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#his name is ferguson
0rcanet20 · 2 months
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Drew young Donald and Cecil (and will bcs why not)
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ALSO would u guys be interested in me posting a fic i’m writing on here? itd probably just be the link to the published AO3 version but yk 🤷‍♀️
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slasheru · 7 months
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SAWYER FACTS: A while back I mentioned that Sawyer was mixed Hispanic and I totally fucking forgot the other part which is Sawyer's mom is Punjabi! I actually originally designed Sawyer's extended family to be Middle Eastern & South Asian, since a lot of his personality and hangups are inspired by my friends I grew up with in Singapore AND some of my pals in college! As a mixed person myself I REALLY FUCKING WANTED TO MAKE SURE Slasher U's main dateables repped the world I see around me/saw around me in college :')
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summercomfort · 4 months
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in my pursuit of ever-increasingly niche comics, I drew a 13 page comic about Tape v Hurley, a court case about Chinese-American school segregation in 1885. The rest of the pages are after the readmore, as well as on AO3 here. More obsure Chinese American court case comics are there, as well.
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Historical Notes
Mary and Joseph Tape were not born in America, but their names and identities were very much formed in America. Joseph Tape was born Jeu Dip in Guangdong, China, immigrated the America when he was twelve, and spent his teenage years working as a house servant in an Irish household. Mary arrived in America at the age of eleven, and was found and raised as Mary McGladery in a Protestant orphanage as the only Chinese child amongst ~80 children. Both Mary and Jeu spent their formative years amongst White Christian families, so when Jeu Dip and Mary married in 1875, little wonder that Jeu picked the English name of Joseph Tape -- Joseph to match with Mary, and the German last name Tape as a nod to his former name of Dip.
The Tape family lived about 14 blocks outside of Chinatown, in a primarily white neighborhood. They dressed in Western clothing, spoke English at home, and Mamie grew up playing with non-Chinese kids. Naturally, they wanted their children to attend the local elementary school, a mere 3 blocks from their home. The principal, Ms. Hurley, denied her entrance, claiming that she was “filthy and diseased.” At the time, there was no public school option for Chinese children -- the 1870 state law stipulated separate schools for “African and Indian children” only, not Chinese. The Tape family, with the help of the Chinese Six Companies, their church, and the Chinese consulate, decided to sue, claiming that the 1880 California school code guaranteed everyone a right to public education and that this was a violation of the 14th Amendment.
They won.
But this was 1885, three years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act and six years before Plessy v Ferguson. Regardless of what the California Supreme Court might decide, public sentiment was on the side of the San Francisco school district. Determined to keep out this “invasion of Mongol barbarism”, the California State Legislature passed a law permitting separate schools for Chinese children, which then allowed Principal Hurley to reject Mamie Tape once more.
While Mamie was rejected from the Spring Valley Elementary School for being Chinese, she also had a hard time fitting in to the Chinese public school. The Chinese merchants saw Western education as something primarily for boys. (Their girl children learned from their mothers at home.) Mamie, a girl dressed in Western clothes, would have stood out like a sore thumb. The final panel of the comic was based on a photo from three years later, and even then, Mamie was the only girl.
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Places where I fudged the history: Frank, Mamie’s younger brother, was actually six years old and should have been more present in the comic, but I wante to keep the focus on Mamie and Mary. Also, Mamie had actually shown up to her first day of school in Western clothes. An earlier draft of the comic had a separate arc involving Mamie feeling rejected at school and Mary buying her some Chinese clothes, but that got too long and complicated.
Much of this was drawn from Mae Ngai’s book about the Tape family and their experiences as 2nd and 3rd generation Chinese Americans, titled “The Lucky Ones.”
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Here is Mary Tape's letter to the San Francisco School Board, 1885:
1769 Green Street. San Francisco, April 8, 1885. To the Board of Education - Dear Sirs: I see that you are going to make all sorts of excuses to keep my child out off the Public schools. Dear sirs, Will you please to tell me! Is it a disgrace to be Born a Chinese? Didn’t God make us all!!! What right have you to bar my children out of the school because she is a chinese Decend. They is no other worldly reason that you could keep her out, except that. I suppose, you all goes to churches on Sundays! Do you call that a Christian act to compell my little children to go so far to a school that is made in purpose for them. My children don’t dress like the other Chinese. They look just as phunny amongst them as the Chinese dress in Chinese look amongst you Caucasians. Besides, if I had any wish to send them to a chinese school I could have sent them two years ago without going to all this trouble. You have expended a lot of the Public money foolishly, all because ofa one poor little Child. Her playmates is all Caucasians ever since she could toddle around. If she is good enough to play with them! Then is she not good enough to be in the same room and studie with them? You had better come and see for yourselves. See if the Tape’s is not same as other Caucasians, except in features. It seems no matter how a Chinese may live and dress so long as you know they Chinese. Then they are hated as one. There is not any right or justice for them. You have seen my husband and child. You told him it wasn’t Mamie Tape you object to. If it were not Mamie Tape you object to, then why didn’t you let her attend the school nearest her home! Instead of first making one pre tense Then another pretense of some kind to keep her out? It seems to me Mr. Moulder has a grudge against this Eight-year-old Mamie Tape. I know they is no other child I mean Chinese child! care to go to your public Chinese school. May you Mr. Moulder, never be persecuted like the way you have persecuted little Mamie Tape. Mamie Tape will never attend any of the Chinese schools of your making! Never!!! I will let the world see sir What justice there is When it is govern by the Race prejudice men! Just because she is of the Chinese decend, not because she don’t dress like you because she does. Just because she is descended of Chinese parents I guess she is more of a American then a good many of you that is going to prewent her being Educated. Mrs. M. Tape
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riptide-if · 3 months
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Your dad has always said you swim as if your were born to be in the water; the rest of your family has always said that he is the whole reason you turned out like that.
So, it's not really a surprise when you had used all the money you got for your 7th birthday to buy a surfboard. And even less of a surprise when you started joining small surf competitions by the time you were 10, later followed by bigger competitions.
It seems you are the only one surprised when it turns out you're able to compete in the World Surfer's League's Ultimate Tournament Tour*.
Thrown into a mix of fellow surfing prodigies, rookies, and pros, do you really have what it takes to win?
RIPTIDE is a 18+ slice-of-life interactive fiction that includes optional sexual content, alcohol and drug use, coarse language, mentions of death of a parent, and dysfunctional families.
pinterest intros
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customize your character, from gender, (including transgender options) pronouns, personality, physical appearance, clothing style, dynamics, public persona, and more.
decide what your strengths and weaknesses are as a surfer and choose from.
romance one of four romantic options - your best friend's brother, your childhood friend, your ex, or your fellow competitor, along with three polyamorous options and flings.
compete in an international surfing competition and see how you fare against your fellow surfers.
learn how to balance family, romance, and surfing; or don't, and suffer the consequences.
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Arlo Song [male, he/him], your best friend’s twin brother.
Reliable and patient, Arlo is the poster child for the 'boy next door' trope. Arlo, despite living in Hawai'i since he was 13, has never been one for beaches or sports, choosing to spend his day in an art studio rather than on the beach, unlike most of the people he knows, including his twin sister; Aria. He's always kept you at arms length for reasons you aren't quite sure about.
Hilo Kalua Mahoe [nonbinary, they/them], your childhood best friend.
Apathetic and reserved, Hilo has been by your side since before you can remember (though your family has many pictures to prove this). Hilo is your exceptionally talented unofficial-official photographer, has been for years, and is accompanying you on the UTT. Ever since you were kids you’ve been hearing comments that Hilo is prickly or mean, but they’re never like that with you.
Elijah/Elaine Lee Ferguson [gender selectable], your rockstar ex.
Impulsive and (seemingly) confident E, more commonly known as ‘Lee Rex’ on stage and just Lee to their friends, is exactly what one would expect out of a rockstar. Your meeting with Lee was purely by coincidence, during their US tour, a show that a couple of your friends dragged you to— though if you knew that know you probably wouldn’t have agreed to go. Whatever Lee was like as your partner is long gone now; evident by all the photos they’ve posted making out with someone on their Instagram story.
Noemia/Nikita Azevedo [gender selectable], your wildcard competitor.
Charismatic and arrogant, N has already made a name for themselves in the surfing community. After placing in the final five in the last UTT, they’ve been chosen as a wildcard this time around. Really, you don’t know all that much about N, considering you’ve never even met them, but from your limited research (e.g: watching interviews on YouTube) you can tell they’re.. a bit of a flirt. It’s hard to tell if a facade or not; but you don’t really want to find out, either.
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usafphantom2 · 4 months
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Legendary Pilot Bob Pardo, Who Pushed A Damaged F-4 With His F-4 Over Vietnam, Has Died
December 20, 2023 Military Aviation
Bob Pardo
Bob Pardo in a 2017 photo by Senior Airman Ridge Shan. In the background, Pardo's Push in an artwork by S.W. Ferguson.
Bob Pardo passed away earlier this month at the age of 89. With his Phantom, he pushed a crippled F-4 outside the enemy airspace in one of the most heroic missions in the history of military aviation, known as “Pardo’s Push”.
“Pardo’s Push” is the name of an incredible maneuver carried out during the Air War over North Vietnam that, over the years, has become the symbol of heroism and a demonstration of courage and contempt for danger.
March 10, 1967.
Captain Bob Pardo is flying in an F-4C with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Steve Wayne. Their wingman is the F-4C flown by Captain Earl Aman with Weapon Systems Officer 1st Lt Robert Houghton. The two Phantoms of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, are assigned the task to attack a steel mill in North Vietnam north of the capital Hanoi.
During the approach to the target, both F-4 is hit multiple times by enemy’s anti-aircraft fire. The North Vietnamese flak causes significant damage to Capt. Aman’s aircraft whose fuel tank begins to leak fuel forcing the crew to abort the mission. While hit too, Pardo’s F-4 is able to continue its mission.
On their egress route, at 20,000 feet, Aman and Houghton determine that they do not have enough fuel to reach a tanker or Laos, where they could eject and avoid capture. Although his F-4 is still efficient and has enough fuel to reach a tanker, Pardo decides to remain with his wingman.
At a certain point, while still inside North Vietnamese airspace, Aman’s Phantom flames out. To save Aman and Houghton, Pardo decides to do something he believes no one has ever done before: he attempts to push the other F-4 to Laos.
Initially, Pardo tries to push the other F-4 by gently making contact with the drag chute compartment. However, turbulence interferes with the maneuver and after several failed attempts, Pardo opts for an extreme solution: he instructs Aman to lower his tailhook, then he positions his F-4 behind the other Phantom leaning his windscreen against the tailhook. The contact is made but the “solution” is quite unstable and, as a consequence of turbulence, Pardo needs to reposition his F-4 every 15 to 30 seconds. Nevertheless, the push works and rate of descent of Aman’s Phantom is considerably reduced.
As if the situation was not complicate enough, Pardo’s F-4 suffers an engine fire, forcing him to shut it down.
Try for a second to visualize the situation: a flame-out F-4 is somehow pushed by means of its tailhook by another F-4 powered by a single engine. In enemy airspace. Incredible.
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Pardo pushes Aman’s F-4 for another 10 minutes until his Phantom runs out of fuel too. With both planes safely inside Laotian airspace, at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, the aircrews of both F-4s ejects (they will be rescued by SAR helicopters and evade capture).
Although he saved another aircrew, Pardo was initially reprimanded for not saving his own F-4. Until 1989, when the episode was re-examinated and both Pardo and Wayne were awarded the Silver Star.
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Retired Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Bob Pardo poses in front of a static display model of an F-4 Phantom II, one of the many fighter aircraft he has flown, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 12, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Ridge Shan)
Pardo and Aman both continued serving and retired from the U.S. Air Force in the rank of lieutenant colonel. Years later, after learning that Aman had lost his voice and mobility because of Lou Gehrig’s disease, created the Earl Aman Foundation that raised enough money to buy Aman a voice synthesizer, a motorized wheelchair, and a computer. The foundation later contributed to raise funds to pay for a van, which Aman used for transportation until his death. In other words, Pardo never left his wingman behind, not even after retiring.
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Noteworthy, as told by John L. Frisbee in his 1996 article for Air Force Magazine, Pardo’s push was not the first time a U.S. pilot pushed another jet out of enemy airspace: in 1952, during the Korean War, fighter ace Robbie Risner pushed his wingman out of North Korea in an F-86. However, pilots were ordered to refrain from attempting the hazardous maneuver again, and the episode had faded from memory and was almost completely unknown within the Air Force by the time Pardo and Wayne pushed Aman and Houghton outside of North Vietnam’s airspace.
Bob Pardo passed away aged 89, on Dec. 5, 2023. His courage and ingenuity, along with the legendary “Pardo’s Push“, will be remembered forever.
About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
@Aviationist via X
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controld3vil · 11 days
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two psychopaths
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pairing(s): dune 2 cast x actor!reader (platonic), austin butler x actor!reader (can be read as ambiguous/platonic/romantic, WHATEVER YOU GUYS PREFER)
synopsis: requested by this ask and this!
alt: regardless of you two playing psychopaths, in reality, you were the sweetest human beings ever.
notes: i applaud austin butler for his performance omg!! dually noted that the reader has hair that is long enough to be put into a ponytail (they are showing off a cute hair tie they got). NO BETE READ i apologize !!
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You should have expected something. If not for your past antics, there would be no reason for them to be here. It was touching really, playing against your own tactics.
Without delay, in the morning, you were going to buy breakfast. When you decided and reluctantly remembered your cast members were going to have an interview around the same area. The building was close by, a block from the café shop. And so you rushed across the street, with a butter croissant in one hand, and a hot drink in another.
"Boo!" As you had snuck behind, grabbing both of their shoulders together in a tight squeeze. You could feel Timothee Chalamet's body jump while Austin Butler feeling startled, and involuntarily jerked back to swat your hand.
"Hey!"
"Oh my gosh, you scared me!"
"That was the point!" Your snickering was quickly joined by the film crew behind the scenes. It was all caught on camera and gave a great spook for everyone on set. You could still feel your heartbeat pumping as you tightened your grip on both of their shoulders.
"They really got you two!" The host of Comicbook.com and interviewer Brandon Davis exclaimed, covering his mouth with his fist. You were glad he and the rest of the crew obligated you to sneak in, a few minutes before their interview. Your eyes followed behind the movie poster to the corner, where you had laid your breakfast. Making sure nothing slipped or stomped on.
"Now we're really gonna get you next time!" Timothee's voice brought your attention back to him. Your grip never leaves his side, as he holds onto it as if threatening you.
"I'd like to see you two try," Nodding as you sneered. To add more to the competition, you gave a shaky handshake without breaking eye contact.
On the other hand, Austin could only lean back in his chair with an amused grin. "I thought you also had an interview today?" Tapping your hand on his shoulder, casually not minding your invasion of his personal space.
Your attention shifts, and you smile sweetly. "Mine is after lunch so I still got time." Lowering your tone, playfully mimicking Austin's voice. "I'll see you guys later though, enjoy your interview!"
As you release your grip to pat their heads, Timothee swerves to wave goodbye. Almost hitting himself in the face with your hand. "Alright- whoa see ya!". In an instant, Austin gives you a look before patting his seatmate on the back.
You grabbed your belongings, then thanked everyone walking out. Brandon Davis looked even more ecstatic now, knowing the actor's moods were lifted, looking a lot happier and pumped.
"Well what a great start to our interview huh?"
"Hm?"
"Oh yeah, the best!"
In turn, a couple hours after, you and Josh Brolin had been seated for the start of your interview. It was arranged by Maude Garrett, with whom you had talks with Jessica Ferguson before. Meeting her again was a pleasant encounter. You had a fantastic time with her last time and believed it would be no different with Brolin by your side.
"Hey!" She squeals out your name, hands in the air. "I'm so happy to see you again!"
"I came back just for you," Clutching her hand, you wave it back and forth. You were gleaming with joy as you seated yourself next to Brolin, who gave you a confused smile.
"You two know each other?"
"Oh no no-"
"I did an interview with her and Jessica," you clarified before glancing at Maude, "She's really nice!"
"So that's why you wanted to come along?" Josh exasperates a sarcastic groan. "Do you not want to do interviews with me?"
The humorous banter does not diminish throughout the interview. No, having worked with Josh Brolin through Dune, you were always attentive to his words. You can tell how passionate he is to be a part of Dune. The way he's communicated with Villeneuve and the producers, made you appreciate him more. Even before the interview had started, Brolin had brought up a book he had been working on with Greig Frazer of the photography of Dune.
You knew it was a fun project for him and he even gifted you one of the first few copies before release.
"Do you think Duncan Idaho is going to be a big part of Part 3?" Brolin and Garrett were having a conversation about potential possibilities for the Dune universe. As it was a well-known fact for book readers, more complex characters and plotlines divert after the first novel.
While you sat patiently, only ever observant of of their interaction. "I mean, I love-"
Suddenly there were screams. Boom! Your eyes lit up as if a sudden alarm had gone off. It was then two bodies came crashing towards you to notice what was happening. The two young male actors hurdled over you and Josh Brolin in a frenzy, surrounding you all in a big bear hug. You could decipher your mentor's frightful yet affectionate grin.
"Oh my gosh!" You almost shrieked, hand instinctively placing over your heart in reassurance. Timothee stood by Brolin's side, shaking him side by side. While Austin held onto yours, having the time of his life at your expression. You could tell already that cameras were caught yours and Brolin's slow-mo reaction.
"What's going on?!"
Mumbles of excitement were scattered on the scene. You could not stop smiling, as you placed your hand on top of Austin's, looking at him in pure defeat and fondness. As if saying, you got me.
"Thank you, god!" Josh happily cries out, bowing his head pure of joy.
Eventually, the Elvis actor lets go and formally greets the interviewer, shaking her hand. "Hi, I'm Maude! Nice to meet you!"
"Is this the interviewer you were talking to me about?" Austin looks at you, questionably. "The one asking about the popcorn bucket?"
You nod, enthusiastically. "She is! Maude, I was raving about you!"
"Awh!" The blonde female places a hand over her heart, warmly. She pouts lovingly at your comment. "How sweet of you!"
On the other side, Timothee grins back at Brolin before saying his hellos to you. "Hey, how are you?"
"I literally saw you hours ago!" You pointed your index finger directly at him, scoldingly. However, in return, the French actor laughs, and before hearing Austin turning to Brolin.
"We got the books."
"We got them and you got to sign it." Timothee states, placing both his hands on Brolin.
"Ok!" Suddenly the shot pans to you, having your mouth wide open.
"We'll bring em'- Give me a little- give me a little personal message-"
"I love you guys!" The older actor bellows, opening his arms for all of you three to join in one last hug. Seconds after, Brolin pats his French costar adorably on the back as a farewell. "I love you! Get outta here!"
The camera pans to Timothee moving towards your seat. As you discreetly mumble, making puppy dog eyes. "I get to sign too, right?!" He only chuckles before softly punching your shoulder as a gesture of approval.
"We got you good this time!" The French costar makes finger guns, playfully shooting at you in victory. You couldn't help but blow a raspberry in denial.
"I didn't know you guys were gonna do it today!"
"That was the whole point!" Austin chastely pats the back of your seat, gliding his hand to connect with yours to shake.
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Sometime after your encounter, you and Austin managed to meet again in Los Angeles. It was when the Associated Press wanted to have you two for an interview with their AP film writer, Lindsey Bahr, to speak on topics that would pertain to both of your characters. You, coming back from the first film, with a new profound experience. Upon his introduction, Austin's character, Feyd-Rautha, is portrayed as a calculating and highly skilled warrior in Harkonnen's fashionable way.
You couldn't wait, as you sped into the boardroom where the interview was taking place. Lindsey Bahr beside the camera, was casually chatting with Austin as the rest of the crew prepared for the shoot.
The two of you gave each other a quick hug before taking your seats to get comfortable.
"Oh look what I got from New York!" Your head spins clockwise to show the back of your head, only to confuse Austin and the rest of the crew profoundly. This was a small snippet the Associated Press wanted to keep in the interview. They believed it was a great preview promoter to display your and Austin's relationship with each other.
"What is it? What are you showing us?" The blonde-brunette male puts forward, as the camera zooms in on him inspecting you dumbfounded. It pans to you grabbing your hair tie before turning back to face the audience.
Your hair once slicked by its restraint is now free and lies on your shoulders. It doesn't fall evenly on you though, but almost awkwardly due to the gel in your locks.
"Look at this!" You show it to the camera with a hand holding the item. And another, palm up to allow better focus. It was a character plush hair tie. One of a loveable cookie with one eyebrow raised. It even had one big tooth sticking out. "Isn't it cute?"
"It's adorable!" Linsey says with a smile. Your grin was contagious as she admired your high enthusiasm for the small accessory. "Where did you find it in New York?"
"In a BTS store," you pierced your lips together, thumbs smoothing over the face of the plushie. "I was looking for a gift for my cousin. And then I saw a bunch of displays of these!"
"I like his little expression," Austin perks up, arms relaxing on the armrest. Though his posture was leaning to look at the cute ornament in your hands. "He looks questionable intrigued."
"He is," You agree, locking eyes with him. "He kind of looks like me, yeah?"
Your costar charmingly laughs, as you lift the cookie next to your face. You did your best to mimic its expression, trying not to break. "He kind of does actually," Before leaning to push away some strands of your hair behind your shoulder.
And the interview commenced smoothly. It did not feel one-sided or exclusive from one person. You and Austin were able to enjoy yourselves, talking and reliving the moments you had onscreen. You barely had any scenes together, in fact, both of your characters were across planets from each other by the time the climax of the film began. Though it had mostly focused on Paul's and Feyd's rivalry for the throne even then. Little was known about your characters together despite having fair similarities in combat, and personality.
Then there was a question that came up from Bahr, asking if you all, specifically the younger casts spent time together after filming or stayed in your hotel rooms.
Austin decided to step in and respond. "I mean we had some dinners- when we got hungry."
"I'd say both. I mean it was rare for the five of us to be together because of our production schedules." You say, scratching your arm upwards. Out of your peripherals, you could see Austin nod in correspondence. "Otherwise, most people were really beaten up. I mean- I think me, Florence, Timothee, Zendaya, and Austin are the tamest bunch you know? Dinner was the latest school night we had."
"Right, we'd be so tired," Your male costar snickers, covering his smile with his hand.
Then it was like a light bulb flashes above your head when your eyes flash in revelation. "We did like to go shopping a lot together."
"Really? How was that like?"
"A lot of hours, that's for sure." Austin crosses his arms, exhaling a long groan. Only for you to have a guilty pout, shyly backing up in your chair. Even you did not deny his claims. "I mean- with them, all of the bags get piled onto me."
"I try to spend less every time I go shopping with him," You wave your arms defensively. With an amused smile, the Elvis actor could only want to listen to more, back fully leaning on his chair. "Though me and Zendaya love to go shopping all the time."
"It must've been a hectic shopping spree!"
"The most hectic," Your costar spouts a satirical groan as you dismissively smile and shake your head.
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And most of all, you were fortunate enough to be invited to Graham Norton's show alongside Josh Brolin and Austin Butler. Coincidently other stars such as Olivia Coleman and Jodie Foster were present which made you more instantly excited. It was a row stacked with amazing actors and actresses. Even you, who have been considered in a few films were more than ecstatic to meet every one of them.
It took some time into the interview when Norton brought up Dune. As he went down the line of people, Austin was the last person on the couch yet to be asked a question. You were sitting beside Josh and Jodie Foster, whom you eagerly met backstage only minutes prior when you all went onstage. It was all nerve-wracking from the start. However, the longer you sat and talked, the more comfortable you became with the people you so charismatically looked up upon.
"Now Austin," Graham raises his hand as he directs everyone's attention to the TV screen, "Now what the fuck happened to you?" Then a still image of him in all costume as Feyd Rautha appears. Leading the audience to laugh and even a few chuckles from the couch. Graham's straightforwardness too caught you offhand as you cough not so subtly in the background.
Waves of ohs and awes rippled from person to person.
"Did you- did you know- yes that's Austin!"
"By the way- that's how I met him the first time because everyone said if you met Austin- Oh you're gonna love Austin," Brolin starts, one arm leaning against the back of the couch. "And then finally, I knocked on his trailer door- and I opened the door to this pasty bald emaciated thing." More laughter erupts as you sweetly grin at the faint memory of their meeting.
"But you didn't shave your head?"
"I was- I was going straight to another film and uh- called The Bike Riders with Tom Hardy and Jeff Nickels who was directing," Austin explains the director specifically asked him not to shave his head. As it would be difficult to grow back quickly and transition from Dune. "So the wonderful hair and makeup team did that to me." As he points back to the picture of him and Lea Seydoux.
"Wow!"
"That's a bald wig!"
"Yeah isn't it incredible?" The Elvis actor gleams back at Olivia and then to you. You give him a wider grin, cocking your head sideways until the attention is drawn back to Graham.
"And also, it's not just- it doesn't- where does it start?"
"It attaches where my eyelids are," He points and the rest of the actresses could only stare in astonishment.
"Whoa, you didn't have to shave your eyebrows either."
"That's- wow!"
"But it's incredibly meticulous if they're a millimeter off, you can't open one eye and uhm- so yeah they were incredible." He explains, pointing closely to his eyelids to make a better visualization of how detailed his look was for the crew. Truly it was an astonishing character design, and to have Austin fill in those shoes was a great casting choice. You couldn't think of anyone else to play Feyd.
"Was it like an hour?" Jodie brings up, having one hand on her chin innocently.
"It was three hours." Disappointed grunts and groans came from the two women beside you. It was as if the moment he mentioned how long it took, all the enthusiasm to try bald wigs was out of the table. It was hilarious, both Olivia and Foster looking back and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Seated next to them, you followed along, shaking your head so slightly, staring at them as if saying, really?!
"Shave my head!" Graham shouts and yelps agreeing to his holler followed the room. Seconds after the noise disperse, the host turns his eyes on you. He brings your attention, saying your name in confidence. "And uh- here's the thing, you had the complete opposite! People have said that you had to grow out your hair- either or have extensions to have longer hair."
"Absolutely the complete opposite for me," You cheerily perk up, saluting your drink to Norton. The audience snickers, followed by Brolin bursting out in a howl. "But- yes I would say I had to grow out my hair for this film. To the point where I had many intricate braids in my hair."
"It must've been so nice," Josh chides, almost too enthusiastically. He crosses his arms and you give him a look of caution, playfully so.
"Yeah luckily you didn't have to deal with all of my mess," Austin motions to his hair, and immediately you let out a whistle. Again the back of the crowd responds well to your banter. Everything went so smoothly whenever you were with your cast mates. You were the most comfortable with them.
"Very very true!" Norton points his flashcards to you, "Would you have shaved your head if you- two had switched roles?"
"Honestly why not," Shrugging, you could hear some murmurs of surprise and intrigue. "I feel like I would be very comfortable with the bald wig too. But I mean if I cut all of my hair, I wouldn't have to grow them out anymore."
There was a semblance of mutuality while some still expressed their preferences (Olivia and Jane). Though what was most prominent to you was Broliin balling his eyes out. While Austin looks at you in pure confusion and stupefaction.
"All that to not grow out your hair?!" Josh exclaims, and the shot perfectly catches him clenching his chest from how much he was cackling at your odd comment.
"I mean that's one way to do it," Austin had a much slower reaction as it seemed at that moment made you break. Only to have you glance down at your shoes because of how much you wanted to laugh uncontrollably.
"I think it'd be cool no?" You try to say, slowly breaking into laughter. The rest of the crowd cooed at how you were with your costars. You always manage to include them in every conversation, showing how much care you had with everyone you had worked with. "I feel like the material of the bald wig would be super cool to touch."
"It's- it's a latex-"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Graham hushes, one hand shielding his mouth even though everyone can hear what he is saying. A huge wave of roars and screams echoed. And all you could do was cover your face and hide behind Brolin.
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Yet the most unforgettable moment that would define your relationship with Austin is not even with the two of you present. In fact, it was in an interview with him,with Timothee and Zendaya. During that time, you were paired with someone else. But it was a small mention of Austin's first days of filming for Dune that kept viewers occupied.
"When you- fitting in with you know, coming into this group," It takes a few glances for Austin to look at his costars. "What did that feel like to you?"
Austin locks eyes with Zendaya then Timothee, "You both were so kind and welcoming and- uhm-"
"And we bullied him for the first week," The mixed actress casually mentions, as it can be heard off camera, sounds of agreement. "No, I'm kidding!"
"We had to break him in," The French actor nods, playing along to their scheme.
"Yeah, exactly exactly," The brunette actor goes even further with it, "Hazing rituals."
Zendaya raises her finger. She refers to you with such warmth. "It was more than hazing rituals. I mean- actually, they were doing crazy dance moves and-"
"They're just full of sunshine," Austin beans ear to ear, eyes only evident of fondness. "Super warm and welcoming."
Timothee cocks his head slightly to the side. "Welcome to Arrakis!"
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ukrfeminism · 3 months
Text
Music colleges and conservatoires are deterring women and girls from playing “masculine instruments” such as drums and trumpets, a parliamentary report laying bare sexism in the music industry has revealed.
Female students are “cat-called in rehearsals”, held to a higher standard with “masculine” instruments and being told they cannot play properly if “they didn’t sit with their legs open”, the report states.
The Misogyny in Music report by parliament’s women and equalities committee found female musicians faced “endemic” discrimination in the industry which they described as a “boys’ club where sexual harassment and abuse is common”.
A series of female musicians and DJs including Annie Macmanus, Rebecca Ferguson and Katie Waissel gave evidence to the committee about discrimination and abuse they had witnessed or experienced.
Waissel, the former X Factor contestant, told the inquiry how “at the age of 16, she was grabbed by a much older man and placed on his lap in the recording studio while they were reviewing the track she was recording”.
The report found that many female performers who had been the victims of “discrimination, harassment and abuse” continued to be silenced through the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
It said: “Women in the music industry have had their lives ruined and their careers destroyed by men who have never faced the consequences for their actions. 
“People in the industry who attend award shows and parties currently do so sitting alongside sexual abusers who remain protected by the system and by colleagues.”
The report went on: “Much of the evidence we received has had to remain confidential, including commentary on television shows and household names.
“That is highly regrettable but demonstrates the extent of the use of NDAs and the culture of silence.”
The report outlined gender disparities throughout the industry. For example, less than 5 per cent of the producers or engineers on the top streamed tracks in 14 genres were female or non-binary, while of all the songwriters and composers who received a royalty in 2020, only one in six were female.
It also pointed out that the record label departments charged with finding new talent were dominated by men, concluding: “Women have significant additional barriers to pass to get a foothold in the music industry and must navigate acts of passive aggression, ridicule and misogyny to have a sustainable career. 
“Female artists are routinely undervalued and undermined, endure a focus on their physical appearance in a way that men are not subjected to, and have to work far harder to get the recognition their ability merits. Despite increases in representation, discrimination and misogyny remain endemic.”
The committee also called for music colleges, conservatoires and other educational establishment “to do more to address the gendering of instruments, roles and genres.”
Its members heard that “in many cases women are discouraged from playing certain instruments at all’, with one witness saying: “There is this idea that if you’re a girl you can’t play the drums, or if you’re a girl you can’t play the trumpet really loudly because it will make you look ugly.”
The report said that the Musicians’ Union had described female students being “cat-called in rehearsals”, “made to feel uncomfortable by male lecturers” and being told “they couldn’t play their instrument properly if they didn’t sit with their legs open in orchestra rehearsals”.
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said “endemic misogyny … has persisted for far too long within the music industry.”
She added: “A shift in the behaviour of men — and it is almost always men — at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms.”
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sugoi-writes · 25 days
Text
Scream Machine - An Alastor x Reader fic
(Not sure if this will be a multipart yet or not, but hopeful for it to be! I hope you enjoy some brain rot with me! For reference of the song, look up Scream Machine by Maynard Ferguson on Youtube!)
Reader is a musician who started playing in their time in hell, and likes wearing heels/dresses. Alastor is brought to a "classy" speakeasy by Husk, and is perfectly content with watching your performance...
No warnings, past minor implications/pining and mentions of blood and darker intentions. Have fun! 🎙❤️
❤️🎙❤️
The hellish speakeasy was bellowing with lively chatter, instrumentalists setting up for a new set. As Husk adjusted his mouthpiece, Alastor gives him a beckoning wave, eyebrow twitching. Shit
Knowing his goose could be cooked, Husk trudges his way over, his tenor saxophone hanging lazily around his neck," What's the matter?"
Alastor, expression blunt, says" So I'm supposed to assume that this next chart... ugh, Scream Machine... is going to be... tasteful?" The Radio Demon looked forlorn, ears drooping slightly. He had been promised performances that were more his style. But all that he's observed and heard is BAD jazz. He had half a mind to think that his 'associate' had done this on purpose.
"I have to admit, Husker, while these pieces could certainly be called JAZZ... it's not quite to my tastes." Husk rolls his eyes, ears perking up when his name is called from the stage. Husk waves Alastor off dismissively, his saxophone being slung back to a playable position.
"Some new hot-shot features in it... 'figured you might give it a shot. You might just find a new 'pet' to listen to..." Alastor all but cackles, wiping a stray tear from his eye," Replacing you, dear Husker? Don't be absurd!" Alastor gives his henchman a cheeky wave of his fingers, making the anthropomorphic cat growl. God, Husk hated that fucker...
But, to Alastor's surprise, his eyes did befall a nearly angelic sight. Your shoes clicked loudly as you entered the stage, calling forth attention from the room. It quickly fell to silence as everyone waited for the performance to start.
Alastor's eyes narrowed as he watched you shake hands with the vile, modern jazz conductor... Your grip seemed firm, domineering almost. He was quick to note the flinch he gave you, that nervous smile of an intimidated man. What a curious creature you were; you oozed confidence and bravdo.
There you were, dressed in a long, elegant gown that drug along the floor. Alastor's posture straightens as the jazz conductor let you take your place, before counting the band off. The intro was quiet, featuring only a small handful of instruments. Alastor nearly leaned in as it grew, the trumpets coming in to the fray after a few measures. He realized then that you must be a trumpet player and the hot shot soloist that Husk mentioned. His interest in you grew as he eyed you from across the room.
Your hands were slender, though not quite as slim as his... and much smaller. But, they did seem very nimble. As you gracefully glided through different fingerings and positions, Alastor found himself distracted by your hands. He saw how you seemed to have a loose, almost nonchalant grip, while your soul gave the performance of your life. A perfect juxtaposition between your handshake and now; that fascinated him. He wondered if your bravado was your mask, or if that was the REAL you...
His hair nearly blew back from his face as the chorus kicked in, eyes wide in disbelief. Indeed, that's why it's called Scream Machine. All the right notes, the chords were perfectly struck...but there was still a zanny dissonance that had him gritting his teeth. How gauche...
But, when you began your solo, his ears couldn't help but flick and flex towards you, absolutely devouring your tone and clarity. You cut through the ensemble like a well sharpened knife, your style and timbre undeniable. It almost made the song forgivable, in his eyes. He rested his chin on his hand's plateau, eyes lidded. Despite the jazz being more bombastic and modern... he could get used to this if you were at the helm...
You sauntered towards the front of the ensemble as you blazed into another solo, your fingers and tongue articulating quickly. You were effortlessly setting the newfound tone. He was impressed, to say the least. Improv or not, the solo was quite a tricky one. One that even he would struggle with on a piano. As you walked across the stage, you struck a powerful pose, before the conductor grabbed the edge of your dress and tugged. Hard.
For a moment, a flash of anger crossed Alastor's forced smile, until he was hit with the "reveal".
In a quick flourish that matched the highest note of your solo, you stood in a now short, golden dress that hugged your figure. It seemed that Alastor didn't mind the show... in fact, he was nearly enslaved by your performance.
You shot the crimson and pitch demon a devious look, winking as your solo continued. Alastor felt his mouth salivating, swallowing harshly to get rid of the access fluids. It was strange enough to find himself this entertained... more so than his heightened curiosity.
The way your throat bellowed and constricted when you were playing... the way your cheeks puffed just a bit was you sustained insane, high notes... the way your eyes would flit about the room, but always land on him. Maybe he wasn't the only one caught staring...
The Radio Demon's mind landed on a simple notion: tasting the metallic tang of your lips, fresh from the kiss of your mouthpiece. Would it taste metallic and jarring like blood, he wondered? Would you be breathless from your performance, or just getting warmed up? Alastor shook his head with a start. What a strange thought to have... especially for him. He tried to dismiss it, foot tapping instinctively to the beat.
As the song continued, it suddenly grew quieter, the piano, drumkit, and string bass the only instruments playing. He watched as you blew slow, hot air in your horn, keeping it warm as you rested. Your lips were red, slightly puffy from your efforts. Even as a talented as you were, you had a crack in your mask: you were definitely a little winded.
As he kept watching you, Alastor couldn't help but focus on how your pulse beat in time with the music on stage... His devious mind cooked up the idea of sinking his teeth into your quivering heartbeat... Perhaps he would lure you out back, to a quiet place...
Again, he surprised himself. He had to clear his mind as he tried to focus anywhere but your neck, fingers and face.
Then suddenly, the main motif hit again, and he nearly fell backward in his chair. His own heart thumped madly, matching your own. Your eyes didn't meet his, but even so, he felt like you were playing just for him. He WANTED you to play just for him.
Alastor gripped the sides of his chair harshly, elongated talons splintering the wood. That settles it. Husker was right about one thing... you were a fascinating sight... one to behold, and maybe even held...
As the song wound towards its conclusion, you gave a wide twirl of your hips, before striking your final note. The accompaniment roared life, sustaining the final note before hitting it again, resolutely. Applause echoed throughout the room as Alastor felt the need to join. He was not keen on appearing rude or uncultured. His characteristic smile stretched his thin face as you beamed and bowed. Your eyes, wide with awe, glanced his way. Alastor noted the way your face heated, nodding and giving him a flattered smile.
Indeed that settles it; he would speak with you. Now. Alone... And from there, who knows what he'll do? Alastor slunk into the shadows, Husk unaware that his master was taking a quick detour...
Backstage, you were being fawned over and cheered for, the instrumentalists and crew happily contesting how talented you were. You would always smile and chuckle, doing your best to wave off the compliments. Truth be told, you did enjoy the hell out of them, but you didn't want it all to go to your head. Not yet, anyway~
Even now, you were humble, as a unfamiliar shadow formed behind you. Instinctively, you flinched and turned towards the figure, having to look up to meet the gaze.
It was none other than Alastor, the Radio Demon.
"I must say... that was quite the riveting performance, dear. Quite the act! I wanted to give you my gratitude for making something so loud and gauche bearable to listen to." Alastor offered a sweet, welcoming hand, outstretched for you to take. Come on, he thought... shake his hand like you had the conductor's.
You had sized him up, knowing fully well who was paying you the backhanded compliment, "Alastor, sir... 'pleasure to be meeting the Radio Demon in the flesh." Your hand met his, and just like he suspected; you nearly held him in a vice grip. The sinister smile on his face doubled, a chuckle and a quirked brow sent your way.
"My, do my ears deceive me? Am I in the presence of a fan~?" The tone of his microphone filter made his voice smooth as velvet. His voice forced you to suppress a shiver. You roll your eyes, before an uncharacteristically soft smile graces your face; one that didn't match your firm grip.
"You could assume that, I suppose... I've been an active listener to your broadcasts for a while now. 'Gotta keep up with who got got... and who has the best music on the air."
If Alastor smiled any wider, he would be entering his full-demonic form. But for now, he controlled himself.
"Well, isn't this a treat then..." Alastor leans down to your height, his face mere inches from yours," I dont intent to be forward or crass, but perhaps you could accompany me on a quick stroll?"
You swallowed the lump in your throat as you processed his words. Knowing that he was an overlord, his words were a demand, not a request. If you refuse, you may die. If you go with him... you may die just the same. Every fiber in your being demanded that you turn him down. Lie, and say you have one more set...
You puffed out your chest, a brave grin on your face," Sure... My chops are busted from that last set. Let's bounce."
Alastor offered you an arm, something you weren't expecting. You hesitated a beat longer than you should have before taking it. Alastor's grip now firm, you felt yourself bend and wane before solidifying just outside the joint you played in. Your head turned quickly towards the door, then him.
"So you can teleport other people too...," Good to know, you thought, as Alastor laughed.
"Dear, why fight the crowd? I figured it would be easier this way, don't you think?" You returned a nod to him, keeping your mask sharp as the two of you started your way down the block. You realized then you'd have to return tomorrow for your trumpet. But again, that wasn't the most worrying thing on your mind just yet...
You were weary of the entire encounter, but continued to follow the Radio Demon, who seemed a little too hellbent on getting you alone...
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beebeetheclown · 3 months
Note
Hey! I have an imagine request for domonic from banshees
Hi thank you for this request💕
I was obsessed with Barry’s character in this film and am happy to write about him for you though I don’t write many imagines but I hope I did this right and you enjoy it🥰
Dominic Kearney Imagine
Dominic Kearney x reader
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Living alone had its pros and cons. You liked the quiet and it was just easier in general to live alone, but if you ever planned to go out for a long period of time, you always had to find someone to look over the house and take care of the three cows you had. You didn’t trust a lot of the people around you, you worried that they’d steal something when you were away or that they would do a poor job of looking after the cows. Dominic was the only one you really seemed to trust.
He didn’t live far from you, so you thought it wouldn’t be that much of a bother to make him be the one to guard the house and cows while you were away. He was always happy to do it as it always gave him something to do; he grew bored quite often.
As the two of you got to know each other more, he would sometimes stop by your house without telling you that he was coming over. He’d knock on the door and he would have a smile on his face every time you would open it for him.
“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He would say. You’d let him come into the house as he would keep you company wherever you felt lonely. Sometimes, you would let him stay for dinner or while you did house work. He talked a lot, sometimes he talked so much that he would just ramble on and on and you wouldn’t even really pay attention, you’d just nod your head and act like you were listening to him.
One time, he came out to help you with the cows. He pet them and helped you feed them. He helped you name the three cows, calling them Ferguson, Penelope, and Leonard. As he was petting Ferguson a thought came up and he shared it without thinking, it was a thing he always did, he would share his thoughts out loud without thinking first,
“Have you ever thought about having one of these guys for dinner? Ferguson looks like he'd make a good burger.”
“Dominic! Bloody hell, not ever have I thought like that.”
“Right, sorry, sorry. It was just a thought I had I guess. What’s for dinner anyways?”
“I don’t know, ask your father.”
“Can’t I just stay here? I’m sure you’re cooking up something better than my daddy.”
“Dominic, you have been staying for dinner for the past three days, I think it’s time you go back to your own place for dinner.”
He scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right. My daddy will probably like me to eat with him anyways. He always gets bored easily that one.” He took his hand off Ferguson and began to walk towards the gate, “Well, if you’re not having me for dinner, I guess I should be heading off then.”
“Okay, good bye Dominic.”
“Goodbye, do you think I could come by tomorrow?”
“Oh, I don’t know, I have quite a lot to do.”
“I could always help you out.”
“We’ll see okay? Now you get back home.”
He nodded his head a little, “Alright, I’ll get back home, Goodbye again.”
“Goodbye.”
He began to walk back home now and you watched him leave. The truth was that you didn’t think you could bear to have another meal with him, he talked so much even when he had taken bites of his food. Dominic always had so much to say. You needed to eat dinner in silence for once. You did like Dominic, but he was just a bit much at times.
On that same day, he came back to see you just as you were cleaning up the dishes. He knocked on the door four times before he began to call your name then he knocked on the door again. He kept hollering and knocking until you had opened the door. It was a little dark out now as the sun had set, but you could still see the scars on his face. The scars were not there earlier that day.
“Dominic, what’s happened to your face?”
“My daddy didn’t really like me sayin’ that I didn’t like his cooking. I guess it made him a little angry.” He said with an awkward little giggle. “I know I wasn’t supposed to come here but I didn’t want to stay with him.”
“Come in, come in. Let me fix you up.” You put a hand on his shoulder and allowed him to step inside your small home, “Sit right at the table, I’ll clean you up.”
With your hand still on his shoulder, you guided him over to the table and pulled a chair out for him and he sat. You went to the sink and got a clean washcloth and ran it under the water before walking over to him. You sat right next to him at the table and faced him. You brought the cloth to his face and lightly dabbed where his scars were, wiping away the blood. His blue eyes watched yours the whole time you cleaned up his scars.
“I hope I’m not being a bother to you.” He said quietly, “I guess I just didn’t really know where else to go.”
“No, not at all, don’t worry about it. I am always here to help you Dominic.”
“But why?”
You lower the cloth down into your lap and smile at him, “You help me with things like taking care of my cows and looking after the house when I’m gone.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” You could tell he had something else t say but for once, he was hesitant.
“What is it?”
“What is what?”
“What is on your mind?”
“A lot of things.” He replied with a little grin, “Which would you like to know first.”
“You were hesitant about something, I could tell, what were you being so hesitant about.”
He inhaled, then let a sigh leave him, “I don’t know, you probably won’t like the idea very much.”
“Just tell me anyway.” You brought your thumb to brush over the scar that was on his cheek just below his eye.
It got quiet for a moment, “Do you think maybe I could, I don’t know, stay here for the night? My daddy is probably still angry with me for runnin’ out of the house, or he’s probably wanging himself to sleep.”
You couldn’t help but giggle a little at the last part, Dominic wasn’t very good at keeping private information to himself.
“Oh, I don’t know-”
“I can sleep right on that couch there, I won’t be a bother to you. I promise I don’t snore, at least I don’t think I do.”
You weren’t sure if you liked the idea of him spending the night, but you also didn’t want to force him to go back home, “Alright, but just for this one night and then you go back home.”
He got excited, “Really? No one’s ever let me have a sleepover before you know? Thank you!” He leaned over and gave you a hug. You were taken back by the hug at first but them hugged him back,
“Yes, you’re welcome, but just for this one night.”
“Just for this one night.” He repeated.
He got up when the hug ended and walked over to the small couch. He immediately lied down as soon as he got on it, “It is not as comfortable as I thought.”
“Well, would you rather sleep with the smelly old cows?”
“No, no. Don’t make me sleep with the cows. Here is just fine.” He sat up again, “It would be nice to have a blanket though.”
“This is no motel you know? I am not your servant.” You teased, “But I’ll get you some blankets, I won’t make you sleep cold.” You went to get him some extra blankets you had in your bedroom and when you brought them out to him, you sat down next to him, “I don’t have many extras, I hope this is enough.”
“I think it will be enough for me, thank you. I didn’t make you take blankets off of your bed did I?”
“No, I’ve got my own, you’re alright.” He fidgeted with his sleeves then looked at you deeply without saying anything, “What is it now?” You asked softly.
The next thing he did took you by surprise as you weren’t expecting it at all. He leaned in and kissed your lips. It was a very quick kiss; it was the type of kiss little elementary school children would give each other. You looked at him blankly, not knowing what to do or say.
“I’m sorry,” He said, “I’m sorry, that was silly of me wasn’t it?” He looked down at his lap then laughed a little, “I guess I’ve made a mistake haven’t I?”
You felt a little bad for him as you could tell he was embarrassed by his actions, “No, it’s okay. Don’t, uh, don’t worry about it.” The room got quiet for a moment, “I think I’ll be off to bed now.” You said.
“But it isn’t even late yet.”
You couldn’t help by lie to him, you felt a little awkward, “Yes, but I guess I’m just feeling very tired.”
“Oh, okay.” He replied, sounding a little disappointed, “Goodnight then I guess.”
“Goodnight Dominic.” You stood from the couch and when you made it a couple feet away from him he spoke again, “I didn’t make you dislike me did I?”
You turned to face him, “No, of course not Dominc. I’m fine, really. Just try and sleep now, okay?”
He nodded his head, “Okay, I will sleep now.”
When you made it back to your room, you stayed lying wide awake in your bed. You didn’t know how you felt about Dominic kissing you. You never thought of him that way, then again, you didn’t dislike feeling his lips on your lips.
Maybe you liked the kiss because you felt sorry for poor little Dominic, maybe you liked it out of sorrowness. Or maybe, you liked the kiss because you actually enjoyed it.
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hezikas · 11 months
Text
You Are The Right One | Chapter 1
Dad!Aegon II Targaryen x Nanny!Reader (modern au)
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Summary: Following a devastating event involving his ex-girlfriend, Aegon is now a full-time single father to his daughter. However, with a jam-packed schedule due to his ongoing tour, he's struggling to balance his parenting duties with his high-profile career as a musician. To ease the burden, Aegon heeds his sister Helaena's advice and hires a stay-in nanny. But what he doesn't realize is that this decision will have unexpected consequences that will turn his life on its head.
Pairing: Aegon II Targaryen/Reader
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any characters from House of the Dragon, as they are the intellectual property of George R.R. Martin. Furthermore, I must acknowledge that this story is heavily influenced by the book 'The Nanny' written by Lana Ferguson.
Just a heads up I did not proofread this and english is not my first language.
Taglist: @julieeba  @delilah1990 @fan-goddess @shit-posts420​ @watercolorskyy​ 
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As you sit staring at your inbox, you hardly expect to hear back from A. Targaryen so soon after sending your email. And yet, her eagerness to meet you catches you off guard. The surprise only grows when she suggests the meeting take place at Red Keep, one of the most extravagant restaurants in all of King's Landing.
"Red Keep, huh," you murmured, a hint of disbelief creeping into your voice. "Is this how rich people hold interviews?"
You are aware that dining at Red Keep would be an extravagant expense, potentially amounting to half of your savings from your two months of hard work at the local pediatric clinic, a job that you held dear in your heart and still harbor resentment towards being fired from.
You push the thought aside and head to your small closet to pick out the most formal clothing you can find which is the black dress that you had worn to your college graduation. You hope that it will suit the occasion and not make you look out of place in such a lavish setting. Furthermore, since you are under the suspicion that the family you will be working for as a nanny is even more affluent than you initially believed. 
You recalled your experience of assisting children at the clinic, thinking that it had prepared you well for this new job. 
"This should be a piece of cake," you told yourself as you made your way to the Red Keep restaurant. 
However, deep down, you couldn't shake off the nervousness that came with starting a new job. You held on to the hope that this job would be as fulfilling as your previous one, and that the kid you would be taking care of would appreciate your efforts, just as the ones at the clinic did.
As you step inside the restaurant, you are greeted by a stunning hostess exuding an air of sophistication. She wears a perfectly tailored skirt and blouse that match the upscale decor of the place. Her sleek, polished appearance is completed by a pair of heels. The way she carries herself speaks volumes about the high standards of the establishment.
"Good evening, ma'am. Do you have a reservation?" she asked, pasting on a fake smile and emphasizing the word ‘reservation’ as if knowing you couldn't afford a single thing in the restaurant, not even their appetizers.
"Yes, under A. Targaryen," you replied confidently, determined to show her that you belonged in such a high-class establishment. The hostess's body suddenly changed after hearing the name you had mentioned. 
"Ah, right this way, Mr. Targaryen will be with you shortly" she said, leading you to a private table at the back of the restaurant. 
Mr. Targaryen? Did I hear her right? Maybe I misheard her. you thought to yourself.
As you marveled at the opulence of the restaurant's decor, a waiter approached you to inquire if you would like to begin with any appetizers. You decided to forego the appetizers and instead ordered a water, realizing that the unfriendly hostess was right about you not being able to afford the extravagant menu items. While waiting for your future boss, you occupied yourself by scrolling through your phone.
“Excuse me,” someone says.
The unexpected sound made you choke on your water, causing some to dribble down your chin. Embarrassed, you quickly wiped it away with a napkin. As you finished cleaning up, a face came into your view.
Motherf–
Your mind struggled to comprehend the sight before you. The man standing in front of you possessed a captivating appearance, with sharp, chiseled facial features and a prominent jawline. His eyes were a pale shade of purple, reminiscent of delicate lilacs in full bloom, and seemed to emit an otherworldly aura. His platinum blond hair was styled back, accentuating the angles of his face, and appeared to shimmer in the light, giving it an almost supernatural quality. He was a breathtakingly beautiful sight, resembling a creature from a dream.
In short, the man before you was none other than Aegon Targaryen, the world-renowned singer whose soulful voice had captivated millions.
"Excuse me, are you Y/N?" he asked, his voice like a melody that could soothe any troubled soul.
As your eyes remained transfixed on the ethereal man, his lips moved, and you suddenly snapped out of your reverie. Realizing that he had posed a question, you struggled to gather your composure before finally managing to respond, "Y-Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Mr. Targaryen."
Aegon flashed you a charming smile that could easily disarm even the most composed individuals. "Please, call me Aegon. Mr. Targaryen makes me feel old," he remarked, his tone tinged with a touch of playfulness.
As he spoke, you couldn't help but question his age. He certainly appeared older than you, though not excessively so. There was an air of maturity about him, but he retained a youthful essence. Still, you found yourself unable to tear your gaze away from him, entranced by his presence.
"Right," you stammered. 
"I'm Y/N. Y/N L/N," you introduced yourself, trying to regain your composure in the midst of his charismatic presence. As you pushed away from the table, he extended his hand at the same moment you were about to do the same. The result? A clumsy collision of palms and fingers, turning the handshake into a tangled mess reminiscent of a chaotic game of Twister.
Both of you were taken aback by the unexpected jumble of hands. Your face flushed a deep shade of crimson, and Aegon let out a nervous chuckle, attempting to diffuse the awkwardness that hung in the air.
"I apologize for asking you to meet me here. With my busy schedule leading up to my tour, I've been trying my best to fit everything in. I thought it would be convenient to have our interview while I have a meeting later at 8:45 pm, so I hope we can wrap up quickly."
"It's not a problem. I initially thought it was customary to conduct such meetings over dinner, especially at a place like this, but I figured..." The realization dawns on you, and you can't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment as you cover your eyes, trying to hide your flushed face.
"Oh my God. This wasn't a dinner interview. You wanted to talk to me before your upcoming meeting."
"I should have... been clearer in my email."
"I can't believe it. I wore this silly dress, and..."
"It's actually a very nice dress," he interjects, a touch of amusement in his voice as he finds your little outburst endearing.
"I must seem completely ridiculous..."
"Really, you don't," he assures you.
"I can be so oblivious sometimes. I apologize."
He continues to look amused, finding your moment of self-doubt and realization rather cute.
"You're welcome to order something," he suggests. "If you feel like it. I don't mind." 
"Thank you, but I think I have to excuse myself now. Perhaps it's best if I just leave, don't you think? This situation is already spiraling into a disaster." 
"Wait, no," he interjects, reaching out his hand as you try to make your escape.
"Please don't do that." You halt in your tracks, uncertain if he still intends to proceed with the interview. Perhaps he's having second thoughts as well. You speculate.
"Are you still interested in interviewing me?"
"To be frank," he sighed, his voice laced with genuine surprise, "no other applicant even comes close to your credentials. CPR training, First Aid certification, and experience working at a prestigious pediatric clinic. The references I checked couldn't stop raving about you. It seemed they were truly saddened to see you go."
"Yes, it was disheartening when circumstances forced me to leave," you admitted, a tinge of nostalgia in your voice. "Funding issues plagued the clinic. I cherished every moment there."
"Well," he chuckled softly, "it appears their loss may be my gain. Your résumé astounded me when it landed in my inbox."
"But now that you've met me, I imagine you're starting to doubt its authenticity," you remarked, a trace of self-deprecation evident in your words.
Aegon's laughter escaped, a restrained mirth accompanied by a gentle downturn of his gaze, as if he didn't want to appear disrespectful. Given the awkwardness of this initial encounter, such caution was understandable.
"No," he reassured, his voice warm. "I have no doubts about its authenticity. Although I must admit, I am curious. With your remarkable background, why seek a nanny position?"
The air held a moment of anticipation as you contemplated his question, the unspoken desires and motivations that brought you to this point.
You released a heavy sigh, leaning in closer over the table, gathering the courage to share your truth. "Can I speak honestly with you?"
Aegon leaned forward, his eyes displaying genuine interest. "I would prefer nothing less," he replied, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
Taking a moment to compose your thoughts, you began, "I'm currently in my final year of a graduate program. As I mentioned in my email, I lost my job due to downsizing. Rent in this city has become exorbitant, and to be completely frank, I'm in need of financial stability. Moreover, the offer of free room and board is an opportunity I can't dismiss. It would alleviate a significant burden on top of everything else."
A furrow formed on his forehead, suggesting that a concern had surfaced, and you braced yourself for the rejection you feared was imminent. "Regarding that," he began, his tone serious, "I feel compelled to inform you that it's a live-in position, but I want to be entirely transparent. It's just me and my daughter. Rest assured, you would have your own room, practically an entire floor to yourself, complete privacy. However, I understand if this arrangement might make you uncomfortable."
In all your years of existence, it seemed rather extraordinary that your first encounter of living with a strikingly attractive man would unfold within the realm of a fully immersive fictional scenario. Though a part of you longed to inquire about the other parent in this situation, if only to quell your inner turmoil, your rational mind vehemently warned against such a misstep.
With practiced precision, you adorned your face with a professional smile, masking the whirlwind of thoughts swirling within. "I don't anticipate any issues on my end. However, in the spirit of complete transparency... I'm currently enrolled in a hybrid program at KL's."
Curiosity flickered in Aegon's eyes as he sought clarification. "What does that mean?"
A faint chuckle escaped your lips as you unraveled the intricacies of your schedule. "Essentially, it means that the majority of my coursework is conducted online, affording me the flexibility to manage it during the evenings after work. However, two weekends every month, I'm required to attend on-campus classes. And most of the jobs I've applied for have struggled to accommodate my schedule, rendering it somewhat of a deal breaker." A wistful smile accompanied your admission.
Aegon pondered your words, a hint of amusement dancing in his gaze. "Well, it appears that I might be the sole individual who recognizes the true value of your impressive credentials."
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Note: I apologize for the delay in releasing Chapter 1. Unfortunately, I unexpectedly fell ill with a viral infection shortly after posting the sneak peek. Despite that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please understand that some parts may not be as well-written as I had initially intended, as I wrote them while I was still unwell. That’s all. Thank you for reading.
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sihayadunee · 4 days
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🌘 THE ECLIPSE a UNION of OPPOSITES 🌒
an analysis of the mythic motifs in dune part two through the lens of mythologist joseph campbell, and some predictions for dune messiah
• Divine Couple
• Death and Rebirth
• Redemption Through Divine Union
• House of Atreus
• Lunar-Masculine / Solar-Feminine
• Goddesses
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THE ECLIPSE
This motif has been connected to Dune since the first film’s promo, especially with the concluding track of Dark Side of the Moon accompanying the initial trailer. Some fans believed this theme had been dropped as it wasn’t very present in the first film. However the eclipse continued throughout the promo of the second film. This was because Part Two is where the real pay off is, already in the first 10 minutes.
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This concept is intrinsic to Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation. Since the first film I have been saying that Dune embraces the Lunar-Masculine (Paul) and Solar-Feminine (Chani). However beyond just that, Dune: Part Two showcases multiple pairings of the lunar-solar dynamic.
But before we jump into that, let’s establish the meaning of an eclipses in general mythology. Typically they are a symbol of death and renewal. Common interpretations have a beast devouring the sun, or a celestial couple evading or pursuing one another. These interpretations are consistent over and again in Dune.
What we will see, is that the greater Imperium holds a Solar-Masculine identity, but when it comes to Arrakis there is a distinct shift to the Solar-Feminine archetype.
PAUL as the MOON
There are an innumerable amount of connections. Bull motifs are reoccurring throughout the first film, where he grew up on a water world. After all, the moon is associated with the tides. He takes the name Muad’Dib, and one of the moons of Arrakis has the icon of a Muad’Dib aka Desert Mouse visible on its surface. And ultimately, Paul experiences rebirth in Part Two.
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The bull is a figure of sacrifice which aligns very well with the lineage of House Atreides which can be traced back to the House of Atreus and it’s curse of familial murder, betrayal and symbolic consumption. Sacrifice of the children in each new generation.
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IRULAN and the GOLDEN LION THRONE
Starting here is a good place, because it shows the transition of the Solar-Masculine of the wider Imperium toward the Solar-Feminine of Arrakis. Irulan Corrino of House Corrino is the daughter of Emperor Shaddam who sits on the Golden Lion Throne. His reign is coming to a close as Paul rises on Arrakis, and with no male heirs Irulan his eldest is the successor destined for marriage. In this way Irulan becomes the embodiment of the Lion Throne, and her determination in Dune Messiah to produce Paul’s heir becomes clear. That function of the Queen Mother and how that feeds back into the Solar-Masculine as the King becomes tied to the lion and the throne once more.
In particular I would say her story is best reflected in the myth of the goddess Cybele who falls for Attis and when he falls for a mortal girl Cybele plots betrayal. Something for which she later feels guilt and tries to make amends for (Children of Dune).
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PAUL and JESSICA
Their dynamic is incredibly complicated, but I think the opening of the film during the eclipse sums it up very well. You follow the path of the moon as it covers the sun, and as it meets its full coverage Paul is the one taking action in the fight against the Harkonnen. However as the moon passes by and the sun takes over again, Jessica emerges to save Paul’s life.
This was intentional by the filmmakers, as is revealed in the Art and Soul of Dune Part Two, DP Greig Fraser identified the exact time, date and location in order to shoot the sun as it appears directly behind Rebecca Ferguson.
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Jessica represents the sun on Arrakis, and in this scene we see how the moon dies into the sun to be reborn in their dynamic. It also lines up with motifs of the sun goddess giving birth to the sacrificial bull. Sacrifice toward this death and rebirth.
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What we see is the separation of mother and son that brings them back together in the same place. Paul takes the lead and rejects his mother’s influence, but she leads him toward the death and rebirth he must experience, and this brings them back to a common understanding.
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This is also why having Jessica sit the Atreides “throne” in the finale instead of Paul (who did so in the book) makes mythic sense. Because again we return to the Solar-Feminine mother as the throne, and her son as king. But in a different context here then what Irulan aspires toward.
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A SYMBOLIC UNION aka THE BULL SACRIFICE
The House Harkonnen family seal in the books is the griffin, which makes his introduction in a gladiator arena killing Atreides even more appropriate. Feyd’s birthday is also associated with a solar event. Because ultimately Feyd is the matador and Paul is the bull.
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What works so fantastically about the dual, is how it is bathed in the sunlight. After all, the sun figure (day) is facing off against the moon (night) figure in this sequence. Plus the bull was the eventual demise of Paul’s grandfather who was a matador. This takes place at sunrise, and it’s a dual for the throne, where whoever is victorious inherits the Golden Lion Throne. The
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Denis specially describes the dual as a symbolic union, and it works on multiple layers. This bull sacrifice, is in essence the quote from part one of “when you take a life you take your own” so Paul killing Feyd is penetration, intimacy, it is rebirth.
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It is also reminiscent of how Campbell describes the sun-moon twins of Navajo myth:
The two, Sun-child and Water-child, antagonistic yet cooperative, represent a single cosmic force, polarized, split, and turned against itself in mutual portions. The life-supporting sap-power, mysterious in the lunar rhythm of its tides, growing and decaying at a time, counters and tempers the solar file of the zenith, life- desiccating it its brilliance, yet by whose heat all lives.
— Joseph Campbell's Commentary from "Where the Two Came to Their Father: A Navaho War Ceremonial" by Jeff King and Maud Oakes
DESERT SPRING TEARS and DIVINE UNION
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There is a section in the Dune Encyclopedia that talks about the foundation of the Bene Gesserit beliefs. In particular the teachings of a certain ancestral memory personality, called Inanna (yes that is the name of the Sumerian goddess who was also in a divine union caught between life and death glad you asked) about the Kwisatz Haderach. It basically establishes that the entire premise of the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach is in essence the Divine Couple.
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It specifies two mirrored dynamics the son saved/resurrected by the mother and the husband saved/resurrected by the wife. Inanna called them Au Set and Au Sar. The Kemet names for Isis and Osiris. The idea of the Bene Gesserit would have this as the mother of the KH, and the Corrino princess he would have married. But with things thrown off course, it represents outside their control.
In Dune, we see it between Paul and Chani. Like Isis who has the solar disc and Osiris who is tied to water and death, her lover has died and she is the one to revive him.
Furthermore the concept of mythical tears can be found in the goddess Freya (who arguably is compatible with sun-goddess motifs) who weeps when her husband Odin is lost to her.
But perhaps most compatible—the healing tears of a phoenix. A bird archetype similar to Isis as bird. This is where the yin-yang dynamic of Chani and Paul becomes most apparent, since the serpent is synonymous with the bull and therefore Paul who “makes peace with Shai-Hulud” encompasses the dragon (yang) as a complement to Chani’s phoenix (yin).
In the behind the scenes of Dune Part Two, the Maker Temple is said to be designed like the infinity symbol with the two circles (one of sand and one of water). Sand being death and water being life, but also the reverse. As the sandworm thrives in the sand but is drowned in the water. And Paul is stuck between life and death, literally laying between both pools, when Chani comes to resurrect him.
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This film literally has three kisses. Their first kiss when Chani says she will show him the way of the Fremen, their second kiss on screen when she says he will never lose her before going South, and the third symbolic kiss of life.
This marriage/death is also foreshadowed in Paul’s visions in Part One when Chani kisses him and then stabs him. Which is where we return to Isis and Osiris because Paul’s death state (dying again as we established, after killing Feyd, similar in a way to Set and Osiris) is where we will eventually get the twins Leto II and Ghanima with Leto II being the Horus in this equation.
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As the Pink Floyd lyrics say, the sun is eclipsed by the moon and this is captured in the heartbreak Chani feels over losing Paul and losing her people to the Lisan al Gaib. The Fremen way of life has been eclipsed and over taken by the Atreides and the Bene Gesserit. Here we see more of the concept of that beast devouring the sun from the beginning, verses the celestial couple dynamic.
Chani leaving the residency chamber is also reminiscent of certain myths like Amaterasu going into hiding, or the Inuit folktale about the sun goddess fleeing her moon god brother/lover who pursues her.
However the Dune Encyclopedia also talks about the concept of redemption (which is why in the film Mohiam asks Margot if Feyd is capable of redemption) of the “mate savior”. The Kwisatz Haderach. They would bring about a release from bondage through redemption and rebirth.
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Which is relevant to the dynamic of Paul and Chani in Dune Messiah for Denis, because he has said Paul is going to be looking to save his soul in part three, and how Paul and Chani come back together won’t just be explained away off screen between films. It will be that continued cycle of rebirth, through redemptive love. Rebirth as a whole in Dune is worth its own discussion, since all the different Jungian descriptions of it can be found within this universe.
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CONCLUSION
The eclipse, a lunar-solar dynamic representing the union of opposites, is very significant in Dune Part Two and sheds a lot of light onto what we can anticipate next in Dune Messiah, particularly in regards to the central romance between Paul and Chani and the changes Denis has made from book to screen.
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whiteteadreams · 1 year
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Watching Over You
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Paring: Yandere!Gaurdian Angel!Lee Taeyong x Human!Female Reader
Preview: Turning your head to question his silence, his expression could only be described as fucking appalled. “What’s the matter?” His expression was even more flabbergasted if that could be possible. 
“What’s the matter? Darling, only a fucking fool would break up with you.” You felt hot despite the cold air, even your ears were warm. The heat didn’t stop even when his freezing hands were now cupping your cheeks. He smashed his lips into yours, ignoring the pain shooting through his nose when it pressed into your cheek a bit too roughly.
Word Count: 13.3k 
Genre: Yandere, darker theme, Non-Idol AU, kinda paranormal AU, angst, fluff, smut
Warnings: Yandere/obsessive behavior, manipulation, taeyong using her trauma against her, sexual non-con watching (extremely easy to miss!!), violence, slight religious themes, summoning the devil, overall abusive and toxic relationship, she has a cat named ferguson 
Smut Warnings: body worship (f receiving), oral sex (f receiving), boob worship, praise, pet names (baby, etc), rimming (f receiving), slight ass eating (f receiving), unprotected sex (let's not), one night stand, kitchen sex, living room sex, he slaps her once, riding, slight humiliation, finger sucking, he calls her his bitch, slut, messy, etc. fingering her ass 
a/n- this is my first yandere/dark fic so I hope you guys like it! and this is purely fiction, I don't see taeyong as someone who would truly act like this. AND BIG THANK YOU TO MY TUMBLR BESTIE @neowinestainedress FOR HELPING ME COME UP WITH THE ENDING!!!!!!!! I'm also so sorry abt this taking forever, I got sick and then schoolwork piled up and it was all just a mess. I hope this was worth the wait and if it isn't, I'm so sorry. again, thank you rebs for supporting me thru this lol.
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Moving on was harder than you thought it would be. When you were younger and as single as possible, you always thought that when a serious relationship ended, it wouldn’t be too hard, for you at least. Younger you was very wrong, because here you were, a whopping seven months after your relationship had ending, still sulking.
“Get your ass out of your apartment right now.” The screaming voice caused you to pull your phone away from your ear as you winced. “Come on Chae, it’s comfortable here. Nice and cold, with Ferguson.” When hearing his name, the chubby cat waddled over to your sitting figure on the floor and flopped down.  “See, Fergie-Boy wouldn’t ever leave me, he came over to me when he heard him name.” You pulled away from the phone to coo at the cat. “You’re my baby aren’t you, my little boy, my son.”
The baby talk was interrupted when you heard Chaeyoung’s cackling. “Okay, you really need to get out of the house that isn’t because of uni or work.”  You heard the sign that Chaeyoung let out through the phone, and it made you wonder if she was right. Should you get out, in that way? Meet someone? Move on?
You wouldn’t have realized that you said that last part out loud if Chaeyoung didn’t yell out, “Yes Y/n, move on, get over him. You deserve better, don’t give him any more of your tears, he isn’t worthy.” You knew she was right, but of course, you were still hesitant. “Okay Chae, let’s go out.” Finally giving in, you gave Ferguson another pat and then got up from your spot.
“That’s great Y/n! Now let me in.” You had already hung up the phone, Chaeyoung’s voice wasn’t coming from the phone this time, but behind the door. “I know you can hear me, open up!” Deciding that it wasn’t worth it to fight her on this, you huffed and silently walked to the door to let in Chae, with Ferguson right on your heels.
Opening the door, you saw the newly blonde smile wide at you and throw her hands in the air. “We’re gonna go out! It’s been so long!” Slightly rolling your eyes in a loving way, you allowed her to drag you to your bedroom to start the process of getting ready. “Okay, the goal is to get your sexy ass laid, so that’s what’s going to happen!”  That wasn’t your goal, but you noticed that Chae was already having fun and you weren’t going to be the one to ruin it.  
“Okay babe, I already have the dress and shoes that you’re going to wear tonight.” You just noticed the tote bag that was swung around Chae’s shoulder and with the grin on her face, you couldn’t tell her no.
Letting Chaeyoung push you into your own room, you watched her look through your makeup and jewelry while she told you to put on the dress. You did what you were told and with minimal tugging at the fabric, you let the short dress hug your curves. Checking yourself out in the mirror, you admittedly looked good, well your hair needed to be brushed and your eye bags covered, but other than that, it wasn’t obvious that you hadn’t left your house for fun in months.
“Alright, sit-down hot stuff, let me fix you up.” Talking about random things and listening to music, you watched the time pass on your digital alarm clock as you felt Chae tickle your face with various brushes, adding on pigment to different parts of your skin. Cheeks, eyelids, and finally lips, you and Chae were finished, and it was now late enough to head out. You slipped on your heels and headed to your front door.
“Wait-wait-wait!” Chae jogged to you after you passed your bedroom door. Spinning on your heels, trying not to fall, you were just ready to go and get the night over with. “I brought you some of my crystals, they’ll help you manifest love.” She wiggled her eyebrows along with her hips and took out a small drawstring bag from her tote bag.
“Alright, we got some green aventurine, malachite, sunstone, carnelian, emerald, clear quartz, smoky quartz, and of course, rose quartz. So, you’re gonna keep these on you for the night and hopefully some lucky guy will appear.” She tied the bag shut and pushed it your way.
“You and your witchy stuff, I swear. Where am I even supposed to put those?” Your freshly shaped eyebrow rose, patting along your pocketless dress.
“Put it between your tits, that’s where I keep mine.” Chaeyoung pulled at the hem of her dress, flashing her rock hilled cleavage at you. Both of you laughed, but Chae wasn’t laughing at the rocks, she was serious about those. Chae stepped closer to you, inspecting your chest.
“Alright, pull them apart sister, gotta get you some love.” Instead of letting her situate her crystals, you just took them and put them between your breasts yourself.
Sharing a laugh with Chaeyoung as the two of you walked to elevator, you were thankful that she was there to take your mind off of your ex. Chae was always able to keep the conversation moving, never running out of topics to talk about. She had just switched the subject to one of her witchy things, this was something that you knew nothing about so while she was ranting on how she figured out to summon the devil, you ordered an Uber for the two of you. You didn’t want to drive downtown, and Chae was probably going to drink so she shouldn’t drive at all.
Chaeyoung was looking at you when you looked up from your phone. “Can you repeat that last part? I was ordering our Uber.” She understood and repeated on how to summon the devil and why you would ever need to.
“Normally people only speak to him when someone who is holy is bothering them, like an angel or such. Other reasons include trading or selling your soul, getting rid of people, and some people just want to have sex with a demon, I don’t know how I feel about that one though.” You didn’t care much about what she was saying but you did care about how happy she was when she was interested in something, in this case, she was interested in knowing how to summon Satan himself.
Giggling at her rant, you just listened to her talk until the Uber arrived and then you listened to her talk some more in the car and until you pulled up to the club.
“Alright ladies, your total is $7.12.” You paid the man and gathered your purse and jacket. “Have fun, be careful, and watch who you summon!” He called out as you and Chae left the car, you threw your head back and laughed, realizing that he too had been listening to Chaeyoung’s demon summoning rant. Her shy side shone through for a quick second when she blushed and ducked her head down, hiding the color on her warm cheeks.
You smiled at her, watching the color leave her cheeks when the embarrassment wore off. “Well at he knows how to get some extra help if its ever needed.” You teased her, poking her arm, reminding her that he had heard the entire conversation. “Fuck off.” She giggled and pushed you a bit. “Well, at least he was nice.”
He had dropped you off in front of the restaurant next to the club so you a minute walk to get to the entrance, it was still early enough where the line only consisted of a couple people. The back of the line was where the two of you stood for a bit, until someone walked out of the club, and another could walk in. Chae picked up where she left off on her summoning talk, gaining some stares from other people in the line, as well as people just passing by. Once Chaeyoung found something that she was passionate about, she made sure that everyone knew. And if she caught someone side eyeing her for a bit too long, she would just respond with, “You’re gonna need it when I curse your ass.”
While Chaeyoung was telling someone off, the bouncer motioned for you to step forward and show your IDs. “C’mon Chae, time to go in.” Immediately dropping the argument, she was about to get in, she whipped out her ID, showed the bouncer, and walked into the club, with you reluctantly trailing behind her, despair evident on your face.
Taking your hand and dragging you to the bar, Chaeyoung was scoping out the people in the club, the ones dancing, drinking, and the wallflowers. She was making mental notes on who she was going to take home tonight. The watching didn’t stop when you got your drinks, she just sipped on her lemon drop martini while eye fucking one guy in particular. He was returning her stares and soon enough he was sauntering over to the bar where the two of you were.
They did what hot people do and started a conversation, one that showed they were interested in each other but still vague enough to not give anything away. It’s been a while since you had one of those conversations. Sitting on the couch and eating popcorn with Ferguson wasn’t getting you anywhere in life and while you understood where Chaeyoung was coming from, there was no where you’d rather be than at home, sitting on the couch and eating popcorn with Ferguson.
“And for you?” There was a slight pause before the voice started again. “Miss?” Once you’re out of focused mind, understood that it was you, the voice was directed at, you whipped your head around.
While you had been taking in your surroundings and watching Chaeyoung interact with the man, the bartender had been trying to get your attention. “Ah yes, and I suppose I should order something. I’ll just have a mojito, with lime, please and thank you.” You smiled at him, noticing just how attractive he was, thick black hair, deep eyes, a sharp jaw, and a thick bottom lip. Maybe just sitting at the bar all night while Chaeyoung mingled wouldn’t be too bad.
When your drink was placed in front of you, Chaeyoung turned your seat around. “I’m gonna go dance with him, but feel free to interrupt me at any point if you need anything.” She said it in such a serious tone and pointed in the area that you assumed they were going to be. Looking back at the bartender who now had his broad back towards you, you nodded at Chae and told her to have fun.
As soon as she walked away, you could tell tonight was going to be a long night. “Is there anything wrong with the drink?” The bartender returned to what you wanted to be his designated spot, right in front of you. You shook your head, “No, it’s quite good, and I’m not much of a drinker.” You smiled at him, an odd sense of familiarity washing over you. Positive that you had never met this man before, you still couldn’t help but be confused by the feeling he brought you.
“Ah, I was worried you didn’t like it since I haven’t seen you drink much.” He’s been watching you, that’s a good sign. “No, no, it’s really good, I’ve just been people watching.” He smiled at you and that caused you to smile back.
The conversation you two had could easily fall into the category in which you put Chaeyoung’s conversation in, the kind hot people have. You made sure he knew you were interested, but you gave him no major details about your work or personal life. The two of you didn’t even exchange names but you were confident in receiving the answer you wanted with you next question.
“Would you, maybe, want to get out of here.” You didn’t realize you were leaning over the bar until he did the same, and your noses brushed. “I would absolutely love to, but I’m unfortunately working. How about we exchange numbers and I give you a call when my shift is over? It shouldn’t be too long.” You didn’t want to pull away from his face, loving the feel of his breath mixing with yours, you looked at him and exchanged smiles. But you wanted to hurry up and get out of the club, not without getting his number though. Reaching into your purse, you grabbed your phone, eager to get any piece of him, even if it was just a handful of digits.
Watching his diligent fingers type in his phone number into the new contact he made himself, you were already excited to receive the call from him. And, quite frankly, you’d settle for a text from him that just said, “r u up”, although you could assume he wasn’t that type of guy. Surely, he’d request a booty call in your voicemail inbox. You noticed him pulling his phone out from somewhere under the bar and placing it in front of you, unlocked.
Noticing that you were putting in your number very carefully and reading over the number several times before giving him his phone back, you scolded yourself for being so desperate. You then heard Chaeyoung’s voice, somewhere far in your head, “you deserve to be thirsty girl, go get his dick. This is what we’ve been manifesting, don’t let it go to waste!” Smiling at the faint illusion, you looked back at the bartender, waiting for him to say something next.
“I hope you assumed that I wasn’t going to charge you for the drink, so is there anything else you want?” His eyes told you that no matter what, he wasn’t going to let you pay, and you felt the butterflies in your stomach flutter around. “The only thing I want right now, is you.” Even with the glaring LEDs in the club, you could tell you made him blush. He bit his lip and looked down, all while slightly shaking his head. You mentally patted yourself on the back, proud of his flustered reaction. All of a sudden, you were proud of yourself for paying attention to all of Chaeyoung’s flirting advice and sitting through all of the romance movies with her.
“I’ll be right back; I’m going to go tell my boss that I’m feeling sick. You find your friend and tell her that you’ll be leaving so she doesn’t worry. I’ll meet you at the door.” Smiling at the fact that you wouldn’t even have to wait for him to get off shift, you nodded at him and watched him back away and tell the other bartender that he wasn’t feeling well. You turned around and searched for Chae, who stayed true to her word and was where she said she would be.
“Hey Chae, I’m going to head out, I’ve had enough for the night.” You yelled over the loud music, trying to let your friend know that you weren’t just disappearing. “Okay, let me get my purse and then we can go!” Once you heard the words that came out of Chaeyoung’s mouth you started shaking your head. “No, I’ll be okay, I’m going with the hot bartender, you keep having fun!” You nodded your head back towards the bar and then towards the man right next to Chae, who was patiently letting you guys finish your conversation. Although he looked sick, Chaeyoung seemed to be into him. Her face made everything even better, the surprise was evident but so was impressed look. Without giving a verbal answer you just smiled at her and nodded, happy to see her having a good time and happy that you wouldn’t spend the night alone.  
You looked up from Chae and swallowed, if the music wasn’t blasting, surely, you’d be able to hear it. Your throat contracting out of nervousness, the club had attracted a crowd since you arrived, and it caused the path to the door to disappear. Yelling your final goodbyes at Chae and glaring at the man she was dancing with in warning, you mapped out your escape plan.
As soon as the couple closest to you slid to the side a bit, you squeezed through. You felt the sweat of the other dancing bodies land on your skin, you shivered in disgust, wishing you were just at the door, with him. “Wanna dance, baby?”
Looking over to your left you saw a man, one who was not attractive to say the least, and the way he was sitting wasn’t tasteful at all, a way that some men could pull off but not all, manspreading. Your face couldn’t hide your distaste and the man didn’t seem too fond of that. “I’m okay, thank you though.” Continuing your journey to the door, you felt his hand latch onto your arm, refusing to let you go.
“But I want to dance, so you’re going to let me.” His grip tightened and you winced. “Ow, let go, you’re hurting me.” He just sneered and pulled you to his chest, starting to thrust against your ass.
The man’s breath was right against your neck, until it wasn’t. “The fuck is wrong with you, man? Touching my girlfriend even after she told you to stop.” You weren’t someone’s girlfriend, that was the reason why Chaeyoung made you come out tonight in the first place.
With the quick decision to trust the mystery man over the man who touched you, you moved over to where you heard the voice, shielding yourself from the other man.  
The mystery man didn’t stay a mystery for long, you noticed that he was the bartender. You suddenly felt safer than you were just being behind him, now knowing who he was. He didn’t seem interested in starting a physical fight like the other man was. He just threw a couple names at him and started walking out of the club. You felt his hand hover above the small of you back, not wanting to touch you without your permission after what had just happened.
While you were afraid of pushing people out of the way, he wasn’t. With him helping you out of the club, he made sure not a single person touched you, you knew how hard it was the moment you did try so you were curious about how easy it was for him. He was behind you, so you saw people move before you were even close to them. One guy in particular’s eyes widened and nodded his head at the bartender.
Since he was able to get people to move immediately, exiting the club was much easier than from before. You could hear the other man’s yells over the booming music but the only thing you were focused on was getting outside, away from all the people, and away from all the body heat.
“We’re close, calm your breathing, it’s really heavy.” You hadn’t realized that you were all but panting, stressed and uncomfortable, feeling trapped, except the man behind you. You felt safe with him, he was oddly protective over you, but it was nice, something you had never experienced.
You gasped in the fresh air once the cool evening air ingulfed your warm body. Laughing at the absurdity of it all, you smiled over at the bartender who now was out with you, and you could see him clearly now. The entire situation wasn’t that absurd, but with how far outside your comfort zone you were right now, it was insane for you. The bartender just watched you laugh to yourself with a smile on his face. “Ah, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s so funny?”
Starting to walk in the direction of your apartment, you started to explain, without giving too much, still trying to achieve the hot people talk. “I just don’t do this too much, let alone go home with someone.” It was his turn to laugh now and that made you look at him, a bit funny too. “That’s pretty hard to believe, you have to be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.”
Raising your eyebrows at him in surprise, you giggled at him mimicking your facial expression. “What’s surprising about my amazing taste in women?” You bumped him with your side, you voice now significantly quieter than it had been. “I’ve just, never been told that by anyone in my life. The only people who called me pretty, were my parents.” He tsked at your confession like it was the craziest thing he’s ever heard.
“Did you not have an ex-partner or anything?” Not sure what he was implying, you started off with nodding. “Yeah, I’ve had a boyfriend. We were together for a really long time, since high school actually. He broke up with me seven months ago, this the first time out of the house for something ‘fun’ to be honest.”
Turning your head to question his silence, his expression could only be described as fucking appalled. “What’s the matter?” His expression was even more flabbergasted if that could be possible. 
“What’s the matter? Darling, only a fucking fool would break up with you.” You felt hot despite the cold air, even your ears were warm. The heat didn’t stop even when his freezing hands were now cupping your cheeks. He smashed his lips into yours, ignoring the pain shooting through his nose when it pressed into your cheek a bit too roughly.
“He made it seem like it was my fault.” So overwhelmed by the unexpected emotion from the kiss, you sniffled. “It wasn’t.” Before you could ask how he knew, he cut you off. “I just know.” Looking at him through teary eyes, you whined without really saying anything. “He already took too much of your time, let’s stop thinking about him and I’ll do my best to help you forget him.”
“I still don’t even know your name.” Watching his fingers caress your knuckles, you realized that you were still calling him ‘the bartender’. “Taeyong. My name is Taeyong.” Pretty name for a pretty man. You gave him your name in return and loved the way to said it, he whispered it, almost like if your name was said too loud, it would break. That’s the same way he held you too, like you were a piece of fragile glass. But more importantly, he held you like you were his, and you were more than willing to be just that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taeyong straddled you, his thighs trapping you underneath him, he stared down at your bare body. Bare for him, while he was clothed except for the unbuttoned shirt, showing you, his tattoos. “You don’t understand how long I’ve waited to have you.”
His confession caused your brows to furrow, confused by what he meant. Before you could even truly think to ask, you felt his nose drag between your breasts, breathing you in, and descending down your body. He mentioned worshipping each and every piece of you, and he fulfilled that promise. Taking his time with moving alone your body, he kissed, licked, and nipped every few seconds, never letting a single inch of skin go bare. You were positive that when you looked into the mirror in the morning, you would see several bruises and marks along your once bare skin.
“You smell and t-taste so fucking good.” He said it like it was too good to be true, like he had been longing for you. “Y-you are just so fucking good.” Taeyong looked up from where he was between your legs, finally at his destination. The thing he’s been obsessing over ever since he met you.
He didn’t run his tongue through your slit like you first expected, you felt something harder, the bridge of his nose. Taeyong loved the smell of you as it was, but the seedy scent of your arousal was something that made his mouth water, and the fact that it was caused by him, made everything better. He wanted to be the only person to ever get you like this and to ever experience you like this. You were his.
Opening his mouth and breathing your scent in, he groaned and jutted his hips against your bed sheets, trying to get some relief for the aching throb he was starting to feel surge through his cock. You saw him roll his hips into your bed and grew jealous of the friction that he was receiving and that you weren’t. Trying to take matters into your own hands, or hips, you tried bucking your pelvis up, closer to his mouth.
All he did was laugh and hold you down. “Be patient, I’ve been wanting to taste you ever since I met you.” You felt the tip of his nose at your hole, once again, he inhaled your smell, seemingly never satisfied with one breath. The foreign feeling was felt out of nowhere, you were trying to distract yourself from bucking your hips into his face again. He finally licked along your slit, teasing you from your cunt to your clit, until his tongue made its way back down to your pussy. He passed your hole and ventured even further down, to your unused rim.
Gasping and arching your back, not used to the feeling, Taeyong laughed. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to leave any part of you untouched.” You laughed with him, enjoying the feeling of being cared for in your chest, as well as the feeling in your lower stomach.
Taeyong’s mouth returned to the place you wanted it the most. “Tae-”, you moaned when he sucked your clit particularly rough. The way he played with you had you unable to sit still, your legs almost involuntarily kicked up at bit, now bent at the knee. With the way your legs were positioned now, and your feet were right by his head, exposing your entire cunt to him.
“You’re so fucking pretty.” With that, his head disappeared between your legs, face pressing hard into your pussy, almost like no matter what, he couldn’t get enough of you.
His tongue flicked through your slit, gathering wetness and playing with it. He played with you, even as you were begging him to just fucking you already, he still enjoyed the taste of you.
It wasn’t until you let out a harsh scream when his teeth grazed your clit, he finally came back up to properly fuck you. With one last kiss to your clit, he kissed his way back up your body. You were panting when you were at last, face to face.
“I haven’t even done anything yet and you’re already a mess.” Disbelief was the only thing that was shown on your face. “You haven’t done anything? That’s the most pleasure I’ve experience in more than half a year that wasn’t caused by myself!” As soon as the words left your mouth, embarrassment washed over you, worried that you had shared too much.
“Well, that’s just a shame, a woman like you should have someone bending over backwards to make you feel good. I’m still pissed off from the fact that your douchebag ex left you like that.” You grimaced at the memory of him, not wanting to talk about him, especially now.
“It doesn’t matter now though, because I’m here now.” The tip of his dick prodded at your hole, one, twice, and then Taeyong thrusted inside you. Taeyong groaned above you while you gasped for air, not used to the feeling of being full anymore, but Taeyong filled you perfectly, like he was made for you.
The feeling of his cock dragging against your walls was almost overwhelming. You could feel him in your throat, like you couldn’t breathe in air. You could only breathe him in, you felt like he was everywhere. Feeling caged in, you felt safe. Safe in his arms. You had only known him for less than a few hours, yet you felt as if he knew you, he understood you.
When you looked up at him, he was already watching you. Analyzing your expressions, making sure you were enjoying yourself. You worried however, that he was so focused on you, that he wasn’t having fun either.
Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pulled him closer, craving to feel his lips on yours again. You heard Taeyong whine as soon as his lips met yours, and you couldn’t help but make the same sound. “Tae-, I’m close.” Your words were broken up by a moan, now unable to think properly about anything that wasn’t him and the way he was making you feel.
Taeyong grabbed a hold of your right leg and threw it over his shoulder, spreading you open even more and allowing him more access to your pussy. You felt his hips meet yours with every thrust now. His thrusts were getting quicker and uneven, trying to chase his own high while bringing you to yours.
The moment he brought his thumb to your clit, you lost it. You felt your entire body tense up with sweet heat spreading throughout you. With your pussy tightening, Taeyong couldn’t hold back anymore either. He was about to pull out to cum, but as soon as you noticed the full feeling disappearing, you wrapped your legs around his hips to keep his hips pressed against yours. “Cum in me, please Taeyong.”
You could hear the squelch of your pussy now with how fast his hips were hitting yours. “Fuck, I’m gonna, I’m gonna cum.” With a stutter of his hips, you felt his release coat your walls.
Taeyong gently laid on top of you, not pulling out of you just yet. “Oh my god.” You panted out a laugh, in disbelief of how much pleasure you just felt since it had been so long. He smiled down at you and kissed your turned up lips.
He made sure you were cleaned up and satisfied before he held you until you both fell asleep. You were calm and happy for once. But as soon as you woke up, you were no longer calm.
It was several minutes before 6 AM when your eyes opened. At first your instinct was to freak out since you didn’t recognize where you were and the bed you were sleeping in, wasn’t empty. You became aware of the other body on the bed when he rolled over, farther from you. The memories from the night came crashing down on you all at once, affecting every single part of your body. Your heart, head, and the area between your legs. Your breathing sped up, but you knew you needed to leave, it was just a one-night stand, and by the look of him, you weren’t the only girl he’s been with. He was just too perfect.
The sight of your discarded clothes on the floor made you look beneath the blankets, because you weren’t naked. The ratty worn-out army green t-shirt was baggy on you and the boxers you had on were definitely not yours. The thought of him dressing you in his own clothes caused your heart to flutter, but still, that didn’t stop you from scooping up your club clothes in your arms and booking it to the front door. You figured that if you just kept on the old clothes, it would look less like a walk of shame than wearing your skimpy dress, just in case you had a long way to go. Thinking about whether or not this was stealing, you just decided to override your morals and just hope you saw him again someday.
As quietly as you could, you opened the door but gasped when you looked outside into the hallway. His hallway was an exact copy of yours. You looked at the number on the door, wondering if you had gone to your apartment but you saw an E32, which did not match your H19. Clearing the idea of this being your home out of your head, you closed the door and looked at your location using the 3% left of your phone battery.
You were in your own apartment complex.
“Fuck.” Not being able to decide whether you were relived or not, you just ran up the stairs to your floor after getting impatient with the elevator. You were glad that you were already in your own area and didn’t have to worry about finding a way back, but also you were worried about running into him sooner than you expected.
Your lovely H19 appeared into sight and with the panicked panting, you were finally able to have a peaceful exhale. Unlocking your door and slipping in, you were immediately met with Ferguson giving you an earful on being gone. He wasn’t used to you being gone for this long but when you bent down to pet him, he sniffed you and no longer wanted anything to do with you. It hurt to be honest, he was your only friend besides Chaeyoung, most importantly though, he was your sweet precious baby angel.
“Fine Fergie-Boy, you be like that, I’ll go wash away my sins, so you love me again.” And that’s what you did, you treated yourself to an everything shower since you hadn’t partaken in any self-care activity in such a long time. Shaving, plucking, washing, and exfoliating was some of the things you did for the next couple of hours. After drying off, you lathered your body in lotion, sighing at the relief of the cool temperature and smooth texture. Ferguson peeked his head through the crack since the door wasn’t closed. He sniffed the air, presumably smelling you without getting too close. Seemingly happy with the data he gathered, he slipped in the bathroom, but not without opening the door much more than he needed to.
You replaced Taeyong’s clothes with your own and Ferguson was more than happy to rub against the leg of your sweatpants. “Oh, my baby boy, I’m back to smelling like roses, just like what you’re used to.” You picked up the bottle of body mist and allowed Ferguson to smell it. Scent was always important to him, he only liked yours and Chaeyoung’s, no one else’s. He was stingy.
“How about we bake something? I’m thinking some kind of turnover.” Ferguson purred in response, helping you make up your mind.
After pulling the freshly baked pastries out of the oven, you suddenly remembered that you hadn’t gotten your mail for the past couple of days. You pass the mailboxes every time you go downstairs, but you only force yourself to do every couple of days.
Double checking that the oven was turned off and that the turnovers were out of Ferguson’s reach, you grabbed your apartment keys and the key that opened your mailbox.
“I’ll be right back Fergie-Boy.” You yelled over your shoulder at the now uninterested cat. Making sure your apartment was locked, you headed down the hallway towards the elevator. You had forgotten about Taeyong until you saw the E floor button on the panel in the elevator, but you shook him from your mind and just pressed the Lobby button.
Smiling at the man behind the counter, you walked next to said counter where the resident’s mailboxes were. You held the key in your hand and unlocked the little locker type door. Unsurprised was what you were when you looked through the box’s contents, bills, coupons, junk mail, the usual, of course.
“Hey stranger” a familiar voice was heard from your side and you tensed up, not mentally prepared to speak to him again. Taeyong just gave you a shy smile and unlocked his mailbox that was two rows below yours.
“Hey Taeyong, how are you?” He giggled a bit but answered your question. “Well, I’m doing pretty good, had a good night. I just can’t seem to find a shirt and pair of boxers.” He gave you a knowing side eye and raised one of his eyebrows expectantly.
You felt hot, scared that anyone near you would know what was going on, but to your relief when you looked around your surroundings, it was just you and Taeyong, even the complex’s receptionist wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Laughing off your worry, you looked at Taeyong. “I think I might know where you put them.” His laugh was hearty, like it came from his chest, like he meant it. “Ah, really? You wouldn’t mind showing me where they are, would you?”
The crumpling sound of the mail that was now tightly gripped in your hand was the only thing keeping you down to Earth. But that wasn’t enough for you to tell him no.
“Fuck, Taeyong” your back hit your now closed door. His lips were attached to your neck, sucking the flesh into his mouth, leaving scattered marks. Both of your hands were roaming around his chest, glad to experience this again but with a clear head.
Much to your dismay, Taeyong pulled away from you in confusion and looked down by your feet. The little cock blocker himself was staring up at you. Ferguson was headbutting Taeyong’s ankles, trying to get him off of you. “You have a cat.” Taeyong bent down to give Ferguson some affection but the cat just hissed at him, not having any of it.
“Ferguson, he’s my little Fergie-Boy.” You smiled at them both. Even though you were upset at Ferguson’s distaste for Taeyong, you weren’t surprised at all. “I should’ve guessed, he looks like a Ferguson.” You bent down to both of their levels and put your hand out for Ferguson to rub against, unlike with Taeyong, the chubby cat gladly accepted your love. Even though he was preoccupied with rubbing against your hand, Ferguson kept side eyeing Taeyong.
“I think he wants me to leave.” Taeyong frowned a bit at you, waiting for you to say something. “Yeah, I think that would be for the best. Maybe we can go somewhere together sometime?” You immediately offered, not wanting Taeyong to think you weren’t interested in him after all.  
“I would like that. There’s this little café near here. Would that be something you’d like?” Your smile took over your face and you nodded. “Alright, you have my number, text me whenever you’re free. I really hope you text me.” His lips ghosted over yours and his smile matched your own. “You have my number too, you can text me first, you know?” He pecked your lips after you said that.
“The only reason I’m not going to text you first is because I don’t want you to feel pressured.” It felt like your stomach was doing somersaults. “I’ll text you.” Biting your lip to try to conceal your ever-growing smile, Taeyong brought his thumb up to your face. He pulled your lip from your teeth. “Now if you keep doing that, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave, whether your cat likes it or not.”
His nose brushed against yours, but when you tried to reconnect your lips, he pulled away and stood up.
With his hand on the doorknob, he looked down at where you were on the floor and said, “Remember to text me.” Feeling like your voice was lost somewhere in your throat, you just nodded. Taeyong chuckled lowly and opened your door, stepping out with a wink.
When your door was closed and you could hear his footsteps get quieter, you looked down at Ferguson who was already giving you the stink eye.  
“Why don’t you like him? He’s so nice and not to mention hot.” You scratched him on top of his head, trying to somehow convince him to like Taeyong.
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. You baked a few more things, unnecessary things, but none the less your apartment was smelling like a bakery. You also caught up on laundry and did other household chores, but every now and then Ferguson would demand treats or attention.
As soon as you called it a night and sat on the cough, your bowling ball sized cat jumped on your lap, refusing to let you get comfortable before he did. “Oh how I love it when you remind me that you’re higher up in the hierarchy than I am.” You looked down at Ferguson, lightly blowing on his head, just to get him to look up at you.
“How about we text Taeyong? I know you hate him, but mommy doesn’t so we’re gonna text him.” The cat grumbled when you reached for your phone and immediately going to his contact.
you- hey, i know we just saw each other but i was wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow
taeyong- it’s alright, i was just thinking about you so i don’t mind at all, and sure, i’d like that
taeyong- i have to work tomorrow night but i’m free in the morning and afternoon
The both of you agreed at meeting at the café Taeyong mentioned earlier around 11 AM. Although Ferguson wasn’t happy with you at the moment, you couldn’t help but pick him up off your lap and into your arms to give him a little hug.
“This is amazing Ferguson! I’m finally going on a date!” You just couldn’t keep in your excitement; it had been so long since experiencing this feeling and now that you had it back you weren’t just going to let it go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Hey Taeyong!” You approached his side, excited to sit down with just him in a quiet environment. The smile he gave you caused you to believe that if you died right then, you’d be happy. “I’m so glad you showed up.”
He already had a drink sitting in front of him, but it was still full and piping hot. “Why wouldn’t I?” You racked your brain for any reasons why he would think you wouldn’t show up.
“Well, Ferguson, he doesn’t seem to like me very much and since he’s the number one man in your life, I understand that you would put him first.” Busting out a laugh, you looked at his serious face turn to a much more playfully pleasant one. “Ah, don’t worry about that sour puss, he only likes me and my best friend.”
You were honestly in disbelief with how easy it was to fall into a comfortable conversation with him and much to your displeasure, the day grew later and Taeyong had to get to work.
“I’ve had a really good time with you. Do you think we could see each other again?” This was the first time you ever saw Taeyong act bashful but here he was. This man looking at you with round innocent eyes and a blush so red it was the color of a rose covering his cheeks.
Feeling some foreign sense of power from being the cause of his expression you smirked and said, “I already planned on texting you tonight.” He laughed and leaned in, kissing you on the cheek.
The next few months went along the lines of you two going on similar cute little dates and getting to know each other. He always seemed to understand you, even if you didn’t say much, which you appreciated.
You were helping Taeyong wash dishes after eating over at his place when your arm brushed his and caused you to pause. He immediately thought you were uncomfortable with the proximity and put some distance between the two of you.
“No, no, no. That isn’t it Taeyong. I was just thinking, or I guess wondering about something, about us. What are we?” He didn’t hesitate to eliminate the space he put between you, and he answered immediately.
Now closer to you, he said quietly, “Well, I hope we’re two people who like each other and are close to being a couple.” You smiled at him and responded with, “I’m good with hurrying up and being a couple, if you want.” Taeyong shook his head in approval and pressed you up against the sink, planting his lips to yours.
Turning around, remembering the task you two had, you whispered, “Taeyong, we have dishes to wash.” You felt his head lean on your shoulder. He placed kisses along the bare skin of your neck.
“You are the light of my life. I promise you; I will never cheat on you like that bastard did.”
You never told him that. The only person that knows that would be Chae, and she doesn’t talk to Taeyong unless you’re there. Not sure how to confront him, you just stood still, keeping your back to him. “Well, shit. I guess I gave myself away.” With Taeyong mumbling nonsense, just loud enough for you to hear, you were getting more and more confused. “Wha-what are you talking about Taeyong?”
Instead of responding immediately, he just laughed, a bit sinisterly and walked closer to you. By now you had turned around and was walking backwards in order to keep some distance between you and him. But the distance decreased when your back hit the edge of the kitchen island and Taeyong kept walking towards you. You could smell his breath as it fanned over your face, minty, you once loved it, but now, you weren’t too sure what to think.
“I’ve just been watching you. Watching over you for a very long time. You’re just too special to stay away from.” Taeyong brushed the back of his fingertips on your cheekbones, lightly like a feather, causing you to finch. He laughed at your fear, finally having you cornered.
"I’m your guardian angel, I appear whenever you're in pain, but I just can't stay away from you. I've been here this whole time and you just didn't know it sweetheart." Taeyong smirked at you, but you could tell he was telling the truth even though you were praying he wasn’t. "That's impossible, I met you three months ago!" he snickered and tossed his head back.
"Then how do I know everything about you? From when you were five and scrapped your knee on the playground, when you were eight and learning how to ride a bike, you ran into that tree, or when you were 17 and becoming curious about your body. You bought a toy for yourself-" "No, please no" you were backing away from him, now scared.
"Oh yes, that's what you said that night, until you pushed that little blue toy a bit too deep, you whimpered so sweetly, my love." Taeyong brushed his knuckles along your shoulder blades and smiled gently at you, quite the contrast of what he was saying. "No matter how much or how little pain you were in, I'd always be there. Even after everyone has left you, I always stayed, right by your side."
You were on auto pilot for the rest of the night, only when Taeyong would bring up old memories would you show any reaction. You’d cringe or tense whenever he’d say anything about him watching over you. When it was time to go to bed, you couldn’t sleep at all. The thought of you never being able to do anything without him seeing made you sick. Every time you’ve talked to somebody, went through something emotional, had sex, Taeyong saw it all.  Tears were streaming down your face, and you couldn’t do anything about it since the man you thought you knew turned out to be a complete stranger was right next to you.
Taeyong was sleeping, or at least you thought he was, so you took this as your chance to leave. As quietly as you could, you grabbed your purse from one of the chairs by your kitchen island and tiptoed to the door. You reached forward and wrapped your hand around the chilled doorknob and you turned it as you pulled it open. A hand appeared over your shoulder and pressed against the door, shutting it.
“What are you doing Y/n?” Your blood ran cold, terrified to turn around, you just stayed facing forward. “I need to go to work Taeyong.” His hand left the door and out of your sight, but you the suspense of where it was didn’t last long. Feeling both of his hands on your shoulders, rubbing your shoulder blades, you tensed up.
 “Why would you do that? There are so many dangerous things out there, I need to keep you safe.” Shaking your head rapidly as Taeyong used his hold on you to lead you away from the door. “Please Taeyong, you can’t keep me here.” Tears were threatening to fall from your eyes when Taeyong drug his nose along your neck. He chuckled against your ear, “Oh but I can. I was assigned to you and you to me, we were paired by the gods above. I broke the rules for you, my love. You see, you were never supposed to know I existed, I was supposed to live in the shadows.” “I didn’t ask you to do that Tae-” You tried to reason with the man who kept tightening his grip on you the more he spoke.
“No, you didn’t, but I couldn’t stand just observing you, that was enough for a while. However, I grew tired of being forced to watch you and not touch you.” His hands moved from your back to your stomach, where they moved up slowly, until they were hovering above your breasts. “Please, Taeyong, no, please stop.”
The tears finally fell and the man behind you just removed his hands and laughed. “I don’t want to force you to do anything, it would be much more enjoyable if you were begging me to do something. I don’t wish to be the man you hate; I desire to be the man you love.”
He went to bring you back into his embrace but when he got close you slapped his hands away. “I will never love you.” Taeyong just turned around to look out the window. You heard a hum come from the back of his mouth, “You may not love me now, but you will. If it takes me keeping you here and being the only person, you ever see again, then so be it.”
“Now, let’s get you to bed, you’re acting ridiculous, you must have not of gotten enough sleep.” Taeyong picked you up from where you were sitting on the floor ever since your knees buckled, his presence tore you apart. His embrace was warm, and it made you want to nuzzle into him but the thought of him not letting you leave made you want to puke.
“Why Taeyong?” You sniffled and your nose felt raw as he laid you on the bed. “You’re smarter than this Y/n, that’s an easy answer. It’s because I love you. It just helps that it’s also my job to keep you safe.” He laid next to you. Immediately being reminded of the times you and Taeyong would lay together before you found out who he really was, you were aching to move closer to him, but he kept the distance.
You thought about how he knew you better than anyone else did, but of course, he had an advantage.
Taeyong rarely let you leave the house without him, and you feel like you haven’t seen Chaeyoung in such a long time. You text her as often as you can, but it wasn’t the same.
Looking across the table at him, you questioned where you went wrong in this. You shouldn’t of ever gone to the club with Chaeyoung, or you should’ve at least not of sat down at the bar, in front of him. The thought of that night made you realize just how much you missed Chaeyoung.
“What’s the matter sweetheart?” Your sight refocused, getting out of the fuzzy daze you at put yourself in. “Oh, nothing, don’t worry about it.” Wanting to ignore him, you shut down his advances of conversation.
He just laughed and got up. “I think you forgot what I am to you. I know you’re in pain now, so tell me what’s the matter. I hate seeing you hurt.” His sweet words and sweet voice made you think twice about if Taeyong was actually a bad guy. He cared about you, he listened to you. Even though he made you live with him, he allowed Ferguson to come with him and he even endured the scratches and bites the cat would lay on him.
Exhaling, you told him. “I just miss Chae so much; she’s my only friend and I haven’t seen her in a while.” Taeyong frowned at you, “I know you miss her but I just, I can’t risk losing you. She might lie to you and say I’m mean or something.” You just nodded in acceptance, giving up at attempting to convince him to let you see her again.
“I’m going to the bathroom and then I’ll help you clean up from dinner.” Just staring blankly in front of you, you nodded and laid your chin on your folded arms on the table. Longingly staring at the door, you thought about how easy it would be to leave. It wasn’t like you had much to lose so you waited for Taeyong to step out of the kitchen and head into the bathroom.
Squeezing out of the chair, you refused to move it, afraid that the scraping of the chair on the floor would alert him. Quickly but quietly, you approached the door, terrified that he would return soon. You had the first lock unlocked but when you heard the toilet flush, you didn’t care about the volume of your escape. Your only concern was getting out of the apartment.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Taeyong yelled from the bathroom and when you had the door open finally, his arms were already around your waist.
“No Taeyong, let me go. I do not want you near me right now.” His grip around your waist only got tighter. “Oh baby, I’m always gonna be right by your side, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He was trying to drag you away from the door but struggled to do so when you started dragging your feet and kicking at him.
Screams were starting to leave your throat, some words and others just noise. “No! Let go of me!” Taeyong rolled his eyes at you, thinking about how dramatic you were being. You loved him and he loved you, so much. You shouldn’t be running away from him.
“You love me, stop whining.” His voice was eerily calm, calmer than normal. “I don’t love you, what the fuck are you talking about? I want you to let go of me!” Taeyong started mumbling to himself and the words flying quietly out of his mouth made you think that you should’ve gone along with it. “You…what? You don’t love me?”
All of a sudden it was like you couldn’t even struggle anymore, Taeyong had found a way to keep you still. “Well, if you don’t love me, I’ll just have to keep you here until you do. Until I can trust you to not leave me.”
“Taeyong! Please! I don’t want this; I want you to go away!” Tears were rushing down your face, but the sob that was trying to bubble up stayed in your throat. “But if I go away who will stay with you? This is why you wonder why people don’t love you, it’s because you push them away.” His grip loosened and soon he dropped you on the floor and started to grab his coat. “Fine, I tried to love you, but I guess you just don’t want to be loved. Goodbye Y/n.”
You watched him leave the apartment and instead of feeling relieved, you felt empty. What if he was right? What if you were hard to love? Did you really push everyone away? It would make sense, he had a point, a good one. He knew you better than anyone else. Taeyong knew you better than you knew yourself.
Maybe if you got up now, you’d still be able to catch him, he couldn’t have made it to his car that fast. Getting up as fast as you could, you ran to the door and threw it open. But when you started running out, your face hit a hard wall immediately. The wall’s hands fell to your hips in attempt to steady you and then you realized you knew this wall.
“Taeyong! I’m so s-” his left pointer finger contacted your lips before you could get out your apology. “No, I should be the one apologizing, what I said was rude and unnecessary, I was upset and let my emotions take over me. I’m sorry for the pain I caused you, that is what I try to avoid, you getting hurt. I am truly and genuinely ashamed that I was the one to cause you pain.”
His apology made your heart ache and only caused you to feel bad for the way you treated him. “No, Yongie, I’m sorry for always being so difficult and I never meant to push you away, you’ve always been there to help me, and I am forever grateful for you. I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t love you, I do, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone ever and I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.” The boy smiled at you and cupped your cheek, he used his other hand to help pick you up off the floor and pulled you into his arms. “We’re both sorry and we both love each other, how about we leave it at that? No more tears tonight.” He wiped the remaining droplets with his thumbs and let you back inside.
“I’ve learned that you get tired after being upset, so let’s lay down and rest up before the new day.” You silently agreed and allowed Taeyong to pick you up when he asked for permission. “It’ll be okay Y/n, just forget about it, no more sniffles.” You giggled and leaned your head on his shoulder when he made his way through your living room, down the hallway, and soon into the bedroom.
Taeyong had been correct, whenever you were upset, you got awfully tired, as soon as your head hit the pillow, you were already at the point between being awake and being asleep. The last thing you remembered from the night was Taeyong kissing your forehead and rubbing your arm soothingly.
“In the morning, text Chaeyoung and ask her to meet you for bunch.” You smiled, glad that you would see her again.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chaeyoung broke the silence, asking the question to receive the possible answer that feared her. “Does he hurt you?” You told the truth immediately, “No, he doesn’t hurt me. Not physically at least, he’ll hurt my feelings when he’s mad, but he apologizes soon after. In his defense, most of the time, I’m asking for it.”  
She just sipped her smoothie in silence, thinking about what to say without hurting your fragile state. Chaeyoung knew that you weren’t telling her something, you kept fidgeting, looking around, as if you were being watched. The only thing she didn’t know was that you were, Taeyong was lurking around the corner, like he always was, because it’s his job.
“Y/n…I know something is wrong, tell me what it is.” But she didn’t say it, she wrote it. Her frantic handwriting was now on one of the napkins, she all but threw you the pen and waited for your response.
You knew that Taeyong was somewhere behind you, always observing your surroundings. So, you mouthed your next words carefully and slowly, making sure Chaeyoung caught every last syllable. It’s going to sound really fucking weird. You’re not going to believe me, but I need you to.
Instead of saying something out loud, she just nodded and waited for you to write down everything. You could see her trying to read your writing upside down, but you covered the napkin, not wanting her to skip anything. She needed to read it all.
Deciding to summarize everything to save time and to save your wrist some pain, ending your sentence with an explanation point, you passed the paper to Chaeyoung. Sitting back and watching her expressions, waiting for her reaction, you needed her to believe you, you didn’t know what you would do if she didn’t.
Chaeyoung never said anything for the rest of the brunch date, but she wrote, I know how to get rid of him. You released the breath caught in your throat, thankful that she was someone who believed and knew about “other-worldly” things.
Paying the bill and nodding in farewell, you parted ways as soon as you got out of the door, an unspoken promise to text later. Taeyong wouldn’t know what you guys said over text unless he looked at it. He could hear and see you, but he wouldn’t be able to see writing unless he was right over your shoulder. Taeyong was your guardian angel but there were still rules he needed to follow, although some rules didn’t seem too important to him.
You didn’t look back at Chaeyoung and you were glad, because as expected, Taeyong appeared at your side. “How was your brunch?” He peeked his head over your shoulder, and you hated how cute you thought he looked, how cute he was. “It was good, but uh- Tae? I want to ask you something.”
He smiled and gave you a looked that told you to continue, and with a deep breath to calm yourself, you let it out. “I feel like over the past months we’ve been together, I’ve done my best to show you how much I love you, and I was hoping you trust me by now. Would it be okay if I hung out with Chae, without you around me, visible or invisible, I want to hang out with her alone. She’s gonna help me find a gift for you.” You squeezed his hand in emphasis, hoping it would lead his mind to his favorite things. Sex and you.
Taeyong didn’t say anything at first, just thinking to himself. He wanted you to continue to love him, but he was created to protect you, you in all of your lifetimes, both past and future, as well as this one. “I suppose you can, I will give you three hours to hang out with her and I won’t even watch over you, but you have to promise me that at any moment you feel unsafe or any pain, you text me, immediately.”
Barely able to hide the joy, you kissed him. You knew he liked kissing you, and unable to lie to yourself, you knew that you liked kissing him as well. Hating the way he made you feel, you deepened the kiss, knowing it would be one of the last. “Thank you Yongie, I love you, so much.”
A few minutes later, once you two had made it to the comfort of your own home, Taeyong had you bent over the kitchen counter with your pants and panties around your ankles. “You smell so good.” You felt his nose meet your clenching hole, inhaling your arousal. Letting yourself indulge in this, one last time, your muscles relaxed, until a feeling you had only felt once take over. His tongue licked over your puckered rim. Every time Taeyong had tried this with you, you turned down his advances, but this time, you weren’t going to. At this point, you were going to do anything to keep him happy.
Taeyong waited for you to tense up and push him away, but once you didn’t, he kissed your hole. “Fuck, are you really gonna let me in there?” You whined in approval when you felt his mouth go back down to your pussy.
 His tongue went back and forth between your folds, with the occasional lap around your ass. “I’m sorry but I don’t think I can wait, I need to be in you.” You moaned at the loss but it was replaced by a yell when Taeyong swiftly turned you around and entered your cunt.
 “Oh fuck, always so tight for me. No matter how many times I fuck you, you’re always so fucking tight.” Taeyong’s teeth gritted together and picked you up off your feet. Walking the two of you to the couch, he never once removed you off his cock. Sitting down on the couch, his hands were placed on your hips, forcing you up and down onto his cock, forcing you to ride him.
 “Open your mouth.” You listened to his command. He took one hand off of your hips and placed two fingers in your mouth. “Suck on them.” Sucking and licking as much as you could with the overwhelming pleasure, your moans interrupted your task. Taeyong deemed your work not good enough and started fucking his fingers into your mouth, wetting them as much as possible.
 While you were distracted with the feeling of his fingers dragging along your tongue and hitting the back of your throat at some points, his cock continuously slammed into the spot that made you clench your pussy around him. With each contraction of your walls, Taeyong let out a whine that caused your pussy to gush more arousal.
“Fuck, making such a mess. Can feel you leaking all the way to my balls.” His fingers were triggering your gag reflex and it caused tears to run down your face, you couldn’t hold it in or control it at all at this point. “My messy baby, made just for me.”
He removed his fingers, and his spit-soaked hand left your eyesight. But the mystery was soon solved when you felt his fingers circle your asshole. “Taeyong-” He didn’t stop or slow at the sound of your whines and soon one of his fingers were forcing its way through your unused hole.
You gasped once you got used to the initial stretch and pain when Taeyong played with the walls that haven’t ever been touched. He barely gave you any time to prepare for the next finger though because soon it was joining the first.
“Oh fuck, next time, I’m gonna shove my cock in there. Fill your ass with my cum. Make you my horny little bitch.” The way he was talking to you made you humiliatingly wet and he didn’t let it go unnoticed.
“Maybe you’re already my little bitch, you’re ruining the couch with your slutty cum. But my stupid baby can’t help it huh?” You were out of it, the feeling of both your holes being filled and your clit grinding against his pelvic bone, you whined, but Taeyong didn’t take that as an answer.
His free hand made contact with your face, slapping you. He grabbed your cheeks and forced you to stare at him. “You’re my messy little bitch, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Tae- I am. M’gonna cum. Need to cum.” You were babbling and Taeyong laughed at your attempts to speak. “I’m close too, are you gonna squirt all over me?” You just nodded.
The hand that was holding your face still was removed and took place at your pussy. When your cunt clenched one last time Taeyong pinched your clit and you let it all go. The whine that left your throat intensified at the feeling of his hot cum filling you up. Your grip on his shoulders tightened while he rode out the rest of your highs.
“Welcome back baby, you left me there for a minute.” When your eyes opened you were in your shared bed, wearing his clothes, and looking up at him with tired eyes. You giggled at him and allowed him to pull you to his chest, holding you close after the intense feeling your body endured.
“I hope you enjoyed yourself.” Taeyong petted your hair soothingly. “I did, did you?” You felt him nod and heard him yawn, interrupting himself. “I always do when it’s with you.”
The last thing you heard him say was, “I hope you enjoy your time with Chaeyoung tomorrow.” And everything came crashing down again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“So, what’s going to happen afterwards is that Taeyong will still exist, but he won’t be your guardian angel anymore. He won’t be able to watch you anymore and he won’t be able to have an influence on your or your life, unless you allow him to. You have to stay strong if you ever run into him again.” Just nodding along, you looked at Chaeyoung, waiting for her to continue.
“Since you can’t exactly survive without a guardian angel, so you’ll be getting a new one. The only downside is that he isn’t an angel. He’s from hell because if Taeyong does somehow regain his power, another angel wouldn’t be able to stop him, only someone who isn’t good.” You felt better knowing that you’ll still be protected from the evils of the world, but more importantly, from Taeyong.”
Chaeyoung reached over towards you and grasped your hand, trying to comfort you since you weren’t saying anything. With her other hand that wasn’t holding yours, she lit the black candle.
“Alright, are you ready for this?” Chaeyoung whispered into the dark, the only light source in the room was the now lit candle sitting between you. With a shaking breath, you nodded your head. “I’m kind of nervous but this needs to happen.” You looked over to her, only seeing two emotions on her face. Relief and since its Chaeyoung, there’s of course excitement mixed in.
You looked at the floor you were sitting on, taking in everything. Taeyong would be gone and out of your life soon.
Chae was looking down at the worn book she had in her lap, reading over the page, making sure everything was correct. She had gone over different things you would need and made sure you had them. “Do you have a piece of his hair?” You held up a little plastic baggie that held a few strands of Taeyong’s hair.
You were thankful that his hair was the only thing you needed to bring, Chaeyoung on the other hand was more than happy to bring all of the “weird” items. A variety of dried herbs sat around you two, with several other items, such as feathers from ravens and crows, serpent skulls, a vial with a dead black widow spider and a bunch of salt that surrounded you and all of your items. From an overhead view, one would see the shape the salt was in, a pentagram.
“Okay, I’m going to read the script and you’re going to toss the pieces of his hair into the flame of the candle.” You just nodded and opened the bag to take out his hair. “Let’s just get this over with, okay? It’ll all be over soon.”
Looking over the flame one last time you dipped your head in approval. Chaeyoung squeezed your hand and started chanting. Words you didn’t know were calmly yet fiercely flying out of her mouth, in a language that you could only describe as something like Latin.
While Chaeyoung was chanting, the flame grew wild, and you grew afraid of the fire taking over the stick of wax. Your eyes widened when the flame spread to the pentagram of salt. Soon, every grain of salt was on fire, and you didn’t know what to do. Chaeyoung saw what was happening, but she just kept chanting, her voice growing in volume as the fire grew in size. The fire however, stayed on top of the salt, never going outside of the lines or inside, closer to the two of you, but the heat was starting to get to you.
You wanted to reach out to her, but she told you beforehand, under no circumstances should you move or speak until it was safe. She had mentioned the fire, but you now understood just how much you underestimated her words. Chaeyoung had spoken up about how intense this would get since you were dealing with higher powers. With everything running through your head, you still looked at Chaeyoung and listened for her to stop talking, that’s when you would do the one thing, she told you to do.
Droplets hit your thighs and since you weren’t able to look down, you assumed it was sweat. But when you moved your hand up to wipe your cheeks, you felt the drops of liquid come from your eyes. You hadn’t even realized that you were crying but you weren’t able to think about it for too long, because Chaeyoung had stopped talking and the look in her eye altered.
The fine strands of hair that had been pinched between your fingers were heavier than you thought, or it was your conscious, but you needed this. Raising your shaky hand, you hovered it over the orange flame that had ingulfed the candle, the wax starting to spread across the hardwood floors.
Your fingers were pressed tightly against each other so much so that when you released Taeyong’s hair, your fingertips ached. Almost in slow motion, the dark hair fluttered in the air, mixing with the ambers of the fire. When you expected the hair to float down, it never touched the ground, an amber touched the end of each one, and slowly it burned. Burned into nothing. As soon as each hair disintegrated, the fire disappeared altogether. The room was dark, silent, and oddly cold.
You opened your mouth, attempting to whisper out to Chaeyoung, but nothing came out, too scared to do anything.
“It’s okay. He’s gone now, he can’t hurt you anymore.” Your head was spinning, and your eyes were straining from trying to see in the dark. Still too afraid to say anything, you and Chaeyoung sat in silence.
The silence went on for a bit until you remembered something Chaeyoung said at the beginning of this. “What about the new guy?”
“He should already be here. Normally guardian angels aren’t supposed to show themselves but obviously Taeyong didn’t listen to that rule, since he still has his human form and he will most likely live out the rest of his life here on Earth, your new guardian will also take a human form. It will act as a precaution just incase Taeyong tries anything.” You looked around the room since she said he should already be here but because of the room still being pitch black, you didn’t have any luck.
All of a sudden, the almost completely burnt-out candle, relit. When you the light illuminated the room, you jumped. A man was sitting next to you, one that was beautifully sinister. “I guess I’m your new guardian angel.” He smiled a big toothy smile, but it didn’t show genuine happiness, his smile should sinful excitement.
You looked over at Chae in worry. “Oh, don’t worry, I can’t do anything fun. Your witchy friend set a little curse on me so I behave.” Your eyes met the man’s and you nodded sheepishly at him.
“What’s your name?” Chaeyoung interrupted the staring contest you were unwillingly in, but even though you looked away, the man continued to stare. “Yuta” you offered your own name, but he already knew it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You were happy with Yuta being your guardian angel, or demon. He kept his distance, protected you, all while developing a friendship with you. He understood your boundaries but still warned you before going out, to just be aware if Taeyong was near. The best part about Yuta though, was that he was the first man and third overall person that Ferguson liked.
Whenever you had an uneasy feeling, but still needed to go out, Yuta offered to go with you, but never making the decision for you.
“So, we just need things for the apartment, like paper towels, toilet paper, cereal, food for Ferguson. Things like that.” You read off your list, allowing Yuta to guide you through the aisles of the super store.
Yuta helped you look for the items that you needed and asked if you wanted him to carry the big bag of cat food.
“I could get it for her.” Taeyong.
“Fuck off man, leave her alone. You already ruined her life so just let us be.” Yuta stepped in front of you, doing what he was summoned to do. Taeyong just laughed condescendingly, not intimidated by Yuta at all.
“You know you still love me, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t deny the way you felt about me before you knew who I truly was.” His attention was now directed at you and you hated how he was right. You did love Taeyong, but he also lied to you, and then abused the power he had over you. You hated the fact that if Taeyong never gave away his secret, you would still be with him.
“C’mon baby, admit it. You still love me, and you miss me.” Shaking your head, not in disagreement but in denial, Taeyong stepped forward. Yuta’s aura changed, no longer in the laid-back vibe he normally gave off but now it was protective.
Yuta set the bag of food down on the ground next to you so his hands would be empty. “I’m not gonna ask you again man, step back.” Yuta warned Taeyong one last time but even with the warning, Taeyong stepped forward. And then he was gone.
“Taeyong?” Nothing remained in the spot in which he stood, and your first reaction was to grasp for him, anything left. “Is he gone? Forever?” Your knees hit the cold floor and the material of your jeans did nothing to stop the chill.
Yuta’s hand was heavy yet comforting on your shoulder. You stood up and buried your face into his chest, seeking some kind of comfort. He was gentler than you thought he would be. His arms wrapped around your back, matching the tightness in which you held him. One of his hands reached up and he ran his fingers through your hair.
“How about we go get something to eat and shop another time?” You agreed but still asked to buy the cat food since Ferguson needed it.
The emptiness in your stomach was mistaken for hunger, but you knew that wasn’t it. There was a park across the street from the store and in the park parking lot, there was a food truck. Still carrying the bag of food, Yuta offered you his hand and walked you over to the food truck.
“What are you thinking about getting?” You really didn’t care about what you ate, you just wanted something to fill the void that was now in your stomach. “I’ll just get whatever you get.” He squeezed your hand, understanding that you didn’t want to speak much.
After eating you were able to calm down, maybe it was the food, but you enjoyed the company more. Yuta did this thing where he made up stories and double lives for the people around you, and he kept making them crazier and crazier when he saw that it made you smile. You even made up a few but your imagination wasn’t nearly as creative and wild as Yuta’s.
You finished making a story about an old lady who was a secret agent assassin in her youth when you noticed Yuta’s silence. And after him making you feel better, you were kind of sad that he was no longer in a good mood.
“What’s the matter Yuta?” You looked out over the water. The sight of the sun reflecting off of the water calming you. But that feeling was quickly replaced by something not nearly as pleasant.
“I can’t say I blame Taeyong for everything he’s done. I’m starting to want you all to myself as well.”
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indiaalphawhiskey · 2 months
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I’ve seen solo Louis fans state that Larry broke up years ago and that Harry chose his solo career over Louis because if they were still involved as Harry is so much more mainstream and successful when compared to the other 1D boys (apart from maybe Zayn) why wouldn’t he help Louis’s success? Or get the people around him too?
I know people believe that. There are tons of people who have spent time debunking that theory, and the real, rational analysis is out there if you truly want to find it.
Personally, I’ve stopped trying to convince anyone they’re wrong, because you can only yell at a brick wall so much before you realize it’s your lungs that are giving out.
All I’ll say is: people like to conflate popularity and money with influence and power. It’s not the same thing, especially not in the entertainment industry. In fact, the entertainment industry is notorious for reducing artists to products (watch the documentary on Lou Pearlman, or research Rebecca Ferguson, if you need examples). As popular and lucrative as they are, artists are disposable to the people with real power.
Don’t believe me? Then why was Taylor Swift, already named one of the most powerful people in the music industry, still unable to protect herself from Scooter Braun? That’s not even an artist protecting a partner, that’s literally an artist unable to protect herself and her art.
So yes, I know people believe that, and they’re welcome to. It’s an old conversation and everything that needed to be said about it has already been said, so if they’re not convinced, there’s really no convincing them. I certainly won’t be bothering.
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controld3vil · 4 days
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chaotic duo
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pairing(s): dune cast x actor!reader (platonic), oscar isaac x actor!reader
synopsis: requested by this ask!
⤷ alt: even your on-screen son can't deny how delightful his on-screen parents were.
notes: absolutely no shade to jessica ferguson i adore her too much. reader is considered to have fem pronouns. ALSO ive been feeling iffy about trying to write for dune characters?? personally, although i love writing these actor!reader stories, writing for the actual characters i feel would be more challenging. dune's still pretty new to me but i kinda wanna give it a shot if i can make a good storyline T-T
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It all started with the Dune Cast Q&A brought together by Nerdist. Timothee Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve had just finished chatting with the host, Stephen Colbert about their perspectives on Paul's character. Much emphasis had gone on the young actor's performance. And Denis's decision to cast such a well-experienced one.
After finishing up their last question together, Stephen decides to introduce two additional members. "Timothee let's bring out the man and the woman who play your parents, Duke Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica." A transition between screens to display your camera view and Oscar's. He introduces both your names.
"Hi!" You grin at the camera, comfortably leaning against one of the arms of your chair. Similar to everyone else's backdrop, yours was pitch gray, covering all but your silhouette and chair.
"Hey Stephen," Oscar greets at ease, as you proceed to wave to each of the people seen onscreen.
It cuts immediately to the host gesturing in continuation for a question. "Tell me and the audience about Duke Leto Atreides. What do we need to know?"
"He's the father and human. I think that's the biggest thing and uh under incredible pressure to save his family. Save his house but to adapt to this new existential threat situation which is moving to this strange planet," Your fellow costar puts into short. Short and concise was what was expected.
Content with his answer, Stephen moves the attention to you. He calls out your name, eagerly. "Rereading the books uh- right now, I am struck by how much of the story- uh the backstory and the action story is driven by the decisions Lady Jessica makes." A smile grows on your face, knowing how much fun was a character to play for you.
Along his last few words, you find yourself nodding in agreement. "I'm impressed with that you, Stephen actually read the books again!" An instant grin comes from the said man. "But it's all applause to Denny- he highlighted this from the book. In the film, her decisions basically create, fractures and disrupts everything."
"Best parents ever," In a low whisper, Timothee murmurs and the five of you burst into short chuckles and snickers.
"The best you could ever have!" You clapped your hands together, shaking them above your head in victory. And when the screen expands to show everyone's reactions, the audience can noticeably pinpoint Oscar's playful eye-rolling.
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Another fun interview you had the pleasure of sharing was with Grazia UK. It was in a more comfortable setting. With you and Oscar in a lounge room, with the Zoom camera on. While the female interviewer complimenting a kind smile.
"Can I ask you something," Not within a second of the conversation, you rose up with a peculiar question. "Do you remember his beard?" Your costar beside you, looks away in disappointment. Even raising his hand to emphasize his discouraged state.
"A bit yes..."
"Yeah,"
"Yes!"
"Why? It was an impressive beard," Sort of clueless really, the interviewer says, of why you wanted to the topic up.
"Yeah, it was impressive!" Oscar looks back and forth between you and the camera, directing towards the woman on the other side. While you shriveled in embarrassment, leaning your head behind his shoulder, with a few snorts of laughter. "She doesn't even remember if I had a beard or not in the movie! She just saw it."
"Quite a prominent beard!"
"Yes yes, well I can remember so much," You chaste, leaning closer, locking eyes with your costar. Threatening really in a playful way.
"We shot together for a few months! How could you not remember?!" He exclaims, raising both his hands in the air in exasperation. You puff, adorning a pouty-like look.
"I work with what's in front of me," you turn to address the interviewer, pointing at Oscar accusingly. Because much contrast to what he looked months ago, he no longer had that impressive beard. He was clean-shaven, much to your display.
Next to you, Oscar scoffs. "Apparently not!" Bumping shoulders with you as you fought back, poking him many times obnoxiously.
You both later discussed a provoking quote referenced multiple times from Dune posters. Fear is the mind killer. Truly a simple yet intriguing phrase that fitted well with the film. And in generally, you and Oscar compared each others quotes from personal experience.
"I guess you could combine them together," Taking a sip out of your glass, you eyed at Oscar. He hums back and smooths his hands comfortably down his hips.
"It will pass and love prevails!" He cheerfully expresses. Even from afar, the interviewer can notice how much fun you two were having with the question.
"Right and, it plays perfectly with the film," You add onto your little spiel, nodding as you go, "Besides the fact that- you know, fear is the mind killer."
The male actor lets out a long sigh. "Makes you forget how violent the movie is."
On the other side of the screen, the blonde interviewer shrugs her shoulders. "Well- it's only included in small parts in the movie."
It was your turn to hum, dragging out the M sound. "I think maybe the film focusses too much on romance."
A caught off cough comes from Oscar as he tries to his best to dismiss his your sarcastic comment. "I feel like there should've been more of it."
"Really?!" The shot pans to your exaggerated shocked gaze. You then turn to look at the interviewer. "He has no idea how to write a movie." Instantaneously the male actor bursts out laughing, shaking his head back and forth in little denial. Even you couldn't hold it together and giggled a little.
"You play Timothee's parents so spent a lot of time with him. What is the most interesting thing we do not about Timothee Chalamet?" The interviewer prompts, having their arms supported on top the their desk with pure keenness.
Pursing your lips together in concentration, your attention turns towards your partner. "Well coming from me- I mean I don't know if people know this about him or not- but he's very open hearted." Oscar continues, "And me, having to play his father- hence the beard!"
"Ah!" Giving more emphasis, you raised your brow in recollection.
He goes on comparing the analogy of having to play Duke Leto as a powerful leader of a House. Without his people and court, he wouldn't resemble much of an prestige leader. However Oscar later mentions that Timothee's performance was the catalyst to their relationship look authentic. He is young yet incredibly sympathetic towards what's to be done for the film. His time with both of you really sold your relationship as a family, you'd think.
"So that's a very generous thing to do for a young actor. And I was impressed and admired that," In the background, you can be heard mumbling in agreement. Your partner shifts his posture, facing and expecting you to go next.
Licking your lips, you took one last glance at him before focusing strictly at the Zoom camera. "I think for me, to have a young actor like him- he's very driven about it all. When he's on and off screen, Timothee's just focused- he's very serious and concentrates heavily on what Denny says- and I can say I respect that." You punctuate your point, tapping lightly on your knee. "And I play his mother you know, and I try to accommodate with that. I play along and we work until we find a good rhythm with each other." The older woman on the screen seemed enamored by your compliments regarding your costar. Yet her eyes quickly makes it's way to Oscar, sitting quietly and listening to you ramble.
His laidback posture showed how greatly he took your words in. You grab your glass and take a quick sip before hearing him say, "We raised him well." Taking your hand in both of his as a sign of pride.
A delightful chuckle comes from both you and the interviewer while your partner gives a satisfied grin. "We really did!"
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The media did not need proof to know of your enjoyed time during the production of Dune. In fact, multiple vlogs and documentaries about the film had fans and viewers alike become fond of your positive and laid back attitude about it all. Despite playing a calculating character such as Lady Jessica, you were nothing of serious when on screen with your costars.
"Welcome to Arrakis!" You popped into frame, wearing an exquisite dress, costumed by one of the designers. It was golden yellow with chains running down from the bottom half of your face to your chest. A faint veil covered your head but for right now, you had it placed on your hair. You spread your arms with anticipation for the cameraman to pan around your surroundings. "It's sunny today so I think we'd be out here for some time." You moved extremely close to the camera, before moving out of the frame to the side.
Abu Dhabi was bliss. The production and crew worked diligently day and night working in the deserts. And on this particular day, most of the cast had been present as well for the introduction of House Atriedes on Arrakis.
A few shots slowly pans from the crew's tents and Denny far into the sandy mountains as he speaks with Timothee. Another shot slyly captures you showing Josh Brolin an unknown video, sideways. Which somehow made him cackle very enthusiastically, holding his stomach to air as you quickly pat his back multiple of times. In all, everyone of the cast members were having a blast in the dry outskirts of the unknown.
"Hello," Brolin pops in another clip where he stands, wearing the Atreides armor. Under a massive shade area, a few people can be spotted in the background, moving equipment and conversing with others. From afar, the people filming the documentary can be heard presenting a few questions for him to touch upon. "Ah what do I think about Lady Jessica being played by," He says your name sincerely.
The video cuts to you having a conversation with your on and screen husband. A hand covering above your face to shield yourself from the sun, while Oscar tries to move where the light is hitting you as the best he could.
"I mean a phenomenal actor like her playing in that kind of role is guaranteed to have an amazing performance. She's- We've known each for a long time since Sicario and with Denny," The male actor softly grins, staring at where you were. "But Oscar on the other hand, eh- not so much." His tone becoming monotonous, as if the shift in topic was distasteful to the touch.
"Whatcha say, Gurney?!" A scream echoes and it's Oscar, cupping both his hands into an O.
The older actor couldn't keep it together before breaking into frivolous giggles. "Nothing, my lord!" He takes one last glance back before seeing you give him two big thumbs up with a silly smirk. "No in all seriousness, those two are just the best! You can never have a bad day with them."
Another prominent section in the video fans adored was with the actors that played Duncan Idaho and Dr. Liet Kynes. This time they are situated in what looked like the structure of Arrakeen. Where all ornithopters were supposedly stationed and the introduction of Dr. Kynes.
"They're so mom and dad," Jason Momoa shaking his head playfully with his hands clamped together. Both him and Sharon Duncan-Brewster wore still suits unlike many other extras who wore Atreides armor. "I mean- they're playing Paul's parents- but in real life it's just so different."
"Definitely more chaotic," Brewster jumps in, earning a hum from her costar. "They act nothing like them."
A cool shot from different location displays you in a dark with Timothee. It was the scene after Paul is put to test to by the Reverent Mother. It was a chilling scene yes, but in post production, many realize how unprofessional you sometimes were even in the most serious times.
The cameras were not live however the film crew were about to pan to you gesturing back and forth with your on-screen son. It was a interactive and intriguing conversation you both were having. You looking in purely engaged with what the French actor was saying. After a few sentences being spoken, it looked as though you chided a teasing joke which gave the reaction of Timothee slightly snickering, backing away slowly.
"I mean do they look like my parents? No," The young actor states shortly. It looked as though the clip was shot right after capturing your cute moment togehter. "But I'd say- yeah Oscar Isaac's a great actor and- to be able to play my dad is pretty cool. Even though we look nothing alike." Nervous laughter spouts as he clears his throat.
"I feel like I get the resemblances from my mom though," Affectionately stating your name, "You can tell where I got my powers, good looks from." Momentarily readjusting his collar as he takes a quick look from behind, knowing your footsteps.
"See? I'm the favorite parent!" In hushed squeal, you wrapped your hands around Timothee's shoulders, earning a lovable grin back.
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beeblelady · 6 days
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List of My Listeners in the Sakuverse (Part 1)
Mary Colette Fontaine (Andrew Marston's Lover & Darling)
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Originally raised in New York and Born in Liverpool, Mary is the only daughter of two iconic fashion moguls. She doesn't want to be in the spotlight and wants to live her life as a normal person. Originally Mary's plan for college is to attend New York University along with her friends but she got rejected, Mary did not lose hope since she has a second plan on studying abroad in London, England, her friends were hesitant at first but decided to support their friend. Before leaving, her friends give Mary a collection of butterfly pins to remember them, Mary promises to keep in touch and send gifts. In London there she gets to meet her future lover, her literature professor, Andrew Marston. Mary has long blonde hair and sparkly green eyes. Her outfit aesthetic is Light Academia and Cottagecore.
Bernadette Tucker (Isaac Rhoades' Lover & Pickle)
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Born in California, Bernadette is a quiet and shy girl. She has a small group of friends. When she was a young girl she met a young Mary during a party, they talked a lot in the party but when the party is over Bernadette started to have feelings for Mary but Mary left early. Bernadette was not mad at Mary at all, hoping to reunite with Mary in the future. Years later, her life changes when a kind gentleman helps her she becomes a housekeeper, she starts to have feelings for her boss. Bernadette has beautiful red hair and hazel eyes.
Catrina Alice Covey (Kayson's Lover & Prefect)
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Born in Colorado and moved to England when she was thirteen, Catrina is known for her love of the 80s. The music, games, films and well everything in general. She also prefers studying the old-fashioned way. She has a crush on Kayson and feels flustered when he's around. Catrina would always make a playlist on cassette tapes and would write and doodle the title of her playlists when she is in love, for her study time and depending on her emotions. She loves watching John Hughes films in her spare time such as Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club to name a few, she does try to watch new films too but films from the 80s have a place in her heart. She sometimes writes letters to Kayson but she doesn't send them, she tells her feelings for him and times they have encountered. Catrina has dark brown hair and blue eyes.
Spencer Ferguson (Luca's Lover & Babe)
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Born and raised in Bristol, Spencer has a passion for art such as music and drawing, he does play video games too. He meets his future lover and fiance and now husband, Luca at a party. Spencer is happy to spend his life with Luca. Sometimes he could be a bit jealous and sometimes tries not to be. Spencer is extroverted and loves hanging out with the people he loves, his parents are caring towards him and is happy for him. During his free time he likes to listen to music while he studies. One of his friends is Catrina she would make a playlist for him and Luca. He gets along with Andrew and Mary as well. Spencer loves giving treats to Mocha, he often makes sure that Luca is safe and well. Spencer has brown hair and black eyes.
Most of these pics are not mine, they're from Pinterest and it's how I picture them on how they would look like.
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In April 1933, Einstein discovered that the new German government had passed laws barring Jews from holding any official positions, including teaching at universities.[129] Historian Gerald Holton describes how, with "virtually no audible protest being raised by their colleagues", thousands of Jewish scientists were suddenly forced to give up their university positions and their names were removed from the rolls of institutions where they were employed.[131] A month later, Einstein's works were among those targeted by the German Student Union in the Nazi book burnings, with Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels proclaiming, "Jewish intellectualism is dead."[129] One German magazine included him in a list of enemies of the German regime with the phrase, "not yet hanged", offering a $5,000 bounty on his head.[129][132] In a subsequent letter to physicist and friend Max Born, who had already emigrated from Germany to England, Einstein wrote, "... I must confess that the degree of their brutality and cowardice came as something of a surprise."[129] After moving to the US, he described the book burnings as a "spontaneous emotional outburst" by those who "shun popular enlightenment", and "more than anything else in the world, fear the influence of men of intellectual independence".[133]
A quote from the Wikipedia page of German-American Jewish scientist, Albert Einstein.
What's notable here is how academics and intellectuals raised almost no protest to the systematic purging of Jews from universities in Germany. This is because, as historian Niall Ferguson has noted, that German academics had been promulgating the intellectual basis of Nazism during the 1920's (and probably beforehand).
What we can see here is that rather than defending the dignity and liberty of the individual, academics and intellectuals were the first in line to accept, permit, and collaborate with tyranny. They believed and invented lies. They turned a blind eye to mounting crimes against humanity.
When we look at today's college campuses and see a rising sea of hatred against Jewish students; when we see thousands of non-Jewish students showing little to no concern whatsoever for the rise in antisemitic hatred; when we see academics who glorify Jew-hating mass murderers, we should not be surprised.
What has been is what will be.
The academics who have promulgated anti-Jewish hatred (or stood by and allowed it to spread) today are betraying the same spirit as the German academics who allowed German Jews to be purged and threatened with death by the Nazi regime. And, like the German academics of the 20's and 30's, they believe that their betrayal of justice and liberty are all in the public's best interests.
Of course, they have been wise enough to change their official scapegoat from the Jews to "Israel".
But the net result is the same: Jews-- no matter how great their achievements, like those of Einstein-- are being purged from academic spaces and polite society, once again, to virtually no protest from their peers.
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