set up rubbing his eyes. He froze as he looked around. He… he was sitting on top of a phone…on his desk. He yelled scrambling away from the phone. That he now recognized as Ranboo’s. “What the fuck?!” He yelled catching up to the fact that he was small. As small as Ranboo or Tommy was.
Ranboo jumped out of his spiraling thoughts as he heard a scream. A familiar one, Tubbo. He looked around not seeing his friend. “Tubbo?” He called out.
Tubbo froze as a voice calling his name rang out. He covered his ears, it was too loud! He wimped as he felt information buzz in his head informing his that it was Ranboo who called him. But how was Ranboo so lound? Unless… He slowly took his hands off his ears now fully looking at his giant room. There stood someone who he assumed was Ranboo, but he didn’t look quite the same…. He looked human. No mismatched skin or tux. Just a normal black shirt with black n white pants, and blonde-ish hair. “Ranboo…?” He called out nervously to who he hoped was his friend.
Ranboo heard a small voice say his name. He turned looking at the desk. His eyes widened to see Tubbo standing on the desk. He slowly walked over and bent down so he could be at eye level with Tubbo. “What happened?” He asked eyes shining with awe.
“I-I don’t know….” Tubbo said backing up from his much bigger friend. Oh god….he was so much taller now…
“I think we switched, I’m human and you’re a assistant?” Ranboo tilted his head. Tubbo looked a bit different. Did he have, horns? He reached out to Tubbo curious of what he was looking at. He quickly pulled his hand back seeing the fear on Tubbo’s face. “Oh, sorry…” He winced.
Tubbo took a deep breath seeing the giant hand retreat. “Um, it’s ok. You just startled me a bit.” He was more then startled but he Rudy want Ranboo to feel bad. He was so much bigger now, Ranboo could literally do anything to him right now. Maybe he would? After all Tubbo did to him at first, why wouldn’t Ranboo want a little revenge?
“Oh, ok.” Ranboo said much softer now. He felt bad for scaring Tubbo. He wasn’t used to being scary. Tubbo must be so freaked out. “I was just curious about your horns.” He said.
“My whAT?!” Tubbo screeched feeling his head. Sure enough there was two small horns coming out of his head. “I have horns?!” He yelled freaking out again.
“Whao! It ok.” Ranboo said trying to calm him down without touching him. “You’re a assistant now. It’s not permanent!” He rushed out not wanting Tubbo to get to upset. Negative emotions took up more battery. He didn’t want Tubbo to have to deal with a low battery.
“How do we know it’s not permanent?! We don’t even know what happened to us!” Tubbo glared at Ranboo. He paced the top of his desk. “I’m so small right now anything could happen! I have a headache from this constant stream of information running though my head! I can’t even understand half of it, and you could do whatever you wanted to me! You could take your revenge for everything I did to you…” Tubbo stoped pacing as he got the the end of his rant. He looked nervously up at Ranboo. Oh no, this is when he hurts me. He thought.
Ranboo felt horrible hearing the end of Tubbo’s rant. He wasn’t going to hurt Tubbo! They were friends now, he wouldn’t ever hurt him. “Oh, Tubbo. No I’m not going to hurt you.” He said sadly.
“B-but I deserve it. After hurting you so much…. I should have some sort of punishment for what I did.” He hung his head. He tensed up seeing Ranboo being his hands up to him and curl around him. He squeezed his eyes closed.
Ranboo gently and slowly curled his hands around Tubbo. He gently rubbed Tubbo’s back. “Hey, Tubbo look at me.” He said softly.
Tubbo slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Ranboo. “W-what are you going to do?”
“I’m not going to do anything.” Ranboo frowned. “You’re my friend Tubbo. I’m would never hurt you. I know you’re scared, but it’ll be ok. I promise.”
Tubbo broke down going to hug Ranboo’s fingers. “I-I’m so sorry.” He sobbed clinging to Ranboo.
“You don’t have to apologize. I know how scary it is. But I’ll help you till you get back to normal.” Ranboo said curling his fingers around Tubbo. “Can I pick you up.” He asked.
Tubbo was nervous to be held. But he nodded anyway. If Ranboo wasn’t going to hurt him then it should be ok to be held. He just wished he could turn his brain off.
Ranboo curled his fingers around Tubbo picking him up. He was fascinated by what it felt like to hold a small person. He was surprised feel how protective he was over Tubbo like this. “You ok?” He asked holding him near his face.
“I think so….” Tubbo said starring into Ranboo’s eyes with awe. They where so close right now.
“Ok good.” Ranboo sighed. He smiled softly noticing Tubbo staring. “Whatcha looking at?” He asked with a chuckle.
“What? Nothing!” Tubbo looked away laughing. The tension was slowly going away.
“Uh huh…” Ranboo rolled his eyes. He smiled. It was good to hear Tubbo laughing.
It was calm as they talked like they always did. Till Tubbo frowned feeling a ache in his arm. “Ow….” He mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Ranboo asked.
“My arm feels funny?” Tubbo shook his head.
“Does it hurt?” Ranboo held Tubbo closer looking him over.
“Kinda? It’s really not that-“ Tubbo jumped as a lound voice? Ran through his head telling him he needed to charge and the pain got worse.
“Tubbo?!” Ranboo asked worriedly.
“I- think the battery in the phone is low…” He leaned back in Ranboo’s hand not being able to sit up.
“Oh no-“ Ranboo rushed to find his, no Tubbo’s phone. He grabbed it and hurriedly plugged it into a charger. He looked back at Tubbo in his hand. “Is that better?”
“A little.” Tubbo nodded. “The pain is going away.” All though slowly… he wasn’t going to tell Ranboo that.
“Ok good.” He sighed. He hadn’t wanted Tubbo a go though that. He should’ve kept an eye on the phone. “I’m so sorry I should have charged the phone sooner.”
“It’s ok. I’m ok.” Tubbo waved Ranboo off.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not…” Ranbo was going to say more but was cut off by a door opening and closing now stairs.
“What was that?” Tubbo asked hearing the loud slam.
“I think that was your dad coming home.” Ranboo said quietly frozen still.
“Oh shit-“
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lioncunt · 3 years
Text
any way the wind blows review!!!
gonna put it under a cut but tl;dr i really really loved it and even the things that i was on the fence about i’ve decided i love as well lmfao
so i kind of knew going into both this and wayward son that the plot wouldn’t really EVER be as narratively satisfying as carry on’s. it would definitely be interesting and have a lot of cool thematic elements, but in terms of being a grand deconstruction of the “chosen one” genre, it couldn’t ever get better than carry on. and i’m so happy rainbow didn’t try to MAKE it that. she didn’t pull a supernatural and up the stakes to impossible, outlandish degrees. both wayward son and awtwb had realistic, fascinating plots that served as a metaphor for the internal struggles of the characters.
the reason i’m beginning this review by talking about the plot is because it’s what i’ve seen the most criticism directed towards. and like i DO get it, i also was taken aback at first at how the actual plot is kind of background noise for the first couple hundred pages. but like...i think it WORKS. again, this whole trilogy is a deconstruction. that’s its PURPOSE. obviously it’s doing other things as well, but it started by taking this well-worn and well-loved trope and completely turning it on its head, giving us permission to acknowledge all the damage it causes and how our love of this type of story is honestly kind of harmful. we turn off that part of our brains when we read harry potter or something else with traumatized child protagonists, in order for us to actually enjoy it, but the simon snow trilogy has always said, “hey, this is kind of fucked up, huh? you’re allowed to think that.”
anyway, the way that translates to the plot here is that there’s not always some huge mystical big bad, or obviously evil antagonist. the horror can be going on in the world around you, in the background of your day-to-day life dealing with your own shit, creeping up on you until suddenly your loved ones are spouting off nonsense that is an absolutely CHILLING allegory for eugenics, by the way, which i’ve seen NOBODY talk about. the clear political parallels were so well done, but not heavy-handed, and they worked wonderfully as an ending to this story. simon at the end being a target for an angry mob, who are victims of intense ableism themselves (the metaphor of being a weak mage = having a disability), how these religious extremists will point at what they deem abnormal and use them as a scapegoat, the disgusting “survival of the fittest” mentality leading to “i can make this society great again” - it was all just incredibly well written, in my opinion. and the fact that it happened so slowly, in the background, made it all the better. you don’t really notice how bad it’s getting until it’s BAD.
it also, again, works so well as a manifestation of the characters’ inner strife. others have put it better than me already, so i won’t talk about it too much, but the fact that the book is saying you don’t need to be like everyone else in order to accomplish great things and have a good life, you don't need to have magic, you don’t need to be human, you don’t need to be neurotypical or able-bodied or straight or white or ANYTHING these people will have you believe in order to make you obedient to them and hateful to others -- it’s fantastic. 
this kind of segues into the other big criticism i’m seeing, which is simon and baz’s one-day breakup. again, this has already been analyzed well, so i won't ramble about it, but wayward son was their breakup. metaphorically speaking. and i’m glad that it didn’t take some big, grand moment for them to get back together, even though it would have been narratively cathartic. that’s not how life works - it was so much better and realistic to have simon face the harsh difficulties of TRYING than dragging out a separation plot line that would have added NOTHING to his character. or baz’s. the only thing about their entire relationship that i would have done a bit differently is shorten the timeline, because a year and a half is a very long and honestly unrealistic time to go in a relationship without talking about sexual history or going on dates, even if there’s a lot of baggage. but that’s not that big a deal and i’m easily able to look past it.
(as a side note I'm getting annoyed at seeing all these takes that there’s too much sexual content. like i get it because the first two books are solidly YA and this is being marketed as YA even though it’s definitely NA, but like....sex is important. sex scenes and sexual content are an extremely important part of depicting the human experience. and lack of sex as well!! every single intimate scene between them was NOT super graphic and had such incredibly important significance narratively and character-wise - and yeah that includes any kinks that were brought up, like jesus they’re in their 20s and have been in a non-sexual relationship for a year and a half i think it’s pretty fucking relevant that there are intimate scenes!!! anyway moving on.)
i really loved penny and shepard’s plot - their relationship was so wonderful and charming and excellent for their characters, and i only wish we could have gotten their demon plot threaded into the larger picture, because after shepard was cured it felt like they were just standing there. that’s one of my very few complaints about the book. but they’re such good characters and i love them SO MUCH.
AND THANK GOD FOR AGATHA AND NIAMH. like i cannot put into words how fucking happy i was when i realized where that was headed. the cinematic nature of agatha and niamh helping the goat give birth while simon’s flying in the chapel and being targeted by a mob was just. so cool like i can’t even describe it it was so coooooool and then agatha and niamh KISSING and agatha found her PLACE and I'm so happy for her.
just in general the characters and relationships were fucking exquisite. i can’t help but love the way RR writes, especially her dialogue. it’s so real and three dimensional and her characters truly come alive and i care about them and love them so much. i’m so happy they’re happy, i wouldn’t have been able to stand it if they weren’t.
and everything got wrapped up so well in my opinion!! i don’t know what the hell people are talking about when they say they still have questions, like girl what about??? simon found his family, simon got a sword that isn’t tied to trauma, baz found out that he’ll get to grow old with simon, all their families are okay, penny and shepard are in love, agatha’s herding goats and a lesbian, there will probably be new threats and antagonists but they'll be able to handle them, life will continue to be difficult but they’ll get through it like WHAT do you not understand what’s not clicking i genuinely want to know. 
ok actually i have ONE single question and that’s. did baz pick up the sword at the end. because the way it’s written it sounds like he did and i like do not understand that at all. someone answer please.
anyway that’s my review 10/10 would recommend
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hmslusitania · 3 years
Note
I see we're going ape over buddie and Choices tonight so
Yknow in 2.07, when Shannon comes back and her and Eddie have their first scene together? The argument at the end, after Eddie says it wouldn't be a good idea for her to see Christopher bc she left them, she says she needed him, she needed a husband and a co-parent - and "I needed someone to have my back!"
To which EDDIE says, "I always had your back"
*insert Incredibles "coincidence? I think NOT" gif here*
(Also side note, I do like that the show doesn't try to sugarcoat what Shannon did being messed up, and that Eddie's own actions weren't really the right thing either[thinking about his conversation with Buck where he says he got to pretend he left for a noble cause even tho he was running], and that it was just a sticky situation that neither of them were equipped to handle in any way, and snowballed. I do kind of wish we could've gotten post-divorce Shannon and Eddie and Christopher interactions, figuring out how they fit together, if at all, bc I like those intricate and messy situations but I could see how that might get too close to retreading old ground re: Michael and Athena's divorce. But I do hate how ive seen the fandom like. Seem to oversimplify things with Shannon sometimes? And make her the ultimate villain, and Eddie Did Nothing Wrong, Ever)
Hi Anon!
The decision to have Buck and Eddie's first bonding moment end with "You can have my back any day" and "or, y'know, you could have mine" only to then six episodes later find out that at least a contributing factor to Eddie's marriage dissolving was that he "didn't have her back" is like. Such a galaxy brain chaos move for them to take, honestly. Like?? They could've had the phrasing be literally anything in 2x07 but instead they had it directly echo Buck and Eddie in 2x01. What was the reason? Why did they do this?
As for the rest of your ask:
(gosh this got long and, uh, opinionated. It is Not Pretty below the cut)
One of the things I really liked about Eddie Begins is that we did get to see him at the beginning of his journey in being Chris's dad because it gives us an opportunity to appreciate how amazingly he's grown as a father. Like, he didn't start out as a perfect dad and he was definitely kind of lost in the woods at the beginning there when it came to the whole "how do I parent" thing. And before Eddie Begins, we'd only ever seen the end result of the growth he's gone through, where he really is a fantastic dad whose son is basically his entire reason for being. Before Eddie Begins, we get to hear him say things like "I left first" and "I've failed that kid more times than I can count but I love him enough to never stop trying" but we kinda have to take that on faith? Because we hadn't actually seen him be anything besides a good dad until we saw his Begins episode. (And even then in his begins it's like "area man in his early 20s unsure how to care for small child while also coping with PTSD and a toxic support system" which like. yeah. no shit. there's one hell of a learning curve there)
The thing about Eddie and Shannon as a couple and as parents that always gets to me is that they were so fucking young. We don't know exactly how old Eddie is in the show, but we can guesstimate pretty safely that he's around the same age as Ryan which would make him between 23 and 24 when Chris was born, and it seems reasonable to believe Shannon was around the same age. It's also a pretty common reading in the fandom -- although I'm not sure how much canon support there is for it because we really, really don't know anything about their relationship pre-Christopher unless I'm forgetting something -- that they got married because Shannon got pregnant and that was the Done Thing. And when you're 23-24, baby on the way, freshly married, that is just like. So much. It sure as hell ruined my parents' relationship when they did that exact thing, and then they disliked each other until they were 27 and then they got divorced, and no one was happier than me about it, I have to tell you.
Back to the show, I can only give you my impressions, obviously, but the impression I have always gotten from the whole "I left too" conversation and the context that goes into it and the different behaviours we see exhibited by the characters is that Eddie "left" first and it comes across to me that he was basically an early twenty-something kid running scared from the abstract concept of being a father in general, and then when he was forced home by an honourable discharge, and was confronted with the reality of Christopher, he managed to step the fuck up and become Christopher's dad. It's there in 2x02, right? "Oh, you've got a kid? I love kids!" "I love this one." Eddie doesn't strike me as a Swiss Army Knife all-purpose Dad(tm) the way Bobby is. Eddie is Christopher's dad. (and like, of course, he's obviously moved by kids when he's on a call, we've seen that enough times to know that if there's a child who can even glancingly remind him of Christopher, Eddie's sense of self-preservation goes out the window, and I love that about him as heart-stopping as it can be in practice)
Shannon, on the other hand, didn't run from the idea of being a mother -- at first. When she left, it wasn't from the abstract. She left Chris (and "gave up" on Eddie, thanks Helena). She was not running from a concept, she was running from a reality. I think Shannon is a fascinating character to include in a television show as a side character, because she really isn't a one note character. Like, she was unarguably a bad mother, and from what we saw, she was a questionable romantic partner to have (but as you said, anon, Eddie was also not 100% the best romantic partner when he was with Shannon either; their entire relationship so far as I can tell was built on sexual chemistry which, uh, super does not sustain a relationship), but she also seems to have been a devoted daughter? I mean, yeah, it's entirely possible that her mom being sick was a convenient excuse to bail -- and obviously she didn't come back after her mom died, and didn't, y'know, contact her son or husband in the interim, so yes, I can see that being a valid way to read the situation. I don't think she's the Ultimate Evil, because she strikes me as a very human character in all the ways that people are more often than not really fucking flawed.
But then we get back to the actual break-up scene. The first time I watched it (and second, and third; then the fourth time the person I was watching with was like "I mean, sure, but it could also be read in this light") her "I'm just learning how to be someone's mother" speech really bothered me? Partly because it was the abstraction of it, right? Eddie doesn't like kids, he likes Christopher, and Shannon sort of had the inverse journey there, I guess, where it went from she didn't know how to be Christopher's mother, to she didn't know how to be a mother. And that speech bothered me because it always sounded to me like she was bailing again. She begged Eddie to let her back into Christopher's life (guilt? I guess?) and like, straight up bribed him with sex which was sure a choice, and then decides -- for a second time -- that she's out. It sounded, to me, she was handing Eddie papers and maybe, in a few years, possibly, once she'd had "time" to "figure out how to be someone's mother" she would try again. Just like she had in the interim between leaving when Christopher was little and the time of season 2.
And like, that could totally be a misunderstanding of the scene and what she was saying. It's what I took away from it, but that could very well be influenced by the fact I was raised by divorced parents and my dad had custody and if you count up all the time I spent with either parent when I was a minor, I was predominantly raised by my father and have had an especially tempestuous relationship with my mother that is mostly (sometimes) repaired now that I'm in my late twenties and have not lived with her since I was sixteen.
Back to the show, and to your comment that the fandom tends to treat Shannon like the Ultimate Evil and act like Eddie Did Nothing Wrong, I mean. Yeah. Fandom as a rule tends to shirk nuance. We're all fools here on the internet sitting in our blue industrial waste container crying about a wee woo show. I personally believe a more nuanced take on that might be that Eddie has shown a great capacity to learn from his mistakes (sometimes to make fun, shiny, new ones, but for the most part, just like ends up doing better the next time) and Shannon did not show that capacity in the time we knew her.
I think, depending on what they did with it, there was potential for an interesting storyline if they'd played through the divorce. I don't think it would've been rehashing ground covered by Michael and Athena's divorce because I can't see Eddie and Shannon having reached a point of amicability and friendship. The only thing we know they had in common was Christopher, and frankly, when you boil it down, the ways they engaged with Christopher as a person were so disparate that -- to me -- it really didn't seem like they had Christopher in common when you get right down to it. But I wouldn't have wanted to see Christopher and Eddie dragged through an ugly divorce process. They deserve better than that.
There's also a conversation to be had about Shannon's blatant ableism towards her own son, but that is extremely not my lane since I am not disabled myself. But even from an outside perspective, basically their entire parking lot conversation in Haunted, uh, haunts me with it's repugnance and the fact that instead of calling her on any of it, Eddie "Chronically touch starved" Diaz's response was to kiss her? Gosh golly do I wish that was one of the mistakes he learned from properly instead of finding a new, shiny version.
ANYWAY this got long, tl;dr (although if you clicked on the read more, you probably read it) version is No, Shannon is not the Ultimate Evil, she's a shitty mom not a demon in a skin suit and a pretty yellow sundress; and No, Eddie is not a flawless human who's never done wrong in his life but holy fuck is he trying and he'd be the first person to tell you he's made mistakes (and often has been); and no, sorry, I don't want to see the divorce storyline play out because we probably would've had to see either Eddie Bashing, Shannon Redemption, or Shannon turning up again like a cardboard cut out of a cartoon villain the way Eva did and I want to be witness to exactly zero of those things.
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Quick AU where Danny stays in town during Girls Night Out
Yeah, random thoughts spring into brain. Danny is trans. I think that's enough background info. Also, Tumblr got a new post editor, so I'm betaing it right now.
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Danny was supposed to go fishing with his dad. But something came up. AKA, Vlad wanted him to go visit him without Danny. So Danny was in Amity Park when he was supposed to be having dad bonding time. What could he say? His dad got that dumb book and everything. It was gonna be epic. Except stupid Vlad had to go and ruin everything. Whatever. Dad said they would go next weekend.
The first big issue was when Tucker disappeared. And he didn't. Might've been a dumb ghost thing. So he and Sam went to find stuff out. Except all the men in town were gone. It was glaring. "I-I'm sure it's nothing Danny!" Sam said nervously. "Yeah. It's gotta have been a stupid mistake. Maybe I'm immune cause I'm half ghost," Except there weren't any male ghosts either. "Yeah, that's gotta be it!" That when they heard Ember. "OH YEAH! NO MORE PESKY GUYS! IT'S A GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!" "Yes. You know, I'm surprised that worked. I was afraid it might've been a ghost only thing," Spectra drawled. "Of course it worked. The superior gender always prevails," Kitty replied. "And that's obviously female," Every vein in his body was pounding. "I think you might've confused sex for gender ladies," Sam said patiently. "We're not having sex!" Ember laughed. "You do realize how invalidating this can feel for trans people?!" Sam shrieked back. "If they're still here, that means it's a she," Spectra grinned. That was the last straw. He ran. As fast as he could. And for a half ghost that was fast. Once he got home, he slammed the door.
Sam saw Danny run off and knew how this was looking for him. "Isn't this rich? The ghost boy is really a girl," Kitty grinned. "I'm surprised I didn't notice sooner," Spectra laughed. Ember stayed oddly quiet for someone who was normally boisterously loud.
Danny curled in on himself. Herself. NO! Don't second guess yourself. It change the fact that it hurt. "All the men in town are gone!" He heard Jazz yell. "I realize that Jazz. Thank goodness your father is out of town," Mom sighed. "Wait, but Danny isn't! I really hope..." She was standing in his doorway. "FUCKING GHOSTS!" Jazz didn't swear. She never swore. "What is it Jazz? Oh. Danny, I'm so sorry," Mom pulled him into a hug. "I'll be fine," He grumbled. "Do you know which ghosts?" Jazz decided to change the conversation. "Spectra, Kitty and Ember," "Great. Spectra is going to use this horribly," Jazz grumbled quiet enough that only Danny could hear. "Listen, we have to get the guys back first," "Wait, if you're, that means any trans women in Amity are stuck there," Mom said. "Can we not talk about that? I'm seriously not in the mood," "At least pesky Phantom won't be here to get in the way," Jazz and Danny exchanged a look. Sam came bursting in. "Danny! Okay, I am going to make them even deader than before," Sam cracked her knuckles. "I'm fine Sam. Let's just find a way to fix this," "I have an idea!" Jazz said. "No," Danny, Sam and Mom said in unison. "Oh come on. Don't be like that. Not all my plans are bad," Jazz protested. "Speaking from experience (of being trapped in a thermos way too much for one night), that is completely untrue," "What was that about thermoses Danny?" Mom said. "Jazz put soup in my Fenton Thermos!" "I couldn't tell them apart! We really need to label things," "Like with a massive sticker that say Fenton?" "All our stuff has those!" "Fair enough," Danny conceded. It was the plan if anyone caught them talking about getting trapped in thermoses. It made sense because it actually happened. "Well, since Jazz's plan is out, I opt that we figure out how this whole thing happened," Mom said. "It's a combo between Kitty and Ember. Kitty has this thing that makes men disappear into another dimension. And Ember must've used her guitar to make it cover all of Amity. If we don't get them out in twelve hours, they'll be stuck there forever," "And I will have to resign to a life of raging dysphoria," "You were gonna have that anyways," "Times ten. This won't help anyways, but it won't be all bad," "Let's stop talking about you being trans. Danny, you're staying here," Jazz winked. He knew what that meant. They would get all the men back and Danny would keep the ghosts at bay. "Okay. So, from what they were blabbing, all we have to do is get them to do it again," Sam said. Once they had a plan in place, all they had to do was implement it. They left and Danny quickly transformed. Praying that Spectra wouldn't find a way to use this against him, he sped off. "Hey! Poo faces! I'm not gone, and it semi pisses me off!" He screamed. "Oh now sweety. Why would you want to leave behind the superior gender?" Spectra said. "Because it makes me feel horrible and like I was born wrong," "You were, weren't you," Don't let Spectra sink her claws in Fenturd! "Yeah, maybe I was, but if I work hard enough I can fix it," "How is Danny Phantom still here?" He heard Paulina say. Nope, not listening. "They're all going to know. You can't do anything about that," Spectra laughed evilly. "Now girls, follow the recipe! You too now," "I'm. NOT A GIRL!" The wail was probably ill planned, but Danny wasn't thinking straight. Shit, humans. He cut himself off. "Oh come on now. No matter how many times you tell yourself that, you still have to cover parts of yourself. Don't tell me you don't wake up every morning and wish you were a real boy?" "I am. I am a real boy. I just have to take a few extra steps to get there," "Oh come on now. Stop lying to yourself. Maddie, how can you possibly call these eggs? They're green," Okay, maybe dealing with Spectra first was a bad idea. But she was also taunting his mom. Deal with Ember. She must be better than this.
So he flew to a stage. Ember was rocking out with a bunch of girls. Sam was in the background. This was probably one of the less dangerous problems. "Listen, if you're going to taunt me for the fact that I'm still here, do it already," "Hey, listen kid. I'm not actually going to taunt you. Kitty and Spectra are being complete jerks, but I'm not going to judge you for being trans," "Y-you're not?" "Heck no! I'm doing this because I wanted to have a fun night without guys. You included. I'll just have to take a few extra steps to get rid of you!" Danny dodged the guitar strum easily. "Are you planning on bringing them back at the end of the night?" "That's really up to Kitty," "I guess," Sam could deal with Ember.
Next up was Kitty. Oh great, makeup. (I honestly forget what Kitty was doing, so makeup works) "Now girls. All you gotta do is apply the bronzer like so!" "Kitty! How would Johnny feel if he knew you were doing this?" "Oh come on now Ghost girl, you can't be serious. Johnny is having a guys night in all due time," "HEY! Don't you dare. Transphobia doesn't help anyone," Jazz yelled. "Oh stop complaining. She knows she doesn't belong with the guys. From the looks of it, Spectra's already gotten to you. This'll make this so much easier,"
The plan backfired immensely. Danny and Mom were a mess, Sam didn't manage to get the guitar, and Jazz just got in a debate with Kitty. Danny, having to keep up a facade, came downstairs. "How'd it go?" "Terribly. Though, I did learn the Ghost Boy is trans," Mom said. "Fascinating," "It's, well it's oddly human. Why would a ghost even bother?" "Turns out gender dysphoria comes to the grave," "Danny, this is no time for one of your morbid jokes," Yeah, maybe it was morbid, but it wasn't a joke. "Whatever. I guess we get to use Jazz's plan," "All we gotta do is convince them that a cis guy is still in town. Like wandered in after the disappearing act," "Great plan. Sam can't pretend to be me though," "How did you know I was going to do that?" "Lucky guess,"
So that's how Jazz ended up wearing a baseball cap and a pair of men's jeans into Ember's concert. "Did we really have to use a pair of dad's jeans? These barely fit," "You know, the fact that they fit at all should be surprising. Dad was skinny at one point in his life. Which means that one of us could be on his end of the gene pool," "It's probably you," "Don't make me think about that. Hiding what little chest I have is hard enough. If I got dad's genes, I'd honestly be terrified," "We haven't seen the women on his side of the family. And besides, you got the blue eyes black hair thing," "You are honestly scaring me. Now, I gotta scram before someone sees me talking to you. Mom or the ghosts," "Fair,"
And thus, the plan worked. Kitty, adamant that no men be left in Amity, blew another kiss. Ember amplified it. The men came back. The three got thermosed. Jazz laughed at their faces when they honestly though she was from out of town. Danny once again didn't get taken, even in ghost form.
Tucker and Sam found him curled up in his bed. "Hey man. I know this has gotta be tough for you," Tucker said. "Spectra had no right!" Sam continued. "Thanks guys. But I think I'm gonna take a few days off school," The trio heard Dash's voice outside. "Hey mom. I know what happened was scary. And I know it must've felt really bad, but I still see you as my mom," "Thanks Dash. I can always count on you to make me feel better," A woman's voice rang out. Danny looked over the window sill. "See Danny. It's not horribly weird. Just a few transphobic ghosts," Tucker laughed. "A couple," "What?" Sam and Tucker said in unison. "Ember isn't," "How do you know that?" "I talked to her," "Hey Fenturd! Don't you dare tell anyone about my mom! And don't be mean to her! I'm sure you wouldn't get it," "You'd be surprised Dash!" He grabbed his trans flag and hung it out the window. "I get it more than you seem to think!" Dash's mom smiled at him. "Y-you're trans? I thought you were just a loser!" "Yeah, and I had to talk to the transphobic ghosts. So I won't invalidate your mom!" Dash stared up at him. "Holy shit,"
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Praying that this uploads, cause I've got shoddy internet rn. And I'm working on my Gravity Falls crossover fic. I just had this pop into my mind. Prolly just gonna be a oneshot. I might make another fic about Jack's side of the family later, that's connected to this one.
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peaceoutofthepieces · 3 years
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Tracing Time
Disclaimer that I am not a therapist nor bipolar but I have had a therapist so I’m hoping it’s not too awful of a depiction. Also want to add a minor content warning for the ending scene for homophobia, nothing explicit or even verbal, just a woman with an icky vibe.
Wednesday, 16:04
Song: Haux - Youth
Sander tips his head against the back of the couch and stares at the fan in the corner. It drones in slow circles, doing little more than disturbing the air right in front of it. It still makes the air in the room chilly enough that Sander is glad he’s wearing a sweater, though.
Between it and the window is an ‘abstract’ painting of the brain. Abstract in that the supposed organ is actually scattered in pieces throughout the canvas, all in various states of destruction. One has trees growing out of it, for example. Another is on fire; it’s Sander’s favourite.
He’d stared at it with an absurd sort of fascination in his first session, almost two years ago now, and his therapist, Agathe, had simply smiled at him and asked if he liked art. It was a sneaky way in, but he supposed that was the point. These meetings have gotten fewer and farther apart over that time, now that he can supposedly manage himself to a high enough standard on his own. Well, not quite enough, he supposes, or he probably wouldn’t be here at all. He can practically hear Agathe’s rebuke that they are just ‘casual check-ins’, and Sander is free to go whenever he pleases.
At every one of those reminders, Sander debates doing exactly that—getting up and going. Instead, he usually ends up slumping sullenly for a few minutes before Agathe prods her way back in.
They haven’t been mandatory in a long time, these sessions, but now there’s just something...reassuring. There are still times he doesn’t bother making an appointment, but knowing he can, and knowing that someone with the right knowledge doesn’t see any reason to worry about him, leaves a pretty damn good sense of relief.
And he did have a bit of a blip, at the start of the year. A few days in which he had to be prodded and coerced into just taking a drink of water, and had spent the majority of in his room. It had overlapped the holidays, so he’d let Robbe come and cocoon himself with him for a good chunk of the time.
It hadn’t made him better. But it made him...safe, or something similar, and that was the most he could hope for.
It was the coming-out-of-nowhere aspect that had shaken him a bit. He’d felt better, just keeping up his sessions then, being sure that he was at least doing alright with his medication. It’s working okay, the sitting and talking, so he shows up and just lets Agathe keep making sure.
The door cracks open now and she slips back in, dropping into the couch across from Sander and shooting him her usual calm, too-happy smile through light lipstick. It brings out her dimples. She’s not yet marred by wrinkles, but there’s something soft and aging about her face, anyway. Maybe it’s the graying roots. “Sorry about that, I forget this thing way too often.” She holds up the clipboard she’d carried in with an exasperated sigh, murmuring under her breath as she flicks through it and gets settled.
It’s all painfully familiar. It makes Sander smile.
He does like her. He’s never bothered denying that.
“So, how are we today?” It’s the same way she always starts, though it’s usually accompanied by—ah, there we go—clasped hands and another smile.
“Good,” Sander says. It’s automatic, but he also means it. Today is fine. It’s good.
She raises her brow when he doesn’t offer anything else. “Alright, good. Belated birthday wishes are in order, I believe?”
“Yeah, thank you. Just yesterday.”
She nods, and Sander does not think about how that was dumb when she obviously already knows. But she just settles back and crosses her legs. “Did you do anything to celebrate?”
Sander’s lips finally stretch in a smile of his own. He thinks it’s probably a little dopey, a little lovestruck, and she probably knows exactly what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth. “I had breakfast with my parents because Robbe took me out for dinner. Then he had a surprise party planned at our friends’ flat.”
“A party on a school night?” Agathe’s brows raise, and she shakes her head with a small laugh. “How do they deal with that today?”
“No clue,” Sander breathes out a huff of his own, trying not to feel overly amused by how Gilles had been in the class they shared with Sander earlier in the day. For once, they hadn’t said a word, just sat with their head down for the entire lecture, wincing every now and then when Sander laughed. He hadn’t even heard from any of the others, but Robbe had looked dead on his feet this morning, as well. He’d sent Sander a slightly sunnier selfie about half an hour ago, though, so he’s probably fine. “Not very well, I imagine.”
She tilts her head. “You seem well enough.”
“Well, I wasn’t drinking,” Sander shrugs.
At this, her serene little smile returns and her nod seems approving, and even though Sander hadn’t been looking for it, he grudgingly admits that it feels good. “I know that can be a difficult choice, and I’d rarely be able to make it myself,” she laughs again. “It’s great that you feel strong and comfortable enough in that group to do your own thing.”
Sander can’t help a little snort. “Are you kidding? It was one of them that had me drinking mocktails.”
“Really?” Agathe grins.
“Yeah, but then he got kinda drunk, and the last couple he made me were just disgusting because he thought these awful mixtures would be a really good idea.”
She laughs gently. “Well, it seems like it’s not the worst. ‘He’ isn’t Robbe?”
Sander shakes his head. “No, but one of his friends.”
“And what about Robbe, then? How is he?”
“Good.” A soft smile steals over his face. “The best, as always.”
“Treating you well.”
Sander’s smile widens, and he raises his brows without saying anything.
Agathe points at him. “Not what I meant, and not what I need to know.”
“I thought we can talk about whatever I want in here,” Sander says innocently.
“Alright, then,” she acquiesces. “Tell me all about it.”
Sander blanches. He thinks about it, opens his mouth, and then thinks about it some more. Closes his mouth again.
Her smile is downright devious. “That’s what I thought.”
He huffs. “It’s very healthy, just so you know.”
“I am sure.”
“Explorative. Always consenting, of course. Frequent.”
“All very normal and well for teenage boys,” she nods, and it would be completely serious if Sander couldn’t see her eyes twinkling. She pauses. “Although, I can’t call you that anymore. How does it feel to be twenty?”
Sander narrows his eyes. “Nice change of subject.”
“Oh, if you had more to say, please continue. Just a thought that occurred to me, I don’t mean to steer you, you know that.”
He does know that, and it makes him pause, because. How does it feel to be twenty? He realises he hasn’t thought about it. He realises that’s probably a good thing—that he didn’t get stuck on his birthday this year, that it was something he just enjoyed. Maybe it was simply going to sleep next to Robbe that helped, but no anxiety had taken over at the end of the day.
Even after his conversation with Jens. It’s not the most prominent part of the day of Sander’s mind even now. Instead he finds himself tucking his hand into his pocket and grasping Robbe’s key, running his thumb over the already familiar ridges.
He hadn’t even been worrying about his major fuck-up with his assignment. He’s still not.
He’s not really giving himself the chance.
Should he be?
“It feels the same as being nineteen,” he says finally. “I didn’t become a different human in a day, sadly.”
He can see her latching on. “Why do you say it like that?”
“Like what?”
“‘Sadly’?”
“It’s just...a joke.”
“Okay. But why do you think it’s funny?”
It annoys him, because she’s not judgmental. She’s neither amused nor disappointed. Just curious, earnest, all focused and attentive as she gazes calmly, patiently at Sander. Even his attempt at throwing her off, making her awkward, hadn’t shaken her. She remains unfazed, as always. It’s annoying.
“I don’t,” he admits, “I guess. I don’t know what I’d consider it.”
Agathe nods, softening in her understanding, and it makes something twist in his chest. “Are you not happy with the human you are, Sander?”
He gives her a bland look. When she keeps waiting, he shrugs, gesturing at the room.
“I know,” she says gently, “that of course, you feel you would be happier without your illness. But who you are now—what you study, what you’re passionate about, who you surround yourself with, how you live your life day to day. Do you wish all of that was different?”
Sander doesn’t have to think about it quite as much. “No. But I—“
He cuts himself off, hesitating. She raises her brows and nods, prompting him onwards but not pushing. If he really wants to wait her out, she’ll move on.
“I just wish that it was easier,” he says.
She tilts her head. “Easier how?”
“I messed up. At college. I completely missed an assignment because I mixed up the dates with another one.”
She winces in sympathy. “And what happened in that case? Does that mean that assignment is marked as a fail?”
“No,” Sander admits. “He gave me the time I thought I’d have to do it. Marked it down as an extension. It’s due on Friday now.”
“And is it going alright?”
“Yes.”
“You aren’t struggling with it too much?”
“No.”
“Then it seems like a fairly simple mistake. Easy to make and also, thankfully, easy to fix for you. It’s not unusual. But do you see it as an effect or consequence of your illness? Is that why it bothers you?”
Sander is quiet.
She sets her clipboard aside and leans forward, clasping her hands again as she considers him. “You have to remember, Sander, that all humans are not without fault. That regardless of who we are or what we may have to deal with, we will inevitably make mistakes. Not every slip up is a reflection of you, or a sign of failure, of failing health. You’ve actually been doing very well for a long time, now. But this belief, or this worry, that it is taking a hold of you again can sometimes help it take on that direction. Do you know what I mean?”
He takes a moment to absorb the words before nodding, knowing that if he answers too quickly she won’t believe he’s listening. But he does know. He understands. He hates that she’s probably right.
“So in a situation like this,” she continues, “do you not think, that it is more beneficial for you to focus on correcting your mistake and the fact that you have that ability? Not only mentally, but overall. That your professor is so understanding must mean he thinks well of you.”
He shouldn’t ask. He does anyway, quietly. “You don’t think it’s just pity, or something?”
“No,” she huffs. “No, I do not. Did he give you the impression that that was why he was doing it?”
Sander rolls his shoulders, adjusting his position. “No.”
Her smile returns. “I think,” she says slowly, “that this all shows just how well you’re doing. That you can acknowledge your doubts are likely just that—doubts—and that you take responsibility when you mess up and try to rectify it. Do you not think those are all good things? Things just as healthy as your sex life?”
It shocks a laugh out of him, and he sees her eyes crinkle. “Maybe,” he allows. “But it really is very healthy. I don’t know if anything else should be forced to live up to the standard.”
She represses a smile. “I remember there was a time when you would never have even spoken about this in such a kind way.”
She’s right. It still freaks him out, sometimes, the hypersexuality that can be induced by his mania, and it even made him hold back from Robbe after his episode, at the beginning. The last thing he wanted was to freak Robbe out, or disgust him, or make him uncomfortable. Then Robbe had seemed downtrodden for about a week before hesitantly asking Sander if he’d done something wrong or if Sander wasn’t actually attracted to him, and Sander had corrected his doubts and behaviour fairly quickly, because how dare the most beautiful boy in the universe think that?
“How do you feel you’re doing, Sander?” Agathe asks. “Because although I can observe, only you can feel what you feel. If you are genuinely worried, we can talk about it.”
“No,” Sander admits, after a moment. “I think everything is okay, actually.” Which is the best it can ever be, really.
Now her smile is genuinely happy. “I think so, too. And I think, even if it comes about that it’s not, you have a better support than ever. Do you agree?”
That one’s easy. “Yes.”
“It’s important to remember,” she adds, “maybe more than anything else, that if a lapse or an episode or whatever does occur, it’s not the end of the world. It’s also not a reflection of you, or a failure. Bad days, bad weeks, that’s all a part of life, and something we know you’re more than capable of dealing with and getting past. I’ve watched you do it many times before now and it’s an admirable, wonderful thing.”
Sander doesn’t actually know what to say to that. He just swallows, and feels oddly emotional, and offers her a slight nod.
The rest of the session passes in a lighter atmosphere. She lets him ramble about his assignment to alleviate what stress he does feel over it, and they spend the leftover minutes discussing his party.
Sander considers talking to her about the other thing on his mind, but ultimately decides against it. She’s already taught him how to work through that, and he really doesn’t think it will help to be putting it back into open air. Instead he leaves with a fairly upbeat farewell, and heads in the opposite direction from home.
Robbe had texted him about where he was meeting with Yasmina for a study session, and it takes Sander less than ten minutes of walking to get to the small cafe from his appointment. He sees the two of them as soon as he enters, but neither of them notice him, so he moves to the counter to buy himself a coffee before making his way over.
He’s a couple of feet away when Yasmina catches sight of him and offers her bright smile, and then Robbe is looking over his shoulder.
“Hello,” Sander greets them both, grinning as he cups Robbe’s cheek and leans down to kiss the crown of his head. “I can see we’re very busy.”
Robbe has his hand wrapped around Sander’s wrist, preventing him from pulling away. He turns his head and presses a sweet kiss to Sander’s palm, nuzzling lightly against it. Sander lets his fingers slip over and tug gently on the boy’s earring before Robbe tangles their hands together and offers Sander his crinkly smile. “Hi.”
“Not anymore, I guess,” Yasmina says dryly, but she’s still grinning when Sander glances back at her.
He raises his hands; well, his free one. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” He hadn’t, really, he’d just wanted to be here when they were done to take Robbe home. He always likes being in the other boy’s company after a therapy session. Despite them not being quite so heavy at the moment, it’s always draining. Robbe is always able to replenish him with soft touches and soothing kisses, providing Sander with a silent, comforting company.
“Don’t be silly,” Robbe rebukes, predictably, swinging Sander’s hand idly now. “How are you?”
Sander squeezes his hand. “Good. I’m surprised you look so healthy, though.”
Robbe groans and buries his face against Sander’s arm. “Don’t. I’m suffering in silence.” He tilts his head ‘subtly’ at Yasmina.
Yasmina raises her brows at him, somehow managing to look wholly unimpressed and teasing all at once. “At least you can stave it off with sugar and coffee.”
Robbe has the sense to look sheepish, ducking his head in a nod. “You’re right, sorry, sorry.” He lets out a sigh. “You’re on too high of a level for me, Yasmina.”
“Queen shit,” Sander agrees, just to earn one of the girl’s unimpressed glances for himself. “Should I run now?”
She rolls her eyes. “Just sit down and drink your coffee. And keep your hands to yourself, if you can manage it? I still need my study partner, thank you.”
Sander grins and obeys, swinging a seat from the next table around to join them, dropping into it happily. He doesn’t place it as close to Robbe’s as he’d like, but Robbe leans into him for a moment anyway before refocusing his attention on his friend.
For the first while, Sander is content to listen and sip his coffee, feeling tiredness begin to creep into his bones. He lets his head loll against his own shoulder, trailing his eyes over Robbe’s profile and drifting into a sort of daydream. He can see the boy’s lips moving, but he has no idea what either of them are saying. They only let out the occasional comment, trading questions and answers and sighs and mutters. Robbe’s eyes are still red and a little puffy, a sign of his lingering exhaustion. He rubs at them absently as he looks down at his book and lets out another sigh, and leaves an eyelash on his cheek.
Sander reaches out and gently swipes it away with his thumb, an entirely mindless action that has Robbe looking at him in surprise before breaking out into a smile. He catches Sander’s hand before Sander can withdraw it completely, laying it on the table next to him. Instead of holding it, Robbe runs his hand along Sander’s sleeve, rubbing the soft seam between his fingers as he continues his work.
For some reason, it makes Sander blush. He’s sure his smile is unbearably happy, and he flicks a glance at Yasmina just to make sure she doesn’t know, only to catch her eye. She’s already smiling at him, and she purses her lips and raises her brows, teasing. Sander pulls a face at her, and she simply shakes her head as her smile widens.
“Can you work on your assignment while you’re waiting for us?” Robbe questions suddenly, drawing Sander’s attention back with a tilt of his head.
Sander glances at his bag, which he’s carried with him all day since he had to go straight to his session from a class. He considers for a moment but ultimately shakes his head. With yesterday being an exception, he usually prefers working at night—and when it’s not cutting into time he could otherwise spend admiring Robbe. “I’ll work on it when I go home,” he promises. Then, because he can’t help himself, “You’re too distracting.”
Robbe’s grin is small, and exasperated, but he yearns towards Sander, leaning across the table. Sander meets him and presses a quick kiss to his lips, then his nose, his cheek, before resolutely sitting back and waving at the textbooks and notes strewn in front of them. Robbe’s grin turns into a pout for half a second before he squeezes Sander’s wrist and focuses again.
Sander sinks back with a sigh, enjoying the feeling of Robbe’s fingers brushing against his wrist and skimming his hand, but he doesn’t feel quite as settled. There’s a prickle skittering over his neck, and he looks to his side and finds a woman staring at him.
Her nose is screwed, and there’s a vague curl to her lip. The disgust in her expression only heightens as Sander meets her eye and she flicks her gaze down to where Robbe’s hand rests over his. Sander can only stare back, dumbfounded.
When she looks at his face again, he raises his brows, as utterly bored as he can manage, and it only takes a moment for her to look away and get out of her seat across the cafe.
Sander tenses as she gets closer, hand enclosing around Robbe’s entirely, but she merely offers him another look before leaving. He deflates, squeezing Robbe’s fingers. It’s only when Robbe squeezes back that he panics again and quickly looks at the boy. But Robbe is in the middle of asking Yasmina a question, neither of them having noticed a thing.
“I meant to wish you a happy birthday,” Yasmina says, breaking him out of the moment. His mind has fogged over, and it takes him a moment to process the words. By then, she’s already moving on. “How was the party, anyway?”
Robbe and Sander share a look, and Yasmina waits. “Jens hardly said a word to me the whole day,” Robbe tells Sander, but he seems more amused than upset, so Sander allows himself to laugh.
“You didn’t tell him we didn’t actually do anything?”
“I did!” Robbe raises his hands. “He didn’t believe me.”
“What, what did you do to Jens?” Yasmina asks, confused. Then, after a second, “You know what, no, I probably don’t want to know.”
She cringes, and Robbe apologises profusely as Sander bursts into laughter, the weird incident from moments ago already forgotten.
Totally forgotten.
~^~
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fanficshiddles · 3 years
Text
Recovering, Part 2/2
The team were apologetic to Loki after learning the truth. They even tried helping him out by making sure she had enough food and giving him tips about how to try and get her trust more.
Loki slowly managed to get Alice back to the stage where she was eating her cookies next to him. Just a foot away. But Loki knew not to make any sudden movements, he didn’t want to get mauled again if he could help it.
‘Alice.’ He said softly.
She lifted her head up straight away at hearing her name. He smiled and held out a cookie for her. ‘Good girl, Alice. Go on, take it. It’s ok.’
Alice looked at his outstretched hand warily, not sure about taking the cookie from his hand. But her hunger for the treat got the better of her and she quickly snatched it from him.
But it was progress in Loki’s eyes.
For safety reasons, he decided to teach her what bed meant. So when she was next to him, he carefully tossed a cookie onto her bed and said bed at the same time. She soon picked it up and would go there whenever he told her to.
That’s when he decided to leave the bathroom door open as a trial. He felt bad for keeping her cooped up in the bathroom.
He sat on his bed while he waited for her to venture out. She did, slowly, come out and look around. She wasn’t as panicked this time, so he didn’t have to worry about his room getting trashed.
But what he hadn’t taken into consideration was one idiotic brother who came barging in like there was a fire.
She freaked, naturally. But what surprised Loki the most was that she ran and hid behind him, instead of attacking Thor. Which part of him was slightly disappointed at.
After getting Thor out of his room and locking it, Alice went back to looking around. Once she had investigated every nook and cranny, she slowly went back into the bathroom to her bed.
Loki felt like he had her trust, at least to an extent. But he wished he could get to the stage of touching her, so he could try and get her more comfortable by washing her and sorting her hair out. Then getting better clothes onto her.
A week later, she came out of the bathroom more and more. Loki left the door open all the time for her.
But when she jumped up onto his bed once, he was surprised, yet pleased. She curled up at the bottom, finding it more comfortable than her own bed. He was warmed she trusted him enough now to do that, even closing her eyes.
He draped a blanket over her, she opened her eyes quickly and gave a warning snarl at him, but didn’t do anything else. Finding she liked the warmth the blanket brought.
When he woke one morning, he found Alice had moved up closer to him. She was looking at him curiously, at his hand that was flat on the bed beside him. He didn’t move, waiting to see what she would do.
She sniffed his hand first, then bit him! Which made him jump, it was quite painful.
‘NO!’ He said firmly and it was enough to make her eyes widen and she lurched backwards, falling off the bed to the floor. She then ran back to her bed in the bathroom for safety.
Loki groaned and rubbed his hand down his face. She had been doing so well, too. But she couldn’t bite people, that wasn’t right.
He went through to see her, she was curled up on her bed. He crouched down next to her and slowly put his hand out towards her. When she didn’t do anything, he praised her gently. But then when he was about to touch her, she started snarling at him.
‘No. Don’t do that.’ He said firmly, the tone giving her enough clarity that it was wrong.
She started trembling, scared when he kept reaching towards her. But then she froze completely when he just placed his hand on her arm. Her eyes were wide as she looked at his hand, as if she was thinking how dare he touch her!
But when it didn’t hurt, she relaxed a little and allowed him to stroke her arm. Then he managed to stroke her hair. Well, the best he could through all the mats.
Alice relaxed a lot at his touch, realising he wasn’t going to hurt her. He kept praising her and giving her cookies.
Not wanting to push his luck, he stopped and left her alone to process everything. But ten minutes later, she came wandering through to him. He was sitting at his desk when she came right up to him and bumped his leg with her head. He raised an eyebrow as he reached down and petted the top of her head. She seemed to enjoy that.
‘This is so weird.’ He said out loud, but quietly.
She was exactly like a feral cat that was starting to come round to its new owner. But she was a human… It felt so wrong, in a way. But he knew it would all help in the long run, he was making progress.
A few days later after continuing to make more progress with touching her, he decided to go for it.
He filled up the bath, she was at his side, curiously watching him do so. Without dumping her straight in, he grabbed a cloth and wetted it, then brought it to her face. She went to move away, but he gently told her not to.
‘No, don’t move away from me.’
When she stopped and allowed him to wipe the dirt from her cheek, he gave her a cookie. ‘Good girl, that’s it. I just want to get you clean, it will make you feel better.’
After being able to wipe her whole face, he couldn’t believe how dirty she actually was.
He knew he was going to have to cut her hair, because of the mats. He summoned scissors and, slowly, he managed to cut her hair with a lot of bribing with cookies. It was cut quite short, but he had managed to save some of it so she wasn’t bald.
Then, after a lot more bribing, he managed to finally get her into the bath. She still had the gown on, but it barely did anything to cover her. By now he had seen everything through it anyway. So he was able to get it off her. Luckily, she didn’t really understand what clothes were, so she wasn’t shy or embarrassed about it.
He’d actually found she was becoming more human-like, though. She often sat up a bit straighter instead of hunching down, like she was trying to copy him.
After washing her hair and body, having to drain the bath and re-fill it three times because of all the dirt that came off her, she was like a completely new woman.
Loki was rather stunned at her beauty. She looked to be around mid to late twenties. Her hair was dark blonde, which he would’ve never guessed before-hand. She had so many scars from where Hydra had hurt her, but her bruises were all healed.
Even Alice seemed surprised when she got out of the bath and looked at herself, she was so clean! It was confusing her.
Loki had some cosy pyjamas for her. But she fought against him when he tried to dress her. When he put on the pyjama bottoms, she kept wriggling and trying to kick out at him, not wanting them on. But he gently scolded her and once he had them on, she realised they were actually quite comfortable.
She lay on the bed next to Loki, fascinated with his hands. He let her just explore, since she was curious. But then she put her hand flat against his, her fingers uncurling more and her eyes widened, like she was just realising that she was the same as he was.
He saw the confusion and panic flash through her, she started to cry, which also made her panic more as she had never cried since the experiment so didn’t know what she was doing.
While Loki was delighted to see a human reaction out of her, it still hurt his heart to see her so distressed as she bolted into the corner of the room and curled up in fear. He rushed over to her and managed to console her, hugging her.
And she allowed him to hold her.
-
Loki knew that Alice had realised she was something more. Her brain was starting to work a bit better. He had hope now that she was redeemable, that she was still human in there.
It was just going to take time to get out of her.
He knew she would be ok being around the others now, as long as he was with her. He took her into the living room to meet the others. She was scared and kept hidden behind Loki for the most part, clinging to his leg as if for her life.
But it did help her, being able to watch them all go about their daily life. He could almost see the cogs turning in her brain as she worked out what they were doing. Even if she didn’t let go of Loki’s leg while he sat at the table to eat, she remained firmly attached to him.
After a few times going out to see the others, Loki tried teaching her to walk on two legs instead of relying on her hands as well.
She was crouching down on front of him and he took hold of her hands. She looked panicked when he started to slowly stand up straight, taking her hands with him. Her knees were still bent but they were slowly straightening, he could see the panic in her eyes.
‘You’re alright, Alice. I’ve got you, you’re safe. Good girl.’ He said gently, keeping her calm.
Over time, he was able to teach her to walk on two legs. She was often a bit wobbly and needed his hand for support, but she was getting better every day. He could see she was determined to do it, the concentration and focus was there.
Her brain was definitely starting to become more human again. She was making more human noises, not so much animal ones. Loki was teaching her to speak, she could almost say her name. But she was also understanding a lot more of what he said.
She knew bed time, time to eat, let’s go see the others, good girl, bad girl, bath time and of course her own name. Slowly she was learning more and more, understanding more sentences and picking up on bits and pieces from what Loki said.
The team were amazed at how well Loki had done with Alice. They didn’t think he had it in him, to nourish and teach someone that he once deemed lower than himself.
But it was no doubt that Loki had fallen in love with Alice. How could he not? After spending so much time with her, helping her to heal and learn all over again.
One evening, he was sat on his bed reading to Alice, who was lying next to him with her head on his lap while he stroked her hair.
Once he finished reading, he put his book down. He smiled as he looked down at Alice, who was enjoying his attention. But then something happened that shocked him, but made him absolutely delighted.
She looked up at him and spoke her first word.
‘Loki.’ She said, it sounded a little croaky, but there was no denying what she said.
Loki beamed happily.
‘Well done, Alice. Good girl.’ He said excitedly as she repeated his name over and over again. Making sure she could say it well.
After that, there was no stopping her. She was able to say more and more words as the days went on. Loki was able to teach her to form sentences, too. And she just kept learning and growing from there at speed.
When she was able to make proper conversations with Loki and the team, everyone was delighted and so pleased.
She was able to tell them what she could remember, which wasn’t much. Aside from waking up one day, feeling like an animal. Going on animal instincts, unable to think as a human at all. She remembered agents attacking her, hitting her and electrocuting her a lot.
Alice still had a long way to go with her recovery, but she was getting there. And she would have Loki there to teach her every step of the way.
The team asked if she wanted her own room now, to give her privacy. But she said she wanted to remain with Loki. Not realising that it wasn’t completely appropriate. That was something else Loki was going to have to… teach her in the future.
But with the way she kept clinging to him, even now she was more confident as a human, he knew that she was his. And he was as much hers.
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sserpente · 4 years
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A/N: Request from anon. I really missed writing Kylo. This is only the beginning. Will you guys join me on the dark side?
Words: 1825 Warnings: one baby spoiler for TROS
It would have been a lot easier to say that Kylo Ren had changed. It would have been easier to live with the fact your man was beyond saving, beyond redemption. But that would be a lie. It would make things less complicated, stop your moral compass from spinning wildly and make you nauseous.
You scoffed. Kylo Ren wasn’t your man anyway. He was your superior, the man you had promised your loyalty and devotion to years ago. Kylo knew you. Your motivations, your story, your thoughts. He could hear them—there was no need for you to block your mind from his intrusion in his presence. You kept no secrets, not from him. To Kylo Ren, your life was an open book.
And while Kylo Ren had not changed much since appointing himself as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, his conviction and determination had. He was fiercer, plagued by his own unease and doubts. There was no need for you to know the ways of the Force to sense the battle he fought deep within himself.
It did not matter what he wanted, in the end as long as you could stay by his side. You thought about it often, these days. What would happen if the Resistance found a way to foil his plans and overthrow him? Would they kill him, Leia’s only son? And what would become of you if he won, if he succeeded? Would your life change at all?
At this time of the day, the canteen was deserted. Lunch time was long over. You sat there at one of the sterile-white tables, playing around with the starfruit you had meant to eat. The tension on the Finalizer had heated up consideringly ever since Snoke’s death and the escape of the young Jedi girl Kylo had been spending months to hunt down.
He knew you were jealous at the connection they shared, this Force bond he had called it. The Force had its ways, he had explained to you, ways which a mortal’s mind would not always be able to grasp and comprehend; that you should not waste your time and cudgel your brains about it—and yet it did not link the two Force users for no reason. And what did it matter to you? Kylo Ren was not your man anyway.
He had just imposed a meeting. Upon his arrival on the Finalizer, he rushed past you in frenzy, failing to even acknowledge your existence. Black cloak floating behind him like the pitch black waves of a stormy sea, gloved fists clenched tensely, eyes… his eyes would have been fixed on his destination, had they not been shielded by a terrifying replica of his mask. Red cracks broke the smoothness of the black material, giving his appearance an even more threatening component.
Here you were now, dressed up and with nowhere to go, wishing desperately you had the ability to look inside his mind for a change. Kylo Ren had never made the promise to tell you about the mayhem in his head, never bound himself to sharing his secrets with you—and yet you were the only person alive on the Finalizer to know it was him who killed Snoke, not the Jedi girl.
Rey. Kylo never spoke her name and you still could not bring yourself to call her anything but the Jedi girl. This young woman which had caused him so much pain and trouble and who he was as of right now, hunting like a needle in a haystack.
“You.” The two Stormtroopers approached you from behind. Well, there was nothing to fear. You glared at them from the corners of your eye. Hanging in the canteen outside of mealtimes was no crime.
“The Supreme Leader demands your presence, in the conference room.”
Right now? How much time had passed? Was the meeting over already? What could he want from you now? You rarely communicated outside of his or your quarters.
You followed them with a frown. They were very well aware you knew the way to the conference room yourself. In fact, you knew this ship better than any other place in this galaxy, and according to their body language, Kylo Ren was angry. Surely they were glad not to end up at the receiving end of the threatening crackling of his red lightsabre.
“Break a leg.” One of the Stormtroopers scorned. Literally. You rolled your eyes when the metal doors flew open, revealing an empty table. Kylo Ren had his back turned to you but it did not matter. He could sense your presence already, hear your thoughts and the dozens of questions tumbling through your mind helplessly.
“Supreme Leader, you sent for me?” The doors behind you closed, cutting off the only possible exit route.
“So formal?” The modulated, stern sound of his voice through his new mask sent ice cold shivers down your spine but even that could not hide the teasing undertone with only the slightest hint of mockery.
“What’s going on? The officers you sent for to fetch me clearly hold the view I won’t make it out of this room alive. Where were you?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“Take off your mask.”
“In here? I don’t think so.” Finally, he turned around but he might as well could have kept facing the window. It made no difference. You still couldn’t see his face.
“I want to look you in the eye when I speak to you! Where does this mask even come from all of a sudden? I thought you destroyed it. Explain that to me, will you?”
“That’s an awful lot of demands you’re imposing, officer. I would be careful if I were you.” Were the Stormtroopers outside eavesdropping? Were they waiting for the moment Kylo would activate his lightsabre and slice you in half, decapitate you? They would be waiting in vain.
“I get it. You don’t want to talk about it but clearly, something’s not right. You’re tense. I don’t even need to see your face for that.”
Kylo tilted his head. You should have thought you were done for when he approached you with but a few determined steps, towering above you like a literal giant but you knew you had no reason to. He would never harm you. For just a split second, all you saw was black. Black robes, black boots, black gloves, black mask—along with the sound of rapid, human breathing giving away that underneath the grotesque metal veil there was a man with a beating heart.
“Your perception has always fascinated me. Are you sure you feel no connection to the Force? Intuition, at this level—“
“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, Kylo, take off that bloody mask!”
One second passed, then the next. Kylo said nothing more. He did not move an inch before reaching up to undo the clasps of his disguise and lifted it off of his head. He dropped it on the metal conference table with a loud clonk echoing through the room.
Thunderstorms rippled through your heart when your eyes met. His breathing had gotten even heavier, his full lips slightly parted. The warm air hit your forehead like a gentle summer breeze. You had not felt those in a long while.
But it was the terror and the desperation, his feelings torn between good and bad glistening in his brown eyes when they met yours that you fell silent.
His right hand twitched, a barely visible movement of his gloved fingers refraining from reaching out for you. And while you were only inches apart, you reacted before he could voice a request.
With a gentle sigh, you wrapped your arms around him, your face buried in his neck, enabling you to inhale the scent of his thick black hair. Kylo pressed you against him like he was holding on to a buoy in midst of a roaring sea, nearly knocking all air from your lungs. The warmth of his body filled you with a sense of security and easiness—it felt powerful to simply hold whom you knew as the most powerful man of the galaxy.
Your fingers dug into the black curtain of his hair, fondling him in an attempt to calm the inner storm he was struggling against. It was then the quietest of moans escaped his gorgeous lips upon your intimate touch, resulting in him hugging you so tightly he nearly lifted you off the metal floor to your feet. Eventually, he did.
He heaved you on the table effortlessly, your legs spread for him to stand between them, your limbs still entangled. Breath ghosting over each other’s lips, your proximity created a bond which the Force could never have compared to.
You could not always tell what was going on inside of this man’s head, or what he was going through. But you knew when his lips came crashing down on yours that Kylo Ren had made a decision. One you did not understand just yet, one you did not yet know about. You did not have to. What counted was that you were there for him.
-
Check out my blog to find more Imagines and take a glimpse at my first (to be) published novel! Also, if you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on Kofi! ko-fi.com/sserpente
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